If you ever need a good laugh, just check out Uncle
Fester's Twitter feed. Yes, I'm talking about Matt Taibbi -- ever since
C.I. called him Uncle Fester in an Iraq snapshot, that image has stayed
with me. It's so apt.
So I went there and had to look up to see how old Uncle Fester is now? 53. And doing a podcast. And wearing a baseball cap.
Bad hair day, Uncle Fester?
Nope.
Uncle
Fester has no hair and hasn't for years now. 53 years old and wearing a
baseball cap (inside) to cover up his baldness. A cap indoors due to
vanity? Guess he didn't have a grandma growing up.
He
is such a nut jab. He's fretting over the return of masks. Such is
his pathetic life that wearing a mask is an outrage and has to be
feared.
These simmering problems came to a head this month when a
Racket staffer complained to senior management that Taibbi had been
verbally abusive and unprofessionally hostile, and that she felt the
conduct may have been motivated, at least in part, by her gender. Temple
conducted an investigation, and First Look determined that while none
of the alleged conduct rose to the level of legal liability, the
grievance bolstered their case that Taibbi should not be the manager of Racket.
Among their concerns were the staffer’s claims that Taibbi had been
privately criticizing First Look managers, particularly Ching, that
Taibbi’s abrasive demeanor was alienating some on his staff, and that
Taibbi instructed Racket staff to resolve any grievances directly with him rather than going to upper management.
On October 10, according to Taibbi’s account, Temple and Ching told
Taibbi that he would be immediately stripped of all managerial
responsibilities pending their investigation.
Friday, August 25, 2023. A rally for Julian Assange takes place
tomorrow, RKF Junior continues to disgrace himself, others weigh in on
the GOP debate.
Tomorrow there will be a rally online for Julian Assange:
Wistaverse (www.wistaverse.com)
the world’s first global platform for protest in the metaverse,
announced today that the campaign to stop the extradition of Julian
Assange will launch the first ever virtual political rally for Assange
this Saturday, August 26th.
The rally is part of the effort to prevent the founder of WikiLeaks
from being extradited to the US where he could face a 175 year jail
sentence for revealing information about the Iraq and Afghan wars. It is
being organized by the Don’t Extradite Assange Campaign (https://dontextraditeassange.com), which is the official campaign of the Assange movement, working with Assange and his family.
John Rees from the Don't Extradite Assange campaign said, “This
event in the Wistaverse is a valuable opportunity to unite people
across the world who believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the
press to show their support for Julian and set a signal that will be an
important precedent for human rights everywhere. No matter where you are
in the world, you can virtually join this event.”
The
event will include the participation of and speeches by Julian Assange
himself (pre-recorded), his wife Stella Assange, Kristinn Hrafnsson, the
co-founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, and other high profile
guests, including British politician Jeremy Corbyn.
The event
will take place in the Wistaverse, the world’s first platform for
virtual protest in the metaverse. The Wistaverse is a not-for-profit
protocol located in the Sandbox on the Polygon blockchain. Users who
organize protests do so on their own initiative, independent of the
Wistaverse’s creators. The protocol enables a platform for protest for
causes with universal importance and gives access for everyone to
participate, regardless of geographical location or possible physical
disabilities.
Jules, one of the founders of Wistaverse, said: “We
are excited that the Don't Extradite Assange campaign has decided to
use the platform to host such a key rally shortly after the launch of
the Wistaverse this May. At that time, the inaugural protest was an
event organized by Amnesty International in support of abortion rights
worldwide. Now, we trust that the event this Saturday will set a signal
and focus all eyes on freedom of speech to support that cause. The new
Web3 technologies are enabling unprecedented participation and the
opportunity for everyone to shape worldwide governance.”
The
rally will take place in a virtual auditorium designed to look like the
Royal Courts of Justice in London where Assange is set to face his
final appeal in the UK court system. It aims to build for a real life
protest at the same venue when the court date is announced.
The
speakers at the rally will appear either as characters inside the event
or with filmed contributions shown on screens inside the arena created
by the event designers. The Wistaverse uses metaverse technology to
allow each individual attendee to be represented by an avatar that can
hear the speeches and watch other material inside the virtual rally and
interact with other attendees. It protects users’ identity and enables
universal participation. The rally is open to anyone with a computer.
The rally will be on Saturday 26 August at 5pm BST/ British Summer Time, when information about how to participate will go live on the event’s dedicated website on the Sandbox.
