Of course, Elon Musk is building a fiefdom in Texas where he can rule over his residents/employees

Daily Kos Staff

Friday March 10, 2023 · 7:55 AM PST

2023/03/10 · 07:55

GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY - AUGUST 13: Tesla CEO Elon Musk talks during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory on August 13, 2021 in GrÃ¼nheide near Berlin, Germany. The US company plans to build around 500,000 of the compact Model 3 and Model Y series here every year. (Photo by Patrick Pleul - Pool/Getty Images) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk talks during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory on Aug. 13, 2021.

No big surprise that the guy who wants to move to another planet might start by building his own little fiefdom here on Earth—in Texas.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the billionaire owner of Twitter, Tesla, SpaceX, and the tunnel-building company Boring Co., Elon Musk, plans to build a town about 35 miles from Austin. It would be called Snailbrook after Boring Co.’s mascot.

The Journal reports that the South Africa-born Musk, who has begun buying at least 3,500 acres, described the town as a little utopia where his employees work for him and could live for under-market rents … like a South African township? Just wondering.

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday March 09, 2023 · 1:23 PM PST

2023/03/09 · 13:23

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 08: House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) questions witnesses during the subcommittee's first public hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 08, 2023 in Washington, DC. Witnesses and members of the subcommittee aired and debated their disagreements about the possible origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus and whether it came from nature or a laboratory in China. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) — House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) questions witnesses during the subcommittee's first public hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 8, 2023 in Washington, DC.

When Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin spoke during a committee hearing Wednesday, he left Republican lawmakers smoldering in his wake. In a fiery speech, the congressman from Maryland called out the GOP for their “shocking nihilism about what’s true and what’s false” as he slammed the party over its Jan. 6 insurrection disinformation campaign.

Raskin started by asking the question, “How do we know what’s true or false?” He then launched into a beautiful and brilliant address to answer that question. “The whole judicial system is based on the difference between truth and lies,” he said.

“Our system operates on the basis of truth or fact. Don’t throw your hands up and say, ‘Oh, we can’t know what the truth is. We can’t know what lies are. We don’t want bureaucrats telling us what that is.’ That’s what democratic government is. That’s how we operate. That’s why people go to court, and they swear an oath, to tell the truth.”

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday March 09, 2023 · 9:23 AM PST

2023/03/09 · 09:23

Demonstrators gather to protest against banning books outside of the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Michigan, on September 25, 2022. - The protests emerged after Dearborn Public Schools temporarily restricted access to seven books following a parent's complaint about their content. They also restricted access to an e-book app featuring thousands of titles. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images) — Demonstrators gather to protest against banning books outside of the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Michigan, on Sept. 25, 2022.

It was only after Michelle DiBias’ comment that gay characters were “morally damning to students” became public that the Duval County school district supervisor of instructional materials and media services felt the need to resign.

Had Jacksonville Today not become aware of DiBias’ comments, she would have continued to ban and return books she felt were, as she said, “teaching a lifestyle contrary to the design of humanity.”

In a review of Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, a book about a young girl who develops a crush on another girl, DiBias recommended it be removed from all shelves, according to notes from 2022 obtained by Jacksonville Today.

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Wednesday March 08, 2023 · 1:30 PM PST

2023/03/08 · 13:30

A Trans Rights activist holds a placard while taking part in the "Furies against Fascism" counter protest to the "Let Women Speak" rally in Glasgow, on February 5, 2023. - Transgender issues are in the spotlight in Scotland after its devolved government passed legislation in December to make it easier for people to self-identify their gender.Some feminist activists criticised the Scottish legislation precisely because they feared it would allow sexual predators to gain access to women-only spaces, despite provisions in the text. (Photo by Andy Buchanan / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images) — A trans rights activist holds a placard while taking part in the "Furies against Fascism" counterprotest to the "Let Women Speak" rally in Glasgow, on Feb. 5, 2023.

What we’re seeing now as states fall one by one to anti-transgender laws actually goes back to an email sent by a conservative state representative hoping to make it a felony for physicians to offer gender-affirming care to transgender minors.

According to exclusive reporting by Mother Jones, in 2019, South Dakota Republican state Rep. Fred Deutsch sent an email to 18 anti-trans activists, doctors, and lawyers with the content of a bill he wanted to put forth. That email set off a cataclysm of nefarious movements by those in the anti-transgender movement that are just now becoming a reality.

“I have no doubt this will be an uphill battle when we get to session … As always, please do not share this with the media. The longer we can fly under the radar, the better,” Deutsch wrote, according to documents obtained by Mother Jones.

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Wednesday March 08, 2023 · 10:06 AM PST

2023/03/08 · 10:06

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Mark Beckfold and Steve Ledoux (R) , who are married, hold their foster son at a celebration of the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. The Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry nationwide without regard to their state's laws. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) — Mark Beckfold and Steve Ledoux (R), who are married, hold their foster son at a celebration of the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015 in West Hollywood, California.

If there ever was a time to boycott a state, now would be it. On Monday, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed a law that allows county clerks to refuse to marry same-sex, transgender, and mixed-race couples if they disagree with the union, The New Republic reports.

The bill, which now moves to the state Senate, reads: “a person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage if the person has an objection to solemnizing the marriage based on the person’s conscience or religious beliefs.”

In December, President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, but the new law in Tennessee takes advantage of religiously affiliated organizations’ long refusal to issue licenses for same-sex marriages.

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Wednesday March 08, 2023 · 7:24 AM PST

2023/03/08 · 07:24

AUSTIN, TX -JUNE 25 : Protesters march during an abortion-rights rally on June 25, 2022 in Austin, Texas. The Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health overturned the landmark 50-year-old Roe v Wade case and erased a federal right to an abortion. (Photo by Sergio Flores/Getty Images) — Protesters march during an abortion rights rally on June 25, 2022 in Austin, Texas.

While a Trump-appointed judge in Texas contemplates his ruling on whether abortion medication should be outlawed, people who can become pregnant are facing life-threatening risks and untold trauma. Vehemently antiabortion, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is presiding over the case.

The outcome of Kacsmaryk’s decision could impact those living in blue states as well as red. The case is based on a lawsuit that seeks to repeal the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, the drug that is part of a two-drug abortion regime.

Daily Kos’ Laura Clawson explains that the case would move from Kacsmaryk’s court to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, “known as the most conservative appeals court in the country.” From there, the case would go to the Supreme Court—and we all know how the majority in that court would rule.

RELATED STORY: ‘Close to zero’: Texas woman and OB-GYN fought Texas to permit induced delivery on nonviable fetus

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Tuesday March 07, 2023 · 11:22 AM PST

2023/03/07 · 11:22

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis delivers the "State of the State" address at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, on March 7, 2023. - DeSantis positioned himself Tuesday as the leading Republican alternative to White House candidate Donald Trump, launching a legislative session that offers red meat for the ex-president's base as the party's rising star weighs his own 2024 campaign. (Photo by CHENEY ORR / AFP) (Photo by CHENEY ORR/AFP via Getty Images) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers the 'State of the State' address at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, on March 7, 2023.

Tuesday, on the first day of the state’s legislative session and just minutes before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered his state of the state address, Republicans filed a bill banning abortions after six weeks. The horrifying thing is it will likely pass.

State Sen. Erin Grall filed the bill, which includes exceptions for rape and incest, but only up until 15 weeks of pregnancy, “subject to certain conditions,” the bill reads.

Additionally, the bill prohibits “anyone other than a physician from inducing a termination of pregnancy and from using telehealth to perform abortions, requiring that medications intended for use in a medical abortion be dispensed in person by a physician.”

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Tuesday March 07, 2023 · 7:28 AM PST

2023/03/07 · 07:28

Representative Pamela Stevenson Gives Fiery Testimony Against Anti-trans Kentucky HB470 — Rep. Pamela Stevenson gives fiery testimony against anti-trans Kentucky HB470.

Kentucky state Rep. Pamela Stevenson gave an Oscar-worthy speech, dropping the mic on the sponsors of a bill that restricts gender-affirming care for transgender children.

Kentucky’s HB 470 passed in a 75-22 vote after approval by the House Judiciary Committee. The bill limits medical care related to gender transition services for minors and punishes providers who assist their minor patients.

Monday, Stevenson delivered a blistering testimony opposing the bill. “I’m not even sure how we got here, but as a 27-year military veteran, I fought so that all people could have freedoms, not just the ones I liked,” said Stevenson, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel.

Rebekah Sager for Daily Kos

Daily Kos Staff

Monday March 06, 2023 · 4:00 PM PST

2023/03/06 · 16:00

Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen at the Women's Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 17, 2022. Mifepristone is taken first to stop the pregnancy, followed by Misoprostol to induce bleeding. - In the wake of Friday's ruling by the US Supreme Court striking down Roe v Wade and the federally protected right to an abortion, women from Texas and other states are traveling to clinics like the Women's Reproductive Health Clinic in New Mexico for legal abortion services under the state's more liberal laws. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) — Mifepristone and misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen at the Women's Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 17, 2022.

Bending to pressure from Republicans and a lawsuit filed in November 2022 by anti-abortion zealots, Walgreens announced Friday the stores would no longer distribute abortion medication in 20 states.

The suit targets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decades-long approval of the abortion medication mifepristone, the first in a set of two of drugs used to terminate a pregnancy.

“We intend to be a certified pharmacy and will distribute Mifepristone only in those jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible,” the company said in a statement.

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Monday March 06, 2023 · 10:42 AM PST

2023/03/06 · 10:42

TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden, joined by US Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL), Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III, and fellow activists cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 5, 2023, to mark the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. - More than 600 civil rights demonstrators were beaten by white police officers as they tried to cross the bridge during a 54 mile march from Selma to Montgomery, on March 7, 1965. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) — President Joe Biden, joined by Representative Terri Sewell, Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III, and fellow activists cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on March 5, 2023, to mark the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

“The right to vote, to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty,” President Joe Biden said Sunday as he stood on Selma, Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge to honor the 58th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.”

Bloody Sunday honors a historic march on March 7, 1965, when 600 primarily Black protestors were brutally attacked by a white police mob who beat them with billy clubs and sprayed them with tear gas, according to Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture.

“This fundamental right remains under assault. Conservative Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act over the years. Since the 2020 election, a wave of states (has passed) dozens, dozens of anti-voting laws fueled by the big lie,” Biden continued.

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Monday March 06, 2023 · 7:48 AM PST

2023/03/06 · 07:48

SIMI VALLEY, CA - MARCH 05: A passenger in a passing car holds a sign at a rally at the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in opposition to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was scheduled to speak there on March 5, 2023 in Simi Valley, California. Though he's yet to announce his run for president, the visit comes a week after a new poll found DeSantis leading former President Donald Trump among Republican voters in California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) — A passenger in a passing car holds a sign at a rally at the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in opposition to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was scheduled to speak there on March 5, 2023 in Simi Valley, California.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wasted no time Sunday during his Simi Valley, California, visit before attacking Democratic-led states and their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is likely just the start of his national tour: He’s expected to officially announce his 2024 presidential run in the next few months.

Speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, DeSantis was on the offensive, slamming vaccine mandates and claiming Democratic leaders are infected with a “woke mind virus,” Reuters reports.

In a sold-out speech to about 1,100 assembled people, DeSantis praised his state and slammed “leftist politicians imposing leftist ideologies.”

Rebekah Sager

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday March 02, 2023 · 10:24 AM PST

2023/03/02 · 10:24

EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 16: U.S. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks at a campaign rally held by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) designed to get Michigan State University students, faculty and staff out to the polls on October 16, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan. The race between Congresswoman Slotkin and Michigan State Senator Tom Barrett for Michigan's newly configured 7th Congressional District is one of the two most expensive U.S. House campaigns in the country. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks at a campaign rally held by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) designed to get Michigan State University students, faculty and staff out to the polls on October 16, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan.

Antisemitic violence has been on the rise in the U.S. since 2021. The latest incident comes out of Michigan, where a man allegedly tweeted a threat to kill Jewish members of the state government. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel claims to be one of his targets.

According to reporting by CNN, on Feb. 17, the FBI National Threat Operations Center notified the Detroit FBI office about a Twitter user with the handle @tempered_reason, who tweeted that he was “heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is Jewish in the Michigan govt if they don’t leave, or confess.” The user added that any attempts to “subdue” him would “be met with deadly force in self-defense.”

The man, identified as Jack Eugene Carpenter III, has an arrest record and a protection order against him. He had three 9mm handguns registered to his name, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, CNN reports. One of the guns was “stolen” from a past partner.

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Of course, Elon Musk is building a fiefdom in Texas where he can rule over his residents/employees

Rep. Jamie Raskin once again proves why he’s a national treasure

Florida school staffer and book reviewer resigns after calling book about lesbians ‘morally damning'

Secret four-year-long plan for anti-trans laws by conservative groups is revealed

Tennessee passes bill allowing courts to refuse to marry same-sex, mixed-race, transgender couples

As the nation braces for Texas judge to halt abortion pill use, pregnant people face deadly risks

Of course, Florida plans to ban abortions after six weeks. DeSantis has ensured it's a fascist state

Kentucky rep drops the mic on authors of bill restricting gender-affirming care for trans kids

Time to boycott Walgreens as the chain announces refusal to sell abortion medication in 20 states

Biden minces no words. Says voting rights in the U.S. are ‘under assault … fueled by the Big Lie’

DeSantis uses sold-out speech in California to deceptively toot his own horn

Michigan man arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Jewish elected officials, including the AG