NYC Public Library has many historical photo treasures of lgbt history

How is this for a "blast from the past?"

Legendary lgbt activist Marsh Johnson picketing outside Bellvue Hospital.

Or this:

1971 - Gay Activist Alliance dance party

According to Unicorn Booty:

 We already told you about the New York Public Library’s newly digitized archives and their upcoming Remix Residency, but we were so overwhelmed by the cool artwork that we overlooked the masses of fascinating LGBTQ content in there. Among its 188,000 items, there are four collections that really stand out: 200 photos of gay and lesbian writers (and their dogs); items from the International Gay Information Center, which ran from 1969-1988; 366 photos of protests, rallies, and other political movements by Diana Davies and, largest of all, over 900 photos from the personal collection of lesbian activists Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen.

The two pictures above are only two of the many posted on Unicorn Booty.

 Go there and see how the lgbt community has changed over decades. . . or remained the same.

'Religious right making ugly war on transgender community' & other Thur. midday news briefs

And Then They Came for Transgender People - My friend Brynn Tannehill breaks it down. What happened in South Dakota is a part of a deliberate plan of anti-gay groups and it's only the beginning of something awful. It's a major reason why I have said for over nine years that the lgbt community AND our allies must do more to focus on these groups and stop letting them dictate the terms of the conversation. No fear, brothers and sisters. This is a war, but of rhetoric and position. If you ain't in the game, go home.

'White-Hot Fury': Anti-Gay Hate Groups on Rise in Wake of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling - The Southern Poverty Law Center just added seven more to its list of anti-gay hate groups. And believe me, they ALL deserve it.  

Texas Conservative Group Makes National Hate Org List - Such as THIS group, and it is a DOOZY!  

Relieved that Scalia can no longer judge us - Respecting the dead and lying about the dead are different things. Scalia had no business on the Supreme Court. And that's solely MY opinion.  

Cruz: 'Disastrous' Marriage Equality Ruling Led To 'Persecution' That's 'Unprecedented' - That howling I keep hearing are the victims of actual persecution. The ones who were tortured, burned at the stake, beaten, and generally executed. And they are all saying, "Is this @!^% kidding?!!" Don't say this man won't be president until AFTER the election is over. Until then, we got work to do.

Six Ways Gays Get People Angry

Strange, probably controversial. But I doubt it's counterproductive.  I found this video this morning and found it to be hilarious. What do you think of this NSFW "pornomedy" by Jason Farone?

'Reports - Nike will dump homophobic boxer Manny Pacquiao' & other Wed. midday news briefs

Nike to Manny Pacquiao - "You gotta go! Just do it1"

 UPDATE :Nike drops Manny Pacquiao after boxer's anti-gay comments - AND he is outta here. Although some folks have lost their damn minds on twitter in their attempts to make him seem like a victim.

Breaking: Nike 'Preparing' To Dump Manny Pacquiao After Anti-Gay Comments, Says TMZ - Bear in mind that this world famous boxer, who is running for public office in the Philippines, is infamous for his attacks on the lgbt community. In this particular case, he called us "worse than animals." Something to remember if and when the "gays are trying to silence people" crowd come along. Like Michelle Malkin (America's version of Jenny Greenteeth) did in 2012 when he attacked us then. 

How The ‘Religious Liberty’ Veneer On Anti-LGBT Bills Is Fading - We all know that the "religious liberty" argument is nonsense. Zack Ford of Think Progress points it out.

 Some of the Catholic faith are disguising homophobia through fraudulent science - Reiterating a post from last night - here is another way a religious body is codifying homophobia, this time via fraudulent science. 

 West Virginia Businesses Fight Back Against Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill – VIDEO - And not everyone is agreeable to the "religious liberty" nonsense. Good.

 'Lgbts want to harm children' - the lie the community won't kill - Repeating my post from this morning (sue me already. I was on fire for the past two days) talking about how our community continues be defeated by a lie we should have tackled a long time ago.

  James Dobson: Only Ted Cruz Can Overturn Gay Marriage - Dear James, even if Cruz becomes president (God help us) he will NOT overturn marriage equality. You really don't think the lgbt community is going to give up something we worked hard for and earned, do you?

'Lgbts want to harm children' - the lie the community won't kill

South Dakota just became the first state in the country to pass an absolutely stupid bill which will negatively affect our transgender children:

By a 15-20 vote, the South Dakota state senate passed a bill on Tuesday to ban transgender students from using school restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. After passing the state house earlier this month, House Bill 1008 is expected to head to Gov. Dennis Daugaard in the coming days. Provided that he signs it, South Dakota would be the first state in the country to pass such a law — likely teeing up a clash with the federal government, which has taken the position that such policies constitute illegal discrimination.

Sen. Brock Greenfield said on the senate floor that the legislation is a response to the Obama administration’s push for transgender rights in public schools.

 . . .  He cited constituent concerns about “co-mingling” of individuals of different birth sex, saying it was “inappropriate.” “Do you feel it appropriate for a 13-year-old girl to be exposed to the anatomy of a boy?” he asked.

The ado about bills like this and the supposed safety of children is something the lgbt community can expect to unfortunately hear for while. After their overwhelming victory in Houston against a pro-lgbt ordinance using the same argument (that males will be allowed in women's restrooms and boys and girls will shower together), religious right groups and their supporters have gone practically buck wild in defaming and portraying the transgender community as predators.

Meanwhile, some lgbt activists are scrambling for a way to refute the "bathroom" argument in this latest way the religious right exploits the fear of children being harmed.

Which leads me to be exasperated at my lgbt brothers and sisters for continuing to run about in a panic over an attack which has served to diminish and defeat us for decades - i.e. the lgbts will harm children lie.

Some of the Catholic faith are disguising homophobia through fraudulent science

Austin Ruse demonstrates how some Catholic leaders disguise homophobic lies.

Austin Ruse is the leader of C-FAM (Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute), an anti-lgbt group which lobbies the United Nations. SPLC has it listed as a hate group. This is probably because of the myriad of times Ruse has denigrated the lgbt community or outright lied about us, such as when he called us "Satan's minions" or when he said "left-wing university professors taken out and shot."

That last controversy led Ruse to intensely dislike me because of the work I did to aggregate his words. He even sent me a message last year to let me know that he was still blocking me from twitter, which was a mystery because it came from out of nowhere and I really didn't give a #@!.

Still our paths unfortunately tend to cross, like today.

This morning, I read a column he published in late January in a religious (Catholic) magazine called Crisis. The column, Their Sexual Proclivities Are Killing Them, is something I haven't seen in a while - "good old fashioned" fear mongering about how homosexuality is supposedly a "dangerous lifestyle." And the more I read Ruse's article and where it comes from, the more I get disappointed at a certain religious belief:

It is clear from their relatively tiny numbers—only a few million in a total population of 318,000,000—that men who have sex with men (MSM)* are not “everywhere” as MSM insist they are. It is also clear from their sexual activities, particularly related to anal sex, that their sexual practices also set them apart from the normal population.

 . . .  Independent researcher Dale O’Leary published a hair-raising paper in The Linacre Quarterly two years ago called “The Syndemic of AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) among MSM” that tells a plethora of uncomfortable truths about MSM.vNote her use of the term “syndemic.” This is beyond both an epidemic and a pandemic. A syndemic is two or more diseases in a population “in which there is some level of positive biological interaction that exacerbates the negative health effects of any or all of the diseases.”

Ruse admits that he is talking about an article which was published in 2014. But here is what he doesn't tell you.  The Linacre Quarterly is not necessarily a credible magazine:

The Linacre Quarterly is the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association. Continuously published since 1934, The Linacre Quarterly is the oldest journal in existence dedicated to medical ethics. The Linacre Quarterly provides a forum in which faith and reason can be brought to bear on analyzing and resolving ethical issues in health care, with a particular focus on issues in clinical practice and research.

The Catholic Medical Association has a negative and very inaccurate stance on homosexuality as evidenced by a pamphlet it offers:

 CMA’s pamphlet Homosexuality & Hope: Questions and Answers About Same-Sex Attraction provides clear, sensitive, and updated advice to persons and families who are dealing with same-sex attraction.CMA’s pamphlet Homosexuality & Hope: Questions and Answers About Same-Sex Attraction provides clear, sensitive, and updated advice to persons and families who are dealing with same-sex attraction.  Homosexuality & Hope was first printed in 1999 in booklet form as a service to the medical profession, the Church, and society.  Later, in 2003, a shorter pamphlet, focused on responding to the most frequently asked questions about same-sex attraction, was published. Later editions of the Homosexuality & Hope pamphlet, in 2008 and 2010, brought a new design and layout, updated citations reflecting new research on same-sex attraction, and a new question on recent attempts to apply the title “marriage” to same-sex relationships.

In other words, The Linacre Quarterly comes from an organization with negative views of homosexuality which are not necessarily rooted in science but faith.  One has the question the credibility of any information about lgbts coming from this magazine. Indeed, the article Ruse is talking about does take a negative view of the lgbt community, generalizing about gay men,"bathhouses," "circuit parties," citing many statistics which are over several decades old, and even using the out-of-date term "gay bowel syndrome."

'How will Scalia's death impact the future of lgbt equality?' & other Tue. midday news briefs

 Scalia

How The Supreme Court Shake-Up Will Impact The Future Of LGBT Rights - Serious talk, folks. Take it to heart because hardly anyone has talked about this as of yet.  

Manny Pacquiao: Boxer sorry for 'gay people are worse than animals' remark - You mean he is sorry he got caught. Listen, I don't care what some boxer says about my people. I DO care that said boxer is running for public office in his respective country, which in this case is the Philippines. We have enough of crazy homophobes in the US Congress. I hate that they extend to other innocent countries.

Heads Of The Catholic And Russian Orthodox Churches Use Historic Meeting To Bash Gays - Well at least we brought them together (snark!)  

Trump Voters in South Carolina Want to Ban Both Muslims and Gays From Entering the Country - I can't begin to tell you how it felt having this be the first thing I read this morning. 

 South Dakota on Slippery Slope With Bill Targeting Transgender People - Here we go again.

 Independent Investigation Debunks The Anti-LGBT "Bathroom Predator" Myth - Some lgbt advocates have complained that we have yet to be able to counter the anti-transgender "bathroom bill" myth. How about a seriously aggressive push of the truth and BEFORE we are knee deep in the latest fight over a state bill. Just a suggestion.