Pam Spaulding's Blog, page 34

Bachmann is almost ready to hop into the PHB GOP 2012 Clown Car

We may have our first female addition to the Clown Car soon as Congresscritter Michele Bachmann goes right up to the edge of declaring a run to challenge Barack Obama. This is what she told Iowa Public Television on Friday (via TPM).

Henderson: You recently referenced your Christian faith. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, when he announced he would not run, said that he just didn't feel called to do that. Have you had that sort of calling to run for president?

Bachmann: Well, every decision that I make I pray about as does my husband and I can tell you, yes, I've had that calling and that tugging on my heart that this is the right thing to do and because it's such a momentous decision, not only for myself, my husband and our 28 children, it is a momentous decision what ideas will I bring to bear? What are the resources that I have to marshal in terms of people, assets, the message and also the finances, the amount of time this will take, what this will mean for the nation.

Am I the right person for the job? Every decision and every endeavor my husband and I have made we think it through, we're not rash people. We make a plan because we want to succeed, we don't want to fail and so we've been very deliberative in this process and that's why we're now coming to the culmination and next month, as I announced last night, I'll make that decision right here in Waterloo and the world will know

[Note: Bachmann has had five biological children, and a total of 23 foster children over a span of many years.]

Related:

* Clown car theatre: Bachmann says she'll produce her birth certificate during Presidential Debate

Guest column by Chaplain John Gundlach: - DADT S.O.S. from Alliance Defense Fund is same old stuff

NOTE FROM PAM: The Alliance Defense Fund's ridiculous press release is here. A snippet:

Twenty-one religious agencies providing chaplains to the U.S. military sent a joint letter to the military's chiefs of chaplains Monday voicing strong concern over the continuing absence of religious liberty protections if openly practiced homosexual behavior is definitively imposed on the military. The letter asks the chiefs for their help in urging Congress and the Department of Defense to adopt such protections.

ADF attorneys helped draft and propose religious liberty protections for the Pentagon's working group on the matter, but the law designed to dismantle the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy still lacks any such protections.

...The letter is signed by endorsing agents representing many of the major Christian denominations that provide chaplains, including the military's largest chaplain endorser, the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board. The Roman Catholic Archbishop for the Military Services USA issued his own statement Friday.

The letter from the Alliance Defense Fund.

S.O.S. From Alliance Defense Fund And Religious Conservatives Is "Same Old Stuff"

By Captain John F. Gundlach

On May 23, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a group of conservative Christian attorneys, sent out a press release that could be regarded as a distress call. They stated that religious freedom in the military is at risk. At the same time, 21 conservative religious groups ADF represents sent letters to the three military Chiefs of Chaplains and to others, including the service secretaries and several rightwing members of Congress, urging the creation of special regulations to protect their right to religious free speech.

What are ADF and these groups afraid of? They fear that their chaplains and other military members who are anti-gay because of their religious beliefs will be discriminated against. Lifting up this perceived threat serves as a rallying cry for religious conservatives and the politicians who support them, but it's really an S.O.S. It's the Same Old Stuff they have been saying since "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" appeared to be headed for the regulatory scrap heap.

This S.O.S. may seem real enough to them, but what are the facts? Will religious conservatives in the military no longer be able to practice their religion? Will their chaplains have to refrain from preaching against homosexuality (their term, not mine)? Not at all. Chaplains have always had the right to preach according to the tenets of the religious bodies that endorse them-and they still will. Will anti-gay chaplains be forced to conduct same-sex weddings in military chapels? Of course not. They will continue to conduct rites and sacraments as allowed by their religious bodies. And the same principle applies to conducting religious education and pastoral counseling. The one thing that every chaplain is required to do, regardless of their religious perspectives, is care for everyone. If these chaplains can't minister to gay and lesbian service members themselves, they are obligated to refer them to another chaplain who can.

More below the fold.

So where is the threat to religious freedom? And where could their right to free speech be limited? It will no longer be acceptable to speak about fellow gay and lesbian service members in demeaning ways in the workplace and other public settings. The fact that this has ever been acceptable by anyone anywhere, but especially by chaplains, is regrettable. And chaplains from the religious groups who are now demanding protection from discrimination have been some of the worst offenders. They, and others who agree with them, may continue to think and believe what they want, but outside of those areas where their religious speech is protected, they may now have to keep their bigotry to themselves.

