"you CAN f*** yourself to death"...

actually, this was just a comment that Dan Savage made at an event when someone asked him, How many partners is too many?

"

great answer and one i've often thought. he brings in what the difference between straight and gay men isn't.

we are ALL pigs....

the difference is that gay men do what straight men want to do but women won't let them - have frequent sex with as many different partners as they want to just have sex.

well, that may not exactly be all true. it may be what straight men perceive women want. the straight male psyche, though they will go to all ends to deny it, thinks that it has to find a mate to reproduce himself, and anthropology and psychology show that women want a safe environment provided by their mates so that they can protect those little reproductions. straight men may have been tricked into thinking that it is the way it should be.

but..., i am of the opinion, that given the opportunity, straight men would f*** themselves to death also. remember, i said ALL men are pigs.

[i'm a man; i can say that; and i have dated some real ones. well, not pigs in the sense of four legs and a snout. (maybe i better think about that? some of them did seem to be rutting at times...)]

as Dan said in the video, how many is really up to the individual. his tale about his straight swinger friends is priceless.

in the end, the entire thing is just another obsession with sex. some people, myself included at times, have said that sex is highly overrated.

of course, some people have said that about gin, and chocolate and prime rib and music and...


i once tried to count how many partners i'd slept with. i was amazed that i could count that high, but i realized that only a couple were really worth it. sad...

happy new year from Benedict...

A new statute coming into effect on January 1st will allow the Vatican to bypass Italian law.

This comes in the wake of a row at the UN, where the Vatican refused to sign up to a universal declaration of human rights regardless of gender or sexuality.

Under current laws, the Holy See must accept Italian laws automatically apart from in the case of "radical incompatibility" with canon law.

The new statute signed by Pope Benedict XVI will put an end to this system.

From the start of the new year, all Italian laws will be subject to scrutiny by Vatican authorities before being implemented in the city-state itself.

"Vatican breaks with Italian law after refusing to sign UN sexuality declaration" from PinkNews.co.uk

of course, he has his mouthpieces not connecting it to the UN resolution but to the myriad of Italian laws that are impossible to wade through. [how convenient...]

President of the Commission for the Revision of the Code of Vatican Law Jose Maria Serrano Ruiz said that the decision to change the legal system was due to the "instability" and "exorbitant" number of Italian laws.

see, here's what they really believe -

The Vatican's observer at the UN claimed last week that the declaration will somehow be used to force countries to recognise same-sex marriage.

"If adopted, they would create new and implacable discriminations," said Monsignor Celestino Migliore.

"For example, states which do not recognise same-sex unions as 'matrimony' will be pilloried and made an object of pressure."

so this is what we have. it is all right to discriminate against certain groups [that he chooses] but not to discriminate against others - like him. oh, by the way, the U.N. declaration makes no mention of marriage whatsoever - just advising that no one should be legally victimized because of their sexuality.

talk about obfuscation...

as i've quoted Henry II before, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"

"Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" - a new twist...

instead of talking through a designated representative, Benedict opens his own mouth and shows that he is not christian:

VATICAN CITY, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said on Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

"(The Church) should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.

"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".

i would have more hope for Rick Warren than i would for this human, and i hesitate calling him a human.

the stands of this pope and his church over the last several months with its refusal to support the two U.N. resolutions, the one on disability because it says nothing about abortion and one other on decriminalizing LGBTQ in the world, speak to the inhumanity and the belief that all men are not created equal.

the panzerpope refuses to enter the 21st century and is ensuring the eventual death of his own belief system.

i've always found that the louder someone screams against something it is to hide their own fear that they will be found out.

do i think Benedict is queer? you bet. just like Saul of Tarsus...


cross-posted at no matter what... eschew obfuscation...

Rick Warren controversy...

my first comment on this entire thing:

I think that Obama made a mistake and it wasn't calculated. I would bet that he, the transition team and inauguration committee are in surprise. They have been making logical statements about the reaction from the base and Obama has been stammering, if you listen closely, more than usual when he talks about it.

One of the more accurate commentaries I've heard about the controversy is this:

To understand how angry and disappointed many Democrats are that Barack Obama has invited evangelical preacher Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inaugural, imagine if a President-elect John McCain had offered this unique honor to the Rev. Al Sharpton -- or the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. I know, it's hard to picture: John McCain would never do that in a million years. Republicans respect their base even when, as in McCain's case, it doesn't really return the favor.

Only Democrats, it seems, reward their most loyal supporters -- feminists, gays, liberals, opponents of the war, members of the reality-based community -- by elbowing them aside to embrace their opponents instead.

So... try to guess who, among the punditry, news shows, politicians made this comment.


