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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
February 3, 2022
The Real Boogeymen Aren't In Books. They're The People Who Want To Ban Books.
"Parents are afraid books will turn their innocent children into something they are not ... but books make us into better versions of ourselves."
Kimberly Witt
02/03/2022 01:39pm EST
snip//
Teens today are looking for themselves in books, too. That’s why we need books about every kind of character imaginable — from every race and ethnicity, sexual identity and religion — facing this impossible miracle of life. We need “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier, a graphic novel with gay and bisexual characters, and “Ghost Boys” by Jewell Parker Rhodes, a powerful story about a Black boy killed by the police.
Books don’t transform us into those characters. Instead, books inspire us and entertain us and make us into better versions of ourselves.
My teenage sons have read several books currently being challenged in schools, too, including “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie and “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas. After they read those books, we talked. We’ve discussed sexuality, racism, war and religion. Sometimes we disagree, and sometimes they make me reconsider my preconceived beliefs. They are learning to think critically, and I’m cheering them on from the sidelines.
As author Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote last week in The New York Times, “Banning is an act of fear.” Parents are afraid books will turn their innocent children into something they are not. Books are powerful enough to change minds and challenge ideas, but “Flowers in the Attic” wasn’t powerful enough to turn me into a ballerina attracted to my brother and “The Shining” didn’t transform me into a psychopath, not even during the pandemic.
There are real boogeymen in the world to be afraid of, but they aren’t the kind that live in books.
They’re the kind that want to stop us from reading.
The Real Boogeymen Aren't In Books. They're The People Who Want To Ban Books.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/books-ban-us-schools-mom_n_61fbf992e4b06abdc42c9e5fThe Real Boogeymen Aren't In Books. They're The People Who Want To Ban Books.
"Parents are afraid books will turn their innocent children into something they are not ... but books make us into better versions of ourselves."
Kimberly Witt
02/03/2022 01:39pm EST
snip//
Teens today are looking for themselves in books, too. That’s why we need books about every kind of character imaginable — from every race and ethnicity, sexual identity and religion — facing this impossible miracle of life. We need “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier, a graphic novel with gay and bisexual characters, and “Ghost Boys” by Jewell Parker Rhodes, a powerful story about a Black boy killed by the police.
Books don’t transform us into those characters. Instead, books inspire us and entertain us and make us into better versions of ourselves.
My teenage sons have read several books currently being challenged in schools, too, including “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie and “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas. After they read those books, we talked. We’ve discussed sexuality, racism, war and religion. Sometimes we disagree, and sometimes they make me reconsider my preconceived beliefs. They are learning to think critically, and I’m cheering them on from the sidelines.
As author Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote last week in The New York Times, “Banning is an act of fear.” Parents are afraid books will turn their innocent children into something they are not. Books are powerful enough to change minds and challenge ideas, but “Flowers in the Attic” wasn’t powerful enough to turn me into a ballerina attracted to my brother and “The Shining” didn’t transform me into a psychopath, not even during the pandemic.
There are real boogeymen in the world to be afraid of, but they aren’t the kind that live in books.
They’re the kind that want to stop us from reading.
February 3, 2022
Posted on Wed, Feb 2nd, 2022 by Jason Easley
Jen Psaki Calls Out Marco Rubio And Ron DeSantis Opposing Infrastructure But Wanting More Cash
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio for whining about not getting enough infrastructure money while opposing the bill.
Video @ link~
Psaki responded to complaints from DeSantis and Rubio that Florida did not get enough infrastructure money:
Republicans Oppose Infrastructure But Take The Cash
Republicans voted against or opposed the infrastructure bill, but now that the money is arriving in states and localities, Republicans are lining up with their hands out and ready to take the credit for infrastructure projects.
In Congress, what Republicans are doing is called voting no and taking the dough.
The GOP hopes that voters aren’t smart enough to place the credit where it really belongs, but the Biden administration will do everything in its power to tell voters the truth.
Jen Psaki Calls Out Marco Rubio And Ron DeSantis Opposing Infrastructure But Wanting More Cash
https://www.politicususa.com/2022/02/02/jen-psaki-calls-out-marco-rubio-and-ron-desantis-opposing-infrastructure-but-wanting-more-cash.htmlPosted on Wed, Feb 2nd, 2022 by Jason Easley
Jen Psaki Calls Out Marco Rubio And Ron DeSantis Opposing Infrastructure But Wanting More Cash
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio for whining about not getting enough infrastructure money while opposing the bill.
