Sunday, March 31, 2024

Back Then Things Were Different.

The ultimate goal of the Republican party is to force women to be baby machines… barefoot, in the kitchen, and pregnant. You don’t believe read about the latest Supreme Court case.
References from conservative justices to a long-dormant chastity law during the Supreme Court’s arguments in a major abortion pill case this week are bringing new attention to the 19th century statute, which prohibits the mailing of drugs used for abortions among other “obscene, lewd, lascivious” or “indecent” materials.

The Comstock Act, as the law is known, is not central to the current Supreme Court case. However, comments from Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito showcase how the law is shaping up to be both a flashpoint in the legal battle over abortion and a potential election-year issue for voters.

There are now calls from within the anti-abortion movement for the Comstock Act to be enforced by the next Republican administration to ban the mailing of abortion medication – a move that would not require any action by Congress nor any blessing from the Supreme Court.
A little history of the Comstock Act of 1844
In 1872 Comstock set off for Washington with an anti-obscenity bill, including a ban on contraceptives, that he had drafted himself. On March 3, 1873, Congress passed the new law, later known as the Comstock Act. The statute defined contraceptives as obscene and illicit, making it a federal offense to disseminate birth control through the mail or across state lines.
Comstock was a “devout Christian” and according to VOX,
GL: Based on my understanding, the obscenity issues culminated around gay men back then. How did the Post Office target this group, and why?

DJ: Gay publications, gay magazines, and gay penpal clubs were of particular interest to postal inspectors. They believed that any discussion of homosexuality and any depictions of male nudity were encouraging homosexuality in American society. And so in a sense it wasn't that these were necessarily obscene, under shifting definitions of obscenity. But if the images were in any way about homosexuality, the Post Office considered them obscene and a threat to the public.
We have a link between the Comstock Act of 1844, to abortion, to LGBTQ people.

So now the courts are maneuvering to ban the “abortion pill” by bring back the Comstock Act and possibly any LGBTQ+  book, magazines, and other material related to us.

Did you know that a trans woman was arrested for mailing trans magazines in the past?

The American Library Association wrote…
On the Body: What Transgender History Can Teach us About Censorship
By: guest blogger J. M. Ellison
February 28, 2018


When we discuss the dangers of censorship, we usually talk about the importance of ideas and their free circulation. We would be wise to consider also the dangers censorship poses to the body. Restricting intellectual freedom is a means for oppressing communities – for justifying incarceration, for preventing education, for destroying networks, and for thwarting resistance.

Take what happened to transgender activist Virginia Prince [I met Miss Prince at Trans Week (formerly know as Fantasia Fair) in the early 2000s]. In late 1959, a friend put Virginia Prince in touch with a pen pal. For Prince, exchanging letters with strangers was nothing new. Seven years previous, Prince and a group of friends started a newsletter titled Transvestia: The Journal of the American Society for Equality in Dress. Transvestia was a part of Prince’s work to foster supportive community for people whom she described as “transgenderist.” The correspondence with her new pen pal, however, rapidly grew into something different.

[…]

Transvestia was a part of a growing network of “transvestite” and “homophile” publications, precursors to contemporary transgender and gay communities. Through these publications, trans and queer people were finding support and beginning to develop the analysis that later became the trans and queer freedom struggles. However, Transvestia was a more conservative publication than one might imagine.
In the broad sweeping dragnet of the Lavender Scare other LGBTQ+ publications were also caught in their nets.
For trans and queer people living in the 1960s without Prince’s white, middle class privilege, the impact of censorship was felt in an even more bodily way. Impoverished trans, queer and drag queen people developed loose networks inside large cities. While Prince faced laws against obscenity, these burgeoning communities were daily faced with vice squads. Under the guise of public morality and preventing crime, trans and queer people living on the streets were arrested for wearing the clothes in which they felt comfortable, for loitering, and for survival crimes. In some places, as Black transgender artist and activist Reina Gossett discusses, queer and trans people were not even allowed to touch each other.
Now the right-winger are trying to bring back the Comstock Act of 1844 to inflict their bigotry on us and also reproduction rights. They are laying the ground work to bring back the law. The CNN article goes on to write,
Alito wrote the court’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, while Thomas is seen as a judicial pioneer in his success in bringing into the legal mainstream views previously seen as fringe. Their interest in the law’s relevance to Tuesday’s case speaks to how the Comstock Act has taken a more prominent role in the efforts to further limit abortion.

“Overturning a constitutional right to privacy that extends to abortion – as reflected in Roe v. Wade – is not their stopping point … they will do anything, even if that is seeking to resuscitate a 19th century statute that was passed before women had the right to vote,” said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO Democracy Forward Foundation.
Others are also worried about the Comstock Act...
The Hill
BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL
March 27, 2024


Abortion-rights supporters are sounding the alarm that conservative Supreme Court justices want to use a long-dormant law to enforce a nationwide abortion ban.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito repeatedly invoked the Comstock Act during oral arguments Tuesday in a case about the constitutionality of the Biden administration’s efforts to expand access to mifepristone.

Alito questioned why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not contended with the law in its decisions on expanding access to mifepristone through the mail.

“This is a prominent provision; it’s not some obscure subsection of a complicated, obscure law. Everybody in this field knew about it,” Alito said.

The 151-year-old law banned the mailing of materials that were deemed “obscene, lewd, [or] lascivious,” which included things such as contraception, abortion drugs and pornography.
It is not a bogeyman but a real concern, you will see more attempts to design a case for the courts to invoke the Act. They have received the green light from the justices to go ahead and try it.
“It gives them whatever kind of small measure of legitimacy can be offered by at least one Supreme Court justice, and possibly two, adopting your position. It’s encouraging; it’s like a sign of, OK, this has a chance of actually working, so let’s keep at it,” she added.

[…]

Legal experts said even if the Biden administration wins at the Supreme Court this term, access to abortion pills could still very much be at risk if Alito and Thomas succeed in soliciting a Comstock-focused challenge in the future.
It is not just abortion but LGBTQ+ magazines are also at risk, I can imagine a Republican legislature passing a law saying LGBTQ+ magazines as pornographic!

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

Only With The Blue.

President Biden did something the Trump would never do and the conservatives are in a tizzy over it..
Biden has previously come under fire for his stance on LGBTQ+ and abortion issues given his own position as a 'devout Catholic'
Fox News
By Haley Chi-Sing
March 30, 2024


President Joe Biden was slammed on social media Saturday after designating Easter Sunday, the most solemn Christian holiday, as ‘Transgender Day of Visibility.’

Prominent Christians, politicians, and commenters flooded social media platforms with criticism after the announcement from the White House.

"On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives," a statement released by the White House read. 

"Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans:  You are loved.  You are heard.  You are understood.  You belong.  You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back," it continued. "NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility."
Hey folks, cool your jet the TDoV is always on the 31st!
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called Biden out on X, formerly Twitter, writing, "Joe Biden just proclaimed that ‘Transgender Visibility Day’ is on Sunday, March 31st. I wonder how he came up with that date."

"This is a direct assault on Christianity. It’s evident the left is determined to undermine our religion and traditions," she wrote on X. "This isn’t just blatant disregard, it’s intentional."
You know that these exact same people would be complaining no matter what day the TDoV falls on.

NBC News reported that,
In his proclamation, Biden said Trans Day of Visibility recognizes the generations of activism by transgender and nonbinary people.

“Their trailblazing work has given countless transgender individuals the bravery to live openly and authentically,” Biden wrote. “This hard-fought progress is also shaping an increasingly accepting world in which peers at school, teammates and coaches on the playing field, colleagues at work, and allies in every corner of society are standing in support and solidarity with the transgender community.”

Despite progress for lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer Americans, such as marriage equality, Biden said trans people “still face systemic barriers to freedom and equality,” such as higher rates of violence, harassment and discrimination.
Meanwhile the Republicans are hopping around like Easter Bunnies on Easter morning!

The Hill also reported that the White House responded...
The White House responded Saturday to GOP criticism that the Transgender Day of Visibility, which is observed each year on March 31, falls on Easter.

[...]

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates responded on Saturday. 

“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with Family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American,” Bates said in a statement to multiple outlets. 

“Sadly, it’s unsurprising politicians are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful, and dishonest rhetoric. President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for profit.”
You can read the President's proclamation here. What a dig! Perfect! Calling Trump out on selling Bibles.



While down here in Connecticut earlier in the week,
State celebrates Transgender Day of Visibility
Members of the Transgender community along with Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz raised a flag at a ceremony at the State Capitol.
Fox 61 News
By Doug Stewart
March 28, 2024

Members of the Transgender community along with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz raised a flag at a ceremony celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility at the State Capitol Thursday.

Community members ranging from students to caregivers spoke at the ceremony inside the Captiol.

The day is historically celebrated on March 31. GLAAD says on their website that the day is "dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, as well as a celebration of their contributions to society."

Bysiewicz said this is the second time that Connecticut has had the opportunity to raise the trans flag over the state capitol.

She also recognized the designer of the Trans Pride flag, U.S. Navy veteran Monica Helms.

Of raising the flag, Bysiewicz said, "It says that our state supports the trans community supports our LGBTQ plus community at a time when so many of our rights and so many in our community are under attack in the state and in our country."
In the past, I have attended the flag raising there but not all the towns around will allow our flags to be flown, even in the blue state of Connecticut. CT Insider reports,
When the Town Council voted Jan. 8 to approve a flag policy that critics say was fashioned to target the rainbow flag supporting the LGBTQ+ community, the move seemingly banned something else from flying from town flagpoles: the flag of the town itself.

The Town Council in a 6-5 vote on Jan. 8 approved a policy that only allows the U.S., Connecticut, and POW/MIA flags to fly in front of town buildings and from their flag poles. The policy reversed one that the prior Town Council approved, 8-2, in May 2022 to fly or display the rainbow flag at Town Hall when members proclaimed June as Pride Month.
You want to guess which party those 6 are with?

Fox 61 goes on to write,
Fairfield Warde High School senior Theo Keitt, talked about the teens on the cusp of adulthood, facing hate fill rhetoric and violence, but hoping for a better future, "Because in spite of the violence and extremism that feels so commonplace, I'm still convinced that people are inherently good. And I'm convinced that it is not just our responsibility, but our very nature to love in the face of hatred.
I am also hopeful that the true spirit of the country will come though on election day and end this nightmare.



Update: 9:30PM
Fox News said something good about us!
By Natalie Venegas
March 31, 2024


Following conservative outrage about President Joe Biden's recent announcement in which he proclaimed Sunday, March 31, which happens to be the day Easter falls on this year, Transgender Day of Visibility, Fox News host Howard Kurtz defended him on Sunday.

The International Transgender Day of Visibility was created on March 31, 2009, and has continued to be celebrated every March 31 for more than a decade. The day is meant to not only honor transgender people, but raise awareness of the discrimination they continue to face.

On Friday, the White House sent out an announcement proclaiming March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility. This announcement is just a formality as the date of this annual event has already been set and is a way for the Biden administration to celebrate the holiday. Easter usually falls between March 22 and April 25 every year and is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon on or following the spring equinox.

[…]

The Fox News host added: "What too much of the coverage has left out is the holiday's always been March 31st. Every once in a while, it falls on Easter. Now I'm sure there's some people who believe that there shouldn't be a Transgender Day of Visibility and maybe they could have skipped the proclamation, politically speaking, but Biden didn't pick the date."

[…]

She continued: "President Biden and our government do not control when Easter occurs or the annual date of TDOV which was selected fifteen years ago. People who believe both in religion and in treating others with basic respect can celebrate the transformational Resurrection of Jesus and also support visibility for trans people. For the many LGBTQ Christians and allies who celebrate Easter and also recognize TDOV each year, the harmful right-wing lies are an excuse to hijack the Easter holiday with politics and to distract from issues that really matter."
I wonder how much longer will have a job
 

 
Update April 1, 2024 @ 8:00AM
 
Then there were these comments on Yahoo News about the Republicans complaining about the TDoV proclamation.
  •   There are a lot of us Christians who don't have a problem with trans people and gladly share in their happiness and acceptance in the larger world.  That the date they (not Biden) have chosen in the past is March 31 and coincides with Easter this year is not a problem.  Jesus said that we should love our neighbors as ourselves.  Trump must have skipped that part of the Bible.
  •   It seems like a lot of these Republicans who claim to be followers of Christ seem to have missed that part of His teaching where we are called upon to love everyone.
  •   If you had real points, you wouldn't need to lie. Joe Biden had 0 to do with any proclamation. Turns out people that celebrate Trans whatever day always do it March 31. Also, there's no universe where Trump is more religious and more of a follower of God and Jesus than Joe Biden. I'm not religious at all. Neither is Trump. Joe is.
  •  Never in our history have we had a former president who inserts himself in every aspect of peoples lives. He has something to say about everything. Sad part is almost all of what he says is not true or not accurate. March 31st was always the designated day. It just so happens that Easter falls on the 31 st. He’s the one that should apologize for continually subjecting all of us to his nonsense and shenanigans. His hawking and selling bibles is a travesty. The repubs are the last people that should talk about being morally and spiritually upright.
  •  Where does Trump selling Bibles fit in here?
    Matthew 21:12-14

    Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text: My house was designated a house of prayer; You have made it a hangout for thieves.

It seems like a lot of people don't agree with the Republicans who are playing for their evangelical base.

Who’s Next

On this Easter Sunday the Pope presided over mass but it has raised question over his health.
Pope Francis overcame concerns about his health to preside over Easter Sunday Mass, leading some 30,000 people in a flower-decked St. Peter's Square in one of the most important liturgies of the year.

Just hours after celebrating the 2½-hour nighttime Easter Vigil, the 87-year-old Francis appeared in good form at the start of the liturgy in the blustery piazza. Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been battling respiratory problems all winter that the Vatican and he have said were bronchitis, the flu or a cold.

[…]

For the past few weeks, Francis has generally avoided delivering long speeches to avoid the strain on his breathing. He ditched his Palm Sunday homily last week and decided at the last minute to stay home from the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum.
Why is this a concern of the trans community? He hasn’t been a friend of the community.

You’re right but there are a lot worst out there, it boils down to the devil Pope you know, versus the devil Pope you don’t.

Newsweek wrote,
Pope Francis is facing growing dissent among members of the Catholic Church over recent decisions that opponents portray as contrary to traditional church doctrine.

The most controversial has been the publication of a document in December by a Vatican bishop, with the pope's approval, mooting the "possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples." While the document stressed that it did not change the church's stance on homosexuality, it brought a joint letter from Catholic clergy and scholars calling on others to disregard it.

