Far-right youtuber claims that comical pledge is evidence ofLGBTQ people 'grooming' children

I would like to say that our opposition is getting mighty desperate if they are passing this along as proof of LGBTQ people using drag shows to supposedly sexually groom kids. But we know how these people are when they get a moral panic in their heads. Still, I love this pledge.  It's easy to see that is strictly tongue-in-cheek. Still, what's wrong with pledging allegiance to the drag?

Drag king makes audience “pledge allegiance” to drag shows at a “family-... https://t.co/hAsVZej0Wq via @YouTube

— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) August 10, 2022

Say What! Log Cabin Republicans compare Mar-A-Lago raid to Stonewall' & other Wed midday news briefs

Log Cabin Republicans Liken Mar-a-Lago Raid to Stonewall​ - These fools are so lost, they can't be found. Not even by themselves. 

Trans skateboarder Leo Baker stays on board in new Netflix documentary - We need more visibility like this to elevate the lives of trans athletes. There are a lot of stereotypes about trans athletes which need to be addressed and beaten down. 

There’s a Reason LGBTQ Fans Are So Worried About HBO Max​ - Oh?

Ugandan LGBTQ organization calls government shutdown of its operations a 'clear witch-hunt' - Uganda is being ugly. Again.

Conservatives channel gay stereotype in reaction to FBI raiding Trump's Mar-A-Lago

On Monday, former president Donald Trump's residence, Mar-A-Largo was raided by the FBI. We don't know the complete particulars so there there has been a lot of speculation. However, knowing Trump, I would safely say for now that there was just cause.

But not knowing why the raid took place hasn't kept Republican and conservatives from going on Fox News and on Twitter making sure to screech and fundraise. It's the screeching which I find most entertaining.

Stereotypes tell us that LGBT people - particularly gay men - are known for being over dramatic in all situations, especially the mundane ones. If that were true, the above video is telling us that we - gay men - are no longer the champions of such behavior. Conservatives and Republicans did everything but collapse in tears and faint (while making sure to clutch a crumpled handkerchief to their foreheads) in registering their "abject disgust and humiliation" about the raid.  The only thing missing is African-American Trump operatives Diamond and Silk and Alveda King filming themselves proclaiming "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" like another stereotype  - that black mothers crying over their fallen sons in "ghetto hood" movies.

And as an added treat, here is Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro (who certain people have accused of  'loving the grape' too much with HER meltdown - I mean opinion - of the raid.

Judge Jeanine had a few glasses at Happy Hour and is hopping mad! pic.twitter.com/Dy9u8rvYRr

— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) August 9, 2022

'Texas church in trouble for performing unauthorized, homophobic version of 'Hamilton'' & other Tue midday news briefs

Texas Church Performs Unauthorized Version of HAMILTON with New Lyrics and Anti-LGBTQ Sermon​ - How evil do you have to be in order to sit down and do all of this?

Conservatives sue school for refusing to out transgender students - Oh this is just tacky. 

Trans equality wins in federal court as state Medicaid ordered to pay for gender affirming care - Good. 

30 Forgotten Queer Films That Deserve a Second Look - I've seen some of them. They are very good. 

Researchers warn bachelorette parties in Provincetown are destroying LGBTQ+ safe spaces - Good article but it uses too many technical terms. Let's break it down. A bunch of heterosexual women go into the gay bars for bachelorette parties and act like fools. They are loud, obnoxious and usually drunk. Their behavior makes things uncomfortable and annoying.

Conservatives are trying to wreck public libraries, but people are fighting back

 

According to a recent article in The Huffington Post, conservatives and others on the right have put the bullseye out on public libraries. They are not only attempting censor books, but are also trying to eliminate these public libraries altogether:

A public library in Vinton, Iowa — a small town with about 5,000 residents — temporarily shut down in July after most of the staff quit because of threats against its LGBTQ members. People in the town complained that there were not enough books about former President Donald Trump, that LGBTQ books were on display, and that members of the LGBTQ community worked there, according to the Iowa Starting Line. The library reopened with an all-volunteer staff. 

 In Llano County, Texas, the county commission made the public library system shut down for a few days in December in order to review the books available to children and remove any deemed questionable. They specifically targeted the 850 books that GOP state Rep. Matt Kruse had personally deemed inappropriate for kids earlier that year. He said his list of books included those that “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex.”  

Suzette Baker, a librarian in the county, reportedly refused to go along. She told local reporters in March that she had been fired from her job for not removing books, including a memoir by Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen. “It is her biography of her life growing up as a transgender teenager, and obviously this group thought that was too much for their children to read,” Baker said. “No one is forcing their kids to read anything.”

 . . .Free speech advocates have noticed that the targeting of public libraries isn’t just confined to one or two states. “It cannot be a coincidence that multiple people around the country are getting the same message,” Jonathan Friedman, the director of free expression and education programs at PEN America, told HuffPost. “They’re taking some of that ‘stolen election’ energy and directing it towards public schools and public libraries.” But there isn’t really a singular group leading the charge — instead different groups, including Moms for Liberty or Catholic Vote, are pushing the same narratives. 

 . .  .As Media Matters reported, Moms For Liberty is partnering with conservative groups to flood public libraries with children’s books they approve of, like an anti-trans children book or a book that paints Rush Limbaugh as hero — with no regard for how parents of LGBTQ or Black children may feel.

The article pointed how folks are fighting back. In Llano County, residents filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the book bans violate the First and 14th amendments.

And people are also fighting back in another state.

In Jamestown,  Michigan, thanks to a campaign echoing lies about LGBTQ  'grooming' and 'predators,' voters defeated a measure which would fund the Patmos Library, which is the town's public library.

But a GoFundMe campaign has garnered a lot of positive feedback with over $67,000 raised. The goal is to reach $245,000. The organizer of the campaign, Jesse Dillman, said the goal of the fundraiser is to keep the library open long enough to consolidate more community support for its funding.

Anyone wanting to donate can go Fund Patmos Library for 2023 GoFundMe page.

'DeSantis, Florida begins rigged process of banning gender-affirming care for trans youth' & other Mon midday news briefs

Florida begins rule-changing process to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth​ - And adults. If DeSantis thinks he can rigged Florida's health department against trans people while relying on junk and cherry-picked science, he has obviously deluded himself. This is not over. It's not even five minutes into the first quarter. 

How Florida Twisted Science to Deny Healthcare to Trans Kids - A reminder how DeSantis is attempting to accomplish this via rigging and lies. 

Meet the gay former GOP spokesman who is spilling the tea on the Republican Party - Yeah I know. But his voice needs to be heard because of what it brings. 

Angelica Ross will become 1st transgender performer to lead Broadway's 'Chicago' - This is huge! 

A Florida school district added a parental 'advisory notice' to over 100 books - This is SO stupid.

Video - Randy Rainbow tells the Republican party where they can stick their 'thoughts and prayers'

 

It seems that every time there is a school shooting, Republicans come at us with "thoughts and prayers" instead of real action which would go a long way in preventing future shootings. Randy Rainbow, in his now well-known imitable fashion, speaks for a lot of us when he tells them where they can stick their "thoughts and prayers."

10 researchers say Florida is deliberately distorting their work to undermine healthcare for trans kids and adults

Florida under DeSantis is weaponizing distorted information on trans healthcare.

According to Vice News, the state of Florida deliberately distorted credible research from several different sources in order to create a rationale behind undermining healthcare for trans kids and adults:

VICE News spoke to 10 researchers who said they weren’t aware of the memo and that Florida’s Department of Health misstated their research; in fact, VICE News found that all 12 citations Florida presents against the use of gender-affirming care are either distorted or from a source with clear anti-trans bias. In crafting the document, Florida’s health department reverse-engineered rationale for a policy completely counter to research-based medical best practices.

