Beware The Lesbian!!

The scariest thing about this Buzzfeed parody is that there was a time which such claims were taken serious. And to a degree they still are. The religious right merely shifts them to another lgbt group:

'Ted Cruz, anti-gay lies, & the 'sweater from hell'' & other Monday midday news briefs

I wish this was a joke, but it's not

Ted Cruz's 'Transgendered Leftist' Claim About Planned Parenthood Shooter Emerged From Far-Right Web - Aside from ruining everyone's Christmas with an UGLY sweater, Cruz has topped all of the news cycles with this mess about the Planned Parenthood shooter being transgender. Some of his defenders said he only uttered this to make a point about jumping to conclusions when it comes to violent acts. Funny how that only makes it worse because of the conclusions he jumped to with regards to the Syrian refugees after the violence in Paris.

 Kids At This School Will No Longer Be Allowed To Read A Book About Trans People - The part about this situation which should spook us all is that the principal offered an "opt-out" for students if they didn't want to read this book. The Liberty Counsel threatened to sue to keep all students from being assigned the book.  

Holiday Homophobia Hurts - It's important to remember that the law can't change everything. As lgbts fight for equality, we do need to combat these things which fall between of legal rights.

 Houston mayor says nothing could have averted HERO loss - And she is right because HERO opponents reached way back into an old but effective playbook which we don't seem to think of combating until things like referendums arise. Then we tend to sink.

What the anti-gay right hides about religious liberty

Let's start this Monday off with a lesson in simplicity. Sometimes we allow our issues to get so complicated that the most important points become missing throughout the tangent mess.

For example, let's take the argument of "religious liberty."  When the religious right says:

"It's time to stand up and exercise that freedom, whether it's in the workplace, whether it's in school, whether it's in the public square as a public official or in our homes, in our churches. Everywhere there is air, there must be religious freedom, and we must exercise it." - Tony Perkins, Family Research Council

“There is a war on religious liberty! And this war is not targeting people of the Muslim faith or the Jewish faith or the Hindu faith. This war on religious liberty is targeting people of the Christian faith. . . The time has come for all of us to stand together with one voice!” Starnes insisted. “They may demand to know the content of our prayers, they may try to shut down our bakeries, they may try to silence our voices, but we will not be silenced! We will not be intimidated!” - Todd Starnes, Fox News personality

Homofascists trample religious liberty, freedom of association, shred what's left of Constitution. - Bryan Fischer, American Family Association

They ultimately mean this:

It's really quite simple.

'Marco Rubio wants to take away gays' right to marry' & other Wed midday news briefs

Marco Rubio

Rubio says same-sex marriage ‘not settled law’ - Uh you wanna bet! It is settled law and we are not giving up what we EARNED. Looks like Rubio is polishing up his "why are you calling me a bigot simply because I believe differently than you" talking points. 

Marco Rubio: 'Ignore' Gay Marriage Decision Because 'God's Rules Always Win' - More on Rubio's nonsense. 

 Read this gay man’s emotional letter to the parents who refused to attend his wedding - SAD situation. Wouldn't happen in my family. Mother dearest will be attending my wedding (specifically if my groom is a doctor or lawyer) and the rest of my family would come if for nothing more than the sake of curiosity. 

 ‘The Danish Girl’ Takes The Transgender Story Off Of E! And Into Oscar Consideration - Speaking of  Oscar season, I have a feeling that this is only one of a few lgbt-oriented pictures going for the big prize. This may turn some people off, but I say go for it!

  The 8 Things You Should Never Say To Your Gay Friends - In my case, add "unless you want to get cut." 

 Liberty Counsel: 'Oppression Of America's Churches' Reminiscent Of Nazi Germany - Soon, anti-gay activists like Mat Staver is going to bring up Nazi Germany so many times, their supporters are going to become desensitized to it.

Anti-gay right, conservatives falsely imply Obama is starting 'War on Christmas'

Obama is NOT declaring a 'War on Christmas.'

Thanksgiving isn't even here yet and some conservatives on the anti-gay right are already pushing the  "War on Christmas."

For the luckily uninitiated, the "War on Christmas" is a yearly event in which conservatives, Fox News, and anti-gay groups either outright lie or blow small incidents way out of proportion to claim that there is some type of  "conspiracy" to somehow strip the holiday of its supposed Christian  heritage.

