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‘Bitch Just Make The Cake’: Bill Maher Takes On Anti-Gay Religious Fundamentalists

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Watch as Bill Maher takes on Christian and Islamic fundamentalists over their anti-gay positions, reminding Americans that both religions’ holy books call for the execution of gay people.

Bill Maher jumped into the nation’s recent debate over so-called “religious freedom” Friday night, reminding Americans that religious fundamentalists aren’t out of the mainstream, they are the mainstream.

First, the 59-year old atheist opened his “New Rules” segment by telling the religious right that they’ve already lost.

“Conservatives have to admit they’ve lost the culture wars when they’re reduced to demanding the right to not serve wedding cake to gay people,” Maher preached. “That’s the biggest problem facing America, not climate change, or terrorism, or the wealth gap, but gay cake? It’s not like gays are asking bakeries to make a giant penis cake that goes from soft to hard and squirts out butter cream,” he mocked.

And then Maher told some big truths that most Americans have chosen to ignore recently.

“Ever since Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed his Religious Freedom Restoration Act he and like-minded conservatives have been trying to have it both ways. They hate discrimination, but they love the Bible, a book that commands you to discriminate. That’s what it says. Gay is an abomination and we must destroy it by denying it pastry. Of course the root of this problem is that more than half of all Americans believe that the Bible is the actual or inspired word of God. But, now 55 percent also support gay marriage – which must be very confusing. On the one hand, clearly, God has spelled it out. He hates fags. But, you like your gay neighbors Rob and Larry. But, the Bible tells you to kill them. Yes, it literally says kill them. What to do?”

Maher used the example California’s Christian attorney Matt McLaughlin, who recently made headlines by paying $200 to file a ballot initiative that, should the voters of California pass it, would mandate the execution of every gay person in the state, or, “any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification.” McLaughlin’s Sodomite Suppression Act calls for gays to “be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.”

McLaughlin, Maher notes, says that it’s “better” that non-gay Californians kill the gays rather than have to suffer “God’s just wrath.”

And more truth-telling.

“Now I know you’re saying, ‘this guy is so far out on the fringe,’ but that’s the scary thing: he’s not. And this is what never gets discussed in these ‘religious freedom’ issues. The reason fundamentalists are so stubbornly anti-gay is they truly believe that condoning homosexuality will bring on God’ wrath.”

Maher went through a list of professional anti-gay haters, including Rev. Jerry Falwell, whose Liberty University is were Ted Cruz chose to announce his candidacy for president. Also on Maher’s list were Pastor John Hagee, televangelist Pat Robertson, who is the head of Regent University, and Bob Jones University founder Bob Jones III.

“Take fundamentalists at their word. They literally believe this stuff,” Maher observed. “If you believe that God wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah for being too gay, then, yeah, he must be itching to hit West Hollywood,” Maher quipped.

Maher then turned his focus, as he recently has tended to do, on countries that have a majority of citizens who are Muslim, like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan.

“Suffice it to say, in many Muslim countries, you wouldn’t have to work hard at all to get signatures on your ‘kill all the gays’ ballot initiative. In ten such countries, it’s already the law.”

And he reminded that Mohammad calls for the killing of anyone who engages in sodomy.

Maher then called for moderates to “hijack” Islam, as, he observes, happened with Christianity.

“People say ISIS hijacked Islam. No actually, the opposite is true. Religions do have hijackers, but the hijackers are the moderates, and I thank atheist God for them. They’re the ones who took a Sharpie to the Bible and redacted all the crazy parts until there was almost nothing left to read – like an email from Hillary Clinton. And now someone in Islam needs to do that with the Koran.”

“There’s so much wrong with America these days, take pride in the one thing that is legitimately better. We don’t let fundamentalists rule our shit. What’s the proof? Our gay battles are over cake. And even then, not once has one of these religious freedom laws been used to deny a gay person his wedding cake. It doesn’t happen. What happens is, there’s a lawsuit, it goes to court, and the judge says, ‘bitch just make the cake!'”

In the end, isn’t it time to put hate in the name of “religious liberty” back on the shelf, where old books, and not people, live?

