#Student Conservation Initiatives

[townpostin]

R.V.S Academy Hosts Tree Plantation Drive To Promote Environmental Awareness

Students And Staff Plant Saplings, Pledge To Preserve Nature Event emphasizes importance of trees in maintaining ecological balance. JAMSHEDPUR – R.V.S Academy on Dimna Road, Mango, organized a tree plantation drive to educate students about environmental conservation. "Trees are our faithful and utilitarian friends. Preserving them is our supreme duty," stated Binda Singh, Chairman of the…

[jantanow]

इग्नू को नेचर पॉजिटिव यूनिवर्सिटी बनाने में योगदान देने पर अमन हुए सम्मानित

बड़ौत (Badaut), 01 सितंबर 2024 (September 1, 2024) — जब बात पर्यावरण संरक्षण (environmental conservation) की होती है, तो अक्सर हमें बड़े नामों और संगठनों (organizations) का ध्यान आकर्षित करना पड़ता है। लेकिन, बागपत (Baghpat) के एक युवा (youth) ने यह साबित कर दिया है कि छोटे कदम (small steps) भी बड़े बदलाव (big changes) ला सकते हैं। इंदिरा गांधी राष्ट्रीय मुक्त विश्वविद्यालय (Indira Gandhi…

[enchantingbreadpatrol]

Birds Water Pots Distribution at IHM Meerut

We recently organized a bird's water pots distribution event at the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Meerut. This initiative was aimed at providing essential water sources for birds, particularly during the hot summer months. The event saw enthusiastic participation from students and faculty, reflecting a strong commitment to wildlife conservation and environmental sustainability. Through collective effort, we distributed numerous water pots, creating a vital resource for birds to stay hydrated. This event exemplifies our dedication to making a positive impact on the local ecosystem and fostering a spirit of care and responsibility towards nature.

[potofsoup]

i love your fourth of july comics every year but this years feels extremely optimistic about biden’s abilities in the face of him letting roe get overturned and funding a gen*cide at worst or letting it happen at best by taking the bare minimum of regulatory action… i mean can he really be trusted at all anymore to do the right thing or act in line with the people’s demands? and how do we know the people behind project 2025 won’t just rig the election again to get in under false pretenses?

Hihi! Thank you for reading and enjoying my July 4th comics every year! I am in a non-US airport en route to a month-long trip in a place with sketchy internet, so sorry in advance for sloppiness in my response (and potentially going radio silent).

But:

I don't think he "let" Roe get overturned, since that was the Supreme Court's overwhelming conservative majority, which really started with Mitch McConnell refusing to approve Obama's appointee and forcing it into a 2016 election issue. The fact that Trump got to appoint 3 Supreme Court Justices is what got us here.

Re: Biden and the Israel/Hamas war ... on the one hand, there's definitely more that he could have done, but on the other hand, they are a whole other country over there. It's Hamas that initiated the Oct 7 attacks and took the hostages. It's Netanyahu and his right-wing government who decided to retaliate to such extreme extent. Biden can talk about how he would really like Netanyahu to stop fighting and step down, but at the end of the day that's not his call, any more than he can stop the Sudan fighting that is near-genocidal either.

So, to come to your question #1: "Can he really be trusted at all anymore to do the right thing or act in line with the people’s demands"?

For me, it's a resounding YES. Guyz, he has passed so much good domestic policies. My spouse works in green energy and the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act halved his anxiety and gave him legitimate hope. The tumblr post I linked to in my comic has links to many of the other great things that Biden has done. Tbh I voted for him in 2020 because "a moldy onion is still better than Trump", and I've been pleasantly surprised. Like how he tried to cancel student loans, the Supreme Court overturned it, and then he came back 6 months later with a different way to do it that didn't lead to a court challenge.

Is he perfect? Hell no. There's tons of stuff that I wish he did more about, or he went further on, but also he's just one guy heading one branch of government who is heading into an election year. (Just like FDR promising not joining WWII, while behind the scenes doing all the Lend-Lease Act stuff). And "the people" have lots of demands, many of them conflicting.

I'd also like to push at the unspoken part of your question... "Can he really be trusted to do the right thing..." compared to whom? Because right now the answer is "compared to Trump." And compared to Trump... I don't even trust Trump to respect the results of a legitimate election. Heck, he might just take his favorite state secrets, sell them to the highest bidder (or just show them off to someone for funzies), and then claim Presidential immunity. A decent Democrat who got stuff done vs someone who probably wants to pardon himself and all his friends and do Project 2025 stuff is not even on the same level. (Do I wish that there was a viable Democratic alternative to Biden? Sure! But who?) Heck, at this point -- imagine if it's Kamala Harris vs. Trump. Who would you vote for?

As for your question #2: "How do we know the people behind project 2025 won’t just rig the election again to get in under false pretenses?"

We don't. But also what can we do besides showing up to vote?

Actually, I need bullet points for this:

The 2022 midterm elections brought in fewer-than-expected election-deniers into crucial electoral offices at the state level, which means that hopefully most state electoral boards will continue to have integrity

Yes, voting is harder but at least we can still vote. So it's about getting out there and getting your vote counted. For some states, it involves waiting in 8 hour lines. For some states, it involves bringing 2 forms of ID. Document. Track. Make sure it's dropped off in a real ballot box and not a fake one. Don't believe messaging that the voting is happening on a different day or location, etc.

A 50.1% majority is easily challenged. A 55% majority, less so. Which means getting people out to vote.

The more people know about and think about the reality of a second Trump term (versus being disappointed by a Biden term), the more they will be motivated to vote against Trump.

Finally, let's be real here: I'm braced for a 2nd Trump term. That said:

I'm still going to go and vote for Biden, because the only way to prevent a 2nd Trump term is to vote.

A Trump term where either the House or Senate is controlled by the Democrats will be *very* different from a clean Republican sweep.

Even with a clean Republican sweep on the federal level, States have so much more power now, and voting the state level stuff will help shore up Democratic goals for the future. States get to draw voting districts however they want. States get to decide on abortion policies. If you live in a deep Red state, there still might be things to vote for that make it easier to live in now, and turn it purple a few elections down the line.

So at the end of the day, it's "Vote AND". Vote and keep living your best life. Vote and tell others about Project 2025. Vote and have hope. Even if Trump wins, at least you'll have voted against him. Vote and stay to build up a progressive wave for the next election.

[reasonsforhope]

"Seven federal agencies are partnering to implement President Biden’s American Climate Corps, announcing this week they would work together to recruit 20,000 young Americans and fulfill the administration's vision for the new program. 

The goals spelled out in the memorandum of understanding include comprehensively tackling climate change, creating partnerships throughout various levels of government and the private sector, building a diverse corps and serving all American communities.

The agencies—which included the departments of Commerce, Interior, Agriculture, Labor and Energy, as well the Environmental Protection Agency and AmeriCorps—also vowed to ensure a “range of compensation and benefits” that open the positions up to a wider array of individuals and to create pathways to “high-quality employment.”  

Leaders from each of the seven agencies will form an executive committee for the Climate Corps, which Biden established in September, that will coordinate efforts with an accompanying working group. They will create the standards for ACC programs, set compensation guidelines and minimum terms of service, develop recruitment strategies, launch a centralized website and establish performance goals and objectives. The ACC groups will, beginning in January, hold listening sessions with potential applicants, labor unions, state and local governments, educational institutions and other stakeholders. 

The working group will also review all federal statutes and hiring authorities to remove any barriers to onboarding for the corps and standardize the practices across all participating agencies. Benefits for corps members will include housing, transportation, health care, child care, educational credit, scholarships and student loan forgiveness, stipends and non-financial services.

As part of the goal of the ACC, agencies will develop the corps so they can transition to “high-quality, family-sustaining careers with mobility potential” in the federal or other sectors. AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith said the initiative would prepare young people for “good-paying union jobs.” 

Within three weeks of rolling out the ACC, EPA said more than 40,000 people—mostly in the 18-35 age range—expressed interest in joining the corps. The administration set an ambitious goal for getting the program underway, aiming to establish the corps’ first cohort in the summer of 2024. 

The corps members will work in roles related to ecosystem restoration and conservation, reforestation, waterway protection, recycling, energy conservation, clean energy deployment, disaster preparedness and recovery, fire resilience, resilient recreation infrastructure, research and outreach. The administration will look to ensure 40% of the climate-related investments flow to disadvantaged communities as part of its Justice40 initiative.  

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the MOU would allow the ACC to “work across the federal family” to push public projects focused on environmental justice and clean energy. 

“The Climate Corps represents a significant step forward in engaging and nurturing young leaders who are passionate about climate action, furthering our journey towards a sustainable and equitable future,” Regan said. 