For more information contact:
For Don’t Extradite Assange Campaign: media(at)dontextraditeassange.com or Silvi: email: ps13(at)tuamail.com Tel.: +44-798-480-9125 For the Wistaverse: jules.wistaverse(at)gmail.com & Wistaverse(at)transformgroup.com
About Don’t Extradite Assange Campaign The
Don’t Extradite Assange Campaign has been established in the UK by
WikiLeaks in order to focus campaigning efforts on preventing the
extradition of journalist and publisher Julian Assange to the United
States where he faces 175 years in jail. Through his publications he has
exposed war crimes against humanity, government corruption and mass
surveillance. Visit: Dontextraditeassange.com
Julian
remains imprisoned in England with the threat of deportation to the US
for the 'crime' of journalism. US President Joe Biden could stop this
nonsense at any moment but chooses not to. Of the upcoming protest, Patrick
Reevell (ABC NEWS) spoke with Stella Assange this week -- Stella is
Julian's wife and the mother of their two children.
John
Rees from the Don't Extradite Assange campaign said the benefit of
holding a metaverse mass protest is that, "no matter where you are in
the world, you can virtually join this event.”
He told Yahoo Finance UK's The Crypto Mile
that this "first of its kind" event would not replace physical protests
on the streets of major cities, but would complement the ongoing
campaign.
"We have had the metaverse environment designed as a
replica of the real Royal Courts of Justice, so that people attending
this event will get the idea it would be a good thing to turn up outside
the real court on the day that Julian appears," he said.
Rees said he is hopeful they will get thousands of people to virtually attend from across the globe.
"This is a pioneering form of political action, and if it works I'm sure we will not be the only ones to repeat it," he added.
Sceptics
have wondered aloud whether a protest in an obscure corner of the
internet – it uses a gaming platform called Sandbox – can have the same
impact as real-world disruptive action.
“The
answer to that is protest is also mainly a social event where people
with a common vision get together,” one of the Wistaverse’s co-founders,
Jules Alcazar, told The National.
“Having
everyone together in one place is also a great opportunity to go
fund-raising. It’s about keeping momentum, it’s finding what activism
can do.”
He believes the metaverse
also has an edge over social media activism, which is “very limited”,
“not immersive” and a “very poor way of experiencing it” because its
algorithms relentlessly feed back bias.
There are forecasts that the metaverse, championed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as a virtual-reality world encompassing education and health care, could one day be worth $5 trillion to $13 trillion.
5:00 pm BST would be noon in EST (London is five hours ahead of NYC). In other news, Ethan Davis (STAB) notes:
‘He put out information people didn’t want being put out but
it was all truthful and I don’t know how you fault a guy for putting out
the truth,’ mused Kelly Slater in an Instagram soliloquy one March eve.
Just as seamless as Slater’s transitions are from the tube to the
open face, so too are his analyses of complex geopolitical, health and
social issues.
Typically one should have domain-specific expertise, some skin in the
game, to credibly navigate these deep waters — but 11 surfing World
Titles and a few compelling exchanges with high-profile pod bros works
fine too in 2023.
Way less student debt too, this method. And more barrels.
Slater’s sentiments did not go unnoticed by Kym Staton — director of
the forthcoming opus delving into the character assassination of
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces a 175 year prison sentence
if extradited to the US for the crime of leaking classified
information.
Originally titled Free The Truth: Free Assange has gracefully segued into the more enigmatic appellation, The Trust Fall. While the nomenclature may evolve, the narrative spine remains robust.
“The main aim of this film is to gather more support for Julian’s
freedom. At its core, this is a political case and a mass public outcry
is needed in order to pressure US, UK, and Australian politicians to do
the right thing and release him,” writes Staton — whose endgame is to
whip up a chorus of cheers for Assange’s parole. He’s slapping a big ol’
megaphone on this whole political mess, hoping to rile up enough people
from the US, UK, and Australia to gang up on their politicians and
demand, ‘Hey, do the right thing, guys! Let the man loose!’
Wednesday night, contenders for the GOP's presidential nomination debated (see yesterday's snapshot).
Not seeing a lot of written about Nikki Haley. She is seeking the
nomination and she was awful on Wednesday night. There's a hilarious
analysis -- unintentionally funny -- by a centrist-leftist online who
tells you how wonderful Nikki was and how her abortion answers would
ensure her victory with the general electorate -- yes, it's that
divorced from reality which is why you end up laughing at the fool. For a
better analysis of Nikki Haley's performance, stream the MORNING JOE
segment below and pay attention to Jen Psaki and Symone Sanders.
