Transgender teen becomes star at Equality Act hearing while Republicans want to talk about penises

Stella Keating, a 16-year-old trans high school student, rocked during the Equality Act hearing on Wed and proved that the future of LGBTQ people are in good hands.

Wednesday was an interesting day in Congress as members of the Senate held a hearing on the Equality Act.  The conversation between members of the Senate and witnesses speaking for and against the Equality Act took many directions and embraced several different nuances. However, a few highlights stood out in terms of what this bill on comprehensive LGBTQ rights would actually do compared to how opponents are fear mongering about it.

Without question, the star of the hearing was Stella Keating, a 16-year-old transgender high school student from Washington State. While there were other witnesses for the Equality Act, Keating was easily the most memorable and compelling. She reminded the committee just what the Equality Act was about - fairness.

 

“Hi, I’m Stella, and I’m transgender. I’m here before you today representing the hundreds of thousands of kids just like me who are supported and loved by their family, friends and communities across the country.” pic.twitter.com/gFwqlATmTf

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) March 17, 2021

From The Advocate:

(Keating) is a founder of the GenderCool Project, aimed at advancing understanding of trans and nonbinary people, and wants to be a civil rights attorney and eventually run for public office. “What happens if I want to attend college in a state that doesn’t protect me?” she said. “Right now, I could be denied medical care or be evicted for simply being transgender in many states. How is that even right? How is that even American? “What if I’m offered a dream job in a state where I can be discriminated against? Even if my employer is supportive, I still have to live somewhere. Eat in restaurants. Have a doctor.” 

When the hearing ended after more than three hours, with a variety of witnesses having testified both for and against the bill, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, pronounced Keating the star of the proceedings, “certainly the 16-year-old star.” He pledged to her and the other witnesses that he would work to make equality a reality.

And in opposition to this, the Republicans on the committee offered up basic fear mongering about a false destruction of women's rights, safety and "religious liberty.  One of their chief witnesses was Abigail Shirer, a conservative journalist who has become known on the right for her opposition to the transgender community. Her book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters is as hysterical as the title makes it sound. 

'Marvel to introduce gay Captain America later this year' & other Wed midday news briefs

A gay Captain America? Why not?

Marvel to Introduce Gay Captain America Later This Year - Expect some comic book fans to begin whining ahead of time about "PC culture." And we all know conservatives will do what they usually do. Good. It may get them off of Dr. Seuss for a while.

Cop busted for attending hate group’s anti-LGBTQ protest under investigation - What the hell? It only takes one to make it more difficult for the rest.

Black pastors sign letter supporting compromise bill on LGBTQ equality - I'm still not for it. 

This Is What Trans People Need From Their Cisgender Friends Right Now - Write this down and memorize it. 

Elliot Page Covers Time Magazine, Opens Up About Coming Out As Transgender - I have to give Elliot his props. He is being the voice for a lot of folks who don't have one.

Fort Lauderdale honoring anti-LGBTQ hate group and leader who endorsed nightmarishly homophobic booklet

Why is the Fort Lauderdale City Commissioners and its openly gay mayor honoring a hate group whose leader endorsed this extremely homophobic booklet?

According to The New Civil Rights Movement:

Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s City Commissioners Tuesday evening will honor Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Westminster Academy. Included in those proclamations is the church’s founder, Dr. D. James Kennedy, whose D. James Kennedy Ministries appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of anti-LGBTQ hate groups.  Fort Lauderdale’s mayor, who is also its first gay mayor, Dean Trantalis, will sign the proclamations making March 21, 2021 Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Day and Westminster Academy Day, as South Florida Gay News reports. 

  . . . A search of the D. James Kennedy Ministries website shows hundreds of articles on homosexuality. Some of them include “Freedom from Homosexuality through the Gospel,” “Brazen Attacks on Marriage,” and “Sexual Anarchy Puts Religious Liberty at Risk.” Truth Wins Out, an LGBT equality non-profit, calls the proclamations “no different than honoring the KKK.” “It’s outrageous to honor Coral Ridge. It is no different than honoring the KKK. This church lied about LGBT people, produced hate propaganda and perpetuated the “ex-gay” hoax. They have NEVER apologized for ruining lives. Stop this madness!”

Now no doubt our opposition will pull the "religious liberty" card along with the "gays should show tolerance for religious opinions" card, thus attempting to lead us into an annoying back and forth which will serve to yet again elevate the false gay vs. religion narrative. But allow me to add something to the mix which I hope will blow away that narrative. 

