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‘Sweet Cakes’ Baker Melissa Klein: The State Took ‘God’s Money’ From Us

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After not paying state-ordered damages since July, the Sweet Cakes By Melissa bakers claim the government cleaned out their bank accounts.

Sweet Cakes By Melissa owners Aaron and Melissa Klein in July were ordered by the State of Oregon to pay $135,000 in damages to a same-sex couple who had tried to buy a wedding cake from them. The damages were ordered by the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), which is in charge of administering and enforcing the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

The Kleins, in short, refused.

(The case is rather complex, and NCRM explains it all in our report: “Almost Everything You’ve Heard About The Anti-Gay Sweet Cakes Wedding Cake Case Is (Probably) Wrong.”)

They claimed at first that since they were appealing the decision, the shouldn’t have to pay the couple, then grew even more defiant, saying they did not recognize the BOLI’s authority. Aaron Klein said, “I didn’t get due process, I don’t call it legally binding.”

It wasn’t that the Klein’s couldn’t afford it. Right wing religious zealots angered that a same-sex couple’s rights were being legally upheld donated over a half-million dollars to the Kleins, so cash wasn’t a problem.

But the Kleins have been enjoying the attention and notoriety they gained by positioning themselves as victims. They milked that for all it was worth, appearing at right wing political conferences, telling their side of the story, and gaining sympathy while fueling the right’s anti-gay hate.

It wasn’t long before the Klein’s drew the attention of Fox News religion reporter and opinion writer Todd Starnes, one of the most factually-challenged reporters in the cable news network’s conglomerate.

Back in February, Starnes wrote a piece on the Kleins so riddled with errors it was amazing he wasn’t rebuked by his Fox News editors – if he actually has any. He was, however, rebuked by the BOLI for his false reporting.

In April on Facebook, Starnes posted a request to his 200,000 fans asking them to donate to the Klein’s GoFundMe account.

UPDATE: Sweet Cakes Bakers Still Actively Fundraising, Cash Pouring In

One week in July Starnes wrote three articles about his “dear friends” the Kleins. One of those articles was titled, “Bakers who refused to make lesbian wedding cake told to pay $135K by Monday — or else.”

So it should not have come as a surprise to Starnes, or the Kleins, that the State of Oregon, after waiting many months for them to pay their bill, came and took the money from them. At least, that’s what Starnes reported today, claiming “Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries … confiscated all the cash in Mrs. Klein’s checking account and savings account as well as a special account set aside for their church tithe.”

“Yes, friends – the state of Oregon stole money meant for our Lord,” Starnes accuses.

Starnes says Melissa Klein told him her family “had three accounts.” 

“I have one account that’s labeled, ‘God’s money’ – our tithing. They just took it.”

Starnes writes that he “predicted that once gay marriage was legalized, LGBTQIA supporters would attempt to silence all dissent.”

Pity he didn’t realize the LGBT community is not “silencing dissent,” as he puts it. As in every state, Oregon voters elected lawmakers who created Oregon’s laws, among them, that the people believe discriminating against LGBT people because they are LGBT is wrong.

And it’s equally a pity that Starnes doesn’t understand that the same laws prohibit people of faith – including the Christians Starnes has appointed himself to defend – from being discriminated against also.

 

EARLIER:

Bakers Who Allegedly Quoted Leviticus When Refusing To Sell Wedding Cake To Same-Sex Couple Finally Pay Bill

Same-Sex Couple In Sweet Cakes By Melissa Case Received Death Threats

GoFundMe Cancels Sweet Cakes By Melissa Fundraising Campaign, Bakers Blame ‘Satan’

Final Verdict In Oregon Bakers Case Comes To $135,000 – Right Wing Furious Over ‘Gay Fascism Tax’

 

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‘Popping Champagne’: Russia Scoffs, Snubs Trump’s 100% Tariff Ultimatum

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President Donald Trump was quickly mocked by political observers on Monday over his highly-teased threat to impose a 100% tariff on Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire deal with Ukraine in 50 days.

Now, it appears Russia is also mocking the American President’s “ultimatums,” declaring they refuse his terms and will continue to attack the sovereign nation of Ukraine until their goals are met: namely, seizing control of key Ukrainian territory and permanently blocking the country’s accession into NATO.

“In response to President Trump’s threat to impose 100% secondary tariffs on countries that do business with Russia if Putin’s government does not agree to a deal to end the war in that timeframe, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Tuesday that ‘any attempts to make demands, especially ultimatums, are unacceptable to us,’ according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency,” CBS News reported.

READ MORE: ‘Divine Providence’: Johnson Paints Trump as ‘Miraculously’ Spared by God

“If we cannot achieve our goals through diplomacy,” Ryabkov added, “then the SVO (war in Ukraine) will continue… This is an unshakable position. We would like Washington and NATO as a whole to take it with the utmost seriousness.”

On Monday, Trump effectively tanked a bipartisan Senate bill that would have imposed a 500% tariff on nations doing business with Russia, saying he did not believe it was necessary, although he would not oppose it. Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune pulled the bill.

“Trump’s Russia announcement is being portrayed as toughening his stance,” wrote The New York Times’ Peter Baker, “but in fact what he did was give Putin a 50-day free pass to do anything he likes in Ukraine without further US punishment as the Senate sanctions bill is now put on hold.”

