2023: Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signs record tax break for corporations
2024: Lee signs new record tax giveaway for corporations ($2B; most went out of state)
2025, Jan: Lee signs $1.1B voucher handout to private school parents
2025, Oct: Lee says state can’t afford to feed kids
#BillLee #AntiLabor #AntiUnion #AntiGunControl #AntiGay #VoteRepublicansOut #Tennessee #NoRepublicansEverAgain #VoteBlue #USPol
From 2017...
"The rhetoric of a looming civilizational war has proved persistent. Recent years have seen religious leaders from both the American Christian community and the Russian Orthodox community coming together to bemoan the decline of traditional values. One example is the 2015 Moscow meeting between #PatriarchKirill, the head of the #RussianOrthodoxChurch, and #FranklinGraham, son of the evangelist #BillyGraham. The Patriarch lamented to Graham how, after decades of inspiring underground believers in the Soviet Union with its defense of religious freedom, the West has abandoned the shared 'common Christian moral values' that are the bedrock of a universal 'Christian civilization.'
"But even as Bannon and various religious leaders seek to pit the values of Christianity against those of Islam, there is also an internal competition to decide who gets to define Christian #traditionalism. Two of the main players in this competition, American Christian traditionalists — including conservative Catholics like Bannon as well as evangelicals like Franklin Graham — and Russian Orthodox, are united in their desire to save Christendom from the perceived threat of radical Islam. But buried underneath that superficial agreement is a complex disagreement as to what Christendom even means.
"In Bannon’s telling, the greatest mistake the baby boomers made was to reject the traditional 'Judeo-Christian' values of their parents. He considers this a historical crime, because in his telling it was Judeo-Christian values that enabled Western Europe and the United States to defeat European fascism, and, subsequently, to create an '#EnlightenedCapitalism' that made America great for decades after World War II. The enormous amount of media attention he has received and his various interviews, talks, and documentaries strongly suggest that he believes the world is on the verge of disaster—and that without Judeo-Christianity, the American culture war cannot be won, enlightened capitalism cannot function, and 'Islamic fascism' cannot be defeated.
"This is where Bannon invokes the 'Russian traditionalism' of Vladimir #Putin, and it’s important to recognize why he does so. In his 2014 Vatican talk, Bannon made it clear that Putin is 'playing very strongly to U.S. social conservatives about his message about more traditional values.' As a recent Atlantic essay convincingly argues, upon his return to office in 2012, Putin realized that 'large patches of the West despised #feminism and the #GayRights movement.' Seizing the opportunity, he transformed himself into the 'New World Leader of #Conservatism' whose traditionalism would offer an alternative to the libertine West that had long shunned him."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/BndXk
#NewWorldOrder? #MAGA #MAGADeathCult #ChristoFacists #ChristoFascism #ProFamily #TraditionalFamily #TradWives #AntiGay #AntiAbortion #ROC #Evangelicals #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchs #AntiWoke #TrumpIsARussianAsset
From 2014... How #USEvangelicals Fueled the Rise of #Russia’s ‘#ProFamily’ Right
An alliance is born between #AntiGay, #AntiAbortion American groups and the #RussianOrthodoxChurch
by Adam Federman, January 7, 2014
Long excerpt [pay attention to the names named!] :
"This rising #Russian social #conservative movement frequently invokes the argument that #ProGay and #WomensRights groups are puppets of the West, which is seeking to undermine Russian autonomy and interfere in the country’s internal affairs. At an annual meeting of journalists and academics presided over by Vladimir #Putin in Valdai in September, the Russian president said that European countries had strayed from their roots by legalizing #GayMarriage. He urged Russians to embrace the conservative values of the #OrthodoxChurch and other traditional religions and issued a warning to those who might want to challenge those values. 'Russia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity are unconditional—these are red lines no one is allowed to cross,' he declared.
"Several #LGBT rights groups have been targeted under another new law, which requires any nongovernmental organization that receives funding from other countries for political activities to register as a '#ForeignAgent.' Failure to do so can lead to investigations, legal action or crippling fines. The implication is that these groups are not only agents of the West but also out of touch with everyday Russians.
"The irony is that it is the new conservative vanguard—anti-gay, anti-abortion and pro–'#TraditionalFamily'—that has most successfully cultivated the West’s financial and institutional support. Scott Lively, an extreme anti-gay campaigner, all but took credit for the new law, calling it 'one of the proudest achievements of my career,' while #BrianBrown, president of the #NationalOrganizationForMarriage, visited Moscow with much fanfare just before the new law was passed. But the language of Russia’s anti-gay and anti-abortion movement seems to borrow most heavily from mainstream evangelicals and conservative politicians in the United States and Europe. Referring to the anti-abortion bill passed in 2011, Lyubov Erofeeva, executive director of the Russian Association for Population and Development, a women’s advocacy group, said: 'It was 100 percent clear that everything was copied from the experience of American #fundamentalists and conservative circles of several European countries where #abortion is forbidden or restricted severely.'
