GOP: Guns, God, and Surveillance.

http://www.advocate.com/politics/2016/6/20/not-even-orlando-could-get-senate-act-guns

http://www.advocate.com/politics/2016/6/20/not-even-orlando-could-get-senate-act-guns

After many of them sent “thoughts and prayers” toward the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando last week, Senate Republicans cast enough votes against a group of gun safety bills on Monday — including two proposals from within their own party — to prevent them from moving forward.

The move, while perhaps not surprising, still angered many Twitter users who supported the measures, which included expanded background checks and a ban on gun sales to individuals on terrorism watch lists.

Tweets

There’s more at Raw Story.

In the meantime, the GOP has made clear what they do think will help: more surveillance. Yep, let’s erode the rights of citizens a bit more, it will be okay!

enate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set up a vote late on Monday to expand the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s authority to use a secretive surveillance order without a warrant to include email metadata and some browsing history information.

The move, made via an amendment to a criminal justice appropriations bill, is an effort by Senate Republicans to respond to last week’s mass shooting in an Orlando nightclub after a series of measures to restrict guns offered by both parties failed on Monday.

“In the wake of the tragic massacre in Orlando, it is important our law enforcement have the tools they need to conduct counterterrorism investigations,” Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican and sponsor of the amendment, said in a statement.

The bill is also supported by Republican Senators John Cornyn, Jeff Sessions and Richard Burr, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Privacy advocates denounced the effort, saying it seeks to exploit a mass shooting in order to expand the government’s digital spying powers.

[…]

The amendment would broaden the FBI’s authority to use so-called National Security Letters to include electronic communications transaction records such as time stamps of emails and the emails’ senders and recipients.

[…]

The amendment filed Monday would also make permanent a provision of the USA Patriot Act that allows the intelligence community to conduct surveillance on “lone wolf” suspects who do not have confirmed ties to a foreign terrorist group. That provision, which the Justice Department said last year had never been used, is currently set to expire in December 2019.

Full story here.

Mississippi Anti-LGBT Law Stands.

Shutterstock.

Shutterstock.

A federal judge in Mississippi has allowed to stand a new state law that permits people to deny wedding services to same-sex couples based on religious objections.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves argued in his four-page order that since none of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs would be harmed by the law in the immediate future, a preliminary injunction would be inappropriate.

“Here, none of the plaintiffs are at imminent risk of injury,” Reeves wrote.

The law HB1523 is scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2016. The implications and reach of this HB go quite far, as this article points out.

Right, advocating bigotry isn’t harmful at all! Asshat. Full story here.

I didn’t call you a nasty name!

churchsign_1466358853451_3180419_ver1.0

This church sign in Buford, GA, received publicity several days ago, now it’s been vandalized. I don’t agree with vandalizing the sign, although I certainly understand the impulse, especially when this sort of reasoning rears its head:

Wright, who said he didn’t regret displaying the message, questioned what the vandal was mad about because he said gays and transgender people weren’t called a “nasty name.”

So, the intense nastiness and ugliness of the message doesn’t matter at all, because no nasty names. No cussing. Never heard that one before, oh no. :colossal eyeroll:  Wright also denied that the sign could be a tool of hatred, as it wasn’t based in hatred at all. Nope, no hatred, just the biblical facts, ma’am.

“If you are transgendered or gay, your lifestyle is sinful, that’s a moral thing,” he said. “It’s a perversion again nature. … That’s your lifestyle and you’re trying to force it. This part of society is not going to be forced on.”

Wright added that Christians need to stand up for what’s in the Bible instead of being politically correct. He said he’s spoken out against President Barack Obama’s views on marriage and the recent statement about gender identity in school restrooms.

So, it’s a moral thing, it’s a perversion, it’s just a lifestyle. An immoral, perverted one, of course. But no hate, no. As Georgia Voice pointed out, Wright added his little silverish lining:

Wright expressed he doesn’t expect everyone to agree with him, but that LGBT individuals are still welcomed to attend service at his church.

“The church is open for service. They’re invited in,” he said.

Which goes right back to what Zack Ford was saying in No, We Cannot Weep Together. These so-called invitations are an absolute crock which seek only to utterly erase our lives.

Via GwinnettDaily and Georgia Voice.

North Carolina LGBT law protesters reunite for Orlando.

57688eac25b88.image

Participants attend a Moral Monday rally near the North Carolina Legislature in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, June 20, 2016. Victims of violence including the recent Orlando shooting and the Charleston shooting were honored during the rally. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Opponents of North Carolina’s new law limiting antidiscrimination protections for LGBT people have reunited to mourn the victims of the shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub that killed 49 people and condemn state policies they say are responsible for furthering bigotry nationwide.

The state NAACP held a vigil “against hate and discrimination” late Monday in Raleigh on the Bicentennial Mall between the offices of Gov. Pat McCrory and the General Assembly building.

“We are one humanity, and we will not be divided by hate and discrimination and violence — not in Florida, not in North Carolina, not in America, not in this world,” state NAACP president the Rev. William Barber said.

The state’s law preventing local governments from passing LGBT anti-discrimination protections and directing which bathrooms transgender people can use has transformed North Carolina into the epicenter for the national discussion on LGBT rights. Serena Sebring of LGBT advocacy group Southerners on New Ground said the Orlando shooting was an extension of the same fight.

“Homegrown terrorism in this county is not new, and it is fueled by bigoted leaders and institutions of the far right, including the architects and supporters of House Bill 2, who put a target on our people’s backs,” Sebring said. “We know that we are relentlessly under attack at the hands of these entities just for daring to live our lives.”

Serena Sebring is absolutely right. This is domestic terrorism, American terrorism, committed by Americans. People need to face that, whether or not they like it. All of us queer folk, we’re surrounded by people who have a serious problem with our existence, let alone us having the same rights as everyone else. The particular ideology behind queerphobia isn’t all that important, whether it’s being shored up by Abrahamaic based religions or bullshit secular reasons doesn’t matter – it all comes down to hate and fear, hate and fear which is being fomented and exploited by a multitude of individuals and groups. These people don’t care if there’s someone out there messed up enough to start killing – for too many, that’s actually seen as a good thing. Right now, Americans are faced with a distinctly American problem, and it’s time to focus on that fact.

Via Fredericksburg.com.

No, We Cannot Weep Together.

CREDIT: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

CREDIT: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Zack Ford at Think Progress has an excellent article about the religious response and reaction to Orlando. I’m just going to include the last bit here:

Seek First To Understand

The LGBT community will not heal quickly from the Orlando shooting, and will be scarred for quite some time thereafter. Moore concluded his piece saying, “We can remind ourselves and our neighbors that this is not the way it is supposed to be.” If people who share Moore’s beliefs reach out to their LGBT neighbors now or in the future, they should consider that what they want us to feel might not be the same as what we actually hear.

If you want us to feel love, then do not tell us our sexuality is wrong or that the only way to be right is to be celibate. What we hear is actually that we are unworthy of love.

If you want us to feel equal, then do not try to justify refusing us jobs, housing, or goods and services in the name of your religious beliefs. What we hear is that we deserve to be treated as second-class citizens.

If you want us to feel community, then do not tell us that you cannot condone our marriages. What we hear is that our families are not welcome to share a neighborhood with yours.

If you want us to feel dignity, then do not tell us that we cannot be transgender or try to tell us what bathrooms we can or cannot use. What we hear is that you aren’t actually interested or invested in understanding who we are or supporting our wellness.

If you want us to feel safe, then do not accuse us of politicizing this tragedy by broaching the issue of new gun violence prevention measures. What we hear is that we should just ignore the one thing that has ever been proven to reduce gun violence and permanently accept the fear that this shooting has instilled in us.

And if you want us to feel hope, do not encourage us to demonize Islam or pass the blame onto terrorism. What we hear is that the only way to heal as victims is to victimize others — that the only way to respond to intolerance is with more intolerance.

There may come a day when we can weep together. In the meantime, sympathy without affirmation rings hollow; it is unworthy of our gratitude.

That not only needed to be said, it should be put up, proclamation style, everywhere. Particularly on church doors. The full article is here.

Sunday Facepalm

facepalm_estatua

Didn’t have to go far for this Sunday Facepalm, they are all over, and epic. Epic failures in humanity. We start with one John Stemberger…

The Florida Family Policy Council’s John Stemberger wrote in an email to his group’s members today that in the wake of the massacre at a gay club in Orlando on Sunday, he wants to see greater “unity” among Floridians in the form of more American flags and fewer “special interest rainbow flags” in memory of the victims:

The Pulse nightclub is right next to a Dunkin Doughnuts, Wendy’s, Radio Shack and a 7-11 store where I often buy gas and get my children Slurpees. I ride my bike through this area of town often. This is in part why this tragedy has affected me so deeply. This is my community. These are our streets and neighborhoods. The people that were killed and injured are not just “gay.” They are human beings! They are my neighbors! They are fellow Americans! Honestly, I am really tired of seeing special interest rainbow flags and wish we could see more American flags, as we stand together in unity against our greatest mutual enemy, radical Islamic jihadists!

He responded to criticism of conservative Christian LGBT rights opponents in the wake of the attack, saying that “Christians should be prepared to be attacked and persecuted if they do not bow down and pledge allegiance to the gay pride flag and all it supposedly represents.” LGBT rights advocates’ strategy, he said, is to “manipulate and bully Christians into submission to the new orthodoxy of the moral revolution.”

Christians should be prepared to be attacked and persecuted if they do not bow down and pledge allegiance to the gay pride flag and all it supposedly represents. In stunned disbelief, I was listening to CNN at 1:30am on Sunday night and I heard the leading gay-rights activist from Los Angeles being interviewed. She openly said you don’t need to find a terrorist cell to find this kind of hatred. All you need to do is look right here in America at fundamentalist Christians. The CNN anchor did NOTHING at all to challenge her or question her about her outrageous claim.

We need to be prepared for the stunning and false narrative of the Left which is that all major world religions, including but especially Christianity, breed hatred and create a hostile environment which “causes” the kind of violence we saw in Orlando. The goal of gay-rights activists is to try and get Christians to stop proclaiming God’s design for marriage, gender and human sexuality. And they are not playing fair. The goal to simple. If you disagree in any way, no matter how gentle, loving or respectful they will call you a “hater” and a “bigot.” They will scream at you publicly and test how committed you are to your beliefs. Their strategy is to manipulate and bully Christians into submission to the new orthodoxy of the moral revolution. Please know that as for me and “our house” at the FFPC, we will never be moved by this attempt at intimidation.

Just a fine example of a good person, eh? Well, there are more examples.

Timothy Buchanan of the far-right outlet BarbWire responded yesterday to the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando by urging members of the LGBT community to go back into the closet and stop provoking people to commit violent acts by kissing in public: “It’s worth considering that homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals might be safer returning to the closet. Flaunting gross immorality and defiant wickedness that is hideous, odious and wretched to an overwhelming majority of people is a foolish and dangerous course of action.”

“Those who come to the United States from other cultures — some of which are infinitely more moral than our own — are going to be offended and repulsed by the rampant depravity that has become a defining characteristic of our culture,” he added. “No amount of education, sensitivity training or political indoctrination will change that.”

Diversity, Buchanan said, is destroying American culture and society, along with the liberal policies of the “evil” Democratic Party and its support for “murder, sexual depravity, lust and rebellion.”

Unfortunately, there’s more of this at Right Wing Watch. Next up, Kevin Swanson, who thinks a whole lot of us should just be put to death because that would make life so much better:

Yesterday, Colorado-based pastor Kevin Swanson addressed the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando by arguing that homosexuality and Islam are both inherently violent because God gives gay people and Muslims up to their dishonorable ways and other sins like murder.

“Why do homosexuals murder homosexuals?” he asked. Because, according to Romans 1, “God gave them up to vile passions.” “Violence” and “murder,” he said, are deeply tied to homosexuality. […] Swanson hosted an event last year with GOP presidential hopefuls including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, where he repeated his longtimebelief that a just government would put gay people to death.

More of this upstanding gent at Right Wing Watch. Onto Sam Rohrer, who explains the intense biblical foundation of uStates, and how the queers are chasing god away:

American Pastors Network president and former Pennsylvania lawmaker Sam Rohrer linked Sunday’s mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando to Supreme Court decisions securing rights for LGBT people, telling conservative talk radio host Steve Deace this week that Supreme Court decisions involving marriage equality and “God’s order for human sexuality” have helped to cause God to remove “His hand of protection” from the country.

[…]

“God has made very clear,” Rohrer explained, “that every nation that He has established — and He establishes all nations, we’re told that all nations are established by God, even the very geographical boundaries of the nations are determined — that when a nation, any nation, does what God says, meaning that they fear Him, that they uphold and enforce God’s moral law and God’s design for the family and for the family and for civil government, all of those are His, when those things are done, then God will bless a nation.”