Senator Tim Scott said the solution to the crisis in education was to
“break the backs” of the teachers unions, by which he meant crushing
the teachers themselves, who have engaged in massive strikes, not the
stooge unions run by millionaire bureaucrats and CIA agents.
Former
Governor Chris Christie said that the teachers unions were the biggest
enemy of America, and boasted that he had slashed public employee
pensions during his eight years in office in New Jersey.
Former Vice President Mike Pence declared that he was the only
candidate willing to state openly that there had to be major cuts in
Social Security and Medicare. None of the others on the stage indicated
opposition to this proposal, which would devastate tens of millions of
retired and disabled workers.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called
for shooting migrants “stone cold dead” to stop them crossing the
US-Mexico border, and said that he would dispatch US Special Forces into
Mexico on his first day as president—in effect, the invasion of Mexico
by the US military.
IT multimillionaire Vivek Ramaswamy condemned
all measures taken to protect working people during the COVID-19
pandemic—effectively arguing that the current policy of letting the
virus run rampant should have been adopted from Day One. And he called
climate change a “hoax,” in response to a question that cited record
heat waves, wildfires and unprecedented rainfall events.
+ Vivek Ramaswamy,
9/11 Truther: “I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how
many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Maybe
the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right?”
+ Ramaswamy has been accused of hiring someone to scrub his Wikipedia
page of unflattering (to the MAGA base he is so urgently courting)
biographical episodes, including his receipt of a Paul and Daisy Soros
Fellowship for New Americans in 2011, as well as his role on Ohio’s
COVID-19 Response Team. But his association with the son of the Dr.
Mabuse of the Left hasn’t escaped the attention of the intrepid
investigators at FoxNews.
+ American history according to Vivek Ramaswamy: “the US Constitution
was what won us the American Revolution.” The Constitution was written
in 1787, 6 years after the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown, 11 years
after the Declaration of Independence and 12 years after the Revolution
started, in 1775.
+ At the debate, DeSantis repeatedly tried to associate himself with
the Navy SEAL teams in Iraq, by saying “I was with the SEALS in places
like Fallujah and Ramadi.” But DeSantis wasn’t a SEAL, he was a JAG. The
role of JAGS in Iraq was advise the SEALS on who they could “legally”
capture, torture and kill. Or, in his own tart phrase, whose “throats they could slit.”
Of
course one candidate who belonged on the Republican stage Wednesday
night wasn't there. That's right, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Jeffrey notes
Junior:
RFK, Jr’s Theory of HIV/AIDS manages to merge medical conspiracy theory with homophobia:
“There’s a lot of people that said it is not a virus. The virus is a
passenger virus, and these people are dying mainly because of poppers.
100 percent of the people who died in the first thousand [with] AIDS
were people who were addicted to poppers, which are known to cause
Kaposi sarcoma in rats. And they were people who were part of a gay
lifestyle where they were burning the candle at both ends. There were
poppers on sale everywhere at the gay bars.”
Truly
a fool. Junior's running as a 'Democrat' at present but THE VANGUARD
sees him crossing over to the GOP race because if it walks like a duck
and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck.
Meanwhile,
'big news' for Junior's campaign -- British geriatric Eric Clapton is
endorsing Junior and what's says American democracy and patriotism more
than that?
Junior can announce that, he just
can't explain what draws murders like Travis Ikeguchi are so drawn to
his campaign. Nor can he speak of Lauri Carleton, the woman murdered
by Travis Ikeguchi. Christopher Wiggins (THE ADVOCATE) notes:
After California ally Laura "Lauri" Carleton was killed for displaying an LGBTQ+ Pride
flag at her San Bernadino County store, Mag.Pi, the Los Angeles LGBT
Center and Flags for Good announced a new banner honoring the Lake
Arrowhead community member and shop owner.
“Carleton, an unwavering ally, is one of too many people who have lost their lives due to violence that targets LGBTQ+ people,” said a statement announcing the commemorative flag.
To
honor Carleton’s memory and encourage allies to work for a safer
community, the Center collaborated with Flags for Good to create a rainbow banner bearing the magpie symbol — after her store's name. The proceeds from sales will benefit the Lake Arrowhead LGBTQ+ Fund.
“I assure you that the Center won’t be stopping here. Right-wing
extremists have brought this fight to our doorstep, and let me promise
you this: we are answering their knock at our door—and we will be
greeting them with the strength that our community is known for,” said
CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center Joe Hollendoner in a press release.
“I hope we can rely on you to join us in the fight.”
In light of
national retail chains like Target and Starbucks reportedly halting
their Pride displays, Carleton, 66, chose to hang the Pride Flag, a
symbol of resistance for the community since 1970.
