This Is Extremely Bad News

[Content Note: Christian Supremacy.]

The Trump Regime issued a new rule today giving health care workers — and entire hospitals — the right to refuse to provide any healthcare services to which they have "a religious or conscientious objection."

Alison Kodjak at NPR reports:

The rule, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, is designed to protect the religious rights of health care providers and religious institutions.

..."This rule ensures that healthcare entities and professionals won't be bullied out of the health care field because they decline to participate in actions that violate their conscience, including the taking of human life," OCR Director Roger Severino said in a written statement.

Yeah, people who expect healthcare providers to provide healthcare are the bullies. Sure.

And let us all take a moment to appreciate the bitter irony of these shitwheels wringing their hands over being forced to "take human life" when the whole point of this trash is to allow them to legally refuse to provide life-saving healthcare to anyone whose choices or needs they find distasteful.

As part of that change in focus, HHS in the last week also changed the Office for Civil Rights' mission statement to highlight its focus on protecting religious freedom.

Until last week, the website said the office's mission was to "improve the health and well-being of people across the nation" and to ensure people have equal access to health care services provided by HHS. But the new statement repositions the OCR as a law enforcement agency that enforces civil rights laws, and conscience and religious freedom laws, and "protects that exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions by individuals and institutions."

..."This rule allows anyone from a doctor to a receptionist to entities like hospitals and pharmacies to deny a patient critical — and sometimes lifesaving — care," said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center, in a statement.

One thing that must be understood here is that these laws will absolutely not be equally applied. They will not protect anyone from a minority religion who claims a religious objection — unless, perhaps, that objections happens to align with the toxic bigotries (e.g. reproductive coercion or queer hatred) of the conservative evangelical Christians this law is designed to empower.

I'll reiterate what I wrote when this rule was first proposed by the Trump Regime more than a year ago: This was a constant fight during the Bush administration. (One against then-Senator Hillary Clinton fought vehemently. Cough.) And no matter how sophisticated the language — Republicans have since largely abandoned the term "conscience clause" and have significantly toned down the religious rhetoric on this subject — it's still a garbage position that privileges a very specific brand of conservative Christianity in direct violation of the mandate to "do no harm."

For more than a decade, healthcare providers who subscribe to the particular iteration of Christianity that gives them religious cover for their existing bigotries, have insisted that not being able to refuse to provide care to certain patients — abortion-seeking women, transgender people, gay/bi people — leaves them with "no choice," complaining that "the secular world increasingly demanding they capitulate to doing procedures, prescribing pills, or performing tasks that they find morally reprehensible."

(And what they find "morally reprehensible" will ever expand to include people of whose "lifestyle choices" they don't approve: Fat patients, addicts, alcoholics, smokers, people with chronic pain they decide are "pill-seeking.")

Only in an environment where "freedom of religion" is deliberately misconstrued to mean "the right of a single strand of conservative Christianity to not have to follow the rules everyone else does" could an expectation to provide legal healthcare services constitute religious discrimination. Only in this atmosphere could not being able to pick and choose which patients you want to serve, thusly redefining your entire profession on your own terms, be considered tantamount to having no choice at all.

Here's your choice: Do what you were hired to do or get another fucking job.

(Note: If a huge — and ever-increasing — number of our hospitals weren't run by the Catholic Church, we might have healthcare services that make the people they hire commit to performing every procedure.)

This culture of victimhood among conservative Christians is ridiculous in the extreme. It is predicated on the flawed assertions that their version of Christianity is the only version, and that it is the exclusive source from which morality can be derived.

The morality of all other Christians, all people of other religions, and all irreligious people must be diligently ignored — particularly those traditions in which there is an obligation to provide care to all people.

If those equally valid beliefs were not erased from all public conversation, the barking dipshits who equate oppression with a requirement of compliance with one's basic job description might have to face the reality that there's not some insidious siege upon religious freedom, but instead just a minority group whose religious beliefs make them intrinsically unfit to hold positions as healthcare providers.

They want to have their cake (opposition to certain healthcare procedures) and eat it, too (be healthcare providers free to decline patients of their choosing). But it just doesn't work that way.

A marketing exec for Phillip Morris who's lost a parent to lung cancer and decides that hawking smokes is "morally reprehensible" doesn't get paid to sit in her office doing nothing. She finds a way to navigate doing a job that she finds objectionable but provides a living, or she finds another job.

If you sign up to be a healthcare provider, you bloody well provide healthcare.

It's no one else's responsibility to indulge your conscience — especially not a patient whose very life might depend on your fulfilling the functions you were hired to do.

The vile irony of this trash is that asking for on-the-job exemptions from primary duties based on religious beliefs is nothing less than the "special rights" conservatives are incessantly accusing the LGBTQ community, women, and other marginalized populations of seeking.

But we just want baseline equality. Christians who want to use their interpretation of the Bible to rewrite their job descriptions want an inequality that caters to their personal whims.

It's bad enough when it's some asshole who doesn't want to issue marriage certificates to same-sex couples or bake a cake for their wedding, but "conscience clauses" in the field of medicine, where lives depend on people who don't hesitate, who put patients' needs before their own desires, such a willful dereliction of duty is thoroughly contemptible.

It is immoral. It will be deadly.

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Pope Francis Says Words; Takes No Action

[Content Note: Sex abuse by clergy.]

Last week, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office issued an extensive, gruesome grand jury report, detailing decades of abuse by Catholic clergy and subsequent cover-ups by the Catholic Church in the state.

Today, Pope Francis issued a letter in which he condemns the abuse and cover-up and wrote: "Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such [abuses] from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated."

Strong words from someone who was publicly accusing victims of being liars just earlier this year.

But, as we all know, Pope Francis is always there with the strong words to get the headlines and attendant commentary about how progressive he is.

Which he is indeed getting today. In abundance.

The problem is, there's no follow-through on those words; no action to back them up.

Francis did not lay out any concrete steps the Vatican would take, but he acknowledged that systemic change is needed.

Oh.

I guess it'll just happen my magic if we all pray hard enough for it to happen.

As I have been saying for many years, the difference in this pontiff is not that he's actually more progressive, but that he's more media-savvy.

I take up space in solidarity with the survivors of abuse, and I hope that they will get more than cynical words from the leader of the institution that enabled their abusers and concealed their abuse.

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Hundreds of Priests and Thousands of Victims: Catholic Church Abuse and Cover-Up Detailed in Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report

[Content Note: Sex abuse by clergy; descriptions of assault and grooming.]

Yesterday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro held a press conference at which he discussed the release of a 1,356-page grand jury report "alleging decades of sexual abuse and cover-ups by Roman Catholic officials across the state." The document "is the culmination of the Pa. Attorney General Office's investigation into seven decades of allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, and Scranton. The two other Pennsylvanian Catholic dioceses of Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown were also investigated in recent years."

Video of the entire press conference is below. (I haven't yet been able to locate a complete transcript.) It is incredibly difficult viewing, as Shapiro details some of the abuses, which are nearly unfathomable in scope, and some of the mechanisms by which the subsequent cover-up was orchestrated.

The abuse Shapiro describes is so brazen. It is abuse committed by bold abusers who knew they would be protected, and that their victims would not.

Shapiro notes that the grand jury report is the "largest, most comprehensive report into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church ever produced in the United States," and further that the victims of this vast conspiracy were let down both by the church and by law enforcement — a truth made evident by the fact that some of these allegations date back seven decades. That they have been failed so hard and so long by the people meant to protect them makes Shapiro's determination to stop this malice, and hold people accountable for it, all the more moving.

There is excellent coverage at the Philadelphia Inquirer, for anyone who would like to read more (please note that there are descriptions of assaults at the links):

Jeremy Roebuck, Angela Couloumbis, and Liz Navratil: Pennsylvania Catholic Church Sex Abuse Report Names Hundreds of Priests, Accuses Leaders of Cover-Up: 'They Hid It All.'

