Schools in the Fort Worth area are implementing newly adopted rules regarding which bathrooms trans students can use, which choirs they can sing in and how teachers and classmates are required to refer to them. And across Texas, trans kids and their parents worry about a new law that cuts off access to gender-affirming care.
Researchers say transgender students are already more likely to consider suicide because of the hostile social environment many face at school and elsewhere. Advocates for transgender kids say new policies will only make matters worse.
Trustees also adopted a policy stating that district employees may not “promote, encourage, or require the use of pronouns that are inconsistent with a student’s or other person’s biological sex.” The policy leaves trans and nonbinary students little recourse if a classmate or teacher intentionally refers to them using the wrong pronouns.
Days before the meeting, the ACLU of Texas sent a letter to members of the board, as well as Superintendent Rick Westfall, warning them that the policy violates federal law and runs contrary to guidance from nonpartisan education groups, including the Texas Association of School Boards. In the letter, ACLU lawyers argued that it is “deeply invasive and unlawful” for district officials to question students’ sexual characteristics.
The group was already controversial for its activism around anti-transgender issues and opposition to books and teachings around race and sexuality, but hit a new level with a recent controversy involving a Hitler quote.
On Sunday’s edition of MSNBC’s Inside With Jen Psaki, the host warned her audience that despite their innocuous-sounding name, Moms for Liberty’s “agenda is unmistakably extreme”:
For instance, you may not know that Moms for Liberty has been helping to lead the movement in pulling books from the library shelves, including classics like “The Bluest Eye”, great book, “The Kite Runner”, amazing book, and “Maus” — as well as other books that deal with the race, diversity, and sexuality.
The group has turned school board meetings into unruly shouting matches. As an attendee at one Florida meeting described, quote, they turn around and scream at me that I am a commie and teachers want to see all kids fail. This group brings out the worst in people.
The group says that this work, all of the shouting is the work of joyful warriors, is what they call it.
Some sounds a lot more to meet like pretty aggressive harassment. And that behavior is not isolated. It’s part of a bigger pattern.
Chapters and members across the country have led campaigns targeting community acti — advocates, school board members and opposing groups. They have repeatedly sent intimidating messages, openly threatened officials and even baselessly leveled charges of child abuse and sympathizing with pedophilia.
Unbelievably, an Indiana chapter even put a newsletter that quoted Adolf Hitler, saying quote: He alone who owns the youth, gains the future. That is a Hitler quote.
And while they eventually apologized, the organization seemed to later regret that apology.
TIFFANY JUSTICE, CO-FOUNDER, MOMS FOR LIBERTY: There’s always a reason why something happens. Right? One of our moms in a newsletter quotes Hitler. I stand with that mom.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
PSAKI: Standing by a mom who quotes Hitler in a newsletter. People cheering for that, that’s what you just saw.
And as for their claim that they are just a group of concerned, nonpartisan moms who happened to care about liberty, consider this — one of the founders whose name is notably omitted from its website is a current Republican school board member who’s married to the now chairman of the Florida Republican Party.
They're disgusting and so is Naomi Wolf.
This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for Tuesday:
Cardinal Louis Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, announced Saturday that he is withdrawing from his seat in Baghdad after Iraqi President Abdul Rashid revoked a decree recognizing him as head of the Christian Church in Iraq.
Sako said he will be taking up residence in a monastery in Kurdistan, an autonomous region of Iraq, where he will continue to lead the Chaldean Church.
In a statement issued July 15, Sako called the president’s action — which calls into question his ability to control Church assets in the country — “unprecedented” and “unfair.”
“It is unfortunate that we in Iraq live in the midst of a wide network of self-interest, narrow factionalism, and hypocrisy that has produced an unprecedented political, national, and moral chaos, which is rooted by now more and more,” Sako wrote. “Therefore, I have decided to withdraw from the patriarchal headquarters in Baghdad.”
Cardinal Louis Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, announced Saturday that he is withdrawing from his seat in Baghdad after Iraqi President Abdul Rashid revoked a decree recognizing him as head of the Christian Church in Iraq.
Sako said he will be taking up residence in a monastery in Kurdistan, an autonomous region of Iraq, where he will continue to lead the Chaldean Church.
In a statement issued July 15, Sako called the president’s action — which calls into question his ability to control Church assets in the country — “unprecedented” and “unfair.”
“It is unfortunate that we in Iraq live in the midst of a wide network of self-interest, narrow factionalism, and hypocrisy that has produced an unprecedented political, national, and moral chaos, which is rooted by now more and more,” Sako wrote. “Therefore, I have decided to withdraw from the patriarchal headquarters in Baghdad.”
Arabic social media has been referring to the photos and the video as having a Weekend At Bernie's type feel to it. (In Weekend At Bernie's, two young men prop up the corpse of dead Bernie to trick people into believing he's alive.) The fact that Jalal's only seen in the video and the photos from his right side have people speculating about what the left side shows -- the after-effects of a stroke? Salah Nasrawi (Al-Ahram) notes:
Rumours have been abundant about Talabani’s health condition as his convalescence coincides with one of Iraq’s most serious political crises and its deadliest period of ethno-sectarian strife since the United States pullout in 2011.
Some reports have suggested that Talabani is clinically dead in the Berlin hospital where he is treated, others said the enfeebled president has handed his will to one of the leaders of his party.
Regardless of the furious speculations among Iraqis about Talabani’s health conditions, his prolonged absence has sparked a debate about whether he will be physically able to resume official duties.
According to various medical studies, persons who had strokes mostly develop serious physical and emotional problems occurring after recovery and they will need prolonged treatment.
In 2012, Iraqi
President Jalal
Talabani suffered a stroke. The incident took place late on December
17, 2012 (see the December 18th snapshot) and resulted in Jalal being admitted to Baghdad's Medical Center Hospital. Thursday, December 20, 2012,
he was moved to Germany. He remained there for a year and a half. He
was incapacitated. But the Talabani family lied to everyone so that, as
the Iraqi Constitution requires, Jalal wouldn't be removed from office.
They lied to the country. They deceived the Iraqi people. They propped
him up and posed him for pictures -- leading Arabic media to mock it as
WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S -- but they couldn't offer video because he
couldn't speak.
The first time was in May. Jalal was posed for a series of photos that appear to indicate his body was present but that was all.
The second set, months later, also showed Jalal posed with his right side to the camera.
[. . .]
Over 18 months later Jalal would return. They wouldn't be able to use
the return to pump up his party in elections because he couldn't speak.
In other words, the Talabani family lied to the Iraqi people, deceived
them. Iraq had a non-functioning president who should have been removed
from office. But the Talabanis lied to keep Jalal in a post he could
not serve.
[. . .]
They lied to the country. They deceived the Iraqi people. They propped
him up and posed him for pictures -- leading Arabic media to mock it as
WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S -- but they couldn't offer video because he
couldn't speak.
He never spoke in public again. Not even when he returned to Iraq 18 months after his stroke.
He was not able to do any duties and he was not able to speak but the Talabani family lied to the press and to the people so that they could hold onto the position and the prestige. They harmed Iraq in the process. Iraq needed a real president. It had none.
The next election showed how much damage the Talabanis had done to the PUK and that's been true ever since. In addition, you've got Jalal's sons showing up to try to tell the Kurds what to do. They love that -- and who wouldn't? One of Jalal's pampered sons who lives in the US and is married to an American woman returning to the Kurdistan to lecture them on how they shouldn't want independence for Kurdistan, lecturing them on how they shouldn't vote for it in a non-binding referendum.
A source at Asianews points out that the whole affair turns on this point: “Someone wants to take control over the assets and properties held by Christians and the Church.” President Abdul Latif Rashid has intervened in recent days with the intention of “clarifying” his decision.
His office issues a statement saying: “Withdrawing the republican decree does not prejudice the religious or legal status of Cardinal Louis Sako, as he is appointed by the Apostolic See.” According to the Kurdish Muslim leader, “the abolition of the Presidential Decree is intended to correct the situation,” while the patriarch continues to enjoy “the respect and appreciation of the presidency of the Republic as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church in Iraq and the world.”
“However, the president’s decision strips the Chaldean leader – the Patriarch – of the right to administer church assets, which are the target of Ryan 'the Chaldean' and his Babylonian Brigades. ‘It’s no coincidence that the president’s decision came a few days after he met with Ryan,’” a source told AsiaNews.
“For over 100 years, the patriarch, after his papal appointment, had his office recognized by decree by the king and then the president, upholding his status as head of the Church and custodian of its properties.” With the withdrawal of the decree, the primate “will likely lose control over the [Church’s] assets and properties,” the source concludes, but Cardinal Sako “is determined to fight and is already studying ways to appeal in court so that law prevails and justice is done.”
The controversy surrounding the withdrawal of the presidential decree is the latest chapter in a series of attacks that have affected the most respected figure of the Chaldean Church in Iraq, to the point that in recent weeks there has arisen a backlash among Christians in response to the “lies”: an attack against the patriarch and the leadership of the Church by the leader of the Babylonian Movement, Rayan.
NBC News reported this weekend that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) had to fire some staff after realizing he hired too many people before securing the fundraising. The report detailed some critical missteps in the DeSantis money machine that predicts a difficult path forward.
Candidates have donors that give them the maximum amount per election, meaning both the primary and general elections. They can't spend the money in the general election. So, of DeSantis' $12 million cash on hand, he can only spend $9 million of it.
To add to his problems, "about $14 million of his second-quarter haul came from donors who gave the maximum legal amount," NBC News explained. "In other words, roughly two-thirds of his early donors will not be able to give directly to his campaign for the duration of the race."
It means DeSantis has already burned through the big donors closest to him, and he's got to figure out how to find more or ramp up a heavy fundraising effort for tons of low-dollar donors. The problem with the latter strategy is that Donald Trump spent the past eight years building an extensive GOP donor list. They hammer the donors through emails and text messages until they stop giving money or unsubscribe.
So, DeSantis would have to find donors that aren't Trump's. Those people are generally more moderate, the so-called "NeverTrumpers" or "RINOS" (Republicans In Name Only). But DeSantis has run to the right of Trump, so he's not going to appeal to those two groups.
I was only a few short years into my young adult life. I was already struggling to balance working multiple part-time jobs, attending full-time classes, navigating a toxic romantic relationship, dealing with family rejection and facing a serious identity crisis.
But Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, thinks diversity, equity and inclusion programs are just window dressings.
In fact, Gov. DeSantis feels so strongly about centering the Florida education system around his own white Christian values and culture, he has cut funding for all diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Florida colleges and universities, a law that took effect July 1.
Under the new law, colleges and universities are not allowed to use federal or state funding for DEI initiatives on campus, which undercuts their ability to replace these resources through other funding opportunities.
One of many problems with his plan is that colleges and universities are not just schools, they are homes. Students live on campus, often without transportation; they rely on the school’s on-campus offerings to help them build community and feel comfortable in their new home.
I have never lived on campus and was not even a UNF student. I attended Florida State College at Jacksonville, but I had access to resources and clubs on both campuses through my participation in the UNF Army ROTC program. The programs I found there were literally lifesaving to me.
If I needed these things living off-campus in my hometown, the students who left their entire lives behind to attend college in a new city definitely need them.
Places like the Interfaith Center offer people from all faiths a community while they are away from their own. It offers them an opportunity to talk about their culture with others and find consensus on how we are all the same, no matter our differences. Diverse programs like these are powerful for bringing people together, which we could all use a little more of these days.
In my experience with the Interfaith Center, I have led discussions with students about the intersection of religion and sexual orientation, shared my journey to finding myself in Judaism and learned about other’s experiences too, which also helped me heal. This space gave me the opportunity to help those who were once like me — lost and trying to figure out if I could fit into my religion while still loving who I loved.
Religious spaces have not been historically welcoming places for me, but that has never been the case at the Interfaith Center. Instead of seeing only my own identity reflected in the people there, I saw a beautiful mosaic of people from all walks of life. It exposed me to different cultures and religions. Even better, I have always been welcomed and fully accepted, no caveat.
“Moms: great, sounds good. Liberty: awesome, who doesn’t like liberty? ‘Moms for Liberty.’ As the mom of two young kids, that even sounds good to me,” Psaki said. “But it’s vague enough, that even some of its own members are pretty unclear as to what the group is really all about, what they’re a part of.”
“Well, I’m here to help,” she continued. “Because as benign as Moms for Liberty may sound, its agenda is unmistakably extreme.”
She went on to catalog the group’s tactics and causes, including leading the movement to ban books, turning school board meetings into screaming matches, and intimidating both local officials and others in their communities.
“Chapters and members across the country have led campaigns targeting community advocates, school board members, and opposing groups,” Psaki explained. “They’ve repeatedly sent intimidating messages, openly threatened officials, and even baselessly leveled charges of child abuse and sympathizing with pedophilia.”
She also noted that one Indiana chapter infamously included an Adolph Hitler quote in a newsletter. The group apologized but later defended the inclusion of the quote.
Psaki also demolished Moms for Liberty’s claim that it is a nonpartisan organization. “Consider this,” she said. “One of the founders, whose name is notably omitted from its website, is a current Republican school board member who is married to the now-chairman of the Florida Republican Party. In 2021, he told the Washington Post, ‘I have been trying for a dozen years to get 20- and 30-year-old females involved with the Republican Party. But now Moms for Liberty has done it for me.’”
She also noted early in the segment that the group recently hosted five Republican presidential candidates, including Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, at its annual summit in Philadelphia.
The New York Times’ Jonathan Swan, Charlie Savage and Maggie Haberman reported that Trump and his allies seek to consolidate more power and authority into the Oval Office if they can get him re-elected in 2024. The plan would reportedly consist of Trump assuming direct control over independent government entities, easing the process through which he can fire bureaucrats he doesn’t like, and reviving the power to “impound” Congressional funding for programs he may not approve of.
“The two driving forces of this effort to reshape the executive branch are Mr. Trump’s own campaign policy shop and a well-funded network of conservative groups, many of which are populated by former senior Trump administration officials who would most likely play key roles in any second term,” the Times reported. “Some elements of the plans had been floated when Mr. Trump was in office but were impeded by internal concerns that they would be unworkable and could lead to setbacks.”
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