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NOM’s Black Pastors Attack NAACP And Gays, Per NOM Corporate Playbook

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“God will never be for homosexual marriages. God is against anybody who is for homosexual marriages.”

Perhaps the most-damning event in the history of the National Organization For Marriage was when a court unsealed previously-sealed NOM documents that exposed the anti-gay organization’s corporate playbook directing the group to “drive a wedge between gays and blacks.”

In a just-released “exclusive” video from NOM, they prove their devotion to this despicable and highly-criticized strategy of race-baiting.

As  The New Civil Rights Movement reported Friday, a group called the Coalition of African-American Pastors held a press conference and protest outside the NAACP‘s Houston convention last week. Reverend William Owens, the founder and head of the CAAP, says he is “a religious liaison for the National Organization For Marriage.”

Listen as Owens, and other African-American pastors and religious leaders denounce the LGBT community, homosexuality, and even claim ownership to the civil rights movement, as if only African-Americans deserve civil rights.

All according to NOM’s playbook.

In late March, NOM documents revealed these — and many other — disturbing corporate strategies and directives:

“The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks—two key Democratic constituencies. Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage, develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots…”

“Expose Obama as a social radical. Develop side issues to weaken pro-gay marriage political leaders and parties and develop an activist hase of socially conservative voters. Raise such issues as pornography, protection of children, and the need to oppose all efforts to weaken religious liberty at the federal level.”

“To use homosexual marriage and civil rights in the same sentence is an oxymoron,” Pastor John McCrutcheon announces in NOM’s video, claiming that “the homosexual advocates have an agenda, that is basically to hijack the civil rights. Homosexuality is not a civil right.”

McCrutcheon couldn’t be more wrong. As Jeremy Hooper at Good As You notes, “That’s where we now are with NOM: they pit God against a growing majority of their fellow Americans.”

Hooper also notes in another post that one of the speakers on the video, Pastor Ericka McCrutcheon, once wrote:

Consider the Civil Rights Laws of America, it was good for all people especially for African Americans, legislated by a majority Republican Congress, endorsed by most Democrats in Congress and signed into Law by a Democratic President. It was good legislation and good for all people. However, since the signing of the Civil Rights Bill into Law, it has been high-jacked by lawless people and groups who use the good Law to carry out lawlessness and evil deeds and agendas. The Law is good if man use it lawfully. In America we now have homosexuals who used the Civil Rights Laws as a right to sodomize each other and practice other deviant behaviors in society and to call themselves married. When lead by unscrupulous so called legal experts, Extremist lay claim to America’s Civil Rights Laws even when they high-jack airplanes and use them as weapons of terror and other sinister agendas that are acted out on innocent people.

Infamous Bishop Harry Jackson also was on hand, quoting an NAACP board member who resigned, saying “he’s never seen any gay people asked to sit in the back of the bus.” Another ludicrous comment, as if no African-Americans were ever gay, as if sitting in the back of the bus was the only result of the lack of civil rights for African-Americans. That comment alone demeans gays and blacks — something NOM is actively engineering. Jackson should know better.

In May, just after President Obama announced his support of same-sex marriage, Bishop Jackson asked if President Obama “is going to … absolutely erase the image of biblical marriage from the face of the earth.”

Pastor Owens claims “peer pressure” is leading Blacks to support same-sex marriage, after President Obama announced his support.

“God is for heterosexual marriages,” Pastor John McCrutcheon claimed. “God has never been for homosexual marriages, God will never be for homosexual marriages. God is against anybody who is for homosexual marriages.”

These pastors ignore many facts, including that Julian Bond, a former head of the NAACP and its chairman emeritus, supports same-sex marriage, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King, fully supported LGBT civil rights, and Dr. King himself gave Bayard Rutin, a Black, gay man who because his right hand, tremendous power in his organization.

Shame on NOM for continuing to lead the way in race-baiting. Shame on the men and women of God to fall for it.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fimNxcbwtv8%3Fversion%3D3%26hl%3Den_US

Related:

NAACP, Oldest US Civil Rights Group, Announces Gay Marriage Support

NAACP’s Julian Bond Attacks NOM, Tells AC360 Gay Rights Are Civil Rights

Quote Of The Day: NAACP’s Julian Bond Speaks On NOM’s Race-Baiting

 

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IMPEACH HIM AGAIN

Rep. Al Green Files Impeachment Article Against Trump Over Iran: ‘Threat to Democracy’

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Tuesday morning, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) filed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump over the United States’ strike on three sites in Iran this weekend.

Green’s article of impeachment alleges that Trump violated Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution. That section says only Congress can declare war.

“In starting his illegal and unconstitutional war with Iran without the constitutionally-mandated consent of Congress or appropriate notice to Congress, President Trump acted in direct violation of the War Powers Clause of the Constitution. President Trump has devolved and continues to devolve American democracy into authoritarianism by disregarding the separation of powers and now, usurping congressional war powers,” Green wrote.

READ MORE: Just 100 Days in and Trump White House Is Already Prepping for Impeachment: Report

Though the meat of the impeachment article is about Iran, Green also calls out other objectionable things done by Trump.

“President Trump’s unilateral, unprovoked use of force without congressional authorization or notice constitutes an abuse of power when there was no imminent threat to the United States, which facilitates the devolution of American democracy into authoritarianism, with an authoritarian president who has instigated an attack on the United States Capitol, denied persons due process of the law, and called for the impeachment of federal judges who ruled against him—making Donald J. Trump a threat to American democracy,” he said.

Green’s article of impeachment is unlikely to go anywhere. The House is controlled 220-212 by the Republican party. Even though some House Republicans like Thomas Massie (R-WV) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have criticized Trump’s action in Iran, even if every Democrat voted in favor of impeachment, it would be a tall order for nine Republicans to flip. An article of impeachment only needs a simple majority in the House before going to the Senate.

Trump is the only president to be successfully impeached twice. However, he has never been convicted.

Though Trump did not have Congressional approval to order the U.S. to attack Iran—and, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, they were only informed afterward—the Constitution isn’t as clear as it might sound. The last time Congress declared war was in 1942, but there have been many wars since then, but by different names; the Korean War was officially a “police action.”

The president is officially Commander-in-Chief of the United States Military, and as such, can order a response to attacks, or other limited military actions without the approval of Congress. During the Vietnam War (another “police action”), President Richard Nixon ordered the secret bombings of Cambodia without informing Congress. Once this was revealed, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution, which puts limits on what the president can do without Congressional approval.

Under the War Powers Resolution, a president can order a military action, but must inform Congress within 48 hours. Armed forces cannot stay in an area for over 60 days, though they can have a window of an additional 30 days to withdraw.

Trump has been accused of violating the War Powers Resolution twice before. The first was in 2017, when Trump ordered a missile strike in Syria over allegations the country had used chemical weapons. Next was in 2020 when the U.S. killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike. Neither of these accusations, however, resulted in anything.

Image via Reuters

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CRIME

DOJ Sues Washington State Over Law Requiring Catholic Priests to Report Child Abuse

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The Department of Justice has filed suit against Washington state over a new law requiring Catholic priests to report child abuse even if knowledge of the abuse was obtained during confession.

The law, Senate Bill 5375, was signed by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, and would go into effect on July 27. The bill makes clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, much like doctors and teachers. Catholic bishops in Washington have condemned the law because it does not address the sacred rite of confession.

Under the law, if abuse is revealed during confession, the priest must report it to police or the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families. However, in the Catholic faith, the Seal of Confession directs priests to keep anything they learn during confession secret—even under the threat of imprisonment or death. Should a priest fail to do so, they would be excommunicated.

“I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishop and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail. The Sacrament of Penance is sacred,” Bishop Thomas A. Daly of the Spokane, Washington diocese wrote in a statement.

READ MORE: Pedophile Priest Sex Abuse: Catholic Churches Settle For $102 Million

A previous version of the bill did include a provision protecting priests from revealing anything learned during confession. Catholic bishops and Republicans in the state senate argued for the provision, but it was ultimately removed. All Republicans voted against the final version of the bill, along with two Democrats; it passed 28-20. Though the law requires priests to report abuse, it does not compel them to testify in court.

In response, a number of bishops filed a lawsuit, Etienne v. Ferguson, to stop the law. On June 16, a group of Orthodox churches in Washington state filed a similar lawsuit.

Gov. Ferguson, a Catholic, said he was dismayed by the suit.

“I’m disappointed my Church is filing a federal lawsuit to protect individuals who abuse kids,” Ferguson said.

The Department of Justice joined the fray on Monday. The DOJ called the law “anti-Catholic,” saying it violates the First Amendment. Monday’s suit is a motion to intervene in Etienne v. Ferguson.

“Senate Bill 5375 unconstitutionally forces Catholic priests in Washington to choose between their obligations to the Catholic Church and their penitents or face criminal consequences, while treating the priest-penitent privilege differently than other well-settled privileges. The Justice Department will not sit idly by when States mount attacks on the free exercise of religion,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement.

Senate Bill 5375 is the third time the Washington senate was asked to make clergy mandatory reporters. The bill’s prime sponsor was Sen. Noel Frame (D-Seattle), who told KING-TV she brought the newest version before the Senate after hearing that three different Catholic archdioceses in the state were under investigation over allegations of covering up abuse.

“Quite frankly, that made it hard for me to stomach any argument about religious freedom being more important than preventing the abuse, including the sexual abuse of children,” Frame said in January. “I really wonder about all the children who have been abused and neglected and have gone unprotected by the adults in their lives because we didn’t have a mandated reporter law and that we continue to try to protect this in the name of religious freedom.”

Image via Shutterstock

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'VERY COOL VERY NORMAL'

FTC Blocks Advertising Company From Boycotting Media Outlets Based on Political Views

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The Federal Trade Commission announced a strange condition of the merger between two giant advertising companies. The FTC allowed the merger, but blocked the new company from being able to boycott media outlets based on political viewpoints.

The FTC announced Monday that Omnicom Group would be able to go ahead with its $13.5 billion purchase of The Interpublic Group of Companies. The merger faced antitrust concerns as the two companies are major players in the advertising industry. Currently, Omnicom is the third-largest ad agency in the United States, and IPG is fourth-largest.

Assuming the acquisition continues as planned, the enlarged Omnicom would be blocked from “engaging in collusion or coordination to direct advertising away from media publishers based on the publishers’ political or ideological viewpoints,” the FTC said.

READ MORE: Right Wing Lobbying Organization Pushing States to Shield Companies From Political Boycotts

“Websites and other publications that rely on advertising are critical to the flow of our nation’s commerce and communication,” Daniel Guarnera, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said. “Coordination among advertising agencies to suppress advertising spending on publications with disfavored political or ideological viewpoints threatens to distort not only competition between ad agencies, but also public discussion and debate. The FTC’s action today prevents unlawful coordination that targets specific political or ideological viewpoints while preserving individual advertisers’ ability to choose where their ads are placed.”

The new rule comes after Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, complained that advertisers were boycotting the platform. Last August, X filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, a coalition of advertisers, for boycotting X following Musk’s purchase of the company. Founding members of GARM include both Omnicom and IPG.

GARM was originally formed in response to the mass shooting in a Christchurch, New Zealand mosque by a white supremacist. The shooting was livestreamed on Facebook, and as such, advertisements appeared on the platform alongside the livestream. GARM aimed to block members’ advertisements from appearing on platforms that didn’t have safeguards prohibiting what the organization called “illegal or harmful content, such as promoting terrorism or child pornography.”

Days after the X lawsuit, GARM disbanded.

“GARM has disbanded under a cloud of litigation and congressional investigation. The Commission has not been a party to those actions, and I take no position on any possible violation of the antitrust laws by GARM. The factual allegations, however, if true, paint a troubling picture of a history of coordination—that the group sought to marshal its members into collective boycotts to destroy publishers of content of which they disapproved,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said Monday.

“GARM was neither the beginning nor the end of harmful and potentially unlawful collusion in this industry. Numerous other industry groups and private organizations have publicly sought to use the chokepoint of the advertising industry to effect political or ideological goals. Clandestine pressure campaigns and private dealings among these parties are less well documented but pose the serious risk of harm and illegality,” he added.

The proviso to the Omnicom merger is not the FTC’s only foray into this issue. This May, the FTC opened an investigation to determine whether or not advertisers coming together in agreement to not buy ads on certain websites due to political content constituted an illegal boycott, according to the New York Times.

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