"Complaint from a Voter :>)"

Words fail me.

I think I'll just go pick some chips off the Doritos tree in the backyard to go with the stiff drink I think I need right now.

Word! - from Doug.

UPDATE: A reminder from Erp.

40th Anniversary Of Stonewall

Photo from Counterlight's Peculiers.

From Frank Rich at the New York Times:

LIKE all students caught up in the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, I was riveted by the violent confrontations between the police and protesters in Selma, 1965, and Chicago, 1968. But I never heard about the several days of riots that rocked Greenwich Village after the police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn in the wee hours of June 28, 1969 — 40 years ago today.

Then again, I didn’t know a single person, student or teacher, male or female, in my entire Ivy League university who was openly identified as gay. And though my friends and I were obsessed with every iteration of the era’s political tumult, we somehow missed the Stonewall story. Not hard to do, really. The Times — which would not even permit the use of the word gay until 1987 — covered the riots in tiny, bowdlerized articles, one of them but three paragraphs long, buried successively on pages 33, 22 and 19.

I mostly missed the Stonewall stories, too, and when I read Counterlight's amazing series of posts on the history of the gay liberation movement, I received an education. I had only vague memories of hearing or reading about the riots.

The younger gay men — and scattered women — who acted up at the Stonewall on those early summer nights in 1969 had little in common with their contemporaries in the front-page political movements of the time. They often lived on the streets, having been thrown out of their blue-collar homes by their families before they finished high school. They migrated to the Village because they’d heard it was one American neighborhood where it was safe to be who they were.
....

After the gay liberation movement was born at Stonewall, this strand of history advanced haltingly until the 1980s. It took AIDS and the new wave of gay activism it engendered to fully awaken many, including me, to the gay people all around them. But that tardy and still embryonic national awareness did not save the lives of those whose abridged rights made them even more vulnerable during a rampaging plague.

The stories passed from my memory, too, until AIDS began to strike gay men down. My cousin, who was straight, so far as I know, had by-pass surgery in the early 1980s, received several units of blood, and contracted the disease. When he first got sick, my mother went to visit him in the hospital. When she asked him if he had a diagnosis, he said, "The doctors think I may have AIDS," and then he laughed as though it was impossible. She told me later, "I hope I don't catch it." He died a few years later, and his immediate family never said what he died of. They were so ashamed that they had a private funeral for him, but the extended family knew that he died of AIDS.

I read, The Boys in the Band in the late 1980s, an exposé of the government's failure to address the seriousness of AIDS. And then, in the 1990s, I saw Andrew Sullivan in an impressive interview on TV, Charlie Rose's show, maybe, pushing his book, Virtually Normal, which I purchased and read. Next came Maurice by E. M. Forster. I love Forster's novels, and I thought I had read all of them, but I'd missed the gay novel, which was published only after his death. I paid only sporadic attention to issues involving gays, and I was ashamed at how little I knew of the gay liberation movement when I read Counterlight's series of posts. I was ashamed, but I believe that Frank Rich and I had lots of company in ignorance amongst the citizenry of the US.

Then, Gene Robinson was elected bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, the House of Bishops consented, and he was consecrated Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Well, that got my attention, and the attention of the people in my church, and the attention of people in Episcopal churches across the land, and in the whole of the Anglican Communion, even to the point of obsession some might say, because those in opposition to equality for LGTB folks never seem to stop talking about the evils of same-sexuality.

Our president, Barack Obama, who promised to be gay-friendly during his campaign, has not kept his promises, except for throwing the gay community a bone in the form of certain partnership rights for federal employees, but stopping short of full health-care benefits.



Gay Pride parade New York City today.

Note: Counterlight's posts can be read at his blog by clicking on the pictures of the riots on the right of his sidebar.

As IT Says, "Yee-Haw!"

The rappsure fixin' ta happen in Anaheim, an' iffen yer not thar, yer a-gonna be lef' behind. Don't be tore up, now, on account o' ah warned yo'.

And I'm waiting for Arkansas Hillbilly to check in and correct my dialect. I'm sure to have something wrong.

Arkansas Hillbilly's version:

"The rappsure afixin' ta happen in Anaheim, an' iffen ye ain't ther, you'uns is gonna be lef' behind. Don't be tore up, now, on account o' ah warned ye'."

He was late, but he weighed in. He and the missus are busy waiting for Sprout and all, so I understand.

"Amurkans" Bash the Brits!

A lovely gift, just for me, from TheMe at Conscientisation:

US seniors bash Brits in memory test Enlarge photo

The trans-Atlantic gap, as measured in a "memory and awareness test," amounted to a decade of aging, according to the survey of 8,299 Americans and 5,276 Britons over 65.

75-year-olds in the US, in other words, scored far better than their sun-starved age peers, and equalled the performance of Brits 10 years younger, according to the study, published in London-based journal BMC Geriatrics.