I agree that religious freedom is a precious right that we must hold inviolate. It is a right that all service members serve to defend, and which all should be able to enjoy. By all, I mean those who are religiously liberal as well as those who are conservative, and by those who are gay as well as straight. Are ADF and the religious groups they represent as willing to defend the same rights and protections for others they claim for themselves? Are they as willing to acknowledge the right of chaplains from gay-friendly denominations to perform gay weddings in military chapels? And are they as willing to speak up for those who suffer discrimination because they are gay? If not, their pleas for special protection from discrimination for themselves are self-serving and unworthy of consideration.

Their continued protests are an S.O.S. in another respect too. Public attitudes toward sexual orientation and equality have changed. A recent poll conducted on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign concluded that a majority of Christians favor protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from discrimination. Eighty-six percent of respondents stated that their faith leads them to conclude that the law should treat LGBT people equally. A majority of Christians further believe that condemnation of LGBT persons by religious leaders does more harm than good.

Clearly, ADF and their conservative clients have good reason to send out an S.O.S.- their cause is sinking. As a new generation of Americans join our Armed Forces, a generation that has grown up knowing that LGBT people are no threat to their persons, their marriages, or their religion, the protests of groups like ADF and their clients will seem archaic and totally out of touch. And many will wonder why these groups don't have a more important religious message to share.

Captain John F. Gundlach is a retired Navy chaplain who now serves as Minister for Government and Professional Chaplaincies for the United Church of Christ. He is a member of The Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, a group of chaplains, military veterans, progressive ministers and lay leaders who advocate for a military chaplaincy committed to free and diverse religious expression, and to the sacred values of personal integrity, selfless compassion, respect for others, and excellence in leadership. The Forum has worked for several years, mostly behind the scenes, to fight the "don't ask, don't tell" policy they consider harmful to the military and to religious freedom.

Westboro damnation of Joplin, Missouri KOed by 300 bikers

It's nice to see Fred Phelps's professional religious hate machine get a public reception that it deserves. This time the Westboro Klan was met with resistance in Joplin, MO, the site of the recent horrific tornado outbreak. (Truth Wins Out):

We all heard the Westboro idiots were coming to protest! And so did about three hundred bikers!! The bikers all showed up and parked across the street from the University where Obama held a ceremony for the many good people, friends and family we lost!! The only report of any Westboro people actually being there was one guy strolling through all the bikers, when they found out who he was it got ugly for him real quick his shirt got torn off and he was pushed around pretty good! When the police saw what was about to happen they grabbed him and tried to push the bikers back!! Then they told the guy "run you stupid mother fucker."

Video is from Politicus USA reader Lisa Knappe:

Remembering Major Rogers

 

From Servicemembers Legal Defense Network comes this video paying tribute to fallen Iraq Veteran Alan Greg Rogers. More on Major Rogers from the Arlington Cemetary website:

He was a soldier first, and that was clear when Army Major Alan G. Rogers was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Rifles were fired. A bugler played taps. An Army chaplain said the decorated officer would be remembered as "one of the heroes of history."

After high school, Rogers attended Santa Fe Community College, then enlisted in the Army as a chaplain's assistant. Four years later, he went to the University of Florida. He graduated with a theology degree in 1995 and accepted an Army commission. He became an ordained minister through his Florida church, his family said. In 2005, Rogers earned a master's degree in policy management at Georgetown University as part of a selective program meant to fast-track the next generation of Army leaders.

Some pictures from the Arlington Cemetery site:

An Army caisson carries Army Major Alan Greg Rogers during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery

Friends, both in and out of the military, pay tribute to Army Major Alan Greg Rogers Friday, march 14, 2008, during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery

An honor guard lowers Rogers's coffin during a recent service at Arlington National Cemetery. The officer was awarded a Purple Heart posthumously and his second Bronze Star, then laid to rest. His cousin said Rogers was "the type of son who was always so good to his parents," who died in 2000.

There is no mention of Major Rogers being gay in his Arlington Cemetery entry, or that he served as treasurer for the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) LGBT advocacy group.

