Two Ukrainian children killed ‘in front of my own eyes’ while trying to evacuate, official says
Russian forces fired mortar shells at a battered bridge used by people fleeing the fighting, killing at least eight people.
Not a single fucking person is sitting at home thinking, “I’m totally not trans, but I’d probably give it a whirl if I could easily and cheaply change my birth certificate to reflect a gender with which I do not identify.”
Stop being fucking stupid, you absolute ballbags.
— Fancy Brenda 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (they/them) (@SpillerOfTea) March 4, 2022
“People who are already trans and have always existed will be much more likely to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate if the process ceases to be so costly, time-consuming and dehumanising.”
— Fancy Brenda 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (they/them) (@SpillerOfTea) March 4, 2022
BREAKING: Florida legislators voted to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy on Thursday, a move that would severely restrict access to the procedure in a state that for decades has been a refuge for women from across the South, with @aglorioshttps://t.co/RUKhWYA45c
At a moment when democracy is under attack from authoritarian regimes around the world, we must address the growing authoritarian factions in our country.
Paul Manafort, who was an advisor to the Pro-Russia/Pro-Putin former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, was Trump’s campaign Chairman. He worked for free. Manafort picked Pence for VP.
Manafort never stopped working and talking with Russia throughout the 2016 election.
Trump bragged about love letters from North Korea. He was Putin’s puppet. Truly vile.
Republicans are soft. Soft-headed. Soft on our enemies. Soft of racism. Soft on sexism.
Having no principles or morals is disqualifying.
Yep, that would be totally believable. Because China has such a large fleet of F-22s. And planes’ affiliations are definitely only identifiable by flags.
I think we’re beyond any viable off-ramps for Putin at this point, but this is certainly one way to make the war less popular in Russia. https://t.co/QvFmwDDU9k
The judge has "has effectively taken a 10,000 ton, $1.8 billion guided-missile destroyer out of commission. As the Navy builds up its naval presence in Europe to guard against further Russian aggression, it is down a ship" https://t.co/acaW41MzvR
As you can see, the right has created another no-win situation for President Biden. If President Biden doesn’t cut the flow of Russian oil, then the right can accuse him of being weak. Even though he has been sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing other sanctions. If President Biden cuts off the flow of Russian oil, then Republicans can blame him for the higher oil prices because there is less oil available. Even though there is very little President Biden can do about the price of oil. It will take two years for Keystone XL pipeline to be completed if President Biden restarted the program. That doesn’t solve the problem right now. That oil would also be sold on the open market, so we possibly wouldn’t get it. The oil is being transported by other ways as well currently. We could make land available for oil drilling, but it would also take time to put the wells in place. Assuming the oil companies want to do it. They might like the way things are because it is more profitable that way.
This situation could have been prevented if Republicans and more Democrats voted for the Green New Deal in order to reduce our dependence on oil.
Plus as I understand it the oil companies are sitting on land leases they already have but have not done anything with. The US is the largest producer of oil, and yet it is sold on the open market you mention instead of being restricted to home use. Also there is the question of refineries. Oil comes in grades, and not all refineries refine the same grades of oils. So there is a mix of sending oils from country to country to where the ability to take that grade of oil and make it into the final product for sale. It really is a complicated mess. The US president has little control over it, if any.
And then the right can blame President Biden for the price of oil being too high. We could put our military in Ukraine and hope Putin doesn’t retaliate with nukes. Even if Putin doesn’t the right will be upset when a soldier gets a paper cut.
Despite the attempts to smear Biden, the Democrats have proposed and are trying to enact boycotts and restrictions on Russian oil. Strangely the Republicans have not supported this effort even as the right wing media is demanding it. It is a double edged sword, if Biden does sanction the Russian oil even though the US part of it has already shrunk to very low levels if the price of oil increases the right can blame Biden. If Biden doesn’t act to sanction the Russian oil then the right can accuse Biden of not supporting Ukraine. The right wing loves this as it lets then do what they do best, talk out both sides of their mouth because for them it is not the policy that counts but how to attack Democrats. They are kids wanting to hurt the other. They don’t care about policy or what is best for people. They want the emotional childish game. So let us see how many of the Republicans in congress support sanctions on Russian oil.
This is done by a right wing media cartoonist to try to force the US into a war because of the fact most people care about the hurt of other people. But it is not that simple. Yes Ukrainians are dying. How many more will die if madman Putin who is repeatedly demonstrated he doesn’t care about human life feels backed into a corner and does launch nuclear weapons? How many more will die then. How long will the destruction last then? There are ways to handle this war that are not flashy and does not beat the breast of the wannabe macho men, but it keeps the death toll down.