Video @ link~
Psaki responded to complaints from DeSantis and Rubio that Florida did not get enough infrastructure money:
That’s pretty rich, isn’t it? I would say, first, the Everglades funding, I don’t have it in front of me, but I think it’s in the billions if I’m correct you may have the exact number. Okay. There was also an enormous — I mentioned this a little bit yesterday — 90% of the competitive funding that’s available will go to localities, territories, others who can apply for it. That’s why we put out this big book just a few days ago.
So people who know the criteria where they can apply for that funding, you know, I think when Mitch Landrieu was here, I think he quoted Nancy Pelosi. Now I can’t even remember it. Point is, even if you vote against it, you still want the money. We’ve seen that over the course of time. That’s just how political these votes were given this is funding that will help rebuild a lot of these communities, the president will certainly make it clear who was with him and who wasn’t with him.
So people who know the criteria where they can apply for that funding, you know, I think when Mitch Landrieu was here, I think he quoted Nancy Pelosi. Now I can’t even remember it. Point is, even if you vote against it, you still want the money. We’ve seen that over the course of time. That’s just how political these votes were given this is funding that will help rebuild a lot of these communities, the president will certainly make it clear who was with him and who wasn’t with him.
Republicans Oppose Infrastructure But Take The Cash
Republicans voted against or opposed the infrastructure bill, but now that the money is arriving in states and localities, Republicans are lining up with their hands out and ready to take the credit for infrastructure projects.
In Congress, what Republicans are doing is called voting no and taking the dough.
The GOP hopes that voters aren’t smart enough to place the credit where it really belongs, but the Biden administration will do everything in its power to tell voters the truth.
February 3, 2022
Anti-Vax Priest Who Claimed Vaccines Contain ‘Aborted Embryos’ Dies of COVID
‘RISEN TO HEAVEN’
Don Paolo Romeo had reportedly ignored the pleas of friends and colleagues to get inoculated before he wound up ill, spending a month in the hospital before dying at age 51.
Allison Quinn
News Editor
Published Feb. 03, 2022 7:13AM ET
An Italian priest who shunned COVID-19 vaccines over the false belief that they contain “aborted embryos” has died at the age of 51 after battling coronavirus for several weeks.
Don Paolo Romeo had resisted pleas to get vaccinated from friends and colleagues who tried to talk sense into him, according to the L’Unione Sarda newspaper.
Romeo, who served as parish priest at Santo Stefano Abbey in Genoa, had clung to the conspiracy theory espoused by followers of French Catholic Archbishop Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre: that COVID-19 vaccines are made using cells from aborted embryos.
(This claim is false and has been debunked even by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which noted in a statement released in January that “neither Pfizer nor Moderna used an abortion-derived cell line in the development or production of the vaccine.”) Fetal cell lines, which are cloned copies of cells taken from elective abortions that were performed decades ago, were used in the testing of vaccines and have frequently been used for the testing of widely used drugs like ibuprofen and aspirin.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/anti-vax-priest-don-paolo-romeo-who-claimed-vaccines-contain-aborted-embryos-dies-of-covid?ref=home
Anti-Vax Priest Who Claimed Vaccines Contain 'Aborted Embryos' Dies of COVID
Anti-Vax Priest Who Claimed Vaccines Contain ‘Aborted Embryos’ Dies of COVID
‘RISEN TO HEAVEN’
Don Paolo Romeo had reportedly ignored the pleas of friends and colleagues to get inoculated before he wound up ill, spending a month in the hospital before dying at age 51.
Allison Quinn
News Editor
Published Feb. 03, 2022 7:13AM ET
An Italian priest who shunned COVID-19 vaccines over the false belief that they contain “aborted embryos” has died at the age of 51 after battling coronavirus for several weeks.
Don Paolo Romeo had resisted pleas to get vaccinated from friends and colleagues who tried to talk sense into him, according to the L’Unione Sarda newspaper.
Romeo, who served as parish priest at Santo Stefano Abbey in Genoa, had clung to the conspiracy theory espoused by followers of French Catholic Archbishop Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre: that COVID-19 vaccines are made using cells from aborted embryos.
(This claim is false and has been debunked even by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which noted in a statement released in January that “neither Pfizer nor Moderna used an abortion-derived cell line in the development or production of the vaccine.”) Fetal cell lines, which are cloned copies of cells taken from elective abortions that were performed decades ago, were used in the testing of vaccines and have frequently been used for the testing of widely used drugs like ibuprofen and aspirin.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/anti-vax-priest-don-paolo-romeo-who-claimed-vaccines-contain-aborted-embryos-dies-of-covid?ref=home
February 3, 2022
Reality isn't negotiable.
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2022/02/jailing-donald-trump-until-he-faces.html
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
2/02/2022
Jailing Donald Trump Until He Faces Trial Is the Best Thing for the Country (Part 1)
It's genuinely shocking to realize how much of the American electoral process is less about laws and codified procedures and more about elected officials not being dicks. Think about it: The whole idea of a "peaceful transfer of power" is that the loser isn't a dick about it. What we've learned since the 2020 election is that all it takes to start wrecking the entire system is for the loser to decide, "Yeah, I'm gonna be a dick about it" and move ahead with tearing shit apart. And it seems like there's no law that says, "Whoa, whoa, you can't be a dick even if you want to be one."
But the legal system, you know, the whole Law and Order shit, does have a way to put dicks away so that they can't spread their dickishness far and wide.
Check this out. It's from U.S. Magistrate Judge Kimberly C. Priest Johnson in her decision to hold Stewart Rhodes, the one-eyed leader of the band of feculent-brained loons and goons known as the Oath Keepers, in jail without bail pending his trial on seditious conspiracy related to the events of January 6, 2021. She writes, "It is not unusual for Americans to be disappointed by election results or offput by the functioning of federal, state, or local governments. Indeed, the right for such individuals to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances is enshrined in the Constitution and is core to American freedom and our system of governance. Here, the Court is not faced with a peaceable assembly and petitioning, as Defendant’s extraordinary actions and the ripple effects that followed are outside the bounds of protected activities." She's talking about the First Amendment here, saying that Rhodes's calling for halting Congress's certification of the election results, including planning to actually do it, isn't protected because that's how you get fucking anarchy.
The First Amendment is not a suicide pact. It's time we stopped treating it like that. There are responsibilities that go along with freedom of speech, assembly, etc. And one of those is not using it to overthrow the government that is protecting your speech, assembly, etc. because you don't like who won the election. It doesn't fucking matter how much you believe an election was actually stolen. Reality isn't negotiable. A guy who tries to burn down his neighbor's house isn't let off because he sincerely believes his neighbor is Satan.
snip//
In Part 2: "Wait, you're fucking serious about this?" Yeah. Yeah, I am.
The Rude Pundit: Jailing Donald Trump Until He Faces Trial Is the Best Thing for the Country (Part 1
Reality isn't negotiable.
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2022/02/jailing-donald-trump-until-he-faces.html
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
2/02/2022
Jailing Donald Trump Until He Faces Trial Is the Best Thing for the Country (Part 1)
It's genuinely shocking to realize how much of the American electoral process is less about laws and codified procedures and more about elected officials not being dicks. Think about it: The whole idea of a "peaceful transfer of power" is that the loser isn't a dick about it. What we've learned since the 2020 election is that all it takes to start wrecking the entire system is for the loser to decide, "Yeah, I'm gonna be a dick about it" and move ahead with tearing shit apart. And it seems like there's no law that says, "Whoa, whoa, you can't be a dick even if you want to be one."
But the legal system, you know, the whole Law and Order shit, does have a way to put dicks away so that they can't spread their dickishness far and wide.
Check this out. It's from U.S. Magistrate Judge Kimberly C. Priest Johnson in her decision to hold Stewart Rhodes, the one-eyed leader of the band of feculent-brained loons and goons known as the Oath Keepers, in jail without bail pending his trial on seditious conspiracy related to the events of January 6, 2021. She writes, "It is not unusual for Americans to be disappointed by election results or offput by the functioning of federal, state, or local governments. Indeed, the right for such individuals to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances is enshrined in the Constitution and is core to American freedom and our system of governance. Here, the Court is not faced with a peaceable assembly and petitioning, as Defendant’s extraordinary actions and the ripple effects that followed are outside the bounds of protected activities." She's talking about the First Amendment here, saying that Rhodes's calling for halting Congress's certification of the election results, including planning to actually do it, isn't protected because that's how you get fucking anarchy.