Nor was mention made of it when his death was reported by the Washington Post and NPR. The omission stirred a rather unhappy response from the gay community, as Rogers was well-known in the LGBT servicemembers and DADT repeal community. Eventually the Washington Post ombudsman concluded the omission was a mistake:

The Post was right to be cautious, but there was enough evidence -- particularly of Rogers's feelings about "don't ask, don't tell" -- to warrant quoting his friends and adding that dimension to the story of his life. The story would have been richer for it.

There are people who would have you believe that gay people enlist in the military just to prowl the shower room, make fundamentalist Christian Chaplains suffer and to force their Radical Homosexual Agenda™ down the throats of others.

But Major Rogers was motivated by the same drives and impetus that other Americans enlist: to serve his God and his Country.

It is as simple as that.

Let them be out. In life and in death. It matters. Jeff and Lori Wilfahrt think so, they taped this video for Courage Campaign after their son, US Army Corporal Andrew Wilfahrt didn't return from Afghanistan.

Thank you, Major Rogers, Corporal Wilfahrt and the countless others who've served over the years, gay, straight and otherwise.

Now, let's certify the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The Log Cabin Republicans want to oust Obama; the LGBT GOP vote continues to grow

Raw Story, quoting former LCR national board chairman Bob Kabel:

I, frankly, was one who really believed that perhaps we were at a moment in history where his sort of optimism and sort of self-stated ability to bring people together would actually make a difference," he said.

"But what we've seen in the execution during his administration has really been very disappointing - it's actually the opposite. He's extraordinarily partisan, he's extraordinarily liberal, he's really made very little effort, if any, to bring certainly Republicans and more conservative people together to resolve the nation's issues."

My question for the LCR: which of the clowns in the PHB 2012 GOP Clown Car would do a better job in the oval office?

One point that the LCR and GOProud are surely pleased about is the general trend of LGBTs voting more Republican than ever before, with  a 10% increase since 2008, and a whopping 31% voted GOP in the 2010 midterms.

It's too simplistic to just continue to crow about all of these voters being self-loathing quislings, kapos, etc. To do so is at this point self-soothing behavior rather than discussing why the LGBT community is such a hard coalition to keep together politically.

IMHO, what we're probably seeing is an inevitable trend and political split in the community. There are enough pockets of the country where social and institutionalized discrimination has diminished to the point where many Dem-identified LGBTs who would have otherwise naturally gravitated to the GOP, are now feeling comfortable enough (prematurely, I'd add), to vote Republican. This may be over fiscal or even social issues (race, class, immigration, reproductive freedom, etc.) aside from LGBT rights.

There are LGBTs who are "pro-life," color-aroused, and as class conscious as any other demographic, for example. We just have to admit that these factors (as well as the more publicly palatable "small government" positions) are increasingly influencing voting patterns.

Just my two cents...what do you thnk?

U.S. Department of State releases statement about freedom of assembly in Russia

It took quite a while after Dan Choi, Andy Thayer and a team of international activists were arrested for protesting the cancellation of Moscow Pride for our government to issue a statement, but here it is.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Spokesman

For Immediate Release

May 29, 2011

2011/855

STATEMENT BY MARK TONER, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON

Concern about Freedom of Assembly in Russia

We note with concern that in Moscow on Saturday, May 28, a peaceable demonstration of Russians advocating for the rights of gays and lesbians, joined by international supporters, was forcefully disrupted by counter-protesters, and that Russian security forces then detained people from both groups, including American citizens. Some protestors were seriously injured according to media reports.

Freedom of assembly is a fundamental right all members of the OSCE committed to, including in the Moscow declaration and as recently as the Astana summit. As nationwide legislative elections approach, constraints on the ability of Russian citizens peacefully to gather and express their views will be closely watched in evaluating the integrity of the electoral process.  We call on Russian authorities to work with municipal officials to find better ways to safeguard these fundamental freedoms.

###

John @ Americablog has quite a bit to say about the statement, including the fact that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has yet to comment.

UPDATE: Dan Choi's response to the statement...

A pathetic missive from anti-gay Orthodox Jewish groups that oppose marriage equality

This has got to be one of the poorest attempts ever at using religion to cover bias.  This week a group of Orthodox Jewish organizations released a statement in opposition to marriage equality.

May 23, 2011

On the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage, the Orthodox Jewish world speaks with one voice, loud and clear:

We oppose the redefinition of the bedrock relationship of the human family.

The Torah, which forbids homosexual activity, sanctions only the union of a man and a woman in matrimony. While we do not seek to impose our religious principles on others, we believe the institution of marriage is central to the formation of a healthy society and the raising of children. It is our sincere conviction that discarding the historical definition of marriage would be detrimental to society.

Moreover, we are deeply concerned that, should any such redefinition occur, members of traditional communities like ours will incur moral opprobrium and may risk legal sanction if they refuse to transgress their beliefs. That prospect is chilling, and should be unacceptable to all people of good will on both sides of this debate.

The integrity of marriage in its traditional form must be preserved.

AGUDATH ISRAEL OF AMERICA

CENTRAL RABBINICAL CONGRESS OF THE U.S.A. AND CANADA

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF YOUNG ISRAEL

RABBINICAL ALLIANCE OF AMERICA

RABBINICAL COUNCIL OF AMERICA

UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS OF AMERICA

Despite the position of these Orthodox groups, the vast majority -- over 75% -- of American Jews support marriage equality and are working to include LGBT people into mainstream Jewish and American society.  Even the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary recently ordained its first openly gay rabbi.

A review of the red herrings in these Orthodox groups' statement is below the fold.  Anyone following the weak rhetoric of their radical-right Christian counterparts will see many similarities.
"The Torah...sanctions only the union of a man and a woman in matrimony".  

The Torah also sanctions the marriage of one man to many wives.  The man may have concubines in addition.

"While we do not seek to impose our religious principles on others..."  

If they didn't wish to impose their religious principles on others, they wouldn't be trying to influence the civil laws to reflect their particular religious beliefs at the expense of the beliefs of others.  Most American Jews support marriage equality.  In most states, pro-equality rabbis and clerics of other faiths are being denied the right to officiate at the civil marriage ceremonies of same-sex couples because anti-equality laws based on radical-right religious views are interfering with their freedom of religion.

"the institution of marriage is central to the formation of a healthy society and the raising of children."

Considering how many lesbian, bisexual and gay couples have children, if this statement were true then these groups would be supporting marriage equality.  Instead, by opposing marriage equality, they're putting children at risk by forcing families to live in legally precarious situations.

"we are deeply concerned that ...members of traditional communities like ours will incur moral opprobrium"

It all seems to be about "who can dish it out and who has to take it" with this group, as Rabbi Naphtali Hoff made clear in his article "Preserving the Original Moral Opprobrium".

"we are deeply concerned that ...members of traditional communities like ours ...may risk legal sanction if they refuse to transgress their beliefs."

The 1st Amendment to the US Constitution protects the right of clerics and religious institutions to agree or refuse to marry whoever they choose.  No religious person or institution has ever been forced to conduct or sanction same-sex marriages, and they never will be.  It's been 7 years since gay marriage became legal in Massachusetts, and not one radical-right religious person has been forced to marry a same-sex couple against their will, nor have they been forced to sanction such marriages.

Guest column by Andy Humm: Bloomberg Won't Stop Supporting Anti-Gay Senators in New York

Bloomberg Won't Stop Supporting Anti-Gay Senators in New York

By Andy Humm

An invitation-only speech by Mayor Mike Bloomberg laying out the case for same-sex marriage at Cooper Union in New York has garnered a lot of uncritical praise. Bloomberg's stirring words, however, have not been backed up by the most effective and meaningful action that he could take: ending his personal bankrolling of the anti-gay Republican majority in the New York Senate that voted unanimously against this marriage equality in 2009.

Bloomberg has been asked by reporters if he will stop donating to Senators who oppose this bill and he has refused, saying he is not "single issue." So while he has tried to position himself as a champion of marriage equality and to characterize it as the most important civil rights issue of our time, he has in fact been and continues to be the biggest impediment to the bill that would open New York's marriage bureaus to gay couples.

