cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16956532

Conservative activists, led by a local pastor and outspoken Israel advocate, pushed the district, Mission CISD, to excise books mostly about gender, sexuality and race. Their demands represented an extreme version of a nationwide culture war over books that has played out in recent years — and ensnared a number of books with Jewish themes.

In Mission, the long list of books on the chopping block includes a recent illustrated adaptation of Anne Frank’s diary; both volumes of Art Spiegelman’s Holocaust graphic memoir “Maus”; “The Fixer,” Bernard Malamud’s novel about a historical instance of antisemitic blood libel; and “Kasher in the Rye,” a ribald memoir by Jewish comedian Moshe Kasher.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/35410900

Megachurch pastor and ex-Trump adviser admits child sexual abuse

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/18630049

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/35266052

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16822310

More than a month after a news report revealed that the Combat Infantryman Badge Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, wears on his lapel was revoked since he was never eligible for the award to begin with, the congressman refuses to take the pin off.

Nehls' stubbornness has garnered growing criticism from veterans and others in the community of stolen valor researchers, who say the issue is simple: The rules for the CIB are clear, and Nehls did not qualify.

"The veteran community is starting to get to the point now where there's no room for forgiveness at this point because now they see, ‘Hey, this wasn't an error. He's doubling down now,’" said Anthony Anderson, an Army veteran who runs Guardian of Valor and was instrumental in uncovering Nehls' revoked award. "He knows he didn't earn this award."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16793518

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/18479087

Law firm Kirkland & Ellis brought multibillion-dollar cases to David R. Jones’s court, aided by a local attorney who lived with the judge; ‘Why did no one look into it?’

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16767093

The piercing scream, like a sound from a horror film, triggered taekwondo instructor Simon An to draw on his years of martial arts training. 

Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, shortly after the doors of his family-owned and -operated studio in Texas opened for evening classes, An and his father, his mother, his older sister and his younger brother heard shrieks coming from a neighboring business.

The family of five, each with a fourth-degree black belt, run the Yong-in Taekwondo studio in Katy, outside Houston. They initially ignored the sounds, assuming they came from employees playing around in their break room. But then a piercing “final scream” prompted the family into action, A said.

His family ran to the store and opened a door. There they found a man on top of a young woman with his hands “in [in]appropriate places” as she attempted to fend him off, A said. 

An’s father, Hong, yanked the attacker away by his shirt and pinned him to the ground. An’s sister, Hannah, grabbed the girl and rushed her out of the room while An and his brother helped subdue the attacker.

So I was thinking about some othere thread talking about climate change here. Reminded me that when I was a kid the RGV was a pretty big river. I don't see it often as I don't cross the border often, but it seems like its been dry or very weak for several years now. Has there been any discussion about this anywhere?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16673073

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16659359

The doctor has publicly identified himself as the person who released information to a conservative activist about the transgender care program at Texas Children's. Citing "whistleblower documents," the activist published a story in May 2023 saying Texas Children's provided transgender care, which was legal at the time, "in secret."

Texas Children's on Monday declined to comment on the charges against Haim. In previous statements, hospital officials said its doctors have always provided care within the law.

Transgender care has become a popular talking point in Texas and other Republican-dominated states where lawmakers claim such treatment is harmful to children. It describes a range of different social, psychological, behavioral or medical interventions that support people whose assigned sex at birth does not align with their gender identity. This can include mental health counseling, hormone therapy or surgery, which is rare for people under 18.

Such treatment, which is supported by every major medical association in the U.S., was offered at Texas Children's and other pediatric hospitals in Texas. Lawmakers have since implemented a statewide ban, and Texas Children's said it would discontinue its program.

Meanwhile, Haim has publicly decried the investigation against him as "political."

In the arraignment hearing, Ho said the indictment identified three different patients whose health information was compromised. Addressing reporters, Patrick declined to speak about the facts of the case but described the charges against his client as a "huge contradiction."