Category: Animals / Insects / Water Life / Plants / Nature

Straight congressman’s impassioned speech for marriage equality nails what is at stake

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/08/straight-congressmans-impassioned-speech-marriage-equality-nails-stake/

 

Donald Norcross, a fourth-term Congressman, is a blue collar workhorse. That’s precisely why his impassioned stemwinder before a marriage equality vote in Congress stands out.
 
By      
 
Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ)
Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ)Photo: House of Representatives
 

There’s no shortage of media-hungry bigmouths in Congress rights now.  Sadly it’s a feature of American politics and not a bug at this point.

By contrast, Donald Norcross, a fourth-term Congressman, is a blue collar workhorse from Philly’s South Jersey ‘burbs. And that’s precisely why his impassioned stemwinder before a marriage equality vote in Congress stands out. With the Supreme Count poised to reverse their 2015 gay marriage decision, the Democratic-controlled Congress is keen to codify marriage equality into Federal law.

Congressman Norcross:

“I woke up this morning, got ready to come over to the Capitol, and as I often do, I glanced over to pictures of my family. And I glanced to a picture of my nine-month-old grandson. Couldn’t be happier about the newest addition to my family. I couldn’t be prouder of the two people who brought him into the world: my daughter Corey and her wife, Hedya. When my daughter told me she wanted to get married, I told her what every good parent should tell her: that if this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, I couldn’t be happier for you.”

His voice filled with emotion, he explained how his daughter-in-law’s cancer diagnosis brought a life-and-death urgency to their wedding plans.

“And as I stood at their wedding… I knew it was only made possible because of a recent Supreme Court decision. And today… that same court has opened the door to dismantling families like mine. Splitting this little guy’s family apart, potentially. We can’t let that happen…. I don’t speak about the religious beliefs of my colleagues, but I have to ask: What God would fault in this baby and his two mommies? There is nothing wrong with this. This is pure love. It’s what we all should aspire to. And with that, I encourage my colleagues to vote ‘yes’ so we are equal in all states.”

The legislation passed 267-157, a tally that includes most of the Democratic caucus plus 47 republicans. The bill’s prospects are unclear in the upper house where at least 10 GOP votes are needed to break a Senate filibuster and get the legislation to President Joe Biden’s desk.

And if supporters meet the 60 vote threshold in the Senate, it’ll be thanks to anecdotes like the one Donald Norcross shared on the House floor.

“I’m a rather private person when it comes to the family,” Congressman Norcross told LGBTQ Nation. “But the idea of having some of the statements from the other side of the aisle, what they were saying was just no middle ground. I think it’s incredibly important that people can be who they are.”

Norcross beamed when he mentioned his grandson. 

“And he came into this world because of an absolutely wonderful marriage between my daughter and her wife and I spoke from a very real perspective of who they are, and how their life has just grown and blossomed,” Mr. Norcross added. 

According to Brielle Winslow-Majette, Deputy Director, Garden State Equality, support for marriage equality is at an all time high because of personal anecdotes like this one. 

“Congressman Norcross’s story about his daughter, her wife, and their 9-month-old son is a story millions of Americans across the country share,” Ms. Winslow-Majette told LGBTQ Nation. “Simply put, it is a story about a loving family. Loving someone and building a family with them is all we’re talking about here. I was touched by the Congressman’s story and I hope the commonality of a story that is shared by so many will resonate in the halls of Congress.”

It’s a high bar in the Senator where supporters must flip ten (or more) Republicans to clear the next hurdle.

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME), Rob Portman (OH), Thom Tillis (NC), and Ron Johnson (WI) have previously expressed support for marriage equality legislation. That takes the whip count to 55 if all Democrats vote yes as expected.

The list of on-the-fence GOP Senators includes Mitt Romney (UT), Pat Toomey (PA), Tommy Tuberville (AL), Dan Sullivan (AK), Ben Sasse (NB), and Indiana’s Mike Braun and Todd Young, among others.

Congressman Norcross noted that Utah’s entire Congressional delegation, all Republicans, voted for marriage equality, perhaps portending Senator Romney as a pivotal 56th YES vote in the Senate.

For his part, Congressman Norcross is already discreetly lobbying members of the Senate to vote YES on marriage equality.

“This is one of those times that I’m going to keep that a little bit quiet,” Mr. Norcross told LGBTQ Nation when queried about who he’s lobbying. “They, depending on what Senator we’re talking about, face different pressures from outside, in addition to their own personal views. And I don’t want to give anybody a reason to go and torque him up or her up, I think we’re going to try to do this just a little bit more quietly, and see where we can go with it and I think it stands a chance.”

Gay realtor launches website to help LGBTQ Texans flee the state

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/08/gay-realtor-launches-website-help-lgbtq-texans-flee-state/

Saying the state has transformed “into a juggernaut of right-wing conservatism,” Bob McCranie is helping LGBTQ people get out.
 
