‘This Book is Gay’ among 55 titles banned in Florida, including in Broward County

Again I keep saying this, it is a fundamentalist Christian attempt to remove all media featuring or talking about the LGBTQ+. They do not want LGBTQ+ children seeing themselves in media, in library books, but more important they do not want straight cis kids to read or see kids who are different who are accepted. They want kids to grow up thinking those LGBTQ+ kids are bad and need to be ostracized or harassed / threatened to be cis straight. They want to return to the society / schools of the 1950s. These people can not accept that other people and other cultures exist that are different from the way they feel or live. They want what Russia and Hungary did, outlaw being gay in public. Hugs

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2025/08/07/this-book-is-gay-among-55-titles-banned-in-florida-including-in-broward-county/

The Florida Department of Education has identified more than 50 books it says are no longer permitted in public schools across the state, citing inappropriate and pornographic content.

But some parents and advocacy groups are questioning whether the state should have the final say over what books are allowed in schools — including in Broward County.

A parent who spoke with Local 10’s Roy Ramos on Thursday with believes families should have input, and that local reviews should take place before books are removed.

“You will remove these 55 books,” said Stephana Ferrell, a parent and director of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, responding to the state’s recent directive.

The Department of Education’s list bans 55 titles from public school libraries statewide. Ferrell said the move overrides local input.

“Every district basically got that message that those 55 books violate the law according to the state. It doesn’t matter if local community standards say no, these books are okay for certain grades and we believe them to fit our community standards,” she said.

Local 10 obtained a copy of the banned list. Some of the titles were described by the state as pornographic and unsuitable for children.

Among them: Choke, This Book Is Gay, Forever, and Breathless.

Portions of these books contain graphic content, including descriptions of male genitalia, sexual acts and intercourse — some of which were too explicit to air on television.

“They are saying we can remove these books based on experts alone and it doesn’t matter what the literary value is,” Ferrell said. “They are making the argument that our school library are government speech and they can decide what is appropriate or not.”

Under current Florida law, parents may challenge books in their school district. Those challenges are then reviewed by a committee to determine whether the content is inappropriate.

Ferrell argues the state is bypassing that process entirely.

“I believe that you have to review these books in their entirety to determine whether or not the intent of the work is to sexually excite the reader,” she added. “There is no opportunity for local parents to get involved. “None of it matters. The state has decided for us.”

Broward County schools were given until Tuesday to comply with the directive and remove the books.

The list currently includes 55 titles, but critics believe more will be added.

Local 10 has reached out to Broward County Public Schools for comment on the state’s order.

Four clips from The Majority Report. One on Gaza war crimes committed by Israel, one on ICE, one on tRump’s attacks on schools, and one on the jobs numbers.

Whistleblower: 10-year-old Palestinian boy ‘gunned down’ after receiving food aid

Former US Green Beret says Israel committed war crimes at Gaza food distribution site | BBC News

Ruined Afternoon Swim

sigh.

A Trans Woman and Her Friends Were Violently Assaulted at an Austin Swimming Hole

The incident is being investigated by police as a possible hate crime.

By Samantha Riedel

A transgender woman and several friends were harassed and assaulted in Austin, Texas last weekend, and one bystander who stepped in to defend them was hospitalized, in an incident police are investigating as a possible hate crime.

On July 26, the trans woman — who has requested anonymity during the ongoing investigation — and several friends visited Barton Springs, a public swimming hole in Austin’s Zilker Park, as Chron reported Wednesday. During their visit, three men they didn’t know flirted heavily with members of the group, the woman told Chron, but soon began harassing and pointing at her, making remarks about not “support[ing] that lifestyle.”

The three men then reportedly began shoving members of the group and poking the women “near their breasts,” according to a Reddit user who posted about the incident on Monday, claiming to be a friend of one of the victims. At that point, a bystander — identified as Jarod — intervened, and was attacked himself.

“The three men then proceeded to get violent and aggressive, yelling at us and getting in our faces until one of them decided to start swinging and punched Jarod in the jaw, knocking him unconscious,” the anonymous trans woman told Chron. “I quickly ran over to him in an attempt to help Jarod out but was then punched in the face by the assailant in the orange shorts.” The men then shoved another of the women to the ground and left the scene soon after, according to video footage of the incident posted to social media.

The Austin Police Department (APD) released a statement on Tuesday stating that the alleged assault was under investigation and could be declared a hate crime by the city’s Hate Crime Review Committee. “APD remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a secure and inclusive Austin community,” the department stated. (Community leaders called for APD to be investigated for excessive force in March this year, after videos circulated online that appeared to show officers throwing a trans woman onto the ground during an arrest.)

Austin-area drag performer Brigitte Bandit posted about the assault on Instagram Monday, asking locals for help identifying the attackers. In a follow-up post the next day, Bandit stated that the men had been identified and the information had been shared privately with the victims. “I will not be posting their information without consent of the people involved in the attack,” Bandit wrote, adding, “[l]et’s let them decide which routes they decide [are] best.” (snip-MORE. Also embedded tweet. Then, if you click through, you’ll see they’ve gotten the suspects ID’d.)

I get tired

Hello All;

Scottie asked me a bit ago why I’ve not been posting much. Well, I don’t have a lot of time, and – well, maybe I don’t have a lot of time for some of the crap I find myself having to make time to accomodate.

A ‘for example’ is that I’ve grown weary of having to justify my very existence to people who feel so self-righteous declaring my very life an abomination. That a man and woman would come together in love to bring about a new life is fantastic and magical, but it isn’t the conception of the new life that is amazing to me – it is the true love.

Then I hear people, perhaps those who seek popularity through any means available, say that marriage is only for people who can conceive, and if the individuals are men then they can’t conceive and therefore their love and marriage are invalid. I can only assume that they conflate the ability to make a baby with love, though many rape victims can tell us that isn’t accurate. I would speculate that such people don’t understand love. Perhaps the reason such people can’t understand the difference between an abomination and love is because they go into a room of strangers they call brothers and sisters and fear that who and what they find most attractive and fulfilling will be ridiculed by others.

Perhaps dressed in their “Sunday Best” they focus overmuch on the show they are putting on for each-other. Perhaps they are too fond of the judgement of others and too afraid of the sincerity and honesty of themselves.

Truly, I am finding myself tired of having to demonstrate that life is not so simple as the script they have written only for others to follow.

I am truly tired of having to demonstrate understanding to ignorance, patience to racism, peace to violence and love to spite. I’m tired of having to express myself in private for fear of offending sensibilities that are insensible and hurting the morality of those whose morality is first tested by convenience. I’m tired of fearing the “love” of the “Christ-like”.

Hugs.

Doctor Gives Eyewitness Account Of Gaza Horrors| Dr. Ambereen Sleemi | TMR

ICE is thugs targetting brown people who are US citizens, detaining them, taking their ID and not returning it, assaulting them, then making up charges against them.

https://www.tumblr.com/reagan-was-a-horrible-president/790723408167092224

Trump Order Kills Annual Arizona LGBTQ Film Festival

Trump Order Kills Annual Arizona LGBTQ Film Festival

Again the attempt to kill diversity and the LGBTQ+ representation. This may seem small potatoes but again this is about erasing the LGBTQ+ community. Hugs

July 24, 2025

Just in via press release:

We are writing with profound regret to inform you that the 17th annual Desperado LGBTQ+ Film Festival has been canceled. This decision comes in direct response to recent presidential executive orders impacting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts at public institutions, including our community college district.

As a publicly funded institution, we must comply with these orders. Failure to do so would jeopardize the district’s federal funding, including student financial aid and grants that support over 300 positions across our campuses. The loss of such funding would create a ripple effect, significantly affecting students, faculty, staff, the community, and the educational services we provide.

Thank you to our audience that has made Desperado possible for the past sixteen years. You have helped us provide a platform for underrepresented voices and celebrate the richness of the LGBTQ+ community through the power of film. We are deeply grateful.

While we are heartbroken to pause this year’s event, we hope this is not a farewell but a momentary pause. We look forward to the possibility of resuming the festival when conditions allow.

Read the full press release. The festival is hosted by a student organization at Phoenix’s Paradise Valley Community College, which receives federal funds.