The ACC’s executive committee will hold its first meeting within the next 30 days. It will draw support from a new climate hub within AmeriCorps, as well as any staffing the agency heads designate."

-via Government Executive, December 20, 2023

-

This news comes with your regularly scheduled reminder that WE GOT THE AMERICAN CLIMATE CORPS ESTABLISHED LAST YEAR and basically no one know about/remembers it!!! Also if you want more info about the Climate Corps, inc. how to join, you can sign up to get updates here.

[satorhime]

recess + gojo satoru ── ◜ ⪩⪨ ◞

── ◜ ⪩⪨ ◞ content : dad!gojo, f!reader, fluff, comfort, reader ‘n’ gojo r not the best parents but they just wanna comfort their sweet baby girl, reader is referred to as ‘mrs’, ‘mama’, school fights, light discussion of insecurities, bullying + discrimination･｡･ w.c. 2.2k

── ◜ ⪩⪨ ◞ synopsis : you, satoru, and your daughter’s first trip to the principle’s office.

── ◜ ⪩⪨ ◞ notes : i am in the fluffiest mood ever for my dear heart so i present u another one of my dad!gojo fics. this one tugged at my heart strings tho :( not proofread!

the school calls and says that your five-year-old daughter got into a fight with another student during recess, and the first thing satoru asks is “did she win?”

an hour later, the two of you are sitting in the middle of the principle’s office on a worn, brown leather couch while an aide fetches your little girl from lunch. the differences in your respective reactions is stark, a contrast of color that can be seen throughout your relationship.

while you are respectful of authority, nodding along and gasping in horror with your hand clutching your necklace as the principle explains that your daughter was seen punching a little boy in the sandbox, satoru has his legs kicked up on the principle’s big oak desk, his head thrown back in full blown laughter. you have to lash out, smacking his chest with your fist just to get him to quiet down— only for him to retaliate with a pinch to the side of your thigh.

“i believe i see where the violence comes from,” the principle clicks her tongue over the melodramatics of satoru coughing and spitting after your hit, her lip curled in disapproval. she has a severe look about her, like the suffocatingly conservative elders in satoru’s clan. “mister and missus gojo, you must know this behavior is highly inappropriate.”

“we’re sor-”

“you never answered my question you know,” satoru cuts you off before you can apologize like a good little student yourself, sitting up straight and cocking his head to the side. even though you can’t see his eyes, covered by his dark shades, you can almost taste his amusement in the air. he is not taking any of this seriously, and why would he?

he was the one who taught her how to throw a punch.

“and what question would that be, mister gojo?”

“if she won the fight or not, of course!” he says, punctuating each word with a wag of his finger. with his million dollar grin all wide on his face. some things never change no matter how old you get because you can tell that he enjoys challenging authority. that he decided the principle was just another one of the higher ups who abused their power and looked down their nose at the youth after one glimpse of her personality and leadership.

the principle opens her mouth, likely to scold him, but then the door opens and your little one steps through with the aide carrying her backpack. her head is hung low, her chin tucked against her chest and her fists are bunched in the hem of her uniform skirt as she walks in— the very picture of guilt.

“you can ask her instead,” the principle concludes, and you become a little closer to seeing gojo’s approach to things. you don’t like the way she looks at your baby, ready to toss the key away for a kindergartner who can barely speak properly without even knowing if she initiated the fight or not. you grit your teeth, though. you’re trying to be civil, for crying out loud.

after all, your child doesn’t need two maniacs for parents.

“miss gojo,” the principle calls, addressing your kindergartener directly. when she raises her chin, she has a defiant look in her big, glacier blue eyes that rival’s her father’s own. there’s a fleck of rice stuck cutely to the side of her mouth, no doubt from the onigiri you packed in her bento this morning. her little white plaits are in disarray, the colorful barrettes you accessorized her hair with lost and nowhere to be found, and when your eyes drop down to her hands, you can tell that she’s hiding her bruised knuckles in her skirt. “do tell us what happened, and absolutely no fibs or tall tales, please.”

“uhm…” her eyes roam the room, intimidated by the adults watching her with expectation. she earns a patient nod and smile from you, and a cheeky wink from satoru over the rim of his glasses. taking a deep breath, she mumbles, “uhm. i was playing in the big box and sōta-kun started saying mean stuff so i punched him real hard.”

“and do you think that was an appropriate approach to someone saying something you don’t like, miss gojo? our school does not condone violence or bullies. we teach kindness and communication.”

“i thought he would dodge! dada always dodges my hits when we train,” she huffs in defense, blowing air into her cheeks. you shrink in your chair, placing a hand over your face in embarrassment because you know exactly what she’s about to say next. “aaaand, dada told me that whenever i don’t like something someone say, i can just blast them off the face of the earth when i get strong!”

“i do recall telling her that,” satoru takes credit proudly, his grin turning mischievous.

“satoru,” you warn, sighing. “really not the time.”

“i’m seen but silent.” he spreads his palms in surrender, mocking what you always tell your daughter to be when she makes too much racket in public. “and pretty.”

“it seems that neither one of you are concerned with your child’s concerning behavior. you make quips while her fellow student had to be sent to the infirmary because of her actions,” the woman’s voice is grave and authoritative, cutting through the lackadaisical attitude swirling around satoru. his posture never changes, but you can see the moment his spine straightens. “the child’s parents are demanding she be expelled.”

“what’s ‘expelled’?”

“i’ll explain it to you later, my love,” you whisper.

“sheesh, these old geezers are all the same,” he whistles, rolling his eyes.

“excuse me?” she demands, turning red.

“what my heart means to say,” you hiss through clenched teeth, cutting a glare so dark at him that his grin falters. though you’ll have no control over it later, it’s no secret the path you want for your little girl. you have not mistaken the abnormal luminescence in her eyes for anything but what it is, what it will develop into. she inherited her father’s powers, and it’s important that you give her even the tiniest semblance of a normal life. going to a good school with children on the outside, at least at first, is the first step to that. “is that surely, this can be handled with leniency? we still do not know what was said to cause her to react this way and-”

“it does not matter what was said,” the principle barks. “our academy has no need for violence, nor… a peculiar like her who-”

“if i were you, i would be careful with your words,” satoru’s voice lowers and he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “it’s her first offense, ain’t it? she’s five. just let her apologize to the kid and suspend her for a couple of days, if you gotta.”

“if not,” he drawls, standing up and stretching his arms casually. you know it’s time to leave when satoru starts threatening people— you hold out your hand to your daughter so that she can take it before grasping onto satoru’s sleeve and hauling him towards the door, too. “i may suddenly become interested in a transfer and a promotion.”

you almost roll your eyes because he doesn’t even have a real license to teach.

“you are over the line, sir. you must know that threats-”

“think about it!”

and then, he grins one last time at the gobsmacked principle as you begin hauling your two troublemakers out of the office.

each of your daughter’s tiny pinky fingers are curled around one of you and satoru’s as you all walk home afterwards, linked together. she still looks so crestfallen, so guilty it almost makes gojo chuckle, but he settles for an amused grin cocked to one side of his glossy lips. she keeps sighing exaggeratedly, and there is never any denying whose daughter she is.

“soooo,” satoru is the one to ask, surprisingly. he usually lets you play the villain in the storybook before bedtime. “what did the brat say that made you knock him out with a right hook, princess? hitting without a reaaaally good reason is bad. i think i forgot to add that in my lesson last time.”

it’s the question that’s been brewing in the back of your mind as well— why did your gentle baby girl get into a playground brawl with another student? has she been displaying this behavior at school all along? you knew that satoru training her before she could even read a book properly was a horrible idea, but you had wanted to compromise with him since you had decided she would be raised away from sorcerers during her childhood.

“the left one,” she mumbles the correction, sniffling dejectedly. “i already- i already said him kept saying mean stuff.”

“like what, baby?” you encourage softly, reaching down to swipe a stray tear that rolls down her cheek. you bite your lip, trying to figure out how to approach the beginning of a lesson on how to direct her negative emotions away from lashing out, and into something more rational. “you can tell me and dada, if you’re comfortable with it.”

“yep! we’re perfect at keeping secrets too.”

