Fogbow

Phoenix520 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 23, 2022 6:23 pm Did one of his children recently come out as trans? This seems like a sudden obsession.

HOUSTON, Texas — The former CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said that his order to keep power prices at the maximum during last year's winter storm was issued at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, according to a report by the Houston Chronicle.

Former ERCOT CEO Bill Magness testified in court Wednesday, saying that former Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) Chairman DeAnn Walker told him that Abbott wanted them to do whatever was necessary to prevent more blackouts during the storm, even as power plants were coming back online.

Phoenix520 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 11:46 am
It’s just so ridiculous and demeaning and just plain mean.

U.S. will offer 'X' gender marker for passports starting April 11, State Department says

The White House and State Department on Thursday marked Transgender Day of Visibility with an announcement that U.S. citizens will be able to select "X" as the gender marker on their passport application beginning April 11.

"Every American deserves the freedom to be themselves," the White House said in a statement. "But far too many transgender Americans still face systemic barriers, discrimination, and acts of violence."

The definition of the X gender marker will be “unspecified or another gender identity,” and it will become available for other documents next year, according to the State Department.

In June, the State Department announced the initiation of the X gender marker on passports and said it would more immediately allow Americans to self-select their own gender marker between "male" and "female," meaning transgender travelers would no longer have to provide medical certification if their gender identity doesn't line up with the marker on their birth certificate or other documents.

The school year at MacArthur High in Irving, Texas, began last fall with the administration scraping off rainbow stickers that had been posted on campus, prompting hundreds of students to walk out in protest. Seven months later, LGBTQ students say things have deteriorated further.

One faculty sponsor of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance is facing having her contract terminated, another is preparing to resign, and a third has been removed from the classroom. The alliance’s weekly meetings became monthly, and attendance dropped from about 40 students to fewer than 10. The student newspaper has functionally shut down. Two teachers said that the school’s principal asked teachers to take down gay pride flags in their classrooms and offices.

Several students said that either they or their classmates have been called homophobic slurs and bullied, and school staff members have failed to intervene. Some said they’re discouraged by the Irving Independent School District’s response to the concerns they’ve raised through the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) and school board meetings, and they feel less safe at school than they did a year ago. Two students said human resources officers with the district questioned them about their involvement with the GSA.

“It feels like a target was put on us,” said Adaiah Knight, a junior who identifies as gender-fluid and nonbinary and who said students have harassed them. (Knight uses they/them pronouns.)

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 1:10 pm Then, I guess straight teachers ought not to talk about their private lives either.

Volkonski wrote: ↑Thu Apr 07, 2022 12:56 pm