Vote Blue. Here's Another Slew of Reasons Why

Here we are again, with a wee taste of the lunacy, racism, criminality, and bigotry and hate inside the GOP …

WASHINGTON DC

House Speaker and Good Christian Nationalist Mike Johnson went down to Mar-Illegal this week and came back to tell us that he is proposing a bill to make it illegal for undocumented immigrants to vote and the Cult cheered.

Of course, none of them made note of the fact that it’s already illegal for undocumented immigrants to vote.

You cannot fix stupid … and liars.

COLORADO

Don Wilson, a Republican state representative left a loaded, semiautomatic handgun in a bathroom at the Colorado Capitol on Tuesday night at the same time that Democrats are trying to ban firearm possession in the building and the GOP is fighting them.

And yet the Wilson’s idiotic actions have proven why the Democrats stance in needed when even a so-called legislator can’t keep track of a loaded firearm.

KENTUCKY

Brian Ormes, a Republican candidate for state House of Representatives was arrested and booked for first-degree strangulation, menacing and fourth-degree assault with no visible injury.

According to Fort Wright police, the incident happened on Monday night when a 17-year-old male reported being assaulted by Ormes  inside the Walmart. Police say Ormes admitted to being in an altercation with juveniles because of their unruly behavior in the store, which he said impacted the safety of his child.

So he strangled a kid?

FLORIDA

While family and friends distributed posters of George Riley Jr., a missing Republican Party of Florida executive director, it was discovered that he was holed up in a Hampton Inn, where authorities say he trashed his room.

Riley was kicked out of a room at the Hampton Inn in Kissimmee after a desk clerk observed him “under the influence;” employees of the hotel had talked to Riley in his hotel room and found that he had “urinated and vomited throughout.” The assistant general manager noted that Riley was purchasing alcohol while staying at the hotel, and that he had bought so much booze from the store inside the hotel that the manager had to order more.

The party of Family Values, pissin’ and pukin’ …

ARIZONA

After the Arizona Supreme Court upheld their 1864 abortion law, which calls for 2-5 years in prison for anyone involved in performing an abortion, Kari Lake fired off a statement saying that she disagrees with the decision and hopes that the voters will overturn it in a referendum this November when her Senate race is also on the ballot against Ruben Gallego.

There’s just one big problem for lying, hypocritical fraudster Kari Lake … when she was running for Governor in 2022 she said the exact opposite repeatedly, saying she hoped that the Supreme Court would “do the right thing” and overturn Roe.

Huh, Kari Lake is a liar? Go figure …

IOWA

Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law this week making it a crime for an undocumented immigrant to be in Iowa. The law, which takes effect July 1, has elevated anxiety in Iowa’s immigrant communities and mirrors part of a Texas law that is currently blocked in court.

Even local police officers in the state are confused about the bill; Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert says immigration status does not factor into the department’s work to keep the community safe and that most police agencies are “not equipped, funded or staffed” to take on federal government responsibilities.

But, hey, the Governor wants Brown people arrested.

LOUISIANA

The Louisiana House Committee on Education advanced House Bill 121 by GOP Representative Raymond Crews that prohibits the use of transgender and nonbinary youth’s chosen names and pronouns in public K-12 schools without parental permission. In addition, House Bill 122 by GOP Representative Dodie Horton would limit discussion of gender and sexuality in public K-12 schools.

The Legislature approved both bills last year, though then-Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, vetoed them, and Republicans were unable to overturn his action. But now Louisiana has a GOP Governor, Jeff Landry, who  filed a card in support of both Crews’ and Horton’s Hate Bills.

GOOD NEWS

MAINE

After a fiery debate over a bill to protect health care workers who provide abortion and gender-affirming care from out-of-state lawsuits crossed a line in the Maine House and lead to lawmakers censuring two Republicans.

GOP Representative Michael Lemelin claimed that the mass shooting that killed 18 people last October in Lewiston, Maine and the recent winter storms were God’s revenge for “immoral” laws adopted by legislators, and he described the shield bill as “inspired by Lucifer himself” another GOP lawmaker, Shelley Rudnicki, announced that she agreed with Lemelin’s remarks.

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross told Lemelin and Rudnicki that the remarks were “extremely offensive and intentionally harmful to the victims and the families of the Lewiston tragedy, the House of Representatives, and the people of Maine.”

But, hey, God …

KANSAS

Democrat Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a bill that would ban transgender minors from receiving gender transition surgeries and hormone therapy, setting up another veto override fight over GOP efforts to regulate the lives of trans residents.

