The Republic of T.

This is later than I tend to post, but I wanted to take a minute to acknowledge the passing and honor the memory of Molly Ivins, a much needed voice of reason, patriotism, and (much needed) humor. I’ve linked to her columns a once or twice here, and enjoyed reading many more of them. And she’s the author of what is still my favorite assessment of George W. Bush— and, I think, the most astute thus far (followed closely by Dubya’s own description of himself as “a white Republican guy who doesn’t get it”.

What we’re dealing with here is a man in such serious denial it would be pathetic if it weren’t damaging so many lives.

As true today as they were when Molly wrote them. Thanks, Molly, for your wit, insight, and example. We’ll try to handle it from here on out. Enjoy your well-earned rest, though I selfishly regret that we won’t get to read your column on the day Bush finally bumbles off into the sunset.

Rest. And say hello to Ann for us. We miss her too.

Couple of things just came across my screen that made me do a double-take. For those haven't read or don't read Americablog. I'd seen the headlines about a woman who was reportedly raped and then taken to jail when police discovered, in the process of investigating, that she had some outstanding warrants. What I hadn't heard was that she was denied her emergency contraception because of a jail worker's religious objections.

First, police say, a 21-year-old woman was raped at Gasparilla. Then, she was handcuffed and jailed – for two nights and two days.

A jail worker with religious objections blocked her from ingesting a morning-after pill to prevent pregnancy, her attorney says, keeping her from taking the required second dose for more than 24 hours longer than recommended.

… A doctor had given her Plan B, the so-called "morning-after pill" approved by the FDA, to prevent pregnancy. But Moore said a medical supervisor at the jail refused to let her take the second of the two pills on Sunday.

For the emergency contraceptive to work, the first pill must be taken within three days of unprotected sex and the second 12 hours after the first. The woman had already taken the first pill soon after the assault Saturday, Moore said. She was unable to take the second pill until Monday afternoon. The jail allowed it, he said, after media inquiries.

I don't know what the physical consequences might be for not taking the full course of the medication, and I can only imagine what the emotional and psychological consequences for this young woman will be if she becomes pregnant as a result of (a) the rape, and (b) being denied emergency contraception by someone who believe he/she knew "God's will" for this young woman.

Closer to my own back yard, the religious right has successfully blocked potential health benefits for young girls in Maryland.

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Hey, don’t jump all over over me. I didn’t say it. Well, OK. I did say it yesterday, in a roundabout sort of way. It’s nice to hear it said by a Nobel laureate. Namely, Bishop Desmond Tutu speaking out against the mistreatment of gay and lesbian Africans, and the “hysterical obsession with gay sex” exemplified in places like Nigeria.

Tutu addressed a taboo that has so far proved socially divisive.

“To penalize someone because of their sexual orientation is like what used to happen to us; to be penalized for something which we could do nothing (about) — our ethnicity, our race,” said Tutu. “I would find it quite unacceptable to condemn, persecute a minority that has already been persecuted.” [emphasis added]

Tutu was joined by Rev. Samuel Njoroge of Kenya in calling for greater tolerance. No doubt their voices will be drowned out or ignored, but it’s encouraging to hear coming from them. And, I might as well say it, as a black gay man its encouraging to hear this coming from other black men. Especially since it’s not the first time.

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I’ve picked on SUV drivers before, for overcompensating and hybrid-hating. I guess I shouldn’t since at least a couple of people in my extended family drive SUVs, but being a city-dweller I can’t look at one without asking “Where do you park that thing?” and “Can you at least spray some mud on it if you’re never really gonna go off-roading?”

I think what roused my ire was a post-9/11 SUV commercial that featured billowing American flags and a chorus enthusiastically singing “Keep on Rolling! Keep on Rolling! Wooooooo, hooooooo, hoooooo!” in what I figured was some kind of crass attempt to piggyback Dubya’s exploitation of “Let’s roll”, while also sending the not-so subtle message that if Americans don’t stop buying SUVs then the terrorists have won.

Or something like that. Well, apparently the terrorists are winning now. Americans are buying fewer SUVs.

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I’ve posted about this song before. But I came across this video, plus the Ray Charles quote via SugarJar, and it kinda fits my mood over the last few days.

“The words say, ‘It’s not easy being green,’ but the song is about knowing who you are. And in it you hear Jim’s message most clearly. He believed that people are good and that they want to do their best and that no matter how or why we might be different from anybody else, we should learn to love who we are and be proud of it.” – Ray Charles

I marched against both U.S. wars in Iraq in my lifetime, and yesterday Parker and I took the bus and the subway down to the mall. We didn’t march with the Buddhist contingent like I’d planned, partially because we got a later start than I intended, and partially because I figured standing around waiting to march would have been pretty boring for Parker. So we went to the rally, listened to the music and a few speeches, took some pictures (I picked up the sign, but Parker asked to hold it and then proceeded to hold it in front of his face while I rolled him around in the stroller) and rode the merry-go-round by the Smithsonian before we got back on the subway to go home. (As I promised him we would when we passed the merry-go-round on our way to the rally.)

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged much about Iraq as much as I used to. Maybe it’s because I can’t think of anything to say without repeating myself. Maybe it’s because I can’t think of anything to say that doesn’t start with “We told you so.”

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I’ve posted about this before, and perhaps it’s on my mind again because I’m tired. (I’ve been at home with Parker today, while our care was being fixed, and it was a bit too chilly for us to do much outside today.) But I’ve got some questions on mind about this blog, and what direction I want it to take. That’s bumping up against the realities of being a working parent, and that I only have so much time and energy to dedicate to so many things in my life.

As a result, my activity here has slowed down. I publish fewer posts during the day, on weekdays, and rarely post at all on weekends anymore. I’m also not promoting this blog and crossposting to various other places as much as I used to. I put QueerlyKos on hiatus before the holidays, because of the time and work it took to produce, and haven’t resurrected it yet.

Basically, holding myself to the “post-several-times-a-day-every-day” standard of top level bloggers who make a living from their blogs and/or share the load with other bloggers was burning me out and starting to stress me out. At the same time, though, I’ve watched the traffic here decline partially as a result of the stuff I mentioned above; and partially because back in March I had to move all my old content — from the beginning in October 2003 to March 2006 — to a sudomain because I had so much content from so many blog posts (some of which was imported from the Typepad blog) that WordPress couldn’t handle it, and my host took to locking me out of my database for two hours at a time because it was hammering the server.

I have to admit, the drop in traffic has bothered me, because I guess I still hold myself to the aforementioned standards. I still want to keep up with “the big boys,” but the realization I’m having is that I can’t, for a number of reasons, and trying to would quickly make me crazy. Part of that is due to the nature of blogging in general, and the kind of blogging I do in particular. And it’s led me to ask readers here for some advice on the direction I should take with my blogging.

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I’ve written before about young people being more likely to support same-sex marriage and equality for gay and lesbian Americans, and how it’s an encouraging sign for the future. Via Boi from Troi comes more encouraging news that the majority of college freshman support same-sex marriage, according to a recent study.

Acceptance of same-sex marriage grew from 2005 to 2006.

The study found that 61% of incoming freshmen last year agreed that same-sex couples should have the right to marriage, up 3.3 percentage points from 2005.

Based on a paper questionnaire given to 271,441 first-time, full-time college students at 393 schools nationwide in 2006, the annual survey was conducted as part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program under UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute. The researchers statistically adjusted the data to reflect the demographics of the 1.3 million incoming freshmen entering four-year schools throughout the U.S. in 2006.

…While the majority of freshmen overall support same-sex marriage, the issue divides students along ideological lines. Four out of 5 liberals support same-sex marriage, compared with 1 out of every 3 conservatives.

Regarding abortion, 78.4% of liberal freshmen agree that the procedure should be legal, compared with 31.8% of conservative students.

But that news should be taken with a grain of salt, based on another poll.

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There are a few television shows I’ve watched from the pilot to the final episode And in each case it’s because after I started watching I said to myself, “This is too good. I’d better watch every episode, because it will never last. Millennium was one. I’ll Fly Away was another. Neither made it past three seasons, though I’ll Fly Away managed to find a home on public television for a while. Now Noah’s Arc joins the list of “too good to last” television, with no third season and vague promises of a movie, next year.

Logo, a division of Viacom Inc.’s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks, today announced that it plans to bring Noah’s Arc, its hit flagship series about four AfricanAmerican gay friends in Los Angeles to the silver screen in 2008 as Logo’s first original theatrical film.

