'Senator Franken tangles with Trump cabinet nominee over support of anti-lgbt groups' & other Wed. midday news briefs

Trump nominee Betsy DeVos

WATCH: Al Franken destroys Education appointee Betsy DeVos over her support for gay conversion therapy - Other than that "bear" comment, this was a serious highlight of yesterday's hearing with Trump's pick for secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. Al Franken is a serious boss! 

DeVos rejects anti-LGBT views, but bruised in bumpy hearing  - Another article on the situation.

 Lambda Legal: Price would endanger health of LGBTs, people living with HIV - Speaking of another one of Trump's cabinet nominees . . . 

 Donald Trump Meets with SCOTUS Candidate William Pryor who Supported Criminalizing Gay Sex - Will the "homosexuality is a dangerous, deadly lifestyle" talking point take center stage again? If it does, the situation is going to get ugly because I got enough material saved up to make it ugly. And I won't be holding A THING back.  

Hate group Family Research Council wants Special LGBT Envoy gone from State Department - My post from this morning deserves another look because I didn't post it right the first time.  

Gay teen at risk of deportation because Sweden doesn't believe he's gay - What the $#@!  

Transphobic Slurs And Death Wishes: How Right-Wing Media Responded To The Commutation Of Chelsea Manning’s Prison Sentence - Disgusting. Can't even present their arguments in an intelligent manner.

Hate group Family Research Council wants Special LGBT Envoy gone from State Department

FRC wants Randy Berry purged.

In its Washington Update yesterday, SPLC-designated hate group the Family Research Council made it more than clear that with Trump's incoming administration, it would like to see one state department official purged.

Why? Because he was appointed by Obama as Special LGBT Envoy.

Randy Berry has served less than two years at his job, but to hear the Family Research Council tell the story, he has been causing chaos:

The new administration is sending Obama's diplomats packing -- but some are not going too far. In the case of LGBT Envoy Randy Berry, the move may be a short one. Inside the State Department, rumors are swirling that Secretary John Kerry's pro-gay protégé just took a different job in the department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor division -- giving the radical agenda a permanent home in an agency that some claim has nothing to do with social issues.

"I plan to come to work the day after the inauguration," Berry told the Blade a year ago. "I serve the U.S. government. I serve the American people." Unfortunately for voters anxious to return to real diplomacy, he may be close to making good on that promise. Berry, who spent more than a year and a half on a worldwide "tolerance" tour, has been very clear about his intentions from Day One. Special rights for people who identify as gay or transgender "creates a more durable, healthier nation," he's insisted. He took that message on the road through most of 2015 and 2016, leaning on other countries in an effort to force them to open their doors to extreme policies at the expense -- not just of the host nation's values, but of international religious liberty.

How Trump could destroy Obama's LGBT Progress (IF we let him)

My online friend, Matt Baume details how Trump could harm the progress the lgbt community has made under Obama. I added the caveat "if we let them" to remind everyone that nothing is ever hopeless and to gear up. We fought hard for what we have and we are not about to let any of it go. Not without a big nasty, knockdown, dragged out fight.

'A quick observation on Franklin Graham, the transgender community, & the ACA repeal' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Just an observation about Franklin Graham, the repeal of Obamacare (which could leave 18 million people uninsured,) and the transgender community. Feel free to retweet it:

What a pity that no one can blame the transgender community for it. Then @Franklin_Graham would be sure to comment on this travesty. https://t.co/wtMV38xVfo

— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) January 17, 2017

In other news:

Religious freedom: It’s a core American principle, and it doesn’t mean what right-wingers want it to mean - I am sure we will be debating this heavily this year. Folks need to get prepared to give an aggressive AND intelligent push back.  

Women’s March to include LGBT presence - You'd better believe it! 

 Trump demands officials justify ‘massive’ spending on federal AIDS programme - Very definition of the phrase, "this #@!# just got real." 

 Conservatives try to convince the Supreme Court to embrace transphobia - This came from four days ago, but it's a wonderful breakdown of the anti-transgender argument conservatives are pushing to SCOTUS in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G 

 Mat Staver: Right Wing Watch ‘Is Just A Bunch Of Fake News’ - Like anyone actually has to make up any news about hate group leader Mat Staver.

Hate group still hating on Obama

As President Obama leaves office and the Orange Encrusted Overlord prepares to attempt to take his place, the thing which aggravates me probably the most is what people are missing about Obama's time in office.

Obama has said that at times he failed to translate his personal popularity to support for his policies and no doubt, this probably be what a portion of his legacy may be. And it's a fallacy.

No president, as far as I know, had networks, think tanks, and "news sources" constantly undermining him 24 hours a day as Obama did. No president had opposition who constantly pushed lies about his background, his motivations, and the successes of his policies as Obama did.

