Highest Earning Female Contestant on Jeopardy

Amy Schneider is the current Jeopardy! champ. She is a transgender engineering manager, and has shattered yet another record as she continues to dominate the long-running game show.

Schneider is now the highest-earning female contestant in Jeopardy’s 57-year history, after 18 consecutive victories as of Friday, Dec. 24.

Her total winnings stood at $706,800, beating previous record-holder Larissa Kelly, who earned $655,930 in regular season play and tournament competitions.

Schneider  first appeared on the show in November during Transgender Awareness Week., becoming one of Jeopardy!‘s all-time great players.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/12/jeopardy-champ-amy-schneider-becomes-highest-earning-woman-of-all-time/?fbclid=IwAR0qIQ7J_C6oAQXzCvqVr5XNeuMYYKfpJIZmKkl-O5D4J8LM8fJxQG1WgrY

Robert Steadward - Gamechanger in Sports

Robert Steadward has long been a key advocate of the disability sport movement. He helped found the International Paralympic Committee and served as its first president. In an agreement with the International Olympic Committee in 2000, he helped ensure the same city would host the Olympics and Paralympics moving forward. 

At an international meeting in the Netherlands in 1987, he unveiled a proposal for global governance of Paralympic sports. Major changes were adopted and a few years later Steadward became founding president of the International Paralympic Committee, serving from 1989 to 2001.

The high point of his career came on October 20, 2000, when, during the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, Steadward and Juan Antonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, signed a historic memorandum of understanding.

The document solidified the relationship between the two organizations. It created the requirement that the host city for the Olympic games would also host the Paralympic games and strengthened funding and administrative support for the Paralympics.

https://around.uoregon.edu/content/game-changer-steadward-supports-paralympic-athletes

Problem with Republicans? Read this.

"I’ve spent much of my life pastoring in predominately white churches in the South.  Before that, I was raised in a family with many Conservatives. I’ve always been surrounded by Republican voters, and until very recently I could respect their positions, even when I disagreed with them. Despite our differences, I still saw them as inherently well-intentioned people.

"That is becoming nearly impossible, because I now realize something about them that grieves me.

"I used to think this was all about education. I’ve spent the last few years trying to make them aware of the ugliness they are tethered to, the criminality of the politicians they support, the irreparable damage they are doing to our nation’s sacred systems. I operated under the false assumption that if I could only make them aware of the malevolence of their party, that their better angels would certainly move them to fully reject it."

Hierarchy above all is the name of their game. And people who can feel superior to others follow along. 

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2021/12/11/why-ive-lost-respect-for-my-republican-friends/

California Governor Plans to Expand Texas Abortion Law to Gun Owners

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday he will push for a new law modeled on Texas’ abortion ban that would let private citizens sue anyone who makes or sells assault weapons or ghost guns.

“I am outraged by yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Texas’s ban on most abortion services to remain in place,” Newsom said. “But if states can now shield their laws from review by the federal courts that compare assault weapons to Swiss Army knives, then California will use that authority to protect people’s lives, where Texas used it to put women in harm’s way.”

In hierarchies, people on top who keep lower groups down are not used to being served up the same restrictions. This will be interesting to see how these accountability attempts fly.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article256524466.html

Concrete for Office Building Grows Moss with Huge Environmental Impact Possibilities

Researchers in Spain have developed a “living concrete” that grows moss, lichens and fungi that could turn city buildings into giant air purifiers The concrete is porous and acidic and acts almost like soil for moss, lichen, fungi and other drought-tolerant vegetation. They are using the material to construct prototypes of office building that is capable of sucking in more CO2 and pollution out of the air than thousands of trees, while providing breathable oxygen.

https://returntonow.net/2020/02/03/new-living-concrete-allows-plants-to-grow-right-out-of-the-wall/

Canadian Parliament Outlaws Conversion Therapy

The Canadian federal government's updated bill to ban the practice of conversion therapy has been adopted unanimously by the House of Commons.

