Some of the worst of the republicans.

Canada is furious at tRump for the bullying treatment they are receiving.  But Canada is not a small country that tRump can bully with impunity.  The border is a treaty.  tRump has no legal authority to violate it, especially for his personal gain.  Ask yourself why tRump and crew want Canada to be only one state?  It is made up of thirteen administrative divisions: ten provinces and three territories.  Why not bring all of them in to one big country.  Because that would wipe out the republicans, they wouldn’t win elections.  Canada is far more progressive than the US.  But again why does tRump want Canada.   Because they have a much higher standard of living, longer life expectancies, the government works much better for the people than in the US.  It would stop people in the US from pointing to the north and saying … “see they understand how to do it, why can’t we”.   Now tRump is on to something great he is just too stupid to realize it.   I would love to see the three major countries in the Americas join as one state, with equality and inclusion of all. Something like the EU but closer.  Eventually it could include the lesser nations.  Think of the ways these countries could help build a better future for all if it could be one country.   But tRump doesn’t want Mexico because those people are mostly brown in his mind, Canada is white in his mind.   He should have watched more Star Trek.   Hugs

Trump Told Trudeau US-Canada Border Treaty Is Invalid


Stop the testing tRump demanded during his first term.  If we don’t admit the bad thing exists we can pretend it doesn’t hurt us.  Right.  Tell that to every frightened child.  The free tests are very important to people on a limited budget and it is a way to keep co-workers safe.  If these people can test themselves before they go to work then they might not spread what they have to their friends, family, and fellow workers.  In the story after this one is about a pregnant Texas woman unvaccinated who had measles and never told the hospital staff when she went in to deliver her baby.  She exposed every one of the newborns there, she exposed all the woman who gave birth, their families and the staff.  All of them should sue her if any of the newborns have issues or die.  These people are so stupid.  The US used to have massive infant / child mortality over measles.  If it did not kill you, like covid it can leave lasting organ damage.  It will make the other newborns getting their vaccinations in question.  Selfish people who have not lived through the horrifying consequences of these preventable diseases, so they ignore history and science.  How many children need to needlessly suffer for them to wake up?  Hugs

Trump Administration Ends Free At-Home COVID Tests

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Newborn Babies Exposed To Measles At Texas Hospital

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The Governor and Lt Governor have referenced “measles’ on their Twitter 0 times. Dan Patrick has however posted about renaming the New York Strip the Texas strip, served with Gulf of America shrimp, 5 times”.

USDA Cancels $11M In Funding For NC Food Banks, Asheville Must End Diversity To Get Hurricane Relief

 


I love how people who never served in any branch of the military feel they know all about what it takes to do so.  I love that people who claim to honor the Vet’s and then cut all funding that would actually help veterans and military people.  It is like the pro-life crowd that claims they need to erase the LGBTQ+ people from society to protect the children then slashing all funds for feeding and caring for those very same children.   Hugs

Musk Brands Decorated Combat Veteran/Astronaut And Dem Senator Mark Kelly A “Traitor” For Visiting Ukraine

 

=================================================================

Study after study has been done by both serious military leaders and hate groups.  It doesn’t matter who does a serious study of LGBTQ+ people in the military as they all show that LGBTQ+ are great assets for the military that increase military effectiveness.  I have often told the story of how my sub unit begged me to reenlist when I was saying good by the site went down and I was the one that got us back on the bird.  But the new company commandeer was a homophobe Christian and he told me he would destroy me if I reenlisted.  The unit lost a grand technician with a great future in the military due to bigotry.  Compare the personal life of Pete Buttigieg a gay man who was in the military, seen action in Afghanistan and is in a stable same sex marriage with children to the life of the new straight cis Christian Nationalist Pete Hegseth.  Hegseth often called kegseth by late night TV hosts, has married and devoiced several times currently on his third marriage, he has been married three times, his first wife, who he admitted to cheating on five times, is Meredith Schwarz. He is also stepdad to Rauchet’s three children so Trump’s appointee for Secretary of Defense has four biological children and is stepdad to three.   He is credibly accused of being a drunken jerk who harasses women, has committed domestic violence on one of his wives.  Really a moral guy compared to the gay guy though right because he has the right religion and is straight cis.  Hugs.

Trump Shares “No LGBTQs” Symbol On Truth Social

Read the full article. The Washington Times is a far-right outlet founded and owned by the Unification Church – which is better known as the Moonies. Surely homocons Scott Bessent and Richard Grenell are thrilled with a no-gays symbol.


