Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Crazy is all around no matter where you look -- some of the left lying that Cornel West is about to be the Green Party's presidential candidate (they'll decide who to pick in the summer of 2024) compete with the crazies like Ron DeSantis, Lauren Boebert and others for the title of most dangerously unhinged.
Let's start with a needed laugh.
Here's George Santos telling Trump, "The main thing about an arraignment is to coordinate your ensemble. I like an eggplant blazer, a blush pink gingham shirt with a deep coral necktie, and a fun lapel pin. The look says, 'Guilty with flair' or 'Felony chic' - trust me on this!" pic.twitter.com/HqflwYkM1z
Is there a more divisive figure than Cornel West in the last 24 hours? Maybe -- maybe the YOUTUBING whores who are pimping him.
They talk about MSNBC, don't they. They sneer and the idiot Ajuma Baraka is still calling CNN "The Clinton News Network" as though he just coined the phrase when it was a right-wing smear back in the 90s. He's old and he's gasping for air. Someone put the old man to bed before he staggers around anymore going "Cornel! Cornel! If I could get an erection anymore, I'd beat off to you Cornel."
I've held Krystal Ball accountable when she went screeching that everyone had to fall in line behind Marianne Williamson. No, that's not how you to talk to adults, that's not how you talk to people. You do not boss people around and tell them how they will vote and who they will vote for.
No one asked Krystal for that and she did real damage to Marianne's campaign when she pulled that stunt.
Now you've got Graham Elwood and others doing the same.
I'm not in the mood. Not in the damn mood.
Every few months, your new savior comes along and you try to baptise us. You don't get that we are not your flock. You better check yourself real damn quick.
Graham Elwood looks like a crazy man in his video yesterday. His eyes are popping and bulging and the left side of his mouth is a drooping snarl. Is that his pokerface? Is he having an orgasm as he blathers on about Cornel?
I have no idea.
It's amazing the lies that a Chrissy Lynn Hedges can promote. Again, he's very good at lying. Wasn't it his article on the front page of THE NEW YORK TIMES that the Bully Boy Bush administration was waiving around after 9/11 to insist on war on Iraq? They go on the talk shows and they'd insist that it wasn't just them saying it, it was THE NEW YORK TIMES!
THE NEW YORK TIMES!
See this is what happens with stupid people who don't bother to learn or don't care to. They have no idea the reality of Chrissy Lynne. They probably don't even know that Judith Miller, years before her war propaganda for THE NEW YORK TIMES, wrote for THE PROGRESSIVE.
These people are not your friends.
Your friends don't yell and scream at you to vote for someone. That's not a friend.
They also don't lie to you to try to force you to support someone.
Forget the garbage on YOUTUBE. Cornel does not have the nomination.
Could he get the nomination?
He could.
He's not going to be handed it.
I called a friend with Green Party leadership last night because there were e-mails coming in from people freaking out over this issue. People opposed to the Green Party doing what YOUTUBERS were insisting was happening: Naming Cornel their candidate for president.
And I thought I was seeing a ton of e-mails. Apparently nothing like what party leaders are seeing. After we got off the phone, three hours later, my friend called back because the complaints were streaming to leadership over and over as the hours went by.
The Green Party will have a nominee for president. And they will pick that nominee at their summer 2024 convention. They have rules in place, actual rules, that will be followed, rules that they voted on over a decade ago, rules that are in place.
EIGHT WEEKS after September 11, a pair of Americans entered the
gleaming marble lobby of Beirut’s Intercontinental Hotel La Vendome,
where they were greeted by a group of Iraqi expatriates. The Americans
were reporters—New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges,
who’d just been put on the Al Qaeda beat, and Christopher Buchanan, an
associate producer of PBS’s Frontline—there to meet a mysterious
Iraqi defector with information about Saddam Hussein’s secret weapons
program. Hedges and Buchanan were ushered to an elegant suite
overlooking the Mediterranean, where they interviewed Jamal al-Ghurairy,
an Iraqi lieutenant general who had fled Iraq. Ghurairy claimed to have
witnessed foreign Islamic militants training to hijack airplanes at an
Iraqi terrorist training camp.
Buchanan had been given the assignment just a few days earlier and
knew very little about the interview’s subject. “It was all very
hush-hush,” he says. “His life might be in danger. I didn’t know much
else.” Buchanan recalls the general as thickset, “fierce looking,” and
having a military bearing. “He looked the part,” he says. Hedges adds
that the general “was definitely Iraqi and struck me as having spent a
lot of time in the military.” The general’s entourage—including Nabeel
Musawi, the political liaison of the Iraqi National Congress (INC),
which had arranged the interview—“were all wearing leather coats. They
were slick and well organized,” says Buchanan. “Very well organized,
very well set up,” Hedges concurs.
The general hadn’t been told he’d be filmed, and it took Musawi
almost an hour to persuade him to go on camera. The general himself then
spent several minutes making sure his face would be blacked out when
the tape rolled. The resulting television interview, for which Musawi
acted as translator, was stilted and brief. It would become only a small
segment of the Frontline piece, which also featured an interview
with another INC-provided defector, Sabah Khodada, a former Iraqi
captain whose identity was not concealed. Buchanan recalls that “as soon
as the lights and camera were switched off, the general began to talk.”
He says the general then spent more than an hour with Hedges in an
adjoining room of the suite while he left the hotel to transmit the tape
via satellite uplink. When Buchanan eventually returned to the empty
suite, he found coffee cups and saucers filled with cigarette butts that
he felt indicated an intense conversation. Hedges says that after the
interview was completed, he “spoke to the U.S. embassy in Turkey”—where
the general had fled after leaving Iraq—“and asked if the general was
credible. They confirmed he had recently been debriefed.”
Two days later the story that spun out on the front page of the New York Times
was as shocking as it was convincing. Ghurairy claimed that as a senior
intelligence official, he had witnessed foreign Arab fighters training
to hijack airplanes at the Salman Pak military facility south of
Baghdad. About 40 foreign nationals, Ghurairy said, were based there at
any given time. “We were training these people to attack installations
important to the United States. The Gulf War never ended for Saddam
Hussein. He is at war with the United States,” the Times quoted Ghurairy
as saying. Ghurairy also claimed a German scientist was working in a
section of the base that produced biological agents. The report noted
the role the INC had in setting up the interview, but no serious
questions were raised about the general’s provenance.
Read the article in full. But grasp right now, Iraqis are dead because of Chris Hedges. They're not coming back from the dead. His writing helped lead to the Iraq War. So the next time his jaundice and bug-eyed face pops up telling you this or that, just stop a moment and remind yourself that he promoted the Iraq War, he promoted war on Iraq. He was stupid? I don't give a damn what his excuse is. I do give a damn that he has still not taken accountability all this time later. I do give a damn that the Iraqi people suffer to this day and he can't talk about them or write about them. I don't give a damn about the moralizing Chrissy Lynn Hedges who looks down on people who read whatever SHADES OF GREY. They're the ones he calls out in a book. But, understand, we're all supposed to look the other way about his role in starting the Iraq War.
He needs to get down on his knees in public and beg the forgiveness of the Iraqi people.
Not only has that not been demanded of him but a lot of whores promote him as our sainted Chrissy.
Not in the damn mood for that ever.
Again, the Iraqi people who have died? They aren't coming back and he needs to take accountability -- publicly -- for his role in that. He's fine being public about everything else. So take some damn accountability. And if you can't, just go away. No one needs to hear from you or see your blood soaked hands. You're disgusting and I'll say so. You know I've got no problem calling out those with the blood of the Iraqi people on their hands.
Cornel is the presidential candidate for the Green Party? No matter what Chrissy says, he's not. They will not decide that until they hold their convention in the summer of 2024.
Cornel tried to lie to Katie Halper -- and Katie was far too gullible -- but if you listen to his awful interview -- which will not go up here -- you hear that he had a talk with the Green Party.
Two people with the party told me last night about that conversation.
Cornel wanted to be handed the Green Party's presidential nomination and wanted to make that announcement this week.
He was told he could campaign for it, anyone can run for it. But, no, there are rules in place and the Green Party is not the Democratic Party. They aren't going to gift the nomination or rig the nomination.
Cornel was told that.
He was not happy about that. And we'll get to the why of that. But he knows the truth. So when people start coming around lying, they're cheap whores. You shouldn't trust them.
