#amendment ix

[makingdonalddrumpfagain]

#amendment ix #the ninth amendment #united states constitution #bill of rights

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A federal court judge has ruled that parents in Ohio don’t have the right to challenge a trans-inclusive school bathroom policy.

A case brought by parents and students in the Bethel Local School District (BLSD) in November sought to prohibit trans and non-binary students in the region from using toilets and other facilities consistent with their gender identity.

But, in a ruling issued on Monday (7 August), Judge Michael Newman decreed that the accusations brought by the group did not “pass legal muster” to warrant further consideration.

“Not every contentious debate concerning matters of public importance presents a cognisable federal lawsuit,” Newman wrote in his ruling opinion.

During a school board meeting in January 2022, BLSD announced it had implemented policies allowing transgender students to use communal toilets consistent with their gender identity.

Several months later, a group of parents filed a legal challenge, arguing that their parental rights were being infringed upon by not having a public meeting to discuss the matter.

They further argued that a previous policy, which had no protections for trans students, did not violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which states that no person in the US shall exclude or discriminate against students on the basis of sex.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing for the Title IX claim and that citing parental rights did not immediately require the school to adhere to the group’s demands.

Dismissing the case, Newman wrote that parents do not have a “constitutional right” to revoke school policies on toilet usage.

ACLU Ohio deputy legal director, David Carey, said the ruling reaffirmed that the Constitution is not a vehicle to “compel discrimination.”

He explained: “Nothing in the constitutional guarantees of parenting rights, equal protection or free exercise of religion, mandates that transgender students be excluded from gender-appropriate communal restrooms on the basis of their classmates’ beliefs and values.”

“For public schools to function, one student’s or family’s religious beliefs cannot provide a basis to exclude another student from full participation in the school environment.”

In its legal intervention arguments, the ACLU wrote that it believed the public has a “strong interest” in advancing policies that affirmatively protect transgender students and create inclusive school environments.

The LGBTQ & HIV Project staff attorney at the ACLU, Malita Picasso, said the court’s decision made it “resoundingly clear” that the rights of trans students are “not in conflict” with the rights of their peers.

“No student should have to fear discriminatory treatment every morning they walk into school, and this ruling brings us closer to the day no transgender student has to,” she added.

#us politics #news #pinknews #parental rights #ohio #trans bathroom bills #bathroom bills #transphobia #fuck transphobes #republican homophobia #Bethel Local School District #Judge Michael Newman #title ix #Education Amendments of 1972 #American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio #American Civil Liberties Union #David Carey #us constitution #Malita Picasso #2023

[prismatic-bell]

BIDEN IS TRYING TO AMEND TITLE IX TO PROTECT TRANS ATHLETES.

This is currently in its open comment phase and it’s getting bombed by TERFs, surprise surprise.

If you live in the US, you can fight back by leaving your own comment HERE. Don’t get cute or make threats, just explain why you think we should protect trans kids. And for fuck’s sake if you’re not actually in the US don’t get the idea you’ll just use a fake address. This is a government form, doing so can get the entire amendment thrown out.

Spread the word!!!

[day-drawn-blog]

Part VI : It's not my fault. I'm not to blame. These ain't my sins. I broke my chains. - "I want to live"

Back to some angst before the good stuff.

Pairing: Astarion x Reader -- This is set in Act I

Tags: angst, fluff, sadness, angst, fluff, then maybe eventually smut because I do love that

Part I. Crowned light moon of mine - I found you too soon

Part II : Lace your heart with mine Let your sleeping soul take flight

Part III : maybe tonight I'll rest in peace

Part IV : There is more to do and I still want to live

Part V : our futures bound, our bodies known

Part VII: You are not mine and am I truly yours?

Part VIII: Your blood like wine, I wanted in.

Part IX: I'll welcome my sentence and give you my penance

Part X : I can't go yet...don't let me die

-----------

Next morning. You wrapped some bandages around your neck. Your armor should cover any bite marks. You knew no one knew yet. And you didn't want to give his secret away till he was ready. 

You stepped out, pushing away any thoughts of last night. He was putting his armor on. Very focused. The party soon got going. Unlike other times, it was Astarion who was trailing behind the rest this time. 

Curious. You thought.

You glanced back at him a few times. He was never looking at you. You were traveling in the underdark. As you were passing by a group of statues, you were all ambushed by a spectator. You found yourself unable to deal as much damage as you normally did. You were definitely enfeebled after last night.

"Keep up, would you." Astarion chided as he swiped an enemy right next to you. "And whose fault is that" you snarked back at him. He said nothing, looked a bit displeased at your accusation, but continued to support you in combat. 

At least he is taking responsibility.

After the battle was won, he left without a word. Again. That night everyone camped near one of the pools by the several waterfalls. You decided to wash up, and found him there by himself. If his earlier behavior was any indication he would not be inclined to talk now, you reasoned. You turned to leave when he called you. 

"I'm done. Il be leaving". 

You turned around. He wrapped a long cloth around his waist. And walked away. You looked at his muscular upper body. There were some carvings on his back, illuminated by the moon. Strange. You thought. He kept walking away without as much as another glance at you. 

He wanted nothing to do with you. 

This was probably your fault. You thought as you stepped in. You should have not crossed the line. You were friends before. Now you are strangers. A momentary temptation had cost you what had taken so long to earn. Your only hope was that he would soon crave your blood. You prayed for it. You didn't want to lose him. You were ready to accept him for everything that he was. 

Including that he loved someone else.

Surely he loved her. Why else would he be so conflicted, angry, at last night. He felt he did her wrong. Surely. That's why he doesn't want to talk to you. Because he blames you. For tempting him. And you did. Despite promising yourself you won't take what belonged to her, you did try. You reached out and grabbed him. Greedily tried to have himself. 

You failed yourself. 

A few days passed. Nothing changed. Astarion was still cold and distant. Your heart was giving up hope, slowly. As he showed no signs of visiting you at night for your blood. He would ignore you during your short rests. And during the nights. He was indifferent during combat too. 

You let him be.

Perhaps you hurt him somehow. And you wanted to make amends. When you all met a trader, at the myconid colony, you decided to gift your friends some nice things. A nice armor and a morningstar for shadowheart. Enchanted helmet for Karlach. You found a pendant that would cast spells, necrotic damage and fear. 

You gave those to Astarion. 

"To help you in combat". You said. He looked up. Accepted them and proceeded to study them. "Thank you" he said in his deep voice. "Of course. I'm buying, for everyone". You reassured him. Then walked away, hoping he would feel happy. But you dared not look back. You didn't want to seem, desperate for his approval. 

"What are you buying your lover this time?"

Karlach teased. You thought she was teasing you. Shocked you looked at her only to find her talking to Shadowheart. Right. No one thinks of you and Astarion because no one knows. Because he didn't tell anyone. Because there is nothing to tell in the first place. Your heart was wrenching with every thought.

"I remember the spell amulet he bought you him last time. You lovers and your lovey dovey hearts, it's so cute!" continued Karlach.

"I supposed we used to be. But of late, I do not know if we can call each other that". Your sharply looked at her! What?! "What? Did he break your heart?! I always knew that smooth talker couldn't be trusted. Didn't I tell you! I'm going to talk to him tonight" Karlach huffed. 

"No need". Shadowheart stopped her. 

"I don't think there was "love" between us to begin with. I think we were both ... enjoying...each other. And now, we have had our fill". "Good" chimed laezel. "Nothing to distract you in battle anymore, or disturb your nights rest". "I suppose... " Agreed shadowheart. With a tinge of sadness laced in her voice. You felt sad for her. You wanted to comfort her. Maybe you will, later. And be comforted in return...which probably won't happen, because unlike her, your burden was yours alone. 

No one to share with. No one knew.

You were fighting duerger on pair of boats. You all thought the battle was easy until someone screamed. A duergar cast Crown of Madness on Shadowheart. She was right next to Astarion at that time. She hit him hard. Several times. He could only protect himself in defense.

But she kept going. 

Everyone else watched helplessly as Shadowheart's morning star struck him mercilessly. His mouth was bleeding. He arms took the brunt of him. He fell to his knees. Bloodied and beaten. You prayed she wouldn't use her burn spell. None of you could take her down. She was one of yours. Everyone looked on horrified. Helplessly. Terrified, as Astarion was steps away from falling in the water. 

You have to save him. You just do.

Frantically, ignoring the enemy beside you, you blasted the one that cast the spell on Shadowheart. She snapped out of it and fell unconscious. Astarion caught her. It was too strong a spell to bear. Astarion had lost a lot of blood. Karlach rage killed most of the people around you and the battle was wrapped up soon. You all needed to carry them to camp and tend to him. 

He was barely there. 

In his tent that night, you and Karlach and Halsin spent hours tending to his several wounds. Afterwards you stayed behind to clean and dress them all as Halsin had instructed. Halsin left to make more medicine. Karlach went to make food. You looked at his sorry state. Halsin had eased his pain at least. You hoped he would recover soon. Shadowheart was still unconscious in her tent.

One by one, you tended to all his wounds. His face. His neck and chest. His hands had suffered the most of them. Cleaning, applying salve, wrapping in linen. You took his arm, and placed it next to your face. You could feel warm tears welling up. His arm was so bruised. You kissed one of his fingers. Then hugged his arm as your tears fell silently. The silence was comforting. You loved this man. There was no denying now. He didn't. And you forgave him for that.

It felt wonderful to admit that. Honesty. Felt good. You felt at peace. You would not feel guilty anymore. You loved everyone of your allies. You didn't take to him at first. And he is mischievous, chaotic and unpredictable. But he has shown you love and care, in his own way. And you respected him for that.

"Where is he"? 

Your thoughts were interrupted by a frantic Shadowheart who ran inside. You stood up and got out of her way. She knelt next to him. Broke down and put her head on his chest and started crying. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry " she wailed. "This was me. I did this".. Karlach was right behind. "Told her he was not awake, she didn't listen". Karlach shrugged at you. "I gotta go back. Holler if you need me."

You looked at shadowheart.

You could understand her guilt. The crown of madness is a cruel spell indeed. You had once seen a githyanki soldier attack her commander to whom she had sworn an oath. It's difficult to bear. You wanted to console her. You moved closer to them.

"You are awake, my love?" 

What? You both looked at Astarion. He had opened his eyes. In obvious pain. Frowning. As if he didn't know where he  was. Slowly, wincing in pain, he turned around and saw you both. You standing.  Her kneeling in front. Crying. With one arm, he slowly placed it against her back. He managed a weak smile at her. At which she broke down even more. Her cries were hard to hear. You were unsure what to do. 

Awkward you stood there as her cries filled the tent. Astarion closed his eyes again. You decided to pack up all the medicine and bandages. You needed to change the water anyway. When you looked up at him again, you met his eyes. 

Piercing eyes, smouldering in ...anger? You tried to read. But you couldn't. He was looking at you, while his arm was around shadowheart who was crying on his chest. He seemed displeased... What did he want? Whatever it was, you felt, unwanted. Like ...the third wheel... You couldn't help but smirk a bit. Familiar. Yes. But I can be the bigger person. 

I will leave, because I love you.

And you left the tent. 

Part VII: You are not mine and am I truly yours?

#astarion romance #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #astarion bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #fanfic #fluff #vampire #astarion angst #astarion fanfic #astarion

[puffein]

CASTLE CRUMBLING | late spring [ix.]

summary: wanda makes futile attempts to navigate her emotions one month after the major argument. pairings: wanda maximoff x fem!reader warnings: none word count: 1094 a/n: please let me know if i have missed smth for the warnings, enjoy!

series masterlist playlist!

Westview, New Jersey

August 2022

"Did you talk to her?" Darcy's muffled voice made Wanda look at her with a grimace plastered on her fatigued face. 

"It's gross to talk with your mouth full." that made Darcy scowl, and she quickly gulped the remaining cereal in her mouth. A thought formed inside the big brain of hers. 

"You're deflecting, you know that right? When you divert something by interposing–"

"I know what deflecting is, Darcy." 

It's been exactly a month since the big argument happened between you and Wanda. Contrary to what she had thought, Darcy was wide awake when the fight happened, she heard all of it, even the slamming of the dorm door and the small vibrations it made. Her roommate witnessed the crumbling of Wanda's composure like a once magnificent castle crumbling down to ashes. 

The argument took a big toll on Wanda's already shattered life, she knew she was being a bad friend, worse even, but the argument did nothing but made her more of a shitty friend. She never called, never tried to make amends, and that made her miserable. The past months of bad decisions, the decision to ignore you and give you the cold shoulder just because she has known something that made her heart break into two. 

"Communication is the key, man. It always is." Darcy continued on, her left thigh pressed tightly on her chest as the other dangled, hanging on the chair. 

"Just tell her you were jealous of that Natasha chick that's why you have been a bitch for the past months and you will ki—"

"Can you stop?" Wanda's hissing voice echoes throughout their small dining area, her eyebrows are furrowed so hard that Darcy was looking away in hopes of still be on her roommate's good side. 

"I was not jealous," she announced, spoon swirling absentmindedly on her still-full bowl of cereal. 

"What were you then?" Darcy asked, chin resting on her palm as she pushed her eyeglasses onto her eyes. 

"I was– I, I felt– I don't know." Wanda's form slumped, dejected at her mixed emotions.

She was being true. She didn't know what she felt for these past months other than regret, guilt, and misery. That are the only three things she felt but she didn't know what has driven her to do things she would never do. Especially, to you. 

However, there was one thing, one conversation that was enough to drive her away from you. To avoid you, to give you cold shoulders, to throw you away like a thing she got bored playing with. 

"I heard them talking. Natasha and some other girl I didn't know off." Wanda started, her eyes downcasted. She felt heavy replaying a conversation she never wanted to reminisce again. 

Darcy gave her an encouraging look, "What did they say?" 

"Well, they just basically said I'm being clingy to her, and the girl asked Natasha if she was you know uncomfortable with how I was with her girlfriend. It snapped something in me, I was the best friend, why didn't Y/N tell me she– she has a girlfriend and– It's Natasha." she rambled, her fingertips playing with the hem of her sweater. "I'm her best friend, I should know everything about her. It's just weird."

"What did Natasha say?"

"Nothing."

Her roommate's eyebrows shot up, confusion is evident in her thinking features. "What do you mean nothing? Like she said silence– like just crickets no other else?"

"Nothing like I didn't hear her because I ran off." Wanda pushed her bowl in irritation, splatters of milk sticking onto their table. She made a mental note to clean her little outburst. 

"Wanda. It was not even a full conversation, what were you thinking? Did you ask Y/N about it?" Darcy wanted to pat herself for asking questions with an obvious answer because she hated doing that but it was Wanda. And that bright girl is very clueless about talking and sorting her feelings out. 

"What do you think? Of course, I didn't! I avoided her for months and as a result we fought, you know that, you even heard it!" 

Wanda is an intellectual being not as genius as Darcy, but she is bright and smart. Darcy look up to her passion for Art History, she had heard professors complimenting her roommate's avid interest in her chosen course. Despite this, despite everything pointing at Wanda being smart, Darcy can't wrap her head around what her roommate is saying. She didn't get the point.

"Yeah, but like, you didn't talk to her about it, you should for obvious reason that it mentions her and you." Wanda eyes the shrugging of her roommate's shoulders, the obvious matter-of-fact voice she uses every single day.

"Forget about it." 

"You can't, Wanda. Do you like to graduate without a best friend? Because I can graduate without a roommate but best friend? Nuh-uh." Darcy gave her a face that challenges her to retort the thought.

When Wanda glances away to stare at a wall, she knew she has given the satisfaction of being right to Darcy. Because despite everything, despite the fact that you called her a bitch, she didn't want to receive a diploma in exchange for losing the only person she truly cherish. 

"What do I even say to her?" she suddenly uttered, voice whisper-like.  "I don't even know why I am so upset."

Darcy knew everything that Wanda didn't, it was all pointing in one direction but the brown-haired girl seemed to be bad at directions as she can't see the longing and the fondness sitting right in her eyes every time she stares at you. Even right now, Darcy wanted her to be looking at herself in a third-person point of view, to see how her actions reflect a person in love. 

However, Darcy understood. She understands how everything is confusing to the brunette, it's a territory Wanda never explored and she just hopes with her fingers crossed that this bright girl would take a pair and step into a land so unfamiliar to her. She always knew Wanda was straight, cue the word was, the brunette was only familiar with boys but when you came around everything just shifted to a world full of confusion and mixed feelings. But she is still a clueless person blinded by poor decisions and life choices.

Wanda didn't even care that a person badmouthed her, she was just upset that you never told her you had a girlfriend. 

That one little thing should speak a million words, right?

"Just say everything you had to say."

general masterlist ◄ ►

—୧ taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta @sokovianbaby @vivs46 @kyaraderuwez

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff angst #wanda maximoff fanfic #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda maximoff x fem!reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff x y/n #wanda maximoff x you #wanda x reader #wanda marvel #wanda x you #wanda maximov #wanda maximoff marvel #wanda maximoff mcu #wanda

[pronoun-fucker]

Perhaps it makes sense that women — those supposedly compliant and agreeable, self-sacrificing and everything-nice creatures — were the ones to finally bring our polarized country together.

Because the far right and the far left have found the one thing they can agree on: Women don’t count.

The right’s position here is the better known, the movement having aggressively dedicated itself to stripping women of fundamental rights for decades. Thanks in part to two Supreme Court justices who have been credibly accused of abusive behavior toward women, Roe v. Wade, nearly 50 years a target, has been ruthlessly overturned.

Far more bewildering has been the fringe left jumping in with its own perhaps unintentionally but effectively misogynist agenda. There was a time when campus groups and activist organizations advocated strenuously on behalf of women. Women’s rights were human rights and something to fight for. Though the Equal Rights Amendment was never ratified, legal scholars and advocacy groups spent years working to otherwise establish women as a protected class.

But today, a number of academics, uber-progressives, transgender activists, civil liberties organizations and medical organizations are working toward an opposite end: to deny women their humanity, reducing them to a mix of body parts and gender stereotypes.

As reported by my colleague Michael Powell, even the word “women” has become verboten. Previously a commonly understood term for half the world’s population, the word had a specific meaning tied to genetics, biology, history, politics and culture. No longer. In its place are unwieldy terms like “pregnant people,” “menstruators” and “bodies with vaginas.”

Planned Parenthood, once a stalwart defender of women’s rights, omits the word “women” from its home page. NARAL Pro-Choice America has used “birthing people” in lieu of “women.” The American Civil Liberties Union, a longtime defender of women’s rights, last month tweeted its outrage over the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade as a threat to several groups: “Black, Indigenous and other people of color, the L.G.B.T.Q. community, immigrants, young people.”

It left out those threatened most of all: women. Talk about a bitter way to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

The noble intent behind omitting the word “women” is to make room for the relatively tiny number of transgender men and people identifying as nonbinary who retain aspects of female biological function and can conceive, give birth or breastfeed. But despite a spirit of inclusion, the result has been to shove women to the side.

Women, of course, have been accommodating. They’ve welcomed transgender women into their organizations. They’ve learned that to propose any space just for biological women in situations where the presence of males can be threatening or unfair — rape crisis centers, domestic abuse shelters, competitive sports — is currently viewed by some as exclusionary. If there are other marginalized people to fight for, it’s assumed women will be the ones to serve other people’s agendas rather than promote their own.

But, but, but. Can you blame the sisterhood for feeling a little nervous? For wincing at the presumption of acquiescence? For worrying about the broader implications? For wondering what kind of message we are sending to young girls about feeling good in their bodies, pride in their sex and the prospects of womanhood? For essentially ceding to another backlash?

Women didn’t fight this long and this hard only to be told we couldn’t call ourselves women anymore. This isn’t just a semantic issue; it’s also a question of moral harm, an affront to our very sense of ourselves.

It wasn’t so long ago — and in some places the belief persists — that women were considered a mere rib to Adam’s whole. Seeing women as their own complete entities, not just a collection of derivative parts, was an important part of the struggle for sexual equality.

But here we go again, parsing women into organs. Last year the British medical journal The Lancet patted itself on the back for a cover article on menstruation. Yet instead of mentioning the human beings who get to enjoy this monthly biological activity, the cover referred to “bodies with vaginas.” It’s almost as if the other bits and bobs — uteruses, ovaries or even something relatively gender-neutral like brains — were inconsequential. That such things tend to be wrapped together in a human package with two X sex chromosomes is apparently unmentionable.

“What are we, chopped liver?” a woman might be tempted to joke, but in this organ-centric and largely humorless atmosphere, perhaps she would be wiser not to.

Those women who do publicly express mixed emotions or opposing views are often brutally denounced for asserting themselves. (Google the word “transgender” combined with the name Martina Navratilova, J.K. Rowling or Kathleen Stock to get a withering sense.) They risk their jobs and their personal safety. They are maligned as somehow transphobic or labeled TERFs, a pejorative that may be unfamiliar to those who don’t step onto this particular Twitter battlefield. Ostensibly shorthand for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” which originally referred to a subgroup of the British feminist movement, “TERF” has come to denote any woman, feminist or not, who persists in believing that while transgender women should be free to live their lives with dignity and respect, they are not identical to those who were born female and who have lived their entire lives as such, with all the biological trappings, societal and cultural expectations, economic realities and safety issues that involves.

But in a world of chosen gender identities, women as a biological category don’t exist. Some might even call this kind of thing erasure.

When not defining women by body parts, misogynists on both ideological poles seem determined to reduce women to rigid gender stereotypes. The formula on the right we know well: Women are maternal and domestic — the feelers and the givers and the “Don’t mind mes.” The unanticipated newcomers to such retrograde typecasting are the supposed progressives on the fringe left. In accordance with a newly embraced gender theory, they now propose that girls — gay or straight — who do not self-identify as feminine are somehow not fully girls. Gender identity workbooks created by transgender advocacy groups for use in schools offer children helpful diagrams suggesting that certain styles or behaviors are “masculine” and others “feminine.”

Didn’t we ditch those straitened categories in the ’70s?

The women’s movement and the gay rights movement, after all, tried to free the sexes from the construct of gender, with its antiquated notions of masculinity and femininity, to accept all women for who they are, whether tomboy, girly girl or butch dyke. To undo all this is to lose hard-won ground for women — and for men, too.

Those on the right who are threatened by women’s equality have always fought fiercely to put women back in their place. What has been disheartening is that some on the fringe left have been equally dismissive, resorting to bullying, threats of violence, public shaming and other scare tactics when women try to reassert that right. The effect is to curtail discussion of women’s issues in the public sphere.

But women are not the enemy here. Consider that in the real world, most violence against trans men and women is committed by men but, in the online world and in the academy, most of the ire at those who balk at this new gender ideology seems to be directed at women.

It’s heartbreaking. And it’s counterproductive.

Tolerance for one group need not mean intolerance for another. We can respect transgender women without castigating females who point out that biological women still constitute a category of their own — with their own specific needs and prerogatives.

If only women’s voices were routinely welcomed and respected on these issues. But whether Trumpist or traditionalist, fringe left activist or academic ideologue, misogynists from both extremes of the political spectrum relish equally the power to shut women up.

Link | Archived link

#radical feminism #trans activism #gender critical #terf #misogyny #I would personally argue that trans activists are not the far left but still

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 84th birthday to Queen Margrethe Il of Denmark!

Born on April 16th 1940, Margrethe Alexandrine Pórhildur Ingrid, reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly 52 years, she was the second-longest reigning Danish monarch after Christian IV.

Margrethe is the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden and became heir presumptive to her father in 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne. On her accession, she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian kingdoms in 1376-1412.

In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she had two sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. She also has 8 grandchildren.

In her annual live broadcast New Year's Eve address on 31 December 2023, Margrethe announced her abdication, which took place on 14 January 2024, the 52nd anniversary of her accession to the throne. She was succeeded by her elder son, Frederik, as King Frederik X.

#queen margrethe #drf #royal birthdays

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[The Daily Don]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

June 24, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

JUN 25, 2023

Yesterday, forces from the private mercenary Wagner Group crossed from Ukraine back into Russia and took control of the city of Rostov-on-Don, a key staging area for the Russian war against Ukraine. As the mercenaries moved toward Moscow in the early hours of Saturday (EDT), Russian president Vladimir Putin called them and their leader, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, traitors. This morning, they were bearing down on Moscow when they suddenly stopped 125 miles (200 km) from the Russian capital. This afternoon the Russian government announced that Belarus president Aleksandr Lukashenko had brokered a deal with Prigozhin to end the mutiny: Prigozhin would go to Belarus, the criminal case against him for the uprising would be dropped, the Wagner fighters who did not participate in the march could sign on as soldiers for the Russian Ministry of Defense, and those who did participate would not be prosecuted. 

Prigozhin said he turned around to avoid bloodshed. 

U.S. observers don’t appear to know what to make of this development yet, although I have not read anyone who thinks this is the end of it (among other things, Putin has not been seen today). What is crystal clear, though, is that the ability of Prigozhin’s forces to move apparently effortlessly hundreds of miles through Russia toward Moscow without any significant resistance illustrates that Putin’s hold over Russia is no longer secure. This, along with the fact that the Wagner Group, which was a key fighting force for Russia, is now split and demoralized, is good news for Ukraine.

In the U.S. the same two-day period that covered Prigozhin’s escapade in Russia covered the anniversaries of two historic events. Yesterday was the 51st anniversary of what we know as “Title 9,” or more accurately Title IX, for the part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 that prohibited any school or education program that receives federal funding from discriminating based on sex. This measure updated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and while people today tend to associate Title IX with sports, it actually covers all discrimination, including sexual assault and sexual harrassment. Republican president Richard Nixon signed the measure into law on June 23, 1972 (six days after the Watergate break-in, if anyone is counting).  

Fifty years and one day later, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized a woman's constitutional right to abortion. That is, a year ago today, for the first time in our history, rather than expanding our recognition of constitutional rights, the court explicitly took a constitutional right away from the American people. 

The voyage from Title IX to Dobbs began about the same time Nixon signed the Education Amendments Act. In 1972, Gallup polls showed that 64% of Americans, including 68% of Republicans, agreed that abortion should be between a woman and her doctor—a belief that would underpin Roe v. Wade the next year—but Nixon and his people worried that he would lose the fall election. Nixon advisor Patrick Buchanan urged the president to pivot against abortion to woo antiabortion Catholics, who tended to vote for Democrats. 

As right-wing activists like Phyllis Schlafly used the idea of abortion as shorthand for women calling for civil rights, Republicans began to attract voters opposed to abortion and the expansion of civil rights. In his campaign and presidency, Ronald Reagan actively courted right-wing evangelicals, and from then on, Republican politicians spurred evangelicals to the polls by promising to cut back abortion rights. 

But while Republican-confirmed judges chipped away at Roe v. Wade, the decision itself seemed secure because of the concept of “settled law,” under which jurists try not to create legal uncertainty by abruptly overturning law that has been in place for a long time (or, if they do, to be very clear and public about why). 

So Republicans could turn out voters by promising to get rid of Roe v. Wade while also being certain that it would stay in place. By 2016 those antiabortion voters made up the base of the Republican Party. (It is quite possible that then–Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell refused to permit President Barack Obama to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court because he knew that evangelicals would be far more likely to turn out if there were a Supreme Court seat in the balance.) 

But then Trump got the chance to put three justices on the court, and the equation changed. Although each promised during their Senate confirmation hearings to respect settled law, the court struck down Roe v. Wade on the principle that the federal expansion of civil rights under the Fourteenth Amendment incorrectly took power from the states and gave it to the federal government. In the Dobbs majority decision, Justice Samuel Alito argued that the right to determine abortion rights must be returned “to the people’s elected representatives” at the state level. 

Fourteen Republican-dominated states promptly banned abortion. Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas banned abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest; Mississippi banned it with an exception for rape but not incest; and North Dakota banned it except for a six-week window for rape or incest. West Virginia also has a ban with exceptions for rape and incest. In Wisconsin a law from 1849 went back into effect after Dobbs; it bans abortion unless a woman would die without one. Texas and Idaho allow private citizens to sue abortion providers. Other states have imposed new limits on abortion.

But antiabortion forces also tried to enforce their will federally. In April, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that the Food and Drug Administration should not have approved mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug, more than 20 years ago. That decision would take effect nationally. It is being appealed. 

When the federal government arranged to pay for transportation out of antiabortion states for service members needing reproductive health care, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) put a blanket hold on all military appointments—250 so far—until that policy is rescinded. For the first time in its history, the Marine Corps will not have a confirmed commandant after July 10. In the next few months, five members of the joint chiefs of staff, including General Mark Milley, its chair, are required by law to leave their positions. Tuberville says he will not back down. 

On June 20, Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY), chair of the House Republican conference, called for a federal abortion ban at 15 weeks, saying that the right to life “is fundamental to human rights and the American dream” and calling out the justices who decided Roe v. Wade as “radical judges who frankly took the voice away from the American people…. The people are the most important voices” on abortion, she said. 

But, in fact, a majority of Americans supported abortion rights even before Dobbs, and those numbers have gone up since the decision, especially as untreated miscarriages have brought patients close to death before they could get medical care and girls as young as ten have had to cross state lines to obtain healthcare. Sixty-eight percent of OB-GYNs recently polled by KFF said Dobbs has made it harder to manage emergencies; 64% say it has increased patient deaths. A recent USA Today/Suffolk University poll shows that 80% of Americans—65% of Republicans and 83% of independents—oppose a nationwide ban on abortion while only 14% support one. Fifty-three percent of Americans want federal protection of abortion; 39% oppose it. 

In politics, it seems the dog has caught the car. The end of Roe v. Wade has energized those in favor of abortion rights, with Democrat-dominated states protecting reproductive rights and the administration using executive power to protect them where it can. Republicans are now running away from the issue: the ad-tracking firm AdImpact found that only 1% of Republican ads in House races in 2022 mentioned abortion. 

At the same time, antiabortion activists achieved their goal and stand to be less energized. This desperate need to whip up enthusiasm among their base is likely behind the Republicans’ sudden focus on transgender children. Right-wing media has linked the two in part thanks to the highly visible work of the American College of Pediatricians, which, despite its name, is a political action group of about 700 people, only 60% of whom have medical degrees. (They broke off from the 67,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics in 2002 after that medical organization backed same-sex parents.) They are prominent voices against both abortion and gender-affirming health care. 

In Nebraska in May, a single law combined a ban on abortion after 12 weeks and on gender-affirming care for minors. “This bill is simply about protecting innocent life,” Republican state senator Tom Briese said. 

Vice President Kamala Harris has made protecting reproductive rights central, traveling around the country to talk with people about abortion rights and pressing the administration to do more to protect them. At a rally in Washington, D.C., on Friday, she articulated the message of fifty years ago: “We stand for the freedom of every American, including the freedom of every person everywhere to make decisions—about their own body, their own health care and their own doctor,” she said. “So we fight for reproductive rights and legislation that restores the protections of Roe v. Wade. And here’s the thing. The majority of Americans are with us, they agree.”

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#heather cox richardson #letters from an american #women's rights #russia #abortion rights #health care #Election 2024

[souls-foreclosed]

Chapter IX: De Civitate Dei

Second Verse: LOVE - "Amends" (171)

(APR 24 - 2024)

PREVIOUSLY I said there would be two pages per update per week upon the comic's return... the lie detector test determined that was a lie the circumstances of my job and my life are preventing this from happening. Scenes still have 4-6 pages depending on how I feel about them, so the title should probably be "Amends 1/4". Welcome back to Souls Foreclosed everyone!

#souls foreclosed #sfcomic c9 love #and a merry foreclosed soul to you!!

[the-cimmerians]

In a letter released Friday evening to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the United States Department of Education Office For Civil Rights has declared a formal investigation into alleged Title IX violations at Owasso Public Schools. They are also investigating potential Section 504 violations and Title II violations under the Americans with Disabilities act. This is in response to a letter alleging a pattern of abuse, bullying, and harassment of LGBTQ+ people at the school, and the impact this might have played into transgender teen of Choctaw heritage Nex Benedict’s death.

The letter states that it will look into two potential avenues under which violations of student’s civil rights might have occurred:

Whether the District failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title IX.

Whether the District failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students in a manner consistent with the requirements of Section 504 and Title II.

The letter comes after a formal complaint from HRC asking for an investigation into the school as well as superintendent Ryan Walters. HRC alleges “Nex’s death is the natural consequence” of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments perpetuated, in part, by attempts to paint transgender and nonbinary people in girl’s bathrooms as inherently predatory. According to HRC, Nex first began being bullied shortly after the state’s transgender bathroom ban was signed into law.

“We are deeply concerned about the failure of Owasso High School to address documented instances of bullying, violence, and harassment against Nex, which occurred in earnest over the course of the previous school year and were in violation of Nex’s rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972,” says the complaint from HRC.

This is the first federal response to the death of Nex Benedict in Oklahoma that has been made public. According to HRC, other efforts to bring a federal response to discrimination in Owasso Public Schools are still underway. These efforts include a second letter asking the department to open a full investigation into discriminatory practices by Superintendent Ryan Walters. Ryan Walters, the complaint notes, has recently appointed Chaya Raichik from Libs of TikTok, whose posts were followed by threats to a teacher in Nex’s school district who he admired. They also include a call for a Department of Justice investigation into Nex’s death.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters has recently come under fire for fundraising with an anti-LGBTQ+ extremist, Ron Causby, who urged his daughters to “kick the shit” out of transgender people if he encountered them in the bathroom.

In a statement provided by HRC, HRC President Kelly Robinson says of the letter, “Nex’s family, community, and the broader 2SLGBTQI+ (two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex+)  community in Oklahoma are still awaiting answers following their tragic loss. We appreciate the Department of Education responding to our complaint and opening an investigation–we need them to act urgently so there can be justice for Nex, and so that all students at Owasso High School and every school in Oklahoma can be safe from bullying, harassment, and discrimination.”

#Nex Benedict #hate crime #MMIWG2S #Title IX

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The Obama-appointed Judge who was overseeing Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recused himself on Thursday over a relative’s ownership of 30 shares of Disney stock.

The case was transferred to Judge Allen C. Winsor, an appointee of President Trump who previously upheld the state’s Parental Rights in Education law. That law, known to its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, is at the center of the Disney-DeSantis controversy.

Disney sued DeSantis in April, alleging that the state had engaged in a campaign of retaliation against the company over its opposition to the bill. The state rescinded Disney’s special governing district in Orlando, and then reconstituted it under the control of five DeSantis appointees.

Disney has argued that the state has sought to punish the company for protected speech, and is seeking to overturn the state’s actions.

The lawsuit was initially assigned to Judge Mark E. Walker, whom President Obama appointed to the bench in 2012.

DeSantis’ lawyers sought to have Walker removed on the grounds that his previous comments in other cases show he might be biased against the Governor. In one case, the judge noted that Disney might lose its special status because, “arguably,” it “ran afoul of state policy.”

Disney’s lawyers, led by Daniel Petrocelli, argued that was not nearly enough to merit disqualification.

Walker agreed with Disney and denied the DeSantis motion on Thursday, saying it was “wholly without merit.”

“In fact, I find the motion is nothing more than rank judge-shopping,” he wrote. “Sadly, this practice has become all too common in this district.”

However, Walker also noted that his relative owns Disney stock, and that he therefore has an ethical duty to step aside.

The case will instead go to Winsor, who previously served as Florida’s solicitor general. In that role, he defended the state’s law outlawing same-sex marriage in 2014.

In February, Winsor dismissed a lawsuit from students and parents who alleged that the Parental Rights in Education law had caused schools to remove books with LGBTQ themes from libraries and to remove LGBTQ lyrics from school musicals.

That lawsuit was brought by Roberta Kaplan, who won a landmark gay rights case at the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. v. Windsor, in 2013. In the Florida case, she argued that the law violated the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause, as well as Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in education.

Winsor dismissed the suit twice, ruling both times that the plaintiffs had not shown that they suffered enough harm to warrant standing in federal court.

“Plaintiffs have shown a strident disagreement with the new law, and they have alleged facts to show its very existence causes them deep hurt and disappointment,” Winsor wrote. “But to invoke a federal court’s jurisdiction, they must allege more. Their failure to do so requires dismissal.”

Walker, the Obama-appointed Judge, had previously ruled against DeSantis in high-profile cases. In November, he blocked a law against “woke” ideology from taking effect at state universities.

Walker also struck down state voting restrictions last year, finding that the state had a “horrendous history of racial discrimination in voting.” DeSantis called the ruling “performative partisanship” and appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed Walker’s ruling earlier this year.

#us politics #news #variety #2023 #Disney #republicans #conservatives #gov. ron desantis #florida #Judge Allen C. Winsor #Parental Rights in Education #don't say gay bill #Judge Mark E. Walker #Daniel Petrocelli #Roberta Kaplan #republican homophobia #First Amendment #Equal Protection Clause #title ix #11th Circuit Court of Appeals

[newhistorybooks]

"Goldberg’s book describes how toys became political during the sixties and seventies—from Lionel Corporation’s toy trains’ embrace of anti-violence rhetoric to wooden figurines that allowed children to assemble families more complex than a husband, wife, and two kids. American culture was convulsed by Vietnam War protests, Title IX disputes, and the Equal Rights Amendment debates, and toys were enlisted in the fights for empowerment and equity by women and people of color."

#uwlibraries #history books #american history #history of childhood #history of toys

[mariacallous]

On February 8, an Oklahoma transgender teen named Nex Benedict died. While an exact cause of death has yet to be determined, we know that Nex was involved in a violent altercation with three girls in a girls’ bathroom at Owasso High School. The next day, Nex died. (According to reporting from NBC News, Nex identified as transgender and preferred he/him pronouns, but also used they/them pronouns.)

We also know from Nex’s family and friends that Nex experienced routine bullying and harassment at school because of his transgender identity—as did other LGBTQ+ youth according to a number of media accounts. What’s more, this harassment is taking place in a state where anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric has proliferated in recent years. In 2022, Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law requirements that prevent trans youth from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity. (Nex’s mother said in a recent interview that the bullying Nex experienced intensified after the Oklahoma bathroom bill went into effect). What’s worse, Oklahoma’s state superintendent of education has vehemently attacked any efforts to make schools more inclusive for LGBTQ+ youth and is on the record stating his belief that transgender and nonbinary people do not exist.

On March 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it was launching an investigation into Owasso Public Schools over concerns that the district failed to adequately respond to allegations of sex-based harassment (under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex). The investigation was opened in response to a civil rights complaint filed by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)—an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.

In this post, I’ll outline what happens once OCR opens a new investigation, what I’m hoping to see from this investigation in particular, and why I’m ultimately skeptical of this enforcement tool as a lever for bringing about meaningful change.

What does it mean that OCR opened an investigation?

OCR enforces Title IX and other federal civil rights laws in publicly funded educational institutions—including all K-12 public schools. The agency’s primary enforcement tool is investigations into potential civil rights violations. Most investigations are opened in response to civil rights complaints received by the agency.

The bar for OCR to investigate a civil rights complaint is low. And that’s by design. OCR’s civil rights complaint process is intended to be a low-cost avenue available to parents, families, and community advocates concerned about potential violations in public schools—one that does not require hiring legal representation to pursue. But that also means we should not read too much meaning into the fact that ED opened a new investigation. OCR opening an investigation does not mean federal officials suspect that a civil rights violation took place. It only means that a complaint alleging a form of discrimination enforceable (in this case, Title IX) by OCR was made in a timely manner.

What happens once an investigation is opened?

The goal of an OCR investigation is to determine whether an alleged civil rights violation took place and to decide what district reforms are appropriate based on what the investigation uncovered. In practice, the scope and scale of OCR investigations varies widely. Sometimes OCR conducts large-scale investigations that include multiple site visits and meetings with a wide variety of stakeholders. Other times, OCR interviews only a few stakeholders alongside a review of extant documents and data. When and why OCR deploys more investigatory resources are unknown, but that means it is difficult to predict exactly what shape this investigation into Owasso Public Schools will take.

It is also unclear how far-reaching this investigation will be. In some cases, OCR only investigates allegations related to the specific incident outlined in the complaint. In other words, were Nex’s civil rights violated by Owasso Public Schools? In others, OCR investigators interrogate whether the alleged incident is one part of a broader pattern of civil rights abuses taking place. In other words, are LGBTQ+ students’ civil rights routinely violated in Owasso Public Schools? These differences may seem subtle but are hugely consequential for the ultimate scope of the investigation and the scale of any proposed district reforms.

OCR’s letter notifying HRC that an investigation was being opened seems to imply the latter approach—stating that OCR will investigate “whether the District failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students” [emphasis added]. This is critical if OCR aims to address the conditions that led to the harassment and bullying that Nex experienced, especially considering reports of numerous other instances of harassment of LGBTQ+ youth in Owasso Public Schools.

It is also important to underscore that OCR is one relatively small federal agency that has not been adequately staffed or funded for at least the last two decades. This has become an acute challenge over the last several years as OCR’s caseload has exploded and as Assistant Secretary Catherine Lhamon has prioritized more systemic investigations. The consequence of this reality is that investigations can take years, and still not be particularly thorough. At best, an investigation like this could take less than a year. At worst, it could be several years before it is resolved.

What should happen next?

Most OCR investigations are not instigated by an incident as tragic as this one. It is imperative that OCR investigators handle this case with care. At minimum, that should include careful engagement with Nex’s family and friends (to the extent they wish to be involved), along with other members of the school’s LGBTQ+ community.

Hearing directly from LGBTQ+ students is also critical considering Owasso Public Schools’ initial response to news of the investigation. Per an official statement, while the district intends to cooperate with federal investigators, it “believes the complaint submitted by H.R.C. is not supported by the facts and is without merit.” Initial reporting also reflects inconsistencies between what Nex’s family and friends said took place, versus the school district and the police departments’ official accounts. Moreover, Oklahoma’s state superintendent, Ryan Walters, has publicly denied that Nex’s death had anything to do with his gender identity even as the criminal investigation into Nex’s death remains ongoing.

This context underscores how important it is that OCR works to draw its own conclusions about the bullying and harassment of Nex and other LGBTQ+ students in Owasso Public Schools rather than relying on conclusions drawn by the district and police department.

What might come of this investigation?

In theory, if a school district is found in violation of civil rights law, OCR can rescind federal funding or have the case referred to the Department of Justice for further judicial action.

In practice, findings of civil rights violations are exceedingly rare. Most investigations that lead to mandated reforms are resolved through negotiations between OCR and a district. OCR’s policies favor negotiated settlements over more forceful enforcement actions at every step of the investigation process. Thus, unless a school district is blatantly and repeatedly refusing to cooperate with OCR, the likelihood of some penalty for violating civil rights law is very small.

The agency’s preference for negotiating with districts also means that the resulting resolution agreements often include reforms that seem mild, at best, and wildly insufficient, at worst. Take, for example, a recent resolution agreement OCR entered into with Rhinelander Public Schools in Wisconsin. This case, like the Owasso investigation, involved persistent harassment of a gender non-conforming student by some teachers and students and a district’s repeated failure to adequately respond. In the negotiated settlement, the district agreed to 1) assess whether compensatory instructional time was owed to the harassed student; 2) provide trainings to both staff and high school students on what constitutes sex-based harassment under Title IX and the district’s Title IX grievance process; 3) improve how it documents accusations of sex-based harassment; 4) conduct a school climate survey “to assess the prevalence of sex-based harassment and obtain suggestions for effective ways to address harassment.”

Of these actions, only one was directly aimed at improving the school environment for LGBTQ+ students–mandatory trainings for staff and high school students. Putting aside the fact that OCR’s standard Title IX reforms seem insufficient to remedy widespread harassment of LGBTQ+ students—especially in a state where the top education official’s anti-LGBTQ+ biases are on full display, a large body of evidence indicates that these types of one-off anti-discrimination or diversity trainings are often ineffective.

Thus, unless OCR officials take a radically different approach in this case (which I hope they do given the gravity of the incident), the outcomes of this investigation are–unfortunately—unlikely to bring about significant reforms in Owasso Public Schools.

What can ED do to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ+ students?

The Biden administration’s long-awaited and much delayed updated Title IX regulations are expected to be released next month. This overhaul of Title IX is notable for several reasons, including that it codifies the Department’s interpretation that Title IX protections extend to discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The pending adoption of the new Title IX regulations is particularly important in this case because in July 2022 a federal judge in Tennessee temporarily blocked ED from enforcing its new interpretation of Title IX after 20 conservative states—including Oklahoma—filed a lawsuit to stop its enforcement. This meant that OCR’s ability to enforce this more expansive interpretation of Title IX had been severely limited until the new regulations were formally in place.

This is not to say that updated Title IX regulations alone will be sufficient, and they will undoubtedly be challenged in federal court as Republican lawmakers and attorneys general have made clear. But its delays have led to an environment where districts must choose between complying with state law or federal guidance and where the rights of LGBTQ+ students remain painfully unclear—and in lots of states, including Oklahoma, under attack.

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Florida and Oklahoma are refusing to implement the Biden administration’s radical rewrite of Title IX that permits men to freely access women’s locker rooms, bathrooms and sports.

As background information, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) announced a new “Final Rule under Title IX” on April 19 that redefines “sex” in federal law to include “gender identity.”

Title IX – enacted as a part of the Education Amendments of 1972 – is intended to protect people from discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive…

[cherokeefrank]

Always check back to the actual original post, I'm always adding stuff.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

#Youtube

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 83rd birthday to Queen Margrethe II of Denmark!

Born on April 16th 1940, Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, is Queen of Denmark as of January 14th 1972. Currently, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and also the world's only queen regnant.

Margrethe is the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden and became heir presumptive to her father in 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne. On her accession, she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian kingdoms in 1376–1412.

In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she had two sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. She also has 8 grandchildren.

#queen margrethe #drf #royal birthdays