When the 13 or 14 year old boy was released, the Israeli media made a big deal of him saying he was made to take off his clothing and was sexually abused. They don’t way what the abuse was but it is hinted he was raped. I am against the rape of anyone! Full stop. But that said, Israel and their supporters are deliberately ignoring the abuse, physical, sexual, and psychological / emotional, of Palestinian children by the Israeli government and military. Please notice the age of the Palestinian boy when he was detained. He was 16. He had been held for 2 years with no charges, and most children detained are denied the ability to contact family or their parents. Hugs. Scottie
At least five Palestinian prisoners reported dead from abuse in Israeli jails, according to testimony of freed teens
Osama Marmash, 16, speaking to Al Jazeera after he was released from Megiddo prison on Sunday 26 November 2023 (Screengrab)
Published date: 27 November 2023 13:49 GMT | Last update:1 week 4 days ago
Palestinian children freed from Israeli jails as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel said they were subjected to torture in captivity and that several fellow detainees were beaten to death.
The teens are among 39 Palestinians freed from Israeli detention on Sunday, in the third prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, while the latter released 13 Israelis held in Gaza.
The exchange took place for the third straight day amid a temporary four-day truce in Gaza, the first such halt of fighting since the hostilities began on 7 October.
Khalil Mohamed Badr al-Zamaira, 18, was among those released. He was 16 when he was detained by Israeli forces.
He said Palestinian prisoners are being mistreated and beaten in prison, and there is no different treatment for children.
“They didn’t differentiate between old and young,” he told Middle East Eye.
“Two teens were transferred from Ofer prison with broken ribs. They were unable to move.”
Likewise, Omar al-Atshan, a freed Palestinian teen, said he was mistreated and tortured in Naqab prison where he had been held prior to his release.
“The mistreatment was indescribable,” he told Al Jazeera during a live coverage of the arrival of released prisoners in the occupied West Bank on Sunday.
He said that they were routinely beaten and humiliated in prison, and that water and food were scarce.
During their release, Israeli soldiers ordered them to lower their heads, and then beat them, he said.
“Our happiness is not complete because there are other captives still in detention,” he said, adding that one captive, which he identified as Thaer Abu Assab, was beaten to death in custody.
Omar al-Atshan speaking to Al Jazeera on Sunday
“He was subjected to too much beating. We cried for help, but doctors arrived after an hour and a half after he was already dead from torture.
“He was tortured because of a question; he asked the warden whether there was a truce. Then he got beaten to death.”
Four prisoners tortured to death in Megiddo
Another freed child, Osama Marmash, also gave a similar testimony to Al Jazeera.
The 16 year old was held in Megiddo prison before his release. He told Al Jazeera that four Palestinian captives were tortured to death in Megiddo.
Marmash said he sustained wounds to his foot and back because of beating.
‘My prison clothes were white but then turned red from blood stains’
– Osama Marmash, released Palestinian teen
“My prison clothes were white but then turned red from blood stains,” he said.
The food was very little, he said, and was often “inedible”.
He added that they were mistreated on their journey to the West Bank.
“The road was difficult. They turned off the air conditioner on the bus. We were suffocating,” he said.
The truce between Hamas and Israel is supposed to see around 150 Palestinian women and children prisoners and 50 Israelis held in Gaza be released over a period of four days.
Hamas, for its part, released 13 Israeli prisoners, including nine children, as well as four foreign nationals – three Thais and one Israeli-Russian.
US President Joe Biden said that that a four-year-old Israeli-American girl whose parents were killed on 7 October was also freed.
Hamas said in a statement that the Israeli-Russian dual national was released “in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts and in recognition of Russia’s position in support of Palestine”.
The Russian is the first male prisoner to be released by Hamas in the truce deal.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
Think about it. An occupied oppressed group of people not concidered fully human by the population of Israel. A group not afforded rights, civil legal protections, denied food, water, the ability to go where they wish when they wish. A group used for labor, cheap labor who can and do have their stuff taken from them by the majority. Labor that must be done when, where, and how the oppressive majority tells them. A group of people who can be attacked, harmed, and even killed by the oppressing majority with no right to defend themselves or justice after. What did we call that in the US? Yes we called it slavery, immoral, wrong. And yes it created anger, hate, and rage against those doing the oppressing in those being oppressed. That is what is going on and why Israel can not militarily destroy Hamas, they are just creating more enemies with every military act of destruction. Hugs. Scottie
All Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including children, have been subject to Israeli military law since 1967, when Israel annexed it.
