* Amanda Zurawski is one of five women suing the state of Texas for denying abortions after medical complications…
* Alabama..
People often ask Dr. Leah Torres why she stays in Alabama.
The 43-year-old OB-GYN — who strides into her clinic most mornings wearing a clitoris pendant and T-shirts with slogans that declare “ABORT THE PATRIARCHY” — does not consider this conservative Deep South state her home. […]
The center was one of the busiest abortion clinics in the state, until the Supreme Court struck down Roe vs. Wade last year. Abortion became illegal in Alabama, one of over a dozen states with full bans. Now that doctors who perform the procedure in Alabama risk up to 99 years in prison, Torres finds herself, once again, unable to offer the full spectrum of reproductive medical care she was trained for.
But Torres has no intention of backing down.
“You don’t want me here? That’s why I’m gonna stay,” she said, sitting at a desk strewn with laboratory invoices and a tiny fetus replica handed out by antiabortion campaigners. “I’m not leaving, just out of spite!”
* Missouri…
When Hollis Moore was looking for their next teaching position four years ago, they read news articles and tried to look for signs that a school district would be supportive of their identity. […]
Expectations for how Moore could describe themself changed again in February of this year. Moore said an administrator read them a new directive.
“I was not to say that I was nonbinary, I was not to say that I was not a boy or a girl, I was not to talk about ‘genderless lifestyles,’ because these things would be considered sex education, and sex education was something governed by Missouri laws,” Moore recalled.
Also in February, a second openly trans employee heard about the same policy. Delilah Wylde said she was told she could not discuss her identity two days into her new job as a guidance counseling substitute.
“They read some very offensive policy on how they considered my gender identity to be sexual education, which I obviously was not happy about, because they have essentially sexualized my identity,” Wylde said. “And that’s a very dangerous place to be in as an educator because you’re working with kids.”
* The Lieutenant Governor of Texas…
* Moving to Wisconsin…
Last summer, administrators at Bradford High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, met as they do every year to plan for the incoming class of ninth graders. From a roster of hundreds of middle schoolers, Assistant Principal Matt Brown and his staff made a list of 30 to 40 students who they suspected might struggle the most to graduate. […]
But in most cases, the students on Bradford’s list for summer visits land there because of a label — “high risk”— assigned to them by a racially inequitable algorithm built by the state of Wisconsin, one that frequently raises false alarms.
Since 2012, Wisconsin school administrators like Brown have received their first impression of new students from the Dropout Early Warning System, an ensemble of machine learning algorithms that use historical data — such as students’ test scores, disciplinary records, free or reduced-price lunch status, and race — to predict how likely each sixth through ninth grader in the state is to graduate from high school on time. […]
An internal Department of Public Instruction equity analysis conducted in 2021 found that DEWS generated false alarms about Black and Hispanic students not graduating on time at a significantly greater rate than it did for their white classmates. The algorithm’s false alarm rate — how frequently a student it predicted wouldn’t graduate on time actually did graduate on time — was 42 percentage points higher for Black students than white students, according to a DPI presentation summarizing the analysis, which The Markup obtained through a public records request. The false alarm rate was 18 percentage points higher for Hispanic students than white students.
* Kansas via the AP…
Republican legislators in Kansas enacted what may be the most sweeping transgender bathroom law in the U.S. on Thursday, overriding the Democratic governor’s veto of the measure without having a clear idea of how their new law will be enforced.
The vote in the House was 84-40, giving supporters exactly the two-thirds majority they needed to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s action. The vote in the Senate on Wednesday was 28-12, and the new law will take effect July 1. […]
“When I go out in public, like I’m at a restaurant or up on campus or whatever, and I need to go to the bathroom, there’s definitely going to be a voice in my head that says, ‘“Am I going to get harassed for that?’” said Jenna Bellemere, a 20-year-old transgender University of Kansas student. “It just makes it so much more complicated and risky and unnecessarily difficult.”
Republican legislators argued that they’re responding to people’s concerns about transgender women sharing bathrooms, locker rooms and other spaces with cisgender women and girls. They repeatedly promised that the bill would prevent that.