Take THAT British pride! Of course, TheMe considers the study tainted and biased because it was conducted by an "Amurkan" university, as he puts it. But, I ask you, "Who exhibits bias in this instance?" The University of Michigan conducted the study. Michigan ain't no fourth rate bible college, you know.

Further:

The tests measured instant and delayed recall of a series of ten common nouns such as "tree", "village," "baby," etc. Participants were also asked what day, date, month and year it was.

I can tell you right off the top of my head the day, date, month, and year, and I do so know what a tree, a village, a baby, and etc. are. So there.

TheMe, when you reach my age, you'll be fortunate if you're one of the FEW Brits who can do that.

Cri du Cœur From Fran

Fran needs to find a home for Skittles, the Jack Russell pictured above, in the Albany or central New York state area. See her blog FranIAm for the story.

"Let The Earth Bear Witness"

Mike Scott, his wife Janette and Waterboys’ webmaster Ian Barratt have created a 3-minute video titled LET THE EARTH BEAR WITNESS in tribute to the Iranian protesters. The film shows fantastic images of the uprising in Iran to a soundtrack of a split-new Waterboys with a lyric by the great Irish poet WB Yeats. Says Mike: "Let The Earth Bear Witness is inspired by the amazing scenes of hundreds of thousands of Iranian people standing up for their rights and freedom. I took the words from two old Yeats poems, in which he was writing about Irish freedom fighters. But his words apply to any freedom fighters, anytime, anywhere in the world."

Warning: Contains scenes that are bloody and graphic.

H/T to MadPriest at Of course, I Could Be Wrong.

Please Pray For Roseann

From Sue:

June,

I've just received a message from Roseann stating, she is on her way to the hospital, because blood cultures that were drawn were positive for bacteria. she will get IV antibiotics and she expects that to be done in the ER.

I hope you have a wonderful time in Anaheim.

Blessings to you,
Sue

Heavenly Father, giver of life and health: Comfort and relieve your sick servant Roseann, and give your power of healing to those who minister to her needs, that she may be strengthened in her weakness and have confidence in your loving care; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer, p.459)

Ann Made Me Do It

For a good many years, I've wanted to attend General Convention of the Episcopal Church, but I never followed through with a plan. A couple of weeks ago, I read about the gathering of bloggers at Bar Louie on Friday evening and felt so very jealous. I checked plane fares and hotels, going back and forth about whether I'd go over a period of a good many days. I will. I won't. I WILL! It's a great self-indulgence, but will I be better off waiting three more years to attend? I'm getting to the point of, "I want to do this before I die," and I may not have years and years ahead of me to do these things.

Someone spoke of a button for those who would be meeting, and Ann suggested the one pictured above. I asked her not to include my blog, but she did it anyway. The truth of it is, although I don't think my blog belongs on the button, the button is what pushed me over the line to make the reservations, so, God willing, I'll be in Anaheim at Louie's Bar on Friday night, raising a glass with the rest of them.

My blog name is on the button. What could I do? It was out of my hands, right? I had no choice.

Once I'm in Anaheim, I have no plans beyond going to Bar Louie on Friday night. I'm assuming that things will evolve after I get there. Maybe I'll see if there is a need for last-minute volunteers. I don't want to plan ahead too much, because if I commit now, something better may come up later. Hmmm. Shallow. If nothing develops, I may spend the whole time in Bar Louie. I'm bound to meet up with interesting people there.

So, to all of you who will be there on Friday, I'll see you at Louie's and around in Anaheim.

Update from the comments:

Lapinbizarre said...

"wotthehell wotthehell toujours gai I always say, there's life in the old girl yet." Mehitabel the Cat

Yes!



UPDATE: IT wants to know if you will be in Anaheim. Check in at Friends of Jake and leave a word in the comments.

I Couldn't Take The Green

Sorry, folks, I couldn't look at the green any longer. I stand with the Iranian protesters in their struggle, and I made my statement, but I could no longer stand looking at the green background.

"Put A Ribbon In Your Hair"

Petty Witter at Pen and Paper posted advice from an article in a 1958 issue of Good Housekeeping titled "The Good Wife's Guide". It's hilarious. What's sad is that women held themselves to those standards. I tried to follow some of it myself.

* Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favourite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.

* Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work weary people.

There's more, much more. I bought into the meal advice for over 20 years, and then I quit that job. After that, we either ate salads and sandwiches, ate out, or Grandpère cooked. I'd had enough.

Petty's dear Hubby, aka Themethatisme, provided her with the material for the post.

Update from the comments:

airedale said...

When I first married a good friend advised me that if I spoiled my husband enough that I wouldn't have to worry about another woman stealing him because they wouldn't be able to stand him. So I did it.
Within the first year I realized what an awful mistake I had made - He was so spoiled I couldn't stand him!!!!! All the following years were spend undoing what I had done in the first year.

Well said, Airdale! I fixed your wee typo.