Israeli settlers living in the same territory, however, are subject to Israeli civilian law – a crystal clear example of apartheid.
Despite the fact that international norms affirm that civilians, including children, must never be brought before military courts, Israel remains the only country in the world to automatically and systematically prosecute children in military courts.
Torture
These children, who are almost all boys, range in age from 12 – the age of criminal responsibility under Israeli military law – to 17, although DCIP has documented cases where children younger than 12 were detained and harassed by Israeli forces for hours.
Under international law, a child is any person under the age of 18.
Between 2016 and 2022, DCIP collected sworn affidavits from 766 Palestinian children detained by the Israeli military and prosecuted in Israeli military courts to track their experiences of ill-treatment and torture at the hands of Israeli forces.
Thanks to that data, we can say confidently that denying the basic human rights of Palestinian children is business as usual for Israeli forces.
Israel-Palestine war: Freed Palestinian children say fellow prisoners were ‘tortured to death’
Three out of five of these children are detained from their homes in the middle of the night, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces show up at a Palestinian family’s home at two or three in the morning, break down the door, wake up the whole family, and drag the child out of his bed.
At that moment, 75 percent of children experience some form of physical violence at the hands of Israeli soldiers.
After that, nearly all children are blindfolded and hand-tied before being forced into an Israeli military vehicle en route to an interrogation centre, often located in an illegal Israeli settlement. During this time, that child’s parents have no idea where he’s being taken or when he will come home.
Upon arrival at an Israeli interrogation centre, 80 percent of children are strip-searched by Israeli soldiers. Then, an adult Israeli interrogator, speaking expert Arabic, interrogates the child without the presence of a family member or a lawyer.
In fact, there is no right to a lawyer during interrogation under Israeli military law. Two-thirds of children are not properly informed of their rights, and 55 percent are forced to sign documents in Hebrew, a language they don’t understand.
Detained without charge
Israeli interrogators place one in four children into pre-trial solitary confinement for the purpose of extracting a confession – a method deemed torture by the United Nations.
All of this happens before a trial – also conducted by Israeli soldiers in a military court. The conviction rate is higher than 95 percent, a number that tells you all you need to know about the Israeli military’s interest in justice.
The most common charge against children is stone-throwing, which carries a potential maximum sentence of up to 20 years.
Israeli interrogators place one in four children into pre-trial solitary confinement for the purpose of extracting a confession – a method deemed torture by the United Nations
However, many Palestinians, including children, are detained by the Israeli military without charge or trial, meaning they are held indefinitely in Israeli military prisons, a practice known as administrative detention.
DCIP has documented cases where Palestinian children are held in administrative detention for more than a year.
The Israeli military detention system, at every point, is designed to exert complete control over Palestinian children and their families. From the moment Israeli soldiers break into a Palestinian family’s home in the middle of the night, children know that their parents cannot keep them safe.
While many Palestinian children have been released from Israeli prisons this week, Israeli forces have been busy conducting raids and arrests every night across the occupied West Bank.
Even with the whole world watching, Israeli military brutality is operating with impunity, like clockwork, emboldened by the killing of more than 6,000 Palestinian children in Gaza, with only a handful of world leaders holding them accountable.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Some great articles about Christians demanding special rights / privilege to violate rules and laws yet still get access to state money and force all public school clubs / sports organizations to follow their bigotry and let them violate the rules. Plus some good news, bigotry is costing churches members. Hugs. Scottie
While I don’t think this will go anywhere soon, this is more than grand standing for attention. He is a true believer in removing those non-cis non-straight people from society. He believes in making the US a Christian theocracy. Again remember how this started, both here and in Russia. Save the little kids, you know babies to 3rd grade which in the US is normally until kids would be 9 years old going into 4th grade. Don’t confuse kids who were not confused at all by gender or that there were LGBTQIA people, they were not confused by gay people who loved each other. They made the law so vague teachers had to hide being gay and their families, and remove rainbow stickers along with anti-bullying posters. Then it worked, people bought it so they moved it to up to grade 12 because we wouldn’t want to confuse 18 year olds about gender or sexual orientation, would we? After all, young adults don’t need to see or hear that stuff in the brave new world of only straight cis people with strict gender rules of the 1950s and forced Christian bible slogans in every classroom. Do they, after all no mention of the gays or trans equals no gays or trans people right? Oh shit, they still exist in work places, adults have to be exposed to that confusion as well. Oh shit, we should not confuse adults about sexual orientation or gender just like we don’t want to confuse kids were not confused, especially little kids who openly accepted their peers once until adults told them that it was wrong to accept people who were different. So let’s do what we did with companies that encouraged diversity which really is just mixing the races, letting black / brown people have equal work / schooling opportunities. We will make it illegal! Nope, no LGBTQIA and no diversity allowed in private or state businesses. There now we have a nice white straight cis state with nice white straight cis businesses and majority white straight cis schools. Oops, forgot one detail. Got to keep forcing that good old Jesus on everyone. So now not just schools will have to display in god we trust and the then commandments, stores, business, state agencies, everywhere will. And we will have a local church tax for every district to support the Christian churches only. The rest you can donate if you want on your own time, Christianity is the state religion now in Florida, and soon other red states.
