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Welcome to the third Friday of September. September, the most blesséd month, when superior babies are born.

Not long after last week’s Friday Five posted, the air quality in my region starting going bad. There are wildfires around, some just on the other end of the county I live in, and all that smoke and particulate matter made breathing a bit unpleasant for a few days. So I wasn’t surprised that I had a sinus headache and cough last weekend. There were some other symptoms not obviously related, but I attributed most of it to the air quality. As the air cleared up, my symptoms started letting up. But then my husband started experiencing the same symptoms as I had. So now I’m wondering if I didn’t manage to catch something last week that was unrelated to the air quality. Joy!

We’ll keep you posted.

Let’s move on to the Friday Five in which I bring you: the top five stories of the week, five stories of interest to queers and our allies, five stories about reacting to bad folks, five stories about toxic fance, and five stories about crooks and traitor (plus a notable obituary).

Stories of the Week:

Idaho Far Right’s Election Loss to 18-Year-Old Climate Activist

The mystery of why some people don’t catch COVID – Scientists think they might hold the key to helping protect us all

Scholar who saw all this coming: Americans "do not really understand liberal democracy"

These Incredibly Clever Tweets Prove How Complicated The Queen’s Death Was For Some Of Us

U.S. Inflation Falls For 2nd Straight Month On Lower Gas Costs

Stories of Interest to Queers and Our Allies:

Two-Thirds of Swing State Voters Support Marriage Equality – The findings come from the Human Rights Campaign as the Respect for Marriage Act awaits debate in the U.S. Senate

Florida city condemns school district for refusing to recognize LGBTQ History Month – The Miami-Dade School Board voted 8-1 against recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month. The "Don’t Say Gay" law is to blame

LibsofTikTok targeted a school district’s Pride mural project, with little success – Chaya Raichik called on her army of haters to swamp a California school district’s LGBTQ art project. It didn’t go so well

Montana judge blocks anti-transgender birth certificate rule – Conservative lawmakers in numerous states have sought to restrict transgender rights

Boston Marathon to feature nonbinary category next year – For nonbinary athletes, the qualifying standards will initially be the same as those in the women’s field, the Boston Athletic Association said

This Week in Reacting to Bad Guys:

Elena Kagan: Judges Create Their Own ‘Legitimacy Problems’

GOP senators led by Graham slam Trump Jan. 6 pardon promise

Hardee’s mocks Mike Lindell after he claimed the FBI took his phone at one of its Minnesota locations

Ocasio-Cortez blasts GOP lawmaker’s treatment of witness: ‘I’m trying to give you the floor, boo’

Mueller Investigator on Possible Trump Second Term: ‘I Don’t Have Enough Alcohol in My Apartment to Deal with That’

This Week in Toxic Fans:

Racists Are Worried About the Historical Accuracy of Mermaids – Apparently they can’t handle Halle Bailey singing "Part of Your World" in the new ‘Little Mermaid’ trailer

‘The Little Mermaid’ Was Originally a Metaphor for Unrequited Gay Love

Fear of a Black Hobbit – The demand to keep politics out of art is too often a demand for art to conform to conservative politics And I have some quibbles with this excerpt, but it makes some good point: "prominent genre brands like Star Wars, or Marvel, or Lord of the Rings also have the difficult task of creating content for children while still satisfying their middle-aged stalwarts, whose nostalgia is ultimately insatiable because they cannot look upon novel material with the same emotional intensity they felt as children. Many older fans are convinced they can’t recapture that intensity only because the producers themselves have failed to create stories of the same fundamental quality, when in reality they have simply outgrown the sentiment they are chasing. These campaigns seek to convince this audience that the feeling they are pursuing can be recaptured, if only those making popular art would reject modern progressive dogma—thus creating a well of cultural resentment they can manipulate for political purposes."

‘The Boys’ To ‘The Rings Of Power:’ Everyone Is Tired Of Toxic Fans

The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman ruthlessly hits back at troll’s ‘woke’ moaning

This Week in the Crooks, Traitors, and Other Deplorables:

Republican county election commissioner is arrested and charged by the FBI

‘List of Political Grievances’: Judge Delivers Damning Rebuke as He Tosses Trump RICO-Like Lawsuit Against Clinton

Donald Trump’s Lawyers Reveal That Merrick Garland’s Justice Department Has Backed Them Into a Legal Corner

Trump-appointed judge convicts three Jan. 6 defendants but acquits two of them on obstruction charge

Oath Keepers want to suppress evidence of Zello chat host ordering arrests of ‘treasonous’ congressmembers

In Memoriam:

Fred Franzia, Two Buck Chuck Creator, Dies