The Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with a Maine Republican state representative who was banned from voting over her comments on social media about a transgender-identifying male high school athlete competing against girls.
Representative Laurel Libby was blocked from voting and speaking from the House floor after Democrats voted to censure her after she posted public images of a transgender-identifying high school boy taking first place in girls’ pole vaulting at Maine’s Class B state championship. The court on Tuesday blocked the state from stripping Libby of her voting rights as the case is litigated.
“The U.S. Supreme Court just restored the voice of 9,000 Mainers! After 2+ months of being silenced for speaking up for Maine girls, I can once again vote on behalf of the people of House District 90,” Libby wrote on social media in response to the ruling. “This is a win for free speech — and for the Constitution.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 VICTORY!🚨
The U.S. Supreme Court just restored the voice of 9,000 Mainers!
After 2+ months of being silenced for speaking up for Maine girls, I can once again vote on behalf of the people of House District 90.
This is a win for free speech — and for the Constitution. 🇺🇸
— Rep. Laurel Libby (@laurel_libby) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurel_libby/status/1924903208603758744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“This is a victory not just for my constituents, but for the Constitution itself,” Libby added in a separate <a href="https://x.com/laurel_libby/status/1924906132813885618">post</a>. “The Supreme Court has affirmed what should never have been in question, that no state legislature has the power to silence an elected official simply for speaking truthfully about issues that matter.”
Liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor were the only two to side against Libby.
Democrats claimed that Libby&#8217;s social media post put the transgender-identifying boy at risk and voted to censure her, stripping her of the right to vote and speak on the House floor because she refused to apologize. Libby challenged her punishment, but lost at the district and appeals court levels before appealing to the Supreme Court in April.
“It would be a remarkable break from history to permit the continued disenfranchisement of thousands of Americans for their chosen representative’s protected speech,” Libby&#8217;s lawyers wrote.
The Trump administration has been at war with Maine after it has continued to allow males to compete in women&#8217;s sports in defiance of President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive orders. In response, the Trump administration froze federal funding for the state, and Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-unleashes-on-maine-announces-new-lawsuit-against-state-for-violating-title-ix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced a civil lawsuit</a> against the state.

Supreme Court Continues To Deliver Decisions This Week Ahead Its Summer Break

SCOTUS Sides With Maine Republican Punished Over Post On Trans-Identifying Athlete

Maine

Social Issues

Supreme Court

Transgender

Transgender Athletes

U.S.

A California high school girl track and field athlete didn’t let the fact that a boy had stolen her championship deter her, and waited until the boy stepped off the podium to step up herself, stand up on the podium, and claim her rightful place as the winner.
Reese Hogan, 16, from Crean Lutheran High School, finished second place in the triple jump behind AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley, a boy who claims to be a girl, at the CIF Southern Section Finals on Saturday. Hernandez jumped 41 feet, four inches, more than four feet farther than Hogan’s 37 feet, 2 inches. To make the difference clearer, third-place finisher Sofia Jara’s 36 feet, five inches was only 9 inches behind Hogan, and fourth-place finisher Kezia Gavlak jumped 35 feet, 11 inches, only six inches behind Jara. “Hernandez currently holds the state&#8217;s top marks in long jump (20-1.5) and triple jump (41-4) in girls track and field,” Sports Illustrated <a href="https://www.si.com/high-school/california/transgender-athlete-wins-cif-track-and-field-titles-in-girls-high-school-events-01jvmqrckp7b">noted</a>.
After Hernandez stepped off the podium, Hogan seized the moment, walked onto the first-place spot, smiled, and proudly posed for a picture.
“When the boy got off the podium, she assumed her rightful spot as champion. The crowd erupts with applause. THIS is the way. Congrats to Reese Hogan, the REAL champ!!!” women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines cheered.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
When the boy got off the podium, she assumed her rightful spot as champion. The crowd erupts with applause.
THIS is the way.
Congrats to Reese Hogan, the REAL champ!!! <a href="https://t.co/KiEm2yV2YY">https://t.co/KiEm2yV2YY</a> <a href="https://t.co/hqGdikES29">pic.twitter.com/hqGdikES29</a>
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_/status/1924193952590160100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
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On May 10, at the CIF Southern Section Division 3 Prelims at Yorba Linda High School, Hogan joined other girl athletes who donned t-shirts that said, “Protect Girls Sports.” Officials at the track meet reportedly made the girls change their shirts.
The day before, JSerra Catholic High School, Orange Lutheran High School, and Crean Lutheran High School wrote a letter to the CIF in which they stated:
<blockquote>For young women, CIF&#8217;s Gender Identity Policy means lost opportunities and an unlevel playing field. The consequences of this Policy will be felt this weekend as CIF&#8217;s state semi-final competitions for track and field events take place. Star female athletes, some of whom attend our schools, will soon compete in multiple track and field events against a male athlete who self- identifies as a female. If their respective regular-season performances are any indication, the male student will trounce his female competitors, depriving them of opportunities for advancement in tournaments, state championships, performance records, and potentially even college scholarships. Some of our female athletes have indicated they will not compete in their events to protest the injustice of this situation. This result makes it clear that the CIF Gender Identity Policy deprives women of the equal opportunities required by Title IX. Worse still, in some sports, the CIF Gender Identity Policy jeopardizes the physical safety of female student athletes.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Here is their letter to CIF. <a href="https://t.co/AfDpisJk6x">pic.twitter.com/AfDpisJk6x</a>
— Julie Hamill (@hamill_law) <a href="https://twitter.com/hamill_law/status/1920999049236267298?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Athlets on Podium

