NOM's 'Dump Starbucks' campaign a hysterical flop

Maggie Gallagher of NOM

On Wednesday of last week, the National Organization for Marriage announced a campaign to boycott Starbucks because of that organization's support of marriage equality. According to NOM’s press release:

The new protest campaign was announced after the annual Starbucks shareholders meeting today in Seattle, where NOM spokesmen queried the board on its new policies promoting gay marriage and demanded protection against discrimination for employees, vendors and customers who disagree.

"We respect the important role of businesses in providing goods, services and jobs, and that people of diverse moral views build great companies working together," Brown said. "But Starbucks has corporately, as an organization, endorsed and helped pass gay marriage in the state of Washington. Its executive vice president of partner resources has stated that gay marriage "is aligned with Starbucks business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners. It is core to who we are and what we value as a company." Corporations should not take sides in a culture war that pits a company against half the American people, and nearly all its consumers in some international markets."

Of course this press release is totally different than what Brown was telliing NOM's supporters on its blog:

Dear Marriage Supporter,

We are urging consumers across the globe to "Dump Starbucks" because the massive international corporation has taken a corporate-wide position that marriage between one man and one woman should be eliminated and that same-sex marriage should become the norm.

Starbucks did nothing as extreme as Brown makes it sounds and its CEO, Howard Shultz, clearly explained that during the shareholders meeting in question.

AFA tries to sugarcoat the end of its embarrassingly premature boycott against GAP

Today via One News Now comes this news:

The American Family Association (AFA) is suspending its Christmas-season boycott of Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic.

The suspension of the boycott is in effect until at least Saturday. A Gap official has reported to the pro-family group that it will unveil a new Christmas-themed commercial this weekend. AFA says it is suspending the boycott "in good faith" until it has an opportunity to view the new commercial.

The boycott was initiated after the clothing company refused to use the word "Christmas" in its ads and promotions. Also, some people were upset over a Gap television ad that mentioned a host of other holiday traditions along with Christmas.

Buddy Smith, a spokesman for AFA, believes the boycott has had an impact. "Our supporters here sent emails, made phone calls, wrote letters, and expressed their concern -- and so obviously GAP got the message," he explains.

It's amazing how the article tries to sugarcoat the fact that the AFA originally started the boycott because it felt that GAP wasn't using the word "Christmas" in its promotions.

From ThinkProgress.org, this is what the AFA originally said:

For years, Gap has refused to use the word Christmas in its television commercials, newspaper ads and in-store promotions, despite tens of thousands of consumer requests to recognize Christmas and in spite of repeated requests from AFA to do the same.


Last year, Gap issued this politically-correct statement to Christmas shoppers: “Gap recognizes that many traditions are celebrated throughout this season and we feel it is important to display holiday signage that is inclusive to everyone.”

Christmas is special because of Jesus. It’s not just a “winter holiday.” For millions of Americans the giving and receiving of gifts is in honor of the One who gave Himself. For the Gap to pretend that isn’t the foundation of the Christmas season is political correctness at best and religious bigotry at worst.

The link goes on to expose just how mistaken the AFA was in its assessment of the situation:

AFA’s first shot in the war is a misfire, as Dan Neil of the LA Times points out today. In one of the first lines of Gap’s new holiday ad, the actors yell, “Go Christmas!” (as well as “Go Hanukkah! Go Kwanzaa! Go Solstice!”)

The link even shows the commercial:



Now that the AFA has a little egg on its face, the organization is trying to wipe it away under everyone's noses.

The sentence in the One News Now article - Also, some people were upset over a Gap television ad that mentioned a host of other holiday traditions along with Christmas - seems to be an inaccurate reconstruction of why the boycott was started.

Of course the Christian thing to do would be for the AFA to just admit its mistake.

But as we have seen in so other many cases, while the AFA talks about Christian values, it doesn't know the first thing about upholding them.

However it is nice to note that while everyone else is settling down to eat turkey this Thanksgiving, the AFA will be dining on crow.

Target Boycott Follies - Matt Walsh wants you to buy his baby dolls. Victim of Target boycott sees increased sales

Anti-LGBTQ culture warrior (and James Bond villain wannabe) Matt Walsh wants to you to help his fight against the anti-LGBTQ community by buying a plush, infantilized version of himself.

This right here proves that all of this stuff coming from people like Matt Walsh about saving kids from "LGBTQ influence" is merely a money-making tactic. The attacks on trans healthcare, the boycott against Bud Light, and the present boycott against Target is all one big grift. It's all about rage posting to monetize hate.  It's been successful for Walsh as he has devoted books, documentaries, and social media posts smearing our community as threats to kids and society at large.

Now he's going into the baby doll business.

The front page of the Daily Wire is advertising a product for children that is an infantilized version of Matt Walsh. They specifically list that it's for children. They want kids to hold a baby version of Matt Walsh in their hands.

This is disgusting and vile. pic.twitter.com/kaWWNsgkOY

— The Serfs (@theserfstv) May 25, 2023

In the words of actor Samuel Jackson, that right there is some repugnant sh!t. It's probably the single most creepy mess I will see this year. In all honesty though, I'd rather buy an adult version of a Matt Walsh doll. That way, I could bang it against the wall every time I heard him say something especially vile.

Speaking of the boycott against Target, one person being victimized by the social media right-wing campaign is now benefitting from it.

Erik Carnell is a trans designer whose merchandise was pulled at Target after people spread false stories about how it was Satanic and being marketed through kids by the store. Carnell, via his brand Abprallen, does have merchandise with has pentagrams and horned skulls. And some do reference Satan. But none of it is sold at Target.  

However, this inconvenient fact was ignored by folks on social media, like all things which don't fit their narrative. They at first spread the lie about how Target was marketing pro-trans swimwear to kids and when that was refuted, they are now claiming that the store is marketing Satanic material for Pride Month. 

The lie led Target to remove Carnell's items from their stores.

 Target's Pride collection included more than 2,000 products from clothes and music to home furnishings, and while several are under review the only ones removed so far from its website and stores are from Carnell's brand Abprallen.

However, the sales of his overall merchandise have actually increased.

While support for his products from Target disappeared, the Abprallen store has seen an outpouring of support. According to the store's Etsy message, Carnell has seen an "unprecedented number of orders" since the backlash began. 

 "Your support during this extremely difficult time means more than I can express," Carnell posted after placing the shop on a temporary hiatus. "I am putting my shop on holiday mode and not accepting new orders until I catch up on the ones I currently have. Thank you so much for your understanding!"

It's ironic how social media wannabees exploited Carnell to attack Target but now they are the ones being exploited. Not only is Carnell getting a lot of media attention because of their actions but he seems to also be getting many allies on Twitter. They are bombarding threads which attack him with links to where to buy his merchandise:

https://t.co/qrpoCJF1Y2

This is the actual artists store. You are giving money to someone trying to profit by stealing his designs. His store is temporarily closed because he’s overwhelmed by orders. Better to wait and give him the profit/credit/support.

— Elisa Kerchmar (@EJKerchmar) May 25, 2023

 

— Babadybbuk🏳️‍🌈👻✡️ (@InfantaRaquel) May 25, 2023

https://t.co/p6QrAJhfM9

— Alexandria Burns. (@alex_d_burns) May 25, 2023

If you ask me, Carnell's merchandise, while not suited to my tastes, is a whole lot LESS creepy than a Matt Walsh baby doll.

The grift is real: Kid Rock still sells Bud Light even after helping to start boycott

It has always been a grift. From The Daily Beast by the way of JoeMyGod:

After Bud Light’s brief partnership with a transgender influencer sparked right-wing outrage, Kid Rock established himself as one of the brand’s strongest critics. But CNN’s recent visit to his signature bar in Nashville— Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk & Rock ‘n’ Roll Steakhouse—told a different story. “Despite the online bravado, and talk of a boycott, Bud Light was available when CNN stopped in recently,” CNN reporter Ryan Young said in a segment that aired Tuesday morning. “It is not clear if the ban had been lifted or if there ever had been one to begin with.” The visit by CNN comes after some patrons had posted on social media about spotting Bud Light at the bar. After Bud Light sent free beer to transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Kid Rock filmed himself shooting up a case of the iconic beer. 

 This really isn't a new development. Newsweek reported the same thing last week: 

 Despite his vocal opposition to Bud Light, Kid Rock's Tennessee bar is still selling the beer, according to a Newsweek source. Kid Rock was one of the first to publicly dismiss Bud Light and its parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev, filming a video of himself shooting crates of the drink with an assault rifle after the brand sent transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a personalized beer can.

 This reaction made it surprising to some when it was claimed in June that the Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse was still selling Bud Light. another social media user seemed to dismiss this with a viral video, saying it wasn't sold there, but a source has come forward to Newsweek, showing pictures of Bud Light being sold and drunk at Kid Rock's establishment. 

 And that article made reference to a June tweet proving the same thing:

In other words, this is hardly a new or shocking development. If anything, it underscores just how lazy and overpaid some members of the American media are. Most likely very few will note this stunning degree of hypocrisy because the Bud Light controversy has run its course. It's no longer a hot item for the media to waste time with frivolous debates about the trans community (but talking to very few members of the trans community) while convincing themselves that they doing hard hitting work. 

Cut them some slack. They're practically bending over backwards to justify to themselves the embarrassingly large paychecks they receive year after year. The real shame is that this newest revelation would create a fruitful discussion about how people can easily be manipulated into a frenzy over something as irrelevant as a little beer campaign featuring a transgender woman. And also about how it has led to more vilification against trans Americans. 

But I doubt anyone is going to talk about that.

The only person who probably gained from all of this this is Kid Rock. He got an obscenely large amount of attention by helping to usher a boycott against a beer which he continued to sell during said boycott. He's probably laughing at all of the trouble he caused. 

Then again, knowing Kid Rock, he's probably doing this to us all:

'Boycott Target' anti-lgbt hate group AFA has to backtrack from 'testing' and 'tweeting'

The American Family Association, the anti-lgbt hate group leading the bigoted boycott against Target because of the store's transgender inclusive policy, found itself in to pickles today.

First, the group had to disavow comments made by an spokesperson. During an appearance on a radio show Monday, AFA director of governmental affairs Sandy Rios said that the organization was testing Target's policy by sending men into the ladies room:

“I think there’s no question that when you say that there are no barriers in the bathroom,” Rios said, “and that if men or women feel like they are men or women, the opposition of however they are equipped, and you have no restrictions, the net effect will be that people will not be stopped. We’ve already had people testing this, going into Targets and men trying to go into bathrooms. There is absolutely no barrier.” 

Because of her comments, AFA has been the subject of numerous mocking articles, emails, and tweets. Today, the group backtracked from Rios's comment:

In addition, the organization  busied itself "liking" tweets from individuals supporting its boycott. But to me, one tweet stood out:

 As you can see, it was MY tweet and as you all can probably guess, it wasn't favorable to the AFA's boycott. At all. Not even a little bit.

Rather, it was a tweet which led to a post on this blog in which I demonstrated how the "bathroom predator": talking point stemmed from an earlier failed anti-lgbt talking point, children being "trapped in classrooms with transgender and drag queen school teachers."

I think AFA figured that out quickly because the organization quickly "unliked" my tweet within minutes of favoriting it.

Who knows, maybe the person in charge of  AFA's twitter account read the post after liking it.

Or maybe I got a feared reputation. Wouldn't that be fun if it were true. A so-called Christian organization of national reputation who can supposedly corral over one million signatures is scared of a single African-American gay blogger from the South.

It HAS to be my stunning imitation of Nina Simone which scares them? Right?

'Ad denounces HB2, Target boycott run by anti-lgbt hate group' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Wonderful ad running in North Carolina via Freedom for All Americans: 

In this new ad, Zeke Christopoulos – a transgender man who lives in Asheville, North Carolina – and two of his colleagues discuss their concerns about the discriminatory House Bill 2, which knocked down existing non-discrimination protections for LGBT people and banned transgender people from using public restrooms. Watch the video – and then take action to stand with LGBT North Carolinians, including Zeke! By sharing the stories of transgender North Carolinians impacted by HB2, we can build momentum for repeal and prevent other states from passing such egregious anti-LGBT laws. 

Meanwhile: 

Anti-LGBT Activists 'Testing' Target By Sending Men Into Women's Rooms - I wouldn't put it past them and I think it may backfire, but something in this item caught my eye: 

The program’s host, Stephen Bannon, contended that rather than being inclusive, Target is “trying to exclude people who are decent, hard-working people who don’t want their four-year-old daughter to have to go into a bathroom with a guy with a beard in a dress." 

That phrase underlines why we need demand that the media - particularly Fox News - give equal time to transgender folk when discussing this issue. The phrase "men in dresses" and the semantics of "predatory men with beards and dresses" have permeated this conversation. Language is very important in a debate like this and the opposition has been pretty much allowed to paint transgender women in some of the ugliest terms.  

Sorry Newt, but the American Family Association IS a hate group - Speaking of the boycott against Target, here is a 2011 post about the organization leading the boycott. I am disappointed in myself and others who have not emphasized that the group leading the boycott, the American Family Association is an anti-lgbt hate group and home to Bryan Fischer, the man who thinks that gays created the Nazi Party. AFA itself has claimed that gays recruit children when we aren't smearing feces on ourselves. 

 Anti-LGBT Groups Unite To Prevent UN Recognition Of Same-Sex Families - And the attack on the transgender community is merely one ugly facet of these groups. We have to recognize all of these groups because they want to push us and our families in the closet and then lock and bolt the door.

Cut McDonalds some slack!

So now we are starting to get the story from McDonalds on whether or not it capitulated the American Family Associations's boycott:

McDonald's Denies U-Turn on Gay Rights Support

It looks like the American Family Association is again taking credit for a victory it didn't really achieve.

Back in March, the Christian-values lobbying group announced that it had successfully mau-maued Ford into cutting off its marketing efforts targeting the gay community. Ford said it had done no such thing.

Now AFA says it has ended a long-running boycott of McDonald's after the fast-food giant agreed "to no longer support political activity by homosexual activist organizations."

The cessation of the boycott was evidently triggered by the resignation of McDonald's vice president Richard Ellis from the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. "McDonald's also said that the company has no plans to renew their membership in NGLCC when it expires in December," claimed the group.

But a McDonald's spokeswoman disputed details of AFA's account. McDonald's, she said, was never a corporate "member" of NGLCC; its relationship with the organization consisted of Ellis's board seat and a sponsorship he arranged. "McDonald's sponsored a table at an event at an NGLCC gala fundraiser," said the spokeswoman. "That's what they're labeling a sponsorship. That was the extent of our involvement."

Now we all know the anti-gay industry's mode of behavior. No matter what has been said, the AFA will continue to claim that their boycott against McDonalds was successful.

So their bullshit don't concern me.

What bothers me was the ease in which folks on our side started spewing venom against McDonalds.

I read so many nasty things about the restaurant on pro-gay blogs that my head began to spin.

And why did my head spin? Because of the following:

The announcement about McDonalds' alleged capitulation came from the AFA itself in a press release, which leads me to ask a question:

JUST WHEN DID WE START BELIEVING THE AFA?

WHEN DID THE GAY COMMUNITY START THINKING THAT THE AFA WAS CREDIBLE?

In an incredible show of laziness, some of us practically broke our fingers in condemning McDonalds over the alleged capitulation on the words on the AFA, an organization:

who routinely uses a phony news source to distort current events against the lgbt community,
who refers to the studies of a man ( Paul Cameron) who was not only kicked out of the American Psychological Association but actually believes that gay men stick gerbils up their rectums and that lesbians are master seducers,

who continued to sell a video that claimed that a certain individual "walked away homosexuality" even after it was discovered that the man (Michael Johnston) was having sex with men and possibly infecting them with HIV.

Plainly speaking, if I was in the middle of a hot burning desert with AFA head Donald Wildmon and he remarked on hot it was, I would start trying to build an ark.

What I want to know though is why did so many of us take the AFA at its word without even trying wait for more of the truth to come out?

When I get the answer to that question, I will most likely have a better understanding as to why we are having difficulty defeating the religious right in this alleged culture war.


Whip his ass, girlfriend!!!

Our community could learn a lesson in noncapitulation from Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell.

Recently, she caught some flack from Rush Limbaugh because of a column she wrote about how Sarah Palin stokes up negative emotions at campaign rallies:

"Mary Mitchell, a wuss, wimp columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times says that Sarah Palin should be censured. She says that 'Sarah Palin should apologize to the Obama campaign and the American people for her role in bringing out the worst in her supporters.' This is laughable.
"Come on, Mary. Grow up. This is the big leagues. How about the people in your party? I know you're a Democrat, Mary Mitchell. You can't deny it, all you liberal media people are Democrats. What about the incitement of this whole country that you and your fellow journalists have engaged in along with the Democrat Party? You have gendered up hate for this president. You have ginned up a despise for the US military. You have sought to convince the American people their country is worthless and sinking into an abyss. You have been doing it for six years."

How did Ms. Mitchell respond?

She called out Limbaugh using fire and poise that is sorely lacking sometimes in our community when the religious right attacks us. Folks, pay attention to how it's done:

When you step on a pig's tail, it squeals. Rush Limbaugh is a squealer.

And why is he squealing?

Because John McCain and Sarah Palin are losing ground in a contest that they thought was theirs.

And they are losing it to a black man.

Of course, Limbaugh won't say that. Instead, on Thursday he spent his time berating me for saying Palin needs to apologize for inciting crowds that hurled racial epithets at black members of the press.

I'm a "wuss, wimp columnist," Limbaugh says.

So why would a multimillion-dollar squealer use his air time on a "wuss and a wimp?"

The reason Limbaugh is squealing like the pig he is, is because he's the epitome of white privilege.

Hat tip to Pam's House Blend

Lastly, I would like to congratulate Jeremy from Goodasyou.org and his partner, Andrews, on their engagement.

Damn, I need me a man. I wonder if Frank Luntz, Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill is free?

Hush up. I know what I like.

American Family Association fails miserably in its defense of Breitbart

Religious right groups are pandering very hard to defend the Breitbart news site from accurate charges that it panders to the white supremacist alt-right and embraces racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism.

First it was the Family Research Council defending the site and its former editor, Steve Bannon, while omitting the website's history of appealing to white supremacists.

Now, it is the American Family Association not only defending Breitbart but also its boycott of the Kellogg corporation. Recently, Kellogg, citing that Breitbart's appeal to the white supremacist alt-right, pulled its advertising from the site.  Via its fake news publication, One News Now, AFA said the following about the decision:

"... Kellogg's has shown how utterly intolerant they are of anyone's viewpoint other than their own," AFA spokesman Walker Wildmon says by way of explanation.

AFA is known for past boycotts, too, including an ongoing boycott of Target stores due to a liberal corporate policy that caters to transgendered employees and customers.

AFA is also familiar with left-wing scare tactics, since the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center has designated AFA a "hate group."

Writers at Breitbart.com wrote glowingly about Trump during the presidential campaign, drawing criticism from fellow conservatives about its editorial content. Yet the website drew little attention from the Left until Bannon was named an advisor to Trump in the final months of the campaign. 

