The fear and fury of these Florida parents

[Daily Kos Morning Roundup]( A morning roundup of worthy pundit and news reads, brought to you by Daily Kos. [Click here to read the full web version.]( - [The fear and fury of these Florida parents]( The fear and fury of these Florida parents, Caitlin Gibson, The Washington Post The effects are already far-reaching: The Parental Rights in Education Act — widely referred to by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” — prohibits educators in kindergarten through third grade from addressing gender or sexual orientation in class, and restricts what teachers in upper grades can say on the topic. The Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act — or Stop WOKE — bars the teaching of critical race theory, an academic framework for examining systemic racism. Books for students of all ages have been removed from public school media centers and classroom libraries after a new state law mandated that all material made available to students be age-appropriate, free of “pornography” and “suited to student needs,” without providing clear guidelines about how those standards are to be applied. Just before the start of Florida’s legislative session this week, GOP lawmakers introduced a slate of new bills that would further overhaul both K-12 and higher education — expanding the limitations on teaching gender or sexual identity through eighth grade, and requiring teachers to use pronouns that match a child’s sex as assigned at birth, among other proposals. Beyond the public school system, Florida has moved on several fronts. Its medical boards have imposed rules barring transgender children from receiving gender-affirming medical care. On abortion, state law now prohibits the procedure beyond 15 weeks’ gestation, with few exceptions, and a new bill would tighten that restriction to six weeks. And on guns, lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would allow Florida residents to carry firearms without a state license. At the center of all of this are families trying to navigate the transforming legal landscape of their home state. Parents who do not support these measures describe feeling both fearful and furious. Some have embraced activism for the first time, while longtime advocates have grown more outspoken. Others are just trying to manage what this new reality means for their families and futures. - [The Other Children in the DeSantis Culture War]( The Other Children in the DeSantis Culture War, Charles Blow, The New York Times It’s midday on Saturday in Orlando’s Greenwood Cemetery, and just up an incline from an algae-covered pond a group of students encircle a grave. Many are holding a book — some clutching it to their chests the way a preacher holds a Bible. That book, “A History of Florida Through Black Eyes,” was written by Marvin Dunn, an emeritus professor at Florida International University, who is among those gathered. He quiets the group before telling the gripping story of the man beneath the tombstone. The man was Julius “July” Perry, a Black voting rights activist who was killed — arrested, then dragged from jail by a white mob and lynched — on Election Day in 1920 during the Ocoee Massacre, the culmination of a tragic chain of events set in motion, according to accounts, by a Black man attempting to vote. The stop at the cemetery was part of the second “Teach the Truth” tour, a field trip to historic Black sites in Florida, organized by Dunn in response to the threat to teaching comprehensive Black history posed by the anti-woke hysteria of the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis. “Teach the Truth” is full of visits to the graves of Black people killed by white racists, cases Dunn told me he focuses on “because those are the ones that are easiest to forget” — the “hard stories” that are, as he says, the ones most in need of preservation. - [2023 has gotten off to a rough financial start for Daily Kos. Our revenue is down and we need to lean more and more on our readers and activists to cover our expenses. Can you help by donating $3 right now?]( - [Georgia’s government abandons Putin-style bill that triggered huge protests]( Georgia’s government abandons Putin-style bill that triggered huge protests, Zoya Sheftalovich, POLITICO Europe The government’s U-turn came after thousands of Georgians took to the streets of the country’s capital Tbilisi for two days of protests, waving EU flags and facing down riot police armed with water cannons and tear gas. The contentious legislation would have required all organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. The Georgian law was widely viewed as inspired by Vladimir Putin’s regime in Moscow: In 2012, the Russian president signed off on legislation tightening controls on civil rights groups funded from abroad, which was seen as an attempt to crack down on dissent; last June, the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, approved another bill imposing draconian restrictions on individuals and organizations “under foreign influence.” The withdrawal of the bill is a blow for Putin, who has long viewed Georgia, a former Soviet state, as within Russia’s sphere of influence. Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili, who was in the U.S. for an official visit when protests first broke out Tuesday, called the draft law “something dictated by Moscow” in a video address. - [The Link Between Gaming and Violent Extremism]( The Link Between Gaming and Violent Extremism, Rueben Dass, The Diplomat The use of video games by jihadist groups as a means to link supporters together, spread their propaganda, and attract youth is not something new. In the early 2000s, the Lebanese group Hezbollah created their own video game titled “Special Force” in which the player took the role of a Hezbollah combatant fighting against the Israel Defense Forces. In 2006, al-Qaeda modified a first-person shooter game called “Quest for Saddam” into their own version called “Quest for Bush.” Players were prompted to kill soldiers who looked like U.S. President George Bush. In 2014, just as IS formed and began to hold territory, the group released its very own video game titled “Salil al-Sawarem” (The Clanging of the Swords). Inspired by the popular American video game “Grand Theft Auto,” players took on the role of IS combatants fighting in real-life conflict zones such as in Iraq and Syria. The main goal of producing the game was to draw attention to the group and entice youngsters who are often fascinated by action games by providing them with a virtual glimpse into life in the perceived Caliphate. In March 2021, an IS-affiliated media channel posted a fully animated propaganda video depicting a guerilla-style ambush of American soldiers by a group of IS fighters. IS, who are known for their slick and cinematic propaganda videos, have often used real-life battlefield footage in the past. Shortly after the first video was put out, two other animated videos believed to have been made by IS supporters were released on IS social media channels. The first depicted a bombing of a church in a residential neighborhood. The second was a video from a first-person shooter game where participants depicted to be IS fighters were seen engaged in battle against their opponents. These videos showed a marked resemblance to the videos produced and disseminated using Roblox by the 16-year-old boy who was recently arrested. - [Unlike a certain tacky red hat, Daily Kos hats are made in the USA and union decorated. Click here to get yours now.]( - [Revealing Fox News texts point to the right’s long war on the truth]( Revealing Fox News texts point to the right’s long war on the truth, Greg Sargent, The Washington Post This is one of the most extraordinary scandals to ever buffet a major American network. But it also points to an even bigger story: The right wing media’s long war on the truth. For decades, conservative media outlets have expressly sought to build and capture an audience that would accept only their version of events, and would be cordoned off to place them beyond the reach of mainstream news sources entirely. “Right wing media have been engaged in a 70-year project to ensure that their audiences only trust conservative news outlets,” Nicole Hemmer, who tells this story in “Messengers of the Right,” her excellent history of conservative media, told me. “They’ve worked to discredit other sources of more-objective information, so that their audiences are unwilling to trust outlets more rooted in reality.” [...] This bid to capture millions in a bubble of falsehoods was also acknowledged by the news side, when a top news editor called the constant lying an “existential crisis” for Fox News ’s journalism. But as Matthew Gertz of Media Matters notes, the prime-time personalities had a clearer read than the news operation on the real source of Fox News’ success: its role as a “propaganda machine that accumulates money and power by lying to its viewers.” - [‘It’s about damn time’: Michigan House passes LGBTQ+ civil rights protections bill]( ‘It’s about damn time’: Michigan House passes LGBTQ+ civil rights protections bill, Laina G. Stebbins, Michigan Advance Senate Bill 4 expands the 1973 Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) to protect against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. It was previously adopted 23-15 in the Senate last week, with three Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in the vote. On Wednesday, the measure made its final passage in the House — with a vote of 64-45, and eight House Republicans voting in favor of the bill — and will now head to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk for her expected signature. “Every Michigander deserves to be treated with dignity and respect under the law. I’ve been calling for changes to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to strengthen legal protections for our LGBTQ+ community for years, and I am proud that we are finally getting it done,” Whitmer said in a statement Wednesday. ICYMI: Popular stories from the past week you won't want to miss: - [Republican National Committee tweets out world's most idiotic comment: People respond]( - [The Governator stuns with a 12-minute speech against fascism that’s a must-see]( - [Kimmel responds to Trump's attempt to gag him, and thanks to the First Amendment, we're all laughing]( Want even more Daily Kos? Check out our podcasts: - [The Brief: A one-hour weekly political conversation hosted by Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld]( - [The Downballot: Daily Kos' podcast devoted to downballot elections. New episodes every Thursday]( Want to write your own stories? 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