This was the community embracing their friends and neighbors

A couple days ago I wrote that the House Freedom Caucus shut down the House over their displeasure of the debt limit bill that McCarthy negotiated with Biden. Joan McCarter of Daily Kos reported that it appears McCarthy caved to their demands, though what the terms are is disputed in public. Which means this isn’t over. Whatever the new terms, it appears the terms of the debit limit law didn’t defang the HFC and they will likely raise a ruckus over the budget, due Oct. 1. Since whatever they demand won’t get through the Senate or past Biden’s veto pen, a government shutdown is almost guaranteed. Unless the other 200 or so Republican members of the House decide to not be controlled by the dozen members of the Freedom Caucus. Members who represent districts Biden won are beginning to speak out. Was one of the things McCarthy agreed to a renewed effort to go after political opponents? We’ll see. Walter Einenkel of Kos reported that Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a member of the HFC and almost as chameleon as George Santos, filed a request to censure Rep. Adam Schiff for his investigation into the relationship between the nasty guy’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Schiff said he is “flattered” to be recognized as an effective political opponent of the nasty guy. The measure was tabled by a vote 225-196 with 20 Republicans voting to table. Hunter of Kos discussed more evidence that the legal system treats some people differently. When the nasty guy was arraigned he was declared not to be a flight risk and released. They didn’t even take his passport.

Trump has access to a private 757, is facing a lifetime in prison, has allies in numerous countries willing to harbor him if it becomes necessary, is already known to have been showing off classified documents to aides and ghostwriters, and news reports indicate that the government has not been able to find all of the national security documents he made off with—including the alleged military scenarios for attacking Iran that he had been waving around in his Bedminster golf club. Those documents are almost certainly still in his possession. But he's not a flight risk, even the federal prosecutors say. No chance of him trundling off in his 757, with or without more boxes of classified documents.

In contrast, back in 2017 Reality Leigh Winner released one classified document and was considered too dangerous to let out of her cell. She was sentenced to a bit over five years and released in 2021. Kos of Kos explained why Ukraine, at the start of its counteroffensive, is attacking the most heavily defended region of the front. Behind those defenses are the cities of Tokmak and Melitopol. Both of them are strategically important because both are transportation and logistical hubs. Liberate them and Russia’s hold on Ukraine is significantly weakened. And once Melitopol is liberated Russia’s land bridge to Crimea is split and Crimea can no longer be supplied by land. Also, the Kerch Bridge between Crimea and the Russian mainland is in missile range. But maybe all this is a feint and the big push will be elsewhere? Tim Mak, now part of the Kos community, visited the reservoir that is losing water because of the blown dam near Kherson. The fishermen around this reservoir are furious at Russia. Yeah, this is mild compared to the flooding downstream. As the waters recede there are a lot of places where the fish are no longer biting. One source of food is gone. There are other places where the fish are biting a lot because they have fewer places to hide as the water level drops. And when the water level drops more the fish will die. So the fishermen might as well catch them. Last Sunday, four days ago, Mark Sumner of Kos reported that Ukraine is making progress and has liberated several villages. But Russia’s most fortified defenses are 10-15km from the front. And getting through those defenses will be hard. Also, perhaps three-fourths of Ukraine’s force is still in reserve. The next day Sumner explored that idea a bit more. Ukraine has room to attack – they’ve liberated 100 square kilometers. But those main defenses will be hard to get through. Some of the concrete barriers may be shoddy, but they’ll still be effective. Sumner also noted many people have chided Time for a headline saying the flooding in Kherson “could become the country’s Chernobyl.” Guys? Chernobyl is in Ukraine, so Chernobyl is the country’s Chernobyl. Though, yeah, that dam collapse and the flooding will have long-lasting and devastating consequences. On Tuesday Sumner reported that Ukraine is doing a lot of attacking at night. They have some pretty good and sophisticated night vision tech. It was some of the first stuff the US supplied. Russians do have such tech, but it isn’t as good, they don’t give it to the grunts, and it is more likely found on eBay that with soldiers. Some more Pride month stories. In a pundit roundup for Kos Chitown Kev quoted Judd Legum, Tesnum Zekria, and Rebecca Crosby, writing for Popular Information:

While major corporations are continuing to spend token amounts on marketing to the LGBTQ community, a Popular Information investigation reveals the same companies are spending millions backing anti-LGBTQ politicians. The investigation found that 25 corporations have donated $13.5 million to anti-LGBTQ politicians since January 2022. ... All 25 corporations included in Popular Information's analysis were highly rated by HRC's 2022 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). 20 of the 25 corporations received perfect scores (100) and none received a score below 85. Along with workplace policies, the Corporate Equality Index purports to measure corporations' "public commitment to the LGBTQ community." But HRC's methodology excludes political donations.

About ten days ago the Human Rights Campaign (just mentioned) issued a state of emergency warning for LGBTQ people in America. It was issued because so many lawmakers in so many states are targeting us. Simply issuing travel advisories is not enough. So this is a call to action to fight for our rights at every level of government. The emergency warning came with a guidebook on the state of our rights in each state. That is important both as a map to fight back and also as a way to tell parents where to move to protect their child. Hey, come to Michigan! We’ve been adding LGBTQ protections and general discrimination bans as fast as the legislature can. Just passed is a crown act – one can’t be discriminated against by the texture of their hair and by other features associated with race or ethnicity. Up next is a ban on conversion therapy. It has passed the state House and is before the Senate. A Florida court has narrowly ruled that three transgender children can continue treatment in spite of a state ban. The ruling included a very important point: Gender identity is real. More work must be done to lift the ban completely. In honor of D-Day (79 years ago) there was a comment that soldiers who stormed ashore in Normandy would not recognize the country today certain things implied. Leah McElrath responded:

One reason SF and NYC became gay strongholds after WWII is because a critical mass of those soldiers discovered they were gay while serving in the military and chose not to return to their small towns. Gay soldiers fought in WWII.

Michael Edison Hayden tweeted:

If you are straight but resistant to authoritarianism, now is a good time to show up for queer people. They're not going to stop until you conform to their repressive worldview and they won't stop at LGBTQ+ rights or abortion. It's about limiting your freedom.

About that ... An Associated Press article posted on Kos told the story of Grand Haven, Michigan. It is the county seat of Ottawa County. The county stretches from the western edge of Grand Rapids to Lake Michigan and from Holland to Grand Haven. This is the conservative side of the state. In January, the conservative Christian group Ottawa Impact claimed a majority on the county’s board of commissioners. They replaced the county slogan that all were welcome and they certainly weren’t going to support a Pride festival in either major city. Empowered by county officials people attended a Grand Haven city council meeting calling Pride a celebration of “sexual immorality.” So planners thought small. Rev. Jared Cramer of St. John’s Episcopal Church had been holding Pride themed worship services on the waterfront since 2021. He did it because there were no other Pride events. He disputed claims that one could be Christian or gay, but not both. He expected a few dozen people to show up at that first service. Two hundred came. In April the city approved the plan for a Pride festival despite local opposition. Organizers doubled their fundraising goal. They tripled their target for vendors and had to cap it at that. Over 100 people volunteered. They improved security. They expected a crowd of maybe 500. About 4000 showed up. After the service the drag queens came to dance. This was more than the area LGBTQ crowd. This was the community rejecting the conservatives and embracing their friends and neighbors.