Members of Parliament voted to fast track Bill C-4 on Wednesday afternoon. The Commons erupted in applause after the vote and several Liberal cabinet ministers walked across the floor to shake hands with and — in some cases — hug their Conservative counterparts.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conversion-therapy-conservatives-1.6269147?fbclid=IwAR1HXImQOSN7pTgpzDUfc7gWW7Zpv8YEZn581SekkOErXfdvABHoCMJI6is

New Highway Bill Will Address Racist Construction in the Past

“I’m still surprised that some people were surprised when I pointed to the fact that if a highway was built for the purpose of dividing a white and a black neighborhood, or if an underpass was constructed such that a bus carrying mostly black and Puerto Rican kids to a beach — or that would have been — in New York was designed too low for it to pass by, that that obviously reflects racism that went into those design choices,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg explained.

Republican Ted Cruz responded in a typical clueless manner of a man on top of many hierarchies who refuses to look at the truth.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/11/9/2063228/-Once-again-Sen-Cruz-misses-the-point-completely-this-time-connecting-race-and-U-S-infrastructure?fbclid=IwAR1YYDImGoQeVN8srXE_0uajAqX2EyeHQXA27j-TWrifp8y69IVfktt-tXo

Plessy and Ferguson Families Work to Overturn Conviction of Homer Plessy

A joint endeavor between the descendants of both sides of the Plessy v. Ferguson case in Louisiana has supported the appeal of the conviction of Homer Plessy, the man whose arrest for boarding a whites-only train car became the basis for the Supreme Court’s infamous 1896 “separate but equal” ruling.

Even though all of us support hierarchies to some degree, more or less depending largely on our position in a higher or lower group, we can make amends and come together, even it it takes centuries to move forward. 

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/581296-louisiana-board-votes-to-send-pardon-for-homer-plessy-man-at-center-of?fbclid=IwAR3LM0CCspy7mQWq4UJOzvvad_Iv_mPXc7MZwWOFp6Pwfj1NTe6fL5MlcHw

All 24 Female US Senators Urge Action in Afghanistan for Girls and Women

All 24 female U.S. senators are urging President Biden to develop a plan to preserve the basic human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, as outlined in a joint letter.

"Lacking a legitimate Afghan government and military forces to protect them, women and girls are now suffering the predations of a Taliban regime with a track record of brutalizing, isolating, and denying them life and liberty," the letter said.

The bipartisan letter, led by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (R), also acknowledged that Afghanistan's previous government operated under a constitution that promoted human rights and ensured certain freedoms to women and girls despite its other flaws. 

https://thehill.com/policy/international/580088-all-24-female-senators-press-biden-on-womens-rights-in-afghanistan

Human Rights Campaign: LGBTQ+ Voters at Risk in GOP-Dominated State Legislatures

As voter suppression efforts continue unstopped in GOP-dominated state legislatures across the United States, millions of voters -- especially LGBTQ+ voters and voters of color -- remain at risk of being denied the fundamental constitutional right to vote. e country.

“The Human Rights Campaign condemns the decision of nearly all Senate Republicans today to prevent debate on this critical voting rights legislation. Without this bill, millions of voters remain at risk of being denied their fundamental and sacred right to vote -- a right some Senators snubbed today,” said Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President, Policy & Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “The failure to advance the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act has left open the floodgates of voter suppression that the Supreme Court threw open with its decision in Shelby County. The outcome today is a call to keep fighting -- to continue HRC’s work to move America closer to its promise of a more perfect union. It is in this spirit that we continue our efforts to elect candidates who will fight for our right to vote, coast to coast. To do otherwise would truly be a disservice to the legacy of a hero, civil rights icon, and tireless champion of the work of the Human Rights Campaign, Congressman John Lewis.”

https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/human-rights-campaign-statement-on-senate-republicans-blocking-crucial-voting-rights-legislation

Justin Bieber Asked to Cancel Performance in Saudi Arabia

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is asking Justin Bieber to bow out of a scheduled performance in Saudi Arabia.

The letter states:

We are writing to urgently inform you of the human rights crisis in Saudi Arabia; to explain the role that the regime of MBS [Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] has played in violating the rights of tens of millions of Saudis; to ask that you consider the unfortunate implications of your engagement with the brutal dictatorship of MBS; and to respectfully request that, in light of your status as a global personality, you take this opportunity to positively influence human rights policy in Saudi Arabia by canceling your appearance, as a symbol of solidarity with the ongoing suffering of the Saudi people.

Wonder if Bieber, as a white tall heterosexual cis US-born wealthy male has the awareness to even consider the proposal.  

https://www.avclub.com/human-rights-foundation-asks-justin-bieber-to-cancel-pe-1848029044 

Iran Outlaws Sterilization and Free Distribution of Contraceptives

Iran has passed a new population law that puts women's health and lives at risk and further violates women’s rights to sexual and reproductive health, Human Rights Watch said today. 

