The districts superintendent debunked the rumor in a scathing email. It is pushing model legislation to states that would radically alter how elections are handled. (The organization does not release the names of its donors.). The Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow took to Facebook to deny the claims. Roberts, the furry expert, said the furry community can act as a safe home for young people who might be jeopardized by efforts to ban school books about autism and LGBT issues (like Central York schools did earlier this year). The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be catastrophic not only to our health - mental and physical - but also to the stability of millions of people. Social media users are sharing a video of a Midland Public Schools board of education meeting in Michigan where a community member claimed that litter boxes were . Bendor appeared concerned about Cochise Countys proposal, though, because of the lack of clarity around just how much authority supervisors were giving Stevens perhaps including establishing voting locations, appointing workers, approving ballot contests, and finalizing results. Furries don't identify as animals; they identify with animals. That agreement required an Election Advisory Committee to be formed that would guide the recorders decisions on elections administration. 2. Thats when a local news story about a Pittsburgh furry convention led to unfounded speculation that hotel staff would have to clean up convention-goers poop. The legal nonprofit once sided with a Wisconsin pharmacist who refused to fill a birth control prescription on religious grounds. Throughout the struggle, he had a key ally from Chicago: attorney Tom Brejcha, president of the Thomas More Society. Counties arent prevented from doing what they think is right, Fontes said. Furries are fans of animals that have human characteristics, such as talking or walking on their hind legs. Through its efforts, the Thomas More Society raised its profile in Republican circles and broadened its appeal beyond its foremost cause of outlawing nearly all abortions. He brought it to us. The Meade County School district is dealing with an unusual situation: a group of high school students is attending school acting like and dressing as cats. Ganahl is the latest in a string of Republican candidates nationwide to condemn furries. It says that he will have the ability to appoint the permanent elections director. In the 2020 webinar, Brejcha described the societys crossover into election lawyering as a natural progression of its work opposing what it considers government abuse of religious freedom, such as the forced closing of churches during COVID-19 lockdowns. 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. The Election Transparency Initiative is a project, in part, of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which works to elect anti-abortion lawmakers. It seemed to me like it was a backlash against some of the progressive things that our schools are doing, director Norbert Carpenter told the CBC, and we would have many that would say this is rooted in hate and transphobia and homophobia and that message needs to be clear, its not acceptable.. But it was in Michigans Midland school district, not Central York, that the claims finally caught fire. But the rumor metastasized in other states, especially when picked up by conservative voices. Will artificial intelligence overthrow its capitalist overlords? He insisted that no 'litter box accommodation' had been made for any students identifying as furries. Contributions to the Thomas More Society jumped 82% between 2019 and 2020 to nearly $17.4 million, financial documents filed with the IRS show. After the mid-January meeting ended, McMillan said she saw the group corner a local father in a hallway. Jan. 6 committee records show Kline asked those willing to sign the letter to reply to a woman who worked for a communications firm founded by Mark Serrano, a paid consultant to Trumps 2020 campaign. 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. Much of Gablemans final report, released in March 2022, echoed the societys assertions about private election grants and one of its other chief concerns: the validity of some votes from nursing homes. Kids who identify as furries get a litter box in the school bathroom, Maddock wrote on Facebook. Then came Trump and an obsession among his followers with proving that he lost due to election fraud, and a new mission emerged. But that doesnt mean he agrees with the decision, he said. The initiative, established in early 2021, targeted federal voter rights legislation for defeat. One of its strategists, Phill Kline, tried to convince state legislatures in swing states to hold off on certifying Joe Bidens electors, a maneuver that drew the notice of the House Jan. 6 committee. 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. So, of course, furries should be allowed into school because there is nothing necessarily wrong with it. It's frustrating that it turned political rather than what's best for the kids at school.". The Ruling. The societys election integrity initiative is now headed by its Executive Vice President Thomas Olp. He said he believes its important to point out the historical perspective that numerous counties have made the decision to transfer duties to the recorder in the past. Whether were calling them furries or members of the kin community, I truly do not understand the appeal and I never will. Said Mark Thomsen: My overall sense is they filed things that were redundant and repetitive and served no legitimate purpose, in my mind, other than trying to wear down the staff and waste precious resources.. Amongst other things, the professors faulted Ladapo for misuse of statistics and cherry-picking his data. These characters are often created by the community members themselves, who take them on as a "fursona" (an alternate persona) who interacts with other 'fursonas' in the community via roleplaying and art. Send it to The Daily Beasthere. It is set to end on Dec. 31, 2024, just after the November 2024 presidential election. Its not accusatory enough. This was the same project that generated the investigation into potential data falsification. He was getting agitated overwhelming frustrated. After a closed session to discuss the letter, Judd said she didnt see a problem going ahead. ", Edwards says she wants school administrations to issue a public statement that sets the record straight, saying parents and kids deserve that, "I will continue making waves, I will continue going to his principal, I will continue contacting Jefferson County until they acknowledge that it's happening and they need to address it.". OFurr, who has traced the origins of the litter box urban legend, dates the hoax to at least 2008. In the same way that cosplayers typically don't believe they are actually Spiderman, furries don't think they are their fursonas . For all of us independent news organizations, its no exception. 