In all, more than 300 priests were singled out — though some names remain redacted amid legal wrangling over the fairness of the investigation and the public report. Dozens of church superiors — including some now in prominent posts nationally — were also named as complicit.

"All of [the victims] were brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institutions above all," the report says. "Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible not only did nothing: They hid it all."

The abuse "was rampant and widespread," Attorney General Josh Shapiro said at a news conference in the state Capitol. "It touched every diocese, and it is horrifying."

Craig R. McCoy: In Scathing Report, Grand Jury Says Priest Abuse Cover-Up Began at the Top. "The grand jury said the state's bishops had misused their power and enabled the victimization of children: transferring abusive priests, failing to notify police of their crimes, misleading the public about their misconduct, and, in the case of one alleged molester, even officiating at his funeral."

David Gambacorta: Priests Ran Child P0rn Ring in Pittsburgh Diocese. "The men gave a specific gift to children they favored, something they could wear that would mark them as prime targets for abuse. [Rev. George Zirwas] 'had told me that they, the priests, would give their boys, their altar boys, or their favorite boys these crosses,' George told the grand jury. 'So he gave me a big gold cross to wear.'"

And let us not forget that, despite his (broken) promises to meaningfully address sex abuse in the Catholic Church, the chronically overestimated Pope Francis was, as recently as January of this year, accusing victims of being liars. The cover-up does indeed go right to the very top.

Pope Francis "has struggled to get a grip on the scandal that has gravely weakened the Catholic church's moral authority. Despite calling for 'decisive action' when he was elected as pontiff in 2013, he has failed to turn that into a reality." No kidding. https://t.co/1wTAi4Qbgb

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) August 15, 2018

I am grateful to my state's passionate Attorney General Josh Shapiro and everyone else who has played a role in this long-time-coming report for their hard work on a subject that is difficult for so many reasons, not least of which because of intimidation from the Catholic Church.

I take up space in solidarity with all of the survivors, whether they have participated in the process, didn't feel safe or ready to participate, or have never breathed a word of what was done to them.

And I implore anyone who has insisted that clergy abuse in the Catholic Church is just about "a few bad apples" to seriously reexamine your position. Because it is dangerously wrong.

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Sessions Announces "Religious Liberty Task Force"

[Content Note: Christian Supremacy.]

This is very bad:

NEW: Attorney General Jeff Sessions announces "Religious Liberty Task Force."

Sessions says the task force will "help the Department fully implement our religious liberty guidance," including "making sure our employees know their duties to accommodate people of faith." pic.twitter.com/R6s2CYmdue

— ABC News (@ABC) July 30, 2018

Transcript: [Jeff Sessions, standing at a podium] Today I announce — ah, ah, I am announcing a next step: The Religious Liberty Task Force, to be co-chaired by the Associate Attorney General, Jesse, and the Assistant Attorney General for Office of Legal Policy, Beth.

The task force will help the department fully implement our religious liberty guidance by ensuring that all Justice Department components — and we've got a lot of components around the country — are holding that guidance in the cases they bring and defend, the arguments they make in court, the policies and regulations they adopt, and how we conduct our operations.

That includes making sure our employees know their duties to accommodate people of faith. As the people in this room know, we have to practice what you preach. So we're going to remain in contact with religious groups across America, to ensure that their rights are being protected.

We have been holding listening sessions and will continue to host them in the coming weeks. This administration is animated by that same American view that has led us for two hundred and forty-two years: That every American has a right to believe and worship and exercise their faith in the public square.

"We're going to remain in contact with religious groups across America, to ensure that their rights are being protected," says Sessions. Not a word about meeting with atheists, of course. Not a peep about atheists' right to be free from the imposition of religion.

And of course we know damn well that minority religious groups will not be protected from the imposition of a very limited brand of conservative Christianity, either. As ever.

We must be very blunt about what the creation of this task force is: Another huge step forward in the Trump Regime's creation of a regressive Christian white ethnostate.

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Dispatches From the Queer Resistance (No. 7)

[Content note: Gun violence; homophobia; racism; transphobia.]

Here's my regular reminder that 77% of LGBTQ voters chose Hillary Clinton over any other contender in the 2016 US presidential election and that Republicans, generally, are pretty terrible when it comes to acknowledging the rights, let alone dignity, of LGBT people.

1) Two-Year Anniversary of Pulse Nightclub Shooting
Today marks the two-year anniversary of the deadliest act of violence against LGBT people in US history, in which a gunman killed 49 and injured 53 people attending "Latin Night" at an Orlando gay bar.

I stand in solidarity with all who are grieving today, or who may feel scared, uncertain, and/or angry because of this attack.

2) US Supreme Court Issues Decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop
Last week, in a majority opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the US Supreme Court held that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission's treatment of a baker who refuses to bake cakes for same-sex weddings "violated the State's duty under the First Amendment not to base laws or regulations on hostility to a religion or religious viewpoint."

I've seen many analyses suggesting that this case wasn't actually a big win for the anti-LGBT side. Yet, cases like Masterpiece Cakeshop very much look to me like part of a broader strategy to normalize the notion that it's acceptable, moral, and legal for Christians to discriminate against LGBT people in the public sphere.

And, while some anti-LGBT groups are banking on, first, an eventual change in the composition of the Supreme Court and, second, a sweeping ruling that would overturn Obergefell, it's important to note that the erosion of marriage equality won't actually require the big dramatic Supreme Court ruling that many people seem to think it will.

Melissa has noted before that anti-LGBT advocates are already chipping away at marriage equality in a manner much like anti-choice advocates have been chipping away at Roe for decades. In fact, I strongly recommend reading this piece that she wrote in 2011, while keeping in mind the parallels with respect to marriage equality, trans rights, and adoption by same-sex couples, all of which are under constant attack from the right.

I continue to fear that segments of the progressive left have become complacent with respect to LGBT rights in our post-Obergefell world, just as many have become with respect to reproductive rights. We must remain vigilant about the reality that conservatives can and will erode our rights piece-by-piece so that one day a bunch of people might wake up, look around, and wonder what the fuck happened.

3) Bigots React to Ruling
Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said that Donald Trump is "pleased" with the Masterpiece Cakeshop outcome. And by Trump, I'm sure she means Pence. Although, sure, Trump, too. Because he's obviously so religious.

Meanwhile, in response to the ruling, South Dakota lawmaker Michael Clark (Republican) indicated in a Facebook comment that businessowners should be able to "turn away people of color" if they choose. After he received pushback, he later wrote, "I am apologizing for some of my Facebook comments. I would never advocate discriminating against people based on their color or race."

Oh.

4) Indiana Teacher Says Calling Trans Students by Their Names Violates His Religion
A teacher at Brownsburg High School, "said the school district's requirement that teachers call transgender students by their preferred names, rather than those given at birth, goes against his religious beliefs." He has said that he has been forced to resign for failing to comply with the school's policy and of course the conservative Indiana Family Institute is backing him.

5) Republican Lawmaker Says Housing Discrimination Is Fine
In a statement to a group of realtors last month, US Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R) said, "Every homeowner should be able to make a decision not to sell their home to someone (if) they don't agree with their lifestyle."

He later clarified that, "We've drawn a line on racism, but I don't think we should extend that line. A homeowner should not be required to be in business with someone they think is doing something that is immoral.”

Rohrabacher is up for re-election and faces 15 challengers. I wish him the worst of luck in his efforts.

6) Sexual Minority Young Women at Heightened Risk for Teen Pregnancy
An April 2018 study in Pediatrics found that lesbians had approximately two times the risk of teen pregnancy as heterosexual participants, and bisexual young women had nearly five times the risk. From the article:

"The higher teen pregnancy prevalence among sexual minorities was partially explained by childhood maltreatment and bullying. One additional variable, the earlier age of sexual minority developmental milestones, was a significant risk factor for teen pregnancy among sexual minorities."

The researchers also referenced previous results from a qualitative study in which participants engaged in sex with a different gender in order to "prove" their heterosexuality or hide their sexual orientation.

7) Republican Candidate Films Herself Harassing Trans Woman
Proving once again that creepy, bigoted cis people are far bigger threats to trans people's safety than the other way around, Jazmina Saavedra, a Republican candidate for Congress in California, filmed herself yelling at a trans woman who used a bathroom at a Denny's restaurant. What the actual fuck.

Saavedra lost the election.

8) Lambda Legal Issues Criminal Justice Report
Lambda Legal has issued a report that offers, "an overview of the wide-ranging impacts of the Trump Administration's federal criminal justice initiatives on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people and communities, with a particular focus on impacts on LGBTQ people of color and immigrants." The report is worth reading in its entirety, and it ends with a call for "LGBTQ organizations not already on the front lines of struggles to challenge profiling, discriminatory policing, police violence, mass criminalization and incarceration, and intensified immigration enforcement will join in and support efforts to resist and limit the harms of these federal initiatives at the local level."

9) Better Things
To end on a more upbeat note. However you might celebrate or honor it, Happy Pride Month, y'all! 

Personally, and in addition to some more organized events, I'm looking forward to watching Ocean's 8 (and Sarah Paulson and Cate Blanchett, obvs) on the big screen in the very near future. In addition, one of my favorite TV shows of the moment, Supergirl, has announced plans for a trans character next season (the casting notice seeks a trans actress).

Finally, Maryland State Senator Richard Madaleno is openly gay and is running for governor in Maryland. He aired an ad earlier this month listing the things he's done to stand up to, and anger, Trump. These included standing up for Planned Parenthood, helping ban assault weapons in Maryland, supporting public schools, and kissing his husband. The ad ends with him kissing his husband, LOL.

I know some people say Democrats "have to do more than be against Trump," but all of the issues Senator Madeleno has stood for, in opposition to Trump, are actually a pretty big fucking deal. Once some people understand that women, schoolchildren, and queers are people too, I think it becomes easier to comprehend that maybe it is enough to be against Trump.

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The Dominionists Make Their Move

[Content Note: Christian Supremacy.]

At the Guardian, David Taylor has a must-read piece on "Project Blitz," the legislative playbook developed by a coaltion of conservative Christian groups which provides "state politicians with a set of off-the-shelf pro-Christian 'model bills' [at least 75 of which] have been brought forward in more than 20 states during 2017 and 2018."

Some legislation uses verbatim language from the "model bills" created by a group called the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF), set up by a former Republican congressman which has a stated aim to "protect religious freedom, preserve America's Judeo-Christian heritage, and promote prayer."

...Opponents warn that the CPCF (which claims more than 600 politicians as members across state legislatures ) is using the banner of "religious freedom" to impose Christianity on American public, political, and cultural life.

The entire piece is worth your time to read, to get a handle on this dominionist campaign to overwhelm the nation with a very specific brand of conservative evangelical Christianity.

As I noted on Twitter: "This is not Donald Trump's vision. This is the Christian Dominionist hellscape that Mike Pence has always envisioned for the country."

But it's no coincidence that this movement is once again gaining momentum under the presidency of a corrupt businessman, because Christian Supremacy is a corrupt business.

I was writing urgently in this space about how dominionism was being rolled out like a business twelve years ago [CN: discussion of bigotry; slurs]:

Jesus has been hijacked as a political operative by people who have forgotten that the separation of church and state was designed to protect the church as much as the state. Christianity's central figure cannot be redesigned as a gun-toting, gay-bashing, flag-draped ideological icon without fundamentally and inexorably altering the religion itself—particularly how it is regarded by those outwith its margins. Christians who don't want to be associated with the reimagined Jesus have a right—and an obligation—to denounce his being co-opted into the spokesman for Überpatriot Dominionism. Christian Supremacists are rebranding Christ, and hence Christianity. This is nothing if not a marketing war.

Understandably, it's a game that Christians who don't regard Jesus as a mascot don't want to play, but the Christian Supremacy movement in America is a business. Millions and millions of dollars are raised every year by people professing to preach The Word in exchange for a few dollars (and a few more, and a few more) in the collection baskets, but all they're really doing is selling a product—a way to cope with a changing world that robs bigots of their undeserved dominion, that tells them they really, at long last, must share equality with non-Christians, the LGBT community, strong women, minorities, and immigrants in the public sphere. They are losing control they were never meant to have, and Christianity 2.0 sells them the righteous anger and victimhood they need.

In these desperate people, the hate peddlers have found a ripe market for their wares. The hungry buyers come to the churches and the political rallies with money burning holes in the pockets of their sensible trousers, and they leave satiated, their bellies full of (self-)righteous indignation, with a determination to spread the word about the radical homosexual and feminist agendas, and a keen eye for the slightest proof that their suspicions about the dastardly fags and feminazis and liberals and brown people who threaten their way of life are all true. This is a booming business, and Falwell, Dobson, and Robertson have learned to roll out their product as efficiently as Ford and his Model-Ts.

...Hate, like anything else in the American capitalist utopia, can be a splendid business, as long as there are enough interested buyers with cash in hand—and hate flogged under the auspices of religion has the added bonus of being a tax-free enterprise. It's no surprise that Christ-cloaked bigotry is a booming industry. To Christian Supremacists, Jesus is just a logo; he doesn't define their message any more than the Swoosh writes Nike's mission statement. But, like any recognizable symbol to clamoring consumers, he confers upon the brand a status with which generic models just can't compete. Your athletic skills are infinitely better with a famous insignia on your shoes, and your intolerance is remade as virtue with a savior lending his name for the dropping.

Christians who refuse to let Christ be claimed for such purposes are, whether willfully or not, the competition. ...And all the rest of us, who have a vested interest in protecting our country against the ascendancy of Christian Supremacists, are consumer advocates, tasked with pointing out the flaws in their product—and questioning the existence of truth in their advertising.

Well, here we are. And the need to challenge this oppression and hatred being sold under the guise of "religious freedom" is more pressing than ever.

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Donald Trump: Christian Culture Warrior

Hey everyone, there's sure a lot going on! Don't forget that 81% of white Evangelical Christian voters chose Trump in the 2016 election.

Now, to imagine Donald as a religious being is to conceive of an absurdity. Not because bad people can't be religious, in fact they often are, but rather because by many accounts he simply is not a contemplative person and doesn't read. Well, I guess there's one topic he reads about:

"Trump’s desk is piled high with magazines, nearly all of them with himself on their covers, and each morning, he reviews a pile of printouts of news articles about himself that his secretary delivers to his desk."

Yet, during presidential campaign rallies, he began claiming that the Bible was his favorite book. In an interview, when pressed, he had the following to say in response to a question about his favorite verse:

"'I wouldn't want to get into it. Because to me, that's very personal,' Trump said in the Wednesday sit-down.

'The Bible means a lot to me, but I don't want to get into specifics,' he said.

When asked whether he prefers the Old Testament or the New Testament, Trump said, 'probably equal.'

'I think it's just … incredible, the whole Bible…' he said."

I'll bet.

So, what do we make of Evangelical Christian support for this man? As CNN recently reported, white Evangelical support for Trump continues to hold steady, with eight in ten who attend church at least once per month approving of the job he's doing. Do they truly think he's read "the whole Bible," let alone thinks it's "incredible"?

In October 2016, Huffington Post ran an article about a popular Evangelical leader who was baffled by his cohorts' support of Trump. The reasons for the bafflement seem obvious enough. Isn't Christianity a supposed moral compass for those who adhere to the religion? To that point, before the election, Huffington Post was still running this note on articles about Trump:

"Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S."

Huh.

