And so the Christian Taliban maga brownshirts win. I have seen one of the videos of these extremists telling other shoppers that a rainbow shirt was from the devil and it was supporting child sex, question workers and other shoppers if they were Satanist or believed in god, talking of grooming kids, all this hyper anti-gay religious stuff. That video is below in the comments. These people have learned to be violent, like the maga that went into stores and threw beer out of the shelves and coolers. Instead of standing up to these domestic terrorist, these chain stores are giving in to them. Shades of 1930s Germany. Hugs
Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers. “Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday.
”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.” Target confirmed that it has moved its Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to the back in some Southern stores after confrontations and backlash from shoppers in those areas.
Target’s Pride month collection has also been the subject of several misleading videos in recent weeks, with social media users falsely claiming the retailer is selling “tuck-friendly” bathing suits designed for kids or in kids’ sizes.
Target is removing certain items from its stores ahead of Pride month after an intense backlash from some of its customers, including violent confrontations with workers. https://t.co/cJsNN6m73F
Target has had a Pride collection for 10 years. It’s not new. What is new is that bigots have learned that threatening violence works, so Target capitulated. And given the nature of violence in this country, part of me can’t blame them. In 2023, violent intimidation works https://t.co/VGm3OpKcI9
— Eric Ansley Diaz 🏳️🌈 (@GeekBoyEric) May 24, 2023
I get so sick and tired of this shit! I understand Target wanting to protect its employees but caving in to terrorist demands only emboldens these cretans. “Don’t have a Pride parade or we’ll kill ya!” Result: Pride parade canceled. “Don’t have Drag Queen story hour or we’ll kill ya!” Result: Drag Queen story hour canceled. “Don’t sell gay merchandise or we’ll kill ya!” Result: Gay merch banned. Seriously, when does this end? What’s next? “Don’t be gay in public or we’ll kill ya!” So all gay people have to act straight? This is nonsense! I am tired of Bible thumping bigots trying to rule our lives.
This video is a year old. Not complaining, mind you because it shows the mindset of the Christian nut jobs who go around preaching hate. But it is not a recent event from this year.
That said there has been some hateful woman going around filming herself in Target screaming about LGBT merchandise. I saw one of her videos yesterday, can’t remember if it was here or on Reddit.
What a little weenie with his little agenda. What an wrongly righteous creep. I hope I don’t run into these kind of people anywhere. What idiocy for Christian grooming and Christian nationalist terrorism.
If the store staff was being threatened, call the police and have the terrorist arrested! If the local yocals, county clowns, or staties won’t prosecute, call the FBI. After all, they are the ones who are supposed to deal with domestic terrorism. Turn over the store security videos to the FBI and make examples of a few NAZIs.
Most Target stores I’ve been to have security already. They are usually up by the front doors (not far from where Pride items are/were). Now that Target is hiding the Pride merchandise it will be more vulnerable to vandalism.
Target might as well get rid of all the Pride stuff. They’re shown they really don’t have our backs like they’ve pretended to.
It is definitely different this year in a few of the Tucson stores. Not only is there NOT as much stuff, it is hidden in the very back of the store. The display is inconspicuous. There is only but a few items of clothing, translucent cups, plates, and … yep, that’s about it. A couple of years ago, in that same store, there were three (maybe FOUR!) displays, including one dedicated to music by itself. What in the hell is wrong with Target? As you mentioned, they are capitulating to the whims of the bigots. Something has to change…for the better.
Correction: What the hell is wrong with SOCIETY that Target has to actually protect its employees and its customers from this shit? I wholeheartedly agree with posters (in different threads) here that Target still deserves our support. Unlike other corporate chains, Target has been — and hopefully, will continue to be — supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. I sure as hell would not expect to even find any pride merchandise in, say, Hobby Lobby to start with. So, the mere fact that Target employees have to HIDE merchandise in the first place speaks volumes about the supportive environment of the store and the corporation.
Defaulting would also slash the dollar (and our trade balance), jack up interest rates (putting the brakes on housing and infrastructure construction), and reduce our status as the largest free economy.
Aside from the usual times he makes himself look and sound stupid in public, he has a magical way of doing that to himself in pics, too. Our Commander in Chief of all our armed forces actually saluted a Russian military official as if that was what needed to be done to show his abject subservience. Even the Russian would have settled for a handshake. He, along with all the other “felonies” attached to him, did so much to trash America’s prestige and standing in the world.
This is done by Christian Nationalists, not Christians. I want to be as clear as I can that I no longer think of these religious zealots as Christians. They are not religious for the moral teachings, they are not interested in living by a personal code to do the right thing towards others. They are not interested in the truth or history of their religion. No instead they simply want to gain power and then to use that power to force others to do as their church doctrines demand. It is not about them living as their religion tells them to, it is about making others, the nonbelievers in their views, forcing those others to live as the Christian Nationalists believe / demand they must. I want to be clear that I don’t blame people who use their religious faith as a guide to their own life for the acts of these US Taliban or wannabe moral police. This is the same thing the Muslim Taliban did the first time they controlled Afghanistan when they destroyed very valuable old statues claiming they were offensive to their god. The Christian Nationalist railed constantly against the Muslim countries ruled by their religious zealots / church leaders, yet they are trying to do the very same thing here in the US demanding their god / religion be in charge of the government and laws be enacted to make everyone live according to their church doctrines / rules. Hugs
Porter Sculpture Park, listed by TIME Magazine as one of the top 50 American Roadside attractions in 2010, was vandalized Wednesday, May 10. It will now take up to several years to repair the damage, said the creator and operator of the park Wayne Porter.
His sister Audrey Porter said that when she got a call from her brother that Wednesday around noon, she immediately realized that something was wrong as usually it was her who was calling her brother and not the other way around.
“I call him, he doesn’t call me, he might text me about things, but he doesn’t [call],” said Porter.
That Wednesday morning, Porter went to check on his sculpture park, for the annual opening of the new season planned for May 15.
Porter was in the far northwest corner of the 18-acre park west of Sioux Falls when he noticed that someone had apparently visited the place before him this year. His sculpture group of the bull and its four guardians was vandalized.
The guardians, which look like human-sized skeletons with protruding ribs and goat-like faces and horns stationed around the bull, were beheaded, and the heads were gone. The bull’s base was spray-painted with the messages “Satan is defeated,” and “Jesus is King.”
A few other sculptures, including the Irish monks and a sculpture depicting the artist’s brother, have also been vandalized. Porter said that it will take him more than a year’s worth of work to replace the pieces that were stolen if they cannot be recovered.
His sister noted that the worst part of it is that it all came up just before their opening for the new season. It usually takes them a few days and several adults to get the place running at the best circumstances, she said.
“There will be four strong adults working on it under the best of circumstances, and it’s a big job.”
Her brother said that in the past there had already been a few instances of vandalism in the park, but they were usually limited to minor issues, including spray-painting, but that did not bother him a lot because he could repaint pieces if needed.
“I don’t care about paint, I will just paint over,” said Porter. “It does happen occasionally.”
His sister said that from time to time they were getting a comment on their social media that referred to the bull sculpture as Moloch. Moloch is a deity mentioned in some religious texts as a deity whose worship was marked by the sacrifice of children by their own parents.
Both Porter and his sister said they never heard the term before. Porter noted that when it first came about, he looked it up, and discovered that the deity had arms and legs, while his sculpture was clearly a bull.
His sister noted that she remembered that some of the visitors would come up to her and mention that they felt Satanic influence associated with the park sculptures, while at the same time they would also get visitors that would come up to her and say that her brother must be the world’s best Christian.
Porter said that while neither of that was true, she could assert that her brother was the kindest human being on the planet. It was the essence of art, Porter noted, to reveal what the spectators already carry around with them.
“Art is whatever people bring with them, and whatever they want to see — they see,” she said.
The sculptor himself said that his bull had a neo-Egyptian art influence about it. Porter, a graduate of South Dakota State University with a degree in political science and history, said he was fascinated with the ancient Egyptian empire.
After graduating from the university, Porter used to run a sheep farm. Although not a professionally trained artist, Porter has been making sculptures since he was a child helping in his father’s blacksmith shop.
Both his historical background, as well as his rural experiences are now evident in his sculptures although they are so varied in styles that people think it might be several artists working on them. He said he is an outsider artist, who doesn’t know art words.
“I am all over the place,” said Porter.
During his time at the sheep farm, he continued to make sculptures whenever he had some spare time, and over the years he accumulated dozens of them.
“The sculptures added up over a long period of time,” said Porter.
Eventually, people started to want to come and see them, and when they did, they wanted to pay for what they saw even though Porter initially declined, and that was how the sculpture park gradually got going.
Potter said that his urge to make a bull sculpture came from his experiences of growing up in St. Lawrence, Hand County, with a population of less than 200 people. The surrounding area, he said, has always been known as a cattle region and home to famous rodeo riders, such as the Etbauer brothers.
The Porters noted that although the majority of their social media followers were supportive of them after the incident, they still got a few comments stating that “the vandalism was justified in the name of God.” But the family said they had no assumptions on who committed the act of violence.
“Most people are good people, but you have a slim sliver of crazies,” said Porter. “They are clearly violent.”
