Transgender lives and joy are the center of new ACLU campaign 'Freedom to Be'

Transgender lives and joy are the center of new ACLU campaign 'Freedom to Be':

Daniel Trujillo first spoke at a hearing at the Arizona legislature when he was nine years old. The now-17-year-old has spent years telling lawmakers that as a trans boy he exists, he is loved, and he’s thriving.

Donald Trump spewed anti-trans lies at Tucson rally for 7 minutes. Here are the claims debunked

Donald Trump spewed anti-trans lies at Tucson rally for 7 minutes. Here are the claims debunked:

Donald Trump repeated a series of anti-transgender lies at a Thursday rally in Tucson.

A recent scientific (DNA) study about Rapa Nui (Easter Island) finds no...

A recent scientific (DNA) study about Rapa Nui (Easter Island) finds no...: A recent scientific (DNA) study about Rapa Nui (Easter Island) finds no evidence of “ecocide” in the 1600s but shows pre-Columbian interaction/admixture of its Polynesian population with Native Americans (circa 1250–1430 CE).

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Full Trailer Released From Coming Trump Biopic

Full Trailer Released From Coming Trump Biopic:

The Daily Beast reports:

“The first rule is: attack, attack, attack.” A kaleidoscopic trailer was released Tuesday of the new Donald Trump biopic/origin story The Apprentice, which depicts Trump’s years becoming an unforgiving Manhattan real estate magnate and Manhattan scenester under the tutelage of infamous lawyer Roy Cohn.

In his review of the film’s preview at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Beast’s Nick Schager wrote that the film “lays out the gory details regarding the source of his egomania, greed, ambition, vanity, sociopathy, and heartless rapey-ness, the last of which comes to the fore in a brutal assault of his first wife Ivana.”

Read the full article.

A 60-second snippet was released last week.

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DOJ Charges Two Leaders Of White Nationalist Group With Soliciting Anti-LGBTQ And Racist Terror Attacks

DOJ Charges Two Leaders Of White Nationalist Group With Soliciting Anti-LGBTQ And Racist Terror Attacks:

From the Justice Department:

The Justice Department announced today that Dallas Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho — leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group — were charged with a 15-count indictment for soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Humber and Allison were arrested on Friday by law enforcement officials.

“We allege that the leaders of Terrorgram charged today are a threat to public safety and the rule of law,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Using the Telegram platform, they advanced their heinous white supremacist ideology, solicited hate crimes, and provided guidance and instructions for terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure and assassinations of government officials.”

“The defendants solicited murders and hate crimes based on the race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity of others,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “They also doxed and solicited the murder of federal officials, conspired to provide material support to terrorists, and distributed information about explosives that they intended to be used in committing crimes of violence.”

The indictment charges Humber and Allison with a total of 15 counts, including one count of conspiracy, four counts of soliciting hate crimes, three counts of soliciting the murder of federal officials, three counts of doxing federal officials, one count of threatening communications, two counts of distributing bombmaking instructions, and one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

If convicted of all charges, Humber and Allison each face a maximum penalty of 220 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Read the full press release.

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Two men in Zimbabwe face 14 years in prison after accidentally telling cops they’re a gay couple

Two men in Zimbabwe face 14 years in prison after accidentally telling cops they’re a gay couple:

A young gay couple in Zimbabwe inadvertently got themselves arrested when one called the police on the other over a money dispute.

The two men – one aged 28 and the other 25 – appeared before the Harare Magistrates’ Court on charges of sodomy after the dispute led to an unexpected disclosure of their relationship.

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Homosexual activity is illegal in Zimbabwe. The young men face up to 14 years in prison plus associated fines if they’re found guilty.

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According to prosecutors, the couple began a romantic relationship in August 2023, when they moved in together and are alleged to have engaged in consensual same-sex relations. Investigators discovered video of the men engaged in sexual activity with one another taken with their mobile phones.

On August 27, one of the men accused the other of infidelity. The argument escalated, authorities said, and the 25-year-old decided to move out of their shared home. As he prepared to leave, his boyfriend noticed some of his money was missing.

Both men made a decision to call the police to settle the dispute, investigators say.

But as the young men’s story unfolded in their interview with cops, the nature of their relationship revealed itself.

Zimbabwe’s National Prosecuting Authority said in a charging document: “The accused persons inadvertently furnished the Police with details of the crime of sodomy as they narrated the issue of the missing money and their living arrangements, resulting in their subsequent arrest.”

At their court appearance, the men were released on $50 (U.S.) bail and ordered to return to court on September 6 for further hearing.

Penalties for same-sex relations are a holdover from colonial-era laws imposed on Zimbabwe, formerly known as Rhodesia, by the British. A popular sentiment in the country and many other African nations is that homosexuality is a result of Western influence and “immorality.”

As a result, the penalties for same-sex acts have grown only more draconian across the continent, with the most notorious example Uganda’s Kill the Gays law imposing the death penalty for certain same-sex acts.

In Zimbabwe, in addition to same-sex relations being illegal, same-sex marriage is banned by the country’s constitution, there are no legal protections for LGBTQ+ people in housing and employment, and gay people are barred from adoption, military service, gender or related name changes, access to IVF, surrogacy, and giving blood. 

This dad beat up his 2-year-old son for acting “gay.” He’s going away for a long time.

This dad beat up his 2-year-old son for acting “gay.” He’s going away for a long time.:

In Texas, a 23-year-old father of five was sentenced to six years in prison for severely beating his two-year-old son because he thought the toddler was gay.

Francisco Ricardo Sotello Baez was charged with family violence and assault after admitting to striking his young son in the face multiple times, causing him to bleed from the nose.

Related

Parents get sentenced to prison for vicious abuse used to turn their gay son straight
The father even told the son he had a month to prove he’s had sex with a girl.

Judge Stephanie Boyd of the 187th District Court in Bexar County agreed with the prosecution’s recommendation for six years behind bars, citing previous incidents of domestic violence, including assaulting his son’s mother, which earlier earned Sotello Baez probation and court-mandated courses to address his violent behavior.

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Judge Boyd expressed disappointment those interventions had failed to modify the defendant’s conduct.

A police report and his testimony at sentencing revealed Sotello Baez’s actions toward his son were not an isolated incident. The father had repeatedly disciplined the child in an attempt to “toughen him up,” claiming he was concerned about the boy acting in a feminine manner.

Sotello Baez said the child preferred playing with Barbies and kitchen sets over the robots, cars, and soccer balls he had brought home for the boy.

He told the judge he was disappointed his first son might be gay.

Judge Boyd was visibly exasperated with the explanation.

“Basically, you beat up a two-year-old because you think your two-year-old is gay, and you wanna toughen up a two-year-old,” the judge said. “He’s two!”

The police report also indicated that Sotello Baez had texted the boy’s mother after he assaulted him, saying that he had done something to “your child” that she wasn’t going to like.

He explained to the court that both the child’s mother and grandmother had told him the boy might turn out to be gay.

His defense attorney argued for leniency, noting for the judge that Sotello Baez had pleaded no contest and was applying for deferred adjudication, a type of probation that would allow Sotello Baez to continue to provide for his family.

The state pushed the judge for a six-year prison sentence, noting the severity of the crime and the long-term impact on the child.

The dad addressed the court and expressed remorse, explaining he had a newborn to take care of and had been attending church to turn his life around. He also blamed his actions in part on drug and alcohol abuse, which he said impaired his judgment.

While handing out the six-year term, Judge Boyd issued several restrictions on Sotello Baez, barring him from contact with his son, any of his other children, and any minors during and after his incarceration. The judge also advised him not to illegally re-enter the country following his release. He is not a U.S. citizen.

FL Cops Visit Homes Of Signers Of Abortion Petition

FL Cops Visit Homes Of Signers Of Abortion Petition:

The New Republic reports:

Florida is reportedly sending police officers to the homes of people who signed a petition supporting an abortion rights ballot initiative.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration has begun investigating thousands of verified signatures that helped to put a state constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion on the ballot in November. The amendment would overturn Florida’s current six-week abortion ban.

Multiple residents in Lee County have reported being visited by law enforcement following up on their petition signatures. Fort Myers resident Isaac Menasche shared in a Facebook post Wednesday that a “detective investigating petition fraud” had come to his home.

Read the full article.

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Russell Brand Prays Against Demons At Carlson Event

Russell Brand Prays Against Demons At Carlson Event:

The Christian Post reports:

A barefoot Russell Brand knelt on the floor at the conclusion of an hour-long conversation with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday, and prayed against the “dark and demonic forces” in government and corporate America.

The British actor also asked that the upcoming 2024 presidential election would provide an opportunity for “unity” in the United States.

Kicking off the first of Carlson’s multi-stop live national tour this month that will feature various guests ranging from Donald Trump Jr. to Roseanne Barr, Carlson spoke at length to Brand about the comedian’s newfound Christian faith and how it has affected his worldview.

Read the full article. The arena appears to have sold out.

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Bossa Nova King Sergio Mendez Dies Of COVID At 83

Bossa Nova King Sergio Mendez Dies Of COVID At 83:

The New York Times reports:

Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian-born pianist, composer and arranger who brought bossa nova music to a global audience in the 1960s through his ensemble, Brasil ’66, and remained a force in popular music for more than six decades, died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 83.

His family said in a statement that his death, in a hospital, was caused by long Covid. Mr. Mendes released nearly 35 albums, won three Grammys and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2012 for best original song (as co-writer of “Real in Rio,” from the animated film “Rio”).

Read the full article.

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Three PA Cultists Fined $1M In Voting Machines Case

Three PA Cultists Fined $1M In Voting Machines Case:

CNN reports:

A Pennsylvania judge has determined that three 2020 election deniers must pay nearly $1 million in fees as the result of a years-long legal dispute with state officials over voting equipment used during the last presidential race, according to recent court filings.

Recommendations from the judge, who was appointed to serve as a special master overseeing the case, attach a dollar figure to sanctions previously imposed by the state’s Supreme Court against two Republican county commissioners and their attorney for allowing an outside firm to examine voting equipment.

The case, which dates back to 2021, involves actions taken by two Fulton County, Pennsylvania, commissioners – Stuart Ulsh [photo] and Randy Bunch – who sought to have Dominion voting equipment examined.

Read the full article.

Fulton County is Pennsylvania’s “reddest.”

Ulsh and Bunch appeared here in 2022 when they tried to prevent an LGBTQ group from meeting at a local public library.

Bunch attended Trump’s “Stop The Steal” rally before the assault on the US Capitol and at this writing he’s busy on X retweeting far-right memes.

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