More Confirmation.

There is another medical paper out about “Is gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary (TNB) youths associated with changes in depression, anxiety, and suicidality?”

You will not be surprised (Well maybe if you are a conservative you might call it “fake.”) at what they found.

Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Nonbinary Youths Receiving Gender-Affirming Care

Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
By Diana M. Tordoff, MPH; Jonathon W. Wanta, MD; Arin Collin, BA; et al
February 25, 2022


Question  Is gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary (TNB) youths associated with changes in depression, anxiety, and suicidality?

Findings  In this prospective cohort of 104 TNB youths aged 13 to 20 years, receipt of gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones, was associated with 60% lower odds of moderate or severe depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality over a 12-month follow-up.

Meaning  This study found that access to gender-affirming care was associated with mitigation of mental health disparities among TNB youths over 1 year; given this population's high rates of adverse mental health outcomes, these data suggest that access to pharmacological interventions may be associated with improved mental health among TNB youths over a short period.

Wow!

Imagine that, the peer viewed study confirmed what we all know, that transition helps trans children!

Conclusions

Our study provides quantitative evidence that access to PBs or GAHs in a multidisciplinary gender-affirming setting was associated with mental health improvements among TNB youths over a relatively short time frame of 1 year. The associations with the highest aORs were with decreased suicidality, which is important given the mental health disparities experienced by this population, particularly the high levels of self-harm and suicide. Our findings have important policy implications, suggesting that the recent wave of legislation restricting access to gender-affirming care may have significant negative outcomes in the well-being of TNB youths. Beyond the need to address antitransgender legislation, there is an additional need for medical systems and insurance providers to decrease barriers and expand access to gender-affirming care.

You know all you have to do is look at a twelve year old trans child and know that is the right thing them. It does have to take a doctor’s degree to see that, their smiles and laughter is enough.

Question: Does the Republican party support Putin’s invasion?

Editorial:

• ABC News: GOP Sen. Tom Cotton won't condemn Trump's praise of Putin
• Tribune News Service: GOP Senator Rick Scott refuses to condemn Trump for praising Vladimir Putin, says it’s ‘up to him’
• Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: “Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene headlined a white nationalist conference in Florida where attendees cheered Russia's invasion of Ukraine and chanted the name of President Vladimir Putin shortly before she was introduced.”
• Newsweek: Cheney Rips Trump, Pompeo for 'Praising' Russian President: 'Putin Is Evil'

Where is the outcry by the Republican party over the invasion of all we hear is crickets from the party, Sen. Romney, Rep. Cheney, and a few others speak out against the invasion but the party is silent. Does the Republican party support the authoritarian government of Russia?

Meanwhile the Republicans blame the Democrats for starting the war, the Huffington Post writes…

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Sunday that Democrats including President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.) all are part of the reason that Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

“I don’t think Vladimir Putin would have moved on Ukraine were it not for the weakness displayed ― certainly by the Biden administration, but by the West in general,” Johnson said in a Fox News Sunday interview. “I’m certainly hoping that Col. Vindman, Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi ― who used Ukraine as a pawn in their impeachment travesty ― are also recognizing and reflecting about how they weakened Ukraine, weakened the West, weakened America by the divisive politics that they play.”

What many of us forget is that in 2019 under Trump Putin first invaded Ukraine that resulted in no condemnations of the invasion by then president Trump only to embolden Putin to invade tree years later.

According to the Brooking Institute in 2019 wrote,

Alas, in the end, Trump has gotten much more wrong than right about Ukraine. Rather than try to help the country overcome its internal problems of corruption and economic mismanagement and its external problem of improving relations with Russia, he has attempted to bully Ukraine for personal political gain. His administration has rightly provided security assistance to the Ukrainian government. But the saga of linking that aid, even for a few months, to a Ukrainian willingness to pursue a vendetta against the Bidens is, in addition to all its other unseemly aspects, counterproductive to the reform effort. It leaves Ukraine further exposed in its problems with Russia, while sending exactly the wrong message about how state power should be wielded in a modern democracy.

We now see where Trump’s inaction has lead us.

And he is still praising Putin, WABC 7 reported yesterday that,

The former President has repeatedly praised Putin in the days since Russian troops crossed into Ukraine and began launching rocket strikes against the country's capital of Kyiv. His comments on Zelensky come days after he lavished praise on Putin, calling the Kremlin leader "genius" and "savvy" in a radio interview. Those remarks were the latest of many instances where the 45th President has approved of, or admired, authoritarian rulers. In addition to Putin, Trump has previously made positive comments about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Just where does the Republican party want to lead us?

...

This afternoon I will post my regular trans blog post at 3

Saints Or Sinners

Most of you know that I don’t believe in organized religions, I believe it is how you live your life that is important not the building that you visit once a week. However, I know a lot of people who believe in a particular religion and I was raised as Catholic. 

Rejection or welcome: Transgender Catholics encounter both
AP
By David Crary
February 25, 2022


For transgender Catholics across the United States, retaining their faith can entail complex calculations. They face rebukes from some fellow Catholics, including many bishops, yet find full acceptance in some premises of the church.

A small but growing number of parishes have formed LGBTQ ministries or support groups and warmly welcome transgender people on their own terms. Yet within the past two years, at least six Catholic dioceses have issued guidelines targeting trans people with restrictions and refusing to recognize their gender identity.

“Many of our bishops are anti-science. ... They are cold and cruel,” said Sister Luisa Derouen, a retired nun who has ministered to transgender people. “You can’t respect people and deny their existence at the same time.”

As I said, I know a lot of trans and non-binary people who still maintain their Catholic faith some have found welcoming there other found rejections. It is hit or miss on which Bishop you have some are accepting other reject us.

And a broader policy issued in July by the Diocese of Marquette, which encompasses Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, said pastors should deny trans, gay and nonbinary Catholics the sacraments — such as baptism and Communion — “unless the person has repented.” It was signed by Bishop John Doerfler.

But in some other parishes around the country, a different, more welcoming face of the church is on display.

The article interviewed a trans women from Connecticut,

Lynn Discenza, a 64-year-old transgender woman, grew up in a churchgoing Italian American family in West Hartford, Connecticut, and gave seminary a try before pursuing a career in aerospace design.

She considers herself fortunate, after transitioning two years ago, to be part of a welcoming Catholic church in the area — Saint Patrick-Saint Anthony Church in Hartford. She is a co-leader of its LGBTQ ministry.

She’s lucky that there is an affirming pastor they even, “highlighted the commemoration [TDOR] in the church bulletin.” But…

Eli Musselman of Philadelphia, who turns 19 in March and came out as transgender almost four years ago, said he felt a strong connection with his faith as a boy and many of his friends supported him.

But the pastor of the family’s longtime parish declined to refer to him with masculine pronouns and he had anxiety attacks in church due to some parishioners’ “nasty looks,” prompting the family to switch to a parish that made them feel at home.

While other religions are open and affirming, I know of one trans Episcopal priest who runs a parish and I know of Congregational that actually hold a Pride. But…

Michael Sennett, a 26-year-old transgender man, sees that happening at the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where he is communications director.

The unwelcoming attitude of some bishops discourages him, but he’s heartened by advances, including the formation of a support group called LGBTQ+ Catholics.

“Overall I marvel at the progress,” Sennett said. “People are speaking up as never before, joining forces. … The laity is finding more power.”

