Video package: Phil Donahue gave the LGBTQ community respect and much needed visibility

We lost a good ally on Sunday:

"Groundbreaking TV talk show journalist Phil Donahue died Sunday night at home surrounded by his wife of 44 years Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever Charlie," his family said in a statement. "Donahue was 88 years old and passed away peacefully following a long illness." 

 At his peak, his nationally syndicated "The Phil Donahue Show" — later renamed "Donahue" — was a ratings hit and a precursor to similar shows with hosts Montel Williams and Jerry Springer. Oprah Winfrey described Donahue as a trailblazer who invented smart talk in the afternoon and brought startling new ideas into the living rooms and laundry rooms of American women. 

 “His show debuted nationally, and the whole country came to know his personal brand of issue-driven straight talk,” Winfrey said in 2002. “If there had been no Phil Donahue show, there would be no 'Oprah Winfrey' show. He was the first to acknowledge that women are interested in more than mascara tips and cake recipes — that we’re intelligent, we’re concerned about the world around us, and we want the best possible lives for ourselves.”

 

What I remember about Donahue the most is how he stood by the LGBTQ community during a time in which we didn't have as much visibility. He gave us respect and extended to us a powerful platform in which we could stand up for ourselves and educate the public about our lives. I think a wonderful way to honor his memory is to showcase various clips from his show in which he extended the microphone to us and our issues. 

   

'Supreme Court temporarily blocks Biden's attempt to protect trans students' & other Sun/Mon news briefs

Supreme Court blocks temporary enforcement of expanded protections for transgender students​ - Folks, if you don't know what the November election is about, this decision by SCOTUS should remind you.

Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris on LGBTQ+ rights: A side-by-side comparison - And just in case you need another reminder. 

Melania Trump cashed six-figure check to speak to gay Republicans at Mar-a-Lago - You didn't think she spoke because she supports our equality, did you? 

Florida college dumps hundreds of books, many on sexuality, race and feminism - THIS is scary.

American Airlines banned a lesbian for having sex with a dude on a plane — yeah, she's confused too - First of all, I know what you are thinking and here is the answer - SHE DID NOT DO IT. 

This important PSA raises awareness on persistent LGBTQ+ housing discrimination - Very needed PSA.

Conservative writer implies that Tim Walz sexually groomed boys, gets thoroughly humiliated on Twitter

Joel Berry of The Babylon Bee tried to smear Dem VP nominee Tim Walz but instead embarrassed himself.

This is Joel Berry. He's the managing editor of the far-right trash publication The Babylon Bee. He's also the latest conservative trying desperately to smear Democratic VP nominee Tim Walz. Unable to mount a suitable attack on Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Republicans have turned their guns of slander and smear against Walz. They've run the gambit from attempting to smear Walz as a disgraced military veteran to lying that he put tampons in the boys' restrooms of Minnesota schools.

Berry, however, is using the traditional right-wing smear of implying that Walz sexually groomed boys because he served as a faculty advisor of high school GSA (Gay/Straight Alliance) when he was a Minnesota teacher.

It hasn't gone well for Berry. First the Community Notes on Twitter called him out:

In 1999, history teacher Tim Walz recruited young boys into a gay club at school. America's dad, indeed. pic.twitter.com/idaG3vp957

— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) August 12, 2024

The truth is that exactly what the Community Notes said. Walz was asked to be the faculty advisor. And based upon what former members of the alliance had to say, Walz was positive influence on their lives:

Jacob Reitan, now an LGBTQ activist and lawyer, was a founding member of the GSA at Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minnesota, about 80 miles southwest of Minneapolis. He said Walz and his wife, also a teacher at the school, provided vital support during Reitan’s formative years. “Both Tim and Gwen were incredibly supportive of their gay students, and they modeled values of inclusivity and respect,” 

Reitan, 42, told MSNBC this week. “I was bullied in high school. [Their values] helped not just me, but it also, I think, helped the bully. It showed the bully a better path forward, and I can think of no one better than Tim Walz to show that better path forward for America.” 

 Fellow GSA member Seth Elliot Meyer attended Mankato West from 2000-2004 and had Walz for 11th grade history. Meyer, 38, said he initially expected to hate Walz, because he was a football coach and a hunter. “I was a leftist punk rock, anti-everything kind of kid,” Meyer said. “In the year that I had him, what I learned is that he really cared about everyone and wanted everyone to be seen.” 

 While Community Notes simply corrected Berry's ugly connotation of Walz's involvement in the GSA, others who responded to his Tweet weren't so polite. And Berry deserved every bit of the dragging he received:

This post makes you seem stupid and evil.

— Cody Johnston (@drmistercody) August 12, 2024

Tim Walz ran a Gay-Straight Alliance and was beloved by its members.

You are a weird freak who can't think of young gay people without sexualizing them.