It's ironic that AFA calls Kellogg 'intolerant" for its boycott of Breitbart and then in the next sentence admits that the organization itself has engaged in a number of boycott. So to AFA, Kellogg is intolerant for boycotting but the organization itself isn't.

Family Research Council doesn't know meaning of 'irony' and 'hypocrisy'

In the irony to beat all ironies, less than a week after the religious right accused the lgbt community of unfairly causing the closing of a bakery which refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, Family Research Council head Tony Perkins is calling for a boycott of baking company Betty Crocker for giving away free cakes to gay couples getting married in Minnesota.


Bear in mind that in the case of the bakery, the lgbt community was accused of using "Mafia-style" tactics even though no one actually gave any description of these so-called evil tactics. At the very least, gays probably arranged a very successful boycott of the business.

Which leads us to this conclusion - when gays conduct a successful boycott, it's the equivalent of leaving a horse's head in someone's bed (Godfather reference). When the religious right attempts a boycott, they are merely "standing up for Christian values."

Someone really needs to send me a decoder book for all of this crap.

'Boycott Target' campaign slowly backfiring on anti-lgbt right' & other Wed. midday news briefs

Anti-lgbt Target boycott is backfiring.

The Ironic Ways The Target Boycott Is Backfiring For Conservatives - Accidentally "liking" a tweet and a post refuting nonsense about the "bathroom predator" myth isn't the only way boycotting Target is backfiring against the American Family Association. It's bringing all of the street preaching loons out of the woodwork, amongst other things. Allegedly having over one million signatures on a petition means nothing if public perception paints you as a bunch of dangerous loons. 

White House To Create First Monument To Gay Rights - Of course it's going to be Stonewall. Sweet! 

The Real Reason the Religious Right Opposes Trans Equality. (It Isn’t Bathroom Predators.) - Fascinating article.

 Ted Cruz’s Transphobic Campaign Failed Miserably In Indiana - Good news? Ted Cruz will NOT be president. Really bad news? Donald Trump is STILL around. It's like one monster destroying another in a contest for the right to devour you.

  'God Help Us': Religious Right Leaders Mourn Ted Cruz's Defeat - They are SUCH drama queens.

The 'we don't want gays involved in CPAC' boycott grows and other Friday midday news briefs

Heritage Foundation and Media Research Center Join CPAC Boycott - The "we don't want that gay group involved with CPAC" boycott is getting more and more interesting. I'm running out of popcorn.

Audio: Right, because that is what's on gay soldiers' minds in foxholes -- sexual massage - I weep for the stupidity of the religous right . . . almost.

Wendy Wright Demonstrates Fundamentalist Christian Victim Complex - Get over it, Wendy.

NOM’s secret funding sources - I am curious to know where the National Organization for Marriage is getting their money also.

N.J. Gov. Christie approves toughest anti-bullying law in the country - OMG! Did Gov. Christie finally do something right?

AFA and FRC - enough religious right lies to shake a stick at

This morning, I am overwhelmed with religious right lies. Last night, I was contemplating what to write and was struck by the enormity of what I had to choose, so I am going to hit it with briefs:

AFA claims that its boycott of Home Depot is working

Yesterday, I got an email from the American Family Association which claimed that its boycott of Home Depot is working. AFA, you remember, is angry that Home Depot supports the gay community and maintains a presence at pride parades.

According to AFA:

AFA was recently contacted by a Home Depot employee who says the boycott of Home Depot is being effective. "We have customers who come into our store and confront our store managers over the HD's support of Gay pride. The AFA is having an effect on HD."

She also shared that many employees disagree with the company's pro-gay-marriage stand. In June, a "Gay Pride Month" poster was put up in her breakroom. "HD is as committed as ever to the changing of laws in favor of same sex marriage.They had absolutely no empathy for those employees who voiced offense with the display. This was mandated by corporate directive. Therefore the display was torn down at least 2 times."

An anonymous employee? Sure. And I am Paris Hilton with a good tan and a stunning personal trainer.

The Family Research Council gets a bit of help that it doesn't need

The Family Research Council got some positive pushback a few days ago against the Southern Poverty Law Center.

An editorial in Investor's Daily Business (IBD) defended FRC from charges that it is a hate group. However, unlike those who have said that the lies FRC says about the gay community isn't enough to label it a hate group, IBD stopped a bit lower:

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Campaign put on its blog a piece titled, "Paul Ryan Speaking at Hate Group's Annual Conference," referring to the FRC.

It said that the "FRC has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. It's a group that has advocated for the criminalization of homosexuality, called for LGBT people to be exported from the U.S., and has pushed dangerous lies trying to link being gay to pedophilia."

The FRC has done none of those things but that didn't stop the Daily Kos from vilifying the FRC for its support of Chick-fil-A . . .

