Bobservations

You know it’s been said that 50% of all marriages end in divorce and ours is no exception.

It happened like this: one morning over breakfast Carlos began talking about Rosita; since he’s home more often than I, the two have bonded and while she sleeps between us she will only sit in his lap, but this isn’t about that. He began talking about how much like a dog she is because she roams the house checking on her people; he said she came out to the kitchen to see him, and then she disappeared down the hallway to find me. I said:

“Tuxedo used to do that. He used to come to the door, like a dog would, whenever we came home from somewhere.”

And Carlos said:

“Well, Rosita seems smarter than Tuxedo.”

Yes, he did; and he meant it, and so I said:

“This is going to sound crazy, and I don’t care cuz it is, but don’t you ever say a negative word about Tuxedo again.”

“Well, I was only—”

“BAH!!!!!”

“I just meant—”

“BAH!!!!!!!!!”

And because he saw the look on my face, with the glimmer of a tear in my eye, he said:

“Sorry.”

And all was right in the house again.

This week’s Tuxedo Memory is a quickie … from May 2012, just Tuxedo posing for a photo; he did love to have his picture taken!

"Caturday TuxedoDay

The Most handsome Cat Ever."

Note to self: remind Carlos of this.

Ryan Basye owns an Omaha, Nebraska apartment building and when he asked his daughters, ages five, seven, and nine, what color he should paint it, they all wanted the colors of the rainbow.

While his daughters were motivated by a love for colors, Basye was intrigued by the idea because of a 2022 conversation he’d had with a fellow property owner, during which the person made anti-LGBTQ+ remarks. So Basye painted the house rainbow and, in addition to making his daughters heroes at school, the house has brought joy to more people than he ever predicted:

“It puts a smile on my face knowing that neighbor has to see it every day [and] this place is right by an elementary school so we get lots of kids walking by with smiles on their faces. It has been about 99% positive.”

Basye—who owns about 25 properties and has been a realtor for 20 years—offered to help his tenants move out if the attention got to be too much but his tenants love the building.

So do I.

X, formerly known as Twitter, could lose as much as $75 million in advertising revenue by the end of the year as dozens of major brands pause their marketing campaigns after X owner, Elon Musk, endorsed an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory this month.

Oh Elon, now buy Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby! And Walmart.

Neo-Nazis gathered in the town of Wunsiedel in Germany last week and found themselves the target of an anti-fascist prank when they inadvertently raised $12,000+ dollars [€10,000] for an anti-extremist organization.

After years of far-right extremists marching through Wunsiedel this year the organizers of Rechts gegen Rechts [Right against Right] took a different approach and had local residents and businesses sponsor the 250 participants of the march. For every meter they walked, €10 went to a program called EXIT Deutschland, which helps people escape extremist groups.

Campaigners hung posters to make the march look more like a sporting event, with slogans such as “If only the Führer knew!” and “Mein Mampf” [‘My Munch’] next to a table laden with bananas. They even hung a sign at the end, thanking the marchers for their “donations.”

And this is how Nazi’s donate to anti-hate groups! You know, cuz Nazis are stupid.

Fox News idiot Jason Chaffetz got roasted on X for claiming he spent $90 on a Thanksgiving turkey all thanks to Bidenomics:

“I mean, we went to go buy a turkey today. It was $90 for a turkey! It’s all a choice by Joe Biden. That is what Bidenomics is.”

To prove his point, Chaffetz posted a photo of the “premium young turkey” he bought from Meiers for $114.02—even more than the originally claimed $90—but failed to note in his idiotic snowflake rant that his turkey was “thoughtfully raised on sustainable family farms” and was “100% vegetarian fed, raised without antibiotics, no preservatives, minimally processed.”

Yes, this Fox News lying, rightwingnut MAGAt went out on bought himself a woke turkey!

This week Mr-Former-Fake-One-Term-Twice-Impeached-Currently-Four-Time-Criminally-Indicted-Not-My-President-Gurl came to South Carolian for the Palmetto Bowl game between Clemson and USC. And because he can’t control crowds he doesn’t hire, Thing 45 was soundly booed as he arrived and given many one finger salutes, at the game.

Even better is that billboard erected in downtown Columbia reminding him that he’s a loser.

Sometimes South Carolinians get it right.

PS Notice that the sign was sponsored by “Radical Leftist Vermin.”

