It is the second Friday in August! Though tomorrow will be the third Saturday. Aren’t calendars funny?

We had much more moderate weather this week, but another small heat wave is in the forecast. I’ve also spent more than two weeks fighting with insurance company and mail-in pharmacy to get a prescription refilled that has never been a problem for nearly two decades, and I’m not exactly in a good state of mind as I have been without a very important medication for seven days now.

Which is something none of you can help with. So let’s move on to the Friday Five. This week I bring you: the top five stories of the week, five stories of interest to queers and our alles, five stories about awful people, five stories about the pandemic, five stories about the alleged president of the republic, and five videos (plus a notable obituary and some things I wrote).

Stories of the Week:

‘Ms. Jacobs! Is that you?!’ AOC’s Twitter reunion with her second-grade teacher is whole tear-fest.

At Last, Some Good News (For Fish).

One New York Couple Is Getting Creative With Their Romance Amid The Coronavirus.

New Carnivorous Dinosaur Unearthed on Isle of Wight.

Mysterious Bright Spots on Dwarf Planet Ceres Point to Secret Underground Ocean.

This Week in News for Queers and Allies:

Members of Poland’s Parliament Staged a Protest of Anti-gay President With Their Clothes |.

Court rules for Fla. student on bathroom access in major win for transgender rights.

Federal judge shuts down a state’s anti-transgender law… again – “When you treat the federal court like a doormat, there are going to be consequences”.

Ricky Martin Says ‘Adoption Is an Option’ for More Kids: ‘There’s Moments When I Want 10 More’ – Father of four Ricky Martin opens up in his Out cover story about fatherhood and the challenges he has faced in being a gay man considering adoption.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Is Queer, and It’s in Joe Biden’s ‘Agenda For Women’.

This Week in Haters and Other Deplorable People:

Anti-Lockdown Beach Party Ends In Brawl With Blood-Covered Men Wielding Chainsaws .

Birtherism Is Back: Newsweek Op-Ed Lies About Kamala Harris’s Citizenship – It was written by someone who ran against her. Seems relevant!

Antigay Dog Whistles Wrongly Insinuate Gay Mayor Engaged in Pedophilia.

Erick Erickson: Homosexuality Is “The Product Of Sin”.

LAPD Investigating Possible ‘Swatting’ of Black Lives Matter Leader.

This Week in the Pandemic:

Coronavirus: 97,000 American children test positive for COVID-19 in 2 weeks.

Coronavirus: How Trump killed tens of thousands of Americans.

Georgia student who posted photo of a crowded school hallway and called it ‘good and necessary trouble’ is no longer suspended, her mom says.

A 7-year-old boy in Georgia died of Covid-19, the youngest victim in the state.

News stories suggesting gaiters are worse than no mask at all are relying on a study that proves no such thing – That viral study suggesting gaiters are worse than no mask at all is flawed.

This Week in the Deplorable Thug Occupying the White House:

Donald Trump Gives Away The Game: No Funds For USPS Means No Mail-In Voting.

Fuck You, I’m Voting. “…here we are, it’s 2020, the worst President of my lifetime is just blithely gibbering at a microphone about suppressing voting, and there’s no point trying to pretend that it’s not what’s happening, and that the president’s party isn’t complicit with it.”

Trump calls for ‘a certain freedom’ to wear masks or not – and lies that Joe Biden’s coronavirus policies are ‘anti-scientific’.

Five Ways Trump And GOP Officials Are Undermining The Election Process.

State Department did not consider civilian casualties when sending arms to the Middle East, report finds.

In Memoriam:

Ford, Bush presidential adviser Brent Scowcroft dies at 95 – Scowcroft was the only person to serve as national security adviser to two different administrations.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 8/9/2020: It’s not booze, it’s just black water(?).

Tuesday Tidbits 8/11/2020: It’s a death cult.

It shouldn’t require a keymaster to have fun, or, canon and other forms of gatekeeping in sf/f.

We have the ticket, now get out and vote!

Videos!

President Donald Trump Postmaster Downgrading Of Political Mail Draws Scorn | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC:

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Trump Signs Sham Executive Orders, Takes Credit for Obamacare: A Closer Look:

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Trump’s Terrifying Math: A “Tiny Fraction Of Deaths” Is Acceptable Among School Kids Upon Reopening:

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Kamala Faces Sexism and Dulce Breaks Down the WAP Double Standard | The Daily Social Distancing Show (NSFW, but funny as heck):

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LAUREL – Scream Drive Faster:

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