“One of those blessings are the increase of wealth, one of those things is a security and protection from the neighbors around them,” he continued, “even the enemies will be at peace with them, we’re told in a number of places in Scripture. But when a nation backs off of that, particularly a nation such as ours that has a very biblical basis in an understanding of biblical principles — that’s where our Constitution came from, Declaration of Independence before that came out of that. When those things were there and put in place, when a nation turns their back on those things as we have and [are] increasingly, arrogantly doing, then at that point the justice of God says ‘I cannot any longer bless’ and these things which you’re doing will lead to not His lack of blessing, but insecurity and so forth.”

More of Sam at Right Wing Watch.

There’s also Rick Wiles: Orlando Massacre Was God’s Judgment On America and Dave Daubenmire: Gays Murdered In Orlando Were On The Devil’s Team

That should get your Sunday started in all the right wrong ways.

Thoughts, Prayers, and Momentary Pondering.

People embrace during a vigil in Orlando for the mass shooting victims at the Pulse nightclub (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

People embrace during a vigil in Orlando for the mass shooting victims at the Pulse nightclub (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)

From pulpits in Orlando and beyond, church leaders are reckoning with religious views often hostile to homosexuality after a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub, with some wondering if they are contributing to breeding contempt.

At a prayer service soon after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Reverend Joel Hunter confessed he did not know how to pray for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community targeted in the attack.

“I have been searching my heart: is there anything I did that was complicit in that loss?” said Hunter…

I can answer that. Yes.

The show of support from church leaders, including denominations that reject homosexuality and same-sex marriage, raised hopes that the shooting could mark a turning point for acceptance of the gay community in religious circles. […] But fears persist that the warm embrace could end after a few sermons. “Stand with the community when there isn’t a crisis,” said Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida.

I’ll stand with Terry DeCarlo here. Where have all the thoughts and prayers religious leaders been, when there aren’t bodies littering the ground? Have they been supportive? Have they been preaching love and acceptance? Have they joined the fight for basic human rights for all people?

Patty Sheehan, an openly gay city commissioner in Orlando, choked back tears standing alongside local Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders at a news conference held as churches planned burial services for victims. “They did not die in vain because of what is happening right now,” Sheehan said. “If you are softening your hearts, and there has been a change of heart, thank you.”

This is a warm and touching moment, and perhaps I’m just too world weary and cynical, but I don’t see this as a softening of hearts. The Abrahamaic God is much bigger on hardening hearts. What I do see is a thoughts and prayers photo op. Most religious leaders don’t want to be seen as ignoring all the bodies on the ground, and of course, the whole praying in public business is important, but there isn’t much about actually changing their stance.

The bishop of the Catholic diocese in St. Petersburg, Florida, two hours from Orlando, wrote a poignant blog post acknowledging that religion can lay the groundwork for the violence seen in Orlando.

“Sadly, it is religion, including our own, which targets, mostly verbally, and also often breeds contempt for gays, lesbians and transgender people,” Bishop Robert Lynch said.

Unfortunately, among Catholics, Bishop Lynch seems to be standing all alone. The Schiavo family, who has disliked Lynch for a very long time, is happily using this opportunity to denounce Lynch.

On Sunday, First Baptist Orlando Pastor David Uth plans to use his pulpit to remind his 19,000-member congregation that even if they do not agree with people’s lifestyle, they should remember that God’s love encompasses all.

“We’re the worst at really, genuinely loving like Jesus,” he said of Baptists, calling it a church failure that gays and lesbians feel unwelcome in its pews. “That we own completely. We apologize.”

This week, the Southern Baptist Convention at its annual meeting passed a resolution rejecting same-sex marriage and transgender bathroom rights, even as it separately condemned the mass shooting in Orlando.

Yes, you’re the worst alright, and would it ever be good if the crusted scales of bigotry and hate actually fell from you, and you had a true realization of how awful you are. Unfortunately, this is yet another example of “oh hey, we don’t want to look like compleat evil fuckers, so here’s a quick sorry, then it’s back to business.” LGBTQ2S people will only be allowed to sit alongside in those pews if they admit that being queer is bad, against god, and yes, if they try really hard, they can be straight, just like God intended.

