Leftist Lezzies

International, National, Oklahoma, LGBTQ+ news all filtered through our red state lesbian lens. This week had a LOT to cover. We will have a lot to update from this episode on next week's show. Recorded on Sunday morning. Links for this episode found here:
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/04/nx-s1-5525885/rfk-cdc-hhs-senate-finance
https://nypost.com/2025/08/28/us-news/minneapolis-school-shooter-robin-westman-confessed-he-was-tired-of-being-trans/
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/04/politics/takeaways-rfk-jr-hearing-health
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/04/politics/transgender-firearms-justice-department-second-amendment?Date=20250904&Profile=cnn&utm_content=1757007565&utm_medium=social&utm_source=threads&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR5EOa2BlWrP-195BcwBAlILQ4nZse_WcWTp9JT6pbScF2rJ9nRS8CIe1hvDSg_aem_Sc1IduCNT0QvSSwsTPcwQw
https://share.google/DvbftxpsGE9MoBj2x
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/04/nx-s1-5525885/rfk-cdc-hhs-senate-finance
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/trump-fbi-informant-epstein-speaker-johnson/
https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/supreme-court-tariffs-trump-appeal-rcna229021
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/3/whats-behind-donald-trumps-plan-to-move-us-space-command-to-alabama
https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4291622/trump-announces-relocation-of-us-space-command/
https://courtscast.com/google-dodges-chrome-breakup-but-ordered-to-hand-rivals-the-keys-to-its-data/
https://www.epi.org/blog/trump-is-the-biggest-union-buster-in-u-s-history-more-than-1-million-federal-workers-collective-bargaining-rights-are-at-risk/
https://www.newson6.com/story/68ba0e537b47f363b8e09c7e/tulsa-homeless-encampments-operation-governor-stitt
https://kfor.com/news/oklahoma-education/oklahoma-watch-osde-chief-policy-advisor-paid-six-figures-rarely-comes-to-work/
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-legal-losses-national-guard-tariffs-rcna228941

Another Wild Week in the Politisphere. We cover soft secession, Sandwich guy, Trump tariffs, Alligator Alcatraz shutdown, CDC Director fired, Firefighters detained by CBP during a fire, Oklahoma drama (money mismanaged, OK Rep Ty Burns resigns, Walters Purity Test), LGBTQIA Happenings (OK Rural Pride, Pulse Sidewalk Memorial fight, Supreme Court decision) and more! All links used for this episode found below. Follow us on TikTok, IG, and FB @LeftistLezzies! 
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy983g8jr5do
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/28/nx-s1-5520698/alligator-alcatraz-detention-facility-empty
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/14/nx-s1-5501628/alligator-alcatraz-court-desantis-trump-dhs
https://www.kgou.org/politics-and-government/2025-08-29/oklahoma-state-auditor-flags-nearly-100-million-in-mismanaged-pandemic-relief-dollars-in-new-report
https://www.ice.gov/about-ice/ero/protected-areas#:~:text=DHS%20Directive%20Enforcement%20Actions%20in,in%20or%20Near%20Protected%20Areas
https://oklahomavoice.com/2025/08/30/oklahoma-lawmaker-resigns-following-guilty-plea-to-domestic-violence-charges/
https://www.myheraldreview.com/free_access/19-democratic-governors-including-arizonas-warn-trump-not-to-send-troops-to-their-states/article_6121a628-70a5-4c05-96c4-5d850afe60c2.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/chicago-mayor-signs-order-blueprint-fighting-potential-trump-crackdown-rcna228212
https://abcnews.go.com/US/list-individuals-including-lisa-cook-targeted-trump-administration/story?id=124968309
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/walters-america-first-teacher-test-212951240.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/chicago-mayor-signs-order-blueprint-fighting-potential-trump-crackdown-rcna228212
https://www.mediamatters.org/supreme-court/right-wing-media-endorse-potential-supreme-court-challenge-same-sex-marriage
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/protesters-rally-fort-lauderdale-florida-removal-rainbow-crosswalks/
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/man-arrested-pulse-site-fhp-troopers-during-rainbow-crosswalk-protest

Hitting back on the stories we have already covered and added some new ones in. Trump's coming after mail-in ballots, using the military to flex force in blue cities and threatening more, and there's a gerrymandering battle in GOP states across the Union. Links for this episode can be found here:
https://www.wunc.org/politics/2025-08-22/north-carolina-gerrymandering-redistricting-texas
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/tit-for-tat-gerrymandering-wars-won-t-end-soon-20841899.php 
https://www.newsweek.com/gavin-newsom-california-redistricting-supreme-court-win-2116767
https://wisconsinwatch.org/2025/08/trump-election-mail-paper-ballots-voting-machines-fact-checking-claims/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-planning-a-military-takeover-of-more-us-cities/ar-AA1L39Lz?ocid=BingNewsSerp
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/illinois-gov-jb-pritzker-signed-more-than-200-bills-into-law-here-s-the-list/ar-AA1L2UuU?ocid=BingNewsSerp
Nashville Pride sounds alarm, seeks $250K in donations to save LGBTQ parade
UGA, Georgia Southern drop LGBTQ terms from nondiscrimination policies
Hillary Clinton Urges LGBTQ Couples to Marry Before Supreme Court Threatens National Rights
Florida Officials Remove Rainbow Crosswalk at Orlando's Pulse
RURAL PRIDELGBTQ Persecution in the United States - Lavender Scare | Watch
Texas contradicts itself in redistricting case | The Texas Tribune
Texas’s New Map Is Racial Division by Another Name | TIME
Trump vows to try banning mail-in voting before 2026 midterm elections
Almost a third of 2024 voters voted by mail, research shows
citations-mail-voting-states.pdf
Map Shows States Where Mail-in Voting Is Most—and Least—Popular - Newsweek
 

