This Week's Quote

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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

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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.

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

 

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.

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

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

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

Riley Gaines just swam the DC reflecting pool and came in fifth, right after the algae.

Paul Rudnick

Source:  X

Lordy

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Even by Trumpian standards, this one was bananas.

In the Oval Office on Thursday, Donald Trump declared that states are snatching people's children and forcing them to transition.

"Where your child leaves your house, and they take your child from you, in some cases . . .  Think of it, in six states, they take the child and do what they want to do. What they do is, is— I don’t even want to talk about it! No transgender mutilization of your children."

That's not a typo. He really said "mutilization."

I know it's easy to say our president is a buffoon, but now he actually sounds just like Moe Howard of The Three Stooges, who often threatened, "I'll murderize you!"

Why, I wonder, have states gotten in the habit of kidnapping and performing surgery on kids? Is it a moneymaker, a way of paying for roads and bridges? Or do state officials simply like to dress up as the Child Catcher in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?"

Trump failed to mention which six states are doing this dreadful thing. So I'm forced to guess:  East Dakota, Upper Carolina, Lower Slobbovia, Calisota, Missitucky, and Moosylvania.

And they should all be ashamed of themselves.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

Mace arrived in Congress after flipping a Charleston-area district in 2020 and built a reputation as a moderate who appealed to swing voters. She voted to codify same-sex marriage rights, called herself "pro transgender rights" and urged her party to "meet in the middle" with Democrats on abortion. By last year, Mace had begun repeatedly mocking transgender people as "trannies" and disparaged gay relationships on social media. In recent days, Mace suggested a Republican opponent in the governor’s race came from "a slum in India."

Natalie Allison on Rep. Nancy Mace's dismal finish yesterday in South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial primary

Source:  The Washington Post

The Cat's Meow

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At the Tony Awards on Sunday, Qween Jean captured the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, and that made her the first ever openly transgender Tony winner.

Reading about her triumph, I realized Jean is every single thing the Trump administration hates. The show she worked on, "Cats: The Jellicle Ball," draws from ballroom culture. Jean is also an activist, having founded an outreach organization called Black Trans Liberation. And, she was born in Haiti.

A Black, transgender, activist, immigrant theater artist. I guess a celebratory Big Mac at the White House is out of the question.

Attuned to June

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Republican governors are trying their hand at rebranding a certain month.

In Tennessee and Indiana, June is Nuclear Family Month. In Utah and Arkansas, it's Fidelity Month. In Alabama, it's Strong Families Month.

In the case of the latter, the governor seized on Father's Day, proclaiming fathers are "the head of the household." Alabama's governor is a woman.

This obvious attempt to replace LGBQT Pride has me pondering what the Strong Nuclear Faithful Family parades will look like.

I suppose the floats will be sponsored by Pampers and Huggies. Marching teenagers will hand out purity pledge cards. Adults will toss biblical tracts on traditional marriage, traditional gender roles, and traditional tradition to the crowd. At points along the parade route, men will testify how Jesus saved them from pornography.

An hour of that and sheer boredom will drive people across town to the queer parade.

Balance in 2026

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

Yesterday evening I volunteered at a fundraiser for a group that helps transgender people with limited means flee red states and move here to western Washington.

The event highlighted an inherent tension in the group's efforts. With all the official and unofficial threats against trans folks right now, the group considers secrecy paramount. But fundraisers require publicity. How the hell do you publicize an event you can't talk about?

The answer is very carefully, and I'm pleased to say the room was mostly full last night. But obviously we could've brought in many more donors with unshackled publicity. It's a tough balance to strike.

One attendee told me she wanted to shout out before the program began, "Will the FBI informant please stand up and leave?" I would've added, "Please donate before you go!"

We Miss You, Jill

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As you well know, the Trump administration has labored to roll back gay rights and to destroy transgender people.

The cavernous difference between this administration and the previous one jumped out at me as I read that former First Lady Jill Biden attended The LGBT Community Center's Dinner in New York City last week. Apparently she's such a fan of "Heated Rivalry," the gay hockey series, that she bid $35,000 for a walk-on role.

She lost. We know how she feels.

The queer community, in a short amount of time, has gone from being supported to being vilified by Washington. We have whiplash like we were checked into the boards by a toothless enforcer from Saskatchewan.

Boise, Master of Workarounds

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The flag feud in the Gem State continues.

In a bid to stifle expressions of queerdom last year, the Idaho state legislature passed a law banning cities from flying flags not on the sanctioned list. To sidestep that, the city of Boise then adopted the Pride flag as an official city flag.

This year the state responded by imposing fines of $2,000 per day for any naughty flags. The governor signed that bill into law on March 31, and that day Boise's Pride flag came down.

But the city said, "Hold my (craft) beer."

Rainbow colors now wrap flagpoles. Boise City Hall is illuminated in rainbow accent lighting, and features a rainbow-stripe sign that reads "Creating a city for everyone."

Well-played, Boise. So, is it a stalemate? Or will the Idaho legislature try to outlaw rainbows? Stay tuned for the next episode of "As the Flag Flaps."

That Tracks

 

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

After missing its recruitment goals, the U.S. Army is now raising its max enlistment age to 42 and removing its waiver requirement for a single marijuana possession.

Gosh... if only thousands of highly qualified trans soldiers hadn't been kicked out last year for no good reason.

Charlotte Clymer

Source: X

The 2026 Notion of a Silver Lining

 

Petty Theft

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When Joe Biden nominated her to be assistant secretary for health, Dr. Rachel Levine became the first transgender person to win Senate confirmation. She led the Public Health Corps, which comes with the title of admiral.

Now the Trump administration has rewritten history and busted her down to the poop deck.

On the seventh floor of HHS headquarters, the line of photographic portraits of all the past leaders of the Public Health Corps still includes Levine—but not her legal name. Instead HHS went to the trouble, during the shutdown, of deadnaming her.

Donald Trump's people know how to be petty. They've learned from the best.

Maybe That's Now an After-School Activity