Alan Carter approached Mag.Pi in Studio City at 3 p.m. on Wednesday,
Aug. 23, carrying a bouquet of white hydrangeas wrapped in brown paper
and polka-dotted cellophane. At 62 years old, Carter had never purchased
flowers for someone he’s never met, but he was stunned this week to
learn that the owner of the lifestyle boutique, Laura Ann Carleton, or
Lauri to friends, was shot to death on Friday during a dispute with a
man over a Pride flag outside her second Mag.Pi location near Lake
Arrowhead.
“It gutted me, and I heard on the news that Mrs. Carleton also owned a
store in Studio City,” said Carter. “I don’t know anyone in her family
and I’ve never been in the store, though I’ve driven past it probably a
hundred times. I can’t get to Lake Arrowhead, so I came here. I’m on a
fixed income and really, I have no money for flowers or an Uber but I
said, ‘F**k it. I’ll go without Starbucks for a month.’ I wanted to be
here to say, in a very small way, thank you. Thank you for the sacrifice
you made for people like me.”
On the next Tweet, I'm noting Steve Benedict and I don't know how to pull the idiot Modern Papist out of the Tweet below.
The killer followed Matt Walsh
and the killer followed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Junior's not said a
word. He's complete trash. And he's trashing his wife's future. She's
already on iffy ground and his silence cost her one of her few
defenders left (that was me -- was). His silence reveals how disgusting
he is. How telling that so many of his fans are dreaming of a
Trump-Junior ticket.
That disgusting Tara Reade. That's what I thought when a
friend at work showed me one of her latest Tweets. She's reTweeted
Nick Brana. Who? He's accused of harassing a woman. Now Tara's one of
those believe all women types. I'm not. Ava and C.I. aren't either.
And they covered the issue of Brana. But Tara's never shared her
opinion and she can't stay away from semi-White Sabby Sabs who ripped
Brana apart and convicted him on air (see the link to Ava and C.I.'s
piece).
So you have to wonder if there's no gutter Tara won't crawl through?
Probably not.
I watched 30 Rock from time to time. And I knew, in real life, Tina Fey stabbed Rachel Dratch stabbed in the back. This video goes into it.
And speaking of sewers and backstabbers . . . Donald Trump.
Thursday, August 24, 2023. The GOP goes wild on the debate stage while
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remains silent after one of his supporters murders
a woman.
And he says, "What do you love to do? Outside your world Who spends time with you? From whom do you learn when you're not working, sweet girl?
"Where would you go if you had the time?" Crossing some crazy state line somewhere? To whom do you cry When people are unkind, sweet girl?"
But I chose to dance across the stages of the world Everyone said I'd never learn And I still hear your words I waited all my life for you, sweet girl
-- "Sweet Girl," written by Stevie Nicks, first appears on Fleetwood Mac's THE DANCE
Watching
the GOP presidential contenders debate last night, I kept thinking of
Stevie's song. "Sweet Girl." Who was the sweetest? To me the sweetest
girl was Ronald DeSantis.
A
pledge had been signed, a moderator noted, by all on stage to support
the eventual GOP presidential nominee yet Donald Trump was supposed to
be turning himself in to be booked at a jail today (he also wasn't on
the debate stage and, though the moderators failed to note it, had
refused to sign the pledge they were invoking) so would they support
Donald if -- convicted felon or not -- he was the eventual nominee?
Ronnie looked right, Ronnie looked left. When four out of eight hands
went up, Ron Ron put his paw up. Such a sweet girl. Eventually seven
of the eight put their hands up in the air, to prove that when it comes to democracy, they just don't care.
But
then it turned out Chris Christie didn't understand the process. He
was raising his hand for something else. Maybe he thought the question
was: Does anyone want to split an order of fries?
He raised his hand -- during this vote -- because he wanted to speak. And he did.
So
that dropped it down to six: Ronald DeSanits, conspiracy freak Vivek
Ramaswamy, forgettable Mike Pence (was he on stage?, he makes no
impression at all), former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Senator
Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Governor Doug
Burgum.
Christie stated, "Here is the bottom line. Someone’s got to stop normalizing this
conduct. Whether or not you believe the criminal
charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of
president of the United States."
Former
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson understood the voting process and
didn't raise his hand in error. When he spoke he stated the issue was
important and that Donald was "morally disqualified from being president
again" -- and not just morally but potentially legally as a result of
his interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
He's referring to section three of the Fourteenth Amendment:
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector
of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military,
under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously
taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United
States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or
judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United
States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may
by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Scholars are split on whether or not this would apply to Donald Trump.
