QUACK MEDICINE: Feds have insurance code for 'struck by a duck,' but not for gender detransition



Medical insurance claims in the United States are built around the federal government’s standardized system of diagnostic codes, designed to classify every conceivable injury and condition.

Yet among its more than 70,000 designations, there is no dedicated classification for a growing class of patients: regretful recipients of transgender "health care."

Patients requiring hormone replacement following gonad removal ... may face barriers to coverage without clearer diagnostic pathways.

The omission is all the more glaring when you consider some of the system’s more unusual distinctions.

Duck and cover

"There's a code for a spacecraft collision injuring the occupant, getting ... struck by a duck" as well as "walking into a lamppost," said Dr. Kurt Miceli in a recent interview with Align. “But nothing for those who are trying to revert a gender transition.”

“So effectively, if you are someone who has been harmed by the medical system and you are trying to get medical care, there’s really no diagnosis,” he continued.

Miceli’s work centers on helping children through Stop the Harm, an organization that tracks gender-related medical interventions among minors. According to its database, more than 5,700 surgical procedures were performed on minors in the United States between 2019 and 2023.

California accounted for an estimated 1,359 of those cases, while Massachusetts reported approximately 300.

Miceli said he wants to “give a voice” to detransitioners by creating at least “some visibility” within the existing system of more than 70,000 codes. Such recognition, he argued, would signal that “this is a condition that we must direct resources to, we must appropriately treat, [and] we must build guidelines to help support.”

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Mark Kerrison/In Pictures/Getty Images

Cease and desistance

Beyond recognition, Miceli said the absence of a dedicated classification complicates care. Without it, patients may face challenges navigating billing systems, obtaining reimbursement, or receiving coordinated follow-up treatment.

He added that there is room for multiple distinctions — separating medical complications, social transition, and surgical outcomes, for example.

One step in that direction may come as soon as October 2026, when an update to the ICD-10-CM is expected to include a new designation: “Gender Identity Disorder, in Remission.”

The term, petitioned by Miceli, is defined as the resolution of “clinical symptoms associated with gender dysphoria, where the cognitive experience of incongruence between experienced/expressed gender and natal sex has remitted, leading to alignment of experienced/expressed gender and natal sex.”

Miceli said he hopes future updates will go further, including classifications that explicitly recognize “desistance.”

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Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public/Getty Images

In a bind

At the same time, he argued that legislative action may be necessary to ensure patients receive appropriate care and to “correct the harms that have been done to them.”

For example, patients requiring hormone replacement following gonad removal — or medical care after practices such as breast binding or genital tucking — may face barriers to coverage without clearer diagnostic pathways.

More comprehensive coding, he added, would also improve research and communication across the medical system.

“It’ll allow our physicians, our medical community to place that code onto the chart. We can get a better understanding of what’s going on,” Miceli said. “We can look at that code in association with other potential complications and, again, collect much more accurate real-world data.”

Disney fans cheer as Mouse House reverses DEI-inspired theme park change



It’s been nearly five years since the Walt Disney Company leaned into the corporate vogue of diversity, equity, and inclusion across its theme parks.

Now, some parkgoers think they’re hearing something different — something familiar.

‘The sound of the trip starting for real.’

DEI dream

Back in 2021, Disney confirmed to Newsweek that it would phase out the classic greeting, “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,” from announcements at Magic Kingdom. In its place came a more neutral line: “Good evening, dreamers of all ages,” part of a broader push to make park language more “inclusive.”

At the time, the change was treated as small but symbolic — another piece of Disney’s effort to align itself with the cultural priorities of the moment.

Now, a clip circulating on X suggests the company may be quietly loosening its grip on that approach. In the video, a monorail announcement clearly addresses riders as “ladies and gentlemen” while instructing them to hold the handrail — a phrase that, until recently, had been scrubbed from official park language.

Old times

No announcement has been made. No policy has been reversed, at least publicly.

But at a place like Disney, where every word is scripted and nothing is accidental, even a small change can signal something larger.

For longtime visitors, it’s not really about the phrasing itself. It’s about what it represents: a return to tradition — or at least a pause in the steady rewriting of it.

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No place for ‘ladies’

Various Disney-centric sites have stated that the removal of “ladies and gentleman” from park experiences was actually a bigger blow than it seemed. Inside the Magic called it the most recognized part of the vital experience that leads Disney fans into the theme park.

Disney Dining called the phrase “the sound of the trip starting for real,” noting its specific cadence made it memorable to park goers.

That Park Place reported that it took just a year for Disney to start treating gendered language like a bygone era, with progressive ideology becoming part of Disney’s internal training philosophy. The outlet cited diversity and inclusion manager Vivian Ware, who reportedly said cast members were being taught to avoid saying “ladies and gentlemen” and “boys and girls.”

Instead, the outlet stated, they were taught to say, “Hello, everyone,” or, “Hello, friends.”

The language shift wasn’t the only obvious change to standards at Disney, either.

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Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Mixed-up mouse

In 2023, Disney partnered with a man who claimed to be “gender fluid” in order to promote a Minnie Mouse-themed clothing set that included a red dress, yellow pumps, and red hair bow.

Earlier that year, an employee at Disneyland, who appeared to be a man in a dress, was seen greeting little girls at the salon and dress shop called the “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.”

Align reached out to Disney Parks to ask when the gendered language was brought back into the attractions and the reasoning behind the policy change, but did not receive a reply.

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NASA astronaut gives very American response to DEI questioning



Before the Artemis II mission blasted off to go around the moon, the astronauts were faced with one more earthly question about diversity and representation.

The last-ditch struggle session-style question came while the astronauts were in preflight quarantine, literally unable to escape the woke query.

'It's the story of humanity, not black history, not women's history.'

Just three days before the launch on Sunday, the astronauts fielded questions, with a focus on race and gender coming from Spectrum News' Anthony Leone. He asked, "There are so many firsts here for this mission. The first commander of a returned manned mission to the moon. The first black man, the first woman, the first Canadian to visit the moon. What do these firsts mean to each of you?"

The first to answer was Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, who squashed any idea of self praise:

"We are not doing this for the superlatives. We're doing this because it's a unique opportunity. We are going for all and by all. This is what NASA embodies."

Next it was pilot Victor Glover who completely rejected the premise, going viral for his response.

"I want to highlight, I guess maybe one facet of this is the tension," Glover explained.

"This dichotomy between happiness that a young woman can look at Christina and just physicalize her, her passion or her interest, or even if it's not something she wants to do, she can just be like, 'girl power.' And that's awesome. And that young brown boys and girls can look at me and go, 'Hey, he looks like me, and he's doing what?' And that's great, I love that," Glover continued.

However, the astronaut then revealed he has grown tired of race being the first thing mentioned about his accomplishments:

"I also hope we are pushing the other direction that one day we don't have to talk about these firsts, that one day this is just —" Glover paused to reset for emphasis. "Listen to this: that this is the human history. It's about human history. It's the story of humanity, not black history, not women's history, but that it becomes human history."

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Glover then passed the mic to Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist. Koch did not disappoint either, telling reporters that the mission is "not about celebrating any one individual."

"If there is something to celebrate, it's that we are at a time when everyone who has a dream gets to work equally hard to achieve that dream ... if we are not going for all and by all, we aren't truly answering all of humanity's call to explore. That, to me, is what's worth celebrating."

While the NASA astronauts all focused on the bigger picture rather than celebrating race or gender politics, the fourth crew member, Canadian mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, took a different route.

While Hansen began by saying the mission is an acknowledgment of "anybody who shows up" and is able to contribute something meaningful, he quickly pivoted to give progressives an answer to be proud of.

"I'm wearing a Canadian patch here that was designed by an Anishinaabe artist in Canada, and it just represents some of the beauty of indigenous culture and their perspective on the moon and the seven sacred laws and just the richness of doing something together and how inviting that is."

The Anishinaabe refers to a grouping of native tribes that surrounded the Great Lakes region. Including the Algonquin and Mississauga people, as well as groups of smaller tribes, it is an oft-cited moniker favored by activists pursuing their political endeavors.

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Glover is a devout Christian; he has been adamant about his faith and even asked for prayers regarding his moon mission. His brazen unwillingness to compromise on presenting his views has made him stand out throughout the mission lead-up.

"I want to use the abilities that God has given me to do my job well and support my crewmates and mission and NASA," he said in a 2020 Christian Chronicle interview; in remarks to Christianity Today, Glover said that he "very intentionally" puts "God at the front" of his missions because "it's the way I try to live my life as well."

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Female ex-referee accuses NFL of sexism, sues after she was allegedly made to perform 'an utterly humiliating' act



The NFL's third-ever female referee has filed a lawsuit against the league, citing gender-based scrutiny and multiple "humiliating" instances.

Robin DeLorenzo of New Jersey was hired by the NFL in 2022 after working in college football's Big Ten Conference. After three years on the job, DeLorenzo now says her tenure with the league included "unchecked harassment" and gender bias.

'A male power play that served its purpose of humiliating plaintiff, shattering her confidence.'

DeLorenzo's lawsuit signaled that her experience in the NFL was immediately non-satisfactory upon receiving male-sized clothing before she reported for duty.

According to the Associated Press, one of DeLorenzo's worst experiences allegedly came during a Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Teams routinely bring in officials to referee their practice games.

The lawsuit claims that an NFL officials' crew chief allegedly told then-Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin that DeLorenzo should have to sing in front of everyone at the training camp. The alleged reason was that because she was a new referee, she should be treated like a rookie football player.

DeLorenzo reportedly obliged and sang in front of the Steelers players, the male officiating crew, and her boss. This was described by the female ex-ref as having to "put on an utterly humiliating singing performance."

To make matters worse, DeLorenzo claims her boss promised he would not record her but did so anyway.

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Chris Gardner/Getty Images

Other claims made in the lawsuit include repeated shaming, harassment, and trash-talk by her crew chief, who one year allegedly refused to speak to DeLorenzo by the end of the season.

The lawsuit also reportedly takes issue with the fact that DeLorenzo was forced to attend "an alleged training opportunity" that turned out to involve lower-level college officials.

The legal filing called the instance "a male power play that served its purpose of humiliating plaintiff, shattering her confidence, and significantly hindering her NFL career."

The NFL sees it differently, however. Spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Associated Press that DeLorenzo's firing was due to documented underperformance.

"The allegations in this lawsuit are baseless, and we will vigorously defend against them in court," McCarthy said.

Not only does DeLorenzo's lawsuit include statements that she endured "systemic inequality," it also claimed the NFL "exposed her to unchecked harassment, denied her the resources given to men, manipulated her training and grading opportunities, and ultimately ended her career" through "tainted" evaluations by people who "discriminated against her."

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DeLorenzo was fired from the NFL in February 2025 and reassigned to college football along with two male referees. All three of the officials had three or fewer years in the NFL.

The NFL describes its officiating review process as including one or two in-person reviews of an NFL game, each week, by officiating supervisors. These reviews are coupled with weekly training videos, conference calls, and an end-of-season evaluation that determines which referees will officiate in the playoffs.

"A subpar season-long performance could mean remediation, or even a demotion," the league writes. "NFL officials serve on a year-to-year contract, and they have to prove their mettle every year. There is no guarantee that they will return the next season."

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Massachusetts stands firm on denying Catholic couple foster parent license — even after state scraps woke policy



Massachusetts officials are standing by their decision to ban a Catholic couple, who hold biblical views on marriage and sexuality, from fostering children, despite a December policy change that removed the state's radical gender ideology mandate for caregivers.

Mike and Kitty Burke, long desiring to become parents, applied to become foster parents in 2022 after learning they would not be able to have children on their own.

'The Commonwealth's doublespeak is exactly why they are pressing for a clear ruling from the court protecting the freedom of religious families to foster and adopt children.'

Despite the couple successfully completing hours of training, extensive interviews, and a home study, the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families denied their request.

