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We have arrived at the fourth Friday in September. September, that most blesséd of months, when superior people are born.

We did get rain last weekend. The temperatures have been reasonable all week. A pile of gifts so accumulating in my living room. I’ll probably find out what’s inside them soon.

Anyway, it’s time for this week’s Friday Five in which I bring you: twh stories that each need a special category, plus the top five stories of the week, five stories of interest to queers and our allies, five stories about deplorable people, and five stories about the pandemic (plus some notable obituaries).

This Week in It’s About Bloody Time:

LGBTQ veterans discharged dishonorably for sexual orientation to get full benefits, VA says

This Week in Stop Being Fuckwits:

OH MY FUCKING GOD, GET THE FUCKING VACCINE ALREADY, YOU FUCKING FUCKS

Stories of the Week:

Florida man fed up with potholes plants banana tree in road

These Sisters Promised Their Brother A "Power Rangers"–Themed Birthday And Here’s What Happened When They Followed Through 16 Years Later – “Once I walked into that door and I realised that this is the Power Rangers party that I’d been promised, it just brought out that little kid again. It was amazing.”

The Afghanistan War Is Over. But the Defense Budget Is Still About to Go Up – Congress is set to pass a spending bill about $40 billion more than the one approved last year

How the Debt Ceiling Turned into a Doomsday Cult – The end never actually comes but we love to obsess about it anyway

The Emmy Voters Need to Watch More TV – Analysis: Awards Don’t Reflect the Breadth of TV

Stories of Interest to Queers and Our Allies:

Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero’ album and the power of unabashed queerness – The star’s emotionally vibrant music is only part of the story

Biden pushes for more LGBTQ protections on anniversary of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal

Trystan Reese on how to deal with bullying while raising amazing kids – Trystan Reese and Biff Chaplow are helping to redefine the word “traditional”

How an Atlanta basketball team went from Republican hands to LGBTQ ownership – WNBA veteran Renee Montgomery and executive Suzanne Abair are part of the Atlanta Dream’s new ownership trio — and among the first LGBTQ owners of a pro sports team

Elvira, Cassandra Peterson, Comes Out, Talks 19-Year Relationship

This Week in Haters, Deplorables, and Liars:

Trump Campaign Knew Lawyers’ Voting Machine Claims Were Baseless, Memo Shows – Days before lawyers allied with Donald Trump gave a news conference promoting election conspiracy theories, his campaign had determined that many of those claims were false, court filings reveal

Busted: Steve Bannon Admits He Helped Plot Jan. 6 Trump Rally to ‘Kill Biden Presidency in the Crib’

Maricopa County celebrates Cyber Ninjas audit admitting that Joe Biden did, in fact, win

Law Firm Seeks to Take COVID Misinformation Spreaders to Court

Twitter Bans Anti-LGBT Activist “Porno Pete” LaBarbera

This Week in the Pandemic:

Nearly 69% of Washington residents are fully vaccinated – In addition, more than 75% of Washington residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine

Alabama population on course to shrink for first time ever as Covid takes toll – State’s chief medical officer says ‘Our state literally shrunk in 2020’ as deaths exceeded births

‘Soul-crushing’: US COVID-19 deaths are topping 1,900 a day

A Trump Lawyer Reportedly Came Up With an Absolutely Bizarre Six-Point Plan for Pence to Overturn Election Prior to 1/6

CDC advisers recommend booster doses of Covid-19 vaccine for certain adults only

In Memoriam:

Willie Garson, ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘White Collar’ Actor, Dies at 57

Labelle’s Sarah Dash Dies at 76