Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters nominated sixth time for 'Outstanding Blog' GLAAD Media Award

Pardon me for taking time out to brag. It's rare but what's life without a little patting on your own back every now and then.

On Wednesday, the 34th annual GLAAD Media Award nominations were announced and (drumroll please), Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters received its sixth nomination for 'Outstanding Blog.' In 2017 I was blessed to have won in the category, but I consider this particular nomination to be extra special. Last year was awful, culminating with the passing of my beloved mother, Nancy Lee Riley. I want to dedicate this particular nomination to her as well as pay tribute to my fellow nominees in the category as well as all of the other nominees and special award recipients. We work hard doing what we do.

#GLAADawards: Here are the nominees for OUTSTANDING BLOG

Full List: https://t.co/ecQAn9iuws pic.twitter.com/7Iv4sl2TeJ

— Tony Morrison (@THETonyMorrison) January 18, 2023

In my particular case, I have worked diligently and endlessly since 2006 to call out the anti-LGBTQ industry and the lies and dishonest tactics they use to undermine LGBTQ rights, health, and safety. To the right of this post are various articles I've published over the years detailing their dishonesty as it pertains to our health, our families, our kids, and our basic rights to self-determination.

And the tactics have shifted tremendously. They are now openly declaring war on the trans community and the falsehoods, cherry-picked studies, and questionable anecdotes used against gays in the past have been adapted to stigmatize trans men, women, and children. But don't think they are leaving the rest of us out. They are still using the "gays recruit" children" angle but have skillfully adapted it to attack drag queens.

Nor do they say "gays recruit." They now say "gays groom kids."

 The evil doesn't change. Just the manner in which they present it. The packaging may be different but underneath, it's the same old lies and hate. The same old bigotry. And lies in the name of God are STILL lies.

Check out all of the 'Outstanding Blog' nominees. Please feel free to share our work, and donate if you can (in my case, just click on the ads).

'GOP nominee for House special election runs 'ministry' claiming to 'cure' people from 'homosexual and lesbian living'' & other Wed midday news briefs

GOP nominee for House special election runs “ministry” falsely claiming to cure people from “homosexual and lesbian living”​ - I tell you, the GOP sure can pick 'em, can't they?

NFL broadcasters Tony Dungy and James Brown are featured speakers at outspoken anti-gay preacher’s event - And no one will say anything, unfortunately. 

These School Bans On Pride Flags Should Freak All Of Us Out - They are definitely freaking me out. 

Dolly Parton’s turning 77. Her philanthropy & LGBTQ+ activism have made her a national treasure - Dolly Parton is a sweetheart. I have yet to find anyone who has ever said anything negative about her. 

Protestors Clash Over Library's Drag Queen Story Hour - And the haters lost again.

GOP staffer now suing Matt and Mercedes Schlapp for sexual battery and defamation

Mercedes and Matt Schlapp

 If you thought the Matt Schlapp scandal was fading away,  you're wrong. 

From CNN:

The Republican campaign staffer who has accused Matt Schlapp, a high-profile conservative activist, of sexual assault is now suing Schlapp and his wife, Mercedes, for more than $9 million. The sexual battery civil lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Virginia Circuit Court in Alexandria, also accuses both Schlapps of defamation and of conspiracy to impugn the accuser. 

 The complaint recounts accusations made by a Republican strategist, a male in his late 30s, who alleged that Matt Schlapp fondled him without his consent as he drove Schlapp back to his hotel in Georgia last October. The staffer was working for the Georgia GOP and Herschel Walker’s Senate campaign and had been assigned to drive Schlapp to campaign events in the Atlanta area. The plaintiff, who is listed as John Doe in the lawsuit, alleges that in the wake of his coming forward there were “dishonest efforts” by the Schlapps and “others associated with and acting in concert with them, to discredit Mr. Doe.”

According to Raw Story, Schlapp's wife is included in the lawsuit due to alleged comments she made:

"The lawsuit accuses Mr. Schlapp of defamation by pointing to Mr. Spies’s initial statement that described the accusations as false, personal attacks. The lawsuit argues that Ms. Schlapp defamed the Walker staff member by telling neighbors that he was a 'troubled individual' who had been fired from previous jobs for lying and for making false statements on his résumé. The message was shared on a group text with neighbors, the plaintiff said." 

 Earlier on Tuesday before the lawsuit was announced, the Schlapps commented on the allegations through their attorney

“This anonymous complaint demonstrates the accuser’s real agenda, working in concert with Daily Beast to attack and harm the Schlapp family. The complaint is false, and the Schlapp family is suffering unbearable pain and stress due to the false allegation from an anonymous individual,” Charlie Spies, a lawyer representing Schlapp and his wife, wrote.

Big wins at Critics' Choice Awards, Activists fired up to take on over 100 anti-LGBTQ bills & other Tue midday news briefs

Queer Stories and Actors Win Big at the Critics' Choice Awards - I hope it's a sign of things to come. 

With over 100 anti-LGBTQ bills before state legislatures in 2023 so far, activists say they're 'fired up' - Damn skippy it's on!

Hockey’s Kalamazoo Wings celebrate Pride Night by clapping back at homophobic tweet​ - Welllll!

