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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lauded the “service, commitment, and sacrifice” of LGBTQ+ troops and personnel in a statement released Thursday to make the beginning of Pride Month. “This Pride Month, we honor the service, commitment, and sacrifice of the LGBTQ+ Service members and personnel who volunteer to defend our country. Their proud service adds to America’s strength,” he said.

Amid a culture-war storm that has hit several American companies in recent weeks, including Bud Light and Target, LGBTQ+ rights advocates and anti-trans activists are now focusing on Walmart's approach to the debate and putting the company's marketing strategy under increased scrutiny. After calls to boycott Target over its trans-friendly products—part of its Pride season's collection—the American retailer announced on Tuesday that it was removing some items in its Pride collection. The decision was seen as a small victory by anti-trans activists, which have appeared galvanized by the retailer's move and eager to put another company that sells Pride-related merchandise—Walmart—under...

Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch has seen its market value plunge $15.7billion since the disastrous campaign with transgender-influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Since April 1, the company has consistently been dropping down the rankings, with experts saying it 'just keeps getting a little worse each week'. But their competitors have added $3.2billion in market value to their brands in the same time. Molson Coors, which owns Coors Lite, has seen an increase of $2.2billion market value, around 20 percent, while Heineken has a spike of $1billion – an increase of 1.7 percent. Sales of Bud Light are down more than 23 percent...

"NATO’s strength is its diversity" - Secretary General on International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

Scarlett Johnson @scarlett4kids The 2023 Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition cover model is a biological man with fake boobs. I really hope men are #Done with Sports Illustrated.

Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Thomas Suozzi of New York, Vincente Gonzalez of Texas, Anthony Brindisi of New York, Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Max Rose of New York and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia attended the midday White House meeting in the Situation Room. The lawmakers are not part of Democratic leadership, which has been leading congressional negotiations, and are rank-and-file members mostly hailing from more moderate congressional districts...

Rep. Dan Crenshaw questioned Monday whether the trip to Puerto Rico by congressional Democrats was a good decision amid the deadlock on border security. About 30 lawmakers traveled to Puerto Rico -- with their families and lobbyists -- for a winter retreat over the weekend despite the partial government shutdown. "It sounds like they had a lot of fun. They've also been talking a lot about the plight that federal workers see themselves in," Crenshaw said on The Story. "They're not wrong about that, but if we're gonna talk about that then I don't know if these excursions to Puerto...

Worried about global warming, a growing number of churches and other faith groups are divesting their holdings in fossil-fuel companies, which release large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. “The warning in Scripture that ‘the wages of sin is death’ could not be more literally true than it is in the case of fossil fuels,” said Serene Jones, president of New York’s Union Theological Seminary, whose board voted in June to divest its $108.4 million endowment of holdings in fossil-fuel companies. “While we realize that our endowment alone will hardly cause the fossil-fuel giants to...

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is still weighing a presidential bid, said Sunday that the Republican Party should stop focusing on gay marriage and "get the heck out of people's bedrooms." Giuliani, who personally supports civil unions but not same-sex marriage, said that he was against the recent vote in New York to legalize gay marriage in the state. But while he called that decision "wrong," he described it as a "democratic vote" and urged Republicans to move on. "I think that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but I think that the Republican Party...

Ever since he resigned his speakership and House seat in disgrace nearly 12 years ago, Newt Gingrich has prowled the margins of electoral politics like a wolf, hungry and opportunistic. Gingrich writes. "The secular-socialist machine represents as great a threat to America as Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union once did." He argues: "In the 20th century, hundreds of millions of people were killed by the totalitarian ideologies of Marxism, Nazism and fascism" for whom "religion was enemy No. 1 and the first to go.... There are many parallels between the anti-religious governments of the 20th century and the anti-religious...

Here is video of the bizarre Episcopal Gay Bishop, Gene Robinson, praying at the inaugural concert held yesterday, January 18, 2009, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Robinson addressed his prayer to the "God of our many understandings." It is a model of politically correct gobbledy-gook. Perish the thought that an Episcopal Bishop would mention the name of Jesus in his prayer, even though Jesus happens to be the Savior of the World according to his own church's theology. . . . . . (watch video)

In the Tenderloin, corner stores sell more alcohol than food, drug-addled pan handlers shake paper cups at passers-by and churches vie for real estate with strip clubs. Now, the federal government is on the verge of crowning this neighborhood a place of national historic significance. Each of the area's 410 historic buildings -- flophouses, parking garages, delis and theaters -- now awaits a gold-colored placard, proudly stating its vintage and history. This month the neighborhood's bid for historic district status will be submitted to the National Park Service, following state approval of the designation in July. The Tenderloin will join...

HARTFORD, Conn. - Two men with long rap sheets were on parole when they broke into a doctor’s home, strangled his wife and killed the couple’s two daughters in a fire they set to cover their tracks, authorities said... Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, of Cheshire, and Steven Hayes, 44, of Winsted...arraigned Tuesday on charges of assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, arson, larceny and risk of injury to children. Bail was set at $15 million each, which Judge Christina G. Dunnell said was warranted because of the men’s criminal histories. State officials are re-examining their policies after learning two convicted burglars...

A Free Republic poster writes that he's a regular reader who enjoys our views on a variety of issues. He writes that he's enjoyed our posts in which we use our skills as lawyers to weigh in on legal issues. He draws our attention to the cease-and-desist letter from an attorney representing the DNC to Free Republic. He asks whether the letter's threat of of a defamation claim is bona bide or not. In my view, the letter is sheer thuggery that recalls the same maneuever made on behalf of John Kerry in the 2004 campaign. He writes that the...

On the 7th of February, 2006, Coretta Scott King was memorialized at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, eight days after her death from complications of a stroke at the age of 78. Among the thousands of people in attendance were President George W. Bush and his First Lady, Laura. Former Presidents George H. W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton were also there, as well as former First Ladies Hillary Clinton and Rosalynn Carter.

Some years ago -- at least 10, I think -- two of our diocesan priests told me that they are homosexual. They came in separately and, as far as I know, neither of them was aware of the other’s visit. I do recall that each said his decision to come out to me was prompted, at least in part, by something I had written in “Along the Way.” In that particular column, I had referred to a priest from another diocese who told me he had finally told his parents that he was gay. He was elated that his...

John Kerry raised about $5 million for his campaign at a couple of events in Los Angeles on Thursday night, the second of which featured performances by Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Billy Crystal and Willie Nelson. Amongst those who contributed in order to attend: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Jamie Foxx, Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro. Crystal "joked" about President Bush, according to multiple media accounts, "I realize that 9/11 is also his SAT scores." The New York Times touted how "the much-heralded highlight was the Barbra Streisand-Neil Diamond reunion duet, 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers,' which they had not performed...

<p>San Jose became the first city in California to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, although the decision only applies to municipal workers.</p> <p>The city council defied objections from conservatives and voted 8-1 Tuesday to pass a motion that could provide more comprehensive health and retirement benefits to partners and family members of gay and lesbian city workers who get married in San Francisco or other cities that allow same-sex marriages.</p>

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle's mayor said Sunday the city will begin recognizing the marriages of gay employees who tie the knot elsewhere, although it will not conduct its own same-sex weddings. Mayor Greg Nickels was to sign an executive order Monday giving same-sex spouses of city employees all the benefits of heterosexual spouses, including health insurance. He also planned to send a proposal to the City Council to protect the rights of same-sex married couples in Seattle. "The basic message is one of fairness, and that is that people who are willing to make a commitment to one another, who...

Last week, every Yale undergraduate received an e-mail heralding "Sex Week: A Celebration and Exploration of Sex and Sexuality at Yale University." Imagine a modest student's reaction to "Grandmother of Masturbation" Betty Dodson's impending lecture on the topic, "One Woman's Illustrated Sexual Revolution." Yale sophomore David O'Leary, upon returning from five o'clock mass, found in his inbox the promise of a "Porn Party! sponsored by Wicked Pictures with porn star Devinn Lane." According to event organizer and Yale senior Eric Rubenstein, Sex Week was supposed to open discussion about issues of love, intimacy, and romance, and was timed to coincide...