This is the world these people want, that they are driven to create for their god. Right or wrong they really believe the lies they were told about the US being founded as a special place for Christians and only Christians, that god will be angry until it is “again” a Christian nation that follows the “bible” way of life? I guess that means slaves and the right of a man to fuck everything while owning his wives, concubines … whatever. Sorry but they won’t accept half measures as you see, they take that offering of meeting half way and then demand the rest. For those that say the fight for trans stuff is too much, just give them that, do you see how wrong you are now? They took it, ran with it, then went after the rest of the people who are different. They simply do not want to live in a world with others not like them in it. Period. If you want to live in the modern age with acceptance and tolerance for all, we must defeat these people. Hugs. Scottie
A new bill just introduced in Florida aims to expand “Don’t Say Gay Or Trans” provisions to a broad range of workplaces. Targeting government employees, contractors, and nonprofits, the bill sets forth restrictions and bans on policies relating to pronouns, gender identity, and sexuality.
Specifically, it would prohibit state and local government employees as well as any contractors engaged with the government from changing their pronouns or honorifics if they do not match their assigned sex at birth.
It would also bar them from instructing on gender identity or sexuality, similar to “Don’t Say Gay Or Trans” laws already active in the state education system. The legislation would establish “biological” pronouns as official state policy.
What raised the loudest alarms among critics was a provision that appears to restrict any organization specifically serving LGBTQ individuals from receiving any state dollars. “It is an unlawful employment practice for a nonprofit organization or an employer who receives funding from the state to require, as a condition of employment, any training, instruction, or other activity on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression,” the bill reads.
The legislation is the second bill filed by Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, who was elected to the House in a Special Election in May. The House District 24 seat notably opened after former state Rep. Joe Harding, an Ocala Republican, resigned facing federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering. Harding authored a parental rights in education bill passed in 2022, the bill originally derided as the “don’t say gay bill.”
Chamberlin belongs to a Pentecostal church and launched a failed bid for the US House in 2020, finishing sixth in the GOP primary. His predecessor, Joe “Don’t Say Gay” Harding, is expected to begin on five month federal prison sentence on COVID fraud charges in January.
'Don't say gay' for nonprofits: @RyanDChamberlin files bill that would restrict LGBTQ nonprofits receiving state funding
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A new bill just introduced in Florida aims to expand “Don’t Say Gay Or Trans” provisions to a broad range of workplaces. The bill sets forth restrictions and bans on policies relating to pronouns, gender identity, and sexuality.https://t.co/t3TmvrdCep
In March 1997, he filed King’s Chamberlin Ministries, Inc., which was dissolved in September 2001 for failure to file an annual report. He didn’t recall the business but thought it was related to his brother who lives in Israel.
In October 1997, he filed Ryan Marketing Group, Inc., which was administratively dissolved for failure to file an annual report in September 1999.
In February of 1998, he filed a corporation called Professional Credit Services Acceptance Corporation, Inc. that was administratively dissolved for failure to file an annual report in September 1999.
In January 1999, he filed Freedom Investments, Inc. that was dissolved in October 2002 for failure to file an annual report.
In September 1999, he filed Freedom Team, Inc. which was administratively dissolved in September 2011.
In May 2010, he started a company called Prosperity Team Leaders, LLC, which was dissolved in September 2011 for failure to file an annual report.
In April 2011, he started a company called Empowered Companies, LLC, which was dissolved in September 2012 for failure to file an annual report.
In March 2013, he was on the board of EJ Kids, Inc. in Hollywood, Florida. That company administratively dissolved the following year for failure to file an annual report.
In February 2015, there was The Kids Movement, Inc., also created in Hollywood. That company was voluntarily dissolved in March 2019.
In January 2010, he started RJ Chamberlin, LLC, which he said he continues to operate for the consulting/training work he does for companies.
In April 2011, he started a company called Empowered Companies, LLC, which was dissolved in September 2012 for failure to file an annual report.