After Boy Beats Her In Triple Jump, High School Track Athlete Takes ‘Her Rightful Spot As Champion’

California

Girls

High School

High school sports

Politics

transgender athlete

Women Sports

Women's sports

The Trump administration is investigating the City of Chicago after Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson bragged about the number of black people he has hired.
The Justice Department informed Johnson on Monday of the probe just one day after he appeared at a church and suggested that he had staffed his administration based on race. In a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1400811/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a>, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon told Johnson that the investigation would examine whether the city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in employment.
Dhillon told Johnson the investigation was “based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race.”
On Sunday, Johnson <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcD_HXIFQW4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn and talked about the racial makeup of his administration. He also emphasized hiring “our people.” 
“When we say ‘our people hire our people,’ I just want to name this,” he said, pointing out how the percentage of white people in the mayor&#8217;s office had dramatically decreased during his administration making it &#8220;the most diverse administration in the history of Chicago.”
Johnson&#8217;s office later <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/post/us-department-justice-opens-civil-rights-investigation-chicago-hiring-practices-letter-mayor-brandon-johnson/16472280/">released</a> demographics of staffers in the mayor&#8217;s office, indicating 34.3% are black, 30.5% are white, 23.8% are Hispanic, and 6.7% are Asian. 
He then went on to suggest that black people should be in charge because they would govern for the greater good.  
“There are some detractors that will push back on me and say, ‘The only thing that mayor, the mayor, talks about is the hiring of black people.&#8217; No, what I’m saying is, when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else,” he said. “We are the most generous people on the planet. I don’t know too many cultures that have play cousins. That’s how generous we are. We just make somebody a family member, right. That’s just how we are.” 
He then went on to list senior positions in his administration staffed by black people. 
&#8220;Business and economic neighborhood development, the deputy mayor is a black woman. The Department of Planning and Development is a black woman. Infrastructure deputy mayor is a black woman. Chief operations officer is a black man. Budget director is a black woman. Senior advisor is a black man. And I&#8217;m laying that out because when you ask, how do we ensure that our people get a chance to grow their business? Having people in my administration that will look out for the interest of everyone — and everyone means you have to look out for the interest of black folks, because that hasn&#8217;t happened.&#8221;
Dhillon said that these comments prompted the question of whether similar racially based hiring decisions were being made systematically throughout the city’s government. 
“Considering these remarks, I have authorized an investigation to determine whether the City of Chicago is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above,” Dhillon said. “If these kind of hiring decisions are being made for top-level positions in your administration, then it begs the question whether such decisions are also being made for lower-level positions.”
Johnson responded to the investigation by saying he was proud to lead the most “diverse administration in the history of our city.”

