313 Comments

"that Americans who do not hide their adherence to traditional religious beliefs about homosexual conduct will be “labeled as bigots and treated as such” by the government..."

Uhmmm, because they are.

Expand full comment

There seem to be areas of the US where being labeled a bigot gets you better treatment from the local government. **cough Alabama cough**

Expand full comment

This just in: bigot afraid of being called a bigot for being a bigot! Full story at 11!

Expand full comment

Same as "racist" - being CALLED a racist is SOOOOO much more unacceptable than acting like a racist.

Expand full comment

But Alito has a point, if people just would stop calling him a bigot, then he wouldn't be called a bigot.

Expand full comment

A bigot by any other name would still stink bad enough to make skunks puke.

Expand full comment

Alito is in that homophobic group, which is why he was prompted to comment.

Expand full comment

LOL! It's the literal definition! "a person who is obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, especially one who is prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group."

I mean, he might had said that bigots that don't hide that they are bigots will be recognized as bigots!

Expand full comment

The Hebrews were a smallish tribe in a dangerous area, surrounded by greater powers. They needed all the manpower they could get to stave off extinction, and homosexuals don't reproduce. I think of it the way I think of rules against eating pork and shellfish--because without refrigeration it could have fatal effects.

Expand full comment

There is a flaw with your theory about eating pork. Before they adopt what will become Yahweh as their principal/only deity, the Israelites ancestors ate pigs. It's why archaeologists love garbage pits so much.

Expand full comment

Hebrew law said homosexuals should be put to death, thus reducing manpower, so your argument is flawed on two counts, because homosexuals can and quite often do reproduce without any advanced tech.

Expand full comment

There is a theory that Gays exist in mammals because making kids may spread diseases. Gays serve as a "circuit breaker" TO ENSURE REPRODUCTIVE ADULTS capable of raising children.

Expand full comment

Too bad about the first point: I love a good theory (even if it turns out to be wrong). But I'm not so convinced about the second point, Strikes me as unlikely back then.

Expand full comment

I have a cousin who wouldn't exist if my gay uncle hadn't reproduced the old fashioned way. Just because they aren't attracted to the opposite sex doesn't mean they can't, especially in their teens and 20s.

A cultural expectation that you can get off with or build a life with or love whomever you want as long as you produce 3 or more children would suffice for probably 80-90% of homosexuals.

Expand full comment

The opposite is also true; the whole "gay for pay" in porn.

Expand full comment

I'm a theology graduate.

Early Hebrew teachings didn't say anything about homosexuality but, over time, it changed to homosexuality being against the Torah. Even though a lot of people just tut-tutted about it and didn't do much about it.

Part of what you said is accurate - they needed more Hebrews being born to swell their numbers. (Even if the punishment for homosexuality was death.) But there's more to it than that.

The church also needed more money. The more Hebrews there were, the more tithe money came into the church. And the more money was earned by the common Hebrew man which was needed for trade and to bribe the Romans that harrassed them.

It also meant the more powerful Hebrews could become even more powerful and have more people to rule over.

They also wanted to distance themselves from those cultures that practiced male sodomy as a regular occurance, such as in Greece.

Expand full comment

Very interesting--thanks for that.

Expand full comment

Shh. Remember, these people don’t care for truth much. Denial and ignorance prevail.

Expand full comment

"Everything is a sin, but some sins matter more than others."

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

To-may-to, to-mah-to.

Expand full comment

By virtue of the fact that Alito not only believes in mythical beings and superstition, but he believes that these myths should influence the law of the land, makes him wholly unqualified for the position he holds.

Expand full comment

🎯

Expand full comment

Cardinal Alito is unhappy that we don't all live under a medieval Catholic government.

Expand full comment

He's working on it! 😒

Expand full comment

It would seem as though Sam Alito doesn't believe in 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒, the process of selecting an UNBIASED JURY. Either that or he thinks that Christians should by default be able to bring their biases and bigotries into the courtroom. WRONG, SAMMY!