The First Amendment is not a suicide pact. It's time we stopped treating it like that. There are responsibilities that go along with freedom of speech, assembly, etc. And one of those is not using it to overthrow the government that is protecting your speech, assembly, etc. because you don't like who won the election. It doesn't fucking matter how much you believe an election was actually stolen. Reality isn't negotiable. A guy who tries to burn down his neighbor's house isn't let off because he sincerely believes his neighbor is Satan.
snip//
In Part 2: "Wait, you're fucking serious about this?" Yeah. Yeah, I am.
February 2, 2022
This Breakthrough Cancer Treatment Has Prevented Leukemia Relapse for Over a Decade
Super Effective
We already knew CAR T-cell treatment was incredibly good at killing tumor cells. But now we know it works for a ridiculously long time.
Sofia Quaglia
Updated Feb. 02, 2022 12:23PM ET / Published Feb. 02, 2022 11:00AM ET
Courtesy UPenn Medicine
Doug Olson was 49 years old with a wife and four kids when he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 1996. His initial treatments were pretty successful, but by 2010 almost 50 percent of his bone marrow was cancerous again.
That’s when he enrolled into a clinical trial of a new cancer therapy led by his oncologist, David Porter from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, together with one other patient. The experimental treatment, also known as CAR T-cell therapy, would tweak Olson's own immune cells to spot and kill leukemia cells, and reintroduce them into his body through blood infusion—something that previously showed promise only in trials on mice.
Olson started physically feeling the results after just a couple of weeks. “That’s when Dr. Porter came into my hospital room and he announced, hot off the press, that 18 percent of my white cells were CAR T-cells,” Olson said during a press conference Tuesday. “I will tell you that moment, I was absolutely convinced that this thing was working and that I was gonna be okay.”
The next week, Porter told Olson the clinicians couldn’t find a single cancer cell in his body.
It’s been more than 10 years now, and Olson is still cancer free.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/car-t-cell-therapy-prevented-leukemia-cancer-remission-in-patients-for-over-10-years?ref=home
This Breakthrough Cancer Treatment Has Prevented Leukemia Relapse for Over a Decade
This Breakthrough Cancer Treatment Has Prevented Leukemia Relapse for Over a Decade
Super Effective
We already knew CAR T-cell treatment was incredibly good at killing tumor cells. But now we know it works for a ridiculously long time.
Sofia Quaglia
Updated Feb. 02, 2022 12:23PM ET / Published Feb. 02, 2022 11:00AM ET
Courtesy UPenn Medicine
Doug Olson was 49 years old with a wife and four kids when he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 1996. His initial treatments were pretty successful, but by 2010 almost 50 percent of his bone marrow was cancerous again.
That’s when he enrolled into a clinical trial of a new cancer therapy led by his oncologist, David Porter from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, together with one other patient. The experimental treatment, also known as CAR T-cell therapy, would tweak Olson's own immune cells to spot and kill leukemia cells, and reintroduce them into his body through blood infusion—something that previously showed promise only in trials on mice.
Olson started physically feeling the results after just a couple of weeks. “That’s when Dr. Porter came into my hospital room and he announced, hot off the press, that 18 percent of my white cells were CAR T-cells,” Olson said during a press conference Tuesday. “I will tell you that moment, I was absolutely convinced that this thing was working and that I was gonna be okay.”
The next week, Porter told Olson the clinicians couldn’t find a single cancer cell in his body.
It’s been more than 10 years now, and Olson is still cancer free.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/car-t-cell-therapy-prevented-leukemia-cancer-remission-in-patients-for-over-10-years?ref=home
February 2, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-calls-lindsey-graham-a-rino-on-newsmax-in-spat-over-jan-6-riot-pardon?ref=home
Trump: Lindsey Graham, My Biggest Cheerleader, Is a RINO
FRENEMIES
Blake Montgomery
Reporter/Editor
Published Feb. 01, 2022 11:12PM ET
Trump: Lindsey Graham, My Biggest Cheerleader, Is a RINO
https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-calls-lindsey-graham-a-rino-on-newsmax-in-spat-over-jan-6-riot-pardon?ref=home
Trump: Lindsey Graham, My Biggest Cheerleader, Is a RINO
FRENEMIES
Blake Montgomery
Reporter/Editor
Published Feb. 01, 2022 11:12PM ET
Former President Donald Trump dumped on one of his staunchest supporters Tuesday night, calling Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) a “RINO,” short for “Republican in Name Only.” It’s one of the former president’s favorite insults, a piece of invective used to corral insufficiently loyal party members back into the fold and in line with Trump’s own directives. Trump pledged Saturday to pardon the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters charged with crimes, a move Graham said would be “inappropriate.” The senator remarked of the alleged insurrectionists, “I hope they go to jail.” Trump replied in a Newsmax interview on Tuesday night: “Lindsey Graham’s wrong. Lindsey’s a nice guy, but he’s a RINO. Lindsey’s wrong.”