 

People such as Dr. Ken Pang:

When Dr. Ken Pang published one of the first large-scale analyses of gender-affirming care on transgender children, in 2018, the paper was celebrated as a vital contribution and even made its way to the home page of the r/Science subreddit. Though the evidence was limited, the review suggested that hormone blockers and hormone replacement therapy could help alleviate gender dysphoria and make transgender youth feel more at home in their own bodies. 

Four years later, Pang was shocked to learn that his research was being used by Florida’s Department of Health to justify denying gender-affirming care to all minors in the state. The department cited Pang’s work in a memo issued in April, after the passage of Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The memo even recommends against social transition, which can include changes as simple as using new pronouns or wearing different clothing. 

 The article said that instead of relying on research put out by credible organizations which talks about accurate ways of giving healthcare to trans people, Florida, under Governor Ron DeSantis, created its own body of research:

 . . . in June, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration also issued a new policy that no one, not even adults, would be able to access gender-affirming care through Medicaid. Rather than referring to the overwhelming body of research that shows positive outcomes of gender-affirming care, Florida instead commissioned hundreds of pages of new material—which did not go through a standard peer-review process—to justify the change.

 

And as the article points out, this body of research was tainted with cherry-picking and a serious misusage of data: 

 Another distorted citation—one that not only appears in the Florida memo but is also heralded by anti-trans propagandists—comes from a 2015 study called “Gender Dysphoria in Childhood.” According to the Florida memo, this paper “states that 80% of those seeking clinical care will lose their desire to identify with the non-birth sex.” But in an interview with VICE News, one of the paper’s co-authors, Dr. Thomas Steensma at the Amsterdam University Medical Center, said that number was taken wildly out of context. 

. .  . Citing Steensma’s work in an effort to ban trans-affirming care should also raise alarm bells because he’s the principal investigator at his university’s Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria and one of the world’s leading experts on medical care of transgender children. He helped create what’s known as the “Dutch protocol,” internationally accepted medical guidelines on how to administer puberty blockers to prepubescent children with gender dysphoria. Steensma is also a co-author of World Professional Association of Transgender Health’s (WPATH) forthcoming Standards of Care for the treatment of transgender children, which will be published this year.

 

Believe it or not, it gets worse.

Hiatus explained - My queen has taken her rest

I apologize for not posting since Wednesday but I suffered a great tragedy. My mother passed away in her sleep after a long illness. She was my rock and my queen. She supported all that I did with all of her heart and always pushed me to be the best and fight for what was right. 

Subsequently this blog will be taking a very short hiatus and will return sometime between Thursday and Sunday. 

Anti-LGBTQ site Libs of TikTok deletes tweet after attempt to smear teachers as 'groomers' backfire

Libs of TikTok ended up deleting this tweet after it failed to cause outrage.

Poor Libs of TikTok. 

The site's latest attempt to portray teachers and LGBTQ folks as 'groomers' of children backfired. Hard. People ended up praising the high school for its innovation and fun. It's getting harder and harder to push that outrage mojo.  And the tweet below is right. Sometimes the most annoying and dangerous people are the ones who see ugliness in everything. Especially in every facet of LGBTQ life.

Libs of Tik Tok deleted this video after people pointed out that this high school looks super fun. Imagine being so warped by hate that you see something sinister at work in this video https://t.co/a4KsPUHUx8 pic.twitter.com/uKl9gUbIF4

— Ari Drennen 🏳️‍🌈 (@AriDrennen) July 27, 2022

Hat tip to Ari Drennen, LGBTQ Program Director for Media Matters for America.

DeSantis claims that teachers are 'instructed' to tell kids that they may be transgender (but of course he doesn't back it up)

Ron DeSantis makes a claim about teachers which he doesn't back up

This is the thing with the constant attempt to create outrage. You get openly desperate and downright ludicrous. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has made a huge name for himself with the lie that LGBTQ people and drag queens are supposedly 'grooming' kids to be sexually active.

Now he has taken that nonsense a step farther. He definitely has presidential aspirations but with this new claim to his moral panic, DeSantis seems to be running out of juice.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) claims elementary school workers are "instructed to tell" kids to switch genders:

"That is happening in our country. Anyone that tells you it's not happening is lying to you." pic.twitter.com/QSeBcYKL50

— The Recount (@therecount) July 27, 2022

From the New Civil Rights Movement: 

 Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis, continuing his months-long, fear-based attack on the LGBTQ community, appears to be claiming that elementary school teachers are “instructed” to tell children they they might be transgender, and insisting if anyone dares to disagree with him, they are “lying.” 

 . . . “This will be for elementary school kids, where they’re instructed to tell them, ‘You may have been born a boy, that may have been what you said, but maybe you’re really a girl.’ That’s wrong. That has no place in school – so that is happening in our country. Anyone that tells you it’s not happening is lying to you,” DeSantis, talking very fast, says in the video.

The New Civil Rights Movement went on to say that many folks have called DeSantis out, demanding that he prove his claim.  

Now y'all know damn well that he is not going to do that. I don't think his press secretary Christina Pushaw or the Libs of TikTok site can help him out either. Not saying that they won't try, though. I am sure that they will dig something up having nothing to do with DeSantis's claim as proof that his charges are real. And of course the propaganda right in the media and on Twitter will do their best to amplify it.

I actually want to see what they will attempt to come up with because this is slowly becoming entertaining. Granted, I still find the attacks on LGBTQ people and the accusations that we are 'grooming' kids to be false and disgusting. 

But it always somewhat interesting when the anti-LGBTQ lies get to this stage. Oh you didn't think this was new, did you? DeSantis's lie about teachers telling kids they may be trans mimics past lies about gays and children. And lies that gays have thousands of sex partners. And lies that gays have a short lifespan.   With these lies, there is always a point where the teller stretches them out until they can go no further. And they pop back, snapping the liar in the face.

DeSantis is long past due for his pop back.

'Group of attorney generals suing Biden Administration over LGBTQ school meal directive' & other Wed midday news briefs

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton

Ken Paxton Among AGs Suing USDA Over LGBTQ School Meal Directive - This is a heartless lawsuit. 

New HHS reg seeks non-discrimination in health care as monkeypox spreads - Pay attention folks. This is serious. 

Michaela Coel will play a queer character in Marvel’s new “Black Panther” film​ - Freakout in T-minus . . .

Some rugby players in Australia refuse to wear LGBTQ Pride jersey - So they don't and they sit out. We all know conservatives will brand them as the supposed new martyrs.

Florida families team up with Lambda Legal and SPLC for lawsuit against Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law

Before it was passed in March, many people had serious problems with Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law. Now, two lawsuits have been filed.

Now we are cooking.

From The Hill:

Civil rights groups, including Lambda Legal and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), in a lawsuit filed this week argued that a newly implemented Florida education law “silences and erases” LGBTQ+ students and families. 

 “The law, by design, chills speech and expression that have any connection, however remote, to sexual orientation or gender identity,” reads the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court on behalf of 12 plaintiffs. The complaint is the latest challenge to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed by its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Plaintiffs in the suit are seeking to block the enforcement of the law within four Florida school districts. 

 Under the law, which was signed by the state’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in March and took effect early this month, public primary school teachers are barred from engaging in classroom instruction related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Public school educators through high school may not address either topic in a manner that is not “age appropriate or developmentally appropriate” for their students. The measure also empowers parents to directly sue a school district if they are dissatisfied with its implementation of the law, which legal scholars have said will likely chill the speech of teachers fearful of unintentionally violating the law. 

 “This vigilante enforcement mechanism, combined with the law’s intentionally vague and sweeping scope, invites parents who oppose any acknowledgment whatsoever of the existence of LGBTQ+ people to sue, resulting in schools acting aggressively to silence students, parents, and school personnel,” the lawsuit, also filed by the Southern Legal Counsel (SLC) and private counsel Baker McKenzie, reads. 

 According to NBC News, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Florida couples and their children; Florida high school student Will Larkins; and CenterLink, an international member-based association of LGBTQ centers. 

