April 2, 2022

How Low Will Senate Republicans Go on Ketanji Brown Jackson?

When Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination reaches the Senate floor soon, every Republican who votes against her confirmation will be complicit in the abuse that the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee heaped on her.

Every mischaracterization of Judge Jackson’s record on the bench. Every racist dog whistle about crime. Every QAnon shout-out about rampant child pornography. Every innuendo that a lawyer who represents suspected terrorists supports terrorism.

So far, only one Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine, has said she will vote to confirm Judge Jackson. The Republican senators who don’t disavow their colleagues’ behavior during last week’s confimation hearing will own it. All of it.

Every Republican voting no will be Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, asking, “On a scale of one to 10, how faithful would you say you are in terms of religion?” Each one will be Ted Cruz of Texas, distorting the argument in a law review note by the nominee to suggest slyly that beginning as a student she harbored an agenda of going easy on sex criminals.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/01/opinion/jackson-supreme-court-republicans.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DJDm4biOMNAo6B_EGKZ6NoZMA02XGAWcdbPboiAfd10_VDelZgUxSippqPkZIeZSUprIb5FkUH46XwZ5Fquzn7cjv-b-5l2Ly0ux_BPWG-X6yI13Y-Jw9m849idA6txX1exKbaQeIj3IN42KhxB5h_Vi5AMHfRx4TgAx59Od2HaBvOuEJhC6wCB2alzZPL4KkAcQ5SFVvAUHp_hG8_495YM9oSV73te19iIIGtxOVMVRE7aduhFJYzRIPLlrl1sLWrqBSEzcW-xvteB7ybtSZj_XbUz-oIu1XPXdFs&smid=url-share

April 1, 2022

'Grooming': Republicans' vile new attack on any who criticize them

What’s the most repulsive accusation you could make about a person? It’s hard to think of anything worse than calling them a pedophile. Which is what conservatives are now doing to anyone who criticizes the anti-gay and anti-trans legislation they’re promoting in state after state.

If you pay close attention to politics, you may suddenly be hearing the word “grooming” a lot. That’s because we’re at an essential transition point, where an idea or a trope moves from the fringe to the mainstream.

In this case, we can watch it happen almost hour by hour. What had been relegated to the extreme right is now moving into the center of mainstream conservative rhetoric on this issue.

Much of the debate revolves around a bill just signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) meant to shut down discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Dubbed by opponents the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the practical implications of its vaguely worded provisions are less than clear. But its intentions are not: DeSantis is at the vanguard of a right-wing movement to create a new moral panic around schools, to convince parents that their children are being indoctrinated with bizarre and threatening ideas.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/31/grooming-repugnant-gop-attack-anti-gay-anti-trans/

April 1, 2022

A Jan. 6 pastor divides his Tennessee community with increasingly extremist views

MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. — The pastor promised his followers that this church service would be like no other, and the event on a cold Sunday in March did not disappoint.

“Devil, your foot soldiers are coming out tonight, they’re coming all the way out. We will expel them,” Pastor Greg Locke howled from the stage in a crowded white tent. “You gotta leave, Devil,” he shouted, “you gotta get out!”

Wielding a microphone as he paced the stage, his wife, Tai, at his side, Locke called out “spirits” of anger, rage, bitterness, lust and envy.

“Spirit of molestation, spirit of abuse, get out right now!” Locke commanded.

“Every spirit of homosexuality, lesbianism, come out, come out,” his wife ordered.

“Transgenderism, gender dysphoria, come out.”

“We rebuke it, we rebuke it!” Locke yelled.

The tent slowly took on a spirit of its own. Worshipers began writhing as if in pain. Others waved their hands in the air in benediction. “Amens” began to mix with the guttural sound of growling, moaning and praying in tongues.

“If you’ve had the covid-19 shot, I’m telling you you’ve got poison in your veins,” Locke thundered. “We call out the covid-19 vaccine out right now. Keep that demonic spirit out of you right now in the name of Jesus!”

Some fell to the ground, pawing at cedar chips, or retched into silver vomit buckets that had been set at the end of each row of white folding chairs.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/03/31/tennessee-pastor-extremist-politics/

Gimme that old time retchligion...

April 1, 2022

Joseph Ladapo hiring violated UF procedures, faculty report says

Some faculty felt Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general, was the subject of “preferential treatment on the basis of his political opinions.”

The University of Florida violated its own hiring procedures while bringing Joseph Ladapo onboard for a tenured position, according to a faculty committee report released Wednesday.

The hiring of Ladapo, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis picked last year to be the state’s surgeon general, did not adequately involve the input of faculty normally charged with reviewing a candidate’s application for tenure, the report found.

Administrators accelerated Ladapo’s start date to accommodate DeSantis’ announcement that the doctor would become the state’s next surgeon general, it said. And some faculty members felt Ladapo was the subject of “preferential treatment on the basis of his political opinions,” the report said.

“The irregularities noted above were of concern to the members of this committee and appeared to violate the spirit, and in review the exact letter, of UF hiring regulations and procedures, particularly in the vital role faculty play in evaluating the qualifications of their peers,” reads the report, which was compiled by seven professors from across five university sectors.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/03/31/joseph-ladapo-hiring-violated-uf-procedures-faculty-report-says/