It only took more than two decades, but there’s finally some movement on queer protections in Pennsylvania (the only state in the Northeast without such protections). It passed the house, and is now waiting for a vote in the Senate. We’ll see what happens.
Of course, the same fear-mongering lies are being spewed by the right, but hey, at least it’s some progress!
“I think that’s telling,” Kinkead said. “We have had to affirmatively vote throughout the history of this country as to who is human and who deserves to be treated as such.
“Now we are having exactly the same debate about our LGBTQI plus friends and neighbors. And how dare we? This absolutely should have been fixed long ago,” Kinkead said, adding that she was angered that women are being used as a shield against equality for transgender people.
Alright, let’s see what we have today. First up, with Mardi Gras parades cancelled, residents instead decorated their porches as floats, and they are amazing!
Pigments are fascinating and so complex. And to prove that, we have the first new shade of blue…in 200 years.
We have a ton of work to do (pandemic, dismantling ICE, climate change, employment, racial inequity, the list goes on), but in some good news, President Biden signed the most substantive LGBT protections order ever. We still need to pass the Equality Act, but this is a great stop-gap.
Fun news: The USPS is partnering with Lucasfilm to do a set of stamps commemorating the droids of Star Wars!
Frightening news: Microsoft has patented a chatbot specifically used to recreate personalities, such as those of people who have died. I can see the therapeutic uses of this. But also, this could easily be exploited in so many bad ways.
A video showing the evolution of the world’s tallest buildings:
Has your mail been slower lately? It’s not your imagination, the new Postmaster General admitted he’s slowing it down. It’s all an effort to discredit voting by mail, BTW.
Back to federal again, Biden vows to allow the military to display pride flags again. With their new ban on Confederate flags (you know, the traitors that killed members of our military), it also banned pride flags (you know, currently serving members of our military).
And some local bad news, protesters at a Pro Police Rally decided to chant about killing queer people. Because no where is actually really safe, sadly.
Okay, some good news. AOC delivered an amazing rebuttal to the lawmaker who insulted her and gave a fake apology. Worth a watch!
Alright, catching up on a bit of a backlog in addition to some current items, but let’s see what we have today. First up, a favorite web comic/series, Surviving the World is returning with classic reposts! Here’s where he ended it. Class Dismissed.
Science news you can use: don’t drink your whiskey ‘neat’:
The United Methodist Church is splitting over gay issues. As someone who has come out of that on the other side, hey welcome, it’s a bumpy ride. Sorry you have to do this, it’s painful.
This fight (is still going on all across the country) happened in September in Arizona. Their GOP governor said they don’t need to extend non-discrimination protections to gay people, and their supreme court said businesses can deny service to gay people. The fight continues, and is seemingly never ending.
I wrote earlier about my displeasure at Marvel (and Star Wars) for LGBT erasure. The upcoming film, The Eternals, will, for the first time, feature a gay superhero (and kiss). Yes, it’s progress. Should it have taken 11 years? No.
In other movie news, the trailer for the new Wes Anderson film looks amazing:
The Catholic bishops in Texas have blasted their governor (who is Catholic)over his rule to not accept refugees. I’m highly, highly critical of the Catholic Church, so I have to give them points when it’s appropriate. Good for them.
Disney is announcing more details of their immersive Star Wars hotel for their resorts, and it looks amazing and I can’t wait to go!
Google pretty much hit it out of the park with their Superbowl ad:
Alright, let’s see what we have today. Couple Game of Thrones things now that it’s ended. Did you, like everyone, want to see a buddy comedy spin off of Arya and the Hound (as well as Tormund and Jon Snow), here’s the 80’s sitcom opening.
And here’s the haunting rendition (By Florence + The Machine, in the show, it was Podrick that sang it) of Jenny of Oldstone from Game of Thrones:
The author of The Frontrunner, where my running club gets its name, has died. She was just recently made the first honorary lifetime member by Frontrunners International.
I’ve been running a lot recently while listening to audio books, and before this news broke (even though the biography was published last year), I had started the biography of Mr. Rogers (as read by Lavar Burton, so just amazing all around), but he basically came out as bisexual!
The third season of Santa Clarita Diet is about to drop:
This is amazing: A woman recited (as much as she could in her three minutes) the Patton Oswalt filibuster from Parks and Rec! She even got to say “please allow me to finish.” These are civic engagement goals.
Speaking of civic engagement, one of the candidates running for the Democratic nomination, Pete Buttigieg, has impressed me so much, he makes me want to register with the party instead of being an Independent. I don’t have the link handy, but his interview on the Today show, talking about reclaiming faith for the left, was inspirational.
