Category: History

Trump Says He Will Refuse to Honor NATO Treaty

https://www.meidastouch.com/news/trump-says-he-will-refuse-to-honor-nato-treaty

Said enemies can “do whatever the hell they want”
 

At every rally, Trump loves to tell the story that references the only thing he knows about global security – the transactional relationship we have with our NATO allies. NATO has kept the US out of a major conflict in Europe since its inception in 1949. The treaty mandates that if any member nation is attacked by any other nation, all 31 other signatories will come to their defense. That has served as an incredibly powerful deterrent to the rest of the world.

Trump, however, has always been hostile to the NATO alliance. Perhaps not coincidentally, Vladimir Putin stated decades ago that it was one of his greatest dreams to separate the US from the other NATO countries. It appears, in Donald Trump, he has found the man to help accomplish that dream.

The canard/excuse that Trump will rely upon is that some other NATO member nations are not spending the 2% of GDP on defense that is stated by the treaty. This has always been somewhat elastic as some nations have dipped above and below that over the years, but almost all nations in NATO have been in full compliance almost all the time. 

Trump loves to tell the story about how he threatened the other NATO countries to “pay up.” He casts this as if they owe us money that they refuse to pay. It is simply a question of them increasing their own defense budgets – not money they owe us. But Trump has now taken this earlier threat to the next level, expressly stating at his rally today that he will refuse to honor the treaty if any ally is attacked who is spending less that the 2%. He then took that even further by inviting our enemies to “do whatever the hell they want” to that country.

Will this be covered in the New York Times tomorrow? Maybe somewhere below a story about Biden mispronouncing a word.

 
Trump: I “Encourage” NATO’s Enemies To Attack Them

 

Andy 8 hours ago

This is why the world is in fear that Trump will be elected. He will refuse to honor any treaties and trade agreements. The USA will be an untrustworthy nation. It is a fearful time.

Elagabalus  Andy8 hours ago edited

A certain amount of trust was restored with Biden’s election but if Trump slithers in again that’s it – no one will ever trust us again, and they’d be right to feel that way.

Coxygru  Elagabalus7 hours ago

None of us here in the E.U. today feel that we can totally trust the USA. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. It’s no secret that your GOP has been bought out by the Kremlin.

UpNorth  Andy7 hours ago

The fact that he is the presumptive Republican candidate for President means the world cannot trust the USA.

UpNorth  Andy7 hours ago

The USA is already an untrustworthy nation. They elected Trump once, and he is the presumptive Republican candidate for President.

Nexy Jo 8 hours ago
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NotMiguel8 hours ago

Just returned from a long trip to France and everyone I spoke with specifically mentioned building independent defense capabilities. They find America unreliable because of our politics. Putin needs to read the room the europeans are not going to back down.

Halou  NotMiguel8 hours ago edited

And the next time the US needs an assist, doesn’t matter who is in charge, the answer… the polite will be a simple no. Because the USA isn’t doing anything to prevent a repeat occurrence.

NotMiguel  Halou8 hours ago

I was among friends and it’s important to hear the truth. We are THE economic and military powerhouse still, not China, but nobody I met wants to live in our culture.

NotMiguel  Ed B6 hours ago

Legit criticism like isolationism and unbridled capitalism I could accept but it cut deep to be reminded of anti-intellectualism in American society.

Misutaa Roboto 8 hours ago

He’s not just saying the quiet part out loud. He’s shouting it in ALLCAPS. The fact that there is a substantial chance that he could be elected president again is already an enormous stain on our country’s credibility.

Yves R. Mektin 8 hours ago edited

Before now, making a statement like this would have killed any other presidential candidate’s political career dead dead dead. Like less than 1% support.

Which just goes to show that we are now, thanks to Trump, in uncharted territory, “the upside down” as Stranger Things puts it.

I really do hate MAGA voters. All of this is their fault.

ASFT8 hours ago

Jesus christ – cause when country’s “turn against us” the first thing they do is pay back loans. No wonder this shit has been bankrupty so many times.

And if had even an inkling in history he’d know NATO is a good investment for us – see WWI, WWII and the Marshall Plan you fucking dumb fuck.

Coxygru  ASFT8 hours ago

The real dumb fucks are Trump and his supporters. They’re all Kremlin puppets.

northalabama  Coxygru8 hours ago

…and other conservatives who say and do nothing, then look away…

clay 8 hours ago

Buying one’s friends, family, and allies is so much more certain than developing long-lasting honest relationships based on shared values.

 

Let’s talk about Biden’s memory….

