#extremist state legislators

[tomorrowusa]

Trump Republicans still control a majority of state legislative chambers across the US. Their agenda seems to be rolling back the clock to the ‘50s — the 1650s. That newfangled Age of Enlightenment stuff is just too radical for their Puritan sensibilities.

We have terrible laws in certain states because terrible people get elected who make those laws. And that happens often because people on the moderate to progressive part of the political spectrum fail to pay much attention to their state governments.

It’s true that news media outlets do tend to neglect state government. They find the federal government more sexy and local government more immediate. But a little bit of digging and searching can reveal a lot about what goes on in the state capitals.

A great first step is to learn exactly who represents you in your legislative chambers. This link helps a lot.

Find Your Legislators Look your legislators up by address or use your current location.

^^^ Works well for me even though I’m close to two legislative boundaries.

And if you’re truly motivated and have views which potentially appeal to a majority of voters in your district, consider running for state legislature yourself in 2024 — if you currently are represented by Republicans.

In some legislative bodies the age requirement is as low as 18. None of the requirements are over 30.

State legislature candidate requirements by state

It won’t happen overnight. But you can take back your state government by getting more people to pay attention to what goes on there.

#state government #state legislatures #gop control #trump republicans #repressive laws #extremist state legislators #south carolina #florida #idaho #abortion #a woman's right to choose #the sanctity of reproductive freedom #vaccines #jen sorensen

[marvelsmostwanted]

So only two out of the three Tennessee representatives who protested gun violence were actually expelled from the state legislature… bet you can’t guess which two…!

Shocking!

But what is actually shocking is that these two democratically-elected representatives each have about 78,000 constituents whose voices have now been silenced by extremist Republicans who think that they don’t deserve a say in their own state legislature. That is not democracy!

DONATE HERE to support Justin Pearson and Justin Jones in upcoming special elections where they can win back a seat in the legislature.

Sources:

NPR

Vote Save America (Crooked Media)

Hear it from the representatives themselves:

Justin Pearson speaks out on the right to protest

Justin Jones responds to his expulsion, calling out the other legislators who have not been expelled for doing actual crimes

#mine #us politics #tennessee

[quinnkdev]

so. its looking like the german translation of paper mario: ttyd is continuing to erase the existence of trans people in the world of the game.

(terribly written article, good ol' sebastian ruppert has no idea how to talk about trans people, but im linking it as my source)

this is another grim reminder of the importance of a non-exclusively america-centric worldview.

here in the german-speaking world, several counties both in germany and in austria (jury's out for switzerland, i dont know anyone from there), trans-topics remain extremely controversial and are often used as fodder for right-wing extremists to implement oppressive legislation.

language, as always, is a major focal point to these people. many politicians and ideologues (even ones supposedly on the political left) here weather against language-centric concepts such as "gendering" (i.e. using more gender-neutral avenues of referring to groups of people or individuals), and in a few counties in austria and germany (bavaria in germany and lower austria in austria, for example), its actually fucking outlawed now.

i have faced a lot of discrimination even in the more nominally progressive capital city of austria. an austrian cab-driver once asked me if i was "one of those american tr*nnies". people here believe that it is the united states that "import" lgbtq+ topics to us, but really, the main thing imported from the united states and their political landscape is the "anti-woke" rhetoric of the right.

i will still celebrate; this character (vivian) means the world to me, and so does this game. but never once forget that every win, ANY win, is hard-fought, and that there is more work to be done in places other than the anglosphere.

#for the record also: i dont have a nintendo switch anymore. i sold it to make my own video game in 2021. #so i wont be able to purchase the remake as it is. #paper mario: ttyd #slur ment

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Promises Kept.

January 5, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

When Joe Biden declared his candidacy for president in 2019, the nation was bruised, battered, and divided by three years of Trump's unrelenting chaos and carnage. During Biden’s year-long campaign, Trump plunged America into darker waters as he tried to extort Ukraine into fabricating lies about Joe Biden and his son. Trump then engaged in gross dereliction of duty by mishandling the nation’s response to Covid, ultimately resorting to lies and quackery as the death toll mounted.

Biden stepped into the breach, promising “to restore the soul, honor, dignity, and decency” of America. In word and deed, Biden has kept those promises—despite virulent and violent opposition by MAGA extremists who sought to prevent the peaceful transfer of power—and who still seek to destroy our democracy today.

Historians may view Biden’s greatest success as the restoration of normalcy, decency, and rationality to the executive branch of the US government. Biden’s legislative accomplishments are historic and will be an enduring legacy standing alone.

