Family Research Council tries to paint Pompeo's apocalyptic view as mainstream Christianity

Trump's Secretary of State pick Mike Pompeo has an apocalyptic religious view of Christianity.

There have been genuine concerns asked about Mike Pompeo, the man Trump picked to be his newest Secretary of State. A lot of these concerns have focused on his long history of opposing LGBTQ equality.  But now an online article at Vox has raised questions about how his evangelical faith could complicate the duties of Secretary of State, should Pompeo be confirmed.

Apparently, the article has caused such a stir that the  Family Research Council has attacked Vox. The group seeks make Pompeo sound more palpable, even at the expense of distorting the article.

FRC:

President Trump's cabinet (like America's population) has a high percentage of Christians, so it shouldn't come as a surprise when he nominates another. Tell that to the liberals at Vox, who are quite beside themselves to learn that Mike Pompeo, Trump's pick for Secretary of State, is not only a Christian -- but actually thinks like one!

"That Pompeo is an evangelical Christian is, on its face, not particularly notable; 25 percent of Americans are," Tara Isabella Burton writes. "But Pompeo's specific brand of evangelical Christianity, with its insistence on seeing Muslim-Christian relations as an apocalyptic holy war, makes him an unnerving choice for such a senior foreign policy position." Then, as if it were breaking news, she informs readers that Pompeo has told people, "Jesus Christ ... is the only solution for our world."

'Will & Grace' sacrificing accuracy for comedy in wedding cake discrimination episode' & other Tue midday news briefs

'Will & Grace' about to make a serious error in the 'who' and 'what' of  anti-gay discrimination.

‘Will & Grace’ episode reinforces anti-gay talking points on wedding cake discrimination - Great. And I say that sarcastically. I get that people don't want to be preached to when it comes to television shows, but accuracy shouldn't be sacrificed for comedy. And it sounds like 'Will and Grace' is about to lay a big bomb here. It's the negative side of having LGBTQ images in the media. What do you do when they get things confused? There is no excuse for this show to conflate refusing to bake a cake for a gay couple with refusing to put a certain message on a cake. It's not the same and the courts have said so thus far.

New Middle-Grade Book Features Girl with Two Moms, Marriage Equality Win - Wonderful! We need more books like this. 

Christian College President Compares LGBT Students to Members of ISIS - What a charming person. 

Queens Are Questioning RuPaul’s Grip On Drag Culture After His Controversial Trans Comments - Ru, you should've known better. You know what a stickler some folks in our community are about protocol.

Dear anti-gay evangelicals, you're fake, you're phony, and you're not fooling anyone

The man who sent this tweet is claiming that Christians like him are being unfairly attacked by the LGBTQ community

In the age of Trump, the audacity of the anti-LGBTQ evangelical right to get their agenda through has been off the charts. And with that audacity comes an obliviousness which is sad. The way they have been carrying on, one gets the impression that they are drunk with power. They seem to think that the gravy train of influence they are partaking of via Trump won't end or somehow they will be shielded from being called out for their hypocrisy, even when he leaves office.

Today, the American Family Association's fake new source, One News Now, issued a warning to parents implying that a new movie seeks to indoctrinate their children into homosexuality:

Christian parents are being advised to be ready for a conversation with their children about a movie that opened this weekend that could have them talking. Love, Simon (PG-13) is billed as a trendy romance – but in fact it's the first "gay" romantic movie with a full-throated Hollywood marketing campaign. This movie was not made for LGBT audiences; instead, it's a subtle message movie for the straight world:  

 From the movie trailer: "My name's Simon. For the most part, my life is totally normal. I have a family that I actually like, and there's my friends. So I'm just like you, except that I have one huge secret: nobody knows I'm gay."  

 The story line focuses on how Simon "comes out," or announces to the world that he's gay. The characters are relatable, sympathetic, and loveable. The producers are hopeful audiences will yearn for Simon to be accepted and find his true love – and if data from the Barna Group and Impact 360 Institute is to be believed, many children from Christian homes are ready to get on board in today's environment of moral relativism.

This nonsense about gays attempting to indoctrinate children is nothing new from One News Now. But it's very interesting that the news source talks about "moral relativism"in attacking 'Love, Simon" when one takes into account the numerous articles and columns it has published since Trump's election calling his ascension into the White House as ordained by God or defending him the numerous times he has shown himself to be a caustic, incompetent boob with awful ideas. Or constantly attempting to justify why evangelicals voted for him in a large number in spite of the fact that he doesn't even begin to embody the ideas they think up when attacking others(the Stormy Daniels controversy included big time) And speaking of keeping children away from harm, I won't even talk about the numerous articles and columns One News Now published defending failed Senate candidate Roy Moore when he was accused of misconduct with underage girls.

But believe it or not, One News Now and the AFA doesn't take today's prize for hypocrisy.

'John Oliver trolls Mike Pence's homophobia' & other Mon midday news briefs

John Oliver rips homophobe Mike Pence — and does something amazing with his pet rabbit Marlon Bundo - Comedian John Oliver trolling our homophobic vice president is the cure for the Monday blahs. 

Savannah Georgia ruined Mike Pence’s St. Patrick’s Day in the best way possible - Speaking of Pence . . . 

