Bobservations

So, in our exciting lives, we had the gutters replaced and the next project is to remove the two skylights in the sunroom as one leaks in a bad storm—and you can’t really ever totally fix that—and one has a broken seal. And as the sunroom has windows at the top of the vaulted ceiling and is surrounded by four sets of sliding doors, we don’t need the extra glass.

So, our contractor Craig came by to talk about it and Carlos met him in the yard. As I entered our living room I saw Carlos and Craig standing outside the sunroom on the deck. Carlos wanted me to come outside so he knocked on the glass.

Not a knock-knock, or knock-knock-knock but a literal knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock- knock-knock-knock until I came to the door dropping a series of F-bombs along the way. I opened the slider:

“What?”

“Carig was talking about the roof.”

“And you felt the need to knock a thousand times?”

“I didn’t know if you heard.”

“Oh, I heard and I planned your death several times while walking toward the door.”

And then Craig chimed in:

“If I wanted to listen to two bitches bicker I would have stayed home and had a second cup of coffee with my wife.”

I never knew Craig was so funny. It made our day!

Tuxedo takes after his daddy because, as he notes, if you want to effect change: CAST A GODDAMNED VOTE! 

Again, the smartest cat ever!

Just the idea of walking down a beach and finding double-decker cakes on display! Yeeeeeee-haw!

I have several irrational fears … claustrophobia … being buried alive … trapped in the rubble of a tornado devastated home … sinkholes ... and a fear of heights.

I love being up high; love tall buildings with walls and railings to keep me from tumbling over; but looking over the edge of a cliff, or for the love of the goddess standing, on a steel I-beam during construction of a high rise? Bitch, please.

So I had seen photos of the construction workers in the 30s taking their lunch breaks sitting on an I-beam at the top of the Chrysler building and  just this week I saw this:

My knees are still quivering.

Consuelo is making a rare appearance this week looking like a perfect angel.

A perfect angel who woke me at 6:15AM to feed her … which I did … and then when Other Daddy crawled out of bed at 7:15AM she told him that she hadn’t been fed and was starving.

Evil little bitch.

So The Felon’s DOJ wants Luigi Mangione given the Death Penalty for the murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

Huh; murder a rich CEO and get capital punishment, but murder thousands of regular working-class people to save a few coins on insurance and that’s just business.

Yesterday morning over breakfast, with the news on, I was surprised to learn that Val Kilmer had passed away and said to Carlos:

“Val Kilmer died.”

“Donna Summer died?”

“Yes she did, about ten years ago at least, but this is Val Kilmer.”

“Oh, Val Kilmer.”

Like he knew another Kilmer? Oy.

Asshatted MAGAt Maggot, Indiana GOP Senator Jim Banks told a recently fired HHS worker that he deserved to get fired because he was a clown for asking about getting fired. Then this motherfucker doubled down:

“I won’t apologize for speaking the truth. I 100% support [The Felon] and DOGE’s mission to cut woke spending and government waste.”

Huh, so he doesn’t care about people losing their jobs and is anti-government waste. It makes me wonder about all the wasteful spending done by The Felon to play golf every week. I’m sure Maggot Banks has no issue there so let’s see how Indianans feel come election time and fire this fuck monkey.

Josh Upshaw is a familiar face in Italian Vogue, the CR Fashion Book, and W, as well as working with Steven Meisel for a Versace campaign but Would You Hit It?

The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same …

This week openly gay Congressman Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat, posted a story to Twitter—I refuse to call it X—that emphasized just how different things were for LGBTQ+ people not even three decades ago … and how much the same things are today.

Pocan has a framed pair of rubber gloves in his office due to an incident that occurred in 1995, when he and 49 other out gay elected officials were invited to the White House:

“While serving alongside now-Senator Tammy Baldwin on the Dane County Board of Supervisors in 1995, we were invited to the Clinton White House for a celebration of openly gay elected officials.

We headed to Washington and after some sightseeing, finally got to take a tour of the White House. As we came through the metal detectors, we noticed the security personnel wearing rubber gloves.

This took place shortly after the Oklahoma City Bombing, so we assumed security was taking extra precautions to protect themselves from increased radiation.

Not thinking much of it, we continued through the afternoon of meetings where we ultimately discovered the real reason for the gloves.

The security officials were wearing gloves out of fear that they would contract AIDS from one of the openly gay elected officials visiting the White House.

In 1995, there was still a lot of ignorance surrounding the AIDS epidemic and LGBTQI+ individuals on a larger scale.

Later that evening, Vice President Gore made a point to come around and shake all of our hands, demonstrating that this was not the official position of the Clinton White House.

A few weeks later, I received a signed letter from the president apologizing for what we had encountered at the entrance.

It’s been more than 25 years since that historic meeting of out elected officials at the White House. I held onto the invitation and the apology letter — neither of which said the word “gay” — and still have them framed in my office with a pair of those rubber gloves.

This year as we celebrate LGBTQI+ History Month, I look at them and remember how much progress we’ve made and the work we still have to do.

Whether it’s a pair of gloves, or a slew of educational gag orders seeking to ban conversations on sexual orientation and gender identities, our work to protect LGBTQI+ individuals will not be done until equality is finally and fully realized.”

The Washington Post reported on the incident in 1995 and noted that Secret Service Director Eljay Bowron regretted the “unfortunate actions” of the Secret Service agents, saying it was “not the policy of the Secret Service to wear gloves merely based on known sexual preference,” and promised a “special training session directed specifically at these matters.”

Refusing to touch people in normal and socially accepted ways has long been one of the many microaggressions faced by LGBTQ+ people, whose bodies have often been labeled disgusting or toxic. More than half of the LGBTQ+ respondents to a 2009 Lambda Legal survey on medical discrimination said that they had experienced microaggressions in a medical setting that included, among others, “health care professionals refusing to touch them or using excessive precautions.”

Sidenote: back in the 1990s Carlos was trying to get life insurance and took a physical as part of the process. His doctor called him and told him he needed to come in for a talk. Carlos arrived at the office, the last appointment for the day, and the nurse talked to him from behind the glass partition—he thought it was because the office was closing. He sat and waited to see the doctor and when he was finally called in he sat across the desk from his doctor scarcely looked at him and said:

“I’m sorry, Mr. Harris, you have AIDS and there’s nothing I can do for you.”

And that was it; nothing can be done for you. Carlos got up and left the office while a nurse came in with gloves to clean the chair he sat in, the part of the desk he touched. In the waiting room a nurse was cleaning the doorknobs and the counter and where he sat while waiting to see the doctor.

On the upside, Carlos instantly found a doctor who deals with HIV and was prescribed medications; after we moved to South Carolina, he found a doctor here who is managing his HIV. He is, and has been, undetectable for thirty-plus years.

And these Don’t Say Gay laws and anti-trans laws and banning drag laws are still doing that today, making us feel like we don’t belong, like we are somehow dirty and dangerous and riddled with disease and not worthy of being touched.

The march goes on …

LGBTQ Nation

ISBL Asshat of the Week: Bob Good

Bob Good, a GOP House candidate in central Virginia and a proud graduate of Jerry Falwell‘s Liberty University, is your typical GOP candidate, running and fear and -LGBTQ hate in campaign materials sent to Republican leaders and to clergy. Of note, Good became the GOP nominee after incumbent GOP Denver Riggleman was discovered doing the most horrible thing a Republican can do, other than coming out of the closet: he officiated at a same-sex wedding. 

Clutch.My,Pearls.

Good is trying to scare Virginians into voting for him by lying about a new state law that went into effect on July 1 that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Good’s new campaign terrorism says:

“What happens when a male member of your congregation goes on vacation and returns four weeks later as a female? What do your church bylaws state regarding a man dressed as a woman who attends a church function and expects to use the women’s restroom.”

Hey Bob, you fuckwit, the person dressed as a woman, using the woman’s bathroom, going by female pronouns, IS  a woman.

And you’re an asshat, stoking anti-LIBTQ+ hate and transphobia in your state. And if you’d paid attention to the numbers of trans women being murdered I n America, you’d shut your mouth before someone accuses you of being an accomplice to the crime.

Bob Good, the ISBL Asshat of the Week.

Tuesday Thought #3

America Under Siege: An American President Fans The Fires Of Hate And Fear

Well, President _____ is continuing his Hate Tour, and this time has followed through on plans for a Muslim Ban that, in his words, isn’t about Muslims ... except it is.

This is what he’s done:

He has banned entry to the US for people born in seven majority Muslim countries—Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen—including those who already hold legal green cards and visas, for 90 days.

He has not banned entry into the US for people from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or Turkey, even though Saudi Arabia was home to 15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists; in addition, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey all countries where Donald _____ has business dealings. Coincidence? I think not.

He has suspended the Syrian refugee plan indefinitely.

He has suspended the entire refugee plan for 120 days

He has banned entry to the US for dual-nationality passport holders, meaning citizens of the above countries who also hold, for example, a British passport, are also banned for 90 days.

He has not banned Christian refugees from any of these countries, so no matter what you hear it is a Muslim ban.

He has capped refugee total to 50,000 

Trump came up with his Muslim ban following the Orlando nightclub shooting, even though that attack was not committed not by refugees or migrants, but by a United States citizen who was born in New York. He came up with his ban even though, out of all the fatal terror attacks carried out on US soil since 9/11, none ... NONE ... have been committed by immigrants from the seven majority Muslim countries targeted by the ban.

Naturally, _____ and his band of white supremacists, lead by anti-Semite Steve Bannon, who may, or may not be, the actual President of the United States, have tried to paint this ban as the same kinds of actions taken by President Barack Obama in 2011 and President Jimmy Carter back in 1979; they are not and here’s how:

In 2011 Obama paused approvals of refugee applications from Iraq for a period of six months after two Iraqi al-Qaeda terrorists were discovered living as refugees in Kentucky.

He did not base his decision on religion; his order selected Iraqi nationals based on geography and a specific event, not religion, and it was done in response to a specific event. His decision allowed FBI agents enough time to gather fingerprints from captured roadside bombs, which they used to toughen their refugee screening process.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter placed sanctions on Iran after they held 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. The sanctions included a block on all future visas issued to Iranian citizens.

But, unlike ____, what he didn’t do was base it on religion; it was a block targeting Iranian nationals, not Muslims. Carter's sanctions were the culmination of a long-running escalation of tensions between the US and Iran.

See, these bans, or sanctions, are not at all the same; _____ targeted multitudes of people who share the same faith from seven different countries, though not those with whom he does business; Obama and Carter did not.

Don’t perpetuate the _____ lie.

And while speaking out about President _____ and his nationalist, white supremacist, agenda, keep in mind those in Congress who said nothing, and did nothing, because saying and doing nothing is the same as agreeing with what _____ is doing.

Out of the 292 Republicans in Congress, as of Monday afternoon, just thirty-five have publicly expressed some kind of opposition to _____’s refugee ban, and fifty-three have goose-stepped along with Hair Furor. But what about the 204 who have said nothing.

While almost ... almost ... every Democrat in Congress publicly opposed the order, the list of Republicans who opposed or critiqued the order is very short ... just 35 Republicans in Congress oppose, or are critical of, _____’s immigration order.

And they are:

—from Arizona: Sen. Jeff Flake; Sen. John McCain

—from California: Rep. Jeff Denham

—from Colorado: Rep. Scott Tipton; Rep. Mike Coffman

—from Florida: Rep. Carlos Curbelo; Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

—from Illinois: Rep. Adam Kinzinger

—from Indiana: Rep. Susan W. Brooks

—from Kansas: Rep. Kevin Yoder; Sen. Jerry Moran

—from Maine: Sen. Susan M. Collins

—from Michigan: Rep. Justin Amash

—from Minnesota: Rep. Erik Paulsen

—from Nebraska: Sen. Ben Sasse

—from Nevada: Sen. Dean Heller

—from New Jersey: Rep. Leonard Lance; Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen

—from New York: Rep. John J. Faso; Rep. Elise Stefanik; Rep. John Katko

—from Ohio: Rep. David P. Joyce; Rep. Steve Stivers; Sen. Rob Portman

—from Oklahoma: Sen. James Lankford

—from Pennsylvania: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick; Rep. Charles Dent

—from South Carolina: Sen. Lindsey Graham

—from Tennessee: Sen. Lamar Alexander; Sen. Bob Corker

—from Texas: Rep. Will Hurd; Rep. Pete Sessions

—from Utah: Rep. Jason Chaffetz; Sen. Orrin Hatch

—from Virginia: Rep. Barbara Comstock

And so that means that 204 Republicans in Congress have said nothing or stayed neutral

—from Alabama: Rep. Martha Roby; Rep. Mike Rogers; Rep. Mo Brooks; Rep. Gary J. Palmer; Sen. Jeff Sessions; Sen. Richard C. Shelby

—from Alaska: Sen. Lisa Murkowski; Sen. Dan Sullivan; Rep. Don Young

—from Arizona: Rep. Martha McSally; Rep. Paul Gosar; Rep. Andy Biggs; Rep. David Schweikert; Rep. Trent Franks

—from Arkansas: Rep. J. French Hill; Rep. Steve Womack; Rep. Bruce Westerman; Sen. John Boozman

—from California: Rep. Doug LaMalfa; Rep. Tom McClintock; Rep. Paul Cook; Rep. David Valadao; Rep. Kevin McCarthy; Rep. Stephen Knight; Rep. Edward R. Royce; Rep. Ken Calvert; Rep. Mimi Walters; Rep. Dana Rohrabacher; Rep. Darrell E. Issa; Rep. Duncan D. Hunter; Rep. Ken Buck

—from Colorado: Sen. Cory Gardner

—from Florida: Rep. Ted Yoho; Rep. John Rutherford; Rep. Ron DeSantis; Rep. Bill Posey; Rep. Daniel Webster; Rep. Gus Bilirakis; Rep. Thomas Rooney; Rep. Brian Mast; Rep. Francis Rooney; Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart; Sen. Marco Rubio

—from Georgia: Rep. Buddy Carter; Rep. Drew Ferguson; Rep. Tom Price; Rep. Rob Woodall; Rep. Austin Scott; Rep. Doug Collins; Rep. Jody B. Hice; Rep. Barry Loudermilk; Rep. Rick W. Allen; Rep. Tom Graves;  Sen. Johnny Isakson; Sen. David Perdue

—from Idaho: Rep. Raul Labrador; Rep. Michael Simpson; Sen. Mike Crapo; Sen. James Risch

—from Illinois: Rep. Peter Roskam; Rep. Mike Bost; Rep. Rodney Davis; Rep. Randy Hultgren; Rep. Darin LaHood

—from Indiana: Rep. Jim Banks; Rep. Todd Rokita; Rep. Luke Messer; Rep. Larry Bucshon; Rep. Trey Hollingsworth; Sen. Todd Young

—from Iowa: Rep. Rod Blum; Rep. David Young; Rep. Steve King; Sen. Joni Ernst; Sen. Chuck Grassley

—from Kansas: Rep. Roger Marshall; Rep. Lynn Jenkins; Sen. Pat Roberts

—from Kentucky: Rep. James Comer; Rep. Brett Guthrie; Rep. Thomas Massie; Rep. Harold Rogers; Rep. Andy Barr; Sen. Mitch McConnell; Sen. Rand Paul

—from Louisiana: Rep. Clay Higgins; Rep. Garret Graves; Sen. Bill Cassidy; Sen. John Kennedy

—from Maine: Rep. Bruce Poliquin

—from Maryland: Rep. Andy Harris

—from  Michigan: Rep. Jack Bergman; Rep. Bill Huizenga; Rep. John R. Moolenaar; Rep. Fred Upton; Rep. Tim Walberg; Rep. Mike Bishop; Rep. Paul Mitchell

—from Minnesota: Rep. Jason Lewis; Rep. Tom Emmer

—from Mississippi: Rep. Trent Kelly; Rep. Gregg Harper; Rep. Steven M. Palazzo; Sen. Thad Cochran; Sen. Roger F. Wicker

—from  Missouri: Rep. Ann Wagner; Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer; Rep. Vicky Hartzler; Rep. Sam Graves; Rep. Billy Long; Rep. Jason Smith

—from Montana: Rep. Ryan Zinke

—from Nebraska: Rep. Jeff Fortenberry; Rep. Don Bacon; Rep. Adrian Smith; Sen. Deb Fischer

—from Nevada: Rep. Mark Amodei

—from New Jersey: Rep. Thomas MacArthur; Rep. Christopher H. Smith

—from New Mexico: Rep. Stevan Pearce

—from New York: Rep. Dan Donovan; Rep. Chris Collins

—from  North Carolina: Rep. George Holding; Rep. Walter Jones; Rep. Virginia Foxx; Rep. Mark Walker; Rep. Robert Pittenger; Rep. Patrick McHenry; Rep. Mark Meadows; Sen. Richard Burr; Sen. Thom Tillis

—from Dakota: Rep. Kevin Cramer; Sen. John Hoeven

—from  Ohio: Rep. Steve Chabot; Rep. Jim Jordan; Rep. Robert Latta; Rep. Bob Gibbs; Rep. Michael Turner; Rep. Patrick Tiberi

—from Oklahoma: Rep. Jim Bridenstine; Rep. Markwayne Mullin; Rep. Frank Lucas; Rep. Tom Cole; Rep. Steve Russell; Sen. James Inhofe;

—from Oregon: Rep. Greg Walden

—from  Pennsylvania: Rep. Mike Kelly; Rep. Glenn Thompson; Rep. Patrick Meehan; Rep. Bill Shuster; Rep. Tom Marino; Rep. Lloyd Smucker

—from South Carolina: Rep. Mark Sanford; Rep. Joe Wilson; Rep. Trey Gowdy; Rep. Mick Mulvaney; Rep. Tom Rice; Sen. Tim Scott

—from South Dakota: Sen. Mike Rounds; Sen. John Thune

—from  Tennessee: Rep. David Roe; Rep. John Duncan Jr; Rep. Chuck Fleischmann; Rep. Scott DesJarlais; Rep. David Kustoff

—from Texas: Rep. Louie Gohmert; Rep. Ted Poe; Rep. Sam Johnson; Rep. Jeb Hensarling; Rep. John Culberson; Rep. Kevin Brady; Rep. Mike Conaway; Rep. Kay Granger; Rep. Mac Thornberry; Rep. Randy Weber; Rep. Jodey Arrington; Rep. Lamar Smith; Rep. Pete Olson; Rep. Kenny Marchant; Rep. Blake Farenthold; Rep. John Carter; Sen. John Cornyn; Sen. Ted Cruz

—from Utah: Rep. Rob Bishop; Rep. Chris Stewart; Rep. Mia Love

—from Virginia: Rep. Robert Wittman; Rep. Tom Garrett; Rep. Dave Brat; Rep. H. Morgan Griffith

—from Washington: Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler; Rep. Dan Newhouse; Rep. David Reichert

—from West Virginia: Rep. David McKinley; Rep. Alexander Mooney; Rep. Evan Jenkins; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito

—from Wisconsin: Rep. Glenn Grothman; Rep. Sean Duffy; Rep. Mike Gallagher; Sen. Ron Johnson

—from Wyoming: Sen. John Barrasso; Rep. Liz Cheney; Sen. Michael B. Enzi

And the Democrats in Congress who have said nothing are:

—from Arizona: Rep. Tom O'Halleran

—from Florida: Rep. Al Lawson; Rep. Charlie Crist

—from Georgia: Rep. Sanford Bishop; Rep. David Scott

—from Illinois: Rep. Bobby Rush

—from Minnesota: Rep. Collin Peterson

—from Texas: Rep. Al Green; Rep. Vicente Gonzalez; Rep. Filemon Vela

But here are the Democrats in Congress who have released statements against the order:

—from Alabama: Rep. Terri Sewell

—from Arizona: Rep. Raul M. Grijalva; Rep. Ruben Gallego; Rep. Kyrsten Sinema

—from California: Rep. Jared Huffman; Rep. John Garamendi; Rep. Mike Thompson; Rep. Doris Matsui; Rep. Ami Bera; Rep. Jerry McNerney; Rep. Mark DeSaulnier; Rep. Nancy Pelosi; Rep. Barbara Lee; Rep. Jackie Speier; Rep. Eric Swalwell; Rep. Jim Costa; Rep. Ro Khanna; Rep. Anna G. Eshoo; Rep. Zoe Lofgren; Rep. Jimmy Panetta; Rep. Salud Carbajal; Rep. Julia Brownley; Rep. Judy Chu; Rep. Adam Schiff; Rep. Tony Cardenas; Rep. Brad Sherman; Rep. Pete Aguilar; Rep. Grace Napolitano; Rep. Ted Lieu; Rep. Norma Torres; Rep. Raul Ruiz; Rep. Karen Bass; Rep. Linda Sanchez; Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard; Rep. Mark Takano; Rep. Maxine Waters; Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan; Rep. J. Luis Correa; Rep. Alan Lowenthal;  Rep. Juan Vargas; Rep. Scott Peters; Rep. Susan Davis; Sen. Dianne Feinstein; Sen. Kamala D. Harris

—from Colorado: Rep. Diana DeGette; Rep. Jared Polis; Rep. Ed Perlmutter; Sen. Michael Bennet

—from Connecticut: Rep. John Larson; Rep. Joe Courtney; Rep. Rosa DeLauro; Rep. Jim Himes; Rep. Elizabeth Esty; Sen. Richard Blumenthal; Sen. Christopher Murphy

—from Delaware: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester; Sen. Thomas R. Carper; Sen. Chris Coons

—from Florida: Rep. Stephanie N. Murphy; Rep. Darren Soto; Rep. Val Butler Demings; Rep. Kathy Castor; Rep. Alcee Hastings; Rep. Lois Frankel; Rep. Ted Deutch; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Rep. Frederica Wilson; Sen. Bill Nelson

—from Georgia: Rep. Hank Johnson; Rep. John Lewis

—from Hawaii: Rep. Colleen Hanabusa; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; Sen. Mazie Hirono; Sen. Brian Schatz

—from Illinois: Rep. Robin L. Kelly; Rep. Daniel Lipinski; Rep. Luis Gutierrez; Rep. Mike Quigley; Rep. Danny Davis; Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi; Rep. Jan Schakowsky; Rep. Brad Schneider; Rep. Bill Foster; Rep. Cheri Bustos; Sen. Tammy Duckworth; Sen. Richard Durbin

—from Indiana: Rep. Peter Visclosky; Rep. Andre Carson; Sen. Joe Donnelly

—from Iowa: Rep. David Loebsack

—from Kentucky: Rep. John Yarmuth

—from Louisiana: Rep. Cedric L. Richmond

—from Maine: Rep. Chellie Pingree; Sen. Angus King

—from Maryland: Rep. C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger; Rep. John P. Sarbanes; Rep. Anthony Brown; Rep. Steny Hoyer; Rep. John Delaney; Rep. Elijah Cummings; Rep. Jamie Raskin; Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin; Sen. Chris Van Hollen

—from Massachusetts: Rep. Richard Neal; Rep. James McGovern; Rep. Niki Tsongas; Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy; Rep. Katherine Clark; Rep. Seth Moulton; Rep. Michael Capuano; Rep. Stephen Lynch; Rep. William Keating; Sen. Edward Markey; Sen. Elizabeth Warren

—from Michigan: Rep. Daniel Kildee; Rep. Sander Levin; Rep. Debbie Dingell; Rep. John Conyers; Rep. Brenda Lawrence; Sen. Gary C. Peters; Sen. Debbie Stabenow

—from Minnesota: Rep. Timothy Walz; Rep. Betty McCollum; Rep. Keith Ellison; Rep. Rick Nolan; Sen. Al Franken; Sen. Amy Klobuchar

—from Mississippi: Rep. Bennie G. Thompson

—from Missouri: Rep. Lacy Clay; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver; Sen. Claire McCaskill

—from Montana: Sen. Jon Tester

—from Nevada: Rep. Jacky Rosen; Rep. Ruben Kihuen; Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto

—from New Hampshire: Rep. Carol Shea-Porter; Rep. Ann Kuster; Sen. Maggie Hassan; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

—from New Jersey: Rep. Donald Norcross; Rep. Josh Gottheimer; Rep. Frank Pallone; Rep. Albio Sires; Rep. Bill Pascrell; Rep. Donald Payne; Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman; Sen. Cory Booker; Sen. Robert Menendez

—from New Mexico: Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham; Rep. Ben Ray Lujan; Sen. Martin Heinrich; Sen. Tom Udall

