Hillary Makes Unannounced Visit to Pulse

Everything Donald Trump does is about self promotion and grabbing media attention - all to satiate his overweening narcissism.  Yesterday, Hillary Clinton demonstrated that sometimes she simply does what's right and decent without looking for media fanfare.  While many waited for her announcement of who would be here VP pick, Clinton without ceremony visited Pulse, the site of the Orlando massacre last week.  The New Civil Rights Movement looks at Clinton's visit.  Here are excerpts: 

While many across the nation have been anxiously or curiously awaiting the announcement of who Hillary Clinton will choose as her vice presidential running mate, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee spent the afternoon in an unannounced private meeting with family members and friends of the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub hate crime mass shooting terror attack. Clinton then spent the next hour holding a roundtable discussion with community leaders, including members of Equality Florida, and, as one reporter noted, "listening." 

Orlando commissioner Patty Sheehan, according to Buzzfeed's Ruby Cramer, told Clinton, "I want to thank you for not politicizing this, and for waiting until we were ready." 

Rather than playing politics, Clinton is now visiting the Pulse nightclub, to pay her respects and meet with first responders. In fact, this tweet from NBC News' Alex Seitz-Wald appears to show Clinton prioritized spending time with victims' loved ones and meeting with community leaders then visiting Pulse, rather than focus on her VP announcement.  Clinton laid white roses at the site.

Hillary may have her negatives, but the choice is clear that she must be elected in November to defeat the fascism and authoritarianism that that a Trump victory would unleash on America.  What continues to shock me is the manner in which some Sanders supporters still cannot get their heads out of their asses and realize the existential threat posed by Trump.   Really, you want to stay home and by default elect a man that might become America's Hitler?  Get over yourselves!!

New GOP Low: Santorum Calls Charleston Shooting "Assault On Religious Liberty"

Despite the fact that all of the evidence available so far indicates that the massacre at the historic black church in Charleston was motivated by racial hatred and white supremacist views, on the campaign trail today the ever delusional Rick Santorum sought to label the hate crime as an "attack on religious liberty."  Sadly, Santorum was not alone in trying to divert the subject from the real motivation for the crime and pander to the ugliest elements of the GOP party base.  Joining in the disinformation campaign was all to predictably GOP presidential candidate and, of course, Fox News, a/k/a Faux News on this blog.   Talking Points Memo reports on Santorum's disingenuous lies.  Here are highlights:

Presidential candidate and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) on Thursday called the attack by a white gunman on a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. part of a broader assault on "religious liberty" in America.

"It’s obviously a crime of hate. Again, we don’t know the rationale, but what other rationale could there be?" Santorum said on the New York radio station AM 970.

"You’re sort of lost that somebody could walk into a Bible study in a church and indiscriminately kill people,” he added.

Santorum called for a broader pushback against the "assaults" on religious liberty.

"You talk about the importance of prayer in this time and we’re now seeing assaults on our religious liberty we’ve never seen before.

The nastiest, tawdry whore has more integrity and moral decency than Santorum.  As for Fox News' effort to avoid responsibility for inciting people like Dylann Roof, Huffington Post looks at the campaign of lies.  Here are highlights:

Analysts on Fox News floated the theory on Thursday that the shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night was motivated by religious animosity toward Christians, rather than by racism.

Host Steve Doocy suggested on "Fox & Friends" that religion was the likely motivation for the terrorist attack. 

"Extraordinarily, they called it a hate crime," Doocy said in an interview with a pastor Thursday morning. "And some look at it as, well, it's because it was a white guy, apparently, and a black church. But you made a great point just a moment ago about the hostility toward Christians, and it was in a church, so maybe that's what it was about."

Doocy's co-host, Brian Kilmeade, also tried to cast doubt on the idea that the gunman, whom authorities believe to be 21-year-old Dylann Storm Roof, was motivated by race, asking a guest, "Is it a church that has white congregants as well as black?"

But the gymnastics that Fox commentators engaged in to find some other motive is disconcerting. Why were they so afraid the attack might prove to be racially motivated?

