Tag: gender

Biggest Military Funding Bill Still Allows Promoting Soldiers By Race And Sex

Five months ago, in these pages I expressed concern that Congress was missing the opportunity to restore merit to the military personnel system. To accomplish that task I urged Congress to include a meritocracy provision in the 2026 NDAA that does four things: (1) require all military personnel actions to be based exclusively on merit; (2) forbid race and sex-based preferences; (3) provide for reasonable exceptions when mission success requires sex or race be considered; and (4) define key terms so idealogues in the Pentagon cannot manipulate the language to further their diversity agenda.

When the House and Senate passed their versions of the NDAA, it appeared that between the two chambers some progress toward establishing a merit-based personnel system was being made. When the compromise bill resolving the differences between the House and Senate version, S. 1017, was released last week, it was readily apparent that Congress had no intention of requiring merit principles to govern military personnel actions. To make matters worse, the drafters employed smoke and mirrors to put a merit-sounding title on a provision that just reinforces the Biden-era identity preference status quo.

What’s Not in the NDAA

The bill passed by the House had a provision that would have specifically forbidden the use of race or ethnicity in personnel actions except for certain special operations missions. It also required all personnel actions to be based “exclusively on individual merit, fitness, capability, and performance.”

While it did not address sex-based preferences, it did put Congress on the same page as the administration insofar as racial discrimination was concerned.

The initial Senate version, on the other hand, lacked any attempt to restore a meritocracy or to eliminate identity preferences. Had the final version negotiated between the House and the Senate accepted the House provision it would have been a big improvement. Instead, what we got was a provision that, when viewed in context, sends the unmistakable message that race and sex-based preferences are alive and well in the military personnel system.

Gaslighting on Merit

To appreciate the sleight of hand the Congress pulled off, one must look at how its members framed the issue. Section 525 of the final version of the bill is titled “Requirement of equal opportunity, racial neutrality, and exclusive use of merit in military personnel actions.” Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, it is the text of the legislation and not the title that is important. All this section does is add “command selection” to Section 529C of the 2024 NDAA so that the provision now reads, “MERIT REQUIREMENT. — A military accession, promotion, or command selection in the Department of Defense shall be based on individual merit and demonstrated performance.”

Note what this provision does not say. It does not say that personnel actions shall be exclusively based on merit and demonstrated performance. It does not say that racial and sex-based preferences shall not be applied in military personnel actions. It does not define “merit” and “demonstrated performance.” And it does not provide for reasonable and legitimate exceptions, such as assigning women to Female Engagement Teams and blacks to a special operations mission in Africa where the ability to blend in with the local population might be critical to mission success.

You may ask, “Why must Congress be so specific? The language seems straightforward, and a reasonable interpretation would not allow for discrimination or preferences.” When, however, ideologues get to interpret the statute, they will manipulate the language to further their ideological goals.

We know this because of what happened after President Biden signed the 2024 NDAA into law on December 22, 2023. From that point forward “military accession” and “promotion” were to be based on “individual merit and demonstrated performance.” Furthermore, “DOD Instruction 1350.02,” the Department of Defense (now called the Department of War under the Trump administration) policy on Equal Opportunity, required service members to be “evaluated only on individual merit, fitness, capability, and performance.” The statutory language and the department’s instruction would seem to make merit the standard. But things are not always as they seem.

Because neither the federal law nor the department’s policy specifically prohibited race and sex-based preferences and Congress did not define key terms, Pentagon ideologues continued with business as usual. Neither the 2024 NDAA provision nor the Department of War’s policy language contradicted the “diversity is a strategic imperative” mantra of the Biden Pentagon. Despite the language of the 2024 NDAA and the Pentagon policy, the senior leadership in the Pentagon and the Department of Justice argued in federal court that racial preferences were appropriate in granting admission to West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy. “Diversity is our strength,” they said.

In their interpretation of both the federal statutory law and Biden’s Defense Department policy, considering skin color to achieve diversity was part of the “merit” calculation. “Performance” was weighed not in relation to any objective standard, but relative to the amount of melanin in an applicant’sskin. When Congress fails to define key terms, ideologues can manipulate the language to achieve their goals. Clever lawyering can even convince federal judges to go along with the scam.

By adding “command selection” to a statute Department of War has already twisted to allow using racial preferences does not change anything. Furthermore, codifying the language of the DOW policy without defining the terms allows the DOW bureaucrats to supply their own definition.

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10 Major Laws Taking Effect In California In 2026

The new year is right around the corner, which means a new batch of laws will soon take effect.

From banning masks for law enforcement officers and requiring gender-neutral restrooms in schools, to enhancing artificial intelligence regulations and completely banning plastic bags in stores, here is an overview of some major laws Californians can expect next year or late this year.

Law Enforcement Masks

Senate Bill 627 will ban law enforcement officers at the local and federal levels from wearing a face mask when operating in the Golden State.

It also requires agencies to create policies limiting the use of facial coverings. According to the bill, face coverings excluded from this ban include clear face shields that don’t obscure the person’s facial identity, medical masks, motorcycle helmets, or masks necessary for underwater use.

The federal government had sued the state over this new rule, saying it threatens the safety of officers who could be harassed if their identities are known. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a Nov. 17 statement that “California’s anti-law enforcement policies discriminate against the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents.”

The mask ban is slated to take effect on July 1, 2026.

School Policies

Senate Bill 760 will require schools to provide at least one all-gender restroom available during school hours and school functions.

The bill allows schools to convert their existing restrooms to comply. The state will reimburse local agencies and school districts for the costs.

The new bathroom policy applies to both public and charter schools and will take effect on July 1, 2026.

Assembly Bill 495 will broaden who can approve school-related medical procedures.

Distant relatives and temporary legal guardians designated by a parent in a family court will be allowed to sign a child out of school and authorize medical care.

Supporters have said the move protects families that have been divided by deportation due to illegal immigration. But opponents said it could lead to kidnapping and child trafficking if someone other than the parents has authority over a student.

Taking effect Jan. 1, 2026, the law will also prohibit daycare providers from asking for or keeping immigration-related information about students or their parents.

AI Regulations

Senate Bill 243 will make California the first state to require safety regulations specifically targeting companion chatbots.

Chatbots are described by the Federal Trade Commission as artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can “effectively mimic human characteristics, emotions, and intentions, and generally are designed to communicate like a friend or confidant, which may prompt some users, especially children and teens, to trust and form relationships with chatbots.”

The new law requires a technology operator to make it clear and obvious to users that the chatbot is not a real human.

It also requires the operator to maintain a protocol for preventing the chatbot from producing content involving suicide or self-harm for the user. Details of the protocol need to be published on the operator’s website to comply with the new law.

The new chatbot regulations will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and chatbot operators will be required to submit annual reports on suicide-prevention protocols beginning on July 1, 2027.

Senate Bill 53 creates new regulations for frontier AI models, which include OpenAI’s GPT-4 and -5, Google’s Gemini, and xAI’s Grok.

Frontier AI models are defined as “a foundation model that was trained using a quantity of computing power greater than 10^26 integer or floating-point operations,” according to the bill.

Under the new law, large developers will have to publish their “frontier AI framework” explaining risk management practices, mitigation strategies, and evaluations by a third party. They will also be required to release transparency reports detailing risk assessments prior to introducing updated AI models. Non-compliance would result in up to $1 million in fines.

The new regulations will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

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Four-Decade Study in Denmark Shows Higher Suicide Rates Among Transgender People

A study in Denmark that spanned 40 years and included 6.6 million people found that those who identified as transgender have significantly higher rates of suicide and attempted suicide than others in the population. These results are similar to what research has found here, though the U.S. doesn’t collect the same level of data as Denmark which makes large-scale population studies like this impossible.

The Danish study included 3,759 people who identified as transgender. Among them, there were 92 suicide attempts and 12 suicides between 1980 and 2021. While these numbers seem small, they suggest that the rate of suicide attempts among those who identify as trans is 7.7 times higher than the rate of suicide attempts in the broader Danish population and the rate of suicide deaths is 3.5 times higher.

