Ben Carson puts his entire foot in his mouth, heel and all

Dear Ben Carson,

Please stop talking. It just destroys me that your ridiculous run for president is ruining your legacy as a top-notch surgeon. But if you keep talking about the lgbt community like this, I swear you are going to start making Sarah Palin seem like Einstein:



No,no, no! This is not what an intelligent black man of any political affiliation is supposed to sound like on television. It just makes you want to take up pimping.

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

'LGBT community pays tribute to David Bowie' & other Mon. midday news briefs

Tributes are pouring in for David  Bowi

How David Bowie Undeniably Changed The Way We Think About Gender And Sexuality - I never really heard of David Bowie before his "Let's Dance" album but because of it, I sought to learn a lot about him. He was definitely a trendsetter. 

 LGBT People Reveal Why David Bowie Was So Important To Them - Yes he was . . .  

Redefining What It Means to Be a Gay Black Man -  Wonderful post. Goodness KNOWS we need redefinition. Might I recommend that first we receive more visibility for our diverse talents.

 Va. bill would block local anti-LGBT discrimination ordinances - Ugh! And if it's successful, welcome to the new war on lgbt equality.  

Santorum: Allowing Gay Marriage Like Changing 'The Chemical Equation For Water' - It's depressing to realize how much attention people like Rick Santorum gets from the regular press. That's why we have to cover him. 

 Roy Moore Can't Be Impeached And He Can't Be Re-Elected, So Guess Why He's Attacking Gays Again? - Cause he wants to be governor of Alabama. Whoops! I ruined the surprise. Well it really wasn't one.

David Bowie dies at 69 of cancer

Well this is crappy news to begin a week with. From David Bowie's webpage:

David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.

He may not have been gay, but he was a hero to many of us with his outrageously public embrace of flamboyance and androgyny. Of course that didn't cover up the fact of how talented he was as an artist or the various styles of music he mastered.

R.I.P. David Bowie

Below is my favorite David Bowie song:

'Six reasons why Roy Moore should have NEVER been a judge' & other Fri. midday news briefs

Roy Moore

6 Things You Should Know About Alabama's Chief Justice Roy Moore - I'm sorry but what the heck is wrong with folks in Alabama for giving THIS bozo power?

GOP Lawmakers In Two Southern States File Bills Comparing Same-Sex Marriage To Forced Sterilization - It is my unfortunate duty to tell you that one of those states is my own - South Carolina.

What It’s Like To Escape Ex-Gay Therapy — And Then Defeat It - Ah yes. The disappearing fraud of ex-gay therapy. Thank goodness. I once participated in my own ex-gay therapy in high school. It was weird. Sort of like the 'Miami Vice' arc when Crockett's evil personality took over his mind.

Will Obama include LGBT issues in final State of the Union? - He'd better.

This 8-Year-Old Boy's Very Special Dream Just Came True - This is so wonderful. I approve of this BIG TIME!

Hate group Family Research Council applauds Roy Moore's sad, illegal attempt to halt marriage equality

Roy Moore

Come on, Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council. Even YOU know better than to applaud Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore's illegal  - and FUTILE - action to halt marriage equality in Alabama

Then again:

Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is used to being in headlines -- but Wednesday's weren't exactly accurate ones. Like several of the country's clerks and judges, Roy Moore made no secret of where he stands on same-sex marriage -- and he's fought it with every judicial tool at his disposal. And while some have accused him of defying the Supreme Court's decision to redefine marriage, the reality is that Moore is simply holding out until an official decision is reached in his state.

Most people are probably wondering: Didn't the Supreme Court already make that determination for Alabama in Obergefell? The answer is yes and no. Last spring, before five justices decided to rewrite thousands of years of natural law, the Alabama Supreme Court had upheld the state's marriage amendment. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, there's some confusion as to what the state's decision means in light of that. Right now, the Alabama Supreme Court is currently considering the impact of Obergefell on its ruling last March.

FRC president Tony Perkins

Until it rules, Chief Justice Moore is telling probate judges to continue to follow his administrative order from last March: "Until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court, the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court that Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act remain in full force and effect."

