The state Assembly speaker later shut down the inquiry and Gableman got a job with the Thomas More Society. Updated: Apr 27, 2022 / 02:11 PM CDT. In January of last year, Brejcha wrote that his group will continue to work with and support Amistad but touted decisive new initiatives., Rest assured, he added, we mean to press this cause of election integrity to the hilt, as is our trademark.. Long before the Thomas More Society and Kline joined together on election law, they had a different kind of relationship. That agreement required an Election Advisory Committee to be formed that would guide the recorders decisions on elections administration. VAERS provides zero evidence any of these people died because of the vaccine. From 1955 to 2019, Maricopa County gave its recorder more duties than prescribed in state law. Furries are a subculture of people who craft alter-egos as anthropomorphized animals. Taking the interim job as elections director is the best way to solve the problem, he said. Members of the "furries" fantasy subculture tell The Post they're not wild about this week . I heard him say, Leave my kid out of this. Two administrators from the school broke up this interaction and shuffled the four aggressors out of the building, and then asked the father if he was alright. In Wisconsin, the Thomas More Society is also challenging the ease of obtaining absentee military ballots. The superintendent tells WLKY. Despite the court losses, the society considers its assault on the Zuckerberg funds to be a major success because it blazed the trail for two dozen states to ban private funding of election administration, according to the memo Thomas More provided. Invest with us. His edits were not posted publicly before the vote, but the board discussed some of them while voting. Kaardal filed at least 18 administrative complaints with the Wisconsin Elections Commission, beginning shortly before the 2020 election. We saw that time and again on abortion.. They were yelling at him about his kid being a furry, McMillan told The Daily Beast. That allegation wasnt true, either. 3 Min Read. A Facebook post says schools are putting litter boxes in bathrooms to accommodate kids who identify as furries. Getty Images. Who cares? First published on October 31, 2022 / 3:15 PM. Its not escapism, its not a departure from reality. Furries are people who have an active interest in animal characters with human characteristics. Erick Kaardal, a Thomas More Society attorney, worked closely with Gableman, who was appointed by the speaker of the state Assembly, a Republican. NOW accused him and others of conspiring to close down clinics through extreme measures, including blockades and mob violence; it sought a permanent injunction forbidding the groups from engaging in illegal conduct. Initially, the group which is run by staunch Catholics and named for a Catholic saint and lawyer focused on defending people in the anti-abortion movement. The legal nonprofit once sided with a Wisconsin pharmacist who refused to fill a birth control prescription on religious grounds. A recent Rolling Stone article showcased a thriving, TikTok-based furry youth scene. Dress codes are mostly nonsensical anyway. Sometimes, as in the case of Central York, the same people who supported book bans are the same people now promoting furry rumors. The society and Kline no longer have a formal contract. Furries. These panels would have the power to investigate elections, determine whether laws were broken, force local officials to fund forensic audits by disappointed candidates, stay election results when appropriate and even place localities into receivership to ensure elections are run properly. 'Stranger Things' Gave Us a D! The American high school experience in 2021 is plagued by uncertainty in the face of an ongoing pandemic, aggro anti-mask dads, Tiktok drama, the usual academic hurdles, and furries. The state Supreme Court ultimately suspended his law license indefinitely in 2013 for 11 violations of professional conduct rules, including misleading a judge and grand jury. Masthead | We built this house on sand, English said, clearly referencing the false claims about election fraud the board has heard in recent work sessions leading up to the supervisors decision. Patch OFurr, proprietor of the furry news site Dogpatch Press, tells The Daily Beast that many of the same people spreading bogus furry rumors are the same people agitating to ban books they don't like. Representatives of Westfield Washington Schools and the districts in. EDIT: We are now being told the litter box was allegedly brought in as a form of harassment against the "Otherkin." Target announced it was making all its bathrooms gender neutral. Rumours of a school accommodating a "furry" caused a flurry first in the United States, then it made its way to Canada. The districts superintendent debunked the rumor in a scathing email. Talking to reporters that day, Northon said: Im representing a charity called the Amistad Project, its a 501(c)(3), and its affiliated with another charity called the Thomas More Society out of Chicago. In Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, and Iowa in recent months, school board meetings have been disrupted by allegations that educators are giving special treatment to furry students. Fargo School Board member Jennifer Benson told The Forum that a student informed her some schools have litter boxes in restrooms for students who identify as furries. Its limited fantasy, Roberts told The Daily Beast of furrydom. Ganahl is the latest in a string of Republican candidates nationwide to condemn furries. ", School Board Member Susan Miller asked the same question: "We can see in the emails our parents raised issues with it and I don't think we should be saying our parents are lying.". At the society, Brejcha and Kline agreed on a contract that covered 2018 through 2021, Kline said. Yuma County in 2019 shifted most election authorities under the recorder. In recent months, it successfully lobbied Ohio lawmakers to enact a strict voter photo ID law. Theres always some teen craze that people inevitably blow out of proportion. Its almost like (Attorney General Kris Mayes) didnt know what to tell us, she just wanted to tell us something to try to stop us.. While false, the widespread hoaxes play into a broader right-wing effort to discredit and demand further control over public education. It shows a complete failure to understand how kids think, what they care about, what they want, he said. The recorder is close with former GOP secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem, who built a campaign on false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Another Wisconsin judge, in state court, rejected the Thomas More Societys lawyers characterization of the grants as election bribery, calling the assertion ridiculous., Likewise, a federal judge in Iowa ruled in a case brought by the Thomas More Society that the record contains no evidence supporting accusations that the grants pose an actual risk of shaping the outcome of any election or of favoring any particular party or candidate.. Their big lie and conspiracy theorist followers must be very proud of them, whereas the rest of America looks down on us as being a bunch of whacko hicks, Anderson said. DeSantis is trying to brand himself as the biggest antivax loon in the GOP presidential primary. Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access, Scott Adams and why American capitalism kneels before a bigger God. The agreement approved Tuesday is only temporary. We are nonpartisan, were bipartisan, but we want the laws to be enforced so that the democratic process is not distorted and destroyed, he said. Healthcare providers are legally required to report all major adverse events following a COVID vaccine, whether they're plausibly connected to the vaccine or not. She says when her 14-year-old son came home from school and said classmates were dressing up in animal costumes, she initially urged him to just ignore them. Furries make a convenient target for people looking to lash out at marginalized identities, particularly the LGBT community, which has a higher-than-average representation among furries, OFurr noted. He did this based on a severely flawed, non-peer-reviewed study conducted by unnamed individuals within the Florida Department of Health. In early November, an aspiring educator took to Reddits r/teachers board to relay rumors about students in her hometown demanding litter boxes in school. Then came Trump and an obsession among his followers with proving that he lost due to election fraud, and a new mission emerged. It was chosen in 2019 as the School of the Year by the Maine Environmental Education Association for its well-regarded learning opportunities for students. As others in the anti-abortion movement distanced themselves from clinic protestors accused of trespassing, vandalism and sometimes violence, the Thomas More Society defended them in civil and criminal court. But there is one major difference with the agreement, which Yuma County Recorder Richard Colwell provided to Votebeat on Tuesday. If you actually look at whos doing this, at some of the political groups getting involved, theyre all far right.. Kimberly Eloe, executive director of communications for JeffCo Schools, issued a statement at the end of September saying, "there is absolutely no truth to this claim. The decision came after hours of impassioned public comment both for and against the plan. Copyright 2023 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Fargo, Moorhead and West . They had previously joined an Amistad suit he handled. Throughout the struggle, he had a key ally from Chicago: attorney Tom Brejcha, president of the Thomas More Society. But that doesnt mean he agrees with the decision, he said. Lawyers for the society, in recent years, also have brought legal action opposing vaccine mandates, gay marriage and transgender rights. an A! He told everyone standing there (myself included) that they were calling his child a furry and he asked them to stop.. @2022 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Think Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse, they walk on two legs, have hands to manipulate items, and talk. Weve covered everything thrown at us this past year and will continue to do so with your support. Kline needed help in Kansas, beginning in about 2010, fighting professional misconduct charges arising from his investigation of abortion clinics as attorney general and later as a county district attorney. Sharon E. Roberts, . Thomas Mores role in the push to change election law should not be underestimated, say abortion rights groups familiar with the legal societys tactics and record. One month after Jefferson County school administrators denied that kids were dressing up as so-called "furries" at school, CBS News Colorado has obtained emails showing the district was aware. Bannon applauded that action. The blogs noted that schools had denied the allegations, but the authors went on to say theyd heard more rumors from locals and people at the Clay County GOP booth at the county fair., Such rumors, if true, threatened to weaken the U.S. military, an Iowa commentator wrote. When a community member made a claim about litter boxes being in Brainerd at a March . Its culture war, its control, and its not about protecting kids, OFurr explains. Theyd supported Central Yorks recent (and now overturned) ban on certain school books, many of them about race. We may earn a commission from links on this page. Got a tip? There is a forum, Gallery, a new YouTube blogging system and now a live TV feature run by the website admins which is still in planning though operational. As China threatens to invade neighbors, were cringing when someone tells us hes an antelope and we better acknowledge hes got hooves whether or not visible, he opined. Claims of litter boxes in school bathrooms have cropped up on social media both locally and around the country. Right-wing parents are attacking school boards over furries in the classrooma proxy for the larger culture wars over race and gender. . The committee, which had a Democratic majority, was disbanded this year as Republicans reclaimed control of the House. Between December 2020, when the COVID vaccines first rolled out to mid-August of 2021, right-wing media like Fox and Breitbart mentioned VAERS seven times more often than mainstream outlets. The director of the Public Schools Branch in Prince Edward Island, Canada, took a similar stance when furry hoaxes flooded his districts social media in October. litter boxes in schools for furries in mainethe hardy family acrobats 26th February 2023 / in was forest whitaker in batteries not included / by / in was forest whitaker in batteries not included / by In one such rebuke, a judge concluded that the real goal of a Thomas More attorneys request was the undermining of a democratic election for President of the United States.. Members of the furry fandom write . Ron DeSantis and Florida's Doctor Antivax, 'The maths are hard': Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for not understanding what 'seized' means, Marjorie Taylor Greene garners few sympathizers after claiming she was 'attacked' in a restaurant, 'Thats weaponization': Dem smacks down Jim Jordan for ignoring Trump DOJ corruption, 'Im not gonna yield!' In case after case over the Zuckerberg grants, judges found no merit in the arguments presented by lawyers associated with Kline and Thomas More. Will artificial intelligence overthrow its capitalist overlords? This is a very stereotypical belief about the furry community, and it still baffles me to think that this is a widely . NBC News spoke to three school-age furries who have posted on TikTok about the experience of being a furry at school. Furry is shorthand, used to describe fans of anthropomorphic animals. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg later fumed that Kaardal, the Thomas More Society attorney, filed in the wrong court and failed to even serve the complaint to his adversaries in the suit. When vaccine safety is in the news, people are more likely to attribute their symptoms to vaccines and more motivated to report those symptoms to VAERS. Furries are people who belong to a group of people who are interested in anthropomorphic animal characters with humanistic personalities and characteristics. Counties arent prevented from doing what they think is right, Fontes said. She said the issue gained attention on social media once people started sharing photos and videos of the feline costumes and behavior, I started getting videos and messages from kids, and I said, Ok, Im going to post this so parents know whats going on.. VAERS scientists look for unusual patterns. Jen Fifield is a reporter for Votebeat based in Arizona. Carpenter said children in schools express themselves in many ways, but the rumours of students . Play the long game. But the narrative that schools would indulge students in this fashion has a much darker underbelly. MIDLAND, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - A superintendent in Michigan is trying to clear up any misconceptions or rumors about a conspiracy theory regarding students "who identify as cats." According To. He insisted that no 'litter box accommodation' had been made for any students identifying as furries. He added that he agrees with the committees assessment that there was not sufficient proof of fraud to overturn the election. LGBTQNation 10/25/2022. You are reading: "Litter boxes in schools for furries in maine". Piano Sign Up. The tragic "furries" phenomenon is merely a symptom of the horrific and systemic child abuse masquerading as "education" that is taking place in government "schools." It is the next logical step in the schools' descent into total madness and depravity. School districts in Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska have debunked claims that they. Going forward, the team plans to work on various election fronts, including preventing ineligible people from voting, according to the memo the society provided to ProPublica. Its a decades-old genre and, relative to other available subcultures, fairly wholesome. The "furry protocol" rumor is the newest wrinkle in a series of false claims concerning absurd behavior in schools. The superintendent tells WLKY the situation is being addressed, but according to a concerned grandparent, it's an ongoing problem that has many students on edge . Luke Macfarlane's Hallmark Channel Past Prepared Him for Gay Rom-Com 'Bros'. An unfounded anecdote about kitty litter boxes for role-playing students in public schools is the rumor that just won't quit, and especially in certain political circles. The societys election integrity initiative is now headed by its Executive Vice President Thomas Olp. Hosted by Asawin Suebsaeng and Will Sommer. (Furscience set the bathroom record straight in 2016, when they made a tongue-in-cheek video about the impossibility of using a toilet in a fursuit.). Media and internet exposure also drive VAERS reporting. Don Bolduc, Republican candidate for New Hampshire senator, is one of the latest conservative politicians to repeat the hearsay that schools are providing litter boxes for . I have two grandkids in school and my grandkids didnt want to go to school anymore, she said. The Michigan incident started when a mom of kids at the Midland School District, about 130 miles northwest of Detroit, spoke at a school board meeting about a rumor which she took as fact alleging the school was accommodating "furries" by providing litter boxes in unisex bathrooms. If they think they see a signal, they'll pull medical records or death certificates to confirm these patients actually got the vaccine and actually experienced the adverse event, say, heart failure. Kline pushed hard on the idea that state legislatures could ask Congress to delay the electoral certification to allow for time to investigate whether laws were faithfully followed. Screenshot from video. The litter boxes in schools hoax (also called the litter box canard) is a false rumor alleging that certain North American schools provide litter boxes in bathrooms for students who "identify as cats", or who participate in the furry or otherkin subcultures. An examination by ProPublica of Thomas Mores 2020 election-law initiative shows it helped fuel skepticism over President Joe Bidens victory and the fairness of elections in numerous states. One of the Amistad Projects chief arguments in 2020 was that election officials in swing states adopted pandemic-related measures such as the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots that disproportionately aided turnout in Democratic strongholds. Updated on: October 31, 2022 / 10:47 PM The student claims these furriestheir classmatesare growling, hissing, or even scratching and biting at other people.. Thank you. It did not win through court action, but as increasing attention was paid to the drop boxes, the state Supreme Court ruled their use unlawful. School board meetings, sometimes attended by members of far-right paramilitary groups, have become theaters for culture wars, with GOP figures like Maddock calling on parents to TAKE BACK our schools from the specter of liberal educators. ", An open records request shows Edwards is among at least two dozen parents who've written the district over the last eight months. They were subjected to often stinging rebukes. 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