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Houston’s HERO Equal Rights Ordinance Will Likely Fail – And Big

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Houston voters went to the polls today and – if early results don’t dramatically change – decided equality should not win.

Despite expanding and ensuring protections for many groups of people, it looks like voters have decided to not let HERO, Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance, pass. The measure is currently failing, and by a wide 2-1 margin.

Stay with The New Civil Rights Movement for the final results on HERO

Opposed to the ordinance have been groups of Christian pastors and preachers, anti-gay hate groups, so-called “pro-family” organizations, Republicans, and Christian conservatives, all of whom engaged in campaigns of lies and deceit.

Ads on radio and television, and memes on social media warned Houstonians that men would be legally allowed to enter women’s restrooms and locker rooms whenever they felt like it, which is false. The ads suggestively showed men entered women’s restrooms, following young girls, suggesting transgender people are pedophiles.

It was clear as soon as exit polls began to come in that HERO likely will not pass:

HERO would offer protections for veterans, pregnant women, the disabled, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, and outlawed discrimination based on religion, age, sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

Despite that wide swath of protections, the anti-LGBT religious right campaigned against the ordinance as a “bathroom bill,” and nothing more. The level of deceit has been historic.

Coming out to support HERO have been dozens of celebrities and LGBT icons, including Sally Field, Michael Sam, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, George Takei, Adam Bouska, Chris Kluwe, Jason Collins, Dustin Lance Black, Cecile Richards, Matt Boomer, Jim Parsons, and many more.

Houston, should HERO fail, will remain the fourth largest city in America, and the largest city in America that does not have a nondiscrimination ordinance.

Already LGBT activists are calling for a boycott and an “autopsy” to determine how it failed – assuming it did.

 

 

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News

Canadians Slash US Travel as Prime Minister Says ‘Old’ Relationship With America Is ‘Over’

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The Canadian Prime Minister and the Canadian people are expressing anger and frustration with Donald Trump, following months of attacks, and now threatened as well as actual double-digit and even triple-digit tariffs, by the U.S. President on America’s northern neighbor—one of its oldest and closest allies, both economically and geographically.

Canada’s new Prime Minister, liberal Mark Carney, has been in office for nearly two weeks but has yet to speak with President Trump. He did, however, deliver a speech on Thursday announcing that the U.S is “no longer a reliable partner”—and that the “old” Canadian-U.S. relationship has ended.

“The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperations is over,” Prime Minister Carney, a banker and economist, announced (video below).

“What exactly the United States does next is unclear,” he said, suggesting Trump might further increase tariffs. “But what is clear, what is clear is that we, as Canadians, have agency, we have power. We are masters in our own home.”

READ MORE: ‘Political Protection Racket’: Bondi Blasted for Shrugging Off Security Breach Investigation

“We can control our destiny. We can give ourselves much more than any foreign government, including the United States, can ever take away. We can deal with this crisis best by building our strength right here at home.”

“It will take hard work. It will take steady and focused determination from governments, from businesses, from labor, from Canadians,” the PM continued. “We will need to dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States. We will need to pivot our trade relationship elsewhere, and we will need to do things previously thought impossible at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”

As Prime Minister Carney delivered his remarks, spreading across social media was news of a massive drop in planned trips from Canada into the United States.

OAG, which provides digital flight information, intelligence, and analytics for the aviation industry, published a report on Wednesday revealing a “striking decline” and “sharp drop” in airline flight bookings from Canada to America.

The report states that “bookings are down by over 70% in every month through to the end of September. This sharp drop suggests that travellers are holding off on making reservations, likely due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding the broader trade dispute.”

READ MORE: ‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

OAG also warns that “the traditional ‘snowbird’ market from Canada to the US could be badly impacted next year if the situation doesn’t improve quickly.”

Canadians have been vocal about their anger at the United States and at its president.

“You’ve elected a fool, a liar and a narcissist,” a Canadian tourist told the owners of Hotel Thaxter when they “emailed to cancel a wintertime reservation at the downtown Portsmouth inn,” the Portsmouth Herald reported last week. “The visitor, a frequent Portsmouth tourist from over the northern border, left a scathing review of President Donald Trump amid tensions between the U.S. government and Canada, including a trade and tariff war.”

“Because of the absurd decision of your stupid president to impose tariffs on your closest and most trusted neighbor, Canada,” the email said, “I have no choice but to cancel my stay at your hotel.”

“My wife and I have been going to Portsmouth for the past 10 years and we would have (loved) to discover it in the winter. But we won’t return as long as that despicable human being is in power,” the decade-long visitor exclaimed.

Meanwhile, many were stunned by the Prime Minister’s remarks.

“This is painful, and saddening, and embarrassing. I feel like we’re losing a member of the family – and for no good reason other than that some Americans wanted another season of the worst reality TV show in history,” commented The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols.

Trump has targeted and attacked Canada for nearly six months.

In December, before even being sworn in to office, Trump trotted out his “51st state governor” nickname for then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trump has repeatedly mocked “Governor” Trudeau, and then threatened tariffs, which have since been implemented.

Trump has also repeatedly talked about annexing Canada, via various means.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

 

Image via Reuters

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News

‘Political Protection Racket’: Bondi Blasted for Shrugging Off Security Breach Investigation

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Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing sharp criticism after strongly suggesting she will not authorize a criminal investigation into a major national security breach involving 18 top national security and defense officials from the Trump administration. Critics have pointed to her recent confirmation hearing, during which she vowed to keep the U.S. Department of Justice free from political influence.

Asked whether the Justice Department is investigating the Signalgate scandal, and if not, why not, the Attorney General claimed the information shared was “not classified”—in direct contradiction to the judgment of numerous national security and military experts.

‘Well, first, um, it was sensitive information, not classified, and inadvertently released and what we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission, she said, attempting to move the focus to the Yemen bombing. “Our world is now safer because of that mission. We’re not gonna comment any further on that.”

But Bondi then moved to attack top Democrats.

READ MORE: ‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

“If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was at Hillary Clinton’s home that she was trying to bleach bit, talk about the, that classified documents in Joe Biden’s garage that Hunter Biden had access to, she said, perpetrating right-wing misinformation about the former U.S. Secretary of State and presidential nominee, and re-introducing the Biden classified document issue, which was fully investigated by the Department of Justice.

“This was not classified information, and we are very pleased with the results of that operation and that the entire world is safer because of it,” Bondi re-iterated.

The New York Times, reporting on the Attorney General’s remarks, noted that the Justice Department “opened investigations into Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Biden in those instances, but neither ultimately faced criminal charges. She did not mention the prosecution of Mr. Trump over his handling of classified documents after his first term in office — a case which was ultimately abandoned when he won a second term.”

But the Times also noted that “Dating back to at least the Reagan administration, the government has considered the details of ‘military plans, weapons, or operations’ to be classified.”

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) is calling for a special counsel to investigate.

After noting that DOJ investigated Clinton and Biden, he added:

“Bondi sees the Justice Department as a political arm of Trump’s White House, she won’t do her job. That’s why we need a special counsel,” he wrote, adding, “Defense officials say Hegseth likely shared classified info on Signal. DOJ has to investigate this too.”

“Bringing up Hillary Clinton is not the own you think it is,” Congressman Beyer continued. “Republicans made her testify for 11 hours on her handling of classified information. I was there. Now the same Republicans are bending themselves into pretzels to justify what Hegseth did. They think you are stupid.”

Investigative journalist Roger Sollenberger remarked, “For what it’s worth, Joe Biden’s administration directed a Trump-appointed Republican to independently investigate Joe Biden for potentially mishandling classified information.”

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

Sollenberger also chastised Bondi: “Openly political attorney general running an openly political protection racket in an openly politicized Justice Department after sworn Senate confirmation testimony that she would keep politics out of it.”

Calling Bondi’s remarks “Pathetic,” Political Science professor William Muck noted: “This is why a wall between the Attorney General and the president is so fundamental. Bondi most certainly knows the information was classified and warrants an investigation, but is unwilling to do her job because she fears it will upset the president.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Liar’ Hegseth Faces ‘Immediate’ Resignation Demand From Growing List of Democrats

Image via Reuters

 

 

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OPINION

‘No Adult Supervision’: Concern Escalates as Trump Increasingly Appears Out of Touch

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Concerns are mounting over President Donald Trump’s ability, willingness, or even interest in engaging with the most pressing issues facing the country, as he increasingly—and casually—admits to being unaware of critical matters. His repeated declarations of ignorance, often delivered without hesitation or concern, have deepened alarm among critics who warn of a dangerous void in informed leadership in the Oval Office.

Late Wednesday afternoon, a reporter asked President Trump, “Have you been briefed about the soldiers in Lithuania? Who are missing?”

The Commander-in-Chief, appearing both uninformed and unconcerned, simply replied, “No I haven’t.” And moved on to take a question from another reporter.

The four soldiers went missing on Tuesday during a training mission in Lithuania, near the border of Belarus, a staunch ally of Russia. On Wednesday, as Axios reported, their Hercules armored vehicle was found submerged. Hours before Trump was asked, NATO and numerous media outlets had reported the soldiers were dead, only to walk that back later. They currently remain missing.

But President Trump said he was unaware of any of this.

“Is Trump just totally out of the loop?” asked journalist Matthew Yglesias. “Why wasn’t he briefed on the soldiers in Lithuania?”

READ MORE: Passwords, Contact Info for Top Trump NatSec Officials ‘Publicly’ Available: Report

Declaring President Trump “clueless” on “basic intel,” The New Republic on Thursday morning noted that “the armymen were known to be missing as early as Tuesday at 4:45 p.m., the Lithuanian military said, so why Trump was still unaware of the situation more than 24 hours later is unclear.”

Also Wednesday afternoon, President Trump was asked about his Secretary of Defense’s involvement in Signalgate. Pete Hegseth has been identified as the one who shared classified information in an insecure channel—seen as the greatest violation within the entire scandal. But the President appeared unaware of his Defense Secretary’s role in the massive nation security breach when asked by a reporter.

“Hegseth is doing a great job. He had nothing to do this. Hegseth? How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it. Look, it’s all a witch hunt,” Trump told the reporter. He then went on to try to blame Signal, saying he thought it could be “defective.”

Attorney and former Biden White House senior presidential speechwriter Dan Cluchey, responded to the video of Trump’s remarks on Hegseth and Signal.

“This is stronger evidence of cognitive decline than anything Joe Biden has ever said in his life, ever,” he wrote, and warned: “Something tells me the press will breeze right past it.”

READ MORE: ‘Liar’ Hegseth Faces ‘Immediate’ Resignation Demand From Growing List of Democrats

Journalist James Surowiecki observed, Trump is “so checked out of his job that he doesn’t even know Hegseth needlessly disclosed the weapons packages and times of the attack on the Houthis.”

On Monday, Trump had told reporters when asked about the Signal scandal, “I don’t know anything about it.” Appearing as if he had not been briefed, he then asked a reporter for more information about it.

“Trump initially told reporters he was not aware that the highly sensitive information had been shared, 2 1/2 hours after it was reported. He later appeared to joke about the breach,” the Associated Press reported.

The Signal texts that The Atlantic had published also reveal the President’s apparent lack of awareness, on numerous fronts.

On Wednesday, asked by a reporter if he believed the information shared in the Signal chat was not classified, the Commander-in-Chief told reporters, “That’s what I’ve heard. I don’t know. I’m not sure, you have to ask the various people involved.”

The White House has repeatedly insisted it was not classified, but countless experts, including lawmakers, say it was classified.

Vice President JD Vance in the texts says, “I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this [military strike] is with his message on Europe right now.”

The Washington Post, citing a person with knowledge of Vance’s intentions, reported on Wednesday that “Vance wanted to ensure that Trump had been given all the facts about the potential attack, including that European nations stood to benefit more from it than the U.S.” That would suggest the Commander-in-Chief was not aware of “all the facts.”

Also of concern is that the 18 participants in the Signal chat appeared to be unsure of the President’s directive.

Calling him “President Bystander,” MSNBC’s Steve Benen writes, “Trump appears out of the loop in his own White House.”

Pointing to the Signal texts, Benen says one text “chain featured the White House’s Stephen Miller adding, in apparent reference to the attack plan, ‘As I heard it, the president was clear: green light.'”

“The problems should be obvious,” Benen added. “Vance was uncertain about Trump’s knowledge of the relevant details, and one of the president’s right-hand loyalists added an ‘as I heard it’ qualifier to the commander in chief’s directive about a deadly military operation abroad.”

The Commander-in-Chief appears to have been uninvolved in important portions of the planning of the military strike. Based on the Signal texts, it appears likely that he was absent from key portions of the decision making process.

Jared Ryan Sears, who writes The Pragmatic Humanist, offered this observation.

“Trump didn’t know about the Signal group chat or that a reporter was included. Trump says he didn’t sign the authorization to use the Enemy Alien Act to deport people without due process. His signature was on the document. Trump didn’t know that US service members went missing during a training exercise in Lithuania,” he noted. “What kind of leader knows nothing about what his administration is doing, what he himself is doing, and what is happening with the military he is in charge of?”

Attorney, Republican, and former U.S. Representative Barbara Comstock on Wednesday shared her concerns via social media.

“There is no adult supervision at the White House. Grandpa does not know what is going on except on the Golf Chanel or if someone takes a bad picture of him. Where’s Melania? Does he have a COS or caretaker?”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Quite a Bit of Perjury’: Texts Shatter Trump Admin’s ‘Bungled Coverup’ of Classified Leak

 

Image via Reuters 

 

 

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