Category: Drugs

Day 1 RNC Speeches Attack Trans Day Of Visibility, Pronouns, And Safe Schools

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/day-1-rnc-speeches-attack-trans-day

On day one of the Republican National Convention, at least four Republicans used their platform to target transgender people.

ERIN REED
JUL 16, 2024
 
 
Marjorie Taylor Green – RNC – Republican Party

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On the first day of the Republican National Convention, prominent Republicans used their national platform to target transgender people. This signals that the party is not abandoning its efforts to curtail transgender and LGBTQ+ rights if they gain power in the next election. This comes after the vice presidential running mate pick of JD Vance, the lead author of a Senate bill that would institute a national ban on transgender youth care and bar all medical schools from teaching about transgender care, including adult trans care.

The most prominent figure to use her platform to attack transgender people was Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene criticized Transgender Day of Visibility for falling on the same day as Easter Sunday in 2024. Notably, Easter Sunday is a moving holiday, while Transgender Day of Visibility has always been held on March 31. There have been more Transgender Days of Visibility on that date than Easter Sundays since America was founded.

“They promised normalcy and gave us Transgender Visibility Day on Easter Sunday,” Greene said to raucous boos. “And let me state this clearly: There are only two genders, and we are made in God’s image,” she continued.

Video at link above

Many on X (formerly Twitter) questioned the statement and its implications for the nature of God’s gender. Vinny Thomas, a user on the platform, pointed out, “‘There are only two genders and we are made in God’s image’ is so fascinating because what exactly are you saying about God’s gender?”

Representative John James from Michigan also joined in, using some of his time to target transgender women in sports and changing rooms. “Our daughters were sold on hope, and now they are being forced onto the playing fields and into the changing rooms of biological males. America was sold on hope, and now the world is on fire,” Rep. James continued.

Senator Ron Johnson joined in with his speech, calling LGBTQ+ inclusive education, sports participation, and inclusion “sexual indoctrination,” and stating that it was an attack on American values. “This fringe agenda includes biological males competing against girls and the sexualization and indoctrination of our children,” he said to boos. He continued, “Today’s Democrat agenda, their policies, are a clear and present danger to our institutions, our values, and our people.”

Video at link above

One of the “everyday Americans” chosen to speak at the Republican National Convention, Linda Fornos, was the last to target transgender people. In a speech that fell rather flat with little reaction, she questioned children learning pronouns in schools. Many correctly pointed out that pronouns have always been part of an English education.

Video at link above

 

The willingness to lean into anti-LGBTQ+ policies on the first day of the Republican National Convention may seem puzzling. Attacks on LGBTQ+ people have faltered in 2024 compared with 2023, with far fewer laws passing. Several states that had targeted trans people in previous years, such as Florida, Georgia, West Virginia, and Kansas, failed to pass anti-LGBTQ+ policies this year, despite over 80 bills proposed in those states targeting the community. In many elections where anti-trans policies were a major issue, the Republican Party suffered setbacks: 70% of Moms for Liberty and Project 1776 candidates lost their races in 2023. Other losses Republicans have suffered on this issue occurred in the Virginia legislature elections, the Arizona Governor’s race, the Michigan legislature elections, the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, the Walker-Warnock Senate race, and in dozens more places. Furthermore, recent polling from Gallup, Navigator, and the LA Times indicates fading public support for such laws, with huge majorities of respondents seeing them as a distraction and opposing bans on trans youth care.

Still, Trump’s selection of Senator JD Vance as his running mate indicates that he and the Republican Party have not backed off from this issue. Vance notably was the primary sponsor of a Senate bill to bar all trans care for trans youth nationwide. His bill would also bar secondary educational institutions, including medical schools, from teaching gender-affirming care for any age. Trump himself has called for investigations of hormone therapy manufacturers, bans on LGBTQ+ inclusive policies in schools, and targeting transgender people “at any age.”