We just saw Democrat Kathy Hochul win a special election for Congress in NY26, one of the most Republican districts in the country. Republicans are indeed a dying breed in New York, but they were able to regain their majority in the New York State Senate in 2010 long past their expiration date in this state primarily through the infusion of millions of dollars in personal donations from Mike Bloomberg. (There are some anti-gay Democrats in the Senate, too. Several have been replaced with pro-gay votes since the 2009 vote. But ALL of the Republicans voted against marriage equality.)

So now we have the grotesque spectacle of Bloomberg making a $100,000 donation to marriage equality groups to lobby the very anti-gay Republicans that he has done his best to empower. Bloomberg's best friend in the Senate, Marty Golden of Brooklyn, responded to the mayor's lobbying him on same-sex marriage by introducing a bill to ban recognition of same-sex marriages contracted elsewhere. That bill is gratuitous since the Democrat-led Assembly has thrice voted for marriage equality and Gov. Andrew Cuomo is a supporter of the marriage equality bill. But Bloomberg had nothing to say about Senator Golden's despicable act.

More below the fold.

The funny thing about the "fight" for same-sex marriage in New York State is that we live in one of the few states that do not license same-sex couples but fully recognize same-sex marriages licensed outside the state. Thousands of gay and lesbian couples have crossed the border into Connecticut, Massachusetts, Canada, and Vermont to get married and are recognized as such in New York for all purposes public and private-except taxation because the NY Department of Finance adamantly maintains that state law mandates that people file using the same status as they do on their federal forms. That anomaly will have to fixed with separate legislation. And gay married couples across the country need the repeal of DOMA to get federal rights.

Back to Bloomberg. He is acting like a marriage equality champion now, but his record has been terrible on the issue. As a mayoral candidate in 2001, he refused to say if he supported marriage equality and tried to confuse the issue by saying, "I don't think the government should be involved in who you can marry." Uh, Mike, marriage is a government institution. No one was stopping gay couples from getting religious weddings-it is the government that refuses to license it.

In 2005, another grotesque spectacle. New York State Justice Doris Ling-Cohan ordered Bloomberg to start providing marriage licenses to gay couples who wanted them. Bloomberg was in the midst of a mayoral campaign and was worried about a primary challenge from a conservative Republican. So he announced that he would appeal the judge's order to "get clarity" from the courts. He insists that he HAD to make the appeal which we all know is a big lie. California Attorney General Jerry Brown refused to appeal Judge Walker's decision overturning Prop 8. And now President Obama is refusing to defend the constitutionality of DOMA. No Democrat running for mayor at that time would have appealed the decision.

Bloomberg's attorney's actually cited the condemnation of homosexuality in Leviticus in making their case to the appeals court. And the high court in New York agreed with him, upholding the limitation on marriage in New York to man-woman couples.

Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, who was handling one of the other same-sex marriage cases in NY State, says that if Bloomberg had not appealed, all other cases could have been dropped and gay couples from all over the world would still be able to legally marry in New York City.

And get this: it was not until the day that Bloomberg announced his appeal that he perversely decided to declare himself FOR same-sex marriage. With friends like this, who needs enemies?

The marriage equality bill in New York may well pass this year and Bloomberg seems to be positioning himself as the man who will have brought it home. But the record shows that if it passes, it will have been in spite of Bloomberg who continues to fund anti-gay Republicans who also oppose our transgender rights bill and virtually every other progressive initiative in the state.

From outside of New York, Bloomberg may seem like a rare pro-gay Republican. (He is technically an Independent now but won his third term running as on the Independent and Republican lines.) But those of us who know him and have covered him for the last decade know very differently.

Bloomberg did sign a transgender rights bill in 2002. Since then, he has vetoed and obstructed virtually every piece of pro-gay legislation that has come before him. He vetoed a school anti-bullying bill, called it "silly," and when the Council overrode his veto he ordered his Department of Education not to enforce it. Only recently has he introduced, under pressure, some form of anti-bullying program in the schools. We even get "Respect for All Week" every year now. A whole week!

Bloomberg also vetoed legislation that would have required city contractors to provide domestic partner benefits as San Francisco and other cities do. When he was overridden by the Council, he went to court and won the right not to enforce the law.

Bloomberg broke the progressive boycott of the anti-gay St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York and now defends City funding for three private, religious St. Patrick's Day Parades in the boroughs outside Manhattan in direct contravention of City law on the use of taxpayer funds for solely religious purposes.

