-- "If The World Just Danced," written by Diana Ross, Aliandro Prawl, Andre Pinckney, Scott M. Carter, Amy Wadge, Vanessa Wood and Jaquetta Singleton, first appears on Diana's Grammy nominated album THANK YOU
Happy Pride. All month. Always.
At THE BLACK COMMENTATOR, David A. Love notes:
During LGBT Pride Month and every other time of the year, let us praise Bayard Rustin. Rustin was an adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King, an activist and leader who organized the 1963 March on Washington, and left an indelible mark on the Civil Rights Movement. And because he was an openly gay man, he never received his just due, too often pushed to the sidelines of our historical memory.
Committed to peace, and a stalwart antiwar activist, Rustin said his political beliefs were a result of his Quaker upbringing instilled by the grandparents who raised him. The man who said “We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers” was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and attended Wilberforce University and Cheyney State Teachers College. He moved to New York in the 1930s and studied at City College.
Rustin resisted the military draft in 1943 based on his religion. “I am a Quaker. And as everyone knows, Quakers, for 300 years, have, on conscientious ground, been against participating in war. I was sentenced to three years in federal prison because I could not religiously and conscientiously accept killing my fellow man,” he said. The proponent of nonviolence who introduced King to Gandhi, Rustin believed that while he should obey the law, he was compelled to follow the will of God when the will of the state conflicted with God.
A Black labor organizer ahead of his time, Bayard Rustin understood the crucial link between, racial and economic justice, something which we take for granted today. For example, among his mentors was A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Rustin was also involved with Dr. King in the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and 1956. Further, it is worth noting the iconic 1963 March on Washington was known as the “March for Jobs and Freedom” - as Rustin realized Black people would not find freedom and racial equality under a sluggish economy with no good jobs.
In addition, Rustin appreciated intersectionality before the term existed, and worked on a variety of civil and human rights causes during his lifetime. After all, he understood that no one is safe from intolerance as long as some people are still subjected to such treatment. While he was instrumental in forming King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, some civil rights leaders did not appreciate his presence, and wanted King to fire him because he was a gay man.
Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby and Noel Sims (POPULAR INFORMATION) provide a run down of companies that are no longer backing Pride. I'll also note Mariya Taher has an important article at WOMEN'S ENEWS. Golly, all it took was Ava and I calling that outlet out for their homophobia (five years since they'd covered a lesbian or lesbian issue at their daily news site) and transphobia (two years) and, boom, days later -- after years of silence -- they can finally rediscover the LGBTQ+ community.
Judd, Rebecca and Noel did great work and deserve applause. If we call them out, sometimes they listen. WOMEN'S ENEWS insists in an e-mail to Ava and I that this was just an oversight. That they weren't trying to avoid the topic.
Really?
As long as they've started back up the coverage, I'll let it go with just a raised eye brow and "Really?"
Actually, I'll say one more thing: Mariya Taher wrote a great article.
This weekend, celebrations are taking place. In addition, attacks are taking place, the US government is attacking US citizens.
Donald Chump is unleashing the National Guard against US citizens in Los Angeles. Omar Younis (REUTERS) reports, "President Donald Trump's administration said it would deploy 2,000 National Guard troops on Saturday as federal agents in Los Angeles faced off against demonstrators for a second day following immigration raids. The security agents confronted around 100 protesters in the Paramount area in southeast Los Angeles, where some demonstrators displayed Mexican flags and others covered their mouths with respiratory masks." Karina Tsui, Zoe Sottile and Dalia Faheid (CNN) add:
Law enforcement in riot gear deployed tear gas and flash bangs to disperse crowds in downtown Los Angeles and the city of Paramount over the two days, with authorities reporting multiple arrests Saturday.
“[OINK! OINK! OINK!]” White House press secretary [Propaganda Pig] Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the deployment of troops “purposefully inflammatory” and warned it would only escalate tensions.
“This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust,” Newsom said.
I've edited Propaganda Pig Leavitt's remarks. I'm not big on quoting sows.
Remember, kids, it's a democracy in the US . . . up until you disagree with Convicted Felon Donald Chump. NYT says the garbage filth rounded up 121 people on Friday that they accused of being immigrants.
Public opposition to the Trump administration’s ICE raids continued in Los Angeles on Saturday, as Trump officials took to social media—and Fox News—to condemn the protestors as insurrectionists.
On Saturday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials threw tear gas and fired less-lethal rounds at protestors in Paramount, California, in an effort to force them to disperse.
[. . .]
Meanwhile, in New York, footage posted to X showed protestors being dragged and arrested by NYPD police outside 26 Federal Plaza. Protestors had gathered there, where an ICE office is located, in an attempt to prevent officers from conducting raids. DHS later confirmed on X that the NYPD had made five arrests.
As law enforcement officials attempted to crack down on protests, the MAGA media machine was in high gear, with multiple members of the Trump administration and other pro-Trump lawmakers making appearances on Fox News to condemn the protestors, and senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller taking to X to share his thoughts.
David McAfee (RAW STORY) notes:
U.S. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is under fire this weekend after proclaiming that there is an "insurrection" occurring with California protests.
[. . .]
Podcaster Brian Allen responded, saying, "Stephen Miller is now calling the anti-ICE uprising in Los Angeles 'an insurrection against U.S. sovereignty.' Let’s be clear: over 800 protesters cornered federal agents in a garage, breached a government building, and caused widespread damage."
"This isn’t just chaos, it’s a full-blown standoff. Miller is demanding National Guard deployment and federal arrests. The stakes just got raised," Allen added. "Stephen Miller; the guy who architected family separation, is now crying 'insurrection' because Californians dared to protest ICE raids. You don’t get to weaponize the government, then act shocked when the people fight back. California isn’t backing down."
Internet personality Leah McElrath also chimed in:
"To give people an idea of where the Trump administration is wanting to take things, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is calling the anti-ICE protests in large cities in blue states 'an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.'"
Self-described "political junkie" Richard Angwin told his hundreds of thousands of followers:
"Calling peaceful protest an 'insurrection' disrespects our democracy. Protesting unjust policies is a constitutional right, not sedition. Miller's rhetoric endangers civil liberties and distorts the meaning of real threats."
He's unleashing the National Guard. Remember that.
Friday saw Unite for Veterans, Unite for America. This was a rally in DC. Veterans speaking out and using their collective voices.
Thomas Novelly (MILITARY.COM) reports:
Thousands of veterans gathered and raised their fists to the rhythm of the punk rock band Dropkick Murphys on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall on Friday, rallying against the Trump administration's federal job cuts and the potential loss of government services.
Many attendees of the Unite for Veterans, Unite for America Rally carried signs, including some that read "I Stand With Vets;" "Respect, Honor, Pay, Veterans;" and "VA Support Isn't a Gift, It's a Debt." The protest rally, part of the growing public concern over the administration's plans to dramatically reshape the federal government, also coincided with the 81st anniversary of D-Day.
Since President Donald Trump took office, layoffs from government jobs have affected veterans who make up a large percentage of the federal workforce, with some congressional estimates that around 6,000 former service members have lost their livelihoods. An internal memo obtained by Military.com in March showed that more than 80,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees could be fired, which advocates say would harm important services.
Lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys Ken Casey said it in his own way, telling the veterans in the crowd that he supported them before tearing into newly released music. Veterans in attendance associated the band with their service during the Global War on Terror.
Chump is planning on stripping them of jobs as well because in Chump Land, unless your name is Donald Chump, you are an enemy of the state. Veterans are not to roll over for Bone Spurs Chump. Jimmy Alexander (WTOP NEWS) notes:
Joe Plenzler, of the Unite for Veterans Coalition, told WTOP that if you are waiting for a hero to come save us, you’re doing the wrong thing.
“Look in the mirror, put on your big boy or big girl pants, put on your daddy or mom shoes, and get to work. Call your Congress people, write them a letter, ask for a meeting in their home office, show up to their town halls, write a letter to the editor, write an op-ed,” Plenzler said.
Chump doesn't understand the determination he's up against. Friday's THE 11TH HOUR WITH STEPHANIE RUHLE ended with this:
Stephanie Ruhle: For my VP tonight, I want to pay tribute to the service men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day exactly 81 years ago. Today, veterans of D-Day gathered in France to mark the anniversary of the invasion that changed the course of WWII and eventually led to the fall of Adolph Hitler. But let's keep this in mind: These Americans -- many of whom were barely out of their teens -- risked their lives on a dangerous mission with no guarantee of victory. Let us never take for granted the freedoms they fought so bravely for. 101-year-old veteran Harold Terens attended today's ceremony in Normandy and said this extraordinary thing, "Freedom is everything. I pray for freedom for the whole world For the war to end in Ukraine, and Russia, and Sudan and Gaza. I think war is disgusting. Absolutely disgusting." So let's learn from the past and on this day and every day be forever grateful for their service and their sacrifice.
I'd post the video but it never made it up on MSNBC's website. From Friday's show, I can note this.
But the segment I want to note isn't up. And I have to wonder if people who might watch MSNBC know that each Friday, Stephanie and her panel name their picks for the MVP of the week? It's a recurring segment and one that a few people might tune in for just to see who gets picked?
There's one more thing we need to note. Robert Pether. We've covered him repeatedly over the last four years. He's an Australian who has been illegally held in an Iraqi prison. Australia really didn't do anything for him. At least with Julian Assange, he had Caroline Kennedy, among others, advocating for him to then-President Joe Biden. And that's the only reason Julian's finally free. Australia really didn't do a damn thing for Julian. And it appears that the government also didn't do a damn thing for Robert. Robert is not home yet, sadly. He's only been allowed to leave prison on bail and he remains in Iraq. Christopher Knaus (GUARDIAN) reports:
Australian engineer Robert Pether has been released from his Iraq jail cell more than four years after he was arbitrarily detained.
Pether was working on a project to help build the new headquarters for the Central Bank of Iraq when he was detained in Baghdad in April 2021.
He had flown in for a meeting with bank officials to resolve a dispute they were having with his engineering firm, CME Consulting, over the project.
BLUESKY:
The following sites updated:
