Onward, Christian soldiers!

Trump denies Project 2025 but he sure likes to follow their tenants, like making the country in a Christian nation! Trump has even come and said that is his goal in four years!

Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!

Trump urges Christians to vote: ‘You won’t have to do it’ in four years

The Hill

By Ian Swanson

July 27, 2024

Former President Trump at a Friday event hosted by the conservative Christian organization Turning Point Action urged Christians to vote, saying they wouldn’t have to do it again if they got out there in November and elected him because “everything” would be “fixed.”

“Christians, get out and vote, just this time,” Trump exclaimed to a cheering crowd in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians” he added.

“I love you Christians. I’m a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote,” Trump said.

Just what did he mean by that? That he will make the nation a “Christian” nation? You know Mr. Trump you will not be able to get a third divorce. That is one of the things that Project 2025 and the evangelicals want to do, ban divorce. Common Dreams write,

Trump's words left some ambiguity as to his intentions, but the implication that further elections wouldn't be necessary once he took office raised alarms, especially given his history of pro-authoritarian remarks and his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election that he lost.

"When we say Trump is a threat to democracy, this is exactly what we’re talking about," Caty Payette, communications director for Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), wrote on social media.

Katie Phang, an MSNBC host, interpreted Trump's remarks to mean that he would try to remain in power indefinitely, if reelected. 

Say good-bye to the Constitution! The Rolling Stone has an article about JD Vance and his Christian beliefs…

Just over a week ago, Trump announced J.D. Vance as his running mate for the 2024 election. Vance, a first-term senator from Ohio, has been largely seen as a choice bolstering Trump’s outsider image — a young Midwestern firebrand who would bring Silicon Valley money and youthful energy to the ticket. What has gone largely unnoticed is that Vance is a more radical religious politician than Pence, even though the latter was hailed as the “Christian” candidate. Though Vance’s Catholicism has barely registered as a driving factor in his political profile, it serves as an interpretive key for understanding why Vance was chosen and how he brings a populist radicalism to a potential second Trump presidency

[...]

Baehr, Hawley, and Thiel envision Teneo as a Federalist Society for venture capitalists. Vance is reportedly a member. The organization was fledgling until Leonard Leo stepped in to raise funds. Leo, who according to 2022 filings has served on the board of the NAapa Institute Legal Foundation and the Napa Institute Legal Foundation, is the infamous leader of the actual Federalist Society, who shepherded Trump’s three Supreme Court nominees to the bench, stepped in a few years ago. Now Teneo is funded by money from Leo’s dark money networks, the Charles Koch Foundation, the DeVos family and other big donors. The group is Leo’s new conduit for imposing his conservative Catholic agenda on American culture and institutions.  

Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!

The influences of Thiel, Leo, and Deneen on Vance’s approaches to government and policy are clear. Vance’s 2019 speech at Natcon appeared in print in First Things, the flagship publication of reactionary Catholic thought. It’s titled “Beyond Libertarianism,” and is a reflection on the ways that the government should play a role in shaping American social and cultural life: 

We live in an environment that’s shaped by our laws and public policy, and we cannot hide from that fact anymore. I think the question conservatives confront at this key moment is this: Whom do we serve? Do we serve pure, unfettered commercial freedom? Do we serve commerce at the expense of the public good? Or do we serve something higher? And are we willing to use political power to actually accomplish those things?

At the sign of triumph

Satan's host doth flee; 

On, then, Christian soldiers,

on to victory! 

Hell's foundations quiverat the shout of praise; 

Brothers, lift your voices,loud your anthems raise! 

It seems like that JD Vance will make former VP look like Satan.

 As the Catholic theologian Massimo Faggioli puts it, “For Vance, Christianity and the church are not the problem but the solution to the ills of the political-religious project called the United States of America.”

And remember Trump is an old man and might not last through his four years and that will make JD president!

One of the reasons Vance was chosen to be Trump’s running mate is that since entering the Senate in 2022 he has become a reliable MAGA spokesperson. Vance is often better than Trump himself at outlining policies related to Ukraine, trade and tariffs, and reproductive rights. He also seems to be up to the task that Mike Pence wasn’t — not certifying the election results if necessary. But he is not simply an instrument for achieving Trump’s MAGA coronation. He’s the vanguard of a new religious populism Roberts, Deneen, Leo, and others believe will right the nation.

Onward, Christian soldiers 

marching as to war, 

With the cross of Jesus

going on before! 

Are you ready for a Christian nation?

---

 

Your Papers Please!

 

Trumps VP pick JD Vance once wanted to limit travel between states for abortion…

JD Vance Called For ‘Federal’ Restrictions To Traveling For Abortion In Resurfaced Clip

The GOP vice presidential candidate envisioned a post-Roe v. Wade world where “George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women” to get abortions out of state.

HuffPost

By Alanna Vagianos

July 26, 2024

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance suggested there should be a “federal response” to prevent women from traveling out of state for abortion care in a newly resurfaced clip from a 2022 podcast.

Vance appeared on Aimee Terese’s “What’s Left” podcast in January 2022 and mused on what should happen if the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade. Roe was overturned months later.

“Let’s say Roe vs. Wade is overruled, Ohio bans abortion, you know, in 2022, let’s say 2024, and then every day George Soros [He is a liberal billionaire.] sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women to get them to go have abortions in California,” Vance, who at the time was running to represent Ohio in the Senate, said on the podcast. “Of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory for diversity … that’s kind of creepy, right?”

“If that happens, do you need some federal response to prevent it from happening because it’s really creepy?” he added. “And, you know, I’m pretty sympathetic to that, actually.”

Well first off. THAT IS RACIST! Second it does sound creepy that government wants to know why you are traveling, how are they going to stop travel between states? If a woman of child bearing age travels between Texas and say Connecticut how will anyone know that she is doing it to get an abortion? Will she need a statement from her doctor saying that she is not pregnant? Going one step further suppose teenagers traveling from Texas to Connecticut will they need travel papers to show that they are not getting treatment for Gender Dysphoria?

Welcome to the real-life  Handmaids Tail! Welcome to the Republican police state! Welcome to the police state.

I’m voting for the party with compassion, I’m voting for the future, I’m voting for continuing free and fair elections, I’m voting for a country where all are respected, and I’m voting for a country where all religions and even those who chose their own personal beliefs are welcome!

 

Lead Balloons

[Editorial]

Ever had a great idea and it went over like a lead balloon? You are all excited over a thought you had but nobody liked it but worst they canned it.

Well Project 2025, the people that created it live in an echo chamber, they thought it so great! “Hey we’re working on wish list for when we win the 2024… it is all the stuff we want to do when we take control of government.”

They were so proud of it!

Then.

Then, it goes out into the real world and the people said… “What sh*t is this?”

Pop!

Hey, I got this really great pick for VP… he is a go-getter and a rising star in the evangelical movement! He will bring in all the evangelical Christian vote!

What’s this about “childless cat ladies?”

Pop!

What do these two things have in common?

They both were the results of “groupthink” that is where according to Psychology Today…

Groupthink
Groupthink is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of well-intentioned people makes irrational or non-optimal decisions spurred by the urge to conform or the belief that dissent is impossible. The problematic or premature consensus that is characteristic of groupthink may be fueled by a particular agenda—or it may be due to group members valuing harmony and coherence above critical thought.

Or, in other words an echo chamber.

It gives insights into the thinking of the Trump cult. Their echo chamber thinks that the whole country wants an authoritarian Christian nation. That is the mindset of the MAGA Republicans, they are not your father’s Republican party the party has been taken over by people who “hate” other people, they believe that they are the saviors of the country.

Take apart MAGA… “Make America Great Again”. What do they mean by that, what is not great now? Well according to them what is not great is;

Abortion
Transgender people
Marriage equality
Divorce
The pill
People who look different
People who speak different
and on and on and on.

They dream of the world of Dick & Jane, their dog Spot and their cat Puff. And people who love differently do not have a place in their dream world, nor do People of Color, nor do people who speak differently, nor do childless couples. They worship groupthink where everyone thinks, looks, and speaks like them.

Vote this November for sanity.
Vote this November like your life depends upon it.
Vote this November for your freedom.
Vote this November to go forward.
Vote this November Blue.

[/Editorial]

Woke Is Dead!

Woke is dead in Florida!

 

Woke has been put to sleep permanently!

Judge takes final step to overturn Florida’s ‘Stop WOKE Act’

AP News

July 26, 2024

 A judge issued a final order Friday to overturn a Florida law pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that attempted to limit diversity and race-based discussions in private workplaces.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker previously ruled the law is unconstitutional. That decision was upheld by an appeals court in March. Walker’s latest order makes his temporary injunction permanent.

The law, called the ‘“Stop WOKE Act,” attempted to prohibit teaching or business practices that contend members of one ethnic group are inherently racist and should feel guilt for past actions committed by others. It also bars the notion that a person’s status as privileged or oppressed is necessarily determined by their race or gender, or that discrimination is acceptable to achieve diversity.

The National Review writes...

“Today’s decision serves as a powerful reminder that the First Amendment cannot be warped to serve the interests of elected officials,” special counsel Shalini Goel Agarwal of Protect Democracy, which represented businesses that sued Florida, said following the latest decision.

Law & Crime reports,

Judge Mark Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued a permanent injunction, saying the law that bans diversity training in private workplaces “violates free speech rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.” The ruling follows a three-judge appeals court panel’s March decision that upheld Walker’s original injunction. The State of Florida did not oppose the motion to make the ruling permanent.

Ding dong, the wicked old bill is dead!

Politics & Trans

There is a love hate relationship… loved by the liberals hated by the conservatives.

JD Vance, an Unlikely Friendship and Why It Ended
His political views differed from a transgender classmate’s, but they forged a bond that lasted a decade — until Mr. Vance seemed to pivot, politically and personally.
The New York Times
By Stephanie Saul
July 27, 2024

When his book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” was published in 2016, JD Vance sent an email apologizing to a close friend from his Yale Law School days. The friend identified as transgender, but Mr. Vance referred to them in the book as a lesbian.

“Hey Sofes, here’s an excerpt from my book,” Mr. Vance wrote to his friend, Sofia Nelson. “I send this to you not just to brag, but because I’m sure if you read it you’ll notice reference to ‘an extremely progressive lesbian.’”

“I recognize now that this may not accurately reflect how you think of yourself, and for that I am really sorry,” he wrote. “I hope you’re not offended, but if you are, I’m sorry! Love you, JD.”

Nelson wrote back the same day, calling Mr. Vance “buddy” and thanking him for “being sweet,” adding, “If you had written gender queer radical pragmatist, nobody would know what you mean.” Nelson asked for an autographed copy, then signed off with, “Love, Sofia.”

That exchange is from a series of emails between two friends, part of a close-knit group of 16 students who remained together throughout their first law school semester in the fall of 2010. As now-Senator Vance seeks the vice presidency, Nelson has shared about 90 of their emails and text messages, primarily from 2014 through 2017, with The New York Times.

I don’t know it I would remain friends with someone who deadnames me all the time.

The emails, in which Mr. Vance criticizes former President Donald J. Trump both for “racism” and as a “morally reprehensible human being,” add to an already-existing body of evidence showing Mr. Vance’s ideological pivot from Never Trumper to Mr. Trump’s running mate.

And they reflect a young man quite different from the hard-right culture warrior of today who back then brought homemade baked goods to his friend after Nelson underwent transition-related surgery. The visit cemented their bond.

I am sure we all had friends like that who said that they have no problems with being trans but we never hear from them again.

But Nelson and Mr. Vance had a falling out in 2021, when Mr. Vance said publicly he supported an Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors, leading to a bitter exchange that deeply hurt Nelson.

It just goes to show you, how two-faced Mr. Vance is, totally supporting until he isn’t. It became politically dangerous to be friends with trans people, so he turned on his friends.

Look at what he said about Trump… but now they are lovey-dovey with one another.

 The Daily Mail writes...

A former classmate of JD Vance has leaked a trove of emails and texts from the GOP Vice President pick - including remarks about Donald Trump in which he called the former president 'a morally reprehensible human being.'

But now they are the best palsy-walsy. Best buds!

Vance told her: 'I'm obviously outraged at Trump's rhetoric, and I worry most of all about how welcome Muslim citizens feel in their own country.

'But I also think that people have always believed crazy shit. And there have always been demagogues willing to exploit the people who believe crazy shit.'

He also wrote in a separate email: 'If you look at the polling, the issue where Trump gets the most support is on the economy.

'If the response of the media, and the elites of both right and left, are to just say 'look at those dumb racists supporting Trump,' then they're never going to learn the most important lesson of Trump's candidacy.'

But as they say politics makes strange bedfellows.

 

Have you noticed all the politicians that are with me in photos? Do you think very many Republicans have their picture taken with a trans person. I doubt there would be any takers. Also I know some trans people who are conservatives do you think any Republican politician will have their photo taken with a them? Look how they shunned Caitlyn Jenner, the Republican party gave her the cold shoulder.

---

I think that Trump is thinking right about now that he choose a boat anchor for VP!

It’s not just ‘cat ladies’: JD Vance has a history of disparaging people without kids
CNN
By Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck,
July 30, 2024

 Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance has a history of making disparaging remarks toward people without children, a CNN KFile review of his comments shows, including fundraising off his now-infamous “childless cat lady” remarks in a series of emails that called Democratic leaders “childless sociopaths” who “don’t have a direct stake in this country.”

In November 2020, Vance said on a conservative podcast that childless Americans, especially those in the country’s “leadership class,” were “more sociopathic” than those with children and made the country “less mentally stable.” Vance added that the “most deranged” and “most psychotic” commentators on Twitter – now known as X - were typically childless.

In August 2021, one month after launching his candidacy for the Senate, Vance’s campaign sent fundraising emails referring to the “radical childless leaders in this country” following his appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” where he made comments deriding “childless cat ladies” and leaders running the country. The comments sparked a widespread backlash against Vance when they resurfaced on social media following his nomination to the Republican presidential ticket.

Glub, glub, glub as Trump & company try to stay afloat!

The Economist has the latest poll results…

On November 5th Americans will go to the polls to elect their next president. Until June 27th it seemed a foregone conclusion that the match-up would be between the same two candidates as in 2020: Joe Biden, the Democratic incumbent, and Donald Trump, his Republican predecessor in office. But that night Mr Biden delivered a disastrous debate performance. It immediately made Democrats question Mr Biden’s fitness for the job. On July 21st he bowed to pressure and withdrew from the race. He endorsed his vice-president, Kamala Harris, as the Democratic candidate.

Early polls after Mr Biden dropped out suggest Ms Harris is closer to Mr Trump than her predecessor was, but she is still trailing; one by YouGov/The Economist on July 21st-23rd put Ms Harris at 41% and Mr Trump at 44%, while a New York Times/Siena poll from July 22nd-24th put her at 47% to his 48% among likely voters. Once there are sufficient polls to create a reliable average we will restart our tracker (for now we are reporting candidates’ favourability ratings).

Do you think Trump is having second thoughts?

Vote for sanity, vote for VP Harris!

The "Last Supper" That Wasn't!

Then we have the "Last Supper" that wasn't!

Have you heard what set off the right-wingers? An edited picture, this what got them into a tizzy! This was in the Daily Mail...

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics sparked outrage for the so-called blasphemous depiction of the Last Supper, but a new theory has emerged about what the bizarre performance was really about.

Reverend Benjamin Cremer, based in the US, shared a post on social media which dispelled the allegation that the controversial scene featuring drag queens was mocking Leonardo da Vinci's classic painting and therefore Christianity.

The post reads: 'It was a representation of the event called the Feast of Dionysus. Greek God of festivity and feasting and ritual and theater.'

While the Baptists wrote...

Evangelicals upset about the Olympics are pearl-clutching hypocrites
Baptist News

By SUSAN M. SHAW

JULY 27, 2024

Enough with the pearl-clutching!

As if many rightwing Christians have nothing better to do, on Friday they set X alight with outrage over a scene from the Paris Olympics opening celebration. Drag queens were part of a DaVinci’s Last Supper pose, oh my!

So with their acute provincial snowflake watchfulness for any perceived slight and no sense of diverse cultural sensibilities, the pearl-clutchers castigated the Olympics and the French for “mocking” Christianity.

Never mind that their Bible-hawking, adulterous, authoritarian, convicted felon of a presidential candidate says he never has asked for forgiveness. Drag queens in a Last Supper pose is what Christians really need to worry about.

The hypocrisy stinks to high heaven.

Of course, why would we expect anything different from average pew sitters when conservative leaders like Nikki Haley and JD Vance have made their own Faustian bargains with the Donald? He’s unfit to serve, they say, until, of course, they need him to have access to their own share of political power.

Now stop and think for a moment... this is a Baptist news report, where is the outrage? Instead they

They actually reported the facts and this is the photo on their article...

Do you notice anything different between the two photos? But that doesn't matter to the Republicans in their mocked outrage! 

Olympics Drag Queen ‘Last Supper’ Sparks Outrage From Musk, Catholic Leaders, GOP Pundits
Forbes

By Brian Bushard
July 27, 2024

Top Line:

A parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” composed of drag queens during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Friday sparked an uproar from some U.S. religious and conservative leaders and right-wing pundits, echoing protests in recent years against drag performances.

Key Facts:

Late into the opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Olympics Friday night, cameras cut to a long table overlooking the Seine River filled with drag stars made to resemble Jesus and the 12 apostles the night before his crucifixion in Da Vinci’s fresco masterpiece “The Last Supper.”

Right-wing pundits and some lawmakers took to social media shortly after, questioning why the scene was included in the opening ceremony, with former CNN host Piers Morgan posting: “Would they have mocked any other religion like this? Appalling decision.”

Donald Trump Jr. re-posted a photo of the depiction, saying, “They’re not even pretending anymore,” while billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk called the parody “extremely disrespectful to Christians” in a post on his social media platform.

On Saturday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., blasted the scene, calling it “shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world.”

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis also criticized the move as “[o]vert pagan and satanic symbolism,” and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker—who sparked controversy by suggesting women should focus on being mothers —called the parody “crazy” in a story on Instagram.

Some Christian bishops also bemoaned the parody: Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron, a prominent U.S. Catholic leader, called it a “gross mockery” and emblematic of a “deeply secularist postmodern society,” while Wisconsin-based Bishop Donald Hying slammed it as “blasphemy,” and Texas-based Bishop Daniel Flores posted: “the agendas just use the athletes; they deserve more respect. So do people of Christian Faith.”

Do you think the facts stopped Trump?

Donald Trump Jr. Fumes Over 'Satanic' Olympics Opening Ceremony: 'Such A Shame'
The former president's son joined other conservative figures who slammed a perceived parody of "The Last Supper" with drag queens at the Paris Games.
HuffPost
By Ben Blanchet
July 28, 2024

 

 

Donald Trump Jr. went on a rant over “satanic” imagery in what many people interpreted as a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” that featured drag queens during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Friday.

The supposed portrayal of the iconic painting, which depicts Jesus Christ’s meal with his apostles before his crucifixion, led to backlash from some Christian bishops and conservative figures such as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker and Trump Jr.

 

[...]

“Now with the ever predictable (& seemingly satanic to me) drag queen opening ceremonies and never ending bs, no one I know even thinks about it beyond maybe watching some highlights,” he wrote on social media.

Of course that wasn't true, the original photo doesn't even bear any resemblance to the Last Supper.

 

In another Daily Mail they quote Trump's son,

The son of former President Donald Trump criticized the performance as 'seemingly satanic'.

'My mom was an Olympian (Czech Natl Ski Team), and as a kid we would be excited for weeks leading up to the games.

However,,,

To clarify, Donald Jr.'s mother, Ivana Trump, claimed that she was selected as an alternate for the Czechoslovakia ski team at the 1972 Olympics in Grenoble back in 1988 - a claim that the Secretary General of that country's Olympic Committee denied.

An investigation by Snopes in 2021 found that Czechoslovakia didn't sent women alpine skiers to the 1972 Olympic games.

Like father, like son. They just can't keep from telling lies.

And the biggest lie of all... is the "Last Supper" lie

So the question is... "Why did they used a photoshoped picture with just drag queens in the photo?

---

Update July 31 @ 2:00PM

Some of those who were in the skit have received threats...

Lesbian DJ receives rape and death threats after Olympics drag segment

Barbara Butch, the lesbian DJ who took part in the drag queen scene at the Olympics opening ceremony, has lodged police complaints after receiving threats of death, torture and rape.

Pink News

By Sophie Perry

July 31, 2024

Right-wing pundits, conservative politicians and Christian figures misinterpreted and criticised the Olympics opening ceremony, claiming that a drag segment mocked the Christian Last Supper depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural of Jesus with his 12 disciples.

It was, in fact, an ode to a pagan festival celebrating the Greek god of fertility, wine and revelry. Artistic director Thomas Jolly said: “There is Dionysus who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the god of celebration in Greek mythology. The god of wine, which is one of the jewels of France.”

Dionysus is also the father of Sequana, the goddess of the River Seine, he added.

Some art experts have reportedly suggested that the extravaganza appeared to have been inspired by The Feast of the Gods, a 17th-century Dutch painting by Jan van Bijlert, which is housed in the Musée Magnin in Dijon, France.

Nonetheless, Butch has received a barrage of abuse.

Notice that it is almost always the right-wing conservatives who make the threats!

---

Updated July 31 @ 4 PM

Selective blasphemy!

Look at the ads Trump have been running!

These are for sale on Amazon...

Talk of divine intervention as Trump speaks at Florida summit for the religious right 

Miami Herald

By Max Greenwood and Lauren Costantino

July 26, 2024

 

 

 In the days since Donald Trump narrowly dodged a would-be assassin’s bullet at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, a unifying message has emerged among some of his supporters: that it was God who saved the former president’s life — and, in turn, blessed Trump’s bid for the White House.

 

That belief served as a central theme of the Believers’ Summit, a three-day gathering in West Palm Beach that kicked off on Friday with a speech from Trump. Thousands of conservatives packed into a sprawling conference hall to blaring new age gospel music and Christian rock. Many donned “Make America Great Again” hats or Trump-branded t-shirts as they settled in to listen to a speech from Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist and founder of Turning Point Action, the host of this weekend’s gathering.

[...]

The attempted assassination, Kirk said, was more than just an act of divine mercy. “Maybe,” he said, “God spared Donald Trump to test his church. Maybe he spared Donald Trump to see what his church is made of.”

So much for their feigned indignation. It is okay for the right's messiah to do this but heaven help other that bring in religion to the mix.

Now get a load of this video... Of course there no outrage over it,

Courts!

We pass all these laws protecting us but then the courts come along and it becomes a crap shot!

When I was the Executive Director of the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition I had a lot of contact with the lawyers for the Commission for Human Rights and Opportunists (CHRO). After sitting on panels with them I asked them once, “Why do you kept saying ‘It is our opinion...’ when asked a question if we are protected from discrimination?” Her answer made me realize that no matter what the law says, no matter how it was written… it all boils down to that person on the bench says it is.

Moms for Liberty, parents’ rights groups working to block new Title IX rule from their kids’ schools
Hartford Courant
By Alison Cross
July 29, 2024

The fate of federal regulations that would significantly expand the rights of LGBTQ+ students under Title IX is in legal limbo after court rulings placed the U.S. Department of Education’s Aug. 1 implementation of the new policies on pause in thousands of schools across the country, including Connecticut.

Litigation brought by parents’ rights groups and state attorneys general who oppose the new protections for LGBTQ+ students has successfully blocked the 2024 Title IX Final Rule, crafted by President Joe Biden’s administration, through preliminary injunctions as the challenges play out in court.

Among other changes, the Final Rule expands the Title IX definition of sexual harassment and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, and pregnancy or related conditions. The Final Rule also clarifies that schools and colleges must address conduct even in incidents that occur outside of an education program or beyond U.S. borders.

It all boils down to that person on the bench says the law. Do you want to guess who appointed the judge? Trump.

That ruling has far reaching affects on the whole country, that one judge down in Kansas effected us here in Connecticut with all our great protections… just void some of them!

What is happening in the courts? Early this month, U.S. District Judge John Broomes of the District of Kansas ordered a sweeping preliminary injunction that prohibits federal enforcement of the 2024 Title IX Final Rule in Alaska, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming and a patchwork of public and private schools across the country. The July 2 order specifically bars the U.S. Department of Education, its Secretary Miguel Cardona, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and their agents “from implementing, enacting, enforcing, or taking any action to enforce” the final rule in the four states and any school attended by members of Young America’s Foundation, Female Athletes United and the children of Moms for Liberty members.

[…]

In a July 15 court filing, plaintiffs identified Middlesex Middle School in Darien, Connecticut River Academy in East Hartford, Enfield High School, Greenwich Country Day School, Hamden Hall Country Day School, North Branford High School, Stamford High School, King School in Stamford and Mesivta High School in Waterbury as declarants on a list of more than 400 K-12 schools attended by members of Young America’s Foundation that are bound by the injunction. Yale University and Fairfield University were also included among more than 700 college declarants.

[…]

In a filing Friday evening, Moms for Liberty added 16 more schools to the list: in Berlin, Emma Hart Willard School; in East Lyme, Lillie B. Haynes School, East Lyme High School and East Lyme Middle School; in Newtown, Middle Gate Elementary School, Reed Intermediate School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown High School, Newtown Middle School; in Regional District 14, Bethlehem Elementary School, Mitchell Elementary School, Nonnewaug High School, Woodbury Middle School; in Torrington, Torrington High School; and in Wilton, Cider Mill School and Miller Driscoll School.

The list of K-12 schools covered under the injunction is expected to grow in Hartford, Fairfield and Litchfield counties, where local Moms for Liberty chapters operate. Private Facebook groups for the Hartford County and Fairfield County chapters show a combined membership of 778 people.

All of our great protections were just declared “Null and Void” by a judge down in Kansas! Poof! Gone!

In the Title IX ruling the Kansas court totally ignored the Supreme Court Rulings that they didn’t like going way back to 1989 and the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. In that ruling Ann Hopkins, sued her employer saying that she was being denied partnership because she failure to conform to traditional female stereotypes. The court found that gender played a motivating part in an employment decision. The Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins was the bases for the ruling here in Connecticut in the case before the CHRO ruling “Declaratory Ruling on behalf of John/Jane Doe” based their ruling on that ruling. However U.S. District Judge John Broomes seems to had slective amnesia about the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins and also the recent Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board!

Now back to Connecticut, the ruling is about Title IX but it may not have any effect on state laws, but as lawyers like to say “It is my opinion...”

How would this impact schools in the state? It is not entirely clear how the injunction will play out in impacted Connecticut schools.

[…]

In the order, Broomes writes that the injunction “simply prohibits Defendants from demanding compliance with the Final Rule by the schools affected by this order, or imposing any consequences for such schools’ failure to comply with the Final Rule,” and that the court’s order places no limit on “the ability of any school to adopt or follow its own policies, or otherwise comply with applicable state or local laws or rules.”

Once again it all boils down to that person on the bench says the law. And now this case is going before an appeals court which will just add there views and then on to the Supreme Court which gets the final say… and it is “Trump’s court.”

In a statement to the Courant, Patrice McCarthy the executive director and general counsel of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education described the legal battles as “a rapidly evolving issue” in the state.

“We have not yet provided any specific guidance with respect to the litigation,” McCarthy said. “CABE does provide a model Title IX policy to districts, but advises them to consult with their board attorney when questions arise around implementation.”

How is the state responding? In a statement to the Courant on Friday, the Connecticut State Department of Education said it is aware that the court decision has stayed the U.S. Department of Education’s implementation and enforcement of the Final Rule this Thursday.

Meanwhile right-wing organizations are hoping up and down with glee!

Peter Wolfgang, the executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, said he and others are concerned that Final Rule will result in students being penalized for harassment if they do not use someone’s preferred pronouns.

[…]

While Connecticut laws and regulatory policies protect the rights of transgender students to use bathrooms and participate on teams that align with their gender identity, Wolfgang said such issues should remain in state control, not federal interpretation.

What I remember of Mr. Wolfgang was when we were passing the non-discrimination law in 2011 he and his group when to go down the stairs but he didn't want to walk by us so he went all the way around to the other stairs. This was taken that night when the bill passed in the Senate.

Once again the conservatives forget a little something called the Constitution and in particular the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause… just a minor detail.

Activist here in Connecticut are concerned.

What do LGBTQ+ advocates say? LGBTQ+ advocates in the state say that amid the legal challenges, they are reminding school boards and district leaders about their obligations — to follow state laws and protect students’ rights to an equal education.

“My concern is that public school leadership, administrators, etc. will choose to be cautious at the expense of students’ wellness and access to an equitable education,” Melissa Combs, founder of the Out Accountability Project, said.

“Every public school, whether or not they have someone who has enjoined this injunction order out of Kansas, still has an affirmative duty to create and maintain supportive learning environments for all students and to follow the state civil rights law,” Combs added.

This will not be over until the Supreme Court rules.

It is a crap shoot! Nine people will determine out fate.

---

Judges… whoever win this election in November will pick most likely pick another Supreme Court judge and hundreds more lower level judges! Think about that when you vote!

So who picks the nominees for the president to appoint? Well in the past list came to the president from various sources including the American Bar Association and the Congressional legislators from the district where the judge will be appointed. But all that changed with Trump he went to the far-right and libertarians for his nominees, places like the Federalist Society, a legal group with views once considered on “the fringe” and the Heritage Foundation… the ones that brought you “Project 2025!”

Trump ignored the wishes of the Congressional legislators from the district where the judge will be appointed unless that were from conservatives states, he brushed off the wishes of liberal states like Connecticut.

I’m voting for the party that does not tell me what holy book I should follow.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me what bathroom to use.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me who I can and cannot marry.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me what books I can read.
I’m voting for the party that does not tell me what I can do with my body.
I’m voting for the party that is looking forwards and not backwards.
I’m voting for the party with Integrity, Virtue, & Respect and not for a party that is lead by a con-artist who makes insurance salesman seem like saints!

I’m voting for VP Harris.

---

Update: Aug. 1 @ noon

And updated list of towns affected here in Connecticut from Out Accountability Project | Parent, Caregiver and Ally Network Facebook page...

The list of schools in CT affected by the injunction order in Kansas continues to grow. 

Added July 15, 2024

Middles Middle School (Darien CT)

Connecticut River Academy (East Hartford CT)

Enfield High School (Enfield CT)

Greenwich Country Day School (Greenwich CT)

Hamden Hall Country Day School (Hamden CT)

New Branford Connecticut High School (Northford CT)

Stamford High School (Stamford CT)

King School, Inc. (Stamford CT)

Mesivta Ateres Shmuel of Waterbury (Waterbury CT)

Added July 26, 2024

Emma Hart Willard School  Berlin School District

East Lyme High School East Lyme School District

East Lyme Middle School  East Lyme School District

Lillie B. Haynes School  East Lyme School District

Middle Gate Elementary School  Newtown School District

Newtown High School  Newtown School District

Newtown Middle School  Newtown School District

Reed Intermediate School  Newtown School District

Sandy Hook Elementary School  Newtown School District

Bethlehem Elementary School  Regional School District 14

Mitchell Elementary School  Regional School District 14

Nonnewaug High School  Regional School District 14

Woodbury Middle School  Regional School District 14

Torrington High School Torrington School District

Cider Mill School  Wilton School District

Miller Driscoll School  Wilton School District

Added July 31, 2024

Amity Middle School – Bethany  Amity Regional School District #5

Amity Middle School – Orange  Amity Regional School District #5

Amity Regional High School Amity Regional School District #5

Canterbury Elementary School Canterbury School District

Dr Helen Baldwin Middle School Canterbury School District

Mansfield Elem And High School Mansfield School District

Mansfield Elementary School Mansfield School District

Mansfield Middle School Mansfield School District

East Ridge Middle School Ridgefield School District

Farmingville Elementary School Ridgefield School District

Ridgefield High School Ridgefield School District

Raise Your Hand

[Opinion]

If you think billionaires should pay more taxes raise you hand!

Ever since Reagan talked about “Trickled Down” economics billionaires have been raking in the money, corporate profits have soared, while salaries of the workers have remained flat with inflation.

My tax plan…

$1,000,000 > $5,000,000 = 70% tax bracket.
$5,000,001 > $10,000,000 = 80% tax bracket
$10,000,001 > = 85% tax bracket
Put a max on deductions for incomes over a million dollars

Bring back the Estate Tax on estates over $10,000,000, the Republicans like to call it a Death Tax but I like to call it the anti-Dynasty tax to prevent people like Musk from passing billions on to their children

Corporate taxes:
Companies pay no tax! I know people are going to say “WHAT, no taxes!” Yes, no taxes on companies but… taxes on all distributions.

It will work like this…

Stock bonuses taxed as ordinary income.
Capital gains taxed as ordinary income.

Dividends taxes as ordinary income.
Stocks buy backs taxed as ordinary income which the company has to pay. In other words, buying back a $100,000,000 of stock the company will have to pay taxes on it.

Think of it as a bucket all the money going into the bucket is not taxed but anything coming out of that bucket is taxed as income. If they want to modernized their factory... not taxed, If they expand the company... not taxes. If they give out bonuses to their employees... the employees pay the tax.
 

Someone once told me don't say billionaires say economically privileged

[/Opinion]

Bad News…

This isn’t a fun post, I write about all the sh*t that is piling up against us.

First off from the Salt Lake Triburne,

Opinion: I’m tired of young, transgender Utahns like me being used as political pawns
I am a friend, student, athlete, son and brother — but, most simply, I’m a person.
By Leo Pickron
July 20, 2024

My first interaction with trans rights was in 2022 with the introduction of HB11. In the coming months, I planned to compete in school sanctioned sports, and I was worried this would be impossible. I felt let down by legislators attempting to limit such a small number of teen athletes, but I felt safe with Gov. Spencer Cox, who was willing to fight for us and vetoed legislation banning transgender girls from competing in high school sports. Gov. Cox had said it would be OK. As a young, naive Utahn who had yet to be let down by our politicians, I believed this empty promise.

Over halfway through Gov. Cox’s term, the Utah Legislature advanced onto my healthcare. I spent dozens of hours attending legislative hearings with my family. A year after I started hormone replacement therapy, a decision made by myself, my parents and my doctors, Gov. Cox signed SB16, a bill that indefinitely barred minors from beginning gender affirming treatment. While I was “grandfathered” in and would not have to immediately stop my treatment, I knew that somewhere in the state of Utah there was a child entering the wrong puberty, just as I had, and unable to get necessary medical care.

Anti-trans laws had stripped my childhood innocence away. That was the moment I lost faith in Utah’s elected leaders’ ability to protect me. Gov. Cox had fallen back on his promise; it was no longer OK.

---

Nebraska Supreme Court upholds law restricting both medical care for transgender youth and abortion
The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld a law restricting access to both medical care for transgender youth and abortion
ABC News
ByMARGERY A. BECK Associated Press
July 26, 2024

A Nebraska law that combined abortion restrictions with another measure to limit gender-affirming health care for minors does not violate a state constitutional amendment requiring bills to stick to a single subject, a majority of the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The state’s high court acknowledged in its ruling that abortion and gender-affirming care “are distinct types of medical care,” but found the law does not violate Nebraska’s single-subject rule because both abortion and transgender health fall under the subject of medical care.

The majority relied, in part, on a passage from an 1895 ruling to find the state constitution offers wide latitude on what composes a single subject.

“Ultimately, ‘if a bill has but one general object, no matter how broad that object may be, and contains no matter not germane thereto, and the title fairly expresses the subject of the bill, it does not violate’” the state constitution's single-subject rule, Chief Justice Mike Heavican wrote for the court.
While this ruling doesn’t address our healthcare per se it does address the law affecting our healthcare, I imagine that there will be other law suits addressing out healthcare.

---

Florida school board unlikely to fire mom whose transgender daughter played on girls volleyball team
AP News
BY  TERRY SPENCER
July 23, 2024

A Florida school board appeared unlikely Tuesday to fire an employee whose transgender daughter played girls’ high school volleyball in alleged violation of state law, but postponed their final decision until next week.

The board is in Broward, one of the state’s most politically liberal counties, with twice as many Democrats as Republicans, and a large LGBTQ+ community. In recent years, attention on transgender children has spiked as conservative leaders seek to make trans rights a hot-button issue both in Florida and across the country.

Most of the nine members of the Broward County school board appeared ready to reject Superintendent Howard Hepburn’s recommendation that Jessica Norton be fired as a computer information specialist at Monarch High School, where her daughter played on the varsity team last year.

But many also said they didn’t think Norton should go unpunished for violating the state’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature approved in 2021. The law, which the Broward board lobbied against, bars trans students from participating in girls and women’s sports.

---

New Hampshire governor signs bill banning transgender girls from girls' sports
CBS News
July 20, 2024

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire has signed a bill that would ban transgender athletes in grades 5-12 from teams that align with their gender identity, adding the state to nearly half in the nation that adopted similar measures.

The bill passed by the Republican-led Legislature would require schools to designate all teams as either girls, boys or coed, with eligibility determined based on students' birth certificates "or other evidence." Supporters of the legislation said they wanted to protect girls from being injured by larger and stronger transgender athletes.

Sununu signed the bill Friday, saying in a statement it "ensures fairness and safety in women's sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions." It takes effect in 30 days.

Megan Tuttle, president of NEA-New Hampshire, a union representing public school employees, criticized Sununu.

"Public schools should be safe, welcoming environments for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," she said in a statement. "Shame on Governor Sununu for signing into law this legislation that excludes students from athletics, which can help foster a sense of belonging that is so critical for young people to thrive."

---

This is bad, really bad!

Man accused of stabbing transgender teen 18 times at Miami airport
The 17-year-old was having a meal on the floor when she was attacked with a butcher knife Sunday. Officials say they aren't yet ruling out hate crime charges.
NBC News
By Mirna Alsharif
July 23, 2024

A man accused of stabbing a transgender 17-year-old girl with a butcher knife at Miami International Airport on Sunday was arrested and charged with attempted murder, police said.

Alexander Love, 29, was charged with first-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon and attempted premeditated murder, according to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Officers responded to Terminal J around 11:30 p.m. after reports of a stabbing, officials said in a news release. The victim was eating a meal while sitting on the floor when, officials say, Love attacked her without provocation, stabbing her about 18 times in her face, head, arms, shoulders, neck and legs before he tried to throw her over a safety retaining glass, officials said.

"The victim was able to escape the attack and ran down the stairs to the third-floor level, which is where the officers found her," police said.

She was taken to a local medical center in critical condition and had emergency surgery, officials said. Her condition Tuesday afternoon was not available.

---

I saved this for last…

I won't stay silent about the scars from my transgender experience
I won’t back down to bullies
Fox News
By Prisha Mosley
July 25, 2024


Young people are very susceptible to ‘social contagion’: Prisha Mosley

Did you know that you could “catch” Gender Dysphoria? Do you catch it like the common cold? Though sneezing or coughing?

When I was a child and suffering from numerous mental health issues, I learned about transgenderism. Vulnerable and in distress, I was given false hope by the pseudoscientific idea that I could become a boy.

Encouraged by doctors that this could solve my issues and alleviate my unhappiness, I began a medical journey to make a "female-to-male transition" that left enormous physical and emotional scars. It did not solve my problems, but rather created new ones.

My breasts are gone and what’s left in their place feels numb or painful. I haven’t decided which is worse - I miss one when I experience the other. Unnecessary prescription hormones have damaged my voice, my skeletal structure, and my hormonal system.

That is the narrative that the right-wing is pushing… that the doctors are forcing you into transitioning.

First of all she must have been over 17 or 18 to get the surgery so she wasn’t a child and she was old enough to give her consent. Second, I doubt very much that she saw the doctor only once and that it was a series of office visits and I will be that they asked her many, many times about why she thought she was trans.

So exactly how did this ‘social contagion’ come about? Did they lock her in a room a room and beat her with a rubber hose until she signed the consent letter?

In the June 12 issue of the Santa Fe Reporter, ahead of the one-year anniversary on June 16 of New Mexico’s HB 7 taking effect, Independent Women’s Forum paid for an advertisement featuring my story.

Maybe what they are not upset at you, but at you telling others that it is wrong for everyone?

New Mexico’s HB 7 forbids public entities and associated individuals from "restrict[ing] or interfer[ing] with a person’s ability to access… gender-affirming health care." Essentially, this bill discourages anyone from telling young people like me about the risks associated with attempting to medically "transition."

That is just bull! The law does not prohibit explaining the risks with transitioning but rather with programs like conversion therapy.

The ad in the Santa Fe Reporter included a QR code linking to IWF’s Identity Crisis documentary series, which tells my story and the stories of numerous others who experienced transition and ultimately "detransition." I think it’s information that children and their parents deserve to have.

According to research something like 13 percent detranistion.

New Study Shows Discrimination, Stigma, and Family Pressure Drive “Detransition” Among Transgender People
Fenway Health
April 7, 2021

A new study published in LGBT Health found that 13.1% of currently identified transgender people have detransitioned at some point in their lives, but that 82.5% of those who have detransitioned attribute their decision to at least one external factor such as pressure from family, non-affirming school environments, and increased vulnerability to violence, including sexual assault. The study was authored by researchers at The Fenway Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School) and is believed to be the first rigorous study of the factors that drive transgender and gender diverse people to detransition.

“These findings show that detransition and transition regret are not synonymous, despite the two phenomena being frequently conflated in the media and in political debates,” said Dr. Jack Turban, fellow in child and adolescent psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “For most people, it appears detransition is forced upon them. Our results highlight the extreme barriers transgender people in the U.S. face when trying to live their lives authentically.”

I have known three people who detransitioned and they all detransitioned because of eternal reasons… family and jobs. Two out of the three that I know detransitioned because they couldn’t find a job and the other detransitioned because of family reasons.

A growing body of literature shows that exposure to discrimination and stigma increases the risk of poor mental health outcomes among transgender and gender diverse people. But findings from “Factors Leading to ‘Detransition’ Among Transgender and Gender Diverse People in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Analysis” suggest that stigma and discrimination should also be understood as obstacles to safely living in one’s gender identity and expression.

The study also buttresses public statements by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Public Health Association opposing the 82 bills that have been filed in a majority of states this year that would contribute to the external factors that lead to detransition, such as making it illegal to provide gender-affirming health care to children and teenagers, or restricting transgender students’ access to school facilities and/or participation in school activities.

We do not know why Ms. Mosley detransitioned, was it family pressure? Was it religious pressure? Or did she realize that she that transitioning wasn’t for her? Or did she realize that she wasn’t trans? We don’t know.

However, I know a child who transitioned before kindergarten and that was twenty years ago and she is a happy woman today.

Nothing But A Playground Bully

Do you remember right after the attempted assassination all the talk about toning down the rhetoric?

A chilling pattern at the RNC reveals what the Republican party has become
After Trump was shot, the GOP promised to tone down its rhetoric — with one exception.
MSNBC
By Julio Ricardo Varela
July 19, 2024

In his rambling acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Thursday night, former President Donald Trump unsurprisingly doubled down on anti-immigrant messaging, saying things like: “You know who’s taking the jobs, the jobs that are created? One hundred and seven percent of those jobs are taken by illegal aliens.”

