Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

So many bastards, so little time.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

People are weird.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

It’s possible to be a liberal firebrand without crapping on the party.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Let me file that under fuck it.

Giving in to doom is how authoritarians win.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Stay strong, because they are weak.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

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Heartening News Out of New York (via Jay Kuo)

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Heartening News Out of New York (via Jay Kuo)

Really heartening news out of New York.  (Jay Kuo)

Last night I was asked to speak on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign at the Stonewall National Monument, the site where the modern day LGBTQ+ civil rights movement first began in 1969.

Stonewall is known the world over because it was here that the people of my community, led by trans and drag queen protesters, finally said “no more” to continued police harassment and brutality. Stonewall was a riot that lasted for days, and it marked a turning point from which we have never looked back.

But our fight is far from over.

This week, the federal government ordered the Pride flag to be taken down from the Stonewall National Monument, citing technical reasons for not allowing it to fly. But we all know what this really was: a targeted attack on our community, just as they did earlier by erasing all mention of trans people from the monument’s own website.

Local and state leaders in New York, along with activists, swung into action. On Thursday, they re-raised the Pride flag in a bold act of defiance.

Then yesterday, the White House doubled down, saying it would move to remove it once more.

Congressional lawmakers, including Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Dan Goldman from New York, then stepped up with a bold and welcome response: legislation authorizing and approving the Pride flag as a nationally recognized one. This would allow it to fly in the spot where it most belongs—at Stonewall—no matter the politics or hate coming out of D.C.

I’ve had differences with Sen. Schumer on other matters, but when it comes to our LGBTQ+ community, of which his own daughter is a member, he has been rock solid: pushing through the Respect for Marriage Act, championing the Equality Act, and now introducing this Pride flag recognition along with Rep. Goldman as his House counterpart.

Click the link to see the remarks from Jay Kuo.

Open thread.

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  • Another Scott
  • ArchTeryx
  • artem1s
  • Baud
  • Belafon
  • Boris Rasputin (The Evil Twin)
  • cain
  • Capri
  • Citizen Alan
  • danielx
  • frosty
  • geg6
  • Geminid
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  • jonas
  • JoyceH
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  • Ohio Mom
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    48Comments

    1. 1.

      WaterGirl

      I hope the legislation passes.  How sad that we have to legislate against a bigoted and hateful administration.  Vote them out.

      Reply
    3. 3.

      kindness

      Trump2.0 is going to go after Obergefell and then they are going after Lawrence.  They’ll not only illegalize gay marriage but they’ll also illegalize gay sex.  Ain’t it odd that so many people who claim to be the best Christians ever seem to hate what Jesus preached.  Go figure.  Let’s not fool ourselves though, eventually they’ll go for Griswold and then we’ll all lose our right of privacy.

      Reply
    5. 5.

      ArchTeryx

      @WaterGirl: They’ve already tried multiple times but so far the Sinister Six refuses to take a case that revisits Obergefell or Griswold. But we know evil never sleeps and never quits trying.

      Reply
    7. 7.

      laura

      @geg6: Roadie Brother the Younger got to visit with Robert Duvall just a couple few months ago and said that he was just a kind and gracious man, especially knowing his remaining time was short.

      For me, he is and will always be Boo Radley and Tom Hagen. He leaves an impressive body of work.

      Reply
    9. 9.

      cain

      @ArchTeryx: They know that it would create huge ruptures and cause things to go even more insane. I mean now you have marriages being disrupted where some states will recognize and not recognize your marriage to your non-white spouse or LGBTQ+ partner.

      They could have gotten away with it in the 80s but we are much more interconnected than we were before.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      ArchTeryx

      @cain: Yeah it basically would be the final nail in the coffin for reciprocity. Everything would then depend on what state border you were behind. EVERYTHING. Including all your rights.

      Reply
    12. 12.

      Boris Rasputin (The Evil Twin)

      I’ve wondered what Clarence Thomas would do if “Virginia v. Loving” was revisited. It would be disgraceful, no doubt.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      Citizen Alan

      @cain: IIRC, the first case in Mississippi to address gay marriage pre-Obergefell had to grapple with resolving property and custody results in a divorce in a gay marriage performed in a different state.

      Reply
    18. 18.

      jonas

      @zhena gogolia:  I’ll vote for The Apostle. So amazing.

      100% agree. IIRC, he wrote, directed, and financed that film entirely himself. No major studio was interested. Absolutely riveting performance.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      Capri

      @kindness:  Along those lines. They are always trying to get passages from the bible posted in public spaces, but never the scripture that Jesus actually said. Because those are the opposite of what they want.

      Reply
    21. 21.

      lamh47

      Hi BJ!

      Been long time.  Been spending the past 3 months moving back to DFW.  Restablishing residency in Texas and getting used to new job and settling in with friends and my sister and stuff.

      I’m mostly good now and ready to get back to a more scaled version of social media interactions.

      Also with my 50th birthday coming this year, I’m planning, planning, planning a big 50th trip to South Africa for the week of Thanksgiving this year! (Any suggestions, recommendations welcome from Juicers who’ve planned and been)

      Anyhoo, just wanted to come to say, family is good, work is good, health is good.  Political environment…ugh…

      Reply
    25. 25.