“Moreover,” he added, “the Russians have paid attention and realize that Trump deadlines tend to be less than firm so they have already indicated that they don’t take this one all that seriously.”

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

And on Tuesday, providing Russia with more good news, Trump said he did not think Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be targeting Moscow with missiles.

“Ukraine shouldn’t target Moscow even though Moscow targets Kyiv every day, and the U.S. is not looking to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles,” wrote the Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign-affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov. “Everyone in the Kremlin who thought for a few hours that Trump may be serious about pressure on Russia is popping champagne 🍾”

During the 2024 campaign Trump promised to end the war “on day one.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

 

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‘Divine Providence’: Johnson Paints Trump as ‘Miraculously’ Spared by God

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House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson paid tribute to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, portraying him less as an elected leader and more as a divinely chosen figure. He declared that Trump had been “miraculously” spared from an assassination attempt during the 2024 campaign, so that he could go on to enact his “America First” agenda by signing into law the GOP budget—his so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, a sweeping package of tax cuts and government spending.

Speaker Johnson, widely viewed as a Christian nationalist, told reporters (video below) that during last year’s assassination attempt that left one bystander dead, “God miraculously spared the president’s life.”

“I think it’s undeniable, and he did it for an obvious purpose. And his presidency and his life are the fruits of divine providence,” declared Johnson. “He points that out, obviously, now all the time, and he’s right to do so.”

READ MORE: ‘Dumb-Dumb’: Fox News Host Declares Rising Democrat a ‘Mental Deficient’ Amid Senate Buzz

“As President Trump has lived since with the acknowledgment, everyday since, he has acknowledged that each new day isn’t guaranteed to us,” Johnson claimed. “It isn’t to any of us, and that’s why we’re not wasting any time. That’s why he remains so strong and resilient. It’s why we have such a sense of urgency. President Trump took a bullet to his head. He got up shortly thereafter. He pleaded with the crowd to fight, and then he went on to win a historic election, less than four months later. America’s changed because he survived that day.”

Johnson’s rhetoric contains several hallmarks of fascistic rhetoric, including deification of a leader and positioning him as a figure chosen by God to do God’s work.

Critics responded to Johnson’s remarks.

“How far is it from divine providence to divine right and absolutism?” asked journalist and author Nikolaus von Twickel.

READ MORE: ‘Absolute Cringe’: DHS Ridiculed After Attacking CNN Report—by Confirming It

“This is the Speaker of the House publicly and confidently espousing Christian Nationalist talking points and characterizing a profoundly, unrepentantly sinful man as a quasi-deity,” noted award-winning author Jennifer Erin Valent. “Every true believer needs to call this out for the blatant heresy that it is.”

Utah Democratic state Senator Nate Blouin declared, “this is insane rhetoric and it’s disturbing to see people of faith embrace it.”

“This nation was formed by patriots fleeing this kind [of] purple Dominionist cant,” television writer and playwright Hal Corley wrote. “Presidents are not anointed like divine right royalty and such doctrinaire rhetoric should be condemned.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: At Faith-Based Event Trump Courts Religious CEOs, Uses Expletive, Calls Dems ‘Evil’

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Trump Vowed to Slash Prices and ‘End Inflation’—Inflation Just Hit Highest Level in Months

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Despite President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that there is “no inflation,” consumer prices jumped in June, rising to an annual rate of 2.7%—the highest level in months. Economists cite the President’s tariffs, now beginning to take effect, along with rising costs for food, energy, and rent.

The Consumer Price Index increase “is slightly higher than expected and is up from an annual pace of 2.4 percent in May,” according to The New York Times.

ABC News called it “a notable surge of price increases as President Trump’s tariff policy took hold.”

“Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for President Donald Trump, who promised during last year’s presidential campaign to immediately lower costs,” the Associated Press reported Tuesday, noting that inflation “rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of a range of goods.”

READ MORE: Rollins Slams Medicaid, Touts Healthy Food to Cut Health Care Costs—GOP Cut Both Programs

As far back as August of 2024, Trump vowed, “Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods.”

Days later, he added, “Under my administration, we will be slashing energy and electricity prices by half within 12 months, at a maximum 18 months.”

Fast forward to just one day before Election Day: “A vote for Trump means your groceries will be cheaper,” he promised.

READ MORE: ‘Absolute Cringe’: DHS Ridiculed After Attacking CNN Report—by Confirming It

Economists and economic experts say the Trump tariffs, a tax on certain imported goods from certain countries that are expected to jump August 1, are leading to higher prices for American consumers.

“Tariffs are starting to raise prices,” observed Heather Long, a Washington Post columnist and the chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union.

“This is just the beginning,” she added. “But we need to watch food closely. Increases there are really tough on middle class and moderate-income households.”

Long pointed to several categories of imports and listed their price jumps:

“Linens +5.9%, Oranges +4.7%, Olives +4.4%, Cookware +4%, Audio equipment +2.9%, Major appliances +2.4%, Coffee +2.2%, Sports equipment +1.8%, Toys +1.4%,” while noting that eggs are down 10.8 percent.

Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, a former top Biden administration official, wrote simply, “Thanks for raising our cost of living with your inane tariffs @realDonaldTrump.”

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) noted, “Trump and Republicans are hurting our economy and increasing your costs.”

READ MORE: At Faith-Based Event Trump Courts Religious CEOs, Uses Expletive, Calls Dems ‘Evil’

 

Image via Reuters

 

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