Via press release from the White House:
To everyone celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility, I want you to know that your President sees you.
The First Lady, the Vice President, the Second Gentleman, and my entire Administration see you for who you are — made in the image of God and deserving of dignity, respect, and support.
On this day and every day, we recognize the resilience, strength, and joy of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people. We celebrate the activism and determination that have fueled the fight for transgender equality.
We acknowledge the adversity and discrimination that the transgender community continues to face across our Nation and around the world.
Visibility matters, and so many transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming Americans are thriving.
Like never before, they are sharing their stories in books and magazines; breaking glass ceilings of representation on television and movie screens; enlisting — once again — to serve proudly and openly in our military; getting elected and making policy at every level of government; and running businesses, curing diseases, and serving our communities in countless other ways.
Despite this progress, transgender Americans continue to face discrimination, harassment, and barriers to opportunity.
Transgender women and girls — especially transgender women and girls of color — continue to face epidemic levels of violence, and 2021 marked the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans.
Each of these lives lost was precious. Each of them deserved freedom, justice, and joy. We must honor their lives with action by advancing equity and civil rights for all transgender people.
In the past year, hundreds of anti-transgender bills in States were proposed across America, most of them targeting transgender kids. The onslaught has continued this year.
These bills are wrong. Efforts to criminalize supportive medical care for transgender kids, to ban transgender children from playing sports, and to outlaw discussing LGBTQI+ people in schools undermine their humanity and corrode our Nation’s values.
Studies have shown that these political attacks are damaging to the mental health and well-being of transgender youth, putting children and their families at greater risk of bullying and discrimination.
My entire Administration is committed to ensuring that transgender people enjoy the freedom and equality that are promised to everyone in America. That is why I signed an Executive Order Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.
We are expanding Federal non-discrimination protections; promoting strategies to address violence against the transgender community and advance gender equity and equality; and disseminating new resources to enhance inclusion, opportunity, and safety for transgender people.
Additionally, Americans will soon be able to select more inclusive gender markers on their passports.
I continue to call on the Congress to swiftly pass the bipartisan Equality Act, which will ensure that LGBTQI+ individuals and families cannot be denied housing, employment, education, credit, and more because of who they are or who they love.
We will continue to work to help transgender people around the world live free from discrimination and violence.
On this Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor transgender people who are fighting for freedom, equality, dignity, and respect.
We also celebrate the parents, teachers, coaches, doctors, and other allies who affirm the identities of their transgender children and help these young people reach their potential.
Transgender people are some of the bravest Americans I know, and our Nation and the world are stronger, more vibrant, and more prosperous because of them.
To transgender Americans of all ages, I want you to know that you are so brave. You belong. I have your back.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2022, as Transgender Day of Visibility.
I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating discrimination against all transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people — and all people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth.
Month: March 2022
Proposed GOP bill eliminates age requirements for marriages in Tennessee
As abortion ban proposals make their way nationwide, some GOP states are taking the opportunity to propose other horrific laws. A bill, HB 233, has been proposed in the Tennessee state legislature that would establish a common-law marriage between “one man” and “one woman,” WKRN reported.
Bill sponsors claim the proposed bill would add a new marriage option for residents. “So, all this bill does is give an alternative form of marriage for those pastors and other individuals who have a conscientious objection to the current pathway to marriage in our law,” Tom Leatherwood said. “There is not an explicit age limit.”
However, while the sponsors claim it expands marriage options, they fail to mention the consequences of having no age limit. Since the bill eliminates an age requirement for marriage, child advocates believe it opens the door for child sex abuse. This is because, without an age requirement, there is a possibility of child marriages.
The move is clearly a step back for the state because the state only signed laws prohibiting the marriage of minors under the age of 17 in 2018. According to The Tennessean, the 2018 bill prohibited anyone under the age of 17 from marrying in Tennessee and anyone under 18 from marrying someone who is four or more years older.
Previous laws before this one allowed a judge to waive the minimum age limit for marriage if guardians of a child consented.
Various state representatives have pushed back on the bill, including Rep. Mike Stewart, who said he didn’t understand the motivation behind removing the age requirements. “I don’t think any normal person thinks we shouldn’t have an age requirement for marriage.”
He added the potential increase in sex abuse. “It should not be there as it’s basically a get out of jail free card for people who are basically committing statutory rape—I mean it’s completely ridiculous, so that’s another reason why this terrible bill should be eliminated,” Steward said.
According to state data obtained by Unchained at Last, Tennessee granted at least 37 marriage licenses to 17-year-old girls in 2014, the only minors in that year. Additionally, UNICEF found 300,000 girls and boys were married before 18 in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018.
Removing an age limit only opens up doors for these statistics to grow. GOP states are clearly making moves to take the country in the opposite direction.
“The Sexual Assault Center does not believe the age of consent for marriage should be any younger than it already is. It makes children more vulnerable to coercion and manipulation from predators, sexual and other,” the Sexual Assault Center of Middle Tennessee said in a statement to WKRN.
https://progressivepower.tumblr.com/post/680109494770991104/its-a-great-plan-potus-its-about-to-face-the
https://www.rawstory.com/robin-vos-contempt-court/
As the Cyber Ninjas face millions in fines for hiding public documents about the controversial audit of Maricopa County, Republicans in another state are now also facing fines for the same alleged offense.
“A judge found Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in contempt of court Wednesday for failing to release documents related to a Republican-run review of the 2020 election,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday. “Dane County Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn determined the Rochester Republican and the Assembly as a whole adopted ‘a collective and abject disregard for the court’s order’ from four months ago to turn over documents sought by the liberal group American Oversight under the state’s open records law. She ordered Vos and the Assembly to turn over records within 14 days and to each pay $1,000 per day if they fail to do that.”
In Arizona, the Cyber Ninjas are being fined $50,000 a day.
IN OTHER NEWS: The DOJ ‘can’t ignore’ judge’s declaration of Trump’s likely criminality: George Conway
“Bailey-Rihn in November ruled Vos and others had to release copies of emails, calendars and other documents about the election review. Vos produced some records but not others as he argued the requests should have been made to Michael Gableman, the former state Supreme Court justice he hired to oversee the election review,” the newspaper added. “Bailey-Rihn noted state law requires government officials to treat records from contractors like Gableman the same as their own records. That policy is meant to prevent officials from using contractors to evade their obligations under the open records law, she noted.”
Vos has approved spending $676,000 in taxpayer money on the Gableman investigation.
Daily cartoon / meme roundup: When will humans people get treated with the same legal rights and respect as wealthy corporations. The government works for the wealthy and gives to the large businesses but lets the public starve and go homeless. Is this the American dream
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Scottie’s world today
Great idea for bathroom accessories.
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This is not a family in Ukraine. This is a picture of a family in the US trying to survive by living in a large old van. This is what some kids going to school deal with. This is why reducing free meals is so horrible. This is parents trying to work to keep their children fed and clothed yet can not afford the cost of housing in the US. In some areas rents rose by 66%. Yes that number is true. How can anyone deal with this? Why is the wealthy allowed to profit from the misery of families?
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We are a sick country.
#HomeSchool is a snowflake factory.
Republican men write laws to punish everyone EXCEPT Republican men.
Republicans are all about reactionary politics. The are unable to compete with reality and need endless conspiracies and synthetic nostalgia to cope.
Obstruction of justice.
Everything Trump is corrupt. Everything.
Republicans eliminate precedent all the time. SCOTUS wants to overturn decided cases like Roe v Wade. Why would the worst president of all time, who personifies obstruction of justice, benefit from precedent?
https://truth-has-a-liberal-bias.tumblr.com/post/680269197916389377
“The average citizen views today’s Supreme Court as highly politicized because we all saw what our politicians did to it. The Republican political hardball, and the brazen dishonesty that was used to justify it, Trumpified the court with three out of nine justices — one stolen from the first Black president, one rammed through just days before the 2020 election, and one with a surprise resignation. Now, no one is shocked that a court forged with such political bad faith is making bad decisions with nakedly political overtones.”—
The Supreme Court has a giant legitimacy crisis, which means so does America
This illegitimate SCOTUS majority does not interpret laws. They abuse their power to impose their regressive, revanchist, theocratic will on a population that does not respect them, did not vote for them, and has no way at all to hold them accountable.
I don’t know how, but this has to change.
Just when you think the three new judges are the worst, Clarence makes sure you know he is horrible, too.
Russia owns the Republican Party.
