#Florida Freedom to Read Project

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Daily Salinas, a mother in the Miami-area whose complaint about “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman got it successfully restricted in an elementary school, confessed she did not read the piece she objected to in its entirety. According to Salinas, the poem “is not educational and have indirectly [sic] hate messages.” Gorman’s work, which was performed at President Biden’s Inauguration in 2021, wasn’t the only thing Salinas complained about.

According to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, Salinas—whose two children attend The Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes—also came for “The ABCs of Black History,” “Cuban Kids,” “Countries in the News: Cuba,” and “Love to Langston” for including “references of critical race theory,” “indirect hate messages” and “gender ideology and indoctrination.”

In an interview, Salinas tried to justify her ignorance of the material. “I’m not an expert,” she said. “I’m not a reader. I’m not a book person. I’m a mom involved in my children’s education.” In addition to being admittedly dense, Salinas has also promoted antisemitism on social media and attended rallies featuring members of the Proud Boys.

Even though she has Cuban heritage, the Florida parent used thinly veiled bigotry as an excuse to further oppress other marginalized groups. Sadly, the fact that she stripped her claims of any validity by not reading the material didn’t phase her in the least. The same can be said of Emily Conklin, another Florida parent who complained about the Disney film “Ruby Bridges” being shown in her child’s classroom because she believed it teaches that white people hate Black people.

The film was temporarily banned at North Shore Elementary in St. Petersburg, though Conklin admitted that she never finished the film (she only watched the first 50 minutes of the movie). Ron DeSantis’ Florida governorship has emboldened white supremacist ideology for conservatives who don’t even consume material they claim to be dangerous to their children. His newly announced presidential run will only work to deepen this dystopia.

The right vehemently has attacked anything they deem “woke,” though they have repeatedly failed to define what it even means. As the GOP sharpen their claws and gear up try to take over White House next year, instances like these remind us that they will never rely on reason, intelligence or principle when it comes to policy and legislation. It will always thrive on hate, discrimination and racism—pillars that have upheld the party since its inception.

[thatwritererinoriordan]

Florida Freedom to Read Project

[hikkikoaubrey]

Please read, don't scroll pass this. (II)

One the previous post I talked about the KOSA Bill and the TikTok Ban Bill as you can see above, but now for this post I'm going to talk about something of even greater importance. Project 2025.

Project 2025 is a plan from Republicans / Conservatives to seize total control of America from the inside out while destroying democracy in the process, ultimately turning America into a Christian nationalist militarized state. One of the main ways they plan on making this a reality is through Trump getting a second term as president.

If this comes to pass, this will ruin and even end the lives of many, and to make it worse, the changes caused by Project 2025 will still be in effect even long after Trump's second term ends.

We cannot let Trump when this election, and as much as I hate this, Biden is really our only choice since voting on a 3rd party will most likely won't work. I know Biden has a lot of problems, but we don't have a choice.

Here is some more links with some additional info (including the actual Project 2025 website), please look more into this and spread this around (even if you're not in America)

Website

Project 2025 | Presidential Transition Project

Videos

The Conservative Plan to Take Over the Country (you need to know about this) (youtube.com)

Project 2025: The Fascist Plan For America (youtube.com)

Tweets

Project 2025 (@Prjct2025) / X (twitter.com)

STOP THE COUP 2025 #StopProject2025 (@stopthecoup2025) / X (twitter.com)

https://x.com/oogamretsim/status/1769776085221220774?s=20

BMB Empower Network on X: "A guide to #Project2025, the extreme #rightwing agenda for the next #Republican administration, aims to roll back #civilrights and destroy the #federalgovernment. https://t.co/TVhHMRjjTD" / X (twitter.com)

NowThis Impact on X: "When conservatives tell you what their plan is, believe them. Here’s how Project 2025 aims to break down the U.S. government, dismantle the education system, institute a national abortion ban... and that’s just the beginning. https://t.co/htZORS5whU" / X (twitter.com)

https://x.com/cardon_brian/status/1772756740016099494?s=20

David Pepper on X: "🚨 🚨 NEW WHITEBOARD 2024 is being framed as Trump vs. Biden. But Trump’s unhinged Ohio speech the other day, his past actions, the ominous Project 2025, and more, make clear that the election really is about: Trump vs YOU… and your FREEDOM. WATCH, RT and then… https://t.co/qG0Nr5SYOj" / X (twitter.com)

https://x.com/ruthbenghiat/status/1770499903640264865?s=20

Kanis The Arctic Wolf 🔜 Florida on X: "WE CANNOT STAY SILENT ABOUT THIS! Project 2025 and KOSA are DANGEROUS, it’s a threat to all of our rights and democracy as a whole. If we don’t stand up for our rights now, we won’t have them to fight for later on. SPREAD THE WORD, DEFEND OUR RIGHTS, IT TAKES ALL OF US!" / X (twitter.com)

https://x.com/batzless/status/1770583846540509549?s=20

Tumblr Posts

[bethanyactually]

Florida's recent assault on students' access to books and freedom of information is stupid and infuriating

It’s good practice to assess whether or not you, as the adult making book selection decisions, would be comfortable reading aloud the material in question in a public meeting. If you would not be comfortable reading the material in a public setting, then you should lean towards not making the material available in a school library for children.

This bit from the Florida Department of Education's Library Media and Instructional Materials Training Transcript (Slide 11) strikes me as dangerously, deliberately disingenuous. There are plenty of horrific things I would not feel precisely comfortable reading aloud in a public setting that are absolutely essential to teach kids about--slavery and abuse are the first two things that leap to mind. The Holocaust. Genocides. Hate groups. Any kind of discrimination. Abuse, in particular, strikes me as one of those things that authoritarian parents don't want their children learning about from outside sources, lest they realize the way their parents treat them is not normal.

I don't have any brilliant or grand thoughts to sum this up, I just read a bit about this in an opinion piece in the Washington Post (Ron DeSantis’s book ban mania targets Jodi Picoult — and she hits back) and was struck with what a stupid guidance that was. So much of life is not comfortable, but that doesn't mean it's not important to learn about those things and discuss them.

Anyway. Check out the Florida Freedom to Read Project for more information, and ways you can help. They have some awesome shirt designs available in their merch shop, too.

[reynard61]

Since the challenge form has not been released, it is not certain who challenged Arthur's Birthday. But nearly all the book challenges in Clay County schools have been submitted by Bruce Friedman, an activist associated with the right-wing group No Left Turn in Education. Among other things, No Left Turn in Education seeks to "screen and monitor the curriculum, materials and any other resources used in all classes" to prevent the "sexualization of children."  Friedman did not respond to texts or an email seeking comment. But in an interview with Popular Information in December 2022, Friedman said he had compiled "a list of over 3,600 titles" that he was considering challenging. Friedman said that unless the school district voluntarily purged all the books he believed were inappropriate from the library, he would "perform 3,600 challenges and overwhelm your awful, awful procedures and policies." The goal, according to Friedman, is to use Clay County school libraries to "set a good example for what a clean library looks like" for Florida and the country. If anyone gets in his way, Friedman vowed to "run over them like a dead body." Over the last year, Friedman has filed hundreds of challenges. And according to records requested by the Florida Freedom to Read Project and obtained by Popular Information, Friedman has had considerable success. Challenges submitted since the beginning of the 2022-23 school year have resulted in the district permanently banning at least 120 books from school libraries through June 30. 

So if you live in Clay County, FL (and, at some possible future date, in the United States as a whole), and can't find that copy of The Handmaid's Tale or It or Carrie or even Arthur's Birthday at your local public library; well, Bruce Friedman and his merrie band of fascists at No Left Turn in Education are the ones that you can thank for that. 🙄😒

[commiepinkofag]

How the anti-gender movement is bringing us closer to authoritarianism

Judith Butler / March 16, 2024

In the United States, gender has been considered a relatively ordinary term. We are asked to check a box on a form, and most of us do so without giving it too much thought. But some of us don’t like checking the box and think there should be either many more boxes or perhaps none at all. The myriad, continuing debates about gender show that no one approach to defining or understanding it reigns. It’s no longer a mundane box to be checked on official forms.

The anti-gender ideology movement, however, treats the range of sometimes conflicting ideas about gender as a monolith, frightening in its power and reach.

The fear of “gender” allows existing powers — states, churches, political movements — to frighten people to come back into their ranks, to accept censorship and to externalize their fear and hatred onto vulnerable communities. Those powers not only appeal to existing fears that many working people have about the future of their work or the sanctity of their family life but also incite those fears, insisting, as it were, that people conveniently identify gender as the true cause of their feelings of anxiety and trepidation about the world.

The project of restoring the world to a phantasmatic time before gender promises a return to a patriarchal dream order that only a strong state can restore. The shoring up of state powers, including the courts, implicates the anti-gender movement in a broader authoritarian, even fascist project. We see the rolling back of progressive legislation and the targeting of sexual and gender minorities as dangers to society, as exemplifying the most destructive force in the world, in order to strip them of their fundamental rights, protections and freedoms.

Consider the allegation that “gender” — whatever it is — puts children at risk through programs such as reading books with queer characters cast as examples of indoctrination or seduction. The fear of children being harmed, the fear that the family, or one’s own family, will be destroyed, that “man” will be dismantled, including the men and man that some of us are, that a new totalitarianism is descending upon us, are all fears that are felt quite deeply by those who have committed themselves to the eradication of “gender” — the word, the concept, the academic field and the various social movements it has come to signify.

The resulting authoritarian restrictions on freedom abound, whether through establishing LGBTQ+-free zones in Poland or strangling progressive educational curricula in Florida that address gender freedom and sexuality in sex education. But no matter how intently authoritarian forces attempt to restrict freedoms, the fact that the categories of women and men shift historically and contextually is undeniable. New gender formations are part of history and reality. Gender is, in reality, minimally the rubric under which we consider changes in the way that men, women and other such categories have been understood.

As an educator, I am inclined to say to these people, “Let’s read some key texts in gender studies together and see what gender does and does not mean and whether the caricature holds up.” Reading is a precondition of democratic life, keeping debate and disagreement grounded and productive.

Sadly, such a strategy rarely works.

A woman in Switzerland once came up to me after a talk I gave and said, “I pray for you.” I asked why. She explained that the Scripture says that God created man and woman and that I, through my books, had denied the Scripture. She added that male and female are natural and that nature was God’s creation. I pointed out that nature admits of complexity and that the Bible itself is open to some differing interpretations, and she scoffed. I then asked if she had read my work, and she replied, “No! I would never read such a book!” I realized that reading a book on gender would be, for her, trafficking with the devil. Her view resonates with the demand to take books on gender out of the classroom and the fear that those who read such books are contaminated by them or subject to an ideological inculcation, even though those who seek to restrict these books have typically never read them.

To refuse gender is, sadly, to refuse to encounter the complexity that one finds in contemporary life across the world. The anti-gender movement opposes thought itself as a danger to society — fertile soil for the horrid collaboration of fascist passions with authoritarian regimes.

We need to take a stand against the anti-gender movement in the name of breathing and living free from the fear of violence.

Transnational coalitions should gather and mobilize everyone the anti-gender ideology movement has targeted. The internecine fights within the field must become dynamic and productive conversations and confrontations, however difficult, within an expansive movement dedicated to equality and justice. Coalitions are never easy, but where conflicts cannot be resolved, movements can still move ahead together with an eye focused on the common sources of oppression.

Whether or not people are assigned a gender at birth or assume one in time, they can really love being the gender that they are and reject any effort to disturb that pleasure. They seek to strut and celebrate, express themselves and communicate the reality of who they are. No one should take away that joy, as long as those people do not insist that their joy is the only possible one. Importantly, however, many endure suffering, ambivalence and disorientation within existing categories, especially the one to which they were assigned at birth. They can be genderqueer or trans, or something else, and they are seeking to live life as the body that makes sense to them and lets life be livable, if not joyous. Whatever else gender means, it surely names for some a felt sense of the body, in its surfaces and depths, a lived sense of being a body in the world in this way.

As much as someone might want to clutch a single idea of what it is to be a woman or a man, the historical reality defeats that project and makes matters worse by insisting on genders that have all along exceeded the binary alternatives. How we live that complexity, and how we let others live, thus becomes of paramount importance.

There is still much to be understood about gender as a structural problem in society, as an identity, as a field of study, as an enigmatic and highly invested term that circulates in ways that inspire some and terrify others. We have to keep thinking about what we mean by it and what others mean when they find themselves up in arms about the term.

Judith Butler is a professor of comparative literature at UC Berkeley. This essay was adapted from their forthcoming book “Who’s Afraid of Gender?”

[whirligig-girl]

Isabel Guz! In the 22nd-And-A-Half Century!

Image ID: Digital drawing of a Eaurp Guz and Hoshi Sato in the NX-01 starship Enterprise mess hall. Guz is a green slimegirl, Hoshi Sato is a japanese human woman. They are both wearing navy-blue united earth starfleet jumpsuits. Hoshi's uniform has blue lining and Guz's uniform has red lining. They both have ensign's pips. Guz looks a little flustered and melty, while Hoshi just looks happy. Guz is eating soup. Hoshi has a sandwich and some beans. There is a purple and blue nebula visible out the window.  End ID.

pre-ent-season-1 Introduction to Isabel Guz under the cut:

Ensign Guz was in the 602 club, enjoying a fruity beverage and talking to Ensign Reed about Titan V missiles. Guz was in uniform--her navy-blue jumpsuit with red stripes, but Reed was wearing a polo shirt and shorts. Reed spotted his crewmates from across the room and waived them over to the booth.

"Uh, Isabel, this is, ahem, Lieutenant Tucker and Commander Archer, from Project Enterprise."

"Please, call me Trip."

Guz's eyes went wide. "Wow! Howdy, I'm, uh, Ensign Isabel Guz, nice to meetchy'all."

Trip cocked his head to the side. "Ensign, where you from?"

"No clue sir, but I was raised in Greensboro."

"Ah, one of them reclaimation project towns?" Trip said.

Guz nodded. "There weren't much uh the city left after the 2nd civil war, but that meant it wasn't one of the targets during world war three."

Commander Archer chuckled to himself, then cleared his throat. "I think you and Trip have a lot in common. He was raised in Panama City."

"A real life Florida man...," Guz marvelled.

"In the flesh," Trip said.

"Have you ever made it out to Cape Canaveral? I know it's mostly a crater reclaimed by swamp at this point but I've heard the historical society opened the ruins of the VAB to visitors! I've always wanted to go, but I never found the time, and--"

"Calm down Ensign. I've done better than that. I've seen the preserved Saturn Five booster in Huntsville, Alabama."

"No... way..." Guz said.

"Forgive me for prying but, what's with the, uhh..." Archer said, gesturing vaguely at Guz's whole deal.

“The slime? The Vulcan scientists said I came to them as a cylinder of biomimetic compound salvaged from a Zaldan Empire ship. They didn't get any records, so I dunno what planet I'm from. Ain't like it matters; as far as I'm concerned, I'm from North Carolina."

"Zaldans?" Archer said

"They're at a similar level of development to Earth, but with much wider infrastructure. That's all the Vulcans told me about them.”

“So are you like, some kinda shapeshifter?” Trip said.

“If you want to learn all about me, feel free to read the Vulcan paper, Development and Maturation of a Biomimetic Mold Organism. If you can read Vulcan, that is. You’ll learn all about my shapeshifting abilities, or lackthereof; my fluidity, material structure, sentience profile… pain response.”

The table went silent. Guz looked down awkwardly, more upset that she’d made things awkward than about what the Vulcans did to her all those years ago.

“Hey, ma’am, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--”

Guz feigned cheering up. “It’s ok. We all know how Vulcans can be!”

The waitress came up to the table. “The usuals, gentlemen?”

“Thanks, Ruby,” Archer said.

“How ‘bout Isabel?” Trip said.

“You’ve already guessed that one,” Ruby said.

“Damn,” Trip said, snapping his fingers.

“Wh-what was that about?” Guz said.

“Ruby said she’ll marry the first guy who guesses what she wants to name her kids.”

Guz muttered under her breath, “or maybe the first slimegirl…”

Archer furrowed his brow and pursed his lips, a little surprised.

Ruby came back with some drinks, and Archer continued in his small talk. “So, Ensign, where are you assigned?”

“I’m on Captain Jeffries’ engineering team.”

“Oh, damn, is he overworking you?” Trip said.

“I can handle the workload,” Guz said. “But I’m hoping to actually get… you know, out there some day. I’m hoping to get on one of those Freedoms, or maybe an Intrepid--”

[redshift-13]

https://www.joemygod.com/2023/02/florida-schools-pull-books-on-prominent-latino-figures/

Under Ron DeSantis Florida is descending into a white and Christian supremacist state.  Whether we call this fascism or something else is less important than the fact that Christian conservatives in the state are well underway in their campaign of marginalization of others, destruction of academic freedom, and the oppressive use of state power to bully the public into adopting its values.

Doesn’t the above picture with DeSantis sitting in front a sign saying truth in all caps seem like it’s been pulled from a movie or some all-too-familiar parody of the clownish authoritarian strongman?  Anyone who would sit in front of such a sign essentially declares that whatever they’re saying is not the truth, but that they’re desperate to bolster their illusions by laying claim to the master rhetorical adjudicator of reality, truth.

They’ve failed at meeting the criticism of their critics, so in exasperation they seize the gold medal for themselves before the race is over.

Writing all caps is conventionally understood as form of vehemence, raising one’s voice or even yelling in typographical form.  Anyone’s who’s debated friendly neighborhood right-wingers or Christian fundamentalists will immediately remember how frequently the resort to all caps is made when the argument for gays being groomers or how biological evolution is wrong loses steam and doesn’t elicit the agreement hoped for and now demanded.

I don’t want to force a simple ridiculous backdrop behind DeSantis to carry all the weight of an analysis of the motivations and psychology of the right.  But it’s been evident for some time that many Christian conservatives are at their last straw.  In addition to demographic collapse, they find themselves locked into a world of misinformation, religious magical thinking, conspiracism, hatred, anti-science and rejection of consensus reality.  The outer world rejects their views, but since they know for certain that Trump won the last election, that gays are corrupting our youth, that climate change is a socialist hoax, that America is on the verge of communist takeover, etc., they’d better make their stand now while they still have a chance.

TRUTH in this context is the cry of those who are at their wits end of being lectured for their bigotry and ignorance and want the tables turned.

TRUTH in this context is those who don’t learn, but then mistake those who do for being relativists who’ve abandoned the homespun truths emanating from the parochial certainties of church and implicit white entitlement and superiority.

Chauncey DeVega at Salon is worth reading on the creeping Christian fascism in Florida

There is a very specific reason why Gov. Ron DeSantis targeted African-American history for erasure Florida is officially a laboratory for fascism in the U.S.

DeSantis and other Republican fascists have proclaimed Florida to be a bastion of "freedom" and "liberty." In reality, Florida is now a laboratory for fascism. As part of his authoritarian project, DeSantis is enforcing thought crime laws that forbid the teaching of AP African-American studies in high school and other courses and programs across Florida's school system (including at the college and university level) that examine questions of power, race and systemic inequality. DeSantis and his agents recently declared that the AP African-American studies course was inappropriate and will not be taught in Florida's schools because it has "no educational value" and is "indoctrinating" (white) young people. DeSantis and his regime's thought crime attacks on African-American studies are Orwell's "1984" meets "Birth of a Nation."

https://www.salon.com/2023/02/07/florida-is-officially-a-laboratory-for-fascism-in-the-us/

More at the link.