On the flip side of South Carolinians,  this was the temperature yesterday morning when I woke up and believe me, you never heard so many people complaining about the first really cold day of the year.

Oh, people wait until February …

Marcus Freeman is thirty-seven, a former linebacker and currently the head coach at the University of Notre Dame. Would You Hit It?

My Thought: a friend who is a Notre Dame football fan posted his picture on her Facebook page and I commented:

“Oh my … ::::thud:::”

And I meant it.

The McCarthy's Take A Stand

Gosh I love starting the week off with a smile, and a big dose of Pride.

In Oregon last week, the Newberg School Board voted to ban any “political” speech from their schools because their messages can be divisive; the board was mostly talking about LGBTQ+ Pride flags and Black Lives Matter signs because, the board claims, and wait for it, it’s stunning, Pride support and BLM support make white and straight students feel excluded.

Actually, Pride and BLM support only makes bigots and racists feel excluded, and Erin McCarthy and her husband, Jaybill, who live in Newberg and own land on a hill about a half mile from Newberg High School, banded together with other residents to make a giant Pride flag on the hillside.

Jaybill McCarthy says the idea that you cannot have a Pride flag or a Black Lives Matter sign would “erase a bunch of people.” And so he and his wife shared their idea on social media and got responses from hundreds of people in town who either donated money for materials and helped build and erect the flag.

Erin McCarthy says:

“We wanted maximum visibility. The result is pretty amazing, we love it. It’s not expressing a Democratic idea or Republican idea or conservative or liberal. It’s human beings. It’s recognition that people exist.”

While the school board voted in favor of the policy to make white and straight students feel better at school, Tai Harden-Moore, a Black mother explained that her son faces discrimination in school where he is often called a N****r while other parents supported the ban saying that the Pride flag is for “deviants.” But Erin McCarthy says her message with the giant flag is:

“You are not alone. Even though this is difficult, there are people who are there for you.”

The McCarthy’s even painted the word “LOVE” in rainbow colors on their barn.

For the record, Pride does not exclude; it seeks to make LGBTQ+ youth feel included. And a Black Lives Matter sign is just that; it doesn’t say Only Black Lives Matter; it isn’t anti-white. It just means that for a very long time Black lives did not matter and it’s time we recognize that and learn from it.

And while I’m on the soapbox, neither idea is a political idea; they are social ideals of treating everyone equally, and anyone who tries to make them a partisan movement and works to ban the signs are on the side of history where not all men, and women, and LGBTQ+ Americans and Black Americans, are equal.

And that’s just plain wrong.

LGBTQ Nation

Jesse & Nicholas Show Their True Colors For Pride

Oh, this is how it’s done.

You can put up your flags, or douse your house in rainbow lights, but if you’re Jesse Campbell and Nicholas Vazquez  and it’s Pride Month, you create a paintbrush leaking a rainbow down the porch and across the walkway of their front yard.

Jesse and Nicholas live with their 16-month-old son in the Chicago neighborhood of Andersonville and decorated their house for Halloween, fall, and the neighbors loved it. So along comes Pride, and  they decided to decorate again but, you know, anyone can hang a Pride flag.  Jesse, who is an interior designer, and Nicholas were inspired by a quote Jesse saw on the internet:

“Don’t be afraid to show off your true colors.”

And they Cyndi Lauper-ed their home! They made the paintbrush out of Styrofoam, then hung rainbow taffeta at the entrance of their porch and painted up the walkway, including adding their inspiration quote.

Nicholas, who works at a credit counseling firm, says sometimes he sits inside the house, windows open, listening to passersby talk about the art piece:

“Kids are kids, and they start asking questions. I can hear them, and the parents are taking the time and explaining [Pride[ to them and what this means and the colors and how this makes people feel.”

Jesse and Nicholas are also using their display to raise money for The Trevor Project. They installed lawn signs with QR codes leading people to donate and are close to reaching their $10,000 goal.

Happy Glorious Pride!

Block Club Chicago

Home-o-Sexual

When we lived in Miami we lived under the thumb of an HOA [Homeowner’s Association]and it was brutal. Everything outside the fence, like the lawn, was the responsibility of the HOA, though we could do planting beds along the fence about two feet … and only two feet …wide, while everything behind the fence was ours and we could do whatever we wanted.

