Saturday Male Beauty

Larry King’s Family Blames School for Murder

As a number of sources are reporting, the adoptive parents of Lawrence King are blaming his school for his death and I sincerely hope that this, combined with the "blame the victim" defense that is likely to be mounted by Brandon McInerney's defense attorney do not obscure the real cause of Larry's murder: homophobia and the endless anti-gay jihad by Christianists. But for the constant anti-gay message that seeks in essence to dehumanize LGBT citizens and depict us as diseased or enemies of society, Larry would likely be alive today. The answer is not to force young gays to stay closeted, but to end the message of hate that creates the mindset where killing gays is in the last analysis acceptable. All legitimate medical and mental health experts say homosexuality is not a choice and in fact is "normal" for a percentage of the population and the Christianists need to be condemned for the hate-filled bigots that they are. Would that the media had some balls and guts and would take them on. James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Don Wildmon, Benedict XVI, et al, are in some ways just as guilty of Larry's murder as Brandon McInerney. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com:

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(Oxnard, California) The parents of 15-year-old Larry King say he would never have been killed if the school had enforced the dress code. King was fatally shot in February by another student in an Oxnard school. The King family is suing the Oxnard school district claiming its failure to enforce the dress code led to King’s death. King reportedly wore feminine clothing and makeup to school. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

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Last week, 14-year-old Brandon McInerney pleaded not guilty to killing King. McInerney is charged as an adult with first degree murder and a hate crime for the Feb. 12 shooting. McInerney faces 51 years to life without the possibility of parole if convicted. King was shot in the head during a morning class. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time.

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McInerney’s attorney also has suggested that some of the blame for the murder must rest with the school. He told the Los Angeles Times earlier this year that while the school allowed King to explore his sexuality, it did nothing to quell the unrest among other students.

Appalachian Trail - 8/16/08 Update

Me, Burples, Toots, Pusher
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UPDATED: I had a great time with my son and daughter today. He certainly has all kinds of interesting stories to recount and said he has hundreds of pictures he has not yet uploaded. He plans to review them and add more to his flickr account and I will share more once he does so. As I have said before, I consider my children my greatest accomplishment and having them makes all the years of unhappiness worthwhile.

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As I posted on August 13th, my son completed his 2,176 mile odyssey on the Appalachian Trail on August 12, 2008 (my birthday). He's back in Virginia Beach as of late last night and I am going to meet him and my oldest daughter for a late lunch and will get to hear first hand about all of his adventures. I suspect it's going to be rough for him to return to the "white bread" suburbia and conservatism of Virginia Beach. I have posted two more photos from the summit of Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of the AT. "Burples, Toots and Pusher" are other thru hikers he journeyed with on the last leg of the adventure. The captions are my son's words from his flickr account. And yes, I continue to be so very, very proud of him. What an adventure!!

Last walk in the sky before going back to earth.

More Friday Male Beauty

Jackson Browne sues McCain Over Song Use

Apparently, the McCain campaign is not only running an extremely sleazy operation, but in addition, they're not too smart. One would think that someone would have asked the question of whether or not permission had been secured to use Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" before going full bore and producing an ad and airing it. I mean, we are not talking about rocket science issues. Even at McCain's age, he ought to know about the existence of the copyright laws. They've been around far longer than computers and the Internet after all. Here are some highlights from MSNBC on the lawsuit Browne has filed against McCain, a/k/a McSenile:

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Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne is suing Republican presidential nominee John McCain and the Republican party for using his song “Running on Empty” in a recent TV commercial. In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Browne claims McCain and the party did not obtain permission to use the song for an ad in which “Senator McCain and the Republicans mock Democratic candidate for president Barack Obama for suggesting that the country conserve gas through proper tire inflation.”

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Browne, a lifelong Democrat, is seeking unspecified damages as well as a permanent injunction prohibiting the use of “Running on Empty” in any form by the McCain campaign.

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“Not only have Senator McCain and his agents plainly infringed Mr. Browne’s copyright in ’Running on Empty,’ but the federal courts have long held that the unauthorized use of a famous singer’s voice in a commercial constitutes a false endorsement and a violation of the singer’s right of publicity,” Lawrence Iser, Browne lawyer, said.

Jonathan Crutchley Dumped by Manhunt Board

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Friday Male Beauty

Gay Marriage and the Black Vote

As I have said on numerous times, in this area of Virginia, besides the Kool-Aid drinkers who blindly follow Pat Robertson and other Christianist demagogues like lemmings, some of the most strident voices against gay rights are black ministers. I don't know if it's due to a total ignorance of history or just religious belief bordering on insanity, but many of these black ministers are cynically played and manipulated by white Christianist organizations who not that many years ago (and I believe still do) supported segregation, opposed interracial marriage and in general want to keep blacks inferior. These organizations who in the final analysis ONLY care about white evangelical Christians play the black ministers and their followers for fools. I an sure these black ministers and congregations do not realize that these false Christians like Robertson and Tony Perkins are laughing at them behind their backs. Thus, I find it interesting that an editorial in the Los Angeles Times questions whether this will hold true in the vote on Proposition 8. Here are some highlights:

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At a Democratic presidential forum on gay issues last year, the Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart prefaced a question to Sen. Barack Obama this way: "Now, you and I both know that there's a homophobia problem in the black community." Capehart seemed to suggest that he was disclosing a shared secret, but the belief that African Americans are disproportionately hostile toward gays and lesbians is widespread.

