Random Musings

Oy, the morning. Carlos, who is the Absentminded Husband, misplaced his wedding ring.

“Don’t you keep it on the tail of that tiny metal cat on your dresser?”

“Yes. Always.”

Me, under my breath: 

“Well, not always because then it wouldn’t be lost.”

“What?"

“Nothing. Did you have it on the kitchen table and leave it there?”

“I’ve never done that.”

“Well, if you remember I found it rolled up inside the table runner one morning after breakfast.”

“I.Don’t.Remember.That.”

This goes on and on. On the bedroom floor, we look. In the closet we look; the bathroom, the tray by the kitchen door where the keys and wallets go. No ring.

“Go to work. I’ll look for it before I leave.”

“I know I had it in the closet when I was putting on my ratty shorts.”

“Which ratty shorts.” 

Oh, but that’s an argument for another day.

In the closet I find said shorts, and in the pocket I find the ring. I give it to my husband, and he says:

“I must have put it in there when I put those shorts on after work yesterday.”

He wasn’t wearing those shorts yesterday, and by this time, I’ve bitten all the way through my lip.

Whatta morning. And then his car wouldn't start ... oy.

Tom Brady’s Deflategate four-game suspension upheld by Roger Goodell after it was learned that Brady had an assistant smash the cellphone that ALLEGEDLY contained incriminating texts and emails.

Brady is foot-stomping and head-snapping and whining and bitching and kvetching.

I’m smiling.

Presidential candidate — gosh that still makes me laugh —_____ faced questions about his immigration policy from reporters last week while visiting the U.S.-Mexico border. He did not respond to a question from NBC News regarding what he plans to do about the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, but he bloviated:

"First thing we have to do is strengthen our borders and after that we'll have plenty of time to talk about it."

So, he has no plan. Then he was asked if his tour yielded any evidence to support his claim that Mexico is "sending criminals" over the border, and he promised ... promised ... to produce documentation but offered no details.

"We'll be showing you the evidence."

That’s what he said four years ago when he said Obama wasn’t American.

Out there in Seattle last week Anthony Rebello, a hetero-activist, created a Straight Pride Event “celebrate (his) right to be heterosexual, and to encourage younger heterosexuals that they should be proud of their heterosexuality.”

Rebello was the only participant in the parade, and, from the looks of it, the only spectator.

Meanwhile, back at _____ … who also said this week that he would love the Mama Grizzly Bore™ in his administration.

And that got me thinking: maybe she could call in every so often from her house and tell _____ what was happening in Russia? Or, maybe she could be the one who arranges the books and newspapers that come across his desk so he can read them? Or, and this is my favorite, maybe she could be head of the Dept of Trailer Parks and Drunken Recreation?

The Last Ship, on TNT, is about a virus that wipes out most of the population, and a Navy ship that was spared because it was out to sea when the virus wreaked havoc across the globe.

And the virus apparently doesn’t kill hot men because that ship is overrun by Hottie McHotties, like Bren Foster, a beefy Australian hunk.

Kinda makes you wish for a worldwide epidemic if it weeds out the unattractive people.

Just sayin’. And hoping I don’t fall into that category …

[photo 1, 2, 3]

Earlier this year I posted about Evan Young, the 18-year-old valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado who was banned from giving his graduation speech in which he planned on coming out as gay—see that post HERE.

In addition to being denied the right to speak, Evan was outed to his parents by school principal BJ Buchmann, who subsequently resigned over the controversy.

Well, the school looked into the whole mess and decided that it was the fault of the school … and Evan Young. I’d say that’s a fair evaluation but … on the issue of outing Evan Young to his parents, attorney William Bethke says that Buchmann did not violate Young’s privacy because Young intended to publicly disclose that he was gay in his graduation speech.

Except that he told the parents that information before Young had the chance to come out himself, which is what he wanted to do. And the report found that Buchmann was “distinctly uncomfortable” with Young coming out as gay through his speech.

And that makes me think that’s why Buchmann outed Evan to his parents, in the hope that they might stop their son from saying, “I’m gay.”

As if that would have been so terrible.

And cue heads in Teabagistan exploding, because last week President Barack Obama said he was confident he could win a third term, if only the Constitution would let him run:

“I actually think I’m a pretty good president. I think if I ran, I would win. But I can’t.”

And the right went apeshit … and those folks with fully functioning brains giggled at the joke.

So, we … and by ‘we,’ I mean ‘I’ … get lots of interesting comments to blog posts. Some piss me off; others make me think and rethink. This one had me scratching my head and laughing because this woman, Nancy Leonard, commented on a blog post with a request to loan me some money:

Nancy Leonard said...

Good-day,

I'm Mis [sic] Nancy Leonard. A reputable, legitimate & accredited lender. We give out loan of all kinds in a very fast and easy way, Personal Loan, Car Loan, Home Loan, Student Loan, Business Loan, Inventor loan, Debt Consolidation. etc

Get approved for a business or personal loans today and get funds within same week of application. These personal loans can be approved regardless of your credit and there are lots of happy customers to back up this claim. But you won’t only get the personal loan you need; you will get the cheapest one. This is our promise: We guarantee the lowest rate for all loans with free collateral benefits.

So email:ptlender01@gmail.com

We strive to leave a positive lasting impression by exceeding the expectations of my customers in everything I do. Our goal is to treat you with dignity and respect while providing the highest quality service in a timely manner.

Seriously. Does anyone think I would apply for a loan via a comment on a blog post? I don’t have time because I’m too busy sending a $5,000 money order to my relatives in Nigeria so I can collect on my inheritance form a relative who just died.

Duggared. Even though they got cancelled fired, the Duggars are millionaires from their TLC show.

But what to do when your whole life is fame-whoring and hypocrisy? Money beg.

On the family YouTube page, Duggar Studios, the family asks for supporters to contribute funds so the kids can create “fresh quality content” on their video site, like videos of the brood playing basketball or going to the dentist.

Why not just do a video where you tell us how desperate you are to remain relevant in light of the fact you’ve raised a child molester and now have no television show to pay your bills so you want us … and by ‘us’ I mean ‘no way in hell, me’ … to pay you.

Evan Young, Class Valedictorian, Was Silenced Because He Wanted To Come Out As Gay

Evan Young is a graduating senior at Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School, in Longmont, Colorado, and, with a 4.5 GPA and a scholarship to Rutgers University, he was recognized as valedictorian at his school's May 16 graduation. And then he wasn’t because, well, gay; yes, in this day and age … but let’s tell the story:

Evan sat down, wrote a speech, and agreed to show it to the school principal, BJ Buchmann, who suggested several edits, to which Evan agreed. But, when Buchmann told him to take out the part where Evan came out as gay, he balked:

"One of my themes is that I was going to tell everyone my secrets. Most of the things were stupid stuff — books I never read that I was supposed to, or homework I didn't like. But then I gradually worked up to serious secrets.

My main theme is that you're supposed to be respectful of people, even if you don't agree with them. I figured my gayness would be a very good way to address that."

So Evan left it in, and several days before the graduation, he emailed Buchmann a copy of his speech with all but that one requested edit having been made. And Evan was out … as gay … and as valedictorian.

A statement released by the school's board of directors claims Evan failed to abide by pre-screening rules — and also "failed to follow guidelines of the evening by removing the sleeves of his graduation gown." The statement also said that graduation was "a time for family and those closest to the students to celebrate success and express mutual wishes of gratitude and respect. It is not a time for a student to use his commencement speech to push his personal agenda on a captive audience, and school officials are well within their rights to prevent that from happening."

Funny, it didn’t sound like Evan was pushing an agenda, because, and let’s get this queer, there is no gay agenda save for equality, and Evan wasn’t talking about that; he was talking about respecting people, something the school administrators never showed him.

And then, to make matters worse, Evan Young says that, prior to the graduation ceremony, Principal Buchmann called Evan's father, Don Young, and outed him to his parents.

"Mr. Buchmann called me and said, 'I've got Evan's speech here. There's two things in it that I don't think are appropriate; one was he had mentioned another student's name. And then there was his coming out that he was gay." — Don Young

Wow; who has the agenda now? See, Evan hadn’t come out to his parents, a choice that was his to make, and his to change when he saw fit, but Principal Buchmann, who didn’t want him coming out at graduation, did the coming out for Evan at home.

"I think what it mainly showed is that he didn't have a lot of sympathy for me, or someone in my position. He didn't understand how personal a thing it was, and that I wasn't just going to share it with people randomly, for no reason. I thought it was very inconsiderate for him to do something like that, especially without asking me first." — Evan Young

Their son's sexuality was not news to Don Young and his wife, though they’d never heard from anyone, much less Evan, that he was gay, but still, they weren’t exactly thrilled to have the principal share such private news. And though they were somewhat sympathetic to Buchmann's decision concerning the speech, feeling that coming out during his valedictorian speech wasn’t appropriate, Don Young claims that Buchmann only notified Evan a few minutes before the ceremony that he wouldn’t be speaking because he would be coming out in his speech.

"On the Friday, the day before the ceremony, I had written [Buchmann] a handwritten letter so that he couldn't forward it. I told him I'm not going to remove the part where I say I'm gay, because I am. It's important to me. And I said if he has any questions, he can contact me by email over the next 24 hours or so. He didn't ever email me back, and so I figured he must be OK with my speech."

Seriously, in 2015, we are still denying our LGBT youth the right to speak their truth, even at graduation, where most valedictorians discuss their school years, and their school experiences. The school can say whatever they want — and the part where they say Evan couldn’t speak because he removed the sleeves from his graduation gown is all just stuff and nonsense; he wasn’t allowed to speak because he was going to come out and the school felt it wasn’t the appropriate time.

That alone sends a message of shame to young LGBT students that coming out is maybe something they should rethink; maybe stay in the closet; stay silent; live in shame for being who you are.

Now, for some good news: Out Boulder, an LGBT advocacy group, held their own ceremony last week, and invited Evan Young to speak, to come out, to share his story. Evan wore a green cape, for a little flourish, and talked about how he shouldn't have to apologize for who he is and that he expects his classmates to overlook differences as they have done in the past.

And, in the days following his ouster as valedictorian, Evan has received commendations from Colorado state Representative Jonathan Singer, and United States Representative, and openly gay, Jared Polis, who announced that he wants to "make sure this is the last time somebody like Evan will have to go through what he had to go through."

He’s gay; he’s a brilliant student with a bright future, and he wanted to tell his story. In 2015, this kind of silencing of someone because of their sexual orientation is not to be tolerated.

We’ve come too far for this.

Denver Post

Towleroad
photo credit David R. Jennings / Denver Post Staff Photographer