Vote Blue .. . And Here's Why, AGAIN!!!

It’s been a few weeks since we checked in on the GOP and their special brand of bigotry and ignorance, so let’s dive right in …

INDIANA

Last week the city of Westfield deleted Twitter and Facebook posts that recognized Pride Month under the direction of Mayor Andy Cook because he says the city “should not engage in supporting a social agenda.”

The city has previously posted celebrations of Black History Month and Juneteenth without Cook complaining about any “social agenda”  but they are clearly trying to erase us.

MONTANA

The state legislature has passed a bill to specifically ban people dressed in drag from reading books to children at public schools and libraries, part of a host of legislation aimed at the rights the LGBTQ+ community.

As RuPaul says, Reading is fundamental, but the library is closed to drag queens trying to read children’s books to children.

TEXAS

Texas Congressman, and a Republican because … of course … Chip Roy wants to defund the entire U.S. military because an Air Force base is hosting a few Pride events in June.

This is the GOP; defund the entire military because The Gays.

Ant then the Texas House gave initial approval to a bill restricting children from seeing sexually explicit performances; the bill was originally designed to restrict kids from attending drag shows, but its most recent version seeks to criminalize any live performance that the bill defines as sexual.

The party who stands against the idea of more government now wants to tell parents how they can and cannot raise their children.

NORTH CAROLINA

The state GOP has proposed the “Clarify Regulations on Adult Entertainment” bill that would prohibit “adult live entertainment” on private property in the presence of anyone under age 18 and not allow it at all on public property.

Now the GOP wants to tell Americans what they can do on their own property.

FLORIDA

Ron DeSantis has signed a bill imposing tough new penalties and restrictions on undocumented immigrants in Florida that, among other things, requires employers to use E-Verify to make sure workers are authorized to work in the U.S.

As a result, Latin American truck drivers were threatening to stop delivering to and in Florida, and migrant workers and construction workers are leaving their jobs as well.

Keep in mind that DeSaster will do the same for this entire country effectively destroying the economy.

Also note that DeSantis signed a bill to bar state colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and limiting how race can be discussed in many courses.

In college, adults cannot be taught about diversity and equality and race.

In Ron DeSantis’ “Straight Whites Only” state.

Oh, and also in Florida under DeSantis, the state education department rejected two new Holocaust-focused textbooks for classroom use, while forcing at least one other textbook to alter a passage about the Hebrew Bible in order to meet state approval.

If we don’t teach the Holocaust how can we stop it from happening again; and if you don’t think it will, keep watching.

PS  DeSantis proclaims himself Israel’s best friend and during a visit there last month he credited a prayer he inserted into the Western Wall with warding off a major hurricane. DeSantis also had his children baptized with water from the Sea of Galilee.

But he doesn’t want his children to learn about the Holocaust.

NORTH DAKOTA

GOP Governor Doug Burgum has signed a bill to prohibit public schools and government entities from requiring teachers and employees to refer to transgender people by the pronouns they use. The new law also requires teachers to out the children to their parents and bans  transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice without prior approval from a parent or guardian.

They are coming for Free Speech.

OKLAHOMA

GOP Governor Kevin Stitt vetoed a bill to fund the state’s PBS station, Oklahoma Educational Television Authority through 2026, accusing the station of indoctrinating young children with shows like “Sesame Street,” “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” and “Clifford The Big Red Dog.”

Stitt is pissy because of a “PBS Newshour” feature on parents’ support for various gender care treatments, a gay character in “Work It Out Wombats,” and the news that “Clifford the Big Red Dog” introduced LGBTQ characters.

Stitt says these anti-LGBTQ+ moves don’t represent his values but says he represents the taxpayers.

Just the hate-filled, anti-LGBTQ+ bigoted ones, apparently.

GOOD NEWS

TEXAS

A push to inject religion into public schools faltered after the House failed to pass a contentious bill that would have required the Ten Commandments to be displayed prominently in every classroom. The measure was part of an effort by conservative Republicans expand the reach of religion … be clear, only Christianity … into public schools.

I’ll remind the Texas GOP: Separation of Church and State.

OREGON

The State Senate failed to reach quorum again, meaning six additional Republican senators have now disqualified themselves from running for reelection under Article IV, Section 15 of the Oregon Constitution.

The Senators in question all hit 10 unexcused absences—refusing to show up for votes in which the GOP side would lose—and under Measure 113, passed by 68% of voters in November, they are now barred from running for their current Senate seat in the next election.

Now just three of the state’s Republican senators are left to run for re-election at the end of their term.

MONTANA

The State Supreme Court has solidified protections for abortion access and will allow nurses with advanced degrees to continue performing abortions in Montana; all seven supreme court justices agreed that the law unconstitutionally interferes with Montanan’s right to privacy to seek medical care from the provider of their choosing.

As of now, women in Montana still have some rights.

MISSISSIPPI

The church-state separation watchdog American Atheists has won a lawsuit to remove mandatory “In God We Trust” language from the state’s official license plate. American Atheists filed suit on behalf of the Mississippi Humanist Association, accusing state officials of violating nonreligious people’s freedoms of speech and religion by forcing them to display “In God We Trust” on their personal vehicles.

GOP Governor Tate Reeves has boasted about the “In God We Trust equating the phrase with “Mississippi’s values,” insinuating that only Christians are real Mississippians.

Not so fast, asshat.

OKLAHOMA

The state Supreme Court has tossed out two state laws outlawing abortion. One bill would have banned abortion when a fetal heartbeat was detected, which is usually at six weeks and before most women know they are pregnant, while the other bans the procedure starting at conception.

A win for women’s rights.

NEVADA

Joe Lombardo is one of the first Republican governors to enshrine protections for out-of-state abortion patients and in-state abortion providers, making Nevada another state that has solidify their status as safe havens for abortion patients.

Lombardo, who describes himself as “pro-life” and was endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee, says he respects the will of voters who codified abortion rights up to 24 weeks in a 1990 referendum vote.

As it should be done.

ALABAMA

In a decision that is a major victory for the Voting Rights Act, the US Supreme Court struck down Alabama’s racist House map, finding that the state discriminated against Black voters when it drew its seven congressional districts last year.

Alabama will have to redraw its congressional map to include a second majority-Black district. Black voters currently comprise a majority of the voting age population in just one district, despite making up a quarter of the state’s population.

A strike against racist GOP tactics to keep Black Americans from voting.

ARIZONA

Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed a GOP-backed bill that would have put legal requirements on public school bathrooms and denied transgender students from using the bathrooms that match their gender identity.

Good news.

LOUISIANA

Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards has vowed to veto the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and says he will veto other bills that would seek to ban gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth and bills to ban teachers from addressing students with their preferred pronouns.

The march goes on …

If you like the Good News, please note that many of the stories are about Democrat governors and Democrat-led legislatures—with a couple of exceptions—which should prove one thing: