I have never understood the rights hate of LGBTQ+ people just for being different. I used to think it was they couldn’t understand it because they did feel that way. If they did not feel that way then it must be wrong or not exist. The very same things they say about trans people they said about gay people when I was a school kid. I remember that people were pushing to ban gay guys, and it was always gay guys just like it is always trans women, from teaching because they would molest the kids. Now it is we can’t let trans people use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity because of some fear they will molest the little girls. Always to protect the kids but if that was the goal then may I mention religious leaders? I think also the fear some religious right wingers have is that they find trans women attractive and that terrifies them. They want to force kids to go through the wrong puberty so it is harder for them to fit in with the stereotypes people have of what is masculine or feminine. For some they think they are doing the bidding of their deity but I don’t remember reading Jesus saying anything about trans people. But he did preach love and tolerance a lot. Maybe the pain and cruelty is the point after all. Hugs
Trans youth almost always feel less suicidal while undergoing treatment. (Getty
Trans youth almost always feel less suicidal while undergoing treatment. (Getty)
Yet another study proving that trans youth almost always feel less suicidal on gender-affirming care has been thrown on the pile of evidence that puberty blockers are safe and effective.
Research set to be published in the Journal of Paediatric’s February volume has once again proved that trans adolescents show “meaningful reductions” in depression and anxiety after beginning clinically-endorsed hormone therapy.
Co-written by paediatricians in Nevada, Texas, and Missouri, the study examined the wellbeing of 432 patients before and after undergoing treatment.
The participants, aged 12 to 20, were surveyed on their mental health before and at least 364 days after beginning appropriate medical treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Trans youth regularly come under attack by politicians. (Getty)
Using the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) toolkit – an internationally acknowledged assessment of suicidality in young people and adults – researchers found significant improvements in the mental health of patients across the board.
Suicidality among participants decreased significantly over time, according to the study’s results, with rates continuing to decrease as time went on.
The reductions, clinicians noted, were consistent regardless of gender identity, treatment duration, and, interestingly, the age at the start of therapy.
This not only once again proves that gender-affirming care is remarkably effective in improving the wellbeing of trans patients, but that its effectiveness in reducing suicidal tendencies does not diminish as patients get older.
Clinicians recommended following-up the study with a “larger sample and longer follow-up” to sufficiently prove the consistency of gender-affirming care’s mental health treatments.
Politicians continue to ban puberty blockers despite evidence
Numerous studies across the globe have proven that gender-affirming care is almost always a good thing for trans people, especially trans young people.
One study from October 2024 found that 97 per cent of trans under-18s were “highly satisfied” with the results of gender-affirming treatment, while another from March in the same year found that, out of 548 patients who accessed trans healthcare, just two regretted it.
Regret rates for gender-affirming treatment are very low according to a paper from May 2024, which found that patients are more likely to regret knee surgery, breast augmentation, and even having children than those starting gender-affirming care.
Despite the mountain of evidence proving that gender-affirming care can be, and almost always is, life-saving, anti-trans politicians and political pundits regularly claim trans young people shouldn’t be allowed to access clinically-approved medical treatment.
Wes Streeting has routinely come under fire for his policies on trans people. (Getty)
At least 27 states in the US ban gender-affirming care in some capacity, preventing over 40 per cent of America’s trans youth population from accessing care. Puberty blockers are also banned for trans youth in the UK, despite being freely available for cisgender youth.
The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide prevention organisation, warned these bans have “detrimental impacts” on the mental health of trans young people, who are already disproportionately likely to feel suicidal.
Research conducted by Dr Natacha Kennedy in the University of London found that Wes Streeting’s ban on puberty blockers for trans young people is “significantly, extensively, and relentlessly harming trans children and young people”.
She spoke to the parents of trans young people who were once “happy, well-adjusted, and little different from most cis children”, but who have now resorted to self-harm because of an inability to access care.
Suicide is preventable. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact the Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
For nearly two days I worried about Tupac, which I call Ron’s cat. I stayed up, I forced myself to do everything needed to make sure he was OK. I nearly fell out of bed twice because he was pushed so tight against me, and I was afraid if I pushed back he would be injured that I was right on the edge of the bed. I fed him in the bed, I let him pee and poop in the bed. I carried him around the house so he wouldn’t have to put his paw down on the floor. Yes, I was trying to be a good daddy. Meanwhile Ron was panicking and crying on the phone that we might have to put the boy down.
Here is my issue I want to share and ask all of the wonderful people who come here. It is not critical and if you don’t want to reply it is OK.
After all of this, All the lack of sleep, and all the effort, as I got home and started to relax, as I started watching other things on one monitor and as I started replying to comments on this monitor … memories started to invade.
I started struggling to deal with Tupac, the kitchen, even the blog. Memories after memories are flooding over me and through me. I was answering comments yet even as I write replies I have to delete some of what I wrote. What is wrong with me! I should be so happy as my husband’s cat is not got a broken leg and I only need to baby him to get him well.
Yet the places my mind is going into my past, my childhood is horrific and blocking everything I am trying to do. I once as a preteen swam out into the middle of a pond to save what would become my only praised love, the black lab and I did not know when I carried her cold shaking form back to the camper my adoptive parents had that I was signing the death warrant of our other dog. Also I had to bargain my damn body for the dog to live. I agreed and went into the camper to be raped repeatedly. Shit why does my mind go to these places they hurt so much?
Why. Suzy Sunshine asked me that question before admitting she had no way or conception how to help me. She tried to hide it but she was shocked and horrified by the few minor things I told her.
Sorry I got so damn distracted. The question is why now knowing Tupac is OK and everything will work out as I sat here at my computer starting to deal with everything … did my mind flood me with horrific memories of my past and of things I can not change? That is what I am struggling with. Please help if you have an idea?
See the rest I have been dealing with all my life. I watched librarians when I was 7 or 8 years old put the books I was reading behind their desk for me tomorrow while only touching me on my head as if they patted me on the back I cried out in pain. But my mind knew this. So why flood my memories with it when I realized Tupac was OK. Why is my mind sending me these memories?
Maybe you all have abilities I don’t. I am sorry if this post upset anyone. I am going back to replying to the wonderful comments. I just wanted everyone to understand what I am dealing with. Hugs
I am home and decompressing. I had a very bad night. But I guess I should start at the beginning.
Ron left the morning of Saturday the 17th for Texas because his sister fell and broke her wrist. This after her husband died and she needed Ron’s help to get her large home ready for sale. She had returned here with him and I was so grateful for her being here as she let me get back to what I love, blogging. But Ron being gone for three weeks was traumatic for Tupac who has seen the humans he loves go away never to come back so he clung to me the entire time Ron was gone. He had already been coming to me before Ron when he wanted something and at night he would sleep either on the pillow I put in the middle of the bed so he could lay on it and be made of by both of us or what he started to do while Ron was gone the first time he would lay between that middle pillow and my body.
So Ron left for Texas and I noticed that Tupac was staying much closer to me and to the house when outside. He also did not want to go out as much. Ron had noticed that there was a very large orange cat that was coming around to lay near the house and also a back long hair cat that was very vocal screaming at Tupac. While the orange cat was trying to find friendship the black long hair seemed to want to provoke a fight or at least scare Tupac. So I figured Tupac was staying close to home or inside since Ron left because of that. Also since Ron left Tupac who is a bit incontinent leaking a bit on the places he sleeps and stuff started urinating on the floor as he was walking or eating, or even just sitting somewhere. Now let’s get to the drama queen stuff and the big scare.
Yesterday the 20th Tupac stayed on the new daybed Diane gave us that was in the new living room all morning sleeping. I heard him thump onto the floor. I was in the kitchen getting ready to do dishes. As he walked into the room I noticed he was limping on his right front paw. But he seemed to be walking it out as he moved I just figured he slept too long on his right front shoulder. So I gave it no more thought. Then during the later part of the day he got up on my desk as he has gotten to love doing. It is one way I have bonded with all our cats, they love the warmth the monitors put off and enjoy rubbing on them and other things on the desk. I put a towel down and the cat sits next to the keyboard enjoying the pets and warmth along with companionship while I work. It took a while for Tupac to understand that joy but he took to it once he did.
