Video: The Fox News Virus is killing Americans

 

Many years from now when the story of the COVID pandemic is told, I hope that it will include the ugly truth about Fox News. As you watch this video of its various pundits attacking vaccines, please remember that the network itself has a vaccine mandate. This means that all, if not the vast majority of Fox News employees in this video have been vaccinated. Yet they still undermine vaccines to the point of endangering their viewers and extending this pandemic. One can accuse me of exaggerating to the point of extreme dramatics, but I stand by the belief that this is a serious calamity. This is not a game. Fox News is instigating the needless deaths of many Americans and no one seems to give a damn.

'Anti-gay lawmaker ordered to apologize to child he kicked during homophobic tirade' & other Wed midday news briefs

Antigay state lawmaker ordered to apologize to child he kicked in the balls during homophobic tirade - He should have to do more than that.

Twitch sues users who targeted LGBTQ gamers with threatening ‘hate raids’ - Good! Take all of their money.

A Scholarship for People Living With HIV Turns Dreams Into Reality - A really good article and a wonderful endeavor.

Aetna hit with lawsuit, accused of LGBTQ discrimination in fertility treatments - Get 'em!

Texas made LGBTQ adoption more difficult to 'solve its foster care crisis.' It's not working.

Today is an interesting lesson on sad juxtapositions. 

The above video is LGBTQ Nation's Authentic Voices (Presented by Chevrolet) spotlighting Stacey and Cheralyn Stevenson. They are a couple who had been turned away from an adoption agency in Texas for being gay. 

In 2017, Texas governor Greg Abbott signed a law which allowed "faith based" adoption agencies to use their religious beliefs to discriminate against prospective couples. And you know what this type of law always means for LGBTQ couples wanting to foster or adopt. In the above video, the Stevensons talk with Lance Bass about how they were able to have a family and are also helping other LGBTQ people to create their own families.

With regards to the Texas law, at the time it was signed by Abbott, its author - State Rep James Frank - said he wrote it to "help Texas solve its foster care crisis."

So did this law do the trick?  Nope.

According to Raw Story:

Texas is facing a foster care crisis as Gov. Greg Abbott's (R-TX) government has failed to secure safe homes for the 15,000 children in the system. A class-action lawsuit was launched after it was revealed that children were sleeping on the floors in offices or in hotels. Children were sexually abused, given the wrong medication, neglected and more, the Texas Tribune reported. 

 . . . A report released this week revealed "501 children spent at least one night in an unlicensed placement in the first half of this year alone. Some children spent more than 100 consecutive nights without a "proper" placement. The report found that 86% of these children were teenagers, and many of them require intense or specialized care, due to serious mental health needs or past trauma, that they likely weren't receiving."

I don't think there is anything else needing to be said.

'Homophobic pastor who mocked AIDS deaths becomes COVID death statistic' & other Tue midday news briefs

Colorado pastor who mocked AIDS deaths and spread vaccine conspiracy theories dies from COVID-19 - Oh this is big. Bob Enyart was an EVIL motherf@cker:

 Christian radio host Bob Enyart became infamous during his career for reading obituaries from people who died of AIDS while playing the Queen song "Another One Bites the Dust."

Texas is pushing the most anti-trans bills in the country. Advocates fear deadly consequences. - Here we go again and again. 

Revisiting the gay dentist framed as an AIDS murderer: He “didn’t do it.” - From my friend Mark King. A balancing of the books.

Lil Nas X thanks “the gay agenda” as he takes top trophy at the VMAs - Heeeey!

Family Research Council not being 'pro-life' about COVID pandemic as it claims to be about abortion

How the Family Research Council and its president Tony Perkins is exploiting the COVID pandemic raises questions about their claims to be 'pro life.'

In early September, the Supreme Court refused to stop a Texas law which restricted women from having abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. It contains no exemptions for rape or incest and creates a multitude of problems for women with regards to the actual date and knowledge of their pregnancy. Naturally many people and groups have spoken against it.