The only victories they try for are those that harm people they don’t like.
“It is an unlawful employment practice for a nonprofit organization or an employer who receives funding from the state to require, as a condition of employment, any training, instruction, or other activity on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression”
Note: If they were even remotely principled, they would have to admit that this would require refusing funding for any group that teaches that marriage is a heterosexual monopoly.
I think a lot of Floridians (gay and otherwise) are trying to figure out the best ways to fight this insane government. Voting is important for sure. But we need more and stronger resistance, more challenges in court, more protests. This is not an easy fight. I think a lot of people are just complacent in their comfy lifestyles. They really need to think otherwise. Danger, danger Will Robinson!
In the face of anti-LGBTQ+ policies being implemented in schools across the country, some parents are speaking out and it’s glorious to watch. Especially when it’s done like this.
A video of Cody Conner, a Virginia Beach dad, is going viral on social media after he spoke at a school board meeting on October 10. The father of three gave an impassioned speech about the state’s “discriminatory policies” and called out anyone who stands in favor of them.
“You are never going to find a right way to do the wrong thing and Governor Youngkin’s policies are wrong,” he began his speech.
Conner is referring to the Virginia governor’s “model policies” for public schools that require students to use the bathroom and sports team that matches their assigned sex. It also requires written instruction from parents for a student to use names or gender pronouns that differ from the official record, meaning that teacher can deadname students—refer to them by their prior name—if paperwork isn’t filled out by the parents and it requires the school to inform parents if a student is questioning their identity, according to 13 News Now. These policies will be especially detrimental to LGBTQ+ students who come from conservative homes.
Conner started speaking out at school board meetings (he’ll be speaking for the 17th time on November 15) because he moved his family to Virginia Beach right before Youngkin’s policies passed and he worries about the future of his 13-year-old trans daughter who is now in the 8th grade. The family moved from rural Virginia to Virginia Beach so that their kid, who came out as trans a year ago, would be in a school system that would be supportive, but that all changed because of Youngkin.
“I think at that point, I just wasn’t going to run,” he tells PRIDE. “I couldn’t anymore.”
The 42-year-old father said that he’s a quiet person and might not have made the choice to speak up if not for his kids. “I just knew I couldn’t standby and do nothing, just let it happen and hope everything worked out ok and I also wanted to make sure my kid knew that I would stand up for them,” Conner explains as he begins to tear up. “My big job as a parent is not to tell my children who they are, it’s not to make the decisions for them, it’s not to live their life or decide what their life is going to be, but to show them the best way I know how to walk through this world.”
Watching a father stick up for his trans kid and the queer community and rail against conservatives is a cathartic experience and likely why the video has gone viral online.
In his speech that already has nearly 90,000 likes on TikTok, Conner pointed out that the fact that the Proud Boys and the “parental rights” group Moms for Liberty—both considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center—support these discriminatory and draconian policies is further proof that the policies are wrong.
“Never in history have the good guys been the segregationist group pushing to legislate identity,” he said. “Never in history have the good guys been closely connected with and supported by hate groups like the Proud Boys. And the good guys don’t put Hitler quotes for inspiration on the front of their newsletters. News flash: they’re the bad guys. They’re the bad guys supporting bad policy. And if you support the same bad policy, guess what? You’re one of the bad guys too.”
After nearly a year of delays, Youngkin’s policies are finally being implemented in the Virginia Beach school system, with a few minor alterations, which is why Conner has no plans to stop speaking out. He finished his dynamic speech by reminding the school board members to “be the good guys while you still can.”
Conner explains to PRIDE that for him speaking at school board meetings is about more than just trying to sway board members. “It was just about a lot more than just trying to change the minds of those 11 people up there,” he says. “It was about trying to bolster the hearts of the thousands and thousands of people out there that those 11 people’s decisions are threatening.”
With anti-LGBTQ+ laws sweeping the country it’s easy to become disillusioned, but watching Conner call out bigotry and homophobia is the kind of catharsis the queer community needs right now. But speaking truth to power isn’t the only way Conner is trying to change the world for the LGBTQ+ community. He’s also an organizer with the trans rights nonprofit the Calos Coalition. When speaking with PRIDE Conner was gearing up to cook a trans-Thanksgiving dinner put on by the group. It’s only the second “trans family dinner” they’ve put on—they plan to do it every month—but they are already expecting 70 guests.
“In a very real way the LGBTQ+ community gets treated by a lot of people as if they’re unwholesome in some way, with zero acknowledgment that so many members of the community have been isolated and ostracized from these presumed wholesome places and traumatized in places like the family dinner table,” he explains. “And I just wanted to take that back, create a safe space to sit down and break bread with people [who are] welcome and wanted.”
This is what allyship looks like. This is what parenting looks like. And this is hopefully what the future looks like — which if Conner gets his way, it will.
Again because people were not paying attention, the religious fanatics moved into positions of power. Now they want to enforce their own personal way of life on everyone and are willing to destroy democracy to do it. The public should take these people as a warning of how they want to erase our personal liberties to eased their religious fears. Think of it, if you read both this post and the article you see that he is claiming that his god will not give good things to our country, which to be honest has really been so far his god giving good things to white people, but will now be mean to … again white people because the very people Mike Johnson thinks are bad have gained more equality in the cis hetero world. He really thinks we are inventing new ways to be “evil”. Hell’s bells and my dogs that love gravy how weird is this guy to think that people only started to do bad stuff now that gays have the right to marry and kids can come out at school? Really what about slavery, what about the atrocities all through history including the Holocaust and the dark ages, Spanish Inquisition, and the horrible things Columbus and his people did. But gay kids are where his god draws the line???? Think of the things being done in Gaza, but his god is more upset that a boy finds another boy sexually attractive so that is why he will destroy the country? Think about where and why these people focus on. Worth the read for both. Hugs
Talking to pastor Jim Garlow on a broadcast of the World Prayer Network, Johnson spoke ominously of America facing a “civilizational moment.” He said, “The only question is: Is God going to allow our nation to enter a time of judgment for our collective sins? Or is he going to give us one more chance to restore the foundations and return to Him?”
The segment was filmed Oct. 3, just weeks before Johnson’s unexpected rise to become speaker of the House. Garlow pressed the clean-cut Louisiana congressman to say “more about this ‘time of judgment’ for America.” Johnson replied: “The culture is so dark and depraved that it almost seems irredeemable.” He cited, as supposed evidence, the decline of national church attendance and the rise of LGBTQ youth — the fact, Johnson lamented, that “one-in-four high school students identifies as something other than straight.”
Discussing the risk of divine retribution, Johnson invoked Sodom, the Old Testament city destroyed by God for its wickedness with a rain of burning sulfur. Johnson is a polished orator, but in a closing prayer with Garlow he grew tearful. Johnson intoned, “We repent for our sins individually and collectively. And we ask that You not give us the judgment that we clearly deserve.”
Read the full article. Longtime JMG readers may recall that Jim Garlow appeared here many times starting around 15 years ago, usually for “gays are satanic” type rants.
In 2010, Garlow declared that God passed Proposition 8 in California because Christians nationwide had fasted against same-sex marriage.
In 2017, we heard from Garlow when he called for a national tax to be given to churches for them to provide healthcare to congregants, as “health is God’s issue.”
In 2021, Garlow led a group of evangelicals in marching around the Georgia Capitol building seven times to prevent Democrats from winning.
Garlow is the co-author of the so-called Manhattan Declaration, which calls on Christians to disobey all pro-LGBTQ ordinances and laws.
"We’re violating His commands. We’re inventing new ways to do evil.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson: “Depraved” America Deserves God’s Wrath
PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Pastor Jim Garlow calls for an armed uprising against the nation’s LGBTQ people. Pastor Jim Garlow claims that Christians who hate homosexuals will be rewarded with an eternal celestial orgy when they reach heaven. Pastor Jim Garlow says Satan is a gay activist. Pastor Jim Garlow says God has forgiven Newt Gingrich for his serial adultery.
I cannot emphasize enough that that man is dangerous. He believes that he has been placed there by God to claim the united states government for his narrow radical view of Christianity. Him + Trump represent an existential threat to the republic.
In its early days, our “Christian” nation wiped out most of the indigenous people and brutally enslaved millions of Africans. More recently, it fabricated excuses to start two bloody and futile wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in which untold innocent civilians and children died.
If those and other atrocities didn’t piss off the Christian god, then he either doesn’t exist or has very warped priorities.
These people are gleefully watching whats happening in Israel because, to them, it means Baby Jesus is returning any day now so he’s trying to “save” as many Americans as possible before the end.
Absolutely. Their doctrine says the Jerusalem Temple must be rebuilt before Jesus can return. And when he does, all Jews who have not accepted him as Savior will be obliterated. Which is all of them.
What’s appallingly cynical is that while most Jews probably don’t know this, the Israeli government certainly does, and is happy to accept evangelicals’ support even knowing what’s supposed to happen to them.
