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The Court of Last Resort
Attribution: legal grievance by Frank Hansen, PoliticalCartoons.com
Author: patd
“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
View all posts by patd
43 thoughts on “The Court of Last Resort”
speaking of resorts, about those that visit them in super yachts in particular:
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Judiciary Committee, discusses his calls for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to testify on Supreme Court ethics after the Clarence Thomas revelations.
Chief Justice John Roberts has declined to directly respond to a congressional request to investigate Justice Clarence Thomas’ alleged ethical lapses.
Roberts instead referred the request from Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin to the Judicial Conference, which serves as the policy-making body of the federal courts.
The Illinois Democrat had penned a letter urging Roberts to investigate Thomas after a ProPublica report that found that Thomas had gone on several luxury trips at the invitation of a GOP megadonor. The trips were not disclosed on Thomas’ public financial filings.
Thomas said in a statement that he had not reported the trips because the ethics guidelines in effect at the time had not required such disclosures.
Durbin has also sent a separate letter to Roberts asking him to testify in an upcoming hearing regarding Supreme Court ethics. Roberts has yet to respond to that letter .
The senator said in a statement Saturday, “It is clear that such an appearance by the Chief Justice may be the only way for the Court to set out with clarity and meaningful and credible reform.”
He added that if the “Court does not address shortcomings in its ethical standards,” then Congress must.
[continues]
I think Roberts took the only action he could to have SOMEONE, ANYONE actually look at the issue and provide an opinion with any air of authority. He couldn’t really take a stand that was anything other than his own opinion. He’s a very weak chief justice from an historical perspective. I really don’t know anything to speak of about the judicial conference but it appears to have jurisdiction to rap judges’ knuckles on ethical issues although it can’t force a judge from office. Its members are Roberts, the chief judge from each circuit court and a handful of district judges ( one from each federal circuit ). Wiki notes that:
On occasion, the Conference has authorized investigations of federal judges accused of criminal malfeasance. Those deemed guilty have been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for impeachment. This has happened three times during the 21st century.
We’ll see what happens but I’m guessing not much will considering the predictable party line vote that would result in a hard NO on an impeachment vote.
get out the popcorn popper as another world turns in another court tomorrow
Who is this man who spent $44 billion to rip apart this platform? Who and what is he working for?
–Beschloss
Twitter changes its algorithm to boost Russian, Chinese and Iranian state media, because that is what “free speech” is all about https
–Anne Applebaum
also speaking on the subject of free speech and the courts, better watch what you say in floriduh schools
The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) on Wednesday approved an expansion of the state’s controversial ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.
The law, part of the Florida Administrative Code, Principles of Professional Conduct for the Education Profession in Florida, previously prohibited any intentional instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The approved amendments expand the rule to include students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The new rule does feature an exemption—applicable to students in 4th through 12th grade—who learn about sexuality as part of a state requirement or health education course. Relatedly, a student’s parent may remove a child from any course they deem inappropriate.
The original rule faced criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates who argued it could lead to discrimination and stigmatization of LGBTQ+ students. A 2022 lawsuit challenging its validity was filed by Equality Florida and Family Equality. The lawsuit alleged that: “This effort to control young minds through state censorship – and to demean LGBTQ lives by denying their reality – is a grave abuse of power.” The United States District Court Middle District of Florida dismissed the lawsuit citing a lack of standing and a failure to prove harm. The organizations filed an appeal in March.
Critics raised additional concerns the “broad language” of the rule could implicate discussions of human sexuality in any grade. The expansion to all grades appears to validate those concerns.
[continues]
it’s now in the hands of the 11th circuit court of appeals
another “don’t say gay” parody (clever but not as classy as randy rainbow’s)
A musical salute to a new Florida law, performed smashingly by Sandy and Richard Riccardi. Based on “C’est si bon” by Henri Betti and André Hornez.
“Details about multimillion-dollar stock holding concealed in abortion pill judge’s financial disclosures”
“The federal judge who issued a nationwide ruling blocking the approval of a common abortion medication redacted key information on his legally mandated financial disclosures, in what legal experts described as an unusual move that conceals the bulk of his personal fortune.”
“The whole point of a disclosure is to explain where you have conflicts,” said Michael Lissner, the executive director of the Free Law Project, a nonprofit that has published judicial disclosures. “If you have stock and you’re not saying what it’s in and it’s this much of your personal wealth, that’s a conflict you have. The public deserves to know.”
“CNN reported Thursday that Kacsmaryk failed to disclose during his Senate confirmation process two interviews in which he discussed contraception and gay rights. And The Washington Post reported last week that Kacsmaryk removed his name in 2017 from a pending law review article criticizing protections for transgender people and those seeking abortions as he was being nominated.”
“In several instances, including the abortion pill case, conservative groups seem to have strategically filed their lawsuits in Kacsmaryk’s Amarillo-area jurisdiction in order to guarantee he hears their cases.”
“The redacted stock that Kacsmaryk reported on his disclosure form was significantly larger than any other financial holding he disclosed, the largest of which in 2021 were two mutual and index funds that he listed as between $100,001 and $250,000 each.”
What about ethics of those in the lower courts? The GQP’s activist judges should be unseated.
Marry your mouth to this one:
A Kentucky Bride with Smokey Eyes
Ingredients
1.5 oz Knob Creek Bourbon .75 oz Campari .75 oz Amaro Nonino .5 oz Del Maguey Vida Mezcal 3 drops Bittermans Ginger Bitters
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Stir and strain. Pour into double rocks glass and garnish with orange and lime twist
¼ cup water
¼ cup white sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
2 cups crushed ice
½ cup prepared lemonade
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar and 1 tablespoon of chopped mint. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook until sugar has dissolved, then remove from heat and set aside to cool. After about an hour, strain out mint leaves.
Fill 2 cups or frozen goblets with crushed ice. Pour 1/2 of the lemonade into each glass and top with a splash of the sugar syrup. Garnish each with a mint sprig and a straw. Serve on a silver platter.
“Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders unveiled a line of beer koozies celebrating the “real women of politics” with possibly the worst ad known to mankind.”
“Real women don’t have to fake it.” Ha! I guess it’s OK to drink “woke” beer as long as you hide it. This looks like an ad from SNL, so it may be un-spoofable. Will Sarah siphon sleepy/un-woke, customer cash for koozies that would’ve gone to pillows and slippers?
there seems to be some question about whether this is a parody or not
Pass a glass of schadenfreude
ALERT: Fox News statement – “FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor. “
Tuckums leaving Faux.
what’s with these guys who can’t just take the money and go off and live on a lake or something somewhere.
It’s a mystery, william.
Hell, Letterman did it.
Those who bore themselves tend to amuse others; those who bore others tend to amuse themselves.
–Sombodius
Pogo – I wonder if he held out for his retirement fund to be paid in rubles?
I’d love to celebrate tucker leaving Faux… but for where? NewMax?… OAN?
And who here thinks that faux won’t replace him with someone just as vile. Maybe someone that’s never mentioned Dominion… but is just as hateful.
Bad day for cable news hosts. CNN fired Don Lemon
The murdoch kid or kids (whatever) probably might like to have an actual News Service. I imagine he or they might have gained some leverage over dear old dad from the dominion flea-asco.
Licht afoot at CNN, turning right for the owner.
what? the Tuck?
out or shifting gears to run for prez (or v prez with the loser guy)? don’t laugh, remember what hqppened in 2016.
tossed about in 2022 from huffpost:
Although his name has been tossed around in Republican circles for several years as a potential 2024 candidate who would enjoy nearly universal name recognition and high approval among Republican primary voters, Carlson said in a recent interview that he had no interest in the presidency.
Yet his appearance at Friday’s event may have sent the opposite message ― with his own Twitter account posting: “As the 2024 race heats up, Tucker heads to Iowa to an event known for helping pick presidential contenders.”
Tucker Carlson’s appearance in Iowa on Friday looked like a presidential run, walked like a presidential run and quacked like a presidential run but was most certainly not a presidential run, at least as far as anyone knows.
The Fox News host was the keynote speaker at the Family Leadership Summit, a gathering of more than 1,800 religious conservatives in Des Moines, Iowa, which every four years is the first state to have a say in picking the Republican presidential nominee.
[…]
Carlson, 53, another political neophyte and media celebrity, has been touted as a potential Trump heir who might launch a bid for the White House by stoking the same flames of populism, white identity politics and hunger for a man who says what he thinks – the more outrageous the better.
[…]
Bardella, a former Republican congressional aide, added: “The white nationalist element within the party has grown larger and larger and more vocal and influential and visible. That would be a natural launching pad and constituency for a Tucker Carlson presidential bid.
“In many ways, think of Tucker Carlson as a more polished Steve Bannon. Just right out of central casting, someone who embodies all the destructive elements that Steve Bannon represents but in a much more presentable and polished way.”
Fox Noise: Tucker-free in ‘23
A “more polished Steve Bannon”? You can’t shine shit.
Don Lemon statement: “I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned. After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly. At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play,” Lemon said. “With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best.”
whatever happened it appears to have been a surprise
Here was the end of what turned out to be Tucker Carlson's final Fox News show last Friday. Certainly no indication that he didn't expect to be on the air tonight. In fact Tucker's final words are, "we'll be back on Monday." pic.twitter.com/F9R5MpWHDK
Tucker is free to run now. He sounded like a candidate in Iowa Friday at the evangelical summit.
any connection? 60 minutes seemed to be hinting to one more defamation headache for Faux.
“He’s obsessed with me,” Ray Epps says of Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “He’s … [trying] to destroy my life.”
Carlson has focused on Epps more than 20 times on his show, which Epps says is to shift blame from those who really instigated rioters on Jan. 6. pic.twitter.com/pBRS6tMji3
bId – from twit to your eyes. The idiot loin spawn produces laughter many times a day. Signing children to hard labor or even taking on Trans people. You cannot make up the results when a maga fool tries to be “smart”.
Fluffy Carlson may run, given that he hates tRUMP, while maintaining the same horrible stances. Plus, he’s got his brother to help him.
“Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson doesn’t seem too worried about the profanity-laced email his brother sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokeswoman.”
“I just talked to my brother about his response, and he assures me he meant it in the nicest way,” Carlson, the conservative website’s editor-in-chief, told the On Media blog on Wednesday.”
“Great response. Whiny little self-righteous b—h. “Appalling?”
And with such an ironic name, too…Spitalnick? Ironic because you just know she has extreme d—-fright; no chance has this girl ever had a pearl necklace. Spoogeneck? I don’t think so. More like LabiaFace.”
This is what we have to look forward to from the Carlson Bros if Tucker should run.
“A Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis super PAC has vowed it would financially support former President Donald Trump’s move to California after the Republican 2024 front-runner targeted the Sunshine State’s leader in an email campaign.”
“Donald Trump has so deeply disparaged the state of Florida by calling it the ‘worst state,’ we at Never Back Down will help him leave by offering financial assistance to help him move to his beloved California, so he can be close to his good buddy Gavin Newsom, whom he loves so intensely and gets along with so well.”
Key context: Lu sparked controversy after saying during an interview Friday that former Soviet countries, including the Baltic states, don’t have “effective status in international law.”
“The remarks appeared to disavow the sovereignty of countries that became independent states and United Nations members after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.”
Bad actors: China and Russia
Old Berman is so happy over there about Tuckers and Jeff Shells he’s actually singing “Ode to Joy”.
I think he’s singing it in German, but I can’t really tell. lol
“Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is ordering his employees to dress “in a manner consistent with their biological gender,”
“Brian Klosterboer, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, said this dress code provision violates Title VII — which bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity — as well as the First Amendment’s right to free expression and the Equal Protection Clause.”
“Ricardo Martinez, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas, said the vague language is trying to enforce gender stereotypes.”
“Are women no longer allowed to wear suits? Can men wear necklaces?” Martinez said. “While this policy was clearly designed to target transgender employees, it will have a negative impact on everyone. Any policy that is designed to target a specific group degrades the whole department. Texans deserve better.”
“The Texas House on Monday gave initial approval to a school safety bill that would require school districts to have an armed person at every campus across the state and have safety inspections conducted on their school buildings.”
“The bill would also require the Texas School Safety Center — a Texas State University think tank that has been reviewing schools’ safety protocols since the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting — to conduct checks of a school district’s buildings at least once every five years to make sure they are following the state’s safety standards.”
“But while both chambers have passed bills on school security in response to the Uvalde shooting, it is unclear whether lawmakers will listen to families of the victims who want to raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21. The bill that would do that had a hearing at the House last week, but it faces stiff opposition from Republicans.”
“Lawmakers in Austin are considering a slate of bills that specifically target renewable energy, and critics say if one measure in particular, SB 624, becomes law, it would make Texas no different than the old Soviet Union, where decisions for your property are made by the state, not you.”
“This is a missile in search of a target and the target is renewable energy, the target is Texas consumers, the target is private property rights,” Jeff Clark told us on Y’all-itics.
“I don’t know when it became the government’s business whether I take 100 acres of my land and use it for a solar farm, or take 100 acres of my land and use it for cotton,” Clark said. “That should be left to private property owners, not the administration in Austin.”
speaking of resorts, about those that visit them in super yachts in particular:
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the Judiciary Committee, discusses his calls for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to testify on Supreme Court ethics after the Clarence Thomas revelations.
Sen. Durbin invites Roberts to testify on Supreme Court ethics amid Thomas revelations – The Washington Post
followed by
Chief Justice John Roberts punts on request to investigate Clarence Thomas | CNN Politics
I think Roberts took the only action he could to have SOMEONE, ANYONE actually look at the issue and provide an opinion with any air of authority. He couldn’t really take a stand that was anything other than his own opinion. He’s a very weak chief justice from an historical perspective. I really don’t know anything to speak of about the judicial conference but it appears to have jurisdiction to rap judges’ knuckles on ethical issues although it can’t force a judge from office. Its members are Roberts, the chief judge from each circuit court and a handful of district judges ( one from each federal circuit ). Wiki notes that:
We’ll see what happens but I’m guessing not much will considering the predictable party line vote that would result in a hard NO on an impeachment vote.
get out the popcorn popper as another world turns in another court tomorrow
Rape Lawsuit Trial Puts Trump’s History With Women Under Microscope | HuffPost Latest News
Who is this man who spent $44 billion to rip apart this platform? Who and what is he working for?
–Beschloss
Twitter changes its algorithm to boost Russian, Chinese and Iranian state media, because that is what “free speech” is all about https
–Anne Applebaum
also speaking on the subject of free speech and the courts, better watch what you say in floriduh schools
Florida Department of Education approves expansion of ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law – JURIST – News
it’s now in the hands of the 11th circuit court of appeals
another “don’t say gay” parody (clever but not as classy as randy rainbow’s)
A musical salute to a new Florida law, performed smashingly by Sandy and Richard Riccardi. Based on “C’est si bon” by Henri Betti and André Hornez.
blueINdallassays:
April 23, 2023 at 12:38 am
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/politics/judge-kacsmaryk-financial-holdings-abortion-pill/index.html
“Details about multimillion-dollar stock holding concealed in abortion pill judge’s financial disclosures”
“The federal judge who issued a nationwide ruling blocking the approval of a common abortion medication redacted key information on his legally mandated financial disclosures, in what legal experts described as an unusual move that conceals the bulk of his personal fortune.”
“The whole point of a disclosure is to explain where you have conflicts,” said Michael Lissner, the executive director of the Free Law Project, a nonprofit that has published judicial disclosures. “If you have stock and you’re not saying what it’s in and it’s this much of your personal wealth, that’s a conflict you have. The public deserves to know.”
“CNN reported Thursday that Kacsmaryk failed to disclose during his Senate confirmation process two interviews in which he discussed contraception and gay rights. And The Washington Post reported last week that Kacsmaryk removed his name in 2017 from a pending law review article criticizing protections for transgender people and those seeking abortions as he was being nominated.”
“In several instances, including the abortion pill case, conservative groups seem to have strategically filed their lawsuits in Kacsmaryk’s Amarillo-area jurisdiction in order to guarantee he hears their cases.”
“The redacted stock that Kacsmaryk reported on his disclosure form was significantly larger than any other financial holding he disclosed, the largest of which in 2021 were two mutual and index funds that he listed as between $100,001 and $250,000 each.”
What about ethics of those in the lower courts? The GQP’s activist judges should be unseated.
Marry your mouth to this one:
A Kentucky Bride with Smokey Eyes
Ingredients
1.5 oz Knob Creek Bourbon
.75 oz Campari
.75 oz Amaro Nonino
.5 oz Del Maguey Vida Mezcal
3 drops Bittermans Ginger Bitters
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Stir and strain. Pour into double rocks glass and garnish with orange and lime twist
By Marshall Minaya for Valerie, NYC
Non Alcohol Julep
¼ cup water
¼ cup white sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
2 cups crushed ice
½ cup prepared lemonade
Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
In a small saucepan, combine the water, sugar and 1 tablespoon of chopped mint. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook until sugar has dissolved, then remove from heat and set aside to cool. After about an hour, strain out mint leaves.
Fill 2 cups or frozen goblets with crushed ice. Pour 1/2 of the lemonade into each glass and top with a splash of the sugar syrup. Garnish each with a mint sprig and a straw. Serve on a silver platter.
https://newrepublic.com/post/172141/sarah-huckabee-sanderss-bud-light-ad-bad
“Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders unveiled a line of beer koozies celebrating the “real women of politics” with possibly the worst ad known to mankind.”
“Real women don’t have to fake it.” Ha! I guess it’s OK to drink “woke” beer as long as you hide it. This looks like an ad from SNL, so it may be un-spoofable. Will Sarah siphon sleepy/un-woke, customer cash for koozies that would’ve gone to pillows and slippers?
https://newrepublic.com/post/172141/sarah-huckabee-sanderss-bud-light-ad-bad
there seems to be some question about whether this is a parody or not
Pass a glass of schadenfreude
ALERT: Fox News statement – “FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor. “
Tuckums leaving Faux.
what’s with these guys who can’t just take the money and go off and live on a lake or something somewhere.
It’s a mystery, william.
Hell, Letterman did it.
Those who bore themselves tend to amuse others; those who bore others tend to amuse themselves.
–Sombodius
Pogo – I wonder if he held out for his retirement fund to be paid in rubles?
I’d love to celebrate tucker leaving Faux… but for where? NewMax?… OAN?
And who here thinks that faux won’t replace him with someone just as vile. Maybe someone that’s never mentioned Dominion… but is just as hateful.
Bad day for cable news hosts. CNN fired Don Lemon
The murdoch kid or kids (whatever) probably might like to have an actual News Service. I imagine he or they might have gained some leverage over dear old dad from the dominion flea-asco.
Licht afoot at CNN, turning right for the owner.
what? the Tuck?
out or shifting gears to run for prez (or v prez with the loser guy)? don’t laugh, remember what hqppened in 2016.
tossed about in 2022 from huffpost:
and from the guardian:
Fox Noise: Tucker-free in ‘23
A “more polished Steve Bannon”? You can’t shine shit.
Don Lemon statement: “I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned. After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly. At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play,” Lemon said. “With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best.”
whatever happened it appears to have been a surprise
Tucker is free to run now. He sounded like a candidate in Iowa Friday at the evangelical summit.
any connection? 60 minutes seemed to be hinting to one more defamation headache for Faux.
Here’s what The Washington Post is saying about CNN’s firing of Don Lemon.
CNN fires Don Lemon
It’s getting ugly
bId – from twit to your eyes. The idiot loin spawn produces laughter many times a day. Signing children to hard labor or even taking on Trans people. You cannot make up the results when a maga fool tries to be “smart”.
Fluffy Carlson may run, given that he hates tRUMP, while maintaining the same horrible stances. Plus, he’s got his brother to help him.
https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/03/tucker-carlson-brother-sent-profanity-laced-email-in-nicest-way-204536
“Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson doesn’t seem too worried about the profanity-laced email his brother sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokeswoman.”
“I just talked to my brother about his response, and he assures me he meant it in the nicest way,” Carlson, the conservative website’s editor-in-chief, told the On Media blog on Wednesday.”
“Great response. Whiny little self-righteous b—h. “Appalling?”
And with such an ironic name, too…Spitalnick? Ironic because you just know she has extreme d—-fright; no chance has this girl ever had a pearl necklace. Spoogeneck? I don’t think so. More like LabiaFace.”
This is what we have to look forward to from the Carlson Bros if Tucker should run.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/2024-election/desantis-pac-offers-to-pay-to-relocate-trump-after-attack/
“A Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis super PAC has vowed it would financially support former President Donald Trump’s move to California after the Republican 2024 front-runner targeted the Sunshine State’s leader in an email campaign.”
“Donald Trump has so deeply disparaged the state of Florida by calling it the ‘worst state,’ we at Never Back Down will help him leave by offering financial assistance to help him move to his beloved California, so he can be close to his good buddy Gavin Newsom, whom he loves so intensely and gets along with so well.”
https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/cnn-don-lemon-misogyny-history-nikki-haley-1235574286/
“Don Lemon’s Misogyny at CNN, Exposed: Malicious Texts, Mocking Female Co-Workers and ‘Diva-Like Behavior’ -”
Tucker Carlson’s presidential campaign will end like Truly Julie-annie’s not a single delegate vote.
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/tucker-carlson-exit-fox-news-sf-journalist-17915377.php
Tucker fired for cause
Russian state outlet RT reaches out to Tucker Carlson – Alternet.org
https://www.alternet.org/rt-tucker-carlson/
Key context: Lu sparked controversy after saying during an interview Friday that former Soviet countries, including the Baltic states, don’t have “effective status in international law.”
“The remarks appeared to disavow the sovereignty of countries that became independent states and United Nations members after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.”
Bad actors: China and Russia
Old Berman is so happy over there about Tuckers and Jeff Shells he’s actually singing “Ode to Joy”.
I think he’s singing it in German, but I can’t really tell. lol
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/24/sid-miller-agriculture-department-texas-anti-trans-dress-code/
“Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is ordering his employees to dress “in a manner consistent with their biological gender,”
“Brian Klosterboer, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas, said this dress code provision violates Title VII — which bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity — as well as the First Amendment’s right to free expression and the Equal Protection Clause.”
“Ricardo Martinez, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas, said the vague language is trying to enforce gender stereotypes.”
“Are women no longer allowed to wear suits? Can men wear necklaces?” Martinez said. “While this policy was clearly designed to target transgender employees, it will have a negative impact on everyone. Any policy that is designed to target a specific group degrades the whole department. Texans deserve better.”
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/24/texas-house-school-safety/
“The Texas House on Monday gave initial approval to a school safety bill that would require school districts to have an armed person at every campus across the state and have safety inspections conducted on their school buildings.”
“The bill would also require the Texas School Safety Center — a Texas State University think tank that has been reviewing schools’ safety protocols since the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting — to conduct checks of a school district’s buildings at least once every five years to make sure they are following the state’s safety standards.”
“But while both chambers have passed bills on school security in response to the Uvalde shooting, it is unclear whether lawmakers will listen to families of the victims who want to raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21. The bill that would do that had a hearing at the House last week, but it faces stiff opposition from Republicans.”
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/yall-itics/yallitics-podcast-critics-of-bill-targeting-wind-and-solar-say-it-would-make-texas-no-different-than-old-soviet-union/287-f8814d6e-9ee1-4439-a30e-756cf79fec84
“Lawmakers in Austin are considering a slate of bills that specifically target renewable energy, and critics say if one measure in particular, SB 624, becomes law, it would make Texas no different than the old Soviet Union, where decisions for your property are made by the state, not you.”
“This is a missile in search of a target and the target is renewable energy, the target is Texas consumers, the target is private property rights,” Jeff Clark told us on Y’all-itics.
“I don’t know when it became the government’s business whether I take 100 acres of my land and use it for a solar farm, or take 100 acres of my land and use it for cotton,” Clark said. “That should be left to private property owners, not the administration in Austin.”
Back in the USSR
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