Yes it is time to change my avatar.Β Β I had to wait until my very sensitive skin was not chemical burned, well at least my face.Β So I took these this morning before leaving for my allergy shots appointment.Β Β Enjoy and if you have a favorite you think would make a great avatar, leave it in the comments below.Β Β BTW I am enjoying the long hair, it would destroy the hateful adoptive parents that abused me and insisted I have extremely short hair, almost skinhead style that was against the norms of the time.Β They did that to hurt and embarrass me, but now I can wear my hair anyway I want.Β Yes it is a pain in the butt sometimes, a lot of times actually.Β But I am not yet ready to cut it shorter.Β Ron who was a hairdresser and had his own salon tells me he absolutely must trim it up to keep it healthy and I trust him.Β Β I remember one time he cut my hair before I told him of my abuse and what was done / demanded of me, and he cut it shorter than I was wearing my hair at the time thinking it would be cute / easier for me.Β Β I sat there and cried but what was most horrible was I couldn’t tell him why.Β Β He never did that again.Β Β He now always shows me how much he might cut and is very careful to not trigger me.Β Β Dogs that love gravy he is a grand person!Β Oh but I have lost 15 pounds this year.Β Β Hugs
Migrants cool themselves in the waters of the Rio Grande after crossing to the U.S. from Mexico near a site where the state is installing large buoys to be used as a border barrier along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, July 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Eric Gay/Associated Press
WASHINGTON β Officers working for Gov. Greg Abbottβs border security initiative have been ordered to push small children and nursing babies back into the Rio Grande, and have been told not to give water to asylum seekers even in extreme heat, according to an email from a Department of Public Safety trooper who described the actions as βinhumane.βΒ
The July 3 account, reviewed by Hearst Newspapers, discloses several previously unreported incidents the trooper witnessed in Eagle Pass, where the state of TexasΒ has strung miles of razor wireΒ andΒ deployed a wall of buoysΒ in the Rio Grande.
According to the email, a pregnant woman having a miscarriage was found late last month caught in the wire, doubled over in pain. A four-year-old girl passed out from heat exhaustion after she tried to go through it and was pushed back by Texas National Guard soldiers. A teenager broke his leg trying to navigate the water around the wire and had to be carried by his father.
The email, which the trooper sent to a superior, suggests that Texas has set βtrapsβ of razor wire-wrapped barrels in parts of the river with high water and low visibility. And it says the wire has increased the risk of drownings by forcing migrants into deeper stretches of the river.Β
The trooper called for a series of rigorous policy changes to improve safety for migrants, including removing the barrels and revoking the directive on withholding water.
βDue to the extreme heat, the order to not give people water needs to be immediately reversed as well,β the trooper wrote, later adding: βI believe we have stepped over a line into the inhumane.β
Migrants walk along concertina wire blocking their entrance to the U.S. in Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, July 10, 2023.Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News
Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine did not comment on all the contents of the trooperβs email, but said there is no policy against giving water to migrants.
Considine also provided an email from DPS Director Steven McCraw on Saturday calling for an audit to determine if more can be done to minimize the risk to migrants. McCraw wrote troopers should warn migrants not to cross the wire, redirect them to ports of entry and to closely watch for anyone who needs medical attention.
In another email, McCraw acknowledged that there has been an increase in injuries from the wire, including seven incidents reported by Border Patrol where migrants needed βelevated medical attentionβ from July 4 to July 13. Those were in addition to the incidents detailed by the trooper.
βThe purpose of the wire is to deter smuggling between the ports of entry and not to injure migrants,β McCraw wrote. βThe smugglers care not if the migrants are injured, but we do, and we must take all necessary measures to mitigate the risk to them including injuries from trying to cross over the concertina wire, drownings and dehydration.β
Texas Department of Public Safety personnel are seen in a closed off area of a public park by the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, July 10, 2023.Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News
The incidents detailed in the email come as Abbott has stepped up efforts in recent weeks to physically bar migrants from entering the country through his Operation Lone Star initiative, escalating tensions between state and federal officials and drawing increased scrutiny from humanitarian groups who say the state is endangering asylum seekers. The most aggressive initiatives have been targeted at Eagle Pass.
Federal Border Patrol officials have issued internal warnings that the razor wire is preventing their agents from reaching at-risk migrants and increasing the risk of drownings in the Rio Grande, Hearst NewspapersΒ reported last week.Β
The DPS trooper expressed similar concerns, writing that the placement of the wire along the river βforces people to cross in other areas that are deeper and not as safe for people carrying kids and bags.β
The trooperβs email sheds new light on a series of previously reported drownings in the river during a one-week stretch earlier this month, including a mother and at least one of her two children, who federal Border Patrol agents spotted struggling to cross the Rio Grande on July 1.Β
According to the email, a DPS boat found the mother and one of the children, who went under the water for a minute. They were pulled from the river and given medical care before being transferred to EMS, but were later declared deceased at the hospital. The second child was never found, the email said.Β
The governor has said he is taking necessary steps to secure the border and accused federal officials of refusing to do so.