Identifying Biden’s legislative successes is easy; identifying the depth and breadth of Biden’s restoration of decency and rationality is more difficult—because living in a normal frame of reference is subtle and ineffable. It infuses every aspect of democracy and political discourse. It is the absence of chaos, it is not waking up every morning thinking, “Oh, God. What has he tweeted now?”, and it is not hearing every governmental action re-interpreted through Trump's lenses of narcissism, delusion, and insecurity.

Joe Biden acts within a rational political framework. His policies can be praised or criticized because they exist (in writing) and reflect the reasoned judgment of Biden and his staff after a period of reflection and debate. They are not made up “on the fly” in response to reporters’ questions shouted over the noise of helicopter rotors.

The return to normalcy, decency, and dignity is neither sexy, compelling, nor “made for TV.” But it was precisely what the nation needed after the chaos of Trump's tenure as president. Joe Biden kept his promises. For that, we owe him a debt of gratitude that we must repay in 2024.

On the eve of the third anniversary of January 6, Biden is launching his 2024 campaign in earnest. In a political ad previewed on MSNBC, Biden said that he is making “the preservation of democracy” the centerpiece of his campaign. In the ad, Biden says, in part,

All of us are being asked, “What will we do to maintain our democracy?” History is watching. The world is watching. Most importantly, our children and grandchildren will hold us responsible . . . .

A campaign theme of “preserving democracy” is neither sexy, compelling, nor “made for TV.” But it is precisely what the nation needs as it stares into the abyss of a second Trump term as president.

I have heard from dozens of readers this week who are disappointed with Biden’s responses regarding immigration and the war in Gaza. Some have suggested that they will not vote or will vote for a third-party candidate. Both of those options are the functional equivalent of voting for Trump.

The freedom to criticize the president is a privilege of our democracy guaranteed in the Constitution. We can debate presidential policies only if we have a democratic frame of reference within which to hold those debates.

That democratic frame of reference will exist under a second Biden term. Under Trump, the democratic frame of reference will be replaced by a simple test: Does speech praise Trump? If not, the speaker will act at their peril. Trump’s vigilantes will threaten the speaker, and state and federal agencies will pretend the threats are harmless jokes or over-exuberant expressions of loyalty to Trump.

The threat of vigilantism to punish speech is not hyperbole. As we approach the third anniversary of January 6, elected officials who criticize Trump or apply the law to his unlawful conduct are being deluged with death threats. They are being “swatted” by sick individuals who call 9-1-1 to make false reports of crimes in progress—resulting in the deployment of armed emergency responders to the elected officials’ homes.

Like Joe Biden, Trump has made promises. He has promised his followers that, if re-elected, “I will be your retribution.” He has also promised that he will be a dictator “on day one” if he is elected to a second term.

Joe Biden has kept his promise “to restore the soul, honor, dignity, and decency” of America. We should take Biden at his word that he will work to preserve democracy if re-elected in 2024.

As with Biden, we should take Trump at his word: He will exact retribution and act as a dictator on day one of his second term.

The competing promises of Trump and Biden tell us everything we need to know about the choice we face in the 2024 election.

Concluding Thoughts.

The choice between presidential candidates in 2024 could not be starker. There is no ambiguity, nuance, or grey area. We must help Joe Biden communicate that fundamental difference and help people understand that the choice in 2024 is not about policies or the economy. It is about democracy—and whether we are for it or against it.

#Robert b. Hubbell #Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter #Biden Administration #Democracy itself #the threat of vigilantism #preserving democracy #Boston Globe

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Joe Biden will sign legislation protecting access to abortion care into law if Democrats win control of Congress in midterm elections this fall.

In remarks to a Democratic National Committee event on 18 October, the President announced plans to sign a bill to codify Roe v. Wade protections on the 50th anniversary of the US Supreme Court decision – what he intends to be his first act of 2023.

In June, the nation’s high court struck down precedents established by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed the constitutional right to abortion care.

Following the latest ruling, more than a dozen states have outlawed most abortions or severely restricted access to care, leading to the closures of dozens of clinics. Patients and providers across the US have warned of devastating consequences to losing access to legal abortion, while Democratic officials have made abortion rights central to their midterm campaigns as Republicans mull national abortion restrictions.

“If Republicans get their way with a national ban, it won’t matter where you live in America,” Mr. Biden said on Tuesday. “The only sure way to stop these extremist laws that have put in jeopardy women’s health and rights is for Congress to pass a law.”

Democrats would need to pick up several seats in the currently evenly split US Senate for abortion protections to prevail.

Mr. Biden also said he will veto any anti-abortion legislation passed by a Republican-controlled Congress.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives passed the Women’s Health Protection Act earlier this year, though Senate Republicans have repeatedly obstructed its introduction in that chamber. That bill would codify the right to abortion care as affirmed by Roe v. Wade.

House Democrats were only joined by three Republicans to pass the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, which would protect the right of abortion patients who live in states that have outlawed or severely restricted care to travel to other states without risking prosecution or legal action in their home states.

The bill also would protect providers and others who help patients travelling out of state for their care.

Legislation would also shield interstate shipments of US Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs used for medication abortion, the most common form of abortion care, accounting for more than half of all abortions in the US.

In a briefing with reporters on Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Republican-led abortion restrictions “disturbing” and “very dangerous.”

“It’s backwards, again, it’s dangerous and it’s severe, in stark contrast to the President and the commitment that he has to leave these decisions between a woman and her doctor,” she said.

This fall, voters in several states will determine whether their state constitutions include explicit protections for abortion care, while elections for control of state legislatures, governors’ offices and secretaries of state will also determine the fates of abortion access across the US.

In his remarks on Tuesday, President Biden pointed to Kansas voters shooting down a recent anti-abortion ballot measure in that state, signalling the electoral consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision in midterm elections.

“One of the most extraordinary parts of [the Dobbs decision] was when the majority wrote, ‘women are not without electoral or political power.’ Let me tell you something – the Court and extreme Republicans who have spent decades trying to overturn Roe are about to find out,” he said.

#us politics #news #the independent #2022 #president joe biden #biden administration #Democrats #codify roe #roe v. wade #abortions #reproductive rights #reproductive health #abortion is a right #planned parenthood v. casey #Women’s Health Protection Act #Ensuring Access to Abortion Act #food and drug administration #Karine Jean-Pierre #us supreme court #scotus #2022 elections #2022 midterms

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Daniel Villarreal at LGBTQ Nation:

Alabama’s legislature is advancing two censorious anti-LGBTQ bills: H.B. 130 would ban LGBTQ+ flags in classrooms and expand the state’s “Don’t say gay” law to include grades 6-8; H.B. 385 would jail librarians for giving “sexual or gender-oriented material” to minors without parental consent. Both bills were approved in the Alabama House of Representatives this week and now head to the state’s Republican-led upper legislative chamber.

Alabama’s current “Don’t Say Gay” law says that K-5 classrooms “shall not engage in classroom discussion or provide classroom instruction regarding sexual orientation or gender identity in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” H.B. 130 would also remove the section “in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” banning LGBTQ+ discussions completely. The H.B. 130 expansion, which passed the state House on Tuesday, would expand the law to include grades 6-8 and also prohibit “flags symbolizing sexual orientations or gender identities” in all grade school levels. [...]

On Thursday, the Alabama House also passed H.B. 385, a bill would expand the state’s definition of “sexual conduct” to include conduct that “knowingly exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated, or provocative clothing or costumes, or are stripping, or engaged in lewd and lascivious dancing, presentations, or activities in K-12 public schools, public libraries, and other public places where minors are expected and are known to be present without parental consent.”

The law would place libraries in the same category as “adult-only” stores, movies, and entertainment” in order to criminalize librarians who provide “sexual or gender-oriented material” to minors without parental consent. The bill would force school and public librarians to remove any books that other people find “obscene” or “harmful” to minors — though the law doesn’t specify who would determine what’s “obscene” or “harmful.” After filing a written objection to the library director or principal, librarians would then have seven days to remove the book from shelves. Librarians who fail to do so could initially face a misdemeanor criminal charge and a fine of up to $10,000 and a county jail or hard labor sentence of up to one year. If a librarian is convicted of a second or subsequent violation, they could face a class C felony charge punishable by up to 10 years in prison, The Alabama Reflector reported.

Alabama is getting closer to passing two anti-LGBTQ+ extremist and censorious pieces of legislation: #HB130 bill that bans LGBTQ+ Pride Flags in classrooms and expands the Don't Say Gay or Trans law to cover grades 6-8.

HB385 bill would expand the definition of "sexual conduct" to include K-12 public schools, public libraries, and other public places in a setting where minors are expected to be entering.

Both of these bills are based on the right-wing myth that exposure to LGBTQ+ content "sexualizes" and "indoctrinates" children.

#Alabama #Book Banning #Don't Say Gay or Trans #Anti LGBTQ+ Extremism #Libraries #Censorship #Alabama HB130 #LGBTQ+ Pride Flag #Anti Drag Show Extremism #Drag #Drag Queen Story Hour

[thebrightestwitchofherage]

Think about this whenever you’re about to write “Israel is pink washing”

Israel has always been an asylum for queer Palestinians, and continues to be the safest place for lgbt+ people in the Middle East.

* Gaza and the West Bank aren’t safe places for lgbt Palestinians- because of their government: Hamas and the PA (both are homophobic and extremist). Just because you don’t want to admit it doesn’t take away the truth.

Besides that, I’ve noticed that whenever I post here about lgbt+ rights in Israel ,anti Zionists reply with one the following:

-a homophobic response.

-the progress and improvement of lgbt rights for Israeli queer people doesn’t matter as they are “committing crimes in Gaza”.

Even our liberal laws and improvement of human rights for Israelis isn’t fine with anti Zionists- just because they are Israelis..

Israelis are allowed to celebrate important legislation and good moments.

you should be glad that Israel is the safest place for lgbt people in the Middle East. That we take in Palestinian refugees hunted because of their sexuality/ identity. That gay rights are being taken seriously in Israel.

I’m writing this As a queer Israeli myself. We exist and our existence isn’t “pink washing Israel” - It’s our reality.

While same sex marriage in Israel isn’t legal under law *yet*, there are many options for us queer people. We can be married through the city hall and be recognised as an equal married couple.

Progress is still made and it takes time. That and a few fringe members of the government doesn’t mean we’re a homophobic state as a whole.

#gay rights #lgbt #lgbt rights #israel #jewish #israeli #jewblr #israel palestine conflict #gaza strip #טאמבלר ישראלי #ישראל #hamas is isis #human rights #Gaza #current events #middle east #gaza strikes #palestine #Palestinians #Instagram

[lesbianralzarek]

terfs in the united states (i cant speak for anywhere else) believe that theyre the silent majority and then act shocked when people view them as extremists. look at who youve thrown your lot in with. the biggest names in american transphobia are trump and tucker carlson. the people pushing your legislation are homophobic and sexist bigots. your chosen enemies have suffered a 93% increase in being murdered in the last 4 years. your allies are making life harder on people with a 40% attempted suicide rate overall and kids with a 56% attempted suicide rate. tell me the hate you share is harmless. the best case scenario for your ideology is a nightmare and you are an extremist. theres a reason people hate terfs

if you find the consequences of transphobia disgusting, you can just walk away from terfism at any time. you can climb out of the bed you share with fascists. its not too late, but you have to want to change. no one else can do this for you, but i hope this can serve as a wake-up call

[tomorrowusa]

Extremist GOP anti-abortion policies in red states are ironically making it difficult for women to give birth in such places.

Hospitals are increasingly closing down their obstetrics units because it’s becoming harder to find doctors who would want to work in areas where they could be prosecuted for providing women’s healthcare.

Brooke Macumber planned to have her fourth child in the same small hospital where two of her older children were born — the same place her husband had been delivered decades earlier.

[ ... ]

Bonner General Health in rural Sandpoint, Idaho, was shuttering its obstetrics unit after almost 75 years. Now, the closest hospital able to deliver her baby is more than an hour’s drive from her home.

[ ... ]

Access to obstetric services has been on the decline for years in rural areas, with at least 89 obstetrics units in rural U.S. hospitals closing their doors between 2015 and 2019, according to the American Hospital Association. More than half of rural counties — home to 2.2 million women of childbearing age — are now maternity-care deserts.

Some obstetricians say the problem has been exacerbated by the recent passage of laws criminalizing abortion, which can make recruiting and retaining physicians all the more difficult.

You can blame the overwhelmingly Republican Idaho legislature for the end of obstetrics at Bonner General Health. 

In a news release announcing the decision on Friday, Bonner General Health officials cited a shortage of pediatricians and decreasing number of deliveries. The release also pointed to the “legal and political climate” in a state where trigger laws banned nearly all abortions after the fall of the constitutional right to an abortion.

“Highly respected, talented physicians are leaving,” it said. “Recruiting replacements will be extraordinarily difficult. In addition, the Idaho Legislature continues to introduce and pass bills that criminalize physicians for medical care nationally recognized as the standard of care.

”Idaho has some of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. A trigger law passed in 2020, which the state Supreme Court allowed to take effect last summer, criminalizes the procedure in almost all cases, with possible defenses if a doctor determines it necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman or if the pregnant woman has reported rape or incest to law enforcement. A medical provider who violates the law can face felony charges punishable by two to five years in prison, along with suspension or revocation of their medical license.