To be clear, this is an administrative order -- not a ruling on the merits. All it does is simply reaffirm Moore's position while the Alabama Supreme Court deliberates. The media, however, seized on the memo to probate judges as proof that Justice Moore is somehow rebelling against the courts. In reality, he's simply doing what he can to delay the process and force others to act -- instead of willfully allowing same-sex "marriage" in Alabama on his watch. Nothing that Justice Moore has done is outside of his authority or the boundaries of his role. Until the state supreme court rules (and there's little doubt as to how they will), no outcome from the high court is final. In the meantime, we applaud Justice Moore for morally and constitutionally opposing an unjust ruling -- and ensuring that the state's process is followed before the redefinition of marriage is unleashed there.

There is NO confusion. SCOTUS declared marriage equality legal and that's the end of it. Let's not play games here. Roy Moore is a cheap, dictatorial demagogue who seems to think that HIS religious beliefs supersedes America's laws and court procedures.  He is a fool with power, which makes him a somewhat dangerous fool, but a fool nonetheless.

And the fact that the Family Research Council jumps through hoops to defend his madness more than adequately demonstrates its anti-gay animus and gives proper justification as to why it was declared to be an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Now meanwhile, in the REAL world:

Two federal prosecutors in Alabama say that Alabama probate judges are not free to disobey the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage and deny gay couples marriage licenses, despite an order from Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.

"The Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court has issued an administrative order, directing probate judges that they may not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year on marriage equality," according to a statement issued Wednesday night by U.S. Attorneys Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama and Kenyen Brown of the Southern District of Alabama.

"We have grave concerns about this order, which directs Alabama probate judges to disobey the ruling of the Supreme Court," Vance and Brown stated. "Government officials are free to disagree with the law, but not to disobey it. This issue has been decided by the highest court in the land and Alabama must follow that law."

Anti-gay activist Theodore Shoebat furious that other bigots think of him as too mean

If this is an indication of how 2016 will be, I am going to be eating lots of popcorn.

From Right Wing Watch:

One of the reasons that we started regularly covering extremist right-wing activist Theodore Shoebat and his open calls for gays to be put to death was because he was featured in Janet Porter's anti-gay documentary "Light Wins" along with Republican presidential candidates, members of Congress, and leading anti-gay activists. Once Shoebat's views began to be exposed, his allies in the "pro-family" movement began to distance themselves from him, and Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, who is an anti-gay extremist in his own right and who also appeared in Porter's documentary, disavowed Shoebat and his call to execute gays. That, of course, did not sit very well with Shoebat, who blasted LaBarbera in his latest video as a "filthy pig" and a "traitor" for refusing that stand by Shoebat and his calls to put gays to
death

.

Shoebat is a disgusting piece of garbage but I fail to see how 'Porno'  Pete LaBarbera is any different. or how he can attack Shoebat without taking into account his own words and actions. Shoebat wishes for lgbts to be violently executed. LaBarbera wants policies and laws in place which would slowly but surely kill our souls and spirits.  That's vile enough, but when you destroy a person's spirit, you put them in a position where they wish for death and act accordingly either by suicide or embracing dangerous behaviors (such as drug abuse, etc). Shoebat and LaBarbera are two sides of the same coin. LaBabera is too cowardly to be proud of the potential blood on his hands. Shoebat isn't.

'Roy Moore flails helplessly against marriage equality' & other Thur midday news briefs

Roy Moore

Alabama Chief Justice Screwed 66 Judges - First of all, the title of this article makes me nauseated and jealous at the same time. That aside, it's amusing to see Moore think that he can overrule SCOTUS. People say we should ignore this. I say we use it because Moore has obviously teed off more folks besides lgbts with his antics. 

Anti-Gay Activists Rally Behind Roy Moore, Who Touts 'States' Rights' - And his supporters aren't exactly helping his fruitless cause either.  

A Dejected Mike Huckabee Is Now Just Burning Bridges With The Religious Right - MEANWHILE, poor Mike Huckabee is acting like a stone cold wiaaaatch (minus the "w", add the "b") because the religious right have deserted him for Ted Cruz. This is just too fun to watch.  

Methodist Minister Comes Out As A Lesbian During Sermon - One of the times I'm mad that I missed going to church. 

 LGBT and the War on Christianity - Wonderful post about bogarting and attempting to entitle yourself to designate people as Christian or not Christian.

Anti-gay hate group attacks ad for featuring same-sex family

The anti-gay American Family Association is going into orbit about a commercial featuring a same-sex family.