Saturday 9: Cruella de Vil

Sam’s Saturday 9: Cruella de Vil (1961)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In the original animated 101 Dalmations, this song is written by Roger, who gets his best ideas at the piano. Where do you feel most creative? 

Behind the lens of a camera.

2) His piano is tucked away in a crowded attic. Does your home have an attic? If so, what do you keep up there?

No, but our old house did and we kept summer/winter clothes, the storm windows/screens, in other words seasonal stuff.

3) The inspiration for this song is his wife's old school chum, the very wealthy and very mean Cruella de Vil. Have you ever found you couldn't stand one of your spouse's or lover's friends?

 Yes, but I will not go into details because they read my blog.

4) Make no mistake, Cruella is a very bad lady. The American Film Institute named her #38 on their 100 Greatest Villains list. Tell us another nasty movie character who comes to mind.

Auric Goldfinger

5) Cruella wanted to skin sweet little Dalmation puppies and make a coat. (We told you she was bad.) As winter wears on, could you use a new coat (though not one made from puppy fur!)?

Well I don’t need a new winter coat now but a spring coat. I have a nice cloth spring coat from Sears & Roebucks, I guess you will call it a "car coat" that shows you how old it is.

6) This song was written by Mel Leven, who did both words and music. Do you think you'd be more successful as a lyricist (words) or composer (music)?

Words since I am tone deaf.

7) 1961 was a big year for Disney. In addition to this animated movie, they had a hit with The Parent Trap, about twins who are reunited at summer camp. Approx. 1 in every 250 births results in twins. Are there any twins in your family?

Cousins.

8) Also in 1961, IBM introduced the Selectric typewriter. Amazon and Walmart both still sell typewriters. Do you own one?

Nope. My nephew has it.

A little story behind my typewriter. My father gave it to me as a high school graduation gift, but he got a good deal on it. No one would buy it because it had the smallest print, when term papers are assigned by the number of pages you want the largest typeface.

9) Random question: When is the last time you took a nap?

Yesterday and it will also be this afternoon, and tomorrow’s afternoon, and...

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P.S. To last Saturday’s Saturday 9 question #7 about recipes.

I came across a cook book from 1910!

I was googling a recipe for chowder and this came up… “The Boston cooking-school cook book”

It has alcoholic and non-alcoholic fruit drinks, it has teas, coffees, and cola, pasties, jams and jellies, lobster rolls or as the call them lobster sandwiches and lobster canapes, and an interesting chapter on chafing dish recipes. My favorite is [No surprise to my long-term readers.] Lobster Newburg! This must be the original 1876 recipe from Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City and I think that I'm going to try this recipe the next time that I make Lobster Newburg. 

Lobster  a  la  Newburg

• 2  lb.  lobster
• Slight  grating  nutmeg
• 1/4  cup  butter  
• 1  tablespoon  Sherry
• 1  tablespoon  brandy
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt  
• 1/2  cup  thin  cream
• Few  grains  cayenne 
• Yolks  2  eggs

Remove  lobster  meat  from  shell  and  cut  in  slices.  

Melt butter,  add  lobster,  and  cook  three  minutes.  

Add  seasonings and  wine,  cook  one  minute,  then  add  cream  and  yolks of  eggs  slightly  beaten.  Stir  until  thickened.  

Serve  with toast  or  Puff  Paste  Points.

I Am On A Hate Crime Council.

We just had a meeting today and when the zoom meeting ended I open Google News and I find this…

Marjorie Taylor Greene Claims Violence Needed To 'Stand Up' To Trans People
Newsweek
By Ewan Palmer
February 24, 2022


Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared to suggest the threat of violence is "exactly how we need to stand up" against trans and non-binary people in society.

Speaking on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' InfoWars show on February 20, Greene criticized reports that biologically male counselors who use they/them pronouns at a science camp in California shared a cabin with fifth-grade girls, as well as transgender woman competing in sporting events.

Greene described the reports that the non-binary counselors at the Camp Pali in San Bernardino slept in the same cabin as the school girls as "evil" before suggesting her husband would have attacked the counselors if her children were at the camp.

Author Ron Hogan said: "Just to be clear, Greene was not speaking metaphorically. She unequivocally put forward literal physical assault as a preferred solution' to the 'problem' of trans people existing in society."

Stop and think for a moment about the Ukraine.

An article in the Freedom House by Elene Kurtanidze reported,

Dismantling LGBT+ rights as a means of control in Russia

From anti-LGBT+ legislation to Chechen atrocities, the Kremlin uses state-sponsored homophobia as a part of its strategy to maintain power and influence at the expense of its own citizens fundamental rights.

[...]

Russian law enforcement officials have refused to investigate assaults and violence against LGBT+ individuals and activists, neglecting peoples’ fundamental right to safety enshrined in the Russian constitution. Recent instances include the Murmansk police’s refusal to investigate online death threats made against an LGBT+ activist, arguing that one of the activist’s social media post had deliberately sought to “provoke a negative assessment of persons of traditional views.” Officials have also declined to investigate a young bisexual woman’s claims that her family forced her to undergo violent “conversion therapy” in Chechnya. Furthermore, the Russian LGBT Network, a prominent LGBT+ rights organization, has reported that the Federal Security Service (FSB) has misused its power by actively seeking to identify “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” on the internet, even though this is not part of the FSB’s mandate.

What is the difference between Congresswoman Greene calling for violence against us and the policy of violence against LGBTQ people in Russia?

As I said, I was on a Zoom meeting on ways to reduce violence against minorities, what can you do to counter the hate from an elected official?

How can we bring about a culture change from the violence that elected officials spew to a culture of respecting one another?

Flawed Logic

Eric Trump said that he is pissed, the Democrats for years were saying “My Body, My Choice” about abortion and now guess what they are saying that is no longer true for vaccination.

There is a logic flaw in that, can you spot it?

His comments begins at 3:30 in the video.

It goes to the way Republicans think, opposite of the way Democrats think.

The Republicans think “Me.”

The Democrats think “Us.”

“My Body, My Choice” is still true, however vaccinations is not “My Body, My Choice.” It is my body, the person’s sitting next to me body in the restaurant, it is your grandmother’s when you visit her, the baby on the bus with you, it is the cancer patient on chemo who gets in the taxi after you.

Me v. Us.

A Trend In Pride Events.

Pride event here in Connecticut has been dominated by the big three… Hartford, New Haven, and Norwich, with a smaller ones in New London and Middletown but now there are a few other Pride events around the state.

They are being organized by a small group of parents for their children,

After denied crosswalk, LGBTQ+ advocates renew After renew Pride effort in Cromwell Pride Cromwell
Torrington Register Citizen
By Cassandra Day
February 21, 2022



CROMWELL — The town’s LGBTQ+ Committee is preparing to “Spring Into Pride” starting in April, with a series of family activities to spread awareness of relevant issues as well as educate those of all ages.

Co-chairwoman Lana Dupont joined the panel in 2019, years after her twin transgender daughters graduated from high school in 2013. Her daughters, who are now models, had a tough time in school, so she became their advocate, Dupont said.

[…]

Some children may have older siblings among the LGBTQ+ population, Brown said.

The idea is to provide fun, educational activities for people of all ages, he said.

“We are looking to make sure to bring visibility and awareness for the entire LGBTQ community and allies as well,” he said.

Besides local parents local churches are also holding Pride events, I think that these group are looking for family friendly Pride events for young children and the under 21 LGBTQ+ family members. The dominate Pride events around the state are adult centered, I doubt very much the they will have bean toss at their events or three leg races at their Prides.

I remember Hartford Pride used to have an area at Bushnell Park for kids but that went by the wayside with the closing of True Colors. The LGBTQ centers around the state are trying to pick up the slack with the closing of True Colors but time will tell how successful they will be mixing adult centers with those under eighteen. I know when I interned at True Colors I had to be vetted by the state Department Children and Family Services to work with minors.

“I’d love to continue to see a community where LGBTQ people feel comfortable walking with their family down the street, demonstrating their love, feeling comfortable and accepted, and making sure to dispel any disinformation,” he said.

And You Wonder Why I Get Upset.

Every once in a while I get emails saying the I hate just as much as I write about the Republicans. There is a very big difference to hating someone because of their color of their skin, or their national origin, or their sexual orientation, or gender identity and for the violence that do to others.

I dislike the Republicans for what they are doing to others, the harm that they are doing and the outright animosity they have towards minorities.

Abbott orders state agency to treat gender-affirming care as child abuse
Austin American-Statesman
By Chuck Lindell
February 23, 2022


Responding to conservative Republican opposition to gender-affirming care for young transgender Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered the state child welfare agency to investigate reports of "gender-transitioning procedures" as child abuse.

The move came one day after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a written opinion defining gender-affirming care as child abuse under state laws — and months after state lawmakers considered but did not pass similar bills when the Legislature met last year.

Transgender advocates accused Abbott and Paxton of twisting state law to meet their political goals and biases, particularly after efforts to define gender-affirming medical care as child abuse died last year in the Texas House after passage in the Senate.

Religious and social conservatives praised the move.

"This (Paxton) opinion means nothing if it’s not enforced," said Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler. "The truth is, though, that we need a special session immediately to address this now that we have the backing of the attorney general’s office. We are not going to back down on this — this is a hill we are ready to die on."

This will cause harm… no doubt about it. There will be children who will have thoughts about taking their own life, and there will be children who self medicate, medical research has shown this is true. Fenway Health reports,

“Without exception, these bills are based on bad science, and ignore the consensus of experts in medicine—including endocrinology, psychiatry, and psychology—in support of gender-affirming medical care,” said Sean Cahill, Director of Health Policy Research at Fenway Health.

The American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Endocrine Society, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health have each issued formal, public statements opposing passage of these bills.

How can you not be angry when Republicans do this to our children and us?

They have heard testimony by doctors, therapists, and parents but they have chose to ignore them and do these dreadful things to children. "Religious and social conservatives praised the move," that is what they are doing, playing to their base for votes, children will die.

---

Keep Your Legs Crossed when driving though Alabama they are discussing requiring trans students to use “sex-assigned-at-birth” for bathrooms.

Alabama lawmakers advance transgender students bathroom ban
NPR
By The Associated Press
February 23, 2022


MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday night approved legislation that would bar transgender students from using school bathrooms and locker rooms that match their current gender identity.

The bill mandates K-12 schools require students to use multi-person restrooms and locker rooms that match the sex on their original birth certificate. The Alabama House of Representatives voted 74-24 for the bill after two hours of contentious debate where Republicans said it would address an ongoing problem in public schools but opponents said it targets trans youth to score political points. The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate.

"Right now, you've got males who are dressing up as females, who are identifying themselves as females, and wanting to use the female bathrooms," Republican Rep. Scott Stadthagen of Hartselle told lawmakers.

Stadthagen said some schools are now being asked to accommodate transgender students who request to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identity. He said the bill is also about protecting girls' privacy and safety.

"All you are doing is demonizing an already vulnerable population. It's all under the guise of protecting children just to win cheap political points. That's all it is," Rep. Neil Rafferty, a Democrat from Birmingham, said during debate on the bill.

The Democrat representative got it right, it demonizing us, and will cause harassment and bullying against us, it will increase the suicidal idealizations, it will do us much harm.

But hey the Republicans don’t care, they just scored points with their bigoted base. It is a wedge that the Republicans are using to split our country in two and don’t for an instant think that the Republicans don’t know what they are doing. With their “You are either with me or against me” mentality there is no middle road with them.

They purposely drive up the frustration in their base that they turned to violence. When the radical left protests they break windows and set fires, when the radical right protests they show up in bulletproof vests, camos, and military try weapons.

All you have to do is look at how fascism and authoritarian governments have come to power and I see it happening here. The stoking of anger directed at minorities, against the government, they have the solution, their way is the right way. The voter suppression and gerrymandering.

Look at what the Republicans think of Russia and China in their dictatorships,

• Trump and Pompeo have praised Putin actions,
• Trump thought it was wonderful that Xi Jinping made himself “President for Life,”
• Fox News darling Tucker Carlson sings the praises of Putin.

The Republicans dream of becoming a one party nation just like their idols Putin and Xi have. 

What I am saying is, people open your eyes, see what is happening here, and go out and vote to stop it.

This Doesn't Bode Well

The Supreme Court in the past has ruled on the side on the non-discrimination laws when “religious freedom” came up. But now we have a Trump court!

And there is a case winding its way through the courts and we might see a whole different outcome now.

Supreme Court to reconsider religious objectors' refusal to serve same-sex couples
NPR
By Nina Totenberg and Ryan Ellingson
February 22, 2022


The U.S. Supreme Court is once again taking on the simmering conflict between laws banning discrimination against same-sex couples and religious adherents.

The court on Tuesday agreed to review a case brought by Lorie Smith, a prospective web designer who wants to start a wedding website business but has not done so because Colorado law bars discriminating against same-sex couples in public services, and she believes that providing her work for same-sex couples would conflict with God's will.

If this all sounds very familiar, that's because it is. In 2017, the court heard a very similar challenge to Colorado's anti-discrimination law from a baker who objected to creating cakes for same-sex weddings.

In one of his last opinions writing for the court's majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy drew a narrow line that emphasized the dignity of the individuals on both sides but chided the state's civil rights commissioners for comments disrespecting the baker's religious convictions.

But since then Sen. McConnell and Trump packed the court.

Technically, the court's vote was 7-to-2, but in reality the justices were more deeply split, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining Kennedy's narrow opinion in full, the three other conservative justices basically siding with religious rights, and four liberal justices upholding anti-discrimination laws. Since then, the make-up of the court has changed dramatically, with Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh replacing Justice Kennedy, and Amy Coney Barrett, also appointed by Trump, replacing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg after Ginsburg's death in 2020.

A little history of the history of the Supreme Court ruling on the First Amendment.

Back in 1971 the court established a three prong test to see if a law was religiously neutral. In an article  on the Middle Tennessee University website they have the history of the test.

That three-prong test articulated by the Supreme Court in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) is used by the high court and other federal courts to determine whether government has violated the First Amendment principle of church-state separation. Even though the word neutrality does not appear in the Lemon test, many scholars and judges have interpreted the test’s commands to mean that government must be neutral in matters of religion — that is, laws and government actions should have a secular purpose, should neither advance nor inhibit religion, and should not foster an excessive entanglement with religion. Over the years, various justices have tinkered with and criticized the Lemon test, but the Court has never overruled it.

In several recent decisions, beginning with Mueller v. Allen (1983), the high court used neutrality in part to determine whether certain government laws and actions were violating the establishment clause. Most of the cases centered on government aid to religious entities.

