News bits: Christian nationalist bigotry; Regarding the benefit of a doubt; Regarding the Great Replacement

CNN reports about a proposed, hyper aggressive anti-LGBQT law:

A newly proposed law in Missouri could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they’re found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning.

Missouri state Rep. Jamie Gragg, a Republican, introduced HB 2885 last week. If passed and signed into law, the legislation would criminalize the act of “contributing to social transition” for anyone acting in an official capacity at their school, including providing informational or material support.

The proposed bill joins a string of anti-LGBTQ measures that have been filed in states across the US and comes amid a growing “parental rights” movement that seeks to empower parents to decide what can be taught in classrooms about gender, sexuality and race.  

In an interview with CNN affiliate KY3, Gragg said the goal of the bill is to “put the social learning development of our children back in the hands of the parents.”  

In 2023, at least 510 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in state legislatures, according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union. The organization is also tracking 478 bills in the 2024 legislative session that restrict LGBTQ rights.

This is another example of the deranged bigotry, hate and irrationality that drives the morally rotted American Christian nationalist (CN) wealth and power movement. By making it a felony to support transgender students, CN elites rely on God-approved brute force. It is not a sex offense (punishable by up to 4 years in the slammer for each felony conviction) to simply support transgender people. Many transgenders have a hard time of it depending on how accepting their families are, or are not. This proposed law is an example of hateful, authoritarian CN bigotry in action. 

Anecdote: Back in my high school days, the sister of my closest friend was lesbian. She was sweet, kind, respectful and shockingly intelligent. When she told her parents about it, her father flew into a rage, kicked her out of the house instantly and never spoke to her again. She was kicked to the curb and had to fend for herself from that moment. That is an example of “parental rights” in action. 

Take away all tax privileges for all religion in 

America, right now! 

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A Salon article about the report by former special council Robert Hur raises the issue of who or what to believe when in doubt:

“Can’t make it up”: Experts say transcript shows special counsel Robert Hur “lied” about Biden

The full transcript undercuts Hur’s claims that Biden could not remember his son's death and had “poor” memory

The full transcript of President Joe Biden’s five-hour interview with special counsel Robert Hur’s investigators “paints a more nuanced portrait” of Biden’s memory than the special counsel’s report, according to The Washington Post, which noted that “Biden doesn’t come across as being as absent-minded as Hur has made him out to be.”

The transcript “could raise questions about Hur’s depiction of the 81-year-old president as having ‘significant limitations’ on his memory,” according to The Associated Press.

Hur in his report declined to charge Biden, arguing that it would be difficult to convince a jury to convict with a memory that the special counsel described as “faulty” and “poor,” noting that Biden could not recall when his son Beau died or when he served as vice president.

But Biden said exactly when his son died in the interview.

“What month did Beau die? Oh God, May 30,” Biden said. When two others in the room chimed in with the year, Biden asked, “Was it 2015 when he died?”  

“Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, was it any of their damn business?” Biden said at a press conference last month.  

Attorney Andrew Laufer tweeted, “Hur lied. That’s really the only appropriate response.”

Several things in that quoted material indicate that Salon accords Hur the benefit of a doubt. For example, the article title put “lied” in quotes to soften the allegation, and stated that full transcript undercuts Hur’s claims, when the transcript contradicts Hur’s claims. To contradict means to assert the opposite of a statement, while undercut refers to weakening or hindering something.

Maybe Salon had to soft pedal its writing out of professionalism, giving Hur wiggle room to deny and deflect. But should known DJT supporters and MAGA partisans ever be given the benefit of any doubt? The public record is crystal clear that DJT, his partisans and the MAGA movement are all chronic liars (or deceived) and almost always acting in bad faith, usually tinged with malice.  

In my opinion, Hur, just like DJT and the MAGA movement, have earned distrust. They deserve no benefit of any doubt from people of good will who value democracy and truth. 

I think Hur is very likely a liar, ~97% confidence level.

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Meidastouch News reports about where sentiment the TTKP (Trump Tyranny & Kleptocracy Party) and MAGA movement have toward the Great Replacement Theory, which was and will be a significant factor in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 elections:

“Is That Even Up For Debate?”— Lara Trump Embraces 

White Nationalist Great Replacement Theory

The racist conspiracy theory has been used by some to justify violence

A few days before becoming the RNC co-chair, Lara Trump went on Blaze host Alex Stein’s show. .... At a December Republican gala with Trump, Stein told racist and homophobic jokes implying jail time would make Black voters like Trump more and implied only “a homosexual” would take the COVID vaccine.

Stein [had a] conversation with Lara Trump about the Great Replacement Theory, which is a white nationalist belief that migrants are being imported to replace Europeans and white people in the United States:

Alex Stein: “I feel like Europe was kind of like the beta test. We saw what they were doing, and now it’s just, I mean, I don’t even know if Europe is recognizable anymore.”

Lara Trump: “According to friends of mine who live there or have moved from there it is not, most places. It’s like the wild, Wild West in a sense out there. It’s crazy.”

Stein: “Yeah, and then now that’s happening here in America. Do you think, this is kind of a tough question and this will be controversial, but the Great Replacement Theory, I think it’s real. I'll probably get in trouble for saying that. I don’t think it’s based on race, but I think they want immigrants to come here because they know that they’ll vote for them and, you know, democratic elections or at least vote for candidates that will give out free social services. So, for me, call me a conspiracy theorist, I don’t think it’s crazy to just let in millions of people in if you want to try to—”

Lara Trump: “Is that controversial? Is that even up for debate? Why else would you have a fully open border? Why else would you be letting people on the terror watch list just walk on in if you weren’t banking on at least the majority of the millions of people, I mean, they say it’s close to 10 million that we know of, it’s probably more like 15, if you weren’t banking on those people voting for you, why else would you repeal voter ID laws? Why would you do all this stuff if you weren’t banking on that?”

Demagoguing the Great Replacement Theory is a core bit of CN dogma and propaganda. 

Are Stein and Lara Trump credible? Or, is what they are saying, lies, based on deceit or bad faith, tinged with malice? In good faith, I accord both essentially no credibility, just like I accord Hur.

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This excellent 12 minute video by Frontline about the allegedly stolen 2020 presidential election reminds us of some things we really need to be aware of to some extent. It keeps fresh and in context the authoritarian horror we face again in 2024.

Thanks to Freeze Peach for bringing this video to my attention.