      Karen Gail

      Loved this comment:

      I heard that the USA is holding a Presidents’ Day Clearance Sale today. They’re offering him, FREE of charge, with FREE shipping & absolutely NO returns. And not surprisingly, so far, there’s been no takers!!!!

      Reply
    26. 26.

      VeniceRiley

      My trumpiest normie elder sister denied he was after me until her dying day. They. Don’t. Care.

      Me? I’m clear eyed, and would like my spouse to get my social security if I die. I’d also like Medicare abroad, since I already splashed out for the program for decades. And a unicorn or Clearance Thomas size motor home gift from Leonard Leo.

      Reply
    27. 27.

      JoyceH

      Welp, my plans for today and perhaps tomorrow have just been shelved. I went out to go down the drive to bring up the trash bin and pick up the mail – and there’s a tree down right across the driveway. So my current project is looking for tree removal services.

      Reply
    29. 29.

      Another Scott

      @Boris Rasputin (The Evil Twin): With the caveat that IANAL…

      FedSoc.org (yes, that FedSoc):

      Facts of the Case
      Provided by Oyez

      In 1958, two residents of Virginia, Mildred Jeter, a black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man, were married in the District of Columbia. The Lovings returned to Virginia shortly thereafter. The couple was then charged with violating the state’s antimiscegenation statute, which banned inter-racial marriages. The Lovings were found guilty and sentenced to a year in jail (the trial judge agreed to suspend the sentence if the Lovings would leave Virginia and not return for 25 years).

      Questions

      Did Virginia’s antimiscegenation law violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

      Conclusions

      Yes. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that distinctions drawn according to race were generally “odious to a free people” and were subject to “the most rigid scrutiny” under the Equal Protection Clause. The Virginia law, the Court found, had no legitimate purpose “independent of invidious racial discrimination.” The Court rejected the state’s argument that the statute was legitimate because it applied equally to both blacks and whites and found that racial classifications were not subject to a “rational purpose” test under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court also held that the Virginia law violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. “Under our Constitution,” wrote Chief Justice Earl Warren, “the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State.”

      (Emphasis added.)

      How to get around that??

      Easy. peasy – maybe – just say the 14th Amendment is unconstitutional or somehow doesn’t apply…

      Grr…

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    30. 30.

      jonas

      @Geminid: My theory is that Clarence Thomas wants overturn Loving because he’s a strict Catholic and that’s the only way he can rid himself of Ginni.

      His marriage could be dissolved civilly (is that a word? -ed.), but unfortunately, he’d still be married in the eyes of the church as long as his spouse were alive.  No outsies there.

      Reply
    33. 33.

      jonas

      @Another Scott: I recall that the Virginia trial judge argued, in part, that anti-miscgenation laws were legit because in the Bible God apportioned the earth between different races after Noah’s flood and so obviously didn’t want them mixing.

      Reply
    36. 36.

      Another Scott

      Meanwhile, in the Elections Have Consequences File … BlueVirginia.US:

      RICHMOND, VA — Governor Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement after both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates passed legislation that would incrementally increase the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by January 1, 2028.

      […]

      RICHMOND, VA — Today, Virginia House Democrats passed HB5, a top priority to expand paid sick leave protections to workers across the Commonwealth. The bill extends Virginia’s existing earned sick leave law to cover employees of private employers and state and local governments, allowing workers to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. HB5 ensures accrued sick leave is not lost when a worker is transferred or their employer changes, allows employers to offer more generous policies, and permits workers to use earned sick leave to care for their health, support a family member, or address situations involving domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The bill includes clear enforcement standards and a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.
      “HB5 is about making sure working Virginians don’t have to choose between their health and their paycheck,” said Del. Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler. “This bill sets a clear, fair standard so workers can take care of themselves and their families, while giving employers time to prepare and flexibility to do more if they choose.”

      […]

      Good, good.

      Forward!!

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    39. 39.

      rikyrah

      @kindness:

      Trump2.0 is going to go after Obergefell and then they are going after Lawrence.  They’ll not only illegalize gay marriage but they’ll also illegalize gay sex

       

      true, but, I don’t think they will succeed.

      Reply
    40. 40.

      lowtechcyclist

      @Another Scott:

      Looks like both houses of the VA legislature passed separate bills for both paid sick leave and the $15 minimum wage.  Good news indeed!

      (ETA: looks like that’s what you said, but I initially read it as Gov. Spanberger making a statement about a sick-leave bill in response to the legislature having passed a minimum-wage bill. I was confused!)

      I like their SL approach of earning 1 hour of SL for every 30 hours worked – that way it applies equally to part-time as well as full-time workers.

      Reply
    47. 47.

      Ohio Mom

      @jonas: You can get Catholic marriage annulled, my SIL did after her first marriage went kablooey.

      It involved writing reams and reams of directed self-reflection. She was a newspaper reporter and so was not intimidated by the large amount of writing required. IIRC, her ex did not participate (for all I know, he might not have been Catholic).

      Though I imagine there would be a certain awkwardness for public figures like Clarence and Gini Thomas petitioning for an annulment.

      Reply
    48. 48.

      artem1s

      @laura: It tickled me to death that Billy Bob Thornton cast Duvall as the father in Sling Blade. I referred to them as Bizarro Boo Radley and Son for a long time after that movie came out.

      Reply

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