Friday, September 20, 2024

Banned In Boston.

When you heard that you know it must be a good juicy book to read. So now we have books being banned by the conservatives.
Fighting back on book bans
NPR – Code Switch
September 18, 2024


Heads up, folks - there are spoilers for century-old high-school literature which maybe you should read - not to shame you, but, like, all right. OK.

PARKER: Hey, everyone. You're listening to CODE SWITCH from NPR. I'm B.A. Parker. In high school, there were books that stuck with me, that shaped me - "Night" by Elie Wiesel, a teenage boy's account of his experience in a Nazi concentration camp; "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, about a Nigerian warrior defeated by European colonialism; "The Stranger" by Albert Camus, about an emo French guy too cool to feel or whatever. They all took place in different parts of the world and told completely different stories, but I think each of them helped turn on an empathy valve inside of me. These books helped me navigate the world, but it wasn't just the stories, which I found fascinating - it was also the way they were taught. And that got me thinking about the person who assigned all of those books to me - my high school English teacher.

[…]

SCHELINE: So if it's a mere mention of homosexuality, does that mean I cannot have characters that are LGBTQ or alluding to the fact that they're LGBTQ? And, harmful to minors - what does - I mean, we, as a library, would not ever choose to have material that was harmful to minors. A lot of people, when we first announced that it was adults-only, assumed that we were getting rid of all of our children's literature - like, that we were dumping the kids' books. And it was hard to explain to people that eliminating a book from a library is censorship. So is this new, harmful to minors? Are we redefining it? The state legislature is like, no. No, we're not redefining it. But then others are - yes. Yes, we're redefining it. There's no clear answer in the legislation.

PARKER: It's about who can decide. Should it be the legislature, the librarian or the parent? There's no clear answer.
Right now it is the right-wing conservatives who are deciding what you and your children can read!

But push back is starting, the candidates the “Moms for Liberty” sponsored lost, of the 166 candidates that were endorsed by MoL, only 54 were successful and now…
The country’s largest publishers sue Florida over school book bans
Works by hundreds of authors, from Maya Angelou to Judy Blume, have been challenged and removed from school libraries. Now a group is suing to bring them back.
The Washington Post
By Maham Javaid
August 31, 2024


A group of major publishers, authors and parents have sued Florida education officials over a law that allows parents and local residents to limit what books are available in school libraries if they depict or describe “sexual conduct.”

The lawsuit filed by Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins and others alleges that the state law, enacted last year, brought about hundreds of book removals and is violating First Amendment rights to free speech.

According to the lawsuit, some of the books that Florida has required be removed from school libraries under House Bill 1069 include: Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughter-House Five.”

The lawsuit challenges a section of the bill that requires school districts to remove a book that “depicts or describes sexual content” or is “pornographic.” One process to remove books from school libraries under the law allows parents to read out loud the controversial passages during a school board meeting, and if the board halts the reading due to explicit content, the school must “discontinue use of the material.”

Florida officials have described this week’s lawsuit as a “stunt.”
I’m surprised that they also didn’t sue for slander and libel for saying that the books were “depicts or describes sexual content” or is “pornographic.”

The Salt Lake Tribune wrote that these bans are also costing the taxpayers money!
Book bans cost Utah taxpayers thousands of dollars. Here’s how much two school districts spent.
Two Utah school districts removed all 13 titles now banned in public schools statewide — and collectively spent more than $29,000 to do so.
By Carmen Nesbitt
September 14, 2024


Banning books in Utah’s public schools comes with a hefty price tag, including the costs of purchasing copies for committees to review.

In the Davis School District alone, that cost topped $27,000 during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, according to records obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune.

Over those two years, the district reviewed around 100 titles. While not all were removed, they did ban the 13 books that are now prohibited in every public school across Utah.

That’s because, under a new law, local decisions can now lead to a book being banned from public schools statewide if at least three school districts (or at least two school districts and five charter schools) determine a book amounts to “objective sensitive material” — pornographic or otherwise indecent content, as defined by Utah code.

[…]

The district spent nearly $980 to purchase copies for 11 of the 13 books banned from public schools statewide. The records provided to The Tribune did not include costs for “Forever” by Judy Blume and “A Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J. Maas.

This from a party that doesn’t want to fund the government and are willing to close down the government to push their lies and ideology!

Vote Blue to stop this invasion of Republicans into school and library boards!

I Cannot Believe This... This...

Everywhere we look in the Republican party there are thugs! And remember that he is endorsed by Trump...
The Washington Post
By Patrick Svitek, Amy Gardner and Hannah Knowles
September 19, 2024


Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, vowed to continue his campaign Thursday amid the fallout over a CNN story about comments he made on a pornographic website’s message board more than a decade ago.

CNN published the story Thursday afternoon, reporting that Robinson had called himself a “black NAZI!” on the forum in 2010 and voiced support for bringing back slavery the same year. Robinson, who has expressed hostility toward transgender people in his campaign, also said on the message board that he likes to watch transgender pornography.

CNN reported that many of Robinson’s comments were “gratuitously sexual and lewd in nature,” and were made between 2008 and 2012 on “Nude Africa,” a pornographic website that includes a message board. CNN said the comments were made under the username minisoldr, a moniker Robinson used frequently online.

Robinson denied making the comments to CNN.

The GOP candidate sought to get ahead of the story with a video he posted on social media shortly before the report’s publication.

“Let me reassure you: The things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson,” Robinson said in the video, posted Thursday afternoon on X. He ended the video by declaring he is “staying in this race.”
So he is saying that the story is fake? Gee, now that's original.

The New Republic writes,
The Trump-endorsed candidate in North Carolina’s gubernatorial race could soon lose his spot on the ticket due to an in-house ouster.

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson is a Hitler-quoting, gay-bashing, conspiracy-touting antisemite, and has drawn immediate comparisons to Donald Trump for his bombastic orations and loyal GOP following, along with his own laundry list of controversies.
Why am I not surprised to hear this about a Republican?

Thursday, September 19, 2024

This Says A Lot

With Trump denying that he will ban abortions well nobody told the Republicans in the Senate. The Democrats introduced a bill to guarantee a woman’s right to In Vitro Fertilization.
NPR
By Deirdre Walsh
September 17, 2024


Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bill to provide a nationwide right to IVF treatments. It was the second time Senate Democrats tried and failed to advance the measure.

Reproductive freedom has remained a central issue in several Senate contests that will determine which party controls of the chamber after the November election. Democrats used the vote in an effort to draw a public contrast with Republicans over an issue that has animated voters across the country.

The procedural vote required 60 votes to advance he bill, but it failed 51- 44.
The other side of the aisle introduced their bill…
The Hill
By Joseph Choi
September 17, 2024


Democrats on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Katie Britt (Ala.) to pass a GOP in vitro fertilization (IVF) access bill through unanimous consent, repeating a similar showdown that occurred earlier this year.

Cruz sought unanimous consent for the IVF Protection Act, which was blocked by Democrats in June at the same time their own IVF access bill, the Right to IVF Act, was blocked by Republicans.

The senator from Texas blasted the vote on the Democrats’ bill Tuesday as a “show vote” as Republicans blocked it once again. He accused Democrats of using the vote to reap material for campaign commercials and damaging headlines.
Of course their bill wasn’t also a “Show Vote”
“I have been perfectly clear about the glaring issue with this Republican bill,” Murray said. “The cold, hard reality is this Republican bill does nothing to meaningfully protect IVF from the biggest threats from lawmakers and anti-abortion extremists all over this country. It would still allow states to regulate IVF out of existence. And this bill is silent on fetal personhood, which is the biggest threat to IVF.”

In a press release shortly after she blocked Cruz and Britt’s bill, Murray similarly criticized it as a “show-bill.”

While both bills had similar aims of ensuring IVF access at the federal level, there were some distinct differences. The GOP bill would bar states from receiving Medicaid funding if they implement a ban on IVF but explicitly does not guarantee a right to IVF services.
Of course both parties are going to hold up their bills and go “See!”

My body, my choice.
My body, my choice.
My body, my choice.

Vote Blue!
 

 
Update 3:30PM
J.D. Vance’s Weak Excuse for “Pet Eating” Lie Just Blew Up In His Face
At bottom, Vance’s whole purpose of running with this grotesque scam about Haitians has not been to draw attention to the story of Springfield, but to rewrite it.
The New Republic
By Greg Sargent
September 19, 2024


Prepare to be shocked: At around the time J.D. Vance started dissembling about Haitians eating people’s house pets, a Vance campaign staffer privately spoke with the city manager of Springfield, Ohio, where thousands of Haitians have settled. The Wall Street Journal reports that the official informed Vance’s staffer that online rumors of pet eating in the city were flatly false. But Vance then amplified the claim. Donald Trump followed suit, adding—because nobody out-embellishes Trump—that along with cats, Haitians are also consuming Springfield’s dogs.

They knew it was all a lie. But they kicked off this whole campaign of hate and demagoguery anyway.

These revelations should prompt a reconsideration of one of this campaign’s ugliest moments: Vance’s defense of the pet-eating fabrication on CNN last Sunday. “If I have to create stories” to get the media to cover the impact of immigration, he said, “then that’s what I’m going to do.” 

[...]

If it is OK to level such a despicable, dehumanizing smear at a vulnerable minority population to corral media attention in this fashion, then what sort of lying and propaganda about an exposed, assailable, encircled out group would not be justified? Does Vance’s code of political ethics have any limiting principle that you can discern?
Do you know how much it must have costed the city of Springfield to closed down schools and municipal buildings? And then there was all the police work to check the bomb threats?

All for votes! They don't care about the collateral damage all the care about is votes!

Vote Blue... for honesty, integrity, and true family values!



Update: 5:30PM

Words have power and to misuse that power is unconscionable and causes harm.
City temporarily suspends purchasing, contracting procedures to better respond to safety risks, threats of violence
Springfield News - Sun
By Jessica Orozco
September 19, 2024


Springfield Mayor Rob Rue on Thursday issued a proclamation that “grants the mayor temporary emergency powers to mitigate public safety concerns” in response to threats toward city employees and residents.

The proclamation, which city government said was issued under the authority of Springfield’s Charter and Codified Ordinances, includes an “expedited procurement process.”

“To swiftly acquire resources needed to address potential threats, the city is temporarily suspending standard purchasing and contracting procedures,” a city statement said. “This will enable departments to respond more efficiently to emerging risks, including civil unrest, cyber threats, and potential acts of violence.”

City officials said the proclamation will stay in effect until the city determines risks to public safety have subsided. They said it could be modified depending on changing circumstances.

“Ensuring the safety of Springfield’s residents is our top priority,” Rue said. “We are addressing these threats with the seriousness they warrant and are taking immediate steps to ensure the security of both our community and our employees. Our commitment to preventing harm is unwavering.”

Rue talked earlier this week about the strain the city is already under, as police and other staff have responded to dozens of hoax threats. Those came shortly after the city was thrust into the national spotlight when unsupported claims that Haitian immigrants were eating pets went viral, amplified by the Donald Trump-JD Vance Republican presidential ticket.
Even with all this happening in the city they still continue to spread the lies and putting lives at risk!
After days of threats to schools, medical centers and government facilities, Springfield saw threats Wednesday to large retail stores. At least three stores were evacuated and closed for a few hours Wednesday — Walmart Supercenters at 200 S. Tuttle Road and 2100 N. Bechtle Ave., and the Kroger at 2728 E. Main St.

A worker at the Bechtle Walmart said the store closed after receiving a bomb threat. A Walmart spokesperson said the store on Tuttle Road was evacuated “at the direction of local police.”
I think back to when Joseph Welch replied to Sen. McCarthy during a hearing on the Army, the History Channel writes,
In a dramatic confrontation, Joseph Welch, special counsel for the U.S. Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether communism has infiltrated the U.S. armed forces. Welch’s verbal assault—including the enduring question "Have you no sense of decency?"—marked the end of McCarthy’s power during the anticommunist hysteria of the Red Scare in America.
I would ask Trump and Vance the same question, "Have you no sense of decency?"

Whose “Parents Rights?”

It seems to be one sided… and we are going to court over it! And our healthcare is on the bench.
As a new term of Supreme Court rulemaking approaches, minors’ access to gender-affirming care is on the chopping block. In the high-profile case L.W. v. Skrmetti, the court will decide whether statutory bans on treating gender dysphoria—already in place in about half of states—violate the Constitution or survive judicial scrutiny. The outcome will have an immediate impact on the health and well-being of countless minors residing in red states whose doctors and parents agree that they are in need of medical treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapies to handle incongruence between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity. In addition, the decision in Skrmetti will have a broader effect, either restraining or legitimizing numerous other anti-LGBTQ+ bills rapidly spreading across the country and hounding minors and adults alike.

[…]

The issue arrived at the highest court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit affirmed treatment bans enacted by Tennessee and Kentucky, rejecting a pair of distinct constitutional challenges raised by trans minors, parents, and doctors who regularly provide gender-affirming care. Those plaintiffs argued that the bans not only discriminate on the basis of sex and transgender status in violation of the equal protection clause but also infringe on fundamental parental rights protected under the due process clause. When the 6th Circuit dismissed these two claims, the plaintiffs from Tennessee and Kentucky filed separate petitions for Supreme Court review of the ruling’s reasoning regarding discrimination and parental rights. Regrettably, the court has taken no action on these petitions thus far.
Our healthcare should be between us and our doctors! Not some judge.
The issue arrived at the highest court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit affirmed treatment bans enacted by Tennessee and Kentucky, rejecting a pair of distinct constitutional challenges raised by trans minors, parents, and doctors who regularly provide gender-affirming care. Those plaintiffs argued that the bans not only discriminate on the basis of sex and transgender status in violation of the equal protection clause but also infringe on fundamental parental rights protected under the due process clause. When the 6th Circuit dismissed these two claims, the plaintiffs from Tennessee and Kentucky filed separate petitions for Supreme Court review of the ruling’s reasoning regarding discrimination and parental rights. Regrettably, the court has taken no action on these petitions thus far.
There is only one party that is going after us, there is only one party that is creating animosity against us, there is only one party passing laws against us. The ACLU writes about the case,
In addition to banning best practice medical care for trans youth up to age 18, Public Chapter No. 1 would require trans youth currently receiving gender-affirming care to end that care within nine months of the law’s effective date of July 1, 2023, or by March 31, 2024. The law also establishes a private right of action against medical providers providing medically necessary care to trans youth.
This case will affect all the states that are banning our healthcare and has the ability ban our healthcare in all of those states.
 
My body, my choice!
My body, my choice
My body, my choice!

Vote Blue!
 

 
You remember that a judge Trump appointed dismissed the classified document case, well that judge like another judge do not believe that laws apply to them.
Judge Aileen Cannon Failed to Disclose a Right-Wing Junket
Cannon, whose oversight of the Donald Trump classified documents case has garnered widespread criticism, has repeatedly violated a rule requiring that federal judges disclose their attendance at private seminars.
ProPublica
by Marilyn W. Thompson and Alex Mierjeski
September 17, 2024


Federal Judge Aileen M. Cannon, the controversial jurist who tossed out the classified documents criminal case against Donald Trump in July, failed to disclose her attendance at a May 2023 banquet funded by a conservative law school.

Cannon went to an event in Arlington, Va. honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, according to documents obtained from the Law and Economics Center at George Mason University. At a lecture and private dinner, she sat among members of Scalia’s family, fellow Federalist Society members and more than 30 conservative federal judges. Organizers billed the event as “an excellent opportunity to connect with judicial colleagues.”

A 2006 rule, intended to shine a light on judges’ attendance at paid seminars that could pose conflicts or influence decisions, requires them to file disclosure forms for such trips within 30 days and make them public on the court’s website.

It’s not the first time she has failed to fully comply with the rule.

In 2021 and 2022, Cannon took weeklong trips to the luxurious Sage Lodge in Pray, Montana, for legal colloquiums sponsored by George Mason, which named its law school for Scalia thanks to $30 million in gifts that conservative judicial kingmaker Leonard Leo helped organize.
Yep, just like the other Republicans, laws don't apply to them.
 

True Blue State?

Yeah, we’re Blue but you know what not everywhere is Blue the suburbs are a dark Red and they don’t want to recognize the fact that they are racist, homophobic, and transphobic.

CASE #1 Cromwell.
Cromwell racist school bullying incidents prompt calls for 'swift' action
The Middletown Press
By Cassandra Day
March 22, 2024


After allegations of racial bullying at Cromwell High School, one official is stressing the urgency of "swift" action to curb "hate crimes.”

The issue came to light two weeks ago after a student posted allegations on Reddit, describing themselves as a Black teen at the high school who faced racism and bullying themselves or witnessed it.  

Since then Superintendent Enza Macri said education officials, the school community and Mayor James Demetriades have been “working around the clock” to address the problem.

[…]

The mayor laid out several actions he hopes the district will consider, including periodic reporting of progress with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; having town and school leaders meet with members of the high school Unity Club; and tasking the DEI consultant with guiding the community, helping it heal and strengthening trust.
CASE #2 East Haddam
There’s frustration and anger in East Haddam Public Schools. State police are investigating a series of racist messages and videos that they say targeted a middle school student.

Some in the community are demanding the district take action against those responsible.

“This is not to be tolerated. I do not want my children to see this,” Brandon Spencer, a parent, said.

Visible anger from parents during Wednesday’s East Haddam Board of Education meeting. Many disgusted by the news that racist images and videos were sent to a student at Nathan Hale Ray Middle School. A current high school student appalled by the behavior.

“People I care about are in this school and they are surrounded by this hatred that should not exist in schools,” Ashley St. Germaine, a high school student, said.
CASE #3 Glastonbury
Condemning hate in the Town of Glastonbury. During Tuesday’s regular meeting, town councilors responded to community concerns over social media threats at the high school.

“Today, I, a tax-paying Glastonbury High School graduate and potential homebuyer, was told from the comfort of my home that I am unwelcome here.”

Heaven Diaz spoke directly to Glastonbury town councilors during Tuesday’s meeting. She says the news of racist social media posts targeting Black students at the high school brought pain.

“I demand accountability and change. Racism isn't something people are born with. It is taught and you should feel ashamed that such hatred can be nurtured in our community,” she said.

A 16-year-old was arrested Monday after Glastonbury Police say they illegally accessed another teen's account on Discord in June. Police say the teenager used the account to reportedly reference the KKK and Hitler, make a bomb threat, and death threats toward Black students. The owner of that account is considered a victim with the arrested teen facing hate crime charges.

One parent who says her son was a target of threats is questioning his safety at school.
Even though we have a Democrat governor, even though we have a Democrat legislature you get away from the cities and it turns red.

CASE #4 Watertown



The Clown Car Strikes Again!

With just days to go the Republican clown car strikes again with a government shut down! An edict came on down from the cult leader… Thou shall put party before country!
Former President Donald Trump is drawing a hard line for congressional Republicans, urging them to shut down the government if the continuing resolution to keep it open doesn't include the controversial SAVE Act, a measure requiring proof of citizenship for voting.

"If Republicans don't get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form," Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.

Trump has ramped up his demands as House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, scramble to avert a government shutdown before the September 30 deadline.

Johnson's plan, a six-month stopgap funding measure combined with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, is scheduled for a vote Wednesday. The legislation has drawn sharp criticism from within Johnson's own party, making its passage uncertain.
What is the SAVE Act? It is the “Big Lie” on steroids, it requires proof of citizenship in order to vote. First of all even if they pass the bill it would never make it in to law before the elections. But mainly it is based on the lie of illegal aliens voting it is a flat out lie that keep spreading just like the Haitian immigrants eating cats and dogs. (Which had lead to multiple bomb threats, an unknown white powder sent through the mail, and other threat against Springfield Ohio.)

They are willing to shut down the government for the “Big Lie” so Trump can get elected.

Politico...
Speaker Mike Johnson’s six-month government funding plan failed on the House floor Wednesday amid yet another rebellion within the House Republican conference over spending.

The collapse, which was expected, follows a weeklong effort to shore up support for Johnson’s stopgap, which would leave federal agencies with largely static budgets through March 28. It also included legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote, known as the SAVE Act. GOP leaders pulled the package from the floor last week amid the same internal party problems, pushing forward with a vote Wednesday despite dim prospects for passage.

Fourteen House Republicans ultimately joined most Democrats to sink Johnson’s stopgap proposal on Wednesday, culminating in a 202-220 vote, with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voting present. Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Don Davis (D-N.C.) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) were the Democrats who voted for the measure.
Party before country.
Party before the voters.

Where have you heard that before?

Vote Blue to keep our democracy!

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Laramie.

For my generation this has grave meaning, we remember the tortured death of Mathew Shepard that lead to a federal bias law, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

For those who are not familiar with his murder, the Guardian wrote this after the 25 anniversary of his murder,
On October 7 1998, Matthew Shepard, a young, gay student at the University of Wyoming, was found badly beaten and barely alive, lashed to a fence in the hills outside the small mid-west town of Laramie (population: 26,000). His attackers, two young, ill-educated local men the same age as Shepard, who had picked him up from a local bar, robbed him and left him to die in the wilderness, were quickly apprehended. Five days later, Shepard died, as journalists descended, making snap judgements about why this homophobic crime had taken place, what it meant about Laramie, and what it said about the state of America. Then the media melted away.

At that this point, the Tectonic Theater Project moved in. Members of the company went to Laramie and spent over a year interviewing locals. The result is a remarkable piece of verbatim theatre that pieces together the story of Shepard and presents a detailed portrait of a small US town, in the residents' own words.
From his murder a play was written, “The Laramie Project.”

The play described his murder and the trial, but it also had the “Angles”* which was people dressed like angles with sheets as wings to block the protests be an anti-LGBTQ+ church protesters by Westboro Baptist Church. And now there is a court case that says that the play Laramine Protect discriminates against religion. The play is about a historic event!
School must face Christian bias claim over staging of 'Laramie Project,' U.S. court says
Corey McNellis said he was fired at a Colorado high school for offering “a Christian perspective” on a school play about the murder of a gay college student.
NBC News
By Reuters
September 11. 2024


A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived religious discrimination claims by the former assistant principal of a Colorado high school who says he was fired for offering “a Christian perspective” on a school play about the murder of a gay college student.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said plaintiff Corey McNellis could proceed with a bias lawsuit against the Douglas County School District because school administrators allegedly cited his “religious comments” about the play as the basis for his 2020 firing.

McNellis in an email exchange with the school’s theater director and other faculty members suggested that as a Christian he disagreed with students staging a production of "The Laramie Project," which depicts the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming.

The 10th Circuit panel said a Colorado federal judge was wrong to rule that McNellis could not prove his religious bias claims under federal and Colorado laws because he had not alleged that the school district treated him differently than non-Christian coworkers.
The Catholic Vote reports,
Following an October email from the theater department to all school staff announcing the play, McNellis responded by email, asking, “As a Dad of a student here and also as an employee in the school, what is my recourse if I disagree with the production? Was this a heads up to see if everyone was cool?”

The Assistant Principal and father of a family followed up with subsequent emails, in which he stated, “As a [C]hristian I would love to collaborate with your project… Please let me know if the love that Jesus can provide will help your play.”

McNellis also stated that he stood alone within the administration in his objections to the play and its content. “For the record, all of administration does not agree with me on this” he said in an email. “I am totally solo… Forgive me for having a different viewpoint and the audacity to publicly share it.”

McNellis was subsequently placed on administrative leave by the Douglas County School District and investigated for his “religious comments” regarding the play. He complained at the time to the school’s Principal, Mr. Ottmann, and several colleagues that he was facing investigation “based on his Christian beliefs.”
Okay, from what I read I don’t know if the firing was justified, just sending the email I don’t see as justifying the firing.

What I do question is what he sees as a problem “As a [C]hristian I would love to collaborate with your project…” what do they see wrote with the play? It is pretty straight forward discription of what happened during the murder and the trial. Lit Charts writes,
The Laramie Project
by Moisés Kaufman


Religion is a strong presence in Laramie, and many people of different faiths are represented in The Laramie Project. For those people, the religious teachings with which they grew up tend to influence the prejudice or acceptance with which they view Matthew Shepard. Because of this, the town’s religious leaders have tremendous power to shape public opinion, and their reactions to Matthew’s death reflect the reactions of the town at large. Through its focus on several of the town’s religious leaders, The Laramie Project grapples, in particular, with the ambiguous ethics of situations in which religious doctrine seems to inspire or justify immoral acts.

[…]

Meanwhile, the most extreme minister in Laramie, the Baptist minister, equivocates when asked about the violence against Matthew. Effectively, the Baptist minister weighs Matthew's sexuality against his murder, suggesting that Matthew may have deserved to be murdered because of his sexuality. The Baptist Minister, in believing that Matthew’s brutal death might be God’s punishment, seems to view God as a figure to be feared rather than a figure of love and mercy. Fred Phelps, a minister from the notorious Westboro Baptist Church, provides an extreme example of hate-focused religious interpretation when he protests Matthew Shepard’s funeral, shouting horrible things about God’s wrath. Fred Phelps’s church is a Christian church, and so it is based in the same texts and traditional doctrine as the Baptist, Catholic, or Mormon churches. Through Fred Phelps’s presence, the play shows how the same general religion (Christianity) that Father Schmit interprets as obligating him to hold a vigil for Matthew can also inspire someone to promote the same kind of violence that killed Matthew.

Okay, I don’t understand what they want, do they not like the truth about the murder? Or the fact that the Westboro Baptist Church protested with homophobic signs at his funeral? Or the counter protests by the Angles?

Now if the religious leaders get their way, then I think that the affirming churches should also get the say.
 
*****
 
*Angles
During the 1999 trial proceedings against Matt’s killer Aaron McKinney, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas protested in front of the courthouse in Laramie, Wyoming while waving vulgar signs and shouting hate speech. Matt’s friend Romaine Patterson and others fashioned angel costumes with broad white wings and encircled the church group, spreading their wings to make them impossible to see from the crowd where media cameras were located. This act is immortalized in the play (and later HBO production of) The Laramie Project.

Voter Intimidation

Earlier in the month I wrote about governor DeDsantis using police to question voters who signed the petition for the abortion ballot question. The voter felt intimidated with the police checking them. Now we have another case of voter intimidation this time by the police!
Ohio sheriff suggests residents keep a list of homes with Harris yard signs
Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski used anti-immigrant rhetoric and denounced both the vice president and her supporters.
NBC News
By Raquel Coronell Uribe
September 16, 2024


A sheriff in Ohio who made disparaging remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris and immigrants on social media suggested that residents compile a list of addresses where they see yard signs in support of the Democratic presidential nominee.

In a public Facebook post Friday, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski used anti-immigrant rhetoric and denounced both Harris and her supporters.

"When people ask me...What’s gonna happen if the Flip — Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins?? I say...write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards! Sooo...when the Illegal human ‘Locust’ (which she supports!) Need places to live...We’ll already have the addresses of the their New families...who supported their arrival!" the post said.
What racist language! What intimidation to suppress voter’s First Amendment rights!
The post Zuchowski shared also included TV images mentioning Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio — towns that have become flashpoints in the immigration debate.
To me this sounds like the sheriff is stirring up a racism. The Washington Post wrote,
The sheriff’s posts sparked tension across Portage County, which President Donald Trump carried by 12 points in the 2020 election. Some residents accused Zuchowski of voter intimidation ahead of November’s election. One Republican official described the post as “bullying” and stepped down from a role with a county GOP committee, the Portager reported.
And that was from his own party!

One side is getting very nervous and are starting to muckrake and turn to dirty tricks, stirring up racial tensions with lies.

Vote Blue.



Update: 4:30PM

Now that the proverbial s**t hit the fan the sheriff is doubling down.
September 18, 2024


An Ohio county sheriff has spoken out again after telling residents to write down the addresses of homeowners with signs supporting Vice President Kamala Harris in their front yards.

Portage County Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski shared a Facebook post on Tuesday saying a previous post from Sept. 13 about Harris and migrants might have been taken the wrong way.

"As the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Portage County, I have sworn to protect ALL citizens of my County," Zuchowski wrote in the social media post. "Recently, I placed a post on my personal Facebook page that may have been a little misinterpreted??"

Zuchowski then wrote how he "as the elected sheriff" has a "First Amendment right, as do all citizens."

[...]

"When people ask me…What's gonna happen if the Flip - Flopping, Laughing Hyena Wins?? I say…write down all the addresses of the people who had her signs in their yards," Zuchowski wrote in the Facebook post. "Sooo…when the Illegal human "Locust" (which she supports!) Need places to live…We'll already have the addresses of their New families…who supported their arrival!"
This name calling guy is the sheriff!
Barber called Zuchowski's Facebook post "very appalling" and said his comments regarding Harris and migrants had "very racist undertones." He also said, that as sheriff, Zuchowski took an oath to protect all Portage County citizens despite their political views.
When you are a government official the rules are different, you give up some of your rights and take on new duties and responsibilities. And one of those duties is to treat both sides of an election equally and without bias, which he seems to disregard. 

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Enough Of With Politics… The Emmy’s

A trans woman got nominated for an Emmy!
Nava Mau and Laverne Cox shared a heartwarming moment after celebrating a historic Emmy nomination.
Pink News
By Amelia Hansford
September 16, 2024


The trans actresses and absolute icons emotionally embraced during an interview at the 2024 Emmy Awards after Mau was nominated for best supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie.

The 32-year-old star made history after becoming the first openly Latina trans nominee to be nominated at the Emmy’s for her work in Baby Reindeer.

“I’m supposed to keep it together, I’m the host,” an emotional Cox said in a clip shared by E! News. “I’m so proud of you.

“I’m so proud of you. This show is so incredible, and the work that you do is so amazing,” Cox continued. “Ten years ago, I became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Emmy, and ten years later, I’m not the last.”

Cox, 52, famously became the first transgender woman nominated for an Emmy Award in 2014 for her work as Sophia Burset in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black.
KQED writes about the movie,
Baby Reindeer tells the story of Donny Dunn (played by series creator Richard Gadd), a struggling Scottish comedian with an obsessive stalker, Martha (Jessica Gunning). Mau’s character, Teri, is Donny’s main love interest, and she gets dragged into a strange and dangerous love triangle. By demanding that Donny show her the respect she deserves, and deal with his unfinished business, Teri becomes the moral center of the show, offering a vision of a healed and resilient individual.

Baby Reindeer is refreshing because it doesn’t fixate on Teri’s struggles as a trans woman, nor does it condescendingly use her journey to teach Donny life lessons. Rather, she comes across as a fully formed woman whose life meaningfully intersects with Donny’s. Where her trans history is relevant, the script treats it in ways that are subtle, complex and authentic. The show is sensitive to the fact that Teri carries scars from being a trans woman in this world, and lets them slip delicately into the plot as would the details of any complex individual’s life.

“In many shows, trans people’s function is almost to be the safer trauma and the subject of pity,” Mau says. “It really felt like [Gadd] wanted to honor Teri’s power and all the ways that she pierces through Donny’s hiding. As a writer, Richard imbued a lot of gratitude for her. I needed to bring that into my performance.”
When I starts on streaming services that is when I’ll watch it, I’m no longer a fan of the big screen because for me it is hard to sit through the whole movie.

It was only a few years ago I was saying that they were not giving any trans actresses a chance and trans people were played by cis-actors. The times they are a changing,

They Have To Know.

The Supreme Court has ruled on it many, many times. The writers of the Constitution knew it was so important that they went and wrote into the Constitution as the First Amendment.
My High Plains
By: Caden Keenan
September 12, 2024


A Texas Panhandle nonprofit focused on advocating for and supporting LGBTQ+ community members filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Canyon on Wednesday after it was denied a permit for its annual celebration in March and allegedly was given a blanket refusal for any future events.

The Amarillo Area Transgender Advocacy Group filed a lawsuit against the City of Canyon on Wednesday in Amarillo Federal Court, alleging that the city violated the nonprofit’s First Amendment rights and requesting a jury trial to seek a resolution.

As previously reported on MyHighPlains.com, AATAG applied for a permit to hold its third annual Transgender Day of Visibility Celebration in Paul Lindsey Park in Canyon in March, the same location used for the event as in previous years. However, the City of Canyon denied the permit due to what city staff described as alleged public safety issues and “lewd” behavior seen during the 2023 event.

At the time of the permit denial, AATAG President Sam Burnett said city staff reported there had been “absolutely” no issues during the 2023 event, and noted there were no phone calls made from the city or police department to AATAG about issues after the fact.
Now these case have been brought in 2023, a federal judge blocked an Aurora Illinois laws about Pride parades and there are other cases pending.

Then when they lose in court they scream “Activist Judges!” because the judge didn’t rule the  way they wanted.
The lawsuit alleges that the City of Canyon denied the event permit in spite of AATAG’s First Amendment rights as well as against city policy mandating that event permits cannot be denied based upon factors such as sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, the message of the event nor assumptions or predictions about possible hostility in the public triggered by it.

AATAG also alleges in the lawsuit that the City of Canyon “has been unwilling to reconsider its outright denial of AATAG’s permit application. City officials have flatly refused to consider whether there are terms by which the City would grant an event permit to AATAG, confirming that the Denial Letter effectively serves as a permanent, blanket ban on any future AATAG events in any public forum in Canyon, indefinitely.”
The right-wing agitators come in and make trouble and they charge more money because of the violence against them? 

Monday, September 16, 2024

How Can You Trust A Chronic Liar?

Do you trust anything that Trump says? It seems like every time he opens his mouth a lie comes out.

Here is a score card for the debate according to PolitiFact...

Trump Harris
  • Trump repeats debunked claim about Haitian immigrants in Ohio* - Pants on Fire!
  • Trump: "But the governor before, he said, ‘The baby will be born, and we will decide what to do with the baby.’" - False.
  • Trump: "Every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, liberal, conservative, they all wanted (abortion) to be brought back to the states where the people could vote." - False.
  • Trump: "It was a fraud, just like their number of 818,000 jobs that they said they created turned out to be a fraud." - Pants on Fire.
  • Trump: "Millions and millions of people … are pouring into our country monthly. Where it's, I believe 21 million people." - False.
  • Trump: "Do you know that crime in Venezuela and crime in countries all over the world is way down. You know why? Because they've taken their criminals off the street, and they've given them to (Harris) to put into our country." - Pants on Fire!
  • Trump: Under Biden and Harris, the U.S. had "the worst inflation we've ever had." - False.
  • Trump: Referring to the lawsuits he and allies filed alleging irregularities in the 2020 presidential election that he lost, "No judge looked at it. … They said we didn’t have standing. A technicality." - False.
  • Trump: Harris "wouldn't even meet with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech. She refused to be there 'cause she was at a sorority party of hers." - Half True.
  • Trump: Harris "has a plan to defund the police." - Mostly False.
  • Trump: On the Affordable Care Act, "I saved it." - False.
  • Trump: Harris "wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison." - Mostly True.
  • Trump: "Crime here is up and through the roof." - Mostly False.
  • Harris: "Economists have said that (the) Trump sales tax would actually result for middle-class families in about $4,000 more a year." - Half True.
  • Harris: "Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression." - False.
  • Harris: When he was president, Trump "invited the Taliban to Camp David." - True.
  • Harris: "In (Trump’s) Project 2025 there would be a national abortion, a monitor that would be monitoring your pregnancies, your miscarriages." - Mostly False.
  • Harris: "The Trump administration resulted in a trade deficit — one of the highest we’ve ever seen in the history of America." - Mostly False.
  • Harris: "We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history." - Half True.

