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1 week ago | 
epgn.com | Richard Rosendall
I thought of titling this “A long way from WorldPride” to contrast the struggles of displaced LGBTQ+ people in Kenya with the recent celebrations in Washington. But that would miss the real story. The United States is facing a concerted right-wing effort to erase and disenfranchise minorities in the name of fighting “wokeness,” a term used to disrespect the diversity of America’s population.
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2 weeks ago | 
washingtonblade.com | Richard Rosendall
I thought of titling this “A long way from WorldPride” to contrast the struggles of displaced LGBTQ+ people in Kenya with the recent celebrations in Washington. But that would miss the real story. The United States is facing a concerted right-wing effort to erase and disenfranchise minorities in the name of fighting “wokeness,” a term used to disrespect the diversity of America’s population.
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3 weeks ago | 
epgn.com | Richard Rosendall
Is it possible for someone to gaslight himself? Beyond Donald Trump’s fanatical base, how many people seriously believe genocide against white South Africans is occurring? How many believe accepting a Boeing aircraft from Qatar does not violate the Constitution’s Emoluments clause? How many believe Harvard is ‘coordinating’ in some nefarious way with China? Trump apparently thinks he can win as long as he is never embarrassed.
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1 month ago | 
baywindows.com | Richard Rosendall
It is our turn to defend freedomI am wondering, on a cold May morning in Washington, if I will see the Immigration and Customs Enforcement police make arrests here on 17th Street, a portion of which was renamed Frank Kameny Way in 2010 in honor of the gay rights pioneer. Frank was my friend and colleague. He would have denounced what is going on in this country.
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1 month ago | 
epgn.com | Richard Rosendall
I am wondering, on a cold May morning in Washington, if I will see the Immigration and Customs Enforcement police make arrests here on 17th Street, a portion of which was renamed Frank Kameny Way in 2010 in honor of the gay rights pioneer. Frank was my friend and colleague. He would have denounced what is going on in this country.
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1 month ago | 
epgn.com | Richard Rosendall
A pleasant breeze came through my window just now, and I momentarily forgot that our entire country is coming apart. The crows in my neighborhood like to cavort on the wind at dusk. They fly happily over the rooftops, cawing to one another and maybe to me. I realize I’m a short step from Dorothy Gale in Depression-era Kansas singing, “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can’t I?” — except for me, the inspiration is a murder of crows.
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2 months ago | 
baywindows.com | Richard Rosendall
What's your deportable offense? You might think I would be worried. After all, my 2015 year-in-review was titled "Year of the Arsonist," the arsonist being Mr. Trump. It was illustrated by a photo of the 1933 Reichstag fire. I have been no kinder since. Thus you might wonder when I will be dragged off to a torture prison in El Salvador. Why would our bold, world-straddling ruler be concerned with an obscure scribbler? He recently slighted the country of Lesotho, which he said no one ever heard of.
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2 months ago | 
epgn.com | Richard Rosendall
You might think I would be worried. After all, my 2015 year-in-review was titled “Year of the Arsonist,” the arsonist being Mr. Trump. It was illustrated by a photo of the 1933 Reichstag fire. I have been no kinder since. Thus you might wonder when I will be dragged off to a torture prison in El Salvador. Why would our bold, world-straddling ruler be concerned with an obscure scribbler? He recently slighted the country of Lesotho, which he said no one ever heard of.
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2 months ago | 
epgn.com | Richard Rosendall
The 47th president’s administration must be seen as a pattern, not just (in Lemony Snicket’s phrase) a series of unfortunate events. It is one of willful destruction and lawlessness, not merely a pursuit of different policies. The America I treasure is a country where people have struggled since its inception against institutionalized hatred and for justice. It is a country where the gap between our high ideals and our record is addressed by organized efforts to close the gap.
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Mar 17, 2025 | 
epgn.com | Richard Rosendall
Some comics are known for their transgressive humor. With Donald Trump, we have a transgressive presidency. He violates another law or norm nearly every time he opens his mouth. I have toyed for years with writing a piece called “We deserve a better class of mobster,” but I didn’t want to encourage anyone. My penchant for wisecracks aside, I’m not sure I want a better mobster. Trump thinks he is a law unto himself. The very laws of the universe, he seems convinced, alter themselves at his whim.
