The Massachusetts State House needs to be cleaned out by the citizens!The Massachusetts State Legislature should be protecting our rights and keeping the Commonwealth safe and well-run. But instead, it spends much of its time creating unnecessary laws and allocating money on agendas that take away citizens’ rights and liberties, diminish the quality of life, and destabilize the social order.
These outrages include:
What do these all have in common? None of it is being done because average people in Massachusetts are asking for it. All of it is being done to please well-funded political special interests. These special interests are skilled and aggressive at lobbying and have agendas that are completely disconnected from the desires of regular citizens. But they have far more influence over our legislators than the citizens who elect them.
At the same time that our legislators are expending so much energy to please special interests, they are outrageously “saving time” for themselves by unlawfully – and unconstitutionally – disregarding the proper duties they were elected to perform.
The Massachusetts Legislature does something that no other legislature in the country does. The House and Senate both “pass” over 60% of their legislation in sleazy, unconstitutional so-called “informal sessions” that lack a required quorum. It is shocking to legislators in other states when they hear about it.
If you’re a bartender or teacher or grocery store worker, you have to go to work every day. But our elected legislators don’t want to have to do that. They don’t really feel like dealing with all the “boring” bills that they also were elected to consider and vote on. So over the years they’ve concocted a scheme that they’ve now shamefully institutionalized.
Here’s how it works:
The House has 160 members. The Senate has 40 members. The Massachusetts Constitution is clear and unambiguous: half of each body must be present for business to be conducted:
Article XXXIII.
A majority of the members of each branch of the general court shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a less number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members. All the provisions of the existing constitution inconsistent with the provisions herein contained are hereby annulled.
The full House and Senate meet normally only once or twice a month where they debate and vote on the “important” legislation (that most of us dread). These are called “formal sessions.” But they only deal with a small number of the total bills before the Legislature.
Two or three times a week, the House and Senate also meet, but this time with only a tiny number of members (usually only 3 or 4 – though at least one from each party). There is obviously no legal quorum. But that’s where most of the bills before the Legislature get voted on. They quickly go through a long list at each meeting. It’s been pre-determined how they’re going to vote, and everyone votes the same way. (There’s no debate, and no roll-call votes.) This happens all year long. These are called “informal sessions” and treated as if they were legitimate.
You can actually watch the videos of these House and Senate informal sessions on the State House website.
At this informal session on April 11, three State Reps are at the podium, along with staffers and guards at the sides, holding a session before an empty room. At the microphone is Rep. Sean Garballey (D-Arlington). Behind him are Rep. David Vieira (R-Falmouth) and Rep. Donald Wong (R-Saugus). They "passed" numerous bills that day.How do they rationalize this outrageous charade? They “pretend” there’s a quorum by not formally taking a count of the members present, even though it’s obvious there isn’t one.
Everyone at the State House is in on the scam. It’s a grand collusion between both political parties, all the members of the Legislature, and all the Boston media. They all know what’s happening and choose to ignore it because it’s expedient for everyone.
We once asked the House legal counsel whether informal sessions are unconstitutional. He didn’t deny it; he simply said, “That’s how we do things here.” The head Boston Globe State House reporter told us the same thing.
When we ask legislators about this, even “conservative” Republicans tell us that it’s OK because all these bills are “non-controversial.” The fact that the Legislature is constitutionally required to do the job it was elected to do and properly vote on all these bills, as the legislatures in every other state do, doesn’t even matter to Republican legislators here.
Actually, many of the “non-controversial” bills are controversial to certain people. They deal with home-rule issues for towns, town charter changes, liquor licenses, and numerous statewide issues such as raises for state workers and the recent “move over” law for highways.
But they have one problem with that scheme – that we can take advantage of. If a member of the Legislature shows up at an informal session and announces, “I doubt the presence of a quorum,” then the lack of a quorum is publicly on the record. The meeting has to shut down (until the next time).
Occasionally that has happened! When Jim Lyons was a State Rep, he shut it down for days over secretive funding for non-citizens – and they finally gave in. In December 2023, Republicans temporarily stopped informal sessions by calling the quorum because the Democrats were pushing funding for illegal immigrants in those sessions. Even Democrats have done it. Rep. Paul McMurtry temporarily stopped informal sessions over a liquor license that the Legislature was blocking.
If the Massachusetts Legislature is going to take away our rights and liberties, we need to make them feel the pain. All informal sessions need to be shut down by calling the quorum.
Political experts have said that this will grind the Massachusetts Legislature to a halt. Good!
At the very least, make all the elected legislators actually come to work and do their jobs. Make them go on record that they are present, and how they cast their vote.
We already have one good Republican State Rep willing to do this. But he needs other Reps and Senators to join him. So far, none are willing to. That needs to change right now. They need to feel the wrath of the people. And the crooks who participate in these slimy “informal sessions” need to feel the heat from everyone. The end of all this sleazy government must start now!
If you are serious about helping change things in Massachusetts, we’ll let you know what to do, so please contact us right away!
REGULAR PEOPLE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!
Our successes depend on people like you.
Your support will make the difference!
Spot the difference.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 18, 2024
Pro-Palestinian protesters chanting “d*ath to America.”
Pro-Israel students singing “God Bless America.”
The contrast cannot be more clear. pic.twitter.com/NekyQtmYQI
Our activists in Sri Lanka are thrilled at this victory over Western cultural imperialism, and are getting ready for the next battle.In August 2023, MassResistance reported that the country of Sri Lanka, a nation of religiously diverse people, was being pressured by Western countries to repeal its long-standing laws regarding homosexual behavior. The aim was to force Sri Lankan society to be “LGBT-friendly.”
The laws in question, which date from the British colonial period, criminalize “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and “any act of gross indecency” between persons.
However, the prescribed penalties are rarely imposed. As in many locales around the world, these laws act as a barrier to keep homosexuality and transgenderism from being normalized and accepted in society.
Thus, LGBT behaviors cannot be taught in the schools or promoted to children or as part of any “sex education” curriculum. There can be no “gay marriage,” same-sex civil unions, or any gross public display of homosexual behaviors. Even “gender identity” ideology is banned.
Nevertheless, LGBT organizations are allowed to operate openly in Sri Lanka, and even hold “pride” parades. But they cannot include naked bodies or any of the other disgusting sights one sees at those events in Western countries, and the groups are not involved in any way with the government.
The intense efforts to repeal these laws came from the United Nations, along with public and private money from the US, UK, Canada, and other countries. They funded local LGBT groups to conduct an organized pressure campaign, and also exerted direct international political pressure.
Gay Pride parade in Colombo, the capital city. It's officially called a "Freedom Pride Parade," apparently to avoid any possible problems regarding the current laws - but to demand their repeal. They haven't been successful. [Photo: Kenya Christian Voice]Since early 2023, MassResistance has been working with local leaders and pro-family activists in Sri Lanka to stop this repeal. We provided a detailed flyer outlining key reasons why the country should not repeal these statutes. We explained how it would lead to future problems. We documented how the proliferation of homosexual conduct and transgenderism harm individuals and overall public health.
Many pro-family organizations around the world gave up or kept quiet on this fight in Sri Lanka. But MassResistance was unwavering and continued to help Sri Lankans to stop this repeal in their Parliament. Our activists around the world contacted local churches, local leaders, and members of Parliament, urging them to oppose the repeal. We also connected with Catholic leaders from other countries, who worked with their colleagues in Sri Lanka.
The last big push came in February 2024. Key LGBT groups held a meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament. But by then the momentum was against them and their efforts fell flat.
After ten months of activism, the repeal effort has effectively died! Our activists have spoken with members of Parliament and local leaders, and according to all of them there is no appetite to move this bill forward.
Our key contact in the country, Dr. Eschan Dias, enthusiastically thanked MassResistance’s contribution! “I am most grateful to MassResistance for your love and support for this country,” he told us. But he added, “We need to keep up in intensity and velocity.” That’s because of the new threat in Parliament.
LGBT activists and their supporters in the country are now trying a new approach this year to push their LGBT ideology into the country. Two wide-ranging gender-related bills were announced a few weeks ago.
The “Gender Equality Act” would officially define "gender" in the nation’s law to include men and women who identify as transgender, and “any new identities that may emerge in the future.” This is clearly an open door to state-enforced radical sexual and ideological anarchy.
The “Women’s Empowerment Act” is being touted as an effort to allow more women to be in corporate and government positions. But in reality, this legislation would create and force quotas for women and different sexual “orientations” into broad areas of Sri Lankan corporate and public life. Dr. Dias discusses these bills more fully in a recent Substack article.
As the Sri Lanka news media has reported, the president has caved in to the radicals. But the real power is in the Parliament. And we're working for more victories there!Relying on the same tactics the LGBT movement has employed in the UN and Western countries, activists are hoping to confuse lawmakers and shame opponents with general terms about protecting women’s rights and ensuring “gender equality” to push the destructive homosexual-transgender cause into the government and public square of Sri Lanka. (A key tactic is to use “gender” to mean both biological sex and “transgender” identities.)
But MassResistance understands exactly what is going on, and will not stand by and let the people of Sri Lanka – or their legislators in Parliament – be bullied and misled by misinformation and propaganda from the LGBT movement. We will make sure they are fully informed.
The well-funded international LGBT movement, along with with the UN, private organizations, and Western governments, are determined to force those depraved values on vulnerable religious-oriented nations around the world. MassResistance will help their targets fight back against this cultural imperialism!
Thix X post from our Sri Lanka team says it clearly! Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!
Our successes depend on people like you.
Your support will make the difference!
Why would someone who could paint the picture on the left choose to paint the picture on the right? 🧵 pic.twitter.com/S7kxdcIP1J
— Culture Critic (@Culture_Crit) April 8, 2024
I do not like "The Big Lebowski."
The film is boring, pretentious, irritating. The Coen Brothers swung and missed with this movie. What really puzzles me is that such a strong cult following surrounds this movie, even a neo-religion and wannabe-hip philosphy.
To me, all you've got is a hollow movie with a bunch of directionless slackers and weirdos, plus a rich guy who shares the same name as the title character, and therefore the "The Dude" gets into trouble on account of the richer Lebowski.
Someone tell me why this is funny.
And someone please explain to me why we should throw out all conventions of reality to accept this very flimsy premise? Deus Ex Machina, anyone?
Besides, who wants to watch a bunch of self-absorbed jerks bowling, anyway?
Still, I wanted to take a closer look at "The Dude," played by Jeff Bridges. What is it that just sets me off about this movie?
Famed film critic Gene Siskel rightly criticized that the character was too self-important, and had no heart.
That made me think of Eric Edson's analysis in The Story Solution on why characters are or are not likeable, and how likeability is an essential aspect to good story-telling.
A main character has to have at least five of the nine traits listed below in order to be likeable:
When Zachariah the High Priest questions the Angel Gabriel, he was expressing doubt.Every conservative “influencer” should have to watch this on repeat pic.twitter.com/anpoUBKFsL
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) April 5, 2024
Here's the full statement:I generally avoid intra-Right conflict, but the ongoing Daily Wire-Candace Owens dispute is an important moment for the Right, which, I believe, merits comment.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) April 5, 2024
First, it's not a violation of "free speech" to let a multimillion-dollar contract expire, which is reportedly what…
I generally avoid intra-Right conflict, but the ongoing Daily Wire-Candace Owens dispute is an important moment for the Right, which, I believe, merits comment.
First, it's not a violation of "free speech" to let a multimillion-dollar contract expire, which is reportedly what happened. The Daily Wire is not obligated to subsidize Candace Owens's speech, especially if she is deviating from the publication's editorial standard or causing problems for the business. DW is not an open platform such as YouTube, Facebook, X, etc., and the owners of a publication are under no obligation to subsidize someone whose trust and friendship they no longer enjoy. Owens spent months taking public shots at @benshapiro and @JeremyDBoreing, which is a tacit request to get canned and then play the martyr.
Owens is a gifted speaker, who has been able to turn controversy into attention—a valuable capability—but she does not advance a serious politics. She is clearly traveling down an ugly, but, unfortunately, well-trodden path. She has rationalized Kanye West's antisemitic rants, speculated about Jewish gangs murdering people in Hollywood, accused @BariWeiss of being a CIA asset, and claimed that Emmanuel Macron's wife is a man. There is an audience for this kind of material—Inforwars does a robust business in vitamins and emergency prep kits—but it's a political dead end.
Why does this matter? Because the Right faces an inflection point. There are serious people who are trying to advance a serious political movement with a vision for governing—I consider the Daily Wire to be among them. And there are unserious people who are willing to sell kayfabe and conspiracy, leading us nowhere. I care about politics because I believe we have substantive work to do for the country. This requires putting together a coalition that is capable of taking responsibility. The choice is ours.
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Father sues CA high school over rainbow flag in son’s classroom.
Officials at Venice High School in suburban Los Angeles acted despicably toward a traumatized family that did not want the LGBT agenda pushed on their sons.The LGBT rainbow “pride” flag is worse than just an anti-Christian political symbol meant to normalize sexual perversions and disordered behaviors. It can also be traumatic to those who have been physically and psychologically damaged by that “movement.”
In 2022, Brian Selem, a father in suburban Los Angeles, contacted MassResistance.
He had a horrible heartbreaking story. As a teenager he had been drugged and gang-raped by a group of homosexual men on multiple occasions. He was naïve and an easy target for the perpetrators who groomed him. It was such dreadful experience that it took years before he could even process what had happened to him. He is now married with two sons in school. But it continues to be a terrible debilitating nightmare that, despite counseling and support, has affected his life intensely and never leaves him.
Brian is not alone. Since the so-called “gay rights” movement became institutionalized in America, hundreds of thousands of boys and men have suffered homosexual rape, according to reports. Even the pro-LGBT New York Times admits it: More than 100,000 men have been sexually assaulted in the military in recent decades. Yet the problem of homosexual rape is rarely covered by the mainstream media.
So, when Brian sees the LGBT Pride flag flying, it elicits intense disgust and revulsion in him. Many people are willing to understand that and respond to his concerns. For example, Brian’s barber took down the rainbow flags in his shop out of respect for Brian’s pain.
Unfortunately, school officials typically have no compassion or interest in the feelings of anyone who disagrees with their agendas. That negligence has directly affected Brian.
Brian’s sons attend Venice High School in the West Los Angeles area. One of his sons was enrolled in an English class where the teacher prominently displayed the LGBT pride flag in her class.
When Brian visited that classroom during Back to School Night in September 2022, he confronted the teacher about the flag. He described to her what had happened to him and how that flag is psychologically and emotionally triggering to him and family members. His son should not have to sit in class and have to look at it, he insisted to the teacher. And if nothing else, he asked, why aren’t other viewpoints allowed?
Initially, the teacher acquiesced and said she would take down the flag, though Brian noticed she smirked at another staffer in the room at the time. But the next day, Brian’s son informed him that the flag was still in the classroom. Brian’s wife also contacted the teacher to ask it be taken down, but was ignored.
It got much worse. A few days later, the teacher brought in a “Restorative Justice” lecturer to talk to the English class. The message was that homosexuals and transgenders are victims who deserve apologies or reparations in some form from the rest of society. The speaker brought up Brian as an example of an offender because he opposes the school’s view on homosexuality and transgenderism, and even disparaged his son. It was clearly meant to humiliate Brian and his son in front of the class.
Brian was very upset. He arranged a meeting with the school vice principal and guidance counselor to discuss what had happened. But both officials refused to comment or take any corrective action. Instead, they insultingly referred Brian to the school district’s Diversity Department for re-education. (How outrageous that a high school has an office dedicated to indoctrination!)
At that point, Brian contacted MassResistance and we discussed the situation with him at length. Since the high school principal was the final authority in that building, we suggested he should insist on talking with her – even though she may want to avoid dealing with him. We worked with him on making the meeting happen, and also on the points he should bring up and how he should deal with any objections, purposeful misdirection, or double-talk.
Brian had also found out that both his sons had been given homework, surveys, and other materials referencing anal sex, oral sex, and other LGBT behaviors. But Brian had notified the school several times in writing, as California’s opt-out law allows, not to expose his children to any sexual content, imagery, or activism. That was also to be brought up at the meeting.
Brian was able to meet with the principal on October 14, 2022. He talked in detail about his emotional situation and what had happened to him. But she appeared unsympathetic and was very uncooperative. She refused to give Brian details about the Restorative Justice speaker’s agenda or background. She would not address his other specific complaints. She simply acknowledged that what happened was wrong, and again referred Brian to the school district’s Diversity Department (as the others had done).
We continued to work with Brian, but the school officials closed ranks like nothing we’d ever seen before. It reeked of ill will and even seemed demonic, given what had happened to Brian and how their actions served to torment him.
In early January 2024, Brian’s lawyer formally filed a lawsuit in Superior Court against Venice High School and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Technically, the lawsuit is filed by Brian on behalf of his son.
The lawsuit cites eight California statutes that the school has allegedly violated in their treatment of Brian, their refusal to comply with the opt-out laws, their refusal to notify parents regarding speakers, civil rights and disability obligations, and other blatant violations.
The suit is asking for damages, citing intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. It is seeking injunctive relief, including compliance with all of the California statutes – and also removing all LGBT flags and other symbolism from all classrooms unless the district allows flags and symbolism of countering viewpoints alongside them.
We are awaiting the school district’s reply to this lawsuit. It should be interesting! We will keep you informed.
This lawsuit is a commendable development – and something that needs to happen across the country! Brian is a true hero for everyone.
A lot of parents would back down to the hostility of the teachers and the stonewalling of the officials. They would also be reluctant to reveal such horrible and humiliating personal experiences in public. But Brian is not backing down. We wish more people had his strong principles.
We all know that the environmental poisoning in the high schools of America goes beyond flag displays. The intense promotion of all things LGBT – via the curriculum, GSA clubs, brainwashed staff, guest speakers, etc. – is toxic to everyone and must be rooted out.
Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!
Our successes depend on people like you.
Your support will make the difference!