Kelly says the bill dictates to parents how to best raise and care for their children, adding that the legislation is not a “conservative value, and it’s certainly not a Kansas value” and “tramples parental rights.”

The measure passed in the Senate 27-13 with a veto-proof majority. The House vote was still two votes short of a veto-proof margin. But if two House Republicans who were absent from the initial floor vote now vote to override, the House would gain the two-thirds majority necessary.

And that’s just a small taste of GOP lunacy ... pardoning traitors for political points; gibberish speakers; anti-military criminals; lunatics and Big Liars; Christian Nationalist Nazi sympathizers; party over country fools; unfit for political office; liars and flip-floppers; and Arizona.

So what do we do? We ...

Really? Really.

Sometimes things make you wonder what in the actual hell are some people thinking, and doing, and saying …

Out there in Washington, despite having disavowed White nationalism last spring when one of its adherents endorsed him, Republican Joe Kent, a US House candidate decided it would be smart to give an interview to a Nazi sympathizer and White nationalist in which he touted his support for far-right figures like Anti-Semite Marjorie Taylor Green and White Supremacist supporter Paul Gosar and praised MAGAt policies.

Okay, people in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, take him at his word: he supports Nazis, White Supremacists and Anti-Semites; is that who you want in your state Congress?

QAnon nutbag DeAnna Lorraine also spoke with a Christian nationalist—I call them Nationalist Christians because then you can call them what they really are: Nat C’s—Laura Witzke and said this:

“We understand that the deep state, they have weather manipulation technology. They have DARPA [Defense Advanced research Projects Agency]. They know how to manipulate and create big storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, climate change, etc. And these huge hurricanes always seem to target red states, red districts. And always at a convenient time, right before elections or in this case possibly because Ron DeSantis has been stepping out a line a lot and challenging, fighting the deep state.”

Yes, the Democrats and the deep state are so powerful that they can send hurricanes to Florida because they don’t like Ron DeSantis; except we all know DeSantis is fucking Florida all on his own.

In Congress twelve GOP senators, most of whom are on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray to justify the show of force that accompanied the arrest of Mark Houck.

Houck, president of The King’s Men, a Catholic ministry created to “unite and build up" men, has twice assaulted a man because he was a volunteer reproductive health care clinic escort.

Houck is said to be pro-life except when he is shoving women’s rights advocates to the ground, and the GOP doesn’t think he deserved to be arrested because it happened in front of his children.

Maybe he shouldn’t have assaulted anyone, eh?

In Colorado, the GOP candidate for governor, Heidi Ganahl, is trotting out the Furries Conspiracy again, saying students in Colorado schools are self-identifying as animals:

“Not many people know that we have furries in Colorado schools…kids identifying as cats. It sounds absolutely ridiculous, but it’s happening all over Colorado and schools are tolerating it. It’s insane.”

Except for the fact that one school district she called out, Jeffco Public Schools, released a statement:

“There is absolutely no truth to this claim. There are no litter boxes in our buildings and students are not allowed to come to school in costume. There are no furries or students identifying as such during the school day.”

But hey, if it gets you elected the GOP will try anything.

Down in Florida, GOP Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott sent a joint letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee chairs to secure funding “provide much needed assistance to Florida” in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Good, except that when the bill was voted on, Rick Scott voted 'No' and Little Marco didn't even show up to vote.

Meanwhile, in the House the vote to offer assistance was approved by a vote of 230 to 201, with Republicans overwhelmingly opposing the measure; and every single Florida Republican House member voted against it.

The GOP in Congress doesn’t even care about their own constituents in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane.

And, then again in Florida, a second-grader was expelled from Victory Christian Academy, a Christian day school, because her parents refused to take a picture of her in a bathtub.

School officials at Victory Christian Academy told the girl’s parents that the picture was part of a homework assignment that included instructions to “send picture of you doing reading homework in bathtub,” and since they didn’t comply. the child would be subject to “an administration withdraw.”

Let that sink in, a Christian wants parents to take a photo of their child in a bathtub and send it to the school … for what? I mean, I keep reading about these pastors and ministers and reverends and priests molesting children and now this school wants bath time photos.

Who’s doing the grooming?

After news reports exposed the bathtub homework and fallout, Victory Christian removed the assignment from the school’s second grade curriculum.

Go figure.

Today In Stoopid: Matthew Aimers Ruined The Reception

Matthew Aimers, of Willingboro, New Jersey, has been arrested on suspicion of a string of offenses, including indecent assault, indecent exposure, imprisonment of a minor, simple assault and resisting arrest  at a wedding reception held at the Northampton Valley Country Club in Pennsylvania in November 2018.

Aimer allegedly asked a teenager who was waitressing the event whether she would like to “go outside and make out,” suggesting he would do whatever she wanted. When she rejected his advances, Aimers ALLEGEDLY followed the girl into the women’s bathroom, where he sexually assaulted her and exposed himself. Then he offered her $100 as part of another proposition before she was able to flee the bathroom.

The reception continued  until police were later called to reports of a fight at the club and arrived to find Matthew Aimers “pushing and punching people.” The fight is reported to have broken out after Aimers became aggressive towards a club employee who told him that he couldn’t bring alcohol outside the venue. Aimers ignored police and got into a parked shuttle bus, prompting one officer to board with his Taser drawn. Aimers insulted that officer and attempting to goad him into a fight; following a brief struggle, Matthew Aimer was arrested.

Man, Matthew Aimer knows how to liven up a wedding reception, no? Even his own; yes, it was Matthew Aimer’s wedding day and reception when he decided to rape a teenage girl and assault strangers and the police.

The honeymoon must have been epic … after Aimers posted bail, I mean.

Utah Man Had The Words "Die Fag" Carved Into His Skin

Rick Jones, his family, and their business, are under attack in Delta Utah simply because Rick is gay. There’s no other explanation.

Last week, while taking out the trash at the family restaurant, Grand Central Station Pizzeria, Rick Jones was beaten, robbed, nearly forced to drink bleach, and had the words “Die Fag” carved into his arm with a knife.

“I went out to take out the trash, and when I came back in, I thought it was strange that I didn’t hear the door close. I turned around to shut the door, and someone grabbed me by the head and slammed me to the wall. … I remember waking up and I was lying on the floor. Someone was on my chest and legs and they were trying to force me to drink bleach.”

Rick passed out and when he woke up later, in the hospital, a medical team was considering life-flighting him to Salt Lake City, He was treated for the wounds, and the carvings into his flesh, held overnight and then released.

"I've lived here my whole live with my family. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I don't have any known enemies, but obviously I have one somewhere." — Rick Jones

But it wasn’t over; five days later, the words “Die Fag” were spray-painted on the family home, and then last week a Molotov cocktail was thrown through Rick’s bedroom window, and the house was spray-painted again, this time with “You’ll Die. Burn Fag.” The family restaurant was also hit by burglary, theft and vandalism that morning.

Millard County police are having a hard time finding suspects, because the young man, his family and his pizzeria seemingly have no enemies. And, sadly, in the town of Delta, little to no media attention has been given to the incidents, and the police are stretched pretty thin as they cover 7,000 square miles of land in Millard County. But Sheriff Robert Dekker has called the case a priority for his agency, and has assigned multiple detectives to the investigation.

"So many things go toward somebody trying to get somebody in the gay community. All of the cases indicate that's what they're after, that's what they're mad at. I would classify it as a hate crime." — Millard County Sheriff Robert Dekker

It’s very clearly a hate crime, and, luckily, the Utah Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce has stepped in with an offer of a $5,000 reward for new information leading to the successful apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators of the attack. Those with information about the crimes committed against Rick Jones should contact Lt. Morris Burton of the Millard County Sheriff’s Office at 435-864-2755.

Terri Jones, Rick's mother, says she and her family refuse to be intimidated by the attacks:

"When you attack any member of our family, you attack everybody here. This is not just against my son, it is against every single one of us. We're not going to back down, we're not going to close the restaurant if we can keep from it. We're not going to move from Delta, we're not going to be afraid. … The only thing we can do is stand strong as a family."

And the local community, small though it may be, has also rallied behind the family, who opened their business just six months ago. Residents have approached the family to offer support, prayers and sympathy, and have made a point of patronizing the pizzeria to help the family stay open, and to show that this kind of crime will not be tolerated.

Even Lt. Governor Spencer Cox issued a statement:

"I was horrified and heart-broken to learn of this cowardly and barbaric assault. The Jones family is an upstanding, well-respected and beloved part of the Delta community. ... This will not stand."

Seriously. Is this what we can expect in any part of this country simply because a young man is gay? As I’ve said before, and before and before and before, if someone just beat up and robbed Rick Jones and the family business, that’s a hateful crime, but when they carve into his skin the words “Die Fag” and spray-paint the same words on his home, it’s Hate, pure and simple.

And it needs to be dealt with, quickly, and severely, to send a message that this will not be tolerated anywhere in this country.

It’s Hate, and it needs to stop.