 

Feel the Love - Lesbain Attacked in Home Invasion

The Christianists continue to produce a constant stream of anti-LGBT propaganda that ranges from depicting all of us a diseased, alcoholic drug users just waiting to prey on children to a threat to marriage and western civilization itself.  It's not surprising, therefore, when some unbalanced or particularly hate filled individuals decide to take matters into their own hands and attack those depicted as such a menace to society.  Based on initial stories coming out of Lincoln, Nebraska, this is what occurred in the early morning hours of yesterday morning.  Fortunately, the victim survived, although the psychological damaging will likely last forever.  To me, it's yet another example of the foul fruits of conservative Christians' feigned religiosity which relies on hatred of others for self-definition.  First highlights from the Journal Star:

Hundreds of people gathered with rainbow flags and candles outside the Capitol for a nighttime vigil sparked by a woman's account of a violent, hate-fueled attack that spread rapidly over the Internet on Sunday.

The woman said she was attacked early that morning by three masked men who barged into her house, bound her wrists and ankles with zip ties, cut her all over her body and carved homophobic slurs into her skin before dumping gasoline on her floor and lighting it with a match, said a friend who spoke to the Journal Star.

The friend said the woman crawled from her house, naked and bleeding and screaming for help before reaching the doorstep of a neighbor's home.

Police Chief Jim Peschong declined to comment further on the status of the investigation or its findings. No arrests had been made as of late Sunday.

The woman's account of the attack drew outrage from a gay and straight-allied community already galvanized by this month's Star City Pride Festival as well as debate over the city's so-called fairness amendment, a proposal to ban discrimination in housing and employment based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

Then there's these further details from the Omaha World Herald:

The woman called police around 4 a.m. Sunday, saying men wearing black ski masks had broken into her home, according to Lincoln police.  She told police the men assaulted her — binding her hands and carving words into her skin with a knife — and then set fire to the house.

Davidsaver said the victim’s description of the suspects was limited because of the masks.

When police arrived, the house was still on fire, the captain said. He said it caused about $200 in damage.

Davidsaver would not say what words the men carved into the woman’s skin. “We need to maintain the integrity of the case,” he said.  But Erin Thompson of Lincoln, who described herself as the victim’s best friend, said she got a call from her friend about 6:30 Sunday morning. The friend asked Thompson to pick her up from the hospital.  “They carved on me,” Thompson said her friend tearfully told her.  Thompson said three epithets, including the word “dyke,” were carved on the woman’s arms and stomach.

Thompson said the victim is openly lesbian.

She read a statement on behalf of the victim, who thanked those attending the vigil, her neighbor for summoning help, the police and fire department for their quick response, and the paramedics, nurses and doctors who helped her at BryanLGH Medical Center West in Lincoln, as well as an advocate from Voices of Hope who sat with her.

Thompson said she and her friend “always get harassed here and there.” She said they have only suspicions about the possible identities of the assailants.

Events like this remind ever LGBT individual that there are those out in the world who literally hate us.  Worse yet, they are encouraged and justified in their hate literally daily from pulpits across the nation and from the broadcasts and propaganda of the professional Christian set.  It's disingenuous that the Christianists claim that they are being persecuted, yet they are never the victims of violence.   Instead, it's always those they spew hatred against that end up as the victims.

Molly Wei Feels Attacked - - Please get Me a Vomit Bag

Obviously, Molly Wei (at right in the photo at right) - one of the students who secretly taped and broadcast Tyler Clementi during a tryst and pushed Clementi to suicide - has been provided with crib notes by the professional Christians of the Christian Right. Just like the Christianists who inflict all kinds of discrimination, hatred and harm on other citizens, now Ms. Wei feels that somehow SHE is the victim and that she's under attacked. It's dumbfounding for sure, but all too typical of those who put themselves, their beliefs, and their prejudices above the rights of others. Never mind that Wei cost another person his life. She, in fact, deserves to be attacked and demonized. People Magazine has highlights of Ms. Wei's whining bullshit and apparent self-centered infatuation. Here are highlights:
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"She feels that everyone is attacking her," a close friend tells PEOPLE after Wei and Clementi's roommate, Dharun Ravi, were charged with two counts of invasion of privacy for allegedly live streaming on the Internet a sexual encounter between Clementi and another man.
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Wei's friend also says he has read Facebook comments calling her a monster and saying she deserves to burn in hell. . . . According to her friend, Wei is now living the life of a fugitive. "She is going to different places," he says, "because the media is always at her house."
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While there are no signs that Ravi and Wei have resumed taking classes at Rutgers, neither of their defense attorneys – nor the university – would comment on their educational status.

Terror Attack on Israeli Gay Teen Center

In yet another example of what is likely religious based bigotry - and an example of the fact that anti-gay rhetoric does lead to violence - a gunman attacked a gay youth club center in Tel Aviv, typically considered a non-religiously dogmatic and tolerant city. Two were killed (one of the dead, a 26 year old youth director, is at left) in the attack and 13 or more wounded. It is sad that a place that was to provide a safe haven turned into a place of carnage. But then, religious based bigotry and hate has a many centuries long history of causing death and carnage. Once again it makes me wonder whether a religion free world - or at least a world where everyone was free to believe as they want and live their lives without bigots interfering - might not be a huge improvement. Events like this also are a reminder that LGBT citizens are at risk for random attacks by the religious motivated nutcases. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:

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Israel's gay community was rocked on Sunday by the killing of two people in a homosexual and lesbian youth center and the possibility they fell victim to a hate crime in the Jewish state's most freewheeling city. "The biggest shock is to think that it happened in Tel Aviv, which is the most tolerant city in the country," said Avi Sofer, a gay rights activist.
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Witnesses said a masked gunman clad in black opened fire on Saturday night in a basement club belonging to the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association, which was hosting a weekly event for teenage gays. The attacker killed a 26-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl and wounded 13 people before fleeing, hospital officials said. "He simply fired all over the place," Or Gil, 16, told the YNet news website. "At first I thought it was prank, or a toy gun. After the killings, it was quiet, completely silent and then people came to help the wounded."

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Police said they were still searching for the attacker and that the shooting was not an anti-Israeli attack by a Palestinian . . . If the incident proves to be a hate crime, it will mark the most serious attack against the gay community in Israel's history.

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Although coastal, cosmopolitan Tel Aviv has a bustling gay scene, open homosexuality is less welcome in conservative areas. Annual gay pride parades in Jerusalem meet with often violent protests from ultra-Orthodox Jews, who view homosexuality as an abomination against God.

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Four years ago, an ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed three parade participants in Jerusalem. They survived. The attacker is serving a 12-year prison term. Nitzan Horowitz, an openly gay legislator, said he had no doubt there was a connection between the latest killings and what he termed incitement against the gay community in Israel.

Sailor Charged in Murder of Seaman August Provost

I have posted previously about the violent murder of Seaman August Provost (pictured at left) at Camp Pendleton, California and the rumors and speculation that his death might have involved a hate crime. Finally, an arrest has been made although the Navy is claiming that there was no evidence that the killing was a hate crime - not that the Navy would be likely to admit it even if a hate crime had occurred. As time goes by perhaps we will learn more as to the real circumstances. Here are some highlights on the arrest from the San Diego Union-Tribune:

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SAN DIEGO – A sailor has been charged with fatally shooting and burning a gay serviceman last month at Camp Pendleton, but Navy officials said Thursday it was part of a crime spree not related to the victim's sexual orientation. Prosecutors accuse Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Campos of killing Seaman August Provost during an arson attack against the compound of Assault Craft Unit 5 on June 30, said Capt. Matt Brown, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest. Brown again stressed that there's no evidence of a hate crime or gang-related activity.

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Campos, 32, of Lancaster, faces 16 charges, including murder, arson, unlawful entry, theft of military property and wrongful possession of a firearm. He also is charged with soliciting a civilian in San Diego to murder another sailor the day after Provost's killing. Brown said Campos and Provost served in the 500-member assault craft unit, whose members are trained to pilot jet-powered hovercraft onto beaches for amphibious operations. They likely had met before, he said, but there's no evidence to suggest they knew each other well.

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Sometime before 3:30 a.m., Navy officials allege, Campos approached the guard shack, shot Provost several times and stole his 9mm Beretta service pistol. Campos then allegedly set fire to the shack – with Provost's body still inside – using gasoline and a lighter. “He apparently did it to destroy evidence,” Brown said.

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Campos also is accused of planning to set fire to one of the unit's landing craft, but he never made it into the compound. Brown didn't specify why Campos became a suspect, but he did say that Campos failed to show up for work before being arrested July 1. The defendant is being held at the Miramar Naval Consolidated Brig.

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Provost's death has prompted concerns from gay-rights leaders and some of his family and friends who believe he might have been killed because of his sexual orientation. Gay activists held a candlelight vigil July 10 near Camp Pendleton's main gate. On Thursday, Provost's aunt said she's still not sure what to think about the killer's motive. “We just want justice to be done, and we hope to one day understand why the killer would target someone as good and responsible as my nephew,” said Rose Roy of Beaumont, Texas.

