I Didn't Say It ....

Pete Buttigieg, Democratic presidential hopeful, on how he’s going to deal with countries that are anti-LGBTQ:

“When we show leadership, people respond, and that includes when we show by an election that we’re an inclusive country—whether that’s about an LGBT leader or in some other way—that other country leaders would actually be, to some extent, forced by world opinion to make some advancements. It’s one of the things that’s at stake right now if America is not trusted, is not respected, then it won’t much matter what we have to say about that or any other human rights issue.”

Pete wants an America that welcomes everyone and treats everyone equally.

How, in any way shape of form, in anyone’s mind, is that a bad thing?

photo

Karen Pence, homophobe and wife of Vice President Michael Elisabeth Pence, on Pete Buttigieg’s questioning of her “husband’s” faith:

“It’s kind of funny because I don’t think the vice president does have a problem with him. But I think it’s helping Pete to get some notoriety. In our country, we need to understand, you shouldn’t be attacked for what your religious beliefs are.”

Says the woman who works at a religious school that denies entrance to the LGBTQ community.

Says the woman whose husband works with, and supports, a man who advocated banning all Muslims from the United States because of their religion.

Says the woman married to a man who tried to make it law that people running a business could use their so-called faith to discriminate, who voted for a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality, who advocated conversion therapy as a means to fight HIV, who supports the transgender military ban.

That’s Karen and Michel Elisabeth Pence. For them religion is a weapon of intolerance, bigotry and discrimination.

Take a seat, Karen, God is watching you and She isn’t happy.

photo

Ryan Reynolds, hot actor, on what he thought of Pose actor Billy Porter’s Oscars ensemble, a Christian Siriano couture masterpiece and if he’d ever wear a similar look:

“I loved that guy. He was easily the coolest looking human of that whole night. [And] you know what? The day is young and, man, he made that look good – so who knows?”

Porter was easily the best, fabulously dressed, and I love that Reynolds loves it, and that the idea of dressing like that is something he might actually do.

photo 1, 2

Chasten Buttigieg, Mayor Pete’s husband, on his husband, and their future:

“So I’ve had a busy couple months. Never underestimate what can happen when you agree to go on a date with a cute guy from South Bend, Indiana. I now live in a world where people take photos of me in the deodorant aisle at the grocery store, but it is not lost on me that I was able to marry the man I love by the grace of one Supreme Court vote. [One day] I could be the first man in history to pick out the White House china. We need someone in the White House who will sign the Equality Act into law, and luckily I know a guy. My husband Pete Buttigieg—you can call him Mayor Pete—was commissioned as a naval intelligence officer when ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was still the law of the land, and served a seven-month tour in Afghanistan when a certain vice president was governor of his home state. Peter is ready to serve our country in the highest office, and just as importantly I think America is ready for him. Over the last three months of traveling the country at his side, meeting people from all walks of life, we have discovered that people are united in protecting our values of freedom, Democracy and security. Especially freedom to live an authentic life regardless of who you love or how you identify.”

His husband would make a great president and Chasten would be an excellent First Gentleman.

photo

Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and daddy of _____’s lying spokes-idiot, Sarah, saying The Gays are the “greatest threat” to America:

“The biggest threat to biblical principles today is the failure to apply a biblical standard of maleness and femaleness. We are creating this illusion that there is no gender, there is no identity, and I’m blaming the Christian Church. [California’s introduction of “no-fault divorce” in 1970 was] when we first started losing that sense of sacredness of what marriage meant. So I’m not really that surprised that same sex-marriage has become in vogue because the Christian Church were the ones who essentially abdicated a strict responsibility about what biblical marriage should look like. There are some people who are in single parenthood, not because they want to be, but because they were forced to be. And we ought to give [them] all the support. But we should never pretend that it is as good as a loving mother and father in a home where a child sees both genders play out their norms because that’s the modeling of behavior that would be ideal for a child to grow up in.”

Um, how do I say this? Oh, yeah, fuck off. This bigot once signed a pledge calling same-sex parents “destructive,” and a “threat to security,” and vowed to sign an executive order to protect “traditional” marriage and prosecute as hate crimes any attacks on the right of religious people to discriminate against LGBT people should he become president.  He has also compared same-sex marriage to incest and drug use.

So, again, fuck off, has been, the only reason anyone talks to you is because your daughter is the goose-stepper rabid dog of a traitorous president.

Quite a legacy, Mike.

photo

John Kerry, former Secretary of State, praising Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her part in the Green New Deal, and denouncing the GOP for their complete lack of effort:

“There are a lot of different proposals on how to proceed. I don’t know that any of them are coming from your party or your side of the aisle. Do you have a plan to deal with climate change? I think you said you’re not sure of the science, but my focus is on how we’re going to move forward. In proposing what she has proposed together with Senator Markey, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has in fact offered more leadership in one day or one week than President _____ has in his lifetime on this subject.”

Well, that’s because AOC has a brain and uses his, while ______’s head is filled with cheese.

photo

Shawn Mendes, boy singer, on his Calvin Klein underwear ad:

“[It was] a goal of mine at the top of 2018. As much as it’s a stepping stone for me to play a stadium, it’s a huge moment for me to step in front of a camera and take my shirt off. I don’t see one being less meaningful than the other.”

Wait, so filling a stadium with fans desperate to hear you sing is the same as striping to your skivvies for a photograph and a fat paycheck?

Priorities much?

photo

I Didn't Say It ....

John Kerry, Secretary of State, on yesterday’s remarks by Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh:

"The United States is deeply troubled by the hateful rhetoric used by President Jammeh in his National Day speech on February 18.  All people are created equal and should be able to live free from discrimination, and that includes discrimination based on sexual identity and sexual orientation. We call on the Government of The Gambia to protect the human rights of all Gambians, and we encourage the international community to send a clear signal that statements of this nature have no place in the public dialogue and are unacceptable. Human rights and fundamental freedoms belong to all individuals. The United States stands by you no matter where you are and no matter who you love."

Jammeh called The Gays ‘vermin’ and said LGBT stand for ‘Leprosy, Gonorrhea, Bacteria and Tuberculosis; all of which are detrimental to human existence’. He’s also said he will decapitate any homosexuals in his country.

Good on Kerry.

Terrell Thomas, cornerback for the New York Giants, thinks the world is ready for gay athletes, but the NFL isn't:

“You just look at what happened this year with the Miami Dolphins' situation. That became something we were being asked about every day in our locker room, and it wasn't even our team. And they're the kinds of questions where you have to think carefully about how you phrase things.”

Oh, so he wants to keep The Gays out of professional sports because he’s worried he’ll have to think before he speaks?

Seriously?

Tony Perkins, FRC wingnut, crying about the marriage equality lawsuits springing up all over America:

"SPLC [Southern Poverty Law Center], which for decades has denied their pro-homosexual bias, is shooting for Alabama's marriage amendment, arguing that the law that defends man-woman unions 'demeans' homosexuals. … If there is a silver lining to the lawsuit, it's that the American people will finally see SPLC for what it is: not neutral, not a third party, and certainly not a credible source of information. Who are they, funded by extreme homosexual activists, to label people who oppose their agenda as 'hate groups?' While the media relies on SPLC as an independent mediator of great public debates, the reality is that they are."

So, wait, let me get this queer: denying marriage to The Gays doesn’t demean them, according to Tony, but allowing The Gays to marry demeans traditional marriage?

And because the SPLC stands up for the rights of The Gays they are homosexual activists?

Huh, I thought it was just about equality.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers QB, on Michael Sam and gay players:

"I think when he steps into that locker room, everyone's going to know that he's there to help us win games. And that's why you're in the NFL, to help us win games. No one cares if you're black, white, straight, gay, Christian, Jewish, whatever it may be. When you step on that field you're a member of in my case, the 49ers. Or the Carolina Panthers. That's your job. That's your occupation."

Snap. And that’s all that should matter: can he play? Can he help the team?

Not, hmmm, is he looking at me?

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers QB on the same topic:

"Absolutely. His job is a linebacker. Colin said it best when he said we don't worry about each other outside of football. Of course we have, 'Are you ok? Is there anything I can help you with?' But we're football players. We're in this organization for one reason and one reason only. And if you're helping us to attain success, your personal life is your personal life."

It’s funny that it’s mostly coaches and management that seem to be worried about The Gays and football.

Most players have the same attitude as Kaepernick and Newton.

Most players.

Ted Cruz, on Obama and marriage equality:

"This administration is the most hostile to traditional marriage administration this country has ever seen. The administration has been using the authority of the federal government to try to force states, to force federal recognition of marriages that state law prohibits. The Obama administration came into Utah and said, ‘We’re not going to listen to what the U.S. Supreme Court said. We, the federal government, are going to recognize marriages in the state of Utah and Utah state law explicitly does not recognize as marriage’ and that was really, in my view, an abuse of power."

Oh Ted, you whiny little puissant.

Two questions

No.1: What exactly is a traditional marriage, because not all opposite-sex marriages are identical?

And B) The federal government wants to recognize all marriages, same-sex and opposite-sex for the purposes of federal benefits, even in Utah, or any state where same-sex marriage is not yet legal.

They aren’t telling Utah the state must accept same-sex marriage.

Quit trying to fear bait people with your lies.

Neil Francis, former Irish Rugby star and sports commentator, also weighs in on Michael Sam:

 “This is a different coming-out than any other. I was in the States, and I was watching Missouri [Sam’s college team] play, before they got to the Cotton Bowl, and I noticed this guy because he was very flamboyant, and y’know, a bit of a showman, and a very good player. No question about that. And I think it was Jimi Hendrix that said, ah, y’know, talking about Janis Joplin’s death, y’know: ‘Great career move’. So, is this - what is the motivation for coming out?”

Um, maybe we come out so we can live our lives openly and honestly, wingnut.

If there wasn’t such a stigma on being gay, especially in professional sports, gay athletes wouldn’t have to come out, they’d be out.

Neil Francis, stepping in it even deeper:

 “You do a survey of the hair-dressing industry and find out how many heterosexuals work in that … Professional sport, by its very nature, doesn’t promote, y’know, sort of, there are a wide range of people who are homosexual, and, that exact, the environment that they’re in isn’t something that they’re interested in … What are their interests? I mean, If you’ve ever sat down with, y’know, homosexual people, and asked them what their interests are, very often they have no interest in any kind of sport. That’s my experience from sitting down with them; I’ve done it on a regular basis.”

Um, have you noticed how many professional athletes have come out after playing, Neil?

That alone proves your argument is ridiculous.

And don’t get me started on how often you um, sit down, with the “homosexual people.” I’d be careful, lest people start thinking you’re one of us.

Francis has since apologized for his remarks saying they don't sound like him.

M'kay ...

DNC Voices

So, after a day full of GOP stupidity, I needed to end with something more positive, intelligent, and uplifting.....

President Barack Obama:

‎"We don’t want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we don’t want bailouts for banks that break the rules. We don’t think government can solve all our problems. But we don’t think that government is the source of all our problems – any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we’re told to blame for our troubles."

Sandra Fluke:

"Your new president could be a man who stands by when a public figure tries to silence a private citizen with hateful slurs. Who won't stand up to the slurs, or to any of the extreme, bigoted voices in his own party. Our president, when he hears a young woman has been verbally attacked, thinks of his daughters -- not his delegates or donors -- and stands with all women. And strangers come together, reach out and lift her up. And then, instead of trying to silence her, you invite me here -- and give me a microphone -- to amplify our voice. That's the difference."

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver: 

"Look, if being liberal and progressive means that I care for children and whether they go hungry, color me! Color me a Democrat! If being a Democrat means I'm concerned about our seniors in the sunset of their life, color me Democrat! Color me liberal! After all, we are the ones who protected Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, who fought for fair wages and who ended 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' We are Democrats! And don't you ever forget it!"

Zach Wahls:

"Governor Romney says he's against same-sex marriage because every child deserves a mother and a father. I think every child deserves a family as loving and committed as mine. Because the sense of family comes from the commitment we make to each other to work through the hard times so we can enjoy the good ones. It comes from the love that binds us; that's what makes a family. Mr. Romney, my family is just as real as yours. President Obama understands that. He supports my moms' marriage. President Obama put his political future on the line to do what was right. Without his leadership, we wouldn't be here. President Obama is fighting for our families… all of our families. He has our backs. We have his."