βTexas is deploying every tool and strategy to deter and repel illegal crossings between ports of entry as President Bidenβs dangerous open border policies entice migrants from over 150 countries to risk their lives entering the country illegally,” said Andrew Mahaleris, Abbottβs press secretary. “President Biden has unleashed a chaos on the border thatβs unsustainable, and we have a constitutional duty to respond to this unprecedented crisis.β
Migrants cross the Rio Grande as state troopers guard workers installing buoys on the Rio Grande south of Eagle Pass, Texas, Monday, July 10, 2023.Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News
The DPS trooperβs email details four incidents in just one day in which migrants were caught in the wire or injured trying to get around it.Β
On June 30, troopers found a group of people along the wire, including a 4-year-old girl who tried to cross the wire and was pressed back by Texas Guard soldiers βdue to the orders given to them,β the email says. The DPS trooper wrote that the temperature was βwell over 100 degreesβ and the girl passed out from exhaustion.Β
βWe provided treatment to the unresponsive patient and transferred care to EMS,β the trooper wrote. A spokesperson for the Texas National Guard did not respond to a request for comment.
In another instance, troopers found a 19-year-old woman βin obvious painβ stuck in the wire. She was cut free and given a medical assessment, which determined she was pregnant and having a miscarriage. She was then transferred to EMS.
The trooper also treated a man with a βsignificant lacerationβ in his left leg, who said he had cut it while trying to free his child who was βstuck on a trap in the water,β describing a barrel with razor wire βall over it.β And the trooper treated a 15-year-old boy who broke his right leg walking in the river because the razor wire was βlaid out in a manner that it forced him into the river where it is unsafe to travel.β
In another instance, on June 25, troopers came across a group of 120 people camped out along a fence set up along the river. The group included several small children and babies who were nursing, the trooper wrote. The entire group was exhausted, hungry and tired, the trooper wrote. The shift officer in command ordered the troopers to βpush the people back into the water to go to Mexico,β the email says.Β
The trooper wrote that the troopers decided it was not the right thing to do βwith the very real potential of exhausted people drowning.β They called command again and expressed their concerns and were given the order to βtell them to go to Mexico and get into our vehicle and leave,β the trooper wrote. After they left, other troopers worked with Border Patrol to provide care to the migrants, the email said.Β
Migrants trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico approach the site where workers are assembling large buoys to be used as a border barrier along the banks of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, Tuesday, July 11, 2023.Eric Gay/AP
The trooper did not respond to a request for comment Monday. His email was shared by a confidential source with knowledge of border operations. It was unclear whether the trooper received a response from the sergeant heβd messaged.
Considine acknowledged that DPS was aware of the email and provided the additional agency emails in response. Those emails detail seven other incidents reported by federal border agents in which migrants were injured on the wires, including a child who was taken to the hospital on Thursday with cuts on his left arm, a mother and child who were taken to the hospital on Wednesday with βminor lacerationsβ on their βlower extremities,β and another migrant taken to San Antonio on July 4 to receive treatment for βseveral lacerationsβ that required staples.
Victor Escalon, a DPS director who oversees South Texas, wrote in an email Friday to other agency officials that troopers βmay need to open the wire to aid individuals in medical distress, maintain the peace, and/or to make an arrest for criminal trespass, criminal mischief, acts of violence, or other State crimes.
βOur DPS medical unit is assigned to this operation to address medical concerns for everyone involved,β Escalon wrote. βAs we enforce State law, we may need to aid those in medical distress and provide water as necessary.β
Benjamin Wermund is the Washington correspondent for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. He covers the Texas delegation and the many ways the state and its leaders shape national politics and policy. Heβs a Texas native and a diehard Spurs fan.VIEW COMMENTS
Veterans resign from force established as civilian disaster relief, citing concerns over βmilitaristicβ training and βabuseβ
The state guard was created by Ron DeSantis as βan emergency focused, civilian defense forceβ in June 2022.Β Photograph: Reba Saldanha/AP
A Florida state guard established by the right wing governor,Β Ron DeSantis, under the guise of a civilian disaster relief force is instead being trained as an armed, combat-ready militia under his personal command, according to military veteran recruits who have quit the program.
Several veterans resigned after an encampment last month having become concerned at the βmilitaristicβ training and βabuseβ one disabled veteran suffered at the hands of instructors, according to anΒ investigation by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times.
Promoted by DeSantis as an βemergency focused, civilian defense forceβ when it was established in June 2022, the state guard has quickly morphed into something quite different, the report found.
Volunteers have been trained for military combat, including the use of weapons; khaki polo shirts and pants were replaced by camouflage uniforms; and recruits were βbarked atβ by boot camp instructors at the joint training base who woke them before dawn and imposed lights-out by 10pm.
Additionally, DeSantisβs compliant, Republican-led state legislature has contributed to the change of direction, this year approving aΒ massive expansionΒ in the forceβs funding, size and equipment. Its budget increased from $10m to $107.5m, and its maximum size more than tripled from 400 recruits to 1,500.
On theΒ governorβs shopping listΒ were helicopters, boats, police powers and reportedly even cellphone-hacking technology for a force outside of federal jurisdiction, and accountable directly to him.
βThe program got hijacked and turned into something that we were trying to stay away from: a militia,β Brian Newhouse, a retired navy veteran with 20 yearsβ experience, told the reporters.
Newhouse was originally chosen to lead one of the state guardβs three divisions, and said he was removed from the base near Jacksonville on the first day of training after raising his concerns with national guard staff who were acting as instructors.
The abuse allegation, which was the subject of a police inquiry, relates to an incident in which a disabled retired marine captain said he was bundled into a van by national guard staff after he expressed his displeasure at how recruits were being treated.