* Kansas…
Under new law, Uber drivers for undocumented people could potentially be guilty of human smuggling, one of many concerns raised about a broad bill enacted by the Legislature.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2350 Thursday, despite objections from Latino and Black Democrats who fear the legislation could punish anyone who helps an immigrant. The bill is one of several vetoed bills successfully passed into law by the Legislature.
Supporters of the bill say it will crack down on human smuggling, but several lawmakers have said the law’s wording is too ambiguous. It defines human smuggling as intentionally transporting, harboring or concealing someone known to be in the U.S. illegally while benefiting from the transaction and knowing the individual is likely to be exploited for financial gain.
In these cases, Kansas courts would have to decide whether the person being smuggled is in the country illegally, a decision usually left to federal immigration courts and one that the Kansas justice system may not be equipped to handle.
* What would this post be without Florida?…
Florida Republicans are on the verge of passing new restrictions on groups that register voters, a move voting rights groups and experts say will make it harder for non-white Floridians to get on the rolls.
The restrictions are part of a sweeping 96-page election bill the legislature is likely to send to Governor Ron DeSantis’s desk soon. The measure increases fines for third-party voter registration groups. It also shortens the amount of time the groups have to turn in any voter registration applications they collect from 14 days to 10. The bill makes it illegal for non-citizens and people convicted of certain felonies to “collect or handle” voter registration applications on behalf of third-party groups. Groups would also have to give each voter they register a receipt and be required to register themselves with the state ahead of each general election cycle. Under current law, they only have to register once and their registration remains effective indefinitely.
Groups can now be fined $50,000 for each ineligible person they hire to do voter canvassing. They can also be fined $50 a day, up to $2,500, for each day late they turn in a voter registration form.
Those restrictions are more likely to affect non-white Floridians. About one in 10 Black and Hispanic Floridians registered to vote using a third-party group, according to Daniel Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida who closely studies voting rights. Non-white voters are five times more likely to register with a third-party group in the state than their white counterparts, “a fact likely not lost on those pushing the legislation”, Smith said.
* Florida…
Florida officials are threatening to revoke the teaching license of a school superintendent who criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis, accusing the educator of violating several statutes and DeSantis directives and allowing his “personal political views” to guide his leadership.
Such a revocation by the state Department of Education could allow DeSantis to remove Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna from his elected office. The Republican governor did that last year to an elected Democratic prosecutor in the Tampa Bay area who disagreed with his positions limiting abortion and medical care for transgender teens and indicated he might not enforce new laws in those areas. […]
Hanna has publicly opposed that law, once defied the governor’s order that barred any mandate that students wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and criticized a DeSantis-backed bill that recently passed that will pay for students to attend private school. The Leon County district, with about 30,000 students, covers Tallahassee, the state capital, and its suburbs.
“It’s a sad day for democracy in Florida, and the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, when a state agency with unlimited power and resources, can target a local elected official in such a biased fashion,” Hanna said in a statement sent to The Associated Press and other media Thursday. A Democrat then running as an independent, Hanna was elected to a second four-year term in 2020 with 60% of the vote. He plans to run for reelection next year and does not need a teacher’s license to hold the job.
* DeSantis vs public record laws…
One bill advancing through the Republican-controlled state legislature would conceal information about DeSantis’ travel and who he has met with at the governor’s mansion. Another would allow state political committees – like the one where DeSantis has stashed $85 million for his future political ambitions – to report their fundraising activity less frequently.
Separately, DeSantis in court cases has lately claimed “executive privilege” to block the release of records and to keep staff from testifying – a power typically reserved for presidents and which none of his predecessors had previously asserted is entrusted to the state’s governor. If realized, it would give DeSantis tremendous new discretion to keep information about his administration from the public.
Democrats contend Republicans here are trying to protect DeSantis from news stories and opposition research that could reflect negatively on the governor as he nears a run for president in 2024. First Amendment advocates in the state warn these efforts will have a far-reaching effect on Floridians’ access to their leaders long after DeSantis’ turn in the national limelight. […]
News organizations have sued his administration to obtain records that past governors regularly released upon request. Last year, a judge found DeSantis violated the state’s open records laws by failing to turn over documents related to the flights his administration arranged for migrants to fly from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard.
- The Truth - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 12:57 pm:
I gotta feeling that Dan Patrick isn’t gonna be psyched for ALL Texans to be expressing their sincerely held religious beliefs in the classroom.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:05 pm:
So, the people who scream that their opponents don’t follow the Constitution are the ones blatantly violating it by forcing the 10 Commandments into public schools. And they go on with their gaslighting about freedom. Hopefully the Satanists have a good response and put their symbol in public schools—and other religions can put in their symbols or scriptures as well.
- cermak_rd - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:08 pm:
Which 10 Commandments set? Last I checked they were grouped differently by different adherents. Also which prayer? What consensus method are you going to come up with that makes everyone happy and does not result on fist fights or TikTok outbursts? I am looking forward to the tidal wave of cynicism toward religion that this brings forth.
- Harvey - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:11 pm:
You ever going to do an Opposite Land about states with growing populations, low taxes, regular budget surpluses, manageable long term liabilities, low crime rates, no need for monthly corruption arrests, and high surveyed satisfaction with quality of life? Or nah?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:26 pm:
Harvey, which states would you like to see a focus on? Maybe that would help me understand your complaint, since you’re a first-time commenter whose IP address is listed as out of state.
- Sir Reel - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:26 pm:
I wish all these anti abortion fanatics would invest some of their energy in adopting unwanted kids who need homes, especially older kids, kids with behavior issues, special needs kids. I bet the vast majority of them haven’t. They just expect/assume the parents, usually just the mothers, to take care of the lifetime challenges. As someone who has adopted and raised (and still responsible for) a special needs child, I only respect anti abortion folks who have actually taken responsibility for unwanted kids. The rest aren’t worth my time.
- Chicago Blue - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:26 pm:
@ Harvey, IL has a lower crime rate than every state mentioned except Wisconsin. Let’s also look up education metrics, poverty rates, health insurance rates, wages, average life span, etc…
- OneMan - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:32 pm:
== It defines human smuggling as intentionally transporting, harboring or concealing someone known to be in the U.S. illegally while benefiting from the transaction and knowing the individual is likely to be exploited for financial gain. ==
Have a family member in health care in Kansas, wonder if they need to confirm status before providing care for burns (their burn unit covers several states) since they are paid to provide care, is that ‘benefiting’?
- Occasional Quipper - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:33 pm:
== Those restrictions are more likely to affect non-white Floridians. About one in 10 Black and Hispanic Floridians registered to vote using a third-party group, according to Daniel Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida who closely studies voting rights. Non-white voters are five times more likely to register with a third-party group in the state than their white counterparts, “a fact likely not lost on those pushing the legislation”, Smith said.==
Why is it that any efforts to tighten down the voting process and the voter registration process are automatically deemed to be racist? Isn’t it in fact equally racist to claim that certain groups need to have a more lax voting system in order to be able to vote? For example, the claim that members of certain groups are less likely to have a state-issued ID, when the have to have such an ID for just about everything else they need to do in that state that requires identification.
- Jocko - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:35 pm:
==all Texans have the right to freely express their sincerely held religious beliefs.==
Provided they align with mine.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:38 pm:
Rich, does that Florida bill allow Governor DeSantis to conceal his true IP address too?
- Arsenal - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:41 pm:
==You ever going to do an Opposite Land about states with growing populations, low taxes, regular budget surpluses, manageable long term liabilities, low crime rates, no need for monthly corruption arrests, and high surveyed satisfaction with quality of life?==
Half of those things would not be the opposite of Illinois.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:41 pm:
Name some states then Harvey.
Spoiler alert: Those states will all those qualifications you list do not exist.
- bored now - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:44 pm:
the federal pac i work for registers voters in florida by canvassing with tablets using the sec of state website to do so for that very reason. strangely, when we explain to voters why we do this they express disgust at florida’s incredibly oppressive laws…
- Occasional Quipper - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:47 pm:
== “They read some very offensive policy on how they considered my gender identity to be sexual education, which I obviously was not happy about, because they have essentially sexualized my identity,” Wylde said. ==
No, the school didn’t sexualize your identity. You did that yourself when you decided to “make a statement” and advertise your unique lifestyle instead of just doing your job to teach the subjects you were hired to teach.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:49 pm:
===advertise your unique lifestyle===
Advertise? How?
