Bobservations

One morning this week, I was in our home office and Carlos comes into tell me of yet another reason the Conservatives will be freaking out: male dancers with the professional sports teams. Not cheerleaders, but dancers.

I started to say something about how that might not exactly rile up the conservatives and Carlos said:

‘And some of them are really hot.”

Now we know the real reason behind his story.

PS Carlos loves American Ninja Warriors because, he says, the men must be in amazing physical shape to compete; then, of course, he adds:

“Some of them are really hot.”

Are you sensing a theme?

The GOP is all abuzz that Paul Ryan will be resigning soon. And, in case you thought that was just wishful thinking, think about how shortly after the rumor broke Paul Ryan put out an official statement denying a press report that Republicans were saying that he was getting ready to resign.

Uh huh. Bye Felicia.

Earlier this year the LGBTQ community of Starkville, Mississippi planned a Pride parade, but the alderman in the city put the kibosh on a Queer Celebration. Then the LGBTQ community filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Starkville and there was a revote, a 3-3 deadlock that was broken after Mayor Lynn Spruill voted in favor of the parade.

So, last Saturday Starkville held their Pride parade and it was the biggest parade in the city’s history, with over 3,000 people flooding downtown Starkville for the first ever LGBTQ Pride parade.

Mayor Spruill has been a vocal LGBTQ supporter and praised the turnout made possible by the high level of attention brought to the situation:

“I never expected to have this many people. Somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 people and this would never have happened if we didn’t have the controversy, so I’m almost grateful for the controversy in the sense it became something more than it ever would have been and it became something we can be very proud of, with no issues associated with it.”

Congrats, Starkville, for your Pride.

From the Rightwingnuts and NRA Lapdogs Are Lying Pigs file comes the story of Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez being pictured ripping the US Constitution into pieces.

Conservatives, gun nuts, asshats, morons, douchebags and idiots all over posted and reposted the picture except …

What? It was faked!

The original photo was from a Teen Vogue story from last week featuring Gonzalez, and other teen activists, ripping a target poster, not the Constitution.

Teen Vogue chief content officer, Phillip Picardi, set the record straight on Twitter:

"The fact that we even have to clarify this is proof of how democracy continues to be fractured by people who manipulate and fabricate the truth."

Rightwingnutted fake news spreaders and liars.

I would now like to thank all the “Family Values Voters” who still support _____for finally admitting that their moral outrage at Democrats over the last thirty years was total bullshit.

See, to the conservatives, being married three times and cheating on all of your wives with multiple parties is just fine.

And then you have evangelicals saying that _____’s affairs and bad behavior are between him and his “God,” yet these same evangelicals were all up in my business when I wanted to marry my husband.

Fuck off, asshats.

Speaking of Asshats and the GOP, Indiana Governor, and Republican, because of course, Eric Holcomb just passed a law that every time a woman seeks medical or psychological treatment she must be quizzed about past abortions.

Failure to disclose past abortions can result in 6 months in jail and $1000 fine.

The GOP cannot keep their hands out of women’s vaginas.

In other GOP hypocrisy, Arizona has about a thousand gun deaths every year, but the governor, Republican because of course, Doug Ducey, opposes universal background checks.

But last week one person was killed by a driver-less Uber automobile, and Ducey suspended Uber from driver-less autonomous testing.

So, he’s more concerned with one person killed by an Uber and doesn’t give a rat’s ass about a thousand gun-related deaths.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican, because of course, announced that Baton Rouge police officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake will not be charged in the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in 2016 because they had “good reason to believe” Sterling was armed and resisting arrest.

You know, cuz he was a black man.

Last weekend I watched a British film called B&B, the story of a gay couple refused a single bed at an English bed-and-breakfast; they sued, and won, and a year later, they return to the B&B to celebrate.

Only they find the owner still homophobic, and the owner’s son a closeted gay boy, and a hot beefy Russian staying at the inn. It gets very convoluted; is the Russian gonna hook up with the gay boy? Is he a gay basher? Are the gay men gonna kill him? Is the father gonna kill all of them? Is the son out to kill his homophobic dad?

Let’s say all of that happened and more, and less. It was a fairly decent film but the leads, from top to bottom, were especially delicious …

Tom Bateman played one half of the gay couple, with Sean Teale as his dreamy husband. James Tratas was the beefy Russian with an agenda … to get me riled up.

Just sayin’.

Architecture Wednesday: Church!

What is it about a church turned into a private home that I love so much.

Well, it's the huge wide open spaces; the high ceilings; the beams;and those windows.