Far right Republicans pretend that they are are pro-family. At the behest of extreme fundamentalist Christians they would turn women into little more than baby-making machines. But their laws may be making women reconsider having children because medical care for them is becoming more scarce in rural red states. 

The Idaho Republican Party platform — adopted in the summer of 2022, weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that allowed states to ban abortion — goes further. It declares that “abortion is murder from the moment of fertilization” and calls for its prevention “regardless of the circumstances of conception, including persons conceived in rape and incest.” The platform says the party supports criminalizing all abortions within the state.

Republicans legislators in red states are more interested in revoking three centuries of social progress which then results in serious healthcare issues for their constituents.

The loss of labor and delivery services in rural hospitals can be dangerous. An absence of obstetric care is significantly associated with increased preterm births and more births in facilities that lack staffs trained in labor and delivery, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Some patients who have problems in pregnancy walk into centers without obstetrics departments, leaving emergency-medicine doctors to handle issues that may be beyond their expertise.

Gustafson said she fears that Idaho’s maternal death total — which more than doubled from 2019 to 2020, the most recent year for which data is available — will rise with one fewer unit of doctors trained in labor and delivery.

The US already had the highest maternal mortality rate in the industrialized world. The GOP is working to get that rate even higher.

These Republican restrictions on abortion are the products of GOP state legislatures. People tend to pay little attention to state government until it’s too late.

The very first step in ending GOP control is to find out who is representing you in the chambers of your legislature. This site can help with that.

Find Your Legislators Look your legislators up by address or use your current location.

Once you know who represents you, get active in electing Democrats and defeating fundamentalist anti-woman Republicans.

EDIT: Idaho Republicans are too busy bringing back firing squads to care about obstetric services for constituents. 

Idaho lawmakers approve bill that would allow execution by firing squad    

#idaho #republicans #the gop #anti-abortion extremists #fundamentalist christians #maternal mortality #rural hospitals in red states #obstetrics care #firing squads #the sanctity of reproductive freedom #roe v. wade #dobbs v. jackson women's health organization #scotus #the gop war on women #anti-abortion politics #state government #idaho legislature #know your state legislators #bonner general health #sandpoint

[robertreich]

How Republicans Are Stepping Closer to Fascism

The modern Republican Party doesn’t give a damn about democracy – it is rapidly becoming the American fascist party.

This party is devoted to three ideas: that power is only legitimate if Republicans wield it, power must be acquired by any means necessary, and the party is accountable to no one once it has it.

Are Democrats protesting your inaction on gun violence? Expel them!

Does the public want to speak against your extremist proposals? They’ve got 30 seconds each – if you let them speak at all.

At risk of losing your supermajority due to changing demographics? Bypass your own state constitution and redraw legislative districts early to keep it!  

Lose the election? Deny the outcome!

And what if one of your own is charged with a crime? Reject it all as a witch hunt, and undermine the justice system to protect them.

My friends, the Republican Party is only committed to maintaining its own power. Nothing more, nothing less.

We must continue to protest this radicalism in the streets, and punish it at the ballot box.

Authoritarianism is not just an external threat. It's right here in America.

#youtube #Politics #Republicans #Fascism #Democracy #Video #Videos

[crimeronan]

Ik this is dumb but do u have tips for folks w bad phone call anxiety … I really want to participate

this is about US constituents calling our house of representatives reps to support cori bush's ceasefire resolution re: israel's genocide of palestine.

i just made a post but you can find your rep's contact info thru your zip code here, they should have an email publicly available. my rep has a website and contact page that allows me to email directly through the site -- it asks for my address and my name, so that i can prove that i am indeed a constituent and registered voter.

the house of reps can't currently do anything because of the GOP's theatrics; if you have a republican congressperson, i would Also tell them to insist that jim jordan end his bid for speakership & to work with democrats on a resolution. jim jordan is a MAGA extremist whose control of congress will stymie any humanitarian aid and peace efforts.

as for phone calls, which i still recommend making if you're able:

if you call after business hours, you will likely get a voicemail inbox

politely state your name, town of residence, and reason for calling. "hello, my name is X, i am a constituent from Y. i am calling about my concerns regarding the violence in palestine. as a voter, it is important to me that my representative support cori bush's ceasefire resolution to prevent further loss of life in israel and palestine."

if you get connected to a real person, the script is nearly the same. "hello, my name is X, i'm a constituent from Y. i know that the house of reps can't currently vote on legislation, so i'm just calling with a message asking your office to support cori bush's ceasefire resolution once you can. this is important to me as a voter who cares deeply about the loss of life in israel and palestine. thank you very much for your time"

it will be a short phone call. all you need to provide is name, town, you support cori bush's ceasefire resolution.

you don't need to convince the person on the other line. you're just leaving a message. it's important to be polite and direct.

the person on the line will already be receiving a LOT of calls related to the current speakership fiasco. this is okay and good, it's their job. you as a person will not be memorable or important to them.

to that end, remember that it's about quantity over quality. it's not on you as an individual to save the entire world or to have all the right answers. your phone call is one small drop in a much larger bucket. it matters because of the collective, not because of you as an individual.

i PROMISE you are not going to make anybody's day worse. in fact, as long as you're polite, you are WAY more likely to make the other person's day BETTER. the job of congressional staff is Not Fun right now. polite phone calls are a breath of fresh air.

#replies #current events #israel #palestine #politics #american politics #i said i wouldnt engage more unless i have important resources but i consider this about as important as it gets. so #direct action

[mariacallous]

British exceptionalism means that we do not like to think of our politicians as extremists. Official paranoia, state-sponsored lying, half-mad ideas that play to bigoted prejudices: these evils do not afflict dear, sweet, safe old Blighty.

You need only glance at the press or watch the BBC to know that policies and politicians we would have no problem identifying as radical right if they appeared in Europe or the Trumpian corners of the United States, are treated as mainstream here in the UK.

To be fair, Rishi Sunak is not a typical strongman leader. He is small (5ft 5in) and without physical presence, oratorical skill, or a definable sense of purpose.

Sunak’s manner varies from  wide-eyed chirpiness when discussing his strangely marginal political passions – banning smoking, recruiting more maths teachers – to petulance when confronted with difficulties: “He comes across as snippy, and comes across as thin-skinned — which he is, when people challenge him,” said one former minister.

Labour politicians believe he will fall apart under the scrutiny of a general election campaign.

And yet this mediocre member of the superrich (our modern Malvolio married rather than earned his wealth) who received the best education the Western world can offer at Winchester college and Oxford and Stanford universities, is by any reasonable definition an extremist.

Sunak’s only saving grace is that he is as useless at extremism as he is at everything else and thus there is a limit to how much damage he can cause.

Within the past few hours Sunak passed into law the power to send asylum seekers to the quasi-dictatorship of Rwanda. The deportees will include genuine refugees, the victims of human trafficking, and Afghans who risked their lives serving the British armed forces in the war against the Taliban.

I have no doubt that radical right politicians across Europe would like to possess the same powers. But as things stand only Rishi Sunak has them and is able to set them to the Orwellian task of remoulding reality.

The UK Supreme Court ruled that the government could not deport people to Rwanda because it is not a safe country. It’s a quasi-dictatorship under Paul Kagame, a genuine and genuinely frightening strongman, who is engaged in covert warfare against neighbouring states. There’s no real judicial independence and the Rwandan government breached the terms of a previous asylum deal it had entered into with Israel.

The UK government has got round these objections by announcing that reality is now what Rishi Sunak says it is.

Sunak’s legislation declares that Rwanda is a safe country, even though it isn’t. From now on, an asylum seeker trying to stop the UK deporting him cannot use the actual existing repressions on the ground in Rwanda to challenge the government in UK courts.

Sunak says Rwanda is safe so it must be so. Maybe Sunak will move on to declare that black is white and 2+2=5, but for the time being he is limiting himself to creating an imaginary African republic where all is peace and light.

Lord Anderson, who as a former adviser to the UK state on terrorism is hardly a knee-jerk softie, put it well when he said of the government’s plans to end judicial oversight

“If Rwanda is safe as the government would have us declare, it has nothing to fear from such scrutiny. “Yet we are invited to adopt a fiction, to wrap it in the cloak of parliamentary sovereignty and to grant it permanent immunity from challenge. To tell an untruth and call it truth.”

To insist that lies are the truth is extreme. It is also the logical conclusion of the Brexit policy of concerted lying in the service of political ends, which has been running since 2016.

And speaking of Brexit and before I go any further, I should note that, with the exception of Geert Wilders, no European far-right leader advocates taking his or her country out of the EU. But Rishi Sunak was all for Brexit, and promised that “our nation would be freer, fairer and more prosperous outside the EU”.

We know how that went.

And we almost certainly know how the Rwanda deportations will go. They will fail, and Sunak will be a failed extremist because what he wants is impossible.

Look at it from the point of view of a right-winger who is furious that tens of thousands are crossing the English Channel and entering the country illegally. Throughout his life the Conservatives have betrayed him.  

David Cameron promised to reduce migration from the hundreds to tens of thousands, and failed to deliver. Brexit promised to return control of our borders. Instead, small boats cross the channel in a parody of the Dunkirk evacuation, while legal immigration has gone through the roof.

