Upcoming Family Cruise

In the past I have blogged about the travels my husband and I have enjoyed both on cruises and trips to various parts of Europe, often from an LGBT travel perspective. Now, we are embarking on a new travel experience: we are taking my two daughters, their husbands and the five grandchildren - ranging in age from 3 and a half to 10 - on a family cruise.  We sail out of Norfolk on Monday to The Bahamas for six nights aboard the Carnival Sunrise.  Our wonderful friend Jenny will be staying at our home and house sitting and dog sitting our Chihuahua. 

Between now and then, I will be working through much of the weekend getting things ready for a large commercial closing while I am away.  As has been the norm, I will blog about our experiences and reflections on this new episode of family travel.  The take away for the vacation and cruise industry is that the pink dollar also includes family travel. 

Ken Cuccinelli Defends Trump's Anti-Refugee Bigotry

Racist - and homophobe - Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli.

Decent and moral Virginians have long known that Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli is a miserable excuse for a human being who feigns supposed Catholic religiosity while engaging in the types of hatred and bigotry decried not only by the Gospel message but also the Catholic Church's social gospel. Before losing his gubernatorial bid in 2013, Cuccinelli pushed every right wing Christian message of division and hate - ironically, the man is in my view a self-loathing closeted gay - while embracing an agenda that sought to disenfranchise anyone with non-white skin color.  Now, as Trump's acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director, Cuccinelli is vigorously pursuing the Trump/Pence regime's anti-refugee against not only Hispanic refugees at the nation's southern border but also in the context of Bahamians seeking entry to the U.S. A. in the wake of Hurricane Dorian's almost unimaginable devastation of the northern Bahamas.  A piece in Crooks and Liars - an apt title for Kookinelli - looks at Cuccinelli's despicable conduct.  Here are article highlights:

Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ken Cuccinelli insisted on Sunday that Bahamians should help themselves instead of fleeing to the United States after thousands were left homeless by Hurricane Dorian.

During an interview with CBS host Margaret Brennan, Cuccinelli was asked why the Trump administration is making it "harder to flee to this country" for Bahamians who were left homeless by the hurricane.

Cuccinelli, however, argued that the Trump administration is "making it easier" for Bahamians to travel to the U.S.

"The Bahamas is a perfectly legitimate country capable of taking care of their own," the USCIS chief said. "We rushed resources in, whether it was from USAID or the Coast Guard, who were downright heroic."

"I've got to leave it there," Brennan said, concluding the interview, without pointing out that Cuccinelli's orders actually forced Customs agents to refuse entry to Bahamians who were made homeless by the hurricane for not having the proper travel visas.

A piece in Time noted why the Trump/Cuccinelli visa requirements were so discriminatory against Bahamian refugees, the majority of who - you guessed it - are not white:

U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott [both Republicans] wrote an open letter to Trump asking the president’s administration to “waive, or otherwise suspend, certain visa requirements” for Bahamian citizens who have relatives in the U.S. as the country recovered from Hurricane Dorian. Rubio also noted that many lost — or lost access to — their identification and other relevant documents during the hurricane.

Cuccinelli personifies why so many of the under 30 generations want nothing to do with Catholicism and Christianity itself. The  man is simple horrible and a hypocrite.

The Bahamas' U.S. Travel Advisory: Use "Extreme Caution" Around Police

Years ago when I worked as an in-house attorney for an oil company and traveled overseas a great deal, I paid attention to State Department travel advisories for countries where I traveled, especially "developing world" countries.  The oil  company even provided us with its own travel advisories since employees of American oil companies were viewed as possible targets for violence or kidnapping.  Never in my wildest dreams back then would I have believed that other countries would be issuing travel advisories about travel to America.  Yet that is where this country finds itself.  European countries are warning their LGBT citizens to use caution in parts of the USA, including North Carolina just under 30 miles from where I sit.  Now, majority black nations are warning their citizens of dangers faced from American police officers.  

What's brought us to this?  In my view, white conservative Christians who increasingly want to use force inflict their beliefs on others, including the racism that is always just beneath the surface of the leading "family values" organizations controlled largely by southern whites who (i) long for the days of the Jim Crow laws and (ii) believe in a militarized police force and citizenry.  The Virginian Pilot looks at how The Bahamas has joined the list of nations issuing travel warnings about travel to America.  Here are highlights:

Over 90 percent of residents in the Bahamas are black, and Monday is a national holiday, when some travel north from the archipelago to vacation in the United States.

But following deadly police shootings this week of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota - and an ambush of white officers in Texas - the island nation on Friday advised its residents to be extra careful if they choose to do travel here.

The reason: "recent tensions in some American cities over shootings of young black males by police officers."

It was the kind of advisory that the U.S. government has issued recently for travel under the repressive regime in Laos, or to the developing nation of Nicaragua: watch out for the security situation, and beware of street demonstrations, the State Department warned.

On Friday, however, those red flags were turned around on the United States.

The Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration urged its citizens to exercise "appropriate caution" when traveling to the United States, and especially to cities where recent police shootings have occurred.

The Bahamian government specifically advised its young male citizens to take "extreme caution" with police. "Do not be confrontational and cooperate," the government warned.

And it was the second summer in a row that foreign travelers have received such warnings. Amid riots following police shootings last year, France warned residents against travel to St. Louis, Cleveland and Baltimore.

Canada, Germany and others have in the past also warned their citizens about deadly gun violence when traveling to the United States, but none updated their travel warnings this week.

For its part, the U.S. has its own, albeit more narrow, advice for citizens heading to the Bahamas: don't patronize "jet-ski rentals on New Providence or Paradise Islands," the State Department warned this year. The industry is minimally regulated and crimes have occurred at sea.

Let's never forget that it is not liberals and progressives who have created this toxic atmosphere.  No, its the "conservatives" and the "godly white folks." 

Anti-Gay Pastor Killed in Bahamas Plane Crash

While some media outlets are describing the death of "Dr" Myles Munroe, and his wife Ruth Munroe, in a plane crash this weekend as the loss of a prominent faith leader, the ugly reality is that Munroe and his Bahamas Faith Ministries were major forces supporting homophobia and violence against Gays in the Bahamas, a nation I've visited a number of times and which deserves far better than the ignorance and bigotry which are the stock in trade of the "godly folk" like Munroe.  I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but in reporting on Munroe's "ministry," lets at least be honest about what the man was really all about.   The Washington Blade has details on the death of these homophobes (Note the pandering - dare we call it self-prostitution - of government officials to this merchant of bigotry):

A prominent anti-gay Bahamian pastor is among the nine people who died in a plane crash on the island of Grand Bahama on Sunday.

The Nassau Guardian reported that Rev. Myles Munroe, president of Bahamas Faith Ministries International, and his wife, Ruth Munroe, were among the passengers on a private jet that crashed into a crane at a shipyard as it approached Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport. The newspaper said two other pastors with Munroe’s organization were also on the flight.

The Nassau Guardian reported that Munroe, his wife and the other passengers were traveling from Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, the Bahamian capital, to Grand Bahama for a leadership forum that opened on Monday.

“It is utterly impossible to measure the magnitude of Dr. Munroe’s loss to the Bahamas and to the world,” said Prime Minister Perry Christie in a statement to the Nassau Guardian. “He was a towering force who earned the respect and administration not only of Christian adherents but of secular leaders both here at home and around the world.”

Rev. Donnie McClurkin, a U.S. gospel singer who claims God delivered him from the “sin” of homosexuality, is among those who also mourned Munroe’s death.

As Right Wing Watch has reported, a gay pride event scheduled for this past weekend at a private resort in the Bahamas was cut short in response to a homophobic backlash that reportedly included death threats and vitriol on local talk shows.  Munroe was one fanning the flames of bigotry:

Among those who slammed the pride event and the LGBT movement in general was Dr. Myles Munroe, who heads Bahamas Faith Ministries International. Munroe has hosted shows on TBN in the past and been a guest on some of the network’s major shows. Over the weekend he put out a six-page statement attacking the LGBT rights movement and saying it has “hijacked” and “raped” the civil rights movement.

If there is a God, I suspect that both Munroes - his wife was also a leader of his "ministry" - are being called to account for the hate and evil they disseminated.  What's truly sad is that the Munroes prospered financially by treating others as unworthy of God's love.

Bahamas Bound - Nassau

We arrived in Nassau in The Bhamas this morning.  The view above is from an upper deck of the Carnival Glory looking towards of Junkanoo Beach (center of photo) where we spent a pleasant day in the sun and drinking frozen drinks and eating conch fritters.  The image below is from the beach looking at the cruise ships in port, including the Glory (far right), the Carnival Victory, the Carnival Sensation, the Disney Dream and a Royal Caribbean ship.  The weather was glorious!

Bahamas Cruise - Day One at Sea

 

As the image above indicates, the weather yesterday when we sailed from Norfolk left a great deal to be desired and the seas got rather rough - the water in one pool on the fantail was drained because it was sloshing over the sides of the pool and wetting down the surrounding restaurant area.  Our group was unfazed and we had cocktails, dinner and a merry time.  Thankfully, we had booked a cabin on one lower levels of the ship without a balcony (it gives you a much larger stateroom) which is the place to be when waves are making a 110,000 ton ship rock and roll.

 

This morning was a total transformation and we have enjoyed a warm sunny day and have lazed on deck reading and enjoying the views of the gorgeous royal blue colored sea.  As it turns out, we have our own "Friends of Dorothy" crowed from Hampton Roads and tonight about 20+ of us are going to dine in as close proximity as possible.  Our table at dinner tonight is pictured below.  Our favorite bartender from last year is aboard and it will be fun chatting with her more over the course of the cruise.  Many of the public rooms have been redecorated since we sailed on the Glory last year, including the dance club.  Hopefully, the new D.J. is decent because the one last year sucked big time and would have had a hard time making it in even a third or fourth rate club in Hampton Roads.

 

Tomorrow we arrive in Nassau and, as we did last year, we plain on walking to a beach not too far from the cruise ship terminal where we can rent lounge chairs and sample frozen drinks and conch fritters and other local treats from a restaurant across the street from the beach.  Unlike Virginia, drinking on a public beach is not an issue.

Bahamas Bound

After a whirlwind week and Saturday, today the boyfriend and I and several friends will be boarding the Carnival Glory and setting sail for Nassau in the Bahamas (the entrance of Nassau's harbor is pictured above).  All the house sitting and pet sitting arrangements are in place and my youngest daughter picked up my car yesterday so it will be in Norfolk when we arrive back at the end of the week.  As is the norm, I will try to get some posts up every day and monitor things at the law firm as well.  Having one's own law firm sadly means that one never fully gets away.   The Glory, which has had all its public rooms redecorated since we sailed on her last year is pictured below.

Bahamian Bishop: Treat Gay People As Human

Outside of parts of Africa and Islamic countries one of the most homophobic regions of the world is the Caribbean.  And, as is the case more or less universally, the homophobia derives from the toxic evil of religion that is more focused on condemning and stigmatizing others than heeding the Gospel message of loving others and feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and caring for the sick.  Thus, it is a pleasant surprise to see Bahamas Christian Council president, Bishop Simeon Hall (pictured at left), make an about face and state that Christians need to treated gays with respect and as fully human.  Even sweeter is his suggestion that those who rail against gas and homosexuality may, in fact, be latent homosexuals themselves.  Tribune242  has details.  Here are highlights:

FORMER Bahamas Christian Council president Bishop Simeon Hall has lashed out against those who criticize the lifestyle choices of homosexuals.

Admitting to The Big T that as a younger pastor he too “acted in ignorance” by constantly chastising gays and lesbians, Bishop Hall said it was now evident that homosexuality was a fast growing subculture in the Bahamas.

He said every homosexual should be treated as a human being. Yesterday Bishop Hall, who serves as pastor emeritus at New Covenant Baptist Church, in a press statement said everyone stands in need of God’s grace.

“The demonisation of homosexuals by some pastors is the greatest hindrance to any positive dialogue or efforts the church might establish with them,” he said.

“The Bahamian public in general, as well as pastors in particular, must be careful of what we demonise and protest. Psychologists tell us that sometimes the things we strike out against, we do so because a bit of it lies within us on a subliminal level.

“I also believe that of the 133 sins listed in the Bible, if a pastor can only preach on one of them it could very well be that he has that problem – if not in practice then perhaps dormantly.”

Just last year, Bishop Hall took a different tone toward gays and lesbians. In response to newly released HIV/AIDS statistics in November 2011, he urged them to “seek help in turning away from their non-productive and deadly practice.”

Bishop Hall insisted that the church must consider changing its method of outreach.  If the Christian church is to reach the un-churched as our Lord commands, then, without changing our message we must change our methods and affirm our common humanity with all persons.”

Now he says that without a revamp, the church will fail in its mandate to reach all.  “If we see them and we treat them as human beings it would then be easier for us to treat the other problems that they might have. But if from the onset we treat them as sub-human, then we, the church, have already lost the battle.”

I am not sure what has prompted this changed think on the bishop's part, but one can only hope that it spreads to other religious leaders.  The Vatican could certainly stand to learn this lesson.

Cruise - Day Four: Freeport in the Bahamas

We had another great, relaxing day in the Bahamas and pulled out of Freeport this afternoon (see the photo above and below)  to begin the voyage back to Hampton Roads.  Last night we met a nice gay couple at dinner who live in Hampton, Virginia of all places.  Tomorrow should be a relaxing day at sea.  Meanwhile - knock on wood - no emergencies have cropped up at the law firm, although I have been tending to office e-mail and some work every morning while away.

Day Two at Sea - Nearing Nassau

Later this morning we will be pulling into Nassau in the Bahamas.  The weather is beautiful and in the mid-80's.   Since both the boyfriend and I have both been to Nassau previously, we are going to forgo shore excursions and stroll around town and visit attractions on our own.  Given the anti-gay legal framework in The Bahamas, we will make every effort to avoid spending any money while in port.  I'd much rather give my hard earned money to the cruise line than to businesses in a homophobic country.  True, our spending boycott doesn't mean much in isolation, but I hope others will act similarly.   Oh, and after dinner tonight we are going to check out the "Friends of Dorothy" gathering aboard our ship.  The views above and below are from the ship this morning.