Jimmy Carter Said ...

… in his inaugural address as Governor of Georgia:

"I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over. The test of a government is not how popular it is with the powerful and privileged few, but how honestly and fairly it deals with the many who must depend upon it."

… in a New York Times op-ed in January 2022:

"Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late."

… after the January 6 insurrection:

“This is a national tragedy and is not who we are as a nation. Having observed elections in troubled democracies worldwide, I know that we the people can unite to walk back from this precipice to peacefully uphold the laws of our nation, and we must. We join our fellow citizens in praying for a peaceful resolution so our nation can heal and complete the transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries.”

… about his wife, Rosalynn:

"I’ve never won an argument with her; and the only times I thought I had I found out the argument wasn’t over yet."

… what he and Rosalynn said to each other every day of their 77-year marriage:

"I love you the goodest."

… on Jesus and gay people:

“I'm a worshipper of Jesus Christ, who never mentioned homosexuals in any way — certainly not in a deleterious fashion. And when it has been mentioned in the New Testament, it's been combined with things like selfishness or something like that. So I've never looked upon it as any sort of reason to condemn a person. I think it's an inherent characteristic just like other things that we do with our lives. I believe Jesus would approve gay marriage, but that’s just my own personal belief. I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else, and I don’t see that gay marriage damages anyone else.”

… in his Presidential Farewell Address, January 1981:

“But we know that democracy is always an unfinished creation. Each generation must renew its foundations. Each generation must rediscover the meaning of this hallowed vision in the light of its own modern challenges. For this generation, ours, life is nuclear survival; liberty is human rights; the pursuit of happiness is a planet whose resources are devoted to the physical and spiritual nourishment of its inhabitants.”

… about then-Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy for president:

“ I think that this breakthrough by Barack Obama has been remarkable. When he made his speech (on race) a few months ago in Philadelphia, I wept. I sat in front of the television and cried, because I saw that as the most enlightening and transforming analysis of racism and a potential end of it that I ever saw in my life.”

… on how he wants to be remembered:

“I’d like to be remembered as a champion of peace and human rights. Those are the two things I’ve found as a kind of guide for my life. I’ve done the best I could with those, not always successful, of course. I would hope the American people would see that I tried to do what was best for our country every day I was in office.”

… on his life:

“I’ve had a wonderful life, I’ve had thousands of friends, and I’ve had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence.”

Bobservations

Our remote control to the garage door opener has died—first world problems, I know—and because it’s the original door opener—the door itself was replaced a few years ago—we need to do some searching to find a new opener; even the universal openers are too new! Until then, this is how we work the door …

I leave for work in the morning and with the push of a button Carlos closes the door after I’m gone.

I come home from work in the evening and with the push of a button Carlos opens the door for me.

We come home together after being out and about and I stop the car and poke Carlos in the side and he shrieks like a howler monkey:

“Quit poking me! I am not the garage door opener.”

I poke him again and he gets out to open the door …

“Aren’t you?”

I’m enjoying this game so I may take my time looking for a real solution.

This Tuxedo Says is still from those dark days of mask wearing:

While some of y’all are out there bitching about being uncomfortable wearing masks think of what else the government has done to some of us …

Tuxedo was always right.

Isn’t it funny how there are no more rapists and criminals storming the border, only rapists and criminals joining the incoming administration.

Linda Lavin, best known for her Emmy-nominated role in the 1976 sitcom Alice and her Tony-winning performance in the 1986 play Broadway Bound, died Sunday at the age of 87 due to complications from recently discovered lung cancer.

A former child stage actor, Lavin started her Broadway career in the 1960s, appearing in the musical It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman and the play Last of the Red-Hot Lovers, which earned her the first of six Tony Award nominations in 1970.

A funny, talented woman. RIP

This is the problem with America:

Bayer is a pharmaceutical company and Monsanto is a pesticide company.

Bayer bought Monsanto. 

Bayer makes drugs for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma while Monsanto makes a chemical called glyphosate to spray on food crops and Glyphosate causes Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

We have come full circle.

After some Costco shareholders asked the company to end its DEI policies, this was their response:

“Our board has considered this proposal and believes that our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary."

Snap.

Well, well, well … doesn’t he have the perfect name … I mean, did he create the cakes because of his name or did he change his name when he made those cakes?

Either way ...

The Boulder County Courthouse has been designated a National Historic Landmark after it became a beacon of equality and justice in 1975 when Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex issued the first same-sex marriage license in the nation.

On March 26, 1975, Rorex consulted the Assistant District Attorney to confirm there were no Colorado laws prohibiting marriage between individuals of the same sex and so she began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couple, stating years later:

“After having been so deeply involved in the women’s rights movements, who was I to then deny a right to anyone else? It wasn’t my job to legislate morality.”

This act of courage ignited a nationwide conversation about marriage equality and cemented the courthouse’s role as a symbol of hope and progress for the LGBTQ+ community and, within weeks, Rorex issued five more same-sex marriage licenses.

It’s nice they’ve made the courthouse a National Historic Landmark, but they should have made Clela Rorex one, too.

Here’s a list of some of the men I might choose to hit, or you might choose to hit …

1^st Row: British actor Andrew Scott, All Of Us Strangers; British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nosferatu; Canadian actor  Charles Vandervaart from Outlander.

2^nd Row: actor and rapper Common,   American Gangster; Australian-Canadian actor, David Berry, Outlander: British actor Jonathan Bailey, Fellow Travelers and Wicked.

3^rd Row: American actor John Cho, Star Trek; American actor Josh Brolin, No Country For Old Men; American actor Kelvin Harrison Jr, Luce.

4^th row: Irish actor Paul Mescal, Gladiator II; German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender, Inglourious Basterds; Scottish actor Richard Rankin, Outlander.

Which One[s] Would You Hit?

Happy New Year

I love a New Year.

A fresh start, so to speak, and the thought of infinite possibilities, even though there is that darkness of anger and racism and greed all around us. But maybe I am a bit of a Pollyanna, I believe times are changing; people are growing tired of division and hate, of billionaires complaining, tired of religion as politics, tired of faith being used as a weapon against women, immigrants, people of color and LGBTQ+ people.

Think of what might happen if women and people of color, immigrants and LGBTQ+ Americans, along with our allies, all stood up and voted every single time; think of the changes we could make in this country … equality, fairness, acceptance.

And, while the numbers may be adding up faster than I ever thought possible, I like the idea of being another year older, and another year wiser; okay, maybe not that older shiz. As I once told my sister, who thought I never looked any older, The Gays aren't allowed to age, so I don't mind the extra year under the belt … as long as it doesn’t puddle over my belt.

I look back on the past year, remembering the good times, the tough times, the bad and sad times, because they are all a part of life. I still wake up every morning, look out the window to his spot beneath the trees and say Hello to Tuxedo and then whisper Goodnight atm the end of the day; I still miss the Pocket Dog racing through the house like a small black blur; and I miss MaxGoldberg, heavy as a cinderblock, sleeping on me at night.

And yet while looking back, I also look forward to doing more, and learning more, thinking more, reading more, loving more, laughing more. These aren't resolutions, as I don't make resolutions because when I do, they last about as long as it takes me to say ‘resolution.’ These are promises and wishes, hopes and dreams, positive thoughts that 2025 will be a far better year for all of us, around the world, than 2024.

So, I'll leave you all to have a good day, with a repost of some New Year’s Day thoughts:

The more things change :::blibbety blah blay bloo touch me::: the more they remain the same:  I am a believer in happiness. My parents raised their children to believe that happiness is all we really get in life, and that everything else follows. 

Things don't make us happy, at least not for long. And you can't expect people to make you happy either; you either have it to begin with, and others add to it, or you don't. If you don't believe that, just look around at all the sad, angry, lonely faces you pass on the street. Happiness is something you possess, that you give out, and get back. But we are each responsible for our own happiness; responsible to find it, to hold on to it; to nurture it and share it.

Without happiness in ourselves, for being ourselves, how can we expect to live fully and completely? We suffer loss every day; I've had my share and, sad to say, I know there's more to come, but I feel happy in the memories I have of those who've gone on ahead. I still, even as I reread this from years past, mourn the loss of my father; he would have loved the Dodgers winning the World Series and he would have screamed at America once again for believing a liar.

I like to think things will get better, though it might not be the better I was thinking it would be, but I have seen tough times and I have seen them get better, so I will remain hopeful, because of the things I have learned.

I learned, from my Father the Teacher, never to stop learning and reading and speaking and, well, ranting; the more you learn, the more you grow, and understand, the more happiness you can accept. I've also learned that the best thing you can do for the people you love is to be there when they need you.

I learned, from my Mother the Nurturer, to care for things, for people, for animals, for life; to make each day better for those around us, and to make it better for ourselves in the end. I have learned to hold family close; never let them go; whether it's the family you were born into, or the family you created out of necessity; hold on to them, and protect them, and love them. 

I learned, from my Sister the Temper, to speak up; why sit quietly and let things happen to you? Stand up and demand the things you want, the happiness you want. Don't settle. 

I learned, from my Brother … well, let’s just say he taught me that people change dramatically … they ignore science, even after contracting COVID; that people who never voted will support a traitorous rapist racist. He taught me that people change, and not always for the better, but we are all human and perhaps one day he will change again.

I learned from the Blog People that, while we all may have different lives and different backgrounds and different ideas, we can communicate and listen and learn. I thank all of you for your blogs and the things you say that make me laugh and smile, cry and rant, learn, and even sometimes sing and dance.

I learned from the pets we lost in the last year or so ... MaxGoldberg, Tuxedo, and Ozzo ... and the ones we've lost through the years that sheer, unmitigated joy and pure unconditional love are real things to be accepted and given right back. 

I learned, from my Husband the Optimist, how to actually let go and be in love and damn the torpedoes; how to be open and honest and know that it won't hurt; how to love yourself, and everyone around you; how to take what you’re given, the good and the bad, and live with it, and adapt to it. His eyesight continues to worsen with each passing year and yet he soldiers on, telling people that he may be losing his eyesight, but not his vision.

So, I once again realize that I have learned to be happy; I've earned happiness and I am responsible for keeping it. It is, after all, all you really get in life.

Happy. New Year.

xoxo

Bob, Carlos, Consuelo and Rosita.