And yes I am almost caught up on the crazy news, just another 36 open tabs to go. All on one window for once. Well that was days ago

A federal court blocked Florida’s new drag show law, ruling the state’s effort to bar children from attending “adult live performances,” is overly vague and likely unconstitutional. The decision Friday by U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell comes only a day after another federal court overturned another Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed law prohibiting gender-affirming care treatment in Florida from being covered by Medicaid. “This concern rings hollow, however, when accompanied by the knowledge that Florida state law presently and independently… permits any minor to attend an R-rated film at a movie theater if accompanied by a parent or guardian,” Presnell ruled.  “This statute is specifically designed to suppress the speech of drag queen performers,” Presnell wrote in his 24-page decision. “In the words of the bill’s sponsor in the House, State Representative Randy Fine: (the legislation) will protect our children by ending the gateway propaganda to this evil – ‘Drag Queen Story Time.’” 
Paddycakes2001  Melissiaan hour ago
From the transcript of the court hearing:
THE COURT: The plaintiffs accuse you of invidious discrimination in violation of the 14th Amendment. How do you answer?
STATE’S LAWYER: That’s the point, Your Honor.

mkbear68 4 hours ago
Well, this was expected and they knew it, but it plays to the base and gets donations, but it puts real people at risk.

Gustav220 hours ago

GladysKravitz20 hours ago

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TheDonkeyHotay20 hours ago

The female version of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers

Moms for Liberty is an American conservative organization that advocates against school curriculums that mention LGBT rights, race, critical race theory, and discrimination, while multiple chapters have also campaigned to ban from school libraries books that address gender and sexuality issues. The group began by protesting COVID-19 protections in schools, including mask and vaccine mandates.

Moms for Liberty has been criticized for harassment, for deepening divisions among parents, for making students’ education more difficult, and for having close ties to the Republican Party rather than being a genuine grassroots effort.

The group was labeled an “anti-government extremist” organization in 2023 by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Formation January 1, 2021
Founders Tina Descovich, Tiffany Justice, Bridget Ziegler
Headquarters Melbourne, Florida, U.S.
Area served United States
Membership 70,000

Melissia8 hours ago

It was very obviously discrimination, and it’s obvious from the arguments they put before the court that this has nothing to do with any form of concern for anything other than brazen politics and just flat out hatred of a minority group.

SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dad Melissia8 hours ago

So he earned his hate bona fides AND now that the law is struck down, he gets bonus victim points.

Darreth Melissia7 hours ago

Bingo. This is performative art for their target voting bloc (evangelicals) who vote solid Red in every election like clockwork. Dems don’t have the equivalent. There’s literally nothing on the Left that’s anything like the consistency of the Right when it comes to voter outreach.

What, me worry?8 hours ago

Good. I hope that all these hateful and cruel laws are struck down. The slave states want to make laws that health care workers don’t have to give LGBT people medical assistance at ALL if they have “deeply held” religious beliefs against us. It’s time we are considered to be human beings, not just another theocratic political football. If you prick us, do we not bleed?

The_Wretched6 hours ago

Historically, (like 2 years ago, not 20), law in the US doesn’t let you single out a group, especially a disfavored group, and pass laws against them. Nice to see some vestiges of that core idea are still here.

And note that THOMAS is the #1 cheerleader for getting rid of ‘equal protection’.

And yet republicans never debate about the cost, while claiming $300 for the poorest people with children a month is obscene and we can not afford it. The Pentagon fails every audit, and I just watched where they are overcharging thousands of dollars a piece for a trash can that they use to charge $300 for. Yet Manchin says we need to cut social security. Hugs
Brooklyn Albert18 hours ago
I see the handiwork of the likes of Scott Lively and his ilk, spreading the gospel of hate and their twisted comprehension of history to African, Caribbean, and Latin American countries.

Chucktech Brooklyn Albert18 hours ago

It’s all part of the relentless march of Christian hegemony. Brought to you by the filthy pestilence that is American Christianity

BeccaM kaydenpat18 hours ago

Authoritarian advocates, whatever their form, need some “other” to be dehumanized and oppressed. When everybody more or less has the same race and culture in a country, they then cast about for some other way of differentiating for the purposes of fomenting hate. Sometimes it’s by religion, sometimes by ethnicity, but if those are relatively homogeneous, they’ll go for LGBTQ status or political identity.

For example, in America in the 1950s, they did both of those latter, along with racist bigotry: People perceived to be not-straight and those who were accused of being socialist or communist. All three were targeted for systematic oppression.

Gianni17 hours ago

It stuns me that these leaders are so focused on sexuality and making gay people pay for their sexuality with severe punishments and even death. Why is this even on their minds? Is being gay causing some sort of great turmoil in their countries? Are they trying to undermine their governments? Are they just living their lives like everyone else? So much angst over gay people. He contradicts his own statements in just one paragraph. “Gay Africans don’t exist.” – “kick LGBT people out of Kenya completely,” Well, which is it? Who gets kicked out if they don’t exist in the first place? Screwy like the radical Christians that foment this hatred.

