The Death DEIA in the Federal Government

The below email was sent out to federal staff on 1/22/25. It is interesting that it is call on people to 'out' people in these or related positions. The Republican party say that they don't like Communism, but as someone that has studied history this looks like they are starting to copy the tactics Mao Zedong. They are also going after experts in different fields and replacing them with people that have no idea of what they are doing. Mao did this. This is why studying history is so important.

MESSAGE FROM THE ACTING SECRETARY

 

 

We are taking steps to close all agency diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) offices and end all DEIA-related contracts in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders titled Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing and Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.

 

These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.

 

We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language. If you are aware of a change in any contract description or personnel position description since November 5, 2024, to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances to DEIAtruth@opm.gov within 10 days.

 

There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information. However, failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.

 

In addition to the above, all personnel are directed to withdraw any final or pending documents, directives, orders, materials, and equity plans issued by the agency in response to now-repealed Executive Order 14035, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in the Federal Workforce (June 25, 2021). These actions must be taken immediately, but no later than January 31, 2025.

 

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

 

Todd B. Hunter

Acting Secretary 

Attacks on Asians During Covid

Even as we move into a new world where we are learning to live with covid, attacks on Asians continue. This post will start to track these. Most of the attacks have been outside of Colorado, but this is still a national concern and no one knows where the next will happen.

4/9/21: "New York Woman's Anti-Asian Tirade Instantly Backfires After Her Target Is An Undercover Cop"- https://www.comicsands.com/nyc-anti-asian-undercover-cop-2652136585.html?fbclid=IwAR2YWTtIM_0mUIJN4QaBQ3iOdZHOuWNAfIOoFx9L_Q9aR7C7UPl3Z0el9XA

2/17/22: "Recent killings of Asian American women force Asians abroad to rethink their relationship with the U.S."- https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/17/asian-american-hate-crime-violence/?fbclid=IwAR0qqPXxm80OLmvgykSQ312ooPCdrf-UpgqFkjoSxpKeOTIAeA7SiixLlU4

3/1/22: "Asian woman attacked last year in New York by man with rock has died, family says"-  https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/28/us/guiying-ma-death-new-york-asian-hate-crime/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0KpUBL8KNxWfCsPgyqhqOrsYHk0HpEA3lqw6mKJulgpAz51hZZKkOsqfg

3/15/22: "Man arrested for the violent hate-crime beating of an Asian woman in N.Y., police say"- https://www.npr.org/2022/03/15/1086797433/man-arrested-for-the-violent-hate-crime-beating-of-an-asian-woman-in-n-y-police-?fbclid=IwAR2fSPEaJ4Ouc9IGxLeartZ7pnmkc2cV9TkuC0vKNaKxejZt5npu1y4U-PU

3/17/22: "The Boys Star Karen Fukuhara Reveals She Was Attacked in Recent Event"- https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-boys-star-karen-fukuhara-reveals-she-was-attacked/

4/5/22: "New York man indicted on hate crime charges for attacks Asian women"- https://thehill.com/news/3259086-new-york-man-indicted-on-hate-crime-charges-for-attacks-asian-women/?fbclid=IwAR3buvi2EqAX1nwsjzm1SFe39y2ekfRAFAuXJ65tlou-fZj6LQdwIFFqCN8

To Potter or Not To Potter

                                        

(This is a repost from my Geeked Colorado blog, but it applies to JEDI topics so I am sharing it here as well.)

For a long time people viewed the Harry Potter world as one that would fight for acceptance of everyone. This could be seen with how the characters were fighting to change how mudbloods and muggles were viewed in the wizarding world or how Hermione was trying to get rights for house elves. Then J.K. Rowling had to open her mouth about people that identify as transgendered, and everything was lost. She had shown that she still viewed ‘certain types’ of people negatively while creating a false sense of accepting others. Her books had previously been recommended to children to help teach them acceptance of others. Now all of that is in question because of her actions.