So what that means is if a law is not targeting a religion and passes the Lemon test, it is not against the First Amendment.

So if a Quaker doesn’t want to pay income tax because of the military the courts have found that the tax laws are religiously neutral. The same went for non-discrimination laws. However, that may all change with the packed court.

Will the Supreme Court Abandon True Government Neutrality Toward Religion?
The high court chips away at the once impregnable wall between church and state.
The American Prospect
By Elliot Mincberg
September 8, 2017



Government neutrality toward religion is a crucial principle for the protection of religious freedom. However, the Supreme Court, pushed by the religious right and its most conservative justices, has eroded this key protection, moving toward a one-way ratchet in favor of religion. Under this legal regime, not only would churches and other religious institutions be treated equally with others when it comes to federal allocations, they would also get a clear preference when they object to generally applicable anti-discrimination or other laws.

As the damaging Trinity Lutheran decision shows, even some moderates on the Court are inching toward this view. With a number of cases on the Court’s docket this fall, including a headline-making case involving a Colorado bakery, that raise important questions about the government neutrality toward religion, it is vitally important to understand the danger that this one-sided approach to the First Amendment poses to religious liberty, civil rights, and other values.

The principle of government neutrality toward religion is grounded in the First Amendment's two religion clauses: the Free Exercise Clause, under which government must not substantially burden the exercise of religion without a compelling government interest, and the Establishment Clause, under which government must not establish or promote religion. Taken together, these constitutional protections require that government be neutral toward religion, neither favoring nor disfavoring any specific religion or religion generally.

So with the packed Trump/McConnell court we may see all that change and for the worst!

The court threw out precedent in the Hobby Lobby and the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia cases will they continue to expand “Religious Freedom” to where it will make a mockery of our legal system and create a two tier justice system.

This And That In The News

There are a couple of smaller articles that I wan to talk about this morning.

First up, just when you thought that it couldn’t get worst in Florida.

"Don't Say Gay" amendment riles bill's opponents
Axios
By Selene San Felice
February 21, 2022<


Critics of the "Don't Say Gay" bill were further outraged Monday with a new amendment to the proposed law.

State of play: An amendment filed by Rep. Joe Harding (R-Williston) to his House Bill 1557 (cross-filed in the Senate by Sen. Dennis Baxley) would require schools to inform parents of their child's sexual orientation even in cases where a school employee suspects a student could face abuse or neglect at home if the parents found out.

There would be a six-week deadline to tell the family.

Between the lines: The amendment removes an exemption from disclosure for cases of potential abuse, neglect or abandonment.

Harding didn't respond to requests for comment by the Tampa Bay Times.

Okay what happens when a child isn’t LGBTQ+ and they “Out” him to his parents and the parents beat the crap out of the child?

The Republicans don’t care, they only want to score political points.

---

As bills around the country try to muzzle want to silence any talk in schools about LGBT and ban trans athletes Colorado’s governor speaks out on CNN’s State of the Union .

Openly Gay Governor Criticizes Wave of Anti-LGBTQ Legislation as 'Un-American': 'Words Matter'
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis denounced Republican-backed bills addressing trans athletes’ participation in sports and the discussion of sexuality and gender issues in the classroom
People
By Aaron Parsley
February 21, 2022


Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, the first openly gay man to be elected to lead a state, spoke out against a spate of legislation addressing issues that affect LGBTQ young people, calling recent Republican bills "un-American" and examples of "overreach."  

"Look, words matter. Laws matter," Polis, 46, told CNN's Dana Bash in an interview on State of the Union on Sunday.

"When a group of people, LGBT youth, feel targeted by the words and laws that some politicians espouse, of course, it can increase anxiety, depression," said the governor, who was elected in Colorado in 2018. "Many of them are already dealing with challenging issues in their own family."

Bash had asked Polis about Florida legislation critics are calling the "Don't Say Gay" bill — which would ban discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms and could, its opponents say, force educators and administrators to "out" students to their caregivers at home — as well as South Dakota's new law that segregates school athletics based on sex assigned at birth, effectively banning transgender kids from participating in sports matching their gender identity.

When bans are put in place to prevent students and teacher from talking about LGBTQ bullying goes up in the schools.

---

Framed!

A trans woman is framed by the police and locked up in jail for 15 months on trumped up charges.

Court: $1.5M to transgender woman for 'bogus' cocaine arrest
A federal judge says a Black transgender woman is due $1.5 million for the “seemingly bogus” cocaine trafficking charge which kept her jailed for nearly six months in 2015
ABC News
By Janet McConnaughey Associated Press
February 21, 2022


A Black transgender woman is due $1.5 million for the “seemingly bogus” cocaine trafficking charge which kept her jailed for months in 2015 after Atlanta police officers arrested her for allegedly jaywalking, a federal judge has ruled.

Judge William Ray II awarded the money to Ju’Zema Goldring on Thursday, two days after a jury found that officer Vladimir Henry should pay that amount, online federal district court records show.

“She spent nearly 6 months in the Fulton County jail based on this seemingly bogus charge,” Ray wrote.

He also chastised the Atlanta Police Department for arresting anyone at all for jaywalking, and for using a point system to track officers' actions. That system “may create perverse incentives for officers” to arrest people, because arrests count for more points than citations, Ray wrote.

This is a case of walking while Black, the whole incident started for jaywalking!

---

Lastly, down in Arizona the Republicans again threw out the Constitution. Many times trans people video offices as they harass or arrest trans people and now that might be in jeopardy.

Arizona state House panel passes bill proposing to make recordings of police illegal
The Hill
By Sarah Polus
February 21, 2022


An Arizona state House committee on Monday passed a proposed law that would make video recordings within eight feet of police activity illegal, The Associated Press reports.

The House panel voted 7-5, with no Democratic support, to pass the measure introduced by state Rep. John Kavanagh, which has been criticized by some as a potential violation of constitutional rights.

"We are extremely concerned that this language violates not only the free speech and press clauses of the First Amendment, but also runs counter to the ‘clearly established right’ to photograph and record police officers performing their official duties in a public place," the National Press Photographers Association, with support of several medial organizations, wrote in a letter in opposition to the bill.

Kavanagh defended the measure, saying the proposed eight-foot distance, which was offered as an amendment, was modeled after a Supreme Court ruling involving abortion protestors.

The Supreme Court has ruled according to the ACLU of Texas,

Taking photographs of things that are plainly visible from public spaces is a constitutional right – and that includes federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police and other government officials carrying out their duties.

Once again the Republicans have shown their contempt for the Constitution and the Supreme Court when they don’t agree with the Republican world view.

It Is Working!

It is having the desired effect, it is having the effect that the Republicans want… forcing us back into the closet and creating fear.

The banning of books, the harassments, the vandalism, the bullying, and the anti-LGBTQ+ laws are all taking a toll on LGBTQ+ students.

From book bans to 'Don’t Say Gay' bill, LGBTQ kids feel 'erased' in the classroom
Facing limiting legislation, book bans, harassment and more, gay and transgender youth say they are being “erased” from the U.S. education system.
NBC Out News
By Matt Lavietes
>February 20, 2022


Students have repeatedly vandalized Pride posters at Spencer Lyst’s high school in Williamson County, Tennessee. Teachers have skipped over LGBTQ issues in class textbooks. Trans kids in his state have been legally barred from competing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. Parents have called on school officials to remove books about sexual orientation and gender identity from the county’s elementary curriculum. And while leading his school’s Pride club at a September homecoming parade, Lyst and other LGBTQ students were booed by a group of parents.