—from New York: Rep. Thomas Suozzi; Rep. Kathleen Rice; Rep. Gregory Meeks; Rep. Grace Meng; Rep. Nydia Velazquez; Rep. Hakeem Jeffries; Rep. Yvette Clarke; Rep. Jerrold Nadler; Rep. Carolyn Maloney; Rep. Adriano Espaillat; Rep. Joseph Crowley; Rep. Jose Serrano; Rep. Eliot Engel; Rep. Nita Lowey; Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney; Rep. Paul Tonko; Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter; Rep. Brian Higgins; Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand; Sen. Charles Schumer

—from North Carolina: Rep. G. K. Butterfield; Rep. David E. Price; Rep. Alma S. Adams

—from North Dakota: Sen. Heidi Heitkamp

—from Ohio: Rep. Joyce Beatty; Rep. Marcy Kaptur; Rep. Marcia Fudge; Rep. Tim Ryan; Sen. Sherrod Brown

—from Oregon: Rep. Suzanne Bonamici; Rep. Earl Blumenauer; Rep. Peter A. DeFazio; Rep. Kurt Schrader; Sen. Jeff Merkley; Sen. Ron Wyden

—from Pennsylvania: Rep. Bob Brady; Rep. Dwight Evans; Rep. Brendan Boyle; Rep. Michael Doyle; Rep. Matt Cartwright; Sen. Bob Casey

—from Rhode Island: Rep. David Cicilline; Rep. James Langevin; Sen. Jack Reed; Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

—from South Carolina: Rep. James Clyburn

—from Tennessee: Rep. Jim Cooper; Rep. Steve Cohen

—from Texas: Rep. Beto O'Rourke; Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee; Rep. Joaquin Castro; Rep. Henry Cuellar; Rep. Gene Green; Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson; Rep. Marc Veasey; Rep. Lloyd Doggett

—from Vermont: Sen. Patrick Leahy; Sen. Bernie Sanders; Rep. Peter Welch

—from Virginia: Rep. Bobby Scott; Rep. A. Donald McEachin; Rep. Don Beyer; Rep. Gerald Connolly; Sen. Tim Kaine; Sen. Mark Warner

—from  Washington: Rep. Suzan DelBene; Rep. Rick Larsen; Rep. Derek Kilmer; Rep. Pramila Jayapal; Rep. Adam Smith; Rep. Denny Heck; Sen. Maria Cantwell; Sen. Patty Murray

—from West Virginia: Sen. Joe Manchin

—from Wisconsin: Rep. Mark Pocan; Rep. Ron Kind; Rep. Gwen Moore; Sen. Tammy Baldwin

If you can, take a minute to email, Facebook, or Tweet those in Congress who support discrimination, those who stand by and do nothing—which, I think, just might be worse—and then take another minute to notify your representatives in Congress who have taken a stand against discrimination of any kind, especially this discrimination based on fear and fear of a particular religion.

Resist.

On a side note ... this past week French-Canadian Alexandre Bissonnette killed six and wounded eight at a Quebec mosque.

This man is a white man—though both the White House and FoxNews called him a Moroccan man because, you know, brown-skin, from over there—and this murderer is a _____ fan; he has the same views on immigration as our current president, so are we surprised that mere days after _____ banned all Muslims—and, again, let’s be clear, it’s a Muslim ban—that a white supremacist murdered a group of Muslims while they were at prayer?

I don’t think so. The blood of those killed in Quebec is on the hands of President _____ and his white nationalist cohorts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released this statement in the wake of the attack:

“We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge.

On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of all those who have died, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who have been injured.

While authorities are still investigating and details continue to be confirmed, it is heart-wrenching to see such senseless violence. Diversity is our strength, and religious tolerance is a value that we, as Canadians, hold dear.

Muslim-Canadians are an important part of our national fabric, and these senseless acts have no place in our communities, cities and country. Canadian law enforcement agencies will protect the rights of all Canadians, and will make every effort to apprehend the perpetrators of this act and all acts of intolerance.

Tonight, we grieve with the people of Ste-Foy and all Canadians.”

We grieve in America, too, because it’s the rhetoric of our FakePresident that might have had something to do with this crime.

Vox

Mirror UK

In The Age of _____, Speaking Arabic Gets You Kicked Off A Delta Flight

And, since, for now, we are in The Age of _____, let’s talk blatant hate and blatant fear and blatant stupidity ...

Adam Saleh, a YouTube vlogger whose prank videos have made him an internet star, is accusing Delta Air Lines of kicking him off flight because he spoke Arabic to his mom on the phone before takeoff. 

“I speak to my mom on the phone every flight. She only speaks Arabic.”—Adam Saleh

According to Saleh, a woman in the seat in front of him turned around and told him he should speak English. He told her he can speak whatever language he likes, and then her husband stood up and began screaming at him.

And from there the hate swarmed as about twenty other passengers said they were uncomfortable with Saleh and his “foreign” tongue. Saleh was then approached by the captain—whom Saleh said “seemed ashamed and embarrassed”—and asked Saleh to leave the plane because of passengers complaints.  

In a statement, Delta said: 

“Maintaining a safe, comfortable and orderly onboard environment is paramount for every flight and requires the cooperation of all of our customers in conjunction with adherence to directions from our crew members. This is a Delta policy and is required by U.S. regulations as well as others governing aviation worldwide.

Two customers were removed from Delta flight 1 departing London-Heathrow today after a disturbance in the cabin resulted in more than 20 customers expressing their discomfort.

We have spoken with the customers who were removed; they were rebooked on another flight. Plans are in place to immediately speak with our crew and other passengers when the flight lands this afternoon. We will provide an update once we have more information.”

Okay, how do I put this delicately: fuck you, Delta. Why not remove the twenty bigots from the plane? Why not remove the people who started the disturbance by listening in on Saleh’s private conversation? Again, fuck you, Delta.

Saleh posted a video of his removal and posted it to YouTube; in that video, some passengers can be seen telling the Delta employees that they did not want Saleh removed, while others are seen waving and saying “bye” as he walks away.

Again, the disturbance was caused by that nosy woman and her loudmouthed husband; they should have been removed from the flight at once.

Some of the passengers on the flight spoke to CBS News after the plane landed at JFK, like Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson:

“It was clear that this guy knew what he was doing, because as he was leaving the plane he would stop, he would kind of make eye-contact with people. He would say ‘Delta, Delta is kicking me off the plane.’ He wasn’t alone; he was travelling with somebody else.”

Of course he knew, you idiot; he was being walked off the plane. And, what does it matter if he was travelling with someone else. This all started because he spoke Arabic and a handful of bigots got their feelings hurt.

Jacqueline Willemsen:

“I was sitting towards the front of the plane and just heard a lot of commotion actually. When he came up to the front he was just screaming that it was an injustice and that he was being kicked off for speaking loudly in Arabic. To be really honest it seemed like more of a scene than anything that actually happened.”

Um, Jacqueline, you moronic tool, something did happen. How else do you explain him being kicked off the plane? 

Chris Ashford:

“I think the guy was giving a bit of a prayer, just before take-off, which is not unusual. Somebody heard him speaking in Arabic and I think reported him ... whether Delta performed or acted in the manner they were supposed to, I’m assuming, for protocol, yes. There definitely seemed to be a bit of a misunderstanding.” 

Does Delta have a list of acceptable languages to be used on a plane? if not, then, again, Delta, fuck you, because, despite skepticism about Saleh’s account, Delta employees have been accused of discriminating against Muslims in recent years. 

In August, an Ohio Muslim couple said they were removed from a return flight from Europe after an airline employee allegedly singled them out because, ALLEGEDLY, the woman wearing a headscarf and talking on the phone, and with the husband sweating.

Delta issued them a full refund of their airfare.

Look, was there a kerfuffle between Saleh and some passengers? It seems very likely, but was Saleh loud and shouting profanities? Maybe. But then remove all of those involved, not you Saleh and his friend. Was Saleh being the prankster on the flight? Maybe; but he didn't start the brouhaha.

Remove the woman and her husband who started the mess; remove every person who joined in. I wouldn’t feel unsafe hearing a person speaking Arabic on a flight but I’d be scared shitless of the people, who verbally assaulted the person speaking Arabic.

They are the problem, but, in the Age of _____, they are acting like the victims.

CBS News