How Was Your Memorial Day Weekend?

There is a new tradition starting for the holidays… mass shootings!

Fourteens were killed over the weekend in mass shootings.

At Least 14 Dead In Memorial Day Weekend Mass Shootings—Outpacing Prior Years

Forbes

By Ana Faguy

May 29, 2023

KEY FACTS

• On top of the 14 people who were killed this holiday weekend in mass shootings, at least another 58 people were injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident with at least four injuries or deaths, not including the shooter.
• A suspect was taken into custody in Mesa, Arizona, after killing four people and injuring one person during a series of shootings that started Friday afternoon and ended Saturday morning, multiple news outlets reported.
• Three people were killed and five were injured after Saturday evening shooting at a motorcycle rally in Red River, New Mexico—a suspect was later taken into custody.
• Seven people were injured outside Columbus, Ohio, early Monday morning while doing donuts in a parking lot, though police told WBNS, a CBS affiliate, that all of the victims are expected to survive.
• An argument between two men led to a shooting in Baltimore, Maryland, on Friday afternoon injuring five people, with police still searching for the suspect, according to NBC affiliate WBAL.

[…]

BIG NUMBER

257. That’s how many mass shootings have happened in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, outpacing the 229 reported at this point last year and the 233 reported at this point in 2021—which was the worst year for mass shootings in a decade.

I would like to point out that today is only 150 days since the first of the year, there have been more mass shootings than the number if days so far this year!

Mass shooting ruins Memorial Day for thousands enjoying Hollywood beach. Here’s what we know
Miami Herald

By Jimena Tavel and Omar Rodrigues Ortiz

May 30, 2023

Chaos broke out Monday evening after bystanders witnessed two groups having a dispute before spraying a barrage of bullets along the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, tragically ending Memorial Day festivities for thousands in the area and leaving nine people hospitalized.

[…]

One of the victims was in surgery as of 10:30 p.m.; the others were already stable, said Bettineschi, the police spokeswoman. She added the kids’ ages range from 1 to 17 years and the adults’ ages range from 25 to 65, but couldn’t break them down further. She also couldn’t share their genders.

Meanwhile down in Florida… AP News reports,

Floridians will be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Monday, giving the governor another legislative victory as he prepares a campaign for president.

The governor signed the bill in a private ceremony in his office. His only immediate public comment was, “Constitutional Carry is in the books,” which he said in a three-paragraph news release.

The new law will allow anyone who can legally own a gun in Florida to carry one without a permit. It means training and a background check will not be required to carry concealed guns in public. It takes effect July 1.

KOAT Red River New Mexico…

3 people are dead and 5 others were injured in a shooting between two motorcycle gangs during the Red River Motorcycle Rally.

New Mexico State Police say all those who died and were injured were members of a motorcycle gang.

State police say the shooting happened after an altercation between the Bandidos and the Water Dogs motorcycle gangs.

Here in Connecticut;

New Gun Regulations Clear Connecticut House: Extends Assault Weapons Ban and Restricts Open Carry

CT NewsJunkie

By Hugh McQuaid

May 25, 2023

The House voted Thursday to advance a sweeping package of gun regulations including provisions expanding Connecticut assault weapons ban, increasing bail requirements for certain repeat gun offenders and largely prohibiting the open carry of firearms. 

Proponents hailed the bill, which will head to the Senate on a 96-51 vote, the most significant update of Connecticut’s gun laws since a landmark law passed a decade ago in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Rep. Steve Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat who co-chairs the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said that mass shootings have become even more common in the years since.

“As we see other states around the nation recklessly retreat from sensible gun regulations, Connecticut will continue to lead,” Stafstrom said. “Connecticut will continue to stand strong and push to make our communities and our streets safer.”

Where are you safe any more? 

The mall? Nope.

The beach? Nope.

At a private party? Nope.

Cutting your grass? Nope.

Selling band candy? Nope.

Sleeping in your bed in your bedroom? Nope.

According to the CDC (Firearm Mortality by State) the ,

    1. Massachusetts (D)

    2. Hawaii (D)

    3. New Jersey (D)

    4. New York (D)

    5. Rhode Island (D)

    6. Connecticut (D)

      ~~~~

    45. Alaska (R)

    46. Wyoming (R)

    47. Alabama (R)

    48. New Mexico (D)

    49. Louisiana (R)

    50. Mississippi (R)

Notice a trend?

The Craziness Continues!

I was going to title this “The Madness Continues” but it not really madness but rather craziness with all these people demanding books to be banned. As Mr. Spock used to say “Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal.” and you have to wonder what the goal is for the conservatives.

BOCO Facts 4 U 

Botetourt County Virginia Library

As of this posting, Botetourt County Library has received formal reconsideration requests to review 13 titles. Here are some stats:

# titles challenged that Botetourt County Library does not own: 48 

# titles challenged that Botetourt County Library owns: 13

# citizens challenging titles: 3 

1 citizen requested a review of 12 titles 

2 citizens requested a review of 1 title

# challenged titles any of the requestors said they read/viewed: 1

# times 13 challenged titles have been checked out without complaint: 278

Total purchase cost of all Botetourt-owned copies of all 13 challenged titles: $289 

Estimated time/labor cost to review these 13 titles: $11,409

# years the 13 challenged titles have been on library shelves: range from 6 months to 13 years

% 13 challenged titles added to the collection before 2020: 75%

In summary, Botetourt County Library takes seriously its obligation to provide materials that serve the interests and needs of County residents without violating obscenity or other laws. Professional librarians are trained how to do this without bias or discrimination. Policies and procedures are in place to ensure that parents and legal guardians enjoy full control and transparency into what their children access from the library, and that the library can thoughtfully consider objections to any materials that any County resident believes should not be a part of the library’s collection.

These people are like Chicken Little running a round in circles only this time it is not about the sky is falling but rather these horrible books. Down in Florida they even want to ban the inauguration poem for President Biden by Amanda Gorman… how crazy it that!

One or two people complain about books that they never read, that are not even on the library’s shelves but are on some right-wingers’ lists and many of these are outside agitators who do not even live in the town. And they cost the towns tens of thousands of dollars.

Many of the books on these “hit” lists are put there because of racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia… they only want books on the shelves that reflect on their view of the “purity of the White race.”

Who Can We Trust?

Definitely not the Republicans!

They are up to their usual lies about healthcare.

Misleading claims drive effort to ban transgender health care for Louisiana kids, teens

KATC 3

May 29, 2023

An effort to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, which lawmakers are trying to resurrect at the State Capitol, is being fueled by a barrage of claims rebutted as dangerous and misleading by the nation’s leading medical groups and state health officials, our media partners at The Advocate report.

