Activism

The Evening Standard reports: Thousands of people have signed a petition for the Trump baby blimp to be flown close to the President’s golf course in Turnberry, Scotland. Activists raised over £16,000 to make the balloon and gain permission to fly it over Parliament Square. Sadiq Khan and City Hall gave the go-ahead for it to be flown on Friday …

Kansas City’s CBS affiliate reports: It is always a big deal when the President of the United States or the Vice President of the United States visit the Kansas City area. Roads are blocked off and large amounts of security following their every step. However, Wednesday will be a little different. The LGBTQ community in Kansas City and radio station …

From Lambda Legal: Judge Kavanaugh would guarantee 40 more years of Trump’s values on the Supreme Court. Like every other judicial nominee who has a seal of approval from the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society, Judge Kavanaugh shares Donald Trump’s same distorted view of the law. We have good reason to fear that Judge Kavanaugh will abuse his power …

From the Hidden Flag website: When Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag in 1978, he did so to create a symbol and an icon for the LGTB community. A symbol, recognisable across the world, that people could use to express their pride. Unfortunately, 40 years later, there are still countries in which homosexuality is persecuted, sometimes even by jail sentences, …

The Washington Post reports: After Miller ordered $80 of takeout sushi from a restaurant near his apartment, a bartender followed him into the street and shouted, “Stephen!” When Miller turned around, the bartender raised both middle fingers and cursed at him, according to an account Miller has shared with White House colleagues. Outraged, Miller threw the sushi away, he later …

The Louisville Courier Journal reports: A group of protesters confronted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Bardstown Road in Louisville Saturday, calling out “Abolish ICE” and “No justice, no peace.” The interaction was captured on video and shared with Courier Journal. In it, someone asks McConnell, “Where are the children? Where are the babies, MItch?” — an apparent reference to …

The Hill reports: A woman who went viral earlier this week after publicly telling Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to resign targeted President Trump after the EPA head’s sudden resignation on Thursday. In a posting on Facebook of her encounter with Pruitt, Mink listed off multiple scandals Pruitt has been involved in since becoming EPA chief. “I would …

The New York Post reports: The activist who caused the Statue of Liberty to be evacuated on the Fourth of July has been charged with trespassing, interference with government agency functions and disorderly conduct ​for scaling then icon of freedom. She faces up to a year and a half in prison if convicted. Manhattan federal prosecutors on Thursday ​charged​ Therese …

Sky News reports: A giant balloon dubbed “Trump baby” has been given the green light to fly near parliament during the president’s UK visit. London mayor Sadiq Khan’s Greater London Authority has approved a request for the flight after thousands signed a petition and a crowdfunding campaign raised more than £16,000 to get the six-metre inflatable off the ground. Strict …

AM New York reports: At least a dozen members of the activist group Rise and Resist dressed up in T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Abolish ICE” and dropped a flag with the same message from a balcony of the Statue of Liberty on Wednesday, according to photos posted to the group’s Twitter page. The group posed in front of the …

The Hill reports: A woman publicly confronted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt while he was eating lunch on Monday and urged him to resign, according to video posted on Facebook. “EPA head Scott Pruitt was 3 tables away as I ate lunch with my child. I had to say something,” Kristin Mink posted on Facebook with an accompanying …

USA Today reports: Tens of thousands of people descended on cities from coast-to-coast Saturday in “Families Belong Together” rallies to protest the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy that left more than 2,000 children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. In the nation’s capital, thousands poured into Lafayette Square, across from the White House, to chant “We care” …

ABC News New York reports: Don’t miss our live coverage of the march: it begins at 11:00 a.m. here on abc7NY.com , with an hour-long pre-march special. That is followed by Channel 7’s live broadcast of the 2018 NYC Pride March on-air and on digital via abc7NY.com from Noon until 3:00 p.m. The annual civil rights demonstration in New York …

Mediaite reports: Protesters tied to the Washington, D.C. area chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America heckled Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen out of a Mexican restaurant on Tuesday over her role in separating migrant families at the border. The protesters chanted “shame!” and “abolish ICE!” at Nielsen while she sat at a restaurant table surrounded by security. As can …

In his second in-person heckling of the day, Trump was just screamed at by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as he left a meeting with GOP House members. Shouted comments included, “Mr. President, don’t you have kids?” and “How is this in the bible?” Rep. Juan Vargas shouted, “We won’t go away! Quit separating the kids, they’re separating the …

The Hill reports: A heckler hurled an expletive at President Trump as he arrived at the Capitol on Tuesday. “Mr. President, f— you,” the person can be heard yelling in a clip shared by NBC’s Frank Thorp V. The president’s entourage was reportedly en route to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) office in the Capitol when the heckler, who has …

Gentle readers, I’m rerunning my annual Pride rant for the fourteenth year. I wrote this post in 2005 a couple of days after attending Pride in NYC. In the following years I’ve reposted it in advance of NYC Pride in the hope of encouraging you to attend your local events. Have a wonderful Pride Month. Love each other. Watching The …

ABC News reports: Vice President Mike Pence came to Columbus Friday for a speech on the Republican tax reforms but was repeatedly heckled by protesters in the crowd. The event was part of a victory lap tour for the White House organized by America First Policies, a group created by allies of President Trump to promote his agenda. The speech …

NBC News reports: LGBTQ rights supporters and people celebrating Pride welcomed Vice President Mike Pence to Columbus, Ohio, on Friday with a “Big LGBTQ Dance Party.” Crowds converged on a small stretch of Gay Street — you read that right — outside the hotel where Pence was speaking to a separate group about tax reform. Videos posted to social media …

Demerara Waves reports: Guyana held its first gay pride parade, with the country’s gay rights activists accusing the three-year old government as well as the opposition of breaking their election campaign promises to outlaw discrimination against vulnerable groups. “We are saying enough of the rhetoric, enough of the promises. It is time to make good on the legislative changes that …