Random Musings

Oh Ben Carson, you will never be president of this country; especially when one considers the Crazy Talk that falls from your lips. Which is what happened when you appeared on CNN this week and called ‘gay’ a choice — which leads to the question, when did you choose 'straight, Ben?

But I digress … see Ben says ‘gay’ is a choice because “a lot of people who go into prison straight, and when they come out they’re gay.” Yeah … he did. Only now he’s backpedaling, blaming his quote, blaming the actual words that came out of his asshatted mouth, on CNN:

“It was a 25 minute interview they chopped, and you see what part they emphasized. I did learn something very important: For certain networks, never do a pre-taped interview. Always do it live.”

But that’s a lie … too; a look back at the interview and you see that there were clearly no jump-cuts and no edits — just a straight back-and-forth about whether homosexuality is a choice.

So, Carson apologized:

“I realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues. I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended."

We’re born gay, Ben, you made a choice to be a bigot, and a stupid one at that. Oh, and once more, you will never be president of this country, so sit down.

So the Benham brothers — David and Jason — those anti-gay-boys-who-were-gonna-have-a-show-on-HGTV-until-HGTV-found-out-they-were-bigots have announced that they’ve turned a gay man straight, y’all!

They claim to have saved a man from homosexuality simply by buying him tickets to see the Chicago Cubs play baseball. 

Well, it might work; I once turned a woman into a lesbian after giving her a Home Depot gift card. 

Sit down, boys.

We’re hooked on Empire. We love the show and all its WTFuckery storytelling, but this week I realized I’d seen the show before ….decades ago.

Then I realized: Empire is Dynasty set to hip hop. See, in Empire, there's this giant corporation — a record company — with a homophobic father, his troublemaking ex-wife, his gay son, whom he wishes wasn’t gay, a hard partying child, and one that’s slightly off-center, in this case bipolar and off his meds.

In Dynasty, there was this giant corporation — an oil company — with a homophobic father, his troublemaking ex-wife, his gay son, whom he wishes wasn’t gay, a hard partying child, and one that’s slightly off-center, in this case because he was a bastard child and his father never recognized him.

Now, I’m not saying it’s bad thing, I’m just saying what it is … but I’ll keep watching because, well, Cookie ... and Jamal.

Scary news earlier this week when word leaked that Dame Maggie Smith would be leaving Downton Abbey after its sixth season — set to air here in the colonies next year.

Now it seems to have all been a joke and a spokesperson for Milk Publicity says that Smith had long ago agreed to stay with the show “for as long as the [it] runs.”

I feel like we dodged a Dowager Countess bullet!

In addition to loving Empire, I also love Gotham. It’s not as dark as the Christopher Nolan films, and yet not as cartoony as the series, or some of the earlier versions of the film.

Plus, it also features Cory Michael Smith as Ed Nygma, who will be The Riddler one day.

He’s kinda nerdy on the show, but in that HGN [Hot Gay Nerd] kinda way.

Lindsey Graham, our Republican wingnut Senator from South Carolina, took a cheap shot at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi over her reaction to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to Congress. Graham said Pelosi's frustration with Netanyahu was apparent throughout the event, making a comment about her appearance during the speech:

“Did you see Nancy Pelosi on the floor? Complete disgust. If you can get through all the surgeries, there’s disgust.”

Misogynist pig … when then non-apologized by saying it was a cheap attempt at humor.

Two things Miss Lindsey:

#1: Humor should be funny, yours wasn’t, and …

#B: For a gay man you have no Snarkability. Perhaps if you cane out of the closet you’d be better at it.

Now, sit down.

Why? 

A New Jersey man who suffered burns to his face and legs from a sizzling-hot steak fajita skillet while praying had his suit against Applebee's thrown out. The man claimed his server did not tell him the skillet was hot and as he bowed his head in prayer over the entrée the skillet splashed him with grease in the left eye and face, and then he knocked the plate onto his lap.

The court ruled that it was "self-evident" that a sizzling plate of food would be hot.

Um … duh?

