PayPal kills expansion in N. Carolina over LGBT Law.

It's so nice to see something like this happen....sadly, can't say Wisconsin's a better choice. Now, what do we do about Mississippi's new law..?

PayPal will no longer move forward with its planned new global operations center in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the state passed a law that eliminates anti-discrimination protections for lesbians, gays and bisexuals and keeps transgender people from using the bathroom of their chosen gender.

“The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture. As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion in Charlotte,” a statement released by PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman said Monday.

“This decision reflects PayPal’s deepest values and our strong belief that every person has the right to be treated equally, and with dignity and respect. Our decision is a clear and unambiguous one … As a company that is committed to the principle that everyone deserves to live without fear of discrimination simply for being who they are, becoming an employer in North Carolina, where members of our teams will not have equal rights under the law, is simply untenable.”

Apologetic Bigot candidate Bradley attacks, not looking real sorry now....

Rebecca Bradley's short lived half ass'ed apology is turning into an all out attack on the media and One Wisconsin Now. Bradley ran for cover on conservative talk radio, getting the extra spin machine treatment. Didn't she once say she was "non-partisan." No time for that when your in a full blown public image disaster like this.



One Wisconsin Now's research director Jenny Dye ran down the impressively nasty list of Bradley qualities Walker is quite happy with on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, already a national embarrassment. Devil's Advocates Radio Network:



Republican trolls may hate liberals more than anything, but when one of their own screws up, they're okay with being just like liberals. Like magic, they're exempt from their strongly held "principles" and responsibilities.

The following troll response to Bradley's grotesque heart felt bigotry...ignore the issue completely:

Not remotely comparable (see for yourself), but a lot easier than watching the Bradley self destruct.

Anyone think Bradley actually apologized for her comments?

"To those offended by comments I made as a young college student, I apologize..."

...and to those who agree with Bradley? They know, wink, wink, they got the message.

Did her bigotry and condescending view of Democratic voters humble Bradley? Nope, she fought back and blamed the messenger for quoting her verbatim:

She also accused One Wisconsin Now of conducting a "blatant mudslinging campaign to distract the people from the issues at hand," according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Is it possible a conservative would not hold the following conservative values repeated ad nauseam in the presidential race?

An Associated Press review of the Marquette University student newspaper on Tuesday uncovered columns by Bradley where she defends the school's Warriors mascot and criticizes political correctness as a "frightening trend."

She wrote in April 1992 that "The PC movement is entirely the agenda of feminists, gays, liberal extremists and 1960's radicals who never left school and consequently are largely ignorant of the real world."

What the hell does she know about the 60's?

And how about this non-answer response from Scott Walker, :

"It's really irrelevant in that it's now up to the voters to decide come... April," Walker said. When asked, Walker would not explicitly condemn Bradley's comments or share his own views on the subject.

And as we're constantly being told, these outrageous conservative views don’t really reflect conservative views…

He said Bradley's early views did not reflect those of young conservative activists, like himself, at the time.

But just as frightening is Walker's lack of concern over putting a justice on the state's highest court that held these strong bigoted and intolerant views:

Walker said the question of whether he would have appointed Bradley to the Supreme Court had he seen her 1992 opinion pieces is irrelevant.

State Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling disagreed, saying: "As elected officials, it's our job to lead by example. Hate speech, discrimination and intolerance are never 'irrelevant.'"

Walker also believes conservative activist judges and justices never have a reason to recuse themselves:

Asked if Bradley would have to recuse herself from significant cases involving discrimination of gay and lesbian people, Walker said no, because there is nothing in her judicial record that suggests she would be biased on those issues. 

Walker pushes workplace discrimination/the firing of gay employees based on religious freedom and the conscience clause.

Make no mistake about it Scott Walker has a backup plan to allow gay discrimination to flourish if he had his way.

In February 25, 1082, Republican governor Lee Dreyfus signed the nations first Gay Rights Law. The reason? 

