Family Research Council forsakes the Bible, embraces misdirection to support Trump's refugee ban

The Family Research Council abandons 'The Good Samaritan' parable in defense of Trump.

Eager to not lose it's "golden goose in the White House,"   the Family Research Council has forsaken any notions of religious propriety by not even attempting to act as Trump's conscience when he pushes for outlandish things such as his recent refugee ban

Instead, the organization is acting as cheerleader for Trump, even sidestepping the Bible it supposedly holds as a standard.

FRC president Tony Perkins had this to say in a recent Washington Update:

While Obama may have capped certain refugees, he showed unusual hospitality to populations who pose the greatest threats to the U.S. President Trump is determined to change that, putting the brakes on the immigration process until a better, safer vetting protocol is in place. But since Trump issued the order in late January, liberals have been in hyper-drive trying to discredit the idea, which -- ironically -- was based on security reviews conducted by President Obama's own team. Unfortunately, the Left just can't seem to wrap its mind around Trump's protective measures when their only national security doctrine seems to be "inclusivity" and "sensitivity."

That's also the cry of the religious Left. Since Syrian refugees started streaming into America, some liberals tried to use Scripture to suggest we should let anyone and everyone into the country. Of course, these are the same people who claim we're trying to impose a theocracy when we advocate for laws that uphold basic and historical standards of morality. Still, there seems to be a growing chorus of believers who justify these open-door policies on immigration with the Bible's command to "love the stranger."

I agree -- we should love the stranger, but there's no suggestion in the Bible that we should jeopardize our own security and well-being to do so. There are plenty of charitable solutions for refugees that don't involve bringing them to America and letting them abuse our hospitality for ill-intent. Our nation can be caring and benevolent without unnecessarily endangering our own people. What many forget is that loving the stranger is just one component of Scripture's teaching. God also commands foreigners to assimilate and keep the laws of the land. As Exodus 12:49 makes clear: "There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you." The United States' goal should be a safe haven for everyone. And that means protecting the America's welcoming reputation without sacrificing our systems and safety.

That sounds reasonable, until one realizes that Perkins is spinning a huge distortion.

'Poll: anti-lgbt 'religious liberty' laws are NOT popular with most Americans' & other Wed midday news briefs

According to one poll, anti-lgbt 'religious liberty' laws are not popular.

Most Americans don’t want “religious freedom” laws that allow anti-LGBT discrimination - This is HUGE and needs to be repeated. According to a  Public Religion Research Institute poll, 61 percent of respondents, do not, repeat, DO NOT want religious liberty laws. This doesn't mean that the fight over these abominations of laws is over, but it DOES mean we hold the good cards. 

Taxpaying lgbts shouldn't sacrifice rights to 'religious liberty' propaganda - And I REALLY want to emphasize the piece I posted last night. The lgbt community needs to hold firm on this fact. We pay taxes and our money shouldn't be given to entities who will have a free pass to discriminate against us. In addition, federal employees are also paid by our tax dollars, so if they won't serve us like they do other Americans, they need to be let go. No apologies. No deviation from that line. It's our money, dammit and there isn't a thing wrong with demanding that if we pay taxes, we should be treated like other taxpaying Americans.  

DeVos confirmed despite concerns over anti-LGBT donations - And the fact that when it becomes to education, she doesn't know her knee from her elbow. We will be watching her.  

Why Obamacare repeal would be devastating to people with HIV - Meanwhile, let's also put attention on stopping any attempts to repeal Obamacare/ACA. It would hurt a lot of people, including our community.  

Dave Daubenmire: Illuminati Tricked Americans Into Watching Lady Gaga’s ‘Celebration Of Satan’ At The Super Bowl - Okay, who talked? Geez, gay men cannot keep a secret!

Taxpaying lgbts shouldn't sacrifice rights to 'religious liberty' propaganda

Religious liberty argument shouldn't override the fact that lgbts also pay taxes.

The homophobic hate group American Family Association is alarmed that Trump has yet to sign an anti-lgbt "religious liberty" executive order. The organization, via email, is asking its supporters to sign a petition asking Trump to do so.