As the Republican National Convention unfolds, the stage is set for a parade of speakers with deep-rooted anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ records. For LGBTQ+ people, these are not just rhetorical threats but a potential harbinger of laws that could be passed over the next four years. LGBTQ+ people will therefore likely be especially tuned in over the remaining nights.

Erin In The Morning is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.

Some positive trans posts debunking the hate lies of the anti-trans, I post some of Ethel’s videos. If you are interested in the truth about trans people, trans rights, trans people in sports then please follow her channel.


Hi, welcome to Essence of Thought with me, Ethel Thurston, as your host.

Today’s video explores the Cold War’s impact on the West, namely how the Red Scare laid down the groundwork for the modern anti-trans panic in sports. From the media’s open misogyny to literally cartoonish fearmongering, there’s a lot to unpack.

@EssenceOfThought7 hours ago Today’s video explores the Cold War’s impact on the West, namely how the Red Scare laid down the groundwork for the modern anti-trans panic in sports. From the media’s open misogyny to literally cartoonish fearmongering, there’s a lot to unpack.

Some old Joe My God stuff I did not have time to post. Chose those you like to read ignore the rest. I was interested in them all.

Billionaire Pumps Millions To Push TX School Vouchers
Filings Show Leonard Leo Funded Bud Light Boycott
Cultists Pressure John Deere Into Ending Pride Support
Time-Traveling QAnon Nut Has RNC Media Credentials
Glenn Beck Enlists Moms For Liberty To Help Get His “Anti-Tyranny” Novel Placed In Public School Libraries
Man Who Donated Cranes To Hang “Huge Flag” At Rally Says He Can’t Get Them Back, Lost $50,000 In Rentals
CNN: Melania Refused Pleas To Speak At Convention
Baptist Site Calls Franklin Graham “Christian Nationalist Liar” Who Only Believes In “Liberty For Evangelicals”
Leaked Memo Unveils Vance’s Anti-LGBTQ Crusade
Hulk Hogan Rages About “Scumbags” In RNC Speech
“Changed” Trump Issues Divisive, Lie-Filled RNC Speech
Kid Rock Bombs Before Bored Convention Crowd
DeSantis Team Launches Push Against Legal Weed, Claims It Will Turn Florida Into “California Of The East”
Former Southern Baptist President Claims He Was “Seduced” By Woman Accusing Him Of Sexual Assault
Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Tennessee Drag Ban
Musk Complains About Non-White Comics Characters
Meghan McCain: Biden Is Lying About Having COVID

His ‘Refutiation’ Is As Real As His Tan, Bigly (Project 2025)

His ‘Refutiation’ Is As Real As His Tan, Bigly (Project 2025)

While a lot of the people that follow Mock Paper Sissors follow me, I still loved this post so much and the way TG wrote it, I am reposting it here.   Hugs.  Scottie

President Biden sits down for interview with George Stephanopoulos l ABC News exclusive

The media is desperate to push Biden out so they can get more money.  The papers that Stephanopoulos quoted are owned and run by well known tRump conservatives like Rupert Murdock.  Stephanopoulos kept hammering Biden was too old, was not fit, was kidding himself how fit he was, stuff like that no matter what Biden answered.  After Biden would list his accomplishments Stephanopoulos said yes but aren’t you frail, then when they talked about the future Stephanopoulos asked if Biden had it to finish the next few years, which Biden talked of what he did recently Stephanopoulos asked yes but what did it cost you physically and mentally.   He just was desperate to break Biden, and Biden was getting sick of him hammering on the same thing and not acknowledging anything Biden said.  I thought Biden did great during the interview, but I would have demanded to know who was paying Stephanopoulos to push the republican talking point.   Even when Biden brought up tRump’s lies and actions, Stephanopoulos did not talk about it, only again turning to ask if Biden was not too old and mentally gone to do the job.  Hugs.  Scottie

Jon Stewart Reacts to the Trump-Biden Debate & Kosta Tackles SCOTUS Bribes | The Daily Show

I only watched the Jon Stewart part.  Hugs.  Scottie

Let’s talk about the GOP, IVF, and the playbook….