The legislative maneuvering on Louisiana’s proposed ban on hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgical procedures for people younger than 18 is not over, despite a Senate panel’s narrow rejection of the ban last week. Advocates for the ban continue to say that its goal is to protect children, and some conservative lawmakers are hoping to revive it on the Senate floor or in another committee, the newspaper reports.

#1 There has been no surgery for minors… they say that to create outrage against us.

#2 Hormones are not giving until the age of consent.

#3 Denying healthcare for trans people increases despair in teens and causes greater harm then proven treatment for trans children.

Effort to ban transgender health care for Louisiana youth driven by misleading claims

Efforts to pass the proposed ban are still alive despite a Senate panel’s narrow rejection of the bill last week.

The Advocate [Note: This is not the LGBTQ+ “The Advocate” but a newspaper in Lousianna] 

By James Finn

May 29, 2023

An effort to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, which lawmakers are trying to resurrect at the State Capitol, is being fueled by a barrage of claims rebutted as dangerous and misleading by the nation’s leading medical groups and state health officials.

The legislative maneuvering on Louisiana’s proposed ban on hormone therapy, puberty blockers and surgical procedures for people younger than 18 is not over, despite a Senate panel’s narrow rejection of the ban last week. Advocates for the ban continue to say that its goal is to protect children, and some conservative lawmakers are hoping to revive it on the Senate floor or in another committee.

Driving the discussion is a brew of claims from conservative interest groups, Christian activists, a small group of physicians and factions of the Republican party. Doctors, psychologists and transgender Louisianans have come to the Capitol to challenge the claims, but with little effect on lawmakers’ voting choices, as evidenced by an overwhelming majority of House lawmakers voting to approve the ban earlier this month.

[…]

At least 30 medical groups including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association endorse gender-affirming care as safe and effective. Few providers in Louisiana offer the care, and none currently perform surgeries on children enrolled in Medicaid programs, according to provider interviews and a report released in March by the Louisiana Department of Health. It’s unclear how many children receive the care who are not enrolled in those programs.

[...]

Though estimates vary, a 2021 study by the National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest biomedical library, found that the real figure of transgender youth who detransition is much smaller than Faugot claimed, at about 13%. A review of 317 children across the United States and Canada by the Trans Youth Project who underwent so-called social transitions between ages of 3 and 12 found the vast majority still identified with their new gender five years later. The study, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2022, found that 2.5% of the group had reverted to identifying as the gender they were assigned at birth.

[…]

Firment and others have also said in committee hearings that children receive gender-altering surgeries at high rates. Matt Sharp, an Atlanta-based attorney for conservative Christian advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, accused “activists and profit-driven gender clinics” of deceiving children into undergoing “unnatural, life-altering and even permanently-sterilizing” surgical procedures. 

It seems like the republicans don’t follow "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." That they seem to have no problems with twist the fakes and leaving out other facts.

Running Scared.

Businesses that support us are facing a huge backlash from the far-right, besides Bud Light  and Target they are also attaching other businesses including sports teams like the Dodgers.

The right’s crusade against corporate Pride Month campaigns

While acknowledging they “can’t boycott every woke company or even most of them,” right-wing figures created a playbook for future boycotts

Los Angles Blade

By Jack Winstanley & Charis Hoard

May 26, 2023

As major consumer brands continue to partner with members of the LGBTQ+ community, release Pride Month products, and carry out Pride campaigns, right-wing figures are responding with an escalating anti-LGBTQ+ crusade that aims to make inclusive branding a “market death wish.”

Currently, right-wing figures are celebrating Target’s decision to remove some of its Pride Month merchandise after a month-long campaign saw anti-LGBTQ activists harass and threaten store employees, with some figures even endorsing violence and acts of vandalism against the retailer. On May 25, disgraced CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp sent a letter to Target’s CEO & Board of Directors calling for an end to their partnership with a designer of the Pride collection who Schlapp claims is a “self-declared ‘satanist’” and “openly flaunts his anti-Christian agenda.”

Calling for boycotts is not a new tactic for right-wing activists. Former President Donald Trump and his allies attempted to organize a boycott against Major League Baseball after the 2021 All-Star Game was removed from Atlanta in protest of the state’s restrictive voting laws. Right-wing figures also attempted to start a boycott of the country band The Dixie Chicks (now known as The Chicks) in 2003 over their public opposition to the Iraq War.The right-wing attacks against Bud Light for their collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney has ignited current frenzies to boycott companies seeking to be more inclusive.

This is nothing but an attack by right-wing white supremacist and homophobes who want to stamp us out. They made threats against Boston Children Hospital and other doctors treating trans patients.

Some of the businesses that are the focus are:

State Farm (May 2022): In May 2022, a right-wing consumer advocacy group released emails showing State Farm’s participation with a non-profit organization that provides trans-inclusive books to schools in Florida.

[…]

M&M’s (2022 – January 2023): In early 2023, M&M came under fire from right-wing media for making changes to their “spokescandies” with the intent to make the mascots more inclusive.

[…]

LEGO (February – April 2023): The LEGO Group announced that it would create minifigures representing people with disabilities, different skin tones, and other diverse characteristics, including pivoting some existing product lines to feature characters with LGBTQ identities and mental health conditions.

[…]

Nike (April 2023 – ongoing): Mulvaney also unveiled a partnership with Nike, with Mulvaney posting a video on Instagram advertising the brand’s leggings and sports bras. Right-wing commentators and social media figures, including former Olympic athletes Sharron Davies and Caitlyn Jenner, condemned the partnership. Soon after, a “burn bra challenge” started on TikTok in protest. 

[…]

Jack Daniel’s (April 2023 – ongoing): In early April, right-wing social media users dug up two-year-old Pride Month advertisements for Jack Daniel’s whiskey that featured contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race, claiming that the distiller had “gone woke.”

[…]

Sports Illustrated (May 2023 – ongoing): Sports Illustrated unveiled that transgender singer Kim Petras would be on one of the four covers of this year’s Swimsuit Edition, sparking backlash from right-wing commentators.

[…]

Adidas (May 2023 – ongoing): Sportswear brand Adidas released its Pride Month campaign featuring a male-presenting model wearing the brand’s “Pride Swimsuit,” and immediately faced transphobic attacks from right-wing media.

[…]

Walmart (May 2023 – ongoing): Walmart is reportedly being targeted by a number of right-wing social media users over its Pride collection after their apparent success against Target.

The North Face (May 2023 – ongoing): In May 2023, The North Face announced its second Summer of Pride campaign coinciding with the release of its Pride collection, with advertisements featuring drag queen Pattie Gonia. In response, right-wing media began their typical attacks, saying that The North Face had the goal of “making fun of women” by featuring a drag queen in its campaign, and claiming that the company has “gone trans.”

I plan in the fall to buy a nice winter parka from North Face.

Companies like North Face are standing up to the bullies.

The North Face doubles down on 'Summer of Pride' campaign amid backlash from right-wingers

• Right-wingers are now targeting The North Face after the brand debuted its "Summer of Pride" collection.
• Conservatives, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, are calling for a boycott of the outdoor apparel brand.
• VF Corporation, the brand's parent company, defended its campaign, which features a drag queen as its spokesperson

Insider

By Jordan Hart

The North Face is standing strong against right-wing criticism of its latest Pride campaign, which features a drag queen as the spokesperson for the outdoor gear company. 

In an Instagram post this week, which has its comments turned off, drag performer Pattie Gonia invited viewers to "come out" into the wilderness as part of The North Face's "Summer of Pride" campaign.

[…]

The campaign quickly drew ire among conservatives, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who chimed in to criticize The North Face and call for a boycott of the brand following the release of the collection, accusing the company of "grooming our children" in a tweet.

Newsweek wrote,

Lauren Boebert has hit out at clothing company North Face over an advertising campaign featuring a drag queen, telling her followers: "It's time to boycott ANY product North Face has ever made."

The Republican Colorado representative's remarks come amid rising calls by conservatives for a boycott over its "Summer of Pride" campaign, which features Pattie Gonia and was released on Instagram on Wednesday.

[…]

The controversies sit at the heart of a culture war, and feed into a broader debate about the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals in public life.

Some companies have pulled back from supporting us, some have stood along side of us… please support these companies!

A Role Model???

NOT!

One of the great mysteries in life… why do LGBTQ+ people vote Republican when they want to force us back in the closet?

Judge who sentenced Oath Keeper for her role in the Capitol riot said she could have used her identity as a trans woman to be a role model, rather than a riot leader

• A judge sentenced Oath Keeper Jessica Watkins to 8-and-a-half years in prison on Friday.
• He said Watkins could have used her identity as a trans woman to be a role model.
• Instead, she formed a local militia and encouraged others to commit crimes on January 6. 

Insider

By Grace Eliza Goodwin

May 26, 2023

The judge who sentenced Oath Keeper Jessica Watkins for her role in the Capitol insurrection said she could have used her identity as a transgender woman and army veteran to be a role model, rather than a riot leader. 

US District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Watkins to eight-and-a-half years in prison on Friday. Watkins is a US Army veteran and Oath Keepers member who founded a local militia in Ohio, which she mobilized to join her in attacking the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, CNN reported. 

Much of Watkins' emotional testimony focused on her struggles as a trans woman in the military, a journey she says made her "fearful and paranoid" and drove her deep into the world of conspiracy theories, according to CNN.

Okay, let’s stop for a minute and think. 

“...her struggles as a trans woman in the military, a journey she says made her ‘fearful and paranoid’…” so what party threw us out of the military? What party allowed us to serve? What party stripped us of our healthcare? What party is fighting to get it back? So why the “f**k” are you with the organizations and party that wants us dead?

Mehta acknowledged her hardship at Friday's sentencing, telling the court that Watkins' "story itself shows a great deal of courage and resilience," according to CNN. 

"You have overcome a lot," Mehta said, according to CNN. "And you are to be held out as someone who can actually be a role model for other people in that journey. And I say that at a time when people who are trans in our country are so often vilified and used for political purposes.”

You know what this doesn’t hold any water…

...She has since apologized and says she is now "ashamed" of her actions, according to CBS News.

Sorry apologies made before sentencing I do not believe, I see them as a hope to weasel out of a stiff sentence.

The only reason that I can figure out why LGBTQ+ people are Republicans is because they want to keep their money… “I got mine, screw everyone else!”

The Yahoo version of this has over three thousand comments, surprisingly most of the comments are that she is getting her just rewards and not about being trans.

The Republican Candidates Support The Insurrection!

This is scary! When candidates support the violent overthrow of our Constitution, to me that is treason!

Opinion  What was inauspicious about DeSantis’s start? Suggesting pardons for Jan. 6 rioters.

The Washington Post

By the Editorial Board

May 25, 2023

On his first full day as a declared presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) made it even clearer that he plans to run as an echo rather than an alternative to Donald Trump: He said he would consider pardoning people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

Mr. DeSantis offered a false equivalence as his rationale, claiming that right-wing extremists convicted of crimes for which Black Lives Matter protesters were not prosecuted were victims of an “uneven application of justice.”

But no parallel should be drawn to what was an armed attempt to subvert the U.S. system of government. Mr. DeSantis has also repeatedly declined to answer directly whether President Biden was legally elected in 2020. He also disputed that the events of Jan. 6 constituted an insurrection, campaigned with election deniers in 2022 and even appointed someone who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 as a state regulator in Florida.

Mr. DeSantis’s latest effort to indulge the MAGA fantasy that the insurrectionists’ actions could be justified came the same day that Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, the longest prison term yet related to the Capitol insurrection. Mr. Rhodes showed no remorse during a speech to the court. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta told the defendant that he presents “an ongoing threat and a peril to this country, to the republic and the very fabric of our democracy.” The judge also warned that Mr. Rhodes “will be prepared to take up arms” against the government the moment he is released.

I consider that January 6^th was a failed attempted coup by then president Trump.

Trump says he would pardon a 'large portion' of Jan. 6 rioters

Trump said at a CNN town hall that he was "inclined to pardon many" of the people convicted of federal offenses for attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

NBC News

By Amanda Terkel

May 10, 2023

Former President Donald Trump promised Wednesday night that if he is elected he will pardon a "large portion" of the people convicted of federal offenses for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"I am inclined to pardon many of them," Trump said at a town hall hosted by CNN at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. "I can't say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control."

He added that "most likely" he would pardon "a large portion of them."

"And it'll be very early on," Trump said.

More than 600 people involved in the Jan. 6 attack have been convicted, with more than 480 sentenced. Hundreds of additional Jan. 6 rioters have been identified but not yet charged.

Once again these people have been found guilty of crimes during an attempt to overthrow the government of the United States.

Trump told her to "hang in there," called her a "terrific woman" and said it was "so bad" what had been done to the Jan. 6 "patriots."

She is not a "terrific woman" she was convicted of support a terrorist attempt to subvert the Constitution.

The Republicans are doing major damage to our country, they say that they are for the Constitution but have torn the First Amendment apart, it only applies to what they want but not to others. They are banning books, prohibiting the right to peacefully assemble, and they have blocked freedom of speech!

They have waved their little books of the Constitution in Congress and in the next breath violate it.

The Washington Post article ends with…

Floating pardons gives Jan. 6 rioters hope that they won’t be held accountable. Comments from Mr. Trump and Mr. DeSantis, the two leading contenders for the 2024 Republican nomination, will discourage plea deals and encourage defendants to drag out proceedings in hopes that they might get clemency in 20 months. It also heightens the danger that people will again engage in violence if they don’t like the outcome of next year’s elections, calculating that they might receive pardons if their preferred candidate takes power.

Tell me, if before the coup attempt Trump promised them pardon doesn’t that indicate that Trump was in the conspiracy to overthrow the government?

May We Never Forget

For all those who made the ultimate sacrifice and for all those who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you.

Our freedom has never before been put to this test, the direction that we go in the further is up to us. We can no longer sit idly be and do nothing, the Martin Niemöller poem "First they came for the Socialists…” comes to mind more and more lately, where are we as a nation heading?

We have to stand together. We no long have the luxury of saying “She’s trans and I’m gay so those laws don’t bother me.” or “I’m not a drag queen, I’m trans.” Those that don’t like us they don’t see LGBTQ+ they see only “GAY!”

United we stand, divided we fall… vote! Work for a candidate. Donate to a candidate.

One thing that we can do to make sure that those who made the ultimate sacrifice and for all those who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice not in vain is to vote!

***

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

--John McCrae

Stand Tall!

Many companies have caved in after getting pushback from right-wing conservatives but a few stand tall besides us.

The North Face used a drag queen for a Pride advert and – you guessed it – bigots are whining

The North Face is being hounded by right-wing bigots who are demanding a boycott of the outdoor clothing brand after it launched its 2023 Pride Month campaign. 

Pink News

By Sophie Perry

May 26, 2023

Summer of Pride. This is the second year in a row it has run the campaign.

“Hi, its me Pattie Gonia, a real-life homosexual,” the drag artist said in the tongue-in-cheek advert. “I’m here with The North Face to help you come out … in nature with us.”

In the wake of conservative backlash against Bud Light, Target and Adidas over LGBTQ+ inclusive campaigns and products, homophobes were quick to direct their relentless ire at The North Face.

Controversial Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene took to Twitter, saying she now only wants to buy “generic brand clothing” to avoid “brands sexually targeting children”.

So far they are standing with us against all the crap the conservatives are throwing at them.

“The North Face online community is designed to be a safe, positive and inclusive environment. 

“It’s why we have a zero-tolerance policy against racist, discriminatory, threatening, abusive, harmful, vulgar or attacking social media comments, which will be removed immediately.

The ultra conservative Washington Examiner had this to say,

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) called for conservatives to boycott “woke” clothing retailer North Face following its new ad campaign featuring a drag queen.

[…]

“How many times do we have to explain to the woke marketing departments at these disgusting companies that America is not a nation of degenerates?” Boebert tweeted.

“It’s time to boycott ANY product North Face has ever made,” she added. “Let’s make it as shameful to wear North Face as it is to drink Bud Light!”

I’ll tell you what really is disgusting… it is white supremacist homophobe who use her public office to stir up divisiveness.

North Face, Target Latest Focus Of LGBTQ Culture Wars: Here Are All The Others

Forbes

By Conor Murray

May 24, 2023

Key Facts

• Bud Light faced boycotts and a dip in sales after it sent TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney, known for documenting her gender transition to her 10 million followers, a customized can with her face on it on April 1, with high-profile critics including musicians Kid Rock, Travis Tritt and John Rich and pundits Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens.
• Amid the Bud Light controversy, Tritt and other critics dug up a two-year-old Jack Daniels marketing campaign featuring drag performers from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
• Another Mulvaney collaborator, Nike, was condemned by Olympic athletes Sharron Davies and Caitlyn Jenner for its marketing campaign in which Mulvaney modeled leggings and sports bras.
• A months-old Miller Lite commercial for Women’s History Month, in which actress and comedian Ilana Glazer promotes the company’s commitment to recycling old advertisements it deems sexist to create fertilizer to brew more beer, resurfaced in mid-May and caught the attention of Joe Rogan and Shapiro, who slammed “identity politics” (Molson Coors forcefully defended the campaign, stating there is nothing “remotely controversial” about it).
• Critics jumped on Adidas for a trans-inclusive swimwear marketing campaign, including Davies, a frequent critic of transgender women participating in women’s sports, who tweeted the hashtag #AdidasHatesWomen.
• Starbucks debuted an ad in India last week depicting a father reconciling his relationship with his trans daughter, which some labeled sweet and “groundbreaking,” though it attracted criticism from Shapiro and other commentators.
• Critics including conservative pundit Dave Rubin recirculated a two-year-old campaign from Ford, who in response to internet trolls built the “Very Gay Raptor,” a Ranger Raptor car adorned with rainbow colors that has appeared in promotional materials and at pride events.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers came under fire from some Catholics, including advocacy group CatholicVoice, and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) after it planned to honor The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charity that raises money for LGBTQ causes and performs in in drag dressed as nuns, at Pride Night, causing the Dodgers to uninvite the Sisters to the outrage of the Dodgers’ other LGBTQ partner groups.
• Target sparked outrage from conservatives including Megyn Kelly and Shapiro for selling trans-inclusive swimwear and items designed by a brand whose other designs have used Satanic imagery, leading the retailer to pull some items from its Pride collection, a decision that angered LGBTQ supporters.
• The North Face unveiled its second annual “Summer of Pride” marketing campaign featuring drag queen and environmentalist Pattie Gonia to urge customers to enjoy the outdoors, quickly sparking outrage from critics including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who accused the brand of “sexually targeting children,” a false claim often used by conservative critics to target drag queens.

These boycotts are going to show us those who support us because they think that there is a profit supporting us and those companies that support us because it is the right thing to do.

Support those who support us.

This year's commercial

Westward Ho!

[Editorial]

The modern family is scattered to the four winds.

The families have always uprooted their homes and moved… across great oceans. Across the mountains. Across the great prairies. They have searched for new land, new opportunities, and new jobs.

When I was growing up family was all around us, my aunts and uncles, my cousins were all around us… then we moved.

All of a sudden my friends were not related to me. Cousins, aunts, and uncles were for holidays four or five times a year. We were the outcast by distance.

My cousin Vinny no longer showed me how to smoke corn silk and tell me the “facts of life” now it was my neighbors clique.

Building family bonds are not there anymore, being part of community, or feeling of belonging are gone from our lives.

My brother’s four children are living in three different states on the eastern seaboard and he and my sister-in-law live in a fourth state. And my brother’s children were each born in a different state.

In today’s “Gig Economy” people do not set down roots anymore and businesses don’t have roots in a community. When I was growing up New Britain was a company town for Stanley Works you could work there beside you family and your neighbors. It was a generational company but now all that is left here is the headquarters and that might even move.

Me? I have lived in the same town for over 65 years and I have seen it change. From a town of 5,000 to a town 20,000. From where everyone knew your name to a town of strangers. Where I live it is a village in a part of a town. We had our own post office but the government in its infinite wisdom closed and with that our village lost its identity now we are just the town with the same Zip Code. As my generation dies out the only thing to remind people of the village will by the Congregational Church that bears its name.

All thing change. But at what price?

[/Editorial]

Sam's Saturday 9: Some Gave All (1992)

Sam's Saturday 9: Some Gave All (1992)

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

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

Memorial Day is the federal holiday designated to honor American service people who died in battle.

1) Here at Saturday 9, we regard everyone who served -- veterans and active military -- as heroes. Have you, or has anyone in your family, worn the uniform of our armed forces? We want to hear about them.

Fort Wright, Fisher's Island New York
My father is on the right.

My father.

He joined the Army National Guards in the 1930s during the depression… it help pay the bills. He was in the harbor defense battalion, during the war and he defended the navy submarine base in New London from German submarines, then as a Captain he was transferred to coastal defense base in Key West.

After the German U-Boat threat was neutralized he was sent to the Pacific in an anti-aircraft as a Major. Finally as Lt. Colonel he was put in-charge of rebuilding Manila’s water & sewer system and made a major when they found out he was a civil engineer by trade.

2) Memorial Day has its own flag etiquette. In the morning, the American flag should be flown at half staff in memory of those we have lost. Then, at noon, it should be raised briskly to full staff, in honor of all who have served. Where is the nearest flag flying from where you sit right now?

At the town’s Veterans’ park. The parade Monday will go to the Veteran's Park.

3) Since 1988, motorcycle riders have participated in Rolling Thunder. In events all over the country, including Washington DC, bikers "Roll Together" to draw attention to service members still missing and raise awareness of mental health issues our veterans cope with each day. When have you most recently ridden a motorcycle? A scooter? A bicycle?

A motorcycle back in high school. A bicycle in the 70s. You have to realize this is New England it is all up and down. When I had a bike back in the 70s it was a 100 foot climb up the hill in front of the house and a mile down hill to the level roads and then back home it was a mile up hill to get to my house.

4) This week's song is the title track of Billy Ray Cyrus' best-selling album. Named for this patriotic song, the album also included Billy Ray's signature song, "Achy Breaky Heart." "Achy Breaky Heart" is a popular choice on karaoke nights. Do you know it well enough to sing along?

Nope. I only heard it a couple of times I’m not a fan of Country & Western music.

5) Sandy Kane, the hero of "Some Gave All," is based on a real Vietnam vet Billy Ray Cyrus met and spoke to about his sacrifice for his country. Can you think of another song based on a real person?

Candle in the Wind.

6) Memorial Day is the traditional kick off of the summer season. Have you packed away your winter clothes yet?

They never get put away, they are there right next to the summer, fall, and spring clothes.

7) As you answer these questions, is there a fan or an air conditioner cooling your room?

Neither, I am writing this on Thursday afternoon and it is 68 out and all the windows are open.

8) Memorial Day is also a holiday for retailers. Ads promise great prices on everything from grills to lawn decorations to high tech gear and gadgets. Will you be shopping any sales this weekend?

Nope, except for food. I am going to a Memorial Day picnic at a friends house.

9) Random question: When is the last time you felt like a kid?

Um… how about 50 years ago.

Right now I feel awfully old, I have been having a number of medical tests to find out why I am out of breath and tired all the time. So no I don’t feel like a kid more like the other end of the spectrum. 

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!

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*****I am having problems with Chrome it isn't allowing me to comment on posts Chrome it only lets me post as “Anonymous” and on some of the blog they don't let me post as “Anonymous”*****

Last Saturday it rained all the way home from the Cape... after 5 hours driving in the wet roads I was beat. And during the were doctors appointments (I joke that my warrantee is running out! I told that joke to one of my doctors once and he came right back with, "What you didn't take out the extended warrantee?") and Zoom meetings. It was a crazy week! Things finally settled down on Thursday.

Why Diversity Is Important

When I was in grad school we were asked a question: “Why is diversity important?”

I chose to be one of those in class that explained why diversity is important and my answer was…

My parents are an example of diversity, my father’s father was from a small town in Italy and my mother’s family was from Austria and England. For millenniums people married a spouse from probably less than 20 miles away, the gene pool was very small. But now here in America we can trace our roots to all over the world and that improved the gene pool here.

Cultures. What a blend of cultures we have. Where my grand parents grew up in Italy everyone was Catholic, for holidays everyone had the same holidays, the same parades. But here, in Hartford there is a Greek Festival, a Puerto Rican parade, a Columbus Day parade, a St. Patrick's Day parade, and on and on. How great is that! Being exposed to so many cultures all in one place!

Cultures spill over in to ways of thinking and it can lead to new discoveries, did you know that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak tried to sell their new idea of a personal computer to IBM but IBM didn’t want anything from these two hippies.

Did you know that the smartphone, laptop, and computers all use an idea that a trans woman and another person thought of? It revolutionized computers! Lynn Conway,

2009 Computer Pioneer Award 

“For contributions to superscalar architecture, including multiple-issue dynamic instruction scheduling, and for the innovation and widespread teaching of simplified VLSI design methods.”

From the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Along with LGBTQ+ computer pioneers like Alan Turing, and Mary Ann Horton who lead the way for many inventions.

When you get a diverse group of people because of their cultures and backgrounds they approach problems from different directions that creates a synergy that comes up with new ideas. Diversity creates thinking outside of the box.

When you stamp out diversity, you create a homogeneous culture that stays in the box.

***

June 1st @ 11 AM the Pride flag raising at the capitol!

---

Oh, BTW the professor loved my discussion on diversity. 

Here Comes The Judge!

We are going to be hearing that more and more as lawsuits are filed.

In an email I got from Lambda Legal…

In just the past few weeks, we have challenged state laws prohibiting or criminalizing the provision of gender-affirming medical care for trans adolescents in Montana (van Garderen v. Montana), Oklahoma (Poe v. Drummond), and Tennessee (L.W. v. Skrmetti). And in Southampton Community Healthcare v. Bailey, we challenged and blocked a dangerous so-called “emergency rule” by the Missouri Attorney General that restricted gender-affirming care for all transgender Missourians.

In an email from the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund

Our fight for transgender health care continues! Yesterday, we filed a lawsuit against the State of Tennessee for denying transition-related health care to members of Tennessee’s health care plan, which covers more than 290,000 state employees, teachers, and other public employees. 

All over the country there are lawsuits, in Tennessee,

Lawsuit: Tennessee employee health insurance plan discriminates against transgender enrollees

Tennessee Lookout

By: Anita Wadhwani

May 26, 2023

Two transgender women have filed suit against the state after being denied gender affirming care under Tennessee’s public employee health benefits program.

Gerda Zinner, an academic advisor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Story VanNess, a former Knox County special education teacher, each say they were unlawfully discriminated against by being denied coverage of gender-affirming surgeries their medical teams deemed necessary, the lawsuit said.

Under the terms of the state health benefits plan, “surgery or treatment for, or related to, sex transformations” is excluded from coverage. The plan insures 290,000 state employees, dependents and retirees.

[…]

Filed Wednesday in the Middle District of Tennessee, the lawsuit is at least the second legal action taken against the state over transgender care in recent weeks.

In April, three Tennessee families filed a legal challenge to a newly enacted law — not yet in effect — that bans all forms of gender-affirming care for transgender youth under the age of 18.  Each family has a transgender teen currently receiving gender affirming care. The U.S. Department of Justice has since joined the lawsuit, which is seeking an immediate injunction preventing the law from taking effect July 1.

Then in Florida GLAD is,

Florida Parents Announce Lawsuit Challenging State Ban on Essential Medical Care for Transgender Children

A new rule banning well-established, effective medical treatments for transgender youth with gender dysphoria takes effect in Florida today. As healthcare providers and researchers express alarm about the ban’s disregard for science and medicine, a group of Florida parents committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of their children, and who are deeply concerned about the ban’s impact, are preparing to challenge the rule in federal court.

[…]

The parent plaintiffs and their children are represented by Southern Legal Counsel, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Human Rights Campaign. They are preparing to file a lawsuit challenging the ban in federal court.

“The Florida Boards of Medicine chose to ignore the evidence and science in front of them and instead put families in the unthinkable position of not being able to provide essential healthcare for their kids,” said Jennifer Levi, Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.

Over in Kentucky,

ACLU asks federal judge to block Kentucky’s ban on transgender medical care for minors

By Special to The Harlan Enterprise

May 24, 2023

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky and other plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to block part of a law they have said is the worst anti-trans bill in the United States.

The ACLU of Kentucky filed for a preliminary injunction Monday to block a section of Senate Bill 150, due to be implemented in late June and banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, until its legal challenge is decided. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month.

SB 150, which the GOP-dominated legislature passed over the veto of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, also enacts restrictions on which bathrooms minors can use, limits the scope of sex education students receive and allows school staff to misgender trans minors. No challenges have been filed to those provisions.

Corey Shapiro, the legal director for ACLU of Kentucky, in a statement, said the families the organization represents in the lawsuit “should be able to begin or continue essential medical care.”

Then in Utah,

Southern Utah Drag Stars file lawsuit over drag show permit denial

Plaintiffs argue City of St. George unlawfully discriminated against them in violation of their rights under the U.S. & Utah constitutions

By LA Blade Digital Staff

May 23, 2023

Today, the Southern Utah Drag Stars (Drag Stars) filed a lawsuit against the city of St. George, Utah, which denied the organization a special events permit for a family-friendly drag show.

The city’s refusal to grant a permit is part of a years-long effort to target drag performances and LGBTQ+ pride events in violation of the First and 14th Amendments, as well as the Utah Constitution. Legal counsel intends to seek a preliminary injunction to allow Drag Stars to host its family-friendly drag show in June.

On March 3, Mitski Avalōx applied for a City of St. George special events permit to host a family-friendly drag event, Allies & Community Drag Show Festival, at J.C. Snow Park. A few weeks later, the city denied her application, alleging that she violated its advertising ordinance, an obscure local rule which prohibits advertising for special events until the city grants a permit.

[…]

To make matters worse, while Avalōx’s application was pending, St. George decided to suspend considering any new special event permits for six months, denying Drag Stars the opportunity to submit a new permit application after the initial rejection.

And not leaving out Texas which started all this madness,

Advocates to file lawsuit against bill banning healthcare for transgender minors

KOMO News

By KEYE Staff

May 19th 2023

Several progressive groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, pledged to file a lawsuit against Senate Bill 14, a ban on gender-related treatment for Texas minors.

The announcement comes after the bill was approved by the Senate on Wednesday. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

The bill is a legislative priority for Republicans and would prevent transgender minors from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapies.

[…]

Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Transgender Law Center issued a joint statement regarding the lawsuit:

We will be filing a lawsuit to protect transgender youth in Texas from being stripped of access to healthcare that keeps them healthy and alive. Coming on top of the effort last year to classify providing medically necessary and scientifically proven care to transgender youth as child abuse which threatened to tear Texas families with transgender children apart, an effort that is currently blocked in state court, Texas lawmakers have seen fit to double down, creating untold harm on Texas families.

All these lawsuits cost money to file and defend. I donate each year to GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders) in Massachusetts, I have worked with Jennifer Levi since 2006 to help pass the laws here in Connecticut. And she was there the night that Connecticut passed the non-discrimination law.

Outside of the Senate Chamber the night that the non-discrimination bill was passed in 2011
Jennifer Levi is the fourth from the left.
L to R: Sen. Beth Bye, me, Sally ctEquality, Jennifer, Betty Gallo our lobbyist, and Gretchen Planned Parenthood  

Please donate to one of those legal firms who are defending us! These are excellent attorneys, if they were in private practice they would be flying around in corporate jets but instead they chose work for our human rights, please support them! 

What This Brouhaha Is About.

You would think we are taking over the world, you would think we are a pink wave taking over the “straights” but…

What the 2020 census can — and can't — tell us about LGBTQ people

NPR

By Hansi Lo Wang, Connie Hanzhang Jin

May 25, 2023

States along the West Coast and in the Northeast have the highest shares of households with same-sex couples, according to the latest 2020 census results released Thursday.

