People in the US are Moving to Areas More Like Themselves

According to NPR, people on both sides of the political spectrum - those who strongly support hierarchies (red and Republican) and those who mostly want hierarchies to lessen (blue and Democrat) are self-selecting in some cases. 

America is growing more geographically polarized — red ZIP codes are getting redder and blue ZIP codes are becoming bluer. People appear to be sorting.

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/1081295373/the-big-sort-americans-move-to-areas-political-alignment?fbclid=IwAR2WNCDhwgKP4cT2NNz1o9OI9RZNXvdYZJDIA5nVB04UHy4kJfyTcoHT1JU

Stever and Rob Anderson-McLean Adopt Six Siblings from Foster Care

 Even though this is not a new story, it is still one that proves that every sexual orientation is just as valuable as any other.

This story is about gay fathers who adopt 6 siblings who had been in foster care for 4 years, so that the kids could remain together. 

https://scoop.upworthy.com/gay-dads-adopt-6-siblings-to-ensure-they-remain-together-after-they-spent-4-yrs-in-foster-care?fbclid=IwAR0jL9N21R8COdRYZo6laHtkXBlm4hudZR13HrfjHALXUP_aAzIA2UeRkIc

USA's Brittany Bowe - Only Openly LGBTQ+ Athlete to Carry Country's Flag

USA's Brittany Bowe became the only openly LGBTQ+ athlete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing to carry her country's flag at the opening ceremonies. This year's number of openly LGBTQ+ athletes is double what it has been in any other Winter Olympics, at 35. 

186 openly LGBTQ+ athletes competed in the summer olympics, bringing home 33 medals. One big difference is that men are more willing to come out, as in 2018, just four of the 15 openly LGBTQ+ athletes were men.

https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/592923-team-usa-is-only-country-with-an-openly-lgbtq?fbclid=IwAR1rn6T8MrbNMUi-yE8YDJAFeRGcSMV6EisSR9viQpxVbBrm2aF_BLRMhTI

Student Who Stands Up for Gay Rights Gets School Policies Reversed

Tyler Johnson, 17, was selected as a “Senior Spotlight” for his school’s January newsletter. He was asked about his biggest challenge and how he’d overcome it. For him, that challenge was growing up gay and overcoming bullying in his life.

But his principal and school superintendent disallowed his comment, saying that religion, sexual orientation or illegal drugs couldn’t be included in the school newsletter.

Johnson took his situation to TicTok, and the policies of his school district have been changed.

https://www.syracuse.com/schools/2022/01/a-cny-gay-teen-shares-his-biggest-challenge-schools-response-sets-off-a-storm.html?fbclid=IwAR2TQFZOBeLuQsy9FNoDjY-ykshx3dLpj2AkcXSKhvtexD-9VQh_uSiEsvM

In Oregon, Airbnb has Less of a Chance to Discriminate

Airbnb is going to stop revealing guests’ names on its platform until a booking request is confirmed, but the change is only going to be implemented in the state of Oregon.

The change stems from a lawsuit that was brought against Airbnb in 2019 by three Black women who lived in the Portland area. The lawsuit claimed by requiring guests to disclose their full names and photographs, Airbnb was allowing hosts to discriminate against Black users. That would be in violation of Oregon’s public accommodation laws. 

In response to the lawsuit, in late December Airbnb announced that Oregon hosts would start seeing the initials of guests in place of their first name until a booking request is confirmed. Once confirmed, the guest’s name will then appear.  

The changes are set to take effect Jan. 31 and remain in effect for at least two years.  

https://thehill.com/changing-america/resilience/smart-cities/588036-n-one-state-airbnb-moves-to-stop-racial?fbclid=IwAR0yIy1qRKP62D4ekPiYQAKkeMNelSjkg2nbeZFoTpvTl9R59v4sHoXrg-M

Republicans Holding Republicans Accountable?

Is the top of our hierarchies going to be held accountable? 

A Republican organization aimed at holding GOP lawmakers accountable for spreading misinformation and the events of Jan. 6 is rolling out a new ad targeting five members of Congress on the anniversary of the Capitol attack.

The Republican Accountability Project, which also has worked to counter support for former President Trump, announced it would be launching a six-figure ad campaign targeting Republican lawmakers including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (Wis.).

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/588347-anti-trump-group-targeting-top-republicans-on-jan-6-anniversary?rl=1&fbclid=IwAR1fdAhDl4wMddRaq0zCy2panpmeE9AeGxqafaYSyEvu8A6Fy1IVZC6E_mo

Women 32% More Likely to Die after Operation by Male Surgeon, Not Seen with Male Patients

Female patients found to have 15% more chance of a bad outcome from surgery if the surgeon was a man than if the procedure was performed by a woman.

Women who are operated on by surgeons who are men are much more likely to die, experience complications and have to be readmitted to the hospital compared to when a woman performs the procure. In a study of 1.3 million patients, women are 15% more liable to suffer a bad outcome, and 32% more likely to die if a man performs the surgery. 

The study found that men who had operations had the same outcomes regardless of whether their surgeon was a woman or a man. Women fared better with female surgeons. There were no gender differences in how surgery went for either men or women operated on by female surgeons.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/04/women-more-likely-die-operation-male-surgeon-study?s=09&fbclid=IwAR1LnZUJW--czK1wkpFoAwHF4DCgn-KVW_nYITZzT2KrRA8MSdwgrsvoXqk