Dreyfus: “(The) fundamental Republican principle that government should have a very restricted involvement in people's private and personal lives.”

Not so principled now, it’s just a law that could and will be repealed or weakened at any time, especially by Walker. In this Meet the Press exchange, Chuck Todd asked Walker if he believes gay workers could be fired. Here it comes, the old "That means you have to have that balance" BS. You know, firing gay people because of your religious liberties and conscience represents a "balance:"



Todd could have followed up Walker's answer with a whole slew of questions, like what would gay workers do if they're in a state that doesn't have a law protecting them from from getting fired? Will Walker suggest they move? Acquiesce to being a second class citizen? Yes.

Guys like Walker have a blind spot when it comes to religious freedom, how one person could infringe on the religious freedoms of another. It's an easy concept to grasp.

But Walker's best chance to discriminate is in the state Constitution; the “conscience clause,” and he knows it:

Walker: "The Wisconsin constitution explicitly protects the rights of conscience of our citizens … the government will not coerce you to act against your religious beliefs. I call on the president and all governors to join me in reassuring millions of Americans that the government will not force them to participate in activities that violate their deeply held religious beliefs. No one wants to live in a country where the government coerces people to act in opposition to their conscience."

And if that doesn't work? Well, like all conservative politicians, they have no problem promising to pass a constitutional amendment that, for the first time, would limit freedoms and take rights away:

Walker: "We will need a conservative president who will appoint men and women to the Court who will faithfully interpret the Constitution and laws … to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage."

Gaffe Prone Walker sticking with it: Wants conservative voters to think being gay is a choice, are pedophiles.

Remember this memorable comment from presidential wannabe Scott Walker saying gay Boy Scout leaders are "pedophiles." Cap Times:

I have had a lifelong commitment to the Scouts and support the previous membership policy because it protected children and advanced Scout values.”

You'll notice the press has not used the word pedophile...anywhere. Yet that's what Walker meant. Continuing to avoid that word, CNN's Dana Bash got the strangest answer from Walker when asked to address the controversy:

Walker clarified that he thought that the ban on gay scout leaders didn't offer physical protection to children as much as protection from the spotlight of the debate on the issue.

Wow, major bullshit right. Even "stand with Walker" supporters will recognize that...I hope? 

Insulting, and a complete take-back...let's call it damage control, for purely political purposes, Walker notched another major gaffe. 

It was so easy for Dana Bash to make Walker squirm, watching him tripping over his own incredibly embarrassing word salad, that I just had to post it here. It was incredible:

Walker: "I just think it pulls Scouting into a whole larger political and cultural debate, as opposed to just say Scouting is about camping...instead of pulling all these other issues out there. And I would hope that we can stay focused, that's all. 

Bash: "But should there be a gay ban on allowing gay men to be Scout leaders?

Walker: "That's up to the people that run the place. One thing that people find unique, I guess, whether you like it or not, is I answer your questions. People ask me a question and I'll answer a question..."

Bash: "But you're not really answer this one..."

Walker: "Sure in this case that's what I thought, I thought the policy was just fine..."

Hold on, "previous membership policy ... protected children" doesn't sound like "I thought the policy was fine," right? Walker can't think on his feet without pulling out some well rehearsed line from previous speeches, and he didn't have one. In fact, a conservative Walker supporter and pundit casually acknowledged that on the radio this morning, humorously conceding, "who would believe that?"

Walker tipped his hand when he avoided the whole "choice" thing, which of course he obviously believes. After all, that's why gay Boy Scout leaders are pedophiles:

CNN's Dana Bash asked the Republican presidential candidate whether he thinks that being gay is a choice. "That's not even an issue for me to be involved in," Walker said.

Compliment Bash for tough questions and staying on topic:

Bash offered that to act on behalf of people as a president does, "you have to understand or at least have an opinion on who they are and where they're coming from."

