Peter Thiel at the Republican National Convention

Despite traditional values platform planks against same-sex marriage, Silcon Valley entrepreneur came out to support Donald Trump's nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Campaign sources hyped this as the first openly gay person to speak at the RNC.

There was little controversy about Peter Thiel's declarations.  But Thiel later slighted those fighting about issues like transgendered bathrooms as being engaged in a phony culture war.  It was unclear whether this was to minimize the importance of the issue, if he rejected the wedge issue or whether he questioned the propriety in fighting for traditional values.

During his acceptance speech, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump (R-NY) voiced strong support for the LGBTQ community.  It is rare to see Trump take a principled stand. Whether he his rewarded by gay rights groups for that position is about as dubious as expecting support from Bernie Sanders fans for a shout out at the RNC

Tammy Bruce on the New (In)Tolerance

  

 Tammy Bruce is a media pundit with an iconoclastic experience.  Bruce is a lesbian who was the former head of the Los Angeles chapter of the  National Organization for Women (NOW).  But her journey to being Out, Proud and Conservative began as she discerned that she could be herself, and make choices which are best for herself (without necessarily agreeing with everyone) and not fear retribution on the right.  Whereas, Bruce concluded that:

"I found that sexism, racism and homophobia are staples in the liberal world. The huge irony is liberals spend every ounce of energy promoting the notion that they are the banner carriers of individualism and personal freedom, yet the hammer comes down on anyone who dares not to conform to, or who dissents even in part from, the liberal agenda."

This liberal intolerance is also exemplified by the gay lobby rabble rousing over Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).



The tactics which same-sex marriage proponents have applied to civilly crucify those who might have religious objections to participating in such a ceremony strikes Bruce as intolerant at the least and may be deemed as gay fascism.

However such former advocates of tolerance, free speech, and the patriotism of dissent would probably cheer the Federal District Court ruling that a Gay Bakery could refuse to bake cakes with scriptural messages condemning homosexuality.  Yet when Memories Pizza in Elkhorn, Indiana considering the hypothetical of not catering a same-sex wedding due to religious objections, the family restaurant was civilly crucified.

So much for the new civil (in)tolerance (sic).

So. Cal. School Kids Forced To Take a Knee

As school starts, students need become accustomed to new routines. But some things should never be countenanced. 

Some parents from the Calimesa Elementary School in Yucaipa, California (around 80 miles east of Los Angeles) were outraged when they learned of a new policy which required grammar school students to kneel down before a school administrator until they are excused.

Flyer on Calimesa Elementary kneeling policy (via Tom Wait/ KCAL)

Calimesa Principal Dana Carter

Calimesa Elementary School Principal Dana Carter reportedly instituted the policy as a "positive way to enforce safety". In this safety schema, students were required to kneel down on one knee after lunch or recess and wait for the principal or another school administrator to dismiss them. 

 Superintendent Cali Binks

 After some adroit parental pressure and inquiries from KCAL-TV, Yucaipa Calimesa Unified School District Superintendent Cali Binks announced that this take a knee "positive behavior intervention" would no longer be enforced at Calimesa Elementary. The Inland Empire based school district will hold a future meeting to plan with parents on different safety options to tame the Wildcats (the elementary school's mascot). 

 Reacting to the one knee policy, one parent exclaimed: “I feel that the principal wants to be like a king, and we don’t have kings in America.” This policy was outrageous as it inculcated vassalage into elementary education. In addition, the powers that be leaned on the canard "for safety reasons".

It would be curious to learn what has changed in dealing with energetic adolescents that convinced these school administrators that their their wards must periodically kneel before them.  Would such a practice merit an investigation by child protective services if an individual parent were to require it?

While this kneeling practice was deplorable, it is prudent to reserve judgment on the "safety concerns" for the government  to make compelling case for the need  for alternate "safety" procedures.  While census statistics indicate that the areas demographics are between 70% to 85% white, it is worth noting Calimesa Elementary School's academic goals are couched in whether students are English proficient.  Moreover, the Calimesa Elemetary School's website offers translations for Spanish (with a Mexican flag), Portuguese (with a Portuguese flag), Russian, Japanese, Korean, French and German. Perhaps school administrators have difficulty communicating with their students. 

But school administrators should not have to worry about pesky things like worrying about order.  They have more important things to instruct, bow to power and being servile to government authority.  Then there are the innovations which California Governor Jerry Brown (D-CA) has signed into law, like teaching homosexual history and LGBTQ? contributions starting at an early age.  Or implementing the transgender students' bill, which allows public school students to choose which restroom they identify with at any given moment.

h/t: KCAL 
      The Blaze

A Bit of DOJ Pride--PC Anarcho-Fascism

In advance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Pride Month in June, the Department of Justice was internally circulating a document entitled “LGBT Inclusion at Work: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Managers.” 

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There are some sensible suggestions in the policy propaganda,  such as avoiding offensive jokes (and cracking down on subordinates who engage in such off color humor).  But this extends to adjectives that might be considered pejorative, like “sissy” or “pansy”. 

The DOJ document mandates some double speak.  Managers are mandated not to use terminology like “trannny”, “the gay lifestyle” or “sexual preference” that some might consider offensive.  Manager are told that inclusive words like “partner” or “spouse” ought to be used rather than gender specific “husband” and “wife”.  

Aside from scrubbing language from common descriptive words that have no negative intent but are not inclusive or recognizing traditional social arrangements, DOJ Pride gives a place of pride to alternative lifestyle activists. The document “suggests” that employees should be allowed to attend LGBT-focused professional professional advancement activities, like the LGBT Bar Association and Out and Equal Workplace Advocacy conferences, presumably on company time and the taxpayers dime. 

What is really troubling is mandating what must be done if an employee comes out to you.  Rather than state the law or the Department’s presumed policy of non-discrimination or being judged on your work performance, the pamphlet notes that managers should not judge them or remain silent.  The document deigns that  "Silence will be interpreted as disapproval”.  The only correct response to such unsolicited sharing is “interest and curious.”  And managers are muscled to display LGBT paraphanalia in their office to let their subordinates know that it is a safe workplace.  So if a manager holds contrary mores, they must not state their preference or bite their tongue but ought to approve of their employee’s choices

Moreover the DOJ Pride circular states: 

DO assume that LGBT employees and their allies are listening to what you’re saying (whether in a meeting or around the proverbial water cooler) and will read what you’re writing (whether in a casual email or in a formal document), and make sure the language you use is inclusive and respectful.”

Of course professionalism is expected in conducting oneself in a workplace.  But it is a little troubling about having the expectation that “LGBT employees and THEIR ALLIES” (my emphasis) watching over one’s shoulder.   With the broad swathes of group-think (banishing husband/wife language, or references to sexual preference and the gay lifestyle), this is creating an adversarial environment which accusations of politically incorrect statements (not even using unprofessional expressions for an office place) could well be used as a cudgel against traditional Christians.  It could be an undefensible accusation which does not use a reasonable person’s standards but operates on the contingency if someone claims to be offended. 

This arbitrary and ambiguous standard sounds similar to the new Department of Education edict which lowered the standards of what constitutes sexual harassment”.   

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