As the nation reels from last week’s horrific school shooting in Minnesota, authorities in Florida seem to be doing everything in their power to re-traumatize a community victimized by a different mass attack. That now includes arresting one protester, ap
As the nation reels from last week’s horrific school shooting in Minnesota, authorities in Florida seem to be doing everything in their power to re-traumatize a community victimized by a different mass attack. That now includes arresting one protester, apparently for leaving temporary chalk footprints in a crosswalk that has become a flashpoint in Republican efforts to expunge pro-LGBTQ messaging from the public square.
Earlier this month, the Florida Department of Transportation removed rainbow markings from a crosswalk in Orlando. There are rainbow-colored crosswalks across the country showing communities’ commitment to equality, but this one had special significance—it was painted as a memorial to the 2016 massacre at the nearby Pulse nightclub, an LGBTQ bar where 49 people were slaughtered by a gunman who expressed support for ISIS. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
The removal of the Orlando crosswalk was, supposedly, part of an effort by federal and state transportation officials to eliminate roadway “distractions.” And while it’s true that officials are now removing all sorts of colorful street art—both political and apolitical—the overriding motive seems to be a GOP attempt to use “safety” concerns as a pretext for cracking down on speech.
“Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy declared in July. He demanded that the nation’s governors crack down “especially” on political content in “intersections and crosswalks.” Florida’s transportation secretary, meanwhile, described the initiative as an effort to “ensure we keep our transportation facilities free & clear of political ideologies,” and his department released guidance barring “pavement surface art that is associated with social, political, or ideological messages.” Amid an uproar over the state’s actions in Orlando, Gov. Ron DeSantis was even more explicit:
We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes. t.co/AXY1qxsZNW
The removal of the Pulse rainbow has, unsurprisingly, sparked particular outrage. The crosswalk is “a symbol not only of LBGTQ people, but also our city’s own history, and the way our community came together in the wake of that tragedy,” Carlos Guillermo-Smith, a state lawmaker from Orlando, told the Washington Post. “Targeting rainbows is about erasing the LGBTQ community.”
Activists have fought back, using chalk to replace the paint that had been removed from the crosswalk. Authorities countered by washing away that chalk—and threatening to prosecute anyone engaged in “defacing” the street. But the anti-woke crackdown reached the absurd Friday night, after protesters began putting chalk on their shoes and leaving colorful footprints in the crosswalk. That’s when state highway patrol officers arrested Orestes Sebastian Suarez, a Georgia resident who was visiting Orlando for his birthday.
Suarez was taken into custody on felony charges “after troopers said they saw him coloring the bottom of his shoes with chalk and then walking in the crosswalk,” according to local news station WESH2. “We put some chalk down on the ground, and before we knew it, an officer was approaching us, saying, we wanna talk to you,” Suarez later told the outlet. “I identified myself, tried to do everything the correct way, and before I knew it, I was in the back of a squad car.”
A judge, apparently, was unconvinced by the allegations, declaring Saturday that there had been no probable cause for the arrest and releasing Suarez without bail as prosecutors decide whether to pursue formal charges.
“To come here and do something like this, and to be threatened with something so extreme as a felony charge for protesting and showing love to your fellow human, it’s just insane in my opinion,” Suarez told WESH2.
This is the interim CDC Director. He is accusing pre-Trump CDC staff of “manipulating health data to support a political narrative”. This man and his boss Kennedy are the ones who are manipulating data for a political narrative. This is an existential threat to the United States of America.
Of course I think that Whitley Strieber is a complete fraud and grifter, but I can't help but think he has a really great #radio voice, the only person in that sphere who even approaches Art Bell's own. It has been the most enjoyable part of listening to Communion via #audiobook
Warday was such a good book imo, i still read it at least once a year all like 300000 years after it came out lol communion and the following grift made me 🙁
Apple's new Clean Up tool can be accessed via the Edit menu in the Photos app. Once selected, you can circle objects that you want to remove from a photo.
Das wird echt spannend, der #Kipppunkt zur Abschwächung der #AMOC soll schon in den nächsten Jahren erreicht werden, ab da geht es dann los mit dem #Klimawandel. Ich bin Anfang 40 und könnte doch noch #Dürre in Europa, sinkende Temperatur und stärkere Stürme erleben.
Es scheint wir haben uns als Gesellschaften nun darauf geeinigt, dass wir diesen Klimawandel jetzt nicht mehr abwenden wollen, auch weil Mobilität mit #Strom nicht geht, genau wie heizen oder auch die Stromerzeugung aus regenerativen Quellen einfach nicht möglich ist oder wenn dann können wir damit einfach nicht genügend #Energje erzeugen.
Le sfuriate quotidiane di Trump contro le istituzioni statunitensi e gli avversari politici interni - ai quali assegna premi e castighi in maniera del tutto arbitraria - viaggiano in parallelo con la quotidiana individuazione di un nemico estero vers…
The stats on crime show it's down and decreasing, but the media is effectively telling us it's bad and maybe getting worse. Because Fox News is popular and wants to push that message, getting people scared is good for the algos and coverage of crime gives local news something to report. Dems arguing for the facts thus comes off as lying or being out of touch.
Good civics and honest politics can't win if the media has bad incentives. That must be fixed also, if not first.
The video captures a scene at a water park where a person in a bright neon green shirt and red shorts is assisting two individuals seated in a yellow inflatable tube at the entrance of a large, purple water slide with a green interior. The slide is designed with a circular tunnel at the end, and the surrounding area is wet, indicating the presence of water. The person in the neon shirt is seen pushing the tube towards the tunnel entrance, ensuring the individuals are properly positioned. As the tube enters the tunnel, the person in the neon shirt follows closely behind, guiding the tube through the tunnel. The video concludes with the tube and its occupants disappearing into the tunnel, with water splashing around the entrance. The background includes a rocky structure and lush greenery, suggesting an outdoor setting. The video captures the excitement and fun of the water slide experience, with the bright colors and dynamic movement adding to the lively atmosphere.
Provided by @altbot, generated privately and locally using Ovis2-8B
This is not a defense of some of the worst things about Dubai, Singapore (exploitation of migrant workers etc), but Momtaza Mehri articulates something I agree with:
Many in the ‘west’ do not believe that other places have more than ‘one story’, but allow or demand nuance for themselves. I was especially annoyed when someone here was like ‘Dubai chocolate sucks, Dubai sucks’. All of those things can suck (like when you get a bad Dubai chocolate and say all of it is bad; and Dubai does suck) but then that person doubled down and say they couldn’t support anything with that name, everyone who lives there sucks.
Many of my friends who live there fled from wars that you started, denied visas by your countries.
Usciva esattamente 2 anni fa e da 3 giorni è disponibile in streaming. Un'occasione per vedere #ValentinaLodovini in un ruolo che finalmente la valorizza, grazie alla trasposizione del testo teatrale che l'esordiente regista ha reso un orologio. La vidi dal vivo in "Tutta casa, letto e chiesa" e un po' mi vergognai di ciò che le offre il #cinema italiano. Conversazioni con altre donne - RaiPlay raiplay.it/programmi/conversaz…
Hollywood reporter Brooks Barnes joins ABC News Live to discuss the debut of an AI-enhanced version of “The Wizard of Oz,” which premiered on Thursday at the Sphere.
These same masked men no doubt want to ban the burqa and blame asylum seekers for crime in Britain. There is no other phrase for it. They are racist thugs. news.sky.com/story/police-offi…
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I was convinced this had to be fake but he really posted this. I was wondering why he would post this then realized it continues his grand tradition of stiffing contractors.
Scottrossi
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