The rights of trans kids are being ignored in the argument about 'parental rights'' & other Mon midday news briefs

Trans kids need right protections: It’s a privilege, not a right, to know your kid’s gender identity - People refuse to acknowledge that some trans kids are put in danger if their parents find out their gender identity. But it is a sad reality which NEEDS to be included in the 'parents' rights' conversation.

This drag performer called bingo at her local county fair for years. Then came the backlash.​ - This one has a happy ending. The backlash don't seem to be lasting. 

Worrisome new study on HIV stigma finds Gen Z has a lot of work to do - Yep. 

Queer History Lecture Prompts Vengeance From Alabama GOP - Trying to so hard to erase our history and not WHO gets hurt by it.

Former employee claims anti-LGBTQ group fired him for reporting alleged sexual harassment by another male employee. Now he is suing them.

The American Family Association has made a name for itself over the years with its attacks on the LGBTQ community. Now the group is being sued by a former employee who claims it looked the other while he was sexually harassed by another male leader.

From Religion News Service:

A former vice president of the American Family Association, a Mississippi-based conservative group that promotes “the biblical ethic of decency in American society,” has sued the religious-right group, accusing leaders of firing him after he reported alleged sexual harassment and financial irregularities.

 In a complaint filed Tuesday (Sept. 5), Robert Chambers, former vice president of policy and legislative affairs for AFA from 2015 to 2022, alleges that another staffer, Ron Cook, made repeated sexual advances toward him, beginning in January of 2022. 

 Those advances allegedly included grabbing hold of Chambers’ face and ear and making comments about masturbation, according to the complaint. “I see you’re really good with that wrist action,” the complaint alleges that Cook told Chambers. “You’d really like me to take you and get a hold of you.” 

 Chambers claims he was fired for reporting the harassment. The complaint alleges that AFA and its leaders violated federal law by retaliating against him as a whistleblower, creating a hostile work environment, unlawfully terminating him and slandering him. 

 The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, names Cook, along with AFA President Tim Wildmon, several of Wildmon’s family members who are on AFA’s staff, AFA Vice President Ed Vitagliano and others. AFA denies all of Chambers’ claims.

 AFA did not respond to a question asking if Cook was still employed at AFA. Cook’s LinkedIn profile describes him as AFA’s director of localization. His Facebook page describes him as a former director of localization. Cook declined to comment by text.

In 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center called AFA a hate group for its various false claims about the LGBTQ community:

The AFA has been extremely vocal over the years in its opposition to LGBT rights, marriage equality and allowing gay men and lesbians to serve in the military. The group’s arguments are filled with claims that equate homosexuality with pedophilia and argue that there’s a “homosexual agenda” afoot that is set to bring about the downfall of American (and ultimately, Western) civilization. In one October 2004 article, the AFA Journal suggested that gay influences are leading to a “grotesque culture” that will include “quick encounters in the middle school boys’ restroom.” 

For years, until 2010, the AFA had a section on its website that supposedly exposed “The Homosexual Agenda.” There, a reader could find articles and other AFA publications that claimed LGBT people were trying to force the acceptance of homosexuality on children through sex education programs in schools; condemned companies like Disney for supporting LGBT rights and programming; and, also until 2010, featured a particularly noxious booklet the AFA had published in 1994. 

That booklet, Homosexuality in America: Exposing the Myths, included the bogus research of thoroughly discredited psychologist Paul Cameron as a source. One of the publication’s authors, Richard Howe, used Cameron’s “research” to claim that LGBT people don’t live as long as heterosexuals, that they’re more promiscuous and that the “disgusting details of the homosexual lifestyle explain why so many diseases are present in the homosexual community.” Another claim was that “prominent homosexual leaders and publications have voiced support for pedophilia, incest, sadomasochism, and even bestiality.”

Audio - Proud Boys supporters weep uncontrollably when reminded that they are the criminals (instead of LGBTQ people)

Let's talk about crime, punishment, and justice. 

The Proud Boys have been busy lately invading our events and threatening our people with their false claims that we are trying to 'sexualize' children. 

But don't forget while this group likes to claim that we are lawbreakers, it is them who are the actual lawbreakers. Especially when it comes to the infamous insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The audios below are from a podcast which took place in May when several of their supporters learned the trial verdicts of members who took part in the Jan 6th insurrection.

Since the insurrection, several Proud Boys have been given long sentences for their part in it and their stupid decisions afterwards to turn down plea deals which would have cut their sentences in half. This includes former leader Enrique Tarrio. Tarrio was found guilty and then sentenced to 22 years for his role in "masterminding a seditious conspiracy aimed at derailing the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden." 

When I listened to these audios, I didn't laugh because it's sad to hear to these folks weep uncontrollably about the harsh, but much deserved, sentences. 

You, however, do what you need to do. 

In light of all the bullshit our community has had to deal with lately - which the Proud Boys contributed greatly to - maybe it's good therapy to hear these people reminded that they are the criminals and not us. These same folks weeping about supposed injustice were also the ones falsely branding us as pedophiles.