Perhaps Evangelical support for Trump is a bargain of sorts. They will support him to the extent he delivers for them. In 2016, many Evangelical Christians believed they had lost, or are badly losing, the culture wars, particularly with respect to feminism, gender issues, LGBT rights, religious "freedom," and abortion. Under the Obama Administration, historic strides were made with respect to same-sex marriage, federal hate crimes legislation, hospital visitation for LGBT patients, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, non-discrimination guidance for trans students, equal pay for women, the appointment of liberal/progressive Supreme Court justices and more.

Yet, for each step of progress we made, conservative Christian and rightwing commentators, pastors, media outlets, and organizations were telling Evangelical Christians that these gains were losses for them, usually with the framing that they were "losing" their "religious freedom." We saw a baker refuse to bake a cake for a gay couple and, in turn, face a fine if he continued to discriminate. We saw a clerk in Kentucky, purportedly acting "under God's authority," refuse to do her job and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. We saw religious conservatives propose anti-trans "bathroom bills," under the specious reasoning that women would be imminently under attack.

And so white Evangelicals support Donald Trump, who has admitted on tape to grabbing women's genitals without consent. With both his sales pitch to rid the world of the scourge of political correctness and his selection of Mike Pence, a "born-again" Evangelical, as his running mate, he has promised to strike back against these losses and threats to Evangelical Christian's "religious freedom," (or what I like to call their special right to discriminate).

Hillary Clinton,too, very specifically fit into Republican and Evangelical Christian narratives.

As some on the left castigated Clinton in 2016 for supposedly not being feminist or progressive enough, the religious right has been branding her as too much of both since the early 1990s. In The Washington Post, Sarah Pulliam Bailey noted this historical context in October 2016, saying that despite the fact that Clinton is a churchgoing United Methodist:

"She symbolizes much that runs against their [Evangelical Christian] beliefs: abortion rights advocacy, feminism and, conversely, a rejection of biblical ideas of femininity and womanhood. Perhaps even more significantly, Hillary Clinton, as an outspoken and activist first lady, is inextricably tied in the minds of conservative Christians to their loss of the culture war battles beginning with Bill Clinton’s first term in 1993."

Their anger toward her, continues Bailey, was at "a fever pitch" during the campaign, with 75% citing their dislike of her as a reason for their support for Trump.

While many (so so many) election 2016 post-mortems have focused on the purported "economic anxiety" of the white working class, less has been made of the culture war aggrievement of Evangelical Christians. But, maybe it's old hat to talk about. The left at times does get into an odd habit of rendering critique as though Democrats exist in a context-less void wherein Republicans and conservative Chrsitians, do not also exist in large numbers. Democrats are castigated for moving too slowly, not doing enough, and being too incremental as if conservative obstruction isn't a real thing in the real world.

Yet, the religious right remains a force in this country. They are largely responsible for putting Trump in office. And, going forward, it would be foolish to overlook the entitlement many Evangelical Christians have about the special place they believe their religion is owed with respect to law and policy in the US.

Mike Pence, for instance, recently attended the 40th anniversary event for Focus on the Family, giving a 30-minute speech reported to have been largely about abortion, re-assuring the audience that he and his "good friend" Trump have their backs. Trump's Attorney General Jeff Sessions, meanwhile, just gave a secret speech to the anti-LGBT Alliance Defending Freedom.

Meaningful, and yes imperfect, progress was made during the Obama era with respect to many progressive causes. The progress was not enough, but it was work we could have now been building upon, under a different administration.

Instead, we are now in a position to defend, tooth and nail, everything we had previously won, and more. Some progress, like President Obama's guidance on trans students, has already been lost. Many of these issues, too, are the very "identity politics" that even some liberal and leftist men want us to stop talking about, at a time when our rights are most at risk.

I suggest not. Instead, as Melissa has repeated, we need to keep our eyes on Mike Pence. Donald Trump may not be a legitimate Christian, but under the guidance of Pence, Donald and Evangelical Christians seem to have made a bargain to use each other for their own mutually-beneficial ends.

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Trump to Sign EO Laxing Political Activity Rules for Churches

John Wagner, Abby Phillip, and Julie Zauzmer at the Washington Post: Trump to Sign Executive Order Making It Easier for Churches to Support Political Candidates.

Trump on Thursday plans to relax enforcement of rules barring tax-exempt churches from participating in politics as part of a much-anticipated executive order on religious liberties, according to senior White House officials.

The order will also offer unspecified "regulatory relief" for religious objectors to an Obama administration mandate — already scaled back by the courts — that required contraception services as part of health plans, the officials said.

...In addition to the two policy changes, the order will also provide a blanket statement that "it is the policy of the administration to protect and vigorously promote religious liberty."

As a candidate and shortly after taking office, Trump declared he would "totally destroy" what's known as the Johnson Amendment, a six-decade-old ban on churches and other tax-exempt organizations supporting political candidates.

The provision is written in the tax code and would require an act of Congress to repeal fully.

A White House official said Trump would instead direct the Internal Revenue Service to "exercise maximum enforcement discretion of the prohibition." Such a direction could be subject to legal challenge and would not necessarily extend beyond a Trump presidency.

Irrespective of whether Trump's erosion of the Johnson Amendment would survive a court challenge, his message is abundantly clear: This administration will do everything it can to enable social conservative Christians to legally discriminate against people they don't like, and everything it can to uphold Christian Supremacy.

What a perfect message on the "National Day of Prayer."

UPDATE: He signed it, following disgusting remarks by him and Pence.

The "religious liberty" EO Trump just signed allows employers not to cover birth control, so another blow to healthcare.

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) May 4, 2017

And the contraceptive part is only the most explicit piece of it. This will still be used to justify all manner of discrimination.

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) May 4, 2017

Pence learned in Indiana how to craft language to make it as hard to challenge in court as possible, while doing maximum amount of damage.

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) May 4, 2017

Which is what I said would happen literally just yesterday.

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Trump's Next Executive Order: "Religious Liberty"

[Content Note: Homophobia; transphobia; Christian supremacy.]

The Loser President needs a win, so naturally the executive order on "religious liberty" is back on the docket.

Donald Trump has invited conservative leaders to the White House on Thursday for what they expect will be the ceremonial signing of a long-awaited—and highly controversial—executive order on religious liberty, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

Two senior administration officials confirmed the plan, though one cautioned that it hasn't yet been finalized, and noted that lawyers are currently reviewing and fine-tuning the draft language. Thursday is the National Day of Prayer, and the White House was already planning to celebrate the occasion with faith leaders.

The signing would represent a major triumph for Vice President Mike Pence—whose push for religious-freedom legislation backfired mightily when he served as governor of Indiana—and his allies in the conservative movement.

After the original draft was leaked, immediately meeting with widespread criticism, "Pence and a small team of conservative allies quickly began working behind the scenes to revise the language, and in recent weeks have ratcheted up the pressure on Trump to sign it."

Two things:

1. Every "religious liberty" bill/order is designed with the express purpose of giving socially conservative Christians the legal right to discriminate against people they don't like.

2. We won't know how far-reaching this particular iteration is until we see the actual text. Some are worse than others. Indiana's bill, under Pence's governorship, was appalling. He has certainly learned in the interim how to craft a bill with language that will accomplish the same objective with more careful language. Not good.

Because this is coming in the form of an executive order, rather that a piece of legislation, it's difficult to mobilize effective resistance ahead of the signing.

We're going to have to wait until the text is released and then hope that there is language which can be used to mount a court challenge.

This is sickening. I hate every moment of this presidency with every molecule of my being.

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Well, I Suppose This Election Hot Take Was Always Only a Matter of Time

In the raging sea of post-election hot takes that blame Hillary Clinton for losing the election to an aggressive bigot and serial sexual abuser, I guess this was inevitable. Thomas Groome at the New York Times: To Win Again, Democrats Must Stop Being the Abortion Party.

Of course. OF COURSE.

