aatm shakti

Democratic socialist Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, who recently won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, blasted the idea of restricting children’s access to drag shows, and called such entertainment "wholesome" during an interview in August.

During a sit-down with Nixon on the "Legal AF" podcast, Melba Pearson, a criminal law expert and civil rights advocate, appeared to conflate Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, which concerns children’s education, with the Protection of Children Act that restricts minors' access to drag shows.

"I believe it was today or yesterday, the appeals court upheld that, the law that basically we call ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ that the biggest provision that everybody’s most familiar with is that it makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to be at a drag show," Melba said. "So basically it’s criminalizing drag in a lot of ways, right? And so, you know, in seeing that, what does that tell you and how can you translate that into policy, you know, when you get to D.C.?"

"Yeah, for sure. What that is telling me is that there’s an attack on an 'othering' of people who don’t look like Donald Trump. Like, right?" Nixon said. "Like, it is just an attack on marginalized communities. They want to create this country that looks a certain way, that acts a certain way, that believes a certain way. And it’s frustrating."

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT CLEARS WAY FOR DESANTIS-BACKED LAW RESTRICTING CHILDREN AT SOME DRAG SHOWS

She went on to defend drag shows as "wholesome entertainment," saying she has taken her own children to shows.

"I don’t understand, like, there’s no sexualization at a drag show! It’s just people dressing up and singing and performing! I’ve taken my children to drag shows, and it’s fun! It’s entertainment," she said. "It’s wholesome entertainment and it’s nothing wrong. It’s just like, I don’t get it."

Theo Wold, former assistant attorney general and former White House deputy assistant for domestic policy under President Donald Trump, told Fox News Digital that Nixon's statement was inaccurate.

"Drag has always been sexualized entertainment — that’s why it originated in bars and nightclubs in front of adult audiences. On one hand, DSA candidates like Rashida Tlaib endorsed Angie Nixon, want to Islamify America by opening our borders, and electing radical Muslim clerics to high office, especially our courts; on the other hand, they want to bring drag performers to kids," he said.

"It doesn’t make sense until you understand their larger project, which is to destabilize Western civilization — whether by undermining our legal regime or by destabilizing the nuclear family," he said.

SENATE HOPEFUL SAYS TEXAS HOME TO THE 'BEST DRAG QUEENS IN THE NATION' IN RESURFACED COMMENTS

Curtis Houck, the managing editor of the NewsBusters division of the Media Research Center, suggested that certain news networks will desperately try to avoid covering Nixon's comments.

"Needless to say, it's doubtful this will be a comment that's played on the regular across the liberal, elitist networks like ABC or CNN in the months to come as proof she's outside the mainstream," Houck said.

"It's a completely cockamamie claim that, if the so-called fact-checkers like Politifact were honest brokers, they would have already penned an item with a pants-on-fire rating. The only thing that's ‘wholesome’ about drag shows is how wholly sexual they are. Even those who support that kind of thing should be able to acknowledge that. What a grotesque commentary on the left that someone like her would want young children to attend drag shows," Houck added.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Founder of Gays Against Groomers, Jaimee Michell, condemned Nixon's statements of drag shows being wholesome family events as "dangerous" lies.

"Angie Nixon’s comments are a lie, and a dangerous one," Michell told Fox News Digital.

"There is no shortage of video of drag performers in pasties, thongs, or barely-there costumes grinding, twerking, and simulating sex in front of children — including babies and toddlers — while those kids are encouraged to stuff dollar bills into their outfits. That is not 'people dressing up and singing.' That is adult sexual performance. Calling it 'wholesome entertainment' is gaslighting," she said.

Michell also said that the practice of drag was inherently sexual and built on "exaggerated, hyper-sexualized parody of women."

"Nixon taking her own children to these shows does not make it wholesome. It makes her judgment a warning," she added. "Florida passed a law to keep minors out of lewd live performances for a reason. This is not about banning adults from performing. It is about whether we are going to keep pretending that exposing kids to nearly nude adults collecting tips is just 'fun.' It isn’t.

"Nixon is wrong, the footage proves it, and Florida voters already know it," Michell said.

Nixon, a progressive activist and DSA member, defeated establishment-backed candidate and retired Air Force officer Alexander Vindman by more than 10 percentage points despite Vindman’s $16.3 million campaign war chest, compared with Nixon’s roughly $1 million.

Nixon will now face Trump-backed Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., in November for the right to serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s Senate term.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/ONPLfdX

Another Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member just toppled the party establishment’s preferred candidate, this time in Florida.

Florida state lawmaker Angie Nixon, who recently disrupted a vote in the Florida Legislature with a bullhorn protest inside the state Capitol, defeated establishment-backed candidate Alexander Vindman. Nixon, a progressive activist and DSA member, defeated the retired Air Force officer by more than 10 percentage points despite Vindman’s $16.3 million campaign war chest, compared with Nixon’s roughly $1 million.

Nixon’s viral moment came in April when she took a bullhorn to a legislative fight, walking down the aisle and disrupting proceedings on the Florida House floor during final passage of a redistricting bill backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Dressed in a pink jumpsuit and carrying a pink megaphone, Nixon approached the House speaker's dais and shouted to fellow Florida representatives as the final vote was called. She shouted, "This is a violation of the Constitution! It is!"

SOCIALISTS CAPTURE MAJOR FLORIDA VICTORY ON HIT-OR-MISS NIGHT FOR TRUMP-ENDORSED PRIMARY CANDIDATES

Nixon continued shouting into the bullhorn for the entirety of the vote. She insisted, "What y’all are doing is illegal!" and "I will not allow you to destroy our democracy!" As she shouted, several colleagues could be seen filming her on their phones.

The protest did not stop the vote. While she continued shouting, "You are out of order!" and "This is a violation of the Constitution," the Florida House granted final approval of the redistricting bill in an 83-28 vote.

A month later, WUSF reported that Nixon was arrested after she refused to leave DeSantis’ office while protesting the redistricting measure. She was released shortly afterward.

WUSF previously reported that Nixon self-identified as a member of the DSA.

SHOCKING PERCENTAGE OF DEMOCRATS IDENTIFY AS 'DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS' ACCORDING TO NEW POLL: 'TOXIC POLICIES'

Nixon also publicly objected to resolutions honoring the late Charlie Kirk. In a September social media post, Nixon called it "BEYOND disrespectful" to honor Kirk because, as she wrote, "that man said some of the most hateful about [sic] Black People and cloaked it in scripture."

Nixon claimed that if someone supported honoring Kirk, "you are a tool of white supremacy." After his assassination, Nixon also claimed that Kirk was "homophobic, antisemitic, [and] misogynistic."

On her campaign website, Nixon vows to fight for what she calls a "working families guarantee," which she says includes Medicare for all, free childcare, a national rent freeze, a moratorium on evictions and a universal jobs program with inflation-adjusted wages. Her website says the government could pay for the programs by taxing billionaires "so that everyone pays their fair share" and by prioritizing "the needs of everyday Americans instead of spending trillions on war and violence overseas."

Nixon also advocates for "abolishing ICE and rebuilding immigration enforcement from scratch." Nixon has said, "I don’t believe any person is illegal, and I don’t believe human beings should be treated as commodities in a system built to punish rather than to heal."

On policing, Nixon has called for "demilitarizing policing and investing in community-based public safety, violence prevention and crisis response."

SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA

Nixon has also claimed that the U.S. has "fueled the genocide in Palestine."

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

Fox News Digital reached out to Nixon and the DSA for comment.

Fox News Digital's Peter D'Abrosca contributed to this report.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/qDCwRAm

Prime Minister Carney hailed "significant progress" in trade talks as the two countries seek to hammer out final details ahead of a new weekend tariff deadline.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/t48ejwv

The Trump administration has vowed to dismantle the international court "brick by brick".

from BBC News https://ift.tt/XPVTKlC

An American tourist was killed after being struck by lightning while hiking Sicily's Mount Etna, Europe's largest volcano, which was recently active, Italian firefighters said Monday.

The 29-year-old man from Kansas, whose name had not been released at the time of this reporting, was found at an altitude of 1,000 feet in the Rocca Capra area.

He was rescued by helicopter after he was struck Sunday night in a barren, exposed area. He was later pronounced dead by medical officials.

HIKER WHO SET OUT IN WARM SPRING WEATHER FOUND DEAD AFTER SNOWSTORM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE MOUNTAINS

Ash from the volcano forced the closure of Sicily's largest airport last week, impacting summer travelers during the busy travel season.

FAMOUS LANDMARKS SLASH VISITING HOURS AS DEADLY HEAT WAVE THREATENS TOURISTS

Planes were forced to be re-routed to other airports on the island.

More people have died on Etna from lightning strikes over recent decades than from volcanic activity, officials said. The last eruption-related fatalities were in 1987.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/dRFnEXS

US President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is seeking to gain Israeli backing for the US-backed Gaza peace plan.

from BBC News https://ift.tt/dVzHIJO

A study of over 135,000 adults found that a surprising number of individuals feel lonely often — and that some of the loneliest people live in urban areas, shocking the researchers. Not only that — but the COVID pandemic made it worse. 

Professors at Imperial College London conducted the study. They recruited a total of 135,725 volunteers aged 16 and older to complete an online survey in England throughout a five-month period in 2023.

Almost one in six adults reported feeling lonely "often or always" — and more than one in five people frequently felt a lack of companionship or had feelings of being left out or isolated, news agency SWNS reported.

WHEN IS A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS TOO SEVERE FOR TELEHEALTH? WARNING SIGNS FAMILIES SHOULDN'T IGNORE

The findings of the study, called INTERACT, surprised those involved.

When the researchers dug deeper into the data, they found that some of the loneliest people were clustered in urban environments and cities, including London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Austen El-Osta, Ph.D., public health researcher and study lead for INTERACT, said, "The key message is not simply that many people feel lonely, but that loneliness is strongly influenced by people’s surroundings, social network and their environment."

This reflected the "urban paradox" theory, the study said — where those in major cities that offer greater economic, cultural and social advantages often report lower life satisfaction, connectivity and happiness, compared to people in rural areas.

The team also found a significant lasting effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 44% of respondents said the pandemic increased their feelings of loneliness — while 48.2% reported increased feelings of isolation.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

Senior author of the study, Dr. Azeem Majeed of the National Health Service, said, "As an NHS GP, I see how loneliness affects both the mental and physical health of my patients. It contributes to problems such as anxiety and depression, increases the risk of long-term conditions, and often leads to more frequent GP consultations."

He said that "by strengthening community connections and social capital, we can help prevent loneliness and enable people to live healthier, happier and more connected lives."

Whether people were in relationships or not didn’t seem to impact their loneliness levels.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

The research found that 45% of respondents were married or in a civil partnership — while almost 20% were single.

El-Osta said, "Loneliness is often treated as a private experience, but our findings reinforce that it is also a public health and community issue."

He added that "public health responses need to look beyond individual resilience and consider the environments, services and community assets that help people feel connected, supported and able to participate."

The team believes that this is "one of the world’s largest dedicated studies of loneliness and the largest of its kind conducted in a single country," according to Imperial College London. 

The group also cautioned that while the findings offer an important snapshot, "the study cannot be used to estimate the scale of the problem at the population level."

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

In addition, the researchers noted several limitations of their study, including that it overrepresented highly educated individuals and underrepresented minority ethnic groups. 

They also highlighted the "inherent self-selection bias of this type of online survey, where those more interested or affected by an issue are more likely to take part." 

Recently, another study found that feeling lonely may take a toll on older adults' memory — though it may not speed up cognitive decline.

Researchers from Colombia, Spain and Sweden analyzed data from more than 10,000 adults ages 65 to 94 across 12 European countries. 

They found those who reported higher levels of loneliness did worse on memory tests at the start of the study, according to research published in the spring in the journal Aging & Mental Health.

The researchers also suggested that screening for loneliness be incorporated into routine cognitive assessments as one way to support healthy aging.

Deirdre Bardolf of Fox News Digital contributed reporting. 

from Latest & Breaking News on Fox News https://ift.tt/NwXcdPo