Perspectives

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Clarence Thomas’ wife doesn’t believe in democracy. Does her husband?

Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has finally been attracting some attention for her ultra-conservative views. Mostly, the focus has been on the extraordinary conflict of interest she represents for her husband, and she hands out awards to people appearing before the court and advocates for issues her husband will be deciding on. But this week, Thomas surprised even her fiercest critics by engaging in what can only be called treason. In a series of emails released to the House committee studying the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol, Thomas called for the overturning of the election results with […]

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Rainbow flags may be confiscated to ‘protect’ World Cup fans, Qatar official says

Rainbow flags could be taken from fans at the World Cup in Qatar to protect them from being attacked for promoting gay rights, a senior leader overseeing security for the tournament told The Associated Press. Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari insisted that LGBTQ couples would be welcomed and accepted in Qatar for the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 FIFA showpiece despite same-sex relations remaining criminalized in the conservative Gulf nation. But Al Ansari is against the overt promotion of LGBTQ freedoms as symbolized by the rainbow flag that FIFA and World Cup organizers had previously said would be welcome across Qatar’s […]

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‘Grooming’: The ubiquitous buzzword in LGBTQ school debate

Proponents of restrictions on how U.S. public schools address sexual orientation and gender identity say their ultimate goal is to allow parents more involvement in their children’s education and ensure classroom materials are age-appropriate. But in heated debates at school board meetings and in statehouses across the country, the argument they repeatedly put forth is that they are trying to prevent children from being “groomed” — the same term commonly used to describe how sex offenders initiate contact with their victims.  The use of such rhetoric, opponents of the new laws argue, underscores a nationwide push by conservatives to make education […]

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I’m a transgender journalist covering the war in Ukraine

Waking up in a car parked on a muddy alleyway 30 minutes from the front lines of the Battle for Kharkiv was an inconceivable notion to me 3 days ago. Yet in the front seat of a beaten down Jeep Cherokee, I slept. Artillery blasts and other sounds of war created a cacophony of destruction throughout the night. However, in a world where a former US President is refusing to outright condemn the barbaric and terroristic actions unleashed by the tyrannical head of Russia against a steadfast ally, and an out transgender journalist is at the front lines of the […]

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10 Questions Journalists Should Ask FIFA and Qatari Authorities About Rights Abuses

When FIFA convenes its 72nd Congress in Doha, Qatar, on March 31, 2022, in preparation for the World Cup, journalists, football associations, fans, and others should press both FIFA officials and Qatari authorities about human rights in the Gulf state, particularly the rights of migrant workers, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Since 2010, human rights organizations, trade unions, and media have consistently documented the rampant human rights abuses in the country, especially against migrant workers, including widespread wage theft, high recruitment fees, unexplained deaths, and passport confiscation, among others. While Qatar has introduced several reforms with much fanfare, they came too late, have proven […]

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A President Who Makes Us Proud

President Biden is a president who makes us proud. He clearly stepped up to the plate in difficult times. COVID, inflation, Ukraine are just a few of the volatile issues he is managing.  When it comes to international issues like Ukraine, the president represents the United States, not Democrats or Republicans. Yet today we are so divided there are Republicans willing to attack him trying to undermine our standing in the world. It was reported last week, “More than two dozen Senate Republicans demand Biden do more for Ukraine after voting against $13.6 billion for Ukraine.” One total jackass, Madison Cawthorn […]

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Republicans want to claw back all gay rights

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Despite national outrage and threats from powerful companies like Disney, on Monday, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the infamous “don’t say gay” bill. Proponents of the law continue to pretend that its limitations are narrow and only prohibit “teaching” young kids about sexuality. In reality, however, the bill is so broad and vague that it will likely be used to bully teachers and students from being out or acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people. Contrary to claims that the law “only” impacts the lower elementary grades, as Mark Joseph Stern at Slate points out, it’s worded in such a way as to allow parents […]

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Utah Legislature overrides governor’s veto of transgender sports ban bill

Utah state lawmakers on Friday overrode their Republican governor’s veto of a bill that would ban transgender students from playing girls’ sports, ensuring the controversial piece of legislation will go into effect. During a special session called specifically to consider a veto override, both Republican-controlled chambers of the state Legislature met the two-thirds threshold to revive the bill. The measure passed 21-8 in the Senate and 56-18 in the House. Ten Republicans in Utah’s state House and five in the state Senate who had previously voted against the bill changed their votes to support the bill during the override session. Both chambers voted […]

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US basketball star will be detained in Russia for months, state media confirms

US basketball icon Brittney Griner’s detention has been extended for another two months, according to a state news agency.  The Olympic gold medallist and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star has been held in Moscow since February when customs officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.  News of Griner’s arrest didn’t make headlines until early March, and Russian state TV recently released a photograph of the out athlete in custody holding up a piece of paper.  Amid concerns for the top athlete’s safety and calls for her return home, a Russian court has ruled that Griner’s detention will be […]

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Indiana Lawmakers are Making Life Worse for LGBTQ Youth

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This month, lawmakers in Indiana voted to advance a bill that would prohibit transgender girls from playing sports with other girls. This discriminatory and harmful bill quickly gained traction even though there doesn’t seem to be any issue in Indiana with transgender girls participating in athletics. Efforts to bar transgender girls from participating in school sports are profoundly misguided. Proponents of these bills narrowly fixate on the possibility that some transgender girl might potentially outperform her cisgender peers. To avoid that scenario, they cruelly prevent transgender kids from participating at all. This marks transgender children as different from a young age […]

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