'Here's how the right-wing media will lie about the Equality Act' & other Wed midday news briefs

 

Here's how right-wing media will lie about the Equality Act - Very comprehensive and wonderful post by Media Matters. Folks need to read and share this. 

The Biden administration is planning to push for allowing gender-neutral markers on federal IDs - Another reason why voting matters. 

Lesbian opens up about pain of being shut out of her mother’s will because of her sexuality - Sometimes it's hard to deal with how people are so cruel to one another.  

Ban on LGBTQ ‘panic’ defense nears in Virginia - Good! I'm all for it.

Anti-LGBTQ anecdotes about the Equality Act mimic false predictions about gay marriage

If you think that attacks against the Equality Act look familiar, it's not your imagination.

You can tell that the fight over the Equality Act is heating up when you read nonsense like this Family Research Council tweet:

Donohue and the rest of the religious right as well as their allies in government have been heavily pushing the false argument that the Equality Act, a comprehensive LGBTQ rights bill which President Biden fully supports, will lead to all sorts of nasty consequences such as an attack on Christians (as the expressed in the above tweet.)

In addition, they are heavily promoting the false idea that the bill will destroy female sports (i.e. a ridiculous notion that trans women will dominate in girl's and women's sports and that some men will claim to be trans in order to compete against women.) That nonsense is akin to the bathroom predator smear they also push against trans women.

Exploiting fears of the unknown via spooky predictions and anecdotes is a common religious right tactic. They either outright say or imply that if LGBTQ people get so much as a single acknowledgement that they deserve basic rights, the country will collapse, children will be harmed, and Christians will be rounded up and imprisoned. These predictions, which generally turn out to be false, would be amusing except for how often they are taken in good faith and become legitimate topics of discussion.  And no matter how many times these predictions are proven wrong, the religious right and their allies are always able to tailor them around a new issue and the cycle begins again with their credibility undeservedly intact.

Look at what they said about marriage equality (gay marriage) before and after it was legalized by SCOTUS:

2013 - Republicans Predict Fraud, Bestiality if Gay Marriage is Legalized:

 Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, told a group of Tea Party supporters on a conference call that gay marriage would be a slippery slope to polygamy and bestiality. "When you say it's not a man and a woman anymore, then why not have three men and one woman or four women and one man?" Gohmert asked. "Or why not, you know, somebody has a love for an animal or-? There is no clear place to draw a line once you eliminate the traditional marriage."  

2014 - Apocalyse Now?

“This is something that I believe is the beginning of the end of Western Civilization,” (the Liberty Counsel's Mat) Staver told a conservative radio station in October. “You can’t simply redefine and pretend that ontological differences between men and women do not exist. This will have consequences.”  

 

2015 - Mike Huckabee in a conference call with the Family Research Council

“If the courts rule that people have a civil right not only to be a homosexual but a civil right to have a homosexual marriage, then a homosexual couple coming to a pastor who believes in biblical marriage who says ‘I can’t perform that wedding’ will now be breaking the law . . . It’s not just saying, ‘I’m sorry you have a preference.’ No, you will be breaking the law subject to civil for sure and possible criminal penalties for violating the law…. If you do practice biblical convictions and you carry them out and you do what you’ve been led by the spirit of God to do, your behavior will be criminal.” 

2015 - Rubio: Gay marriage proponents pose ‘danger’ to Christianity:

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio took a decidedly conservative turn on same-sex marriage in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network this week, warning that “there’s a real and present danger” that gay marriage proponents will cast the teachings of mainstream Christianity as “hate speech.” 

In any facet of the religious right's attack on LGBTQ equality, the question should never be "how long will they be able to get away this dishonesty." or "how long will they be able to scare people with these lies" because we already know the answer. As long as they can get away with it.

The only way this can be combatted is when the news media loudly and directly hold these religious right groups and their allies to a decent standard of credibility instead of giving them a free pass simply because they anoint themselves as defenders of faith and religion.

'Baptist church will be expelled for welcoming a gay couple to services' & other Tue midday news briefs

 

Baptist church will be expelled for welcoming a gay couple to services - Now you KNOW this is a dang shame. Simply an ugly thing to do.

Southern Baptists divided over politics, race, LGBTQ policy - And it's just the beginning. 

When a Gay Person Resorts to Antigay Smears - Unfortunately, we've all been here. 

Ex-Mich. House Speaker Chatfield’s opposition to LGBTQ protections cost him a six-figure job - Don't run any sh!t to me about "cancel culture." LGBTQ people are buyers and consumers just like everyone else and we have a right to make noise. The religious right started this practice, but we made it better.

CPAC cancels anti-Semitic speaker but keeping the one who claims that gays want to have sex with children

Conservative conference CPAC cancelled an anti-Semitic speaker but will retain the one who posted this tweet.

This week, CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee) will be hosting its annual conference and it promises to be boisterous as always. The group is already in trouble because of a now canceled speaker.

