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Anti-Gay Alabama Man Publicly Mocks Widower Speaking About the Husband He Lost (Video)

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Yes, These Actions Must Be Publicly Condemned

Earlier this week supporters of Roy Moore awaited the end of a hearing that ultimately will decide if the Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice will retain his title – and his job – or if he will, for the second time, be stripped of it. Moore ordered Alabama probate judges in January to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and is now essentially on trial for it.

After the hearing on Monday, Moore and his Liberty Counsel attorney, Mat Staver, came out and delivered speeches, talked to the press, and insisted to supporters the Chief Justice had done nothing wrong. Afterwards, the Human Rights Campaign also held a press conference, and among the speakers was Dr. Paul Hard.

Dr. Hard was married in Massachusetts and very shortly afterwards, lost his husband, David Fancher, in a tragic auto accident. He has spent years fighting his mother in law in court for a portion of the estate she believes she is entitled to because she does not recognize her son’s marriage to Dr. Hard. 

As Hard was speaking about his late husband, several of the supporters of Chief Justice Moore came over and stood near the podium. One decided to openly mock Dr. Hard as he shared his grief with those who had actually come to hear and support him and other speakers.

In the short video clip below, Dr. Hard can be heard saying, “following the death of my husband, two months after our marriage.”

In the background clearly can be seen a man in a blue sport coat first with what appears to be an angry look on his face, which then morphs into incredulity, then a mocking smirk and laughter. As he brushes his hair and pulls his ear he says, “You can’t have a husband.”

https://vine.co/v/5bihOImElmJ

“You can’t have a husband.”

Dr. Hard, in fact, sadly, no longer has his husband. 

On Wednesday, Alabama opinion writer John Archibald weighed in on the man who mocked Dr. Hard.

“How can one stand under the banner and glory of God and laugh at another man’s death?,” Archibald asked. “How?”

“I don’t care what you think of gay people or gay marriage or suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and his efforts to derail the ‘agenda of the homosexual movement.’ Believe what you want,” he challenged. “I care about the cruelty I saw this week, on the steps of the Alabama Supreme Court. I can’t move beyond it,” Archibald writes.

He notes that the speakers at HRC’s press conference, including Dr. Hard, “were interrupted time and again by Moore supporters, bullied and criticized and demeaned. On the steps of the highest court in Alabama.”

Archibald says he “was struck…by the malice and brutality” of the man who was mocking Dr. Hard.

How can any man, no matter his position on Roy Moore or any issue, stand before another and mock his pain?

How can one stand under the banner of God and laugh at another man’s death?

How — in the name of God — can one deride genuine grief?

In the name of God.

I don’t know how Roy Moore’s ethics case will turn out. In truth I don’t from a legal standpoint know how it should turn out.

But the type of religion spewed on those courthouse steps — a type long on the Shalt Nots and woefully short on the Blessed Bes — looks nothing like Jesus.

There’s also another important element here.

Roy Moore founded a Christian-based legal organization, the Foundation for Moral Law, which represents Dr. Hard’s mother in law. And so that makes this all the more offensive.

Image: Screenshot via John Archibald/Vine
Hat tip: Queerty

 

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News

‘Start the Kevin McCarthy Death-Clock’ After Biden Wins Debt Ceiling Battle: Rick Wilson

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Appearing late Saturday night on MSNBC after it was announced that President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had reached an agreement “in principle’ on a budget deal, former GOP strategist Rick Wilson claimed this could be the beginning of the end for McCathy’s speakership.

Sitting in on a panel with guest host Michael Steele, Wilson suggested that McCarthy’s decision to compromise with the president to avoid a default that would spin the economy into chaos will not go over well with far-right members of his House caucus who could make a motion to “vacate the chair” to express their displeasure.

Asked by host Steel about what comes next, Wilson stated it was a win for the White House which will not make conservatives happy.

RELATED: ‘Crazy cuckoo MAGA people’ could sink debt ceiling deal: Dem strategist

“Great night for Joe Biden, great night for the White House even though I think their messaging has been kind of tentative the past few weeks” the Lincoln Project founder began. “I think though we are now going to start the Kevin McCarthy death-clock. He has certainly got a very angry part of his caucus tonight who probably burning up his phone no matter how good it is for the country not to default.”

“It’s not going to please the chaos caucus in the GOP,” he added.

Watch below or at the link:

 

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News

Debt Ceiling: McCarthy Faces ‘Lingering Anger’ and a Possible Revolt as Far-Right House Members Start Issuing Threats

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As House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) continues to negotiate a deal to avoid a debt crisis, members of the far-right Freedom Caucus are growing furious with him over broken promises he made to them.

According to MSNBC political analyst Steve Benen, with a slim GOP majority in the House, McCarthy is walking a tightrope to get a budget deal passed and may need help from House Democrats if members of his caucus refuse to go along with him.

As Benen points out, in order to win the speakership McCarthy agreed to an easier path for a motion to “vacate the chair” which could end his tenure as Speaker. That could come into play if the Freedom Caucus stages a revolt.

“… as the negotiations approach an apparent finish line, the House Republicans’ most radical faction is learning that it isn’t likely to get everything its members demanded — and for the Freedom Caucus, that’s not going to work,” he wrote in his MSNBC column.

ALSO IN THE NEWS: Trump in danger of heightened espionage charges after bombshell report: legal expert

Citing a Washington Times report that stated, “[Freedom Caucus members] want everything from the debt limit bill passed by the House last month plus several new concessions from the White House,” Benen suggested far-right House Republicans are now issuing veiled threats.

In an interview, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) stated, “I am going to have to go have some blunt conversations with my colleagues and the leadership team. I don’t like the direction they are headed.”

With Politico reporting, “The [House Freedom Caucus] was already unlikely to support a final bipartisan deal, but lingering anger with Kevin McCarthy could have lasting implications on his speakership,” Benen added, “If this is simply a matter of lingering ill-will from members who come to believe that GOP leaders ‘caved,’ the practical consequences might be limited. But let’s also not forget that McCarthy, while begging his own members for their support during his protracted fight for the speaker’s gavel, agreed to tweak the motion-to-vacate-the-chair rules, which at least in theory, would make it easier for angry House Republicans to try to oust McCarthy from his leadership position.”

Adding the caveat that he is not predicting an imminent McCarthy ouster he added, “But if the scope of the Freedom Caucus’ discontent reaches a fever pitch, a hypothetical deal clears thanks to significant Democratic support, don’t be surprised if we all start hearing the phrase ‘vacate the chair” a lot more frequently.”

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BREAKING NEWS

Prosecutors Tell Trump They Have a Recording of Him and a Witness: Report

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Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial have notified the ex-president’s attorneys they have a recording of him and a witness. The notification comes in the form of an automatic discovery form, CBS News reports, which “describes the nature of the charges against a defendant and a broad overview of the evidence that prosecutors will present at Trump’s preliminary hearing or at trial.”

CBS reports prosecutors have handed the recording over to Trump’s legal team.

It’s not known who the witness is, nor are any details known publicly about what the conversation entails, or even if it is just audio or if it includes video.

READ MORE: ‘Likely to Be Indicted Soon’: Trump Might Face Seven Different Felonies, Government Watchdog Says

According to the article’s author, CBS News’ Graham Kates, via Twitter, prosecutors say they also have recordings between two witnesses, a recording between a witness and a third party, and various recordings saved on a witness’s cell phones.

Trump is facing 34 felony counts in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case related to his allegedly unlawful attempt to hide hush money payoffs to a well-known porn star by falsifying business records to protect his 2016 presidential campaign.

See the discovery form above or at this link.

Image via Shutterstock

 

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