February 2, 2022
New York Times ❤️ Ron DeSantis
Toasting a Republican
Eric Boehlert
snip//
Note the double standard: While the Times clearly admires DeSantis’ “rocky” relationship with the press and his constant attacks on the Fourth Estate, the paper last year dinged President Joe Biden for having a “low-key” relationship with the press. Do you think if Biden constantly bullied journalists the Times would toast his strategy?
What about the fact that more than 65,000 Floridians have died from Covid-19 and 5 million have been infected under DeSantis, who has taken extreme steps that have prolonged the pandemic? The Times politely sets most of that aside. During the height of the Delta variant sweeping across Florida last summer, when the Sunshine State became a global Covid epicenter, the Times reported that for “better or worse” DeSantis “refuses to change course” with his policies. “For better”??
This is a governor who has barred schools from mandating masks, stood in the way of hospital vaccine mandates, and demanded cruise lines allow unvaccinated passengers to set sail. He even secured one million useless doses of hydroxychloroquine in tribute to Trump. Then late last year the state announced one million unused Covid tests had expired while sitting in warehouses as Floridians across the state waited in line for hours to find valid tests.
snip//
Once again, the newspaper piece didn’t bother quoting a single DeSantis critic, even though just days earlier Miami Mayor Dan Gelber had announced unequivocally that DeSantis’ policies “are literally killing people.”
That’s not the story the Times wants to tell.
Eric Boehlert: New York Times ❤️ Ron DeSantis
https://pressrun.media/p/new-york-times-ron-desantisNew York Times ❤️ Ron DeSantis
Toasting a Republican
Eric Boehlert
snip//
Note the double standard: While the Times clearly admires DeSantis’ “rocky” relationship with the press and his constant attacks on the Fourth Estate, the paper last year dinged President Joe Biden for having a “low-key” relationship with the press. Do you think if Biden constantly bullied journalists the Times would toast his strategy?
What about the fact that more than 65,000 Floridians have died from Covid-19 and 5 million have been infected under DeSantis, who has taken extreme steps that have prolonged the pandemic? The Times politely sets most of that aside. During the height of the Delta variant sweeping across Florida last summer, when the Sunshine State became a global Covid epicenter, the Times reported that for “better or worse” DeSantis “refuses to change course” with his policies. “For better”??
This is a governor who has barred schools from mandating masks, stood in the way of hospital vaccine mandates, and demanded cruise lines allow unvaccinated passengers to set sail. He even secured one million useless doses of hydroxychloroquine in tribute to Trump. Then late last year the state announced one million unused Covid tests had expired while sitting in warehouses as Floridians across the state waited in line for hours to find valid tests.
snip//
Once again, the newspaper piece didn’t bother quoting a single DeSantis critic, even though just days earlier Miami Mayor Dan Gelber had announced unequivocally that DeSantis’ policies “are literally killing people.”
That’s not the story the Times wants to tell.
February 2, 2022
House Probing Trump’s Plan to Seize Voting Machines
February 1, 2022 at 8:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
House Probing Trump's Plan to Seize Voting Machines
https://politicalwire.com/2022/02/01/house-probing-trumps-plan-to-seize-voting-machines/House Probing Trump’s Plan to Seize Voting Machines
February 1, 2022 at 8:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
“The House Jan. 6 committee is scrutinizing former President Donald Trump’s involvement in proposals to seize voting machines after the 2020 election, including efforts to create a legal basis for directing national security agencies to take such an extreme action,” the New York Times reports.
“It is not clear what evidence the committee is examining as it looks at any role Mr. Trump might have played in encouraging or facilitating the drafting of a so-called national security finding, a type of document more typically used as the basis for a presidential order to an intelligence agency to take covert action.”
