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Jeb Bush To Deliver Commencement Address At Virulently Anti-Gay University

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Jeb Bush, moving further right, has just agreed to address the Class of 2015 at one of the most anti-gay religious educational institutions in America.

Liberty University was founded by Jerry Falwell, a televangelist who has been dubbed “the founder of the anti-gay industry.” It was Falwell who delivered possibly the most hateful remarks about the September 11 terror attacks ever. “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.'”

Falwell also claimed that “AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals, it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.”

Ted Cruz last month announced his run for the White House at Liberty University, and other famous anti-gay Republican politicians like Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, and Bobby Jindal have all spoken there.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will be delivering the commencement keynote address at Liberty University next month.

Bush has been framed, however wrongly, as more of a moderate than most of the announced or likely to announce Republican field. Speaking at Liberty may help him win over some of the anti-gay religious right.

“Liberty University is honored to welcome Governor Jeb Bush to campus for our 42nd Commencement exercises,” Liberty President Jerry Falwell, son of the school’s founder, said in a statement today. “Throughout his years of public service, Governor Bush has been a champion for excellence in education and so many other issues of vital importance to our university community.”

The University is strongly linked to Liberty Counsel, an anti-gay hate group and legal firm that has tried (and lost) several same-sex marriage and LGBT civil rights cases. Liberty University’s former Dean is Mat Staver, who is the head of Liberty Counsel. Right Wing Watch notes Staver “has repeatedly called for a ‘revolution‘ to protest gay equality and warned that gay rights laws will increase violent crime, kill people, lead to ‘forced homosexuality,’ and eventually destroy America and western civilization.”

Gov. Bush, who has yet to formally announce his candidacy, will deliver his remarks on the morning of May 9.

 

Image by PBS NewsHour via Flickr and a CC license

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News

New Jersey Third State to Ban Banning Books From Libraries

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December 24, 2024

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New Jersey has become the third state, with Illinois and Michigan, to stop schools and public libraries from banning books.

Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed the Freedom to Read Act earlier this month on December 9, at the Princeton Public Library. The act keeps age-appropriate books available to students at public schools and libraries.

“The Freedom to Read Act cements New Jersey’s role on the forefront of preventing book bans and protecting the intellectual freedom of our educators and students. Across the nation, we have seen attempts to suppress and censor the stories and experiences of others. I’m proud to amplify the voices of our past and present, as there is no better way for our children to prepare for the future than to read freely,” Murphy said.

READ MORE: Tim Walz Mocks Anti-LGBTQ Book Bans During HRC Speech

The law also protects librarians from being sued in criminal or civil court. This is in clear contrast to laws in other states like Idaho, where libraries that allow young patrons to check out a book deemed inappropriate are given a mandatory $250 fine. Idaho’s law also allows libraries and individual librarians to be sued, with no cap on the amount of damages that can be awarded.

The New Jersey law will make school boards and libraries establish curation policies and set up a review system to address concerns over individual materials. That said, books cannot be banned because of an author’s identity or background, or their personal or political views. Banning books based on the offensiveness of content is not allowed either, unless it’s developmentally inappropriate.

For example, while one could—and should!—ban a preschooler from checking out a collection of Tom of Finland artwork because it’s clearly for adults, they’re free to get And Tango Makes Three, the children’s book about gay penguins.

“The freedom to read and to freely access information is an essential part of a quality education and a core component of our democracy,” New Jersey Senate President Nick Scutari said. “This law will help New Jersey libraries guard against politically-inspired censorship and protect librarians from harassment for simply doing their job.”

This is another departure from other states’ bans, which are often written so vaguely to leave librarians in a lurch. The Idaho law officially bans “obscene materials” but defines it very broadly. “Homosexuality” is included in the definition of “obscene materials,” without clarifying if it means queer characters in a book or explicit sex. To avoid prosecution by an overzealous activist, one Idaho library even prohibits anyone under 18 from entering the adult section without their parent or guardian signing a form on every visit. Another small library had to go adults-only.

While three states have prohibited banning books, the Associated Press reports that over 15 states have introduced bills this year that would punish librarians for “inappropriate” books being given to patrons.

Image via Shutterstock

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INTERNATIONAL

Greenland Gets New Defense Tools Including Drones, Dog Sled Teams After Trump’s Comments

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December 24, 2024

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On Tuesday, Denmark earmarked $1.5 billion in defense spending for Greenland after incoming President Donald Trump again made overtures to buy the autonomous territory.

The exact amount of defense funding for Greenland is not known, but the BBC reports that Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced it as in the “double digit million” amount of krone, which would place the minimum U.S. dollar equivalent at $1.5 billion.