So back to yesterday he was on the desk and I went to get a soda. I heard a thump / bang and came back to find Tupac on the floor with his right front paw held high. He was very upset and when I reached for him he hobbled away from me to the bedroom. Then he stopped and let me put him on the bed. He hobbled to my pillows and lay down. I reached out to him and he swatted my hand away with no claws. I started envisioning the worst.
Yes maybe he gets his drama queen honestly. I figured he either broke his leg or did damage to his shoulder like dislocating it. He pressed hard into my side pillow very upset. I let him be for a bit then went back to him. He then accepted my petting him. Still thinking he broke his leg / paw I brought him supper in bed. Then I went to bed with him. I did not try to push him over but tried hard to lay down on my side of the bed next to him. He loved it. He slept pushed hard against me as I laid on the edge of the bed worried to try to move him and hurt his broken leg / paw. He never got up once which was not normal, but he did change position pressing harder into me each time, each time I woke and couldn’t sleep because I worried he would try to jump down from the bed. I figure I got two and half broken hours of sleep.
This morning I again brought him breakfast in bed which he loved. I tried putting him on the floor but he wouldn’t walk or put the paw down and I got even more worried. I put him back up on the bed near the pillows and he settled back into them while I went and got my shower. After all I had to take him to the vet’s office as soon as they opened. After my shower I got two shirts out, one that he could claw if he needed as I put him in his carrier and one to wear out to the vet’s office.
When it came ten minutes from the time to leave, I went out, started the van let it warm up, and then moved it into position to be more able to move him into it. I then picked him up from the recliner I have put him in and he seemed fine with staying in. He did not really fight or struggle to stop going into the carrier. So I closed the door and went to change my shirt to the one I wanted to wear in the veterinarian’s office. Remember I was on an emergency walk in so the bill was $150 to walk into the door.
I have to admit the young woman behind the counter was very much sympathetic and on the ball. Seeing my cane she carried the pet carrier to a chair for me. She was very sympathetic. Then who I would in the hospital say was a medical assistance who came to get me and Tupac. Again seeing my cane she came and offered to carry Tupac into the room and set his carrier on the table. She took all the information. Again very caring person. I explained my fears and how Ron was in Texas. She was very understanding through it all. I thought of my time in the hospital and how many of the people there had far less empathy and concern for the feelings of the patients or their families.
The doctor came in and talked with me, heard my fears and concerns. They took Tupac and did X-Rays and other checks. After 30 minutes the doctor came back. She showed me the two X-Rays they were able to get before old man Tupac got too grumpy to let them do anymore. I guess veterinarians are used to that and let him calm down while the doctor came to talk to me.
The X-Rays showed that he had no breaks in his leg or wrist bones. They did show great swelling in his paw near the first two digits. The doctor suggested he got his claw caught and wrenched it while jumping down from the day bed. But she was not sure. I asked about his shoulder and she told me he was too grumpy then but if I wanted they could try again. I asked her to if she could as I needed reassurance he did not damage his shoulder. She told me she also was going to look closely at his claws on that paw to see if he ripped one.
Well letting the old grumpy moocher calm down worked. They got the X-ray, no damage to the shoulder. She was able to look closely at his paw and claws. And it explained what the issue was. He had what she felt was an infected first digit and slightly his thumb on that paw. That was why his paw was so swollen. She said it looked like a puncture such as a bite from another cat that did it. I asked if it could be a puncture from a plant or other thing and she said yes, but she felt it was another cat that did it.
So for an entire night of staying awake watching to make sure he did not jump down and hurt his broken leg / wrist / shoulder and feeding him in bed then carrying him to the recliner this morning and packing pillows around him while putting them on the floor in case he jumped down, to find out he had an infected swollen very painful paw. The doctor gave me three pain pills to give him one a day, and they gave him an antibiotic shot to help with the infection.
