Yesterday, CPR News gave me all the information I needd to decide which Democrat to vote for the challenge Douglas Lamborn (or as I generally call him, Duggie Lamebrain.) There wasn’t much diffeence actually. I went with the one who had the stronger resume, who as also the one who got onto the ballot through the state assembly, which means if there is any money at all coming from DCCC, he’s the one who will get it. Of course there may noy be any. My district is +20 Red. Lamebrain himself has two primary challengers, both from the right – but that may turn out to be one too many. Election Day is the 28th, so we’ll know by July.
BTW, I put an Al Franken video into today’s video thread. I can’t claim it’s one of his funniest, but it is timely, and it’s under 8 minutes.
CPR News – Thousands of Democrats are changing their voter registration in Lauren Boebert’s district ahead of the primary
Quote – Thousands of voters have recently left the Democratic Party in Western Colorado — some as part of a grassroots effort to defeat Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert in her upcoming primary election. Among them is Steven Hallenborg of Montrose. “Well, I’m a lifelong Democrat, and now I’m unaffiliated,” he said. Because he changed his affiliation, he now can vote against Boebert in the June 28 Republican primary. Click through for numbers. Unaffiliated voters receive two ballots but may only return one – their choice which one. That osn’t a lot of Democrats, but it could be enough to make a difference.
The Daily Beast – Free Gas Cards Are the GOP’s New Campaign Gimmick—and It’s Legal(BBA)
Quote – Lucky drivers pulling up to a packed Chevron gas station south of Atlanta last Saturday finally saw a little relief at the pump, in the form of a $25 gas voucher straight from the goddaughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece. The catch: They had to sit through a pitch for her political candidate of choice—college football hero, Olympic bobsledder, Russian roulette aficionado, and now aspiring Republican senator Herschel Walker. Click through for details. The thing that leaps out at me is – more proof that it’s impossible to predict the political position of anyone based on the known positions of even their closest family and friends.
Yesterday, my shoulder was fine in the morning (not unusual) without having had to do anything for it the night before (unusual lately.) I’m not suggesting that will be the new normal -but if it isn’t, I think I now know exactly where to place the TENS pads to help make it so. Also, in the afternoon, my primary ballot came. There’s not much choice on it – the only contested primary is for someone to run against Doug Lamborn, and that’s a lost cause, i fear. However, I will do the due diligence and pick which one I think is the stronger In this district, there’s no point in going for the more progesssive one.
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The Daily Beast – Blake Masters Blames Gun Violence on ‘Black People, Frankly’
Quote – Masters boiled the issue down in an April 11 interview on the Jeff Oravits Show podcast, telling the host that “we do have a gun violence problem in this country, and it’s gang violence…. It’s people in Chicago, St. Louis shooting each other. Very often, you know, Black people, frankly,” Masters clarified. “And the Democrats don’t want to do anything about that.” Click through for article. I swear, I thought he was going to say that black people are JUST SO SCARY that white people JUST HAVE TO shoot them out of panic. Irony is not dead – but apparently you can’t see it unless you’re woke.
Robert Reich – The Week Ahead: Why everything depends on Liz Cheney
Quote – Cheney’s responsibility this week will be similar to Baker’s 49 years ago — to be the steady voice of non-partisan common sense, helping the nation view the hearings as a search for truth rather than a “witch hunt,” as Trump has characterized them. In many ways, though, Cheney’s role will be far more challenging than Baker’s. Click through; don’t be put off by the headline. He makes a solid point.I honestly hope she reads this and (whether or not she reads this particular iteration – Carl Bernstein is saying much the same) chooses to live up to it.
Yesterday, I had said I planned to rest, and I guess I did. I slept almost 4 hours passed my (only a suggestion) alarm time. When I did get up, my back was really complaining (which the TENS fixed up pretty quickly), but my shouldr felt fine. I think (hope) I have found the sweet spot to assuage that particular pain point. In any case, I have material – two stories about Colorado, one a good example and the other a horror story – and also a story on a crime prevention tactic hat actually works (so of course it has no chance against Republicans.) Today’s cartoon memorializes the first known summit conference in WEurope (I for one would not be surprised t learn that native Americans were doind it long before that.)
Also, please, everyone, cick back (under the comments, on the left) to the post published just before this Thread for Nameless’s wonderful post. (And here I thought I was the queen of workarounds. This is brilliant!)
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The 19th – Colorado is the first state to abolish anonymous sperm and egg donors. Activist Erin Jackson on why that matters.