In fact, the organization  has begun an online petition decrying it. According to the Huffington Post:

 . . . (the petition calls) for supporters to urge the insurance company to "stop its promotion of normalizing homosexual parenting when children's welfare is at stake."
The petition reads:

The Allstate promotion does not share the reality that this child will grow up without the nurture that only a mother can provide. Nor does Allstate recognize the emotional trauma and questions this child will endure growing up in a home with two men.

Pointing to a debunked 2012 study that claimed to prove children of same-sex parents fared worse than those raised by heterosexual couples, AFA officials said, "Allstate has abandoned God's design for the family, and thus promotes a lifestyle that is not good for children."

Many have given their opinion on this nonsense and many of those opinions have been wonderful.

But as for me, I can't help wondering how does presidential candidate Marco Rubio feel about the situation? After all, he is making a campaign issue about rallying to the side of those against marriage equality. He even whines about marriage equality opposition being called "bigots." 

One wonders this includes those who will blatantly attack same-sex families.

Self-immolation of progressive minister still a mystery after two years

Editor's note - the cable/internet war is over and I won. Now to continue in hopes that my readers are still interested in what I have to say:

Moore

You can take whatever you want out of this - a brave cry for social justice, a depressed man attempting to do something about the chaos around him, or whatever. One thing is for sure - it does create a certain clarity as to how one sees life:

From Unicorn Booty:

The evening of Monday, June 23, 2014, Charles Moore — a 79-year-old retired Methodist Reverend — drove to a Dollar General parking lot in his rural hometown of Grand Saline, Texas, doused himself in gasoline and set himself on fire. For hours afterwards, neither Moore’s witnesses nor his family had any idea why.

Moore had grown up in Grand Saline — a sleepy, livestock and farming town of just 3,136 people — but he left in 1954 to attend university. Outside of a brief stay following his first divorce in ‘78, he hadn’t spent much time there. For the last seven years, he had been living with his third wife Barbara in Allen, a suburb just outside of Dallas, where he would play with his grandchildren at the local park, watch Cowboys games with his stepson-in-law, gripe about Tea Party politics and write alone in his study. 

But unbeknownst to them, he’d fallen into a depression after his retirement in 2000. After decades of preaching in churches across Texas, rebuilding impoverished communities around the world and doing activist work for death row inmates, poor people and LGBT outcasts, he wrote in his journal, “I am not proud of the timidity [those years of work] represent or their avoidance of physical danger.” He felt ashamed for being “completely inactive” since his retirement and for living in an “arch-conservative” Dallas suburb, adding that he’d “been nothing but a cringing coward” ever since.

“My life has been, and is, a great misery over these issues,” Moore lamented, “and I have done absolutely nothing about any of them for a long time.”

Read the full piece here

'Ben Carson confronted at town hall about his homophobic rhetoric' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Editor's note - The cable/internet battle of Senate St continues at my residence(see my last post) and will hopefully end by tomorrow afternoon. Until then, enjoy these news briefs :

Ben Carson gets called out for his homophobia

Ben Carson confronted at town hall event: ‘Do you think I chose to be gay?’ - Presidential candidate Ben Carson gets confronted by a voter because of his past anti-gay rhetoric and it is spectacular. The only thing missing seems to be the defiant cigarette jab to the skies used by Angela Bassett in "Waiting to Exhale" when she burned her cheating husband's belongings.

Ben Carson Says He Would Consider Banning Gays In Military, Decide On 'Evidence' (Video) - As seen by this, certain confrontations are needed.

 Gordon Klingenschmitt Says Gays Are Driven By A 'Demonic Spirit Of Lust' To Persecute Christians - Klingenschmitt gives us such an embarrassment of riches that it's simply too easy to take advantage.  

Legislators, leave your gay neighbors alone - This is a wonderful column by someone I am proud to say is a very good friend of mine.  

Georgia Lawmakers To Push Pair Of Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Liberty’ Bills - Goody! Goody! Let's dance!

'Meet the anti-gay billionaires who are backing Ted Cruz' & other Mon midday news briefs

Upate - Due to technical difficulties beyond my control - I.e. a cut cable wire, at least until Wednesday afternoon, news briefs will be the only thing I can post  because I have no home internet service. Don't desert me just yet, loyal readers.

Editor's note - It's 2016 so let's just slowly ease into this year with a few news briefs before we really begin so. me fun:

Forget the Koch Bros for a second. The Wilks Bros are more dangerous

Inside the Anti-Gay Church That Loves Kim Davis and Ted Cruz - It's scary when real life beings to resemble a James Bond movie and a comic book. The second most dangerous people in the world are those who think their religion should shape society. The first most dangerous people is the second most dangerous people who have an obscenely large amount of money. 