Case in point is this nonsense below. Even though he is leaving office, the anti-lgbt hate group the American Family Association, through its phony news service One News Now, can't resist taking at least one more dig at Obama via a false poll:

America is substantially better in all of these areas as Obama leaves office, but One News Now will spin it in the opposite direction. And of course its "Christian" readers will respond like sheep. As of 7:51 a.m. PST, the results are:

Some have claimed that Obama always had a problem with white evangelicals. When any group, be they white evangelicals or anyone else, are constantly relying on a news sources which gives consistently them negative headlines and articles about Obama, what does one expect him to have BUT problems.

Ironically, One News Now is also running articles implying that we need to "come together" under President Trump.

Keep dreaming. It ain't gonna happen.

'Some homophobia & transphobia simply cannot be ignored' & other Fri. midday news briefs

This is Theodore Shoebat, an incredibly insane Christian militant who was fairly popular in religious right circles, even appearing in an anti-lgbt documentary created by Janet Folger in 2015 and starting some nonsense about gay bakeries refusing to cater to homophobes in 2014. The video above is an example of why those folks are now wary to associate with him. In December, he verbally attacked the editors of National Geographic for putting a transgender child on the cover and also verbally attacked the child. He isn't joking. He means everything he says and it is the reason why sometimes we can't ignore homophobia or transphobia. Someone is always listening. 

156 LGBT Elected Officials Call On President-elect to Advance LGBT Equality During His Presidency - Noble endeavor. 

 Pompeo tells Kamala Harris he won’t discriminate against LGBT workers at the CIA - Senator Kamala Harris grills Trump's pick to run the CIA, Mike Pompeo, on lgbt rights in the organization. Conservative magazines and online news sources aren't happy. To hell with them and good for her!

LGBT groups 'heartened' by Mattis' testimony - Looks like at least one pick in Trump's cabinet has good sense. 

Trump Nominee Won’t Disavow Claim That Women, LGBTQ Soldiers Harm Military - But then again, there is is an alternate view of the situation. 

 Making Elder Homes More LGBT-Friendly - An important article.

Family Research Council ignores 'Christian' values in rejoicing over possible Obamacare repeal

Family Research Council happy about possible Obamacare repeal.

Even though this blog focuses specifically on lgbt issues, there are times I have to comment on other issues. And regarding the issue of the GOP attempting to repeal Obamacare, I must say that I am amazed and disturbed about the spin the Family Research Council is attempting to put over on its supporters:
 

President Obama has been unwilling -- and soon, unable -- to undo his policy blunders like Obamacare, but Congress is giving his successor a chance to try. In the wee hours of this morning, the Senate took the first step of a journey that Republicans have been on for the last seven years: the repeal of Obamacare and the defunding of Planned Parenthood. For all of the question marks heading into last night's marathon session, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delivered on his biggest promise -- to pass a budget resolution that would clear the decks for rolling back Obama's worst atrocities.

By the slimmest of margins, 51-48, he held together his coalition -- which was no small feat after the threats of at least five moderate Republicans earlier in the week. By 1:36 a.m., when members finally walked bleary-eyed to their cars, 180 amendments had been filed (and 20 voted on) in the unique budget free-for-all -- which, for all the frenzy, isn't even legally binding. As it has for years, the Senate uses this crazy process to map out a budget blueprint. The benefit is that, unlike other legislative business, leaders can offer an unlimited number of amendments without worrying about filibusters. That usually means senators will take the opportunity to make a political point -- or try to get their colleagues on the record on an issue that they can use to their advantage in campaign ads later on. "Unlike normal legislation, which can be debated for weeks on end, this law limits the total debate time for a budget resolution to 50 hours... This is quite different from the process on a normal bill," former Senate staffer Keith Hennessey once explained, "where you can offer an amendment but not be assured of a quick vote."

By the end, the Senate will typically have crammed in a third of their votes for the year into this one chaotic night. While our government affairs team worked late tracking amendments, there were a few surprises. As usual, the president's party tried to throw a few wrenches into the process, including Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-N.Y.) "women's health" amendment, which would have stopped the GOP from making any changes to Obamacare that affect the contraception mandate or taxpayer-funded abortion. Fortunately, the Senate deadlocked, killing it by a tie vote (49-49).

Although no one is settled on an official replacement plan for Obamacare, the hows and whens took a backseat to getting this crucial vote out of the way. Knowing that America is also on the path to hollowing out federal tax funding of Planned Parenthood should taste sweet to the millions of voters who streamed into polling places to protect the unborn. The bottom line is the bottom line: Planned Parenthood doesn't need taxpayer dollars. All the government's contributions do is enable Cecile Richards's group to spend more money on politics and candidates who support their radical agenda. This forced partnership must end. And thanks to Senator Mitch McConnell's leadership, it's well on its way.

Granted, I despise the Family Research Council because the group was founded to undermine lgbt equality via lies and junk science under the guise of religion. But I am also incredibly disturbed how unbelievably tone deaf the group is about the dangers of  an Obamacare repeal.