Noah’s Arc will join Sex and the City, Star Trek and The Simpsons as yet another fan-driven series finding a home at the multiplex, opening the door to greater storytelling depth, expanded creative opportunities and new audiences. Currently in development, the film is expected to pick up after the show’s second season cliffhanger finale and continue with an even bolder and provocative storyline. The film will leave the door open for sequels, additional television seasons and specials. The series is created by and executive produced by Patrik-Ian Polk and his Tall Skinny Black Boy Productions.

“Noah’s Arc has one of the most intensely loyal fan bases in television and we’re thrilled to harness the power of film to let Patrik-Ian Polk continue the story he has so skillfully woven,” said Brian Graden, President, Entertainment, MTV Networks Music Group, and President, Logo. “Noah’s Arc has so many dimensions and possibilities, so advancing to the feature film format is an exciting way to motivate our loyal fans and engage an even wider audience.”

Logo’s most popular series, season one of Noah’s Arc premiered in October 2005, just months after the launch of the network and season two premiered in August 2006. The show, which became the first television series about LGBT people of color, follows the lives and loves of four African-American gay men looking for love and signs of intelligent life in Los Angeles: Noah (Darryl Stephens), Chance (Doug Spearman), Alex (Rodney Chester) and Ricky (Christian Vincent)

Rod, whose in the media business, finds the move “curious.” Keith, who knows some of the folks at Logo finds it unusual. I don’t get much closer to the television industry than reaching for my remote, and — aside from serving as volunteer camera man for Jason Bellini at the White House Easter Egg Roll — I don’t know a soul at Logo. But I think I have an idea what’s up with this effective cancelation, and I’m not as optimistic or generous as Keith and Rod.

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A while back, I was a retreat where we did a listening exercise. I knew I was in trouble already, because I have trouble listening, but I went along anyway. The idea was to understand three levels of listening: listening to your own thoughts, listening to what’s being said, and awareness of everything around you. The facilitator told us a story less than two minutes long, and was going to ask us questions about it to see how well we listened. Keep in mind, I knew we’d be questioned. Here’s how it went for me:

He starts the story and I see the word “Listen” projected on the screen. That makes me think of a song I wanted listen to on my iPod later. The song made me think about the soundtrack it was part of, which made me think about the movie. Then I thought, “I need to see that movie again.” I tried to imagine my favorite scene, but then I looked out the window and noticed the sky was gray and that it looked like it might rain. I looked down and saw someone’s shoes and thought they were the same color gray as the sky outside, but I really couldn’t tell because I’m partially colorblind and similar shades like that are hard for me …

Then I realized then that the story was winding up. Needless to say, I didn’t raise my hand during questions. My mind had wandered a bit during the story.

I was reminded of that experience when I read that someone is studying why the mind wanders.

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My previous post about Nigeria’s proposed anti-gay law (passage of which is now said to be unlikely), and the parallels between it and post-colonial slave codes got some notice, both for the content and the title (which was chosen to make a point emphasized in the content). I hadn’t planned on returning to the subject, until I read a couple of items this morning that brought it back to mind, and underscored some associations I tried to make before.

The first was a report of a Nigerian man who, upon receiving a six week sentence and a fine for approaching another man for sex, plead guilty and claimed the devil made him do it.

A self-acclaimed homosexual, Mr. Francis Chima, was yesterday sentenced to six weeks in prison by an Abuja magistrate court for demanding sex from a man.

… Before he was sentenced, Mr. Chima pleaded for leniency and promised that he will not repeat such offence.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) “Francis Chima demanded to have sex with his victim at the riverside at Utako.”

The complainant reported the case according to police report, because he saw it as unnatural.

“It is the work of Satan but I promise that I will not do it again,” he told the court.

The devil made him do it? I couldn’t help asking myself, where did he — or anyone else — get that idea? The idea, that is, that same-sex activity os so foreign to Africa and Africans (and some might also say African Americans) that it takes an foreign agent — supernatural or otherwise — to, uh, insert it.

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Regarding my previous post, are these people any less strange than the Scientologists, the Zeus worshipers, or anyone else?

An ice formation inside a Morton, Texas, grocery store's freezer is prompting tears from people who see it and has apparently answered the prayers of some visitors, according to a Local 6 News report.

Morton Thrifty Foods employee Alma Avalos said when she went to the back she noticed that some drops of water from the ceiling had frozen.

As more and more people began to hear about the Virgin Mary, they started traveling in droves to see the ice.

Some people cried when they spotted the ice and others said it answered their prayers.

"I had a lump in my breast and yesterday when I went home it disappeared," a woman said. "I don't have it no more."

Others said they believe the ice formation is the real thing.

Well, at least now we know how she stayed a virgin. She was frigid. (Hat-tip to Ed for that one. And, speaking of which, make my daiquiri a virgin, Ed. And strawberry.) Can't laugh at these folks, or call them crazy, because that would be rude. So I'm not sure what else to say.

Before the November elections, I posted several times about Virginia’s pending anti-gay marriage amendment and how it was affecting gay couples there, including a lesbian couple that moved to Maryland, other gay couples leaving the state, and one organization canceling a conference in Virginia. It’s a little early to tell whether those who joined the Exodus were made wise choice or were jumping the gun, since the amendment hasn’t faced legal challenge yet (though a Virginia court ruling in a lesbian custody case doesn’t inspire confidence), but it’s nice to see that that gays are welcome at some places Virginia.

This is, after all, the place where, in November, 58 percent of voters favored a ban on same-sex marriage. It’s also the home of the seven Episcopal parishes opposed to the consecration of a gay bishop that broke ties with the U.S. Episcopal Church in December. In recent months, some Virginia gays reportedly have decided to move to more accepting locales.

Still, there are accommodations that offer same-sex couples, gays with families or gay singles a comfortable escape for an overnight stay or weekend. Although no public facility can lawfully discriminate against guests based on sexual orientation, some warm more easily than others to two men (or women) checking in together. It was no shock that Charlottesville, base of the University of Virginia and a liberal stronghold that voted solidly blue in the last election, would be home to a guesthouse with a loyal gay clientele. But there is also a small network of bed-and-breakfasts in other corners of the commonwealth that actively promote themselves to gay and lesbian travelers. Some are gay-owned, others not. After contacting several hoteliers, we came up with a list — by no means comprehensive — of inns where a same-sex couple would have no qualms holding hands in the lobby or showing up together at breakfast.

OK. So it’s a college town, where you’d expect people to be more tolerant. (Assuming that tolerance is a by-product of education.) Our family rarely ventures into Virginia, but it’s nice to know that there are pockets of acceptance should be choose to (or have to) venture into the state. It would be interesting, and worthwhile, to create lists of places like these in states that have similar amendments and make the available to gay couples, families, and supporters who want to spend their travel dollars in businesses where the owners support equality; like the Lakeway Hotel in Meade, Kansas — where locals harassed the owners for putting up a rainbow flag that was given to them by their son.

Maybe such a list or database already exists, but if not, someone should create it, establish some basic standards or requirements for businesses to be included, and invite the LGBT community to join in pledging to spend their vacation or travel dollars with those businesses. Even if you’re not likely to vacation in Virginia or Kansas, if you’re visiting family or on a business trip and need a hotel, or a restaurant, etc., you could give priority to gay-friendly businesses over others, and know you’re supporting a business (and business owners) who support equality. (And you can ask for a double bed without getting the “fish eye” from the hotel clerk.)

Like I said, maybe this is already being done. The Washington Post story just made me think that we should be making it a point to reward support like this, if we aren’t already.

I have to admit, despite my crushes on various male movie stars, I’ve never understood just what the big deal was about Tom Cruise. I mean, yes, I watched him prance around in his underwear in Risky Business. I watched him in Top Gun, and didn’t get the double entendre in the name. I even watched him get vaguely homoerotic with Brad Pitt in Interview With a Vampire, and get all earnest with Rene Zellweger in Jerry MacGuire. I even giggled when I heard him yelling the line “Respect the cock!” in Magnolia.

I laughed, but I didn’t get turned on. Because he never did anything for me. He just always seemed to plastic to me.

But he was a major movie star, so whatever it was that I didn’t quite get, a lot of other people did. Fine. But the idea of Tom Cruise being worshiped as a god?

TOM Cruise is the new “Christ” of Scientology, according to leaders of the cult-like religion.

The Mission: Impossible star has been told he has been “chosen” to spread the word of his faith throughout the world.

And leader David Miscavige believes that in future, Cruise, 44, will be worshipped like Jesus for his work to raise awareness of the religion.

A source close to the actor, who has risen to one of the church’s top levels, said: “Tom has been told he is Scientology’s Christ-like figure.

“Like Christ, he’s been criticised for his views. But future generations will realise he was right.”

But wait a minute. What’s so strange about that?

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Not sure how much blogging I’ll be able to do today, with work and everything, but there were two quotes I came across this morning that I wanted to pass on. One was on the back of a van I saw as I came out of the subway this morning, the other was in the introduction of a book a coworker gave to me, which I read while waiting for my computer to start.

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Via Ed over at Dispatches from the Culture Wars, comes news of Nigeria’s new anti-gay proposal, which Ed points out is supported by Nigeria’s Anglican church.

The bill started out as a ban on same-sex marriage and has been revised to make it a crime for more than two gay people to be in the same venue at the same time.

It prohibits LGBT social or civil rights groups from forming. It would be illegal to sell or rent property to same-sex couples, watch a gay film or video, visit an LGBT web site, or express same-sex love in a letter to one’s partner.

The legislation goes so far as to make it a criminal offense to impart information of HIV/AIDS to gays or for non-gays to meet with any group of gays for any purpose.

It’s not enough, apparently that same-sex activity is already illegal in Nigeria, and punishable by up to 14 years in prison, or that it’s now illegal for Nigerian gays to travel abroad, say to Canada, in order to marry. But something about the description of the bill struck me as strangely familiar; like something out of history.

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I’ve often reiterated Sam Harris’s point about religion being the great conversation stopper in America.

Once again, it comes down to new rules of conversation–not new laws or demonstrations in the street. Just imagine how different it would be if every time a person in a position of power used the word “God,” the press responded as though he had just used a word like “Poseidon.” Our conversation with ourselves would change very quickly and very dramatically. Imagine someone opposing stem-cell research on the floor of the Senate with a statement like, “life is a gift from Zeus himself. No man should meddle with it.”

Well, I missed it last week, but apparently Bush is again doing exactly what Harris is talking about, and going unchallenged in the media, but not on the blogs.

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I've been thinking about adding this category for a while now. And I totally admit that it's inspired by Oprah, more than a little. However, not being the Queen of all Media, I won't be giving away the items I post about here. But this blog has been pretty heavily political for a while now, so I thought it might be nice to post about something else, like reviewing stuff that I've come across and liked so much that I want to talk about it somewhere. Who knows? Maybe someday, I'll attain Oprah-like status (or even a fraction thereof) and be able to do giveaways. But for now, maybe people who read these posts will discover something they might want to try out, but haven't heard of before.

I've always been a music lover; something my extensive CD collection and the 4,000+ songs on my iPod can attest to, and something I think I came buy naturally, since my dad was an avid music lover and my brother is also. I owned one of the first models of the Sony Walkman, and since then I've rarely gone anywhere without some music pounding in my ears; from riding the bus to school to commuting to work today. Along the way I graduated t portable CD players, and finally to the iPod, and developed some related obsessions along the way.

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Or not, as the case may be. I haven't blogged about the controversy over Montgomery County's sex-education curriculum lately, but it looks like the board of education stood up to PFOX's bullying and approved the curriculum. (In fact, one board member was heard to say "I believe we will be sued. That's okay. . . . Bring it on.") The folks over at Vigilance have done such a good job of covering it that I'm wasn't sure I could add much. Most recently, they've posted links to the curriculum documents.

What brought the story back to mind for me was this Washington Post piece that reminded me of just what it was like to be growing up gay and going to school during a time when the subject couldn't even be talked about. This year will mark 20 years since I graduated from high school, and 26 years since I came out. (Yup. I was a prodigy in that sense.) And it reminded me just how difficult it was to get any information when I was coming out. It also made it clear how far some people would like to turn back the clock.

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No, not me. I don’t have any dish on anybody, and I’m far too out to be outed myself. But I am kinda curious about who on this list has been flirting with this guy.

Two married? Three big time tech bloggers? I can’t even hazard a guess.

On another note, I’ve been blogging for three years now and nobody flirts with me. (Not that I’m available, but a little wink here and a double entendre there might be nice once in a while.) Maybe if I were a tech blogger instead of a political blogger…