Praying for America – December 19th‚ 2023 The post WATCH: Praying for America | The Political Dimension of Christmas – 12/19/2023 first appeared on Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN).

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A gay fifth grade teacher in Glendale‚ California‚ is suing the Glendale Unified School District after he was suspended then fired for condemning transgender ideology at a school board meeting in April. Ray Shelton‚ a 25-year veteran teacher‚ spoke at a Glendale Unified school board meeting amid concerns over the district’s promotion of LGBTQ+ curriculums to elementary students‚ including by an administrator stating that all children were naturally “socialist” and “queer‚” The Daily Signal reported. Parents also have alleged that the school district allows boys who claim to be transgender to share locker rooms with girls. Glendale‚ a city in the San Fernando Valley‚ is part of Los Angeles County. Its school system has 32 schools and 25‚000 students‚ according to the district’s website. Shelton‚ who taught at Mark Keppel Elementary School‚ was named the Glendale school district’s “Teacher of the Year” twice‚ and earlier this year won the PTA’s Golden Oak Award. He attended the April school board meeting wearing a T-shirt that said “Make Biology Great Again.” He told The Daily Signal that he was supposed to have been given three-to-five minutes to speak at the board meeting‚ though he was only given 60 seconds before he was cut off. Two plus two equals four. The world is not flat. Boys have penises; girls have vaginas. Gender is binary and cannot be changed. Biology is not bigotry. Heterosexuality is not hate. Gender confusion and gender delusion are deep psychological disorders.  No caring professional or loving parent would ever support the chemical poisoning or surgical mutilation of a child’s genitalia. Transgender ideology is anti-gay‚ it is anti-woman‚ and it is anti-human. It wants to take away women’s sports‚ women’s rights‚ women’s achievements. It is misogyny writ large. And I can also say this as a gay man‚ the gay people … At that point‚ Shelton’s microphone was muted and a board member informed him that his time was up. Shelton sat down amid applause from the audience. Glendale Unified prevented Shelton from returning to his classroom afterward. The next day‚ April 19‚ Shelton was visited in his classroom at 8 a.m. by Keppel Elementary Principal Kristine Tonoli and a Glendale district administrator. Shelton told The Daily Signal that he was given a letter informing him that he was being placed on paid leave pending investigation after “several complaints” were lodged against him. He was subsequently fired. But‚ the teacher said‚ all of the emailed complaints shown to him by the Glendale school district were made after he had been put on leave‚ not before‚ suggesting either that Glendale didn’t provide Shelton with earlier complaints or that Tonoli lied to him about why he was being suspended.  All of the emailed complaints provided to The Daily Signal originally were sent after the meeting‚ at 8 a.m. April 19‚ according to time stamps. After that classroom confrontation on April 19‚ Shelton was escorted to the edge of school property and told not to return unless accompanied by someone from the Glendale Unified human resources office. Since those events‚ Shelton has been attacked by liberal activist groups. Media Matters on June 13 called Shelton a “swastika-wielding teacher” in a misleading headline for an article slamming Fox News and Shelton for what it called a “hate-filled tirade.” Media Matters writer Jane Lee didn’t cite Shelton’s comments to the school board or what role the swastika played in the situation. Shelton’s “swastika‚” seen in a photo in the tweet‚ is an internet meme combining four Pride/Progress flags into a swastika‚ mocking the transgenderism and “diversity‚ equity and inclusion” movement as authoritarian‚ discriminatory and dangerous‚ he explained to The Daily Signal in a Tuesday interview. While Jordan Henry has been agitating and lobbying attacks against the district for 2+ years‚ his efforts were mostly contained. However‚ on 4/16 he appeared w a man who held a swastika in the school board meeting. That man was revealed to be local 5th grade teacher Ray Shelton. pic.twitter.com/gNbnsUbYkE— GUSD Parents for Public Schools (@GUSDforAll) June 12‚ 2023 Applying Nazi imagery to political opponents‚ such as by drawing a Hitler mustache on photos‚ has been a popular method of demonizing and discrediting the Left’s opponents for decades. But now‚ a law firm is suing on Shelton’s behalf for what it claims was retaliation against his First Amendment rights. The lawsuit states: As a result of Defendants’ retaliatory‚ unconstitutional actions against Mr. Shelton‚ he was never allowed to return to his classroom or watch his students graduate‚ something he looked forward to every year. Mr. Shelton suffered personally and professionally because of the damage inflicted on him by Defendants’ punitive actions. He filed this action to restore his name and to vindicate not only his rights‚ but the right of all Americans‚ to speak freely without being burdened by the oppressive yoke of government censorship. Asked what he hoped to gain through the lawsuit‚ Shelton said he hoped a legal victory  would help strengthen free speech precedents. “Once the principle [of free speech] is broken‚” he said‚ “people can be silenced through fear—then that’s the end of our civilization.” 2023-12-13-Shelton-ComplaintDownload Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post EXCLUSIVE: Award-Winning Gay Teacher Sues California School After Being Fired for Condemning Transgenderism appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Maine’s Democrat secretary of state said Wednesday she will not rule on Donald Trump’s eligibility for the state’s 2024 presidential ballot until next week. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows was supposed to rule on challenges to Trump’s GOP primary ballot status Friday‚ but she delayed the decision following the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling. BREAKING: Colorado Supreme Court BLOCKS Trump From 2024 Ballot! “On Wednesday‚ Bellows gave lawyers for Trump and those challenging him in Maine until 8 p.m. Thursday to file briefs arguing how much bearing the Colorado ruling should have here‚” Bangor Daily News reports. More from the Bangor Daily News: The major Maine challenge came from former Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling and former state Sens. Tom Saviello of Wilton and Kim Rosen of Bucksport. Strimling is a progressive Democrat‚ while Rosen is a Republican and Saviello most recently served in state office as a Republican but is a former Democrat and now is an independent. Their argument largely mirrors the one made successfully in Colorado. The 14th Amendment was passed after the Civil War to keep former Confederates out of federal office and has rarely been used in the modern era. While the lower court there ruled the amendment does not apply to the presidency‚ the high court disagreed. Saviello said the decision should make it easier for Bellows to rule for the challengers‚ noting that she does not have to be the first to make such a decision now. Judges in several other states had turned back similar cases before the Colorado ruling. “Ultimately the Supreme Court is going to decide but until that’s done‚ ‘Donald Trump you can’t be on the ballot‚’” Saviello said‚ summing up an argument he thought Bellows should make. In Maine last week‚ Trump’s lawyers argued that Bellows lacked the power to leave Trump off the ballot. Her decision can be appealed to state courts. Trump’s campaign has assailed the Colorado ruling as well and promised to appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Maine Wire posted footage from a hearing last week in regard to keeping Donald Trump off the state’s 2024 presidential ballot. WATCH: HAPPENING NOW: Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is currently holding a hearing in regard to keeping President Trump off the ballot in Maine. pic.twitter.com/k1Si0YnSA1 — The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) December 15‚ 2023 The Portland Press Herald reports: Strimling‚ Rosen and Saviello also cited Section 3 in a challenge to Trump’s appearing on the Maine primary ballot filed with Bellows earlier this month. Bellows heard arguments from the challengers and attorneys for Trump at a hearing last week. Gaines filed a notice with Bellows Wednesday morning notifying her of the Colorado decision. “Challengers also note that… the Secretary is now bound by the Colorado courts’ findings on all pertinent factual issues‚” the notice said. The Trump campaign has dismissed the challenges and the Colorado ruling as politically motivated. “Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing‚ dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls‚” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement Tuesday night. “They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November.” At issue in Maine are two questions: Does the secretary of state have the authority to decide whether Trump can appear on the ballot? And‚ does the 14th Amendment prohibit him from appearing on the ballot? Attorneys for Trump have argued that Bellows does not have the authority to remove Trump from the ballot on any grounds except in specific circumstances under state law. As 100 Percent Fed Up noted‚ “six states are already vying to follow Colorado’s lead and remove President Trump from the 2024 ballot.” Six More States Now Actively Investigating REMOVAL Of President Trump From 2024 Ballot These states are examining the possibility of using the 14th Amendment to bar Trump from running in the 2024 election due to his alleged involvement in the January 6th Capitol riot. California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis has called on California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to “explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.” “I am prompted by the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent ruling that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot as a Presidential Candidate due to his role in inciting an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on January 6‚ 2021. This decision is about honoring the rule of law in our country‚” Kounalakis writes. Read the full letter: