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Jeb Bush: Florists Must Sell Flowers To Gay Couples, Unless They’re Wedding Flowers

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Jeb Bush is wading into the wedding flowers and cakes wars, trying to appease all, and failing.

Back in April, during the middle of Indiana Governor Mike Pence’s self-created implosion over a discriminatory “religious freedom” law designed to marginalize LGBT people, Jeb Bush headed to California to try to woo high-value Silicon Valley donors. It didn’t end well, after Bush offered support for Pence’s anti-gay discrimination.

Salon’s Joan Walsh had written it was “all such bad timing – as he headed to Silicon Valley to raise megabucks for his Right to Rise PAC. Bay Area businesses like Twitter, Yelp and Salesforce, plus valley titan Apple, had all blasted the law.”

Campaigning in San Francisco on Thursday, Jeb Bush’s timing also could not have been worse.

The Republican presidential candidate, second now to Donald Trump, made a big media deal of stepping into an Uber car Thursday morning, which turned out to be the same day a judge ruled Uber should be forced to pay the State of California $7.3 million for its failure to follow state regulations.

Riding “shotgun,” Bush pulled up to a San Francisco startup, Thumbtack, where he shared his views on the third rail of politics – not “entitlements,” although he spoke to those too – but whether or not a Christian florist should have to sell flowers to a same-sex couple for their wedding, along with other wage discrimination and LGBT civil rights issues.

TIME reports that a Thumbtack employee “who identified himself to Bush as being gay asked about Bush’s position on legislation to ban discrimination of LGBT Americans. ‘I don’t think you should be discriminated because of your sexual orientation. Period. Over and out,’ he replied.”

“The fact that there wasn’t a law doesn’t necessarily mean you would have been discriminated against,” Bush told the gay employee. Small comfort to the millions of LGBT Americans who have been discriminated against, no doubt, and ignoring the fact that in more than half the states across the nation, LGBT employees have had access to no legal protections and have been fired just for being LGBT.

Bush “added that in the wake of the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, the country must work to carefully balance the rights of those seeking to marry and the religious beliefs of those who oppose those unions.”

Citing the frequently-used example by religious freedom advocates, Bush said that in the case of a florist approached by a gay couple, “you should be obligated to sell them flowers, doing otherwise would be discriminatory.” But he said that the objecting florist should not be required to participate in the wedding, a fine line that he hopes will appeal to all sides of the debate.

In other words, a florist, Bush believes, cannot discriminate against gay people for being gay, but they can if the very same gay people are getting married. 

CBS News quoted Bush’s comment a bit more fully:

“If you’re a florist and you have that deeply felt belief, you should if a gay couple comes in and says I want to buy flowers you should be obligated to sell them flowers. Doing otherwise would be discrimination. But if that couple asks you to participate in the wedding, and you said, based on my conscience I shouldn’t or I won’t, you should not be fined, you should not have to close your business down.”

The religious right over the past year or more has been using the phrase “participate in” to include even the act of, say, merely arranging flowers or baking a cake for the wedding of a same-sex couple.

And Bush’s words are wholly consistent with what he told Pat Robertson’s CBN News in May, telling reporter David Brody that he supports the concept that wedding-related vendors – bakers, florists, photographers – should be given the legal right to discriminate against same-sex couples getting married, based on their professed religious or moral beliefs.

Brody asked the former Florida governor if he is “OK” if wedding vendors don’t provide their services to same-sex couples.

“Yes, absolutely if it’s based on a religious belief,” Bush had responded.

TIME goes on to note that when the gay employee “followed up to ask specifically whether he would support anti-discrimination laws for LGBT Americans for their housing and employment—the next target for gay rights marriage advocates—Bush said he would at the state level.”

“I think this should be done state-by-state, I totally agree with that,” Bush said.

Again, timing is everything.

Later in the day yesterday, the EEOC released an historic and groundbreaking ruling, stating that gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees are covered by and included in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it comes to employment discrimination. In other words, at the federal level, nationally, not “state-by-state,” as Bush prefers.

Bush also agreed that wages should be equal between men and women, but insisted “there are laws to make it so, and they should be enforced,” not added to.

