Random Musings

This weekend is supposed to be very cold in Smallville, and there is a chance of snow.

Brrrrr but ... we’ll in Miami for a week so ... yeah, take that, snow storm ... even though, truth be told, I love a Smallville snow.

At any rate, we’re gone, and while I have some preplanned things for y’all for the next week, I won’t be back, blogging or commenting—I’m going off the grid, so to speak—until late next week.

Be nice, y’all, and #Resist!

Earlier this week I posted about gospel singer Kim Burrell’s hate-filled rant, masked a sermon of some sort—see post HERE.

Burrell was set to appear on Ellen this week to sing her song from the film, Hidden Figures, but Ellen isn’t having it, or Burrell:

“For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show.”

Thanks Ellen!

This is our New Year’s Day meal ... it’s said that one should eat Black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day because they bring luck, but I am never one to follow tradition, superstition except ...

I made a Black-eyed Pea soup, with Andouille Sausage and Kale, and then some homemade Sausage and Onion Cornbread.

It may not bring us luck but it filled our bellies!

Donald ____ took to Instagram—I guess his Twitter account was exhausted—to post a meme saying his “administration will follow two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American!"

And then, well, hypocrisy ... because Donald _____ just won approval to hire 64 foreign workers for his Mar-a-Lago property through the government’s H-2B visa program. And not only is _____ hiring foreign workers while telling y’all that his stance is “hire American” he is also paying those foreign workers less money than he’d pay American workers.

So, remember that; he is telling you what the country should do and then he does the exact opposite because it’s best for his bank account.

Oh, and let’s not forget that his clothing line, and that of his daughter, and possible First lady ... ick ... Ivanka, is still being manufactured outside this country although he says he’ll bring back jobs to America.

I cannot understand how those fools who voted for him can still be foolish enough to think that he’ll do what’s best for America when all he wants to do is what’s best for him and that family of his ... oh wait ... fools.

Could this be true? Is Will & Grace coming back to TV?

Leslie Jordan, who played Karen Walker’s frenemy Beverley Leslie—"Well well well, if it isn’t Karen Walker. I thought I smelled gin and regret"—seemingly confirmed last week that the show is returning to NBC for 10 episodes:

“It’s back. NBC has ordered it. They have ordered 10. It will be for next season, and they’ll add the guest cast. I will get a phone call ... I’m not a regular.”

Last September, the main cast sparked revival rumors after they appeared in a 10-minute episode encouraging viewers to vote. A month later, it was rumored that Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes were all in talks to reprise their characters for an abbreviated season.

But maybe Beverly spoke to soon ... Debra Messing has walked back Leslie Jordan’s confirmation of a revival, Tweeting an answer to a fan’s tweet about the new seasons saying:

“Sadly Leslie was wrong. Nothing beyond talks.” 

Get it together ... I’d like some W&G again.

2017’s First Cat Fight .... "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough took to Twitter to blast a former CBS reporter for suggesting Joe “partied” with President-elect _____ on New Year's Eve.

His target was Sopan Deb, who posted a screenshot from a New York Times report noting that Scarborough and his co--host Mika Brzezinski were at _____'s party; then Joe shrieked:

“Partied? You’re very good at pushing fake news. You should write for CNN. Apparently making up facts is fine if you’re writing about us.”

Scarborough then criticized Deb, and then called him “a hack” for suggesting he partied with Trump, but, and here’s the gist of the story, Scarborough was at Mar-a-Lago, though he says he was there before the party to set up an interview with _____.

"Nothing that Mika and I did in setting up this meeting was any different than what all good reporters and news hosts try to do daily. I hope we get the interview."

Deb eventually responded to Scarborough, but wondered, as I did, what the difference between partying with _____ and “attending” the party might be.

So, Joe was there, but before the party which still begs the question: why go all the way to Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve to request an interview, Joe? That could’a been done by phone or email on any other day.

Oh, and there is a photo of Scarborough working the red carpet at the party.

Uh huh. sure Joe.

Carlos’ father is not too keen on the whole gay son thing, and especially not on the whole gay son married to another man thing, and he hadn’t spoken to Carlos in decades. But this year, in April, on Carlos’ birthday, after Carlos’ mother wished him well, his father, Carlos Sr., got on the phone to say Happy Birthday.

I suggested that maybe Carlos Sr. is getting old now and wants to remedy all the bad feelings between father and son—Carlos Sr., has also mended fences with his sister, our beloved Tia Gloria—and Carlos just shrugged.

Well, over the weekend Carlos called his parents in Mexico City to wish them a Happy New Year; he spoke to his mother briefly and then hung up. A few minutes later our phone rang and it was Carlos Sr. wishing Carlos a Happy New Year.

Carlos was very pleased—though he tried to hide it—and then he said, “Of course he didn’t ask about you at all.”

I said, “Look, it’s taken him thirty years to speak to you again, I can wait.”

Still, it does my heart good to know that they’re talking.

We watched the movie Race over the long holiday; the story of Jesse Owens’ performance at the 1936 Berlin Olympics amid the rise of Nazi Germany.

Naturally, since Owens was a black man, Hitler was none too pleased that Owens was the star of the games and even refused to meet the athlete or stay in the stands after Owens had won his four gold medals.

Still the film had some hotties ... clockwise from the top ... notably Stephen James as Jesse, and Jason Sudeikis—who I find very attractive in a snarky smirky way—as Jesse’s coach, Larry Snyder. Sharmier Anderson played Jesse’s chief rival for the spot on the US Track team, Euface peacock, and David Kross was Carl ‘Luz’ Long, a German athlete who befriended Jesse and even, egads, shook his hand and hugged him on the field after a victory.

That alone made life quite difficult for Long after the games. And much was made of Adolf Hitler’s refusal to meet Jesse and yet nearly nothing was said about the fact that, after the games, our own president, FDR, did not invite this four-time gold medal winner to the White House.

Interesting story; fairly good film; hot guys. Win.Win.

This will be our President ...

Donald _____ took to Twitter to kvetch about North Korea:

“North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!”

Okay, childish because that’s so not presidential, but then he took to Twitter to bash China:

“China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!”

But then his real issue came out, the thing that really pisses him on, and it isn’t nukes and it isn’t China, it’s photography:

“@CNN just released a book called "Unprecedented" which explores the 2016 race & victory. Hope it does well but used worst cover photo of me!”

Yup, that our future president. Not North Korea ... not china ... but an ugly picture of his fugly mug.

After acting to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics [OCE] this week—see post HERE—House Republicans scrapped their plans after _____ stepped in ... ALLEGEDLY ... and it looked like maybe the OCE would stay.

Don’t count on it ... while the House GOP withdrew their planned changes, they say they will “study” changes to the office and make them before the August deadline.

So, while I gave them a slow clap this week for doing the right thing, as usual, I have also taken it with a grain of salt, because you cannot trust the GOP as far as you can throw them.

And, while the GOP is suggesting they stopped because of _____, that’s a lie; _____ didn't object to gutting the ethics office, he just wants to do it later ... once someone tells him what “ethics” means.

Just sayin’.

Jared Louis Valezquez, a gay porn star who goes by the name Tyce Jax—seriously? Tyce?—is on probation for beating, choking and pulling a knife on his partner Bobby Hamill; Valezquez has been arrested on domestic violence charges five times before.

Valezquez is said to have become enraged after ... wait for it ... it’s rich ...,. wait for it ... finding Hamill watching porn on an iPad.

Yup, the porn star was furious that his boyfriend was watching porn.

Now, unless it was straight porn ... ewwww .... I’ve.Heard.Everything.

Architecture Wednesday: Studhorse

Studhorse; I was intrigued by the name for some reason.

The home, designed by Olson Kundig sits in the remote Methow Valley on a 20-acre site because the clients had a desire to experience and engage the surrounding environment throughout all four seasons.

The idea behind the design is that of “circling wagons” with the buildings—four small, unattached structures—all scattered about a central courtyard and pool. Traditional boundaries between the built structures and its surroundings are purposefully blurred, so that the family can experience the site and nature. With the four buildings oriented toward the courtyard, the design is oriented toward family life and entertaining.

Public areas—family room, kitchen and bar—are grouped together in the common area pavilion, while the private areas—the master bedroom, kids’ bedroom, and den—are secluded in an adjacent building guest rooms are isolated to allow for independent use. A sauna is also removed from the other buildings with a privately framed view looking out over the valley below.

Studhorse is built of tough building materials, steel and glass, to stand up to the equally tough environmental conditions—from hot, fire-prone summers to snowy winters; the wood siding was salvaged from an old barn in the valley. Over time as the wood and steel weather, the home will become more and more muted in appearance, blending into the landscape.

It seems so peaceful, but then my mind wanders to what happens when I run out of wine and forget to buy some at the store ... it’s quite a haul just for a case of Pinot, no?

Click to emBIGGERate the floorplans.

HomeDSGN

White Supremacist Richard Spencer Toots His Own Horn

Richard Spencer, the white supremacist leader of that white supremacist group that calls itself Alt-Right—another name for hate, bigotry, intolerance, white supremacy, Nazism—is feeling mighty good about himself and his band of Junior Hitlers this year.

He sent an email out to his followers, both those with hoods and those without, to celebrate:

“A new identity politics—one with us as its vanguard—is coming into being.

There was a time when Christmas fundraisers were about the hope that “one day” our movement might make a major breakthrough.

Well, “one day” is today.

This Christmas, I’m not asking for a donation so that we might raise our profile. That’s already happened, in an amazing way.

The Alt Right and yours truly have become something like household names.

We’ve been denounced by Hillary Clinton . . . we’re even too hot for Donald Trump . . . I’ve been on the front page of the New York Times more than I can remember . . . hundreds of international journalists attend our press conferences . . . we’ve been parodied on Saturday Night Live . . . the L.A. Times called us “the first new philosophical competitor to liberalism since the fall of Communism” . . . on campus, I’m causing mass protests and rendering Rabbis speechless . . . three books (that I know) of are being written about the Alt Right phenomenon . . .

So much winning.

A year ago, if someone had told me all this happened, I never would have believed him.

The Left is permanently freaked out and can’t stop talking about us. The “conservatives,” who had denied our existence for four years, now recognize that we are displacing them. A new identity politics—one with us as its vanguard—is coming into being.

Yes, of course, so much of what has been said about the Alt Right and me has been negative, sometimes even slanderous. And believe me, the attacks have taken a personal toll.

But to view all this coverage as merely negative is to miss the point entirely.

We have been recognized. We are part of the conversation—indeed, we are driving it—and we will never return to the fringe. And attacks are the price that we must pay for making an impact.

Of course, the Alt Right is much bigger than me, NPI, and Radix; indeed, it would not have become a phenomenon if it were not a movement of many parts. But we are right at the center of everything that is happening, and I have emerged as the Alt Right’s chief representative.

The challenge now is to capitalize on our exposure and build lasting institutions.

2016 was our breakthrough year. It wasn’t just the year of Donald Trump; it was the year of the Alt Right.”

Yup, it’s Richard Spencer basically praising himself, and talking about himself, and asking for money so he can make himself more of a phenomenon. He even ends by building himself up as the chief white supremacist among white supremacist.

So, it isn't about a white supremacist movement at all; no, it's just like Hitler, a tiny disenfranchised man trying to boost his own ego and self-esteem by propagating hatred.

Alt-Right. White supremacy; they’re the same thing but Spencer changed the name to make it more palatable, but any way you slice it, hate is hate is hate.

So, let's resist the hate and make 2017 the end of white supremacist like Spencer; let’s have him crawl back into the darkness, with his borrowed Nazi salutes and Hitler youth haircut and self-importance like the dirty little cockroach he is.

We have no time to be bothered by hate.

Resist. Speak out, Fight hate, because, with people like Richard Spencer, they start with one group to demonize and then move on to every other group, so one day it might be you the white supremacists are coming after.

h/t to David Futrelle at We Hunted The Mammoth for the new logo for hate

RigthWingWatch

Jan Chamberlin Resists

The resistance is real ... Jan Chamberlin, a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir which is set to appear at president-elect _____’s inauguration this month, has resigned from the group over that decision because, she says, to perform there would be an endorsement of “tyranny and fascism” and then added:

“I only know I could never ‘throw roses to Hitler.’ And I certainly could never sing for him.”

Chamberlin posted her resignation letter to leaders of the 360-member choir on her Facebook page:

"It is with a sad and heavy heart that I submit my resignation to you and to Choir. I am praying that Jesus will help me get through this email before I totally break down.

I love you all, and I know the goodness of your hearts, and your desire to go out there and show that we are politically neutral and share good will. That is the image Choir wishes to present and the message they desperately want to send.

I also know, looking from the outside in, it will appear that Choir is endorsing tyranny and fascism by singing for this man.

Tyranny is now on our doorstep; it has been sneaking its way into our lives through stealth. Now it will burst into our homes through storm."

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints spokesman Eric Hawkins says participation in the choir and the inaugural performance was voluntary, and that the choir’s tradition of presidential performances was not akin to “implied support of party affiliations or politics."

Still, when you believe the man in the Oval Office might be the ruin of this country, would you want to sing for him?

In her statement, Chamberlin offered a strongly worded critique of _____’s campaign tactics, drawing a parallel with the rise of Adolf Hitler:

“In the show Wicked, the Wizard makes a really interesting statement. He says, ‘I create conflict to stay in power.’ This scenario can keep us perpetually distracted and at odds with each other and keep us from working together to solve important issues. This also allows those in office to do whatever they want to unchecked.

I believe this has been done to us, both cunningly and intentionally. I believe we have a lot more in common than we have in difference, and if we will listen to each other, we can learn a great deal from one another.

History is repeating itself; the same tactics are being used by Hitler (identify a problem, finding a scapegoat target to blame, and stirring up people with a combination of fanaticism, false promises, and fear, and gathering the funding).

I plead with everyone to go back and read the books we all know on these topics and review the films produced to help us learn from these gargantuan crimes so that we will not allow them to be repeated. Evil people prosper when good people stand by and do nothing.”

Brava, Ms. Chamberlin, and here’s hoping that, by speaking out, and by standing up, and by resisting, you will spark others to do the same.

The Guardian

House GOP Has No Time For Ethics ... Oops, Maybe Not ... ?

And the treachery begins ...

Yesterday House Republicans voted to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics [OCE]—an independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison.

The OCE was created after the cases of former Republican California Congressman, Randy "Duke" Cunningham—who served seven years in prison on bribery and other charges—and Republican Ohio Congressman, Bob Ney—who was charged in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and pleaded guilty to corruption charges—and Republican Louisiana Congressman—Rep. William Jefferson was also convicted of corruption.

Sense a trend ... Republican?

So, this new disemboweling of the OCE, met with outcry by the Democrats and bipartisan government watchdog groups, will be voted on today by the full House. Oh, and this new package includes a way for Republican leaders to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control.

Yup, it’s the GOP playing nasty; who’da thunk it?

Under the ethics change pushed by Republican Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte, the OCE would fall under the control of the House Ethics Committee, which is run by lawmakers. So, lawmakers would be watching lawmakers in regards to ethics; yeah, nothing to see there.

The OCE would be changed to the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, and the rule change would require that "any matter that may involve a violation of criminal law must be referred to the Committee on Ethics for potential referral to law enforcement agencies after an affirmative vote by the members."

All that means is, again, that lawmakers would have the final say under the change as to what to do about violations by lawmakers.

Now, to be fair, while House Republicans voted 119-74 in favor of the change, Republican Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke out against the change, but failed to sway the majority of the Republicans, many of whom have felt unfairly targeted by the OCE.

Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was not happy:

"Republicans claim they want to 'drain the swamp,' but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions. Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress."

Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters, blasted Ryan and his team:

"We all know the so-called House Ethics Committee is worthless for anything other than a whitewash — sweeping corruption under the rug. That's why the independent Office of Congressional Ethics has been so important. The OCE works to stop corruption and that's why Speaker Ryan is cutting its authority. Speaker Ryan is giving a green light to congressional corruption."

Well, Republican corruption clearly.

#Resist. And in 2017, vote them all out.

Moments ago, House Republicans changed their minds and decided not to go forward with this treachery.

For now, I'm sure ....

Yahoo

It's January 2nd and We Have Our First ISBL Asshat of the Week: Gospel Star Kim Burrell

We’re just thirty-two hours into 2017 and I’ve stumbled across our first Asshat, gospel singer Kim Burrell. I don’t know who she is, and I don’t think I’d ever heard of her until this past weekend, but, well, she asshatted her way right to the top of the list.

Burrell, the singer, is featured on the film soundtrack for Hidden Figures, the story of three brilliant Black women at NASA—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson—who, in the 1960s, were the brains behind the launch of John Glenn into space. 

That’s Kim Burrell; and so is this ...

Kim Burrell—slated to appear on the Ellen DeGeneres show this week—went on a homophobic tear, calling homosexuality a “spirit of delusion” and “confusion” and then calling The Gays “perverted.”

Kim Burrell in her own words:

“I came to tell you about sin. That sin nature, that perverted homosexual spirit, and the spirit of delusion and confusion, it has deceived many men and women. You as a man, you open your mouth and take a man’s penis in your face, you are perverted. You are a woman and will shake your face in another woman’s breast, you are perverted.”

And then it got better because once the video hit social media, as happens when bigots speak, Kim Burrell desperately tried to walk it back:

“We’re not in a war with flesh and blood. I came on because I care about God’s creation. And every person from the LGBT and any other kind of thing that is supporting gay, I never said LGBT last night, I said S-I-N. And whatever falls under sin was preached. What was posted isn’t how I preached too, but only that. Isn’t that something. That is the design of the enemy to make it look like I have a personal agenda against people. To every person who is dealing with the homosexual spirit, I love you because God loves you…but God hates the sin.”

Oh, that old tired rant about loving the sinner and hating the sin. That’s just religious double-speak for judging people and condemning people when you should be looking at yourself and worrying about yourself and understanding that God is love.

Um, Kim, you ignorant tool you clearly spoke about gay men and women so why you are now saying you didn’t is beyond me, except that maybe it’ll hurt your chances getting anyone to listen to your music. Yup, when your hatred and bigotry hits your pocketbook, suddenly you’re all, “I didn’t mean what I said even though I said it.”

Burrell is supposed to perform a duet with Pharrell on that Ellen show this week, and he responded to the controversy on his Instagram account:

And, in addition to what she did say in the video—a video of very poor quality, I might add, should you decide to find it and listen to it ... I don’t like posting hate speech here—Burrell Burrell seems to suggest that all gay people will die in 2017.

Lovely. A gospel singer, and a woman of faith, spreading hate, and perhaps suggesting that all gay folks will be dead before the year is out. And as the outrage grows, Kim Burrell is now saying she never said anything bad about gays and then blasted everyone who said anything against her:

“I was addressing church people. See how misconstrued you got it? … I never said God was killing gays in 2017. I said people who operate with that spirit in the church, with deception and attached themselves, are going to have to face the master. That’s what I said, and death is attached to their behavior…If that’s you, okay. But I never said LGBT, gays are going to die in 2017. Y’all stop that.”

Oh, so she doesn’t say gays are gonna get killed, she says we’ll all face our “master” and he’ll kill us for being gay.

I imagine, though, that one day, and who knows when it’ll be and who cares because I don’t know Kim Burrell and, after today, I will probably never speak her name again, but I suppose that one day when Kim Burrell meets her “master” he, or she, will look at Kim and say ...

"Why all the hate? Why not worry about your own house."

We watched the movie Freeheld this weekend; it’s the true story of a New Jersey police detective, a lesbian, who falls in love and then creates a legally binding domestic partnership with her girlfriend—this was in those dark days before marriage equality. Then the detective, Laurel Hester discovers he has Stage 4 lung cancer and tries to have her pension given to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree. But, since they weren’t married .... blah blah blah.

Well, as protests grew about the discrimination many people spoke before the town council about the injustice being done to Laurel and Stacie and one of the most poignant moments in the film is when a minister steps to the microphone and asks the council if they’d like to hear what Jesus said about The Gays; so he quotes Jesus on homosexuality.

“                                                                             .”

See, because Jesus never said one word about The Gays and people like Kim Burrell need to remember that; because Jesus spoke of kindness and compassion.

Kim Burrell needs to learn that and stop the hate.

Sources:
JoeMyGod
BET
Towleroad

HNY 2017

I love the New Year ... the freshness of what may be; the thought of infinite possibility; the idea that I am another year older.

Okay, that last one ... not so much.

But, as I used to tell my sister, who was annoyed that I never seemed to change—and never mind that portrait of me in that attic ... nothing to see there—The Gays are not allowed to age so I’ll take that extra year and run with it.

But I do look forward to doing more, and learning more, thinking more, reading more, loving more, laughing more. These aren't resolutions, as I don't make resolutions because when I do, my resolutions last about as long as it takes me to say resolution. These are promises and wishes, hopes and dreams.

So, I'll leave y’all to have a good day, with a repost, and a little revision, of a previous New Years Day thoughts:

The more things change :::blibbety blah blay bloo touch me::: the more they remain the same:  I am a believer in happiness. I believe that happiness is all we really get in life, a lesson learned from my parents, and that everything else follows. 

Things don't make us happy, at least not for long. And you can't expect people to make you happy either; you either have it to begin with, and others add to it, or you don't.

If you don't believe that, just look around at all the sad, angry, lonely faces you pass on the street. Happiness is something you possess, that you give out, and get back. We're responsible for our own happiness, each and all of us; responsible to find it, to hold on to it; to nurture it and share it.

Without happiness in ourselves, for being ourselves, how can we expect to live fully and completely. We suffer loss every day; I've had my share and, sad to say, I know there's more to come, but I feel happy in the memories I have of those who've gone on ahead.

I know it's hard to be happy when times are hard; these days especially with that feeling of gloom settling in over our country.

It's near impossible to think that things will get better, but they will; it will take all of us to get it better, working together, trying together, but we can make it better; this, and y’all know who I mean by that, is just a speed bump; it, too, shall pass.

I have learned, from my past, from my life, from living as an openly gay man, an unapologetically gay man, in this world, that it will get better. 

I have learned, from my Father the Teacher, never to stop learning and reading and speaking and, well, ranting; the more you learn, the more you grow, and understand, the more happiness you can accept. 

I have learned, from my Mother the Nurturer, to care for things, for people, for animals, for life; to make each day better for those around us, and to make it better for ourselves in the end. 

I have learned, from my Sister the Temper, to speak up; why sit quietly and just let things happen? Stand up and demand the things you want, the happiness you want. Don't settle. 

I have learned, from my Brother the Father, to hold close to family; never let them go; whether it's the family you were born into, or the family you created out of necessity; hold on to them, and protect them, and love them. 

I have learned, from my Partner the Optimist, how to actually let go and be in love and damn the torpedoes; how to be open and honest and know that it won't hurt; how to love yourself, and everyone around you. 

So, I once again realize that I have learned to be happy; I've earned happiness. And I am responsible for it.

It is, after all, all you really get in life.

And so I’ll end with this tune, and this artist, Eva Cassidy, because it makes me happy ... and what a way to start a New Year.