Book Bans Are Fascist

A recent wave of book bans and curbs to educational free speech, led in part by Florida governor Ron DeSantis is hurting our children and allowing a vocal radical minority of parents and lawmakers control the narrative.

‘There were no benefits to being a slave’: Florida St. Sen. slams Florida’s new slavery curriculum

Florida’s new slavery curriculum sparks outrage as the state’s war on accurate Black history ramps up with a plan to teach that there were benefits to slavery for enslaved descendants of Africans in America. Florida St. Sen. Shevrin Jones joins Joy Reid to discuss saying, “I want to make it clear to everyone… there were no benefits to being a slave… All of this is disingenuous.”

‘Poisoning the well’: Florida middle schoolers to be dragged into DeSantis’ war on history

The latest educational repercussions of Ron DeSantis’s campaign against “woke” is a set of new guidelines that will have Florida middle school students learning false, racist tropes about the benefits of slavery to slaves and casting racist violence against Black people in a more “both sides” context. Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School discusses with Alex Wagner.  

Weeks of news over hundreds of open tabs. I only have 0ne more open window with 39 open tabs and I will be caught up as of Saturday. Only taken three days so far. Hugs

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Randy50311 days ago

Next time, instead of arguing whether America was founded on ‘christianity”, ask them why it is so important for them to make their (incorrect) point.
Okay, we were founded on Christian principles of slavery, and women as chattel with no vote, natives were stripped of their land and other rights, and only white male property owners could vote. Not to mention child labor was rampant, the majority of the country were small farmers, divorce was nearly impossible and so on.
Hurray! What is you want NOW? You want to reinstitute all of that? No, they will likely say, they just want “Christian principles” reinstitute. Like what? Name them, specifically. They will be likely more in line with Christian nationalism — no LBGT rights, minorities voting is restricted, reduction in social safety net, more deregulation and so on.
So now you can drill down — what does Christianity have to say about laws that control pollution, radioactive waste, plastics in our food, chemicals in the water you drink? They will give you mumbo jumbo about freedom, and all that. “”So why do we have to be a Christian nation” to achieve your goals of less regulation?
What it will likely come down to is morals and values. Again, we can hit hard back — you mean no divorce? Because Jesus had a lot to say about it. Premarital sex? Birth control? IF you want to talk about morals, let’s talk about children going to bed or to school hungry, of which millions do. What about the homeless? Again, we don’t need Christian nationalism to tackle those issues.
It wil come down to nothing at all — just a vague desire to make people go to church more, pray more, and be more aligned with god or something. “So you want to force people to pray?”
I could go on, but you just have to nail them down on specifics. Hawley is just about control — they don’t want drag queens, people having wanton sex, abortion, and all that. Force them to admit that.

Nice to know the GOP understands they don’t represent the USA
Do the Republicans know that they are not supposed to be working for Russia? Seems far too many do work for Russia.

Gregory In Seattle11 days ago

I remember in 2020 when they used the flag of the Russian Federation to decorate the Republican National Convention, which inspired me to make this meme.

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Wintercat11 days ago edited

GQP ads constantly have Russian troops, ships and MiGs because they use creative agencies in Russia, because few US agencies often full of GQP intended victims will do work for them.

Creative houses use the stock images they have on hand. That’s why so much Russian stuff shows up in their ads.

Flora DeMann Stogiebear11 days ago

When children first are taught the letters of the alphabet, the letters are capitalized. Maybe the MAGAs never got farther than that.

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Elagabalus2 days ago
Reminds me of the time Megyn Kelly got so flummoxed that Santa Claus was presented as black because in her worldview, Santa Claus was clearly white. What is it with conservatives and fictional characters?

Houndentenor Elagabalus2 days ago

It’s that thing when someone is so racist they can’t hear how racist they sound.

Chucktech Elagabalus2 days ago

See also: White Jesus

William2 days ago

I found this picture of the real new Snow White online.

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perversatile Rebecca Gardner2 days ago edited

Heads will crack open when they learn about the Black Madonna(s)

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If you read the articles on this it says that trump did not argue that the evidence was not there to show he committed a crime but that it was improperly gained. His lawyers are admitting to the crime basically. Hugs

Tick Tock

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“Library staffers were deluged with harassment and a bomb threat.”

