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Gay Connecticut Official Investigating American Family Association Now Target of Conservative Hate Campaign

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Comptroller Wants to Ensure All Groups Receiving Donations Through State Employee Program Meet Nondiscrimination Requirements

The American Family Association is attacking the State of Connecticut’s comptroller after he launched an investigation to ensure the anti-gay group is eligible to receive donations from a state employee payroll deduction program. In response to the letter the comptroller, Kevin Lembo, sent the American Family Association, the AFA has responded publicly, by lying.

State official demands AFA discard its Christians beliefs,” reads the lie, a call to action posted to AFA’s website. That post includes links to Lembo’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and a letter supporters of the anti-gay hate group can use, along with Lembo’s email address and two telephone numbers to contact him.

“This is a state government official coming directly after your AFA,” the post continues, “and the letter is nothing more than an attack on AFA for standing strong for Biblical principles. Moreover, it is an unconstitutional attack on the First Amendment rights of all religious organizations,” which of course is false.

Lembo late last month, after an employee brought the American Family Association’s participation in the program to his attention,  sent a letter stating that based on their actions and statements they’ve made on their website it appeared the AFA did not meet the state program’s nondiscrimination requirements. He requested they provide proof that they did, including signed documents attesting to their nondiscrimination practices.

The American Family Association appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of active anti-gay hate groups. And while they call themselves a “ministry,” they and their employees, as NCRM has chronicled over the past eight years, are a purveyor of lies and anti-LGBT hate.

“We have a responsibility to donors to ensure that participating organizations abide by the rules and regulations,” of the Connecticut State Employee Campaign for Charitable Giving program, Lembo’s letter reads, “particularly those that ensure inclusiveness and protection against discrimination.”

The voluntary program “allows Connecticut State Employees to contribute to non-profit charities at the workplace through the convenience of payroll deduction,” its website states.

Because Connecticut’s generous state employees have donated to date this year almost $1.4 million to several hundred charities, the AFA is angered they might be cut off from the Connecticut cash spigot. There is no reason state employees could not donate directly to the AFA but organized programs like the CSEC are very lucrative for many non-profits.

Lembo tells a local Connecticut NBC affiliate (video above) that he’s received over 10,000 emails from AFA supporters who oppose his actions. He says about ten percent of them are “over the top.”

The Family Research Council, another organization that appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s anti-gay hate groups list, is  now joining the attack against Lembo:

On Twitter, anti-gay supporters of the AFA have done their best to be as vile, offensive, or just plain ignorant as possible. A sampling (caution):

 

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‘This Is a War’: Hochul Joins Blue-State Map Push in Gerrymander Arms Race

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In strongly worded remarks, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared “war” in response to President Donald Trump’s demand that Texas eliminate Democratic-held congressional seats through redistricting. Refusing to let New York operate at a disadvantage, Hochul blasted Texas Republicans as “law-breaking cowboys” and vowed to work to dismantle her state’s independent redistricting commission so she could redraw the maps on equal terms.

Governor Hochul met with Texas Democratic state lawmakers who fled the state to deprive Republicans of a quorum. Republicans are trying to vote on new maps that would likely boost the Lone Star State’s congressional Republican delegation from 25 to 30, reducing the seats Democrats hold by five.

“I have a news flash for Republicans in Texas,” Hochul announced. “This is no longer the Wild West. We’re not going to tolerate our democracy being stolen in a modern day stagecoach heist by a bunch of lawbreaking cowboys.”

READ MORE: Trump Melts Down Over Elizabeth Warren’s Accusations

Urging “fairness,” she said that Americans “don’t want a system that is stacked against them,” are done with “chaos” and “cruelty,” and are ready to vote Republicans out.

“With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process,” she said, and “when we say that we cannot use that power to its fullest, then we’re abdicating the responsibility that we all have.”

“This is a war. We are at war,” Hochul declared, while also noting that “All’s fair in love and war.”

“The gloves are off, and I say, ‘bring it on.'”

READ MORE: Top Trump Adviser Rejects ‘Rigged’ Numbers Narrative

Calling it a “political arms race to redraw the boundaries of congressional maps,” Politico reported that Hochul has “embraced the full-fledged gerrymandering of congressional districts in New York to favor Democrats.”

“The redistricting skirmish in New York is one front in a much larger battle nationwide,” Politico also reported.

The list of blue states that are considering, discussing, or already legislating to redraw their maps mid-decade, once unheard of, is growing. In addition to New York, California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, and Washington reportedly are all in various stages.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump’s ‘Rare’ Nuclear Sub Deployment Follows Epstein Scandal, Jobs Slump, Critics Say

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Trump Melts Down Over Elizabeth Warren’s Accusations

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President Donald Trump, appearing to watch an interview with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren in near or real time, blasted the Massachusetts Democrat after she called him out on his campaign promises to lower costs for the American people on his first day in office.

Inflation—including prices on key commodities like beef—has been rising, a fact the President has repeatedly denied, instead insisting that there is no inflation.

“Remember, Donald Trump ran for office saying he would lower costs on day one,’ Senator Warren told CNBC on Monday morning (video below). “Cost of groceries are up, cost of housing is up, cost of healthcare is up. And where is Donald Trump? He’s passing a signature bill to throw people off their health care so he can do tax cuts for billionaires.”

READ MORE: Top Trump Adviser Rejects ‘Rigged’ Numbers Narrative

“Democrats are the people who say billionaires actually should pay their fair share, and that we need to focus on affordability for American families,” she continued. “And that’s what we’re out there fighting for.”

She then doubled down on social media after her interview:

“What’s going on with Trump’s economy? – Inflation is up. – People are worried about finding a job.  – Groceries are getting more expensive. No matter how hard he tries, Trump can’t distract from his broken promise to lower costs on ‘Day One.'”

President Trump attacked Senator Warren on his Truth Social website.

“In just 6 months, I cut costs, especially Energy and Taxes, Tremendously. Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren, on CNBC, said costs have gone up. She is just angry that I blew up her terrible Presidential Campaign. Call her out!!!” he demanded, riling up his base.

READ MORE: ‘Dangerous and Corrupt’: Critics Slam Trump for Firing Labor Stats Chief Over Jobs Report

He went on to say, “Elizabeth Warren is a LOSER! She lies about everything, including the fact that she is an Indian. She’s NOT. She’s no Pocahontas!!!”

And concluded with, “Ask Pocahontas the real questions, CNBC!!!”

A recent poll found that with inflation and unemployment rising, a majority of Americans say President Donald Trump is to blame for increased prices and the high cost of living. Many are turning to credit cards and other high-interest vehicles to pay for even basic necessities.

“American families are struggling financially, and 6 in 10 place blame on Donald Trump for driving up their cost of living,” reported progressive think tank The Century Foundation last week, with data from a Morning Consult poll that it sponsored. “More than half believe that billionaires, corporations, and congressional Republicans have made their lives harder,” while the “majority of voters feel the Trump administration’s actions are making their problems and anxieties worse—not better.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump’s ‘Rare’ Nuclear Sub Deployment Follows Epstein Scandal, Jobs Slump, Critics Say

 

Image via Reuters

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Top Trump Adviser Rejects ‘Rigged’ Numbers Narrative

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As controversy mounts over President Donald Trump’s indiscriminate, unilateral firing of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics on Friday, his top economic adviser, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett—one of the administration’s most visible defenders—appeared to break with the President’s justification for the firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer.

After being reminded that the markets believed the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ substantial downward revisions of numbers for April and May, wiping out a huge portion of any jobs gains, Hassett was asked: “Do you think we are starting to see a real slowdown in the jobs market?”

Rather than support Trump’s claim that “the numbers were phony,” “wrong,” and “rigged,” Hassett told CNBC, “Yeah, I think that the jobs numbers were slower than we expected.”

READ MORE: ‘Dangerous and Corrupt’: Critics Slam Trump for Firing Labor Stats Chief Over Jobs Report

And then he explained the process, and why BLS does revisions.

“I think that, like, one of the explanations for revisions is they have more complete data, and so I think it is likely that the revisions are a better read of the data if they’re not being manipulated, and so, yeah, I would say that it’s a little bit weaker,” he acknowledged before promoting President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” that guts Medicaid, SNAP, and cuts Medicare.

But he doubled down, declaring that while he believes “there are a lot of really good reasons to be super optimistic about the second half of the year,” he said, “absolutely that jobs number, if the revision turns out to be true, does suggest that there’s less momentum than we thought.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump’s ‘Rare’ Nuclear Sub Deployment Follows Epstein Scandal, Jobs Slump, Critics Say

 

Image via Reuters

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