One more reason why Alito and the rest of the right wing nut jobs on SCOTUS should be removed from the court, not that they will be. [sigh]

Expand full comment

“traditional religious views” Whose traditions? Whose religion? There are thousands of religions and belief systems, but Alito thinks his religion is the default and should be given special privilege. That cannot be reconciled with a fair justice system in a pluralistic society.

Expand full comment

In just Christianity alone, there are 45,000 different sects worldwide.

And we know how Christians have treated one another over the millennia.

Expand full comment

Which is why we have the separation clause.

Expand full comment

Which is remarkable given that Catholics were discriminated against in many places in the US. He simply doesn't see that "traditional religious views" in the US did not include his views, and in some cases were adamantly opposed to his views being promoted.

Dude is not just in denial about whether the leopards will eat his face, but even worse, relatives of his from his grandparents and great-grandparents generations likely have leopard bite scars on their faces, and yet he STILL doesn't think the leopard's gonna eat his face.

Expand full comment

That's part of the problem, he doesn't think the US should be pluralistic.

Expand full comment

Then he doesn't understand the US Constitution or basic reality.

Expand full comment

He understands the Constitution just fine... he just doesn't 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 it.

Expand full comment

Oh, if only Mr. Alito got this upset over his religion's clergy sexually abusing children. Alas, not a peep out of him on the subject (not that we expect any).

Expand full comment

Excluding anti-gay jurors in a case involving a lesbian is not religious 'persecution' or discrimination. The jurors affected might say, and believe, that they are impartial, but there is such a thing as unconscious bias that can stay in the background and affect these jurors' deliberations. Alito is wrong to push back on this. But then, Alito is pretty much wrong about most things.

Expand full comment

The audacity! A stacked trump court of incompetent boobs, ultra right and overwhelmingly Catholic! But putting someone on the jury who is already extremely biased is a bad idea! A man is feared because he may shoot his ex who is now in a same-sex relationship. So sure put an anti-LGBTQIA on the jury! And the claim that it’s discrimination of religion!! Alito & the rest of these right wing nut cases need to be removed from SCOTUS. They ARE anti-constitution! 🤦🏻

Religion is irrelevant to our laws. In the words of FFRF founder, ANN Gaylor, There is only our natural world. Religion is but a myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

Expand full comment

In this case, the court below reasoned that a person who still holds 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 views on 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 morality is presumptively unfit to serve on a jury in a case involving a party who is a 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧. That holding exemplifies the danger that I anticipated in Obergefell v. Hodges…, namely, that Americans who do not hide their adherence to 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥, 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 views about 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 will be “labeled as bigots and treated as such” by the government... The opinion of the Court in that case made it clear that the decision should not be used in that way, but I am afraid that this admonition is not being heeded by our society.

Hey Alito! Can you spot the difference?

Expand full comment

Alito would probably rule that Kim Davis was within her rights to refuse marriage licenses to gay or lesbian couples.

Actually ... strike the word, "probably." 🤦‍♂️

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Feb 21
Comment deleted
Expand full comment

And he is hoping to get an Apple Vision Pro from one of his wealthy, religious donors.

Expand full comment

I remember in 2010 or so when the Chicago Sun Times allowed comments that I got into an argument with a RW Christian who insisted that it wasn't bigotry when it was being done for God and it was fine to harass LGBTQ+ if it turned them away from "sin". I pointed out that God-inspired bigotry is still bigotry and by his logic, it was OK to harass Christians to give up their cult to save them from their ignorance.

Expand full comment

That's an argument you're not going to win, because it's a difference of premises rather than reasoning. Bigotry is using class membership to inform a decision 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛. Fundie Christians see membership in the 'gay' group to be a choice to do immoral deeds, which makes it relevant to a lot of decisions. The rest of us see it as neither a choice nor implying immoral deeds, so class membership is not relevant to most decisions. We all may agree on what bigotry *is*, but because we and the fundie Christians start from different premises, we end at different conclusions about whether membership in the gay group is relevant to decisions, so different conclusions about whether using class membership is bigotry or justified.