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. Furries are a fandom, like anime, Star Trek or . Sixth grader Knox Zajac appeared at the school board meeting on February 15 to . So why are school boards attendees in a panic about supposed furries in the classroom? The claim is a local school district is putting litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify. But records and interviews show he played a prominent role, working largely behind the scenes, in attempting to stall the certification of Bidens victory. Blogs in Iowa and Idaho promoted the stories this fall, claiming that furry students were either being granted special litter boxes, or were being exempted from homework (cant grip pencil with paws). Asked whether his work regarding elections had any relationship to his moral objections to abortion, Kline said in an email to ProPublica, Only in the general sense that any unjustified disparate treatment under the law represents an assault on the inherent value of the individual.. The decision came after hours of impassioned public comment both for and against the plan. 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.. This is a very stereotypical belief about the furry community, and it still baffles me to think that this is a widely . NBC News agreed to keep their last names private due to their fear of. The Meade County School district is dealing with an unusual situation: a group of high school students is attending school acting like and dressing as cats. A furry might draw himself as a cartoon tiger, or dress up as a dragon at a convention for fellow enthusiasts. Those rumors appear to have resurfaced with the start of the 2021-2022 school year. Sharon E. Roberts, . Americans have been left raging after an 11-year-old boy found a sexually explicit book in his middle school library. Updated: Apr 27, 2022 / 02:11 PM CDT. or click here to become a subscriber. Amistad shared the results of its investigations and analysis with numerous organizations who requested it, including the media, Kline told ProPublica. Who cares? Media and internet exposure also drive VAERS reporting. And maybe let the kids wear hats in class too. The Board of Supervisors for the southern Arizona county voted 2-1 on Tuesday afternoon to transfer the boards election oversight to Stevens, giving up their statutorily-prescribed control over the appointment of the countys elections director, Election Day procedures, ballot counting and presentation of election results. READ MORE: Sad: Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for attempting to get Adam Kinzinger booted from his committees, In York County, Pennsylvania, for example, Facebook rumors began swirling around among conservative locals warning that furries "could be in your childs classroom hissing at your child and licking themselves.". With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the fight over abortion is increasingly playing out at the state level and local elections for legislators and judges have taken on added weight. Republican politicians should probably heed that same rule of thumb when it comes to tales of kids identifying as furries. Theyre allowed to wear leashes and collars and tails and they just bark but God forbid a kid wears a Trump hat to school; theyre told to take that off immediately. (Most schools dont allow hats.). March 8, 2022 A TikTok video of a mother at a school boarding meeting went viral in which she says she heard Michigan schools were providing litter boxes for furries students who identify. / CBS Colorado. Patterson is an Indiana State Teachers Association board member. As director of the election project for Thomas More, Kline couldnt argue the legal cases himself because of his ethical violations in Kansas, but he oversaw investigators and analysts, hired litigators and devised strategies. School districts in Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska have debunked claims that they. The grandmother said a petition to end the practice was created by students and has more than 1,000 signatures. Another topic many parents would like addressed are furries, a speaker said. READ MORE: The inherent racism of anti-vaxx movements. People who are furries are not like, I am my anthropomorphized character. Thats not what happens., Furries do not literally believe they are non-human animals, Roberts said. Its most well-known cause was the decades long defense of Joe Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League, against the National Organization for Women. Luke Macfarlane's Hallmark Channel Past Prepared Him for Gay Rom-Com 'Bros'. Cheerleader. But records do show Kline and the Trump camp communicated with each other. Furries allowed to defecate in schools : r/Maine r/Maine 1 yr. ago by Reaper_Survivel Furries allowed to defecate in schools So, my parents were saying that a school board in Skowhegan, or, doesn't really matter, had a meeting to allow kids who identify as furries to defecate and pee in school. Its a decades-old genre and, relative to other available subcultures, fairly wholesome. They were blocked by police. But it wasn't until Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl raised the issue in a radio interview - saying "kids are identifying as cats" - that it erupted in controversy. 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. The judge also expressed shock at the scope of the request to have numerous state and federal election laws declared unconstitutional and an injunction issued that would prevent Pence and Congress from ratifying the electoral votes in key battleground states. Others, repeating the unfounded claim that the countys vote-counting machines are insecure, said Stevens would bring more trust to the system and it would save the county money by not immediately appointing a new elections director. If you actually look at whos doing this, at some of the political groups getting involved, theyre all far right.. Then, people from another district said students are allowed to identify as dogs and wear dog collars. ", In another email, Deputy Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza says, "We have all received the emails about the furries in schools..", And in yet another email, Tara Pena, chief of family school and community partnerships, wonders, "If it [would be] helpful to mention that calling into question students dressing or "identifying" as furries is part of a larger, national political platform to further marginalize our transgender and lgbtq+ students. Jen Fifield is a reporter for Votebeat based in Arizona. The past year has been the most arduous of our lives. It provided a three-page memo, however, highlighting some of its strategic initiatives and stating: The core traditional values that the Thomas More Society fights to protect the right to life, family values, and religious liberty can be preserved only if elections are fair and secure.. A faculty committee convened by Ladapo's peers at the University of Florida condemned him for "careless, irregular, or contentious research practices.". The first notable instance of furry panic occurred when right-wing activists pushed a false claim about schools in Michigan placing litter boxes in bathrooms to allow furry students to use them, and the bogus rumors about furry infiltration into the public education system have only grown from there. On Jan. 2, 2021, Kline hosted a conference call with 300 state legislators in an attempt to disseminate purported evidence of election fraud, according to a subpoena issued to him by the Jan. 6 committee. Last week, someone identifying themselves only as an MCHS student started Change.org petition that has so far garnered almost 1,000 signatures, calling out Meade County School District for hypocrisy: Theyre demanding that the district nix their dress code policy against wearing hats if students are allowed to wear animal ears, tails, and leashes. READ MORE: The antivaxers' ghoulish exploitation of dead celebrities. This kit packs $431 worth of premium skincare and haircare into a small packageand it's only $80 with the promo code. Its culture war, its control, and its not about protecting kids, Patch OFurr, proprietor of the furry news site Dogpatch Press, told The Daily Beast. Both Dunn and Joe Strike, another furry historian and community member . Long before the Thomas More Society and Kline joined together on election law, they had a different kind of relationship. By Kristin Rushowy Queen's Park Bureau Sun., Oct. 30, 2022 timer 5 . Thats not to say furries arent in schools. Early in 2018, Trump had disbanded a controversial White House commission hed set up to investigate voter fraud after numerous state election agencies refused to supply requested voter information. How did your school find out, if ever? More recently, the Chicago-based organization has embraced a far different but equally divisive undertaking relentlessly questioning the integrity of elections. Republicans Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd voted yes, and Democrat Chairwoman Ann English voted no. Furries are people who have an active interest in animal characters with human characteristics. 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. While Arizona law splits election duties between the recorder and supervisors, many counties have given the recorder more authority over election procedures in the past, including Maricopa County for decades and, currently, Yuma County. Healthcare providers are required to report some adverse events, but compliance has historically been spotty. The legal machinations havent led to big victories in court so far, and in fact Thomas Mores efforts have sometimes drawn ridicule from the bench. The society and Kline no longer have a formal contract. This is a "hot" topic with 19,500 searches/month. In January 2022, for example, unfounded rumors were circulated on social media . Piano Sign Up. Theyre being allowed to growl and bark at their teachers. This is not the first time Ladapo has misused surveillance data to push governor Ron DeSantis's antivax agenda. Carpenter said children in schools express themselves in many ways, but the rumours of students . But the county more specifically noted that the supervisors technically retained their responsibilities for elections under state law, even if the recorder was running them. First published on October 31, 2022 / 3:15 PM. 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!' Within a 48-hour period this week, a federal court ruled that a school could not require children to use the bathroom that corresponds to their biological sex. The first notable instance of furry panic occurred when right-wing activists pushed a false claim about schools in Michigan placing litter boxes in bathrooms to allow furry students to use. not subtle. 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. Maine Furs is a group of furs living in the state of Maine, U.S.A., who operate a website for all furries living in or around Maine.. Stevens helped propel the full hand count against the legal advisement. The first notable instance of furry panic occurred when right-wing activists pushed a false claim about schools in Michigan placing litter boxes in bathrooms to allow furry students to use them, and the bogus rumors about furry infiltration into the public education system have only grown from there. 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. Its a space for creativity and play, young furries and their parents explainedand like any youth subculture (see: goths and MySpace queens of decades past) some of the allure is in furrydoms inscrutability to adults. Ive been very online for more than half my life, and Ive witnessed every possible expression of furrydom that one can imagine: the costumes, the fanart, the porn, the meetups, etc. Updated on: October 31, 2022 / 10:47 PM It's malpractice for a government agency to issue health directives based on VAERS data. The agreement approved Tuesday is only temporary. In late November 2020 in Michigan, which Biden won, Amistad attorney Ian Northon petitioned the state Supreme Court to take control of all ballots to allow for a constitutionally sound audit of lawful votes and give the state Legislature time to finish its constitutionally-mandated work to pick Michigans electors.. I think you have vilified the election process.. Klines is not one of them. 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