Like most hot takes, this piece doesn't let the inconvenient fact that Clinton won the popular vote by three million votes get in the way of its supercool argument, nor does it acknowledge that Catholics are not a monolithic voting bloc. There are many Catholics who, even if they personally would not get an abortion, are resolutely pro-choice. This may come as a shock to Mr. Groome, but I even know Catholics who have had abortions, and aren't eternally ashamed about it.

There's also the small conundrum that President Obama won―twice―as a pro-choice candidate.

Last year's election was a watershed in this evolution. Hillary Clinton lost the overall Catholic vote by seven points—after President Obama had won it in the previous two elections. She lost the white Catholic vote by 23 points.

I know this is a radical suggestion, but maybe the problem isn't that Hillary Clinton is pro-choice, but maybe the problem is that Hillary Clinton is a woman.

Misogyny is still the word that shall not be spoken in post-mortems of the 2016 election. And I don't find convincing an argument that any voting demographic would swing wildly between Obama and Clinton as a result of an issue on which they held virtually identical views. Both of whom, not incidentally, had Catholic running mates who could competently articulate how they reconciled being politically pro-choice despite their church's anti-choice views.

I do, however, believe strongly that a voting demographic defined by an institution that holds at the center of its principles a belief that women must be disallowed from holding positions of power might be disproportionately likely to reject the idea of a female leader on the basis that she is a woman.

To ignore the effects of the implicit and overt messaging around female exclusion, to pretend that it doesn't matter, is willful ignorance about how culture and socialization work.

The argument about reproductive choice is just the latest attempt to Occam's Big Paisley Tie the most obvious reason why people who voted for Obama wouldn't vote for Clinton. And the refusal to even consider that possibility all but guarantees it will happen again.

I certainly hope the Democratic Party will not take policy advice from anyone whose argument doesn't even give cursory consideration to the sexism that continues to stare us all in the face, while we shamefully avert our gaze.

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Fourth Wave of Bomb Threats at Jewish Community Centers; Cemetery Desecrated

[Content Note: Anti-Semitism; terrorism.]

Yesterday, anti-Semitic terrorists called in a fourth round of bomb threats to 11 Jewish Community Centers across the U.S. Since the beginning of the year, 53 Jewish Community Centers in 26 states have been targeted with bomb threats. According to the SPLC: "The first wave hit on January 9th, then on the 18th and again on the 31st." And now again yesterday, [CN: video may autoplay] on the same day "vandals damaged dozens of headstones at a Jewish cemetery."

This is not happening in a vacuum.

Donald Trump ran a white supremacist campaign that was peppered with anti-Semitism, including his use of an anti-Semitic graphic against Hillary Clinton and his deployment of anti-Semitic stereotypes against then-DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. He has also repeatedly used the phrase "America First" despite its anti-Semitic origins and pleas from the Anti-Defamation League to stop using it.

In fact, not only did Trump refuse to stop using it; he made it the centerpiece of his inauguration address: "We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it's going to be only America first—America first."

And, within weeks of taking office, Trump's White House issued a statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day that failed to mention Jews, which Chief of Staff Reince Priebus then defended with Holocaust denialism.

By June of 2016, violent anti-Semitic attacks had risen by 50 percent. And now Jewish Community Centers have gotten four waves of bomb threats since the beginning of this year.

Asked for comment on the wave of bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told NBC News' Peter Alexander: "Hatred and hate-motivated violence of any kind have no place in a country founded on the promise of individual freedom. The President has made it abundantly clear that these actions are unacceptable."

Bullshit he has.

When Trump was asked about the rise of anti-Semitic incidents during his joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is how he responded by bragging about his electoral college victory and then saying he knows Jewish people:

Well, I just want to say that we are, you know, very honored by the victory that we had—306 electoral college votes. We were not supposed to crack 220. You know that, right? There was no way to 221, but then they said there's no way to 270. And there's tremendous enthusiasm out there.

I will say that we are going to have peace in this country. We are going to stop crime in this country. We are going to do everything within our power to stop long simmering racism and every other thing that's going on. There's a lot of bad things that have been taking place over a long period of time.

I think one of the reasons I won the election is we have a very, very divided nation, very divided. And hopefully, I'll be able to do something about that. And I, you know, it was something that was very important to me.

As far as people, Jewish people, so many friends; a daughter who happens to be here right now; a son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren. I think that you're going to see a lot different United States of America over the next three, four or eight years. I think a lot of good things are happening.

And you're going to see a lot of love. You're going to see a lot of love.

OK? Thank you.

And when he was asked about it again the next day by a Jewish reporter, who went out of his way to say he was not personally calling Trump anti-Semitic, Trump responded by claiming to be "the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life" and then berating the reporter:

He said he was gonna ask a very simple, easy question. And it's not, its not, not—not a simple question, not a fair question. Okay, sit down, I understand the rest of your question.

So here's the story, folks. Number one, I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life. Number two, racism, the least racist person. In fact, we did very well relative to other people running as a Republican— Quiet, quiet, quiet.

See, he lied about—he was gonna get up and ask a very straight, simple question, so you know, welcome to the world of the media. But let me just tell you something, that I hate the charge, I find it repulsive.

I hate even the question because people that know me and you heard the prime minister—you heard Ben Netanyahu yesterday, did you hear him, Bibi? He said, I've known Donald Trump for a long time and then he said, forget it.

So you should take that instead of having to get up and ask a very insulting question like that.

Neither of those replies to direct questions about anti-Semitism remotely resembles Trump making it "abundantly clear that these actions are unacceptable." To the absolute contrary, his responses make it abundantly clear that the only action Trump finds unacceptable is being questioned about the rise of anti-Semitic violence during his campaign and presidency.

JCC threats, cemetery desecration & online attacks are so troubling & they need to be stopped. Everyone must speak out, starting w/ @POTUS.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 21, 2017

What she said.

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More Sessions

And in another scene from his confirmation hearing: Sessions incredibly suggests secular people may not understand the truth as well as religious people.

Yeah.

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Terrorism; torture; death; video may autoplay at link] ICYMI: Donald Trump praised Saddam Hussein yesterday: "While acknowledging that Saddam Hussein 'was a bad guy,' Trump praised the former Iraqi dictator's efficient killing of 'terrorists'—despite the fact that Iraq was listed as a state sponsor of terrorism during Hussein's time in power. ...'He was a bad guy—really bad guy. But you know what? He did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists. Over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism,' Trump said." This was, in fact, a reiteration of something he said on Sunday, telling Jake Tapper that the world would be better if dictators like Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi were still in power. Let us understand with both clarity and horror that this is essentially just another self-endorsement.

[CN: Anti-semitism] The above, of course, follows days of Trump engaging in anti-semitism, including tweeting an anti-semitic graphic about Hillary Clinton and his spokesperson giving an incredible statement to Fortune magazine: "[W]hen Fortune asked campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks about the vetting of the accounts Donald retweets, she replied by saying they 'are not vetted, known or of interest to the candidate or the campaign.' Perhaps they should be of interest, unless Donald is fine with being associated with white supremacists. Which is uncertain, given Hicks' incredible response when Fortune further asked 'whether or not Trump believes that white genocide is a legitimate concern.' Hicks simply refused to answer. That should have been a softball—an easy disavowal. But not for the Trump campaign."

[CN: Anti-semitism] Dana Schwartz, a Jewish employee of the Observer, owned by Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, writes a powerful open letter to her boss: "Please do not condescend to me and pretend you don't understand the imagery of a six-sided star when juxtaposed with money and accusations of financial dishonesty. I'm asking you, not as a 'gotcha' journalist or as a liberal but as a human being: how do you allow this? Because, Mr. Kushner, you are allowing this."