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The whole matter seems very strange and like Provost's aunt, I'm not sure what to think of the information released so far.

Murderer of Gay Man Get's Life Sentence

Last month I wrote about Ryan Skipper who was murdered most likely because he was gay. Now, one of Skipper's killers has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder and his co-defendant will go to trial at a later date. I truly cannot fathom the mindset that motivates someone to kill another person that they don't even know merely because they are different - be it because they are gay, a different race or a different religion. Even more so, I cannot understand the sick mindset of alleged religious leaders and professional Christians who go out of their way to instill hatred towards others, particularly gays. They are the ones who create the atmosphere where such murders are deemed justified. It is truly very sick and disgusting. And yes, I mean people like Benedict XVI, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, etc., who are hate mongers parading around as men of God. Here are some highlights from Fox News Tampa (it is noteworthy that the judge gave the maximum sentence - some of our judges in Virginia likely would have given the minimum sentence if the victim was gay):

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BARTOW - A judge has sentenced Joseph Bearden to life in prison for his role in the stabbing death of Ryan Skipper. Earlier today, the jury Joseph Bearden guilty of second-degree murder charges in connection with the stabbing death of Skipper, an openly gay man in 2007. The judge gave Bearden the maximum sentence, telling him he believed he killed Skipper because he way gay.

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Jurors said Bearden was guilty on all five charges he was on trial for: of theft of a motor vehicle, accessory after the fact, tampering with evidence and dealing in stolen property. The jury of three men and nine women deliberated more than 11 hours in the case at the Polk County Courthouse. The second-degree degree murder charge means the death penalty is off the table. The defendant does not face life in prison day for day like a first-degree murder verdict with life in prison. He does face at least 25 years in prison.

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Forensic evidence showed was that Skipper was in fact stabbed to death in his own car. He was stabbed 19 times with wounds in his back and neck. The judge will sentence Bearden according to the verdict guidelines later today. The trial has drawn attention partly because Ryan Skipper was gay, and the defense theory was that he was killed because he was "messing" with the defendants. But neither Bearden or Brown were charged with hate crimes because the prosecution said robbery, not hate, was the motive for the killing.

LGBT Couple Found Murdered in Indianapolis

The Christianist continue to demonize LGBT citizens and simultaneously oppose hate crimes legislation disingenuously claiming that no such laws are needed to protect gays - even though religion (something unlike sexual orientation which can easily be changed) is typically a protected category in most hate crime statutes. Thus, they establish an atmosphere where gays are targeted and brutalized by those who think their religion justifies harming gays, yet want to keep "special" protections for themselves. Sadly it is all too typical of the un-Christian Christianists. To them, LGBT Americans are an inconvenience to be discarded like garbage. From a story reported at Bilerico Project by Bill Browning (another Blogger summit attendee) it appears that two more LGBT individuals have died as a result of a hate crime. Here are some story highlights:

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Two Indianapolis residents were killed over the holidays. While details aren't definite, it would appear one or both individuals were specifically targeted. If the double slaying is a hate crime, nothing will be done about it. Indiana doesn't have a hate crimes law; instead we have a "hate crimes reporting" law, but there is no recourse if police departments don't report to the state. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department stopped documenting hate crimes years ago.

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Michael Hunt, 22, and Avery Elzy, 34, were found shot to death in "a bedroom." A dog in the room was also killed. While any murder is horrific, the IMPD's statements and news coverage of the homicide have been particularly heinous. Once again, Indianapolis is proving to the LGBT community that our city isn't sensitive to our concerns, lacks basic knowledge of our needs, and could absolutely care less.

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In a video released by the local NBC affiliate, Lt. Kevin Kelley can be seen stating "the two individuals did live an alternative lifestyle" at a press conference yesterday. I attempted to contact Lt. Kelley three different times today to ask for clarification of his "alternative lifestyle" comment, without response from anyone at IMPD.

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Instead, as is often the case in Indianapolis, all remote mentions of the LGBT community is silently being swept under the rug. When two elderly gay men were murdered earlier this year, police didn't identify the victims' sexuality and refused to discuss whether the double slaying was a hate crime. The media rewrote their posted stories - the two progressed from roommates, to a gay couple, and finally into a caregiver relationship (the correct relationship).

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With no motive released, a complete lack of understanding of LGBT issues, and a previous record of whitewashing LGBT concerns, is it any wonder some in our community are spinning their own nightmares?

Teen Murdered Because of Belief He Was Gay

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the body of Steven Parrish, 18, was found May 29 in a wooded area near his parents' home and Woodlawn Cemetery. Why was he killed? Because gang members believed was gay. Or at least that is how it is looking based on statements made by two teens arrested for his murder. Despite such heinous acts against gays, Christianists and presidential candidate John McCain oppose adding sexual orientation to the hate crimes laws. I suspect that if the truth were known, they figure "one less faggot" is something positive. Personally, it makes me sick - and angry. Hopefully, these two bastards get the max when it comes to sentencing. Here are some story highlights:

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Two teenagers were ordered held without bail yesterday in the death of a Randallstown High School student who was stabbed and stomped to death after his fellow Bloods gang members found messages on his phone that suggested he was gay. Steven T. Hollis III, 18, of Randallstown and Juan L. Flythe, 17, of West Baltimore - both of whom are members of the Bloods gang, according to police - were arrested and charged Thursday evening with first-degree murder. They are accused of killing a fellow gang member days before his high school graduation in May.

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"It's awful," Baltimore County prosecutor William B. Bickel said in an interview after yesterday's bail-review hearing in Towson. "You're talking about a gangland-style execution because he was gay. They took him out back in a field and stabbed him to death."

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A neighbor told police that Parrish left his parents' home with another young man and walked toward the woods. About a minute later, the witness and other neighbors heard someone yelling and pleading, "Stop! Why are you doing this to me? I didn't do anything!" according to court documents.

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On the day before Parrish's death, several members of the gang met at his home, according to charging documents. There, Hollis and Flythe discussed finding what they believed to be "gay" text messages on Parrish's cell phone. Angered by the messages and a photograph they found, they worried that their Bloods group would appear weak to others if word got out that they had a gay member, according to court records."

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As a result, they decided that Steven Parrish 'had to go,'" police wrote in charging documents. "There was no date or time discussed for the killing, but it was made very clear to all those present that Parrish was going to be killed."

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Flythe later told his fellow gang members that he and Hollis confronted Parrish, who did not deny that the messages were "gay" in nature, according to court records. Flythe also told his associates that they stabbed and hit the victim before stomping on his neck, according to charging documents. A red bandanna was placed over Parrish's face and he was left in the woods.

Teens to Stand Trial in Fatal Beating of Hispanic Immigrant

A couple of weeks ago I posted about some of the the consequences of Christianist hate speech not just against gays but immigrants too. The constant stream of hate and intolerance that "Godly Christians" disseminate leads to violence and/or death and they could care less about such consequences. It's all about them and their bigoted "deeply held beliefs." In particular, I commented upon the beating death of Luis Ramirez, a Mexican immigrant in the town of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania by three teen aged football players. Now CNN is reporting that the three teens responsible, Brandon Piekarsy, Colin Walsh and Derrick Donchak, will be tried for murder and ethnic intimidation. Looking at the photos of the three (above left) one has to wonder how they could engage in such brutality until you remember that Christianists like James Dobson and Tony Perkins who preach a message of anti-immigrant hate are coddled and courted by the GOP, including John McCain. It's disgusting and most certainly NOT a Christian message. Here are highlights from the CNN story:

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POTTSVILLE, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A judge has ordered three teenagers to stand trial on charges related to the beating death of a Mexican immigrant in a small eastern Pennsylvania town. Prosecutors have enough evidence to try 17-year-old Colin Walsh and 16-year-old Brandon Piekarsky on counts of third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation, the judge ruled. Eighteen-year-old Derrick Donchak has been ordered to stand trial on aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation and other offenses. All three defendants were football players at Shenandoah Valley High School.

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The following day, he said, the group met at Piekarsky's house and hatched a plan to lie to police about what happened. "We made up a plan that we were going to tell the cops that nobody kicked him, that there were no racial slurs, there was no booze, and Brian got hit first," Lawson said. Under cross-examination, Lawson said he had been pressured by FBI agents to recant an initial, incomplete statement he gave to police in favor of a later statement.

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Ramirez, who entered the U.S. illegally about six years ago, worked in a factory and picked strawberries and cherries. The victim's 24-year-old fiancee, who is white and grew up in Shenandoah, has said Ramirez was often called derogatory names and told to return to his homeland. The couple had two children together.