I Didn't Say It ...

Chris Van Hollen, US Senator from Maryland, blasting Secretary of State Little Marco Rubio to his face in a floor speech:

“We didn’t always agree, but I believe we shared some common values: a belief in defending democracy and human rights abroad, and honoring the Constitution at home. That’s why I voted to confirm you. I believed you would stand up for those principles. You haven’t. You’ve done the opposite … I have to tell you directly and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State.”

I think Little Marco thought his appointment as Secretary of State would be a stepping stone to the presidency but his goose-stepping along with a fascist regime—much like his parents escaped from when they fled Cuba—has sealed his fate.

This is as far as Little Marco goes.

Good.

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Bryan Cranston, actor, on The Felon’s mental health:

“I’ve stopped worrying about the president’s sanity. He’s not sane. And the realization of his illness doesn’t fill me with anger, but with profound sadness. What I now worry about is the sanity of anyone who can support this deeply troubled man to lead our country.”

Sadly, I think the insanity of those in the GOP and the cultists will never go away because ignorance is bliss.

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Ketanji Brown Jackson, Supreme Court Justice, on Birthright Citizenship:

"Your arguments seem to turn our justice system—in my view at least—into a ‘catch me if you can’ regime from the standpoint of the executive; where everybody has to have a lawyer and file a lawsuit in order for the government to stop violating people’s rights. Let’s assume for the purpose of this that you are wrong about the merits. That the government is not allowed to do this under the Constitution. Yet, it seems to me that your argument is, ‘We get to keep on doing it until everyone who is potentially harmed by it figures out how to file a lawsuit and hire a lawyer.’ I don’t understand how that ir remotely consistent with the law.”

It's really simple: if you are born in this country you are a citizen and granted all the rights and privileges of citizenship, regardless of the color of your skin, or where your parents came from, or the language you may speak.

It’s that simple, but this racist regime wants to change that Constitutional right.

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Avigail Abarbanel, former Israel Defense Forces [IDF] soldier on why she now stands with the Palestinians:

“I’m not denying at all that Jews were victims throughout history. This would be stupid to deny. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. [But] I also realized that having been victims doesn’t give us the right to then commit home invasion, to get somebody else kicked off their land and take their land, destroy them and kill them—try to erase their entire civilization.”

I don’t blame the Jewish people, I blame Netanyahu and Israel for the murder and torture of children, for starving people to death in order to steal their land.

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Jon Stewart, comedian and talk show host, on media personalities giving up their Freedom of Speech to a fascist:

“What you’re seeing now is all must pay tribute to the king and the price of peace is different. ABC had to pay $15 million. Bezos had to pay $40 million for a documentary on [Melanie]. The reason why the guy from Sixty Minutes and the reason why the head of CBS News left—it’s not even about the money … Part of the deal is they have to apologize. And in that moment, these people who have built careers on their excellence and their integrity, have to look and go, alright, I hope I have done well enough that I can weather this, but there is no fucking way that I am going to apologize for doing my job the way it’s supposed to be done just because this one guy is offended by it.”

If Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press go, then everything else will follow. Demand more and better from the media; turn off the goose-steppers—and I’m looking at you Jake—who are too afraid to speak up.

Champion journalists like Scott Pelley and Megan Cassella, and a few others, and avoid those that bow down to bullies and little dick-tators.

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Stuart Milk, Harvey Milk’s nephew and Executive Chair of Harvey Milk Foundation, on the report that the Pentagon may rename the USN Ship Harvey Milk:

