Foreign Service?

Image:  Facebook

JD Vance flew to Budapest to endorse Hungarian president Viktor Orbán in his re-election bid, but the strongman lost in a landslide.

Vance flew to Pakistan to lead American peace talks with Iran, but failed to achieve peace.

If Vance flies to Cuba, may it be just for salsa lessons.

Why, Exactly?

Image:  Facebook

Why is the U.S. bombing Iran?

By way of justification, Donald Trump claimed Iran was building nuclear missiles that could "soon" reach the U.S., an assessment his own government contradicted. He also indicated he wants regime change, which he said he'd never pursue with American lives.

Other potential explanations being bandied about include this is Trump's method of distracting from the Epstein files; Iran has so much oil; we're doing the bidding of Israel; he wants to create a crisis so he can declare a national emergency.

Since the reasons are unclear, I'll throw in another possibility. As a lame duck president and with his poll numbers shrinking, Trump is done seeking Americans' approval, and wants to reshape the Middle East permanently into the countries of Israel, United Donald Junior, Eric Emirates, Ivankastine, Tiffany Arabia, and Bahrain Barron.

The Trump Truth

Image:  Facebook

On the night he was re-elected president, Donald Trump told supporters he was "not going to start a war, I'm going to stop wars."

That was about 16 months ago. Since then, the "peace president" has launched military operations across three continents, culminating now in trying to bomb Iran into regime change.

Trump has turned out to be more interventionist than Ann Landers.

When Your Closet Is a Locker Room

Image:  Facebook

How about some good news for a change? Good gay news at that. I might even charge you for the dopamine hit.

After being inspired by the smash HBO Max series "Heated Rivalry" about male hockey rivals-turned-lovers, actual hockey player Jesse Korteum came out. He wrote on Facebook earlier this month of growing up the youngest of four boys in hockey-crazed Minnesota. "I loved the game, but I lived with a persistent fear. I wondered how I could be gay and still play such a tough and masculine sport," wrote Korteum.

Tough and masculine. Yes, I assume his dance card will be full in gay bars from Mankato to Manitoba.

Australian former pro basketball player AJ Ogilvy also came out recently in a video chat. The guy he was chatting with, Isaac Humphries, came out as gay while playing in the Australian league in 2022, and Ogilvy credited Humphries with giving him the courage, saying it was "hugely beneficial to have someone of your stature and attitude be able to step forward and say this is who you are."

Fans noted "Heated Rivalry" may've also had something to do with Ogilvy's revelation. What we know for sure is media representation matters, and individual athletes coming out matters.

I'm feeling greedy, so I hope at next month's Winter Olympics we'll be treated to more male athletes coming out. Flamboyant American former figure skater Johnny Weir will be in Milan to commentate on skating, but perhaps he could have a side hustle:  "Oh, yesterday a Canadian bobsledder came out, and today it's a Dutch speed skater! I'm not allowed to mention how good they both look in Lycra, so I'll just say they can go for my gold anytime!"

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

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.

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.

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.

May 17

 

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?

Tariff Titters

Image:  Facebook

You know about the sweeping tariffs Donald Trump imposed on much of the world this week, and you've probably also seen and heard the jokes about two tiny Antarctic islands landing on Trump's hit list.

The Heard and McDonald Islands are inhabited only by penguins, seals, and seabirds. There are no people or buildings. Yet according to World Bank data, the U.S. imported $1.4 million worth of goods from those islands in 2022.

I assume the people behind the facts and figures at the World Bank and the Trump administration are blunderers. If not, those penguins and seals work like Trojans.

This Week's Quote

Image by cmccarthy2001 from Pixabay

Okay, I’ve gotta call time. Trump just claimed America split the atom. That’s THE ONE THING WE DID.

New Zealand satirist Ben Uffindell after Trump's inaugural address

Source:  The Guardian

Here He Comes

Image by Waldryano from Pixabay

It's challenging for me to believe in a God. But here on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration, I figure any port in a storm.

So America and the planet survive the next four years, I'm pleading for divine assistance from Jesus, Allah, Vishnu, Buddha, the Great Spirit, Yahweh, Isis, Zeus, Odin and the spirit of Betty White.

A Turkey From Turkey

Image by Hüseyin Sevgi from Pixabay

Alarmed by his country's tumbling birthrate, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday declared 2025 the "Year of the Family."

The longtime authoritarian leader bemoaned rising divorce rates and people getting married later in life. And he blamed queer people, portraying the LGBTQ movement as part of a foreign conspiracy aimed at undermining his country.

He can't blame me. At the last meeting, I argued it was Liechtenstein we should undermine, but does anyone listen to me?

World Dyke Day

Image:  Freepik

Today, Oct. 8, is International Lesbian Day.

According to Wikipedia, the day is celebrated mainly in New Zealand and Australia. But it's already Oct. 9 there.

As if being a lesbian isn't confusing enough.