On November 1, 2021, Iran’s Guardian Council approved the “rejuvenation of the population and support of family” bill, which outlaws sterilization and free distribution of contraceptives in the public health care system unless a pregnancy threatens a woman’s health.

Several pieces of legislation have been proposed that discriminate against women to reinforce the concept of women’s primary role as mothers in charge of child-rearing. 

Typical in hierarchies where people on top (men) dictate laws and control the lives of other people lower in their hierarchies (women) who don't have access to decision making. 

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/10/iran-population-law-violates-womens-rights

Iceland Elects First Female Majority Parliament

Iceland looks set to make history by becoming the first European country to elect a female majority to parliament. 

The country has long been considered a leader in gender equality and was ranked the most gender-equal nation in the world for the 12th year running in a World Economic Forum report released in March.

Let's hope the gender hierarchy continues to be broken down across the world. No complaints, hierarchy supporters. Men have had their turn for centuries. Turn around is fair play.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58698490

Switzerland Approves Same-Sex Marriage

In a move putting it in line with other European Union countries, Switzerland approved same-sex marriage in a national referendum.

Switzerland's parliament and the governing Federal Council supported the "Marriage for All" measure. Switzerland has authorized same-sex civil partnerships since 2007.

Most countries in Western Europe already recognize same-sex marriage, while most of those in Central and Eastern Europe don't allow wedlock involving two men or two women.

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/26/1040761090/switzerland-same-sex-marriage-referendum

Time to Take the Automobile Off the Top of the Transportation Hierarchy

Driving is the most dangerous activity Americans do every day. One of the reasons is that roads have historically been built for cars to go fast, and pedestrians and cyclists are rarely considered in most road designs. Cyclists and pedestrians are at their own risk when trying to go from one place to another.  

Fatalities on our streets have increased during COVID, mostly because with less cars on the streets, people are driving faster.

Controlling speeds on roads is the most important goal of any car safety strategy. There are two main ways to do that: change the physical design of the road with “traffic calming” measures that encourage slower driving, like narrowing lanes and adding speed bumps, or change the legal speed limit, which is easier and inexpensive but less effective.

https://www.vox.com/22675358/us-car-deaths-year-traffic-covid-pandemic

FBI Coverups of Larry Nassar Sexual Abuse

Good Ole Boys in the FBI? Did men turn their backs to the abuse of Larry Nassar in women's gymnastics because they want to protect each other? According to testimony, they went out to drink beer with each other to discuss career opportunities instead of the truth about the abuse.

Four elite gymnasts - Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols, and Aly Raisman - testified that they were abused by Nassar who was allowed to continue after FBI officials made false statements and failed to properly document complaints by the accusers, resulting in a delay into probes of sexual abuse that allowed Nassar to continue to abuse athletes at Michigan State University and elsewhere.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/13/politics/biles-maroney-nichols-raisman-fbi-nassar-testimony/index.html

Paralympics: Powerful Political Statement

The Economist writes that the Paralympics are not just an athletic statement, but also a powerful political statement. These images show the growth of the Paralympics.

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/08/27/the-paralympics-have-gone-from-strength-to-strength

Amnesty International: Taliban Fast to Trample Human Rights

According to Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights, and the World Organization Against Torture, the Taliban are rapidly dismantling the human rights gains of the past twenty years during their takeover which has been going on for five weeks.  

The Taliban has been killing civilians and surrendered soldiers, and blocking humanitarian supplies to regions of the country. They also have reimposed restrictions on women, freedom of expression and civil society.

Hierarchial men imposing their restrictions on everyone else, all in the name of a hierarchial religion. In hierarchial religions, man is not made in the image of a deity, but the deity is made in the image of a man on top of a hierarchy.

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/taliban-stamping-out-human-rights-in-afghanistan-says-new-briefing/

Ontario Anti-Vaxxers Don't Have Rights to Accomodations

Anti-vaxxers in Ontario are gaining opposition when they attempt to use anti-discrimination laws to stop vaccination requirements for public facilities. 

The decision to get vaccinated is voluntary, and a person who chooses not to be vaccinated because of a personal preference does not have the right to accommodation under the Human Rights Code, the Ontario Human Rights Commission said this week in a policy statement. 

