QUOTES AND QUOTABLE 

“ …given the fact that people would rather know about Kim Kardashian than what makes up the budget or what the government is doing in Mali or Sudan or other unknown places, this is what you get: a disconnected, self-serving bureaucracy that is … simply evolving to do what it’s doing now. That is, to maintain and enhance its own power.” – Mike Lofgren in Salon 

   ON THIS DAY 

* Harvey Milk is sworn in as the first out gay member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. 1978
* Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last, losing battle in Montana. 1877
* Acting San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein names Harry Britt to fill the vacant Supervisor’s seat after the assassination of Harvey Milk. 1979
* President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address. No one calls him a liar. 1790
* The New Jersey legislature creates a domestic partnership status for same-sex couples. 2004 

   BIG CUP: THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES

It’s been a big week, folks. A group of armed men referred to colloquially by the New York Times as “protesters” continues to occupy public property in Oregon, demanding special rights and free land. President Obama attempted to address gun violence through Executive Order. The Arabian rift caused by the Saudis’ execution of a Shiite cleric has spread, with murderous theocracies taking one side or the other. Speaking of theocracies, Alabama’s Judge Roy Moore has loudly stomped his feet, pouted with judicial flair and demanded the state’s probate judges stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, or else. While some of us are laughing, no one is amused.

Did I Mention?

North Korea swears on its grave that is has detonated a hydrogen bomb. And Donald Trump says Ted Cruz might not be a natural-born American.

   NEWS FOR Qs

Desmond Tutu’s Lesbian Daughter Marries
Gay Star News

Judge Quits After Removing Child from Lesbian Moms
Broadly 

The Secret, Hypocritical Gay World of ISIS
The Daily Beast

A Gay ‘Star Wars’ Hero Could Save Lives in This Galaxy
Salon

   U.S. AND BEYOND

California Governor Declares Gas Leak A State of Emergency
ABC News

Carmakers Embrace A Digital, Disruptive Future
Boston Globe