— SDL (@SocDoneLeft) August 13, 2024

they literally recruited HIM, you numpty pic.twitter.com/wMh5lucIVx

— shauna (@goldengateblond) August 13, 2024

Yes, we know Tim worked very hard to ensure gay kids were accepted and had a safe space at school free from bullying and discrimination. Why’s that an issue?

Walz thought it’d be important for the GSA club to be lead by a football coach to show acceptance knows no bounds.

As a…

— The Political HQ (@ThePoliticalHQ) August 13, 2024

What really bothers you is that @GovTimWalz was the ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee from 2017 to 2019: it bothers you that he wanted to make an alliance that included all students because in your weird world there are no LGBTQ+ students … Wow 😮 🇺🇸🏳️‍🌈

— 💙Honey Badger Democrat 💙 (@BadgerLiberal) August 12, 2024

Gay/straight alliances piss bigoted bullies like Joel Berry off. It's not the reason for them, but it's a nice side effect.

— A.R. Moxon (@JuliusGoat) August 12, 2024

And because I love a good Twitter dragging (especially when it's a conservative getting called out for spewing anti-LGBTQ lies,) I added my two cents:

In MY GSA, we recited lines from the 1939 movie 'The Women' and took sides. The Joan Crawford faction and the Norma Shearer faction HATED each other. https://t.co/Nk1fPqjv2W

— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) August 13, 2024

JD Vance's drag photo resurfaces, Log Cabin Republicans blasted on Twitter after falsely claiming Trump did not ban trans people from military

J.D. Vance in drag during his law school days.

Today on my blog is rarity - a two for one.

First, Republican vice president nominee JD Vance has recently become the latest subject in the GOP Hypocrisy Boogie. 

From The Huffington Post:

Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. JD Vance is getting dragged for hypocrisy after a photo from his law school days surfaced on social media, appearing to show him in a blonde wig and dress. The photo first came to light via X user Matt Bernstein, who said the pic dates back to Vance’s days at Yale Law School in 2012. 

 A short time later, Yale assistant professor Travis Whitfill said he was the source of the photo that Bernstein had posted, but credited another classmate for taking it. “It’s from a group chat of Vance’s fellow classmates and is from a friend of a friend. I believe it was grabbed from Facebook and was taken at a Halloween party,” Whitfill told The Daily Beast. The photo quickly went viral, with some social media users giving Vance the drag name “Sofa Loren,” a not-exactly-subtle reference to the “couch sex” meme that is based on a fake story about the senator. 

Bear in mind that it's not the fact that Vance wore drag in his law school days that's the issue.  Conservatives have made drag queens their scapegoats in order to feed into fears of LGBTQ people supposedly "recruiting" or "grooming" kids. They smear our culture as "deviant" because they are simply too chickenshit own their bigotry. But with this latest incident, we see that they have no problem with our culture. Their problem lies with our existence in general.

The outcry has been as you would expect. You know how we are when we find a Republican being hypocritical when it comes to attacking LGBTQ people. 

 From Queerty: 

 Many were quick to comment on Vance’s stance regarding LGBTQ+ rights. He has previously called opponents of “Don’t Say Gay” legislation “groomers”. Vance has opposed the US Census adding questions about gender identity and introduced a (failed) bill to ban ‘X’ gender markers on US passports. He also introduced a bill aimed at preventing minors from accessing gender-affirming care. GLAAD maintains a fuller list of Vance’s comments regarding LGBTQ+ rights.

Folks have also been pulling out "receipts" regarding past anti-LGBTQ comments Vance made, including the following:

Meanwhile, Queerty also points out that we've been having fun in the community critiquing Vance's attire and deciding which name he should use:

 . . . the suggestions for potential drag names rolled in. This one, liked over 110k times, appears to be the winner: Sofa Loren. . . Let’s also not forget Linda Loveseat, Ashley Furniture, Rhea Polstered and Anita Cushion.

 If I were a petty person, I would point out that I see where Vance got his love of eyeshadow from. 

But I'm not petty.

Item 2 for today was one which had me a bit angry for a while. Courtesy of the Log Cabin Republicans:

Kamala Harris is fear-mongering for LGBT votes.

❌ Trump did NOT take away protections for LGBT workers or patients.

❌ Trump did NOT ban trans people from the military.

✅ Trump DID create a booming economy and secure the border. But Kamala doesn't want to talk about that. https://t.co/XmNWxw95Si

— Log Cabin Republicans (@LogCabinGOP) August 12, 2024

Never mind the words which spewed from my mouth when I read the tweet, but I will say I'll probably sleep good tonight.

It's bad when people lie in your face, but it's worse when you KNOW that they are lying and they know that you know they are lying, but they will lie anyway hoping to gaslight you into confusion. Personally, I think that is the personification of Donald Trump and his campaign, not to mention his time in office.

Folks were quick to drag the Log Cabin Republicans for this nonsense. And they brought "the receipts"

pic.twitter.com/kStZl9F56F

— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) August 12, 2024

Didn't You guys get kicked out of the @GOP convention in Texas because they said you guys were an abomination?

You guys are a joke 😆

Your own party hates you!! pic.twitter.com/SGba8cQ8Tz

— Soul Finder (@SoulFinder500) August 12, 2024

Just a little selection of Trump’s activities while president. He is not an ally of trans & gay people. pic.twitter.com/Tju1NqOtv9

— Matt💡 (@matthewungar) August 12, 2024

Whoops pic.twitter.com/fp7AFQvH8S

— Joshua (@GraalfsJoshua) August 12, 2024

@communityNotes Trump’s Department of Labor issued a regulation designed to allow federal contractors to claim a religious exemption to fire LGBTQ workers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

— Mike in Houston #HARRISWALZ2024 (@Mike_in_Houston) August 12, 2024

Here’s Trumps views on LGBT: https://t.co/IXMBifNr2B

— Kyle Mong (@KyleMong) August 12, 2024

All I can say about today is that I've working on this blog for almost 18 years and it's comforting that I'm not so jaded that I still retain my sense of shock.

'Anti-LGBTQ MAGA troll suffers humiliating loss in primary' & other Wed/Thurs news briefs

Valentina Gomez

MAGA troll who sparked fury for telling voters not to be ‘weak and gay’ crashes out of primary - Oh Valentina Gomez. Bless that place in your chest where your heart ought to be. 

 And in case you've forgotten who she is: 

Valentina Gomez, a 25-year-old woman who sought the Republican nomination, made headlines this year with her eye-catching campaign videos that included burning LGBT+-friendly books for children and teens, attacking people in the LGBT+ community with vulgar language, promoting AR-15s, abolishing voting machines and more. 

 Critics of Gomez accused her of spreading “hateful” content because much of her content included vulgar language. She called Vice President Kamala Harris a “hoe” and “little b****”, used the word “f****t” to describe transgender people and described Democrats as “full of gay s***”, among other things.

A bigot lost her election and her brother lost his job. I’m not shedding any tears. - It gets more interesting. Gomez lost the primary and may have cost her brother his job.

Ohio's 'medically baseless and genuinely dangerous' gender-affirming care ban upheld by judge - Appeal! 

Medal count! Here are the LGBTQ+ Olympians who won medals in Paris 2024 (so far) - Hopefully the number has increased by the time you're reading this. 

As LGBTQ library material comes under fire, California may ban book bans - I'm all for it. Do it! 

Wisconsin's first LGBTQ historic landmark dedicated in Milwaukee - Great local story.

DeSantis Administration loses another court case to transgender community (and there may be damages awarded this time)

Florida Gov Ron DeSantis lost another court case to trans community.

Just like his sad presidential campaign did, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis's "war on woke" continues to crumble. And he deserves every bit of the public humiliation.

From The Advocate (on Friday of last week):

A federal judge ruled Florida’s transgender health care ban violates state employees’ rights. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in a court order wrote Florida has wronged public workers for decades by only carrying insurance plans that exclude gender affirmation care. He said the refusal to provide appropriate health care violated transgender plaintiff’s rights as defined under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. “The undisputed facts demonstrate that the challenged exclusions apply only to transgender members, as only transgender individuals would seek the gender-affirming treatment that is excluded from coverage,” Walker ruled.

The Advocate also pointed out that this is the second time the DeSantis Administration lost in court with regards to its attempt ban gender-affirming healthcare:

In recent years, Florida has stepped up efforts to limit access to transgender health care for adults and children, but frequently run into skepticism in the courts. Another federal judge in the state in June blocked the state from enforcing its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restrictions on the care for trans adults.

But this case dates back to 2020. It was brought by three transgender women, including Jami Claire, a University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine worker, Kathryn Lane, an appellate public defender, and Ahmir Murphy, a Florida Department of Corrections Sergeant. The state denied each plaintiff coverage of gender affirmation surgery.

LGBTQ Nation added:

“We are so grateful that the court is holding the state accountable for its facially discriminatory policy that carves out transgender state employees for unequal treatment,” said Simone Chriss, director of the Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel, in a statement. 

“As the court made clear, ‘Title VII prohibits all forms of discrimination because of sex, however they manifest themselves,’ and we are thrilled that this antiquated relic of state-sanctioned discrimination has been left in the past where it belongs.”

 This court will be holding a separate trial to determine the amount of damages that will be awarded to plaintiffs. The plaintiffs were represented by the Florida chapter of the ACLU, Southern Legal Counsel, and Legal Services of Greater Miami.

Luther Vandross and George Michael amongst icons announced for upcoming LGBT History Month 2024 observance

Take a brief moment to reflect and acknowledge those whose hard work got the community to this point:

LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images, and other resources.

   

Funny ad about 'creepy MAGA Republicans ' goes viral and triggers certain people

This is probably the creepiest (and the funniest) ad of the 2024 political season by far and it has intensely triggered MAGA Republicans online, especially on Twitter. Their anger could be seen as a perfect example of how the truth hurts.  But they only have themselves to blame. When you are obsessed with passing legislation designed to control people's bodies, what do you expect people to think of you?

But I'll let you, dear readers, decide.

From the group Won't Pac Down:

Inspired by Project 2025 and the bizarre beliefs of JD Vance, the weirdos are organizing. They’re voting. Are you?

'Detransitioner' Chloe Cole testifies to making up to $200,00 via her anti-trans activism

Chloe Cole

Via trans activists Erin Reed and Alejandra Caraballo comes interesting (and not altogether shocking) news about alleged detransitioner Chole Cole. Her national and international trarvel while weaving her (unverified) story of being "deceived into being transgender" is a very financially lucrative endeavor.

According to new and explosive reporting by the Los Angeles Times, advocating against transgender people has become a lucrative business for prominent political detransitioner Chloe Cole. A newly released audio recording reveals that Cole earns upwards of $200,000 for opposing transgender care, primarily through speaking engagements, donations via Donorbox, and her employment with the far-right organization Do No Harm, which facilitates her access to opportunities to testify.

The recording, which comes from Chloe Cole’s testimony during a court hearing in Ohio regarding the state's gender-affirming care ban, features Cole discussing her income and funding (with cleaner, trimmed audio also provided by Civil Rights Attorney Alejandra Caraballo: 

 Attorney: “You don’t have any first-hand knowledge of how gender affirming care is provided in Ohio, is that right?” 

 Cole: “No, not from personal experience.” 

 Attorney: “I understand you’re employed as a senior fellow at Do No Harm?” 

 Cole: “Yes” 

 Attorney: “And Do No Harm’s mission is to fight against the current model of care in place for gender dysphoria, is that right?” 

 Cole: “Yes…” 

 Attorney: “And you submitted testimony in support of HB68 as part of your job in Do No Harm, is that right?” 

 Cole: “Yes” 

 Attorney: “And Do No Harm has helped you find other opportunities to testify in state legislatures, is that right?” 

 Cole: “Yes” 

 Attorney: “Do No Harm paid you $2,000 a month for that work, is that right?” 

 Cole: “Yes” 

 Attorney: “And you make between $50-$100,000 in speaking fees in [unclear] is that right?” 

 Cole: “Yes” 

 Cole later added that she additionally makes up to $100,000 in donations through her Donorbox, separate from the income she earns from speaking engagements.

It looks like Cole refutes the adage of "when money talks, bullsh!t" walks. Apparently "bullsh!t stays specifically where the money is.

'FL school district employee who let trans daughter play school sports won't lose her job' & other Sun/Mon news briefs

Editor's note - while our eyes are on the national scene (and for now, it is looking good) let's not forget the local fronts. 

Mom who let her daughter play volleyball in Ron DeSantis’s Florida won’t lose her job - A convoluted mess of a situation which should have never happened to begin with. It goes to show the full harm these anti-trans athlete laws can fully cause. 

Nebraska Supreme Court upholds gender affirming care ban & abortion restrictions - Meanwhile while we take one step forwards, certain entities try to pull us two steps back. 

Thrice-divorced Kim Davis is back with a court case to try & get SCOTUS to overturn marriage equality - Meanwhile, Kim Davis is trying to use her case as a means to get SCOTUS to overturn marriage equality. Will she succeed? Let's hope not in spite of the court's make up. 

Kim Davis wants to overturn gay marriage ruling. Legal scholars weigh in on her chances - Legal scholars aren't in her favor. They say there are no grounds in the case to overturn marriage equality. 

More than 20,000 people show up for Kamala Harris's LGBTQ+ community call - We have to keep pushing. 

LGBTQ Americans coming out earlier in life: Gallup - That's right and I am SO here for it.]

1992 Flashback - Houston police go undercover as gay men to bust gay bashers

 

I saw this video Monday night and it moved me so much that I simply had to share it with folks, particularly the younger LGBTQ generation.

From Wikipedia: 

 Paul Broussard, a 27-year-old Houston-area banker and Texas A&M alumnus, died after a gay bashing incident outside a Houston nightclub in the early hours of July 4, 1991. Nine teenaged youths, ages 15–17, and one 22-year-old were intoxicated on drugs and alcohol when they left a high school party in the suburb of The Woodlands and headed for Houston's heavily gay Montrose area in an attempt to gain admittance to dance clubs located in the vicinity. After being refused entry to several establishments, they pulled into a parking lot where they encountered Broussard and two friends, who were also intoxicated. 

They then attacked Broussard and his friends. Broussard was beaten and stabbed twice with a pocket knife belonging to 17-year-old Jon Buice. He died several hours later as a result of both internal injuries as well as what an expert medical examiner termed "a delay in treatment" (in the early days of the AIDS crisis, police and medical personnel were slow to respond to calls from the Montrose area for fear of AIDS contamination). 

 When Houston gay rights leader Ray Hill confronted police about solving the murder, he was told that they had no intention of doing so. Gay rights advocates, frustrated about being ignored and persecuted by city officials, marched through the streets and in front of the Mayor Kathy Whitmire's home for several days in what became Houston's largest and long-lasting gay rights demonstration in history. Ultimately, the juveniles – labeled "The Woodlands Ten" – were apprehended and plea bargained into prison without a trial for the murder of Broussard. 

The video above is what happened after the murder. The outcry after Broussard's murder was so loud that police went undercover in a sting operation to stop groups of teenagers who went looking to bash gays. It sounds like a corny television comedy episode, but it's anything but that. These policemen found out the hard way what gay men go through when several of them got injured. 

 This video is not for everyone, and I strongly advise folks with triggers to be careful in watching it. There is no physical violence, but plenty of ugly moments which reflect a scary summation of how things were for us back in the day.  Probably the most chilling portion of the video starts at 7:32 when an unnamed teenager nonchalantly compares beating gay men with the "joke" of smashing pumpkins during Halloween because he and his friends never thought of us as human beings.

Editor's note - I know how some in the community feel about the police in general, but this post isn't about them. It's about remembering our history, both good and bad.

Pastor publicly blasts Franklin Graham, calling him a 'liar' and 'poster child for Christian nationalism'

With everything going on lately (Biden dropping out of the presidential election and Harris taking up the mantle to run), I've got bogged down and behind on my blogging. I almost missed this incredible moment of basic truth. 

Recently Mark Wingfield, executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global, verbally ripped into Franklin Graham, calling him a " the poster child for Christian nationalism" and " "liar" for his speech during the recent Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump.

The basic point of Wingfield's piece, underscored by the passage below, is that when it comes to Graham, it's all about earthly power and he's willing to exploit his faith to shield any liar who will give it to him.

 To understand the insidious nature of Christian nationalism, look no further than Franklin Graham’s appearance at the Republican National Convention last night. Graham already has demonstrated he knows no shame in endorsing, blessing and lionizing the most corrupt president in American history, yet people continue to send his nonprofits millions of dollars, enriching him as one of our most highly paid partisan preachers.

 . . . Graham started telling flat-out lies. 

“For as long as I’ve known President Trump, I’ve found him to be a man of his word,” he declared. 

Apparently, Graham hasn’t listened to any of the small-business owners who have been jilted by Trump through the years, hasn’t listened to any of the women who say Trump assaulted them, hasn’t paid attention to the hundreds of documented lies Trump spews between breakfast and dinner each day. 

 No, it turns out Graham has some other measure in mind: “When he told me and our country in 2016 that he was going to appoint conservative justices, guess what, he did. In 2016, he said he would defend religious liberty and, guess what, he did.”

 By “religious liberty,” of course, Graham means the liberty of evangelicals like him, not the liberty of all people. 

 And then Graham threw out this whopper: “In 2019, I was with him at the United Nations when the first president in the history of this country stood there to advocate for religious liberty worldwide.” 

 So no other U.S. president in history has advocated for global religious liberty? That is patently false and insulting. It makes Trump out to be a hero he is not. Not only have other presidents advocated for worldwide religious liberty, Trump has not. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Palestinians. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Muslims. He doesn’t want religious liberty for Democrats. 

 Like Graham, Trump has only shown interest in advocating for religious liberty for his political base. All others be damned.

'Moms for Liberty trying to abandon 'extremist' image, LGBTQ actors make Emmy history, 144 out athletes at upcoming Olympics' & other Wed/Thur news briefs

Moms for Liberty tries to abandon 'extremist' image with RNC rebrand​ - It ain't gonna happen. Moms for Liberty got a paper trail and folks aren't going to forget.

John Deere to abandon pride festival sponsorships following online right-wing pressure campaign - Simple cowardice which will empower more foolishness. 

 4 out actors were nominated for Lead Actor in a Limited Series at the 2024 Emmys - This is historic and should be recognized as such. 

 We're rooting for these LGBTQ+ nominees at the 76th Primetime Emmys - And those four weren't the only LGBTQ folks rewarded with Emmy nominations. 

 Ohioans explain abandoning Republican Party for love of their transgender grandchild - There are so many stories like this out there. 

 JD Vance faces criticism from advocates for his 'cruel' record on LGBTQ issues - He's a prominent Republican. What do you expect? 

At least 144 out athletes are headed to the Paris Olympics. Meet Team LGBTQ. - Not bad. Not bad at all.

Trump's VP pick JD Vance went from calling Trump 'America's Hitler' in 2016 to allowing Trump to publicly humiliate him in 2022.

 If you haven't heard, Trump picked Ohio senator JD Vance as his vice-presidential pick, which is going to make things very interesting seeing the stuff Vance has said about him in the past. 

From Reuters:

Eight years ago, in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, J.D. Vance was a bitter critic of Donald Trump. Publicly, he called the Republican presidential candidate an "idiot" and said he was "reprehensible." Privately, he compared him to Adolf Hitler .

But by the time the former president tapped Vance to be his running mate on Monday, the Ohio native had become one of Trump's most ardent defenders, standing by his side even when other high-profile Republicans declined to do so. James David Vance's transformation - from self-described "never Trumper" to stalwart loyalist - makes him a relatively unusual figure in Trump's inner circle. Democrats and even some Republicans have questioned whether Vance, who wrote a bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" and is now a U.S. senator from Ohio, is driven more by opportunism than ideology. 

 CNN has also come out with more: 

 Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, a leading candidate to be Donald Trump’s vice president, liked tweets in 2016 and 2017 that harshly criticized Trump and his policies — including one speculating that Vance could serve in former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s administration. 

Other tweets liked by Vance said Trump committed “serial sexual assault,” called him “one of USA’s most hated, villainous, douchey celebs,” and, in a since-removed set of tweets, harshly criticized Trump’s response to the deadly 2017 White nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia – something Vance now defends Trump over. Vance’s past anti-Trump stances have been well-documented, but these new examples, unearthed by an extensive review of Vance’s past social media activity, demonstrate they were more widespread and scathing than previously known. 

 . . . His subsequent transition from vocal Trump critic to staunch supporter has been widely scrutinized. Vance has become a key surrogate for the former president and routinely defends Trump on television, including during his hush money trial in New York last month. Vance also helped orchestrate Trump’s June 6 fundraiser in San Francisco with tech industry donors. Trump is expected to meet with congressional Republicans in Washington, DC, on Thursday. 

In a statement to CNN, Vance cited Trump’s “many successes in office” and claimed that realizing the “corporate media and Deep State’s” coordinated efforts to undermine Trump changed his perspective.

Vance claims he "changed his perspective" because of Trump's supposed successes and the "deep state." However, an incident in which Trump publicly humiliated him in 2022 during an Ohio rally may give a more honest perspective of his embrace of Trump

According to at the time CNN editor Chris Cillizza:

At a rally on Saturday night for Ohio GOP Senate nominee J.D. Vance, Trump made sure the crowd knew that Vance was subservient to him – big time. “J.D. is kissing my ass he wants my support so bad,” Trump said. Trump was reacting to a New York Times story that reported Vance had not actually invited Trump to campaign with him in the state. Instead, Trump’s team had simply told Vance that they would be coming to Ohio for a rally. Trump’s campaign stops have always been, primarily, about Trump. 

You can tell that by the amount of time he spends talking about himself (a lot) versus how much time he spends talking about the candidate for whom he is ostensibly campaigning (very little). But he has rarely thrown a candidate he endorsed so directly under the bus as he did Vance over the weekend. 

“He made J.D. Vance look like a mouse, not a man,” former Virginia Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock told CNN of the moment. “It was humiliating.”

JD Vance went from calling Trump "America's Hitler" in 2016 to allowing Trump to publicly humiliate him at a 2022 rally. Vance was probably picked because he embodies the quality Trump looks for - a complete lack of self-respect.

Video: One picnic sparks the South Carolina Pride Movement

 

Citizen Better on PBS decided to feature segment on the Harriet Hancock Community Center in Columbia, SC while we were having one of our monthly potlucks. It was a fun time which shows the wonderful simplicity of LGBTQ lives without any of that nonsense spewed by Libs of TikTok or Gays Against Groomers designed to feed off of fears and stereotypes about us.

 The video is also very informative about the founding of the South Carolina Pride Movement and the woman, Harriet Hancock, who helped to create it all. Harriet's son came out to her in the early 80s and she accepted him. Then she decided to take action not only for him but for all of the other LGBTQ South Carolinians. What she helped to create continues today and thrives very well in spite of the stereotypes one hears about the South and homophobia. 

 Harriet is interviewed during this video, and she will simply take your breath away. If anyone needs to hear a positive pick-me-up during this turbulent time with regards to our rights and safety, listen to Harriet.

Video - What is Project 2025 and why it should scare all Americans

 

In spite of the clutter surrounding us this election, some critical information has been getting through. Folks are waking up to Project 2025, a detailed plan of what Trump hopes to do should he become re-elected. To put it mildly, it would dismantle our government and give Trump unprecedented control. To put it another way, Project 2025 can be seen as the end desire of far-right conservatives. Their attempts to undermine LGBTQ safety and health was merely a road stop. Project 2025 is their destination. And it won't be a good place for any American to be. That especially includes women, people of color, and LGBTQ people.

 Let MSNBC's Chris Hayes spell it out for you. 

Related post - A guide to Project 2025, the extreme right-wing agenda for the next Republican administration

'Bible in the classroom' Superintendent Ryan Walters dodges questions about content of Bible during interview

 Ryan Walters is a far-right personality. Unfortunately, he is also superintendent of schools in Oklahoma. This means he has spent a large amount of time grabbing the spotlight with his statements and actions all geared on imposing his version of Christianity on to his fellow Oklahomans.

His latest act - mandating that Bibles be incorporated in lesson plans of kids from the 5th to the 12th grades - has of course been extremely controversial (as you can easily guess). The video above is from an interview he gave to CNN on Tuesday.  Let's just say I doubt he converted doubters to his side with his word salads and tangents about the "radical left." To her credit, CNN's Pamela Brown came with the facts checks and would not let him get away with no answering her questions. 

Below is a partial transcript. Hat tip to fellow blogger JoeMyGod (Joe Jervis). (and I know what you're thinking. I was going to post this anyway, but Joe beat me to it so I'm grabbing his transcript 🤪):

CNN HOST PAMELA BROWN: “You’re saying that the teaching of the Bible in the classroom is a must, that every teacher must accept that. The bible includes beheading, rape, and incest. Do you support teaching children about those topics?”

RYAN WALTERS: “I support teaching children our history accurately and what we’ve seen is the radical left and the teachers’ union have driven the bible out of schools. “You can’t talk about our rights coming from God, as Thomas Jefferson referenced, you can’t talk about Abraham Lincoln talking about being on God’s side in what he does and that inspires him? “You can’t talk about the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr., who routinely referenced examples from the bible, including from a “Letter from Birmingham Jail”? 

 “I’m doing the things I’m doing is because of the tenets taught to me by the bible, so it’s essential that our kids understand our history and we’re going to put it back in and the left is going to continue to try to censor our history. Well, we’re not gonna allow it here in Oklahoma.”

 BROWN: “Okay, you didn’t answer my question. We’re going to get to the history and everything, and by the way, Thomas Jefferson, he advocated for freedom of religion, actually not the establishment of a religion for one, but are you okay with all teachings of the Bible? If you want to bring it back into the classroom, rape, incest, beheading. Is that acceptable to you?”

 WALTERS: “Again, I’ll answer your question, you might not like to answer, but it is the answer. It is our history is referenced, the bible was referenced multiple times in American history. It had a profound influence on American history. “It was the bestselling book in American history, to not teach that in the classroom is academic malpractice. Our kids have to understand our history and we’re not going to hide that from them.” 

BROWN: “Okay, so will you allow teachers to teach all aspects of the Bible? How are teachers supposed to know what of the bible to teach and what of the Bible not to teach? It’s a simple question, given the fact that the bible includes, also, you know, pornographic material, something you’ve come out against and actually took a teaching certificate away from a teacher for giving access to students— pornographic material. That’s in the bible.” 

WALTERS: “Yeah, let me be crystal clear. The bible is not on the same plane as Gender Queer and Flamer. These are pornography, the bible is a book that was referenced throughout American history. “We have academic standards that tell our teachers that you are to talk about the bible in reference to the Mayflower Compact, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the Declaration of Independence, so these are all very clear. “It’s very clear from primary sources that these individuals reference history— in our history, they referenced the bible. 

So look, when it’s historically accurate, we’re absolutely going to include that. “I mean, think about how absurd it would be to teach about the Pilgrims if you don’t mention their intention for moving to the New World, it’s crucial and we’re not gonna allow the radical left to continue to push a false history on our kids that said that faith played no role, well, just read the history. It’s clearly there.”

Study: Gender-affirming surgeries are performed more on cisgender minors than trans minors

In the race to demonize gender-affirming healthcare when it comes to trans kids, the facts spoken below have been known for quite a while but ignored.

From a June 27 article in The Advocate:

"Little to no" gender-affirming surgeries are being performed on minors in the United States, and those that are performed are overwhelmingly on cisgender minors. Out of the 151 breast reductions that were performed in 2019 on American minors, 146 (97 percent) were performed on cisgender males, according to a new study published in JAMA. 

Out of the 636 breast reductions performed on adults, 507 (80 percent) were performed on cisgender males. The study used data from 47,437,919 adults and 22,827,194 minors who were insured that year, finding that chest-related operations accounted for 1,591 out of 2,664 (59.7 percent) of surgical procedures performed on adults, and 82 of 85 (96.4 percent) of surgical procedures performed on minors.

 The rate of transgender and gender-diverse people undergoing a gender-affirming surgery was 5.3 for every 100,000 adults, and 2.1 for every 100,000 minors ages 15 to 17 years. Among minors ages 13 to 14 years, the rate of gender-affirming surgeries was 0.1 for every 100,000. There were no procedures among minors 12 years or younger.

Study leader Dannie Dai said the following: 

“Our findings highlight a bitter irony: that by banning gender-affirming care for only TGD people, these bills are targeting a group that in reality accounts for the minority of gender-affirming care use and for whom gender-affirming care has been most clearly shown to be lifesaving." 

 In September 2022, an article in The Advocate pointed out that more teens were getting breast implants than trans top surgeries.

''Death to LGBTQs' MAGA pastor loses third bid for SC congressional seat' & other Wed/Thur news briefs

Extreme MAGA pastor Mark Burns lost his third attempt to win a Congressional seat.

“Death To LGBTQs” Pastor Loses GOP House Runoff​ - No Congressional seat for Mark Burns as he loses a third primary run for the U.S House. South Carolina Republicans did something right. Though not by much. 

 From LGBTQ Nation: 

Burns is a notorious opponent of LGBTQ+ rights, having called for the arrest of parents of transgender children, who he compared to the Hitler Youth. He further said that anyone who supports LGBTQ+ youth should be tried for treason or even executed by the government. Biggs was backed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), with whom she’s been friends with for years. In spite of not being endorsed by Trump, Biggs nevertheless promised to “help President Trump win back the White House.” While she is not nearly as extreme as Burns on LGBTQ+ issues, she nevertheless holds many of the same views as him. These include restrictions on abortions, immigration, and taxes.

Drag queen schools Marjorie Taylor Greene on gender: 'You have no idea what you’re talking about' - Poor MTG. She came for a drag queen and got her "edges ripped." 

Anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist Plan: Allow Anyone To Sue Teacher, Librarian ‘Groomers’ - One of our oldest "friends" on this blog, Janet Folger. Google her name on this site if you have time and a strong stomach. She is a MESS.

Republicans running for governor are some of the most extremist candidates in the country. Here they are - Laaaawd! They don't like us. At all.

LGBTQ elders struggle with health care, housing and isolation - Never forget our elders. 

Number of LGBTQ elected officials jumps nearly 200% since 2017, report finds - THIS is pretty cool.

The LGBTQ Community Should Not Vote for Trump | Opinion - No shit.

Conservative writer mocked for making his (heterosexual) proposal a failed clap back against Pride Month

Conservative writer Addison Smith succeeded in his attempt to go viral by making his proposal to his heterosexual girlfriend a clap back against Pride Month and the LGBTQ community. Now what did he do that for?

 Addison Smith, far-right wannabe social media influencer posted the following on Twitter as a way of making his proposal to his fiancé all about slapping Pride Month in the face. He obviously did this for the engagement and a chance to rile up LGBTQ people and our allies. Smith clearly got the attention he wanted. He and his right-wing friends and his allies are giddy about how his act has gone extremely viral. 

But at what cost?

Smith comes across as someone deliberately jumping face-first in cow manure while pretending that it's oil he struck. Sometimes if one succeeds in their quest to gain attention, it's not a good thing. It only means more people know how much of a jackass you are, and Smith succeeded in making a jackass of himself. 

He also probably embarrassed his now fiancé, proved our evergreen point about how people like him are completely obsessed with us, and definitely made sure this incident is remembered should the "points" expressed about him by responders (who left brutally funny responses before he shut down the comments) turn out to be true.  It all comes down to how certain folks try so hard to dehumanize us that they end up looking simply stupid.  Can you imagine reducing such a special and sacred event such as a wedding proposal into a failed attempt to "own" LGBTQ people?

But when the adrenaline stops pumping and the glitter fades, that tweet will still be around. And I bet it will come up repeatedly during your marriage. That is if there will be one.  If you make your marriage proposal to your heterosexual fiancé all about making fun of LGBTQ people, you've got issues. And she probably will have problems. Just saying.

Sometimes our enemies are their own worst enemies.

Pride month is so defeated.

I love you @charisedwardss pic.twitter.com/zAmr5hSY4O

— Addison Smith (@AddisonSmithTV) June 23, 2024

As I said before, the responses have been brutal.

 

Your first thought when proposing to your wife is gay men?

I predict this will be a pattern. Condolences to your wife.

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) June 24, 2024

Why are you thinking about other men while proposing to your fiance? kinda sus!

— Right Wing Cope (@RightWingCope) June 24, 2024

Imagine proposing to someone and immediately thinking about how it affect gays. Which it doesn’t.

— Kevin Kelly (@kevinkelly) June 24, 2024

When my wife asked me to marry her, all I could think about was how much I loved her. That your first thought is about gay men suggests that your Pride message is for yourself, not us. Don't drag this lovely woman into a lie. Love her enough to sort out your gay questioning,…

— Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) June 24, 2024

https://t.co/gqmwNn5EVd pic.twitter.com/d9a3eZZM2L

— Jim Stewartson, Counterinsurgent 🇺🇸🇺🇦💙🎈 (@jimstewartson) June 24, 2024

Defeating pride by turning off comments after the ratio pic.twitter.com/O2oeweK6jR

— Liberal Hegemony Enjoyer (@Danofran) June 24, 2024

The fact that you centered the LGBTQ in your proposal post is... "interesting". pic.twitter.com/oGBvb2cFC1

— jade wants you to know... (@jadeljordan1) June 24, 2024

Son, straight married man here.

Pride is not about keeping people like us from getting married. It's about letting everyone who wants to get married do so.

You didn't "defeat" anything. You just made the day you proposed to a woman about gay sex, somehow.

— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@stealthygeek) June 24, 2024