Up to the pandemic, I spent February 2003 forward speaking on campuses, speaking to feminist groups, speaking to labor groups about the Iraq War. In the early days, it was just about the Iraq War and whatever question or issue someone might raise. But it quickly became, due to our focus in the US on electoral politics, about elections.
You do not owe anyone your vote. It is your vote, you own it. The only wrong vote is a vote you don't feel good about when you're voting. Candidates do not own your votes, they have to earn it. Blah, blah, blah.
We planted that seed over and over. 48 to 50 weeks a year, year after year, as we went all over the country speaking on one campus after another.
Right now, the YOUTUBING whores want to tell you that oh, the Democratic Party's going to make everyone get behind Joe.
Don't say that when you're doing the same thing for Marianne or Cornel or whomever.
The reason we can't move forward is because these would-be leaders are f**king idiots. All they know to do is the very same thing that they slam the Democratic Party for.
That's going to lead to change?
Hell no.
When I realized that I was voting Democrat in this election -- barring an independent run by Robert -- I didn't hide it. I also have not advocated for anyone else to do the same. That's online, that's in my real life. But since that is my current plan, I did disclose it so people could factor that in when I'm writing about whatever.
You vote how you want to vote. Don't let anyone try to push you around. If they do, they are showing they have no respect for you.
If you're voting in 2024 -- or making the decision to vote by not voting (which is a valid use of your vote if that's what you want to do) -- you're an adult. You don't need anyone telling you who to vote for.
The amount of nonsense that we're getting from YOUTUBERS -- including Katie's Roger Waters obsession -- note, she had to bring that into the interview with Cornel as well -- goes to how stupid they clearly think we are. "Don't worry, guys, I got this covered. I'm going to get them to vote for Cornell."
How about you just do your damn job. Which is some form of faux media, as clear as I can tell.
I compare what they do -- 'politics' -- to the Red Cross. They rush from one disaster to the next, never really accomplishing anything. But, in earlier decades, these people were called hitchhikers on the highway of causes as they flitted from one cause to another, never seeing any accomplishment because they couldn't stay focused.
The only intelligent discussion on Cornel wanting to be president is the one below.
Later today, Jared Ball will speak live with Cornel on BLACK POWER MEDIA. That might be an intelligent discussion. I hope it is.
But thus far, that's the only one.
People who know nothing about Cornel West are insisting you have to vote for him. Are telling you how great this is.
How is it great, Graham? Because the celebrity of it all has gripped you? I'm not hearing about issues. I'm not hearing about how it's going to improve even one life.
So how about you stop hyping and whoring and try to inform people instead of trying to order them around or trick them.
These YOUTUBERS don't want to educate the masses. They don't want to provide them with tools. They just want to be able to boss them around. Apparently, that's a built-in feature of the US political process.
I don't know why the hell anyone would want to tell other people how to vote. To try to boss them around in a free society.
I'm disgusted.
Let's get back to Cornel and reality.
Cornel wanted to make an announcement this week that he would be the Green Party's presidential nominee.
That is not happening.
But he needed it to.
Why?
Because he's an idiot on the world stage. People don't take him seriously as it is and now it's even worse.
How so?
He's not the People's Party nominee. He doesn't want to be because their racism, their sexism and everything else has come up since he was announced as their nominee.
Now to walk away from a political party that just made you their nominee a week ago? That's embarrassing.
It goes to how unserious you are. "Wait, you took the nomination without doing any work to research the party you were going to be representing?"
Yes.
Yes, that's exactly what he did.
He's that damn stupid and/or that damn vain.
And that goes to judgment and clearly he has none. He's not fit to be president.
'Uh, I didn't know, I didn't really understand them.'
Then why the hell did you announce you would be their presidential candidate?
In the world of YOUTUBE whoring, that goes unasked apparently. But you better believe that in the real world -- especially in the press -- Cornel West is now a joke.
He looks like the idiot supreme.
He wouldn't have looked a lot smarter if he could have announced he was the Green Party nominee but he would have had a 'happy ending' to his embarrassment and he could try to steer your focus to that and not to the fact that he, an African-American man, was fronting a racist political party.
YOUTUBERS need to find their spines and their brains and need to grasp that their role is to inform, not to tell anyone how to vote, to inform.
