The Rapture: This Week’s Religious Right Anti-Gay Hate Crimes
Rapture-Causing Nazi-Like Gays Worthy Of Death
The Rapture is coming! The Rapture is coming! And the radical right — furiously working to get their last attacks on “the gays” in before they depart the Earth during Saturday’s promised Rapture — have been hard at work this week. Fresh from worship services, Reverend Rubén DÃaz, who apparently works part-time as a New York State Senator when his anti-gay religious chores are done, was toiling away with his fellow Evangelical preachers at an anti-gay marriage rally in the Bronx this past Sunday, telling gays how evil they are. DÃaz’s fellow preacher, the Right Reverend Ariel Torres Ortega of Radio Visión Cristiana stood on stage in front of a few thousand people, and in Spanish, with a fellow priest translating into English, said that gays should die.
READ: Kill The Gays NYC? Gays Should Die Says Pastor At NOM Marriage Rally
Specifically, Reverend Ortega said, gays “are worthy of death.” The translator did not pause or miss a beat, and neither did Reverend DÃaz — who spoke just minutes later — nor did DÃaz, the elected representative of hundreds of thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender constituents, bother to walk back or disavow that hate speech. It gives one pause to ask, if it’s illegal to yell, “Fire!” in a crowded theater, why isn’t it illegal to yell, “Kill the gays!” in front of a few thousand religious bigots?
While we’re pausing and musing, something Reverend DÃaz, who does not believe in the separation of church and state when it comes to same-sex marriage, is allergic to, let’s think for a moment about what kind of person has not only the desire, but the time, to go to a rally in the Bronx and hang out in the rain, with other people whose sole focus that day is to make sure that two people who love each other are banned from walking into city hall, signing a few pieces of paper, and entering into a civil marriage? I mean, seriously, don’t these people have something better to do with their time?
Sunday’s Bronx anti-gay marriage hate rally, of course promoted and sponsored by Maggie Gallagher’s National Organization for Marriage (NOM) — which has yet to respond to a petition demanding they denounce the “kill the gays” rhetoric — was headlined also by Brian Brown, NOM’s president. Thursday, saying his hate rally had a “festive atmosphere,” Brown said “the warm response of the people in the Bronx made it seem like, well, a ticker-tape parade, if the Bronx had ticker-tape parades.” No doubt ticker-tape parade heroes everyone are nauseous right now.
Characterizing his hate rally as “the march for dignity” — because until every last gay person, evidently, is forever banned from marrying, no opposite-sex marriage can ever regain its dignity — Brown said, “we march in love to protect marriage as the union of husband and wife.” Nothing like a little “kill the gays” hate speech to strengthen and protect the loving marriages of husbands and wives everywhere, right, Brian?
Â
“I mean, ladies and gentlemen, they are Nazis,” Fischer cried. “Homosexual activists, when it comes to freedom of speech, are Nazis. When it comes to freedom of religion, they are Nazis.”
Â
Â
Speaking of hate speech, Bryan Fischer, the public face and voice of the certified hate group, the American Family Association (AFA), decided to educate his readers about hate crimes today.
Offering this definition from USLegal.com, that a “hate crime is usually defined by state law as one that involves threats, harassment, or physical harm and is motivated by prejudice against someone’s race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation or physical or mental disability,” Fischer responds, “If hate crimes involve threats or harassment motivated by prejudice against someone’s religion, homosexual activists are the worst perpetrators of hate crimes in America.”
Because, you see, Fischer blames LGBT groups and individuals for Olympic official Peter Vidmar’s decision to resign from the U.S. Olympic committee because of his anti-gay comments on same-sex marriage and his $2000 donation to the Yes on 8 campaign that brought us Prop 8, the ban on same-sex marriage in California.
“Vidmar makes his living as a motivational speaker, and has now been tagged by the Grand Inquisitors of the left as a homophobic bigot,” Fischer writes. “Good luck getting speaking gigs with that on your resume.” Does anyone care to point out that Fischer makes a fine living as a “homophobic bigot?”
You know who else makes a fine living as a homophobic bigot? Peter LaBarbera. LaBarbera’s claim to fame is that he founded a lie and hate-spreading organization (an organization of one, but still…) called Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH). LaBarbera Thursday night via Twitter accused the media of being unable to deliver facts objectively because their livelihood is dependent upon drumming up controversy. I’ll leave you to put those pieces together to find the blatant hypocrisy.
READ: Rapture: Gays Are Responsible For Saturday Being Judgement Day
Speaking of blatant hypocrisy, note that neither Bryan Fischer, nor Maggie Gallagher, nor Brian Brown, nor anyone else on the Right, has denounced the Right Reverend Ariel Torres Ortega’s hate crime (it’s a hate crime, right, Bryan?) of saying gays should die. We’re waiting, and, given you folks will be Raptured in about 24 hours, there’s not much time left.
