Random Musings

Last Sunday, after learning of the shooting at Pulse in Orlando, I was, needless to say, at a loss. I kinda stumbled through the day, doing this and that without really thinking.

After dinner, Carlos and I settled in to watch TV and, my Gaydar pinged to remind me that the Tony Awards we’re on … I am a huge show queen.

And I needed that show that night; not just because of the things said about Orlando by host James Cordon, or by winners like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Frank Langella, but because the show is about differences. Most of the acting awards went to people of color; a lot of the nominees are openly gay; it was the anti-Oscars and seeing that kind of diversity and love and acceptance and applause really made a difference at the end of that day.

Speaking of the Tonys …

As the show began I was calling out the names of actors I recognized from the audience.

Megan Hilty, who was in Wicked. Neil Patrick Harris … bald, for a role. Oprah? WTF? Audra McDonald!

Bob: Angela Lansbury!

Carlos: Isn’t she dead.

Bob: Yes, but they wheel her corpse in for every show because she’s freaking Angela Lansbury!

Bless his heart.

Another upside — and yes, something positive can come from it — from the Orlando shooting came out of Utah this week when the state’s Republican Lt. Governor, Spencer Cox, addressed the shooting … and apologized:

“I grew up in a small town and went to a small rural high school. There were some kids in my class that were different. Sometimes I wasn’t kind to them. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I will forever regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect — the love — that they deserved. For that, I sincerely and humbly apologize.”

You can say ‘It’s about time,’ or ‘Why did it take a mass murder for you to apologize.’

I say, Thank you, for coming to your senses.

The Democrats are not playing … this week, in Congress, Republican Goose-stepping Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called for a moment of silence for victims of the Orlando massacre something happened …

House Democrats weren’t having it, and began shouting at Ryan, "Where's the bill?" and "No leadership." Democrats were angry that Ryan had not let the body consider bills intended to curb gun violence because Paul Ryan is in the pocket of the NRA.

South Carolina Congressman, and Democrat, Jim Clyburn expressed to Speaker Ryan that he was concerned that several bills drafted after the Charleston Church shooting were not being considered, but before Clyburn could finish, Paul Ryan ruled his question out of order and directed the House to move to the next vote because … NRA … big check … goose-stepping Republican. 

And that’s why the Democrats, lead by Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, hijacked Congress with their filibuster. After fifteen hours, the Blue Party succeeded in forcing a vote from the GOP.

I see Paul Ryan losing his post in November and I for one will cheer.

UPDATE

Apparently this wasn’t his first time being lenient with rapists.

Remember Judge Aaron Persky who sentenced Brock Turner to six months for raping an unconscious girl? Well, that’s nothing new for Persky; he’s has made questionable rulings that favored a group of athletes accused of rape in the past.

The rulings came during a civil case from 2011 when a group of baseball players were accused of gang raping an unconscious woman at a party; they were caught in the act by other young men at the party.

Sound familiar? One of Persky's allowed the defendants’ lawyers to show the victim dressed in revealing clothing in Facebook pictures taken six months after the assault because, well, victim shaming is Persky’s “thang.”

And because of this second, or first, questionable ruling, calls for Persky to resign are growing louder; even members of the US took to the House floor to call for his removal. But the current Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, does not want the judge removed despite disagreeing with his sentencing ruling.

“While I strongly disagree with the sentence that Judge Persky issued in the Brock Turner case, I do not believe he should be removed from his judgeship.”

Really? How many more rape victims were be put on trial in a Persky courtroom? And how many more rapists will get a slap on the wrist from him? 

Back to the Tonys and a trio of hot winners, all from Hamilton:

Daveed Diggs, top left, won for the dual roles as both the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, right, won Tony awards for Best original Score and Best Book of a Musical; he was also nominated for playing Alexander Hamilton in the show but lost to …

Leslie Odom Hr.; bottom left, who won for the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton.

Hamil-hotties, I say.

So, convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott was sentenced to five to 10 months in jail last February, and begged the judge to let her out so she could film a Public Service announcement about, what, the evils of gay bashing?

The judge said ‘No;’ so now convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott is pleading with Judge Roxanne Covington to grant her request for early parole because she’s been good for a couple of months.

I’m not a judge — which is lucky for convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott — because if I were the judge in this case this is what I’d say:

“If you ask me one more time to get out of jail early, I’m’a double your sentence. Get back to the rock pile, bitch.”

Knott’s minimum release date based is July 8th but I hope the judge makes her stay longer.

I don’t shop at Walmart; I loathe Walmart for a number of reasons.

But …Walmart has just fired a Marietta, Georgia store employee who, using the account @IWillTryLater, Tweeted out that the shooting at an Orlando LGBT nightclub that left 50 dead was “someone doing community service”:

The Tweet went viral, as did requests from other Twitterers demanding Walmart do something.

And they did; they fired the man, who has since deleted his original tweets and replaced his cover photo with one showing himself in a Walmart vest making an obscene gesture.

Some asshats never learn.

Just a few things I've seen around the interwebz in the wake of Orlando ... some make me feel better, some make me angry, and the last one was one of the first laughs I've had this week ...