Category: MAGA / Republican
Let’s talk about Trump, NY, and his day getting worse….
Town manager quits over anti-gay pressure in quaint New Hampshire town
The rabid fundamental Christian right is trying to do in other places what they accomplished in Florida, a government take over so they can force everyone to live by their regressive rules. In a lot of red state areas that they did this, the majority has risen up to try to take back the government from the haters / fundies. But in sleep small towns in blue states, the people are not aware of the danger the anti-LGBTQIA fundamentalist right present. Anytime someone uses the word abomination to describe gay people, you know their stance is being directed by religious church doctrine, not science or reality. LGBTQIA are not abominations, but people who support hate, taking away equality from people, and oppression are. Hugs. Scottie
The quaint town of Littleton, New Hampshire, is seeing more tourists, drawn to a main street of shops and restaurants where rainbow colors and gay pride symbols can be seen alongside American flags. Its population of 6,000 is growing younger and more diverse, supporting LGBTQ-themed art and a local theater’s gay-themed musical.
The culture change doesn’t sit well with town selectboard member Carrie Gendreau, who also serves as a Republican state senator. Last year, she said that “homosexuality is an abomination” and spoke of regulating art on public property, prompting a backlash and now the resignation of the town manager, whose late son was gay.
“My son is not an abomination,” Jim Gleason told the selectboard in January, to a standing ovation, when he announced his last day was Friday. He accused Gendreau of creating a toxic work environment by repeatedly making derogatory comments about gay people. Friday also was Gendreau’s deadline to file for reelection to the board, but she didn’t, so her three-year term ends in March.
A former mill town in the White Mountains, Littleton reversed a long decline in part through art. Tourists come now for antiques, galleries, boutiques and “the world’s longest candy counter.” They also look at the bronze statue of Pollyanna, erected outside the public library to honor the 1913 book by local author Eleanor H. Porter, whose main character came to define relentless optimism.
Pollyanna’s motto “Be Glad!” — which hangs from banners up and down Main Street — has been tested as townspeople found themselves debating over inclusion, tolerance and equality.
The controversy began in August, after three small murals funded by a diversity, equity and inclusion grant appeared on the side of a building that houses a restaurant and clothing store. Covering boarded-up windows, the murals show a white iris against a color wheel, two birch trees bending under a night sky, and a dandelion reaching skyward from an open book.
“What went up was not good,” said Gendreau, urging the selectboard’s audience to research what such symbols really mean. “I don’t want that to be in our town. I don’t want it to be here.”
The board then sought an attorney’s advice on what they could do to regulate artistic expression on town property and Gendreau gave several interviews, telling The Boston Globe that the iris painting carried “demonic hidden messages.”
The artist, Meg Reinhold, said her “We Are Joy” painting was inspired by Iris, the Greek goddess of rainbows. She told The Associated Press in an email that she hoped to “evoke feelings of joy and empowerment,” add beauty to Littleton, and celebrate people living with pride in the LGBTQ+ community.
“If a viewer looks at these works and sees demons and darkness, what does that tell us about how they view the world?” Reinhold said.
Gleason, who answered to the board as town manager, said he tried to resolve matters. When a woman approached him demanding to stop the November production of “La Cage aux Folles” — depicted on screen as “The Birdcage” — he said she was free to protest outside the theater or not buy a ticket.
She responded by invoking his son, saying “He’s in hell with the devil where he belongs,” recalled Gleason, and he said Gendreau tried to justify the the comments. The woman later admitted sending Gleason a photo of him clipped from a newspaper with derogatory language written across his face. A judge granted Gleason a restraining order against her.
As fears of a public art ban spread, selectboard meetings drew large crowds.
Ronnie Sandler, 75, an out lesbian all her adult life, said she spoke up at a selectboard meeting last fall because some of her friends told her they were scared.
“I have never felt any hatred or anything targeted at me in all of those years,” she told the AP. “Back in the late ‘70s, my girlfriend and I used to walk around in Littleton holding hands.”
