Jeremy Hooper's Blog, page 32
March 2, 2015
Audio: NOM prez equates his anti-gay fight with defeating slavery, conquering 'evils that were occurring in the Roman empire'
Brian Brown, president of National Organization For Marriage, wants his fellow Christians to fight against civil marriage equality. You know, just like past Christians fought against things like slavery:
At other parts of this same interview, Brian proves his fight goes well beyond marriage when he attacks the transgender movement and claims that marriage equality lies about what it means to be a human being. Listen to the full thing here.
While you're doing that, I'm going to go back through m...
March 1, 2015
CA Republicans of 2015 do thing that will make CA Republicans of 2025 say, 'Yeah. Okay. so?'
The California Republican Party is choosing to officially recognize the gay GOPers at Log Cabin Republicans:
The Log Cabin Republicans, a 38-year-old organization that had unsuccessfully sought a charter from the state party several times in the past, received the formal imprimatur on a 861-293 vote at the party’s biannual convention in Sacramento.
Gay group wins formal recognition from state Republican Party [LA Times]
A small step, and one that the Democrats took sometime in the '80s. But for...
NC activists choose name that sounds like Lifetime movie, plot that's discriminatory
Against her better judgement, a college freshman named Charlotte Roberson finds herself in a pair of torrid affairs with both her English professor and that professor's T.A. "Don't do it, Charlotte!" command the friends to whom she confesses. And when the school's dean turns up murdered as a result of her indiscretions, young Charlotte releases she should have heeded their warnings.
That would be a more likely plot for any creative endeavor that I choose to call "Don't Do It, Charlotte." But l...
February 27, 2015
Video: Man who's directly compared homosexuality to pedophilia will now lecture you on extremism
Family Research Council employee EW Jackson believes gay people are "frankly very sick" and sees a direct connection between homosexuality and pedophilia. But for some reason, the extremely anti-LGBT FRC believes that he, an undeniable voice of anti-gay extremism, is the appropriate person to lecture researchers and messengers like the Southern Poverty Law Center on extremism, specifically as it applies to Ben Carson.
Oh, and then (around 3:50) he calls SPLC, a civil rights organization known...
The 'why can't they take their business elsewhere?' line: Not only offensive but legally meaningless
Whenever these stories about the florists or bakers or photographers who want to deny services to same-sex couples come to light, there is an inevitable chorus that will ask, some from the pro-LGBT perspective but most from the anti-LGBT perspective, why the injured parties couldn't have just taken their business elsewhere. On a couple of different occasions, I've discussed the reasons why that is an untenable standard. But there's another facet to the conversation as well.
The fact is, many c...
February 26, 2015
FRC's ridiculously bunk new poll (*from partisan polling firm)
The Family Research Council is going around pushing the following stat, so much so that they have made several memes and even created a microsite to host the associated polling:
Only thing? The stat is meaningless. And deeply deceptive. It's false witness, actually. Here's why.
First, we have to note that the polling firm is a noted right-wing outlet. FRC commissioned this poll through Wilson Perkins Allen, one of the big Republican polling shops out there. Which isn't surprising, since FRC is...
Video: 'Vice' covers the sad, dangerous, discredited world of 'conversion therapy'
My heart truly breaks for these men who so desperate need to learn self-love but who are instead drinking the poisonous snake oil:
Buzzfeed: Jeb Bush's nascent team is teeming with gay Republicans
Building on last week's announcement that the Bush-in-waiting has hired an out and quite activist-minded gay man as his communications director, Buzzfeed's McKay Coppins has filed a lengthy report on the full breadth of the Republican's burgeoning campaign and its noticeable bent:
Quietly, Jeb has filled his campaign-in-waiting with some of the most open proponents of gay rights in the Republican Party. And donors think he sees the issues the same way they do — pro-LGBT.
FULL: Jeb Bush, 2016’s...
FRC prays against gay acceptance to 'avoid the wrath of God'
From the Family Research Council's latest round of weekly "prayer targets"
[FRC]
Wow, a majority seeking to "correct our nation" so as to keep a minority population from getting too uppity. How many times in world history have we heard that one before?
February 25, 2015
Video: Mark Cuban supports religious biz owners that 'just say no' to serving same-sex weddings
He seems to realize that keeping it out of the legal realm is the good idea. However, noted entrepreneur Mark Cuban is flat-out giving business owners advice (e.g. "just say no") that encourages them to flout nondiscriminations laws, which could very well lead to a legal fight (that the biz owner will inevitably lose):
For someone whose TV role involves weighing the worth of business ideas, you sure are promoting an unsellable one yourself, Mr. Cuban. I'm out.