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That notion will be put to the test Nov. 4, when black voters in California -- expected to turn out in record numbers to support Obama -- also will face a proposition to put a ban on same-sex marriage in the state Constitution. The foregone conclusion, expressed by prominent gay journalist Andrew Sullivan and others, is that this means trouble for gay newlyweds.

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Don't bet on it. Although ordinary polls report lower levels of support for same-sex marriage among blacks than among whites, views on same-sex marriage are a rapidly moving target that's tough to pin down, even for experts.

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By invoking rights, the ballot's wording on Proposition 8 -- the title reads "Eliminates Right of Same-sex Couples to Marry" -- could turn off black voters. Proposition supporters sought a different heading, "Limit on Marriage," but a judge dismissed their case last week. . . . . Across the country, black voters repeatedly reelect African American politicians who support gay rights. The nation's two black governors have forcefully backed gay marriage -- and each has spoken movingly about accepting gay people in his own family.

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Nonetheless, we can expect leaders of the religious right such as James Dobson and Tony Perkins to feature African American ministers prominently in their campaign to end gay and lesbian weddings in California. It's a cynical strategy. Too often the media have played along. In 2004, for instance, we heard far more about the subset of Martin Luther King Jr.'s family opposed to gay marriage than about how the late Coretta Scott King denounced the "Federal Marriage Amendment" proposed by President Bush that year as "a form of gay-bashing."

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It is possible that California's African Americans this year, like those in Georgia four years ago, will vote for Proposition 8 in larger numbers than whites. But there is also reason to think that, as in six other states four years ago, the opposite might occur in the Golden State.Opposition to gay rights takes culturally specific forms, and Capehart was right, of course, that there is "a homophobia problem in the black community." But it's no worse than the homophobia problem in America that belongs to all of us.

More Thursday Male Beauty

Dedicated to Rick Santorum

Christianists Scramble to Rake In Anti-Gay Money While It Lasts

Just recently I posted about the increasing hysteria among the Christianists who have made a very comfortable living off of peddling dire warnings of the end of civilization posed by gay marriage to the ignorant and bigoted. Increasingly, they seem to realize that should Proposition 8 be defeated in California on November 4, 2008, it will be only a matter of time before same-sex marriage becomes legal all across the country. Of course, if that happens, all of the millions of dollars they have raked in by posturing and advertising themselves as the bulwark "protecting marriage" will be a thing of the past and - oh heavens - they might have to get real jobs. That prospect probably frightens them far more that two guys being legally married. A prime example of the level of hysteria and the underlying desire to collect every dollar while they can is embodied by a special alert sent out by National Organization for Marriage via Human Events featuring former Senator Rick Santorum (who lost his Senate seat I believe in large part because of his whacked out obsession with gay sex). Ricky boy - who looks pretty gay himself in his powder blue suit and pink tie - gets pretty close to foaming at the mouth. Here are some highlights via Pam's House Blend:

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Unless we act today, we will lose the battle for marriage--not a decade from now, not "someday," but quite possibly in the next few months. . . . Four California judges endorsed two big, very bad ideas. First, they extended the internationally recognized human right to marry to include same-sex marriage. . . . The second big idea endorsed by the California court is even less promising: sexual orientation should be treated just like race under the California equal protection amendment, subject to "strict scrutiny."

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That's why I need you to act today. Use this hyperlink to help launch the National Organization for Marriage's 2008 State Action Plan, including a sophisticated issue ad campaign--radio, TV, and print ads to drive home the point: don't mess with marriage. If we don't fight back, our children and grandchildren will get harmful and confusing messages about marriage, including this one: there's no difference between same-sex and opposite-sex unions and anyone who defends marriage is a bigot.

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Use this hyperlink to make a generous donation of $35, $50, or even $100 today. These gay marriage activists know the marriage battle will be won or lost in state legislatures. And because they know that state legislatures are our farm team for the next generation of passionate pro-family leaders that's who the gay donors are targeting.

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And so with great hope and excitement, I learned about the launch of The National Organization for Marriage's 2008 State Action Plan. Will you give a generous donation today to help ensure the plan succeeds?

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I'm not sure what little Ricky has been doing since he got tossed out by the voters in 2006. I can say this, however, he knows about bigots - he sees one in the mirror each time he looks in a mirror.

John McSleaze

The Republicans, including the McCain campaign and its sycophants who act allegedly without McCain's knowledge so that McCain, a/k/a McSenile, can disavow them, are making me increasing disgusted and down right nauseous. If the only way they believe they can beat Barack Obama is to lie, spread false allegations and malign Obama, maybe they ought to question what they are trying to peddle to the voting public. I mean if your policies and proposals are so poor and/or are perceived as too ineffective to cure the ills facing the nation such that you are compelled to distract people from focusing upon them, would it not make sense to perhaps re-evaluate your platform? Sadly, no. Not for today's Republicans who increasingly act as dishonestly as the Christianist demagogues whose support McSleaze wants so badly that he's literally selling his soul and integrity. Or what ever integrity he pretended to have. Once upon a time I respected John McCain and even read some of his books. Those days are long gone. Here are some highlights from a piece in Time by Joe Klein which looks at the nastiness which is now the hallmark of McSleaze and the GOP:

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I heard about Jerome Corsi's book a few weeks ago . . . . Mary Matalin, who appears regularly on mainstream media programs like Meet the Press called the Corsi book in the New York Times today: “a piece of scholarship, and a good one at that.” But hey, Mary stands to make big bucks off this . . . and I'm sure her reputation and mediagenicity won't be damaged by this poisonous crap, and we're all friends here, aren't we?

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Back in the day, John McCain was the sort of politician who would stand first in line to call out this sort of swill. (As, I'm sure Barack Obama or John Kerry would do, if some hate-crazed, money-grubbing left-winger published a book claiming that McCain had been successfully brainwashed in Vietnam. . . . They are the sorts of claims that Republicans--Bush Republicans--make. They range from the blatantly extra-curricular, like Corsi's book, to the official McCain-sanctioned introduction made by Joe Lieberman--of all people--yesterday: that Obama doesn't "put America first."

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I know that people like me are supposed to try to be fair...and balanced. (The Fox mockery of our sappy professional standards seems more brutally appropriate with each passing year.) In the past, I would achieve a semblance--or an illusion--of balance by criticizing Democrats for not responding effectively when right-wing sludge merchants poisoned our national elections with their filth and lies.

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But there is no excuse for what the McCain campaign is doing on the "putting America first" front. There is no way to balance it, or explain it other than as evidence of a severe character defect on the part of the candidate who allows it to be used. . . . So he has made a fateful decision: he has personally impugned Obama's patriotism and allows his surrogates to continue to do that. By doing so, he has allied himself with those who smeared him, his wife, his daughter Bridget, in 2000. . . We'll see if the public decides to acquiesce in sleaze in 2008, and what sort of presidency--what sort of country--that will produce.

Thursday Male Beauty

Congressional Republicans at Risk in Northeast

I have long believed that only crushing electoral defeats will bring change to the Republican Party and, hopefully, lead to the Christianists being thrown under the bus where they so rightly belong. Moreover, the GOP members of Congress need to be severely punished for the blind rubber stamp approval they have given to the Chimperator and Emperor Cheney. The damage to the country has been severe and so should be their electoral punishment. Fortunately, things are not looking good for the GOP and I find it heartening that even in Virginia's 2nd District the incumbent GOP Congresswoman is engaged in a very competitive race where the Democrats have a serious chance of winning in November. Like too many in the GOP, Thelma Drake has generally voted in lock step with the Chimperator. Here are some highlights from the New York Times:

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WASHINGTON — Across the increasingly Democratic Northeast, Republicans are in danger of losing half a dozen or more Congressional seats in November, as even districts once considered safe have become vulnerable to well-financed Democrats, according to political analysts and members of both parties.

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The Republican Party’s challenges in the nine-state Northeast region are a reflection of what the party faces across the country as it is being forced to defend dozens of Congressional seats that are now considered competitive at a time when the party has limited financial resources, political analysts said.

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Meanwhile, all but 2 of the 11 Congressional Democrats who won office in 2006 in the Northeast appear headed into the general election campaign in a strong position, the analysts said. . . . As a result, Democrats are in a strong position to expand their dominance in the Northeast region, where they already hold 60 of the 81 Congressional seats and hope to improve their numbers even further by aggressively contesting Republicans for eight more seats. In the midterm elections of 2006, Democrats picked up 11 seats in the region.

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Democrats are also being helped by a growing concern among voters about the state of the economy and continuing doubts about the war in Iraq, strategists say. Democrats are also doing very well in their fund-raising efforts. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has $54.6 million on hand, compared with $8.4 million raised by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

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[T]he challenge that Republicans face nationally is especially large in the Northeast because that is where polls show President Bush to be the most unpopular. . . He said a stark sign of how hard the situation is for Republicans was on Staten Island, where several prominent Republicans declined to run for the seat vacated by Mr. Fossella, which had long been considered a virtual lock for Republicans.