Anti-vaxxers with top-of-the-hierarchy attitudes who do not feel the need to act in ways that benefit the common good are finding themselves, as of Wednesday, not able to go into indoor dining, gyms, concert venues, and more in Ontario. Standing up to the top of the hierarchy is always controversial to the people trying to preserve hierarchies. 

https://www.orangeville.com/news-story/10485169-anti-vaxxers-don-t-have-a-right-to-accommodations-ontario-human-rights-watchdog-says/

Elephant Sculptures Traveling Across Globe

CoExistence—an environmental art installation of 100 life-sized lantana elephant sculptures that are making their way into many countries.

A total of eight separate herds were on public display have been located in London. 

Hand-crafted by Indigenous communities in the jungles of Tamil Nadu, they carry a message that encourages people to change the way we live by coexisting with the wildlife and nature around us.

https://mymodernmet.com/coexistence-elephant-sculpture-herd/?fbclid=IwAR0BSR9ivnvjvjVN0KLf59h-1YSUCVLDqqPAXuogyir7IphjV6lTTTn-Isg

Sexist and Transphobic Actions at the Olympics

Inadequate childcare accommodations, rules and distractions and interference concerning attire, and testosterone limits highlight the extra-athletic hurdles that women are facing at the Olympics that men don't have to experience.

https://www.them.us/story/tokyo-olympics-sexism-transphobia?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=them&utm_mailing=THEM_Weekly_080721&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5d39db003f92a46d42c2277f&cndid=54218730&hasha=61c7940b8bbcceae11d31534b84d3d71&hashb=8294910e08199edd2867fb94e1f49e112d04f3b5&hashc=7d16152efcc93b32d8f7501161e84279f43904817f332acc76e9d7ecfd22bc36&esrc=tnv_swps_wildfang%3F&utm_content=Final&utm_term=THEM_Daily&fbclid=IwAR0jotwRxK4sESbnjAnShiYv8sb-gg4x_bAt45nO1d_HGb1jqVfESGtmZZI

McCarthy: Joke to Use Violence Against Women

In hierarchies, violence has always been a primary means to control lower groups.

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is a perfect example of how hierarchical men view violence against women: as an option and a joke. 

He joked at a Saturday night event that it "will be hard not to hit" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the speaker's gavel if Republicans take control of the chamber in the 2022 midterms and he becomes speaker.

We all can surmise that he would not have said that if Nancy Pelosi were a male.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/01/politics/kevin-mccarthy-nancy-pelosi-gavel/index.html 

Nez Perce Return to Homelands

On Thursday, more than 150 Nez Perce (Niimiipuu) people returned and blessed part of their homeland, a hundred years after the U.S Army drove them from the Wallowa Valley in eastern Oregon. 

In direct violation of the 1855 Treaty of Walla Walla, the Nez Perce in 1877 were forced from their 7.5 million-acre homeland to a 750,000-acre reservation in Idaho.

The Nez Perce tribe purchased a 148-acre property in Joseph, known as Am'sáaxpa, or Place of Boulders, in December but could not formally perform a blessing ceremony until Thursday due to COVID-19 concerns. 

Surrounded by the Wallowa Mountains, the property rights include the house near Airport Road built in 1884, barns, grassland and Wallowa River frontage where the Nez Perce would camp and catch sockeye salmon. 

It also includes the ridge where Chief Joseph once held council.

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2021/07/29/oregon-nez-perce-tribe-celebrate-reclaimed-reservation-land-history-treaty-chief-joseph-amsaaxpa/5424269001/

Wonderful Cartoon

 

Norwegian Women Do Not Follow Beach Handball Bikini Rules That Men Don't Have

See anything sexist about this picture of the Norwegian men's and women's beach handball teams?

So do other people. The bikinis are required for women and not men. Each member of the Norwegian team was fined for not wearing them this year in the European championships. 

Instead, this is what they wore:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2021/07/20/beach-handball-players-fined-for-not-wearing-bikini-bottoms-heres-why-the-uniform-matters/?sh=767e745a6e27&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflowForbesMainFB&utm_source=ForbesMainFacebook&fbclid=IwAR0qCBgBJapNGZeGIy4W3_KQZKLwxHVup3NkGa8c_m7Bb167HPG0tDwvC88

US Took Native Children from Their Families Too, Remains of Ten Returning to Families

 

The remains of 10 Native American and Alaska Native children who died more than 100 years ago while attending Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania are scheduled to be returned home to their communities in Alaska and South Dakota.

