Seen my pain doctor this morning, came home, ate, and went to bed. Got up a while ago. Tomorrow morning I go back and have spine shots in the base of my spine to keep me walking and treat that area of bad pain. The MRI showed more damage there. The C area of my spine shows a little damage but not enough compared to the other areas to be concerned about now. So now I have to get an MRI of the middle of the spine. I have a very large amount of pain from there and that is where the worst of my muscle spasms are at. But Medicare would only let my doctor order two MRI sections at a time so we had to do it this way. I also have to schedule a nerve study because my pain doctor thinks I have Carpal tunnel in my right hand and damage in my right shoulder. She is having it done in both arms. Then I have to have shots / treatments in my right shoulder. So much pain right now makes it really hard to think and sit. Hugs
This doesn’t surprise me and shouldn’t surprise anyone. Most groups against freedom, sexual expression, freedom to watch porn, freedom to marry consenting adults as people wish, all these types of groups trying to restrict what people can do by regressing societal acceptance back to the 1950s are funded either openly or secretly by wealthy right wing organizations / wealthy people. It is old school politics to start and fund a group that seems unconnected to your party that supports the positions that your party pushes. It is also an old scam to claim to be part of the targeted group to try to split those targeted groups apart or make the public think that a large membership in those groups dislike the inclusion of the others. Hugs
Charity Commission urged to investigate organization over shared address with right-wing lobby groups
The LGB Alliance is renting an office in 55 Tufton Street, home of several right-wing think tanks
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Controversial trans-exclusionary charity the LGB Alliance is renting an office in the Tufton Street nerve centre of Britain’s most influential right-wing think tanks, previously unseen documents have revealed.
It is the first time a clear link has been drawn between the so-called ‘gender critical’ movement, which opposes equal rights for trans people, and the movement of conservative lobby groups at 55 Tufton Street whose libertarian economic policies have influenced a succession of governments.
The LGB Alliance says it chose the address – revealed in an FOI request to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom – simply because it was “handy” and “flexible”, and tried to warn against drawing “conspiratorial conclusions”.
The Georgian building at 55 Tufton Street hit headlines earlier this year during Liz Truss’s disastrous stint as British prime minister. It is owned by Tory donor Richard Smith and currently acts as a base for the Institute for Economic Affairs, Centre for Policy Studies, the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Global Warming Policy Foundation, New Culture Forum, and BrexitCentral, among others.
“Given that the LGB Alliance insists it is a charity, it’s surprising that it has office space in a building known for hosting some of the most prominent right-wing libertarian lobbying groups in the country,” said a spokesperson for the Trans Safety Network.
“The fact that the other organisations working from this building are highly networked raises questions about the relationship of this supposedly neutral charity to these politically motivated actors – questions that ought to be thoroughly investigated by the Charity Commission to determine whether or not the LGBA is itself a lobby group.”
openDemocracy has approached the Charity Commission for comment.
It is not yet clear when the LGB Alliance moved to 55 Tufton Street. It registered a move from a virtual office in City Road to another a few doors up in May 2022, a few months before receiving the letter from Ofcom. The City Road address is still listed on its website and with the Charity Commission.
The group’s charity status was challenged by trans youth charity Mermaids at a tribunal earlier this year, with a decision due in early 2023.
LGB Alliance managing director Kate Barker wrote to supporters in an email seen by openDemocracy: “You may have seen that the address of our London office was shared on Twitter this weekend.
“We have preferred that it not be public to ensure the safety of volunteers who come along to help us prepare for events, take part in training or want the chance to meet with us in person.
“I hope you will understand that’s why I won’t be repeating the address in this note.
“I can tell you we’ve rented a single large room that is ideal for our purposes. The office is fantastically well-served In terms of transport links. In addition, we spend a lot of time trying to make our case to politicians and the office is just a few minutes’ walk from the Houses of Parliament.
“You will be unsurprised to learn that our detractors will seek to draw conspiratorial conclusions from our address. I can tell you that the office was chosen because it, handy, flexible and that it became available at the right time.
“We’re really pleased to have a base to be able to build on our work and hope we may have a chance to meet you there soon.”
The LGB Alliance has not responded to openDemocracy’s requests for comment.
As equalities secretary, Liz Truss is reported to have had regular meetings at 55 Tufton Street with groups such as the IEA. The UK government staged a significant U-turn on its attitude towards progressing LGBTQIA+ rights during the same period, culminating in a backpedal on Gender Recognition Act reform and the collapse of the #SafeToBeMe2022 event earlier this year.
Truss’s second-in-command at the time, Kemi Badenoch, has now taken on the post. She too has links to Tufton Street via the Cato Institute and her former adviser Alex Morton, who went on to become head of policy at the Centre for Policy Studies and subsequently the IEA’s director of strategy.
Dr. Fauci humiliated Radical Right Wing Florida Governor Ron Desantis on Live TV a day after Desantis announced a grand jury to investigate COVID-19 Vaccine Manufacturers. Meidas Contributor Francis Maxwell reacts to this epic takedown.
This bill is the 3rd one in a week in the state. This one wont pass, but by constantly pushing them the republicans are making it much more likely they will get bans past. This is about eliminating trans people. Stop kids from transitioning then restrict medical access for adults until the ability to live openly as the gender you really are is impossible. It is a short article but it shows the true goal is the same as the don’t say gay laws in Florida, to eliminate gay or trans kids from schools and promote hatred against the LGBTQI+. The right and the Christian nationalist are making it clear what they want, all advances in society rolled back. The improvements in social understanding they want undone, gone. Hugs
“We have been saying a slow moving genocide targeted at eliminating transgender people through eliminating gender affirming care is happening.”
“We have been saying a slow moving genocide targeted at eliminating transgender people through eliminating gender affirming care is happening,” she added. “It continues.”
Some commenters noted their belief that the bill is unlikely to pass, but that it is nonetheless horrific it was even proposed.
The bill’s title seems to define gender-affirming care as a type of conversion therapy, which is banned in New Hampshire. It states that the bill seeks to prohibit “gender transition procedures for minors and young adults, relative to sex and gender in public schools, and relative to the definition of conversion therapy.”
The harmful and widely condemned practice of conversion therapy – in which so-called therapists try to force LGBTQ+ people into being straight and cisgender – is the exact opposite of gender-affirming care, which affirms people’s identities.
This week, South Carolina also introduced two bills targeting gender-affirming care for trans youth and young adults.
The bills seek to ban gender-affirming care for anyone under age 21 and make it more challenging to obtain for those over 21.
“South Carolina’s anti-trans legislation goes extremely far,” wrote Reed on her blog, “and South Carolina is now high on my list of states that could join the ‘worst of the worst’ deep red states on my transgender legislative risk map.”
I like How Hemant Mehta put it. This was always about people using Christianity as an excuse to prevent others from receiving health care. It’s religious cruelty. Hugs
The anti-abortion church spent years interfering with the health and safety of Planned Parenthood’s clients
The Planned Parenthood in Spokane, Washington (screenshot via YouTube)
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Ajudge in Spokane County, Washington ruled on Friday that “The Church at Planned Parenthood” (TCAPP) violated the law when it blocked patient care outside a clinic, and the Christian group will now have to pay $110,000 in damages to the abortion providers.
So that plan backfired on the right-wing extremists.
For years now, members of Covenant Church in Spokane protested outside Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho. While protests are legal, this one was intended to block people from using the clinic’s services through intimidation. They used speakers to loudly denounce abortion even though state law prohibits excessive noise and intrusion at health care facilities. They got right up outside the doors of the clinic.
This wasn’t a constitutionally protected form of debating ideological differences; this was harassment, plain and simple.
In September of 2020, Spokane Superior Court Judge Raymond Clary put a temporary stop to it. His preliminary injunction required TCAPP to stand at least 35 feet from the building and begin their “gatherings” at least an hour after 6:00 p.m. when the clinic stopped accepting new patients for the day. Clary added that TCAPP couldn’t block the entrance, trespass on the clinic’s property, or “unreasonably [disturb] the peace” with their noise.
One problem with that injunction? It only applied to the people named in the lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood: the leaders of TCAPP. That meant members of the “church” were allowed to continue their harassment as before, since cops “were hesitant to enforce the injunction against anybody not named in the lawsuit.”
A year later, thankfully, that preliminary injunction was made permanent—and broadened. Superior Court Judge Timothy B. Fennessy permanently banned TCAPP from harassing patients and included TCAPP members as well as its leaders. Fennessy plugged up those loopholes.