White Americans No Longer a Majority by 2042

The new Census Bureau projections on the changing make up of the American citizenry will have the wingnuts at American Family Association, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family to name a few closet white supremacy Christianist organizations going bat shit and foaming at the mouth. While not white supremacy groups officially on their face, a continual monitoring of their anti-immigrant drumbeat and jihad against anyone who is not white, evangelical Protestant, and politically reactionary makes it clear that they desire a roll back in time to the early 1950's when whites dominated everything and uppity minorities, including gays, knew their place. Is that a Christian mindset and goal? No, but then these folks are false Christians to begin with. They are money and power mad bigots. Here are some highlights from the Los Angeles Times:

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White people will no longer make up a majority of Americans by 2042, according to new government projections. That's eight years sooner than previous estimates, made in 2004.The nation has been growing more diverse for decades, but the process has sped up through immigration and higher birth rates among minority residents, especially Hispanics.

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"The white population is older and very much centered around the aging baby boomers who are well past their high fertility years," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "The future of America is epitomized by the young people today. They are basically the melting pot we are going to see in the future."

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By 2050, whites will make up 46 percent of the population and blacks will make up 15 percent, a relatively small increase from today. Hispanics, who make up about 15 percent of the population today, will account for 30 percent in 2050, according to the new projections.Asians, which make up about 5 percent of the population, are projected to increase to 9 percent by 2050.

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OMG - there'' be more interracial marriage too. Daddy Dobson will be having the vapors. Remember which group used the Bible to justify bans on interracial marriage just as they are doing against gays today. These folks truly never change willingly.

Final Wednesday Male Beauty

Dedicated to John McCain and Manhunt

McCain Takes Money From Manhunt Site Owner

UPDATED: 365gay.com also has a story on this matter which can be found here. Personally, I am waiting for the fundies to demand that McCain return the money.
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LOL. The wingnuts will be going nuts on this one if they get wind of it. Imagine, John McCain - a newly minted supporter of family values - taking money generated from a web site facilitating gay sexual hook ups and meetings for potential gay relationships. Daddy Dobson will be soiling his pants or worse. Me, I love it and hope McCain will make more gaffes like this one. Meanwhile, I hope some of the paying subscribers will cancel their accounts on Manhunt. As for the owners of Manhunt, I don't know how any rational, self-respecting gay can support McCain, particularly now that McCain is trying to pander to the Christianists. Here are some highlights from Towleroad:

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It appears John McCain has accepted the maximum individual campaign donation from the owner of America's largest gay sex hook-up website.

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As for the potential fall out for Crutchley and his gay sex site, The Edge has the following comments:

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Glenn is an American expatriate living in South America who has just subscribed for three months to Manhunt in his present country. But he now may renege. "I hate the fact that my $30 will be going towards supporting McCain’t... I am going to cancel my membership, join Gayday," he wrote in an email. What has Glenn--and a lot of other Manhunt customers--hopping mad is the support for Republicans, and presidential nominee John McCain in particular, by one of the two founders of the site. Jonathan Crutchley has given the maximum for an individual to McCain’s campaign. And he has been publicly unapologetic about it.

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It remains to be seen how many of the men vowing to quit the site actually do so. EDGE made calls to Manhunt’s spokesperson, who explained that Crutchley was unavailable at press time.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Marriage As A Civil Right

Andrew Sullivan has a piece in the new Atlantic Monthly that takes an interesting look at and provides analysis of the import of the California Supreme Court's ruling handed down on May 15, 2008. Having read the entire opinion, it truly is a land mark ruling in many ways. Perhaps the longer lasting legacy of the decision will be the Court's treatment of sexual orientation as a protected class akin to race and national origin. It is this underlying basis for the Court's ruling that has caused the Christianists such angst. They realize that even if Proposition 8 were to pass in November, a seismic shift has occurred and that time is NOT on their side. Here are some highlights from Andrew's article:

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What’s notable here is the starting point of the discussion: an “individual.” The individual citizen posited by the court is defined as prior to his or her sexual orientation. He or she exists as a person before he or she exists as straight or gay. And the right under discussion is defined as “the opportunity of an individual” to choose another “person” to “establish a family” in which reproduction and children are not necessary. And so the distinction between gay and straight is essentially abolished. For all the debate about the law in this decision, the debate about the terms under discussion has been close to nonexistent. And yet in many ways, these terms are at the core of the decision, and are the reason why it is such a watershed.

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The premise used to be that homosexuality was an activity, that gays were people who chose to behave badly; or, if they weren’t choosing to behave badly, were nonetheless suffering from a form of sickness or, in the words of the Vatican, an “objective disorder.” And so the question of whether to permit the acts and activities of such disordered individuals was a legitimate area of legislation and regulation.

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But when gays are seen as the same as straights—as individuals; as normal, well-adjusted, human individuals—the argument changes altogether. The question becomes a matter of how we treat a minority with an involuntary, defining characteristic along the lines of gender or race. . . . The right to marry, after all, is, as the court put it, “one of the basic, inalienable civil rights guaranteed to an individual.” Its denial was necessarily an outrage—and not merely an anomaly—because the right to marry has such deep and inalienable status in American constitutional law.