Okay, what do you think? Is Trump a chronic liar?

Do you trust anything he says?

I have been called out for saying that Trump is lying about not knowing about Project 2025 but just look at the facts. I asked Perplexity AI: “Did Trump ever praise Project 2025?

Answer
Based on the search results, there is strong evidence that many of the people who wrote Project 2025 did indeed work for Trump:
  1.     A CNN review found that over 140 former Trump administration officials were involved in Project 2025, including more than half of the people listed as authors, editors and contributors. [1]
  2.    Former Trump officials authored, in full or in part, 25 out of the 30 chapters in the Project 2025 agenda. [2]
  3.    Six of Trump's former Cabinet secretaries and about 20 pages are credited to his first deputy chief of staff. [1]
  4.    Specific examples of former Trump officials who contributed include:
  • Russell Vought (former OMB Director)
  • Christopher Miller (former Acting Secretary of Defense)
  • Ken Cuccinelli (former DHS official)
  • Ben Carson (former HUD Secretary)
  • Mandy Gunasekara (former EPA official)
  • William Perry Pendley (former BLM official)
  • Bernard McNamee (former FERC commissioner) [5]
  1.   The Heritage Foundation, which is spearheading Project 2025, employs many people closely tied to Trump. [1]
  2.   Despite Trump's attempts to distance himself from the project, the extensive involvement of his former officials has complicated these efforts. [3 & 4]
In summary, there is substantial evidence that a large number of Project 2025 contributors previously worked in the Trump administration, spanning various levels from Cabinet secretaries to senior aides and agency officials.
References:
  1. Project 2025
  2. Former Trump Officials Wrote 25 of the 30 Chapters in the Project 2025 Playbook
  3. Trump claims not to know who is behind Project 2025. A CNN review found at least 140 people who worked for him are involved
  4. Project 2025: The right-wing wish list for another Trump presidency
  5. Former Project 2025 director downplays Trump ties, but says he hopes he’d implement the plan
  6. Project 2025, Explained
  7. What We Know About Trump’s Link To Project 2025—As Author Claims Ex-President ‘Blessed It’ In Secret Recording

 * The city of Springfield is now receiving bomb threats!

The Cass Report

You remember that? I wrote about it here, here, and here. The report condemned puberty blockers, well a new report is out this time from Australia.
In short:
An independent review into gender-affirming care for children has found that puberty suppression treatment is still "safe, effective and reversible".
The NSW government commissioned the report in the wake of a Four Corners investigation into Westmead Hospital's troubled gender clinic.

What's next?
  • The review calls for more long-term quality research, acknowledging the strength of the evidence is low.
  • An independent review commissioned by the NSW government in the wake of a Four Corners story into gender-affirming care for children has found that puberty suppression treatment is still "safe, effective and reversible" but calls for more long-term quality research, acknowledging the strength of evidence is low.
  • The NSW government commissioned the report by the Sax Institute in the wake of a Four Corners report into gender-affirming care and a growing dispute among some clinicians in NSW about what was best for children with gender issues, as a polarising and sometimes toxic debate over the gender "affirmation" model plays out around the world.
  • Gender-affirming care can include puberty blockers to suppress puberty for young people distressed by their changing body. In some cases, this is followed by cross-sex hormones to change people's bodies to align with their gender.
Meanwhile back in Britain…
BMA stance on Cass review of transgender care ‘has damaged its reputation’
‘Climate of fear’ at British Medical Association after it rejected findings of landmark study, leading member claims
Jacky Davis: The BMA no longer speaks for doctors trying to protect children
The Guardian
By Denis Campbell, Health Policy Editor
7 Sep 2024


The British Medical Association has threatened the reputation of all UK doctors by rejecting the findings of the landmark Cass review of transgender healthcare, a leading member of the BMA has told the Observer.

Dr Jacky Davis claims that the doctors’ union’s stance on the Cass review is “irrational”, has created a “fracture” between its leadership and the grassroots doctors it represents and left the medical profession “in an uproar”.

The BMA refused to endorse the findings of Dr Hilary Cass, whose review was published in April and was widely welcomed. It claimed the review contained “unsubstantiated recommendations” and its council called on members to “publicly critique” it. Last month, the BMA also called for the ban on prescribing puberty blockers for under-18s to be lifted.
The far-right in Britain just like the far-right here,
Doctors on the BMA’s ruling council who have dared to challenge its criticism of the Cass review have been subject to “abuse” and its decision-making body is now shrouded in “a climate of fear and intimidation”, Davis claims.

Writing in the Observer, Davis, who has been a member of the association’s council for 18 years, says: “The BMA now finds itself isolated in its opposition to Cass, and with its reputation and integrity damaged.”
All of this negative press is having an affect on trans people here.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently allowed Florida’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth to go back into effect.

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Charles Wilson stated, “This matter is a medical issue, where patients are best left to make decisions alongside health professionals, with access to complete, unbiased information, as needed.”

Wilson’s words demonstrate how bans like the one in Florida not only affect transgender individuals, but also disrupt health professionals’ ability to communicate with patients about evidence-based care.

While we should not forget transgender youths and their families are the central target of these bans, the legislation also interferes with healthcare providers’ ability to do their jobs. The systemic impact of these providers’ moral distress, and the medical brain drain and burnout that follows, means that these bans affect every single person in this country seeking health care.

As an LGBTQ health researcher, one of my current projects is interviewing gender-affirming care providers across the country to understand the impact of legislation on their practice. One thing has become abundantly clear: providers of gender care also provide other types of essential care to the general population.
Yup, my endo also treats me for my diabetes and she treats a host of other endocrine diseases.
While it’s true that a small number of provider specialists work solely at gender health clinics, the majority of people who provide gender-affirming care work in diverse fields of medicine, including pediatrics, adolescent medicine, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and endocrinology, and are critical to providing lots of other types of care to all types of patients.

For example, one family medicine provider in the Midwest which provides gender-affirming care is also a key provider in a rural medicine clinic that serves multiple counties. That provider delivers babies, prescribes antidepressants, diagnoses acute health incidents and provides general primary care to people of all ages. Should the state pass a ban and cause this provider to move to a permissive state, the entire patient population will suffer.
Trans people have been fleeing the Republican states but they are not the only ones fleeing…
An increasing number of clinicians are moving to other parts of the country due to gender-affirming care bans and the politicization of medicine. Laws banning essential care for transgender patients interfere with providers’ medical judgment and ability to make healthcare decisions with patients and families. Additionally, providers must take on heavy administrative and financial burdens to stay up to date on the legal landscape. Together, these conditions often are the cause of medial brain drain.
However, it is not just doctors fleeing but also the students, who want to learn in states that only teach you half of what you need to know; how to treat a patient who needs a medical abortion? Or how to treat us.
Moreover, medical students, residents and fellows are electing not to attend training programs in states where they cannot learn to provide gender-affirming care. Pediatrics residency programs and adolescent medicine fellowship programs are not filling in states like Iowa, Alabama and Texas because learners want a comprehensive education. If pediatric training programs aren’t filled, there will be shortages of providers for children and adolescents in these areas. This will lead to access issues and higher healthcare costs, and will disproportionately impact states in the South and large rural areas where significant health disparities already exist.
One day the citizens in the Republican states are going to wake up one day and wonder where all the doctors went.