The right has deliberately poisoned the well on CRT. ‘Critical race theory’ is the perfect villain,” Rufo wrote. He takes critical-race theory as a concept, strips it of all meaning, and repurposes it as a catchall for white grievances. “The goal,” he tweeted, “is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory.’ We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans.” As you can see this is a manufactured crisis for political gain by the right and a person very arguably a white supremacist. CRT has become a code for the racist history of the US and some white people don’t want it taught accurately and if taught it must be watered down to seem a beneficial action by white people toward blacks. Not sure why so many white people identify with the slavers rather than the abolitionists. CRT is only a legal theory taught in law schools or advanced degree programs. It is not taught in high schools, and it is not taught in grade schools. That idea is another right wing media misinformation campaign. And Rufo admits it.
The “Biden weak” trope wore out, so let’s try “Harris incompetent.” Biden’s day off, attack Harris. Ho, hum. Perhaps the alleged cartoonist should be worried about the Trump Principle: the ability to spectacularly fail upwards while destroying everything around you. It’s well practiced by most Republicans. She has undertaken several difficult tasks and done — not perfectly: This is politics — but pretty well. However, like the big lie(s) about Hillary promulgated by the reich wingers, I suspect their big lies about Harris will prevail in the end, if only by 55% to 45%.
Vladimir Putin: a miracle defender of Christianity or the most evil man?
The Russian president’s Orthodox faith is central to his worldview but he has used it to justify invasion and violence in God’s name
Viewers watch the speech of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at an event in the Czech Republic on March 4, 2022.Photo/Miroslav Chaloupka (CTK via AP Images)
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with members of the US Congress Saturday morning to plead for more military help—he asked for either a no-fly zone over his country to protect it from Russian air attacks, or shipments of planes. While Congressional leadership praised the meeting, it seems to have had all of the hiccups you might expect from a Zoom call involving dozens of aging, tech-inept, publicity-hungry American politicians.
The event was, of course, an opportunity for members of Congress to brag about their involvement in the crisis: Members of both parties posted pictures of themselves participating in the call and even sending side-messages to Zelenskyy, who appeared unshaven and wearing an army green t-shirt as he spoke about the need for military assistance.
Just got off a call with @ZelenskyyUa. His heroism & the bravery of the Ukrainian people have become an inspiration to the world. The US needs to immediately step up to make sure they have the jets and weapons they need, & to impose an oil & gas embargo to disrupt Putin's war. pic.twitter.com/LQEVSzecQc
But GOP senators Marco Rubio, of Florida, and Steve Daines, of Montana, were blasted by some of their colleagues for doing their bragging in a real-time—something that members of Congress were specifically asked not to do to ensure Zelenskyy’s safety.
The Ukrainian Ambassador very intentionally asked each of us on the zoom to NOT share anything on social media during the meeting to protect the security of President Zelenskyy. Appalling and reckless ignorance by two US Senators. https://t.co/geolhKxbLp
— Rep. Dean Phillips 🇺🇸 (@RepDeanPhillips) March 5, 2022
At one point during his emotional presentation, Zelensky paused to ask one of the American lawmakers to mute themselves. “Senator Rick Scott, please mute your mic,” he said. https://t.co/ElfsEAtQ4y
church ministry has found a new way to indoctrinate public school students, and the Pennridge School District in Pennsylvania is giving them the platform to pull it off.
There’s also a flyer for “RE:VIVALS Outreach Center” which offers free tutoring for students in the district. The flyer even notes that the volunteers who work with them “are educators, administrators, counselors, and aides. All have received full clearance from the State of Pennsylvania to work with children and youth.”
It’s not until you read the fine print at the very bottom that you notice the catch: This is a bait-and-switch attempt to “bring hope and healing to the community through the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
That’s not just some euphemism. This isn’t a church that expresses its faith by helping members of the community. This is a blatant attempt to indoctrinate public school students. And we know that because one mother reached out to them in the hopes they could help her daughter catch up in her AP Biology class after she missed several lessons on evolution… and the response was jaw-dropping:
Laura Foster, a district parent, reached out to the program, Re:vivals Resource Center, to inquire about assistance for her daughter, Camille, with her AP Biology exam.
In an email response to Foster, Donna Tindall of Re:vivals, wrote that a tutor could help Camille understand evolution through a “biblical worldview… meaning that we believe that God created the world in six literal days.”
“Although we accept this through faith, there is evidence pointing in that direction,” said Tindall. “I think our tutor would welcome the opportunity to help [Camille] understand what is being presented and perhaps to examine the presuppositions as well as the supporting facts for both conclusions.”
None of that would help Camille. What it would do it confuse her by injecting mythology into a science class, leaving her worse off as she prepares for an advanced placement exam that could earn her college credit. Spreading misinformation and embracing lies may be acceptable for members of the First Baptist Church of Perkasie, which sponsors the program, but it shouldn’t be an option for people who take education seriously. It’s despicable that the school allows this program to be publicized on its website without any sort of disclaimer that this ministry is mostly interested in winning converts and undoing what students learn in the classroom.
When Emily Rizzo of public radio station WHYY inquired about this with Pennridge Superintendent David Bolton, he initially said any group is allowed to request their flyers listed on the district’s website… before offering his personal stamp of approval for this particular for of misinformation:
In an email to Foster, Superintendent Bolton said he had “spoken directly with Re:Vivals about the tutoring program before it began and [had] personally visited multiple times and [had] received feedback from multiple families who have used the service.”
I’m sure it all seems very nice and the volunteers mean well. That doesn’t erase the fact that this is just an attempt to indoctrinate kids through the public school system or that the “tutoring” involves material that contradicts what kids learn in the classroom.
Parents shouldn’t have to investigate the organization themselves in order to understand the real mission. The school should make that clear up front instead of suggesting they vetted and approved all the groups posting flyers on the website.
Perhaps it’ll take Satanists or atheists demanding their own groups’ flyers get listed on the district’s website before these people take the matter seriously.
WHYY also notes that this particular district has been at the center of a number of recent “culture war” battles that pushed for conservative Christian policies:
The district is effectively functioning as an arm of the local churches. And students are the ones who are ultimately punished for that partnership.
HEMANT MEHTA
Hemant Mehta is the founder of FriendlyAtheist.com, a YouTube creator, podcast co-host, and author of multiple books about atheism. He can be reached at @HemantMehta. More by Hemant Mehta
I have committed heresy in Washington. I’ve been in the Senate for only three years, and I have released an 11-point plan with 128 ideas on what Republicans should do after we win the coming elections and take control of the Senate and House. In the real world beyond the Beltway, Republicans and independents demand bold action and a plan to save our nation.
They see no point in taking control of Congress if we are simply going to return to business as usual. So, I went out and made a statement that got me in trouble. I said that all Americans need to have some skin in the game. Even if it is just a few bucks, everyone needs to know what it is like to pay some taxes. It hit a nerve.
Part of the deception is achieved by disconnecting so many Americans from taxation. It’s a genius political move. And it is bankrupting us. There will be many more attacks on me and this plan from careerists in Washington, who personally profit while ruining this country. Bring it on.
Incredibly, Rick Scott has doubled down in his bid to get the nation to pay attention to his plan to eliminate Social Security & Medicare and raise taxes on half the countryhttps://t.co/wIjqn6asqT
Scott writes WSJ op-ed defending his agenda, including making all pay income tax. He says “free-loaders who abuse the welfare system” should pay something.
Republicans “don’t deserve to govern” unless they want to fix America.https://t.co/HqiphBIemB
Sen. Rick Scott released a television ad promoting an 11-point Republican agenda for the midterms. The chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he’s pushed the plan on the Rescue America website. “Our borders are being invaded, inflation is raging and our shelves are empty,” Scott says in narration.
“Crime is rampant. Police are being killed, and God-fearing people are being silenced.” The plan stokes culture wars on abortion and anti-LGBTQ stances, quoting the Bible and making a case for a heartbeat bill.
The ad can be watched online now and will begin airing on television airways nationwide on Friday. Paid for by Scott’s own PAC, Scott for Florida, he said the ad is backed by a seven-figure national TV and digital buy.
Rick Scott, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, put out an agenda for Republicans to run on that includes requiring "all Americans" — including low-income families and the elderly — to pay income taxes.
That means raising taxes on 100+ million Americans.
New on the 11-point plan: Rick Scott's campaign tells me this would also apply to the 2030 census, meaning that there would be no data at all on the racial makeup of the US.https://t.co/vo6NRRVEty
NEW: Rick Scott just went on Fox to defend the new GOP 2022 platform that calls for raising taxes on the middle class and seniors — he claimed that “of course” he didn’t call to raise taxes. His plan specifically calls for raising income taxes on “over half of Americans.”
Let’s remember: Rick Scott refused to expand Medicaid, denying health care to about 800,000 Floridians. Now, he’s promising higher taxes for middle-class and working-class families.
In a private meeting at Mar-a-Lago a few days ago, Donald Trump made a personal pitch to Senate Republican campaign chief Rick Scott. “You should run for Senate majority leader,” he told the NRSC chair. It wasn’t the first time, either: Trump has repeatedly told Scott he’d be great at the job and should challenge Mitch McConnell.
The Florida governor-turned-senator is navigating some treacherous terrain — and we’re not talking about the Senate landscape.
He’s trying to balance working with the GOP’s two most powerful figures in McConnell and Trump, who also happen to despise each other. Scott, 69, made waves — and infuriated some McConnell allies — when he bucked the GOP leader’s decision not to lay out a policy agenda for 2022 and instead released his own.
Sen. Rick Scott continues to project optimism about the electoral climate for Republicans, forecasting an “unbelievable” shift in school boards in 2022. During an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade Show, the Senator said there would be an “unbelievable number of school board changes this next year.”
Scott expects cultural backlash to prevail. “Because parents are fed up with these school boards telling them that your kid’s oppressed or your kid’s an oppressor. That is so crazy,” Scott added.
Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, closed out 2021 trumpeting much of the same message he has all year, an expectation that critical race theory can be used to mobilize November voters.
Scottie's Playtime 