We condensed a LOT of content into one episode! From SCROTUS (mmmmmhmm) to Zizians to Newsom and more, all the links used to research the episode found here:
Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism – The White House
National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism | Home - National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism
Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Announces Formation of Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism | United States Department of Justice
Camille Harper Zapata - Digital Director for Governor Gavin Newsom & President, CA Women’s List PAC | LinkedIn
Armed Border Patrol storms Gavin Newsom's LA press event and makes arrest outside
Gavin Newsom Redistricting Press Conference Crashed by Border Patrol
Prosecutors seek death penalty against Zizians member charged with murdering Vermont border agent
Who are the Zizians? A Vermont killing is tied to the cultlike group | AP News
Who are the Zizians? What we know about 'cult' linked to six killings
The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians | WIRED
Supreme Court formally asked to overturn landmark same-sex marriage ruling
SCOTUS has been asked to overturn same-sex marriage. What is Trump’s stance?
Why the Supreme Court is unlikely to take up the legal challenge to gay marriage 
Project Esther: A National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism | The Heritage Foundation
What is Project Esther? Unpacking the effort to curb pro-Palestine activism
Same Architects, New Agenda: Project Esther Picks Up Where Project 2025 Left Off
The Right's Most Influential Art Historian Helped Shape Project 2025
https://abcnews.go.com/US/20-years-marriage-rights-same-sex-couples-research/story?id=110776425
RURAL PRIDE

The march to authoritarianism continues. It's not a joke. It's not fear mongering. It's reality in the United States today. Links supporting the content of this week's episode can be found here:
Threats to US Democracy: Dangerous Cracks in Its Pillars
Brookings Institution | Policy Commons
Brookings Institution | History, Research, & Influence | Britannica
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders arrest of Democratic lawmakers who fled over redistricting
US reverses pledge to link disaster funds to Israel boycott stance
What has Trump said about seeking a third term? Here are 6 remarks he has made about running again. - CBS News
Trump says he will ‘probably not’ seek a third term - POLITICO
Donald Trump tours White House roof, saying he'll put nuclear missiles on it
JD Vance, Trump Deny 'Strategy Mission' Meeting Over Epstein Files - Newsweek
Trump says there’s a ‘good chance’ he’ll meet with Putin, but no ‘breakthrough’ in Witkoff’s Moscow trip
PolitiFact | Yes, sections of the Constitution were missing on a government website. No, it didn’t change US law.
Trump Reveals Dark Plan to Rig the Census—and Keep GOP in Power
Trump calls for a new census to exclude undocumented immigrants
Texas Senator Says Trump’s FBI Agreed to Help Track Down and Return Runaway Democrats
Trump's White House gift shop with MAGA merch exposed - but it's darker than you think
Trump removes Billy Long as IRS commissioner, giving him the shortest-ever tenure in the role
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reposts video of pastors saying women shouldn't vote : NPR
U.S. military force against drug cartels 
Texas Dems walkout
Trump Calls for DC Military takeover
$50 Million Reward for arrest of Venezuela's President 
VA Transgender benefits
RURAL PRIDE 

Breaking down the last week of events and the Epstein timeline from the beginning to now. Links used for this episode are here:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-trumps-threat-to-take-away-rosie-odonnells-u-s-citizenship
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-seeks-to-fire-bureau-of-labor-statistics-director-after-release-of-weak-jobs-report
New Texas redistricting plan could achieve Trump's aims : NPR 
Texas Democrats face their Alamo with new GOP congressional map 
To counter Texas, Newsom suggests special election to gerrymander California
Governor Gavin Newsom's retaliatory redistricting idea gets mixed reaction in California Legislature - ABC7 San Francisco
The Epstein Files Timeline Raises Real Questions for Trump - POLITICO
A Timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein Investigation, Now 20 Years Old
Timeline Of The Life And Crimes Of Jeffrey Epstein - CBS New York
The Epstein Files: A Timeline | Britannica
Jeffrey Epstein: Timeline that led to sex-trafficking charges : NPR
What Corp. for Public Broadcasting Shutdown Means For NPR, PBS | TIME
Texas GOP will redraw House districts at Trump's urging, but there's a risk | AP News
‘Fetal Position’: Newsom’s Attempt To Gerrymander Already-Lopsided California May Be Over Before It Begins – IJR
Anatomy of the Texas Gerrymander | Brennan Center for Justice
Here’s The Timeline Of MAGA’s Epstein Files Meltdown—As Trump Calls The Case ‘Boring Stuff’
https://www.eventsandfestivals.org/the-growth-and-power-of-rural-pride-events-in-small-town-america
https://www.nclrights.org/our-work/legislation-policy/lgbt-rural-pride-campaign
Movement Advancement Project | RURAL LGBT RESOURCES
https://www.qorrn.com/about-us/