"The church’s close ties with American evangelicals reflect a shift in policy. For much of the post-Soviet period, the Russian Orthodox Church held evangelical denominations at arm’s length, fearing that they would compete for influence within Russia. But as the church has consolidated its power, it has come to view the evangelical community as a partner. 'The #ROC realizes that the evangelical denominations are not their opponents but rather their allies in the relations between the church and the secular population,' says Olga Kazmina, a professor of ethnology at Moscow State University.
" 'It’s a re-envisioned paradigm,' says Father #LeonidKishkovsky, head of the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of External Affairs. In many ways, it makes sense, he adds: both religious groups share an ideological commitment and have grown disillusioned with the way mainline churches have dealt with issues like gay marriage and abortion. 'But what I’m quite nervous about is the ideological core which actually motivates both sides,' Kishkovsky says. 'Where is the motivating force? Is it in faith? Or is it in political ideology?'
"The Russian Orthodox Church’s chief emissary to the US evangelical community is #HilarionAlfeyev, a high-ranking bishop and chairman of the powerful Department of External Church Relations (the position previously held by #PatriarchKirill). In February 2011, the 47-year-old Alfeyev traveled to Washington, where he met with prominent evangelical and 'pro-family' leaders; and then to Dallas, where he addressed thousands of members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church and emphasized the importance of 'creat[ing] new alliances,' especially around issues of marriage, abortion and the family. Alfeyev also visited the #DallasTheologicalSeminary and had an hour-long meeting with #GeorgeWBush.
"The trip to Dallas grew out of an increasingly close friendship between church leaders and a small circle of American and European Christian businessmen in Moscow. Alfeyev’s visit was organized by #JerryFullinwider, an #OilExecutive and elder of the #HighlandParkChurch who, until recently, had business interests in Russia. Fullinwider, a member of the #KochBrothers’ circle of major donors—those who have given more than $1 million to #Koch-related causes—met Alfeyev through his friend Bob Foresman, head of #Barclays Capital in Russia. This select group of businessmen has unusual access to Alfeyev. In an interview for this article, Fullinwider described having dinner at Alfeyev’s private residence on a recent trip to Moscow. 'He’s a real busy guy,' says Fullinwider. 'He’s very, very hard to get in touch with unless you have a special number and you know the main guy who handles him, who’s a good friend of mine.'
"Alfeyev’s first trip to the United States paved the way for others, and in October 2012 he delivered a lecture at Villanova University, where he received an honorary degree and paid a visit to the Milwaukee-based #LyndeAndHarryBradleyFoundation. One of the largest donor organizations of its kind in the United States, the #BradleyFoundation, with more than $600 million in assets, is known for its contributions to US conservative groups like the #HeritageFoundation and the #HeartlandInstitute. But its charity isn’t limited to home: over the last four years, the foundation has given $750,000 to the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation in Moscow, a new educational and cultural initiative founded in 2009 by Alfeyev, Russian #billionaire and pharmaceutical magnate #VadimYakunin, and #LeonidSevastianov, a 35-year-old international business consultant and head of Stratinvest.ru, a consulting and public relations firm. In 2009, through Alfeyev’s charity, the Bradley Foundation donated $150,000 to support the 'Day of the Family,' a recently created Russian holiday honoring faith and fidelity. The annual event has been championed by #SvetlanaMedvedeva, wife of Prime Minister #DmitriMedvedev, a staunch #AntiAbortion advocate.
“We want to promote the idea of the unity between the West and Russia on the basis of common Christian roots,” Sevastianov told Inside the Vatican magazine in 2009. “We believe in this alliance among traditional Christian countries…and we believe that, with a united voice, we can be a strong force against the radical secular world which has become dominant in our societies.”
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/how-us-evangelicals-fueled-rise-russias-pro-family-right/
#TradFamily #TradWives #TrumpIsARussianAsset #AntiWoke #ChristoFacists #ChristoFascism #evangelicals #RabidRight #MAGADeathCult #BigOil #CorporateColonialism #Billionaires
The unexpected relationship between U.S. #evangelicals and #RussianOrthodox
Under #Trump and #Putin a strange alliance gets stranger.
by John P. Burgess, August 15, 2018
Except: "The alliance between the Russian Orthodox Church and the #BillyGraham Evangelistic Association has been especially significant. In 2015, #MetropolitanHilarion invited Franklin Graham to Moscow, where he had private audiences with #PatriarchKirill and Putin. Graham later thanked the patriarch for the Russian Orthodox Church’s 'strong voice in the defense of moral values' and lauded Putin for defending biblical values 'from the attacks of secularism.' Graham further asserted that many Americans wished that someone like Putin could be their president, and he praised Russia for passing #antigay propaganda laws.
