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A Final Word On The Great Nationwide Kiss-In

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2009 will surely be christened the year of gay rights. We’ve added four states to the same-sex marriage list, bringing the total to six, and the White House, rumor has it, will soon move to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and DOMA. There’s also still hope the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill will make it to President Obama’s desk.

Sadly, 2009 will also be known as the year of anti-gay harassment and violence against gays.

Gay-bashings, and their severity, are on the rise. So is anti-gay rhetoric, and child-suicides related to anti-gay bullying. And, as we learned back in June and July, gays are being harassed, detained, and even arrested, after kissing in public.

In mid-July, I wrote a call-to-action, challenging gay rights groups, bloggers, and the media to find ways of keeping positive images of the LGBTQ community in the public eye during the month of August. Called, “Fill The Void,” it warned that the right would try to hijack the gay rights conversation in this country over the summer, since, with Congress and state legislatures out of session, there would be no opportunities for the media to focus on the gay rights debate.

Unfortunately, I was a bit off.

A late June, Gay Pride Day police harassment incident involving Texas local law enforcement officers incorrectly threatening a same-sex couple with arrest, simply for kissing was quickly followed by an even more egregious July 10 incident in Salt Lake City.

The Salt Lake incident went beyond the pale. On their way home from a concert, walking through Main Street Plaza, Mormon Church property that serves as a pedestrian thoroughfare, a gay couple was detained and subsequently arrested.  What initiated this obscenity? They were kissing.

True to form, and casting the first stone, despite what the Bible teaches, the Mormon Church, dissatisfied with the direction of growing public opinion against it after the same-sex kissing arrest, began a nasty smear campaign.

A full eight days after the arrest, the Church claimed the same-sex couple was drunk and violent:

“They engaged in passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language, and had obviously been using alcohol […and] they became belligerent.”

Fortunately, the Salt Lake City Prosecutor saw through the Church’s hypocrisy, and not only dropped all charges against the two men, but publicly chastised the Church for not marking the pedestrian mall as “private property.”

When I read about the Texas Gay Pride Day incident, in which, by the way, it was the same-sex couple and their friends who called police, I was upset. When I read about the Salt Lake City incident, I was angered. But after doing more research, I found other cases of harassment and arrest for kissing, and I was outraged.

So, on July 13 I called for a national kiss-in to protest these incidents. After writing, “It’s Time For A Nationwide Kiss-In!” I contacted a friend who happens to be the director and co-founder of Join The Impact, a dynamic (in their first week they amassed one million members) grassroots LGBTQ activist organization that was formed just after Prop 8 passed last November. Then, another friend, David Mailloux, a fellow writer who blogs at DYM SUM joined us, and the rest, as they say, is history.

In less than five weeks, The Great Nationwide Kiss-In became a movement. More than 4600 people joined us, and together, we held “Kiss-Ins” to affirm and celebrate everyone’s right to share acts of simple affection with their loved ones, in public.  In more than fifty cities across America, in major metropolitan areas like New York and Boston, and smaller towns like Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Athens, Georgia, people joined together. And we went international, holding an event in Canada, and one in Saipan, capitol of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

So, what was the point of all this? Simple, really.

Studies tell us that gay-rights opponents, or those sitting on the fence, are far more likely to alter their opinion in favor of gay rights once they get to know us. (As I like to say, to know us is to love us!) We wanted to educate the public, to help them see, literally, straight couples standing alongside gay couples, and all kissing their loved ones at exactly the same time, across the country. (Which, by the way, meant 4:00 AM in Saipan!) Personally, I can’t imagine a more powerful statement, or a more beautiful one.

It’s important to note that this was not a “gay event.” A great many of our organizers and participants were straight couples. Which was exactly the point. We showed that love knows no boundaries, no gender, makes no distinctions. Nor did we.

Did we make a difference? I can honestly say, “yes!” The public response and support was overwhelming. Stories from participants about the attitudes of passersby were almost wholly positive.

Importantly, we got people talking. We reminded people that there is more than one way to make a point. In the midst of this summer’s babbling “birther” and “death panel” stories in the media, against a backdrop of out-of-control screaming town halls and gun-toting attendees, we stood up and used a peaceful demonstration – not a protest, but a demonstration of love – to educate and combat hatred and homophobia.

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Five of the Wildest Things Trump Said at His Black History Month Celebration

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February 18, 2026

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A jovial President Donald Trump hosted a Black History Month celebration on Wednesday, ad-libbing many remarks that drew online criticism.

‘He’s Not a Racist. He’s My Friend’

“Talk about a piece of work, but he could fight, couldn’t he, huh?” Trump said. “Mike Tyson, boy, I tell you, Mike has been loyal to me. Whenever they come out, they say, ‘Trump’s a racist.’ You know, it’s like a saber. ‘Trump’s a racist.’ Mike Tyson goes, ‘He’s not a racist. He’s my friend.’ He’s been there from the beginning. Good times and bad. But Mike Tyson’s a great guy, and he was so loyal, always been loyal.”

Trump went on to mention his “great friend,” former NFL player Lawrence Taylor, “the greatest defensive player, probably, in the history of football, he’s a great friend of mine.”

Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Trump called Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon “Harmeet Diller,” then asked her about suing “extremely discriminatory” Harvard University. “You keep suing them, the h — — with them,” he said, to laughter.

“I like the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which I saved,” he claimed — crediting himself for signing bipartisan legislation that secured funding for them in 2019. “They had no funding,” he said.

“We took care of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and it was a great thing to do,” he added.

‘Sometimes, We Have to Force Ourselves Upon Them’

Apparently referring to deploying federal forces into U.S. cities, Trump told the audience, “We’re doing it, in a lot of cities. Sometimes we have to force ourselves upon them because they’re so bad. And I don’t even think they know what’s happening to their cities and their towns.”

Confusion between The Bahamas and Bermuda

Speaking of former football great and failed Republican senatorial candidate Herschel Walker, whom Trump endorsed, the president said, “Herschel Walker — speaking about loyal — how good a football player was Herschel? Herschel Walker, now he’s Ambassador to The Bahamas — I don’t know, Bahamas, Bermuda, is he Bahamas? Whatever. It’s a nice place.”

Nicki Minaj

“Jazz, the blues, from rock and roll to rap, Black artists like Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters — How about Nicki Minaj? Do we love Nicki Minaj? Right? I love Nicki Minaj,” Trump said.

“She was here a couple of weeks ago. So beautiful. Her skin’s so beautiful. I said, ‘Nikki, you’re so pure.’ Her nails, her nails, they’re, like, that long.”

“I said, I said, ‘Nicki, are they real?’ And she said — she didn’t want to get into that.”

“But she was so beautiful and so great, and she. And she gets it, you know, more importantly, frankly, she gets it.”

 

Image via Reuters

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‘You’re Kidding Right?’: WH Press Secretary Stunned Over ‘Falsely Called Racist’ Question

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February 18, 2026

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared stunned when a reporter asked her for examples of President Donald Trump falsely being called a racist.

The president this week used his statement on the death of Reverend Jesse Jackson to argue that he is not a racist.

“Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way,” he wrote.

On Wednesday, a reporter asked, “Where or when does the president believe he’s been falsely called racist?”

Leavitt replied, “You’re kidding, right?”

READ MORE: Trump’s Wild 24 Hour Truth Social Frenzy

“I will pull you plethora of examples,” she said, vowing to get her team “going through the internet of radical Democrats throughout the years … who have accused this president falsely of being a racist, and I’m sure there’s many people in this room and on network television, across the country, who have accused him of the same.”

“In fact, I know that because I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” she said, before noting that Trump is hosting a Black History Month celebration later on Wednesday.

Trump, she said, will “talk about how his policies are advancing opportunity and prosperity for all Americans through record tax cuts, through the Trump accounts that all Americans can access regardless of race.”

“These are a great thing,” she continued, before noting that the president “has also awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding to strengthen educational outcomes at historically Black colleges and universities, across the country.”

READ MORE: ‘Gaslight America’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Blasts Trump Ahead of His Trip to Georgia

She also said that Trump is “protecting the hard-earned benefits of the 2.4 million Black veterans who honorably served in our nation’s armed forces by reducing the Black backlog of veterans waiting for their VA benefits, and for their home loans through the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

“So, there is a lot this president has done for all Americans, regardless of race, and he has, absolutely, been falsely called and smeared as a racist, and I’m happy to provide you those receipts,” she added.

READ MORE: ‘Republicans Have to Lose’: Far Right Extremist Leader Puts Trump on Notice

 

Image via Reuters 

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‘Gaslight America’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Blasts Trump Ahead of His Trip to Georgia

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13 hours ago

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February 18, 2026

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Former Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is sharply criticizing President Donald Trump ahead of his Thursday trip to her former district, where he made — and then apparently forgot — an endorsement in the race to fill her old House seat.

“Well, we have a lot of people that want to take Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene’s place,” Trump said on Monday, as The Daily Beast reported. “Many, many candidates, and I have to choose one.”

Greene ignored Trump’s gaffe, but hit him, his administration, and her former Republican colleagues head-on in a post on X where she accused them all of trying to gaslight the American people.

“If you had put America FIRST from the start, instead of your rich donor class and foreign policy, you wouldn’t have to strategize on how to gaslight Americans,” wrote Greene, a former top Trump ally.

READ MORE: Trump’s Wild 24 Hour Truth Social Frenzy

“If you had not called the Epstein files a hoax and treated the Epstein survivors (rape and trafficking victims) like they didn’t exist and if you would release all the files and put your rich powerful friends in prison then Americans might actually listen to your ‘messaging,'” she charged.

Mocking them all as on the “struggle bus,” Greene explained the situation her former constituents now face.

“Approximately 75,000 households in my former district had their health insurance double or more on January 1st of this year because the ACA tax credits expired and Republicans have absolutely failed to fix our health insurance system that was destroyed by Obamacare,” she said.

Republicans have blocked Democrats’ efforts — including a federal government shutdown over the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies — to prevent the health care premiums crisis.

Greene said that hundreds of thousands of people in her former district saw their health insurance premiums double last month.

“Many dropped their policies and no longer have health insurance,” she wrote. “And that’s on top of EVERYONE ELSE who complains DAILY about the absurdly high cost of health insurance!!!”

She said the billionaires running the White House, the Trump administration, and Congress aren’t affected by the high health insurance premiums, noting that all of them have “very nice affordable government health insurance plans.”

READ MORE: ‘Republicans Have to Lose’: Far Right Extremist Leader Puts Trump on Notice

“I’m talking about younger healthier people and families not on meds who can’t afford to pay $1500 to more than $2000 per month just for their monthly health insurance premiums,” she wrote, “not including $7-10,000 for a deductible before their ridiculously expensive health insurance policy kicks in.”

Greene also took a shot at House Speaker Mike Johnson, who, she said, “claimed he had the Republican plan during the 8 week shutdown in the fall, then carried on and has done nothing proving he lied once again.”

She also blasted Trump’s “messaging” efforts.

“Trump RX doesn’t fix this so that’s not your messaging answer,” she wrote. “A Truth Social Post or Trump video isn’t fixing this either.”

“Messaging won’t fix this,” she added.

Greene then moved on to foreign policy, warning Trump not to go to war with Iran. She also urged him to release the Epstein files, and told him to “stop the bullying, harassment, and name calling.”

“It’s immature, childish, and turning so many people away. Real leaders don’t act this way and it’s a horrible example set on the world’s stage. This isn’t the behavior we want to teach our children.”

“Deliver real results for the regular American people because respect is earned not given,” she said.

READ MORE: ‘Insulting’: Fox News Panel Implodes as Host Clashes With Liberal Guest Over Voter ID

 

Image via Shutterstock

 

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