Rick Perry jumped into the Republican presidential race in August and a spate of verbal blunders followed. The Texas governor is on gaffe-ing gas.
I’ve taken the liberty of composing New Year’s resolutions for individuals who are just too busy to do it themselves.
I give Jane Schmidt a world of credit. The Iowa high school student held her own in an exchange with Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. At Schmidt’s age, shaking a candidate’s hand was enough to make me forget my name.
Diplomacy suddenly got a whole lot friendlier. Leaders of nations and leaders of faiths, instead of shaking hands, are kissing each other on the lips.
The National Enquirer claims in a Nov. 14 cover story that Chaz Bono will die within four years due to his gender transition. The corpse-to-be is perturbed. His lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to the tabloid, accusing it of defamation and demanding a printed retraction and apology.
My partner and I are both going through withdrawal. It ain’t pretty. We’re not addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn, sex, love, cigarettes, texting or gambling. I’ll bet you a case of gin we’re not. No, our addictions have a lesbian flair. Anne is mad for the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, while I’m obsessed with women’s professional basketball.
My view of the Occupy Wall Street protest is that it’s an unfocused jumble, but, at least, somebody’s doing something. At last. What began with a few dozen demonstrators on Wall Street has grown into a national conniption over corporate greed and government collusion.
By now you’ve heard — and maybe not believed — that disgraced preacher Ted Haggard and his wife Gayle will appear on “Celebrity Wife Swap.” Actor Gary Busey and his baby mama Steffanie Sampson are scheduled to be the other fun couple.
Yente would plotz. The matchmaker in “Fiddler on the Roof” would have a coronary over the kind of matchmaking being practiced these days. And, by a rabbi, no less. The shmendrik.
Whether or not you’ve heard of Jerry Buell, in a few minutes you’re going to find it hard to forget him. Buell is a high school teacher in Mount Dora, Fla., who posted on Facebook that he “almost threw up” when he heard about New York’s legalization of gay marriage. He said same-sex unions were part of a “cesspool,” and called them a “sin.”
You might enter into a same-sex relationship thinking you know all the troubles that lie ahead. Discrimination, rejection by family and friends, spending eternity in hell — none of that is news. But, I’ll bet you never considered the bundle of difficulties caused by being in a relationship with someone who’s a lot like you. Someone with whom you share everything from chromosomes to conditioner.
Jerusalem just held its Pride parade and over 4,000 people marched. There were protesters and one person was arrested for throwing stink bombs, but on the whole, Jerusalem’s 10th annual March for Pride and Tolerance went well.
News item: California is the first state to require public schools to include the contributions of LGBT people in social studies curricula.
I had a peachy time marching in Seattle’s Pride parade. My partner Anne and I, members of a Unitarian Universalist church in Seattle, marched with a host of Unitarians representing churches from all over Puget Sound. Now it behooves me to make a few notes about this year’s experience, just to ensure next year things go downright seamlessly.
Among the security guards at Target Field in Minneapolis, one stands out for his overriding moral concerns. The fellow is a little tin Moses and the stadium is his Mount Sinai. With mustard and relish.
At the start of June, citizens of Richmond, Va., noticed an addition to the flagpole outside the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Underneath the American flag waved a rainbow flag. The two banners, Old Glory and Newish Pride-y, flapped in the breeze.
In just a week, four male sports figures came out. From the basketball world, Rick Welts, the CEO of the Phoenix Suns, and Will Sheridan, a former player at Villanova, went public. Pro bowler Scott Norton and ESPN sports reporter Jared Max decided it was time, too.
There’s been a lot of marriage news lately. But, enough about the Royal Wedding. On these shores, the struggle for same-sex marriage has been as wobbly as a tipsy bride. Look at Rhode Island. Hopes were high that Little Rhody would become the sixth state to allow gay marriage. But, House Speaker Gordon Fox announced the legislation wouldn’t pass the Senate, so he was backing civil unions instead.
If you haven’t heard of Fred Karger, you have an awful lot of company. Karger is a retired political consultant from California. He’s also a gay activist and he’s running for the presidency. As a Republican. Clearly this is a fellow who fancies adventure.
In my last column, I discussed the role T-shirts with slogans play in the battle over gay rights. It occurred to me, aside from the T-shirts I’ve read about that have caused ruckuses in schools and elsewhere, I don’t know what kinds of pro-gay and anti-gay T-shirts are available these days.