It is partly as follows:

Liberals and homosexual activists are advancing their radical agenda by attempting to torpedo President Donald Trump's executive order on religious liberty that was recently leaked to the media. This is an excellent executive order that will protect your First Amendment rights.

I urge you to sign the AFA petition NOW asking President Trump to protect religious freedom for all Americans. I plan to personally deliver this petition with signatures during a meeting with the Trump Administration. Help me take your voice to the White House!

This is urgent! After the executive order was leaked, radical activists demanded that the White House keep in place the policy implemented by President Obama’s executive order. The Obama policy bans federal contractors from funding if they refuse to change their non-discrimination policies to include homosexuals and “transgender” persons.

If Christians remain silent and do not let President Trump know they stand with him on religious liberty, then the only voices he will hear are those of radical homosexual activists.

  . . .  The religious freedom executive order under consideration by the Trump Administration:

• Protects Christian colleges and universities, which maintain biblical views on sexuality, marriage, and gender, from losing federal funds.
• Follows the long standing Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that states religious exercise "includes all aspects of religious observance and practice."
• Instructs all federal agencies, "to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law," to reasonably accommodate the religion of federal employees, as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
• Instructs the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury to grant relief to the Little Sisters of the Poor and others that are not exempt from the Obamacare contraception mandate.
• Instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure the federal government does not discriminate against the religious beliefs of child-welfare providers such as foster care and adoption services.
• Instructs all federal agencies to provide protections and exemptions consistent with the Civil Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act to religious organizations that either contract with or receive grants from the federal government.
• Instructs the U.S. Treasury not to revoke the non-profit tax status because a religious organization's ordinary religious speech deals with politics, or because they speak or act on the belief that marriage is the union of husband and wife, that sex is based on immutable biology, or that life begins at conception.

I'm not even going to refute these bullets one at a time because they can all be handled with a question, which unfortunately, has not been asked enough.

'Mike Huckabee under fire for transphobic joke about refugees' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Mike Huckabee shows his true and ugly face with a recent bad joke.

Mike Huckabee’s Transphobic ‘Joke’ Slammed By Stars, Allies - A vile positive to the election of Trump is how certain members of the religious right are discarding their masks of piety and showing their true bigoted faces. Because mocking someone for crying about the Holocaust AND making fun of a transgender murder victim at the same time takes a special kind of nasty hate.

Editor's note - And this isn't Huckabee's first time at the "rodeo of homophobia." The article above isn't just about a simple joke. Mike Huckabee has a long history of attacking lgbts and reducing our lives to punchlines and illusions about sex all in the name of "his faith." He simply does not like lgbts, period:  

Huckabee continues to hide his homophobia behind religion  

Mike Huckabee is either a clueless fool or a brazen liar 

Mike Huckabee's 'moral values' include lies about gay community 

 In other news:

 New Katie Couric documentary explains transgender identities in compelling detail - We need more television specials like this. I get so tired of people attacking the transgender community without even knowing anything about them.

 People Have A Lot Of Feelings About This Mother Rejecting Her Gay Son On National TV - Oh no she didn't! DRAG. HER. BEHIND!

 LGBT Equality Caucus doubles its membership - "We'uns done woke up." 

 Bryan Fischer: ‘Would Jesus Be In Favor Of Restricting Immigration? Absolutely’ - Based upon some of the other stuff Fischer has said, I cringe to think what else he claims that Jesus supports.

Family Research Council wants Trump to give churches unfettered political power

FRC's Tony Perkins

According to the anti-lgbt hate group the Family Research Council, the two and half weeks with Trump in power have been wonderful. And it would be even more wonderful if he would repeal The Johnson Amendment, thereby allowing churches to publicly endorse or oppose political candidates without losing tax exempt status. The following is from FRC president Tony Perkins:

President Trump didn't waste any time proving his critics wrong. People who doubted whether the Republican would make good on his promises learned pretty quickly that there's nothing empty about this president's word. From the unborn to immigration, the new White House has been working its way through a long list of priorities -- which, we know from last week's National Prayer Breakfast, includes the Johnson Amendment. From almost the beginning of his candidacy, Trump has highlighted this 1954 law as one of the worst abusers of free speech in America.