So we can argue that presently. (I would argue that the 14th Amendment does apply.)
But
what we do know is that DeSantis isn't much of a leader and will only
make a decision when half the people in any group have already stated
their own opinion.
Sweet girl. He chose to dance across the stages of the world.
Tim
Scott didn't invoke the Constitution -- I'm not sure he understands it
or much of anything that's not a lie spat out by FOX "NEWS." Naming
California, among other states, he whined that "we cannot let states
have abortion on demand up until the day of birth. That is immoral. It
is unethical. It is wrong."
What you're
saying is 100% wrong because it's a damn lie. There is no state in this
country, even when ROE was law of the land that was performing
abortions at the nine month mark. Find me the state, pop-eyed man, that
did it because, outside of the junk fed brains of FOX "NEWS" viewers,
it just doesn't exist.
I really want to meet
that mythical woman who exists only in the minds of idiotic morons --
that woman who is sitting at the dinner table thinking, "Do I give birth
tomorrow or do I abort? I know I've had forty weeks to make a decision
but I wanted to put off deciding until the night before."
She doesn't exist. She never has.
Again,
Tim Scott didn't invoke the Constitution. He did invoke . . .
something. The Declaration of Independence. But I've never heard
"declaration" pronounced that way before. Tim Scott proving you don't
have to come from another country or have parents from another country
to need ESL. DECCA-UH-LUH-RAY-SHUN. I think that's how he said it.
He
then repeatedly gripped his bosom while dramatically insisting, "We
can't leave it to Illinois. We can't leave it to Minnesota. We can't
leave it to Illinois. We must --" Huh? Since he'd said Illinois once
already, I fear he discovered something -- maybe a lump in his breast
-- when he was palming himself. Hopefully, he'll have it checked out.
Remember, early detection is key and self breast exams are important.
Even apparently when onstage during a debate.
Nikki jumped into the fray to ask about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Well
I guess that's one way to waste your time on stage. And she already
wastes all her time on the campaign trail so why not waste her time on
stage as well.
There's a reason she's got a national name but no traction at all in the race.
At the first Republican presidential debate tonight, North Dakota
Governor Doug Burgum said the claim that “every teacher is somehow
indoctrinating people is just false” when responding to a question about
transgender girls playing on girls’ sports teams.
In the debate’s second half, the Fox News debate moderator
Martha MacCallum said, “[Former South Carolina] governor [Nikki] Haley
has said that biological boys playing in girls sports is the women’s
issue of our time. You said that, even though you signed a ban on this
in North Dakota, there hadn’t been one instance where it was actually
needed. Are you saying that you think that too much is made of this
issue?”
No, Nikki, it's not a woman's
issue. Women don't play girls sports. It's a girls issue. It could be
a parents issue, if you wanted to argue that. But girls aren't women.
An if you don't understand that basic fact, I don't know why you think
you can lecture the world on 'biological' or what have you. Simple
truth, women do not play girls' sports. They may play women's sports
but not girls' sports. Girls' sports is not and cannot be a woman's
issue.
I guess when you're so eager to attack
women's reproductive rights, you'll desperately try to pass anything
else off as a woman's issue so you don't appear as hollow and callous as
you really are.
Such as when she was yelling at the conspiracy nut onstage.
The first GOP presidential primary debate will be held Wednesday night, August 23, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Frontrunner Donald Trump has said he’ll be skipping the debate, but eight other candidates are expected to participate, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
LGBTQ rights, freedoms, and lives are under attack across the country, in legislatures, and in the world, as are allies of the LGBTQ community, so these candidates have a responsibility to tell the American people how they will protect LGBTQ Americans.
Some 7% of Americans
are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, according to Gallup, including 20% of
GenZ, the youngest population cohort studied and most out generation in
history. Polling and turnout analysis from the 2020 election
indicate that LGBTQ voters played a deciding role in the victory of Joe
Biden for President and in key battleground states, including in
Wisconsin, flipping the state Donald Trump had won in 2016.
The
results of the 2024 general election will have profound implications
for LGBTQ people in Wisconsin and across the country. The Fox News
primary debate will provide an important opportunity to discuss what’s
at stake and the LGBTQ records of the candidates. Media covering the
debate should note the candidates’ LGBTQ records.
Below are
partial records on LGBTQ issues from the candidates appearing on
tomorrow night’s debate stage. For more complete records, visit the GLAAD Accountability Project.
Requested
and was granted a ban on classroom instruction on sexual orientation
and gender identity in all grades, expanding the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Signed
into law HB 1521 that would make it difficult or impossible for
transgender Floridians to access appropriate restrooms, domestic
violence shelters, correctional institutions, or other spaces that match
their gender
Signed into law bans on transgender healthcare for youth which also enacts obstacles for adults to access treatment
Signed into law bans trans students from being able to use their correct pronouns, an anti-trans sports ban
Signed a drag restriction law
Issued
a survey to Florida’s 12 universities and 28 state and community
colleges asking which of these institutions provide services to
transgender students.
Falsely compared puberty blockers to “chemical castration”
Backed
the Florida Department of Education’s advice to schools to disregard
proposed federal guidelines that protect transgender youth
Directed
state agencies to issue guidance to begin to strip Medicaid coverage
for gender-affirming care, despite the fact that it is supported by
every major medical association
Targeted small business owner hosting drag brunch
Condemned
the Walt Disney Company following Disney chief executive Bob Chapek’s
acknowledgement of error in staying silent on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay”
legislation and subsequent public opposition to the legislation which
DeSantis signed into law.
Signed
a restrictive transgender youth sports ban into law, banning
transgender girls and women in public secondary schools and colleges in
Florida from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams.
Vetoed
all funding for LGBTQ programs from the $101 billion state budget,
including funds for mental health programming to support survivors of
the Pulse Massacre, funs to house homeless LGBTQ children, and funds for
Orlando’s LGBTQ Community Center
Signed an anti-discrimination order for state employees that excludes protections for LGBTQ people
Says
Target “spit in the face of conservatives” in an anti-transgender
attack on the retailer for selling swimwear designed to accommodate a
variety of body types
Said
he would sign into law a ban on health care for transgender minors if
it reaches his desk in the White House. Every major medical association
in the U.S. supports such care for trans youth
Expressed harmful and baseless indoctrination rhetoric
calling acceptance of transgender people a “cult” and claiming that
LGBTQ people are interfering with “our kids.” “In the name of rights,
what they’ve actually done is created a new culture of oppression in the
opposite direction, imposing that on kids,” he said. There is zero
basis for his claims, and he offered no backup.
Presidential campaign website features a section called TRUTHS including a list. #2 reads, “There are two genders.”
Said he would again prohibit
transgender Americans from serving in the military, as was the policy
when he was vice president under Donald Trump, and falsely cited “unit cohesion” as an area of military readiness affected by transgender personnel. Unit cohesion suffered because of the anti-trans ban.
Falsely characterized
essential health care for transgender youth in CNN Town Hall as having
“profound negative effects”; and refused to explain how his support of
parents’ rights did not include supporting parents of transgender people
and their private health care decisions.
Tweeted
the false claim that the charity group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
is a “hateful group,” and criticized the L.A. Dodgers for including them
in Pride Night.
As governor of Indiana, Pence earned national notoriety for signing a so-called “religious freedom” bill that religious conservatives in his state (many of whom Pence invited to attend the private bill signing)
championed for the purposes of allowing business owners the right to
refuse service to LGBTQ customers. After outcry and boycotts, Pence was
forced to sign an amended version that made it clear the law cannot be used to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Supported
anti-LGBTQ Federal Marriage Amendment with claims that being gay is a
“chosen lifestyle,” and a warning that “societal collapse was always
brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and
family.”
Claimed
repealing the military’s discriminatory “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy
would turn the Armed Forces into a “backdrop for social
experimentation.” Sought to end “don’t ask, don’t tell” and restore a full ban on openly gay soldiers.
Claimed federal hate crimes legislation was really designed “to advance a radical social agenda.”
Stated that LGBTQ-inclusive hate crime legislation would “silence” groups that promote so-called conversion therapy.
In
a closed-door and unannounced opportunity, President Donald Trump and
Vice President Mike Pence posed for a photograph with notorious
anti-LGBTQ activists who wish to promote so-called “religious
exemptions” that would harm LGBTQ Americans across the nation.
Falsely claimed that transgender girls playing sports contribute to teenage suicide ideation. The claim is baseless. The Advocate
reports, “It wasn’t the first time Haley made the unsupported claim
that teen girls are being negatively affected by transgender teen girls’
participation in sports. She made the same assertion in New Hampshire” one month prior.
Misgendered and disparaged transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney
Said President Joe Biden’s support of transgender rights will destroy women’s sports
Opposed marriage equality as both South Carolina state representative and governor.
Rejected matching funds for a program offering HIV medication to lower-income patients.