βI donβt even think the governor knows whatβs going on. I donβt think this is a fly on his radar right now,β Newhouse said, noting that DeSantis is a former navy lieutenant. βHe would be appalled that a disabled veteran would be abused by other military members.β
According to Newhouse and two others who quit, who have decades of military service between them, the trainers were inexperienced and the camp βslapdashβ. Volunteers were given almost no written training materials, and not tested on what they learned.
There were also no medical or physical assessments to determine recruitsβ fitness levels before they embarked on a demanding obstacle course and drill, they said.
The apparent dysfunction appears reflective of the organizationβs leadership as a whole. The Herald/Times reporters, who reviewed records as well as interviewing recruits, noted the state guard was seeking its third commander in eight months.
Its then director, the navy reserve captain Luis Soler, was excluded from the training camp and has since stepped down βfor personal reasonsβ, according to DeSantisβs office, reported last week by the Florida Standard.
Newhouse said he and Soler viewed the program as an emergency management response team in line with DeSantisβs original brief, and a way for citizens to serve their communities, rather than what it had become.
The Guardian has reached out to DeSantisβs office, and state guard leadership, for comment.
The governorβs media team referred the Herald/Times to the state guard, which sent a statement from Maj Gen John D Haas, Floridaβs adjutant general overseeing the stateβs national guard, who said the veterans were βdismissedβ from the program, and had not resigned.
β[Itβs] unfortunate that some of these individuals resorted to complaints to the media,β he wrote.
βWe are aware that some trainees who were removed are dissatisfied. This is to be expected with any course that demands rigor and discipline.β
Haas also seemed to confirm the veteransβ assertion that the state guardβs brief had changed. It was a βmilitary organizationβ, he said, that will be used for βaiding law enforcement with riots and illegal immigrationβ.
DemocratsΒ expressed fear in 2021, when DeSantis first proposed to reactivate the state guard dormant since the second world war, that it would eventually become a paramilitary force beholden only to Floridaβs authoritarian leader.
βNo governor should have his own handpicked secret police,β said Charlie Crist, the losing Democrat candidate when DeSantis was re-elected in November.
Cody from Denver shares his experiences with the devastating real-world impact of transphobia on individuals and their communities, and inspires a discussion of the absolute need to be a militant advocate for marginalized communities, particularly in the face of escalating political persecution and bad faith attempts to justify them.Β
Talk about a police state where the police must be obeyed even when they are wrong and the person is not doing anything wrong.Β Β Plus both of these cops under oath kept admitting they did not know the law, did not know when they could arrest someone except when they just want to do so.Β Hugs
In Illinois, two incompetent officers are picked apart by a lawyer during a deposition… their ignorance is nothing short of frightening. David Shuster breaks it down on Rebel HQ.
EPISODE SUMMARY Long before Governor Ron DeSantis declared a new war on wokeness, Florida lawmakers in the 1950s and 60s tried going after the NAACP, suspected communists and gay people in Florida schools and universities. The lawmakers upended life for countless numbers of their fellow Floridians before being upended themselves by their own zeal for the cause. Now that DeSantis is bringing this playbook to a presidential campaign, Rachel Maddow and Isaac-Davy Aronson ask what we can learn from the last time Florida went down this path.
For those that are hearing impaired or prefer to read instead of listen, the transcript is here.
Long before Governor Ron DeSantis declared a new war on wokeness, Florida lawmakers in the 1950s and 60s tried going after the NAACP, suspected communists and gay people in Florida schools and universities. The lawmakers upended life for countless numbers of their fellow Floridians before being upended themselves by their own zeal for the cause. Now that DeSantis is bringing this playbook to a presidential campaign, Rachel Maddow and Isaac-Davy Aronson ask what we can learn from the last time Florida went down this path.
From the linked article in the above Joe.My.God. post.Β Β Remember, this is a Yale history grad, claiming that is OK to honor Confederate Generals that fought the US government to keep slavery because “But at the end of the day, you know, we had people that have done great things for this country,β DeSantis said.”
Despite the limited scope of the DoDβs renaming, the Governor likened taking Braggβs name off the fort to moves to βtakeΒ Abraham LincolnΒ off the statue down in Boston β¦ takeΒ Teddy RooseveltΒ down in New York Cityβ and βremoveΒ George WashingtonβsΒ name from schools in San Francisco.β
βAnd thatβs not, I think, what I want to see. I mean, I think you can look back at anybody and you could find flaws. But at the end of the day, you know, we had people that have done great things for this country,β DeSantis said.
βIβm not in a position to say that somehow Iβm so much better than any of this. Itβs a different time. People make mistakes. Thereβs different parts of our society, we look back and can say was a mistake. But this idea that weβre going to erase history, I just think, is fundamentally wrong, and weβre not going to do that.β
'I think you can look back at anybody and you could find flaws.'@RonDeSantis doubles down on restoration of 'iconic' Fort Bragg name
While we’re at it, let’s also create Fort Hirohito. Why not, he was the leader of a foreign nation that attacked the United States. Let’s run with this theme Governor Fucknutz.
“And hereβs the thing, you know, you learn from history, you donβt erase the history” and yet history that makes students uncomfortable can’t be taught in schools…right
Trump’s an elderly sociopathic narcissist, he’s spent decades refining his charisma and reflexes to lie instantly, without hesitation and with complete believability.
Ronnie isn’t, even if he’s a sociopath himself, he’s just hungry for power and clout and tries constantly to copy Trump to try and steal his thunder and his followers. But he can never be as good a liar.