So why am I writing about this? I have had many friends (straight, gay, and transgender) put up posts on Facebook both for and against both the Harry Potter World and J.K. Rowling. Many of my straight and cisgender friends have also been asking what they should do in relation to their fandom for the series vs. the hate that the author has created. These are not easy to read or respond to. 

I decided to research the subject and see what people on both sides of the pond were saying about it since Harry Potter is at its heart and English tale. I found it interesting that in the literary world J.K. Rowling’s peers have turned against her. Four fellow authors have left the agency that represents her as a form of protest (Assuncao). Daniel Radcliffe took the stance that he supports the transgendered community and that people need to separate the books from the author so that they can keep the stories that were meaningful in their lives (Radcliffe). Eddie Redmayne seems to be on the fence. At one point he says that he ‘disagrees’ with her comments, but at the same time does not support the criticism of the author (BBC & The Guardian). So what is the difference between these two actors. For Radcliffe his time as an actor in the Harry Potter universe is over whereas Redmayne still has the chance to do more movies (can make a lot more money off the series if he plays cool). Personally this has made me lose all respect for Redmayne as an actor and as a person. He had already proven he can act and has even won an Academy award. He does not need the Harry Potter universe to keep the work coming in. 

(Writing this took some time and another article popped up recently about her promoting an anti-trans store (Acosta). She is just not learning when to stop and thinks that she is too powerful to be stopped.)

In my replies to my friends Facebook posts I have tried to convey how I feel. I’m treating everything related to the Harry Potter universe like I did Chick-Fil-A when their anti-gay issues came out. I stopped eating their food for years. I did not want my money to go towards a company with these views. In today’s world money is king and it is money that speaks louder then anything else. This is why I took my money and spent it elsewhere. Their food has always brought me joy and reminds me of my time in high school when I would get it from our cafeteria. Even with this I was willing to put my money where my mouth was. I’m still doing this with Jimmy Johns since I found out about the big game hunter that their founder was. Even though he no longer owns it, the concept still puts a bad taste in my mouth. Will I eat there again? I don’t know. I think they would need to have a major donation campaign in place for several years where the money goes towards endangered animals to start to undo what damage they can from what he did. BTW giving up Jimmy Johns was way easier than Chick-Fil-A due to their food also not being that good. 

How does this apply to my stance on Harry Potter? For me this means that I will not buy any product related to the Harry Potter universe or J.K. Rowling’s other works. No matter what, if you buy something some part of it will go back to her due to royalty laws. At the same time I will not throw my items away because that would only hurt me because of how much I have invested in them. I am also not currently reading her books or even watching her movies due to the internal feelings I have. I thought that the world was about acceptance and now it has been tainted. Some of the joy has just been sucked out of it and I don’t know if I will ever get that back. 

What do I say to others? I would say speak with both your money and your words. With the holiday season coming up I would say don’t spend your money on anything related to the Harry Potter Universe or J.K.’s other works. With your words I would say that you could write to companies that sell her products and ask them to remove them from their shelves. This would be stores like Hot Topic and even Walmart. If enough people reach out it can make change. This can make change. Nordstrom’s recently announced that they would be phasing out exotic furs due to customer requests. Stores do listen to their customers when it can impact what money they can make through sales. Each of us has it within their power to be the change we want to see in the world. That was one of the reasons why I started my blogs, I was tired of feeling like I didn’t have a voice and only people I viewed negatively were being heard. Each person needs to make their own decision of where they stand on this issue. I know where I am and what I will do to show it. What will you do?