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Talk about ego !!!!

“God doesn’t make mistakes”

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Family Leader is an anti-LGBTQ hate group.

Abortion should be freely available at any stage of pregnancy, on demand, without apology.

Reposting:

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“The very concept of sin comes from the Bible. Christianity offers to solve a problem of its own making! Would you be thankful to a person who cut you with a knife in order to sell you a bandage?

― Dan Barker, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

How many of our congress is on the payroll of Russia. Hugs
Indeed trans men should sign up for selective service when they turn 18, just like all cis men. But then trans men should be able to use the men’s room, just like all cis men do.

The current law states that all persons either born in the US or (with few exceptions) legally resident when they turn 18, and identified as male at birth are required to register for the Selective Service when they turn 18, no exceptions. If you are an American citizen living abroad, you must still register. If you are a legal resident alien, you must still register. If you are in a prison or mental asylum, you must still register. If you are here under a diplomatic passport (say, a parent works at an embassy or consulate) or have a tourist or student visa, you do not need to register. People who were identified as female at birth are NOT required to register for the Selective Service, and in fact trying to register can get you in legal trouble for filing a “frivolous” legal document (not sure if it has ever been prosecuted, but it is in the regulations.)

If they are going to make transmen register, then they must also make transwomen exempt. They will also need to clarify at what point relative to the age of 18 this will kick in: is it enough to identify as trans, or will they need to have passed some benchmark in transitioning? What if a person comes out as trans after they are 18, but before they turn 25 (the age that your registration remains in effect)? And if transwomen are not exempt, they they should make registration mandatory for ALL 18 year olds regardless of gender identity: there is no longer any restriction from women serving in combat, after all. Maybe if their precious daughters are required to register, and fact the very serious penalties for not registering, we can finally get rid of this whole Selective Service idiocy once and for all.

I guess it was done the same way the former idiot allowed a bunch of Russian spies into the building.

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This is the country and leader the republicans love almost as much as Putin.

Because if you don’t acknowledge LBGTs exist, kids will stop being gay

This year in the U.S. the majority of books most often banned are by LGBT writers and writers of color.

Here’s a good report from the writers’ organization PEN on the state of censorship in the U.S.
https://pen.org/report/bann…

Full fucking racism and full on white supramacy.
How did people get it in their heads that they have a “right” to never be offended? That is not a right and never has been. Freedom of speech, remember? Astonishing how the “fuck your feelings” crowd so quickly turn around to demand safe spaces where their precious feelings are prioritized so much.
Didn’t a black woman in Texas get five years for voting just once?
I think they claimed she was ineligible for some reason.
And it was a provisional ballot and was not counted. Further it was a poll worker that told her to fill out a provisional ballot.
Jesus isn’t in the Constitution either. Let’s start there.
Censorship by school boards is chipping away at the reality of LGBTQ history and our very existence. Good for Newsom.
They’ve already grabbed lots of the courts, then they want to control education (‘member how so many righties loves to quote hitler on this…) & inject religion into the schools – while wiping out all dissenting ideas & critical thinking – fast forward 10 years and VOILA – you have a whole generation of little christo-fascists that taxpayers are footing the bill to educate with xtian nationalist dogma. These wack job conservatives (an extreme minority) are proving too damn good at a multi-decade slow play here. People have to wake up.

The Basics of LGBTQ

Why are so many young people lgbtq+?

Very good CC.

CHAPTERS 00:00

Intro 01:38

Are the old people lying? 03:07

Is the world gayer now? 05:16

Is the world scary? 07:18

Is it an internet thing? 10:21

Could it be that we are missing people? 13:35

The world doesn’t seem that gay to me though? 15:51

Outro

Oklahoma Schools Superintendent: Don’t Teach That The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Was Caused By Racism

A Christian nationalist white supremacist doesn’t want a Klan slaughter of black people, taught as if skin color has anything to do with what happened.  WTF!   This is the outcome of decades of these people worming their way into positions of authority in states, and now they are making their move.  They believe leaders like DeathSantis gives them cover and acceptance.  Hugs.