Not surprisingly, not being allowed to invade a health care facility infuriated TCAPP leaders like founder and director Ken Peters, who described the ruling—and the judge—as “leftist”, “typical” of the state, and “unconstitutional.” (He didn’t bother explaining what in the ruling was illegal). In fact, Peters responded to the ban by resorting to threats:
“That’s going to stir up Christians, patriots, constitutionalists, Trump supporters. We’re already getting super-backed into a corner and ticked off,” Peters said. “It’s only going to stir us up more, and it’s only going to make us more aggressive and make us grow our movement.”
Nothing screams “We’re true patriots” like hearing people who violate the Constitution insisting that it won’t stop them from getting even worse…
At the time, Peters said he’d “get some more legal advice” and “pray about it” before pursuing a course of action. He also said he didn’t plan on defying the order. But the question remained: How much would the Christian extremists have to pay for violating the law all those times they protested outside the facility?
Now we have an answer: The Church at Planned Parenthood will have to pay $110,000 in damages for interfering with patient care.
The judge said TCAPP’s actions created an increased risk of hypertension, increased pain, and a variety of psychiatric symptoms for Planned Parenthood patients.
TCAPP repeatedly violated Washington state law by “willfully or recklessly disrupt[ing] the normal functioning of a health care facility” by, among other things, “making noise that unreasonably disturbs the peace within the facility.”
Ken Peters admitted the loss but acted like his group hadn’t done anything wrong:
They didn’t obey the law. This wasn’t peaceful assembly. And he clearly has no remorse because he says he’d “do it again.” All I’m taking away from his reaction is that the penalty wasn’t substantial enough.
You can bet the group will just resort to the typical “persecution” playbook. But this was never about their faith. This was always about people using Christianity as an excuse to prevent others from receiving health care. It’s religious cruelty. The group deserves every bit of that fine and then some.
Hello All. Thank you to everyone who helped make a sick boy’s dreams come true in the time he has left. I enjoy watching his videos and wanted to share his joy with all of you. Hugs
Again Christians trying hard to force their religious views on everyone else. They claim that just telling people those options exist is against the religious freedom of the doctors. Just like simply existing gays and trans people sexualize kids in schools. Just like providing a cake, flowers, photos, or a website of a same sex marriage somehow not only means you are a part of the wedding but it also means you support same sex marriage. But doing those things for divorced people getting married doesn’t mean you support divorce or doing those things for a wedding of a murderer doesn’t mean you support murder. But you know, it is about forcing selected morality on everyone. Hugs
A doctor and a Christian medical group have filed a lawsuit against New Mexico over an assisted suicide law passed last year they say violates their sincerely-held religious objections to the controversial practice.
Dr. Mark Lacy and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations filed a lawsuit against New Mexico on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. At issue was the Elizabeth Whitefield End-of-Life Options Act, a law passed last year that legalized assisted suicide for terminally ill residents.
Lacy and the Christian organization are being represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, which has argued religious liberty cases before the Supreme Court.
The ADF claims that the New Mexico law “forces” Christian physicians to “facilitate” assisted suicide merely by telling patients that the option is available and legal. Physician-assisted suicide is currently legal in eleven states.
Fuck them!! I just returned from 6 weeks in Canada where my 93 yr old mother was dying of pancreatic cancer. There was no treatment for her. She’d been in the hospital 5 weeks before she started experiencing pain and was put on morphine. 3 days after that she anounced she wanted medical assistance in death (MAID) in Canada. I was there when the doctor came to make sure she understood what would happen. She did completely and did not hesitate to sign the consent form. And I was there when the doctor came several days later to perform the procedure. She was surrounded by family, we drank shots of peach shnapps with her, had a few laughs at memories, and she was content to be having it over. I left the room when the doctor arrived but my dad said it was very peaceful and quick. Keeping her alive would have been absolute torture for her, and for who know how long. Her ashes were taken to the local priest who was happy to bless them. Fuck these people and their religious objections. If you object then don’t do it, but don’t deny others the right.
These Religious Fascists just never stop trying to control others. One day it would be nice to hear a story about them selflessly helping people. The only thing that seems to motivate them is controlling others and hate.
The conservative mindset has always been “This is America! Nobody can tell me what to do! Freedom! However, I can tell everybody else what to do and I am above reproach.”
I saw it everywhere growing up in the South (Tennessee). They think they’re living their godly life, so nobody can critique them…but they’ll be more than happy to look down on you and condemn you for not following their own “rules”
Photo: Shutterstock
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