A group of local business owners led by auto dealership manager Duane Coute submitted a letter signed by more than 1,000 people from Littleton and across the country urging the board to abandon “a path so detrimental to business.”
“Our community is so much stronger because of this situation,” Coute said.
New Hampshire’s Democratic-led congressional delegation stressed “how integral public art and cultural expression are to the economic wellbeing and competitiveness of towns like Littleton and similar communities throughout New Hampshire.” Surrounding towns adopted inclusivity-equality resolutions.
Some people backed Gendreau.
“She speaks for those stakeholders who are afraid to speak out due to personal retribution. She speaks out for those who are afraid for their own personal safety,” Nick De Mayo of nearby Sugar Hill, in Gendreau’s Senate district, wrote in a letter to the editor.
Others called the whole experience disappointing and disgraceful.
“It’s coming from a very small group of people. Unfortunately, that small group of people hold elected office and have some degree of power within the town,” said Kevin Silva, a physician who has lived in Littleton for about 20 years.
The board ultimately announced that they never sought an art ban. Selectboard member Linda MacNeil drew a standing ovation when she said “Whether we agree with the content or not, art is part of the fabric of history and should not be censored.” Roger Emerson, chairperson of the three-member board, did not take a position on the subject.
Gleason, 65, expressed amazement during his resignation speech at an outpouring of support for his defense of the arts, and urged his fellow townspeople to keep working “for civil rights and equality for all.”
“Keep up the fight,” he told the audience in a quavering voice. ‘You’ve got a beautiful town.”
Gleason, who was hired in 2021 following a similar job in Florida, told the AP he’s been thinking of his son Patrick, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2016.
“I believe he’d be proud of his dad for standing up, not just for him, but for everybody in the LGBTQIA-plus community, and anyone who has been marginalized or discriminated against in terms of that process,” Gleason said. “This is one of those moments. We don’t always get them in life.”
Gendreau didn’t answer directly when asked for comment on the controversy, but she suggested she wasn’t done trying to change her community. “There’s a lot of undertones that need to get corrected,” she said.
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Fake Biden robocall linked to Texas-based companies, New Hampshire attorney general announces
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/06/tech/nh-ag-robocall-update
6 minute readgrinvalds/iStockphoto/Getty ImagesA robocall that used an AI voice resembling President Joe Biden’s to advise New Hampshire voters against voting in the state’s presidential primary has been linked to a pair of Texas-based telecommunications companies, the state’s attorney general announced on Tuesday.
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, in a news conference on Tuesday, said the source of the calls were linked to two businesses: Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom. Formella identified Walter Monk as the owner of Life Corporation.
Formella said the investigation is ongoing and suggested it involves additional entities other than Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom. He did not say who, or what entity, was ultimately behind the disinformation campaign and the creation of the AI audio. No charges have been filed, Formella said.
“We have issued a cease-and-desist letter to Life Corporation that orders the company to immediately desist violating New Hampshire election laws. We have also opened a criminal investigation, and we are taking next steps in that investigation, sending document preservation notices and subpoenas to Life Corporation, Lingo Telecom, and any other individual or entity,” Formella said.
Formella said that the robocalls numbered in the “thousands,” though he offered a wide range of 5,000 to 25,000.
The calls were made ahead of New Hampshire’s presidential primary in January, urging New Hampshire voters not to vote in the contest and instead “save” their vote for the November election.
“Republicans have been trying to push nonpartisan and Democratic voters to participate in their primary. What a bunch of malarkey,” says the digitally altered Biden voice in the call. “We know the value of voting Democratic when our votes count. It’s important that you save your vote for the November election. We’ll need your help in electing Democrats up and down the ticket. Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again.”
Biden’s campaign at the time said it had been referred to the attorney general, and slammed the call as disinformation.
