Commendation

Image:  Facebook

Credit where it's due. Donald Trump secured a Gaza ceasefire and a release of hostages.

Yes, the circumstances on the ground were more favorable for him than for Joe Biden. Yes, Trump's accomplishments came in no small part due to his bullying. Yes, he's motivated above all by his lust for a Nobel Peace Prize and not by any affection for human life.

But there's something resembling peace now, which all parties desperately need. So I'll give him credit. Which reminded me that I also agreed with his push—though, again, achieved through bullying—to get European nations to pay more toward their defense.

There, Trump's done two things I can get behind. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to lie down and recover from having written that sentence.

Died and Gone to Heaven

 

Oct. 11, 2025

Image:  Wikipedia

On this National Coming Out Day, I'm thinking about an administration that denies transgender people actually exist, and dismisses gay history as DEI garbage.

For closeted Americans, 2025 isn't an alluring year to come out. Which is why those of us who can tell the truth about ourselves must, so the pendulum swings back again in this country.

And going back into the closet is out of the question. I've gained weight. I'd never fit through that keyhole.

Update

 

Who Knew?

Image:  Facebook

According to USA Today, last week a Sun Country Airlines flight from Minneapolis to Newark had one of those passengers on board that everybody just loves.

The man shouted he was being chased by gay people. and "gay people were giving him cancer, cooking and radiating him."

The fella eventually said "the plane is going down," which prompted the flight to be diverted to Chicago.

His fellow passengers must've been furious. And I'm none too happy that only now am I discovering that I've had the power all along to give people cancer.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

Fox News host Jesse Watters has hit back at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her mockery of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, suggesting the New York Democrat secretly wants to sleep with the immigration hardliner.

Joe Sommerlad

Source:  The Independent

Tools of the Trade

Image:  Facebook

I received an email from the online seller Temu that a "tool set kit is calling."

The stilted English isn't unusual for this Chinese company. The question here is how do they know I'm a lesbian?

Hirsuteness

 

Um, What?

Image:  Facebook

October is LGBTQ History Month, so I fully expect the Trump administration to issue a celebratory proclamation, followed by a White House reception for leading academics in the field of queer history.

Wow. Sorry. I seem to have taken someone else's meds this morning.

High Men on the Scrotum Pole

 

This Week's Quote

Image by Skibka from Pixabay

Never follow anyone else’s path. Unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. Then by all means follow that path.

Ellen DeGeneres

Source:  Today

Tweedledee and Tweedledum Go to Quantico

Image:  Facebook

In a highly unusual move and on short notice, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of senior military officers from posts around the world to gather today in Virginia.

The price tag alone makes me blanch.

NBC News reports that what Hegseth told the assembled in Quantico wasn't "a showcase of major changes to the military but a recitation of familiar talking points from him and his boss, President Donald Trump."

These points boiled down to wokeness is weakness, no beards or long hair, and basic-training drill sergeants will again swear the air blue and put their hands on recruits.

Hegseth is the epitome of toxic masculinity, and he's shaping the military in his image. Those famous recruiting posters of old would now feature a pointing Uncle Sam saying, "I Want You To Be a Total Dick."

Following Hegseth's tromp through the culture wars, the admirals and generals had to listen to Trump meander. Talk about tough duty.

Most notably, Trump spoke of "the enemy from within." He said, "Inner cities are a big part of war," and compared Portland to a "war zone."

Trump said he told Hegseth that the U.S. "should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military."

Jesus H. Christ on a raft. The American president said American troops should use other Americans for target practice. 

We're getting ever further away from decency, sense, and precedent. I can only hope those stuck in that room today believe their duty is to defend the Constitution and the American people, not to follow blindly a couple of unstable "leaders" like Trump and Hegseth.

If not, here in Democratic-led Seattle, I could be under siege by Thanksgiving. And that'll do nothing for my digestion.

To Sum Up

 

Invading the City of Roses

Image:  Facebook

Donald Trump said today that he's directing the Defense Department to send U.S. troops to Portland, Ore.

What will they do, scrimmage the Blazers?

It's Jeff Not So

 

Birthday Blues

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

I turned 62 today, but thanks to Donald Trump I feel 162.

I should follow his litigious example and sue him for gross emotional distress.

He's gross, and it makes me emotional.

This Week's Quote

Image by Cécile Lecaux from Pixabay

Trump praised his own record constantly in what at times resembled more of a State of the Union speech than a U.N. speech. He rambled about how the U.S. had become the “hottest country anywhere in the world” — and trashed countries that don’t share his worldview. He trumpeted his extreme right-wing crackdown on immigration as a model for the world and warned that other countries that didn’t do the same were facing extinction: “I’m really good at this stuff; your countries are going to hell.”

Zeeshan Aleem

Source:  MSNBC

Turnabout Is Fair Play

Image:  Facebook

As a Seattle Storm season-ticket holder, I went to a lot of games at Climate Pledge Arena this summer. A young lesbian couple usually sat in front of me. They were a physically affectionate duo, free to be their gay selves in the lesbian-positive WNBA atmosphere.

They must've sold their tickets for a game at the end of the season, because that night a straight couple occupied those seats, also busily caressing and kissing.

