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New York Post
27-06-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Standing up to bullying, unscientific transgender activist mob
Almost no one does wicked things in the knowledge that what they are doing is wicked. It is a truth that should be universally acknowledged that in order to do something truly evil, a person needs to believe that what they are doing is good. Until somebody steps in and says 'no.' This week there was an extraordinary development in one of the great medical and social scandals of our time. Advertisement Alex Byrne is a professor of philosophy at MIT. This week he outed himself as one of the authors of the review published last month by the Department of Health and Human Services. Or rather he outed himself after being hounded and exposed by demonic maniacs online. The review goes over treatments of so-called 'gender dysphoria' in minors. Advertisement The fact that the authors of the DHHS review even tried to remain anonymous tells us a lot about the toxicity of this whole debate. The review itself is considerate and moderate. It weighs up the actual evidence and simply suggests that American authorities should align with the emerging consensus among experts and politicians in Europe. Which is that things have been done in the name of treating 'gender dysphoria' are a medical and ethical nightmare. For over a decade now, the 'be kind' brigade has been insisting that 'trans' should be the next civil rights issue of our age. No less a graveyard of thought than Time magazine had a cover in 2014 saying that transgender issues should be 'America's next civil rights frontier.' Advertisement That is a very loaded way to present a complex issue. After all, talk about 'civil rights' brings two particular struggles to mind. The first is the struggle to ensure that ethnic minorities — in particular African-Americans — have equal rights to everyone else in the United States. That issue was addressed and answered by force of moral argument six decades ago. The second issue that it brings up is the fight for gay rights, which also started some six decades ago. Since that time, the moral argument of the gay rights movement has also been accepted. Advertisement Nobody today wants to be a bigot who removes rights from black Americans or gay people. But by presenting the complex issue of trans as the inevitable next step in a campaign for ever more rights, our societies in the West took a mad turn. After all, the acceptance of other arguments were based on the idea that the people getting their rights were equals — and that society would not need to change itself or alter its fundamentals in order to grant these rights. The moral force of both movements were founded on the basis of 'Just like us.' And that is how they succeeded. The 'trans-rights' movement, by contrast, turned everything completely on its heads. They insisted not just that some people feel that they have been born in the wrong body, but that nobody is born with any discernible biological sex. Get opinions and commentary from our columnists Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters They insisted that because some people feel a confusion about their sexual identity nobody has a fixed biological identity. That — as some of us said from the start — was madness. It would be like the gay rights movement saying 'We're here, we're queer — and as a result there is no difference between men and women.' I doubt the gay rights cause would have succeeded if that was the track that campaigners chose. Advertisement But that was where the trans movement went. And of course the landmine which they trod on — and which was gone along with for far too long — was the explosive issue of children. As the DHHS review notes, the whole idea of 'gender affirming care' (note how manipulative that phrase is) was based on unbelievably weak evidence. Even before you get to issues of life-changing surgery, there was the imposition of 'puberty blockers.' These could be handed out after minimal consultation to any child who simply felt concern about the onset of puberty and worried about the changes to their body. They were handed out with no long-term studies of their effects. Advertisement Too few professionals warned that these medications could cause lifelong sexual disfunction, infertility and much more. The ones that did raise alarms or even questions were hounded by the dementors of our age — both online and off. But how did anyone think a child could make an informed decision about such a measure? Studies from Sweden, the Netherlands, Britain and other countries have confirmed what many of us said, which is that young people — including those who might grow up to just be gay — would be 'trans-ed' by the health industry. And live to deeply regret it. 'Gay conversion therapy' may have become a taboo. But converting gay people into approximations of the opposite sex became deemed 'progressive.' Advertisement We were told that if a child who had 'gender dysphoria' was not medicated with cross-sex hormones, or did not have a double-mastectomy then a range of things would happen. We were told that 'trans children' (another fallacious category) would 'kill themselves.' Or that any criticism of such procedures was 'disappearing' or even 'genociding' trans people. I have lost count of the number of American parents I have spoken to who were told by doctors that they had to 'trans' their child and were given the slogan if, say, the child was a biological male, 'Would you rather have a trans daughter or a dead son?' Parents were literally bulldozed into agreeing to life-altering surgeries and medical experiments being run on their children. Advertisement Now a smidgen of sanity has been brought to the debate. Future generations will look back at this period and marvel at what we allowed. They will coo with amazement that we gave life-altering drugs and performed life-altering operations on young people not old enough to vote, drive or drink alcohol. But we can already tell why it happened. It happened because pseudo-science was waved by crazed progressives bullies, who in the name of 'kindness' did things that were wicked beyond words.
Associated Press
16-06-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
New federal data shows Maine's foster care population grew at the fastest rate in the nation
Maine's foster care population grew at a higher rate than any other state between 2019 and 2023, new federal data shows. It was one of just six states that increased its foster care population during that five-year period, according to a Maine Monitor analysis of data from the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). AFCARS published data for fiscal year 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, in May, showing that Maine removed children from their families because of abuse and neglect at one of the highest rates in the country. In 2023, Maine was more likely to remove children than all but five other states: West Virginia, Alaska, Montana, Kentucky and South Dakota. That year, Maine removed 4.14 children per 1,000 living in the state, about 75 percent higher than the national rate of 2.4 children per 1,000. While Maine's foster care population increased 17 percent between 2019 and 2023, the most in the nation, the national foster care population fell nearly 20 percent. More recent data from Maine's Department of Health and Human Services, however, shows the state foster care population has declined since reaching a 20-year high last fall. Maine's child welfare system includes DHHS, the Attorney General's office, which represents the department in court, the attorneys who represent parents and the judges who preside over child protection cases. Within DHHS, the Office of Child and Family Services (OFCS) oversees child protective cases and the removal of children. In an interview, OFCS Director Bobbi Johnson said the growth of Maine's foster care population was due in part to higher than average rates of cases involving substance abuse, a lack of attorneys to represent parents and a dearth of behavioral and mental health support services, which has 'resulted in a lack of reunification services.' Johnson, who became the office's director in early 2024, also attributed the increase to several highly publicized deaths of children known to DHHS in late 2017 and early 2018. Those tragic deaths prompted legislative changes and policy shifts, as well as an increase in reports to the department. The phenomenon is not unique to Maine. Research has suggested media coverage of child deaths can prompt increases in the number of children entering foster care and decreases in the number adopted or reunited with their families, as caseworkers take a 'better safe than sorry' approach. Johnson said the department is working with organizations that study the science of children's safety as it adjusts its approach to be less 'reactive.' She expressed a desire to improve the system and staff knowledge instead of 'saying the system is not working effectively and everything needs to be changed, which I think tends to be what you see in jurisdictions where there are child fatalities.' Some still see an issue, however. 'We continue to be in a place in our state where we are almost solely focused on these tragedies and criticism of the child welfare agency's response; that has an impact on decision-making at many levels, which can lead to more kids coming into care,' Melissa Hackett, a policy associate with the Maine Children's Alliance, said in an email. Poverty vs. neglect The federal data shows that two-thirds of the children Maine put in foster care in 2023 were placed there because of neglect, which is higher than the national average. In recent years, there has been a growing consensus nationwide that in many cases, removing children from homes can result in more long-term harm than leaving them there and connecting families with services, such as mental health and substance use treatment, behavioral supports and financial resources. This movement is linked to the idea that child welfare agencies often accuse parents of neglect when the root issue is poverty, and could be addressed by putting supports in place rather than removing a child. Earlier this week, Governor Janet Mills signed legislation into law that changed the state's definition of child neglect, creating an exception for parents who can't provide necessities because they are unable to afford them. More than half of U.S. states have adopted similar statutes. The department supported the change. But some lawmakers and advocates in Augusta argued that the bill didn't go far enough. They argue the state is unnecessarily separating families and paying for foster care, lawyers and court time instead of addressing the symptoms of poverty. They argue the state is opening too many cases, making it harder to identify those that are particularly dangerous. 'The system we have now is not designed to effectively keep children safe,' Alica Rea from the Maine ACLU testified before a legislative committee in April. 'Instead, the system puts parents, especially single mothers, in the impossible situation of having to overcome poverty in order to stop being monitored and to reunite with their children, without providing them with the resources necessary to do so.' Not everyone shares this perspective. According to Maine's child welfare ombudsman, the state is not removing children from homes quickly enough. 'Since 2019, the trends that my office has seen do not show that the Department is taking too many children into state custody,' Christine Alberi wrote in an email. 'The Department has often delayed taking children into custody too long after multiple investigations or safety plans.' Alberi said the department's reaction after 2018 included 'a much higher level of risk aversion' that was 'not a model for child welfare practice.' This included reinvestigating cases sent to the Alternative Response Program (which is often where low severity cases are referred) and ending out-of-home safety planning, which resulted in more children entering custody, Alberi said. 'Many changes were needed but instead of refocusing on proper practice, the Department did too much too quickly,' Alberi wrote. Declining numbers Data suggests Maine's foster care surge may be receding. The number of children entering state custody increased from 820 to 1,246 between 2017 and 2019, a 50 percent rise. But in the next five years, entries into the system fell 15 percent to 1,054 in 2023. Despite the lower level of children entering the system, the overall foster care population continued to grow until well into 2024, as the number of children exiting the system, due to adoption or reunification with parents, was lower than the number of children entering. While federal data is lagging, Maine's child welfare dashboard has more current numbers. They show that the foster care population continued to increase from 2023 to 2024. In July, the number of children in state care hit a 20-year high of 2,579. But that total has been declining since, dropping to 2,290 in April. Johnson sees the decline as 'a positive movement.' She attributed the decline to more adoptions (Maine has a higher rate of children leaving the system through adoption than the national average) and efforts to identify barriers to either adoption or reunification. She also credited investments in the state's behavioral health system, which allow families to get help before removal is needed, Johnson said. 'Building out the infrastructure of prevention within our state is really critical,' she said. ___ This story was originally published by The Maine Monitor and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
No more vetoes, Pillen says as 2025 Legislature wraps up; two lawmakers relieved
State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha speaks on the floor of the Legislature on May 19, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner). LINCOLN — Two Nebraska bills most vulnerable to a governor's veto in the waning hours of the 2025 Nebraska Legislature are about to become law without his objection. The pair — separate priority bills from Omaha State Sens. Megan Hunt and Terrell McKinney — were among a late wave of 26 bills approved by the full Legislature and awaiting action by Gov. Jim Pillen as lawmakers adjourned for the year. Both the Hunt and McKinney bills cleared final votes Friday by less than the number needed to override a veto. Pillen, in a letter early Monday to the Clerk of the Legislature, said all the bills on his desk 'will become law without my objections in the coming days.' Included in the 26 bills Pillen is expected to approve were three sent to his desk Monday. That negated any need for veto override attempts on the Legislature's final day. Hunt said she was 'surprised,' and excited to see her Legislative Bill 275 cross the finish line. The bill reforms the use of Social Security benefits received by eligible Nebraska foster children, in part strengthening communication between the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the youth's representative. Hunt described recipients as among the state's most vulnerable, because the benefits are related to the death of a parent or guardian or a physical or mental disability. DHHS currently intercepts the Social Security benefits bound for those kids and uses the funds to offset the state costs of the youths' care. LB 275 requires DHHS to set aside at least 20% of all Social Security benefits in a separate trust fund, beginning when the foster youth is 14, with the percentage increasing gradually to 50% at age 18. Meant to ease transition to adult independence, it brings Nebraska 'in line with federal law to provide further accountability, transparency and conservation of a portion of the funds in a trust account for the youth's own use when they exit state care.' Hunt said she thought LB 275, which advanced to Pillen's desk on a 29-19 vote, might be in jeopardy partly because of a roughly $1 million in annual notification and operational costs estimated in a fiscal note and also because of a pattern of Pillen's vetos, which she said have been 'less about policy and more about the introducer.' McKinney said Monday that he was unsure what Pillen might do on LB 48, his bill aimed at helping to keep youths out of the criminal justice system. He said he was happy to see it unobstructed by a veto, and proud of the accomplishment. 'It's good legislation that's going to help a lot of families and juveniles, keeping them out of the system,' he said. LB 48 calls for an around-the-clock Family Resource and Juvenile Assessment Center pilot program in Omaha. The goal is two sites that will address family dynamics, mental health, substance abuse and educational challenges to juvenile delinquency. The bill faced resistance and near demise during earlier legislative debate. It passed final reading on a 27-21 vote. Of 26 bills awaiting Pillen's signature Monday, two others passed final legislative debate with 33 votes; four passed with vote tallies in the mid to upper 30s, and the rest secured 40 or more votes. Said Hunt: 'I'm excited now to breathe a sigh of relief and move on to the next issue.' Nebraska Examiner reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
After multiple arrests, Iowa man sues when he's denied SNAP benefits
(Photo by) An Iowa man who says he has no stable access to food is suing the state, alleging it has unfairly denied him access to food assistance based on a criminal conviction later voided by the courts. Charles Hasselmann, 32, of Ankeny alleges that in 2023, he applied for food assistance while residing in a correctional facility as a result of a probation-revocation order that was premised on a finding of him being a habitual offender. The sentence was later vacated by a district court judge, Hasselmann claims, with the judge finding the habitual-offender enhancement to his sentence on a theft conviction lacked sufficient factual basis. Because of that finding, the court also set aside the related order that revoked his probation, Hasselmann claims. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Court records indicate the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services later disqualified Hasselmann from receiving food assistance through the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, for at least 12 months. It also demanded restitution for overpayment, citing 'stolen' funds that Hasselmann says are due to others' unauthorized use of his benefits card. In his lawsuit against DHHS, Hasselmann is seeking an injunction that would award him SNAP benefits and halt any further efforts at collections for the alleged overpayments. In his petition, Hasselmann claims he was recently released from more than two years of incarceration and now has no reliable access to food or income. The public interest, he argues, strongly favors his access to 'basic nutritional support.' The state has yet to file a response to the lawsuit, but in a related court case attorneys for the state argued that while a judge did find there was insufficient factual basis to impose the habitual-offender sentence enhancement on the conviction for theft, the court did not disturb the underlying conviction for theft. The state's lawyers say that under a plea deal that was later reached, Hasselmann had agreed to a prison term of no more than five years on the theft charge. The court then set aside the earlier probation violation order, the state alleges, not because it represented 'an illegal sentence,' but because, through the subsequent plea deal, a five-year prison sentence had been agreed to and imposed. Court records indicate that since 2012, Hasselmann has been charged with numerous felony and misdemeanor offenses, resulting in seven convictions for theft, five convictions for driving while barred, five convictions for forgery, two convictions for assault and two convictions for drunken driving. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Nebraska confirms state's first measles case since 2017, in county bordering SD
A digitally colorized, thin-section transmission electron microscopic image of a single measles virus particle. (CDC/Cynthia S. Goldsmith; William Bellini, Ph.D.) Nebraska confirmed its first measles case of the recent national surge, this one in the state's Panhandle in a county bordering South Dakota. The measles case involving an 'age-appropriately vaccinated child' in Sheridan County is the state's first since 2017, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The child had no history of out-of-state travel. 'We are grateful the child's symptoms have been mild, and they are recovering,' said Jessica Davies, health director of the Panhandle Public Health District that covers 12 western counties. 'Those with known exposure have already been notified.' DHHS says people visiting the following locations may have been exposed to measles and are advised to visit and complete the state DHHS's risk assessment survey: Family Dollar in Rushville, 316 W 2nd St., on May 17 from 9 a.m. to noon. Gordon Memorial Hospital Clinic in Gordon on May 21 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The state health agency said people may have been exposed to measles in two cities in the panhandle and advised them to visit and complete the state DHHS risk assessment survey. Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications and even death. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash over the body. Being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people. Measles can affect anyone, but it is most common in children. The state health agency emphasizes that if an individual thinks they have symptoms of measles, they should isolate themselves and call a health care facility in advance to get tested. State health officials also said anyone with known measles exposure and no confirmed immunity needs to stay at home and away from others for 21 days from the last date of exposure. Vaccines have made measles rare in the U.S., leading to its elimination in 2000, but the politicization of vaccinations has played a part in the resurgence of measles in the U.S. Many nearby states have had measles cases this year. Kansas currently has 58 cases. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen held a press conference in April with state health officials urging Nebraskans to get vaccinated against a disease that can cause serious health complications, especially for children under age 5. At the time, Pillen said, 'It's not if it's going to come to Nebraska, but when.' South Dakota has not reported a confirmed measles case so far this year, but reported a case last year that was the state's first in nine years. South Dakota Searchlight contributed to this report. The location of Nebraska's Sheridan County, on the border with South Dakota. This story was originally published by the Nebraska Examiner. Like South Dakota Searchlight, it's part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Aaron Sanderford for questions: info@
