This is a post on Jill’s blog. She has one of the most outstanding blog I have ever had the privilege to read in my life. But as grand as this story is and it is grand no questions asked, I wonder if the feelings directed to those different might be able to be used for another group of people, desperately struggling for their own rights. Hugs. Scottie
The goal here is to keep pushing the idea that there is no one born with a gender identity different from what the doctor might see when he holds you up after birth. No one, just as no one is born gay or lesbian. It is a lifestyle choice of course, kids rebelling after being groomed / recruited by those other horrible people that chose that lifestyle. That means keeping reinforcing it is child abuse to let your kids socially transition. It is child abuse to let boys grow long hair, to let girls cut their hair. It is child abuse to let a boy where a dress or skirt. The horror of it all. You know what might fix it, make those trans boys kids marry an older straight man when they first display the idea of being a boy. 8 maybe, 10, definitely by 12. Get them pregnant will show them they are not a boy.
If you are someone that believes any of the above you are wrong, you are a bigot, you are drastically misinformed / uninformed. You are holding on to ideas that were debunked decades ago. This is about reinforcing Christian church doctrines / ideas into laws, schools, and forcing everyone to live by them. This is about errasing the LGBTQIA from society and vilifying them by making them the horrible boogieman that kids should be terrified of. Remember the 1950s school films telling boys to beware the homosexual who was always out to snatch them, take them somewhere, then raping them making them homosexuals also, a future danger to other boys. Boys Beware: This 1955 educational film warns against “the dangers of homosexuality,” which is described as “a sickness of the mind.” The ten minute video was produced by the Unified School District and the Police Department of Inglewood, California. That is the world these people love, that they think is real and wants to force the country to return to. Often they cloak it in god says, but it really is about their own comfort, their own feelings, their own hates and bigotry. Hugs. Scottie
There is a video I tried every way I can think of to embed in the post. It won’t show up so I am going to take it out and just put up the link there in its spot. Hugs. Scottie
Gov. Greg Abbott said those who fail to report instances of minors receiving gender-affirming medical care could face “criminal penalties.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference in the Permian Basin, in Midland, Texas, on Feb. 1, 2022.Eli Hartman / Odessa American via AP file
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on “licensed professionals” and “members of the general public” to report the parents of transgender minors to state authorities if it appears the minors are receiving gender-affirming medical care.
The directive was part of a letter Abbott, a Republican, sent Tuesday to the Department of Family and Protective Services, calling on it to “conduct a prompt and thorough investigation” of any reported instances of minors undergoing “elective procedures for gender transitioning.”
Abbott’s letter follows an opinion released Monday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which stated that allowing minors to receive transition care such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery is child abuse under state law.
Paxton issued the opinion after the Legislature failed last year to pass a bill that would have made it a felony alongside physical and sexual abuse to provide such care to minors. An opinion is an interpretation of existing law; it does not change the law itself but can affect how it is enforced.
In Tuesday’s letter, Abbott tasked licensed professionals who work with children — including teachers, nurses and doctors — and “members of the general public” with reporting such claims. He added that state law “provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse.”
Advocates allege that both Paxton’s opinion and Abbott’s letter are politically motivated, noting that they were released just ahead of the March 1 Republican primary and that both men face a crowded field of contenders in their re-election bids.
Adri Pèrez, policy and advocacy strategist for LGBTQ equality at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said Paxton is trying to distract from the problems plaguing his campaign. He is awaiting trial for a 2015 indictment on charges of securities fraud, and he is under investigation by the FBI over allegations of bribery and abuse of office. Paxton’s office did not return a request for comment.
“There’s no court in Texas or the entire country that has ever found that gender-affirming care can constitute child abuse,” Pèrez said.
Brian Klosterboer, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement that neither the opinion nor the letter have a legal effect and “cannot change Texas law nor usurp the constitutional rights of Texas families.”
“But they spread fear and misinformation and could spur false reporting of child abuse at a time when DFPS is already facing a crisis in our state’s foster care system,” Klosterboer stated. “The law is clear that parents, guardians, and doctors can provide transgender youth with treatment in accordance with prevailing standards of care. Any parent or guardian who loves and supports their child and is taking them to a licensed health care provider is not engaging in child abuse.”
