Peter Myers Digest: Wokery – Situation Report: The World

(1) Biden-appointed President of World Bank halts new lending to Uganda over anti-LGBTQ law
(2) Biden-appointed President of World Bank comes out pro- LGBT
(3) Richard Dawkins: Sex really is binary; You’re either male or female. Trans have no right to impose Speech Codes
(4) Supreme Court rules LGBT cannot force you to affirm beliefs in violation of your own
(5) Matt Gaetz (R) Introduces Bill to Abolish USAID for promoting Wokeism in foreign countries
(6) Museum cancels JK Rowling over ‘super hateful’ anti-trans views
(7) Parents oppose Scout ‘woke recruitment drive’ with eight ‘diversity and inclusion’ roles

https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/30/scotus-decision-protecting-religious-liberty-provides-the-perfect-ending-to-pride-month/

SCOTUS Decision Protecting Religious Liberty Provides The Perfect Ending To Pride Month

BY: EVITA DUFFY-ALFONSO
JUNE 30, 2023

In a perfect close to “pride month,” the Supreme Court ruled Friday that the alphabet people, or anyone else for that matter, cannot force you to affirm beliefs in violation of your own.

According to the high court, laws like Colorado’s “Anti-Discrimination Act,” which LGBT activists have used to bully Christians into going against their faith, violate Americans’ First Amendment right to free speech.

In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, the state of Colorado tried forcing graphic artist Lorie Smith to build a wedding website for a same-sex couple, an act which opposes her Christian belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. The case also impacts the <https://thefederalist.com/2022/10/06/the-never-ending-persecution-of-jack-phillips/> years-long persecution of Masterpiece Cakeshop cake artist Jack Phillips, who similarly refused to make a cake celebrating same-sex marriages. …

Pride month is an opportunity for radical activists to impose their ideology on the entire country. Any business, public school, or person that does not pledge allegiance to pride during the month of June is labeled a bigot and is either socially or financially <https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/19/business/hrc-rating-bud-light/index.html> punished.

Legal harassment is the natural next step to the left’s intense social intimidation. That’s why Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act goes hand-in-hand with pride month. And while the Anti-Discrimination Act was struck down, the left will continue to pass similar unconstitutional legislation every day. Take, for example, a <https://www.foxnews.com/politics/michigan-house-passes-bill-using-wrong-pronouns-felony-fineable-10000> bill recently passed by the Michigan State House of Representatives that could make using wrong pronouns a felony fineable up to $10,000.

Nevertheless, pride’s 2023 social and legislative militancy has been one of the worst received yet, with polls <https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/voters-sour-on-pride-campaigns-poll/ar-AA1d7Hm1> showing that Americans are sick of cynical corporate campaigns and oppose the LGBT targeting of children. The high court’s decision is vindicating for many Americans who have been bullied into silence or even submission this past month. Today we learned that the Constitution still stands.

As Justice Neil Gorsuch said in the majority opinion: “The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands.”

Evita Duffy-Alfonso is a staff writer to The Federalist and the co-founder of the Chicago Thinker. She loves the Midwest, lumberjack sports, writing, and her family. Follow her on Twitter at @evitaduffy_1 or contact her at evita@thefederalist.com.

(1) Biden-appointed President of World Bank halts new lending to Uganda over anti-LGBTQ law

Comment (Peter M.): Uganda should borrow from Japan or Arab countries

https://news.yahoo.com/world-bank-says-ugandas-anti-194131781.html

World Bank halts new lending to Uganda over anti-LGBTQ law

Andrea Shalal and Kanishka Singh

Wed, August 9, 2023 at 5:41 AM GMT+10

By Andrea Shalal and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The World Bank said on Tuesday it would halt new lending to the Ugandan government after concluding that its anti-LGBTQ law, which has been condemned by many countries and the United Nations, contradicts the bank’s values.

In response, the East African country dismissed the move as unjust and hypocritical.

A World Bank team traveled to Uganda immediately after the law was enacted in May and determined that additional measures were needed to ensure projects were being implemented in line with the bank’s environmental and social standards.

“No new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested,” the bank said in a statement, adding that such measures were now under discussion with Ugandan authorities.

“Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group’s values. We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality,” the bank said.

“We remain committed to helping all Ugandans – without exception – escape poverty, access vital services, and improve their lives.”

World Bank President Ajay Banga, who took office in June after the Ugandan law was enacted, has come under pressure to respond to the Ugandan law. On June 15, 170 civic groups urged Banga to take “specific, concrete and timely actions” in response to the Uganda anti-LGBTQ law, including suspending future lending.

Uganda’s state minister for foreign affairs, Okello Oryem accused the bank of hypocrisy, saying they were lending to countries in the Middle East and Asia that have the same or harsher laws on homosexuality.

“There are many Middle East countries who do not tolerate homosexuals, they actually hang and execute homosexuals, in the United States of America many states have passed laws that are either against or restrict activities of homosexuality … so why pick on Uganda?” he said.

(2) Biden-appointed President of World Bank comes out pro- LGBT

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/08/world-bank-group-goes-woke.html

August 09, 2023

World Bank Group Goes Woke

The World Bank Group is a global institution controlled by the U.S. government. It is supposed to lend low interest money to developing countries in need.

Last year the position of its president became controversial. David Malpass, a former Treasury official, was perceived as being ambiguous about the cause of climate change. In February he threw the towel:
The president of the World Bank will step down from his post in June, leaving the organisation almost a year before his term was due to end.

David Malpass announced his decision on social media, without providing a specific reason for his departure.
The pick of former US President Donald Trump, he has been criticised as a climate-change denier. Last year, the White House rebuked him after he said he did not know if fossil fuels were driving climate change.
He later apologised for the remarks.

In June one Ajay Banga, a former CEO of Mastercard, was installed as the new president. He had worked as an outside adviser for the Obama administration and later for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Under Banga the World Bank Group has gone woke: …
…

On May 2 the Ugandan Anti-Homosexualty Act passed its third reading in parliament by a vote of 348 to 1. On May 29 it became law. Ajay Banta started his World Bank presidency on June 2.

Uganda’s society is, like many others, against the ‘unnatural’ differentiation of gender and sexuality.

The World Bank Group has a page about values but those are designed for the World Bank workforce and its interaction with other people:

For the diverse workforce of the World Bank Group, integrity, ethical behavior, and adherence to corporate values are core to the success of our mission to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.

The World Banks mission, according to its website, consists of just two targets:

To end extreme poverty: By reducing the share of the global population that lives in extreme poverty to 3 percent.

To promote shared prosperity: By increasing the incomes of the poorest 40 percent of people in every country.

I find nothing about the bank being supposed to push for controversial ‘values’ that only a few western societies halfheartedly support.

Will World Bank loans to Kuwait, Pakistan, Kenia or the Vatican now only come with vague value mandates attached to them?

How is that supposed to help the World Bank’s to fulfill its core mission?

This stinks of a very specific intervention in the World Bank mission by some woke Democrats.

As the Ugandan government correctly <https://news.yahoo.com/world-bank-says-ugandas-anti-194131781.html> points out:

“The World Bank has been put under pressure by the usual imperialists.”

Posted by b on August 9, 2023 at 15:11 UTC

(3) Richard Dawkins: Sex really is binary; You’re either male or female. Trans have no right to impose Speech Codes

“You have a right to your private lexicon, but you are not entitled to insist that we change our language to suit your whim”

I do not intend to disparage trans people. I see that my academic “Discuss” question has been misconstrued as such and I deplore this. It was also not my intent to ally in any way with Republican bigots in US now exploiting this issue .

— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) April 12, 2021

@RichardDawkins
·
<https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/1380812852055973888>Apr 10, 2021
In 2015, Rachel Dolezal, a white chapter president of NAACP, was vilified for identifying as Black. Some men choose to identify as women, and some women choose to identify as men. You will be vilified if you deny that they literally are what they identify as.
<https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/08/richard-dawkins-frank-sex-talk-infuriates-internet/>https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/08/richard-dawkins-frank-sex-talk-infuriates-internet/

Richard Dawkins’ frank ‘sex’ talk infuriates internet

https://www.spectator.com.au/author/flat-white/

Flat White

2 August 2023

Flat White is written and edited by Alexandra Marshall.

Richard Dawkins has been trending on social media for days. Usually outrage mobs get sore arms if they hold their pitchforks aloft for more than 24-hours, but in this case, they’ve made an exception.

What was Richard Dawkins’ great crime?

He sat down for a chat about ‘sex’ (or ‘gender’ as the trendy would say these days). Worse, he committed this sin while being a former darling of left-wing thought who has long-railed against religious doctrine and now finds himself at odds with a genuine leftist cult.

<https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/1686119970034339840>
Speaking on his podcast, The Poetry of Reality, he said:

‘Sex really is binary. No question about it. You’re either male or female and it’s absolutely clear you can do it on gamete size, you can do it on chromosomes… To me, as a biologist, it is distinctly weird people can simply declare, “I am a woman (though I have a penis)!”’

Kinky.

He went on to call it an ‘odd distortion of reality’ – which is an understatement to people who find themselves labelled as hateful bigots for telling blokes to leave the women’s bathroom.

As someone cleverly pointed out in the comments to this podcast, written in response to one of those ‘but gender is a social/cultural/feeling construct’ replies, sports are not played with philosophical statements – they are played with biological ‘sexed’ bodies. Therefore, if the transgender argument is that gender is something other than biological sex, it does not follow and cannot be argued that transgender people should access sex-segregated activities in which ‘gender’ is being used with the intended translation of ‘sex’.

For example, when women’s sports was created, it was not intended as a category for ‘people who feel as they are women’. It is a deliberate biological segregation to give women a fair go at competition. The inclusion of transgender individuals appears to be a fleeting experiment, as sporting bodies finally bow to pressure from furious women.

In the interview, Richard Dawkins was speaking with author Helen Joyce. She said, ‘I don’t think that “male” and “female” are prizes for effort. They are just observations of categories that we are…’ She went on to say that ‘this is a linguistic movement’. It is an interesting observation, and goes a long way to explaining why censorship – particularly from Australian levels of government – is being employed as barbed wire to keep public criticism out of the conversation.

The podcast contained a ruthless discussion where nearly every sentence stirred the bristles on the backs of keyboard warriors. They are yet to recover.

‘Science is all about reality,’ said Dawkins. He has spent his whole life within the fold of the scientific community. ‘Science and reality have come up against some competition.’

Richard Dawkins has been stuck with the pointy end of aggressive trans activism before when he was stripped of his Humanist of the Year accolade because of his ‘offensive’ comments on transgender – 25 years after he was given the award.

On that occasion, he was accused of ‘demeaning marginalised groups’ using ‘the guise of scientific discourse’ – which is another way of saying that biological reality, expressed by a person of science, demeans a group of people. This is the same thing as ‘demeaning overweight people by reading their weight on the scales’. It’s an interesting form of victimhood that forces the rest of the world to misshape itself to preserve the serenity of delusion.

‘To be honest, I had actually forgotten that I ever had that award, but it is upsetting when your own side turns against you, of course,’ <https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/richard-dawkins-its-upsetting-when-your-own-side-turns-against-you/news-story/d1975dd87ec108df51c480c73cbcc690>said Dawkins. ‘I’d never worried about religious fundamentalists disliking me, but when it’s your own team, it’s upsetting. It’s a remarkably foolish thing for them to do, because all I did was raise a subject for discussion.’

In the podcast, he lamented, ‘People think I must be right-wing because “everyone” who agrees with me is on the right.’

He is apparently yet to learn that inviting a discussion that might weaken a lucrative bit of activist propaganda is one of the new deadly sins in the Cult of Woke. There is no longer a ‘left’ but rather a collection of ideological cults shuffling together, loosely bound by a single political god.

Dawkins made other comments during that particular interview that readers of this publication, and the writer of this article, disagree with. For example, he discussed the ‘selfishness’ of the ‘anti-vaccination movement’ during Covid, stating: ‘They just think it’s a matter of individual liberty. They don’t realise that refraining from vaccination for no very good reason is rather like driving on the wrong side of the road … we do owe a certain curtailment of individual liberty in the interests of society.’

We will watch with interest to see if this particular discussion changes as the science chips away at the dogma we had to wade through as a global society during the Covid years.

Returning to the transgender question, Richard Dawkins’ July 26 article in the <https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2023/07/biological-sex-binary-debate-richard-dawkins> New Statesman proclaimed, ‘Some argue that lived experience and personal choice trump biology – but they are wrong.’

No doubt adding to the online outrage, Dawkins wrote in support of politeness toward using people’s preferred pronouns, but then added:

‘They [transgender people] have a right to that respect and sympathy. Their militantly vocal supports do not have a right to commandeer our words and impose idiosyncratic redefinitions on the rest of us. You have a right to your private lexicon, but you are not entitled to insist that we change our language to suit your whim. And you have absolutely no right to bully and intimidate those who follow common usage and biological reality in their usage of “woman” as honoured descriptor for half the population.’

What is particularly interesting is the way in which this (enraging?) article from Dawkins was published.

<https://twitter.com/MartinMonmouth1/status/1684807043687776256> On his blog, Dawkins revealed that the piece was apparently commissioned, but then only published after a long lay over that resulted in the need to publish an opposing view to go with his view. ‘They were having trouble finding one, and I think it shows…’ When an opposing view was finally found, he described it as not making ‘any coherent sense’.

All of this, including the full interview, went up onto social media.

For Australian viewers, we might ask ourselves if we will even be allowed to see these tweets from Richard Dawkins, let alone watch his discussions, if they are deemed to be ‘misinformation’, ‘disinformation’, or ‘harmful’ under Anthony Albanese’s new laws…

Something tells me that science has a few more adversities to overcome if it intends to survive the selfish gene of activism.

(4) Supreme Court rules LGBT cannot force you to affirm beliefs in violation of your own

https://thefederalist.com/2023/06/30/scotus-decision-protecting-religious-liberty-provides-the-perfect-ending-to-pride-month/

SCOTUS Decision Protecting Religious Liberty Provides The Perfect Ending To Pride Month

BY: EVITA DUFFY-ALFONSO
JUNE 30, 2023

In a perfect close to “pride month,” the Supreme Court ruled Friday that the alphabet people, or anyone else for that matter, cannot force you to affirm beliefs in violation of your own.

(5) Matt Gaetz (R) Introduces Bill to Abolish USAID for promoting Wokeism in foreign countries

https://thenewamerican.com/us/politics/foreign-policy/gaetz-introduces-bill-to-abolish-international-wokeism-promoter-usaid/

Gaetz Introduces Bill to Abolish “International Wokeism” Promoter USAID

by Michael Tennant August 2, 2023

Calling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) “a slush fund for international wokeism,” Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced legislation Tuesday that would immediately abolish the agency.

Gaetz’s bill would, as of its enactment, simply stop funding USAID, rescind any unobligated funds previously allocated to the agency, and transfer its other assets and liabilities to the secretary of state.

“American taxpayer dollars are being wasted to fund radical leftist propaganda in foreign countries,” Gaetz said in a press release. “The American people will not tolerate government-funded degeneracy at home, and we certainly will not accept its force-feeding abroad under Old Glory.”

The bill’s cosponsors are Representatives Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) — a full third of the Grand Canyon State’s congressmen — Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.).

Because the language abolishing USAID comprises just two paragraphs of the four-page bill, the remainder of the text serves as an indictment of the agency that easily justifies its shuttering.

“The United States, in dealings with allies and adversaries, should engage in diplomacy and international relations that do not undermine the culture or tradition of other nations and peoples, but instead seek to develop working and friendly relationships relative to the interests of both parties with United States citizens chiefly in mind,” the bill states. …

(6) Museum cancels JK Rowling over ‘super hateful’ anti-trans views

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/05/jk-rowling-airbrushed-museum-of-pop-culture-seattle/

Museum cancels JK Rowling over ‘super hateful’ trans views
MoPOP in Seattle will continue to display Harry Potter memorabilia but will make no reference to author because of gender critical comments

By
Dominic Penna
5 August 2023 • 4:27pm

A museum has airbrushed JK Rowling out of its hall of fame and Harry Potter exhibits because of her gender-critical beliefs.

