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GOP Congressman Says SCOTUS Ruling Means Now ‘You Can Marry My Lawnmower’

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Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa has created an entire new industry. Too bad he doesn’t understand the concept of consent.

Anti-gay conservatives incapable of empathy or respect like to throw down one-liners because it makes them feel superior and slightly more in control, at a time when the nation is quickly changing and advancing in a more progressive direction.

So it’s not surprising that in Iowa yesterday, as he was traveling with fellow homophobe Mike Huckabee, U.S. Congressman Steve King (R-IA), quipped that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell last month meant that from now on, “you can marry my lawnmower.”

Journalist Matt Taibbi was on hand for the attack, and posted this tweet:

Of course, many people think it’s funny, but the truth of the matter is it’s damaging to the institution of marriage – of which King claims to be an ardent defender – and it’s hurtful to the millions of LGBT Americans who, despite finally having been recognized by the Supreme Court as full and equal citizens, at least when it comes to marriage, are still fair game for the bigots, homophobes, and haters.

It turns out, the “you can marry my lawnmower” slur is part of King’s stump standup routine.

Just days after the ruling, King, traveling the state, used the same line, telling supporters a few lies in the bargain.

It’s a fact of history that children do better in a home with a mom and a dad,” King said, according to the Pilot Tribune.”There’s no better way to impart our values from one generation to the next than a mother and father who are committed to each other and that are blessed with children in a natural union.”

King – falsely – claimed that kids raised in a one-man, one-woman household “contribute more to society. They’re better behaved, their faith is stronger, their education gets a little better,” which is poppycock. And an attack not only on same-sex headed households, but on single parents as well.

“The civil government got into the business of promoting and supporting Holy Matrimony because these basic values are the building blocks of our civilization. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled that they’re not. Their ruling really says anybody can marry anybody — and eventually it will be in any combination. I had a strong, Christian lawyer tell me yesterday (Tuesday, June 30) that, under this decision that he has read, what it brings about is: It only requires one human being in this relationship — that you could marry your lawnmower with this decision. I think he’s right,” King concluded.

Here’s another conclusion – and a prediction: Steve King is a dying breed. In less than a decade the vast majority of Americans will look upon his words and file them in the same place that the hate-mongering of the KKK lives today.

 

Image by Mike via Flickr and a CC license
Hat tip: Slate

 

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‘Massive Shift’: FCC Chair Says Local TV Will ‘Decide What the American People Think’

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Explaining the “massive shift” he intends to impose on the focus of the Federal Communications Commission, Chairman Brendan Carr announced that he will take America back to the era when local television stations shaped what the American people “think.”

“So again,” Carr told Fox News on Thursday, “we’re going back to that era when local TV stations, judging the public interest, get to decide what the American people think.”

“And again, we’re constraining the power through those actions of Disney, of Comcast. And I think the American public can be much better off. But, yeah, I don’t think this is the last shoe to drop,” he said, appearing to refer to the suspension of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.

READ MORE: Trump Labels Flag Burning, Organized Protests ‘Incitement to Riot’

“This is a massive shift that’s taking place in the media ecosystem, and I think the consequences are going to  continue to flow,” he declared.

On Thursday, speaking aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump wrongly suggested that broadcast networks, licensed by the FCC, are “not allowed” to criticize him.

“When you have a network and you have evening shows and all they do is hit Trump, that’s all they do — if you go back, I guess they haven’t had a conservative one in years, or something — when you go back and take a look, all they do is hit Trump. They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that,” Trump said.

Carr is one of the authors of The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. President Donald Trump praised Carr as “a warrior for Free Speech,” CBS News reported last year.

There are few “local” television stations left in the U.S., in the sense that nearly all are owned by several major broadcast conglomerates, including Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Gray Television, Tegna, Hearst, and Scripps.

READ MORE: ‘Corrupt Abuse of Power’: Dems Rip FCC Chair Over Kimmel Suspension

 

Image via Reuters

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Trump Labels Flag Burning, Organized Protests ‘Incitement to Riot’

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President Donald Trump, explaining his controversial decision to attempt to label Antifa a terrorist organization, said burning the American flag is an “incitement to riot,” as are organized protests — which he claimed lead to “death.”

“They have signs and they’re all professionally made,” Trump told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on Thursday, apparently referring to those suspected of celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk, NBC News reported. “Real protesters make them in their basement.”

After suggesting without offering any evidence that philanthropist George Soros might be behind organized protests, Trump declared, “it’s incitement to riot. That’s a criminal act. And people are dying because of it. So it’s really, you know, it’s death.”

Speaking about his executive order to designate Antifa — which is not an organized group and it does it have leaders — a terrorist group, Trump said, “They are.”

READ MORE: ‘All They Do Is Hit Trump’: President Says Networks ‘Not Allowed to Do That’

Asked, “do you believe that there is a vast terrorist movement in the United States that people need to be aware of, and is it responsible for Charlie Kirk’s killing, for the attempts on your life, for these CEOs that we saw in New York City?” Trump replied, “You never know, and we’ll find out, maybe.”

“But in the meantime, we’re gonna do a big thing with respect to Antifa. It’s a sick group, a very, very sick group.”

“They love burning the American flag. I think it’s terrible that they burn the American flag. And we’re saying it incites riots, and therefore, you go to jail for one year, if you burn the American flag.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it is not illegal to burn the American flag, it is a protected form of free speech.

READ MORE: ‘Corrupt Abuse of Power’: Dems Rip FCC Chair Over Kimmel Suspension

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‘All They Do Is Hit Trump’: President Says Networks ‘Not Allowed to Do That’

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President Donald Trump has been claiming that the ABC suspended late night host Jimmy Kimmel because of poor ratings, but he shared a different thought on Thursday about what the future of network television might entail.

“When you have a network and you have evening shows and all they do is hit Trump, that’s all they do — if you go back, I guess they haven’t had a conservative one in years, or something — when you go back and take a look, all they do is hit Trump. They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that,” Trump said, according to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

The Independent added that President Trump “told reporters on Air Force One as he jets back from his State visit to the U.K. that because he won the election and networks give him ‘wholly bad publicity,’ that ‘I would think maybe their license should be taken away.'”

“It will be up to Brendan Carr. I think Brendan Carr is outstanding. He’s a patriot. He loves our country, and he’s a tough guy,” the president said, referring to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

READ MORE: ‘Corrupt Abuse of Power’: Dems Rip FCC Chair Over Kimmel Suspension

 

Image via Reuters

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