Above is a picture of the student body of Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1885.

https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/the-remains-of-10-children-at-the-carlisle-indian-boarding-school-are-returning-home?utm_content=170898512&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-1575858736016260&fbclid=IwAR2DuzsibLApIjh4zFy2RA16Yog7jaoB64FdU2_e1zf5EuHk1CSbhduR6w8

IKEA Creates Couches Inspired by LGBTQ+ Flags

Couches or "love seats" have been designed by IKEA with inspired by several LGBTQ+ flags. In their video, they also invited people who identify with the groups represented by the flags to share their stories on the love seats.

https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/560925-ikea-faces-backlash-over-pride-themed-couch?fbclid=IwAR220MlGmPhPweSsHuyQNKmiKffP0Bvnx0ioc9PsVmDGJAk4ABSs5nLzgZA

Staley and VanDerVeer Ask Congress to Investigate NCAA

South Carolina's Dawn Staley and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer on Tuesday called for Congressional involvement regarding the NCAA's treatment of its tournaments for women's sports, including basketball, in the wake of allegations of gender inequity.

"The NCAA tournament is the tip of the discrimination iceberg. Through lack of vision and pure sexism, women's basketball has been systematically held back. Our players and coaches have been harmed. After 49 years of Title IX, we still have work to do," said VanDerveer.

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31735617/in-call-dawn-staley-tara-vanderveer-ask-congress-help-equity-fight-ncaa-sports

Stonewall Inn to Ban Anheuser-Bush Beers

The Stonewall Inn's owners say they won't serve certain beers at the famous LGBTQ bar during Pride weekend to protest manufacturer Anheuser-Busch's political contributions to some politicians who have supported anti-LGBTQ legislation.

The campaign, a project of Corporate Accountability Action, used data compiled from the National Institute on Money in Politics to show that Anheuser-Busch contributed more than $35,000 to 29 legislators it described as anti-LGBTQ between 2015 and 2020. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/political-donations-lead-stonewall-inn-ban-some-beers-n1271595

Women's Tour De France Next Summer

Even though it will be shorter, this is a good step.

In 2022, there will be a women's Tour de France bike race. 

Women have been riding the men's route in recent years in an attempt to draw attention to the sexism involved in only holding a men's race. The women's race will be shorter (8 days) than the men's race (3 weeks), however.

"At the end of the day, a Women's Tour de France is so much bigger than a bike race. It's a beacon of progress for society that men & women are valued equally at the top," Kathryn Bertine says. "So yes, I applaud the eight days coming in 2022. I'll be cheering the loudest! And behind the scenes, I'll still keep pushing for two more weeks to be added in the coming years.

"Or, perhaps we can cut the men's race from three weeks to eight days."

 https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/1007770257/women-tour-de-france-next-summer-2022?utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&fbclid=IwAR3WkxZLsYVU0PPi_LlinIJ5eV3ksOrxcHTqnFRN1WUcGdXECRQV_Vu9D_s

Congratulations USA - Juneteenth is a Celebration!!!

Time to Celebrate in the USA! Juneteenth is a holiday. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-juneteenth-holiday-bill-sign/

Catholic Bishops Discuss Stopping Communion for Women's Rights Advocates

In an organization that is as hierarchical as the Roman Catholic Church, it is no surprise that bishops are discussing not allowing pro-choice advocates to partake in communion. In an organization where 100% of the decision makers can not get pregnant, but feel they can decide issues of pregnancy and birth control, are we not surprised they would advocate further for controlling women. They think, obviously, that they have absolute right to control women in their religion.

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/18/1007794929/catholic-bishops-abortion-biden-communion 

Record Number of Abortions in England and Wales

In 2020, a record number of women in Wales and England had an abortion last year. The rise was particularly marked with women aged 30 and over.

A total of 209,917 abortions were reported in 2020, with the numbers rising year on year and up from 207,384 in 2019. The largest increases in abortion rates by age were among women aged 30 to 34 with a rise from 16.5 per 1,000 in 2010 to 21.9 in 2020.

Causes are women being able to seek abortion treatment at home during the pandemic and also financial uncertainty where women have had to make “tough decisions”.

