Tag: LGBT Issues

Rebuke Of Title IX

More doctor’s stuff today so a slow day for me to post….sorry….chuq

This is one of those issues that should be a major point of contention after 20 January……LGBTQ+ issues…..most of us know how the states feel about these situations….and Biden attempted to try an end run….

A judge has made his pronouncement on the law…..

The Biden administration’s Title IX rules expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students have been struck down nationwide after a federal judge in Kentucky found they overstepped the president’s authority. In a decision issued Thursday, US District Judge Danny C. Reeves scrapped the entire 1,500-page regulation after deciding it was “fatally” tainted by legal shortcomings. The rule had already been halted in 26 states after a wave of legal challenges by Republican-run states. President-elect Trump previously promised to end the rules “on day one” and made anti-transgender themes a centerpiece of his campaign.

  • The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called it a rejection of the Biden administration’s “relentless push to impose a radical gender ideology,” the AP reports. “Because the Biden rule is vacated altogether, President Trump will be free to take a fresh look at our Title IX regulations when he returns to office,” Skrmetti said in a statement.
  • The Biden administration ignited controversy when it finalized the new rules last year. The regulation expanded Title IX, a 1972 law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education, to also prevent discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. It also widened the definition of harassment to include a greater range of misconduct.
  • Civil rights advocates hailed the move as a victory, saying it gave LGBTQ+ students new recourse against discrimination. But it drew outrage from conservatives who said it could be used to protect transgender athletes in girls’ sports. The rule didn’t explicitly address athletics and mostly detailed how schools and colleges were required to respond to cases of discrimination and sexual assault.
  • In his decision, Reeves found the Education Department overstepped its authority by expanding the scope of Title IX. There’s nothing in the 1972 law suggesting that it should cover any more than it has since Congress created it, Reeves wrote. He called it an “attempt to bypass the legislative process and completely transform Title IX.”
  • Rather than carve out certain aspects of the rule, Reeves decided it was better to toss the regulation in its entirety and revert to a previous interpretation of Title IX. He said his decision will “simply ’cause a return to the status quo’ that existed for more than 50 years prior to its effective date.”

I am sure when this is revisited that the Trump admin will just pass it off to the states….it is not something Donald the Orange wants to deal with over his Big Mac.

How will the Dems handle this issue will be telling.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

From The ‘Can’t Fix Stupid’ Files

Closing Thought–22Apr21

This sector of IST keeps expanding…..for there is a wealth of stupid out there I intend to shine a lot on as much as possible.

Meanwhile back in the Red States of the New South….where the important issues are abortion and bathrooms….not the solutions to the problems of the residents.

This is yet another stupid law that would invade the lives of people…..

Arkansas GOP Governor Asa Hutchinson did a good thing and vetoed a bill that would criminalize healthcare for transgender kids. Naturally, the Republican-majority legislature in the state was less than pleased, but determined to make their their state even more inhospitable to transgender people than it already is just by virtue of being Arkansas. So they overrode the veto. The Arkansas House passed a bill allowing teachers to misgender their students and call them by the wrong names, and now they want to pass another, equally terrible bill meant to facilitate discrimination against trans people.

The “Arkansas Privacy Accommodations Act,” (HB 1882), sponsored by Rep. Cindy Crawford (not that Cindy Crawford), would allow people who happen to encounter a trans person in the bathroom of a public agency or entity to sue for “monetary damages for all psychological, emotional, and physical harm suffered.” How one would even begin to quantify something so ridiculous is unclear.

The bill is set to go before the State Agencies and Government Affairs committee today, and will likely be passed, given that the Arkansas legislature seems to really hate trans people.

Co-sponsoring the bill is none other than Mary Bentley, the Arkansas Republican who was the primary sponsor of both the bill that would allow teachers to bully trans students and the bill to teach creationism in schools. She’s a real peach.

The bill defines “sex” as “a person’s immutable biological sex as objectively determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth” — a definition clearly meant to appeal to transphobes who don’t even know intersex people exist. However, it also says that “evidence of a person’s biological sex includes without limitation any government-issued identification document that accurately reflects a person’s sex.”

Surprisingly, it is actually fairly easy to change one’s gender on an Arkansas driver’s license — all one needs to do is to ask the clerk at the DMV office to change the gender to M, F or X. Because guess what? As super backwards as Arkansas is, they have a nonbinary gender option on their driver’s licenses, and they were the first state to do so, back in 2010. Go figure.

Now, sure. They expressly say “that accurately reflects a person’s sex,” but how the hell are they going to know? Are they going to actually inspect people’s genitals? Ask to see their birth certificates to see what gender they were assigned when they were born? How far are they planning to take this? And boy, won’t things get awkward in these bathrooms when these transphobes think they see someone who is of the “opposite sex” in their bathrooms but isn’t? Will they still be entitled to damages for the “psychological, emotional and physical harm” suffered if they’re wrong? Because there are many, many ways this could go wrong, especially if Arkansas expects transgender men to use the women’s room and expects transgender women to use the men’s room.

(wonkette.com)

Once again the Red States find a solution that there is no problem….instead of trying to end hunger or homelessness or education they prefer to worry about bathrooms and the sensibilities of morons.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Gay Transportation

Please do not let the title confuse you…..

The news has broke…..Mayor Pete a candidate for the Dem nomination in 2020 has been tapped to be the next SecTrans…..and we will be beat about the head and shoulders with this news….you see in case you forgot…..Pete is gay.

Another of Joe Biden’s former primary foes is getting a key role in the new administration. The president-elect will nominate Pete Buttigieg to serve as transportation secretary, reports CNN. Assuming he’s confirmed by the Senate, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, will be the first openly gay Cabinet secretary, notes Politico. Buttigieg was widely expected to land a significant role. The Washington Post recounts that when Buttigieg dropped out of the presidential race, he endorsed Biden at a pivotal moment before the Super Tuesday primaries. Biden then compared Buttigieg, who served a tour in Afghanistan as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve, to his late son Beau.

“It’s the highest compliment I can give any man or woman,” Biden said at the time. “I promise you, you’re going to end up, over your lifetime, seeing a hell of a lot more of Pete than you are of me.” Biden has not formally announced the move yet, but after Reuters first reported the pick via anonymous sources, a slew of major outlets have confirmed it through sources of their own. One area of possible friction: Reuters notes that progressive groups and Black leaders fault Buttigieg for not doing enough to fight systemic racism during his mayoral reign in South Bend.

I say congrats to Mayor Pete….but the news needs to let his orientation go…..is he qualified?

His sexual preference should not be news.

Sorry to be a downer here…..

Once again Biden is rewarding the Centrists with NO policy ideas and ignoring the idea people of the party….and that tells me where this country is going…..nowhere…..his gayness does not alter the facts.

Predictably, Biden’s sterile roster of cabinet picks seem geared toward appeasing a mythical political center that no longer exists, if it ever did.

Biden is a politician who is unlikely to disappoint his followers for the simple reason that he has few truly devoted adherents and offers them little of substance. Mostly, he delivers on small things, tiny symbolic acts that serve to mask the broader betrayals of movements and aspirations he claimed to represent but never had any real interest in. Unlike Obama, idealism was never Biden’s calling card. His entire career he has sold a brutal brand of pragmatism behind a dental implant smile.

At least Pete is NOT an Obamite…..he can be said to be the future of the party…..I say nope….maybe his personality but NOT his policies.

Remember that “Blue Wave” that was predicted…..it fell on its face because there was NEVER any proof of this mythical “Wave”…..https://lobotero.com/2020/11/30/the-massive-blue-wave/

THe government is stuck in the “Centrist” mud……spinning its wheels and going nowhere.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

They Came Out Of The Cave(Closet)

My weekend continues and I am arguing with my daughter….nothing new there….move along…..and I read an article that made me sit up and think….maybe it will do the same for my readers…..

The debate these days is over LGBT rights and most recently we have been overly concerned on where one person pees…..but guess what….none of this is anything new…..is it possible that there were some sort of LGBT thing going on in the early days of human history?

Caveman was buried like a woman, leading scientists to question his sexual orientation.

Archaeologists investigating a 5,000-year-old Copper Age grave in the Czech Republic believe they may have unearthed the first known remains of a gay or transvestite caveman, reports the Telegraph.

The man was apparently buried as if he were a woman, an aberrant practice for an ancient culture known for its strict burial procedures.

Since the grave dates to between 2900 and 2500 BC, the man would have been a member of the Corded Ware culture, a late Stone Age and Copper Age people named after the unique kind of pottery they produced. Men in this culture were traditionally buried lying on their right side with their heads pointing west, but this man was instead buried on his left side with his head pointing east, which is how women were typically buried.

Source: Archaeologists unearth 5,000-year-old ‘third-gender’ caveman | MNN – Mother Nature Network

Is it more possible that our ancient ancestors were far more mature about this than we are here in the present day?

Ya see…there is NOTHING new under the sun……gays in society have been around since the beginning……GET OVER IT!

I will spend the day trying to get back to normal…not having a good weekend so far…..enjoy your time and see you guys tomorrow…..

Let’s Be Absurd

None of us like to be told what to do by the government…..but then there are those people that will allow it as long as it does not pertain to their lives….

We are having a debate over where someone pees…..my thought is how will you determine if the person belongs there or not….the only way to do that is by becoming a peeping Tom or the person walks in with genitals a in hand and announces they are there….to me this is a silly debate to be wasting our time on…..

Then there are the people that are pissed about a gay person wanting a cake, among other services,

More than 30 ministers from around the state and nation published an open letter Monday saying the so-called “religious freedom” law goes against Christian teachings to love and respect all people. The group joins major businesses, human rights groups and legal experts in opposing the incoming law, which they say discriminates against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The law lets churches and some private businesses deny services to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people because of religious beliefs. It’s similar to one vetoed by Georgia’s governor in late March. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed the measure into law earlier this month.

Supporters of the law include the American Family Association and the Southern Baptist Convention. They say it protects those who decline services to people whose lifestyles violate religious beliefs that marriage should only be between a man and a woman; that sexual relations should only take place inside such marriages, and that a person’s sex is determined at birth and is unchangeable.

Another Southern state has passed another law……this one centers around therapists but I am sure that it will be expanded……

Mental health therapists and counselors in Tennessee can now turn away gay patients or others whose “goals, outcomes, or behaviors” conflict with their “sincerely held beliefs.” Republican Gov. Bill Haslam signed Bill 1556 into law on Wednesday, saying it doesn’t “address a group, issue, or belief system,” though opponents say it’s a troubling attack on gay rights, CNN reports. The bill was created in response to the American Counseling Association’s 2014 change to its ethics code, which required counselors to avoid imposing their own values on clients, the Tennessean reports.

The ACA says the Tennessee legislation, which is the only such law in the country, is an “unprecedented attack” on the profession, the AP reports. ACA spokesman Art Terrazas says the group is “extremely disappointed” that Haslam has ignored the backlash to similar “religious freedom” bills in states like Georgia “and has elected to sign this dangerous bill into law. Plain and simple, this bill codifies discrimination.” The final version of the bill removed references to religion and added requirements for therapists to treat people who are in immediate danger of harming themselves or others, and to refer rejected clients to other therapists or counselors

All this is just absurd….I mean one goes into business to sell services and make money….but yet some money is different from other money?  And then when people retaliate with a boycott these same people start whining about the loss of business.

We got rid of one form of segregation (sort of) and replaced it with another…..where will this type of pure CRAP end?

Maybe this cartoon will show you…….the path of absurdity.

Oh wait there is even more of this conservative absurdities.

Being a single mom in Springfield, Illinois could get a little more difficult if certain GOP lawmakers get their way.

According to the proposed bill HB6064 filed last week by Reps John D. Cavaletto and Keith Wheeler, if a father is not listed on a newborn child’s birth certificate, the birth certificate will not be issued for the child and any future financial assistance will be denied.

Where do these mental midgets draw the line?

What the Hell will be next for the slugs of the American political system?

The Transgender Thing

I have avoided this issue because I think that is a silly thing to worry about…..and second people are too f*cking stupid to make any sort of rational decision….they will base their decisions on emotional baggage they have been carrying around for years.

Even the hero of the Right….the mouth of Manhattan has weighed in on this (odd have not heard many of his supporters mention this anywhere….go figure)……

Donald Trump broke with many of his fellow Republicans on Thursday, saying transgender people should be able to “use the bathroom they feel is appropriate,” the New York Times reports. The Republican frontrunner was addressing North Carolina’s controversial—many would say discriminatory—”bathroom bill” during a town-hall event in New York. He said the state made a big mistake with its law, which has caused economic damage and was unnecessary in the first place. “You leave it the way it is,” he said. “There have been very few complaints the way it is.” He also said he’d be fine with Caitlyn Jenner using whichever restroom at Trump Tower made her comfortable.

All this concern about who uses what bathroom….first of all….how will you know who is using it?

If it is a woman dressed as a man she will use a stall….how will you find out.  Burst into the stall?

If it is a man dressed as a women….she will use a stall (there are NO urinals in a ladies room)….you gonna burst into the stall and exclaim…Ah Ha!

Or maybe you would prefer a strip search before entering the washroom?

Like I said this is a silly issue for small minds.  Me?  I have better things to do than worry about who pees where.

Arkansas Tops Indiana?

When Pence signed the Indiana discrimination law into being…he immediately caught flak and started backing away from the law…..the question to ask………if the country had not responded so badly would he be calling for “clarification”?  Answer:  Of course not….he would have thanked his lucky stars and moved on…….

Pence has been busy trying to explain the law and trying to convince the country that it is not discriminatory……he is failing miserably……..

Indiana governor Mike Pence is setting the record straight: Though the Religious Freedom Restoration Act “has been grossly misconstrued as a ‘license to discriminate,'” its stated purpose is to guarantee “that Indiana law will respect religious freedom,” he writes at the Wall Street Journal. Echoing his earlier comments, Pence notes that President Obama supported a similar law as a state senator in Illinois. He adds, “I abhor discrimination,” and the law, which some argue allows businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians, “contains no reference to sexual orientation.”

Fellow Republican Jeb Bush suggests the law isn’t even slightly discriminatory but is focused on “simply allowing people of faith space to be able to express their beliefs,” he says, per the New York Times. Ted Cruz likewise argues “Indiana is giving voice to millions of courageous conservatives across this country who are deeply concerned about the ongoing attacks upon our personal liberties.”

I was wondering when the Bible Belt states would jump on this issue……and I did not have to wait for long………

Indiana might be backing away from its controversial religious freedom law, but Arkansas is embracing one of its own. State lawmakers today approved the bill and sent it along to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is expected to sign, reports Arkansas Online. Arkansas lawmakers rejected attempts to include a clause that would explicitly forbid discrimination against gay people, reports the New York Times. ”If you start shaving out exemptions in laws, next thing you know, you’ll gut the law because everyone will want an exemption,” says Republican state Sen. Bart Hester. In Indiana, meanwhile, Gov. Mike Pence says he wants just such a clarification on his desk by the end of the week, reports AP.

In Arkansas, protesters gathered at the state Capitol in Little Rock for the second consecutive day, and businesses including Walmart and Apple have either expressed reservations or called on Hutchinson to veto the measure. Assuming he doesn’t, Arkansas can expect reaction like this: States including New York, Connecticut, and Washington have barred government travel to Indiana in protest, notes NBC News. “They knew what they were doing,” says Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy. “They were going to make it legal to refuse to serve gay men and women. Somebody has to call them on it.”

We will see just how much clout Wal-Mart has with politicians in Arkansas….now won’t we?

DOMA Drama

Hip hip hoorah!  We have a win!  SCOTUS over turned DOMA by a 5-4 ruling…..

For gay rights advocates, the decision opening the door to resume same-sex marriages in California bolstered determination to expand the right to wed for gay men and lesbians. The Human Rights Campaign set a goal to achieve that in all 50 states within the next five years.

And for opponents of gay marriage, the battle turned to state capitals, where 36 states bar gay marriage by statute or constitutional amendment. “We didn’t lose,” Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage said, noting the high court had declined to recognize a constitutional right to marry. “They punted.”

All the celebration while it is a great ruling it does not pave the way to a total ban of DOMA…..the battles will be in the states where 36 states (i believe) have some sort of law against gay marriage….the Right will stick to the old battle chant…”I have not yet begun to fight”……it will get uglier before it gets better……there will be many long drawn out battles to come…..

As they say….”It ain’t over ’til it’s over”………

(Newser) – The Supreme Court’s gay marriage rulings have pretty much everyone talking and typing. Many liberals are overjoyed, but others urge caution, while conservatives look for silver linings. Here’s what people are saying:

  • “This may be remembered as the day when the nation stopped regarding gay people as second class citizens,” writes Eugene Robinson at the Washington Post, but there’s still much more to be done. The Prop 8 ruling “leaves things basically the way they stood before—not after—the landmark 1967 Loving v. Virginia ruling that struck down laws against interracial marriage.”
  • Adam Winkler at the Daily Beast complains that “to hear the reasoning of the court, it sounds like procedure is more important than people.” Even the comparatively bold DOMA decision leans on process and states’ “traditional authority,” which “may have sent a signal to lower courts that limiting marriage to one man and one woman remains constitutionally permissible.”
  • Winkler also points out that the court rejected the Obama administration’s arguments that laws discriminating against LGBTQ people should be subject to more rigorous judicial review, on par with race or gender. “The court’s refusal may be read by lower courts to mean that LGBT discrimination may still be constitutional, especially when it’s consistent with tradition rather than contrary to it.”
  • “This happened the right way—from the ground up, with argument, with lawsuits, with cultural change, with individual courage,” writes Andrew Sullivan at The Dish. “So to those who are often tempted to write off America’s ability to perfect its union still further … let me just say: I believe.”
  • June Thomas at Slate feels like she just won an Oscar. “As the decision was announced, I finally allowed myself to experience a feeling a belonging,” she writes. “Perhaps the world really is changing.”
  • Meanwhile over at the conservative blog RedState, Dana Loesch looks on the bright side, arguing that this is “a loss for big government, not for marriage.” After all, power was just removed from the federal government and returned to the states. “If big government is needed to define marriage then the people who make up the church” have failed to “live and evangelize their faith.” For more conservative reactions, click here.

Personally, I think that the bigger story was the VRA smack down….but this will be a drama that will be coming and coming…possibly until the 2016 elections……