Trump asking his boss for more help.
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Misleading right wing media cartoons / memes
What the right calls sexual indoctrination is the idea that gay or trans people exist and are normal. The only parents the right wants to have a say are right wing maga parents, the rest of the parents get told to shut up. They are trying to win the culture war by making even the exposure to LGBTQ+ people illegal. Even though kids are exposed to straight couples and straight sexuality all the time. So it is not about the sexual indoctrination of kids, it is about the idea they hate anyone different from them and don’t want kids to know about them until they have been taught to hate them.
Because this is not happening! It is a lie and misinformation from those that are anti-trans or using it as a political wedge issue. Men are not suddenly deciding they are not good enough to win in a sport as a man so will up-end their lives and face unending discrimination to live their life as a woman so they can compete as a female to win. Where the fuck to start to explain how stupid this idea is. First if a guy is not good enough to win against male competitors it is doubtful that after they take the necessary treatments to qualify to play on a women team they would win there either. Second what guy who is a male gender is going to stop his entire way of life that makes him happy and start living in a way that will make life harder for him and could cost him his entire sexual enjoyment / life. How is he going to date the girls he likes if he is not the man he was but a girl like them? If he was in to men who liked men, they wont date him because he is a girl now. So he is giving up that. How about his family, are they OK with it? How about his political friends, if Republican he loses all them. This is why the idea of guys just claiming to be girls falls apart and is not happening. Think it through people. If it was a huge problem it would be happening every day in every sport, and it is not. If all the trans women were winning all the awards, setting all the records, and winning every event it would be daily news. But it isn’t because they are not. Look at the scores, look at the totality of the wins, look at the awards. Most often the trans person is working harder and has less support, and only sometimes wins. The records are still held by non trans women. It is simply bigotry. Sort of like when black people were allowed to play sport with white people. It was said white people couldn’t win anymore. Yet they do. They still play and they still win.
Oh, haha, it’s totally the Fed’s fault, even though CEOs are BRAGGING about their record profits they’ve “earned” by hiking prices across the board for everything under the sun. The GQP is having a sh*tfit over gas prices. They would do the same if Biden did anything to stop Big Oil’s obscene profiteering. The same for every other issue today.
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And now some for fun
Will Smith “Refused” to Leave Oscars After Chris Rock Slap & Trump’s Ridiculous Plea to Putin
This Month in COVID History – March
‘Terrifying’: Soldier describes encounter with Russian fighters
CNN BUSINESS: Russian oil tankers are vanishing off the map
Russian oil tankers are vanishing off the map
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made the country a pariah in the global energy market. Since the war started, a de facto embargo on Russian oil has emerged, with oil companies, trading houses, shippers and banks backing away, all at the same time.
Read in CNN Business: https://apple.news/AP1LkJrmoSreyEcSlskndDA
Shared from Apple News
Sent from my iPad,Best wishes,
Scottie
NBC NEWS: “Biggest fraud in a generation”: the looting of the COVID relief program kno wn as PPP
“Biggest fraud in a generation”: the looting of the COVID relief program known as PPP
The official in charge of Covid relief tells NBC News’ Lester Holt that programs like PPP were structured in ways that were “an invitation” to fraudsters.
Read in NBC News: https://apple.news/AFFr_K5FVRMqo17i0UgGMzA
Shared from Apple News
Sent from my iPad,Best wishes,
Scottie
THE GUARDIAN: Russia bombards Chernihiv hours after pledging to halt shelling
Russia bombards Chernihiv hours after pledging to halt shelling
Mayor of northern Ukrainian city says there is no evidence of any withdrawal of Russian forces.
Read in The Guardian: https://apple.news/AiPM6M1HfSfWh3s0yzhhJTw
Shared from Apple News
Sent from my iPad,Best wishes,
Scottie
Scottie's Playtime 
She declined to become entangled in verbal traps. Anything else? Yawn. The Cons. are pissed that she is much smarter than they are. The point is that her job isn’t to define things. Her job is to interpret and rule on the law when presented with evidence and arguments in court. Cases which come before the Supreme Court are not going to be simple ones. They will be cases which challenge the edges of established definitions. Asking a candidate to decide without first hearing the arguments in a particular case is basically asking them if they would like to disqualify themselves for the position.