What is it with these religious bigots who think their god gives them the right to force everyone to believe / live as they claim to do. They are the first to demand their rights to worship / live as they wish. What gives them the idea the rest of us don’t want the same right. They were the first to attack the Taliban for forcing everyone in the country to worship / live by their version of Islam. Yet now they demand to be the US Christian Taliban. I do not understand their hate. They pick one or a few passages in the OT to clobber others while ignoring all the rest. They don’t stone their rebellious children, they don’t follow the other things in Leviticus and they do not follow anything Jesus said about caring for others. Hate, dominance, and vengeance is all they care about. The Old Testament god gives them that. And pleae notice the bill is titled Increasing Penalties for Child Pornography … it goes against all porn. Just like innocent drag queen story hours were attacked to protect the children from seeing people in costumes reading stories. Hugs
Alongside SB593, Deevers, who is also a pastor at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Elgin, Oklahoma, introduced legislation to abolish abortion, prohibit drag performances in front of minors, ban divorce on the grounds of incompatibility, and provide tax credits to couples who opt into “covenant marriages” or have multiple children within the bounds of marriage — just to name some highlights.
An Oklahoma state senator has introduced legislation that would ban all pornography, with criminal penalties of up to 10 years in prison for the “production, distribution or possession” of any pornography, according to a press release from the Oklahoma Senate. SB 593, proposed by Senator Dusty Deevers on January 21, is part of a slate of eight bills by the legislator to “restore moral sanity” to the state of Oklahoma.
The bill, entitled “Increasing Penalties for Child Pornography and Prohibiting Pornography in Oklahoma,” goes far beyond the scope suggested in its title. While it does advocate for raising the penalty for the possession, distribution, or production of child pornography from 0-20 years up to 10-30 years, the bill has gone so far as to prohibit pornography entirely.
“Pornography is both degenerate material and a highly addictive drug,” Deevers said in the press release. “It ruins marriages, ruins lives, destroys innocence, warps young people’s perception of the opposite sex, turns women into objects, turns men into objects, degrades human dignity, and corrodes the moral fabric of society. Any decent society will stand against this plague with the full weight of the law.”
Deevers’ description of pornography as a “highly addictive drug” directly echoes the words of the authors of Project 2025,who, in the foreword to the over 900-page blueprint for a very different America, linked pornography to both child abuse and trans identity.
“Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children, for instance, is not a political Gordian knot inextricably binding up disparate claims about free speech, property rights, sexual liberation, and child welfare,” the foreword to the document reads. “It has no claim to First Amendment protection. Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women. Their product is as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime. Pornography should be outlawed.”
Alongside SB593, Deevers, who is also a pastor at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Elgin, Oklahoma, introduced legislation to abolish abortion, prohibit drag performances in front of minors, ban divorce on the grounds of incompatibility, and provide tax credits to couples who opt into “covenant marriages” or have multiple children within the bounds of marriage — just to name some highlights.
Mike Stabile, the director of public policy at the Free Speech Coalition, said the proposed bill was really an attempt to encroach on free speech in a statement to USA Today.
“Porn is the canary in the coal mine of free speech, and the trial balloon used by governments to pass laws that can censor speech more broadly,” he told the outlet. “No matter how people feel about adult content, we should all be concerned about the proposed government crackdown on speech.”
Deevers’ attack on pornography comes less than a month after age verification laws effectively made porn inaccessible in 16 U.S. states, mostly in the regional South.
At the time that many of these bans went into effect, Aylo, the parent company to PornHub, told Mashable that it has “publicly supported age verification of users for years” but that the kind required by these bills is “ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous,” as well as a threat to users’ security.
A contributor to Project 2025 was recorded last year stating that age-verification laws are a “back door” to broader porn bans.
Legislators in several states have introduced similarly bizarre bills criminalizing sexual freedom in the short time since Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency for the second time. Last week, Mississippi state senator Bradford Blackmon introduced the “Contraception Begins at Erection Act,” which would make it illegal for a person to “discharge genetic material without the intent to fertilize an embryo.” The bill suggested a fine of $1,000 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second offense, and $10,000 thereafter. In a statement to local affiliate WLBT, Blackmon said the bill was meant to act as a counterpart to contraception and abortion bills.
