SGN May 12, 2023

ISSUE 19

C E L E B R AT I N G

VOLUME 51

49 YEARS

F R I D AY

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PRINT S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q I A + N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY S I N C E 19 74

MAPU MAIA CLINIC A MOMENTOUS STEP FOR MUTUAL AID

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer On Wednesday, May 3, UTOPIA Washington celebrated the grand opening of its brand-new medical facility in Kent, Mapu Maia.

The clinic will serve Seattle’s Pacific Islander community and specialize in Queer and Trans healthcare.

Patients at Mapu Maia won’t pay a penny for any of its services.

see MAPU MAIA page 4

Photo by Lindsey Anderson

Archaic law threatens households, small businesses Photo by Evan Vucci / AP

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Staff Writer With the United States government at risk of defaulting on its debts as soon as June 1, households, individuals, and small businesses are facing looming economic consequences that can only be avoided in time if Congress agrees on a bill that would raise the

An open letter from D3 candidate Joy Hollingsworth Joy and her brother – Photo courtesy of Joy Hollingsworth

debt ceiling — a flat dollar limit on the federal deficit — which has been used as a political bargaining chip repeatedly, as it is now.

The news is full of the political machinations surrounding the debt ceiling, but it has skimped on the potential on-theground effects of a default.

see DEBT page 17

by Joy Hollingsworth Special to the SGN Growing up in Seattle as Black and Gay, I never felt like I fully fit into either community. I didn’t see people in the Gay community that looked like me or people in the Black community that identified as gay.

It was challenging.

But my life has been shaped and molded by powerful leaders, fierce advocates, and loyal activists. I’m a third-generation Seattleite that was born and raised in the historic Central District neighborhood and the daughter of a proud working-class family who dedicated their lives to public service.

see JOY page 16

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C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

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Publisher Angela Cragin Editor-in-Chief A.V. Eichenbaum Copy Editor SGN Staff • Richard Isaac Advertising Maggie Bloodstone, Advertising Manager National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Staff Writers Lindsey Anderson • Mike Andrew Sara Michelle Fetters • Daniel Lindsley Isabel Mata Contributing Writers Alice Bloch • Maggie Bloodstone Sharon Cumberland • Jack Hilovsky Benny Loy • John McDonald Georgia Skerritt Social Media Team Lindsey Anderson • A.V. Eichenbaum Photographers Lauren Vasatka • SGN Staff Comics Otts Bolisay Production Mike Pham SGN is published by Angela Cragin. © 2023. All Rights Reserved. Reprints by permission.

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In this Issue

LOCAL NEWS 4 A&E 7 FILM 8 BOOKS 13 TRAVEL 15 OP-ED 16 NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL NEWS 17 M AY 1 2 , 2 0 2 3

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Local News

MAPU MAIA continued from cover

A dream come true UTOPIA Washington was founded in 2009 by dedicated volunteer board members. The mission was simple: “to build the power to help our communities access resources,” as Clinic Director Tepatasi Amana‘iamai‘ita Vaina said. “Resources such as food, housing, education for our youth, and culturally relevant healthcare.”

In 2017 UTOPIA set its sights on opening up a free clinic that could provide lifesaving and gender-affirming care to Queer and Trans people. The goal seemed lofty, especially to board members who didn’t have any experience in opening a healthcare clinic. “None of us come from medical backgrounds,” Vaina said. “But we have the lived experience to inform what we want in a medical clinic.”

Creating such a place that provides free-ofcost gender-affirming care was monumental for Mapu Maia’s founders, many of whom grew up with limited access to such care.

Vaina, who was born and raised in a small village in American Samoa, recalled the experiences of growing up in a place where gender-affirming care was not readily available.

“Growing up on a small island, there isn’t any accessible healthcare for Transgender people,” she said. “The hospital we have there doesn’t offer hormone replacement therapy.

“Many in the practice argue that genderaffirming care is not necessary. But we, as Transgender people, Fa’afafine, Mahu, Irawhiti, and all of the above, have lived experiences that cause us to say we beg to differ.”

“Gender-affirming care has proven to improve behavioral health for a lot of our community [and] decrease the level of suicide in our community. Gender-affirming care has, overall, saved lives,” Vaina added.

Photos by Lindsey Anderson

Abundance, autonomy, and harmony UTOPIA Washington’s volunteers know how crucial gender-affirming care is. Their vision is to create a world of abundance, autonomy, and harmony, where all forms of supremacy cease to exist for all life.

Providing healthcare was essential to this, so the organization set out in 2017 to open its healthcare center. The goal was 2027, but on Wednesday, it opened four years ahead of schedule.

However, even before the opening of Mapu Maia, UTOPIA Washington had been providing low-cost healthcare, such as STI testing and COVID-19 vaccines. These services were appreciated but not enough.

So in 2022, the organization connected with Callie Naholowa‘a, a registered nurse with valuable experience building a clinic.

Naholowa‘a will be working at Mapu Maia as a volunteer nurse.

Of course, the clinic could not open or operate without a doctor. For months, UTOPIA searched for someone willing to

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donate their time and medical expertise to the clinic. Finally, they found Dr. Malik Fuimaono, who will generously volunteer one day a week, commuting nearly two hours every other week and appearing by telehealth when he does not drive in. His availability will vary, but the clinic is open and scheduling appointments for the next four weeks.

On the days he is unavailable, Mapu Maia will still be open to provide other services, such as bloodwork.

The clinic is still actively looking for more medical personnel, particularly members of either the Pacific Islander or LGBTQ+ community, who are willing to volunteer some of their time.

Once all the plans were set in motion to

open the clinic, there was still one last and very important step.

“We [needed] a name for [the] clinic, a name that means something to our community,” Vaina said. Board members brainstormed for weeks until they finally found the perfect one.

“Mapu Maia in Samoan is a sentiment given to express to someone who has had a very long or rough journey: we see that, and we are going to provide a space for them to rest, to help them,” Vaina said.

“We see the challenge our community has [faced] as a very rough journey,” she continued. “Today I want to say to all of you that are here, ‘My dear, may we find relief in this house.’”

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Care for all Mapu Maia provides relief in many ways.

Not only is the clinic open to anyone, but it will always be free.

“We will not turn anyone away from here, regardless of if you can pay, if you are insured, not insured, if this is just a place you feel more comfortable,” Naholowa‘a said. “For any reason, you can access care here. We do not collect insurance information at all. We do not collect payment at all. All of our services are provided free of charge.”

While the clinic has a focus on genderaffirming care, it will provide a myriad of services. “From a service perspective, we are going to be doing PrEP care, we are going to be doing gender-affirming services, general practice care. We will be doing all STI and STD testing, HIV testing, and anything that falls under a general care procedure,” Naholowa‘a continued.

“If you’re here for diabetes, if your blood pressure is high, we’ll be able to help you and provide medication for you as well,” Dr. Fuimaono added. “My specialty is very broad. If you want to come in and chitchat about how you feel about your primary care doctor, I can probably help you out. Especially with the lens of somebody who is Polynesian, there are some social issues that other people are not aware of.

