'Ted Cruz reinvents the depths of sleaze with new anti-trans ad' & other Fri. midday news briefs

WATCH: Ted Cruz Releases New Transphobic Ad Calling Trump The 'PC Police' - I'm going to make this as simple as I can - And with his latest ad which severely demonizes the transgender community, Ted Cruz continues to demonstrates himself to be manipulative, blood-sucking demagogue who doesn't care what lie he tells or who he hurts in pursuit of his goals. Frankly, the nation would be in more danger with him in the White House than a little girl would be in a public restroom with transgender woman.

A little reminder about Cruz's lie:

15 Experts Debunk Right-Wing Transgender Bathroom Myth

National Expert: Anti-LGBT "Bathroom Predator" Fears Are "Very Misinformed"

Watch A Transgender Activist Debunk The "Bathroom Predator" Myth On CNN

BTW, have you noticed how Ted Cruz was practically itching to drag the transgender community in his race for president. Remember this from November of last year: Ted Cruz Describes Alleged Planned Parenthood Shooter As ‘Transgendered Leftist Activist’

 It Takes A Village To Bully A Transgender Kindergartner - But THIS is what all of that scapegoating leads to.

These Two Moms Share Their Secret To A House Full Of Kids, Love And Happiness - For something more positive . . .

Curt Schilling's firing exposes right-wing & evangelical Christian hypocrisy

I once said that I would not put the following pic on my blog. I apologize for breaking that vow but a point needs to be made.

The above disgusting pic, along with a vicious anti-transgender rant is the main reason why ESPN fired sportscaster Curt Schilling. As you can see, it's an ugly, paranoid, and very inaccurate take in support of these various "bathroom bills" some state legislators have been attempting to pass.

Of course the figure above is not reflective of a transgender woman. It is the manifestation of anti-transgender hysteria of what a transgender woman would be. It is no more real than the characterizations of African-Americans or Jewish people seen below:

But you can't tell that to conservatives and members of the evangelical right, such as Ted Cruz, Todd Starnes, Sean Hannity, etc. To them, the victim of the entire incident is not the transgender community, who have to deal with yet another person putting their mental and physical health in danger and accusing them of being predators.

Trump opposes HB2, Cruz channels Anita Bryant & other Thur. midday news briefs

Cruz goes into Anita Bryant mode.

Donald Trump criticizes NC leaders over HB2 - I still don't trust him. 

Ted Cruz Bravely Speaks Out Against "Putting Little Girls Alone in a Bathroom With Grown Men" - Meanwhile, Cruz shows his true colors with the deliberate shift to the lie of transgender folk harming children. 

Religious homophobia by the decades - a visual exercise - Now would be a perfect time to spotlight this older post of mine. It gives a visual breakdown of what Cruz is doing.

 National Expert: Anti-LGBT "Bathroom Predator" Fears Are "Very Misinformed" - Well duuuuh. But it's still good to repeatedly hear.

  Right-Wing Media Rush To Defend Curt Schilling And Attack ESPN Following Firing For Anti-Trans Facebook Post - The right wing "media" - the same folks who would probably defend lynching postcards (yeah, I said it).

Calls to the Trans Crisis Hotline Have Nearly Doubled Since North Carolina Passed HB2 - A result of HB2? What do you think. 

NC Lt. Gov. Complains Of 'Amazing Smear Campaign...Based On A Bunch Of Lies' - Keep digging that hole.

SC businesses speak out against anti-transgender bill, sponsor still trying to force it through legislature

So many folks don't want Bright's bill to become law, but he doesn't care.

You can now officially mark various South Carolina businesses in the column with Gov. Haley, the lgbt community, Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, the mayors from Greenwood, Florence, and Columbia, and US attorney Bill Nettles,  and various others opposing State Sen. Lee Bright's anti-transgender "bathroom bill."

According to the Wednesday edition of  The State newspaper:

A dozen S.C. business groups sent a letter Tuesday to the General Assembly asking legislators to halt consideration of a controversial Senate bill that would ban transgender men and women from using the bathrooms of their choice.

“The Palmetto State has built a reputation as a welcoming place for world-class companies to call home. People are taking notice of South Carolina for all the right reasons,” said the letter signed by “The South Carolina Business Community.” If the bill moves forward, “make no mistake that it will have direct impact on South Carolina jobs and job prospects.”

North Carolina has been hit with boycotts by businesses and musical acts since passing a similar law last month.

 The groups signing Tuesday’s letter included statewide organizations — the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, S.C. Manufacturers Alliance, S.C. Economic Developers Association and S.C. Hospital Association — as well as chambers of commerce in Charleston, Clemson, Columbia, Greenville, Greenwood, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg.

Unfortunately, Sen. Bright, the bill's sponsor, seems to be deliberately oblivious to this letter as he was to the emotional testimony (particularly from transgender youth) against the bill  in committee last week or Gov. Haley's disapproval of the bill.

'SC legislator attempting to sneak anti-transgender bill out of committee' & other Wed. midday news briefs

SC Sen. Lee Bright is trying to salvage his transphobic bill

From SC Equality comes the news that SC Senator Lee Bright is attempting to sneak his unpopular anti-transgender bill through via secret vote:

Now, according to The Greenville News, Senator Bright is going to attempt to "poll" the bill out of Committee by having the Chairman issue a secret poll vote that is not done in public. That the Committee would hold two days of public testimony, inflaming thousands across our state, moving people to tears and shocking our nation and then not even vote on the bill publicly is nothing short of unconscionable.

Seems to me that if the bill is "needed" as Bright has claimed, he wouldn't be attempting to provide cover for legislators to secretly vote for it.  What can South Carolinians and others concerned do about it? Go here and SC Equality will direct you to what you need to do.

In other news:

As a trans man in North Carolina, I always felt safe. Until this new law passed. - This stunning piece by a North Carolina transgender man on how HB2 will alter his life is stirring.

Federal Court Tells Lawmakers To Shut Up And Deal With Trans People In Bathrooms - Just in case you didn't hear, the courts have come again to push sanity in the argument of lgbt equality by standing by a trans student.

Despite Marriage Victory, Fear of Backlash Looms Large for LGBTQ Americans - Well duh. Progress scares some folks. Every movement for equality has had to endure a backlash.  And all of this "bathroom bill/religious liberty" madness is a direct result of our marriage equality victory. The main thing is to not sit there and let it happen. Fight, dammit!

AFA's Rob Chambers Blames Criticism of Anti-LGBT Laws On Satan - Aw hell, isn't that their excuse for everything?

Desperate conservatives embrace ridiculous anti-transgender video

I told myself I wouldn't post on this, but it has to be seen to be believed.

This guy on youtube, who is supposed to be popular but I've never heard of him, named Joey Salads created a video experiment which he claims demonstrates that transgender women using the ladies restroom is not a good idea because women are uncomfortable around them.

From what I understand, some conservatives are giving him many props for the above video. When I look at it, I have to ask why.

I don't think it's real. I apologize to those whom this may offend but it has to been seen. It's the most ridiculous video I have seen in a long time (even more than the suburban white mother putting out an anti-transgender rap video) and most of all, it emphasizes the ignorance and fear people have about the transgender community.

There are not enough words in the dictionary to describe how absolutely insane this video is and the mindset of anyone who believes it to be accurate.

Pat Boone upset over SNL parody of 'anti-Christian persecution' movie

According to Mediaite, Christian singer and actor Pat Boone is absolutely furious over the Saturday Night Live sketch which aired last week.

The sketch made fun of the idea that Christians are being "persecuted" in America and "religious liberty" laws via a parody of the now playing movie God's Not Dead 2:

 Boone talked to The Hollywood Reporter about it, and he was not amused by the supposedly anti-Christian satire.

“Something can be devilishly funny, but this skit is diabolical. God has only one real enemy — Satan. Satan ridicules faith, and they’re taking Satan’s side.

Boone went on to say that God has a sense of humor and that he used to enjoy SNL in the past, but the show’s new parody and recent “filthy” programming have crossed the line for him. He also called anti-semitism on the show for having a Jewish lawyer represent the gay couple as they try to stuff the gay agenda down the baker’s throat.

“This skit was outright sacrilege. They know if they did this to Muslims they’d have to be put into the witness protection program,” Boone said. “There’s nothing sacred at SNL, except maybe the words ‘Mohammad’ or ‘Allah.’ They’d never take those names in vain, but when they called God a ‘boob man,’ they took his name in vain.”

Of course in his eagerness to play the "they wouldn't dare do that to Muslims" card, Boone failed to note that, unlike Muslims in this country, evangelicals like himself are bringing mockery on themselves by their ridiculous persecution complexes fueled by what seems to an inaccurate idea of entitlement, i.e. this country is their birthright and the rest of us who don't believe as they do are only here because of their will and pleasure.

Boone and company are the ones making asses of themselves. SNL is merely pointing out that fact.