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Texas Governor Rick Perry And The Hate Group

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On August 6, 2011, Texas Governor and U.S. Presidential hopeful, Rick Perry, will take the stage in support of and collaboration with a certified hate group. Governor Perry called for a National Day of Prayer in response to the “crisis” faced by America. The event, aptly titled “The Response,” is sponsored by the American Family Association (AFA), which recently received a “hate group” designation from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

WATCH: Rick Perry’s Love Of Hate Group Examined By Lawrence O’Donnell (Video)

While Governor Perry guised his intolerance of equality in the shrouds of “religion” and “prayer” the real Truth of The Response became evident when the president of the American Family Association (AFA), Tim Wildmon, acknowledged that one of the purposes of the prayer event is to end the “increasing acceptance of homosexuality” by American society.

While purportedly Christian groups like the AFA vehemently target LGBTQ people and have developed political agendas to deny equal protection of queer Americans, not all Christians translate faith into bigotry. According to the Religion Poll conducted this year by the Human Rights Campaign,

The majority of Christians oppose the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, favor protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people from discrimination, favor laws prohibiting bullying and harassment against LGBT students or the children of LGBT parents, [86%] believe their faith leads them to conclude that the law should treat LGBT people equally, and believe condemnation of LGBT people by religious leaders does more harm than good.

However, the remaining 14% of Christians opposed to equal protections under the law are the vocal minority.

But Perry has awakened the majority by his alliance with a hate group. The Houston Clergy Council released a statement requesting that Governor Perry leave ministry to the clergy and “refocus his energy on the work of governing our state,” noting that the AFA is not only an anti-gay hate group, but has also “been stridently anti-Muslim, going so far as to question the rights of Muslim Americans to freely organize and practice their faith.”

The event has grabbed the interest of non-clergy organizations as well, spawning an online petition to be hand delivered to the Governor’s office by members of GetEQUAL demanding that the Governor remove himself from the event or remove the AFA as a sponsor. But Perry hasn’t yet backed down. In fact, in a recent interview with Fox News, Perry and Fox News’ Neil Cavuto exchanged the following dialogue:

Cauvuto: You have kind of like the Chris Christie phenomenon: very popular outside your state, still popular but not nearly as popular within your state. There are even Tea Party groups within your state who like you but don’t love you. […] What do you say?

Perry: I say that a prophet is generally not loved in their hometown. That’s both Biblical and practical.

Robin McGehee, the National Director of GetEQUAL, suggests the event deserves bold action, stating:

From conservative religious bashing to ballot bashing to queer bashing – too often these voices of hate dominate our communities in an effort to strip away our dignity.  Sadly, these coordinated efforts lead to self-hate, self-violence and hate crimes.  It is our hope that a unified voice of dignity, love and equality will take bold action in Houston and wherever the voices of bigoted prejudice, discrimination and hate exist to say, ‘enough is enough.’

But not all LGBTQ advocates concur with removal of the AFA from the event. Most notable were remarks made to the Houston Chronicle by the Mayor Annise Parker, who is openly lesbian and largely heralded as and LGBTQ civil rights hero. When asked if she considered the AFA holding an event in her city an insult, she said, “No, I’m glad to have anybody’s dollars coming to the city of Houston. They can come back on a monthly basis if they’d like as long as they spend money.”

The AFA has certainly spent money.  The organization is accused of funneling roughly $25,000 for lobbying initiatives against the U.S. State Department’s condemnation of the Ugandan “Kill the Gays” bill, which would make homosexuality a criminal offense punishable by death. It has also invested significantly in teaching churches how to advocate for political causes while maintaining their tax-exempt status.

Several rallies and protests of the event have also been planned with varying messages, including “separation of church and state” due to reports that Perry used State resources in planning and organizing The Response.

 

Jay Morris is a State Lead for GetEQUAL​.org, a founding member of the Direct Action Network San Antonio, a writer for Ignite San Antonio Magazine, and blogger at jaysays​.com. You can find him posting randomness on Twitter or engage him in conversation on Facebook.

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Trump Lawyers Blindsided by Existence of Bombshell Recording – ‘They Don’t Know How to Defend This’: Maggie Haberman

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June 9, 2023

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CNN on Friday morning obtained a bombshell transcript of a recording in which former President Donald Trump boasts of retaining “secret” military information that he never declassified while he was president.

Appearing on CNN shortly after this news broke, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman revealed that the former president’s team was essentially blindsided by this recording’s existence.

“I don’t think they quite know how to defend this… from what we have heard,” she said. “They were… startled by the existence of this tape. This tape was something that they learned existed when this aide to Trump testified. The prosecutors were already in possession of this tape. They didn’t get it from the aide, although it appears the aide had a copy when it was subpoenaed later, but this is has been described to us by multiple sources… as a really problematic piece of evidence for Trump.”

Haberman predicted that the recording’s existence would not change the Trump legal team’s overall defense strategy, however.

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“I think they are going to stick that their line: ‘He says things, he didn’t mean it a certain way,'” she said. “I am sure they can come up with all kinds of explanations for why he used the language he used. But it’s on tape.”

Trump is due in court in Miami next week to face seven felony counts related to his handling of top-secret government documents.

Watch the video below or at this link.

 

Image via Shutterstock

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Trump Indicted by Grand Jury: Reports

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June 8, 2023

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Donald Trump’s attorneys have been notified a grand jury has voted to indict the ex-president on numerous federal charges and ordered to appear in a Miami court next Tuesday, according to ABC News, CNN, and NBC News. Trump on his Truth Social account made a similar claim..

“Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in the special counsel’s classified documents probe, sources familiar with the matter tells CNN,” the network reports. “Trump has been charged with seven counts in the indictment, according to another source familiar with the matter.”

“We’re learning from our sources that there appears to be at least seven counts here,” ABC News’ Katherine Faulders reported on-air, ABC News online reports.. “This ranges from everything from the willful retention of national defense information to conspiracy to a scheme to conceal to false statements and representations.”

MSNBC on-air reports NBC News has confirmed the Trump indictment, and NBC News online reports the indictment is “in connection with his mishandling of more than 100 classified documents that were discovered last year at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, making the twice-impeached former commander-in-chief the first former president to face federal criminal charges.”

Watch this currently ongoing ABC News live streaming video:

In three separate entries on his Truth Social platform, Trump writes: “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted,” along with several false allegations NCRM will not publish.

“I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM,” he adds.

He also declares he is “innocent.”

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change.

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‘Where’s the Money?’: Biden Laughs Out Loud, Mocks GOP’s Allegations

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June 8, 2023

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Just as his press conference with the U.K. Prime Minister was coming to a close and reporters were asked to remain seated, a jovial President Joe Biden stayed and took several questions from reporters desperate to ask about Republicans’ baseless and unsubstantiated claims he accepted millions in bribe money when he was vice president.

Shouting “bribery allegations,” one reporter told the President, “Congresswoman Nancy Mace says there’s damning evidence in an FBI file that you sold out the country.”

As a smile worked its way across the President’s face, the reporter continued saying: “Do you have a response to congressional Republicans?”

The President did.

“Where’s the money?” he deadpanned.

“I’m joking,” he added.

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“That’s a bunch of malarkey,” Biden ultimately responded, denying the claims which were fueled by FBI Director Chris Wray’s decision to allow the entire House Oversight Committee, in eluding far-right Republicans, access to an old FBI form documenting a second-hand tip alleging bribery.

NBC News Peter Alexander then threw a curious question at the President.

“Mr. President, what do you say to Americans to convince them that they should trust the independence and fairness of the Justice Department when your predecessor, Donald Trump, repeatedly attacks it?”

Biden quickly became less jovial.

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“Because you notice,” he said very seriously, pointing his finger at the reporter, “I have never once, not one single time, suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do relative bringing a charge or not bringing a charge.”

“I’m honest,” he stressed.

Foreign policy, national security, and political affairs analyst and commentator David Rothkopf responded to the video clip, stating: “Questions like these are not serious journalism.”

Watch below or at this link.

 

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