“him said that mama wasn’t my real one because i look like a fweak and mama and dada does too. ‘cause i got these stupid dumb blue eyes and stupid dumb white hair that nobody else got. ‘s what they allllll say. ‘cause i’m ugly.”

oh.

satoru’s head lifts a little, and the two of you share a look over her head. anger courses through your veins like liquid fire, ending in hot tears bubbling up in your eyes, and suddenly you aren’t interested in reprimanding your child for defending herself. satoru’s fist clenches until his knuckles turn white, hidden in the pocket of his slacks.

you aren’t idiots— you knew that she would be treated differently, in any school. with you being a foreigner, and satoru having unnatural looks himself, there’s no denying that she sticks out like a sore thumb amongst other children in her class with her snowy white hair and her tiny tinted, prescription goggles that people ask questions about, because while she has the six eyes, she doesn’t know how to use it properly yet and her eyesight is bad because of it.

still, the thought of you missing something is heart wrenching. your baby girl is always cheerful when you or satoru or both pick her up from school at the end of the day, chatting animatedly and showing off her creations from class, but maybe … maybe that was because she was relieved to be home again, surrounded by her favorite things and her loving parents, rather than spending hours a day with people who treated her like she was less than human.

“c’mere, princess,” satoru says, bending at the waist to hoist her off the ground. he perches her up on his arm, letting his shades slide down so that she can look into his eyes. you step a little closer after that, placing a hand on her back for support but you’ll speak to her later when the two of you have a little gossip before bed like you do each night, girl to girl. but right now, satoru is just what she needs. “favorite things that are blue like your eyes? shoot.”

“squirtle!”

“good job, princess. what else?”

she takes great care in huffing, her lower lip stuffing out into a pout, lifting a finger to tap the lens of gojo’s shades, “your eyes.” and then she points to the wedding ring on your finger, with a delicate aquamarine stone set in the middle. she always loved playing with it as a baby. “and mama’s ring.” she thinks for another moment. “and the sky!”

“good job. favorite things that are white like your hair? go!”

a little smile plays on the corners of your lips as you listen to them. satoru is eerily good at parenting when he wants to be, and already she’s swinging and humming because he introduced her to a game of listing her favorite things that looks like her.

“oh-! ice cream, and… and, megumi-nii’s ps5, and.. and.. your hair, dada!” she cheers, her little voice full of excitement as she bounces up and down.

“you’re so good at this. all those things look different from you, don’t they? but they’re pretty to you anyway, right?”

“yep!”

“so… come on here, help your old man out,” he prompts. “what does that make you?”

“i’m pretty too?”

“that’s right. you got a buy one get one free, you know! you got your mama’s beauty and you got six eyes, when most kids only have two! they’re just jealous.” he insists. “they all are.”

“i have six?” she asks in wonder, and just like that she’s on board, her eyes going round and wide behind her goggles. he nods, reaching up to ruffle her little plaits with a grin. then he glances over at you, switching your daughter over to hold with his other arm so that he can pull you close, loop a long arm protectively around your shoulders as you walk and just like that, he’s holding both of his favorite girls.

“yep, and they’re the prettiest eyes ever, this much prettier than your dada’s,” you singsong, cracking a grin and spreading your arms out as a makeshift measurement.

“ouch,” satoru whines, playfully offended. “unfortunately, she’s right.”

“i’m prettier than you, dada!” she giggles, and it means the world to see her spirits lifted once more.

“you’re the prettiest in the world, jellybean. never let anyone tell you otherwise.” you pinch her cheek, earning one of those sweet giggles from her. “our pretty, special baby girl.”

later on tonight, you’ll have a more serious conversation with her about how though the world will sneer and treat her differently because she doesn’t look like society expects her to, she is beautiful despite it all. that she is a product of love, of the most ardent kind. and heart, and happiness. that she is the best thing in the world and you would not trade her for anybody else.

tomorrow, you’ll be raising hell against that school for letting children bully your daughter, for a child having to defend herself against discrimination. but right now, the last thing you say after the school calls and says that your five-year-old got into a fight with another student during recess is “let’s get you ice cream that looks like you to celebrate causing your first black eye!”

[luckyladylily]

This is specifically in Utah. It also effects more than just LGBTQ groups. Any resource directed towards any minority in state funded higher education, public education, and governmental employers is now illegal. It literally bans all "Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion" initiatives, claiming they are discriminatory, as well as the mere mention of the words. Apparently the word "Equality" is so prejudice that is has to be banned by state law.

This is shutting down the LGBTQ resource center at the university I went to. It consisted of one small common area, one tiny office, and a single occupant gender neutral bathroom. There was a single shelf with LGBTQ literature, and sometimes posters up about various identities (one of these posters is actually where I first heard about asexuality, which helped my wife immensely in identifying her own asexuality.)

This is in the most progressive university in the state. Apparently that is too much for republicans to allow.

The Black Cultural Center, American Indian Resource Center, and Center for Equity and Student Belonging are also all being shut down as well.

And honestly this is hardly the worst thing this law is going to do. All publicly funded education is now banned from talking about concepts like diversity and equality. Every governmental employer now *legally* cannot so much as discuss diversity problems.

And really this is just the latest bullshit Utah republicans have done trying to legislate minorities into hiding, into subservient roles, or simply out of existence all together. There is very little that can be done here at the state level because it's a red state controlled by a conservative cult. We just don't have the numbers to oppose these things.

It doesn't have to be like that at the national level. The easiest way to stop these things is to not have representatives that will try to push these laws in the first place. It makes a difference, a huge difference. Salt Lake City, the biggest city in Utah, is a comparatively progressive place and tends to get democrat leadership because of it. The difference between the kind of laws Salt Lake City puts out compared to the state at large is night and day.

Voting is not the only thing, the first thing, the last thing, or even the best thing we can do. But it does make a tangible difference. So I guess if you wont do it for your own reasons, do it for people trapped in deep red areas of the country who's only real hope of legislative protection is at the national level.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Margery E. Beck at AP:

A new South Dakota policy to stop the use of gender pronouns by public university faculty and staff in official correspondence is also keeping Native American employees from listing their tribal affiliations in a state with a long and violent history of conflict with tribes.

Two University of South Dakota faculty members, Megan Red Shirt-Shaw and her husband, John Little, have long included their gender pronouns and tribal affiliations in their work email signature blocks. But both received written warnings from the university in March that doing so violated a policy adopted in December by the South Dakota Board of Regents. “I was told that I had 5 days to remove my tribal affiliation and pronouns,” Little said in an email to The Associated Press. “I believe the exact wording was that I had ‘5 days to correct the behavior.’ If my tribal affiliation and pronouns were not removed after the 5 days, then administrators would meet and make a decision whether I would be suspended (with or without pay) and/or immediately terminated.” The policy is billed by the board as a simple branding and communications policy. It came only months after Republican Gov. Kristi Noem sent a letter to the regents that railed against “liberal ideologies” on college campuses and called for the board to ban drag shows on campus and “remove all references to preferred pronouns in school materials,” among other things.

All nine voting members of the board were appointed by Noem, whose remarks in March accusing tribal leaders of benefitting from illegal drug cartels and not properly caring for children has prompted most South Dakota tribes to ban her from their land. South Dakota’s change comes in the midst of a conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards around the country, with about one-third of the states taking some sort of action against it. Policies targeting gender pronoun use have focused mainly on K-12 students, although some small religious colleges have also restricted pronoun use. Houghton University in western New York fired two dorm directors last year after they refused to remove gender pronouns from their work email signatures.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and her appointed state Board of Regents enacted a extreme prejudicial policy that is anti-freedom of speech by barring employees from using pronouns and tribal affiliations in email signatures.

This is a naked act of hate and erasure against indigenous peoples and the LGBTQ+ community in The Mount Rushmore State.

[kp777]

By Jake Johnson

Common Dreams

June 25, 2024

"Instead of siphoning money and increasing tax breaks to subsidize private education, we have a responsibility to ensure all students have access to quality K-12 education."

Sen. Bernie Sanders released a report Tuesday detailing how right-wing billionaires are bankrolling coordinated efforts to privatize U.S. public education by promoting voucher programs that siphon critical funding away from already-underresourced public schools.

The report notes that last year, the American Federation for Children (AFC)—an organization funded by former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos—"ousted state lawmakers in Iowa and Arkansas who resisted proposals to subsidize private education in states and passed expansive private school vouchers."

Aided by millions of dollars in funding from DeVos and her husband, "AFC's political affiliates and allies spent $9 million to win 277 out of 368 races to remove at least 40 incumbent lawmakers," the report adds.

The DeVos family is hardly alone in using its wealth to undercut U.S. public education. The Bradley Foundation, which has been knee-deep in efforts to privatize education in Wisconsin and across the country, spent $7.5 million in 2022 "to fund 34 state affiliates of the State Policy Network to push conservative policy agendas, including privatizing education, and $8.3 million to building a youth movement to 'win the American Culture War.'"

"The Koch-sponsored group, American Encore, has funneled substantial amounts into state governor races and ballot initiatives around the country, including more than $1.4 million to elect Arizona's former governor Doug Ducey in 2014 (who led the efforts to create the nation's first universal private school voucher)," the report adds.

"For too long, there's been a coordinated effort to sabotage our public schools and privatize our education system. Unacceptable."

The analysis also names billionaires Jess Yass of Susquehanna International Group, Richard Uihlein of Uline, and Bernard Marcus of Home Depot, all of whom have recently donated to the School Freedom Fund—a PAC that supports voucher programs and shuttering the U.S. Education Department.

School voucher programs disproportionately benefit wealthy families, analyses have shown, while undercutting the goal of serving all students within a community.

"Over the past decade, there has been a coordinated effort on the part of right-wing billionaires to undermine, dismantle, and sabotage our nation's public schools and to privatize our education system," Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said in a statement. " That is absolutely unacceptable."

"We can no longer tolerate billionaires and multinational corporations receiving massive tax breaks and subsidies while children in America are forced to go to understaffed, underresourced, and underfunded public schools," Sanders continued. "On this 70th anniversary year of Brown v. Board of Education, let us recommit to creating an education system that works for all of our people, not just the wealthy few."

The new report, authored by the Senate HELP Committee's majority staff, comes days after Sanders presided over a hearing at which a pair of public school teachers decried the low educator pay and lack of resources plaguing schools across the U.S. and threatening the foundations of the country's public education system.

The committee's report shows that while most states have chronically underfunded their public schools, spending on voucher programs that subsidize private schools with taxpayer dollars has surged across the country. Between 2008 and 2019, according to a recent analysis cited in the report, Florida ramped up spending on voucher programs by 313% while "decreasing per-pupil funding of public schooling by 12%."

"The expansion of private school voucher programs forces very real tradeoffs. Money spent on private school vouchers could instead be used to hire teachers, raise wages, hire school counselors, and invest in high-quality academics for students," reads the new report, which estimates that "Arizona could hire 15,730 more public K-12 teachers with the money it is instead spending on private school vouchers."

The report calls on Congress to help reverse the trend of billionaire-backed school privatization by investing more in public education—including early childhood education and community schools—and by passing Sanders' legislation to set the pay floor for U.S. public school teachers at $60,000 a year.

The report also recommends passage of the College for All Act, a Sanders-led bill that would make public colleges and universities tuition-free for students from households making less than $250,000 a year.

"As the richest country in history, the United States should have the best education system in the world," Sanders' report reads. "Our public education system is not perfect—it is underfunded and racially and socioeconomically segregated. Our educators are not respected or paid nearly what they deserve."

"Massive tax breaks to the wealthiest people and largest corporations are being prioritized over opportunities to progressively raise revenue to support social services and public education," the report continues. "Instead of siphoning money and increasing tax breaks to subsidize private education, we have a responsibility to ensure all students have access to quality K-12 education. This requires adequate and equitable funding and addressing structural challenges in our public schools."

[weemssapphic]

Lipstick Stains - Pt. 8

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Larissa Weems x fem!reader

summary: The evening of the Rave'N is rapidly approaching, and Larissa could not be more excited - now that she has someone to share the evening with. As usual, however, life has other plans for her.

words: ~3.6k | ao3 link in title

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

With the Rave’N coming up, Larissa was full of mixed feelings. Her own Rave’N had been colored by rejection, jealousy, and heartbreak, all served with a side of trauma from the gruesome death of Garrett Gates - and right in front of her, no less. It was hard to push aside all those feelings every year when the Rave’N came around again and Larissa found herself chaperoning - this year it would certainly be even more of a challenge, when Wednesday’s presence seemed to have a way of digging up unpleasant memories.

But something else was different this year, too. For the first time in years, Larissa would actually have someone to bring to the Rave’N - as a date. She mulled over the possibilities in her head countless times, each time coming to the same conclusion: she would be at the Rave’N in her function as principal - bringing a date would be highly unprofessional.

It would also open her relationship up to all kinds of scrutiny from fellow staff and students. A vain, selfish part of Larissa wished to keep something that precious close to her heart, far away from anyone or anything that could take this small piece of happiness and bliss away from her. At least for now, while everything else in her life was already so tumultuous. 

She’d come up with a plan, however: while she couldn’t take you to the dance, she could arrange for you to spend the night, perhaps make up for a lost opportunity by offering you a slow dance in front of the fire to the sounds of her record player. There was simply no way Larissa could allow the evening to go to waste.

Initially she worried you’d think she was trying to hide your relationship, or that she was ashamed of you. As with all things, however, you proved you could take it in stride - when she’d made her proposal over the phone that week, explaining (or rather overexplaining) her reasoning, you’d simply asked if she thought you should dress up for the evening, too.

Larissa felt lighter due to the prospect of being able to meet up with you after the Rave’N - she even felt excited, something she hadn’t felt in regards to the event in decades. Saturday evening could not come fast enough. When she hung up the phone, she found herself blushing, giddy like a schoolgirl. 

~~~

Saturday felt like your high school prom all over again. You spent all day in your room, listening to music and getting ready. A new outfit was out of your budget, but luckily you still had what you wore to your own prom in the back of your closet - you’d never been more grateful that you’d decided to hang onto the outfit. 

You were all nerves as you made the familiar drive to Nevermore, your limbs tingling with anticipation. Your own prom had been fun, sure, but going with your best friends was far from romantic - and even though you weren’t technically going to the Rave’N, you still felt the evening would be special - Larissa would make it special.

The last steps before reaching Larissa’s office were the most nerve-wracking, your heart beating wildly inside your chest like a hummingbird. It felt like your first date all over again. Wiping your sweaty palms on your thighs, you raised your fist to the door and knocked. “Larissa, it’s me.”

You heard the clicking of heels come closer and closer and then the door swung open and your jaw dropped. Larissa Weems was a fucking vision. You allowed your eyes to sweep over her form - the metallic silver dress, shimmering in the low light, conservative yet simultaneously hugging each and every soft curve; the matching jewelry, perfectly accentuating her milky skin; her long, long legs ending in a pair of heels that added several inches to her towering height; the soft, satin gloves adorning her hands.

Your gaze finally settled on her face, her usual red lip and her signature updo that was even more ornate than usual. Her lips curled into an excited smile that spread across her entire face, reaching from ear to ear and causing her eyes to crease at the outer corners and her nose to scrunch up - you couldn’t help but mirror her smile, beaming up at her as she ushered you into her office and closed the door behind you.

“Wow. Larissa, you-” Your words were cut off by a pair of plush lips eagerly crashing into your own. Gloved hands cupped your cheeks and you felt Larissa’s body press into yours. Resting your hands on her hips, you whimpered into the kiss, allowing Larissa to explore your mouth with her tongue.

Larissa pulled back after a few minutes, her breathing heavy and her eyes sparkling as she grinned down at you. You couldn’t help but giggle, feeling more than a little love-drunk.

“I was going to say you look fucking amazing,” you said breathlessly.

A faint blush colored Larissa’s cheeks and her smile turned a tad shy. 

“You look beautiful yourself, my love,” she whispered affectionately, allowing her eyes to drift down the length of your body - it was your turn to blush. “Would you care to join me for a glass of wine before I have to leave?”

You agreed and Larissa poured two glasses and ushered you over to the sofa.

“The dance goes until 11 officially, I’m not sure when I’ll be back but I’ve stocked up my kitchen, take whatever you like. I want you to feel at home here,” Larissa informed you, taking a sip of her wine as she rested her other arm across the back of the sofa. “Thank you for coming, by the way,” she added quietly.

“You don’t have to thank me for that!” You giggled - you couldn’t hide your enthusiasm and it earned you a blinding smile from the principal. “I’m glad I get to share this experience with you, even a little.”

“I’m glad, too.” Larissa looked wistfully into the flames roaring in the fireplace, before lightly shaking her head and meeting your curious gaze.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, love. Now that you’re here.” She placed her glass down on the floor and scooted closer, placing a hand on the back of your neck and pulling you in for a soft, gentle kiss. You could feel her smile against your mouth and it made butterflies erupt behind your navel. 

“I have to go, the dance will be starting soon. I mean it, make yourself at home - you may stay in here or in my quarters, whichever you prefer. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Have fun,” you said with a smile, reaching out with your thumb to wipe away a smudge of lipstick at the corner of Larissa’s lips. 

“Thank you,” she murmured, pressing a firm kiss to your cheek and leaving a little mark. She smirked and stood then, making her way to the door and calling goodbye as she shut it behind her. 

~~~

It would likely be a few hours until the dance would end and Larissa would be done with her work - it is work, you reminded yourself, and you understood why Larissa would decide against bringing a date, even if part of you wished to be there next to her, showing the entire school that you belong to each other.

You wandered through her office and her quarters, not necessarily snooping but rather taking in your surroundings with interest. Perusing her bookshelf, you found a book on different types of outcasts - perhaps that would help you gain some insight into Larissa’s world. Taking the book and getting yourself a glass of water from her kitchen, you cozied up in front of the fireplace to wait out the Rave’N.

When the door to Larissa’s office opened at a quarter to 11, a bit earlier than you’d thought she’d be back, you turned your head in surprise. Your expression, however, quickly gave way to horror.

Larissa was drenched head to toe in… blood? You weren’t sure. It stained her dress, her gloves, the white of her hair, it trickled down her face. Dropping the book onto the floor next to the sofa, you clambered over the armrest and shot over to her side, the overwhelming stench of fresh paint filling your nostrils. Oh. You furrowed your brow, drinking in Larissa’s expression - her tear-filled eyes, the quivering of her lower lip and wobbling of her chin as she leaned back against the door, staring past you as if she hadn’t yet registered your presence.

“Rissa?” you tried, gently reaching out for her hand. Her gaze snapped to meet your own, her eyes widening slightly.

“Darling, I’m so-” The words died in her throat, replaced by a strangled sob. A single tear flowed down her cheek, mixing with the red paint and causing a pink droplet to gather on her chin, trembling for a moment before falling and leaving another stain on her dress.

You flung your arms around the principal, who froze at your touch.

“I’m filthy,” she warned with a sniffle. “You’ll get paint all over yourself.”

“I don’t care.” You tightened your grip and stood on your tiptoes to press a light kiss to the corner of her mouth, trying to avoid getting paint on your lips. Another moment passed and then Larissa wrapped her arms around you and hugged you back, stooping down a little awkwardly and ducking her head to bury it in the crook of your neck.

“What happened?” you whispered.

“I don’t know yet,” Larissa replied reproachfully - you could tell by her low tone that she was attempting to reign in her emotions, though her voice shook a bit. “The paint came out of the sprinkler system, I have some students to question tomorrow. There’s too much chaos right-”

She was interrupted by a ringing phone. Extracting herself from your arms, she strode over to her desk, taking a steadying breath before answering.

“Larissa Weems?” Her expression turned quickly from one of aggravation to shock, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. “Where? … Yes, alright, I’ll be right there.”

As soon as she hung up the phone, Larissa rushed to the door. In the blink of an eye, she had shapeshifted into clean clothes, no trace of paint visible on her body as she grabbed her purse from the little table next to the door.

“What’s going on?” you managed to croak out. Larissa turned to you, fresh tears pooling in her eyes.

“One of my students has been attacked. I have to go to the hospital.”

Your eyes widened, a thousand questions on the tip of your tongue but Larissa was already halfway out the door.

“I’m sorry, I have to go.” She threw you a look that you couldn’t quite decipher, and then she was gone.

~~~

Hours. It felt like it had been hours since Larissa had left. You tried busying yourself with reading, scrolling on your phone, admiring Larissa’s extensive vinyl collection, but nothing could soothe the rolling of your stomach and the clenching of your heart as you checked your phone every few minutes, seeing no signs of life from the principal.

At 1:30 am you decided to text her, receiving a reply some 20 minutes later.

Y/N: Hey <3 I hope everything is okay! Let me know if you need anything x Larissa: No need to worry. Larissa: Please, don’t stay up for me. We’ll talk in the morning.

As if you would listen to her - you’d wait up until she got back, how could you not? At least that’s what you tried to do, settling onto the sofa in Larissa’s office with her book and staring blankly at the words as the warmth of the fire slowly lulled you into a light sleep.

~~~

The ear splitting slam of a door tore you from your slumber and you shot up into a seated position to see Larissa storming through her office, making a beeline towards her quarters.

“Larissa?” you called out, your voice hoarse and groggy as you tried to will yourself to properly wake up.

The shapeshifter stopped dead in her tracks, frozen for a split second before spinning around, searching her office. Her gaze landed on you - you’d never seen such raw pain displayed plainly on anyone’s face before, much less on Larissa’s. Sure, she’d been angry after Outreach Day, but this, this was different. Her mask seemed to be completely cracked; pain, heartbreak, fear, anger all etched across her features in equal measure.

“You’re still here.” Larissa’s voice cracked as she spoke, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“Where else would I be?” you questioned, pushing yourself off the sofa and taking slow steps towards Larissa.

“I-I thought-” Larissa opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her lower lip was trembling as she avoided your gaze, wringing her hands as she blinked back tears. “I told you not to stay up. You don’t have to-”

“Like hell I’m leaving you alone tonight,” you growled, causing Larissa to look up in surprise. “I don’t know what happened and you don’t have to talk about it right now but, please, let me be there for you. I want to be here. With you.”

Larissa’s eyes darted around the room, her breaths shallow. You stepped up to her until your front was flush against hers, taking her chin between your fingers and guiding her to look at you. She blinked a few times, her lip twitching, an entire swarm of emotions swimming to the surface of her glassy eyes. “You’ll stay?” she whispered finally.

“Yes, I’ll stay,” you said firmly. A sob wracked Larissa’s body, then another, then another as she fell forward into your arms.

“I c-can’t… I can’t…”

You didn’t know what she meant, but it didn’t take long to figure out: she shifted back to her earlier appearance, the dress she’d been wearing to the Rave’N, the gloves and the heels - she was covered in red paint again.

“It’s… hard to maintain?” you guessed, receiving an exhausted nod in return. “Then let’s get cleaned up before we go to bed.”

You steered Larissa into her quarters. She seemed to be shutting down emotionally, standing unmoving in the doorway. Ordering her to stay where she was, you rushed to run a bath, digging through Larissa’s closet for something to sleep in. For Larissa, you chose a pair of sage green satin pajamas - for yourself, a plain white t-shirt, one of the only casual items of clothing you could find.

“Come on,” you murmured, leading Larissa to the bathroom. You tugged gently at the zipper of her dress. “May I?”

Receiving an affirming nod, you pulled the zipper all the way down, revealing pale, freckled skin, unstained by paint. You slipped the dress off her shoulders and down her arms until it pooled at her feet, then helped her remove her gloves, bra, garters, stockings, and underwear. You stripped yourself of your own clothes and stepped into the warm bath, extending a hand for Larissa to take and guiding her to sit between your legs and rest back against you.

“Is it okay if I take down your hair?” you asked, fingers already dancing along her scalp. She hummed, wiggling her hips slightly to get a more comfortable position. 

You began to take out the pins holding her elegant updo in place, setting soft curls free one by one. When the last pin had been taken out and deposited neatly in a pile next to the bath, you began to massage her scalp, fingernails raking over her skin, applying a light pressure.

Larissa let out a soft moan, her body finally beginning to relax against you. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice subdued.

“For what?”

“Tonight wasn’t supposed to be like this... I wanted it to be perfect and instead it turned into a complete disaster.”

You hummed, pressing a kiss to the side of Larissa’s head where it rested against your chin.

“Well, either way, I’m glad I was here. If only so that I get to do this.” You raked wet fingers through platinum locks - that red paint would be a bitch to get out. You continued to remove all traces of the paint from Larissa’s body, scrubbing gently at her skin, then shifting positions slightly to help her remove her makeup. Little kisses were pressed to each area of her body as it was cleaned - her shoulders, her collarbone, her cheeks, her forehead, the tip of her nose.

“I don’t deserve you,” Larissa whispered, her voice thick with emotion as her eyes fluttered shut.

“Of course you do,” you whispered back, punctuating your words with kisses to her shoulder and neck.

“I’m supposed to keep my Nevermore family safe and I failed. Eugene is in a coma. He could have died. I had to call his mothers in the middle of the night to explain to them how their son was attacked, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“It’s not your fault, Larissa. You couldn’t know this would happen. Don’t internalize this - you’re doing your best.” You were pleading with her as you felt your heart ache at her painful admission - if there was one thing you knew for certain, it was that Larissa deserved the world.

She tilted her head to the side to look up at you, lips parted and brows knit together as glassy eyes darted between your own. Ducking your head, you pressed a tender kiss to her lips, feeling the way her body twisted in your arms and her hand pulled you closer by the back of the neck.

You pulled back from the kiss, meeting Larissa’s gaze. Before you could stop yourself, you whispered the three words you’d been longing to say but hadn’t had the courage to speak out loud.

“I love you.”

A beat of silence followed in which your heart hammered wildly in your chest, Larissa’s deep blue eyes boring into your own.

“I love you, too,” Larissa whispered - you let out the breath you didn’t realize you were holding. She looked at you with such raw affection that it made your heart melt, and then she kissed you again - softly and slowly.