 Larkins, the founder and president of the school's Queer Student Union, testified against the Parental Rights in Education bill on the Florida Senate floor in February. Then, in March, Larkins taught their history class about the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a dayslong protest that began after a routine police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. Video of Larkins' presentation went viral. 

 Plaintiffs David Dinan and Vikranth Gongidi, a married same-sex couple, said they are "deeply concerned about the negative effect" that the law could have on their family. Their children, who are 8 and 9 years old, are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit. 

 . . .Parents Jennifer and Matthew Cousins said they are afraid the law will harm their four children, particularly S.C., who is 12 and a rising seventh grader. S.C. came out as nonbinary last year and uses they/them pronouns, according to the complaint. 

 The Hill also said:

 Another lawsuit filed against the law in March calls the measure a “blatantly unconstitutional” attempt to stigmatize and erase LGBTQ+ identities in Florida public schools. The complaint filed by Equality Florida, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and others names DeSantis, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and other education officials as defendants.

'Fox News attacked LGBTQ people on over 100 days in the first half of 2022' & other Tue midday news briefs

Fox News attacked LGBTQ people on over 100 days in the first half of 2022 — including nearly 90% of days during Pride Month​ - That's Fox News for ya. 

LGBTQ+ Protections Under Affordable Care Act to Be Expanded by Biden - Wonderful. Needs more attention though. 

Ted Cruz tries to mock queer people by announcing his new pronouns, looks like a complete idiot instead - 'Ted Cruz . . . looks like a complete idiot' is an evergreen statement. 

Record-setting college athlete says coming out as gay was the best thing he did for his career - Good for him. That's the point of it all. Feeling good about yourself and then excelling.

Ben Shapiro makes a fool of himself with latest attack on marriage equality

Ben Shapiro

When I read mess like this, I don't know WHY folks think of arch conservative Ben Shapiro as a brilliant mind. There are so many things wrong with his tweet. Can you guess what they are?

For one thing, if you took Shapiro's argument further, one could say that there is no Constitutional right to interracial marriage. And isn't it strange (or convenient) how people like SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas formulates that same argument to use against marriage equality but not interracial marriage.

Could it be because Thomas is in an interracial marriage. That is a point we shouldn't be afraid to continuously make and amplify.

But more to the point, I personally think the Founders wouldn't laugh at the idea of marriage equality. I don't think they would recover from seeing a black president, women voting, etc. etc.  It's rather an inane idea to actually talk about the intent of the Founders. Who cares what they would think? They are, for lack of a politer word, dead.  We shouldn't be ruled by the wishes of deceased men particularly when, in spite of their attributes, they lived in a world of open racism, sexism, and extreme xenophobia. 

Lastly, what's all of this nonsense about a sexual relationship. That's underscores the problem with people like Shapiro. No matter how many times LGBTQ people tell and demonstrate, folks like Shapiro are intent on reducing our relationships to that of carnality. It doesn't matter how long we stay together, how many children we raise, or our overall loving family situation. People like Shapiro see LGBTQ couples and they want to do is pigeonhole into matters of sexual intercourse.

They have every right to that opinion. What they do not have a right to do is impose it on us. Our relationships are also about love and commitment. No one has a right to minimize that. None of it.

''We failed.' Gay Republicans in Texas GOP see little progress' & other Mon midday news briefs

“We failed”: Gay Republicans who fought for acceptance in Texas GOP see little progress​ - My heart bleeds for y'all . . . no it doesn't. You can't get people who hate you to not hate you. 

New From AP: Use ‘Accurate, Sensitive, Unbiased Language’ To Cover Trans People - Thank you, Associated Press.

Australia, Europe & Asia host a vast array of LGBTQ leaders. Meet some of them now - Kick ass! 

Marriage Equality Bill Could Pass Senate Despite Some GOP Opposition - Chyle, I will believe when I see it.

