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New York Times Whitewashes Yet Another Top Anti-Gay Group. Why?

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Two years ago, the New York Times, as The New Civil Rights Movement reported then, “published a 1232 word glowing tribute to the anti-gay, anti-Islam SPLC-certified hate group, American Family Association, without any mention of the official hate group designation.”

Today, the Times forgot that lesson in journalistic malpractice, and published a whitewashed look at Focus On The Family, an organization that, while not a certified hate group, was created by anti-gay hate group founder and LGBT-demonizer Dr. James Dobson — who also founded the more rabid anti-gay hate group, Family Research Council, now headed by Tony Perkins.

There’s no doubt people, and organizations, can change — some things. But there’s no way a rabidly anti-gay group, regardless of whatever new marketing they use, can stop being a rabidly anti-gay source of hated that contributes to the dramatically high rate of LGBT youth and teen suicide.

READ: Gay And Straight Teen Suicide Attempts Higher In Conservative Regions

And the New York Times and author  Samuel G. Freedman are now complicit in this farce.

In “Focus on the Family Works to Change Its Message,” Samuel G. Freedman ignores that Focus On The Family since its inception in 1977 has worked to portray gay people as pedophiles, sick, twisted, and peddles other heinous falsehoods.

READ:

Gay Marriage A ‘Pernicious Lie Of Satan’ Says Focus On The Family

Gay Marriage Is ‘Actually About Silencing Christian Voices’ Says Focus On The Family

Freedman writes a slim profile of Focus On The Family president Jim Daly, whom he claims is trying “to turn down the rhetorical temperature on the debate” on LGBT people, same-sex marriage, and other civil rights issues.

“We’ve created an animosity,” he said in one emblematic moment of self-criticism. “We’ve said we hate the sin and love the sinner. But when you peel it back, sometimes we hated the sinner, too. And that’s not the Gospel.”

Oh, indeed you have.

Daly, not so long ago, said legalizing same-sex marriage would bring down civilization. A year later, Daly characterized the work of LGBT activists as “fascism.”

And just last year, Right Wing Watch reported that “Daly claimed that Satan himself is promoting same-sex marriage since ‘he hates marriage because it’s a reflection of God’s image.’ ‘The Enemy hates that, it’s disgusting to him,’ Daly said, “and with that, he wants to break it down, he wants to destroy it.’”

Apparently, the Times didn’t have the column inches to include those quotes, or the time to do any research.

To this day, Focus On The Family’s website promotes so-called “ex-gay” reparative therapy that has been deemed harmful by major medical organizations, as in their publication, Homosexuality Resources.

And then there’s Focus On The Family’s position statement on Civil Unions, Domestic Partnerships, and Reciprocal Beneficiary Contracts:

Focus on the Family maintains that the institution of marriage is intended by God to be a relationship between the two halves of humanity: a man and a woman. Further, nature attempts to provide every child with a mother and a a father, and social science agrees that this is the family structure in which children thrive. For these reasons, we oppose any other legal definition of marriage.

The articulated goal of the homosexual‐bisexual‐transgender advocacy movement is same‐sex marriage. In the meantime, it has been clearly stated that Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships are stepping stones to that end. Given the goal of redefining marriage, Focus on the Family opposes the legal creation of Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships as counterfeit policy attempts to imitate marriage. We further do not support the creation of special categories of rights based on sexual expression or gender identity.

Focus on the Family’s position is strengthened by threats to the religious liberty rights of groups that disagree with this movement. In some instances, faith‐based adoption and foster care agencies have decided to stop offering services due to the passage of civil union (or same‐sex marriage) laws that require these agencies to place children in same‐sex households — an act that would violate the organization’s religious views.

Additionally, we view Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships as discriminatory. Civil union and Domestic partnership arrangements are based on sexual expression and are therefore unfair to non‐ sexual domestic situations with equally legitimate claims to contractual provisions. Government policies should not discriminate against any member of society in regard to housing, employment, inheritance rights or medical decision‐making.

Caring for unmarried members of society does not require the redefinition of one‐man, one‐woman marriage. In lieu of Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships, a better approach may be Reciprocal Beneficiary Contracts that streamline existing benefits found in contract law, such as legal arrangements to co‐own or inherit property, medical visitation and decision‐making, guardianship of children, and medical benefits, if an employer allows. Such arrangements are equally available to any persons in domestic circumstances who do not qualify to marry. Furthermore, these contracts are not premised on the rights or privileges of marriage, sexual expression or gender identity.

Then there’s this disgusting anti-gay lie Focus On The Family promotes:

Homosexuality is a controversial issue today not because of an epidemic of hate toward gays but because activists have used a small number of reprehensible acts of violence against homosexuals to press for a government-imposed “normalization” of the homosexual lifestyle. This movement, breathtaking in its audacity and aided by a number of favor- able court decisions, is steamrolling over the moral traditions of Western civilization. All objections are labeled as “hate” and used as further evidence that more government action is needed.