Wow, he first says the name of the military base did not cause him to learn any history at all, then claims keeping the name is vital to learning the history he was totally ignorant about until they removed the name of the incompetent traitorous slaver, demonstrating he is lying through his teeth. He must have experts help him prove himself a liar like that, I don’t think he’s clever enough to figure it out himself.
I guess he means we learn only from white history, not the black history he is censoring in the schools. That’s erasing history, asshole!! This guy is such a lying fucking hypocrite.
Watters wanted and got the Tucker spot at fox. To get it he has to appeal to the most right wing demographics sought after by media, and to win them he has to be full open racist and the most ardent supporter of the right wing conspiracies along with pushing the idea of Christian nationalism. Hugs
Jesse Watters on Monday went after Barack Obama for criticizing the disparity in media attention on the submersible that imploded during its venture to the Titanic wreck when compared to the sinking of a fishing boat that was carrying up to 750 refugees. https://t.co/kAYwlmOh0L
Watters, new host of Tuckerβs 8pm slot, says of Obama: βThis is a guy whose father has roots in Africaβ¦Spent a lot of time in Hawaii. Was that the last state to get a star on the flag? He's never really looking at things from an American perspective.β pic.twitter.com/cXZ6xKD1JE
If man sees a kid playing in the street, then notice a car driving down the street, and he shrugs and says βfree willβ and the car hits the kid, is that man a good person or a bad person?
Yet somehow Christians want to tell you that God is good, even though he allows bad things to happen. (And he could have just stopped it all by making Adam and Eve barren, or ending the world 4000 years ago.)
Ending one segment that knocks Pete Buttigieg for "prioritizing a far-left green agenda" only to tee up another segment about the "brutal temperatures" and "dangerous heat" in Texas. pic.twitter.com/ZRFYPKBbcP
Two workers died amid extremely high temperatures in Texas, a tragedy that's likely to exacerbate criticism of Gov. Abbott's water break ban. https://t.co/11ZeBlijYd
βWe are flying electric helicopters on Mars, but we canβt use the dryer in Texas. This is because scientists are in charge of Mars and Republicans are in charge of Texasβ ~Amy Martin #ERCOT#Texasgrid#VoteThemAllOut2022pic.twitter.com/uIW3c3cyHr
TWO MEN leaving a public restroom . Man#1 approaches Man#2 and says: “Excuse me sir but I noticed you didn’t wash your hands after using the urinal. I’m from Texas and in Texas we’re taught you should always wash your hands after using the restroom.” Man#2 replies: “Well I’m from California and in California we’re taught you should’nt pee all over yourself.”
I wish non-Dem Texans would learn to blame the GQP they vote in for the shitty state of their infrastructure but if the Ted Cruz fleeing for Cancun didn’t teach them shit . . .
This is really a non-issue because if the power goes out and people die, nobody can sue the power company because the Republican Texas Supreme Court just held that Republican-controlled ERCOT is immune from lawsuits. No liability = No Problem.
Strang previously appeared here when he declared that people who oppose Trump are possessed by demons and that voting against Trump is a vote for the βapocalypse.β Also, holograms and Trumpβs impeachments? Both the work of Satan. We last heard from him when he appeared in a βdocumentaryβ with Dr. Demon Semen.
Whatβs happening lines up with Godβs Word regarding what would happen in the end times before Jesus returns.
But that’s what you want, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you be happy? I mean, your imaginary friend is going to show everyone he’s not imaginary after all. That’s a good thing, right?
There was a book, βThe Late Great Planet Earthβ that was popular among the end times folks. βThe last days are nigh!β Published in 1970. 53 years ago. And even in the late 1800s, preachers were saying the end times were near.
They literally pray βLord come quickly!β But then complain about all the βsigns of the end timesβ as if thatβs a bad thing. They should be working -toward- the βone world governmentβ and a global currency and world peace and βthe mark of the beastβ because thatβs what will bring the rapture. (Your eschatology may vary).
This is basically the attempt by white supremacists to prevent the natural decline of white majority / supremacy in the US. They are terrified over the demographics that shows the steady decline of the white majority and the increase in non-white people. It terrifies them because they fear being treated as they have treated POC all during the history of the US. They want to remain the unchallenged authority they have always been. This denies everything we understand about culture and human development, not to mention what the US has always stood for. We are better / stronger / improved the more we blend and add to our prior society. Hey if you treat others that are different from you decently, they will do the same to you. If you act like an asshole toward them, they might do the same back. The thing to understand is be a decent nice person to others. Remember race is a social construct. We are all humans. We may look different but we really are the same species. Do dogs or cats of different colors be racist against each other, and should they, as they are all dogs or cats. Hugs
LMAO this clown went to Harvard Law school and should know the Constitution a little better, particularly the 14th Amendment. But you needn't take my word for it. Birthright citizenship was defined and affirmed by the SCOTUS in 1898, in US v. Wong Kim Ark:https://t.co/OAYLAAteLy
— Deborah, who loves fashion & loathes fascists (@litbrit) June 26, 2023
Yes… and look which demographic he’s coddling. They’ll fall totally in line with him. Evangelicals always find the worst in humanity to align themselves with
I don’t do 1930s/40s comparisons lightly or often, but DeSantis could certainly be someone to take us down a similar road, just a 2020s version of it. He’s already taking actions in that vein — shipping human beings like cargo, book bannings, etc. I’m not suggesting it could be a literal Holocaust, but he will seriously and intentionally harm a lot of Americans (and more so, people wanting to become Americans) before he would be done. A lot of people would die.
