EC Statement, Richard Carrier.

The FtB Ethics Committee has released an official statement on the departure of Richard Carrier from our network.

Freethought Blogs unequivocally condemns any behavior that threatens the safety of atheist community members, including particularly marginalized groups. Freethought Blogs also recognizes the role of sexual harassment as one of numerous barriers for women that limits access to and participation within atheist conferences and spaces.

When the recent allegations against Richard Carrier were made public, Freethought Blogs initiated a process to investigate these claims and formalize its policy concerning the conduct of its members. The FtB Ethics Committee received several reports of Carrier’s behavior and was in the process of reviewing them when Carrier chose to leave the network. A thorough review of the allegations against Carrier cannot be completed by Freethought Blogs without his cooperation.

As part of our commitment to equitable access to freethinking spaces for all, Freethought Blogs members who violate our commitment to social justice by creating or maintaining barriers to participation will be removed from the network as a matter of policy. All reports submitted to us in furtherance of this policy will be kept in the strictest of confidence, unless the accusation was made publicly or in the event we have express permission to reproduce the complaint.

-The FtB Ethics Committee

ETA: For those just wondering why this post has not gone up on every blog? Two things: posting was not made mandatory, and time zones, how do they work?

Ownbey’s Final Solution.

Oklahoma state Rep. Pat Ownbey, R-Ardmore, in 2013. CREDIT: AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki.

Oklahoma state Rep. Pat Ownbey, R-Ardmore, in 2013. CREDIT: AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki.

An Oklahoma lawmaker personally propagated an article over the weekend calling for a “final solution” regarding “radical Islam,” arguing that the 1,400-year-old faith is not a religion and should not be protected under the first amendment of the Constitution.

On Sunday, Oklahoma State Rep. Pat Ownbey re-published an article to his Facebook page entitled “Radical Islam – The Final Solution.” The article was originally published on the personal blog of Paul R. Hollrah, an Oklahoman who touts himself as a “retired government relations executive,” but Ownbey appears to have copy-pasted the piece and reposted it in its entirety, citing Hollrah.

The author is seemingly unaware that the phrase “the final solution” was used by Adolph Hitler and Nazi leadership to describe the horrific genocide enacted against Jews by the Third Reich during World War II, also known as the Holocaust. Instead, the article Ownbey shared purports that in light of the recent massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando by an ISIS-affiliated shooter, Islam should no longer be categorized as a religion in the United States — or in any western nation.

I really find it difficult to believe that Ownbey is in any way unfamiliar with the phrase the final solution or its meaning. It’s just another alt-right move: “hey, it won’t be like that, we can do a final solution right, you betcha!”

“…if we in the west are to protect our children and grandchildren from the horrors of a worldwide Islamic caliphate, we must first dispense with the cruel fiction that Islam is just another religious denomination, subject to all of the legal protections afforded legitimate religious sects,” Hollrah argues. “Islam is not a religion, subject to First Amendment protections, as we in western cultures understand the term. Rather, it is a complete political, legal, economic, military, social, and cultural system with a religious component.”

Hollrah — who, like presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, appears to be opposed to Muslim immigration into the United States — goes on to blast Christian traditions such as the Catholic Church that take a welcoming approach to Islam, accusing them of being naive. He then defends Trump’s Muslim ban by citing the Communist Control Act of 1954 before insisting that the West “quarantine” all Muslims.

“And since the 95% of Muslims who are described as either ‘moderate’ or ‘un-radicalized’ appear unwilling to play an active role in keeping their radicalized brethren in check, we have no long term alternative but to quarantine them… prohibiting them from residing anywhere within the civilized nations of the Earth,” he writes.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Not even wrong. As for prohibiting them from residing anywhere within the civilized nations of the Earth, once again, we see an American asshole who thinks America runs the world. This point of view is so damn pervasive, and so very poisonous. How do we rid ourselves of this cumbersome and meddlesome belief?

The author of the article at Think Progress goes on to debunk all this ineffable, but dangerous twaddle. A good read.

Tennessee: 5 Million Lost.

CREDIT: Shutterstock/City of Angels

CREDIT: Shutterstock/City of Angels

The American Counseling Association was planning to hold its 2017 national convention in Nashville, but after Tennessee lawmakers passed a law allowing for religious discrimination in counseling, the organization decided not to reward the state with its business. Last week, the ACA announced it would instead be heading to the “inclusive and inviting city” of San Francisco.

The new Tennessee law ensures that any counselor or therapist can decide not to provide services to a client if doing so violates their religious beliefs. A lawsuit challenging its constitutionality points out that it flagrantly violates the ACA Code of Ethics, which the state had previously embraced as the standard for its counselors and therapists.

Back in May, ACA officials announced that after hearing complaints from many members, they would move the convention somewhere else. “Of all the state legislation I have seen passed in my 30 years with ACA, the new Tennessee law based on Senate Bill 1556/House Bill 1840 is by far the worst. This law directly targets the counseling profession, would deny services to those most in need, and constitutes a dilemma for ACA members because it allows for violation of ACA’s Code of Ethics,” CEO Richard Yep said at the time. “By relocating from Tennessee, ACA is standing up to this discriminatory law and we remain committed in the battle to ensure that this law does not become the national standard.”

Way to go, ACA! Let’s all hope this economic hit might knock some sense into Tennessee lawmakers.

Full Story Here.

New York: Pink Tax Legislation.

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Gabriella Penuela/FUSION

New York City will likely become the first city in the U.S. to guarantee access to free menstrual hygiene products to women and girls in public schools, homeless shelters, and jails.

The legislation, sponsored by New York City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, passed with a unanimous vote of 49-0 on Tuesday. The bill is now awaiting approval from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is expected to sign it into law next month.

The bill is a big win especially for the women and girls across the city who may find it difficult to afford menstrual hygiene products — 49 percent of public school students in New York come from low income families, according to a 2015 study by the Southern Education Foundation. In addition, out of the 300,000 students in New York City public schools, 48 percent are female. Incarceration also disproportionately affects people from low income and disadvantaged communities, and homeless women face the added stress of not always being able to afford pads or tampons.

[…]

This historic legislation presents a victory to women who have been fighting to rid their states and cities of the “pink tax,” the extra cost that subjects female-branded hygiene products, such as tampons, to a sales tax. The additional charges on these products can add to staggering amounts for women — the cost of managing periods alone cost an estimated $18,000 over a woman’s lifetime, and tampons alone cost a women about $1,700.

According to research conducted by Fusion, only five states in the U.S. do not place taxes on tampons. Most states place tax exemptions on items that are considered necessities, but the products that constitute a necessity vary by state — with tampons usually not falling under this category.

I no longer have to feed money into this particular pink tax, but it is an outrage that in the 21st century, people continue to be punished because menstruation. Perhaps if people who do menstruate just start freely bleeding all over the place, the idea will get across that yes, tampons and pads are indeed necessities, not ‘pink fripperies’ no one needs.

Think Progress has the full story.

Gay Superhero: Union Jack.

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Marvel’s increasing knack for inclusivity is going multi-platform, spreading to the popular mobile game Avengers Academy with their “British Invasion” which includes gay superhero Union Jack.

The cartoon video game, which appears to be geared toward a younger audience, reimagines the Avengers crew as students at a school under the tutelage of Nick Fury.

[…]

In the world of Marvel comics, Union Jack has been around since 1976, and was dating fellow super hero Dyna-Mite when he came out.

Out has the story.

Posters for Pulse.

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Photographer David Ayllon is offering these posters of drag perfomers, with all proceeds to be donated directly to the official Pulse victims fund. Didn’t take me long to make a choice, I’m all in love with Iris Spectre – “Noir”:

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Have a visit, take a look, and get yourself a nice piece of art. This is a great way to give, and to receive.

http://davidayllon.storenvy.com/

The “Disarmed Citizen Compensation Act”

State Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger) is proposing the “Disarmed Citizen Compensation Act” that would impose liabilities on businesses that ban guns.

State Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger) is proposing the “Disarmed Citizen Compensation Act” that would impose liabilities on businesses that ban guns.

A state lawmaker wants businesses that ban guns to be held strictly liable for any gun-related injury that might occur in their premises, and to pay triple damages.

The “Disarmed Citizen Compensation Act” is the brainchild of Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger).

“This bill will give the citizens of Wisconsin a better chance of defending themselves and their loved ones against this scourge of terrorist activity,” Gannon said in a news release.

[…]

Gannon’s bill would discourage businesses from posting signs stating that firearms and other weapons are prohibited on the premises. That option was part of Wisconsin’s concealed carry law. License holders who violate the restrictions can be subject to a fine of up to $1,000.

Wisconsin became the 49th state to allow concealed weapons in 2011 with the passage of Act 35. More than 300,000 people have since obtained permits.

To encourage businesses to allow concealed carry, the concealed carry law provided owners immunity from any liability that may from any gun incident on the premises.

But the law didn’t address liability in the opposite scenario — a business that posts a weapons ban and has a gun incident.

Under Gannon’s bill the liability would attach automatically. In other words, if someone — a concealed carry permit holder or otherwise — injured or killed someone with a gun inside a store that had a sign prohibiting weapons, the business would be on the hook for triple the damages to any victims.

Gannon, who is in the property and casualty insurance business, said he was not aware of any similar law in other states.

Anyone surprised at this step of punishing people who don’t want guns on their premises? I think uStates has become the living embodiment of The Peter Principle.

Full Story Here.

It was a dark and stormy night…

that caused a great deal of damage. Nothing quite like waking up, and noticing that there’s a fucktonne of tree down, everywhere. No one escaped damage. Fortunately, the only damage to us was our burn can. It was with great trepidation I made the trek to the front, afraid I’d see my Elky crushed. Photos 9 and 10 are of a neighbour’s tree, which is now resting, in great part, on our trees. I feel awful, because I think it could be saved if someone got it upright again, but I can’t do anything, Rick isn’t here, and the house is empty. People are out all over, trying to unblock roads and clean up. We are going to have a very busy weekend. Click for full size.

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[Read more…]

Make America White Again.

"Make America White Again" billboard in Polk County, Tennessee (Amy Hines Woody/Facebook)

“Make America White Again” billboard in Polk County, Tennessee (Amy Hines Woody/Facebook)

Rick Tyler, an independent Congressional candidate for Tennessee’s 3rd district, is facing a boycott of his restaurant business after he advertised his candidacy with racist billboard messages like “Make America White Again.”

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Tennessee resident Amy Hines Woody expressed her outrage by posting a photo of the “Make America White Again” sign, WTVC reported.

“This disgusting bunch of bigotry was erected about 20 minutes from our house,” she wrote, noting that Tyler owned Whitewater Grill in Ocoee. “Please, if you are the decent and loving people I know you to be, boycott this business.”

A Web address on the billboard redirects to Tyler’s campaign website, which explains that the candidate chose a sign that “is difficult to ignore and its message comes across as authoritative and influential.”

Tyler also suggests that his billboard is based on Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Difficult to ignore? Yeah, okay, I’ll say that much is so. Authoritative and influential? Well…perhaps in a Nazi-ish manner. Mostly, Mr. Tyler, it comes across as the same old bigotry, with a healthy helping of asshole whine added in.

“Of great significance, as well, is the reality of the Trump phenomenon and the manner in which he has loosened up the overall spectrum of political discourse,” he noted. “The Make America White Again billboard advertisement will cut to the very core and marrow of what plagues us as a nation.”

Oh FFS, the mealy mouthness! Yes, Trump has brought bigotry back into popularity, and rather than bigoted assholes feeling rather shamed, they are screaming, having fits of hysterics, and collecting guns even more. The very core and marrow of what plagues us…yeah, that would be brown people, right? I rather expect all the pasty queer people will have to go too.

A second sign used words from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech along with an illustration of the Confederate flag surrounding the White House.

If I ever manage to find my eyebrows after they fell off the back of my head, I might then gather up my jaw from somewhere on the floor. What. In. The. Fuck.

Oh, here it is, folks, via Daily Kos:

tyler

Tyler said that he planned to put up other billboards, including “Fight federal tyranny / Stop the Muslim invasion” and “Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be miscegenators.”

Jesus Fuck, it gets worse.

The candidate told WRCB-TV that he did not hate people of color, but wanted to return to a “1960s, Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver time when there were no break-ins; no violent crime; no mass immigration.”

Aauuuuggghhh no no no no no no. People this fucking ignorant should just have to leave. I don’t care where they go, just go. 1960s Ozzie and Harriet, Leave it to Beaver was television, you scant-brained asshole. uStates was not stuffed to the gills with benign papas smoking pipes who always had time for their children, with wives maintaining sparkling clean houses and cooking vast meals in dresses, fuck me heels, and pearls. There were plenty of break-ins, a lot of crime, actually, violent and otherwise, and as for mass immigration? Holy shit, just go away.

Via Raw Story.

Oh, McCrory’s Not Happy. Tsk.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory speaks to NBC's Chuck Todd (screen grab)

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory speaks to NBC’s Chuck Todd (screen grab)

A school district in North Carolina announced this week that its students can choose which bathroom to use based on their gender identity, and Gov. Pat McCrory is not happy.

The Republican governor released a statement Tuesday condemning the decision after the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District revealed its plans to buck the recently passed House Bill 2, a law that in part rolls back protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and forces public school students to use restrooms that correspond to their biological sex, the Huffington Post reported. Starting in the fall, the 146,000 students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg system can base the facilities they use on their identities — something McCrory does not agree with.

“Instead of providing reasonable accommodations for some students facing unique circumstances, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System made a radical change to their shower, locker room and restroom policy for all students,” McCrory’s press secretary, Graham Wilson, said in a statement to WJZY. “This curiously-timed announcement that changes the basic expectations of privacy for students comes just after school let out and defies transparency, especially for parents. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System should have waited for the courts to make a decision instead of purposely breaking state law.”

The school district’s attorney, George Battle III, told the Charlotte Observer the system wasn’t trying to fight HB2, which was passed in March. He said the district was following a precedent set by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in April that the Title IX anti-discrimination law covers transgender students’ right to choose their restrooms.

“That’s the law of the land for five states that are in the 4th Circuit, North Carolina being one of those states,” Battle told the Observer.

Full Story at Raw Story. I am seriously pleased the school district is doing right by students, but I’ll admit to some happy pleasure at seeing McCrory publicly smacked.

The Collective

The B. Yellowtail Collective is finally up and running, and looking great!

Anthony Thosh Collins - Thoshograpy.com Models: Linsay Willier (left), Shania Russell (center), and Gabrielle Lopez (right). Native fashion designer icon Bethany Yellowtail (Northern Cheyenne and Crow tribes) just launched a e-commerce retail expansion in partnership with a group of Native American artists on her website known as The B. Yellowtail Collective.

Anthony Thosh Collins – Thoshograpy.com
Models: Linsay Willier (left), Shania Russell (center), and Gabrielle Lopez (right). Native fashion designer icon Bethany Yellowtail (Northern Cheyenne and Crow tribes) just launched a e-commerce retail expansion in partnership with a group of Native American artists on her website known as The B. Yellowtail Collective.

Native fashion designer icon Bethany Yellowtail (Northern Cheyenne and Crow tribes) just launched a e-commerce retail expansion in partnership with a group of Native American artists on her website known as The B. Yellowtail Collective.

The Collective will benefit a group of Native artists selling their Native made fashion retail goods on the BYellowtail.com website.

According to a release put out by Yellowtail, the e-commerce retail initiative features jewelry, beadwork, textiles, handbags, and other accessories handmade by each of the artists. All pieces are one-of-a-kind, created through traditional design methods passed down for many generations.

Since the inception of Yellowtail’s clothing line in 2014, the designer says she has envisioned a collaborative project with Native American artists and designers who often lack retail opportunities due to their remote locales.

“What makes The Collective so unique is that the people will now have a direct connection to the authentic, creative source of what they’re purchasing. It is very important to know and understand the artist behind the work,” Yellowtail said.

“There will now be a face and a name behind their work, not just a generic idea of Native American product,” Yellowtail said, “Consumers will be able to see their faces, hear their voices, and understand the significance and individuality behind their designs and concepts.”

 Yellowtail tells ICTMN she was inspired to create the Collective when she was moving from Los Angeles back to her home communities on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne nations. Shifting from the fast-pace of L.A. caused her to rethink and re-evaluate her goals for her company.

She says one moment in particular inspired the Collective.

“I was at a gas station in Lame Deer, MT and a man came up to me and asked if I wanted to buy some earrings he made. I asked him, ‘WOW, how much?!’ They were absolutely exquisite. He said, ‘15.00, I just need gas money.’ That moment, a light bulb went off. At first, I felt really sad because the earrings were incredible and what he was asking for was so beneath their true value. Poverty, unemployment and lack of job opportunities is so real, especially in the Northern Plains region. So, accompanied by several other moments like that while I was living back home, I decided I need to use my platform as an opportunity to create real sustainable change. Launching “The Collective” is just the stepping stone for the true potential of our brand.

Yellowtail says that she hopes to provide more opportunity for artists in her life. She also offered words of advice to aspiring native designers and young native people in general.

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Model Martin Sensmeier (left) Necklaces by Alaynee Goodwill & Kendorina Redhouse Cuffs by Alaynee Goodwill & Thomas Yellowtail. Model Stephen Yellowtail (right) Choker by Karis Jackson, Bolo tie by Susanne Stewart, Cuffs by Elias Not Afraid. Photo: Anthony Thosh Collins – Thoshograpy.com

The B. Yellowtail Collective. Article at ICTMN.