Let’s talk about Biden and Trump being treated differently….

A New Study Debunks the Myth that Kids Become Trans Through “Social Contagion”

https://www.them.us/story/a-new-study-debunks-the-myth-that-kids-become-trans-through-social-contagion

Notice this is in the news section, not in the opinion writer section.   I went to the link.  It is the supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics.   I read the report, looked at how the study was done.  The findings seem solid.   This is the short version, easy to read version. That the totally discredited / debunked ROGD (rapid onset gender dysphoria) is used and pushed even though proven wrong is true.  It has been pushed on my own Play Time by Tildeb and Nan.  It just makes sense they said.   Nope, only does if you are anti-trans looking for a reason not to agree with gender affirming care.   The same thing happened when kids and adults felt safe coming out as gay, the number of people reporting to be gay increased dramatically, then remained steady.  It is called the left handed syndrome, the idea that when people stopped being punished for being left handed, when the stigma was gone, the numbers of left handed people increased.  Below are a couple quotes.  Hugs.  Scottie

The ROGD theory posits that trans identification is exploding specifically among AFAB youth, who are being preyed upon by “gender ideology” — but this analysis of nearly 200,000 adolescents disproves that hypothesis.

Of course, these findings are not the first to indicate that ROGD is junk science. The theory was first floated in 2018, and problems with the study that justified it were obvious from the start. Dr. Lisa Littman, a board member of the “gender critical” group Genspect, published a survey of less than 300 parents of trans youth recruited from openly anti-trans communities like the UK-based TERF-y site Mumsnet who provided testimonials supporting Littman’s hypothesis. That the paper was immediately retracted or that Littman herself has misrepresented her own data haven’t prevented these “findings” from becoming enmeshed on the right, though, in part because anti-trans dogma isn’t just about gender.

Scientists said any claims that people are becoming trans just to fit in “does not hold up to scrutiny.”

BY SAMANTHA RIEDEL

LONDON UNITED KINGDOM 20210806 Protesters wrapped in pride and trans pride flags sit on a wall during the trans rights...
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 2021/08/06: Protesters wrapped in pride and trans pride flags sit on a wall during the trans rights demonstration.Protesters gathered outside Downing Street demanding an end to discrimination against the trans community, better support from the government against hate, and improvements to trans healthcare waiting times. (Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)SOPA Images/Getty Images

Over the past four years, opponents of transgender rights and protections have pushed a theory called “rapid onset gender dysphoria,” or ROGD, asserting that more young people are publicly identifiying as trans due to “social contagion.” “Trans people have long known this theory to be completely false, but now, a new study has finally proven it for good.”

A study published Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics is the latest to demonstrate how the numbers just don’t line up in ROGD’s favor. Scientists analyzed data from the CDC’s 2017 and 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 16 states, looking particularly at the ratio of trans and gender-diverse youth who were assigned female at birth as opposed to those assigned male. The ROGD theory posits that trans identification is exploding specifically among AFAB youth, who are being preyed upon by “gender ideology” — but this analysis of nearly 200,000 adolescents disproves that hypothesis.

 

Proponents of ROGD, including J.K. Rowling and Joe Rogan, have also claimed that transness is a “social contagion” because young people are using trans identification as a way to escape homophobic bullying. There’s a lot of misconceptions to unpack in that one sentence, but the Pediatrics study addresses the most vital one: once again, it was found, bullying and suicidal ideation rates were both higher among trans youth than their cis-identified peers, making the ROGD claim nonsensical.

“The hypothesis that transgender and gender diverse youth assigned female at birth identify as transgender due to social contagion does not hold up to scrutiny and should not be used to argue against the provision of gender-affirming medical care for adolescents,” Dr. Alex S. Keuroghlian, one of the study’s senior authors, said in a statement. Lead author Dr. Jack Turban concurred, calling the idea that trans youth transition to escape social stigma “absurd.”

WATCH

Kai Shappley: A Trans Girl Growing Up In Texas

Image may contain: Shorts, Clothing, Apparel, Human, Person, Sunglasses, Accessories, Accessory, Footwear, and Shoe
Amid Attacks on Care for Trans Youth, New Study Confirms Why It’s Life or Death
Researchers say it points to the growing scientific conclusion that “gender affirming care is life saving care.”
————————————————————————————
 

Of course, these findings are not the first to indicate that ROGD is junk science. The theory was first floated in 2018, and problems with the study that justified it were obvious from the start. Dr. Lisa Littman, a board member of the “gender critical” group Genspect, published a survey of less than 300 parents of trans youth recruited from openly anti-trans communities like the UK-based TERF-y site Mumsnet who provided testimonials supporting Littman’s hypothesis. That the paper was immediately retracted or that Littman herself has misrepresented her own data haven’t prevented these “findings” from becoming enmeshed on the right, though, in part because anti-trans dogma isn’t just about gender.

