Liars' Poker at Family Research Council

At Heritage Foundation's blog, Hate Group Leader Tony Perkins writes: “The Big Changes the Trumps Are Making at the White House to Celebrate Christmas.” Tony Perkins is incurious and lacking in some critical thinking skills but he is not stupid. He is trying desperately to sell the idea that Trump is just the most wonderful thing in the world. The reason for Perkins' praise is the idea that Christmas is much more Christmasy in the Trump White House than Obama's. Perkins is lying. The reality is that nothing has changed.

Petty lies — lying about something as unimportant as seasonal decorations — means, in my opinion, two things: The first is that Perkins is so accustomed to fabricating that it comes naturally to him without pause. Secondly, Perkins' self-importance is boosted as an influencer and someone who visits the White House.

Hate group leader thinks that bigotry is funny

Jennifer Roback Morse and Robert Oscar Lopez agiggle

An email from Jennifer Roback Morse begins:

My buddy Robert Oscar Lopez and I had a great time putting this video together. When he posted it on his facebook page, he identified me as the head of the "biggest hate group in America," stating, "Nobody hates more hatingly than this hated hater."

What a riot! Check it out by clicking the picture of us below.

General Jerry's bullshit machine

Yesterday Retired Lt. General William G. “Jerry” Boykin took a break from disparaging gays and Muslims to rail against the Johnson Amendment. Boykin doesn't think much of FRC's supporters or their intellect. Neither do I but I am not asking for their money. The email is titled: “Help us restore free speech for pastors.” Its purpose is to attract donations to Family Research Council but some people might not realize that from the text. Essentially: “Send us money to repeal the Johnson Amendment.”

Boykin is possibly not the author of the propaganda spread under his name. However, irrespective of whether he or some staffer writes the missive, it does bear his signature and, therefore, he is responsible for the content. Would you allow someone to attach your name to something without prior approval? Probably not.

A former Islamic terrorist takes to Witherspoon's blog to denigrate gay people

Former Islamic terrorist, Ismael Royer, spent
more than 13 years in federal prison

Last July a headline in the Washington Post read: Fourteen years ago, he was a convicted jihadist. Now he’s fighting radical Islam steps from the White House. The subject of that article was Ismail Royer and his “fight” against extremism doesn't seem to apply to gay people.

Were Royer truly opposed to religious extremism he would not provide content to an extremist outlet. It may be nonviolent but Witherspoon Institute, run by an Opus Dei numerary and co-founded by Robert George, is at the extreme fringes of Catholicism. Its blog, Public Discourse, is edited by a religious extremist, Ryan T. Anderson, an anti-gay bigot who, I suspect, is gay. Anderson's day job is as a staffer for an extremist organization, Heritage Foundation. Royer still has terrible judgment.

No Brian S. Brown - Your video is irrelevant to the Supreme Court

Brian S. Brown - "I can spread this BS with my eyes closed."

Brian S. Brown, leader of the anti-gay National Organization for marriage will stoop to any level of depravity to raise a few bucks. It has never occurred to Mr. Brown that, while he has accused gays of obscene immorality, he is the guy who lies to donors for money and cooks NOM's books to cover up misdeeds. NOM has even had the temerity to assert that gay people present a danger to children. What message is Brown sending to his own children about integrity?

Today's missive from Brown is titled: “We are Jack.” I am not sure who the “we” is but it certainly includes Brown because the “we” are a collective of arrogant bigots who think that their approval is necessary for us to live our lives or that their approval is important to us. What this case is really all about is denying conservative Christians the right to express their disapproval by withholding service. Their discrimination is all neatly cloaked in scripture and that makes it okay according to them.

Sometimes the hate group is informative

Hate Group Leader Tim Wildmon, American Family Association

Ah the Bohannon saga continues with a new email from American Family Association. As I wrote on November 9, a senior NCO (E-7) in Air Force Colonel Leland B.H. Bohannon's command was retiring. It is customary for the commanding officer to thank the retiree's spouse by letter. In this case the NCO's spouse is another man. Bohannon refused to send the letter due to religious objections. He got a general to do so instead. Nevertheless, the retiree knew that he had been discriminated against and he filed a complaint.

The Air Force review board agreed and relieved Bohannon of command. Furthermore, his senior officer recommended against promoting Bohannon to brigadier general which was thought to be a certainty. Bohannon got a lawyer who appealed.

Apparently the archbishop cannot count

Nearly 62% of Australians voted yes, by postal ballot, to a change in the law that will allow same-sex couples to marry. In spite of the overwhelming majority in favor of marriage equality, Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher claims that it is not a majority at all.

Fisher maintains that because 20% of Australians “abstained altogether,” the real support is around 49%. I have no clue how the impaired prelate got to 49% except for the probability that he wanted to claim only minority support for something that he does not like. Nor do I know how he discerns that the 20% of eligible Australians who did not vote were uniformly opposed to same-sex marriage. To get to 49% the entire 20% would have to be opposed.

Some sobering words from GLSEN

GLSEN is an extraordinarily effective advocacy organization. It is organized, highly focused and its leaders communicate very forcefully. Along those lines I am going to quote one paragraph from an email I received on Monday from Eliza Byard, the group's executive director (emphasis per original):

Since the 2016 election, life for LGBTQ students and all marginalized youth – Latinx, Jewish, female, disabled, Muslim, Black, immigrant – has changed. More than half of public high school teachers report seeing students with “high levels of stress and anxiety,” and nearly 80% say students are expressing concern for their well-being because of anti-immigrant sentiment and attacks on LGBTQ rights. Almost all say school climate has gotten worse since the election.

Republican gubernatorial contender praises a hate group - Calls SPLC the real hate group

Illinois state representative Jeanne Ives wants to be the next governor of Illinois. In the process she has praise for Illinois Family Institute, an anti-LGBT hate group, while criticizing Southern Poverty Law Center:

The Illinois Family Institute is a remarkable institute and they serve families well in the state of Illinois. But if you think I'm going to stand here and come up with a defense against something that the Southern Poverty Law Center put out, which themselves should be deemed a hate group, is just nonsense. I thought we came here to talk about economics, because that's what we should be talking about.

Pope Francis is relatively unsuccessful with anti-trans campaign

According to a recent Pew Research study, 46% of Catholics accept the scientific fact that gender and natal sex can be divergent. That is far from ideal but strikingly higher than other Christians. Among white evangelical Christians, for example, only 15% accept the medical science. That is truly appalling.  85% of white evangelicals possess a belief that would constitute child abuse if put into practice. Research that evangelicals do not like is generally relegated to political correctness. They tend to resent, and feel victimized by, a large swath of science.

The NOM nerd - From cook book to cooked books

Embed from Getty Images
It should be perfectly obvious — That nerd is not me.

I purchased a sous-vide apparatus plus a blow torch (the sous-vide method does not sear). There exist a reasonable possibility that I will set my apron or myself on fire. But I digress. So I found myself reading a cookbook devoted to the sous-vide method. I had some difficulty concentrating because there were things bouncing around my brain about the 2016 National Organization for Marriage financial statements that simply don't make sense.

I note that the tax returns were prepared internally rather than by an accountant so anything is possible. NOM certainly had sufficient funds to pay an accountant. The choice not to is telling. These are not very smart people to begin with. One caveat is that I made no attempt to eliminate inter-entity transactions.

David Lane's funding source revealed and it's not who you think

David Lane is the most dangerous Christian supremacist in the United States. Lane, the highly secretive and influential Republican operative, enjoys a patina of respectability based upon his religious orthodoxy. However, Lane's objective is un-American. He wants to re-shape America as a Christian theocracy obliterating the separation of church and state.

Heavenly Father's Foundation might belong to Jesus (as the name suggests) but it was founded by Texas fracking billionaire Dan Wilks. Wilks determines where the contributions go and the foundation has assets close to $160 million.

Hate Group Leader Tony Perkins is too stupid to keep his lies straight

I have an email from 5:22 AM from Tony Perkins. The subject reads: URGENT REPLY:

I only have few moments before my next meeting with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, but it is so URGENT I hear from you. Please read and respond immediately.

While I can't divulge everything just yet, at this very moment, my staff and I are working with conservative leaders in the House, Senate, and White House to deliver ground breaking tax reform for families across the finish line...and we're so close!

A new version of "they could get it down the block"

I frequently ridicule people excusing their discriminatory behavior by claiming that similar goods and services are available elsewhere. This is the same concept. According to those wonderfully intelligent religious fundamentalists at American Family Association.

Walgreens is being sued by the ACLU after a pharmacist, citing his moral beliefs, refused to fill a prescription.

No. No. No. Walgreens is being sued by the person who was unable to fill the prescription at Walgreens (the ACLU would not have standing). The ACLU is the law group representing the plaintiff. It is an important difference. Aside from being a designated hate group one of AFA's hobbies is disparaging the ACLU.

NOM's revenues plunge again

National Organization for Marriage has just posted its 2016 tax returns. Year-to-year, revenues for NOM Education Fund were flat. Revenues for NOM fell by more than $1 million from $2.6 million in 2015 to $1.5 million in 2016.

The return was self-prepared in contrast to having an accountant do the work and it is undated. Presumably, it was filed after the November 15 deadline. NOM showed a positive bottom line by drastically cutting expenses. There's not much left of the anti-gay group. At this point it exists primarily to pay some salaries. It doesn't really do anything.

Sarah Palin will appeal the dismissal of her defamation suit

Sarah who? Every Thanksgiving I am reminded of Sarah Palin's photo op with the guy grotesquely murdering turkeys in the background. The mindless Palin's 15 minutes ended some time ago.

Over the summer a judge tossed Palin's suit against the New York Times for defamation. Tuesday afternoon Palin's attorneys filed a notice of appeal so that she can waste more tax dollars. As a public figure she must prove actual malice. Palin must prove, not only that the Times made a false statement, but that they were reckless or knew that the statement was false. Good luck with that.

Judge does not mince words with admin over trans military ban

US District Court
Judge Marvin J. Garbis

United States District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis (Maryland) isn't the judge you would expect to nullify Trump's order on trans military service. He is 80 years of age and he was appointed by George H.W. Bush whose judicial legacy lives on in Clarence Thomas.

Nevertheless, Judge Garbis has blocked Agent Orange. In a 53 page order the judge said that the ban “cannot possibly constitute a legitimate governmental interest.” He also said that Trump’s tweet announcing the ban was “capricious, arbitrary and unqualified.” Garbis took aim at Trump's lack of thought and process:

Oh good grief - Why does Brian S. Brown do this crap when I am tired? He is seeking just $875

I will keep this brief (I am still quite ill and not sleeping very well at all). Here is the latest pitch from National Organization for Marriage regarding why someone should fork over money to them:

n six days, we will launch a major nationwide educational campaign concerning one of the most important cases ever involving the religious liberty rights of people of faith. This case, Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Briefing in the case is complete and NOM filed an important legal brief in support of the right of Christian bakers like Jack Phillips to refuse to participate in celebrating a gay 'wedding' if doing so violates his religious beliefs. Oral argument is set for December 5th.

FRC: ' Why It Is Unnecessary to Force Jack Phillips to Bake a Wedding Cake '

Travis Weber—Employed by anti-LGBT hate group Family Research Council

Travis Weber holds a law degree from Regent University School of Law. That and the fact that instead of practicing law he works for a hate group (Family Research Council) are telling. I will cut to the chase since I am in no mood to expound upon Weber's intellectually mediocre piece at length. On Tuesday Weber has basically said that Jack Phillips should not have to obey Colorado's nondiscrimination law because there are many bakeries in the Denver metropolitan area that would bake a same-sex wedding cake.