It’s unclear whether Abbott and Paxton can force the Department of Family and Protective Services and other state agencies to investigate claims of child abuse against the parents of trans kids without passing legislation that changes the law.
At least one county-level official has said he will not enforce Abbott’s directive. Christian Menefee, the elected attorney who represents Department of Family and Protective Services in civil child abuse cases in Harris County, where Houston is, said in a statement that Paxton and Abbott “are ignoring medical professionals and intentionally misrepresenting the law to the detriment of transgender children and their families.”
“My office will not participate in these bad faith political games,” he said. “As the lawyers handling these cases, we owe a duty of candor to the courts about what the law really says. We’ll continue to follow the laws on the books — not General Paxton’s politically motivated and legally incorrect ‘opinion.’”
Over the last year, nearly two dozen states considered legislation that would bar access to some or all gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. Some states, including Texas, considered bills that would’ve charged parents or doctors who provide transition care with a felony. Only two states — Arkansas and Tennessee — have enacted restrictions on such care for minors, and a federal judge blocked Arkansas’ law from taking effect in July.
“Conservative officials in Texas and other states across the country should stop inserting themselves into health care decisions that create needless tension between pediatricians and their patients,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the deputy principal press secretary for the White House, told the paper. “No parent should face the agony of a politician standing in the way of accessing life-saving care for their child.”
Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health and the first openly transgender Senate-confirmed federal official, added that the Department of Health and Human Services “stands with transgender youth and their medical providers.”
“Our nation’s leading pediatricians support evidence-based, gender affirming care for transgender young people,” she said.
Supporters of restrictions on gender-affirming care argue that minors cannot consent to care that includes permanent changes to their bodies. Advocates note that all relevant major medical organizations — including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association — say that gender-affirming care is medically necessary for transgender youth and is backed by decades of research.
The Endocrine Society, an international medical organization for the field of endocrinology, which includes the study of hormones, said in a statement Wednesday that Abbott’s directive “rejects evidence-based transgender medical care.”
“Medical evidence, not politics, should inform treatment decisions,” the group said in a statement. “The governor’s directive reflects widespread misinformation about gender-affirming care. When young children experience feelings that their gender identity does not match the sex recorded at birth, the first course of action is to support the child in exploring their gender identity and to provide mental health support, as needed.”
The Endocrine Society added that its clinical practice guideline recommends only reversible treatments for adolescents, such as puberty blockers, after they have entered puberty. Older adolescents “who demonstrate the ability to provide informed consent to partially irreversible treatment and experience persistent gender incongruence” can start hormone therapy. The guideline also recommends delaying surgery until the age of legal majority, which is 18 in most states.
If you do not recognize this it is from a Chick tract called The Last Generation. It was about what our side was supposedly going to do. It is always projection.
They are not going to stop because they know that there is no one to enforce the constitution. There is nothing the federal government can do and they know this and will act accordingly.
“Reports?” I assume /s? But seriously, circumcision is obviously elective surgery an infant can’t consent to. Gender affirming care (seldom surgery) is only done with consent and years of medical consultation.
So, if a 17 year old girl gets a boob job because it makes her feel better about her body, is that considered gender affirming care to Abbott and those like him? I’m betting he couldn’t articulate why that doesn’t count for him… not that he has to try with his base, of course.
In the past 10 years, we have relived a good chunk of the 20th century. We have experienced pre and post WW2. I have a much greater understanding of that time period now.