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The political theorist Hannah Arendt, addressing the debate over miscegenation laws during the civil-rights movement of the 1950s, put it clearly enough: The right to marry whoever one wishes is an elementary human right . . . . Note that Arendt put the right to marry before even the right to vote. And this is how many gay people of the next generation see it. Born into straight families and reared to see homosexuality as a form of difference, not disability, they naturally wonder why they would be excluded from the integral institution of their own families’ lives and history. They see this exclusion as unimaginable—as unimaginable as straight people would if they were told that they could not legally marry someone of their choosing. . . . Once this happens, the law eventually follows. In California this spring, it did.

Pompous Phonies and Other Jerks

For much of the day I was enjoying an after glow from my birthday and a fantastic time last night with someone wonderful. Then I heard from a friend whose family (with about a single exception) from what he has related to me are a bunch of snooty, self-absorbed and self-impressed assholes. They seem to care only about themselves and keeping up appearances. They cannot and will not forgive him for the unpardonable sin of being gay. From the glimpses I've seen of them through him, they truly care nothing for for him. It's ALL about them. They appear to make the late Leona Helmsley, a/k/a, the queen of mean, look like Mother Teresa. They sound like they'd make Lady Marchmain in Brideshead Revisited look down right warm and effusive. And, oh yes, they are apparently rich so - in their view where only one's financial net worth seems to matter - even their sh*t doesn't stink.

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The single most important and wonderful thing that the family members of someone who is LGBT can do for that individual is love them unconditionally and allow them to be who they are. Who THEY are and NOT who they family would like them to be. As I have noted on this blog before, I was very lucky in terms of the acceptance I received from my immediate family and my extended family (Note: my former in-laws are NOT included in this grouping). One of my male cousins who lives far away and shares my son's first name even made this comment in an e-mail message to me:

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I can only imagine what you went through during your 'coming out'. It takes extreme courage to stand up and proclaim yourself at times, especially so in this case. It sounds silly, however I'm proud that you had that courage...

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Would that my friend had such accepting individuals in his family. Instead, he's treated as the "dirty secret" that must be hidden as much as possible. Not for his sake, but for theirs and to pamper their fragile egos and warped sense of propriety. I doubt it's ever even crossed their minds as to how much pain they have caused him. But then, do they even care? The real travesty is that anyone would treat a family member in such a manner. In my view, if they are churchgoers, they are little better than the rich Pharisee in Luke 18:10-14:

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"Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity--greedy, dishonest, adulterous--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.' But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

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I have known and/or represented many very wealthy people over the years. Some have been jerks and others have been treasures. The reality is that money does not make one a good person. Rather it's one's actions and how they treat other human beings of all walks of life and sexual orientations that define one. My impression is that most of my friend's family members have yet to figure this out - they're too busy putting on airs and being self-absorbed, or so it would seem.

Wednesday Male Beauty

Birthday Retrospective

Candidly, yesterday was one of the best birthdays I have had in quite sometime even though the day was incredible hectic at the office. After that I had quiet dinner with a new romantic interest at his house.

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Throughout the day I received sweet birthday messages and greetings, including a wonderful song and uniquely delivered messages from my incorrigible angel (who I spoke with as well), Dave, a blogger friend in Cleveland, who sang me a nice rendition of "Happy Birthday," Magic Bellybotton, a card/quiz from Lyndon, telephone calls from my children and siblings, and many more birthday tidings. In addition, I had a surprise birthday cake both from my staff. There were still more delectable sweets after dinner with my special someone.

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Speaking of my special someone, the saying goes that you will find Mr. Right when you're not looking for him. In the case of these sweet individual, I am taking things slow out of an abundance of caution. However, it seems that the saying is true. I neither expected nor was looking for someone to unexpectedly appear out of nowhere as it were. What's even more uncanny are the parallels between my experience and the storyline being told by Michael at Gaytwogether in his "Michael's Daily Diary" series for those of you who may have been reading that blog. I do not remember when - at least in recent years - I have been made to feel so special and have been treated so wonderfully. Dinner last night was a perfect culmination of a wonderful day. It feels so nice and I only hope that I can give him a similar sense of tenderness, appreciation and wonder.

Appalachian Trail - 8/12/08 Update - HE"S DONE!!

I've been worrying for a number of days about my son's progress given the terrible rain, flash floods and cold temperatures in Maine. Last night he dropped me a quick e-mail to say that he was done. Here's the post from his official Trail Journal:

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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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Destination: KATAHDIN
Starting Location: the birches
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Today's Miles: 10.00
Trip Miles: 2176.00

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I'm done! Summited today with Toots, Burples, and Pusher. Hell yeah! 138 days, 2176 miles. So awesome. Good luck to everyone still hiking! -Bad Idea

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It's an amazing accomplishment and I am so very proud of him. I suspect he will upload more photos today or tomorrow and I will share some with all of you. What a wonderful conclusion to my birthday to receive this news.