The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, Washington, accused the author of holding “super hateful and divisive” opinions in a lengthy blog post explaining its decision.

Rowling has received online abuse for her opinions on transgender issues after arguing that women should not be ousted from their jobs for believing biological sex is real.

She strongly denied accusations of transphobia in 2020 after mocking the use of the phrase “people who menstruate” in place of “women”.

While MoPOP continues to display memorabilia from the Harry Potter films, which are adapted from Rowling’s most famous novels, an article by its exhibitions project manager confirms references to the franchise’s creator are no longer included.

The museum doubled down on its decision on Saturday, saying it “unequivocally stands with nonbinary and transgender communities”.

Chris Moore, who is transgender and uses ‘he/they’ pronouns, wrote in the 1,400-word piece: “There’s a certain cold, heartless, joy-sucking entity in the world of Harry Potter and, this time, it is not actually a Dementor.

“This certain person is a bit too vocal with her super hateful and divisive views to be ignored…Her transphobic viewpoints are front and centre these days, but we can’t forget all the other ways that she’s problematic.”

Explaining the removal of Rowling from MoPOP’s hall of fame, Moore wrote: “For the time being, the curators decided to remove any of her artefacts from this gallery to reduce her impact. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s what we were able to do in the short-term while determining long-term practices.” …

(7) Parents oppose Scout ‘woke recruitment drive’ with eight ‘diversity and inclusion’ roles

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12373939/Scout-leaders-come-fire-woke-recruitment-drive-eight-diversity-inclusion-roles-furious-parents-demand-staff-actually-know-wilderness-survival-skills-abseiling-canoeing.html

Scout leaders come under fire for ‘woke recruitment drive’ with eight ‘diversity and inclusion’ roles – but furious parents demand more staff who actually ‘know wilderness survival skills, abseiling or canoeing’
Joanna Gregson, the Scouts’ Head of Diversity, announced the jobs on LinkedIn

By DAVID PILDITCH

PUBLISHED: 02:22 AEST, 5 August 2023 | UPDATED: 03:50 AEST, 5 August 2023

Scout leaders have come under fire after launching a massive woke recruitment drive.

Critics hit out at the organisation after it boasted it is looking for candidates to fill ‘no less than EIGHT new ‘equity, diversity and inclusion roles’.

They said hiring the new recruits represented ‘a massive investment’ in the movement’s ‘ambitious new EDI programme’.

Announcing the jobs on LinkedIn, Joanna Gregson, the Scouts’ Head of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, wrote: ‘I’m SO EXCITED to say that we’re recruiting no less than EIGHT new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion roles to support our race equity work and our ambitious new EDI programme.

‘This represents a massive investment by The Scouts, demonstrating its commitment to long-term, meaningful change – and I’m so proud to be a part of it.’

She went on to list the positions saying the movement is looking for an EDI programme manager, EDI project manager, EDI design manager, two EDI executives, EDI learning and development executive, EDI resolutions manager and senior researcher.

And Ms Gregson pledged that there was more to come, adding: ‘For all you HR EDI specialists out there – we’ve also one of those in the works too, so keep your eyes peeled!’

The post was greeted excitedly by Rosemary Ellingham – a full time Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Executive at the Scouts who was appointed in April 2022.

She wrote: ‘Such an exciting move for the Scouts to be making. Can’t wait to see our new team grow!! Thanks Joanna for all your hard work to get us to this point.

But not everybody was so impressed.

One angry parent said: ‘I wonder if any of these people know anything about teaching wilderness survival skills, abseiling or canoeing – they don’t seem to be on the Scouts’ list of priorities any more.

‘They’ve lost their sense of adventure and literally tied themselves up in knots with all this nonsense.’ …