But wait. Of course, there’s more!
You see, hate crimes are only a one-way street. If you accuse someone of a hate crime, in Fischer’s mind at least, you’re absolved of any guilt of committing one yourself.
Case in point.
This week on his talk radio program “Focal Point,†Fischer accused gays of being Nazis. I kid you not.
The 60 year-​old conservative claimed “the homosexual agenda is just like Islam,†then said of gays — repeatedly — “they are Nazis.â€
“I mean, ladies and gentlemen, they are Nazis,” Fischer cried. “Homosexual activists, when it comes to freedom of speech, are Nazis. When it comes to freedom of religion, they are Nazis.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, they are Nazis,” Fischer, whose show on American Family Radio is broadcast by more than 180 radio stations in 40 states, repeated. “Do not be under any illusions about what homosexual activists will do with your freedoms and your religion if they have the opportunity. They’ll do the same thing to you that the Nazis did to their opponents in Nazi Germany.”
Let’s do that pausing and musing thing, an act that those of the radical religious right are allergic to committing. Let’s pause to solemnly remember that the Nazis killed an estimated six million Jews, and some put the total number of human beings murdered by Nazis at 11 to 17 million. We know that the Nazis targeted Jews and homosexuals specifically. How many millions of those were gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender?
But Fischer’s hate crimes and NOM’s anti-gay hate rally were not the only evidence of right wing gay-bashing this week. Despite three polls released this week showing that the majority of Americans accept their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender neighbors, and want them be be given the right to marry — merchants of hate were selling their wares by the truckload.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who has become infamous for using every tactic in the GOP’s book for stripping union workers of their rights, effectively stripped the rights of every same-sex couple to visit their loved one in a hospital. That’s right, Walker, an Evangelical Christian who has been married for 18 years and has two children, believes he has the obligation to prevent same-sex couples from holding the hand of their spouse — legal or not — as they lie in a hospital bed, perhaps going in and out of consciousness, perhaps leaving this Earth. Walker would rather see gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people die alone. How very Christian…
But none of this will matter much longer, you see, because when the Rapture comes on Saturday, all the good Christians, like Bryan Fischer, Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown, the Right Reverend (and part-time Senator) Rubén DÃaz, the Right Reverend Ariel Torres Ortega and, especially Harold Camping, the man who has predicted the Rapture will come Saturday, will of course be gone.
Sadly, however, my dear gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender friends, you should know the Rapture that is coming on Saturday is your fault. Yes, Harold Camping, the octogenarian who believes so devoutly that Judgment Day is upon us, that the end of the world is nigh, blames the gays for these end times.
The prevalence of homosexuality, and the rapid acceptance of homosexuality is “a tremendous sign that we’re at the threshold of Judgement Day,†says Camping.
We now have six major nationwide polls that state without a doubt that the majority of Americans support same-sex marriage equality, we have polls that find a majority of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted, we have polls that find a majority of Americans want the practice of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell finally repealed (it has not yet been, despite a law signed by the president that paves the way for it to be,) we have polls that find that a great majority of U.S. Catholics support same-sex civil marriage, and we have polls that find a majority of Americans want DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act — already found by a federal judge, not to mention the President and the Attorney General to be unconstitutional — repealed.
Given all these facts, well, perhaps Camping is right: there is now a rapid acceptance of homosexuality. So if he says the Rapture is coming, who am I to disagree?
But allow me to quote Scripture as well.
Matthew 5:5 — Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the Earth.
Â
(image)
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem‘s bragging about dragging her 14-month old puppy into a gravel pit and shooting her to death because she “hated” the dog is likely the end of her political career, right-wing pundits are now saying.
On Friday when The Guardian broke the news in a preview of Noem’s upcoming book, outrage on the left was immediate, but outrage on the right trickled in, then increased. Even with Noem doubling down, declaring her killing of the puppy (and a goat that same day, same way) happened 20 years ago, people on the right are expressing anger.
A Democratic pollster says 81% of Americans oppose Noem killing her puppy, The Guardian later reported.
“After learning about Gov. Noem’s actions, only 14% consider her to be a good choice for vice president on the Republican ticket. By a 2:1 margin, even Republicans say the governor would not be a good choice (42% vs. 21%),” the pollster, New River Strategies, stated.
READ MORE: Hunter Biden Plans Lawsuit Against Fox News Amid ‘Conspiracy of Disinformation’
Noem’s book, “No Going Back,” to be released May 7, has a number one ranking at Amazon. Publisher Center Street, a Hachette Book Group imprint, also publishes other right-wing politicians including Ben Carson, Newt Gingrich, and Vivek Ramaswamy. Endorsing the book are other right-wingers, including Donald Trump, Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy, athlete and anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, and anti-LGBTQ extremist group creator Chaya Raichik of Libs of TikTok.