As for “entitlements,” what many Americans call government programs like Social Security and Medicare, CNN’s Ashley Killough tweeted what Bush had to say:

So how did Bush fare at the six-year old San Francisco startup?

International Business Times reports that the “gay employee” who asked Bush about discrimination is Jake Poses, Thumbtack’s vice president of product. 

“I appreciate him saying I shouldn’t be discriminated against, but I do believe that if he had more conviction about it, he should [handle it at the federal level],” Poses told IBTimes.

“I give him credit for understanding that startups in San Francisco are having a real and measurable impact on the lives of many Americans,” Poses said. “I probably will not vote for him, but that is because I put a premium on views on social issues. I think that actually is the pervailing view of most people in the Silicon Valley community. That’s part of the ethos of what’s out here.” 

Not the first time Bush has failed when visiting Silicon Valley. 

All in all, not a great day, some might think.

 

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News

Canadians Slash US Travel as Prime Minister Says ‘Old’ Relationship With America Is ‘Over’

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March 27, 2025

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The Canadian Prime Minister and the Canadian people are expressing anger and frustration with Donald Trump, following months of attacks, and now threatened as well as actual double-digit and even triple-digit tariffs, by the U.S. President on America’s northern neighbor—one of its oldest and closest allies, both economically and geographically.

Canada’s new Prime Minister, liberal Mark Carney, has been in office for nearly two weeks but has yet to speak with President Trump. He did, however, deliver a speech on Thursday announcing that the U.S is “no longer a reliable partner”—and that the “old” Canadian-U.S. relationship has ended.

“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperations is over,” Prime Minister Carney, a banker and economist, announced (video below).

“What exactly the United States does next is unclear,” he said, suggesting Trump might further increase tariffs. “But what is clear, what is clear is that we, as Canadians, have agency, we have power. We are masters in our own home.”

READ MORE: ‘Political Protection Racket’: Bondi Blasted for Shrugging Off Security Breach Investigation

“We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away. We can deal with this crisis best by building our strength right here at home.”

“It will take hard work. It will take steady and focused determination from governments, from businesses, from labor, from Canadians,” the PM continued. “We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationship elsewhere, and we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”

As Prime Minister Carney delivered his remarks, spreading across social media was news of a massive drop in planned trips from Canada into the United States.

OAG, which provides digital flight information, intelligence, and analytics for the aviation industry, published a report on Wednesday revealing a “striking decline” and “sharp drop” in airline flight bookings from Canada to America.

The report states that “bookings are down by over 70% in every month through to the end of September. This sharp drop suggests that travellers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute.”

READ MORE: ‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

OAG also warns that “the traditional ‘snowbird’ market from Canada to the US could be badly impacted next year if the situation doesn’t improve quickly.”

Canadians have been vocal about their anger at the United States and at its president.

“You’ve elected a fool, a liar and a narcissist,” a Canadian tourist told the owners of Hotel Thaxter when they “emailed to cancel a wintertime reservation at the downtown Portsmouth inn,” the Portsmouth Herald reported last week. “The visitor, a frequent Portsmouth tourist from over the northern border, left a scathing review of President Donald Trump amid tensions between the U.S. government and Canada, including a trade and tariff war.”

“Because of the absurd decision of your stupid president to impose tariffs on your closest and most trusted neighbor, Canada,” the email said, “I have no choice but to cancel my stay at your hotel.”

“My wife and I have been going to Portsmouth for the past 10 years and we would have (loved) to discover it in the winter. But we won’t return as long as that despicable human being is in power,” the decade-long visitor exclaimed.

Meanwhile, many were stunned by the Prime Minister’s remarks.

“This is painful, and saddening, and embarrassing. I feel like we’re losing a member of the family – and for no good reason other than that some Americans wanted another season of the worst reality TV show in history,” commented The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols.

Trump has targeted and attacked Canada for nearly six months.

In December, before even being sworn in to office, Trump trotted out his “51st state governor” nickname for then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump has repeatedly mocked “Governor” Trudeau, and then threatened tariffs, which have since been implemented.

