We Won!

Texas wants your medical information… The hospital said no.

Seattle hospital won’t turn over gender-affirming care records in lawsuit settlement with Texas
AP News
BY JAMIE STENGLE
April 22, 2024

 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is dropping a request for a Seattle hospital to hand over records regarding gender-affirming treatment potentially given to children from Texas as part of a lawsuit settlement announced Monday.

Seattle Children’s Hospital filed the lawsuit against Paxton’s office in December in response to the Republican appearing to go beyond state borders to investigate transgender health care. Paxton, a staunch conservative who has helped drive GOP efforts that target the rights of trans people, sent similar letters to Texas hospitals last year.

The Seattle hospital said in a statement that it had “successfully fought” the “overreaching demands to obtain confidential patient information.” A judge in Austin dismissed the lawsuit Friday, saying the parties had settled their dispute.

The Attorney General said that they won but,

As part of the settlement, according to court records, the parties agreed that Seattle Children’s Hospital would withdraw its registration to transact business in Texas. But a hospital spokesperson said in a statement that they don’t operate health care facilities or provide gender-affirming care in Texas.

What I found interesting was,

In court records, the hospital had previously stated that it had a “limited number” of people who work remotely and live in Texas but that none were involved in gender-affirming care. It also said it did not advertise its services in Texas.

I found “...people who work remotely…” very interesting. Does that mean when someone works remotely in a state where the business is illegal in the state where they live but where the business is located is legal that the employed is breaking the law? Suppose the person who is an accountant for a marijuana store in Connecticut and lives in Texas, can the state of Texas arrest the accountant for selling marijuana? According to the Attorney General Ken Paxton the answer would be yes.

This whole flap was started by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton back in December…

Seattle hospital says Texas attorney general asked for records about transgender care for children
AP News
BY PAUL J. WEBER
December 22, 2023

 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a Seattle hospital to hand over records regarding gender-affirming treatment potentially given to children from Texas, according to court filings that appear to show the Republican going beyond state borders to investigate transgender health care.

Seattle Children’s Hospital filed a lawsuit in Austin, Texas, this month asking a court to invalidate or narrow the requests from Paxton, a staunch conservative who has helped drive Republican efforts that target the rights of trans people. His office sent similar letters earlier this year to Texas hospitals.

[…]

The hospital argued Paxton’s office was overstepping its jurisdiction and had no authority to request the records.

By the way, Connecticut has a law banning any reproductive health being sent out of state without the patient’s consent. PA 22-19 AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROVISION OF PROTECTIONS FOR PERSONS RECEIVING AND PROVIDING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN THE STATE AND ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN THE STATE
I have been told that trans healthcare involves reproductive healthcare.

The Clash

No not the rock group but rather between the pro- and the anti- LGBTQ+ groups.

Queer protestors shut down on-campus speech by anti-LGBTQ+ educational leader

Protestors angrily called him a “power-hungry fascist,” and said that a deceased LGBTQ+ student's blood was on his hands.

LGBTQ Nation

By Daniel Villarreal

April 18, 2024

Ryan Walters, the right-wing superintendent of the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), only spoke for about 12 minutes before ending his talk at Oklahoma State University (OSU) yesterday. During his on-campus appearance, pro-LGBTQ+ protestors angrily shouted him down, calling him a “fascist” and saying that the blood of a recently deceased nonbinary student was on his hands.

Walters had been invited to speak by a campus chapter of Turning Point USA. The organization’s founder, Charlie Kirk, has attacked transgender people and described opposition to religious exemptions as “fascism.” About 100 people attended Walters’ talk in the campus engineering building. Walters spoke without a mic and barely got a word out before protestors began shouting.

“You’re a power-hungry fascist,” one protestor in particular yelled, adding, “Nex’s blood is on your hands!”

Once again the right-wing conservatives tend to ignore the First Amendment and other laws in their onslaught of anti-LGBTQ legislation!

Walters, who wants to ban LGBTQ+ books but teach the Bible in public school history classes, has previously pushed the transphobic lie about schools providing litterboxes to students who identify as cats. He also referred to teachers’ unions as “terrorist organizations” and illegally tried to make rules banning LGBTQ+ books and transgender bathroom access in schools. He has appeared at events hosted by Moms for Liberty, a right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ “parent’s rights” group that has been called an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Walters also appointed Chaya Raichik, an anti-LGBTQ+ activist who goes by Libs of Tik Tok online, as a Library Media Advisor for the state (even though she has no educational experience, doesn’t reside in Oklahoma, and has made posts that have led to bomb threats against students).

They believe that they ar eon a mission and anything that gets in their way if fair game… full speed ahead and damn the Constitution!

My stand on the issue of protests is that we have to allow both for and against us, we cannot not demand our rights when we deny the right to protest by others.

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If all went as planned I should be home from my cousin's funeral in New Hampshire. I hate attending funerals, I went up on Friday and came home this morning after the burial. I just go to pieces, I carried a pocketbook full of tissues.  

Down On Long Island

A judge will have none of that! A judge tossed out a lawsuit to keep Nassau County  ban on trans students.

Judge tosses out Nassau County lawsuit defending ban on transgender women at sports facilities
By CBS New York Team
April 12, 2024

A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman who had been looking to stop a challenge from New York Attorney General Letitia James over his decision to ban transgender women from playing sports at county-owned facilities.

In March, James demanded Blakeman rescind an order banning those athletes.

The ban still remains in effect, but now the attorney general's lawsuit can move forward.

In February, Blakeman signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports at county facilities. Under the order, sports leagues now must submit documentation of their players' biological sex at birth.

Whenever anything goes before a judge, it becomes a crapshoot, and I’m always bitting my nails.

In a statement Friday, James said, "This decision is a tremendous victory for justice and the rule of law, but our work here is not done. County Executive Blakeman's executive order is transphobic, and we have no room for hate in New York. It's past time for Nassau County to rescind this order and treat all our communities with the basic respect and dignity they deserve."

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While out in California the state says no way to a country ban on us.

Murrieta schools ordered to stop enforcing transgender policy
State education officials say parental notification policy is illegal
The Press Enterprise
By JEFF HORSEMAN
April 11, 2024

Murrieta’s school district must stop enforcing a policy that requires parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender, the California Department of Education ordered after finding the policy discriminates against transgender youth.

The Wednesday, April 10, letter gives the Murrieta Valley Unified School District five days to tell staff and students that the policy, approved in August, will not be implemented.

Department spokesperson Scott Roark said via email that the department “is unable to comment on pending investigations.”

[…]

Last month, the board voted 3-2 to keep the policy after Superintendent Ward Andrus proposed rescinding the rules. At that meeting, the board approved a motion “to develop and approve an administrative regulation with further clarifications on implementation of the new policy,” Gutierrez said.

Have you noticed something? The Republicans are for “Parental Rights” except when the parents don’t want what the Republicans beliefs.

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For the last 4 days I have been up in New Hampshire for the funeral of my cousin, he was the last of my cousins on my mother’s side of the family. It is just my brother and me who are left of my maternal grandmother’s children.

They Got It Backwards!

[Editorial]

They got it wrong! The Republicans are in a tizzy over the vote on the foreign aid bills. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the far right-wing House members Freedom Caucus are threatening to kick out House Speakers. Johnson because pf the vote. According to the New York Post,

“All of this was possible because of the betrayals of Mike Johnson. He has completely betrayed the Republican Party,” Greene fumed. “He has completely betrayed Republican voters all over the country.

“And he is absolutely working for the Democrats passing the Biden administration agenda. This is a speakership that is completely over with.”

They got it wrong. They are supposed to put the country before the party!

In an authoritarian country they put the party first. Not in a constitutional federal republic.

What Speaker Johnson did is what Congress has done for the last two hundred and thirty-six years… pass legislation with bipartisan support.

No, the Republicans got it wrong they were elected to represent the people and not the party.

