Trump's Fact Free World and Why It Matters

Frighteningly, we are already seeing evidence where Trump, a/k/a Der Fuhrer, lives in a fact free fantasy world where objective reality and empirical facts simply do not matter.  Worse yet, he wants the rest of us to inhabit the same bizarre world that only serves to satiate his ego and narcissism. Something as simple as the size of the inauguration crowd on January 20, 2017, is open to debate - at least in Der Fuhrer's mind.  By all reports and based on countless photos, transit system numbers and other provable measures, Trump had a lousy turn out for his inauguration yet the man boasts that it was the largest turn out ever.  His claim, like most of what Trump says, is an outright lie.  To admit the reality that he is NOT liked and NOT popular with a majority of Americans is impossible for a narcissist like Trump.  Meanwhile, unprecedented numbers of protesters turned out yesterday in Washington, DC, that dwarfed the inaugural turn out. What is most frightening is the fact that this rejection of fact and reality will spill over into everything this dangerous sociopath does while in office.  A piece in NPR looks at the lies being put out by Der Fuhrer's henchmen.  Here are highlights:

The Trump Administration spent its first full day in office taking shots at the media and arguing about crowd sizes at Friday's inauguration.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer delivered a fiery broadside against the Fourth Estate from the White House Briefing Room Saturday evening, claiming that reporters had engaged in "deliberately false reporting" in the past 24 hours since President Trump took the oath of office. And, after berating the press, he walked away without taking any questions.

He blamed new floor coverings on mall areas that "had the effect of highlighting any areas where people were not standing, while in years past the grass eliminated this visual." And Spicer claimed that fences and magnetometers going further back than ever prevented "hundreds of thousands of people from being able to access the mall as quickly as they had in years past." However, CNN reporter Ashley Killough tweeted out a photo showing that floor coverings had in fact been used at Obama's second inauguration.

But then Spicer went on to make his own estimate on the crowd size and incorrectly claimed that the number of people who used the Washington D.C. Metro on Friday had outpaced the number of people who used the service during President Obama's second inaugural.

In 2009, 317,000 people had, in fact, used the Metro by 11 a.m., according to WMATA, as Spicer cited. But the White House press secretary then claimed that 420,000 people had used the Metro on Friday; by 11 a.m. only 193,000 people had ridden Metro. For the whole day on Friday, 570,000 people used the system, but in 2013 there were 782,000 riders and 1.1 million riders in 2009 — both much larger than Trump's inauguration.

Why dispute something that people could see with their own eyes?  It all plays into the insanity of the occupant of the White House and his effort to discredit the media which will otherwise try to hold him accountable and expose the endless tide of lies that we can expect going forward.  An activist friend shared some thoughts on Facebook that seem to describe the coming disinformation campaign:

If you are puzzled by the bizarre "press conference" put on by the White House press secretary this evening (angrily claiming that Trump's inauguration had the largest audience in history, accusing them of faking photos and lying about attendance), let me help explain it. This spectacle served three purposes:

1. Establishing a norm with the press: they will be told things that are obviously wrong and they will have no opportunity to ask questions. That way, they will be grateful if they get anything more at any press conference. This is the PR equivalent of "negging," the odious pick-up practice of a particular kind of horrible man (e.g., Donald Trump).

2. Increasing the separation between Trump's base (1/3 of the population) from everybody else (the remaining 2/3). By being told something that is obviously wrong—that there is no evidence for and all evidence against, that anybody with eyes can see is wrong—they are forced to pick whether they are going to believe Trump or their lying eyes. The gamble here—likely to pay off—is that they will believe Trump. This means that they will regard media outlets that report the truth as "fake news" (because otherwise they'd be forced to confront their cognitive dissonance.)

3. Creating a sense of uncertainty about whether facts are knowable, among a certain chunk of the population (which is a taking a page from the Kremlin, for whom this is their preferred disinformation tactic). A third of the population will say "clearly the White House is lying," a third will say "if Trump says it, it must be true," and the remaining third will say "gosh, I guess this is unknowable." The idea isn't to convince these people of untrue things, it's to fatigue them, so that they will stay out of the political process entirely, regarding the truth as just too difficult to determine.