By      
 
Rainbow and Texas flags
Photo: Shutterstock
 

As Texas becomes a hotbed of anti-LGBTQ laws targeting transgender youth and their families, Bob McCranie, a gay realtor in Dallas, has launched Flee Texas, a website that helps families find homes in more accepting states.

“As LGBTQIA+ citizens of Texas, many of us feel at risk,” the website says. “If you feel the need to leave the jurisdiction of Texas, let us help you sell your property here and connect you with an LGBTQIA or ally agent in a better location of your choice.”

The website helps poeple sell their homes and connects them with LGBTQ  and supportive realtors in other states.

McCranie, the founder of Texas Pride Realty, has been a resident of Texas since 1987. Since then, he said he has seen the state “transform into a juggernaut of right-wing conservatism,” particularly noting its recent crusade to prosecute the families of transgender children who get access to gender-affirming medical care for “child abuse.” McCranie said he knows of many queer Texans who have since moved to blue states and even Mexico to escape the state’s ultra-conservative politics.

While some people have accused him of capitalizing on the state’s anti-LGBTQ climate to make money, he said that it’s not about that. He pointed to realtors in other anti-LGBTQ red states who have started offering similar relocation services.

“A lot of people don’t remember what it’s like to be an illegal person,” McCranie said. “Families with trans kids need to get out of this jurisdiction now.”

In February, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate parents of trans kids for child abuse. Though the order has since been blocked by a state court, some parents of trans youth began fundraising to leave the state. Others formed “Mothers Against Greg Abbott” to challenge other anti-LGBTQ policies taking hold in the state.

“Mothers across Texas are so mad at Greg Abbott and the GOP’s policies, that every single time he opens up his mouth, he alienates a new group of parents,” Mothers Against Greg Abbott founder Nancy Thompson told Newsweek.

Thompson pointed to Texas school districts banning LGBTQ books as proof of the state’s queerphobic shift. The state’s Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) also recently referred to LGBTQ people as “predators” and said he’d be willing to spearhead a Supreme Court case to re-criminalize sodomy.

The state Republican Party’s 2022 platform refers to LGBTQ people as “groomers” (pedophiles) and supports so-called conversion therapy, a discredited form of psychological torture that purports to change the sexual orientations and gender identities of queer people. Some conservative lawyers have also filed lawsuits that would allow government officials to deny same-sex marriage certificates and healthcare insurance providers to stop covering PrEP and contraceptives.

“What is happening right now in Texas isn’t even Republican… it’s the extremes of the party,” Thompson said. “They’re trying to totally gain control over our personal rights and freedoms and the safety that we need in Texas for our families to be able to thrive.”

Community rallies & raises over $133K for library that got defunded over LGBTQ books

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/08/community-rallies-raises-133k-library-got-defunded-lgbtq-books/

The maga cult thugs like to pretend they represent the majority of the country and local communities.   They don’t.   Far more people are tolerant and accepting than are against the LGBTQ+.   Notice the haters prayed for a safe place for children as if even being in a room where there were books with LGBTQ+ characters was harmful somehow.  Far more parents wanted masks in school than the maga brownshirt thugs who attacked school boards at their meetings.  But the maga cult thugs use threats and intimidation to get their way.    So much for democracy.    Hugs

Conservatives defunded their local library because it carried several LGBTQ books. People from all over the world are now picking up the slack.
 
By      
 
Patmos Library
Patmos LibraryPhoto: Google Maps
 

A library that lost most of its funding in a ballot measure earlier this month because it refused to remove LGBTQ books has managed to raise over $100,000.

Voters in Jameson Township, Michigan voted earlier this month to end the property tax that funds the local Patmos Library, gutting its $245,000 yearly budget. The move came after months of conflict between extremist residents who wanted the library to remove books with references to same-sex love and the library, which refused to do so.

A group called Jamestown Conservatives started to campaign against the library around Memorial Day, saying that its Pride Month display “promoted the LGBTQ ideology.”

“Pray that we can make changes and make the Patmos Library a safe and neutral place for our children,” one of the group’s flyers said.

“50% Millage INCREASE to GROOM our kids? Vote NO on Library!” one sign that was directly across the street from the library said, using the word “millage” to refer to the property tax, in the days leading up to the vote.

Without any funding, the Patmos Library was expected to deplete its reserves and run out of money next year. But two days after the vote, resident Jesse Dillman, set up a GoFundMe for the library that has generated $133,332 so far.

“I am very passionate about this, and I have people that are behind me to do this,” the father of two told NBC News. “I think I have to do it now, because the iron is hot. If this is going to happen, it’s going to happen now.”

Donors cited the need for LGBTQ books in libraries and their support for libraries in general in the comments.

“Australian citizen here, proud to be helping gay kids in small-town western Michigan read books that actually help them,” one donor wrote. “Keep up the good work, and be proud of whomever and whatever you are.”

“As a former Michigander… I can’t stomach seeing a library defunded because they dared to have LGBTQ books on their shelves,” wrote another. “I wish those resources had been available to me when I was a child. Shameful that so much hatred still exists today.”

“I can’t imagine that it was easy to come to work in the morning driving past all of the ‘Vote No to the Library’ signs,” a donor wrote. “But it never seemed to deter your spirits! We’d walk our daughter down to Patmos and we’ve always felt comfortable and welcomed.”

The controversy began earlier in the year when a parent complained about Gender Queer: A Memoir, Maia Kobabe’s graphic novel about coming to terms with eir identity as nonbinary and asexual. The book was in the adult section, but the parent thought that it shouldn’t be in the library at all.

This led to dozens of residents attending library board meetings in the spring, demanding Gender Queer and other books be pulled from the shelves entirely. Some of the other books include Spinning and Kiss Number 8. Both books discuss teen girls who have feelings for other girls.

Library officials said that the library has about 90 books with LGBTQ themes in its 67,000 book collection.

The library agreed to move Gender Queer behind the counter so that people would have to ask a librarian for it if they wanted to read it, but it wasn’t enough. The complaints turned into alleged harassment, and library Director Amber McLain resigned.

“I had to change my name on Facebook for a time to prevent messages that were starting to come in,” McLain said. “I never read any of them fully, but it was the typical fare — that I’m evil, that I’m indoctrinating kids. In March, a woman came into the library filming on her cell phone. She said she was looking for ‘that pedophile librarian’ and ‘the freak with the pink hair.’”

McLain was replaced by interim director Matthew Lawrence, who resigned soon after.

“I love my country, and I believe what is happening is going against the First Amendment,” Lawrence said of the defund movement. “The people who need the library the most can’t vote because they are children.”

Bizarrely, many of the people who voted to cut most of the funding to the library said they don’t believe it should close. Amanda Ensing, who helped organize opposition to the library saying that “it’s not a political issue, it’s a Biblical issue,” even said that she wanted the vote to be a “wake up call” to the library to get rid of the few LGBTQ books that it has.

“A wake-up call to what? To take LGBTQ books off the shelf and then they will give us money? What do you call that? Ransom?” library board director Walton said. “We stand behind the fact that our community is made up of a very diverse group of individuals, and we as a library cater to the diversity of our community.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for saying teachers are “monsters” turning kids transgender

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/08/marjorie-taylor-greene-mocked-saying-teachers-monsters-turning-kids-transgender/

Again let me go over the facts for those that have the mistaken idea that this is happening.   Boys know their gender and their sexual orientation in their preteen middle school years clearly.   Teen boys know their gender and sexual orientation, ever hear the phrase “girl crazy” and teen boys trying desperately to get a girl to have sex with them.    Their hormones are on over drive.   Now also remember kids are desperate to fit into the majority, and the majority are straight cis kids.   Trans, gay, and lesbian are really the minority.   One that is frequently the victim of bullying, malicious or vicious attacks by the bigot straight cis kids.   Yes more tolerance in some schools / places were happening but it is not roses and sunshine to be a kids who is different from others.   It is not fun to be the odd one out.   Why do you think it is so important for schools to push a message of tolerance and acceptance, to have supportive groups like the gay / straight alliances.   But in many red states that is all gone now.  
 
Now take that situation and tell a boy that he must dress as a girl, live as a girl, go by a girl’s name, wear his hair as a girl, act as a girl does, use female pronouns all the time.   Not just for a day but a whole school year.    Tell him he will have to struggle to get to the bathroom and will often be screamed at by adults or other kids when in public if he uses a public women’s toilet.   Tell him that he will be forced to change his clothes in a separate bathroom that may be a long way from the locker rooms or in the coach’s office, then dressed as a girl do girls’ PE.    That boy will freak.   He will beg you not to make him.   I bet they would beg for extra schoolwork instead or be willing to work after school doing your yard work for free.    Anything but making them live a girl.   So this idea that it a fad or lark, or kids are doing it for fun makes no sense.   Hugs
 
 
“This evil idiot is what you get when you ban books.”
 
By     
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Marjorie Taylor GreenePhoto: Screenshot

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is getting mocked online for suggesting that teachers are lying to boys to turn them into transgender women.

“Parents raise your boys to be men and protect them from teachers who try to deceive them to become women,” Greene wrote. “Guard your children from such monsters in these evil days.”

Her post doesn’t seem to be a reference to any specific story, since this isn’t something that happens in the real world. Several of her supporters responded with stories about teachers using their transgender students’ pronouns, which is not what Greene was discussing.

