I threw my back out last Thursday. Wow! That’s an amazing pain!
I’ve thrown my back out before, but this time it’s a whole new level.
I was on the mend. But today, I was of all things, trimming my toenails and my entire lower back locked in a spasm.
It’s humiliating!
I’ve been told that getting old isn’t for the weak. But since when did personal care end up on the list of hazardous activities?
Couldn’t I have done this doing something interesting? Couldn’t it have been mountain climbing, snow skiing? Lifting my SCUBA tank off a boat? Exploring all the positions of the Kama Sutra?
OH NOOOOO!
I had to do this doing something stupid, mundane, and embarrassing!
I’m sitting here in my office chair with a hot pad stretched across my low back. The office chair is at its maximum height which makes it a touch less excruciating, if I have to stand up.
I had grand plans today. I was going to take the dog on a long walk, I was going to reorganize the linen closet. Uhhh nope! Not happening today, it might not happen tomorrow.
This isn’t the only thing that’s made this a rough week. There have been reports from the East Coast that raise more concerns about family members (yes, plural) who are slipping away.
On this coast and closer to home, the other half has had a couple of issues starting last Thursday, and again yesterday. The latest resulted in spending most of yesterday in ER. It was nothing life threatening, but was concerning enough that paramedics were summoned for their professional opinion and they assisted me loading the other half into the car for the trip to ER.
Throwing my back out this morning couldn’t come at a worse time.
I share my humiliation with you gentle reader, not for sympathy. I share it so that you know you’re not alone. Sitting here having the warmth spreading through my back, I’ve realized it’s actually kind of funny. So laugh your ass off as much as you want.
Just remember, there’s a time in your future when something completely inane will sideline you. When that time comes, try to remember this post & smile.
After reading the Signorile piece which is also an opinion piece I can kinda see both sides. I’m not sure that Signorile is completely wrong, nor am I sure that the Outspoken piece is completely right. What I can say is that the Outspoken piece seems closer to my own opinion.
Signorile, seems very concerned that Tucker Carlson is adamantly opposed to the sexualization of children, a belief that I happen to share. Additionally, Signorille is upset that Tucker Carlson’s producer is a gay man.
That kind of blows the hell out of Tucker Carlson being a homophobe doesn’t it?
What Signorile seems to miss is that most gay people aren’t activists, and do believe that children should be children.
Signorille, accuses Tucker Carlson’s production guy of being a self loathing closet case. I think that’s out of line.
Most of the gay men I know, privately share concern about sexualization of children and what appears to be a transgender “fad”.
While they’re not opposed to adult transgender people choosing to undergo medical procedures to align their physical gender with their internal view of themselves. Those same men, don’t think it’s healthy or wise to begin transition of children who most likely don’t have the emotional or cognitive abilities to understand what exactly transitioning means.
That doesn’t mean they’re self loathing, closeted, or hateful. It means that they have questions and concerns. The Outspoken piece touches on a fundament truth. The LGBTQ+ community does not tolerate dissenting opinions. Signorille demonstrates this in his piece.
The lived experiences of the men I’ve spoken to is that they have all been shoved into a different metaphorical closet, not by people like Tucker Carlson, but by the LGBTQ+ community itself.
This is easily demonstrated by the fact that conversations about not sexualizing children, not allowing children to begin transitioning by administration of puberty blockers, and indeed that these men might on occasion watch Tucker Carlson or read Outspoken are only whispered about in private, among people that they trust.
This behavior isn’t because of Tucker Carlson, it’s because if it were to become known that these men had differing opinions, they’d be hounded by the rabid elements of the LGBTQ+ community who have become well known for Doxxing, and causing trouble, or destroying people they disagree with.
Granted, most of the men I’m speaking about don’t interact with the LGBTQ+ community, but they aren’t interested in making enemies of that community either. After all, these men have lives, homes, husbands, and in some cases families.