In addition to simply being art pieces, Porter’s sculptures are also part of his personality. He said that he himself pounded every square inch of them with a hammer. His sister said that her brother puts his whole life in his sculptures, and the recent attack hit hard on him.
“He puts his whole life into his sculptures,” said Porter. “He can’t even sell them, they become a part of who he is, and he keeps them.”
The Porters family asked anyone who might have tips on the whereabouts of the guardians’ heads to contact the McCook County Sheriff’s Office at 605-425-2761. The family announced a $1,000 reward for the return of the stolen heads.
I would not have known that this had happened except for JMG posting it. But, believe me, if the reverse had happened and Satanists had vandalized a cross or some other Christian symbol this would be a major news story, especially on right–wing media. Hannity would talk about it for days! Every right-winger would be ranting about “Christian persecution in this country.” Tolerance is certainly not a Christian virtue.
Remember when a 10 Commandments monument in Oklahoma City was destroyed when a guy drove his car into it? They absolutely flipped out and were working on getting it replaced that day.
(Of course, the replacement was later removed because of that pesky rule about not singling out a religion for promotion by the gov’t, and they weren’t going to let anyone else put up a monument for their religion or lack thereof…)
It never was. They claim to follow Christ, but they have no idea what Christ was all about. They should read the Sermon on the Mount. It pretty much spells it out for them.
Fucking tax the churches. Christianity is the most destructive political and genocidal motivator of the past two thousand years. They can at least pay.
A screenshot taken from Google Street View shows the gas station parking lot in Dallas where Gabriella Gonzalez was fatally shot the morning after she’d gotten an abortion in Colorado.
Google Street View/Screenshot by NPR
A man fatally shot his girlfriend in Dallas on Wednesday because he was upset she’d gotten an abortion, court records allege.
Harold Thompson, age 22, is facing murder charges in connection with the death of 26-year-old Gabriella Gonzalez.
The pair were in a “dating relationship,” according to an arrest affidavit, and were seen walking together in a gas station parking lot the morning after Gonzalez had traveled to Colorado to get an abortion.
A police investigator wrote that Thompson was believed to be the father of Gonzalez’s child, and that he did not want her to end her pregnancy.
Video surveillance shows that Thompson put Gonzalez in a “choke hold” as they were talking, police say, but she “shrugs him off.”
Thompson then pulled out a firearm and shot Gonzalez several more times before fleeing. Police declared Gonzalez dead at the scene.
Thompson is being held in a Dallas County jail. Court records show he will be represented by state-appointed counsel but did not list the name or contact information of his attorney.
A separate arrest warrant for Thompson, issued in March, was still active at the time of the shooting, court records show.The March affidavit does not name Gonzalez as the complainant, but the May affidavit describes her as “the victim” in the incident reported then.
The March affidavit states that Thompson had beat the victim, a woman pregnant with his child, several times throughout their relationship, including trying to strangle her and leaving her with a black eye.
The victim claimed that Thompson had “violently attacked her and left her bruised up” and remained “very fearful of the suspect,” police wrote.
“She is scared of the suspect because he had made threats to harm her family and her children,” the warrant states. “She has kids from a different relationship, and suspect is very jealous of the complainant’s ex-boyfriend.”
Court records show Gonzalez’s sister, MilenyRubio, was a witness to the shooting.
“He was so angry that she wanted to get away from him,” she told local news outlet local news outlet KXAS. She added later, “I knew she wasn’t OK but we couldn’t get help, we didn’t know how.”
Gonzalez had just ended a tumultuous, four-month relationship with Thompson when the shooting occurred, her family said.
Mauricio Garcia was radicalized by far-right neo-Nazi ideology, and he probably expected he'd be praised as a true blood-and-soil martyr. Instead, the same far-right MAGA extremists Garcia died for are labeling him a false flag Antifa liberal.
Wow. The Allen, Texas mass shooter’s profile on a Russian social media site has been found. He posted a photo of Nazi tattoos and “reconnaissance” photos of the outlet mall weeks prior. He also posted the right-wing YouTuber Tim Pool. (per @AricToler) pic.twitter.com/BnebamBumi
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) May 8, 2023
The governor’s office also pointed to a “PBS Newshour” feature on parents’ support for various gender care treatments including puberty blockers, a gay character in “Work It Out Wombats” which airs on OETA, PBS Kids’ “Clifford the Big Red Dog” introducing LGBTQ characters “Oklahoma taxpayers are going, ‘Hey, hang on, time out for just a second. That’s not my values,’” Stitt said. “I’m just tired of using taxpayer dollars for some person’s agenda. I represent the taxpayers.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt bizarrely claimed PBS programming "overly sexualizes our kids." (via The ReidOut Blog) https://t.co/n7T4IQ0L7I
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who was reelected yesterday, recently dedicated "every square inch" of the state to Jesus: "[With] the authority that I have as governor, and the spiritual authority and the physical authority that you give me, I claim Oklahoma for you." pic.twitter.com/JEdTsJuzAe
“Stop using taxpayer values to push an agenda!” the bigoted governor screeched, as he used taxpayer dollars to push his agenda on everyone in the state.
That’s the problem with being a minority which represents roughly 5% of the population (except in larger cities with large gay populations). Unless the majority of citizens stand with you, which they usually don’t, you’re on your own.
And that’s the bottom line. Not that they’re taxpayers but rather the fact that that evangelical governor doesn’t see them as citizens, taxpayers, or as a demographic worth even bothering with; by acknowledging who and what they are.
Thus, he’s worse than evil. He literally can’t see LGBT people as a thing. His religion has rotted his forebrain.
No, sweetie, you represent a very narrow, exceedingly bigoted minority of taxpayers hell-bent on forcing the rest of the country to kowtow to your twisted views of morality.
“the [white male] ones that are blamed for any social ills”
Feel free to look at the office holders for the Republican (and some D) party. Pretty much white male. Also old, rich and christian. So yes, it’s entirely fair to put all the crap at their feet. it’s their show in a large part of the USA.
I am sorry but I can not deal with this. For the last few days I have read of how bad gays and trans people are and I have even posted religious leaders screaming about this. I am really not able to process that the very religion’s that scream about how bad people like me are but they don’t seem to care about the members of their faith that rape or even kill the followers of their faith. Before anyone tries to tell me about the very few gay / trans killers please remember that our community did not gather around to protect those horrible people. Churches / religious organizations do! Hugs
Dozens of Kenyans came to identify the remains of their relatives, thought to have starved themselves to death in hope of going to heaven after joining the self-proclaimed Good News International Church, led by Patrick Mackenzie https://t.co/aGSE8LULYzpic.twitter.com/AZmKhlTMHK
This is so sickening. Decades after Jim Jones poisoned his congregants with Kool-Aid, here we go again with another Messianic mass murderer cloaked in religious garb.
“Suffer the little children?” Seriously, if adults want to do this to themselves, that’s one thing. But children do not have any choice. This is sickening and learning that most of the dead are children is even worse.
Talk about the party of small government. I guess small enough to fit in your bedroom and in your underwear or bed. How do these people figure they have a right to decide which adults can live together, Oh right they are the Christian Taliban moral police. First they decide what women can do with their reproductive health needs forcing them to carry pregnancies they don’t want or that will kill them, then what is proper clothing to wear for each gender, then who can live with whom, then what those gender roles must be. Oh and notice what they use as justification for preventing consenting adults of different sexes living together? Yes the children, have to protect the children while pushing that Christian religious morality. Here it comes. Hugs
Law signed in 1931 is rarely enforced but carries penalty of prison time and $1,000 fine
In Michigan, for the first time in four decades, Democrats control the legislature and the governor’s mansion. Photograph: Carlos Osorio/AP
An attempt to repeal a Michigan law that punishes unmarried couples who live together is being thwarted by Republicans in the state legislature.
The law, which dates to 1931, targets “any man or woman, not being married to each other, who lewdly and lasciviously associates and cohabits together”.
It is rarely enforced but violations carry a penalty of up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Senate Bill 56, which seeks to repeal the law, attracted support from all state senate Democrats and half of Republicans. But nine Republicans voted against.
Edward McBroom, a Republican, spoke in opposition to the bill on the senate floor – for, he said, the sake of the “common good”.
He said: “This law was not passed to be mean … it was passed for the betterment of society, particularly for children.”
McBroom argued that unmarried cohabitation does not promote marriage, and that such arrangements lead to broken homes that hurt children.
Another Republican state senator against repealing the antiquated law said his reasons for doing so were tax-related.
Thomas Albert said: “I very easily would be a yes on this bill if the tax structure continued to encourage marriage.”
According to federal law, an individual may not claim someone such as their domestic partner as a dependent, if their state outlaws the nature of their relationship. Only one other state – Mississippi – has a similar law regarding unmarried couples.
In Michigan, for the first time in four decades, Democrats control the legislature and the governor’s mansion.
Referencing that new landscape, a Democratic state senator, Erika Geiss, tweeted: “Between this and the anti-abortion laws that are now repealed in Michigan, 1931 was quite the year in Michigan when its legislature was composed of solely men.
“But this legislature in 2023, composed of mostly women, is fixing that shit.”
Scottie's Playtime 