You read this right. According to the IBD, the Family Research Council never advocated for the criminalization of homosexuality:



According to the IBD, the Family Research Council never called for gays to be exported out of the United States:



And according to the IBD, the Family Research Council never pushed dangerous lies trying to link being gay to pedophilia:

"We believe the evidence shows … that relative to the size of their population, homosexual men are more likely to engage in child sexual abuse than are heterosexual men."
— Peter Sprigg, "Debating Homosexuality: Understanding Two Views." 2011.

“Gaining access to children has been a long-term goal of the homosexual movement.”
— Robert Knight, FRC director of cultural studies, and Frank York, 1999

“One of the primary goals of the homosexual rights movement is to abolish all age of consent laws and to eventually recognize pedophiles as the ‘prophets' of a new sexual order.”
-1999 FRC pamphlet, Homosexual Activists Work to Normalize Sex with Boys.

“[T]he evidence indicates that disproportionate numbers of gay men seek adolescent males or boys as sexual partners.”
— Timothy Dailey, senior research fellow, “Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse,” 2002

“While activists like to claim that pedophilia is a completely distinct orientation from homosexuality, evidence shows a disproportionate overlap between the two. … It is a homosexual problem.”
— FRC President Tony Perkins, FRC website, 2010

If IBD is making this claim about FRC when the opposite is true, that would mean that the editorial it wrote was shoddy because the author obviously didn't spend enough time on getting the facts rather than pushing a false line that FRC is a victim.

You tell me.

'NOM's Starbucks boycott failing hard thus far' and other Friday midday news briefs

NOM's Starbucks Boycott: Day One - So far, NOM's boycott of Starbucks is FAILING!!!

Workplace Discrimination Costs Businesses $64 Billion Every Year [INFOGRAPHIC] - It's not nice to discriminate against lgbts. In fact, it costs.


A Great Rebuttal to the ‘Day of Dialogue’ Card - Every year, the religious right attempts to put a wrench in GLSEN's "Day of Silence." And every year, they fall on their faces.

GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project Demands Honesty from the Religious Right - Okay, you have seen me pump this piece up ad naseum, so allow me to continue. It's an original piece I wrote especially for the Huffington Post. And it has been received as a huge success.

Home Depot feeds the American Family Association a big plate of crow

Last week, the American Family Association claimed that its boycott against Home Depot was successful.

AFA was boycotting the company because Home Depot has been very supportive of the lgbtq community, even publicly supporting pride events and providing booths for children during those events.

AFA claimed the following:

AFA spokesman, Randy Sharp says “We’re seeing some movement. It appears that the Home Depot is pulling back from their support of homosexual activism. Over the course of the last three years, we’ve seen a reduction in the number of gay pride events that they’re sponsoring and participating in. However, we want to be cautious.”

However, Samantha F. DeVaney, a representative of Home Depot, said that this was not true:

We have never changed our commitment to diversity and inclusion of all people, and we have no intention of doing so. Nor have we changed our apron policy or the guidelines for our Foundation?s charitable giving.

So today, AFA is now admitting that it was wrong about its Home Depot boycott:

American Family Association, which heads up a boycott against Home Depot, reported earlier this month that the national retailer appeared to be pulling back its support of homosexual activists, noting the home improvement chain participated in just four "gay pride" events in 2011 -- down from at least 16 such events in 2009 and 2010. Furthermore, AFA reported that Home Depot ordered its employees to stop wearing their orange aprons to homosexual-themed events.

But AFA's director of special projects, Randy Sharp, now says his organization spoke too soon. "Once we brought that to light, Home Depot made a public statement to everyone who contacted them and said [essentially] 'No, we haven't changed any policies. When it comes to homosexuality, homosexual marriage in our culture, we will continue to support it financially.

I hope that fried crow tastes good, Mr. Sharp

You never lose when you stand up to homophobia and lies

Today is Mike Huckabee's ridiculous "Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day" and it's probably going to be a hit.

Of course what would one expect. His call to support the restaurant chain on this day has been echoed and endorsed by several religious right and anti-gay groups as well as some ignorant religious entities.

So while these folks will no doubt inundate the media with videos and photos of today's event, I would like to reassure my lgbtq community and our allies not to worry.

You see we have won already. And when I say that we have won, I don't mean the intangible way that the title of my piece implies.

Our goal has never been about "shutting down Chick-Fil-A."

Our goal has always been to make people aware of just who Chick-Fil-A supports because this issue goes way beyond chicken.

Franklin Graham, Family Research Council embarrass themselves with weekend of anti-LGBTQ hypocrisy and lies

 

Franklin Graham's hypocritical support of DeSantis's attack on Disney only demonstrates his hatred for LGBTQ people.

For the first time a long time on this blog, we have a two for one when it comes to religious right hypocrisy, lies, and basic hatred for LGBTQ people.