Signed a voter ID law, which critics contend is racist and/or meant to suppress the Democratic vote.
The
“Issues” section on his campaign site reads, “The radical Left wants to
indoctrinate our children, not educate them. Tim Scott will fight to
ensure that America’s kids are learning how to read and write, not about
gender transition and sexual identity before it’s appropriate.”
Introduced a bill in the Senate that has many similarities to Florida’s “don’t say gay” law
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act
Considers homosexuality a morally wrong choice, like adultery.
Supported the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on LGB people in the military
Supported
The First Amendment Defense Act, which would’ve prevented “the federal
government from taking adverse action against individuals or
institutions based on their definition of marriage or beliefs about
premarital sex.”
Voted against the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which would have granted basic job protections to LGBTQ people
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Foter.com / CC BY-SA
Vice Chair of the Trump Transition Team
In 2017 “signed two bills
instituting broad new protections for transgender New Jersey residents:
one directing schools to let students use bathrooms and locker rooms
based on their gender identity or provide ‘reasonable alternative
arrangements,’ and another prohibiting health insurers from
discriminating against transgender residents.”
In 2015 vetoed “a bill that would have eased access to accurate birth certificates for transgender people.”
Abandoned
his long fight against same-sex marriage in 2013, “concluding that
signals from the court and the march of history were against him.”
Signed
a bill barring licensed therapists from trying to turn gay teenagers
straight, making New Jersey the second state to ban so-called
“conversion therapy,” after California.
Vetoed legislation in 2012 that would have brought marriage equality to New Jersey.
Vetoed
legislation that would have more easily allowed transgender citizens to
change their birth markers, calling the idea “beyond the pale.” New
Jersey legalized
allowing changes to birth certificates without a court order, doctor
letter or other medical evidence in 2019, after Christie left office.
Signed a bill into law that allows public school teachers and state government employees to ignore the pronouns their transgender students and colleagues use.
Signed
two transgender athlete bans into law, prohibiting transgender girls
and women from joining female sports teams in K–12 and college. Two
years ago Burgum vetoed a nearly identical bill that would have banned transgender girls from playing on girls’ teams in public schools.
Signed
a bill into law that restricts transgender health care in the state,
immediately making it a crime to give gender-affirming care to people
younger than 18.
Signed
a total of eight discriminatory bills into law in 2023 including those
above; restrictions on drag performances; a “religious refusal” bill
permitting discrimination; and bills adding additional rules for gender
markers on birth certificates that discriminates against transgender
people.
Defied
his party in a rebuke against an anti-LGBTQ resolution that was passed
by hundreds of Republican legislators in the North Dakota legislature.
Burgum said the resolution, which states that “LGBT practices are
unhealthy and dangerous, sometimes endangering or shortening life and
sometimes infecting society at large,” is homophobic and divisive.
Signed Senate Bill 354, an anti-transgender bill that bans transgender women and girls from participating in sports
Said
the state legislature has gone a “step way too far,” when it voted to
override his veto on a bill banning treatments for transgender minors
Signed into law legislation allowing doctors to refuse to treat LGBTQ patients based on religious or moral objections
Signed into law a revised religious freedom bill that could allow discrimination against LGBT people
Refused
to veto and allowed to become law a discriminatory bill that prevents
cities and counties from enacting civil rights protections of LGBTQ
people
In social media posts, Travis Ikeguchi claimed to be a Christian,
posted anti-semitic statements, followed and boosted rightwing
personalities Jordan Peterson and Matt Walsh, and expressed support for
anti-vaxx presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Travis
Ikeguchi had a burning Pride flag pinned to the top of his account on X,
and retweeted a post comparing Nazi children with swastika flags to
schoolchildren with Pride flags.
Robert F. Kennedy Junior wants desperately to be the
Democratic Party's presidential nomination and no humiliation is
apparently too great. Well, if you missed it, he lost a supporter last
week. 27-year-old Travis Ikequchi will no longer be able to support
Junior in the primary due to the fact that he is dead.
Ikequchi
was a hateful troll who murdered Lauri Carleton. He hated people who
were LGBTQ+ and Lauri, who was straight, displayed Pride flags which was
just too much for the tiny dicked loser so he killed her. Then he was
killed by the police. He will not be present to vote for Junior.
That may be why Junior again went on FOX "NEWS" recently as he tries to gather more right-wing nut jobs to support him.
Let's put a pin in Junior's media because we'll come back to that topic.