[…]

Experts who spoke to Newsweek cast these tensions as an ideological clash between those in the church who wish to reform its message and those who want to conserve its traditional teachings, which reflects a broader culture war between liberal and conservative ideals.
Right now the Pope is the only one standing between the moderates and the far-right Catholics.

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Saturday 9: Two Easter Sunday Sweethearts

Saturday 9: Two Easter Sunday Sweethearts (1954)

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

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

1) This song is about a couple dressed in their "Sunday Best." Will you be getting dressed up this weekend?

Nope, just my regular jeans and sneakers.

2) The happy couple is walking up the street arm-in-arm. Have you recently seen a couple holding hands or walking arm-in-arm in public? Were you one of that romantic duo?
Yes, my brother and sister-in-law.
Sh…
Don’t tell them but they looked like that classic drawing of two seniors walking holding hands

3) This week's featured artist, Vera Lynn, was a beloved English singer who is affectionately remembered for her tireless work entertaining the troops during WWII. She famously sang "There'll Always Be an England" during outdoor concerts in Egypt, India, and Burma, even as battles raged nearby. What is your favorite patriotic song?
I don’t have one.

4) Though she became a celebrity at 19, Vera continued to live with her parents until she married at age 21. How old were you when you left home for good?
Forty something. Let me explain, the year I graduated from college my father retired and they had a place down in Florida and a cottage in New Hampshire. They went down to Florida right after New Years and came back up at Easter. Then around April they went up to the cottage in New Hampshire until Thanksgiving.
 
So I shoved the driveway in winter, mowed the lawn is summer, and sent their mail to wherever they were. It was when they stopped going to Florida that left the old homestead.

Now, here are some questions in honor of this weekend's holiday ...

5) More than 1.5 million Cadbury Creme Eggs are produced every day. Do you enjoy Cadbury Eggs all year around, only at Easter, or not at all?
Oh I would love to eat chocolate but… I’m diabetic. I might have one or two but that’s it.
 
6) Pretzels are considered a delicious Easter snack in Germany. Do you more often crave salty treats or sweet ones?
There is a place on Cape Cod where they sell salted chocolates, the best of both worlds. At the store I buy the small package and try to make them last.

7) We've been talking a lot about sweets this morning. The only holiday that generates more candy sales is Halloween. When do you eat more candy: Easter or Halloween?
Neither. Like I said I might have a couple chocolates each holiday but I avoid eating too many and no candies, just chocolates.

8) Easter is considered the season of rebirth. What makes you feel refreshed or rejuvenated?
Nothing, I’m feeling my age.
 
9)  This year, April Fool's Day happens to follow Easter Sunday. Do you expect to fall victim to any pranks?
I hate April Fool’s pranks… someone is always a victim.


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!

*****
Hey this Easter watch out for sugared hyped rabbits hoping all over the bunny trail.

Friday, March 29, 2024

Parental Rights Part 2

Schools back in the before the mid 1900s at one time just taught Read, Riting, and Rithmetic and then they started to teach history and it became “Whose history?” and “What history?” We didn’t want to teach the genocide of the native population by Pilgrims, nope instead we will teach that the Pilgrims sat around with the indigenous population signing Kumbaya. And we will teach that slaves never had it so good rather than the jungles of Africa.

Back at the turn of the century the Supreme Court ruled in the case of the Good News Club v. Milford Center School that is schools allowed after school clubs that they couldn’t discriminate other clubs.

A group of parents in the Elk Grove Unified School District will keep students home from district schools Friday in protest of campus clubs for LGBTQ students.

“We are urging parents to consider pulling their children from school on Friday, March 29, 2024, as a means of expressing support for parental rights and to demonstrate the importance of transparency and openness in school activities,” parents wrote in an Instagram post for the group “Informed Parents of EGUSD.”

Parents learned in January that a teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary School was hosting a “UBU” club for all elementary school students, emphasizing that it was a safe place for “boys who crush on boys,” or “girls who crush on girls,” but that all were welcome. Upon learning about the clubs, about 50 EGUSD parents complained at a school board meeting this month, lamenting that they weren’t informed, and calling that a violation of their parental rights.
Here we go again “Parental Rights” to discriminate against others! It is “MY” rights, screw your rights!
Christian conservative groups such as the California Family Council got involved, and the story made its way to conservative host Jesse Waters’ Fox News program. The National Center for Law & Policy, a Christian conservative nonprofit law firm based in Escondido, sent the school district a cease and desist letter last week, threatening legal action if the schools do not discontinue the clubs.
Here we go again “Religious Freedom” to impose our religion on you! We don’t care what your religion is we want you to follow our beliefs!
Five other schools in the district also have Rainbow Clubs, which are elementary school equivalents of Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) clubs, where students play board games at lunch and spread an anti-bullying message. Recent studies show that schools with these clubs show fewer instances of bullying and harassment not just of LGBTQ students, but the student body overall.

Posters for the club at Markofer Elementary in Elk Grove show a rainbow with the school mascot. The club is “a safe, healthy, anti-bully space for all children” in 5th and 6th grades. The poster promises “fun, games, and learning with friends.”

[…]

“Members are expected to be kind to everyone and be welcoming to diversity. They spread anti-bullying messages, and they talk about growth-mindset and ways to handle stress.”
OMG! What are they teaching the kids? The next thing you know they will be teaching the children that diversity is good, that equality is righteous.
California’s Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act, which former Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in 2011, requires that elementary school students learn about LGBTQ history and important historical figures. The EDUSD updated its K-8 social studies curriculum in 2019 to include more history of LGBTQ and disability rights.
And don’t forget the Supreme Court’s Good News Club v. Milford Center School and their First Amendment ruling, which by the way it was because the school allowed clubs but just not the Christian club. It seems so ironic that the Christian clubs are trying to ban LGBTQ+ clubs.
 
This has already been settled in the East High Gay/Straight Alliance v. Board of Education of Salt Lake City School District where a school violated the federal Equal Access Act by banning LGBTQ clubs.

My favorite song from South Pacific

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a different shade—
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate—
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

It is so true, and that is what the right-wingers are afraid of that they cannot teach their children to hate.

Parental Rights Part 1

Have you notices that the conservatives are always crying “Parental Rights!” but it is only their rights not others. Is it “Parental Rights” to prevent teachers from saying anything about LGBTQ+ students or is it just plain out and out bigotry?
When former President Trump announced last year that, if reelected, he would ‘stop’ gender-affirming care for minors, which he described as ‘child abuse’ and ‘child sexual mutilation,’ he was advancing a strategic political effort to restrict the rights of transgender and nonbinary students barreling through state and federal legislatures. Initially masked as attempts to define the rights of parents to regulate discussions of gender identity in schools, these bills have rapidly progressed to bans on gender-affirming care for trans and nonbinary children. In 2023, states around the country introduced at least 142 bills to restrict healthcare for trans and nonbinary people, three times more than the previous year. 80% of these bills target children under 18 and seep into multiple spheres of the lives of trans children and families in a coordinated effort to question and threaten the very existence of trans people.

[…]

This broad sweep of proposed bills and codified laws is championed as an attempt to protect the interests of children by shielding them from ideologies deemed harmful by politicians. Nonbinary and trans children are already at an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, attributed to experiencing higher levels of social rejection, bullying, and societal stigma. One study, contributing to existing evidence of gender-affirming interventions, found that access was associated with lower rates of depression and suicidal ideations over 12 months among trans and nonbinary young people.

Young people who were able to use their chosen name in any context experienced 71% fewer symptoms of severe depression, a 34% decrease in reported thoughts of suicide, and a 65% decrease in suicidal attempts compared to their peers who could not. So, with ample evidence that gender-affirming care helps and does not harm children, it is questionable how these bills are designed to support thriving children.
But this is not new, the Republicans know all this and don’t care because they want to stir up their homophobic and transphobic base. They know that these laws are causing harm but to them votes and power are more important than lives.
These bills are not rooted in protecting the welfare of all children, rather they are tools of political manipulation to galvanize a base of voters who may have genuine fears about their children. They are fueled by extremists interested in the privatization of public education who also attempted to manipulate legislation restricting teaching, race, and racism in schools. These groups, such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, and the Liberty Council (among others), are on record as the driving force behind “parents’ rights” bills that target children and public education.
These right-wingers are all about “Parental Rights” and “Religious Freedom” but those are only for them, they don’t see that their “Parental Rights” are oppressing other parents of their rights. That their “Religious Freedom” comes at the repression of other religions.

Yes, it is one-sided with these conservatives it is all about “ME” and not us.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

They Want Us!

With all they sports bans on trans athletes, one sport is welcoming us with open arms!
AP News
BY PHILIP MARCELO
March 27, 2024


They zip around the rink, armed with helmets, pads and mouthguards. They push, bump and occasionally crash out as they jostle for position on the hardwood floor.

But for the women of the Long Island Roller Rebels, their biggest battle is taking place outside the suburban strip-mall roller rink where they’re girding for the upcoming roller derby season.

The nearly 20-year-old amateur league is suing a county leader over an executive order meant to prevent women’s and girl’s leagues and teams with transgender players from using county-run parks and fields. The league’s legal effort, backed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, has thrust it into the national discussion over the rights of transgender athletes.

Amanda Urena, the league’s vice president, said there was never any question the group would take a stand.

“The whole point of derby has been to be this thing where people feel welcome,” said the 32-year-old Long Island native, who competes as “Curly Fry” and identifies as queer, at a recent practice at United Skates of America in Seaford. “We want trans women to know that we want you to come play with us, and we’ll do our very best to keep fighting and making sure that this is a safe space for you to play.”
I knew of a trans woman who was on a local roller derby team, until she broke something and decided it wasn’t her sport.
The latest revival started in the early 2000s and has been sustained by LGBTQ+ people, with leagues frequently taking part in Pride parades and holding fundraising matches, Atwell said.

“You come in here and you say, ‘I’m a trans woman. I’m a nonbinary person. I’m genderqueer.’ OK? We accept you,” said Caitlin Carroll, a Roller Rebel who competes as “Catastrophic Danger.” “The world is scary enough. You should have a safe place to be.”
Um… I don’t how to put this to you but roller derbies is not exactly for cupcakes, it is known for broken bones. As my friend showed. But they are also very LGBTQ+ friendly!
The ban could even lead to cisgender female athletes who are strong and muscular being falsely labeled transgender and disqualified, as has happened elsewhere, said Shane Diamond, a transgender man who plays recreational LGBTQ+ ice hockey in New York City.

“It creates a system where any young woman who doesn’t fit the stereotypical idea of femininity and womanhood is at risk of having her gender questioned or gender policed,” Diamond said.
We have seen it this past February when ABC News wrote,
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and other local leaders are calling for the resignation of Utah state school board member Natalie Cline after she falsely suggested a girl playing on a high school basketball team was transgender in a now-deleted Facebook post.

The girl quickly became the target of threats and harassment online, with the girl's family speaking out about the incident in an interview with Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX.
The British newspaper Independent reported that,
A grandparent shut down a school sports event when he falsely accused a nine-year-old with a “pixie” haircut of being trans.

The youngster was taking part in a shot-put competition when the relative of one of the other participants disrupted the event in the Canadian town of Kelowna, British Columbia.

“She went to step up to compete for the grade four shot-put final, and right before she went to throw, a grandfather of a student said, ‘Hey, this is supposed to be a girls’ event, and why are you letting boys compete.’ My daughter is cisgender, born female, uses she/her pronouns. She has a pixie haircut,” her mother Heidi Starr told Castanet.
Also in Canada CBC reported,
A B.C. family has garnered sympathy online — and international media attention — after sharing what they described as an incident in which a man questioned their nine-year-old daughter's gender during a sporting event.

They say the incident occurred during a track-and-field meet at the Apple Bowl Stadium in Kelowna, B.C., organized by the Central Okanagan School District for elementary school students.

Heidi Starr said her daughter, who is cisgender and has a pixie cut, was preparing for a shot put contest when a man approached a parent volunteer, pointed to the nine-year-old and, mistaking her for a boy, questioned why a boy was participating in a girls' event.
The gender police are going after anyone who do not fit their idea of what a girl should look like.

They Got A Big Problem!

You probably all have seen the news about the NCAA Women’s Tournament racist incident in Idaho, well the state has bigger problem than that one incident.
Officials in Idaho tried to apologize Tuesday for the racism the University of Utah's women's basketball team faced in Coeur d'Alene before an NCAA tournament game at Gonzaga.

Yes, but: They abruptly shut down the news conference when a far-right operative began shouting questions at a human rights advocate.
In another news article, this one in the Idaho Statesman…
BY IAN MAX By STEVENSON
MARCH 27, 2024


Far-right influencers in Idaho on Tuesday were quick to cast doubt on reports that the University of Utah women’s basketball team attending the NCAA Tournament left Coeur d’Alene after its members were repeatedly shouted at with racial slurs.

The incident prompted statements from Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, both of whom condemned the actions of people in the North Idaho city who shouted racial slurs, including the N-word, at team members who were staying at the Coeur d’Alene Resort for the tournament in Spokane, Washington, according to accounts by city and county leaders. Law enforcement said they were investigating the case as a possible hate crime.

The driver of a truck displaying a Confederate flag revved its engine alongside the on-foot team members and shouted racial epithets at them as they walked to and from dinner at a restaurant, according to Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations Secretary Tony Stewart. When they later left the restaurant, team members faced a larger group of people who revved their engines and continued to shout racial slurs, according to Stewart and previous Idaho Statesman reporting.
That is there usual tactic blame the others. It is never the racist’s fault, when the oppressed speak up then they are the ones being belligerent and the aggressor, we saw that with the death of Nix Bennett, they blame here because after all the bullying and harassment Nix threw water at her tormentors.
Dave Reilly, a far-right agitator who has faced repeated accusations of antisemitism and racism, heckled city leaders in Coeur d’Alene who held a news conference Tuesday, according to the Spokesman-Review, after which the news conference quickly concluded.

Reilly on radio station KBOI claimed he didn’t doubt the incident occurred but questioned the news conference “conveniently happening” one day after Little signed a new state law banning practices of diversity, equity and inclusion in state government and at state universities. But he also posted Tuesday that there was a Jussie Smollett ”incident going on,” in reference to a false hate crime reported by the celebrity, and called it “a big nothingburger” designed to take over the local Republican Party.

The Idaho Tribune, a far-right blog, posted on social media that “the group promoting the alleged ‘hate crime’ in Coeur d’Alene has a long history of hate hoaxes in the past” and blamed the Human Rights Education Institute for “manipulating the situation for political gain.” The Tribune’s post referenced the Education Institute’s employment of Rachel Dolezal, a former NAACP leader and white woman who became known for claiming she was Black. (Jeanette Laster, executive director of the Education Institute, confirmed Dolezal previously worked at the institute, before Laster worked there, but told the Statesman there was no indication she brought forward “hoaxes” about hate crimes.)
That is how they operate, they sit there with their little halos all innocent like.
Rep. Heather Scott, a North Idaho Republican whose district includes parts of Kootenai County, posted on X while the news conference was ongoing and about 20 minutes after Little released his statement. Scott wrote that people are too “gullible” and that “we see obvious lies in the media on certain topics then rush back to believe the same liars.”
Idaho is turning in to a citadel of white supremacy and Christian Nationalism.

It Is Going To Be Hard.

It is going to be hard to prove a bias crime in the case of the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament where the Utah Women’s team was racially abused.
Members of the Utah women’s basketball team have been left “deeply troubled and shaken” by what team officials called “hateful and disturbing” racial abuse ahead of their NCAA tournament opening game.

The team has filed a police report and is now releasing more details of what it says occurred in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Thursday ahead of a game against South Dakota State in Spokane, Washington, which is about 30 miles away.

According to a statement from Utah Athletics Director Mark Harlan, deputy AD Charmelle Green and women’s basketball coach Lynne Roberts, the team was on its way to dinner when a vehicle drove past and “shouted racial epithets at the group.”

Later, when the team was on its way back from dinner, a vehicle drove slowly past the group, “revving its engine” while the occupants again shouted “racially disparaging words and threats,” the statement said.

It added: “As can be imagined, many students, staff and other members of the traveling party were deeply disturbed and fearful after the incidents, in what should be a safe and enjoyable experience.”

In an interview with CNN affiliate KSL, Green said that the N-word had been shouted at the team on each of the two occasions.

Police have opened an investigation.
Well it will be very, very hard to get past the First Amendment if all they did was yell racial slurs then it will be really hard to prove a crime was committed. But if as the article states, “racially disparaging words and threats,” made the threats then it goes beyond speech and now includes the possibility of violence.

For better or worst, the First Amendment gives wide latitude to what is protected speech. I hope that they can prove that threats were made then criminal charges can be filed.

There was a case at the University of Connecticut where some students as they walked across the parking lots were and yelling racial slurs and they were arrested and thrown out of school. The students won on First Amendment grounds and are now suing the school and police.

Cuckoo Award


Today’s Cuckoo Award does not go to an individual but instead to a group of people who believe that the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse was done by a clandestine organization.

A familiar pattern played out in the hours following Tuesday's bridge collapse in Baltimore: social media influencers and right-wing media figures began spreading conspiracy theories and baseless rumors about the disaster.

[…]

But some large accounts on social media platforms including X, formerly known as Twitter, were quick to suggest otherwise. Andrew Tate, an online influencer with 9 million followers on X who has been indicted on human trafficking and rape charges in Romania, claimed without evidence that that the ship had been "cyber-attacked" in a post viewed 13.4 million times. (The post carries a "Community Note" — the platform's user-generated fact-checking feature — stating that the incident is still being investigated and that his assertion was "speculation.")
Cuckoo, cuckoo!
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has been ordered to pay $1.5 billion to the families of victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting, which Jones has falsely claimed was a "false flag," amplified Tate's baseless suggestion to his own 2.2 million X followers, saying "A cyber-attack is probable. WW3 has already started."

Researcher Mike Rothschild, who has written books about QAnon and other conspiracy theories, said it has become "standard" for any unexpected event "to be run through a filter of conspiracy theories based on the personal brand of the person spreading the theory."
So today’s Cuckoo Award goes to the conspiracy theorist.
 

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

One Of My Pet Issues

Let’s face it, getting old sure beats the alternative of pushing up daises.
New report outlines problems faced by LGBTQ+ nursing home residents
Bay Area Reporter
By Lou Chibbaro Jr., Washington Blade
March 25, 2024


A recently published academic journal article by two University of Indiana researchers reports on problems faced by LGBTQ+ older adults living in the nation's nursing homes and recommends actions nursing homes should take to ensure LGBTQ+ residents are treated equitably and without bias.

The article, entitled "Postacute Care and Long-Term Care for LGBTQ+ Older Adults," was published November 9 in the peer reviewed journal Clinics In Geriatric Medicine. It is co-authored by geriatric physician Jennifer L. Carnahan, a research scientist with the Regenstrief Institute, which is affiliated with Indiana University's Center for Aging Research and Andrew C. Picket, an elder care researcher and assistant professor at Indiana University's School of Public Health in Bloomington. Carnahan also serves as an assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

"Cultivating an inclusive and LGBTQ+ culturally competent nursing home culture means that all staff and clinicians should receive training specific to working with this group and time should be allocated for this to reduce staff burden," the article states.

It points out that while some older LGBTQ+ adults fear being forced into the closet while in a nursing home, "they also simultaneously fear unwanted disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity status, and their autonomy should be respected either way."
As a senior trans woman this is one of my concerns. What will happen when you are one trans woman in a long tern care facility with a 100 residents?

I don’t care if the LTC facility is LGBTQ friendly or it takes is one or two MAGAs in the facility to make your life miserable. All it takes are the magic words… It is against my sincerely deeply held religious beliefs that it is my “god given right to discriminate.”
Among the article's recommendations is that when new residents are being admitted to a nursing home, whether for short term or long term, "standard practice should be to ask sexual orientation and gender identity questions of every new resident along with other demographic identifiers." Doing this "normalizes sexual and gender minority status," and can also "help to reduce the invisibility and health disparities" that LGBTQ+ nursing home residents experience.

"For transgender individuals, the personal care received in nursing homes can be supportive, as intended, or traumatic," the article states. When nursing home staff provide assistance to transgender persons unable to care for themselves, "such as toileting or bathing, they may become newly aware of a resident's transgender status," the article says, adding, "If staff are not prepared for such an unintentional outing and how to react in a supportive manner, they may demonstrate microaggressions." That type of biased reaction can be psychologically harmful for a transgender resident, the report states.
Here is another thought, I was diagnosed with “Gender Dysphoria,” 302.85 (F64. 9). Now if you are in a LTC facility and one of the residents asked a worker at the LTC facility, “Is that one of the trans people?” and the employee answers yes. You just won a million dollars!  Hold it wait… as far as I know when you go into a LTC you sign a bunch of papers and one of those forms states that you agree to binding arbitration! Strike that winning a million dollars, the arbitrator rules yes, they did violate HIPAA but rules that the employee was at fault not the LTC… sorry no judgment in your favor.
The article points to a 2018 survey conducted by AARP, which advocates for people over the age of 50, that found most LGBTQ+ older adults, when considering entering a nursing home, "anticipate neglect, abuse, refusal of services, harassment, and being forced back into the closet."

The article says this fear of abuse and stigmatization may be related to older LGBTQ+ adults' experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ bias in their younger years.

"Health care workers across disciplines are not well trained in care for LGBTQ+ older adults," the article says. "Stereotypes and inadequate knowledge of the LGBTQ+ population are not uncommon among those who care for older adults," it says. And it says LGBTQ+ residents in nursing homes may also face stigmatization from other residents.

There are efforts around the country to make LTC and senior center aware of the needs for culture training, but in most of the Republican states that effort is being snuffed.

So not only are the Republicans going after youth LGBTQ+ programs but they going after senior programs also.
 

 
This week is National LGBTQ+ Health Awareness Week, I bet you didn’t know that. I sure didn’t.

National LGBTQIA+ Health Awareness Week
By One Colorado
March 21, 2024


What is National LGBTQIA+ Health Awareness Week?

National LGBTQIA+ Health Awareness Week takes place annually in the third week of March. This initiative focuses on enhancing accessible, affirming, and inclusive healthcare for LGBTQ+ communities, highlighting the significance of collective action towards healthcare equity. National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week was established in 2003 by the National Coalition for LGBTQ Health, a leading organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community through advocacy, education, and research.

[…]

Older Adults

Older adults face issues of mistreatment by health care, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, social isolation and lack of resources. Despite paving the way for LGBTQ+ rights, older adults are often not given the appreciation or recognition as the elders that have built our community to what it is today. As there is still much that needs to be done, we must strive to expand access to LGBTQ+ inclusive housing, gender affirming care, and services that promote healthy aging. One Colorado partners with SAGE, the national advocacy and services organization for LGBTQ+ elders, to stay informed on issues affecting LGBTQ+ older adults and ensure that legislation is inclusive of all community members regardless of age.

There Are No Bias Crimes!

So why do we need laws? Well that is the thinking of the Idaho Republicans.
If someone robs you, is that ever considered a love crime?  If someone punches you in the face, is that a sign the guy is a good neighbor?  If someone poisons your dog, is that a sign they care?

I’ve never been a fan of hate crime laws.  If you beat someone up, it’s against the law.  No matter their ancestry, lifestyle preference, or religion.  Hate crime laws are redundant.  They’re used to increase sentences or leverage for guilty pleas.

A pair of Idaho Legislators would like to change some of that, and liberal media isn’t happy.  The story I saw is behind a paywall at the Idaho Statesman.  First, I know the Statesman needs to make a profit to keep the lights on.  The initial offer for a subscription is a good deal.  Later, you’ll pay through the nose for a vastly depleted product.

But I digress.  Liberal media sees hostiles everywhere on the American right.  Put on a MAGA hat and you’re an immediate villain looking to exercise your violent instincts anywhere on the streets.  So, the media, like fellow travelers in the Democrat Party want you controlled.  Pile up some more rules.  Create etiquette laws and then use those to silence dissent.  The warped wretches in American newsrooms don’t plan to listen to any arguments against their position.  In their minds, they see themselves surrounded by enemies, and opposition to hate crimes legislation tags you as a bad guy.
Lets see what made the news headline from Idaho this weekend?
A racial attack in North Idaho is an infuriating reminder that Idaho still has much more work to do to purge ourselves of the hateful scourge of white supremacy and racism.

The Utah women’s basketball team was playing in Spokane for the NCAA Tournament but was staying in a hotel in Coeur d’Alene because of a lack of hotel rooms in Spokane, according to KSL.com, which first reported the story.

While the basketball team, the band and the cheerleading team were walking to a restaurant Thursday night, a white truck got near the team and revved its engine, and its occupants then yelled the N-word toward the team before speeding off, according to KSL.

“We all just were in shock, and we looked at each other like, did we just hear that? … Everybody was in shock — our cheerleaders, our students that were in that area that heard it clearly were just frozen,” Utah deputy athletics director Charmelle Green, who is Black, told KSL.com. “We kept walking, just shaking our heads, like I can’t believe that.”

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Two hours later, after dinner, as they left the restaurant, two trucks showed up and revved their engines and their occupants yelled the N-word again.

It’s like a bad scene out of a cliche movie about racism in the segregated South in the 1950s.

But here it is happening in real life in Idaho in 2024.
Naw, they don’t need a fascist bias crime law in Idaho.

Going back to last November…
Man sentenced for federal hate crimes against Idaho LGBTQ+ community
Matthew Lehigh was first arrested in October 2022 after Boise police received reports of him yelling threats, slurs
Idaho Capital Sun
BY: MIA MALDONADO
NOVEMBER 2, 2023


Almost a year ago, Brett Perry and John Michael Schert came to their North End home to discover that their pride flag outside had been burned. On Thursday, the couple saw the perpetrator, Matthew Lehigh, sentenced to prison on federal hate crime charges.

The conviction marks the second time an anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime has ever been brought to court and prosecuted in Idaho, according to District of Idaho spokesperson Cassandra Fulghum.

Lehigh, 32, was first arrested in Oct. 2022 after Boise police received reports of him yelling threats, anti-LGBTQ+ slurs and driving his car toward people. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Lehigh later admitted also to setting fire to the pride flag in the North End, breaking several windows at an LGBTQ+ community building, and punching a grocery store customer after calling him a slur.

Local authorities could not pursue Lehigh’s actions as a hate crime, because the Idaho Human Rights Act does not protect people based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But in January, the U.S. Department of Justice stepped in and indicted Lehigh on federal hate crime charges.

At a federal courthouse in Boise Thursday, federal Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Lehigh to federal prison for 37 months. Winmill also ordered Lehigh to pay $200 in court fees and $7,000 in restitution to victims.

Following his prison sentence, Lehigh will be placed under three years of supervised release.
Idaho doesn’t need any bias crime laws, there are no hate crimes there!

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Your Voucher Please!

Those of you who follow my blog know that I am against student vouchers, as more states use them our public schools are feeling the pinch. Take this with a grain of salt but there is some truth here.
School vouchers are being used mainly by families whose children are already in private school—and state budgets are being drained as a result.
NEA
By: Tim Walker, Senior Writer
February 2, 2024


Key Takeaways:
  • Since the enactment of universal school voucher programs, states are struggling with the programs’ cost and lack of transparency and accountability.
  • Overwhelmingly, school vouchers are being used by families with children already in private school to subsidize their tuition.
  • Voucher programs’ skyrocketing costs will divert funding not only from public schools, but also other critical public services.
In December 2022, Arizona became the first state in the nation to enact a universal school voucher program. The Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA), as it is called, provides roughly $7,000 of taxpayer dollars per child to cover a wide array of broadly defined “educational expenses,” including private school tuition, home-schooling, and other private expenses—with very few strings, if any, attached.  

Enrollment has skyrocketed, quickly surpassing 70,000 students by the beginning of 2024. 

While it may still be growing, Arizona’s ESA voucher program is also a fiasco. All the promises made over the past year by the law’s most zealous supporters have run aground amid reports detailing the program’s astronomical cost and lax accountability. Voucher laws generally do not require any sort of disclosure from private schools about their finances, how they operate, or how they measure student achievement. Arizona’s is one of the least accountable voucher programs in the nation.
I am totally against vouchers because it siphons funds from public education, because they cherry pick the best, and because they can discriminate and that is what makes this a trans issue, they can discriminate against us with impunity. 
For school privatization advocates, the lack of oversight and other failings are a feature, not a bug.  

“These lawmakers don’t care about the strain on the budget or what this does to our schools and our communities,” says Michael McGowan, a high school teacher in Glendale. “It’s just an attack on public education. Taking money out of the system, draining resources, weakening our schools— that’s the point.” 
I like the way Connecticut does it with magnet schools, private companies run what I call specialty, that have schools for the arts, sciences, etc. and they are open to all students. Some of the funding however does go to religious schools that can discriminate.
When it was being debated, educators and community organizations urged opposition to the program. They warned that far from serving lower income families, vouchers would serve private school families, siphon valuable funds from public schools, and disrupt and destabilize the state budget. 

