Thursday, December 12, 2024

Nancy Mace becomes social media laughingstock after questionable claim of assault by 'pro-trans man'

South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace is now being mocked on social media due to a recent incident in which she had a pro-trans advocate arrested for assault. 

She's being mocked for two reasons:

1. A witness contends the incident involved a simple handshake and that she blew it out of proportion.

2. Mace has a reputation on Capitol Hill for public actions and publicity stunts designed to grab attention and get her interviewed on cable news and podcasts. This alleged incident happened on the heels of a public campaign she began to bar Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride banned from using the women's restroom. McBride is the first trans woman ever to be elected to Congress.

While the truth of the incident remains murky, there are a lot of questions as to Mace's actions. According to court records, Mace did not allow a paramedic to examine her. If that's the case, why was she wearing a cast on her wrist and elbow the next day:


For the time being, a lot of folks (especially on Twitter) aren't cutting Mace any slack. On the contrary, they have been downright brutal in their skepticism:



The following is from a former staffer of hers, Natalie Johnson. And she makes a very interesting allegation about Mace's desire for public attention:

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Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Nancy Mace claims she was assaulted by a 'pro-trans man.' A witness says she's lying.

Nancy Mace on Capitol Hill a day after an alleged assault by a 'pro-trans man'. Mace's claim of assault has been disputed by a witness.

South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace has been riding the publicity wave fueled by her attacks on Sarah McBride, the Delaware representative who recently became the first trans woman elected to the House of Representatives. An alleged incident Tuesday night will generate more publicity for her, although it may not all be in her favor.

 From Emily Brooks of The Hill:

A disputed handshake is at the center of a Tuesday incident involving Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) that resulted in an Illinois man’s arrest, according to a police report and a witness who spoke to The Hill. Mace, who has made headlines in recent weeks for advocating against transgender women being able to use Capitol facilities that match their gender identity, said on the social platform X that she was “physically accosted” by a “pro-tr*ns man.” 

Capitol Police confirmed that 33-year-old James McIntyre of Illinois was arrested Tuesday in connection with the incident, which took place at a foster care youth advocacy event. But witness Elliott Hinkle, who is transgender and has experience in foster care, disputed Mace’s characterization of the interaction. 

 . . . “As she went to leave the room, James met her by the door where people could see her and him to say, ‘Trans youth are in foster care and they need your support,’ and gave a handshake and then walked back to his seat and sat down,” Hinkle told The Hill, noting that 30 percent of youth in foster care are LGBTQ.

“It seemed a pretty normal interaction from those of us who witnessed it.” 

 A Mace staff member returned to ask McIntyre’s name and what he said to Mace, Hinkle said. Soon after, Hinkle said, Capitol Police showed up with an “overwhelming presence” and eventually arrested McIntyre. 

 John Kelly of The Imprint gave more details in his article: 

 Elliott Hinkle, a former foster youth and advocate for LGBTQ rights, said McIntyre shook her hand, and made a comment about how many transgender youth are in foster care, adding: “They need your support.” 

 “From what I saw, it was a normal handshake and interaction that I would expect any legislator to expect from anyone as a constituent,” said Hinkle, a consultant who has advised the federal government on issues affecting youth in foster care. 

 From Brooks is the police report: 

 A police report on the incident also documented Mace’s account of the handshake, which had a more aggressive interpretation.

 “The victim [Mace] offered their right hand to the individual to shake hands, and upon their hands coming together, the individual placed their other hand on top of the victim’s hand in a clasping manner so that the victim’s hand was between both of the subject’s hands. The victim stated that the subject began to aggressively and in an exaggerated manner shake her arm up and down in a hand shaking motion. The effect of the motion was described as her arm flailing for about 3-5 seconds,” the police report said of Mace’s accounting of the interaction.

 “The victim stated that she attempted to pull her hand away from the subject but was held in place by the subject,” the report continued. “During the shaking motion, the victim advised that the subject stated, ‘trans youth deserve advocacy.’”

 Mace told police she was experiencing pain in her wrists, arm, and armpit/shoulder after the incident, according to the police report. 