But
for right now let's turn to Junior. You know Junior has so little to
stand on that he's constantly invoking his father and his uncle and
noting they were both shot dead. He wants your sympathy -- and
you're sympathy vote -- but, please understand, he's not going to do
anything to reduce access to guns to anyone. Kind of a contradiction.
He also ridiculously insisted in July that he needed Secret Service
protection. From people squirting water guns at him? He needs
protection, he believes, from people with guns.
Since
Junior can't stop talking about people in his family who have been shot
he needs to find time to talk about his followers after one of them
shot dead a woman.
Lauri is
gone. She leaves behind a great ache in the hearts of those who knew
and loved her such as her husband, their nine kids and her friends.
What is it, Junior, that attracts those people to you?
You
won't address LGBTQ+ issues. You hang around with Moms For Bigotry
that might be one reason. You refuse to speak out against the repeated
violence against LGBTQ+ people and against women -- yet, again, you
can't get through an interview without invoking your father and your
uncle. Does violence only matter when it's a Kennedy?
Are there no victims of violence not named Kennedy?
Or Shriver?
You
want to be president some day -- a goal that seems very unlikely. Yet
you can't stand up and say, "What happened was wrong. We need to stop
persecuting the allies of LGBTQ+ people and we need to stop persecuting
LGBTQ+ people." That's too much for you.
You
can support Roger Waters and praise him. Until a week or so later when
you don't praise him and you don't support him. You can waffle on
every issue in the world, in fact. You have actively courted the
right-wing media.
And let's
go back to you and the media. You insist you'll never, ever run as a
Republican because your wife wouldn't allow it. You say that, as you
damage Cheryl's own reputation and image daily. And then you go on
another right-wing media show.
THE
VANGUARD thinks you'll run as a Republican. I would say, "Never!"
because who would want to be seen as that much of a liar and a hypocrite
but, as I reflect back on your very brief campaign thus far, clearly
being called out for lies and hypocrisy doesn't really bother you.
But who do you think you're reaching on FOX NEWS or any of the right wing YOUTUBE programs?
Right
now, you're supposedly running for the Democratic Party's presidential
nomination. Do you really think you're reaching a significant number of
Democrats by doing these programs? If not, it would appear that either
you are considering running as a Republican or your hungry ego can
never be fed.
Either way, it doesn't look good for you.
You've
created a very repugnant image in the last three or so months and it
has attracted crackpots and hate merchants. And you know to keep those
crazies that you can't take any real stands.
One
of your loons murdered a woman. It's time for you to have a public
dialogue and make clear to everyone -- including other crazies
supporting you -- that you do not condone murder, that you do not
condone hatred of the LGBTQ+ community.
Now
I know that would be a big lift for you -- someone who's spent most of
his life letting everyone else lift for him. But, guess what, being
president requires a lot of big lifts and if you can't even call out
your supporter who murdered a woman, then how are we supposed to see you
as strong enough -- let alone brave enough -- to be President of the
United States?
Truth
is, you're losing support and not all due to crazy supporters
committing murder and then being killed by the police. Your unfavorability
ratings continue to increase -- in one recent poll, you've dropped 21%
in favorability.
Laura
Ann Carleton, 66, a California business owner, was shot and killed last
weekend after a gunman tore down an LBGTQ Pride flag hanging outside
her store and shouted homophobic slurs. Since then, law enforcement has revealed that
the gunman — who was killed in an encounter with police — also posted
numerous anti-LGBTQ posts on social media accounts they believe are
affiliated with him.
In May, the Department of Homeland Security issued a report noting that the threat of violence toward LGBTQ people was
intensifying as more policies were being directed at members of the
community. Now, the California shooting has only highlighted concerns
about violence toward members of the LBGTQ community in the wake of
conservatives’ heightened rhetorical and legal attacks on queer people
and trans people.
“Threats
against the LGBTQ+ community and our allies have evolved from violent
rhetoric on social media and from anti-equality political leaders to,
now, real-world violence — and let’s be honest, no city, state or person
is immune from this brutality,” Kelley Robinson, the president of the
Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for LGBTQ rights, told Vox
in a statement.
Carleton did not identify as LGBTQ herself, but she was a supporter, according to a local LGBTQ organization in
her town of Lake Arrowhead, California. In addition to hanging a Pride
flag, she included a section of rainbow-colored merchandise in her Cedar
Glen store. Her children have called for police to investigate the
shooting as a “hate crime,” though law enforcement has not yet indicated
how it will proceed.
Seems
like that could be a sketch in a book entitled PROFILES OF COURAGE. So
maybe Junior could find the courage to speak to the topic?
