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!"