“I’m so used to it, but it shouldn’t be something I have to think about,” Lyst, 16, said of the near-constant feeling of being attacked at school because of his identity.

He even said it’s “difficult” to walk into the school bathroom for fear of what or who “might be in there.”

“Like, can I go to the bathroom or am I going to get hate for just existing?” he said. 

Lyst’s school experience is a far cry from an isolated case.

And it is not just Tennessee, it is spreading all over the Republican states in a full court press on our rights, forcing us back in the closets, all around nation even in blue states they are attacking our books, our right to assemble, our rights of free speech.

Since the start of the school year, school officials in states across the country have banned books about gay and trans experiences, removed LGBTQ-affirming posters and flags and disbanded gay-straight alliance clubs. In school districts throughout the nation, students have attacked their queer classmates, while state lawmakers have filed hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills with many seeking to redefine lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students’ places in U.S. schools. 

“There is no separating any of these things,” Mary Emily O’Hara, the rapid response manager at LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, said at a media briefing on Monday. “What we’re seeing here is anti-LGBTQ groups, on a national level, making schools the new battleground across the board, across various kinds of school policies and various forms of legislation. Schools are the target right now for the anti-LGBTQ movement.”

In the majority of cases, conservative school officials, lawmakers and parents say LGBTQ issues do not belong in school because they are “political” and “not age-appropriate” for students. Conversely, queer youth and their families, along with LGBTQ and ally teachers, say they feel they are being “erased” from the U.S. education system.

[…]

DeSantis has found a weak spot, and that weak spot is children,” she added, suggesting that DeSantis is supporting the measure for political gain.

The Republicans are attacking most vulnerable, the children. They don’t care the harm that they are doing to the children. They don’t care that this violate our Frist Amendment rights.

“I felt that my community was under attack, that they were trying to silence LGBTQ+ experiences and voices within our community,” Petocz, who is gay and led a student protest in response to the book’s removal, said. “We’re already a minority. Why are you trying to suppress this critical information within our libraries, you know? These books are critical to providing a sense of identity.”

Books about race, sexual orientation and gender identity have historically been challenged in schools, but over the last several months, school libraries have seen a surge of opposition.

In the fall, as book bans started to take off in counties across the country, national groups — including No Left Turn in Education and Moms for Liberty — began circulating lists of school library books that they said were “indoctrinating kids to a dangerous ideology” to rally support. 

The bans then became a talking point in the contentious Virginia governor’s race, where the Republican candidate, former private equity executive and political newcomer Glenn Youngkin, made education a central issue of his campaign and swept to victory. 

They call the books pornographic but there is no sex in the books. However, most people haven’t even read the books so when they hear pornography they think the worst and they think in all the graphic details, while in reality it is only holding hands or a kiss.

They are targeting LGBTQ+ books, books about Black, and slavery and they have created a vocal and angry minority of conservative parents. The New York Times wrote,

“The politicalization of the topic is what's different than what I’ve seen in the past,” said Britten Follett, the chief executive of content at Follett School Solutions, one of the country’s largest providers of books to K-12 schools. “It’s being driven by legislation, it’s being driven by politicians aligning with one side or the other. And in the end, the librarian, teacher or educator is getting caught in the middle.”

[…]

The advocacy group No Left Turn in Education maintains lists of books it says are “used to spread radical and racist ideologies to students,” including Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” and Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Those who are demanding certain books be removed insist this is an issue of parental rights and choice, that all parents should be free to direct the upbringing of their own children.

Others say prohibiting these titles altogether violates the rights of other parents and the rights of children who believe access to these books is important. Many school libraries already have mechanisms in place to stop individual students from checking out books of which their parents disapprove.

This divisive politics is not good for the country, it is tearing us apart! At a school board here in Connecticut over changing the school mascot got so heated that a parent and a board member got into a tussle, the parent wanted to keep the mascot and both of them were arrest. Now what does that teach the children in the room?

This is a battle of ideologies, those that want to limit what children are taught and those that believe children should have the tools to learn and make their own decisions.

They Have Been Cheated!

[RANT]

With the Olympics ending the figure skating athletes have been cheated!

CAS rejects Team USA skaters' request for silver medals before end of Olympics
Yahoo Sports
By Jay Busbee
February 19, 2022


BEIJING — The United States figure skaters wanted their medals, and they wanted them before the Olympics were over.

On Saturday, just one day before the Closing Ceremony that will wrap the Beijing Olympics, the nine members of the United States’ team skating demanded, through attorneys, that the International Olympic Committee award them, prior to the ceremony, the silver medals they earned earlier in the Olympics. The team took the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport's ad hoc committee.

But the CAS said early Sunday in Beijing that it dismissed the appeal by the nine skaters.

They are being cheated!

They spent most of their lives working toward standing on the podium, and their dreams has been dashed!

Team USA’s skaters contend that failing to award them their duly-earned medals, regardless of whether they are the “final” medals, violates both the Olympic Charter — which calls for a presentation of medals at the venue or at a Medals Plaza — and the Host City agreement.

“Our clients have trained a lifetime for this opportunity to have their achievements publicly recognized before the world,” attorney Paul J. Greene of Global Sports Advocates wrote. “They are the embodiment of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism by creating a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”

Amen!

Russia Is the Only Winner in the Kamila Valieva Mess
What did the IOC think was going to happen?
Slate
By Justin Peters
February 14, 2022


The one thing that seems clear about the most recent twist in the most recent Russian Olympic doping scandal—or, at least, as clear as anything about this convoluted story can seem—is that Kamila Valieva is not, ultimately, the problem. On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the 15-year-old Russian figure skater, who in December tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, could continue to compete in the 2022 Beijing Games. The ruling prompted a torrent of righteous outrage, expressed most pithily by the NBC figure skating commentator Johnny Weir: “I have to condemn this decision with every ounce of my soul.”

Weir’s anger is completely understandable. Valieva is a phenom who already led the Russians to gold in the team figure skating event and is favored to win the individual competition this week. By allowing her to compete even in light of the positive test, the CAS is arguably sanctioning a nonlevel playing field. But while Valieva sits at the eye of the storm that is currently roiling the 2022 Beijing Games, the storm itself belongs to a much more persistent weather system that has clouded international sports for years. And with that, I’m Justin Peters, your Metaphor Meteorologist. Back to you, Mike Tirico!

Anyway—banning Valieva from competing this week would only solve a very specific problem: that it’s unfair to the other skaters to allow Valieva to participate after her positive test. This issue is real, and it certainly matters to the rest of the competitors, but focusing on it misses a more salient point. The Valieva scandal is a symptom of a systemic problem that’s much bigger than one 15-year-old skater.

[…]

Anyway—banning Valieva from competing this week would only solve a very specific problem: that it’s unfair to the other skaters to allow Valieva to participate after her positive test. This issue is real, and it certainly matters to the rest of the competitors, but focusing on it misses a more salient point. The Valieva scandal is a symptom of a systemic problem that’s much bigger than one 15-year-old skater.

Then there was the conveniently delay in testing the urine sample.