When it comes to the late James Kennedy and the Coral Ridge Ministries, we are not talking about entities who have "simple religious opposition" to homosexuality. Kennedy and his ministry targeted LGBTQ people without restraint or apology. They may have given the standard phony claim of having "compassion for homosexuals," but they were guided by pure animus and hate.

Naturally,  I have the receipts. So to speak.

'Winners and losers in LGBTQ sports one year into the pandemic' & other Tue midday news briefs

Winners and losers in LGBTQ sports one year into the pandemic - A little change of pace for this blog.

Trans Republican brutally smacked down by fellow conservative in panel discussion - I feel sorry for her. She learned a very hard lesson but I doubt that it will register.

School Districts in Two States Say Perfectly Appropriate Picture Book About a Transgender Boy Is Inappropriate - Meanwhile, all of those violent fairy tales you read as a child were unharmed. 

I am not 50% gay and 50% straight. I am 100% bisexual - Really good commentary.

Father's impassioned defense of transgender daughter in front of Missouri lawmakers goes viral

Brandon Boulware's defense of his transgender daughter breaks the issue down as it should be.

This clip of Brandon Boulware, the father of a transgender daughter, speaking in front of the Missouri legislature is probably the simple but most powerful video you will see in a long time. 

MUST WATCH: Brandon Boulware, the father of a transgender daughter, testifies during a hearing asking Missouri lawmakers to stop discriminating against trans youth. pic.twitter.com/bTuSoyE1nW

— ACLU (@ACLU) March 15, 2021

Unfortunately there have been some on our side of the spectrum making a point that Mr. Boulware wouldn't have cared about trans children if his family weren't personally affected. Instead of taking such a pretentious point of view, we should honestly ask ourselves would some of us actually care about LGBTQ  issues if we weren't members of the community. The point is let's cease with the negative judgements.  Instead, let's recognize and celebrate that positive change comes for our community when people embrace how they are personally affected by it.

'Ex-gay' pastor loses lawsuit against Vimeo for taking down videos' & other Mon midday news briefs

“Ex-gay” pastor loses lawsuit against Vimeo for taking down videos promoting conversion therapy - Too bad. So sad . . . NOT.

The Biden-Harris administration delivers 24 pro-LGBTQ actions in first 50 Days - Voting matters, folks. NEVER forget that.

As anti-trans violence surges, advocates demand policy reform - We need to begin tracking this now.

Man wants to create safe haven for LGBTQ families - Good for him! We need more people doing this.

South Carolina legislators showcase the ignorance exploited by bills targeting transgender children

Cezar McKnight (top photo) and Chris Wooten (bottom photo) are two SC legislators who supporting bills which would negatively target transgender youth.

Recent comments by SC state legislators supporting bills which would target transgender children underscored just how much neither legislator know about transgender health care. 

South Carolina is one of many states across America which are either attempting to ban transgender youth from competing in athletics or making it against the law to provide them with adequate health care (such as providing them with puberty blockers). The proponents of these bills claim that they are necessary to keep female athletes from being cheated out of victories and to also keep children safe from making supposed "life altering" decisions. 

What's happening here has to do with bad assumptions exploited by outside parties whose brand is to undermine LGBTQ rights and safety wherever they find it.  When it comes to athletics, there is no proof that transgender female athletes have an advantage over cis female athletes.  With regards to denying trans children adequate healthcare, the assumptions are even more insidiously inaccurate. 

The supporters of these particular bills seem to be motivated by the belief (no doubt spurred on by outside parties) that trans children are having physically altering surgeries or being fed a host of dangerous drugs which will have negative repercussions on their physical and mental health.  This belief was echoed by two SC legislators in interviews to a local news station :

“To be making a decision like that with lifelong consequences between the ages of say 12 and 18 is just something I don’t think is prudent,” said Rep Cezar McKnight, D-Kingstree. “I don’t care what adults do as long as it’s not harming someone else.” 

 His colleagues said all these bills together aren’t targeting anyone as some critics say it is. “If you ask for something and get a reply it’s called an answer not a target,” said Rep. Chris Wooten, R-Lexington. “We wouldn’t be having this issue if someone had not asked to be involved as a male in women’s sports or a transgender in sports. We wouldn’t be having these conversations if people weren’t getting surgery before the age of 18.”

