New York City 2014 - Day One

Yesterday turned out to be a wonderful Christmas Day.  After viewing the beautiful store displays on 5th Avenue - a window at Saks and the Harry Winston store are shown above - we stopped at the Old King Cole Bar of the St. Regis Hotel where we had cocktails and a light lunch.  The bar has a wonderful, elegant atmosphere and is where the Bloody Mary cocktail originated.  The bar is dominated by a huge painting done by Maxwell Parrish after he and John Jacob Astor made a bet while playing cards:  Astor challenged Parrish to "paint a fart."  The wager was $10,000 in turn of the 20th century dollars.  Parrish won the bet and Astor paid up.  

The facial expressions of King Cole's subjects are humorous to say the least.

Dinner at my brother's home was amazing and my niece out did herself cooking.  We stuffed ourselves and drank way too much wine.  We ended the evening with a night cap at The Monster Bar located just up the block from our apartment.  We will be off hitting some favor stores today and enjoying a gorgeous sunny day in the City.  We see "Beautiful" tonight.

Losing A Wonderful Father-in-Law: Families of Gays

Today was a horrible day even though it started out routine and seemingly just another work day.  My father-in-law (pictured above exactly four months ago with the husband and me) had a massive stroke in mid-morning and passed away this afternoon.  By profession, my father-in-law was an Army chaplain and then a Southern Baptist pastor who attended Southeaster Theological Seminary in the days prior to the far right take over of the Southern Baptist Convention.   Knowing his background, in anticipation to our first meeting, I was a nervous wreck.  To my surprise - we met at a restaurant for a family birthday gathering - his first words to me were "welcome to the family" as he gave me a hug.  Over the next six years he continued to surprise me with his love and acceptance of me as his son's life partner.

Given my father-in-law's sometimes fragile health, my husband and I decided to get married in Washington, D.C., rather than wait for same sex marriage to become legal in Virginia.  Given the my father-in-law's death today and the U.S. Supreme Court's stay of the 4th Circuit ruling (which would  have allowed marriages to begin tomorrow), we obviously made the right decision.   My father-in-law had a great time throughout our wedding weekend and upon our return to Hampton, he teared up as we unloaded the car and said to me that I needed to know that I was "his son now and that I was always welcome in his home."   He was a kind, accepting and loving man - what a Christian is supposed to be.  I consider to be lucky to have known him and been able to call him my father-in-law. I am so happy that he was able to co-officiate our wedding, attend our family wedding reception last month and travel to his family's family reunion just two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, I cannot help but wonder how many parents in Virginia will be deprived of seeing their children marry as the U.S. Supreme Court bows and genuflects to Christofascists before it hopefully strikes down Virginia's marriage bans once and for all.  The husband and I (and his late father) were lucky.  We refused to allow religious based anti-gay animus keep us from marrying.  But others may not be able to do what we did.   No citizen - and no parent - should have to travel to another state so that loving couples can marry.   Whether the hate filled Christofascists and their minions want to admit it or not, we gays do have families (my children and grandchildren - and one son-in-law in the blue shirt - are pictured below) and with every delay of civil equality and every anti-gay lie, more and more Americans are rejecting Christianity and questioning the legitimacy of the current Supreme Court. 

Governor: Pennsylvania Will Not Appeal Gay Marriage Ruling

In a move that will have the Christofascists and gay haters going berserk, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett (pictured above) has announced that he will not appeal yesterday's federal court ruling striking down that state's same sex marriage bans.  Previously, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane had refused to defend the ban which she believed to be unconstitutional.  As a result, the ruling will become final and same sex marriages will be allowed to continue and Pennsylvania will recognize same sex marriages legally performed in other marriage equality states (which means at the husband's family reunion in the late summer , we will be married under Pennsylvania law).  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has details:

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration won’t appeal a federal judge’s decision yesterday ruling a state law prohibiting same sex marriage unconstitutional, Mr. Corbett’s administration said this afternoon.

“I have thoroughly reviewed Judge Jones’ opinion in the Whitewood case. Given the high legal threshold set forth by Judge Jones in this case, the case is extremely unlikely to succeed on appeal. Therefore, after review of the opinion and on the advice of my Commonwealth legal team, I have decided not to appeal Judge Jones’ decision,” said a statement from Mr. Corbett’s office.

Same-sex couples have already begun applying for marriage licenses across the state and one same-sex couple was wed this afternoon in Allegheny County.

“As a Roman Catholic, the traditional teaching of my faith has not wavered. I continue to maintain the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. My duties as Governor require that I follow the laws as interpreted by the Courts and make a judgment as to the likelihood of a successful appeal,” Mr. Corbett’s statement continued.

“Throughout the debate on this important and meaningful issue, I have maintained that Commonwealth officials and agencies would follow the provisions of Pennsylvania’s marriage law unless or until a court says otherwise. The court has spoken, and I will ensure that my administration follows the provisions of Judge Jones’ order with respect for all parties.

“It is my hope that as the important issue of same-sex relationships continues to be addressed in our society, that all involved be treated with respect.”

Some of the plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Philadelphia firm Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, demanded that Pennsylvania recognize gay marriages from other states, while others sought to be married in Pennsylvania.

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III gave both group of plaintiffs what they wanted.  “By virtue of this ruling, same-sex couples who seek to marry in Pennsylvania may do so, and already married same-sex couples will be recognized as such in the commonwealth,” he wrote in Tuesday’s decision.

Despite the rants and moans of the Christofascists, the world will not end in Pennsylvania and heterosexual couples will continue to marry and have children.  Absolutely nothing will change except that the Christofascists will not be allowed to force their views on the public and punish gays for their non-compliance with their insidious beliefs.

UPDATED: Not unexpectedly, the hate merchants at NOM have gone into spittle flecked rants over Gov. Corbett's decision to NOT appeal yesterday's federal court ruling striking down Pennsylvania's gay marriage ban.  Here's a sample of the batshitery provided by NOM's Brian Brown:

"Governor Corbett's refusal to appeal this ruling completes the disenfranchisement of the people of Pennsylvania. For years they have been denied the right to vote on marriage. Now Governor Corbett has communicated to citizens of Pennsylvanians who have been fighting to be heard on this issue that he will join the ranks of the political elites unwilling to listen. Accordingly, Pennsylvania's voters must show Governor Corbett that he will be held accountable."

As noted before, Brown's fury is likely driven by his knowledge that his plush six figure income gig may be about over.  God forbid he have to get a real job - or perhaps move to Russia or Uganda.

New York Readers: My Niece and the Return of the Hester Street Fair

After California and Virginia, this blogs highest readership is in New York State, with much of the readership skewed towards New York City.  Hence I want to make a shameless plug for my niece (my late sister's daughter who is pictured on page 2 of 20) who is steadily building her own business line, Kitty Lee Tomas Sweets.   One of the venues that she is utilizing is the Hester street Fair.   Here's what PaperMag Galleries had to say about the fair:

This past Saturday marked the return of the Hester Street Fair, the LES food/crafts/clothing and jewelry market located at the former site of NYC's largest pushcart market. PAPER photographer Atisha Paulson caught all the action -- check out his photos of what you can find at the fair from Tupac charm necklaces to one tasty-looking banh mi.

I hope New York Readers will check out the fair and say "hello" to my niece.  Her sweets are wonderful. She describes her goodies as follows:

Specializing in handmade gourmet marshmallows, crisp bars, and other sweets made in small batches to order in New York City.

We take pride in using the highest quality ingredients we can find to bring you new and exciting flavor combinations as well as bring you back to old favorites that are just too hard to forget. Marshmallows are our speciality.. light and fluffy and full of flavor.. we like to think that they are not just your average marshmallows. We have just launhed our new Crisp Bars...our version of rice krispie treats, and they are all gluten free and vegan! We are consistently experimenting with new ingredients and flavors..  The possibilities are endless! 

We currently offer online ordering, wholesale, NYC local delivery, private chef, catering/events, customized flavors and gift boxes availalble upon request.

 Her Facebook page is here.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all the readers of this blog around the world.  Yes, I am being politically correct and engaging in the "war against Christmas." But with readers in 205 countries, it's nothing less than obnoxious to force Christmas down the throats of readers everywhere.   For Christian readers, my message is one of Merry Christmas.  For others I wish you joy and wonderful times with family and friends.  This time of year most of all is about family.  The photo above is of my two daughters, my grand daughter Mia, and my son-in-law who is recovering from his severe wounds 6 weeks ago in Afghanistan.  Despite the Christofascists efforts to denigrate gays and our families, I believe that we are the real Americans.  With my son-in-law's promising recovery (he still has a long way to go in terms  of physical therapy), my new grand child and my oldest daughter now expecting, there is much to be happy about.  I am in such a different place than during the holidays a decade ago. 

The boyfriend and I are entertaining his family today and then this evening we will have friends over.  Thus, posts will be limited.  Again, I wish happiness and joy to all, especially long time readers who have followed this blog from its inception.  You all mean a great deal to me.

Generations Disagree on Same-Sex Marriage

No doubt this new poll reported by CNN will further enliven the aging Christianist and professional Christianist set to try to redouble their anti-gay jihad because it shows that time is running out for the Christianist/Mormon hate based agenda much as the racism seen in the older generations is far less prevalent in the younger generations who merely see blacks and other minorities as other people like themselves as opposed to some alien species to be segregated and looked down upon. The poll also shows the importance of LGBT Americans being out to friends, family and co-workers because those who know gays are much more in favor of LGBT equality. I truly believe that the day will come when the extreme homophobes of the Christian Right will be viewed in a similar light to George Wallace standing in the school house door blocking black children from entering an all white school. Here are some highlights on the poll results:

*

[A]mong those 18 to 34 years old, 58 percent said same-sex marriages should be legal. That number drops to 42 percent among respondents aged 35 to 49, and to 41 percent for those aged 50 to 64. Only 24 percent of Americans 65 and older support recognizing same-sex marriages, according to the poll.

*
While a majority of those polled oppose legalizing gay marriage, six of ten said states that do not recognize gay marriages should allow civil unions. When it comes to supporting civil unions, the poll indicates a similar generational shift.

*

Forty-nine percent of those questioned say they have a family member or close friend who is gay. That's up eight points from 1998 and 17 points from 1992. Fifty-eight percent of those aged 18 to 34 say they have a family member or close friend who's gay. That drops to just one in three of people 65 or older. "People who say they have a gay friend or relative support same-sex marriage," Holland notes. "Most of those who say they don't know anyone who is gay, oppose gay marriage."

*

The poll indicates that close to 40 percent of Democrats oppose legalizing gay marriage. But Schneider says there's a risk for conservatives if they make same-sex marriage an issue in the fight over a Supreme Court nomination. "Young voters strongly favor marriage equality. They're the future of American politics," says Schneider.

*

I hope I live long enough to see the total defeat of the anti-gay Bible beaters on the issue of gay equality and marriage.