National Urban League Conference Plenary II: State of Black America

Trump DOJ Probing Chicago Mayor After He Bragged About Race-Based Hiring

Brandon Johnson

Chicago

Department of Justice

Harmeet Dhillon

Illinois

Race

The mother of a brain-dead woman who is 21-weeks pregnant is upset that her daughter is being kept alive to save the unborn child, a baby boy.
April Newkirk has told the press that her 30-year-old daughter, Adriana Smith, is being kept alive by ventilators, blaming Georgia&#8217;s pro-life law, which bans abortion of unborn babies after six weeks gestation, with some exceptions.
Newkirk says doctors told her she&#8217;s not allowed to take her daughter off the ventilators, so they can protect and save her grandson.
“It should have been left up to the family,” Newkirk said, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/family-forced-keep-brain-dead-pregnant-woman-alive-rcna207002?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma&amp;taid=68264b5179b66e000101d84f&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to NBC News. “I’m not saying that we would have chose to terminate her pregnancy, but what I’m saying is, we should have had a choice.&#8221;
It&#8217;s not entirely clear if Georgia&#8217;s abortion law is the reason Smith is being kept alive.
A spokesman for Emory Healthcare, the healthcare system overseeing Smith&#8217;s care, said they use &#8220;consensus from clinical experts, medical literature, and legal guidance to support our providers as they make individualized treatment recommendations in compliance with Georgia’s abortion laws and all other applicable laws.”
“Our top priorities continue to be the safety and wellbeing of the patients we serve,” the spokesperson added.
In Georgia, an unborn child cannot be killed via abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, except in rare cases, like the health of the mother, rape, incest, or some fetal abnormalities.
Back in February, when Smith was nine-weeks pregnant with her second child, she began feeling unwell and suffering severe headaches. She went to a nearby hospital and was given medication. The following day, however, Smith&#8217;s boyfriend says the 30-year-old was gasping for air and making gargling noises when she woke up.
Smith was eventually transferred to Emory University Hospital, and a CT scan showed multiple blood clots in her brain, NBC News noted.
Ventilators have been keeping Smith breathing for months, Newkirk said. “It’s torture for me,” she said. “I see my daughter breathing, but she’s not there.”
Newkirk added that her family is having to incur costs to keep Smith on life-support.
Related: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/abortion-panic-misinformation-fear-after-trumps-victory/id1576594336?i=1000677183873" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abortion Panic: Misinformation &amp; Fear After Trump’s Victory</a>

Pregnant African American woman holding ultrasound printout

Controversy Rages As Brain-Dead Woman Kept Alive To Save Unborn Child

Abortion

Georgia

Pro-Life Movement

A Democrat congresswoman has revived an effort to provide reparations payments to black Americans for slavery, introducing legislation that would cost trillions of dollars.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/race-politics/5302622-democrats-reintroduce-reparations-resolution/">reintroduced</a> the Reparations Now resolution, which was first introduced by former Rep. Cori Bush in 2023.
Lee says that the funds are owed to black Americans. “Black folks are owed more than thoughts and prayers. We’re owed repair, we’re owed restitution, and we’re owed justice,” Lee said at a press conference as she announced the reintroduction of the bill. “We’re here to say that there’s no more waiting, no more watering down, no more putting justice on layaway.”
If enacted, the bill is estimated to cost a whopping <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/far-left-congresswoman-revives-ousted-squad-dems-reparations-push-black-americans">$14 trillion</a>. The gross domestic product of the entire United States in 2023, by comparison, was <a href="https://www.bea.gov/news/2024/gross-domestic-product-fourth-quarter-and-year-2023-second-estimate">just over</a> $27 trillion, while the federal government’s entire budget in that same year was <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1829">$6.1 trillion</a>.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), a member of the far-Left coalition of Democrats referred to as “the squad,” echoed Lee’s remarks and accused Trump’s policies of being “anti-blackness on steroids.”
“We will not back down in our pursuit of racial justice,” Pressley said. “The antidote to anti-Blackness is to be pro-Black, and we will do it unapologetically. The United States government owes us a debt, and we need reparations now.”
Cori Bush, who originally introduced the bill in 2023 before losing her reelection bid, joined the two at the press conference. “You cannot turn your back on the demand for reparations, because until there is repair, there will be no justice,” Bush said. “And where there is no justice, we will continue to fight. We’re not going anywhere.”
The legislation, which died after it was first introduced in 2023, has little chance of advancing in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) <a href="https://babin.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=14128#:~:text=Washington%2C%20D.C.%20%E2%80%93%20Today%2C%20Congressman,enacts%20laws%20implementing%20reparations%20programs.">introduced</a> legislation earlier this year in the hopes of preventing state and local governments from enacting reparations policies.
“Reparations based on race or historical grievances are not only unfair: they’re unconstitutional and divisive,” Babin said as he announced the legislation, which would strip federal funding from states and localities that pass reparations bills. “Our nation should focus on policies that promote economic opportunity for all, not government handouts based on ancestry.”

Rep. Summer Lee

Democrat Reintroduces Reparations Bill That Could Cost More Than Annual U.S. Budget

Ayanna Pressley

Congress

Cori Bush

Reparations

Slavery

Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis made Florida the second state to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-becomes-second-state-ban-fluoride-public-water-rcna205127">ban fluoride</a> in public water, following Utah, which banned it earlier this month.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed <a href="https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/700/?Tab=BillHistory">SB 700</a>, which prohibits “the use of certain additives in a water system which do not meet specified requirements.” The law goes into effect July 1.
“There&#8217;s risks associated for pregnant women, for young people, for kids,” DeSantis <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM_PLtZJ08I">said</a> as he signed the bill. “Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that&#8217;s fine, but forcing it into the water supply is basically forced medication on people. They don&#8217;t have a choice; you&#8217;re taking that away from them.”
“It raises a larger issue,” he continued. “I think we saw a lot of this with COVID, that we had to fight back against. They had certain views: you should wear a mask when you&#8217;re outside in 95-degree temperatures, (no, thank you) but that&#8217;s what they were saying, that kids should get a COVID mRNA shot even though we still don&#8217;t have data to this day to justify doing that.”
“They tried to push a lot of policies on people,” he recalled. “I think some of these people think that they know better for you than you do for yourself. They think because they have medical training or they have this that they should just be able to decree how we live our lives. That proved disastrous during COVID. A lot of the things they were advocating not only didn&#8217;t work, they caused a lot of harm.  &#8230; When we made sure that the schools were open, I got sued by the teachers’ union, saying ‘close the schools’ &#8230; Fauci was saying, ‘This is irresponsible.’ &#8230; They had these kids locked out for a year to a year-and-a-half &#8230; so we fought back against it.”
“I think fluoride is a good example because what they&#8217;re basically saying is that they&#8217;re ignoring any studies that have shown that there could be issues,” he contended. “They say. ‘Well, it&#8217;s good for your teeth so we should just force it.’”
“And you shouldn&#8217;t have a choice in that?” he asked incredulously. “We certainly now in our society in 2025 have the ability to deliver fluoride through toothpaste and all these other things. You don&#8217;t get to force it and take away people&#8217;s choices. The whole crux of the issue is you should be able to make decisions on the basis of informed consent.”
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Utah banned fluoride in public water in 2023. Utah banned it in May of 2025.

Governor DeSantis And ICE Announce Largest Joint Immigration Enforcement Operation In Florida History

‘It Raises Larger Issues’: DeSantis Bans Fluoride In Florida Water

Drinking Water

Florida

Fluoride

Ron DeSantis

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday called on cities to ban homeless encampments from public property, using billions in state funding as leverage.
The guidance from Newsom, an early contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, would prohibit people from placing tents on public property, including sidewalks, parks, and bike paths, while also banning individuals from sleeping on streets with sleeping bags or blankets for more than three consecutive days.
&#8220;There&#8217;s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets. Local leaders asked for resources — we delivered the largest state investment in history. They asked for legal clarity — the courts delivered,&#8221; Newsom <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/05/12/us-news/newsom-calls-to-ban-homeless-encampments-on-public-property/">said</a> in a statement, per the New York Post.
Enabled by last year&#8217;s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/28/us/politics/supreme-court-homelessness.html">ruling</a> that upheld an Oregon law banning camping on public property, the guidance represents a notable shift in Newsom&#8217;s approach to managing homelessness.
&#8220;Now, we&#8217;re giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care. The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses.&#8221;
However, Newsom&#8217;s ordinance specifies that no one &#8220;should face criminal punishment for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go,&#8221; and further requires city officials to &#8220;make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter&#8221; and services to encampment residents.
Newsom is unable to compel municipalities to implement the ban, but he has pledged approximately $3.3 billion in state funding to cities that adopt his guidance.
The model ordinance would allow for enforcement that officials hope could begin to reshape California&#8217;s urban landscape without running afoul of legal precedent, encouraged by California voters approving a Newsom-backed measure imposing strict requirements on counties to spend on housing and drug treatment programs to address homelessness.
A 2024 statewide audit <a href="https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/04/california-homelessness-spending/">found</a> that Newsom’s government had spent $24 billion to address homelessness since 2019, only for the state to have a record homeless <a href="https://www.ppic.org/blog/homelessness-hits-record-high-in-california-jumps-dramatically-in-rest-of-us/">population</a> of 187,000, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
Newsom&#8217;s rightward shift on homelessness has faced backlash from many progressives in the lead-up to the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, with the progressive Current Affairs magazine deeming Newsom &#8220;not a progressive.&#8221;
<div class="css-175oi2r">
<div class="css-175oi2r r-1s2bzr4">
<div id="id__nyh2uch1rqd" class="css-146c3p1 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-37j5jr r-1inkyih r-16dba41 r-bnwqim r-135wba7" dir="auto" lang="en" data-testid="tweetText">&#8220;Gavin Newsom isn’t fighting homelessness, he’s fighting homeless people. Banning encampments won’t fix the housing crisis, but it will make life more miserable for those with nowhere to go,&#8221; the magazine <a href="https://x.com/curaffairs/status/1921959173295591437">wrote</a> on X.</div>
</div>
</div>

California Governor Newsom Announces New Funding For Los Angeles Communities Affected By Wildfires

Newsom Calls On Cities To Clear Homeless Encampments Ahead Of 2028

Gavin Newsom

Homelessness

Los Angeles

San Francisco

Author J.K. Rowling announced in a Saturday X post that she may have found the most &#8220;bat-s*** gender identity argument&#8221; yet, noting that the latest gem she&#8217;d come across had brought the Catholic Church into the discussion.
Rowling&#8217;s efforts to stand for women&#8217;s sex-based rights and private spaces have provoked ire from the radical trans activist crowd — they&#8217;ve labeled her a Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) — and they often target her on social media with the latest arguments aimed at shaming her into agreeing with them.
The attacks are so constant that Rowling doesn&#8217;t often appear to be shocked by them — she even said once that she&#8217;d gotten so many death threats that she could paper her house with them — but she admitted on Saturday that the latest one was new to her.
&#8220;You think you’ve heard the last word in bat-s*** gender identity arguments and then you see a post saying that using the new Pope’s title instead of his birth name is exactly the same as accepting that a man is a woman if he says he is,&#8221; Rowling said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
You think you’ve heard the last word in batshit gender identity arguments and then you see a post saying that using the new Pope’s title instead of his birth name is exactly the same as accepting that a man is a woman if he says he is. <a href="https://t.co/vJRSUw29dO">pic.twitter.com/vJRSUw29dO</a>
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1921238199197733149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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When the conclave concluded on May 8, and the Vatican announced that Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago would become Pope Leo XIV, X was flooded with activists who complained that Catholics everywhere seemed to have no objection to addressing the pontiff by his new &#8220;chosen&#8221; name, but had a problem with doing the same for those who choose new names or pronouns because they identify as transgender.
A few critics other than Rowling pushed back as well, some of them noting that Prevost had not simply &#8220;self-identified&#8221; as Leo XIV to become the Pope.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald” UK Premiere – Red Carpet Arrivals

JK Rowling Says She’s Found The Most ‘Bat-S*** Gender Identity’ Argument Yet

JK Rowling Says She's Found The Most 'Bat-S*** Gender Identity' Argument Yet

Gender Identity

gender ideology

Gender Pronouns

JK Rowling

Pope Leo

The Trump administration is suspending all U.S. Interior Department grants to Maine, due to discriminatory sex-based quotas from the state&#8217;s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
The move follows the Trump administration&#8217;s decision to freeze other federal dollars in the state over investigations into <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-unleashes-on-maine-announces-new-lawsuit-against-state-for-violating-title-ix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democrat Gov. Janet Mills&#8217; refusal to protect girls&#8217; sports</a>, in apparent violation of Title IX rules.
“The MDIFW’s policy discriminates in the composition of hiring panels by requiring a quota based on sex,” a letter from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director Paul Souza to MDIFW Commissioner Judy Camuso said, as first <a href="https://www.themainewire.com/2025/05/trump-admin-freezes-maine-wildlife-agencys-funds-over-sex-based-hiring-policy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by The Maine Wire.
The letter, dated Thursday, told Camuso that all federal grant funding to MDIFW will stop by May 15.
“Accordingly, MDIFW is not in compliance with 20 U.S.C. § 1681 which prohibits discrimination based on sex and is therefore also out of compliance with 2 C.F.R. Part 200,” Souza wrote. “The Department has therefore given this notice that MDIFW is out of compliance with applicable law. However, MDIFW has an opportunity to comply with applicable Federal law before further action is taken.”
The MDIFW policy in question forces hiring panels in the department to have half of its members be women.
“All hiring panels assembled for the review and selection of IFW employees will be comprised of 50% women,&#8221; the state&#8217;s website reads. &#8220;In the event there is an uneven number of panelists, organizers shall make every effort to include more women.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Trump Admin has informed Maine&#8217;s wildlife commissioner that it will suspend all Interior Dept. grants next week unless the state ends a sex-based quota policy for hiring.
Here&#8217;s the policy: <a href="https://t.co/zkG3pYdSqO">pic.twitter.com/zkG3pYdSqO</a>
— Steve Robinson (@BigSteve207) <a href="https://twitter.com/BigSteve207/status/1920985364061155747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
Maine-based investigative reporter and The Maine Wire Editor-in-Chief Steve Robinson noted that Camuso is the first female commissioner of the agency, and more than doubled her salary since 2018 while working for the Maine government.
&#8220;Judy Camuso, the first female commissioner of DIFW, went from making $102,352.88/year as Director of the Bureau of Wildlife in 2018 to $207,807.84/year as DIFW Commissioner, according to state payroll records,&#8221; Robinson said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none">
Judy Camuso, the first female commissioner of DIFW, went from making $102,352.88/year as Director of the Bureau of Wildlife in 2018 to $207,807.84/year as DIFW Commissioner, according to state payroll records.
— Steve Robinson (@BigSteve207) <a href="https://twitter.com/BigSteve207/status/1920985758015316240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
Back in February, Gov. Mills got into a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-spars-with-maines-dem-governor-over-men-in-womens-sports-at-white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public spat with President Trump</a> when she refused to comply with the president’s order barring males from girls’ sports, <a href="https://x.com/TheMaineWire/status/1904334942999363625" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arguing</a> that she was following state law. The battle was sparked over males in the state of Maine taking away trophies and opportunities from young women, as reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boy-wins-girls-pole-vault-championship-in-maine-days-after-state-pledged-to-defy-trump-order" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>.
The state has since had federal dollars frozen and, last month, Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bondi-unleashes-on-maine-announces-new-lawsuit-against-state-for-violating-title-ix" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced a civil lawsuit</a> against Maine over the trans sports policies.
A copy of the lawsuit, which was obtained by Daily Wire reporter Mary Margaret Olohan, says the United States is suing Maine over its Department of Education “openly and defiantly flouting federal anti-discrimination law by enforcing policies that require girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions designed exclusively for girls.”
The suit is seeking to get Maine to stop its noncompliance with federal law and also seeks to grant females who were passed over by males their appropriate awards.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/f-fascism-maine-teacher-calls-for-murder-of-trump-supporters-top-officials-in-unhinged-rants?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘F***+Fascism’%3A+Maine+Teacher+Calls+For+Murder+Of+Trump+Supporters%2C+Top+Officials+In+Unhinged+Rants" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘F*** Fascism’: Maine Teacher Calls For Murder Of Trump Supporters, Top Officials In Unhinged Rants</a>

MixCollage-26-Mar-2025-01-37-PM-9289

Trump Suspending More Maine Funds — This Time Over Discriminatory Quotas

Gender

Title IX

Trump Administration

I want to define cancel culture because I think people are equating many different things that are not cancel culture.
If you cancel or criticize someone, for example, that is not a legal ban on their behavior; that is social ostracization; sanction for behavior or opinion. Not legal sanction, not banning people, not trying to jail people, just people not wanting to hang out with you.
Cancellation can range from people criticizing you to people wanting to not hang out with you, to people firing you, to people deciding no one can hire you. It’s a whole range of activity.
There are basically three generalized perspectives on cancel culture. 
One: Any violation of any taboo ought to be treated with the harshest possible measure of cancellation, ruining people&#8217;s lives for any level of rhetorical transgression. 
Two: No one should ever be canceled for any reason. So no criticism, no social ostracization, no calling out, nothing. You can say whatever you want and there will be no consequences.
Three: the more moderate, complex and true perspective, which is that some behaviors or opinions are genuinely disgusting and should receive social sanction and other behavior should not. The level of forgiveness and social sanction ought to vary, because you might be talking about whether you want to have dinner with somebody or you might be talking about whether someone should be able to hold a job — which is much, much harsher — or you might be talking about whether or not you want somebody in your school.
The problem with the first perspective is that it is censorious. It prevents useful conversations from happening. It&#8217;s unforgiving, it&#8217;s uncharitable. For roughly 20 years in this country we saw people being canceled, socially ostracized, losing jobs, losing career opportunities, or being destroyed for correct opinions such as “Men are not women” or for saying a word in Mandarin that sounded like the N-word. Social media mobs were activated in order to destroy people who violated any taboo. The lines were bright, and if you crossed the line, you were destroyed.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2194-member-exclusive?elementPosition=2&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
This led to a reactionary response, which moved to perspective number two, that cancellation should never happen. No criticism, no social sanction, that criticism is never, ever the answer, which is where we are now.
The problem with this perspective is that if there is never any social sanction or criticism or ostracization for bad behavior or terrible opinion, that&#8217;s moral relativism, in which the ugliest opinions and expressions are supposed to be given equal credibility with decent or even controversial but useful opinions.
The real answer in a normal society would be number three: Sometimes people deserve the social consequences for what they do. Not always, but sometimes. And the social consequences can vary. They aren&#8217;t irrevocable. In certain circumstances, forgiveness could be possible.
For example, in the normal world, you don&#8217;t have a duty as a business owner to hire or to have dinner with someone who shouts the N-word at children or who says that white people are colonizers and evil.
But in that normal world, it would be a bad thing to do to post that person&#8217;s address online so people can go to their house and harass them.
In the real world, you have every right to avoid buying a Bud Light because the company claimed that men can be women. Or you don&#8217;t want to engage with a company that says the police are systemically racist.
But you also shouldn&#8217;t go to the home of the CEO and threaten to burn down his house.
The informal standards of the social fabric used to work well because most issues remained personal. But social media has made everything worse because now there&#8217;s always a mob waiting to form.
That’s all social media is: a mob waiting to form around an issue, just like white blood cells in your immune system waiting for something to attack.
Mobs form to destroy people. And so we are all forced to decide on the spot whether we think a person is bad or good, hero or villain, deserving of shame or support.
The biggest issue is that we have lost the boundaries of what is informal or acceptable debate. We&#8217;re descending into a world of either total cancellation for everyone with whom we disagree or total support for bad behavior in order to fight total cancellation.
Here’s the point: these two perspectives are mutually reinforcing. The moral relativism of “There should be no social consequences or criticism for anything” leads people who don&#8217;t like the stuff that&#8217;s being said to call for more social consequences, which leads to more reactionary moral relativism, which leads to more social consequences, and back and forth until the end of time.
We should totally oppose obviously inappropriate cancellation; we should allow forgiveness where appropriate. People should ask for forgiveness and we should give it to them.
The bottom line is that if we are going to share a society together, a social fabric does require a more nuanced view of how we treat the things that we don&#8217;t like. And that nuanced view can&#8217;t just be “cancel everyone” or “cancel no one.”
As our common moral standards degrade, our society is going to continue to fall apart through a sort of reactionary cycling between the “cancel everyone” side and the “cancel no one” side.
Unless we find a better way to communicate.

Cancel culture, words in city and social media opinion, silence freedom of speech and message. Text, censorship and mockup with overlay, call out or banner internet for online bullying in society

Between Mob Justice And Moral Relativism: Rethinking Cancel Culture

Ben Shapiro

Blacks

Cancel Culture

Opinion

Racism

Social Media

White Supremacy

USA Fencing Chairman Damien Lehfeldt appeared to throw up a middle finger in a social media post ahead of a congressional hearing where he was to be questioned on keeping men out of women&#8217;s sports.
On Instagram, Lehfeldt posted a photo of himself showing his middle finger extended with the caption, &#8220;Game day.&#8221; The post was highlighted by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, which posted screenshots.
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🚨 OUTRAGEOUS: <a href="https://twitter.com/USAFencing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USAFencing</a> Chair Damien Lehfeldt appears to give the middle finger this morning ahead of a Congressional hearing on the mistreatment of female fencers like Stephanie Turner—who took a knee to protest facing a male opponent and has since left the sport.
Unclear if… <a href="https://t.co/n4ELk2T4ue">pic.twitter.com/n4ELk2T4ue</a>
&mdash; ICONS (@icons_women) <a href="https://twitter.com/icons_women/status/1920144020506095987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Damien Lehfeldt, chair of the <a href="https://twitter.com/USAFencing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USAFencing</a> Board of Directors, was subpoenaed to attend today’s <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGECommittee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DOGECommittee</a> hearing on saving women’s sports.
🚨 Damien is openly anti-woman. 🚨
Just look at some of the awful &amp; disgusting things he’s said on social media in response to women… <a href="https://t.co/tOmHOVKvRA">pic.twitter.com/tOmHOVKvRA</a>
&mdash; Independent Women&#39;s Forum (@IWF) <a href="https://twitter.com/IWF/status/1920120237615112442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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It is unclear whether the USA Fencing chairman&#8217;s gesture was intended to be profane, and if so, whether it was directed at female athletes who object to competing with men or Republican lawmakers on the Oversight Committee.
Lehfeldt clarified later that he, for whatever reason, cropped his other finger out of the photo posted to Instagram. The uncropped photo <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/usa-fencing-clarifies-chairmans-photo-which-caused-frenzy-before-hearing">shared</a> with Fox News showed Lehfeldt holding up two fingers.
Lehfeldt was subpoenaed to <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/unfair-play-keeping-men-out-of-womens-sports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appear</a> before the House Oversight Committee&#8217;s DOGE subcommittee Wednesday afternoon.
Also testifying was Stephanie Turner, a female fencer who was disqualified from a Maryland tournament in March for taking a knee and refusing to compete against a trans-identifying male opponent. She ultimately stepped away from fencing altogether.
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🤺🚨Historic Protest: Female Fencer Takes a Knee in Bout Against Male Opponent, Faces Immediate Disqualification
After receiving a black card for refusing to compete against a man, Redmond Sullivan&#39;s female opponent was expelled from the <a href="https://twitter.com/USAFencing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USAFencing</a> event at the Univ. of… <a href="https://t.co/IloSnrb2Iu">pic.twitter.com/IloSnrb2Iu</a>
&mdash; ICONS (@icons_women) <a href="https://twitter.com/icons_women/status/1907487751664247154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“I want to thank God for trusting me with this mission to fight for female exclusive sports and putting me in a place to effectively protest,” Turner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/female-fencer-speaks-out-after-shes-expelled-for-protesting-male-opponent" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Daily Wire at the time.
Previously, Lehfeldt has repeatedly posted in support of trans-identifying males competing in women&#8217;s fencing.
When a social media follower asked him, &#8220;Are you okay with cis females being at a disadvantage?&#8221; Lehfeldt responded simply, &#8220;Yeah.&#8221;
In an article on his blog, The Fencing Coach, Lehfeldt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/usa-fencing-chairs-pro-trans-manifesto-surfaces-after-woman-dqed-for-refusing-to-fence-male" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> “transgender women are women” and lectured female athletes that giving trans-identifying male athletes &#8220;a sense of belonging and a will to live is more powerful than medals and competitive glory.&#8221;
The USA Fencing chairman also appears to have posted his email response to a woman who criticized allowing trans-identifying men in women&#8217;s fencing, going on a bizarre rant to the woman, named Dorothy, in which he referenced &#8220;The Wizard of Oz&#8221; and told her the only wizard who could help her is &#8220;of the grand wizard variety.&#8221;
Payton McNabb, a former high school volleyball player who was seriously injured when a trans-identifying volleyball player spiked a ball at her head, also testified during Wednesday&#8217;s hearing.
Last month, USA Fencing said it might have to change its policy to bar trans-identifying males from women&#8217;s fencing.
&#8220;In the event that USA Fencing is guided to change its current stance in accordance with oversight bodies or federal legislation, the new policy states athletes competing in USA Fencing-sanctioned tournaments must compete according to their biological sex,&#8221; the organization <a href="https://www.usafencing.org/news/2025/april/18/usa-fencing-board-prepares-for-potential-changes-from-governing-bodies-on-transgender-and-non-binary-athlete-eligibility-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
&#8220;The policy will be implemented only if and when one or more governing bodies require these updates,&#8221; USA Fencing added.

Fencing – Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 6

Embattled USA Fencing Chairman Seems To Throw Up Middle Finger Online Before Women’s Sports Hearing

USA Fencing Chairman Appears To Throw Up Middle Finger On Social Media Before Women's Sports Hearing

Sports

“Harry Potter” author JK Rowling said that even if she had the authority to have an actor removed from the upcoming HBO television series based on her best-selling books, she would not do it over ideological differences.
“I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did,” the billionaire author <a href="https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1919358232629297559">wrote</a> on X in response to an article about Paapa Essiedu supporting rights for people who identify as transgender. “I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”
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I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine. <a href="https://t.co/nKcAl3gcvO">pic.twitter.com/nKcAl3gcvO</a>
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1919358232629297559?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Several celebrities from “Harry Potter” projects, both past and present, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harry-potter-stars-sign-letter-supporting-trans-rights-as-jk-rowling-celebrates-u-k-court-ruling">signed</a> an open letter declaring their belief that the historic Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruling that the definition of a woman is determined by biological sex was wrong.
Eddie Redmayne, star of the spin-off prequel franchise “Fantastic Beasts,” signed the letter, as did Essiedu, who will portray Severus Snape in the upcoming HBO series. Katie Leung, an actress from the original films, also added her name.
“We the undersigned film and television professionals stand in solidarity with the trans, nonbinary and intersex communities who have been impacted by the Supreme Court ruling on April 16,” the open letter says.
“We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary and intersex people living in the UK,” it said. “Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds. This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.”
On Saturday, Rowling had reacted to the open letter with another X <a href="https://x.com/jk_rowling/status/1918747065460420745">post</a>. “In light of recent open letters from academia and the arts criticising the UK’s Supreme Court ruling on sex-based rights, it’s possibly worth remembering that nobody sane believes, or has ever believed, that humans can change sex, or that binary sex isn’t a material fact,” the author wrote.
&#8220;History is littered with the debris of irrational and harmful belief systems that once seemed unassailable,&#8221; she continued in the lengthy post. &#8220;As Orwell said, &#8216;Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them.&#8217; Gender ideology may have embedded itself deeply into our institutions, where it&#8217;s been imposed, top-down, on the supposedly unenlightened, but it is not invulnerable.&#8221;
&#8220;I wonder if they ever ask themselves how they got here, and I wonder whether any of them will ever feel shame,&#8221; she concluded.
Rowling has been an outspoken critic of radical left-wing gender theory for years. She has refused to back down even as critics came after her, and she’s lost fans because of it.
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In light of recent open letters from academia and the arts criticising the UK&#39;s Supreme Court ruling on sex-based rights, it&#39;s possibly worth remembering that nobody sane believes, or has ever believed, that humans can change sex, or that binary sex isn&#39;t a material fact. These…
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1918747065460420745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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JK Rowling Said She ‘Wouldn’t Fire’ Actor From ‘Harry Potter’ Series For Being Pro-Trans

JK Rowling Said She 'Wouldn't Fire' Actor From 'Harry Potter' Show For Being Pro-Trans

Harry Potter

nonbinary

Television

World

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