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Astonishing NOM Lie: ‘Gay and lesbian people already enjoy full equal rights under the law.’

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Brian Brown, president of NOM, the National Organization For Marriage, last night claimed that “Gay and lesbian people already enjoy full equal rights under the law,” a clear lie. Same-sex couples are legally prohibited frBrown, who issued the claim in response to President Obama’s historic call for full LGBT equality in his inauguration speech, also “criticized President Obama’s decision to use his Inauguration Day address to further divide the nation on the question of what is marriage,” in a press release posted to the NOM blog:

“They have the same civil rights as anyone else; they have the right to live as they wish and love whom they choose. What they don’t have is the right to redefine marriage for all of society. In fact, six federal courts have rejected the idea that there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court in a summary decision in 1972. Furthermore, the vast majority of states have codified the commonsense view held for thousands of years that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. The President is profoundly wrong to imply that those who have acted to protect marriage have denied anyone’s rights by doing so.”

Curiously, Brown was forced to go back in history four decades, to 1972, to support his claims. Meanwhile, in the 21st century — an era which Brown conveniently forgot to mention — dozens of federal judges have declared DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 that bans the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, unconstitutional, and branded his special brand of anti-gay animus as reason to toss California’s Prop 8 out the window.

Also, Brown’s ludicrous lie of “the commonsense view held for thousands of years that marriage is the union of a man and a woman,” flies in the face of same-sex unions blessed by Christian Churches centuries ago, and the fact that the Bible itself supported men marrying as many women as they could afford. It wasn’t long ago that Mormonism supported polygamy, as other religions do to this day.

“A presidential inauguration should be a time for the nation to come together; instead President Obama chose to voice his support for a radical agenda advanced by some of his biggest campaign contributors to redefine marriage for everyone,” Brown claimed, which, again, is false.

When women were given the vote, was it redefined? Did we call “voting” something else when only male landowners were allowed to vote? Was marriage called something else before Blacks and whites were allowed to marry each other in this country?

“Marriage brings our nation together. The concept of gay ‘marriage’ would have been totally alien to our founding fathers, and the protection and advancement of marriage between one man and one woman will immeasurably serve the common good of this country and further strengthen our Union. Today the President should have thrown his support behind this beautiful vision of men and women coming together in love to raise the next generation. Nonetheless, we pro-marriage Americans pledge to defend the institution which the President has chosen to undermine once again.”

The National Organization For Marriage is facing a devastating reality that its anti-gay hatred, its corporate policy of promoting racial division, and its anti-equality raison d’être, is a losing battle, as the majority of Americans for several years, in poll after poll, and now in elections across the nation, from Washington state to Washington D.C., from Maryland to Maine, have voted to extend the institution of marriage to same-sex couples.

Clearly, we can continue to expect heightened rhetoric from Brian Brown and his National Organization For Marriage, as they continue to lose their fight.

 

Related:

NOM’s Marriage Anti-Defamation Spokesperson: Obama Is A Terrorist

NOM: ‘Americans remain strongly in favor of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.’

NOM: In 2009 We Spent $8 Million Fighting Same-Sex Marriage

New NOM Poll: ‘Should Obama Force Homosexual Marriage On Everyone?’

NOM’s New Anti-Gay Ad Suggests Gay Parents More Likely To Abuse Kids

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‘Concerns From Mar-a-Lago’: Speaker Johnson Boots Pro-Ukraine Intel Chair in ‘Big Shakeup’

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has taken the unusual step of removing U.S. Representative Mike Turner (R-OH) as Chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Turner, a center-right lawmaker, is well-regarded on both sides of the aisle for his strong commitment to traditional Republican principles, particularly in matters of national security and defense.

Punchbowl News first reported the move, which CNN’s Annie Grayer is calling a “big shakeup.” Punchbowl’s Andrew Desiderio adds that “Turner is one of the biggest Ukraine supporters among Republicans on the Hill and is also very involved with NATO. Much more hawkish than Trump-aligned R’s would like.”

CBS News’s Margaret Brennan reports Turner told her that Speaker Johnson “cited ‘concerns from Mar a Lago’ as justification for the removal.”

Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes (D-CT) weighed in with concern on the removal of his colleague: “I have confidence that Mike Turner would do the right thing. The fact that he may have been removed just sends a shiver down my spine,” he said, as Semafor’s Kadia Goba reported.

READ MORE: Marjorie Taylor Greene Targets Former Biden Official’s Religious Faith in House Hearing

Politico called Turner “an outspoken advocate for Ukraine funding and other hawkish national security stances.”

Axios noted that Turner “has at times broken with party leadership in a way that angered his GOP colleagues.”

“Most notably, he put out a jarring but cryptic statement last February warning of a ‘serious national security threat’ that turned out to be about Russian nuclear anti-satellite weapons.”

Last year, then-Chairman Turner agreed that Russian propaganda was a problem in the GOP, and that some Republican members of Congress had even spread it on the House floor.

“There are members of Congress today, who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which of course it is not,” Turner told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly made that same false claim.

Turner was one of the few Republicans to oppose then-Congressman Adam Schiff’s censure. He also did not sign Johnson’s U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election.

READ MORE: Pam Bondi Refuses to Say Trump Legitimately Lost the 2020 Election in Confirmation Hearing

In 2022, Turner was one of just 47 House Republicans who voted to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, protecting existing same-sex and interracial marriages.

Heath Mayo, founder of the pro-democracy center-right group Principles First observed, “Demoting some of the few serious and competent people the House GOP conference has to offer. That’s Trumpism, though. Intelligence and expertise are threats. As a result, American leadership gets dumber and weaker.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Vowed ‘100%’ to End Ukraine War Before Inauguration — Now He Says It’s ‘Up to Putin’

 

This article has been updated to add reporting from CBS News.

Image: U.S. Space Force photo by Tiana Williams via Wikimedia Commons/public domain

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Targets Former Biden Official’s Religious Faith in House Hearing

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During a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) invoked God and religion to harshly question Martin O’Malley, the former Commissioner of the Social Security Administration and a former Governor of Maryland, about his personal views on abortion and his Catholic faith.

In her highly confrontational interrogation of O’Malley, a longtime Democrat who also served as Governor of Maryland for eight years and ran for president in 2016, Congresswoman Greene, a self-avowed Christian nationalist, invoked his Catholic faith to attack his beliefs about abortion.

“Since you’re very interested in being DNC chair, you are after all a lifelong Democrat politician — I don’t even know if you had a job in the real world, but you have been an elected politician for years,” Greene accused (video below). “Mr. O’Malley you’re also a Catholic, are you not?”

“I am,” O’Malley confirmed.

READ MORE: Trump Vowed ‘100%’ to End Ukraine War Before Inauguration — Now He Says It’s ‘Up to Putin’

“Do you serve God or do you serve the Democrat Party?” Greene asked.

“I serve God,” O’Malley responded.

An off-camera committee member interjected: “Mr. Chairman, as a Roman Catholic, I take offense at the suggestion that somebody has [inaudible] to God and their service as a Catholic.”

Greene tried to talk over the objection, which went unaddressed by the Republican majority chair.

“Mr. O’Malley, will you be supporting the murder of the unborn up until the day of birth like your party does? As DNC chair, will you be supporting the murder of innocent unborn people? Is that in line with your faith in God and the Catholic Church?” Greene said, appearing to grandstand.

“I trust the judgment of women and doctors over the judgment of government,” O’Malley patiently replied.

“Now, do you trust God’s judgment?” Greene continued. “Do you trust God that he loves and has created every single human being? Do you support the murder of unborn children and are you going to uphold that evil practice that the Democrat Party wants to continue? You see, abortions over 95% of them are unintended pregnancies. They use abortions as birth control. So are you going to continue the birth control practice of murdering the unborn children as chair of the DNC? Will that be, that be a policy?”

READ MORE: Pam Bondi Refuses to Say Trump Legitimately Lost the 2020 Election in Confirmation Hearing

O’Malley, appearing to near the end of his patience, replied, “I am pro-choice, and I trust the judgment of women and their doctors over judgments of government.`

“Well, thank you for letting God know where you stand with the murder of —” Greene snapped back before O’Malley interjected.

“I talk to God every day,” he declared.

“Yeah, well you might want to talk to him a little bit more, Mr. O’Malley, because you’re definitely in the wrong,” Greene charged.

The Republican from Georgia was not finished.

Minutes later she posted a short clip of her attack on O’Malley to social media, and wrote: “WATCH: ‘Catholic’ Martin O’Malley confirms abortion is the sacrament of the Democrat Party.”

O’Malley has been called “a Pope Francis Democrat” and a “a pray-every-morning, church-every-Sunday” believer, according to a 2015 Religion News Service article.

Watch the video below or at this link.

RELATED: ‘Antisemitism Is Wrong, But’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Pilloried for Promoting Antisemitic Claim

 

Image via Shutterstock

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Trump Vowed ‘100%’ to End Ukraine War Before Inauguration — Now He Says It’s ‘Up to Putin’

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On the campaign trail last year, candidate Donald Trump, time after time, not only suggested he could swiftly bring an end to Russia’s unlawful war against Ukraine, but at times even insisted he could—and would—do it before being sworn into office. But with Inauguration Day fast approaching, President-elect Donald Trump has washed his hands of a peace settlement, instead declaring that any resolution is now entirely in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I would fix that within 24 hours, and if I win, before I get into the office, I will have that war settled. 100% sure,” Trump said on Fox News in March 2024, HuffPost reported.

“Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled — we’re going to get it settled and stop the death,” Trump adamantly told supporters in June 2024.

READ MORE: Pam Bondi Refuses to Say Trump Legitimately Lost the 2020 Election in Confirmation Hearing

“I would fix that within 24 hours, and, if I win, before I get into the office, I will have that war settled. 100% sure,” Trump vowed as far back as March 2023.

“If I’m president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours,” Trump said again just months later, at a CNN town hall in May 2023, as TIME reported. “It will be over. It will be absolutely over.”

These are just a few of the many times Trump promised to personally end Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Now, he has an entirely different set of promises.

Sunday night, during an interview with Newsmax, Trump was asked, “You’ve said you want the Ukraine war ended in 6 months. What is the strategy to do that?”

“Well, there’s only one strategy,” Trump replied, “and it’s up to Putin. And I can’t imagine he’s too thrilled with the way it’s gone, because it hasn’t got exactly well for him either. And I know he wants to meet and I’m gonna meet very quickly.”

READ MORE: Torture? Shoot Protesters? Greenland? Question After Question, Hegseth Refused to Answer

“I would’ve done it sooner but…you have to get into the office. For some of the things, you do have to be there,” Trump conceded, Reuters reported.

At a press conference last week, Trump went from promising peace before he took office, to six months after.

“I hope to have six months,” Trump told reporters, USA Today reported, before adding, “I hope long before six months.”

Trump has named Keith Kellogg to be his Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia.

Kellogg, appearing to attempt to split the difference, settled on a timeline for peace of just over three months.

“Let’s set it at 100 days and move all the way back and figure a way we can do this in the near-term to make sure that the solution is solid, it’s sustainable, and that this war ends so that we stop the carnage,” he said, HuffPost reported.

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Loyalty to a Tyrant’: Cheney Invokes Jack Smith’s Report to Warn Senate on Trump Nominees

 

Image via Reuters

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