On Monday, as Mediaite reported, two Fox News pundits had had it.
Jason Chaffetz, a former GOP Congressman, said, “she just destroyed her political career. I don’t think there’s anybody on any side of the aisle, any human being that thinks it’s acceptable to go to a gravel pit and shoot a dog in the face and kill it when it’s 14 months old. That’s. I mean, that’s just hideous. So she’s done politically, and I’m a friend of hers. I served with her, but politically, there’s no recovering from this.”
Fox News media analyst Joe Concha said, “as a dog owner my whole life,” the story of Noem shooting her dog “absolutely makes my blood boil.”
RELATED: Noem Defends Shooting Her 14-Month Old Puppy to Death, Brags She Has Media ‘Gasping’
“How utterly heartless do you have to be to shoot a 14-month-old dog in the face? Because look, if it wasn’t doing its job on the farm, or is attacking chicken or people, okay, you’re a public figure, or at least you have a platform in some way, shape, or form. Even if you’re a private citizen, you very easily could have posted somewhere, ‘I’m putting my dog up for adoption because maybe it’s not working out here on the ranch,’ and I can guarantee you many people would have raised their hand to take that dog in,” Concha said, adding, “she just destroyed any chance she had of being Donald Trump’s vice president, if she had any chance at all. There’s no going back from this.”
Right wing talk show host Megyn Kelly said Trump is “too smart” to “pick somebody who’s managed to do the impossible and unite Democrats and Republicans alike in their anger for this woman who shot her puppy in the face.”
At the right wing National Review, Jeffrey Blehar writes: “Let’s Get a Warrant for Kristi Noem’s Backyard.”
“I guess I just don’t like people who boast about shooting puppies,” Blehar adds on social media. “And goats. And horses. And who knows what else, until cops have done an aerial scan of the property and gotten a backhoe out to excavate the suspicious piles of dirt.”
A far-right pro-Trump streaming media outlet has retracted what it now states was a “false” story alleging former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels had a sexual relationship for years and engaged in an “extortion” conspiracy plot against the ex-president.
The statement and apology from One America News Network (OAN) comes just one day before the New York criminal trial of Donald Trump is set to begin its third week. Cohen is one of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s top witnesses in the case. Defense attorneys are expected to try to attack Cohen’s credibility.
“OAN today has retracted its March 27 article entitled ‘Whistleblower: Avenatti Alleged Cohen Daniels Affair Since 2006, Pre-2016 Trump Extortion Plan,’ and is taking it down from all sites and removing it from all social media. This retraction is part of a settlement reached with Michael Cohen. Mr. Avenatti has denied making the allegations. OAN apologizes to Mr. Cohen for any harm the publication may have caused him,” a statement on OAN’s website reads.
It then states in all-caps: “NO PERSON SHOULD RELY ON THE MARCH 27 ARTICLE OR THE ALLEGATIONS CONTAINED THEREIN.”
READ MORE: Hunter Biden Plans Lawsuit Against Fox News Amid ‘Conspiracy of Disinformation’
“The article, quoting a source, falsely claimed that Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels ‘were having an affair since 2006’ and that, according to a source, ‘the whole hush money scheme was cooked up by [Mr. Cohen] to extort the Trump Organization before the 2016 election.’ These statements were false. OAN regrets their publication.”
The New York Times reports there are “no monetary damages,” and adds one of Cohen’s attorneys, “Justin Nelson, had represented Dominion Voting Systems in a suit against Fox News that cost that network $787.5 million to settle. Mr. Nelson worked with Mr. Cohen’s longtime lawyer, Danya Perry, in what was a remarkably quick about-face by OAN.”
Danya Perry, also one of Cohen’s attorneys in this case, declared the settlement was “a total vindication for Mr. Cohen — and a warning: Mr. Cohen is telling the truth, and there will be legal consequences for those who lie about him.”
“Mr. Trump has repeatedly attacked Mr. Cohen,” The Times adds, “despite a gag order issued by the judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan, barring him from attacking witnesses and others. Justice Merchan is currently weighing whether Mr. Trump is in contempt of the gag order as a result of that invective.”
READ MORE: Noem Doubles Down With ‘Legal Cover’ For Shooting Her Puppy to Death
“In particular, Mr. Trump has attacked Mr. Cohen’s credibility, which will also be how Mr. Trump’s lawyers approach his former fixer during trial. The story by OAN, which has been a consistent booster of Mr. Trump’s political agenda, bolstered that strategy.”
Cohen called it, “The first apology in a long line of lies about me by media outlets.”
Professor of law, MSNBC legal analyst, and former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann called the settlement a “big win” for the attorneys and Cohen.