If you need a local Polynesian Island doctor, I would be happy to help.”

“We’re also going through a series of trainings, so we’re also going to get our whole staff, including the director, up to speed with how to provide culturally competent care to our community,” Vaina said.

“There is one thing we’re not willing to negotiate on, and that’s the values that our community carries, so that is why, as you can see, we need to have our medical director and our nurse be from our community.”

While all in-clinic services are free, if patients need to be referred to a specialist somewhere else, they will have to pay for those other services. However, everyone at Mapu Maia is certified in Medicare enrollment, so they can assist uninsured patients in accessing the most affordable healthcare possible.

Mapu Maia is located in Kent, Washington, but it is willing and able to serve people from just about anywhere. For those unable to come into the clinic, staff will set up telehealth appointments with the doctor (for anyone in Washington state), although lab work still needs to be done in person.

Care will also be provided to residents of other states, just so long as they come to Washington.

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Photos by Lindsey Anderson

Still growing Wednesday was only the beginning. Now that Mapu Maia’s doors are open, UTOPIA Washington is ready to provide essential services but is still looking to expand.

“Some of the things we are working on are accessing [more] gender-affirming care,” Vaina said. “There are some procedures where you cannot get approved by whatever insurance you have unless you have the write-off or sign-off from a therapist.” The clinic hopes to eventually find a

volunteer therapist who can help with this.

Mapu Maia also includes Hale Kokua, a small food pantry. Behind the clinic, dry and nonperishable goods and fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy are stored. The food is also free to anyone who needs it. Anyone who cannot physically make it into the clinic for food can DoorDash their groceries for free.

The clinic has also partnered with Thrive Cosmetics to provide patients with free cosmetics and skin care items.

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In summary, the new clinic will serve an essential role for the Queer and Trans Pacific Islander community by providing culturally competent care for anyone who needs it.

Mapu Maia is located at 841 Central Ave. N, #C-106, Kent, WA 98032. It can be reached at 206-774-9746. Learn more at https://utopiawa.org/mapu-maia-clinic.

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Local News

What happened to The Comeback?

Rumors circulate surrounding the closing of the SoDo club

Photos courtesy of The Comeback Seattle

by Cameron Martinez SGN Intern The SoDo-based Queer club The Comeback recently closed its doors after being open for a little over a year. On April 30 the club held its final dance following a Facebook post indicating the closure, but many are still curious about the nature of the club’s end.

The Comeback’s final post states, “What a blast we have had! You have been with us since the beginning, first at R Place, and then followed us to the Comeback. We survived a pandemic and came out stronger! Now, as we look back at how we helped shape a vibrant community in Seattle, we realize that it is time for us to step aside and let the new generation of DJs, entertainers, and fans continue making Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ community the best it can be. A sunset of the Comeback is only the prelude to brighter times to come. We look forward to seeing what is in store for Seattle. Thank you for all your support over the years.”

A few weeks prior to the club shutting its doors, an internet argument between ex-Q Nightclub owner C. Scott Smith and Lashes host Howard Russell, whose stage name is Ladie Chablis, led patrons of The Comeback to assume that the club would be closing.

According to an article in Seattle Gay Scene, Smith wrote a detailed post alleging that the owners of The Comeback were guilty of placing fraudulent charges on credit card bills and improperly filling out a loan application from the Small Business Administration. However, Smith did not include proof of these allegations in his post.

“It felt like it was character assassination on those guys’ parts by bringing all this information now, with no receipts yet,” Russell said in response to the allegations.

“The only complaints that I can ever think the patrons had was probably maybe the pricing of the drinks, but they complain about that everywhere.”

As of May 8, 2023, there are two Google reviews of the establishment from a year

ago that indicate fraudulent credit charges, but the owners replied to both. Despite the complaints about the club, The Comeback still managed to have a 3.6 rating on Google and dedicated patrons.

The SGN has reached out to The Comeback for comment, but has not received a reply.

Another issue that has come up about

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Photo by Another Believer / Wikimedia

the club is its SoDo location, a mostly industrial neighborhood with a few clubs scattered about. It’s a far cry from densely packed Capitol Hill. “[The owners] couldn’t get the crowd to come in like they anticipated,” Russell said. “A lot of it had a lot to do with parking.

Because having sports like the Seahawks and the Mariners game [made it] hard for

people to [park]. On top of that, [for] most people that I’m aware of, it was hard for them to get from Capitol Hill to SoDo.” While the club has met its end, Seattle’s Queer community continues to look forward. For instance, despite the closure of The Comeback, the Lashes drag show has found a new home at Unicorn on Capitol Hill, beginning June 2.

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Arts & Entertainment

Tragic love in gorgeous music at Seattle Opera’s La Traviata

by Sharon Cumberland and Alice Bloch SGN Contributing Writers LA TRAVIATA Music by Giuseppe Verdi, libretto by Francesco Maria Piave Seattle Opera McCaw Hall, Seattle Center Through May 21 What happens when the path of true love is thwarted by social conventions? In Seattle Opera’s new production of Verdi’s La Traviata (meaning “fallen woman” in Italian), we have a sad, beautiful story about a woman whose profession as courtesan means she can never escape the limitations of her world.

In a colorful and lively production originally staged in 2018 by Francesca Zambello for Washington National Opera and directed for subsequent runs by Joshua R. Horowitz, the dramatic love story unfolds in the demimonde of Paris in the 1850s.

Based on the novel La Dame aux Camélias

by Alexander Dumas fils, the heroine, Violetta (played alternately by sopranos Vuvu Mpofu and Mané Galoyan), is supported by the wealthy Baron Douphol (Darren Drone), who pays for an elegant, exclusive escort to social events. Act I shows us a world full of wine, women, song, and allnight parties where the rich and powerful seduce each other until sunup. The famous brindisi “Libiamo” is the showy drinking song in which the beautiful people encourage each other to “yield to temptation.”

Enter Alfredo Germont (played alternately by tenors Dominick Chenes and Duke Kim), a young man from the countryside who falls madly and sincerely in love with Violetta. He persuades her to give up her lavish, careless existence for a simple rural life.

She’s not sure she should leave Paris with Alfredo, but she has tuberculosis and needs a break. She goes, and in that calm and sunny retreat, she falls in love with Alfredo and begins to regain her health.

If the story ended there, we’d have an Act II like that given us by the Pacific Northwest Ballet last month in A Midsummer Night’s Dream — joyful music and beautiful fairies dancing at the perfect wedding. But no: reality comes knocking

Mané Galoyan as Violetta (l), Duke Kim as Alfredo (r), and ensemble in La Traviata at Seattle Opera – Photo by Sunny Martini

in the person of Alfredo’s father, Giorgio Germont (played alternately by baritones Michael Chioldi and Joo Won Kang), who hopes to persuade his son to return home and spare the family from a scandal that would prevent Alfredo’s sister — the good girl — from marrying. Giorgio finds Violetta alone and persuades her to leave Alfredo for the sake of his daughter.

Violetta is a proto-feminist who understands that Alfredo’s sister won’t find a good husband as long as Alfredo is living with a courtesan. In an act of love, she abandons her happy life and returns to Paris.

How Alfredo chases her down at a fabulous party and berates her in front of her friends, and how his father has a change of heart too late to avoid tragedy is the stuff of legend — and recent legend at that.

Even in our more just and enlightened age, people still tut-tut about women who “had a life” before settling down. If you watched the coronation of King Charles III this week, you probably heard a rehash of the scandal attached to now-Queen Camilla. Long before Diana entered the picture, Charles wanted to marry his true love, but since Camilla was not a virgin (horrors!), Charles was pressured to marry an inexperienced girl instead. In the operaworthy saga of Diana’s tragic death and the slow, careful steps toward Camilla and Charles’ love reclaimed, we saw a staid, modern, British La Traviata.

On opening weekend in McCaw Hall, the audience was brimming with excitement to see a new version of this popular, lavish, emotional work. If you were around

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit seattleopera.org.

The cast of La Traviata at Seattle Opera – Photo by Sunny Martini

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for the last La Traviata there — 2017’s minimalist production originally created by Peter Konwitschny for the English National Opera and Opera Gratz — you may remember how discombobulated the audience was to see a stage with nothing but a velvet curtain and two chairs — for the entire show. There was no chorus, no second-act party with Spanish dancers and toreadors. It was one of the few missteps we’ve ever seen at Seattle Opera — a brave but unsuccessful gamble on minimalism by then-director Aidan Lang.

Now this marvelous opera has been restored, and a big thank-you is due to the current general director, Christina Scheppelmann. She understands how magically La Traviata’s combination of beauty, drama, and fabulous singing transports opera lovers, new and old, into the dream of a magical past. Her collaboration with Glimmerglass Opera Theater, Washington National Opera, the Atlanta Opera, and Indiana University has paid off in a thrilling production of a great classic.

Elegant sets designed by Peter J. Davison and exquisite costumes by Jess Goldstein slightly update the setting from the mid1800s to the turn of the 20th century. Associate choreographer Andrea Beasom has created fabulous dance numbers, based on the original choreography of Parker Esse.

But the real magic is found in the music.

On opening night, Mpofu thrilled the audience with her gorgeous singing. Extended ovations deservedly followed each of her arias. It is to be hoped that Scheppelmann will find occasions to bring her back to Seattle. In the Sunday matinee cast, Galoyant also sang beautifully and acted well.

Kim’s lovely performance redeemed the role of Alfredo after Chenes’ opening-night foray was marred by poor intonation. Both Chioldi and Kang were excellent as Giorgio Germont.

Seattle Opera is fortunate to have engaged conductor Carlo Montanaro for many productions. He clearly has a great rapport with the singers and orchestra, as well as with the audience. As always, the orchestra played superbly. The chorus, helmed by chorusmaster Michaella Calzaretta, has never sounded better, and took on much of the work of moving components of the set during performance. Bravo!

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Film

2023 Seattle International Film Festival preview Engaging with stories from around the world with Festival Director Beth Barrett

The Mattachine Family – Photo courtesy of SIFF

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer The 49th annual Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) began last night with a gala screening at the Paramount Theater of writer-director Celine Strong’s critically acclaimed Past Lives. It will continue through May 21 at a wide variety of venues throughout the region, including SIFF Cinema Uptown, SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Pacific Place, Ark Lodge Cinemas, and Shoreline Community College, among others. There will also be a week of virtual offerings May 22–28, with many of this year’s narrative features, documentaries, and shorts all available to screen in the comfort of festivalgoers’ homes.

I sat down with longtime SIFF festival director, Beth Barrett, to chat about this year’s event and what it means for the festival to be back in its longtime May slot on the Pacific Northwest calendar. The following are the edited transcripts of what she had to say:

Beth Barrett – Photo courtesy of SIFF

Sara Michelle Fetters: We’re back!

And we’re back in May. Beth Barrett: We are back in May. [laughs] SMF: How did that happen?

BB: The complexities of spring breaks, Easter, Ramadan, Passover, all of that. It was complex, so we actually asked the staff and board to vote on which time period [April or May] they thought was a better idea for the festival. May won, so here we are back in May! It’s nice to be back fairly close to our traditional spot on the calendar.

SMF: And we’re running for 11 days again, like last year.

BB: Yes. Eleven days. Eleven days in person, but then a week of streaming. Encore streaming runs from the 22nd to the 28th.

SMF: And while SIFF isn’t back to a pre-COVID volume of offerings, it still looks like there is a fairly full lineup this year of in-person screenings.

BB: Correct. Absolutely. I may have shoved a ton of films into those venues. It’s going to be a little bit of “Thanks for com-

ing. Next film. Thanks for coming. Next film.” [laughs] We have 139 feature films and 125 short films. It’s an extensive lineup.

Weirdly, we have exactly the same number of films as last year, but in a slightly different configuration. We’ve got 16 short film packages instead of 13, so a few less features, a few more shorts for 2023. There are also 74 countries represented this year.

SMF: Any new countries we’re visiting for the first time in 2023?

BB: No, there’s no country that is truly new. I keep hoping something from the likes of the Canary Islands is going to come up on our radar, or Mauritius or St. Barts.

Somewhere that is not a traditional filmmaking country. But we still have a deeply international lineup, obviously, and six out of the seven continents are represented.

Nothing from Antarctica this year.

That one year where we had all seven continents, though, that was the bomb.

Would love for that to happen again.

SMF: Each year I love to check out the various showcases. Like the “African Showcase” or the “Southeast Asia Showcase” from past festivals. Any of this year’s showcases we stand out to you?

BB: All of them. [laughs] In all honesty, absolutely. We’ve got African Pictures back. That’s very exciting. We have four films from sub-Saharan Africa

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and then two from North Africa, oddly both from Morocco.

Then our Asian Crossroads is particularly strong, with some great titles — 14 of those. All the different regions are well represented. We have a number of Ukrainian titles, docs as well as narrative films. They are all not necessarily from the Ukraine, but many are still about the war that’s so sadly still going on.

SMF: Last year you had the perfect opening night film in Navalny. I imagine, for you, it’s really important to showcase these topical films, stories that are about what is happening in the world right now. Was this something you and the rest of the programming team talked about?

BB: Yes. We did. But we also still want to make sure we’re showcasing a wide variety of films from all over the world. But topicality is always an important factor.

This year we have a film called Motherland, which is a Ukrainian-Belarussian film about …young people being conscripted into the military. That was a “2022 New Works in Progress” title that then did its world premiere recently at CPH Docs Fest and is coming directly to us as a North American premiere. I excited for audiences to see this one.

We are also showing 20 Days in Mariupol. It’s …a devastating doc. But it’s also so important for all of us to watch, to see what is really happening in Ukraine. It is heartbreaking.

SMF: Well, you know how much I love the Midnighters, the fun genre programmers. But, especially right now, I think it’s incredibly important that films like this one see the light, and there are so many topics ripe for conversation: abortion, Trans rights, healthcare, climate change, fascism. So much more. Can we expect to see issues like these dealt with in some of this year’s festival offerings?

BB: Definitely. Check. Check. Check. All check.

It’s crucial to show films that reflect the time. We’re trying to reflect what’s going on around us in terms of the stories that communities want told and the way they want

them told, while at the same time connecting those films with audiences who may not initially know they need to be challenged.

Let’s open some eyes and start discussions.

Don’t misunderstand. It can be hard to say, “Hey! Check out this hard-hitting South Asian documentary about climate change.” But films like these, they’re the bellwether. Their islands are sinking.

We need to know about these kinds of things.

We actually have strong Trans representation this year, mostly in US narrative features, which is great. It’s that balance of being educational, empathetic. and entertaining. As programmers, we walk that fine line of how do we get audiences to pay attention? And once we have their attention, how do we put something in front of them that we want them to see? That they need to see? I think many of these films walk that line perfectly.

We do have some bigger, more audiencefriendly titles, of course. But the intent is always to say, if you like this big film, maybe you should also check out these 10 other films as well? That’s always the goal.

SMF: Speaking of big films, your opening night film probably couldn’t get any bigger: Past Lives. As of right now, this is one of the most acclaimed films of 2023, not just from a critical perspective but also from audiences who have watched it at other festivals. How exciting was it for you to get Celine Strong’s film as your opening night attraction?

BB: I was so excited. I didn’t tell anybody we had it until I had three or four emails from A24 confirming. I was like, I’m just going to keep this to myself. But A24 is terrific to work with and really recognizes connecting audiences in person to Celine’s film is so important.

I was at Sundance, and I actually walked into the tent intending to see a different film but then looked over at the Past Lives line.

I didn’t even know what the line was for, but I could see all the waiting to get into the screening, and it was an impressive lot, let me tell you. I was like, I should get in that line. [laughs]

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Monica – Photo courtesy of SIFF

I went over, and I got in that line and was thankfully one of the last people to be let into this very tiny, 180-seat theater. Sat in the front row on the side. Watched it with my head tilted.

And I was blown away on every level.

It’s a beautiful film, and to know that it’s Celine’s debut? Incredible.

SMF: We also have another stellar Pacific Northwest showcase. Would you agree?

BB: I would. It’s a little crazy. Northwest Connections covers a lot of ground. There’s a lot of documentaries, as always. We’re a very strong documentary town. It covers music. Covers puns. But also, the narratives look at all the different parts of the Northwest that we call home.

We have Megan Griffith’s new film, Year of the Fox. Very excited! It’s the world premiere. We have the world premiere of Sudeshna Sen’s first feature, Anu, about a young Indian American girl whose grandfather passes away and how she deals with that. We have the world premiere of Punderneath It All about the pun slam circuit, which, weirdly, is very strong in the SeattleOlympia area. Who knew? [laughs] We also have the world premiere of Doug Ing’s film about Alan Lau, Alan @ Work, who works at Uwajimaya but is also a cartoonist. A really interesting, interesting guy. We have Dreamin’ Wild, Bill Pohlad’s new film starring Casey Affleck, about the musicians that had some success in the ’70s and then, basically, time forgot about them. They were from just outside of Spokane. They were rediscovered in the 2000s, so that’s exciting, and it’s nice to share this film with local audiences.

SMF: What can you tell us about some of the other of this year’s LGBTQ offerings?

BB: It’s very exciting. We have the world premiere of a film called The Mattachine Family, which is Andy Vallentine’s debut starring Emily Hampshire from Schitt’s Creek. Can’t wait for people to see it.

But it’s all exciting. There’s a shorts package, and it is all Queer docs, which is really an interesting way to go. The Trans films, as I said, it’s a wonderful selection. We’re bringing Mutt from Sundance. We have Andrea Pallaoro’s Monica starring Trace Lysette, which is fantastic. We are doing a single screening of It’s Only Life After All, the Indigo Girls doc.

SMF: I know we want to keep a focus on this year’s festival, but with more in-person screenings and activities, with more venues this year, I can’t help but think SIFF 2023 is something of a trial run for what you are planning — hoping? — to do for next year’s 50th anniversary?

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It’s Only Life After All – Photo courtesy of SIFF

BB: I’d say that’s a good way to put it.

We’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary for all of 2024. You don’t just have a birthday; you have a birthday month. For SIFF, we’re going to be having a birthday year. [laughs] I have a lot of thoughts. A lot of plans.

We’ve been working with an archivist to try to find some of our materials so that we can display them. We’ve got an incredible history of films that we have shown over the last 49 years. Somewhere on the line of 25,000 films. It’s unbelievable.

But I have a lot of ideas for how to celebrate the 50th. Bringing back Fly Films is one of them. …But I haven’t gotten those all sorted out yet. But we will. Trust me, we most definitely will. It’s going to be a celebration.

SMF: We’ve had so many interactions over the years. So many conversations.

With COVID, with all the changes that have happened in the cinematic marketplace, most notably the rise of streaming, I can’t imagine it’s been easy to stay focused, to stay positive.

But I sit here, and I can see that your energy and your passion hasn’t diminished. How do you keep that up? How do you stay so excited about looking toward the future? What makes you so passionate to keep doing this?

BB: Because people keep coming to SIFF and they keep discovering.

We’ve been doing a series called “SIFF Movie Club” and, …it’s the first time people have seen [a lot of these films] on the big screen. We showed Alien on March 31, and we asked how many people had seen it before, let alone watched it on the big screen. Half the room had never seen Alien.

Watching them watch the film for the first time? Glorious.

I was like, people are still willing to go out and discover these amazing films.

Access to film makes our lives better.

It makes us better informed. It makes us more empathetic. It brings communities together. Just knowing that the work that I do facilitates that? I mean, I have the best job in the world. I watch movies for a living!

I love it. It’s not the same when you watch these pictures at home. It’s not. I mean, no film is the same when you watch it at home.

That’s not a bad thing, necessarily. I feel just fine having watched numerous films from my couch. But when you can’t stand up, press pause, and go reload your laundry? Or sit down, go make dinner, and come back to it later? It’s that sense of being in a room, having an experience that can never ever be replicated, because you’ll never have those people in that room with that film ever again. It’s a unique experience. Every time. Every film.

SMF: Speaking of unique experiences that can never be replicated, what do you

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want audiences taking away from this year’s SIFF? BB: I want them to take away the feeling of being in community and community centered around film. Seventy-three percent of our films don’t have US distribution.

Sixty-nine percent of them are by first- or second-time filmmakers. Fifty-two percent are by female- or Nonbinary-identifying humans. The films that we have are truly discovery titles. Many do not as of yet have distribution.

