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Let It Go, GOP.

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LGBT equality is happening. For it or against it, the perception battle has been resolved. For decades both sides of this conflict have been making their cases to the American people. Equality fans have argued that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is immoral, and in no way holds up to the Jeffersonian standards our society is built on. It is also impractical, mean spirited, costly and generally shameful in just about every conceivable way. On the other side, our opponents maintain that it is in fact LGBT people that are immoral, because of Jesus. Over time, more and more people have come to embrace the concept of LGBT equality over the mean spirited prejudicial view of homosexuality, in increasingly dramatic numbers. At last count, some 54 members of the Senate now support marriage equality, and recent polling shows the same level of support nationwide.

Despite what considerable legal challenges remain from the days when our leaders used to spend their time attempting to legislate gay people out of existence, the theoretical fight, the “conversation,” is over. We won. Bigots lost. Even Limbaugh knows it.

“This issue is lost,” he said. “I don’t care what the Supreme Court does. This is inevitable. And it’s inevitable because we lost the language on this.”

Limbaugh added that conservatives lost the debate because they allowed the term “marriage” to be “bastardized.”

“As far as I’m concerned, once we started talking about gay marriage, traditional marriage, opposite-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, hetero marriage, we lost,” Limbaugh said. “It was over.”

As our rhetorical victory begins to translate in to judicial and legislative success, being opposed to LGBT equality will increasingly become a marker of the small minded and hateful, and over time will force equality foes farther and farther into the margins of what is acceptable in polite society. This process is inevitable, and has only now begun to really take hold. As of this moment, the path of bigotry has forked away from what is acceptable in the mainstream, never to meet again.

This is, objectively, a tough spot to be in for anti-gay folks. Unfortunately for them, their decades of fighting social progress will inevitably be viewed by people in the future as the loathsome and despicable efforts of small minded primitives, who for no discernible reason chose to oppress what will be by then an entirely accepted segment of society. It will be similar to how we in the present view segregationists of the past.

Meanwhile, many anti-gay activists who have spent years going on record saying and doing things their grandchildren will be mortified about now have to figure out how to gracefully disengage from the hate movement in a way that might help them retain some level of respectability in a world where bigoted behavior toward homosexuals will no longer be tolerated. Some people will have genuine changes of heart, while others will be simply protecting their careers and reputations, but the abandoning of these stale attitudes has already started happening. Many casual equality foes have already started to make this shift, leaving the remaining culture warriors in increasingly extreme and unflattering company. Simply standing alongside these people will soon bring a damaging mark of intolerance.

All the while, we in the equality movement still have fighting to do. The natural impulse of those who remain committed to anti-gay activism will be to double down on hate, shifting to a strategy of obstruction designed to make this inevitable outcome as difficult to achieve possible. This will have the effect of delaying needed legal changes, prolonging the suffering of LGBT families across the nation, and putting LGBT youth in needless danger. This obstruction will slow down, but won’t stop our progress, and serves only to further tarnish the reputations of those engaged in the effort.

Beyond any moral considerations, this is a tremendous waste of resources, especially in service of a fight whose outcome is already determined. The fighting could stop today, provided those with no stake in the matter would simply come to their senses and drop their fruitless and ultimately doomed opposition. As people that have no actual stake in the matter, they could simply give up and move on with their lives. We don’t have that option, as it is our own equality for which we fight.

I think I have a solution that can help resolve this matter quickly. I am proposing an anti-gay amnesty program. The idea here goes beyond a simple armistice. This is about absolution and forgiveness. It gives bigots a convenient exit from their opposition, while at the same time lightening the load for the equality movement. Everyone wins.

The terms are simple. Stop. Just stop. Stop fighting. Stop saying horrible things about us. Stop trying to take our children away. Stop trying to get us fired from our jobs. Stop attacking us, and demonizing us, and trying to make our lives difficult and miserable. You have to give up eventually unless you want this subject to forever defame and define you, so get it out of the way now. Disavow your previous opposition in every way. You don’t have to like us, you don’t even have to really change on the inside. Just lay down your arms, and walk away. If you can do that, if you completely knock off 100% of the hate and get out of the way of equality, we should agree to let you off the hook for every horrible thing you’ve ever done to our community.

I don’t care if you are Tony Perkins or Brian Fischer, if you agree to those terms, if you completely disavow your previous efforts and commit yourself to equality, we will exempt you from the judgment of history. Simply give a speech or release a statement about how you’ve evolved, or how God spoke to you, or whatever you want to do that will allow you to save as much face as you can, and then drop all of your opposition. Think about something else for a change. Surely your energy would be better spent on some other task. I don’t need to see you at pride, I just need you to get out of the way of history.

Simple. Let it go, and we will too.

Now is the time for you to separate yourself from those too foolish to take advantage of this offer. Who do you want to be? The last bigot standing? Or one of the people who took a brave stance in the face of hate, and stood up for what is right? Are you the hero, or the villain in this story? The outcome is determined, and you still have time to decide. You’ll be surprised how quickly our community embraces you. We really are friendly people, when we aren’t being compared to pedophiles and bestiality aficionados.

Consider my offer carefully, because rejecting it comes at a cost. Those who choose not to take this generous opportunity for amnesty will find themselves in increasingly smaller and more extreme rooms, and will become the David Dukes of the next generation. Once the legal matters are decided, our mission will become one of protection, warning the good people of our nation about the dangerous fringes of our society that are bent on destroying honest gay citizens for no reason other than general animus. We will be talking about you. We know your names, and will be making sure everyone else knows them too. Expect boycotts. Expect protesters. Expect outrage every time you so much as look at a television camera. Only shame and disgrace awaits you, and you will carry the weight of it to the grave.

You know those fears you have about losing the ability to publicly express your views on how disgusting gay people are without being labeled a bigot? That fear is valid. That fear means that you know I’m right. You understand what the future holds. You have reached your Scrooge moment. I’ve shown you your future, and now it’s Christmas morning. Your fate can be avoided. There is still time for redemption. You just have to act now. The window is closing quickly, so don’t hesitate.

Image by DonkeyHotey

Benjamin PhillipsBenjamin Phillips is an Essayist, Web Developer, Civics Nerd, and all around crank that spends entirely too much time shouting with deep exasperation at the television, especially whenever cable news is on, and proudly serves as Director of Development for The New Civil Rights Movement. He lives in St. Louis, MO and spends most of his time staring at various LCD screens, occasionally taking walks in the park whenever his boyfriend becomes sufficiently convinced that Benjamin is becoming a reclusive hermit person. He is available for children’s parties, provided that those children are entertained by hearing a complete windbag talk for two hours about the importance of science education, or worse yet, poorly researched anecdotes PROVING that James Buchanan was totally gay. If civilization were to collapse due to zombie hoards or nuclear holocaust, Benjamin would be among the first to die as he has no useful skills of any kind. The post-apocalyptic hellscape has no real need for homosexual computer programmers who can name all the presidents in order, as well as the actors who have played all eleven incarnations of Doctor Who.

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News

Stephen Miller’s Latest Rant Prompts Priest to Cite Goebbels Propaganda

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15 hours ago

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July 11, 2025

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Stephen Miller’s latest anti-immigrant rant is drawing attention, including from a well-known Catholic Jesuit priest, who appeared to liken the White House Deputy Chief of Staff’s remarks to those made by Hitler’s notorious Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, in 1941.

Miller, one of the most powerful members of the Trump administration, is seen as the principal architect of the President’s anti-immigration and deportation policies.

“U.S. Marines on the streets of Los Angeles. Masked immigration officers at courthouses and popular restaurants. Bans on travelers from more than a dozen countries,” Reuters reported on Friday. “For senior White House aide Stephen Miller, the architect of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, things were going according to plan.”

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Denouncing the city government of Los Angeles as “waging a campaign of insurrection against the federal government,” Miller on Friday painted a scenario without undocumented immigrants in remarks made to Fox News.