Trump has also repeatedly talked about annexing Canada, via various means.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

 

Image via Reuters

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News

‘Political Protection Racket’: Bondi Blasted for Shrugging Off Security Breach Investigation

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5 hours ago

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March 27, 2025

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Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing sharp criticism after strongly suggesting she will not authorize a criminal investigation into a major national security breach involving 18 top national security and defense officials from the Trump administration. Critics have pointed to her recent confirmation hearing, during which she vowed to keep the U.S. Department of Justice free from political influence.

Asked whether the Justice Department is investigating the Signalgate scandal, and if not, why not, the Attorney General claimed the information shared was “not classified”—in direct contradiction to the judgment of numerous national security and military experts.

‘Well, first, um, it was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released and what we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission, she said, attempting to move the focus to the Yemen bombing. “Our world is now safer because of that mission. We’re not gonna comment any further on that.”

But Bondi then moved to attack top Democrats.

READ MORE: ‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

“If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was at Hillary Clinton’s home that she was trying to bleach bit, talk about the, that classified documents in Joe Biden’s garage that Hunter Biden had access to, she said, perpetrating right-wing misinformation about the former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential nominee, and re-introducing the Biden classified document issue, which was fully investigated by the Department of Justice.

“This was not classified information, and we are very pleased with the results of that operation and that the entire world is safer because of it,” Bondi re-iterated.

The New York Times, reporting on the Attorney General’s remarks, noted that the Justice Department “opened investigations into Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Biden in those instances, but neither ultimately faced criminal charges. She did not mention the prosecution of Mr. Trump over his handling of classified documents after his first term in office — a case which was ultimately abandoned when he won a second term.”

But the Times also noted that “Dating back to at least the Reagan administration, the government has considered the details of ‘military plans, weapons, or operations’ to be classified.”

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) is calling for a special counsel to investigate.

After noting that DOJ investigated Clinton and Biden, he added:

“Bondi sees the Justice Department as a political arm of Trump’s White House, she won’t do her job. That’s why we need a special counsel,” he wrote, adding, “Defense officials say Hegseth likely shared classified info on Signal. DOJ has to investigate this too.”

“Bringing up Hillary Clinton is not the own you think it is,” Congressman Beyer continued. “Republicans made her testify for 11 hours on her handling of classified information. I was there. Now the same Republicans are bending themselves into pretzels to justify what Hegseth did. They think you are stupid.”

Investigative journalist Roger Sollenberger remarked, “For what it’s worth, Joe Biden’s administration directed a Trump-appointed Republican to independently investigate Joe Biden for potentially mishandling classified information.”

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

Sollenberger also chastised Bondi: “Openly political attorney general running an openly political protection racket in an openly politicized Justice Department after sworn Senate confirmation testimony that she would keep politics out of it.”

Calling Bondi’s remarks “Pathetic,” Political Science professor William Muck noted: “This is why a wall between the Attorney General and the president is so fundamental. Bondi most certainly knows the information was classified and warrants an investigation, but is unwilling to do her job because she fears it will upset the president.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Liar’ Hegseth Faces ‘Immediate’ Resignation Demand From Growing List of Democrats

Image via Reuters

 

 

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OPINION

‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

Published

7 hours ago

on

March 27, 2025

By

Concerns are mounting over President Donald Trump’s ability, willingness, or even interest in engaging with the most pressing issues facing the country, as he increasingly—and casually—admits to being unaware of critical matters. His repeated declarations of ignorance, often delivered without hesitation or concern, have deepened alarm among critics who warn of a dangerous void in informed leadership in the Oval Office.

Late Wednesday afternoon, a reporter asked President Trump, “Have you been briefed about the soldiers in Lithuania? Who are missing?”

The Commander-in-Chief, appearing both uninformed and unconcerned, simply replied, “No I haven’t.” And moved on to take a question from another reporter.

The four soldiers went missing on Tuesday during a training mission in Lithuania, near the border of Belarus, a staunch ally of Russia. On Wednesday, as Axios reported, their Hercules armored vehicle was found submerged. Hours before Trump was asked, NATO and numerous media outlets had reported the soldiers were dead, only to walk that back later. They currently remain missing.

But President Trump said he was unaware of any of this.

“Is Trump just totally out of the loop?” asked journalist Matthew Yglesias. “Why wasn’t he briefed on the soldiers in Lithuania?”