The DCF's Licensing Review Team stated that the Burkes were rejected "based on the couple's statements/responses regarding placement of children who identified LGBTQIA," according to the couple's 2023 federal lawsuit against state officials.

At the time of the denial, Massachusetts foster parent licensing policy required applicant parents to "promote the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of a child placed in his or her care, including supporting and respecting a child's sexual orientation or gender identity."

This policy did not include any exemptions for religious perspectives.

RELATED: Blaze News original: Trump gives willing parents hope by taking aim at anti-Christian bigotry in foster system

Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In December, the DCF issued an emergency amendment that removed the "sexual orientation or gender identity" language in the policy.

The DCF stated that the amendment would "strike the requirement that a foster/pre-adoptive parent or applicant affirm a child's sexual orientation or gender identity and [replace] it with a requirement that a foster/pre-adoptive parent or applicant affirm a child's individual identity and needs."

In a March court filing, Massachusetts officials contended that policy change was irrelevant in the Burkes' case because their denial was based on the rules in effect at the time. Further, they asserted that the denial "did not violate the Constitution" and was "not hostile to religion."

Massachusetts officials argued that "the mere fact that the Burkes could not satisfy" the LGBTQ+ requirements, "whether due to their religion or otherwise, does not clearly establish that denying their license application was unconstitutional."

RELATED: Lawsuit: Massachusetts refuses to allow couple to foster or adopt children because of their Christian faith

Roxbury Department of Children and Families. Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The Burkes maintained that the discovery process proved that their religious beliefs were "the only reason for that denial."

"Mike and Kitty were cautiously hopeful that Massachusetts would finally end its religious discrimination," Lori Windham, senior counsel for Becket, the law firm representing the Burkes, told Blaze News. "But that hope turned to heartbreak when Massachusetts chose to keep fighting them in court. The Commonwealth's doublespeak is exactly why they are pressing for a clear ruling from the court protecting the freedom of religious families to foster and adopt children."

"Mike and Kitty are still open to fostering or adopting children in the future. But Massachusetts has made it harder for them to adopt any child with its discriminatory decision on their record, and that's why they are asking the court to erase it," she added.

A decision in the case is expected by the fall, Windham stated.

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After Being Asked About ‘God’s Sausage,’ James Talarico Says Christians Don’t Care About God’s Gender
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After Being Asked About ‘God’s Sausage,’ James Talarico Says Christians Don’t Care About God’s Gender

'Take it up with the Apostle Paul'

Watch Joe Rogan deprogram Steve-O after stuntman makes claim about transgender 'internment camps'



Wanting to get breast implants as a stunt led to "Jackass" star Steve-O believing transgender-identified people are oppressed.

In 2024, the stuntman planned to get the surgery done for the sake of comedy, telling podcaster Joe Rogan, "This is where the bar is at."

'You can't escape your f**king chromosomes.'

However, the plan fell through when an absent anesthesiologist delayed the procedure. While a doctor was trying to reschedule Steve-O — real name Stephen Gilchrist Glover — the 51-year-old recalled having a change of heart after speaking with a transgender person at a grocery store.

He told Rogan that the "level of oppression" described to him by the person "genuinely f**king broke my heart."

Washroom woes

"They said, 'Hey, let me tell you, I am not allowed to use the bathroom at my own place of work,'" Steve-O claimed before Rogan immediately jumped in.

"That's not true. They're just not allowed to use the bathroom that doesn't align with their biological sex," Rogan began.

Recognizing the reality of "gender dysphoria," Rogan said at least some men were being given a "golden ticket to go into the women's locker room ... and pretend you're a woman when you're just a crazy man and you're actually into women."

He added, "You can't escape your f**king chromosomes ... what you're dealing with is a form of gender dysphoria, which has always been classified as a mental illness until people became much more empathetic and sensitive to people that have this problem."

Camp canard

In one of several cases where Steve-O agreed he had been out-dueled, he then moved on to his next claim: that politicians are trying to put transgender people "in internment camps."

