Like the courageous civil rights champion U.S. Rep. John Lewis, I do not consider your presidency to be legitimate. As Rep. Lewis, the great ally of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., stated this week, the overwhelming evidence confirmed by U.S. intelligence agencies of interference by a foreign power hostile to the U.S. in favor of your election last fall has severely flawed that outcome.
Nicholas F. Benton of Fall Church News-Press — File photo
Moreover, the manner of your seeking the presidency and your ongoing behavior since being declared the winner underscore this grievous concern. Still sadly, most of your Republican colleagues in Congress have shamefully embraced this sorry development to already advance legislation that will eliminate health care coverage for 22 million Americans.
Since the election of President Obama, our first African-American president, in 2008, you and your Republican allies, along with the so-called “Alt-Right” radical white supremacist fringe, have worked tirelessly to erode President Obama’s power and influence through brazen and callous appeals to racism, the very lowest and most degraded of dispositions, antithetical to the moral standards required to preserve our precious and tenuous democracy.
You spearheaded a high-profile “birther movement” to discredit the president by the same means that African-Americans have been unfairly disenfranchised throughout history. Your behavior was as shameful then as it is now. But it is about far more than your personal immorality. Indeed, you appear to be advancing a hostile takeover of our core democratic institutions by a foreign power that prefers authoritarian tyranny. As such, you, sir, are a grave danger to this nation.
With the American revolution and miraculous success crafting a Constitutional democracy that has endured stormy times to survive two centuries and two score years later, the abiding animating spirit of America has been an openly-embraced deference to the benefit of all in equal measure. Our founding mothers and fathers, emboldened as they were by the universal aspirations of the Great Enlightenment of their century, were keenly attuned to this sensibility, and written between all the lines of their brave actions and words has been an almost otherworldly optimism that informed their testaments to the shared and equal values of all human beings, most recently extended to my LGBT brothers and sisters. There is no America without such an animating generosity of spirit guiding her.
This spirit is the polar opposite of a disposition seeking advantage over others by exploitation through politics or business as you represent.
The opinions expressed in these letters are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations and this magazine, its staff and contributors.
"Right now, more than ever, we need global solidarity. And WorldPride is probably the closest thing we have to a visible manifestation of the unity we have across borders," says Ymania Brown, one of the co-presidents of InterPride, the international umbrella organization of Pride organizers.
"The goal for us at InterPride and for WorldPride is for our members and everyone who comes to WorldPride in Washington, to walk away knowing that we are not alone," she continues. "That our struggles, while unique in different countries and different regions, are shared. And as a result of that shared struggle, our victories, and the successes we have in changing laws for our people, are collective."
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were upstaged by a gaggle of drag queens at the Kennedy Center Opera House during a performance of the French Revolution-set hit musical Les Misérables on Wednesday, June 11.
The couple’s appearance -- Trump’s first of the term at the historic venue -- coincided with a special fundraising night aimed at supporting the reportedly financially struggling arts institution.
According to the The Washington Post, ticket sales have slumped following Trump’s takeover of the storied institution, long considered a cornerstone of D.C.’s theater scene. Subscriptions for the upcoming season are down by $1.6 million -- roughly 36% -- compared to last year.
More than 100 prominent celebrities have signed on to a letter urging President Donald Trump's administration to hold off on implementing budget cuts that would eliminate specialized services for LGBTQ youth who contact the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Since its launch in 2022, callers to contact the national suicide prevention lifeline by dialing 988 have been given the option of speaking with counselors trained to work with specific populations, from Spanish-language speakers to LGBTQ youth.
The 988 service for LGBTQ youth has received nearly 1.3 million calls, texts, and chat messages since launching three years ago, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In February alone, the program received a daily average of 2,100 crisis contacts, reports The Hill.
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