Also, I’m not not saying he wouldn’t cause a literal Holocaust, either.
We will never stop fighting bigots like Ron DeSantis – they must be told repeatedly that LGBTQ Americans deserve ALL the rights due to them under our Constitution.#Pride2023https://t.co/oT6gpM9nPQ
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) June 30, 2023
JackFknTwista day ago edited O/T : – At the risk of having only one tune, I don’t think it can be said often enough that in their doctrinaire zealotry the conservative Justices of the Supreme Court have betrayed their underlying hypocrisy. In their preening self-importance all they have exposed is their lack on any integrity, their enthusiasm to lie at any opportunity and their shallow semblance of probity. What we have on the US Supreme Court is a few liars, charlatans and those willing to prostitute themselves at the alter of the Federalist Society on the one hand and to rich ‘grooming’ billionaires on the other. Was there ever a Supreme Court so compromised?
Yes, 1937 or so. Towards the end of the “gilded age”, the SCOTUS was as virulently anti-decency as Alito and Thomas are now. FDR, then president, make a threat to “pack” (unfvck) the court and the court suddenly changed its tune on what the law was. Then the plan to fix the court fell apart.
There’s some suggestion that a similar thing may have happened between last term and this one with regard to KNAW, Roberts and Raspberry Baret. They have not gone along with the same degree of YOLO-ALITO that marked last year / the Dobbs Term.
They can’t win on real issues that matter to people so we’ll have lots of noise on wedge issues over the next year. Brown people invading, drag queen groomers and Susie has to call her teacher they/them at school.
DeSantis keeps trying to resurrect the infamous Jones commission – which attemped to erase homosexuality from all colleges and other schools throughout the state some 50 years ago, along with the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who tried it nationally. The only result was the ruining of the reputations and hopes of over 200 students and faculty in Florida. This is evil in its strongest form.
Most of this is Florida law, so US SCOTUS is largely irrelevant unless there is a conflict with Federal Law. The Florida SCOTUS is packed with bigots, in a large sense the fate of Florida rests in the hands of the appellate courts.
That’s gonna be the kicker. We already know the FLSC is packed with bigots. The appellate courts are either going to side with a dictator or with the republic that placed them in their robes.
I feel like this is part of the whole make shit up and get it to the current Supreme Court so they can declare god and church and money or whatever. Like the website bitch in Colorado and the made up gay client.
Win or lose, Tater will screech about how heβs βfighting for families* and against woke culture & a woke & woke judges.β Others will be smart enough to point out his losses or how vaguely worded his laws are, but at the end of the day, DePudding will declare himself βthe great fighter for American values*β
* values & families donβt include individuals, friends or family of the LGBTQ, nonChristians, nor nonWhite racial groups. Additional exclusions not listed or implied are applicable by the tiny dictator
Ron DeSantis is the worst candidate Iβve ever seen. Itβs like heβs been assembled from the discarded spare parts of Bobby Jindal, Bill deBlasio, Rick Perry, and Scott Walker. https://t.co/5f6UILNVPI
DeFascist can indeed get the country on a different path – Here’s what Ron DeFascist has accomplished – – LGBT students cannot discuss their personal lives with teachers or counselors, making them feel marginalized, alone, and possibly increasing their risks of suicide. Some parents with LGBT family members are moving out of the state. State ACLU currently suing to end this. – Universities are unsure what they can or cannot teach based on the whims of literally one man. GOP prefer students to be inculcated with cheap cheerleading America First nationalism (this shut down by a judge, results pending) – History teachers can’t teach about the truth of American racism and black history because it might upset white people – Some teachers are seeking employment in another state. – A school principal had to resign because one of her teachers showed students a picture of Michelangelo’s David. – A teacher is under investigation because she showed 13 year olds a Disney movie with a gay character. – Women who discover they’re pregnant after 6 weeks, and are unable to have a child, can’t get an abortion in Florida, even though there should be retroactive abortion, Don Jr. lives there – Property taxes and insurance costs are becoming unaffdable – Million dollar contracts are given to DeFascist’s donors – 87,141 people died of Covid in Florida. Less would have died had there been the slightest of protective measures taken, but DeFascist didn’t allow that. – Hispanic farm and construction workers are not going to work out of fear of DeFascist’s draconian rules to punish undocumented workers and their bosses. Hispanic truckers are refusing to deliver to the state. Farm products are rotting while remaining unpicked. – Students and companies who support diversity and inclusion are no longer allowed to do so. – Trans children can no longer get medical care, use bathroom of pronouns of their choice (this shut down by a judge, results pending) – a court could temporarily remove children from their homes if they receive gender-affirming care – LGBT people who seek medical care can be denied it if they’re unlucky enough to have a religious fanatic doctor. – Drag queens can be arrested for appearing in drag in public where children can see them. (this shut down by a judge, results pending) – Any idiot can buy a gun without a permit, training, or with or without a criminal record. – Disney, the state’s largest employer, is suing DeFascist because of politically motivated harassment after he started a fight with them because they don’t approve of his anti-LGBT laws. Disney cancelled a $1 billion construction project that would have brought the state over 2,000 jobs. – More to come. White retirees probably love him because he’s getting rid of the blacks, gays, immigrants and other assorted annoyances. DeSantis calls Florida βthe freest state in America.β Actually you’re free to move here, retire and die.
