Random Musings

Carlos and I were watching TV the other night and that commercial for Dove Chocolate came on; the one which stars a dead Audrey Hepburn selling candy. Don’t get me started on that! But to my surprise Carlos was offended, mumbling something about there only being one Audrey Hepburn. I was stunned; I never knew he was a fan of Audrey’s so, innocently, I asked:

Since when are you a fan of Audrey Hepburn?

I love her.

Really? Name one movie she was in …

::::crickets:::

Seriously, give me the name of one movie.

There are so many—

I know that’s why I asked for one, just one, movie. I mean, I can think of five right off the top of my head!

Well, there was the one where her father was artist and there was a car ….

What was that one called? My Father’s An Artist and There’s A Car?

Ten minutes pass. Ten minutes.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Bless his heart.

Yaz’min Shancez, a transgender woman who lived in Fort Myers, Florida was murdered, her body burned and then tossed behind a dumpster. Police are investigating but they don’t think it was a Hate Crime.

Fort Myers Police Lt. Jay Rodriguez:

“If you really think about it, a hate crime is killing someone for a specific reason, being black, Hispanic, gay. We’re investigating as we would any other homicide.”

Not a Hate Crime? Transgender woman, burned to death and then thrown away? Let me set this queer, again.

If Yaz’min was beaten and murdered because someone wanted her new phone, or her car, or maybe her credit cards and money that would be a hateful crime. But when a transgendered woman is beaten and tortured and burned to death and then her body is tossed away like garbage, that is Hate.

Are we queer on that now?

Apparently the GOP in South Dakota has nothing to do. I guess everyone in the state is working, the jobs are all good, health care in place, environment protected; it’s all good.

I mean, it must be, right, because how else do we explain that the South Dakota state GOP passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Obama.

The resolution says Obama has "violated his oath of office in numerous ways." It specifically cites the release of five Taliban combatants in a trade for captive U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, Obama's statement that people could keep insurance companies, and recent EPA regulations on power plants.

Allen Unruh of Sioux Falls sponsored the resolution, saying he has a “thick book on impeachable offenses of the president" and asking that South Dakota "send a symbolic message that liberty shall be the law of the land."

I have a better plan; rather than sending symbolic messages why don’t you do your f**king jobs?

I was home during the day on Monday and happened to catch an episode of The View. I stopped even glancing at the show when Joy Behar left because the table including idiotic Sherri Shepherd, daft Babs Walters, and Behar’s replacement, moronic non-thinker Jenny McCarthy. I only ever wondered how Whoopi Goldberg could stand to stay on that show surrounded by fools and morons.

I heard them discuss a story about Arkansas training teachers to carry guns in schools, and when McCarthy said it was a great idea, I nearly pulled out my gun and shot through my TV set.

Luckily, I don’t own a gun, because I can’t afford a new TV this month. But, seriously, Jenny? The solution to crazed people with guns shooting up schools is to put guns in the hands of teachers?

You know damned well that, god forbid there was a school shooting at the school McCarthy’s son attends, and a teacher didn’t protect her son, or a teacher accidentally shot an innocent child, or a kid got hold of a teacher’s gun, McCarthy would be the first person on social media ranting about it.

That woman needs to take a seat, on another show, where her opinions don’t matter.

FoxNews.

So, there’s this on NBC called Taxi Brooklyn. It aired last night, and I, mistakenly, thought it would be a comedy; I was thinking Taxi and Brooklyn-9-9 but I was wrong. It’s your standard police procedural with a ridiculous twist, wherein a female detective is such a bad driver that she is not allowed to drive a police car so she teams up with a taxi driver to solve crimes.

Dumb. I know. But then there’s Jacky Ido, a gorgeous Black Frenchman playing Leo the taxi driver. Hot, with an accent. Did I mention hot? Accent?

Plus, in a rare twist, Raul Casso plays Ronnie, Leo’s roommate, a cross-dressing, sexually fluid war veteran and taxi driver. In one scene last night he blatantly flirts with a burly looking police officer and then offers up his card, saying, “Call me.” And the officer looks around, shrugs and then takes the card.

I kinda liked the surprise of that.

I’ll stick around and see if this show pans out, but mostly because there’s a Hot Black Frenchman.

Lotsa marriage news this week….

New York Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney married his partner of twenty-two years, Randy Gene Florke, over the weekend. Florke proposed in December after the youngest of their three children wrote to Santa wishing for her parents to be married—Maloney and Florke have three children ranging in age from 11 to 24.

Congratulations to the happy couple.

Out there to Indiana, the minute the same-sex marriage ban was declared unconstitutional, Craig Bowen and Jake Miller were wed in Indianapolis. They have been together for eight years.

The moment the decision came down, Jake texted Craig and asked him if he wanted to get married … now. Craig said yes, and they headed to the county clerk's office, where they were the first same-sex couple to arrive.

Congratulations to them, as well.

Also in Indiana, after the ruling striking down the same-sex  marriage ban, Marion County Clerk Beth White announced she was ready to marry some gay couples, and by the end of the day there had been 186 same-sex weddings.

And, White added that marriage licenses, and ceremonies, would resume again this morning at 8AM and that the civil ceremonies would be offered for a  voluntary donation of $50 to the Indiana Youth Group.

White has, so far, raised $4,000 for the IYG.

Get married and help a charity for LGBTQ youth? Win. Win.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a 2 to 1 decision yesterday upholding a district court decision that Utah’s marriage ban for same-sex couples is unconstitutional.

The decision in Herbert v. Kitchen is the first from a federal appeals court on a state marriage ban since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor and this ruling puts the Utah case closest to arriving at the Supreme Court. And we all know what happened the last time … a year ago today!

 Interesting side note … although the Tenth Circuit stayed its order finding a marriage ban for same-sex couples unconstitutional in Utah, Boulder County, Colorado  began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as well since the Tenth Circuit includes Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. 

Yesterday was a great day in the March For Marriage!

More good news? Can you stand it?

Broadway actors Andy Mientus and Michael Arden announced their engagement. Arden has appeared on Broadway in The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Big River and has been seen on TV in series including Anger Management, Nurse Jackie and The Good Wife. Mientus, who makes his Broadway debut in this season’s Les Misérables, has also appeared in Anger Management and in NBC’s Smash.

Announcing their engagement on Instagram, Mientus quoted Shakespeare’s As You Like It:

"Come, woo me, woo me, for now I am in a holiday humour and like enough to consent." 

Congratulations to this happy couple.

Random Musings

This past weekend I was a little under the weather, so naturally I turned to my PBS Saturday afternoon shows — and some chicken soup — to feel better. A little Martha Stewart’s Cooking School, Martha Stewart Bakes, Ming, This Old House, and some show about a woman who redesigned a kitchen — I forget the name … I was sick — who used an old silver tray and some chalkboard paint to turn the tray into a kind of message center, or a menu for dinner parties. I liked the idea, but as I was watching Carlos wandered through the room and asked what the woman was doing.

Bob: “She’s putting chalkboard paint on a tray.”

Carlos: “She’s making a Chocolate Omelet?”

Feel my pain. Chocolate omelet?

Even with BridgeGate and a new federal investigation into misappropriation of Hurricane Sandy relief funds, New Jersey Governor, and fathead, Chris Christie has kept up his anti-LGBT fight.

Earlier this week, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed transgender citizens the right to change their names on their birth certificates. The bill was approved by the state Assembly in June by a vote of 43-27 and by the state Senate in December by a vote of 21-11. Christie's veto is "absolute", which means that a 2/3 majority in both chambers — 27 votes in the Senate; 54 votes in the  Assembly — is now required to override and those votes aren’t there. Yet.

But please, people of America, and especially the LGBT community, remember this latest anti-gay move of Chris Christie’s should he survive scandal after scandal and run for president in 2016.

He is not the President for our community.

It appears that the Publix grocery store chain is being accused — by some of its own employees no less — of discriminating against its gay employees. Now, of course Publix denies the allegations, but then there’s this:

In September 2012, Broward County's Human Rights Board ruled that Publix had wrongly fired a cake decorator because he's gay and awarding him $100,000.

According to his complaint, Richard Glisson worked at several Publix stores in Broward County for ten years. Then, in February 2010, another employee was caught stealing gift cards and money from the store, and while being interviewed by a Publix "loss prevention specialist," that thief, er, employee, started spilling the beans on other less-than-desirable employees. And one of those was Glisson, whom this thief, er, employee says had given him Publix cookies and, gasp, one time, a red-velvet cake bar.

When interviewed, Glisson admitted to giving his co-worker the cake bar but pointed out that it was a cake bar that Publix no longer sold, and therefore couldn't sell. Under Publix policy, he argued, employees are encouraged to sample such items to better assist customers.

Still, he was fired. But then other employees came forward to say they took food and drinks without paying for them and merely got off with a warning; and they noted that Glisson's "consistently" arrived late to work and allowed a little girl to work in the bakery, but was only demoted. So, aftre being axed, Glisson sued, and the Broward County Human Rights Board found that:

"The record shows that [District Manager David] Thoman, and by extension Publix, treated similarly situated non-homosexual employees in a more favorable fashion. The record also supports the conclusion that Mr. Thoman's stated reason for terminating Mr. Glisson was a pretext for impermissible discrimination. …  [We] are left with only one logical conclusion: that the real motivating factor behind Mr. Glisson's termination was impermissible discrimination based upon his sexual orientation."

Publix is appealing the decision.

I like Publix, but if this evidence is true, that straight employees committing the same bad acts as gay employees receive more favorable treatment, then Publix will find itself facing more lawsuits.

Okay so it’s no stretch to say that Bryan Fischer, the Director of Issues Analysis — let’s take a giggle break on that job title — for the American Family Association, is a complete moron. I mean, he makes Pat Robertson make sense.

But Fischer’s latest thought is to head on back to Colonial Times, when life was sweet and only property owners could vote.

Oh, and in Colonial Times, property owners could also only be white men.

Bryan Fischer, so stupid he’s funny.

Sean Maloney, the US Congressman from New York, is getting married. His partner of twenty-one years, Randy Florke, proposed on Christmas day.

Isn’t that sweet, especially when hearing Maloney say this:

“[I]t’s interesting when you’ve been in love with someone for 21 years and your country finally catches up to you.”

The couple said the engagement has been a long time coming, but was pushed ahead by the desire of their children — Jesus, Daley and Essie — to see their dads marry:

“[Our] youngest had asked for this in a note to Santa Claus, which was a complete coincidence, and so it was a pretty emotional experience all around.”

Yes, a little girl asked Santa to let her dads marry. The times are a’changing, and it’s a good thing.

Congratulations to the happy couple, and the happier family.

Well, it looks like big changes for 'Glee'.

The Fox show is moving entirely to New York City for the remainder of the season and the next, which will be the show’s last. The move had been rumored for a few months, but this marks the first confirmation from the network.

And, of course there will be a cast shake-up. I mean, what about those Glee kids still in school? Mister Shue? Sue? Please don’t tell me they’ll move SueShue to La Grande Apple that would be quite the Shark Jump.

Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly:

“[It] would be ridiculous that everybody moves to New York. There will be some that will graduate and move on and they’ll arc back in when we do special episodes. They’ll always be a part of it… But for this season, there will be a graduation, several of the cast members will move on and a few others will go to New York.”

There had been a long-standing rumor that the show would move Kurt Hummel, played by Chris Colfer, to Russia, though there is no decision on that, except by me who thinks it’s just about the dumbest idea ever.

Speaking of TV, and some of my favorites, Being Human is back, and bringing with it the beautiful vampire Aiden, played by the oozingly sexy Sam Witwer.

I’m a sucker — see what I did there — for a hot vampire.

It’s a good fun show — a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost become roommates — with some definite eye candy.

And we're done with The Blacklist. As much as I like James Spader, the implausibilty of each episode, along with the apparent superhuman abilities of some of the FBI men and the apparent stupidty of others, we've just lost interest.

Up there in Minneapolis Representative Susan Allen, a Democrat of course, has introduced a bill that would prohibit licensed therapists from trying to turn gay youth straight.

I guess Miss Marcus Bachmann, Michele’s, er, husband, will have to find a new line of work.

And quickly since her wife is leaving politics.

We all know that The Gays get blamed for everything from earthquakes to hurricanes to Lady Gaga, but did you know that we are taking the hit for the Polar Vortex. I mean, we’re accepting the blame before Pat Robertson blames us, and here’s how we caused it — according to The Advocate:

1. We Can Be Boy Scouts
On January 1, the Boy Scouts of America began officially allowing openly gay youth and it seemed like there wasn't much backlash until this Polar Vortex showed up in protest. Mother Nature must be a fan of Texas governor (and former Eagle Scout) Rick Perry, who bellowed the loudest in protest of this new policy. It'll be a sunny 70 degrees in Austin this weekend. 

2. We Got Robin Roberts
The wind chill factor in New York City has been in the negative numbers for the past two days. Coincidentally, Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts has "never been happier or healthier than I am right now." Over the holidays, Roberts officially acknowledged her longtime relationship with girlfriend, Amber Laign, on Facebook. After returning from the holiday break two days ago, Roberts spoke openly about their relationship on the air and even showed a photograph of the couple at a family wedding.

 3. The Former Governor of Montana Slammed the GOP in Our Defense
Poor Montana. Even though the state has a ban on gay marriage, it hasn't escaped the grips of the Polar Vortex. Perhaps Montana must suffer because former governor Brian Schweitzer slammed the Republican Party and its "family values" in a recent interview. Schweitzer, expected to run against Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries, is a supporter of Marriage Equality. Bundle up, Montana. It doesn't look like the winters will be getting any warmer.

 4. Clay Aiken Is Considering a Run for Congress
Game over, North Carolina. 

5. Forget Everything Else: This Is What Caused the Polar Vortex
Thank a lot, James Franco. You alone are pretty much to blame for the horrible conditions in most of America. Being in touch with your queer side isn't enough to cripple the country with ice and snow, but your latest docufiction film, Interior. Leather Bar., which examines heterosexual discomfort with and acceptance of gay sex, is causing a global warming steamfest. The film has been touring the world for months now, giving Mother Nature just enough time to brew the perfect storm.

You're Next, Los Angeles. Put on a sweater, L.A. A gay couple just got married on a giant wedding cake float in the Rose Parade. You can kiss that 70-degree weather goodbye.

So, there’s this woman, Lady Theresa Thombs — and yes, that is her real name  — who is the Republican candidate for the Texas State Board of Education. Naturally, as a Republican, and a Texas Republican, she fights against the ideas of evolution, rails against ’socialist higher education,’ and Devil Worshipers, and took to Facebook to announce her ‘Straight Pride.’

When several commenters mocked her post, Thombs responded that she doesn’t hate gay people and only thinks that gay people are sinners, just like murderers:

“We are not bigoted or hateful. Jesus said to love the sinner but hate the sin. God gives you free will to do what you want. But murder is a sin, but even a murderer is loved and forgiven if he asked to be. We both have the right to believe the way we choose is all that I am saying.” 

I know, it’s Texas, but still …. Being gay is like being a murderer. And this from a woman running for the Board of Education.

I think she’s more Bored of Education.

I Didn't Say It ...

Joe Biden, praising the Supreme Court's ruling on DOMA:

"I think we're on the verge of seeing America move even further. I think we'll see the day when it is no longer a debate about whether or not same-sex couples can be married and whether or not they deserve every single civil right every other married couple deserves. This is a great day...for every gay and lesbian couple and it should be a great day for every straight couple in America. Now we can look each other in the eye and say: We're on the road to absolute fairness and equity."

I like that Biden says this is a great day for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation.

As Dr. Martin Luther King said, ‘No one is free until we are all free.’

And we are on the march.

Andrew Sullivan, on the Catholic fear of The Gays and same-sex marriage:

“Jesus himself only said one thing about marriage, which was that you can’t divorce. And we live in a country where countless people are divorced, and that doesn’t seem to threaten the religious liberty of Catholics, and it’s as fundamental an issue. So if Catholics can live with religious liberty with divorced people, they should be perfectly able to live with gay people, as married–as a civil marriage.”

Where are all those Holy Rollers on the divorce issue? They seem to think Jesus spoke against The Gays when he didn’t but his words on divorce fall on deaf ears.

Phil Gingrey, Republican Congressman from Georgia, wants gender stereotypes to be taught in schools because it will stop the push for same-sex marriage: 

"You know, maybe part of the problem is we need to go back into the schools at a very early age, maybe at the grade school level, and have a class for the young girls and have a class for the young boys and say, you know, this is what's important. This is what a father does that is maybe a little different, maybe a little bit better than the talents that a mom has in a certain area. And the same thing for the young girls, that, you know, this is what a mom does, and this is what is important from the standpoint of that union which we call a marriage."

See, in every family around the world, Daddies are the same. They do the same things in the marriage and the Mommies do the same thing in the marriage, so kids need to know this so they will push for Mommy/Daddy marriages.

In short, Phil Gingrey is a tool.

Brian Sims, Pennsylvania congressman, and hottie, introducing a marriage equality bill in the statehouse:

“About two hours ago, I shopped around a co-sponsorship memo for a marriage bill, and I’m going to introduce an LGBT marriage equality bill helped light the fire under my colleagues to do it now. The co-sponsorship memo, which is sent out to House members for additional support, notes it “would re-define the definition of marriage as a civil contract between two people who enter into matrimony, and eliminate the current prohibition against same-sex marriage in our Commonwealth. It is important to note that this bill provides protections for religious organizations and entities that do not wish to sanction, perform, or in any way recognize such marriages.”

Hot. Smart. Compassionate. Gay.

And in politics.

We need more like him.

James Haskell, British rugby star, on being Attitude magazine's coverboy: 

“I’ve got a big gay following on Twitter so it’s an honour for me to be in Attitude. I’m surprised that across all sports more people haven’t come out because going by sheer statistics there have to be lots of gay sportsmen, right? I hate the idea of people feeling they can’t just be themselves and personally I wouldn’t give a s**t if any of my team-mates were gay."

Another one who is hot and smart and compassionate and an LGBT ally.

And, yeah, hot.

Eric Holder, Attorney General, on the Supreme Court’s ruling that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional: 

“The Department of Justice will continue to carefully monitor jurisdictions around the country for voting changes that may hamper voting rights. Let me be very clear: we will not hesitate to take swift enforcement action — using every legal tool that remains available to us — against any jurisdiction that seeks to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s ruling by hindering eligible citizens’ full and free exercise of the franchise. Like many others across the country, I am deeply disappointed with the Court’s decision in this matter. This decision represents a serious setback for voting rights - and has the potential to negatively affect millions of Americans across the country.”

SCOTUS did some great things last week, and they also did this.

If the GOP starts using this as a means to steal elections, then we’ve all lost.

Sean Patrick Maloney, out gay Congressman from New York, on last week's DOMA and Prop H8 rulings:

“I called my partner, Randy, of 21 years to tell him about the decision and to congratulate him and I really couldn’t get the words out. And I realized in that moment that it was the first time in 21 years, 20 of those years spent raising our 3 amazing children, that I wasn’t talking to him as someone who was seen as less than in the eyes of my own country’s laws.”

I understand that many straight people don’t understand this, but when you’ve lived many years in a loving and committed same-sex relationship, and then you hear your president say you deserve equality, and then the Supreme Court says you deserve equality, it’s a really big deal.

Rachel Maddow, calling on the GOP to prove it isn't racist and save the Voting Rights Act:

“So which is it now, Republican party? Are you Paul Broun, stuttering and apologizing and saying you never meant any offense? Taking it back? Or are you Paul Broun introducing a stealth amendment in the middle of the night trying to kill the Voting Rights Act? Are you every single Republican in the United States Senate voting to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act, standing proudly by with your Republican president, as he signs it? Or are you the 33 House Republicans who that same year voted no, voted to kill the Voting Rights Act?”

I’m betting they’re just going to shrug on this and say, ‘Well, the Supreme’s ruled so ….’

Trouble is, they won’t have that same response about SCOTUS kicking DOMA and Prop H8 to the curb.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican Representative from Florida, on turning the tide in the Sunshine State toward marriage quality:

"In light of the court’s rulings in support of civil marriage for same-sex couples, Florida should begin to evaluate the decision that was made five years ago. The path to removing our state’s ban on the freedom to marry will be very challenging, and will take time to do so thoughtfully and with respect for everyone’s beliefs and opinions. It is wrong to deny LGBT Floridians the basic rights enjoyed by so many other Americans. We must actively, and authentically, engage our fellow citizens to ensure that the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution are extended to all Floridians."

Y’all know I do my share of Republican loathing on this here bloggy thingy, but every so often we get a Republican like Ros-Lehtinen, who reminds me that not all members of the GOP are cut from the same cloth.

She’s a keeper.

Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, in the U.S. Department of Education's It Gets Better video:

"I really believe we can't just say 'It gets better.' All of us have to work right now to make things better today, not tomorrow. If you're a 14-year-old or a 15-year-old, asking you to wait four or five years for things to get better, that can seem like an eternity, like a lifetime. And so you shouldn't have to wait that long. So I wanna be very clear. All of us have the power now to make things better today, not tomorrow."

And, in my mind, that means coming out. If more LGBT Americans came out, these young kids would have someone to look up to, to admire, to make them feel less different, less ‘less than.’

Their march toward self-acceptance would be better, and easier, because they see someone who lit the way.

Kevin Swanson, “pastor’, on God setting Colorado on fire because of The Gays and metrosexuals:

"When you have a state where the House leadership is performing a homosexual act on the front page of the Denver Post two months ago? Does God read the Denver Post? Do you think He picks up a copy of the Denver Post? He gets it. God gets the Denver Post. How are we going to repent of the sexual sin that is paraded in front of us in the wider culture? Why do we have to submit to theses sexual sins again and again? How many young boys are running out and doing the metrosexual thing with the skinny pants and the little fairy shoes? They’re working on the gender blender for themselves and they don’t want to look like a man and God is just so upset, He hates it when men are not manly in their approach."

The picture he’s referring to, and it’s probably the same picture he keeps under his mattress at night, to view in one hand while the other wanders beneath the sheets, is one of House Speaker Mark Ferrandino kissing his partner Greg Wertsch goodbye after the passage civil unions in the state.

That said. God reads the Denver Post?
Last I checked she was not finished with Fifty Shades of Grey.