And another day of the continuing rise of Republican fascism, death penalties for abortion, removing trans kids from parents in FL, a R call for ‘eradicating’ trans people, banning diversity statements, legally discriminating against LGBTQ+ people in AK, and more comes to a close:
“The Republican Party is the most dangerous organization in human history.” — Noam Chomsky
Is Florida’s Blogger Registration Bill Inspired by Viktor Orbán? Earlier this week, Florida State Sen. Jason Brodeur introduced a bill that would require bloggers to register with the state government when they are paid to write about the governor and other political figures. After registering, bloggers would be forced to file monthly reports listing every one of their posts, how much they were paid for them, and where the money came from. Those who fail to do so could be fined up to $2,500 for each missing report. That sounded like something that might have originated elsewhere. Florida’s blogger registration bill is curiously similar to a section of a Hungarian law that requires media organizations to register with the government…It wouldn’t be the first time Florida looked to Hungary. Orbán’s authoritarian government is in vogue on the American right and its illiberalism has already served as a template for Gov. Ron DeSantis and fellow Florida Republicans. — Republicans have fully embraced fascism. They don’t hide it.
'Disaster for free speech': Florida defamation, libel bill alarms advocates. Andrade touts the legislation as a way for people to get justice for harms – not just from journalists but anyone making defamatory statements, like over social media. It's justice that he says is currently “almost completely being denied.” But the bill has alarmed free speech advocates, who say its consequences could be severe and wide-ranging. — The fascism train rolls on in Florida.
South Carolina bill could make death penalty possible punishment for abortion. If passed, the bill would make getting an abortion equivalent to committing a homicide…The bill aims to amend the South Carolina code of laws by adding sections that would define a person to include an unborn child at any stage of development, and to “ensure that an unborn child who is a victim of homicide is afforded equal protection under the homicide laws of the state.”
South Carolina Woman Arrested For Allegedly Taking Abortion Pills. While abortions up to 20 weeks are legal in South Carolina, the state is one of a few states that prohibits self-medication to terminate a pregnancy. The incident report identified the woman as Black.
Walgreens won’t distribute abortion pills in some states where they remain legal. Nearly two dozen Republican state attorneys general wrote to Walgreens in February, threatening legal action if the company began distributing the drugs, which have become the nation’s most popular method for ending a pregnancy. The company told POLITICO that it has since responded to all the officials, assuring them that they will not dispense abortion pills either by mail or at their brick-and-mortar locations in those states.
The implications of Walgreens’ decision on abortion pills. Last month, attorneys general in 20 conservative-led states warned CVS and Walgreens in a letter that they could face legal consequences if they sell abortion pills by mail in their states. In addition to state laws, attorneys general from conservative states have argued that shipments of mifepristone run afoul of a 19th century law that prohibited sending items used in abortion through the mail. (You read that correctly: 19th century law. WTF?) The company is not currently dispensing the pills anywhere.
“YOU told us we were hysterical when we said they would destroy Roe
“YOU told us we were hysterical for saying stores like Walgreens would stop selling abortion pills
“Now YOU’RE saying we’re hysterical for warning you about fascists like Ron DeSantis
“Best believe us now, betches.”
— Lindy Li
Florida Republicans push horrifying bill to remove trans kids from affirming parents. The measure would grant Florida courts authority to take “emergency jurisdiction” of trans youth who receive or are “at risk of” receiving gender-affirming healthcare – including puberty blockers or hormone therapy, which have been described as ‘life-saving’ by researchers. Florida courts would also be granted jurisdiction to “vacate, stay or modify a child custody determination of a court of another state” to “protect” trans youth from receiving gender-affirming healthcare, meaning supportive family members could lose custody just for helping trans youth access affirming healthcare. Additionally, the bill would empower anti-trans family members to seize children from more affirming environments and bring them to Florida if they believe the child is receiving gender-affirming healthcare. — Fucking Republican fascists.
At CPAC, A Call For Trans People To Be 'Eradicated' Gets Big Cheers. But it also became clear at CPAC that the Republican campaign against trans kids isn’t just a mere ploy to energize its base — it could also be the beginning of an insurgent fascist campaign to erase trans people from public life altogether…Michael Knowles, the host of ”The Michael Knowles Show” on The Daily Wire, gave a speech at CPAC that, at moments, sounded genocidal. “The problem with transgenderism is not that it’s inappropriate for children under the age of 9,” he said. “The problem with transgenderism is that it isn’t true.” There are an estimated 1.6 million trans people in the United States. Knowles told the CPAC crowd that these people should not have a right to exist. “If [transgenderism] is false, then for the good of society... transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely,” he said. The crowd roared again. — Republicans are laying it all out on the table. He said “eradicated” and the crowd cheered. They are no longer knocking on the fascism door. They’ve opened it, and have walked through.
US Republicans aim to stymie gun sale codes at state level. Legislation being pursued by Republicans in several U.S. states aims to limit use of a planned merchant code for credit card transactions at gun retailers meant to detect suspicious firearms and ammunition sales, undermining a tool welcomed by gun control advocates. The bills were introduced in states including Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Texas A&M University System bans diversity statements from job applications. The Texas A&M, Texas State and University of Houston systems are the latest to make changes after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop considering diversity in their hiring practices.
Alaska Says It’s Now Legal “in Some Instances” to Discriminate Against LGBTQ Individuals. But a year later, the commission quietly reversed that position. It deleted language from the state website promising equal protections for transgender and gay Alaskans against most categories of discrimination, and it began refusing to investigate complaints. Only employment-related complaints would now be accepted, and investigators dropped any non-employment LGBTQ civil rights cases they had been working on. An investigation by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found the decision had been requested by a conservative Christian group and was made the week of the Republican primary for governor, in which Gov. Mike Dunleavy was criticized for not being conservative enough…The LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit Identity Alaska called the reversal “state-sponsored discrimination.”
Steven Spielberg says antisemitism today is ‘standing proud with hands on hips like Hitler’. Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Spielberg was asked whether the abuse faced in 1960s California by the young Jewish hero of his new film, autobiographical drama The Fabelmans, was something he recognised today. Spielberg responded by saying he found the new global rise of anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence “very, very surprising. Antisemitism has always been there, it’s either been just around the corner and slightly out of sight but always lurking, or it has been much more overt like in Germany in the 30s. “But not since Germany in the 30s have I witnessed antisemitism no longer lurking, but standing proud with hands on hips like Hitler and Mussolini, kind of daring us to defy it.”
Crisis over suspected Iran schoolgirl poisonings escalates. A crisis over suspected poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls escalated Sunday as authorities acknowledged over 50 schools were struck in a wave of possible cases. The poisonings have spread further fear among parents as Iran has faced months of unrest.
‘Everyone should be concerned’: Antarctic sea ice reaches lowest levels ever recorded. But across those four decades of satellite observations, there has never been less ice around the continent than there was last week.
The broken business of feeding America’s schoolchildren. Cafeteria costs are devouring K-12 budgets as more food providers leave districts in the lurch, forcing administrators to take drastic measures to keep students properly fed. Unlike restaurants and grocers, schools have little ability to pass along higher costs to those they serve. Many families already can’t afford school lunch. Households can apply for free or reduced-price meals, but not all meet the narrow income guidelines to qualify, which often leaves districts picking up the tab.
Chernobyl nuclear disaster altered the genetics of the dogs left behind, scientists say. The radiation exposure still being emitted in Chernobyl decades after the 1986 nuclear disaster may have fundamentally altered the genetics of dog populations, according to a study published Friday in Science Advances. Furthermore, the genetics within dog populations that have been exposed to differing levels of radiation are also distinct from one another, the researchers said.
The car of the future? Ford applies for patent on car that can automatically repossess itself. According to a document recently published on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, Ford said it is considering a system that would allow a car to, on its own, leave you if you stop making your monthly auto payments.
ChatGPT has thrown gasoline on fears of a U.S.-China arms race on AI. The race to develop the next generation of AI isn’t just between tech companies like Microsoft and Google — it’s also between nations, which are working furiously to foster and develop their own technology.
Microsoft’s Bing chatbot to offer users answers in three different tones. The search engine’s chatbot, powered by the same technology behind ChatGPT, will now give users options for three types of response: creative (“creating surprise and entertainment”), balanced (“reasonable and coherent”) or precise (“concise, prioritising accuracy”).
Pink Floyd's enigmatic, record-breaking album The Dark Side Of The Moon turns 50. Few albums are as big as Pink Floyd's 1973 blockbuster The Dark Side Of The Moon…And despite 50 years of ever-changing musical fads and phases, the album has endured like few others of its era, continuing to sell tens of thousands of copies around the world each week. So what is it about The Dark Side Of The Moon that has made it one of the biggest albums of the last half a century? — It’s damn good.
Actor Tom Sizemore, star of 'Saving Private Ryan,' dies at 61.
Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington dies at 71.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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