Women have a right to control their own bodies, their lives, and their futures, without interference from hierarchies dominated by anyone else.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/10/record-number-of-women-in-england-and-wales-had-abortions-in-2020

Fresno State Female Athletes Sue School After Team Cut

In an interview on NPR, Title IX equality, requiring schools to give women and men equal opportunities, equal financial aid, and equal treatment, is discussed as relates to cutting out women's sports. 

But when their team was cut, Abbigayle, Megan and a handful of their teammates did something they never imagined doing when they came to Fresno State. They sued their school.

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/10/1005263824/schools-that-cut-womens-sports-teams-during-the-pandemic-face-lawsuits-over-equa

Defense Secretary Austin Proud of LGBTQ Service Members

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he is proud to call the LGBTQ members of the Armed forces his “teammates” every month.

“I know that you’re especially proud this month and rightfully so. I’m proud too, proud every month and every day to call you my teammates and to serve alongside you,” said Austin.

“Your lives and your careers and your service and your stories are living proof that we are stronger and more effective together.”

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-transgender-rights-are-human-rights-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-says

Girl Group Gets Recording Contract for "Racist, Sexist Boy"

The Linda Lindas, a girl band ages 10 through 14, was screaming and crunching power chords in the middle of the stacks of the Los Angeles Public Library. "Racist, Sexist Boy" — written and performed by four tween and teen punks calling out anti-Asian American bias and misogyny — immediately became something of a 2021 anthem. ("Poser! Blockhead! Riffraff! Jerk face!"). 

Now they have a recording contract. 

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/24/999757630/fresh-off-a-viral-library-gig-the-linda-lindas-get-a-record-deal?utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR3rDwrZx8FBNjXfuazyLPpc8pXcG4TO19CzOYa_7RMpm9OD_y5UNRAT6W4

NCAA Goes Against Anti-Transgender Stance

The NCAA has named schools in Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee as championship host sites for upcoming regional softball tournaments in spite of the fact that all three states have passed bills banning the participation of transgender women and girls in sports consistent with their gender identity. This comes after the NCAA last month declared their oppositon to anti-transgender sports ban legislation and reiterated their policy of only hosting championships in environments in which they can guarantee their athletes will be “safe, healthy, and free from discrimination.” 

In addition to Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee, states including Mississippi, West Virginia, Montana, and Idaho have passed laws to the same effect, with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem signing two Executive Orders to similar effect.

https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/human-rights-campaign-reacts-to-ncaa-violating-its-own-anti-discrimination-policy-for-championship-host-sites

Hate Crime Bill Passed by House of Representatives

With a bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, which will promote better hate crimes data collection as well as a more informed approach to hate crime prevention at the federal, state, and local levels.

THe bill was named after Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer, whose deaths were not recorded in the FBI hate crimes report — will now go to President Biden’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law. 

Hate comes in hierarchies when lower groups are singled out as inferior or deserving different treatment from groups higher on the hierarchy.

https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/the-human-rights-campaign-celebrates-passage-of-the-jabara-heyer-no-hate-act-in-the-u-s-house-of-representatives

Rules Don't Apply to GOP

Several GOP lawmakers on Tuesday defied a requirement for everyone to wear masks on the House floor, protesting how the rules haven't changed in light of new health guidance stating that those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can forgo face coverings in most settings.

A Capitol official said that three Republicans will be issued $500 fines for flouting the mask rules: Reps. Brian Mast (Fla.), Beth Van Duyne (Texas) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa). Seven other Republicans will be issued first-offense warnings.

Those issued warnings include Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Chip Roy (Texas), Bob Good (Va.), Mary Miller (Ill.) and Louie Gohmert (Texas). If these lawmakers defy the rules again, they could face $500 fines. Subsequent offenses would result in $2,500 fines.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/554210-republicans-defy-mask-rules-on-house-floor

Congressional GOP: As Usual, Don't Hold the Top Accountable

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday he opposed an inquiry to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol, siding with Republicans who have tried in recent days to downplay the attack. 

How many hearings did they insist be held on Benghazi?

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/18/politics/kevin-mccarthy-opposes-1-6-commission/index.html

German Gymnast Wears Full Body Suit to Competition

Women's gymnastics is sexualized. Women do not wear in practice what they are traditionally required to wear in competition, which is leotards that only cover their torsos. Men do not. 

Women's gymnastics has seen its share of sexual abuse of women athletes.

