This Week's Quote

The president says that, if Republicans win the House and Senate in this fall’s midterm elections, all Americans will receive $5,000.

Jill Colvin reporting on Donald Trump offering bribes to voters

Source:  The Associated Press

The Great Discombobulation

Image:  Facebook

Donald Trump's recent sulky move to change Lake Ontario to Lake America reminded me of something I learned in sixth grade that has stayed with me all these years.

The way to remember the names of all five Great Lakes is to use an acronym. HOMES stands for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

Thanks to our leader's peevishness, that no longer works. HAMES? Please. I'd have forgotten that before the start of seventh grade.

Now that I look at the letter change forced by President Petulant, however, I do see one variation that is painfully apt:  SHAME.

That Fits

 

Goodbye, Gloria

Image:  Facebook

Well, I'm in pain. I just learned one of my personal heroes has died.

I first heard Gloria Steinem speak when I was in high school, approximately 6,000 years ago. Her guts, her humor, her ability to voice what hadn't been voiced before—all of it made a deep impression on me.

In tribute, I give her the last word:  "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

I served on Senate Armed Services for 8 years and as chair or ranking member of the Personnel and Readiness subcommittee. I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country. He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis on Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth

Source:  X

Ta-Ta

Image:  Facebook

Over the last few days in LGBTQ circles, the word "schadenfreude" has cropped up. It means feeling joy at the pain of someone else. It's a German word, but it's pronounced "Milo Yiannopoulos."

Yes, the far-right British provocateur, an enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, was arrested by ICE on Thursday and deported to the U.K. on Friday.

This is top-notch irony, and a fitting end for a fella whose obvious need to be the center of attention caused boatloads of pain.

Yiannopoulos, with all the obnoxiousness he could muster as a writer and speaker, mocked feminism, Islam, transgender rights, and was banned from Facebook and Twitter. All while being openly gay. With his peroxided locks and earrings, he staked out far-right territory that made the Log Cabin Republicans look like Jane Fonda.

In 2017 Yiannopoulos married his boyfriend. In 2021 he declared he was no longer gay and his husband had been "demoted to housemate."

Britain, this ball of sunshine is yours again. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to live in England the day before Yiannopoulos was arrested. I assume you wanted them back. Just think of Milo as the accompanying booby prize.

Our Leader

Image:  Facebook

Trade talks with Canada collapsed, so Donald Trump decided to make the situation worse by ordering that Lake Ontario now be called Lake America.

A child displaying this level of petulance would normally be put in time-out.

He Meant the World to Queer and Different Kids

 

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.

Dolly Parton

Source:  BrainyQuote

Missed By Both Red and Blue

 

The Latest Looloo

Image:  Pixabay

Donald Trump flew to South Carolina on Friday to stump for Darline Graham in the Republican Senate primary run-off.

At a Myrtle Beach rally, Trump had something to tell the crowd about transgender people. "In fact, hospitals now are doing reverse surgery at my order," he announced. "They’re doing reverse surgery. Nobody ever heard about it."

There you are. Because the president has demanded it, hospital administrators around the nation are rushing into the streets with butterfly nets to capture trans folks and force them onto the operating table.

It ain't happening. The putz made it up.

The Advocate theorizes that Trump got confused. In settlements, his Justice Department forced two major hospitals to fund voluntary detransition services.

Whether confused or happily lying, Trump aimed for his party's North Star:  transphobic hysterics. As midterms draw nearer, expect him to blame trans people for inflation, soaring gas prices, and earwax.

The Pivot That Refreshes

 

He's Gonna Hate This

This Week's Quote

Image by Mirko Grisendi from Pixabay

BREAKING: trump becomes the first president in history to have a lower approval rating than felony convictions.

Covie, after Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Trump's approval rating falls to 33%

Source:  X

Meet and Retreat

 

Nutjob From the Nutmeg State

Image:  Ballotpedia

Tuesday's primaries may feel like ancient history now, but you should know about one candidate who thought calling for the execution of LGBTQ people was a winning strategy.

Jadon MacCormack ran in the Republican primary for a seat in the Connecticut legislature. Along the way, MacCormack said in a radio interview, "I believe that every sodomite is a pervert," and perverts should get the death penalty.

MacCormack noted he doesn't want individuals to take it upon themselves to execute queers. No, the government should be in charge of that. How restrained of him.

Just imagine the 4th of July festivities in the Connecticut capital of Hartford:  parades, concerts, and public hangings.

MacCormack got some votes, but he lost the primary. Since the Christian podcaster also believes Catholicism is a false religion, the Salem witch trials were morally justified, and Israel worships the devil, he should just ditch politics and appoint himself Grand Inquisitor.

Much easier, and a cool title.

If the Shoe Fits

Credit:  Tyson Cole

This Week's Quote

Image by David Rinehart from Pixabay

Nancy Mace called any elected Islamic official "a threat to America." She's volunteered to check bathroom stalls not just for trans people but Muslims as well. She says, "I can hear a Muslim flush. They can't be allowed to use our hand dryers and soap dispensers. Not on my watch."

Paul Rudnick

Source:  X

Today's PSA

 

Pet Peeve

Image by Ilona Krijgsman from Pixabay

It strikes me as unlikely that you need another reason to detest our president.

I'm gonna give you one anyway.

In a recent newsletter, an animal shelter here in western Washington described the problem thus:  "Economic woes are playing a dramatic role in increased intakes and longer lengths of stay for animals at shelters. Shelters are struggling to keep up, and it’s getting more difficult by the day to sustain operations while adhering" to a no-kill policy.

In other words, inflation and the cost of living under Trump have made it scary hard for people to keep their pets, and shelters around the nation are floundering.