Greene’s critics, on the other hand, mocked her for her latest conspiracy theory.

https://twitter.com/Kim79661484/status/1558784951897694208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1558784951897694208%7Ctwgr%5E743b0487a19a21b39ea6d46d2133a54b21e30acd%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lgbtqnation.com%2F2022%2F08%2Fmarjorie-taylor-greene-mocked-saying-teachers-monsters-turning-kids-transgender%2F

https://twitter.com/Roxann_Jane_Doe/status/1558787077235417089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1558787077235417089%7Ctwgr%5E743b0487a19a21b39ea6d46d2133a54b21e30acd%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lgbtqnation.com%2F2022%2F08%2Fmarjorie-taylor-greene-mocked-saying-teachers-monsters-turning-kids-transgender%2F

https://twitter.com/MIGIRLINVA1/status/1558988461113229312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1558988461113229312%7Ctwgr%5E743b0487a19a21b39ea6d46d2133a54b21e30acd%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lgbtqnation.com%2F2022%2F08%2Fmarjorie-taylor-greene-mocked-saying-teachers-monsters-turning-kids-transgender%2F

 

A NC high school football coach is converting kids to Christianity

https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/a-nc-high-school-football-coach-is-converting-kids-to-christianity/

Swain High School’s Sherman Holt has “transformed his football program into a religious ministry,” says a watchdog group
by HEMANT MEHTA
249
A NC high school football coach is focused on converting kids to Christianity | A baptism on the field of Swain's Memorial Stadium
A baptism on the field of Swain’s Memorial Stadium (via FFRF)
Reading Time: 3 MINUTES
 
 

When the Supreme Court ruled that a public high school football coach was allowed to pray silently after games (even though he was actually showboating at midfield for effect), the question in the minds of many church/state separation advocates was how far other coaches would stretch that decision. How would they subvert the new rules so that they could keep converting kids to Christianity?

In the case of Sherman Holt, the new head football coach at Swain High School in Bryson City, North Carolina, the answer isn’t even subtle. He’s just doing it right out in the open, practically daring people to stop him. According to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, there’s ample evidence that Holt is coercively pushing Jesus on his players.

For example, there’s his tweet bragging about kids who converted to Christianity:

That says the group prayer took place at a camp hosted by “FCA,” or Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and if this was indeed a private Christian camp the kids attended on their own, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But FFRF says Holt “organized an official team trip” to that FCA camp.

It’s the sort of thing Christians can get away with but non-Christians never could. It’s blatantly coercive, in part because Holt is a new coach. That means there’s even more pressure on the players to get on his good side because they can’t rely on past relationships or bonding experiences.

There’s more: Holt is currently running a football camp that includes church services and baptisms in the stadium. We know that because it’s all literally listed in the itinerary. (That’s how ignorant or confident they are when it comes to breaking the law to promote Christianity.) There’s also video of the baptisms.

Comparing Holt’s actions to those in the Bremerton case, FFRF says this is far beyond the legal limit, even with this ultra-conservative Supreme Court:

… Here, rather than praying privately after games, Coach Holt has transformed his football program into a religious ministry, including a “team chaplain,” religious team events, team church services, and team baptisms on school property. The religious coercion occurring within the district’s football program is particularly troubling for those parents and students who are not Christians or do not subscribe to any religion, FFRF stresses. 

…

“Coaches cannot be permitted to engage in such blatantly sectarian religious behavior,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “It’s highly discriminatory toward all those members of the school district who don’t share that particular belief system.”

FFRF is asking the district to investigate the matter and put an immediate stop to it. They’ve also requested records relating to any communications to or from Holt “regarding prayer, religion, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a team chaplain or religious leaders meeting with the team, team baptisms, or church services.”

None of this should be happening—and it wouldn’t if the district hired a coach who was more interested in helping students than building up his own religious résumé. Instead, Holt is more focused on pushing his faith on kids than building up their football skills.

There’s no place for that in any public high school. 

Kindergartner kicked out of Baptist school after adoption by lesbian couple

https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/kindergartner-kicked-out-of-baptist-school-after-getting-adopted-by-lesbians/

“They didn’t think this was a good fit,” said one of the parents
 
by HEMANT MEHTA
 
Kindergartner kicked out of Baptist school after getting adopted by lesbians | Bible Baptist Academy wanted nothing to do with Zoey because her new parents are both women
Bible Baptist Academy wanted nothing to do with Zoey because her new parents are both women (Screenshot via KPLC)
Reading Time: 4 MINUTES
 
 

ABaptist school in Louisiana kicked out a child who was about to enter kindergarten because she was recently adopted by lesbians.

It’s the latest example of Christian love in action.

The story is even more tragic when you realize what the child has been through. Five-year-old Zoey already lost both of her biological parents, with her father dying in an industrial accident in 2020. Thankfully, her aunt, Jennifer Parker, took her in, and the adoption became official earlier this month. Zoey had already taken pre-K classes at Bible Baptist Academy in DeQuincy, Louisiana, so the plan was to continue there for kindergarten.

But last week, just days before the school year began, and after the family attended open house and Zoey got her uniform, Jennifer and her partner Emily were told their new daughter was being kicked out… because the two of them are lesbians.

BIBLE BABTIST ACADEMY is a disappointment. Calling me and Jennie Parker in for a meeting TWO days before school starts to tell us that they can not educate our child due to the fact that we are a married same sex couple.

Even though this isn’t her first year to attend…

You know what you just taught my daughter? How truly judgmental your church is. How unforgiving and unrelenting you are. I was angry, hurt, embarrassed but I am not anymore. Now, I am thankful. Thankful you will not mold my tiny human’s brain to be anything like you. I will teach my child to love EVERYONE just like you say your God is supposed to.

My child has lost so much. Her mother, her father, her whole life has been wrenched away before her 5th birthday. And now… her education, her friends, and her teachings of the God that she loves and I support. Look at this girl and tell me you would judge her Bc of her parents choices….

Such a disappointment but can I say I’m surprised? This southern world disgusts me.

Emily Parker spoke with news station KPLC about what the school told her, and their response only makes things worse:

“The pastor met us in the meeting room and started talking about gender identification and that they teach the words of the Lord and marriage was between a man and a women,” Emily Parker said. “They didn’t think this was a good fit.”

Bible Baptist Academy said in a statement that the school is “committed to instructing and living in accordance with the teachings of Scripture.”

They say that’s what they strive to teach students who attend.

“This should not be interpreted that we have any hatred or malice toward them. We are just as committed to loving all people as we are to holding to Bible principles that people may not agree with or may not understand.”

I have no clue what “gender identification” has to do with a same-sex couple… but it’s not like Christian bigotry is supposed to make sense. To punish a child who’s been through so much for the imaginary “sins” of her parents is beyond cruel. It’s absolutely hatred and malice, and that doesn’t change just because the school claims it’s all biblically mandated. It’s very predictably Baptist. That’s the religion for you.

The school’s entire statement wasn’t any better, saying “The Bible also teaches us to love everyone with the love of God despite their personal choices. We strive to teach this to the students who attend. We encourage them to show love and compassion to everyone.” That’s seriously their defense for why they kicked out a child who hadn’t done anything wrong, even by their own bottom-of-the-barrel standards. You can’t expect leaders of a Christian school to do the right thing when their entire moral code requires them to go down a path of cruelty.

There’s an argument to be made that none of this should be news at all. A private Christian school has every right to enforce its own rules, no matter how despicable the rest of us might find them. We’re not anti-gay, they argue. We’re anti-sin. So any sinners would not be allowed in the school unless they’ve repented for it. The problem with that argument is that this isn’t really about all sins. Does this school kick out children whose parents smoke, or drink, or take the Lord’s name in vain, or cheat on their taxes, or pay for abortions, or any of the other sins Christians commit all the time? Of course they don’t. They probably don’t know, or don’t care, or don’t bother to look into any of those situations.

You’ll never see a news story about a Christian school kicking out a child because her parents spent a weekend gambling in Vegas. But if that child has loving same-sex parents, it’s a five-alarm fire. It’s the selective bigotry by these Christian schools that’s so infuriating. That’s why the school’s excuses ring so hollow.

The silver lining here is that other Christian schools in the community reached out to the family and Zoey has a new school already lined up. The family will be fine. The school has a well-deserved stain on its reputation.

The obvious question is why anyone, especially a same-sex couple, would want to send a child to a private bigoted religious school in the first place. I posed that exact question to Emily Parker, who told me last night that she knew what kind of school this was, but she felt it was important to send Zoey there so she could have some stability and continuity:

We were completely aware BBA is a Christian Baptist school. [Zoey’s] father died in 2020. She learned that God was taking care of her daddy. That anytime she needed to talk to daddy she could pray. God was her connection to her daddy and we completely supported her.

We were eager for BBA to help teach her about the God she already loved. Being a private school, we knew what BBA was and were willing to pay the monthly fees to ensure her education and faith. They were so accepting the previous year. We had no idea there would be a problem.

I am nothing more than a supportive parent.

That’s a valid point, no matter how much I disagree with the school’s beliefs. Zoey being with her classmates, especially while everything else around her is changing, has its benefits, even if it’s at this school. It also raises an interesting question about why none of this came up last year. The Parkers were Zoey’s legal guardians when she was in pre-K; it was the legal adoption, then, that invoked the Baptist school’s cruelty.

(Thanks to @GodlessEngineer for the link)

SD Gov Intros Christianist Social Studies Standards

SD Gov Intros Christianist Social Studies Standards

Please note some more information from the artical.

“Her approach in this curriculum further perpetuates ignorance, further perpetuates racism and white supremacy,” he said, adding “These priority areas are dominated by nationalism.”

The Republican governor claimed the new proposed standards are free from “political agendas” and include an increased focus on Native American history. But they received swift criticism from some educators as a thinly-veiled political document. They emphasize the qualities of America’s founders and mimic language Noem has used as she jumped on the conservative cause of weeding certain “divisive” teachings on race from public schools.

