The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

Attentive readers will have noticed a lack of What You Need To Know posts for the last week or so. When I wrote my last post I was getting pretty sick, and unfortunately it went downhill from there. I won't bore you with the personal details of the last week or so, but let's just say that I'm on multiple antibiotics through a variety of delivery systems and finally showing some improvment.

I'm still not really running on all cylinders, so you'll have to do without my introductory commentary (insightful or otherwise), but I have managed to put together a hefty set of links. So without further ado, here's what you need to know today:

• Critical changes to the DSM-5 have removed "Gender Identity" diagnosable mental illness. It has instead been replaced with gender dysphoria as a diagnosable condition in the hopes that trans* people can get better access to health care without having their very existence branded as disordered.
• The Christian Right is predictably up in arms over the first same-sex wedding at West Point Military Academy.
• In response to their stunningly poor election predictions, as well as Mr. Rove's on-air meltdown, Fox News is said to be significantly scaling back GOP partisans Karl Rove and Dick Moris' airtime.
• In New Zealand, citizens can now change the gender marker on their passports entirely through self-determination, without gatekeeper clearance. In addition to choosing M or F, New Zealanders also have the option to choose X as their gender.
• The right wing Liberty Council lost their bid in U.S. District Court to block the newly passed California law that bans licensed therapists from practicing ex-gay "reparative" therapy on minors.
• Uganda's horrific anti-homosexuality bill could be voted on this week.
• The decision by failed GOP presidential candidate, the famously Google-troubled Rick Santorum, to join the writing staff over at World Net Daily provides progressive commentators with plenty of low-hanging fruit in the mockery department. In that vein, Right Wing Watch rounds up the top ten ridiculous headlines from WND over the last several years.
• Voting 11-2, the Atlanta City Council passed a resolution in support of marriage equality.
• The Trevor Project has awarded this year's "Hero" award to pop star Katy Perry.
• A fundamental Islamic group forced a transgender festival to shut down in Jakarta, Indonesia.
• Carson Kressley talks to Joy Behar about being a queer kid, and how Queer Eye finally made him officially come out to his parents.
• The Raw Story reports that radio host and hate-group leader Linda Harvey, stated on air Monday that marriage equality promotes gay sex with "the very young."
• The Crown Princess of Norway took advantage of her diplomatic passport to travel to India in order to care for twins born via surrogate to a lesbian couple she's close to, until the parents' visas could come through.
• Out of Britain comes this frankly bizarre story of the furious discussion among UK policy makers over how to define "consummation" for same-sex relationships.
• One of the most influential trade groups in DC has named one of Congress' most vocal homophobes as their new CEO.
• Is your hometown on the list of the top-ten most promiscuous cities for gay men?
• The inaptly titled group One Million Moms is taking aim at Ellen and JC Penny again. Since that worked out so well the last few times.
• The Senate version of the new defense budget leaves out anti-gay "conscience protections" found in the House version.
• Phyllis Schlafly's son and founder of Conservapedia, Andy Schlafly is going after Einstein's Theory of General Relativity on the grounds that it is a liberal plot and is directly contradicted in the Bible. Seriously.
• Finally, from the new web series Neil's Puppet Dreams, we have this somewhat naughty take on what NPH has in his pants:

(Image "Sick Meds" by Wintersong, used with permission, all rights reserved)