In addition, the researchers believe these numbers are an undercount because the records they used don’t always capture a person’s gender identity. The authors note that they only had data on gender identity for those who sought gender affirming care at a hospital or applied for a legal change of gender. Such data suggest that 0.6% of Denmark’s population identifies as transgender, but researchers believe the true number is much higher, which would mean the suicide rate would also be much higher.

The study can’t explain why trans people are at higher risk of suicide, but it seems clear that living in a society that is often unaccepting is a contributing factor. Previous research has found that 60% of transgender individuals in Denmark have experienced harassment and bullying and that 30% have experienced violence. Trans people in that country have also said they face discrimination in the healthcare system.

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School Board In Maine Upholds Trans Team Ban As Well As Bathroom Ban

According to Campus Reform, “In a bold move aligning with federal directives, the Regional School Unit 24 school board in Sullivan, Maine, voted to reaffirm a policy that limits bathroom access and athletic participation to students’ biological sex.”

This demonstrates that utilizing the power of the federal government to ensure normalcy and basic rights is effective.

“The decision, originally made in October, echoes President Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” and places RSU 24 among a growing number of districts nationwide reinforcing sex-based distinctions in public education.”

WABI is reporting that around 100 community members filled a meeting on Tuesday night with people both for and against this common-sense policy.

“Despite ongoing legal threats from the Maine Human Rights Commission, the board stood firm and secured legal representation to defend its stance.”

“Superintendent Michael Eastman acknowledged the intensity of the debate but said the board remains committed to careful consideration and communication as it moves forward.”

This is a critical move in the fight for normality and common sense in America.

“At RSU 73, a similar legal fight is playing out over transgender students’ ability to access spaces and activities restricted to members of the opposite biological sex. The school board there is paying defense attorneys upwards of $275 an hour, according to documents reviewed by WGME.”

Sadly, this is an issue that has to be debated, as until recently, it was common sense that there are two genders and they should have separate spaces.

The federal government should continue to ensure basic rights for Men and Women are not violated by the  Trans community.

This is a civil rights issue of our time, and it’s something the Trump administration is right to enforce.

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Men who correct women over any disagreement could face disciplinary action under new Green party rules

Men who correct women over any disagreement could be hauled before disciplinarians under plans being weighed up by the Green Party.

Leaders are considering broadening the party’s definition of misogyny to the point that ‘any disagreement’ could lead to men facing sanction.

The proposals are set out in a leaked 53-page dossier on legal and reputational risk prepared by its own lawyers.

The report reveals deep internal concern about the Greens’ approach to misogyny, transgender policy and LGBT rights, warning that current guidance could expose the party to serious legal and financial risk. 

It says the Green Party Council was ‘very close’ to adopting a document titled Guidance on Identifying Misogyny and Sexism as part of its ethics framework. 

According to the report, seen by the Telegraph, the draft guidance listed ‘being corrected’ as an example of misogynistic behaviour experienced by women, a definition the lawyers warned was so expansive it could ‘justify any disagreement between a man and a woman as a sanctionable disciplinary offence’. 

The dossier also cautions that internal rules on identifying transphobia and ‘queerphobia’ risk unlawfully discriminating against members who question contested gender theory. 

The authors stress that the party cannot legally penalise members for holding gender-critical views, which are protected under the Equality Act 2010. 

The warning follows a costly legal defeat for the Greens last year, when the party paid £9,100 to former spokesman and deputy leader Dr Shahrar Ali after a court ruled he had been improperly dismissed over his belief that ‘biology is real and immutable’. 

The report says the process used to remove him was ‘procedurally unfair’.

Dr Ali is now suing the party for a second time, alleging ‘procedural abuse’ and continued discrimination over his views on biological sex. 

The Greens have since admitted to ‘procedural shortfalls’ in his dismissal.

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Gavin Newsom Doubles Down on Woke: ‘I Want to See Trans Kids’ 

During a recent appearance on the Ezra Klein podcast, California Governor Gavin Newsom doubled down on the woke agenda. While speaking about trans women in sports, which he apparently still supports, Newsom noted that he has a trans godchild and said that he ‘wants to see trans kids.’

The 2024 election made it pretty clear that the public is done with this but Newsom is not going to give it up. He is staking out a positive position on the issue.

Someone should let the governor know that there is no such thing as trans kids. Just activist parents.

