A Democratic legislator in Nebraska has brought all legislation to a halt by filibustering against an anti-trans bill. The legislator is married, with children. The legislative session is half-way done.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It was a mundane, unanimously supported bill on liquor taxation that saw state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh take to the mic on the Nebraska Legislature floor last week. She offered her support, then spent the next three days discussing everything but the bill, including her favorite Girl Scout cookies, Omaha’s best doughnuts and the plot of the animated movie “Madagascar.”
She also spent that time railing against an unrelated bill that would outlaw gender-affirming therapies for those 18 and younger. It was the advancement of that bill out of committee that led Cavanaugh to promise three weeks ago to filibuster every bill that comes before the Legislature this year — even the ones she supports.
“If this Legislature collectively decides that legislating hate against children is our priority, then I am going to make it painful — painful for everyone,” the Omaha married mother of three said. “I will burn the session to the ground over this bill.”
True to her word, Cavanaugh has slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that makes it to the state Senate floor and taking up all eight debate hours allowed by the rules — even during the week she was suffering from strep throat. Wednesday marks the halfway point of this year’s 90-day session, and not a single bill will have passed thanks to Cavanaugh’s relentless filibustering.
True to her word, Cavanaugh has slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that makes it to the state Senate floor and taking up all eight debate hours allowed by the rules — even during the week she was suffering from strep throat. Wednesday marks the halfway point of this year’s 90-day session, and not a single bill will have passed thanks to Cavanaugh’s relentless filibustering….
“This is a bill that attacks trans children,” Cavanaugh said. “It is legislating hate. It is legislating meanness. The children of Nebraska deserve to have somebody stand up and fight for them.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Hooray for Sen. Cavanaugh. A prosecutor in Lapeer Michigan is threatening to arrest a public librarian for shelving the book Gender Queer.
Here’s the link.
https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-prosecutor-mulls-charging-lapeer-library-over-lgbtq-book
Wow! Standing up against censorship!
Republicans show their claimed support for “free speech” is exactly as sincere as their support for “states’ rights.”
We could make a long list of things Republicans used to support but have abandoned.
Free speech
Academic freedom
States’ rights
Local rights
They don’t believe in “parental rights” unless they agree with the parent.
Thom Hartmann’s Hartmann Report pretty much nailed the GOP. Now if the message would just get out, we need pissed off people to start taking action, because those we put in office to fight the fight are rather hamstrung.
https://hartmannreport.com/p/the-gop-claims-to-be-the-party-of
Finally, a Democrat showing some spunk and chutzpah. We need more of them like Ms. Cavanaugh.
YES!!!!
Step right up and see the fight of the new century–the one you’ve ALL been waiting for–between Kavenaugh and Cavenaugh. Mr. “I like beer” v. Ms. “I like people.”
In other news, the ICC today issued an arrest warrant for the war criminal Valdimir Putin for forced deportations against international law. They need to add, as soon as possible, charges for the MANY other crimes against humanity and war crimes that the dirty little imperialist Chekist and mobster thug has perpetrated.
The arrest warrant is for the forced deportation (kidnapping) of Ukrainian children, who were put in Russian orphanages or given to Russian families.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 7(1)(d) prohibits and names as a “Crime against Humanity” “deportation or forcible transfer of population.” Article 7(2)(d) further defines the crime: “‘Deportation or forcible transfer of population’ means forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law.”
So, yeah, Putin is guilty of this, and of much, much else.
And a lot of international law is customary. So, even if a state has not signed the Rome Statute, it is still bound under the customary law governing deportation and forced transfer. That forced deportation is a crime against humanity under international law is an established principle. It is found, for example, in the resolution establishing the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia of 1993, which defines as “Grave Breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949” which “set forth rules for the wartime protection of civilians,” a list of crimes, including, Article 2(g): “unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a civilian.”
cx:
It is found, for example, in the resolution establishing the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia of 1993, which defines as “Grave Breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949,“ which “set forth rules for the wartime protection of civilians,” a list of crimes, including, Article 2(g): “unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a civilian.”
Lock him up!
YES!
When Putin’s name is mentioned, going forward, the mention should be as follows:
Indicted international criminal Vladimir Putin. . . .
Oops. I meant Voldomort Putin.
Voldemort
“It is legislating hate. It is legislating meanness.” The republican GQP in a nutshell.
Theocracy
“The worst anti-trans bill in the nation passed in Kentucky.”
WaPo wrote about it today. The bill’s primary sponsor was state Sen. Max Wise. He is identified as Catholic at his government site.
Wise is a Republican.
Anyone who hasn’t’ read the research at the Scielo site should, “The new official contents of sex education in Mexico: laicism in the crosshairs.” The content references the U.S.
Southern Nebraska Register (a Catholic site with a bishop featured), 2-10-23, “Live from the Capitol, It’s School Choice…Friends in Christ, Jeremy Ekeler here, live from the Capitol…a hearing about LB753-opportunity scholarships…our premiere school choice bill….”
Media has described the bill that Cavanaugh is fighting against as introduced by Sen. Kathleen Kauth. Kauth believes, “abortion is always killing a baby” and, she introduced legislation (3-8-2023) to advance scholarships for private, religious schools.