This is laying important groundwork for the months ahead. If Trump's White House is willing to lie about something as obviously, unquestionably fake as this, just imagine what else they'll lie about. In particular, things that the public cannot possibly verify the truth of. It's gonna get real bad.

A piece in Vox elaborates further on this effort:

Delegitimizing the institutions that might report inconvenient or damaging facts about the president is strategic for an administration that has made a slew of impossible promises and takes office amid a cloud of ethics concerns and potential scandals. 

It also gives the new administration a convenient scapegoat for their continued struggles with public opinion, and their potential future struggles with reality. This kind of “dishonesty from the media,” Spicer said, is making it hard “to bring our country together.” It’s not difficult to imagine the Trump administration disputing bad jobs numbers in the future, or claiming their Obamacare replacement covers everyone when it actually throws millions off insurance.

 Be very, very afraid for the future.

Teen Inauguration Singer Bullied by Trump Supporters Over Transgender Sister

By some reports Donald Trump has been having difficulty signing on entertainment for his inaugural extravaganza - some Washington, D.C. marching bands have not even applied to participate in the parade - since many entertainers do not want their names in any manner attached to Trump.  Eventually, Trump secured the agreement of  opera singer Jackie Evancho, a finalist on season five of “America’s Got Talent,” to sing the national anthem at Donald Trump’s inauguration.  In retrospect, Evancho is likely wondering why the Hell she agreed now that Trump supporters are heaping abuse on her and her transgender sister.  To quote Nancy Reagan - not exactly one of my idols - Evancho should "Just Say No."   The Washington Blade looks at the misogyny that is the new reality in Trump's Amerika.  Here are excerpts:

Opera singer Jackie Evancho, who will be singing the national anthem at Donald Trump’s inauguration, is facing an onslaught of criticism because she has a transgender sister.

Jackie, 16, received her big break when she was a finalist on season five of “America’s Got Talent” at 10 years old. Her sister Juliet, 18, came out as transgender at Global Lyme Alliance’s inaugural gala last year.

Juliet penned an essay, published on Wednesday, for Teen Voguedescribing her struggles with gender identity. “Jackie’s newfound fame put our entire family under a microscope. This made things even more difficult for me,” Juliet writes. “Now, I not only worried about what my family thought of me, but I also worried about some trashy magazine trying to make a spectacle out of me if they found out, and it hurting my family.” According to the Huffington Post, Juliet is also one of three transgender students suing a Pennsylvania school district over restroom access for transgender students. The essay, along with Jackie’s inauguration announcement, has brought lots of negative online attention to the Evancho family. People reports Trump supporters have tweeted abuse at the young singer because of her sister.

“My family is kind of a big target. I have a transgender sister and so a lot of hate goes towards us,” Jackie  Jackie has also performed twice for President Barack Obama. First, in 2010 she performed at the National Christmas Tree Lightening and again in 2012 at the National Prayer Breakfast.

I'm sorry, but in my view, these Trump supporters are basically human excrement. I'm sure most of those hurling abuse view themselves as "godly Christians."  I've ceased to call myself a Christian and have resigned my ELCA membership.  I want NOTHING to do with Christianity which has become a poison to humanity and the good of mankind. 

Louie Giglio Now Tied to Church Leading "Kill the Gays" Effort in Uganda

Someone in Barack Obama's organization truly needs to be taken to the woodshed for a thorough thrashing as it turns out that Louie Giglio (pictured above) - who for a short time was to present the Inaugural benediction - not only has a history of anti-gay preaching but also is tied to a church in Uganda leading the push to enact draconian anti-gay legislation in the form of the "Kill the Gays" bill.  One has to wonder how the Obama camp could be so utterly in competent in selecting Giglio - especially after the LGBT vote helped ensure Obama's reelection.  It's all unbelievable.  Talk to Action has a lengthy piece that provides much more on Giglio's ties to this murderous anti-gay efforts.  Here are highlights:

[T]here's more and worse than what has yet come out on Giglio, who until yesterday had been scheduled to give a benediction at President Barack Obama's second inauguration.

Like Warren, Giglio has ties to the epicenter of anti-LGBTI activism in Uganda. For Warren, it was his partnership with Martin Ssempa and involvement with The Fellowship. For Giglio, it is an association with a key church that supports an eliminationist bill, looming before Uganda's parliament since 2009, that would virtually legislate Uganda's gay community out of existence. 

 How could it have happened that such a pastor could have been picked to sanctify the inauguration of a president who has taken a bold, if belated stance in support of gay rights? A few voices familiar with the intersection of religious right and politics have some thoughts on the Giglio fiasco [1, 2.] But back to Giglio:

On January 9th, 2012, a Thinkprogress report on conservative evangelical megachurch pastor Louie Giglio prompted a firestorm in activist human rights media and by the next day Giglio had been removed from the inaugural program. As Thinkprogress described, in a 1990s sermon pastor Giglio had,

"advocated for dangerous "ex-gay" therapy for gay and lesbian people, referenced a biblical passage often interpreted to require gay people be executed, and impelled Christians to "firmly respond to the aggressive agenda" and prevent the "homosexual lifestyle" from becoming accepted in society."

[H]is ministry has also, since 2008 (when the Watoto choir sang at Giglio's Passion conference in Kampala) or earlier, had an institutional relationship with a church in the vanguard of Uganda's mounting crusade against LGBTI rights, the Watoto Christian Church -- whose church elder Stephen Langa has played a central role in agitating for the so-called "Kill the Gays" bill that has loomed before Uganda's parliament since 2009. 

In March 2009, Langa's Family Life Network organization held a now-notorious Kampala, Uganda conference on homosexuality during which American evangelical speakers alleged a vast Western conspiracy against traditional Ugandan family structure, a conspiracy in which wealthy Western homosexuals were said to be bribing Ugandan children to become gay.

One speaker, Scott Lively, also claimed that a subset of "butch" homosexuals was responsible for the Holocaust and was inclined towards committing acts of mass violence and even genocide. Lively claimed Hitler was in the alleged subset.

While it would be hard to make a case that pastor Giglio bears any direct responsibility for the Uganda Anti Homosexuality Bill, his association with (and promotion of) the Watoto Christian Church raises serious questions.

Indeed, Giglio seems to have so utterly ignored the issue that even as the Watoto Church was emerging as a hotbed of anti-gay rights activism, the public relations apparatus of Giglio's rapidly growing "Passion" conference, whose 501(c)(3) nonprofit parent ministry was in 2010 was funded with over $12 million dollars, was presenting the Watoto church as an exemplar of philanthropic activism, for the church's efforts to help orphaned Ugandan children.

The development of these parallel tracks, with Giglio's Passion conferences ramping up in tandem with growing anti-LGBTI activism from the Watoto church, and rising persecution of gay Ugandans, is jarring.

While the Watoto Church has not been among the noisiest of boosters of the Museveni regime among Uganda's born-again churches, that have provided a key block of political support for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni over the past decade, nonetheless the church helps reinforce a predominant narrative, marketed aggressively to American evangelicals, that by omission exonerates the Museveni regime which, by many accounts, is among the most egregious violators of human rights on the African continent.

Given Giglio's foul ties, one has to wonder why the Obama staffers did  try for a triple play and invite a former Nazi from WWII and a former militant segregationist as speakers as well.   Giglio and those like him who traffic in hate and bigotry need to be pushed to the periphery of society and have no place at a presidential inaugural event.

Anti-Gay Preacher Bails From Inaugural Line Up

Anti-Gay pastor Louie Giglio who had - in another display of Obama staff incompetence - been slated to give the inaugural benediction has withdrawn from the inaugural event line up ostensible to avoid becoming a distraction from the ceremony.  In the process, Giglio also attempted to down play the viciousness of his past anti-gay statements.    The situation is noteworthy for two reasons.  First, how incompetent are the Obama folks that they did not do a simple Google search on Giglio?  Second, Giglio claims that he's not anti-gay, but the man is a liar based on his past statements - statements that he has never disavowed.  Andrew Sullivan sums up the incompetence of the Obama staffers and Giglio's disingenuousness very well:

So the second Inaugural benediction for Obama turns out to be another clusterfuck. First, they had the fatuous Rick Warren, whose campaign against marriage equality was deemed irrelevant to the cause of uniting the country. Now we have Louie Giglio,  .  .  .  .  who, like most evangelicals, still believes that gay relationships, let alone marriages, are anathema.

[I]t is quite clear that Giglio has never stopped believing that what he calls "the gay lifestyle" is a terrible crime against God. He also calls it one of the most important issues of the time. He proposes the horrifying abuse of "ex-gay therapy." He cites Leviticus, which mandates the death penalty for gays, and says it is the lynchpin of the teaching against homosexuality. In fact, he doesn't just cite Leviticus; he goes on for ever about it. He describes gay people as living a "lie," a term my born-again uncle accused me of doing when he found out I was gay. He calls us engaged in "depraved, lustful behavior" and being haters of God. He calls for his congregation to "firmly respond to the aggressive agenda" of gay equality.

His defense is that "clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years." But in that sermon, he described it as possibly the most important moral battle of the time. And get a load of this: "Those who practice such things are worthy of death." And this:

Homosexuality is not an alternate lifestyle. Homosexuality is not just a sexual preference. Homosexuality is not gay. But homosexuality is sin.

[W]hat clueless administration official did not do due diligence on this figure? After the Rick Warren mess, could no one in the White House do the same research as Think Progress? 

There's only way forward on this and that is to choose as his replacement a minister who endorses gay unions and full gay inclusion in the Christian community. Why would Obama object to that? He has "evolved" now, hasn't he?

Why is it every time that Obama builds good feelings within the LGBT community he seems to without thinking do something stupid and cause a great deal of bad feeling? 

Obama Steps in It Again in Inaugural Benediction Presenter Choice

One has to think that someone on the Obama staff needs to be seriously fired for not vetoing the selection of Rev. Louie Giglio  - a documented anti-gay bigot - to deliver the benediction prayer at the January 21, 2013 inaugural ceremony.  Especially since by some calculation it was the LGBT vote that clinched Obama's re-election.  Are these folks simply incompetent or have they only pretended to be pro-gay in order to garner votes and, of course money.   Either way, they have flipped the middle finger to LGBT Americans.   Let's be clear: Obama needs to tell Giglio to take a hike and select someone else to deliver the benediction.  BuzzFeed looks at the hornets nest that Obama's incompetent staff has stirred up:

The White House on Wednesday was refusing to address comments critical of gay and lesbian people made by Rev. Louie Giglio, who was tapped by President Barack Obama to deliver the benediction prayer at the Jan. 21 inaugural ceremony. 

Think Progress reported that Giglio, an Atlanta pastor, made comments in a mid-1990s sermon criticizing "the aggressive agenda of not all, but of many in the homosexual community."

The inaugural invitation is not Giglio's first interaction with Obama. He also was one of the president's guests at the White House's 2012 Easter prayer breakfast, according to the White House pool report from the April 4, 2012 event.

This past November, Giglio served as the convocation speaker at the Jerry Falwell-founded Liberty University. Although he did not address homosexuality in the speech, he did strongly urge visiting high-school students to attend the college known for its strict policies against homosexual behavior and spoke about the positive influence Falwell has had on his life.

The questions about Giglio come as the administration is still fending off criticism about comments former Sen. Chuck Hagel — now Obama's nominee for defense secretary — made that Clinton administration nominee James Hormel was too "aggressively gay" to serve as ambassador to Luxembourg. 

Both the White House and committee organized to run Obama's inauguration ceremonies later this month refused to comment Wednesday on the remarks reported by Think Progress, in which Giglio said: "That movement is not a benevolent movement, it is a movement to seize by any means necessary the feeling and the mood of the day, to the point where the homosexual lifestyle becomes accepted as a norm in our society and is given full standing as any other lifestyle, as it relates to family."

This is not the first time questions have been raised about those giving public prayers at Obama's big events. Before Obama even took office, his choice of Rick Warren to give his inaugural invocation created what Huffington Post's Sam Stein called Obama's "first real rift with progressives" at the time.

As I said, Obama needs to get his head out of his ass and tell Giglio that he is dis-invited and find someone non-offensive to give the inaugural benediction.  Better yet, he could scrap the  benediction all together.