“We are heartbroken to hear that there is a recommendation at the Pentagon to remove my uncle’s name from the USNS Harvey Milk. I recently had the honor of spending three days and nights aboard the ship with the men and women who serve our country, and I was there as the ship replenished, while underway at sea, the Destroyer Squadron accompanying the USS Gerald Ford in the Atlantic Ocean. The pride that all the men and women on those ships—gay, straight, black, white, Hispanic, commissioned officers and enlisted personnel—all of them, without exception, expressed and relayed to me, was a testament to the American spirit of patriotism and respect for our nation's collective history of growth. Uncle Harvey did not set out to have a US Naval Ship, or anything else, named after him. He did not set out in pursuit of glory or fame. Rather, guided by passion, commitment, and hard work, he did set out to be a messenger of hope for all who had been marginalized and even criminalized, just for being who they authentically were. Harvey Milk was an uncle, a public servant, a son, a veteran, a brother, a teacher, a decorated Naval instructor, and a historic elected official. In the prime of his public service career, he was silenced by another who ultimately tried to erase him. His legacy since that brutal assassination has sustained a message of hope, hope unashamed, hope unafraid, hope that will not be silenced, and hope that simply cannot be erased. My uncle's life story, his service in the Navy, as a teacher, as a Broadway producer, in local government, and in leading a statewide equality campaign, has continued to stir the hope and aspirations of millions across the globe. His legacy has stood as a proud and bright light for the men and women who serve in our nation's military—including those who have served on the USNS Harvey Milk—and a reminder that no barriers of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or physical infirmity will restrain their human spirit. Harvey Milk's legacy is certainly enhanced and celebrated by a US Naval Ship, however his legacy will not be silenced or diminished by the renaming of that Naval ship. Rather such an action would only serve to prove that Harvey Milk style hope will continue to endure and inspire across the globe, and that neither bullets nor name stripping can stop Harvey's overriding message to us all—when he prophetically anticipated making the ultimate sacrifice: ‘Let the bullets that enter my brain, destroy every closet door’.”

Harvey also famously said, ‘You gotta give 'em hope.’

And he did, paving the way for every one of us who came out after to stand up and be out and proud, and to have our own homophobic and transphobic military leaders decide his service, to both the military and the We The People, isn’t worthy of being honored, is sickening.

I did read someone who said you can look at this from the other side: after all these years, Harve’s name, and his work, and his struggle, and his legacy, is front and center again.

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Random Musings

Hello Daddy.

He's actually closer to being my big brother but Hello Big Brother sounds a little too Julie Chen.
This Daddy, the latest Vanity Fair coverboy, is Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Pope Benedict's, ahem, ‘private secretary,’ who has been dubbed "Gorgeous George" by the Italian media.

And I can see why.

The cover photo, for with Gorgeous, er, Georg, did not pose, shows the 56-year-old archbishop smiling, his blue eyes beaming, above a headline that reads "Father Georg - It's not a sin to be beautiful." The magazine then goes on to calls Ganswein "The George Clooney of St Peter's" but then backtracks on His Hotness by saying the story was written to honor his recent promotion to the rank of archbishop and as recognition of his growing power in the Roman Catholic Church.

Um, sure.

Out there in Wyoming, of all places, a Republican, of all things, is backing a same-sex marriage bill.

Yup, GOP state Congressman Keith Gingery--that's him up there--has signed on as a co-sponsor of two measures sanctioning same-sex unions.

He's working with Democratic Representative Cathy Connolly to create a path for gay couples to form civil unions or get married. This new dual approach has already has won the backing of another GOP Representative, Ruth Ann Petroff. She and Gingery say they would prefer to see same-sex marriage allowed in Wyoming but are willing to debate whether civil unions might be a better way to go.

They aren't; civil unions are "less than" but it's nice to see some Republicans, of all things, in Wyoming, of all places, taking a stand for equality.

Oh, Michele Bachmann. You lie, and now you cheat.

It seems that Bachmann's failed presidential campaign team is refusing to pay five Iowa staffers and is, instead, asking that they sign non-disclosure agreements.

Peter Waldron, who served as Bachmann’s national field coordinator, says that the former employees were repeatedly told they would be paid, but even after Bachmann's lame attempt imploded and she quit, they are still not being paid. Waldron also says they were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements that would prohibit them from discussing any immoral, unethical or criminal behavior with the media, the police or an attorney.

What? Michele Bachmann? Immoral? Unethical? Criminal?

Color me not surprised.

Eric Woolson, who managed Bachmann’s Iowa campaign, says staffers were paid in full and that no one expected to be paid for the entire month of January when Bachmann finally realized she didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning and quit on January 10.

Still, I hope no one signs the non-disclosure and starts talking.

Up there in wee Rhode Island, a most Catholic of states, there are still some religious leaders who have no issue at all with The Gays getting married.

A group of over 100 religious leaders--lead by Rev. Gene Dyszlewski--from 13 different denominations throughout the state has come together to support equality, outlining the following tenets in their endorsement of the freedom to marry:

• The most fundamental human need is the supportive love of other human beings, and that love is demonstrated in many ways.
• The arc of God’s universe is toward justice, and we are called from out of our faith to pursue civil rights and fairness for all people.
• The Divine, known by many names, does not ever side with expressions of hate or acts of discrimination.
• The misuse of sacred texts or traditions to deny justice is wrong.
• The freedom of religious belief and practice is paramount for a solid and healthy society.
• The individuals entrusted with civic authority should not impose their personal religious beliefs, or any one interpretation of religious beliefs, on society as a whole, nor use them to deny rights to peoples.

Amen.

Remember Maryland Delegate Don Dwyer?

He was the one who was boating drunk and crashed into another boat, fracturing the skull of a five-year-old girl.

Dwyer refused to discuss the issue for months but he's ready to tell us why he turned to drink.

First, he separated from his wife in November 2011.

Second, he felt “betrayed” by longtime allies in the State House who began to support marriage equality.

Yes, it was the idea that The Gays might be able to marry, with the support of some of his fellow Republicans, along with the separation from his wife that sent him onto a boat with a male friend, John Moran IV, that day, drinking to excess and crashing into another boat.

It's always The Gays with guys like Dwyer.

Lance Armstrong doped.

Didn't we already know this?
Was it worth A Very Special Oprah?

Supervisor David Campos, a San Francisco lawmaker is planning to introduce legislation asking voters to rename the city’s airport after slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk. If five of Campos’ colleagues agree to submit the proposed name change to voters and the amendment goes through in the fall, the city would become home to the world’s first airport honoring an openly gay person.

Stuart Milk, Harvey's nephew, who runs an international gay rights foundation in his uncle’s memory, believes that adding an airport to the list of public venues named for Harvey Milk would be an enormous victory, considering flights to and from San Francisco International serve 68 countries where homosexuality is illegal.

Stuart Milk: 

“For young gay people in an illegal place looking up at a monitor and being able to point to this international airport named after an LGBT advocate, it gives them the green light to authenticity. It’s a major representation that (they) are being celebrated somewhere in the world in a high-level way.

....

“That no airport in this country has been named for an openly LGBT person is something I hope would be remedied, and what a better place than San Francisco for something like that to happen than SF and what better person than Harvey Milk.”

I couldn't agree more.

Remember when the Obama administration said it would not defend the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA] in court? 

And John Boehner cried foul, and, possibly, actually cried?

Well, Boehner promised the GOP would continue to fight to uphold discrimination against The Gays, but promised that he would not spend more than half-a-million dollars.

Funny thing is, somewhere he lost the ability to count, or he’s just another miserable lying politician.

See, we learned this week that the Republican leadership—under Cryin’ John—had once again secretly renegotiated its contract with attorney Paul Clement to defend the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act at the Supreme Court.

This is the third time the contract has been adjusted, raising the total costs to $3 million from the original I-promise-not-a-penny-more cap of $500,000.

And it continues to be a waste of 500K to a million, to 2 million, and now 3 million taxpayer dollars. .

See, the GOP-appointed, taxpayer-funded legal team has lost in every single case.  Courts across the nation have stood on the side of justice and equality for all Americans and, like DADT before it, DOMA is on its way to being another disgusting discriminatory footnote in US history.

And yet Cryin’ John keeps a’spending.

All the while playing the “fiscal conservative” card.

Give him a shout out to his email and tell him that his lying about the capo on spending to defend DOMA is reprehensible, and ask him how a fiscal conservative justifies spending money, TAX-EFFING-PAYER money to defend discrimination in the Land Of The Free.

Email Cryin' John HERE.

TWEET OF THE WEEK:

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY--blatantly stolen from BosGuy:

Harvey Milk To Receive Presidential Medal Of Freedom

President Obama plans to award America’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Harvey Milk, one of the country’s first openly gay elected officials. The award will be accepted at a White House ceremony by Stuart Milk, the nephew of the late San Francisco Supervisor and civil rights activist.

Stuart Milk: “The President’s action today touches the core of our very human hearts and my uncle would be so proud of this high honor. His election was, for him, a beginning–a chance to make real change. That change is happening, but we still have so far to go. I hope this recognition inspires LGBT Americans everywhere to heed Harvey’s call to run for office, to serve openly, to live proudly with authenticity and to demand the equality that we all deserve.”

Harvey would be thrilled. I know I am.