All posts tagged: campaign

The Trump Administration’s Nasty Campaign Against Trans People

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Last year, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign notoriously made transgender issues a centerpiece of its charge that Democrats were out of touch with Middle America. The Trump team focused on matters where liberal activists and politicians had taken deeply unpopular stances: They would allow biological males in women’s sports; Trump wouldn’t. They supported medical transition for minors; he didn’t. But in office, the Trump administration has gone far beyond those positions, issuing a series of executive orders and official statements that depict trans people as innately deluded, duplicitous, or dishonorable. The cumulative effect is to portray anyone who is gender-nonconforming as a traitor. “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA,” Trump posted on Truth Social when he took over the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C. Look at the language of one of Trump’s early executive orders, which prohibits trans people from serving in the military. The “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life,” a …

Trump’s Campaign to Scare Off Foreign Students

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] During last year’s presidential campaign, Donald Trump endorsed a novel idea: Foreign students who graduated from college in the United States would automatically get a green card, instead of having to scramble for a new visa or leave the country entirely. “They go back to India; they go back to China,” he told the tech-plutocrat hosts of the All-In Podcast in June. He lamented the loss of students who “become multibillionaires employing thousands and thousands of people,” and declared, “It’s so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, from the greatest schools.” But now that he’s back in power, Trump seems determined to scare foreign students away from enrolling in American universities in the first place. Yesterday, Politico reported that the State Department had instructed embassies and consulates to hold off on scheduling new student interviews while the administration considers expanding the vetting of prospective students’ social-media accounts, likely for perceived anti-Semitic or pro-terrorist posts. Would-be foreign students are likely to notice a wider pattern: In March, plainclothes officers arrested Rümeysa Öztürk, a …

Trump National Security Adviser Accidentally Sent Plans for a Bombing Campaign to a Random Journalist

Published by José

[ad_1] The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was accidentally added to a group text message between key national security advisers as they discussed an upcoming offensive strike in Yemen — and nobody seemed to know he was there until after the bombs went off. In an editorial about the stunning breach, The Atlantic‘s EIC Jeffrey Goldberg explained that he thought he was being pranked earlier in March when he was added to a Signal chat titled “Houthi PC small group” that seemed to contain users with handles corresponding to vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and defense secretary Pete Hegseth. The debacle began on March 11 when Goldberg received a Signal message request from a “Michael Waltz,” the name of Trump’s national security adviser. The two had met before, but the Atlantic editor doubted the person who added him was the real Waltz because Trump has a personal beef with Goldberg. A few days later, the Houthi group chat was created. Along with Golberg, the Waltz account included users with handles related to Rubio, …

Starmer backs campaign to show Adolescence in schools | Politics News

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Sir Keir Starmer has revealed he is watching Netflix’s Adolescence with his family and supports a campaign for it to be shown in parliament and schools. The drama, starring Stephen Graham, depicts the aftermath of the stabbing of a teenage girl – as a 13-year-old boy from her school is arrested for her murder. Politics live: PM challenged over tax rises Graham and co-writer Jack Thorne have said they want it to be a show that “causes discussion and makes change”, after it was hailed by critics and topped Netflix’s charts around the world. Asked by Labour MP Anneliese Midgley if he backs the creators’ calls for it to be aired in parliament and schools, Sir Keir said he does. He told PMQs: “At home we are watching Adolescence. I’ve got a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, and it’s a very good drama to watch. “This violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem. “It’s abhorrent, and we have to tackle it.” Image: Stephen Graham …

The Oscar Contenders Ripping Up the Campaign Playbook

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] For months, the actor Karla Sofía Gascón had been reaping the rewards of leading a prestigious film. She plays the title character in Emilia Pérez, about a Mexican cartel boss who transitions into a woman and seeks to build a more virtuous life. The Spanish-language musical has faced waves of backlash since its release last year—but it has also found a devoted fan base among awards bodies. Gascón was one of its anchors: She delivered an impassioned speech dedicated to the trans community at the Cannes Film Festival, where she shared the Best Actress prize with her castmates. When Emilia Pérez won the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy last month, Gascón movingly addressed the audience. She made history shortly thereafter, becoming the first openly trans performer to earn an Oscar nomination. A relative unknown in the United States, the Spanish actor personified a message of tolerance and acceptance; Emilia Pérez, despite all of the criticism surrounding it, looked to have elevated a star who matched the heroism of Emilia Pérez herself. But …

“Lying sack of s**t”: White House slams author of Trump campaign book

Published by Sam

[ad_1] White House Communications Director Steven Cheung preemptively attacked Michael Wolff‘s inside look at the Donald Trump campaign, calling the author a “fraud” with a “peanut-sized brain.” The blistering statement was sent from Cheung to The Daily Beast, with Trump’s senior adviser on the media attacking several stories that the outlet pulled from an advance copy of Wolff’s upcoming book, “All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America.” “Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s**t and has been proven to be a fraud,” Cheung wrote. “He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.” The statement came after the publication shared a story from the Wolff book, in which Trump trashed Elon Musk after a bizarre appearance at a Butler, Penn. rally.  According to Wolff’s reporting, Trump was taken aback by the infamous Musk cameo, in which he bounced across the stage making an X with his arms and legs. Musk’s untucked shirt …

Weaponized Humanism: Stories from the Campaign Trail in Florida

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[ad_1] I’ve been a Democrat as long as I’ve been an atheist—since I could think for myself and begin to develop the moral compass that led me to find myself in Tallahassee, Florida in April 2022, filing to run for the Florida House of Representatives. I grew up in southern Indiana, the only Democrat and the only atheist I knew—so I’ve been passionate about standing up for the underdog for a while. And being a Democrat in Florida is certainly running as an underdog. When I moved to the Sunshine State, I immediately jumped into local politics, eventually serving as the President of the Young Democrats of Seminole County. And as a volunteer for a local State Senate campaign and for President Joe Biden’s 2020 election, I learned so much about our community and fell even more in love with my adopted hometown. A couple of years into my time here in central Florida, the team at the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee reached out to ask me to consider running for office against an …

Pete Davidson Shows Off His Tattoo-Free Muscles in Reformation’s Sexy Valentine’s Day Campaign

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[ad_1] Valentine’s Day just got a lot sweeter! Pete Davidson and Reformation hard launched their relationship with a campaign titled, Pete Davidson, Official Boyfriend of Reformation, just in time for this year’s holiday.  Shop Pete Davidson x Reformation The comedian, 31, is seen flexing his ink-free muscles in the line’s sustainably made pieces, including a limited-edition Official Boyfriend crewneck sweatshirt and branded boxer briefs.  Angelo Pennetta Davidson, who has been laser removing over 100 tattoos since 2020, is also shown in the company’s campaign video, where he takes on the role of a supportive boyfriend shopping with his girlfriend. “For the past few years, my favorite side gig, the one thing that’s given me a space to collect myself, refocus my energy, revitalize my spirit, is coming in here a couple times a week and being the perfect boyfriend,” the Saturday Night Live star says while heading to Reformation’s flagship store in New York City.  “Obviously, it’s just a title. I’m not perfect, but who is? And who wants to be?” he quips. Angelo Pennetta …

The Campaign to Destroy Public Schools | Diane Ravitch

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[ad_1] In “‘Their Kind of Indoctrination,’” published on the NYR Online shortly before Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Diane Ravitch writes about the troubling future of American public education. Referring to the president’s infamous remark from his first campaign—“I love the poorly educated”—Ravitch warns that his second term is likely to lead to “more of them to love.” A historian of education, Ravitch worked on education policy in both George H. W. Bush’s and Bill Clinton’s administrations. She has spent her career analyzing the national and state policies that reshape public schools, like laws that implement high-stakes testing or that divert taxpayer money to charter schools. In addition to writing nearly two dozen books—including The Troubled Crusade: American Education, 1945–1980 (1983), Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools (2013), and, most recently, Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools (2020)—Ravitch posts regularly about American education policy on her widely read blog. Her memoirs will be published later this year by …

Harrison Ford on His New Glenmorangie Campaign and Climbing a Mountain in a Custom Palace Kilt

Published by skeptic

[ad_1] Let the record show that Harrison Ford was into his kilt. The last time I interviewed Ford, I asked him about his shorts. This time around, we’re focusing on a kilt. Specifically, a custom kilt designed for him by the streetwear brand Palace, to wear in a new global campaign for Glenmorangie single malt Scotch whisky. Once Upon a Time in Scotland, which dropped today, consists of a series of episodes directed by Joel Edgerton that tell the story of Ford traveling to Tain, in the Scottish Highlands, where the Glenmorangie distillery is housed. He lounges around a castle, learns how Glenmorangie is made, and learns how to pronounce it (that would be ​​Glen-MOR-uhn-jee). (The accompanying music features the best bagpiping happening within proximity to Ford since 1993’s The Fugitive.) In one of the vignettes, he’s presented with the custom Palace kilt to wear. “That’ll never happen,” onscreen Harrison Ford declares, before ultimately acquiescing. Actual Harrison Ford felt differently, he tells me. “The kilt, I thought, looked quite good on me. It hits a …