But who would have figured that two old gay guys, one who owned / ran a bar for gay people in the 1980s would have a furry drama queen child who milked a painful paw into getting supper and breakfast in bed and carried around like a little prince … Oh I give up. Hugs
I have posted on this several times. Remember right now the man gets no help from the government for what an ICE thug illegally did to this young man. He won’t be able to charge the mask men who did this act against him under the tRump fanatic administration. After all ICE lied about what happened and there is video to show it. I hope he has a good lawyer who is collecting the evidence and the minute that democrats are back in power they sue. Hugs
In order to please tRump and stave off the maga thugs republicans in elected office are trying desperately to change reality. Some are doing it to practice what tRump is able to do which is to make people accept his version of reality even when it is completely false and made up. No one but tRump can do that and he has been doing it since he was a kid. He has the ability to convince himself that what he wants to believe is true is true because he wants it. By the fact he was always wealthy or people thought he was it worked and twice he has had the power of the presidency along with the cult behind him. Other republicans don’t have that ability and can not command the maga cult. But that won’t stop them from trying. Hugs.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., is leading a congressional subcommittee reinvestigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Trump administration has promoted a distorted and whitewashed history of that day’s events.
Andrew Harnik/AP
A new Republican-led congressional subcommittee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol held its first public hearing this week. GOP lawmakers used the opportunity to criticize the Biden administration and, at times, promote conspiracy theories about the riot. An NPR fact check has identified multiple false and misleading claims from the hearing, which coincides with a broader effort by the Trump administration to rewrite the history of the attack.
The hearing unfolded against the backdrop of Trump’s mass pardons for the Jan. 6 defendants almost one year ago. Stewart Rhodes, the former leader of the Oath Keepers who was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the attack and sentenced to 18 years in prison, appeared at the front of the audience. Rhodes is one of a small group of former defendants who did not receive a full pardon from Trump, and instead received a commutation. As a result, Rhodes was released from prison but his seditious conspiracy conviction remains on his record.
The official topic for Wednesday’s hearing was “Examining the Investigation into the DNC and RNC Pipe Bombs.” On Jan. 6, just as rioters began breaching the outer perimeter of the Capitol, two bombs were discovered outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees, diverting law enforcement resources at a critical moment.
During the Biden administration, the investigation into who planted the bombs stalled, and the lack of an arrest fueled conspiracy theories. Dan Bongino, the conservative podcaster who would later become deputy director of the FBI, said on his show in November 2024 that he was certain the bombs were placed by “either a connected anti-Trump insider or this was an inside job.”
A year later, Bongino told a very different story.
Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino confirming the arrest of a suspect in the Jan. 6 pipe bomb case at the Department of Justice in 2025.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
While serving as a top FBI official, he appeared at a press conference announcing charges against Brian Cole Jr., a 30-year-old man from Virginia accused of planting the bombs. Cole, who has pleaded not guilty, twice voted for Trump, according to his lawyer. Federal prosecutors allege that Cole confessed and said he believed votes had been “tampered” with in the 2020 election.
Bongino addressed his shifting stance on the pipe bomber case on Fox News in December 2025. “I was paid in the past for my opinions,” Bongino said, “but that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director.” Bongino left the FBI at the beginning of January 2026 and is set to return to podcasting.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., who chairs the subcommittee, has made the pipe bomb case a central focus of his inquiry. He repeatedly criticized the FBI for failing to crack the case for nearly five years and said internal documents “paint a dismal picture” of the investigation during the Biden administration.
In one of the few moments of bipartisan agreement, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., praised the FBI under Director Kash Patel for making an arrest, calling it “a rare bright spot for federal law enforcement over the last year.”
But with the pipe bombing case now moving through the courts — rather than the political arena — lawmakers sometimes veered into claims that did not match the facts.
Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Samuel Corum/Getty Images
The claim:
“The Biden FBI did have undercover agents and confidential informants embedded within the rally crowds,” said Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La. “And the Biden FBI did conspire to entrap MAGA Americans prior to J6 and then successfully entrapped several hundred Americans on J6.”
The facts:
Joe Biden was not president on Jan. 6 — Donald Trump was.
At the time of the attack, the FBI was led by Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee.
Joe Biden took office on Jan. 20, 2021, two weeks after the riot, and Wray remained FBI director for the duration of his presidency.
A Department of Justice inspector general report examined the presence of confidential FBI sources in the crowds on Jan. 6 and found that “none of these FBI [Confidential Human Sources] was authorized by the FBI to enter the Capitol or a restricted area or to otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was any CHS directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6.” The report also found no evidence “showing or suggesting that the FBI had undercover employees in the various protest crowds, or at the Capitol, on January 6.”
Higgins’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
Raskin said Trump failed to act decisively to stop the riot and “did nothing to send out the National Guard under his unilateral direct control in the District of Columbia.”
In response, Loudermilk countered that Trump “cannot just send the National Guard unless the National Guard is requested by the legislative branch.”
Referring to former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, Loudermilk said, “There were multiple requests made by the former chief of police for National Guard before the request to call them was given. And that was only after shots were fired in the Capitol. That request was made to the Department of Defense in the one o’clock hour on Jan. 6.”
The facts:
The president has direct control of the D.C. National Guard, and the Capitol Police requested assistance from the guard prior to the breach of the building. Still, troops did not arrive until hours later.
Loudermilk appears to have jumbled the timeline of the National Guard’s response, which is laid out in reports from both the Capitol Police and Department of Defense Office of Inspector General.
At 1:09 p.m. and again at 1:22 p.m., former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund asked the House and Senate sergeants at arms to declare an emergency and formally request help from the National Guard. By that point, rioters had breached the outer perimeter of the Capitol grounds and were assaulting police, but had not yet broken into the building.
At 1:49 p.m., Sund called the commanding general of the D.C. National Guard directly to request the assistance of guard troops at the Capitol.
At 2:10 p.m., Sund relayed that he received formal authorization from the Capitol Police Board.
At 2:13 p.m., rioters broke a Capitol window and began flooding into the building.
At 2:44 p.m., Capitol Police Officer Michael Byrd fired a single shot, striking rioter Ashli Babbitt as she attempted to breach a door to the Speaker’s Lobby, where members of Congress were trying to evacuate. Babbitt subsequently died. National Guard troops did not arrive at the Capitol until 5:55 p.m.
In an email to NPR, Loudermilk’s Deputy Chief of Staff Brandon Cockerham said that the congressman’s reference to a request made “only after shots were fired” was an allusion to a later moment in the timeline, when acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller authorized the mobilization of the National Guard.
“I believe the Chairman meant to use the word ‘authorization’ instead of ‘request’ as he was alluding to the authorized mobilization of the D.C. National Guard which came at approximately 3:04 PM,” Cockerham wrote.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, criticized police officers who testified before the previous Jan. 6 select committee, which was led by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
“They set out to have a highly pre-scripted hearing, designated to play on the emotions of Americans,” said Nehls. “For example, the hearing with Capitol Police officers Dunn, Gonell, Fanone, Hodges — four Trump haters who gave highly scripted and pre-planned testimonies.”
The facts:
Nehls was referring to testimony by Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell, who served with the Capitol Police, and Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges, who served with D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department.
All four officers have publicly criticized Trump, in large part because of the injuries and trauma they suffered defending the Capitol on Jan. 6.
But their politics are not as simple as Nehls suggested.
Fanone, who was dragged into the crowd and repeatedly beaten and shocked in the neck by a rioter with a Taser-style device, voted for Trump in 2016.
“I was looking for a candidate that supported law enforcement,” Fanone told NPR in an interview last year. “I regret the decision. It was clearly the wrong decision in hindsight.”
Fanone suffered a traumatic brain injury and a minor heart attack due to the assaults on Jan. 6.
Nehls’ office did not respond to NPR’s request for comment.
ICE going car to car checking skin color and accents. Paper please is now something happening in the US. Stephen Miller must be so proud to see his Nazi America dream come true so fast. Hugs
Scottie's Playtime 