The Times piece does point to Focus On The Family’s Citizen Link action center, which features these assaults on same-sex couples and LGBT people:

Ask Your U.S. Senators to Protect Marriage

Urge Your Senators to Co-Sponsor and Support the Military Religious Freedom Act (S. 3526)

Take Action to Protect Marriage

Take Action: Boy Scouts of America

Focus On The Family exists to marginalize and demonize the LGBT community. That they’ve found a new marketing slant makes their mission no less evil.

That the Times gives them the platform to deceive even more people is unacceptable.

Hat tip: Jeremy Hooper

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Dr Oz: Americans Must ‘Earn the Right’ to Be on Medicaid

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Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is promoting President Donald Trump’s sweeping and highly controversial budget legislation by claiming it will guarantee access to the social safety net for the “right” people. He argues that, under the GOP plan, individuals will need to “earn” the right to use Medicaid—suggesting that many current recipients are capable of working but choose not to.

Almost half (47.9%) of Medicaid users under 65 are children aged 0 to 18, according to KFF, the well-known nonpartisan health policy organization. Six in ten families accessing Medicaid have at least one family member who works full time.

In a nationalistic plea, Dr. Oz, on Tuesday, standing with Senate Republicans, told people using the service to “demonstrate that you are trying your hardest to help this country be greater, by at least trying to fill some of the jobs that we have open.”

READ MORE: ‘Unconditional Surrender’: Trump’s Iran Posts Trigger Fears U.S. Is Entering the War

America has a near-historically low unemployment rate of 4.2%.

“By doing that, you earn the right to be on Medicaid,” Oz added.

Dr. Oz also praised the Republicans’ legislation that would gut at least $800 billion from Medicaid, saying it is “the most ambitious health reform bill ever” and will “curb the growth of Medicaid.”

During his confirmation hearing, Dr. Oz said, “I think it is our patriotic duty to be healthy.”

Earlier this month, Dr. Oz faced widespread criticism for telling Medicaid users, “Go out there, do the entry-level jobs, get into the workforce. Prove that you matter, get agency into your own life.”

His statements suggest a possible lack of awareness of the statistics and circumstances affecting the very people he was nominated to serve.

On June 5, Dr. Oz told those who are not willing to go back to work, volunteer, or take care of a loved one, that “we are going to ask you to do something else. Go on the exchange, or get a job and get onto regular commercial insurance. But we are not going to continue to pay for Medicaid for those audiences.”

Nearly half of employers—about 46%—do not offer health insurance at all. Most exclude part-time workers from coverage. Gig workers typically receive no health benefits through their jobs. And many seasonal workers struggle to meet the monthly hour thresholds needed to remain eligible for Medicaid.

READ MORE: Tapper Tells Ex-Viewer Trump’s Behavior Is More About ‘Personality’ Than Cognitive Decline

Under the current bill, an estimated 10.9 million more people will become uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Once again, critics are blasting Dr. Oz.

“Just want to point out, Dr. Oz has a networth of $200+ million and he is telling a single person who makes a maximum of $21,597 they don’t deserve healthcare,” noted Monique Stanton, President and CEO of Michigan League for Public Policy.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Stephen Miller Gets His Way’: Trump Slammed for Farm Workers Flip-Flop

 

Image via Reuters

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‘Unconditional Surrender’: Trump’s Iran Posts Trigger Fears U.S. Is Entering the War

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President Donald Trump’s latest social media posts have many wondering if the United States is entering the war against Iran, and if so, what is his strategy?

At 11:55 AM, Trump posted to Truth Social, “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff.’ Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”

Minutes later, at 12:19 PM, he added, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

And then, at 12:22 PM, he demanded, “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

READ MORE: Tapper Tells Ex-Viewer Trump’s Behavior Is More About ‘Personality’ Than Cognitive Decline

To that last post, political scientist Ian Bremmer responded, “Hard to pull back from this.”

Barbara Starr, the longtime, now former CNN national security reporter, responded to Trump’s posts:

“Sometimes you want ambiguity some officials might say. But when it comes to nukes, clarity is vital to avoid catastrophic miscalculation. So there is no other conclusion…Trump is deep into a Middle East war. Just my opinion of course.”

Pointing to Trump’s social media posts, attorney George Conway, a top Trump critic, wrote: “Remember this moment. @realDonaldTrump is reveling in the narcisisstic [sic] and sadistic thrill of threatening others with violent death. He will start to crave that feeling.”

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein, also pointing to Trump’s posts, observed, “Just tweeting through the launch of another Middle East war. Treating the potential bombing of Iran by the U.S. as an episode of reality TV.”

Former Obama National Security Council staffer Tommy Vietor said of Trump’s posts, “The President of the United States can’t say s— like this and then pretend we are not an active participant in this war.”

Trump convened a meeting with his National Security Council (NSC), slated for 1 PM in the Situation Room. Notably, Vice President JD Vance, who ran defense hours earlier for Trump over the possibility of entering the war, was reportedly not in attendance.

“U.S. officials said Trump is seriously considering joining the war and launching a U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, especially its underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordow,” Axios reported.

Former Obama chief campaign strategist and Senior Advisor to the President, David Axelrod, laid out the scene:

“Amazing that in a matter of days we’ve gone from ‘this is not our operation’ to ‘we own the skies over Iran.’ With these proclamations, we also now ‘own’ what WAS an Israeli assault. We’re thoroughly in it now. What is the strategy here?”

READ MORE: ‘Stephen Miller Gets His Way’: Trump Slammed for Farm Workers Flip-Flop

CNN reports that “President Donald Trump is growing increasingly warm to using US military assets to strike Iranian nuclear facilities and souring on the idea of a diplomatic solution to end Tehran’s escalating conflict with Israel, two officials familiar with the ongoing discussions told CNN.”

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren noted that Congress, not the President, has the authority to declare war:

“Allowing Netanyahu to drag us into another endless war in the Middle East would be a catastrophic error by President Trump and Republicans in Congress. Every lawmaker needs to ring the alarm against U.S. military action in Iran. Only Congress has the authority to declare war.”

Many, including BBC Verify senior journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh, are pointing to Trump’s use of the word “we” in his posts. Military.com’s Pentagon reporter Konstantin Toropin suggested it would be difficult to not see the U.S. as involved.

“President Trump is using the term ‘we’ when referring to Israeli attacks on Iran, including a potential strike on the supreme leader, and calling for ‘unconditional surrender,” Sardarizadeh wrote.

“…and yet the US is not a participant in this conflict?” posited Toropin.

Pointing to polling that shows 60% of Americans oppose U.S. military becoming involved in the Israel-Iran war, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote: “If Trump is serious about bombing Iran, he’d be wise to declassify intelligence showing that the threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is imminent. The American people are not just going to take him at his word. Been there; done that (in 2003).”

Former Clinton Cabinet Secretary Robert Reich noted, “For Trump, a military conflict with Iran would distract from:
-Sinking poll numbers
-A devastating (and unpopular) budget bill
-Harmful trade wars
-Unleashing the military on American soil
-Millions of people protesting his authoritarianism
We must remain on high alert.”

U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) wrote: “Having seen some of the worst fighting of the Iraq War, I know the devastating toll of rushing into a conflict. I came back from Iraq angry at our government for sending us out to an illegal war. We must learn from our mistakes: no president should unilaterally deploy troops to the Middle East. Congress, not the President, has the sole power to declare war.

READ MORE: ‘Buffoonery’: New Senate GOP Budget Slashes Medicaid Even Deeper Than House Bill

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Tapper Tells Ex-Viewer Trump’s Behavior Is More About ‘Personality’ Than Cognitive Decline

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A former viewer of Jake Tapper’s CNN program, expressing deep disappointment, publicly criticized the veteran journalist for publishing a book that portrays President Joe Biden in an unflattering light and alleges cognitive decline. The viewer argued that Tapper should instead be scrutinizing what she described as the “erratic” behavior of President Donald Trump. Tapper defended his stance, attributing Trump’s behavior more to “personality” traits than to “cognitive decline.”

On a C-SPAN call-in show (video below), the viewer, identified by the name “Sarah,” told Tapper, “right now, I really don’t like you.”

She accused Tapper of doing a “disservice” to President Biden, “and also to the American people.”

READ MORE: ‘Stephen Miller Gets His Way’: Trump Slammed for Farm Workers Flip-Flop

“When are you going to examine, you know, what is going on with Trump?” she asked.

“Joe Biden conducted himself for four years, taking care of the United States. He took meetings, he went overseas, he negotiated with other leaders.”

But President Trump, Sarah said, “has been pure chaos, which indicates to me that there is something wrong with him.”

“We will never get a straight answer on his medical examination. What medication he is on,” she charged.

She also accused Tapper of going after President Biden “with a vengeance,” and expressed that she is “very disappointed” in the reporter.

“I enjoyed watching your show, but not anymore,” she added.

The caller urged Tapper to write another book, focused on President Trump, “and how erratic and what he is doing—calling out the National Guard, the Marines and everybody. When has a President ever done that? It is pure erratic.”

Tapper, who sat through the 75-seconds of criticism largely stone-faced, responded by saying that on CNN he does cover President Donald Trump “every day for two hours, every day from 5 to 7 Eastern.”

READ MORE: ‘Buffoonery’: New Senate GOP Budget Slashes Medicaid Even Deeper Than House Bill

He insisted that they “cover all the things you talk about, in terms of the president, the current president’s behavior. We have covered times that he has confused Nancy Pelosi with Nikki Haley.”

But Tapper appeared to disagree with Sarah’s perception that “there is something wrong” with President Trump. Despite his age (79) and reported lifestyle, Tapper insisted, “I think some of the questions about President Trump’s behavior have more to do with personality than with cognitive decline.”

“But obviously,” he continued, “whatever lessons we’ve learned from covering President Biden, we would apply to any politician, any future politician or present politician.”

So I’m sorry, if I’m disappointing you by covering President Biden, but journalists, we are supposed to cover stories that we think the American people have a right to know, that we think will enhance their understanding of how the country’s run, and I think Alex and I are proud of this book.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

RELATED: ‘Spending Like Drunken Sailors’: ICE $1B Over Budget Ahead of New Trump Deportation Surge

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