A βstanding orderβ that Trump has claimed authorized him to declassify documents removed from the Oval Office could not be found by either the Justice Department or Office of Director of National Intelligence https://t.co/wPbnrUTi8s
The Supreme Court has issued an interim order recognizing marriage rights for same-sex and non-traditional heterosexual couples! This landmark decision calls for amendments to the Civil Code — [1/2] pic.twitter.com/hlW7MRvqHB
Fantastic news! The world is evolving, but sadly the GQP and TFG will do everything in their power to stop equality in this country from becoming pernanent and legal. I’m sure TFG is probalby labelling Nepal as one of those shit hole countries he doesn’t like.
Apparently, our evangelical and assorted radical Christian groups, who hate us with the love of God, didn’t know where Nepal is or didn’t know such a country existed. I’ll bet they’re boning up on their geography now.
The San Diego Union-Tribunereports: Two protesters offended by a Pride exhibit at the Rancho PeΓ±asquitos Library have checked out nearly all the books in the display and vowed to keep them until the library eliminates what they call βinappropriate contentβ for children. The anti-gay protest is the latest example of a growing national backlash against Pride exhibits, which experts say has been fueled by debates over how schools should handle transgender minors. The Rancho PeΓ±asquitos protest ratchets up the usual backlash San Diego library branches experience when they create Pride exhibits or host events like drag queen story times, said head librarian Misty Jones. The protesters, PeΓ±asquitos residents Amy Vance and Martha Martin, said libraries are open, public spaces for children that should be free of references to gender identity and how adults experience sexual attraction. Read the full article. A local city council member is raising money to buy additional copies of the books.
Protestors ruin Rancho Penasquitos library's Pride exhibit by checking out nearly all the books https://t.co/q5erkSeWAZ
I’m starting to think this is a matter for the police. They checked them out and stated that they have no intention of returning them unless the library does exactly what they want. Last I checked, that’s called theft.
They get 5 renewals, unless the items have holds on them. So I urge anyone and everyone in San Diego who is disgusted by their motives to place holds. MANY HOLDS. That way they will be required to return the items or be turned in to a collections agency. That will also likely block their library privileges to borrow any other materials. If it goes beyond that, it is indeed theft.
I had a home in a small town for nearly 30 years. It had a small library, maybe twice the size of the one in my high school. The “Christians” would come in and check out ALL the non-Christian religious books and never return them. It was their way of making sure people couldn’t learn about other religions. And this was before Trump and the MAGA folks. If your religion of “Christianity” is SO GREAT, it should be able to prove itself against the others by its merits and ideals, not by making the beliefs of others unobtainable.
Damn these people. A book offered me permission not to hate myself for being who I am.
*** Editor note ***Β Β It was books that gave me my escape from my life.Β It was books that let me leave the life of abuse, hurt, and fear I was living constantly at home, in my home.Β It was books that let me understand I was not a horrible abomination in life that was going to do horrible things and die in a gutter as my adoptive parents (the ones beating and sexually abusing me and letting their kids do so) claimed long before they even knew I was gay, that I did not need to suffer in silence, (Which I did for most of my life).Β Β These books that these people are trying to ban and deny to the very kids that need them meant so much to me and other kids.Β Please do not let them.Β Look in the 1950s these people want to revert the social and country to there were no of these kinds of books, no positiverepresentatives in media, but gay, lesbian, and trans kids still existed.Β I am going to post a video about a old long time soap opera about gay people and the damage hate can do.Β Β Hugs.
Mere gender identification on a bathroom door is the actual issue here. These delusional evangelicals are literally incapable of connecting the dots on gender/sexual expression issues.
I’m currently reading a book about the John Birch Society and everything they are doing now is the same shit the Birchers were doing in the 50s and 60s. Only back then MSM and even the GOP leadership weren’t on their side.
They don’t care about corporations either. They only want Republicans to hold the power over everything – people, corporations, city councils, school boards, etc.
Republicans sure don’t like people voting, do they? They’ll overturn elections, make it harder for statewide resolutions to pass, throw out elected officials they don’t like, and now this. Democrats might wish to mention this on the campaign trail.
Kinda like how Texas has created special rules that only apply to specific counties that vote mostly Democratic that take away aspects of self-governance from them.
Oh how I wish I could have watched something like this as a kid.Β But no I would have been beaten near to death if I had tried.Β I did not need another reason to be beaten or raped.Β My dogs that love gravy I am still suffering anxiety over talking on the phone from the beatings I took just touching the wall hanging phone as a kid.Β This a wonderful video that shows the bigotry that the right wing fundamentalist republicans want to return the US back to.Β Do we really want to return to this?Β Β Please everyone watch it.Β After the video I will post what I wrote on the longer this is what I am reading post, but to tell the truth I can not face writing it all again.Β Β Hugs
The VERY 1st Gay TEEN was the famous MOVIE STAR Ryan Phillippe! Check out the whole story here!
*** Editor note *** It was books that gave me my escape from my life. It was books that let me leave the life of abuse, hurt, and fear I was living constantly at home, in my home. It was books that let me understand I was not a horrible abomination in life that was going to do horrible things and die in a gutter as my adoptive parents (the ones beating and sexually abusing me and letting their kids do so) claimed long before they even knew I was gay, that I did not need to suffer in silence, (Which I did for most of my life). These books that these people are trying to ban and deny to the very kids that need them meant so much to me and other kids. Please do not let them. Look in the 1950s these people want to revert the social and country to there were no of these kinds of books, no positiverepresentatives in media, but gay, lesbian, and trans kids still existed. I am going to post a video about a old long time soap opera about gay people and the damage hate can do. Hugs.