 But this belief is simply not true. A June 28, 2018 article from Live Science online magazine featured several pediatricians who provided care for trans children. They said the following:

A lot of scaremongering about health care for trans kids falsely suggests that doctors push kids into making permanent changes to their bodies. Every pediatrician who spoke with Live Science for this story emphasized that this isn't true and that they don't know of any doctors who would do that. Kids who haven't yet reached the stage of puberty in which physical changes begin don't receive medication of any kind,  ( Dr. Andrew) Cronyn said. 

For kids who want them, those treatments don't begin until puberty begins in earnest. And the first stage of treatment isn't hormones. Instead, doctors prescribe kids puberty blockers, which can safely put those changes on "pause." That's the standard of care endorsed by both the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). (A representative for the American Academy of Pediatrics told Live Science that it has an official policy statement on the subject in the works, which it will publish later this year.)

 There is some limited evidence that puberty blockers can impact height and bone density, but Cronyn said those risks are low enough that he's never encountered issues in his practice. More recent research has cast doubt on the idea of bone density issues.

And with regards to puberty blockers, studies have shown that their usage have a positive effect on the mental health of trans children. Also, according to the Mayo Clinic, they simply pause puberty but have no long term effect on a trans child.

The real danger of these bills have nothing to do with nonexistent surgeries or the false dangers of puberty blockers. They have nothing to do with athletics, either. 

Transgender children are at risk for depression and suicide at a high rate,  but it has nothing to do with who they are. It has everything to do with the messages they are receiving. And the messages these bills are sending them are harmful ones.  These bills make transgender children feel as if they are targets. They are telling these children that they are unloved and unwanted. 

Is that what you want, Reps  McKnight and Wooten?

Amazon removing books which imply that the LGBTQ identity is a mental illness

From The Hill:

 Amazon has made the decision recently to remove books from its catalog that frame transgender and other LGBTQ identities as mental illnesses, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. 

 The move came after four Republicans — Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Mike Lee (Utah), Mike Braun (Ind.) and Josh Hawley (Mo.) — sent a letter on Feb. 24 to chief executive Jeff Bezos questioning why “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment” was no longer available on Amazon platforms, including Kindle and Audible. 

 “As to your specific question about When Harry Became Sally, we have chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness,” Amazon said in the letter to the senators, obtained by the outlet. Amazon’s vice president of public policy, Brian Huseman, wrote in the letter that the company had changed its content guidelines for books since 2018 but did not elaborate on how. Amazon said it provides its customers “with access to a variety of viewpoints, including books that some customers may find objectionable.”

 "That said, we reserve the right not to sell certain content,” Huseman wrote. “All retailers make decisions about what selection they choose to offer, as do we.” It is unclear how many books Amazon has or will remove under the new standard. The Hill has reached out to the company for comment. 

“When Harry Became Sally,” published in 2019, was written by conservative scholar Ryan T. Anderson and discusses several issues including gender identity. “This book exposes the contrast between the media’s sunny depiction of gender fluidity and the often sad reality of living with gender dysphoria,” according to its description online. “It gives a voice to people who tried to ‘transition’ by changing their bodies, and found themselves no better off. Especially troubling are the stories told by adults who were encouraged to transition as children but later regretted subjecting themselves to those drastic procedures.”

Anderson's book was widely condemned for inaccuracies and taking studies out of context. Zack Ford, a former writer from ThinkProgress, wrote several posts calling the book out for its errors and basic transphobia. It was even blasted in a New York Times opinion piece.

Editor's note - this is merely a post talking about a practice of Amazon as relating to LGBTQ people. It should not be taken a general defense of the company in any form.

'Texas appeals court ruling ensures state level protections for LGBTQ employees' & other Fri midday news briefs

Texas Appeals Court Ruling ensures state level protections for LGBTQ employees - Way to go!

Alabama schools teach that homosexuality is wrong. That could change soon.- Alabama? Wouldn't we ALL like to see it? 

As anti-trans violence surges, advocates demand policy reform - We HAVE to do better. 

‘Punky Brewster’ Revival Gives Jasika Nicole A Chance To Showcase Black Queer Love - Wasn't a fan of the original. This looks good, though.

Twitter poll - What's the best thing about Donald Trump no longer being president?

Some have said that since Donald Trump is no longer president, we should forget about him or ignore him. I don't want to forget Donald Trump. I don't want to ignore him either. I want to wreck his legacy and piss on his reputation. I don't want there to be ANY possibility that anyone in the future could repair or recast the shame of his presidency into something great.