“All across the country, especially here in Mississippi, the vast majority of bills relating to contraception and/or abortion focus on the woman’s role when men are fifty percent of the equation,” he told WLBT. “This bill highlights that fact and brings the man’s role into the conversation. People can get up in arms and call it absurd but I can’t say that bothers me.”
Mathew Rodriguez is the former senior news editor at Them. In the past, he has been a senior culture editor at The Atlantic, as well as a staff writer at Out Magazine, INTO, and Mic. His writing has been featured in Slate, Teen Vogue, The Village Voice, MEL Magazine, and more. He … Read more
It is nice to know that despite the religious right hate media which includes Fox Entertainment, that people are not buying the current demonization of the LGBTQ+ community. But if we don’t get loud and vocal and our democratic leaders don’t develop a spine and support the LGBTQ+ community our acceptance levels will keep sinking. Hugs
It’s no secret that queer rights are on a backslide in the United States — and American citizens aren’t happy.
In an annual survey by Gallup conducted just before Donald Trump took office, Americans were asked about their satisfaction with various aspects of the country’s culture and politics. That included “the acceptance of gay and lesbian people in the nation,” which only 51% of respondents said they were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with. That’s the lowest satisfaction rating in that area since 2013, and an 8 percentage point drop from 2017 at the start of Trump’s first term.
Respondents were also asked about their satisfaction with “the acceptance of transgender people in the nation.” To that, only 38% of respondents said they were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied.”
Notably, the satisfaction varied by political party. Republicans reported that they were largely satisfied with the country’s treatment of gays and lesbians (55%) while Democrats reported dissatisfaction (44%). Both parties expressed dissatisfaction with America’s treatment of transgender people (though potentially for different reasons), with only 42% of Republicans and 31% of Democrats satisfied.
Beyond queer issues, Americans’ overall satisfaction is sitting at 38%, a record low that’s been maintained since 2022.
I’ve been staying really busy with writing and calls to my own and other pertinent legislators, and then encouraging and thanking elected Dems (who I’m not fortunate to have for my own district) for doing what they’re able to do in a difficult environment with a minority of seats and little support from we the people. That, some more work on the house, and working with Ollie is really cutting into my time; taking care of those things is a priority for me, and may result in my cutting back on posts and interaction here. I’ll still be around, doing the daily, and checking in to at least like comments when there are some, as long as Scottie wants me to. Meanwhile, here’s a little light duty from Jessica Craven:
There are 179 lawyers in the 119th Congress. Here is a list of all of them. Many of them are Republicans. Those Republicans support the lawless behavior of the Trump administration closing federal agencies authorized by Congress, illegally firing Inspectors generals and staff at the department of justice.
Lawyers are not supposed to take part in criminal behavior or to support the furtherance of a crime, which is what they are doing.
Here is an action you can take. If you have a Republican member of Congress or senator you can look them up at the above link and see if they are attorneys.
Then you can email/call your state Bar association and demand that they be investigated for complicity in the furtherance of a crime by actively supporting Trump in his illegal dismantling of federal agencies and firing of federal workers.Hereis the contact info for all the state bar associations.
Here is a sample text for you to use.
My name is _________________- and I live in (state). I am shocked to see that Representative or Senator __________________, who is a licensed member of the bar in our state, actively supports the illegal dismantling of federal agencies, which only Congress can do. I am shocked to see that they support the illegal firing of federal workers including inspectors general and staff at the Department of Justice without cause. That is complicity in an ongoing crime and I want you to investigate their illegal behavior and suspend them from the bar.
Thank you.
Name, City
Get Smart! 📚
CAP Action has put together a great resource—a Google doc for each state with data on who and what will suffer from cuts if Republicans pass their tax plan. Click here to find your state! (There might be a couple of states missing but they intend to have them all up soon.)
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Hope to see some of you in SF tomorrow. The rest of you will get a regular newsletter then. Thanks!
So today I have been having a very full day. I have been helping Ron with the bathroom stuff as well as I could. Did our morning walk. I talked to Ron a bought evening meals. I have been watching videos. I have been answering comments which always makes me happy even though I am getting tired. I am working on a post right now on the blogging computer how Ron and I redesigned the hallway bathroom. But even during all that old issues come up. I am so tired of it, and I am sorry to again hit you with it. But two videos showed up in my YouTube feed and I clicked on them. I have to say I shouldn’t have clicked on them, my own damn fault. Ok I admit that. But like a moth to a flame sometimes. What do I say? I should run, and keep running. But far too often I click. And I watch. And I hurt. But each of them tried to send me into the void. Luckily I have strong friends who keep that void from me. Here are the two videos below. I am not opening any more YouTube links for now except for those from those I know and respect. Hugs.
Unlike the story of the teen above I was shared willingly by my older hell spawn female siblings with their boyfriends / future husband. I was way to please the boyfriend without them having to do the work. When the oldest one’s second husband moved into our home and started raping me and her really young kids she laughed to my adopting mother saying it was so cute her soon to be husband thought he was sleeping with a girl. A year later her soon to be 8 years old son came to me saying he wished he had been born a girl so he could be a better girlfriend. I was so entrapped in my own abuse I couldn’t help him. Hell at that time I couldn’t even understand what he was saying, none of my abusers had told me I needed to be the girl, I just was. I regret that to this day. All I could do then was hold him and say please be glad of your man parts and don’t let anyone take them from you. I don’t know if that helped him or if he is angry because he told someone like I did, and they did not help. Sadly he told me who was being abused by the very people abusing him.
Both of these boys were me. Sadly in the first I had no one to go to, the teachers I told only abused me freely and the only time I pulled a gun on one of my abusers … something, maybe a higher power, maybe just a future me, or a better part of me, convinced me not to and to lower the gun, remove my hand from the trigger and to replace everything to the places they belonged. Of all the events in my life that once scares me the most. The idea if I had pulled that trigger that night. What might I have become. Horrible to think of. I was only 9 or so that night. How I might have destroyed the Scotty that was to be. But I had just been violently raped by one of my main hell spawn sibling abusers who had made me do unspeakable things before while growing up. Yet with the gun pressed to his passed out temple, my finger on the trigger, something held me back. I have never understood why. Surly I would have been let off by any court. Blood still tricked down my leg from his sexual assault. But really that was not the point. Something more was. At this point in my life at 62, I doubt I will ever know or understand. Love to all. Best wishes to those that don’t want hugs. Hugs.
You can scroll down 3 grafs to get to the tools if you don’t care to read the words. I don’t want to lose the purpose within my words, like trees in a forest.
I consider myself a superlative networker. I can find people/things/articles/whatever and bring to them others who can use them. Scottie needed some help a few months back and gave me some space on his platform, and mostly, instead of writing my opinions about things which so many of us share already and read in lots of places, I’ve tried to go in the direction of supporting mental health, and things we can do to keep (or, these days, try to keep) our democracy (healthy) and fix things for people’s greater good. So, it’s true, other than a few comments and some original post titles, I don’t write much here; I network information. This post is from me, though.
We all know that I’m big on civic duties, having been practically brought up to do them, and believing in the rule of law and being loyal opposition when opposition supports the most people. So, when I do write things, typically it is with hopes of motivating or reminding others that we still have these duties and the rights to perform them; that letting these duties slide has helped bring us where we are; and, especially now, if we don’t use our rights and perform our duties, we lose the rights and can no longer perform the duties.
Which brings me to some tools. I’ve read EPI for years and years, and use their tools to help me lobby my legislators about issues that matter to most people. EPI has created a new set of tools, so I’m sharing them here in this post. I hope you managed to read through the previous grafs to get here, because this is important, and will be helpful to all of us as we do our work preserving democracy.
EPI Action is the home page. From here, you can scroll and click around to see what you want to see, and gain the tools to make your work easier. Yes, “EPI” stands for Economic Policy Institute (I think; they’ve been EPI now for so long, I may have messed that up.) And, yes, maybe someone thinks, “Hey, I only want to work on this, that, or the other, but not on economics.” Well, you can do that from here. EPI has information and tools to work with:
Learning About Wages, Jobs, and Inequality listing numerous items of data to peruse, including “Union membership rates and the union wage premium, Annual wages for select groups, including the top 1% and bottom 90% of wage earners, Racial and gender wage gaps, Unemployment rates, including by state, Poverty rates, Inflation rates”.
EPI has fact sheets you can use when you go to legislator town halls/forums, if that’s your thing, or to give away at a booth or a table if that’s your thing, or just to consult while you’re writing up a letter or email, or a script for calling, your legislators. Whatever your thing. If your thing is filing to run for office, EPI is a great information resource for use while campaigning and forming policy.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the weekend. Living through an attempted coup is exhausting. And yet here so many of you are—more every day! Our movement, or whatever we’re calling it now, is growing by leaps and bounds. This newsletter has gained well over 50,000 new subscribers in the last thirty days. That’s NUTS, and also shows that Americans continue to be fired up and determined to fight back. I am so glad.
I know it feels like Trump and Musk are “getting away with everything” right now, but I want to remind you that, as they say in twelve step programs, sometimes we have to just “let time take time.” We’re not even a month into this thing yet. Already the country has seen large demonstrations, swamped Congressional phone lines, mass Senate office visits, the first Stop-Shopping day scheduled (for February 28), and the rise of the 50501 movement. Indivisible groups are exploding, new coalitions are being built, and new connections being formed.
This is a moment when old heroes to many—Adam Schiff, the New York Times, Snoop Dogg?—are proving disappointments, but also when new ones—Chris Murphy, the AP, Kendrick Lamar— are rising with brilliant fierceness. Entire media empires are crumbling, yes, but out of those ashes are emerging a whole new crop of great publications and tough, fearless journalists. Political content creators are taking their rising visibility seriously and forming new groups to coordinate their messaging. State Attorneys General and Governors are stepping up in a big way. Career Prosecutors at the DOJ are, as we speak, exhibiting stunning courage in standing up to Trump.
Progress, in short, is being made, and the work being done. Not always by whom we want, and not always as fast as we want. But that stands to reason: There is a massive and necessary reorganization taking place in response to Trump’s attacks. It can’t be instant—that simply defies the laws of physics. We’ve never been here before, so it stands to reason that none of the old rules apply.
So we’re all going to have to keep building the plane while flying it, remembering that new mechanics and pilots are joining us all the time.
Now a word about the many protests and strikes being planned. I have received a LOT of emails asking me for more information on the ones I’ve mentioned here. I have very little. These events are happening organically in a decentralized way. They are being organized on discords and in signal messages. I am not organizing them. What I put in the newsletter is the extent of what I know.
I did glean some helpful resources from a fellow activist today, though: This site is encouraging groups (not just of these events, but all groups doing on the ground actions) to list their events to create a centralized hub for movement work. You can search by state and see if there’s an action listed. You may also find some events on this website (although it is not organized in a way that is as user friendly). The 50501 Bluesky account is also sharing flyers for events as they learn about them. 50501 also has a Reddit page and a website. They seem to be emerging as a major force in this effort; I intend to follow them. And before you ask—no, I don’t know who “they” are. But last week’s 50501 protests went off without a hitch. I’m not going to keep avoiding them just because they have diffuse leadership. This just may be how resistance to an autocracy has to look. I’m grateful for the work they’re doing.
OK, all. I’m running way behind today, so I’m going to leave you with my favorite Vaclav Havel quote; I resort to it often in moments of duress:
Either we have hope within us or we do not.
It is a dimension of the soul and is not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world.
HOPE is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart. It transcends the world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.
HOPE in this deep and powerful sense is not the same as joy that things are going well or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good, not because it stands a chance to succeed.
HOPE is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.
It is HOPE, above all which gives the strength to live and continually try new things.
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
(snip)
I know Congress is going on recess soon and I’d like to know when the Senator is holding his/her Town Hall. We constituents have a lot to say about the coup attempt that’s happening and we expect an opportunity to have our voices heard. Thanks.
Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
I am upset about House Republicans’ proposed cuts to SNAP and Medicaid. Grocery prices and hunger are increasing in the country. Cutting the program that helps over 42 million people put food on the table is unacceptable. Same with Medicaid. 72 million Americans rely on it for healthcare—mostly children, seniors, and veterans. Republicans’ desire to cut these programs in order to pay for tax cuts for rich people is disgusting. What is the Congressmember doing to protect SNAP and Medicaid? Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
VERY IMPORTANT! A group of 17 states (all Republican) have sued the United States government in a case called Texas v Becerra. These states are asking the court to get rid of Section 504—a critically important law that says you can’t discriminate against disabled people if you get money from the US government. Section 504 does everything from requiring schools to include students with disabilities and help them learn to requiring doctors and schools to have sign language interpreters for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. There’s so much more. The fact that they’re suing to kill this rule is really shocking. I guess Texas started the lawsuit when they found out that gender dysphoria can get you 504 protections. But they’re not trying to get rid of just that provision. They’re trying to kill the whole thing.
One of my subscribers sent me a document that explains the situation in super clear language. It also gives us ways to reach out to the Attorneys General involved and ask them to drop the lawsuit. I’m asking all of us who live in one of the 17 states involved to take the time to do this, please.
The document is here. Please read it, share it, and, if you live in one of the 17 red states that are part of the lawsuit, use the sample letter as a template and write to (or call) your Attorney General. This MUST be stopped!
Extra Extra Credit for NY State Residents
You can do this if you’re not a NY resident but obviously it will pack more punch if you live there. There’s also an email form here.
Call Governor Kathy Hochul at 1-518-474-8390 and say:
My name is ____ and I live in [NY zip]. The Trump administration and NYC Mayor Eric Adams seem to have engaged in an overt quid pro quo – dropping the criminal case against Adams in exchange for the Mayor facilitating the Trump administration’s indiscriminate immigration crackdown. The Governor has the power to remove Mayor Adams. She needs to do so. He’s a criminal and a disgrace. Thanks.
Get Smart! 📚
As many of us engage on urgent threats to democracy, it is also vital to prepare and plan for the 2025 elections that will need a robust voter protection effort. Early planning and coordination will be key to protecting voters.
To help kick start that work, I’m pleased to announce a short Zoom presentation on February 25, convened by Voter Protection Corps and featuring voter protection experts analyzing the 2024 elections and providing insight into what to expect in 2025.
Please join them for this interactive virtual event.
Speakers: Caroline Hutton (Voter Protection Director, WisDems), Cecelia Ugarte Baldwin (Voter Protection Director, Democratic Party of Georgia), Jenny Guzman (Common Cause Arizona), Jesse Littlewood (Voter Protection Corps), moderated by Quentin Palfrey (Voter Protection Corps)
Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 Time: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM ET
With RFK Jr. now the HHS Secretary access to abortions is more threatened than ever. I truly believe we’re going to see the FDA ban (or severely restrict) abortion pills soon. Fortunately the amazing org Plan C is not backing down.
From them:
At this time of uncertainty we know several things: evidence-based information is critical in healthcare and beyond. People will continue to have abortions. And the evidence shows that abortion pills are safe, effective, life-saving medications, whether obtained through a clinic visit, via telehealth, or as a self-managed option. Abortion pills are accessible in all states and territories, including states with heavy restrictions, and can be kept on hand for two years.
Here are a few specific actions people can take to protect this access. PLEASE share this information:
Learn about pills in advance. People can access highly affordable (as low as $70) abortion pills now before they need them, so they have access to this vital form of health care. Visit plancpills.org/pills-in-advance to learn more and find pill options.
Order Plan C stickers. To date, we’ve distributed more than 4M stickers that direct people to our website with accurate, up-to-date information about how people are accessing abortion pills. We plan to continue to share this information under a Trump administration. plancpills.org/stickers
Spread the word about resources. We encourage people to know about and bookmark the following resources which will have information on how to access abortion:
For pills by mail sources and info on using them, visit plancpills.org
For clinics, travel and pills by mail visit ineedana.com
And for a one-stop URL for reproductive access information, youhaveoptions.com.
Give 💰!
Movement Voter Project has just launched The Comeback Campaign: a plan for the first 100 days which is an all-hands-on-deck push to fund the most effective frontline groups around the country working to protect communities, block MAGA, and plant the seeds to win back power in 2026 and beyond.
Y’all, I’m doing a bit of work with Gay Valimont’s team to help publicize her upcoming special Congressional election in Florida. This race is a super long shot but in this climate I actually think a victory is possible. Watch the video for more info, then sign up to volunteer here or make a donation here.
Hey Missouri!
I’ve launched yet another state newsletter! This time it’s Missouri (here’s the link). My co-author is Anna Eggemeyer, a St. Louis-based activist, and we’ll be sending out legislative updates, actions, events etc. once every two weeks or so starting today. If you’re from MO, go check it out! Or if you know someone who is, send them the link. Thanks!
No Resistbot letter today, sorry!
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Scottie's Playtime 