 

Works Cited: 

Acosta, Ben. “JK Rowling Sparks Outrage for Promoting Online Store That Sells Vehemently Anti-Trans Merchandise.” Percolately. https://percolately.com/jk-rowling-outrage-store-antitrans/

Assuncao, Muri. “J.K. Rowling’s Transgender Comments Push 4 Authors to Quit Agency Representing Her.” June 23^rd. Portland Press Herald. https://www.pressherald.com/2020/06/23/j-k-rowlings-transgender-comments-push-4-authors-to-quit-agency-representing-her/

BBC. “Eddie Redmayne Speaks Out Against JK Rowling’s Trans Tweets.” June 10, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-52975994

Radcliffe, Daniel. “Daniel Radcliffe Responds to J.K. Rowling’s Tweets on Gender Identity.” https://www.thetrevorproject.org/2020/06/08/daniel-radcliffe-responds-to-j-k-rowlings-tweets-on-gender-identity/ 

The Guardian. “Eddie Redmayne Condemns ‘Vitriol’ Aimed at JK Rowling After Her Trans Rights Comments.” https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/29/eddie-redmayne-jk-rowling-condemns-vitriol-trans-rights-comments

 Top Image From: https://www.soda.com/video/watch/harry-potter/ (modified in paint)

Works Researched and Good for Further Reading

https://www.glamour.com/story/a-complete-breakdown-of-the-jk-rowling-transgender-comments-controversy 

https://www.jkrowling.com/opinions/j-k-rowling-writes-about-her-reasons-for-speaking-out-on-sex-and-gender-issues/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/15/entertainment/jk-rowling-troubled-blood-book-trans-gbr-scli-intl/index.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2020/07/31/harry-potter-fans-grapple-j-k-rowling-transgender-remarks/5471834002/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/world/europe/jk-rowling-maya-forstater-transgender.html 

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53276007 

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/j-k-rowling-returns-kennedy-family-award-after-transphobic-tweets-n1238674

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/09/jk-rowling-transphobia-new-novel-troubled-blood-controversy 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/30/fact-check-chick-fil-a-has-not-resumed-donations-groups-oppose-lgbtq-rights/3244765001/ 

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/29/18644354/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-donations-homophobia-dan-cathy

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/18/business/chick-fil-a-lgbtq-donations/index.html

https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/is_chick-fil-a_anti-gay

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/07/09/fact-check-jimmy-johns-founder-hunted-big-game-before-he-sold-chain/5366650002/ 

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jimmy-john-liautaud-hunting-photos/

https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2019/08/23/jimmy-johns-boycott-ceo-jimmy-john-liautaud-elephant-hunting-photo-goes-viral/23800248/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/29/business/nordstrom-fur-exotic-animal-skins/index.html

https://www.buzzfeed.com/kaylayandoli/harry-potter-fans-react-to-jk-rowlings-anti-trans-comments

https://www.facebook.com/Boycott-Harry-Potter-serie-Were-anti-359616244377962/

Picture From: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kaylayandoli/harry-potter-fans-react-to-jk-rowlings-anti-trans-comments

Picture From: https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1855033-read-another-book

12/19/21

 Back at it again. She just can't learn when to stop. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/j-k-rowling-faces-backlash-after-tweeting-support-transphobic-researcher-n1104971

1/29/21 Some Updates

So the first one is that I got an Email from the Aurora Public Library advertising some Harry Potter events. I reached out to them because of all the hate around Harry Potter right now and this is what I got back: 

There was nothing saying that they would have any type of disclaimer or that they would be trying to educate people on this issue as part of their programing. Just that as long as people like it they will give it to them. Basically they will continue to support hate speech and actions until enough people complain about it. I also posted this to my personal Facebook page hoping more people would see it there and also reach out to the Library about adjusting how they handle things like this.

Another way that I have practiced what I preach is that when I get emails from Hot Topic about Harry Potter products I call them out on it as well.

This is actually the second time I have sent them something and still have not heard back from them for the first time. To me Hot Topic is even worse then what the Aurora Public Library is doing. Any author gets a percentage anytime an item related to their works sale. This means that she is getting richer from what Hot Topic does where as events that do not sale goods does not help her pocketbook. It just helps spread the series making people want to buy the products. It also does not help that the Library is not having a panel on what the author did to educate the public as they said when they referenced learn. I want more people to raise their voices or companies and public services will continue to avoid doing the right thing.

2/3/21

Yesterday I was verbally attacked by someone on Facebook calling me a book burner for my stance on this issue. First off I would never support book burning and I encourage reading banned books. My issue is with the author and not the fandom. There are plenty of used copies of the book in circulation and I have seen them at places like ARC and used book stores. Used book sales do not go to the author. If you want to read the books read them used, support local business instead of a hate supporter, or check them out from the library. If you by them at Goodwill proceeds go to help people in the community and train people for work.

I know that taking my stance will lose me friends, but I am to the point in my life where I am caring more about doing the right thing and I want my voice heard. The person mentioned above was someone I had known from high school. To tell the truth there were people back then that thought he was a bully to. The only reason why I really interacted with him is we were in a lot of related clubs and groups. I both unfriended him from Facebook and LinkedIn. I'm willing to stand up for what I believe in, what about you?

1/4/2022

"JK Rowling is cancelled again: Perform arts school drops Harry Potter author's name from house over her views on transgender rights" a small win against the hate. This only happened due to students and staff coming together to make change. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10367133/JK-Rowling-cancelled-Performing-arts-school-drops-Harry-Potter-author-transgender-row.html

1/6/2022

An interesting article has popped up "Harry Potter's Return to Hogwarts special isn't about nostalgia - it's about rebranding" (https://www.polygon.com/22870314/harry-potter-return-to-hogwarts-jk-rowling?fbclid=IwAR2uWIprCWCHRYAXkzY7mAg-V3fLj5AF69X4Jx4kgDhgpNtG6aGqY7Eozys). Which if you have read the above you can really understand why they need to rebrand. At the same time though rebranding will not stop the author from getting royalties and that is to me the key here. Warner Bros. needs to find a way to either buy her off or to entirely cut her off some how. Only then will I and many people I know start spending money on the products related to the franchise. The fans of Pokemon Go were able to come together and make change happen and this needs to be done as well with Harry Potter.

7/6/2022

"J.K. Rowling backs Macy Gray's anti-trans remarks about what makes 'a woman'"- She just won't stop and opening encourages others to hate like she is supporting Gray's hate. Once again asking people to stop spending money on all Harry Potter related items. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2022-07-05/macy-gray-catalog-jk-rowling-transphobic-comments?fbclid=IwAR0Y_FKq_6cvTpiQ978xvWGCDL3ri4Mrx8o6PAN2uCxt2BfM3L1x89Jdlh8

History Being Destroyed by Trump's Boarder Wall and What it Means to History

I normally try not to get political, but lately there has been so much going on I just want to redo our whole government. Trump’s (or Lord Dampnut if you prefer) boarder wall has been controversial. It just got taken to a whole new level. In Arizona the contractor for Lord Dampnut’s wall has destroyed part of a native site by blasting it (Carranza). Even a historic preservation officer pointed out the significance of this site before the blasting started to a U.S. Representative, Raúl Manuel Grijalva (Carranza). Grijalva is a member of the Democratic Party and with the current leadership, even if he had tried to address these issues they would have been dismissed. This is also a great example of how the current administration entirely dismisses experts in any field and just does whatever it wants to. They could have gone around the site, but decided it was better to blast through it. Lord Dampnut has also threatened to destroy historical sites in Iran, so no one should be surprised that he is willing to have it done in his own country.

Not many people may have heard of the Tohono O’odham people that the site belongs to even though the traditional area that their people lived in covered a huge area of the American southwest and parts of Mexico (“History & Culture”). These people were first repressed by the Spanish and then by America when we took over their land. This repression continues today with the government’s current action against them.

So what does this mean to Colorado? Colorado is full of historical/cultural sites and by the current administration setting a precedence that historical sites do not matter, any site could now be destroyed with no repercussions by the government. It is up to American citizens to protect our history when the government will not. I believe that everyone should educate themselves on the history of the area they live in and do all they can to protect that history. This also means using your vote to stop people who would destroy that history. Even Jason Momoa has worked to use his power as a celebrity to bring awareness to a historical site threatened in Hawaii. Right now space science is very popular and I love things related to space, but do we need to build another telescope on a sacred mountain. We could just address other issues like light pollution so that other mountains could be used. These are choices that we make, and I believe that people are just not thinking about all the options or what this destruction will mean to future generations. When we destroy something, we can’t get it back.

                                   

Now to get really political. The Islamic State and ISIS have been known to destroy historical sites and artefacts. The world views these as acts of terrorism. Trump’s threat against Iran could be seen as a war crime (Beltrán-García) and the destruction of the Tohono site could be seen as a form of local terrorism. This issues needs to be addressed and with Republicans in power this will not happen. These terrorism charges will either have to wait until he is no longer President and hopefully the normal courts will be able to do with this, or the next round of impeachment happens and these charges could be placed. At the same time the President is just one person and it is also his supporters in Washington that need to be held accountable for their crimes. The people need to file suit against the contractor for carrying out terrorist actions. But no one will. This is the sad part. As history screams in pain from its destruction, no one will take the actions needed to stop it.

Works Cited:

“History & Culture.” Tohono O'odham Nation. Accessed February 11, 2020. http://www.tonation-nsn.gov/history-culture/.

Beltrán-García, Sergio. “Trump's Threat to Destroy Iranian Heritage Would Be a War Crime | Sergio Beltrán-García.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, January 6, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/jan/06/trump-threat-destruction-iran-heritage-war-crime.

Carranza, Rafael. “Sacred Native American Site in Arizona Blasted for Border Wall Construction.” Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, February 9, 2020. https://news.yahoo.com/sacred-native-american-arizona-blasted-043614389.html?ncid=facebook_yahoonewsf_akfmevaatca.

Top Photo From: https://www.facebook.com/hewelniok/photos/a.766500003480802/1793264930804299/?type=3&theater

Bottom Photo From: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/08/16/iowan-actor-jason-momoa-has-spent-his-summer-protesting-hawaii-thirty-meter-telescope-aquaman/2010543001/

More on where Lord Dampnut comes from:

https://twitter.com/colinmochrie/status/822608605434302464?lang=en

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Lord%20Dampnut

More on Raúl Manuel Grijalva:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Grijalva

https://grijalva.house.gov/

For more on these topics:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51449739?ocid=socialflow_twitter&fbclid=IwAR1SOc48IatBbE_44we-3KUESiYuevbDJ6sysMxriY7brHgAWeSozjgzxPU

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ancient-native-american-burial-site-blasted-trump-border-wall-construction-n1135906?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma&fbclid=IwAR0iIlh-INytWIhXLvtZDVdFYwEOc5UajBqPonL52wRGPjgoPG57z7uOaGY

https://www.nps.gov/archeology/tools/laws/nagpra.htm

https://apnews.com/0988ec8233354a4aafc57874b085c01f

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/08/16/iowan-actor-jason-momoa-has-spent-his-summer-protesting-hawaii-thirty-meter-telescope-aquaman/2010543001/

http://theconversation.com/erasing-history-why-islamic-state-is-blowing-up-ancient-artefacts-78667

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/isis-cultural-heritage-sites-destroyed-950060

https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/april-2017/history-in-ruins-cultural-heritage-destruction-around-the-world

https://www.vox.com/2015/3/11/8184207/islamist-monuments

https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/07/dont-trust-taliban-afghanistans-cultural-preservation/158715/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/world/middleeast/trump-cultural-sites.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/the-president-didnt-threaten-irans-culture-sites-he-threatened-culture/2020/01/06/704e1ed4-30a0-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html