RELATED: Two trans-identifying men file lawsuit against 'dehumanizing' Kansas law that invalidated their driver's licenses

While Rogan agreed there "might be one kook" trying to get attention, he added, "There's no movement to try to put transgender people in internment camps."

Steve-O's claim likely stemmed from reports about Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (S.C.), who was speaking about Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin's alleged transgender partner.

"It was a transgender. ... It was a tranny," Mace said to reporters in 2024. Noting that she has received death threats from transgender activists, she added, "They are mentally ill and should be in a straight jacket with a hard steel lock on it."

As well, Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson (Texas) told Newsmax that transgender people have "legitimate psychiatric issues."

"We have to do something about this, we have to treat these people, we have to get them off the streets, and we have to get them off the internet, and we can't let them communicate with one another."

His statements were also in response to Kirk's assassination, and both his and Mace's remarks were made within five days of Kirk's death. The comments were labeled as calls for institutionalization by some outlets, but there does not appear to be any mention of "internment camps" by any politicians.

Tapping out

During the discussion, Rogan also told Steve-O that transgender people had actually been responsible for more death than Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an agency Steve-O had spoken out against in February.

RELATED: Supreme Court sides with Catholic parents against California on student gender notification — for now

Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

"Do you know who's killed more people than ICE this year? Trans shooters. Do you know the majority of these high school shootings have been transgender people?" Rogan asked.

"I did not know that," Steve-O replied.

After Rogan referenced medications and hormones as not being good to mix with "mental struggles," being "ostracized," and propaganda about trans "genocide," Steve-O soon admitted that Rogan was making good points.

"You've convinced me," the stuntman said.

Rogan then summarized his argument by comparing it to a country's borders.

"Can't have an open border. Doesn't mean that all immigrants are murderers. ... But some people that sneak across the border, if you don't check, are going to be murderers. It's just a fact. So you have to have a f**king closed border to check. And you have to have a gender border too."

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Another ‘Detransitioner’ Is Suing Her Pro-Trans Therapist For Malpractice

Publicizing the harm of transgender surgery will vilify the procedures and further isolate them.

Malpractice Suits Are Starting To Bring Down The Transgender Industrial Complex

Insurance companies reviewing the gender mutilation landscape can see nothing but hefty checks written to plaintiffs and their attorneys.

'Silence of the Lambs' star sorry for vilifying transgenderism: 'It's f**king wrong'



He may be a serial killer who wants to wear his victim's skin, but "The Silence of the Lambs" sicko Buffalo Bill is no transphobe.

At least according to Ted Levine, who portrayed the troubled womenswear enthusiast — real name Jame Gumb — in 1991 Best Picture winner "The Silence of the Lambs."

'We all know more, and I'm a lot wiser about transgender issues.'

"There are certain aspects of the movie that don't hold up too well," the actor recently told the Hollywood Reporter. "We all know more, and I'm a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate."

He added, "It's unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it's f**king wrong. And you can quote me on that."

Basket case

At the same time, the 68-year-old Hollywood vet denied that his character was ever meant to be understood as transgender in the first place.

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"I didn't play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f**ked-up heterosexual man. That's what I was doing," Levine insisted.

Sick puppy

This interpretation was backed up by "Lambs" producer Edward Saxon.

"We were really loyal to the book," Saxon said. “As we made the film, there was just no question in our minds that Buffalo Bill was a completely aberrant personality — that he wasn't gay or trans. He was sick."

Any connection to transgenderism was an oversight by the production, the producer explained.

"We missed it. From my point of view, we weren't sensitive enough to the legacy of a lot of stereotypes and their ability to harm."

Saxon said that given the fact those involved in the movie had "friends and family who were gay," they thought it would be clear that Buffalo Bill is simply "incredibly sick," not practicing some form of homosexuality.

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Photo by Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

'It rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again.'

Skin in the game

Levine's remarks came as the actor reflected on the 35th anniversary of his breakout role — and the staying power of a certain famous line.

"Pain in the ass, but it's OK. Kind of put me on the map," Levine laughed, "But [the annoyance recently] is less so. The edges have worn off. It's not a big deal. It's fine."

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