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  • Parents Arrested, Tased, Pepper Sprayed at Uvalde, Texas, School Shooting

    Instead of dealing with the shooter, parents end up being the target of the police.

    A Uvalde mother says she was handcuffed while urging law enforcement officials to enter Robb Elementary School during Tuesday’s shooting, according to the Wall Street Journal. 1

  • Andy Biggs Bringing Shame to Arizona?

    Opinion: Peeking out from beneath the wooly blanket of indignation Biggs is hiding under is a partisan wolf’s clothing.

    “Biggs and several other Republican members of Congress with connections to the insurrection of Jan. 6, the so-called “Stop the Steal” demonstrations and the effort to overturn a duly certified presidential election were subpoenaed by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.” 2

  • The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy

    By Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry

    The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy
    Available from Amazon.com

    Most Americans were shocked by the violence they witnessed at the nation’s Capital on January 6th, 2021. And many were bewildered by the images displayed by the insurrectionists: a wooden cross and wooden gallows; “Jesus saves” and “Don’t Tread on Me;” Christian flags and Confederate Flags; even a prayer in Jesus’ name after storming the Senate chamber. Where some saw a confusing jumble, Philip S. Gorski and Samuel L. Perry saw a familiar ideology: white Christian nationalism.

    In this short primer, Gorski and Perry explain what white Christian nationalism is and is not; when it first emerged and how it has changed; where it’s headed and why it threatens democracy. Tracing the development of this ideology over the course of three centuries―and especially its influence over the last three decades―they show how, throughout American history, white Christian nationalism has animated the oppression, exclusion, and even extermination of minority groups while securing privilege for white Protestants. It enables white Christian Americans to demand “sacrifice” from others in the name of religion and nation, while defending their “rights” in the names of “liberty” and “property.”

    White Christian nationalism motivates the anti-democratic, authoritarian, and violent impulses on display in our current political moment. The future of American democracy, Gorski and Perry argue, will depend on whether a broad spectrum of Americans―stretching from democratic socialists to classical liberals―can unite in a popular front to combat the threat to liberal democracy posed by white Christian nationalism.

  • George

    By Alex Gino

    George by Alex Gino
    George by Alex Gino – Available from Amazon.com

    The unforgettable debut from Stonewall Award Winner Alex Gino.
    George joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!

    When people look at Melissa, they think they see a boy named George. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl.

    Melissa thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. Melissa really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part… because she’s a boy.

    With the help of her best friend, Kelly, Melissa comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte — but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

    References:

    • Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Betsy Gomez, October 6, 2017 – Author Donates Copies of Book After Wichita District Declines to Shelve It
    • Wikipedia – George (novel)
    • The PIlot, Jaymie Baxley, March 7, 2022 – “George” Author Weighs in on Push to Remove Book From Moore County Schools
    • The New York Times, Sarah Lorge Butler, May 8, 2018 – Parents Are Divided Over a Book in a Popular Student Reading Program in Oregon
    • The Advocate, Daniel Reynolds, April 9, 2019 – America’s Most Banned Book, George, Is About a Trans Girl

  • Religious Liberty is at Stake

    The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), the United Church of Christ and BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) File Brief

    Prayer

    Read the Brief (PDF)

    The Issue: A public high school coach demands the right to lead players and others in prayer on the field following games before his official duties have concluded. 3

    The Position: Protecting religious freedom in the public schools means ensuring that students can express their religion in ways that do not interfere with education and that public school employees in their official capacity do not advance or denigrate religion. 4

    High school football coach Joseph Kennedy, who refused to stop holding post-game prayers on the field and later sued the Bremerton, Wash., school district. Kennedy claims his 50-yard line prayers were private prayers protected by the First Amendment. 5