Attorneys for Hunter Biden have notified Fox News he plans to sue the right-wing cable TV network and its digital entities, after lawyers for the President’s son spent more than a year investigating. Among other issues the letter reportedly mentions Fox News citing a now-indicted former FBI informant, and points to “revenge porn” laws.
The letter, NBC News reports, is dated last week and specifically points to alleged bribery allegations as well as “Fox’s airing of ‘intimate images’ belonging to Hunter Biden that his lawyers claim were ‘hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated’,” that they say violate “Biden’s civil rights as well as copyright law.”
CNN, focusing in the intimate images, reports that “Hunter Biden is demanding that Fox News remove from its platforms sexually explicit images that President Joe Biden’s son says are private, according to a letter obtained by CNN, as part of his strategy to publicly fight back against conservative media.”
“The media outlet aired a mock trial of Hunter Biden on the streaming platform Fox Nation in 2022,” CNN also reports, “focused on the unproven bribery allegations, and published ‘intimate images of Mr. Biden depicting him in the nude as well as engaged in sex acts,’ according to the letter, which demands that Fox immediately remove the series from all streaming platforms.”
READ MORE: Noem Doubles Down With ‘Legal Cover’ For Shooting Her Puppy to Death
“’FOX knows that these private and confidential images were hacked, stolen, and/or manipulated digital material,’ Hunter Biden’s attorneys wrote in the letter, which contained several of the explicit images, some of which were blurred,” CNN adds. “Publishing these images, the attorneys said, violated ‘the majority of states’ laws against the nonconsensual disclosure of sexually explicit images and videos, sometimes referred to as ‘revenge porn’ laws.’ ”
In a statement Hunter Biden’s attorney, Mark Geragos, expanded on the apparently pending lawsuit.
“For the last five years, Fox News has relentlessly attacked Hunter Biden and made him a caricature in order to boost ratings and for its financial gain,” Geragos stated. “The recent indictment of FBI informant Smirnov has exposed the conspiracy of disinformation that has been fueled by Fox, enabled by their paid agents and monetized by the Fox enterprise. We plan on holding them accountable.”
Media Matters last week reported, “Fox News has mentioned Hunter Biden at least 13,440 times since January 3, 2023, when Republicans took control of the House of Representatives after promising to use their power to investigate the business interests of President Joe Biden’s son, according to a Media Matters review.”
“Fox’s on-air coverage of Hunter Biden has … plummeted in recent months,” Media Matters added. “Mentions of the president’s son on the network peaked at 2,356 in July, when his federal plea deal on two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay taxes fell apart, and mentions exceeded 1,300 in four other months, most recently in December.”
READ MORE: Peter Navarro’s Latest Attempt to Get Out of Jail Smacked Down by SCOTUS
Mentions of Hunter Biden on Fox News, by month
December: 1,307
January: 786
February: 512
March: 347
April: 60 thus far. https://t.co/pC87CQdz8G pic.twitter.com/CUW0qn4gQx— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) April 25, 2024
Watch CNN’s report below or at this link.
First on CNN: Hunter Biden’s attorneys are telling Fox News to stop claiming Hunter Biden and his father took bribes from Alexander Smirnov. His attorneys also accuse Fox of violating revenge porn laws. @evanperez joined me on @InsidePolitics to discuss the new legal strategy. pic.twitter.com/sN0Qeb6QOs
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) April 29, 2024
Noem Doubles Down With ‘Legal Cover’ For Shooting Her Puppy to Death
Peter Navarro’s Latest Attempt to Get Out of Jail Smacked Down by SCOTUS
Hunter Biden Plans Lawsuit Against Fox News Amid ‘Conspiracy of Disinformation’
Far Right Media Outlet Retracts ‘False’ Story About Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels
‘Let’s Get a Warrant for Her Backyard’: Noem ‘Done Politically’ Right Wing Pundits Say
‘Let’s Get a Warrant for Her Backyard’: Noem ‘Done Politically’ Right Wing Pundits Say
Far Right Media Outlet Retracts ‘False’ Story About Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels
Hunter Biden Plans Lawsuit Against Fox News Amid ‘Conspiracy of Disinformation’
Peter Navarro’s Latest Attempt to Get Out of Jail Smacked Down by SCOTUS
Noem Doubles Down With ‘Legal Cover’ For Shooting Her Puppy to Death
News14 hours agoNoem Doubles Down With ‘Legal Cover’ For Shooting Her Puppy to Death
News13 hours agoPeter Navarro’s Latest Attempt to Get Out of Jail Smacked Down by SCOTUS
News11 hours agoHunter Biden Plans Lawsuit Against Fox News Amid ‘Conspiracy of Disinformation’
News8 hours agoFar Right Media Outlet Retracts ‘False’ Story About Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels
News7 hours ago‘Let’s Get a Warrant for Her Backyard’: Noem ‘Done Politically’ Right Wing Pundits Say