On the other hand hate group the Family Research Council has spoken out for the law via tweets and postings:

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Texas law can remain in effect. Justices Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Kavanaugh have allowed the Texas law to remain enforceable, while Justices Roberts, Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor would have stayed the law. The majority did not rule on the substance of the law but rather sided with what Texas had argued: it’s unclear whether the named defendants can or will seek to enforce the Texas statute. 

For example, Planned Parenthood named a pro-life advocate as a defendant because they believe he is likely to enforce the statute. The Court rightly rejected this argument. The minority would have blocked the law while litigation took place below. Thankfully, they fell one vote short of a majority. This means that while litigation continues regarding the Texas heartbeat ban on the merits, Texas will remain essentially abortion-free. A brilliant litigation strategy has led to many abortion appointments being canceled and lives saved. It’s a beautiful opportunity to show the country how valuing and supporting life should become the norm in every state. The unborn in Texas live another day, and that is a historic and beautiful victory. - Explainer: What Is Happening with Texas’ New Pro-Life Law?, September 2, 2021

 

We could argue about FRC's point of view in relation to the Texas law, but I would rather do it while contrasting the position the group has taken on the COVID pandemic. Due to certain conservative groups, 'news' organizations, and anti-vaxxers, the pandemic continues. It is now causing havoc to children as these recent headlines show:

Pediatric COVID Cases Surging To All-Time Highs As Children Head Back To School, September 8

Child deaths from COVID double in Florida as cases among children climb across the country, Sept 11

Four-year-old girl dies of Covid after anti-vaxxer mom contracts virus, September 13

Meanwhile, several GOP governors have undermined efforts to contain the pandemic by working against schools and businesses trying to take steps to curtail it. 

FRC  has taken a very interesting stance on it all.  From day one the group exploited the situation to attack public schools and while shilling for homeschooling, which is a position it held long before the pandemic:

. . . COVID opened the eyes of many families to the fact that public schools aren’t the only option. When schools closed, families were forced to adjust. Some families began homeschooling and discovered, despite doubts, that they could do it. They also discovered homeschool co-ops, churches, and other groups that provide support for parents and community for families who reclaimed control of their children’s education. 

 . . . the ongoing response to the coronavirus from their local public school continues to be untenable for many families. From the beginning, public and private schools responded in radically different ways to the coronavirus. During the fall and winter of 2020, 60% of private school students received in-person instruction while only 24% of public school students were. That disparity likely would have been even greater but for jurisdictions that made it illegal for private schools to hold in-person classes. This also reflects the difference between systems that are responsible primarily to parents and systems that are responsible primarily to politicians. While teachers’ unions fought to keep schools closed, parents were desperate to keep their children from falling behind. Many of those who found options outside the public school system now have no intention of returning. Many public schools that parents relied on and trusted all but abandoned students and families during a crisis – a fact parents aren’t likely to forget. -  Back to School is Different This Year, August 6

Also, FRC has applauded the efforts of GOP governors to undermine the fight against the pandemic.  Last week President Biden announced a new policy which would require business with over 100 people to mandate either vaccines or weekly testing. FRC president Tony Perkins came out against the policy on Friday, claiming that it is anti-freedom. He even compared it to the 9/11 terrorist attack:

Twenty years ago today, Americans went to sleep never imagining the next morning would change our lives forever. We woke up to a once-in-a-generation nightmare carried out by extremists who despised our way of life, our liberties, and our God. Their hatred killed 3,000 innocents that day, but it did not kill America. Unfortunately for the terrorists, the people of this country were resilient -- even in unspeakable tragedy. We mourned, flew bigger flags, and rebuilt. It would have never occurred to us then that two decades later one of the greatest assaults on our sovereignty would come from our government itself. That the man we'd elect as president would one day tell us that confronting a deadly threat is "no longer about freedom and personal choice." 

When Joe Biden looked into the camera and told us that we had lost the right to make our own health care decisions, no buildings exploded, no lives were lost. But it was still an attack on America and our core values. In many ways, it has the very real potential to do what 9/11 didn't: destroy the free foundations of our country. The White House will say that its vaccine mandate is about public safety and common sense -- and that to beat the pandemic, we all have to give up some liberties. As John Daniel Davidson writes so insightfully for the Federalist, that's a lie. This is about government coercion and raw power -- and nothing, Biden made clear Thursday, will stand in their way of either.

Meanwhile, COVID and misinformation about COVID continues to flourish due to right-wing propaganda sources,  'covidiots' doing 'their own research', and the GOP head towards the deluge rather than away from it  (some in anticipation of a 2022 mid-term election and a 2024 presidential run). People - particularly our kids - are getting infected, taking horse dewormer medicine, and dying left and right.

And in the midst of it all, FRC seems to be playing political games by making sure that every move it makes benefits positions already held while detrimenting its opponents. Some would call the group  smooth, others would call the group intelligent, and still some others would call it predatory. But no one should call it pro-life.  If FRC actually cared about valuing life, the group would be helping to end the pandemic, or at least protect children from its ravages, instead of benefitting from the chaos.

But who are we kidding?  The Family Research Council obviously thinks of  the "pro-life" designation in the same manner it thinks of children both born and 'unborn' -   nothing more than props to be used for its pleasure.

'LGBTQ teen seeks forever family after being abandoned by adoptive parents' & other Mon midday news briefs

LGBTQ+ Teen Seeks Forever Family After Abandonment by Adoptive Parents - OMG! I bet stories like this happen more often than people think.

 
First Out Trans Bishop Installed by Lutheran Denomination - The religious right and conservative right-wing evangelicals do not own the patent on religious beliefs. 

Gay Black men rarely saw themselves on screen. Michael K. Williams changed that. - Even though I never saw an episode of The Wire, I've heard a few gay men say this. 

Combating LGBTQ stigma in Africa - Mercy! Good luck with that one.

Charges of racism the latest twist in conflict between HRC and former head Alphonso David.

Alphonso David is leveling a charge of racism against the Human Rights Campaign.

All I will say is that it's mess like this which demonstrates how religious right groups are more plugged into their audience than some major LGBTQ groups are supported by our community. If you mentioned the name of the Human Rights Campaign to some of us, you would receive either a collectively uninterested shrug or an angry tirade in which the phrase "Gay, Inc." would be mentioned several times. There is no unity. Only division, tirades, and mistrust. It's nothing short of a miracle how the LGBTQ community have survived - and won - against homophobia in America.

Former Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Alphonso David opened up about the fallout from the investigation into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) that eventually led to his own firing last week. David sat down with out MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart in an appearance on the Sunday Show to discuss where he is going from here. David alleges that he was treated differently based on his race at the organization, citing past presidents and leaders who were white that were not being pushed to resign after controversies followed them.

 . . . (Alphonso) David continued, “This organization was created in the 1980s and largely has been viewed as an organization for white men. And I came on, as a Black man, to really challenge some of the systems that have been ingrained in this institution, and I am being treated this way — I am being treated differently, I believe — because of my race.” David notes that previous HRC presidents have “engaged in activities or made statements that caused disruption… that resulted in protests in front of the building. “They were not asked to resign. I was asked to resign without a shred of evidence. I was asked to resign without any findings. I was asked to resign without a report,” David alleged. “I was told there would be an announcement on Saturday if I were to resign, to make it quiet over the holiday weekend. They wanted this to go away.” 

 . . . .“We can’t change the rules in the middle of the game . . . “ can’t decide to conduct an independent investigation and then decide not to issue findings and not decide to issue a report, and ignore transparency. If we are a human rights organization, if we are a movement that is transparent, we need to make sure that movement is transparent for all of us.  

Check out the entire article. Ugly, complicated, and extremely messy - three things we as a community do not need right now.