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A Gay Dad Sounds Off On How Mike Huckabee Is Choking On The Doritos Rainbows Campaign

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Mike Huckabee is finding the Doritos Rainbows campaign a bit hard to swallow. This gay dad sounds off on the Huckabee hate legacy, and makes his own plea to Doritos about the future of the campaign.

My sons love Doritos. Jesse is a Nachos Doritos guy, and Jason, always his own man, loves the Ranch flavored.

I love the It Gets Better Project. They have provided inspiration and tangible help for teens at risk for suicide. It is a cause that no one in their right mind could be against. Yes, Mike Huckabee, you can take that for all it’s worth – you’re an idiot.

The recent campaign in which Doritos sold bags of rainbow chips to raise money for the It Gets Better Project brought smiles across our household. The campaign went well and before we could get on the computer to order our special bag, it was over. Sold out in just a day.

Mike Huckabee, a financial wizard of the Bigotry Industry has stepped in to demonize the efforts however. Huckabee does this under the guise of being “Christian.” He claims that Christianity is important to him. Unfortunately, few have done so much harm to the true precepts of Christianity as has Mike Huckabee. I would go so far as to say that Huckabee is to the heart of Christ what Judas Iscariot was to Jesus. He betrays it with a kiss.

A rich man donates to hate, Huckabee organizes a campaign to make him richer. A homophobic incestuous abuser is found out, Huckabee rationalizes away all he has done. A woman dishonors her office and tries to humiliate loving families, mocking them for wanting to be married, and there is Huckabee holding her hand in front of a stolen rock anthem. Now, Huckabee is attacking an organization that has saved the lives of thousands of teens. All of this done under the banner of “Christianity.” If you believe him, the press has gutted the soul of Christ of its love and compassion and replaced it with bigotry and homophobia.

“Meet your new sick partner,” Huckabee supposedly told Doritos, reportedly framing the It Gets Better Project as a “hate group.”  As he does so, he tweets to his legion, “Stand by me,” otherwise translated as “send money.”

How does Huckabee justify this categorization of an organization that is so profoundly good as being something so heinously bad? Two words: Dan Savage.

Dan Savage loathes Huckabee. Huckabee deserves exactly what he got. Dan’s tactics are not gentle, nor are they the type that will be discussed at the family dinner table. Dan Savage is the LGBTQ version of Donald Rumsfield. He embraces “Shock and Awe.” He seeks to appall and disgust the card-carrying homophobes to their pearl-clutching cores. He succeeds.

Savage made a recording, not for the faint of heart, that turns a Savage/Huckabee handshake into a sexual chronicle would make even the most sexually free go “Ewww.” For the sexually repressed, it just makes their head explode. You can see what I mean here. Of course, taking that piece of Savage’s work and equating it to what is being done at the It Gets Better Project, is like taking mainstream Christianity and comparing it to this.

Exploding heads are a good thing for Huckabee. He has long learned that when a homophobe gets irate, he or she goes for their wallet. So as Kim Davis no longer is of use to him, he has now taken aim at the corn chip.

As he does, so have I, in my own letter to Doritos.

 

Dear Doritos,

It was with great joy that my family and I saw your “There is nothing BOLDER than being yourself” campaign. I am happy for your success and the contribution you have made to the It Gets Better Project.

That success is not without cost, obviously. You have earned the vitriol of the people of a certain mindset, particularly those who are followers of Mike Huckabee.

Huckabee has publicly addressed you and attempted to integrate your campaign with an attack made on him by Dan Savage. The two events are non-sequiturs.

While Dan Savage came up with the idea for the “It Gets Better” inspiration to save lives, his editorials and the It Gets Better Project organization are unrelated entities.

That Huckabee does not understand the Savage piece about him is irrelevant to your efforts. Huckabee missed Savage’s intent on the recording. Savage has an in-your-face X-rated style, undisputedly. He sought to show that homophobic oppression is as vile and disgusting to families such as mine as descriptive sexual concepts are to Huckabee.

There is a big difference between the harm of Huckabee’s rhetoric and that of Savage, however. While Huckabee may be shocked at Savage’s tone and verbiage, Huckabee’s parents will not walk in finding him cutting himself or reaching for narcotics. Huckabee’s loved ones will not wake to find out that he had gotten up early that morning and stepped in front of a train.

The victims of people like Mike Huckabee have done exactly those things, and it is to them that the It Gets Better Project makes its outreach.

So thank you for your small campaign. I am confident that the viral stir it has made within progressive circles will help drive your business up. The backlash you are getting from those on the other side will die down. As they write out their protests on their Apple devices, post them on Facebook, they will soon be informed that both those entities have been far more LGBT community progressive than Frito-Lay has been able to be.