We’d like to believe that this will finally put Littman’s harmful falsehoods to rest, but sadly, truth-telling is not a hallmark of the reactionary right. Hopefully this can at least reassure some trans youth that they’re not monsters or dupes, and that their identities deserve respect — even if some insist on screaming otherwise.

Let’s talk about Netflix, Alexander the Great, and disbelief….

Controversy arises as Miami-Dade school seeks parental consent for Black History Month events

Miami School Asks Parents To Sign Permission Slips Allowing Children To Learn About Black History Month

From the linked article, here is what the class would teach.  “…class and school wide presentations showcasing the achievements and recognizing the rich and diverse traditions, histories, and innumerable contributions of the Black communities.”  So we are catering to the parents that don’t want kids to know that gay / trans people exist, now we are catering to the racist parents that don’t want black history and achievements taught.  Well the first one, don’t say gay increases harassment / attacks on gay and trans kids, the second does the same for black kids, it increases the racism they have to deal with.  Some more quotes from the article. 

But Gallon said he is concerned about the unintended consequences this may have on children whose parents choose not to have them attend.   “Something feels very off here, and the fact that the school needs to cover themselves against the state feels even worse,” said Peeling.   Florida International University Professor Marvin Dunn, who is an expert in African-American history, said this will create a generation of people who are miseducated when it comes Black history.

 

“When parents become involved in making that decision, keeping some kids out, some kids in, you have unequal learning,” said Dunn.  

Here is the entire goal of the right, DeathSantis, and maga. 

“The intent of the DeSantis attack on education is to make schools more cautious, to make teachers more cautious about what they teach, and it’s working,” he said. “It’s not about banning books necessarily, it’s about banning ideas.”    

Hugs.   Scottie

Miami School Asks Parents To Sign Permission Slips Allowing Children To Learn About Black History Month

February 6, 2024 Christianists, Republicans

 

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports:

February marks Black History Month, an important topic being taught at South Florida schools, but now parents at IPrep Academy are being asked to sign off on whether they want their children to participate in some of the educational events.

“I was shocked,” said concerned parent Jill Peeling, who said she thought she may have misunderstood the document. “I’m concerned. I’m concerned as a citizen.” Miami-Dade School Board Member Steve Gallon said it all has to do with getting parental consent when individuals come on campus.

“This is a policy that’s an extension of a new state board rule,” said Gallon. It’s a policy that was just enacted last year in November, an extension of the Parental Bill Of Rights.

Read the full article. Those of here will know the Parental Bill of Rights by its more accurate name, “Don’t Say Gay.” To which we can add, “Don’t Say Black.” Last year the Miami-Dade School Board banned any recognition of LGBTQ History Month.

 

 

Tim 🇺🇦11 hours ago

Will they include this? I want them to include this.
Black history is white history. Black people didn’t enslave themselves…

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perversatile  Tim 🇺🇦11 hours ago

Gloria Richardson- learn/teach her story

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Max-1 🔫+cult(R)=☠️  perversatile11 hours ago

Gloria Richardson
1922-2021

https://msa.maryland.gov/ms…

Harveyrabbit 🐱11 hours ago
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DaddyRay11 hours ago

I am so glad I am not a parent and live in Florida.

These A-Holes are setting these kids up to fail when they get jobs in the real world because I can tell you my company won’t put up with discrimination.

Dazzer 11 hours ago

Isn’t the Black History taught in Florida the one that insists slavery allowed lots of Africans unpaid internships in an exciting new country?

Flora DeMann  Dazzer11 hours ago

From the “Massive Resistance” movement 60 years ago, a page from my 7th-grade Virginia History textbook.

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JCF 11 hours ago
“Something feels very off here, and the fact that the school needs to cover themselves against the state feels even worse,” said Peeling.

 

Ya think???

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Brian Curtis 11 hours ago

Florida, where education is a four-letter word.

John Conley  Brian Curtis9 hours ago

Which you are probably not legally allowed to say in any K-12 school.

vap 11 hours ago

Trying to convince people MLK was a Republican isn’t working. Hence, they just won’t teach anything about him going forward.

moisturize me11 hours ago

Is there a permission slip for algebra too?

John Conley  moisturize me9 hours ago edited

A good friend sent this to me about a month ago.I think it came from a “reader poll” in his local paper, but I’m not sure. I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but I wasn’t surprised when I saw it. Friend is an MIT math grad who doesn’t traffic in conspiracy theories or create memes, so I give it some credence. He sent it with the comment “what a great country we live in”.

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Max-1 🔫+cult(R)=☠️11 hours ago

History isn’t an “option”…
It’s what has already happened, good, bad or otherwise.

One can choose to ignore the Challenger Shuttle disaster, yet it doesn’t make their deaths any less great.

BeccaM11 hours ago

Fuckers. Why not turn this around and make the white supremacists sign OPT OUT slips so they can keep turning their own kids into good little klansmen, rather than trying to do it to everyone’s kids?

(((GC))) – End the filibuster!  BeccaM10 hours ago

“Parental rights” doesn’t mean leaving your kid ignorant. (Or shouldn’t.)

San_Ban  (((GC))) – End the filibuster!3 hours ago

These are some of the disadvantages of leaving Black history* to a particular month — it becomes a set of optional activities, rather than facts and concepts to be learned.

*The history of African descendants in America is really the history of America, inextricable from the history of white America.

Prost-😈XXX😈11 hours ago

Would it help if they called it colored people month?/s

Let’s talk about border politics and publicity….

Let’s talk about Bidenomics, fractions, and the GOP….

UT Lawmakers Pass Ban On College Diversity Programs

UT Lawmakers Pass Ban On College Diversity Programs

let’s be honest, what this is really about.  Racism, bigotry, and misogyny.  What do diversity programs do?  Diversity programs promote acceptance of non-white non-straight non-cis people in the workforce and work to open the work force to those people.  Yes it is so that work places become more accepting of those who are different from white straight cis men.  

Which means people against diversity and inclusion are simply trying to promote a white straight cis male only in schools, higher education, and the white collar workers in the US, which means upper level income management positions.   Notice these same people don’t seem to mind that the lower income labor positions are filled by the very people that the diversity inclusion programs are designed to lift up to better jobs and education.   Weird that.   Hugs.  Scottie

Quotes from the linked article.

Under the Utah bill, universities and government would not be allowed to have offices dedicated to promoting diversity. They also could not require employees to submit statements of commitment to DEI.

The chamber’s six Democrats voted against it. Among them was Sen. Luz Escamilla, who cited statistics showing much lower college enrollment rates for Native American, Hispanic and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students compared to white students.

The board that oversees Iowa’s public universities in November directed schools to eliminate staff positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. In December, the board overseeing Wisconsin’s university system agreed to shift dozens of DEI positions to instead focus on “student success” and freeze hiring for DEI staff in exchange for lawmakers releasing state funding for pay raises and campus construction projects.

Like last year, this year’s bills have a heavy focus on higher education. But Republicans also are sponsoring bills seeking to limit DEI in K-12 schools, state government, state contracting and pension investments. Some bills also would bar financial institutions from discriminating against those who refuse to participate in DEI programs.

January 27, 2024 Education, Republicans

 

NBC News reports:

Utah’s legislature became the latest in the U.S. to pass a bill Friday prohibiting diversity training, hiring and inclusion programs at universities and in state government. The bill that cleared the state House and Senate by wide margins now heads to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican who has said he is likely to sign such a bill into law.

I can assure you, after this legislative session, it will not be happening in the state of Utah, these diversity statements that you have to sign to get hired,” Cox said in a Dec. 20 news conference. Such initiatives are “awful, bordering on evil,” he added.

Under the Utah bill, universities and government would not be allowed to have offices dedicated to promoting diversity. Last year, Republican-led Florida and Texas were first to enact broad-based laws banning diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in higher education.

Read the full article.

 

zasket 8 days ago

Nice job working on the important things. Now. what are you going to do about school debt, wages, healthcare costs anx so on.

Karl Dubhe IV  zasket8 days ago

Lower the wages, and increase the debts. Negative wealth is still wealth!!111/s

J.Martindale8 days ago edited

Of course. Our principles demand conformity, inequity and exclusion of minorities. The party of the cis, White, Xtian male.

Eli Bradley 8 days ago

76.7% White only per the last census.

Republican lawmakers in Utah: We need to get that number UP!

Joseph Miceli 8 days ago

I just hate this.
Why is it “evil” to try to treat others like you would want to be treated? Why is it evil to try to open up our society to give others the same opportunities that were hoarded by white people since before the founding of this nation?
The “Golden Rule” of the Christianity they claim to follow is right in line with this, yet they call it “evil.”
I guess the only positive here is that they’ve stopped hiding their racism. Now we know just who the problem really is.

