Next Week's Cover

 

It's called "A Man of Conviction."

But I Repeat Myself

Image by Sambeet D from Pixabay

Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty!

This Week's Quote

Image by LoggaWiggler from Pixabay

We are glad that Pope Francis has apologized for using such a demeaning term . . . The truth is that the Church simply could not function without those countless gay priests, bishops and maybe even popes who currently serve and have served over the centuries. 

Marianne Duddy-Burke, DignityUSA’s Executive Director

Source:  DignityUSA

Mea Culpas

Image:  Facebook

Pope Francis apologized today for using an offensive Italian term describing gay men.

I guess this is the moment for me to confess that I once accidentally referred to the pontiff as "Poop Francis."

All Persons

Image:  Facebook

I read something remarkable today in the magazine of The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

Before creating the 1.2 mile All Persons Trail, located within a TNC swamp preserve in Manchester, N.H., designers held listening sessions with communities that face barriers to nature. Disabled people weighed in.

But they weren't the only ones. "One participant spoke about the need for a private space, such as an all-gender restroom, for trans people to bind or unbind their chest." That restroom came to fruition, and the trail's signage includes depictions of different sexual orientations.

I'm so pleasantly surprised that TNC asked for input. I do believe welcoming efforts like this trail will be appreciated and effective, even as I know there will always be a portion of the LGBTQ community whose interest in nature is confined to sex on the dunes.

Points for Trying

 

This Week's Quote

Image by heblo from Pixabay

Donald Trump has something to say about this trial everywhere but under oath.

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta

Source:  X

Kansas City Chafes

Image:  Facebook

You've probably heard about the commencement speech the kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs gave earlier this month at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. If he meant to provoke, Harrison Butker hit it right between the uprights.

The obviously conservative Catholic referred to "the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it." He railed against "dangerous gender ideologies," as well as "the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion." Butker denounced abortion, and urged female graduates to embrace the role of homemaker and beware the "diabolical lies" about career ambition.

The NFL distanced itself from Butker's speech like Jerry Rice separating from a cornerback. Derision poured down on the kicker, who'd even managed to piss off Taylor Swift fans by misinterpreting her lyrics.

But here's my favorite part of the story:  An order of nuns affiliated with Benedictine College took to Facebook to (metaphorically) slap his hand with a ruler.

"The sisters of Mount St. Scholastica do not believe that Harrison Butker's comments in his 2024 Benedictine College commencement address represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that our founders envisioned and in which we have been so invested," declared the women religious.

"One of our concerns was the assertion that being a homemaker is the highest calling for a woman. We sisters have dedicated our lives to God and God's people, including the many women whom we have taught and influenced during the past 160 years. These women have made a tremendous difference in the world in their roles as wives and mothers and through their God-given gifts in leadership, scholarship, and their careers."

Owie, that smarts.

An NFL defensive line is formidable, but Butker now faces angry queer people, nuns and Swifties, and that's scarier.

Maybe

 

(No) Sympathy for the Devil

I went to see the Rolling Stones here in Seattle last night, crossing an item off my bucket list, because after all, Keith Richards might live forever, but I won't.

As I neared the security line, I heard a voice wafting over those making their way into the stadium. Then I saw a few men holding up signs while their leader intoned about going to hell. Automatically, I barred them from my mind and sight.

Some Stones fans might not have known what to make of Christian zealots staking out the concert. Me, I was surprised at how quickly I recognized and dismissed them. Now I realize that decades of going to Prides has given me a leg up on spotting Christian "love" in action.

I'm 60 years old, and have just discovered that I have a spidey sense.

This Week's Quote

Image by Alexander Grey from Pixabay

I assume everyone is gay unless I'm told otherwise.

Harvey Fierstein

Source:  The Book of Gay & Lesbian Quotations

To All the Moms

 

The First Day

Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Speaking yesterday on a conservative talk radio show out of Philadelphia, Donald Trump vowed to reverse transgender student protections, just enacted by the Biden administration, "on day one."

That's the day, you'll recall, that he plans to be a dictator. How will he have the time to hurt trans kids when he'll be so busy closing the border, drilling for oil and getting measured for an ermine robe?

We'll Wait

 

This Week's Quote

Image by Venita Oberholster from Pixabay

I was 5 years old the first time I ever got onstage in front of an audience. My kindergarten class was putting on a Black History Month presentation for our parents, and I was given the part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wasn’t expected to learn the entire speech; all I had to do was say, “I am Martin Luther King and I have a dream.” However, what (nervously) came out of my mouth, in front of the entire auditorium, was, “I am Martin Luther King … and I have to pee.” First big laugh I’ve ever gotten.

Alex English

Source:  Vulture

You've Been Warned

 

May Reminds Me

Image:  Facebook

Well before he, or I, knew I was gay, my father would describe an effeminate homosexual man as being "gayer than a maypole."

Yes, it was a slur. But at least it was a festive one.

That Portion of the Year

We've arrived at my confessional time of the year.

That's one way of looking at Mental Health Awareness Month and Pride Month, otherwise known as May and June. I think you readers are clear on the fact that I'm a lesbian. If not, I've been writing about Donald Trump way too much.

What you're likely less clear on is that life loaded some mental health challenges on me. I describe these in a humorous memoir called "Fun With Fred:  Life With OCD and Hoarding."

Yes, a book. When I confess, I go big.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Wikipedia

Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.

Margaret Mead

Source:  AZ Quotes