The Reverend Terri Steed Pierce is senior pastor at Joy Metropolitan Community Church, which serves the gay community, about one mile away from the club where the shooting took place. She was incensed after being left off the roster of pastors at the service earlier this week that was attended by the region’s top elected officials.“I’m a gay pastor of a gay church, and our people were the ones gunned down, and yet we weren’t invited to the table,” she said. “We continue to be relegated to the margins, even in the faith community.”

The organizers of the event said it was hastily planned and Steed Pierce was not purposefully excluded.

Of course it was a mistake! It’s not like religious leaders have ever had a problem with MCC, no. :eyeroll:

After a separate news event a day later, Steed Pierce said only one other religious leader came up to talk to her. He remarked that he was a sinner, too, she said.

“I am stopping you right there,” she said, recalling their conversation. “I am not sinning. I am being who God created me to be.”

Good for you, Rev. Steed Pierce.

Via Raw Story.

The Robertson Theory.

pat-robertson-accuses-gays-of-using-organized-thrustx750Naturally, Pat Robertson has weighed in on the Orlando Massacre, after possibly 5 minutes of figuring out how to blame everyone he hates.

“The left is having a dilemma of major proportions and I think for those of us who disagree with some of their policies, the best thing to do is to sit on the sidelines and let them kill themselves,” he said.

Earlier in the program, Robertson explained “the dilemma of the liberals”

“We’re looking at a favored group by the left, the homosexuals, and that in Islam is punishable by death or imprisonment or some sanction, so what are the left going to do? How are they going to describe it? And they don’t know quite what to do now. The fact that this Islamic gentleman opens fire in a gay nightclub and kills almost 50 homosexuals, that says something and tells the fact that Islam is against homosexuality, so the liberals are going to be scrambling to find some rationale. I think they’re going to have a hard time doing it.”

I don’t think there’s so much as an iota of surprise in any of that rhetoric, it’s yet another iteration of the same bigot hash that has been served up for years now. At this point, I was continuing to read the article, when the ol’ brain came to a screeching halt upon reading this:

Claims this offensive and grandiose might immediately seem laughable and dismissable to America’s informed and educated populations, but the fact is that there are a lot of poor, uneducated, and gullible people in this country — Donald Trump, after all, was voted as the Republican candidate.

Emphasis mine. This has got to stop. Stop, stop, stop. The majority of people who support Trump are not poor (a great many of them are filthy rich), they are not uneducated or undereducated, and while there might be a fair amount of gullible minds there, those are all over the fucking place, and a propensity for gullibility is probably more likely to strike those who have a great deal of money to burn. At any rate, poor does not equate to stupid and gullible. A lot of poor people manage to do a damn good job educating themselves in spite of the broken system called public education in uStates. If you want to talk about the people who support Trump, looking at all those Christians who follow people like Robertson and other preachers of hate is a good place to start. Another one is those who suffer from an excess of jingoism and a bad case of gun fetishism. More of them are simply bigots, always glad to add yet another group to their ever expanding capacity to hate. A lack of education can be corrected. A case of ignorance can be corrected, and easily so. When it comes to those following and supporting people like Robertson and Trump, we are not talking about those things. We are talking about calculated hate, a laser-focused bigotry that these believers want to lie over the land like a bloody lash. Don’t blame the poor. It’s past time they stop being a handy target whenever someone is searching for a scathing line to express their upset and disgust with those who wallow in hate.

Full story here.

Doubling Down on that Christian Love…

Pastor Roger Jimenez (Photo: Screen capture)

Pastor Roger Jimenez (Photo: Screen capture)

The Sacramento, California pastor of Verity Baptist Church went viral yesterday, after news of his sermon after the Orlando shooting spread.

“As a Christian, we shouldn’t be mourning the death of 50 sodomites. Let me go ahead and start right there. As a Christian, we shouldn’t be sad or upset,” Roger Jimenez said in his sermon.

YouTube has since removed the video of the sermon deeming it “hate speech,” but Pastor Jimenez is doubling down on his message, according to an interview with ABC10 News.

[…]

He wants people to understand, however, that his comments are not encouraging people to kill LGBT people.

“I’m not calling people to arms. And I’m not telling people they should go do this… What I’m saying is that if the government followed the laws of God, that’s what they would be doing. And if the government did that, I’d be fine with that,” Jimenez said.

“I would be fine,” he said if the government was the one who sentenced LGBT people to die. “I would be totally okay with that, if the government did that. That’s what they would do, if we lived in a righteous nation.”

