Quo Vadis GOP?

[Syt]

Guess someone didn't chase Jesus enough.

[DGuller]

Jesus Christ, leave Jesus alone, you crazy woman.

[HVC]

What she didn't tell you was that Jesus was her gardener.

[Hamilcar]

Doesn't sound very biblical. Her neighbors should stone her.

[Syt]

Doesn't sound very biblical. Her neighbors should stone her.

Parts of the GOP are looking to ban no-fault divorces, I'm sure it's one or two items below that on their agenda.

[Syt]

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/iowa-gov-reynolds-signs-law-restricting-instruction-sexual-orientation-rcna86507

Iowa Gov. Reynolds signs bill restricting instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity
Under the new law, school administrators will also be required to notify parents if students asked to change their pronouns or names.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa teachers will be banned from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through grade six, and all books depicting sex acts will be removed from school libraries, under a bill Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Friday.

The new law is among similar measures that have been approved in other Republican-dominated statehouses around the country. As with many of those proposals, Iowa Republicans framed their action as a commonsense effort to ensure that parents can oversee what their children are learning in school and that teachers not delve into topics such as gender and sexuality.

Despite the opposition of all Democratic legislators, Republicans who hold large majorities in Iowa's state House and Senate approved the measure in April and there was little doubt that Reynolds would sign it; she had made issues related to gender identity and sexuality a focal point of her legislative agenda this year.

"This legislative session, we secured transformational education reform that puts parents in the driver's seat, eliminates burdensome regulations on public schools, provides flexibility to raise teacher salaries, and empowers teachers to prepare our kids for their future," Reynolds said in a statement.

Under the new law, school administrators also would be required to notify parents if students asked to change their pronouns or names. Religious texts will be exempt from the library ban on books depicting sex acts.

Democrats and LGBTQ groups argued that the restrictions would hurt children by limiting their ability to be open with teachers about gender and sexuality issues and to see their lives reflected in books and other curriculum.

The law's passage was not a surprise, said Keenan Crow, director of policy and advocacy at the LGBTQ equality group One Iowa.

"Like many other pieces of her agenda, this legislation punches down on a vulnerable group of kids, and it benefits no one," Crow said of Reynolds.

The law also requires schools to post online a list of books in libraries, along with instructions for parents on how to review them and classroom instructional material, and to request that any material be removed. Schools would need parental approval before they could give surveys to students related to numerous topics, including mental health issues, sex and political affiliation.

Earlier this year, Reynolds signed two bills into law restricting the restrooms transgender students can use and banning gender-affirming medical care, such as puberty blockers, for people younger than 18. Last year, Reynolds signed a Republican-backed measure that prohibits transgender women and girls from participating in high school and college athletics. Like the newest law, both measures echo bills passed by Republican states around the country.

[Syt]

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/16/texas-heat-wave-water-break-construction-workers/

As Texas swelters, local rules requiring water breaks for construction workers will soon be nullified

Gov. Greg Abbott approved this week a law that will eliminate city and county ordinances like Austin and Dallas' mandated water breaks. Texas is one of the states where most workers die from high temperatures.

In a week when parts of the state are getting triple-digit temperatures and weather officials urge Texans to stay cool and hydrated, Gov. Greg Abbott gave final approval to a law that will eliminate local rules mandating water breaks for construction workers.

House Bill 2127 was passed by the Texas Legislature during this year's regular legislative session. Abbott signed it Tuesday. It will go into effect on Sept. 1.

Supporters of the law have said it will eliminate a patchwork of local ordinances across the state that bog down businesses. The law's scope is broad but ordinances that establish minimum breaks in the workplace are one of the explicit targets. The law will nullify ordinances enacted by Austin in 2010 and Dallas in 2015 that established 10-minute breaks every four hours so that construction workers can drink water and protect themselves from the sun. It also prevents other cities from passing such rules in the future. San Antonio has been considering a similar ordinance.

Texas is the state where the most workers die from high temperatures, government data shows. At least 42 workers died in Texas between 2011 and 2021 from environmental heat exposure, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers' unions claim this data doesn't fully reflect the magnitude of the problem because heat-related deaths are often recorded under a different primary cause of injury.

This problem particularly affects Latinos because they represent six out of every 10 construction workers, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Unions expect heat-related deaths to go up if mandated water breaks go away.

"Construction is a deadly industry. Whatever the minimum protection is, it can save a life. We are talking about a human right," said Ana Gonzalez, deputy director of policy and politics at the Texas AFL-CIO. "We will see more deaths, especially in Texas' high temperatures."

The National Weather Service is forecasting highs over 100 degrees in several Texas cities for at least the next seven days.

Heat waves are extreme weather events, often more dangerous than tornadoes, severe thunderstorms or floods. High temperatures kill people, and not just in the workplace. Last year, there were 279 heat-related deaths in Texas, based on data analysis by The Texas Tribune.

In 2022, Texas saw its second-hottest summer on record, and an extreme drought swept the state. This summer is not expected to be as hot as the weather pattern known as La Niña eases, which typically brings dry conditions to Texas, state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said.

Still, climate change amplifies the effects of heat waves, said Hosmay Lopez, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who studies heat waves. Climate change causes heat waves to stretch for longer periods of time, reach higher temperatures and occur more often than they would otherwise. The problem is especially pronounced in dry areas of the Southwest due to a lack of vegetation and soil moisture, which in wetter regions produces a cooling effect through evaporation.

At the same time, he added, increased urbanization across the U.S. — especially in places like Texas where cities are expanding — makes more people vulnerable to health dangers from extreme heat due to the "urban island" effect. Essentially, the combination of concrete and buildings, plus a lack of green spaces causes ground-level heat to radiate, increasing the temperature in cities.

"The impact of climate change on extreme heat is not only enhanced [by weather events] but also enhanced through social dynamics as well," Lopez said.

HB 2127, introduced by state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, is perhaps Texas Republicans' most aggressive attempt to curb progressive policies in the state's largest, liberal-leaning cities. Under the new law, local governments would be unable to create rules that go beyond what state law dictates in broad areas like labor, agriculture, business and natural resources.

Beyond eliminating mandated water breaks for construction workers, opponents of the legislation argue that it will also make it more difficult for cities and counties to protect tenants facing eviction or to combat predatory lending, excessive noise and invasive species. Labor unions and workers' rights advocates opposed the law, while business organizations supported it, including the National Federation of Independent Business, a lobbying group with more than 20,000 members in Texas. Abbott said it would "provide a new hope to Texas businesses struggling under burdensome local regulations."

Supporters of HB 2127 say that local regulations on breaks for construction workers are unnecessary because the right to a safe labor environment is already guaranteed through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Water breaks are better solved by OSHA controls, argued Geoffrey Tahuahua, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas. Tahuahua believes local rules impose a rigid scheme that, unlike OSHA guidelines, does not allow the flexibility needed to tailor breaks to individual job site conditions.

"They try to make one size fits all, and that is not how it should work," he said. "These ordinances just add confusion and encourage people to do the minimum instead of doing the right thing."

David Michaels, who was head of OSHA from 2009 to 2017, disagreed with the approach of HB 2127 proponents.

"Under OSHA law, it is employers who are responsible to make sure workers are safe," said Michaels, now a professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health. "And we have compelling evidence that they are doing a very poor job because many workers are injured on the job, especially in Texas."

Michaels pointed out that OSHA does not have a national standard for heat-related illnesses and issues citations only for over-exposure to heat after an injury or death, but not before that occurs.

"The better solution would be to have a national standard, but since we do not, local ordinances are very important for saving lives," he said. "Prohibiting these local laws will result in workers being severely hurt or killed."

Gonzalez, from the Texas AFL-CIO, disagrees with the idea that local regulations hurt businesses.

Mandated water breaks "were passed in 2010 in Austin and construction is still growing, especially in the state's largest cities," Gonzalez said. "It is simply false, an excuse to limit local governments' power and an intrusion into democracy."

HB 2127 does not impede the enactment of a state law establishing mandatory breaks for construction workers, and during the regular session, two bills were filed to that effect.

House Bill 495, authored by Rep. Thresa Meza, D-Irving, sought to establish 10-minute mandatory breaks every four hours for contractors working for a governmental entity. House Bill 4673, by Rep. Maria Luisa Flores, D-Austin, would have created a statewide advisory board responsible for establishing standards to prevent heat illness in Texas workplaces and set penalties for employers who do not comply with them.

Neither bill made it through the legislative process.

Daniela Hernandez, state legislative coordinator for the Workers Defense Project, said she hopes legislators will push for a state law mandating water breaks for workers. She added that she would not discard the possibility that cities sue to try to keep their water break ordinances.

"Without an ordinance or a law, there is no safeguard. There is no guarantee that the worker will have those water breaks," he said. "We will keep fighting."

[garbon]

Bizarre

[Zanza]

In a multi-tier legislative system, it is normal that lower tier legislators cannot overrule higher tiers. So Texas law breaking local ordinances is a feature, not a bug.

It does not help if the higher tier's core policy seems to be cruelty and nastiness though.

[mongers]

Bizarre

I wonder what would happen if the AC 'failed' for a few days in the state senate building and offices?

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Bizarre

I wonder what would happen if the AC 'failed' for a few days in the state senate building and offices?

this?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_7ztecqmlg&ab_channel=feored

[OttoVonBismarck]

The construction industry mostly is filled with Trumpers working in it, let them burn I say. Zero sympathy.

[Syt]

https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/4059467-abbott-signs-bill-banning-sexually-oriented-performances-in-texas/

Abbott signs bill banning 'sexually oriented performances' in Texas

Texas has become the latest in a growing number of states to pass legislation that LGBTQ rights groups say targets drag shows, banning "sexually oriented performances" that take place in the presence of minors.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) quietly signed the state's Senate Bill 12 into law June 18. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The measure, slated to take effect September 1, prohibits businesses from hosting "sexually oriented" performances in which someone is nude or appeals to the "prurient interest in sex" in the presence of minors. Those who break the law are likely to face hefty fines — up to $10,000 per violation.

Performers face much harsher penalties, and those caught violating the law's new restrictions on drag shows could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

An earlier version of the bill, introduced in March by state Sen. Bryan Hughes (R), sought to explicitly ban certain drag performances, but House and Senate lawmakers in March agreed to remove the direct references to drag, opting instead to expand what the state considers an illegal public performance of "sexual conduct."

Drag performers and LGBTQ civil rights groups have argued that the amended legislation is still likely to be used to restrict drag shows and could even target transgender people in Texas.

Even after state lawmakers removed direct references to drag, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) said the new law would "push back against the radical left's disgusting drag performances" in a statement celebrating the bill's passage last month.

"Children, who cannot make decisions on their own, must be protected from this scourge facing our state," Patrick said.

Texas joins three other states — Tennessee, Montana and Florida — in adopting legislation restricting drag performances.

1. I assume cheerleaders are not considered "sexually oriented" performances in which someone is nude or appeals to the "prurient interest in sex"?



2. Since GOP is so obsessed with protecting children "who cannot make decisions on their own" from being exposed to sexually suggestive performances (and generally being sexualized), I assume child beauty pageants will be in their sights soon?

https://www.universalroyalty.com/beauty-pageant-photos.html

Is your daughter the most beautiful child in Texas? Prove it!
We host the nation's best baby pageants, beauty pageants, little miss beauty contests for babies, children, teens, adults, boys and girls of all ages.

[Savonarola]

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Lauren Boebert 'a little b----' on the House floor

In the 18th Century you had to go to the opera for battling divas.  Now we can just watch C-Span.

[grumbler]

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Lauren Boebert 'a little b----' on the House floor

In the 18th Century you had to go to the opera for battling divas.  Now we can just watch C-Span.

And the funny thing is that their catfight is over whose moronic impeachment bill for Biden should be voted on first. 

Stupid is as Boebert does.