Tag: Justice

Sad, Indeed.

Gay MAGA Complain About Getting Banned From Gay Bars by God

Sad! Read on Substack

Dear Humans,

BEHOLD! Gay Republicans are finding out they cannot wear the red hat of hatred in LGBTQ+ nightclubs.

1. Gay Bar Bans Bigots

Last week, Badlands, a beloved LGBTQ+ nightclub in Sacramento, posted this heavenly announcement:

“Moving forward, MAGA-related attire will not be allowed in the venue. This decision is not about banning political beliefs — it is about ensuring that Badlands remains a space where our community feels comfortable and supported.”

That’s not censorship. That’s community care. And this is not the first bar to make the news for banning MAGA, either. Last week a bar in Indianapolis went viral for kicking out one of these bigots.

2. “What the Heck? Let’s See What Happens”

Steven Bourassa, the idiotic Trump supporter whose actions inspired the bar to make the change, told local news station KCRA:

“I’ve never worn a red [Make America Great Again] hat to the gay bars before. I said, ‘What the heck? Let’s see what happens.’ We were having drinks and hanging out, and it was a pleasant time. So I was really impressed. And I complimented security on the good job they did.”

What didst this imbecile think wouldst happen?!?

This is not a prank show. This is real life. And you’re not the main character.

Steven Bourassa.

3. “It’s About Bullying”

“This decision is not based upon protecting our community,” said Preston Romero, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Sacramento.
“It’s about bullying and singling out one particular political ideology. And we believe that that’s unfair.”

WHAT HEINOUS HYPOCRISY!!! Because when trans kids are banned from sports, queer teachers are forced back into the closet, and drag queens are treated like criminals—they don’t say ONE DAMN WORD.

But when a gay bar sets a boundary to protect its patrons from symbols of literal hatred? Suddenly it’s bullying? Give God a damn break!

Preston Romero, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Sacramento.

4. God’s Final Word

And after all the hypocritical outrage, Bourassa says he’ll still go to Badlands but he’ll just leave the hat at home.

“I didn’t have any problems,” he said. “I’ll still go back… but I’ll leave the hat at home now.”

This man got banned, agreed with the ban, and is going right back.

REJOICE, everyone! We finally found the thing that can break the MAGA cult…and apparently it’s gay sex.

5. We’re Fighting Back And It’s Working

This isn’t just a moment, it’s momentum.

And it’s building everywhere you look.

People are fighting back everywhere.

Here’s how we fight:

  • Keep people engaged & informed with truth, hope and laughter.
  • Rally thousands of voices to push back against fascism.
  • Build an independent platform where truth can’t be silenced.

And it’s working.

📈 LOOK AT THIS: (snip-go look. The clicks help God [the Substack.])

What Is & What Isn’t A Rescue-

Space Castaways by Clay Jones

It was only supposed to be a three-hour tour Read on Substack

You won’t get a long, thoughtful, in-depth, eloquent educational blog today (usually, just long) because I’m just having some fun. We also discussed this issue two days ago, so there’s really nothing to get outraged about here. Or is there?

When I wrote the last blog on this, someone left a comment (I don’t remember who but you can claim it) that the media needed to stop referring to the two astronauts with the extended stays on the International Space Station (ISS), as stranded.

I agree because they were not stranded. Even MAGAt Steve Kelley knows they weren’t “stranded” because if they were, then he would have drawn Superman saving them instead of kissing Elon’s ass. Superman knew the astronauts were safe, so he could focus on more important things, like saving Canada and Greenland from Trump.

This was not Apollo 13, where NASA had to figure out how to get the astronauts home. One of those astronauts was played by Tom Hanks in a film, who had also played a castaway in another movie. And it wasn’t like the film The Martian, when an astronaut was stranded on Mars, played by Matt Damon who also had to be rescued in Saving Private Ryan by Tom Hanks. Sonofabitch!
It’s also not like the other times Matt Damon had to be rescued, like in Interstellar, Courage Under Fire, Titan A.E., Elysium, Syrianna, or Green Zone. We need to tie Matt Damon to Ben Affleck so we’ll never have to rescue him again. We’re not lucky enough to lose Ben Affleck.