The full story is here. Raw Story also has a summary of 7 Christian leaders also expressing the depth of their Christian love.

Once again, I have to ask, where are all you progressive Christians? What are doing, to police your own? You don’t get to say “oh, those people aren’t mine!” Yes, they are. They believe in the same god you do, the same holy book you do, the same tenets you do. When are there going to be legions of Christians denouncing these evil clowns?

For all those steeped in this smug, judgmental hatred, one of your favourite things is this, yes?: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13, out of your very own book of stories. You know one person who did that? Edward Sotomayor, Jr. A 34 year old man, out for a night of fun with his boyfriend. Edward put his boyfriend in front of him, and pushed him out the door, saving his life, as he was cut down by bullets. There’s love. No greater love, according to you christian lot.

Here is the face of love, no greater love than his:

Edward Sotomayor, Jr.

Edward Sotomayor, Jr.

Look well, all you Christians, at a person you condemn, a person you’re happy is dead, a person who was more of ‘Christian’ than any of you could be in 3 lifetimes. Edward wasn’t alone, either. The other people there were also most concerned with their loved ones, and all you have hate. Is it now okay for all of us who are utterly disgusted by your revelry in death to start talking about how good and righteous it would be to round up all Christians, and have the government sanction them being shot in the head? No? Have you asked yourselves why not?

Atheist Perspective in Times of Tragedy.

Alternately, Thoughts and Prayers # 896,367.

AP

The aftermath of our all too regular mass homicides follows a familiar pattern. “Thoughts and prayers” are with survivors, victims’ families and the affected city. There are defiant assertions from the horror­struck that, “We will not tolerate this any longer.”

Some politicians call for an end to hate and better coordination between law enforcement agencies. And others, when there’s a whiff of Islamic heritage involved, play the “enemy is here” card, recklessly injecting accelerant into the roiling emotions of the moment.

For the media, standard reaction reporting involves transcribing pretty much all of the above. In the case of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Ft. Hood shooting, Paris, San Bernardino and now Orlando, it’s also standard practice to log the response from leaders of various religious faiths, most of whom encourage restraint and emphasize that Muslims themselves are collateral victims of these atrocities. The good, dutiful notion being to develop a body of sympathy that reflects solidarity among the broader local religious community.

While the Strib and the PiPress haven’t gone the latter route yet, at least when I called Monday, National Public Radio was hitting all the customary notes.
And all that is fine insofar as the objective is to register the solidarity of the community at large. But if the intention is ever to discuss the “perversion of religion,” a common enough refrain today and in past incidents involving radicalized Muslims, there’s at least one group, silent but no longer all that small or irrelevant, that the media rarely draws into these discussions, such as they are: atheists.

[…]

“I think we were called once, some time after 9/11,” says August Berkshire. “And no, no one else has called today.”

Berkshire is the founder and past president of ​MinnesotaAtheists​ . He’s been active in the cause of challenging the belief systems of organized religions since the mid­-1980s and jokes that current membership in the state is “probably around 250,000, although most haven’t paid their dues yet.”

Humor aside, Berkshire, a local delivery truck driver by day, is serious about the value of inserting an atheist perspective into conversations about religiously inspired violence. “Look, prayer didn’t do anything to stop this latest attack and prayer won’t do anything to stop this kind of violence from happening again. All it may do is make some people feel good for a while.”

[…]

But if the point is to engender an honest debate, you’d expect the atheist view to at least have a seat at the media table in moments like this. “Look,” says Berkshire, “at their origin, all three of the Abrahamic religions — Christianity, Judaism and Islam — preach and warn against homosexuality. They’re anti­gay. A lot of their followers today may be cafeteria Christians, Jews and Muslims, picking and choosing what they want. But I’m talking at their scriptural origins. We reject that. Atheists reject the teachings of religions for a lot of reasons, but among them is the lack of respect for science. Atheists, if I have to point it out, are very accepting of gay equality and other minority issues. We understand that.”

With ​23 percent of Americans in 2014  ​describing themselves as “nones,” which is to say having no religious affiliation, a nearly 50 percent increase since 2007, the atheist, or agnostic or “nothing in particular” perspective would seem to warrant at least as much regular reporting as what we get on priests, ministers and rabbis, certainly more than the “almost never” Berkshire describes.