Court cites lab delay in ruling allowing Valieva to skate
AP
By Graham Dunbar
February 18, 2022


The judges who let Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva continue to compete at the Beijing Olympics blamed anti-doping officials in a legal document published Friday for a “failure to function effectively.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport explained its verdict in the case that has dominated Olympic headlines for more than a week in a 41-page document, citing the “untenable delay” at the testing laboratory in Sweden as a reason for letting the 15-year-old Valieva skate in the women’s competition.

Valieva’s positive test for a heart medication was only revealed during the Olympics despite her urine sample arriving at the Stockholm lab on Dec. 29. The lab’s staffing was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

[…]

WADA [World Anti-Doping Agency] again said Russian anti-doping officials should share blame for the delayed test result from Stockholm because they “did not flag the high-priority nature of the sample despite being informed by the laboratory of delays being caused by a COVID-19 outbreak among its staff.”

Wasn’t that so very convenient?

The one sample that contained the doped urine sample they forgot to tag and was tested until it was too late!

This is the second time the IOC appeased the big bully on the block… Putin’s Russia!

NBC reports that,

The count of Russian medals stripped is at 13 (out of 33) and athletes disqualified is at 43 in punishments for the nation’s doping scandal leading up to and during the Sochi Olympics.

The IOC banded Russia from taking part in the Olympics however, they allowed the Russian Olympics Committee to take part in the games!

This wasn’t punishment for cheating… this was a wink and nod. The Slate article goes on to say,

In 2016, a whistleblower implicated Russia in a massive state-sponsored sports doping scheme that completely tainted the country’s dominant performance at the 2014 Sochi Games. According to Grigory Rodchenkov, who had run Russia’s so-called anti-doping lab in 2014, Russian operatives had spent the Games secretly swapping out tainted urine samples for clean ones. “People are celebrating Olympic champion winners, but we are sitting crazy and replacing their urine,” Rodchenkov told the New York Times. The scandal encompassed a dozen Russian medalists from Sochi.

And now they are letting the bully get away with it again!

It is not fair to all the other athletes who followed the rule and they are now being punished for following the rules by not being able to stand on the podium to receive their metals. 

By all rights the US Team should be receiving the Gold!

The Russians should be permanently band from all international competition!

They have shown over and over that they cheat.

---

Beijing’s Olympics close, ending safe but odd global moment
AP
By Ted Anthony
February20, 2022



A pile of figure-skating rubble created by Russian misbehavior. A new Chinese champion — from California. An ace American skier who faltered and went home empty-handed. The end of the Olympic line for the world’s most renowned snowboarder. All inside an anti-COVID “closed loop” enforced by China’s authoritarian government.

The terrarium of a Winter Games that has been Beijing 2022 wound to its end Sunday, capping an unprecedented Asian Olympic trifecta and sending the planet’s most global sporting event off to the West for the foreseeable future, with no chance of returning to this corner of the world until at least 2030.

It was weird. It was messy and, at the same time, somehow sterile. It was controlled and calibrated in ways only Xi Jinping’s China could pull off. And it was sequestered in a “bubble” that kept participants and the city around them — and, by extension, the sporadically watching world — at arm’s length.

By many mechanical measures, these Games were a success. They were, in fact, quite safe — albeit in the carefully modulated, dress-up-for-company way that authoritarian governments always do best. The local volunteers, as is usually the case, were delightful, helpful and engaging.

[…]

Internationally, many critiqued them as the “authoritarian Olympics” and denounced the IOC for holding them in concert with a government accused of gross human rights violations against ethnic Uyghurs and Tibetans in its far west and harsh policies against Hong Kong democracy activists off its southeastern coast. Several Western governments boycotted by not sending any official delegations, though they sent athletes.

We shall see what happens at the next Summer Olympics which will be held in Paris in 2024 and the Winter Olympics will be held in Italy in 2026.

[/RANT]

Last week’s poll result on is it time to move on from the Olympics.

Fifteen people voted, 3 for keeping the Olympics, and it was a tie for ending the Olympics and holding them at a fixed location with 5 votes each.

More Pushback.

The Kansas City Star is having none of it, a transphobic ad.

Transphobic ad gets Vicky Hartzler in the mix. But is the GOP actually for anything?
Editorial Board
February 16, 2002


Missouri Rep. Vicky Hartzler, who is running for the U.S. Senate, is out with a new campaign ad.

On inflation? Farm subsidies? Taxes? Democracy?

OK, that last one was a joke, but so is the GOP’s relentless focus on culture war issues.

According to Hartzler and her rivals in the GOP primary, the issues that matter are keeping “critical race theory” out of schools where it’s already not being taught, keeping immigrants we desperately need from entering the country, and keeping a transgender athlete in a far-away state from competing.

These are issues that have little to no bearing on the lives of most Missourians. But in focusing on them, candidates do get to one-up one another in heartlessness.

[…]

“I won’t look away while woke liberals destroy women’s sports,” the congresswoman says in the commercial. “Women’s sports are for women, not men pretending to be women.”

But as the editorial points out,

If Hartzler were really worried about sports for women and girls, she’d focus her ad on inadequate facilities, poorly paid coaches, and discrimination on and off the field, not the occasional trans athlete.

But Hartzler really just wants to make people mad. And if she really thinks someone would change genders to win a race, maybe that’s because she and her competitors are so willing to become different people to compete.

And the board hit the nail right on its head, they do it to stir up hate and they end the editorial with…

The state, and the nation, face enormous issues. Deficits, entitlements, tax rates for the wealthy, inflation, child care are all on the table.

Kids are still hungry. People are still dying from COVID-19. There may soon be a shooting war in Eastern Europe. Voters are worried about things that affect their lives, not a college swim meet.

The Republicans don’t want to talk about issue, Trump never even had a party platform in the 2020 elections just like they did in 2016.

We know what the Republicans are against, us, immigrants, blacks, and other minorities, but what are they for?

Saturday 9: Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)

Sam’s Saturday 9: Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy) 1972

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The lyrics tell us that every Sunday afternoon we can find Roy at the racetrack. What are your plans for Sunday?

Probably the same as today, hang around the house reading and listening to audiobook

2) Roy is fearless behind the wheel of his '57 Chevrolet. But it's just natural to feel fear every now and again. What scares you?

The Bourne rotary south… I hate rotaries.

3) Roy's been photographed grinning with a toothpick in his mouth. Do you often use toothpicks? If so, do you carry them with you?

I don’t use them that much, usually just after eating lobster.

4) Legend has it Roy learned to drive fast when he ran moonshine out of Alabama. Moonshine usually refers to illegally produced whiskey. What was the last alcoholic beverage you drank?

Amaretto

5) This week's featured artist, Jim Croce, attended Villanova University, where he played in a band that performed at fraternity parties. When his band was chosen to tour Africa as part of a cultural exchange program, he was excited to learn his host countries' customs. Have you ever traveled overseas? What did your trip teach you?

Just to Canada… they are a lot like us only they speak French and English.

6) Jim met his future wife, Ingrid, at a party. They discovered that they both loved Joan Baez and Woody Guthrie. Tell us about one of your friends, and what you two bonded over.

It was grad school and we stay friends.

7) Early in their marriage, while Jim was working hard to launch his music career, Ingrid helped make ends meet by baking bread and canning fruits and vegetables. Do you have any frugal cooking tips or "cheap eats" recipes to share?

I created a website with all my favorite recipes so that I can call them up when I’m cooking.

8) In 1972, Mark Spitz became a sensation, winning seven Gold Medals for swimming. After making money in endorsements and TV appearances, he settled into a career as a realtor in Los Angeles. Are you contemplating a change in residence anytime soon?

Nope. They will be carrying me out.

9) Random question: Which of these "top ten" lists would you prefer to be on -- the sexiest, the smartest or the richest?

The sexiest… Naw, too vain.

The smartest… Also naw.

The richest… Naw you can’t take it with you. Life is not a game of Monopoly

I rather be known for caring about others. My goal in life is to leave the world a better place than when I came into this world.

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

Security

Trans healthcare providers are being harassed by conservatives.

That is something I never thought about until one day I got a phone, “Good morning Miss ______, I am a reporter from [name of newspaper] and I am doing a story on the non-discrimination bill.” My response was “How did you get my phone number?”

There is enough information on the internet about me for him to find my phone number and address!

Pediatricians Who Serve Trans Youth Face Increasing Harassment. Lifesaving Care Could Be on the Line
Time
By Madeleine Carlise
February 16, 2022


Dr. Gina Sequeira first saw the protesters on a bright clear morning last September. A co-director of Seattle Children’s Gender Clinic who provides gender-affirming care to young people, Sequeira had confronted ignorance about her medical specialty in the past. But nothing had prepared her to see people outside her office, waving signs and handing out flyers warning of the “dangers” of the work she does.

“That was really, really hard for us as a clinic,” she says. “And I think it was really hard for the hospital’s patients and families who witnessed it.” Just a month later, protesters showed up again.

[…]

“I was taken aback, and really kind of fearful,” Sequeira recalls. She’d seen colleagues who provided abortion receive similar abuse. But she never thought her work could become nearly as controversial. “It really made me wonder what the future of our work looks like,” she says. “Is that the path we’re going down?”

Not only are the conservatives trying to pass anti-trans legislation but the right-wing media are fanning the fire of hate.

Mis- and disinformation about trans people has also gained airtime in conservative media, especially online. A Nov. 9 report from Media Matters found that 77% of the top-performing trans-related Facebook posts between Oct. 2020 and Sept. 2021 were on right-leaning pages, as were nearly two-thirds of all the interactions on posts about trans issues.

“There’s nothing grassroots about this at all,” argues Imara Jones, journalist and founder of TransLash Media, whose podcast the Anti-Trans Hate Machine has documented the rapid rise of anti-trans legislation in recent years. “This is a highly organized movement that is targeting trans people and trans rights.”’

As they stir the fires of hate healthcare providers and activists are becoming targets of their, just like their political pun dents they talk shows are only interested in profit, the more “clicks” that they get the more revenue comes in to their stations… viewership and ad revenue is all they care about. They don’t care about the harm they are doing and they probably revel in it because it means more “clicks” on their website or listen to their broadcasts.

This focus on gender-affirming pediatricians has extended beyond legislation. As disinformation and fearmongering about trans youth has surged, TIME has spoken with numerous providers who say they’ve witnessed a rise in harassment in the past two years—whether via in-person protests, online threats and cyberbullying, menacing mail, attempts to cut their research’s funding or even their medical licenses. Other gender-affirming pediatricians with whom TIME spoke refused entirely to go on the record, citing fears about the risk of violence against them and their families.

“This is shocking, shocking, shocking,” says Dr. Robert Garofalo, the head of adolescent and young adult medicine at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “No one is prepared for this, and pediatric institutions aren’t prepared for it.”

[...]

Things have gotten worse. In the spring of 2021, her clinic received threats about protests. In the fall of 2021, the protests actually happened. “It really made us evaluate our safety systems for our patients, families, and staff,” she says. Susan says that she’s repeatedly been threatened with being reported to her state’s medical licensing board—though her care is not in violation of any policies—and adds that she knows gender-affirming mental-health clinicians who have faced similar harassment.

The fear is there that it will go far beyond harassing phone calls and letters to threats of violence.

On my blog you will not find my last name anywhere, nor my contact information. Why? Because I was getting hate mail and surprisingly a lot of it came from the trans community because of my belief that the trans umbrella covers everyone from drag queens and kings to post-op. Some trans people are very adamant that you have to be post-op to be trans and everyone else are “just men in dresses.”

When I post my blog on Facebook I just post to “friends.” and if I do a vanity search on Google I get “About 3,080,000 results (0.47 seconds)” of course not all of them are of me but it is scary none the lass.

Security was something that I never thought about until now.

This Is Why.

This is why the Republicans are pushing trans hate, this is why all the anti-trans laws coming from Republicans… it is all about playing to their base.

Deep partisan divide on whether greater acceptance of transgender people is good for society
PEW Research
By Anna Brown
February 11, 2022


At a time when a rising share of U.S. adults say they know someone who is transgender, there is no public consensus on whether greater social acceptance of transgender people is good or bad for society, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted last July.

The question was asked as part of a broader survey that asked about the public’s views on a wide range of social and political issues, including whether different societal trends in the U.S. are generally good or bad for society.

About four-in-ten U.S. adults (38%) say that greater acceptance of people who are transgender is generally good for our society, while 32% say it is bad and 29% say it is neither good nor bad. There is a stark difference between Republicans and Democrats on this topic, and views also vary among some key demographic groups, including groups within each party.

All through grad school and the activist training that I have had they emphasized “go for the movable middle.” and don’t waste your time on those who you will never change and those who support you. It is the 29% that you have to sway. Thank those that support us and tell those who don’t that you don’t agree with them but concentrate on those who need guidance to become an ally.

This partisan gap is consistent with other findings on how the public views transgender people. For example, a 2017 survey showed that 64% of Democrats believed that whether a person is a man or a woman can be different from sex at birth, while 80% of Republicans believed just the opposite – that gender is determined by sex at birth.

We have all read the comments in news article that say that sex is all about chromosomes, look you are not going to change their 1950 view of gender… heck they don’t even believe that sex and gender are different. So don’t try to change them.

Many of these differences remain, or become even more pronounced, within each party. Republicans and GOP leaners in all major demographic groups tend more toward saying greater social acceptance of transgender people has been bad, rather than good, but certain groups are more likely to say this than others. A majority of Republicans 50 and older see this as bad for society, while roughly half of those younger than 50 say the same. Meanwhile, about three-in-ten Republican adults younger than 30 say greater acceptance of people who are transgender is good for society, larger than the shares in older age groups who say the same.

Republican men are more likely than Republican women to say greater acceptance of trans people is bad for society, and White Republicans are more likely than Hispanic Republicans to say the same. (The sample sizes of Black and Asian Republicans are not big enough to analyze separately.)

I don’t think this is a surprise to us, they are living in the 1950 “Father Knows Best” where the man’s word is law and a woman is subservient to the husband.

Amy Schneider did a fantastic job of showing people that we are just like you. Biden’s appointment of Rachel Levine the Assistant Secretary of Health, Danica Roem the Virginia legislator, Sarah McBride, elected to the Delaware state senate, and all the other local trans politicians have shown our colors. We do get elected!

Orange is the New Black was a major hit staring a trans actress, Laverne Cox, and all of these actresses and actors are bring about change, Jamie Clayton, Nicole Maines, Rachel Crowl, Michelle Hendley, Scott Turner Schofield, Brian Michael Smith, Elliot Page, and all the other actresses and actors they all are all educating the public about us.

Republicans who know a transgender person are less likely than those who don’t to say greater acceptance of people who are transgender is bad for society (45% of those who know a trans person, vs. 60% of those who do not), and they are more likely to say it’s good or neither good nor bad. Still, a plurality of those who know someone who is trans say more acceptance is bad for society: 45% say this, while 37% say it is neither good nor bad and 18% say it is good.

Just by being out and about brings about change.

We can bring about change, one person at a time.

Christians.

[RANT]

I know many people who are anti-religion for good reasons when religions tell you that you do not have a right to exist what do you expect? Or when they tell you that your religion is wrong and you a damned and going to hell what do you expect?

This morning I wrote about how the Republican courts are favoring Christians and not just any Christian religions but mainly evangelicals Christians.

In his blog John Pavlovitz wrote,

I’m Not Saying Conservative Christianity is Anti-Jesus. Jesus is.

The steady stream of vitriol I receive from professed Christians who identify as MAGA or QAnon or Republican is completely understandable.

As they fire-off threatening texts, furiously tap out expletive-laden emails, and break into violent, performative histrionics on social media, I genuinely feel for them. They’re often getting some really bad second-hand news from me that blows up the story they’ve spent a long time telling themselves and depend on to validate and to justify them.

They’re coming face to face with the sobering reality that they are antithetical to Jesus.

Worse than that, they aren’t hearing that news from me—they’re hearing it from Jesus.

Many people who read my blog are Christians in the old fashion sense, they preach love and not the Old Testament of hate.

About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated
Self-identified Christians make up 63% of U.S. population in 2021, down from 75% a decade ago
PEW Research Center
December 14, 2021


The secularizing shifts evident in American society so far in the 21st century show no signs of slowing. The latest Pew Research Center survey of the religious composition of the United States finds the religiously unaffiliated share of the public is 6 percentage points higher than it was five years ago and 10 points higher than a decade ago.

Christians continue to make up a majority of the U.S. populace, but their share of the adult population is 12 points lower in 2021 than it was in 2011. In addition, the share of U.S. adults who say they pray on a daily basis has been trending downward, as has the share who say religion is “very important” in their lives.

The evangelicals say that there is a war on Christ but there isn’t, people are turning away from hate. The evangelicals have redefined religion in their own image, as anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigrants, and worst of all racist. They worship a new “God” the god of the gun. The Old Testament has been used to justify all types of abominations from slavery to genocide.

Now we see the Republicans passing legislation like that I wrote about this that allow religious adoption agencies to not only discriminate at LGBTQ people but also against other religions, and we see the courts banning abortion that the majority of the people support and see the courts as biased against non-Christians and non-religious people.

So what can be done to stop this spreading of “Christian” hate?

Well if I speak up I am branded as an atheist gay who hates all religions by the evangelicals.

What needs to be done is for Christians to speak up against those religions that push hate.

Affirming Christian religions need to speak up, as a friend says, when you hear mean intervene. Silence is agreement of the hate.

[/RANT]

Let’s See What The Supreme Court Will Do With This?

Sadly this is what I predicted with the court’s “Religious Freedom.” It is one thing when the courts ruled against us in the Philadelphia case where a Christian adoption agency was allowed by the Supreme Court to discriminate against us,

Supreme Court Lets Philadelphia Religious Adoption Agency Block LGBTQ Foster Parents
Forbes
By Alison Durkee
June 17, 2021


The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in favor of a Catholic agency receiving government funding that argued having to work with same-sex foster parents violated their “religious freedom,” a major but narrow ruling that says Philadelphia’s anti-discrimination laws unfairly burdened the religious agency’s First Amendment rights.

But what happens when a Christian adoption agency discriminates against a Jewish couple?

A Tennessee couple's struggle to adopt shows religious freedom is under siege in America
CNN
Opinion by Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons and Maggie Siddiqi
February 15, 2022


Elizabeth and Gabriel Rutan-Ram, a Tennessee couple, were denied access to a state-sponsored foster parent certification program because they are Jewish. The rationale? The foster agency they applied to claims that they should be allowed to turn away Jewish people because they are a Christian adoption agency.

The Rutan-Rams (and six others) have now filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Children's Services and its commissioner. According to court documents cited by the Washington Post, the Holston United Methodist Home for Children (which is not named as a defendant in the suit) told the couple in an email, "As a Christian organization, our executive team made the decision several years ago to only provide prospective adoptive families that share our belief system in order to avoid conflicts or delays with future service delivery."

So now we have a battle of two religions...

Holston told the Post, ""Holston Home places children with families that agree with our statement of faith, and forcing Holston Home to violate our beliefs and place children in homes that do not share our faith is wrong and contrary to a free society."

[…]

Religious freedom is a treasured American value that allows people of all faiths to practice our religious traditions (or choose not to do so), free from fear. But now, in multiple states, right-wing Christians are turning religious freedom on its head, distorting it into a license to violate religious freedom, by discriminating against religious minorities, the nonreligious and other Americans who hold beliefs that differ from theirs.

I foresee this going to the Supreme Court and depending upon how the court rules they can be setting us up for a state religion by default. Tennessee Department of Children's Services and its commissioner picked the Christian agency just because it was Christian.

Tennessee-based adoption agency refuses to help couple because they're Jewish
Knoxville News Sentinel
By Tyler Whetstone
January 21, 2022


A Knoxville couple is suing the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, saying a state-sponsored Christian-based adoption agency refused to help them because they are Jewish.

It is the state’s first lawsuit to challenge a new law that allows religious adoption agencies to deny service to families whose religious or moral beliefs aren't in sync with the provider's, the family's attorney told Knox News on Wednesday.

Did you get that? “...a new law that allows religious adoption agencies to deny service to families whose religious or moral beliefs” the law was passed to specifically ban adoptions for non-Christian! 

In December, the Greenville-based Holston sued the Biden administration for regulations that prohibit discrimination in programs funded by U.S. Health and Human Services grants “on the basis of religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and same-sex marriage status,” saying it violates its First Amendment rights.

So this is a full court press to make a state religion by Tennessee and the Christian groups.

“Public funds should never be used for religious discrimination,” Luchenitser told Knox News. “The law should never create obstacles that keep loving parents from taking care of children who need a home. That should certainly never occur because of religious discrimination.”

The couple is joined by six others in the suit against the state.

They are:

The Rev Jeannie Alexander, an interfaith pastor from Davidson County

The Rev. Elaine Blanchard, a Disciples of Christ minister from Shelby County

The Rev. Alaina Cobb, a Christian minister from Davidson County

The Rev. Denise Gyauch, a Unitarian Universalist minister from Davidson County

Dr. Larry Blanz of Davidson County, a retired psychologist with more than 40 years of experience that includes working with foster parents and children

Mirabelle Stoedter, a Davidson County resident who serves as treasurer of the Tennessee chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Do you think that Tennessee will allow a Muslim adoption agency? What about a Wiccan adoption agency? So where is this push coming from? According to the Tennessean the original bill was backed by,

The Center for Public Integrity traced the faith-based adoption bills to conservative Christian activists backed by the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation. Their template is part of "Project Blitz," a legislative effort with the stated aim to "bring back God to America." The project provides a detailed handbook for state and local advocates to advance legislation.

In Tennessee, a member of the board of trustees for the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes gave a copy of the adoption bill to Rudd, the sponsor, according to the Baptist Children's Homes' president.

With the Supreme Court giving the green light to banning abortion the courts are becoming the instrument for a state religion.