Balloon Juice

Holy Cow! Breaking News in the Mar-a-Lago Documents Case!

by WaterGirl| March 21, 202310:26 pm| 87 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Trump Indictments

Holy cow-ski! Tomorrow should be interesting, to say the least.

BREAKING: Potential earthquake coming in Mar-a-Lago documents case. DC Circuit sets unprecedented schedule requiring Trump counsel to submit filing by midnight TONIGHT and then DOJ to reply by 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Did the court see evidence of national security threats?

— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) March 22, 2023

Corcoran/Trump appealed. The DC Circuit will hear the appeal — but normally that process would take MONTHS.

Instead they’re making the lawyers submit everything in HOURS.

This is completely unheard of.

— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) March 22, 2023

Also, this isn’t just a schedule from a single district court judge who’s just feeling cantankerous.

This is from a 3-judge panel of the DC Circuit, the second most important and prestigious court in America after the Supreme Court.

There is likely something brewing here.

— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) March 22, 2023

NEWS: An appeals court panel has temporarily blocked Judge Howell’s “crime-fraud” order against Trump attorney Evan Corcoran but set a series of rapid deadlines — including at midnight tonight and 6am tomorrow — to resolve the matter.

w @joshgerstein https://t.co/xKcvdjhxaM pic.twitter.com/KKmvtLfuMK

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) March 22, 2023

Updated to add more info: (Politico)

show full post on front page

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed Howell’s order temporarily on Tuesday night, ordering an extraordinarily rapid series of filings in a matter of hours — including one from Trump’s team by midnight Tuesday.

The appeals court’s order — from Judges Cornelia Pillard, J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, all Democratic appointees — doesn’t identify Corcoran or the case at issue but makes clear that the government was on the winning side of the case in Howell’s court.

The three-judge panel is asking Trump’s attorneys to specify the precise set of documents at issue by midnight and for Smith’s team to respond by 6 a.m. Wednesday to the Trump team’s demand for a longer stay of Howell’s ruling.

A spokesperson for Smith declined to comment Tuesday on the closed-door fight.

The appeals court order followed the filing by Trump-linked attorneys of a pair of appeals and stay requests tied to Howell’s decision, which came on the final day of her seven-year tenure as chief judge of the federal District Court in Washington.

The parallel submissions asked the appeals court to block Howell’s decision while the appeals go forward, docket entries show. The appeals were first reported by CNN. The short-term “administrative” stay granted Tuesday night does not appear to signal whether the appeals court will decide to keep Howell’s order on ice as full legal briefing proceeds in the dispute.

The Trump campaign statement issued Tuesday evening also dismissed Howell, a former Democratic Senate aide appointed by former President Barack Obama, as a “Never Trump” judge.

Howell’s secret order on Friday required Corcoran to testify about matters he and Trump had claimed were subject to attorney-client privilege. Her order relied on the “crime-fraud exception,” which permits investigators to pursue evidence that would ordinarily be privileged but contains evidence of likely criminal conduct.

As chief judge, Howell supervised all disputes arising from grand jury proceedings happening in Washington. That responsibility passed Friday to U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, who succeeded Howell as chief, but only after Howell issued the potentially momentous privilege ruling in the Trump-related legal fight.

The Trump camp’s public attack on Howell appears to be its first aimed at the veteran jurist, with Trump notably avoiding attacks against her while she single-handedly presided over the numerous grand jury disputes arising from investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and into the classified documents.

Even after handing off the chief’s position, however, Howell continues to hold significant sway over matters connected to Trump’s inner circle. On Tuesday, she held a hearing in a lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers against Rudy Giuliani, chiding the longtime Trump ally and his lawyer for what she described as an inadequate approach to required exchanges of evidence in the matter.

Proceedings related to the classified-documents grand jury, including efforts by prosecutors to compel Corcoran’s testimony, are occurring under seal — typical for nearly all grand jury proceedings.

However, the appeals court’s docket shows that the rulings being appealed were issued on Friday and correspond to a dispute that was filed with the District Court on Feb. 7. That’s just days before media reports emerged of an effort by Smith to force Corcoran to appear before a grand jury investigating the handling of classified records by Trump and his aides.

Just before noon Tuesday, the appeals court consolidated the two appeals without further public explanation. Of the three judges assigned to the dispute, Pillard is an Obama appointee, while Childs and Pan are appointees of President Joe Biden.

(CNN)

On Tuesday, Trump’s team sought emergency intervention from the appeals court. Three judges from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals have moved fast to respond, as they are still considering whether to put the decision from Howell on hold.

Judges Nina Pillard, Michelle Childs and Florence Pan of the DC Circuit have demanded more information and arguments by early Wednesday morning, setting a deadline for Trump and his lawyers by midnight and for prosecutors to respond by 6 a.m.

The extremely tight deadlines – a turnaround essentially unheard of in this court – indicates the seriousness of the matter.

Holy Cow! Breaking News in the Mar-a-Lago Documents Case!Post + Comments (87)

War for Ukraine Day 391: The Cost II

by Adam L Silverman| March 21, 20238:53 pm| 26 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Russia, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine

Gonna be a short(er) update tonight. I’m feeling much better – not so run down – but it’s another busy week.

I want to start tonight and, frankly, focus on this reporting from Ellen Barry and Antoine d’Agata of The New York Times on Ukrainian Soldiers and Post Traumatic Stress. I’m going to put a few excerpts above the jump, but I highly recommend you click across and read the whole thing.

The soldier cannot speak about what happened to him.

It’s been a month since “the tragedy,” as he calls it. When the subject arises, he freezes and looks at the floor. He gulps for air. He cannot say it.

His doctor, a motherly woman, speaks for him: There were four of them. They were stationed near the front line, in eastern Ukraine, and on that night they shot a Russian drone from the sky. A small victory. Then its wreckage hurtled down, hunks of ragged metal slicing into the men below. He was the only one left standing.

In the numb hours that followed, someone came to collect the others — one dead, two wounded — and he was left to hold the position alone through that freezing night and into the next day.

The soldier cannot speak about what happened to him.

It’s been a month since “the tragedy,” as he calls it. When the subject arises, he freezes and looks at the floor. He gulps for air. He cannot say it.

His doctor, a motherly woman, speaks for him: There were four of them. They were stationed near the front line, in eastern Ukraine, and on that night they shot a Russian drone from the sky. A small victory. Then its wreckage hurtled down, hunks of ragged metal slicing into the men below. He was the only one left standing.

In the numb hours that followed, someone came to collect the others — one dead, two wounded — and he was left to hold the position alone through that freezing night and into the next day.

Each war teaches us something new about trauma. In World War I, hospitals overflowed with soldiers who screamed or froze or wept, described in medical texts as “moral invalids.” By the end of World War II, a more sympathetic view had emerged, that even the hardiest soldier would suffer a psychological collapse after sufficient time in combat — somewhere, two experts from the surgeon general’s office concluded, between 200 and 240 days on average.

Russia’s war in Ukraine stands out among modern wars for its extreme violence. Its front lines are close together and barraged with heavy artillery, and rotations from the front line are infrequent. Ukraine’s forces are largely made up of men and women who, until a year ago, had no experience of combat.

“We are looking at a war that is basically a repetition of the First World War,” says Robert van Voren, who heads the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry, which provides mental-health support in Ukraine. “People just cannot fight anymore for psychological reasons. People are at the front line too long, and at a certain point, they crack. That’s the reality we have to deal with.”

I’ll put some of the quotes specifically from the patients and their care givers after the jump. But before we get there I think it is important to remember that war is corrosive. Even a just one in defense of one’s home, family, and fellow citizens against a brutal, genocidal re-invasion. We often celebrate the resilience and fortitude and determination and ingenuity of Ukrainians in general and the Ukrainian military in specific here in these updates. But all of that resilience, fortitude, determination, and ingenuity comes at an exceedingly high price. And that price is not just being paid now, it will be paid well into the future. We need to realize and not forget that the price being paid and the debt being accumulated to be paid later is higher than it would be because of the decisions of our, our allies, and our partners senior leaders in how to respond to the re-invasion. Our, our allies’, and our partners’ strategic choices are being paid for with Ukrainian blood and treasure.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s update from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump:

show full post on front page

Today, Ukraine began to mark the first anniversary of the first victorious battles of the full-scale war that made the occupier flee – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

21 March 2023 – 22:29

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

I have just spoken with the President of Chile, it was a good conversation. We updated our countries’ vision of the current situation in international relations.