[…]

Perhaps the problem with pulling atheists into a conversation about the “perversion of religion” is that spokespeople like Berkshire lack the curriculum vitae of traditional religious leaders. I mean, a guy who drives a truck cheek by jowl in a discussion with a priest, a minister and a rabbi?

But maybe the real issue is that the taint of taboo that still hangs to word “atheist.” Conventional journalism is partial to conventional wisdom and despite the steadily slumping numbers in church/synagogue/mosque attendance — and the rapid increase in those tuning out traditional religious messages — conventional journalistic wisdom has not yet reached a comfort point with overt atheism. Until that point is reached, speculation here is that mainstream news organizations will continue to treat it like a semi-­reputable curiosity.

Full Article Here.

A bunch of, just, disgusting homosexuals at a gay bar, okay?

threestooges-800x430“The good news is that there’s 50 less pedophiles in this world, because, you know, these homosexuals are a bunch of disgusting perverts and pedophiles. That’s who was a victim here, are a bunch of, just, disgusting homosexuals at a gay bar, okay? And then I’m sure it’s also gonna be used to push an agenda against so-called “hate speech.” So Bible-believing Christian preachers who preach what the Bible actually says about homosexuality — that it’s vile, that it’s disgusting, that they’re reprobates — you know, we’re gonna be blamed. Like, “It’s all extremism! It’s not just the Muslims, it’s the Christians!” I’m sure that that’s coming. I’m sure that people are gonna start attacking, you know, Bible-believing Christians now, because of what this guy did.I’m not sad about it, I’m not gonna cry about it. Because these 50 people in a gay bar that got shot up, they were gonna die of AIDS, and syphilis, and whatever else. They were all gonna die early, anyway, because homosexuals have a 20-year shorter life-span than normal people, anyway.”
— Steven Anderson, preacher at Faithful Word Baptist Church, Tempe, AZ in response to the slaughter in Orlando.

I felt like I had been dipped in sewage just reading that, and dipped again posting it. If Steven Anderson wants to talk disgusting, I suggest he get in front of a mirror. It was just a short while ago that I brought up in a thread here that a lot of people (Americans in particular) still believe in the gay man equals pedophile canard. And there it is, in neon arrogance, the self-righteous judgment smug only Christians can work up into such a fine froth. There were women who died in Orlando. There were hetero people who died in Orlando. There were queer people who died in Orlando. Some of them were parents. All of them were loved. But here’s the same old Christian crap of old, disease riddled predators. Naturally, the only thing Anderson is truly concerned about is whether or not people might start looking at him sideways, possibly accusing him of hate speech. Oh, and of course, us lefty pinko commie rainbow warriors might take his bible away. Disgust, thy name is Steven Anderson, and all those like you.

Radical right-wing Christians must recognize the part their anti-gay rhetoric, legislation, hate speech and repeated attacks on the LGBT community played in the slaughter at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Yes, the terrorist homophobe who reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIL before he repeatedly pulled the trigger deserves all our anger and outrage. We will hear plenty about his radicalized religious beliefs in the coming days, but that is likely all the religious analysis we will hear in the media. But, we cannot let religious ideologues in the far-right Christian camp off the hook. Steven Anderson is not an anomaly. America has been painstakingly codifying beliefs he expressed into law. Polished politicians blunt the edges of Anderson’s words though the language of legislation but the hate and fear remains.

They will claim the assertion they have any role in the massacre as an attack on their religion – much like the consistent and well-orchestrated “war on Christmas” we heathens rage every year. They will tell you that their prayers are enough to overcome this act of terror. They will tell you Jesus wants you to arm yourself. “Get your guns before Obama takes them.” They will tell you this is about radicalized Islamist terrorists. They will whistle away the notion that guns or gays had anything to do with this tragedy.

And here is a major problem. Along with people busily straight-splaining, the rest are focusing on that terrible Muslim problem, because that’s the only terrorism that counts, and this was oh-so-definitely Islam based (even though it wasn’t), but you have a lot of Christians bristling over the idea that they might have had anything to do with this. Abrahamaic based religions all have the same root, and they have the same deep-rooted bigotry. How that bigotry is expressed isn’t the important bit – it’s why this expression is being allowed in the first place, why so many people who don’t have a personal stake in the current Christian war on all things queer, sit idly by, maybe let a small tsk escape their lip, shake their head, and decide to do nothing at all. Here in the U.S. open bigotry is being turned into law. People act like politicians spilling the most awful, bigoted bile is simply entertainment, yet another bad reality show.

The multitude of ways right-wing Christians discriminate against and kill – directly or indirectly – LGBT people can be incredibly nuanced.

[…]

Around the country LGBT couples are fighting for the right to adopt children. HIV is criminalized around the country putting a big red X on gay men and others. Gay men – by law – cannot donate blood. Most people didn’t even know that until Orlando. Federally funded abstinence-only programs populate our public schools masquerading as sexual education. What the actually do is preach sexual purity until heterosexual marriage, and they stigmatize girls and LGBT kids. How about the Great Bathroom Panic of 2016? It isn’t secular humanists behind these laws and programs; it is right-wing Christians serving in state and national office.

What message is all of this sending to our LGBT citizens? That you are less than, you are poison, your blood is tainted even if it’s not, you are after our children, you cannot love who you love. The message coming from the far right is “We Hate You”. Donald Trump gloat-tweets, Paul Ryan doesn’t mention guns or gays in his statement – just Islamic terrorists. The GOP’s (political party of choice for the far right Christian camp) presumptive presidential nominee and the US Speaker of the House deny any connection between the slaughter at Pulse and anti-gay hate crime.

The rest of Andy Kopsa’s excellent article is here.

And the hate flows on…

Vigil in Santiago, Chile.

Vigil in Santiago, Chile.

In the midst of an outpouring of solidarity, love, and shared grief around the world over the loss of so many lives in Orlando, Florida, there runs a river of poisonous hate through the United States. Images and hate-filled tweets will be behind the fold, because no one should have to see those unless they choose to do so. First up, and I know this will surprise no one at all, the Westboro clan had to jump right in, with an attempt to be as crass and disgusting as possible. I’d say they succeeded, but what makes me sick is the sense of glee they give off. Second is the story of a Florida Imam who offered condolences and praise for emergency workers was met with a great deal of bigotry and hate.

Trigger Warning: extreme hate, bigotry, and sheer ugliness behind the fold.

[Read more…]

Securing A Position With Bigotry: The Notpology.

Ali Jimenez-Hopper said of her Democratic opponent, "She brings up that she is half black and she uses that as a strength. She brings up that she is in support of LGBT and that lifestyle and puts out pictures on Twitter of her and her wife."

Ali Jimenez-Hopper said of her Democratic opponent, “She brings up that she is half black and she uses that as a strength. She brings up that she is in support of LGBT and that lifestyle and puts out pictures on Twitter of her and her wife.” Credit: screenshot.

Remember Ms. Jimenez-Hopper, who secured a position with open bigotry against her opponent? She’s back, with a sparkly notpology, blaming the democrats because they always twist the words of good republicans to look like bigotry. It just couldn’t have been anything she said, no.

Jimenez-Hopper claimed her comments were somehow misconstrued. For that she blamed Democrats.

“Unlike my opponent, I am new to the political process and sometimes say things in a way that can be twisted around and out of context by the Democrats,” Jimenez-Hopper said. “I apologize to anyone I offended by my comments. As a Hispanic American, it is my hope that voters in Apple Valley judge both of us by where we stand on the issues, and not simply by the color of our skin or who we are married to.”

Oh my. Ms. Jimenez-Hopper jumped all over her opponent Erin Maye Quade for bringing up that she’s half black, saying she used it as a strength, and somehow that was very wrong. Apparently it’s perfectly okay for her to bring up being a Hispanic American. Oh, the mealy-mouthed hypocrisy. You can always count on republicans for some things, and that’s one of them.

The allegation Maye Quade is somehow guilty of the sin of identity politics for not concealing her identity was echoed by other Republicans in her district.

AJH1

So people should not take Ms. Maye Quade’s being biracial or lesbian into account when voting? Well, SD57 Republicans, I have terrible news for you all. I do take such things into account when considering candidates. Being mixed race myself, I’m much more likely to vote for someone who is an Indigenous person, as well as democrat. As someone who is also under the queer nation umbrella, that matters to me too. A candidate who is also under that umbrella is more likely to be active in issues which I’m concerned with. That’s how this whole voting thing works. That’s why bigots vote for assholes who say things like “identity politics”. So surprising you haven’t figured this out, being in politics. :eyeroll:

ThinkProgress has the full story.