Our titles are coming from all over the world. They’re telling stories that we don’t get to engage with all of the time. SIFF is an opportunity to honor and engage with those stories that these filmmakers are all telling. These are the kinds of things that you can only learn by watching film, because film allows you to open up, be empathetic, understand, and be challenged in the safety of your cozy cinema seat with your popcorn and a drink, and with the people around you.

But most of all, I also want audience to be entertained! I want everybody to laugh. We have a lot of comedies, too. Swear to God, we do have comedies. Lots of comedies.

Everyone should be prepared to laugh. A lot.

Find out more about the Seattle International Film Festival at https://www. siff.net/festival.

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C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

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Film

Heartfelt Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sends its family of “a-holes” into the forever

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 Theaters I’ve enjoyed all of the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Both 2014’s introductory adventure and 2017’s amusing followup tickled my funny bone and offered up enough explosively imaginative action to keep me on the edge of my seat. I liked how director James Gunn kept each installment in the series as close to self-contained as possible. While a few seeds for other chapters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were planted, the filmmaker still kept his focus on a ragtag group of crazily unique characters who were cementing unbreakable bonds of friendship that would eventually transform them into interstellar heroes.

Gunn brings things to a spectacular conclusion in the final chapter of his scifi comic book trilogy. Not only is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 my favorite of the series, but it’s also quite possibly the best entry in the entire MCU. Right when I was starting to think these Marvel efforts could no longer surprise or wow me, no matter how entertaining they may prove to be (or may not — I’m looking at you, Thor: Love and Thunder), along comes Gunn to show just how wrong I was.

This effort works as well as it does because Gunn triples down on telling a story completely outside of whatever is currently happening across the extended Marvel multiverse. Instead, the latest journey of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Matis (Pom Klementieff) cares about them and them alone. It pays off plot strands from the previous features involving Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Cosmo (Maria Bakalova), and Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki).

Most of all, it gives the audience a reason to emotionally invest in the outcome for every single character, a reason that is honest, true, and heartbreakingly authentic.

Do not misunderstand what I’m saying.

This isn’t a Marvel melodrama. There is still plenty of humor, and the laughs come fast, furious, and from seemingly every corner of the galaxy. The visuals are eyepopping, the special effects displaying a tactile, non-cartoonish quality that has been sadly lacking in the MCU for quite some time of late. The action is incredible.

One third-act battle between the Guardians and the primary villain’s powerful hordes of soldiers and weaponized animal cyborgs is a thing of thrilling beauty.

Gunn orchestrates everything with confident precision. His expert handling of the material is never in doubt. It’s clear he adores these characters, but he doesn’t let this affinity cloud his judgment. He refuses to cut them any slack or let them off the hook. They are going to face an ongoing series of increasingly contentious obstacles and, for maybe the first time in the series, they are not going to come out triumphant after every battle.

Through it all, they still have each other. The core friendship that has developed between this group of self-described “a-holes” has blossomed and matured far beyond anything they could have anticipated.

Despite their differences and backgrounds, they have all chosen one another to be a part of their family. Their love allows them to keep fighting long past any normal breaking point.

They keep going into the fray, not caring an iota about the politics of gender, species, or sexuality. This group is there for one another, period, end of sentence, and everything else is only background music (and they’re all wearing earplugs).

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Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, and Pom Klementieff in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – Photo courtesy of Marvel

This final ride into the forever and beautiful sky centers on Rocket. After he is catastrophically wounded in a battle with the returning Ayesha’s powerful son Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), the remaining Guardians — Peter, Drax, Nebula, Groot, and Mantis — are determined to do whatever is necessary to save their friend’s life. Turns out, Rocket was the result of one of monstrous experiments by the malevolent High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), who desperately wants to study his creation’s brain.

The rest of the plot is better left a mystery.

Just know that Peter still hasn’t gotten over Gamora’s death (she was thrown off a cliff

by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War). And the fact that her past self is still alive but now a part of their current timeline (courtesy of the Avengers: Endgame’s “time heist”) isn’t helping him deal with his grief.

As for the Guardians, they’re still setting up a base of operations on Knowhere, the floating planetary head of a deceased Celestial, its diverse inhabitants looking to the group — particularly Nebula — for leadership.

Iwuji is a strong antagonist, instantly becoming one of the best bad guys in the MCU. The flashbacks outlining his experiments and the evils he did to Rocket and the other critters in his care are borderline

nightmare fuel. But Iwuji never overplays his hand. This allows The High Evolutionary’s evil to build bit by bit, and so by the time the Guardians decide to take him down, I wanted to join them on their quest.

But I keep going back to these central characters and their relationship to one another. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a splendidly entertaining roller-coaster ride, offering up a slew of creative twists and turns I found delightful. But it is this film’s heart that blew me away. I’d always liked spending time with these characters, but I’d never fully fell totally and completely in love with them. Until now.

Miriam Shor, Chukwudi Iwuji, and Nico Santos in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – Photo courtesy of Marvel

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C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Books

Rasheed Newson’s talks “unapologetically Black” and “unmistakably Gay” debut novel

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer Rasheed Newson has been writing his whole life. Despite being an established television writer who has worked on Bel Air, Narcos, and The 100, he completed his very first novel in 2022. My Government Means to Kill Me may have been Newson’s literary debut, but with his lifetime of writing experience, it reads like a masterpiece.

“It’s all on you” Though he’s been creating stories since childhood, Newson has spent the last 15 years as a professional writer. He believes his career began when he joined the Writer’s Guild at 29.

“I came out to LA after college, assuming I would go into features, because that’s what everybody loves,” he said, “but then I fell in with people who were writing television.

I met my writing partner, and we did some speculative pilots on our own.”

“It took years before I found work in LA,” he added. “Once I did, it was on television.

It suits me. I love being a part of a company and a crew. I love that you get to dig into these stories and come back, so television is where I prefer to be.”

Newson decided to switch from television writing to a novel to explore his ideas away from the collaborative process of a writer’s room.

“I wanted to be able to express myself creatively in ways that are very difficult to do in television,” he said. “Television is wonderful, but it is a collaborative art, and you ultimately find yourself conforming to what the group wants. You find yourself compromising, and I wanted to write something without compromise.

“I wanted to write something that was unapologetically Black, unmistakably Gay, and I wanted to present this history and these stories in a way that I felt was honest, without fear of having to tone things down because it might offend somebody out there somewhere.”

While Newson feels at home on television, he embraced the challenges and benefits of writing by himself when crafting his debut novel. “The benefit [of writing a novel] is that you can do what you want.

It’s all on you,” he said.

“The challenge is: you can do what you want, but it’s all on you.”

Finding time to write One of the biggest hurdles Newson had to overcome was finding time to write his story.

“I have a husband and two small children, and I have a job in television most of the time. My time is not wholly my own,” he said. “I’ve not been able to carve out an hour or two in the day where I know I can rely on this time to write. Pockets of time will appear, and I will pounce on them.