Vote Blue to end this madness.

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Yesterday Was Hartford Pride, But…

Earlier in the week an act of hate was done on the community.
As the city of Hartford prepares to celebrate Pride this weekend, police are investigating an alleged act of vandalism targeting the LGBTQ+ community at a local church.

The Rev. Jay Terbush, the senior transitional minister at Immanuel Congregational Church, said an unknown vandal defaced the church’s large rainbow walkway with explicit graffiti containing a homophobic slur.

“It is always surprising, and yet it isn’t surprising to me in another way, that people who live in this state still harbor those kind of hostile reactions toward people that are different,” Terbush said. “Part of my sadness is that this active vandalism and really vile slur is happening in this week when the city is embracing all people by having Hartford Pride.”

Since 2000, Immanuel has identified as an “Open and Affirming” congregation, a designation from the United Church of Christ that reinforces a church’s commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion. Immanuel’s rainbow walk has served as a testament to these values for the last several years, leading parishioners from Farmington Avenue to the doors of the church’s sanctuary.
Everywhere it is not safe from violence and hate, we here in Connecticut are a lot better off than other states… but there is still hate here.

It has always been here but it was mostly covert, hidden away in the corners of the state but it has been green lighted by the current national and local political candidates.
Other Pride events in Connecticut have been no stranger to anti-LGBTQ+ hate.

Johanna Schubert, the co-chair of West Hartford Pride, said that in the lead-up to the organization’s fifth annual Pride celebration this June, West Hartford Pride and its organizers received “several threats” via social media channels.

“Two of them were specific enough that the Police Department opened an investigation and, in one case, consulted with the FBI,” Schubert said.
Now the haters have been embolden by the Republican party with all their anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric. The swamp creators feel that they have the courts behind them, with their claims of “religious freedom.” to discriminate.
In a statement to the Courant, Hartford Pride President Charlie Ortiz said that “in the last 15 years of Pride,” the annual celebration has “not had any incidents.”

Still, Ortiz said Hartford Pride organizers “do not let our guard down.”

“Based on conditions, we have increased security and police presence during our Pride event over the years,” Ortiz said. “We look forward to a peaceful and enjoyable event and also recruit our audience: ‘If you see something, say something.’”

Anne Stanback, an LGBTQ+ activist who served at the forefront of Connecticut’s fight for marriage equality, joined Immanuel 23 years ago.

When Stanback learned about the graffiti, she said she “got that sick feeling in my stomach” again.

“This isn’t the first time that I have seen incidences of vandalism and hate like this,” Stanback said. “I know this kind of thing still happens, but it is still so saddening and disappointing that it’s happening here in the city of Hartford.”
People say that there are no bias crimes, that we don’t need them. That there is no difference between an assault and a bias crime.

Well in murder we have;
  • Involuntary murder,
  • Second-degree murder,
  • First-degree murder.
So what is the difference between them. Intent. Involuntary murder, you didn’t mean to kill anyone, it just happened. You push a protester out of the way and he falls, hits his head and dies.
 
While murder in the second degree is, you get in to a fight and pick up a rock and bash his head in. you didn’t plan on killing him but in the anger of the moment you do.
 
First-degree murder is planned. You are in that bar room fight, you go out to the car get your gun and come back to kill him.

It all boils down to what was the reason you did it. For a bias crime it is because they are LGBTQ+ that is the motive for the crime. Also the crime affects the whole community, it creates fear.

How many times have you heard, “I’m afraid to go out.” after a gay man is attacked. It is not just an attack on a trans woman but an attack on all trans women. That is why there are bias crime laws.

Fox 61

NBC Connecticut

The local ABC and CBS affiliates did not carry any stories about Hartford Pride, however CBS WFSB Ch 3 did carry a story about vandalism at the church.
 

Sticks And Stone…

You all know how that nursery rhyme ends but it is not true! Words do hurt, words do have consequences. Trump knows! Trump knows that bomb threats are being made to Springfield Ohio.
Trump vows mass deportation of protected migrants in Springfield, dismisses threats to town
"The real threat is what's happening at our border," Trump said.
ABC News
ByLalee Ibssa , Soo Rin Kim, Kelsey Walsh, and Alexandra Hutzler
September 13, 2024


Former President Donald Trump on Friday said he would conduct a mass deportation of immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio, and dismissed a question from ABC News about the bomb threats the town is experiencing in the wake of unsubstantiated claims about Haitian migrants.

"We're going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country," Trump said as he took reporter questions in Los Angeles, California. "And we're going to start with Springfield and Aurora, [Colorado]."

The remark comes after Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, amplified unsubstantiated claims of Haitian migrants in Springfield eating pets. Trump did not repeat the baseless rumor when speaking in California, but called the Haitian migrants "illegal" despite the city explaining the Haitian population is in the U.S. legally under the Immigration Parole Program.
They know these rumors are false, they know that there are violent threats being made, but…
Two schools were evacuated and another was closed in Springfield on Friday after bomb threats were sent "to multiple agencies and media outlets" in the city, according to the city commission office. The mayor said he believes these threats are directly connected to the unfounded rumors spread online about Haitian migrants.
But still they are telling the lies. The New York Times writes,
The unexpected and unwanted attention generated by Mr. Trump’s false stories led to real-life confusion and anxiety for some residents. Schools have been evacuated, children sheltered at home and parents forced to make other plans during the workday. Gethro Jean, a Haitian pastor, said that he had been fielding questions from congregants who were concerned about attending church on Sunday.
Words have consequences, Trump, Vance, other Republicans see what is happening but do not care… votes are more important than lives.

What does it say about the Republican party not condemning the violence? Local Republicans have spoken out against the threats… but national zip! Newsweek wrote,
When asked if he places any responsibility on Trump for the threat, Rue [The mayor.] said he was "not going to answer that," but reiterated that false rhetoric was playing a role in the safety of his community.
No one from Trump organization or the national Republican party has come out and condemned the bomb threats and Trump and Vance continues to spread the lies. ABC New wrote in another article on Friday,
The remark comes after Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, amplified unsubstantiated claims of Haitian migrants in Springfield eating pets. Trump did not repeat the baseless rumor when speaking in California, but called the Haitian migrants "illegal" despite the city explaining the Haitian population is in the U.S. legally under the Immigration Parole Program.
The threats are not just against schools and municipal buildings but also hospitals, in another New York Post article,
Another bomb threat in Springfield, Ohio, forced two hospitals into lockdown Saturday morning as the small city of about 60,000 continues to endure heightened national attention and threats over the influx of an estimated 20,000 Haitian residents.

The bomb threats made to Kettering Health Springfield and Mercy Health-Springfield Regional Medical Center came after two elementary schools and government buildings were targeted on Friday, forcing evacuation and closure. 

Mercy Health went into lockdown shortly after 6 a.m. while local authorities conducted a thorough search of the facility, in conjunction with the hospital’s onsite security team, a hospital spokesperson told News Center 7, adding that the threat was determined to be not credible. 
What does it say about his MAGA followers? That they think that it is okay to make bomb threats… which are really acts of terrorism.

They want to stir up the anger to rile up the independent voters! It is doing that, but having opposite the desired effect… they are turning to the Democrats. Polling data been trickling out since the debate, the Guardian writes,
The latest Guardian polling trends tracker shows the US vice-president regaining a small lead over the Republican nominee since Tuesday’s encounter in Philadelphia, a shift from surveys at the start of the week when the pair were essentially tied.

The movement is supported by individual polls, some of which show Harris with a bigger lead than the 0.9% advantage displayed in the Guardian tracker.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll, the first to be conducted since the debate, had Harris ahead by five points, 47 to 42%, a 1-point rise on the lead recorded in the week after last month’s Democratic national convention.
Words hurt. Words kill.

CNN reports,
Donald Trump wanted to spend this week attacking one of Democratic rival Kamala Harris’ biggest political vulnerabilities. Instead, he spent most of the week falsely claiming that migrants are eating pets in a small town in Ohio and defending his embrace of a far-right agitator whose presence is causing concern among his allies.

[...]

“The people of Ohio are scared,” he said. “It’s going to get worse. It’s going to get so bad. You know what we’re experiencing now is they’re just getting settled in.”

Trump reiterated the same themes later Friday at a rally in Las Vegas. “We are under invasion just like it was an army, except in many ways it’s more difficult because they don’t wear a uniform, you don’t know who the hell to go after,” he said.
Trump has no qualms about the violence he initiated.

Just before this was published (I wrote this yesterday morning) this meme was posted on Facebook.


I am not the only one who is thinking this and an article in the New York Post said that,
The viral picture of a man holding two geese on an Ohio street being used to fuel claims that migrants have been gobbling up pets was nothing more than a wild goose chase, according to a report.

The anonymous man who was snapped carrying the bodies of two birds earlier this week was removing them from the street after they were hit by a car, the Ohio Division of Wildlife confirmed to TMZ.

There is no evidence he was taking them home to eat or that he is a migrant, the agency said.

The incident happened in Columbus — more than 45 miles away from the city of Springfield where Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed migrants were gobbling up wildlife and pets.
To the Republicans Black = Haitian! The other thing, what is wrong with cooking and eating them? Hunters do it, we do it at Christmas, and it also helps those who need more protein in their diets.

An article in the New York Times said that most of the Haitians are there legally under a government bipartisan program and settled around Springfield because they have relatives there and a growing economy. Look at the influx from Europe around the turn of the Twentieth Century... New York City has Little Italy, Boston the Irish community, Minnesota has a large population of Norwegian and Swedish (Every wonder why the their football team is called the Vikings?).

But now the MAGA Republicans are trying to make something sinister out of the Haitian community! But that is nothing unusual for conservative, after all they did the same to the Italians, the Irish, the Germans, the Poles and then when the Chinese came that is when they started passing laws to keep non-white out of the U.S..

So bigotry against the newcomers is not new but it is being taken to new lows with the internet.

Vote Blue to bring back sanity.

Some other memes from Facebook...




Updated: 6:45PM

Another assassination attempt on Trump!
AP News
By  ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, COLLEEN LONG, MICHAEL BALSAMO and ZEKE MILLER
September 15, 2024


The man who authorities say pointed a rifle with a scope into former President Donald Trump’s golf club and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

The officials identified the suspect to the AP but spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Secret Service agents shot at the suspect, who was taken into custody after fleeing the scene of what the FBI is calling an apparent attempted assassination of the Republican presidential nominee. Authorities are working to determine a motive.

[...]

Harris, in a statement said she was “glad” Trump was safe, adding that “violence has no place in America.”


Update 5:30 AM 9/16
The former president said it had been an "interesting day."
ABC News
ByDavid Brennan
September 16, 2024


Former President Donald Trump thanked law enforcement for an "incredible" response to what the FBI described as an assassination attempt at Trump's Palm Beach, Florida, golf course on Sunday.

Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was detained by Florida authorities in relation to the incident. Authorities are now probing for more details on the would-be shooter.

"I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes - It was certainly an interesting day!," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE."
Violence is never the answer. 

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Saturday 9: Minute by Minute

Saturday 9: Minute by Minute (1979)
On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…


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

1) It's easier to keep track of the minutes if your timepiece has a second hand. As you answer these questions, are you wearing a watch or can you see a clock that has a second hand?
Nope. I got out of the habit when my battery ran down and I didn’t replace it.

2) In this song, Michael McDonald admits he knows his girl has lied to him. Do you suspect any one of your friends/family has fibbed to you recently?

I hope not!

3) McDonald's big break came in 1973 when he joined Steely Dan's touring band. What do you consider your first professional success?
When I got my first job out of college.

4) In 1975 he joined The Doobie Brothers. He was originally supposed to be a temporary replacement for Tom Johnston, but he ended up working with the band uninterrupted for seven years. Tell us about something that's happened to you that turned out better than you anticipated.
Oh, I am lousy at these type of questions. It is not like I carry around a notepad… “Oh this turned out much better than I thought!”

5) In 1986 he guest starred on an episode of The Young and The Restless. Have you ever been hooked on a daytime drama?
Nope. Not even when I had pneumonia in the late 70s and I was home for 2 month and most of all not even in almost 20 years of retirement.
However (You all know my “Howevers” by now), back in mid-seventies where I worker one of the workers would disappear for a couple of days three or four times a month. I found out that he had a part in a daytime soap and when his character was on he was gone.
Also I know about three or four people who in 2006 were on All My Children in a couple of episodes.

6) Michael and wife Amy raised their family near Nashville, where they had their own pond and a garden they lovingly tended. Do you enjoy yard work?
HA! The question should be “Do you do yard work?” the answer would still be “Nope!”

7) In 1979, when "Minute by Minute" was popular, movie star John Wayne died. In 2004, the US Postal Service honored him with a stamp. What was in the last envelope you stamped and dropped in a mailbox?
BILLS, and more bills and even more bills!

8) In 1979, the most popular new car was the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Ads promised drivers the Cutlass could make it easy to get in and out of tight parking spots. Are you good at parallel parking?
True story!
I was going to an open panel discussion at Yale to listen to a couple of people the I know on panel.
So to set the stage, crowded New Haven streets, a bunch of college kids sitting on a wall in front of the lecture hall. The only open parking space in blocks and it is parallel parking!!!! My nemesis.
I pull up to the spot and slowly work my way in to the space. AND MADE IT, parallel to curb. It was messy but I made it! When I got out of the car all the student stood up and clapped and I curtsied.

9) Random question: Did you know your great-grandparents?
I think I did, we used to visit some old people when I was still crawling around on the rug. We used to go to a place called “Greenfield Hill” but I couldn’t understand why there were all houses and hills let alone green. I later learned that was where my grandmother family lived.

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!


Update on the plumbing issue… the plumber found the leak. Those new fangled gadgets of plastic pipes and crimped connections, well there was a bad crimp that was dripping. But now trying to get the contractor to come in is the next challenge. I’m heading home for two weeks on Monday so I have to hope he’ll come in to take out the floor.