This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

I just broke up all the furniture in the house. My mother had to get rid of me. So she put me in dance class.

Chita Rivera (1933-2024)

Source:  The Washington Post

Advanced Parenting

 

Lauren in Trouble?

Image:  Facebook

Rep. Lauren Boebert, the Colorado conservative firebrand and family-values hypocrite, recently switched districts to run in one that's more reliably Republican.

But in last week's straw poll in her new district, Boebert came in fifth out of nine Republican candidates.

Oh dear. Perhaps the accusations of being a carpetbagger have stuck. Or perhaps the video of her with her date at a Denver theater during a September performance of "Beetlejuice" was a grope too far.

Another Sports First

Image:  Facebook

The world likes to assume that male figure skaters are gay, and female figure skaters are resoundingly straight.

Meet Amber Glenn, who came out in 2019.

"The fear of not being accepted is a huge struggle for me," she said at the time, according to Outsports. "Being perceived as 'just a phase' or 'indecisive' is a common thing for bisexual/pansexual women. I don’t want to shove my sexuality in people’s faces, but I also don’t want to hide who I am."

Yesterday, after capturing the U.S. women's figure skating championship, Glenn posed with the Progress Pride flag. She's the first out queer woman to win the title.

If she winds up on the Olympic team, I'm just glad there are no more East German judges.

Don't Fall for It

 

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

Greta & Margot,

While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you.  You’re both so much more than Kenough.

Hillary Clinton, who should know

Source: X

Breaking a Sweat

Image by Lewis Good from Pixabay

As I plodded away on an elliptical machine at the gym the other day, I sensed there was a woman a few machines over moving faster and smoother.

Okay, who doesn't?

Anyway, I got a look at her later, and tried to guess whether we were of similar age. Then I tried to figure out whether she was gay. Maybe if I hadn't been occupied with such absorbing questions, I'd have noticed sooner that she was walking straight into the men's locker room, and shouted a warning.

I didn't want to add to her embarrassment, so I made a point of not looking at her when she reemerged. I don't know if her face was beet red. If it was, I'll never get answers to my questions, because that woman will be joining a gym in a different county.

Bye Bye

Image:  Facebook

Two days before the New Hampshire primary, Ron DeSantis has ended his presidential bid.

All that time he spent as the governor of Florida burnishing his ultraconservative credentials, and he didn't even come close to dislodging frontrunner Donald Trump.

Geez, just how many civil rights does a fella have to take away before he gets to be head caveman?

At Least

 

Live to Bake Another Day

Image:  Facebook

In Bristol, Conn., the Bakery on Maple almost became the empty building on Maple.

Since the business opened in 2021, owners Erika and Dave Landi have welcomed the LGBTQ community, offering rainbow cupcakes and displaying the Pride flag. Financial troubles led to Erika posting on Facebook on a recent Friday that the bakery's demise was imminent, in part because supporting the queer community "cost me customers and revenue."

When she arrived the next morning to open the shop, a line of people waited to get in. The bakery sold out in an hour and 20 minutes to customers who'd come from across the state.

At least for the short term, sympathetic souls in the Nutmeg State saved the Bakery on Maple. Never underestimate what can happen when you combine LGBTQ folks, their allies, social media and cinnamon rolls.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

In the early 80s, I was pretty innocent and confused. I was like Marie Osmond, only with bigger eyelashes.

Boy George

Source:  The Mammoth Book of Great British Humor

Unreal

Image by Эльвина Якубова from Pixabay

Last night Donald Trump stood on stage in Des Moines, celebrating his massive victory in the Iowa Republican caucuses. Today he was in a courtroom in New York for his second E. Jean Carroll defamation trial.

In Iowa, 53 percent of White evangelical voters supported Trump. In New York, Trump's legal proceedings follow a trial last year in which a jury found he sexually assaulted Carroll.

That airplane of his is a miraculous machine. To get from Iowa to New York, it sliced though time, space and the Salvador Dali painting in which we're all living. 

MLK Day

 

Under the Weather

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

With the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses two days away, pundits tell us the pressing questions are how big Donald Trump's victory will be and whether Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley will come in a clear second.

Pish tush. My pressing question is much different.

The Hawkeye State is experiencing fierce snowstorms, and on Monday evening, when GOP Iowans are supposed to caucus, wind chill could make it -45 degrees Fahrenheit. The dangerous, record-breaking cold could easily depress turnout. It could even pick off a few diehards waiting outside to be admitted to their local caucus site.

Which brings me to my question:  What is God saying with this horrifying weather?

Don't scoff. How many times have we queer folk been told that murderous weather events are due to the Almighty's anger over our existence? How often have conservative Christian preachers turned into meteorologists in order to explain a hurricane or flood as divine fury at us and/or our fellow travelers?

With blizzards encasing Iowa and temperatures plunging precisely when thousands of Republicans are due to anoint a candidate, I haven't heard anyone declare this weather is God's judgement. Funny that.

I'll pick up the slack. By making it so hard to caucus, God is telling Iowans they shouldn't vote for any of those putzes. And especially not for the tangerine-hued dolt most intend to vote for. This weather is a clear, unequivocal message that God opposes Donald Trump. And not just because of that "Two Corinthians" business.

But you and I know that not a single conservative Christian Iowan will interpret the atmospheric conditions that way. Instead these Republicans will semi-joke to each other that with such frigid temperatures God is really testing their faith. How convenient.

Assigning meaning to dramatic weather is about bolstering a narrative. It's a snow job.

Proofreader Needed

 

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

I'm a black, gay woman. I think the only way to make the GOP hate me more is if I sent them a video of me rolling around on a pile of welfare checks.

Wanda Sykes

Source:  AZ Quotes

French Twist

Image by CatsWithGlasses from Pixabay

French President Emmanuel Macron today named Gabriel Attal as prime minister. At 34, Attal is France's youngest-ever in that job.

Attal is also the first openly gay prime minister.

Another barrier fallen like the Bastille.

That's the One

 

So Gay

Image:  Facebook

Each year the Seattle Men's Chorus puts on a fun holiday show, but I couldn't make it last month.

That irritated me. Not just because the performance is always a hoot, but because I had research to do. The Chorus had sent out publicity postcards promising "the Pacific Northwest's gayest sing-a-long."

I yearned to discover what that meant. Would Seattle's sing-a-long include more show tunes than Portland's? Feature more drag queens than Boise's? Use more glitter than Spokane's?

Now I'll never know. Remember "Sleepless in Seattle?" I'm just Clueless in Cascadia.

This Week's Quote

Image by profivideos from Pixabay

Clarice Schillinger, leader of the PA Moms For Liberty, has been charged with drunkenly punching teenagers at her daughter's birthday party, after supplying these underage guests with liquor. Clarice explains, "I only assaulted those kids to stop them from reading."

Paul Rudnick

Source: X

The GG Question

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

 Let's cut to the chase. What are you most afraid of in 2024?