Random Musings

The house next to Casa Bob y Carlos finally sold this week, and I think the new owners will be moving in soon, so I will be asking Carlos, and myself, to tone down our yelling; well, it’s really mock yelling, but to the neighbor’s it might seem, um, not so much.

I have been fighting a cold this week, and as happens, Carlos, who I must remind you all, is not a doctor, tells me I need to drink Hot Tea all the time.

I tell him, and, again, reminder, I am not a doctor, that I prefer to drink Not Hot Drinks. Carlos gives a dissertation on Hot Beverages and I quickly remind him that any doctor will tell you, cold or flu, to gets lots of sleep and drink lots of liquids … with no mention of a specific temperature of that said liquid.

As Carlos was leaving the house this morning, and as I was returning to my boudoir and the warm comfort of my bed, he began “mock” shouting Hot Tea! Hot Tea!

And I began “mock” shrieking, even with my bad throat, You’re not a doctor! Stop talking!! STOP TALKKING!!!!!

Welcome to the neighborhood, newbies!

Man alive, those Russians really hate The Gays, and anything even Gay Adjacent!

It seems the residents of Saint Petersburg have reportedly torn down a giant interactive iPhone memorial that commemorated the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs because Apple’s current CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay. And the chairman of the company that installed the memorial said that it might return with a message that instructs Russians not to buy Apple products.

Yup, tell down a memorial to one man, because another man in the company is a ‘mo.

St. Petersburg better be careful, because with that attitude they might be tearing down the entire town one day.

Did y’all see blowhard Chris Christie going off on the man who dared interrupt him as he was speaking? The man, a constituent of Christie’s, and a man who survived Hurricane Sandy, though he’s still waiting for money to come through that he needs to rebuild his home, simply wanted the Governor to answer some questions.

Christie’s response? “Sit down and shut up."

Remember that when the Fat man runs for office because that’s how he’ll react to any question he doesn’t like.

It’s not presidential, it’s thuggish and bullying and condescending. If anyone needs to sit down and shut up it’s Chris Christie.

So Taylor Swift turned her back on Country music to be a Pop Star? Well, I’d say that Pop’s loss and Country’s gain. And she hightailed it right outta Nashville for New York City where she was named NYC’s Global Ambassador after living there all of half an hour.

So, what does Taylor Swift do? Well, she donated the proceeds of her new song “Welcome to New York” to charity and then she set up her world tour to promote her latest album.

She’ll be playing everywhere except New York City.

Seriously, the girl is a moron. I mean, she’s playing in Jersey so I guess she thinks that’s good enough? It isn’t.

After last Tuesday’s election, Senator Wack Nut, er, Rand Paul created a series of Facebook posts showing every losing Democrat endorsed by Hillary Clinton.

And you thought this was all Obama's fault? Nope, cuz he’ll be out of office in two years so Rand decides to go on the attack against Hilary.

Someone’s scared, eh, Rand?

I’ve been watching The Affair on Showtime. It tells the story of a murder — though we don’t know who died, even if they were murdered, or who did it — and a couple of people involved are the ones having The Affair.

It’s kind of morose, though I do enjoy the way they show both adulterers’’ sides to the story, but there is some man candy.

Joshua Jackson — on the right — plays Cole Lockhart, the husband of the woman having the affair, and though we saw his buck nekkid in episode one I was less than impressed. But then we saw him in jeans, riding, then dismounting a horse and, well, a man in Levi’s with a nice ass … I’m hooked.

In addition we have Colin O’Donnell — on the left — playing Cole’s brother Scotty, er, Hotty.

Yeah, I may be able to endure the morose for the occasional hotness. I’m shallow like that, you know.

So, My-Husband-In-My-Head Matt Bomer made his debut on AHS: Freak Show last night, playing a gay hustler, yum, who gets picked up in a bar by the wickedly insane, and insanely adorable, Dandy, played by Finn Wittrock. The two of them, in tighty whites? Oy, thank goodness for DVRs and replay!

