Freedoms Under Trump and the Republicans

ALL TOP OF THE HIERARCHY GROUPS OF COURSE

 

Some People Will Go to Amazing Lengths to Intimidate Strong Women - Including Women in the WNBA

Intimidate women who are athletes. Throwing out sex toys is certainly a sick way to try to do that. In a patriarchy with men trying to keep women down, making women sex objects is a tried and true way. 

 

“The safety of everyone in our arenas remains a top priority," a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement. "We are working closely with local and federal law enforcement to pursue all appropriate actions — including arrest and prosecution with felony charges where applicable — against anyone engaged in this conduct or otherwise involved in sponsoring this reckless and unacceptable behavior.”

Hope all the kooks get the book thrown at them.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2025/08/08/wnba-issues-statement-about-arena-safety-sex-toy/85584015007/

Gender Apartheid Considered in Discussions Among United Nations Member States

United Nations member States are formulating their positions on a proposed treaty to to prevent and punish crimes against humanity, with consideration  of making gender apartheid a crime within this treaty. 

Gender apartheid is being included in the discussions in a time when we are in the midst of a destructive global backlash against women’s rights, as a growing number of places are working openly to weaken women’s rights protections.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/07/14/gender-apartheid-should-be-an-international-crime

Red States Rank High for Worst Quality of Life

Each year, CNBC’s annual rankings of state business climates — America's Top States for Business — considers Quality of Life among ten categories of competitiveness.

For 2025, states ranking as the worst for quality of life were all red states.

Led by Tennessee, other states were Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Utah, and Texas. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/14/americas-worst-places-quality-of-life-top-states-for-business.html

Episcopal Church Refuses to Help Settle "Refugees" from South Africa

 In a country with a huge disparity between the wealth of whites and blacks, South African native Elon Musk has stepped in set up a program to allow white people from South Africa to come to the United States as "refugees."

Kudos to the Episcopal Church for refusing to resettle white Afrikaners, saying they are morally opposed. 

The Episcopal Church is part of the global Anglican Communion, that includes the leadership of the late Desmond Tutu, a celebrated and vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa. 

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/12/g-s1-65988/episcopal-church-white-afrikaners-ends-partnership-u-s-government?utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwY2xjawKPtHZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFoS2ttY1dRNzZKTmdWMnI3AR7APYbDYpiRu7e84ieAaaEWNFmRs1hQOWtZrsZiQzQOGTbVCFPRK0JamXYXfQ_aem_ore-MadLWnvfE7FzpczWgQ

Chicago Cubs Reject Sponsorship of Tesla

The Chicago Cubs have told Musk and Tesla that advertizing all over historic Wrigley Field is not in the best interest of their team. 

According to insiders, Tesla had offered a high seven-figure deal to place prominent advertising in and around Wrigley Field, including digital signage, scoreboard features, and sponsored EV parking zones. However, the Cubs declined — and made it clear that this wasn’t just business, but a values-based decision.

https://tintinhthanh.online/posts/holy-shit-chicago-cubs-reject-elon-musks-tesla-ad-at-wrigley-field-cubs-give-elon-musk-a-very-good-reason-for-rejection-t-tienbip.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawKM3ZRleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFTUXQ1WWxVcThjV0puZlc5AR6DSZS_R7hPe2OasFDPo2TijYWmaw5fCvn3vALgviIVc8S1gx3Mns7FpCbdIQ_aem_b7d_6TKtu54ibCiWWQn7OA

Clemson Graduation - Why Diversity is Wonderful!!

Grace Clements, the youngest daughter of Clemson President Jim Clements, graduated alongside eight other students from the ClemsonLIFE program for people with intellectual disabilities.

No dry eyes in the arena. This is terrific.

https://www.whiskeyriff.com/2025/05/09/clemson-universitys-president-daughter-go-viral-with-tear-jerking-graduation-moment/

Trump's Kennedy Center Cancels Pride Events

Trump and his hierarchical followers have shown their true colors again.

Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a week’s worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer’s World Pride festival in Washington, D.C., amid a shift in priorities and the ousting of leadership at one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions.

Events have been quietly canceled or moved to other venues. And in the wake of the cancellations, Washington’s Capital Pride Alliance has disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/26/politics/kennedy-center-lgbtq-pride-events-canceled-hnk/index.html?Date=20250426&Profile=CNN&utm_content=1745659055&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawJ6iJZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFRbGdBekt0U3dvTWxGQURkAR5VQHaOne4inBu1TFm2U8pLO6qTJWcSG6Qq55gCh89TJYxw_0or4Nv0ijnW6g_aem_qSdd_bdMYaIxamZN7E7xiQ

Natalism: Failure if Men Don't Step Up

According to Michelle Goldburg in an article in the New York Times,  if "Trump really wanted to arrest the decline in America’s fertility rate — which reached a historic low of 1.62 births per woman in 2023 — the best thing he could do is resign in concert with his entire administration. The crude chauvinism his presidency represents is a major impediment to the creation of healthy families."

"The administration is led by an old-fashioned sexist who has bragged that he has never changed a diaper. “I’ll supply funds, and she’ll take care of the kids,” Trump once boasted to a radio host. Elon Musk has taken this notion to grotesque lengths; a Wall Street Journal expose describes him hitting up women on the internet to incubate the legion of children he hopes to breed in advance of a coming apocalypse. While he has 14 known children, The Journal reports, the real number could be much higher."

"It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that in one 2022 survey, a majority of young women said they probably wouldn’t date a Trump supporter. The most recent season of the reality show “Love Is Blind” dramatized this political mismatch, with two progressive women ditching their fiancés over their politics. Growing alienation between the sexes will naturally make it harder for them to pair up and have kids."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/opinion/trump-fertility-birthrate-sexism.html

Men Meet to Stroll with Their Babies and Form Community

Yes, the times have changed when it was a woman's job to almost 100% care for her children. 

The Brooklyn Stroll Club in NYC is a walking club made up of fathers who want to connect with other men.

“Moms have been holding it down for so long and are so great at building community,” Joe Gonzales said. “I didn’t have a lot of dad friends in New York, and I really wanted to connect with people who were going through a similar experience,” he added. Mr. Gonzales is a senior producer at a creative agency and first-time father to a 10-month-old son named Sol.

“To be in a community with other men who are trying to figure out how to be really good dads and break cycles that have been repeated for years — it’s really important,” Rene Jimenez said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/style/brooklyn-stroll-club-fathers-new-york.html

Republicans Undermine Rights for People with Disabilities

Sign language interpreters have been noticeably absent from Trump administration press briefings. Gone, too, are the American Sign Language interpretations that used to appear on the White House’s YouTube channel. 

A White House webpage on accessibility has also ceased working.

The Trump administration has taken a slew of actions that harm those with impairments or chronic health conditions. Decades of hard-fought gains risk being undone by cuts to federal programs, freezes on research funding, and a White House ban on practices that support diversity.

GOP budget measures would likely lead to billions of dollars in cuts from Medicaid, a federal-state health program for people with disabilities and low incomes.

Republicans who insist that top-of-the-hierarchy white, able-bodied, straight, Christian males are the only ones who count are trying to destroy our diversity. Damage our lives, yes, but unless they destroy us all, we aren't going away. 

https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2025/04/10/trumps-dei-undoing-undermines-hard-won-accommodations-for-people-with-disabilities/31405/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJmeYNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHv-eHuvtqOZs-S5Nn8P34smmwOOYQP5EKzRp_kAMJhsH4Gm9ZByBOxdB_5z5_aem_HqBe6T_Yrxxz-0jI5pGMBA

University of Michigan/Flint Renames DEI Programs

The University of Michigan/Flint's office of DEI is now been renamed to HOPE - the Wolverine Hub of Opportunity, Persistence, and Excellence.

The university has spent $250 million on their trailblazer DEI strategies, but because of threats from Donald Trump to roll back funding, the DEI strategy has been terminated. 

They do not anticipate any staff changes, but some positions may be retitled.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/college-that-s-spent-250m-on-dei-is-using-new-word-to-evade-trump-ban/ar-AA1BRZfS?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=e501adff46de4e95f0ff2759195964a5&e&fbclid=IwY2xjawJVKExleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYg82ZLhvw-Nciitcy1l07nHc308U-NWU5h2CEROHf-5mOzwuZEwUuvn1g_aem_O3M7CqXcazZteKXDU7d9tg

Female Trans Actor's Renewed Passport Says Male

The renewed passport of prominent transgender actor Hunter Schafer, 26, listed her gender as male following Trump's policy that the U.S. will only "recognize two sexes, male and female."

The gender markers on her government-issued IDs have been female since she was a teenager.

She added that she is worried about traveling out of the country in the next week and having to "out myself to Border Patrol" and for other trans people in similar situations.

People on the top of hierarchies, in this case Republicans, think that everyone wants or needs to be like them.

https://local12.com/news/nation-world/trans-actor-hunter-schafer-euphoria-hunger-games-criticizes-president-donald-trump-policy-after-passport-lists-her-as-male-executive-order-two-sexes-government-issued-ids-gender-markers?fbclid=IwY2xjawIoooFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZP6dppbPKzLdEZjIxQtmICZnk2b9SNiq771rBEkm5rdCA7sDWNqiLA3nA_aem_cjNcUBFVjPIB2BfHdJjn8g#?-cincinnati

Wondering What You Can Do?

The White Pages offers a list of 30 actions a person can take, alone, to get involved in our turbulent times. If any of them seem pertinent, they could be an idea for even a little bit of change or resistance.  

https://thewhitepages.net/p/thirty-lonely-but-beautiful-actions?fbclid=IwY2xjawIehMJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcKXslxzdGhKOnlNPCIyVZGGdXu6KWlaq_7nJtauu-liS2WOEk2K2Hs2ZQ_aem_mr5fG

NAACP Encourages Blacks to Shop Companies Who Still Have DEI Initiatives

The NAACP is encouraging Black Americans to use their buying power towards companies that haven’t pulled back from DEI initiatives. The NAACP says the spending guide it published today is needed because DEI initiatives promote the social and economic advancement of Black Americans.

“Diversity is better for the bottom line,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in an exclusive announcement to The Associated Press. “In a global economy, those who reject the multicultural nature of consumerism and business will be left in the past they are living in.”

https://apnews.com/article/black-consumers-dei-buying-guide-naacp-34664d8af92e2dc1ba787a498348b7a4

ACLU Summarizes Trump's War on Human Rights

The ACLU has summarized actions by President Donald Trump which has launched the most systemic and aggressive assault on human rights in U.S. presidential history.

Already, his administration has disengaged with the United Nations Human Rights Council — even though the U.S. is not a current member - defunded a UN refugee agency the U.S. long supported, ordered sanctions against the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, ordered to review ratified U.S. treaties that are the law of the land, and threatened to commit ethnic cleansing  in Gaza.

Learn more at this link.

https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/the-targeted-chaos-of-trumps-attacks-against-international-human-rights-law-and-justice

Two Female Gold Medal Ice Skating Champions to Perform as a Pair

Retired Olympic champions Madison Hubbell and Gabriella Papadakis plan to skate together at events in a bid to help pave the way for same-sex pairs to compete officially. 

France's Papadakis won gold in ice dancing while American Hubbell won in the team event, both in Beijing. 

The two women will perform together during the Art on Ice Gala in several cities in Switzerland this month, and hope to help break down a gender stereotype in the sport.

"I see a lot of young women who want to pursue ice dance in a certain way and there's not that many young boys or men who are competing, so there's a limit to how many people right now are participating," Hubbell told Reuters on Wednesday after her rehearsal with Papadakis in Zurich.

In October 2022, Skate Canada became the sport's first governing body to allow same-gender pairs to compete at the national level.

https://www.reuters.com/sports/papadakis-hubbell-skate-together-promote-same-sex-pairs-competition-2025-02-06/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&fbclid=IwY2xjawIXaV1leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHRkcasLhM7VZj1KdfoGZ9Chp76XLBmcKBJ6Brj1PNdY8It_oZuLEPmjfpA_aem_RElWRNRaDh2aig4Xh7yE4A

Portland Trailblazers Launch Technology for Visual Impaired Fans to Follow Games

The Portland Trail Blazers, an NBA team in Oregon, have become the first professional sports team to offer haptic display technology at every home game, providing blind and low vision fans a way to experience basketball through touch.

The technology, developed by Seattle-based startup OneCourt, translates live gameplay into trackable vibrations that fans can follow with their fingertips. The service is available at no additional cost at the Moda Center where the Trail Blazers play home games

The team will make five devices available for the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA regular season on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans can check out devices from Guest Services stands at three arena locations after making reservations via email..

"This success highlights what's possible when innovation meets inclusivity," the CEO of the founding company OneCourt. 

However, we wonder if the device will eventually be outlawed by Trump's DEI decrees, as it is made to promote inclusion.

https://www.kgw.com/article/life/trail-blazers-haptic-display-technology-blind-low-vision-fans/283-983035d8-1aa1-46f2-a80e-8fe8998754ed

Perhaps One Way to Get Men to Take Responsibility for a Pregnancy

Mississippi state Sen. Bradford Blackmon referred to the high number of state legislative bills introduced in recent years that target women's access to reproductive health care, specifically abortion and contraception, when he proposed fines for men having sex but not intending to result in a pregnancy.

He introduced a bill this week that would seemingly ban men from masturbating or engaging in other sexual acts when they have no "intent to fertilize an embryo."

With conservatives passing legislation to try to force women into being "barefoot and pregnant," this bill could make sense. After all, men are 50% cause of pregnancies. But, as usual, conservative hierarchy builders targeting women want little or no accountability for the actions of the top, in this case, men and boys. Women and girls are much easier to control if they must care for the children from unwanted pregnancies forced to term.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna188938

Trump As a Threat to Human Rights

Tirana Hassan, the Executive Director of the New York-based independent rights group Human Rights Watch said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House next week threatens freedoms at home and abroad. 

"The Trump administration's first term showed us what they're capable of and particularly showed their lack of commitment to human rights," Hassan told Reuters ahead of the annual report launch."

While the rise of concentrated power is occurring in some parts of the world, in places such as South Korea, people have stood up where there is an all-out assault on human rights, according to Hassan. 

We can hope that Republican attempts to curtail human rights in the United States will see the same resistance.

https://www.reuters.com/world/human-rights-watch-chief-says-trumps-return-threatens-freedoms-2025-01-16/

Costco Faces Possible MAGA Boycott for Not Favoring WHACCHUMs

Costco's board of directors rejected requests to remove its DEI program, which shareholders described as "illegal discrimination," prompting backlash from members of the MAGA movement.

The board of Costco said, "Our efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion follow our code of ethics."

The defense was met with anger from many Trump supporters, with some calling for a boycott on social media.

These MAGA types want to return to the 1950's when hierarchies were stronger, and white heterosexual able-bodied cis-gender Christian hierarchy-building US-born males enjoyed the privilege that their hierarchies granted them over everyone else.

https://www.newsweek.com/costco-faces-maga-boycott-2007942?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1tRfLW2GY14NW1DpEYC3zD3EzyPNFKR-mvrDJ6qduqiQSTLsAZpx7wnns_aem_W7JDvWYcxtTpk-NrBiCzyg