One of the litmus tests by which a society can be judged is the way it treats its animals, for this is often a reflection of how it treats its citizens. In the case of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R), her litmus paper has turned a deep and acidic red. In her new book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward, she proudly admits to killing her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer puppy named Cricket for being “rambunctious,” killing neighbors’ chickens, and for being a terrible hunter. Rather than calling in a dog trainer or giving the puppy ..read more

Donald Trump claimed that everyone in the country – including liberals – wanted Roe v. Wade overturned, but they’re only complaining now as a “political deal.” Speaking at a rally yesterday in Freeland, Michigan, Trump claimed that liberals used to not care about abortion rights. “Everybody wanted this to be done!” he said about the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the federal right to an abortion in the U.S. “Every legal scholar wanted this to be done! Most Democrats wanted it, liberals wanted it.” “This was a while ago, then they ch ..read more

The Biden administration announced a new rule to protect LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, creating a system of designated placements for LGBTQ+ children as well as taking steps to address harassment and abuse against LGBTQ+ foster kids no matter where they’re placed. To become a designated placement for LGBTQ+ youth, a care provider would have to receive training on the needs of LGBTQ+ youth, help the children get access to age-appropriate resources for their health, and “commit to establishing an environment that supports the child’s LGBTQI+ status or identity,” according to a Department of Heal ..read more

Two transphobic bills in the Mississippi have died after Republican lawmakers were unable to compromise on their provisions before a Monday deadline, the Associated Press reported. One bill would have forced trans people to use facilities in public buildings that match the gender listed on their birth certificates, and the other would have established that “there are only two sexes… male or female” and that one’s sex is defined at birth. The Republicans in the state House and Senate had previously passed different versions of both bills, but they couldn’t agree to a single version of each one ..read more

Congressional Republicans are “sick and tired” of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and they plan to help defeat her resolution to kick out House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), which she promised to formally introduce “next week, absolutely.” The defeat would help sink her outsized far-right influence in the House just six months before she’s up for re-election. Greene filed a surprise motion to oust Johnson because he allowed the House to vote on a $1.2 trillion government funding bill today that included funding for “trans ideology,” as she put it. The bill, which largely excl ..read more

The University of North Florida (UNF) has shut down its LGBTQ+, intercultural, interfaith, and women’s centers to comply with Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R) 2023 law banning publicly-funded universities from spending money on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The LGBTQ Center had been open for 18 years — it closed just seven days before graduation. It’s just one of several queer centers that have closed in state schools since DeSantis signed the law. In a message to students, UNF’s now-shuttered Office of Diversity and Inclusion wrote, “Associated physical locations and communication ..read more

In West Virginia, the political ambitions of two candidates for governor have collided with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, a teenage trans student-athlete, and a group of her classmates who protested her participation in a track and field event. Republican candidate for governor Patrick Morrisey, who is also the red state’s attorney general, filed a brief on Wednesday in support of four female middle school students who protested their trans classmate’s inclusion in a track and field competition on April 18. Eighth-grade trans student-athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson sued West Virginia ..read more

The United Methodist Church voted today to repeal its ban on LGBTQ+ clergy, with an overwhelming majority of delegates voting in favor of inclusivity. The decision took place at the church’s General Conference, where the delegates voted 692-51 to remove the ban, as reported by the Associated Press. When the vote was announced, folks applauded throughout the convention hall and some LGBTQ+ advocates broke down in tears. The delegates also voted in favor of a measure that bans penalties for clergy who choose to perform same-sex weddings and also bans penalties for those who refuse to perform th ..read more

People online are having fun with a computer-generated image of a suspect in a burglary case that many say has a striking resemblance to out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Kent Police in the U.K. posted the image to its social media accounts on Monday, saying that it’s a picture of “a man they would like to identify in connection with a burglary in Tunbridge Wells.” Investigators have released a computer generated image of a man they would like to identify in connection with a burglary in Tunbridge Wells. https://t.co/hPrbjaLeyU pic.twitter.com/D35VA8TfQd — Kent Police TWells (@Ke ..read more

Tom Edwards, a New York transplant who’s been utilizing his organizational skills since volunteering with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis fresh out of college, arrived in Florida a few years ago with his husband and settled in a modest house in Venice, close to canals where the 62-year-old rower regularly skims 50,000 meters a week. Edwards describes Sarasota County politics as purple, but you’d never know it based on the proceedings at the Sarasota County School Board, which Edwards joined in 2020, and where his far-right colleagues have led the charge for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s Don’t Sa ..read more