First, leave it to Franklin Graham back up Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis in their war against Disney over the 'Don't Say Gay' law:

Whether or not Disney will suffer is a serious question. The popular opinion seems to be that neither DeSantis nor the Florida legislature thought their actions through when passing the bill to revoke Disney's status. And it looks like the company won't even suffer while Florida residents will see an increase in their taxes.

But this is about Graham's hypocrisy when it comes to governors and private companies. I can remember when he wasn't so congenial to elected officials, particularly in 2016:

The Rev. Franklin Graham has strongly condemned Mayor Bill de Blasio's call for a boycott of popular fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which is opening a new location in the New York City borough of Queens, just because its Christian owners believe in the biblical definition of marriage. 

"Can you imagine a city where a popular, successful business is singled out and attacked by the mayor who calls for a boycott — all because the business owners let it be known that they operate by Christian principles and believe in God's definition of marriage?" Graham, the president of Samaritan's Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, wrote on his Facebook page.

 "That's exactly what just happened to one of America's most successful businesses. Chick-fil-A has almost 2000 restaurants and sales of more than $6 billion annually. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that doesn't like their chicken sandwiches — and their high quality service," Graham adds. 

 De Blasio is backing openly gay Councilman Danny Dromm who has jurisdiction over the area where the restaurant will be situated and is calling for an all-out boycott of the fast food joint, NY1 News reported.

The only thing sadder than Graham's blatant hypocrisy is the reason behind it. He supports DeSantis because the governor is acting against the LGBTQ community and he got angry at de Blasio because that mayor's actions was against Chick-fil-A's anti-LGBTQ record.

So the only consistency with Graham here is just how much he hates LGBTQ people. 

And not to be outdone by Graham's homophobia and hypocrisy, the Family Research Council decided to corner the market on blatant lying with the following tweet:

That lie is so easy to refute with the following links:

Trans Youth With Access to Early Medical Care Have Better Mental Health Outcomes

Gender-affirming care can improve mental health outcomes in transgender youth 

What does the scholarly research say about the effect of gender transition on transgender well-being?

Better mental health found among transgender people who started hormones as teens

These two situations with Franklin Graham and the Family Research Council merely underscore the simple fact that for all of their talk about being religious and pro-family, we are talking about people and entities who are power hungry and willing to stoop to any level and tell any lie to gain more advantage and clout. 

Christianity and morality is simply a props for them and as long as they can hide behind these identifiers, they will continue to play these games and harm LGBTQ people. Our job must be to expose them every time we have the opportunity. 

A little more about the McDonalds boycott

It IS a slow news day. I apologize for not having anything of interest to post. But I do want to leave you with this one very funny item:

Comedy Central's Jon Stewart took time to make light of the American Family Association's recent boycott of fast food giant McDonald's over a decision "not to remain neutral in the cultural war over homosexuality."

Quipped Stewart: "This is the first time you realized McDonald's was gay? Do you have a TV? Have you ever seen their ads?!"

On May 22, 2008, American Family Association chairman Donald Wildmon wrote to McDonald's USA, threatening the boycott in protest of the seating of their Vice President of Communications, Richard Ellis, on the Board of Directors of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, along with a $20,000 corporate donation to the organization.

More here, including the very funny clip.

Anti-gay group giving up JC Penney boycott

And it's over.

The American Family Association's sub organization One Million Moms (yeah right) has officially admitted that it failed in its boycott against JC Penney. The organization was demanding that the department store remove Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson because she is openly gay.

However JC Penney refused to do so and folks - especially the lgbtq community - rallied around DeGeneres.

So One Million Moms took the hint:

The leader of a pro-family advocacy group says only time will tell whether JC Penney's decision to have a high-profile homosexual entertainer as its spokesperson was a good business decision.

Despite opposition from the American Family Association's advocacy group OneMillionMoms.com, the retailer is backing its commitment to the Ellen DeGeneres (see earlier story). Director Monica Cole tells OneNewsNow that other issues require her group's attention, so OMM is moving on.

"But we have heard back from so many of our members," she shares. "We have heard back from men and women -- not just moms -- saying they will no longer shop there at JC Penney, as long as Ellen DeGeneres is their spokesperson."

Cole believes OneMillionMoms has done its job by educating members about the retailer and urging them to take their business elsewhere. She says only time will tell how business goes for JC Penney.

This makes the second high profile embarrassment for One Million Moms. Earlier this year, the organization threatened to boycott the national chain Toys R Us if it ran an issue of Archie Comics featuring a gay wedding.

Toys R Us pretty much ignored the threat and the comic sold out

'Georgia faces danger of Hollywood boycott if anti-gay adoption bill becomes law' & other Tue midday news briefs

Hollywood Stars, Producers Call For Georgia Boycott If Anti-LGBTQ Law Passes - I like the idea of Hollywood boycotting Georgia if this awful bill becomes law. But I wish the media would focus on others who are also calling for a boycott because the religious right will definitely push the "Hollywood weirdos vs. normal folks" angle. This would take away from the real point of the matter which is saying that adoption agencies who use LGBTQ tax dollars shouldn't have the right to discriminate against LGBTQs for any reason. And that there is nothing wrong with a child growing up in a same-sex household.

Why LGBT rights groups are worried about Georgia's Keep Faith in Adoption and Foster Care Act - More about the awful bill in the above news briefs, plus this little point not mentioned in the article - regardless or not this bill is successful, one has to wonder if it's the start of a religious right tactic of keeping our community from fostering and adopting. If this is so, let's call it for what it is. Our opponents would claim that these bills are for the children, but we know that's a lie. It's all about discrimination. The facts are on our side and if this becomes a huge fight, we need to get the narrative on our side, too. 

In a first, openly transgender recruit signs contract for U.S. military - Another reminder that Trump's attempted trans ban is bupkiss. If transgender men and women want to serve in the military, let them.

Hawaii court rules ‘Christian B&B’ can’t use religion as a weapon against gay couples - Another wonderful ruling by the courts. 

What are the challenges for getting gay men at risk of HIV to take PrEP? - One problem is fear of "slut shaming." "Slut shaming" is an awful thing to do because there is nothing wrong with a healthy sexual appetite. Hell, my problem is that I don't get any. 

Bill Whitman is right - they do hate gays

It was a very big crowd during lunch at McDonalds today. Everyone was supersizing their menus and were also very nice.

I ran into a very polite, well-dressed young man. Another five minutes and I would have been engaged.

Apparently news of the AFA's boycott isn't affecting McDonalds here in South Carolina. And to a degree, that is interesting. After all, South Carolina is the buckle of the Bible Belt. Down here, we not only argue over Biblical interpretations, but also the length of baptism pools and the size of the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

Who knows. Maybe very few people down here know about it. Or maybe they do know about the boycott and the general feeling is "the AFA be damned. I'm hungry and hot. Now supersize me!"

Either way, it's really not surprising. Telling Americans not to go to McDonalds is like telling my great aunt not to go to church. The difference is that in the case of my great aunt, you might get cut.

But you have go give the AFA points (albeit very small ones) for using the words of McDonalds spokesman Bill Whitman.

Notice that I did not say twisting words because Whitman did infer that the actions of the AFA and others are motivated out of hatred.

It is something that us lgbts know all too well. Now some may say describing the AFA and other members of the anti-gay industry as hateful and homophobic is overused. Certainly it gives them a chance to play innocent. All we are doing is standing up for Christian values and traditional morality, they say. Why is that when Christians stand up for what they believe in, they are called haters?

I personally don't have a problem with describing the AFA and the others as hateful. I do have a problem with folks doing so without supplying proof of their offenses.

The fact of the matter is that no matter how AFA, Donald Wildmon, Peter LaBarbera, the Liberty Counsel, Concerned Women for America, etc. try to spin and plead ennui, they really do hate the lgbt community.

And as luck would have it, there is a paper trail. Just in time for their press conference tomorrow, too.

Read on if you have a strong stomach and feel free to pass this list to anyone else, especially "pro-boycott" supporters:

“If you look at the footage from Operation Rescue, um, vigils outside abortion clinics, you will see that the anti Operation Rescue demonstrators invariably have a pink triangle on and they are usually pretty big heavy set women who look like they’ve been over working October Fest for the last six years . . .” — Robert Knight (formerly of the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America)

"Now the Bush Administration is opening its arms to homosexual activists who have been working diligently to overthrow the traditional views of Western Civilization regarding human sexuality, marriage and family… AFA would never support the policies of a political party which embraced the homosexual movement. Period.” – Don Wildmon, AFA Press Release

"Why is the House of Representatives wasting taxpayer dollars to discuss whether or not drag queens or she-males are offended because of their cross-dressing or sexual behaviors in a business environment?” Of course, “I already know the answer: Because liberals…are aggressively promoting the normalization of cross-dressing and transsexualism in our culture.” - Andrea Lafferty, Traditional Values Coalition

" . . . I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society." - Peter Sprigg, the Family Research Council

“Imagine, if you will, a 280 lb linebacker who likes to wear a dress and high heels and lipstick, you know comes to church wanting a job at the front desk as a receptionist and they turn him away because they don’t feel that that represents their values or the image that they’re trying to hold at that church, under ENDA they could be held accountable for discrimination against that individual.” - Matt Barber, Liberty Counsel

"Obviously, we’re saddened at the spectacle of the Vice President’s daughter, Mary Cheney, living in an open lesbian relationship, and now bringing a child into a home that is fatherless by design. In our view, this is another case of the “gay” movement putting its wants (in this case, having a child) above what’s best for children. “Two mommies” or “two daddies” will never substitute for a home with a married mom and a dad, and it is sad when men or women model immoral homosexual behavior before innocent children in a home setting".– Peter LaBarbera