I Didn't Say It

Chris Van Hollen, Democrat Senator from Maryland, spoke with El Salvador’s Vice President Félix Ulloa about the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man sent there by The Felon’s regime despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation:

“Why is the government of El Salvador continuing to imprison a man where they have no evidence that he’s committed any crime and they have not been provided any evidence from the United States that he has committed any crime? They should just let him go. We have an unjust situation here. [The Felon’s] administration is lying about Abrego Garcia. The American courts have looked at the facts. I will keep pressing in my remaining time here and I will keep pressing beyond that.”

The Felon will not allow him back because it will make him look like even more of an inept, unqualified, lump of gelatinous flab with no brain cells firing in that fat head of his.

But We The People should remember and use our votes to get the GOP out of Congress and then impeach The Felon and his rag-tag bag of goose-stepping Nazis and imprison them all in an El Salvadoran gulag.

UPDATE: Yesterday Senator Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongly deported to El Salvador last month.

But, moments before Hollen posted his message and image, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele posted three additional photos from the meeting and said:

"Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody."

Apparently because The Felon is paying Bukele to keep Garcia there.

This is far from over.

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Wilson Cruz, out actor and LGBTQ+ activist, ripping fellow actor Terrence Howard a new for  refusing to play a gay character:

“Let me be very clear. I don’t give a flying fuck if straight actors play Gay roles [but] what we won’t be doing is saying that playing a Gay role makes you less of a man. Being a man has nothing to do with where you put your dick and [is] much more about where you don’t put your hands. It’s about how you use your strength to protect. To build, to stand for what is right and just, for  you. Your family, your community. Worry less about your manhood and worry more about mankind. Be a man.”

It's funny that Howard had no issue playing a drug dealer, an adulterer, a criminal, a murderer, but gay gets him all sweaty and bothered.

Huh.

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Steve Inskeep, American journalist and one of the hosts of NPR’s Morning Edition and Up First, plainly stating The Felon’s stupidity:

“If I understand this correctly, the US president has launched a trade war against the world, believes he can force the EU and China to meet his terms, is determined to annex Canada and Greenland but is powerless before the sovereign might of El Salvador. Is that right?”

Well, El Salvador has a dick-tator and The Felon seems to like dick … tators.

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David Letterman, TV icon, on The Felon:

“If this guy was running Dairy Queen, he’d be gone …so why do we have to be victimized by his fecklessness, his ignorance … Let’s just stop whining about what a goon he is and figure out a way to take him aside and put him in a home.”

Stand up, speak up, resist and vote. Then have him committed.

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Eric Swalwell, California Democrat Representative, on how to ensure that another Felon isn’t aided and abetted while office:

“I don’t say this lightly: when we escape this … Hell there needs to be a Presidential Crimes Commission. It should be made up of independent prosecutors who look at those who enabled a corrupt president.”

All those Republicans to afraid to be primaried or suffer the fate of The Mean Tweet, and who stood by and did nothing but prop up a criminal because they care more about power than country, should be sent to, oh, I don’t know, maybe some kind of maximum security gulag where they can think about what they did.

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Henry Rollins, singer, writer, actor, comedian, and spoken word artist, on immigrants to America:

“Someone who would go across a desert that can kill you, to get to another country? You want to be an American that bad? ‘Cause I’ve never had to lift my damn finger to be an American and I am honored to share a country with you.”

I’d rather share my country with people who come here looking for a better life than those people who are here to keep “others’ down because of language or skin color or gender identity or sexual orientation.

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Scott Galloway, professor at New York University Stern School of Business, on The Felon's tariff mess:

"It would be hard to think of a more elegant way to reduce prosperity this fast. Let's talk about Apple. The notion was we're going to bring back all of those great jobs? The average Apple assembly person in China makes $500 a month. The average Apple employee focusing on more high-value things like design, store management, makes $200,000 a year here. We want to wear Nikes. We don't want to make them. We have outsourced low-wage jobs overseas such that we can create more profits, more investments, and create higher wage jobs. If these tariffs hold, your iPhone's going to go from $1000 bucks to $2,300; to make an iPhone in the U.S. it would cost $3,500. As a result, the threats of these tariffs take Apple's stock down the value of Walmart in three days. If these tariffs hold ... 80% of toys under the Christmas tree are from China so 90% of U.S. households are budget-constrained. So we're talking about half the number of toys. We're talking about a destruction in shareholder value such that your parents can't retire as quickly and we're talking about the entire world rerouting their supply chain around 'brand America,' which, quite frankly, right now is toxic uncertainty—so they can bypass a series of unpredictable, epileptic, sclerotic decisions. What we finally need to acknowledge: We have someone at the wheel of the global economy that is blackout drunk right now.”