Serene Pumpkin Gianni17 hours ago

Some of them genuinely seem to think that the existence of LGBTQ people threatens the continued existence of the human race, because not enough people are breeding.

Kenya has 53 million people in an area the size of Texas. Underpopulation is not a serious issue there.

You may recall that DeSantis previously cosplayed as Tom Cruise in a gubernatorial campaign ad titled “Top Gov.”

Snownova2 hours ago

He does know Vader eventually kills Obi-wan right?

clay Snownova2 hours ago

Are you implying that DeSantis is directly coordinating with a campaign PAC? Why would a Republican do something so illegal?

carrot festival2 hours ago

Wow, did he pick the wrong character.

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Sarah carrot festival2 hours ago

He’s as evil as Grand Moff Tarkin, but without the charisma.

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Mike in Houston 21 hours ago
This will certainly help Florida schools in recruiting top intellect — both in students and teachers. /s

Dwight Williamson DaddyRay21 hours ago

Why does everyone always assume his hare brained schemes for publicity are gonna work . He lost a lawsuit yesterday .

Rambie Dwight Williamson21 hours ago

Right, this is more about keeping his name in the news cycle and pandering to the MAGA’t base.

JoeMyGod Mod3 days ago
You may recall Eric Metaxas for the time he sucker-punched a passing kid on a bicycle on his way into the White House for a Trump event and then lied about it even after video surfaced. It’s what Jesus would want.

Elagabalus JoeMyGod3 days ago

Punching a kid – It’s what Jesus would want

Read the full article. Andersen, who lost a lawsuit to get on the ballot, has not so far been accused of wrongdoing. As you can see in his campaign clip below, he ran on a promise to end pandemic mandates.
Earlier this week Kennedy claimed that chemicals in drinking water are turning children transgender and that WiFi radiation causes brain cancer.

JoeMyGodMod4 days ago

Really amazing how millions of African kids got hold of poppers.

Hank: NO MORE WoW!!! 4 days ago
“The magnitude of the value of the Bible as a literary work outweighs any violence or profanity which may be contained in the book,”
So, will they do the same for ALL books??? or just the ones, they deem fit???

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/the-show-must-go-on-judge-sides-with-organizers-in-lawsuit-orders-city-to-allow-drag-show-in-st-george

“Public spaces are public spaces,” U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer wrote. “Public spaces are not private spaces. Public spaces are not majority spaces. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution ensures that all citizens, popular or not, majority or minority, conventional or unconventional, have access to public spaces for public expression.”

In his 80-page ruling, Judge James M. Moody Jr. of Federal District Court in Little Rock said the law both discriminated against transgender people and violated constitutional rights for doctors. He also said that the state of Arkansas had failed to substantially prove a number of its claims, including that the care was experimental or carelessly prescribed to teenagers.
The law is extremely broad, which actually creates a host of other complications. A group of lawyers previously told The Dallas Morning News that the measure could restrict performances by artists such as Madonna and Miley Cyrus, which often feature sexual dancing.
The text could even affect bachelorette parties, if they involved sex toys or other paraphernalia. The new changes could even impact cheerleading and criminalize sexual conduct between consenting 17-year-olds (17 is the age of consent in Texas).
Movie screenings and art history classes could similarly come under fire. And of course, the law will affect its original target: drag performers, Pride parades, and transgender people just trying to live their lives.
Lawsuits against similar bans are planned or already underway in other states. In Florida, the Orlando outpost of Hamburger Mary’s sued the DeSantis administration last month.

Guy Johnson4 days ago

No more Saturday cartoons…

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Dwight Williamson4 days ago

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Doug1054 days ago

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https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court

Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court

Big win today as for the first time in 24 years, a House Republican majority voted to begin impeachment proceedings against a current president.

https://www.wbtv.com/2023/06/23/concord-man-arrested-charged-with-hate-crimes-years-harassing-neighbors/

“Kentucky law prohibits the Attorney General from using or attempting to use ‘his official position to secure or create privileges, exemptions, advantages, or treatment for himself or others in derogation of the public interest at large,’” the letter, which was sent out Friday afternoon and obtained by The Daily Beast, said.
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.
Yves R. Mektin 3 days ago edited
Well, Oklahoma does have the second lowest high school SAT scores in the whole country*, so maybe tots and pears will help.
* West Virginia is the only state that did worse

ConnieHinesDorothyProvine Joe in NM3 days ago

All those states compete to see who can lead the fastest race to the bottom. Apparently, Louisiana has the lowest life expectancy in the country (Hawaii has the highest).

Joe in NM3 days ago

So he doesn’t like the 1961 decision…toots, the SC ruled on this a bunch of times. And don’t throw that ‘found fathers’ shit around, they did NOT. Under gawd my ass. ;(

Thomas Jefferson penned the wall metaphor in a letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802. He celebrated the First Amendment for “building a wall of separation between Church & State.” The Supreme Court has endorsed this view many times. First in 1878. And then again “in 1947, 1948, 1961 (three times), 1962, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1977, 1982, and again and again in countless concurrences, dissents, and lower court opinions,” according to a recent law review article. The wall metaphor nicely sums up the relationship.

Wintercat Joe in NM3 days ago

“For it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”

– Thomas Jefferson

Buford Joe in NM2 days ago edited

I thought Article 11 of the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli did a handy job of summarizing what The Founding Fathers™ thought of Christianity in America, since it passed in the US Senate unanimously while being signed by many of the actual founders –

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen (Muslims); and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan (Mohammedan) nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

rednekokie Joe in NM3 days ago

Not to forget the Treaty of Tripoli – the first treaty entered into by the United States – and having constitutional power — which states that the United States has no national religion.

Per Florida Politics, the “groomers” slur was first popularized by viciously anti-LGBTQ former DeSantis administration spox Christina Pushaw, a registered foreign agent for the nation of Georgia and his current “rapid response” campaign director. Pushaw began pushing the term early last year during the start of the “Don’t Say Gay” campaign.
sfbob  Jack3 days ago
“Groomer.” Noun. Definition (per DeSantis):
1. A person who does something you disapprove of or who says something you disagree with.
2. A person who believes in providing factual, age-appropriate information to children on topics pertaining to sexuality, sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity.

danolgb3 days ago

Remember the meme, “Everything I don’t like are Nazis.” Now it’s “Everything I don’t like are groomers.”

What an insult to victims of real sexual abuse.

weshlovrcm3 days ago edited

There’s something wrong with people who are consumed with “grooming” and “groomers.” Normal people don’t obsess over this vile subject.

dagobarbz, fine Italian shoes weshlovrcm2 days ago

What amazes me is, while they’re howling about grooming, they manage to completely ignore the ones actively doing it and getting busted for it weekly, the churches.

https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/06-23-2023/house-gop-confederate-name-fight/

The GOP friction stems from a push by Rep Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) who publicly revived the discussion by trying to prevent funding in an energy and water development bill from being used to rename Army Corps civil works projects that are named after the Confederacy or an individual who served in the Confederate military.

“One of the things that is irritating a few of us: a certain member from Georgia is wanting to re-bring up the Confederate base names,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told POLITICO.

Bacon said he told the Georgia Republican that he would “would fight him” on trying to prevent funding from going toward renaming. (Clyde’s amendment doesn’t mention military bases.)

Bacon led that effort in the House to create the process for renaming the military assets.

He noted on Friday that he recounted to Clyde about how African-Americans have thanked him for his work on renaming the Confederate assets. In a separate statement, Bacon added that the issue was settled in 2020 and that he didn’t think it was “wise to re-litigate” it.

“Confederate generals fought for a cause that we know was wrong and violated their oaths to Constitution. Most of the 10 that bases were named for were also terrible generals. … Finally, some were affiliated with racist actions after the war. Most of these bases were named around WW1 and done to placate the Jim Crow elected leaders at the time,” he added in the statement.

Pollos Hermanos ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈa day ago
GOP: “Democrats were the party of The Confederacy.”
Also GOP: “Don’t you dare take away honors to The Confederacy!”

Doug105 Pollos Hermanos ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈa day ago

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Hank: NO MORE WoW!!!a day ago

Being a Fan of the Confederacy means……. (Take your pick)

#1

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#2

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#3

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another_steve Hank: NO MORE WoW!!!a day ago

I don’t know the “official thinking” of American historians on point, but I believe much of what we’re seeing today with respect to the Republican Party is 160 years of simmering resentment by the South regarding its loss in the 1860s Civil War now coming to the surface.

Trump “tapped” into it. “Build the wall” was metaphor for “keep the coloreds out.” His embrace of rabid racists, including neo-Nazis, is a “message received” by the Republican base.

They miss the old plantation days, the good old days. When the coloreds and the women knew their place and there was no “deviance” like drag queens and trans people.

JimmyCinChitown Hank: NO MORE WoW!!!a day ago edited

In Germany, Nazi paraphernalia like swastika flags, et all, as well as neo-Nazi political parties are officially banned by law. (Germany doesn’t have a First Amendment).This is the reason that German Nazis fly Confederate flags. You are known by the company you keep.

RealityBass 2 days ago
Remember when we were expected to believe that Trump was so rich that he would use his own funds to campaign, didn’t need to raise money, therefore he was incorruptible? Good times.

JackFknTwist RealityBass2 days ago edited

What a liar.
He said he would use his own money. Just like everything else about him, – a lie, a scam, a con, a fraud …..from getting someone to sit his exams to his 2016 campaign to his subversion of a democratic election.

His whole life has been devoted to scamming. He has never earned an honest buck. It’s all been about the underhand deal, the stiffing people and companies what they are owed.
Now there is no way around not paying his lawyers.
they won’t act for him without being paid up-front. But Giuliani can fuck off, he’s gonna be hung out to flap in the wind.

The Right Loves Grooming Kids (As Long As It’s Religious)

More of the craziness.

“There are tens of thousands of studies that show the horrendous danger of WiFi radiation.” – Robert Kennedy Jr., speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Yesterday Kennedy claimed that chemicals in drinking water are turning children transgender.
This is what the right wing media does now, enrage their thuggish followers to find and attack anyone they disagree with. Brownshirt gang enforcers. We have seen this before in history. Hugs

heleninedinburgh34 minutes ago

I’d just like to point out that kids being trans is not, in fact, bad.

Colonel Fred Puntridge  kuiaratamenai a minute ago

“I never drink water. Fish fuck in it!” –attributed to WC Fields

band💋 boatboy_srq9 minutes ago

“First they came for the frogs, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a frog.”

TomKitten196036 minutes ago edited

Many trans people have brothers and sisters who are cis-gendered and remain so. They grow up in the same environment, drinking the same “toxic” water. It ain’t the water, honey. And it ain’t a “problem” that you can (or need to) solve by throwing your stupidity at it.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/misguided-republican-hearing-jan-6-rioters-matters-rcna90010

What’s weird is when members of the majority feel the need to hold their own fake hearing. Politico reported:

…Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), joined by a handful of others from the conference’s right flank, hosted an event last week with former Trump acting assistant attorney general Jeffrey Clark, people charged in relation to Jan. 6, defendants’ family members and allies. The event featured a veritable kitchen sink of conspiracy theories as well as rehashed false claims, including that the 2020 election was “stolen” and that the Jan. 6 committee “doctored” video.

Just so we’re clear, this was not an actual congressional hearing. The far-right Floridian, however, wanted it to be perceived as one. Gaetz pretended to be a chairman, recognizing members and witnesses, alerting participants to when their time had expired, and explaining that the “testimony” could be used in official proceedings. (That last part was true but irrelevant: Anything can be used in official proceedings, including the blog post you’re reading now.)

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Hunter M14 hours ago

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The employee told the court the priest urged workers to “get the sins out,” and asked employees if they had stolen from the employer, been late for work, had done anything to harm their employer, or if they had bad intentions toward their employer.
“Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday is a nationalized race hustle. Why do Blacks need their own national independence day? We used to have a red, white, and blue independence day on July 4th. Now, we have one based on the melanin content of your skin.
“These people will not be stopped unless you say no more. Appeasement does not work. It’s a middle finger to the promise of 1776, You are going to have to choose.” – Charlie Kirk, who days ago called Juneteenth “pagan garbage.”

Randy503 StarGmoma day ago

He’s getting more and more extreme. I predict within a year he will be calling for the outright enslavement of black people, and the extermination of all LBGTs and anyone living in poverty.

Octoberfurst Randy50321 hours ago

I totally agree! He is becoming more and more extreme by the day. I’ll bet he is just dying to say “the N word” out loud. Next thing you know he’ll be having a swastika flag in the background and explaining why the Nazis were “misunderstood” and were actually brave Christian patriots. Kirk truly is a miserable POS!

beb Octoberfurst11 hours ago

He’s in a rat race to be the most extreme commenter on the Internet. That’s why he has to become ever extreme. Of course win or lose, in a rat race you’re still a rat.

SkokieDaddy – wiener dog dada day ago

I certainly want a white man to tell me how racist Juneteenth is. /s

Harveyrabbit 🐱a day ago

“Now, we have one based on the melanin content of your skin.”

Riiiight.

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Jonathan  Joe in NMa day ago
Thom Hartmann wrote the other day that after Trump requested the lists of the employees (spies) and had repeated unrecorded conversations with Russian diplomats, Kisylak, and others, the CIA had to pull agents and there was a silence in our intelligence operations, it’s suspected Trump turned them all over to the Russians.
Many were killed, or disappeared.

Niblet58 Joe in NMa day ago

That and a whole lot of other info. He asked for a list of the US spies and I bet you he turned it right over to our enemies in Russia, North Korea, China, etc.

A Washington Post investigation found that more than a year would pass before prosecutors and FBI agents jointly embarked on a formal probe of actions directed from the White House to try to steal the election. Even then, the FBI stopped short of identifying the former president as a focus of that investigation. A wariness about appearing partisan, institutional caution, and clashes over how much evidence was sufficient to investigate the actions of Trump and those around him all contributed to the slow pace.
CaliJABa day ago
Republicans are attempting to do the same thing to our justice system that they did with the media. They cried media bias again and again until it got to the point they started received special treatment. It became unbalanced in favor of them. Now, if Republicans commit crimes the FBI won’t investigate them. That whole fake elector scheme … the FBI won’t do shit about it. If it was Democrats, they would have been charged on day one.

robirob CaliJABa day ago edited

But they received special treatment from the start! All the right wing does is claim victimhood and blame socialist liberal bullies for having to take drastic action based on made up lies like the election was stolen, Hunter Biden’s laptop, Critical Race Theory or Drag Queens, Gays, and Trans grooming children. And when they go against media outlets like Fox News or the FBI they just let the right wing mob call them names without repercussion. Now there’s right wing talk about defunding the FBI and Pentagon departments, and I assume they will just roll over and keep asking for a belly rub from the right wing and afterwards start an investigation into Hillary’s emails or Hunter Biden’s laptop.

crewman CaliJABa day ago

It’s why Comey tripped over himself in a Rush to “go public” with a nothingburger investigation into Hillary right before her election, an act which is widely viewed as costing her the election. And it’s probably why Mueller lacked umph to boldly go where he needed to go

The law is extremely broad, which actually creates a host of other complications. A group of lawyers previously told The Dallas Morning News that the measure could restrict performances by artists such as Madonna and Miley Cyrus, which often feature sexual dancing.
The text could even affect bachelorette parties, if they involved sex toys or other paraphernalia. The new changes could even impact cheerleading and criminalize sexual conduct between consenting 17-year-olds (17 is the age of consent in Texas).
Movie screenings and art history classes could similarly come under fire. And of course, the law will affect its original target: drag performers, Pride parades, and transgender people just trying to live their lives.
San Francisco is definitely facing problems, but you could surely find a similar scene in Miami.
Boreal2 hours ago
Clearly he’s never walked around in Florida.

unsavedheathen2 hours ago

I have lived in Dallas for 25 years(OMG, I’ve lived in Dallas for 25 years) and in that time, Texas has existed under complete Republican domination.

Also in that time, I have seen men defecate on the streets of Dallas and drugs being bought, sold and used on the streets of Dallas. I have seen tent encampments of hundreds of homeless. I have seen those encampments bulldozed. There are beggars on every median at every major intersection citywide.

I don’t know how they keep a straight face when they point at SF and sneer. At least there’s a beach.

TnCTampa2 hours ago

This bullshit about crime etc appeals to the voters, The people that actually go and vote in every election. It also appeals to the independents. The GOP is going to have them so afraid of out of control crime by “those people” that come the election they will run to vote for desantis. Democrats going to have to turn out in even greater numbers than the last election to defeat these people… thats what worries me the most

SKan hour ago

The price of living is out of whack. Rents are way too high. The people the GQP pander to are the same ones who cause the problem. A perfect example of why it’s like this; developers who are based in one city (or country) own blocks of land in other cities and countries. One block = one apt complex, which is of course “luxurious” and overpriced. This means people who actually live in the city don’t have the money or leverage to make their home town better. It’s very complicated. This is a broken down version of of a broken system.

Those amendments, along with a third to evaluate staffing levels within the Defense Department’s so-called diversity, equity and inclusion office, offer an early sign of some of the pending disputes as conservatives target what they call “woke” Pentagon policies.
Specifically, Rep. Mark Alford’s amendments, shared with CQ Roll Call ahead of their formal introduction, would bar DOD from using any fiscal 2024 dollars for its working group aiming to counter extremism or for the deputy inspector general post lawmakers previously created seeking to root out extremism in the military.
Thurgood Stubbs 3 days ago
You have to be a real dipshit to be in a union and vote Republican.

stretchdad Thurgood Stubbs3 days ago

I know of three highly-unionized professions that tilt heavily conservative: firefighters, police, and airline pilots. And I’ve heard them talk shit about unions in other industries even though they share the very same concerns: wages, staffing levels, working conditions, etc.

Perfect exemplars of the “I’ve got mine, fuck you” mentality.

“All we were doing was promoting literacy and providing kids with cute, good stories,” drag queen Juicy Garland said. In the videos, people are yelling, banging on the windows and doing Nazi salutes while holding a sign that says, “defend white communities,” all while a drag performer was inside reading books to families.
The group “seeks to form an underground network of white men who are willing to fight against their perceived enemies through localized direct actions,” according to the Anti-Defamation League’s website. “Off our streets!” NSC-131 members shouted repeatedly. Police at the scene said it was unclear whether or not they were armed. No arrests were made.
The men wearing hats with the number 131, said story hour was intended to “groom” young children, and continually shouted slurs at people walking in and out of the cafe. Teatotaller doesn’t get this reaction every time they host a Sunday story hour, but in November it was swarmed by the Proud Boys while the same guest, Juicy Garland, read stories.

‘Til Tuesday 🎧 Blue Bear DJ 🎸a day ago

The story says police were at the scene but I’m guessing they were reluctant to do anything against their fellow officers.

amandagirl15701 ‘Til Tuesday 🎧 Blue Bear DJ 🎸a day ago

Yep

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Nebraska forbade cops from stealing cash from motorists, but a loophole let them carry on doing it

Seward County has become Nebraska’s capital of “civil forteiture,” in which Sheriffs deputies pull over out-of-state motorists, confiscate any cash they find, and send them on their way without charging them with crimes. Though the state banned the practice years ago, a loophole in the law’s wording effectively nullifies it and there’s little point fighting to get the money back because local courts won’t give it to you.

In the past decade, Seward has seized money in at least 90 state civil forfeiture cases, nearly double any other Nebraska county. In those cases, they initially seized a total of $2.2 million from motorists. Drivers rarely fight to get their money back. Those who do rarely win, according to court records. The $2 million kept by the county was split. Half went to a state fund for schools. Half went to a county fund overseen by a board of police chiefs, the Nebraska State Patrol, the county attorney and the sheriff. Records from meetings of that board, held at a Pizza Kitchen in Milford, detail how they decided to spend the seized dollars.They bought stun guns and bulletproof vests for the Seward and Milford Police Departments. They bought a sheriff’s cruiser with the words “Paid for by drug proceeds” emblazoned on the back. They bought an $18,000 drone for the Nebraska State Patrol. And they recently spent $15,000 on two ballistic shields, bought after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Thieves, plain and simple. The deputies doing it, the Sheriffs running it, and the judges rubber-stamping it all know what they are up to.

Top Secret Moron | Christopher Titus | Armageddon Update

These are some of the news and memes I have been seeing in the last few days.

IamSmartypants17 hours ago

Independent journalism is a threat to Republicans and must be stopped at all costs.

Read the full article.
Josh McKoon [photo above] first appeared on JMG in 2015 when he introduced an ultimately failed bill to legalize anti-LGBTQ discrimination by businesses and employers.
In 2016, he appeared here for his pointless bill to “protect” preachers who refuse to officiate same-sex marriages.
According to McKoon, the veto of his 2016 bill by GOP then-Gov. Nathan Deal was “slap in the face to conservatives, to evangelicals and to the broader faith community.”

‘Til Tuesday 🎧 Blue Bear DJ 🎸4 days ago

The Confederate monuments (and the flag) are kept around to keep the flame alive that the South is gonna rise up again, and next time they’re gonna win. I can’t tell you how many times I heard “The South shall rise again!” growing up. Far too many Southern whites are still bitter about losing the war and having slavery taken away from them. And the end of segregation just made them even angrier. The Union may have won the war, but far too many Southern whites remain unreconstructed in their heart and mind. They revere the monuments for what they stand for. So, I’m not one bit surprised that the Georgia GOP wants to keep those monuments in place.

O/T: Ms Lindsey’s staunch defense and filthy boudoir mouth at yesterday’s interview explained:

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“Those who live in a glass house don’t need to throw rocks,” Tuberville told CNN, trying to equate the case to the situation involving Joe Biden.

Ah, yes, good ole days.

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Elagabalusa day ago

Just a reminder:

“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” (Leviticus 20:10)

Fortunately he’s positioned the sign for concealment if needed.

The program enables schools that predominantly serve children from low-income backgrounds to offer all students free breakfast and lunch, instead of means-testing them and having to manage collecting applications on an individual basis. As with many universal-oriented programs, it is more practically efficient and, as a bonus, lifts all boats. This is what Republicans are looking to eliminate.
mkbear68 a day ago
Because those poor kids cold get a job and pay for their own damn lunch!

architect_tim Unbordered Americana day ago

and pull them out of school so they are both poor and dumb …equals perfect Fox New viewers.

… well because we all know that nothing says “Loving Christian” better than “Hungry Poor Children”.

now they can live in fear of being human trafficked. By their own parents because they cannot afford to feed them.

GOP: “Why should I pay for free lunches for those rugrats? Let their whore mothers who should have kept their knees together pay for their lunches.”

Also GOP: “Anybody who even gives a pregnant 14-year-old a ride to a state that offers abortions gets the death sentence.”

It is not about abortion… or anything except policing women’s sexuality, keeping the poor poor, and maintaining the rich white cishet “Christian” men from feeling threatened in anyway.

I used to work for my State’s Free Lunch program. You wouldn’t believe the number of kids who told me that the School Lunch was the only real meal they got all day. And they feared the coming of summer because it meant the wouldn’t be getting a real meal until school started again.

You have to be really malignant to pull a meal out of a hungry kid’s mouth.

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Gregory In Seattle 2 days ago
This is what Republicans want for us all. While they might mouth platitudes against violence, this is EXACTLY what they and right wing propaganda outlets stir up with their incessant, vitriolically hateful rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ communities.
JackFknTwist 3 days ago
Aged 21 and 23.
They must know fucking everything at that age.
They must be so bright, politically astute and have vast knowledge of international history.
Or else they are another pair of ‘fucking morons’ (thanks Rex) or Evangelicals or pro-life , again fucking morons.
Or all of the above

Anastasia Beaverhousen3 days ago

Is the Grand Wizard of Florida going to offer them a job on the fire department and give them shelter in FL?

Uncle Mark: HoHo-smoking homo Boreal3 days ago

You can fix stupid, but you should spread plastic on the floor first. 😉

Silverwynde 🌻🇺🇦🌻 Uncle Mark: HoHo-smoking homo3 days ago

Well, at least one person can fix stupid:

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Uncle Mark: HoHo-smoking homo3 days ago

Grabbed his gun in his sleep and woke himself up with a gunshot wound to his leg !!

– Geez…does he sleep with his gun in bed or on a nightstand next to him?
– Already loaded?!!
– No safety on?!!

WTF?!!

Doug105 4 days ago
A common statement from the religious side of this issue goes something like this “stop shoving your gay agenda down our throats”. In the same breath, they go on to say, “You don’t see us shoving our religion down your throat”.
Well then…
Have you ever had a homosexual knock on your door (usually around dinner time) asking if you have found Elton John?
Have homosexuals ever passed laws that make the government print “In Homosexuality We Trust” on your money?
When was the last time homosexuals passed laws that rewrote the Pledge of Allegiance to say, “One Homosexual Nation”?
Have homosexuals erected a monument with Marc Jacobs’ top 10 fashion rules at your local courthouse?
Have any homosexual groups spent millions trying to pass laws to outlaw marriage between a woman and a man?
Have homosexual activists worked to pass laws limiting birth control, abortion, etc?
Did a homosexual ever prevent you from buying liquor or a car on Sunday?
Is there a book promoting homosexuality in almost every hotel room in the country?
Have homosexuals pushed for laws to make the missionary position illegal?
Have homosexuals tried to pass a law allowing them to legally refuse service to Christians?
Right, they have never shoved their religious agenda down our collective throats.

Nic Peterson Doug1054 days ago

Do the homosexual children beat up the straight ones while the teachers pretend not to see?

Doug1054 days ago

#TOLERANCE:

As a liberal, I am constantly accused of being intolerant for not accepting someone’s hateful or repressive convictions.
It’s as if “tolerance” has come to mean accepting and respecting someone else’s views, regardless of what they are or who they affect.
And that’s wrong.

Tolerance: a fair, objective and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc.,. Differ from one’s own;
freedom from bigotry

Being open-minded does not mean arbitrarily respecting everyone and accepting everything.
There are things that no one should tolerate, such as bigotry, suppression of liberty, denial of equal rights, and abusive restrictions.

I try to preach and practice tolerance, but I do not have to tolerate anyone’s intolerance.
There is never an excuse or justification for hatred or abuse.

Read the full article. Kristina Karamo, you will recall, says Democrats drink the blood of children and that demonic possession is sexually transmitted. She last appeared here when she compared a gun control bill to the Holocaust.

He did this to himself, we have never had such a corrupt openly greedy president willing to use the office / the country for his own personal gain.

He could have done what Biden and Pence did, along with other innocent people, they gave them back to the government. Instead, Trump kept claiming they are his, and he was so importantly powerful that he could do anything he wants while people not him go to prison for doing this. Look at the other cases of this, and those people went to prison asap. Hugs

GOP FL Prosecutor Didn’t Pursue Six Voter Fraud Cases In Red County, Unlike Those Charged In Blue Counties

This was just another republican stun to suppress votes in democratic leaning areas and promote the votes of the republican leanings areas.  Republicans understand that the majority of people don’t want what they are selling, the majority of people dislike the republican way.   Most people want to progress, not regress.  Most people want equality and to be able to live in diverse communities that blend in to a greater whole.  The current republican fascist mode is driven by the fundamental religious need to force everyone to regress to the norms of 1950 to ensure their religious / ethnic superiority.  Basically these Fundy groups need the society to regress to return to when their male white prestige was unquestioned and their churches made money from more white people having more kids sitting in the pews.    They want that because they claim the richer they get, the more pleased their god is and when everyone follows their church doctrines their god will come back and give them everything ever and ever and ever … they are trying to force the country to follow the dictates of a 2,500-year-old myth based on a geopolitical book written for a people long dead.   For their own profit and self power.  For that they are willing to fuck over the majority of the population that wants to live in the current socially progressive time gaining ever more public understanding.  Understand, in the republican strong hold of the Villages there have been five or six convictions on republicans repeated voting and violating elections laws.  There were more that were not charged.   But this was a wealthy republican retirement development that deathSantis caters to the developer.  So you don’t hear about them, and the DeathSantis election police avoids them.  Here is a description of the place.   Hugs

Is The Villages a Republican stronghold?
 
 
With square footage larger than Manhattan, The Villages, a sprawling retirement community in Central Florida, has long been considered a Republican stronghold. The retiree haven increasingly reflects Florida’s changing politics. It isn’t a purple battleground — 75% of its voters are registered Republicans.

 

 

Wilhoit’s law
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.“

Yes different standards for everything.
The GOP way, every day

GOP FL Prosecutor Didn’t Pursue Six Voter Fraud Cases In Red County, Unlike Those Charged In Blue Counties

As Lord Pudding Fingers demands

WOW! How SURPRISING that we would see a far-right fascist prosecutor ignore other far-right fascist voter fraud cases!

Two standards in Florida for everything. Never going back there.

Whatever GQPers are accusing others (esp Democrats) of doing, they are doing themselves. Look at Shiny Happy People (docuseries on Amazon) for ample evidence that THEY are the groomers they are accusing everyone else of being. The same goes for voter fraud. They are doing what they claim Democrats are doing. It’s all about projection with this crowd.