The New Republic reports:

Oklahoma’s far-right superintendent of public instruction thinks that schools should teach students about the Tulsa race massacre, so long as teachers don’t actually acknowledge that the white supremacist attack was about race.

Walters held a public forum Thursday night, during which someone asked him how teaching about the Tulsa race massacre doesn’t violate his ban on CRT. “I would never tell a kid that because of your race, because of the color of your skin, or your gender or anything like that, you are less of a person or are inherently racist,” Walters said.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t judge the actions of individuals. Oh, you can. Absolutely, historically, you should. ‘This was right. This was wrong. They did this for this reason.’ But to say it was inherent in that because of their skin is where I say that is critical race theory. You’re saying that race defines a person.”

The Black Wall Street Times reports:

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre occurred when white Klan members and vigilantes stormed the Black community of Greenwood. Over the course of two days, the mob shot, looted and burned nearly 40 blocks of homes and businesses. In all, more than 300 were killed, 10,000 were left without shelter and millions in generational wealth was destroyed.

During the attack, witnesses recalled seeing planes flying over Greenwood, dropping explosive turpentine bombs to ignite more buildings. The Massacre marks the first time in American history that bombs were dropped on US soil. Every credible historical account of the Tulsa Race Massacre acknowledges white hatred toward the Black community as the cause.

Last month Walters appeared here when he announced that Oklahoma’s public schools will soon have a mandatory daily prayer, the mandatory posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms, and a mandatory high school course in “Western civilization.”

Walters, who was appointed state secretary of education by Christianist Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2020, faced calls to resign in 2022 after it was revealed that a Koch-funded group that advocates for privatizing public schools was paying him $120,000/year.

Stitt rejected calls for Walters’ resignation and attempted to reappoint him again earlier this year, but the state Senate refused to allow him to hold the elected superintendent and appointed secretary of education posts at the same time.

 

Racist says racism is not racism.

Obsessed with Re-Whiting History

How novel! A bunch of racist white dudes defining what racism is. How far back are we going to regress? Not decades, but centuries.

Exactly, no one is telling them that. They are telling them about the racist history of our country. How can we do better if we don’t learn from our mistakes. Of course these are people who are nostalgic for Jim Crow and would love to bring it back.

Everyone knows the Tulsa massacre was caused by economic anxiety.

Or peaceful tourists?

“Legitimate Political Discouse!” {turpentine bomb, Ka-BOOM!}

Fascists are openly demanding America to bury its criminal past.

Each day, the Orwellian Memory Holes feature more prominently as GOP public policy.

As expected. One aspect of fascism is to bury any and all history that runs counter to the nationalistic propaganda. “Whites have always been kind and supportive to blacks, and racism is a fabrication used to justify black hatred of whites. Everything that shows this for a lie is itself a lie that must be buried under bullshit until it is forgotten.”

Morons can’t tell the difference between racism and race, but they get to head the state education department.

Oh they can tell the difference. They just don’t want to acknowledge history when it makes them feel bad

And if possible, relive and improve upon it.

““I would never tell a kid that because of your race, because of the color of your skin, or your gender or anything like that, you are less of a person or are inherently racist,” Walters

You constantly tell gay and transgender people that they are less of a person.

And that has nothing to do with being inherently racist.

I’ve heard the term ‘intrinsically disordered’ thrown about by a lot of men wearing too many sequins and far too much lace.

Racist people did racist things during racist times. Children, that is your fault because they look like you.

How do politicians make that jump? Could it be because they are racist?

Polished dumb-fuck doesn’t know the difference between racism and race. Leads me to believe he is racist.

This should be required reading in OK schools.

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If you’re working that hard to deny historical racism, it’s because you’re a modern day racist asshole who thinks their ancestors were right to fuck everyone else.

Just like Holocaust deniers would like to bring back discrimination against Jews. Same racist crazy, different continent.

Not only do they need to learn about Tulsa. That was a massacre, btw, not a riot. There were a few dozen of those that happened around the country. It wasn’t just the one event. It was a pattern of events where any attempt by African Americans to create anything was destroyed. Here is a link to videos about other events. They should learn abut Tulsa, no there were others, and perhaps study one in detail that happened closer to them (where that is applicable).