“I think this case is unique in that it is providing us a real-life example of an attempt to use AI to interfere with an election,” Formella said on Tuesday. “That’s been something that we’ve been concerned about in the law enforcement for a while, and it’s certainly something that state attorneys general have talked about. But we had not seen as concrete of an example as this, days before a primary, an attempt to use AI to interfere with an election or to mislead voters.”
Formella also said that other unnamed entities potentially had relevant information about the robocalls, though he declined to share specifics.
“I’m not going to give you an exact number but I can say it’s beyond the two – it’s beyond Texas Life Corporation, Walter Monk, and Lingo Telecom. There are other entities that we think have relevant information, and I would not be surprised if we discover additional entities or individuals beyond those that we have discovered up to this point,” he said.
Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez commended Formella in a statement on Tuesday.
“Disinformation aimed at suppressing voting and deliberately undermining free and fair elections is an unacceptable threat, and we commend the New Hampshire Attorney General for taking the matter seriously and moving swiftly as a powerful example against further efforts to disrupt democratic elections,” she said.
An AI voice creation tool
The fake audio was created using an AI voice creation tool named ElevenLabs, according to two separate analyses by the security company Pindrop and by digital forensic experts at University of California, Berkeley.
ElevenLabs told CNN in a statement that it is “dedicated to preventing the misuse of audio AI tools” and that it takes appropriate action in response to reports by authorities, but declined to comment on the specific Biden deepfake call.
Monk has had run-ins with US robocall regulations before, said Formella and the Federal Communications Commission. On Monday, the FCC issued a cease-and-desist letter to Lingo Telecom and said both Lingo and Monk’s company, Life Corporation, have previously been warned about apparent illegal robocall violations.
In July of 2003, the FCC issued a citation to Life Corporation for delivering “one or more prerecorded unsolicited advertisements to residential telephone lines.”
In the citation, the FCC said Monk’s company delivered the prerecorded advertisement calls to telephone subscribers who did not have a business relationship with the company and did not authorize the calls.
The FCC’s citation found that Life Corporation did not disclose required information in the prerecorded calls – including the name of the caller, who the call is made on behalf of, and an address or telephone number.
The citation — which is addressed to Life Corporation along with 16 other business aliases for the company — notes that the unsolicited advertisement calls were in violation of the Communications Act of 1934, as well as the FCC’s rules regarding telephone solicitation.
Included in the citation is a warning that subsequent violations would result in financial penalties of up $11,000 for each such violation or each day of a continuing violation.
Telecom companies that persistently facilitate illegal robocalls can and have been forcibly disconnected from the US telephone network by FCC order, as part of a wider crackdown on illegal robocalls by state and federal officials.
More than 50 attorneys general from both political parties wrote to Life Corporation on Tuesday about the AI-generated robocall, as part of a task force focused on anti-robocall litigation.
The attorneys general expressed concerns that Life Corporation or others “may seek to replicate in each of our respective states” the type of deepfake calls that hit New Hampshire. The letter told Life Corporation “that it should cease originating any illegal call traffic immediately,” adding that the calls risked violating numerous laws.
In social media profiles reviewed by CNN, Monk describes himself as a serial entrepreneur and, in an interview with Dallas Magazine in 2016, discussed many of his business ventures that failed. The list included a company marketing “upscale survival gear” to women, which Monk reportedly spent more than $1 million of his own money on but that Dallas Magazine wrote was a “failure of epic proportions.”
One of Monk’s ventures, a company known as Voice Broadcasting, has been paid to send political robocalls and advertises the ability to send 8 million calls per day on behalf of clients. When CNN attempted to contact Voice Broadcasting, a person who answered the phone said Monk was “very busy” and that the company is “undecided” on whether to issue a statement.
Little is known about Monk’s own political history. According to Federal Election Commission filings reviewed by CNN, Monk and his ex-wife each donated $5,000 in 2008 to PLR PAC, a Kansas-based political action committee that has spent most of its receipts on advertisements airing on Spanish-language broadcast channels.
Senior US law enforcement officials have been closely monitoring the New Hampshire robocall incident to determine if a federal crime was committed, a senior US official familiar with the matter told CNN.
The official declined to discuss the status of any investigation into the robocalls, but said that the Justice Department has brought at least one recent case against a defendant accused of suppressing votes by spreading false information. That case was against Douglass Mackey, a social media influencer accused of targeting Black voters on Twitter with false messages claiming they could vote for Hillary Clinton via text message in the 2016 election. Mackey was sentenced to seven months in prison in October.
CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, Allison Gordon, Sean Lyngaas, Evan Perez and Andrew Kaczynski contributed to this report.
Democrat Hits Back Hard At Marjorie Taylor Greene After Odd Bathroom Insult
This is what passes for elected leader of the people status on the right. Can not be bothered to have staff look up stuff to see if it is true before rushing off to attack others she doesn’t like. She is rude, crude, socially unacceptable, and stupid. So yes, she fits right in with the people who vote for her. Hugs. Scottie
Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images.
Controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) received a brutal reply on Monday night after she posted a childish and off-color attack on one of her Democratic colleagues.
“Wow this is coming from the same guy who is well known to lay his suit jacket on the actual bathroom floor while spending a lot of time in the stall of the first floor bathroom of the Capitol,” Greene wrote on X in response to a viral clip of Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA).
“Eww. That’s probably when he comes up with all this,” Greene added with a poop emoji.
Greene’s middle school jab came in response to a clip of McGovern saying in a committee meeting, “The clowns are running the circus. We’re wasting time on Marjorie Taylor Greene because she wants to impeach someone. Don’t get me started on her absurd censure resolution of Congresswoman Omar that she introduced because she doesn’t know how to use google translate.” The clip was shared online by the account Acyn, which regularly shares key moments from C-SPAN and cable news.
McGovern hit back at Greene, writing, “No idea what you’re talking about… what are you doing in the men’s bathroom aren’t you late for a klan meeting?”
Greene has long been known for controversial rhetoric, which has included dropping expletives on fellow Republicans like Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and spreading baseless conspiracy theories like that the Las Vegas mass shooting was a false flag operation.
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So this is what we’ve come to. Great. Well, it was a lovely experiment.
All her constituents care about is “owning the libs”
No matter how much worse their own lives become
Nazism runs deep in some. Just wished they were other countries, not ours 😞
Totally agree. While his reply is scathing and scratches an itch, our politics have become beyond dabased. And I’m not buying any juvenile “well, she stared it” nonsense. It’s all just awful and sad.
And we love it! We love the sideshow / freak show element of it. I don’t believe, in my heart of hearts, we want a functioning society anymore. We just want spin-art, cotton candy, tractor pulls and fireworks. That’s why we can’t get enough news about a puke like Donald Trump. We used to be a nation. Now we’re a dunk tank.
It’s what we’ve been asking a waiting for. The dems to hit back. Sure it’s childish the alternatives hasn’t worked. We go high when they go low.
McGovern hit back at Greene, writing, “No idea what you’re talking about… what are you doing in the men’s bathroom aren’t you late for a klan meeting?”
I’m here for this. Go McGovern!
Controversy arises as Miami-Dade school seeks parental consent for Black History Month events
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
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.
Will they include this? I want them to include this.
Black history is white history. Black people didn’t enslave themselves…
Gloria Richardson- learn/teach her story
Gloria Richardson
1922-2021
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.
Isn’t the Black History taught in Florida the one that insists slavery allowed lots of Africans unpaid internships in an exciting new country?
From the “Massive Resistance” movement 60 years ago, a page from my 7th-grade Virginia History textbook.
“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???
Florida, where education is a four-letter word.
Which you are probably not legally allowed to say in any K-12 school.
Trying to convince people MLK was a Republican isn’t working. Hence, they just won’t teach anything about him going forward.
Is there a permission slip for algebra too?
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”.
John Fugelsang on Christianity, at Politicon
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
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.
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.
Scottie's Playtime 