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Today Is International Transgender Day of Visibility – Let’s Celebrate #TransVisibility and Fight Discrimination

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My trans brothers and sisters are first and forever human beings. Period. Today I honor them and recommit to fighting the fight that needs to be fought. #Translivesmatter.

After Thursday’s stunning deceit and political gamesmanship by Democratic North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, with what my journalistic colleague Kerry Eleveld correctly labeled as, “Cooper sells out LGBTQ Tar Heels with ‘fake’ repeal of state’s bathroom bill,” today and frankly every day takes on such critical importance to the transgender community. They are human beings, not political talking points or targets for state sponsored discriminatory laws and practices.  

I have been a long time ally and I have very dear friends who are trans who have taught me so much over the years about the true meaning of what it is to be a fully empowered human being. Non-trans persons who bully, or degenerate trans folk, are ignorant and oft times I have found, unwilling to accept – actually accede the fact, that there exists such a rich diversity in the human species.

Trans is first and foremost not about human sexuality. Being trans is the essence of one’s true self. It is in fact the deeply personal introspective view of one’s gender and one’s human spirit. I tire of the incessant rubbish spewed by the American Christian right that belittles the very humanity of the trans community, of my friends who I care deeply for. A physical shell, whether it posses a penis or a vagina is not relative to a person’s state of being. Which brings me to the adversaries who rail and literally preach that there are no such things as transgender human beings. 

Currently on the road in the Northeastern United States is a brightly painted bus that carries an ignorant and frankly hate filled anti-trans message. The bus is sponsored by “CitizenGo” a Spanish group financed by the ultra right-wing “Family Watch International” and the Washington, D.C. based National Organization for Marriage or “NOM.” The bus was literally banned from operating in Spain, as after its initial appearance, operated by the Catholic group “Hazte Oír,” it was impounded by Spanish police authorities after being observed driving around in the streets of Madrid with a message that officers identified as hate speech. 

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Image courtesy of Policía Municipal de Madrid.

The slogan emblazoned on the side of the bus (pictured) translates as “Boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Do not be fooled. If you are born, you are a man. If you are a woman you will continue to be.”

I spoke earlier today with an official from the Policía Municipal de Madrid, who conveyed to me that the authorities were extremely concerned that the message conveyed on the bus would incite hate crimes against the vulnerable trans community in Madrid. The Hazte Oír bus was immediately impounded by the authorities. According to the trans publication and advocacy website, Planet Transgender, the group returned with a motor home and a slightly altered message: “Do boys have penises? Do girls have vulvas?” after a Madrid judge said that the bus would not be allowed on the city’s streets as long as it continued to bear the original wording.

Sadly however, the bus then crossed the Atlantic and arrived in New York. The bus was then re-branded to target its American “audience” by NOM, who labeled it a “Free Speech Bus.” However, not long after a picture provided by NOM showed the bus in front of the United Nations Headquarters complex in New York City, the bus was apparently vandalized, according to NOM, a fact that I was able to verify with a source at the New York Police Department.

Possibly although not certainly the message displayed on the side of the bus, “It’s biology. Boys are boys…and always will be. Girls are girls…and always will be. You can’t change sex. Respect all,” most likely played a role in its vandalism.

Of course, the President of NOM, Brian Brown, a long time detractor of the trans and the LGBTQI community, immediately launched a fundraiser to ‘repair the damage’ and support the cause. My only question to Mr. Brown would be, allowing that by law the bus must be insured to operate as a licensed vehicle on American highways and streets, surely the insurance company would have covered the damages? But I digress. My friend and fellow journalist Michael Lavers reported a couple of days ago that the bus is due back in my old stomping grounds of Washington, D.C. today and Saturday.

noM_bus.jpg

I hope that folks show up and protest this onerous mechanical billboard of hate. This is not about free speech as Brown alleges. He sent me this statement:

It’s biology, not bigotry. Men and women were created equally, each given a gender that is fixed, immutable and complementary. Rather than perpetuate a lie that gender can be changed based on emotions and feelings, we should encourage people to embrace and love who they were made to be.

We call on all Americans to respect the free speech rights of citizens to debate these issues without fear of being demeaned, harassed, or threatened with retaliation.

Again – nope, Brian you’re wrong. By the way, are you a board certified Doctor of Medicine, a psychiatrist, or an expert on human sexuality? Oh that’s right, no you are not.

I am over people like Brown and organizations like his whose only existence seems to be to justify their salaries while pushing pseudo science/biology based on bronze age thinking and mythology.

As a journalist I am tired of reporting stories about trans-women or trans-men who have been murdered, bullied, and maimed, after they have been deeply wounded emotionally by the rubbish spewed by NOM and other organizations that are ignorant and non-accepting. I am tired of seeing large percentages of trans youth tossed out on the street by their families who are flat out intolerant. I am also very tired of anti-trans sentiments that I have seen within the gay, lesbian, bi, and queer community. In fact, it has been my experience that some of the most deeply held prejudices have been from within the LGBTQI tribe itself. 

My trans brothers and sisters are first and forever human beings. Period. Today I honor them and recommit to fighting the fight that needs to be fought. #Translivesmatter. As a community and as a society we need to move past this incorrect and damaging biological myth that gender is determined at birth and by appearances. #It.Is.Not.

One last thing, this is again not about sexuality and quite frankly as a whole when it comes down to intimate and physical expression of personal affairs of the heart – we need to stay the hell out of other folks bedrooms. If you know trans folks or are like me fortunate enough to have numerous friends who are, come join with me in celebrating them.

Brody Levesque is the Chief Political Correspondent for The New Civil Rights Movement.
You may contact Brody at Brody.Levesque@thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page. 

Image of NOM bus via Facebook 

 

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OPINION

‘Have to Get Back to Law and Order’: Trump Declares at NYPD Officer’s Wake

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Donald Trump attended the wake of the slain New York City police officer who was shot and killed while conducting a traffic stop this week. The four-times indicted ex-president demanded America “get back to law and order,” barely days after a New York judge imposed a gag order in the case where the presumptive Republican presidential nominee faces 34 felony counts for “falsifying New York business records in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election,” according to the New York District Attorney.

That damaging information included hush money payments to several women including an adult film actress.

“We have to stop it,” Trump said Thursday, speaking before the cameras about crime as he stood under an umbrella in front of police officers. “We have to stop, we have to get back to law and order. We have to do a lot of things differently because this is not working. This is happening too often.”

“Police are the greatest people we have. There’s nothing and there’s nobody like them. And this should never happen,” Trump said as he lamented how repeat offenders “don’t learn because they don’t respect.”

READ MORE: Trump Campaign Says It Will Deploy ‘Soldiers’ to Polling Places

“We’ve got to toughen it up. We’ve got to strengthen it up. It should never be allowed things like they shouldn’t take place and to take place so often,” said Trump, who is out on bail and currently faces 88 felony charges after three were dropped.

The Trump campaign announced that the ex-president had been invited to attend the wake.

“President Trump is moved by the invitation to join NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s family and colleagues as they deal with his senseless and tragic death,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, according to The Daily Beast.

The Associated Press added that “Trump has deplored crime in heavily Democratic cities, called for shoplifters to be shot immediately and wants to immunize police officers from lawsuits for potential misconduct. But he’s also demonized local prosecutors, the FBI and the Department of Justice over the criminal prosecutions he faces and the investigation while he was president into his first campaign’s interactions with Russia.”

“He has also embraced those imprisoned for their roles on the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when a mob of his angry supporters overran police lines and Capitol and local police officers were attacked and beaten.”

Earlier on Thursday NBC News reported on Trump’s mischaracterizations of crime.

“Surging crime levels, out-of-control Democratic cities and ‘migrant crime,'” the network noted. “Former President Donald Trump regularly cites all three at his campaign rallies, in news releases and on Truth Social, often saying President Joe Biden and Democrats are to blame.”

READ MORE: ‘Hunger Games at NBC News’: New McDaniel Revelations Have ‘Enraged’ Staffers, Report Says

“But the crime picture Trump paints contrasts sharply with years of police and government data at both the local and national levels,” NBC added. “FBI statistics released this year suggested a steep drop in crime across the country last year. It’s a similar story across major cities, with violent crime down year over year in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.”

Watch Trump’s remarks below or at this link.

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OPINION

‘Hunger Games at NBC News’: New McDaniel Revelations Have ‘Enraged’ Staffers, Report Says

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The backlash from NBC News’ hiring of Ronna McDaniel is not over. New reporting from Puck, CNN, and The Washington Post reveals the considerable efforts from top NBC and MSNBC brass to recruit, hire, and support the former RNC chair who promoted false election claims, was allegedly involved in helping Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, and refused to say Joe Biden had been elected fairly.

Staffers at NBC News and MSNBC were outraged at McDaniel’s hiring, but new details about behind-the-scenes efforts reportedly have increased that outrage.

Some critics are either calling for resignations of NBC News and MSNBC  leadership, or questioning how long they can ride out the mess.

“What is Brian Roberts going to do?” CNN‘s Oliver Darcy asks. “The Comcast boss is watching an unceasing five-alarm fire rage at 30 Rock, scarring the reputation of NBC News and threatening to consume multiple parts of the Cesar Conde-run NBC Universal News Group.”

“Conde has lost control of his organization, prompting industry insiders to wonder how he continues to remain in his role as chairman of the NBC News Group. In the words of one veteran media executive I spoke to Wednesday, ‘It’s inconceivable that he should,'” Darcy writes, saying Conde’s actions and those of his top executives have “hosed gasoline” on the scandal.

READ MORE: Lawmaker Slammed for Claiming College Basketball Players Were Actually ‘Illegal Invaders’

That scandal involves these revelations from Puck’s Dylan Byers, who reports, “bringing McDaniel to 30 Rock had been part of a nearly two-month-long effort that was spearheaded by Budoff Brown and her boss, NBC News President Rebecca Blumenstein, with buy-in from Conde and his deputies at both NBC News and MSNBC.”

“Rashida Jones,” he adds, “the president of MSNBC, was very interested in having McDaniel appear as a contributor on her network, as well.”

But this bombshell has drawn a good deal of attention. Noting how Chuck Todd led off the very public pushback against the hiring of McDaniel, Byers reports, “On Sunday, Budoff Brown reached out to McDaniel’s aide and former chief of staff at the R.N.C., Richard Walters, to see if there were any friends or colleagues who could speak up on her behalf.”

“The two sides also discussed having these folks call attention to what they saw as a double standard—after all, this was the same network that was turning Psaki, a former Biden White House Press Secretary, into a Maddow-adjacent prime time star. Walters later assured Budoff Brown that they’d been able to advance conservative pushback on social media against Todd, specifically, and that this might give NBC News some cover, for which Budoff Brown thanked him.”

CNN, pointing to those details, adds, “staffers inside NBC News are enraged at the fact an executive would have engaged in such behavior.”

Former Chicago Tribune editor Mark Jacobs, who now writes about politics and the media, called for the firing of Jones, Blumenstein, and Budoff Brown.

Other critics are expressing concerns on multiple fronts.

READ MORE: Ronna McDaniel Is Just a ‘Normal’ Person Who ‘Never Denied the Election’ Says Hugh Hewitt

“It’s like the hunger games at @NBCNews. Every day new, horrible stories of journalism & corporate malpractice. Every single one of these managers must go,” observed Jennifer Schulze, a media critic who was a Chicago Sun-Times executive producer, WGN news director, and adjunct college professor of journalism.

She also highlights a Washington Post report that ropes NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt into the mess.

“Every @NBCNews exec who thought hiring a reputed liar & phony elector co-[conspirator] needs to resign or be fired,” Schulze says.

“The @NBCNews managers who recruited & signed an election denier should be out the door, too,” she adds. “Not only was it downright offensive to hire Ronna, it was journalism AND corporate malpractice.”

Pointing to his newsletter, former Obama senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer writes, “NBC’s ill-fated decision to hire Ronna McDaniel is a story of a media outlet unwilling to accept the ways Trump changed politics, but it’s also one of the best arguments for Dems need to build our media ecosystem ASAP.”

READ MORE: Comer Refuses to Investigate Trump Family Member Over ‘Influence Peddling’ Allegation

He calls McDaniel’s hiring “evidence” the media has “yet to accept the reality that this is not a normal election between a Republican and a Democrat.” And adds, “An [industry] that prizes objectivity above all else, is incapable of accurately covering an election where one candidate is a normal politician and the other is an insurrectionist. Many in the media would rather stumble into autocracy than take a side.”

Veteran journalist and Sirius XM host Michelangelo Signorile observes, “We couldn’t have asked for a better situation to shine a bright light on the corruption of the corporate media—and its impulse to legitimize MAGA extremism and lawbreakers for profit—than NBC’s hiring former RNC chair, election denier, and Trump enabler Ronna McDaniel.”

And he warns, “The forces that made the coup-plotting former RNC chair a paid contributor are still shaping news and information about this pivotal election.”

 

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News

Lawmaker Slammed for Claiming College Basketball Players Were Actually ‘Illegal Invaders’

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Michigan MAGA Republican state Rep. Matt Maddock is under fire after claiming three buses were “loaded up with illegal invaders.” The buses, according to multiple reports, were actually loaded with the Gonzaga University basketball team arriving for March Madness.

“Happening right now. Three busses just loaded up with illegal invaders at Detroit Metro. Anyone have any idea where they’re headed with their police escort?” Rep. Maddock wrote on social media Wednesday evening, tagging far-right former U.S. Congressman Pete Hoekstra, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands under Donald Trump and is now the state’s Republican Party chair.

Informed of his error on social media, Rep. Maddock doubled down, and attacked.

READ MORE: Ronna McDaniel Is Just a ‘Normal’ Person Who ‘Never Denied the Election’ Says Hugh Hewitt

“Probably teams for the NCAA Mens Sweet 16 playing at LCA on Friday and Sunday,” a user on X wrote.

“Sure kommie. Good talking point,” Maddock quickly shot back.

ABC affiliate WXYZ executive producer Maxwell White, responding to the Maddock’s original post wrote: “Just to be clear, this was the Gonzaga basketball team. Photos show Gonzaga getting on an Allegiant plane to Detroit for the Sweet 16, and Flight Radar shows a plane from GEG to DTW landed at 7:25 p.m., around the time this photo was posted.”

“This is a wild tweet,” White added, before adding more evidence.

Hoekstra, who was accused of using racism and xenophobia to win his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat (he lost), did not respond directly to Maddock but did repost the apparently false claim.

Michigan State Senate Democratic Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow denounced Maddock’s claim as “dangerous.”

Maddock’s remark also made the national stage when U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell responded.

READ MORE: Trump Campaign Says It Will Deploy ‘Soldiers’ to Polling Places

“Hey Einstein,” the California Democrat wrote, “your state is hosting the Sweet 16. Could it be a team bus? If it is, will you resign for your spectacular stupidity?”

In 2021 The Washington Post reported, “Michigan state Rep. Matt Maddock and his wife, Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, have repeatedly been called out by fact-checking journalists for promoting baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and falsely suggesting that covid-19 is comparable to the flu.”

See the social media posts above 0r at this link.

 

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