Walker: "I don't have an opinion on every single issue out there. To me, I don't know.

"It's appalling that a candidate for president in the year 2015 could botch such a fundamental question," said JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president of policy and political affairs for the Human Rights Campaign. "Of course it isn't a choice. If it was, Scott Walker would be able to tell us when he chose to be straight."

Freedom of Religion Law brings back interracial marriage issues too....

Like I've said, the Hobby Lobby decision created this disaster, and we can thank this activist conservative Supreme Court for the disintegration of our society.

I find it fascinating that despite the exact language of the law, Republicans are relying on what they "think will happen" than the real world impact of what would happen. Oh sure, no one would put a sign in the window barring gay people from their business, that would never happen.

In the last few minutes of the clip below, an Arkansas lawmaker claims a wedding cake business has to make the cake, but not be required to write a message they would disagree with on the frosting. Would I kid you? Plus, if the couple were interracial, the same rules apply. Republicans are successfully chipping away at the constitution and progress. CNN:

Indiana and Arkansas Republicans push Religious Freedom to bypass Constitution.

These supposed "religious freedom" laws, allowing discrimination against sexual orientation, are an offshoot of the Hobby Lobby decision.

Conservative states that don't have protections for gay individuals are now passing "religious freedom" laws, a slight twist on the long sought after Republican backed "conscience clause," where a person could use religion to deny others their guaranteed freedoms. This all plays a part in the religious rights goal of two separate nations, one living under the constitution, and another living under the Christian religion (taxpayer supported vouchers go overwhelmingly to religious schools, another slippery slope where government ends up endorsing religion legally by giving the money directly to parents and not the schools).

Despite the national outrage, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is about to sign a similar "religious freedom" law. Crazy right? Hutchinson is another Republican extremist who's even more obvious about his political intentions:

Sexual orientation and gender identity are not included in Arkansas' anti-discrimination protections. Last month, Hutchinson allowed a measure to go into law that prevented local governments from including such protections in their anti-discrimination ordinances.

Hutchinson has delayed the signing until supposedly some changes are made that won't discriminate. Bullshit. It will be entertaining to see what the changes will look like.

The natural follow-up:

AP: Arkansas legislators passed a similar measure, despite criticism that it is a thinly disguised attempt to permit discrimination against gays. The Arkansas proposal now goes to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has said he will sign it.

Not even their paymasters, big business, have a say anymore, because this has been a core value of the Republican Party for decades.

Gov. Mike Pence was inadvertently as obvious about his intentions to discriminate against the LGBT community when he was asked that dangerous "follow-up" question by George Stephanopoulos:



Other's have also sent a strong message to Indiana:

Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman announced on Tuesday that he’s canceling the Indianapolis stop on his 2015 summer tour, but will perform on Wednesday at a scheduled show at Indiana University. (Offerman will donate his shows earning to) HRC, the Human Rights Campaign, one of the country’s most prominent LGBT rights groups. Check out Offerman here and here. 

The list continued to grow. Perhaps Arkansas will see a similar backlash?

Other organizations that are pulling their economic support from the state or boycotting travel to Indiana include Angie’s List — which halted work on a new operation in Indianapolis, the cloud computing company Salesforce, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which canceled its 2015 women’s convention in Indianapolis.

The Americana band Wilco announced that it is canceling its Indiana tour stops, as well.

Connecticut’s Gov. Dannel Malloy said that Pence can deny the law’s anti-LGBT thrust all he wants to. It is clear to anyone who is paying attention what the RFRA is about.

“The governor’s not a stupid man, but he’s done stupid things,” said Malloy to Mika Brzezinski, “and signing this law, and, quite frankly, promoting this law, knowing exactly what it was going to do, was an incredibly stupid thing for him to do.” Pence, Malloy said, “knew exactly what he was doing, and when you see a bigot, you have to call them on it. We cannot sit idly by and do nothing while laws are enacted that will turn back the clock,” Malloy said, saying that he “won’t allow any of our citizens in Connecticut to face discrimination in other states, at least without a fight.”

