Bearded lady set to fight child sex-change ban before SCOTUS tells CNN toddlers can be trans
DECEMBER 04, 2024
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a pivotal case challenging Tennessee's 2023 law banning gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender minors. The case, brought by the Biden administration on behalf of families of trans youth, has brought the question of transgender youth and the role of state regulation of medical procedures into sharp focus.
"Where is the victory? How much did it cost? What defeat is more terrible than such losses? How can one claim victory in the face of a massacre that has destroyed all the logic of resistance? It's not too late to ask Hezbollah to explain its unilateral and deadly decision to open the confrontation [with Israel] under Iran's cover." — Nabil Bou Monsef, prominent Lebanese journalist, kataeb.org, November 27, 2024.
Over the past 14 months, Hamas and Hezbollah have dragged the Palestinians and Lebanese into wars that have claimed the lives of thousands of people -- all to serve their patrons in Iran. Instead of admitting their defeat, both in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the terrorists, at the behest of Iran's mullahs, are continuing to sell imaginary victories to the Arabs to encourage them to join the Jihad (holy war) against Israel.
After the recent ceasefire deal with Israel, supporters of the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah claimed "victory." Some celebrated the alleged victory by firing guns into the air and flashing V signs. Many Arabs, however, saying that Hezbollah had lost hundreds of its members, including top leaders, and caused significant damage to Lebanese homes and the country's economy, have been mocking the terrorist group.
Hezbollah's hasty declaration of "victory" is similar to that of Hamas, Iran's Palestinian terrorist proxy in the Gaza Strip. After earlier rounds of fighting with Israel that severely damaged the Gaza Strip's civilian and military infrastructure, Hamas commanders would typically emerge from the debris and proclaim "victory."
Like Hezbollah, many Palestinians and Arabs mocked Hamas for its fake wins. Even now, Hamas continues to pretend that it is winning the war, which began when the terrorist group invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering 1,200 Israelis, many of whom were tortured, burned alive or beheaded. Countless others were raped, and 240 were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, where 101 – many of whom are dead -- are still held captive.
Commenting on Hamas's claim of "victory," Egyptian political analyst Abdul Latif Al-Manawi wrote:
"I was not surprised when [Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal] announced Hamas's victory in the Gaza war. He said: 'Our losses are tactical, our enemy's losses are strategic, and victory is coming.' Is this how Mashaal sums up a whole year of devastation inflicted on the Palestinian people? If Mashaal means what he says, we have to ask him: Do the tactical losses he refers to include the war victims who have reached more than 42,000 Palestinians? Do they include more than 80,000 [Palestinians] who were injured? Do they include more than 90% of the Gaza Strip's population who have been displaced from their homes and neighborhoods that were razed to the ground? Victory, Khaled Mashaal, is not like this. Victory is realizing the extent of your power, and using it at the right time and in the right way. Victory is not bringing back the era of illusory speeches and false victories."
Hezbollah declared war on Israel the day after the October 7 atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists, and thousands of "ordinary" Palestinians, against Israelis living near the border with the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah leaders said then that they would stop their rocket and drone attacks against Israel only if it ended the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They also said that they would not withdraw their terrorists north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon.
The ceasefire agreement, reached on November 27, stipulates that Hezbollah, or any other armed group in Lebanon, will not carry out any offensive action against Israel, regardless of the situation in the Gaza Strip. The agreement also requires Hezbollah terrorists to withdraw to the north of the Litani River. Hezbollah, in other words, has agreed to disconnect itself from the war in the Gaza Strip and to withdraw its men from the border with Israel.
This reversal is precisely why many Arabs cannot understand Hezbollah's claim of "victory," especially in light of the elimination of most of the group's top political and military leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, killed by an Israeli airstrike on his bunker in Beirut last September.
Prominent Lebanese journalist Nabil Bou Monsef scoffed at Hezbollah's false victory and pointed out that the war the group brought on Lebanon has caused terrifying scenes of destruction. He accused Hezbollah of engaging in self-delusion, linking Lebanon to regional arenas (the Gaza Strip) and "throwing Lebanon into a catastrophic massacre."
"Where is the victory?" Bou Monsef asked.
"How much did it cost? What defeat is more terrible than such losses? How can one claim victory in the face of a massacre that has destroyed all the logic of resistance? It's not too late to ask Hezbollah to explain its unilateral and deadly decision to open the confrontation [with Israel] under Iran's cover."
Further reactions of Arabs to Hezbollah's purported victory include:
Tunisian philosopher Khaled Mansour:
"Hezbollah's claim of victory over Israel is a farce and a mockery of the minds of the Lebanese and a 'political shamelessness' that is both laughable and disgusting!"
Lebanese student Lina al-Bayati:
"Hezbollah: We achieved victory over the enemy. The party was uprooted from its roots, not a single one of them remains. Where is the victory? No one knows."
Lebanese lawyer Omar El-Yafi:
"This is the text of Hezbollah's surrender that the Lebanese state agreed to, which stipulated that there would be no weapons on Lebanese territory except in the hands of the Lebanese army, in addition to other conditions, including the withdrawal of Hezbollah elements to the north of the Litani River. Where is the divine victory that these victors celebrate?"
Egyptian political analyst Subhi Ibrahim:
"The worst defeat for Hezbollah militias in the black history of destruction and thousands of deaths, and yet, with all impudence, some of its supporters raise banners and the victory sign!!! Where are you, you shameless folks???"
Lebanese social media activist Fouad Tarabay:
"Despite the killing of [Hassan] Nasrallah and most of the leaders of Hezbollah, 3,500 dead, 20 billion in material losses, 1.5 million displaced, and 46,000 housing units destroyed, they (Hezbollah) still say 'we won.' They fire their guns in celebration and raise the victory sign after the humiliating ceasefire agreement. What a complete farce and deception."
Saudi writer Imad al-Rimal:
"Hezbollah celebrates victory just as Saddam Hussein celebrated his victory in Kuwait [in 1990]. Hezbollah will hold a victory demonstration in Lebanon, with the funeral of Hassan Nasrallah. It doesn't matter how many were killed, what was destroyed, or the crushing defeat. What matters is that the minds of the flocks of sheep that follow Hezbollah remain in a state of denial of the reality."
Social media user Abu Al-Ahrar:
"What kind of victory are you talking about? This is considered a defeat. Hezbollah rose up to support Gaza and said it will not stop until the siege on Gaza is lifted. How is this victory when Israel has eliminated all the leadership of Hezbollah? This is not called victory, but defeat."
Iraqi political activist Tamara Alkhazarji:
"After the surrender: Hezbollah supporters roam the streets, raising pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, as a way of expressing the joy of victory, as they believe. This is the case of totalitarian parties in the Middle East, where they try to promote every defeat as a crushing and historic victory for them."
Yemeni politician Ali Albukhaiti:
"Hezbollah has surrendered, yet there are those who call it a victory!
"Rather, [the ceasefire] was done on Israel's terms, not Hezbollah's terms:
- Hezbollah's withdrawal to the north of the Litani River.
- Disengagement from Gaza.
- The presence of international supervision south of the Litani River.
- Lebanese army control of the border."Were these Hezbollah's conditions or Israel's conditions? What happened was almost a surrender by Hezbollah, while saving face."
Clearly, many Arabs are no longer fooled by the lies and propaganda of Iran's terror proxies in the Middle East. Over the past 14 months, Hamas and Hezbollah have dragged the Palestinians and Lebanese into wars that have claimed the lives of thousands of people -- all to serve their patrons in Iran. Instead of admitting their defeat, both in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the terrorists, at the behest of Iran's mullahs, are continuing to sell imaginary victories to the Arabs to encourage them to join the Jihad (holy war) against Israel. The good news is that many Arabs are evidently aware of the lies and deceptions of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. His work is made possible through the generous donation of a couple of donors who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
CHANNAHON, Ill. (WLS) -- Lion Electric, which manufactures electric buses, will suspend its operations at its Channahon facility, the company announced in a press release Tuesday.
The company announced the suspension of operations at the plant as well as temporary layoffs of about 400 workers across the company, which is based in Canada. The layoffs leave Lion Electric with about 300 workers.
The plant in Channahon opened in July of 2023 and was set to produce up to 20,000 vehicles a year. The plant was the first dedicated vehicle assembly plant in the Chicago area since 1965.
To the chagrin of LGBT extremists, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) ratified Republican legislation in March 2023 protecting children in the state from sex-change mutilations and puberty blockers. Three teen transvestites and their parents, later joined by the Biden Department of Justice, sued the state, seeking to put sterilizing puberty blockers and deformative hormone therapy back on the kids' menu.
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments for and against the Republican mutilation ban Wednesday. The court's decision could ultimately reinforce or spike similar bans in dozens of other states.
Ahead of the hearing before the high court, a bearded woman with the American Civil Liberties Union — the radical outfit representing the plaintiffs — explained to CNN Tuesday why she felt the law should fall, claiming at one point that toddlers can know they are transvestites.
Chase Strangio, the transvestic ACLU attorney formerly known as Kate who is set to argue against the Tennessee law before the Supreme Court, told talking head Jake Tapper that this case "is a critical inflection point for transgender people across the country. We're coming off of an election season where transgender people played an outsized role in people's consciousness in terms of the way in which we were situated as — as a threat to others."
The election helped highlight a trend: Americans are increasingly rejecting gender ideology and radical LGBT policies.
The New York Times noted that an analysis conducted by Future Forward, failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris' top super PAC, found that the campaign ad with the tagline, "Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you," shifted the race nearly three percentage points in President-elect Donald Trump's favor. Ahead of announcing that he was stepping down, Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa effectively admitted on the basis of fellow travelers' electoral failures that the "a big bulk of our population does not support" extreme "transgender" policies.
While some Democrats may be shocked, the turning tide is no secret. A Washington Post-KFF poll found last year that 57% of Americans say gender is biologically determined; 68% oppose the use of puberty blockers by children; 58% oppose hormonal treatments for teens; and 62% say male transvestites should not be able to compete in girls' sports.
"When we look at the map of states that ban this type of evidence-based health care, we went from zero states that had these bans in 2020 to now more than half the country," continued Strangio.
The ACLU attorney indicated that she will argue before the high court that the Tennessee law, Senate Bill 1, is a form of sex discrimination.
When Tapper raised the question of whether there is sufficient data to prove that sex-change treatments for kids is beneficial, Strangio replied, "We have decades of both clinical experience and research data showing that this is medical treatment that provides critical benefits to adolescents who need it."
Strangio apparently missed the memo about the Cass Review, which revealed earlier this year that where so-called gender science is concerned, "There is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices."
The massive multiyear investigation commissioned by NHS England found that most of the "research" underpinning so-called gender science is of "poor quality," demonstrating "poor study design, inadequate follow-up periods, and a lack of objectivity in reporting of results."
In the case of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones foisted on children, the review made clear that the uses "are unproven and benefits/harms are unknown."
"In addition to this making it difficult for clinicians to know whether these are appropriate treatments to offer, it is also challenging to provide children, young people, and families with sufficient information on which to make an informed choice," said the review. "The duty of information disclosure is complicated by many 'unknown unknowns' about the long-term impacts of puberty blocker and/or masculinizing/feminizing hormone during a dynamic developmental period when gender identity may not be settled."
Strangio suggested to Tapper that toddlers' confusion is actionable and that in some cases, the "best" remedy is life-altering drugs.
"These are doctors who are wanting to treat their patients in the best way that they know how, based on the best available evidence to us," said Strangio. "And these are young people who may have known since they were two years old exactly who they are, who suffered for 6 or 7 years before they had any relief. And what's happening here? It's not the kids who are consenting to this treatment; it's the parents who are consenting to the treatment."
Journalist Mia Hughes highlighted in her 242-page report, published in March by Michael Shellenberger's think tank, Environmental Progress, that Dianne Berg, a member of World Professional Association for Transgender Health and co-author of the child chapter of the organization's Standards of Care 8, indicated that while adolescents are not mature enough to understand "the extent to which some of these medical interventions are impacting them," some parents also lack the requisite health literacy to understand the treatments.
"What really disturbs me is when the parents can't tell me what they need to know about a medical intervention that apparently they signed off for," said Berg.
"As a parent, I would say we — when our children are suffering, we are suffering," said Strangio. "And these are parents who love their children, who are listening to the advice of their doctors, of the mainstream medical community, and doing what's right for them, for their kids in the state. ... Tennessee has displaced their judgment."
Those keen to prevent or remedy suffering might take into account the Cass Review's indications that:
Other studies have similarly demonstrated the fallout of the drugs Strangio wants kids to access. For instance, a 2022 study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy confirmed that puberty blockers adversely impact bone density and noted that there "is increasing evidence for negative effects on cognitive and emotional development and on sexual functioning."
Tennessee noted in February that the state "acted rationally, reasonably, and compassionately to protect its children, and the Act survives any level of review. Nothing in the Constitution deputizes Petitioners to override the legislature's judgment and demand a policy they believe to be more favorable. Concluding otherwise would violate 'the most deeply rooted tradition in this country ... that we look to democracy to answer pioneering public-policy questions.'"
The Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Skrmetti is not expected for several months.
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.