Social workers say the far right's adoption of "pedophile" as an insult is hurting real victims

 https://www.salon.com/2022/05/22/social-workers-pedophile-groomer-slur/

The word in question is "pedophile," or perhaps sometimes, "groomer." Amid a bitter culture war, many on the right, from playwrights like David Mamet to politicians like Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, have seized on the word as an evidence-free way to discredit their culture war enemies. It is now being employed as one might use a slur like "idiot," albeit with a far darker connotation. And it has particular currency among believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory, who aver without evidence that a Satanic cabal of pedophiles is running the world. 

The right’s moral panic over “grooming” invokes age-old homophobia

 https://www.vox.com/culture/23025505/leftist-groomers-homophobia-satanic-panic-explained

Attempting to reframe the controversial Florida law, Gov. Ron DeSantis’s press secretary Christina Pushaw described it as “the Anti-Grooming Bill” in early March, tweeting that if you’re against it, “you are probably a groomer or at least you don’t denounce the grooming of 4-8 year old children.” Those familiar with QAnon will recognize this bizarre leap in logic. Pushaw adopted language that QAnon conspiracy theory believers and the related #SaveTheChildren crusaders have used to imply that liberals are, if not pedophiles themselves, advocates of pedophilia.

Greene defends calling Democrats ‘pedophiles,’ eliciting eye roll from ’60 Minutes’ Stahl

 https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3930528-greene-defends-calling-democrats-pedophiles-eliciting-eye-roll-from-60-minutes-stahl/

“Democrats support — even Joe Biden the president himself — supports children being sexualized, having transgender surgeries,” Greene responded. “Sexualizing children is what pedophiles do to children.”

Greene’s response elicited an eye roll from Stahl, who sighed and said “wow,” before asking her next question: whether the congresswoman might fight for what she believed without name calling and personal attacks.

What is “Grooming?” The Truth Behind the Dangerous, Bigoted Lie Targeting the LGBTQ+ Community

 https://www.adl.org/resources/blog/what-grooming-truth-behind-dangerous-bigoted-lie-targeting-lgbtq-community

Far-right and extremist voices have launched a significant attack against the LGBTQ+ community in 2021-2022, demonizing people via repeated false claims that LGBTQ+ people are “pedophiles” who are “grooming” children in order to abuse them. This false and malicious narrative has been weaponized to label the LGBTQ+ community as “groomers” and has fueled a slew of hostile legislation and policies aimed at erasing the discussion of LGBTQ+ related issues in schools, removing LGBTQ+ books from schools and public libraries and, especially, to ostracize, defame and harass transgender people.

LGBT grooming conspiracy theory

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_grooming_conspiracy_theory

Since the early 2020s, members of the far-right and a growing number of mainstream conservatives, mostly in the United States, have falsely accused LGBT people, as well as their allies and progressives in general, of systematically using LGBT-positive education and campaigns for LGBT rights as a method of child grooming. These accusations and conspiracy theories are characterized by experts as baseless, homophobic and transphobic, and as examples of moral panic.

Republican congressman falsely claims Democratic congresswoman said pedophilia isn’t a crime

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/15/politics/fact-check-ronny-jackson-katie-porter-groomers-and-pedophilia/index.html

On Thursday afternoon, Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas accused Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California of having said that “pedophilia isn’t a crime.”

But Porter did not say that. Jackson, like some conservative Twitter personalities, was wrongly describing Porter’s remarks.

Biggest Bombshells From New Clarence Thomas Report

 https://www.newsweek.com/biggest-bombshell-new-clarence-thomas-report-1793063

According to the report, Thomas and his wife took trips paid for by Crow almost on a yearly basis for over two decades. The report states interviews and documents detailed Thomas traveled on Crow's yacht, as well as his jet. Thomas vacationed with Crow to the Bohemian Grove retreat, a campground in California where powerful individuals are known to gather. Thomas has also traveled to a private resort in the Adirondacks owned by Crow, the report said.

Many of the trips reported by ProPublica were not disclosed by Thomas, which may be an ethics violation. According to ProPublica, a law requires Supreme Court Justices and members of Congress to financially disclose certain gifts they receive, and Thomas did not disclose the trips he took on Crow's yacht or his jet.

Hang On, Clarence Thomas Said He Likes to Hang Out in “Walmart Parking Lots”?

 https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/04/clarence-thomas-luxury-vacations-walmart-parking-lot.html

The sleuths over at ProPublica have a big old story out Thursday about Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and his apparently extensive history of taking fully paid-for luxury vacations with a billionaire Republican donor named Harlan Crow. The story quotes experts who say Thomas appears to have broken the law by failing to disclose the numerous free trips he has taken on Crow’s private jet and yacht.

Pentagon turns over Afghanistan withdrawal reviews to Congress

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3937776-pentagon-turns-over-afghanistan-withdrawal-reviews-to-congress/

“While it was always the president’s intent to end that war, it is also undeniable that decisions made and the lack of planning done by the previous administration significantly limited options available to him,” Kirby said.

The outline blamed the Trump administration at length for their lack of preparation going into the withdrawal and for what Biden inherited when he came into office, pointing to drawdowns of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and the former president’s consideration of hosting Taliban leaders for negotiations around the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Trump's Felony Indictment Was Way Worse Than He or the GOP Imagined | Opinion

 https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-felony-indictment-was-way-worse-he-gop-imagined-opinion-1792776

In other words, rumors of a Trump surge are not just greatly exaggerated; they're based on political smoke that is likely to quickly drift away.

IS HOLOCAUST EDUCATION MAKING ANTI-SEMITISM WORSE?

 https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/05/holocaust-student-education-jewish-anti-semitism/673488/

These people talked about bosses and colleagues who repeatedly ridiculed them with anti-Semitic “jokes,” friends who turned on them when they mentioned a son’s bar mitzvah or a trip to Israel, romantic partners who openly mocked their traditions, classmates who defaced their dorm rooms and pilloried them online, teachers and neighbors who parroted conspiratorial lies. I was surprised to learn how many people were getting pennies thrown at them in 21st-century America, an anti-Semitic taunt that I thought had died around 1952. These casual stories sickened me in their volume and their similarity, a catalog of small degradations. At a time when many people in other minority groups have become bold in publicizing the tiniest of slights, these American Jews instead expressed deep shame in sharing these stories with me, feeling that they had no right to complain. After all, as many of them told me, it wasn’t the Holocaust.

As Karaites undergo a resurgence, why is their Passover different from all others?

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-karaites-undergo-a-resurgence-why-is-their-passover-different-from-all-others/

On Passover, many Karaites drink beer, which is strongly prohibited in Orthodox Judaism because it interprets the fermentation of barley as the equivalent of leavened bread, which the Torah bans on the holiday. On this issue and others, Karaites stick to the letter of the Torah, which says nothing about drinking beer. They also eat pasta, arguing it is as unleavened as matzah.

What is Passover?

Majority of Americans approve of Trump indictment

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/03/politics/cnn-poll-trump-indictment/index.html

 Sixty percent of Americans approve of the indictment of former President Donald Trump, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS following the news that a New York grand jury voted to charge him in connection with hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. About three-quarters of Americans say politics played at least some role in the decision to indict Trump, including 52% who said it played a major role.