Franklin Graham rails against 'sin of homosexuality' days after justifying Donald Trump's sins

One would think that in light of all the scrutiny paid to the hypocritical support religious evangelicals give Donald Trump, they would be in a position of hiding or at least self-examination.

Not hardly. In spite of admissions that they only support Trump and defend his many bouts of behavior because of the power he gives them, religious evangelical leaders seem to want us to pretend that there nothing wrong with what they are doing.

Case in point is Franklin Graham. Today, he posted the following on his facebook page:

Please bear in mind that only days ago, Graham was giving poor denials to allegations that Trump racially slurred foreign countries or paid off a porn star he had an affair with at the time of present wife's pregnancy.

Finally, when pressed by about past comments he made claiming that America has a "sin problem," Graham said Trump wasn't perfect.

Keep it up, Mr. Franklin. Don't think people neither see nor know what you are doing. Dig that hole and when it gets deep enough, enjoy not being able to get out of it.

'Religious right leader Tony Perkins admits it - evangelicals don't care about Trump's behavior as long as he gives them power' & other Tue midday news briefs

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council (first picture) admits that as long as Donald Trump gives the evangelical right power in terms of policy, they will overlook his consistent bad and incompetent behavior and  instead will treat him like the new Messiah (second picture.)

The Family Research Council head says that evangelical conservatives are willing to overlook Trump’s past behavior so long as he delivers for them on policy - So many things to unpack from this article:

1. Without a degree of shame, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council admits that the religious right are willing to overlook Trump's un-Christian behavior if he continues to give them what they want in terms of policy - i.e. the power to control people's lives and divert the direction of this country, less healthcare for women, and an undermining/reversal of the LGBTQ equality and safety. I always knew this. So many others already knew this. However. it's amazing to hear Perkins simply admit that all of the religious right's talk about a "moral crisis" in America over the years was a big fat lie. 

 2. If Perkins is accurate, evangelicals do not like John McCain and, just like Trump, don't view him as a war hero because he got captured. 

3. It's not just that evangelicals will overlook Trump's bad behavior. As shown in the article, they sometimes give justifications & lies about his bad behavior 

 4. The religious right should never get to demonize the LGBTQ community ever again without being strongly and repeatedly reminded of this moment.

Evangelical conservatives surrendered moral authority to Trump. They don't deserve to get it back.- A perfect time to remind folks about last night's post.

Here Are the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards Nominees - Congratulations to all of the nominees, including several of my friends for their nominations in the category of 'Outstanding Blog.' Having been nominated three times and winning one last year, I know how much of a thrill this is. Enjoy it because y'all deserve it. 

Laverne Cox Makes History As Cosmopolitan’s First Transgender Cover Girl - Not bad. Not bad at all.

Evangelical conservatives surrendered moral authority to Trump. They don't deserve to get it back.

Religious conservatives surrendered their moral authority to Trump. They don't deserve to get it back.

Recently, someone in my Sunday school put forth an interesting theory which got a lot of support. She claimed that God may have put Trump in the White House, not as a vouch of support, but to send a message to people about certain interests and concepts.

That may have a ring of truth when one considers how the evangelical right have acted with him in office, i.e. like greedy hogs at a trough constantly eating and not caring about being seen as gluttons. Today is yet another example.

According to this tweet, conservative evangelicals consider Trump's first year as a success.

The Trump administration is "genuinely interested and responsive to the concerns of the evangelical community." @tperkins @TheBrodyFile @CBNNews #POTUS https://t.co/N6ZGqgku2y

— FRC (@FRCdc) January 22, 2018

And why shouldn't they consider him a success for their cause. After all, he has given them unprecedented access and power. He has bowed to their desire for symbolic support, vouched for their ideas that their religion makes them superior, and has partly surrendered secular government agencies and judiciaries to their control.

But they don't seem to understand what they have lost.

The video below shows the many of the gaffes and horrors Trump has committed in his first year. From his awful Muslim ban to the mind-boggling irresponsible comments he made after the Charlottesville tragedy, the gaffes and horrors are many. America needed a loud and visible moral voice to remind us about the goodness of this country because of these gaffes and horrors. We received that moral voice, but it didn't come from the conservative evangelical community. They were too busy either counting the coins Trump threw at them or justifying his unjustifiable acts to receive more.

Bottom line - whenever Trump leaves office, Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, and the rest of that ilk shouldn't have moral authority to criticize folks for scratching their junk in the public, much less criticizing this country's moral climate. And as far as I am concerned, that specifically speaks about the LGBTQ community. Evangelical conservatives no longer have what little moral authority they did hold to call us out. Ever again.

Video shows intricate dangers of anti-LGBTQ discrimination

A new video released by the Colorado-based independent think tank Movement Advancement Project highlights things which people should be aware of regarding anti-LGBTQ discrimination. It goes beyond scenarios like baking cakes and arranging flowers. As the video shows, even the simplest things, such as going to the movies, can be problematic when ignorance is thrown into the mix. And many times, people aren't aware because they aren't specifically affected. 

'More cash than Christ' - Franklin Graham called out for hypocritical defense of Donald Trump

In the midst of the madness that is the Trump Administration (the latest being Trump's lack of good leadership has led to a government shutdown and it was discovered that before the election, his lawyer paid off a porn star, Stormy Daniels, to keep quiet about an affair she had with him), Franklin Graham stepped up today to defend him.

Graham, who seems to never been speechless when it comes to denigrating the LGBTQ community, offered an absolutely ridiculous defense of Trump

  

Graham, the president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, was questioned by MSNBC “Live” anchor Alex Witt on Saturday. 

Witt asked Graham how he could support President Trump after his sh*thole comments.
“He said he didn’t say it,” Graham said. “I don’t think any of those senators, if he did use that language, have heard that word for the first time. I’m sure that’s a word they’ve used before, I think there’s a little hypocrisy here.” 

“He said he didn’t say it, so I have to go along with the president in that he didn’t say it,” Graham claimed. 

“We have a businessman who is a president, not a politician, but a businessman,” Graham said. “We should all be grateful that he’s brought his knowledge to Washington and he’s helping to turn this economy around.” 

“Reverend, you just told me that this country has a sin problem and I know you’ve no doubt heard that the president is accused of having his lawyer pay $130,000 to a former porn star allegedly for her silence about his sexual encounter while he’s married,” Witt said. “The previous allegations as well, that access “Access Hollywood” tape, does that challenge your faith in the president?” 

“Does the president have a sin problem?” Witt asked. 

“I can promise you he is not President Perfect,” Graham replied.

In response to that, another pastor, William Barber, let loose with both barrels at Franklin during an appearance on "AM Joy" with MSNBC's Joy Reid:

“What we see here is a mass coverup by so-called white evangelicalism that’s more about, as I’ve said before, cash than Christ,” Barber explained. 

 “It’s heavily funded, you see Franklin Graham saying we have a sin problem. We do. But it’s not what they’re talking about.” “We see 365 days of attacks on voting rights, that’s sin, attacks on Muslims, that’s sin, attacks on the LGBT community, that’s sin, attacks on health care, attacks on living wages, giving the greedy and the wealthy tax breaks on the backs of the poor and the working poor,” Barber said. 

 “Wherever you look in the scripture, that’s sin. Anyone who attempts to justify that is engaging in a modern day form of heresy.” “It’s just wrong what he’s saying. Actually, I would say to my brother Franklin Graham, he needs to stop lying, tell the truth and not being bought off or paid or whatever is causing him to misrepresent the faith like that.”

'New 'religious freedom' division of HHS in Trump Administration led by anti-LGBTQ advocate' & other Fri midday news briefs

Former Heritage Foundation employee Roger Severino leads controversial new HHS division.

New HHS division slammed as tool for anti-LGBT discrimination - Speaking of that awful monstrosity of an office . . . we are just waiting for one screw-up. JUST ONE.

Roger Severino - Director of Office of Civil Rights (at Dept. of HHS) - And while we are at it, let's take a look the history of the man leading this office from when he worked for the right-wing Heritage Foundation. He isn't exactly an advocate for our community. 

Who Is Roger Severino? Donald Trump's New Appointment Sparks Concern Among LGBTQ Activists - And his history. Like I said. JUST ONE SCREW-UP.

Nearly half of trans people have been a victim of hate crime in the last year - We simply have to do better to protect our own.

Court Orders Return of Gay Mexican Asylum Seeker ‘Dumped at the Border’ Over Christmas Holidays - That's right and there should be some shame with doing him ugly. 

 This Man With HIV Just Won His Battle To Change The Rules So He Can Become An Airline Pilot - Awesome!

Anti-LGBTQ group call books about gay families & transgender kids 'morally toxic'

A bigoted group, One Million Moms, called books about transgender kids and gay families 'morally toxic.'

At pretty much the same time the Trump Administration is instituting some "religious liberty" garbage at Health and Human Services, an anti-LGBTQ right-wing group is raising hell at Scholastic Books for focusing on same-sex families and transgender children. A representative of this group, One Million Moms, called books about same-sex families and transgender children "morally toxic."

According to OneMillionMoms.com, Scholastic, Inc. is no longer safe for children. Monica Cole, director of the online activist group, explains that Scholastic books is "publishing and marketing books that are not safe for your children" and "promoting pro-homosexual and pro-transgender picture books for children." 

 In an Action Alert to its supporters, 1MM says the Scholastic website features "morally toxic" reading lists for children, such as: 

 "Mother's Day Books for Two-Mommy Families" 

"Great Books for Two-Dad Families" 

"6 Picture Books About Transgender Children" 

"... We're concerned [that] Scholastic is pushing topics on children and introducing them to children as young as preschool age [that] should be left up to the parents to discuss," Cole states, "and [selling] books ... at book fairs at your child's school that you may or may not be aware of.

"It is shocking because we know the dangers and how harmful the lifestyle choices are and can be," she adds.  

 The pro-family group cites the American College of Pediatricians on the issue: "Conditioning children into believing that a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthful is child abuse." OneMillionMoms is calling on Scholastic, Inc. to stop pushing this agenda.

So according to this group, it's morally toxic to even acknowledge same-sex families and transgender children, even though according to a 2013 study by the Williams Institute as the UCLA School of Law found that:

As many as six million American children and adults have an LGBT parent. Same-sex couple parents and their children are more likely to be racial and ethnic minorities. An estimated 39 percent of individuals in same-sex couples with children under age 18 at home are non-white, as are half of their children.