I defy any lesbian who reads this to get a wink of sleep tonight.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

One of Scouting America’s biggest gatherings has eliminated dedicated spaces for gay youth, women and scouts of color as the organization faces pressure from the Pentagon to pull back diversity efforts.

Jamie Stengle

Source:  The Associated Press

Guess

 

As It Should Be

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

Later today I'll be officiating the wedding of my nephew and his girlfriend.

I'm so glad straight people are allowed to marry, too.

This Week's Quote

Image by artsysolomon from Pixabay

Original thought is like original sin:  both happened before you were born to people you could not possibly have met.

Fran Lebowitz

Source:  The Fran Lebowitz Reader

Wish I'd Thought of This

 

Hate Crime Hell

Image:  Facebook

I was just settling in to watch the WNBA All-Star Game—thereby proving my lesbian bona fides—when a friend texted me about likely homophobic violence in Germany today.

A person or persons drove a vehicle into a crowd at a Berlin Pride event. One individual has died and 16 people have been injured.

I'm sure all the victims would've preferred a less painful way to prove their LGBTQ bona fides.

Couldn't Choose Just One

 

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

We had this ridiculous CHIPS Act where you give billions of dollars to a company, and they didn't even know what the hell to do with it . . . And of course, the standards were so high if you weren't transgender, as an example, uh, you didn't qualify. So they get the money, they hired— they look all over for transgender people to run the company, large portions. They couldn't find them. They weren't into the chip business, I guess.

In a July 15 speech in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump gets the bends on dry land, claiming that a technology law his predecessor signed requires chip manufacturers to hire transgender executives

Source: The Advocate

More Than a Dummkopf

Image by karlherl from Pixabay

Jens Spahn, a bigwig German conservative politician, has long opposed surrogacy, which is banned in his country.

Spahn said in 2015 that "as a gay man and a Christian, I find it personally very hard to warm to the idea of a rented womb."

Recently he got over his misgivings, as he and his husband not only rented a womb but furnished it.

The womb belonged to an American, an option European gay couples exercise to get around restrictions in their countries. (So expect Donald Trump to slap a tariff on American uteruses.)

Baby Georg was born to Spahn and his husband. The latter posted an Instagram picture of the couple, with Spahn pushing a stroller, captioned "We Are Family." Spahn told a German publication, "Georg is our greatest joy. This feeling is almost impossible to put into words."

Fellow conservatives had no trouble putting criticism into words, and his political opponents sang out the word "hypocrisy." The strudel hit the fan, and on Saturday Spahn resigned.

In his resignation letter, Spahn wrote, "Over the ‌past few days, I have come to realize that my personal happiness — starting a family with my husband and becoming a father — is incompatible with my ​political office."

I speak some German, but I regret that I don't know how to say, "Dude, duh."

The Force Was With Her

 

Change of Plan

Image by InspiredImages from Pixabay

I genuinely intended to watch Donald Trump spew election lies last night. But when the moment arrived, I just couldn't face it, and I turned to much lighter television instead.

I chose Looney Tunes over loony tunes.

This Week's Quote

Image by kalhh from Pixabay

The writer E. Jean Carroll has collected over $5.6 million that a jury awarded in her sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump, court records and her lawyers said.

Jennifer Peltz

Source:  The Associated Press

The Grim Peeper

 

Lindsey, You Hardly Knew Ye

Image:  Facebook

As a rule, I don't assign gayness to somebody unless that person has confirmed it.

Except in the case of Lindsey Graham. I believe the Republican senator, who died suddenly last night at 71, was gayer than Liberace's candelabra.

Graham consistently denied being gay, and he did his home state of South Carolina proud by voting against queer rights early and often. After the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, Graham announced,"I am a proud defender of traditional marriage."

While thinking to himself, "As God is my witness, I shall find my Rhett Butler."

But the hypocrisy of "Lady G" in this arena actually bothers me less than what came later. While briefly chasing the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Graham called Donald Trump a "race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot" and "unfit for office."

Turned out he was more right than he knew. But after Trump won the presidency, Graham performed a transformation that any drag queen would envy. He became Trump's adviser, golfing buddy, and robust defender. 

On the night of Jan. 6, 2021, after the attack on the Capitol, Graham announced dramatically on the Senate floor, "Count me out. Enough is enough." But that was the adrenaline talking, and the senator soon returned to Yorkshire Terrier status.

Trump has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff this week. He said Graham "was like a member of the family to me."

If that's not the sorriest epitaph I've ever heard, I'm a palmetto tree.

Pressing Question

 

The Unwell

 

Credit:  Joel Pett

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

Let's hope Donald is just as successful in his attempts to rig the midterms as he was in his attempt to rig the World Cup.

Alex Cole

Source:  X

Only Way I Can Explain It

Image:  Wikipedia

Lots of folks have an opinion on the rape allegation against Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner. Even former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

"The one thing I know about Republicans: When we had a very bad candidate and found out, we didn’t vote for that person. We walked away," McCarthy said on Fox News.

Sad. Obviously ol' Kev has early Alzheimer's.

The Rainbow Reaction

 

The GG Question

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

It's here, the 250th birthday of the United States. If you're American, how do you feel about our country today? (If you're not, feel free to comment, too. Like I would leave anybody out on a day celebrating democracy.)

Rocking the Boat

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

A long-planned gay cruise in the Mediterranean has hit a whirlpool.

Provincial officials in Turkey have denied the cruise ship permission to dock next week, citing groups on board "known for behaviors that do not align with the structure of our society and our moral values."

Safe to assume they're not talking about vegetarians.

It turns out that Broadway superstar Patti LuPone is performing on board, and Evita isn't happy. "A ship—a magnificent ship—full of well-heeled gay men. And me. Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board," she wrote on Facebook.

The Turks had best beware. In ancient times, Greek goddesses held sway there. But their wrath was nothing compared to a modern diva.