Bloomberg fancies himself a big promoter of public health and has even banned smoking in City parks. But HIV rates have risen during his administration and he steadfastly refuses to reinstate condom lessons in classrooms that were banned in the Giuliani era. This guy has a public health school named after him at Johns Hopkins and he acts as if he doesn't understand the need for explicit AIDS education for young people who are the prime group contracting HIV today, especially gay youth of color. And if you are waiting for the integration of LGBT issues into school curricula in a system under sole mayoral control in New York, it ain't happening under Bloomberg.

Talk is cheap. Bloomberg's fine words are hollow unless he backs them up with the conviction that those who oppose our civil rights are not worthy of support no less millions of dollars in donations. Cutting NYS Senate Republicans off from his gravy train is the one thing that make them sit up, take notice, and do the right thing. But he refuses to do so.

It was depressing that in an entire audience of LGBT "leaders" invited by Bloomberg to hear his Cooper Union speech that no one challenged him to stop his unconscionable underwriting of the anti-gay Republican majority in the State Senate. Too much of our movement has been bought off by what is by comparison Bloomberg's chump change.

Andy Humm has been a gay activist and journalist since 1974, co-hosting the national "Gay USA" cable show weekly since 1985, for the last 16 years with Ann Northrop. He is a former NYC Human Rights Commissioner and was one of the leaders of the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights that brought home NYC's lesbian and gay rights bill in 1986. He is a regular contributor to "Gay City News," and has written the civil rights column for Gotham Gazette since 1999.

Breaking: Dan Choi Arrested With Others At Moscow Pride

Dan is live-tweeting his arrest in Moscow for demonstrating against the government's cancellation of Pride.

Army Lieutenant Dan Choi, outspoken Don't Ask Don't Tell activist, is in Russia this week in solidarity with LGBT activists there, who are defying the recent ban on Moscow pride, scheduled for this Saturday May 28. While activists plan to march in defiance of the ban, the Moscow police have vowed to break up the parade, and religious and Neo-Nazi extremist groups have announced they'll be out in force as well. Dan Choi filmed a short video from in front of the Kremlin, announcing his intention to march with Russian activists, and risk arrest while doing it. Here is that video:

Some of the Tweets:

From Russian Police PaddyWagon:

LGBT Activists (led by Russian Transgender citizen (male pronoun) Anna Komarova) arrested after attacks by Neo-Nazis

Headed to unknown Moscow Station

Right ear ringing small bleeding, 8 in the car including me and Andy Thayer.

Dan Choi

Street Address: Litvina Sidogo 3A.

8 minutes ago

Dan Choi

We are here: (gray dot) Right ear ringing small bleeding, 7 in the car including me and Andy Thayer. yfrog.com/h7llghwj

11 minutes ago

Dan Choi

We are entering Presnensky Police Station 1905, Moscow. yfrog.com/h0vxqiijj

22 minutes ago

Dan Choi

Our group was led by Transgender Russian Citizen (male pronoun) Anna Komarova, 29 yrs old. yfrog.com/h84svetej yfrog.com/hs5lupsj

26 minutes ago

Dan Choi

Russian Arrestees: Tim Magomedor (25yo), Alexy Kiselev 27, Elizaveta Nikitina 23, Alexander Shiriaev 24, Andzey Zayziev 25.

30 minutes ago

Dan Choi

Right ear ringing, small bleeding, 8 in the Moscow Police squad car including Louis Georges-Tin, Andy Thayer and me. "Glasnost!"

34 minutes ago

Ode To The People Of Walmart

Okay, it's Saturday -- time for some weekend fun!

People Of Walmart Song - Watch more Funny Videos

This is an ode to the People Of Walmart by Jessica Frech. It catalogs every known species of Walmart shopper. It's an anthropological marvel.

After watching this video, I can't help thinking how funny it is that the religious right's Homophobia Industrial Complex is ever concerned about the possibility of trans kindergartener teachers -- Y'know, because trans women so gosh darn scary!

Perhaps these Homophobia Industrial Complex folk should save their sanctimonious confabulations for those gosh darn free-expression infused, real world shoppers that their kids may see when shopping at their local Walmarts!