Reno juvenile hall stops preaching against homosexuality - A victory for our lgbt children.  

Celebrating Our Right to Marry While Acknowledging the Psychological Scars - A piece I wrote last week which I reshaped for The Huffington Post. There is nothing wrong with lgbts admitting that we aren't bullet-proof or that we can "sashay, shantay" away our psychological scars. Acknowledging that they exist is the first step to defeating them.

 Charlotte Council to Take Up LGBT Protections Despite Threats From Anti-Gay State Lawmakers - Charlotte City Council comes out swinging for lgbt protections. I like that!  

Scott Lively Begs For Money And Calls For Passage Of Russian-Style Anti-Gay Laws Around The World - Modesty and good taste precludes me from saying what I want to say about Scott Lively. I have to remember that as long as he talks, the better lgbts look to the world. 

 Scalia: Constitution Doesn't Ban Government From Supporting Religion - Naturally he probably means the religion HE believes. Scalia is a nasty fungus on SCOTUS. He should have never been appointed and there needs to be some type of "how we got over" party when he leaves. If his remarks here doesn't convince you on that, then nothing will.

'The top 15 anti-lgbt villains of 2015' & other Thur midday news briefs.

Editor's note - unless something incredibly juicy happens, this will be my last post for 2015. It's been wild and it's been fun. We won a lot in 2015. Hopefully in 2016, our minds will be not becoming stagnant or complacent. Hopefully we will be aggressively working on keeping what we have won and gaining more. Thank you to all of my readers and supporters. You mean the world to me. Have a safe and happy new year. And let's come back to gain more. 

Rep. Louie Gohmert gets 'dubious' honor

Here Are 15 Of The Worst Anti-LGBT Villains Of 2015 - You must always know your opposition, as well as keeping in mind that while they may have won some battles, the victory in the war has been ours. 

 Campaign Ad Shows The America Ted Cruz Values: Christian Crosses, Ten Commandments And Guns (Video) - In 2016, we will be electing a new president. And THIS guy is in the running. Ignore Ted Cruz at your own peril. 

 The most important part about winning marriage equality is for our lgbt children - Reposting the piece I put up this morning. In 2015, we won marriage equality and we must never forget that we won it not only for ourselves but our lgbt children. 

 Indiana Lawmaker Introduces ‘Pay To Pee’ Bill For Transgender People - Another nonsensical thing we will be fighting in 2016. In 2015, the transgender community became more visible. As they did, some nasty individuals began to reduce the dignity of their lives to horror stories about who will use what bathrooms and monsters preying on children. Expect more of the same in 2016, unfortunately. 

 Kim Davis: ‘I am just the first of what’s going to be very many.’ - No you won't be, honey. But in the event that you will be, you ALL should expect to lose. Raise them up and the lgbt community with the law on our side will knock every single one of them down. One. By. One.  

Anti-Gay Bakers Finally Pay Their Fine. Conservatives Throw Them A Pity Party. - While this article may be repeating information which a lot of you already know, it is important to take it in. The anti-gay bakers in Oregon are the epitome of anti-gay lies and deception plaguing our community and the country in general.

The most important part about winning marriage equality is for our lgbt children

In 2015, marriage equality was officially legalized and it was about damn time.

The legalization of marriage equality represents so much. After a long campaign in which we lost many painful battles, the often dreamed possibility became a reality and millions of same-sex couples and their children had the legitimacy they should have had in the beginning.

But it means so much more.

Granted, some of our own aren't exactly happy about having the right to marry. Some claim that things like marriage is forcing the lgbt community into "conforming" to heteronormative behavior and roles. Some claim that our uniqueness as a community is falling by the wayside because we are attempting to "become" like heterosexual couples.

I don't know a thing about all of that. But this is what I do know.

Before I realized that I was gay, I had the usual dream of wanting to be married and having a family. But after I realized that I was gay, that dream dissipated because at that time, very few thought of gays having families and children. All of the messages drummed into me by society was the quite the opposite.

So my dream was destroyed. It wasn't that I decided not to go that direction. Someone had already decided to deny me what I felt should be a crucial part of my life's desire. Needless to say,  it devastated me.  It was a nasty message sent to me that because I am gay, I am inferior. That I don't get to pick my life's paths. That I was not worthy of having a family, nurturing, or raising children, not because I didn't prove myself of being capable, but because someone else had already decided for me.