I may be wrong, but isn’t selective prosecution grounds for overthrowing convictions?

I think so, but it’s difficult to prove. Since no two cases are exactly alike, prosecutors can usually find some after-the-fact justification for why they did or didn’t charge someone.

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Fasccist Florida cheats elections at all levels.

Its so crazy that states just do what they want and no one from the feds can help if you live there. I didnt know the constitution was so easily voided.

A true Republican. They’re likely chuckling about this at the yacht club right now.

 

DeSantis Signs Bill Creating $100 Million State Military

Please tell me why an authoritarian highly ambitious arrogant Christian nationalist racist bigot who has already threatened BLM protestors and has been documented as abusing helpless prisoners want with his own military force with the power to arrest people?   Considering the hate that the Governor and his supporters have for the LGBTQ+ will they use this new military police force against that community?    What about drag queens?  Hugs

Florida Politics reports:

The Florida State Guard’s (FSG) budget will grow to 10 times its current level, nearly quadruple in personnel, and become a permanent part of state government under legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed.

The measure (HB 1285), promulgated by Republican Rep. Mike Giallombardo, creates a Division of the State Guard within the Department of Military Affairs as a separate budget entity headed by a Governor-appointed director, who will be confirmed by the Senate.

ACLU Florida said this expansion moves Florida closer to a police state. The new law expands the scope of its mission from being ready for activation in emergencies to also “protect and defend the people of Florida from threats to public safety.” Its members also have arresting powers.

More from the ACLU of Florida:

The sweeping nature of this bill is astounding: it would divert nearly $100 million in taxpayer funding to build, arm, clothe, equip, and train a volunteer armed guard of 1,500 people to assume the duties of the National Guard.

These volunteers would have access to weapons, ammunition, planes, helicopters, boats, and surveillance technology, and would, unique among states with a State Guard, create a special unit within the State Guard with authority to make arrests.

What makes this even more troubling is that the newly-envisioned State Guard will only be accountable to the Governor and can be activated not just in a state of emergency, but any time the Governor deems necessary to broadly protect ‘from threats to public safety.’

This broad language fails to provide guardrails to ensure this special unit could not be deployed to crack down on activities that this Legislature is in the process of criminalizing.

Under the bill, the Governor will appoint the director of the state guard who serves at the pleasure of the Governor – meaning there will be no checks and balances on when and how this force is used.

Additionally, the Governor can order his State Guard to take action in other states. This is a terrifying bill that puts Floridians’ privacy, security, and safety in grave danger.

Via press release from DeSantis:

“Florida is the most military and veteran friendly state in the nation and through this legislation, we are further supporting our military, veterans and their families with the resources they need while they are serving and after they have fulfilled their duty,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

HB 1285 establishes the Florida State Guard as a permanent component in Florida’s state militia and creates the Division of the State Guard within the Department of Military Affairs. The Florida State Guard has been appropriated $108 million in the General Appropriations Act.

 

 

So the 1500 members of this security Force are all volunteers? Can you imagine the type of person that will sign up for this? You’re going to have your Proud Boy types, KKK, and just your general bigoted rednecks who love guns and authoritarianism. What could go wrong?

 

The return of the Brown Shirts.

Now Deathsantis just creates his own militia to threaten people with. WTF.

“Additionally, the Governor can order his State Guard to take action in other states.”

without the other states’ request or permission?

Sounds like a civil war declaration

Sounds like prep for Civil War: the Sequel.

Would this be to assist in flying immigrants in Texas to Northern states? They have a budget and can do anything the governor wants!

DuhFuhrer’s Gestapo

Just to be clear: There’s nothing that can be done at a federal level to stop this madman? Nothing in the Constitution that can be used against him?

I’ll repeat my mantra: GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!

A dictatorship needs it’s own special military police to enforce the new rules and protect the Dictator.

After Hitler came to power, the Brown Shirts got government support, uniforms, equipment, etc.

Just saying.

The Brownshirts: The Role of the Sturmabteilung (SA) in Nazi Germany

https://www.historyhit.com/…

A lot of echoes of the past shown in this piece.

Now DeSatanis has his own Gestapo to enforce his evil Orbanite agenda.

Fascist wants his own army

And of course, the people who scream about the horrors of Fidel Castro as why they won’t vote Democrat say nothing about this.
Fuck them.

Not really. Cubans loved fascist dictator Batista; they only hated Castro because he confiscated their property and money, not because he was also an evil fascist dictator. They love fascism and want it in the US.

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Why would a governor need a private army? There is only one reason.

There is certainly nothing fascist about that, is there?

Ooh, the “Gator Guard”! Next you’ll have them dig a moat around the state, and install a drawbridge.

Y’see Ron, people with the support of the populace don’t need to go into battle against them. This little historical note apparently slipped your notice.

I can see DeSantis ordering them to inundate Disney World and arrest Mickey and Minnie.

 

 

 

Let’s talk about the new Trump documents reporting….