I was in heaven until … and I’ll save the spoilers if you haven’t seen; suffice to say, Matt? What happened?

Also, the delicious Frances Conroy. Lots of talk, and all of it well-deserved, about Jessica Lange, but Frances Conroy has always been fabulous in AGS and this year is no different; the voice — "They're special bulbs from Holland! Don't question me!" — the hair, the clothes, the personality of her character. I want her to have her own season of Horror.

And then to have Gabourey Sidibe again? Loving it! Hopefully she’ll play a larger part before this all ends.

So, am I the only one who finds all those pictures of the virulently anti-gay Benham Brothers hoisting virulently anti-gay politicians into the air to be more than just a little gay looking?

And, not that I’m saying he’s gay, but the looks on Huckleberry's, Jindal's and Perry’s faces seem to suggest that they’re more than a little tickled to be carried around by bigots.

Speaking of homophobes, for some reason Peter LaBarbera, president of the anti-gay organization Americans for Truth about Homosexuality, went on the attack against National Treasure, Neil Patrick Harris.

Luckily Dan Savage was there to respond … and God, too.

Things Stupid People Say, Part 1: The Benham Twins: We’re Like ISIS Victims

David and Jason Benham are a couple of mildly attractive contractors, or house flippers, or do-it-yourselfers, who managed to attract the attention of HGTV over the summer. And when the network offered them a TV show, they leapt at the chance to share their expertise with America. Trouble was, they are also experts in the art of homophobia, bigotry, intolerance, and basic rightwing nuttery, and when word got out about all of the anti-gay, anti-women, anti-Muslim things they’ve said over the years, HGTV said, Um, no thanks and quickly canned the show before I ever aired.

Since then the Benham twins have become darlings of the Asshat Set, by basically whining about how they’ve been denied a chance to be HGTV hotties because of their religious beliefs. Not so much, boys; you were denied the chance to be on TV because of your hate speech about The Gays.

Get it queer, dears.

But they haven’t and they won’t and their latest foray into Crazy Talk occurred when they spoke at the Hate Summit, er, the Values Voter Summit, and compared themselves to victims of the terrorist group ISIS.

Oh, but they did.

Jason Benham, who seems to be the bigger, crazier, more asshatted twin, first announced that he and his brother are like Jesus Christ himself, and then David took over with this line, a direct quote out of the mouths of wingnuts:

“There is a radical agenda that has come in our nation. The weapon of choice for the agenda in the Middle East is a sword, but the weapon of choice for the agenda in America is silence. They demand silence.”

Yup, innocent people finding themselves captured by ISIS and then beheaded on live TV are the exact same thing as two delusional rightwingnutted, asshatted loons having their TV show taken away from them.

Out of the mouths of morons ….

via LGBTQ Nation

I Didn't Say It ...

Pat Robertson, telling a listener to his show how to respond to her daughter who recently came out:

“You want to be loving and warm and let them know that you love them, BUT you cannot accept it and you cannot be an enabler. If they’re living together as a homosexual and you’re a Christian you cannot say I accept this lifestyle. Right now there’s an incredible barrage of activity forcing people to accept the homosexual lifestyle. Well, do we accept adultery? Do we accept fornication? Do we accept immorality?  Well, the answer is no. I don’t think we ought to be accepting of it.”

Christian love. Ain’t it grand?

Miley Cyrus, bashing the former ‘love of her life,’ Lima hems worth, while in concert:

“And every time you get in your car, you’re going to hear my fucking song on the fucking radio, you piece of shit. That’s right. And then I’m gonna take all my clothes off, I’m gonna sit on a big, giant dick – sometimes two – I’m gonna swing around ... — you know, you can tell a lot about a person — I think you can tell how big their dick is by how much confidence they have usually, and if I was a dude I’d probably have a really big dick, ‘cause I feel really good about myself now. So I’m gonna tell those motherfuckers that broke my heart, particularly one, to suck my fat dick and to enjoy hearing this song for the rest of your life. This song is called Wrecking Ball.”