My but all those pesky freedoms in the constitution being thrown away as fast as possible.  Freedom to protest the goverenment, the freedom of the press.  You know the very things keeping the government in check.   Look the democrats said the project 2025 was designed to destroy democarcy and install a authoritarian dictatorship such as Russia or Hungry.  Wake up and act because tRump  / republicans want to make it illegal to do anything that is not supportive of the cult leader.   Think about what is being protected in the stories below, it is the profits of the wealthy and the ability of the cult leader to simply ignore any law or normal decency that displeases him.   Hugs.  

 

I’ll be reposting this on many stories I’m sure…
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The GOP clearly hates American values.

https://www.joemygod.com/2025/03/bondi-vows-to-jail-anyone-funding-tesla-protests/

Felon Vows To Prosecute Outlets That Displease Him

The setting was part of an effort to emphasize the power of the institution Mr. Trump controls through loyal and compliant appointees.

CNN’s Jake Tapper just noted on-air that in the same breath in which Trump raged about a “weaponized” justice system, he vowed to himself weaponize that same system against reporters and outlets that serve up anything other than lavish praise.

 

Think about this :

A convicted felon lectures the Dept. of Justice on what should or should not be ‘allowed’, – having just pardoned over a hundred other convicted felons.

Alice in Wonderland would be embarrassed.

All this is carefully planned and orchestrated.

Everything Trump is doing almost exactly mirrors what Orban did to take control in Hungary. In fact, it’s uncanny how similar the takeover is.

If you want to see what Trump does next, look to Hungary.


tRump has a problem.  First he promised he could solve this before being sworn in to office.  Now he talked tough and attacked Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy while saying he would hold Putin to the agreement with the strongest sanctions / efforts.   Yet when Ukraine agreed to a cease fire and Russia did not … where was tRump’s big tough talk.  He back tracked and demanded that Ukraine give in more.  Now when Putin simply used the pause to attack and take over a large part of the region in the fighting, tRump is silent on his promises to make Putin agree to the cease fire.  In fact again he attacks Zelenskyy as the real problem and the other countries supporting Ukraine.  He guys if you just stop supporting Ukraine and agree with the US / Russia we can stop this war right way.  He will not and never can say a bad thing about his boss Putin, he has been compromised and is desperate to change reality.  Hugs

Trump: When I Said That I Can End Russia-Ukraine War In 24 Hours, “I Was Being A Little Bit Sarcastic” [Video]


Along with the above, those that claim tRump is not a racist simply never worked with / for him and don’t watch what he says about people.  Remember that he wants only white South Africans to be able to come to the US on a fast track, he wanted to annex Canada but not Mexico who he has accused of sending the US rapists and murders, he asked in a meeting why we can’t get more European white people to move to the US. His company was sued by the US government which won the case for not allowing black people to move into his apartment buildings.    Any claim tRump is not a bigot or racist denies reality.  In tRump’s mind and many of his racist white supremacist whites must always be in charge over those not white.   Hugs

 with Mr. Trump having accused Mr. Ramaphosa’s government of discriminating against South Africa’s white minority

Rubio Expels South Africa’s Ambassador To The US

Trump had already issued an executive order last month cutting all funding to South Africa over some of its domestic and foreign policies. The order criticized the Black-led South African government on multiple fronts, saying it is pursuing anti-white policies at home and supporting “bad actors” in the world like the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran.

How long before Trump calls for invading South Africa? Rather obviously, this was done as a favor to Elon Musk, who is wildly unpopular in his home country.

Trump’s “Antisemitism Czar” Retweets Anti-Semites

Read the full article. That Trump’s so-called antisemitism czar is merrily retweeting notorious anti-Semites is classically Trumpian. Terrell last appeared here in January when he declared that Los Angeles’s “DEI firefighters have no intention of putting out those wildfires.” Yesterday Terrell called for a new federal commission on “anti-white bias.”

 

Again look at what these countries have in common.  Being not white is OK if you are wealthy but if you are not, being not white is a ban from tRumpstaia.  Hugs

NYT: Trump Plans To Restrict Visitors From 43 Nations

 In those cases, affluent business travelers might be allowed to enter, but not people traveling on immigrant or tourist visas. Citizens on that list would also be subjected to mandatory in-person interviews in order to receive a visa. It included Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Turkmenistan.


This one is so clear.  The criminal is demanding his crime files never be released.  Why?  If he was as innocent as he claims he is why not release the files for the public to see?  Because he was guilty as hell and this judge was compromised and working with the tRump team to do everything possible to stall the case until possibly he could be reelected making the charges go way.   He was guilty.  Look the facts are clear, he had the files, he was asked to return them, he refused, then told the government he did not have anymore, the government went into his domicile and found he did have them.   What never came out was why he wanted so badly to have these files that was reported he picked himself and why he was desperate to hold on to them.  Everything I have written is fact!  It is reality!  So apparently there is so much more in those files that tRump is terrified will come out.  Why?  again if he is innocent then let the files show it.  But he hides and wants the files hidden and destroyed.   Hugs

DOJ: “Under No Circumstances” Release Docs Report

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Trump Amplifies “No LGBTQ” Symbol Using Nazi-Era Imagery in Military Ad Post

https://meidasnews.com/news/trump-amplifies-no-lgbtq-symbol-using-nazi-era-imagery-in-military-ad-post

 

Trump’s Truth Social post has a pink triangle overlayed with a prohibition symbol

Trump posted an article to his Truth Social account this weekend featuring a deeply troubling image: a pink triangle—the Nazi-era symbol used to identify and persecute gay men in concentration camps—covered with a red prohibited sign. Historically, the LGBTQ+ rights movement reclaimed the pink triangle as a symbol of resistance, pride, and remembrance.

Trump

Trump

Truth Social

The article itself titled, “Army recruitment ads look quite different under Trump,” published by the Washington Times praises Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for refocusing the military on “lethality” and reversing Biden-era policies that embraced diversity, including ads featuring LGBTQ+ soldiers.

Holocaust Museum Exhibit of Nazi concentration camp badges

Holocaust Museum Exhibit of Nazi concentration camp badges

Max, Wikipedia Commons

The image, placed in the context of military recruitment, strongly suggests a rejection of LGBTQ+ service members, at least in the terms of recruitment, under Trump’s leadership.

Military ads recruitment illustration

Military ads recruitment illustration

Washington Times

Trump’s choice to amplify such an image is particularly alarming given Hegseth’s past statements.

Prisoners wearing triangles in the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, Germany, December 19, 1938

Prisoners wearing triangles in the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, Germany, December 19, 1938

Heinrich Hoffman Collection / NARA

He has long opposed LGBTQ+ inclusion in the military, previously criticizing the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Hegseth 2

Pete Hegseth Lamented Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Change, Women in the Military

Now, under his leadership, Trump appears to be reinforcing the idea that LGBTQ+ individuals are unwelcome in the armed forces—not just through policy but through amplifying symbolic messaging with disturbing historical roots.

Pete for Senate

Pete Hegseth Campaigned to “Uphold Traditional Marriage” During 2012 Senate Run

Trump’s amplification of a Nazi-era symbol to promote this shift sends a message signaling a return to exclusionary policies that many believed were left in the past.

About Michael Knowles; It’s a Couple of Years Old, I Missed It Then, So Here It Is In Case Others Missed It, Too.

This publication is not one that I read, except when items like this are brought to my attention by publications I do read, so there’s that, too.

Conservative who called for ‘transgenderism’ to be eradicated played queer character in student film

Michael Knowles, who used his CPAC speech to call for the eradication of ‘transgenderism’ from public life, also reportedly appeared in drag in 2016

Abe Asher Tuesday 21 March 2023 17:23 EDT

Michael Knowles, The Daily Wire commentator who called for “transgenderism to be eradicated” from public life at CPAC last month, reportedly starred in a student film as a queer character and dressed in drag in previous years.

The Daily Dot reported on Monday that when Knowles was in college at Yale University in 2012, he starred in a student film entitled The House of Shades. In the film, which runs just over 15 minutes, Knowles plays a queer man who seduces another young man at a nightclub he belongs to.

Near the end of the film, which is available on YouTube, Knowles’ character confesses that he has feelings for the man. A friend advises him not to get caught up on him. The unearthing of Knowles’ portrayal in the film comes after the same outlet reported that he had dressed in drag on at least two occasions in 2016 in a racist portrayal of Sen Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Ordinarily, Knowles’ performance in the student film would be unremarkable. But the Daily Wire pundit has aggressively argued in recent years for the upholding of traditional gender roles and strictly heteropatriarchal sexual mores, calling gay marriage “the most radical political shift our civilization has ever embraced” and attacking drag shows.

Knowles defended himself from charges of hypocrisy in a tweet on Friday. (snip-MORE he’s an arrogant little human, and hypocritical.)

Wonkette Has It All Right Here

All the tabs (links) of things that should be read, plus commentary as only Wonkette can provide!

Time To Defund Your Public School! Tabs, Thurs., March 13, 2025 by Rebecca Schoenkopf

Morning news roundup and things to read! Read on Substack

Tabs gif by your friend Martini Glambassador!

Explaining the House’s funding bill. It has something to do with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage wearing each other’s faces. House Democrats actually all voted (except one schmuck) against it, and then they yelled at the Senate like so:

  • House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “It [the bill] is not something we could ever support. House Democrats will not be complicit in the Republican effort to hurt the American people.”
  • Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking Appropriations Committee member: “This is Republican leadership handing over the keys of the government, and a blank check to Elon Musk and to President Trump.”
  • Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA): “It [Senate Democratic votes] would be a capitulation to the Trump style of democracy, which is the movement of democracy to dictatorship.”
  • Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY): “If the government shuts down with a Republican House, Republican Senate and Republican president, it will be solely because the Republicans have moved forward with a terrible, partisan, take-it-or-leave-it bill.”

What did the Senate do? Presumably I will find out before I finish writing this tabs! (The Fucking News)

What the Senate did, if they ever fucking vote on it before I turn this goddamn laptop and go to bed, goes here!

Time to defund your public school! (CNN)

Trump’s economic excuses: stupid and lying! (Paul Krugman)

The FBI is demanding Citibank freeze accounts for Habitat for Humanity, United Way, New York state tax department, and a bunch of statewide climate investment banks, like for instance Michigan Saves. So that’s are you fucking kidding me! (Citibank filing)

Child genital exams without a parent’s consent, West Virginia? “It also says that all intersex people are ‘either male or female’ but does not give a basis for assigning a sex to them.” Oh, word? Word. (LGBTQ Nation)

Six federal agencies are investigating the two trans girl athletes in Maine. (Pro Publica)

I have not even a single clue what this means or how it would work, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to crypto … ??? (Pro Publica)

Sacrificing “critical safety functions” at the FAA, upside down smile emoji. (The Atlantic archive link)

Tesla owners, Polestar will give you $20,000 to not be a Tesla owner anymore. (Polestar)

Faine Greenwood went to Canada’s Gaspe Peninsula and would like to show us all the pictures. We are all super fucking sorry about all this, Canada! (Little Flying Robots)


That’s right I’m still hounding you to buy the pizzas. Detroit Public Schools is working on the assumption we’ll have budget cuts next year of between $30 and $80 million for just our district. You help me fund the girls’ Detroit public elementary school, and I help you eat delicious fucking pizza, mailed right to your door. Buy the fucking pizzas everybody. They’ll FedEx em right to your door. Pizzas. (Pizzas.) This motherfucking pizza ad will be up all month. (snip)

Bad News.

Simply very bad news. Precisely what Project 2025/Agenda 47/Republican National Platform said they want to do. I’m sorry; I don’t like to bring bad news. But people need to prepare. This is written in editorial/opinion style, but facts are within and there are citations. For people like us who need time to prepare for austerity, it’s news we ought to read.

Also, there are Senator names included for who we should write to regarding this bill. That’s our last chance. Shutdown is on Republicans, not Democrats, no matter how they try to deflect. We need to tell the Dem senators to speak what’s in this bill, every chance they get, and to refuse to vote in favor, pointing at Republicans the entire time.

There are parts in the article complaining about Democrats and their choices, etc., et. m. Read it if you want (you’ll have to click through for it,) but it won’t help anyone to read more complaining about Democrats. We the people need to energize Dem. Senators to speak out, and to vote no. Especially the speak out portion; Sen. Mark Kelly does that especially well, and is among those the author of this piece feels is wavering. I intend to start first thing in the morning, and I hope all of us will devote some time to this. It’s vital.

Senate Democrats’ Choice: Block the Republican Spending Bill or Dissolve Congress

The House’s continuing resolution would effectively hand over spending decisions to Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

by David Dayen  March 11, 2025

Snippets:

Without the luxury of Republicans falling apart, Democrats in the Senate need to decide whether to prevent a dangerous and harmful budget that shrinks the power of Congress in the government. Since operating on principle goes against their “adults in the room” mindset, they are wavering on what to do. But it should be an open-and-shut case.