Episode One catches you up on the hosts Kelly Wise and K.B. King, updates much of what's happening under Trump 2.0, and of course, our ever-trusty MIMS section - Make it Make Sense. All the links used to inform most of our discussion are found here:
Trump's First 100 Days in 2025 | The American Presidency Project
Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government | Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
Tracking the lawsuits against the Trump administration | AP News
Litigation Tracker | Lawfare 
Trump 2.0: The Damage So Far - Alliance for Justice
Trump embarrasses the Pentagon with a U-turn on Ukraine
Trump Embarrassed Himself, the Nation, and Every Thinking Human on Earth
Trump ‘TACO’ Tracker: Here Are The President’s 28 Tariff Flip-Flops
Trump Slurs His Words And Embarrasses America While Announcing US Strikes On Iran
Trump embarrassed himself and America by bullying Ukraine's leader Zelenskeyy | Letters 
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/06/nx-s1-5388507/supreme-court-transgender-military
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/04/25/protect-the-dolls-meaning-lgbtq-trans/
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/07/pete-buttigiegs-replacement-begs-governors-to-remove-rainbow-crosswalks-claiming-they-people/
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/religion/2025/05/27/anchor-baptist-church-okc-dillon-awes-lgbt-hate-group/83670917007/
https://glaad.org/trump-accountability-tracker/
https://www.project2025.observer/

This episode features our first guest - T Shea. We discuss the likelihood of a World War 3, what might cause it, conflicts in the Middle East, and the Russia/Ukraine conflict. There are no links this time around, as most of the things discussed are either deeply ingrained knowledge, easily verified with a quick Google search, or pulled from social media and other podcasts. Enjoy the listen without the reading! 

We cover all things climate change in this episode including the legislation that could be changed under Trump Admin 2.0, including the 150 pages of Project 2025 which address climate, air quality, water quality, and so much more. 
Links used in the research for this episode:
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement 
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/archeology/antiquities-act.htm#:~:text=The%20Antiquities%20Act%20established%20that,National%20Historical%20Park%20(1923).
https://ceq.doe.gov/#:~:text=Congress%20enacted%20the%20National%20Environmental,law%20on%20January%201%2C%201970.
https://defenders.org/blog/2020/03/we-were-wrong-about-wolves-heres-why#:~:text=Seventy%20years%20without%20wolves%20changed,the%20wolf%20in%20the%20U.S.
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/why-we-need-epa
https://earthjustice.org/article/what-project-2025-would-do-to-the-environment-and-how-we-will-respond
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/researchers-have-developed-a-way-to-break-down-long-lasting-pfas-compounds-using-light?fbclid=IwY2xjawHeSKpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHa3D49kzJYYfxBVxRSyyeXAhVGOkaNMQxcez8ADVSpUJOMR9LtF3O8H5Hg_aem_CKP6dFZCHxR01f49SH95gA
https://www.enn.com/articles/75775-study-finds-fluoride-in-water-does-not-affect-brain-development
https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2024/12/study-finds-fluoride-water-does-not-affect-brain-development
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/01/681368165/research-supports-claims-that-teeth-worsen-without-fluoridated-water#:~:text=Research%20Supports%20Claims%20That%20Teeth%20Worsen%20Without%20Fluoridated%20Water%20:%20NPR&text=Research%20Supports%20Claims%20That%20Teeth%20Worsen%20Without%20Fluoridated%20Water%20Using,water%20supply%20is%20not%20fluoridated

We cover more anecdotal stories in this episode about Healthcare, Luigi Mangione and the CEO killer, and a comparison of the US, Switzerland, and Germany's healthcare systems. 
 
Links in this episode here:
https://www.pgpf.org/issues/healthcare/
https://studycorgi.com/comparison-of-healthcare-systems-the-united-states-and-switzerland/
https://wise.com/us/blog/healthcare-system-in-germany
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/luigi-mangione-healthcare-ceo-shooting-what-we-know/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/elon-musk-europe-surging-far-right-rcna185145
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/21/politics/pharmacy-benefit-manager-reform-funding-bill/index.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawHU_o9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHfjq6pyDt48t4hmFaUsaPvzbJbBaLQHfJKa_pWP2v4QfB0KFAxuQ5ck1rA_aem_V1PG3dRr82SteoZ5s7poBA