Gay Salt Lake

KSL
The Advocate
CNN

Today In Christian Love: Woman Tries To Choke The Baby Jeebus Into A Stranger

Margurite Dawn Haragan, of Boise, Idaho, just loves the Baby Jeebus, and she’ll do anything for the Baby Jeebus, except understand the teachings of the Baby Jeebus.

See, Haragan figured it was her job to bring folks to the Baby Jeebus, only she went about it in an entirely different way: by beating and choking you into accepting Jesus as your savior. And one day, on her mission, she wandered over to a woman’s house — the victim is identified only as A.G. and t it is not clear if A.G. knows Haragan — to bring her to salvation, but A.G. is Jewish and so, well, she wasn’t really interested.

Haragan banged on the windows at A.G.’s house, yelling at the woman that she better believe in Jesus Christ and saying she would not leave until A.G. did just that. So, A.G. opened the door to politely tell Haragan that she was looking for a new relationship with anyone, including Jesus, so maybe Haragan could simply go home a pray on it, or something; then she stepped outside to s get the license number of Haragan’s car so she could call the police.

That’s when Haragan, filled, no doubt, with Christian love, slapped A.G.’s  face, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her to the ground; then she started kicking the victim in the stomach and thigh area, all the while yelling at her to accept Jesus into her life or the beat-down would continue.

I’m imaging that somewhere the Baby Jeebus was not amused.

And finally, in what might have been a last-ditch effort to convert the woman, Haragan stepped on A.G.’s neck and pulled her hair; that was when A.G. — figuring out how to appease Crazy — said she would convert, which seemed acceptable to Haragan, who let her go. But two days later—apparently not having heard from the Baby Jeebus that A.G. was ‘on board—Haragan returned to A.G.’s home, cut up all the mail in the mailbox, and carved “death bin bond” into the mailbox, a phrase which no one seems to know what it means.

Haragan was arrested and told a “she did not understand what she was being charged with, she did not want a public defender, and she would not hire her own lawyer.”  She then added, perhaps unconvincingly:

“I am a sworn-in deputy of Ada County and I also give my oath that what I say is legal and binding.”

Needless to say, Haragan has never worked for Ada county or any nearby counties, and so the judge went ahead and appointed a public defender. She faces up to five years in prison for each count.

On the plus side, when she gets to the Big House, she’ll have a captive audience for her, um, sermons, and will no doubt be preaching from behind bars to keep her congregation safe.

via Wonkette

Rub-A-Dub-Dub ... Escorts In A Tub

One night, after partying together at a South Carolina gay bar—and yes, there are gay bars in South Carolina … or there is gay bar … I digress—three men went out for a little, um, hot tub fun.

Eighteen-year-old Austin Adams [below right] and 33-year-old Michael Gordon [below center] went together to that Spartanburg nightclub, where they met 21-year-old Douglas Tench [below left], who had come down from Charlotte to go to that club in Spartanburg.

After several drinks Tench left  with Adams and Gordon, for a home in Boiling Springs—and the hot tub in Boling Springs … you cannot make this stuff up—where Gordon was dog sitting; the three men began to, ahem, “enjoy each other’s company” in said hot tub. But the party ended when the three men started to quarrel … over which one was the higher paid escort.

Oh, but they did. Adams told the arresting deputy that he “lost control” when Tench “stated he got paid more for his escort services than Adams.” Adams admitted to hitting and kicking Tench while they were in the hot tub before Tench jumped out of the hot tub and ran to a house across the street, where he called a friend who, in turn, dialed 911.

After confessing to assaulting Tench, Adams asked the deputy to “just arrest him and get it done with,” and so he was charged with simple assault; Gordon and Tench were also arrested for providing alcohol to a minor escort.

Lesson to be learned: don’t brag about your escort coins in a hot tub with other escorts?

That’s all I got.

source

It Was A Hate Crime

I’m sure by now you’ve all seen, or at least heard about, that airport incident, where an apparently drunken white man attacked a black man, while calling him a n****r over and over again. The whole episode was caught on a cellphone camera—as is everything these days—and was posted to YouTube where it went viral.

The attacker was tackled by bystanders in the airport, and taken down while screaming about “f*****g n****r” and was subsequently arrested and charged with a Hate Crime.

Except it didn’t happen that way, though maybe if it did …

At the Dallas airport that day McCleish Christmas Benham was drunk, very drunk; when a gate agent asked him if he’d had any alcohol, Benham cursed at her, saying, “Yes, 100 drinks.” A man standing nearby heard the exchange and told Benham to calm down, that the police were on their way, and that’s when Benham turned his rage on that young man.

He was asked again to relax, and when another passenger asked why he was so angry, Benham pointed to the first young man and said, "This faggot right here."

Then Benham kicked the man in the groin, punched him in the eye, and hit him on the head before he was tackled by five onlookers and an airport police officer. While he was being taken to the ground, he continued to yell, "Queers! That's what I'm upset about."

Now, while this sickens me, and while I wonder why it took so long for airport security to respond, because the minute you take too long taking your shoes off at TSA you’re surrounded by security, I am stunned to learn that Benham will only face charges of simple assault and public intoxication; each carries a maximum fine of $500 and no jail time. 

But there doesn’t seem to be any move to charge him with a Hate Crime, though, to be fair, local police have not yet indicated whether they will file hate-crime charges against Benham; if they did, Benham could be charged with a Class-B misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum $2,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail.

In addition he might also face separate charges under the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, though it seems that hate crime charges can be difficult to prove when an assailant is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

Okay, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: if that drunk man had punched and kicked the other man because he was a belligerent drunk, that’s hateful; but when he punches, kicks, and hits, while calling the man a “queer” and a “faggot” that’s Hate.

I mean, if that first part of the story were true if he’d called a black passenger a “n****r” and attacked him, we’d know right away it’s a Hate Crime; there’d be no discussion. But since this was, perhaps, because we don’t even know, a gay victim, well, we can’t be sure it was Hate.

I’m here to say it was Hate; it is Hate; and it will be Hate. And when a lawyer, when asked about hate crimes laws says that would be difficult to prove because Benham was drunk, well, then you’ve just given people their out: get drunk, attack a queer, and it won’t be considered hate because you’re intoxicated.

Now that’s hateful.

The Star-Telegram

The Advocate

UPDATE: Sarah Bray Is A Liar and A Batterer

Just the other day  I posted about Sarah Bray, an Indiana lesbian who claimed to have been denied hospital visitation rights after her partner, Jennifer Clemmer, supposedly overdosed as part of a suicide attempt. [See post HERE]

Turns out that story is not true, and it’s much different, and much worse than the original.

Yesterday Sarah Bray was arrested for assaulting Jennifer Clemmer and then trying to cover it up as a suicide attempt by drug overdose. Bray had claimed, through LGBT activists and the media, that the hospital, and Clemmer’s mother, had denied her the right to see her partner, but the fact is that Bray had been allowed to see Jennifer with supervision.  But once Bray had alerted the press and GetEqual Indiana, hospital staff became suspicious and the police were called.

And it was during an interview with authorities that a different story emerged.

Indiana prosecutors now allege that Sarah Bray attacked Jennifer Clemmer in front of Bray's two children in a dispute over household chores. In an effort to escape the attack, Clemmer sought refuge in the bathroom, and it wasn’t until hours later that Bray called 911 to claim she found Clemmer in that bathroom unconscious. Jennifer Clemmer says the last thing she remembers is dragging herself into the bathroom. Police allege that Clemmer did not overdose as part of a suicide attempt and instead believe Sarah Bray attacked Clemmer, who they report as being covered in bruises and scratches.

Once Clemmer was hospitalized, Bray alleged that Clemmer's mother had banned her from the hospital room, but now it appears that Bray was allowed to visit, only under supervision, because there was a fear that she might harm Clemmer to keep her from speaking to police.

It was then that Bray contacted LGBT activists and the media and told her “story”.

Once awake, Clemmer told police that Bray had attacked her, and Bray's children confirmed the story to detectives, saying their mother told them not to say anything else. And neither the hospital or Jennifer Clemmer’s family confirmed the overdose theory, and there is a belief that the police simply played along until Clemmer awoke to avoid alerting Bray to the investigation.

Family members and friends allege in the affidavit that Bray has a history of mentally and physically abusing Clemmer.

Sarah Bray was booked into the Marion County Jail on charges of felony criminal confinement, felony battery, and misdemeanor battery charges. She faces two felony and one misdemeanor charge and is being held on $11,000 bond; if convicted, Bray faces up to four years in jail.

I hope they throw the book at her. How dare she play the anti-LGBT card when so many times in this country this story really happens to same-sex couples. As we fight for equality, we come across all sorts of people who seek to deny us our rights, and when one of our own, like Sarah Bray, trys to use the system to cover her crimes, it lessens our struggle in the eyes of those who stand against us.

She ought to be ashamed; she ought to go to jail.

source

Another One: Kardin Ulysse Lost His Eyesight After Being Assaulted At School

Kardin Ulysse, a fourteen-year-old Brooklyn boy, has lost the sight in one of his eyes as a result of an assault by a group of bullies in his school cafeteria. He's undergone two surgeries on his right eye since the June 5 beating at Roy H. Mann Junior High School in Bergen Beach.

“The doctor says he needs a transplant,” Kardin's father, Pierre Ulysse said. “For me to send him to school with two eyes and come back with one eye is really absurd....I want the world to know about this.”

Kardin was the victim of  a pair of seventh-graders who began shouting "faggot, faggot" at him. One of the boys held Kardin down while the other repeatedly punched him in the face, head and neck. It is unclear whether the bullies’ fists or pieces of Kardin's shattered eyeglasses caused the damage to his cornea. it is clear, however, that while Kardin was able to get free, the bullies chased him into the cafeteria where the beating continued until school safety officers and school aides finally intervened.

Kardin’s family has hired Sanford Rubenstein, and they say they will sure the city for failing to properly supervise the students. Rubenstein has called for law enforcement to investigate whether the attack is a hate crime and, if so, upgrade the criminal charges to felonies. But, because they’re minors, the two bullies were charged with misdemeanors in Family Court, and, again, because they're minors, these two thugs will not have their names released.

Kardin says he had spoken to the dean at his school, complaining about being bullied, for some time. In fact, he was attacked and robbed  last October, but, as if all of this isn't sick enough, let's toss some more into the mix with the news that the parents of another 13-year-old student filed a lawsuit against Roy H. Mann Junior High last year alleging a pattern of bullying. 

And, at the same time, a Department of Education [DOE] survey found that 63% of the students at  Roy H. Mann Junior High reported at least some of the time classmates are harassed or threatened based on their race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship status, gender, sexual orientation or disability. And the survey also found that 40% of the school’s students didn’t feel safe in the building and 44% said students threaten or bully other students “most of the time” or “all of the time.”

Nearly half of all students are bullied, or are witness to bullying, and yet the school seems to have done nothing. A DOE spokesman did say the attack on Ulysse is being taken “very seriously” by the principal, and added that Kardin's assailants face disciplinary action in addition to the criminal prosecution.

Just words. hollow words.

The school principal and the administrators need to be removed form their jobs; the bullies need to be removed from the school and punished to the fullest extent of the law.

This isn't just kids being kids and acting out. This is assault. This is a crime and it seems a lot of the schools in this country, as well as the officials in schools and school districts, are not doing enough, or anything, to stem the tide of bullying. Are we going to finally wake up to this epidemic when a child is murdered at school? Is that what it will take to make everyone pay attention?

source

The Family Jenkins: The Family That Hates Together.......

Alexis Leeann Jenkins and Mable Ashley Jenkins, two Kentucky women, have become the first people in the country to be convicted under the federal hate-crimes law for helping to assault Kevin Pennington because he's gay.

The two women pleaded guilty to one charge of kidnapping and one charge of aiding others in causing bodily injury to Pennington. Their convictions are the first in the nation under provisions of the federal law covering crimes of violence motivated by a person's actual or perceived sexual orientation, according to U.S. Attorney Kerry B. Harvey, and the two women face possible life sentences.

Good. Maybe an example will be set.

But....the circumstances of their pleas indicate that they plan on cooperating with prosecutors, so their sentences could be reduced or vacated. They have agreed to be charged by way of a document called information--which is different than an indictment, which requires a grand jury to approve the charges.  Their attorneys declined to comment on whether the two nineteen-year-old will cooperate in prosecuting two others charged in the case.

They are scheduled to be sentenced in August.

The charges arise from an April 4, 2011, attack on Kevin Pennington, who was a friend of Mable Ashley Jenkins. According to a federal indictment returned this week, David Jason Jenkins and Anthony Ray Jenkins--Alexis Jenkins is Anthony Jenkins' wife, and Ashley is his sister--wanted to attack Pennington and got the two women to lure him into a trap by saying they would help him buy Suboxone, a pain medication used to treat addiction to opiates.

The Family Jenkins took Pennington to a secluded spot at Kingdom Come State Park, and Jason and Anthony Jenkins dragged him out of the pickup and beat him with, according to court documents, the intent to kill him for being gay. Alexis and Ashley Jenkins allegedly egged on the attack, yelling "Kill the faggot."

Pennington was able to escape during a lull in the attack and hid in the woods until the four stopped looking for him.

Jason and Anthony Jenkins have pleaded not guilty. They could be sentenced to life if convicted.

I say, lock 'em all up, and give them some kind of family sentencing plan, since they like to Gay Bash together.

And. I'll say it again. If the Family Jenkins had beaten, and tried to kill, Kevin Pennington for his money, or his drugs, that would be a hateful thing to do. But to lure him in to the woods, beat him, and try to murder him simple because he's a gay man is Hate.

And it deserves full punishment.

Tennessee High School Principal Assaults Student For Wearing T-Shirt Supporting Gay-Straight Alliance

Up there in Tennessee, which seems to be the latest hotbed of anti-LGBT activity, Chris Sigler, a 17-year-old senior at Sequoyah High School, was ALLEGEDLY shoved, bumped in the chest and verbally harassed by his principal for wearing a T-shirt in support of efforts to establish a gay-straight alliance (GSA) club on campus.

A T-shirt. 

Now, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Tennessee is involved and has sent a letter to the school district today demanding that students’ rights to free speech be protected in the classroom.

The ACLU has been assisting Chris Sigler, in his and other students’ efforts to establish a GSA at Sequoyah, but Principal Maurice Moser has continually threatened to punish students who circulated petitions about the club. On the day of his attack by the principal, Chris Sigler was wearing a T-shirt he made, that said: “GSA: We’ve Got Your Back.”

How out of control.

One of Sigler's teachers ordered him to cover up the shirt in the future, but Chris knew he had the right to wear it, and he did, that following Friday. He was then ordered to remove the shirt, and he refused. He says that Principal Maurice Moser then ordered all students out of the classroom, except for Sigler’s sister Jessica, who refused to leave.

Then, according to brother and sister, Moser grabbed Chris Sigler by the arm, shoved him, and chest-bumped him repeatedly while asking “Who’s the big man now?” 

Um, that would not be you, Principal Maurice Moser. Not by a long shot.

When Chris Sigler’s mother--who had been called about her son--arrived, she found Chris seated at a desk with Principal Moser leaning over him and shouting in her son’s face. The Siglers filed a report that afternoon with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

It's bad enough when students bully students, or when teachers are inappropriate, but a principal shouting "Who's the big man now?" is reprehensible.

Chris Sigler: “All I want is to have a GSA at my school to help stop the bullying against gays and lesbians and their friends who support them/ The shirt was a way to use my voice and show my support for the club. The way I was treated shows even more why we need a GSA here.”

Amanda Goad, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project: “All students deserve a safe and respectful learning environment. Harassment, abuse or censorship of any student – regardless of sexual orientation – is absolutely reprehensible as well as illegal. We expect the police to investigate this quickly and fairly, and take statements from all witnesses who were present.”

Hopefully, the school can form a GSA and people like Principal Maurice Moser will be exposed as bigots and homophobes and bullies.

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There's Nothing Worse Than A Bigoted, Homophobic Politician

Unless it's a bigoted homophobic politician who likes to prowl Craigslist for young men offering good times. You know, when the politician isn't voting all anti-gay and stuff.

Yes, folks, it seems that Indiana state Republican representative, Phillip Hinkle was caught emailing a young man, and offering him $80, plus tip, to spend some, um, quality time with the congressman at his Marriott hotel room.

The emails, sent from Hinkle's publicly listed personal address--how's that for smart--ask the young man for "a couple hours of your time tonight" and offer him cash up front, with a tip of up to $50 or $60 "for a really good time."

For a really good time with a self-loathing, closeted homophobic, anti-gay voting queer? Oh, honey, that tip won't cover it at all.

Kameryn Gibson, the young man in question, advertised his good times on Craigslist, saying "I need a sugga daddy." But when he met his latest 'sugga' at the hotel, and learned that Hinkle was a state lawmaker, he tried to leave. But, Kameryn Gibson says, Hinkle wouldn't let him leave, and instead grabbed his ass, then exposed himself. Hinkle subsequently offered payment of an iPad, BlackBerry cellphone and $100 cash to keep quiet.

When contacted by The Star newspapers about the emails, Hinkle did not contest the emails but said, "I am aware of a shakedown taking place."

Oh honey, I bet you more than shook it down.

Still, when asked what he meant by shakedown, Hinkle would not elaborate and, naturally directed all further questions to his attorney, Peter Nugent, who also was unclear of what Hinkle meant by a "shakedown" but said he was investigating the situation.

Hey Pete? Here's the situation. Your client is a self-loathing closeted homosexual who likes to prowl Craigslist for tricks, but this time he got caught and is now playing the Larry Craig Foot Tap Shuffle Victim card.

Caught up now, Pete?

Apparently not, because Nugent then released his official statement: "Representative Hinkle is aware of the inquiries by The Indianapolis Star and we are investigating the matter at this time. We request that everyone respect the privacy of the family at this time."

Respect his privacy? Oh, honey. No. No.