But throughout the four-day convention, a distinct and disturbing pattern emerged when it came to discussing immigration onstage: First, there’d be someone using violent rhetoric against migrants; then there’d emerge a Latino or Latina Republican to give the party cover. Take, for example, former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro, who spoke at the convention hours after being released Wednesday from a Miami federal prison, where he served a sentence for contempt of Congress.

[…]

At the RNC, facts were damned. Despite what Navarro and others said, there is no “migrant crime surge.” But according to Trump and Republicans, migrants are the country’s greatest security threat.

How can you trust a person who lies, and lies, and lies? Every words out of his mouth is a lies designed to stir up animosity against those who are “different” and behaves like a school yard bully. This time it is immigrants, making anyone who looks foreign or speaks with an accent suspect. The BBC reports that the Republicans blame Biden’s rhetoric on the attempt!

According to Politico, Biden said on the call: “I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in a bullseye."

On Saturday, Mr Biden condemned the attack and called on Americans to denounce such violence. On Sunday, he ordered a review of security at the rally.

In the aftermath of the assassination attempt, the specific reference to "Trump in a bullseye" less than a week before, has led some Republicans to place the burden of the shooting in part on Mr Biden.

But the Republicans totally ignore their rhetoric which is a thousand times worst…

Trump critic: ‘Civil war’ reference at Vance rally ‘par for the course’
The Hill
By Tara Suter
July 23, 2024


Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said Tuesday that the comments by a state lawmaker suggesting a “civil war” woud be needed to save the country if Republicans lose this year’s elections are typical of supporters of former President Trump.

“Well, it’s par for the course,” Duncan said on “CNN This Morning” to anchor Kasie Hunt.

Ohio state Sen. George Lang (R), speaking at a rally for Trump and vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance on Monday, said he is “afraid” if Republicans lose the upcoming 2024 election “it’s going to take a civil war to save the country, and it will be saved.”

Following Monday’s rally, Lang recanted his remarks on the social platform X and said they “do not accurately reflect my views.”

The British newspaper The Guardian writes,

Republican attacks on Kamala Harris to get ‘as ugly and bigoted as they can’
Rightwing playbooks used in past election campaigns are being dusted off for an all-out assault on the vice-president
By David Smith
25 Jul 2024

For Barack Obama there was “birtherism” and a name they said sounded like a specific Middle East terrorist. For Hillary Clinton there was “Lock her up” and merchandise that said, “Trump that bitch”, “Hillary sucks but not like Monica” and “Life’s a bitch: don’t vote for one.”

Rightwing playbooks deployed in past election campaigns are being dusted off for an all-out assault against Vice-President Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee aiming to become the first Black woman and first person of south Asian descent to be US president.

“It’s obvious that the Republicans are going to play the race and gender card, which we’ve seen already in some of the attacks on social media,” said Tara Setmayer, a Black woman who is co-founder and chief executive of the Seneca Project, a women-led super political action committee. “It may be catnip for their Maga base but it will be a turnoff for the moderate voters in the battleground states that will determine this election.”

Hmm… I vaguely remember a promised to tone down its rhetoric. It seems to be just lip service.

Donald Trump fumes 'I'm not going to be nice' as he unveils new nickname for Kamala Harris
Former President Donald Trump held nothing back as he launched into a brutal tirade against Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president of the United States
Irish Star
By Emily Hodgkin & Nelson Espinal


GOP candidate Donald Trump has taken aim at the presumptive Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, during a campaign rally in North Carolina.

With President Joe Biden stepping down from the race, the presidential contest has been reset.

Trump now faces a new adversary in Kamala Harris and has already started to trial fresh attacks on the incumbent Vice President.

[…]

At the start of his tirade-style speech, he alluded to his unity remarks made following an assassination attempt on him.

[…]

"Kamala Harris wants to be the president for savage criminals and illegal aliensI will be the president for law-abiding Americans of every race, religion, color, and creed," Trump asserted.

Yup, it sure does sound like the “toning down” in speeches didn’t last long.

Do you remember on the grammar school play ground how the bullies picked on you be calling you nicknames… like “Four eyes” for those who wore glasses, or “Fatty” or “Birdbrain,” but we soon grew up and stopped making up nicknames for people but some bullies never out grow it. Yahoo reported...

"From the moment we take back the White House from crooked Joe Biden and Kamala, I call her 'Laughing Kamala,'" he said. "You ever watch her laugh? She's crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. She's crazy. She's nuts."

Do we really want a president who as one person on Yahoo commented,

Don't we teach our children not to call people names? Don't we teach them not to make fun of or put down others? This is the role model you want for your children? Really? This is the best the Republicans can promote as leader of our country? It astounds me that those who claim to upload morality do not recognize when their morals have gone out the window. C'mon. Civility, people. This should unite us. Right, Left, Center.

One reply to the comment,

He is a reflection of his voters, small-minded, angry, and peaked emotionally as bullies in middle school. I lose all respect for anyone is a supporter.

He hit the nail on its head! And that is the thing Trump loyal followers see nothing wrong with that… all 46% of the voters have no problem with electing a playground bully.

That really bothers me, why do people not care what he is, so I asked my favorite AI… Perplexity.

Question: “Why do people want to elect a playground bully?”

Answer:
People may be drawn to elect leaders who exhibit "playground bully" characteristics for several complex reasons:

1. Perceived strength: Some voters associate aggressive, domineering behavior with strength and decisive leadership. They may believe a "tough" leader will better protect their interests.
2. Simplistic solutions: Bullies often present oversimplified solutions to complex problems, which can be appealing to those frustrated with nuanced policy discussions.
3. Channeling anger: Voters who feel angry or disenfranchised may be drawn to candidates who express and validate those emotions through aggressive rhetoric.
4. Dominance as success: There's a societal association between dominance behaviors and success. Some people view bullying tactics as a path to power and prosperity.
5. Fear and insecurity: In times of uncertainty, some voters are attracted to authoritarian personalities who promise security through strength.
6. Misplaced admiration: The assertiveness and confidence displayed by bullies can be mistaken for leadership qualities by some.
7. Cultural reinforcement: Competitive, aggressive behavior is often rewarded in various aspects of society, from school to the workplace.
8. Desire for change: Voters frustrated with the status quo may view a disruptive, "bull in a china shop" personality as capable of shaking up the system.
9. Media amplification: Confrontational and aggressive behavior often receives more media attention, increasing a bully's visibility and perceived importance.
10. Misunderstanding of leadership: Some may confuse bullying behavior with strong leadership, failing to recognize the importance of empathy, collaboration, and respect in effective governance.

It's important to note that electing leaders with bullying tendencies can have negative consequences for democratic institutions, social cohesion, and effective governance. Recognizing and addressing the root causes that make bullying behavior appealing in leadership is crucial for fostering healthier political discourse and decision-making.

Perplexity References:

• Why People Bully and How To Stop It 
• From the playground to politics, it’s the bullies who rule. But it doesn’t have to be this way
• Dealing With Bullies
• Bullies at school and camp can't get a pass because 'they're just kids.' Parents need to act.
• Playground bullies do prosper – and go on to earn more in middle age

In an article on ABC News they write...

As Donald Trump pivots his focus to Vice President Kamala Harris, one point of attack toward his new 2024 opponent is an old ploy: mispronouncing and mocking her name.

Earlier this week, at his first rally since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Trump bungled Harris's name dozens of times in the span of his nearly 90-minute stump speech. He told his supporters he wasn't going to be "nice" anymore.

For years, Harris has been referred to by Trump, Republicans and conservative media like Fox News by only her first name rather than "vice president" or even "Harris" -- and they say it incorrectly.

"It's one thing to mispronounce someone's name on the first try, right? But to do it repeatedly and deliberately, it feels purposeful. It's certainly done to make a point. It is othering, a way of saying you don't belong here," said Jean Sinzdak, the associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

You know what you never hear out on the campaign trail is how he is going fix the economy? What is he going to about the crumbling infrastructure? All he does is tear down people... it is all negatives coming out of Trump's mouth.

---

The thing is that their bullying and racism knows no bounds! They even attack their own.

JD Vance acknowledges white supremacist attacks against wife Usha

The Hill

BY EDEN TESHOME

July 26, 2024

Vice presidential hopeful Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) acknowledged the white supremacist attacks against his wife, Usha Vance, who is a child of Indian immigrants.

“Look, I love my wife so much. I love her because she’s who she is,” he told host Megyn Kelly on her show Friday. “Obviously, she’s not a white person, and we’ve been accused, attacked by some white supremacists over that. But I just, I love Usha.”

Usha Vance has faced a slew of far-right attacks targeting her Indian heritage following her husband’s nomination to the Republican ticket.

“Who is this guy, really? Do we really expect that the guy who has an Indian wife and named their kid Vivek is going to support white identity?” prominent white supremacist Nick Fuentes said of Vance after former President Trump announced his running mate.

Stop and think for a moment. The white supremacist support Trump but are upset over the pick for VP, what does it say about who is supporting Trump… what does it say about Trump supporters? That they are racists who are supporting a person that they see also as racist.

“As bigoted attacks against Usha Vance and Vice President Harris grow — including efforts to pit them against each other — it’s clear that the political leaders and others fueling this hate are completely disregarding the safety and wellbeing of Asian American and immigrant communities,” Stop AAPI Hate said.

Yup, that is the New Republican party… the party of evangelical Christians white supremacist.

---

My prediction!

The Trump Vance ticket will get blown away.

1. Voter were looking for a young candidate... they got one!
2. All Trump does is bully his opponent... I think he met his match in VP Harris!
3. I think people are getting tired of his rhetoric... it is nothing new, just the same old name calling!
4. I think his base is eating it up... but the other voters had enough.
5. I think he lost the Black vote if he ever had it.
6. The voters are turned off by all this religious talk. 

Are You A "Hiker" Or A "Camper"

[Opinion]
I was reading an article in the Sunday Hartford Courant about two types of employees “Hikers” and “Campers.” Inc. writes,

Hikers and Campers
Hikers are competitive employees. They want to make more money, they want to have a stake in the outcome, they want to grow, they want to win.

Campers are comfortable employees. They want stability and the certainty of what they're going to make--typically hourly or a fixed salary--and they're happy with it.

I see this as along the lines of “work at home” movement.

1. Create a top employee club

Hikers love awards, any kind of recognition that they're at the top of their game. At A1, we have a Pinnacle Club: an exclusive club for top technicians who achieve over $1.2 million of annual sales and other key performance indicators.
2. Identify the 'hidden hikers.'

I will bet that you have a few employees who are hikers, but they haven't stepped up because your culture doesn't acknowledge and motivate them. The key is more one-on-ones with your employees and learning more about their dreams. Then, get them to dream bigger: How can they get what they want by being top performers at your company? Reminder: Performance pay is a must.

This hiring approach doesn't just work for us, it has also worked for many other companies. For example, a friend in Portland who runs a garage door company wanted to grow his business. The first thing I got him to do was to implement performance pay during his worst month ever.

You picture 20 or 30 somethings in a cutthroat environment stabbing everyone else in the back to get ahead. This was written by the founder of a garage door company.

Okay here is my take on “Hikers and Campers” if you have a company where you have limited skills for the job, yeah go-getters make sense. But what about an engineering firm? Do they want hikers? What about a company where you have to learn a special skill? Do they want hikers? While a company that installs garage doors and openers they don’t need special skills the new employee can learn the job in a couple of hours.

But do you want to hire a person who is using jobs to increase their skills by hopping from one company to another. You train the new employee and then they jump ship to a new company after a year or two.

Before I retired and before the last company bought us started bring in job shoppers for engineering work but they quickly found out how impracticable that was for the type of work we did. It took four or five years to get a control system out the door. Three years of engineering work and a year for manufacturing of the system. The company hired job shoppers to design the system and then let them go. What the company found out was when problems came up during the manufacturing of the system no one knew how to correct problems because those that designed the system were no longer there.

Hikers didn’t work for us, we needed “campers.”

The same thing for manufacturing, you cannot have “work at home” for retail sales, and you cannot have “work-at-home” on a factory floor. We were in New Britain CT and engineering was on site. Well one company that bought us out moved engineering up to Windsor CT and then moved it back to New Britain. Why? Because they found when engineering was on site when manufacturing had a problem the engineer walked down the hall and out to the shop floor to look at what the problem was. But when it was in Windsor, the engineer got into his car and drove 40 minutes to us and said “Oh that goes like this!” and drove back to Windsor. So the shop, maybe ten, fifteen employees sat around twiddling their thumps for almost an hour. Do that four or five times a week and the idle hours add up! Well our English corporate master quickly moved engineering back.

The same thing is true about “work-at-home” for manufacturing jobs, you need everyone together in one building. Work-at-home might be okay for an accounting job or other “paper-pushing” jobs but for manufacturing jobs you need everyone together, we need “campers.”

[/Opinion]

I Remember

[Warning this contains geeky stuff.]

From time to time I write about what pops into my head.

Many of you know that I ran a test department in a factory… this is about how I ran my department.

Like most companies they sent us to school. Most of the time it was for factory training, like to Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) training. And once to Central Connecticut State University for a class in management.

The first night in class the professor asked us how many widgets do we make in a day? Some answered a 100, some 100,00 a day, and me? I said 1 every four years. Hun????? Well we make control systems for industrial plants; things that heat things up, things that cool things down, things that clean your water you drink, thing that clean… um… ah… your poop.

One of things we went to class for was to learn was to run four identical bays of PLCs in parallel and with two out of the four bay logic so if it detected a problem in two bays the PLCs shut down the plant. The cabinets were part of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) that monitored the plant operations.

As you see I miss not the work but the people. We were all there for over twenty-five years so we all knew out jobs and at our peak I had forty tech in my department. They were all highly motivated and knew their jobs inside and out, so how do you mange them? Simply, you don’t.

I had a list of jobs on the wall listing their due dates and I had a pile of work orders. They picked out what they wanted to do and did it. I saw my job was to keep management off their backs and if they needed some see that they can get it. I found out in the fancy college class on management that style is called Laissez-faire management style. I always gave them credit when the job went well and took the blame for when it didn’t.

The day I got my pink slip was the day I began living my true life. I went skipping out the building waving the pink slip, we were bought out by a Japanese company and they shut down the factory and use job shops instead to do the work like we did.

However, we got the last laugh. They went 2 billion, that is with a “B,” dollars in debt! You see we knew that each custom I&C (Instrumental & Control) system is unique and there will be design mistakes made “You can’t put that there! There is no way to gain access to it, you have to move it here.” we were a cost center so the engineering mistakes was just T&M (Time and Material) but with a job shop they took out their pencils and started calculating. And that was their 2 billion dollar lesson.

Do I miss work? No but I miss the social aspect of work and that’s why I don’t understand this “work-at-home.