If you had any questions about the move to the religious right....

The hosts of Fox & Friends on Tuesday set up an interview with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) by noting that he was a follower of the “law of the Bible” Steve Doocy agreed. “The political left is in a frenzy over this right now. But they’re missing the point. 

Have a Happy Homophobic Christmas: I wish I were kidding....

Conservatives are so openly homophobic that the scene below is a bragging point to the cackling conservative talker, Vicki McKenna:

Back in 2012, I wrote this:

Did you know that businesses have constitutional rights that gay Americans don't? It's true:

NY Times: "We heard about the protests against Chick-Fil-A, so we came over to support the rights of small business owners and the rights of business owners to say what they believe," said Keith Chillquist. "There's this thing called the Constitution, and Democrats try and take it and do whatever they want with it but we think that's wrong." 

A GOP Purified America!!! Arizona's "Religious Freedom" Bill Backers Borderline Frightening.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner was surprised to see how others took NSA spying well beyond what he thought the law allowed. Well, that’s the real problem isn’t it?

Republicans don’t seem to think that the “letter of the law” is an issue. In their minds, they know what they originally intended, and no one would ever think to use the letter of the law in their sloppily written legislation to force right wing purity onto other Americans…ever.

In the clip below, CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" takes on Arizona State Sen. Al Melvin (R) who only sees SB 1062 legislation as a preemptive strike supporting religious freedom, while allowing discrimination against LGBT individuals. He continually claims he would never discriminate, and knows no one who would, despite the fact the law would legally allow it. Cooper is amazed by Melvin's answers. 

But first, Lawrence O'Donnell's the introduction with multiple clips showing us where Gov. Jan Brewer and other low information Arizona politicians want to take this nation:

So Cooper asked Melvin if he could cite a case where religious freedom was "under attack" in Arizona. Melvin bizarrely responded "not now, no, but how about tomorrow?"

Cooper then tested Melvin with a hypothetical: what if he were a loan officer, and thought it was against his religious beliefs to do business with an unwed mother or a divorced woman?

That's when Melvin's argument imploded. "I think you're being farfetched," the lawmaker told Cooper. "I don't know of anybody in Arizona that would discriminate against a fellow human being."

"Really? Discrimination doesn't exist in Arizona?" Cooper asked.

"Well, maybe you ought to move to Arizona," the lawmaker responded. "We're more people-friendly here, apparently."

Because no one would ever follow the letter of this new law allowing discrimination based on exercising one’s religious freedom.

Gay Pride Parade in Wausau? Bigoted Fringe group, Wisconsin Family Voice’s President Julaine Appling, would deny Constitutional freedoms if she could for Backers.

Did you ever get the feeling the biggest defenders of the constitution are the ones over compensating for their lack of belief in it? Follow your gut on this one.

The only thing missing is a KKK like uniform for these authoritarian bigoted religious zealots. Of course they have every right, every freedom, to show the ugliest side of human nature. They are also carrying on an old tradition of using Christianity to prosecute and destroy people’s lives.

Grand Inquisitor Julaine Appling continues to spread her disease to every part of Wisconsin:

Wausau's plans to host its first gay pride parade are sparking complaints from a conservative family group, as well as at least one city alderman.

The plans were announced in the spring … a city committee in April signed off on a permit for the June 22 parade, and gay groups in the region said they planned to participate.

That didn't sit well with Wisconsin Family Voice, whose president, Julaine Appling, said last month in a blog post that pride parades are "nothing more than a display of immorality and propaganda."

Appling is such a good Christian role model. WAOW takes a look at the homophobe rantings of Ald. David Nutting: 

Ald. David Nutting echoed those sentiments Tuesday when he said at a City Council meeting that the parade is inappropriate and shouldn't be hosted, WAOW-TV reported.

