Fourth of July 2025

 

Question For You

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

The House has approved Donald Trump's "one big beautiful bill."

How do you feel?

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

The thing is, billionaires don't NEED a tax cut. They already have more money than they could ever hope to spend.

So why does the Republican spending bill give them one, at the cost of health care for the sick and food for the hungry?

To harm those they see as undeserving.

Hillary Clinton

Source:  X

Exit Stage Right

Image:  Facebook

Jimmy Swaggart, who died today at age 90, wasn't as virulent on the subject of homosexuality as fellow televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.

In 2004, well after he was caught cavorting with female prostitutes, Swaggart spoke of his opposition to same-sex marriage. "I’ve never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry," the Pentecostal preacher told his congregation.

"And I’m going to be blunt and plain: If one ever looks at me like that, I’m going to kill him and tell God he died," he said to laughter.

Swaggart later apologized. But gay men were understandably offended that he threatened murder. Other gay men were offended at the idea that they could be so lacking in taste as to hit on him in the first place.

Pride 2025

Image:  Facebook

In year one of Trump 2.0, it felt important to me to represent by attending Pride. So even though I'd had a rotten cold all week, I hauled my carcass to Seattle Pride yesterday, and marched in the parade with my fellow Unitarian Universalists.

I hid my red nose behind a rainbow fan.

The day before, about 100,000 Hungarians also felt a need to show up at Pride—under much scarier circumstances. The government of Hungarian Grand Poobah Viktor Orbán, which has been steamrolling democracy for years, recently decided it can ban public LGBTQ events.

So all those Hungarians, gay and straight, were actively defying an official ban. They risked heavy fines and conflict with police. The 30th annual Budapest Pride turned out to be not only record-setting in size, but also a clear rebuke of an autocrat's government.

A queer-led protest against abuse of power? Sounds like Stonewall to me.

Law of the Jungle

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

In this final week of its term, the Supreme Court has been very good to Donald Trump and his fellow travelers.

Today the Court decided that school systems must allow parents to pull their kids from class when course material conflicts with their religious views. Translation: If a book has LGBTQ characters, Junior is outta there.

Religion as an excuse to demonize a minority group is exceedingly tiresome for us, but I'll wager some of the most tired people on the planet right now are the Court's three liberals. Those women must feel they're the nation's last defense against presidential power grabs and right-wing cruelty.

No pressure or anything.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

Can't wait until the next Democratic president puts 2 pride flags up on those Trump flagpoles.

MAGAs will try to overthrow the government again.

Alex Cole

Source:  X

Face It

 

So Says He

Image:  Facebook

Last night I forced myself to watch Donald Trump justify bombing Iran. As part of his short remarks, he said, "I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before."

Now we know. Trump and Netanyahu are the Lennon and McCartney of warfare.

Then Trump thanked the American military for "an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades." He congratulated "all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack." 

Also, "There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There's never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago."

Trump boasted like a teenage boy who's just had sex for the first time.

He was losing his way at the end when he said, "And in particular, God, I want to just say, we love you God." This is what happens when a guy who doesn't have a spiritual bone in his body tries to pull off Christian-speak on the fly.

Whatever Trump does next in the Middle East, it will be the most brilliant move the world has seen since the beginning of time. And Jesus will agree.

This Crazy World

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Vladimir Putin has offered to mediate the Israel-Iran war.

That's like Donald Trump offering to preside over a rape trial.

June 19

 

This Week's Quote

Image by Mark Thomas from Pixabay

By retreating from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims. In sadness, I dissent.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who read her dissent aloud from the bench today

Source:  The Hill

Dig It

Image:  Facebook

Erik Shoji, the captain of the U.S. men's national volleyball team, posted a video on social media a few days ago. The 35-year-old libero sat down and said, "I am here to tell the world today that I am queer."

And I'm here to applaud him.

Also, I want to emphasize that just because the libero wears a jersey that's a different color from the rest of his team, doesn't mean all liberos are gay. But you can continue to hope.

Signing Off

I promise this is my last post regarding protest signs.

Until the next protest.

First, I wrote on the day of the "No Kings" demonstrations that I'd spied a slogan outside Seattle that I assumed was homegrown. It turns out "The only kings we want are salmon" was a protest theme in Alaska. So official—o-fish-el?—credit goes to residents of The Last Frontier.

Second, when my sister Kim and her kids protested in Bellingham, Wash., she carried a two-sided sign. With "USA:  Rejecting Kings Since 1776," she resisted Trump. On the other side, as the picture shows, she saluted Pride Month. When a straight family member does that, I feel supported.

A sign that both protests and uplifts? The way Kim multitasks is downright scary.

American Sign Language

Image:  Facebook

I've been at this protesting thing long enough to know that people share sign ideas online. So if you see a witticism on a sign in a Poughkeepsie protest, you'll see it again in news reports from Detroit, Little Rock, and Billings.

Today, as I joined hundreds of folks in a bedroom community outside Seattle for a "No Kings" protest, I noticed a woman holding a sign that I'm guessing is actually unique to the Pacific Northwest. It read "The only kings we want are salmon."

Royalty

 

Monarch of the Moment

My longtime friend Dennis is ready for a "No Kings" demonstration in Maine tomorrow. I love the itty-bitty hands, the endless tie, and the Burger King crown. I also love it when straight guys have artistic talent and aren't afraid to show it.

This Week's Quote

Image by 🆓 Use at your Ease 👌🏼 from Pixabay

Geoff Bennett: Does language like that coming from a sitting member of Congress, does that risk escalating tensions at this already volatile moment?

Rep. Norma Torres: Absolutely not, any more than language like just grab them by the P-word. Guess what, America? We have become the P-word.

Source:  PBS News Hour

Idiomatic

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Labeling the Los Angeles protesters "insurrectionists" when you're the person who incited a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol? If that isn't the POTUS calling the kettle black.

We'd All Prefer It

 

Credit:  Ian Thomas Malone

Delusional Pride

Image:  Facebook

As expected, Donald Trump hasn't issued a proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month.

Yet he's still managing to benefit financially from Pride, because the Log Cabin Republicans of New York City are holding a Pride party at Trump Tower. These gay GOP'ers, who suffer from too much money and too little conscience, want you to join them "for our biggest event of the year."

For $175, you can attend PrideRight at Trump Tower. It'll feature an open bar, hors d'oeuvres, and "special guests!" LGBTQ Nation guesses that might turn out to be Melania Trump, since she has a symbiotic relationship with the Log Cabin Republicans—she likes to get paid, and the group likes to pay her.

The date is June 28, when Pride will be in full swing in the Big Apple. That Trump not only refuses to bless Pride but is busily attacking transgender people and wiping out gay history means nothing to these folks, who live in a different universe, and I'm not talking about Staten Island.

May their canapés be burnt, the booze watered, the help surly. And may every queer New Yorker refuse to sleep with any of this bunch all weekend long.

I Hope This Clears It Up For You

 

Joan and Bette Have Nothing On Them

 

Spiteful Pete

Image:  Facebook

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk. And the news has emerged during Pride Month.

It's safe to say Hegseth is telling gay people to shove it up our sequined asses.

This move is infuriating not just because Hegseth is wounding gay people and erasing LGBTQ military history, but because he himself is such a loser. It took him about five minutes in the job to reveal his incompetence through Signalgate. He talks like he's John Wayne, but at his core he's Yosemite Sam.

By way of explanation for this offense, Hegseth's office said, "Secretary Hegseth is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos."

So we are to assume gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk wasn't part of our nation's history. Whose was he a part of, Peru's?

It's unknown what the new name of the fleet replenishment oiler will be. But if it needs to align with the Trump/Hegseth priorities, American history, and the warrior ethos, then it should be called the USNS Toxic Masculinity.

This Week's Quote

Image by Vilius Kukanauskas from Pixabay

Scott Bessent and Ric Grenell, both openly gay men, are celebrating Pride Month by supporting Trump’s decision to ban Pride Month.

Paul Rudnick

Source: X

Really, Zip

 

Captain Ludicrous

Image by Bruce Emmerling from Pixabay

As we head into a new work week, take comfort in knowing that the president of the United States always has the American people in the forefront of his mind.

Except when the president is Donald Trump.

On Saturday night, Trump took the time to repost on Truth Social a gonzo claim that former President Joe Biden was executed in 2020 and replaced with clones or robots.

That's our leader, so measured, so calming, so responsible.

I'd feel more secure being governed by Trump's putter.

Make It a Mocktail—She's Sober

 

The Threat

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I live in a mother-in-law apartment just outside Seattle. A straight couple in their 30s rent the house next door to me, and we're friendly when we see each other.

He works for a tree service, and recently he drove home in a great honking truck. A few days later, as he tinkered in his garage, I went over to joke with him about getting to drive the company car. His partner was there, but she headed in the house.

Then she came back. Then she returned to the house. Then she reappeared in the garage, and made a point of placing her hand on his shoulder.

All I could think later was, "Oh honey, don't worry about me. First, I could be his mother. Second, I don't go for breaking up relationships. Third, and most importantly, I'm gay."

In fact, I'm the least threatening female neighbor she could have. Perhaps I should demand a stipend.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

Apprenticeships, electricians, plumbers — we need more of those in our country and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University and that’s what this administration’s position is.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt

Source: Yahoo News

Inspired Idea

 

Trump Rises Below the Fray

Image:  Wikipedia

Donald Trump views American holidays as a chance to inflame, and on this Memorial Day he didn't disappoint.

"HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL LEFT MINDS," Trump posted.

He called Joe Biden "AN INCOMPETENT PRESIDENT," and attacked judges who "SUFFER FROM AN IDEOLOGY THAT IS SICK, AND VERY DANGEROUS FOR OUR COUNTRY."

This is how he chose to honor those who've died in service to our nation. I assume that on the Fourth of July he'll call for the lynching of Big Bird.

Reminder

 

Mean M. T. Greene

Image:  Wikipedia

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Batshit-GA) has reintroduced her bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and make it harder to access gender-affirming care for transgender adults.

The "Protect Children's Innocence Act" would make it a felony for doctors to treat trans youth. It would also ban federal funds from being used for gender-affirming care, ban medical schools from teaching about that care, and ban anyone who's offered such care from immigrating to the USA.

Thorough, but the relentless conspiracy theorist did miss one thing. So nobody tell her about the transgender space lasers.

Need a Laugh Today?

 

This Week's Quote

Image by Vilius Kukanauskas from Pixabay

Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.

E. B. White

Source: BrainyQuote

Civil Wrongs

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

The Advocate reports that a far-right federal judge in Texas has determined that LGBTQ people are no longer protected from workplace discrimination.

The ruling of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk flies in the face of the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. In that landmark case, the justices ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

If you felt a weird twinge at a staff meeting recently, that was Judge Kacsmaryk telling you your job is on the line. And you thought it was just the lousy office coffee.

May 17

 

Staying the Course

Image:  Facebook

The first evidence is in.

Today the shiny new pope affirmed that the family is founded on the "stable union between a man and a woman." Pope Leo XIV allayed fears among conservative Catholics that he might expand his predecessor's outreach to LGBTQ Catholics. He also affirmed traditional Catholic teaching on abortion.

I assume he got all that out of the way early so he can concentrate on advocating for peace and the rights of, well, other people.

Apparently we're several pontiffs away from seeing the Catholic Church embrace queer folks. But when that pope arrives, she'll be terrific.

This Week's Quote

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

President Donald Trump’s new pick for surgeon general wrote in a recent book that people should consider using unproven psychedelic drugs as therapy and in a newsletter suggested her use of mushrooms helped her find a romantic partner.

Michelle R. Smith

Source:  The Associated Press

Question of the Moment

 

Rally Round

Image:  Facebook

Under the guise of encouraging political neutrality, the states of Utah and Idaho banned all but a handful of flags at schools and government buildings. But everyone knew the main objective was to put the kibosh on Pride flags.

Last week, Salt Lake City and Boise announced a helluva workaround.

Both adopted new city flags. Salt Lake stuck the city's emblem, a sego lily, atop the rainbow flag and the transgender flag. Boise declared the rainbow flag an official city flag.

Making the situation even more touchy is the fact that Salt Lake and Boise are the capital cities of their states. So conservative lawmakers will regularly eyeball these flapping symbols of urban defiance.

Somewhere Betsy Ross is placing monstrously large bets.

Ach Ja

 

Phew

Image:  Facebook

The cardinals have chosen a new pope. White smoke is rising from the Sistine Chapel's chimney.

I'm just glad it's not orange smoke.

This Week's Quote

 

Image:  Wikipedia

If you have to make laws to hurt a group of people just to prove your morals and faith, then you have no true morals or faith to prove.

George Takei

Source:  AZ Quotes

Our Own Harshest Critics?

 

The Anti-Trump Wave

Image by Angelo Giordano from Pixabay

Over the weekend, Anthony Albanese capped a dramatic comeback against conservatives to win a second term as Australia's prime minister. Voters' concern over Donald Trump was a significant factor—just as it had been days earlier in Canada, with similar results.

I'm digging this anti-Trump sentiment abroad. In fact, I'd love to import some to this country, but who can afford the tariffs?

Twine Whine

Image by Raquel Candia from Pixabay

I'm interrupting this period of general American calamity to bring you my moment of specific lesbionic misery.

Three players on my WNBA team have now torn their ACLs and will be out for the season, before the season's even begun.

All right, it doesn't rate compared to the demise of due process, civil rights, and checks and balances. But I was relying on a strong Seattle Storm team to serve as my essential distraction from Trump World.

Those players' knees have no regard for my mental health.

President #9

 

Aiming High

Image:  Facebook

"I’d like to be pope," Donald Trump told reporters this week. "That would be my number one choice."

That was allegedly a joke. Sen. Lindsey Graham followed with his own bootlicking frivolity on X, urging the papal conclave to keep an open mind, and noting the "first Pope-U.S. President combination has many upsides."

Given Trump's endless need to feed his ego, he might just skip pope and declare himself God. And the servile Graham would declare, "It's true! I saw him turn wine into ketchup!"