Wash Rinse Spin Dry Fold8 days ago

Two years ago right wing propagandists had to be crafty when pushing this agenda. They had to use terms like Critical Race Theory to make these programs seem evil. Now they don’t have to hide it anymore. They can openly challenge the ideas of diversity, equity and inclusion. They’ve convinced people that these ideas are the real racism. Their messaging has been extremely effective and now they are getting their laws passed. This is what fascism looks like.

Randy503  Wash Rinse Spin Dry Fold8 days ago

And soon DEI will mean anything other than straight white men. Everyone else will be expendable.

Friday’s_cat8 days ago

Biden should sign an executive order requiring colleges and universities applying for federal research grants have a diversity program in place.

KCMark  Friday’s_cat8 days ago

All colleges and universities receive federal FAFSA student grants. It would be reasonable

Jack Frost  KCMark8 days ago

This is something Biden could do, but not even a peep out of him or any Dem for that fact.

When our party leadership doesn’t even have a comment about these things, it signals to voters they don’t even care.

More red states will do this and still nothing from our side.

Anastasia Beaverhousen  Wintercat 8 days ago

“And I believe that in 1978 God changed his mind about black people!!” – then again, changed it back in 2024. – Book of Mormon, The Musical.

Todd20036 8 days ago

You know, in Germany before the camps were built, the government made it legal to discriminate against Jews

Now the red states are making it legal to discriminate against LBGTs

If they take over the government they will build camps, and guess who will be first in, but definitely not last

Dave B 8 days ago

CisHet white conservatives are terrified of losing their position of supremacy. They’ll do whatever they can to keep everyone else down to maintain the status quo.

Now imagine republicans in total control.

BearEyes  Dave B8 days ago

terrified of losing their privilege

kladinvt 8 days ago

So, does that mean ‘diversity’ in UT will consist of white Mormons who do or don’t wear glasses?

Card #ProChoice  kladinvt8 days ago

Utah diversity: do you have one sister-wife or four?

Karl Dubhe IV8 days ago

And the foreign students, who pay the most money, will go elsewhere. I hope the Utah students who are left to make up that money enjoy their larger student loans…

Nic Peterson8 days ago

The SLC Redevelopment Agency is a for profit business unit of City government. I have sat on the Advisory Panel for several years. DEI is mentioned in the charter and governing documents in mission statements and strategies. I don’t see this changing and there is very little that the legislature can do about it. The only way this city will grow and prosper is to make sure all of it grows and prospers. It means that investments in less well to do neighborhoods will create a path toward generational wealth, lift populations out of poverty and build a tax base.

I don’t understand how GOPers can’t understand that a rising tide raises all the ships in the harbor.

amy cuscuriae  Nic Peterson8 days ago

…a rising tide raises all the ships in the harbor.

It excludes the people who don’t have ships.

Nic Peterson  amy cuscuriae8 days ago

Which is why part of our strategy is to build some more boats. 😉

thatotherjean  Nic Peterson8 days ago

But they don’t WANT some of those ships to rise! They think they can figure out a way to raise their own, and leave selected others aground.

jamiel  Nic Peterson8 days ago

Religious monocultures enshrined in government are so attractive.

Nic Peterson  jamiel8 days ago

City government has been openly at odds with the LDS owned state legislature for decades. As the blue stain has grown, the faithful have become alarmed. They are losing their cherished Deseret to inbound migration and young people leaving the church. Only 42% of residents identify as LDS, the church would have you believe that number is over 70%. They lie to us but they also lie to themselves.

Nic Peterson  doninkansas 7 days ago

Millennials and Gen Z LDS seem to be following the same national pattern that other organized religions are facing. They are just doing it a bit later than their contemporaries. Much of this is due to family pressure and the complete isolation that happens when a young person leaves the church. Often they lose everything. That’s why we see more LDS youth breaking away in their mid 20s. Here’s a good piece from the SLC Trib. Enjoy.

https://www.sltrib.com/ampl…

danolgb8 days ago

They have also passed a bathroom bill for government buildings which will require trans people use the bathroom of the gender assigned at birth until “fully transitioned” and changed on ID.

How and who will police this is unknown. It sounds like a violation of people’s medical privacy on its face.

https://www.deseret.com/uta…

freehit 8 days ago

Yes, those diversity statements are evil. The nerve of being forced to act Christ-like. The horror of following the Golden Rule must be stomped out in the name of Murican Freedumb. Fucking Nazi trash.

 

Let’s talk about a Genie in Washington….