Former President Bill Clinton:

"So — so President Obama and the Democrats didn’t weaken Medicare; they strengthened Medicare. Now, when Congressman Ryan looked into that TV camera and attacked President Obama’s Medicare savings as, quote, the biggest, coldest power play, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry — because that $716 billion is exactly, to the dollar, the same amount of Medicare savings that he has in his own budget. You got to get one thing — it takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did."

Vice President Joe Biden:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m here to tell you, bravery resides in the heart of Barack Obama.  And time and time again, I witnessed him summon it. This man has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart, and steel in his spine. And because of all the actions he took, because of the calls he made–and because of the grit and determination of American workers–and the unparalled bravery of our special forces–we can now proudly say—Osama Bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive."

Representative Tammy Baldwin:

"Our president has made historic progress toward equality. He repealed "don't ask, don't tell" so that no American ever again has to lie about who they are in order to serve the country we love. Republicans want to write discrimination into our Constitution. But the Wisconsin I know believes that with each passing year and each generation, our country must become more equal, not less."

Eva Longoria:

"Mitt Romney would raise taxes on middle-class families to cut his own — and mine. And that’s not who we are as a nation, and let me tell you why: because the Eva Longoria who worked at Wendy’s flipping burgers — she needed a tax break. But the Eva Longoria who works on movie sets does not....And just like our president and first lady, I took out loans to pay for school. I changed oil in a mechanic shop, I flipped burgers at Wendy’s, I taught aerobics and I worked on campus to pay them back."

Senator John Kerry:

"...after more than 10 years without justice for thousands of Americans murdered on 9/11, after Mitt Romney said it would be naive to go into Pakistan to pursue the terrorists, it took President Obama, against the advice of many, to give that order and finally rid this earth of Osama bin Laden....Ask Osama bin Laden is he is better off now than he was four years ago."

Former Florida Governor, and Republican, Charlie Crist:

"That's the leader Florida needs. That's the leader America needs. And that's the reason I'm here tonight, not as a Republican, not as a Democrat, but as an optimistic American who understands that we must come together behind the one man who can lead the way forward in these challenging times: my president, our president, Barack Obama!"

Tammy Duckworth, veteran:

"President Obama pushed for fairness in the military, listening to commanders as we ended Don't Ask Don't Tell, and on how to allow women to officially serve in more combat jobs. Because America's daughters are just as capable of defending liberty as her sons!"

Lilly Ledbetter, equal pay activist:

"Maybe 23 cents doesn't sound like a lot to someone with a Swiss bank account, Cayman Island Investments and an IRA worth tens of millions of dollars. But Governor Romney, when we lose 23 cents every hour, every day, every paycheck, every job, over our entire lives, what we lose can't just be measured in dollars."

Michelle Obama:

"When you've worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity…you do not slam it shut behind you…you reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed."

If You're Not Sure Where The GOP Stands....It's In The Pocket Of Big Oil

Senate Republicans have foiled President Obama’s plan to strip $24 billion in tax subsidies from the country’s largest oil companies, in order to make the high price of gas an issue in this election year.

The 51-47 vote was mostly along party lines, with most Democrats voting in favor of eliminating the subsidies, though the vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to withstand a filibuster. Only Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both of Maine, joined the Democrats.

The four Democrats who voted Republican are  Jim Webb of Virginia, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Begich of Alaska; Begich and Landrieu represent states with large oil revenues.

Go figure.

Senator John Kerry said of the vote: “It’s an opportunity missed for the Senate to make the tax code fairer and smarter. We could’ve made a down payment on energy independence and stopped having taxpayers subsidize the country’s most profitable companies at the same time. These were tax subsidies that even President Bush and I agreed were a waste, and more than ever, Americans paying soaring gas prices don’t need to subsidize these companies this way any longer.”

President Obama, in a Rose Garden speech, slammed oil companies on huge profits: “On top of these record profits, oil companies are also getting billions a year in taxpayer subsidies--a subsidy they’ve enjoyed year after year for the last century. Think about that. It’s like hitting the American people twice.”

Think about that the next time you fill up, and grouse over the high cost. Think of the high cost and think of whom the GOP blames for that.

Then, remember who voted alongside Big Oil.

source