Open Windows and Clay Jones

Bribe Bros by Clay Jones

Trump pardons a fellow briber Read on Substack

This cartoon was drawn for the FXBG Advance.

Last December, a Culpeper Jury (Trump country) found former Sheriff Scott Jenkins guilty of one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery. Fortunately for the corrupt sheriff, he’s a MAGAt.

In fact, Shurf Jenkins is a minor MAGAt celebrity, as he has pro-MAGA views that got him featured on Breitbart multiple times, was a guest on the Daily Signal podcast, and even got him an appearance on Fox & Friends after vowing to “deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.” This is kinda what got him into trouble.

By the way, nobody’s gun rights are in danger. Republicans use it as a fear tactic to win public office.

Jenkins accepted $75,000 worth of bribes. He took cash and campaign contributions from eight people, including two undercover FBI agents. In return, he gave them badges and made them auxiliary deputy sheriffs, despite not having any training for the position (it’s kind of an honorary position, but it gives them a lot of cop powers). He also pushed officials to restore one bribe-payer’s right to possess a gun as a convicted felon. He was also able to give some of his bribers the right to carry concealed weapons without permits.

What’s fucked up about that last part is it’s extremely easy to get a concealed-carry permit in Virginia. About the only thing that could stop a person from getting a concealed-carry permit in Virginia would be if they were a convicted felon or something. For example, Donald Trump would NOT be allowed to carry a concealed weapon in Virginia. (snip-click through to read on, it’s quite good!)

Elon Musk, drugged up by Ann Telnaes

The New York Times has an extensive piece on his drug use while campaigning for Trump Read on Substack

Trump, in his brilliant ability to read people (like Putin) gave Musk the power to indiscriminately cut federal programs and workers, destroying careers and affecting millions of Americans’ lives. Read the NYT article by investigative reporter Kirsten Grind and Megan Twohey, who was part of the team that broke the Harvey Weinstein story in 2017.

It’s Not Only June, It’s Pride Month

Pride Power! by Adam Parkhomenko

A Pride Month declaration from the cussing newsletter guys Read on Substack

It’s a safe bet this White House won’t be flying the rainbow flag this June.

But you can bet your hot asses we will.

June is Pride Month, a celebration of our LGBTQIA+ friends and a good damn reminder that for a free country to truly be free, people must be allowed to be themselves. It’s also a helluva party.

But this year’s Pride comes as the federal government has declared war on trans folks, banned books dealing with LGBTQIA+ issues and authors and made bigotry great again. Like with all things Trump, there ain’t much to celebrate. And that’s why we’re gonna be louder and prouder than we’ve ever been before.

If the president of the United States won’t stand up for our gay, lesbian and trans friends, then we sure as shit will. We’re proud of you, we’re happy to stand next to you and we love you. And like a lot of people who want to be allies, we can be clumsy as hell about it, so please don’t hesitate to tell us how we can do better.

So many Americans have seen their rights and protections either diminished or destroyed under Trump. It’s why so many people in this country are so scared right now. And sad. And angry.

Trump and the GOP have made trans people their personal punching bags. This week, Trump even threatened California over a 16-year-old trans athlete. That’s the president of the United States bullying a child simply because they are different from other kids. If you want to debate trans folks in sports, fine, but surely we can agree that the president shouldn’t be attacking teenagers who are just trying to be teenagers.

Whether it’s erasing the trans heroes from the memorial plaque at Stonewall or denying them the chance to serve in the military, Trump has made clear he will use our government to bully, harass and demean trans people. It’s cruel. It’s wrong. It’s un-American.

And we know it won’t stop there. Because it never does.

We’re already seeing Trump administration efforts to eliminate suicide hotlines and other resources for LGBTQIA+ youth. They’re salivating at the idea of bringing back cruel conversion therapy. And we’ve all heard the rumblings from people like Clarence Thomas about going after gay marriage.

Even as we write this, a gay barber sits in an El Salvadoran prison, sent there by Trump and abandoned by a country that hypocritically proclaims to the world that all men are created equal.

We should be welcoming Andry Hernandez Romero to our country, a land of freedom and opportunity where he can be himself without threats of anti-gay violence. Alas, we are not that America right now. The truth is we rarely have been.

So this will be a different kind of Pride Month. We might party a little less and march a little more. We will spend this June being tragically reminded that the voices of hate and bigotry are still very much alive and they have a pretty big microphone these days.

And that’s why we will spend this month shouting how much we love and support the LGBTQIA+ community. Because fuck the haters, and fuck their hate.

Let’s show the world how we do Pride Month in this country. And let’s remind the bigots what real freedom looks like.

To our LGBTQIA+ friends, we love you, we’re proud of you and we promise you are not alone. Happy Pride, everybody!

The latest from Adam

(And if you click through to the Substack, you can see the new “apology” video from Sen. Ernst, just after Pete’s Heat. Alt Media is an extremely worthy click. Sen. Ernst’s apology is not. -A.)

Dillon’s Has Pride

Dillon’s is a store that originated here in KS, but since has become part of the Kroger Company. I’m posting this because, in of all places Kansas, Dillon’s is openly advertising its Pride Month observances (and, of course, hopes of sales, but ya know!) So, anyone else’s Kroger Co. store observing Pride Month openly? Or other businesses? I figure if we mention them and disseminate the info, it can only encourage such things. I couldn’t get the animated ad in full, so here are the images, with the script in between, above the image to which it applies. Additionally, I got this ad in email, so I’m keeping an eye open for TV ads. I think I heard a radio ad earlier today, but that doesn’t mean they advertised on every radio station. I’ll also make it a point to see how much Pride is inside the store, though I mostly use PickUp. This seems a good thing, to me!

Discover awesome LGBTQ+ brands and Pride-perfect recipes. Thank you to our LGBTQ+ associates, customers and vendors for making our company brighter and better.

Support LGBTQ+ Owned & Founded Businesses

No Notes

Happy Pride Month

Many Items in Peace & Justice History for 6/1

Also, I want to mention that I’ve been publishing here at Scottie’s Playtime since 7/10 or 11, and normally, have posted one of these each day. There hasn’t been much change or updating for a while; the newsletter and history website is Carl Bunin’s labor of love, depending upon the sales of buttons, pencils, and other merch. I’ve been reading these since 2001, and have noted it feels as if we here may have seen some of these before, and definitely will have by next month. So: should I continue after July 10th, or has everyone seen these, and enough is enough for a while? I don’t mind either way, but I don’t want to use up space and give people repeats. Just let me know in comments over the next few days, OK? And thanks for visiting Scottie’s Playtime!

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjune.htm#june1

And Another Young Candidate

Presuming we have elections, we’re gonna be rich in good people to elect. Here’s another one I’ve been watching and donating to for a couple of months. I may have posted about her here before, but I’m not certain.

McMorrow for Michigan

Another Young Person Running For Office

I’m skipping down to the part about the candidate. We’ve all seen the clip of Sen. Ernst. But I remember the statements of Zach Wahls; I bet we all do! -A.

Well, We Are All Going to Die by Charlotte Clymer

An all-timer cruel remark. Read on Substack

Snippet:

Anyway, while Sen. Ernst may not care if your loved ones don’t have the lifesaving health care they need, I do bring good news: there’s a leader in Iowa who does.

You may remember Zach Wahls; he’s the young man who went viral many years ago when he delivered a deeply moving testimony to the Iowa Legislature about growing up with two mothers, as lawmakers were considering support for marriage equality.

Well, Mr. Wahls has been serving in the Iowa State Senate since 2019—including a few years in tenure as the Minority Leader—and he’s public exploring a run against Sen. Ernst in next year’s election.

I have rarely been as impressed with an elected official as I am with Mr. Wahls. He’s exactly the kind of leader you’d hope would be dedicated to fighting the good fight and having the kind of good sense necessary to bring folks together for common sense solutions.

Sen. Ernst was already looking at a competitive fight before her “we are all going to die” honesty this morning, and I have to imagine the math ain’t looking great for her against Mr. Wahls moving forward.

If you’d like to throw a donation to Mr. Wahls in what I believe would be a successful campaign, I’d be grateful.

I’ll end this on a note of reason and empathy. When word of Sen. Ernst’s comment reached the great Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, her response couldn’t have summed it up better:

“I thought my job as Senator was to try to keep my constituents alive.”

It’s In London-

(sigh- I love Twelfth Night. -A)

Ian McKellen Will Open All-Trans Production of Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s Most Trans Play

Shakespeare really did get T4T friend groups tbh.

By James Factora

A trans theater company is staging a production of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies this summer in London, and the play will receive an introduction from none other than Sir Ian McKellen.

Trans What You Will, which is dedicated to staging Shakespeare plays with trans and nonbinary performers, will produce a staged reading of Twelfth Night at The Space in London on July 25. In a post to Instagram, the theater company wrote that the “inherent queerness” of the play is “glaringly apparent to so many.” Like many of the Bard’s plays, Twelfth Night absolutely smacks of gender.

As Trans What You Will describes it, “you’ve got a lady disguised as a man, seducing another lady on behalf of a lord, but nothing goes to plan when the lady falls for the disguised lady, and the disguised lady falls for the lord!” More specifically, the play follows two twins, Viola and Sebastian, who are separated from each other in a shipwreck. Viola disguises herself as a man, Cesario, and enters into the service of Duke Orsino, who rules over the area. As Cesario, she also serves as wingman to Orsino, who’s in love with the Countess Olivia. But Olivia falls in love with “Cesario,” Viola falls in love with Orsino, and chaos ensues. (I mean, sounds like your average T4T friend group if you ask us.)

The theater company also announced McKellen as the production’s “special guest” on Wednesday. In a statement posted to Trans What You Will’s Instagram, McKellen called Twelfth Night “perhaps the funniest and most moving of Shakespeare’s plays.”

“This is achieved through the complexity of gender and sexuality from first to last,” he said, adding that he’s “really looking forward to the impact of this latest version of the play at The Space.” (snip-MORE)