Meme Dump

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’.

Chris Dodds Calls For Killing Gays At Pride

Look, I’ll make this perfectly queer: if you don’t like The Gays just because of our sexual orientation, that’s okay in my book. I mean, it’s kinda dumb when you think about it; it’s like hating people because they have blue eyes or red hair ... or because of their skin color, right? Who would do that?

But, what I have a problem with is when people suggest that The Gays be murdered simply for being an LGBT or Q. And that’s what Columbus City School District employee Chris Dodds did on Facebook because, well, idiot ... homophobe ... hater.

Dodds, a garage assistant supervisor who has worked for the district since 2004, may now likely be out of a job because he shared his personal vile thoughts, not on his own Facebook page, but the Facebook page of Columbus Pride:

And now the Columbus Police Department and Homeland Security are looking into Dodds’ Facebook post because, again, he’s an idiot ... homophobe ... hater.

The Columbus City School district released this statement after Dodds’ hate came to light:

“We have also been made aware of his inappropriate comments and are working to address the situation.”

They failed to mention how they might address the situation, but, hey, it’s just killing gays, right, so maybe a slap on the wrist?

Or maybe not; a Change.org petition ... go on over and sign it ... is calling for Chris Dodds to be fired. And now we know that Columbus City Schools has a policy on free speech that Chris Dodds may have violated and they have issued another statement:

"Columbus City Schools values and celebrates its diversity. Please know that we are working with authorities to address this matter and his actions. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Our District will be participating in the Pride Parade Saturday with more than 400 teachers, staff, students, families, friends and allies. We hope to see you there as well."

In addition to that statement, posted to the district’s Facebook page, Columbus City Schools urged supporters to:

"Walk the PRIDE Parade with CCS! Join CCS teachers, staff, students, community partners, and more. Everyone is welcome to march with us!"

And they added that they are working toward the Chris Dodds’ termination.

As I said at the top, you can hate The Gays, for whatever reason you choose, though I’ve yet to hear any reason to hate anyone that makes any sense, but perhaps you should think twice before suggesting that people be murdered because they’re gay.

Just sayin’.

NCRM

NBC4i

Brooke Guinan, NYC’s First Transgender Firefighter, Is Grand Marshall At NYC Pride

Eight years ago Brooke Guinan came out as a trans woman while working for the New York City Fire Department; and every year since then she has marched in the NYC Pride parade, though this year she’ll be featured as the Grand Marshall of the parade.

But even with these “firsts” Guinan was “shocked” to receive an email from NYC Pride asking her to be the Grand Marshall; she thought it was a mistake.

“I didn’t expect it. I am super flattered. It’s an amazing honor. It’s very rare in the everyday life of a trans person to feel valued or to feel appreciated in society, I look forward to the pride march every year. It’s nice to be around your people, your LGBTQ family―to really feel like you can let loose and not have to worry about judgment.”

Guinan, a third generation FDNY firefighter, says coming out as trans in her 20s, while working in a profession with a “very macho culture”, was nerve-wracking.

“There have been certain points in time where things were difficult, but I’ve never felt a lack of support from my family ... [FDNY], in general, has been very supportive of me and a lot of the visibility campaigns that I’ve done.”

Guinan came out as gay at age 12, but it wasn’t until she took a gender studies course in college that she realized she was transgender. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, but changed course and became a firefighter.

“Joining the fire department was sort of a last ditch effort to prove my masculinity and that I could be a man. That didn’t work very well seeing as how I finally came out as trans. I think joining the fire department may have actually worked out in the opposite way, and been like the last straw for me to finally accept my identity.”

Guinan will be joined at NYC Pride this year by her mother and father—a firefighter for over forty years—who will mark their first time at Pride; she will also be joined by her husband.

Guinan, who now works as LGBTQ outreach coordinator for the FDNY, feels that by coming out as trans, and becoming the first trans Grand Marshall, she can make a huge impact in the lives of so many people.

“At the end of the day, I really just feel like I’m living my life. I don’t necessarily understand why it gets so much attention. But if that attention can be used for good ... and can be used to promote the education and betterment of other trans people then I feel like it’s my responsibility to do that.”