While this note is a “thank you” letter, I actually mean it to be a letter of request.

Eat your own chips. More specifically, please take your own campaign slogan to heart.  You encourage the eaters of your limited run colored chips to be BOLD.

Please, Doritos, be bold yourself. Put your rainbow chips in wide circulation. Don’t just let this be a limited campaign for the benefit of social media and a single check to the It Gets Better Project.

Let this be a message that American families see on each trip to the grocery store. Let the teen who is contemplating suicide because they fear the homophobic reaction of the world around them, that Mike Huckabee would prefer they live in, see the chips that tell them they are not alone.

As Huckabee tries to hijack the narrative and choke us all with homophobia, grab it back, and take it to the next level.

Do it. Be BOLD.

Huckabee’s hate then won’t have a chance. The mass crunching on a global scale will drown it out as a new brand of love hits the scene… one with a hint of spice, cheese and a kicky chili flavor.

 

Images:
Mike Huckabee by DonkeyHotey via Flickr and a CC license 
Doritos by Doritos

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HATE CRIMES

Leaders of White Supremacist Group Terrorgram Charged, Face Up to 220 Years in Prison

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Dallas Humber and Matthew Allison, the leaders of the white supremacist terrorist group Terrorgram Collective are facing up to 220 years in prison on charges of soliciting hate crimes, conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and soliciting the murder of federal officials.

The Justice Department announced Monday that Humber, 34, and Allison, 37, were arrested Friday. The pair were indicted on 15 charges. The charges include one count of conspiracy, four counts of soliciting hate crimes, three more of soliciting the murder of federal officials, three counts of doxxing federal officials, two counts of distributing information on making bombs, one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and a count of making threatening communications.

“Today’s indictment charges the defendants with leading a transnational terrorist group dedicated to attacking America’s critical infrastructure, targeting a hit list of our country’s public officials, and carrying out deadly hate crimes—all in the name of violent white supremacist ideology,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Today’s arrests are a warning that committing hate-fueled crimes in the darkest corners of the internet will not hide you, and soliciting terrorist attacks from behind a screen will not protect you.”

READ MORE: CNN Host Debunks Mike Johnson’s False Hundreds of ‘Known Terrorists’ Claim in Real Time

The Terrorgram Collective is based around the messaging app Telegram, and promotes the idea of white supremacist accelerationism, the Justice Department said. Accelerationism is an ideology that uses terrorism and political violence in hopes of speeding up a collapse of the government, which can then be replaced with a new system. In Terrorgram’s case, that new system would be a white ethnostate. In order to cause this destruction, Humber and Allison allegedly provided advice for committing crimes and disseminated a list of “high-value targets” of government officials and business leaders to be assassinated.

The Justice Department says it has linked Terrorgram with a shooting outside of an LGBTQ bar in Slovakia, a mass stabbing in Turkey near a mosque and a person who planned to attack New Jersey’s power grid. Terrorgram called those who had made attacks “Saints,” and the indictment includes a graphic explaining a five point criteria for “sainthood.” First is to “be White… obviously”; the incident must be deliberate; the motive must align with the white supremacist cause; there must be a body count, or “score,” of one or more; and the attacker must share a similar worldview to the group. Another graphic depicted the “Path to Sainthood”: Starting at “Grievance,” moving to “Violent Ideation,” to “Research and Planning”, to “Preparation,” to “Probing and breaching”, ending in “Attack.”

“Hate crimes fueled by bigotry and white supremacy, and amplified by the weaponization of digital messaging platforms, are on the rise and have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Make no mistake, as hate groups turn to online platforms, the federal government is adapting and responding to protect vulnerable communities.”

The case will be heard in federal court, in the Eastern District of California.

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politics

Trump Calls for ‘Biden Comeback’ Day Before Debate With Kamala Harris

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Former President Donald Trump suggested Democrats put President Joe Biden back in play as the nominee a day before the scheduled debate with Vice President Kamala Harris by claiming Harris was doing poorly in the polls, asking “How about a Biden comeback?”

On Monday, Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social, calling out Harris’ Saturday afternoon campaign stop at Penzeys Spices in Pittsburgh.

“Comrade Kamala Harris goes to an ultra Left Wing, Trump Hating, spice shop, which I hear has terrible, overpriced product, and calls for ‘unity.’ As people begin to realize that she is a Marxist, FAR MORE LIBERAL than Crazy Bernie Sanders, or even Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren, her poll numbers are beginning to crash. Who are they going to put in next? How about a Biden comeback?” Trump wrote.