“A document fitting that description circulated among Mr. Trump’s formal and informal advisers in the weeks following the election. It reflected baseless assertions about foreign interference in American voting systems that had been promoted most prominently by one of his outside lawyers, Sidney Powell.”
“It is not clear what evidence the committee is examining as it looks at any role Mr. Trump might have played in encouraging or facilitating the drafting of a so-called national security finding, a type of document more typically used as the basis for a presidential order to an intelligence agency to take covert action.”
“A document fitting that description circulated among Mr. Trump’s formal and informal advisers in the weeks following the election. It reflected baseless assertions about foreign interference in American voting systems that had been promoted most prominently by one of his outside lawyers, Sidney Powell.”
February 1, 2022
In textbook example of white fragility, mom wants biography of Michelle Obama pulled from schools
Marissa Higgins
Daily Kos Staff
Tuesday February 01, 2022 · 2:52 PM EST
If you feel like you’re reading a lot more about book bans in the United States, you’re not wrong. According to data from Pew, for example, the latest Republican effort to ban (if not burn) books from school libraries and classrooms is the biggest challenge books have had in literal decades. We’re seeing anti-intellectual movements take over school boards across the nation, but there’s a special focus on the fight recently in Texas. Even the governor of the state, Republican Greg Abbott, weighed in on the subject, saying he’s concerned about “pornography” in schools and endorsing a surreal “Parental Bill of Rights” to keep public education as conservative as possible. (Sadly, as previously covered at Daily Kos, the framing of this issue as being about parental “rights” is spreading—and that’s very, very bad.)
How many books are being challenged? In Texas alone, hundreds of books have already been pulled from school library shelves. And—surprising no one—the vast majority of these titles are by LGBTQ+ folks and people of color.
For example, Republican state Rep. Matt Krause recently released a list of 850 titles he wanted an investigation into because he suggested they might make students feel uncomfortable. According to the Dallas Morning News, just looking at the first 100 titles on his list is revealing: Out of 100 book titles, 97 of those listed were written by women, LGBTQ+ people, or people of color. The Gransbury ISD pulled 130 challenged titles from school library shelves already, saying they’re being reviewed for “inappropriate content.”
Students are, understandably, livid.
One sophomore at Granbury High School shared their thoughts during a school board meeting on Monday, Jan. 24, saying many of the books Krause is challenging contain “helpful information about abortions, sexual education, and human rights.” They noted that books about LGBTQ+ people make up over “half” the listed books. Young people might not be able to vote, but they pay attention—especially when their rights are being challenged or swept under the table.
Parents, sadly, are all too eager to keep their children as sheltered as possible, perhaps as a means of ignoring their own structural and systemic privilege. For example, according to records obtained by NBC News, a parent in the Houston, Texas, area asked the school district to remove a biography of Michelle Obama, saying it promotes “reverse racism” against white people and unfairly portrays Donald Trump as a bully. First of all, reverse racism doesn’t exist. Period. Second of all, this book (Michelle Obama: Political Icon by Heather E. Schwartz, for the curious) is a biography for literal children—I highly doubt it contains the infamous critical race theory Republicans can’t stop obsessing over. Also, Trump was and is a bully.
A parent in the Austin, Texas, area suggested schools include the Bible instead of four books about racism. (No, this isn’t satire.)
It’s like conservatives aren’t even trying to hide their disdain for people who aren’t like them—they don’t want to teach accurate, honest history (much less critical race theory), they don’t want trans youth to play sports, they don’t want trans folks to have health care, and they definitely don’t want public school students to be remotely challenged on their “closely held” religious beliefs, even if it’s for the purpose of learning actual factual information. Of course, these folks don’t want people reading books that might humanize others or build empathy or education.
more...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/1/2078004/-Citing-reverse-racism-hysteria-Texas-parent-wants-children-s-biography-of-Michelle-Obama-gone
In textbook example of white fragility, mom wants biography of Michelle Obama pulled from schools
In textbook example of white fragility, mom wants biography of Michelle Obama pulled from schools
Marissa Higgins
Daily Kos Staff
Tuesday February 01, 2022 · 2:52 PM EST
If you feel like you’re reading a lot more about book bans in the United States, you’re not wrong. According to data from Pew, for example, the latest Republican effort to ban (if not burn) books from school libraries and classrooms is the biggest challenge books have had in literal decades. We’re seeing anti-intellectual movements take over school boards across the nation, but there’s a special focus on the fight recently in Texas. Even the governor of the state, Republican Greg Abbott, weighed in on the subject, saying he’s concerned about “pornography” in schools and endorsing a surreal “Parental Bill of Rights” to keep public education as conservative as possible. (Sadly, as previously covered at Daily Kos, the framing of this issue as being about parental “rights” is spreading—and that’s very, very bad.)