When you settle down and make a life, you take actions to protect that life. Angry blue haired, genderfuck drag activists, screaming from the sidewalk make the neighbors and HOA’s cranky.
In my case, after 34 years living with my partner, mostly in the same neighborhood, I’m just one of the guys. None of my very straight neighbors care that I sleep with another dude. I’ve got tools, knowhow, and willingness to lend a hand. Failing those useful attributes, I’ve got knowledge of how to use a shovel, a pair of hands, and a more or less strong back. Plus I like knocking back a beer with the guys after work from time to time.
In other words… I’m living my life exactly as I hoped and worked to live it. My rights are as secure as any of my neighbors. Nobody from the government is going to roll up and demand I surrender my house or possessions because I live with a man. Contrary to what the LGBTQ+ activists might choose to believe.
In this article, I find that I’m in complete agreement.
I’m in favor of letting your freak flag fly. But the freakier folks from the LGBTQ+ community get, the more I’m simply embarrassed.
When I think of the folks I grew up with and how they must look at these sterling examples of the LGBTQ+ community I’m mortified. There are places in the United States and perhaps the world where the only examples of the LGBTQ+ community are people like Biden’s diversity hires.
In the case of Buttigieg and Jean Pierre, at least they look like everyone else. But their record of achievements leaves something to be desired.
In the case of Buttigieg, his MIA act when the country was in a shipping crisis was not looked upon kindly. Yes, I know he has newborns, but there are simply times when you don’t leave your post.
Jean Pierre, is doing the best she can, of that I’m sure. Her problem is that she always seems unprepared. I’d imagine that her blood pressure is ringing the “DANGER WILL ROBINSON” bell every single day after Biden or Harris have spoken publicly. That she’s appearing unprepared is making the public wonder if LGBTQ+ people are competent especially considering that Buttigieg hadn’t been doing too much to get things moving seamlessly again.
Then we get to Sam Brinton. All I can say is what the fuck? I cringe everytime he/she/it/zem/zer, whatever the hell, shows up in the paper, or on TV.
Look, you can engage in gender fuck drag all you want to, you can dress up in puppy play outfits and put a dildo up your ass that looks like a dogs tail. I honestly don’t care. Hell, I’ve been to some wild assed parties too. The difference is, when the party was over for me, it was over.
All the crazy stuff was put in the toy chest for next time, and I returned to “The Real World” with a dirty smile on my face. Never in a million years would I expect to live my sexual escapades 24/7 in the public eye or at my place of business. None of the other people I’ve worked with put their personal life on display and I know that some of those straight people were into shit that’s as kinky as me. It’s just not done, It’s a distraction and not germane to conducting business. Personally, I found the plethora of dirty smiles on Monday mornings to be a lot more amusing.
Last on the hit parade is Rachel Levine. I can’t say anything more than Really? Come on man.
This is not to say that transgender folks should be discriminated against but you know what? FDR was mindful of public impression long before the internet and 24/7 news cycles.
He knew that how the public viewed him could make or break his ability to lead the nation. Which is why it was only very rarely that you saw him using crutches or a wheelchair.
Rachel Levine’s face is not one that inspires confidence. As a dude he’d have been marginal at best. As a woman, he/she is laughable. I honestly can’t think of a single thing Levine has said that has made it past my visual filters and into my memory. Biden would’ve have been better off not filling the position at all, than putting Levine in.
My point is, when some people in our country see these “shining examples” from the LGBTQ+ community, they draw conclusions. Sometimes those conclusions are completely incorrect and engender fear.
When people are afraid, they do stupid and sometimes hurtful things.
I’d submit that the Biden administration has done more to endanger LGBTQ+ people than conservatives or even rabid religious types.
I suggest this, because instead of presenting LGBTQ+ people who look like the kind of folks mainstream America would encounter in their offices or on their work sites, the Biden administration looks like they sought out the most shocking and disturbing examples of LGBTQ+ and then shoved them down the American people’s throats.