Remember when DeSantis says that Florida is the place where “woke goes to die?” 

His attorneys were forced to define woke in a legal proceeding and they said woke meant, "The belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them." https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1599578419649335296

Let’s take them at their word.  They don’t believe that women, LGBT people, indigenous people, BIPOC people, non-Christians, or likely even the disabled, have any basis for thinking that there are systemic injustices arrayed against them.

If you’re white and a conservative Christian, this is the only basis for making judgements about the fairness of American society.  In fact, in their minds they are the only people facing prejudicial obstacles in American society:

The Empty Words of the Religious Right

The legal group Alliance Defending Freedom has perfected a tactic for twisting the First Amendment: casting discriminators as visionaries persecuted by despotic laws.https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/02/10/the-empty-words-of-the-religious-right/

[the-sayuri-rin]

A Florida school district has pulled over 1,600 books from its library shelves for review — including Webster’s Dictionary for Students — to ensure they comply with the state’s new sex education law that prohibits books describing sexual content. 

The Escambia County Public School District, in the Florida Panhandle, pulled five dictionaries, eight encyclopedias and “The Guinness Book of World Records.” It's also reviewing the biographies of Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey, Anne Frank’s diary and “The Autobiography of Malcom X,” according to the Florida Freedom to Read Project, a group that seeks to protect students' right to information.

[mystlnewsonline]

Florida - First Mission from Israel Returns Nearly 300 Americans

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Announces First Mission from Israel Returns Nearly 300 Americans Home TALLAHASSEE, FL (STL.News) Sunday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the first mission has arrived from Israel with evacuees who were unable to return home due to commercial flight cancellations.  Florida partnered with Project Dynamo to bring nearly 300 evacuees home from Israel, including more than 270 to Tampa and seven to Orlando this afternoon.  Once the plane landed in Tampa, evacuees were able to access resources from multiple state agencies.  Additionally, the Governor is sending medical supplies, hygiene products, clothing, and children’s toys to Israel to help impacted Israelis. “Just a few days ago, I signed an Executive Order to allow Florida to carry out logistical, rescue, and evacuation operations to bring Floridians back home and provide important supplies to our valued ally, Israel,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.  “I am proud of how quickly we have been able to activate resources and do what the federal government could not – get Floridians and other Americans back home, reunited with their families, free of charge.” “Following last week’s unprovoked and heinous attacks by Hamas, Governor Ron DeSantis took immediate action to help Floridians in Israel,” said Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez.  “Our administration will continue to work to safely bring Floridians home and support the people of Israel as they fight back to defend themselves.” “Israel mourns its more than 1400 murdered and 150 hostages in the devastating unprovoked terror attack perpetrated by Hamas,” said Consul General of Israel to Florida, Maor Elbaz-Starinsky. “We have gone to war to eradicate Hamas and its allies and to uphold our values of freedom, humanity, and the sanctity of life.  The support we are receiving from Governor DeSantis, the First Lady, FDEM Executive Director Kevin Guthrie, Florida Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly, FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass, and his entire administration and the state is overwhelming.  We are very grateful for the special flights and supplies.” “We have a dedicated team of volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure the well-being of Americans caught in crisis situations all over the world,” said Bryan Stern, Project Dynamo CEO and Founder.  “It’s truly heart-wrenching to watch the destruction unfolding in Israel.  We’re so grateful to Governor DeSantis for partnering with us on this mission to save every American in need.” On October 12, 2023, Governor DeSantis signed Executive Order 23-208 to allow the State of Florida to carry out logistical, rescue, and evacuation operations to keep its residents safe.  Specifically, this order enables the Florida Division of Emergency Management to bring Floridians home and transport necessary supplies to Israel. The Florida Division of Emergency Management will lead efforts for additional flights, which will take more supplies to Israel and continue to bring Floridians back home. The Governor has also surged law enforcement resources upon request to prevent violence at demonstrations and protect Jewish schools and synagogues.  The Governor directed FDLE and FHP to work with the Attorney General’s Office and issue memos to law enforcement and Florida universities, reminding them of their responsibility to protect the Jewish community from threats and unlawful harassment.  Florida will not tolerate hate or violence towards the Jewish community. If you or someone you know is a Florida citizen who is unable to leave Israel due to the current situation, visit FloridaDisaster.Org/Israel to fill out the form. SOURCE: Florida Governor Read the full article

[curtismagellan2022]

St. Augustine Day 4: The Kingsley Plantation

Day four in St. Augustine brought me to the Kingsley Plantation, about an hour outside the city. This plantation has an extremely interesting history. It is considerably younger than the other plantations I’ve visited on this trip. It was founded in 1814 when Zephaniah Kingsley moved his family to the island. The Kingsley family history was also quite interesting. Zephaniah wife Anta/Anna was enslaved in Senegal, brought to Havana and purchased by Zephaniah. According to the plantation’s many pamphlets, “He freed Anna... and their children in 1811.” This means that she was forced to have three children by her master when she was still enslaved. After gaining her freedom, she stayed with Zephaniah’s a wife and partial owner of the plantation. It was really unnerving as I was reading about this because the material makes it sound as though the situation was a whirlwind romance in which Zephaniah was a knight in shining armor. The reality is that plantation owners fathering the children of enslaved women was a rampant form of violence against black women, perpetuated by their inherently unequal societal status. Despite marrying a black woman and fathering four black children, Kingsley continued to own around 200 enslaved people. After the Florida became a member of the United States, the laws regarding the status of black people and enslaved people constricted. Because of the new restrictions, in 1837 Kingsley moved himself and 50 newly freed enslaved people to Haiti, a republic of freed black people.

The first place I stopped on the site was the kitchen, which had an attached parlor and wash room. Here it was made clear that an enslaved person would be responsible for feeding the entire household. The reading material described the kitchen as a place where European and African culture mixed through food. While I am sure this is true, by leaving out there harsh, uncomfortable conditions int he kitchen, there was a sort of romanticization of the work. 

In the other rooms joined to the kitchen displays educated visitors about the laws that facilitated racism in the state of Florida. I was impressed by an interactive action where visitors could look through a book of laws regarding enslaved people and freed people and then see the harsh punishments for breaking the laws. There were also exhibits showing various forms of punishment. One could almost argue that the thoroughness of the adjoined rooms made up for the interesting characterization of the work in the kitchen.

The next stop was the barn. In here were educational plaques about plantation work, crops, and livestock. It was made explicitly clear that this building would have been a utilitarian space, used for a wide number of things. Enslaved people would have worked on various different projects in the building, and possibly even sleep in the building. Additionally, the displays told of the many hardships and physical brutality that enslaved people would face. 

Making my way through the plantation, I next came to the garden. This space showed some of the plants that enslaved people would have cultivated along side the cotton being grown on the plantation. The plaques explained that one of the few ways and enslaved person could supplement their poor diet or even to make some of their own money would have been to grow their own food or valuable corps. Things ling indigo and sugarcane could be sold and food crops would would have nourished the enslaved people so they could sustain their body and endure work. This alluded to the fact that slave owners did not accurately provide for their enslaved population, but did not address it head on. 

One of the major stops on the walk through the site was the remnants of the 32 slave cabins that once stood on the property and housed around 200 enslaved people.  Most of the education around the ruins focused on the archeologic finding on the site. Beads showed a distinct culture, animal remains were attributed to ritual sacrificed. Another focus was the tabby used to build the housed. This type of architecture dots the Florida landscape and is an immense source of pride. In addition to the facts on the plaques, there were quoted from prominent, historic figures condemning slavery. One that struck me was by Julius Lester, “To be a slave was ti be a human being under conditions in which that humanity was denied. Their condition was slavery.”

The last stop on my trip to the Kingsley Plantation was to the boat dock. Here, there was considerable education regarding the triangle trade. These explained both how enslaved people came to the plantation, via the Portuguese, and how the dock on the plantation made it easier to send and receive good from the markets. 

Overall the Kingsley Plantation did a very adequate job of educating the public about the history of slavery on the property. My only recommendation would be to use more blunt language when talking about the harsher realities of what happened in order to lose some of the mystifying, romantic undertones. 

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A title in the Arthur children’s book series is facing a potential ban after a conservative activist claimed that it “damaged souls”.

On 12 July, Bruce Friedman, a member of the Clay County School District community in Florida, filed a challenge to Arthur’s Birthday, a 1989 children’s book by Marc Brown about a fictional brown aardvark whose birthday falls on the same day as another party of a different classmate.

At one point in the book, Arthur receives a glass bottle from Francine the monkey as a birthday present. The bottle has the words “Francine’s Spin the Bottle Game” printed on it.

According to the challenge, which The Daily Beast website published, the reason for Friedman’s ban request is to “protect children”.

“IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE TO DISCUSS ‘SPIN THE BOTTLE’ WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN,” he wrote in all capital letters. “THIS BOOK IS FOUND IN ALL/ALMOST ALL [DISTRICT SCHOOLS]!”

“‘SPIN THE BOTTLE’ NOT OKAY FOR K-5 KIDS,” Friedman added, still using all capital letters. In response to a question about what he believes might be the result of a student using the material, he wrote, “DAMAGED SOULS.”

In a statement to The Daily Beast, a district spokesperson, Terri Dennis, said the book was among 45 titles currently “pending oversight committee review”.

Friedman is the Florida chapter president of No Left Turn in Education, a rightwing group that campaigns against critical race theory. The group seeks to “use all forms of media to expose the radical indoctrination in K-12 education, its perpetrators, the resources and methods employed and the resulting harm it inflicts”, according to its website.

In a Facebook post in September 2020, the group compared public schools to “Pol Pot’s Cambodia”, referring to the former leader of Cambodia who perpetrated the mass genocide of over 2 million people.

Last December, Friedman said that he had compiled “a list of over 3,600 titles that I believe have concerning content [including] porn, critical race theory, social-emotional learning, [and] fluid gender,” Popular Information reported.

He told the outlet that he identified the titles by “scouring the internet” for books that have been challenged in other parts of the country.

The Florida Freedom to Read Project has pushed back against Friedman’s challenge to Arthur’s Birthday, saying: “The entire book is about being inclusive of all friends and not only inviting boys or girls (based on your gender) to your birthday party.”

In recent years, Florida’s public education system has become a divisive battleground for Republican lawmakers who have enacted a slew of laws targeting various minority and marginalized communities.

In addition to the “Don’t Say Gay” ban across all school grades and bans of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public universities, Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, has banned African American studies from high schools while the state’s Board of Education updated controversial new standards earlier this month to include the claim that some black people benefited from being enslaved.

[pashterlengkap]

Colorado allows anti-LGBTQ+ group to pursue law outing trans students to parents

Colorado’s Supreme Court has said that an anti-LGBTQ+ “parents’ rights” group may start collecting signatures to approve Ballot Measure 142, a proposed law that would require schools to out transgender students to their potentially unsupportive parents. The group now has until August to collect about 125,000 signatures needed to get the measure on the November general election ballot. The Colorado Parent Advocacy Network (CPAN) — a group who believe that a “radical agenda” of “indoctrination” in schools has “exploited” children by teaching them “x-rated sex acts” and giving them access to gender-affirming care — wants voters to support a law that would public school representatives to notify a student’s parents if their child experiences gender incongruence (that is, identification with a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth. “We believe this measure is so supportive of our kiddos that do identify as LGBT,” Lori Gimelshteyn, CPAN’s executive director told KUSA. Gimelshteyn helped write the ballot initiative. It reads: “Any public school representative who obtains information that a child enrolled in their public school is experiencing gender incongruence shall notify the child’s parents within 48 hours of receiving such information.” “Do people not have anything to do than to interfere in the lives of someone that’s different from them?” said Mardi Moore, executive director of Out Boulder County, the local LGBTQ+ advocacy organization. “This is specifically an anti-LGBTQ initiative. The folks behind it have been clear.” The initiative is similar to policies passed by other conservative school boards nationwide. School districts in California, New Jersey, and Florida have similar policies requiring educators to out their LGBTQ+ students. Indiana signed a similar student-outing policy into law last May.  Similar policies require school officials to notify parents and guardians if their child requests to use a name, gendered pronouns, or gendered school facilities (such as bathrooms or locker rooms) that don’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. The policy requires officials to communicate the child’s gender identity to their parents, even if the child doesn’t consent. Supporters of these policies say that such policies are needed to prevent schools from “secretly” “encouraging” students to change genders without their parents’ knowledge, and that parents have a right to know if their child is questioning their gender. Opponents say these policies violate trans students’ privacy by outing them to their potentially unsupportive parents and also burden teachers with additional stressful responsibilities that diminish student-teacher trust. Opponents also say such policies may violate state constitutional protections promising equal rights, privacy, and freedom from gender-based discrimination. Medical experts also say that transgender and non-binary youth don’t transition just because their peers and adult figures pressure them to do so. A 2022 Trevor Project survey revealed that only 32% of trans and nonbinary youths felt that their home was a supportive and gender-affirming environment. http://dlvr.it/T61gq4

[brookston]

Holidays 1.23

Holidays

Archery Day

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

Belly Laugh Day

Birthday of the Grand Duchess (Luxembourg)

Bounty Day (Pitcairn Island)

BPDCN (Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm) Awareness Day

Cold, Cold, Cold Day

Day of Hathor (Ancient Egypt; Everyday Wicca)

Django Day

Ed Roberts Day (California)

Fundación del Estado Plurinacional Holiday (Bolivia)

Grandmother's Day (Bulgaria)

International Integrative Health Day

Maternal Health Awareness Day (New Jersey)

Measure Your Feet Day

National Aiden Day

National Fay Day

National Freedom Day

National Handwriting Day

National King Day

National Musician Day (Día Nal. del Músico; Argentina)

National Pedro Day

National Reading Day

National Report Pharmaceutical Fraud Day

National School Nurse Day

National Security Technician Day

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Jayanti (Parts of India)

One-Tooth Rhee Landing Day

Paul Pitcher Day (Cornwall)

Ranked Choice Voting Day

Snowdrop Day (French Republic)

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day

Tiananmen Square Day

Wakakusa Yamayaki (Grass Burning; Japan)

Women in Medicine Day

World Endangered Writing Day

World Freedom Day (South Korea, Taiwan)

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Sticky Toffee Pudding Day

National Pie Day

National Rhubarb Day

Rhubarb Pie Day

4th Tuesday in January

National Speak Up and Succeed Day [4th Tuesday]

Independence & Related Days

Foundation Day (Lichtenstein)

Kingdom of Abrus (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

New Year’s Days

Gann-Hgal (Zeliangrong People’s New Year’s Festival; Parts of India)

Festivals Beginning January 23, 2024

Empire State Producers Expo (Syracuse, New York) [thru 1.24]

Key West Food and Wine Festival (Key West, Florida) [thru 1.28]

Küstendorf International Film and Music Festival (Drvengrad, Serbia) thru 1.27]

Mile O Fest (Key West, Florida) [thru 1.27]

Northern Green (St. Paul, Minnesota) [thru 1.25]

Unified Wine & Grape Symposium (Sacramento, California) [thru 1.25]

Wheat Industry Winter Conference (Washington, DC) [thru 1.26]

Feast Days

Abakuh (Egyptian Christian; Martyr)

Agathangelus (Christian; Martyr)

Asclas (Christian; Martyr)

Banba (a.k.a. Banbha; Matron Goddess of Ireland; Celtic Book of Days)

Bernard of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Betrothal of Mary and Joseph (Christian)

Bruma VII (Pagan)

Clement of Ancyra (Christian; Martyr)

Cunning Linguine Day (a.k.a. Get Your Tongue Round Some Linguine Day; Pastafarian)

Day of Hathor (Egyptian Goddess of Drunkenness)

Édouard Manet (Artology)

Emerentiana (Christian; Virgin)

Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian)

Eusebius (Christian; Saint)

Georg Baselitz (Artology)

Ildefonsus of Toledo (Christian; Saint)

Jean-Michel Atlan (Artology)

John the Almsgiver (Christian; Saint)

Knot Magic Day (Cornwall; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Leon Golub (Artology)

Lufthildis (Christian; Virgin)

Maimbod (Christian; Martyr)

Marianne of Molokai (Christian; Blessed)

The Peasants (Muppetism)

Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))

Ragwort Dance (Pixies Only; Shamanism)

Raymond of Pennafort (a.k.a. Rayman;  Christian; Confessor) [Original Date]

Samuel (Positivist; Saint)

Sergei Eisenstein (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 23 [9 of 72]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

The A-Team (TV Series; 2003)

Barney Miller (TV Series; 1975)

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (WB Animated Film; 2018)

The Blair Witch Project (Film; 1999)

Boys For Pele, by Tori Amos (Album; 1996)

Bushfire Fairytales, by Jack Johnson (Album; 2001)

The Butterfly Effect (Film; 2004)

Casablanca (Film; 1943)

Dave the Barbarian (Animated TV Series; 2004)

Dragonwyck, by Anya Seton (Novel; 1944)

Fear on the Pier or What’s Up, Duck? (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 145; 1962)

Happy Circus Days (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

The Herring Murder Mystery (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1944)

I Left My Heart in San Francisco, recorded by Tony Bennett (Song; 1962)

Inkheart (Film; 2008)

Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1936)

Katherine, by Anya Seton (Historical Novel; 1954)

Lady in the Lake (Film; 1947)

Material Girl, by Madonna (Song; 1985)

Mythbusters (TV Series; 2003)

Neck ’n’ Neck (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1928)

The New Spirit (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Our Friend the Atom (Animated DIsnet TV Cartoon; 1957)

Puppy Tale (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1954)

Roots (TV Mini-Series; 1977)

Skeleton Frolics (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1937)

Spice World (Film; 1998)

Star Trek: Picard (TV Series; 2020)

Station to Station, by David Bowie (Album; 1976)

Strange Magic (Animated Film; 2015)

Suspicious Minds, recorded by Elvis Presley (Song; 1969)

They’re Off (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

TNT For Two or Fright Cargo (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 146; 1962)

Trust, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1981)

The Way You Do the Things You Do, by The Temptations (Song; 1964)

West of the Pesos (WB LT Cartoon; 1960)

The Witch of Pickyoon, Parts 1 & 2 (Underdog Cartoon, S1, Eps. 33 & 34 1965)

Today’s Name Days

Hartmut, Heinrich, Nikolaus (Austria)

Ema, Emercijana, Vjera (Croatia)

Zdeněk (Czech Republic)

Emerentius (Denmark)

Räni, Reeno, Rene (Estonia)

Eine, Eini, Enna, Enni (Finland)

Banard (France)

Esmerentia, Guido, Hartmut (Germany)

Agathangelos, Dionisis (Greece)

Rajmund, Zelma (Hungary)

Armando, Emerenziana, Ramona (Italy)

Grieta, Ortrude, Rieta (Latvia)

Algimantas, Gailigedas, Gunda, Raimundas (Lithuania)

Emil, Emilie, Emma (Norway)

Emerencja, Ildefons, Jan, Klemens, Maria, Rajmund, Rajmunda, Wrócisława (Poland)

Clement, Paulin (Romania)

Miloš (Slovakia)

Ildefonso (Spain)

Frej, Freja (Sweden)

Clem, Clement, Clementine, Ksenia, Oksana (Ukraine)

Emerald, Esmeralda, Rachael, Rachel, Rachelle, Rae, Ramon, Ramona, Raquel, Ray, Raymond, Raymundo (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 23 of 2024; 343 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 4 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Yi-Chou), Day 13 (Bing-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 13 Shevat 5784

Islamic: 12 Rajab 1445

J Cal: 23 White; Twosday [23 of 30]

Julian: 10 January 2024

Moon: 96%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 23 Moses (1st Month) [Samuel]

Runic Half Month: Peorth (Womb, Dice Cup) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 34 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 2 of 28)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 1.23

Holidays

Archery Day

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

Belly Laugh Day

Birthday of the Grand Duchess (Luxembourg)

Bounty Day (Pitcairn Island)

BPDCN (Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm) Awareness Day

Cold, Cold, Cold Day

Day of Hathor (Ancient Egypt; Everyday Wicca)

Django Day

Ed Roberts Day (California)

Fundación del Estado Plurinacional Holiday (Bolivia)

Grandmother's Day (Bulgaria)

International Integrative Health Day

Maternal Health Awareness Day (New Jersey)

Measure Your Feet Day

National Aiden Day

National Fay Day

National Freedom Day

National Handwriting Day

National King Day

National Musician Day (Día Nal. del Músico; Argentina)

National Pedro Day

National Reading Day

National Report Pharmaceutical Fraud Day

National School Nurse Day

National Security Technician Day

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's Jayanti (Parts of India)

One-Tooth Rhee Landing Day

Paul Pitcher Day (Cornwall)

Ranked Choice Voting Day

Snowdrop Day (French Republic)

Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day

Tiananmen Square Day

Wakakusa Yamayaki (Grass Burning; Japan)

Women in Medicine Day

World Endangered Writing Day

World Freedom Day (South Korea, Taiwan)

Food & Drink Celebrations

International Sticky Toffee Pudding Day

National Pie Day

National Rhubarb Day

Rhubarb Pie Day

4th Tuesday in January

National Speak Up and Succeed Day [4th Tuesday]

Independence & Related Days

Foundation Day (Lichtenstein)

Kingdom of Abrus (Declared; 2017) [unrecognized]

New Year’s Days

Gann-Hgal (Zeliangrong People’s New Year’s Festival; Parts of India)

Festivals Beginning January 23, 2024

Empire State Producers Expo (Syracuse, New York) [thru 1.24]

Key West Food and Wine Festival (Key West, Florida) [thru 1.28]

Küstendorf International Film and Music Festival (Drvengrad, Serbia) thru 1.27]

Mile O Fest (Key West, Florida) [thru 1.27]

Northern Green (St. Paul, Minnesota) [thru 1.25]

Unified Wine & Grape Symposium (Sacramento, California) [thru 1.25]

Wheat Industry Winter Conference (Washington, DC) [thru 1.26]

Feast Days

Abakuh (Egyptian Christian; Martyr)

Agathangelus (Christian; Martyr)

Asclas (Christian; Martyr)

Banba (a.k.a. Banbha; Matron Goddess of Ireland; Celtic Book of Days)

Bernard of Vienne (Christian; Saint)

Betrothal of Mary and Joseph (Christian)

Bruma VII (Pagan)

Clement of Ancyra (Christian; Martyr)

Cunning Linguine Day (a.k.a. Get Your Tongue Round Some Linguine Day; Pastafarian)

Day of Hathor (Egyptian Goddess of Drunkenness)

Édouard Manet (Artology)

Emerentiana (Christian; Virgin)

Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian)

Eusebius (Christian; Saint)

Georg Baselitz (Artology)

Ildefonsus of Toledo (Christian; Saint)

Jean-Michel Atlan (Artology)

John the Almsgiver (Christian; Saint)

Knot Magic Day (Cornwall; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Leon Golub (Artology)

Lufthildis (Christian; Virgin)

Maimbod (Christian; Martyr)

Marianne of Molokai (Christian; Blessed)

The Peasants (Muppetism)

Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))

Ragwort Dance (Pixies Only; Shamanism)

Raymond of Pennafort (a.k.a. Rayman;  Christian; Confessor) [Original Date]

Samuel (Positivist; Saint)

Sergei Eisenstein (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 23 [9 of 72]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

The A-Team (TV Series; 2003)

Barney Miller (TV Series; 1975)

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (WB Animated Film; 2018)

The Blair Witch Project (Film; 1999)

Boys For Pele, by Tori Amos (Album; 1996)

Bushfire Fairytales, by Jack Johnson (Album; 2001)

The Butterfly Effect (Film; 2004)

Casablanca (Film; 1943)

Dave the Barbarian (Animated TV Series; 2004)

Dragonwyck, by Anya Seton (Novel; 1944)

Fear on the Pier or What’s Up, Duck? (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 145; 1962)

Happy Circus Days (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

The Herring Murder Mystery (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1944)

I Left My Heart in San Francisco, recorded by Tony Bennett (Song; 1962)

Inkheart (Film; 2008)

Jamaica Inn, by Daphne du Maurier (Novel; 1936)

Katherine, by Anya Seton (Historical Novel; 1954)

Lady in the Lake (Film; 1947)

Material Girl, by Madonna (Song; 1985)

Mythbusters (TV Series; 2003)

Neck ’n’ Neck (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1928)

The New Spirit (Disney Cartoon; 1942)

Our Friend the Atom (Animated DIsnet TV Cartoon; 1957)

Puppy Tale (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1954)

Roots (TV Mini-Series; 1977)

Skeleton Frolics (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1937)

Spice World (Film; 1998)

Star Trek: Picard (TV Series; 2020)

Station to Station, by David Bowie (Album; 1976)

Strange Magic (Animated Film; 2015)

Suspicious Minds, recorded by Elvis Presley (Song; 1969)

They’re Off (Disney Cartoon; 1948)

TNT For Two or Fright Cargo (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S3, Ep. 146; 1962)

Trust, by Elvis Costello (Album; 1981)

The Way You Do the Things You Do, by The Temptations (Song; 1964)

West of the Pesos (WB LT Cartoon; 1960)

The Witch of Pickyoon, Parts 1 & 2 (Underdog Cartoon, S1, Eps. 33 & 34 1965)

Today’s Name Days

Hartmut, Heinrich, Nikolaus (Austria)

Ema, Emercijana, Vjera (Croatia)

Zdeněk (Czech Republic)

Emerentius (Denmark)

Räni, Reeno, Rene (Estonia)

Eine, Eini, Enna, Enni (Finland)

Banard (France)

Esmerentia, Guido, Hartmut (Germany)

Agathangelos, Dionisis (Greece)

Rajmund, Zelma (Hungary)

Armando, Emerenziana, Ramona (Italy)

Grieta, Ortrude, Rieta (Latvia)

Algimantas, Gailigedas, Gunda, Raimundas (Lithuania)

Emil, Emilie, Emma (Norway)

Emerencja, Ildefons, Jan, Klemens, Maria, Rajmund, Rajmunda, Wrócisława (Poland)

Clement, Paulin (Romania)

Miloš (Slovakia)

Ildefonso (Spain)

Frej, Freja (Sweden)

Clem, Clement, Clementine, Ksenia, Oksana (Ukraine)

Emerald, Esmeralda, Rachael, Rachel, Rachelle, Rae, Ramon, Ramona, Raquel, Ray, Raymond, Raymundo (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 23 of 2024; 343 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 2 of week 4 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 3 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Yi-Chou), Day 13 (Bing-Xu)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 13 Shevat 5784

Islamic: 12 Rajab 1445

J Cal: 23 White; Twosday [23 of 30]

Julian: 10 January 2024

Moon: 96%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 23 Moses (1st Month) [Samuel]

Runic Half Month: Peorth (Womb, Dice Cup) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 34 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 2 of 28)

[spacenutspod]

6 min read Bethany Theiling: Researching Oceans on Earth and Beyond Name: Bethany TheilingFormal Job Classification: Planetary research scientistOrganization: Planetary Environment Laboratory, Science Directorate (Code 699) Bethany Theiling is a planetary research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.NASA/Rebecca Roth What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission? I am an ocean worlds geochemist, which combines chemistry and geology. I study oceans across the solar system including those on Earth. What is your educational background? I have a B.A. in anthropology and linguistics from Florida State University, a Master of Science in geology from the University of Georgia, and a Ph.D. in Earth and planetary sciences from the University of New Mexico. Where did you learn the techniques that make you successful? I ran the stable isotope lab at Purdue University. I was responsible for maintaining the facility and mentoring the students. I had to be very flexible and have a very deep understanding of all the equipment and everyone’s projects. I then did a postdoc at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. That was my introduction to planetary science. I fell in love with Europa and icy ocean worlds. What drew you to being a geology professor at the University of Tulsa? I always wanted to be a professor. I love everything about it; that you can teach, do research and mentor students. I thought that being a professor gave you total freedom over anything you wanted to explore. I loved it, but I had an abundance of research ideas and did not have the time and resources to pursue them. How did you come to Goddard? What was your impression? I started working at Goddard in August 2019 as a planetary research scientist. I did not know that a place like Goddard existed – a place that is truly supportive of the people who work there. The employees and management have an incredible positivity. Within the planetary science guideposts, I have the freedom to pursue almost any line of research I am able to get funded. What is your favorite part about laboratory work? Field work? In my laboratory work, I get to create other worlds in the lab. Just over a year ago, I completed fieldwork exploring lava caves on volcanos in Hawaii. We were trying to evaluate the atmosphere inside the lava cave to create a method for astronauts to determine environmental conditions in caves on Mars or the Moon. We also used isotopes in the air to identify life, which hopefully can also be used in a future mission. What is the most exciting research you are doing? I am very excited about my work developing an autonomous science agent. My team recognizes that for these planetary ocean worlds, it will be very challenging to explore and return data. We are hoping to develop artificial intelligence (AI) that can act as a scientist aboard a spacecraft. Many of the current autonomous functions of a spacecraft are robotic. We are trying to develop what we are terming “science autonomy.” We want multiple instruments to be able to collect data on board, that the science agent can analyze and make decisions about, including returning this information to Earth. This includes prioritizing, transmitting, and deciding where and when to take the next samples. The advantage of an AI agent is that we can avoid the sometimes 12-plus-hour delay in communicating with the spacecraft. We are hoping to do “opportunistic science,” meaning respond to real-time events. We have a series of capability demonstrations, but an AI science agent is a few years away. We can already do simple tasks, but cannot yet do opportunistic science. Ultimately no person can be on these spacecraft. We are trying to create an AI science agent to find “eureka moments” in real time on its own. We are trying to create AI independence through multiple observations. What advice do you give the people you mentor? Although I customize my advice, I am often asked what characteristics make someone successful and able to get through tough times. I always say: creativity and tenacity. I constantly come up with ideas, some better than others, and I explore them. I think about problems in creative ways. I stick with whatever I am thinking about until I figure it out, but sometimes you need to know when enough is enough. Creativity comes from myself, but also from listening to the people on my team.   These traits also describe Goddard’s culture, which is another reason why I love Goddard so much. What do you do for fun? So many things! Here’s just a few. I paint abstract art and impressionism in acrylics and watercolors. In the past, I had a costuming company for belly dancers and regular costumes. I also trained in opera and am getting back into it. I also love gardening and hiking. Who inspires you? My astrophysicist husband, who is a professor of physics and astronomy, is the most wonderful person. He has supported every wild idea I have ever had and helps me edit them. I can be up in the clouds and he brings me back down to earth, which I sometimes need. He has inspired most of my ideas in some way. He’s my best friend, and we have been together for over two decades. My vocal coach is incredibly supportive and wants to cultivate each of his students to find their own unique voice and not emulate someone else’s voice. That “voice” – perspective – is something I nurture in my hobbies and career. What is your “three-word memoir”? Opportunity is everywhere. This applies to me personally and also one I cultivate in our AI science agent. NASA Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage. By Elizabeth M. JarrellNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Nov 21, 2023 Editor Jamie Adkins Contact Rob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.gov Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Goddard Space Flight CenterPeople of GoddardPeople of NASA Explore More 3 min read NASA to Highlight Inclusion During Bayou Classic Event  Article 1 day ago 4 min read NASA’s Webb Reveals New Features in Heart of Milky Way Article 1 day ago 3 min read NASA Researcher Honored by Goddard Tech Office for Earth Science Work Goddard researcher Dr. Antonia Gambacorta the 2023 IRAD Innovator of the Year for her work… Article 4 days ago