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Obama, Looking For Easy Low-Cost Wins, Endorses Two Anti-Bullying Bills

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President Obama, looking for easy, low-cost wins to placate his base — especially after angering LGBT allies for refusing to sign an executive order banning anti-gay discrimination among federal contractors — today announced his support for two anti-bullying bills in the wake of a firestorm over a GOP Senatorial candidate’s attack on one, the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA).

READ: GOP Senate Hopeful: Bullying Bill Unconstitutional Because Kids Don’t Know They’re Gay

Conveniently tied into today’s GLSEN-supported National Day of Silence, an annual event designed to highlight and protest anti-LGBT bullying in schools, the President today announced his support for both the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) and the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA). Both bills have been languishing in Congress since 2010.

“The president and his administration have taken many steps to address the issue of bullying,” Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, told reporters. “He is proud to support the Student Non-Discrimination Act, introduced by Senator Franken and Congressman Polis, and the Safe Schools Improvement Act, introduced by Senator Casey and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez. These bills will help ensure that all students are safe and healthy and can learn in environments free from discrimination, bullying and harassment.”

In 2010 the President introduced StopBullying.gov, and a companion Facebook page. Also in 2010 President Obama released his It Gets Better video (image, top,) also.

Last year, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) in the House and Senator Al Franken introduced a companion version in the Senate. SNDA has an estimated 99 co-sponsors in the House and 27 co-sponsors in the Senate. Polios also released a fact sheet.

The Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) was introduced in the Senate jointly by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL).

Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade today, in an extensive article, noted:

Both pieces of legislation address bullying in different ways. SNDA would prohibit and harassment in public elementary and secondary schools based on a student’s actual or perceived LGBT status. SSIA would require schools to adopt anti-bullying codes of conduct and submit to states data to the Department of Education on bullying.

Obama endorses the legislation as his administration has taken flak from the LGBT community for saying it won’t issue at this time an executive order requiring federal contractors to have non-discrimination policies based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

On the same day the endorsement was announced, the White House was set to host a screening of “Bully,” a 2011 documentary about school bullying that follows the lives of five students who were bullied on a daily basis.

Over the past two days, GOP Senatorial candidate Heather Wilson came under fire for her comments last week mocking anti-LGBT bullying in schools.

“It is an act that would criminalize harassment or bullying in schools of children who are gay or who — it criminalizes bullying. It basically makes federal funding dependent on school board policies that will not tolerate bullying of people based on their sexual orientation or, you know, even when kids are below puberty,” Wilson said.

HRC and others have condemned Wilson’s ignorant and debilitating comments.

Both SNDA and SSIA have been all but dormant. The President’s sudden acknowledgment of them is a positive move for LGBT youth who daily are barraged by anti-LGBT messages from conservatives.

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33 Bomb Threats in Springfield Shuttered 22 Facilities in Days After Trump’s Immigrant Lie

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It’s been just under a week since Donald Trump uttered his lies about Haitian immigrants stealing pets from the residents of Springfield, Ohio, and eating them. Now, according to the Republican governor, Mike DeWine, the city of Springfield has been hit with 33 bomb threats that have forced the evacuation or shuttering of 22 facilities, among them reportedly two hospitals, six elementary schools, a middle school, two colleges, at least two courts, and city hall.

Spectrum News national political reporter Taylor Popielarz posted a list of the facilities that have been subjected to lockdown, evacuation, closure, or search. This is a list of facilities, not the number of times they have been forced to evacuate or shut down.

(Click to view the full list)

Gov. DeWine in a Monday afternoon press conference declared all 33 bomb threats to be “hoaxes,” but also claimed they came from foreign countries.

“We have people, unfortunately overseas, who are taking these actions. Some of them are coming from one particular country. We think that this is one more opportunity to mess with the United States,” DeWine said, as The Columbus Dispatch reported. “We cannot let the bad guys win. Our schools must remain open. They’re going to remain open.”

READ MORE: Ohio GOP AG Smacked Down on CNN After Downplaying Bomb Threats Targeting Springfield

DeWine, while repeatedly declaring the claims that immigrants in Springfield are stealing and eating cats and dogs are false, on Monday also repeatedly refused to pin any blame on Donald Trump or his running mate, JD Vance.

“There’s been no evidence at all of anyone eating a dog or any Haitians doing any of that,” DeWine told CNN Monday (video below). “These Haitians that are there are legal, and they work very, very hard.”

“The mayor tells us and the chief of police tells us there’s been no evidence at all of anyone eating a dog or any Haitians doing any of that. These Haitians that are there are legal, they work very, very hard.”

Those comments echoed DeWine’s remarks on Sunday to ABC News: “What we know is that the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work. Ohio is on the move, and Springfield has really made a great resurgence with a lot of companies coming in. These Haitians came in to work for these companies.”

“What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers. They’re very happy to have them there, and frankly, that’s helped the economy. Now, are there problems connected? Well, sure. When you go from a population of 58,000 and add 15,000 people onto that, you’re going to have some challenges and some problems. And we’re addressing those,” DeWine also said.

He also denounced the hate groups that have used the opportunity to descend onto Springfield.

“There are hate groups coming into Springfield. We don’t need these hate groups. I saw a piece of literature yesterday that the mayor told me about from purportedly the KKK. Look, Springfield is a good city. They are good people. They are welcoming people. We have challenges every day. We are working on those challenges,” DeWine said. “This idea that we have hate groups coming in, this discussion just has to stop. We need to focus on moving forward and not dogs and cats being eaten. It’s just ridiculous.”

READ MORE: Trump Repeatedly Blames Biden, Harris for Assassination Attempt Allegedly by Another GOPer

Despite calling the pet-eating claims “ridiculous,” despite acknowledging the hate groups have come to town as a result, despite stating the immigrants – contrary to Donald Trump’s claims – are there legally and have been called “essential” by local businesses, and despite the 33 bomb threats and the effect they have had on school children and medical care, the governor would not hold Donald Trump or JD Vance accountable.

“Look, I’m not here to place blame,” DeWine said.

After DeWine’s appearance, the Trump campaign wrongly claimed that because the origin of the bomb threats is allegedly overseas, they deserve an apology.

“Where do President Trump and JD Vance go to get their apology from the media who claimed they incited them?” the campaign’s War Room account asked.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Remigration’: Trump Continues Attacks on Immigrants With New Vow of Forced Deportations

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Ohio GOP AG Smacked Down on CNN After Downplaying Bomb Threats Targeting Springfield

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Dave Yost, the Republican Attorney General of Ohio, took a shellacking Monday afternoon after a CNN host debunked some of his claims made in support of Donald Trump’s lies that Haitian immigrants in Springfield are eating residents’ pets, including cats and dogs, as well as geese. Yost also downplayed the bomb threats in Springfield that have closed public schools for days, saying he has no information on who is responsible, and suggesting it could be someone from anywhere in the world.

Donald Trump’s lie that Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating pets has been refuted and debunked by the Republican Governor of Ohio, and the city’s mayor and city manager, along with local law enforcement.

But Yost wrongly insisted that there are credible reports that have been called in to city officials, claims he made days ago on social media that were quickly also debunked.

“There’s a recorded police call from a witness who saw immigrants capturing geese for food in Springfield. Citizens testified to City Council. These people would be competent witnesses in court. Why does the media find a carefully worded City Hall press release better evidence?” Yost asked on X last Wednesday.

READ MORE: Trump Repeatedly Blames Biden, Harris for Assassination Attempt Allegedly by Another GOPer

AG Yost over the weekend also weighed in on the alleged 20,000 Haitian immigrants (city officials estimate 12,000 to 15,000) who now live in Springfield.

“There’s not a town in America that could absorb a quarter to a third of its population of new immigrants. Don’t buy the shrill ‘debunking’ by the leftist media outlets that desperately want to shut down this debate just weeks before voting starts,” he wrote on X, appearing to use his office to make a political statement.

Yost is perhaps most well–known for falsely denying that 10-year old rape victim who wanted an abortion had been raped. He also tried to block President Joe Biden from appearing on the November 2024 ballot, and has published 28 statements attacking President Biden or his administration on a wide variety of issues. Among them: COVID and vaccines, abortion, the Supreme Court, the teaching of history in public schools, and election laws. Yost also signed an amicus brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to disenfranchise the votes of thousands of Pennsylvania voters.

On Monday, CNN’s Brianna Keilar asked Yost how concerned is he about the bomb threats that have shuttered schools and other government facilities, including city hall and a motor vehicle office.

“Look, in Ohio, a bomb threat, particularly one that disrupts something like a school, is very serious crime. It’s felony, and my message is, whoever is responsible, knock it off,” Yost replied. “So let’s understand what there really is no evidence of, which is that these bomb threats are coming domestically. They might, they might not. That’s why we have investigations.”

READ MORE: ‘Hell Isn’t Hot Enough’: Fury at Trump as More School Evacuations Follow ‘Pet-Eating’ Lies

Keilar also told Yost, “So you’ve been tweeting about this controversy, giving credence to what is so far and after quite a lot of investigation and unsubstantiated allegation that Haitian migrants are eating people’s pets in Springfield as well as waterfowl in public places there, and local authorities have investigated both, and they have found nothing to support that. The mayor says this is the case. Do you think the mayor is lying?”