All of that, and more, has happened across the state.   
Those that were already sending their children to private schools continued sending them but with lower tuition. Meanwhile public schools funding went down with middle to lower income students. 
This disturbing trend can be seen in other states that have enacted sweeping voucher laws. When Ohio expanded access to its "EdChoice" voucher program in 2020, the percentage of participating students who were already enrolled in private school jumped from 7 percent in 2019 to 55 percent in 2023. And new data from the Iowa Department of Education reveal that two-thirds of students in that state who received a voucher were, again, already enrolled in private school, and only about 13% of recipients had ever previously attended a public school.
This is just a subsidy for the rich while screwing the pour and at the same time cutting the safety net of WIC, SNAP, and other social programs.

The Republicans have cut the top income level brackets and putting the tax burden on the middle and low income workers.

Whoa! Our Body Strength Really Makes A Difference In This Sport!

We are always getting called out in any sports even in the sport of darts! Now there is a sport that just doesn’t make any sense to have men and women’s teams, but…
Trans darts player speaks out amid abuse over event win: ‘I am also a human being’
Transgender darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven is facing abuse online after winning a professional women’s series event, beating the world number one along the way.
The Pink News
By Sophie Perry
March 25, 2024


Having beaten Beau Graves in the quarter finals of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event, Dutch player Noa-Lynn van Leuven, 27, went on to triumph over Ireland’s Katie Sheldon in the final in Wigan on Saturday (23 March), to take home the £2,000 prize.

Leuven’s 5-2 victory comes a week after she made history by becoming the first trans player to win a PDC tour event, on the Challenge Tour in Germany – an event open to both men and women.

But her win has been followed by a torrent of transphobic abuse on social media, including misgendering Leuven and claiming she is “only” trans to win darts titles.

[…]

In sports, there should be an equal and fair playing field. I hope with all my heart and for all women in sports that people come to their senses.”
Okay, why is there a male and female teams in darts? It seems to me that darts do not require physical strength but rather hand eye coordination.
She waited three of four years after transitioning to get back to playing darts, she said.

“I was playing darts for nine years and I was missing something in life, then I started playing again. I missed the game, I missed the people.”
So it seems to me that the only reason why that are a men’s and women’s dart teams is so they can hand out two trophies.

Top End Sports writes,
There are many other sports in which skill is predominantly the main factor of success, which you can realistically see women being competitive with the men. Sports such as darts, archery, shooting, auto-racing and tenpin bowling could potentially have women competing at the elite level against the men, however it is not often the case. This is because there are other factors other than physiology and skill which determine the success of women on the sporting field. The lack of opportunity and encouragement of women to play sport in many parts of the world results in fewer women playing sport, resulting in a smaller talent pool and therefore less chance of women being successful.
STOP Right There! Did you catch, “Sports such as darts, archery, shooting…” it seems that there is no problem with women competing in men’s sport. That skill is a major factors and not physiology.
Over the years, several women have taken on the men at their own game, with varying success. At a swimming meet in 1922, female backstroker Sybil Bauer finished the 440-yard event in a time of 6:24.8, which was about four seconds ahead of the then men's world record mark. In more recent times, Danica Patrick in auto racing and Kelly Kulick on the Professional Bowlers Association tour have shown that women can compete and win on an individual basis.
But as soon a trans woman completes all the conservatives get up in a tizzy.
 
Major League Baseball allows men and women to play in MLB! The Baseball Hall of Fame writes.
For four years, the professional baseball world got to experience something that it had rarely seen before: A woman on the diamond.

From 1997-2000, Ila Borders pitched in 52 minor league baseball games with four different teams, finishing with a 2-4 record and 6.75 ERA.
A barrier was broken! With no jumping up and down by the conservatives. Can you imagine if it was a trans woman who did that?

The Bleacher Report has an article, 20 Great Women Who Can Play with the Men.
    WNBA star Candace Parker plays forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, but she has some experience competing with the boys.

    Two years after becoming the first girl in Illinois to dunk a basketball in a high school game, Parker won the 2004 McDonald's High School All-American dunk contest in Oklahoma City, competing against some of the top male athletes in the country.

[…]

    In 2006, Alaskan high school sophomore Michaela Hutchison became the first girl in the country to win a state wrestling title while competing against boys.

    Hutchison won the 103-pound weight class at the state championship and entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in her weight class.
Now here is a sport that shouldn’t have a men and women’s division… Competitive eating!
    Sonya Thomas is a competitive eater who holds dozens of world records and is better known by her nickname, The Black Widow. Don't let her 98-pound frame fool you, Thomas is ranked No. 6 in the world.

    In 2011, Thomas won the U.S. Chicken Wing Eating Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. She ate 183 chicken wings in 12 minutes—beating her previous world record mark set a year earlier.

[…]

    Dutch Muay Thai fighter Germaine De Randamie began competing in Strikeforce in 2011 and is an up-and-coming talent in MMA.

    De Randamie is best known for her 2007 fight with Belgian actor Tom Waes, who had agreed to fight her after just three months of training. He was knocked out in the first round.
Hey we don’t want any trans women racing… but why? If a woman can win in the men’s division why have a men’s and women’s division?
    In May 2011, Canadian golfer Isabelle Beisiegel became the first female golfer in history to earn a playing card on the men's professional tour.

    Several women, including Annika Sorestam and Michelle Wie, have played in individual events in recent years—but Beisiegel's achievement sets her apart from them.
Question: if men and women can compete on the same team and women can win along side of men, why segregate teams into men’s and women’s team?

This is nothing more than an attempt to stir up anomsity against the trans community.

Monday, March 25, 2024

Just Don’t Go.

If you don’t like them then just don’t go, that is too simple of an answer, instead they want to control what you say and read.
'Love always wins': Drag queen story time organizers push forward despite criticism, threats online
The Cincinnati group has held various similar events since 2019, but they say the response to an upcoming Milford event is more "volatile"
WCPO
By: Andrew Rowan
March 23, 2024


A children’s literacy event planned next month in Milford is getting both intense support and criticism because it’s being hosted by local drag queens.

The Cincinnati Sisters, a non-profit with a mission to spread “love and joy while expiating stigmatic guilt” is partnering with Milford bookstore The Bookmatters for a drag queen story time April 6.

[…]

Since 2019, they’ve held several story time events. Sister Goetta said each book has a message of acceptance and love, to show “whatever your difference is from everybody, you’re accepted in this world.”
The nerve of them promoting love and understanding! Sacrilege, blasphemy how dare they encourage peace and understanding of those who march to a different drum then what the conservatives believe.
The Louisiana Legislature and other lawmakers around the country will attempt to further marginalize the LGBTQ+ community through new laws, and you can expect more distortions of truth when their authors and proponents argue for their approval.

Drag queens and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or asexual will be blamed for all things ranging from climate change to the Kennedy assassinations.

Another version of the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill will go before Louisiana lawmakers this session, with better odds the governor will endorse it into law. Lawmakers will also consider a so-called “bathroom bill” that not so subtly targets transgender people.

More fact-challenged conflation from proponents of these measures is all but certain.

But what you won’t hear are inconvenient truths, such as the disproportionate share of authority figures who are perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
I have a theory, that they Republicans think we are child abuser because they are. I think that they think that because they do it everyone must be one.
Now if you look hard enough, it’s certain you’ll find a gay person or drag queen who’s been accused or convicted of a sex crime. Like the rest of us, they’re not perfect people. But such instances are nowhere near as frequent as you’ll find among church leaders, educators and law enforcement — all figures of authority who are frequently given the benefit of doubt.  

Yet no one has suggested creating laws to treat police, teachers or clergy as lower-status members of society. Their basic civil rights or pursuit of chosen livelihoods have not been hindered. To the contrary, people frequently go out of their way to place them on a pedestal, often ignoring whatever transgressions their peers might have committed.

Meanwhile, people under the LGBTQ+ umbrella and drag queens automatically earn a negative connotation, or they’re blamed for some societal ill with absolutely no evidence to support it.
Well you see the right-wing conservative don’t want to believe that because it will not fit their narrative of us. They want to stir up anger against us so that they will vote Republican. They really don’t want he truth because the truth shows their lies.

So if you don't like Drag Queens reading the classics children books to children... just don't go. But don't prevent others from going.



I saw this headline and thought, "Here the Republicans go again!" until I read the article...


Georgia's ruling party on Monday introduced a bill curtailing LGBT rights, a move seen by opponents as an attempt to boost its popularity ahead of elections in the conservative South Caucasus country, a candidate for European Union membership.

The draft law would ban sex changes and adoption by same-sex couples, as well as prohibiting "gatherings aimed at popularising same-sex family or intimate relationships", according to a summary published by the Georgian Dream party.

Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the party's parliamentary caucus and a driving force behind the bill, said the law was necessary to protect "family values and our future generations" from what he called "pseudo-liberal values".

In a post on Facebook, the Tbilisi Pride LGBT rights organisation called the proposed bill "homophobic".

The country's opposition has said that Georgian Dream's anti-LGBT agenda is an attempt to shore up its support among conservatives and distract voters from economic problems ahead of parliamentary elections due by October.
Conservatives worldwide are using us as a stepping stone to power!

Banning The Ban.

The groomers are banning more books and more books, they want to not only control what their children read but also your children. They want to control what your children can say, they want to bring down the education of your children to their level of restraint.
New legislation would prohibit banning books in public and school libraries based on content or subjective objections.

The bill, which some are calling ‘a ban on book bans,’ has been introduced in both the Minnesota House and the Minnesota Senate.

“I’ve got three daughters, and my goal as a parent is to make sure they’re critical thinkers, make sure that they can take care of themselves, make sure they can think for themselves, make sure they can challenge when they need to challenge,” said Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, the author of the House bill.

“That is how we prepare our kids and our youth for the world. So anytime I see a movement that is about shutting off the very thing, the very ideals that can allow for our kids to be those critical thinkers, for our kids to be the next not only state and regional, and national leaders, but world leaders. I have a problem with that.”

[…]

The American Library Association reports there were 1,247 attempts to censor library materials in 2023, challenging more than 4,200 titles. That’s up around 2,600 titles targeted in the previous year.

Their report says titles representing voices of LGBTQIA+ and Black, Indigenous or People of Color made up 47 percent of the titles targeted by censorship.

Gov. Tim Walz, who strongly backs the bill, said it is an issue he sees no gray area in.
Here in Connecticut we have a bill to ban book bannings,
H.B. No. 5417 AN ACT CONCERNING PUBLIC SCHOOL LIBRARIES.
To require local and regional boards of education to state a reason for removing or restricting access to public school library materials and prohibiting such boards from removing or restricting access to such materials for certain reasons.
However, since this is a short session the odds of this passing are slim, but we can listen to the comments about the bill and tweak it for next year.



But in other states book bannings are still a hot topic.
Illinois students have the opportunity to vote on their favorite books each year across several different age groups. The most well-known and longest-running is the Rebecca Caudill Awards, which began in 1988.

The Rebecca Caudill Awards are selected by fourth through eighth grade students across the state annually. The books which earn the coveted honor are selected based on both their literary excellence and their appeal to the middle age reading demographic. The award helps to encourage reading for pleasure among tweens and young teens, to develop a statewide list of excellent literature for this age group, and to help develop cooperation and collaboration among schools and libraries statewide.
Allowing students to vote on books is a big No, No for conservatives the students might vote the wrong way for the Republicans.
But for one suburban Chicago school district, the Rebecca Caudill Awards will be no more.

Wadsworth, Illinois, boasts a population of just over 3,000. It is located north of Chicago and parts of the town touch the Wisconsin border. The community school district includes students in neighboring communities, including Lindenhurst and Old Mill Creek. At the most recent school board meeting on March 18, 2024, the Millburn School District 24 Board brought up participation in the Caudill awards. This came a week after the Committee of the Whole, when the elementary media specialist and the middle school media specialist presented on three readers choice awards offered by the state. Joining them was a parent in the district who also works as a media specialist in a nearby district. That parent is a member of the Rebecca Caudill Steering Committee–also known as someone involved in helping make the program a success.
You know the kids they might just vote for books that they like and not the books that they “shouldn’t read.”
For several minutes, the board argues about whether or not the list is left wing, beginning at minute 1:24:00. The board member complaining noted that he hadn’t read any of the books except one his son brought home, and he felt deeply offended by. He felt it inappropriate to have the book on a list to be celebrated.

The book in question was Stamped:  (For Kids) Racism, Antiracism, and You. It appeared on the 2024 Caudill list, and it was a title selected for the award by 5-8th grade students in Illinois.
The never of those students voting for a book that the right-wingers said that they shouldn’t have read!
For several minutes, the board argues about whether or not the list is left wing, beginning at minute 1:24:00. The board member complaining noted that he hadn’t read any of the books except one his son brought home, and he felt deeply offended by. He felt it inappropriate to have the book on a list to be celebrated.

The book in question was Stamped:  (For Kids) Racism, Antiracism, and You. It appeared on the 2024 Caudill list, and it was a title selected for the award by 5-8th grade students in Illinois.
Shame, shame the children don’t listen to their elders!
Members of the community have put together a petition to draw attention to the ending of this program that encourages reading and participation in the literary arts.
We can’t have the kids reading… they might become… liberals! And think for themselves.
 
Then down in Florida,
Ron DeSantis’s next chapter in book bans backlash? Blame someone else
The Florida governor has blamed the chaos over legislation he signed on teachers, librarians, political rivals – and now school principals
The Guardian
By Richard Luscombe
March 12, 2024


In the two years since Ron DeSantis signed legislation sparking a tidal wave of book-banning in Florida’s classrooms, the Republican governor has blamed the ensuing chaos on a succession of foils – including teachers, librarians, the news media and political opponents.

Now, another group has joined those in his crosshairs: school principals. A proposed new rule by an education standards committee led by a DeSantis loyalist seeks to impose penalties on administrators deemed to have obstructed the state’s view of what students should be reading.

The rule was pitched by Randy Kosec, head of the professional practices office that investigates educator misconduct, earlier this month after the governor requested officials to “fine-tune” the process by which books are challenged in schools.
The governor is doubling down on those who defy him!
“This is another scapegoating, but at the end of the day it’s an admission by this administration that they know there’s a problem,” said Katie Blankenship, Florida director of PEN America, which recorded 1,406 book ban incidents in the state in the 2022 school year, 40% of the national total.

“Book bans in our state have spiraled out of control and DeSantis and Diaz know it. Their actual job would be to fix the bill, but using this ‘it’s not our fault’ scapegoating, it’s not addressing the harm the law is doing.”
Woe be to those who do not follow the will of the dear leader!