Today's News (2020/7/22): Everything Else edition
Remember how Trump and Pence have been pushing through changes allowing things like denial of care to queers? Now they're throwing 'spot the tranny' memos at homeless shelters to help haters keep transwomen (specifically) on the streets. Everything in it applies to cisgendered women as well, because that's what it's always actually about: policing femininity and controlling women at every level.
----- 1 -----
‘Men’s rights’ lawyer eyed in shooting of NJ judge’s family
By MICHAEL BALSAMO, MICHAEL R. SISAK
and MARYCLAIRE DALE
July 19, 2020 at 9:30 pm Updated July 20, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/son-of-us-district-judge-esther-salas-killed-husband-shot/
A self-described “anti-feminist” lawyer found dead in the Catskills of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound is considered the prime suspect in the shooting of a federal judge’s family in New Jersey, the FBI said Monday.
Roy Den Hollander, who received media attention including appearances on Fox News and Comedy Central for lawsuits challenging perceived infringements of “men’s rights,” was found dead Monday in Sullivan County, New York, two officials with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
----- 2 -----
Hospital refuses to treat transgender man & claims religious exemption
The hospital decided performing surgery on the man would be "intrinsically immoral."
By Bil Browning Monday, July 20, 2020
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/07/hospital-refuses-treat-transgender-man-claims-religious-exemption/
The University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland is being sued after refusing to treat a transgender man. The facility says it follows the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” drawn up by church officials.
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) purchased the hospital in 2012 but it is run by the organization Catholic Health Initiatives, and an agreement with the Archdiocese of Baltimore means that physicians and health care professionals at the hospital have to follow the Catholic guidelines.
Jesse Hammons is suing for violation of his First and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights and his rights under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in federal court.
Hammon’s physicians recommended a hysterectomy to treat his gender dysphoria, but the hospital refused to perform the procedure. He says an administrator cited the directive and told him that gender dysphoria did not qualify as a medical issue that they were required to treat.
Catholic health care organizations are not allowed to participate in “actions that are intrinsically immoral, such as abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and direct sterilization,” according to the lawsuit.
The hospital routinely performs hysterectomies on cisgender women.
----- 3 -----
Trump administration memo explains how to spot a transgender woman
The memo says homeless shelters can use "factors such as height, the presence (but not the absence) of facial hair, the presence of an Adam’s apple" to find suspected trans women.
By Alex Bollinger Monday, July 20, 2020
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/07/trump-administration-memo-explains-spot-transgender-woman/
A copy of the new rule that will allow homeless shelters to refuse transgender people has been leaked to the media, and it contains instructions on how to spot transgender women to target them for discrimination.
Earlier this month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it would be rolling back the Obama-era Equal Access Rule, which required homeless shelters that receive HUD funding to house transgender people with the gender they identify as.
The rollback - which HUD said would “better accommodate religious beliefs of shelter providers” - allows single-gender homeless shelters to decide if they want a housing policy based on sex assigned at birth or gender identity, effectively allowing shelters that house women to turn away transgender women and shelters that house men to turn away transgender men.
The announcement meant that homeless shelters would be allowed to determine who is transgender, which poses a significant risk to people’s privacy rights.
The news website Vox has obtained a copy of the rule, which includes instructions of what a shelter can do spot a trans woman.
----- 4 -----
mcc
twitter.com/mcclure111
21 July 2020
https://twitter.com/mcclure111/status/1285703554657931264
(1/2)
[QUOTED TWEET]
ABC News
twitter.com/ABC
21 July 2020
https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1285690484845883392
JUST IN: Pres. Trump on Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime companion of infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein: "I just wish her well, frankly."
Maxwell pleaded not guilty last week to federal sex trafficking charges. https://abcn.ws/2Ctf32G
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
mcc
twitter.com/mcclure111
21 July 2020
(2/2)
[QUOTED TWEET]
Angus Johnston
twitter.com/studentactivism
21 July 2020
https://twitter.com/studentactivism/status/1285692374144999426
With Trump lauding his friendship with and sympathy for Ghislaine Maxwell, it's worth underscoring that she stands accused of not only facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sexual assaults of children, but in participating in such assaults herself.
[LINKS TO: https://twitter.com/studentactivism/status/1278718602238181382 ]
----- 5 -----
Open Letter from the Staff of the Seattle Children’s Museum to Our Community:
Seattle Children's Museum Staff
Jul 20 · 3 min read
https://medium.com/@seattlechildrensmuseumstaff/open-letter-from-the-staff-of-the-seattle-childrens-museum-to-our-community-d3221aa61961
On June 1st, 2020, the majority POC staff of the Seattle Children’s Museum collectively suspended our labor in direct reaction to museum leadership editing posts and deleting the phrase “Black Lives Matter” and all references to anti-racist education from public educational resource posts on Instagram and Facebook.
We conditionally suspended our labor while presenting clear actions to leadership that must be taken to gain any amount of trust with staff and with you, our community of families, schools, and organizations.
In response, SCM leadership cut communication with staff, and then at the end of June required staff to come collect (or have delivered) all of our personal belongings from museum offices.
We have waited until now to inform you, our community, because we first tried every option for internal reform - for leadership to do the right thing - but, sadly, not a single meaningful action has been taken.
It has been 50 days, and staff has been unpaid this entire time. We were also granted no access to unemployment benefits until today’s mass layoff via email.
While SCM leadership’s original deletion of “Black Lives Matter,” on the stated grounds that it would hurt museum fundraising, was the serious inciting incident for our decision to suspend labor - it was also just the most recent in a history of documented incidents and concerns staff have raised about Seattle Children’s Museum leadership. These concerns range from regular indignities, microaggressions, and institutional inequities to museum leadership disregarding our good faith concerns about the security of our facility and our safety.
----- 6 -----
Trump's pick to head Office of Personnel Management spread 'satanic' conspiracy theory, called Democrats party of 'Islam' and 'gender-bending'
By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN
Updated 3:43 PM ET, Wed July 22, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/22/politics/john-gibbs-opm-kfile/index.html
(CNN)The Trump administration announced this week the nomination of a former conservative commentator with a history of inflammatory and conspiratorial tweets to be the head of the Office of Personnel Management.
John Gibbs, the nominee, is currently the acting assistant secretary for community planning and development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he has worked for three years.
A CNN KFile review in 2018 of archived versions of Gibbs' Twitter feed showed he had spread a false conspiracy theory that claimed Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign chairman took part in a satanic ritual. Gibbs also defended an anti-Semitic Twitter user who had been banned from the platform, and made derogatory comments about Islam and the Democratic Party.
Gibbs' Twitter feed has been set to private since 2017 and the few tweets archived and accessible to public view offer only a small glimpse of his activity on social media.
Gibbs is a former conservative commentator and software engineer who initially joined HUD as the director for the Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative. In August of 2017, he transitioned to the role of senior adviser, working in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, and is now an acting assistant secretary.
OPM manages the government's workforce, serving as a human resources department for civilian employees.
Gibbs' nomination comes as the White House aggressively moves to install loyalists across the government in key positions.
Also posted to ソ-ラ-バ-ド-のおん;
comments at Dreamwidth. Please comment there.
- ‘Men’s rights’ lawyer eyed in shooting of NJ judge’s family
- Hospital refuses to treat transgender man & claims religious exemption
- Trump administration memo explains how to spot a transgender woman
- Trump wishes accused child molester and procurer Ghislaine Maxwell well
- Open Letter from the Staff of the Seattle Children’s Museum to Our Community
- Trump's pick to head Office of Personnel Management spread 'satanic' conspiracy theory, called Democrats party of 'Islam' and 'gender-bending'
----- 1 -----
‘Men’s rights’ lawyer eyed in shooting of NJ judge’s family
By MICHAEL BALSAMO, MICHAEL R. SISAK
and MARYCLAIRE DALE
July 19, 2020 at 9:30 pm Updated July 20, 2020
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/son-of-us-district-judge-esther-salas-killed-husband-shot/
A self-described “anti-feminist” lawyer found dead in the Catskills of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound is considered the prime suspect in the shooting of a federal judge’s family in New Jersey, the FBI said Monday.
Roy Den Hollander, who received media attention including appearances on Fox News and Comedy Central for lawsuits challenging perceived infringements of “men’s rights,” was found dead Monday in Sullivan County, New York, two officials with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press.
----- 2 -----
Hospital refuses to treat transgender man & claims religious exemption
The hospital decided performing surgery on the man would be "intrinsically immoral."
By Bil Browning Monday, July 20, 2020
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/07/hospital-refuses-treat-transgender-man-claims-religious-exemption/
The University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland is being sued after refusing to treat a transgender man. The facility says it follows the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services” drawn up by church officials.
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) purchased the hospital in 2012 but it is run by the organization Catholic Health Initiatives, and an agreement with the Archdiocese of Baltimore means that physicians and health care professionals at the hospital have to follow the Catholic guidelines.
Jesse Hammons is suing for violation of his First and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights and his rights under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in federal court.
Hammon’s physicians recommended a hysterectomy to treat his gender dysphoria, but the hospital refused to perform the procedure. He says an administrator cited the directive and told him that gender dysphoria did not qualify as a medical issue that they were required to treat.
Catholic health care organizations are not allowed to participate in “actions that are intrinsically immoral, such as abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and direct sterilization,” according to the lawsuit.
The hospital routinely performs hysterectomies on cisgender women.
----- 3 -----
Trump administration memo explains how to spot a transgender woman
The memo says homeless shelters can use "factors such as height, the presence (but not the absence) of facial hair, the presence of an Adam’s apple" to find suspected trans women.
By Alex Bollinger Monday, July 20, 2020
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/07/trump-administration-memo-explains-spot-transgender-woman/
A copy of the new rule that will allow homeless shelters to refuse transgender people has been leaked to the media, and it contains instructions on how to spot transgender women to target them for discrimination.
Earlier this month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it would be rolling back the Obama-era Equal Access Rule, which required homeless shelters that receive HUD funding to house transgender people with the gender they identify as.
The rollback - which HUD said would “better accommodate religious beliefs of shelter providers” - allows single-gender homeless shelters to decide if they want a housing policy based on sex assigned at birth or gender identity, effectively allowing shelters that house women to turn away transgender women and shelters that house men to turn away transgender men.
The announcement meant that homeless shelters would be allowed to determine who is transgender, which poses a significant risk to people’s privacy rights.
The news website Vox has obtained a copy of the rule, which includes instructions of what a shelter can do spot a trans woman.
----- 4 -----
mcc
twitter.com/mcclure111
21 July 2020
https://twitter.com/mcclure111/status/1285703554657931264
(1/2)
[QUOTED TWEET]
ABC News
twitter.com/ABC
21 July 2020
https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1285690484845883392
JUST IN: Pres. Trump on Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime companion of infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein: "I just wish her well, frankly."
Maxwell pleaded not guilty last week to federal sex trafficking charges. https://abcn.ws/2Ctf32G
[EMBEDDED VIDEO]
mcc
twitter.com/mcclure111
21 July 2020
(2/2)
[QUOTED TWEET]
Angus Johnston
twitter.com/studentactivism
21 July 2020
https://twitter.com/studentactivism/status/1285692374144999426
With Trump lauding his friendship with and sympathy for Ghislaine Maxwell, it's worth underscoring that she stands accused of not only facilitating Jeffrey Epstein's sexual assaults of children, but in participating in such assaults herself.
[LINKS TO: https://twitter.com/studentactivism/status/1278718602238181382 ]
----- 5 -----
Open Letter from the Staff of the Seattle Children’s Museum to Our Community:
Seattle Children's Museum Staff
Jul 20 · 3 min read
https://medium.com/@seattlechildrensmuseumstaff/open-letter-from-the-staff-of-the-seattle-childrens-museum-to-our-community-d3221aa61961
On June 1st, 2020, the majority POC staff of the Seattle Children’s Museum collectively suspended our labor in direct reaction to museum leadership editing posts and deleting the phrase “Black Lives Matter” and all references to anti-racist education from public educational resource posts on Instagram and Facebook.
We conditionally suspended our labor while presenting clear actions to leadership that must be taken to gain any amount of trust with staff and with you, our community of families, schools, and organizations.
In response, SCM leadership cut communication with staff, and then at the end of June required staff to come collect (or have delivered) all of our personal belongings from museum offices.
We have waited until now to inform you, our community, because we first tried every option for internal reform - for leadership to do the right thing - but, sadly, not a single meaningful action has been taken.
It has been 50 days, and staff has been unpaid this entire time. We were also granted no access to unemployment benefits until today’s mass layoff via email.
While SCM leadership’s original deletion of “Black Lives Matter,” on the stated grounds that it would hurt museum fundraising, was the serious inciting incident for our decision to suspend labor - it was also just the most recent in a history of documented incidents and concerns staff have raised about Seattle Children’s Museum leadership. These concerns range from regular indignities, microaggressions, and institutional inequities to museum leadership disregarding our good faith concerns about the security of our facility and our safety.
----- 6 -----
Trump's pick to head Office of Personnel Management spread 'satanic' conspiracy theory, called Democrats party of 'Islam' and 'gender-bending'
By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN
Updated 3:43 PM ET, Wed July 22, 2020
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/22/politics/john-gibbs-opm-kfile/index.html
(CNN)The Trump administration announced this week the nomination of a former conservative commentator with a history of inflammatory and conspiratorial tweets to be the head of the Office of Personnel Management.
John Gibbs, the nominee, is currently the acting assistant secretary for community planning and development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he has worked for three years.
A CNN KFile review in 2018 of archived versions of Gibbs' Twitter feed showed he had spread a false conspiracy theory that claimed Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign chairman took part in a satanic ritual. Gibbs also defended an anti-Semitic Twitter user who had been banned from the platform, and made derogatory comments about Islam and the Democratic Party.
Gibbs' Twitter feed has been set to private since 2017 and the few tweets archived and accessible to public view offer only a small glimpse of his activity on social media.
Gibbs is a former conservative commentator and software engineer who initially joined HUD as the director for the Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative. In August of 2017, he transitioned to the role of senior adviser, working in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, and is now an acting assistant secretary.
OPM manages the government's workforce, serving as a human resources department for civilian employees.
Gibbs' nomination comes as the White House aggressively moves to install loyalists across the government in key positions.
Also posted to ソ-ラ-バ-ド-のおん;
comments at Dreamwidth. Please comment there.