No pro-European politician would ever say this, but it does not mean that people have not noticed. By leaving the EU, the UK swapped European migrants who were largely white and, if they had a religion, it was Christianity, for migrants from the rest of the world who are largely not white and, if they have a religion, it is unlikely to be Christianity.

Despite all this Sunak is still bellowing that he will stop all the boats, which is as impossible as David Cameron’s fake promise to reduce migration to the tens of thousands.

He is bellowing because Conservatives are terrified that Reform (the latest Farage party) will send the Tories down to a landslide defeat.

They are trying to unite the right by assuming that right-wing and radical-wing voters are stupid, and won’t notice the attempt to con them with impossible promises.

It’s not working. At the moment we are in an unprecedented situation, where Labour enjoys a poll lead on immigration.

For those on left who say there is no difference between Starmer’s Labour and the Tories ought to notice that Labour holds that lead even though it is absolutely opposed to the Rwanda obscenity, when Tony Blair’s Labour party would probably have gone along with it.

In the Commons yesterday, Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s shadow immigration minister, tore into the government.

He pointed out that the cost of the vain attempt to save Sunak’s skin – will be about “£2 million per deportee”. As only a few hundred are ever likely to go, tens of thousands more will be left “in expensive hotels, stuck in a perma-backlog at a staggering cost to the taxpayer.”

Assuming, that is, anyone goes at all.

 Yesterday Sunak made a rather pathetic admission that no plane will leave for 12 weeks. We shall see. Despite the government’s best efforts to rewrite the law and threaten the European Court of Human Rights, there can still be legal challenges which may last until the next election.

Cynics say the government would like nothing better than the flights to be stopped so it can blame left-wing lawyers in the campaign. I think they are attributing intelligence to the prime minister he does not possess.

Put like this, the UK’s failed extremists do not seem so reprehensible.  But look at what they have done. Since David Cameron in 2010 they have never explained the necessity for immigration in an honest conversation with the public.

They have pandered to right-wing and radical right-wing sentiment and then infuriated voters by making promises they could never keep. In doing so they have prepared the ground for genuinely extremist politicians.

We have already paid a price for their trickery with Brexit and I doubt the full bill is in yet.

We are fortunate that Rishi Sunak is too hopeless to be dangerous. We may not be so lucky in the future.

[schraubd]

As They Do

The ongoing fallout of the Dobbs decision, and the way it's made manifest the GOP's extreme and retrogressive anti-abortion priorities, has caused no small amount of soul-searching amongst Republican politicians. We saw, for example, a slew of Arizona Republicans race to disavow their own hand-packed-picked supreme court's decision to resurrect a pre-statehood near-total ban on abortion. Donald Trump also came out and said he opposed a national abortion ban. What should voters make of this about-face? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Why not? Because Republicans are, to be blunt, lying. No matter what they say, no matter what press releases they write, no matter what interviews they give, when push comes to shove, they will absolutely either endorse or acquiesce to the most draconian possible limitations on female reproductive autonomy. That's the full truth. The list of supporting evidence on this is essentially endless, but I'll just give two examples: Exhibit A: Arizona, where the GOP-controlled legislature -- fresh off their oh-so-pained public squirming over the aforementioned state supreme court ruling -- has continued to block legislative efforts to actually, you know, repeal the offending law. Exhibit B: Florida, where Senator Rick Scott rapidly backtracked from his own heresies calling for greater moderation on abortion after that state's supreme court reversed decades-long precedent clear the way for abortion bans by clarifying that of course he'd support even a six-week ban if given the opportunity. These are two among many. I suspect that over the next few months, we will continue to see more Republican rhetoric that gestures at some sort of "moderate" or "compromise" position on abortion, occurring right alongside more extreme tangible implementations of the right's extremist anti-choice agenda (what's going to happen when the Supreme Court permanently allows states to murder pregnant women in defiance of federal law). Even as rhetoric, it's hollow -- the "exceptions" they promise are nugatory or impossible to implement, the "deals" on offer are to impose unwanted bans on blue states while letting red states be as extreme as they desire -- but more than that they're lies. No matter what they say, no matter what they earnestly promise, no matter what soul-searching they might promise, where Republicans are in charge what they will do is push for and defend the most draconian abortion bans they can possibly get away with. There's no lever that will get Republicans to behave differently; no weird trick that can change their minds. Where they have power and hold office, this is what they will do. Our only option is to deprive them of that power. No matter what they say, no matter what they believe, anyone who is taking any steps right now to assist Republicans taking or keeping office is tacitly endorsing extreme abortion bans. There's no way around it. via The Debate Link https://ift.tt/CTdAlLR

#abortion #Arizona #Florida #GOP #reproductive rights #Republicans #Rick Scott

[oldshowbiz]

ALEC, the American Legislative Executive Council, is a criminal front group founded by Paul Weyrich, the former member of the John Birch Society who founded the Heritage Foundation in 1973 and the Moral Majority in 1979.

