Wednesday, July 09, 2025

Transphobia takes a back seat as MAGA rages at AG Bondi over Epstein files debacle

From Mediaite:

 Attorney General Pam Bondi can’t seem to escape those pesky calls to resign over this week’s joint FBI/DOJ report on Jeffrey Epstein, even as she tries to deliver on a major MAGA talking point. In a video posted to X Wednesday, Bondi was flanked by Education Secretary Linda McMahon as the two Trump administration officials announced a lawsuit against California for failing to enforce the White House ban on (trans women) competing in women’s sports. 

 . . . The lawsuit seeks to “enforce Title IX and protect California female student athletes from unfair competition and reckless endangerment by male participation on female high-school sports teams,” according to a statement from the Department of Justice. The video quickly racked up thousands of replies, but instead of cheering for the litigious action, most saw the opportunity to once again demand Bondi find another job.

For those not familiar with the Epstein situation (and in that regard should consider themselves both fortunate and far in between), allow me to add some background.

Ever since he committed suicide in his jail cell in 2019, accused sex trafficker and convicted sex offender Jeffey Epstein has been the center of MAGA conspiracy theories about his death (they think he was murdered) and an alleged list of high-profile names who he supposedly trafficked underaged females to. Bondi and several others in the present Trump Administratio egged on and amplified these conspiracy theories for months. 

Then came the released report earlier this week concluding that Epstein was not murdered and there was no list of clients. Needless to say, MAGA is furious about this conclusion. This has led to a strange outcome of watching MAGA devotees (anti-MAGA devotees who are just being downright mischievous) ignore Bondi's news of an anti-trans lawsuit and instead figuratively drag her all over Twitter. The following are merely a few:

I'd be lying if I said I'm not enjoying this. It's like watching the part of a horror movie in which the mad scientist's experiments turn on him and drag him into "The House of Pain."



Hat tip to Mediaite (in spite of the fact that it amplifies Megyn Kelly too much. Just saying)





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Tuesday, July 08, 2025

'Georgia librarian fired after child picks a book with transgender character for a library display' & other Tue/Wed news briefs

'When Aidan Became A Brother' - the book which led to the firing of Georgia librarian Lavonnia Moore.


I swear, the way some Americans are acting makes me want to give those 'To Serve Man' aliens from The Twilight Zone some precise directions on where some of y'all live. And throw in a huge bag of seasoning.

Beloved Georgia librarian fired after child chooses book with transgender character for library display - Unbelievable! And the lies the bigots told on her is equally shameful. Under the facade of "protecting children," these folks are targeting people merely doing their job. Not to mention attempting to erase families the public view.

11th Circuit upholds Miami-Dade’s firing of former media aide over anti-LGBTQ column - Whoop! There it is! 

California defies federal order to ban trans women and girls from female sports - We will have to see how this turns out. California governor Gavin Newsom got some folks angry a while back via his negative comments about trans athletes. 

Wisconsin Supreme Court clears way for conversion therapy ban - Great news, but again we will see how this turns out with SCOTUS hearing a case on whether or not states can ban reparative therapy. 

Trans athletes can no longer play sports in Indiana starting this month - A perfect example of how these laws are ridiculous time wasters. According to the article, there aren't any trans athletes playing sports in Indiana.

 Supreme Court ruling wasn’t the final word, as debate on LGBTQ books opt-out goes on - You had better believe that it ain't over.

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Wednesday, July 02, 2025

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters going on hiatus until July 8

A photo of me and my GLAAD award (Outstanding Blog - 2017)


Unless something interesting happens (like Elon Musk and Stephen Miller getting caught getting busy while wearing bondage gear ...  you're welcome for the image), I am going on a break to recharge my batteries. 

 I shall return on Tuesday of next week hopefully full of fire and petty attitude (cause God knows we need it) to do what I have been doing for the community for the past 18 and a half years. 

 Until then, keep smiling, keep fighting, and never let anyone decide for you what you need to be doing for yourself. We will get through Trump's second term, just like we did his first.

So happy Fourth of July (maybe sooner if something big happens - cue image of Trump in master/slave leather gear with Lindsey Graham)

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Monday, June 30, 2025

CBS News - the Trump Administration is playing 'divide and conquer' strategy against LGBTQ community

During his first term, Donald Trump pretended to like the LGBTQ community. During this, his second term, he's not bothering to play the game. Instead, according to CBS News, his Administration is pushing a divide and conquer strategy - specifically targeting the trans community, while the overall goal is a reduction of rights for the entire LGBTQ community.

According to CBS News:

From health care bans, to sports bans, bathroom bans, a military ban and attempts to erase non-binary gender pronouns from the federal system, Mr. Trump's most conspicuous threats to LGBTQ rights specifically target trans people, a pattern that has drawn accusations of scapegoating from his critics, given that trans people make up an estimated 1% or less of the U.S. population. LGBTQ advocates also see it as a tactic to sow division in the community. 

 "Donald Trump ran for president on an age-old platform of divide and conquer," said Brandon Wolf, the national press secretary at the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy organization. "Inside the LGBTQ+ community, Donald Trump ran his campaign saying, I'm not targeting all LGBTQ+ people, just the trans people, and if you sacrifice that community, perhaps you will be spared." 

While polling data showed most LGBTQ voters didn't choose to elect him, Mr. Trump has gained increasingly loud support from a faction of gay conservatives who disavow the "radical LGBT left" and insist his policies aren't at odds with their personal freedoms. 

 When the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced the upcoming termination of part of its 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline dedicated to helping LGBTQ youth, the gay conservative group Log Cabin Republicans called related media coverage "fake news." 
 
While some of the Trump Administration's actions exploit whatever divide exists between the trans and LGBQ communities, other actions have targeted the community in general.  The goal seems to be making the overall LGBTQ community weak and unable to fight back.

 . . .Mr. Trump and those in his orbit have repeatedly cast LGBTQ people and activities in a negative light. While announcing leadership shifts at the Kennedy Center in February, the president penned a social media post that pledged, in capital letters, to ensure the arts forum would no longer host drag shows "or other anti-American propaganda." His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, later said the country needs "less LGBTQ graduate majors" in an interview on Fox News criticizing Harvard University. 

 According to advocates and academics, the administration frequently relies on political strategies to marginalize trans people that have been used against other groups in the past. The term "groomers," for example, is a historically anti-gay trope, and "gender ideology" originally demonized feminism. 

 There were also notable moments of silence from the Trump administration, which did not acknowledge Pride Month, even as a global Pride festival took place for several weeks between May and June in Washington, D.C. LGBTQ people say that wasn't necessarily a surprise after watching their visibility decline in national forums this year, starting with mentions of "lesbian," "bisexual," "gay," "transgender," "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" being scrubbed from the White House website the day after Mr. Trump's inauguration, in a flashback to his first term.


You can read the entire CBS News article by clicking on this link. 


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Thursday, June 26, 2025

'Senate parliamentarian order removal of gender-affirming care ban from Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'' & other Thur/Fri news briefs



Senate parliamentarian orders removal of gender-affirming care ban from GOP reconciliation bill​ - I'm personally opposed to the bill in general being passed, but this is still a huge and positive development:

Restrictions on the use of federal funds for gender-affirming care will be stripped from the Republican-led Senate reconciliation bill, following a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian on Tuesday that struck down a number of health related provisions. The legislation banned coverage for transgender medical care through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, language that was also included in the House version of the bill passed on May 22 with a vote of 215-214.

 . . . Amid calls to override Tuesday’s ruling from Republicans like U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (Fla.), GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.) told reporters “That would not be a good outcome for getting a bill done.” 


A decade after the U.S. legalized gay marriage, Jim Obergefell says the fight isn't over - So true. Unfortunately, the desire to be complacent is a huge problem in our community. Notice that I said "desire." Instead of realizing that those who oppose our equality will use every means, some of us have taken to blaming the trans community with the bad narrative being that they supposedly "went too far" when America was "accepting" us. Yeah, it's a STUPID notion.

Transgender representation in public office has skyrocketed - This right here is the right idea. Not just the trans community but more in the overall LGBTQ community should seek public office.

Pride Month marches on, despite frustration and worry from LGBTQ community over government actions - Because no one can stop our Pride. So many groups and individuals this year rose to the challenge in spite of all of the madness and corporate sponsors dropping us. It has been a testament to our community.
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Tuesday, June 24, 2025

From my archives - How They See Us: Unmasking The Religious Right War on Gay America

The place card for 'How They See Us.'

In 2013, with the help of a few wonderful friends, I published the online booklet How They See Us: Unmasking The Religious Right War on Gay America. It was a short expose on how religious right groups demonize LGBTQ people via bad science, false accusations, and outright lies.

This what I wrote in the post announcing the booklet:

This booklet is free to anyone who wants to read, download, or link it to their blog. By all means, please do so. And above all, please "like " it on Facebook, twitter, and other forms of social media. In spite of the claims of the religious right, our goal is not to silence them, but to demand an answer from them regarding their tactics. Lies told in the name of God are still lies.

I received little to no mainstream attention (not even from LGBTQ groups) regarding this booklet, but I like to think of it as an underground success (with one million views and over 800 downloads on Scribd).

Things have change over the course of 12 years though. Social media influencers are now doing much of the work of that groups such as the American Family Association and the Family Research Council once did. And their reach is unfortunately enormous. One picture or video deliberately taken of context to portray LGBTQ people as predators of kids can be shared over a million times before it's proven to be false.

So, we are definitely dealing with a different landscape than in 2013. The one thing which will never change however, is the fact that accusations thrown at the LGBTQ community (we are sexually grooming kids, we want to put Christians in jail, we want to destroy America) are lies and these lies can always be defeated if folks fight hard enough to expose them. 

With that in mind, I encourage folks to do now what I encouraged them to do 12 years ago - read, download, and share.

How They See Us by Alvin A. McEwen

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Sunday, June 22, 2025

'Hetero Awesome Festival' flops hard, attracting only dozens

Hetero Awesome Festival, an Idaho event created to pushback against June being designated as LGBTQ Pride Month, took place on Friday and Saturday of last week. 

According to an article in The Idaho Dispatch last month:

Hetero Awesome, a non-profit group founded by Mark Fitzpatrick, will hold a “Hetero Awesomeness Festival” at Cecil Andrus Park across from the Idaho Capitol Building this June.

. . . . Fitzpatrick told Idaho Dispatch about the event, “We’re launching the Heterosexual Awesomeness Fest 2025 at Cecil D. Andrus Park to boldly celebrate traditional family values in a nation that’s shifting politically at seemingly lightning speed. Idaho’s lawmakers just passed fierce new laws to protect our freedoms and shut down divisive, racist programs like DEI. With the Capitol building as our backdrop, we’re calling everyone to join us June 20-21 for music, food, and talks that unite us in strengthening the family unit and championing Heterosexual Awesomeness!” 

According to the Hetero Awesome website, the event will, “This ain’t your limp-wristed woke fest; it’s a full-on celebration of family values with guts. We’re bringing the heat with killer food, ice-cold beer, and bold wines, plus live music to crank the vibe. Expect riveting speeches that’ll wake the dead, booths from family-owned businesses and rock-solid supporters, all standing tall for our Battle Lines.”

So, how did the event go?  It flopped on cosmically . . . nay, Biblical proportions.

According to Latter Gay Stories, a Facebook page:

Local media, including Idaho News 6, reported that turnout was negligible, with one observer noting the festival “probably could have been an email.” Social media reactions highlighted the event’s poor naming and execution, with one commenter stating, “Look at how much of a waste of time and money hatred is.” 

 The festival struggled to secure sponsorships, raising only half the needed funds despite support from United Rentals and a headline performance by Michael Austin. Reports suggest the event was attended by fewer than 100 people. 

 In contrast, Boise’s LGBTQ+ community responded with a satirical counter-event at The Balcony Club titled “But, What About Straight Pride?” Held on June 20, the show drew significant attendance and support, underscoring the city’s embrace of inclusivity. 

The flop of Fitzpatrick’s Hetero Fest, juxtaposed with the success of the counter-event, reinforced Boise’s shifting cultural landscape, where messages of acceptance resonated more strongly than division. Queer people are part of our communities, and they always will be . . . Supporters of the Festival have now turned to social media asking for money to cover expenses including security costs—exceeding $18,000, money they expected to raise from the attendees that never showed up

 

Folks on Twitter posted snippets from the festival, eagerly pointing out its failure to draw participants:


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