Feature image photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post
Another heavy news day today. Stay hydrated out there, friends.
Queer as in F*ck You
+ The Colorado Club Q shooting suspect charged with hate crimes: “The suspect accused of entering a Colorado gay nightclub clad in body armor and opening fire with an AR-15-style rifle, killing five people and wounding 17 others, was charged by prosecutors Tuesday with 305 criminal counts including hate crimes and murder.”
+ Well this is horrifying: Right-wing groups have created a “drag alert” system to monitor performances.
+ North Carolina county declares state of emergency after “deliberate” attack causes widespread power outage. And by “deliberate” they mean: “A woman who vehemently and repeatedly protested a drag show scheduled in Southern Pines claims that deputies questioned her in regard to the mass power outages in the county, after she posted on social media that she knows why the outage happened.”
+ Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on Face the Nation over the weekend. When asked about Brittney Griner, he said, “We have to see if the engagements that we’ve had, the discussions that we have, produced an actual result. That’s the most important thing, but we are not resting on the laurels of having put forward a proposal some months ago. We’ve been actively engaged over these many months to try to move things forward.”
Saw This, Thought of You
+ Great Gay News out of a Canada!
BREAKING: A professional women’s league in Canada is set to be announced this week, with reports stating that an announcement could come as early as tomorrow.
The league will have 8 teams and it is currently unclear who it will be run by.#CanWNT | #CanPL pic.twitter.com/xJ4au45lox
— CPL News ⚽️🇨🇦 (@canplnews) December 5, 2022
+ Covid hospitalizations rising post-Thanksgiving after an autumn lull. Related: New VA study finds Paxlovid may cut the risk of long COVID.
+ How the Fantastic Four took double dutch to new heights.
+ TikTok’s best of 2022 shows its most viral videos are getting smaller.
Political Snacks
+ The big stakes in the Supreme Court’s new LGBTQ rights case. “303 Creative v. Elenis, a case about a website designer who refuses to design wedding websites for same-sex couples, could potentially become one of the most consequential anti-discrimination cases in the Supreme Court’s recent history. It asks whether the First Amendment’s free speech protections give at least some anti-LGBTQ conservatives a constitutional right to violate civil rights laws.”
+ MSNBC’s cancellation of Tiffany Cross sends a chilling signal.
+ The Georgia Senate run-off is happening today. According to Five Thirty-Eight, Warnock has a small lead, but Walker could still win.
+ Why does the US keep running out of medicine?
+ What to know about the protests in Iran.
What’s even more insane about the “303” SCOTUS case is not only does it open the door for additional civil rights violations aimed at groups other than LGBTQ+ people, but the woman in question was never asked by any LGBTQ+ couple to do anything. She just wants to brandish her hatred and be protected. It’s truly insane. It’s a box no one should want opened as it paved the way for other “choice” lifestyles being banned – religion namely. (Yes, I know LGBTQ isn’t a choice, I’m an L, I’m just making a comparison to their argument about choice as opposed to skin color which in their eyes is not, same is said about religion if this case passes as you are not born a Christian you choose to be one, etc, again very weird legal stuff of technicalities).
I’d say that was the most insane thing until you hear Alito’s argument. That guy was dropped on his head as a baby, I swear. I always thought Thomas was the worst but Alito is worse than pond scum. If there is a hell, he has first dibs on a choice seat.
That woman who broke power grid in NC in ex-army & part of Jan 6 rioters. So, she is also trained to kill without much regard. I’m not really pro-gun, but sounds like it’s time we do something. Maybe a lgbtq version of the mafia or gangs to take our spaces/events back. Like having armed Pink Pistol members protecting our events. Cops won’t ever help us since most of them are the ones causing the problem or their good buddies are.
These people are the reason why me, an anti-gun person has multiple guns. I did the classes and training and I’m actually getting another one I like better than the two I already have. It suits me better. I have a concealed carry permit in my state too.
I have a biometric weapons box in my car for a gun. Crazy, right? I also keep mace, bear spray, a machete, a stun gun, a Negan-style baseball bat, a few knives of various sizes, and some other things hidden throughout. I drive an Element. It’s great for hiding things.
I also took a self-defense class. These people forced my hand. I won’t be defenseless against their hate. I will fight back for me and others being attacked. I, for one, have had enough of them for many lifetimes.
This court has been hijacked by evangelical christian nut jobs and now our rights will be once again diminished, thank God the house is voting to pass the gay marriage bill on Thursday, otherwise we’d be completely screwed.
Excellent roundup as usual. Sad to see that drag shows are getting so much hate atm.
Some more news that may be of interest:
– Indonesia adopts new criminal code, banning all extramarital sex. Disproportionally hurting LGBTQ+ people. Also making blasphemy a bigger issue and suppressing human rights, it’s not a step forward.
– Good news: the courts of the (former) Dutch Antilles have decided that same sex marriage needs to be allowed on Aruba and Curaçao! There’s still appeal possibilities for the government, but it’s looking good. (Bonaire, Saba and Sint-Eustatius are special counties of the Netherlands, having allowed same sex marriage for years.)
Just checked out Indonesia’s new criminal code, some insane stuff.
Having sex with someone who is not your spouse is punishable by up to a year in prison.
Living together with someone who is not your spouse can lead to a six-month jail term.
Attacking the dignity of the sitting president or vice president will be punishable by up to four years in prison.
Apostasy (persuading a believer of one of Indonesia’s six recognized religions—Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism—to become a nonbeliever), punishable by up to four years in prison.
It really is horrible!
Here is more info on the Canadian Soccer league.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/soccer-matheson-sinclair-pro-canadian-league-1.6664762
FYI… Lesbians are leading the way… Matheson, Labbe, Simmerling and more…