The money is likely to be used to increase the amount of military personnel at Arctic Command and one of the country’s airports, the BBC reported, as well as to purchase two ships, two long-range drones and two dog sled teams.

Poulsen said the deal had been pre-planned, and the timing of Trump’s comments was merely “irony.”

READ MORE: Donald Trump Isn’t the First President to Try to Buy Greenland

Trump has suggested that the U.S. should purchase Greenland, an autonomous territory owned by Denmark. It was an occasional topic during his first term as well, though most thought the president was joking, at least initially.

Trump’s current interest was first declared on Sunday when he announced Ken Howery will be the U.S. ambassador to Denmark. He declared that “the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” in the announcement.

On Monday evening, RNC Chair Michael Whatley discussed with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade the potential price of such a deal, according to Mediaite.

“Well, I think from a national security perspective, as he said, certainly [it’s] a place that is very rich in minerals and is, uh, you know, geopolitically important for him,” Whatley said. “And it’s a conversation that we wanna have with Denmark about being able to use the resources up there.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna cost about $1.5 trillion, but it probably will pay off,” Kilmeade responded.

While Kilmeade has placed a price tag on Greenland, it is unlikely Denmark would agree to sell. Denmark has repeatedly declined offers to buy the territory. Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede invoked the country’s desire for independence in shutting down Trump’s overtures.

“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Egede said Monday, according to Reuters.

Greenland passed a law in 2009 which gave the territory more power to self-govern. Part of that law includes a provision for independence if the citizens vote for it. However, Greenland currently gets a block grant from Denmark that makes up one-quarter of the territory’s gross domestic product. If Greenland were to become fully independent, it would lose that money.

While citizens of the territory are in favor of independence, according to polling, just not at the expense of a drop in the standard of  living. In response to this, those fighting for independence have worked to diversify Greenland’s economy.

Image via Shutterstock

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politics

MAGA World Ignores Christmas Season on Social Media

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December 24, 2024

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christmas tree

This Christmas season, while President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have celebrated the holiday, MAGA World has stuck to business as usual so far.

Tuesday is Christmas Eve, and on that day, incoming President Donald Trump has posted to Truth Social about Herschel Walker being named ambassador to the Bahamas and raged at Biden for commuting the sentences of death row prisoners. JD Vance hasn’t posted since Monday when he tweeted a screenshot of one of Trump’s Truth Social posts, this one showing an AI-generated American Flag in the middle of the Panama Canal.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) did tweet early Tuesday afternoon, wishing her followers a merry Christmas, but got in a dig at Biden all the same.

“Merry Christmas Eve everyone!! It’s the last Christmas under Democrat Communist control. Freedom is coming!” she wrote, along with an American flag emoji.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) did tweet this Christmas Eve, but it just a retweet of Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) sharing a print out of a Federalist article slamming the House Ethics Committee, signed by Trump as “Very Unfair!”

Gaetz also hasn’t posted any Christmas material, though that’s understandable as he’s got other things going on right now.

In contrast, Biden and Harris have had the Christmas spirit all week. On Monday, she retweeted her husband Doug Emhoff sharing their holiday card, and Tuesday, a brief video about the card’s designer.

“It was an honor to meet Tania, a young artist and student at Calvin Coolidge Senior High School, who designed our 2024 holiday card. Thank you for sharing your incredible talent with us,” Harris tweeted.

Biden on the other hand, has been Christmas posting since the 20th, sharing a photo op taken at the Children’s National Hospital and a video of the White House Christmas tree. On Monday, he posted a Christmassy photo of Willow, the Bidens’ cat, captioned “One of my favorite Christmas tails,” and on the morning of Christmas Eve, he shared a diorama of the White House decked out for the holidays, writing “The People’s House is ready for St. Nick.”

On his personal account, he also shared a special Christmas Eve greeting with a photo of him with his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, thanking veterans for their service.

“Jill and I hold a special place in our hearts for the brave men and women in uniform who defend our nation, many of whom are away from their families this holiday season. Wishing you and your loved ones a safe Christmas Eve,” he wrote.

Obviously, whether or not a world leader goes all out during the Santa season is of little importance. It’s merely interesting that the party that prides itself on its deep Christian faith and on fighting against the “war on Christmas” is mostly ignoring the holiday.

But too, the Trump administration has had its own prickly relationship with Christmas, cancelling the annual White House party in 2018, his son sharing a meme featuring Trump on the top of the tree instead of an angel or star, and Melania Trump complaining about how poorly received her choice of decorations was.

Update: This article has been updated to include a Christmas Eve tweet from Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Image by JD Hancock via Flickr, used under Creative Commons license.

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