Ukraine says kids are being taken by Russia
Thousands of Ukrainian children have reportedly been taken away from their homes and moved to camps in Russia or Belarus since the start of the war. Officially, the Ukrainian government has documented more than 19,000 children taken by Russia, but told CBS News they worry the actual number could be closer to 300,000. Nathaniel Raymond, the director at Yale Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, joined CBS News to discuss.
Israel has long wanted Palestinians out of Gaza – my father saw it firsthand
Decades after the 1967 war, Israel is still under the illusion that violence against the Palestinians will give it peace and security, says Raja Shehadeh, a Palestinian lawyer and writer
In California Schools, Palestinian History Is Off-Limits
After backlash from pro-Israel organizations, Santa Ana’s ethnic studies courses discussing Palestine were put on hold. “You’re asking us to erase a people off the face of the earth.”
On my other monitor, I have the Star Trek Picard series that Ron bought for me. I watched two episodes and then started to close it out. Yes, I love watching them … but I have so much else to do. So many saved blogs tabs to read, so many comments …
And Ron got a bit angry, which is not normal for him. He looked at my two screens, one with the next episode and the other with windows of tabs to get to. And he got a bit angry. He reminded me I have been awake since 1 am, and it is now 7 Pm. He reminded me I never take time off or do things for me, he reminded me that if the entire internet world went away, I would still really like to watch the show. He really put it this way … who pays you to work this hard, day in and day out … all the time.
When I started to explain my blog, he was not sympathetic like I thought he would be. He stood there in my face and said yes that is the online stuff that will be there forever, but your damn body is here and now and you simply need to let shit go. Watch the DAMN shows! Close the other computer down or ignore it, but “WATCH THE DAMN SHOWS AND RELAX A BIT”!!!
So per my hubby of going on 34 years I am changing focus. I will spend the rest of the night watching the season 3 of Picard on Amazon. I would love to keep these windows open to see if I could sneak in a reply or two. But Ron is standing over my shoulder wanting this monitor shut down. Hugs and loves. Best wishes. Scottie
Over the last few days I concentrated on wiping out backlogs of open tabs. But this afternoon I just realized it has been about three days since I checked the comments. And yes, I realize I lost a bunch of comments by not getting to them. I am now busy filling up this window with open tabs over the last few days I have missed. I figure about 60 plus or more. Then I will start going down through them. Give me a few days and as always, if you left a comment and did not get a reply or acknowledgement and want me to reply, leave the comment again. Sorry, but I struggle to keep up some days. I have been up since 1 am, on the computer since 2 am. I have not taken a break except to eat. It is now 3 pm. I am tired out. I may give up for the day. But not until I save these, so I don’t lose them also. Hugs, loves, best wishes. Scottie
The bill now heads to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law.
Before the vote on Tuesday, state Rep. Jolanda Jones, a Democrat, delivered a scathing rebuke of the bill calling SB 4 and its supporters “racist.”
“It’s not all right to be racist. I will stop pulling the race card when you stop being racist,” she said.
SB 4 was considered as part of the fourth round of a special legislative session ordered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to consider several immigration-related bills.
It creates two new state crimes for migrants who enter or re-enter into the state illegally from another country, punishable with up to two years in prison.
Migrants get handcuffed as a pair before getting onboard a bus to be transported after crossing the border into the U.S. from Mexico in Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif., Nov. 11, 2023.
Go Nakamura/Reuters
One of the most controversial aspects of the bill would authorize local and state law enforcement officials to arrest migrants they suspect unlawfully crossed into Texas. It also allows judges the option to order some migrants to return to the country they illegally crossed from instead of pursuing prosecution.
Officers and state agencies would be cleared to transport them to ports of entry to make sure they comply. If migrants refused to comply with an order to return, they could be charged with a second degree felony and face up to 20 years in prison.
SB 4 has sparked fears among immigrant rights advocates that the bill would lead to widespread racial profiling and a circumvention of protections asylum seekers have under constitutional law and international obligations. The bill does not provide any funding or requirement to train officers on immigration law, despite the fact it would authorize them to quickly make decisions about a person’s immigration status.
“There is no U.S. federal analogue to a lone officer in their own discretion escorting someone to the border and saying get out. That is a very scary prospect that is categorically different from what the federal government does. In addition to that, in the federal system people would be able to present their claims to an immigration officer and an immigration judge,” said David Donatti, a senior staff attorney with the Texas ACLU.
There’s also growing concern that parents may be separated from their children if they are arrested under these new state crimes.
Aron Thorn, a senior staff attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project says that the law could trigger lawsuits and an international dispute with Mexico since it would lead to migrants being sent across the southern border regardless of their legal status there.
Some opponents of the bill have also suggested that it is being introduced to prompt a challenge of a 2012 Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. United States which upheld the federal government’s authority over immigration enforcement. That case revolved around a law similar to SB 4, which authorized police officers to question migrants about their immigration status and arrest them.
Retired schoolteacher Tom Wingo of Samaritans Without Borders, right, gives snacks and bottles of waters to a group of migrants claiming to be from India, who just crossed the border wall, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Org…Show more
Matt York/AP, FILE
Thorn says because the new crimes created by SB 4 only apply to undocumented immigrants, it will cause law enforcement officials to use race as probable cause apprehending people.
“We know our history is replete with examples of race being used as a proxy for immigration status. We live in Texas, our history books are full of it, and I think people are right to be concerned, specifically because there is no possible way to violate this without being an alien, which means they have to have some sort of idea that you are a noncitizen and race is used as a proxy for that,” Thorn said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the specific legislation being proposed in Texas, but said the removal of noncitizens is the federal government’s responsibility.