More Tuesday Male Beauty

Chicago Catholic Church Settles Some Abuse Claims

The financial hemorrhaging of the Roman Catholic Church continues, this time its the Archdiocese of Chicago making settlement payments in sexual abuse cases field by victims of pedophile priests. Meanwhile, of course, the corrupt hierarchy acts as if the abusive priests were the only ones responsible for the scandal as bishops and cardinals who covered up the abuse and/or knowingly transferred predator priests to unsuspecting parishes continue to live like the privileged and wealthy with members of the laity fawning over them and kissing their hypocritical asses. The Church's only sorrow is over having been caught - they could careless about the victims of abuse. Here are some highlights from Reuters:

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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago's Roman Catholic archdiocese announced on Tuesday it will pay $12.7 million to settle 16 claims of sexual abuse involving 10 former priests and a school principal. U.S. Catholic archdioceses have paid nearly $2 billion to satisfy hundreds of abuse claims since the scandal broke in Boston in 1992. Some abusive priests were found to have been shielded by church leaders.

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"My hope is that these settlements will help the survivors and their families begin to heal and move forward," Chicago Cardinal Francis George, head of the second-largest U.S. archdiocese, said in a statement. Victims' lawyer Jeffrey Anderson said "the release of his (George's) deposition today is a significant step toward openness and transparency and helps the survivors and the church community in healing and recovery."

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Some of the cases in Tuesday's settlement date to the 1960s, he said. Two of the 10 Chicago-area priests named in Tuesday's settlement have died and two others are in prison, including Daniel McCormack who abused children as recently as 2006.

Longtime Republican Suburban Voters Are Defecting

The Los Angeles Times has a story today about defections from the Republican ranks in formerly loyal suburban areas. Between (1) the terrible consequences now being felt as a result of the Bush/Cheney/GOP economic policies, including a complete lack of regulation of the mortgage lending industry and its underwriting guidelines, and (2) blurring of the separation of church and state favored by the Christianist elements within the GOP, it's no surprise people are bailing and moving to the Democrats. My entire extended family more or less already made that move well before the 2004 election. Would that more people had done so. Perhaps the current mess could have been avoided. Truth be told, the GOP during the last decade or or so has cared only about the wealthy and "family values" Christians who have been duped to vote against their own financial best interest due the the GOP pandering to them on issues such as gay marriage. They were played for fools and some are now waking up. Here are some story highlights:

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Cheap mortgages and cheap gas built this sprawling landscape of tan and gray stucco homes, iron gates and golf course communities. And the people who flocked here over the last decade -- upwardly mobile young families in pursuit of lower taxes and wholesome neighborhoods -- emerged as a Republican voting bloc crucial to President Bush's 2004 reelection.

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Now the talk is about plummeting home values, rising food costs, and gas prices that make the once-painless half-hour commute to Tampa a financial strain. It's enough to give some here the sense that maybe, this time around, the Republicans do not deserve their votes.

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I've had enough with the Republican economics," she added, as her husband, Danny, who had just driven from his banking job in Tampa, piped in: "No more Bush." The Rodriguezes were sitting in a neighbor's driveway with several other regulars as the kids played in the street. From their chairs, the parents could see evidence of changing times: home-for-sale signs in both directions, with overgrown lawns marking the foreclosures.

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Dori Merkle, 50, who works as a special education instructor in the local schools, said her collapsing home value was pushing her to consider voting Democratic for the first time in her life. Another neighbor, Cheryl Bernales, a 29-year-old economics teacher who voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, said that she could face a pay cut "because the economy's so bad," and that she believes Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "isn't so entrenched in the system."

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But many also worry that McCain, known for his war credentials, does not relate to the troubles facing communities so vulnerable to fluctuations in gas prices and housing values -- communities that happen to be in some of the election's most pivotal states.The pain is especially acute in hotly contested Nevada and Florida, which are home to many such communities and are among the nation's hardest-hit real estate markets.

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But, in a worrisome sign for McCain, even one of Pasco's most prominent Republicans says he's not sure where his loyalties will take him in November. Alex Deeb, who owns several construction companies . . . thinks McCain "doesn't get it on the economy" and wishes he could vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). "At least she understands the economy," said Deeb, who says he's a "dyed-in-the-wool Republican."When pressed, Deeb said he'd probably wind up voting for McCain. But the presumptive GOP nominee shouldn't bother asking for a campaign donation. Deeb said he wouldn't send him a check.