This guy’s really dangerous. They really managed to sneak the guy in there without any proper due diligence, didn’t they? I recall that screaming shrew shouting down the reporter who asked the question about election denial. “How *dare* you apply scrutiny to us?!!”
Every Republican supported him, and none of those Republicans are facing angry constituents calling for their removal from office any time soon… so this is apparently what Republican voters want from DC.
I fully expect the dark money’d interests already knew how twisted and perverted this miserable piece of shit is before they insisted on his installation.
It’s right there in the book of Ezekiel: Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed due to gay people living in them. They were destroyed because violent residents violated their cultural guest laws, harassing and robbing visitors and migrants asking for help.
You can always tell what kind of Xtian you’re dealing with depending whether they actually understand the lesson in their own book or if they simply apply whatever interpretations they want in order to justify their own appalling, hateful behavior.
Lot offered his own four daughters to appease the soldiers to prevent them from killing the two angels he was saving in his house. For his protection from the angry mob and the soldiers, the angles made everyone who protest to become blind. This made the soldiers angry, and they raped Lot as punishment for protecting those angels, which was commonly done to control their victims. Angels then told Lot to run away with his daughters because they were going to destroy those two mythical cities for their inhospitality and cruelty. For one thing, there is no ancient archeological evidence that Sodom and Gomorrah ever existed. They are not on any ancient maps. As typical with most Biblical stories, they are parables to learn from except for those Christian apologists who take everything out of context to justify their bigotry and ignorance.
Christians ignore what the Bible actually says about Sodom and Gomorrah. We weren’t the cause, we were the punishment, at least the first level of punishment.
Frankly, it’s pretty insulting, but the way THEY act is what’s raising the threat level…
Looking back, if I had a safe and supportive environment when first realized I was Trans at age 15 I believe my life would have been much easier. Not perfect but easier.
This religious fanatic needs to mind his own freaking business.
And that is why it is so important that all trans and non-binary come out. To find each other so they can comfort and support each other and show that this is ok and part of normal life. That’s the reason christStains are so against any kind of equality and normalization of all genders. Because it goes against their hate and deludes opportunities to grift money. The only reason growing up trans was hard for you and growing up gay was hard for me is because of hateful religion.
Johnson is quite delusional and hiding a deep dark secret about himself, as we’re all quite aware. NO ONE ever goes that deep into how to ‘eliminate’ our clan than those who are deep DEEEEPPPP in a violent and sad closet.
Yeah, there’s seriously something off about this guy, beyond the usual bigotry. The prissy zealotry is extremely creepy. (Along with those other signs like the weird youthful adoption and the porn monitoring with his son.)
Some of them just seem ignorant, blind cultists. But this guy is full-on creepster culty since he’s clearly intelligent enough, or should be, to have some grounding in the real world. If I had children, I wouldn’t let him anywhere near them. He gives off serious pervy vibes.
Why is one of the default babble verses against LGBTQI+ always include the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? Interesting that the post script to those verses was the daughters of Lot getting him drunk and having sex with him to supposedly make sure the world didn’t die with no survivors.
And I ALWAYS have the counterweight babble verses to this. Why was sodom and gomorrah destroyed? Because they did things that was against the traditions of the peoples in those lands at that time. And these traditions are timeless so it also applies to us in this time an place.
Ezekiel 16:48-50
•As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. (NIV)
Interesting that the post script to those verses was the daughters of Lot getting him drunk and having sex with him to supposedly make sure the world didn’t die with no survivors.
And likely what really happened was Daddy got loopy, knocking up the daughters, then blaiming them. Imagine the two boys that were birthed. He was their father AND grandfather their mom’s were their half-sisters, and each mom was the aunt to the other’s kid. And it, apparently, was all A-OK with the big sky fairy.
Sounds a lot like the arrogant, overfed and unconcerned congress critters not helping the poor, the sick etc better reread that part of the Bible quickly.
I have long said that if God hates gay people, then He fucked up royally when He had a hand in our creation. He is supposed to know all the past, the present, and the future. So how did we slip through? The answer we always get from the “religious ones” is that we “choose” to be gay. Stop choosing and you’ll be OK. See?
Homosexuality is a natural and a normal expression of human sexuality. It always has been, it always will be, and after all of us, here, are dead – and our existence forgotten – there will still be gay-oriented babies being born on every continent, in every country, and in every culture
Same as it ever was
That’s a little piece of truth they left out of both the Old and the New Testicles.