Some alarming financial data from the Fed

Tuesday, the Federal Reserve released charge-off and delinquency rates reported by member banks for the third quarter. The good news is that mortgage defaults continue to decline. However credit card delinquency and charge off rates (seasonally adjusted) are at their highest levels in four years. Furthermore, four years ago the rates were in decline. These rates have been steadily rising for 2½ years.

As we head into the Christmas season, this suggests (particularly in an environment of rising rates) that Americans have less purchasing power which could create an economic downdraft.

What does this have to do with queers? Nothing!

Another idiotic petition from AFA

Hate group leader Tim Wildmon of American Family Association

American Family Association, an anti-LGBT hate group, is gathering signatures in support of Air Force Colonel Leland B.H. Bohannon. Conservative Christians continue to demonstrate that they are oblivious to the fact that we do not care about their approval. Moreover, religion is not an excuse for discrimination or discourtesy, let alone unprofessional conduct.

As I wrote on November 9, a senior NCO (E-7) in Bohannon's command was retiring. It is customary for the commanding officer to thank the retiree's spouse by letter. In this case the NCO's spouse is another man. Bohannon refused to send the letter due to religious objections. He got a general to do so instead. It is a variation of “he obtained a suitable cake a few blocks from here.” It doesn't alter the fact that the man was discriminated against.

Uh-oh: 30 people have now accused that Ohio GOPer of inappropriate conduct

Wesley Goodman via Twitter

I wrote about Wes Goodman on Sunday. The short … uh, strokes are that Goodman is, um was an anti-gay “family values” Ohio state legislator who led a secret gay life. In 2015 he is alleged to have sexually assaulted an 18-year-old boy and Tony Perkins covered it up.

Now, according to the Independent Journal Review:

Disgraced Ohio state Rep. Wes Goodman — a Republican — in the wake of the lawmaker's recently revealed sex scandal and resignation is being accused by dozens of people of sexual misconduct. IJR has obtained testimonies from over 30 individuals who have had inappropriate and never-before-shared experiences with Goodman.

A 411 on LEDE router software

Replacing a router's firmware with Linux is now easier than ever.

There are innumerable reasons for installing the LEDE distribution on a router which replaces the manufacturer's firmware. If, for example, you have a router from other than Netgear that supports disk storage, it lacks a DLNA media server. LEDE allows you to install MiniDLNA which is the same software that Netgear embeds into its routers (Netgear made this available as open source). Since installing LEDE my Internet download speed has increased by about 20%. Upload has not changed.

There are many other packages one can install that serve a myriad of needs. You can browse the available packages.

Yeah, I have a question

ADF's registration graphic.
I'll leave it to you to ponder what Running the Race refers to.
It seems as if they have organized a virtual campaign rally.

Anti-LGBT hate group, Alliance Defending Freedom, is having a conference call on November 30. People can register here. The subject of the call is this year's fundamentalist chew toy — Masterpiece Cakeshop and its bigoted owner, Jack Phillips, who denied a wedding cake to a gay couple. According to the registration page, participants will be able to comment and ask questions. If I could ask one question it would be: Suppose Phillips did not approve of interracial marriages?

Cons Christian: "Does the New Starbucks Christmas Cup Feature a Lesbian Couple?"

That question was posed by conservative Christian Jim Denison. Well, Mr. Denison, I think that the Starbucks Christmas cup does include a lesbian couple holding hands. What's it to ya?

Denison explains:

As unbiblical morality becomes increasingly popular, it's worth asking: Why should Christians stand up against cultural trends?

What is really worth asking is: What defines biblical morality and why should anyone care?

Our citizenry are painfully ignorant regarding our Constitution

Rev. Mike Allison

I was struck by the following passage from a piece at CBN about a hate group leader's (Mat Staver) staunch support of Roy Moore:

Introducing Moore during a "God Save America" rally at a south Alabama church this week, pastor Mike Allison said his support wasn't wavering because Moore never has.

“He has staunchly defended the Constitution of the United States, he has stood for the Word of God ... he is against the murder of the unborn by abortion. He is for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. He is against a redefinition of marriage and believes firmly that it is only between a man and a woman. And he is against all threats against the traditional family,” Allison said. “He is a fighter and a champion for right ....”

ICYMI: GOPer "Fam. Values" crusader gropes 18-Y-O boy and Tony Perkins covered it up!

Wesley Goodman being sworn in as an Ohio legislator
The image has since been deleted from Goodman's social media

Republicans have foisted numerous conspiracy theories on the electorate; from Benghazi to birthers. I have a conspiracy theory of my own:

The Republican Party is nothing more than a conspiracy to achieve lower taxes for, and fewer regulations on, its donors regardless of the impact on anyone else. It then follows that anything is permissible for a GOPer if;

1. They aren't inextricably caught and;
2. They help the party achieve or retain political power.

Take the case of married “family values” Ohio State legislator Wes Goodman. The Washington Post has reported that Goodman sexually assaulted an 18-year-old boy. According to the Post, on October 18, 2015 Goodman invited the teenage son of a Republican donor to his hotel bedroom in Washington, DC. The kid woke up at around 4:00 AM to find Goodman pulling down the zipper of his pants. Panicked, the young man fled from the room. Goodman was 31 at the time.

Sunday reading

David Cole has a superb piece in the New York Review of Books regarding Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado CRC. Cole is National Legal Director of the ACLU and Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy at Georgetown.

Two opinion pieces in the New York Times caught my attention:

The first of these is titled Dear Nobel Winners, Mr. Trump Has All the Brains He Needs. It is a caustically satirical piece explaining why Agent Orange is not inviting America's recent Nobel laureates to the White House as has been the tradition.

Tim Dolan goes all-in on pray-away-the-gay

Cardinal Timothy Dolan has a diverse New York City constituency. He seemed, of late, to have made a conscious decision that he would not be a lightning rod for homophobia and transphobia. Today Dolan announced, via a press release, that he was endorsing a website as a resource for the care of “Same-sex Attracted Persons.”

Calling gay people same-sex attracted guarantees that you are pissing them off. It is an intellectually dishonest attempt to liken a disapproved sexual orientation to something like a drug habit. It's a close cousin to the Gay Lifestyle and a second cousin to the Homosexual Agenda.

LSU professor: "Don't call me 'Christian' any longer"

If nothing else, Robert Mann is an interesting guy. Mann is a political historian and professor at LSU's Manship School of Mass Communication. Mann was a U.S. Senate staffer for almost 20 years having worked for senators Russell Long and John Breaux.

Mann has an opinion piece today at Times-Picayune/NOLA.com which I will quote from, in part (emphasis added):

It's not only that many so-called Christians accept Moore's dubious denials over the testimony of these women. Just as troubling is that they worship Moore, unconcerned about whether he's a pedophile because, you know, any Democrat is worse than a child molester.

Fedora 27 was not ready for prime time

Updating Fedora 26 to Fedora 27 on Tuesday was an adventure. I suspect that might be relative to what packages are installed on the computer.

On my first try, dnf downloaded the packages. The dnf system upgrade reboot is supposed to then install and clean up everything. I kept getting double boots back to a F26 login  with with nothing upgraded. There was an error message that I could not find in journalctl (I really miss the simplicity of /var/log/messages).

The Christian dishonesty of raising funds off of Jack Phillips

National Organization for Marriage and Family Research Council are claiming that donating to their organizations will have some effect on the outcome of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. I am certain that other Christian organizations are making similar claims.

Brian S. Brown (NOM) writes “Help Needed to Support Critical Religious Liberty Case.” Brian S. Brown is a liar.

Jerry Boykin (FRC) writes “If you and I don't fight for Jack, who will?” Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin is a liar.

Hate group leader claims to "believe" in science and then proves otherwise

Tony Perkins (Family Research Council) is famous for his divisive rhetoric. Everything is us vs. them. When it comes to raising money for his hate group he ratchets up the hyperbole.