How many books are being challenged? In Texas alone, hundreds of books have already been pulled from school library shelves. And—surprising no one—the vast majority of these titles are by LGBTQ+ folks and people of color.
For example, Republican state Rep. Matt Krause recently released a list of 850 titles he wanted an investigation into because he suggested they might make students feel uncomfortable. According to the Dallas Morning News, just looking at the first 100 titles on his list is revealing: Out of 100 book titles, 97 of those listed were written by women, LGBTQ+ people, or people of color. The Gransbury ISD pulled 130 challenged titles from school library shelves already, saying they’re being reviewed for “inappropriate content.”
Students are, understandably, livid.
One sophomore at Granbury High School shared their thoughts during a school board meeting on Monday, Jan. 24, saying many of the books Krause is challenging contain “helpful information about abortions, sexual education, and human rights.” They noted that books about LGBTQ+ people make up over “half” the listed books. Young people might not be able to vote, but they pay attention—especially when their rights are being challenged or swept under the table.
Parents, sadly, are all too eager to keep their children as sheltered as possible, perhaps as a means of ignoring their own structural and systemic privilege. For example, according to records obtained by NBC News, a parent in the Houston, Texas, area asked the school district to remove a biography of Michelle Obama, saying it promotes “reverse racism” against white people and unfairly portrays Donald Trump as a bully. First of all, reverse racism doesn’t exist. Period. Second of all, this book (Michelle Obama: Political Icon by Heather E. Schwartz, for the curious) is a biography for literal children—I highly doubt it contains the infamous critical race theory Republicans can’t stop obsessing over. Also, Trump was and is a bully.
A parent in the Austin, Texas, area suggested schools include the Bible instead of four books about racism. (No, this isn’t satire.)
It’s like conservatives aren’t even trying to hide their disdain for people who aren’t like them—they don’t want to teach accurate, honest history (much less critical race theory), they don’t want trans youth to play sports, they don’t want trans folks to have health care, and they definitely don’t want public school students to be remotely challenged on their “closely held” religious beliefs, even if it’s for the purpose of learning actual factual information. Of course, these folks don’t want people reading books that might humanize others or build empathy or education.
more...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/1/2078004/-Citing-reverse-racism-hysteria-Texas-parent-wants-children-s-biography-of-Michelle-Obama-gone
February 1, 2022
India Arie, Graham Nash Join Mass Exodus From Spotify
FED UP
Allison Quinn
News Editor
Published Feb. 01, 2022 10:24AM ET
India Arie, Graham Nash Join Mass Exodus From Spotify
https://www.thedailybeast.com/india-arie-graham-nash-join-mass-exodus-from-spotify?ref=homeIndia Arie, Graham Nash Join Mass Exodus From Spotify
FED UP
Allison Quinn
News Editor
Published Feb. 01, 2022 10:24AM ET
India Arie has joined the growing protest over Joe Rogan’s penchant for peddling misinformation on Spotify—and she’s added further fuel to the outrage by pointing out his “problematic” comments about race. The singer announced her decision on Instagram late Monday, saying she has decided to follow in the footsteps of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, who pulled their music from the streaming platform last week after hundreds of health-care professionals sounded the alarm about Rogan’s frequent spreading of misinformation on the streaming service. “Neil Young opened a door that I must walk through,” Arie wrote, adding: “I believe in freedom of speech. However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons other than his Covid interviews. For me, it’s also his language around race.” (In an interview with Jordan Peterson last week, Rogan argued that he had at least some understanding of Black identity because he is Italian.) Rocker Graham Nash has also taken issue with “the COVID disinformation spread by Joe Rogan on Spotify,” he said in a statement Tuesday. And for that reason, he too has said he will be yanking all his music off the platform. As more and more artists have cut ties with Spotify, the CEO offered to add warning labels to certain content, and Rogan himself released a video claiming he just wants to have “interesting conversations” and not “promote misinformation.”
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