Supreme Court to weigh state restrictions on gender-affirming care for youths

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-weigh-state-restrictions-gender-affirming-care-youths-rcna142825

The court is expected to hear oral arguments and make a ruling in its upcoming term, which starts in October and will end in June 2025.
 
 
 
 
Supreme Court to hear case on gender-affirming care for minors
Get more newson
 
 
By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday waded into the culture-war debate over gender-affirming care for transgender minors by agreeing to resolve challenges to a law in Tennessee that seeks to restrict it.

The justices will hear a Biden administration appeal of a court ruling that upheld the measure. Oral arguments and a ruling are expected in the court’s next term, which starts in October and ends in June 2025.

 

The case marks the first time the court will issue a ruling in the battle over transgender rights for teens, which has raged in both the health care and education contexts.

A young person holds a Pride Flag outside the House chambers before a legislative session, on Feb. 26, 2024, in Nashville, TN.
A young person holds a Pride Flag outside the House chambers before a legislative session, on Feb. 26, 2024, in Nashville, TN.George Walker IV / AP

“The future of countless transgender youth in this and future generations rests on this Court adhering to the facts, the Constitution and its own modern precedent,” said Chase Strangio, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, which also challenged the law.

The state measure restricts puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery for minors.

In a separate case, the court in April allowed Idaho to mostly enforce a similar law.

More than 20 states have enacted similar bans, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ rights think tank. Whatever the court rules will affect those states as well.

Major medical organizations say that gender-affirming treatments are an effective way of treating gender dysphoria, the clinical term given to the distress people can experience when their gender identity is in conflict with the gender assigned to them at birth.

Plaintiffs, including transgender teens and their families, say the law violates the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which requires that the law apply equally to everyone, in part by barring medical treatments for transgender people that are available to others. They also say the law violates the right of parents to make health care decisions for their children.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar urged the Supreme Court to take up the issue, saying that the law “is part of a wave of similar bans preventing transgender adolescents from obtaining medical care that they, their parents, and their doctors have all concluded is necessary.”

A federal judge blocked the Tennessee ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy but left in place a ban on surgeries.

In a separate Kentucky case the justices did not act on, a federal judge blocked the ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The plaintiffs did not challenge the restrictions on surgery.

In a ruling addressing both laws, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the states in September.

Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote that no one was questioning “the existence of gender dysphoria or the distress caused by it,” but indicated the question of what treatments should be available to those 17 or under should be left to elected officials.

“This is a relatively new diagnosis with ever-shifting approaches to care over the last decade or two. Under these circumstances, it is difficult for anyone to be sure about predicting the long-term consequences of abandoning age limits of any sort for these treatments,” he wrote.

The plaintiffs then asked the Supreme Court to step in. The court has until now largely stayed out of disputes involving transgender students.

In 2021, the Supreme Court declined to take up a case about the question of whether transgender students can use school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identities as court battles have continued around the country. The court turned away a similar case in January.

On a related issue, the court last year allowed a transgender girl in West Virginia to participate in girls’ sports.

The court’s biggest intervention on trans issues writ large came in a surprise 6-3 ruling in 2020 written by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch. He concluded that federal law that bars sex discrimination in employment protected transgender and gay people, a ruling that angered conservatives.

Lawrence Hurley

Lawrence Hurley covers the Supreme Court for NBC News.

Four days of torture and a 24 hour sabbatical

This is the second attempt to write this as I was in classic and tried to post a link to a source and well WordPress did its new magic when working with classic and wiped out an hours worth of work.  So I will try again.  My mind is still a bit foggy so the new post won’t be as well or have as much in it as the first.   ***After I wrote the entire post I see the above was not so correct, the post is long***

I am on the maximum dosage of Baclofen and my back / leg spasms are still increasing and getting worse.  This causes an increase of pain.  My pain doctor who gives me my spine shots felt I needed more relief and I was not getting as much as I should be, so he told me to try a different drug that may or may not help me.  He did not discuss how to stop the Baclofen but simply said try this one it might give you more relief or not.  I now think I misunderstood him and he meant to use it as a back-up to the Baclofen.  He is incredibly smart and well respected in his profession so the idea he would want me to do what I did doesn’t make sense.   

Baclofen is a horribly unforgiving medication.  It is hard to get used to using, and it can be deadly if not managed correctly.  Needless to say I did not manage stopping the medication correctly at all.  Here are some things that can happen and sadly I can not post the link but will have to do it below. (I hate to do it and it will mean less posting but I may have to start posting by writing the post in Word then pasting it in to WordPress somehow.  What drew me to WordPress and then back to WordPress was the ease in just opening Classic and writing a post.   All my extensions work and it was fun.  Not so much now.)   

Baclofen Withdrawal Symptoms

Baclofen withdrawal symptoms can be similar to those of benzodiazepine and alcohol withdrawal. Withdrawal from all of these substances can be severe and, in some cases, deadly. People are most likely to go through baclofen withdrawal if they have been using the drug for more than a few months. Baclofen withdrawal can occur whether someone uses a low or high dose. If someone suddenly stops using the drug, withdrawal symptoms are more likely to be severe. Baclofen withdrawal symptoms can include:

  • Visual and auditory hallucinations
  • Tactile hallucinations
  • Confusion
  • Delusions
  • Disorientation
  • Delirium
  • Insomnia
  • Dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Memory problems
  • Anxiety
  • Changes in perception
  • Hyperthermia
  • Depersonalization
  • Psychosis
  • Mania
  • Mood disturbances
  • Changes in behavior
  • Tachycardia
  • Seizures
  • Tremors
  • Fever
  • Extreme rebound muscle rigidity and spasticity

Some of the most severe symptoms of baclofen withdrawal, such as seizures, hallucinations and organ failure, can be avoided if someone participates in a professional baclofen detox.

I stopped taking it one morning.  Boy my body quickly let me know it was not happy about it.  My pain levels went off the scale, and I was in agony.  I struggled with the last one on the list also some of the others.  Plus I did not sleep.  I would lay there and toss / turn but if I slept it was in small time periods of 15 minutes or so and at most I got a total of 1 or 2 hours a day.  To put it mildly, I was having nausea, struggling with the personality changes all this was causing, confusion, insomnia, tremors, and fever as the worst of the effects.  By the end of the fourth day Ron was seriously concerned, he had looked up the symptoms and seen my rapid deterioration.  He was begging me to go back to the baclofen or at least call the doctor to tell them.  I thought it over.  What I wanted and needed was not worth what I was doing through.   So I took my first baclofen the end of the fourth day and went to bed. 

The next day which was yesterday I woke up late but felt so much better.  I was still having some symptoms but my main problem was the lack of ability to focus and confusion.  I just felt tired out.  At the appropriate time I took my second set of medication and … The world stopped.  Well the world did not but I did.  I mentioned to Ron I felt really tired and was going to go lay down.  Well I lay down, and 6 hours later Ron woke me to ask if I would like to eat and maybe I should take off my headphones which I was still wearing.  Which is weird as I don’t like wearing headphones which is why I need my own room for my computers, so I can listen to my stuff without the need for headphones or earbuds.  

I am back.  Sorry got so tired I went to lay down for an hour plus.  

So after I got up yesterday, removed my headphones, we had supper.  I was not really hungry but Ron had the desire to have crispy chicken strips and french fries cooked in the big deep frier.   I enjoy them, but we both marveled I do not eat like I used to.  I had maybe four strips and a small serving of french fries.  The good news on that front is I had been stuck on a weight plateau to 184, and recently I have dropped below that into the 170s running right now between 175 and 177 pounds.  After eating I offered to pick it up, Ron said he would do it, but I wanted to help so we split the work.  Then I went back to bed. 

I slept, then I slept some more.  When Ron came to bed at 10 pm, I took my next set of medications and my nighttime insulin.  Then after mumbling to Ron that I wouldn’t be able to sleep, I went right to sleep.  I slept until 3 am when Tupac’s small stomach alarm went off.  Every morning at that time he cries and cries until one of us gets up and feeds him half a can of wet food. He has a bowl of dry food but we got him hooked on wet food and he loves it.  But if we give him as much as he wants, he will get sick and vomit it, so we give him half a can or so at a time now.  Normally I do it because Ron is sleeping.  This morning I did not respond and Ron asked If I wanted him to do it, his tone hopeful I would offer to get up.  I did not.  I did not even hear him and Tupac come back to bed.  I slept until 6:15 or so when Tupac’s stomach alarm went off again.  He knows now since his long time feral playtime outside friend … well the night before she was seen no more we again had a young coyote scouting around the house.   We had tried so hard for two years to get her to at least come into the Florida room for the night, but she just won’t.  She has disappeared.  So Tupac has new rules.  He is allowed outside during the day but once night fall and darkness has come he is inside now.  He sometimes argues about it but, until he learns to open the doors he lives by it.  In truth he doesn’t make much fuss, and even at 3 am he doesn’t ask to go out anymore, but goes right back to bed. 

One last note.  Over the 24 hours or so I slept Ron kept checking me.  He said this morning that the only thing that bothered him was that during the times he checked on me and during the night I was very vocal.  I cried, wept, moaned, groaned, and made other sounds.  He said I did not seem to struggle or move around, and I was not begging like when it is really bad so he let me sleep.   I asked him if I talked anything clearly that could be understood more than just sounds.  He said no he was watching, I did not beg or plead for it to stop, or beg not to be hurt so he did not know if to wake me.  I said he did the correct thing as I want him to know I love he cares and understands now what I lived through and still experience in dreams.  He asked if I wanted to talk about the dreams, and I said no, I had them, I experienced the abuse in more mild than normal and I did not want to relive it or have him live it so no I did not want to tell him the dreams.   He is so wonderful he accepted that, gave me long wonderful hugs and kisses.  

So that has been the last five days.  That what I went through.  It is going to take days to get back on track if ever.   I will not be posting the meme post today or this week, I did not work on it all week so there is not really anything to post.  Love everyone who comes to my little spot on the interwebs who want to hear my opinion.  Hugs to those who wish them, my heart felt best wishes to all others. Scottie

The link for the Baclofen information is https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/baclofen-addiction/withdrawal-detox/ but a simple search will show how unforgiving the medication is and how deadly it can be to try to come off it the wrong way.

Another International Medical Org Rejects Cass Recommendations On Trans Youth

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/another-international-medical-org

The Cass report was a complete ideological bias hit job.  Yes, it got great traction at first as the anti-trans haters ran with it.   But like all hate driven junk science it withered on the vine.   Hugs.  Scottie

Many of the largest medical and psychological organizations have rejected the Cass Review’s recommendations on trans youth. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists is the latest.

ERIN REED
JUN 14, 2024
 
File:Transgender Pride Flag map of Australia.png
 

Erin In The Morning is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.

Two months ago, the Cass Review was released in the United Kingdom. This review, guided and advised by individuals with ties to SPLC-designated hate groups and who met with Governor Ron DeSantis’ medical board—handpicked to ban care in Florida—has led to severe restrictions in the U.K., including criminalizing the possession of puberty blockers. The response outside the U.K. has been much more critical, with numerous medical organizations and doctors worldwide rejecting its recommendations. The latest major medical body to speak out is the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), the leading organization for training psychiatrists in both countries.

The Cass Review, a highly criticized evaluation of transgender care, was developed in the United Kingdom by Dr. Hillary Cass, a pediatrician without direct experience in transgender care. Although it was presented as an unbiased and neutral review, intentionally excluding transgender individuals from the decision-making process, it was later revealed that advisors with ties to the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, an SPLC-designated hate group, were involved. Dr. Cass has since controversially blamed being trans on pornography and labeled the American Academy of Pediatrics as a “left-leaning organization” due to its support for the medical care of transgender youth.

