TX Gov Greg Abbott misleads in responding to temporary restraining order against his drag ban law

TX Governor Greg Abbott misleads the public about his drag ban law.

Texas governor Greg Abbott reacted in anger over a temporary restraining order against his statewide drag ban law. But he wasn't angry enough to forget to mislead about it.

 From News Nation: 

 Gov. Greg Abbott slammed a federal judge’s issuance of a temporary restraining order against Senate Bill 12, a Texas law that could criminalize drag performances statewide. In a statement on social media Monday, Abbott referred to the temporary restraining order as “absurd.”

 “Federal judge in Texas blocks a law I signed that bans sexually explicit drag shows in front of children. This is absurd,” the governor posted on his personal account on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We will fight to have this overturned & to protect our children from this indoctrination.” 

 The bill itself does not mention the word “drag” but specifies it is targeted at “sexually oriented performances.” U.S. District Judge David Hittner issued the temporary restraining order against SB12 on Thursday, just before the law had been set to go into effect Friday. Hittner granted the request following a two-day hearing early last week over a lawsuit brought forward by five plaintiffs. Those plaintiffs included Austin-based performer Brigitte Bandit and Extragrams, a local drag production company.

 Abbott left out one crucial detail about the law. It categorizes drag itself as a "sexually oriented performance." That in itself is the problem because not all drag is sexually oriented or explicit:

Under the language of the law, “sexual conduct” is defined as the exhibition or representation, whether actual or simulated, of sexual acts, genitals, devices designed to stimulate genitals, breasts or buttocks, or “sexual gesticulations using accessories or prosthetics that exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics.” This could mean that performers wearing padded bras or prosthetic breasts could be found in violation of the law.

This means that possibly under this law that a drag queen could be arrested for sexually explicit performance even if he was dressed as the Robin Williams character, Mrs. Doubtfire.  It's those little details folks like Abbott hope people will overlook. Luckily, at least for now a federal judge didn't.

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How Donald Trump's incompetency made the COVID pandemic worse, told as a motion comic

 

As we return from the Labor Day holiday, I want to post something different, and I ask that you bear with me. The 2024 elections are coming up and though the campaign a little over a year away, folks have been predicting things. One prediction is that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee four years after he lost the presidency. I don't particularly care for Trump or his chances, so no one should assume that I'm pushing the above motion comic from Business Insider as some desperate attempt to stop his supposed ascendancy.

I hope you can take nine minutes out of your day to view it. AND share it. What I want is people to remember what this man caused with his inept response to the COVID pandemic. Donald Trump is responsible for the deaths of scores of Americans. He may not have personally touched them, but his shitty and highly selfish leadership is partly the reason why COVID's death toll is high.  And even though President Biden did what he could after winning in 2020, but patterns were set and they couldn't be eliminated completely before more lives were lost.

Please bear in mind that I said Trump was partly the reason why the COVID death count is high. He had help from Fox News as the above video will show.

And aside from Trump, this is the saddest part of it all. Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, Kayleigh McEnany, Maria Bartiromo, Mollie Hemingway, and so many others at Fox News bear responsibility for the COVID deaths. 

Far-right Christian evangelicals such as Mike Huckabee, Robert Jeffress, Alveda King, and Franklin Graham, though not mention in the video, also have blood on their hands. None of these folks did anything but kiss his ass and reap the benefits of making Trump their golden calf.

All of them knew that the things they were saying and the narratives they pushed were lies, but none of them cared. And what's worse is how they are presently pretending as if none of this stuff ever took place. They are pretending that Trump did not botch the COVID pandemic response, and that people didn't die because of it. Even when some of those people worshipped in their faith, sent them money, were fans of their network, or followed them on social media.

Even if Trump faces some sort of punishment for what he's done, these bottom feeders will be allowed to sneak away and continue to do the things they do which undermines this country and puts so many people in mortal jeopardy. They will continue to collect their paychecks, get their notoriety, and amplify the next bloodsucker.

In their minds, the people Trump's incompetence hurt never existed.

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The trailer for 'Rustin' is here and it is smoking!

 

The trailer for the Netflix movie about civil rights legend Bayard Rustin has been released. And it is smoking.

From Queerty:

 . . .  an estimated 250,000 people gathered for the March On Washington, a peaceful protest advocating for the civil rights of African Americans, a day that forever changed the course of our country’s history. Though the march is remembered as an important chapter in work of the late, great Martin Luther King, Jr.—culminating in his triumphant, unforgettable “I Have A Dream” speech—many may not realize that a large part of its success was due to an openly gay man: Activist and social organizer Bayard Rustin. Alongside A. Philip Randolph, Rustin organized the March On Washington, and dedicated his life to advocacy, humanitarian outreach, and fighting for the civil rights of all people, especially for Black and LGBTQ+ Americans. He was a hero.

 . . . Tony Award-winning playwright and director George C. Wolfe comes Rustin, the story of the history-making activist, co-written by Julian Reece (When They See Us) and Dustin Lance Black (Milk). Taking on the eponymous role is fantastic gay actor (and recent Queerty Pride50 honoree!) Colman Domingo, finally getting the star turn he’s so long deserved. Naturally, Domingo’s the film’s center of gravity and its spark—and we don’t want to jink it, but the part’s already garnering him some early Oscar buzz. Fingers crossed! 

As a black gay man, this movie means the world to me. I hope it is very successful. 

California elementary school receives racist bomb threat after post from anti-gay Libs of TikTok

Folks who are aware of the close relationship between homophobia, transphobia, and racism shouldn't be surprised by this recent incident. We should be disturbed of course, but not surprised. 

From CBS News:

An emailed bomb threat at Chabot Elementary School in Oakland resulted in the evacuation of the school Tuesday, according to authorities. The bomb threat was received at about 7:30 a.m. before the school day started, Oakland Police said. 

Only a few dozen students and staffers were present when police evacuated the school, located at 6686 Chabot Road in the city's Rockridge neighborhood. Police were working with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and the office's K-9 and bomb teams units to sweep the school and clear the campus. The email sent to the school principal had "racial undertones," but an Oakland Police spokesperson would not elaborate further on the content of the email. Police were also working with the FBI to determine the source of the email. 

 So, what does Libs of TikTok have to do with this? Well according to The Daily Beast: 

 The bomb threat came only a day after a tweet by Libs Of TikTok, a controversial X (formerly known as Twitter) account run by far-right activist Chaya Raichik, about a playdate for “Black, Brown or API” students and family organized by the school’s equity and inclusion committee. “Come hang out while we get a chance to know each other and build our community as we kick off this school year,” the flyer read. 

The tweet also included a statement apparently from a parent of a child at the school, upset about the event, which they deemed a “no whites allowed” playdate. The post was picked up and reported by conservative media outlets such as Alex Jones’ InfoWars. This led to the organizers receiving a volley of threats, they said. 

 In the past, Libs of TikTok and Raichik, have been blamed for bomb threats against children's hospitals and schools based upon videos misrepresented to claim that LGBTQ people are 'sexualizing' children or that hospitals are performing hysterectomies on kids.  LGBTQ activists and spokespeople on several occasions have accused Libs of TikTok in engaging in stochastic terrorism.

Stochastic terrorism is when a group of people are demonized so much that acts of violence are - while not expressly encouraged - perpetrated against them. In other words, neither Raichik nor Libs of TikTok outwardly tell people to commit acts of violence against LGBTQ people, but their constant smearing of us as pedophiles and degenerates out to harm kids encourages or motivates others to carry out acts of violence. 

To my knowledge, this is the first time that Libs of TikTok is under fire for a racial attack. And that should tell us that its mission has never been about protecting kids. It's always been about spreading hatred and bigotry while profiting from violent outcomes. The recent racist shootings in Florida and the pride flag shooting in California should serve as a warning about the dangers of certain people on social media creating hysteria and emboldening violence for the sake of clout. At the very least, it should send a message to both the LGBTQ and African American communities that we have the same enemy. 

Libs of TikTok - a very thorough and accurate entry about the site from RationalWiki.

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