“Let’s be very clear,” he said. “What would Los Angeles look like without illegal aliens?”

“Here’s what it would look like: You would be able to see a doctor in the emergency room right away, no wait time, no problem. Your kids would go to a public school that had more money than they know what to do with. Classrooms would be half the size. Students who had special needs would get all the attention that they needed.”

“There would be no violent transnational gangs. There would be no cartels. There would be no Mexican Mafia. There would be no Sureños. There would be no MS-13 There would be no TdA.”

“You would be living in a city that would be safe, that would be clean, there would be no fentanyl, there would be no drug dens,” he alleged. “That could be the future Los Angeles could have, but the leaders in Los Angeles have formed an alliance with the cartels and their criminal aliens.”

READ MORE: Record Majority of Americans Support Immigration in Massive Blow to Trump Agenda

Some of Miller’s claims are incorrect. For example, public schools often receive state funding in part based on the number of students and their attendance rate. Fewer students in classrooms means fewer dollars. And federal funding is tied to the number of low-income students and students with disabilities.

Miller’s claims about fentanyl and “drug dens” also don’t hold up. Most fentanyl comes into the U.S. via U.S. citizens, according to the Cato Institute.

Father James Martin, editor-at-large for America Magazine, which is published by the Jesuits, responded to Miller’s remarks by posting a quote from Goebbels:

“The enemy is in our midst. What makes more sense than to at least make this plainly visible to our citizens?”

It’s not the first time Father Martin has responded to Miller’s anti-immigrant rants with a quote.

In April, he quoted the Bible:

“‘I was a stranger and you did not welcome me’ (Matthew 25).”

See Martin’s post and video of Miller’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Racial Profiling’: Border Czar Blasted for Claim ICE Can Detain for ‘Personal Appearance’

 

Image via Shutterstock

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Record Majority of Americans Support Immigration in Massive Blow to Trump Agenda

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17 hours ago

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July 11, 2025

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A record-high majority—nearly eight in ten Americans—now view immigration positively, with similarly strong support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants—particularly those brought to the U.S. as children. The Gallup poll also found that most Americans favor maintaining or increasing current immigration levels.

Meanwhile, large segments of the public oppose expanding the number of immigration enforcement agents—a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Overall, just 35% of Americans approve of Trump’s immigration policies, while 65% disapprove.

Gallup’s report deals a major blow to the very core of President Donald Trump’s agenda, and his “One Big, Beautiful Bill” that dramatically increases spending on immigration enforcement, including detention camps, deportations, and removal, even to third-party countries.

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“Americans have grown markedly more positive toward immigration over the past year, with the share wanting immigration reduced dropping from 55% in 2024 to 30% today,” Gallup reported on Friday. “At the same time, a record-high 79% of U.S. adults say immigration is a good thing for the country.”

“These shifts reverse a four-year trend of rising concern about immigration that began in 2021 and reflect changes among all major party groups,” the top-rated pollster also reported.

Now, just 38% of Americans support deporting all undocumented immigrants, in vast contrast to the stated Trump agenda. That’s down from 47% last year.

In what could be seen as a warning to the GOP, Gallup notes that “the desire for less immigration has fallen among all party groups, but it is most pronounced among Republicans, down 40 percentage points over the past year to 48%.”

Just this week, several top Trump administration officials have continued to promote his anti-immigrant policies.

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins this week told reporters there will be “no amnesty” for undocumented farm workers while insisting adults on Medicaid could replace them.

“There will be no amnesty, the mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way, and we move the workforce towards automation and 100% American participation,” Secretary Rollins said.

Republican Senators have been promoting the Trump anti-immigrant agenda as well. On Thursday, U.S. Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL) called Democrats who oppose the often warrantless raids and tactics used by the DHS’s frequently masked ICE agents, “ignorant pawns of a subversive anarchist agenda.”