Again another post that needs as much air time as possible. For the record I have many Christian viewers / followers. They are grand and decent people many who are LGBTQIA allies. I often repost the Rev. Ed Trevors, who is a person I respect. What I fight back against is hate preachers of any faith or some with no faith who want to harm others simply for being born different than they are. I have serious issues with those that use their religion to attack the civil rights of others. I love people who use their faith to influence their uplift and support others, especially those who are most disadvantaged. Do you know the difference? The ones I mentioned before would gladly have / share a meal with me, I have to think most of them would volunteer to pay for the meal. The haters, hate preachers wouldn’t even think of having a meal with me and if they did might poison my food or stab me with a knife during it. The point is some religious / Christian not only would want my death for pushing for equality for LGBTQIA but would work to cause it if they wouldn’t be charged for it. Hugs. Scottie
Thank you to Ten Bears for this very important video. This needs much more air time. Russia is an enemy of our country and a sizable part of the Republican Party is owned by Russia and the leader of that party is actively spouting Russian talking points while promoting Putin. Hugs. Scottie
Sharpshooters survive by guzzling a lot of plant sap. But drinking all of that liquid nutrition presents a problem for these tiny insects: How do they move it all out? Easy. They’ve perfected a super-propulsive urination technique using a special catapult in their butt.
The sharpshooter gets all its nutrition from the thin, watery liquid inside a plant, called xylem sap, which it sucks out with this tube-shaped stylet. That sap has so little nutrition that sharpshooters need to guzzle nonstop. Taking all that liquid in presents a problem – how to move it out. The sharpshooter has evolved the perfect tool for the job: an anal stylus — or butt flicker. Here’s something incredible: Each drop of pee actually travels faster than the speed at which the butt flicker launched it. Learn about this incredible creature’s super-propulsive pee in this video!
Remember the goal is to remove anything positive about gays / trans kids, to remove any anti-bullying programs, with the goal of wiping out LGBTQIA visibility in society. That will lead back to the horrible abuse of kids who are different as in the past. We have to find a way to stop this. Remember this is the same school that had the fundamentalist religious person on the board sneak a religious film crew in to take video and interview students. Please look at the actions the board / school districts have taken against LGBTQIA students. The effort was described below by one person interviewed, but to put it in my own words, they want to roll back all advances in acceptance, tolerance, and equality of anyone who is not straight and cis. To remove all protections for kids who are different, who might be LGBTQIA, or not straight or not cis. It is to enshrine church views / doctrines into rules and laws. Return society to what as allowed in the 1950s, which these people feel makes go happy because it makes them feel happy, good, and important. Hugs. Scottie
“What I see driving it now is an ugly push to deny LGBTQ rights and identity that, in some states, is being enshrined in law,” he said.
The Keller ISD school board recently passed policies decried as discriminatory to LGBTQ students.
Timber Creek High School parents received an email Friday night saying that students would no longer perform the show this spring.(NBC5)
A Keller high school production of The Laramie Project — a play about the aftermath of the 1998 murder of a gay student in Wyoming — was canceled.
Timber Creek High School parents received an email Friday night saying that students would no longer perform the show this spring. The email did not provide an explanation.
Community members are now rallying to reinstate the production, launching an online petition that has received more than 1,300 signatures so far.
“This play is a poignant depiction of queer history,” the petition reads. “By banning this play, we are not only suppressing an important piece of history but also denying our students a chance to understand and empathize with the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community. … It’s essential that our education system works towards creating awareness about these issues rather than shying away from them.”
In the brief email to families, school leaders said they are “working on developing an alternative production opportunity for our students.”
“We understand that it is unusual for a production change like this to take place. Students will still have an opportunity to read, discuss, and analyze the play during the school day,” they wrote.
District spokesman Bryce Nieman said in a statement that the decision was “made by many stakeholders.”
“The decision to move forward with another production at Timber Creek High School was based on the desire to provide a performance similar to the ones that have created much excitement from the community, like this year’s Keller ISD musical productions of Mary Poppins and White Christmas,” Nieman wrote in an email.
Mary Anne Weatherred, whose son was supposed to perform in The Laramie Project, said she’s concerned about a pattern of anti-LGBTQ decisions in Keller.
If people don’t agree with the message of the show, she said, then they shouldn’t come watch it.
“But they don’t need to take it away from the kids,” she said.
The Laramie Project, which is often performed in high schools across the country, explores the community’s reaction to the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who was attacked, tied to a fence in a field and left to die.
His brutal death became a symbol of anti-LGBTQ violence and helped fuel the fight for expanded hate crime legislation.
Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother and president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, said she’s seen a spike in attempts to cancel productions of the show in recent years.
“My heart is broken when people still refuse to see how important this work is,” she said.
Shepard said the play can hold particular resonance for high schoolers, who are only a few years younger than her son was when he died.
“It might scare some kids. And it might wake some kids up. And it might make kids want to make change — all of those things. And they have the power to do it,” she added.
Roughly 25 years since his murder, many lawmakers and local school boards are targeting the rights of LBGTQ students.
Keller school trustees voted last year to establish rules stating that district employees “shall not promote, encourage, or require the use of pronouns that are inconsistent with a student’s or other person’s biological sex.” This means someone could intentionally use the wrong pronouns when referring to a transgender or nonbinary child.
Before that, the school board approved a policy prohibiting library books across all grade levels that include the discussion of gender fluidity.
A Keller ISD trustee resigned earlier this month after parental outcry over a film crew that was brought into a school without families’ knowledge or consent. Parents were enraged when they saw the crew was part of an evangelical network from the Netherlands.
The Matthew Shepard Foundation’s goal is to “create an environment where people are afforded an opportunity to discuss the play and its messages, the hate they encounter in their own lives, and how they can work collectively to build a more understanding and compassionate community.”
“We know educators are worried about the current wave of legislation mandating what they can and can’t teach,” the association’s director, Jennifer Katona, said in a statement. “What’s concerning about these results is the potential impact of self-censorship. School theatre should be a way for students to explore diverse perspectives, which helps them develop empathy and critical thinking.”
A different North Texas district recently triggered national outrage when a transgender teenager was removed from his part in the school musical. The community rallied to get him reinstated in his leading male role.
Howard Sherman, managing director of the performing arts center at Baruch College in Manhattan, is an arts advocate who tracks and fights against instances of theater censorship in schools.
“What I see driving it now is an ugly push to deny LGBTQ rights and identity that, in some states, is being enshrined in law,” he said.
Hearing that Keller ISD wanted to instead put on a show more like Mary Poppins or White Christmas, Sherman said those are great shows that have a place on the high school stage.
“But they shouldn’t be the only kinds of shows because that is not preparing students for college, for the real world,” Sherman said. “Students shouldn’t be relegated to escapism or assumed to not be capable of handling mature themes.”
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
Earlier this month this same school district was infiltrated by an evangelical group who filmed students without their permission. A school board member who reportedly helped sneak in the film crew later resigned.
Texas high school production of The Laramie Project – a play about the aftermath of the 1998 murder of a gay student in Wyoming – was canceled, without explanation. School board has recently passed other policies that discriminate against LGBTQ students https://t.co/OFfyLKsQ3H
More than 25 years after the murder of Matthew Shepard, young people still face hate and death due to their LGBTQ+ identities. @KellerISD should be ashamed for cancelling "The Laramie Project," which shows how hate poisons communities. https://t.co/MVP9JCwlCq
Well, you can’t let good ChristStain children learn that the hate their parents are spewing lead to the brutal death of an innocent young man whose only crime was being born the way he was born.
One of the reasons for Theatre to be a part of our lives is that it causes people to think. Mary Poppins is not about thinking. White Christmas is not about thinking.
The Laramie project is intended to get people to think. For that reason alone, it would be anathema in Texas .
Meanwhile, the 2nd grade rendition of “Showgirls” (featuring pageant winners Marabelle and Lindsey!) will continue to be performed at the Timber Creek Saloon.
I still remember all those years ago when we had a memorial for Matthew Shepard. We were handed out stickers(which I still have) that read “We’re all Matthew Shepard” It’s the truth these days.
In the seventies, of the six plays we did each year, one was required to be a classic. After casting, but before rehearsal, Lysistrata had to be replaced with The Trojan Women due to one Harper Valley hypocrite.
What are the odds that they will “chose” Godspell or some other Christian-infused pablum? Not Jesus Christ Superstar, that is too “rock,” and not the Jesus-Is-My-Rock type, either.
Thank you, Ten Bears. What completely unhinged batshittery totally disconnect from history and trying to remake reality so that all they believe is not total cow shit. That is so clear, but what is so unbelievable to me is the public still supports these people and their crazy political candidates. What the hell is wrong with the US and our education system that failed so many people. Hugs. Scottie
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Scottie's Playtime 