The folks at NowThis share this video compilation contrasting how differently the folks at Fox News treat First Lady Melania Trump versus her predecessor, Michelle Obama.
Even on similar subjects, the treatment is shockingly different.
When Michelle opted to encourage kids to eat better, it was called the "nanny state."
But when Melania launched her 'BeBest' campaign asking kids to stop bullying, she's a saint.
There's much, much more.
Hit the play button - you'll see.
Melania Trump and Michelle Obama receive shockingly different coverage from Fox News, a supercut pic.twitter.com/0F4Lr52tri
Donald Trump says the four freshmen congresswomen known as 'the squad' should leave the country for criticizing specific policies in the U.S.
Trump frames the discussion by saying Americans shouldn't say negative things about the country. The Donald feels that is just plain 'unpatriotic.'
But then - what about candidate Donald Trump on the 2016 presidential campaign trail?
Oh yes, there just happens to be video of his many critical statements about 'how stupid' the people of the United States were.
Funny how it was ok then, huh?
CNN put together a montage of Trump -- who now that he's president thinks criticizing America is an unpatriotic thing to do -- saying things like, "how stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country?" pic.twitter.com/iNrUHOXfqu
During this morning's iteration of Fox & Friends, co-hosts Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt were busy as bees attacking former Nixon White House counsel John Dean for testifying before Congress on Monday.
Media Matters noted how especially offended by how Dean has referred to Donald Trump on Twitter:
KIMLEADE: Listen to how he describes Donald Trump: Demeaning Don. Deadbeat Don. Demagogue Don. He calls him Deranged Don. Those are just some of the things included in his 970 tweets. But yet Jerry Nadler said...
EARHARDT: Almost 1,000 tweets. Who has time for that?
Apropos House Republicans, Fox & Friends complains that Watergate star witness John Dean posts too many anti-Trump tweets. pic.twitter.com/u1q8iz2Cdc
After campaigning on a promise to protect LGBTQ Americans, then ignoring Pride Month for his first two years in office, Donald Trump has finally acknowledged the annual celebration.
In two tweets, Trump wrote about 'the outstanding contributions of LGBT people' and standing in 'solidarity' with those who live in countries that execute us.
"As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation," Trump tweeted.
....on the basis of their sexual orientation. My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!
Can you imagine the tantrum Mike Pence threw when he heard the news?
In his tweets, he references his administration’s proposed ‘global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality’ around the world, which is to be led by openly gay U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell.
But shortly after the announcement of that plan in February, Trump was asked about the campaign and he seemed unaware of the effort saying, “I don’t know, uh, which report you’re talking about. We have many reports.”
Here's that video of @POTUS responding to a question about Ambassador @RichardGrenell's push to decriminalize homosexuality in the 70+ countries where consensual same-sex activity is illegal:
Quick fact check: Trump’s administration has been the most anti-LGBTQ in recent times. He’s rolled back many Obama-era protections and has been particularly hideous to transgender Americans.
A quick search of the WhiteHouse.gov website did not find a proclamation acknowledging Pride Month as was normal practice during all 8 years of the Obama administration.
Although, in 2018, Trump did take time to recognize Great Outdoors Month, National Ocean Month, National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, African-American Music Appreciation Month, and National Homeownership Month.
But, in these wild times, some acknowledgement is better than none…?
To be fair, in terms of history, this does make the Trumpster the first Republican occupant of the Oval Office to even recognize Pride Month.
The Twitterverse was underwhelmed by the tweets. Here’s just some of the reactions beginning with House co-sponsor of The Equality Act, Rep. David Cicilline:
Nice Tweet. Now, how about telling Mitch McConnell to bring up the Equality Act?
Actions speak louder than words. This is a cheap political play and we see right through it. Your administration has attacked the rights of LGBTQ people more than 100 times. https://t.co/RaJ0AzRPNv
Oh please. In the past month you’ve opposed the #EqualityAct, rolled back vital housing and healthcare protections for transgender people and targeted #LGBT parents. Your administration is no ally.
— Michelangelo Signorile (@MSignorile) May 31, 2019
As Trump tweets about Pride Month, remember the Trump admin just proposed to scrap an Obama-era policy that prohibited health care providers from discriminating against transgender patients. The rule would also strike down protections for LGBTQ patients. https://t.co/K2xuxtdUk3
Trump has become the first Republican president to acknowledge Pride Month, even as his administration works to undo and attack the civil rights of the LGBT community.https://t.co/BqXspLdYJm
Evangelist Franklin Graham tweeted on Wednesday an attack on Democratic White House hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg for being gay and being in a same-sex marriage.
Graham took Buttigieg to task for being openly gay which the evangelist said was something the South Bend mayor should “be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised, or politicized.”
“The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman—not two men, not two women,” added Graham. “The core of the Christian faith is believing and following Jesus Christ, who God sent to be the Savior of the world—to save us from sin, to save us from hell, to save us from eternal damnation.”
Presidential candidate & South Bend Mayor @PeteButtigieg is right—God doesn’t have a political party. But God does have commandments, laws & standards He gives us to live by. God doesn’t change. His Word is the same yesterday, today & forever. 1/3 https://t.co/QHDNY3pwzJ
Mayor Buttigieg says he’s a gay Christian. As a Christian I believe the Bible which defines homosexuality as sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized. The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman—not two men, not two women. 2/3
The core of the Christian faith is believing and following Jesus Christ, who God sent to be the Savior of the world—to save us from sin, to save us from hell, to save us from eternal damnation. 3/3
Graham has also called Melania Trump, who worked as a (sometimes nude) model in her time before the White House, as the "classiest First Lady our country has ever had."
Buttigieg, who is a practicing Episcopalian, has been open about his religious beliefs. At a CNN town hall on Monday, he told the crowd he’s a proud gay Christian and feels that “God doesn’t have a political party.”
Buttigieg has also called out evangelical leaders who spew anti-LGBTQ policies.
During an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, he said “I don’t have a problem with religion, I’m religious, too.”
He quickly added, “I have a problem with religion being used as justification to harm people.”
"I don't have a problem with religion, I'm religious too. I have a problem with religion being used as a justification to harm people," potential Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said on "Ellen" https://t.co/PLfXo8CMskpic.twitter.com/xk86w6vz4v
The 37-year-old has also pointed out the hypocrisy of evangelicals who have turned a blind eye to Donald Trump’s multitudinous lies and his alleged affair with porn star, Stormy Daniels.
Buttigieg isn’t the only one who sees hypocrisy in action.
The Twitterverse was quick to respond to Graham.
@Franklin_Graham Your party’s President is a philanderer and a liar but you are willing look askance at those facts and come after an honest man that lives his faith and openly professes love to his partner. God is love. Quit twisting the Bible to breed hate.
But grabbing women by the pussy, sleeping with a porn star while your wife is pregnant, and lying about a black man’s birth certificate is just fine in Franklin Graham’s version of Christianity. https://t.co/B3jyBXRh1e
Franklin Graham needs to repent for being a bigoted asshole who provided evangelical cover for philandering mobster Donald Trump. https://t.co/f3JSiHC0wX
Over the past few years, folks have wondered how evangelical Christian Republicans can go along with the stunning hypocrisy that is Donald Trump.
Obviously, the answer has been that as long as conservatives get what they want out of a Trump presidency (Supreme Court justices, anti-LGBT legislation, etc...), they're ok holding their noses and sticking with their guy.
Now, the folks at Friend Dog Studios have come up with a 'GOP Jesus' that aligns more closely with their beliefs.
Check out the video below where 'GOP Jesus' addresses many of the conflicting messages coming out of some Christians including adultery, immigration, health care, the War on Christmas, family separations, the golden rule, and gay people.
Here's what the hypocritical really mean:
“Love your neighbor as yourself - unless you are better than your neighbor, then tell them that they’re weird, and you don’t want to bake them a cake.”
"What has a man profited if he gained the whole world but loses his soul? A lot! He's profited a lot. One soul for the whole world? That is an amazing deal!"
"If a man strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him and shoot him. That is the law."
A notorious “ex-gay” therapist who takes money from unsuspecting patients promising to ‘cure’ them of being gay while secretly trolling for sex with men on dating apps has been outed.
Norman Goldwasser, by day, is an Orthodox Jewish therapist at Horizon Psychological Services who compares homosexuality to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and misleads clients by claiming that their sexual orientation can be changed with his special brand of quack therapy, which is rejected by every respected medical and mental health association.
By night, an undercover investigation by Truth Wins Out has found, he solicits sexual partners on Manhunt, a gay dating App, using the profile “Hotnhairy72.”
During our operation, Goldwasser, going by the pseudonym “Dave”, offered to meet for sex with our operative, “Brandon,” at a Fort Lauderdale motel room. Goldwasser also had a profile on Bear Nation by the same name.
Clearly, the hypocrisy is stunning.
Studies have shown that so-called “ex-gay therapy” can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide.
Also known as “reparative” or “conversion therapy,” the practice has been debunked and denounced by nearly every major medical organization including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Currently 15 states - Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Delaware - plus the District of Columbia - all have laws or regulations protecting youth from the harmful practice.
Additionally, local municipalities including cities and counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Florida, New York, Arizona, and Wisconsin have also passed similar legislation.
In reporting the story for Truth Wins Out, Executive Director Wayne Besen writes that Goldwasser’s “double life of unconscionable lies highlights the rank hypocrisy and predatory nature of the fraudulent ‘ex-gay’ industry.”
Besen, the author of Anything Bust Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth, says his organization doesn’t condone outing others unless “there is overwhelming hypocrisy, exchange of commerce, and the threat of harm to LGBT youth.”
Clearly, the Goldwasser situation ticks all three boxes.
Goldwasser has long ties to the "conversion therapy" community going back to Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), an "ex-gay therapy" organization which was ordered dissolved by a New Jersey Superior Court in 2015 for violating consumer fraud laws.
Besen told JoeMyGod that he had been communicating with Goldwasser in advance of the Truth Wins Out article, and Goldwasser apparently begged Besen to consider his children and grandchildren in regard to exposing him.
Besen shared a text message from Goldwasser which read, in part, "If you want to prove a point, then please do so without destroying my ability to support my family."
“I reminded Goldwasser that he was asking for sympathy he never afforded his victims, some teenagers, as he coldly collected their money and ruined their lives,” Besen told JoeMyGod.
“I also told him that only caring about his own predicament without apologizing for the harm he caused other people was narcissistic -- something he could, unlike homosexuality -- fix by visiting a real therapist.”
This scandal comes to light as the new film Boy Erased opens in theaters this week.
The movie, starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, and Russell Crowe, focuses on the true-life experience of Gerrard Connelly whose parents sent him to “ex-gay camp” when they discovered his sexuality when he was a teen.
NowThis Politics demonstrates with ease the hypocrisy over at Fox News.
Back when President Obama considered meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, it was the WORST idea in the world according to the geniuses at Fox News.
Now that Donald Trump has proposed doing the exact same thing, he's brilliant.
Watch below as the video editors flip back and forth from the coverage of Obama then Trump.
During an appearance on Fox News last night, Pastor Robert Jeffress explained that evangelicals don't care about Donald Trump's Stormy Daniels scandal because "they knew they weren't voting for an alter boy."
Jeffress, a Fox News contributor and die-hard Trump supporter, defended evangelicals supportive of the president against charges of hypocrisy in light of recent news about the porn star tryst. “Let’s be clear, evangelicals still believe in the commandment: thou shalt not have sex with a porn star,” Jeffress said.
“However, whether this president violated that commandment or not is totally irrelevant to our support of him,” he continued. “Evangelicals knew they weren’t voting for an altar boy when they voted for Donald Trump. We supported him because of his policies and his strong leadership.”
So, I can wrap my head around evangelicals didn't expect Trump to be squeaky clean in the marital morals department.
But, it doesn't bother them that he LIES about sexual escapades and other issues?