As I've said, I intend to vote in 2024 for the Democratic Party nominee -- whether it's Joe or Marianne or Robert. Or someone who hasn't announced yet. That's what I intend to do. I have my reasons and may share them later on. I may not. If Robert does an independent run, I will seriously consider voting for him. I know Robert and I know he's serious about this. I've known him for many, many years. I would be hesitant to vote for Marianne if she ran without the Democratic Party because I've also known her for many years. But Robert's character is such that I would consider supporting him if he ran as an independent. He also has the money to do so.
I am not opposed to voting third party or independent candidates. As I've noted, I voted Green in 2008 (Cynthia McKinney).
But you need to use your vote how you want to use your vote. It's not wasted if you're doing what you want. That includes if what you want is not to vote. That includes if you vote for someone I don't like -- even a hate merchant. November 2024 rolls around and you use your vote the way you want to, that's all you need to do.
B-b-but two months later!!!! Unless you're psychic, you can't predict the future. You can only determine how to use your vote with the knowledge you have leading up to the election.
Again, don't let people bully you. When they do that, when they use and misuse you, they are showing contempt for you.
They're just con artists. Grasp that. Grasp that any real journalist looking at Cornel West should be asking him: "WTF! You're a 70-year-old man who took the nomination from a political party you're now trying to run from because you're embarrassed that they're racists with a record of doing nothing except for sexually harassing women?" Instead, they're saying "Dr West" in hushed voices and bowed heads -- as though what has just happened before everyone's eyes did not take place. They're crazy.
The Emperor's got no clothes on No clothes? That can't be; he's the Emperor Take that child away Don't let the people hear the words he has to say
One small voice Speaking out in honesty Silenced, but not for long One small voice speaking with the values we were taught as children
So you walk away and say, Isn't he divine? Don't those clothes look fine on the Emperor? And as you take your leave You wonder why you're feeling so ill-at-ease Don't you know?
Lies take your soul You can't hide from yourself Lies take their toll on you And everyone else
One small voice speaking out in honesty Silenced, but not for long One small voice speaking with the values we were taught as children Tell the truth You can change the world But you'd better be strong
-- "One Small Voice," written by Carole King, first appears on her album SPEEDING TIME
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has spread a right-wing claim that
Starbucks forced employees to take down Pride decorations. A Starbucks
spokesperson denied the allegation and said the company encourages
stores to celebrate Pride Month.
On Tuesday afternoon, Boebert re-tweeted the following
message from Charlie Kirk, leader of the rabidly anti-LGBTQ+
conservative group Turning Point USA: “Starbucks has banned Pride
decorations in its stores halfway through Pride Month, the company’s
workers union has revealed. Leftwing Trans activists claim this means
Starbucks is ‘caving.’ Good! Keep the pressure on, folks.”
Kirk based his claim on a June 13 tweet
from Starbucks Workers United (SWU), a group that seeks to unionize
Starbucks employees. SWU said that workers had complained that the
“company is no longer allowing Pride decorations in-store.”
Starbucks says none of this is true.
In a statement to LGBTQ Nation, the company wrote, “We’re
deeply concerned by false information that is being spread especially as
it relates to our inclusive store environments [and] our company
culture.”
“There has been no change to any policy on this matter and we
continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their
communities including for U.S. Pride month in June,” the company added.
“Starbucks has a history that includes more than four decades of
recognizing and celebrating our diverse partners and customers –
including year-round support for the LGBTQIA2+ community.”
In related news, community member Sabina e-mailed to urge everyone -- who eats candy -- to be sure to get their Pride Month skittles at Wal-Mart and remember skittles will be donating a portion of your purchase price to Pride.
WE'VE GIVEN UP OUR RAINBOW SO THAT THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY CAN SHARE THEIRS.
This Pride Month, we're amplifying stories within
the LGBTQ+ community for all to discover. We begin by showcasing the
designs of five talented artists on our SKITTLES Pride Packs, each with
their own story to tell.
OUR MISSION IS TO SUPPORT THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY BY AMPLIFYING AND
CELEBRATING THEIR STORIES. THAT'S WHY WE'VE PARTNERED WITH GLAAD FOR THE
FOURTH YEAR TO REWRITE THE SCRIPT FOR LGBTQ+ ACCEPTANCE.
We will donate $1 per every SKITTLES Pride pack sold to GLAAD in
support of their ongoing efforts to work through media to combat
anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.*
Very good for Skittles.
Thank you so much to Sabina who saw the display for Skittles and Pride at her local Wal-Mart in Dallas, Texas. And applause for Garth Brooks who is standing strong against bullies who try to tell him what he can or cannot stock at his bar.
The hate merchants need to be confronted. Their crazy and hateful words are impacting others. We have a very big mental health problem in this country and these hate merchants are inciting violence. Greg Owen (LGBTQ NATION) reports:
Two days earlier, around noon, Abdullah began following the two men, 58
and 40 years old, near the intersection of 18th Street and Hartford in
the Castro.
According to the district attorney, the victims say “the unknown male
suspect was following them on foot while simultaneously aggressively
shouting anti-LGBTQ language. The suspect then threw a glass object at
them causing the 40-year-old male victim to sustain a
non-life-threatening injury.”
The men called 911 and provided a description of Abdullah, who was
spotted a short time later near Mission Dolores Park. After a foot
chase, cops apprehended the assailant and booked him into county jail on
two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of committing a
hate crime and one of resisting arrest.
The hate merchants are poisoning our world. Which lets me note another song, Nanci Griffith's "It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go" (first appears on STORMS).
A cafeteria line in Chicago The fat man in front of me Is calling black people trash to his children He's the only trash here I see And I'm thinking this man wears a white hood In the night when his children should sleep But, they slip to their window and they see him And they think that white hood's all they need
It's a hard life It's a hard life It's a very hard life It's a hard life wherever you go If we poison our children with hatred Then, the hard life is all that they'll know And there ain't no place in (Belfast) for These kids to go
I was a child in the sixties Dreams could be held through TV With Disney, and Cronkite, and Martin Luther Oh, I believed, I believed, I believed Now, I am the backseat driver from America I am not at the wheel of control I am guilty, I am war, I am the root of all evil Lord, and I can't drive on the left side of the road
It's a hard life It's a hard life It's a very hard life It's a hard life wherever you go If we poison our children with hatred Then, the hard life is all that they'll know And there ain't no place in (Belfast) for These kids to go
Hate merchant Tucker Carlson took a moment out from attacking LGBTQ+ members. Graeme Massie (INDEPENDENT) notes that Tucker's posted a new rant to Twitter where he's lying that the arrest and current charges against former US President Donald Trump are the result of Donald declaring -- before he became president -- that the Iraq War left the Middle East "destabilized."
TUCKER CARLSON: Seven years later, they have their revenge! Cheeto, my Cheeto! I am here for you and I will fellatiate you -- in a non-gay way -- in the town square because anything that will get me attention is what I'm about, especially now that I'm facing lawsuits and will really need money.
I'm sure it went something like that, I'm sure.
Let's wind down with the shrimp Doo-Doo Ron Ron Doo-Doo Ron.
DeSantis
apparently has decided on a strategy to cope with the fact that, the
more people know about him, the less they like him. The strategy
consists of sucking up to
every goober in America with sufficient enthusiasm that said goober
doesn't notice how much he is coming to loathe Baby Huey Long. From the
Charlotte News & Observer:
The
presidential candidate was touting Republican successes in last year’s
midterm elections in Florida, and in North Carolina, amid disappointing
results in the rest of the country, when he brought up the recently
renamed installation. “I also look forward to, as president, restoring
the name of Fort Bragg,” DeSantis said to raucous cheers from the crowd.
He added that he would “thank the people that have served there, and
they’re proud of their service there.”
“It’s
an iconic name and an iconic base, and we’re not going to let political
correctness run amok in North Carolina,” DeSantis said as the crowd
continued to cheer.
Sure,
Bragg went to arms against the lawful government of the United States.
Sure, he was one of the biggest boobs in the history of warfare. Sure, he shot his own men like
partridges. Sure, he was such a complete incompetent that he enraged
Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was no bowl of strawberries on his best day.
The Butcher of Fort Pillow purportedly once threatened to serve up
Bragg en brochette.
Braxton Bragg was a slave-owning racist and failed military
leader, sometimes described as the worst general of the Civil War. The
question should be, why would anyone name a military base after him in
the first place? Nevertheless, Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending him.
The
governor is upset that the U.S. military changed the name of North
Carolina’s Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty earlier this month. He called it
“political correctness run amok,” and said he would restore the name if
voters elected him president.
But Braxton Bragg is no
cancel culture martyr. The military base should never have been named in
his honor, not when Camp Bragg opened in 1918, and certainly not now.
[. . .]
By definition, Bragg was a traitor to the United States. He was at best a
middling military leader and, at worst, so inadequate that he helped
cost the Confederacy the war. Celebrate his failures and treachery? How
un-American.
In case the demonstration in Florida over the weekend confused you, racists and KKK types coming out to show their support for Little Ronnie DeSanits, that's what this is about. He panders to racists. Grasp also, the base is now named Fort Liberty. Of course Ron would be against that, he loathes liberty as much as he detests democracy.
I lived in Sydney, one of the major LGBTQ capitals of the world, for many years. The annual highlight was the fabulous Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras that turned the city rainbow, and I never missed a pride parade! Now I live in South Africa, which, you might be surprised to know, was among the first nations to allow same-sex marriage. Despite the progressive laws, LGBTQ people here still face discrimination and violence, which is why celebrations of Pride month are so much more than glitter and glam: They’re vital for equality. In today’s edition of the Weekender, we tell you what LGBTQ events to go to, causes to support, the best shows to watch and the latest books to read. So turn up Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” or put on Gaga’s “Born This Way,” don your dancing shoes and get ready to celebrate diversity in all its glorious color.
Last year, the pandemic prevented Pride marches around the world from taking place. But this year, at least in some cities, they’re back! The annual New York City Pride March takes place on June 27, so get the glitter and feather boas ready, and if you’re not actually in the Big Apple for the festivities, you can always dance along while livestreaming at home.
2. Do a Charity Run/Donate
Instead of killing it on the dance floor, pound the tarmac and work up a sweat for gay rights. The Atlanta Pride Run takes place tomorrow in Georgia’s capital. Proceeds from the 5K run this year go to Joining Hearts, an organization that assists Atlanta residents impacted by HIV/AIDS. If you prefer to do good from the comfort of your couch, you can donate to any of these LGBTQ charities.
3. Get Cultured
West Hollywood is holding its annual One City One Pride arts festival until June 30, and there’s a plethora of activities to choose from, including play readings, film screenings and an LGBTQ history tour. In nearby Santa Monica, stop by to check out the Pride art walk. It runs until the end of the month and features more than a dozen art installations by LGBTQ artists you can see by following a rainbow-lit pathway all the way to the Santa Monica Pier. If you’re on the East Coast, the Carlton Fine Arts gallery is holding an exhibition of iconic gay artists highlighting the likes of Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.
4. Get a Pride Mani-Pedi
Whenever I ask my best friend’s 5-year-old daughter what color to paint my nails, I know the answer will always be: “Rainbow!” Well, the kid has taste. Celebrate this Pride month by getting the ultimate statement pedicure. Loads of salons are offering variations on rainbow nails, from minimalist clear polish with a pop of art to ’70s-style waves or a “Skittles” manicure, where every nail is painted a different color.
It’s time for #RealTalkRealChange. OZY and Chevrolet are teaming up for a discussion on racial disparities in America’s health care system, taking on one of the most urgent questions we face today. Hosted by OZY co-founder and Emmy Award–winning journalist Carlos Watson, who is joined by key leaders from across the country, we’re having pointed conversations to identify problems and equip you with solutions. Put aside the shouting matches and talking heads and be an ally: Join us now on YouTube for a real conversation you won’t want to miss.
The outfits are reason enough to watch this recent Netflix show set in 1970s New York as they’re absolutely fabulous, dahling! Ewan McGregor shines as the iconic American fashion designer , Roy Halston Frowick, with the five-part series charting his rise to fame, friendship with Liza Minnelli, coke-fueled nights at Studio 54 and troubled relationship with boyfriend Victor Hugo. The series was created by Ryan Murphy of Glee fame, who, like the eponymous hero of his new offering, grew up gay in the Midwest.
2. ‘Hating Peter Tatchell’
Halston is full of catty one-liners and beautiful people, but if you want something less frivolous, try this new documentary. Americans may not have heard of Tatchell, but he’s undoubtedly one of the foremost gay activists of his generation: Think Britain’s Harvey Milk. The Aussie-born, Britain-based provocateur has been risking his life to promote LGBTQ rights around the world since the ’70s, from getting beaten by former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s bodyguards in Brussels to being detained in Moscow. Whether you love him or loathe his methods, you can’t help admiring his courage. The film was produced by Elton John and his husband, David Furnish.
3. ‘Rafiki’
Ironically most Kenyans weren’t able to watch one of the most lauded films of recent years to emerge from their country, after the government banned Wanuri Kahiu’s lesbian love story. Homosexuality is illegal in the East African nation, and the film board said Rafiki “undermined the sensibilities” of Kenyans. But while the ban was being debated in court, the filmmakers managed to hold a few well-attended screenings in Nairobi, with woke Kenyan moviegoers praising the bittersweet tale of romance between a pink-dreadlocked rich girl and a skateboarding tomboy from a broken home.
Check out the brand new podcast Be Antiracist, hosted by Ibram X. Kendi. Be Antiracist imagines what an antiracist society might look like and how we all can play an active role in building it. Kendi is the author of How to Be an Antiracist, the book that spurred a nationwide conversation redefining what it means to be antiracist, and on the show, he guides listeners to identify and reject the racist systems hiding behind racial inequity and injustice. Alongside guests like Julián Castro, Jemele Hill, Don Lemon, Heather McGhee, and Mariame Kaba, Kendi continues his journey towards building a just and equitable world and proposes how we can all help create it.
Long before there were gay rights, there were gay write — ers. While homosexuality is now legal in most Western democracies, it’s worth remembering the change-makers and iconoclasts who helped get us there. Some of my favorite gay writers include Chistopher Isherwood, Alan Hollinghurst, James Baldwin and, of course, Oscar Wilde. For lesbian classics, try The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein or Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde. If you’re looking for stories with trans protagonists, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is a must-read, or try the more recent The Death of Vivek Oji by Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi.
2. ‘The Engagement’
As its subtitle, “America’s Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage,” suggests, this book documents one of the central civil rights fights of our generation, the battle for marriage equality. Written by journalist and author Sasha Issenberg and published earlier this month, the 900-page narrative explores how within a decade, what had once been considered a fringe issue, even by many members of the LGBTQ community, rose to the top of the gay political agenda, reached the U.S. Supreme Court and changed America.
3. ‘Girl, Woman, Other'
I’ve finally started this novel, which all my friends seemed to be reading during lockdown. By Bernardine Evaristo, it shared the 2019 Booker Prize with Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Like Evaristo, the large cast of characters in Girl are mainly Black British women. One is an aging radical lesbian playwright while another is a nonbinary blogger, but all are searching for something regardless of their race or sexuality. Evaristo was the first Black woman to win the Booker, with the judges hailing her writing as “passionate, razor-sharp [and] brimming with energy and humour.”
4. ‘Afterparties’
This short story collection written by Anthony Veasna So is one to preorder ahead of its August publication. Its author, who once described himself as “a grotesque parody of the model minority,” died suddenly last year at 28 before he could see it in print. His collection focuses on a young, gay, Cambodian American man in the Bay Area and the relationships between traumatized refugee parents who escaped the Khmer Rouge and their first-generation American children.
I’ve always loved Jean Paul Gaultier’s perfumes, admittedly because they’re packaged in such beautiful bottles shaped like the human form, but they smell nice too! This one for men comes in a special pride-colored torso bottle, with key notes of mint and lavender — perfect for balmy summer evenings.
2. Flip-Flops
How better to show off your new pride pedicure than by wearing a pair of these matching rainbow Havaianas? They’re definitely the comfiest flips around, whether you’re headed to the beach or a pride parade after-party. Wearing your heart on your sleeve is so yesterday — now you can wear your pride on your feet!
3. Earbuds
If you dance to the beat of your own drum, bump it up a notch with these rainbow wireless earbuds. They’ll go wherever you do — from marching in a Pride parade this weekend to strolling your neighborhood or walking the pooch. Plus, they come with a built-in microphone for hands-free calls and the cutest-ever portable charging case.
