Free Republic

A New York pastor surprised churchgoers with the extraordinary revelation that he is transitioning into a woman and will now use she/her pronouns. Reverend Phil Phaneuf, 51, who was born male, shared that she has been undergoing a gender transition with her congregation at North Chili United Methodist Church (UMC) during Sunday service. 'I get to announce with joy that I am transitioning. I am affirming and saying to all of you that I am transgender,' the veteran pastor, wearing a rainbow stole, declared this past Sunday. 'The best way to put this is that I'm not becoming a woman,...

Despite his name and his demands that the rest of us play pretend along with him, Danielle Mittereder is a man. Or at very least, he is a male. Despite his delusions and fantasies, or more likely in this age of absurdity, because of them, Danielle Mittereder is also a TSA agent.Since Mittereder’s bosses at the Transportation Security Administration are aware that the name of the agency is not the Transgender Security Administration, and because they also know that Danielle Mittereder is really a man, they don’t allow him to pat down women. And now the enraged Mittereder is suing...

Gov. Greg Abbott originally called for the removal of rainbow crosswalks and other symbols of pride from public roads across Texas on Oct. 8, saying they pose safety concerns and misuse taxpayer dollars. In a statement, Abbott said any city that does not comply within 30 days could risk the “withholding or denial of state and federal road funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT.” Almost a month later, the City of Dallas has submitted a request for an exception from compliance with the standards outlined in the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) October letter. "The City of Dallas installs...

A Maryland mayor’s decision to eliminate the city’s only rainbow crosswalks has become the latest flash point in a nationwide campaign to strip LGBTQ+ symbols from public spaces. The Salisbury crosswalks, installed in 2018 and repainted each year by volunteers, were removed on November 11 after Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor ordered crews to mill away the paint at dawn, The Washington Post reports. Taylor, who narrowly won office in 2023, said the city must ensure “neutrality” on government property.

Madonna issued a blistering rebuke of Donald Trump after he moved to end the United States' official acknowledgement of World AIDS Day, a global day of remembrance and awareness recognized every year since 1988. On Monday, the singer and prominent LGBTQ+ ally, 67, took to Instagram with a solemn black-and-white video and a series of stark text slides, slamming Trump's directive as 'ridiculous,' 'absurd,' and 'unthinkable' while urging her fans to continue honoring those affected by HIV/AIDS. 'Today is World AIDS Day. For four decades, this day has been internationally recognized around the world by people from all walks of...

For the first time since 1988, the US government will no longer commemorate World Aids Day, according to reports. The state department has directed its employees and grant recipients not to use US government funds to mark the event – which falls annually on 1 December – and not to promote the day publicly. The news was first reported by the journalist Emily Bass and confirmed in an email viewed by the New York Times. Employees and grantees could still “tout the work” on Aids being done through various programs “to counter this dangerous disease and other infectious diseases around...

Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response. On 1 December WHO joins partners and communities to commemorate World AIDS Day 2025, under the theme "Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response", calling for sustained political leadership, international cooperation, and human-rights-centred approaches to end AIDS by 2030. After decades of progress, the HIV response stands at a crossroads. Life-saving services are being disrupted, and many communities face heightened risks and vulnerabilities. Yet amid these challenges, hope endures in the determination, resilience, and innovation of communities who strive to end AIDS.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who is currently running for governor, got absolutely humiliated during a campaign event in Orange County by Grammy-nominated singer Tish Hyman, who heckled him in a glorious exchange that featured the congressman doing a metaphorical tap dance around whether men identifying as women should be allowed in female locker rooms. The obvious answer is “no,” but Swalwell wouldn’t provide the simple two-letter answer. Hyman stuck it to Swalwell at the event, which comes just a few short weeks after she was kicked out of a Golds Gym in Los Angeles after she confronted a transgender woman...

A graduate assistant was removed from her position amid investigations into a contested discrimination report filed by a disgruntled student who repeatedly referenced the Bible in an essay response to an article about gender stereotypes — for a course taught by a transgender instructor. In her essay, which was supposed to cover “how people are perceived based on societal expectations of gender,” University of Oklahoma student Samantha Fulnecky presented a Biblically-fueled tirade against the notion that there are multiple genders. The psychology course’s professor, graduate student Mel Curth, who uses “she/they” pronouns, failed Fulnecky on the grounds that she neglected...

Upset father: ‘My son had no idea what any of this meant, but he knew that it was weird and sick and gross’ A 6th-grade student survey created by the Oregon Health Authority for asks participants, among other things, their “gender identity,” “sexual orientation,” and if they are “transgender.” The first question under the “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation” section offers choices such as “Demigirl/Demiboy,” “Genderfluid,” and “Agender”; the second includes “Pansexual,” “Asexual or Aromantic,” and “Something else that fits better (Please tell us more).” “Demigirl/demiboy” is defined as someone who “partially identifies as a girl/boy or with femininity/masculinity, but...

Sen. Cory Booker has married his fiancé Alexis Lewis in Washington, DC, less than three months after announcing their engagement in an Instagram post. Only close family were present as the New Jersey Senator, 56, tied the knot on Saturday in an interfaith ceremony blessed by both a pastor and a rabbi — Lewis is Jewish and Booker Christian, according to the New York Times. The venue’s location wasn’t disclosed for privacy reasons. On Monday, the pair legally wed at the US District Court in Newark, where Booker rose to prominence as mayor — with their parents as witnesses. The...

Last Tuesday, the European Union’s top court ordered Poland to recognize the marriage of a same-sex couple who had wed in Germany. In delivering its verdict, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) kept the language broad, referring to the obligation of “a member state” to recognize same-sex marriages registered in other EU member states. It means that a Czech, Romanian or Bulgarian court — or any other EU member state where same-sex marriage is not recognized — will now have to take the verdict into consideration if a similar case arises in their jurisdiction. The case in...

Actor Charlie Sheen, during a conversation with Megyn Kelly, discusses how he "changed the channel" and discovered that "legacy" media is "very much like state-run media." MEYGN KELLY: Are you getting more comfortable with your politics and expressing them? CHARLIE SHEEN: I am. I think I talked to you about this early on. I had to feel something different, because I think we all, or a lot of us, remain beholden to the structure of the house that we were raised in. ... And yeah, okay for a while, but then I've paid the most taxes of anybody in my...

A Korean spa in New Jersey has been ordered to implement “gender identity-friendly” policies and educate staff on “non-discrimination” after being sued for refusing to allow a male into the women’s nude section. The man, Alexandra “Allie” Goebert, first launched the discrimination suit against King Spa in 2022. King Spa is a wellness facility modeling itself after a jimjilbang, a traditional Korean health center which requires nudity in some areas. For that reason, the nude areas of the spa had been strictly sex-segregated. As previously reported by Reduxx, the incident involving Goebert first occurred in August of 2022 when he...

A Florida driver was arrested after allegedly trying to hit members of an LGBTQ running club with his vehicle at a local park, according to the West Palm Beach Police Department. Ihab Mustafa El Mahmoud, 43, was arrested on Monday evening for "attempting to strike members of a local running club at a park, making multiple passes and driving recklessly before fleeing," police said. Police responded to the scene at approximately 8:20 p.m. on Monday, and upon arriving, "met with members of a local LGBTQIA+ running club" who reported an individual allegedly driving a Ford Bronco SUV and "intentionally" trying...

The United States military may soon cut ties with Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, amid claims that the youth organization "no longer supports the future of American boys." U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will soon look to sever ties between Scouting America and the military, according to an alleged draft memo that has not yet been sent, which National Public Radio reported on Tuesday. Hegseth reportedly said the group, which has had a relationship with the military for over a century, had become "genderless" and now "attack[s] boy-friendly spaces." "The organization once endorsed by President Theodore...

bout two years ago, an HIV outbreak was first identified in Penobscot County, Maine, home of Bangor. In recent weeks, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed another case, bringing the total of new HIV diagnoses in the cluster to 30. Of note, 29 of those people were coinfected with hepatitis C virus; 29 reported injection drug use within a year of their HIV diagnoses; 27 have been unhoused within a year of diagnoses; 20 were linked to care within 30 days of diagnoses; and 16 of the 27 people currently living in Maine were virally suppressed at...

A drug-resistant 'super fungus' that targets the groin and bum is spreading rapidly across Britain. Cases of trichophyton indotineae - which triggers unsightly, stubborn skin lesions all over the body - are now rocketing in the UK, despite being virtually unknown just a few years ago. Cases have surged by 500% in the past three years, with one fungus expert describing it as "a really big problem". The infection is triggered by a highly contagious fungus and is typically caught through direct skin contact with somebody who's infected. However it can also be transmitted via contaminated surfaces, household objects or...

President Donald Trump and his administration are preparing to officially classify state-funded abortion, gender transition procedures for minors, and a host of other left-wing policies as human rights violations. In its next annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. State Department will update what qualifies as a human rights violation, according to The Daily Signal. State Department officials will now record other nations’ gender transition procedures for children, government-funded abortions or abortion drugs and the annual number of abortions committed, arrests or “official investigations or warnings” targeting free speech or laws targeting “hate speech,” affirmative actions and diversity...

The United Methodist Church’s financial leaders are sounding the alarm that the denomination is about to be in a world of financial hurt, declaring ‘The church’s financial house is on fire’ during the UMC’s Finance and Administration meeting last week. The ominous comments were made by Bishop David Graves, General Council on Finance and Administration board president, who added ‘My intent is not to create fear but to address the reality with honesty and urgency.” The UMC has lost more than 7500 churches over the last three years, the result of church mass departures and disaffiliations over the denomination’s all-out...