Inauguration Reflections

After fielding client phone calls and a couple discussions with my firm staff throughout the morning, the boyfriend and I and friends/clients watched the main inaugural ceremonies at the Bourbon Street Pub on Duval Street along with an assortment of gays, lesbian couples and straight couples. It was a moving experience both in terms of what we watched on the TV screens around the establishment and the reactions from members of the crowd. In many ways, it was as if there was a collective sigh of reflief that the long national nightmare of the last eight years was over. As Pam's House Blend has already noted, the White House website has already been reworked and there is an LGBT section in the civil rights directory that speaks to needed protections for LGBT Americans. I can only hope that the Obama administration follows through on these measures and makes the following concept from the inaugural speech a reality:

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The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

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To me the one blight on what was otherwise a wonderful event was the appearance of obese, lying, disingenuous hate merchant Rick Warren. I will never understand Obama's selection of this nasty individual to give the invocation when - if one does his/her homework on Warren - it is obvious that his policies and preaching oppose almost all of the principles enumerated in Obama's speech. Warren deliberately gave an invocation that was exclusively Christian and more or less told non-Christians to go to Hell. It was a most discordant note in an otherwise inclusive event.

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As for Obama's address, the full text of which can be found here, I believe that he gave a very moving speech. Among other things, it was a strong rebuke to the Chimperator in several ways. I found the following passage most telling:

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As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

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And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

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They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

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Clearly, Obama has the potential to be one of our greatest presidents. I truly hope and pray that he delivers on the hope and inclusiveness that he talked about throughout the campaign. Now, we can only wait and watch and work to hold him accountable to follow through on the principles he enunciated on the campaign trail.

Gene Robinson's Pre-Inaugural Prayer

UPDATED: It now seems that the decision to keep Bishop Robinson's prayer from being broadcast was made by the Presidential Inauguration Committee which has now released a disingenuous statement ausing me to continue to be concerned that gays were played for suckers by Obama:

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"We had always intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson's invocation to be included in the televised portion of yesterday's program. We regret the error in executing this plan – but are gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our nation that was a fitting start to our event," said PIC communications director Josh Earnest.

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While the Obama team talked up Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson's pre-inaugural appearance at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday, his prayer was sadly apparently not televised unlike the prayer to be given tomorrow by homo-hater Rick Warren. In my view, it is yet another disappointment for LGBT Americans who continue to be denied the full spotlight of full citizens. Fortunately, Robinson's prayer is available as reported by the Union-Leader:

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New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson led hundreds of thousands in prayer at the opening concert of the presidential inauguration at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday, calling on a "God of our many understandings" to bless the country, its people, and its President.

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"Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance, replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger," said Robinson, the nation's first openly gay Episcopal bishop.

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The full text of Bishop Robinson's prayer as for prayers and blessing of precisely what Christianists like Warren lack, including tolerance and an acknowledgment that they do NOT have all the answers. The full text reads as follows:

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Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.

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O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will… Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

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Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

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Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

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Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

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Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

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Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

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Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

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And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

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Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

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Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times. Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

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Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

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Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

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Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

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And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.
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AMEN.

Gay Band Will March in Inaugural Parade

As the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting, members of the national Lesbian and Gay Bands Association, including members of Seattle's Rainbow City Band will be taking part in the Inaugural parade for Barack Obama's inauguration. The band group, comprised of 177 gay and lesbian musicians, is seeking funds to help retire the cost of the trip and stay in Washington, D.C., and many bloggers including a number of us who attended the Blogger Summit in December are endeavoring to help. Anyone wishing to make a donation to this cause can do so here. Not everyone is happy, however, with the band's appearance- the usual Christo-fascists are complaining and advising parents to not allow their children to watch the parade on TV. First, some highlights from the Seattle Post:

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If perception is reality, the sight of 177 gay and lesbian musicians in silver baseball jackets and blue berets, playing "Ode to Joy" as they march up Pennsylvania Avenue during Barack Obama's presidential inauguration next week will be no mere gesture.

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Four horn players from Seattle's Rainbow City Band will walk among them, each willing to lose a week of work and put up about $1,000 to participate in the event, the first time in history that a lesbian and gay group will officially march in a Presidential Inaugural Parade.

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Members of the national Lesbian and Gay Bands Association have participated before -- specifically during the Clinton inaugurations -- but only from the sidelines, where they received a "thumbs-up" from the former president, but never as sanctioned members of the procession. "Obama just signals a generational shift," said Scott Rinnan, 25, a math student at the UW who sports a nose ring and plays baritone. "This is the first time I've felt inspired by a politician and proud of a president."

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When word went out through the national gay musicians association that Obama's inaugural committee wanted representation from the group, organizers invited musicians from across the country to register online on a first-come, first-served basis.

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As indicated, not everyone is happy that an LGBT band will be in the parade. There are some, as Mike Tidmus cites on his blog who still believe that this country belongs only to them and they'd like us - and blacks, and Hispanics, and non-far right Christians - to simply disappear. If anyone is polluting the nation, I'd say it's folks like these self-satisfied, self-congratulatory bigots like "Dr." Gary Cass. Here are highlights from the Christo-fascist set:

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Dr Cass, who argues at his organization’s website that President-Elect Barack Obama is not a Christian, has issued an alert that Obama’s inauguration won’t be like any other in history, because this one will be The Flamboyant Homosexual Inaugural. Cass warns Christian families that there will be an openly gay bishop, a queer marching band, a gay men’s chorus, and an African American pastor who does’t hate or fear GLBT people. Gasp! The humanity!

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Inaugural Warning: Rated P for PerverseContact: Dr. Gary Cass, Christian Anti-Defamation Commission

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 /Christian Newswire/ — The inauguration of Barack Obama as the President of the United States is going to be historic for many reasons, not all of them good. Obama’s inauguration may help move race relations forward in America, but Obama’s inaugural events are a major step backwards for historic Christian values. CADC must issue this WARNING message: Don’t let your children watch!

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Dr. Gary Cass remarks, “National events ought to unify and elevate the nation by celebrating what is virtuous, such as God and patriotismBarack Obama’s inauguration will have the dubious distinction of being the most perverted in our nation’s history. Obama is not being subtle about either. One of America’s most radical and destructive homosexual activists, “Bishop” Vickie Eugene Robinson of New Hampshire, in official inaugural activities will be offering the invocation at the Lincoln Memorial.. Obama is making a terrible mistake by polluting his inaugural events with sexual sin. Some one ought to remind him that he wasn’t elected mayor of Sodom.”

Bishop Gene Robinson to Give Inaugural Prayer

I have been extremely critical of Barack Obama's selection of Christianist bigot and fraud, Rick Warren, to give the inaugural invocation next week. I continue to believe that that decision is beyond flawed and that if Obama had any backbone, he'd un-invite Warren as more about the real Rick Warren has come out. Nonetheless, I am happy that Bishop Gene Robinson has now been invited to deliver a prayer at a pre-inaugural event. I have always admired Robinson, particularly after learning even more about his faith journey in the movie "For the Bible Tells Me So," a movie that should be required viewing for all who call themselves Christians. Robinson will offer the prayer at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, January 18. Here are some highlights from PageOneQ:

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Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay man to be ordained as such in 2003, has been invited to deliver the invocation at the first Inaugural event the President-elect will attend this weekend. The Episcopal bishop will offer the prayer at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, January 18. President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden are both expected to attend.

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For the first time in history, an out gay man will lead the nation in opening the transfer of power from one administration to another -- and every person watching in the U.S. and around the world will have seen it. That, alone, is change." Bishop Robinson has been one of many outspoken critics of Obama's choice of megachurch pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the January 20 swearing-in. Robinson, in December, called the pick a "slap in the face."

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When asked if the Rick Warren controversy was a factor in choosing Robinson, inaugural committee spokesman Clark Stevens said that Robinson had been chosen because he had advised the Obama campaign, and is an "important figure in the religious community. We are excited that he will be involved."

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"It's important for any minority to see themselves represented in some way," Robinson told the Concord Monitor on Monday. "Whether it be a racial minority, an ethnic minority, or in our case, a sexual minority. Just seeing someone like you up front matters."