Tuesday Male Beauty

Early Morning Birthday Thoughts

Today is my birthday - I generally try to pretend that they are not happening - and haven't yet decided whether to wear all black today or not. :) The day has started out, however, in a very special way already. My incorrigible angel sent wonderful birthday wishes that he must have pre-programmed weeks ago to make sure that no matter what I received his birthday greetings. Since he is very private, I cannot direct readers to them, but suffice it to say, they were beautiful thoughts and delivered in a very imaginative way. I thank him from the bottom of my heart.

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That pleasant surprise was followed by an early telephone call with birthday wishes from a special someone that I have started seeing. The water lily photo is very much like that on a special card he made for me - he's creative and artistic - which I could never replicate. This evening, he is having something special for me so I have something to look forward through out the day. I likewise thank him for touching my heart already today. Before the day is out, I'm sure I'll have more calls from my children and family members too.

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Compared to a year ago, I am in a very different place spiritually and in terms of being comfortable with who I am. Yes, outwardly, I had adjusted to being an out gay man, but I guess that sense of ease with who I am had not yet be fully internalized. Added to that, my relationship with my former partner had ended badly and I was in some ways a sleep walker for some months after that. He and I still talk from time to time and he seems to have met someone nice, which makes me happy. I always wanted him to be happy and I surely was not giving him that due to fate, random chance, misalignment of the stars or whatever reason. Added to that, my divorce was still in a very brutal phase and was something that always clouded the horizon for me and provided a constant source of pain.

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Now, I feel that I've come into my own somewhat, if you will. At 56, my finances have not recovered from the divorce, a law firm imploding, etc., but I like who I am. To me, that sense of being comfortable in my own skin is beyond priceless. It is something that eluded me for so many years and decades. I am also doing a much better job of living in the moment and not driving myself crazy engaging in the illusion of trying to control the future while missing the joy to be experienced in the now. True, I still have improvement to make in not allowing myself to feel the old habit of letting panic start to touch me, but I'm light years from where I was before I began the coming out process. Coming out is not an easy process or for the feint of heart. But, if i had not done it, in addition to probably being dead from suicide, I'd never have found my real self.

Sponsors of Proposition 8 to Drop Challenge to Ballot Description

At the risk of using the word rational in the same sentence as Christianist, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Christianist organizations backing the passage of Proposition 8 are acting in an unexpectedly rational manner and dropping the challenge to Attorney General Jerry Brown's revised ballot summary of Proposition 8. As I noted in previous posts, the Christianists were in a snit (to put it mildly) because the revised summary clearly shows the true impact of Proposition 8 and - God forbid - makes it crystal clear that the proposed amendment would deprive gay couples of what is now a civil legal right. These anti-gay bigots always prefer to use vague and/or euphemistic language that makes it easier to hide their bigotry and at the same time falsely market the proposed amendment to the uninformed and unwary. Hence their dismay over an accurate description of the initiative's impact if passed. Obviously, they fear a clear description of the consequences decreases the chances of Proposition 8 being approved. Here are some highlights from the SF Chronicle:

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13:15 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The state's official description of Proposition 8 on the November ballot will remain as is, a statement that the measure would eliminate same-sex couples' right to marry in California. Sponsors of the measure argued that the title and summary drafted by Attorney General Jerry Brown were argumentative and designed to encourage voters to oppose Prop. 8. But after two defeats in court last week, the Yes on 8 campaign said today it would not appeal to the state Supreme Court.

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But after the state's high court ruled in May that gay and lesbian couples have the right to marry under the state Constitution, the attorney general changed the title, saying Prop. 8 would now eliminate rights that the court had established. The new title states the measure "eliminates (the) right of same-sex couples to marry."

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[A] Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled Friday that Brown's reference to an elimination of rights was an accurate description of the purpose and effect of Prop. 8, and a state appeals court in Sacramento turned down an emergency appeal by the Yes on 8 campaign late Friday. Today is the deadline for court action on the wording of ballot summaries and arguments in the voter pamphlet, which are due at the state printer's office after the close of business this afternoon.

Appalachian Trail - 8/11/08 Update

Mount Katahdin (pictured below) with an elevation of 5,267 feet lies at the north terminus of the Appalachian Trail and is my son's ultimate destination. No direct word from him since four days ago, but by all reports the weather continues most foul and some thru hikers are quiting short of finishing the quest. Obviously, as a parent I worry, but know that he's an accomplished hiker and woodsman. From perusing the Trail Journals, it has been interesting to find references to my son in the journals of others and even in some photos that other thru hikers have uploaded. For example, in the journal of Shiloh, I found these references dated July 22, 2008:

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The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) operates a series of "Huts" along the AT up in the mountains. The huts are really very comfortable rustic solar and wind powered guest Lodges. The different huts sleep 30 to 90 guests each night and are staffed by four or more college kids who cook meals and educate guests about the ecology of the White Mts. The Huts serve full home cooked dinners and breakfasts "family style" every day and usually have soup and snacks at lunch. They have water but no showers and guests pack out their own trash.