One year we had redone our courtyard patio at the front of the house and created a lovely path around the house to the backyard; it had a kind of Asian feel to it, and we noticed a neighbor had a new gate into his yard that looked Asian-inspired. And so we hired him to build a gate for us, and it turned out beautifully; we decided to paint the gate ed and I hired a woman who makes handmade tiles to do a tile mailbox for us. When it was all done, it was gorgeous … until the HOA told us we couldn’t have a red gate and that we needed to paint it the same color as the brown fence. We weren’t happy, but we did so, though we kept it red on the inside.

I loathe an HOA and we vowed to never live under one again, which brings me to this story …

A Reddit user, who lives in Wisconsin and goes by the username @memon17, posted about their Pride decoration in the subreddit MaliciousCompliance. In the post, they revealed that their HOA announced a new rule that allows homeowners to only fly the American flag on their properties, after some residents had put up Black Lives Matter flags, thin blue line flags to show police support and “other opinion flags”.

A day after the announcement, they received an email notifying them that someone had reported the Pride flag that they have displayed on their front porch since 2016, and that they needed to take it down; and so they did. But, after removing the flag, @memon17 looked through the new rules, only to discover that removable lights are permitted .. and so they purchased multi-colored lights to decorate their house in rainbow colors:

“We complied and removed the flag … [then] we bought six colored flood lights, and we washed our house in Pride colors. A little less subtle than our simple flag. A lot more fun for anyone complaining about the flag itself and what it represents.”

I think it looks gorgeous!

The clever bending of the rules has been met with hundreds of thousands of supportive comments, with many applauding the Reddit user for finding a way to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community and Pride month without a flag.

In a follow-up to the original post, the user added that they don’t hate their HOA, nor do they believe they changed the flag rule to “attack me personally,” but that they ultimately decided to decorate their home with rainbow-colored lights to “show [their] individuality while still following the rules”.

As for what they will do if their HOA updates the rule to also restrict lighting, the Reddit user joked that they would “have to paint the grass then.”

I’ll bring the paint.

Happy Pride.

Yahoo News

Bobservations

I walked into the kitchen this morning for breakfast and Carlos says:

“One of the cats puked but I can’t see it.”

Stupidly, I ask:

“Where?”

“By their food dishes, I think.”

I look; I see nothing; I tell Carlos he’s crazy. And then … whichever cat it was—and I blame Max—the puke-hairball wasn’t near their dishes, it was in a dish, and so it looked like food. I tell Carlos and because we have a hard and fast rule that I take care of what goes into the cats and he takes care of what comes out of them, he begins to clean the puke-hairball.

While singing ….

Never a dull moment.

If you ever thought the GOP was the party of Family Values … if you ever thought the GOP cared about anyone but themselves … if you ever thought the GOP doesn’t advocate violence, think on this …

Democrat Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and Navy captain, is running for John McCain’s old Senate seat in Arizona, and the GOP does not like it. Actually, the chair of the Arizona Republican Party, one vile disgusting woman named Kelli Ward, an avid _____ supporter, is especially angry and disgusting.

You may recall that Mark Kelly  is married to former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, who nearly lost her life when she was shot in the head in an assassination attempt in 2011,so what Kelli Ward did is all the viler. She sent out a fundraising email to fight Mark Kelly’s campaign, in which she said this:

“Support the Republican Party of Arizona today and, together, we’ll stop gun-grabber Mark Kelly dead in his tracks.”

Stop him dead. And as most vile, NRA-ass-kissing lying hypocritical GOPers are apt to do, Kelli Ward swears up and down she meant no harm:

“Utterly ridiculous! I don’t wish harm on Mr. Kelly. We disagree politically on the Constitution and the [Second Amendment], and I’m well aware of the harm his policies would cause should he ever be elected. Dishonest stories like this are dangerous and irresponsible!”

Stop.Him.Dead.

Fuck off.

When bigot and homophobe Vice President Michael Elizabeth Pence recently went to Reykjavík, Iceland he was met with rainbow flags upon his arrival at Höfði House. In fact, Pride flags were flying all over Iceland when Pence and Mother arrived. An office block belonging to the IT company Advania changed all of its flags to Pride flags for Pence’s arrival.

Then he met with Iceland’s president, Guðni Jóhannesson, who reached out to shake Pence’s hand; Jóhannesson was wearing a rainbow bracelet.

From the look on Pence's face, you just know Mother was hissing, “Avert your eyes.”

Out of fear, no doubt, that Pence would bolt and seek asylum under a Pride flag.

Depending on whom you’re listening to, _____ either fired National Security Advisor John Bolton, or Bolton resigned.

Rumors first suggested Bolton bolted because of _____’s planned meeting with terrorists on the anniversary of 9/11, but rumors also suggest it was because Bolton wagged his tongue about _____’s suggestion that nuking a hurricane might stop it.

Seriously? I thought he said he only hired the best people.

PS In that photo, is Bolton making a gesture about size?

In news that warms my cold black heart, Jerry Falwell Jr is accusing a photography company of doctoring photos of him at a nightclub, drinking and dancing, which is against the rules of his ALLEGED university, but … the company has the receipts and is sharing them far and wide.

Liberty University is so conservative that they don’t allow students to drink, even if they live off-campus and they’re over 21. The school also considers it “improper social behavior” for students to interact with the opposite sex after dark or display any affection for one another beyond handholding.

Cut to Jerry and his son Trey cavorting, drinking and dancing after dark at WALL, a Miami nightclub, and clearly the Baby Jeebus has some questions. And when Politico licensed a photo from World Red Eye, which photographs nightlife in Miami and, oops, there he is … Jerry Falwell, partying like it’s 1999.

Falwell shrieked:

“There was no picture snapped of me at WALL nightclub or any other nightclub.”

Then World Red Eye  and Politico released the photos, which Falwell swears are “photoshopped”.

Oh Jerry. Between this and Pool Boy, you are clearly a lying hypocritical faux Christian; but then we already knew that.

UPDATE

Now that it’s proven the photos are real, Jerry Falwell says he was at that nightclub, but only for thirty minutes and only to listen to the music.

Quick note ... we've seen several deaths from people using Vape pens in recent weeks and the _____ Administration now wants to ban them.

As of August 31, 2019, some 297 mass shootings have occurred this year, with 1,219 people were injured and 335 murdered, but no action on gun control.

I guess we’re lucky the NRA doesn’t sell vape pens?

Adam McMahon. I don’t know much about him except that he’s a fitness model, and he’s been doing it for a very long time.

That, and the fact he makes me tingle … down there.

Just sayin’.

Stories of Pride: One More Reason To Be Out and Proud

Sal Stow and Meghan Stabler are a same-sex couple living in Texas. Yes. Texas. And this month, during Pride month, as they do, they hung a Pride flag outside their home. Again; Texas. And what happened next, well, here’s how Sal posted it:

“I just went out to collect 2 packages from the doorstep (at my partner Meghan’s house, that I call home) only to find this note under a rock on the mat. This is why visibility is SO important. You never know who needs the support and to know it’s ok. I hope this person is ok, their family is being supportive and they find a community to connect with that can help them through this brave process. Williamson County is extremely conservative and in fact the County Commissioners voted 4-0 to not allow the pride flag to be flown on the Round Rock county court buildings. I am proud of who I am and the person I love. I will continue to be visible in whatever way I can”

And this is the note:

“Hello, you don’t know me but my name is [redacted]. We’re moving away today but I wanted to thank you. Seeing a pride flag waving so proudly outside your home every day has given me the courage to come out to my family and be more comfortable with who I am.”

You know, I often say that closeted celebrities need to come out because, in doing so, they may inspire other people, the non-famous sort, the everyday gays, to come out as well.

But it’s not just the famous; it’s all of us that need to be out and open and visible because if we can help just one other person not feel different or alone or shames, then that’s the real meaning of Pride.

Towleroad

Stories of Pride: Bobservations

One of the great things about coming out is speaking out. And that’s the easiest thing of all; while some clients I meet at work don’t know I’m gay, when they see my wedding ring, they’ll inevitably say:

“That’s a great wedding ring. What does your wife’s look like?”

“I wouldn’t know, but my husband’s looks exactly like mine.”

Or, if we see people around town that don’t know I’m a big old married homo, I always clearly, loudly, some might say, proudly, introduce Carlos:

“This is my husband.”

And if you don’t think speaking out about your personal life or LGBTQ rights makes any difference, think on this:

In America … AMERICA … 45% of people believe that the federal government has already passed a law banning discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. And we all know that hasn’t happened. Yet.

The Equality Act, which passed the House earlier this year, would ban many forms of discrimination against LGBTQ people at the federal level, but it has not, and probably will not thanks to Bitch McConnell, pass the Senate and _____ has already come out against the bill.

So, speak up. Tell people that the federal government of this country, which happily takes my gay tax dollars, still sees me, and many of you, as “less than.”

Speak the fuck up.

Joey Krastel is a storm chaser. Don’t ask me why. He’s also a gay man. Again, don’t ask me why a gay man would hunt down and films deadly storms, some gay folks are crazy.

But the one thing Joey Krastel, a meteorologist and risk analyst for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, loves almost as much as storms is his boyfriend Chris Scott, who is also a crazy gay ass storm chaser.

Don’t ask.

And so, last week,  when the National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency near Kansas City, Joey and Chris, and their friends, set out to Salina, Kansas, to find a tornado because …

“[It] was always in the back of my mind to get engaged during storm chasing. I felt like it would be this perfect way to seal the deal.”

And so, with a tornado approaching Joey got down on one knee and popped the question; and Chris, just as crazy, said, ‘Yes.’

Congratulations guys. Now, take cover!

After the _____ Regime ordered American Embassies around the world to stop flying the Rainbow flag during Pride month, several of them defied to order; in fact, some embassies are outright ignoring the command, while others are using more creative techniques to display their support for the LGBTQ community, such as …

The U.S. embassy in New Delhi was illuminated with rainbow-colored lights ...

In Nepal, U.S. Ambassador Randy Berry posed with staff members holding a huge “Pride ’19” message ....

The embassy in Seoul blatantly flew their Pride flag ...

In Tel Aviv, they went with banners and flags all over ...

In addition, U.S. diplomats in Jerusalem Tweeted photos of themselves at the local March for Pride and Tolerance. And U.S. missions in Chennai, India, Santiago, Chile, and Vienna, Austria have all been flying the Rainbow flag against orders.

You can’t stop Pride, ____.

We’re here, we’re queer, and our flag is waving.

Speaking of rainbows, the Chicago Transit Authority has decorated several train cars on the north-south Red Line in Provide colors.

And if you’re walking instead of taking the trains, fourteen  crosswalks in Boystown, Chicago’s gay village, also  feature pride colors. … 13 are rainbows, and one is in the colors of the transgender flag.

The crosswalks were paid for with donations collected during Chicago Pride Fest and North Halsted Market Days.

I found this shocking, but this year, for the first time ever, California began flying the Rainbow Pride flag over the state Capitol.

I’d have thought California would have been at the forefront of that movement,  but it is following  Colorado and Wisconsin, who were first, in raising the Pride flag. Governor Gavin Newsom said:

“In California, we celebrate and support our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community’s right to live out loud — during Pride month and every month. By flying the pride flag over the State Capitol, we send a clear message that California is welcoming and inclusive to all, regardless of how you identify or who you love."

To be fair, while this the first time California is flying the Rainbow flag on the flagpole, the state has previously hung the flag over the Capitol's balconies and lit up the Capitol dome.

New York state also flew the LGBTQ pride flag over its Capitol for the first time ever this month.

Forty-six more to go ….

And, as we know with all things gay, bigger is almost always better.

Get your minds out of the gutter, I’m talking about the staircase at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park becoming the largest {\Pride flag in New York City.

The park’s “#AscendWithPride campaign started this week and will run through the end of the month, with a variety of festivities and events including Drag Queen Story Hour, picnics and “VideoOut,” which is an onsite session the park said will capture coming out stories all day.

Sounds like a great spot for a picnic and some stories.

And since I like to include some Hot Men in Bobservations will celebrate Pride with a post that features LGBTQ male models; a little Homo Man Candy for Pride.

Clockwise: sultry Barrett Pall, sexy Charles Laurent Marchand, exotic Sachin Bhatt, and trans-male model Laith Ashley.

Clockwise: bath toy Cheyenne Parker, sexy and shy Indar Isaiah Smith, blue-haired hunk Kyle Krieger, and French hunk Saville Dorfman.

Clockwise: Smoldering Jared North, young and ripped Chris Fawcett, wet hot Steven Dehler, and hairy hunk Matt Lister.

Clockwise: pistol packing—at least it could be a pistol—Willie Gomez, abs-olutely fine Patrick Frost, muy caliente Julian Gabriel Hernandez, and beefcake Kevin McDaid.

LGBTQ-licious.