 Hinkle has been an Indiana state lawmaker since 2000, and is best known for his interest in local government issues, such as being co-author of the bill that created the "In God We Trust" license plate. he is naturally anti-marriage equality, pro-DOMA and would like to see the return of DADT.

As for the shakedown theory, there are some on the Hinkle side who believe that Kameryn Gibson and his sister, Megan, planned the whole thing just to get, um, an iPad....or a Blackberry....or maybe a hunbdred bucks.

It was Megan Gibson's email account that Kameryn used for his Craigslist ad, and it was Megan gibson who provided the media with the email exchange; she even allowed a reporter to inspect the emails, which she had kept on her phone. Her phone contained not only the email exchange but a call log that showed phone calls from numbers that match both Hinkle's cellphone and home phone.

Gibson's Craigslist ad was posted at 7:37 AM Saturday and shows two pictures of Kameryn Gibson, shirtless with pants pulled below the top of his underwear. The ad text says: "Email me and I'll tell you everything you need to know!"

Forty-seven minutes later, Kameryn Gibson received a response from phinkle46 @comcast.net, with the email signature "Sent from Phil's iPad." That message said: "Cannot be a long time sugar daddy, but can for tonight. Would you be interested in keeping me company for a while tonight?"

Hinkle's email offers "to make it worth (your) while" in cash, and offers a personal description: "I am an in shape married professional, 5'8", fit 170 lbs, and love getting and staying naked."

Quickly, Kameryn Gibson replied: "Yes I can!"

The subsequent email exchanges show phinkle46 @comcast.net asking: "what will make you happy for giving me a couple hours of your time tonight?" And Gibson replies: "Wat (sic) can you give me?"

Phinkle46 @comcast.net: "How about $80 for services rendered and if real satisfied a healthy tip? That make it worth while?"

Offer. Acceptance. Deal.

The two agreed on the price and discussed logistics. An email sent at 9:44 AM, also sent from Hinkle's personal account, lays clear the parameters for the tip: "Final for the record, for a really good time, suggests: "If u want to consider spending night u might tell ur sis so she won't worry. Would have u back before 11 tomorrow. No extra cash just free breakfast and maybe late night snack."

Now, it is quite clear that the emails make no mention whatsoever of sex acts being performed in exchange for money; prostitution is illegal in Indiana. But, still, a married man asking a young man to visit him in his hotel room, pay him a little something for their "good times" and then offer him a free continental breakfast in the morning is quite odd.

Kameryn Gibson says Phillip Hinkle picked him up in a white car, and when they arrived at the hotel, Gibson was given the room key and told to go into the hotel alone because they couldn't go in together. Some 15 minutes later, Hinkle entered the room, changed into a towel and then, during small talk, informed Gibson he was a lawmaker and proved it by showing him an identification card bearing the name Phillip Hinkle.

"My eyes got big," Gibson says. "I didn't really know what to say, so I didn't say anything. It was just a shock." And, now aware that he was in a hotel room with a politician, Gibson got cold feet, telling Hinkle, "Yeah, I don't want to do this."

Gibson says Hinkle responded with: "You need to do this, because I came and got you, and I'm not taking you back until we do what we need to do."

Gibson excused himself to the bathroom and called sister who said she would come get him immediately. When Gibson returned to the bedroom, Hinkle again said he couldn't leave, and Gibson again called his sister again, who asked to be put on speakerphone. "I started cussing him," Megan told the media. And she also threatened to call the police and the local media.

"[Hinkle] said, 'I'll give you whatever,'" Megan said.

But when they hung up, Kameryn Gibson said Hinkle grabbed him by the right arm, just below the shoulder, then also grabbed his ass, dropping his towel and exposing himself. 
When Megan Gibson arrived, she again threatened to call police and the local media, so Hinkle offered up his iPad, a BlackBerry and $100 in cash.

After Kameryn and his sister left the hotel, the Blackberry Hinkle had given them began to ring, and one caller identified herself as Hinkle's wife. "Your husband is gay," Megan said. And the women said that she had the wrong person. But, after Megan read the caller the emails from phinkle46 @comcast.net the line went silent, until the woman finally said, "Please don't call the police."

Megan says she did receive another call from Mrs. Hinkle, offering $10,000 if she kept quite about her brother's encounter with the politician, and then Hinkle himself called, and when told of Megan's conversations with his wife, said, "You just ruined me."

No, Phillip, you ruined yourself by living a self-loathing closeted life, and struggling with your homosexuality and being afraid to be who you are, so much so, that you seek out anonymous young men for "good times."

Not so good now, eh?

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