Someone is really harboring a grudge, meanwhile, Liam Hemsworth was heard saying, “Miley who?”

Allen West, wingnut Teabagger, and former one-term Congressman, in a blog posting that many say is his acknowledgement that he is considering a run for president:

"A diamond is but a rock until it undergoes intense pressure and heat. Steel is purified by intense heat. We cannot seek to live a life where our goal is to go from one oasis to another. Sometimes we have to cross a desert in order to develop inner strength. Many are asking me to consider a huge undertaking. If God had not placed a challenge before me and closed one door, perhaps a new mission would not be possible."

Seriously? I have a better shot at being elected President.

Michele Bachmann, speaking out against the National Women's History Museum to be built on the National Mall:

“I believe ultimately that this museum, which will be built on the National Mall, on federal land, will enshrine the radical feminist movement that stands against the pro-life movement, the pro-family movement, and the pro-traditional marriage movement.”

So, it’s basically because of The Gays, I guess, that she’s anti-women, which is funny, because that’s the same reason her husband is anti-women, too.

Jason Benham, whose HGTV was cancelled before it started based on their anti-gay “religious” beliefs, taking on Michael Sam:

“Michael Sam is a talented football player and for that, he should be playing in the NFL. But his sexual expressions and the propagation of them are not healthy for him as a young man. Both heterosexual and homosexual expressions outside the context of traditional, historic marriage between a man and a woman are not healthy for us as individuals or for us as a nation…”

Funny, though, he says anyone who acts outside of traditional marriage, either heterosexually, or homosexually, is wrong, and yet he hasn’t taken on one professional athlete who has wives and girlfriends and all kinds of children running around.

It’s just the openly gay one.

Stephen Colbert, on the Michael-Vito kiss:

"Folks this is just wrong. In the NFL sexuality is supposed to take place OFF CAMERA. And the fans should only find out about it when the charges are filed."

True that. A loving kiss between a couple as they hear good news is bad, but let’s turn down the set when our players are charged with rape, or worse. And let’s keep that on the down low.

Chuck Todd, MSNBC political commentator, on the Michael-Vito kiss:

“That could be the most significant cultural moment in hindsight. We may look back on that moment being sort of THE big moment when same-sex marriage and same-sex relationships as far as pop culture was concerned went mainstream. … That was as significant as a state legalizing, as being the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.”

The kiss felt ‘round the world … or at least in Homophobiastan.

Newt Gingrich, on ex-NFL player Derrick Ward’s Twitter meltdown over the Michael-Vito kiss:

“You guys talk about how you want to be inclusive, except of course if somebody tweets this, then [there are] death threat or let's send them off to sensitivity training. I mean it strikes me as repression, that’s not inclusive…shouldn’t you also be teaching people who are gay to be open and understanding [of anti-gay views]?”

Newt the Serial Adulterer talking about sensitivity is laughable. He doesn’t seem to see that if the religious right bashes any kind of gay interaction, a kiss or a coming out, that’s okay, but when we bash back, we’re insensitive.

Michael Sam, on a young man who came out of the closet to his father after Sam was drafted:

"I'm honored that I helped someone to be comfortable with who we are - gave them a little courage to speak to his father. But right now I'm just looking forward to continue on my dream. And if it inspires other people. Hey, I'm with you. And anyone that's not okay with that, like I said earlier, if someone disowns you, be part of my family. I'll welcome you. Ram up!"

Sometimes it isn’t the family you were born into, it’s the family that accepts you.

My Two-Cents: HGTV vs The Benham Brothers

Last week HGTV announced a new series for fall called Flip it Forward starring twins David and Jason Benham and quicker than you can say ‘queer idea’ the show was scrapped.

Why? Well, it doesn’t take long for people to do a quick Google search on anyone, and everyone, who suddenly appears in the limelight, and someone over at Right Wing Watch remembered hearing the name David Benham before and the search was on. 

After a nano-second, Google came back with the story of David Benham and his prayer protest outside the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte back in 2012:

“We don’t realize that, okay, if 87 percent of Americans are Christians and yet we have abortion on demand; we have no-fault divorce; we have pornography and perversion; we have a homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation; we have adultery; we have all of the things; we even have allowed demonic ideologies to take our universities and our public school systems while the church sits silent and just builds big churches. We are so complacent, we are so apathetic and we are very hypocritical in the church, that’s why the Bible says judgment begins in the house of God. So when we prayed at 714 we asked God and our city to forgive us for allowing these things in the house of God.”

David Benham is active in the anti-choice — he he regularly leads protests outside of abortion clinics, condemning those who use the facilities to Hell; he is anti-Muslim — he claims that Muslims are “the enemy attacking” America; he's anti-gay — he protests at Pride celebrations and has said that marriage equality will “erode the moral fabric of society” while citing the biblical death penalty for homosexuality; he has even compared fighting against marriage rights for same-sex couples with the fight against Nazi Germany.

Gays. Death. Gays. Nazis. That's David Benham.

Well, once that shi — once that story broke, HGTV announced via its Facebook page that they had “decided not to move forward" with the Benham brothers' show.

Now, it would be safe to say that HGTV has a very large gay audience, and HGTV presents itself as an inclusive corporation with inclusive programming, so, yeah, they are within their rights not to air a show whose content, or hosts, might offend their viewers or their employees, or harm their image.

Naturally, though, the Christian wingnuts are now crying foil, calling the cancellation of the show a “smear campaign’ against any and all who disagree with The Homosexuality or are Pro-life; why its an attack on Christians and faith. But is it, really?

David and Jason Benham appeared on CNN to discuss the cancellation, saying they think HGTV was "bullied" into dumping them:

"We love all people. I love homosexuals. I love Islam, Muslims, and my brother and I would never discriminate. Never have we — never would we. Never have I ever spoken against homosexuals, as individuals, and gone against them. I speak about an agenda. And that's really what the point of this is — is that there is an agenda that is seeking to silence the voices of men and women of faith." — David Benham

David, I’ll speak to you as a gay man, one of The Homosexuals that you don’t speak against, even though you’ve done so repeatedly, and I will tell you my agenda: equality.

I would like to marry my partner and have it recognized anywhere I happen to move in this country.

I would like not to be fired for being gay.

I would like not to be denied housing for being gay.

I would like not to be bullied, bashed, or murdered for being gay.

I would like to watch into a bakery or a photography studio, or any business, and not be denied service for being gay.

I would like being equal.

That’s the agenda.

I don’t want to silence you, I simply want you to see that your faith, and I don’t know of a faith that seems as hell-bent — and that is the perfect word choice — on discriminating against people while calling themselves the injured party.

You talk about being discriminated against because a cable network doesn’t want your show on their LGBT-friendly channel? Well, go to a network that shares your views. Check with Pat Robertson; check with Tony Perkins or NOM and see if they’ll start up a channel for you.

And that might just happen. It seem the Benham brothers are working with Faith Driven Consumer, the advocacy group that played a big role in drumming up support for Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson after his own anti-gay remarks led to a (temporary) suspension from his A&E show, to broker a deal to air their show.

Good for them. This is America and we all have the right to say and do what we want to say and do; we can have our TV shows and preach anti-gay sentiment, and label all Muslims as evil, and condemn women to hell for their choice.

But when you have an inclusive employer — which is what HGTV would have been to the Benhams — then maybe they can choose not to have you and your opinions as part of their network. HGTV is considered to be one of the most progressive networks on cable, and I myself have seen many HGTV shows with same-sex couples looking for homes, families with two dads or two moms doing renovations and the idea of the Benhams and their stance on The Gays being on that network is unappealing to me, many others, and to HGTV.

But don’t fret, people, most folks who identify as Christian are nothing like David Benham; most folks who identify as Christian wouldn’t suggest death to homosexuals, wouldn’t compare a struggle for equality to what happened in Germany under Hitler.

Most Christians wouldn’t use fear as their argument, only those on the fringes.

Those who won’t be on my cable channel this fall.