Take time out whatever drama you may or not may not be dealing with and help me out with this rather easy Twitter poll. I have a feeling that I know how it will turn out. Still, it's simple fun. Enjoy yourself. and by all means, leave comments either on this post or Twitter.

What's the best thing about Donald Trump no longer being president?

— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) March 11, 2021

'Houston bakery facing two employment discrimination lawsuits' & other Thur midday news briefs

Houston Bakery Facing Two Anti-LGBTQ+ Discrimination Lawsuits- It has nothing to do with baking cakes, either. This look very interesting.

Republican wants to allow youth a “reasonable accommodation” to avoid trans people - What the heck is that? They think of new stuff to screw with people. 

Rand Paul made a fool of himself when questioning Dr. Rachel Levine. The Family Research Council tries to repair the embarrassment. - My post from last night. I really want folks to read and share it. 

TV’s queer explosion - Oh? We're all over television again.

Some Faith Leaders Call Equality Act Devastating; For Others, It's God's Will - It's not hard to decide which side is right, y'all.

Rand Paul made a fool of himself when questioning Dr. Rachel Levine. The Family Research Council tries to repair the embarrassment.

Sen Rand Paul made a fool of himself with his bad faith questioning of Dr. Rachel Levine.

It should surprise no one that the Family Research Council doesn't like any of President Biden's appointees. The group especially dislikes Dr. Rachel Levine, Biden's pick for assistant secretary of health at the Department of Health and Human Services. If Levine is confirmed, she would be the first openly transgender pick confirmed by the United States Senate.  Like FRC, other members of the conservative right have been scrambling to derail her nomination. The most egregious attempt came from Sen. Rand Paul during her confirmation hearing.  Paul conjured up images of genital mutilation done to children and  so-called dangerous drugs when he questioned her. Justifiably, he was widely criticized for trafficking inaccurate information;

However, in its recent Washington Update, FRC attempted to rehash the exchange between Paul and Levine in way which makes Paul look like a hero:

Rachel Levine . . . is the kind of person Joe Biden believes should be second-in-command at HHS. Senator Paul, not caring how the media would savage him, decided to ask some pointed questions about how Levine's transgender agenda would impact the children of this country. Now, a week later, he's been called everything from a "transphobe" to a bigot. "And what's amazing about being labeled as a 'hater,'" he told listeners on "Washington Watch," "is that I never even mentioned Levine or the surgery and things that [he's] done to [himself]. I just asked whether a minor, whether a 10-year-old, could override parental consent [to get access to transgender hormones or surgery]." Levine refused to answer, leaving all of us to wonder just what brave new world Americans would be entering under his direction at HHS. 

 "So your parents say, 'You're 10-years-old, and you're not going to do this.' And then the 10-year-old says, 'No, I am.' And then the government would adjudicate that as the minor having the right to overrule their parents. I think that's horrendous to imagine. People also need to realize what's going on in these [gender] clinics. Ten percent of the kids are between the ages of three and 10. And when they go in... what they do is if the child is confused... four or five people will come up to them and say... 'Oh, you're so brave. It's a great decision.' No one's telling them the opposite. The people who work in these clinics are often people who've undergone these surgeries or done these things themselves. It's one opinion that they're hearing, and then their parents would be overruled." 

 It doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat, Paul said. "I think there's a lot of mainstream people who would be horrified to know that a 10-year-old could be goaded into these decisions. And I think Levine's [position] is so far out of the mainstream that people need to hear about it."

As always, FRC is being highly deceptive about the exchange. Paul was criticized because of the bullying manner he treated Dr. Levine and especially because his questions were inaccurate.

'Biden issues EO against gender discrimination in education including LGBTQ people' & other Wed midday news briefs

 

President Biden

Biden issues executive order against gender discrimination in education including LGBTQ people - Again, voting matters. 

Elliot Page Calls Out 'Deadly' Anti-Trans Bills Focused on Youth - Amen! 

Amazon, Nissan among businesses speaking out against Tennessee bills targeting LGBTQ communities - Time to make some people pay through the purse. 

Consumer bureau to enforce lending protections for LGBTQ individuals - Another step forward.

Franklin Graham gets reminded that he will never escape the stench of Donald Trump

No matter how many times Donald Trump demonstrated that he wasn't fit for office, one person he could always count on to kiss his butt was Franklin Graham. Graham would publicly support Trump or send out tweets like the following which served to build Trump up as a great president:

Now that Trump is out of office (leaving the country wrecked by a pandemic he refused to lead us through, crippled by an awful economy his incompetence is to blame for, and picking up the pieces of an insurrection he is responsible for in an attempt to overturn his election loss), Graham seems to think that folks will forget how easily he sacrificed the Christian integrity he claimed to have in exchange for White House status and a few conservative judges.