Before 'Love, Simon': Coming Out And Coming-Of-Age At The Movies - 'Love, Simon' is already being declared a hit by the LGBTQ community. I haven't seen it yet, but as this article points out, the movie is historic.

Billie Lee On Why It’s So Important To Have Transgender Visibility On Reality Television - I despise reality television so I post this with a divided opinion. 

Longtime AIDS researcher may be Trump’s pick to lead the CDC - We'll see how this works out. This is of utmost interest to me due to my work of refuting religious right propaganda.

Philly stops two agencies from placing foster children because they discriminate against gays

Batten down the hatches because things just went off in Philadelphia with regards to "religious liberty" vs. anti-gay discrimination.

According to Philly News:

The city announced Thursday that it had stopped two faith-based agencies from placing foster children after learning the organizations discriminate against LGBTQ people.
The Philadelphia Department of Human Services has ceased foster-care intake with Bethany Christian Services and Catholic Social Services, pending an investigation by the Commission on Human Relations. 

The restriction follows an Inquirer and Daily News report that the city-funded agencies will not work with LGBTQ people or same-sex couples interested in becoming foster parents, a stance that likely violates city contract rules. The organizations do work with LGBTQ youth.

That first news story also revealed that the two foster agencies, Bethany Christian Services and Catholic Social Services, were both reimbursed over $1 million in tax dollars for operating foster care homes. 

All of this began when a lesbian couple, Magan Paszko and her wife, went to an orientation meeting with one of the agencies and was told that they shouldn't waste their time.

 "The trainer approached us, and she was really nice, but she told us, ‘I just want to be upfront. This organization has never placed a child with a same-sex couple,” Paszko told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “She told us she didn’t want to waste two hours of our time."

This situation is the latest salvo in the argument over "religious liberty" or the belief that personal religious beliefs should give individuals and groups a free card to discriminate.  I personally think that such a belief is wrong, especially when those wanting to discriminate also want to help themselves to our tax monies.

'Anti-gay judge loses three years of pay for serious misconduct' & other Fri midday news briefs

Oregon judge who refused to marry same-sex couples found guilty of ‘exceptionally serious misconduct’ — and a cover-up - I know of a certain judge who won't be portrayed by the religious right as a "martyr."

Anti-gay discrimination just cost this judge 3 years of pay - More about the situation from ThinkProgress. 

 Two groups stand against LGBTQ rights. One is dangerous and the other is simply gross - My post from last night because I feel that it is one of the most important things I've written in recent memory:

 1. The Dodgers - The Dodgers consist of groups like the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, people like Franklin Graham and Todd Starnes. The best way to describe them is to compare them to David Duke when he attempted to clean up his image by claiming to be "pro-white" rather than "anti-black.

 . . . 2. The Ick Factor Fanciers - These folks are simply consumed with talking about gay sex. They are anti-LGBTQ activists and groups such as Mike Huckabee, Mass Resistance, Brian Camenker, Matt Barber, and (of course) "Porno Peter LaBarbera who have at least once openly espoused talking about gay sex because they feel such talk would nauseate people against LGBTQ equality. Almost every conversation and debate about LGBTQ equality - whether it be about adoption rights, marriage, anti-discrimination ordinances - is broken down to talking about things such as "sodomy." "the thinness of the rectum" or "spilled semen." 

  Irish Lawmaker Proposes Ban On ‘Harmful, Deceptive’ Conversion Therapy - An international ban on this madness would be lovely. 

  LGBTQ advocates see Pompeo as 'reckless choice' for top diplomat - Needs to be repeated continuously.

Two groups stand against LGBTQ rights. One is dangerous and the other is simply gross

In terms of homophobic personalities and groups in American society, I've broken them down into two entities - One group is sly because they practice passive-aggressive tactics. The other group is simply gross because they attempt to make almost every LGBTQ debate one about gay sex.

1. The Dodgers - The Dodgers consist of groups like the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, people like Franklin Graham and Todd Starnes. The best way to describe them is to compare them to David Duke when he attempted to clean up his image by claiming to be "pro-white" rather than "anti-black."

In that same mind frame, the Dodgers claim that they aren't anti-gay, but are "pro-family." This is done so that they can appeal to so-called common Americans while publishing columns, giving interviews, or appearing on news programs. Their goal isn't to scare without saying the word "Boo!"

They generally attempt to make the narrative about how the Christian community is supposedly in danger because of the so-called "gay agenda." They use and distort anecdotes portraying people on their side with the highest degree of innocence. A woman who refuses to serve gays in her flower shop is made over into a "Christian grandmother being driven out of business by a homosexual couple who targeted her." A government employee who undermines a gay couple attempting to get their wedding license is transformed into "a Christian woman who is thrown in jail because she won't  compromise her faith."

 The Dodgers never speak specifically about LGBTQs, unless they are trying to label us as angry and threatening. They categorize us as a nameless, faceless, raging horde. They never speak about gay children nor same-sex households. They never acknowledge us going through the day-by-day paces of life. And don't even talk about admitting that some of us are religious.  To them, it's all about erasing our humanity and putting us in opposition to people of faith.