Trump Administration expected to remove healthcare protections from women, transgender community

Trump Administration about to negatively affect healthcare for transgender community and women

In the past, the religious right has cloaked its attacks against the transgender community as an issue of safety in women's bathrooms and locker rooms. However, a possible move by the Trump Administration could put into perspective how women and transgender individuals in general are in danger of losing decent health care:

According to NewNextNow:

The anti-discrimination policies set up by Obamacare designed to protect transgender patients are now in danger of being rescinded, according to The Hill. The Department of Health and Human Services has reportedly crafted a proposed rule that would allow doctors to legally refuse treating trans patients or women who have had abortions, two groups who were protected under the Affordable Care Act. A Christian group previously sued to rescind those protections by claiming they were against its members’ religious beliefs. The group won the case and a Texas judge then blocked the provisions from going into effect. The Department of Justice never appealed the ruling after Jeff Sessions was appointed as the Attorney General of the Trump administration earlier this year, and now the provisions are at risk of being removed entirely.

The Hill provided background on this issue:

A sweeping 2016 final rule from the Obama administration prohibited healthcare providers and insurers who receive federal money from denying treatment or coverage to anyone based on sex, gender identity, or termination of pregnancy, among other conditions. It also required doctors and hospitals to provide “medically necessary” services to transgender individuals, as long as those services were the same ones provided to others. That rule was challenged in court by a group of Christian providers called the Franciscan Alliance. 

They argue the rule forces insurers to pay for abortions and compels doctors to perform gender transition services, even if the services are against their medical judgment. The Alliance won that case, and a Texas district court judge issued a nationwide injunction blocking the gender identity and pregnancy termination provisions from taking effect. Trump’s HHS decided not to appeal the ruling. On Aug. 4, the Department of Justice, which is representing HHS in the lawsuit, said it was reviewing a draft proposed rule that had already cleared HHS. It’s unclear when DOJ will complete the review. Once DOJ finishes, the final step before the rule’s release is a review by the Office of Management and Budget. Buchert said she was surprised at how quickly HHS drafted the new proposal. “I expected them to take more time in deliberating, in the same way the original rule was crafted, rather than crafting something internally and sending it over to DOJ,” she said.

According to both sources, the ACLU has been prepared for the new rule and will fight it. NewNextNow, however, added an interesting coda:

The guidance won’t go public until the DOJ reviews it and sends it to the Office of Management and Budget, so it remains unclear if the changes will affect gay, lesbian and bisexual patients, as well.

Hat tip to AKSARBENT

Fox News deserves some of the blame for Charlottesville tragedy

I generally try to keep my blog focused on matters of religious right propaganda and how they are used to dehumanize the LGBTQ community. But the situation in Charlottesville is something I can't stay away from.  When tragedies like this happen, I don't like to include my voice in an already noisy din of talking and words unless I have something to say which would add to the discussion.

And in this case, I do. I have a few words and a short video to show.

Fox News deserves some of the blame for the violence.  In the eight years of the Obama Administration, personalities operating under the guise of "fair and balanced" stroked racist lies and tensions about our first black president. From lies about his birth certificate, slyly claiming that his Administration turns an eye to black people committing federal crimes, to lying that he is "apologizing for America," claiming that he hates America, to even calling out the condiments he puts on a sandwich, Fox News cultivated a scenario which sent a message to White America that their country was supposedly being taken away from them.

And it just wasn't with Obama.  In so many other ways, Fox News gave aid and comfort to bigoted stereotypes and hid behind "free speech" and "fighting political correctness" when called to the carpet about it.

Fires, both figurative and literal, are never started by themselves. Someone is always there exploiting and instigating. And, in the case of Fox News, playing innocent when the fire burns out of control.  Don't let them get away with it. I implore you.

'GOP Senate candidate praises Putin for persecuting LGBTQ community' & other Fri midday news briefs

Roy Moore

Republican senate candidate says ‘Maybe Putin is right’ on gays - Roy Moore is so homophobic that he could probably cause the late anti-gay Congressman Jesse Helms to become an ally. And he does NOT like the LGBTQ community so much that he praises Russian president Vladimir Putin on his persecution of the Russian LGBTQ community. Instead of making jokes about Alabama - Moore's state - perhaps we would best served to prepare ourselves for what may happen if Moore does become a United States senator. He will cause havoc. That's not a possibility. It's an actuality.

More information on Roy Moore - Click on this reflection of Moore's career of anti-LGBTQ bigotry at your own risk of getting your blood pressure up. 

'White queers are really good at erasing us': the lives of LGBTQ Somali-Americans - External enemies of equality are bad enough, but the internal enemies are the ones who can cut you deeper than any religious right group. There is NO reason why this should be happening. 

Trump's New Navy Secretary Opposes Trump's Transgender Ban: 'Any Patriot' Should Be Allowed to Serve - Damn right!

New book concocts a religious excuse to demonize trans people - I know this well. Write a book with a lot of footnotes which demonizes the LGBTQ community. The opposition has shifted its target to our trans brothers and sisters, but the tactics of lies remain the same. 

Lambda Legal Sues Houston to Defend Obergefell - Handle the business . . .

Flashback - The unchanging semantics of anti-LGBTQ propaganda and lies

In my last post, I made reference to how for decades the religious right have demonized the LGBTQ community via junk science, cherry-picked legitimate science, and outright lies. From the archives of this blog, I want to spotlight a 2009 post which looked at an example of what I was talking about.

When Something Guaranteed to Piss You Off  parts 1 and 2 was posted, it had quite an effect on readers. Now,with Trump and office and the religious right gaining more influence, I am hoping that people will look at this again and recognize how the rhetoric used against the queer community, while not as openly vile as it was in the past, has not changed in semantics, connotations, and especially distortions:

I ran into something a while back that I have been itching to show on this site.

This 1986 comic was created by a man named Dick Hafer and it is a vile representation of some of the most evil anti-gay lies out there.

This is for the many young folks who don't remember what it was like in the 1980s when the AIDS crisis was in full bloom, ignorance was all around and Paul Cameron was a credible name.

It is a representation of how far we have come and how far we have to go. You will recognize how some of the same arguments are still being used, although not as explicitly. Check out the comic's list of supporters shown on the last graphic.

You can click on the pictures to get a better view of the pages - more are at the bottom (even though I don't think it's work safe). And if you want to see the entire comic (God help you) go here.


Editor's note - The webpage featuring this comic is not anti-gay. It's a site that looks at "problem-based comics" from the past.

'Anti-LGBTQ groups see influence rising in Trump Administration' & other Thur midday news briefs

With Trump in power, anti-LGBTQ groups & spokespeople (like Tony Perkins -  right) are gaining influence. Good.

Anti-LGBT groups on rise again with Trump in White House - According to Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, anti-LGBTQ groups - hate groups and otherwise - are seeing a resurgence of power because of the Trump Administration. After eight years of being on the back end because of the Obama Administration, these folks are suddenly enjoying a new round of influence. Let me put it this way - if this scares you, then go home. Personally, I feel that it was a matter of time before something like this would happen and I've been kinda pining for it. With influence comes a larger and brighter spotlight and with that comes many opportunities for us to twist the narrative and make them explain their tactics instead of us having to explain our existence, for a change. This is less of a calamity than an opportunity to educate the country on the 30+ years groups like the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, etc deliberately created a body of homophobic talking points based on junk science, cherry-picked legitimate science and outright lies to rob the queer community of our God-given rights to equality and self-determination. And you know, I've been waiting for a moment like this for quite a while.

Minnesota school agrees to respect trans identities after a community forced a family out - It's awful that this incident took place, but the results is favorable to our trans youth. 

Dallas Stars hockey team becomes first franchise to publicly oppose Texas 'bathroom bill' - Meanwhile, the war in Texas goes on and this is big news. 

  Meet the legendary queer comedian ‘Moms’ Mabley - A little history on the intersection of the African-American and the LGBTQ community never hurts.

  Reading the Right Wing: Trans Acceptance Will Lead to Robot Army - Lord, help this fool named Alex Jones and everyone else mentioned in this article.


Photo courtesy of Media Matters

Hate group affiliate angry at Disney show for featuring same-sex family

Disney's 'Doc McStuffins' under fire for showing same-sex parents.

A ridiculously named affiliate of the anti-LGBTQ hate group American Family Association is furious at Disney for (shock and shudder) daring to acknowledge the existence of same-sex families.

From The Huffington Post:

In a post on its official website, One Million Moms officials blasted Disney for “pushing an agenda” by featuring the two-mom family on “Doc McStuffins,” which airs weekly on both The Disney Channel and Disney Junior.

“Controversial topics and lifestyle choices should be left up to the parents to discuss and Disney Junior should not introduce this to young children,” they wrote. “Just because an issue may be legal or because some are choosing a lifestyle doesn’t make it morally correct.”

Included in the post is an excerpt of a 2012 AfterEllen interview with “Doc McStuffins” creator and executive producer Chris Nee, who is a lesbian. Nee acknowledged she would “definitely” instill messages about acceptance in the show.

'Peter Thiel, your LGBTQ brothers and sisters haven't forgotten your support of Trump' & other Wed midday news briefs

Peter Thiel, how do you feel about your 'pro-gay' buddy Trump now?

How Peter Thiel Sold Out LGBTQ People For The Spotlight - Remember that gay billionaire who supported Trump's presidential bid. I do. It was him vs. the religious right for the ability to shape Trump's agenda. Guess who lost? Now is NOT the time for us to take the high road. It only sets us up for future disappointments.

FLASHBACK: Peter Thiel's obliviousness creates historic nonsense - I said this over a year ago.

Focus On The Family Political Arm Seeks Money To Fight ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy Bans - By the way, that's YOUR money they want. 

Transgender third-grader files groundbreaking lawsuit against school - Wonderful! I applaud every LGBTQ youth fighting for his/her rights. 

 Christian Parents of LGBTQ Children: The Church Has Been Wrong - John Pavlovitz has a message of encouragement for parents of LGBTQ children.