But folks aren't going to forget any time soon nor will they let Graham forget, as he learned after sending out the following tweet:

The piece Graham was linking to criticized the recent decision by Bethany Christian Services, one of the largest Christian adoption agencies in the country, to begin working with LGBTQ couples.  Graham is implying that Bethany is dangerously "pivoting" away from the word of God by helping LGBTQ couples to adopt children. But many of those who responded to Graham's tweet reminded him of his "pivot" when he began supporting Donald Trump (click on the tweets to make them larger):

'Michigan may add LGBTQ protections to state law' & other Tue midday news briefs

Michigan Democrats: We have enough votes to add LGBTQ protections to state law - Oh?

Kids aren't learning LGBTQ history. The Equality Act might change that. - And this is a problem because?

Police & media in North Carolina repeatedly insult transgender murder victim in reports - Damn, folks. There is no excuse for this. Do better.

Kyrsten Sinema Proves LGBTQ+ Representation Isn't Everything - It's a start but still watch who you pick to represent you.

Hate group leader's attack on The Equality Act backfires

The Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver

It's like I've said from time to time - when we give spotlight to some who oppose our equality instead of ignoring what they say, they tend to make our case for us.  The latest example of this is anti-LGBTQ hate group the Liberty Counsel and its head, Mat Staver.

I don't know which urban vernacular to use in describing the Liberty Counsel's list of reasons why people should oppose the Equality Act. Staver is either too extra or does too much.

Take a look at this, for example (Editor's note - I apologize for Staver's transphobic language. I'm printing it as if to demonstrate his ignorance)

"This [situation] involves a young lady, Ann*, who is getting married in May," says Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. "She was shopping for a bridal dress with her mother and sister and she's been saving herself for her husband." According to Staver, the store employee helping "Ann" in and out of dresses in the dressing room turned out to be a man dressed as a woman. "This young woman felt completely violated and deceived by the bridal store," says Staver. "This day was [supposed to be] a day of celebration and joy – and it turned into a disaster. And it should never have happened."

Seriously? Talk about pushing going heavy on fear tactics from the get-go. What does being helped by a transgender woman have to do with the bride "saving herself for her husband?"  Also, one would think that the store would ask if she needed help, regardless. Lastly, it stands to reason that if her mother and sister are with her, she would already have help in trying on dresses.

On his group's webpage, Staver turns the dial up with a litany of reasons why the Equality Act is "dangerous," each one more ludicrous than the last:

'GOP hoping that attack on transgender Americans will help in upcoming midterm elections' & other Mon midday news briefs

GOP seizes on women’s sports as unlikely wedge issue - The GOP is hoping that their attacks on trans Americans will help them in upcoming midterms. Here is a question. IF your opponent is giving you his or her gameplan, do you - A. engage in ridiculous discussions about how it might work, thereby creating a self-fulfilling prophecy or do you B. - use your opponent's stupidity in telling you what they intend to do against them and undercut their goals. The answer should be easy. It depends upon all of us. This is not nor has it ever been about "protecting women's sports" just like it was never about "baking a cake."

Trio of pro wrestling figures come out as LGBTQ - And I'm all for it, too.

Virginia is poised to reform its HIV criminalization laws. Is the rest of the U.S. next? - Virginia leads the way again. 

25 Years Later, ‘The Birdcage’ Is Hollywood’s Most Monumental Gay Movie - Not the most but definitely one of the most. Nathan Lane was my heart in that movie. He was incredible  in how he created a three dimensional portrayal of Albert in what could have easily been done as a stereotypical performance.

Conservative publication - Misusing 'religious liberty' to justify discrimination is causing a PR crisis

It was bound to happen and personally I think it's about time. Conservative online publication Deseret News is sending out the warning alarm about the concept of "religious liberty." There is a growing belief that "religious liberty" is more about weaponizing faith to discriminate. And this belief, according to the publication, is going to lead to problems.

Amid growing calls to advance LGBTQ rights, conservative religious freedom advocates are scrambling to avoid potential fallout for people of faith. In so doing, they’ve been forced to confront an uncomfortable truth: Many Americans see faith-based protections in the public square as a bad thing. A recent survey from Public Religion Research Institute found that only 22% of U.S. adults support exempting business owners with religious objections to some LGBTQ rights from anti-discrimination rules. Twice that many Americans (44%) feel their own rights are threatened by other people’s religious liberty claims. 

 While some quoted in the article claim that opponents of the concept have been successful with connecting "religious liberty" with discrimination, others such as Tyler Deaton, an adviser to the American Unity Fund, a conservative gay rights and religious freedom advocacy group, said faith groups who demonize LGBTQ people should also share some blame for what Deseret News is calling a 'PR crisis.'

Deaton, who is gay, acknowledged that faith groups played a role in bringing about religious liberty’s current PR crisis. As support for gay rights grew in recent decades, some religious leaders vilified the gay community in hopes of protecting themselves. For example, in the lead-up to gay marriage legalization, U.S. Catholic bishops often argued that same-sex relationships damaged society as a whole. “There are people who have misused and misappropriated religious freedom to harm LGBTQ people,” Deaton said.

The article, which supports the idea of "religious liberty" and exemptions in the Equality Act, says that a solution would be for religious leaders to abandon the harsh language used against LGBTQ people and condemn past harms done against us.

Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen soon. The article omits a very important point by not pointing out how white conservative evangelical groups and personalities are specifically the ones who thrive on the "either/or" mythology of LGBTQ equality vs. faith. And if you're ignoring these groups and personalities (the Family Research Council, the Alliance Defending Freedom, Franklin Graham, etc) or even hoping that somehow they are going to change their method of vilifying LGBTQ people, then you're dreaming. 

Because it's not going to happen.

'Right-wing Facebook pages dominated conversation about Equality Act and Dr. Rachel Levine' & other Fri midday news briefs

 

Right-wing Facebook pages dominated conversation around Equality Act and Dr. Rachel Levine - This, my friends, is very depressing. 

An “Ex-Detransitioner” Disavows the Anti-Trans Movement She Helped Spark - Story is a month old but still relevant.

A Manhattan Drag Artist Running For City Council Is Out-Raising Opponents - Sweet! 

GOP Congresswoman calls Equality Act “supremacy of gays, lesbians & transveshikes” - Absolutely ignorant woman.

Megyn Kelly, Mike Huckabee demonstrate what's wrong with America with their 'cancel culture' memes

 

Former Fox News personality Megyn Kelly is telling another lie.

Y'all, I'm trying so hard to be nice today but people are working my nerves. They are trying to make me forget how much I love my Jesus.

In the middle of all of this madness with regards to anti-trans athlete bills which supporters have proven there is no need for, Biden trying to clean up Trump's messes while the GOP undermines him, etc etc, comes a mountain of hot mess with Dr. Seuss, the Muppets and Mr. Potato Head.

Three companies recently made private decisions about their products. The publisher of Dr. Seuss books decided to no longer publish six of them because of their racist imagery. The company which makes Mr. Potato Head decided that the toy will not be sold as Mr. and Mrs.  Last but not least, Disney will be adding content warnings to certain episodes of The Muppet Show on its streaming service.

Whoop te do. No big deal, huh? Guess again. Via the extensive conservative and GOP televised and social media pipeline, those three seemingly innocuous incidents are now claimed to be a part of a huge conspiracy of supposed "cancel culture" by liberals, Joe Biden, George Soros, and who ever else are considered as left-wing boogeymen to control action and stamp out free speech, And this nonsense has been blasted all over the right-wing blogsphere. Seriously, Fox News went absolutely apeshit over the Dr. Seuss non-controversy for two days. 

The big booby prize, however,  for the dumbest way the right has exploited this junk is a tie between Mike Huckabee and Megyn Kelly. Huckabee tweeted a meme which placed the blame on Joe Biden:

Not be undone, former Fox News personality (she was never a journalist) Megyn Kelly channels Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion with her tweet:

This goes beyond silly. It's downright depressing. Huckabee and Kelly are many things (none of them are positive) but stupid isn't one of them. They know exactly what they are doing by repeating these lies. And both have prominent positions in the media.  As much as it disgusts my very core to think admit, both of them have the power to influence a lot of people and power like that shouldn't be abused.

Yet here they are abusing it with no concept of care or integrity.

But can we really blame Huckabee or Kelly more than we blame ourselves? Who in the world decided to give these two so much power? I keep hearing all of the whining about how divided America is and how we seem to be at each other's throats.  Maybe we should make better choices in terms of our social influencers. That could help a lot.