demmiblue
demmiblue's JournalGirls laid sunflowers outside the Russian Embassy and minutes later...
https://twitter.com/amandacarpenter/status/1553824916511801349
https://twitter.com/benjaminwittes/status/1553802007819042818
Nichelle Nichols has passed.
https://twitter.com/TheTrekCentral/status/1553813272029265922
https://twitter.com/StobiesGalaxy/status/1553813655225094145
Not today, dog
https://twitter.com/RealLifeDoodIes/status/1553737144560398336Bonus doodle:
https://twitter.com/RealLifeDoodIes/status/1551160266556989440
Ron DeSantis filed a public complaint against a bar that does drag brunch.
In the complaint, he references a 1947 ruling that "men impersonating women in a suggestive fashion" is against the law.
They are building the framework to go after all drag, and likely all trans people.
At this point, I find Ron DeSantis pulling of the administrative levers in the Department of Education, Board of Medicine, and the Agency for Health Care Administration terrifying.
If he makes the presidency, he'll take those lessons there.
I fear him more than Trump.
https://twitter.com/ErinInTheMorn/status/1552786832508784641
Twitter warns governments are demanding user info at an alarming rate
Source: Axios
Twitter warned Thursday that local, state and national governments around the world are asking the company to remove content and provide private information of user accounts at an alarming rate.
Driving the news: The company said in a new report that it received a record number of legal demands from governments, nearly 50,000 during a six-month period last year.
Details: The 47,572 legal demands were for 198,931 unique accounts.
The U.S. makes up the majority of demands for account information, accounting for 20% of the requests, per Twitter.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/2022/07/28/twitter-report-government-demand-user-info
Michigan Supreme Court: Law bans discrimination based on sexual orientation
Source: Detroit Free Press
Michigan law bans businesses, landlords and others from discriminating based on whether a person is gay, transgender or otherwise identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community, according to a landmark ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court.
The 5-2 decision will have a sweeping impact in the state, where for decades landlords could evict someone or business owners could fire someone solely due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
"Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation necessarily constitutes discrimination because of sex," wrote Justice Elizabeth Clement for the court's majority.
"Regardless of whether one defines 'sex' expansively or narrowly, the result of the textual analysis is the same: discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation necessarily involves discrimination because of sex in violation of (state law)."
Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2022/07/28/michigan-supreme-court-law-bans-discrimination-sexual-orientation/10175560002/
https://twitter.com/emilyjanelawler/status/1552762526303150088
Biden to host Obamas in September for White House portrait ceremony Trump shunned
Source: NBC
President Joe Biden will host former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama at the White House in early September for the unveiling of their official White House portraits, according to an Obama spokesperson.
The traditional East Room ceremony unveiling the Obamas’ portraits, usually a moment where the sitting president and the first lady fête their immediate predecessors, was put off while then-President Donald Trump was in office given the bitter, estranged relationship between the two men.
Because of the Covid pandemic, the event was further delayed after Biden took office last year. It's typically held indoors in the East Room of the White House.
The Obamas are scheduled to appear with Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Sept. 7, the Obama spokesperson said Thursday. The artists who painted the former first couple will also be revealed at that time, as has been tradition for presidential portrait unveilings since the ritual began decades ago.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-host-obamas-white-house-portrait-ceremony-trump-shunned-rcna40493
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas won't teach GW Law seminar
Gregory Maggs, who has co-taught the course with Thomas since 2011, stated in an email addressed to the class that Thomas is “unavailable” to co-teach the course in the fall, and Thomas is no longer listed as a lecturer on GW Law’s course list. Thomas’ withdrawal from the course comes a month after more than 11,000 community members signed a petition demanding his removal from GW, but officials declined to remove him from his role after he voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Unfortunately, I am writing with some sad news: Justice Thomas has informed me that he is unavailable to co-teach the seminar this fall,” Maggs said in an email obtained by The Hatchet. “I know that this is disappointing. I am very sorry.”
Thomas did not immediately return a request for comment. Maggs deferred multiple requests for comment to GW’s communications office.
https://www.gwhatchet.com/2022/07/27/supreme-court-justice-wont-teach-gw-law-seminar/
CNN Exclusive: Biden administration offers convicted Russian arms dealer in exchange for Griner, Whe
Source: CNN
CNN Exclusive: Biden administration offers convicted Russian arms dealer in exchange for Griner, Whelan
Washington (CNN)After months of internal debate, the Biden administration has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US prison sentence, as part of a potential deal to secure the release of two Americans held by Russia, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, according to people briefed on the matter.
These sources told CNN that the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year. Biden's support for the swap overrides opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades.
"We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians," a senior administration official told CNN Wednesday. "We communicated that a number of weeks ago, in June."
The official declined to comment on the specifics of the "substantial offer." They said it was in Russia's "court to be responsive to it, yet at the same time that does not leave us passive, as we continue to communicate the offer at very senior levels."
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/politics/griner-whelan-biden-offer-viktor-bout-exchange-russia-arms-dealer/index.html