[/Editorial]

The Republicans Taketh Away, The Democrats Giveth (The never ending saga) .

In Kansas the Republicans are trying to take away our healthcare but the Democratic governor says no way!

Kansas governor vetoes bill banning trans youth healthcare: ‘Not a Kansas value’
The governor of Kansas has vetoed a bill which aims to prohibit healthcare providers from providing trans youth with gender-affirming care.
Pink News
By Gabriella Ferlita
April 15, 2024

After a concerning number of US states launched their 2024 legislative sessions by introducing bills targeting transgender healtcare, it’s a relief for advocates everywhere to see politicians like governor Laura Kelly taking a stand against anti-trans bills.

On Friday (12 April), Kelly blocked the Substitute Bill for Senate Bill 233 which would prohibit medical personnel from performing gender-affirmation surgery and treatment on trans children. The bill would also allow a civil cause of action against medical providers offering such treatment, with professional disciplinary action taken against doctors.

The bill would further restrict the use of state funds to promote gender-affirming treatment, and prohibit professional liability insurance firms from covering damages for healthcare professionals offering it.

In her veto message, Democrat Kelly said that the bill “tramples parental rights”. She explained: “This divisive legislation targets a small group of Kansans by placing government mandates on them and dictating to parents how to best raise and care for their children. I do not believe that is a conservative value, and it’s certainly not a Kansas value.”

The Republicans take away our healthcare, they don’t care what harm it does as long as it gets them votes! They only care about “Family Values” when it is their values being shoved down our throats.

Definitions outlined in the bill also state a female is a person who produces “ova” – in other words, eggs – meaning cis women who are infertile and are unable to produce eggs, or postmenopausal women could theoretically be barred from spaces under the legislation’s legal terms.

The bill was passed by 84 votes to 40 in the House and subsequently 28-12 in the Senate.

They say that it is to protect the children but that is all a pack of lies! They know it does harm, they heard testimony from medical professionals but they ignored them for the votes of their cult followers. They also ignored intersex people in their mad dash to do us harm and votes.

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The other day I went to my cousin’s memorial service at a Catholic church. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was prepared for the worst but it turned out to be a none even… totally.

Let’s face it, I stick out like a sore thumb. If you can’t tell I’m trans you need glasses and a hearing aid.

At the wake… no problem.

At the funeral service… totally no problem. And the Deacon stood right in front of me since being immediate family we had the front row seat. The only thing was some guy gave his wife sore ribs when he elbowed her after seeing me.

The only problem that I had was my back. During the service the sitting, standing, sitting… standing got to my back. Those who know me know that I have a hard time standing. Also the hard chairs at the funeral home are not conducive to sitting so that meant standing around talking.

Anyhow, my back blew out and I left at the reception brunch. Now I’m home doing exercises that the physical therapist taught me.

It Is Complicated!

When I comes to religion and trans people it is complicated, a lot times it comes down to the parish priests, yesterday I went to my cousin’s funeral in a Catholic church and I'll write it this afternoon.

Transgender inclusion? World’s major religions take varying stances on policies toward trans people

AP News

BY DEEPA BHARATH, DAVID CRARY AND MARIAM FAM

April 10, 2024

The Vatican has issued a new document rejecting the concept of changing one’s biological sex – a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church.

Around the world, major religions have diverse approaches to gender identity, and the inclusion or exclusion of transgender people. Some examples:

Christianity

The Catholic Church’s disapproving stance toward gender transition is shared by some other denominations. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention – the largest Protestant denomination in the United States – adopted a resolution in 2014 stating that “God’s design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, male and female.” It asserts that gender identity “is determined by biological sex, not by one’s self-perception”

Islam

In Islam, there isn’t a single central religious authority and policies can vary in different regions.

[…]

In Iran, the Shiite theocracy’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a religious decree, or fatwa, decades ago, opening the way for official support for gender transition surgery.

Hinduism

In Hindu society in South Asia, while traditional roles were and are still prescribed for men and women, people of non-binary gender expression have been recognized for millennia and played important roles in holy texts. Third gender people have been revered throughout South Asian history with many rising to significant positions of power under Hindu and Muslim rulers. One survey in 2014 estimated that around 3 million third gender people live in India alone.

Sanskrit, the ancient language of Hindu scriptures, has the vocabulary to describe three genders – masculine, feminine and gender-neutral.

[…]

Buddhism

Buddhism has traditionally adhered to binary gender roles, particularly in its monastic traditions where men and women are segregated and assigned specific roles.

[…]

Judaism

Reform Judaism is accepting of transgender people and allows for the ordination of trans rabbis. According to David J. Meyer, who served for many years as a rabbi in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Jewish traditional wisdom allowed possibilities of gender identity and expression that differed from those typically associated with the sex assigned at birth.

“Our mystical texts, the Kabbalah, address the notion of transitioning from one gender to another,” he wrote on a Reform-affiliated website.

However,

“In Judaism, each gender has its particular life-role to play,” he added. “The bodies God gave us are indications of what we are and what we are not, and of how He wants us to live our lives.”

It is complicated, just like Christianity Judaism have different sects.

A Reform-affiliated rabbi supported the Transgender Day of Remembrance brought a stained glass panel that is a symbol of Kristallnacht but it cracked on the way over to the TDoR and the rabbi explained that the crack symbolized the pain that the transgender community is facing.

Many Christian sects are affirming… Episcopalian. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Metropolitan Community Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, and United Church of Christ. When we were trying to pass the gender inclusive non-discrimination law we had a number of religious leader speak in favor of the bill.

So don’t paint all religions with a broad brush.

Cuckoo Award.

This Cuckoo Award goes out to all of those New Hampshirite who refuse to get their children vaccinated against Polio.

New Hampshire’s GOP Is Taking a Stand—Against the Polio Vaccine

The Granite State could be the first to ditch polio and measles requirements for childcare.

The Rolling Stone

By Julia Métraux

April 20, 2024

New Hampshire could soon beat Florida—known for its anti-vaccine Surgeon General—when it comes to loosening vaccine requirements. A first-in-the-nation bill that’s already passed New Hampshire’s state House, sponsored only by Republican legislators, would end the requirement for parents enrolling kids in childcare to provide documentation of polio and measles vaccination. New Hampshire would be the only state in the US to have such a law, although many states allow religious exemptions to vaccine requirements. 

Currently, Republicans control New Hampshire’s state House, Senate and governor’s office—but that isn’t a guarantee that the bill will be signed into law, with GOP Gov. Chris Sununu seemingly flip-flopping when it comes to disease control. Sununu did sign a bill in 2021 allowing people to use public places and services even if they did not receive the Covid-19 vaccine. But the next year, the governor vetoed a bill that would bar schools from implementing mask mandates.

I remember…

The fear my parents had about Polio, they were terrified, it was in my school and one of the neighbors child came down with it. I remember getting “The Shot” and then oral vaccine. I am still alive and Polio free after almost 70 years. The child that came down with Polio died about ten years, all her life she was in a wheel chair.

The polio vaccine, first offered in 1955, and the MMR shot, which treats the highly infectious measles, mumps, and rubella viruses, are two very crucial vaccines both in the US and internationally. Since the year 2000 alone, vaccines against measles are estimated to have saved over 55 million lives around the world.

The vaccines have been out for generations! But these crazy people think that vaccines are some liberal plot.

The bill would strike language requiring that immunization records be submitted to childcare agencies, but would keep those requirements for students enrolling in kindergarten through 12th grade. As of 2022, according to the nonprofit ChildCare Aware of America, there are some 700 licensed childcare centers and homes in New Hampshire (which doesn’t require the Covid-19 vaccine for enrollment in childcare, either, despite its efficiency in reducing both death rates and acute symptoms). 

So this Cuckoo Award goes to all these Republicans and parents who are anti-vaxxers, their cult leader says vaccines are a Democratic plot.