Erasing this history is the American equivalent of Holocast denial in Europe. It happened, and we need to make damn sure it doesn’t happen again. The people wanting us not to learn want to repeat this to other groups.That’s why we all need to learn.

The Tulsa Race “Riot”, the Chicago 29th Street Beach Race “Riot”, the Rosewood Race “Riot”, and pretty much most of them up to 1968 were all white people rioting, burning, and murdering in Black communities.

This nonsense is everywhere. It is just now out in the open in deep Red states.

And remember, the ones pushing it all claim to be Christians.

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This reminds me of how I was never taught about the genocide of the Native Americans in High School. Just some vague stuff about Manifest Destiny.

When Native Americans were mentioned (albeit rarely) in my high school history classes, it was as a kind of abstract way, as in “The such-and-such tribes could be found in the Great Plains States, while the so-and-so tribes lived farther east/west/north/south.” “The Navajo tribes now live on reservations in the Southwestern US.”

In a similar vein, Manifest Destiny was good for America, opening up the western frontier, etc., don’t recall ANY mention of Native Americans.

No context whatsoever.

Why the land was empty just waiting to filled with white people. Of course not mentioned was the fact that the land was full of people before 1492 and the new fatal diseases would burn through them like an out of control wild fire.

Don’t be surprised if this guy succeeds Christian nationalist Kevin Stitt as governor in 2026 when Stitt is term-limited out of office.

I guarantee it. Walters constantly says inflammatory things just to keep his name in the news. Supposedly pornoghaphic books in school libraries. Claims liberals are brainwashing kids to be Trans. Even pulled the furry/litter box in school restrooms nonsense when he was campaigning.

If he runs he’ll win.

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This incredibly stupid man proves that the CRT panic is complete bullshit.

 

Keep in mind that what racists call “critical race theory” is a fictional chimera used by racists to justify abolishing any and all facts that show how racist they really are. Actual CRT as such is a very specific, arcane area of case law taught in law school and cannot be taught outside of that context

Student: So you’re saying that all the perps being white and all the victims being black was just like – totally accidental or something?

Teacher: According to our state board of education, that’s the God’s honest truth.

[entire class erupts in groans, eye-rolling, boos]

Student: Fuck outta here dude – this is a joke, right?

That’s what blows my mind. So if the massacre wasn’t about race what the hell was it about? Are they just going to say one group decided to burn down the entire town for no reason? Yes, tis an eternal mystery! They sure want a whitewashed history don’t they? Idiots!

 

 

Episode 2: Florida’s First War on Woke

EPISODE SUMMARY
Long before Governor Ron DeSantis declared a new war on wokeness, Florida lawmakers in the 1950s and 60s tried going after the NAACP, suspected communists and gay people in Florida schools and universities. The lawmakers upended life for countless numbers of their fellow Floridians before being upended themselves by their own zeal for the cause. Now that DeSantis is bringing this playbook to a presidential campaign, Rachel Maddow and Isaac-Davy Aronson ask what we can learn from the last time Florida went down this path.

For those that are hearing impaired or prefer to read instead of listen, the transcript is here.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/rachel-maddow-presents-deja-news/transcript-floridas-first-war-woke-rcna89982

EPISODE NOTES

Long before Governor Ron DeSantis declared a new war on wokeness, Florida lawmakers in the 1950s and 60s tried going after the NAACP, suspected communists and gay people in Florida schools and universities. The lawmakers upended life for countless numbers of their fellow Floridians before being upended themselves by their own zeal for the cause. Now that DeSantis is bringing this playbook to a presidential campaign, Rachel Maddow and Isaac-Davy Aronson ask what we can learn from the last time Florida went down this path.

Featuring guests:

Stacy Braukman, author of Communists and Perverts Under the Palms: The Johns Committee in Florida, 1956-1965

Shevrin Jones, Florida State Senator

Robert Buccellatto, historian and co-host of the Florida History Podcast

SHOW CONTRIBUTORS

Stacy Braukman

Shevrin Jones

Robert Buccellato

Rachel Maddow

Isaac-Davy Aronson

Let’s talk about 4th of July trivia….

Let’s talk about SCOTUS, unity, and a talking point….