And plenty of conservatives agree. After eight years of the Obama IRS breathing down the necks of nonprofits and churches, threatening to take away their tax exempt status, the Johnson Amendment has become just another way for liberals to crackdown on pastors' ability to speak openly about political issues and candidates. That changes now, say conservatives like Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.), House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), who together introduced the Free Speech Fairness Act to stop the government from muting pastors who apply God's laws to today's debates. They, like President Trump, think it's time to put an end to this culture of intimidation -- especially since that wasn't the purpose of the measure to begin with! In a joint op-ed for the Washington Post, the trio talks about their new bill and what it would mean for the pulpits of America.

"Specifically, our legislation would ensure that all 501(c)(3) organizations, including nonprofits, charities, and houses of worship are legally able to make comments about a political issue within the scope of their normal activities. An environmental nonprofit that sends out an e-newsletter educating its readers about the climate positions of candidates wouldn't have to fear an audit. A church employee who distributes election voter guides (for which her church did not incur any cost for distribution) could not be punished by the IRS."

As I said on CNN over the weekend, this has nothing to do with money being expended on political campaigns. And it certainly doesn't mean that churches will become the new arm of the Republican Party -- or either party. As Lankford, Scalise, and Hice pointed out, "Every American should be able to speak freely about their conscience and convictions -- no matter what their job is."

The truth of the matter is Americans are able to speak freely about their conscience and convictions. That is not the point. The point is should certain organizations be allowed to endorse or oppose political candidates without losing their nonprofit status? And let's not play games here. The organizations in question are in fact churches. Perkins can dodge all he likes, but we are in fact talking about churches, which is a main source of a lot of FRC's power and influence.  Perkins seeks to distract people with jingoistic or religious words like "freedom," "conscience," and "convictions" because he has yet to make a concise defense on why should churches meddle deep into politics without losing their tax-exempt status.

And my guess is that Perkins doesn't have one. Giving churches unfettered access to political power is a dangerous game to play, but it only underscores what I have said about the religious right's relationship with Trump. They don't care to act as his moral conscience. They are only acting as his alibi so that he gives them what they want.

'Lady Gaga delivers subversive message to lgbts during SuperBowl performance' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Lady Gaga Gave A Subtle Nod To The LGBTQ Community During Her Super Bowl Performance - I did not watch last night's Superbowl but I did see Lady Gaga's halftime performance and noticed her shout out to us. I don't see it as getting bread crumbs. I see it as appropriate, however subtle or subversive some may term it. She was telling plain truth.  

Claims of ‘Homosexual Agenda’ Help Kill Hate Crimes Laws in 5 States - Even in South Carolina. They have no problem protecting race and religion under hate crimes legislation, but God forbid lgbts are included.

 Pence dodges on anti-LGBT ‘religious freedom’ executive order - Uh yes you had better dodge. Have Trump sign that mess and see what happens . . .  

How Doctors’ Offices—and Queer Culture—Are Failing Autistic LGBTQ People - Articles like this are very important.

Thousands attend weekend LGBT protest against Trump at Stonewall Inn

A protest Saturday at the historic Stonewall Inn in NYC sent a message to Donald Trump that not only do lgbts and our allies think that his travel ban executive order was a rotten idea, but should he attempt to push another another executive order attacking lgbt equality, all hell will break loose complete with a couple of pitchforks figuratively shoved up his tookis.

From Time magazine:

Protesters gathered at New York City's historic Stonewall Inn on Saturday to show solidarity with immigrants and refugees affected by President Donald Trump's immigration ban.A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Trump's executive order barring people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. — a decision that earned Trump's ire. People at the protest on Saturday waved rainbow flags, sang songs and held signs challenging Trump's policies.

Related post -  The 15 best signs from the LGBTQ solidarity march at the Stonewall Inn