Pope Francis/Kim Davis meeting is now officially a full-blown juicy scandal made worse by new Liberty Counsel lies

Vatican: Pope's Meeting With Kim Davis 'Not A Form Of Support' - When it comes to news stories, I don't like to follow the huge crowd in repeating one, but this is the BIG story of the time right now. The Vatican is scrambling to downplay the Pope's meeting with Kim Davis. Is you ask me, they should have been scrambling a bit quicker instead of coming out with this explanation days later.

Charles Pierce nailed it: The Vatican confirms Pope Francis was “ratf*cked” into meeting Kim Davis - Well I think that puts it about right . . .

Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver Calls Out Lying Media: We Never Said Pope Francis Supports Kim Davis - And Mat Staver is backtracking. Of course he would be marginally successful except for the following press release issued by the Liberty Counsel on Sept. 29. This is only a partial jpeg of the release. Click on the link to read it entirely. One wonders if the Liberty Counsel will either edit or do away with it:

The Vatican Contradicts Liberty Counsel's Claims About Kim Davis' Meeting With Pope Francis - And let's wrap this up with a concise breakdown by Right Wing Watch.


I think it's safe to assume that we are now at the level of a full-blown scandal here. That being the case, let's take a look at the BIG LOSERS of the debacle

Pope Francis - One short meeting has totally wrecked any good will he hoped to garner by visiting the United States.

The Vatican - A scandal is only made worse when there is no quick and complete push back. If Pope Francis is looking like a horse's ass here, it is only because the Vatican failed him tremendously.

Kim Davis - She doesn't garner any "cool points" here. She gets no boost from the visit. Instead, I think the little credibility she had has been diminished.

The Liberty Counsel - Speaking of an entity with very little credibility. Everyone is probably completely pissed at this group. I mean we are talking "pissed to the highest levels of pissivity" - The Vatican, Pope Francis, the folks supporting Pope Francis's visit, the lgbt community (who have already been justifiably angry at the antics of this group.) Fresh off of being caught passing along a phony story of a Peruvian prayer rally for Davis, this group and its leader, Mat Staver, has just demonstrated that there is no level too low for them to stoop and no spin too outrageous enough for them to push. They have helped to wreck Pope Francis' credibility and their own argument of  'religious liberty.' And the lgbt community barely lifted a finger for this to happen.

As an lgbt activist, I should be angry. But as a child of the South weaned on afternoon soap operas with dishy plots,  I am so loving this. God help me, I am soooo loving this.

Apology for 'gays are a health hazard' comment brings up much needed chance for conversation

A university president's apology for anti-gay comments made over 30 years ago brings up a painful, but much needed "blast from the past" for the lgbt community:

University of Akron President Scott L. Scarborough apologized Wednesday for anti-gay comments he made as a student government president in 1985.

As head of the Students' Association at the University of Texas at Austin, Scarborough protested against a resolution that urged the school's regents to enact a policy barring discrimination against lesbian and gay individuals. In his objection, he suggested gay men contracted AIDS from contact with "fecal matter" and warned that hiring anyone who was gay was a "potential health hazard," according to newly unearthed newspaper articles from the time.

"Like many people, my views have evolved over the last 30 years," Scarborough told The Huffington Post in a statement Wednesday. "We all have learned much since those days and, if I knew then what I know now, I would not have taken the steps that I did or said what I did as a student in the 1980s. I sincerely regret any offense or concern those past actions or statements have caused."

The 30-year-old newspaper clippings from the Daily Texan were published Wednesday by anonymous university activists calling themselves Graduates Over Greed. Additional microfilm clips, located by HuffPost, are reproduced below. Two witnesses from the time corroborated the newspaper accounts.

As comical as it may seem now, Scarborough's mindset  about lgbts was prevalent and in the mainstream. They were repeated continuously by many, including Sean Hannity, about our community, particularly during the AIDS crisis. The pictures below from a 1980s comic book endorsed by anti-gay group Concerned Women for America, and a U.S. Congressman William Dannemeyer emphasizes this point. It was all a part of the "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle" talking point which was very popular back then. And very inaccurate:

The irony is that many of the group pushing this talking point have abandoned it and have focused on the "protecting religious liberty" racket. Nevertheless, it continues to be repeated by those of an extremely homophobic nature.

But Scarborough's apology brings much needed attention on this ugly part of the war against lgbt equality. The historical demonization of the lgbt community is nothing to laugh at by anyone,  no matter how far we have come.

 Just as the historical demonization of the African-American and Jewish community have been examined with all seriousness, the same must be done to the past claims and images which served to stigmatize lgbts

'Columnist floats interesting theory on Pope, Kim Davis meeting' & other Thur midday news briefs

The Vatican needs to give answers about the Kim Davis meeting.

The Pope, Kim Davis, and the secret meeting - Lgbts have very good reason to be angry with the Pope right now after we all learned of his secret meeting with anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis. Personally I think there is more to it than that and the Vatican needs to start talking. On MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell last night, columnist E.J. Dionne gave his theory on how the meeting may have taken place. He claims it was pushed by a conservative Cardinal, the Pope wasn't actually aware of who Davis was, and American bishops were totally against the meeting. It would explain a lot of gaps in this story. However, until the Vatican starts talking, gaps are all we are going to have. 

Indiana GOP’s House Leader resigns after texting sexually explicit video of himself cheating on wife to everyone on his “Contacts” list - No doubt you have already heard of how stupidity led to the resignation of an anti-gay "religious liberty" proponent in Indiana. If not, enjoy. If so, still enjoy! 

Here's What It's Like To Grow Up Intersex - Fascinating story which I will think about every time some "person" says things like "God made man and woman and that's it." 

  Christian Town Official Attacks Gay Teen Denied Homecoming Date: WATCH - Not a physical attack, but still a nasty thing to do. Let me guess. The child was "persecuting" him . . .  

'Sweet Cakes' Bakers Defy Order To Pay Lesbian Couple - You lost! Now get up off the money.

Knowing LGBT History Is Knowing Yourself - It's LGBT History Month starting today. How much of our history do you know?

Theodore Shoebat - The homophobe TOO psychotic to completely ignore

This is Theodore Shoebat. As evidenced by this above video of his advocating a global death tribunal for lgbts, he is PSYCHO. He is also, until recently, a prominent columnist at the vile anti-gay publication Barbwire.

Apparently he has been doing this "death to sodomites" act for a while and anti-gay activist Matt Barber just recently got around to deleting his columns from Barbwire.

His father, Walid Shoebat, has claimed that he himself was a former terrorist until CNN exposed him as a fraud.

With all due respect, the rotten apple didn't fall that far from the rotted tree. It would be nice to ignore Theodore, but there are just some people so crazy, you can't ignore them. For reasons of your own health.

By the way, I wouldn't join Theodore's twitter feed if I were you. He likes to post things which makes that recent Green Inferno cannibalism movie look like a Disney animated feature.

Is the Liberty Counsel attempting to remake Kim Davis into the evangelical 'Nelson Mandela?'

Is the Liberty Counsel attempting to transform Kim Davis

into an international symbol like Nelson Mandela?

Kim Davis, Clerk Who Refused To Issue Marriage Licenses To Gay Couples, Met The Pope (UPDATE)
 

Why Did Pope Francis Meet With Kim Davis?  

Based on the two above news briefs, it's beginning to look more and more like the Pope did have a secret audience with anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis. But hold up before going off half-cocked. I love y'all, my lgbt brothers and sisters but there are times when you are quick with the outrage but slow with the thought process. Details are still coming out what exactly was the meeting about, who arranged it, who said what, or why it even happened. But I have a theory you should really think about.

Earlier this week, Davis' lawyers was claiming that 100,000 Peruvians held a prayer rally for her. They even passed along a picture supposedly proving such until the picture was proven to be from 2014. They were then forced to say the picture wasn't factual. But let's imagine for a moment that the truth about the picture wasn't discovered. With the idea fresh in our minds that 100,00 Peruvians allegedly rallied in Davis' honor, this announcement that she met the Pope who supposedly told her to "stay strong" would hit the news services.

All that would be left is someone, let's say Fox News' Todd Starnes, Mike Huckabee, or any other right-wing source like The Blaze, American Family Association's One News Now, the Heritage Foundation, etc.  to suddenly anoint Davis as the Christian "Nelson Mandela" with as much zeal as they compared her to MLK or Rosa Parks when this thing first began.

You see where I'm going with this?

In the United States, Davis isn't exactly winning many followers for her illegal stance. However if she is seen as an international symbol for alleged anti-Christian persecution, then who cares about the United States because the hype machine would send her reputation through the stratosphere on a worldwide level, reaching people who aren't aware or don't care about the true story.  Like Nelson Mandela during his long imprisonment became the international symbol against apartheid in South Africa, she would become an international symbol of  so-called "religious liberty" or "homosexual oppression" (which by the way doesn't even exist.)

It's just a theory but definitely something to keep in mind. So I would suggest that my lgbt brothers and sisters be careful to not bare their fangs to much that they miss the con which could be done on us all.

Anti-gay publication runs graphic claiming 'Christian holocaust' perpetrated by gays

Fresh from being caught up in the embarrassment of the Kim Davis Peruvian Rally Hoax, the anti-gay publication Barbwire ran the above image to accompany the article Today It’s the Christians.

Apparently, the article is about the belief that Christians in American are entering a holocaust like the Nazis launched against people of the Jewish faith.

Whatever, guys. After the Peruvian Rally hoax, I'm not sure anyone should believe your powers of predictions.

More about the article and the person behind it, Janet Porter, here.

 

'Kim Davis' lawyers admit 'prayer rally photo' is a hoax' & other Tue midday news briefs

 

Kim Davis' lawyers admits that this photo is not true.

Kim Davis’ Attorneys Finally Admit This Isn’t A Picture Of A Massive Kim Davis Rally In Peru - The Liberty Counsel claims that it's an honest mistake. Suuuure it is. Look, it may be but based on the Liberty Counsel's track record of distortions and lies (particularly from Mat Staver and Matt Barber), I REFUSE to give the organization the benefit of the doubt. 

Just in case you missed the earlier story - Think Progress knocks Kim Davis supporters out with irrefutable proof of their lies

Meanwhile, some very EVIL, EVIL folks are rubbing it in (I call them evil because I didn't get a chance to get my digs in):

At #KimDavisRally top music stars recorded a benefit song for #KimDavis! PHOTO: @jmattbarber @libertycounsel pic.twitter.com/SkGREMcIZY

— Scott Wooledge (@Clarknt67) September 29, 2015

New Yorkers gather in Times Square to celebrate #KimDavis' release from jail. Photo: @libertycounsel @jmattbarber pic.twitter.com/GFXkucXIrG

— Scott Wooledge (@Clarknt67) September 29, 2015

@thinkprogress @ZackFord Recent photo of Kim Davis in China. #bravestwomaninthewholewideworld pic.twitter.com/NlhPzifB1b

— david evans (@ReunitePangaea) September 28, 2015

 
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