That message played a huge role in the depression which gripped me back then and it wasn't pretty. I wish I could say that now things have changed and that hurt of realizing just low I placed in the so-called pecking order of society disappeared when marriage equality became legal. But it hasn't.

Today, I'm 44-years-old and I am not pining for marriage. If it happens, great. If not, then I will be okay. But even now, there is a part of me who is still that young gay man with a void unfairly carved into his heart by the ignorance and religious self-righteousness of others. I am still that young gay man who watched his heterosexual friends love, lose, cry and go through the rituals of having a relationship while silently hating them all with such a hot jealousy that I am ashamed to admit it even now. 

And I'm confused. Am I okay with no longer having the dream of being married and having a family because  I gave up a part of my soul in order to survive?  Is there a small part inside of me so deeply hidden which hasn't rejected the message I was given as a young gay man, i.e. the message saying "you're a fag. And fags don't have families, children, or happy endings."

I don't know and I don't think that I ever will know. But at this juncture in my life, I take solace that younger lgbts are no longer being told by society what I was told. I want our kids to have choices. If they want marriage, family, and the stereotypical white picket fence life, then it's there for them. But if they don't want that, then that is also okay.

But it's their choice No one  has the right to deprive our lgbt kids of their desires or dreams of however direction they want to take their lives.  And most importantly, no one has the right to inflict upon our children psychological scars which can continue to haunt them even as adults.

'Anti-gay bakers play the victim while still raking in big bucks' & other Wed. midday news briefs

 

The tears, just like everything else the Kleins do, are sad lies.

Sweet Cakes Bakers Still Actively Fundraising, Cash Pouring In - So now things become more clear. Having been recently forced to pay the money they owe, anti-gay bakers Melissa and Aaron Klein, with a little help from the lying Fox News personality Todd Starnes, is using this new situation to raise even more money. They do this by implying that the state is seizing all the money they have (making sure to omit the obscenely large amount of money they have been given via donations by gullible folks.) Unless you are an actual Christian, one who dislikes all forms of deception; especially done in God's name, there is no need for anger. When people destroy the integrity of their own faith system, all you should do is observe and pity them.

Student Who Described Lesbians As “Perverse” In Essay Continues Legal Action Against University - Classic case of why I DESPISE concern trolling from fellow lgbts and allies when situations like this roll around. This originally sounded like a case in which an anti-gay student was done wrong. However, new details proved otherwise.  

Marriage Equality Almost Didn’t Happen: The Strange Tale Of How It All Started - In the future, we will all realize that there was not simply just ONE factor which made marriage equality a reality, but lots of incidents and small stories (a few which include me. Yeah, I said it.) This is merely one of them. We should take them all in.  

The Texas News Station That Helped Fuel The Year's Biggest Setback For LGBT Equality - This article proves that as 2016 rolls around, we need to take new and more aggressive forms in getting our stories out there AND annihilating the lies perpetrated against us. We can't count on the "conventional" media. We should already know to count on ourselves.

Todd Starnes's distortions defending anti-gay bakery sinks Christianity to new low

Fox News personality Todd Starnes

There are times, when I want to point out the basic dishonest of the anti-gay religious right in America, I don't have to go on a long expository. I just merely point out the actions of one of their spokespeople. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, "Crazy" Jane Folger, or the American Family Association are always good for it.

And today, it's Fox News personality Todd Starnes.

Seriously, someone needs to ask serious questions about how Starnes continues to have a job, even with Fox News, when he has a reputation of distortions and outright lying to further the "anti-Christian persecution" angle which is extremely popular amongst conservatives. (Editor's note - actually, The Atlantic  has asked those questions.)

Today, he put his poison pen on the case of the Oregon anti-gay bakery, Melissa's Sweet Cakes.

First, a little background via an Oregon publication:

The owners of a Portland-area bakery that denied service to a same-sex couple has paid more than $135,000 to cover a legally-binding order from the Bureau of Labor and Industries. Charlie Burr, the communications director for BOLI, told KOIN 6 News the agency received a payment of $136,927.07 from Aaron Klein on Monday. That payment followed a collection effort earlier this month that netted about $7000 earlier in December, Burr said. Klein and his wife, Melissa, own Sweet Cakes by Melissa. They refused to bake a wedding cake for Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer, which BOLI ruled was  unlawful discrimination. In July, BOLI said a state exemption for religious organizations and schools does not allow private business owners to deny service to potential customers because of sexual orientation.