Expand full comment

Being Christian is a choice so if they think it's fine to harass people for making the non-choice of being gay then it should be fine to harass people for being Christian.

Expand full comment

It's an argument you're not going to win because Christians are fucking stupid. FTFY😇

Expand full comment

Except my morality isn't any of their business. It neither harms them or picks their pocket.

Expand full comment

Good thing there's been no precedent/real-world examples of Christians letting their religious views about homosexuality interfere with their secular life to the detriment/rights of others *cough* Kim Davis *cough*

Expand full comment

Given the fact there simply isn't any horror that cannot be justified in the name of faith, this speaks directly to Alito's authoritarian Neo-fascist mindset. If and when the American republic is destroyed from within, it will be done in the name of God and conservatism. Blowing up democracy will be ever so much easier than getting it back once it's gone.

Expand full comment

Yes...remember Sinclair Lewis's prediction that "If fascism comes to America it will come wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."

Expand full comment

OT

Marjorie Traitor Greene lost a SCOTUS bid to overturn mask fines worth $100k. She's been told to cough up the dough.

EDIT to get dollar amount right.

Expand full comment

First World Problems: when you can afford to appeal a $100 fine all the way up to SCOTUS because you're butthurt about having to wear a bit of cloth on your face 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

Expand full comment

It is not a bit of "cloth," it's a face diaper! Just ask ron deNazi.

Expand full comment

"Face diaper" is exactly what that mouth needs, to catch all the shit that comes out of it.

Expand full comment

Trump's would have to be the size of a basketball.

Expand full comment

Or a 𝘣𝘢𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Expand full comment

Stuff all of MAGA into a Bag of Holding.

Cast Ice-9 into bag.

Close bag.

(Let's see who gets that reference.)

Expand full comment

Tu veux dire un terrain de golf ?

Expand full comment

That's one way to fertilize it.

Expand full comment

Preferably one of the big sand traps.

Expand full comment

kkkons NEED face diapers. I got Covid early on because of neighbors "...bathed in the blood of jeezy."

Expand full comment

Damn! I left the k off. It's a hundred thousand dollars.

Expand full comment

Well, then let me issue my own correction:

First World Problems: When you prefer a $100k fine to being a reasonable adult because you're butthurt over having to wear a bit of cloth on your face 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

;)

Expand full comment

I could swear I typed $100k originally. I remember seeing it as I typed.

Expand full comment

There is a disturbingly large number of judges, many of them appointed by the republicans Dear Leader, gawd and Master, who seem to believe that religious bigotry should excuse virtually any behavior--even criminal behavior.

Expand full comment

In a case concerning car break ins, I was dismissed because I answered yes, my car had been broken into in the past. I might be biased.

They ask if people can give an impartial view, overt racists are dismissed.

HOW IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT FROM, SAY, DISMISSING A PROSPECTIVE JURY MEMBER WHO'S A MEMBER OF THE KKK IF THE DEFENDANT IS BLACK???

Expand full comment

Because about a third of the country thinks homophobia is morality, about a sixth are 'out of sight, out of mind' homophobes, another six don't care about the homophobes, they're just afraid they'll be discriminated against for being Christian if homophobes are 'discriminated' against.

Expand full comment

This needs fixing. Everyone is a citizen deserving equal and same rights to exist and live.

Expand full comment

How dare you promote anti white racism ?! You... You wokeist !

Expand full comment

Yep. I was a juror on a murder case and two people were excused for racism. Some speculated they just wanted to get out of being a juror but anyone with eyeballs and half a brain could tell it was the real deal.

Expand full comment

Did they really see being thought of as racists seem the better option in getting out of jury duty?

Expand full comment

Lol, they tried to be quiet and on the down low about it but the attorney conducting voir dire was having none of that. And we all got to hear it unless one was sitting too far back.

Expand full comment