That’s my process. Write when you can, as much as you can.”

He sets writing goals based on quality, not quantity, and celebrates the little victories.

“I try not to get on myself about word count or page count,” he said. “The story is going to be done when the story is done, and the story doesn’t get better because you’re worried that you didn’t write enough words today.”

Newson also shares his victories, however small, with the ones he loves. “To be my friend, to be my loved one, is for me to read you this paragraph or this sentence I’m proud of. That tends to happen every day,” he said with a smile.

New perspectives on history Despite the challenges of writing a novel all on his own, he felt that My Government Means to Kill Me was a story that had to be told through the written text.

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Rasheed Newson – Photo by Christopher Marrs (they/them)

“If I thought the odds of getting the story out there were better [by] writing it as a TV show or a movie script, I would have done that,” he said. “I chose a novel because I think that was the medium that was most receptive to the story the way I wanted to tell it.”

The story he wanted to tell centers around a topic many know all too well, from a perspective not often shown. “I felt there were voices to the AIDS story that hadn’t been elevated as high as I thought,” Newson said. “I understand all the reasons why, but I wanted to put a young, Gay, Black, male, effeminate character in the heart of that world. I wanted him to feel like he could stand up and count.”

He hoped that making Trey the hero would inspire other people who might not see themselves as activists.

“One of the things I wanted to do in My Government Means to Kill Me is to take a character who, when you meet him, seems an unlikely candidate to be somebody who is going to be a political activist,” he said. “He’s naive, he’s a bit selfish [and] myopic, and yet he can answer the call of his time. That is all any of us can do — it’s what we must do.”

He also hoped Trey’s story would bring visibility to people with intersectional identities.

“One of the things literature offers [to read-

ers] is a community …that they can see themselves as the hero sometimes, that they can see themselves central in the story,” he said.

“Until that can happen, there’s an isolation that you’re feeling. There’s an exclusion you live with, and that must end. I think these stories also help everybody realize the unique challenges that people are falling into. These stories encourage us to see each other more clearly, and if we’re to get through this together, we need to see each other more clearly.”

Telling the stories that haven’t beentold While Newson still did plenty of research to ensure that the information in his book was historically accurate, he also brought a unique perspective into the story as someone who had grown up during the height of the AIDS epidemic.

“I feel like I’ve been doing that research all my life,” he said. “I was born in ’79. I was a child when this was happening. I grew up in the shadow of that.”

The story of the epidemic is also one Newson encountered throughout pop culture. “My entire life as a Gay man has been in the shadow of that movement,” he said.

However, there were real stories that he felt hadn’t been told, and perspectives

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excluded from the narrative. My Government Means to Kill Me takes a different perspective, but one still prominent at the time, and examines some of the untold details of the AIDS epidemic.

“Things that were important to me were highlighting the role of people of color.

When you look again at some of the movies …right after that, it’s a pretty white cast, and it’s centered in a very white, Gay, male way,” he explained. “I also wanted to highlight the role of women, particularly Lesbians, who in many of those stories are completely silent or written out.”

Newson was also aware that there were some stories that, at the time, people didn’t want to hear. He is using his voice to tell those stories now.

“I also wanted to discuss some of the hard choices people had to make,” he continued. “Hard choices that, at the time, if you’d mentioned them, would have muddied the waters. We were trying to get people to invest in drugs that ensure survival. The people taking care of people in the last stages of AIDS had to make decisions about assisted suicide or ending lives with dignity prematurely, before the body would give out.”

see NEWSON page 14

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Books

Who Cares an essential read

by Terri Schlichenmeyer Special to the SGN WHO CARES: THE HIDDEN CRISIS OF CAREGIVING, AND HOW WE SOLVE IT EMILY KENWAY © 2023 Seal Press $30.00 304 pages

Image courtesy of Seal Press

For most of her life, Emily Kenway’s mother was a strong, independent woman.

She raised Kenway and her sister singlehandedly, she held a great job, and she dreamed of traveling in her retirement.

Sadly, she was diagnosed with cancer at about that time; she soon needed a medical advocate and then help.

Because she was in a position to tackle it, the job fell to Kenway.

It’s no surprise, she says in her book Who Cares: the vast majority of caregivers of elderly or ill relatives — whether related or

Rasheed Newson – Photo by Christopher Marrs (they/them)

NEWSON

continued from page 13

crisis facing the LGBTQ+ community, but he also hopes that readers find joy in his book as well.

“I hope they draw lessons from the past that apply to their life now,” he said. “I hope that they hear a call to action. I hope they realize they can shape their times more than when they first started reading the book.”

While the book touches on difficult topics, Newson included nuance, light, and even humor in his story.

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work for them.

If you cracked open a copy of Who Cares and you found it seething with anger, would you be surprised? You shouldn’t be — and Kenway tells you why.

Once you know — and caregivers already do — you won’t be alarmed to see the clear exhaustion and frustration that line the pages of this book, either. There’s no softening of either status here; Kenway is wide-open and honest with her feelings, which could be comforting to readers who are experiencing the same but can’t say it out loud.

These emotions, it should be noted, are properly aimed: readers will be relieved to see that they’re directed outward and not at Kenway’s beloved mother.

There’s also a list of demands directed at congresspeople here, in case you want to contact yours.

Absolutely, this book is for any caregiver now, and for readers who understand that they’ll be on the receiving end of it all someday, in all likelihood. Who Cares is a warning, and a book to keep you awake at night.

Image courtesy of Flatiron Books

“The need for political resistance, for us to gather across generations and fight back, is as critical now as it ever was.”

Inspiring the future Even though the book takes place in the ’80s, much of the sentiment feels true to today’s political climate.

“The fight for Gay liberation has never ended. We’re currently under attack from a lot of political leaders in incredibly harmful ways,” he said. “This current moment disgusts me, because the political leaders are going after the Trans community, particularly children in the Trans community.

The most vulnerable of our members are being singled out for attack. The need for political resistance, for us to gather across generations and fight back, is as critical now as it ever was.”

Newson hopes that readers can make connections between the Gay liberation movement from the past and the current

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not — are women. In this, she points out, there is no “gender equality.” She wonders if it has anything to do with the facts of intimate care and feelings of comfort or embarrassment. She muses about all the assumptions that make people automatically assign a caregiving job to a daughter or sister — even if she’s physically or emotionally unable to handle it, even if she has a successful life and a job she’s reluctant to relinquish.

Remember too, Kenway says, that many caregivers are “essential workers” that don’t get paid.

It’s very frustrating, but Kenway shows how caregivers have found ways to cope.

Having like-minded support is key, but it needn’t be in person: she and people around the world gather once a week for Zoom groups, in which they discuss issues and offer succor. She adds that artificial intelligence is making strides in the area of home caregiving, which takes some of the pressure off carers.

Caregivers also learn to broaden the “conception of kinship.” And in some cases, they have found ways to make government laws

“One thing I love about the Black and Queer community is that no matter how we’ve been persecuted, we retain our faith in a better tomorrow and our humor,” he said. “As serious as the book can be in parts, I’d like to think that it’s vibrant and life-affirming, and I’d like to think that it’s funny. I’d like to think that people will enjoy the book and not feel like they have to take a hot shower and pour a stiff drink. It’s a good time.”

Newson loves reexamining history and is excited to bring more original stories about Black and Queer people to the forefront of literature. While also writing and serving as the showrunner for the hit NBC drama Bel Air, he plans on continuing his current trajectory with another historical novel, which will center on a Black Gay protagonist in the 1960s.

“I love getting to dig into an aspect of history,” he said, “and saying to the reader, ‘You think you know this period? Do you think you know this era? Let me tell it to you again from the perspective of someone Black and Gay. Maybe you hadn’t thought about what we were doing during this. Now you’re going to hear it.’”

My Government Means to Kill Me is available now. Fans of Rasheed Newson can find him on social media, on Twitter and Tik Tok at @rasheednewson and on Instagram at @rasheed.newson.author.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Travel

Camp Queer: Okanogan’s Soap Lake

by Benny Loy SGN Contributing Writer View: 3.5/5 Difficulty: 1/5 Car friendliness: 4/5 Travel time: 3-4 hours from Seattle Time of year: Summer Coordinates: 48.22731, -119.64680 Location Nestled in the hills near Okanagan is a little oasis. If traveling north on Route 97, you will take a right onto Soap Lake Road and head up the windy dirt road for about 6.5 miles until you reach the beach. There will first be Little Soap Lake, which will look more like a pond. That is where the frogs live. Keep driving for another thousand feet or so to your destination: Soap Lake. You will hit the beach on the south end of the lake. You can keep driving further north, but the best spot is on the south end, so there is no need to drive any further.

Photos by Lauren Vasatka

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The experience The water is so clear, you can see the schools of trout making their rounds and occasionally catching insects on the water’s surface. The view is amazing, and the flower-dotted prairie hills that surround the lake make for excellent spots to catch sunrises and sunsets. On the far right of the beach there lie some small rocky cliffs that you can climb to get a better look over the middle of the lake.

The wildlife here love to trill, croak, and call. In the morning, the birds sing, and in the evening, coyotes’ voices are heard yipping in the distance. Sounds echo off the lake, amplifying all of nature’s songs in every direction.

The beach is very pebbly, so you likely won’t be making any sand castles. If you pile the pebbly sand, you can create a makeshift incline to sit on. The sunshine and the warm ground will make for a wonderful place to nap or read by the water. There is no shade until late afternoon, so wear sunscreen and bring a beach umbrella.

Locals sometimes come here midday to swim, and it was heartwarming to watch the children playing in the water.

There is a ton to do on this lake, and the

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swimming there is fantastic. The water is warm and clean, which is hard to find on our side of the state. If you aren’t swimming, Soap Lake is great for relaxing.

If you are there in the early morning, it is very calm and provides a great space for some self-reflection.

Helpful hints I feel like this lake is best experienced in the early summer, before the bugs come out or it gets too hot. We were lucky to have 80-degree weather there in late April, but keep in mind that it can get cold at night.

It’s about 10 miles outside of Okanagan, so don’t worry too much about a gas station or finding a place to grab more gear if you forget those things.

Don’t park on the sand if your car does not have four-wheel drive. When we were there, a woman got a flat on the beach, but other beachgoers eventually managed to swap it for a spare. Don’t bet on other people being there to help if you get a flat here, though, so make sure you have a jack, tire iron, and a spare. Even when calling AAA to help you, you’re going to be waiting a long time. (You will get cell phone service about two miles back down the road, in case you have an emergency.)

I would also keep in mind that this is not the safest area in the state. The locals tell tales of drug issues and warned us to be careful, because everyone out here is loaded. Coupled with the number of wild coyotes, I would not recommend camping here. Instead make this a day visit — or maybe stay nearby at one of the inns. Go to the lake for a quick swim, some fishing, or to relax on the beach.

If you’re going to fish, you would be better off with a fly-fishing pole. The lake does not allow any motorized boats, but a kayak or paddleboard would be perfect.

Last but not least, please keep an eye out for burn bans. This is a great spot to start a fire, but Eastern Washington does get very dry in the summer and is at risk for wildfires. Yes, you will be near a large body of water and very few trees, but the brush will be very dry and can easily ignite if the fire were to spread. Keep the fire pit about 10–15 feet from shore if there is not a burn ban, and you will be fine.

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Op-Ed

JOY

“I am so proud to be a Black and Gay woman running for Seattle City Council.”

continued from cover My father worked 35 years for the Seattle Parks Department, making sure our parks and playgrounds were clean and safe.

My mother grew up in New Orleans in the Calliope Projects and came to Seattle in search of better opportunities. She worked at the King County Housing Authority connecting families to permanent housing.

My grandmother, standing 5 feet 2 inches tall, was always a voice for the underdog, using her towering strength to help bridge our city as school board president during turbulent times involving integration.

And my wife, a first-generation college graduate whose family migrated from Michochán, Mexico, started a new life working on an apple orchard in the Yakima Valley.

From my mom’s belly to weekly family dinners, I’ve been uplifted by people who’ve helped our communities be a place of growth, opportunity, and prosperity. A place where you could afford to live in the city, have a great-paying job with benefits or own a small business, enjoy a safe work environment, raise a family, and feel connected to your neighbor. These are still my values.

Today, I live in the house that my grandparents purchased in the Central District back in the 1940s with my wife, Iesha. I’ve led a career involving nonprofit programming, collegiate athletics, farming, small business ownership, and food justice work, and now I am ready to make the next transition and run for public office. I am so proud to be a Black and Gay woman running for Seattle City Council.

Over the last 39 years, I have seen how local policies have impacted people and witnessed communities that have fallen through unseen gaps. I want to prioritize essential city services, provide tangible goals to measure progress, bring transparent access for District 3 residents, and help amplify voices that have been historically excluded from City Hall decisions.

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I envision a Seattle where…

• girls who are like I was when I was growing up are surrounded by community and diversity; • children are able to access green spaces and families have access to resources that they need to thrive; • our LGBTQIA+ community not only has a seat and voice at the table but is seen, valued, and provided resources; • our neighbors are small businesses owners; • transportation is accessible; • accessing mental health resources and substance use counseling is not a barrier to achieving stable housing; • uoung people are engaged in their communities and empowered; • seniors are able to age in place gracefully and with dignity; and • affordable childcare is available.

And where a young, Black girl like me sees herself in public leadership and as an integral part of her community.

Joy Hollingsworth is running for the District 3 seat on the Seattle City Council.

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(from top) Joy’s Family, Joy and her brother with Grandma – Photos courtesy of Joy Hollingsworth

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

National News

Biden and party leaders negotiate – Photo by Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

DEBT

continued from cover To summarize the former, certain Republicans in the House of Representatives are trying to make raising the debt ceiling contingent on also cutting government spending.

Specifically, Republicans have proposed a stringent per-year cap in federal budget increases, and more work requirements for federal aid programs like food stamps, as well as rollbacks on increased funding for programs addressing IRS staffing, student loan forgiveness, pandemic relief, and climate change.

Spending cuts that severe would be dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and negotiations haven’t gotten far.

According to CNN, President Biden has floated the idea of increasing the debt limit using the 14th Amendment, but the lengthy litigation that would surely follow would make it a dubious way of meeting the June 1 deadline.

The debt limit was first implemented back in 1917, as a way to give the Treasury more borrowing leeway. The Treasury was previously obligated by the Constitution to ask for congressional approval any time it wanted to issue debt.

The policy evolved further in 1939, and long story short, that was when the first flat limit was set (at $45 billion), without easy ways to adjust for inflation, economic growth, or possible games of political chicken.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer gives a presentation at a press conference – Photo by J. Scott Applewhite / AP

etc., that so many businesses didn’t even United States has never defaulted on its In 2021, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen survive,” Larkin said. “Now those of us loans before, and leading members on said that she supported abolishing the debt who are hanging on by a thread, Congress both sides of the aisle have said they are limit altogether, since it could prevent the Consequences wants us to now put up with their theat- determined to avoid it, which makes sense; Treasury from paying for policies previUnless Republicans in the House relent, rics in threatening something they don’t almost 70% of Republicans in the House ously enacted by Congress. people who depend on the federal govern- even need to. Oh my gosh, it’s just political of Representatives represent districts with “I believe when Congress legislates ment for either employment or assistance theatrics that they’re creating anxiety at a incomes lower than the national median, expenditures and puts in place tax policy are bound to suffer the worst repercussions. small business level that is extraordinarily according to researchers at the University that determines taxes, those are the crucial of Southern California.

According to the White House Council of damaging to our small business psyche.” decisions Congress is making,” Yellen said.

But going through a debt ceiling crisis “I believe it is very destructive to put the Economic Advisors, defaulting for just a A survey by Goldman Sachs 10,000 week could come at the cost of millions of Small Business Voices reported that 90% every few years, with all the economic president and myself, as treasury secretary, jobs. Social Security payments, paychecks, of small business owners believe it’s impor- volatility that comes with it, isn’t some in a situation where we might be unable arcane economic necessity. The United to pay the bills that result from those past and veteran benefits could be delayed, tant for the government to avoid default. to say nothing of the ripple effects in the Of course, if Democrats were to cave and States is one of two countries in the world decisions.” global economy. take the GOP’s deal as it is, that wouldn’t whose government debt limit is a flat dollar Biden and other party leaders have said CBS News spoke about the issue with be good for the country’s most vulnerable amount rather than a percentage of its GDP they will convene again on Friday this — and the second, Denmark, has a debt week to continue negotiations.

Gloria Larkin, who runs a firm that helps groups either. businesses pursue federal contracts.

Despite all that, there is something at limit so high it has never come even close “We’re just rebounding from COVID, least adjacent to good news here. The to breaching it, and it likely never will.

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National/International News

National news highlights

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Staff Writer Former Arkansas Pride venue “trying to censor clear art” Organizers of northwest Arkansas Pride have announced that they will not, as previously planned, be holding events at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville after the center’s governing board decided to drop any programming involving both drag and minors, like drag story hours.

“This decision is surprising, disappointing, and inconsistent,” said Northwest Arkansas Equality in a statement. In the past, the facility has hosted shows like Tootsie and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Arkansas has restricted so-called “adultoriented” performances since February, when Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill that actually had to be scaled back due to complaints that it was discriminatory against the LGBTQ community.

The law won’t take effect until late July, long after Pride festivities are over.

The arts center released a statement on Wednesday insisting that the decision about the restrictions was “made in the interest of safety concerns for performers, patrons, and staff due to the divisive political rhetoric at this time.”

Northwest Arkansas Pride’s director, Richard Gathright, had another take.

“They’re trying to censor clear art at an arts center,” he said. “We couldn’t stand by and say half our stuff is OK there, but this particular performer can’t perform there because of this reason.”

Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft – Photo by Timothy D. Easley / AP

Kentucky candidate promises no Trans kids in schools Former UN Ambassador Kelly Craft’s run for Kentucky governor was punctuated this week by her promise that if elected, “we will not have Transgenders in our school system.” At the time, during a telephone town hall on Monday, she didn’t have any policy details, but her campaign elabo-

rated with a familiar right-wing fallback.

“Of course Kelly was referring to the woke ideologies being pushed in our schools,” Craft’s campaign said in a statement. “She had been advocating for the best for all children this entire campaign.”

Chris Hartman, executive director of the Kentucky-based Fairness Campaign, called Craft’s comments “desperate and

disgusting.”

“Her claim that she and Wise will somehow purge Transgender kids from Kentucky schools is nothing more than an unhinged political promise she can’t keep,” Hartman said, referring also to Craft’s running mate, Sen. Max Wise.

International news highlights

by A.V. Eichenbaum SGN Editor-in-Chief Russian court fines Google for “LGBT propaganda” A Russian court fined Google three million rubles (roughly $39,000) on Thursday, May 11, saying the company failed to remove YouTube videos that promote “LGBT propaganda” and “false information” about the war in Ukraine.

According to Reuters, the tech giant is one of dozens of Western companies that have been fined in the last year in an effort to censor what Russian citizens can see online.

The Kremlin passed strict censorship laws last year after sending troops to Ukraine and shortly after widened its legal interpretation of what qualifies as Queer propaganda.

According to Reuters, the Russian subsidiary of Google filed for bankruptcy in December of 2021 after a fine of approximately $93 million led to Russian authorities seizing the company’s bank accounts. The fine was reportedly also due to “repeated failure” to delete content.

UN expert “deeply concerned” by UK rise in anti-LGBTQ hate speech, violence Victor Madrigal-Borloz, whose official title within the UN is “Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,” released an extensive report Thursday, April 11 attributing the increase in hate crimes toward the Queer community in the UK to “abusive rhetoric by politicians, the media and social commentators.”

“A rampant surge in hate crimes has been attributed to the toxic nature of public debate surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Madrigal-Borloz.

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Photo by Ng Han Guan / AP

Among the many flaws found in the UK’s handling of LGBTQ rights issues, Madrigal-Berloz notes the UK Equalities and Human Rights Commission recently promoted the reduction in human rights protections for members of the Trans community. “These actions were admit-

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tedly with the objective of withdrawing trans women from legal protections to which they are entitled under the Equality Act,” said Madrigal Borloz.

Madrigal-Borloz’s report also expresses concern over continued delays in legislation banning sexual conversion

practices and the overrepresentation of LGBTQ persons among the unhoused.

The expert also urged politicians to The entire report, as well as an in-depth summary, can be read by going to www. news.un.org.

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