Despite the academic framework being one of her favorite targets, her administration has provided scant evidence that teaching associated with critical race theory — an academic framework that centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions and that those institutions maintain the dominance of white people — exists in South Dakota schools. The state Department of Education spent hundreds of hours combing through its policies, guidance materials and websites, but its report released Monday found “a very small number” of instances where its material didn’t line up with Noem’s order to get rid of anything that contained “divisive concepts” on race.

The governor in a statement cast the report as “proactively removing” critical race theory as she promotes “America’s true and honest history.”

Nick Tilsen, the president of an Indigenous advocacy organization called NDN Collective, said that when the standards start out with goals like that, they are bound to further a narrative that continues to treat minority groups unjustly.

“Her approach in this curriculum further perpetuates ignorance, further perpetuates racism and white supremacy,” he said, adding “These priority areas are dominated by nationalism.”

But Native American educators, who protested after the Department of Education last year cut references to Indigenous culture and history from a draft the workgroup submitted for final approval, said the new standards continued to push Indigenous history and culture to the periphery.

“They are not inclusive to say the least. The goal was to get away from inclusivity to push an agenda that the governor deems important,” said Sarah White, who directs the South Dakota Education Equity Coalition. “It’s definitely going to further disenfranchise our students when it’s missing that Indigenous lens.”

 

The Associated Press reports:

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Monday released a revised proposal for social studies standards in public schools that lays out a mostly shining vision of American history, after an initial draft of the standards came under heavy criticism last year from conservatives.

The 15-member standards workgroup included Noem’s chief of staff, two Republican lawmakers and the director of the South Dakota Catholic Conference, but just three educators certified by the Department of Education.

The new 128-page document more than doubles the length of the proposed standards the Department of Education released last year. They are also peppered with Christian history and explore the religion’s influence on the nation’s leading figures and on Western civilization.

Read the full article.

Seventh graders, for example, are expected to parrot the notions that most of the Founding Fathers opposed slavery and that all Americans are “endowed with rights by the God that created them.”

 

PickyPecker • 35 minutes ago

if i had school aged kids, i would sue. if i wanted to brainwash them with christianist crap i’d send them to perochial.

Radori • 31 minutes ago

This is how grooming looks like

Rebecca Gardner • 29 minutes ago

We all know how awesome Christianist education is. This is an actual ChristStain skool science book. This is just so absurd I have no words.

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Karl Dubhe IV • 34 minutes ago

Setup for another Supreme Court fight. They want to force Jesus down the throats of children.

Judas Peckerwood • 31 minutes ago

Seventh graders, for example, are expected to parrot the notion that most of the Founding Fathers opposed slavery

Of course they did — even their slaves knew that!

Bob’s Your Uncle – BYU • 28 minutes ago

South Dakota was colonized by hateful white supremacist genocidal Christians who broke treaties and stole land that didn’t belong to them.. I am okay with that history being taught. Not the fake lying sugar coated version this stupid bitch is selling.

Why the Sioux Are Refusing $1.3 Billion
https://www.pbs.org/newshou…

The Sentinel • 30 minutes ago

“Once upon a time, long before demonrat homosexuals roamed the earth, everyone was white and happy…”

Halou • 31 minutes ago • edited

Seventh graders, for example, are expected to parrot the notion that most of the Founding Fathers opposed slavery….

But don’t you dare ask how slavery was not abolished until a century later, and after 600,000 people had to die violently.
Either The Founders(TM) fucked up in not bothering to address the issue at the time, like they didn’t care about the inalienable rights. Or they fucked up by not making the political institutions of the United States resilient against traitors and human rights abusers.

Rocco • 27 minutes ago

Sometimes it is hard to believe I am living through this. They’re doing it out in the open also. SMH.

The Diabolical Hoodwink • 29 minutes ago

History is written by the victors, sadly. And soon there will not be a child in America that will know anything about slavery, the wholesale slaughter of Native Americans, and…. homosexuals.

xzargo • 32 minutes ago

How did God create rights for Americans?

Librarian Sues Anti-LGBTQ Activists For Defamation

Librarian Sues Anti-LGBTQ Activists For Defamation

I want to point out a few facts that seem to hard for the rabid right maga to understand.   Anal sex is not gay.    Not all gay people want anal sex.   A lot of straight couples practice both female and male anal sex because the anal cavity has a lot of nerves that can be pleasurable stimulated and in fact the male “g” spot is up in the butt.   In fact there were reports of teen girls preferring to do anal with their boyfriends as they thought it kept them virgins and reduced the risk of them getting pregnant.   The idea against anal sex is a religious one as it is not sex for procreation but for fun.   The horror of that idea, sex for fun.   These people that are trying to prevent anyone from getting anal sex are also against anyone getting a blow job, because again that is sex for fun.   I really wish the US would break away from that damn 1600 Puritan way of thinking about the human body and sex.    Hugs

The Hill reports:

A librarian in Louisiana filed a lawsuit against two men and a conservative organization, alleging they defamed her when they attacked her for supporting the teaching of books involving the LGBTQ community.