This month has been hard.Β Sudden large medical bills of $1,200, the information that we were too late getting our stuff to FEMA so the rest of the $37,000 dollars in repairs we have to pay for we have to fund, the $500 dollars to get the battery replaced in the car, my stress test during which I had my blood sugar crash and during the induced chemical part of the test I couldn’t breathe that left me shaken for two day.Β Β Bad mightmares and intrusive thoughts / memories I don’t want to remember.Β Β And so much more.Β Β Ron says I may need to talk to someone again, you know therapy, but I am just not ready.Β Β As the song says
Β There’s got to be a morning after If we can hold on through the night We have a chance to find the sunshine Let’s keep on looking for the light
Oh, can’t you see the morning after It’s waiting right outside the storm Why don’t we cross the bridge together And find a place that’s safe and warm Β
The only bright spot has been talking with my wonderful brother Randy and sending him a gift.Β Β Doing that helped me a lot and is a shining light in my otherwise dark mood.Β I hate the news, I hate the state I live in, I hate the maga that moved in to my formerly accepting park, I hate the direction of my country.Β Β Best wishes to all.Β Β Hugs
R.E.M. – Everybody Hurts (Official Music Video)
“Everybody Hurts” from R.E.M.βs best-selling 1992 album, Automatic for the People.
I wrote this a day or two ago, but did not post it.Β Β I do that a lot with personal post, especially when I am down or really upset.Β Just writing about it helps me emotionally and mentally.Β Β It is why sometimes I write about my abuse, it is my way of dealing with it.Β The weird thing is when someone else is hurting and I can help, it helps me when I help them.Β Β You would think it would be the other way round and just add more burden, but it doesn’t.Β Somewhere I read a burden shared is a burden lessened.Β Β So as I post this I want to add what I found out about the song.Β I included the responces / comments to show the songs impact.Β Β Best wishes, and Hugs.Β Scottie
Simply put, R.E.M.βs βEverybody Hurtsβ is designed to prevent people from taking their own lives.Β In 2003, co-writer Peter Buck of R.E.M. had stated that its lyrical simplicity is founded in the fact that the track isΒ βaimed at teenagersβ.Β However, it should be noted, in contrast, that the cover art for βEverybody Hurtsβ features a man who is clearly a senior citizen.Β Or, as Buck later stated in 2005, this song has βtended to work for people of a lot of agesβ.
Β
Β
Β
But apparently R.E.M. wanted young listeners in particular who may be suffering from serious depression to identify with the song and take a different route as opposed to possibly self-harm.Β And the argument the band uses is that βeverybody hurtsβ.Β In other words, the targeted audience is not alone in their suffering.Β In fact being discontent with the way things are going is something that we all go through at times.Β So instead of doing something extreme, they should βhold onβ, as in not give up on life.Β And one particular remedy the band espouses is for such individuals to βtake comfort in (their) friendsβ.
Facts about βEverybody Hurtsβ
R.E.M.βs drummer Bill Berry is recognized as being the primary writer of this song. However, the rest of his bandmates (Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Peter Buck) are also credited as writers. The entire band also produced the song alongside Scott Litt.
Michael Stipe, who sings this track, has stated thatΒ βpeopleβΒ have told him directly that it has saved lives.Β Indeed βEverybody Hurtsβ has been recognized by some organizations which encourage suicide prevention based on its message.
John Paul Jones, of rock band Led Zeppelin, wrote the songβs string arrangement.
βEverybody Hurtsβ fared impressively internationally.Β It peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. It also broke the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The music video to this track was directed by Jake Scott (song of iconic movie director Ridley Scott).Β It went on to win MTV Video Music Awards forΒ Best Cinematography,Β Best Direction,Β Best EditingΒ andΒ Breakthrough Video.
Covers of βEverybody Hurtsβ
On 7 February 2010, a collection of stars including Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus and Jon Bon Jovi released a joint rendition of βEverybody Hurtsβ. This rendition was released under the collective namedΒ Helping HaitiΒ to collect aid to be sent to that country in light of an earthquake it experienced during that year.Β And R.E.M. waived the royalties they would receive from the money it generated in the name of that cause.
Music superstars P!nk and Kelly ClarksonΒ coveredΒ βEverybody Hurtsβ to open the 2017 American Music Awards.Β They sung it in honor of Americaβs first responders (i.e. emergency workers) who were active during highly-publicized tragedies the nation was going through around that time.
Β
President Donald Trumpβs use of the song
βEverybody Hurtsβ has maintained a permanent presence in American pop culture. However, the track really caught the publicβs attention in February of 2019 when US President Donald Trump used a meme created to mock his political opponents (i.e. the Democrats) which used the song.Β In response, R.E.M. β and particularly Mike Mills in particular β really let the President know that they didnβt support this decision and indeed are not supporters of him as aΒ βworld leaderβ.Β In fact they had TwitterΒ remove the videoΒ on 16 February 2019, the day after it was posted, citing copyright infringement.
When did R.E.M.βs Β βEverybody Hurtsβ come out?
βEverybody Hurtsβ was originally dropped as a part of R.E.M.βsΒ Automatic for the PeopleΒ on 5 October 1992. Later, on 15 April 1993, it was also released by Warner Bros Records as a single. FYI, the hit single βMan on the Moonβ also appears on the albumΒ Automatic for the People.
FYI, this songΒ was later featuredΒ on multiple other albums of R.E.M., including the following:
The Automatic BoxΒ of 1993
Β In Time β The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003Β of 2009
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011Β of 2011
im so sorry about that, i hope your feeling okay right now. I just want you to know your very loved and he will be happy if you are happy. I know its hard to move on but you got to let ago and accept that his gone. he might be gone in real life but he will always be with you.
thank god for song, it shows love, compassion , hope and a way out for those who are at that dark place.the singer has opened his heart to you(as do the rest of the rem band) As an amature muso My eyes were fixed on the black ricky guitar but then my heart was convicted by my selfishness and I realised that love and caring are so much more valuable. Their is a answer in this song. listen and you will hear it. My life is great now . SO GLAD I did not end it when I was hurting . you do not have carry hurt on your own. from the heart of a stranger
I have attempted suicide twice, once I came very close. I now make sure I listen to this song when my demons catch up with me. It seems strange that a song can have such a powerful effect on a persons thoughts, but so do love songs, driving songs etc. But either way, I am thankful for the song and hope it has saved lives all over the planet.
Do not support Trump as a world leader? Really ? Just what do you support a grifting never do nothing in 50 + years in Congress demented farting embarrassing American economy killing demon from the very pit of hell Biden? Yeah. I thought so. Liberals are mentally ill. I guess you write that song for yourself.
My uncle/idol was murdered and his body was discarded less than 50 metres from the view of his motherβs window, me my nana and his son among others had to wait all night till morning for forensics. No one slept, we all for some 10 hrs wept in conflicting disbelief at the reality of my uncles fully avoidable fate. He chose this song as his funeral song.
Wow nr 9 ! Jezus you didnβt get the message of this whole item and song. May you find peace and soon find out that there is just one live and one world. So stop being angry about things you canβt change and enjoy your blessings.
This was featured on the Australia TAC drink driving advert that shocked millions of Australians into not drinking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8 Powerful song with a powerful video.
I really like the song and Iβm thankful that they tried to prevent suicide and/or self harm with it but, being a person with suicidal tendencies I have two things to say about this son: the music extremely sad and whenever I listen to it it have the opposite effect on me, bringing all the bad memories of my past and I have to change the station. The second thing is that you canβt simply say βeverybody hurtsβ to someone on the edge of talking their own life: depression makes you see a very narrow world and, somehow makes you not care about anyone else (if you could think about other people around you, you would never try to taking your own life). Itβs a beautiful song and the intention behind it is goodβ¦ but I wouldnβt suggest anyone with suicidal thoughts listening to this song in that particular moment.
Thank you!
My friend committed suicide and I heard this song on that same day I wished he would of heard it every time I hear this song I think of him I miss him
im so sorry about that, i hope your feeling okay right now. I just want you to know your very loved and he will be happy if you are happy. I know its hard to move on but you got to let ago and accept that his gone. he might be gone in real life but he will always be with you.
Thank you! Cried
thank god for song, it shows love, compassion , hope and a way out for those who are at that dark place.the singer has opened his heart to you(as do the rest of the rem band) As an amature muso My eyes were fixed on the black ricky guitar but then my heart was convicted by my selfishness and I realised that love and caring are so much more valuable. Their is a answer in this song. listen and you will hear it. My life is great now . SO GLAD I did not end it when I was hurting . you do not have carry hurt on your own. from the heart of a stranger
I need thisβ¦
I have attempted suicide twice, once I came very close. I now make sure I listen to this song when my demons catch up with me. It seems strange that a song can have such a powerful effect on a persons thoughts, but so do love songs, driving songs etc. But either way, I am thankful for the song and hope it has saved lives all over the planet.
What friends?
I light a candle for those who I know have left
??
Do not support Trump as a world leader? Really ? Just what do you support a grifting never do nothing in 50 + years in Congress demented farting embarrassing American economy killing demon from the very pit of hell Biden? Yeah. I thought so. Liberals are mentally ill. I guess you write that song for yourself.
Wow!! So much hate and anger. May God bless you.
Like the other side doesnβt hate? Please!
My uncle/idol was murdered and his body was discarded less than 50 metres from the view of his motherβs window, me my nana and his son among others had to wait all night till morning for forensics. No one slept, we all for some 10 hrs wept in conflicting disbelief at the reality of my uncles fully avoidable fate. He chose this song as his funeral song.
Wow nr 9 ! Jezus you didnβt get the message of this whole item and song.
May you find peace and soon find out that there is just one live and one world. So stop being angry about things you canβt change and enjoy your blessings.
This was featured on the Australia TAC drink driving advert that shocked millions of Australians into not drinking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8
Powerful song with a powerful video.
I really like the song and Iβm thankful that they tried to prevent suicide and/or self harm with it but, being a person with suicidal tendencies I have two things to say about this son: the music extremely sad and whenever I listen to it it have the opposite effect on me, bringing all the bad memories of my past and I have to change the station. The second thing is that you canβt simply say βeverybody hurtsβ to someone on the edge of talking their own life: depression makes you see a very narrow world and, somehow makes you not care about anyone else (if you could think about other people around you, you would never try to taking your own life). Itβs a beautiful song and the intention behind it is goodβ¦ but I wouldnβt suggest anyone with suicidal thoughts listening to this song in that particular moment.