Last month it was a Nebraska Republican state lawmaker who promoted the lie that children in schools are pretending to be animals – “furries” – demanding litterboxes, and defecating on the classroom floor if not given them. Rep. Bruce Bostelman was insistent that schoolchildren were meowing, barking, and believing themselves to be domesticated pets. His biggest problem with the whole issue: “How is this sanitary?”

Fast forward exactly one month and three of Minnesota’s state Republican lawmakers are the latest to push this lie – a lie that originated in anti-transgender hate.

“There is something going on in our schools according to this, something called ‘furry.’ And I think it’s spelled F-U-R-R-Y. I looked it up on Google,” Rep. Steve Drazkowski, apparently not very good at researching, said on the Minnesota House floor.

“It’s described to me that we have kids in our schools who believe that they are animals,” continued Drazkowski, using the very malleable “described to me” phrase.

“And they are identifying I’m told as animals. Identifying as animals., They think they’re a cat. A cat. They put tails on and they demand that they have a litterbox at school,” he added. All of which is false.

“Has anybody else heard that?” Drazkowski asked on the House floor. “Have you heard about this ‘furry’ thing?”

“It’s in the dictionary on Google, Madam Speaker,” he claimed, again, not being very good with research.

Not to be outdone, Republican Rep. Eric Lucero said on the House floor, “When I heard about this, I heard they were actually cutting holes in the uniforms for tails, and in some cases, the students were putting on fake tails. And in some cases one of the parents was responding to what was happening in the school where a child that believed themselves to be a cat – didn’t have a physical tail, ut had an imaginary tail. And they were sitting at – I think it was a lunch, ah, a table in the lunchroom, and this imaginary tail was there. A student came up, and sat down and the child that believed themself to be a cat, screamed, ‘You just sat on my tail!’ that was imaginary. Didn’t exist.”

And yet, another.

“In my district, I won’t even name the school, in my district I had a pastor come to me and he said he is being told that in one school district – and I’m not saying this is the case, we don’t know, it’s unconfirmed – but he is being told by multiple people that there’s a litter box in one of the locker room, or bathroom, that’s my understanding,” GOP Rep. Tim Miller claimed, again on the House floor.

These are grown adults, elected officials, standing in the Minnesota people’s house and spreading ridiculous falsehoods.

Watch:

“There’s something going on in our schools called ‘furry.’ I think it’s spelled F-U-R-R-Y… I looked it up on Google.”

3 Minnesota GOP State Reps. spread false rumors of litter boxes in bathrooms, uniforms that accommodate tails and kids identifying as cats during floor debate. pic.twitter.com/Yhrk6ynlTp

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) April 28, 2022

Florida’s government is taking heat for a new policy that reveals the ignorance of those in charge of the Sunshine State.

“Florida has become the latest state to ban critical race theory,continuing the growing charge by Republican lawmakers against schools teaching about systemic racism,” CNN reported. “After hours of debate and public comment Thursday, the Florida State Board of Education unanimously approved the amendment banning critical race theory. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed much of the board, spoke ahead of the meeting, saying critical race theory would teach children ‘the country is rotten and that our institutions are illegitimate.'”

Keith Schnakenberg, an assistant professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis, posted one key part of the new rule.

The rule says teachers “may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.”

Well-known historian Kevin Kruse blasted the language.

“Teachers ‘may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence’ is nine kinds of nonsense, starting with the fact that the Declaration, uh, didn’t create a new nation,” Kruse reminded.

The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. America was not created until the Constitution was ratified by nine of the original thirteen states on June 21, 1788.

“Let’s ignore that howler from these legislators who *really* know their facts. We’re forbidden from defining American history as anything other than the *creation* of the new nation?” Kruse asked. “You’re not allowed to teach anything besides the founding? There’s a lot more, you know!”

“But let’s back up a sec,” he continued. “You’re not allowed to suppress or distort the atrocities of the Holocaust, but if there’s something akin to that in American history — HYPOTHETICALLY SPEAKING, OF COURSE — you *have* to suppress and distort that? Because of reasons?”

“This is all so incredibly depressing and stupid, largely because the people trying to dictate and control the teaching of America history apparently never took a single damn class in the subject themselves,” he noted.

Let's ignore that howler from these legislators who *really* know their facts.

We're forbidden from defining American history as anything other than the *creation* of the new nation?

You're not allowed to teach anything besides the founding? There's a lot more, you know!

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) June 12, 2021

Read that whole thread.

This is all so incredibly depressing and stupid, largely because the people trying to dictate and control the teaching of America history apparently never took a single damn class in the subject themselves.

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) June 12, 2021

Instruction must be factual and also false

— Keith Schnakenberg (@keithschnak) June 12, 2021

Iowa’s bill. Largely similar to Idaho except also prohibits teaching that the USA or the state of Iowa are systemically racist pic.twitter.com/QGE1Vn4rzm

— Keith Schnakenberg (@keithschnak) June 12, 2021

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)is leading the charge among House Republicans to refuse to follow Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s rule continuing the mask mandate, with at least a dozen far right lawmakers flouting their obligation.

“Masks are oppressive and nothing but a political tool. End the oppression!” Greene tweeted Tuesday.

#FreeYourFace
Masks are oppressive and nothing but a political tool.
End the oppression! pic.twitter.com/EBvCtBpE6u

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 18, 2021

As with many issues from the far right House members, they are literally the cause of their own issues. The House mask mandate has remained in place because, according to CNN, less than half of the House members say they are vaccinated. One hundred percent of House Democrats are, the unvaccinated are all Republicans.

Proud to join these Patriots for a peaceful protest on the House floor against mask mandates!#FreeYourFace😁 pic.twitter.com/NSgC5Hfj4E

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 18, 2021

Forbes’ Andrew Solender reports among those refusing to wear masks on the House floor are “some of the House’s most vocal right-wingers: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Laure Boebert (R-Colo.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas).”

The hypocrisy isn’t limited to refusing to be vaccinated.

Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, according to Solender, “says he ‘got into it’ with the GOP lawmakers and joked that they are pro-choice when they told him the mandate is a ‘violation of their right to decide for themselves.'”

They replied ‘absolutely not, it’s a totally different thing,’ he says.”

NEW: 3 Republicans will face $500 fines for going maskless on the House floor today as it’s their 2nd offense, per Capitol official:

Mast
Miller-Meeks
Van Duyne

7 have been given 1st offense warnings:

Boebert
Massie
Greene
Roy
Good
Gohmert
Mary Millerhttps://t.co/2tUPbKqpzy

— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) May 19, 2021

The U.S. is approaching 34 million cases of COVID-19, and just passed 600,000 coronavirus deaths.