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There was a heavy rain around 3:00 Sunday afternoon as I came to the AMC Galehead Hut. My plan was to hike another 2.8 miles to the Guyot Campsites. The Galehead crew said they had a cancellation and that I could pay to stay for $89. A hot home cooked dinner and breakfast plus a dry warm bunk won out over setting up a wet tent on a damp rainy night. I had a great evening at Galehead meeting and chatting with the other guests.

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Grasshopper and Breakman, Cricket, Bad Idea, and HighLife came in later that afternoon and the hut crew let them stay and sleep in the dinning room on a "work for stay". Stay for free in exchange for a few hours work cleaning up in the morning.

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The morning weather report called for rain again yesterday. The crew radioed ahead and I was able to get a reservation at the next hut at Zeeland Falls. Again it started out sunny but it quickly turned into a seven mile hike in the rain. HighLife, Bad Idea, Cricket, and Old Man Sky came in later and did work for stay.

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I am truly proud of my son's accomplishment to date. Naturally, I hope he's safe - and dry and warm too. I love him very much.

More Monday Male Beauty

Incorrigible Angel - Part 4

I spoke twice today with my incorrigible angel, something that always brightens my day and touches my heart. He continues to worry about others rather than himself notwithstanding the terribly arduous trials that he is undergoing at present. His selflessness and love for me is amazing and so touchingly inspiring. It is also maddening to me because I want to be able to give to him my love, support and strength which are but meager reflections of the faith, support and love that I have received so generously from him. He has consistently seen worth and merit in me and impishly laughs as he tells me that I'm his Peter Pan - yes, I will concede that I never want to grow up (my birthday is tomorrow as if I needed yet another reminder that time marches on).

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In short, I want to do anything and everything that I can to be as supportive to this loving soul and friend as possible in these times of trials. Despite his trials, he expresses concerns that he doesn't want to bother me or make me feel bad. That perhaps he should talk to me less since I am so busy. That he wishes he could do more to make my birthday special. What does one do with someone so gentle and loving and selfless who wants nothing in return? Why can't he see the wonder he has given me and brought into my life? How does one touch an angel? Would that I could do so much more and make this all pass and leave him at peace and touched with joy and happiness. Incorrigible angel, my constant love, thoughts and prayers are with you and always will be. Just knowing that you'll be thinking of me will make my birthday very, very special.

Monday Male Beauty

Dedicated to Deb.

Reneging on a Right

I am not sure how I missed it, but the other day the Los Angeles Times had a main editorial addressing the upcoming vote on Proposition 8 in November and urging readers to vote no. The column represents a good summary of why Proposition 8 needs to be defeated and also the dangers of mob majority rule which puts the rights of all minorities at risk. Today the targets of hate and discrimination are LGBT citizens. Who will it be tomorrow if Proposition 8 passes and sets the precedent that the majority can strip minorities based on whims and bigotry? That is NOT what the founding fathers intended. Here are some highlights from the column:

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It's the same sentence as in 2000: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Yet the issue that will be put before voters Nov. 4 is radically different. This time, the wording would be used to rescind an existing constitutional right to marry. We fervently hope that voters, whatever their personal or religious convictions, will shudder at such a step and vote no on Proposition 8.

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The state of same-sex marriage shifted in May, when the California Supreme Court overturned Proposition 22, the ban on gay marriage that voters approved eight years ago, and ruled that marriage was a fundamental right under the state Constitution. As such, it could not be denied to a protected group -- in this case, gay and lesbian couples.

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What voters must consider about Proposition 8 is that, unlike Proposition 22, this is no longer about refining existing California law. In the wake of the court's ruling, the only way to deny marriage to gay and lesbian couples is by revising constitutional rights themselves. Proposition 8 seeks to embed wording in the Constitution that would eliminate the fundamental right to same-sex marriage. It's a rare and drastic step, invoking the constitutional-amendment process to strip people of rights. Yet in California, it can be done with a simple majority vote. All the more reason for voters to weigh carefully what would be wrought by this measure.

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In a meeting with The Times' editorial board, supporters argued at length that children are best off when raised by their own biological, married mothers and fathers. Even if that were true -- and there is much room for dispute -- this measure in no way moves society closer to such a traditional picture. Gay and lesbian couples already are raising their own children and will continue to do so, as will single parents and adoptive and blended families. Using the supporters'own reasoning, it would be better for same-sex parents to marry.

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In other words, the very act of denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry -- traditionally the highest legal and societal recognition of a loving commitment -- by definition relegates them and their relationships to second-class status, separate and not all that equal.

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Civil rights are commonly hard-won, and not the result of widespread consensus. Whites in the South vehemently rejected the 1954 Supreme Court decision to desegregate schools. For that matter, Californians have accused the state Supreme Court of obstructing the people's will on marriage before -- in 1948, when it struck down a ban on interracial marriages.Fundamental rights are exactly that. They should neither wait for popular acceptance, nor be revoked because it is lacking.