January 6th sympathizers and Proud Boys supporters react live to the guilty Proud Boy #SeditiousConspiracy verdicts.#FAFO
1/2 pic.twitter.com/CAyEnGSGDf

— DON4IR 🇨🇦 (@Don4Ir) May 4, 2023

2/2 pic.twitter.com/f9E7LtVwZp

— DON4IR 🇨🇦 (@Don4Ir) May 4, 2023

Video - How Fox News helped Donald Trump bungle the COVID pandemic response (and kill scores of Americans)

On Monday, I posted a video explaining how Donald Trump bungled COVID pandemic response and thus caused scores of Americans to lose their lives. Now I want to talk about those who aided him.

Trump is a moron who shouldn't be in charge of cleaning an outhouse, much less running our country. He was at best an immature child put in a position which he didn't have the acumen or maturity to hold. Sort of like a baby being put behind the wheel of a running car.

But his incompetence was helped by those should have known better. The folks at Fox News played cheerleader for Trump as he stumbled his way through the pandemic. When he tripped, they pretended not to notice. When he said something utterly stupid, they made it sound like he was a genius or let him prattle on without any correction. And when he did utterly stupid things, they reframed it. 

Worse yet, as one video below illustrates, Fox News pundits politicized the pandemic and sent out contradicting messages because they seemed to be more interested in helping Trump than helping the country.

What's worse than jackass whose incompetence caused death and injury to scores of people he swore to protect?  A cadre of folks helping him along even though they probably knew people were dying and would continue to die because of it.

 

 The video below shows how the network itself helped Trump spread COVID misinformation.

  

'Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly reduced to spewing Obama gay sex lies and other sad conspiracy theories' & other Thur midday news briefs

Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly’s Conspiracy Theories Show How Unhinged Right Wing Media Has Become​ - Become? Fox News covered their inanity up. We are now seeing it as it is. 

California judge halts district policy requiring parents be told if kids change pronouns - Queer children put in potential danger from violent parents is a reality. And folks need to talk about it. 

Oklahoma Department of Education announces partnership with right-wing propaganda group - Siiiigh! 

Prattville council rejects new library rules after Ivey questions LGBTQ books for kids - I made a reference to this in my last post. This is good news . . . for now.

Banning books, censoring school lessons resemble psychological crack addiction

“With your help, we can put a stop to the sexualization of children in the Autauga-Prattville Public Library . . . If the Mayor and City Council vote to fund the library without requiring the library to stop giving children access to inappropriate books, they are just as guilty of sexualizing children as the people who put the books on the shelves. . . .So please click here to contact Mayor Gillespie and the City Council and urge them to stop the library from sexualizing children! . . . The people pushing the sexualization of children are playing a long game. … Those who hate traditional American values are working tirelessly to subvert our culture by targeting children and will stop at nothing to accomplish their agenda — including exposing children to sexual content.” - an email from Clean Up Pratville, an Alabama group in the center of a controversy involving the local public library (via The Alabama Political Reporter).

 These insane attempts at book banning and censoring LGBTQ - inclusive curriculum taking place throughout the country under the guise of 'protecting the innocence of children' is a fraud.  How many of us have been confronted by these hysterical "child savers" online and in real life? How many times have we allowed ourselves to engage in a debate with them only to be called a "pedophile" or a "groomer" when we made points they couldn't refute?

Those who constantly claim that they are trying to stop the "sexualization of children" don't actually care about the kids. Okay, that's not fair. Maybe some of them actually do in the deeply twisted vestiges of their pathetic minds. But included with them are others cynically exploiting the fear of child predators for clout, money, and attention. 

And they all have one ugly thing in common. 

They've weaponized smearing people as pedophiles. Whenever faced with how reality contradicts their claims, they attempt to shut down the conversation by questioning the motives of those challenging them. God forbid that they are wrong even just a little bit. And admitting that they are wrong is tantamount to committing the original sin which got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

 To them, actually protecting children from predators is unimportant. To them, it's more satisfying to watch audiences shift uncomfortably as they, with fake shock, read the most salacious portions of books they (often times falsely) claim are present in school and public libraries and are being taught from in classrooms. To them, it's more satisfying to watch others tremble with anger and fear when they accuse them of some of the most sordid crimes against kids. And it only takes a few words for it to happen in the same manner that it only takes a few dollars for someone to get high on crack.

These folks claiming that they merely want to "protect the kids" resemble psychological crack addicts. They are addicted to the high which comes from their attempts to control what others read, teach, and especially fear.  

Meanwhile children are suffering from actual problems such as gun violence, illiteracy, hunger, etc - problems which come from living in a society full of idiots more concerned with them reading dirty words than actually being able to live free from violence and pain.

'Sen Marsha Blackburn suggests that bipartisan bill would be used to censor trans content online' & other Wed midday news briefs

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn

Senator appears to suggest bipartisan bill would censor transgender content online - This is a serious issue happening our noses. More folks need to pay attention. 

California Mom Blames Bullying for Gay Son’s Death​ - In all of the talking about 'parental rights,' isn't it convenient how the parents of LGBTQ kids are more often than not omitted.

Celebrating the LGBTQ+ celebs who got married in 2023! - Not bad. I love this because - again here I go - I grew up during a time when things like this simply wouldn't happen. Posting stuff like this reminds me of how far we have come as a community. At least so far. 

Meet the 16 out gay and bi football players in the NFL’s 104-year history - Love that history.