Category: Love

Busy Day in Peace & Justice History on 5/17, Including Outrage & Rebellion in Seattle, a Wedding in MA, & a SCOTUS Decision Desegregating Public Schools; So Much More-

May 17, 1919
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) was formally established in Zurich, Switzerland.
May 17, 1954
In a major civil rights victory, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education, ruling “separate but equal” public education to be unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal treatment under the law.
The historic decision, bringing an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, specifically dealt with Linda Brown, a young African American girl denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin.
Read more and more
 
Above: Nettie Hunt and her daughter Nickie on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1954.
   
George E. C. Hayes, Thurgood Marshall and James M. Nabrit (left to right), the successful legal team, celebrate the Brown decision. . .
three years later . . .
May 17, 1957
Martin Luther King, Jr. led 30,00 on a Prayer Pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. to mark the third anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education decision in which the Supreme Court declared racial segregation in education unconstitutional.
May 17, 1968
A group of anti-war activists who came to be known as the “Catonsville Nine,” including Philip and Daniel Berrigan, broke into the Catonsville, Maryland, draft board center and burned over 600 draft files.

The Catonsville Nine in a picture taken in the police station minutes after the action.
From left to right (standing) George Mische, Philip Berrigan, Daniel Berrigan, Tom Lewis. From left to right (seated) David Darst, Mary Moylan, John Hogan, Marjorie Melville, Tom Melville.  photo Jean Walsh
Read more about the Catonsville Nine 
May 17, 1970
 
100 protesters staged a silent “die-in” at Fifth Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle to protest shipment through their city of Army nerve gas being transported from Okinawa, Japan, to the Umatilla Army Depot in eastern Oregon.
Outrage and Rebellion 
May 17, 1973
In Washington, D.C., the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, headed by Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, began televised hearings on the escalating Watergate affair. One week later, Harvard Law Professor Archibald Cox was sworn in as Watergate special prosecutor.
Flashback: On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. with the intent to set up wiretaps. One of the suspects, James W. McCord, Jr., was revealed to be the salaried security coordinator for President Richard Nixon’s reelection committee.
May 17, 2004

Marcia Kadish, 56, and Tanya McCloskey, 52, of Malden, Massachusetts, were married at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts, becoming the first legally married same-sex partners in the United States. Over the course of the day, 77 other such couples tied the knot across the state, and hundreds more applied for marriage licenses.
The day was characterized by much celebration and only a few of the expected protests materialized.
Read more 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may17

Have A Great Wednesday!

https://www.gocomics.com/lastkiss/2025/05/14

Some Memes Special to Me.

Hope you enjoy these for your own reasons. Hugs. Randy

Restrained Emotions

Good Evening, Playtime Folks! I’ve been a bit over-busy these past many days and out of town on the days I wasn’t busy. Makes for a difficult time writing. But, I’d like to share some thoughts with you, if you don’t mind. See, I try to have a positive outlook, but I also try to be a realist, and sometimes I just feel like ‘what’s the damn point’. I just try to keep it to myself for a bit, go one with the day, and so I’m often slow with a response to a news item. Other times I realize, despite my unwillingness to open myself to the wrongness of the event, I have to speak on it if for no more reason than to keep myself sane – ish.

I love music. There have been times in my life where all I had was the comfort that a favorite song could bring me. I’ve never been much for making music. I can’t sing, and you truly don’t want me to prove that, but when no one can hear me I try to let out the hurt, the loneliness, to feel the sunshine and the aural hug. To hear the sorrow, the joy, the heart-bared vulnerability and intimacy that music can share and can bring out of us occasionally overwhelms me.

When dummkopf drumpf made himself chair of the Kennedy Center, when he turned an organization dedicated to performances of art and poetry, of creation and majesty, he did more than tarnish, he cheapened it. The Kennedy Honors are meant to magnify great devotion to craft, to exemplify great performances, to be about the best things of us as a species – and now it is cheapened. That has made me sadder than I know how to express.

A.I.

“AI is inevitable, we can do nothing about it, what we can do is…” – Abhijit Naskar, Neurosonnets

Some History Posts By Wendy The Druid

Snippets of each. Simply click on the “Read on Substack” links to finish each bit. History is important, and ought to be known. Again, be warned about some language within.

Queer History 104: Martha May Eliot & Ethel Collins Dunham by Wendy🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🌈

Two brilliant women who revolutionized medicine while sharing one bed and one beautiful life Read on Substack

Let me tell you about a love story so powerful it saved millions of children’s lives. Martha May Eliot and Ethel Collins Dunham weren’t just pioneering scientists in a time when women were told to shut up and make babies—they were soulmates who supported each other through nearly six decades of groundbreaking work, homophobia, and institutional sexism. Their love letters tell a story of passion so deep it changed the fucking course of medical history.

Ethel Collins Dunham - Wikipedia

When I think about these two women finding each other in the early 1900s—holding hands under tables at medical conferences, stealing kisses between hospital rounds, and building a home together despite the judgment of their peers—I’m not just impressed. I’m goddamn moved to tears. This is the kind of queer history that reminds us we’ve always been here, always been brilliant, always been changing the world even when the world tried to erase us. (snip-MORE)

Queer History 106: Reed Erickson by Wendy🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🌈

The Trans Guy Millionaire with a Pet Leopard Who Bankrolled a Revolution: How one man’s wealth, vision, and complicated legacy shaped transgender rights in America Read on Substack

Holy shit, you need to hear about Reed Erickson—a transgender millionaire who casually took his pet leopard on private planes while funding the movements that would eventually give trans people like himself basic human rights. This isn’t some fictional character from a Ryan Murphy series; this was a real fucking person who lived hard, loved harder, and threw his considerable fortune behind a revolution most people weren’t ready for.

The Complicated History of Reed Erickson | Autostraddle

Reed’s story hits me in the gut because it’s so goddamn messy and human. He wasn’t a sanitized LGBTQ+ icon with a perfect narrative arc. He was brilliant, visionary, and deeply flawed—a three-time divorcee who became a drug fugitive while still managing to fundamentally reshape how America understood gender. His life reads like a fever dream, but his impact on transgender rights was dead serious. (snip-MORE)

Queer History 107: The Daughters of Bilitis by Wendy🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🌈

From secret social club to revolutionary force – the women who changed queer history forever Read on Substack

In a world where being yourself could get you arrested, institutionalized, or worse, eight women decided to host a goddamn picnic. That picnic club – the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) – became the first recognized lesbian civil rights organization in the United States and sparked a revolution that would change queer history forever. This isn’t just another boring historical footnote; it’s the story of women who risked everything to carve out space for themselves when no one else would.

The Women of Color Behind the Daughters of Bilitis — Malinda Lo

Let’s be real – what started as a way for “Sapphics to dance and talk together” (the most lesbian thing I’ve ever heard) evolved into the first nationally published lesbian magazine in America and eventually led to the first gay wedding in California. These women weren’t just creating community; they were planting the seeds of a movement while the rest of society was trying to pretend they didn’t exist. (snip-MORE)

Unity

A wonderful romantic night

Hello everyone.  I have slowed down posting about Ron and myself other than the home repairs.  Some because I have been so tired and worn out from trying to help Ron as he worked on the new bathrooms by doing as much housework as I could around the house.  But I Ron realized I was trying so hard to pitch in to help as he did the remodeling that I was getting sick / ill.  He has been insisting and pushing me to not help so much.  But yesterday was grand.  

We had a small supper of a few hotdogs with homemade chili.  I ate one.  Then we picked everything up and went to bed together.  We had “quality time” if you can read between the lines.  Then we cuddled back and forth and fell asleep in each other’s arms.  Then at around 1:20 am we both woke up to urinate … it is an old man thing.  But we started talking and I was hungry as I felt my blood sugar was dropping bad.  He was also hungry.  So I suggested that we get up and have waffles with him showing me how to use the waffle maker.   So we got up in our birthday suit to come from the bedroom to the kitchen and learned that the stuff to make a good waffle meal we did not have.  So I offered to make a scrambled egg, link sausage, ham steak, and toast meal.  We had the stuff but it was more than we had planned for that time.  I thought he would just want to go back to bed.  But he agreed.  He offered to do it, but I felt I wanted to.  

I got 6 eggs out, and I use a sharp knife using the sharp edge to snap the eggshell to break open the eggshells with no fragments in the bowls.  Then I add a small amount of water to add fluffy ness to them.  We had 6 frozen sausage links which I fried and the ham steak.  I fried the sausage and ham, then I did the eggs.  

Everything came out perfect and Ron was so impressed that as he ate he told me it was the most wonderful midnight meal he had ever had.  I admit I had only one sausage, a quarter of the ham steak, And only one of my two pieces of toast.  Ron ate the rest including my sausage, rest of my ham steak, and my second piece of toast.  I was so happy and full but so tired.  I picked stuff up while Ron sat in his chair and then we decided to go back to bed.  I was willing as I was very happy as my belly was full and everything seemed wonderful.   

Then as we laid there cuddling talking about things … Ron made me very happy with a second quality time event. He asked me … how could I refuse.   I was so spent and happy … that we slept in the next morning with him still in my arms. 

Today I have had little time for the blog.  I did get time to add more stuff to my cartoon / meme / news item post.  But mostly while Ron rested and worked on the new bathroom I did the dishes, started  / did laundry, and took care of the house stuff.  But all day Ron has been so concerned for my health he has tried to keep me from doing stuff, wanting me to just take the entire day off and rest.  I so love that man.  For supper he made me a stir fry meal with both thick noodles and angel hair pasta.  I love it.  I do miss the Chinese take out we sometimes still order because I love the hot / sour soup.  

Clay Jones Def Deserves His Pizza

(Cubbies fan here. I’m not Catholic, so it matters not to me which team the Pope prefers.)

Chicago Pope by Clay Jones

The Pope is a Sox fan Read on Substack

I apologize for the lateness of today’s blog, but I had three deadlines today. I’ll explain further in a future blog.

We have the first American pope, and to add to that, he’s from Chicago. How cool is that? I think Chicago all by itself spites Trump, but a pope who’s criticized the administration for its policies on immigration is a nice plus. Also, Pope Leo XIV is against the death penalty, racism (Trump is a racist), and understands that Climate Change is a real thing and not a “hoax” created by China.

One of the first things I was curious about with our Chicago pope was if he is a Cubs fan. The Chicago Cubs posted on their famous marquee above Addison Street at Wrigley Field that Pope Leo is a Cubs fan. They got it wrong. So did some cartoonists.

Henry Payne is already an idiot. That’s not new news. Randy Bish rushed to judgment.

But it didn’t matter to him because he just made a simple swap when he found out he was wrong.

Sorry, Randy, but this is generic cartooning. Plus, nobody should listen to you about Chicago. You’re from Pittsburgh.

What else is from Pittsburgh is this shit.

The Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal™ : "Chicago Dog Sauce," a new condiment, was introduced by the Kraft Heinz Company in 2017.

What is it? It’s ketchup. There’s nothing special about this ketchup. It’s just regular shitty Heinz ketchup, but the company was trying to trick Chicagoans to fuck up their hot dogs with it. It didn’t work, and Eater.com let them know it.

I’m sure the Pope would agree that it’s sacrilege to put ketchup on a hot dog, but since he’s the Pope, he would probably forgive you, but I won’t. How dare you put ketchup on a hot dog? What are you? Five?

I used to have a theory that people who love ketchup had mothers who couldn’t cook. I developed this theory because my ex-wife LOVED ketchup, and her mother could not cook. I hope she doesn’t read this because she’s very nice and my son’s grandmother. My father-in-law, may he rest in peace, made the best fried pork chops I’ve ever had.

I think there are only four acceptable reasons for using ketchup, and they are, for crinkle-cut fries, very bad fries, meatloaf, and if you’re five. I kid, I kid. I know some of you love your ketchup, and none of us is perfect. For example, Donald Trump LOVES ketchup. Let that sink in.

What I learned about Chicago pizza is that most Chicagoans eat more tavern-style than deep dish. Chicagoans like deep dish, but it’s more for special occasions and when they have visitors. Deep dish is more for tourists. I don’t really get deep dish, and I don’t even think it should be considered a pizza.

Do you remember Pizza Rat’s first trip to Chicago last year? He tried the deep dish.

Not a fan.

Today’s cartoon put me in the mood for tavern-style tonight, and Pizza Hut has it as a special. When I picked it up, the manager apologized because they had accidentally cut it into triangles instead of squares. A lot of Chicagoans would not stand for that, but I’m tolerant. I thought of Pope Leo, and I forgave them…this time.

Shout-out and dedication: I dedicate this cartoon to Greg Zaborniak, who introduced me to Old Style beer and tavern-style Chicago pizza last year during the Democratic convention. Thank you again, Greg.

Creative note: I didn’t know what I was going to draw today, and I also had a deadline for the Advance. And then, one of my clients contacted me wanting a cartoon on a local issue, and they wanted it today. So, I was facing three deadlines with zero ideas. But they came to me, one by one, and I knocked ‘em all down.

I deserved that pizza.

There’s a version of this cartoon without Pizza Rat. I didn’t include him because not everyone who will see this cartoon will be a regular reader of mine, and they might think the rat is an aspersion on Catholicism. So I sent it to my clients without Peezy. But then, a reader changed my mind because he thought it was a bigger sin to include a pizza without Pizza Rat. I figured I was going to hear more howls about missing Peezy than I’d hear from angry Catholics. The version at GoComics may not feature Peezy because sometimes a new file won’t override the existing file. I did resend the Peezy version to my clients, but they’ll use the one they want, and maybe not even care.

Drawn in 30 seconds: (snip-go see it!)

For What It’s Worth:

Dueling Substacks about the new Pope, one from Charlotte Clymer, one from The Alt Media (language alert); both inoffensively readable by those who frequent here. Well, the language thing maybe. Snippets, not full pieces.

An American for Pope and a Great Choice by Charlotte Clymer

I’m quite happy. Read on Substack

Chicago native Robert Francis Prevost has just been elected the 267th Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church, taking the name Leo XIV.

He was only made a cardinal in 2023 and was serving as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, or overseeing the selection of new bishops. Prior to that was a long pastoral career in Peru. He speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese, and can read Latin and German.

Goodness gracious, y’all, I could not have been more wrong in my prediction for the new pope. I never thought the cardinal electors would select an American. To say I’m stunned would be an understatement.

However, for the record, I did humor his chances in my prediction:

For example, there’s a (very unlikely) scenario in which someone like Cardinal Robert Prevost is elected: a compromise candidate who’s broadly considered safe and palatable between both ends of the ideological spectrum. But there are other cardinals that fit this and Prevost could be in 20+ years.

Okay, so, here are my initial thoughts:

This is a great choice, and I’m quite happy.

Folks need to understand that any choice for the new pope was going to be nominally anti-LGBTQ in a number of ways. What’s important is compassion and openness toward LGBTQ folks, and I’m optimistic that Pope Leo XIV will continue that direction pursued by Pope Francis. (snip-MORE)

The Resistance Pope by Adam Parkhomenko

Thank God the new pope hates JD Vance too Read on Substack

Does everyone hate JD Vance?

Well does the pope shit in the woods?

We might have that second question wrong. But thanks to twitter, we know the answer to the first one. And while we doubt the new pope really hates Vance, it’s nice to know he at least disagrees with the ass-kissing couch-fuck.

Before he became Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, Robert Prevost was on twitter. And it was there that he wrote “JD Vance is wrong,” posting a story that was a rebuke of Vance’s hateful beliefs. It was on twitter that he suggested he wants to battle climate change and believes that Black lives matter and subtweeted about Trump laughing at Kilmar Garcia. Thanks to twitter, we know the new pope is nothing like the new president. https://embed.bsky.app/embed/did:plc:5xeqzwhqcwnczcb62wv3da7o/app.bsky.feed.post/3loohb33sps2i?id=5706215191635626

The new pope is an American. And there’s nothing more American than thinking JD Vance is a douchebag. (snip-MORE, and you can see the bluesky bit on the page)