The Felon needs to be tried for his fraud, for his manipulation, to make the rich richer and the poor subservient. This whole on-again-off-again, pause on the tariff bull shit is a ploy to increase the wealth of the one percent  while punishing everyone else.

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I Didn't Say It ...

Henry Rollins, on [t]Rump 2016:

"In a nation of hundreds of millions of people, there is one man born to lead. A man who stands head and shoulders above the rest. A lone alpha who burns incandescent in a vast wasteland of darkness. When asked to serve in Vietnam, he said no and took a deferment. He took a few of them, actually, because he is his own man. He got married. The merger didn’t work. She was fired. So was the next one. It’s business, not personal — like America! He has overcome adversity. Like bankruptcy. And with an almost Michelangelo-like genius, he conquered the K2 challenge of his hair. He is what America needs. A man with so much self-confidence that, if you put him in the Oval Office, some of it will no doubt trickle down to you. Who is this man who will put all other world leaders in their place? The same man who just read a cellphone number, allegedly Lindsey Graham’s private line, out loud so the world could hear. (Hey, I laughed.) This man is America. So bend over, relax and hold onto something solid, because here he comes — here comes Donald Trump 2016. And when he puts it in, you’ll know who your daddy is."

Rollins rules!

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Clay Aiken, on Donald Trump: 

“I kind of hope he decides to stick with it and maybe give people another option outside of the Republicans and Democrats.”

And that option is The Blowhards With Money Party?

We already have that, Clay, and it’s called the GOP.

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Barbara Boxer, US Democratic Senator, on how she is bothered by men, like fellow Senator James Lankford lecturing women about reproductive health:

“I just don’t like lectures by men about what it’s like. I’m pro-choice and I just have to say, using pregnancy as a political football doesn’t sit well with the people I represent and the people of this country. We have to respect one another. I respect your view entirely. I’m asking you to respect mine. Keep Uncle Sam out of my private life and my children’s and my grandkids’ and your’s. Families will make these decisions with their God, with their doctor.”

Sounds pretty clear, right? Keep the government out of women’s vaginas.

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James Lankford, US Republican Senator, in response:

“I’m a dad of two daughters. I had something to do with the birth as well, and was also there. I was there during the sonograms.”

Wait, let’s make one thing queer, James. After you shot the wad, it was all on your wife; she carried the children; she birthed the children; she breastfed the children.

You helped; you helped, you didn't birth. Deal with it, and stay out of women’s issues and quit trying to make abortion a man’s issue.

It isn’t.

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Kelly Osbourne, on Donald [t]Rump’s anti-immigrant lunacy:

“And if you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilets, Donald Trump?” 

Look, I know what she meant, but she went about it all wrong.

She was certainly not implying that the only job for which Latinos are needed is to clean toilets; she meant that, possibly, a great many maids in those [t]Rump hotels are Latina and so maybe [t]Rump should think twice … twice? I mean once … before bashing Hispanics.

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Jeb Bush, on defunding Planned Parenthood due to the GOP lie that the organization is selling aborted fetuses:

"I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars in funding for women’s health programs. If you took dollar for dollar, there are many extraordinarily fine organizations, community health organizations that exist, federally sponsored community health organizations to provide quality care for women on a wide variety of health issues. But abortion should not be funded by the government, any government in my mind."

First thing, Jeb; abortion is not funded by the government by law so quit lying and pandering. Secondly, we need trillions and trillions of dollars in defense money but $500 million in women’s health issues—like cancer screenings and treatment—is too much?

Siddown.

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I Didn't Say It ...

Henry Rollins, writing for LA Weekly about that marriage equality ruling:

"I am hoping that, in time, Obergefell v. Hodges will be seen in the same way as Loving v. Virginia — inevitable and a sign of social evolution in America. I bet two people of the same sex who want to get married don’t think they are going to have a 'gay wedding.' By wanting to get married in the first place, they show their dedication both to each other and to tradition. Wanting to get married is a freakin’ billboard for normality and inclusion. I wish the 'You lost! Deal with it!' talk would stop. I can understand where it comes from but it doesn’t make anything better. There were no losers, in my opinion. To those who disagree with same-sex marriage because it offends their faith, I would say your beliefs are still yours to have. The wisdom, peace and clarity that faith has allowed you to have are still intact. No word of any religious text has been changed or its power reduced. There is a lot of room in America; it allows all to move freely. All the wedding photographs popping up on the Internet should be enough to convince anyone that this was a great decision. Take Jack Evans and George Harris, for example — together for 54 years, in Texas of all places, finally able to get hitched. I am looking at them now. The skies have not darkened with locusts and tomorrow there will be traffic. I do believe we will be OK."