First, they never think deeply about that and they became str8 the first time they got excited when they caught a glimpse of her panties or her bra straps or big tits, etc.I actually asked a coworker that once, and that is the paraphrased answer he gave me. He became str8 when he first got hot over a girl. It’s so easy. I realized that the thinking was so shallow that further discussion was useless.
So God sat back as gave a 👍🏼 to more than years of slavery and lynchings but he’s super pissed and losing his shit over young LGBTQ kids living their lives? M’kay.
“‘Parental rights’ is an appealing term, but voters have caught on to the reality that it is fueling book bans, anti-LGBT efforts, pressure on teachers not to discuss race and gender, whitewashing history, and so on,” said political analyst Larry Sabato, a politics professor at the University of Virginia and founder and director of the Center for Politics. “Parents may want more input in the schools, but as a group they certainly aren’t as extreme as many in the Moms for Liberty.”
Great short read. Really puts it in words most people can understand. Hugs. Scottie
First it was trans and drag queens. Then it was books / media in schools with LGBTQIA characters or plots. Then it was any symbol related to the LGBTQIA such as the rainbow flag. All along I have said this was the following of Putin’s Russia in simply making being LGBTQIA illegal. No mention in any media that is not horrific, no representation in public, and no private practice in your home if others might find out. This is what the fundamentalist religious right wants and are trying to get. They also want to outlaw sodomy, even though it is not limited to gays and lesbians. It is control over how you can use your body and what you can enjoy, to please their weird view of Jesus. We better stomp this shit hard. Hugs. Scottie
Ps. This is a great sub-stack to follow for up todate factual information on trans or other LGTBQIA issues. Please go see what else she has written. Hugs. Scottie
In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a new city ordinance targeting public homosexuality is hitting libraries. “When in History have the ones banning books been the good guys,” says local activist.
A municipal mandate enacted this past June in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is now being used to target books in the local library system. The ordinance, outlawing “indecent behavior” in public and prohibiting “indecent materials,” is alarmingly vague in its delineation of indecency. This definition used in the law links back to a city statute that explicitly bans public homosexuality or materials promoting homosexuality. The code has already been used to target local Pride events. Now, the code’s enforcement has reached the local library system, where at least four books, all containing LGBTQ+ themes, have been pulled from the shelves.
The ordinance in question is city ordinance 23-O-22. The ordinance states that the community “has the right to establish and preserve contemporary community standards.” It goes on to state that “indecent behavior” or “display” of “indecent materials” would be banned by the new provision. Importantly, the definitions of indecency link back to the city codes definition in section 21-71 of Murfreesboro city codes, which states that “sexual conduct” barred under the provisions includes “homosexuality.” The city ordinance further states that any “behaviors, materials or events that are patently offensive to the adult community” in Murfreesboro would also be banned. Finally, it gives police officers the right to enforce the provisions and states that anybody using city funds for the banned events or materials could be charged with further crimes.
You can see the particular provisions in the ordinance here:
Though the ordinance was not immediately enforced, in recent months, various city officials have begun using it to target the LGBTQ+ community in a variety of ways.The Rutherford County Library Board, chiefly composed of appointees from Murfreesboro’s city council and the Rutherford County Commission, met in August to remove books that might infringe upon the new statute. At a packed meeting in August, library authorities resolved to withdraw four titles: “Flamer,” “Let’s Talk About It,” “Queerfuly & Wonderfully Made,” and “This Book Is Gay,” all of which feature LGBTQ+ content. Following that, the council moved to enact a tiered library card system, where most nonfiction content will be gated behind the adult-only library card. This system will go into effect in 2024.
On Monday, however, the county steering committee met to discuss a new resolution: the removal of all books in the library that could possibly violate the Murfreesboro ordinance. The fiery meeting featured multiple board members stating that they had the right to “enforce community standards” and ban books. Speeches against the proposal were passionate, including one passionate speech by local activist Keri Lambert, who pointed out that the law was already being challenged in court and asked, “when have the people who ban books ever been the good guys?”
The attacks on the library system have not been the only usage of the new city ordinance. According to court filings challenging the ordinance, in 2022, Mufreesboro City Manager Craig Tindall stated that he would refuse permits to BoroPride after claiming that the Pride festival “intentionally exposed children” to sexual conduct. Meanwhile, according to the filing, the city council crafted a ruling behind the scenes to target LGBTQ+ events and material. Specifically, they connected the new provisions to a 1977 definition of obscenity that included homosexual conduct:
“Still worse, the Ordinance incorporates an earlier provision that defines ‘indecent behavior’ as including not simply masturbation and sexual intercourse (which most would agree are inappropriate in public), but also any acts of ‘homosexuality’ as a whole. Thus, under the Ordinance and the incorporated definition, any acts that are ‘homosexual’ in nature or any material or event even suggesting homosexuality, could be considered indecent and subject to civil and criminal penalties.”