Last month, a handful of members of the RANZCP, some of which are notable figures in anti-trans activism in the country, wrote a letter to the organization stating that they had “serious concerns” about gender affirming care for transgender youth. They pointed to the Cass Review as justification for their concerns. The top signature on the letter is that of Jillian Spencer, who stated in an interview that she was fired for “being a danger to trans and gender-diverse children.” Now, the college has responded.

In a response posted to the RANZCP website, the college announced that the Cass Review is one of “a number of reviews,” and that it rejects the call for a “government inquiry” into trans care in the countries it represents. It further states that transgender care should be “patient centered” and individualized to a patient’s needs. Lastly, it expresses a full support for transgender youth and rejects claims that being transgender is a “mental health condition”:

“The College is committed to respectful, sensitive and appropriate mental health care being provided to individuals who identify as LGBTIQ+. Being Trans or Gender Diverse is not a mental health condition, and the RANZCP unequivocally supports the rights of trans and gender diverse people to have equal access to safe and effective mental health care that is underpinned by dignity, empathy and respect.

…

The College emphasises that assessment and treatment should be patient centred, evidence-informed and responsive to and supportive of the child or young person’s needs and that psychiatrists have a responsibility to counter stigma and discrimination directed towards trans and gender diverse people.”

The statement from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists is the latest in a series of rejections of the Cass Review’s findings by medical organizations worldwide. Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics responded to the review, disagreeing with many of its claims and asserting that the organization supports “individualized health care for each patient, in consultation with their family and health care team” when it comes to transgender youth. The Endocrine Society also dismissed the recommendations, stating, “Medical evidence, not politics, should inform treatment decisions.”

In Canada, the Canadian Pediatric Society rejected the Cass Review’s recommendations, announcing that “current evidence shows puberty blockers to be safe when used appropriately, and they remain an option to be considered within a wider view of the patient’s mental and psychosocial health.” Children’s Healthcare Canada, which oversees the country’s children’s hospitals, concurred, stating, “Our position remains unchanged on the topic.”

Evidence continues to support the use of gender affirming care for transgender youth. A Cornell review of more than 51 studies found “gender transition is effective in treating gender dysphoria and can significantly improve the well-being of transgender individuals.” Numerous studies show lower suicidality, with as much as a 73% reduction in suicidality for trans youth who are allowed care. In a recent article that was not considered by the Cass Review in the Journal of Adolescent Health, puberty blockers reduced depression and anxiety significantly. In Germany, a recent review by over 27 medical organizations has judged that “not providing treatment can do harm” to transgender youth. Due to strong evidence around transgender care, the American Psychological Association released a historic policy resolution condemning bans on gender affirming care. Notably, they are the largest psychological association in the world, with representatives elected to represent 157,000 members.

The lack of credibility given to the Cass Review outside the United Kingdom, especially in the United States, has frustrated its proponents. In a recent article published in The BMJ titled “Gender medicine in the US: how the Cass review failed to land,” anti-trans writer Jennifer Block laments that Erin Reed, the author of this article, highlighted the review’s anti-trans political ties with DeSantis’ picks, which hampered its acceptance. Although Block incorrectly claims that only a single meeting took place (Cass advisor Dr. Kaltiala attended several meetings and even advocated for the ban as a primary witness), she accurately demonstrates that the document’s political roots have been detrimental to its acceptance among credible scientific organizations. These political roots were recently confirmed when Conservative Women and Equalities Minister, Kemi Badenoch, admitted that “gender critical” individuals were placed in health roles to facilitate the Cass Review—a mechanism remarkably similar to how Florida’s review led to the banning of care in the state, borrowing from DeSantis’ strategy.

Despite its lack of acceptance abroad, the Cass Review continues to do tremendous damage in places predisposed to targeting transgender healthcare. It has already been cited in the United States to ban care in South Carolina, a Republican-controlled state. In the United Kingdom, it has led to the criminalization of possessing puberty blockers. As more medical organizations reject its findings, politicians will undoubtedly use its conclusions to push forward with bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, despite having little evidence to justify such decisions.

Erin In The Morning is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.