I briefed Mr. President on how Russia continues its aggression. I also informed him about how we can counteract Russian terror and do so successfully.

And the best proof of this is our experience. The experience Ukrainians have already gained in expelling the Russian occupiers. Thanks to the bravery of our warriors, thanks to the support of our partners who will never accept Russia’s desire to break the international legal order.

Today, Ukraine began to mark the first anniversary of the first victorious battles of the full-scale war – the battles in the north of our country that made the occupier flee.

It was on March 21 last year that the Battle of Moshchun, a small village in the Kyiv region, ended, and it was the first major step of our country towards victory in this war.

There were other such steps… The Battle of Hostomel. The Battle of Irpin. Fighting in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions. The Battle of Zmiinyi. A fierce confrontation in the south of Ukraine and our unique defense operation that returned freedom to the Kharkiv region.

We will achieve the same result in other active actions. In the heroic battle for Donbas, which will inevitably be dominated by the Ukrainian flag. In the subsequent confrontation in the south, which will restore normal Ukrainian life in the Azov region. In the return of our Crimea, from where the migration of the most far-sighted rats of the terrorist state has already begun.

Our confidence in Ukraine’s victory, our vision of a free future for our country, Ukrainian heroism that has amazed the world – all of this was born there… In the heroic cities of the Ukrainian north, Ukrainian east, and Ukrainian south.

In the cities of heroes whose character did not submit to the occupier for a second, even when the occupier came to their homes.

Together, we are returning Ukraine to Ukraine. Together, we are protecting our future, our dignity, our freedom, and our history.

Today, I honored the heroes of the Battle for Moshchun – for Kyiv – in the very place where a memorial will be built in honor of our warriors and ordinary Moshchun residents whose lives were taken by this brutal war.

Today, the guest of our country, Prime Minister of Japan Kishida, began his visit to Ukraine with a visit to Bucha. To honor the memory of all those whose lives were taken by Russian terror. Mr. Kishida visited the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv, near St. Michael’s Cathedral, and honored our warriors who died for Ukraine.

And it is very important when global leaders show courage by visiting Ukraine despite all the risks and show respect – respect for our people who are fighting not only for their country, for Ukrainian independence, but also for the preservation and functioning of civilized rules and civilized life in the world.

Our talks with Mr. Kishida were quite productive. It should be borne in mind that this visit is taking place at a time of Japan’s G7 Presidency – the Group of Seven democratic states. So, given Japan’s strength, its leadership in Asia in defending peace and the rules-based international order, and Japan’s responsibility as the G7 chair, our talks today can truly yield a global result.

We discussed security, political, sanctions, economic and humanitarian issues. Japan is ready to join our reconstruction, to be a leader in these economic and infrastructural processes.

But today I also heard Japan’s very concrete willingness to work together with us to mobilize the world even more actively for international order, for the protection against aggression, against Russian terror.

Thank you, Japan!

Thank you to everyone who helps us defend freedom and liberate our land!

Glory to each and every one who is now in combat! Glory to each and every one who is fighting for Ukraine near Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Vuhledar and all other hot spots of the frontline!

Today, I held a meeting of the Staff. The main topic is the frontline. Our warriors, our positions, our reinforcement. The commanders, the Commander-in-Chief and the intelligence delivered reports. One of the issues that always receives maximum attention is the supply of ammunition and support from our partners. We expect an increase in supplies of exactly what we need right now.

And one more thing. Today I would like to especially mention the 10th separate mountain assault brigade, the 54th and 92nd separate mechanized brigades, which are fighting in Donbas. Steadfastly, courageously and effectively. Well done, guys!

Glory to our heroes!

Glory to Ukraine!

Here’s is today’s operational update from the Ukrainian MOD machine translated from their Telegram channel:

Ministry of Defence Ukraine

‼️Operational information as of 18.00 on 21.03.2023 regarding the Russian invasion

▪️The enemy continues to conduct offensive operations in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiiv, Marin, and Shakhtar directions.
⚔️The fiercest battles continue for Bakhmut and in the Avdiiv direction.

▪️During the day, the enemy launched 4 missile and 24 air strikes , and also carried out more than 30 attacks from rocket salvo systems.

▪️On the Kupyansk and Lymansk directions, the enemy continues to try to break our defenses. He led unsuccessful offensive actions in the areas of Masyutivka, Novoselivske, Bilogorivka, and Verkhnokamianske settlements . He carried out artillery shelling of the Krasne Pershe, Dvorichna, Kupyansk, Krokhmalne and Berestov settlements of the Kharkiv region; Nevske and Bilogorivka – Luhansk region, as well as Torske, Spirne and Fedorivka in Donetsk region.

▪️In the Bakhmut direction, the enemy continues offensive operations, but loses offensive potential . The enemy does not stop trying to capture the city, losing a significant amount of manpower, weapons and military equipment. Our defenders are repelling numerous attacks by the occupiers around the clock in the areas of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Hryhorivka and in the northern part of Bakhmut. In particular, Vasyukivka, Minkivka, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Hryhorivka, Bakhmut, Ivanovske, Stupochki, Predtechine, Chasiv Yar, Kurdyumivka, Ozaryanivka and Severny of the Donetsk region were subjected to enemy shelling.

▪️On the Avdiivsk, Marinsk, and Shakhtarsk directions, the enemy carried out offensive actions in the areas of Novobakhmutivka, Krasnohorivka, Avdiivka, Severne, Pervomaiske, Marinka, and Pobieda settlements – without success. Areas of Lastochkine, Berdychi, Avdiyivka, Tonenke, Georgiyivka, Nevelske, Krasnohorivka, Maryinka and Vugledar settlements of the Donetsk region came under enemy shelling.

▪️The Russian Federation does not give up the war of aggression, despite the numerous victims. Constantly takes measures to replenish manpower losses. Thus, in one of the military units stationed in the Krasnodar Territory, active work is being done with conscripts to sign contracts. Servicemen who agree to sign contracts are expected to go on a business trip to Ukraine in August 2023.

✈️During the day, the Aviation of the Defense Forces carried out 5 strikes on the areas of concentration of the invaders, and our
🇺🇦units of missile forces and artillery hit an ammunition warehouse, 2 anti-aircraft missile complexes, a radar station and one other important enemy object.

🇺🇦General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

🚀 Ministry of Defence Ukraine👆

Here is former NAVDEVGRU Squadron Leader Chuck Pfarrer’s most recent assessment of the situations in Avdiivka and Bakhmut:

ANDIIVKA AXIS /2245 UTC 21 MAR/ UKR forces report contact north of Avdiivka. Krasbohorivka & Novobakhmutivka; plotted contacts indicate that UKR forces have advanced in these locations. UKR reports Russian Air-Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM) strikes in the Avdiivka area. pic.twitter.com/6poeJ016rI

— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) March 21, 2023

AVDIIVKA AXIS /1500 UTC 21 MAR/ RU forces unsuccessfully tried to advance in the vicinities of Berdchi, Avdiivka, Severna, Pervomaiske & Novomykhailivka. RU continues widespread shelling in the Avdiivka Area of Operations (AO). pic.twitter.com/GJ1kEFyhRx

— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) March 21, 2023

BAKHMUT CITY: UKR reports heavy fighting in northern urban area. The 1800 (Kyiv) briefing of the UKR Gen’l Staff noted heavy RU losses and ‘diminished combat potential’ of RU units. UKR Lines of Communication and Supply (LOCS) into Bakhmut remain secure. pic.twitter.com/Fo2yygYso7

— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) March 21, 2023

BAKHMUT AXIS /1430 UTC 21 MAR/ RU shelling accompanied failed attacks at Hyrhorivka, Bohdanivka & Ivanivske. A Russian VDV assault on Predtechyne was broken up by UKR forces and artillery. Wagner attacks along the North [M-03] axis thwarted. pic.twitter.com/HhG596Mn7T

— Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings | (@ChuckPfarrer) March 21, 2023

Bakhmut:

From Ukrainska Pravda:

Yevgeny Prigozhin, financier of the Wagner Group Private Military Company (PMC), has told Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu about the plans of the Ukrainian army to launch a large-scale offensive near Bakhmut and asked for help.

Source: Prigozhin’s letter to Shoigu dated 20 March, posted on his Telegram channel

Quote: “According to the available information, the enemy plans to launch a large-scale offensive at the end of March or beginning of April and carry out flanking cutting attacks, with the aim of cutting off the units of the Wagner Group PMC from the main forces of the Russian Armed Forces.

I ask you to take all necessary measures to prevent the Wagner PMC from being cut off from the main forces of the Russian Armed Forces, which will have negative effects for the ‘special military operation’ [the official term used by Russians to describe the ongoing war with Ukraine – ed.].”

Details: Prigozhin also wrote that the secret appendix to the letter contained details of the “enemy’s plan” and “proposal for countermeasures”.

Putin’s chef [Prigozhin – ed.] also boasted that Wagner’s units allegedly control about 70% of Bakhmut and “continue the offensive for its complete liberation”.

Background: Hanna Maliar, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defence, has said that the defence forces of Ukraine are destroying the most professional Russian units in the city of Bakhmut, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are making progress in certain areas, but Russians’ advance also took place.

Kyiv:

This is what #Kyiv, the capital of #Ukraine, looks like now. Due to #Russian missile strikes, there was a shortage of electricity for 4 months. There are no more power outages in the capital city and the region, and enough energy is available.

Video: Eugene Zhulai pic.twitter.com/5e3DoHKBOQ

— zaborona_media (@zaborona_media) March 21, 2023

And since the seat of the Ukrainian government is in Kyiv, I guess we’ll put this here too:

Twitter knows @FedorovMykhailo well. He is a rock star of the Ukrainian cabinet! Starlinks for UA military, the electronic govt services portal Diia, now adopted by other countries, the Army of Drones, United24 are just some of his projects. The re-appointment is technical 2/

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) March 21, 2023

@AKamyshin is another star who you know very well. Until recently he was the CEO of the renown Ukrainian Railroads. He made the trains run on time during the war, helped evacuate millions of people, deliver supplies to front line regions, and kept economy going. A hero! 4/

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) March 21, 2023

Oksen Lysovyy is our new minister of education and science. He is back from the frontlines where he served in the military. Oksen is a self made person, who was the leader of the Small Academy of Science of Ukraine, a very exciting & state of the art edu project for children 6/6

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) March 21, 2023

Odesa:

This evening Russia attacked Odesa with four Kh-59 missiles. Air defense forces managed to shoot down two missiles, two others hit the city. pic.twitter.com/j7qGLPiGMA

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) March 21, 2023

The Ukrainian Air Force was on air defense:

I’m going to finish off with a bit more from the NY Times reporting on Ukrainian Soldiers with post traumatic stress:

Yulia, 47

Occupation: Soldier; combat medic, independent forensic expert

“I’m a combat medic. I can’t stand the things I’ve seen. In Irpin, there was a basement where people gathered. They didn’t leave the basement for three or four days. But the children couldn’t stand the pressure. I’m a grandmother, so it’s very hard for me to see that kids can’t run around, walk, cry, talk. Like everyone else, I ask myself, “What are the people guilty of? Why do they have to live like this?” When you don’t find many answers, the questions accumulate. When you start seeing answers, and the answers don’t correspond to reality, you lose your marbles.”

Viktor, 53

Occupation: Soldier, former teacher

“The guys say that I talk in my sleep and I fight in the trenches. My fallen brothers, with whom I sit in the trench, ask, ‘Vitya, why don’t you shoot, you see them approaching?’ But I panic. It takes a while to realize that it was just a dream. It’s very, very painful. I want to curl up in a corner under a blanket. Some of my brothers in arms were my students. I worked at a school and they attended my trainings. We were together from the first day of the war, in the same trenches, on the same positions, and they died, but I didn’t.”

Nadiya Medvedska, 69

Occupation: Nurse

“These patients, they are from the front line. You have to be very careful with them. We worry about them — they are like our children. They are all very nervous, tense all the time. But you know, kindness conquers the world. Because when you are kind with them, they treat you the same way.”

Andriy, 27

Occupation: Soldier, former logistician for a supermarket company

“There are a lot of things in my head, you know? Like when you go fishing and you tangle the line. During the defense of Klishchiivka, a mine hit my trench, and I was shellshocked. My eyesight worsened, and I am very nervous about it — when will it get back to normal? I now overthink a lot. I take all problems to heart. I’m very happy when my family and fiancée come, but it’s like I’m not with them. They are here, asking questions, joking, but I stay withdrawn. I used to be such a cheerful guy before all this. Now I’m mostly sad; I’m better off alone.”

Ruslan, the junior lieutenant, was an art teacher before the Russian invasion. Now he cannot shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen. In Bakhmut, he commanded a sapper unit and was assigned to plant mines in front of Ukrainian lines, steering a vehicle loaded with ammunition and men, back and forth, back and forth, under fire. He made it through, incredibly, but this is the paradox: Now the experience is with him all the time.

“All the horrors in Bakhmut are now starting to haunt me,” he says. “It was hell; I live in hell.”

There is much, much, much more at the link. Again, I highly recommend that you click across and read it.

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

A new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Впізнали голос короля ельфів?☺️ @klopotenko_chef 🧝‍♂️✨

♬ Strawberry – Prod. By Rose

The machine caption of the translation is:

Do you recognize the voice of the elf king? ☺️ @klopotenko_chef 🧝‍♂️✨

Open thread!

War for Ukraine Day 391: The Cost IIPost + Comments (26)

Tuesday Night Postcards & Music

by WaterGirl| March 21, 20238:05 pm| 60 Comments

This post is in: Music, Open Threads, Political Action

It’s postcard writing and music sharing time.

Music peeps, please share your links in the comments!

If anyone else has postcard photos they want to share, please send me your pics.

Last date to mail postcards is a week from tonight – Tuesday, March 28.

Tuesday Night Postcards & MusicPost + Comments (60)

It’s Like Infrastructure Week, Only Better

by WaterGirl| March 21, 20236:42 pm| 106 Comments

This post is in: Politics

BREAKING: Judge Engoron DENIES trump’s motion to delay the NYAG civil trial. “This is a complex case, but it’s not complicated.” Trial begins as scheduled: October 2nd. https://t.co/GHk1jiRrYt

— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) March 21, 2023

Worst Week Ever, on repeat, is way more fun than waiting for Infrastructure Week!

pic.twitter.com/eDgRnQ6Q9s

— Ann (@AnnMB48) March 21, 2023

Seems like we are looking at either tomorrow or next week for the Alvin Bragg indictment.

If you’re on edge, waiting and wondering, think for a moment about how much less fun Trump is having as he waits and wonders.

Speaking of being on edge, is it too much to hope that these guys are all on edge, too?

Pretty sure none of these folks are sleeping good at night either. pic.twitter.com/DMbYB9wnae

— wooden✌jesus ✍🌊 (@tim_herrin) March 21, 2023

Open thread.

It’s Like Infrastructure Week, Only BetterPost + Comments (106)

The Devil has been Busy…

by planet eddie| March 21, 20234:02 pm| 108 Comments

This post is in: LGBTQ Rights, LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights, The State of Being Trans in America

I’ve been meaning to get a post up to cover the insane onslaught of anti-trans bills from the last few weeks, but it’s been exhausting to keep up!

First of all, @erininthemorn is doing the heavy journalistic work that most major news sources have been ignoring. She deserves a damn medal for her work, and I highly encourage you to follow and support her independent journalism. It’s been extremely frustrating that trans issues are falling under the radar when so much has been happening. Two years before Roe v. Wade was struck down, I was chatting with a trans friend about how there were 87 anti-trans bills in state legislatures, and how upsetting it was that pro-choice advocates and cis-women couldn’t see that if trans people were losing their bodily agency, that abortion and women’s bodies were next on the docket… Now we are in a veritable ocean of legislation targeted at both, and we have to remember that these fights are linked.

The Devil has been Busy... 2

Greg Abbot has officially directed Family and Protective Services to begin investigating all trans children in Texas and prosecuting their parents as child abusers.

He has also instructed all teachers, doctors, and caregivers to begin reporting any trans students they see. pic.twitter.com/AO4FdYNuym

— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) February 23, 2022

This is still in effect a year later, as it was first blocked by a lower court, but then the TX Supreme Court rapidly overruled that judgement… This has been the foundation for the recent bounty hunter laws. The ACLU has a great article about Texas’ attempts to Tear Parents and Trans Youth Apart One Year Later…

And in recent cruelty, HB150 passing in Kentucky, “combines Don’t Say Gay policies, forced outing, pronoun bans, and a gender affirming care ban for trans youth has one last cruel wrinkle: it tells doctors exactly how they are to medically detransition the trans teens under their care. It passed the House and was immediately rushed to the Senate for final passage, where it passed 30-7 on a nearly party line vote.”

Rep White cruelly stands and says, “This is a sissy bill. I voted yes but I wanted more teeth in it.”

Holy hell how cruel. pic.twitter.com/3lMReSzX2w

— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) March 16, 2023

And it’s become very very clear that what is happening across out country is an intentional, well-planned campaign of hatred that is not based in science or healthcare, but is about making it difficult and shameful to be transgender…

Inside the Secret Working Group That Helped Push Anti-Trans Laws Across the Country

Leaked emails give a glimpse of the religious-right networks behind transgender health care bans.

On a Saturday afternoon in August 2019, South Dakota Republican state Rep. Fred Deutsch sent an email to 18 anti-trans activists, doctors, and lawyers withthe text of a bill he planned to introduce that would make it a felony for doctors to give transgender children under 16 gender-affirming medical care. “I have no doubt this will be an uphill battle when we get to session,” Deutsch warned the group. “As always, please do not share this with the media. The longer we can fly under the radar the better.”

The message was one in a trove of emails obtained by Mother Jones between Deutsch and representatives of a network of activists and organizations at the forefront of the anti-trans movement. They show the degree to which these activists shaped Deutsch’s repressive legislation, a version of which was signed into law in February, and the tactics, alliances, and goals of a movement that has sought to foist their agenda on a national scale.

The emails demonstrate close collaboration between groups working behind the scenes to push bills banning transgender health care, including ADF—which has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people in Europe—and the ACPeds—which has opposed adoption by gay couples and supported conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth. In recent years, ADF has drafted legislation banning trans children from using school restrooms or playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. (Both groups are also staunchly anti-abortion; ADF, which drafted the Mississippi abortion ban at the heart of the case that overturned Roe v. Wade, is currently representing ACPeds in a closely-watched lawsuit to ban an abortion pill, mifepristone, nationally.)

“These are groups who we know are not interested in the best-practice care for trans kids,” says Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director and senior counsel for the Human Rights Campaign. “These bills are coming from national organizations whose purpose is to harm LGBTQ people.”

More than half of transgender and nonbinary kids have considered suicide, according to a 2021 survey by the Trevor Project, and 93 percent say they worry about state laws denying transgender people access to gender-affirming medical care. This treatment approach—which typically includes puberty blockers for pubescent children, cross-sex hormones for teenagers or adults, and, almost exclusively for adults, surgeries—represents a broad medical agreement that such care can be crucial for supporting trans kids’ wellbeing. Gender-affirming care is supported by the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychiatric Association, the Endocrine Society, and other major medical organizations. And studies have found that it is associated with better mental health outcomes over both short and longer-term periods

Highly recommend you read the whole article!

More soon, but this is as far as I can play in the anti-trans waters today without getting overwhelmed <3

The Devil has been Busy…Post + Comments (108)

Repub Venality Open Thread: Ron DeSquamous, Man of the (Wheezing) People

by Anne Laurie| March 21, 20233:35 pm| 46 Comments

This post is in: 2024 Primaries, COVID-19 Coronavirus, Open Threads, Republican Venality

We all had a good laugh over DeSantis’s recent ‘Assigned Floridian at birth, Identifies as a Rust Belter‘ claims, but this is no joke.

In a strong, lengthy @VanityFair piece Katherine Eban writes that @GovRonDeSantis has decided his ticket to the White House in '24 is going all-out #antivax — on all vaccines.
Playing politics via dangerous anti-public health messaging…https://t.co/lKutoaCyRX

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 21, 2023

On December 14, 2020, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, wearing a mask, watched expectantly as a FedEx truck backed up to a loading dock at Tampa General Hospital. The truck carried precious cargo: boxes of the very first COVID-19 vaccines. With a flourish, DeSantis signed the FedEx manifest. “Today, we will have shots going in arms,” he proudly declared.

At the time, Republicans across the country were eager to share credit for a singular feat in President Donald Trump’s otherwise disastrous handling of the pandemic: the record-speed development of COVID-19 vaccines that offered hope of a return to normal life.

By the end of last year, however, DeSantis’s vaccine cheerleading was a distant memory. On December 13, almost exactly two years after the FedEx delivery, he petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to let him empanel a statewide grand jury to investigate COVID-19 vaccine makers, particularly Pfizer and Moderna. “It is against the law to mislead and misrepresent, particularly when you’re talking about the efficacy of a drug,” DeSantis said, comparing the vaccine push to the profiteering that drove the deadly opioid epidemic.

In January, the grand jury went to work looking for dark intent or false claims behind the lifesaving vaccines. It is slated to report its findings by January 2024. That would be just in time to potentially influence the outcome of the Republican presidential primaries, in which DeSantis is widely seen as a leading challenger to Trump, even though he hasn’t yet officially declared his candidacy…

Those familiar with DeSantis’s inner circle say his vaccine stance is indeed driven by politics, not science. “There’s no medical people involved in this,” someone with knowledge of DeSantis’s advisers says. “It’s all political people. Now a couple of those TV doctors, those people are in his orbit, but this is not engineered by the scientific side of the house.” His goal, insiders say, is to tack to Trump’s right and peel off anti-vaxxers whose votes could prove decisive in the Republican presidential primaries next year.

show full post on front page

In his new book, The Courage to Be Free, DeSantis attempts to paint Trump as a passive actor in the early days of the pandemic, standing by as Dr. Anthony Fauci, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, controlled the public health response. “As the iron curtain of Faucism descended upon our continent, the State of Florida stood resolutely in the way,” DeSantis writes, doubling down on his ideological about-face. (Governor DeSantis’s office did not respond to detailed questions seeking comment. Through a spokesperson, Fauci declined to comment.)

DeSantis has recruited a host of doctors who are helping him disparage federal health agencies and platform concerns about vaccine safety. Leading the pack is his handpicked surgeon general, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who has recommended against the COVID-19 vaccine for children and claimed, in a widely debunked study, that Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines elevate the risk of cardiac-related deaths in young men…

While DeSantis’s strategy may be rooted in politics, it is likely to have far-reaching public health repercussions, says Dr. Jonathan Howard, an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at NYU Langone Health. “You’re going to continue to see Republicans dying [from COVID-19] at a higher rate, and a return of measles and whooping cough and God knows what else,” says Howard, who has studied the anti-vax movement for a decade…

It is hard to predict the overall impact of Florida’s decisions, says Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the Committee of Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Do parents “trust Ron DeSantis more than they trust their pediatrician? I don’t think so,” he says. Nevertheless, “it has become a deeply held belief for a lot of people that these COVID-19 vaccines are somehow bad.”

This widespread distrust is reflected in the low uptake of pediatric COVID-19 vaccines. In Florida, only 11.8% of people five and up are fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19—lower even than the nationwide average of 17.4%, according to CDC data.

Florida’s stance on pediatric vaccines sets a dangerous precedent, says Peter Hotez, codirector of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. “No one state has the intellectual horsepower to make those complicated assessments on illness in children. There are reasons to have a federal government. To have individual states going rogue really endangers that state’s population.”

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University and author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, sees DeSantis’s COVID-19 policies as part of his effort to use Florida as a testing ground for an American model of autocracy. Wearing a mask or getting vaccinated are acts of collective caretaking, she says. “Autocrats want to turn everyone against each other. They don’t want you to have solidarity. They want radical individualism. It makes people paranoid of the federal government. The real goal is to elevate their own [power and judgment].” …

Repub Venality Open Thread: Ron DeSquamous, Man of the (Wheezing) PeoplePost + Comments (46)

Tuesday Midday Open Thread

by TaMara| March 21, 202312:11 pm| 171 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

BREAKING: Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers just announced that he is joining Wisconsin Democrats in support of a new bill to repeal Wisconsin's 1849-era criminal abortion ban!

The long-standing ban does not include exceptions in cases of rape and incest, and was passed long before… https://t.co/U0NSTL1tcd pic.twitter.com/pICYjdeDAr

— Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) March 21, 2023

BREAKING: I'm proud to join legislative Democrats to introduce a new bill to repeal Wisconsin's 1849-era criminal abortion ban, which was passed well before women had the right to vote and includes no exceptions in cases of rape and incest. 🧵

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) March 21, 2023

Wisconsinites overwhelmingly support Roe and safe, legal access to abortion.

It's why I've said from the beginning that I won't sign a bill that leaves Wisconsin women with fewer rights and freedoms than they had before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe.

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) March 21, 2023

It’s a start.

Also, I live with a panther, a baby bobcat and a lion. Here’s Zander, my house lion, contemplating not killing me, if proper treats are offered.

This is a totally open thread. What’s everyone up to this afternoon?

Tuesday Midday Open ThreadPost + Comments (171)