All it takes is one person taking that first step for others to become inspired to follow along. And with the numbers of trans women murdered in this country growing every single day, we need more visibility for them; we need people to realize trans women, and trans men, are a part of the fabric of our world, and not just the LGBTQ parts either.

Thanks to Brooke Guinan, for her bravery in all aspects of her life, and congratulations Grand Marshall!

Huffington Post Queer Voices

Random Musings

So let me get this queer … calling _____ supporters "deplorables" warrants an apology, but calling a Mexican a "rapist" or "drug dealer" or "murderer" and calling Muslims "terrorists" and calling a woman a "pig" is just fine with The Rump crowd?

That IS deplorable.

And while I’m at it, let me make this queer ... if you’re gonna have _____ on your "news" show, or your gonna interview him for your "news" magazine, and then you ask about Hillary's health, but not about his own medical records, his unreleased tax returns, his scandals, his payoffs to the AG's of Florida and Texas to avoid any further scandals, you are not a journalist and you can sit down now.

Carlos and I had another Movie Night at Home last Saturday, and watched The Walk — about Phillippe Petit’s highwire walk between the newly built Twin Towers in 1974.

First thing … it’s good we didn’t see this in the theater because, while I don’t have a fear of heights, I have a fear of looking down from great heights, so I kept yelling at the TV and grabbing my legs every time Phillippe was atop the towers.

Second thing … the Hot Men of The Walk, from left to right, the beefy James Badge Dale as the American accomplice, the utterly adorable Joseph Gordon-Leavitt as Petit, and the dreamy Clément Sibony — whom I first spotted in The Hundred Foot Journey — as the French accomplice.

They more than made up for my queasy knees …

This week the NCAA opted to move all of its championship games out of North Carolina over HB 2, the state’s anti-LGBT Hate Bill, and one Republican Congressman, who is also a Baptist Pastor, Mark Walker, likened the move to extortion … oh, but he did:

"We will not be intimidated by elitists who are attempting to extort and embarrass North Carolina for defending its citizens.”

Um, Dumbass … may I call you “Dumbass”? … this isn’t extortion, it’s commerce, it’s Free Speech. You wanna legislate Hate then people and companies and sports organizations can choose to do business elsewhere, and when North Carolina goes belly up, please allow me to remind the people there that you, sir, with your GOP Band of Bigots, brought this on, and allowed it to happen.

You fought for hate.

In the Seriously Who Cares What You Think File …

Greedy bastard and ex-pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli showed up outside Chelsea Clinton’s New York City apartment last Sunday to taunt Hillary Clinton about her health.

“Do you need pharma bro’s help? Why are you so sick?”

Sit down, fool, you are the problem in this scenario; you are the sick one.

Last Sunday Carlos noticed some water pooling in the drainage ditch along the road in front of our house and since we hadn’t had rain in a few weeks it was odd.

He called the city and they sent someone out to check it … on a Sunday … and we were told that, of course, there was a leak at the water main but it was on “our side” and so we needed to fix it.

Carlos called Craig, a handyman-contractor we’ve used in the past right away but Craig didn’t return the call. I reminded Carlos that it was Sunday and maybe he was out of town or not taking calls or whatever. We let it go ...

The next morning, I walked into the kitchen at 6:45 AM and found Carlos preparing to call Craig and ask him if he could fix the leak. I forced Carlos to put the phone down and said, “It’s 6:45 AM!!!!! Why are you calling now?”

Carlos: “He’s a contractor, he should be awake.”

Oy. I had to wrestle the phone from his hands.

Sidenote: Craig returned the call Monday morning, sent out a plumber who fixed the leak — damn tree roots — and charged us only $100. The next day Carlos took our last two water bills to City Hall to show the crazy increase in usage because of the leak and the good folks at City Hall gave us a $100 credit on our bill.

Everything works out …

The other one of _____ ’s Idiot Sons, Junior, said in an interview that Daddy cannot release his tax returns because … wait for it … it’s the height of stupidity … it’s rich … richer than _____ … because releasing them would allow We The People to scrutinize them in a way that would detract from Daddy’s message.

Um, Donny Jr.? Duh.

It’s lucky this fool has a job with Daddy because someone so idiotic should not be allowed to walk around freely lest they hurt themselves.

Speaking of _____ … my father is having surgery in November and my brother and  I were going out there to hang with Dad while he recuperates.

