Free Republic

As NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope is sending back its first remarkable images of our universe, “queer agender” feminist physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein wants you to know she remains miffed at the telescope’s moniker. Late last year, the University of New Hampshire professor and three other scientists demanded NASA ditch Webb’s name from the project due to his alleged homophobia. Prior to Webb’s appointment as head of NASA in 1961, he allegedly played a role in the so-called “Lavender Scare” as a State Department official. In response to a petition started by Prescod-Weinstein et. al., NASA investigated the issue last...

(CNN)The State Department on Monday formally apologized for what it describes as decades of discrimination against LGBT employees and job applicants, a rare statement meant to right wrongs that preceded current Secretary of State John Kerry. "These actions were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today," Kerry said in a statement issued by the department in his name. "On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were impacted by the practices of the past." Kerry has been under pressure in recent weeks to issue a public apology. In November, Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat who...