Yes! More companies need to do this, pull out of Florida and other hater red states. Hit them economically and maybe we can reach them with reason. Right now they’re drunk on power and hate, they are gang thugs, and they won’t stop until they are hammered back down under the rocks they slunk out from under. Hugs
Games Done Quick was going to hold its event in Orlando, but it’s moving online because Florida is no longer “a safe place for our community.”
The organizers of a gaming convention who originally planned to hold their event in Florida have canceled, citing both Florida’s lax COVID-19 policies and its hardline anti-LGBTQ stance. The group said that the state is no longer “a safe place for our community.”
“While we would love to return in-person, we’ve determined that to provide a safe and welcoming event to all, it was best that we move away from our originally planned location in Florida,” the website for Games Done Quick (GDQ) says. “Given the state’s continued disregard for COVID-19’s dangers (including anti-mandate vaccination policies) and an increased aggression toward LGBTQ+ individuals, including the law colloquially known as ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ we do not believe it is a safe place for our community at this time.”
GDQ organizes charity events that involve speed runs, or shows of video game skill where players finish games as fast as possible, often using programming bugs creatively and employing novel strategies that game developers didn’t anticipate.
The group’s upcoming winter event — Awesome Games Done Quick — was originally planned to be held in Orlando in January 2023 and was going to be GDQ’s return to in-person events after two years of virtual-only events due to the COVID pandemic. The event will be a fundraiser for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Several prominent speedrunners who participate in GDQ events are transgender, and transgender people have been especially targeted by Florida Republicans. In the past several years, the state has passed a ban on transgender students participating in school sports, banned transgender people of all ages from using Medicaid insurance to cover gender-affirming care, instructed schools to ignore federal law banning anti-LGBTQ discrimination in education, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) even declared a cisgender woman the winner of a swimming competition because he didn’t like the fact that a transgender woman won.
The state got national notoriety for what has been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in younger grades and restricts them in older grades. School districts have already interpreted the law to mean that they can’t acknowledge LGBTQ people’s existence while schools ban books that conservatives accuse of “grooming” kids for child sex abuse and advise LGBTQ teachers not to have pictures of their same-sex spouses on their desks.
The law also targeted transgender people in particular, requiring schools to out transgender students to their parents if teachers find out their identities.
GDQ used to hold their winter event in D.C. until it was moved to Orlando in early 2020. Since its inception in 2010, the events have raised $35 million for various charities, including Doctors Without Borders and the Malala Fund, a nonprofit organization for girls’ education.
Kenneth Copeland thinks that there would be fewer school shootings in the United States if there were more bibles in schools. Jessica Burbank and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks.
“Very stable genius Kenneth Copeland, who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, appeared on a television special last night to educate the world on why there are so many school shootings. It’s not because of easy access to deadly assault weapons; it’s because the naughty Devil used a woman to make the Supreme Court remove Bibles from schools.”
“Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday criticized President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, arguing there are other ways to support student borrowers.
‘I just thought that it was excessive,’ Manchin said, adding that he disagrees with the announcement proposing to forgive $10,000 per student borrower for those making up to $125,000 annually. Pell Grant recipients will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation.
But Manchin said he would have taken a different course of action. ‘When people were calling me from back in West Virginia, I would give them all the options they had that would reduce their loan by going to work in the federal government,’ Manchin said.
And the anti-LGBTQ+ activists strike another hospital. Understand what they are doing, this is terrorism against a business doing lawful / legal activity. These haters cannot get their way at the ballot box so they need to threaten doctors and hospital to scare them, to make them so afraid they won’t do the legal act of caring for trans kids. They are egged on by republicans who think targeting and attacking a vulnerable segment of the population will secure an election win. As for the issues of the links in the presentation, even if you think that kids from preteen through to older teens don’t know how to shop online at these legal sex shops I would tell you that kids can google sex toys better than most adults, but the important thing is the presentation was for adults not children. Remember the goal of these activists is to remove the LGBTQ+ from society. Hugs
Christopher Rufo described what he believes to be a “profoundly disturbing collusion” between LGBTQ-affirming schools and hospitals.
Christopher Rufo, a 38-year-old anti-LGBTQ right-wing activist, is claiming that a Chicago children’s hospital has partnered with public schools to promote “radical gender theory,” kink, and sex toys to children.
As “proof” of his claim, Rufo pointed to a slideshow presentation given by representatives from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to administrators, teachers, and staff in middle- and high-schools located in four of the city’s public school districts.
The slideshow, entitled “Beyond Binary: Gender in Schools,” discussed how school staff can make students feel safe regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It defined terms like cisgender and non-binary, and transphobia; discussed the historic and societal impact of gender discrimination; shared statistics on the challenges facing LGBTQ students; offered suggestions for making schools feel more welcoming to such students; and encouraged participants to discuss how to handle in-school incidents involving students coming out or those who object to LGBTQ-inclusion in schools.
It made sense that the hospital would offer such a presentation to schools since it also provides gender-affirming healthcare to trans and non-binary youth.
However, in a blog post on his personal site, Rufo wrote, “Lurie Children’s Hospital has provided materials to school leaders promoting radical gender theory, trans activism, and sexually explicit materials in at least four Chicago-area public school systems.”
He took particular offense at the last two pages of the presentation which contained links to additional resources, including support groups like GLSEN, PFLAG, and the National Center for Transgender Equality; educational websites like the Public Broadcasting System, Howard Brown health services, and the Chicago school system’s documents on gender inclusivity; as well as online articles from Teen Vogue about LGBTQ sex education and queer-inclusive books for teens.
Rufo criticized the list of resources for including links to a “’kid friendly website for gender affirming gear,’ which sells items such as artificial penis ‘packers’ and female-to-male ‘trans masc pump[s].” Another link, he added, was for an “’LGBTQ friendly sex shop for teens’ that sells a range of ‘dildos,’ ‘vibrators,’ ‘harnesses,’ ‘anal toys,’ ‘trans-friendly toys,’ and ‘kink & BDSM’ equipment.”
“The links include graphic descriptions of sadomasochism, bondage, pornography, and transgressive sex,” Rufo wrote. “Beyond the lurid nature of some of the content, these documents reveal a profoundly disturbing collusion between radical gender activists in the medical system and the public school bureaucracy.”
Rufo wrote that the hospital “has laundered the promotion of queer theory, synthetic sexual identities, and child sex toys under the guise of ‘health and education,’ devoting significant resources toward building what policy analyst Leor Sapir has called a school-to-clinic pipeline. The process is simple: children learn about and adopt ‘gender expansive’ identities in schools, which then direct them to gender clinics that can provide puberty blockers, hormone therapies, surgeries, and drug regimens that often add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs over time.”
In short, Rufo believes that the presentation was just a way to help the hospital make money off of trans and non-binary youth.
While one could argue whether the hospital should’ve included such resource links in their presentation or whether educators should send students to such websites, the presentations were only shown to adults and there’s no proof that the links were ever shared with any children. Additionally, sex toys, packers, and pumps are normal products for humans exploring sex and the transition process.
That doesn’t matter though because Rufo’s claims seek primarily to shock people who are largely ignorant about or opposed to trans healthcare, sex education in schools, and what teens view privately online.
Rufo touts himself as an “activist challenging critical race theory and gender ideology in America’s institutions.” The New Yorker credits him with helping create the national panic over so-called “critical race theory” (CRT) being taught in schools.
But Rufo’s opposition to CRT and LGBTQ issues in schools is part of his long game in sowing distrust against the public education system in order to champion for-profit school privatization.
He has repeatedly claimed that public school teachers regularly sexually abuse children and that classroom LGBTQ discussions are meant to “groom” children for such abuse. He was present when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law, The New York Times reported.
As Rufo is likely aware, fomenting anger at gender-affirming children’s hospitals inspires others to issue death and bombing threats against pediatric doctors. This might discourage them from rendering such care and also hinders their ability to care for other sick and injured children.
A “tipping point” is when a system, with just a small amount of additional energy, is pushed from one stable state to another suddenly and dramatically. This can be a chair falling backwards. Or it can be a major earth system collapsing.
The IPCC recently identified 15 potential climate-related tipping points that scientists have grown increasingly worried we are getting close to crossing due to global warming. In this episode of Weathered, we look at 6 of the major candidates, how they are all interconnected and influence each other, and what it would mean if they were triggered. These tipping points or tipping elements are the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the Amazon rainforest, global monsoons, the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) and the earth’s permafrost and coral reefs.
The consequences for any of these systems being pushed over the edge would be truly catastrophic and would encompass everything from massive droughts, loss of biodiversity, increased flooding, heat waves, large scale climate migration, food shortages, and much more.
Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare.
Again that law pushed by DeathSantis and adored by the maga bigots is preventing the teaching of US history and the education of the students is white washed to remove any LGBTQ+ achievements or advancements. If you go to the article linked you will find more information such as below. Also please notice that the Brownshirt enforcement arm of the republican party the Proud Boys showed up to make a show of threating the board to intimidate the board to vote for the dictates of the right wing. Is this what US democracy has become, that might makes right, that threats and intimidation will win any contest. I worry about the up coming election due to this stuff. It is worth noting that all across the country the right is using violence to stop legal LGBTQ+ events simply because they don’t like them and they hate LGBTQ+ people. Now in Florida it is illegal to even tell students that gay couples exist and that they cannot bully gay students. In Florida it is illegal to mention court cases dealing with same sex marriage and cases where trans gender students won the right to use the bathrooms they identify with. It is illegal to teach facts in Florida schools. Hugs.
Aside from recognizing October as LGBTQ history month, the proposal was tweaked this year to explore the possibility of providing resources for teachers in 12th-grade social studies to teach about “important landmark civil rights” cases. That includes the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling which recognized same-sex marriage and Bostock v. Clayton County, a 2020 high court decision that protects gay or transgender employees from discrimination.
Some speakers at the meeting urged the board to pass the designation, contending that it would benefit marginalized LGBTQ students who face a higher risk of depression and suicide. They said that “LGBTQ history is American history” and it would help students be better allies to their peers.
That law, FL HB1557 (22R), prohibits teachers from leading classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation for students in kindergarten through third grade. It bans such lessons for older students unless they are “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.”
Backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the law is facing several lawsuits and is making an impact on how school districts approach local policies this year. Miami Dade, for example, wavered over proposed sexual education textbooks in July, rejecting the books before later reconsidering the vote and approving their use. Other school districts have reviewed LGBTQ student support guides in response to the law. These guides are used to help support LGBTQ students and offer guidance to teachers on how to handle such issues.
While some board members agreed with facets of the proposal, the overwhelming majority opposed the resolution this time around, warning that it could run afoul of the new parental rights law.
The Miami Dade School Board on Wednesday night struck down a proposal that would have recognized October as “LGBTQ history month” out of concern that it would violate the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, known by opponents as “Don’t Say Gay.”
Miami school board members passed a similar resolution acknowledging LGBTQ history month in 2021 by a 7-1 vote but found themselves in a different situation this fall under the Parental Rights in Education law.
Although the board’s own attorney said the recognition was on a solid legal footing, board members voted 1-8 against the idea after dozens of parents and community members raised their opposition at a marathon meeting. “I do believe this is in direct violation of our parental rights bill,” said board member Christi Fraga, who voted against the measure.
Watch the clip and you’ll see that the Proud Boys showed up to scream against us. Give the many tweets below a minute to fully load so you can see the photos.
When Miami's School Board considered observing LGBTQ History Month, opponents accused them of "indoctrination" and "imposing ideology" and said teachers should leave conversations about sexuality and gender identity to parents.https://t.co/fVNOFXYfzf
Miami-Dade School Board rejects motion to recognize October as LGBTQ History Month and teaching 12th graders about two Supreme Court cases (recognizing same sex marriage & finding employers can't fire someone for being gay).https://t.co/VZ7LOCjuaQ by @smbrugal
🚨 Outside the Miami-Dade school board right now — a group of 10+ Miami Proud Boys and allies are huddled around intimidating community members from supporting a resolution to declare LGBTQ History Month for October.
Fortunately public comments overwhelmingly support LGBTQ History Month: 24 in favor, 12 opposed. 🥳🌈
Let’s meet the Proud Boys: This is Nowell Salgueiro, a Miami Proud Boy with a criminal record and an elected member of the Miami GOP executive committee. @MiamiDadeGOPpic.twitter.com/WHikypRP6v
Next up is a secret Proud Boy, an 81 year old man named Herbert Silver aka “Vaca Loca.” He’s been hysterically screaming outside there for 4 hours about media, Hitler & more.
He’s a regular at demos & events with the Miami PB + can be seen wearing their hat at a holiday party. pic.twitter.com/ugI5aJkAP4
Next up we have Maurice Symonette of “Blacks for Trump” & a regular at Proud Boy functions.
A former member of the anti-Semitic Yahweh Ben Yahweh cult linked to murders and sex abuse, he was recently spotted hanging out w members of the -48 QAnon cult. https://t.co/n5klLlnKRipic.twitter.com/TnPGp5BKFt
The notorious far-right disinformation account “Gays Against Gr**mers” teamed up with the Miami far-right to fund a billboard truck in front of the school board.
As part of their harassment campaigns GAG recently inspired a bomb threat against a children’s hospital in Boston. pic.twitter.com/UBiAuLMTds
Miami Moms for Liberty leader Eulalia Jimenez-Hincapie (bottom L) looking exhausted & tired today inside the board meeting.
Maybe she’s worried her hate agenda is gonna lose? Maybe thinking about how her masked Proud Boys pals outside are a bad look? Maybe picking her nose? 👃 pic.twitter.com/dsRlaH1n83
Is opposition to LGBTQ History Month at the Miami-Dade school board @MDCPS motivated by hatred?
From the mouths of the Proud Boys outside:
“Get that gay shit outta here … f**got” says the PB known as Lex 305 reacting to a trans pride flag. He then gives the white power sign. pic.twitter.com/iLaVL0MPV6
Here’s Miami CCDF leader Alan Chovel posting as “Voltron Leonidas” celebrating in the telegram channel of local QAnon maven Isabella Rodriguez, aka #RedPillBabe.
Alan also posted pictures of himself attending the attempted January 6th insurrection in DC. pic.twitter.com/QYxeK9gOSQ
This is exactly what DeathSantis wanted in his first step law. The eventual goal of the far-right fascists is an anti-gay “Gay Propaganda” law like in Russia which if in effed here would shut down everything we’ve ever achieved.
He also is glad to see the goon squad come out to intimidate the board. He forgets that thugs remain thugs, and can also bully the folks who think they can manage them. This is why we discourage people from letting their leopards sleep on the bed, in case they happen to wake up without a face…
I similarly ask people when they choose their religions and if they actually tried out other ones to see what fit or if they just always went with what they were socialized into.
I’m struck again by how the “Proud Boys” are pretty much straight up thugs – and how they don’t seem to understand that ‘their’ group was stood up by the anti-minority DeVos family. I guess those leopards won’t eat their faces?
At the rate things are going backwards in Florida, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Miami School Board voting to recognize October as Anita Bryant month. : (
If Florida teachers can say gay, then students might learn that American might not have existed without a gay man.
Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian military man hired by George Washington to whip the Continental Army into shape during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War, is known for his bravery and the discipline and grit he brought to the American troops.
I don’t get it. A lot of these “proud” “boys” are POC. It’s kinda like Jews joining the KKK. They might allow you to join but you’re just a ruse. They use you so they can say, “We’re not white nationalists. Look how many ‘spics’ we have in our group.”
Photo: Shutterstock
Scottie's Playtime 