Another small victory amidst South Dakota’s persistent fear and scapegoating: Senate State Affairs this morning killed House Bill 1108, Representative Tom Pischke’s anti-trans panic bill forbidding teachers from talking about gender dysphoria from kindergarten through seventh grade. My own Senator Al Novstrup moved to kill the bill, and the committee rolled with him 7–2.
Libby Skarin, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, provided excellent blow-by-blow Twitter coverage of the committee discussion this morning. From her account, the strongest sentiment swaying the vote nay was the argument affirmed by many that there is no problem to solve, that our elementary and middle school teachers aren’t loading kids up with science or propaganda about gender science; they’re just trying to keep kids safe and help them learn.
The most absurd claim of the day belongs to Black Hills wingnut Florence Thompson, who claimed that 90% of transgender people “revert back.” Thompson, of course, presented no hard science backing this claim, because there is none.
But the truest statement of the day came from Representative Pischke himself, who, in response to a question from Senator Troy Heinert about counseling said he does not know and is not qualified to answer the question.
Tom Pischke, not knowing, not qualified to answer—gee, we could apply that statement to pretty much any serious Legislative question.
Over on the House side, anti-trans bigotry gets one more shot: yesterday House Health and Human Services kicked House Bill 1225 toward the floor without recommendation. HB 1225 would dictate that children may only play school sports on the team that matches the sex indicated on their birth certificates. The ACLU notes HB 1225 would only increase the discrimination trans kids face.
I am pleasantly surprised by the Senate committee’s decision to do the right thing and shocked that racist and misogynist Al Nostrap was part of it. I guess they told him to do it in caucus and he obeyed.
Now, will the House do the right thing? Why don’t they just vote No on it and get after finding a way to help farmers get through Mangled Maniac’s personal struggles with manliness, aka- tariff wars?
Novstrup, Ms. Geelsdottir. The man’s name is “Novstrup.” It is petty, juvenile, out-of-state name-calling that causes Mr. H. to lose elections. I’m just sayin…
My column on this: http://dakotafire.net/communities/biological-sex-isnt-as-simple-as-whats-on-a-birth-certificate/12157/
Keep up the pressure Debbo, Cory doesn’t lose elections because of you or any other out of stater, he loses elections because there are too darn many people in Brown County with an “R” after their name and blindly vote accordingly.
grudz, if it weren’t for petty, juvenile, out-of-state folks telling us all the time how much better they are than us, how would we know how unfortunate we are? They know how bad we need their pity, and boy do they love obliging.
The more those that whine about out-of- state folks the more they contribute to Dakota Free Press.
Grudz spends more time complaining about Debbo, mike from iowa, Porter, etc. he becomes tongue tied.
It is sad, Mr. C, that polite South Dakotans like you and I cannot agree that out-of-state name-calling serves little purpose. Yet I still respect you, sir, and work hard for your betterment, as you do for mine. For we both, the two of us, are South Dakotans, and are polite fellows, who share a town and a breakfasting style and admire much of the same things. Yet you cannot goad grudznick into the gutter of the out-of-state name-callers. That is the sort of ilk that has literally cost Mr. H 2 elections. And think of how entertaining the legislatures would be with Mr. H in them.
Those out-of-state name-callers have cost us, you and I, the chance to have Mr. H in our legislatures!!
PS: Ice skated much this year? I’m no longer able, but would sit on a bench with you and watch others spin about the nicely lit rink.
Those out-of-state name callers that you so detest are my friends, grudz. They have a vested interest in South Dakota, they have had to leave our state for a variety of reasons, but they still call this home. We share back channel communications set up at our request by Cory.
Grudz, I have stated repeatedly that I don’t have a clue who you are and don’t share anything with you, I’m certain we don’t share the same lifestyle.
Cory has not lost 2 elections because of out-of-state folks that comment here, I believe that I said that already. Cory lost those elections because Brown County has too many republicans that vote the R blindly, I said that already, too.
Should Cory ever go to Pierre in a elected position I doubt that he would go for your entertainment, grudz. Cory would go to bring about necessary change and bring this state out of the dark ages.
We must continue to disagree, Mr. C, be it here or over breakfast, about the reasons for Mr. H’s lost elections. Clearly the people of Aberdeen are polite fellows, much like you and I and the rest of South Dakotans. The county of Brown is a hotbed of liberalism, yet, Mr. Novstrup, the elder, dominates the political landscape there. Mr. H has recently acknowledged Mr. Novstrup’s dominance. I mean Novstrup, the elder, not the younger fellow.
I’ll see you at the parties and breakfasts and such. And I’ll continue to doff my hat, as I strive to be a polite fellow to all South Dakotans.
Thanks Roger. I don’t pay any attention to Grudz/Murphy, DFP’s #1 whiner and coward.
I was just reading an article about the Southern Baptist Convention, a church that’s been really focused on sex related topics throughout the denomination’s history. They’re holding their annual meeting and trying to decide how to address the 700+ church leaders who are also sexual criminals and/or enablers.
Of course there’s the Roman Catholic Church, the largest organization of pedophiles in the history of the world. That church seems to have been more focused on sex than anything else. They’re still protecting their criminals, though they do talk a good game.
I don’t know if there are more sexual scandals among the GOP or Democrats, but it sure seems like the GOP lately.
At any rate, now we’ve got this focus on LBTG folks. Seems like nothing good has ever come of these organizational sex obsessions in the US. BTW, notice that it’s always the other guy’s behavior, not the GOP’s.
The GOP and the churches that are sex obsessed have caused tremendous pain, suicides, harassment, violence, cruelty, and other harm on a long, long list. The GOP doesn’t care how many casualties they leave in their wake to win elections. Churches? They ought to read the Gospels and quit barking up the wrong tree.
Grudznick’s breakfast group, the fictional Conservatives With Common Sense, is another deception by Jeremiah Murphy. I have proof and testimony from Tally’s workers that it doesn’t and has never existed.
He’s deathly afraid of we “out of staters” because our lobbying skills far exceed his. When we talk, Pierre listens. When legislators read DFP they realize that grudz/Murphy is little but a fraud, relaying any message his handlers put under his tongue … for minor league money, none the less.
Grudz/Murphy is a liar extraordinaire, just like the president, as well as being a coward, again, just like the president.
Grudz/Murphy certainly appears to be an odd fellow. I wonder why he felt like he had to remain anonymous? Are S.D. Republicans that insecure and embarrassed to hang out on the fun DFP blog? Has SD politics really come to that? That it is just not cool to hang with the Left? Good grief!