Although he died 15 years ago, ALEC has grown to become one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the United States. Funded by powerful billionaires, its team of extremist lobbyists write the majority of legislation presented in Congress.

#corporations #alec #think tank #paul weyrich #america

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont defended the President Joe Biden’s decision to pause military aid to Israel.

Earlier this week, Biden’s administration paused the shipment of 1,800 bombs that weighed around 2,000lbs (907kg) and 1,700 bombs weighing 500lbs (227kg). In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, Biden acknowledged the hold, saying the United States would not supply Israel with weapons if it attacked Rafah, where numerous Palestinian civilians have taken shelter amid Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Many conservatives criticized the move, including Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary for George W Bush.

“Biden has lost his mind. If he does this, he is helping Hamas to survive — and win,” Mr Flesicher posted on Twitter/X. “I’ll take Donald Trump’s mean tweets any day. None of them is as bad as Biden.”

But Ocasio-Cortez, who supports a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and has criticised Israel’s approach repeatedly, defended Biden.

“Biden has not ‘lost his mind.’ He is upholding the word of the US,” she said. “There are 1.3 million people in Rafah. You do not need to slaughter them to go after Hamas. Biden stated the US red line was Rafah. It would make us weaker & the world less safe to let Bibi, or anyone, cross it.”

In addition, Sanders criticised a tweet from Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, who said that Biden loved Hamas.

“This disgusting tweet comes from Israel's extremist National Security Minister, who was convicted by an Israeli court of racist incitement and supporting terrorism,” Sanders, who is Jewish and who lived in Israel during his youth, posted. “This is the government waging war against the entire Palestinian people. We cannot be complicit in Ben-Gvir's war.”

Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez voted against legislation to provide military assistance to Israel.

Elsewhere, Representative Jamaal Bowman of New York criticised his Democratic primary opponent George Latimier for opposing Biden’s actions.

“My opponent refuses to stand with President Biden,” he said. “Make no mistake, this is George Latimer siding with his Republican megadonors over President Biden.”

#us politics #news #biden administration #the independent #2024 #sen. Bernie Sanders #rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez #foreign military aid #israel #palestine #gaza #rafah #idf #hamas #Ari Fleischer #Itamar Ben-Gvir #rep. Jamaal Bowman #twitter #tweet #x

[tomorrowusa]

Cheers to Olivia Rodrigo! 🍻👍🏼

Pop singer Olivia Rodrigo teamed up with the Missouri Abortion Fund to give out free emergency birth control pills and condoms to concertgoers at her St. Louis show. Rodrigo visited St. Louis on Tuesday evening as part of her GUTS world tour. X user @cowboylikekin posted a viral photo of the condoms and Julie contraceptive pills that were distributed at the concert. The image has been liked more than 30,000 times. Volunteers with the Missouri Abortion Fund handed out the pills, condoms and stickers at Tuesday’s concert. The nonprofit aims to provide assistance to Missouri residents who cannot afford the cost of abortion care.

Missouri has been taken over by far right MAGA extremists. Fortunately there is a ballot measure being proposed to restore reproductive freedom in the state.

Abortion rights advocates with Missourians for Constitutional Freedom are pushing for a ballot measure through Missouri’s initiative petition process, looking to amend Missouri’s constitution with a law that would make abortion legal until viability. To place the issue on this November’s ballot, the campaign must collect around 180,000 signatures in support of the petition and turn the signatures in to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office by May 5.

If you're in Missouri, consider lending a hand with the ballot measure.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom

And whichever state you live in, get more involved in state politics and particularly the state legislature. Most of the far right anti-freedom badness originates in legislatures in red states. Start by discovering who represents your legislative district(s).

Find Your Legislators Look your legislators up by address or use your current location.

Only one party is dedicated to restoring reproductive freedom nationally.

#olivia rodrigo #guts world tour #abortion #a woman's right to choose #reprodective freedom #emergency birth control pills #missouri #st. louis #missouri abortion fund #fund 4 good #text right by you #roe v. wade #restore roe #the sanctity of reproductive freedom #state government #state legislatures #election 2024 #vote blue no matter who