Tag: GOP

Just Bizarre: LGBTQ Groups Condemn Trump Admin’s Move To Decriminalize Homosexuality Worldwide

US ambassador to Germany Richard Allen Grenell (C) attends a new year's reception of the German President on January 14, 2019 in Berlin.

“We have a lot of questions about their intentions”

By PAUL BOIS

Trump derangement syndrome has gone so far into overdrive that his detractors are now criticizing him even when he does something solely to their benefit. The LGBT pushback against his administration’s policy to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide is perhaps the most puzzling example.

According to Fox News, LGBT activists have largely denounced the Trump administration’s policy on decriminalizing homosexuality as a cheap ploy rather than an actual promise.

“Donald Trump and Mike Pence have turned a blind eye to a campaign of violence and murder targeting LGBTQ people in Chechnya that has stretched on for two years,” said Jeremy Kadden, Senior International Policy Advocate for the Human Rights Campaign.

“They have turned away LGBTQ people fleeing violence and persecution and sent them back to countries that criminalize them, and have consistently worked to undermine the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people and our families here at home from day one,” Kadden continued. “If this commitment is real, we have a lot of questions about their intentions and commitments, and are eager to see what proof and action will follow.”

Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, told Fox News that the move was little more than window-dressing for an administration that marginalizes people.

“This looks like just another attempt by the Trump administration to cherry-pick and cover-up what is a horrible record of targeting marginalized people, including the LGBTQ community,” said Sarah Kate Ellis.

The Trump administration pushed to decriminalize homosexuality following the case of a 31-year-old Iranian man who was hanged by authorities for homosexual activity.

“The United States continues to work to protect and defend human rights for all. Governments have an obligation to ensure that all people can freely enjoy the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms to which they are entitled,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News this week. “Working to advance longstanding U.S. policy around human rights is the kind of work our Ambassadors do all around the world every day.”

In May last year, Secretary Mike Pompeo denounced governments that criminalize or execute their citizens for committing homosexual acts.

“Fear and bigotry are enshrined in laws that criminalize LGBTI status or conduct in more than 70 countries,” said Pompeo. “In some, being LGBTI is punishable by death. We use public and private diplomacy to raise human rights concerns, provide emergency assistance to people at risk, and impose visa restrictions and economic sanctions against those who persecute them.”

Annise Parker, president and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Institute, said the Trump administration’s move to decriminalize homosexuality is just empty rhetoric that requires more commitment.

“Our hope is that Ambassador Grenell – one of the few out LGBTQ people in the entire administration – will demand that this not be just a public relations stunt, but the first step in a return to the United States as a global leader on LGBTQ equality,” she said. “Ending the criminalization of gay people around the globe will not come via edict from the White House, it is a huge effort that requires the full commitment of his administration and an investment in local LGBTQ organizations. Yet this administration has cut funds for global LGBTQ initiatives.”

Screen Shot 2019-02-28 at 3.56.45 PM

The most bizarre denunciation of the Trump administration’s policy came from the LGBTQ magazine Out, which actually said the move was a colonialist stunt against Iran.

 

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CNN’s Alisyn Camerota Urges Rashida Tlaib to Walk Back Apology, Declare Mark Meadows Racist

Alisyn Camerota CNN (Michael Loccisano / Getty)

By Joel B. Pollak

CNN’s New Day co-anchor Alisyn Camerota attempted Thursday morning to encourage Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN) to undo her apology to Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) the day before, when she suggested he was a racist.

Meadows had brought Lynne Patton, a senior Trump campaign aide and now an administration official, to submit a statement into the record at the House Oversight Committee defending President Donald Trump from claims by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, that Trump is a racist. Patton happens to be black and has defended Trump before.

Tlaib — who has faced accusations of antisemitism after making insensitive remarks about Israel — shocked the hearing by calling Patton a “prop” and suggesting it had been racist for Meadows to bring her to the hearing. She cited her own feelings as a “woman of color.” (Tlaib is a Palestinian-American.) Meadows, visibly hurt, noted he has relatives who are “people of color.” Tlaib apologized to Meadows (though not to Patton herself).

The left then tried to target Meadows, circulating a video from 2012 in which he told a Tea Party gathering that they would “send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is.” CNN’s Anderson Cooper picked up the video and aired it Wednesday night, noting that Meadows had later regretted his remark and asserted his belief that Obama is an American citizen, but suggesting that Meadows might indeed be a racist for reasons other than Tlaib’s attack.

On Thursday morning, Camerota hosted Tlaib on New Day. Unlike Cooper, Camerota actually mentioned Patton, playing a clip from a radio show Thursday morning in which Patton had objected to being called a “prop.” Cameron described Patton as “the woman who was held up by Mark Meadows without speaking.” Tlaib did not apologize to Patton but asserted that she meant “no disrespect to her at all” to Patton, a remark Camerota did not challenge.

Camerota went on to argue to Tlaib that Meadows was, indeed, a racist, and asked her if she regretted her apology.

First, she asserted to Tlaib that “[t]here were people at home that felt that that was tone deaf and insensitive of congressman mark meadows,” i.e. bringing Patton to the meeting. “You certainly were not alone in that feeling and so why did you apologize to him?” Camerota cited no evidence of how “people at home” felt. When Tlaib offered an evasive answer, Camerota pressed her: “So do you regret apologizing to Congressman Meadows?”

Tlaib said that she “apologized if I made him feel like a racist,” saying that she saw the exchange as a “teachable moment” and did not want to label Meadows as a racist. She added that she was offended by Patton being brought to the hearing and “saying nothing,” evidently ignoring the fact that Patton had a statement entered into the record.

That did not satisfy Camerota, who then brought up the 2012 video: “I’m interested in whether or not you can separate a racist statement or a racist act from the person. And case in point, in 2012, you know, Congressman Mark Meadows engaged in the Birtherism talk where he doubted that President Obama was born here. let me just remind our viewers of what he said back then.” She played the clip, then asked: “Does seeing that change how you feel about him?”

Tlaib declined to take the bait, ignoring the 2012 video: “Congressman Meadows understood where i was coming from, he knew what my intention was at the end, and that’s why he decided to take …  his objections back.”

And still Camerota pressed Tlaib: “But just to be clear, you still today feel that he is not racist?”

Tlaib responded: “Look, I feel like the act was. and that’s up to the American people to decide whether or not he is.”

It was not enough for CNN, Cooper, or Camerota that Tlaib and Meadows had reconciled amongst themselves, with the mediation of committee chair Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). Using a 2012 video that had no relevance to the exchange Wednesday, CNN tried to attack Meadows and to insert racial division where it had been partly healed.

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NEWSCorporate Oligarchs Want Gun Registration

By

Corporate oligarchs are calling for more gun control.

With the U.S. House expected to vote Wednesday on universal gun registration bill H.R. 8, four CEOs signed a letter urging Congress to spearhead this legislation.

Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS’s shoes, has joined the anti-gun frenzy. At first, TOMS’s board of directors debated whether the CEO should be involved with political issues as controversial as gun control.

Mycoskie said “everyone was very concerned about us doing something like this” and was somewhat hesitant to take on this fight.

Trending: Twitter Tells Michelle Malkin to Lawyer Up for Breaking SHARIA LAW

However, the board eventually embraced the gun control hysteria, as Mycoskie noted:

“But ultimately we recognized that this is an opportunity for us to really be a leader in business and to show our customers that we are engaged in the issues that matter most to them.”

Mycoskie joined the CEOs of Levi Strauss, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and RXT Realty in signing this letter calling for the U.S. to pass H.R. 8, legislation that would put the U.S. one step closer towards gun registration.

Instead of being upfront about the legislation’s true intentions, the CEOs wrote:

“… we are writing to you because we have a responsibility and obligation to stand up for the safety of our employees, customers and all Americans in the communities we serve across the country….

Mycoskie recognizes that roughly 12 percent of his customer base won’t buy his company’s shoes due to his anti-gun stances. Nevertheless, Mycoskie remains firm in his anti-gun ways stating that his company “lost some customers by doing this, but I think we also strengthened our relationship in a way that was far greater than whatever we lost.”

Scott Rechler, the CEO of RXR Realty, has also become a gun control advocate and believes that it is “important for CEOs to take a greater level of social responsibility.”

It remains to be seen if these statements will hurt Mycoskie and Rechler’s companies, but if Dick’s Sporting Goods’s experience is any indicator, it may not turn out so well for these gun control-supporting companies. When Dick’s decided to stop selling AR-15s and banned individuals under 21 from buying firearms, sales plummeted.

Ever since the Las Vegas and Parkland shootings, gun controllers nationwide have come out in force trying to pass gun control legislation in state legislatures across the country. From 2016 to 2018, Democrats were completely shut out of power at the federal level, so they turned to state legislatures and the corporate boardroom to undermine gun rights.

Corporations are continuing this gun control crusade by cutting ties with firearms vendors and gun-related organizations. This recent announcement shows that corporate interests won’t relent.

It’s time that gun owners fight back by hitting corporations where it hurts them most—their pocketbooks.

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The Bee Explains: Common Racist Hand Signals

By Babylon Bee

If there’s one thing you’ve noticed about white nationalists, it’s that they have hands. And something they’ve been doing a lot with their hands lately is sending out secret messages in support of white supremacy. If you see anyone doing any of these hand gestures, you can be certain they are a racist and should report them to the nearest racism reporting facility (usually Twitter).

This racist hand symbol is very popular right now. It’s to say “OK” as in “Racism is A-OK.”

This sign signals to other people that you believe one race is superior to all the others. Just say no to the One symbol.

This is very similar to the “One” symbol, but doubly racist because it is two fingers instead of one. Some people think this means “peace” or “two,” but they are probably secret racists.

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Liberals Pinning All Hopes, Dreams On Testimony Of Seedy Lawyer

U.S.—Liberals across the country are pinning all their hopes and wildest dreams on the testimony of a lone, sleazy attorney, sources confirmed Wednesday.

As Michael Cohen arrived to give his testimony before the House, Democrats all over the nation said a prayer to no one in particular that the completely unreliable testimony of a sleazeball lawyer would singlehandedly bring down the Trump presidency, causing the nation to instantly transform into a progressive utopia with free healthcare, college, and cell phones for all.

“I just really need this,” said one woman in Portland, Oregon. “It’s been a really tough couple years for me under the Trump Reich. I mean, I am making more money than I was before, and I have more full-time employment opportunities, but that’s literally oppression because Trump.”

Various Twitter accounts with blue checkmarks excitedly tweeted that the suspect testimony of a lone lawyer who until recently associated with the “orange man” they hate so much would bring his whole presidency crashing to the ground.

At publishing time, the nation’s conservatives had announced they would be pinning all their hopes and dreams on the moral character of their president, who until recently associated with the sleazy lawyer.

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