Marjorie Taylor Greene held an anti-trans rally at the Capitol & almost no one came - Whomp! Whomp! (yeah, I know. It's a tiresome saying) 

Opinion: Focusing only on LGBTQ 'groomers' is what puts kids at risk for sexual abuse - Preach!!

Oklahoma bill would ban adults from gender-affirming healthcare while Florida looking to expand 'Don't Say Gay' law up to sixth grade

The attacks on transgender healthcare and the visibility of LGBTQ people (as best demonstrated by Florida's Don't Say Gay law) share one characteristic espoused by their supporters. And that is the claim that these actions are being done to protect young children from being "exposed" to supposedly dangerous concepts. We all knew it was a lie and further actions taken by the originators of these attacks are proving us right. 

They are slowly but surely upping the age of those they claim to be protecting. 

Last week, a bill was introduced in Oklahoma which would ban gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 26. According to ABC News:

A new bill would make it a felony for anyone under the age of 26 to access gender-confirming care in the state of Oklahoma. Senate Bill 129, sponsored by Republican state Sen. David Bullard, is the most recent anti-transgender care bill to be introduced in an ongoing push against gender-confirming care by Republican legislators across the country. Though many of these bills have initially targeted minors, several recently proposed bills have started extending the bans into adulthood. Under this bill, physicians and health care providers cannot provide gender transition procedures to a patient under the age of 26 or refer them “to any healthcare professional for gender transition procedures.”

 

Then comes this news from Florida by way of LGBTQNation:

The office of Florida Gov. DeSantis (R) has confirmed that the anti-LGBTQ+ governor is supportive of extending the stipulations of the state’s Don’t Say Gay law – known formally as the Parental Rights in Education Act. 

 Right now, the law bans discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity up to third grade, and a staffer for the state’s Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R) told The Daily Mail that lawmakers are thinking about introducing legislation to expand the law up to sixth grade. 

 In a press conference in December, Passidomo expanded on this, saying that she doesn’t think she’d “be supportive of high school because kids in high school are, hopefully, a little more mature, or at least they should be, but you know, the middle school, maybe go up to 6th grade or something like that."

These bills and laws are less about protecting children and more about undermining the healthcare and very existence of LGBTQ people. The question is how long will their supporters and creators be able to get away with the subterfuge.

Conservative anti-trans star Gina Carano's movie bombs at the box office. HARD.

Gina Carano is NO Pam Grier.

Gina Carano is an actress and a former mixed martial artist who once had it made. She had roles in several high profile action movies (The Fast and the Furious 6 and Deadpool) and a plum role in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian.

But her inability to keep her mouth shut wrecked her career.

Granted, this is America and people have some right to freedom of speech. But freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences of that speech, especially when you aren't dealing with a government entity but a company - Disney - who worries about how its image is affected by the words of its stars.

And ugly comments Carano made online about Black Lives Matters and transgender people, as well as peddling misinformation about COVID and comparing American conservatives to Jewish people persecuted during the Holocaust wasn't something which Disney wanted to be associated with.

So Carano got canned. And immediately went on a martyr tour in the right-wing propaganda industry claiming that she was the victim of "cancel culture." She also signed up to collaborate in a movie with the right-wing conservative site The Daily Wire, which was looking to break into the movie industry by supposedly making films geared to strike back against "cancel culture."

And just how did that work out for her? Well that's the crux of this post. Her movie, Terror on The Prairie made $804 at the box office. Needless to say, Carano was not happy when it was pointed out to her. 

From Mediate:

Gina Carano lashed out at a journalist mocking the MMA-fighter-turned-actress over a report her 2022 Daily Wire-distributed movie Terror on the Prairie only earned $804 at the U.S. box office. The Western was one of the first movies produced and distributed by Daily Wire and is part of a larger partnership Carano entered into with Daily Wire following her firing from Disney’s The Mandalorian. 

The Hollywood Reporter’s Richard Newby mocked Carano this week on Twitter and said she “fumbled the bag” by losing out on her Disney role. 

 His comments initiated a Twitter war between the two which saw Carano defend her actions with regards to The Mandalorian and call Newby a "“sell out journalist” beholden to “fickle manipulated mob.”"

Right-wing sites practically bent over backwards to create a narrative that Carano was the winner in the exchange. However it was a contest which ended long before Newby called her out.

Making only $804 at the box office doesn't make you a winner, no matter how the story is spun.

'Libs of TikTok's Chaya Raichik appears on QAnon show to attack LGBTQ people' & other Thur midday news briefs

Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik appears on QAnon adherent’s show to attack the LGBTQ community​ - Slowly but surely, chop that trash down. Rip off her mask.

Idaho School Board Meeting Erupts in Chaos Over LGBTQ-Inclusive Policy - This is what some folks do. They shout, scare, and then try to boggart the conversation. 

Federal judge rules Catholic hospital discriminated against transgender man - Good news! Although I suspect the religious right will attempt to milk it in order to play the victims. 

Virginia bill would force school staff to out transgender students - Exposing trans kids to the possibility of violence. Just insane. I don't think the bill has a chance of passing but it's still a travesty. 

Woman sprays 'holy water' on gay couple outside Mexico church - Laaawd!