In other words, it is merely a fear tactic used to generate big ratings or fundraising profits. And it must be working because America has been exposed to it for so long that many of us are now desensitized to how Christmas is exploited by this awful nonsense.

American Family Association's phony new service, One News Now, has already begun ringing the alarm:

"Those who deny that there's no war on Christmas just have a different reality in which they live," says Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver. The Christian attorney points to one recent example: the Veterans Affairs medical center in Salem, Virginia, which banned Christmas altogether – including the Christmas tree. "This year we've seen a number of attacks on Christmas – [one of them being] the absurd situation that Christmas trees are not permitted," he says, referring to the Salem situation. "That is probably one of the most absurd positions of any government official: that a Christmas tree cannot be permitted because it's Christian and establishes a religion – and yet that's exactly what was happening at Salem, Virginia." 

Remember how I said incidents are blown out of proportion?

'Will media ignore Ted Cruz's newest anti-gay alliance?' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz Welcomes Endorsement From Pastor Who Linked Ebola To Gay Rights - After a lot of folks in the media, particularly our lovely overpaid pundits, pretty much ignored Cruz's alliance with a pastor who talked about the death penalty for gays, I'm not hopeful that this will be an "item." 

N.Y. farm appeals $13,000 fine for refusing lesbian couple's wedding - This is NOT a church nor a religious institution. It is a business and those who talk about how businesses should be allowed to discriminate should take in a history lesson on segregation.  

With Millions On HIV Treatment, AIDS Pandemic Tide Turns - BUT slowly...

The Upcoming Film About Black Trans Activist Marsha P. Johnson Looks Absolutely Legendary - THANK YOU! We need more films like this.

'It Gets Better' Launches Inspiring New Project To Celebrate 5th Birthday - Wonderful campaign we all can take part in.

Online publication Vox exposes the Liberty Counsel as an anti-gay hate group.

Staver

If Mat Staver and the Liberty Counsel raised "holy hell" with the Associated Press for merely pointing out that the organization is considered by some to be a hate group, I imagine that they are going to be extremely angry at the online magazine, Vox.

In a recent issue, Vox shined a bright spotlight on the Liberty Counsel, publishing a piece which should serve as a lesson on how to create a proper article.

German Lopez's article, Meet the little-known religious group that turned Kim Davis into a right-wing superstar, is detailed, thoroughly researched, and downright brutal. An excerpt is as follow:

The group presents itself as a reasonable arbiter of religious liberties in these fights, citing discredited scientific research and supposed experts. But a theme runs through all of these battles: Stop LGBTQ rights — even basic ones, like legally allowing consensual same-sex relationships — at any cost.

Here are just a few examples of Staver and Liberty Counsel's past work and comments, largely gathered from Right Wing Watch's archives:

• In 2003, Liberty Counsel submitted a brief to the Supreme Court arguing that the court should not strike down states' anti-sodomy laws, which banned gay sex. The brief stated, "Statistical evidence concerning the medical and social harms resulting from 'private, consensual' same-sex sexual conduct, together with recent legislative and judicial battles, underscore the long-term, devastating consequences of a decision declaring a fundamental right to engage in private consensual same-sex sodomy.

• In 2004, Staver argued in Same-Sex Marriage: Putting Every Household at Risk, "Homosexuality is a destructive lifestyle both physically and emotionally. Same-sex marriage cannot be viewed in isolation from homosexual activity and its consequences on those who engage in such practices, and especially on children raised in such an environment." He was citing the now-discredited work of psychologist Paul Cameron.

  . . .  Mark Potok, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, told me that the long history of anti-LGBTQ activism and incendiary comments is what led his organization to classify Liberty Counsel as a hate group. "We do not list groups on the basis of opposition to same-sex marriage or the belief that homosexuality is a sin," Potok said. "We base it on the propagation of known falsehoods and, to a lesser extent, repetitive name-calling."

Staver denies that Liberty Counsel is a hate group, saying his comments have been taken out of context and noting that his group strictly advocates for nonviolent protest. But looking at the collection of all these statements, an obvious pattern emerges — one that is clearly demeaning to LGBTQ people.

But as offensive as these comments are, they're not even the most bizarre aspect of Liberty Counsel's recent anti-LGBTQ work. In the past month, Staver and the group have also been caught repeatedly lying — in what seem to be two failed attempts to appear as if the group and its anti-LGBTQ crusades are still a major, well-supported force in the world.