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Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Calls for School Superintendent to Resign Over Pro-Trans Policy

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Supporters, Opponents of New Guidelines to Gather in Fort Worth on Tuesday

Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is calling for the superintendent of Fort Worth schools to resign for following federal law by enacting a progressive new policy for dealing with transgender students.

According to the policy unveiled by Superintendent Kent Scribner last month, trans students are generally allowed to use restrooms and participate in athletics according to their gender identity. The policy also requires teachers to use preferred names and pronouns, and bars staff from disclosing students’ gender identity, including to parents, except on a need-to-know basis.

But not surprisingly, it’s the restroom provision that caught Patrick’s attention. In a statement, Patrick accused Scribner of putting “his own personal agenda ahead of more than 86,000 students attending 146 schools.”

“Without any discussion with parents, board members, principals, and other community leaders, Dr. Scribner’s unilateral action, underscores this lack of fitness to hold his position as superintendent,” Patrick said. “Campus safety should be of paramount concern for anyone in his position. Every parent, especially those of young girls, should be outraged.”

In an interview with WFAA-TV, Patrick said he’s also calling for three members of Scribner’s executive staff to resign. And if they refuse to do so, he’s asking the school board to suspend them at its regular meeting Tuesday night, where supporters and opponents of the policy are expected to turn out in droves.

“This is uncalled for,” Patrick said. “So we want a 15-year-old boy full of vim and vigor that every 15-year-old boy has, walking into the girls’ bathroom. They’re just creating trouble. For what? This superintendent, he’s so irresponsible for doing this, that he needs to step down.”

As we reported the other day, the Fort Worth district’s new policy has also prompted calls for stonings from some critics, including a former GOP legislative candidate. 

As for Patrick, his opposition to trans rights is nothing new. He spent more than $50,000 on a TV ad opposing Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance — in which he railed against “Men in Women’s Bathrooms” — and he recently called for a statewide anti-trans “bathroom” bill.

Also Monday, GOP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who last week sent a threatening letter to Target over the retailer’s support for trans rights, applauded GOP North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory for filing a lawsuit against the Department of Justice in defense of the anti-LGBT House Bill 2.

Equality Texas issued the following statement responding to Patrick and Paxton:

“The Lt. Governor and Attorney General demonstrated today that they are blinded by transphobia. Federal education guidelines define the rights of every public school student, including transgender students, and we commend the Fort Worth School District and its superintendent for issuing guidelines which are consistent with federal law. By fueling hysteria and creating panic where none need exist, the Lt. Governor appeals to the worst chapters of our history, in which discrimination runs rampant and understanding and compassion are absent. Transgender students, like transgender adults, don’t want to cause any problems;   they simply want to use the bathroom when the need arises. Ignoring federal law, as the Lt. Governor urges the Fort Worth school district to do, would put at risk significant federal educational funds on which our state depends and would ultimately cause for our state the significant economic chaos now faced by North Carolina. The demands by the Lt. Governor and the Attorney General that we should ignore federal law are not only dangerous and economically risky, but also demonize transgender students, many of whom are forced to drop out of school because of the constant bullying and aggression they face. Equality Texas calls upon our state leaders to expend our state’s resources on improving public schools, rather than putting their funding at risk in a cruel and futile attempt to deny equality to all.” 

I’ll be live-tweeting from Tuesday’s Fort Worth school board meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Central time. Follow me @LSQnews. 

 

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

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News

JD Vance Dismisses Taylor Swift’s Harris Endorsement: Voters Won’t Be Influenced by ‘Disconnected Billionaire’

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12 hours ago

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September 11, 2024

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Senator JD Vance (R-OH) dismissed Taylor Swift’s endorsement of the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz campaign, saying that it wouldn’t sway voters because they wouldn’t be “influenced by a billionaire celebrity.”

Vance appeared Wednesday afternoon on Fox News’ The Story With Martha MacCallum. MacCallum brought up Swift’s endorsement in her interview with the vice presidential candidate.

“But it was interesting last night, that Taylor Swift gave her endorsement of Harris and and Walz right after [the debate]. She has 283 million followers on Instagram, and I’m sure that someone brought your attention that she signed it ‘Childless Cat Lady.’ This is a phrase that you are going to hear in your in your dreams and your nightmares, probably for many years to come. How do you speak to women voters, who, obviously, care about what she thinks?,” MacCallum said.

READ MORE: Trump Refuses Debate ‘Rematch’, Says Harris ‘Was Beaten Badly’

“Well, look, we admire Taylor Swift’s music. But I don’t think most Americans—whether they like her music, are fans of hers or not—are going to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity, who, I think, is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans. Look, when grocery prices go up by 20%, it hurts most Americans. It doesn’t hurt Taylor Swift. When housing prices become unaffordable, it doesn’t affect Taylor Swift or any other billionaire. It does affect middle class Americans all over our country,” Vance replied.

Swift announced her endorsement of the Harris campaign last night shortly after the debate on Instagram. Alongside a photo by Inez & Vinoodh of her cuddling a fluffy cat, she urged fans to research the candidates. She also called out former President Donald Trump and his fans sharing AI-generated pictures appearing to show Swift endorsing him.

“Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth,” Swift wrote.

“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades,” she continued.

She did indeed sign the caption “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady,” in reference to a comment Vance made in 2021 that the country was run by “childless cat ladies” like Harris who “want to make the rest of the country miserable too.” The quote was resurfaced shortly after Vance was named Trump’s running mate. Vance says the remark was “sarcastic” and “willfully misinterpreted” by Democrats, according to The Hill. Harris has two stepchildren.

As for Swift’s net worth, she is indeed a billionaire with $1.1 billion, according to Forbes. The same outlet places Trump’s net worth at $7.5 billion. The majority of that is due to Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social. However, Trump Media has been losing money recently, causing Trump to fall off Bloomberg’s list of the top 500 wealthiest people.

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News

Asif Merchant Faces Additional Terrorism Charge In Hitman Plot to Kill Politicians

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13 hours ago

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September 11, 2024

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asif merchant

Asif Merchant faces additional terrorism charges over a plan to hire hitmen to kill government officials or politicians, according to a new indictment filed Tuesday.

Merchant was initially arrested in July for the assassination plot. Originally, Merchant was only charged with murder for hire. The new indictment keeps the murder for hire charge, and adds one count of attempt to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Merchant is from Pakistan, but has ties to Iran, the Department of Justice says.

“The Justice Department will not tolerate Iran’s efforts to target our country’s public officials and endanger our national security,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.  “As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against Americans.”

The Department of Justice says that he flew from Iran to America in April, and reached out to someone he thought could help him find someone to kill either politicians or government officials. That person reported him to law enforcement.

In June, he allegedly met up with the person again to discuss the plot, and confirmed he intended to orchestrate a chain of assassinations in the United States. Merchant asked the person to put him in contact with potential hitmen who would also be tasked with stealing information from targets, planning protests at political events and, ultimately committing the assassination at the end of summer, the DOJ says.

READ MORE: Leaders of White Supremacist Group Terrorgram Charged, Face Up to 220 Years in Prison

Merchant was put into contact with undercover FBI agents posing as criminals. He paid them $5,000 in cash on June 21, and when one of the undercover agents said “Now we know we’re going forward. We’re doing this,” Merchant replied in the affirmative.

Merchant stayed in the U.S. for another three weeks, booking a July 12 flight out of the country. The day he was scheduled to leave, he was arrested.

The complaint doesn’t mention any names of potential targets, but a senior law enforcement official told NBC News in August that former President Donald Trump was a potential target. Iran was said to be plotting to kill Trump in revenge for the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, NBC reported.

Merchant faces a life sentence if he’s convicted of the charges. The case is being heard in the Eastern District of New York.

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STILL A COWARD

Trump Refuses Debate ‘Rematch’, Says Harris ‘Was Beaten Badly’

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15 hours ago

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September 11, 2024

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Former President Donald Trump has declined Vice President Kamala Harris’ offer of a second debate. He compared himself to a top boxer, declaring himself the winner and wondering why he should bother with a rematch.

Trump and Harris had their first debate Tuesday night on ABC. Shortly afterward—less than an hour, according to ABC News—the Harris campaign asked for a followup debate in October. Fox News offered to be the host, which should have appealed to Trump, considering he wanted Tuesday’s debate to be hosted on the conservative-leaning cable news outlet. But apparently, he’s changed his mind.

“In the World of Boxing or UFC, when a Fighter gets beaten or knocked out, they get up and scream, ‘I DEMAND A REMATCH, I DEMAND A REMATCH!’ Well, it’s no different with a Debate. She was beaten badly last night. Every Poll has us WINNING, in one case, 92-8, so why would I do a Rematch?” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.

READ MORE: MAGA World Threatens to Boycott ABC After Trump’s Disastrous Debate Performance

Though Trump declared himself the winner, that is not a common belief. Many networks declared Harris the winner, including Fox News. Trump is correct that one poll did have him winning 92% to 8%, but that was an online poll from Newsmax. Newsmax is a far-right media outlet. It came to prominence during the 2020 election when Trump turned against Fox News for becoming the first outlet to declare President Joe Biden the winner in Arizona, a battleground state. Newsmax promoted Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud.

Trump shared a number of other polls on his Truth Social account shortly after the debate, but most were from explicitly pro-Trump outlets like the Daily Caller, or were taken on X, formerly Twitter, which has skewed right following Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform.

Polls from more mainstream outlets, however, told a different story. Newsweek’s reader poll showed Harris ahead nearly 2 to 1. CNN’s poll had a similar spread, with Harris declared the winner by 63% of viewers. In the Washington Post’s poll of 25 uncommitted swing-state voters, 23 said Harris did better. YouGov’s polling was closer, but Harris still pulled ahead 43% to 32%.

Pundits and experts also awarded the win to Harris. NPR said the debate “wasn’t close.” The New York Times said Harris “rattled” Trump.

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