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reality is the state of things as they actually exist
jan 25, 2022
Real News Today
*Democrats Need to Do What They Will Never Do: Burn the GOP Down by the rude pundit
(Commentary)
(for previous day's articles see "what's inside" below)
comment/tweet of the day
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Will Rogers ring truer than ever. In 1938 he said, “You’ll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.”
american ignorance wins again!!!
Florida’s Snowflakes Can’t Handle the State’s Vile Racial History
TERRY H. SCHWADRON - dc report
January 25, 2022
Ku Klux Klan circus held in Miami in 1925. (State Archives of Florida / Florida Memory)
DeSantis and Radical Republicans Want to Ban Making White People Feel Bad
We finally have a bill about feelings.
Set aside decisions about building infrastructure and fixing bridges or creating pre-kindergarten or considering sheltering the homeless or even preserving voting rights – things governments might do either federally or locally to deal with social problems.
This one is about the preservation of emotions.
A bill gained the approval of the Florida Senate Education Committee this week that seeks to bar public schools or workplaces from making people feel “discomfort” or “guilt” about their race during lessons or training focused on inequality.
It is unclear what exactly would happen if someone feels discomfort or guilt or how this bill’s effects would be measured or enforced.
As a columnist for MSNBC wrote: Senate Bill 148, “which should really be called the ‘sad white people bill.’ [would] effectively codify white fragility into law” though it never mentions individual races or backgrounds.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has endorsed the bill, which includes several provisions outlined in his Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act or Stop W.O.K.E., a purported ban on critical race theory that was introduced last month in the state legislature.
Of course, as has been pointed out repeatedly, Critical Race Theory is a college-level area of study not taught in K-12 schools. Nevertheless, the label has been adopted by conservative governors, school board members and parents who object to any teaching that suggests that racism and residual effects of slavery, Jim Crow and segregation are alive and well in these United States.
Funny, the bill doesn’t really lay out what happens if a white Christian majority has teachings that prompt discomfort to Jews, Muslims, Blacks, Latinx, Asian Americans, LBGTQ or transgender students and parents.
Reacting to Critical Race Theory
“Critical Race Theory” has become a rallying cry making the rounds in elections and politics, particularly since The New York Times published its 1619 Project last year aiming to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery.
As Education Week explains, “The events of the last decade have increased public awareness about things like housing segregation, the impacts of criminal justice policy in the 1990s, and the legacy of enslavement on Black Americans. But there is much less consensus on what the government’s role should be in righting these past wrongs. Add children and schooling into the mix and the debate becomes especially volatile.”
Like similar efforts to block the specific teaching of critical race theory, now comes the Florida legislation to alter how history is taught, seeking to tamp down suggestions that current-day white majority populations have any responsibility for whatever slavery sins forebears committed.
What’s different here is that this is a bill about feelings: “An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, does not bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex,” the bill states. “An individual should not be made to feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race.”
Lessons about racism or sexism are allowed, but only if they meet the specific inclusions or deletions outlined in the bill – basically statements that the bill suggests will not offend anyone. School or professional instructors can use lesson plans “to address, in an age-appropriate manner, the topics of sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination,” according to the bill. But “classroom instruction and curriculum may not be used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the principles of this subsection or state academic standards,” it states.
The governor explains: “In Florida, we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory. We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other. The WOKE Act extends similar means “to protect Florida workers against the hostile work environment that is created when large corporations force their employees to endure CRT-inspired ‘training’ and indoctrination.”
The Bill and Feelings
You can read through Senate Bill 148: It promotes teaching of history and content of the Declaration of Independence, equality of all persons, inalienable rights of life, liberty and property, the Federalist papers and flag education. It includes education about the Holocaust and about slavery, adding that teaching must include that no race is superior to others or inherently racist, sexist or oppressive.
Oddly, it strikes language about mental health from the list of health topics and retains the rights of parents to exempt students from some health topics touching on sex.
This particular bill does not address library books, as in some states, but does repeat the rights of parents to raise challenges.
The governor argues that this bill would build on existing rules that are part of the Florida administrative code. They specifically state that teachings based on CRT, saying, instruction on the required topics must be factual and objective, and may not suppress or distort significant historical events. He offered a curated list of incidents nationally in which he argues the spirit of critical race theory is coloring lessons in school and workplace trainings.
A much different reading is offered by a strident MSNBC columnist Ja’han Jones who argues, “Educating people about the inhumane ways white people positioned themselves atop America’s social hierarchy is a direct threat to the racist power structure. White people are most likely to feel discomforted by these lessons. . . it’s clear that the Florida bill is designed to coddle white people, even though it doesn’t mention them specifically.
The columnist adds, “So, to clarify: Florida conservatives are prioritizing white hypersensitivity over truthful teachings. They’re apparently saying lessons about America’s racist and sexist past are acceptable only if they don’t offend white people.”
A realistic snapshot of America today would reflect lots of race problems, and substantial frustration arising from them in multiple directions.
What I hadn’t really seen was a bill directed at feelings rather than acts. If feelings are the new measure, one might imagine a wholesale remake of our laws.
We finally have a bill about feelings.
Set aside decisions about building infrastructure and fixing bridges or creating pre-kindergarten or considering sheltering the homeless or even preserving voting rights – things governments might do either federally or locally to deal with social problems.
This one is about the preservation of emotions.
A bill gained the approval of the Florida Senate Education Committee this week that seeks to bar public schools or workplaces from making people feel “discomfort” or “guilt” about their race during lessons or training focused on inequality.
It is unclear what exactly would happen if someone feels discomfort or guilt or how this bill’s effects would be measured or enforced.