A heterosexual display at a WNBA game. I thought DEI was dead.

What Coulda Shoulda Been

 

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

If you see anyone not mourning the death of Robert Redford the way you would like them to please call their employer and get them fired!

Covie

Source:  X

Righteous and Wrong-eous Indignation

Image:  Kevin Payravi at Wikipedia

Author Stephen King caught hell for posting that the late conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk "advocated stoning gays to death." King apologized. I don't understand why. He was right.

Last year, children's You Tuber Ms. Rachel had the audacity to claim that the biblical admonition to "love thy neighbor" should apply to gay people. On a podcast, Kirk reacted by saying "by the way, Ms. Rachel, you might want to crack open that Bible of yours. In a lesser reference, part of the same part of scripture, is in Leviticus 18, is that 'thou shall lay with another man shall be stoned to death.' Just saying."

He concluded that ol' 18 "affirms God's perfect law when it comes to sexual matters."

So Kirk didn't say gay folks should be stoned. He said God did. He passed the buck.

That people like Sen. Ted Cruz reacted to King with indignation and insults baffles me. It certainly sounds like Kirk was all in on the stoning notion.

What a case of splitting hairs. I bet King's next horror novel will be titled "Splitting Hares," and be about a Bugs Bunny impersonator who loses control whenever someone splits an infinitive.

It's What Makes a Subaru, a Subaru

 

Not Remotely Groovy

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

I've long felt that America never got over the turbulence of the 1960s. Now it seems like we're headed right back there.

In that decade, political violence famously took the lives of two Kennedys and a King. Yesterday conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk was assassinated, and a few months ago Minnesota Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were both murdered.

If folks are so hot to return to the '60s, may I suggest lava lamps instead?

This Week's Quote

                                                 Image:  Facebook

Whoever that guy was who forged Trump’s name on the Epstein card in 1995 and patiently waited 30 years for a leak was a next-level strategist. It’s almost unbelievable.

Kyle Keegan

Source:  X

Blast From the Past

Image by PDPics from Pixabay

I learned a new word today that has roots in the 1840s. A snollygoster is "a shrewd, unprincipled person, especially a politician."

Such a cool word. What a shame I can't think of anyone to whom it applies in 2025.

He Actually Posted This

 

Tucker and Pete

Image:  Gage Skidmore at Wikipedia

It's news to me that assorted far-right pundits believe Pete Buttigieg isn't gay.

On Tucker Carlson's podcast this week, guest Michael Knowles claimed that in progressive politics some identities are advantageous. "I give you Pete Buttigieg," he said, and Carlson responded, "The fake gay guy?"

Carlson said "my gay producer" always claimed Buttigieg was a fraud, and added that should he interview the former presidential candidate, "I’m gonna ask him very specific questions about gay sex and see if he can even answer. I doubt he even knows. You’re not gay, dude. Stop."

I don't know where to start. Yes I do.

The idea of Carlson asking Buttigieg sexual questions to authenticate his orientation is presumptuous and prurient.

(Though if he asks them too convincingly, gay rumors will start about Carlson, and I'm good with that.)

Nobody has the right to decide another person's orientation. Least of all a former Fox News personality known for bringing fringe conspiracy theories to the masses.

(Though part of me wants to believe in the racist great replacement theory, as long as Carlson would be among the first to be replaced.)

But what's most ludicrous about Carlson and Knowles claiming Buttigieg isn't gay is the reason for his alleged lying: Choosing gayness is a shrewd political move.

Sure. Just as shrewd as picking Sarah Palin for your running mate.

In 2025, being gay is still an impediment to political office, even in liberal areas. For one thing, people might be willing to vote for you, but they worry whether others will.

If he runs for president again, Buttigieg will be defying the odds. I can see him consenting to join Carlson's podcast. If Carlson asks him about what he likes in bed, Buttigieg should say only, "Chasten. And sheets that don't ride up."

This Week's Quote

Image:  Wikipedia

May you put your dentures in upside down and chew your head off.

Sophia Petrillo on "The Golden Girls"

Source:  Southern Living

True For Both Lesbians and Gay Men

 

Seven Months In

Image:  Wikipedia

Donald Trump spent last week seizing yet more control over the federal government.

A man fond of grabbing women by the pussy now grabs the government in similar fashion.

Trump was busy purging dissent at the CDC and FEMA; firing a member of the Federal Reserve Board; threatening to send troops to Chicago; and generally behaving as though the government is his Tinkertoy set.

In a three-hour televised Cabinet meeting, Trump claimed more victories than Bear Bryant, while his subordinates' praise of him was so over the top the gathering could've been in Moscow or Pyongyang.

If this power grab is allowed to continue, our three branches of government will be the executive, the anemic, and the pathetic.

Can We Muster That?

 

This Week's Quote

Image by Jim Cooper from Pixabay

On a podcast Snoop Dog said LGBTQ characters shouldn't be allowed in movies because they confuse him and he can't explain them to kids. Unlike wizards, dinosaurs and spaceships.

Paul Rudnick

Source:  X

Another One Gone

Image:  Facebook

In case you missed it, one of the fiercest opponents of gay rights died last week. James Dobson was 563 years old.

Okay, he was actually 89. Not a preacher but a child psychologist, Dobson was without doubt one of the most powerful figures in the Christian right. He founded Focus on the Family, which pushed an ex-gay ministry, and the Family Research Council, which the Southern Poverty Law Center classified as an anti-LGBT hate group.

Dobson claimed the Sandy Hook mass shooting was God's judgement on a nation that accepted abortion and gay marriage.

Now God has called him home. I'd like to think He's having a word with him.

Understandable

 

Today's Lesson

Image:  Facebook

Children, today we're going to learn about the letter "D."

A lot of words begin with that letter. Like the word "desecration." Ooh, that's a long one, isn't it? Let's all say it together: "des-e-cra-tion."

Desecration is when a sacred place or thing is treated with—and here comes another "D" word—disrespect.

Let me give you an example of how to use the word desecration:  "Last night, in a clear act of desecration, the state of Florida sent workers to the Pulse nightclub memorial in Orlando to paint over the rainbow crosswalk."

You see, kids, that crosswalk had been a symbol of grief and resilience to LGBTQ people in Florida and around the nation after almost 50 people were murdered for being in a gay club. By sunrise this morning the rainbow was gone, and now there's just a boring old black and white crosswalk. And a lot of people feel like their hearts have broken all over again.

Now here's another "D" word: "defiance." It means a bold resistance to authority, and children, I really, really hope we see a lot of defiance from angry queer people in the days ahead. I don't want to see violence, and I don't want to see—another "D" word—destruction, though they feel tempting right now, a normal reaction to desecration.

No, I want to see and hear the anger we feel—get ready for more "D" words—directed in dazzling displays at the doofuses who demanded this desecration. From Donald to Duffy to DeSantis. These discriminatory dirtbags deserve daily derision. Doubtlessly. Definitely.

Dismissed.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

MAGAs are getting upset that the Vikings have two male cheerleaders. It ruins their enjoyment of watching 22 men in tight pants jump on each other.

Steve Hofstetter

Source:  Facebook

Horsey Hope

Strong Feelings About This

 

Birds of a Feather

Image:  Facebook

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting in Alaska right now.

In other words, we sent a felon and sexual abuser, and they sent a murderer and war criminal.

Cream isn't the only thing that rises.

Occupation

Image:  Pixabay

Against the backdrop of recently taking control of the Washington, D.C., police department and deploying the National Guard to our nation's capital, Donald Trump yesterday announced his choices for Kennedy Center honorees, and added that he'll be hosting the broadcast. The day before, the White House ordered a review of the Smithsonian Institution to make sure what it exhibits is in accord with Trump's wishes.

It's been a long time since an enemy of America overran Washington, D.C. Where's Dolley Madison when you need her?

This Week's Quote

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Trump to host Kennedy Center Honors ceremony

today's headline

Source:  Reuters

Beware

 

Moneymaking Marriages

Image by Welcome to All ! ツ from Pixabay

A study released this summer found that, in the ten years since the Obergefell decision legalized marriage equality, gay couples and their out-of-state wedding guests have poured about $5.9 billion into state and local economies.

I not only had a same-sex wedding, I also had a same-sex divorce, so I was doubly helpful to the local economy. Yet not a word of thanks from the chamber of commerce.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

In announcing her gubernatorial run in SC, Nancy Mace says she'll be "Trump in high heels." So which bathroom will she let herself use?

Paul Rudnick

Source:  X

Teaching Numbers

 

Shooting the Messenger

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash

The government's Bureau of Labor Statistics released a decidedly weak jobs report on Friday. Hours later, Donald Trump fired the bureau's commissioner.

Had I known decades ago that sacking the person in charge is a viable option when you get news you don't like, the boss of the SAT wouldn't have lasted another minute.

You Need More Gay In Your Life

 

This Week's Quote

Image:  Wikipedia

We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.

Bayard Rustin

Source: Goodreads

The Warrior's Achilles' Heel

Image:  Wikipedia

It feels like this was inevitable.

Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters is in hot water. Two members of the state's education board accuse him of having porn on a screen during a meeting.

Why do I bring this to your attention? Hang on.

Walters has been described as Oklahoma's "top culture warrior." A MAGA Christian nationalist, Walters last year directed all public schools to incorporate the Bible and Ten Commandments into their curriculum. He denies the very existence of transgender and non-binary people, and when non-binary student Nex Benedict died after a fight at school, advocates accused Walters of creating a dangerously intolerant atmosphere.

Walters was on Donald Trump's shortlist to be education secretary. Last fall, he wanted to require schools to show students a video of him praying for Trump.

In short, Walters is such an extreme Christian he'd even piss off Jesus.

Walters often railed against "sexual material," and now it's gone and turned up in his office. There can't be a single gay person anywhere in the country who's surprised, since we're so accustomed to this sort of screaming hypocrisy on the part of religious zealots.

I guess I'm a little surprised that it was naked women on his screen and not naked men, given his vocal anti-queerness. But Walters isn't a closet case. He's just an asshole.

Fancy That