Some opposition to “Drag Time Story Hour” might be due to Brinton and Levine.
I can say this, Biden’s picks don’t represent me, or most of my friends.
Oh, I have to go… The orgy is starting and I don’t want sloppy seconds!
Just kidding, I thought I’d have a little fun with it.
I have enjoyed Luke Macfarlane in other performances. I know nothing about Billy Eichner.
Billy Eichner has apparently tweeted his dissatisfaction about Bros opening weekend box office. It apparently wasn’t very good.
Reading what Eichner said was pretty offputting. There wasn’t any need for him to shoot his mouth off. I’d have much more respect if he’d taken the opening weekend under performance like a man and simply moved on.
Lets face it, this movie is going to have limited appeal. That being said, the box office may have improved over the Columbus Day Holiday weekend had Eichner not sounded like such a spoiled brat.
Now, I’m thinking I’ll wait for it to be on streaming services.
It may well be funny, the trailer has some moments that look promising, but I’m not sure that I can put up with catty board room scenes with a bunch of LGBT people sitting around sniping at each other. That is something that I’ve personally had way too much of.
From the trailer, this movie appears to be steeped in elitism. Not having seen the movie itself I could be wrong. But the trailer sure had that elite feel to it.
There are other movies that are gay romantic comedies with more appeal to the average gay man.
You know, the guy who worries if he’ll be able to pay his electric bill. The guy who uses his phone with the cracked screen for a year or so, because it still works, and he doesn’t have the cash to pony up $800 for a new one.
Movies like:
In & Out The Birdcage If Dad Only Knew 4th Man Out The 10 Year Plan
All of which are worth watching. The latter two have pretty relatable characters and tell a good story. Sure they’re not mainstream but they’re nice films.
The thing is, not everyone is elite, not everyone can live in a beautiful apartment in New York, not everyone gets to sit in an office arguing over inconsequential trivialities.
There are a lot of Gay and Bi men who do manual labor. They don’t live in high-rises sometimes not even in a single bedroom apartment. The have calluses on their hands, they’re pragmatic and don’t hang out every night in bars with a $25 cover charge.
Perhaps those same LGB people are a bit reticent to spend money at a theater to watch a bunch of elites bemoan their “horrible” lives. Maybe those Gay and Bi men are more content to buy a six pack, grab a good burger as a treat to themselves, and wait for Netflix to show the movie 6 months down the road.
Maybe, they don’t want to sit in a theater with a bunch of the LGBT community screeching and howling a a big screen. Maybe these guys have so little in common with the “normal” LGBT people that they’re uncomfortable in such a crowd.
Maybe from a personal worth perspective these guys would rather go home, shower, and sit on their couch in a clean pair of boxers with their feet up while they wonder if they’ll be able to put gas in their truck.
I can say this, after hearing Billy Eichner whine about homophobia and straight people not seeing his movie I’m less inclined to see it. That’s a pity too, because I could really use a good laugh.
Speaking of which maybe I’ll queue up If Dad Only Knew. There are some pretty funny scenes.
Mr Eichner, you really need to learn when it’s time to keep your mouth shut.
Armed protesters stand guard outside a drag show at Anderson Distillery & Grill in Roanoke, Texas. (Kelly Neidert)
Antifa is looking a LOT more like the Fascists than the “Enemy” they’re supposed to be worried about.
Anti Drag Shows for Kids protestors
Of the two groups which looks more like a paramilitary group?
Are guns only bad when they’re in the hands of conservative leaning people? Is the take away that ANTIFA is protecting decency, which is arguable at best?
Was it ANTIFA that attacked the Federal Building in Portland or not? Weren’t they the folks blinding officers and throwing fire bombs trying to kill folks assigned to protect the Federal Building?
Who was it that beat Andy Ngo damn near to death? Oddly it wasn’t normal law abiding folks. But apparently that’s to be swept under the rug.
This is all about a drag show for children in Texas.
I never thought I’d be writing a sentence that contained the words Drag Show and Children in it.
WTF?
I remember being in a gay bar late one night in Laguna Beach where a child came up to the 6’5” tall, muscular as all hell, ex military demolition specialist, doorman, asking for help.
The doorman scooped this frightened child up off the ground, walked into the bar told the bartender to stop selling booze, the Saturday Night Crowd made a path to the bar. The whole downstairs bar emptied out and this scary giant of a man, tended ever so gently to the child’s scrapes.
In his deep baritone he asked what had happened.
When he and several others nearby who were providing wet clean towels, who’d grabbed the first aid kit, and an unimpaired RN, heard;
“Daddy and Mommy are fighting bad”
The doorman very gently asked, “Can you tell me where they are?”
“We’re on vacation. The hotel is across the street. I came over here because it sounded happy.”
“Are they still fighting?”
“I guess so, they fight a lot.”
“Okay little one, I’ll go check on them.”
He and several other men went to the door. Over his shoulder he called to a bartender, “Get some juice for her, don’t sell any booze while she’s here, and call the police.”
There are a lot of things that made me proud of the community that night. The short list is this.
The men that followed the doorman out all knew how to handle themselves. They were either military, ex military, bikers or fighters of various stripes. All the men in the bar stopped drinking They all put their glasses on the upper Bar They changed the music to something happy but not blaring. The patrons adopted proper decorum and spoke quietly among themselves.
After 10 minutes, the doorman came back with bloodied knuckles, carrying a small boy who’d obviously been smacked around, followed by a dazed battered woman.
Without question the RN moved on to address the bruises and scrapes on the woman and little boy. The doorman, with easy familiarity grabbed a clean bar towel, filled it with ice from behind the bar and wrapped his right fist.
The little boy was watching the doorman closely, obviously curious about the towel and ice.
The doorman, smiled. He got up and made a smaller towel with a little bit of ice. He handed it to the little boy, “Hold this against your eye. It might hurt at first but the cold will make it feel better.”
The doorman rewrapped his fist and sat quietly watching the RN taking care of his patients. Eventually the RN got to the doorman’s scrapes & cuts.
The doorman tried to wave the RN away.
“Thad, let me do my job!”
The doorman sighed, “Okay, but I’m fine.”
The police arrived. They were obviously a little stunned. Usually, when they came into the bar it was rowdy and they were enforcing a noise complaint. Yet this time, the lights were on full and everyone was quiet and respectful.
The doorman, spoke briefly to them. A few minutes later an ambulance pulled up in front of the hotel.
Statements were taken and the woman and her children left with the police. Before they left, the children ran back to the table where the doorman was sitting and climbed onto him. They hugged him tight and he hugged them back with tears brimming.
“You’re going to be alright children. Take care of your mommy.”
Their mom said, “Thank you so much,” then collected her kids and left.
That is the gay community I remember. Yes, hated by many, but good men and women.
We at the time, were fighting for our equal place in society. We knew that equality would only come when we demonstrated in all other respects, except who we peopled our bed with, we were just like everyone else.
Drag shows are not the place for children. Gay bars are not the place for children. The LGB community knew that instinctively without question. The story above illustrates that simple fact.
What the fuck has happened to this community? Just because we were outliers then doesn’t mean we have to keep being outliers.
I know of no folks in the LGB community who would think for an instant that a Drag show should be attended by children. It’s adult entertainment for adults. You wouldn’t take children to a strip show. You wouldn’t take children to a bar with half naked go go boys dancing on the bar.
Hell, if you’re a responsible person you wouldn’t even show a movie with such depictions to children.
It’s not even about morality or puritanical religious squeamishness.
It’s about protecting a child’s innocence!
We all find our various kinks when we’re of age, when we’re ready for it, and when we’re old enough to handle it.
Let a child be a child, for God’s sake!
Then we have in Texas, a drag show with armed ANTIFA in black out clothing forming a perimeter. What the hell kind of message does that send?
What does a child think of that?
Especially after Uvalde and all the noise about AR-15s being dangerous. ”Only bad people carry AR-15s, run and hide if you see someone with one of those”.
Then 6 weeks later that same parent is saying, “come on in here don’t worry about the rifles.”
You’ve already got a confused child, then you subject them to bad drag.
If that doesn’t cause a fear of clowns and makeup, I’ll be surprised.
Pennywise from IT
It’s long past time for the LGB community to stand up. It’s time for us to put a stop to this because we’re uniquely in a position to do so. The trans activists have hitched their wagon to the LGB community and the community has allowed it.
So now it’s our responsibility. We allowed this mess to be made it’s on us to clean it up!
Are we willing to let everything we fought so hard to gain be corrupted and stripped away by the actions of a fringe group of trans activists?
Are we willing to be shamed back into the closet by 1% of the population who simply choose to hitch their wagon to ours?
Will we allow all that we’ve accomplished to be degraded back to things like; Gays can’t marry, can’t have jobs, can’t have places to live, sodomy laws, and all that we managed to fix so that we can be thought of as equal?
I for one refuse!
I like being LGB and being treated with respect and normalcy. I like being able to get my freak on without worry of someone ratting me out to the cops for immoral behavior.
This trans activist bullshit has got to stop.
There are things that Trans folks need to have addressed. But not everyone is Trans!
How dare Trans activists imply that if someone likes the same sex they’d be happier transitioning to the opposite sex. There are little boys and little girls right now who would probably grow up CIS and LGB and be quite happy about it.
Those children deserve to discover their preferences in their own time, in their own way. How many boys and girls will have that joy of discovery ripped away from them by people deciding for them?
Isn’t that the same thing the Trans activists are saying is so wrong, when they say things like a Doctor assigns sex at birth?
Where have all the heroes gone? I’m sure as hell not a hero but if I’m all there is, then I’ll do my best.
Not Thad. But they’re cut from the same cloth
Thad – where ever you are now. 40 some odd years ago, you taught a green young man being gay or bi didn’t make you less a man, as men we still had responsibilities to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves. You taught me that gay or bi didn’t have to be my whole personality, it was just a part of who I was. You gave me a memory of decency and strength. I’m eternally grateful.
It is with some amount of schadenfreude that I’ve been observing the reaction of the LGBTQI+ (whatever the hell other letters are in it now,) reaction to Monkeypox.
There was an interesting article in Outspoken that I read with some sadness.
In my opinion, the author is pretty dead on.
The trouble is that so few people who lived through the early days of HIV are listened to, or taken seriously these days.
I’ve written elsewhere in this blog about those early days, I’ll not repeat myself.
What I will say is that in the early days when no-one was really sure how HIV was spread there was a lot less touching. In fact there was a lot less of anything if you were concerned for your life.
Monkeypox is far more obvious. HIV wasn’t something that you could see someone had, until they were in the latter stages.
Monkeypox also has a very defined life cycle. Onset, Symptoms, Resolution of Symptoms, and finally the person generally returns to health. (Yes, I know there have been some deaths.)
The strange thing is that Monkeypox has a fatality rate of about 10%. That rate is less if the person seeks appropriate treatment.
So let’s compare and contrast. For the sake of argument let’s say Monkeypox is 90% survivable. COVID is 98% survivable. Monkeypox is generally transmitted via physical contact with an infected person or biological residue from an infected person. COVID is transmitted via airborne particulates.
With COVID we shut the world down for two years.
With Monkeypox we’re nowhere near shutting the world down.
What can we derive from this?
One
Since Monkeypox is mostly affecting the LGBTQI+ community, the government’s response is pretty much the same as it was during the early days of HIV, laissez-faire.
One might infer this means that the powers that be are only interested in the LGBTQI+ community at election time. So perhaps the LGBTQI+ community should remember that at the midterms and beyond.
Two
If the LGBTQI+ community were as smart, educated, and responsible as they claim to be. They’d put the word out that the quickest and easiest way to shut this down is to stop congregating. It would probably take less than 2 months.
Just 2 months of solo, or Zoom sex and Monkeypox wouldn’t be sweeping through the LGBTQI+ community. Remember, this is the community that joined the “Karens” on masking, vaccinations, and self isolation during COVID. Why aren’t they following the rules now?
I’m not suggesting that the LGBTQI+ community never have sex again. I’m suggesting that by abstinence for a couple of months the Monkeypox virus would burn itself out like all viruses do, when they are unable to inhabit new hosts.
For those who may have a problem thinking this through, allow me to elaborate.
Monkeypox infects a person. That person makes antibodies naturally that kill the virus. The virus is eliminated from the person’s system, leaving immunity from further infection. The person can no longer be infected, nor can they spread the infection.
This is called immunity.
If the person does not spread the virus during the time they’re infected. The virus dies. Think of this as starving the virus…
If, on the other hand the person continues to interact with others and isn’t very careful about cleanliness, (maintaining their own laundry, properly disposing of any disposable materials that came into contact with their sores or bodily fluids,) then the virus finds new hosts and spreads.
It’s a simple fucking equation.
It was not so long ago when we were all being told to wear a mask everywhere and go get vaccinated to prevent the spread of COVID.
Remember? It was our patriotic duty to forego our petty desires, it was patriotic to subject ourselves to discomfort for the protection of others.
Monkeypox is no different. In fact the straight-line solution is simpler.
STOP fucking around!
The LGBTQI+ community in New York, San Francisco, and every other large city needs to step the fuck up. Quit your bitching and moaning about the availability of vaccines and take responsibility for yourselves.
Take a couple of months off! It won’t kill you to not go out to the bar, the disco, the local orgy, or whatever.
What better way to flip the bird at the government than to essentially say with your actions.
“Fuck you! You bunch of useless old political hacks. You wouldn’t take action so we did!”
How better to demonstrate that the LGBTQI+ community is in fact responsible?
An added benefit is that it buys time. Time for the big Pharma to get enough of the vaccine into the system so that everyone can get a proper effective vaccine against not only Monkeypox, but Smallpox as well.
I’d remind you Smallpox is still a thing is small pockets of the world. While it was effectively eliminated from the Western countries, it still exists elsewhere.
That should factor into your thinking when you look at the southern border and realize that the folks making that journey aren’t only from Mexico or South America.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to go into the whole mess regarding the border, but having a border and enforcing the law isn’t only about people. It’s also about diseases for which our population may have zero immunity.
Minor things like Ebola, Smallpox, Cholera, Malaria, Typhoid, you know, nasty shit.
One Hundred years ago on Ellis Island the primitive medicine of the time recognized that some people would have to be turned back and denied entry into the country to prevent plagues gaining a foothold.
The indigenous peoples of North America learned that harsh lesson. Smallpox & Measles decimated their population. Diseases, carried on blankets given to them by the immigrants coming from Europe.
In the case of Buttigieg and Jean Pierre, at least they look like everyone else. But their record of achievements leaves something to be desired.
Jean Pierre, is doing the best she can, of that I’m sure. Her problem is that she always seems unprepared. I’d imagine that her blood pressure is ringing the “DANGER WILL ROBINSON” bell every single day after Biden or Harris have spoken publicly. That she’s appearing unprepared is making the public wonder if LGBTQ+ people are competent especially considering that Buttigieg hadn’t been doing too much to get things moving seamlessly again.
Then we get to Sam Brinton. All I can say is what the fuck? I cringe everytime he/she/it/zem/zer, whatever the hell, shows up in the paper, or on TV.
Last on the hit parade is Rachel Levine. I can’t say anything more than Really? Come on man.