Sarah Voss wore ar full-body suit at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She was supported by her country's gymnastics federation. She is proud of her decision. "We hope gymnasts uncomfortable in the usual outfits will feel emboldened to follow our example," she said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56858863

Student Gets School District to Change Dress Policy to Gender Neutral

In a Texas district where 80% of the people identify as Republican,  Trevor Wilkinson, 17, has made a difference. The Clyde School Board has voted to change the wording of the student handbook so guidelines do not single out genders. 

Wilkinson had received an in-school suspension for his painted nails. Wilkinson started a petition for support that received over 400,000 signatures, saying that if girls are allowed to paint their nails, boys should not be reprimanded for doing the same. 

https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/549627-a-gay-student-reprimanded-for-nail-polish-convinced-his?fbclid=IwAR1dt7CylijIjO3jLmSo40iVE9RCK7mAMj9_xbT6ea7c0oidewYaWbOo7MY

Disney Adds Inclusion to its Keys for Successful Employees

Disney has not added a fifth key to its Four Keys. Joining Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency is Inclusion.  

Theme park employees will be allowed to dress in a manner that better expresses their cultures and individuality. This includes allowing gender-inclusive hairstyles, jewelry, nail styles, costume choices and appropriate, visible tattoos.

https://abc7.com/disney-dress-code-look-world-disneyland/10513174/

Men's D1 NCAA Viewers Decrease, Women's Game Viewership Increases

The men's NCAA D1 basketball tournament gets the money, the promotion, the game distribution, the publicity, get to play on network television. flashier facilities and courts, and promoted as the only college game in town in March. So, of course, their following is larger than the women's tournament. The NCAA for years has worked to make sure the men are the stars, and the women are the far behind afterthought. 

This year however has brought encouraging statistics to the game of college basketball. 

ESPN said the women’s championship game on Sunday averaged 4 million viewers and is the most-watched women’s title game since 2014.

The 2021 NCAA men’s basketball championship averaged 16.9 million viewers, the least viewed title game for CBS since it started broadcasting them in 1982, although it beat ratings for the 2018 title game broadcast on Turner.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/06/ncaa-2021-final-four-championship-ratings-mens-down-14percent-womens-up.html

Evangelicals Continue Hierarchies by Denying Vaccines

Evangelicals are again acting in ways that again show they are not concerned about the good of the whole, but only in the people who believe like they do.

Some evangelicals are depicted people taking the COVID vaccines as satanic or unsafe, or are suggesting pastors taking the vaccine are complicit in government propaganda.

Recent polls have shown that Vaccine skepticism is more widespread among white evangelicals than almost any other major bloc of Americans.

In a March poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 40% of white evangelical Protestants said they likely won’t get vaccinated, compared with 25% of all Americans, 28% of white mainline Protestants and 27% of nonwhite Protestants.

https://news.yahoo.com/vaccine-skepticism-runs-deep-among-174642595.html

Fathers Have to Pay for Prenatal Care

A new state law in Utah will legally require that biological fathers pay half of women’s pregnancy expenses. Some states, such as New York and Wisconsin, have similar financial provisions for pregnancies.

The bill, signed by Gov. Spencer Cox (R) and sponsored by Rep. Brady Brammer (R), was well-received by Utah’s Republican-majority Legislature and will apply to “pregnancy-related medical costs” and health insurance premiums 

However, fathers will not have to pay for abortions, accept with rape or when the mother's life is in danger, which of course, means men aren't being totally held accountable. 

People who oppose abortion hope the law will decrease the financial burden of pregnancy. 

https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/546556-new-utah-law-requires-fathers-to-pay-50-percent-of

Hierarchical Religions in Decline?

In 2020, the percentage of Americans belonging to a religious institution dropped below 50% for the first time in 80 years. 

This is no surprise, as so many religions are centered around a male deity, who is negatively judgmental about anyone who is not just like him, and thinks like this deity that is created by men who practice that religion. 

The overwhelming support among religious people for Donald Trump also leaves a clear indication that many religious people are opposed to equality and justice, and use their deity as an excuse to be so.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/church-membership-hits-all-time-low-in-2020-gallup-finds/ar-BB1f5qWY

Executive Orders In Honor of International Women's Day

Today, on International Women's Day, President Biden signed two executive orders hoping to help promote gender equality, around the world and in the United States.

The first executive order establishes a Gender Policy Council within the White House, reformulating an office from the Obama administration that was later disbanded by the Trump administration, and giving it more clout.

The second executive order involves the Department of Education. It aims to reverse a rule issued by Trump's education secretary Betsy DeVos that granted more rights and protections for those accused of sexual assault and harassment.

In every day life, it really does matter whether you vote for candidates trying to address and end hierarchies, or if you support the Republican platform that consistently promotes and builds hierarchies instead.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/08/974655385/biden-will-establish-a-gender-policy-council-within-the-white-house?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0xX1Ehm4_mJOR7QoVQcmMxsFX4HJibfXLtcXNCG4uv4o1fJk0_OtBYCBc

Minimum Wage Does Not Keep Up

 

Crayola Releases Crayons with 24 Skin Colors

Now most child can represent themselves accurately when they color a picture. Crayola has released crayons with 24 skin tone shades, so people coloring can create images of themselves and their friends and family more accurately than in previous centuries.

The new crayons are called "Multicultural Crayons" or "Colors of the World."

https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/141766/crayola-skin-tone-crayons/?fbclid=IwAR0xX1Ehm4_mJOR7QoVQcmMxsFX4HJibfXLtcXNCG4uv4o1fJk0_OtBYCBc

Time to Reward Diversity and Inclusion Efforts in Promotion Decisions

“When you have diversity of viewpoints, you have better outcomes, better solutions,” said Marie Bernard, the National Institutes of Health’s acting chief officer for scientific workforce diversity. “If you don’t have a diverse team, you’re missing out on a lot of talent.”

What hasn’t been incentivized or credited, researchers throughout that ladder say, is work to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion — the task forces served on, the community outreach, the mentoring of trainees from underrepresented groups. Recognizing such work in more formal ways could not only encourage it, but actively help institutions achieve their stated goals of adding and retaining more faculty of color, particularly at upper leadership levels, according to interviews with Black, Latino, and Indigenous academics.

Some schools have revised faculty codes to consider such service scholarly activity, but for the most part, “schools do not provide any incentive for you to serve on that committee” or for the other diversity efforts, said David Acosta, the AAMC’s chief diversity and inclusion officer. 

https://www.statnews.com/2021/02/19/doctors-push-academiareward-diversity-work-in-promotion-decisions/

Orlando Fire Station Built to Promote Diversity

A New "Outpost Nine" has been built in the Rosemont community of Orlando, a new home to 30 firefighters. The new building has private bunk rooms and restrooms for crews and includes a secure room for female firefighters. 

Fire Chief Benjamin Barksdale said the fire station was designed to promote diversity within the fire department as part of the “Inclusivity and Equity Action Plan.”

“The old-style fire station was what we call our community sleeping area and it provided no

 privacy at all and it was very challenging for women and other genders as well,” Barksdale said.

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/02/23/orlando-fire-department-opens-new-fire-station-designed-to-promote-diversity/#//

Lesbian and Heterosexual Professional Soccer Moms Given Equal Billing

In a USA Today post, heterosexual as well as lesbian mothers are celebrated, and adoptive and birth mothers. 

Two-time World Cup champions Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger announced on February 14 that they had adopted a daughter, Sloane Phillips, born two days earlier. 

The article also stated that the teammate Alex Morgan birthed a daughter Charlie in May. 

Times have changed much for the better when a mom is a mom.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2021/02/24/shebelieves-cup-megan-rapinoe-acts-greeter-newest-uswnt-member/6810141002/

Diversity in USPS Vehicles

 You have to hand it to the United States Postal Service. They like diversity in vehicles. 

                                      

Not much like any other vehicle on the road, the new trucks are like a minivan, but is designed to lessen the effects of hitting pedestrians, should a person find her/him/themself in the way of postal delivery. And they will be built in Wisconsin. 

https://www.curbed.com/2021/02/usps-new-truck-design-safety.html

COVID cases down, is it because Trump is gone?

Has it occurred to anyone else that the recent drops in COVID cases and deaths could be due to the absence of Trump mania taking over this country? In order to be loyal to their savior and their king, Trump supporters had to demonstrate that they did not believe in wearing masks and social distancing. Maybe since he is not out there encouraging the troops, there is less reason to be so adamant. 

Maybe it is more true than we think that Trump's parting is saving a lot of lives.