"The visit bore more than rhetorical fruit. Graham announced that Samaritan’s Purse, a ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, would cooperate with the Russian Orthodox Church in providing material assistance to people fleeing violence and war in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has supported an insurgency against the U.S.-supported Ukrainian government."
#ChristoFacists #ChistoFascism #RussianOrthodoxChurch #AntiGBLTQ #AntiImmigrant #Gilead #AntiWoke #UkraineInvasion #RussianPropaganda
To the douchebag who just tried to claim that Harvey Milk was a pedophile on my YouTube video There is no evidence for that whatsoever. The right really don't like sticking to facts at all.
The absolute fucking pettiness.
#Pride #PrideMonth #Navy #DOD #Hegseth #Trump #DEI #AntiGay #Homophoic
The absolute fucking pettiness.
#Pride #PrideMonth #Navy #DOD #Hegseth #Trump #DEI #AntiGay #Homophoic
www.bbc.com/news/article...
US Navy to rename USNS Harvey ...
Why did a #gay #man throw a #pie in #AnitaBryant's face, and who was he?
#Gay #activist #ThomHiggins "pied" the #antigay #Religious #crusader during a #pressconference in #DesMoines in 1977 as part of his considerable #career as an #LGBTQ+ #rights #advocate. Here's the whole #story.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #History #Activism #Representation #Culture #Religion #Hate #Bigotry #Homophobia #Transphobia #EmptyThePews
#Soccer #chiefs #accused of ‘#trivializing #homophobia’ ahead of major #match.
#Campaigners in #France are #furious with the #LFP after a spate of #antigay #chanting in #Ligue1 #games, with #politicians weighing in.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #EuropeanUnion #France #Entertainment #Sports #Soccer #Hate #Bigotry #Homophobia
Ending the #HateState: #Coloradans were #shocked and #outraged after #passage of #antigay #amendment.
“#Gay #people were #objectified and talked about in all kinds of ways. A lot of #lies were promulgated,” Russell said.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Colorado #History #Representation #Culture
#DariaKasatkina #cashesin at #antigay #SaudiArabia’s #WTAFinals, with #girlfriend #courtside.
Daria Kasatkina earned a bumper #payday in the #showpiece #tennis #tournament in #Riyadh, where the lack of #LGBTQrights has been a #talkingpoint.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Entertainment #Sports #Tennis #MiddleEast #SaudiArabia #Religion #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Homophobia #Transphobia #EmptyThePews
#LGBTQ #Supporters #DrownOut #WestboroBaptistChurch's #AntiGay #Message in #Fresno.
A few #protesters showed up at #Roosevelt #HighSchool with #antigay signs, met by hundreds of #LGBTQ #counterprotestors, many with #rainbow #umbrellas blocking #students’ view of their hateful message.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #California #Education #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Religion #Hategroups #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Discrimination #Transphobia #EmptyThePews
#Tottenham #Hotspur working with #police after ‘#abhorrent’ #homophobic #chanting.
One of the #antigay #chants, “#Chelsea #rentboy” was seemingly #directed at former #Blues #star #MasonMount, a first-half #substitute for #England #midfielder #KobbieMainoo.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #UK #Entertainment #Sports #Soccer #Hate #Bigotry #Homophobia #TERFIsland
#AntiGay #MAGA #Candidate #MarkRobinson Allegedly Visited #Porn #Shops.
A former porn shop #employee claims #NorthCarolina #Lt. #Gov. #MarkRobinson, known for #antiLGBTQ #rhetoric, was a #frequent #visitor decades ago sometimes coming in as often as five nights a week to watch #pornographic #videos in a #private #booth.
“I know he might have problems with #gay people, but I don’t think he has problems with #lesbians,” said Money.
GOP gov blasted over holiday post: 'Sit this one out' https://www.alternet.org/bill-lee-labor-day/
#BillLee #AntiLabor #AntiUnion #AntiGunControl #AntiGay #VoteRepublicansOut #Tennessee #NoRepublicansEverAgain #VoteBlue
#JarrenDuran of the #Boston #RedSox just called a #fan a #antigay #slur, days after the #death of #BillyBean.
He called a #fan the worst #antigay #slur in his #vocabulary. #MLB should #suspend him for 20 games, and the #MLBPA should #agree.
#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Entertainment #Sports #Baseball #Hate #Bigotry #Homophobia
https://www.outsports.com/2024/8/11/24100268/jarren-duran-boston-red-sox-gay-slur-mlb-billy-bean/
#Antigay, #GOP #candidate #ValentinaGomez #humiliated in her #primary, coming in 6th.
Gomez’s stunning defeat is noteworthy because she made #national #headlines with her #virulently #antiqueer #campaign.