Breitbart News reports:

Gavin Newsom Reveals He Wants ‘To See Trans Kids’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) highlighted how he wanted “to see” transgender children, and that there is “no governor that’s done more pro-trans legislation” than he has.

During an interview on an episode of The Ezra Klein Show, with New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, Newsom described President Donald Trump as being “One of the most destructive presidents and human beings” in Newsom’s lifetime.

Newsom also described himself as the “future ex-governor” who has to look his children “in the god**** eye.”

“We didn’t get into trans sports. That’s an issue no one wants to hear about because 80 percent of the people listening disagree with my position on this,” Newsom shared. “But it comes from my heart, not just my head. It wasn’t a political evolution.”

When asked by Klein about his position, Newsom added that he wants “To see trans kids.”

“I have a trans godson,” Newsom added. “There’s no governor that’s done more pro-trans legislation than I have. No one has been a stronger advocate for the LGBTQ community.”

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Segregation, quotas and gender ideology: Minnesota’s schools are going backward

We expect it in California and New York, but Minnesota has become one of the most aggressive states in reshaping education. Defending Education has documented the statewide leftward shift, and it is a civil-rights crisis.

In October, Defending Ed filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education over Minneapolis Public Schools’ racially segregated classes, which appeared to be available only to black students, in violation of Title VI and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

We settled this question in 1954. In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court made it clear that segregating students by race in public schools is unconstitutional.

In that same Minnesota district, students in a required Ethnic Studies class conduct a “structural analysis of racism and colonialism,” viewing everything through a race-based, anti-capitalist and Marxist lens.

The course cites Critical Race Theory, promotes the ideas of Karl Marx and peddles the notion that capitalism and Western culture are to blame for slavery, genocide, colonialism and white supremacy. Teachers then ask students to “challenge the ‘white savior’ narrative” and complete a Youth Led Participatory Action Research project that pushes them into activism.

In 2023, lawmakers required that by 2026 every high school add an ethnic studies course that can count toward graduation along with history, geography, economics and civics.

Ethnic studies is touted as a curriculum to promote tolerance and cultural understanding, but we’ve documented how it is a trojan horse for activism in the classroom, framing society as divided between oppressors and the oppressed.

Minnesota is also fighting the Trump administration’s “Gender Ideology” and “Sports Ban” orders as unlawful rewrites of Title IX. At the same time, under the banner of a group called Gender Justice, school board candidates published a joint initiative supporting “the full inclusion of transgender and nonbinary students in school athletics,” which they claim Title IX protects.

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Washington swim league finds workaround to keep boys competing in girls’ events

A Washington swim league says it has found a procedural workaround it believes will let meets continue under USA Swimming rules while still complying with Washington’s gender-identity laws, effectively allowing athletes to compete based on self-identification, which means boys can keep entering girls’ events despite President Trump’s executive order aimed at keeping men out of women’s sports.

In a November email obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Chad Winkle, general chair of Pacific Northwest Swimming (PNS), warned parents, athletes, coaches, and officials about “issues” affecting PNS’s ability to host meets in Washington, including in King County and at the King County Aquatic Center. Winkle explained that after Executive Order 14201 was signed in February 2025, requiring federal definitions of sex to be based on male and female, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee adopted corresponding policies. Under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, he said, USA Swimming was required to align with those standards, and as a local swimming committee, PNS is bound by USA Swimming rules.

But Winkle said those federal standards conflict with Washington State law and King County ordinances that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. He told members PNS had been working with USA Swimming, King County, and legal counsel to find a path forward that would allow meets to continue at the local level, though it might not apply to higher-level competitions. PNS also urged families not to contact outside organizations, warning that public pressure could disrupt negotiations.

On Dec. 2, Winkle announced in a follow-up email that PNS had reached “common ground” with King County and USA Swimming. The solution, he wrote, was to shift all PNS competitions to “Approved” meet status. That would keep USA Swimming technical rules intact, so times for athletes in good standing could still be entered into the SWIMS database and meets could remain properly insured, while changing the administrative side to satisfy Washington law.

The new approach “allows athletes to compete as they self-identify,” which continues to allow male athletes to compete in girls’ sports. Winkle said the PNS board voted to run meets this way through the end of January, when the policy will be reviewed again. He emphasized that PNS “is not the decider on this topic,” describing the organization as a facilitator operating within the demands of state law, county law, and USA Swimming regulations.

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Enoch Burke: Irish School Teacher Jailed Following His Stance Against Transgender Ideology

Irish teacher Enoch Burke was arrested and jailed in November 2025. He was charged with contempt of court, and authorities insist this has nothing to do with his refusal to use a transgender student’s preferred pronouns.

Technically, they are correct that his imprisonment stems from repeated violations of a court order barring him from returning to the school during his suspension.

However, it is also true that the entire case began with his refusal to give in to transgender ideology, which led to his suspension in the first place. Burke was a teacher at Wilson’s Hospital School in County Westmeath, Ireland.

In 2022 the school instructed staff to refer to a transgender student by a new name and the “they/them” pronoun, and Burke refused to comply.

After he publicly objected at a school event and confronted school leadership, he was suspended pending disciplinary proceedings.

The school then obtained a court injunction barring him from its premises for the duration of his suspension.

Despite that order, Burke repeatedly returned to the school, prompting officials to seek court enforcement. He has since been found in contempt of court multiple times.

In late November 2025, a High Court judge ordered his committal to prison again, describing his repeated attendance as trespass and noting that fines were no longer effective.

Along with jail time, Burke is now facing fines exceeding 225,000 euros.

Historically, Ireland was one of the strongest Catholic countries in the world.

For most of the twentieth century more than 90 percent of the population identified as Catholic, and weekly Mass attendance often exceeded 90 percent.

Religious vocations were high, with thousands of priests and more than a thousand seminarians in the mid-1960s.

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The Link Between Transgenderism and Autism

Chloe Cole grew up a tomboy, was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by age 7, and referred for autism screening by age 17.

Cole began identifying as a boy during adolescence and sought physical changes to match.

Doctors readily consented to medical intervention. They prescribed puberty blockers and testosterone at age 13. At 15, surgeons performed a double mastectomy, she told The Epoch Times.

But doctors didn’t address her neurological issues first. The same gender specialist who referred her for breast surgery later referred her for autism screening. Cole has described herself as being on the autism spectrum, but said she was never formally diagnosed.

Cole is now a leading campaigner against interventions to transition children with gender dysphoria.

She said many of those she knew personally when she was involved in the transgender community, as well as many of the detransitioners she knows, “are either somewhere on the autism spectrum, or they have been diagnosed with similar conditions, like ADHD.”

Her observations are increasingly supported by research. For at least a decade, studies have reported links among transgender identity, autism, and other neurological conditions. These connections have recently gained greater public attention.

Growing evidence of an autism–transgender link is already prompting some nations to recommend neurological screening before intervention. In America, the treatment model remains unchanged, and the predominant “affirmation” model makes the link difficult to investigate.

Autism and Gender Dysphoria

A report published this month by the British think tank Centre for Social Justice showed that autism and ADHD were “overrepresented,” or disproportionately high, among youth with gender dysphoria.

​The report, citing data from the UK’s National Health Service, showed 32.4 percent of gender dysphoria referrals had an autism diagnosis, and 11.7 percent had an ADHD diagnosis. ​

Those numbers were 16 times higher than the national population averages for autism, and more than twice as high for ADHD. The population-wide averages for autism and ADHD in the United Kingdom are estimated at 2 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

“Individuals with autism spectrum disorder are far more likely to identify as transgender,” Joseph Nicolosi Jr., a licensed clinical psychologist and researcher in California, told The Epoch Times via email.

A pair of studies conducted in 2016 and 2019 indicate that autistic children are between four and seven times more likely to experience gender dysphoria or gender variance, he said. A 2019 study was conducted by researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and a 2016 study was conducted at New York University.

Nicolosi said there are several reasons for the connection, including “rigid thinking.”

​For example, if a boy with autism lacks stereotypical male interests, he may doubt he is a boy and assume he must be a girl. Reading social cues is often hard for those with autism, so they may perceive same-sex peers as getting along better than they do.

​“This heightens their sense of alienation from their peers,” Nicolosi said.

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