Happy March!
Or is it an unhappy March?
Let’s be real, it’s too soon to tell.
But one source of joy for many is now against the law in … well, I guess we shouldn’t expect too much from a state that had a statue of notorious Confederate general, slave trader, and Klu Klux Klan grand wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest in its capitol building until mid-2021.
Still, though, it’s a little tough to wrap my head around the fact that this is where we are now.
Are These Idiots Getting Louder Or Dumber?
Welp, it happened: Tennessee is officially the first state with a law on the books outlawing drag shows.
[[glares in I Told You So]]
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Banning drag performances is awful on its face, obviously, but this new law has some terrifyingly broad language that puts a substantial swath of the LGBTQ community in danger of being arrested for just … well, being.
If it weren’t so diabolical, it’d almost be a clever way to effectively criminalize being trans.
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Also, just in case you think these state lawmakers actually give a rat’s ass about the nonexistent ill effects drag shows allegedly have on minors, a sneaky little amendment was added as the bill wound its way through the legislature that reveals the new law’s actual target: LGTBQ Tennesseeans.
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July 1 is the default date for new state laws to go into effect.
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But SB3 was quietly tweaked to take effect on April 1, which means that this hateful law will be enforceable ahead of Pride month in June.
But signing this drag show ban into law wasn’t the only terrible thing Gov. Lee and his GOP allies in the legislature did to LGBTQ Tennesseans this week.
But if you think Republicans are going to confine their anti-transgender crusade to kids, think again.
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Five states – Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee – are also considering bills targeting gender-affirming care for adults.
Don’t Blame Me, I Voted For Kodos
Florida’s legislative session kicks off next week, so … yeah, hide.
Early indicators point to a total shitshow.
Take, for instance, the fascist little bill introduced by Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia.
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I can only imagine his expression of self-satisfied glee as he filed SB1248 – which he smugly titled “The Ultimate Cancel Act” – to require the state election board to “immediately cancel” the filings of a political party whose platform had “previously advocated for, or been in support of, slavery or involuntary servitude.”
He could have just said “Democrats,” but I guess that wasn’t precious enough for him.
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As an erudite consumer of the missive – or, like, as a person who remembers literally anything from US History class – you’re no doubt aware that most members of the Democratic Party, as it existed in the 1800s, used to be big fans of slavery.
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Anyway, this petty piece of legislation would allow a canceled political party to re-register with the Florida State Department — but that party would be forced to change its name to something “substantially different from the name of any other party previously registered.”
Honestly, Florida Dems should just roll with this and rename themselves the Real Republican Party – a troll for a troll is the new eye for an eye.
And this bill is absolutely a troll – Ingoglia admitted as much himself.
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In a press release about the legislation, Ingoglia attacked Democrats and “leftist activists” who he claims have been “trying to ‘cancel’ people and companies for things they have said or done in the past,” including “the removal of statues and memorials, and the renaming of buildings … Using this standard, it would be hypocritical not to cancel the Democrat [sic] Party itself for the same reason.”
Troll or no, the concept of eliminating opposing political parties is a clear hallmark of fascism (he’s been dead a long time, sure, but does no one remember Mussolini?).
Another fascism flag? Silencing opposition media.
And GOP state Sen. Jason Brodeur would like to do his part – and he fancies he’s found a clever workaround for that pesky First Amendment stuff.
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Brodeur is introducing SB1316, which would force “bloggers” – defined as “a person … that submits a blog post to a blog which is subsequently published” — who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, any other member of Florida’s executive branch, or legislators to register and report like lobbyists (who are paid to influence lawmaking, not inform the public about it).
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The bill explicitly exempts “the website of a newspaper or other similar publication” and, presumably, those who write for them from this requirement, but the line between blogging and journalism blurred to meaninglessness long long ago, which is why we describe most bloggers as independent journalists now.
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In fact, I bet Brodeur was inspired–at least in part–to draft this anti-free press bill by Jason Garcia, who wrote a fun analysis last year about the lawmaker’s shady financial dealings.
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Or perhaps it was another intrepid independent journalist or website that shines a light into the dark corners of Florida politics.
By the by, if Brodeur’s name rings a bell, it may be because of a pretty big election scandal he was implicated in last year.
But Brodeur’s not the only Florida lawmaker looking to gag the media.
Abortions For Some, Tiny American Flags for Others!
Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court election is just over five weeks away, and the current 4-3 conservative majority court helpfully just reminded everyone how important it is to flip that margin to a 4-3 progressive majority.
I mean, not that we needed another reason.
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In the next year or so, the court will hear and rule on a case that will either uphold or strike down Wisconsin’s abortion ban, and it has and will continue to hear cases on voting rights, workers’ rights, public school funding, gun safety, and more.
But this week, the four conservative justices overrode their three progressive colleagues to reappoint James Troupis to the Wisconsin Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee.
And this is why it matters:
I mean, it really doesn’t seem cool to have someone who actively worked to undermine democracy on the committee that renders formal advisory opinions on how judges ought to behave.
So Wisconsin’s judicial system is stuck with this guy for another six years, but Wisconsinites might not be stuck with that 4-3 conservative majority too much longer.
Or they might! Who knows?
Wild, right?
But even wilder is the fact that her conservative opponent, former Justice Dan Kelly, hasn't spent or reserved any TV ad spending at this point.
You can read the rest of this week’s edition here!