Mike Huckabee, former Republican presidential candidate, former Governor of Arkansas, & fundamentalist minister speaking with Greta Vas Susteren on Fox![ Greta Von Susteren Asks Huckabee About Rick Warren's Role At Obama Inauguration]

what's is wrong with this picture?

just asking...


a thank you to Crooks and Liars for the heads-up.


cross posted at no matter what... eschew obfuscation...

Milk - a lesson needing to be relearned...

incredible movie!

do not miss it or wait until DVD comes out.

there were people in the audience really reacting to it. i went with my friends at Yorktown AMC theatres in the heart of the western Chicago suburbs. the crowd was mostly straight, though i could tell who wasn't. people were crying during the movie and there were parts where the entire audience was silent.

you know how people rush even before the credits start in order to to get to their cars or get out before the mob? it didn't happen here. everyone just sat in silence for a good 3 minutes before someone got up. they may have actually either been reading the credits or were too stunned by what they had seen. remember i said that this was primarily a straight audience. i think (hope) some people may have had an eye-opening moment.

i was a little teary-eyed at the end, but i completely lost it at another part. i will not tell you what part unless you have seen the movie. i was numb when the scene happened and had a hard time dealing with it. it struck a very sensitive nerve, though it was not related to anything that had personally happened to me in the past.

Sean Penn is not to be believed. i've never been a big fan, but if you've ever seen live film of Harvey Milk, within 30 seconds of seeing him on screen Penn was Harvey Milk. he had his mannerisms and speech patterns. it's amazing what he can do with just his face. my friend, Sharon, goes to a lot of movies and she said that Penn's performance was one of the best she has ever seen.

everyone in the movie is fantastic. Josh Brolin should also be nominated for supporting actor, but i doubt he'll win. Heath Ledger will probably get a sympathy vote. Emile Hirsch was in it. Sean Penn directed him in the movie Wilderness. in an interview Hirsch said it was really weird acting with Penn after having been directed by him. he kept wanting Penn to give him direction, insight, etc. like he did in Wilderness. he had a hard time shifting gears, he said.

i can see why James Franco was incessantly talking about kissing Penn in all those TV interviews. they always have their tongues down each other's throats! i think Franco may have actually enjoyed it.

the movie also is a love story between Milk and his partner Scott (Franco) and is portrayed as one of the most normal relationships i've ever on screen. Sharon told me that her friend, Ann, with whom she sometimes works in Berkeley and visits often, was a close friend of Scott's until he died in the late 90's. Ann didn't know Harvey though. he had already been killed when either she moved out there or met Scott.

a comment: it's too bad that the Prop 8 people hadn't seen the movie before the Nov 4th election. it could have made a big, big difference in the way they handled the fight against Prop 8. it's almost as if, not only did they not listen to what a lot of national LGBTQ leaders were trying to help them, but that they didn't even pay attention to their own history in California with the Briggs' Prop 6 that Milk fought and won. of course, like i said, they really didn't listen to anyone because they thought they knew what they were doing.

when you see the movie, even though we are still in a fight, you can see how far we've come in the battle. the line that Harvey Milk used when he started talking to a crowd - "My name is Harvey Milk and I want to recruit you." is iconic. as he said on the defeat of the 1978 Briggs Inititiative, also known as Proposition 6:

...to the gay community all over this state, my message to you is, so far a lot of people joined us and rejected Proposition 6, and we owe them something. We owe them to continue the education campaign that took place. We must destroy the myths once and for all, shatter them. We must continue to speak out, and most importantly, most importantly, every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is you must tell your immediate family, you must tell your relatives, you must tell your friends, if indeed they are your friends, you must tell your neighbors, you must tell the people you work with, you must tell the people in the stores you shop in (thunderous applause), and once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and for all. And once you do, you will feel so much better.

when you know one of us, you know us all --- and yourself...

mike/

wow! i went to TWO movies this weekend...

my friends tease me because i hardly ever go to see a movie at the theatre. i usually wait to see in on cable or DVD.

the problem i have is i always end up with the people who jabber on the cellphone during the movie or some other rude thing.

when i went to see the Bourne Ultimatum, there was a couple who had brought there 2-3 year old with them. first it was inappropriate for her to be there because of the type of movie and second they let her crawl around on the floor under the seats! obviously, they had not gone to any parenting classes. BUT giving her a flashlight was the last straw for me, as well as others. before i could get up, someone had already made it to an usher or manager who was right there telling them to either control her or leave. like i said, it was inappropriate for her to be at this film anyway.

so you can see why i don't like going to the theatre. it's just my luck.

i do, however, go to see movies with special effects that would be much better seen on the wide screen than the small. this sent me this Friday to see The Day the Earth Stood Still, that plus a curiosity to compare if with the classic original.

neither the updated story nor the special effects disappointed me. i loved it.