From Raw Story 

The theme of this year's event is "America uncanceled," which is ironic since the organization that runs CPAC, Matt Schlapp's American Conservative Union, just canceled one of its scheduled speakers. That speaker, Young Pharaoh, has made statements CPAC is now calling "reprehensible. "On Twitter Young Pharaoh repeatedly posts about pedophilia, including linking it to LGBTQ people, Christianity, and the Biden family. 

Some of his tweets appear to echo QAnon and other conspiracy theories. He's also linked "caucasians" to bestiality. Media Matters reports Young Pharaoh "has told followers that Judaism is a 'complete lie' and 'made up for political gain,' said that Jewish people are 'thieving fake Jews,' tweeted that 'all the censorship & pedophilia on social media is being done by Israeli Jews,' and claimed that 'all of these big tech [companies], media, & social media platforms are controlled by CCP & Israel through Jewish CEO & corrupt Democrats.'" 

So score one in the decency column for CPAC. Or maybe not. 

'Biden administration's support of LGBTQ rights is angering the religious right' & other Mon midday news briefs

 

President Biden's support of LGBTQ rights is angering the religious right. Whoop te do.

Conservative Catholics are now claiming that Joe Biden is “too obsessed” with LGBTQ people - Oh heaven forfend! Just in time for the first battle over the Equality Act.

The religious right is targeting HHS nominee Xavier Beccara for being too pro-LGBTQ - There seems to be a pattern of silliness here. 

Federal judge dismisses discrimination lawsuit by transgender fire chief in Georgia - "U.S. District Court Judge Tilman E. Self III didn’t rule on the merits of Rachel Mosby’s discrimination claims. Instead, the judge decided Mosby had no legal standing to sue because of a technical flaw with the initial complaint she filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission." Boooo! Appeal that sucker! 

How Black LGBTQ talent helped shape the history of modern music - And don't you forget it, either.

Conservative evangelicals make pitiful attempt to whitewash Rush Limbaugh's evil

Last week, conservative radio talk show icon and all-around vile racist and homophobic human being Rush Limbaugh died from cancer. There is much debate about his impact on American politics, with some declaring him a hero while many others calling out his smears, nasty attacks, and bigoted rhetoric.

But according to the Christian evangelical (and actual hate) group the American Family Association via its 'news source' One News Now, there is no debate. According to One News Now, Limbaugh was a good Christian and a strong conservative, even if the publication has to omit several facts about his life to make this point.

The article it choose to publish, Hated by libs, adored by millions, Limbaugh leaves behind legacy, is a nauseating whitewash which paints Limbaugh as standing up for America  while wrecking "humorless liberals" with zingers which supposedly exposed their hypocrisy and hatred of American values.

Decades before President Donald Trump would blast the "fake news" intent on bringing him down, Limbaugh called CNN the “Clinton News Network” and knocked traditional news shows such as “Meet the Press,” which he mocked as “Meet the Depressed.” 

How is the national media reacting to Limbaugh’s death? According to Rich Noyes of the Media Research Center, the liberals who were mocked by Limbaugh for decades are reacting just as conservatives would expect. “It's the same stuff you heard at the beginning of his career. They're now doing it at the end,” he advises. “It really is a shabby way to treat someone who has just passed away but they're sort of picking out all of the things that they've criticized over the years. They're accusing him of things like racism, which wasn't true." 

 Conservatives arguably should not be surprised at Limbaugh’s treatment by humorless liberals after they witnessed him mock "Environmental Wackos" vowing to ban SUVs and "Femi-Nazis" who were vowing to never marry a man.

The article omits how Limbaugh made fun of people afflicted with AIDS, the many times he referred to President Obama as "a boy," how he made fun of actor Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's Disease, the time he referred to 13-year-old Chelsea Clinton as a "dog" or the other times and people he smeared and dehumanized in the name of traditional values and American exceptionalism.

And don't even attempt to leave comments at One News Now calling out the badly written article or Limbaugh in general, as I learned after leaving mine:

As to be expected, the American Family Association is not the only one in the conservative evangelical movement attempting to paint Limbaugh as an American hero.

None of this should surprise anyone and this post really isn't about Limbaugh. No amount of whitewashing in the world will erase the truly nauseating legacy that this bloated, evil, lying waste spewed on this country.

This post is mostly about the lack of integrity which yet again conservative evangelicals openly show and unashamedly wave like a banner. Their "yessir, boss" behavior in the Trump era was embarrassing enough, but this new abandoning of the values they claim to uphold just so they can kiss the cold ass of Limbaugh's corpse is like a cherry on top of a huge sundae for me. It's simply more proof and more "receipts" showing just what they really are instead of what they pretend to be.

'Hate group could be behind bills in 20+ states targeting trans children' & other Fri midday news briefs

National hate group could be behind the bills in 20+ states attacking transgender youth - Could be? Please. It is.

LGBTQ+ Twitter Drags Ted Cruz for Jetting to Mexico During Texas Storm - Yes we did. hehehehe. 

Debunking misconceptions about #transgender - We need more of this covering more issues about transgender folks.

LGBTQ campaign backed by German footballers hailed as a 'step in the right direction' - The struggle is universal.