Amanda Jones, a middle school librarian and the president of the Louisiana Association of School Librarians, alleged in the lawsuit that a “public campaign” against her started after she spoke out against removing certain books from the Livingston Parish Library system at a board meeting.

The lawsuit also alleges that Ryan Thames, who runs a Facebook page called “Bayou State of Mind,” posted a meme of Jones on or around July 21, showing her smiling and sitting behind a desk and saying that she advocated teaching anal sex to 11-year-olds.

Reads the full article.

The Twitter account of the above-cited right wing group, Citizens For A New Louisiana, is full of Trump cultist, anti-vax, “stolen election” batshittery.

Ed B • 3 hours ago

Just an aside…
There are actually gay people who are *not* into anal sex.

Crazy, I know.

Elagabalus Ed B • 3 hours ago • edited

And many straights who are. In fact, I’d wager that most of the “sodomy” that’s being “committed” is happening among straights since they represent more than 90% of the population compared to little old us.

Longpole Elagabalus • 2 hours ago

16 year girls can “keep” their virginity by letting their boyfriend butt fuck her.
And, no worry about pregnancy either.

billbear1961 • 3 hours ago

We were 12 and 13, I think, when they told us about the “birds and the bees” in our final year of elementary school and first year of junior high. Anal sex, what it was, was among MANY things we were told about. Nothing was “advocated”–we were told what things were, not how to DO them. As for younger children, say 5 to 10 years old, I would imagine that, especially if they ASKED, you’d tell them some men have boyfriends instead of girlfriends, and they can marry and raise a family; and some women have girlfriends instead of boyfriends, and THEY can ALSO marry and raise a family. There’s nothing very complicated about ANY of this, and nothing SINISTER, except when dishonest people PRETEND there is, and the sly media fan the flames for the sake of sensationalism.

Steven in TX 🏳️‍🌈 ISOLATION billbear1961 • 3 hours ago

It is just this simple.
Welcome back, always love your postings!

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Elagabalus • 3 hours ago • edited

The lawsuit also alleges that Ryan Thames, who runs a Facebook page called “Bayou State of Mind,” posted a meme of Jones on or around July 21, showing her smiling and sitting behind a desk and saying that she advocated teaching anal sex to 11-year-olds.

So, in the minds of the cultists, teaching children that LGBT people exist is tantamount to teaching anal sex to children. That’s their “argument.” Good for this librarian for hitting back.

Ninja0980 Elagabalus • 3 hours ago

An age old trope.
Reduce LGBT people to sex acts and it makes it easier to shun and discriminate against them.

JF910 Bambino🇺🇦🌻 • 3 hours ago

“Books and ideas are the most effective weapons against intolerance and ignorance.”
I like wearing this in front of all bigots!

S_E_P • 3 hours ago

In the 70s and 80s there were no books in my school library that discussed lgbt issues. Somehow I became gay anyway. I wonder how?

Mouse 2024 🇺🇸 • 3 hours ago

These fool are worried about books and librarians wile priests and GOP congressmen are arrested daily for molesting children🤔

Stoned and loving it Mouse 2024 🇺🇸 • 2 hours ago

it’s always been do as I say not as I do.

re: TFG signs legislation for handling classified material. TFG violates same.

TuuxKabin • 3 hours ago

Fundraiser for Amanda Jones by Tiffany Whitehead : Legal Fees for Librarian Amanda Jones

https://www.gofundme.com/f/…

S_E_P • 3 hours ago

Isnt butt sex supposed to be how good xstain girls stay virginal until their married off by their parents?

Texas Investigates Bar That Hosted Drag Event For Kids

Texas Investigates Bar That Hosted Drag Event For Kids

The Christian Post reports:

The Texas comptroller said the state has opened an investigation into a Dallas bar that held a drag show for children earlier this summer.

In a statement released Friday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar identified himself as one of many Texas parents who found themselves “disturbed by the recent images showing children participating in a drag show in the Dallas area, including one of a child placing money in a performer’s undergarment.”

Hegar’s announcement came one day after Republican state Rep. Bryan Slaton [photo] called on Hegar to treat Mr. Misster as a “sexually-oriented business.” As Slaton explained, “Sexually-oriented businesses are required to pay $5 per attendee present and they must also prevent children and sex offenders from attending or participating.”

Read the full article.

Slaton, who is fond of making public appearances carrying an assault weapon and wearing a belt of ammunition, first appeared on JMG in March 2021 when he introduced a bill making abortion a death penalty crime for doctors and even women who undergo the procedure.

Earlier this year he introduced a bill requiring genital exams for trans athletes in public schools.

As I reported in June, extremists mobbed and attempted to enter Mr. Misster during the show, hurling abuse at children and parents.

https://twitter.com/EFJBGC/status/1533217028731027456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1533217028731027456%7Ctwgr%5Ee23dbf03d2a6cbfb16068aa5fc19abfcfc9b45e6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joemygod.com%2F2022%2F08%2Ftexas-investigates-bar-that-hosted-drag-event-for-kids%2F

https://twitter.com/EFJBGC/status/1533323135054921728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1533323135054921728%7Ctwgr%5Ee23dbf03d2a6cbfb16068aa5fc19abfcfc9b45e6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joemygod.com%2F2022%2F08%2Ftexas-investigates-bar-that-hosted-drag-event-for-kids%2F

 

Teedofftaxpayer • 14 hours ago

As usual the backward asses wants to make something funny as something stupid. And there are people out there who has no idea of the entertainment that Drag shows give. Just another way for the right wing assholes to turn communities against us.

ErnestMc • 17 hours ago

If only children hadn’t been forced to attend this drag event. Oh, wait …

Mihangel apYrs • 17 hours ago

So, parents shouldn’t take their kids to these events, being irresponsible, BUT must be informed if their kids come out, or have related issues.

Jean-Marc Canada – ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ • 17 hours ago

Texass being Texass.

Like Florid’uh, cruelty and violence is the point.

Teedofftaxpayer • 17 hours ago

These backwards assholes have no idea what a drag show it. Their heads are so far up their asses it’s unbelievable.

BKnSF Teedofftaxpayer • 17 hours ago

Exactly. It’s so frickin ridiculous. ‘Entertainment should only be what we the State believes is proper’. The GOP has thrown out western values.

Hank: NO MORE WoW!!! • 17 hours ago

What about “Parents RIGHTS”????

They use that falsehood to Ban Books and teaching TRUTH inSCHOOLS.
So, if a parent wants to take their kids to a Drag Show, do they NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to DO SO???

PickyPecker another_steve • 18 hours ago

but that’s how fascism works. you change your behavior to meet the expectations.

Serene Pumpkin PickyPecker • 18 hours ago

Right. First they get drag queen story time canceled, then all drag shows, then they’ll work on getting all gay bars closed (a child might walk past one!) and all LGBTQ content expunged from TV, movies, and the Internet. Think of the chilllldrennnnnn!

Misutaa Roboto another_steve • 18 hours ago

There is no appeasing them. Their concerns are disingenuous, and if they are allowed to shift the Overton Window, they’ll just keep pushing until they are allowed to criminalize and/or kill us again.

Serene Pumpkin HomerTh • 18 hours ago

If we really want to appease them, we all need to stop existing ASAP. Because our existence is what triggers those delicate snowflakes’ feeeeeelings more than anything.

Mark • 18 hours ago

In the video, I’m noticing a column of cop cars – yet not a single cop is present in the confrontation. WTF?

Hayseed Mark • 18 hours ago

Maybe this?

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Former Trump WH Aide Doxxes Families Of FBI Agents

Former Trump WH Aide Doxxes Families Of FBI Agents

The Daily Beast reports:

Just hours after a list began circulating among right-wing media of FBI agents who signed off on the search warrant for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property, a former Trump aide tried to sic MAGA fans on the family members of the purported agents.

Garrett Ziegler, who recently went on a sexist tear against former White House colleagues, took to Telegram to post the personal information of men he identified as agents.

The former Trump administration staffer further listed out the FBI agents’ date of birth, work emails and linked to alleged family members’ social media accounts. “We have to have faces,” he said. “There are people ruining America, and they have names, and emails, and addresses.”

Read the full article.

Ziegler’s Telegram channel is full of QAnon, racist, and anti-LGBTQ imagery.

He last appeared on JMG when he declared the Jan. 6 investigation to be a “Bolshevistic anti-White campaign.”

 

SilentMike • an hour ago

Not really OT:

Breitbart Slammed for Doxxing FBI Agents Involved in Mar-a-Lago Raid
https://www.newsweek.com/br…

Commentators soon took to Twitter to accuse Breitbart, an outlet previously managed by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, of doxxing—the practice of identifying a person or releasing personal information about them, often with the aim of enabling targeted harassment. Some also accused Trump of leaking the warrant to Breitbart in hopes of targeting the agents.

crewman • 42 minutes ago

This is clearly to induce stalking, harassment, and threats to these agents and their families. Isn’t there any legal protection for this?

Uncle Mark eats the rainbow • 30 minutes ago • edited

Some folks are going to learn the hard way the perils of declaring war on the FBI. When they act like thugs and declare war on FBI families, it’s not going to having the intimidating effect these MAGA Brownshirts are counting on.

Lil’ Spanky here is gonna get spanked

Anastasia Beaverhousen • 38 minutes ago

Yes, I would fuck around with an FBI agent that has been trained and I a certain is quite good with guns. Yeah, you morons, go show up at their homes.

What, me worry? Anastasia Beaverhousen • 5 minutes ago

It really pisses me off that they go after the children.