the special effects in the first 10-15 minutes are some of the most spectacular i've ever seen. they were so because they were both subtle and understated. they didn't stop there, but continued through the entire film. in addition, the story updating was believable for today's world, and contrary to others, i think that Keanu Reeves played Klaatu the only way possible, and the robot would scare the s*** out of me.

if you want pure escapist fare, i recommend it. if you're a sci-fi aficionado, don't miss it.



i just came home from the second movie - Milk.

what can i say?

as a piece of history, it is believable; as a reflection of what it is to fight for yourself, it is insightful; as a piece of art, it is incredible; and as a journey of a man and a movement, it is beyond important.

could i identify with all of it? absolutely, positively yes.

did i emotionally loose it at any point? yes, but i won't tell the part unless you've seen the movie. i did get a little teary-eyed at the end, but it was so well done and so dramatically understated to make a point, that it brought the entire project full-circle.

i went with straight friends. they were totally impressed. Sharon said that Sean Penn's performance was one of the most realistic and the best she's ever seen, and she can see 4-5 movies a week, if she can. my other friends said it was one of the best movies they've ever seen also.

i have to tell you that i hesitate referring to them as friends. we have known each other for 40 years and we are more family than friend. we go on vacations together; we celebrate holidays together; and we do lots and lots of things together. the one thing that we are is totally supportive and loving of each other.

since we are friends/family we have a relationship that is such that we talk just about everything. well, sex is probably the one thing we don't talk about, but it's because it's nobody's business. well, i can't really say we never talk about it, but it's not something that is, like, tabletalk during a card game.

my orientation is never discussed either. it is my choice and they understand that. my sexuality is only a part, and a very small part, of who i am. it does not define me; though it adds to my definition.

though the argument in Milk is "let everyone know you're gay because when they know one of us, they know us all" is powerful, but it also tells the story of how we are all alike, and that is the point of demanding and what underscores everyone deserving equal rights. the other thing that is unique about the movie is that it is a love story with a wonderful telling of Harvey and Scott's relationship. a relationship that was just like everyone else's - straight or gay.

if i came away from the movie with anything, it is that everything i've believed, everything for which i have stood, everything that i have done, i have done as a human being. i left the theatre with everything reinforced, everything intact, and everything having more importance.

to use a cliche with which i identify -

The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity.
And the ways our differences combine
to create meaning and beauty.

cross posted at no matter what... eschew obfuscation...

Henry II referring to Thomas Becket who was once his closest adviser and became his greatest enemy when he took the side of the church. [that would be the Roman Catholic church.]

We are faced again with meddlesome priests who want to destroy people's rights, control people's lives, and threaten them with eternal damnation if they don't support the things they want them to.

Today, Archbishop George Niederauer of San Fransisco has compared the people who supported Prop 8 in California to abolitionists and civil rights marchers [Queerty: SF Catholic Archbishop Compares Prop. 8 Supporters to Abolitionists & Civil Rights Marchers. So, now they are the victims. They have the sole responsibility of deciding who is worthy of equal rights. This man was the person who brought the Mormans into the fight in California though only 2% of Californians are Morman, along with $20 million. Oh, would it also surprise you that Niederauer was the R.C. bishop of Salt Lake City, Utah before going to S.F. Don't say collusion to me...

Two days ago, December 3, 2008, the Vatican and its man in red decided to enter the fray in another way: The Pope's Christmas Gift: A Tough Line on Church Doctrine Times.com.

s, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, has announced that the Vatican will oppose a proposed U.N. declaration calling for an end to discrimination against homosexuals.

Why? Because some religious are against LGBT and no one should interfere with their beliefs. Huh? That's real christian of them.

Oh, wait. On the same day Benedict, aka God's Rottweiler, the Panzercardinal, as he has been called in the past, also sent this little message to the United Nations: Holy See refused to sign a UN document on the rights of the disabled because it did not condemn abortion.

Following the Vatican's controversial opposition this week to a UN declaration calling for an end to discrimination against homosexuals, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican envoy to the UN, has confirmed that the Holy See also refused to sign a UN document last May on the rights of the disabled because it did not condemn abortion or assert the rights of foetuses with birth defects....

...the Vatican supported the rights of the disabled, but could not accept a clause in the UN declaration affirming a right to "sexual health and reproduction" because "in some countries such rights include the right to abortion".

you read that correctly.

It's all right to discriminate against all kinds of people if they don't agree with your isms. It's all right to allow at-risk people to suffer and hurt because some people do not agree with your dogma.

real christian, don't you think?

just asking...


again, though i in no way advocate violence of any kind, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?

rather than priest, i would replace it with the word religion. i think religion has outlived its usefulness and the likes of Benedict, Dobson, Falwell, Bush and all the others know and fear just that. they will lose their power. they will lose their influence, and, most important, they will lose their money.