Anger is an important motivational tool. We do the same thing — hopefully more truthfully and we are not perpetually pissed off. Okay, I am perpetually pissed off but I'm not asking for money and I try hard to be accurate, correcting from time to time any factual misadventures.

I am not sure that activism is well served by a new Tennessee lawsuit

Tennessee is not especially welcoming to LGBT persons

Mental health counselors in Tennessee are free to turn away patients if their “goals, outcomes or behaviors” conflict with the counselor's “sincerely held principles.” Gov. Bill Haslam signed the measure into law in 2016.

Sincerely held principles” is code for religious beliefs which is code for superstitions. I am as sick of this crap as anyone — Perhaps more so. Laws like this are obnoxious and discriminatory. A man named Bleu Copas has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law. I'll get hold of the complaint later but the AP reports Copas' claims that the law represents “an actual and imminent threat of discrimination.” Good for Copas.

Despite all of the meddling Australia is set for marriage equality

Sydney, Australia will become even more beautiful now that
marriage equality will be in effect shortly

National Organization for Marriage attempted to create an “international” image by opposing marriage equality in Australia. In addition to NOM people like Katy Faust were making frequent visits to the island nation to stir up the populace. Even Ryan T. Anderson parachuted in, in an attempt to change the outcome. Unfortunately for them, Australia's citizenry chose not to cooperate. Once again the arguments that same-sex marriage had some mystical effect on so-called traditional marriage didn't fool most people.

Ed Whelan - True beleiver or cultist?

In his National Review column, “This Day in Liberal Judicial Activism:”

2015—In Adkins v. City of New York, federal district judge Jed S. Rakoff rules that “transgender people are a so-called ‘quasi-suspect class’” and that governmental treatment of people who identify as transgender must be subject to “intermediate” judicial scrutiny.

Under Rakoff’s approach, he and other federal judges, in the supposed name of the Constitution, would be deciding such matters as whether boys who think they’re girls must be allowed to use the girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, and showers in public schools.

Liberal Judicial Activism

Maggie Gallagher is agitating again

The last I heard, Maggie Gallagher was heading up a sacred music project controlled by the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco. I figured that would keep her busy. I was wrong and, if a piece by American Family Association is correct, then Gallagher is still a senior fellow with the American Principles Project, a Robert P. George—Luis Tellez start-up.

She gave an interview to the folks at AFA which is designated a hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center. According to AFA:

The Church of England has issued sensible guidance on gender and the Washington Times is displeased

My brain has diminished capacity after watching Jeff Sessions feign senility for a few hours. With the brain cells that remain I see that the Washington Times is running with “Church of England tells schools to let kids experiment with genders.” The author of this tantrum is Cheryl K. Chumley who seems to be burnishing her crank credentials. According to Chumley:

The Church of England sent a somewhat shocking message to schools around the country, telling administrators they ought to let students try out different genders.

It looks like the fire that burned down the home of two gay men was arson

Lab tests confirm that gasoline was used in a fire that destroyed the home of an LGBT activist in Jackson, Michigan last August. The homeowner, Nikki Joly, is an American Red Cross worker and director of the Jackson Pride Center. Joly has been an active supporter of the city's non-discrimination ordinance and LGBT equality initiatives in Jackson.

Disbarred lawyer claiming gay conspiracy against him

Andrew L. Shirvell

An anti-gay disbarred lawyer and former assistant attorney general of Michigan is appealing his disbarment. Apparently Trump's presidency will restore his law license. He was, according to him, persecuted by a gay-friendly grievance board that was predisposed to discriminate against a Christian.

Do you all remember Andrew Shirvell? Shirvell is the schmuck  who, in 2010, was obsessed with the gay student body president, Chris Armstrong at University of Michigan. Shirvell was driven to incendiary distraction by the election of a gay man to head student government. Indeed, Shirvell dedicated a vile blog to the character assassination of Armstrong.

Roy Moore will not ever sue the Washington Post

Roy Moore is an idiot. This we know. However, even Moore knows that he cannot successfully sue the Washington Post as he is now threatening to do. Moore is inarguably a public figure. In 1964 the Supreme Court ruled in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan that, to prevail in a defamation suit, a public figure must prove the falsity of published information and prove that the publisher knowingly and recklessly published it.

An open response to Isi Leibler

Isi Leibler is a frequent contributor to the Jerusalem Post. Sunday he writes: “Candidly speaking: Recent sexual controversies and upheavals.”

It causes me great discomfort when a fellow Jew expresses anti-gay rhetoric. Most of us have learned a thing or two from 6,000 years of oppression. Mr. Leibler has not. Leibler begins by telling us just how wonderful he is. After explaining that he is an octogenarian:

I am no prude and when, 50 years ago, it was fashionable to demonize homosexuals I never joined the pack. I always maintained that consensual sexual relations were a private matter, I never discriminated against gays or lesbians, and I unhesitatingly employed quite a few. And despite the strict halachic prohibitions, I maintain that if gay people wish to be observant, they should not be ostracized from communal religious participation.

Masterpiece briefs in favor of equality

This poseur calls himself a cake artist

The Supreme Court has not received a number of well reasoned briefs in support of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission (Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado CRC). One of the things that I have overlooked is that the compelled speech argument made by the religious fundamentalists doesn't really work because of the lack of a government sponsored message.

This is a First Amendment case. There are two issues. The first is whether or not being required to provide a wedding cake for a gay couple is compelled speech which is dependent upon whether or not the cake is a work of art as art is understood in legal terms. The second is whether Colorado's nondiscrimination law infringes on the baker's right to free exercise of religion. The best legal arguments, in my opinion, are those that are concise and targeted.

How to guarantee that you become a target for ridicule

Target Corp.'s Miami store

Target [NYSE:TGT] shares are up a couple of bucks today, possibly on news that they are closing 12 under-performing stores. The evidence is that Target is doing qukte well. That is based upon reported earnings and earnings guidance. The general consensus among analysts is that the stock is a hold. Keep in mind also that the dividend yield is over 4%.

Never mind the evidence. According to hate group American Family Association's Chris Woodward, “Retailer's decisions coming home to roost, says watchdog.” Once again AFA is claiming that a failed boycott has succeeded. This time they have an accomplice to the deception.

Who writes this crap at the Washington Times?

The Washington Times is the paper of record for a toxic cult

The Washington Times is affiliated with the Unification Church, AKA The Moonies. Thursday evening they ran a rather strange editorial titled: “High times and matrimony at NASA.” The first two paragraphs read:

Some marriages are said to be made in heaven, and now certain Democratic senators want to make sure that some marriages be recognized in space. Heaven can wait. These senators object to President Trump’s nominee to be the administrator of NASA because he, like most Americans, thinks the ladies make the most appropriate brides.

Boykin does a "boo-hoo" for a bigot

General William G. "Jerry" Boykin

I have about had it with Christians thinking that human decency translates to their approval of our marriages. There is a certain arrogance associated with believing that their supposed approval is even relevant. Their delusions certainly do not create an excuse for discrimination.

It is a lesson that Colonel Leland B.H. Bohannon has learned the hard way. The colonel, commander of the Air Force Inspection Agency at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, has been suspended and a promotion to brigadier general has been derailed. This is because he was disrespectful to a retiring master sergeant (E-7). The senior NCO is gay and married.

LaBarbera: 'Devastated'

Peter LaBarbera inspires a considerable amount of snark from me and others because he is an over-inflated caricature of conservative Christian bigotry. Sarcasm aside, LaBarbera's dysfunction begins and ends with a failure to see past someone's sexuality. That is all that he — or they — need to know.

On Wednesday, LaBarbera was having an epic meltdown over the fact that some transgender people were elected to public office.

I’m devastated to learn of the loss in the Virginia delegate race of pro-family hero Bob Marshall to a man who is pretending to be a woman, ‘Danica’ Roem. Bob is one of the most principled and effective state legislators in the nation, and of course there was egregious media bias in covering the race.

Out-of-state liberals sunk in tens of thousands of dollars to help the ‘transgender’ Roem because, well, liberals just can’t seem to celebrate gender confusion enough.

Willful stupidity

This moronic bigotry from Claire Chretien requires little commentary:

Transgender man unseats longtime social conservative delegate in Virginia

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Virginia, November 7, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – A transgender political candidate won a seat in Virginia's legislature tonight, making history for LGBT and left-wing activists and defeating one of the commonwealth's staunchest social conservative delegates.

Incumbent Del. Bob Marshall, a Republican, lost to Democrat Daniel “Danica” Roem, a man who purports to be a woman. Roem will represent Virginia's 13th district, making him the first-ever transgender state legilsator .

Morse reminds us why her org is designated a "hate group"

Jennifer Roback Morse promotes discrimination
and persecution of gay people

Hate group leader Jennifer Roback Morse (Ruth Institute) has sent out an email titled “Attention! Refugees from the Gay Life-style, their friends and family.” Morse goes on to explain:

Have you ever heard the term, “Refugees from the Gay Life-style?” No? That's because we invented it to describe the people who have in the past experienced same sex attraction or lived the gay life-style.

Talk about a marginalized, under-served group of people. Also, brave. For supposedly not existing, they sure take a lot of flak.

My friends who have walked away from a same sex lifestyle are among the holiest people I've known.

Kim Davis files to run for second term

Kim Davis and Mat Staver
Davis just gushes when she is the center of attention

"She loves her job and she loves the people," said Mat Staver, founder of of the hate group Liberty Counsel that has represented Davis. "I'm sure (the election) will probably have more attention because of who she is, but you know she doesn't have any major concerns about it."

I'm sure and probably are mutually exclusive. The dumb prick doesn't know the difference. 

LifeSiteNews has a new anti-gay crazy and a new craziness

Lou Iacobelli

Lou Iacobelli is a name that I have not seen before. Iacobelli is a retired teacher and a fierce Catholic. He has been on an anti-SexEd crusade for several years. Tuesday at LifeSiteNews Iacobelli writes: “Liberal politician: It’s ‘super-cruel’ to tell parents what kids are learning on LGBT at school.” Of course none of that is accurate. Somehow, in spite of all the self-righteous sanctimony, lying is permitted if it advances the anti-LGBT agenda of these professed orthodox Catholics.

Iacobelli cleans it up a bit in the first paragraph but it is still profoundly bigoted. It is a view based on slavish devotion to ancient texts absent critical thinking:

Pray away oy veh

“If we evaluate people solely on gender expression we lose sight of their skills, personalities, character and intelligence.”

David Kyle Foster

David Kyle Foster is morbidly pimping Walt Heyer to convince people that they can pray away gender dysphoria. David Kyle Foster is a pernicious pray-away-the-gay enthusiast. Foster has an economic incentive in persuading people to dismiss medical science. Walt Heyer is an ex-trans crackpot who has exploited his personality disorder into a living. The two have made a film. It is a macabre enterprise.

Foster has convinced himself that Jesus can turn gay people straight in spite of a mountain of peer reviewed research to the contrary. Heyer transitioned relatively late in life. A few years later he de-transitioned. Somehow Heyer's experience means (according to Heyer) that no one should be transgender.

No Mr. Perkins - Equality is not a popularity contest

According to Hate Group Leader Tony Perkins: “Two-Thirds of Americans Believe Bakers Should Be Able to Refuse to Make Cakes for Same-Sex Weddings.” At least that is what he is claiming at Heritage Foundation's blog. If, by the way, Heritage gives a platform to a hate group leader then that makes Heritage complicit in the persecution and discrimination that Perkins champions.

Perkins ambles on: