May 3, 2026

04 Culture

REPORT: Americans don’t trust the government to make social media content decisions– www.thefire.org

pgnewser May 22, 2024 1

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Excerpt from www.thefire.org

  • 64% of Americans don’t trust the government to make fair decisions about what information is allowed to be posted on social media platforms.
  • Today, FIRE presents a model bill to shine a light on the government’s arm-twisting of social media platforms.
  • In a new report, FIRE outlines three principles to help social media platforms build trust and promote free expression.

US prison social media crackdown plan raises free speech concerns– www.context.news

pgnewser May 22, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.context.news

Here is how federal prison restrictions on social media could infringe free speech rights

  • Federal prisons propose new social media use penalties
  • People outside jails could also be affected
  • Ban might prod states to follow suit

RICHMOND, Virginia – A U.S. federal proposal to step up penalties barring incarcerated people from using social media is likely to infringe on the right to free speech of both those inside and outside jail, rights advocates said.

A ban on people like family members from posting on behalf of prisoners could create a “chilling effect” on anyone considering helping inmates, or even attempting to contact them about conditions inside, the campaigners said.

“Let’s be clear: prisons and jails do not, under any circumstances, want people who are incarcerated to be able to speak freely to the public,” said Bianca Tylek, executive director of the advocacy group Worth Rises.

Christopher Blackwell, an incarcerated writer, said at first sight such a proposal sounded “extremely far-reaching”.

Bishop and Priests of Kansas City Catholic Diocese Voice Support For Harrison Butker › American Greatness– amgreatness.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 1

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Excerpt from amgreatness.com

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph has issued a statement voicing support for Kansas City Chief’s kicker Harrison Butker and his “right to share his faith and express his opinions.”

Since his commencement speech, Butker has seen his words get distorted in the media and has faced enraged calls for his dismissal from the team.  The NFL put out a statement distancing itself from player, and espousing a “commitment to inclusion.”

The official X account of the city of Kansas City even went so far as to partially doxx Butker, prompting Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to launch an investigation into the Mayor’s office.

In a statement to the Catholic News Agency (CNA) Thursday, Bishop James V. Johnston defended the devout KC kicker.

“Harrison Butker’s passion for his Catholic faith and his family are beautiful and well known,” Johnston said.  “And like most people, he also has strong opinions on where we are as a Church and as a nation.”

Johnston continued:  “The Catholic Church believes that God calls everyone to pursue holiness no matter what path they take. As St. Paul notes, that diversity of callings and vocations is essential to the life and mission of the Church.”

The bishop ended his statement by saying he supports “Butker’s right to share his faith and express his opinions—including those that are critical of bishops.”

Stanford University Now Employs 177 DEI Staffers– legalinsurrection.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from legalinsurrection.com

 

Some schools are defying public opinion on DEI policies and are even doubling down.

Stanford now has 177 DEI employees, research finds

Stanford University now employs at least 177 people — a mix of scholars and staffers — dedicated to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, a tally that does not even include employees working in the elite institution’s Title IX office.

The latest tally represents an increase of nearly 100 employees in the span of three years, as research by the Heritage Foundation put the number of Stanford DEI staffers at 80 in 2021.

The list of 177 employees was compiled by an anonymous researcher and first reported on by conservative education activist Christopher Rufo, who provided the data to The College Fix upon request.

Judge Upholds South Carolina Abortion Ban: I Don’t Make the Law– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.lifenews.com

South Carolina 5th Circuit Court Judge Daniel Coble upheld the Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act, dealing Planned Parenthood, the state’s largest abortion business, a solid defeat.

“This Court,” he wrote, “will never supplement the will of the General Assembly with its own interpretation because it would be a direct violation of the Constitution and the sacrosanct doctrine of the separation of powers.”

“[I]t is clear beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Judge Coble wrote, “that the General Assembly intended, and the public understood, that the time frame of the Act would begin around the six-week mark.” Planned Parenthood argued in its latest lawsuit that its abortion business has declined by 75 percent in South Carolina as a result of the Fetal Heartbeat Act. It argued that the fetal heart is not developed until the ninth week of the baby’s life and therefore the killing of unborn children should be legal until that point.

Appeals court to hear challenge to Florida city’s law banning strippers under 21 – NBC 6 South Florida– www.nbcmiami.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.nbcmiami.com

After Gov. Ron DeSantis last week signed a bill that will prevent strippers under age 21 from performing in adult-entertainment establishments across Florida, a federal appeals court is preparing to take up a constitutional challenge to a similar restriction passed in Jacksonville.

A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments June 6 in Jacksonville about whether a city ordinance barring dancers under 21 in adult establishments violates First Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan last year upheld the age restriction, which the city contends is designed to prevent human trafficking. Backers of the bill that DeSantis signed last week also have said it is aimed at curbing trafficking.

But attorneys for club owners and dancers who challenged the Jacksonville ordinance wrote in an appeals-court brief last year that the “record shows that there had never been an arrest for human trafficking at an adult club in Jacksonville.”

Iranian women show bare skin in celebration of Raisi’s death | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.express.co.uk

The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has sparked celebrations from his critics as women show their skin and drink to his demise.

Officially, the country is in a five-day period of mourning, but opponents of the regime have taken to social media to share their joy at Raisi’s passing, while others set off fireworks in the streets.

Raisi was seen as a frontrunner to succeed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but was killed alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in a helicopter crash on Sunday following a visit to Azerbaijan.

The former president was a staunch supporter of cracking down on dissent in Iran and supported the country’s security services throughout his time in office, including in the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini.

Justices Spurn Parents’ Challenge to Schools’ Gender-ID Policies– www.dailysignal.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.dailysignal.com

The Supreme Court declined Monday to consider a case challenging a Maryland school district policy that hides information from parents about their child’s “gender identity.”

Under the Montgomery County Board of Education’s guidelines, parents deemed “unsupportive” will not be told if their child is undergoing a “gender transition” at school, according to court filings. The justices declined to hear an appeal by three parents who challenged the plan, leaving in place a lower court ruling that found they did not have standing to challenge the policy.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last August that the parents did not have standing because their own children were not undergoing or considering a gender transition.

“Absent an injury that creates standing, federal courts lack the power to address the parents’ objections to the Guidelines,” the majority held. “That does not mean their objections are invalid.”

Biden wants the country to be more racist than it is– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.washingtonexaminer.com

President Joe Biden pitched himself as our uniter-in-chief, but he spends his time sewing racial division to try and solidify his political support.

Biden turned his speech at Morehouse College’s graduation ceremony into a racial grievance session. He told students at the historically black university that they have to be “10 times better than anyone else to get a fair shot” and that, even if they love their country, the country does not love them back. He also revived his lies about Georgia’s voting laws (Morehouse is in Georgia), which he said were worse than Jim Crow voting restrictions, despite the fact that black voters in Georgia experienced no problems voting under the new law.

US State Department Issues Worldwide Security Alert Due to Potential for Attacks on LGBTQ People and Events– www.outsmartmagazine.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.outsmartmagazine.com

(CNN) — The US State Department issued a worldwide security alert on Friday due to the potential for terrorist attacks against LGBTQ people and events.

“Due to the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution. The Department of State is aware of the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+ persons and events and advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution,” the alert read.

The alert comes two weeks before Pride Month begins on June 1. The department warned US citizens to stay alert in locations that tourists often visit “including Pride celebrations and venues frequented by LGBTQI+ persons.”

Earlier this week, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security similarly issued a warning that foreign terrorist organizations and their supporters may target LGBTQ events and venues as Pride Month approaches.

Accounts on Elon Musk’s X restricted for writing ‘cisgender’– www.advocate.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.advocate.com

Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has begun restricting accounts for using the terms “cis” and “cisgender,” labeling them as slurs. According to the Independent, users attempting to post these terms now receive warnings stating that they may be considered slurs and could be used in violation of X’s rules.

“Cisgender” is an adjective used to refer to individuals whose gender identity corresponds with their sex assigned at birth. The term “cis” comes from the Latin prefix meaning “on this side of,” contrasting with “trans,” which means “across from” or “on the other side of.” These terms are widely accepted in social and medical contexts. The Canadian government uses these classifications in its census, and the American Psychological Association includes them in its glossary.

Despite the widespread acceptance of these terms, Musk declared last October that they would be treated as slurs on the platform. Enforcement of this policy began recently, with users reporting restricted visibility and warnings when attempting to post using the terms. According to TechCrunch, users who write “cis” or “cisgender” on the X mobile app receive a full-screen message stating, “This post contains language that may be considered a slur by X and could be used in a harmful manner in violation of our rules.” Users can choose to continue publishing the post or delete it.

Supreme Court won’t hear Maryland school district gender identity case– www.nbcnews.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 1

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Excerpt from www.nbcnews.com

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid backed by a conservative Christian legal group to challenge a Maryland school district’s policy against informing parents if their children identify as transgender or gender-nonconforming.

The justices turned away an appeal by three parents with children attending public schools in the Washington suburb of Montgomery County of a lower court’s ruling holding that they lacked the necessary legal standing to challenge the policy. The plaintiffs are represented by the Virginia-based National Legal Foundation.

The issue of transgender rights has become a flashpoint in the U.S. culture wars. As part of this, conservative litigants and parents groups have filed lawsuits in various U.S. jurisdictions challenging school policies that seek to respect requests by transgender students to not “out” them to their parents without their consent.

Nebraska mother, daughter charged for illegal abortion after police obtain Facebook messages– ca.movies.yahoo.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 1

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Excerpt from ca.movies.yahoo.com

A Nebraska mother and teenage daughter are facing criminal charges after the teen allegedly got an illegal abortion and police say the two buried the fetus.

While the abortion allegedly occurred before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to abortion, a state law on the books since 2010 bans abortions in Nebraska at 20 weeks.

MORE: New abortion restrictions may push patients to more expensive, complicated care

Norfolk police opened an investigation into then 17-year-old Celeste Burgess on April 26, investigating concerns she had given birth prematurely to a stillborn child, according to an affidavit submitted by the Norfolk Police Investigations Unit that was obtained by ABC News.

Senator Ron Johnson is Right, Democrats Voted for Abortions Up to Birth– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.lifenews.com

There are three things certain in life: death, taxes, and self-styled fact-checkers defending Democrats on late-term abortion. The latest example came on Friday from D.L. Davis, who gave Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson a “false” label for claiming “Every Senate Democrat has voted to support unlimited abortions up to the moment of birth.”

Johnson’s office cited the Democrats’ 2022 Women’s Health Protection Act and Davis took exception to the use of the word “every,” writing “[Sen. Joe] Manchin, R-W.Va. [sic], voted no along with Republican senators on the measure. The vote was 49 Yes and 51 No.”

It’s ironic that Davis tried to shame Johnson for saying “every” Democrat voted for it when the truth is everyone, but one did and Davis and his editors couldn’t even get Manchin’s party letter label correct.

Regardless, Davis also cited Johnson’s office for claiming “the measure ‘would enshrine abortion into law up until the moment of birth and block state laws with protections against late-term abortions.’”

Supreme Court denies state appeal on homeschool funding delay– www.alaskasnewssource.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 1

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Excerpt from www.alaskasnewssource.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – An appeal by the State of Alaska has been denied by the state Supreme Court for a decision on when a law on more restrictive homeschool funding can be used.

Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman ruled in April that reimbursements made under the state’s homeschool correspondence program violated a section of the State Constitution prohibiting public money from being spent “for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational Institution.

On May 2, Zeman granted a delay — known in the legislature as a “stay” — until June 30, which marks the end of the current fiscal year.

Rojava solidarity group promotes women-led direct democracy on US tour– medyanews.net

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from medyanews.net

The Emergency Committee for Rojava, a New York-based organisation, is touring the West Coast of the United States during May, hosting a series of talks entitled, ‘Report from Rojava: Women’s Revolution, direct democracy, and social ecology in Northeast Syria.’

Debbie Bookchin and Arthur Pye introduce the tour in an interview with Medya News, providing a comprehensive overview of the organisation’s mission. They focus on the Rojava Revolution that emerged in the north of Syria during the Syrian civil war in 2012, and the broader implications of this Kurdish democratic confederalist movement for communities worldwide.

Formed after the invasion of Syria’s Afrin in 2018, the committee is the largest organisation in the US dedicated to Rojava solidarity work, Bookchin said. It has partnered with the Institute for Social Ecology for the tour, along with other sponsors.

Three prominent Indian ministries unite to regulate misleading digital ads– www.newsbytesapp.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.newsbytesapp.com

Three high-profile Indian ministries are collaborating to form an inter-ministerial taskforce, according to HT Mint.

The goal is to combat misleading and fraudulent advertisements on digital platforms.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs are spearheading this initiative.

The taskforce will create a comprehensive regulatory framework for monitoring social media advertisements, ensuring compliance, and penalizing violators.

CBS Joins in, NBC Ups Hate for ‘Controversial’, ‘Firebrand’ Butker Speech– www.newsbusters.org

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.newsbusters.org

On Friday, CBS finally joined the virulently anti-family liberal media’s rhetorical lynch mob fighting to convict Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in the court of public opinion with a discussion during CBS Mornings and, while ABC moved on, NBC’s Today upped the intensity of its disgusting and hypocritical venom toward a speech about the importance of the family.

In other words, Butker stood up for something the three co-hosts on Today have personally and repeatedly discussed is paramount to their lives. Instead of scorning him, they could have mentioned the numerous charities Butker has supported, include Foster’s Outriders charity (which our Craig Bannister explained here).

Voters See Amendments for Abortions Up to Birth as Democrat Get Out the Vote Scheme– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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The wave of state ballot initiatives seeking to impose unrestricted abortion-on-demand on states from coast to coast has encountered a serious problem: Voters are beginning to see them as a cynical ploy to elect Democrats. The news comes from reading between the lines of a story in Politico titled “National Dem strategy worries state abortion-rights leaders.”

“Democrats’ efforts to ride the coattails of abortion ballot measures put passage at risk,” declares the subheadline.

The abortion lobby apparently fears defeat if voters realize their state’s referendum serves as little more than a Democratic voter-drive scheme. “We haven’t won or beat back a single one of these ballot measures without significant [I]ndependent and Republican support,” Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL) told Politico. “We spent a lot of last year talking to candidates directly saying, ‘Don’t put things on the ballot just to enhance voter turnout for Dems.” A leader of the Nebraska abortion-expansion referendum, Taylor Givens-Dunn said, “We want to be clear that this is about people, not politicians.”

Red state abortion bans headed for clash with blue state shield laws– cw33.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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(The Hill) — A clash is looming between anti-abortion red states and the blue state telemedicine shield laws trying to preserve abortion access.

More than a dozen states have laws shielding medical providers and others from out-of-state investigations and prosecutions regarding abortions and gender-affirming care. But six states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, California, Vermont and Washington — have gone even further.

Pope Francis says social media can be alienating, making young people live in “unreal world”– www.cbsnews.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Excerpt from www.cbsnews.com

Pope Francis says hours spent consuming content every day, whether on smartphones or televisions, can take a toll on health — particularly for young people.

“What is social media doing to the world and our children?” CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell asked Francis during a recent sit-down interview.

Francis said there are some benefits of communication media because they “have a conscience,” knowing how to report the news and also how to render criticism. That can help with development, he explained.

But, he admitted, there are also downsides.

“There are communication media that alienate young people, don’t they? It makes them live in an unreal world, made up of fantasy, or in an aggressive world or a rosy world … and so many things,” Francis told O’Donnell.

Record-setting homeschooler winning track meets, eyeing 2028 Olympics– readlion.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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A 14-year-old homeschooler from Ohio is winning track meets, setting records and making plans four years into the future.

“I want to run in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles,” said Sean Reith, who won the mile run for middle school boys March 7 at the New Balance Nationals indoor track meet in Boston.

Reith set a meet record by finishing with a time of 4:24. He also won first place in the middle school boys 800-meter run by finishing in 2 minutes, setting another record.

However, Reith might never have taken up running competitively if it hadn’t been for his homeschool experience nurtured by his mother, Kristan Reith.

Homeschooled kids face unique college challenges − here are 3 ways they can be overcome– newpittsburghcourier.com

pgnewser May 20, 2024 0

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Homeschooling is the fastest-growing education setting in the United States. More than 3 million students were educated at home in the 2021-22 school year, up from 2.5 million in the spring of 2019. Current estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that there are 3.62 million students homeschooled in the United States. That’s a meteoric increase from about 1 million in 1997.

Some experts, including Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet, find the increase a cause to call for greater regulation. University of Washington education policy professor David Knight agrees, citing a lack of accountability and measures of student progress. Knight also worries about an absence of certain disciplines such as social studies that public schools are required to teach.

For those of us who have researched the homeschool movement and studied its past, these are not new concerns. So what do we know about homeschooling and preparedness for college?