Greetings and welcome back to TWATs. What a wild week for news both here and abroad. While I have no plans to be adding to the dialogue concerning Ukraine, I will say this – Trump and his cronies within the GOP have shown their true colors.
With that said,,,
From Sarah Webber, a professor of accounting at the University of Dayton,
But experts were skeptical that a board would pay out a retirement package,,, “'I will be retiring probably' certainly would not be enough for me to vote as a board member to pay out exit compensation — this sounds like it is more of a possibility than a certainty. Why would the board agree to exit compensation before the exit is planned?" said Webber,,, While the heads of big nonprofits that employ thousands of people make million-plus salaries, Donohue runs an operation that has 12 employees, according to the 990 from 2019.
As the article also notes,
Boston (Rob Boston, senior adviser to Americans United for Separation of Church and State) said the Catholic League “has no discernable[sic] presence on Capitol Hill” and does not appear to be involved in any grassroots activity besides fundraising.
In fact, the 990 reports from 2017 and 2019 submitted by the Catholic League to the IRS list zero expenditures for lobbying or grassroots activity.
So
I ask again, what does this man do for a million bucks a year?
A legal strategy promoted by QAnon https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5qddx/qanon-attack-school-boards-ron-watkins is being used by some parents across the United States to try to force school districts to end face mask mandates and to remove books the parents say are obscene. https://www.yahoo.com/news/paper-terrorism-parents-against-mask-122100781.html
Bonds for the Win’s claims are not legitimate, according to education officials, insurance companies and the FBI. But even though the group has won no legal battles, it has already celebrated some successes in overwhelming districts with paperwork, intimidating local officials and disrupting school board meetings.
As the article notes,
But the scare tactic has become a familiar one. A growing number of school districts across the country are facing similar challenges from parent activists who have adopted strategies and language that are well known to law enforcement and extremism experts who deal with far-right “sovereign citizen” groups in the U.S. The Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League call it “paper terrorism.”
The parents’ strategy is simple: Try to use obscure and often inapplicable legal claims to force a school district to make a policy change. And while the claims have no legal standing, they have been effective at spreading confusion and wasting school districts’ resources, even though the paperwork doesn’t require a formal legal response.
From the FFRF, https://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/40508-breaking-ffrf-with-students-parents-sues-huntington-w-va-schools-over-christian-revival
Nearly a dozen parents and students, with help from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, filed a high-profile federal lawsuit today over a Christian revival in a West Virginia school that prompted a recent student walkout.
More than 100 students, led by Huntington High School senior Max Nibert, staged a dramatic walkout on Feb. 9 to protest some students being forced to attend an evangelical Christian revival at the school on Feb. 2. The walkout, with students chanting “Separate the church and state” and “My faith, my choice,” was covered not only nationally by the Washington Post, NPR and CNN but also internationally.
The legal complaint in the case, Mays v. Cabell County Board of Education, notes, “For years, school system employees have violated the constitutional rights of students by promoting and advancing the Christian religion, as well as by coercing students into participating in Christian religious activity.” The lawsuit charges that two Huntington High School teachers during homeroom on Feb. 2 escorted their entire classes to the revival. Students, including a Jewish student who asked to leave but was not permitted to do so, were instructed to bow their heads in prayer and raise up their hands and were warned they needed to make a decision to follow Jesus or face eternal torment. Adult volunteers from a local church went into the crowd to pray with students. Plaintiff students observed teachers and administrators praying with church volunteers. Huntington High Principal Daniel Gleason was present at the assembly along with assistant principals
These
last two stories are disgusting at best.
A point to keep in mind concerning the debacle in Texas, from the ACLU. https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2022/02/texas-gov-abbott-faces-nationwide-condemnation-over-new-policy-ordering-transgender-care-to-be-investigated-as-child-abuse
“Attorney general Paxton’s opinion and Governor Abbott’s letter have no legal effect, can’t change Texas law, and can’t override the constitutional rights of Texas families,” the ACLU said. “No court anywhere in the country has ever found that gender-affirming care can be considered child abuse
According to NCRM,
Republican Governor Greg Abbott, just one week before the gubernatorial primary, is facing massive nationwide outrage and condemnation after ordering this week the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate for “child abuse” anyone aware of certain medical treatments for transgender youth, in yet another example of Lone Star State vigilantism.
Parents, medical professionals, teachers, even neighbors could all face “criminal penalties” – not just for allowing or participating in medical care for trans youth, but for not reporting to state authorities any knowledge of medical care, Abbott warned, as NBC News reports.
As numerous reports state, this attack on LGBTQ+ kids is solely as a means to garner points as both are up for re-election. Neither has the credentials to making such statements. Every major U.S. medical association supports affirming healthcare for transgender youth.
See also:: Association of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy With Depression, Thoughts of Suicide, and Attempted Suicide Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth
https://www.ja5honline.org/article/S1054-139X(21)00568-1/fulltext
Finally from Florida, https://www.npr.org/2022/02/24/1082969036/florida-house-passes-controversial-measure-dubbed-the-dont-say-gay-bill-by-criti
Florida's House of Representatives passed a controversial bill on Thursday limiting when and how teachers and school staff can discuss gender and sexual orientation in the classroom.
Opponents — many of whom have taken to calling the measure the "Don't Say Gay" bill — say it will make life harder for LGBTQ youth, who already face a higher rate of bullying and a higher risk of suicide than their straight, cisgender peers.
But the Republican sponsor behind HB 1557 says it aims to have schools teach gender and sexuality at an appropriate age and to keep parents informed about what's happening in the classroom.
The legislation prohibits any instruction about sexuality or gender between kindergarten and third grade "or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."
As Democratic Rep. Mike Grieco states,
This bill in its language empowers school districts throughout this state to eliminate any discussion or recognition of the LGBTQ community until high school graduation. This is not about kindergarten through third,”
So
yet again, or should I say still, we need to fight for our inclusion
into humanity.
With that I leave you with this weeks “new to me” YTer – Gutsick Gibbon (aka Erika). https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJNcAH2yzV3VAMYIGxCZ8_w Erika is a Masters of Research student in Primate Biology, Behavior and Conservation with a BSA in Pre-Professional Animal Science and minors in Anthropology and in Biology. You can find videos concerning primates, general zoology, paleontology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology. She also spend a hefty amount of time debunking Young Earth Creationism.
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