[CN: Misogyny] This is just a real headline in the New York Times about President Obama campaigning with Hillary Clinton yesterday: "How Obama Stole the Show at Hillary Clinton's Campaign Rally." Clinton cannot campaign with any other human (see also: Elizabeth Warren) and not get crappy headlines about how she was upstaged. And it's particularly shitty to tell this lie about Obama upstaging her when central to the day was their mutual respect for each other. A man and a woman, a white person and a person of color, praising each other as equals, peers, colleagues, friends. And you're gonna make shit up about upstaging? JFC. Does the media even consider the cost and consequences of their hatred of Hillary Clinton? Ever? (That's rhetorical.)

Damn: "House Democrats [strongly disagreed with] Sen. Bernie Sanders in a closed-door session Wednesday after he deflected questions about when he would formally back Hillary Clinton for president, with a group of members booing him at one point, according to three Democrats who attended the meeting. ...Many Democrats have been reluctant to publicly criticize Sanders for continuing his campaign because they want to ensure that the supporters he activated through the long primary contest will come out and vote for the Democratic ticket in November. But some members let out their frustration with the Vermont senator Wednesday morning, with one member calling Sanders' appearance before the caucus a 'total display of self-obsession.'"

[CN: Rape culture; sexual abuse; patient abuse] Fucking hell: "More than 2,400 U.S. doctors have been sanctioned for sexually abusing their patients, according to a new report that, for the first time, surveyed records from all 50 states and reveals the nationwide scope of a problem that may be almost as far-reaching as the scandal involving Catholic priests. State medical boards, which oversee physicians, allowed more than half the sanctioned doctors to keep their licenses even after the accusations of sexual abuse were determined to be true, according to a yearlong investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 'We found a culture of secrecy,' said Carrie Teegardin, a reporter on the paper's investigative team for the project. 'It's treated with a sort of secrecy that we don't see in other arenas when we're talking about allegations this serious,' she told ABC News."

[CN: Sexual harassment; coercion] Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson alleges that she complained to Fox News chief Roger Ailes about discriminatory treatment by her co-host Steve Doocy, and, in response, Ailes essentially tried to sexually blackmail her, then refused to renew her contract when his ploy didn't work. "According to the complaint, 'When Carlson met with Ailes to discuss the discriminatory treatment to which she was being subjected, Ailes stated: 'I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you'd be good and better and I'd be good and better,' adding that 'sometimes problems are easier to solve' that way. Carlson rebuffed Ailes' sexual demands at that meeting, and nine months later, Ailes ended her career at Fox News.'" Seethe. I have more on this at BNR.

[CN: Murder; domestic violence; video may autoplay at link] Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years for murdering Reeva Steenkamp. The sentence was "less than half the 15 year minimum term sought by prosecutors," but is significantly more than his original sentence for manslaughter carried, before the conviction was revised and elevated to murder, following public outcry.

[CN: War on agency] "With the new U.S. Supreme Court abortion ruling, some Pennsylvania lawmakers want to roll back provisions similar to those struck down in Texas—and to head off any new restrictions in a bill debated on the house floor in late June. Several legislators have called for repeal of Act 122, which was enacted in 2012 and mandates that Pennsylvania abortion clinics meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers." Glad to see Pennsylvania Dems being proactive on this one.

"Activists from around the world, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, gathered at the White House last week for a discussion on global LGBT rights. ...At last week's 'dialogue,' reports the Washington Blade, Power and [U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Gayle Smith] spoke about the White House's efforts to promote LGBT rights abroad in the wake of President Obama's 2011 directive to agencies that carry out American foreign policy. 'This presidential memorandum sets out to end the 'no-go zones' and to expand enjoyment of rights in a deep, deep way,' said Power."

[CN: Choice policing; homophobia] All the mirthless laughter: "Catholics in Philadelphia who are divorced and civilly remarried will be welcome to accept Holy Communion—as long as they abstain from sex and live out their relationships like 'brother and sister.'" Okay. And of course that was paired with continued homophobia: "New guidelines published by the conservative archbishop of Philadelphia this month also called on priests within the archdiocese to help Catholics who are attracted to people of the same sex and 'find chastity very difficult,' saying such individuals should be advised to frequently seek penance." Just stop. Stop.

Cool: "There has been growing excitement in the hallways and offices at Cern in Geneva over a so-called 'bump' in the data from the Large Hadron Collider's particle collisions. The LHC smashes two beams of proton particles together about 100m beneath the French-Swiss border. Scientists then scour the debris of these smash-ups for hints of previously undiscovered particles. Last year, out of trillions of such collisions, scientists detected more photon (light) particles being produced than expected—the aforementioned 'bump.' More precisely, they saw an excess of photon pairs with a combined mass of 750 Gigaelectronvolts (GeV). This could be the tell-tale sign of a new, heavy particle that's about six times more massive than the famed Higgs boson—discovered at Cern in 2012. The discovery of a new particle would be so exciting because the most widely accepted theory of particle physics, the Standard Model, can't explain everything we observe about the world around us."

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Paul Feig on Ghostbusters and funny women, again: "Working with funny women does make every genre you look at take a different turn, because they just haven't been done with women. And selfishly I love working with funny women." And then this omgggg: "Aside from Ghostbusters, if Feig could reboot any movie, what would it would be? 'Logan's Run. Just because it's such a great story.' In fact, a remake of the 1967 sci-fi thriller has been in the works for years, and Feig has a message for whoever ends up producing it. 'Do it well,' he laughs. 'Don't ruin my childhood!'" LOLOLOL BOOM.

And finally! "Guy Leaves Fake Animal Facts All Over Los Angeles Zoo." Okay, the koala one absolutely ended me. LOL!

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Bigotry Under Guise of "Religious Freedom" Dealt a Blow by US District Court

[Content Note: Homophobia.]

The Supreme Court wasn't the only court to deliver some good news yesterday:

A federal judge has ruled that Mississippi clerks cannot cite their own religious beliefs to recuse themselves from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves' ruling on Monday blocks the state from enforcing part of a religious objections bill that was supposed to become law Friday.

Reeves is extending his previous order that overturned Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage. He says circuit clerks are required to provide equal treatment for all couples, gay or straight.

BOOM. Thank you, Judge Reeves!

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In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Airline disaster] "Signals have been detected from one of the black boxes of the EgyptAir plane that crashed last month, French investigators have confirmed. They were picked up by the French vessel Laplace as it was searching the Mediterranean Sea. ...'The signal from a beacon from a flight recorder has been detected,' said Remi Jouty of France's Bureau of Investigations and Analysis. A priority search area has been established, he added. Laplace is using acoustic detection systems to listen to the locator 'pings' given off by the black boxes underwater. A specialist vessel carrying robots able to dive to 3,000 metres (3,280 yards) is due to arrive next week to help retrieve the devices." Fingers crossed that this will help provide much-desired answers for the family and friends of those lost.

[CN: War on agency] Restricting access to abortion doesn't stop abortion. It just forces pregnant people to turn to other methods of ending their pregnancies. "Five years into a wave of anti-abortion legislation that is without historical precedent, Johnston is not surprised. In fact, she is part of a rising chorus of abortion providers and activists who wonder if they are witnessing, as a direct result of those laws, a spike in women who are attempting to take matters into their own hands. ...Until recently, abortion rights activists treated stories like these as harbingers of the future if states continued to erode abortion rights. Thirty-eight states have passed more than 300 new abortion restrictions since 2010, laws that have shuttered dozens of abortion clinics across the south, west and midwest. But a growing number now reject the idea that these anecdotes represent the worst-case scenarios. And a small body of research has emerged to support them. Among the most eye-catching is a report, released in November, projecting that anywhere from 100,000 to 240,000 women of childbearing age in Texas—the site of the nation's most bruising abortion fight—have at some point attempted to induce their own abortions." Fucking hell.

In good news: "An influential body of rabbis passed a resolution last week calling for synagogues to be 'explicitly welcoming' to transgender people. As the country debates which bathrooms transgender people can use, the rabbis of Conservative Judaism officially declared their support of transgender rights. ...The Rabbinical Assembly called on synagogues, camps, schools, and other institutions affiliated with the Conservative movement to make sure their facilities meet the needs of transgender people and to use the names and pronouns that people prefer. It also encouraged Conservative institutions to advocate for national and local policies on behalf of transgender people. 'That is always the first job of the religious community, the faith community: to bring our Jewish values to bear on our real-life situations and the real people around us,' said Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, the executive vice president of the organization of 1,700 rabbis."

Relatedly: "Should it reach his desk, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, says he'll sign the House version of a transgender rights bill which has been stalled in the legislature for several months. ...'The bill approved by the Senate and the version that is set to be passed by the House on Wednesday would allow people to use the restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity and would protect transgender people from discrimination in barber shops, malls, libraries, restaurants, and other public accommodations.'"

In more (qualified) good news: "US survey shows dramatic rise in acceptance of same-sex relationships: US public acceptance of sexual activity between two adults of the same sex has nearly quadrupled since 1990. According to a national survey of more than 30,000 Americans, those who view sexual activity between two adults of the same sex as being 'not wrong at all' increased from 13% in 1990 to 49% in 2014. The shift was even greater for adults under the age of 30, with the proportion rising from 15% to 63% during the same time period." The qualification, of course, is that it's still not 100%. But quadrupled acceptance is still pretty terrific!

[CN: Police brutality; racism; death] "Just over a month after a jury found him guilty of killing Eric Harris, an unarmed Black man, former Tulsa County Reserve Sheriff's Deputy Robert Bates has been sentenced to four years in prison. Tulsa World reports that yesterday (May 31), District Judge William Musseman concluded a four-hour hearing by following the jury's sentencing recommendation of four years for the second-degree manslaughter conviction. It is the maximum punishment allowed for the charge." But real justice will not come until no more Black people are murdered by police.

[CN: Racism; class warfare; homelessness] "While the path from kindergarten through college can be tough for anyone, two government reports released this month outline the particular difficulties facing poor black and Hispanic students, as well as the higher education hurdles confronting homeless and foster youth. One Government Accountability Office (GAO) study shows increasing isolation of poor students of color in K-12 education. And, their schools have fewer resources. Another GAO report says homeless and foster youth graduate from college at a sharply lower rate than other students. The two groups also have a difficult time navigating bureaucratic rules that make it harder for them to secure financial aid for college." Only in a nation of bootstraps fairytales could we even imagine that it could be any other way.

[CN: Rape culture] Baylor University chancellor Ken Starr is reportedly resigning "as a matter of conscience." Oh. I guess that means he feels pretty guilty that he got busted not giving a shit about football players raping people.

Hillary Clinton is going after Donald Trump as a con man. That is a pretty good and also very accurate strategy!

Good grief: "Donald Trump Actually Does Not Know What Brexit Is." Of course he doesn't.

Neat! "Close-up imagery of Pluto's surface has scientists wondering how the dwarf planet's terrain came to be. The photos, which show expansive mountain ranges and valleys, were taken by the New Horizons probe in July 2015 and were released by NASA this week. 'We traveled 3,000 miles and found something a lot like the Earth,' says Alan Stern, New Horizons' principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. 'It was a big surprise.'" (What Stern means is that they traveled 3,000 miles around Pluto, I believe, since Pluto is 4.67 billion miles from Earth, lol.)

And finally! A compilation of joyous cats greeting their humans after long separations. Because dogs shouldn't get all the attention for loving their people!

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Hey Catholic Bishops! If You Don't Want to Be Called Bigots, Then Dial Back the Bigotry

[Content note: queerphobia, hostility to marriage equality, hostility to reproductive agency]

To: The Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, President of the US Council of Catholic Bishops

CC: Members of the USCCB

BCC: @Pontifex

From: Aphra Behn, Associate Professor of Historical Ladybusiness

Re: "Made For Freedom" Video

Dear Archbishop Kurtz:

Greetings! You know, it's been a while since I've written one of these. In fact, I think this is the first one I've written to you. (I might have written one or two or ten to your predecessor, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.) So anyway, hi, how are you doing, I hope your collar is starchy and your mitre is pointy and and your crosier is crooked today! And all that. Howdy!

I'm writing to talk to you about the swell new video the UCCB has released as part of its "Marriage: Unique for a Reason" campaign. In it, you feature people from the Heritage Foundation and the Alliance Defending Freedom with hot takes like this (courtesy The New Civil Rights Movement):

Arguing that Catholics should be able to discriminate in public, Heritage Foundation's anti-gay spokesperson Ryan T. Anderson says in the video that the "most important thing now is to protect the freedom to be faithful in the public square." He goes on to insist that Catholic institutions (which receive state and/or federal funding) "shouldn't be penalized because of their faith, because of their beliefs."

But much of the video features anti-gay attorney Kellie Fiedorek with the Christian legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom. "...As an attorney, I represent a number of clients who are being punished and coerced by the government to change their views on marriage," Fiedorek notes. "We're seeing this happen to florists, to bakers, to photographers, we're seeing this happen to judges and to clerks who are authorized to solemnize weddings and have a religious objection to doing so....The implications of the redefinition of marriage for religious freedom are vast," says Fiedorek. "I think that the short term effects we will see will first come in the attempt to silence people of faith, or people that hold a conviction that marriage is something sacred, something special, they will be silenced. Whether that's by the government, or simply out of fear."

..."If in any way shape or form, you disagree with the prevailing narrative about what is appropriate in terms of sexuality, same-sex marriage, even a hint of it, it sort of takes the air out of the room," says Gloria Purvis. "People begin to think you're closed minded, you're a bigot, and you're hateful.

All that, plus lots of filmy shots of female brides and male grooms clutching hands, toothily grinning at each other, attending pre-Cana, serving the poor and needy, wandering around in 80s concept music videos, etc.

So here's my own hot take: if you don't want to be called a bigot, then maybe don't act like a bigot.

That was good, huh? For no extra charge, I will throw in specifics:

1. Why are you obsessed with same-sex marriage? There are many conditions that prevent a sacramental Catholic marriage, or one that the church recognizes as valid if not sacramental. Admittedly it's been a few years since I graduated from Catholic high school but (a) I did take the prize in religion class and (b) I seem to recall that there are many conditions preventing Catholic recognition of a marriage. Special dispensations are generally necessary for a Baptized person to marry a non-Baptized person, such as a Catholic marrying a Jew or lifelong atheist. (The whole interfaith marriage is a really complicated issue.) I seem to recall that an annulment of the previous marriage was necessary for a formerly divorced person to marry in the church (and such annulments are far from automatic). And there's something about being in good standing with church law. That means living together with your intended is a big no-no. If memory serves, a Bishop could even deny marriage, like any other sacrament, to a person who publicly advocates positions contrary to the teachings of the church (such as being pro-choice).

And yet, curiously, you are not fervently campaigning against divorce and premarital sex between straight people. Don't get me wrong: I'm sure priests and teachers are promulgating formal Catholic doctrines in these areas. But not with the singular passion you have about same-sex marriage. Your cool videos and "defense of marriage" FAQs and your big-bucks campaigns are disproportionately focused on homophobic narratives with a generous helping of anti-birth control on the side. (Maybe the utter failure of the latter to persuade most ordinary Catholics should tell you something.)

In short: the disproportionate focus on same-sex marriage, among all the many forms of marriage you discourage or disallow, sure does look and feel discriminatory! What's that saying? If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a wombat!

2. Why are you partnering with horrible bigots? So, the guy you're quoting from the Heritage Foundation is notorious for using junk science to promote anti-LGBTQ positions, and for just outright lying about easily disprovable claims. Via Media Matters:

In his Heritage Foundation report, "Marriage Matters: Consequences of Redefining Marriage," for example, Anderson claimed that the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts forced Catholic adoption agencies to close (false) and resulted in public schools being forced to teach children about same-sex marriages (also false). He's repeatedly warned that legalizing same-sex marriage would create a slippery slope to "throuples" -- three people in a marriage -- and polygamy.

