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Distancing Itself From ENDA’s Religious Exemptions, HRC Calls For LGBT Civil Rights Bill

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Enduring 24 hours of attacks from many in the the LGBT community after eight LGBT legal and civil rights groups withdrew support for ENDA, HRC lays out its vision for the future.

The Human Rights Campaign has never been beloved by the entirety of the LGBT community — no organization has. But despite its boasts of 1.5 million members, HRC is often lambasted by many in the community it serves, and any opportunity to chastise the 34-year old group is rarely overlooked.

But HRC often is its own worst enemy, from finding messaging, transparency, and partnering with grassroots, state, and local groups challenging, to its less than equal, and at times ugly treatment of the transgender community, to recent claims that it used models hired by a PR agency to represent itself at a gay pride parade.

This week has been no picnic for HRC either. Propelled by the twists in the Hobby Lobby decision, Tuesday morning the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force announced it was withdrawing support for ENDA over the legislation’s extensive (some might say, extreme) carve outs for the religious community. A few short hours later, a coalition of five LGBT legal and civil rights groups announced they too were dropping support of ENDA for the same reason. And later, two more groups announced they were jumping off the ENDA bandwagon. In total, thanks to the Supreme Court’s twisted Hobby Lobby ruling, eight LGBT orgs announced they were dumping ENDA.

But HRC stood tall and steadfast, reiterating the support they announced in June, and adding, “HRC supports ENDA because it will provide essential workplace protections to millions of LGBT people.” The religious “protections” were not mentioned.

Wednesday was a new day, and in a rare, fast move that afternoon the nation’s largest LGBT organization published an op-ed by President Chad Griffin at Buzzfeed and republished it on its own blog. 

Griffin, the Arkansas native behind the successful demise of California’s Prop 8, called for continued support of ENDA, but with the religious carve outs minimized. Even better, Griffin laid out what for HRC seems like a new vision for equality — one fought for by many progressives in the LGBT community who until now had been shut out of the mainstream.

Griffin wrote that “regardless of whether or not ENDA passes in this session of Congress, it is time for the LGBT movement to throw its weight behind a fully comprehensive LGBT civil rights bill. A bill that, at long last, would bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in all core civil rights categories—including housing, public accommodations, credit, education and, if ENDA fails to pass, in employment. This is a visionary idea that Congresswoman Bella Abzug brought to Congress in 1974. Its time has come.”

And he reiterated his support of some form of ENDA.

“HRC supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act for a very simple reason,” Griffin stated. “It will guarantee millions of LGBT people in all 50 states explicit, reliable protections from discrimination in the workplace. We call on our allies in Congress to improve this bill’s overly broad religious exemption. A strong ENDA is worth fighting for because we cannot ignore the urgent need of countless LGBT people who do not have the luxury of waiting for these protections.”

And he observes, “we also can’t ignore that somewhere in between the introduction of this version of ENDA and today, a revolution has happened in the fight for LGBT equality.”

We’re at one of those moments you read about in the history books, and it turns up everywhere you look. From the tireless advocate-President who sits at the Resolute desk in the Oval Office every day, to the transgender teenager in the heart of Mississippi who, today, can look with hope to Laverne Cox on TV. Public opinion is rocketing forward toward support for equality. A new pro-equality court ruling is issued almost every day. Straight Americans in the heartland today weep supportive tears at the weddings of their gay and lesbian neighbors. Together we have all worked to shift the ground beneath our feet, and an overwhelming national sense has emerged that the tide of history is turning toward full equality for all.

Griffin’s vision for the LGBT community can be summed up in his conclusion.

“In other words, it’s time for full LGBT civil rights to come out of the closet. We all agree that, at the end of the day, full federal equality is the only acceptable option, nothing more, nothing less. The campaign for a strong ENDA continues with more urgency than ever before, but we’ve got to dig in for the fight of our lives.”

Many disagree with HRC on ENDA, believing that the legislation could be used as a license to discriminate thanks to its extreme religious “protections,” especially after the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Hobby Lobby case, and its subsequent actions that revealed claims of a “narrow” ruling were false.

 

 Image by Cary Lee via Flickr

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‘What Could Go Wrong?’: Religious AI Chatbots Let You Text With ‘Jesus’ — or ‘Satan’

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November 12, 2025

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As Americans drift from organized religion and congregations consolidate, pastors are turning to artificial intelligence to shoulder parts of their ministry — while some worshippers are turning to AI for something else entirely. Certain AI tools help clergy manage schedules or craft sermons; others invite believers to text directly with “Jesus,” or even “Satan.”

Calling it a “new digital awakening,” Axios reports that “AI is helping some churches stay relevant in the face of shrinking staffs, empty pews and growing online audiences. But the practice raises new questions about who, or what, is guiding the flock.”

“New AI-powered apps allow you to ‘text with Jesus’ or ‘talk to the Bible,’ giving the impression you are communicating with a deity or angel,” according to Axios. “Other apps can create personalized prayers, let you confess your sins or offer religious advice on life’s decisions.”

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The apps that “allow” people to “talk” to “Jesus,” “Mary,” the “Bible,” or even “Satan” are reportedly the most popular.

“What could go wrong?” Robert P. Jones, CEO of the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, sarcastically asked, according to Axios.

Text With Jesus bills itself as “a new, interactive way to engage with your faith.” Its website calls it “a revolutionary AI-powered chatbot app, designed for devoted Christians seeking a deeper connection with the Bible’s most iconic figures.”

In the FAQ section of the website, one question asks, “Am I really talking to Jesus? Isn’t this blasphemous?”

“Our app is a tool for exploration, education, and engagement with biblical narratives,” is the response, “and it is not intended to replace or mimic direct communication with divine entities, which is a deeply personal aspect of one’s faith.”

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Last month, FOX 32 Chicago reported on criticism of the app.

“Critics call the app blasphemous. In an essay for The PreachersWord, minister Ken Weliever wrote that he would ‘just open my Bible and read it for myself,’ questioning how accurate an AI ‘Jesus’ could ever be. He pointed to answers on same-sex marriage signed with rainbow emojis and called the app’s ‘Satan’ feature chilling.”

“Moody Center President James Spencer wrote in The Christian Post the AI ‘Jesus’ seemed ‘less concerned with fulfilling the Law and the Prophets than providing answers palatable to the itching ears of 21st century users.'”

According to the app’s Mac App Store pages, the company that produces Text With Jesus has additional offerings, including Text With History, Text With Authors, Texts From Bernie Sanders, and Texts From Oscar Wilde.

READ MORE: Trump Stumbles Over ‘God Bless America’ Lyrics at Veterans Day Ceremony

 

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GOP ‘Complicit’ in ‘Massive’ Epstein Files ‘Cover-Up’: Democrat

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November 12, 2025

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The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee alleged a “massive coverup” of the Epstein files, accused congressional Republicans of being “complicit,” and signaled that he and his Democratic colleagues will release even more documents, likely later on Wednesday.

“Jeffrey Epstein referenced President Donald Trump in emails to his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and a journalist, claiming in one that Trump ‘knew about the girls,’ according to emails released by House Democrats,” NBC News reported. “Democrats on the House Oversight committee released three email chains, sent between 2011 and 2019, saying the documents came from the convicted sex offender’s estate as part of the committee’s investigation of the Epstein case.”

Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA) told MSNBC his committee received about 23,000 emails “last week, and we’ve been going through — our team, of course — through all of these very carefully over the last few days.”

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“We obviously released some today,” he said, referring to the bombshell emails. “We’ll be releasing additional documents, likely later today.”

Noting that “we’ve been demanding that Donald Trump and the DOJ release the full Epstein files,” Garcia added, “what’s been released today” are “some quite serious, I think, connections between what Donald Trump may have known.”

Garcia said, “what’s important right now is that we want to know why Donald Trump spent the entire campaign, saying that he would release the files. And now that he’s in the White House, there is a massive cover-up going on.”

Responding to claims from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that the release of the documents is a “hoax,” Garcia replied, “Then release all the files.”

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“If the president has nothing to hide, if the press secretary were there in her comments and statement, if they have nothing to hide at the White House or Department of Justice, then all we want is for them to release the full files,” he urged. “You can’t spend your entire campaign, saying you’re gonna do something, and make a commitment to the American people, and then backtrack.”

READ MORE: Trump Stumbles Over ‘God Bless America’ Lyrics at Veterans Day Ceremony

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White House Eyes Major Blitz as GOP Voters Blame Trump for Failing Economy

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November 12, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s advisers are weighing a plan to have him blitz the nation in a series of domestic speeches focused on the economy in an effort to battle the perception by a strong majority of Americans — including a majority of Republicans — that he is not doing enough to bring down prices.

The President campaigned on reducing inflation and the cost of living, but inflation has crept up over a five-month period and remains higher than during President Joe Biden’s last full month in office.

“We’re going to get the prices down,” Trump said on the campaign trail in September 2024. “We have to get them down. It’s too much. Groceries, cars, everything. We’re going to get the prices down.”

“But here’s a promise I’m making to you,” he said during that same speech. “I will cut your energy and electricity prices in half, 50%, 5-0, within 12 months of taking the oath of office. Within 12 months, within 12 months of taking the oath of office, I will cut your energy prices by 50%, and it’s not going to be hard.”

READ MORE: ‘The Whole Thing Is Imploding’: Chaos and Rebellion at America’s Top Right-Wing Think Tank

American voters apparently have not forgotten those promises. Trump’s approval rating currently sits at a new low and his disapproval rating at a new high, according to data from The New York Times‘ polling average tracker.

Trump appears to be pushing back, calling the cries for greater affordability a Democratic “con job,” while claiming inflation and prices are down.

On Tuesday, the White House said inflation is “way down,” despite evidence to the contrary.

“Look, Donald Trump might be trying to downplay voters’ concerns about affordability, but I’m here to tell you that is a ginormous error,” declared CNN analyst Harry Enten. “It may be an error that goes down in political infamy.”

“Donald Trump was elected was to fix the problem of inflation,” he reminded viewers. “Donald Trump is underwater with the Titanic when it comes to inflation. His net approval rating is 26 points underwater.”

“Now, of course, it’s one thing if voters don’t like the state of the economy,” he continued. “But it’s another thing when they don’t think that Donald Trump actually gives a hoot.”

Enten went on to show that 75% of Americans, including 57% of Republicans, say Trump is “not paying enough attention to lowering costs.”

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“If these numbers hold, and Donald Trump continues to try to ignore a problem that Americans very much think we have in terms of costs of living, affordability,” Enten said, “well, it might be adios, amigos, goodbye for that House Republican majority, and, I dare say, the Republican Senate majority as well.”

Trump’s White House advisers appear to be aware of the growing discontent across the nation.

“President Donald Trump’s advisers have had conversations about him traveling the country to give economy-focused speeches as they privately weigh a number of strategies to improve his standing on the issue, administration officials told CNN,” the news network reported on Wednesday.

“White House officials have advised the president not to brush away or outright dismiss that Americans are feeling squeezed by rising prices, they said. They have been actively putting ‘policy time’ — as one of the officials characterized it — on Trump’s schedule with the goal of accelerating the administration’s efforts to tackle inflation.”

“You can’t convince people that their experience, what they’re feeling at home, isn’t reality,” one of the officials acknowledged to CNN.

CNN also reported that advisers are weighing having Trump travel the country to give speeches about what he is doing to lower prices, although his recent claims, like planning to send low- and middle-income Americans $2,000 tariff dividend checks, are seen as unlikely by some experts.

READ MORE: White House Says Inflation’s ‘Way Down’ — Americans Aren’t Buying It

 

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