Twitter owner Elon Musk on Saturday voiced support for a Vermont family that was punished by a local school for expressing concerns about a biological male using the daughter’s locker room.

Musk, the outspoken and eccentric billionaire, called the Orange Southwest School District Board’s decision to punish Travis Allen and Blake Allen ‘incredibly unjust.’ He was responding to a tweet from Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and political activist who’s publicly opposed allowing biological males to compete against girls and women in sports.

‘So happy for volleyball player and friend, Blake Allen,’ wrote Gaines, who also posted a screenshot of a Daily Signal story on the Allens. ‘For feeling uneasy undressing next to a boy in her locker room, she was suspended from school and her dad lost his job. They told her she would only be let back in if she publicly apologized for her feelings of discomfort.’

Blake Allen was suspended from school for two days in October following an incident where a transgender student who was born male but identifies as female allegedly watched Blake and her teammates change in a locker room, causing them to feel uncomfortable. Several of Blake’s fellow female students told the Daily Signal that they asked the student to leave, but the student didn’t immediately do so.

Blake’s father, Travis Allen, was suspended from his middle school soccer coaching job without pay for publicly defending his daughter and calling the trans student a male, according to the Daily Signal.

After the punishments, the Allens filed a lawsuit against the school district that was recently settled. The settlement reportedly requires the Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust to pay $125,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees to the Allen family.

Under the arrangement, the district will also reinstate Travis Allen as middle school soccer coach and scrub any records of discipline against either him or his daughter from school records. The settlement additionally requires the Orange Southwest School District Board and school officials named in the Allens’ lawsuit to remove any content posted online by the school related to the locker room incident as well as from bulletin boards at Randolph Union Middle/High School displaying ‘love and support’ messages to the trans student.

‘The Vermont School Boards Insurance Trust made the decision concerning the payment in order to cap defense expenses in what would otherwise be years of litigation,’ Layne Millington, superintendent of the Orange Southwest Supervisory District, told the White River Valley Herald. ‘The district has made no admission of wrongdoing. Our policies are unchanged and we will continue to comply with our policies and the law.’

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the Allen family, described the outcome as a major win.

‘The settlement of Blake and Travis Allen’s case is a resounding victory for freedom of speech,’ Phil Sechler, senior counsel at the ADF, told the Daily Signal.

‘Calling a male a male shouldn’t have cost Travis his job and gotten Blake kicked out of school,’ he added. ‘We are very glad that the school agreed to do the right thing by giving Travis his coaching job back and dropping the discipline against Blake. Everyone has the right to speak freely, and we are grateful that this settlement further protects that right.’

According to the lawsuit filed in October, the Allens were punished ‘for expressing their view on a matter of profound public concern: whether a teenage male who ‘identifies’ as female should be permitted to change in a girls’ locker room, regardless of the discomfort experienced by the girls in that room.’

Blake Allen allegedly said that the transgender student who watched the female volleyball players change was ‘literally a dude’ when discussing the incident with fellow students. Her father referred to the same student as a biological male in an online discussion with the student’s mother, who reportedly said the incident was made up.

According to the ADF, Blake had to write a ‘reflective essay’ about the locker room incident and participate in a ‘restorative circle’ as part of her initial punishment, with the school determining whether she had been sincere and done enough.

‘We are grateful that the school recognized it was wrong to suspend Blake from school and Travis from his coaching position simply for exercising their freedom of speech,’ Sechler told the White River Valley Herald. ‘No one should lose their job or get suspended from school for voicing their opinion or calling a male a male and we are glad to see this case resolved favorably, not only for Blake and Travis, but for all students and coaches to be able to speak freely and without fear of retaliation.’

Saturday wasn’t the first time this week that Musk waded into a transgender debate. The Daily Wire on Thursday accused Twitter of canceling the company’s popular and controversial documentary ‘What Is a Woman?’ from premiering on the social media platform due to two instances of ‘misgendering,’ or calling a person by their biological sex instead of their preferred gender identity. Musk responded that Twitter made a mistake and encouraged people to watch the film.

‘This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed,’ Musk tweeted. ‘Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.’

Musk later wrote that ‘every parent should watch this,’ referring to the Daily Wire film.

Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson, a former White House physician, is continuing to raise flags over President Biden’s health, concluding that he is ‘not fit mentally or physically’ after the president fell on stage Thursday during a commencement ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

‘I don’t wanna sound like a broken record, but I’m just going to say it again: This man’s not fit mentally or physically to be our president, and it’s a bad situation for us,’ Jackson said during a Friday evening appearance on Fox News Channel’s ‘Hannity.’ ‘Part of the job of the President of the United States is to inspire confidence and project power, and he’s not doing that. He can’t do that, he’s too old to do that, and I think it’s a shame.’

The many gaffes and the recent fall he endured show that Biden, according to Jackson, is offering a ‘package that doesn’t sell around the world.’

‘I think his lack of physical ability and his physical decline is now starting to highlight the cognitive decline that we’ve been watching for so long now,’ Jackson said. ‘It’s a package that just doesn’t sell around the world, and it’s becoming a national security issue for us. We have to do something about.’

‘To think that this man thinks he can be president at the age of 86 when he’s 80 right now [and] could be in office for another six years is just malpractice on part of the White House in the West Wing to allow this to be happening, for him to even be talking about running for another term,’ he continued. ‘Somebody needs to be held accountable. People like Jill Biden and people that surround him and are supposed to love him and care about him, they should be doing something about this, and they should be stopping this because it’s a shame.’

Jackson said it has reached a ‘point where our commander in chief needs a walker’ in order to maneuver around at events.

‘Could you imagine? It would be a better image than what we’re seeing right now — seeing him creep around in a walker,’ he said. ‘At least he wouldn’t be falling flat on his face in front of the entire world.… It’s embarrassing for him, and it’s embarrassing for our country.’

Jackson, who said he prays that Biden does not get re-elected next year, said he does not ‘honestly think he can finish the time he’s got left, built should he finish that time, there’s no way this man can be our president for another four years.’

Jackson previously served as the White House physician to former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and has repeatedly questioned whether Biden is cognitively fit for office.

In April, Jackson circulated a letter among House Republicans demanding that Biden take a cognitive test or drop out of the 2024 race. The latest letter, first obtained by Fox News, came shortly after Biden announced that he will seek re-election next year.

‘We call on you to either resign immediately and renounce your bid for reelection or submit to a clinically validated cognitive screening assessment and make those results available to the public,’ read Jackson’s letter, which was addressed to Biden.

The letter cited Biden’s age, public gaffes and polls showing many Americans doubt the president’s mental fitness.

‘When you first announced your bid to run in the 2020 presidential election, questions and concerns were raised surrounding your cognitive abilities. Those concerns have only increased because your mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent since you were elected,’ Jackson wrote in the letter.

Jackson led previous calls for Biden to take a cognitive test, including one in July 2022 that was signed by more than 50 House Republicans.

In February, Jackson called for an end to the ‘cover-up’ of Biden’s health after the president’s physical claimed that he is healthy and fit to serve as commander in chief.

‘The majority of Americans can see that Biden’s mental health is in total decline, yet there is no transparency from the White House on what’s going on, if anything, to address this issue and his inability to do his job,’ Jackson told Fox News Digital at the time. ‘Yesterday’s written physical exam report released by Biden’s physician, Kevin O’Connor, further confirms that this administration is still adamant about concealing the truth.’

The Biden administration has repeatedly brushed aside concerns about Biden’s acuity. Earlier this year when GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley proposed that politicians over 75 take mental competency tests, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said attacks on Biden over his fitness for office failed in the past.

‘You know, we’ve heard these types of attacks or remarks before. And, you know, if you go back to 2020, they said that the president couldn’t do it in 2020 and attacked him there, and he beat them,’ Jean-Pierre said. ‘Maybe they’re forgetting the wins that this president has had over the last couple of years. But I’m happy to remind them anytime.’

FIRST ON FOX: Utah’s largest police union has tossed its support behind one Republican candidate seeking to replace GOP Sen. Mitt Romney in the 2024 Senate election.

‘The Utah Fraternal Order of Police unanimously endorses Trent Staggs for United States Senate,’ a press provided to Fox News Digital stated. ‘Mayor Staggs has been a longtime supporter of law enforcement and specifically the FOP. He continually shows through words and actions what it means to support law enforcement and he received the unanimous endorsement of our executive board and trustees.’

‘He understands the need to protect our safety as well as our working conditions, and we wholeheartedly endorse his candidacy,’ the union added.

The union’s endorsement of Staggs, who has served as the mayor of Riverton since 2018, marks the group’s first Senate primary endorsement. In prior elections, the Utah FOP backed now-Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, as well as former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.

Brent Jex, president of the Utah Fraternal Order of Police, told Fox News Digital that Staggs ‘has stood up for the blue even during recent times when it was politically expedient to keep law enforcement at arms length.’

‘He’s had our back, and now we have his,’ Jex added.

Responding to the endorsement, Staggs told Fox News Digital that he is ‘honored’ to have the union’s support and vowed to continue his support for them.

‘In light of the attacks on law enforcement in recent years, the very first endorsement I sought out was the Fraternal Order of Police,’ Staggs said. ‘I wanted our local officers to know they’d always have my support, and I’m honored to have theirs. They deserve a senator who is willing to stand beside them rather than march against them.’

Staggs — who gained notoriety in 2020 for his opposition to mask mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic — announced last month that he was running for the Senate seat currently held by Romney, who has yet to declare whether he will seek re-election.

In a possible first step toward running for re-election, Romney filed FEC paperwork in April. But his chief of staff told local media that he has not made a final decision.

‘I love my children, and I’m worried about the country they will inherit if I sit on the sidelines,’ Staggs told Fox News Digital in May. ‘For too long, we’ve allowed government bureaucrats to spend away the next generation’s future, and we need more voices willing to push back.’

When asked why he believes Romney may not be an effective leader for the state, Staggs said: ‘Unfortunately, Mitt Romney has let personal beefs get in the way of good governance. From not standing with Mike Lee against raising the debt ceiling to voting for the $1.7 trillion omnibus, he has helped drive us deeper in debt.’

‘He votes to impeach President Trump but then has the nerve to confirm a radical justice like Ketanji Brown Jackson and incompetent cabinet members like open border [DHS Sec. Alejandro] Mayorkas,’ he added.

In announcing his candidacy in the race, Staggs became the first person to publicly pose a challenge to Romney, who has angered many voters within his own party for his reasoning and support for certain policies and bills.

‘Mitt Romney fits in the Senate much better than I do. We’ve elected far too many people who ‘fit in’ in Washington. I’m not going to Washington to make friends, I’m going to make change,’ Staggs declared.

Romney has gone on the record saying that if he were to run, he has no doubt he would be successfully re-elected. He defeated Democrat Jenny Wilson with more than 62% of the vote in 2018.

‘I’m convinced that if I run, I win. But that’s a decision I’ll make,’ Romney said of a potential re-election bid.

Romney was the GOP nominee in the 2012 presidential election but was defeated by former President Obama.

Romney’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

DES MOINES, IOWA – The current top two contenders for the Republican presidential nomination are trading verbal fire over the term ‘woke.’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters on Saturday that ‘woke is an existential threat to our society.’

DeSantis, greeting Republican activists at a major GOP 2024 presidential cattle call in Iowa, the state whose caucuses lead off the Republican White House nominating calendar, was asked about comments former President Donald Trump made two days earlier.

‘I don’t like the term ‘woke’ because I hear ‘woke, woke, woke.’ It’s just a term they use, half the people can’t even define it, they don’t know what it is,’ the former president said on Thursday during remarks at the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale, Iowa.

Asked about Trump’s comments, the Florida governor said Saturday that ‘to say it’s not a big deal, that just shows you don’t understand what a lot of these issues are right now.’

Trump, who launched his third straight White House campaign last November, is the current commanding front-runner in the polls. 

DeSantis, who’s seen his stature with conservatives across the country soar in recent years in part due to his culture wars battles against some major corporations, school unions, and the media. He often touts that Florida ‘is where woke goes to die.’

The governor is solidly in second place in the GOP nomination polls, far behind Trump but well ahead of the rest of the field of actual and potential contenders. 

DeSantis at the Iowa State Fairgrounds at Sen. Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride. The annual motorcycle ride, which benefits veterans, this year attracted all of the declared Republican presidential candidates except Trump.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Two top members in former President Donald Trump’s administration who are now rivals to Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential nomination race are heavily criticizing Trump for celebrating North Korea’s appointment to the World Health Organization.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration are taking aim at the former president in interviews in Iowa on Saturday with Fox News. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also took a swipe at Trump over his comments about the North Korean dictator.

‘Congratulations to Kim Jung [sic] Un!’ Trump wrote in the message on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday afternoon.

‘I was surprised to see that,’ DeSantis told Fox News Digital Saturday. ‘I mean I think one, I think Kim Jong Un is a murderous dictator.’ 

Trump linked his message to an article from American Greatness about the North Korean official recently elected to the executive board of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The North Korean Ministry of Public Health’s Dr. Jong Min Pak has been seated on the WHO’s executive board with a term set to last until 2026.

The communist state’s new position on the board allows them say in determining the organization’s agenda and policy prescriptions.

The decision sparked immediate criticism from the government of neighboring South Korea, which pointed to North Korea’s history of ignoring policies put forward by the WHO and its parent organization, the United Nations. 

Pence, who’s expected to launch a 2024 presidential campaign next week in Iowa, told Fox News The World Health Organization let America and the world down during the COVID pandemic. They were literally complicitous in covering up what was happening in China and we held them to account during our administration..’ 

‘Whether its my former running mate or anyone else, nobody should be praising the dictator in North Korea or praising the leader in Russia, who has launched an unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine,’ Pence said. ‘This is a time when we ought to make it clear to the world that we stand for freedom and we stand with those who stand for freedom.’

Haley, who declared her candidacy for the White House in February, told Fox News that ‘you don’t congratulate a thug. I mean, let’s keep in mind this. This thug has threatened America. It’s threatened our allies over and over again. This is not something to play with.’

‘He’s a terrible individual. He’s terrible to his people. He’s terrible to our allies in the world. And I don’t think he deserves congratulations,’ Haley emphasized.

 Trump became the first sitting American President to meet with a dictator of North Korea when he shook hands with Kim Jong Un in 2019.

‘It started off rough, remember that? I was saying ‘little rocket man’ and he was saying ‘I’ve got a red button on my desk, and I’m willing to use it,” Trump recalled in an April 2023 interview.

‘And then all of a sudden we get a call — they want to meet,’ he added. ‘We would have had that whole situation straightened out shortly after the beginning of my second term.’

Pence and Haley spoke with Fox News on Saturday as they attended Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa’s annual roast and ride, a motorcycle ride that benefits veterans. All of the declared presidential candidates — other than Trump — spoke at the gathering.

Asked for a response, the Trump campaign took aim at DeSantis, which they view as the former president’s top rival for the 2024 GOP nomination.

‘President Trump achieved peace through strength and, as a result, no new wars were started under his presidency. On the other hand, Ron DeSantis is a puppet of the establishment war mongers and doesn’t have the strength, fortitude, or will to stand up against America’s adversaries,’ Trump campaign spokesman Steve Cheung told Fox News.

A federal judge ruled late Friday that a Tennessee law that put strict limits on drag shows is ‘unconstitutionally vague.’ 

U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker in his ruling said the first-in-the-nation law that banned cabaret performances in a public place or anywhere that children could be present was ‘overly broad,’ encouraged ‘discriminatory enforcement,’ and violated the First Amendment rights of performers. 

‘There is no question that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. But there is a difference between material that is ‘obscene’ in the vernacular, and material that is ‘obscene’ under the law,’ Parker said in his ruling. 

He added, ‘Simply put, no majority of the Supreme Court has held that sexually explicit — but not obscene — speech receives less protection than political, artistic, or scientific speech.’

FORMER AMERICAN IDOL STAR BLASTS GOP STATE BANS ON DRAG SHOWS FOR MINORS: ‘USING CHILDREN AS AN EXCUSE’ 

LGBTQ theater company Friends of George’s had sued over the law, which it said would hurt their business because they focus on ‘drag-centric performances, comedy sketches, and plays’ with no age restrictions.

The group on Saturday called the ruling a ‘triumph over hate.’

‘Similar to the countless battles the LGBTQ+ community has faced over the last several decades, our collective success relies upon everyone speaking out and taking a stand against bigotry,’ Friends of George’s added in their statement.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, called the ruling ‘perplexing’ and said he hopes the attorney general would appeal it. 

‘Sadly, this ruling is a victory for those who support exposing children to sexual entertainment,’ Johnson said. 

Parker, who is a Trump-appointed judge, used the example of a woman dressing as Elvis for a performance, saying she could be in violation of the law because she could be considered a ‘male impersonator.’

While the word ‘drag’ doesn’t actually appear in the law, Republican lawmakers cited drag performances in their hometowns as impetus for it. 

Lawmakers changed the state’s definition of adult cabaret to mean ‘adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors,’ classifying ‘male or female impersonators’ as adult cabaret performers similar to strippers. 

Gov. Bill Lee signed the law, which went into effect on April 1 but has not yet been enforced because Parker temporarily blocked it in March after the lawsuit. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

–>

An expert and entrepreneur in the field of artificial intelligence warned that while the new technology has the potential for massive benefits, it could also prove ‘too powerful and too disruptive’ for humanity, expressing doubt about the federal government’s ability to address such a challenge.

Kevin Baragona worked as a software engineer but recognized the potential impact of AI, which led him to start DeepAI in 2016 to help bring the new technology to fruition. The free online service is growing rapidly, with users increasing tenfold over the past year.

DeepAI was the first company to offer an online AI text-to-image generator, which allows users to enter a description of the image they would like to create, select a theme and receive a custom image for download.

The platform also provides several other services, such as an AI chatbot, image editor, and other AI-generated content. Baragona has said his goal is to simplify access to AI technology for the broader population and make AI accessible even to those who don’t have computers. DeepAI hosts an extensive collection of research papers and an AI Glossary meant to explain AI to users of all levels of experience.

‘DeepAI enhances people’s creativity,’ Baragona told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. ‘AI gives humans a creativity boost. Beyond that, we can use it to create joy in people’s minds, such as with our image generator.’

Baragona described a vision of AI enhancing human activity rather than overtaking it, with advanced technology serving as a boost or supplement. Such a role, he explained, would be the ideal scenario for AI’s future. However, Baragona was quick to add that people are right to be concerned.

‘On one hand, AI is amazing technology like the smartphone or the internet that can make us richer, more creative, more powerful,’ said Baragona. ‘On the other hand, AI may be too powerful and too disruptive. Now we’re at a point where AI is as good as humans in a whole bunch of areas, or at least rapidly approaching it.’

Baragona explained that virtually every area of work — from journalism, to the law, to fine art — is being affected by the rise of AI, all at the exact same time, outlining three major risks that could have profound implications on society: massive societal disruption, potential large-scale job losses, and the prospect of creating computers smarter than humans. 

A specific example he cited is being unable to trust what one sees online due to AI, which could be weaponized to manipulate information and advance a particular ideology.

‘Typically AI reflects the values of those who created it,’ said Baragona. ‘ChatGPT is famously quite left-leaning.’

‘I describe myself as a little bit conflicted,’ he added. ‘I love AI as technology, what it can do for people. But we can’t ignore the possible downsides. In many ways, it seems like Pandora’s Box has been opened.’

Baragona said regulation could play a part in mitigating risk but didn’t express optimism in the ability of policymakers to meet the challenge. When asked whether he had confidence in Washington addressing the issues raised by AI, he responded, ‘Well, they put Kamala Harris in charge, so not really.’

The White House early last month named Vice President Harris as ‘AI czar’ to lead the Biden administration’s new initiative ‘to promote responsible AI innovation that protects Americans’ rights and safety.’

Harris’ appointment has been met by widespread skepticism, with numerous voices questioning her ability to handle the role of AI czar. Twitter owner Elon Musk recently mocked the appointment, tweeting: ‘Maybe someone who can fix their own WiFi router wouldn’t be too much to ask.’

Harris has been similarly criticized for her role as ‘border czar’ in the administration due to the ongoing crisis of mass illegal crossings at the southern border from Mexico into the U.S.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.

Despite his skepticism about Harris, however, Baragona argued that no one — including AI experts — has really any idea what’s coming.

‘It’s a tidal wave even for insiders,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t say that insiders are any better prepared. We’re all in the same boat together.’

DeepAi is continuing to build its service, working on ‘better and better’ versions of what it already has and also developing video games that utilize AI technology, according to Baragona.

Ultimately, he argued, people need to take responsibility to educate themselves about AI to be prepared for the future. 

‘The message I want people to hear is they need to educate themselves about what AI can do already and what AI can do in the future so that we can have a hope of adapting to this technology successfully,’ said Baragona. ‘We can be rapidly entering a sci-fi future, more sci-fi than we might have expected, and need to be ready.’

Paperwork.

We hear about ‘paperwork’ when trying to deal with government bureaucracies and getting things done in Washington.

And, it is in fact ‘paperwork’ which delayed President Biden from signing the bill to avert a debt ceiling crisis.

It was ‘paperwork’ of the highest Congressional order. Not just a stack of forms buried in a federal file cabinet somewhere which dates back to the Eisenhower administration.

The Senate synced up with the House on the debt ceiling bill just before 11 pm ET Thursday night, approving the measure 63-36. Considering the Congressional brinksmanship over the debt ceiling, one might think they would immediately race the bill the 1.6 miles from the Capitol to the White House for the President to sign the legislation into law that night.

Not so fast.

For starters, the District of Columbia recently reduced the speed limit on many streets from 30 mph to 25 mph. So, don’t get a speeding ticket hauling tail down Pennsylvania Avenue.

But the biggest inhibition from racing the bill over to the White House hinges on an important, almost ancient process on Capitol Hill. In fact, the debt ceiling bill remained at the Capitol for hours after the Senate okayed the measure.

Nothing nefarious. No incompetence. This ‘paperwork’ exercise is an arcane, but important process which dates back to colonial America.

First of all, the House of Representatives crafted the debt ceiling bill. So, the measure is a ‘House product.’ That means that the Senate had to return the bill – without changes – to the House since it was the body of origination. This involves a little more than just stuffing the bill into a manila folder and asking an intern to walk it back across the Capitol Rotunda to the House. The Senate had to first execute some administrative tasks regarding the bill.

This is what begins the ‘enrollment and engrossment’ process. 

The term ‘engrossment’ means to ‘write in a large, clear hand.’

Think of John Hancock’s iconic, colossal signature on the Declaration of Independence. The National Archives houses the ‘official’ version of the Declaration of Independence with the signatures of 56 men. In fact, the National Archives document is known as the ‘engrossed copy.’ 

Enrollment and engrossment of a bill for the President to sign involves a lot of signatures and ‘paperwork.’

Once the Senate approved the debt limit bill, the Secretary of the Senate had to study the printed copy to assure accuracy. In other words, the version which the Senate approved didn’t involve any amendments. The Senate then prints the bill onto white paper and notes any alterations. In this case, the Senate simply voted on and approved the House version of the legislation. So no updates.

Then it’s ready to head back to the House. 

The House and Senate employ what are called ‘enrollment clerks.’ Those clerks sometimes take hours if not days to properly arrange the legislation from bill form into something which the President may sign into law. It depends on how long the legislation is and if there are complications – such as amendments. Some bills are parliamentary monstrosities. Thousands of pages. But this measure was rather straightforward. In fact, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., touted the relative brevity of the legislation: a svelte 99 pages.

Once all the checks and parliamentary mechanics are complete, the bill is copied onto parchment paper.

Yes. Parchment paper.

This is a custom which is old as the republic. 

In July 1776, the 13 colonies signaled their approval of the Declaration of Independence. According to the National Archives, the Continental Congress ‘ordered’ that the document be ‘fairly engrossed on parchment.’ Timothy Matlack was known in colonial America as a prominent ‘penman.’ It’s believed that Matlack actually copied the Declaration onto parchment. That’s the version preserved today at the National Archives.

On August 2, 1776, the journal of proceedings for the Continental Congress showed that ‘the declaration of independence being engrossed and compared at the table was signed.’ The aforementioned John Hancock was the first signatory.

The modern-day Congress follows this same process for every piece of legislation lawmakers approve.

Right down to the parchment paper.

After all, this is legislation which is about to become a law and permanently archived. You just don’t print it up on a ream of paper bought at Staples.

It consumes time to line up the legislative text onto the parchment paper. Again, not a complex bill. But there is a method and precision to this process. Once the bill is ready, the Speaker of the House or his designee must sign the bill. The presiding officer of the Senate – in this case, Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., – or her designee, must sign, too. The bicameral signatures by those Congressional officers certifies that the House and Senate have in fact taken action on a bill, are in agreement and the measure is ready to head to the White House for the President’s signature.

When Fox asked Friday how long all of this would take with the debt ceiling bill, one senior source replied ‘I have no idea.’

Of course, the deadline for the debt ceiling is Monday. That’s when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen forecast that the government could run out of cash and be unable to pay its bills. So, there is a bit of a race here. But frankly, no one was too worried since Mr. Biden planned to sign the document after Congress moved – regardless of when the document made it to his desk.

This is all about ‘paperwork’ of the highest order. That’s to say nothing of adhering to a time-honored tradition which has served the nation for more than two centuries. It also underscores the gravity and value of legislation. There is almost a reverential process for a final legislative product which becomes law. That’s augmented by the meticulousness the use of parchment paper for the final version.

Employees of the City of Dallas, Texas, must use people’s preferred pronouns or risk termination, according to recently publicized documents.

An internal document titled ‘Workplace Gender Transition Protocols & FAQ’ explains the city’s expectations for conduct regarding transgender individuals.

The guidelines explain that ‘gender transition’ can refer to a spectrum of situations, all of which are equally protected.

The document reads, ‘Transition may include ‘coming out’ (telling family, friends, and coworkers), changing the name and/or sex on legal documents, and/or accessing medical treatment such as hormones and/or surgery.’

City employees are ‘expected to respectfully use the transitioning employee’s preferred name and pronouns, regardless of whether or not they ‘believe in,’ approve of, or accept an individual’s right to be transgender or undergo a gender transition,’ according to the guidelines.

It adds, ‘An employee has the right to be addressed by the name and pronoun of their choice. Our addressing the employee by their chosen pronoun is a sign of respect for them as an individual.’

The document claims that ‘refusing to respect an employee’s gender identity by intentionally referring to an employee by a name or by pronouns that do not correspond to the employee’s gender identity’ is a form of discrimination and harassment.

Failing to follow the city’s protocol is grounds for an internal investigation and ‘may be disciplined up to and including termination.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the City of Dallas for clarification on whether one may be excused from the behavioral guidelines based on sincerely held religious convictions.

‘The City of Dallas is a safe and welcoming place for all residents and employees,’  the city government told Fox News in an exclusive statement. ‘The City prohibits discrimination and harassment of employees based on a protected category including race, color, age, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic characteristics, national origin, disability, and military or veteran status.’

‘Violations of these long-standing policies may result in disciplinary action,’ the message added, failing to clarify how the intersection of gender identity and religion convictions is handled.

The city government, referring to the workplace conduct document as a ‘toolkit,’ said that the policies were developed by the City’s Office of Equity.

‘The toolkit […] is a draft of guidelines developed by the City’s Office of Equity and Inclusion with input from Human Resources staff to address the needs of transgender and gender nonconforming employees and provide guidance to supervisors and managers on how to protect the rights and safety of such employees.’

The document recommends that supervisors consult with transgender employees about appropriate responses and discipline for coworkers failing to abide by the guidelines.