My dad, though, thought it best if we split the time — one of us go first and one finish up — because there was no need for both of us out there at the same time. I thought, “Okay Dad, whatever” and then he explained why he also thought it be best …

My.Brother.Is.Voting.For._____.

Holy schnikeys. Seriously. I used to joke that my brother and I weren’t really related because we are so very different, but I wonder if the joke is on me.

I’m related to a “deplorable.”

The little town of Morehead, Kentucky was nothing but a little town no one ever knew until its most famous resident made news.

See, it’s home to Kentucky Kounty Klerk Kim Davis, that many times married anti-marriage equality asshat who, for a short time, was the darling of the GOP; she’s yesterdays news, wrapped around a dead fish by now.

But, this past week, because of Kim Davis, Morehead, Kentucky held it s first ever Pride festival. Kim didn’t show … she may have been out planning her fourth, or is it fifth, wedding, but there was a Drag Kim.

Bravo, Morehead! Bravo!

This last one has had me laughing all day …

Yesterday _____ continued with his “African American Outreach” by a black church in Flint, Michigan. He opted to use his time at church to beat up on Hillary Clinton until the pastor of the church, the Reverend Faith Green Timmons, actually walked up to him and said:

“Not today Satan.”

Okay, she didn’t say that, but she did say:

“Mr. _____, I invited you here to thank us not make a political speech.”

And he acted like a chastised schoolboy, in front of her, but then scurried like the rabid rat he is back to Fox News to say the pastor "was like a nervous mess" as she introduced him and so he “figured something was up."

He then agreed with the host of the show that the pastor “sabotaged” him. Yeah, that’s The Rump. A woman, and a black woman at that, dared to silence him so it’s a rigged speech, a rigged event.

Not today Satan.

The Monday After Pride

Carlos and I attended SC Pride in Columbia this week. We’ve attended Prides before, everywhere from Key West to Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm Beach, and even here in Columbia twice. I’ve attended Pride in Sacramento and San Francisco while living in California.

But this time we attended Pride as part of a group with an agenda; The Will of the People Fund had a tent along Main Street to promote our cause: to help defray the non-attorney costs of the lawsuit filed by Katie Bradacs and her wife, Tracie Goodwin-Bradacs, to have the state of South Carolina recognize their marriage.

And Katie and Tracie were the Grand Marshalls in the parade, and spoke at Pride, as did Carrie Warner, one of the attorneys — along with John Nichols — who have taken their case pro bono because, well, it’s the right thing to do.

People, straight people, the not-so-gay-friendly straight people, always ask why “Pride”? What’s there to be proud of? If being gay is normal and y’all want the same rights as everyone else, why Pride? My usual answer is this:

We’re not proud to be gay, because if we’re born that way, then it’s just part of who we are, like eye color, hair color, and since we don’t have Tall White Guy with Blue Eyes Pride, then what have I got to be proud of? Well, it’s this: I am proud to be living my life as an openly gay man, saying quite clearly and loudly, and yes, proudly, that I won’t hide any more, that I won’t be closeted any more, that I won’t be told that my life, the man I love, our relationship, is somehow less than yours.

I am proud to stand up, be counted, be equal; that’s Pride.

And what a Pride it was; a huge crowd overflowing the streets of Columbia — Main Street was closed so there were all kinds of vendors and LGBT-friendly businesses and causes along the way; Some Dudes Marry Dudes, Get Over It t-shirts; petitions asking Hillary to run booths; Carlos bought a kilt at the Out of Bounds tent — his paternal grandfather was an Englishman and since England is just a hop, skip and a jump from England, well, kilt.

Lesbian couples each wearing matching I’m With Her shirts; gay men in Whore t’s; some guys in underwear, some women in leather, some folks looking like they’re just out for an afternoon stroll.

That was Pride, too; all the different kinds of people we saw, and spoke to, and cajoled into coming to The Will of the People Fund tent to donate to the cause, to sign our mailing list, to hear the story of who we are and why we fight, to just say Hello. We raised a nice chunk of change, and really spread the word. The Facebook page boomed with new ‘Likes’ and, as of yesterday, we were able to add a ‘Donate’ button to the page; that’s tight, head over to Facebook, look for The Will of the People Fund page … like us … and if you can, click the Donate Social button to send a little financial support to the family for whom we are fighting for and working for and supporting.

And speaking of the family, of Katie and Tracie and their three children, this is one of the best pictures from SC Pride … 

... the family, along with Tracie's niece, and Carrie Warner, standing in front of the anti-LGBT protesters, saying We’re a family, and we want to be treated as such, and seen as such. I find it funny, you know, seeing the Bradacs family, all smiles, surrounded by people using their faith as a weapon. It won’t work because Love always wins.

And that makes me proud, too.

photo credits:Abby Beckley Cobb [Pride flag], Allen Wallace [Pride photos] and Sheryl McAlister [Bradacs family photo]

Good News Friday: Military Pride

This year’s Pride Parade in Washington DC will make history when a US Armed Forces color guard — carrying the American flag, as well as the flags of each branch of the military — marches alongside rainbow flags and Dykes on Bikes and PFLAG.

The eight-member team is scheduled to help lead off the one-and-a-half-mile parade, immediately preceding the Capital Pride lead banner and grand marshal Chris Kluwe, LGBT activist and ally, and former National Football League punter .

Now, while there has been no policy in place that precludes a US Armed Forces color guard from marching in Pride parades, since the death of DADT, LGBT rights organizations across the country say they have routinely faced rejection from local military offices, saying the color guards were otherwise occupied on the days of pride parades.

Not anymore.

The march goes on ….

source

ISBL Asshat of the Week: Bill Donohue

Okay, so we’ve been reading for weeks and weeks about how The Gays are upset because they can’t march in a St. Patrick’s Day parade; and there was talk of boycotting Sam Adams and Guinness who were sponsors of the parade if they didn’t pull out, and both companies blinked.

Then Catholic League spokestool Bill Donohue got into the mix after Guinness dropped out — I guess he’s a big fan of the dark beers — and said he would boycott Guinness for not sponsoring the parade.

Then he uttered some nonsense about how he would never ask to march in a Pride parade because it's not his place and he wouldn't want The Gays to feel infringed upon, only then he did ask to march in New York City’s Pride parade, carrying a banner that would read “Straight is Great!!”

I imagine he announced that because he was sure the parade organizers would tell him he wasn’t welcome, except they didn’t; they invited him to march, and to carry that sign, and the ball was back in Donohue’s court.

Now he’s backed out of participating in the parade, the theme of which is “We Have Won When We're One: Straight is great — as long as there's no hate,’ because of the mandatory information session. Donohue explains:

"For the past few days I have been engaged in an e-mail conversation with officials from the Heritage of Pride parade, New York’s annual gay event; the dialogue has been cordial. I asked to join the parade under a banner that would read, “Straight is Great.” The purpose of my request was to see just how far they would go without forcing me to abide by their rules. It didn’t take long before they did.

Today, I informed Heritage of Pride officials that I objected to their rule requiring me to attend gay training sessions, or what they call “information” sessions. “I don’t agree with your rule,” I said. They responded by saying that attendance was “mandatory.”

The St. Patrick’s Day parade has mandatory rules, too. It bars groups representing their own cause from marching, which is why pro-life Catholics—not just gays—are barred from participating under their own banner. But only gays complain: they refuse to abide by the rules. Indeed, they went into federal court seeking to force a rule change. They lost. In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that private parades have a First Amendment right to determine their own rules.

It is hypocritical for gay activists to complain about having to abide by the mandatory rules of the St. Patrick’s Day parade, and then inform me that I cannot march in their parade unless I respect their mandatory rules, rules that I reject.

Good luck to the Heritage of Pride participants. I may be watching it from afar, but I sure won’t be downing a Guinness afterwards.”

Funny, he’s fine with the organizers of St Patrick’s’ Day parades having “information sessions” but if Pride parade organizers have them, it’s some kind of “gay training” session; as if we need to be trained. Honey, we were born this way, no training, no assembly,  required.

What irks me though, is that with his little attempt at sarcasm or humor, unless it was just plain stupidity, his use of the words "gay training" simply perpetuates that ancient myth that The Gays are out to indoctrinate new members and that this “gay training” will turn him gay.

Well, I’ve got news for you, Billy Boy, we don’t want you; we’ve never wanted you.

So, sit down, sip a Guinness and watch The Gays march. It’ll be the most fun you’ll have all year.