"I ask that all residents stay away from the parade, or if you do go, stand with your back to the parade of deviant behaving individuals," Nutting said at the meeting.

County Board Member Jim Rosenberg, a former City Council president, called such a reaction "a big mistake.""We should be a big enough community to embrace all of the people that want to be a part of it, and that includes people that are gay," Rosenberg told the TV station.

UPS will no longer donate to Boy Scouts until anti-gay policy changes.

I often boycott businesses that support stark raving bigotry, racism and tea party lunacy.

But I'm happy to announce my support of UPS, who are calling for an end to the ban on gay Scouts and leaders everywhere.

One interesting note: Since Republicans want to do away with the U.S. Postal Service and leave mail delivery up to UPS and Fed Ex, and UPS takes a stand against anti-gay organizations, does that present a huge problem? Does it expose a big problem with our possible reliance on the private sector to serve all Americans? Not all businesses are conservative extensions of greedy CEO's hell bent on destroying the middle class.

Jezebel: UPS Not Donating to the Boy Scouts of America Because of Ban on Gay Scouts and Leaders

According to GLAAD, UPS released the following statement:The UPS Foundation seeks to support organizations that are in alignment with our focus areas, guidelines, and non-discrimination policy. UPS and The UPS Foundation do not discriminate against any person or organization with regard to categories protected by applicable law, as well as other categories protected by UPS and The UPS Foundation in our own policies. These include, but are not limited to race, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military status, pregnancy, age and religion.

GLAAD has called for the Boy Scouts of America to end their ban on gay scouts and scout leaders since April 2012. 

God sends Strong Anti-Bigot, Anti-Racist Message to GOP Convention via Tropical Storm Isaac!!

Chick-fil-A boycott has nothing to do with Free Speech, everything to do with Bigotry, Homophobics.

I don’t get the free speech crap these whack-a-do’s profess to be supporting when they go out and buy their chicken sandwiches for gay bashing.

The boycott against Chick-fil-A is the ultimate in free speech, and the owners of the chain have every right to freely and publicly hate gay people. Their religious freedom is also on full display, using God to support their ignorance, intolerance and bigotry.

The gay community and their supporters are free to boycott and not encourage bigoted businesses.

But Racine’s homophobic losers turned out in force, and weren’t afraid to parade their petting hatred in public. See the picture, and remember the faces.

jsonline: Hundreds of people participating in a national effort to support the fast food chain Chick-fil-A are gathered at its only Wisconsin restaurant, in Racine's Regency Mall, Wednesday. Wisconsin Family Council is handing out 200 to 300 gift cards of appreciation at Chick-fil-A as part of the show of support.

Free food...no wonder so many turned out.

Chick-fil-A has been at the center of a nationwide controversy because Dan Cathy, president of the chain has been public about his opposition to gay marriage - and to political efforts to recognize same-sex marriages.

Customers are saying they are not affiliated with any specific group - some say they're here to show their support for the company's view on gay marriage, younger customers say they are here to in support of free speech. 

This show of chicken sandwich strength isn't in support of free speech, it's in support of bigotry.

Anti-Gay Conservatives attack Ellen DeGeneres, JCP and Teacher. Shop and support JC Penny!!!

About a week ago I posted a story about JC Penny's latest campaign to do away with "sales." Funny ad.

After watching this story about the far rights attack on JCP for having Ellen DeGeneres as their spokesperson, you might want to start supporting them with your business. Personally, they've always had the most incredible prices around, and I'm a guy that actually noticed.

For a party who denounced Democratic boycotts of businesses that supported Scott Walker's union busting agenda, conservatives are okay with boycotting JCP for having a gay spokeswoman. Even worse, Ellen and JCP donated a huge amount of money to a teacher and her troubled public school. That's what probably pushed them over the edge. Ed Schultz has the details of a story that'll really piss you off: