Bobservations

I am a terrible person to buy gifts for because I really don’t want anything and when I need something, I get it myself. So, as my birthday approached—sidenote: thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday—I told him I’d give him a clue, and here it is:

“The husband of a presidential candidate from last year wrote a book I would like to read.”

“What? Say it again?”

“The husband of a presidential candidate has written a book and I would like to read it.”

Cut to yesterday and there’s a gift on the table—a book—and I open it up to find that it was ‘Trust’ by Pete Buttigieg. I said to Carlos:

“I didn’t realize Pete had written a book … ”

“I thought it was the one you asked for.”

I said, again:

“The husband of a presidential candidate wrote a book …”

“Oh, Chasten?”

“Yes, Chasten.”

We went out for the day and stopped in at Book on Broad where he ordered the book. But. As he asked the shop owner about the book, I heard him say Chasten Buttigieg, and the shop owner said:

“Yes, I have it: ‘Trust.’ By Pete Buttigieg.”

So, it really wasn’t his bad, it was hers. Luckily, he, um, straightened her out.

Tuxedo is growing ever more annoyed by Republicans who think sedition isn’t impeachment worthy.

Traitor insurrectionist, and North Texas realtor, Jenna Ryan, the Private Jet Terrorist, has been kicked off PayPal for attempting to solicit donations for “legal fees and losses.” Ryan, who was arrested last week, asked her Twitter followers to help her pay her attorney’s fees:

“I am accepting donations to pay legal fees and losses due to my arrest and charges by the FBI.”

Well, no, honey, it’s due to your being an ignorant fool who thought you could take over the nation’s capitol. Ryan had raised just $1,000 when PayPal shut her down.

Oh, sorry. Not sorry.

Dr. Deborah Birx, the last administration’s coordinator of the Coronavirus Task Force is now saying that she disagreed often with the administration and their response to the virus even though she never said one single word until now.

When asked what her biggest mistake was during her time in the last administration, she wishes she’d been “more outspoken,” especially on the issue of COVID testing and drinking bleach and shining flashlights up our asses.

Too late, doc, you and your scarves are complicit. Now, go away.

Color me surprised but asshat FauxChristian Franklin Graham is standing up for bigot and homophobe, Aussie tennis legend, Margaret Court. One of the world’s greatest women’s tennis players, Court will receive the Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AC), the highest category of honor awarded as part of Australia Day.

This is the same woman who has maintained that being gay is the work "of the devil" and has also compared it to Hitler. And so, these FauxChristians, who spew hate stick together; one getting as national honor, and one propping her up.

They can both fuck all the way off. God is watching and she is not happy.

At the same time, however, up here in America, President Biden signed an executive order overturning the former administration’s ban on transgender Americans serving in the military. The ban, which allowed the military to bar openly transgender recruits and discharge people for not living as their sex assigned at birth, affected up to 15,000 service members.

Biden said that the last thing America needs is to deny any American their right to serve their country.

It is a new day.

The great Cloris Leachman passed away this week at the age of 94. A brilliant actress and comedian and human being, she was feisty and outspoken and just plain fabulous. From The Last Picture Show through the Mary Tyler Moore Shoe and on into Young Frankenstein and beyond, she was brilliant.

RIP And thank you.

Republican Senator Rob Portman announced that he will not seek a third term in 2022. He blames his decision on the schism in the GOP between the old guard Republicans and the MAGAts and Proud Boy  and QAnon of today.

Portman will be around, however, to vote on the impeachment of the last president and has said that “as a juror, I’m going to listen to both sides. That’s my job.”

Portman is one of the few in the GOP to blame the last president for the Capitol riot.

It was just a couple of years ago that North Carolina was at the center of one of those Bathroom Ban initiatives, to deny trans people the right to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify. But that was then … when the GOP ruled the state, and this is now, with Democrats in the statehouse.

But now, three North Carolina municipalities—Hillsborough, Carrboro and Chapel Hill—have passed ordinances protecting the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination. These new non-discrimination ordinances are the first in the state since a provision, put in place by the GOP in 2016, in a state law barring such measures expired in December.

And now, four years later, Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger, says the party won’t do a thing about the new ordinances because, ahem, he and his party have more important items on their mind.

Or maybe they realize anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry is on the way out in North Carolina.

Add Google to the growing list of companies will not make contributions from its PAC during this election cycle for any member of Congress who voted against certifying the results of the presidential election, following the deadly Capitol riot.

Microsoft has paused its PAC contributions as well. It will decide by February 15, after soliciting employee feedback, about whether to continue stopping donations to members of Congress who voted against certifying the election results.

Good.

Saverio Pescucci, a self-described “super chill, friendly, gay, Covid responsible” New York City ballet dancer is going viral after posting a thirsty apartment search ad in a popular Facebook group.

As part of his Brooklyn or Manhattan room search, Pescucci posted on the 284,800-member Gypsy Housing group on Facebook, and included a handful of photos of himself, in all his sexy glory, to spur interest. His post, naturally, went viral, with almost 1,000 likes and more than 400 comments.

And, Pescucci has found a room to rent, though, sadly, it’s not the one he was offered here in South Carolina.

Just sayin’.

I Didn't Say It ...

President Barack Obama, at a Democratic National Committee LGBT fundraiser:

"Pride month is a time for celebration, and this year we've got a lot to celebrate. If you think about everything that's happened in the last twelve months, it is remarkable. In nine more states you're now free to marry the person you love--The NFL drafted its first openly gay player. The US Postal Service made history by putting an openly gay person on a stamp--the late great Harvey Milk smiling from ear-to-ear. But what's been remarkable is the way Americans are increasingly embracing marriage equality. They understand love is love. And for many people whose minds have changed, it was love that did it--love for a child or a grandchild, or the friend or the co-worker who sat down one day and held their hands and took a deep breath and said, 'I'm gay.' And that's why I'm here tonight, to say Thank You for helping make America more just and more compassionate."

Nicely said, Mr. President.

But there’s still work to be done.

Jon Stewart, of the Daily Show, on the Texas GOP’s gay reparative therapy plank in their platform:

"Being gay is not a choice. But being a Texas Republican is. So my advice is the next time you feel the urge to be a Texas Republican — to replace science textbooks with pictures of humans riding dinosaurs or ban same sex marriage, or put on [a stuffed elephant] hat — sh*t in a jar and sniff it! It won't cure you but do it anyway. Hopefully it will remind you of what a**holes you're being."

Snap!

Kanye West, on why he married the Kardastrophe:

“Because she is the number one woman in the world.  I can’t be with any girl but Kim because that’s the girl I look at her pictures the most, I get turned on the most.”

So, then I guess the minute she falls to #2 he’s out the door and moving back in with Riccardo Tisci?

John MacArthur, “pastor” and radio host, to parents of children who come out as gay:

“If they profess to be a Christian, you have to alienate them. You have to separate them. You can’t condone that. It’s inconsistent with Christ. So you isolate them, you don’t have a meal with them, you separate yourself from them. You turn them over to Satan as it were as scripture says”

And that’s Christian love, y’all. Shun your children.

Joe Kernan, CNBC Squawk Box host, on Texas Governor Rick Perry’s assertion that being gay is like being an alcoholic:

"In terms of comparing it to alcoholism, that's what got all the play, and I don't — I have a really high bar for what I would take offense to, but that would exceed the bar for me on being an offensive comment. I don't think gay marriage leads to cirrhosis of the liver or domestic violence or DWIs. I don't see how that's similar. … But in terms of changing the behavior of someone ... you wouldn’t think that someone who’s heterosexual, that you couldn’t change them into a homosexual, or someone who is homosexual, you don’t think that there should be therapy to try to change them into a heterosexual?"

Kernan has a rational brain. Rick Perry, who is an alcoholic and might be gay, does not.

Rob Portman, Republican Senator from Ohio, saying he’ll never run for higher office because of his pro-marriage equality stance:

"It puts me at odds with my party in many respects. I believe it’s a conservative position...I never really thought deeply about it [before my son came to me]. It seems to me to the extent that it’s not a choice, which is what believe. That is, Republicans ought to treat people as they are...It probably makes it difficult for me to win the primary election at a national election.”

So, this man will not run for office because his beliefs won’t get him elected.

Maybe he should try and find his backbone because maybe, just maybe, he could help the GOP come to their senses regarding LGBT rights.

Random Musings

They’re Number 10!

Rhode Island has approved marriage equality in a 26-12 Senate vote. The House passed the bill in January, and it must get another, basically procedural, vote there again, but then it heads to the desk of Governor Lincoln Chafee who has said he will sign the bill. Once signed, same-sex marriage will become legal in August.

Governor Chafee issued this statement after the vote:

I am always proud to be a Rhode Islander, but never more so than today.

After yesterday’s Judiciary Committee vote, I expressed my hope that the full Rhode Island Senate would pass a bill that chooses tolerance and fairness over division and discrimination. In passing the Marriage Equality Act, they have done just that.

I thank the Senators who have taken a stand to move Rhode Island forward and commend the Senate President for calling the roll. Great credit should go to Ray Sullivan, everyone at Rhode Islanders United for Marriage, and the countless volunteers who knocked on doors and participated in phone banks. Finally, I want to applaud the pioneers, such as the late Julie Pell, who for decades have fought for the fundamental rights of gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders. This day would not have been possible without their efforts.

Pending the final vote by the House of Representatives, Rhode Island will no longer be an outlier in our region. We will have the welcome mat out. We will be open for business, and we will once again affirm our legacy as a place that is tolerant and appreciative of diversity.

Brava Rhode Island, the Little State That Could!

The French National Assembly has voted to approve marriage equality in a 331-225 vote. France now joins New Zealand, Uruguay, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, and Denmark as the 14th nation to offer its citizens nationwide marriage equality.

And here we sit, in the back seat twiddling our thumbs as the rest of the world progresses.

Senator Rob Portman has seen a loss of support from Republicans since he came out for marriage equality last month.

His approval rating has fallen from 44% to 40%, while his disapproval ratings have climbed from 34% to 31%.

He lost my support when he voted against gun background checks last week.

We have one movie theater in Smallville, a dusty crusty relic from the last century that once had a Negros Only balcony back in the day. But they rarely show anything other than G-rated kiddie films, so we usually drive the 25-miles to a Regal Theater.

Maybe we won’t be doing that anymore, though.

See, Regal Entertainment Group has announced in a company memo that it's cutting the hours for thousands of nonsalaried employees to avoid providing health care insurance under Obamacare. Yup, deny them healthcare coverage and then cut their hours so they can’t afford to even see a doctor without insurance. Nicely done Regal.

And this is from a company that posted a hefty $334 million in 2012 profits, and whose shares rose by 17%. This is a company that gave its chief executive a 31% pay increase:  Amy Miles earned $4.45 million in 2012, up from $3.4 million in the previous year. But they don’t wanna pay for healthcare because it’s too expensive.

Shame on you Regal.

But Regal Cinemas might be at the receiving end of one of the worst consumer backlashes yet. See, others have tried to do the same thing—like Appleby’s and Denny’s—and seen their own stocks take a tumble. Maybe, if that happens to regal, Amy Miles might take a pay cut? I laugh, because her greed apparently knows no bounds.

Regal is also facing pushback from employees; after getting their hours cut by 25% or more, some full-time managers have resigned.

Carlos and I love The Borgia’s on Showtime—even with Jeremy irons and his idiotic stance on same-sex marriage and incest—but we’ve also started watching Da Vinci’s Demons on Starz.

It’s really more of an Indiana Jones Da Vinci kind of show, but, well, as I like to do in my shallow moments, drool on some of the new hot mens on the show.

Blake Ritson plays the evil, really evil, so evil that when he’s done with you he has someone cut off your head, Count Girolamo Riario. But he does so with a smirk that is both, like I said evil, and kind of hot.

Then we have Elliot Cowan, who plays Lorenzo Medici. He does wear the really bad sideburns, but he also oozes some of the sexy.

As does Tom Bateman who plays his drool-worthy brother, Giulino Medici. He has a kind of Henry Cavill thing about him, and, of course, leather pants.

The show is mildly entertaining but becomes better when these three appear onscreen, especially Blake Ritson, who looks a little like Carlos, without that whole 'Off with your head' thing..

Just sayin’.

Y’all know that I’ve yet to meet a curse word I didn’t like, but even I know when it’s appropriate to talk like a longshoreman and when it’s not.

AJ Clemente, however, does not.

On his first day, FIRST DAY, on the job as news anchor for KFYR, an NBC affiliate n Bismarck, North Dakota, he opened the broadcast with the words “gay … f**king … sh*t”. His co-anchor Van Tieu stumbled as she heard what he said, though she maintained her composure.

I might have gone all, “You f**king a**hated dipsh*t! What the f**k were you thinking?”

But then we’d both be out of a job.

Clemente, for his part, Tweeted on his, now closed, account, "That couldn't have gone any worse!"

Clemente was suspended and then fired from his one day, first day f**k up.

But, he did try to explain that he wasn’t say ‘gay’ but that he was trying to pronounce Tsegaye Kebede, the winner of the London Marathon, panicked, and began cursing.

Either way, he’s up sh*t creek without a motherf**king paddle, eh?

Good news on the equality beat …

Nevada's Senate took the first step toward recognizing same-sex marriage this week when, by a vote of 12-9, passed the Senate Joint Resolution 13, which repeals a constitutional provision passed by voters ten years ago to ban same-sex marriage. The legislation also declares that Nevada recognizes all marriages regardless of gender and, if the measure is passed by the Assembly this year and again next year, it will go to the voters for ratification in 2016.

Time moves slowly in politics, no?

But, of note, is that one, just one, Republican joined with Democrats to vote in favor of the resolution, and then one other lawmaker, Democratic Sate Senator Kelvin Atkinson publicly declared for the first time that he is gay.

"I’m black. I'm gay," Atkinson said, after describing his father's interracial re-marriage that would have been banned earlier in American history. "I know this is the first time many of you have heard me say that I am a black, gay male."

Atkinson went on to rebut the argument that gay marriage threatens any other definition of marriage: "If this hurts your marriage, then your marriage was in trouble in the first place."

Nicely put, Senator Atkinson, and Welcome Out!

Of course, here at HOMO HQ, we’re already shipping out your copy of The Gay Agenda and a Coming Out Toaster Oven.

Welcome Out!

Well, if you don’t follow Princess, at the Palais de Steff, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Fabulous fashion design, a view of life from Down Under, and a bevy of beautiful arses.

Seriously, it’s a lovely place to stop into and see what’s happening.

And, well, I’m flummoxed, because Princess has awarded me the coveted "Reality" award...and I don’t know why! This award is, as Princess said, a "mini meme" and since I haven't bothered to do one for a spell, I thought I'd give it a little go...

1. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?

Oh, I loathe these questions because I am quite off on this topic. See, I could change a million things, I guess, right some wrongs, maybe make some better choices, but, and it’s a big but, would I be who I am, and where I am, and with Carlos, if I changed a thing?

If that’s the case, then, No, I wouldn’t change anything. All that I’ve done and said, and not done and said, the good, the bad, the horrific, has kinda made me who I am today and I’m okay with that.

2. If you could repeat any age... Which would it be?

I feel like I’m sort of dodging the questions, but I wouldn’t want to live any age that I’ve already lived, over again. Been there, done that, have the scars to prove it.

But I am fascinated by the years I haven’t lived and am interested to see what they bring. I liked my 20s—boy, did I like my 20s-and loved my 30s and 40s, but, yeah, done it. No need to rehash. I prefer to look ahead to 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and well beyond.

3. What really scares you?

Ignorance, a general lack of intelligence; a lack empathy; selfishness. I am always the one to point out, whenever someone is fighting with someone else, that old Rodney King mantra, Can’t we all just get along?

That’s what I fear, and what scares me, is that we can’t all get along.

4. If you could become someone else for the day... Who would you be?

Just for a day? Well, I could do this though I have so many options.

I’d like to be Rosa Parks, that day on the bus. That would be huge.

I’d like to be a friend of Harvey Milk’s. To be in that man’s space, open and honest and so so far ahead of his time; I’d like to be around that and drink it in.

I’d like to be Cher, just for the fun of it all.

I’d like to be myself on the day my mom died and make sure I said all the things I wanted to say before she left.

Well, then, there you have it. I don’t think I’ll nominate anyone for the award, but it would be interesting to see if any of you might like to play along and open the door to your inner self and show us all who you are, want to be, or were.

Any takers?

TWEET OF THE WEEK: It's a tie!!!

Just A Thought On Rob Portman Changing His Mind About Marriage Equality

It was just a few sentences, but they were sentences heard ‘round the nation, and sentences that got everyone talking:

"I'm announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry. I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay."—Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio

Will Portman told his father and mother he is gay two years ago, when he was a freshman at Yale University. He told them that “it was not a choice, and that it's just part of who he is, and that's who he'd been that way for as long as he could remember." And that lead the senator to rethink his position on marriage equality, and he has been both praised, by the Democrats, the LGBT community, and marriage equality allies, and vilified, by his own party and conservative anti-equality folks.

And, so, naturally, I have a few thoughts on the subject.

First, would be to say thanks to Senator Portman for his change of heart. And, since that change was brought about by his own son’s coming out as gay, it seems to strengthen the opinion that coming out is the strongest weapon we have in the war against homophobia and intolerance and bigotry.

See, if we come out, how can people who know us, as sons and daughters, brothers, sisters, friends, co-workers, neighbors, continue to deny us equality. By coming out, we show these people that we aren’t really all that different, except in who we love.

Sure, I know there are some families that would denounce a gay child, some employers who would fire a gay employee, some neighbors who would shun a gay couple, but I can’t help but believe the majority of people would be understanding and accepting, and, perhaps, willing to rethink their opinion on same-sex marriage.

But, and here’s where I have a slight issue with Rob Portman, why did it take his own son’s coming out for him to see inequality? Didn’t he see that in his neighbors, co-workers and friend’s lives? Didn’t he see that in the lives of famous gay couples whose marriages were declared illegal, or who have not been allowed to have the same rights and benefits and privileges under the law as their straight counterparts?

See, it took his own son coming out for Portman to have that issue hit him in the face, when he should have seen it all along, in the faces of gay couples who marched for equality, in the faces of gay couples who married, and then were told their marriages might not count because they are gay.

So, while I thank the Senator for his change of heart, and welcome him into the family of marriage equality supporters, and hope that his message will shine a light along the path for others to follow suit, I just wish he’d come the realization sooner, without having to have a personal connection to equality, or lack of equality.