“Can you hold me, please?” Larissa’s voice was barely audible against your lips, her eyes scrunched shut as if she were afraid to say the words - it made you realize Larissa didn’t seem to have much practice being vulnerable in front of someone else. Responding with actions, you sunk down a little further in the large jacuzzi tub, your arms winding around her torso and hugging her tightly, intertwining your legs with hers.

“Is it… is it selfish of me to say that I just wanted this one Rave’N to go well?”

“What do you mean? Didn’t you go to Nevermore? What happened at your own Rave’N?” Your curiosity was piqued - you’d just assumed that someone as beautiful as Larissa would’ve had countless potential suitors, just like the pretty, popular girls at your school who went to prom with their dates. You imagined Larissa in a radiant dress with a gorgeous date, perhaps even being crowned prom queen, if there was such a thing at Nevermore. But you’d never asked, you realized - for everything that Larissa had shared about her life, her career, her likes and dislikes, you didn’t know much about Larissa’s time at Nevermore.

The woman in question buried her head in the crook of your neck, letting out a shaky sigh and gently tracing patterns along your chest with her forefinger. 

“The girl I asked turned me down for someone else,” she murmured finally, her breath ghosting over your collarbone. “She was my roommate and it made for a… most unpleasant year.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.” You weren’t quite sure how to make Larissa feel better, and you tightened your grip on her waist. “I can’t imagine turning you down for anyone.”

Larissa chuckled dryly and pressed a kiss to your neck. “You’re sweet, darling. You’d be surprised. But it’s in the past.” She didn’t really seem okay but it appeared she was done talking for now so you didn’t push the topic. 

The shapeshifter burrowed into you, her eyes closed. You didn’t dare move a muscle, not until the water had gone cold and your back was aching from being pressed into the side of the bathtub.

“Riss?” You carded your fingers through her damp hair - her eyes fluttered open, eyelids heavy with sleep, and she let out a low hum in response. “Can we go to bed?”

Suppressing a yawn, Larissa shifted in your lap, pulling herself out of the tub and reaching for one of the fluffy towels you’d laid out. You followed after her, wrapping yourself in a towel and draining the tub before getting dressed for bed. The two of you padded off to the bedroom and you settled beside Larissa in bed - no sooner had you turned off the lights and slipped under the covers did Larissa wrap her arm around your middle, tucking you securely into her side and resting her cheek against your head.

It was the safest you’d ever felt. You’d never had this level of intimacy with anyone before - you were certain you’d seen Larissa at one of her lowest points today, and she’d allowed you to care for her - even though you knew how hard that must have been for her. You were absolutely in awe of how much she had to deal with, and how gracefully and professionally she did so, even when she was clearly falling apart. 

“Goodnight, my love,” you whispered into the darkness, burrowing into her chest and allowing your eyes to fall shut.

“G’night,” Larissa mumbled. Her voice was already thick with sleep and you smiled as you tightened your hold on her waist.

x

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[townpostin]

KSMS Jyoti Club Celebrates Vrikshabandhan, Ties Rakhis to Trees

Students honor nature and Chipko Movement in unique Rakshabandhan observance Kerala Samajam Model School’s Jyoti Club marks Vrikshabandhan, tying rakhis to trees in a nature conservation gesture. JAMSHEDPUR – Students at Kerala Samajam Model School celebrated Vrikshabandhan, tying handmade rakhis to trees as a tribute to nature. The Jyoti Club of Kerala Samajam Model School (KSMS) organized a…

[buriedpentacles]

Hi! I'm not sure if you've mentioned it on your blog, but I'd love to ask about your relationship with Mother Nature! How do you communicate with her? Are there specific signs that let you know when/if she's reaching out?

I love any excuse to talk more about my great Mother so here's some more on my relationship with Mother Nature:

I initiated the relationship, she didn't "reach out" to me in some special way, instead I chose to worship her. I was struggling with my understanding of the world, of gods and faith, and so I decided to step away from that and worship something real and tangible - that was Nature.

I have always admired nature and the decision to worship it as my deity felt so much more "right" than the other practices I had dabbled in. After a few weeks of offerings, prayers and messy attempts at communication, Mother came to me in a dream and we spoke. I decided I wanted a relationship beyond just worship and she agreed. Over time I have grown in my works with her, and am now a devotee - I have given my life to Mother Nature.

I am a zoology student, my years of study at University are dedicated to Her, entirely.

I spend weekends exploring forests, hiking mountains, cleaning beaches, all in Her name.

My future career, my home, my life will always be intwined with Nature. I will work in natural science education or conservation, I will ensure my home is full of life and I will have a garden if I have space, I will make the best decisions I can to protect nature. I am devoted to Nature not just in a spiritual sense, but in a tangible manner.

There are many facets to Mother Nature, all of them are as beautiful and powerful as the next. She is an impartial judge, an unmoving observer of cause and consequence, she is a cold winter that kills and culls and has no mercy or kindness, she is a beloved mother sheltering those in need, she is a warrior who defends her home. Mother Nature is life and birth, she is spring flowers and slow rivers, she is rot and death, harsh winters and lethal rapids, she is autumn and change, the wind beneath a bird's wings and the gravity that drags it down, she is the summer warmth and dew drops on the grass. She is all of this and more. I have seen her in many forms, from the long haired nymph to the stag-headed mother, from the hooded man to the small child, from the crow and fox, to the maggots and morels. I am grateful to see her in all her cloaks.

I speak with Mother through my tarot cards a lot - I am good at interpreting them, it is familiar and easier for me, she has her own devoted deck. I often use oracle cards in tandem as well. However, Mother Nature is pushing me to communicate with her in more ways. I use charm casting and bone throwing with her, grateful for my new set built from the sheep (?) teeth she gifted me. She also speaks to me in much less obvious ways - I find her messages in the world around me, written on cobwebs and in the needles of thistles, her whispers echo in the rustle of leaves and the crash of waves. I feel her more than I hear or see her, images and visions flashed in my waking and sleeping mind, feelings that aren't mine, conclusions I would not reach, understanding that was previously out of my grasp.

She is all around me and so I never feel like I must reach for her, I need only speak and I know that she will hear me.

This has been quite the tangent and I know its probably not quite what you were looking for - if you think Mother Nature is reaching out to you, or if you desire a relationship with her please send in more asks or dm me!! I would love to hear from any other worshippers or devotees!

[sirfrogsworth]

There is this horrible conservative Karen in Utah who is on a school board and she posted a picture of a high school girls basketball team. One of the girls pictured was perceived to be particularly masculine. This Karen assumed they were trying to sneak a trans girl onto the team. She captioned the photo "girls" basketball with transphobic scare quotes.

But the girl was cisgender. And she faced so much bullying and threats to her safety that the school had to hire security for her.

The moral panic about trans girls and women in sports is going to mostly harm cis athletes. Because, as I have pointed out many times, there just aren't very many trans athletes. Missouri passed an anti-trans law for K-12 athletics only to discover it affected a total of 8 people. In the entire roster of 130,000 NCAA women athletes, only 100 are estimated to be trans.

This narrative that there are trans students coming out of the woodwork to infiltrate school sports has caused people to see trans athletes everywhere. They might even be convinced this is now a commonplace occurrence. But if the NCAA is a good statistical model, for every athlete they accuse there is a 0.0769% chance of them actually being transgender.

This idea that these people are going to protect cis athletes from the unfair competition caused by trans athletes is a farce. The majority of the time they are going to embarrass, harm, and possibly threaten the very people they claim they want to protect.

That doesn't seem worth it, even from their hateful point of view.

That is unless their actual agenda is to sow fear and hatred towards trans people and not actually to protect the fairness of competition.

Beyond that, while there have been some initial laboratory studies showing trans athletes who have gone through male puberty do retain some quantifiable physical advantages in a limited number of athletic movements, these advantages have yet to manifest in any statistically significant way in real-life competition.

There have been no world records that have lasted more than a few months. There have been no undefeated trans athletes. There have been no significantly long winning streaks. Every single trans athlete that I could find in my research has been defeated by a cisgender opponent. And I could find very few that even had a positive winning percentage.

In every metric I can think of that would fall under the umbrella of "unfair competition" I have yet to find an example. And if trans athletes truly are so "dominant" I feel like it should be much easier to discover.

The only trend I discovered that might be worthy of discussion is some trans athletes have performed at a higher level for longer. There have been some cyclists who could compete professionally into their 40s, whereas cisgender women typically age out before then. But I could only find a few examples of this and I think much more data would be needed to verify this is common. But I feel this would only be an issue in sports that have an age bracket system.

