Right wing Christians who were plenty enthusiastic about then President Trump’s Muslim immigration ban have now found a common bond with conservative Muslims. But this isn’t a feel good story. It’s a story about hyper-religious groups joining forces over a ban they can all get behind: book bans. But not just any books. David Masciotra
in The New Republic: The Growing Religious Alliance to Ban LGBTQ Books. “It wasn’t too long ago that there was nothing as boring as a school board meeting. In an America of rising fascism, however, even a mundane gathering to discuss curricula in a small conference room becomes a potential crime scene. And so hundreds of reactionaries have flooded Dearborn school board meetings in recent months to demand the removal of books on the gay rights movement and novels with transgender protagonists … Dearborn is hardly alone. The American Library Association reports that in 2022, public and school libraries have received a record-breaking 1,650 calls for elimination of books, with over a third of the targets featuring LGBTQ content. What makes the Dearborn story different, and especially disturbing, is that it foreshadows the formation of a powerful and dangerous new right-wing coalition.”

+ These movements don’t make change with enthusiasm. It takes money. To understand the dark money giving religion an edge over secular society in America, you need to understand SCOTUS architect Leonard Leo. NYT (Gift Article): Leonard Leo Pushed the Courts Right. Now He’s Aiming at American Society. “His philosophy is defined by a belief that the federal government should play a smaller role in public life and religious values a larger one, and that institutions and individuals should be challenged for embracing what he sees as subversive liberal positions … His expanded effort focuses on a variety of causes, including restricting abortion rights in the states; ending affirmative action; defending religious groups accused of discriminating against L.G.B.T.Q. people; opposing what he sees as liberal policies being espoused by corporations and schools; electing Republicans; and fighting Democratic efforts to slow climate change, increase the transparency of money in politics and expand voting access.”

+ Related: “A large crowd at Tehran airport greeted an Iranian sport climber who competed without a headscarf at a competition in South Korea, calling her a ‘heroine.’ Elnaz Rekabi, 33, broke Iran’s strict dress code – but later said her hijab had fallen off ‘inadvertently.’ Many are sceptical about the reason she gave in an Instagram post and repeated in a state TV interview at the airport, believing it was made under duress.” What a sad, idiotic world women are forced to live in.