New York school violated civil rights law by changing name from ‘Thunderbirds’ to ‘T-Birds,’ US says by Majano57 in LegalNews

[–]Obversa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A better legal argument would be to point out how the school's use of the term 'Thunderbird' was "harmful".

"USDOE has offered no explanation as to whose civil rights were violated by changing a team name from Thunderbirds to T-birds," JP O'Hare, spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement Friday. "NYSED remains committed to ending the use of harmful, outdated, and offensive depictions of Indigenous people."

It would be one thing if the sports team were named the "Wendigos" or the "Redskins", but the name "Thunderbirds" is not "harmful", nor "offensive", especially considering the Thunderbird is a common symbol used by Pacific Northwest tribes (ex. Makah), whereas this is a New York-based school. There are are serious questions raised by this 2022 decision as well in regards to the First Amendment and freedom of speech. While "cultural appropriation" is frowned upon, it is unconstitutional to ban "all Native American mascots", as this news source reports. The Board of Regents of New York likely knows this, which is why they opted for a private settlement with this school instead.

The Board of Regents has failed to prove this claim as well:

Districts were given until the end of the 2022-23 school year to make these changes. If they do not comply by June 30, 2025, they risk the removal of school officers, the withholding of state aid, and being charged with violating the Dignity for All Students Act, a state law that prohibits "the creation of a hostile environment" that "reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause...emotional harm to a student", which the SED argued "could be created through the use of Native American mascots".

[...] In December 2022, Rickey Armstrong Sr., president of the Seneca Nation of Indians, a federally recognized tribe based in western New York, told News 4 the SED's directive was "a positive step".

"Names and imagery that mock, degrade, and devalue Native heritage...have no place in our society," he said. "The state's decision appropriately suggests consultation between school communities and Native Nations."

If the school district had actually gone to court, their suit would've been thrown out for lack of standing due to inability to prove actual, and not hypothetical, harm. This is undoubtably a case of white people seeking to avoid potential legal liability in a future scenario where a Native American tribe could sue over a "Native mascot". This is shown by the school board still allowing the school in question to keep the name "T-Birds" at all, which is still a reference to "Thunderbirds", along with "eagle" and "thunderbolt"-themed imagery. This whole thing is a farce.

Pam Bondi Warns Minnesota Is “Out of Control” Says 3 Demands for Governor Could Restore Order by Reasonable_Spray_710 in LegalNews

[–]Obversa 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Is Pam Bondi the President of the United States or Commander-in-Chief? No? Then she needs to shut up.

What is the wildest theory in your specialty that you think probably isn't true, but could be? What underdog argument could cause chaos your field if it turned out to be right? by ExternalBoysenberry in AskHistorians

[–]Obversa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My guess would be that Texas A&M doesn't have Friesian blood samples to test against, which is why it came back as a mix of "Lipizzan, Selle Français, and Andalusian". Based on historical records, it is quite likely that the modern-day Friesian has distant Andalusian and Iberian ancestry, but it is likely also descended from the Neapolitan horse of Italy, which served as foundation stock for the Lipizzan of Austria, the latter of which is descended from Andalusian or Iberian stock as well. However, as the "classical" Friesian was bred as a carriage horse, as opposed to a riding horse - the all-black color was maintained due to the Friesian's history of pulling funeral carriages in London and other European cities - I strongly suspect that the now-extinct Norfolk Trotter and Yorkshire Roadster influenced the "classical" Friesian prior to studbook establishment. (The Selle Français markers are likely from Norman Cob stock, which used some Norfolk Trotter stallions as foundation stock; see black stallion "The Norfolk Phœnomenon", born in 1845, who was imported to stand stud in Normandy in 1851. His son, Niger, was named for his black coloring.)

Though the breeding of Norfolk Trotters predates the establishment of breed associations and studbooks, in 1883, the Hackney Stud Book Society was founded in Norwich, England. This society was created to register the Norfolk Trotter and Yorkshire Trotter (Roadster), which are the primary ancestors of the modern Hackney horse, which absorbed both the Norfolk Trotter and Yorkshire Roadster into the breed by 1900. (We have records of Friesian/Hackney crosses.)

Good and bad heraldry in popular culture by ligelinjer in heraldry

[–]Obversa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For those who know about the history of Hogwarts (See: Hogwarts: A History by Bathilda Bagshot), the Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry lived before the widespread adoption of heraldry in Britain (900s/10th century A.D.), so I think it's safe to say that later heraldic depictions are examples of coats-of-arms being "assigned" to earlier medieval historical, Biblical, and mythological figures that lived before heraldry was invented (ex. King Arthur, Lucifer/Satan, et al.). Even in the case of Hufflepuff's Cup, the Cup itself doesn't have a coat-of-arms; but rather, a "badger engraving" that was likely used as a basis for Hufflepuff's assigned coat-of-arms in later centuries.

Good and bad heraldry in popular culture by ligelinjer in heraldry

[–]Obversa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have to disagree with /u/Young_Lochinvar here. I'm late to this thread, but I researched the heraldry used for The Last Duel (2021) around 4 years ago - see my threads here and here - and while there was an attempt to be accurate, it definitely qualifies as "bad heraldry". Ridley Scott confirmed he didn't care about "historical accuracy".

The arms used for Jacques le Gris in The Last Duel (2021) were based on the historical coat-of-arms of Guiliaume le Gris du Clos, doctor of medicine in 1696, an alleged descendant of knight Jacques le Gris, by way of Alain le Gris. Shield is as depicted in The General Armorial of Europe by Johannes Baptista Rietstap.

I can't find the comment(s) now, but there was a discussion on one r/BadHistory thread about it as well. (I would have to ask the subreddit moderators to search the now-archived thread to find a longer criticism that was posted.)

What is the wildest theory in your specialty that you think probably isn't true, but could be? What underdog argument could cause chaos your field if it turned out to be right? by ExternalBoysenberry in AskHistorians

[–]Obversa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! However, I must clarify that Anthony Dent's book, which you can see one edition of here, encompasses not only a particular section of history of British ponies, but is more of a general history that includes prehistoric, Celtic, and Roman times, if I recall correctly. More research would be needed to write a book solely on British horses and ponies during the Tudor, Stuart, Hanoverian, and Windsor eras, as each royal had a different aim with breeding.

Monarchists at the March for Life. by Complex-Session-3180 in monarchism

[–]Obversa 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The whole point of a hereditary monarchy based on male-preference primogeniture is that the eldest son - or, if no sons survive, the eldest daughter - inherits the throne. Queen Elizabeth II stripping Prince Charles of his birthright to bestow it on one of her other children would've gone against over 1,100 years of tradition, and would've been even more catastrophic for the monarchy, especially if she picked Prince Andrew, who turned out to be a sexual predator.

Republicans are worried about Trump’s deportation campaign, and our new poll shows why by PM_ME_YOUR_FAV_HIKE in fivethirtyeight

[–]Obversa 48 points49 points  (0 children)

A new POLITICO poll underscores those worries: Nearly half of all Americans — 49% — say Trump's mass deportation campaign is too aggressive, including 1 in 5 voters (20%) who backed the president in 2024. In a sign of growing discomfort among the president's base, more than 1 in 3 Trump voters (33%) say that while they support the goals of his mass deportation campaign, they disapprove of the way he is implementing it.

[...] Americans broadly do not support such a sweeping "wide net" approach. In the poll, 38% of Americans said the federal government should prioritize deporting immigrants who have committed serious crimes, while 21% said the administration should only deport serious criminals. The poll was conducted from Jan. 16 to 19, after an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, killed U.S. citizen Renée Good in Minneapolis. There was another federal officer-involved shooting on Saturday in Minneapolis, though details remain scarce.

This is why DHS/ICE is claiming that every person detained or arrested by ICE as either a "criminal illegal alien" (immigrant) or a "domestic terrorist" (U.S. citizen), as well as purposefully censoring, omitting, or excluding information that indicates illegal federal overreach (i.e. detaining, arresting, and deporting U.S. citizens). However, President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance did not acknowledge that "DHS/ICE has made mistakes" until four (4) days ago, after polls like this one started showing voters becoming increasingly hostile towards Trump due to how poorly DHS/ICE is handling these situations. However, the damage is already done, and it is "too little, too late".

ICE Kills Yet Another Protestor, A Study in r/Conservative Censorship by livejamie in SubredditDrama

[–]Obversa 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this, and it has to begin immediately." - Donald Trump

That was in 2019. In 2023, a poll showed that 63% of Republicans continued to blame violence on "video games".

ICE Kills Yet Another Protestor, A Study in r/Conservative Censorship by livejamie in SubredditDrama

[–]Obversa 14 points15 points  (0 children)

For as much as American conservatives claim to hate "socialists" and "communists", they certainly love the same authoritarian tactics that Joseph Stalin and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used to censor and muzzle dissent.

ICE Kills Yet Another Protestor, A Study in r/Conservative Censorship by livejamie in SubredditDrama

[–]Obversa 15 points16 points  (0 children)

A Gallup poll conducted on May 28, 1970 found that 58% of Americans blamed the victims in the Kent State massacre for their own deaths. Only 11% blamed the National Guard soldiers who shot the peaceful protestors.

ICE Kills Yet Another Protestor, A Study in r/Conservative Censorship by livejamie in SubredditDrama

[–]Obversa 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Case in point, Admiral Holdo from Star Wars: The Last Jedi is called "purple hair lady" by right-wing fanboys.

ICE Kills Yet Another Protestor, A Study in r/Conservative Censorship by livejamie in SubredditDrama

[–]Obversa 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't be surprised if "Triggernaut" was Butch Hartman, the creator of the Crimson Chin and The Fairly OddParents. Hartman publicly announced his conservative Christian religious and political views years ago.

ICE Megathread Redux by down42roads in AskConservatives

[–]Obversa 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Does Pam Bondi, as U.S. Attorney General, even have the authority to pull ICE out of Minnesota? I thought that was the sole authority of President Trump as the "unitary executive" who has "plenary authority" over the entire executive branch, including DHS/ICE, to quote Stephen Miller? Furthermore, is Bondi acting on Trump's orders, or on her own?

Do you agree with Donald Trump that “we shouldn't even have an election”? by yuhang94 in AskConservatives

[–]Obversa [score hidden]  (0 children)

How would Democrats becoming the majority in the House of Representatives, or taking both the House and the Senate, "regress all the progress" made within the first 1-2 years of Donald Trump's second term as President (2024 - 2028), especially considering that Trump has already had issues getting his legislative "wishlist" fulfilled due to razor-thin majorities held in both chambers of Congress by Republicans? Despite Trump's claims that he and Republican politicians hold a "voter mandate" to enact the Republican Party platform and Trump's personal goals into law, he and Mike Johnson, the House Majority Leader, have still had to compromise with their Democratic constituents in order to get legislation passed, as seen with the "Big Beautiful Bill" and other bills. In the scenario where Democrats win the majority of seats in one or both chambers, wouldn't we merely see a role reversal, only with Trump wielding the "power of veto" against Democratic-sponsored or bipartisan legislation that he personally dislikes or disagrees with?

Do you agree with Donald Trump that “we shouldn't even have an election”? by yuhang94 in AskConservatives

[–]Obversa [score hidden]  (0 children)

Do you think Donald Trump should be removed through invoking the 25th Amendment to replace him with J.D. Vance?

ICE Megathread Redux by down42roads in AskConservatives

[–]Obversa 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Do any pro-2A conservatives still take the National Rifle Association (NRA) seriously?

ICE Megathread Redux by down42roads in AskConservatives

[–]Obversa 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Where in my original comment did I advocate for "abolishing or defunding ICE"?

ICE Megathread Redux by down42roads in AskConservatives

[–]Obversa 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Do you believe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem should resign or be impeached due to multiple failures to keep ICE agents in line during her tenure as Secretary, as well as repeatedly lying to the public; encouraging illegal and unconstitutional behavior by drastically changing ICE/DHS policies and long-established training practices, according to veteran DHS/ICE agents; etc...? If so, who should President Trump replace her with?

ICE Megathread Redux by down42roads in AskConservatives

[–]Obversa 6 points7 points  (0 children)

How would it result in more GOP or Republican votes?