It’s Friday! It is the second Friday in November, which means that it is National Novel Writing Month? I am spending as much of my free time as possible writing, trying to finish one of my novels. I did not get as much writing done this week, not least because I couldn’t stop checking the news Tuesday night until I was satisfied that the not-Nazi party had taken back the House of Representatives, and how a couple of our local votes went before I could stop obsessively checking the news Tuesday night.

I keep reminding myself that I spent most of my life assuming that never, in my lifetime, would queers have true equal rights, including the right to marry. The fact that with the pro-Nazi party is appointing so many federal judges the last two years and the next makes it very likely that what rights I currently have will be taken away. So I had planned to fight the rest of my life, anyway; on one level not much has changed. But if you are a person reading this who thinks I should lighten up on the politics, clearly YOUR rights aren’t under threat, so either educate yourself and join the resistance, or go away. I don’t want you reading my stuff if you aren’t will to help me fight for equal rights. That doesn’t make me the bad guy.

Anyway, enough about that. We scored a bunch of victories this week. So, welcome to the Friday Five: the top five (IMHO) good news stories of the week, five stories of the resistance, and five videos (plus my blog post and notable obituaries).

Good News:

LGBTQ Candidates Record Historic Midterm Wins In Rainbow Wave.

How Did Immigrants and Immigration Fare in the 2018 Elections?

Unresolved high-profile U.S. elections could be headed to recounts.

Putting the GOP’s House losses in context does Trump no favors.

Three red states vote to expand Medicaid during an election where health care was the top issue.

This Week in the Resistance:

Voter ‘Fraud’ and Trump Pal Kris Kobach Goes Down.

Voting machine shortage contributed to lines in Georgia election.

Democrats Have a Long Way to Go to Defeat Trump .

2018 election results: how voter suppression played a role.

Big Money, Quiet Power: A Look at the National Christian Foundation and How They Fund Hate.

In Memoriam:

Thousand Oaks shooting: These are the victims.

Thousand Oaks shooting: What we know about the victims.

Kitty O’Neil: Wonder Woman stuntwoman dies at 72.

Thiel: A hard man, Jack Patera, original Seahawks coach, led the good times.

Things I wrote:

Some things to remember.

You know what to do!

No, the blue wave did not fizzle, we knew the deck was stacked against us.

Just because I need to know that, doesn’t mean the reader does — or, adventures in back stories.

Videos!

Troye Sivan – Somebody To Love:

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KJ Apa Gets a Passionate Kiss from Rob Raco in the New ‘Riverdale’ Preview (blink and you miss it, but…):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Troye Sivan Releases Lyric Video for Haunting ‘Boy Erased’ Track ‘Revelation’:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Trump Mocks GOP Candidates Who Didn’t Embrace Him:

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Democrats Take Back the House, Trump Fires Jeff Sessions – Monologue:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)