“Generally speaking, the federal government — not individual states — is charged with determining how and when to remove noncitizens for violating immigration laws. State actions that conflict with federal law are invalid under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution,” the spokesperson said.
Lawmakers have reviewed several versions of SB 4 and other similar proposals throughout the year, but have failed to send it to the governor’s desk in previous sessions. Hearings have been marked by strong opposition from Democrat and Republican infighting.
During a Senate floor vote on the bill last week, Republican state Sen. Brian Birdwell, who authored a previous version of the bill last session, said this version undermines the constitution by challenging the federal government’s jurisdiction over the removal of migrants.
“Members that is why all my attempts to carry this legislation and the bill language therein had the proper federal authority responsible for disposition and deportation of those that we detain,” said Birdwell.
He added that the bill would set a “terrible precedent” by violating the constitution.
“President Biden’s failure to obey his oath does not compel us to violate ours. Instead, it compels our federal representatives to constrain him and for the electorate to remove him in the coming year,” Birdwell said.
State Sen. Charles Perry, the current author of the bill, defended its legality.
“While I agree we are testing and pushing envelopes, the state has every right to protect its citizens, and this nation has every right to expect Texas to do that when called to do it,” said Perry.
In the face of anti-LGBTQ+ policies being implemented in schools across the country, some parents are speaking out and it’s glorious to watch. Especially when it’s done like this.
A video of Cody Conner, a Virginia Beach dad, is going viral on social media after he spoke at a school board meeting on October 10. The father of three gave an impassioned speech about the state’s “discriminatory policies” and called out anyone who stands in favor of them.
“You are never going to find a right way to do the wrong thing and Governor Youngkin’s policies are wrong,” he began his speech.
Conner is referring to the Virginia governor’s “model policies” for public schools that require students to use the bathroom and sports team that matches their assigned sex. It also requires written instruction from parents for a student to use names or gender pronouns that differ from the official record, meaning that teacher can deadname students—refer to them by their prior name—if paperwork isn’t filled out by the parents and it requires the school to inform parents if a student is questioning their identity, according to 13 News Now. These policies will be especially detrimental to LGBTQ+ students who come from conservative homes.
Conner started speaking out at school board meetings (he’ll be speaking for the 17th time on November 15) because he moved his family to Virginia Beach right before Youngkin’s policies passed and he worries about the future of his 13-year-old trans daughter who is now in the 8th grade. The family moved from rural Virginia to Virginia Beach so that their kid, who came out as trans a year ago, would be in a school system that would be supportive, but that all changed because of Youngkin.
“I think at that point, I just wasn’t going to run,” he tells PRIDE. “I couldn’t anymore.”
The 42-year-old father said that he’s a quiet person and might not have made the choice to speak up if not for his kids. “I just knew I couldn’t standby and do nothing, just let it happen and hope everything worked out ok and I also wanted to make sure my kid knew that I would stand up for them,” Conner explains as he begins to tear up. “My big job as a parent is not to tell my children who they are, it’s not to make the decisions for them, it’s not to live their life or decide what their life is going to be, but to show them the best way I know how to walk through this world.”
Watching a father stick up for his trans kid and the queer community and rail against conservatives is a cathartic experience and likely why the video has gone viral online.
In his speech that already has nearly 90,000 likes on TikTok, Conner pointed out that the fact that the Proud Boys and the “parental rights” group Moms for Liberty—both considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center—support these discriminatory and draconian policies is further proof that the policies are wrong.
“Never in history have the good guys been the segregationist group pushing to legislate identity,” he said. “Never in history have the good guys been closely connected with and supported by hate groups like the Proud Boys. And the good guys don’t put Hitler quotes for inspiration on the front of their newsletters. News flash: they’re the bad guys. They’re the bad guys supporting bad policy. And if you support the same bad policy, guess what? You’re one of the bad guys too.”
After nearly a year of delays, Youngkin’s policies are finally being implemented in the Virginia Beach school system, with a few minor alterations, which is why Conner has no plans to stop speaking out. He finished his dynamic speech by reminding the school board members to “be the good guys while you still can.”
Conner explains to PRIDE that for him speaking at school board meetings is about more than just trying to sway board members. “It was just about a lot more than just trying to change the minds of those 11 people up there,” he says. “It was about trying to bolster the hearts of the thousands and thousands of people out there that those 11 people’s decisions are threatening.”
With anti-LGBTQ+ laws sweeping the country it’s easy to become disillusioned, but watching Conner call out bigotry and homophobia is the kind of catharsis the queer community needs right now. But speaking truth to power isn’t the only way Conner is trying to change the world for the LGBTQ+ community. He’s also an organizer with the trans rights nonprofit the Calos Coalition. When speaking with PRIDE Conner was gearing up to cook a trans-Thanksgiving dinner put on by the group. It’s only the second “trans family dinner” they’ve put on—they plan to do it every month—but they are already expecting 70 guests.
“In a very real way the LGBTQ+ community gets treated by a lot of people as if they’re unwholesome in some way, with zero acknowledgment that so many members of the community have been isolated and ostracized from these presumed wholesome places and traumatized in places like the family dinner table,” he explains. “And I just wanted to take that back, create a safe space to sit down and break bread with people [who are] welcome and wanted.”
This is what allyship looks like. This is what parenting looks like. And this is hopefully what the future looks like — which if Conner gets his way, it will.
Scottie's Playtime 