President Donald Trump’s and the Republican Party’s budget, which Trump signed into law last weekend, is tremendously unpopular, including his exponential expansion of immigration enforcement budgets, as well as aspects that gut vital social safety net programs like Medicaid and Medicare.

Critics praised Gallup’s findings.

“Nativism had its 6 months and now it’s clear that it’s not the answer,” wrote Cato Institute Director of Immigration Studies David J. Bier.

NBC News senior national political reporter Sahil Kapur, pointing to the Gallup statistics, called it “backlash politics.”

“Turns out, mass kidnappings and deportations are deeply unpopular when put into practice,” observed New York State Democratic Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher.

See the social media post above or at this link.

READ MORE: Luxury Air Force One, Rose Garden Reno? ‘Priorities’ Says Trump Budget Chief

 

Image via Reuters

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‘Racial Profiling’: Border Czar Blasted for Claim ICE Can Detain for ‘Personal Appearance’

Published

20 hours ago

on

July 11, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s hand-picked border czar, Tom Homan, is facing backlash from legal and political experts after asserting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents do not need “probable cause” to detain individuals—and can do so based on factors like “personal appearance.”

“Look, people need to understand,” Homan told Fox News on Friday. ICE officers “don’t need probable cause to walk up to somebody, briefly detain and question them.”

“They just need to tally the circumstances, right?” he claimed. “They just go through their observation, you know, get out typical facts based on the location, the occupation, their physical appearance, their actions.”

“A uniformed border police officer walks up to them, for instance, at a Home Depot. And they got all these … facts, plus the person walks away or runs away,” Homan said, offering one scenario. “Agents are trained. What they need to detain somebody temporarily and question them.”

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

“It’s not probable cause,” he insisted. “It’s reasonable suspicion.”

“We’re trained on that. Every agent, every six months, gets Fourth Amendment training over and over again,” Homan said.

Legal experts blasted Homan’s remarks.

Professor of Law, former U.S. Attorney and MSNBC/NBC News legal analyst Joyce Vance summed up Homan’s remarks: “Racial profiling.”

“This is patently false,” declared U.S. Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY), also an attorney, “DHS has authority to question and search people coming into the country at points of entry. But ICE may not detain and question anyone without reasonable suspicion — and certainly not based on their physical appearance alone. This lawlessness must stop.”

Attorney and California Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener charged, “This is literally the definition of a white nationalist police state.”

U.S. Rep. Yvette Clark (D-NY) warned, “Trump’s thugs will racially profile you, then go on national television to brag about getting away with it.”

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Attorney and CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Evan Gold explained, “Walking up to people (without threatening) is legal. But ‘detaining’ people without ‘reasonable suspicion’ of criminal or quasi-criminal activity is illegal. Racial profiling is not cause for the required reasonable suspicion. ‘Let me see your papers’ is un-American.”

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), who, in a highly-publicized incident was forcibly removed and handcuffed by federal agents at a DHS press conference, wrote: “And there you have it. Under the Trump Administration, ICE and Border Patrol are being empowered to stop and question you based solely on how you look. No probable cause. No real reason. Just your ‘physical appearance.’ That’s not justice—it’s profiling.”

“They’re saying the quiet part out loud now,” wrote New York Democratic State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “Don’t get it twisted: if we let them keep doing this, they’ll find a reason to come for ANY ONE OF US soon enough.”

“THEY ARE ADMITTING IT,” wrote David J. Bier, Cato Institute Director of Immigration Studies and an expert on legal immigration, border security, and interior enforcement. “Homan is admitting to participating in a criminal conspiracy against the Constitution of the United States,” he alleged.

Max Flugrath, communications director for Fair Fight Action, wrote: “Trump’s Border Czar and Project 2025 contributor says ICE can detain anyone based on ‘suspicion’ and physical ‘appearance.’ That’s not immigration policy, it’s fascism.”

Watch the video below or at this link:

READ MORE: Trump Dodges, Denies and Deflects Questions as Ukraine Weapons Scandal Grows

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