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were NOT stranded. Also, it’s not like being asked to work a weekend like in Office Space where if you don’t go, Bill Lumbergh’s going to call you all Saturday.

“Yeah, hi…it’s Bill Lumbergh calling again. Uhhhh, yeah…I just wanted to make sure you knew that we started…mmmm, yeah, at the usual time this morning at the….yeah…International Space Station. So…. if you could come on in….yeah…and bring those TPS reports with you…that would be great…uhhhh, also, it’s…yeah…Hawaiian shirt day.”

Most astronauts want to spend more time in space. They’re not Matt Damon.

Williams and Wilmore’s trip was extended because the spacecraft that took them to the ISS had safety issues, so their trip was extended. They were NOT alone on the ISS as other astronauts were there with them. Were they also stranded? No. There are seven astronauts on the International Space Station right now. There are three more on the Tiangong Space Station (space commies). None of them are stranded.

In case you’re a Republican, seven plus three is ten, meaning there are ten people in space right now.

In the case of Williams and Wilmore, NASA wasn’t trying to figure out how to get them home. They were trying to decide when and which craft. No one had to figure out how to get them home. They were picked up during the regular rotation of delivering and returning astronauts.

When you go to a bar and do the responsible thing and call an Uber to take you home, the Uber is not rescuing you (unless a Nickelback cover band is playing in the bar…and you’re sitting next to Ben Affleck, then you really are being rescued).

SpaceX is already contracted with NASA so it’s not like Elon came running to help from out of nowhere. NASA has contracts with other companies that deliver astronauts. Also, Elon didn’t volunteer to “rescue” these astronauts for free. Elon has been paid $13 billion by NASA over the past decade, and future payments will be higher.

While most readers will think this cartoon is just me having some fun, it’s also mocking all the fuckers who believe Elon rescued stranded astronauts.

And speaking of Gilligan, why can’t we lose Elon during a three-hour tour?

Music note: I listened to Van Halen, NOT Van Hagar.

Creative notes: I wrote this idea yesterday and saved it for today so I could draw the deportation cartoon, which I had been trying to do for a week. This cartoon, the second I’ve drawn today (the first was for the Advance which you’ll see tomorrow) took four hours.

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

Peace & Justice History for 3/23

March 23, 1918
The trial of 101 Wobblies (members of the Industrial Workers of the World or IWW) began in Chicago, for opposition to World War I. In September 1917, 165 IWW members were arrested for conspiring to hinder the draft, encourage desertion, and intimidate others in connection with labor disputes. The trial lasted five months, the longest criminal trial in American history at the time.The jury found them all guilty. The judge sentenced IWW leader “Big Bill” Haywood and 14 others to 20 years in prison; 33 were given 10 years, the rest shorter sentences. They were fined a total of $2,500,000 and the IWW was shattered as a result. Haywood jumped bail and fled to the Soviet Union, where he remained until his death 10 years later.

“Big Bill” Haywood
Read more 
March 23, 1942

The U.S. government began moving all those of Japanese ancestry, including some native-born U.S. citizens (known as nisei), from their west coast homes to indefinite imprisonment in detention centers, beginning with Manzanar in California which eventually held more than 10,000 Americans.
Located on 60,000 acres west of Los Angeles, it is now a national historic site; only 3 of the original 800 buildings remain.
Gallery of photos and other materials about Manzanar 
March 23, 1961
Army Major Lawrence Robert Bailey was the first recorded American to be held as a prisoner of war in Southeast Asia. One of eight crew members of a C-47 surveillance aircraft shot down over Laos, Bailey was held by the Pathet Lao for 17 months, losing one-third of his body weight (down to 53 kg, or 117 lbs) during that time. The other occupants of the plane are presumed to have died in the crash; Bailey always wore a parachute.
March 23, 1984

USS Queenfish nuclear submarine student die-in outside the U.S. Consulate.
One thousand boats, known informally as the Auckland Harbour Peace Squadron, demonstrated against arrival of the nuclear submarine, U.S.S. Queenfish in New Zealand.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymarch.htm#march23

Peace & Justice History for 3/22

March 22, 1933
The Nazi German concentration camp at Dachau was opened, the first of many such camps built for the incarceration and extermination of those considered unfit: Jews, Polish Catholics, Communists, the Roma (frequently referred to as Gypsies), the “work-shy,” homosexuals, the “hereditary asocial,” and those with mental and/or physical handicaps.

The gate to Dachau “Work will make you free”
Over 200,000 prisoners were registered at Dachau, nearly all of whom died there.
The early days of Dachau 
March 22, 1956
Civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was convicted of organizing an allegedly illegal boycott by black passengers of buses in Montgomery, Alabama. He was fined $500 but when his lawyers indicated his intent to appeal, the sentence was changed to 386 days of imprisonment.
Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott 
March 22, 1965
3,200 civil rights demonstrators, led by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and under protection of a federalized National Guard, began a third attempt at a week-long march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capitol at Montgomery in support of voting rights for black Americans.

Marchers on their way to Montgomery
A week before, the march had been violently stopped before leaving Selma. People from all over the country arrived to support the effort for enfranchisement of African Americans in the South whose right to vote had been systematically denied.
From Selma to Montgomery: An Introduction to the 1965 Marches – Lesson Plan
March 22, 1974

The Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (ERA) was passed by both houses of Congress with two-thirds majorities. The amendment, to give women full equality under law, was ratified by the legislatures of only 35 states, short of the required three-quarters of the 50 states, and thus never became law.
Detailed history of the Equal Rights Amendment 
March 22, 1980
30,000 marched in Washington, DC against re-introduction of draft registration.
  Denise Levertov’s lines from her poem,
“A Speech for Antidraft Rally, D.C., March 22, 1980″”…Let our different dream,
and more than dream, our acts
of constructive refusal generate
struggle. And love. We must dare to win
not wars, but a future
in which to live.”
The entire poem (pdf) 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymarch.htm#march22

Snarky News About The SnarkMistress Herself-

Karoline Leavitt’s Briefing Blunder Accidentally Undoes Key Trump Policy, Sparks Mockery Online

Lee Moran Thu, March 20, 2025 at 2:02 AM CDT 1 min read

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt faced mockery on Wednesday after another apparent slipup during a press briefing.

Leavitt stated that President Donald Trump is “committed to passing a big reconciliation package later this year,” which includes “ending no taxes on tips.”

Leavitt says Trump is committed to "ending no taxes on tips"

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-03-19T17:30:01.137Z

(or https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lkqpjjvszu2r , just in case. It’s worth the click.-A.)

Critics quickly seized on the phrase, interpreting it as an accidental double negative that contradicted Trump’s 2024 election campaign promise to nix taxes on tips. Trump has yet to implement the policy.

Leavitt on Monday drew similar mockery after she accidentally claimed the Department of Justice will focus on “fighting law and order” when “fighting for law and order” was likely what she meant.

(Or https://x.com/atrupar/status/1902412161777070590 snip-see story post for embedded replies. )

Open Windows-Ann Telnaes

Trump’s broadway hits by Ann Telnaes

The self-anointed chairman of the Kennedy Center fancies himself a producer Read on Substack

One of his favorite musicals is Fiddler on the Roof and “when he was a young man Mr. Trump had dreams of one day becoming a Broadway producer himself. Now, he said, the Kennedy Center’s focus would be on producing ‘Broadway hits.’”

(with apologies to the original poster creator)

Peace & Justice History for 3/21

March 21, 1937
On Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter), the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico was to march in Ponce (city on the southern coast of the island) in support of Puerto Rican independence. They were also protesting the imprisonment of Albizu Campos, leader of the Party and the lawyer for the sugarcane workers who had led a general strike.The colonial military governor, Blanton Winship (a Georgian who had been Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army), revoked the parade permit at the last minute. Nationalists insisted on marching regardless and, surrounded by the well armed police, were fired upon as they began. Whoever fired the first shot, 18 Nationalists and 2 policemen died. 200 others, Nationalists and bystanders, were injured, 150 arrested. This incident is known as Masacre de Ponce, or “The Ponce Massacre.”

Families of those who died in the Ponce Massacre
A history of Puerto Rico 
The Ponce massacre remembered 
March 21, 1960
South African police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators in the black township of Sharpeville near Johannesburg. The demonstrators were protesting the establishment of apartheid pass laws which restricted movement of non-whites.

In Sharpeville itself, 69 were killed and 176 wounded when police fired on the crowd, 63 of them shot in the back. In the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, protests broke out in Cape Town and elsewhere, and there were further casualties. Overall, 13,000 were jailed.
The organizer, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, head of the Pan-Africanist Congress, had written to the police commissioner, notifying him of the plans, and had said at a press conference, “I have appealed to the African people to make sure that this campaign is conducted in a spirit of absolute nonviolence, and I am quite certain they will heed my call.” 
The Sharpeville Massacre and its significance in South African history 
March 21, 1990
The Plowshares Two damaged a U.S. F-111 bomber in Upper Heyford, England. This was the first plowshares action in Britain.
The details of this and other Plowshares actions of the time 
March 21, 2003
The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa was released. The commission was led by the Reverend Desmond Tutu, a bishop in the Anglican Church, the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches, and Nobel Peace Prize winner for his efforts to bring peace and justice to all South Africans.

.Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu
The Commission was charged with investigating and providing “as complete a picture as possible of the nature, causes and extent of gross violations of human rights” under the racial separatist apartheid regime from 1960 until the inauguration of Nelson Mandela in 1994, South Africa’s first black president.
But the Commission sought to go beyond truth-finding to promote national unity and reconciliation, to facilitate the granting of amnesty to those who made full factual disclosure, to restore the human and civil dignity of victims by providing them an opportunity to tell their own stories, and to make recommendations to the president on measures to prevent future human rights violations.
Reverand Tutu concluded in his foreword to the report, “Quite improbably, we as South Africans have become a beacon of hope to others locked in deadly conflict that peace, that a just resolution, is possible. If it could happen in South Africa, then it can certainly happen anywhere else. Such is the exquisite divine sense of humour.”
The complete report of the Commission 
March 21, 2008
More than 300 people participated in an annual Good Friday peace action at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, organized by Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CARES). The lab is a key participant in the design of all weapons in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. The Alameda County Sheriff arrested 91 of the protesters. CARES Executive Director Marylia Kelley said, “The emphasis is on nonviolence and rejecting violence.”
The organization behind the action 
March 21, 2011
An estimated 14 million Egyptians voted in an essentially problem-free election. 77% voted to endorse a process that would bring elections for parliament within six months and a presidential election later.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymarch.htm#march21

Peace & Justice History for 3/20

March 20, 1815
Switzerland was declared neutral by the great powers of Europe at the Vienna Congress following the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte. The confederation of 22 cantons (member states) had its current borders established with its neighbors France, Germany, Austria and Italy.
Switzerland’s history 
March 20, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s influential novel about slavery, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, was first published in book form by J.P. Jewett of Boston. The text had previously been serialized in the anti-slavery newspaper, the National Era.
10,000 copies were sold in the first week, 300,000 within the first year. The many different editions published in Europe sold an aggregate of one million copies in
the first year.
It was the second best-selling book of the 19th century after the Bible.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was soon published in dozens of languages.

 
How Harriet Beecher Stowe was Inspired to Write Uncle Tom’s Cabin 
March 20, 1983 
In Australia 150,000 (1% of population) demonstrated in anti-nuclear rallies. 

Sydney anti-uranium protest. April 7, 1979
Australia’s anti-nuclear movement: a short history  
March 20, 1998
Despite the efforts of thousands of anti-nuclear demonstrators, a train hauling 60 tons of nuclear waste arrived in the north German town of Ahaus from Walheim in the south. Twice the train was stopped by protestors chained to the tracks; 300 were arrested with police using water cannon in response to rocks and sticks being thrown at them.
The size of the security deployment, outnumbering the protestors ten to one, necessitated the postponing of ten days of football (soccer) matches.
A similar shipment the previous year provoked several days of rioting.
March 20, 2010 5:32 PM GMT
The first day of spring (the vernal equinox) is the day for celebrating NoRuz [no-rooz], the Persian New Year.
More on NoRuz and other Persian celebrations 
March 20, 2011
The nuclear reactor crisis created in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami on the northeast coast of Japan began to spread health risks to the surrounding area. Elevated levels of radiation were found in spinach and milk in the nearby prefectures (counties). As a result of pumping seawater to keep the reactors cool after loss of electricity and damage wiped out all the cooling systems, radiation was found in the ocean waters.
Fukushima today 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymarch.htm#march20

Hear ye, hear ye!

Some of the Press Is Doing It Right

From the Freedom of The Press Foundation article linked by MPS:

… Wired has a solution — it’s going to stop paywalling articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

This approach makes a lot of sense from the standpoint of civil duty. They’re called public records for a reason, after all. And access to public documents is more important than ever at this moment, with government websites and records disappearing, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency doing its best to operate outside the public’s view, and the National Archives in disarray.

But some may argue that, from a business standpoint, not charging for stories primarily relying on public records automatically means fewer subscriptions and therefore less revenue. We disagree. Sure, the FOIA process is time- and labor-intensive. Reporters face stonewalling, baseless denials, lengthy appeals processes, and countless other obstacles and delays. Investigative reports based on public records are among the most expensive stories to produce and share with the public.

And yes, publishers rely on subscriptions to cover those costs — which will only increase as a result of anti-press attacks by the Trump administration. But while some readers might not subscribe to outlets that give away some of their best journalism for free, it’s just as possible that readers will recognize this sacrifice and reward these outlets with more traffic and subscriptions in the long run.

We commend Wired for tipping the balance that all for-profit media outlets must strike between public interest and business more toward the public interest. We hope others will follow its lead (and shoutout to outlets like 404 Media that also make their FOIA-based reporting available for free). (snip-More)

For What It’s Worth,

Judge Rules Appointments Clause Challenge against DOGE Likely to Succeed

Judge Rules Appointments Clause Challenge against DOGE Likely to Succeed

March 18, 2025/11 Comments/in emptywheel /by emptywheel

You’ve likely heard that Judge Theodore Chuang has enjoined DOGE in the context of its destruction of USAID.

Just as importantly, he has ruled that an Appointments Clause challenge to DOGE is likely to succeed. As I have repeatedly argued, such a challenge — arguing that to wield as much power as Elon Musk does, you have to be Senate confirmed in a position created by Congress — would be most likely to survive a SCOTUS review. (It’s the same basis Aileen Cannon used to throw out the Jack Smith case.)

To be sure, I’m a bit skeptical about the order and injunction. The latter only enjoins DOGE from doing anything on their own; if they get USAID approval, they can do whatever they want to do.

But the opinion notes that the Appointments ruling only applies to two things that, the record before the court shows, Elon did himself: shutting down USAID as an agency and shutting down the building. While the injunction requires USAID to stop any further terminations and let employees start accessing payment systems again, even though it notes that Gavin Kliger sent the email that terminated at least a few of the plaintiffs, those decisions involved Marco Rubio and Pete Marocco.

The opinion is most fun for the two extended sections where it dismisses the government’s claim that Elon is not in charge of DOGE.

Most notably, on February 19, 2025, President Trump publicly stated, “I signed an order creating the Department of Government Efficiency and put a man named Elon Musk in charge.” J.R. 568. Musk spoke on behalf of DOGE at a joint press conference with the President on February 11, in a joint interview with the President on February 18, and at the Cabinet meeting on February 26.

Musk’s public statements and posts on X, in which he has stated on multiple occasions that DOGE will take action, and such action occurred shortly thereafter, demonstrate that he has firm control over DOGE.

[snip]

Althought the White House announced on February 25, 2025, that Amy Gleason is now the Acting USDS Administrator, that same day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained that “the president tasked Elon Musk to oversee the DOGE effort” while noting that others “are helping to run DOGE on a day-to-day basis.” J.R. 616. Notably, at the February 28, 2025 hearing on this Motion, Defendants’ counsel could not identify, despite having made an inquiry, who the USDS Administrator was before Gleason.

We shall see how this survives appeal (the suit was filed in Maryland, so it’ll go through a different Circuit than most DOGE challenges, including the New Mexico one that is closest to this stage).

But for the moment, it has held that Elon has absolutely no authority to do most of what he has done.