The challenge to the ordinance is under way by American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, ACLU, Ballard Spahr, and Burr Forman on behalf of BoroPride, which was allowed to go forward after organizers reached an agreement with the city government.
Tennessee’s legislative landscape this year has been marked by the passage of several anti-LGBTQ+ statutes, particularly those banning gender affirming care and drag performances. While the ban on gender-affirming care has been upheld by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, the prohibition of drag shows has been blocked as unconstitutional. Meanwhile, local governments have been reactivating decades-old obscenity laws in attempts to ban LGBTQ+ expression. The ordinance in Murfreesboro is the latest manifestation of an ongoing campaign targeting LGBTQ+ rights, signaling a broader trend of restrictions to free speech and expression for the community within the state.
People have woken up to the fundamentalist Christian right take over. When these people first stormed the school boards and town councils they claimed they represented the people, the community and everyone was fed up with the liberal woke modern age. They claimed everyone wanted to return to 1950 strict gender roles and stereotypes. Now their lies are being exposed. Only they wanted that, and they are a small minority that do not represent their communities or the will of the people. Still, it looks like one of the hyper religious sleeper candidates did get elected, but not enough of them to take over the board. Keep up the good work of keeping fundamentalist from taking over the country as a Christian Taliban. Hugs. Scottie
Preliminary results from Tuesday’s election shows Childs’ ‘traditional side’ platform failed to sway enough voters to his cause
Matthew Childs, who campaigned on a conservative stance, lost his bid for a school board seat. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — St. Marys Mayor Matthew Childs, who previously attempted to ban LGBTQ books from the city’s public library, lost on his school board bid.
Tuesday’s election saw several candidates from the religion-dominated area attempt to win school board seats on the USD 321 Kaw Valley School Board.
The district, which oversees Rossville and St. Marys public schools, spreads across several counties. Election officials in Shawnee, Pottawatomie and Jackson counties worked together to calculate the final results for the board’s open seats, leading to some initial confusion over the final results.
Elias Espinoza and Jodi Porter were elected to the board. Porter, up against Childs, won the position with 53% of the vote to Childs’ 47%, garnering 1,425 votes to Childs’ 1,281 votes. Childs did not immediately respond to Reflector inquiries.
All of the November election results are unofficial until a final canvass on Nov. 14.
“We are in a culture war which is increasingly threatening the welfare of children especially,” Childs said in a September candidate profile by the Times of Pottawatomie County. “I am unapologetically on the ‘conservative’ or traditional side of this war. Along with many like-minded parents, I am morally obligated to defend our children from physical and moral harm insofar as I can.”
Childs is part of the St. Marys’ governing body, a five-person city commission, and a heavily religious group that attends the Society of St. Pius X, or SSPX. SSPX is a strict religious sect that broke away from the Catholic church. Commissioners have previously said their views and governing decisions are influenced by their religious affiliation.
Childs is perhaps best known for formulating a “morals clause” for the city’s public library lease. The clause asked that the library not carry, encourage or accept any sexual, racial or “socially divisive” material that supported critical race theory or LGBTQ people.
Though the library was allowed to continue operating in their location following massive public outcry, Childs has continued to speak against LGBTQ material in the library.
“We don’t want transgender books in the library. … The elephant in the room is that we don’t want the library to be promoting certain types of material,” Childs said in a July commission meeting.
Porter campaigned on teacher recruitment and keeping cell phones out of the classroom setting.
“I want all those looking for teaching positions to have a desire to come here,” Porter said in her candidate profile.
Preliminary results show Espinoza won against his opponent school board member Adrienne Olejnik, with 1,258 to 1,153 votes respectively. Reflector attempts to contact Espinoza were unsuccessful, but Espinoza is thought to have SSPX connections. A flyer for the St. Marys Academy and College lists him as a point of contact. Olejnik declined to comment publicly on the race.
Espinoza and Childs were endorsed by the Kansans for Life PAC, which sent out mailers in favor of the two ahead of the election. The mailers alleged Olejnik had donated to “leftist causes” and that Olejnik would not “take a stand against drag queen story hours.”
Incumbent candidates Michelle Martin and Kimberly Gillum returned to their board seats unopposed.
Scottie's Playtime 