Watch:

 

Image: Screenshot via YouTube
Thanks to Crooks & Liars and Towleroad for portions of the transcript

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News

‘Antisemitism Is Wrong, But’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Pilloried for Promoting Antisemitic Claim

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7 hours ago

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May 1, 2024

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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was strongly criticized Wednesday after promoting a historically and biblically false, antisemitic claim while declaring antisemitism is wrong.

As the House voted on an antisemitism bill that would require the U.S. Dept. of Education to utilize a certain definition of antisemitism when enforcing anti-discrimination laws, the far-right Christian nationalist congresswoman made her false claims on social media.

“Antisemitism is wrong, but I will not be voting for the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023 (H.R. 6090) today that could convict Christians of antisemitism for believing the Gospel that says Jesus was handed over to Herod to be crucified by the Jews,” Greene tweeted.

The definition of antisemitism the House bill wants to codify was created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

Congresswoman Greene highlighted this specific text which she said she opposes: “Using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize Israel or Israelis.”

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What Greene is promoting is called “Jewish deicide,” the false and antisemitic claim that Jews killed Jesus Christ. Some who adhere to that false belief also believe all Jews throughout time, including in the present day, are responsible for Christ’s crucification.

Greene has a history of promoting antisemitism, including comparing mask mandates during the coronavirus pandemic to “gas chambers in Nazi Germany.”

Political commentator John Fugelsang set the record straight:

“If only you could read,” lamented Rabbi Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Esq., CEO and Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center. The Antisemitism Awareness Act “could not convict anyone for believing anything, even this historical and biblical inaccuracy. It only comes into play if there is unlawful discrimination based on this belief that targets a Jewish person. Do you understand that distinction @RepMTG ?”

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“Not surprising,” declared Jacob N. Kornbluh, the senior political reporter at The Forward, formerly the Jewish Daily Forward. “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been accused in the past of making antisemitic remarks — including her suggestion that a Jewish-funded space laser had sparked wildfires in California in 2018, voted against the GOP-led Antisemitism Awareness Act.”

Jewish Telegraphic Agency Washington Bureau Chief Ron Kampeas, an award-winning journalist, took a deeper dive into Greene’s remarks.

“Ok leave aside the snark. The obvious antisemitism is in saying ‘the Jews’ crucified Jesus when even according to the text she believes in it was a few leaders in a subset of a contemporary Jewish community. It is collective blame, the most obvious of bigotries.”

“The text she presumably predicates her case on, the New Testament,” he notes, “was when it was collated a political document at a time when Christians and Jews were competing for adherents and when it would have been plainly dangerous to blame Rome for the murder of God.”

“Yes,” Kampeas continues, “that take is obviously one that a fundamentalist would not embrace, but it is the objective and historical take, and *should* be available to Jews (and others!) as a means of explaining why Christian antisemitism exists, and why it is harmful.”

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere also slammed Greene, saying she “is standing up for continuing to talk about Jews being responsible for the killing of Jesus. (John & Matthew refer to some Jews handing over Jesus to Pilate,not Herod. But also: many, including Pope Benedict, have called blaming Jews a misinterpretation)”

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OPINION

MAGA State Superintendent Supports Chaplains in Public Schools – But Not From All Religions

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May 1, 2024

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Visitors to Oklahoma’s State Schools Superintendent’s personal social media page will notice a post vowing to “ban Critical Race Theory, protect women’s sports, and fight for school choice,” a post linking to a Politico profile of him that reads, “Meet the state GOP official at the forefront of injecting religion into public schools,” a photo of him closely embracing a co-founder of the anti-government extremist group Moms for Liberty, and a video in which he declares, “Oklahoma is MAGA country.”

This is Ryan Walters, a far-right Republican Christian nationalist who is making a national name for himself.

“God has a place in public schools,” is how Politico described Walters’ focus.

Last week the Southern Poverty Law Center published an extensive profile of Walters, alleging “hateful rhetoric toward the LGBTQ+ community, calls to whitewash curriculum, efforts to ban books, and attempts to force Christian nationalist ideology into public school classrooms.”

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“Walters is superintendent of public instruction, and public schools are supposed to serve students of all faiths, backgrounds and identities,” Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, told SPLC.

Walters is supporting new legislation in Oklahoma that follows in Texas’ footsteps: allowing untrained, unlicensed, uncertified, and unregulated religious chaplains and ministers to be hired as official school counselors.

“We heard a lot of talk about a lot of those support staffs, people such as counselors, having shortages,” Rep. Kevin West, a Republican, said, KFOR reports. “I felt like this would be a good way to open that door to possibly get some help.”

Walters praised West, writing: “Allowing schools to have volunteer religious chaplains is a big help in giving students the support they need to be successful. Thank you to @KevinWestOKRep for being the House author for this bill. This passed the House yesterday and moves on to the Senate where @NathanDahm is leading the charge for this bill.”

As several Oklahoma news outlets report, there’s a wrinkle lawmakers may not have anticipated.

“With the Oklahoma House’s passage of Senate Bill 36, which permits the participation of uncertified chaplains in public schools, The Satanic Temple (TST) has announced its plans to have its Ministers in public schools in the Sooner State. If the bill advances through the Senate, this legislation will take effect on November 1, 2024. State Superintendent Ryan Walters, a vocal advocate for religious freedom in schools, has endorsed the legislation. The House approved SB 36 by a 54-37 vote on Wednesday,” a press release from The Satanic Temple reads. “The Satanic Temple, a federally recognized religious organization, has expressed its dedication to religious pluralism and community service.”

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Walters responded on social media to The Satanic Temple’s announcement.

“Satanists are not welcome in Oklahoma schools, but they are welcome to go to hell,” he wrote.

Former Lincoln Project executive director Fred Wellman served up an equally colorful response.

“Hahahaha!!! You are an idiot,” Wellman wrote. “How did you not see this coming? Satanists, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Pastafarians…come one come all! After all you’re not trying to establish Christianity as the state religion are you? We had a whole ass revolution about that. There are history books about it…oh…right. Not your thing. What a fool.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) served up a warning.

“The state of Oklahoma cannot discriminate against people or groups based on their religious beliefs,” the non-profit group wrote. “Walters’ hateful message shows, one again, that he only believes in religious freedom for Christians and that he is unfit to serve in public office.”

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News

Potential Trump VP Pick Says ‘If You’re a Billionaire’ You Should Vote for Trump

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13 hours ago

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May 1, 2024

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One of the possible picks to be Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, seen as “rapidly ascending” the list, is urging billionaires to vote for the ex-president.

North Dakota Republican Governor Doug Burgum “is quickly moving up former President Trump’s list of possible vice presidential picks because Trump’s team believes he would be a safe choice who could attract moderate voters,” Axios reported on Sunday. “Burgum is on a long list of VP contenders, but Trump’s rising interest in the North Dakota governor has been clear in recent weeks — and reveals his latest thinking about how he thinks his running mate could help him with undecided voters.”

Praising Governor Burgum, the National Review’s Michael Brendan Dougherty on Monday wrote he was “the only candidate in 2024 to easily exceed expectations in the debates.”

“He is a well-liked governor from a small state. He projects seriousness and sobriety, two qualities Pence also had that were important to balance the 2016 Republican ticket. Burgum is also good at championing Republican policy, including our desperately needed policies of energy abundance and supply-side reform. He is also the right age — 67 — with no signs of slowing down. Burgum needs to survive the millions poured into opposition research, but, if he does, I think he would bring credit and balance to the Republican ticket.”

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On Tuesday, Gov. Burgum, appearing on Fox News, told Laura Ingraham, “when you see someone who cares this deeply about this country, what he’s going through and what the Democrats and the liberal media is putting him through, and how he gets up and fights for every day people in America every day, and then his policies are all in the right direction.”

“If you’re a billionaire and you care about your shareholders, you care about your family and your grandkids, you should be voting for someone that’s going to bring prosperity to America and peace to the world, that’s what President Trump is going to do, that’s what he did for us when he was president,” Burgum claimed.

The Hill adds, “Ingraham suggested a lot of billionaires are still planning to support President Biden, especially those that are the ‘Wall Street types.’”

Last year, asked if he would ever do business with Trump, Bergum told NBC News, “I don’t think so,” and added, “I just think that it’s important that you’re judged by the company you keep.”

Some reports call Bergum a billionaire, while Forbes last year reported it “estimates Burgum’s net worth to be at least $100 million.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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