There are so many other problems within sports that truly need addressing. As of yet, I have not even seen an example of trans athletes being problematic to the fairness of competition. Sometimes they win. Most of the time they lose. And chances are, most cis athletes will never even compete against a trans woman in their entire career.

[triviallytrue]

Hiya! I have a handful of students that talk about Jordan Peterson and I'm trying to get an understanding of him but there's so many videos and interviews. Many people seem divisive about him. Do you have an opinion about him?

Sure!

Jordan Peterson is a Canadian psychology professor turned conservative pseudointellectual on the waning end of his internet popularity - he'll still have fans for the foreseeable future but I don't think he'll ever attain the same heights he did during the Trump years.

So, what to say about him? I guess we should start with the impoverished state of intellectual conservatism. Popular conservatism recognizes academia as its enemy, so it has slim pickings when it comes to finding academics to be popular mouthpieces for its views. Jordan Peterson rose to prominence in large part by being an academic counterpart to Ben Shapiro, someone who could talk about conservatism while sounding smart to teenagers and rubes.

Peterson is, unfortunately, a Jungian psychologist, meaning he hails from one of the least-reputable subdivisions of one of the least-reputable social sciences. This has not stopped him from repeatedly positioning himself as a defender of STEM against the encroaching humanities (lol).

He is also not much of an intellectual heavyweight; I am no great admirer of Slavoj Zizek, but the two of them had a "debate" which made it painfully obvious that they were in different stratospheres.

So why is he popular? I think one failure mode of the left is that it offers many good structural critiques of the system that nonetheless feel too large to be impacted by an individual. What Peterson offers to young people (especially young men) is an alternative view - you don't feel lost and aimless because of capitalism, you feel lost and aimless because you need to get your shit together. Clean your room!

And to some degree, he's right! Life sucks less when your room is clean. The world is broken but we still have to live in it, not that he'd ever accurately describe the brokenness.

Anyway. This is why my main advice to you would be to not give in to the kneejerk reaction to (correctly) brand him a reactionary and a waste of time to listen to. JP, Shapiro, and other conservatives have taken to marketing themselves as the "intellectual dark web," telling you all the deep truths liberals don't want you to hear. "They call us mean words like 'racist' and 'incredibly transphobic' to hide that we're right!" Calling that out just plays into that mythos.

Make no mistake, JP is a reactionary. He initially got popular because of his refusal to call trans students by their preferred pronouns. His entire take on gender is traditionalist and regressive. He rattles off plenty of conservative talking points about cultural marxists and the like. But to a random teenager who feels aimless and is receptive to an authority figure telling them to get their shit together, none of that is obvious. Most of his videos are pretty anodyne, and some even border on benign!

As much as I dislike him, it's hard for me to escape the conclusion that JP probably just isn't worth worrying about. I have friends who were into his videos as teenagers, and they seem to have turned out just fine. I think he appeals to young men in a certain phase of their lives, and he probably exposes them to some harmful ideas, but I think trying to actively stop that process tends to make it worse, not better, by undermining the credibility of whoever is doing it.

[mariacallous]

Bulgaria’s parliament on Wednesday adopted a law which prohibits “propaganda” for “non-traditional sexual orientations” in schools, sparking outrage and calls for protests. 

The legislation was drafted by the pro-Russian Revival party, but on its first and second readings it also gained support also from pro-Western factions as well.

The amendment to the Law for Pre-School and School Education outlaws “propaganda, popularisation and encouragement, directly or indirectly, of ideas and views connected to nontraditional sexual orientation or to gender-identifying different from the biological”.

In total, 135 out of 240 MPs voted in favour. Support from the pro-Moscow Bulgarian Socialist Party was expected, but the bill passed largely because of the surprising backing of the pro-EU centre-right GERB party.

More than half of the MP’s from the reformist opposition duo We Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria missed voting on the first reading for unclear reasons, but the alliance participated more fully on the second, voting against. Altogether, 57 MPs voted against and eight from GERB abstained.

The increased presence of topics related to sexual and gender identity in Bulgaria’s educational system is mentioned as a fact in the legislation’s wording, without offering specific examples. Some MPs cited the existence of brochures on sexual education for children and teenagers, or translated books that are in circulation, as problematic. 

The text does not mention sanctions and does not specify what “ideas and views” would be considered unlawful, leaving room for various interpretations. 

“The restriction on even talking about the topic in school limits chances to oppose the violence and harassment that LGBTI+ students experience,” the feminist organisation LevFem said after the passage of the amendment. 

LGBTQ+ organisation Deystvie drew direct comparisons between the draft amendment and the steady limitation of human rights and the rights of sexual minorities in Russia. “For the 30 years of democratic transition, Bulgaria’s political elite never understood that human rights are at the core of democracy,” Deystvie stated. 

“We need to be heard and understood, not rejected and attacked,” the human rights collective Feminist Mobilisations said before the vote. 

On Wednesday afternoon, a protest was announced in Sofia. 

Echoes of hate speech in debates

During the parliamentary debate, some politicians made statements bordering on hate speech. 

Socialist Party leader Kornelia Ninova said that Bulgarian families abroad had contacted her to alert about the dangers of “gender ideology” in the West and criticised those who are “one thing in the morning, a second in the afternoon, a third in the evening”.

Ninova defined “gender ideology” as something promoted “by very influential and rich people” and said it was “creeping into and taking over Bulgarian schools”.

She noted the recent Eurovision Song Contest, won by a non-binary contestant, and the aesthetics of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris as worrying examples. Olympic controversies have been fanned by local conservative politicians, as a recent BIRN analysis explained. 

Ninova’s statements are in line with pro-Kremlin leanings of the Socialist Party, which in 2023 tried to initiate a referendum against “gender ideology” and which since 2017 has vehemently opposed the women’s rights treaty, the so-called Istanbul Convention, interpreting it as promoting LGBTQ+ rights.

“I’ll repeat what I’ve been saying for seven years now: hands off Bulgarian children,” Ninova said on Wednesday.

Zvezdelina Karavelova of Revival said that “pederasty” should be challenged and she hoped that her one-year-old son would never bring home a husband.

Atanas Tchorbanov of the There’s Such a People party compared the outcry from human rights organisations to the orchestra that famously played on during the sinking of the Titanic. 

Daniel Mitov of GERB said the measure was an opportunity to fight “leftist ideologies”.

In contrast, Eleonora Belobradova of We Continue the Change criticised the amendment as regressive and claimed that some paragraphs had been copy-pasted from Wikipedia. 

The turn of events underscores the successful politics of Revival.  Between 2020 and 2022, support for the party increased after it adopted anti-vaxx positions during the COVID-19 pandemic and stayed close to the Kremlin playbook over Ukraine. 

In 2022, Revival unsuccessfully tried to bring in a Russian-style “foreign agents” law.

[batboyblog]

"My Name is Harvey Milk and I'm Here To Recruit You!"

If you don't know Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office, to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. To this day Harvey remains the most famous queer person elected to office maybe in the world. His short and tumultuous time in office was dominated by the fight for gay rights. In the late 1970s there was a huge backlash against the rise of gay rights spearheaded by a group called "Save Our Children". Across the country they organized elections to revoke local gay rights ordinances in Miami, Saint Paul, Wichita and Eugene in the summer and fall of 1977. In 1978 a California state Senator John Briggs brought forward a citizens referendum, Proposition 6, which would ban gay people and supporters of gay rights from being teachers any where in the state of California. The last year of Harvey's life was consumed with the struggle against Briggs who he debated across the state. In the end the Briggs Initiative was defeated 58-41% with Harvey's home of San Francisco turning out over 70% against. The national anti-gay fever broke and "Save Our Children" never recovered.

Harvey opened every speech he ever gave with "My name is Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you" In the 1970s rather than accusing gay people of "grooming" children (an idea that didn't exist then) they were accused of "recruiting" them. "Recruiting our children to the homosexual lifestyle". So Harvey used it as a joke but also a battle cry

Today it feels like every day there's more bad news. Across the country state legislatures are trying to ban trans health care for minors and even adults. Local school boards are banning books about LGBT people (and others). States are trying to ban drag. violence and the threat of violence are trying to stop companies from doing Pride and attacking Queer events. The internet is flooded with "groomer" attacks on our humanity. There are days it does feel like the 1970s all over again.

BUT! we won then, and there are many lessons we can take from Harvey and his struggle and use to win the fight against the current wave of hate plunging American in darkness. Harvey's been gone a very long time so... My name is Max and I'm here to recruit you, here are some things I want everyone to do.

VOTE BITCH!

Are you an American citizen 18 years of age or older? Are you registered to vote? if the answer is no, register to fucking vote bitch, here check out what you need. If you want registered, click the link any ways and double check. If you're 16 or 17 years old good news more than half the states in America allow you to "preregister" so you're all signed up and become a registered vote right on your 18th birthday. Whats more ask every vaguely left of center person in your life, everyone who supports LGBT rights, if they're registered to vote and if any one says "no" bug the shit out of them till that changes.

But more than just registering to vote you have to go and vote, yes every election. Right now across America conservative queerphobes are using local elections that get little to no attention and are often very low turn out to take over and push wildly extreme and hateful agendas. Local school boards across America are banning books that have LGBT characters or themes. They pushing policies that refuse students the right to their correct names and pronouns. They want to require schools to out students to their parents against their wishes. Check Vote411 or ballotpedia to find what elections are happening around you.

Candidates on a local level, school board, town/city council, county government, even up to state Rep and state Senate candidates are almost always very responsive to questions. Email everyone running and ask them where they stand, you will get answers I PROMISE you will get answers. Its the easiest thing to do and everyone who has the right to vote in this country should do it, vote in every election.

"But I live in a super blue area my vote doesn't matter" SHUT UP! SHUT UP! even if every local election is Democratic it can be more progressive, ask local candidates what they're gonna do to push LGBT rights forward. Will your local school board push teaching LGBT history? respect trans students pronouns? will your local library board host a drag queen story hour and put together programs for pride? ask! push them! let local candidates know!

"but I live in a super red area my vote doesn't count" BULLSHIT! where ever you are there's a local election that can swing to the non-shitty side if people show up, you can be the difference in a school board election. No matter what stand up and be counted.

Come Out Come Out Wherever You Are.

Since the earliest days of the movement in the 1950s and 1960s before Stonewall, through Harvey Milk's time in the 1970s through to right now, the most powerful tool we have is to come out. It is easy to hate the homosexual, the transgender as an abstraction, as a stereotype as an unrefuted lie. It is so much harder to hate a brother, a sister, a son, a daughter, a friend, a neighbor, your lawyer, your doctor, the mailman, your 8th grade English teacher. In 1978 Harvey said:

"Unless you have dialogue, unless you open the walls of dialogue, you can never reach to change people's opinion. In those two weeks, more good and bad, but more about the word homosexual and gay was written than probably in the history of mankind. Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice. In 1977 we saw a dialogue start."

Thats what they're scared of, thats why they're freaking out in Target, why they're trying to shut down Drag Queen story hours and take away the books. Ignorance and hate lives in darkness and dies in the light. In 1978 gay men and lesbians went door to door in California and introduced themselves to strangers to explain the harm Briggs would do to them. They vote for us 3 to 1 if they know they know one of us.

It shouldn't be like this, it should be when you're ready when you have all the words, but they're coming for us all so come out come out wherever you are. If you know your parents will love you but you've been holding off because it's scary or stressful, nows the moment. If you're a grown ass adult who lives on your own and don't need mom and dad's money to pay your rent, tell them, no matter how much it hurts, call them on the phone, write them a letter if you have to. Does your family know but they asked you not to tell grandma, grandma, great-aunt Marge because they're old or whatever, or your aunt and uncle who are born again Christians. Listen if they still vote they could be hurting you and if they really love you they shouldn't want to do that, tell them! tell them who you really are, and it might be the work of years to bring that person around, but you never know till you try it.

Are there family members you have who know and love you but you know they're conservative and still vote Republican and you've been avoiding talking to them about it because it's awkward? Stop avoiding it, explain it to them, explain that it's not "just politics" explain to your loved ones that they ARE hurting you. If they don't hear it the first time, don't stop, if they love you they shouldn't hurt you.

Come Out at Work, Come out at your bowling league, come out to that friend of a friend you see sometimes, wear a pin, rainbow shoes, a shirt in public, tell your co-workers, your clients, your Church, your Synagogue. Wear that rainbow pin, that pronoun t-shirt, put a sticker on your car, your bag, your phone. If it's safe for you to be out in a space, claim it, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE.

COMING OUT AS TRANS OR NON-BINARY

COMING OUT AS LESBIAN, GAY, OR BISEXUAL

Go To Pride This Year.

Conservatives are trying harder than any time in my lifetime to shut down Pride. Florida and Tennessee have passed laws that will limit pride events. Terrorists are threatening and attacking brands that are doing Pride themed events and products. These events and products go back at least 20 years but the violence of attacks against them is really new. So the only answer is to GO TO PRIDE. I don't care if crowds are not your thing, I don't care if its 97 degrees out the day your city does it, I don't care if your local pride is small and embarrassing, I don't care you might see that one ex, I DON'T CARE. If you physically can go to a pride event this June DO IT. If you're scared to be seen, wear a mask, go in drag, put make or body pant over your tattoos whatever you need to do. If we want to have Pride again next year in many areas this year needs to be a show of force. If you've never been and you never go again this is the year, do it, go, find the Pride event closest to you and do it.

Get Involved Whore!

So far I've offered you pretty easy asks for things you can do, voting, coming out, going to Pride. Now comes the harder ones, get involved. In 1978 gay men and lesbians knocked on doors and told voters across the state of California how an anti-gay measure would affect them personally. If they had the nerve less than 10 years after Stonewall to go to strangers houses and come out to them, I believe you can do it too. Get out there, knock doors, make phone calls, mail postcards, wave signs. Talk to Voters from anywhere, find your local Democratic Party, check out LGBT Democrats in your state, check out groups like the HRC and PFLAG

if you've got money give to HRC, give to GLAD, Give to The National Center for Lesbian Rights all 3 of whom have been the tip of the spear fighting the insane anti-LGBT laws coming out of the states.

If you don't have money, check out The Victory Fund thats supports LGBT candidates and find one close to you and sign up to help. Can't find anyone? try Run for Something that supports young progressives. If you live in a Blue area of a blue state, you can check the Sister District Project which links up volunteers with swingy districts across the country. Swing Left does much the same on a more federal level

crazy right wing extremists can count on organized support from Churches and far right groups. You, yes you, talking to you Glenn! HAVE TO be the support network, the volunteer base for LGBT candidates and their allies and supporters. You have to HAVE to get out there, give if you have money, knock on doors, call, text, write letters go to a protest, sit at a booth, register people to vote, hand out literature, WHATEVER whatever. You can do it, please give at least one weekend over the next two years to a political campaign, be it a local school board candidate, town council, working for the Democrats or volunteering through the HRC or a progressive group, the people who want to destroy you are out working to win elections, you have to be too.

Fucking Run, why not?

This is the last thing, the hardest thing and the thing I don't expect everyone to do. Run, yes really, run for office, yes you, yes I mean it. If the crazed insane conservative who thinks Hillary Clinton drinks child blood out of kids like a juice box is qualified for School Board to ban all the books with queer people or black folks, you are MORE than qualified. I don't care if you're a high school drop out with face tats, you're more qualified than these people, so do it, if you've ever thought of it, do it. Frustratingly dozens of dozens of offices across this country are filled every day but uncontested elections only one person signed up, hell that person can be you why not? Look into it Last year 41% of the seats in the Florida Legislature went uncontested, 37% of the seats in Texas, 53% in Tennessee, 58% in South Carolina. It's not for everyone, but if you've ever wanted to, ever thought about it, take this as your sign, do it. Do you have a friend who's so smart, cool, involved and just better than you in every way and you think they should run the world? Nominate them, give them a push to run

I think Harvey put the importance of electing queer people better than I ever could so

Somewhere in Des Moines or San Antonio, there’s a young gay person who all of a sudden realizes that she or he is gay. Knows that if the parents find out, they’ll be tossed out of the house. The classmates will taunt the child and the Anita Bryants and John Briggs’ are doing their bit on TV, and that child had several options. Staying in a closet, suicide, and then one day that child might open a paper, and it says “Homosexual elected in San Francisco,” and there are two new options. An option is to go to California or stay in San Antonio and fight. Two days after I was elected, I got a phone call, and the voice was quite young. It was from Altoona, Pennsylvania, and the person said, “Thanks.” And you’ve got to elect gay people so that that young child and the thousands upon thousands like that child know that there’s hope for a better world. There’s hope for a better tomorrow. Without hope, not only gays, but those Blacks, and the Asians, and disabled, and seniors. The us’s. The us’s without hope, the us’s give up. I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you have got to give them hope. Thank you very much.

If you read all this thanks, I can't make anyone do anything of course, but whatever you choose to do, I'll be out there knocking doors. I wish I did not live in such dark times but as Gandalf The Gray said "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” 

Finally to all my Queer brothers, sisters, and siblings, even though I do not know you, and even though I may never meet you, laugh with you, cry with you, or kiss you. I love you. With all my heart, I love you.