“No, my comment, and by the way, most of my tweets have been about the impact, the real impacts on this town, but my tweet was about the media’s disregard of citizen interactions, citizen reports with their government,” Yost replied, despite the citizen reports having been debunked.

Yost went on to complain about the increase in the number of school children in Springfield needing translators.

Later, he complained, “I’m trying desperately to bring attention to the very serious issues, that’s mostly what I’ve been talking about. You’re the one that’s taking one tweet and trying to make a national news story out of it. How much time have we spent on this? In this interview?” he asked.

“It’s not my tweets, sir, it’s your tweets,” Keilar replied.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Remigration’: Trump Continues Attacks on Immigrants With New Vow of Forced Deportations

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Trump Repeatedly Blames Biden, Harris for Assassination Attempt Allegedly by Another GOPer

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Donald Trump is repeatedly attempting to blame President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for what is being investigated as a second assassination attempt, allegedly by a suspect who yet again is another GOP voter. Trump claimed, “Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying,” despite no shots being fired at him during the second alleged assassination attempt.

Local law enforcement on Sunday arrested a 2016 Trump voter who reportedly supported former Trump UN Ambassador Nikki Haley for president and far-right entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy for vice president in this year’s election cycle, calling it a “winning ticket now that we can all get behind,” according to The Daily Beast.

The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, who has now been charged with federal gun crimes, had been hanging around the ex-president’s Florida golf course for about 12 hours before the U.S. Secret Service confronted and ultimately shot at him, the Associated Press reports. The FBI is investigating the incident as an attempted assassination.

“Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, faces charges of possessing a firearm despite a prior felony conviction and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and Justice Department prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury,” according to the AP.

CNN reports Routh, 58, “once supported but then dismissed [Trump] as an ‘idiot,’ a ‘buffoon’ and a ‘fool.'”

“For years, he criticized not only Trump but himself, describing Trump as ‘my choice’ in the 2016 presidential election but later writing that he is ‘man enough to say that I misjudged and made a terrible mistake.'”

READ MORE: ‘Hell Isn’t Hot Enough’: Fury at Trump as More School Evacuations Follow ‘Pet-Eating’ Lies

The shooter who allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump in July was a registered Republican, according to multiple news sites including USA Today.

On Monday Trump spoke with Fox News about Routh, who reportedly had an AK-47 with him while being 300 to 500 yards away from Trump.

“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump told Fox News. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”

“They use highly inflammatory language,” Trump claimed. “I can use it too — far better than they can — but I don’t.”

Most recently, Trump has called for the “remigration” of immigrants in America, including those in the country legally. That came after he attacked legal immigrants living and working in Springfield, Ohio, as did his vice presidential running mate, U.S. Senator JD Vance, of Ohio. On Sunday Vance admitted he and Trump “create stories” to advance their agenda.

RELATED: ‘Remigration’: Trump Continues Attacks on Immigrants With New Vow of Forced Deportations

Former Obama State Dept. official Richard Stengel, who also served as the chief executive of the National Constitution Center and was once TIME magazine’s managing editor, shared his thoughts on Trump’s remarks:

“1. There is no place for political violence in America. 2. Trump says the words of Harris supporters are responsible for the violence. 3. The truth is that Trump’s own words—his anti-immigrant rhetoric, his racist taunts, his long-time encouragement of rough treatment for his foes—helps create a climate where violence occurs. 4. He remains a threat to democracy and not saying that is itself a threat to democracy. 5. I pray there are no more violent threats on Trump or any other candidate.”

Trump followed up his comments to Fox News with a post on the social media website X, and used the opportunity to once again extend his attacks on immigrants.

“The Rhetoric, Lies, as exemplified by the false statements made by Comrade Kamala Harris during the rigged and highly partisan ABC Debate, and all of the ridiculous lawsuits specifically designed to inflict damage on Joe’s, then Kamala’s, Political Opponent, ME, has taken politics in our Country to a whole new level of Hatred, Abuse, and Distrust. Because of this Communist Left Rhetoric, the bullets are flying, and it will only get worse!” he wrote early Monday afternoon, before using the post to attack immigrants, which he has done almost if not daily since last week’s debate.

“Allowing millions of people, from places unknown, to INVADE and take over our Country, is an unpardonable sin,” Trump said, before launching into an all-caps diatribe demanding “terrorists, criminals, and mentally insane, immediately removed from american cities and towns, deported back to their counties of origin.”

READ MORE: Loomer Invokes Hannibal Lecter as Trump Triples Down on Lies About Immigrants Eating Pets

 

 

 

 

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