The new numbers from the Census Bureau make up the most comprehensive statistics the federal government has produced to date about married and unmarried same-sex couples living together.

The big surprise is Florida with the tenth largest same-sex couples! Florida married same-sex couples account for 0.7% and unmarried couples 0.5% is what the hubbub is over!

We only have the data on same-sex couples because Trump.

Former President Donald Trump's administration blocked efforts to get questions about sexual orientation and gender identity onto a Census Bureau survey that's considered a testing ground for changes to the forms for the decennial national head count.

Now, the Biden administration has renewed that process as advocates for more official statistics about LGBTQ populations continue to grapple with long-standing data gaps that make it difficult to fully understand people's needs amid rising anti-LGBTQ sentiment from right-wing groups.

Republicans don’t want data about us because it might undermine their pogrom against us.

For Josie Caballero, the lack of an opportunity to identify as a trans woman on the 2020 census was disappointing.

"If we're not asking the question, if you're trans or not, in these surveys, it is impossible for us to actually identify those disparities and make sure that funds and resources go to the communities that are desperately in need," adds Caballero, who is the director of the U.S. Trans Survey and special projects for the National Center for Transgender Equality.

When we were trying to pass the gender inclusive non-discrimination law one of the questions that te legislators asked was… “How many trans people are there in Connecticut?” and we had to shrug our shoulders in not knowing. And we were hoping for the 2020 Census to answer that, but the Republicans didn’t want us counted.

Late last year, the Justice Department sent a formal request to the Census Bureau for questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to be added to the bureau's American Community Survey, according to a recently released working paper by a bureau official.

"The request included citations of several statutes to justify the collection, including a need for data to properly enforce discrimination laws," wrote Andrew Roberts, the chief of the agency's sex and age statistics branch. Roberts also referenced a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that confirmed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects workers against discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The right-wing pushes back… “How dare you ask that question of me!!!!”

But the rise of anti-LGBTQ legislation and sentiment among right-wing politicians and other groups has underlined concerns about how census data can be misused and individuals can be reidentified in anonymized statistics, a risk the bureau has been trying to address through a new, controversial privacy protection system.

[…]

"I think that people being given an opportunity to volunteer that information is important," says Rebecca Moon, president of the Shoals Diversity Center, a nonprofit organization based in Florence, Ala., that offers mental health support for the LGBTQ community and supports increasing government data collection. "Not everyone is out, especially in the South. There's a lot of LGBTQ hatred."

Privacy is a two-way street. Many LGBTQ+ are afraid to come out in this day of the Proud Boys brownshirts.

"You can't argue with the fact that hundreds of thousands of trans folks have been able to say in a quantitative, scientific way that we exist and this is what it looks like to live here," Caballero says. "And if we did not have that data, it would be extremely difficult to prove that we deserve human rights."

That was the trouble we faced and that is why the Republicans don’t want us counted.

---

Yesterday I wrote about Pride being canceled down in Florida and I wrote that a few are standing up against the laws, well…

Florida laws targeting LGBT community stoke Pride energy, organizers say

Reuters

By Brad Brooks and Daniel Trotta

May 25, 2023

Organizers of some LGBT Pride events in Florida are limiting access by minors and increasing security in the face of a slate of new state laws they say unfairly target their community.

But the organizers say the laws are rekindling a defiant energy they hope will help push back against Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who announced his candidacy for the U.S. presidency on Wednesday, and other conservative leaders.

"The most important message of this year's Pride is that we all show unity and family and togetherness," said Jeff Sterling, organizer of Stonewall Pride in Wilton Manors, which is asking performers and parade goers to avoid nudity or risqué behavior.

[…]

Critics say the law on drag shows was unneeded, arguing that the state already had laws against exposing children to lewd entertainment. They argue that it was specifically built to target Pride, by banning local governments from issuing permits to any event that might expose children to a lewd "adult live performance."

"We are telling people not to run, not to hide. That's what the bigots want," said Carlos Guillermo Smith, with the LGBT advocacy group Equality Florida and a former Democratic state representative who is running for state senate.

I have no doubt that these laws will eventually be overturned.

"When people come to Pride events, that unity and coming together creates a layer of security for our community and it shows that we're here and we're not going anywhere," Clark said.

I Am Not A Fan…

...Of the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) but sometimes they do good.

Largest US gay rights group issues Florida travel advisory for anti-LGBTQ+ laws

AP News

May 23, 2023

The largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S. joined other civil rights organizations Tuesday in issuing a travel advisory for Florida, warning that newly passed laws and policies may pose risks to minorities, immigrants and gay travelers.

The Human Rights Campaign joined the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Florida Immigrant Coalition and Equality Florida in issuing travel or relocation warnings for the Sunshine State, one of the most popular states for tourists to visit in the U.S.

While the LGBTQ+ advocacy group said it wasn’t calling for a boycott or making a blanket recommendation against visiting Florida, it said it wanted to highlight new laws passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature that they said are hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, restrict abortion access and allow Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

I do not think this will make any difference… people think “It won’t happen to me!” that’s human nature. Bad thinks only happen to others not to me.

---

NAACP issues travel advisory, calling Florida ‘hostile’ to Black Americans

The Washington Post

By María Luisa Paúl

May 22, 2023

Over the past year, conservative policies touching on education, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights in Florida have led some advocacy groups and organizations to recommend that visitors reconsider their travels to the state.

On Saturday, the NAACP became the latest to issue a travel advisory to the Sunshine State, warning that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’s “aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools” have turned the state into an “openly hostile” place for people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color,” the NAACP advisory reads.

Of course DeSantis thumbed his nose at them.

A spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Responding to the NAACP warning on Saturday, the governor’s press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, tweeted a GIF of DeSantis saying: “This is a stunt. If you want to waste your time on a stunt, that’s fine. But I’m not wasting my time on your stunts. Okay?”

We are going backward. We are going back to the era of the Jim Crow laws, back to the days of “Father Knows Best” back to when Blacks knew their place and gays were deep in the closet… and we didn’t exist at all.

Dunn remembers the Jim Crow era, during which he and his mom walked, hands anxiously squeezing, to the back of the bus or stayed silent as White people passed them in the queues. And though those overtly discriminatory policies are a remnant of the past, Florida’s new laws and rhetoric under DeSantis have left Dunn feeling “like I’m not welcome in my own home state,” he said.

That is what DeSantis wants us to feel. He wants us to live in fear.

“It’s not in the sense of a physical threat,” Dunn said. “It’s in the sense that I’m not appreciated because my history and, therefore, my personhood, doesn’t count.”

---

Visitor Warning Issued: Florida’s Laws Put Immigrants at Extreme Risk

The Vanguard

By Elina Sadeghain

May 06, 2023

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), the largest immigrant rights organization in California, has issued an Emergency Travel Advisory, in conjunction with other leading immigrant and civil rights organizations across the United States, warning Florida may not be a safe place to visit.

“It is with great concern that we join sister organizations across the country in advising immigrants, U.S. citizens, and people who have different immigration statuses that if they travel to Florida, they could be charged with a felony if traveling or housing themselves with someone without regulated immigration status,” said Angelica Salas, CHIRLA’s executive director.

[…]

Other organizations, including Equality Florida, Promise Arizona, and American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, among others, have also issued a Florida Travel Advisory this week, echoing CHIRLA’s concerns about the state’s anti-immigrant legislation and discriminatory policies.

These are not travel warnings issued about traveling to a third world country we are talking about, we are talking about a state of the United States!

Between the anti-LGBTQ+ laws, the anti-Black laws, and the anti-immigrant laws there is the “Stand-Your-Ground law and doing away with any gun permits for concealed carry it has created an unfriendly and an unsafe state.

It is like the wild west but instead of the open prairies we have tens of millions of people in the cites, what could go wrong?

It's a jungle out there

Disorder and confusion everywhere

No one seems to care

Well, I do

Hey, who's in charge here?

By Randy Newman, Monk theme song.

It Is Not Just Us

It is a global phenomenon being pushed by conservatives and the Christian far-right.

Grassroots trans group uncovering EHRC ‘attacks’ and the UK’s well-connected anti-trans movement

A collective of journalists, activists and analysts is shining a light on the UK’s anti-trans movement, to reveal who is pushing the agenda, where the money comes from, and how it’s all linked.

Pink News UK

By Maggie Baska

May 24, 2023

[…]

Recently, the UN’s independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, published a damning report on LGBTQ+ rights in the UK.

As well as the government’s delays on banning conversion therapy and politicians fuelling anti-trans rhetoric, he specifically called out the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the UK’s equality watchdog, for what he called an attempt to help the government “carry out discriminatory distinctions currently unlawful under UK law” against trans people.

TSN [Trans Safety Network] director, Jess O’Thomson, a human rights lawyer, was among the researchers, human rights defenders and LGBTQ+ advocates to meet with Madrigal-Borloz.

“We’re able to draw links that other groups might potentially not notice across different points of anti-trans organising. We can match up exactly how these strategies support one another, and that’s very helpful. 

“Very quickly after reading our research, people who do not have a background in LGBT research can start to get an idea of exactly who’s behind all this, where all the money’s coming from, what different strategies are being employed, who the big names are, the big organisations, who’s in them and how all these things are linked together.”

Now tell me if any of this sounds familiar…

The organisation’s network of volunteers have tracked the surging online hate directed towards trans people and allies. They’ve also been sharing information about the right-wing figures in prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet and the increasingly close ties between anti-trans figures within British politics. 

Researchers have also uncovered how an anti-trans campaign group promoted conversion practices in guidance for parents, the increasing problems with the NHS provisions on gender-affirming healthcare and how the far right are showing support for prominent anti-trans activist Posie Parker. 

O’Thomson says there’s an “active, very well-funded, very well-organised contingent of people who want to roll back” trans rights in the UK, and “certainly want to prevent us from obtaining any more”.

Now where else have we seen a link between politicians and the Christian far-right? Wait don’t it is right on the tip of my tongue… wait, wait… I know here! Here in the U.S.!

He reported that an EHRC commissioner conceded that its only “intended meaning” of “biological sex” is “to define women as ‘women who are not trans’.”

[…]

The incident has widely been seen as a precursor to an inevitable move by the UK government to strip trans people of protections.

[…]

The EHRC refutes that its work promotes the exclusion of trans people.

It is spreading.

Do You See A Difference?

[Editorial]

Today In History

In 1961, a group of Freedom Riders was arrested after arriving at a bus terminal in Jackson, Mississippi, charged with breaching the peace for entering white-designated areas.

Google Bard wrote in part to the question "Jim Crow laws versus drag queen laws?",

There are a number of similarities between Jim Crow laws and drag queen laws. Both types of laws are based on the idea that certain groups of people are inferior to others, and they both seek to restrict the rights and freedoms of those groups. Additionally, both types of laws have been used to justify violence and discrimination against the groups they target.

[…]

Despite their differences, Jim Crow laws and drag queen laws both represent a form of discrimination that is harmful to LGBTQ+ people. These laws send the message that LGBTQ+ people are not equal members of society, and they can make it difficult for LGBTQ+ people to live their lives openly and freely.

The History Channel,

Segregated waiting rooms in bus and train stations were required, as well as water fountains, restrooms, building entrances, elevators, cemeteries, even amusement-park cashier windows.

[…]

With Jim Crow dominating the landscape, education increasingly under attack and few opportunities for Black college graduates, the Great Migration of the 1920s saw a significant migration of educated Black people out of the South, spurred on by publications like The Chicago Defender, which encouraged Black Americans to move north.

Have you ever heard of “Peeing Peace”?

It is a booklet on the laws around country and bathrooms telling us where we can go when we need to go…

Transgender Law Center

This Resource Guide is a first of its kind publication combining basic information about how someone (or some group of someones) can protect themselves with common sense steps that can be taken to change the way in which an employer, school administrator, business owner, or government official handles bathroom access issues. It provides basic tools you can use to affect how someone sees the issue of bathroom access and safety by questioning who should be able to access which bathroom and why we divide most public bathrooms into Men’s and Women’s facilities in the first place.

Then we have the “Green Book” telling Blacks where they can go when they need to go.

New York Public Library

The Green Book: The Black Travelers’ Guide to Jim Crow America

For nearly 30 years, a guide called the “Negro Motorist Green Book” provided African Americans with advice on safe places to eat and sleep when they traveled through the Jim Crow-era United States.

Compare that with what laws are being passed in the South again and Republican states now against us.

• States have passed laws telling us what bathroom to use.
• Banning us from parks and public spaces.
• Banning what books can read.
• Banning school from teaching about us.
• Banning our healthcare.

This is Jim Crow 2.0

Maybe what we need is Freedom Riders 2.0. Maybe what we need are busses of drag queens going down to Florida from all over the country.

[/Editorial]