- Michelle Flaherty - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:51 pm:
Is Dr. Torres single? Because I think I’m in love.
- Medvale School for the Gifted - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:52 pm:
I wonder what it is like to live in a state with a vengeful governor who berates you, passes laws to hurt you and will generally tries to stomp on you just for looking cross-eyed at him.
It’s like a third world country-lite.
- Occasional Quipper - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:52 pm:
Even as a conservative, I do agree that the 10 Commandments don’t belong in the classroom. There’s no question that’s a violation of the separation of church and state.
- Occasional Quipper - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:56 pm:
== Advertise? How? ==
Somehow she made it known to the school that she intended to practice trans activism with her young students in order for them to react the way they did.
- Norseman - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:56 pm:
MAGA GOP crying bogeytransman and bogeytranswoman. These folks must think their constituents are a bunch of bathroom snowflakes.
The only thing I’m concerned about when I go to bathroom is the wait time to get to the first open fixture.
- TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 1:57 pm:
–Hopefully the Satanists have a good response–
They no doubt will.
Which will play right into the playbook of ‘project Blitz’. The religious types will then be able to react by saying how ‘persecuted’ they are(because other religions exist) and use it to justify even stronger pushing of their specific religion into the public space. They *want* the reaction. That’s one of the main points of what they are doing in stage 2 of their outlined plan.
Go ahead, look up project Blitz. It was accidentally leaked in a doc dump from the congressional prayer caucus a few years ago - 2017. Everything, and I mean everything, happening today was laid out in their published plans 6 years ago. Including the LGBTQIA stuff. Their end goal is… less than great.
- Appears - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:03 pm:
The Lt. Gov of Texas appears to be fighting for his religious beliefs only. Everyone else need not apply.
- Astronax - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:15 pm:
How painful do you think it is to be a Republican operative/consultant/staffer and be forced to ignore every piece of polling that says “This is a bad idea. This will make it harder to get elected”?
Do they have special cushions for their desks so they don’t hurt themselves when they pound their heads into them?
- Occasional Quipper - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:17 pm:
== The algorithm’s false alarm rate — how frequently a student it predicted wouldn’t graduate on time actually did graduate on time — was 42 percentage points higher for Black students than white students, according to a DPI presentation summarizing the analysis, which The Markup obtained through a public records request. The false alarm rate was 18 percentage points higher for Hispanic students than white students. ==
Was this information being used by the schools to make extra efforts to help ensure that these kids actually do graduate? If so, doesn’t the fact that they did actually graduate and the prediction was wrong mean the program was successful?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:19 pm:
===Somehow she made it known ===
You got a link to that because I don’t see it?
- Honeybear - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:19 pm:
So I wonder what is going to happen when a transgender woman follows the law and goes into a men’s bathroom and is assaulted there? Will the law protect the transgendered woman or the assailants?
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:28 pm:
===Why is it that any efforts to tighten down the voting process and the voter registration process are automatically deemed to be racist?===
Voter suppression for whites is a thing?
If true that’d be one interesting turn of events.
The phony Christians that first complain about the Ten Commandments need to fundamentally realize, even Fundamentalists, that being Christian and being an American is not something that “must be both”
That’s no better than any cult, it’s also no better than any group or country that these phonies want others “sent back to” even when they are born here… free
- JoanP - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:31 pm:
= Advertise? How? =
By existing?
- Near West Side - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:38 pm:
Illinois. She’s not perfect, but I would rather live here than in Opposite Land.
- Publius - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:39 pm:
Guess the Lt. Governor of Texas is trying to be a modern day Theodosius I. Last of the Roman Emperors across both realms.
https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/theodosius-issued-an-edict-11629680.html
- TinyDancer(FKASue) - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:47 pm:
=Florida officials are threatening to revoke the teaching license of a school superintendent who criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis…allowing his “personal political views” to guide his leadership.=
Yeah. What’s a matter you?
Don’tcha know? Only DeSantis is allowed to do that.
- Demoralized - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:50 pm:
==is one step we can take to make sure that all Texans have the right to freely express their sincerely held religious beliefs.==
I wonder if he feels that way about Muslims doing this in school? Bet not.
- Leap Day William - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:53 pm:
== Harvey, which states would you like to see a focus on? Maybe that would help me understand your complaint, since you’re a first-time commenter whose IP address is listed as out of state. ==
Insert mic_drop.gif here.
- Demoralized - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:56 pm:
==Florida Republicans are on the verge of passing new restrictions on groups that register voters==
Republicans really have cemented themselves as a party who despises democracy. That truly is opposite land.
- Jerry - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 2:57 pm:
Message to Dan Patrick: the “10 commandments” are part of the “xtian lifestyle choice” and nothing to do with religious freedom or whatever the Big Government Nanny State Republicans call it today.
- Occasional Quipper - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:00 pm:
https://www.kcur.org/education/2023-04-28/3-trans-educators-say-they-were-discriminated-against-and-forced-out-of-missouri-school-district?fbclid=IwAR3BtWxvlmIlbqXARH_bbmU_d8nchYISI7xJTrZEsMSphAIgYE2mUaXt_PU
The first 4 words of the article begins with “Three openly transgender educators…” The adjective openly means the person makes it a point to let others know about their lifestyle choice. Should she have to hide that fact that she’s transgender? Generally, no, of course not. It’s her life. But when she’s being hired by a school district to teach very young children in a manner that’s not confusing to them based on what they know about the world at their age, she needs to do what the school asks her to do if she wants to work there. If she wants to practice activism as part of her job, she should become a college professor, where it’s expected, and not be a grade school teacher.
- Jerry - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:06 pm:
= No, the school didn’t sexualize your identity. You did that yourself when you decided to “make a statement” and advertise your unique lifestyle instead of just doing your job to teach the subjects you were hired to teach. =
Heterosexuals sexualize their identity and engage in Activism when those people display pictures of their “partners”.
Like you said they should just stick to the subjects they were hired to teach and not push their “Lifestyle Choice” on children (or co-workers).
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:11 pm:
===If she wants to practice activism===
By being what they are?
I still don’t get what you’re saying here. I have a beard, for instance. Am I advertising the fact that I have a beard because I have a beard? Am I committing beard activism because I have a beard?
- Amalia - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:28 pm:
I’ve listened to lots of Amanda Zurawski. it’s too bad her U.S. Senators don’t have the guts to listen. her story is a very painful lesson of what the healthcare needs of women involve. It’s terrifying, paralyzing, a lesson for every public official making policy involving women. Let women work with their doctors to make decisions about their body. Women, breathing living humans, yes, they are more valuable. Yes, more valuable. Value them.
- Jerry - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:29 pm:
Yes, Rich you’re a Beard Activist. I just threw out my razor and shaving cream because of you.
- Dotnonymous - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:34 pm:
I’m tall and advertise it ..by standing?
- Occasional Quipper - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:39 pm:
== Am I committing beard activism because I have a beard? ==
If you decide to start working for an organization that bans bears (such as the military, or a provider of food service), then you’re expected to abide by their rules. They’re not saying you can’t have a beard. They’re saying if you want to work here, you can’t have a beard. So how were these teachers practicing activism? One of the teachers in that article wanted to specifically tell their kids they were nonbinary and what that meant. There is no reason for a teacher to announce their gender in order to do their job. None of my teachers ever did that.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:52 pm:
===None of my teachers ever did that. ===
None of your teachers ever referred to their gender? Ever?
None of them ever once required you to call them Mister?
- JoanP - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:53 pm:
It is worth noting that when Amanda Zurawski testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, neither of her senators (Cruz and Cormyn), both of whom are members of the committee, bothered to show up for her testimony.
Cowards.
- Norseman - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:53 pm:
=== Why is it that any efforts to tighten down the voting process and the voter registration process are automatically deemed to be racist? ===
It’s racism when the tightening is predicated on lies, not data, and mainly affects voters in minority majority areas. Otherwise known as Jim Crow.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 28, 23 @ 3:55 pm:
- Occasional Quipper -
Are you actually comparing the workplace of the military to education?
You may not realize it, but yikes, you really gave some serious insight to the warped there.
Whew.