Leave it to Henry to just make it all so simple.

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Jeb Bush, on how smart President Obama is, and how his intellect creates chaos in the world:

“You don’t have to be the world’s policeman, but we have to be the world’s leader — and there’s a huge difference. This guy, this president and Secretary Clinton and Secretary Kerry, when someone disagrees with their nuanced approach — where it’s all kind of so sophisticated it makes no sense, you know what I’m saying? Big-syllable words and lots of fancy conferences and meetings — but we’re not leading, that creates chaos, it creates a more dangerous world.”

Wait, so Jeb just admitted he doesn’t understand big words and lotsa syllables?

I’ll make it easy for him: You’ll lose.

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Ken Shetter, mayor of Burleson Texas, posting his support of the SCOTUS marriage equality ruling, and talking about being a politician and a Christian:

“Congratulations to the LGBT community, especially to those I count as friends and who call Burleson home. One of the best things about today’s ruling is that it is one more signal to LGBT youth that they are fully accepted and valued participants in our society—no matter where they live. … I will not quote any verse of the Bible in justifying my mayoral views. I will simply say I will uphold the Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States. I will also be true to my commitment to do everything within my power to make Burleson a great place to live, learn, work and play for all…And all includes gay citizens of Burleson. On a personal level, I celebrate the right of my gay friends to be married, as well as the fact they are accepted and embraced more fully in today’s society. I do so not in spite of my Christian beliefs, but at least partially because of my Christian beliefs.”

Wow. A Texas Christian politician who is able to see that LGBT rights, and marriage equality, aren’t a sign of the end times!

Who knew?

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Scott Walker, on what he'll do about marriage equality when he's president ... stop laughing:

"Our conservative values were handed a big blow with the recent Supreme Court ruling. Let me be very clear: this decision was a grave mistake. Five unelected judges took it upon themselves to take that responsibility away from the states and redefine the institution of marriage. In 2006, I voted to amend my state constitution to protect the institution of marriage because I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. I believe that the states have the right to define marriage. To protect this right, I support an amendment to the United States Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage."

And, um, Scott? What are you going to tell all those same-sex couples who have gotten married since 2003, and who came out strong after the SCOTUS ruling last month, and got married?

Are our marriages going to be voided, because that won’t happen; and if you think you’ll be able to make any future same-sex marriages illegal, that also will never happen.

Like your becoming president will never happen.

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Joe Biden, on the first time he saw two men kissing—it occurred when he was seventeen and riding in a car with his father:

“As we were stopped at the light, two men on the right — very well-dressed men, obviously, business people … turned and embraced one another and kissed each other.  And they went their separate ways. I’ll never forget.  I turned and looked at my dad, just looked at him.  And I’ll never forget what he said.  He said, Joey, they love each other.  It’s simple. They love each other.  It’s simple. That’s what this has been all about from the beginning.”

And I thought Joe was the fierce advocate for same-sex couples, but it appears he got it from his father.

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I Didn't Say It ...

Meghan McCain, on Aaron Schock's epic "flameout":

“The specific scandal that led to his resignation exacerbates every negative stereotype that exists about Millennials being the over-indulged, selfie-obsessed, “me-me-me” generation, and now, unluckily enough for us Millennial Republicans out there, our first well-known representative will be best remembered for completely blowing his chance to reform our party simply because he got too caught up riding around in private jets and going to Katy Perry concerts.” 

To me he's just another self-entitled Republican who thinks the rules don't apply to them, young or old, Baby Boomer or Millennial.
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Kerry Washington, of Scandal, receiving the Vanguard Award at the GLAAD Media Awards about how marginalized communities should be working together for a seat at the table:

"So when black people today tell me that they don't 'believe' in gay marriage, the first thing that I say is please don't let anybody try to get you to vote against your own best interests by feeding you messages of hate. And then I say, you know people used to say stuff like that about you and your love. And if we let the government start to legislate love in our lifetime, who do you think is next? We can't say that we believe in each others' fundamental humanity and then turn a blind eye to the reality of each other’s existence and the truth of each other’s hearts. We must be allies. And we must be allies in this business because to be represented is to be humanized. And as long as anyone, anywhere is being made to feel less human, our very definition of humanity is at stake and we are all vulnerable."

Perfection.
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Henry Rollins, musician and outspoken LGBT supporter, suggesting that opposition to marriage equality is the GOP’s best fundraising tool:

“I am not convinced that that many people really have a problem with gay marriage [but] I think that there are absolutely some people who hate and fear the gay and are very opposed to the gay marriage. … I think that it has become a consistent and dependable fundraiser to where if every homosexual person in America said ‘ok, we’re awful, we have a bad lifestyle, and we’ll slither under the rock that we should be living under and we’ll never ask to be married again,’ they would lose a major fundraising tool. People on the right would go ‘no, no, no, come back queer wanna-get-married guy, we need you in the bible belt.”

Sad, but true. Hate as a means of raising money for a political party.
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Zoe Saldana, on the Dolce & Gabbana boycott:

“[That] would be the stupidest thing if it affected my fashion choice. People are allowed to their own opinion, however, I wouldn’t have chosen to be so public about something that’s such a personal thing. Obviously it caused some sensitivity, but then again if you continue to follow the news, you see they all kinda hugged it out, so why are we making a big deal about it? I’m certainly not going to stop wearing Dolce, and I’m certainly not going to be refuting when they are adopting synthetic children, however they wanted to say it. I do think things are lost in translation. My husband [Marco Perego] is from Italy and if I judged him based on the words that he misuses in our English language he wouldn’t be here today. It’s like look people, have a drink, relax, it’s okay.”

A prime example of why some, some, actresses shouldn't speak unless reading from a script.

It was by no means a case of not understanding the language; those two gay men are ashamed of ebbing gay and think that being gay means they have no rights to marry or have children, either via adoption, IVF, surrogacy...

Siddown Zoe, and keep quiet.

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Madonna, on why she’s never met President Obama:

"The person I most want to meet is President Obama. When the heck am I going to meet him? He just needs to invite me to the White House already. He probably thinks I'm too shocking to be there. I'm serious. If I was a little bit more demure or if I was just married to Jay Z. Hey, if Jay would only take me as his second wife, then I'd score an invitation.”

Maybe he’s just not that into you, Madge.
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Larry Kramer, LGBT activist, author, playwright and hero, receiving the first-ever Larry Kramer Activism Award from the Gay Men's Health Crisis [GMHC]:

"Genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or ethnic group. Such as gay people. Such as people of color. To date, around the world, an estimated 78 million people have become infected, 39 million of whom have died. When we first became acquainted with HIV there were 41 cases. The main difference between the Larry Kramer who helped to start Gay Men’s Health Crisis in his living room in 1982 and ACT UP in 1987 and the Larry Kramer who stands before you now is that I no longer have any doubt that our government is content, via sins of omission or commission, to allow the extermination of my homosexual population to continue unabated."

Silence = Death. Stand out, speak out, and carry on Larry’s legacy. Hiding does no one any good.

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I Didn't Say It ....

Robin Roberts, on Good Morning America this week, sharing a picture of herself with girlfriend Amber and announcing to applause from her cohosts:

“I’m going to tell you all this, because you have had a front row seat for that tumultuous year. I have never been happier or healthier than I am right now. And my year-end post was just full of gratitude and just telling everyone all that I’m grateful for, including my girlfriend, Amber, who loved me through a very difficult year.”

Brave woman, open woman, happy woman.

It's a great thing.

Zeke Thomas, the gay son of NBA Hall of Famer Isaiah Thomas, on coming out:

“I came out in 2008, my sophomore year at college. My parents like to say they always knew I was gay. I came out to them, and they were very accepting. I always knew they would be accepting. Growing up, I had gay uncles, like every kid in America. I never was so scared that my parents were going to shun or disown me—the horror stories you hear. I was just nervous about, “Are my friends gonna accept me?” because I was a jock kid, so to speak, with an athlete father.”

It’s kind of surprising that Zeke wasn’t worried about his athlete father, who was so open and accepting, but he was worried about his friend’s reactions because he has an athlete father.

Good on Dad. And Mom.

Chris Kluwe, saying he was cut from the Minnesota Vikings because he was vocally pro-LGBT rights:

“However, it's clear to me that no matter how much I want to prove I can play, I will no longer punt in the NFL, especially now that I've written this account. Whether it's my age, my minimum veteran salary, my habit of speaking my mind, or (most likely) a combination of all three, my time as a football player is done. Punters are always replaceable, at least in the minds of those in charge, and I realize that in advocating noisily for social change I only made it easier for them to justify not having me around. So it goes. Some will ask if the NFL has a problem with institutionalized homophobia. I don't think it does. I think there are homophobic people in the NFL, in all positions, but that's true for society as well, and those people eventually get replaced. All we can do is try to expose their behavior when we see it and call them to account for their actions.”

He got cut, but Phil Robertson kept his job?

And there’s a War on Christianity?

Mike Priefer, Minnesota Vikings Assistant Coach, whom Kluwe called a bigot, on Kluwe’s claims:

 “I vehemently deny today’s allegations made by Chris Kluwe. I want to be clear that I do not tolerate discrimination of any type and am respectful of all individuals. I personally have gay family members who I love and support just as I do any family member. The comments today have not only attacked my character and insulted my professionalism, but they have also impacted my family.”

Oooh, he has gay friends and family members so he couldn’t possibly be a homophobe. And yet no Gays were trotted out when he made his remarks. Maybe they were hanging with Mama Grizzly Bore’s™ gay “friends”.

Brendon Ayanbadejo, standing with Chris Kluwe:

"Even though the NFL tries to keep you in a box in terms of your philanthropy he went out there and he did what he thought was right. Would he be in the league today if he had continued to go speak at schools about education or fitness, or if he continued to do hunger drives, or cancer awareness type of stuff? Yeah, he'd probably still be in the NFL but Chris did what was right for him."

I always had a suspicion that Kluwe was cut for speaking his mind, and I’m glad he, and Ayanbadejo, are speaking up about this. How can we ever expect a gay player to come out if gay-friendly players are getting cut for their activism?

Brian Boitano, former Olympic figure skater, on coming out:

"I’ve always been a private person. I’ve kept the private side of my life special for family and friends who really knew me. I’ve never been ashamed of who I was. I’ve always been open with them, so I really didn’t feel that there was a need. I’m just a private guy, and I realize that there’s a public side of my life and a private side. I’ve always chosen to keep my sexuality private."

Keeping your private life private is your right, but think of all the young gay men he might have helped by coming out earlier.

He could have come out — I’m gay — and then said he wouldn’t discuss his relationships or private life, and that would have been fine, But not saying anything, even though many suspected, gossiped, hoped, and prayed he was gay, makes it seem like being gay is shameful.

It’s not.

Henry Rollins, on Duck Dynasty:

“A&E would be well advised to get while the getting's good and quadruple down on the show's popularity with a vast array of merchandise, like a DD limited-edition shotgun, camo covers for Bibles, strap-on beards, and at least one spinoff. You could call it ... Duck Dynasty. A&E should do this before the show's fans die of respiratory/circulatory complications, substance abuse or lung cancer.

On the flip side of things, one of you supremely talented graphic artists should start a comic book series starring the Duck dudes as homosexual bears. Talk about crossover potential. The thing writes itself. At the next major gay pride event, there should be hard-bodied men in camo hot pants, ridiculous beards pasted to their chins, blowing through duck calls. Dick Dynasty is a gay porn series just waiting to happen.

Just remember: When you see the DD men all decked out in their camo gear, they look pretty bitchin' and rugged -- but keep in mind that they wear these garments to help them hide from ducks. It's a comedy show, right?

Duck Dynasty is a ridiculous show and long may it wave. America and democracy will endure. They've seen a lot worse.”

I think Rollins should find investors and buy A&E; he has some brilliant ideas.

Or, maybe do that whole gay porn thing.

Richard Mack, former Graham County, Arizona sheriff, speaking at the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association rally, about Utah and same-sex marriage:

“The people of Utah have rights, too, not just the homosexuals. The homosexuals are shoving their agenda down our throats...That’s a lie. That’s an absolute lie [that the federal government's ruling overrules Utah's laws]. We have a right to raise our kids without homosexuals being part of the Boy Scouts, the schools and teachers and doing everything. They can be all that, but don’t shove your agenda down my kid’s throat. We have a right to raise our kids how we want not how you want."

Um, Dick? May I call you Dick because you’re a dick? No one, no one, is taking away any rights from Utahans. In fact, all that is being done is making all Utahans equal.

Raise your kids to be bigots, that’s your right, but don’t use your bigotry and intolerance and backwards views to deny equality to anyone else.

Oh, and shut up.

Evander Holyfield, retired pro boxer, on The Gays and choice:

"If you were born and your leg were turned this way - what would you do? You go to the doctor and get it fixed back, right? All I'm trying to tell you, you know how handicap people are born? You can’t say because they [gay people] are born that way you can’t move that. Yes, it is a choice. C'mon, how can you not say you ain't gay unless you sleeping with the opposite sex?"

Perhaps Holyfield was hit one too many times in the head.

Or perhaps when Tyson bit his ear off he lost the ability to hear the crap that spews from his mouth.