It's pretty standard, although with some details omitted. However, check out how Starnes, via  the American Family Assocation's One News Now, and probably other places where his column ran, spins the story:
 

Melissa Klein was checking her bank accounts just a few weeks before Christmas when her face turned ashen. The money was gone – every single penny.

Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries had confiscated all the cash in Mrs. Klein’s checking account and savings account as well as a special account set aside for their church tithe.

Yes, friends – the state of Oregon stole money meant for our Lord.

Mrs. Klein and her husband, Aaron, are devout evangelical Christians who own a mom-and-pop bakery – Sweet Cakes By Melissa.

In July, they were ordered to pay more than $135,000 in damages to a lesbian couple after they refused to bake their wedding cake. The Kleins objected because of their religious beliefs.

The judgment was awarded to the lesbians for “emotional suffering.”

Just a few weeks before Christmas, Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian wiped out the Klein family’s bank accounts – taking nearly $7,000.

Starnes' sad sack goes on like this throughout the entire article. However, there are two things he glossed over:

'Ted Cruz building coalition between anti-gay religious right, tea party' & other Tue. midday news briefs

Trump may have the press attention, but Cruz is building the power base.

Cruz Taps Evangelicals, Tea Partiers To Fuel 2016 Campaign - Laugh at the coalition all you want. You shouldn't, especially when you read the part about the voting apparatus: 

The Cruz campaign combines a traditional get-out-the-vote operation — making phone calls and knocking on doors — with modern data analytics to identify and mobilize supporters, beginning with Iowa on Feb. 1. He's pairing that with state-by-state teams filled with grassroots tea party leaders, local elected officials and state lawmakers who hail from the most conservative corners of the GOP. 

We Read Rafael Cruz's Book So You Don't Have To - If the potential power of Cruz's voting apparatus doesn't cause alarm, then perhaps this will. Imagine THIS NUT anywhere NEAR the White House. It ain't pretty.

 Outspoken Josh Duggar Defender Mike Huckabee: 'I Never Defended Josh' - Mike Huckabee is playing serious damage control. He recently claimed that he NEVER defended the now infamous Josh Duggar. Huckabee says he was merely defending Duggar's family. What I am about to say is going to probably offend many of my readers, so I profusely apologize, but BITCH, PLEASE!!!!! 

 How Anti-Gay Talking Points Are Being Recycled For The Transgender Community - Not at all surprising in the least. Media Matters confirms what us monitors of anti-lgbt propaganda have known and have been shouting about for the longest time. Anti-transgender talking points are nothing more than general anti-gay talking points which have been scrubbed up, altered, and recycled. I hear so many folks whining about "how do we combat this" or "how do we fight this. we need a plan." @!% ! The plan has been there all of the time, only some folks have been too timid to take initiative. You DO NOT wait until the next referendum battle or the next public vote or the next public controversy. The fact that anti-lgbt groups use these lies as talking points should be THE argument. Until the lgbt community harnesses all of our resources (television, magazine, blogs, online news services, etc) to initiate the battles instead of waiting for them to be initiated on us, we are going to continue to look like and be treated like walking victims.  

5 Times 2016 Presidential Candidates Were Anti-LGBTQ - Just five?

Another reason the lgbt community should pay Ted Cruz as much attention as Trump

Ted Cruz supporters sound exactly like Trump supporters. These people can all have each other. pic.twitter.com/a35vHQcnGh

— Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) December 28, 2015

As the above tweet shows, presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz should be garnering more attention in terms of being the candidate we should be weary of. Not only has he gained the support of the religious right, but his followers aren't exactly "all there." Eat your heart your out, Donald Trump.

Read the entire article at Raw Story.

'Bathroom bill lies hindering lgbt progress' & other Wed midday news briefs

This Kryptonite Argument Against Trans Rights Is Beating America’s Top LGBT Group - Kryptonite argument my ass. We've been here before and even way before the time I began blogging. The anti-gay right establishes a powerful talking point which is attuned to exploiting ignorance and fear (usually implying that lgbts will harm children.) We run around like scared animals due to our inability to defuse it. The talking point runs its course and we start winning again, until the new anti-lgbt talking point takes hold. We are like rabbits trembling under the shadow of a hawk. If I've said it once, I've said it repeatedly. We have to call out the totality of anti-gay talking points before we have to fight them in such things like ordinance fights. And yes, I am talking about coming out the blue and calling out the anti-gay industry for their lies with the goal of initiating a national conversation of anti-gay propaganda. We will look like the aggressors, but isn't it time for us to stop having to explain our lives and instead making the anti-gay industry explain their lies? 

New Mexico Lawmakers Seek To Legalize Anti-LGBT Discrimination With ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill - Batten down the hatches. We fixin' to have some fun.

 Ted Cruz campaign rally morphs into creepy ‘prayer revival’ so everyone can pray for him to be president - All I will say is that if I was there, things would have gotten VERY INTERESTING.

Ted Cruz's Two-faced Stance On Marriage - JUST on marriage?

 18 Stars Who Came Out In 2015 (But You Probably Didn't Hear About It) - Nice but I remain unimpressed a bit until black gospel singers start coming out en masse (no further comment)

Kim Davis enjoys artificial 'victory' while gays can still legally marry in Kentucky

Kim Davis will be celebrating a non-victory because of the new governor.

Anti-gay Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is back in the news and no doubt her supporters will be crowing:

Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin ordered the state to prepare new marriage licenses that do not include the names of county clerks, in an attempt to protect the religious beliefs of clerk Kim Davis and other local elected officials.

Bevin said he directed the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives to issue the revised marriage license forms to all county clerks. The executive order comes after Davis, the Rowan County clerk, spent five days in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis said she could not issue the licenses because they had her name on them.

Bevin said he issued the executive order to “ensure that the sincerely held religious beliefs of all Kentuckians are honored.” It was one of five executive orders he issued Tuesday, the first of his administration, that mostly revised or suspended recent actions by former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear.

 . . . It’s unclear how Bevin’s order will affect a federal lawsuit brought by four couples against Davis. One of Davis’ deputy clerks has been issuing altered marriage licenses to eligible couples since September. They do not include Davis’ name or the name of the county. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the four couples, has asked U.S. District Judge David Bunning to order Davis to reissue the licenses. Bunning has not made a decision yet.

No doubt, Davis and her supporters will be claiming that this is what she merely wanted and it is a victory for her.

Don't be fooled. Davis is a silly demagogue who attempted to use the power of her office to force her religious beliefs on others. Bevin's order means nthing because gay couples in Kentucky can still legally marry.

And there is nothing Davis can do about it.

In other words, we are still drinking the champagne, so let her enjoy the little drips coming from our glasses.

'Is Franklin Graham pushing for a theocracy?' & other Tue midday news briefs

Franklin Graham

Franklin Graham Quits The GOP - Franklin Graham, demagogue extraordinaire, is angry that the GOP didn't defund Planned Parenthood. And he hasn't exactly been in OUR corner, constantly attacking our equality victories. Because of these things, Graham is officially quitting the Republican party. And according to the article, he is pushing for a theocracy in all put name:

 Franklin Graham will, effectively, follow in the footsteps of his pals like the American Family Association and their David Lane, who heads AFA's American Renewal Project, to sire an army of Christian pastors to take over America! "Unless more godly men and women get in this process and change this wicked system, our country is in for trouble. I want to challenge Christians, even pastors, across the country to pray about running for office where they can have an impact. We need mayors, country commissioners, city council members, school board members who will uphold biblical values." 

Yes, because this sort of thing worked so well in the past if one will ignore certain eras of religious persecutions throughout history. Not saying that Graham and his ilk will be totally successful, but this is still nothing to laugh off. At the very least, Franklin and company can cause the lgbt community considerable amount of trouble on the local state county, and city areas. 

 Chris Christie Wants To Spare Transgender Kids The 'Confusion' Of Choosing Their Own Bathroom - Nonsense. The grand irony is confusion begins when folks like Christie begin spreading horror stories of predators in bathrooms. 

  A simple question someone should ask Marco Rubio about his bigotry - Reposting this item from last night because it effectively stymies the whining that folks like Marco Rubio push when they want to take rights away from lgbts.  

State Department defends LGBT rights efforts in Africa - State department pushes back against claims that it made life worse for lgbts in Africa.

 Religious Right Leaders Head To Farris Wilks Ranch To Plot How To Make Ted Cruz President - Lawd, hammercy! Making this guy likable will truly be a miracle for the ages.