Brooks also wrote:

McIntyre was arrested Tuesday and charged with assaulting a government official, Capitol Police said. On Wednesday, McIntyre pleaded not guilty to the charge in D.C. Superior Court. 

 Asked to respond to Hinkle disputing Mace’s characterization of events, Mace spokesperson Gabrielle Lipsky told The Hill in a statement: “With an ongoing investigation, we’re limited in what we can share beyond what Capitol Police have already made public. The Congresswoman is in pain this morning, with her arm in a sling, but she’s otherwise doing well—just shaken up. What’s even more disheartening is watching the Left and their media allies deny this even happened, propping up misogyny instead of condemning violence.”

 Mace was spotted wearing a sling in the Capitol on Wednesday and posted on X that President-elect Trump had called her to check in on her.

While Mace has her defenders on Twitter (many of whom veered to her rhetoric about evil trans women invading women's spaces and assaulting other women who "stand up" to them,) a great number of others have voiced - in varying degrees of tones - that Mace is blowing the incident of out of proportion to stay on the publicity train. 

And that assumption wouldn't be farfetched. Mace has a reputation on Capitol Hill for public behavior and stunts geared to maximize attention and get her a spot on news programs such as Fox. Even before her crusade against McBride, fellow Republican legislators and former staff employees in her office have called her out for various stunts.

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Monday, December 09, 2024

Ohio schoolteacher sues district claiming that anti-LGBTQ book policy violates her moral and religious beliefs

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea is one of the four books which initiated a lawsuit in Ohio.

An Ohio elementary school teacher is suing her school district for disciplining her because she had books in her classroom which contained LGBTQ+ characters. And in an interesting turn, she is using the argument conservatives have used against the LGBTQ+ - religious liberty.

From The Advocate:

Karen Cahall, who has worked at New Richmond Exempted Village School District for over 30 years as an elementary teacher, filed a lawsuit against the district last week after being subjected to "disciplinary proceedings" when a parent complained about four books she kept in her classroom – all age appropriate and not required reading – just because they had LGBTQ+ characters. 

 The lawsuit claims that Cahall was suspended three days without pay for "simply having in her possession in her classroom four books that had LGBTQ+ characters in the plot line, even though these particular books were intermingled among approximately one hundred other books, were not prominently displayed ... [Cahall] did not teach from those books as part of her instructional program, and did not require students to read those books."

 . . . The four books are Ana On The Edge by A.J. Sass, The Fabulous Zed Watson by Basil Sylvester, Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea by Ashley Herring Blake, and Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff. None of the books contain sexual content, but rather characters who "are coming to terms with feeling different and excluded," according to the lawsuit. 

 The district has “controversial issues” policy that does allow teachers to address issues "likely to arouse both support and opposition in the community" so long as they are related to instruction and do not "tend to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view." 

 Cahall's suit argues that the policy "is so vague and all-encompassing that it could extend to virtually any topic upon which any two random individuals or groups of individuals might find something to disagree about, and therefore fails to provide people of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to understand what is or is not a 'controversial issue.'" 

 

The suit also contends that Cahall's "sincerely held moral and religious beliefs" were violated. The article pointed out how her claim is "flipping the script" because of how many times conservative Christians have used the "religious liberty" argument to undermine LGBTQ+ equality:


"Cahall maintained these books in her classroom amongst over one hundred other books spanning a wide variety of subject matters in furtherance of her sincerely held moral and religious beliefs that that all children, including children who are LGBTQ+ or the children of parents who are LGBTQ+, deserve to be respected, accepted, and loved for who they are," the suit continues."

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Thursday, December 05, 2024

Trump's mass deportation plan is going to have an ugly crash with reality

I'm taking a small departure from my usual postings about LGBTQ issues. Indulge me, please.

One good thing may come out of Trump's nonsensical plan to mass deport undocumented immigrants is a realization of how much this country depends upon them. Whether folks want to admit it or not, there is very vital ecosystem of undocumented workers. They not only work at the jobs people in this country don't want to have, but their spending contributes greatly to our economy.

No matter how much they are attacked by wannabe social media influencers, vilified by opportunistic politicians, or resented in general, the fact of the matter is that they are as part of America as the rest of us. This country needs them just as much as they need us. Very few will say this out loud and even fewer wants to admit to it, but it's a fact.

As you can tell by the success of Trump's recent campaign, they also serve a convenient function as scapegoats, i.e. the proverbial monster in the dark closet. The only problem is when lights get switched on and the closet doors get flung open, are we going to be able to cope with the consequences of what Trump has in store for them? He has no thought-out plan of how he's going to accomplish this mass deportation, nor does he have no idea how much it would cost. He's simply riding an emotional wave built up by fear and jealousy. But what's going to happen when reality comes crashing into that wave?

I'm not alone in feeling this way. Articles from various news sources have been warning us. Some of us simply refuse to listen:

Undocumented immigrants have a substantial economic footprint in the US and Utah

US neighbors balk at Trump plan for deported migrants 

Expert: Mass deportation would have ‘devastating impact’ on Michigan agriculture industry 

‘Mass deportations would disrupt the food chain’: Californians warn of ripple effect of Trump threat

US farm groups want Trump to spare their workers from deportation 

Some upstate farmers worry about plan for migrant workers, deportation promise from Trump

Wisconsin Farmer Talks about Essential Role of Migrant Workers

Pa. farm industry braces for raids, deportations under proposed Trump policy 

  Even immigrants with lawful status brace for Trump's mass deportation 

  South Florida immigrants fear mass deportations amid Trump's return to office 

  Trump's deportation vow alarms Texas construction industry 

  Mass deportations could hinder US agriculture



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Monday, December 02, 2024

'Village People singer defends Trump's use of 'Y.M.C.A' by claiming song isn't a gay anthem' & other Mon/Tue news briefs

 

 “Y.M.C.A.” singer and co-writer Victor Willis of the band Village People defended President-elect Donald Trump’s use of the song Monday on Facebook. Willis denied that the disco tune was intended as a “gay anthem,” saying he “knew nothing about the Y being a hang out for gays” when he wrote the lyrics. 

 Willis said he wrote “Y.M.C.A.” based on what he knew about the worldwide youth organization at the time, particularly the YMCA branches in the urban areas of San Francisco. 

 “When I say, ‘hang out with all the boys’ that is simply 1970s black slang for black guys hanging-out together for sports, gambling or whatever. There’s nothing gay about that,” he said of one of the song’s most notable lines.

Seriously, Victor! Your group was comprised of members who costumed themselves in stereotypical gay macho attire. Your songs included "San Francisco," "Macho Man," and "In the Navy." YOUR FIRST ALBUM WAS ABOUT GAY LIFE!!!! Sorry but this is one bit of history y'all ain't gonna rewrite. EVER.


In other news:

Another trans military ban would cost the United States billions of dollars - Of course it will. Facts never seem to stop the Trumpies though. 

The war on woke: How a gay rights index once touted by Walmart and others became a conservative target - I personally question the entire thing. The man in the center - Robby Starbuck - is a wannabe right-wing activist. He's a posing low-budget version of Matt Walsh (who is pretty damn low-budget himself). I'm of the opinion that companies are using his threats as a convenient excuse to backtrack from the promises they made during the George Floyd protests. 

Caitlyn Jenner exposes MAGA hypocrisy with implication she uses the women’s bathroom at Mar-a-Lago - As much as I am not a fan of Caitlyn Jenner, to ignore this story would be wrong. It completely exposes so much hypocrisy with Trump and the MAGA movement. 

Texas DPS flooded with criticism, spam due to anti-LGBTQ order - Our community still have ways of fighting hate.
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Sunday, November 24, 2024

Trust Sarah McBride

Sarah McBride

Before she has even been sworn in as the first trans Congresswoman in American history, Sarah McBride finds herself in bad territory.

On one hand, there are people like South Carolina Rep Nancy Mace who have been exploiting fears about trans women to constantly degrade her. For almost a week, Mace has been tweeting and retweeting invectives misgendering McBride and exploiting her own unfortunate status as rape victim to imply that McBride will be a predator against cis women, particularly in the ladies restrooms. 

And when she's not doing that, Mace is filming videos and interviews or selling swag, all in hopes of reaping the benefits of her "crusade." Never mind that the issue is moot for a number of reasons including the fact that McBride poses no danger to anyone or that all Congressional leaders have private bathrooms because apparently that doesn't matter more than the large amount of publicity Mace getting.

On the other hand, are members of the trans community who feel "betrayed" that McBride isn't forcefully addressing these attacks. They feel that she is capitulating and allowing herself to be degraded. They feel that she's sending ugly message to the public and to trans people by supposedly standing down.

With all due respect to the trans community and absolutely no respect to that vile woman Nancy Mace, I think we should trust Sarah McBride. She is in a very tenuous position as the first trans woman in Congress. Suddenly she's thrust in the spotlight as the most visible trans woman in America today. Unfortunately, that makes her a pioneer and a target. What Nancy Mace is doing right now will mostly likely a prelude to the attention McBride will be receiving which the world will be watching.

 I think the road she has taken thus far is smart as she focuses on the task at hand while not allowing herself to be sidetracked as a item in the war against the trans community. It would no doubt be easier for her right now to engage with Mace, but to do so would undermine everything she's working for.

This is what McBride told The Advocate on Thursday:

 “I’m here to represent my constituents, including LGBTQ constituents, but I’m not here to make this about me,” McBride said. “That means fighting for them and not allowing a right-wing culture war machine to turn me into the issue.” She added, “I am continuing to work to guarantee that the Capitol complex is safe for all staff, interns, and visitors. I can deal with this; other people shouldn’t have to.” 

McBride is not stupid. She isn't naive about where she is right now, her place in history, or the folks who will exploit fears about her being a trans woman. She knows that Mace won't stop as long as it brings her media attention and engagement. And she knows that there are others practically drooling over their turn use her to inflame fears and anger. 

But for the present, McBride is drawing a line in the sand or setting down her stake, so to speak. I don't see her as avoiding the issue, I see her saying that she will not be controlled by someone else's desperate desire for attention. I see her saying that she will not react to someone attempting to sidetrack her into a wild tangent designed to put her on the defensive even before she has even been sworn in.

I don't see McBride as capitulating. I get the sense that McBride is saying that she knows that this issue isn't going away, but she will address this issue on her terms, and not on the terms of those who seek to make her defend her own existence.
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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Nancy Mace gets angry at reporter for interrupting her transphobic publicity wave with questions about Boeing layoffs in South Carolina

South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace has been riding the anti-trans train over the last 24 hours, doubling down on her targeting of trans Congresswoman Sarah McBride while constantly retweeting her attacks or appearing on news programs to pat herself on the back.

However, earlier on Wednesday, she was asked a question about an issue actually involving her constituents - the recent announcement of Boeing layoffs in South Carolina Over 200 people are scheduled to lose their jobs next year. 

Mace chose to verbally attack the reporter for asking the question. And then took credit for bringing money and resources to South Carolina when in reality, the money and resources came from a bill she actually voted against. 


During her tirade, Mace talks about the "tens of millions of dollars in resources" she supposedly brought to her district.. In truth, she voted against the bill which brought those resources to her district.

Charleston Congresswoman Nancy Mace called the nearly $26 million federal grant for the Shipwatch Square Transit and Workforce Center project with CARTA a win for the Lowcountry, touting it as “one of the largest grants for this kind of facility.” 

 However, it might not have been made possible had President Biden’s infrastructure bill not passed through congress. That was a bill that Representative Nancy Mace voted against. 

 “The optics of it? What do you want me to do? Turn my back on the Lowcountry when we can get funding for public transit? Absolutely not,” Rep. Mace said when questioned by reporters. 

 Democrat Jim Clyburn was the only South Carolinian House delegate to vote for the bill. He was not present for the conference but at a separate one in Orangeburg called his Republican peer, all but by name, out for trying to take credit. Secretary of Transportations Pete Buttigieg, who was with Clyburn, also weighed in. 

 “Welcome aboard! Look, this is good policy,” Buttigieg said. “We’re not going to hold it against the constituents of any member who was short-sighted to vote ‘no’.”


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