1. Despite hearing similar arguments for weeks, this from Trump faith adviser Robert Jeffress is just…WOW.
When pressed on the Stormy Daniels controversy, Jeffress declares “even if it’s proven to be true, it doesn’t matter” because God forgives sinners. https://t.co/yO77p0mcFN
This is so wrong. Jeffress says that nothing Trump does matters as long as he delivers on policy/leadership. Jeffress doesn’t care if Trump is right now lying as long as he produces. This is not what a pastor would say. https://t.co/KzzhTi5q6b
In an interview with Politico's "Off Message" podcast, anti-LGBT right-winger Tony Perkins said that conservative Evangelicals have basically given Donald Trump a "mulligan" for his personal failings regarding alleged affairs and the infamous "grab'em by the pussy" comment on video.
Perkins made it clear that as long as Trump's policies stay in line with far-right conservatives, they're willing to turn a blind eye to his personal issues and racist comments.
Similarly, in a recent CNN interview, evangelical leader Franklin Graham also swept Trump's personal shortcomings aside saying, “These alleged affairs, they’re alleged with Trump, didn’t happen while he was in office.”
“This happened 11, 12, 13, 14 years ago,” he said. “And so, I think there is a big difference and not that we give anybody a pass, but we have to look at the timeline and that was before he was in office.”
Responding to those comments on MSNBC's "Hardball," former RNC chairman Michael Steele was not having any of that:
“I have very simple admonition: just shut the hell up and don’t preach to me about anything ever again. I don’t want to hear it, because after telling me who to love, what to believe, what to do and what not to do and now you sit back and the prostitutes don’t matter, the grabbing the you-know-what doesn’t matter, the outright behavior and lies don’t matter, just shut up! They have no voice of authority anymore for me.”
Donald Trump, who tweeted Christmas night that he would get "back to work" the next morning, is spending his 5th consecutive day playing golf.
This is his 89th day at a golf course since taking office.
I hope everyone is having a great Christmas, then tomorrow it’s back to work in order to Make America Great Again (which is happening faster than anyone anticipated)!
This pic from Sunday's Jets/Patriots game is currently going viral as this douchebag wearing a t-shirt that says "I stand for the National Anthem" as he sits on the flag like a beach towel.
On top of the fact that we were taught to never let the flag touch the ground, the asshole is SITTING his ass on the flag!
Adding to the assholery is he seems to drink beer with a straw. #Embarrassing #ManUp #WhoDrinksBeerThroughAStraw
This man at Sunday’s Patriots-Jets game respects the United States and its national anthem so much that he turned the country’s flag into a picnic blanket. Reader Marshall spotted the patriot, who is better than all of us, at the Jets’ stadium.
“Basically, me and my friend were walking around the stadium sometime during the 3rd quarter. There is a huge tv screen by the food carts right inside the stadium where people gather to watch. We went over there to check it out and we saw him spread the flag out and sit down.”
So, in case I haven't been clear (and I know my readers may not be accustomed to this language from me) - Get your f*cking ass off my flag!
Kyle Griffin, a producer for MSNBC's The Last Word, keeps a running tally of Donald Trump's golf days.
Today's report: "Per pool, Trump has arrived at Trump Nat'l Golf Club in VA. This is his 72nd day at a golf club, 92nd day at a Trump property as president."
I realize a lot of folks may not care about Trump golfing, but given his voluminous tweets raging about President Obama playing golf during his 8 years as prez, it's interesting to note the hypocrisy.
In addition to railing about golf, citizen Trump also ranted about Obama going anywhere. As a candidate, Trump told his followers he'd probably never leave the White House because there was too much work to do.
#Snork!
Per pool, Trump has arrived at Trump Nat'l Golf Club in VA.
This is his 72nd day at a golf club, 92nd day at a Trump property as president.
24 days later: as just 14.6% of Puerto Rico has electricity, and just 64% access to drinking water, Trump hit the links for the 72nd time. pic.twitter.com/C8JPCf6rsJ
Virulently anti-abortion, anti-LGBT and hypocritical pro-family values Congressman Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania has resigned after text messages revealed he had an extramarital affair.
Further, when his mistress believed she was pregnant with his child, he apparently urged her to seek an abortion.
Text messages revealed earlier this week showed the woman with whom Murphy is having an extra-marital affair told Murphy, "you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options," according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Responding to the message, Rep. Murphy said: "I get what you say about my March for life messages. I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will."
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan issued a statement today which read, in part, "This afternoon I received a letter of resignation from Congressman Tim Murphy, effective October 21. It was Dr. Murphy's decision to move on to the next chapter of his life, and I support it."
Murphy will leave office on October 21.
The governor of Pennsylvania cannot appoint a replacement, and so a special election will have to be called.
While possible, it's highly unlikely a Democrat would win the seat since the district is considered solidly red.
Well, well, well. It's always so interesting when we come across hypocritical "pro-life" politicians who vote against pro-choice rights but seek remedies like abortion for their own life events.
In newly obtained documents, anti-abortion (and anti-LGBT) Rep. Tim Murphy asked his mistress to terminate a pregnancy this year even as he was putting out anti-abortion political positions.
According to documents obtained by the Post-Gazette, Shannon Edwards—a Pittsburgh woman exactly half Murphy’s age with whom he recently admitted to having an extramarital affair—texted Murphy in January about a possible pregnancy that turned out to be just a scare. “You have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options,” she said, referring to a post from Murphy’s professional Facebook account that accused America of “discarding and disregarding the most vulnerable” for allowing abortions past 20 weeks’ gestation.
“I get what you say about my March for life messages,” Murphy responded. “I’ve never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will.”
Such a paragon of virtue.
In addition to opposing any pro-choice positions, Murphy voted against LGBT legislation like the the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
And what did he vote for? A constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
With a 100% rating from the Family Research Council it's not surprising to know he has a 0% rating from the Human Rights Campaign.
Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) - who voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage - admitted on Thursday to having an extramarital affair.
“Last year I became involved in an affair with a personal friend. This is nobody’s fault but my own, and I offer no excuses. To the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me," Murphy said in a statement released by his lawyer.
Murphy confirmed the affair after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was granted a court order to unseal the divorce action of the other couple involved.
While Murphy is not a party in the divorce action, the husband of the woman with whom he was having an affair sought to depose him in July, according to the Post-Gazette.
On HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher this past Friday, Bill wondered how Republicans would react if Barack Obama exhibited the same crude behavior as Donald Trump – with a little help from Obama impersonator Reggie Brown.
Watch as Brown reads actual Trump comments, then imagine how Republicans would have reacted if Obama had said these things.
Brown does a bang-up job as "Obama," by the way...
Donald Trump, who campaigned for president criticizing President Obama for taking vacations, is now taking 17 days off after six hard months of playing golf at his country clubs.
President Trump, 2 weeks before leaving for a 17-day vacation: "I don't think we should leave town unless we have a health insurance plan" pic.twitter.com/NqZ8bMhNf5
And, of course, this trip on the "way-back machine:"
Trump in Feb. 2015 blasting Obama: "Who wants to go on vacation when you're president? You're in the WH. You stay in your command center." pic.twitter.com/6pvOoM4hBd
While Donald Trump is working hard tapping on his Twitter feed, he has found the time to make his 58th visit to a Trump property, and his 43rd trip to a golf course as president.
Just this past Wednesday, President Trump told Republican Senators that health care reform is so important, "We have to stay here. We shouldn't leave town, and we should hammer this out and get it done."
Well, "we" somehow didn't include the Trumpster himself.
News outlets are now reporting Trump plans to spend a whopping 3 weeks in Bedminster, New Jersey, beginning August 3rd.
Trump will be staying at his golf resort there (more money for his business, don't you know) after "slaving" for six months as president.
Today was his 41st day at a golf course as president. Just saying...
Of course, some of you might remember this from the 2016 campaign:
And then, there are the tweets condemning President Obama every time he played golf over 8 years. Here's just a sample:
President @BarackObama's vacation is costing taxpayers millions of dollars----Unbelievable!
