Category: Politics

When Are The Hateful Attacks Going To End?

Everyone thought that the long fight that gays have been struggling with was coming to a close when the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. We thought finally, gays were going to be treated equally in the eye of the law. But since Trump and his hate-filled conservative minions started their campaign against anyone who wasn’t like them, they have been polluting the country to turn back everything they hate about gays. They started promoting propaganda, spreading lies, and making gays the devil in disguise. Then after Roe v Wade the legislatures turned their conservative hate filled agenda to gays and transgender people. Just like they want to wipe out a woman’s right to have an abortion, they want to wipe out every transgender, gay, lesbian person out of existence. You begin to see it on all the social media boards, the attacks that are sponsored by the right showing up on replies and opinions.

Some of them are the classic everyday attacks from the same play book.

Here are some replies in regard to Target deciding to hide the gay pride merchandise.to the back of the store for Gay Pride festivals:

“The majority of Americans are tired of having the LGBT advertising and recruitment agenda shoved at us 24/7 are pretty sick and tired of it.”

“They just don’t get it. It demonstrates the total disgust of the Gay/trans agenda being shoved down our throats. We are constantly inundated with stories.  The sports/business/government decision makers fold like cheap suits to pander to this nonsense. But the real error is those pushing this agenda while going after our kids with the support of the teacher’s union and school boards. Enough Already.”

“By extremist, does that me straight people? 95% of the population?”

“Is all of this pedophile pandering worth it? And the answer is clearly no. Crawl back into the sewers and the gay bath houses and leave normal America alone.”

“Comparing LGBQT to minorities is sick and needs to stop.”

“My daddy always said, never compromise with a preveart or your become one yourself.”

I have only Included printable content; I couldn’t post most of the obscene content.

The first gay pride didn’t have anything to do about slamming agenda down your throat. It was started by a group of people who were being prosecuted for who they were. They were being denied basic rights, always being physically attacked, and vilified by everyone in America. Stonewall, where secret police would come into clubs and bars and arrest men just because they were holding hands. We were regulated to secret places, but we could not walk the streets and be who we are. A lot of people would be very happy if we were to disappear. Then after Stonewall, people started getting upset. They marched across the countries and reminded people that we exist, we are human, and all we want is equal rights. We wanted to come out in the open and walk down the street, shopping and not to be attacked. There were so many people in the closet that couldn’t express themselves for fear of losing a job, not finding an apartment, and yes, being arrested just because of who you are. We fought for over thirty years just for they could lead their own lives. It was the pride parades that started to show people that we are human, we have feelings, we love, we pray, we go to church, we believe in families, and most of all we believe in America, and the right for every individual in the pursuit of happiness.

We thought we were getting their when celebrities, professionals, leaders, sports figures, famous movie stars, authors, writers, tv personalities started coming out of the closet that people finally started to realize that there were a lot more people who were gay. It is also because they knew these people as decent human beings, and that they were the same person as they were in the closet. There were so many people who were afraid to come out of the closet for the same fear of everyone else. Actors could not come out of the closet after having their career destroyed. Coming out gay back then was a career ending disaster, so everyone just kept their secrets in the closet, hidden from the rest of the world. That is what you people want. Another thing is that it wasn’t until people started finding out that their brother, sister, uncle, aunt, and other relatives started coming out in the closet that we were finally getting accepted as people realized that we were the same as before.

But it is the less than 20% and right-wing bullies that continue to vilify us at every chance the get, because they despise everything and anything that they do not understand or were programmed to believe by republicans and right-wingnuts. The are easy to be fooled because they do not have the God given sense to make decisions on their own.

They are the ones that are constantly putting their beliefs in our faces, not the other way around.

In 2017 I previously wrote about my 30-year struggle to live in a world as equals amongst my peers. In 2017, I thought we were finally achieving acceptance, but with the right-wing takeover of the White House, I warned everyone not to let their guard down, because they were coming after us. They have been on a crusade sine the beginning of their lives and never will they stop until everyone has disappeared. They first went after women when Roe v Wade was overturned, and look what they did there. Now their coming after us, and who will it be next, you.

Please check out my “Thirty Years Does a Man Make” at the link below.

https://www.the-jack-family.net/thirty_years_does_a_man_make.pdf

Wisconsin teacher who spoke out about ‘Rainbowland’ ban says she is being terminated

First grade teacher Melissa Tempel, who spoke out about the decision of Waukesha Schools in Wisconsin to ban “Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton from a spring concert, said the district’s superintendent has recommended she be terminated from her job.

Tempel said she was informed on Monday by superintendent James Sebert. In an email, Sebert told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a member of the USA TODAY Network, on Wednesday that he was unable to comment on the personnel matter.

The recommendation is in the wake of the school’s decision to ban “Rainbowland,” which has caught the attention of national media outlets, a Cyrus’ nonprofit, and even former President Barack Obama, who followed Tempel on Twitter shortly after she spoke out.

Tempel is currently on leave from the district after being placed on leave on April 3. At the time, Sebert referred the Journal Sentinel to an assistant superintendent responsible for human resources, who declined to comment.

Sebert’s recommendation would require approval from the Waukesha School Board. The Journal Sentinel contacted Kelly Piacsek, the school board’s president, but did not immediately get a response.

Last month, Wisconsin state school superintendent Jill Underly sent a letter to Sebert and the school board saying she was “deeply troubled by the harm caused” by the district’s decision to ban the song, and that the district should reverse course on its decision to enforce its Controversial Issues in the Classroom policy.

The policy, according to a letter Sebert sent in 2021, bans the use of Pride, Black Lives Matter, Thin Blue Line and “any other posters or materials to such” from classrooms. Sebert said the decision to ban the song was because it violated the policy.

Sebert also said in March the decision to pull the song was based on “whether it was appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students” and because of “social or personal impacts” on them.

Underly, in her letter, stated, “Whether you realize it or not, you are, under the guise of protection, causing undue harm to students and staff. However, this damage is reversible. It is paramount that you change course now.”

“The decisions you have made as district leaders have intensified the stressors our teachers feel and helped create and continue to perpetuate a toxic environment,” she wrote.

Underly’s letter led to a response from Sebert and state Republican lawmakers who said Underly needs to be mindful of local control.

“As a former School Superintendent yourself, you know how critically important local control is for Boards and administrators to meet the varied needs in their communities,” Sebert wrote back to Underly. “As the State Superintendent, you likely realize that with over 400 school districts in Wisconsin, one size does not fit all on any given topic.”

Four Waukesha County state legislators — Rep. Scott Allen, Rep. Adam Neylon, Sen. Chris Kapenga, and Sen. Rob Hutton — sent a letter to Underly as well, saying they were “proud” of the school district and its actions. “Your letter also undermines local control,” the lawmakers added.

Tempel said a district administrator told her she should not speak with other staff, students, parents, or members of the public about her leave, but when she found out on Monday that she was recommended to be terminated from her job she decided to release a statement.

Tempel released the statement through the Alliance for Education in Waukesha, Wisconsin, a group of parents who in April said they are seeking a state Department of Justice investigation into Sebert, accusing him of discrimination of LGBTQ+ students and staff following a series policy changes and actions.

Former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin James Santelle said in April that he advised the alliance and suggested filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the administration, saying district policies violate the First Amendment.

In her statement, Tempel said removing her from the classroom had a “harmful” and “traumatic” impact on the students at Heyer Elementary School.

“My students’ parents, many of whom speak Spanish, did not receive any information about my absence or when I would return, even when they asked for it directly,” Tempel wrote. “As recently as last week some of them didn’t know that I was placed on administrative leave.

This is not normal procedure during a teacher’s absence and doesn’t prioritize the emotional or academic well-being of my students. … It will take me a long time to process how cruel the district’s actions were to those families and the chilling effect my termination will have on any other educators in the Waukesha Community.”

Tempel said she has been a teacher for 23 years. “I have been consistently held up as a model educator,” she wrote. “I am an award winning, National Board-Certified Teacher who was rated ‘distinguished educator’ by my administrators for three years in a row. Last year, I was named Outstanding Educator by Wisconsin Badgers Athletics and WEAC. I have never had disciplinary action taken against me.

“I remain committed to the work I have done throughout my life and career, both inside and outside the classroom, as an activist, advocate, and ally. I believe we need to have conversations in our communities about how to make sure our schools are inclusive spaces where our students feel safe and can focus on learning.”

 

Tempel said she will be pursuing a “First Amendment claim,” but it’s unclear if that will be a federal lawsuit.

 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK:

 

Do No Harm, a group of ‘medical professionals’ is behind many anti-trans laws

Nearly identical pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation are popping up in state legislatures across the country, and it’s no coincidence.

From bathroom bills to “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, lawmakers pushing restrictive policies are creating a patchwork of legal anti-trans and anti-queer discrimination across the country.

Much of the wording from these anti-trans bills comes from conservative groups like Do No Harm and the Family Research Council, The Associated Press discovered after analyzing 130 bills across 40 states.

These groups produce ready-made bills to serve as models that can be easily replicated in different states. The bills have similar preambles and citations, proclaiming the so-called dangers of gender-affirming healthcare — which the majority of the medical community says is essential, life-saving care.

The Family Research Council has been around for decades, using human rights issues like gay marriage or abortion to mobilize conservatives. Do No Harm is much newer, launching last year in an effort to shield “patients and physicians from woke healthcare.”

“We know that woke medical education and research are already impacting healthcare providers, and now federal and state policymakers are forcing woke policies into medicine,” Kristina Rasmussen, executive director of Do No Harm, said in an April 2022 press release. “Woke discrimination hurts the people it claims to help.”

The nonprofit has made an impact. Lawmakers in Montana, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and West Virginia have all used wording nearly identical to the model legislation put forth by Do No Harm, the AP found.

Despite claims from the organization — and the few medical doctors on its staff — that it protects healthcare workers and patients from “discriminatory, divisive ideologies,” the nonprofit’s position conflicts with the recommendations of leading medical organizations, which warn against promoting pervasive stigmas against LGBTQ people.

“Simply, there is no scientific basis for discriminating against sexual and gender minorities,” a 2020 American Psychological Association resolution said. “History illustrates that stigma, stereotypes, and propagation of fear via discourse are often used as tools in establishing and maintaining oppressive and discriminatory legislation and policy against sexual and gender minorities.”

Several other medical groups have joined calls to stop anti-trans policies from taking hold across the nation — like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the National Education Association, to name a few.

Do No Harm’s website, meanwhile, says: “This is just the beginning.”

“2023 is already shaping up to be even bigger, bolder, and more impactful,” the website says.

Right-wing parents targets librarian over Mother’s Day lesson

A librarian at a school in Tennessee is in shock after being targeted by right-wing parents for creating a Mother’s Day lesson that they say indoctrinates children into Leninist ideologies.

As the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent writes, the group “Moms for Liberty” recently came down hard on Caroline Mickey of the Alpine Crest Elementary School after she tried to make an inclusive Mother’s Day lesson that acknowledged not every child in the school lived with a mother in the traditional sense of the word.

“Micky notified parents that two books would be read aloud to kids from kindergarten through second grade,” writes Sargent. “One was ‘Stella Brings the Family,’ about a girl who is unsure how to approach a Mother’s Day celebration at school because she had two dads. The other was ‘Mother Bruce,’ about a bear who adopts a brood of goslings who believe he’s their mother.”

Even though Mickey gave parents the chance to opt their children out of the lesson, this was not enough to satisfy Moms for Liberty members, who demanded that the school cancel it entirely.

“Members of its chapter in the red-leaning area around the school in Hamilton County attacked the idea on social media and in local newspaper as Leninist indoctrination, anti-Christian and a threat to Western civilization,” writes Sargent. “One woman called on locals to pray for children to guard them against the demonic threat posed by those children’s books.”

In the end, they were about to pressure to school board to cancel the lesson, which left Mickey feeling overwhelmed.

Now for my two cents.

Are they crazy? It wasn’t good enough that they were able to opt out if they thought it was so offensive, but no, they want to stop everyone to do the same. If it’s about protecting their children, just keep them at home, but don’t make children that doesn’t have a mother for one reason or another or two dads feel bad about themselves. The children from families that are not traditional mother and father are probably the only family they know. To them two fathers are the normal family to them. As far as no mother at all, maybe the mother was killed in a car accident, or died of a ailment, or divorce and the children live with the father. What’s important is making the children feel good about themselves no matter what type of family the live in.

The idea of them deciding to put out ads, attack people on social media, and even local newspapers with made up propaganda about Leninist indoctrination, anti-Christian, and a threat to Western Civilization. It’s the Moms for Liberty that are indoctrinating our children into believe that this world was created white and that anyone that was gay, black, muslim, or of not a Caucasian descent is evil, and out to attack you. They are teaching white kids that they are superior to everyone else, and they should get what they want over the expense of others.

Hitler tried to create a perfect white race in Germany by killing everyone who didn’t look like them or believe as they do.

Now it’s your two cents. Feel free to comment below.

In 2021 more than 19,000 Labiaplasty operations were performed

What is Labiaplasty, a plastic surgery procedure that alters the inner folds of skin that are part of the vulva called the labia minora and, less commonly, the hair-bearing outer layer called the labia majora. 
As with any type of surgery, labiaplasty isn’t without its risks — which can include bleeding, removing too much or too little tissue, infection, scarring and loss of sensitivity — particularly when it’s not performed by an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon.

It’s something 36-year-old San Francisco resident knows firsthand. She was a teenager when she found photos of labia online — her first real introduction to seeing other vulvas. She realized that her labia minora hung down lower than the ones in a photo she saw. It was the first time that she thought maybe she wasn’t “normal” and started seeking out other photos to find images of vulvas that looked more like hers. Instead, she says, she found several images from medical textbooks in which the labia minora were barely visible.

She went to her mother’s ob-gyn, who reassured her that she was perfectly “normal.” But she didn’t believe it. She says she didn’t realize that having the inner lips of the vulva protrude past the outer lips is actually completely normal and quite common. Around 50% of women have labia minora longer than their labia majora.

When she was 18, she told her father, a plastic surgeon, that she was experiencing pain from her labia minora. He set her up with an ob-gyn surgeon at a hospital, who performed labiaplasty. However, she claims that her surgeon, who she says was not trained to do the procedure, “amputated” her labia minora, as well as performed a clitoral hood reduction, which removes excess skin surrounding the clitoris — all without her consent.

The surgery, she explains, severely impacted her sexual function, including her ability to orgasm — potential risks she was not informed of at the time. After what she went through, she became a full-time activist for better vulvar anatomy education and training standards for vulvar surgeries. “I don’t advocate for labiaplasty to be banned,” she says. “I advocate for informed consent and a reasonable standard of care.”

According to Lee, patients need to be informed of the risks of over-resection, which is the removal of too much tissue, which can be deforming. “Injuring the nerves to the clitoris is a complication that should not happen if performed by an experienced, American Board of Plastic Surgery board certified plastic surgeon,” he says. “This is because the nerves that go to the clitoris should not be injured during a routine labiaplasty.”

Like any surgery, “there’s still some risk,” says Lee, “and so patients have to really educate themselves and make sure this is right for them and that they will be going to somebody who knows what they’re doing.”

Why aren't the same people complaining about transgender surgery complaining about labiaplasty?