March 30, 2023

Tucker Carlson continued his effort to demonize and endanger members of the trans community, this time with the help of the sorry excuse for a member of Congress Matt Gaetz. During a hearing this Wednesday of the House Armed Services Committee, Gaetz went after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley over "Drag Queen Storytime" being held at military bases.

As Military.com reported, "Milley told Military.com after the hearing that the general was expressing opposition to the use of taxpayer funding for non-military activities on military bases," and that the events are "often sponsored by private groups."

I've read some conflicting reports on whether the events are funded by private groups or by the military, but I'm fairly sure that doesn't really matter to either Gaetz, or Carlson. The reason they're harping on this is twofold. One, to spread hatred towards the trans community, which Carlson has done before. The other is just to distract from anything else the liars on Fox propaganda network don't want to talk about. Take your pick. The choices are too long to go through here.

Here's more from the Military.com article on the hearing.

Drag events on military bases are often sponsored by private groups. For example, a 2021 show at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, that drew conservative ire and was among those that Gaetz cited Wednesday was sponsored by a private organization, the base stressed at the time.

"Drag queen story hours is not something that the department funds," Austin repeated several times when asked about the events Wednesday.

Gaetz quickly seized on Milley's testimony on his social media feeds, claiming the general "commit[ed] to ENDING drag queen story hour events on military bases" -- something Milley neither said nor has the authority to do.

Republicans have targeted drag shows as part of a broader campaign against LGBTQ acceptance in the military, falsely portraying drag performers as "groomers" who are preying on children. Tennessee approved a law earlier this month restricting where drag shows can be performed, and about a dozen other GOP states are considering similar proposals.

Critics say the GOP moves and rhetoric have dangerous consequences, pointing to incidents such as the arrest of dozens of white nationalists last year who were allegedly planning to disrupt a Pride event in Idaho.

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