Quote – In 2021, Jackson, who had no prior advocacy experience, joined a handful of other activists in starting the U.S. Donor Conceived Council, a political advocacy group. Sen. Stephen Fenberg, the president of Colorado’s state senate, reached out to Jackson to ask what donor-conceived people want to see happen in terms of regulation of the fertility industry. Jackson was armed with data she had collected outlining the types of policy positions her community wanted to see. Fenberg ran with it: Jackson and the U.S. Donor Conceived Council were instrumental in shaping first-of-its-kind legislation in Colorado. Click through for details. Ethics is complicated. The original concept of anonymity was based on the assumption tha donors had a right to protection, but this ignored the fact that those who resulted had a right to information too. What you don’t know CAN hurt you.
CPR News – Victim IDs released in coal slide at Pueblo power plant
Quote – The men worked for Utah-based Savage, a contractor for Xcel Energy that operates the plant’s coal yard. Witnesses reported that the accident happened on a feeder pile for the station’s coal-fired power plant, which is Colorado’s largest…. Rescuers found the bodies of the two men buried beneath about 60 feet of coal after a day-long search. The men had been standing about 30 feet up a slope of the pile when the slide occurred, according to the Pueblo Fire Department. Click through for background (including a lin to the original story). This is an extremely good argumant for terminating the use of coal world-wide. (Not that Republicans care about people dying as long as they are making money.)
Vox – A study gave cash and therapy to men at risk of criminal behavior. 10 years later, the results are in.
Quote – That’s such an incredibly good deal that it sounds too good to be true. But it’s been borne out by the research of Chris Blattman, Margaret Sheridan, Julian Jamison, and Sebastian Chaskel. Their new study provides experimental evidence that offering at-risk men a few weeks of behavioral therapy plus a bit of cash reduces the future risk of crime and violence, even 10 years after the intervention. Click through for full story. It’s far more complex than a single quote can communicate.
What’s a class president, who is a gay activist and just chosen to give his high school’s Commencement Address, to do when he’s called into the principal’s office and told he can NOT say the word “GAY” during his speech. And if he does, his microphone will be cutoff, and the graduation ceremony ended.
That was the dilemma facing Zander Moricz just a few weeks ago.
Zander had been elected class president each of his four years at Pine View High School for the Gifted in Osprey, FL, and came out in his freshman year because of the supportive environment at Pine View.
He has been an activist against Gov. DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay”(Parental Rights in Education) bill, leading a school protest walkout in March along with organizing a similar protest in downtown Sarasota attended by hundreds of people, including the mayor and county commissioners, before DeSantis signed Florida House Bill – HB 1557 into law.
In fact, Moricz is the youngest plaintiff in a lawsuit against DeSantis and HB 1557:
As class president he was accustomed to being called into Principal Stephen Covert’s office for meetings – but Zander immediately felt this one was going to be different. He was warned that if mentioned the word “gay” or alluded to his activism his microphone would be cutoff.
I am the youngest public plaintiff in the “Don’t Say Gay” lawsuit. I am my Florida high school’s first openly-gay Class President. I am being silenced, and I need your help. 🧵
I am the youngest public plaintiff in the “Don’t Say Gay” lawsuit. I am my Florida high school’s first openly-gay Class President. I am being silenced, and I need your help.
A few days ago, my principal called me into his office and informed me that if my graduation speech referenced my activism or role as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, school administration had a signal to cut off my microphone, end my speech, and halt the ceremony. (2/8)
A few days ago, my principal called me into his office and informed me that if my graduation speech referenced my activism or role as a plaintiff in the lawsuit, school administration had a signal to cut off my microphone, end my speech, and halt the ceremony. (2/8)
At the same time Moricz says he would also not compromise his principles. “That is something that I will not compromise over anything at any point in time. I will simply find a way to have both.”
But Moricz gave Principal Covert his word that he would conform to the school’s wishes. As the adage goes: Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Tasked with staying true to his principles while keeping his word to his principal, Moricz found the perfect metaphor for “Gay”: His curly hair!
During his Commencement speech, after a few brief introductory remarks, Moricz brilliantly transitioned to a metaphor for his being gay and the damage that Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill will do to students in the LGBTQ community.
“I used to hate my curls. I spent mornings and nights embarrassed of them, trying desperately to straighten this part of who I am—but the daily damage of trying to fix myself became too much to endure.
“So, while having curly hair in Florida is difficult—due to the humidity—I decided to be proud of who I was and started coming to school as my authentic self.”
He shared that a teacher, Ms. Ballard, answered his questions “because I didn’t have other curly-haired people to talk to,” and that he found support from other students and adults.
“It’s because of the love I’ve drawn from this community that I came out to my family. Now I’m happy…. And that is what is at stake. There are going to be so many kids with curly hair who need a community like Pine View and they won’t have one.”
After receiving a standing ovation for his speech, Moricz was interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning America:
On a more serious note, he spoke with NBC News concerning the federal lawsuit against DeSantis and the price he has paid for his activism:
Moricz joined a group of over a dozen students, parents, educators and advocates who have filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and the state’s Board of Education, alleging the law would “stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBTQ people in Florida’s public schools.”
“The reason something like the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law seems like nothing but is actually everything is that when you cannot talk about or share who you are, there is a constant subconscious affirmation that you are not valid, that you should not exist,” Moricz said.
This fight against the legislation is personal for Moricz, explaining it was because of his school’s support system that enabled him to become confident about his sexuality.
“I would not be fighting for these things, I would not be standing up for these causes in the way that I am, if I had not been able to do so at school first. I think in the same way that school is where you learn so many important things about life, you also learn about yourself, and that looks different for LGBTQ kids.”
But there has been a price Moricz has had to pay for his activism. He has been harassed online and has received in-person and online death threats from strangers. He even said strangers have come, unannounced, to his parents’ offices looking for him.
“I do not feel safe operating as an individual on a day-to-day basis in my county. Pineview as a student community has been incredible for me. Sarasota as a community has been something I’ve had to endure.”
But I doubt this will be the last we hear from Zander Moricz. This fall he will begin his government studies at Harvard.
The world could use more chutzpah like that of Zander Moricz.
Glenn Kirschner: BOMBSHELL AFTER BOMBSHELL! Justice Will Come for Bannon, Meadows & Donald Trump! (not his show, but some juicy stuff in a less formal tone. Remember in Rocky Mountain Mike’s parody on “My Life” (called “Big Lie”), he said his friend who used to be “real gross” now “listens to Stephanie’s show from LA”? Well, this Stepahie is THAT Stephanie (often has Glenn and John Fugelsang as guests too.)
Meidas Touch – Eric Swalwell SHREDS Republicans in SPEECH OF THE YEAR over inaction after Uvalde
Meidas Touch – Texas Paul REACTS to Top Republican whining that Republicans Can’t Lie to the FBI
The Lincoln Project – Pat [sic] Attention
MSNBC – Cuffed: Trump Aide Navarro’s Arrest Puts Heat On Coup Plot After MSNBC Confession
MSNBC – Chris Hayes And Ari Melber Discuss Peter Navarro Indictment (yes, two from MSNBC – they are related
Ring of Fire – Conservative Writer Says Base Is Getting ‘Bored’ With Trump
Beau – Let’s talk about teachers, cats, and gas stations…. (possible hanky alert)
Yesterday, for reasons I won’t go into, I was late for my visit with Virgil. That is more annoying at this faco;ity than at prior facilities I’ve visited, because of the shuttle bus system. I ca arrive at the facility any time, but I can only get on the bus when it is scheduled. o I was late, arriving at the visiting room about 12:30, and he was also late, having gone to lunch. So the visit was shorter than usual, but still a good one. I’m just as tired as if I had been thre all day – maybe more so – so I’ll probably rest today as much as I can.
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The New Torker (Andy) – Biden and Zelensky Reach Agreement to Send Americans’ Four Hundred Million Guns to Ukraine
Quote – In a move that could tip the scales in the war against Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have reached an agreement to ship Americans’ four hundred million firearms to Ukraine. “The Second Amendment calls for a well-regulated militia necessary to secure a free state,” Biden said. “I can’t think of a better description of what’s going on in Ukraine right now.” Click through for full humor. This is Andy’s best idea since sending Abbott to Russia to take down Russia’s power grid. In fact, it may be even better!
Republicans somehow missed this:
After Trump Republicans ran up the biggest deficits and debts ever over his four years, last month saw the biggest budget SURPLUS in US history. The biggest budget surplus ever🧐 https://t.co/FcbFZ2BdKH
Click through if you like – I’d say the tweet stands alone (Also, all tweets I have quoted today are linked to Twitter, both at my source, and here. Click on the blue bird.)