READ MORE: Trump Late Night Rant Signals Plan to Evade Harris Debate as Rules Come Back Into Play

Penzeys Spices is a Wisconsin-based chain of spice stores that has gone viral in the past for making anti-Trump statements, according to the Tufts Daily. The store has sold a “January 6 Box” of spices which included blends named “Justice” and “Outrage.” Penzeys has also posted signs in its windows, including a “Welcome Future Fake Electors” sign at its Milwaukee location during the Republican National Convention in the city. Its website even has a page titled “About Republicans” slamming the party.

Though Trump is likely accurate in calling Penzey’s Spices “Trump Hating,” his other claims are more suspect. Harris is much closer to the center than Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Both Sanders and Warren are regarded as progressive, while Harris has been labeled a “reliable ally of the Democratic establishment” by the New York Times.

While Harris’ political momentum has stalled in the most recent polling, according to Politico, it hasn’t reversed, and the outlet reports that she’s still gaining popularity. NPR has also pointed to Harris’ previous debate performances and her past as a prosecutor as boons in Tuesday’s debate that could put her above Trump.

But regardless of whether she wins or loses the debate, it would be difficult for her to do as poorly as Biden did during his June 27 debate with Trump. Less than a month after that disastrous debate, Biden exited the race. Though Trump ultimately agreed to tomorrow’s debate with Harris, Trump made an attempt to change the venue to Fox News from ABC, and even initially pulled out before changing his mind.

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RIGHT WING IDIOCY

No, Haitian Immigrants Aren’t Eating Cats in Ohio

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cats

The latest conspiracy theory to make it out of MAGA world is that Haitian immigrants moved to Ohio to eat people’s beloved pets—from geese and ducks to even cats. It should go without saying that this is false, but considering it’s been shared by pundits like Charlie Kirk and even vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance (R-OH), it apparently needs to be said.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Vance accused Vice President Kamala Harris of being derelict in her duties as Border Czar, citing the conspiracy theory on Monday.

“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio. Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” Vance wrote.

READ MORE: ‘I’m Not Suicidal’: Kari Lake Pushes Hillary Clinton Murder Conspiracy Theory

Charlie Kirk made a similar tweet on Sunday, including a screenshot of an anonymized Facebook post.

“Residents of Springfield, OH are reporting that Haitians are eating their family pets, another gift of the Biden-Harris mass immigration replacement plan. Liberals will soon be lecturing Americans on why they need to be sensitive to Haitian culture and accept this as the new normal. Those idiots deserve to be condemned and mocked mercilessly. Save our pets. Secure our borders,” Kirk wrote.

X owner Elon Musk replied, taking Kirk’s post at face value, writing, “Apparently, people’s pet cats are being eaten”.

Haitians have been explicitly singled out in this case because of an influx of Haitian immigrants to Springfield, Ohio. Approximately 20,000 people have come from Haiti to Springfield, according to the New York Times. The Times reports that the new immigrants have helped the city bounce back from a decline both of businesses and population.

In 2014, Springfield launched a plan to bring businesses back to the city—leading to 8,000 new jobs by 2020. There were many new jobs, but there weren’t enough people to fill all the positions. Enter the Haitian community, who filled the positions, made new lives for themselves, and have even started opening their own businesses.

“There was a time, not too long ago, when we were a dying city, hemorrhaging people and jobs to other places. And the good Lord heard our prayers, and brought us the gift of the Haitian immigrant community,” Korge Mori, a Springfield resident, told the Times.

As for the specific claims by Vance and Kirk, the Springfield police have no reports of pet cats being taken and eaten, according to the Springfield News-Sun. While there was a recent case of a woman being accused of killing and eating a cat, that took place in Canton, Ohio. There is no evidence the woman, Allexis Telia Ferrell, is Haitian, and she has been a registered voter in Ohio for six years, according to The Daily Dot. And, as the Daily Dot points out, Canton is nowhere near Springfield.

Though it’s been a common urban legend that Haitian people eat cats, it does not appear to be based in any fact. A Google Books search of books with the subject “haiti” prints up nothing about eating cats being a part of Haitian culture. In fact, the only references are similar to ones like in the book Tropics of Haiti: Race and the Literary History of the Haitian Revolution in the Atlantic World, 1789-1865 by Marlene Daut. In this book, Daut refers to a claim of cat-eating by Edward Long, a historian who died in 1813—a claim Daut calls “bizarre.”

The idea of Haitians eating people’s pet cats is just another ugly urban legend with no basis in reality—much like similar claims against other immigrants to America. While it’s generally safest to keep your cats inside, it’s not to protect them from hungry people, but from being hit by cars.

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