Roger the Alien from 'American Dad' is the most sexually subversive character on television

Editor's note - I wanted to do a fun post to start the week on a comical note. For me especially

For all of the whining about how 'Hollywood is trying to sexualize' kids' and how LGBTQ folks are trying to 'groom' kids, I am surprised how the character of Roger the Alien from American Dad has escaped scrutiny. And not just from the right. There is definite offense which can be drawn from the other side of the political spectrum.  He can be easily seen as a high speed right-wing caricature of  a gay (mostly bisexual) man - shallow, extremely promiscuous, and selfish. But he's a cartoon alien, so there are things he can get away with saying and doing. That's why, as the video proves, he is the most sexually subversive character on television today.

Libs of TikTok - "Help! Drag queens are grooming kids to like math! Oh the horrors!"

The tweet below from my friend Zack Ford (Press Secretary for The Alliance of Justice)  illustrates the basic inanity of the anti-LGBTQ site Libs of TikTok. When your business model is creating rage generated by lies that LGBTQ people are sexually grooming kids, you become desperate in finding new items to exploit. Thusly you end up looking like a desperate fool.

Every once in a while I check in and it's clear this account cares nothing about accuracy.

1. The school's in Canada
2. The drag queen spoke to the GSA — the queer students!
3. @onlinekyne literally has a channel where she teaches mathematics. She literally encourages learning! pic.twitter.com/pDmOS0xITM

— Zack Ford (@ZackFord) July 21, 2022

'LGBTQ people, keep voting against anyone who votes against you' & other Thur midday news briefs

Column: LGBTQ people, keep voting against anyone who votes against you - PREACH!!

Schumer says he wants to bring same-sex marriage bill up for Senate vote - We'll see. 

Josh Hawley comes out against landmark Obergefell ruling as Senate considers marriage equality bill​ - Surprising no one. 

Republican war on queer comic books is dystopian and cruel - It's a part of their general war on everything we do and who we are. 

Catholic hospital chain escalates church war on LGBTQ+ workers - We TOLD you this was not about just bakeries or weddings.

Far-right distorts Dr. Rachel Levine's comments to claim she wants trans children to have 'sex reassignment surgery'

The far-right is attacking Dr. Rachel Levine (again)

Members of the anti-LGBTQ industry are twisting the words of Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine to claim that she is wanting children to harm themselves. Levine is the first trans person confirmed by the Senate to a federal post. Unfortunately a liability of this is that she is a target of every bigot and clout chaser spreading the lie that gender-affirming care is harmful to children. Recently they have been sharing 18 seconds of statements she made to MSNBC about allowing trans children to have gender-affirming care, while adding their own distorted spin: 

Biden’s Assistant Health Secretary: We want to “empower” children to go through sex reassignment surgery. pic.twitter.com/mALheDa5Ys

— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) July 18, 2022

As you can see, she did not say anything about children having "sex reassignment surgery."

And this guy is not the only one distorting what she said, as various right-wing headlines show:

No Seriously, They Really Are After Your Kids

 SICK: Biden’s Transgender Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Levine Says We Need to “Empower” Children to go On Puberty Blockers (VIDEO) 

VIDEO: Levine: We need to “empower” kids to go on puberty blockers and get sex reassignment surgery 

 The point is gender-affirming care for trans youth is a complex issue and it doesn't necessary always involve puberty blockers and it certainly doesn't involve far-right fear mongering about "sex reassignment surgery." 

There are numerous credible articles and resources out there which give an accurate view of gender-affirming care for trans youth and how this care actually saves their lives. It's not hard to find.

But the far-right fanatics don't want you to see any of it. They don't want you to even know any of it exists.

Just as in present cases of them accusing LGBTQ people of 'grooming' kids, far-right bigots and clout chasers aren't interested in educating about what's really going because they get more prominence and money from scaring people. They want to conjure anger and exploit general emotion by creating images of children being harmed, whether it be being sexually exploited or supposedly tricked or forced into make decisions about their bodies they will supposedly regret.

None of it is true but as long as they bombard the media with this mess, they think that the truth won't matter.