As a columnist for MSNBC wrote: Senate Bill 148, “which should really be called the ‘sad white people bill.’ [would] effectively codify white fragility into law” though it never mentions individual races or backgrounds.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has endorsed the bill, which includes several provisions outlined in his Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act or Stop W.O.K.E., a purported ban on critical race theory that was introduced last month in the state legislature.
Of course, as has been pointed out repeatedly, Critical Race Theory is a college-level area of study not taught in K-12 schools. Nevertheless, the label has been adopted by conservative governors, school board members and parents who object to any teaching that suggests that racism and residual effects of slavery, Jim Crow and segregation are alive and well in these United States.
Funny, the bill doesn’t really lay out what happens if a white Christian majority has teachings that prompt discomfort to Jews, Muslims, Blacks, Latinx, Asian Americans, LBGTQ or transgender students and parents.
Reacting to Critical Race Theory
“Critical Race Theory” has become a rallying cry making the rounds in elections and politics, particularly since The New York Times published its 1619 Project last year aiming to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery.
As Education Week explains, “The events of the last decade have increased public awareness about things like housing segregation, the impacts of criminal justice policy in the 1990s, and the legacy of enslavement on Black Americans. But there is much less consensus on what the government’s role should be in righting these past wrongs. Add children and schooling into the mix and the debate becomes especially volatile.”
Like similar efforts to block the specific teaching of critical race theory, now comes the Florida legislation to alter how history is taught, seeking to tamp down suggestions that current-day white majority populations have any responsibility for whatever slavery sins forebears committed.
What’s different here is that this is a bill about feelings: “An individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, does not bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex,” the bill states. “An individual should not be made to feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race.”
Lessons about racism or sexism are allowed, but only if they meet the specific inclusions or deletions outlined in the bill – basically statements that the bill suggests will not offend anyone. School or professional instructors can use lesson plans “to address, in an age-appropriate manner, the topics of sexism, slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination,” according to the bill. But “classroom instruction and curriculum may not be used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the principles of this subsection or state academic standards,” it states.
The governor explains: “In Florida, we are taking a stand against the state-sanctioned racism that is critical race theory. We won’t allow Florida tax dollars to be spent teaching kids to hate our country or to hate each other. The WOKE Act extends similar means “to protect Florida workers against the hostile work environment that is created when large corporations force their employees to endure CRT-inspired ‘training’ and indoctrination.”
The Bill and Feelings
You can read through Senate Bill 148: It promotes teaching of history and content of the Declaration of Independence, equality of all persons, inalienable rights of life, liberty and property, the Federalist papers and flag education. It includes education about the Holocaust and about slavery, adding that teaching must include that no race is superior to others or inherently racist, sexist or oppressive.
Oddly, it strikes language about mental health from the list of health topics and retains the rights of parents to exempt students from some health topics touching on sex.
This particular bill does not address library books, as in some states, but does repeat the rights of parents to raise challenges.
The governor argues that this bill would build on existing rules that are part of the Florida administrative code. They specifically state that teachings based on CRT, saying, instruction on the required topics must be factual and objective, and may not suppress or distort significant historical events. He offered a curated list of incidents nationally in which he argues the spirit of critical race theory is coloring lessons in school and workplace trainings.
A much different reading is offered by a strident MSNBC columnist Ja’han Jones who argues, “Educating people about the inhumane ways white people positioned themselves atop America’s social hierarchy is a direct threat to the racist power structure. White people are most likely to feel discomforted by these lessons. . . it’s clear that the Florida bill is designed to coddle white people, even though it doesn’t mention them specifically.
The columnist adds, “So, to clarify: Florida conservatives are prioritizing white hypersensitivity over truthful teachings. They’re apparently saying lessons about America’s racist and sexist past are acceptable only if they don’t offend white people.”
A realistic snapshot of America today would reflect lots of race problems, and substantial frustration arising from them in multiple directions.
What I hadn’t really seen was a bill directed at feelings rather than acts. If feelings are the new measure, one might imagine a wholesale remake of our laws.
THE NEW KKK!!!
US conservatives linked to rich donors wage campaign to ban books from schools
Adam Gabbatt
THE GUARDIAN
Mon 24 Jan 2022 05.00 EST
Experts say trend is accelerating as groups push for bans of works that often address race, LGBTQ issues and marginalized people
Conservative groups across the US, often linked to deep-pocketed rightwing donors, are carrying out a campaign to ban books from school libraries, often focused on works that address race, LGBTQ issues or marginalized communities.
Literature has already been removed from schools in Texas, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. Librarians and teachers warn the trend is on the increase, as groups backed by wealthy Republican donors use centrally drawn up tactics and messaging to harangue school districts into removing certain texts.
In October, the Texas state representative Matt Krause sent a list of 850 books to school districts, asking that they report how many copies they have of each title and how much had been spent on those books.
The Texas Tribune reported that the books included two by Ta-Nehisi Coates; LGBT Families by Leanne K Currie-McGhee; and ‘Pink is a Girl Color’ … and Other Silly Things People Say, a children’s book by Stacy and Erik Drageset. Krause’s list sparked panic in schools, and by December a district in San Antonio said it was reviewing 414 titles in its libraries.
In Pennsylvania, the Central York school board banned a long list of books, almost entirely titles by, or about, people of color, including books by Jacqueline Woodson, Ijeoma Oluo and Ibram X Kendi, and children’s titles about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. “Let’s just call it what it is – every author on that list is a Black voice,” one teacher told the York Dispatch.
Four high schools in Utah’s Canyons school district removed copies of at least nine books, the Deseret News reported, including Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe; the Bluest Eye, a book by the Pulitzer winner Toni Morrison that addresses racial and gender oppression; and Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez, a story about romance in a racially divided 1930s Texas.
Groups purporting to be “grassroots” efforts have frequently led the charge, petitioning school boards or elected officials to remove certain books. Though some of these organizations present themselves as a local effort that sprang up around groups of parents united behind a cause, many of the groups involved in banning books are in fact linked, and backed by influential conservative donors.
Most of the books relate to race or gender equality, at a time when some Republicans are mounting an effort to prevent teaching on race in schools by launching a loud campaign against critical race theory, an academic discipline that examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said the number of attempts to ban books had soared through 2021.
“What’s unique is it appears to be an organized effort by a number of advocacy groups to activate members in local chapters to challenge books in school libraries and public libraries in the United States,” she said.
“We’ve noted that there are a number of groups like Moms for Liberty, Parents Defending Education, No Left Turn in Education that have particular views on what is appropriate for young people, and they’re trying to implement their agenda – particularly in schools, but also taking their concerns to public libraries as well.”
Caldwell-Stone said ALA received 156 book challenges – an attempt to remove or restrict one or more books – in 2020. In the last three months of 2021 alone, the organization saw 330 book challenges.
In most incidents there is a common format. According to the conservative groups, one parent of a child at school has spotted an allegedly unsuitable book, and has raised the alarm. But the movement is far from organic.
The name Moms for Liberty might suggest a homely, kitchen-table effort. In reality, Moms for Liberty is associated with other supposed grassroots groups backed by conservative donors, who appear to be driving the book-banning effort.
Moms for Liberty groups are promoted on the website of Parents Defending Education (PDE), another conservative group, and in May Moms for Liberty joined with PDE to write a letter to Miguel Cardona, the US education secretary, expressing concerns over federal efforts to include teaching about the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans in US society.
Moms for Liberty did not respond to a request for comment.
Asra Nomani, PDE’s vice-president for strategy and investigations, has appeared on Fox News to rail against some books, including Woke Baby and Gender Queer, being in Virginia libraries, and PDE carries a list of books it deems problematic on its website.
PDE, which launched in spring of 2021, has emerged as one of the key organizations in the conservative fight for influence in public schools. The group describes itself as a “grassroots organization”, but has ties to deep-pocket conservative money and influence.
PDE’s president, Nicole Neilly, was previously the executive director of the Independent Women’s Forum and worked at the Cato Institute, a rightwing thinktank co-founded by Republican mega-donor Charles Koch. The Intercept reported that the IWF has received large donations from Republican donor Leonard Leo, a former vice-president of the Koch-funded Federalist Society who advised Donald Trump on judicial appointments.
PDE’s website offers templates as to how aggrieved people can get involved. The group is behind an effort to create a web of coordinated Instagram pages that highlight perceived liberal bias at specific schools, and offers a step-by-step guide to doing the same, from how to create a specific gmail address to match the mission to how to describe the instagram account. The guide advises: “For the ‘full name’ field, use ‘Woke at [school name].’ For the ‘username’ field, use ‘wokeat[school name].’”
PDE, which has also railed against critical race theory, even tells parents they should spy on teachers’ online activity to seek incriminating material.
“Look at the social media pages of teachers and administrators at your school. They are often quite proud of what they’re doing and sometimes post incriminating statements or materials,” PDE’s website says.
Another aim, beyond banning books, is exposed in PDE’s efforts to encourage conservative parents to run for school boards – an often ignored position that wields a considerable amount of power.
PDE offers a guide on how parents can run, and while also describing how to gain influence on Parent Teacher Student Associations. It even offers specific questions disgruntled parents can pose to their school boards.
PDE did not respond to a request for comment.
No Left Turn in Education, whose chapters are promoted on PDE’s website, is another of the groups leading the charge. No Left Turn’s website contains a list of more than 60 books it deems inappropriate.
Again, the group has links to deep-pocketed conservatives. The Milwaukee Journal reported that Elana Fishbein, No Left Turn in Education’s founder, has provided free legal representation for parents wishing to challenge school districts. According to Journal, most of those lawyers are affiliated with the Liberty Justice Center and Pacific Legal Foundation, which receive funding from the prominent GOP donor Dick Uihlein, a Wisconsin-based billionaire.
No Left Turn in Education did not respond to requests for comment.
The banning of books about race or LGBTQ issues does not just affect those communities, said Kim Anderson, executive director of the National Education Association. It also withholds the opportunity for all students to learn “an honest and accurate truth of our history”.
“Censoring the full history of America impacts all of us as a country,” Anderson said.[...]
Conservative groups across the US, often linked to deep-pocketed rightwing donors, are carrying out a campaign to ban books from school libraries, often focused on works that address race, LGBTQ issues or marginalized communities.
Literature has already been removed from schools in Texas, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. Librarians and teachers warn the trend is on the increase, as groups backed by wealthy Republican donors use centrally drawn up tactics and messaging to harangue school districts into removing certain texts.
In October, the Texas state representative Matt Krause sent a list of 850 books to school districts, asking that they report how many copies they have of each title and how much had been spent on those books.
The Texas Tribune reported that the books included two by Ta-Nehisi Coates; LGBT Families by Leanne K Currie-McGhee; and ‘Pink is a Girl Color’ … and Other Silly Things People Say, a children’s book by Stacy and Erik Drageset. Krause’s list sparked panic in schools, and by December a district in San Antonio said it was reviewing 414 titles in its libraries.
In Pennsylvania, the Central York school board banned a long list of books, almost entirely titles by, or about, people of color, including books by Jacqueline Woodson, Ijeoma Oluo and Ibram X Kendi, and children’s titles about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. “Let’s just call it what it is – every author on that list is a Black voice,” one teacher told the York Dispatch.
Four high schools in Utah’s Canyons school district removed copies of at least nine books, the Deseret News reported, including Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe; the Bluest Eye, a book by the Pulitzer winner Toni Morrison that addresses racial and gender oppression; and Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez, a story about romance in a racially divided 1930s Texas.
Groups purporting to be “grassroots” efforts have frequently led the charge, petitioning school boards or elected officials to remove certain books. Though some of these organizations present themselves as a local effort that sprang up around groups of parents united behind a cause, many of the groups involved in banning books are in fact linked, and backed by influential conservative donors.
Most of the books relate to race or gender equality, at a time when some Republicans are mounting an effort to prevent teaching on race in schools by launching a loud campaign against critical race theory, an academic discipline that examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, said the number of attempts to ban books had soared through 2021.
“What’s unique is it appears to be an organized effort by a number of advocacy groups to activate members in local chapters to challenge books in school libraries and public libraries in the United States,” she said.
“We’ve noted that there are a number of groups like Moms for Liberty, Parents Defending Education, No Left Turn in Education that have particular views on what is appropriate for young people, and they’re trying to implement their agenda – particularly in schools, but also taking their concerns to public libraries as well.”
Caldwell-Stone said ALA received 156 book challenges – an attempt to remove or restrict one or more books – in 2020. In the last three months of 2021 alone, the organization saw 330 book challenges.
In most incidents there is a common format. According to the conservative groups, one parent of a child at school has spotted an allegedly unsuitable book, and has raised the alarm. But the movement is far from organic.
The name Moms for Liberty might suggest a homely, kitchen-table effort. In reality, Moms for Liberty is associated with other supposed grassroots groups backed by conservative donors, who appear to be driving the book-banning effort.
Moms for Liberty groups are promoted on the website of Parents Defending Education (PDE), another conservative group, and in May Moms for Liberty joined with PDE to write a letter to Miguel Cardona, the US education secretary, expressing concerns over federal efforts to include teaching about the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans in US society.
Moms for Liberty did not respond to a request for comment.
Asra Nomani, PDE’s vice-president for strategy and investigations, has appeared on Fox News to rail against some books, including Woke Baby and Gender Queer, being in Virginia libraries, and PDE carries a list of books it deems problematic on its website.
PDE, which launched in spring of 2021, has emerged as one of the key organizations in the conservative fight for influence in public schools. The group describes itself as a “grassroots organization”, but has ties to deep-pocket conservative money and influence.
PDE’s president, Nicole Neilly, was previously the executive director of the Independent Women’s Forum and worked at the Cato Institute, a rightwing thinktank co-founded by Republican mega-donor Charles Koch. The Intercept reported that the IWF has received large donations from Republican donor Leonard Leo, a former vice-president of the Koch-funded Federalist Society who advised Donald Trump on judicial appointments.
PDE’s website offers templates as to how aggrieved people can get involved. The group is behind an effort to create a web of coordinated Instagram pages that highlight perceived liberal bias at specific schools, and offers a step-by-step guide to doing the same, from how to create a specific gmail address to match the mission to how to describe the instagram account. The guide advises: “For the ‘full name’ field, use ‘Woke at [school name].’ For the ‘username’ field, use ‘wokeat[school name].’”
PDE, which has also railed against critical race theory, even tells parents they should spy on teachers’ online activity to seek incriminating material.
“Look at the social media pages of teachers and administrators at your school. They are often quite proud of what they’re doing and sometimes post incriminating statements or materials,” PDE’s website says.
Another aim, beyond banning books, is exposed in PDE’s efforts to encourage conservative parents to run for school boards – an often ignored position that wields a considerable amount of power.
PDE offers a guide on how parents can run, and while also describing how to gain influence on Parent Teacher Student Associations. It even offers specific questions disgruntled parents can pose to their school boards.
PDE did not respond to a request for comment.
No Left Turn in Education, whose chapters are promoted on PDE’s website, is another of the groups leading the charge. No Left Turn’s website contains a list of more than 60 books it deems inappropriate.
Again, the group has links to deep-pocketed conservatives. The Milwaukee Journal reported that Elana Fishbein, No Left Turn in Education’s founder, has provided free legal representation for parents wishing to challenge school districts. According to Journal, most of those lawyers are affiliated with the Liberty Justice Center and Pacific Legal Foundation, which receive funding from the prominent GOP donor Dick Uihlein, a Wisconsin-based billionaire.
No Left Turn in Education did not respond to requests for comment.
The banning of books about race or LGBTQ issues does not just affect those communities, said Kim Anderson, executive director of the National Education Association. It also withholds the opportunity for all students to learn “an honest and accurate truth of our history”.
“Censoring the full history of America impacts all of us as a country,” Anderson said.[...]
from under a rock
THE DAILY TRASH REPORT featuring today's despicables
WILL ROGERS RING TRUER THAN EVER. IN 1938 HE SAID, “YOU’LL NEVER GO BROKE UNDERESTIMATING THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.”
These Trump fans made threats — so VICE called them and they cited OAN and Newsmax as their inspiration
Infamous Nazi Skinhead And Anti-Vaxxer Dies From COVID
Backlash against pro-Trump evangelicals is completely reshaping religion: sociologist
Matthew Chapman - raw story
January 25, 2022
For years, experts have noted the rise of the "Exvangelical" movement, in which young Christians are fleeing evangelical churches as the denominations take a hard right turn and push a strident political agenda, even endorsing former President Donald Trump — which is contributing to the decline of membership in organized religion in the United States.
But that could just be the beginning. On Tuesday, writing for The Guardian, University of Connecticut associate sociology professor Ruth Brownstein identified how the takeover of the Religious Right has reshaped the people who still identify as religious, including liberals.
"In a 2002 article, sociologists Michael Hout and Claude S Fischer argued that a significant trend in American religion – the skyrocketing number of people disaffiliating from religion – could be partly explained as a political backlash against the religious right," wrote Brownstein. "While pathbreaking, this research has been relatively narrow in its focus. This is because it has typically started with the puzzle of the rising 'nones' and worked backward in search of a cause, landing on backlash against the religious right. I wondered what would happen if we flipped this question around, and started with the rise of the religious right and public concerns about its radicalism. We could then consider the varied ways that backlash against it has manifested, including but not limited to the rise of the 'nones'."
"It can be found in rising numbers of people who identity as 'spiritual but not religious'," wrote Brownstein. "Similarly, those who associate with the religious left do not discredit religion in general, but promote what they view as a more pluralistic form of public religious expression ... Finally, new research finds that people who are both religious and politically liberal are intentionally distancing themselves from the religious right by depoliticizing their public religious expression – a development worthy of much more attention."
And the Religious Right is also purging itself of the unfaithful, noted Brownstein — with evangelical conservative officials opposed to Trump, like Peter Wehner, very much on the outside, and nonreligious conservatives adopting the identifier "evangelical" to signal their loyalty to Trump rather than to God.
"Backlash against the religious right has had ripple effects far more widespread than previously recognized," concluded Brownstein. "These dynamics are effectively reshaping American religion and politics, and show no signs of stopping."
You can read more here.
But that could just be the beginning. On Tuesday, writing for The Guardian, University of Connecticut associate sociology professor Ruth Brownstein identified how the takeover of the Religious Right has reshaped the people who still identify as religious, including liberals.
"In a 2002 article, sociologists Michael Hout and Claude S Fischer argued that a significant trend in American religion – the skyrocketing number of people disaffiliating from religion – could be partly explained as a political backlash against the religious right," wrote Brownstein. "While pathbreaking, this research has been relatively narrow in its focus. This is because it has typically started with the puzzle of the rising 'nones' and worked backward in search of a cause, landing on backlash against the religious right. I wondered what would happen if we flipped this question around, and started with the rise of the religious right and public concerns about its radicalism. We could then consider the varied ways that backlash against it has manifested, including but not limited to the rise of the 'nones'."
"It can be found in rising numbers of people who identity as 'spiritual but not religious'," wrote Brownstein. "Similarly, those who associate with the religious left do not discredit religion in general, but promote what they view as a more pluralistic form of public religious expression ... Finally, new research finds that people who are both religious and politically liberal are intentionally distancing themselves from the religious right by depoliticizing their public religious expression – a development worthy of much more attention."
And the Religious Right is also purging itself of the unfaithful, noted Brownstein — with evangelical conservative officials opposed to Trump, like Peter Wehner, very much on the outside, and nonreligious conservatives adopting the identifier "evangelical" to signal their loyalty to Trump rather than to God.
"Backlash against the religious right has had ripple effects far more widespread than previously recognized," concluded Brownstein. "These dynamics are effectively reshaping American religion and politics, and show no signs of stopping."
You can read more here.
fools governing fools!!!
Georgia Republicans push bill banning all government mandates of 'any vaccination including in public schools'
David Badash and The New Civil Rights Movement - alternet
January 25, 2022
Georgia Senate Republicans are pushing a bill that would end any requirements for any vaccinations by any state or local government agency or office in the Peach State, including vaccines for children entering public school.
The bill also bans any government agency from requiring private companies or entities from requiring any proof of any vaccination.
The bill, SB 345, was filed on January 14 with five original co-sponsors. It now has 17, including state Senator Jeff Mullis, whose campaign website prominently features photos of him with former Vice President Mike Pence, and former President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr.
“No agency shall require proof of any vaccination of any person as a condition of providing any service or access to any facility, issuing any license, permit, or other type of authorization, or performing any duty of such agency,” the bill’s text reads in part.
Georgia State Law law professor Anthony Michael Kreis posted Georgia’s school vaccine requirements, suggesting those would be optional were the bill to become law.
The CDC recommends a list of about 17 different vaccines children should have before entering school. The list includes inoculations against diseases, often deadly, including Hepatitis B, Rotavirus, Diphtheria, tetanus, & acellular pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Pneumococcal conjugate, Inactivated poliovirus, Influenza, Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), Varicella, Hepatitis A, Tetanus, diphtheria, & acellular pertussis, Human papillomavirus, Meningococcal, Meningococcal B, and Pneumococcal polysaccharide.
The bill also bans any government agency from requiring private companies or entities from requiring any proof of any vaccination.
The bill, SB 345, was filed on January 14 with five original co-sponsors. It now has 17, including state Senator Jeff Mullis, whose campaign website prominently features photos of him with former Vice President Mike Pence, and former President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr.
“No agency shall require proof of any vaccination of any person as a condition of providing any service or access to any facility, issuing any license, permit, or other type of authorization, or performing any duty of such agency,” the bill’s text reads in part.
Georgia State Law law professor Anthony Michael Kreis posted Georgia’s school vaccine requirements, suggesting those would be optional were the bill to become law.
The CDC recommends a list of about 17 different vaccines children should have before entering school. The list includes inoculations against diseases, often deadly, including Hepatitis B, Rotavirus, Diphtheria, tetanus, & acellular pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Pneumococcal conjugate, Inactivated poliovirus, Influenza, Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), Varicella, Hepatitis A, Tetanus, diphtheria, & acellular pertussis, Human papillomavirus, Meningococcal, Meningococcal B, and Pneumococcal polysaccharide.
Bites from Real News
*1/25/2022*
*Toxic PCBs Festered at This Public School for Eight Years as Students and Teachers Grew Sicker
The EPA and others warned about potential contamination as far back as 2014. But Washington state law does not require schools or health departments to act on those findings.
*Tennessee Jewish couple sues after Christian adoption agency denies them services
*Vaccine Profits Minted 9 New Billionaires While Vaccine Apartheid Drove Omicron
...vaccine profits have minted at least nine new billionaires at Moderna, BioNTech and China’s CanSino, amassing a combined new wealth of over $19 billion.
*Biden administration raises minimum wage for federal employees to $15
Federal agencies are being directed to raise the minimum wages for government employees to $15 an hour, according to new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management shared first with Axios. Why it matters: The guidance will impact almost 70,000 ... (Axios)
*America's new class war: Labor is back
Forget the "woke" Democrats and timid union leaders. Workers across the country are standing up and fighting back CHRIS HEDGES
*Martin Luther King Would Still Fuck Our Shit Up (2022 Edition)
by the rude pundit
*Activision Blizzard Microsoft to buy Call of Duty maker for nearly $70bn
Tech giant acquires publisher of games including World of Warcraft and Candy Crush
*How America Is Becoming Unraveled
The morbidly rich have taken over politics, nobody trusts anybody, violence is up, gun sales have exploded & our nation experienced its first armed assault from traitors within since the Civil War
Thom Hartmann
*CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS JOIN REPUBLICANS TO UNDERMINE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLING RULE
Worried an aggressive new rule could cut into providers’ earnings, key members of Congress including Rep. Richie Neal are helping private industry weaken the administration’s position in federal court.
*Sanders, Warren Demand BlackRock Intervene in Coal Strike for Fair Contract Warrior Met workers have been on strike for nearly 10 months, protesting concessions made in 2016 contract negotiations.
by Sharon Zhang, Truthout
Trump Lawyer Pleaded the Fifth to 146 Riot Panel Questions, Says Report
KEEPING SHTUM
Jamie Ross
News Correspondent
Updated Jan. 25, 2022 10:53AM ET
DAILY BEAST CHEAT SHEET
The lawyer who helped then-President Donald Trump cook up plans to overturn the 2020 election reportedly refused to answer nearly 150 questions from the House panel investigating the Capitol riot. John Eastman spoke to the crowd of Trump supporters who went on to ransack the Capitol on Jan. 6 and was the author of a notorious memo on how Mike Pence could subvert the 2020 election result. Citing a lawyer for the House, CNN reports that Eastman invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination in response to 146 questions from the panel, and refused to hand over documents requested by investigators. However, the silent treatment won’t be able to go on for much longer. CNN reports that, on Monday, a federal judge ordered Eastman to respond to a House subpoena of his former employer, Chapman University, for his emails. The ruling means the House panel should gain access to information it’s been seeking for months.
DeSantis Blasts ‘Sudden and Reckless’ Halt on Antibody Drugs Found to Be Ineffective
ANGRY FLORIDA MAN
Allison Quinn
News Editor
Published Jan. 25, 2022 11:50AM ET
DAILY BEAST CHEAT SHEET
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has lashed out at the Biden administration for the FDA’s decision on Monday to halt the use of antibody drugs in treating the Omicron variant of COVID-19. “Without a shred of clinical data to support this action, Biden has forced trained medical professionals to choose between treating their patients or breaking the law,” the Republican governor said in a statement, demanding that Biden reverse the “sudden and reckless” decision by the Food and Drug Administration. U.S. health officials said they opted to pull authorization for the drugs, made by Regeneron and Eli Lilly, because they are less effective against the highly transmissible COVID-19 variant. The move was widely expected, as the drugmakers had already admitted the antibody drugs would not be effective against Omicron. Monoclonal antibody treatment sites in Florida were also closed as a result of the FDA’s decision. DeSantis had made the antibody treatments a crucial part of his COVID-19 response, even while he railed against vaccine mandates. Health officials have stressed that the drugs are meant to be used to treat the most vulnerable groups, with vaccination still being the best way to protect against the virus.
Young Father Denied Heart Transplant Because He Refuses to Get COVID Vaccine
BEST ODDS
Allison Quinn
News Editor
Published Jan. 25, 2022 6:34AM ET
DAILY BEAST CHEAT SHEET
A 31-year-old father in need of a heart transplant has been bumped from the transplant list at Brigham and Women’s Hospital because he won’t get vaccinated against COVID-19, CBS Boston reports. “It’s kind of against his basic principles—he doesn’t believe in it,” David Ferguson told the news outlet of his son, DJ Ferguson. The father of two was at the top of the transplant list until he was removed over his vaccination status, his father said. It was not immediately clear why he was in need of a heart transplant. The hospital released a statement explaining that the vaccine requirement is standard policy, as the jab creates “both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient’s survival after transplantation.” Arthur Caplan, the head of Medical Ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, put it more simply: “Post any transplant, kidney, heart whatever, your immune system is shut off. The flu could kill you, a cold could kill you, COVID could kill you. The organs are scarce, we are not going to distribute them to someone who has a poor chance of living when others who are vaccinated have a better chance post-surgery of surviving.”
*What's Inside*
*QUEEN KYRSTEN HOLDS COURT AFTER VOTE AGAINST FILIBUSTER REFORM
(SELLOUTS)
*AND YOU BELIEVED IT ALL
(SUCKERS)
*COVID TESTS, SICK LEAVE, AND MORE: THIS COUNTRY HAS LOST ITS ABILITY TO GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU BY THE RUDE PUNDIT(COMMENTARY)
*BERNIE SANDERS ENCOURAGES WORKERS TO “RISE UP AND FIGHT BACK” IN NEW OP-ED
(PROGRESSIVES)
*LOUISIANA ENERGY FIRM TO PAY MILLIONS FOLLOWING OIL SPILL THAT BEGAN 17 YEARS AGO
(OIL)
*BEFORE MANCHIN'S "NO," CORPORATE DOUGH
(SELLOUTS)
*HOW DARK MONEY BOUGHT A SUPREME COURT SEAT
(CORRUPTION)
*RIGHT-WING GROUPS OPPOSED TO GOVERNMENT AID CASHED IN WHILE COLLECTING PPP LOANS
(CORPORATE CRIMINALS)
*WYOMING REVEALED AS ONE OF WORLD'S TOP TAX HAVENS WITH 'COWBOY COCKTAIL' SCHEME TO HIDE MONEY(CAPITALISM)
*‘I CAN’T GET A SINGLE PRESENT’: MILLIONS IN US BARELY SCRAPING BY AMID HOLIDAYS
(AMERICA)
*THE 2021 CORPORATE RAP SHEET
(CORPORATE CRIMINALS)
*JOE MANCHIN CITES 'FAKE' GOP NUMBERS TO DEMAND LAST-MINUTE CUTS TO BIDEN'S BUILD BACK BETTER BILL(SELLOUTS)
*IS FOX NEWS "THE GREATEST CANCER ON AMERICAN DEMOCRACY"?
(WORTHLESS MEDIA)
*'CONFLICTED CONGRESS': KEY FINDINGS FROM INSIDER'S FIVE-MONTH INVESTIGATION INTO FEDERAL LAWMAKERS' PERSONAL FINANCES(REALITY)
*BLACK FORMER ARIZONA SENATE STAFFER WINS LAWSUIT ALLEGING SHE WAS PAID LESS THAN WHITE PEERS; ONE OF THE POLITICIANS RESPONSIBLE APOLOGIZES: ‘SORRY FOR THE REAL HARM I CAUSED’(RACE MATTERS)
*BUGS ACROSS GLOBE ARE EVOLVING TO EAT PLASTIC, STUDY FINDS
(ENVIRONMENT)
*GOP SHAM CANDIDATE SCHEME GROWS
(CORRUPTION)
*late news of interest*
Let's Cut the Crap
nancegreggs - du
8/8/2021
Republican voters - especially the Trump-humpers among them -- are not where they are because they're poorly-educated, misled, easily-manipulated dupes.
Those excuses for their behaviour - despite all of it being true - is no longer a viable explanation for their actions.
The truth is they're are just downright stupid.
No one with enough common sense to come in out of the rain would ignore the expertise of Dr. Fauci (world renowned physician, scientist, immunologist), and instead take their medical advice from the same lunatic who told them the pandemic was a hoax.
No one with enough functioning brain cells to enable them to tie their own shoelaces would look at the real-time footage of January 6th and ever believe that it was a 'regular tourist event' - or, even more amazingly, buy the line that the events of January 6th actually never happened.
No one with sufficient brain-power to successfully microwave a hotdog would see deaths among the unvaccinated surge - and not understand that the vaccines are working, and being unvaccinated is the problem.
No one with an IQ above that of the average house plant would believe that the 2020 election was 'stolen' when there hasn't been a modicum of proof produced to support that idea, would believe that a man obsessed with keeping his income tax returns hidden has 'nothing to hide', would believe that TFG (the self-proclaimed billionaire) needs their donations to cover his personal expenses.
These people are actually supporting Republican whack-jobs who believe that Jewish Space Lasers cause forest fires, and the so-called 'Christians' among them have no problem taking selfies with a golden Trump statue.
Once upon a time, the Trump-humpers could be excused as ill-informed idiots who bought the snake oil that would, as promised, cure all ills.
We're well past that now. Anyone still supporting TFG - and the party he still holds sway over - is, quite simply, a fucking moron, devoid of the common sense required to distinguish between shit and Shinola.
So let's stop pretending that those still clinging to TFG's blatant bullshit are citizens who simply don't know any better - because if they don't know better by now, they are too stupid to ever know anything.
Those excuses for their behaviour - despite all of it being true - is no longer a viable explanation for their actions.
The truth is they're are just downright stupid.
No one with enough common sense to come in out of the rain would ignore the expertise of Dr. Fauci (world renowned physician, scientist, immunologist), and instead take their medical advice from the same lunatic who told them the pandemic was a hoax.
No one with enough functioning brain cells to enable them to tie their own shoelaces would look at the real-time footage of January 6th and ever believe that it was a 'regular tourist event' - or, even more amazingly, buy the line that the events of January 6th actually never happened.
No one with sufficient brain-power to successfully microwave a hotdog would see deaths among the unvaccinated surge - and not understand that the vaccines are working, and being unvaccinated is the problem.
No one with an IQ above that of the average house plant would believe that the 2020 election was 'stolen' when there hasn't been a modicum of proof produced to support that idea, would believe that a man obsessed with keeping his income tax returns hidden has 'nothing to hide', would believe that TFG (the self-proclaimed billionaire) needs their donations to cover his personal expenses.
These people are actually supporting Republican whack-jobs who believe that Jewish Space Lasers cause forest fires, and the so-called 'Christians' among them have no problem taking selfies with a golden Trump statue.
Once upon a time, the Trump-humpers could be excused as ill-informed idiots who bought the snake oil that would, as promised, cure all ills.
We're well past that now. Anyone still supporting TFG - and the party he still holds sway over - is, quite simply, a fucking moron, devoid of the common sense required to distinguish between shit and Shinola.
So let's stop pretending that those still clinging to TFG's blatant bullshit are citizens who simply don't know any better - because if they don't know better by now, they are too stupid to ever know anything.
A Meditation On Practical Applications Of Stupidity
The Mystery of Anti-Vax & Anti-Mask
Kat Ignatz - DAILY KOS
Sunday August 01, 2021 · 5:00 AM PDT
...“The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity” seems as good a way as any to explain the insane situation we’re in. It’s speculative, but in my opinion, guessing is all we’ve really got right now.
In his essay, Cipolla divides human beings into four categories and builds his theory on these characteristics.
His categories are:
And he presents his theory as five laws:
Taking Cipolla’s laws and looking for correlations with anti-vax/mask behavior, you can map out anti-vax/mask actions like this:
And you could do the same matching of Cipolla’s laws with anti-vax/mask actions, and together, we could come up with a big, five-part list of parallels between Cipolla’s theory and the anti-vax/mask movement.
And it would prove nothing.
But looking at it might make you wonder, like me, if there’s anything but dangerous, illogical, and incomprehensible behavior there.
Cipolla doesn’t explain stupid people. He simply says that they exist, and they’re irrational, unpredictable, and hazardous. He states that irrational people can’t be understood by rational minds and cautions against getting involved with irrational people because it always comes with a cost that’s often a big cost.
He says the only hope is for rational people to create more gains than the losses that irrational people cause. He was an economist so his theory is all gains and losses, and another way to think about his four human traits is total gain, loss/gain, gain/loss, and total loss.
And maybe that’s the real answer here. Maybe, we shouldn’t concern ourselves with why anti-vax/maskers act like they do. Perhaps, we should simply accept them as an incredible danger to our country, states, cities, friends, families, and selves, and we should just do everything we can to do more good than they do harm.
I like Cipolla’s theory, and I find it to be a compelling model for many of the problems we’re experiencing—like, for instance, Republicans.
In this writings, Cipolla makes a point of dividing bandits into Intelligent Bandits and Stupid Bandits. Intelligent bandits cause an equal amount of loss and gain, and they get everything they take from others. Stupid bandits cause more loss than gain, and they only get part of what they cause others to lose.
When I read that, I think about how Republicans are actively working to crash the US so they can keep their wealth and power. And then I think that they’re going so far with it that they may have moved from being stupid bandits to fully stupid because it’s irrational to think they’ll keep much of anything if the country collapses.
I also start thinking about how prevalent stupid banditry is in the world—as if it’s the only way to do business. The “bigs” are especially dangerous: big agriculture, apparel, chemical, electronics, oil, pharmaceuticals, retail, etc.
We’re all losing our lives in one way or another to these dubious ventures.
But that’s my mind drifting on to a topic for another diary, and I’ll stop this one here.
In his essay, Cipolla divides human beings into four categories and builds his theory on these characteristics.
His categories are:
- Intelligent People whose actions benefit others and themselves
- Helpless People whose actions harm them but benefit others
- Bandits whose actions harm others but benefit them
- Stupid People whose actions harm others but don’t benefit them and may, in fact, harm them, too
And he presents his theory as five laws:
- Everyone always underestimates how many stupid people there are.
- Stupidity is unrelated to any other human trait.
- Stupid people cause losses to others without gain and, possibly, with losses to themselves.
- Non-stupid people always underestimate how harmful stupid people are.
- Stupid people are the most dangerous type of person.
Taking Cipolla’s laws and looking for correlations with anti-vax/mask behavior, you can map out anti-vax/mask actions like this:
- How many: 30% of the US population is hesitating, resisting, or outright refusing to get a coronavirus vaccine.
- Unrelated to other traits: Health care workers are protesting against getting vaccinated.
- No gain and possible losses: Not even the threat of death is changing anti-vax/mask behavior.
- How harmful: Who would have predicted that Missouri would end up in such terrible condition?
- Most dangerous: Anti-vax/maskers are bringing the systems we rely on for our safety and health to the brink of crashing.
And you could do the same matching of Cipolla’s laws with anti-vax/mask actions, and together, we could come up with a big, five-part list of parallels between Cipolla’s theory and the anti-vax/mask movement.
And it would prove nothing.
But looking at it might make you wonder, like me, if there’s anything but dangerous, illogical, and incomprehensible behavior there.
Cipolla doesn’t explain stupid people. He simply says that they exist, and they’re irrational, unpredictable, and hazardous. He states that irrational people can’t be understood by rational minds and cautions against getting involved with irrational people because it always comes with a cost that’s often a big cost.
He says the only hope is for rational people to create more gains than the losses that irrational people cause. He was an economist so his theory is all gains and losses, and another way to think about his four human traits is total gain, loss/gain, gain/loss, and total loss.
And maybe that’s the real answer here. Maybe, we shouldn’t concern ourselves with why anti-vax/maskers act like they do. Perhaps, we should simply accept them as an incredible danger to our country, states, cities, friends, families, and selves, and we should just do everything we can to do more good than they do harm.
I like Cipolla’s theory, and I find it to be a compelling model for many of the problems we’re experiencing—like, for instance, Republicans.
In this writings, Cipolla makes a point of dividing bandits into Intelligent Bandits and Stupid Bandits. Intelligent bandits cause an equal amount of loss and gain, and they get everything they take from others. Stupid bandits cause more loss than gain, and they only get part of what they cause others to lose.
When I read that, I think about how Republicans are actively working to crash the US so they can keep their wealth and power. And then I think that they’re going so far with it that they may have moved from being stupid bandits to fully stupid because it’s irrational to think they’ll keep much of anything if the country collapses.
I also start thinking about how prevalent stupid banditry is in the world—as if it’s the only way to do business. The “bigs” are especially dangerous: big agriculture, apparel, chemical, electronics, oil, pharmaceuticals, retail, etc.
We’re all losing our lives in one way or another to these dubious ventures.
But that’s my mind drifting on to a topic for another diary, and I’ll stop this one here.