Plus it's the fact it's no longer a church, i guess.

i love this place because they turned it into a modern open plan space filled with light, and yet kept some of the original church spaces intact, albeit with glass floors and ceilings.

I love the fact that I could be baptized, if I so desired, in the tub in the master bath,

i love the let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone rock-climbing wall.

Add to that the fact that cooking lit by stained glass would be cool and I pray that one day I can get an old church and turn it into a home for a couple of queens.

HomeDSGN

If You F-Bomb A Republican They Tattle On You

I have been impressed and amazed by the high students stepping up in the gun control debate; I love the fierceness, the eloquence, the passion they all have when speaking on this issue. I myself tend to go a bit more gutter-mouthed when railing against the NRA.

And so I was also impressed by 17-year-old Noah Christiansen impassioned phone call to Mark Amodei, his Nevada state Congressman, about the issue and the fact that he told the lawmakers to “get off their f‑‑‑— asses” and pass gun-control laws.

What failed to impress me, however, was that Mark Amodei, a Republican, because of course, had his staff call Christiansen’s school, Robert McQueen High School in Reno, and report the student’s use of the F-bombs, and watch as Christiansen was suspended for two days and barred from joining the student government.

Oh, Mark Amodei … fuck off, sir, kindly fuck off.

Even more childish of the grownup is his defense of his staff’s tattling on Noah Christiansen:

“Welcome to the world where words have impact.” 

Oh Mark Amodei, welcome to a world where asshats lose elections.

Noah Christiansen’s disciplinary record was nearly spotless; he was running unopposed for class secretary; … had never so much as had detention before. But one day at school he joined a walkout in support of the Parkland students and made that phone call.

At 10:17 AM—symbolic for the 17 people killed in Florida—Noah left class one minute early and joined hundreds of other students gathering at the front of the school.  There he took a handout from other students, a list of lawmakers and their’ phone numbers.

Noah wanted to call all of them but settled on Amodei because he knew of the congressman’s record as a gun-rights supporter.; when a staffer answered the phone, Noah said:

“I believe bump stocks should be banned, the minimum age should be raised, and Congress people not already asking should get off their f**king asses and do something about gun control.”

Noah admits he wasn’t so smart in his choice of words, but he does have the right to use the words of his choice; sadly, the GOP fuckmonkey Mark Amodei got his NRA panties in a snit and had his people call the school and while like a gaggle of little bitches about the F-bomb.

Amodei, however, defended his aide’s decision to report Noah:

“He didn’t ask for any specific thing or beat the kid up. He just said, ‘I wanted you know that this guy was really vulgar. We had a lot of calls and nobody else was.’”

So, so, so, sorry Mark Amodei., now … fuck off, asshat.

Students like Noah Christiansen are coming for your seat in Congress and will work to fill it with rational thinking people and not just goose-stepping NRA lapdogs with blood on their hands.

You’re lucky I didn’t call because I’d still be on the line and still be far more vulgar than Noah Christiansen.

But, this is all far from over …

Since Noah’s impassioned plea for gun control legislation did not occur during school or at a school-sanctioned or -sponsored event, the ACLU of Nevada is stepping in to defend him, calling the suspension an unconstitutional attack on Noah’s First Amendment rights.

But officials say Noah Christiansen has a habit of bad behavior and cited the time at a school debate tournament earlier this year when Noah Christiansen went off-script to give his thoughts on how _____’s policy positions and rhetoric is harmful to the community.

Afterward, Noah wrote a letter of apology to his student opponent, who lodged an unfounded bullying complaint against him.

But Noah was never disciplined for that, so why is the school bringing it up now?

Apparently, they want to look as foolish and childish and asshatted as Mark Amodei.

WaPo

ACLU

Tuesday Thought #4

Tuesday Thought #3

Tuesday Thought #2

Tuesday Thought #1

March

I’m with her.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas student survivor Emma González spoke at the March for Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C. (and while every speech was moving, thoughtful, thought provoking and from the heart, Emma delivered. It was powerful speech made even more powerful when she stopped speaking.

After more than a minute of silence from the podium, with Emma standing still and quiet, someone came on stage, touched her shoulder, and seemed to ask if she was all right.

Emma González didn't move or speak. As she stayed silent, people in the crowd began chanting:

"Never again! Never again!"

Emma stood silent, in tears, and soon the crowd fell quiet. Still, nothing, but a tear running down her face. Finally, someone in the crowd, perhaps thinking Emma couldn’t go on shouted:

"We love you Emma!" 

Emma said nothing … for four solid minutes; then a timer went off., and Emma reached in her pocket, turned it off, and said:

"Since the time that I came out here, it has been six minutes and 20 seconds. The shooter has ceased shooting and will soon abandon his rifle, blend in with the students and walk free for an hour before arrest. Fight for your lives before it's someone else's job."

And then Emma González walked off the stage, silently becoming one of the most powerful speakers ever.

The March for our Lives event in Columbia, organized by Building Better Communities, an organization that works with law enforcement to create better community relations, as well as local chapters of Moms Demand Action, Faith Coalition On Gun Violence and Moms Against Gun Violence, brought several thousand people to the streets of the capitol city.

The march, led by high school students walked up toward the South Carolina State House, growing larger and louder; signs waved; people chanted; some cried. Many held signs:

 “Guns are the death of U.S.”

“Protect kids not guns.”

“No more silence. End Gun violence.”

And a play on ____’s campaign slogan:

“Make America safe again.”

Hundreds of orange flowers were laid out on the State House steps, spelling out Never Again, the motto of the growing gun control movement and Columbia Mayor Stephen Benjamin, praised the students, but chastised those older folks:

“Old folks need to act. This is a moment in the history of our nation that if we stand behind our young people and follow them, we can fundamentally change our nation. Listen to what the youth are saying about gun control measures."

Sarah Hinnant was one of those young people leading the marchers; she is 18 and is quite clear about what she wants:

Universal background checks.

An assault weapons ban.

No more high-capacity magazines.

The closing of loopholes that allow people to buy guns without the proper protocol.

That loophole is known as the “Charleston loophole” because it allowed a racist white supremacist lunatic—I won’t say his name—to murder nine black parishioners in Charleston, by outlasting a waiting period for a background check to come back.

Sadly, even after Charleston, South Carolina allows the purchase of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines and does not require background checks for private sales, such as at gun shows.

This was a loophole that state Representative James Smith, a Democrat and candidate for governor, called for state and national lawmakers to close.:

“It’s been the youth of America that have been a catalyst for positive change. Like the Freedom Riders of the ’60s demanding civil rights and racial equality, it’s you here today who can bring about the positive change for safer schools, a stronger community and let us leave this place for the next generation a better place than we found it.”

Better than we found it; safer than before.

But not all politicians feel that way, and mots of those are Republicans and most of those are sucking at the teat of the NRA.

Marco Rubio.

On the day of the March, Rubio released a statement to tell those students that he does not support their cause:

“I commend those who today are peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights to march in favor of a gun ban. While I do not agree with all of the solutions they propose, I respect their views and recognize that many Americans support certain gun bans. However, many other Americans do not support a gun ban. They too want to prevent mass shootings, but view banning guns as an infringement on the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens that ultimately will not prevent these tragedies.

“While protests are a legitimate way of making a point, in our system of government, making a change requires finding common ground with those who hold opposing views. Common ground is how we were able to achieve the STOP School Violence Act, improvements to our background check system, propelling CDC studies on gun violence and now, a ban on bump stocks. And finding common ground is what it will take to pass our red flag law so we can take guns away from dangerous people.”

Marco Rubio receives more campaign donations form the NRA—more than $3 million—than any other politician, left or right. Remember that; he has a vested interest in keeping gun control legislation from passing.

Marjorie Stoneman Douglas students have repeatedly attacked Marco Rubio for his ties to the NRA and at the March this past weekend they continued;  at the D.C. rally, Parkland students wore orange price tags listed at $1.05, which is what they say they were worth to Marco Rubio; the $1.05 price tag represents the number of students in Florida divided by the amount of money the NRA has donated to Rubio’s campaign.

I guess high school students aren't even worth a buck to Marco Rubio.

And, lastly, where was _____ during the march? Playing golf, of course; having another vacation weekend and saying nothing about the march. Of course, being in the pocket of the NRA, what could he say? This:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrible attack in France yesterday, and we grieve the nation’s loss. We also condemn the violent actions of the attacker and anyone who would provide him support. We are with you @EmmanuelMacron!”

Yes, he stood in support of victims of terrorism in France, but not with the victims and survivors of gun violence, and home-grown terrorism right in his own backyard.

He said nothing about the more than one million Americans in over 800 cities in all 50 states protesting gun violence and demanding stronger gun control laws.

I’m with Emma … and the students of Parkland … and Sarah Hinnant and James Smith and the thousands of people who took to the streets of Columbia and around the country to simply say …

#Enough