In 2014, Anderson twice parroted the bogus story ordained ministers in an Idaho town being "forced" to perform same-sex marriages or face jail time. In reality, the ministers had received no threats of any legal action from the town and were able to remain exempt from local non-discrimination laws by registering their chapel as a religious non-profit.

In an error-filled report criticizing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would have prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, Anderson claimed that extending non-discrimination protections to LGBT employees would create "special privileges" and punish workers who have religious convictions about homosexuality.

Anderson also routinely conflates homosexuality with pedophilia, and touts harmful conversion therapy as an effective way to change people's sexual orientation. In short: he lies and twists facts in order to paint a marginalized group as twisted and harmful. That's pretty much a definition of bigotry, right there.

And how about your other pals? Well, Kellie Fieodorek has a neat history of equating LGBTQ folk with KKK members, for a start. Her bosses at the ADF have enthusiastically promoted laws that would give jail time for gay sex. One of their attorneys has called Matthew Shepard's death a hate crime hoax. Of late, they've been busy trying to make sure trans kids can't safely use the bathroom. And they were the geniuses behind Arizona SB 1062, which would have allowed any business owner to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of sincere religious belief. This was so extreme that Jan Brewer vetoed it. Yes, that Jan Brewer. (Which hasn't kept the ADF from drafting more of these laws in other states, of course! Wheee!)

In short: when you hang around with hideous bigots, people just might conclude you are... also not a wombat, if you get my drift.

So, I'm sorry to have gotten this to you so late, because I realize I could have saved you a whoooole lot of money that you just spent on a garbage video. What I am suggesting is pretty simple, and it doesn't even involve the repudiation of Catholic doctrines about same-sex marriage. (For the record, I don't agree with those, either! But I'm trying to meet you halfway, okay? I will even bring lunch, if you let me.) In any case, I think I can solve your great anxiety about being seen as horrible bigots!

First: Treat same-sex couples getting married with precisely the same amount of concern (or lack thereof) that you treat other couples getting married who don't happen to meet Catholic standards. To be clear, I'm actually not suggesting you pour your money into videos about the evils of divorced people people getting married down at the local Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. I think you can figure this out. Do you encourage Catholic caterers, florists, dressmakers, and the like to refuse service to divorced brides and grooms? Do you tell Catholic JPs they shouldn't preside at the civil marriages of interfaith couples, or couples who have been living together? No? Then stop doing so for perfectly legal same-sex marriages.

Second: Stop allying yourself with hateful bigots who openly advocate anti-LGBTQ positions that are blatantly at odds with Catholic teaching about treating LGBTQ folk decently. If I recall, Catholic teaching talks about treating gay people with "with respect, compassion, and sensitivity." Now admittedly, I'm no Most Reverend or even Mildly Reverend, but I don't see much respect, compassion, or sensitivity in promoting laws that jail people for having sex, or torturing kids with bogus "therapy,"or promoting hateful untruths about Matt Shepard.

So that's my advice about this big problem you have with people perceiving you to be bigoted! I sure do hope you find it helpful. If you find yourself having the urge to partner with assholes, single out queer folks for discrimination, or say silly things about ladies, well... you can always write back. Any time!

Most Irreverendly Sincerely,

Aphra Behn

(Commenting note: please take care in comments to distinguish the Catholic Bishops from ordinary Catholic practitioners, many of whom are completely appalled by the discriminatory words and action of their leadership. Thanks.)

Open Wide...

Shut Up!

In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

Today is Malcolm X Day, and would have been his 91st birthday. To mark the day at Colorlines, Kenrya has compiled nine of his "Most Important Quotes About Freedom and Justice."

RIP Morley Safer. The 60 Minutes mainstay has died at age 84. My condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and fans.

[Content Note: Carcerality] "Chelsea Manning has formally appealed against her conviction and 35-year prison sentence for leaking a huge cache of government documents, arguing that her punishment was 'grossly unfair and unprecedented.' Describing the sentence as 'perhaps the most unjust sentence in the history of the military justice system,' attorneys for Manning complained that she had been portrayed as a traitor to the US when 'nothing could be further from the truth.' 'No whistleblower in American history has been sentenced this harshly,' states the appeal, which also alleges that Manning was excessively charged and illegally held while awaiting trial in conditions amounting to solitary confinement. It suggests that her sentence be reduced to 10 years."

[CN: Homophobia] Good grief: "In a chaotic floor vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, an amendment to a defense authorization bill that would have blocked funding from anti-LGBT government contractors was rejected after a last minute rally from Republicans. The amendment was put forth by openly gay Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney. He initially had the votes to pass the measure until Republicans made a last ditch effort to block it, which they did narrowly by one vote. Maloney's amendment would have voided a provision in the defense authorization bill passed Wednesday by Republicans which provides broad 'religious freedom' exemptions for religious and religiously affiliated organizations that receive federal contracts. Those exemptions can be used to discriminate against LGBT people." I am so sick of "religious freedom" being invoked to cloak bigotry.

[CN: War on agency] Goddammit: "Lawmakers in the US state of Oklahoma have passed a bill that would make the act of performing an abortion a crime. Under the bill, a doctor who performs an abortion could be sentenced to up to three years in prison and be barred from practicing medicine the state. Abortion is legal in the United States and abortion-rights activists say the bill is unconstitutional." And they "say" that because it is.

[CN: Abortion stigma] "Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in a New York Times Magazine interview published Wednesday tried to spin his controversial suggestion that abortion patients should be punished if the GOP outlaws the procedure. 'I didn't mean punishment for women like prison. I'm saying women punish themselves,' Trump claimed when questioned about saying in March that patients should face 'some form of punishment' for receiving abortion care. 'I didn't want people to think in terms of 'prison' punishment. And because of that I walked it back.'" 1. Bullshit. 2. Fuck you.

In totally not breaking news, Trump's a liar: Although he claims to never settle his court cases, Think Progress found 13 times he did.

[CN: Misogyny; fat hatred] I mean: "A [Louisiana] state representative proposed—then pulled—a measure in the state House Wednesday that would have required strippers in Louisiana to be no older than 28 and weigh no more than 160 pounds. Associated Press Capitol reporter Melinda Deslatte reported via Twitter that the House was discussing a bill to raise the age minimum for strippers to 21. During the discussion, state Rep. Kenneth Havard, R-Jackson, proposed an amendment to the bill that would make it against the law for strippers to be older than 28 and weigh no more than 160 pounds. According to Deslatte, state Rep. Julie Stokes, a Kenner Republican, was outraged by the amendment, telling her colleagues that she's 'never been more repulsed to be a part' of the Legislature." I can't imagine why. There's so much dignity in being part of a legislative body where your colleagues are submitting legislation based on what gives them a boner.

[CN: Video autoplays at link] In better news: NEW GHOSTBUSTERS TRAILER!!!

Whoa: "Traces of tsunamis on Mars are the newest clues yet that the Red Planet once had oceans, which could have supported life, researchers said. These killer waves might have been triggered by giant meteor impacts, scientists added. Although the surface of Mars is now cold and dry, there is a great deal of evidence suggesting that an ocean's worth of water covered the Red Planet billions of years ago."

Neat! "A new species of horned dinosaur has been unearthed by scientists in southern Utah. Remains of the animal, named Machairoceratops cronusi, suggest it was about 26 feet long, weighed two tons and ate plants. The first traces were found a decade ago in an area rich with the remains of centrosaurines—large-bodied, plant-eating dinosaurs that roamed North America and Asia 77 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period."

And finally! Looooooove: "Stray Dog Walks into Police Station, Gets a Job: 'Everyone loves him. He will have everything he needs for as long as he lives.'" ♥

Open Wide...

Shut Up!