A normal continuing resolution funds the government at the same level as the previous budget. This bill does not. It cuts non-defense discretionary spending by $13 billion below last year’s level, while increasing military spending by $6 billion. It zeroes out funding for programs that fund homeless shelters and prevent child abuse. It cuts health care funding for clinics and hospitals, emergency preparedness for communities, clean water projects and tribal assistance. Meanwhile, it adds money for mass deportations, just as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has illegally detained a green card holder for his political beliefs.

Most of the budget cuts are achieved by removing earmarks, which members of Congress put in to direct projects. But usually when earmarks are removed, the money goes back to the agency to decide how to distribute it. This maneuver cuts the earmarks and the money.

The House Republican bill also fails to fix a carryover of a $20 billion rescission to IRS money from the Inflation Reduction Act, effectively doubling that cut. This was kind of pre-ordained when Democrats punted on this in a prior continuing resolution last December, but it still means that practically all of the IRA’s funding for greater enforcement of tax collection is now gone.

The bill not only adds $6 billion to the Department of Defense’s enormous budget, but adds $8 billion in “transfer authority” that allows the agency to shift spending where they deem important, a flexibility no other agency gets.

While Republicans tout a $6 billion increase in veterans health care in the bill, they neglect to mention the removal of a $23 billion appropriation to the Toxic Exposure Fund to implement the PACT Act, which cares for veterans exposed to burn pits and other cancer-causing chemicals. While there’s an extra $2.2 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, there’s no additional money to support the rebuilding in southern California after the January wildfires.

But most important, the bill grants an open invitation to Trump and Elon Musk to continue to ignore Congress and toss out disfavored spending. Vice President JD Vance, while selling the deal to House Republicans, stated outright that “Trump would continue cutting federal funding with his Department of Government Efficiency initiative and pursue impoundment — that is, holding back money appropriated by Congress.” This has been reiterated by others in the Trump administration.

In fact, the House Republican bill gives the president more leeway to move money around. It appropriates money for things that Musk has eliminated, meaning that money can operate as a floating slush fund for Trump’s priorities, as long as the courts don’t roll back the illegal impoundments.

… The Trump administration is saying that they will sign a bill appropriating specific funding, and then go about cutting funding anyway. If you’re a member of Congress, you’re being told that your work product doesn’t matter, that the constitutional power of the purse doesn’t matter, and that there’s no guarantee that anything you pass will actually reach the people you serve.

I can see why Republicans would take this deal: they want budget cuts but know they don’t have the votes for them, so they’re plenty happy to outsource that to the president, even if it turns Congress into a separate and unequal branch of government. But why would Democrats willingly submit to a fake budget on paper that can be so easily circumvented? As Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on X, “The Republican spending plan will supercharge Musk’s theft from working people to pay for billionaire tax cuts. Senate Democrats must stop it.”

So far, only Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has committed to voting yes. But as Josh Marshall has documented at Talking Points Memo, a number of Senate Democrats have stated no position on the bill, leaving their options open. In general, senators have been hedging their bets until forced to make a decision. That time has come.

Credible sources indicate that the most likely Democrats to offer up the remaining seven votes to avoid a shutdown are Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Mark Warner (D-VA).

Re A Previous Post

about Gov. Newsom tossing trans people away like disposables. Here’s a thing, and it’s exciting! At least, to me; I’ve been a big Katie Porter fan for several years now. Her campaign website is very general in regard to civil rights, stating more than once that she has and wants to continue to protect everyone’s civil rights. So I went hunting, and found this, and this, both from her congressional days. I’m pretty sure someone will pin her down on this a little more, after what Gov. Newsom did. The bit below is from the announcement email I received a few minutes ago.

=======
Will you join our movement?

It’s official: I’m running to to be California’s next Governor

I didn’t make this decision lightly. But with an emboldened Trump in the White House and MAGA loyalists doing his bidding day in and day out, California—and our country—need a leader who is ready to go toe to toe with extremists.

I’m asking you to join our movement to stand up to Trump and his cronies. Can you add your name to be one of my first endorsers?

Don’t shrink on trans issues, stand strong

I am getting my grove back making videos.   This is the best I have done since I started again.  I realize I have to speak from my heart on issues I know and understand.  I enjoy doing them when they are stress free like this one.  In the future I will edit stuff into them, I have the program to do that.   But right now I like doing what I did a few years ago.  Back then I did not bother with lighting and fussing over the camera, I simply started up the recording program and talked directly to the camera.  Please take a look at the video and tell me both what you think of the content.  Hugs

I talk about how some people want to throw trans people under the bus and stop supporting them. That is not how to change people’s hearts and minds. I describe how we managed to change public opinion on gay people. Hugs

New German, Swiss, And Austrian Guidelines Recommend Trans Youth Care, Slam Cass Review

Hi all.   I love Erin Reed and her substack Erin In the morning.  I don’t subscribe to many but I do hers.   Here is something for all those that say European countries are reversing on gender affirming care or cite the horrible bias of the debunked Cass review.   Hugs.

————————————————————————————————————— 

The recommendations, released by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany, come at a time when US politicians erroneously claim that Europe is “pulling back” on transgender care.

Most banned books feature people of color and LGBTQ+ people, report finds

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/27/banned-books-people-of-color-lgbtq

Study counteracts claims by conservative lawmakers that books being removed from classrooms are sexually explicit

Woman packs books into a box

Becka Robbins of Fabulosa Books packs up LGBTQ+ books to send to parts of the country where they are banned, on 27 June 2024 in San Francisco. Photograph: Haven Daley/AP

The majority of banned books in US public schools last year dealt with people of color, LGBTQ+ people and other demographics, according to a new study from PEN America.

The report also counteracts claims by conservative lawmakers that books being removed from classrooms are sexually explicit and that book bans are altogether a “hoax”, an assertion made by Donald Trump.

 

There were more than 10,000 instances of books being banned in the 2023-24 school year, PEN America reported, a sharp increase from the previous year, as Republican-led states implemented new censorship laws.

Out of 4,218 book titles that were banned, 1,534 – or 36% – featured people of color, the most censored identity group in book bans. Some removed titles included August Wilson’s Pulitzer-prize winning play Fences and Innosanto Nagara’s A is for Activist, a picture book for children about social issues.

Books featuring people of color were disproportionately targeted in all banned-book categories, the report found, especially in removed historical and biographical titles. Of such banned books, 44% included people of color; more than one-fourth, or 26%, of those books featured Black people.

Advocates with PEN America noted that at the same time as the onslaught of book bannings, more than 50% of young people in the US are children of color, according to 2021 data from the Children’s Defense Fund.

“This targeted censorship amounts to a harmful assault on historically marginalized and underrepresented populations – a dangerous effort to erase their stories, achievements, and history from schools,” said Sabrina Baêta, senior manager for PEN America’s Freedom to Read program, in a press release about the report. “When we strip library shelves of books about particular groups, we defeat the purpose of a library collection that is supposed to reflect the lives of all people. The damaging consequences to young people are real.”

Titles featuring LGBTQ+ characters also made up a sizable number of book bans: 1,066 books, or 25% of all banned titles, included LGBTQ+ people. Transgender or genderqueer characters were specifically targeted in such book bans, as 28% of removed books featuring LGBTQ+ characters included that demographic.

Beyond people of color and LGBTQ+ people, books including disabled people were also affected by nationwide bans. About 10% of all removed titles included characters with physical, learning or developmental disabilities or who were neurodivergent. Several affected books with disabled characters focused on “confidence, self esteem, or experiences with ableism”, PEN America reported.

Meanwhile, only 13% of removed titles included “on the page” instances of sexual experiences. Inferred or “off the page” instances of sexual encounters were included in 31% of banned books.

The vast majority of banned books (85%) were fiction, with 14% being non-fiction and 1% poetry. About 67% of removed books were for younger audiences, PEN America reported.

The ongoing banning of books comes as the Trump administration has cracked down on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in US public schools and universities. In a memo last week, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from any schools that refused to eliminate diversity initiatives, such as scholarships for students of certain identity groups and school programming.

Exposing the Fascism of Gender Critical ‘Feminism’

As anyone who follows me on this blog might or should know I love the content Ethel produces.  I followed this young woman from when they were a teen struggling with their sexuality and their finally blossoming out and accepting herself as they are.  How she feels inside themselves, and how they deal with that in the world around them.  It is a hard struggle.  I know I had to do it as a gay teen constantly surrounded and barraged by anti-gay propaganda, and that is what Ethel went through as a trans girl.  It was complicated by her being autistic, which there is nothing wrong with being autistic, but it did mean a lot of people did not understand her and were unable to appreciate how detailed she can be.  I know it is hard for her to cover these haters talking about abusers as she was abused as a child.   However she stands up and gives grand videos supporting trans people and she includes her own strengths to the issue.   Hugs 

There is no meaningful difference between the claims made by gender ‘critical’ fascists when targeting trans people and those made by the Nazis of Nazi Germany. Said monster has been empowered by the press for too long and now threatens us all.

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