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

Declaring President Trump “clueless” on “basic intel,” The New Republic on Thursday morning noted that “the armymen were known to be missing as early as Tuesday at 4:45 p.m., the Lithuanian military said, so why Trump was still unaware of the situation more than 24 hours later is unclear.”

Also Wednesday afternoon, President Trump was asked about his Secretary of Defense’s involvement in Signalgate. Pete Hegseth has been identified as the one who shared classified information in an insecure channel—seen as the greatest violation within the entire scandal. But the President appeared unaware of his Defense Secretary’s role in the massive nation security breach when asked by a reporter.

“Hegseth is doing a great job. He had nothing to do this. Hegseth? How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it. Look, it’s all a witch hunt,” Trump told the reporter. He then went on to try to blame Signal, saying he thought it could be “defective.”

Attorney and former Biden White House senior presidential speechwriter Dan Cluchey, responded to the video of Trump’s remarks on Hegseth and Signal.

“This is stronger evidence of cognitive decline than anything Joe Biden has ever said in his life, ever,” he wrote, and warned: “Something tells me the press will breeze right past it.”

READ MORE: ‘Liar’ Hegseth Faces ‘Immediate’ Resignation Demand From Growing List of Democrats

Journalist James Surowiecki observed, Trump is “so checked out of his job that he doesn’t even know Hegseth needlessly disclosed the weapons packages and times of the attack on the Houthis.”

On Monday, Trump had told reporters when asked about the Signal scandal, “I don’t know anything about it.” Appearing as if he had not been briefed, he then asked a reporter for more information about it.

“Trump initially told reporters he was not aware that the highly sensitive information had been shared, 2 1/2 hours after it was reported. He later appeared to joke about the breach,” the Associated Press reported.

The Signal texts that The Atlantic had published also reveal the President’s apparent lack of awareness, on numerous fronts.

On Wednesday, asked by a reporter if he believed the information shared in the Signal chat was not classified, the Commander-in-Chief told reporters, “That’s what I’ve heard. I don’t know. I’m not sure, you have to ask the various people involved.”

The White House has repeatedly insisted it was not classified, but countless experts, including lawmakers, say it was classified.

Vice President JD Vance in the texts says, “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this [military strike] is with his message on Europe right now.”

The Washington Post, citing a person with knowledge of Vance’s intentions, reported on Wednesday that “Vance wanted to ensure that Trump had been given all the facts about the potential attack, including that European nations stood to benefit more from it than the U.S.” That would suggest the Commander-in-Chief was not aware of “all the facts.”

Also of concern is that the 18 participants in the Signal chat appeared to be unsure of the President’s directive.

Calling him “President Bystander,” MSNBC’s Steve Benen writes, “Trump appears out of the loop in his own White House.”

Pointing to the Signal texts, Benen says one text “chain featured the White House’s Stephen Miller adding, in apparent reference to the attack plan, ‘As I heard it, the president was clear: green light.'”

“The problems should be obvious,” Benen added. “Vance was uncertain about Trump’s knowledge of the relevant details, and one of the president’s right-hand loyalists added an ‘as I heard it’ qualifier to the commander in chief’s directive about a deadly military operation abroad.”

The Commander-in-Chief appears to have been uninvolved in important portions of the planning of the military strike. Based on the Signal texts, it appears likely that he was absent from key portions of the decision making process.

Jared Ryan Sears, who writes The Pragmatic Humanist, offered this observation.

“Trump didn’t know about the Signal group chat or that a reporter was included. Trump says he didn’t sign the authorization to use the Enemy Alien Act to deport people without due process. His signature was on the document. Trump didn’t know that US service members went missing during a training exercise in Lithuania,” he noted. “What kind of leader knows nothing about what his administration is doing, what he himself is doing, and what is happening with the military he is in charge of?”

Attorney, Republican, and former U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock on Wednesday shared her concerns via social media.

“There is no adult supervision at the White House. Grandpa does not know what is going on except on the Golf Chanel or if someone takes a bad picture of him. Where’s Melania? Does he have a COS or caretaker?”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Quite a Bit of Perjury’: Texts Shatter Trump Admin’s ‘Bungled Coverup’ of Classified Leak

 

Image via Reuters 

 

 

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