Homo's Weekly (with most sincere apologies to Harper's)

John Roberts was approved by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee despite strong and vocal opposition from Lambda Legal Defense Fund, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, People for the American Way, all major pro-choice and Reproductive Rights organizations, a plethora of well known progressive political institutions and the clear majority of all rational and thinking American voters. Three, of eight, Democrats on the Committee joined the Republicans in the vote of support.

The Vatican leaked an upcoming papal decree which states that homosexuals are unwelcome in the seminary. Many Catholic Americans are shocked and begin to worry over the imminent approach of shortages for priests. Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Mexico publicly stated that he has no apprehensions in taking donations from known, violent drug barons.

17,000 petition signatures to recall sex-scandal-plagued gay Spokane, Washington Mayor James E. West were delivered to authorities today. China announced plans to market condoms named for former President Bill Clinton and intimate Monica Lewinsky.

Despite the apparant lack of any large, organized Gay events or circuit paties, Hurrican Rita is poised to decimate Texas coastal communities, Beaumont and Port Arthur. Out, Gay partners Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh premiered their Food Network cooking show "Party Line with Dan & Steve" after winning a recent cooking show host contest: the first episode featuring head-turning brunch recipes.

A Christian school in Ontario, California expelled a 14-year-old female student when it was learned that she had Lesbian parents. California's recently passed same sex marriage legislation is anticipated to arrive at the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (former star of Hollywood blockbuster, "Total Recall"), who has vowed to veto the bill. In unrelated entertainment oriented news, "Hellbent" the first "Halloween" style Gay, slasher-horror film was released in major American movie theaters this week.

Proof of Intelligent Design?

I'm an absolute atheist. A deeply spiritual one, but a hard-core evolutionist and atheist. The concept of one, all-knowing, patriarchal deity designing, creating, guiding and governing the entire, unending universe just seems beyond silly too me.

As a young queer child, growing up in the bowels of Midwest America I was at times subjected to Sunday school brainwashing. But, I was always skeptical. Fifteen years prior to my first man-on-man sex acts, I was shocked and offended that God destroyed all of Sodom and Gomorrah just because some men hit on one of the angels sent down to them. Seemed like an over-reaction to me, even at the age of 8. Maybe the angel was hot, maybe he didn't really mind so much!

And what's with the test of Abraham to sacrifice his child at an altar to prove his loyalty to the divine creator. Sure, it was all called off at the last minute, and God told him it was just a test, only a test (like some biblical Emergency Broadcast System announcement). But what if God had been distracted at that last critical moment? What if Satan had decided to yank his chain at that one moment and Abraham did actually sacrifice his beloved son? "Ooops, sorry, I had another call coming in..." doesn't quite seem to do it.

Old testament folktales like these used to drive me nuts as a child. Early on I was a Doubting Thomas, then an agnostic, and eventually an atheist. [By the way: agnostics always remind me of college-age bisexuals. It's like being gay but you're not ready to come out, so it's safer to say your bisexual. If you're agnostic, take the plunge, you're just a really optomestic atheist who's still kind of in denial.]

Anyway. The point is, I'm firmly in the non-believer camp. Evolution: yes. Intelligent design: total bullshit. Intelligent Design again, is kind of like being bisexual. You understand the concept of evolution and the beginning of the universe makes total, infallible sense to you. But you can't quite let go of the poppa-God-made-all-of-this-for-us fable. You blame it on quarks and string theory. And the fact that if we are descended from a primate ancestor, why are Koko the sign language speaking gorilla and many other chimpanzees actually smarter than President Bush? More compassionate and more comely than Barbara Bush? Better at driving cars than Laura Bush?

Well, that brings me back to my main point! I am willing to re-examine my belief systems, IF Hurricane Rita miraculously jumps pass all of the poor folk in her path and makes a bee-line for Crawford, Texas.

If Hurricane Rita rips the fuck out of Crawford Ranch: if every scrap of wood off of that cracker mansion and every pile of accumulated brush is flung at least 40 miles away; if Bush loses his rubber band collection, his favorite bong and his stash of coke; if the nudie photos of Condoleeza Rice and George W in compromised positions are blown over to the nearest AP office; if every blemish of the existence of his home is wiped away as some type of retributive justice for his criminal neglect and his lying to start unjust wars which have cost so many, many lives...

Well. Then maybe I'll pause and begin to re-think of the power of prayer and the benevolence of Intelligent Design.

Dan Quayle on Brain Steroids?

Kind of scary isn't it!

Sure looks like Roe vs. Wade is a goner. Well, at least if you live in any of the states controlled by a Republican party majority.

This may sound terrible, but I hope that everyone moderate, pro-choice Republican who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 or 2004 has to grapple with an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy in about 10 years, when they are going to be very difficult for most of America to access. They conned themself into thinking W. stood for Compassion, W. was for Women. Well, apparently giving payback to the radical conservative idealogues who were mostly responsible for the electoral tilting in so many key areas is what W. really stands for.

He probably assumes that his base, wealthier white folk, will be able to whisk their women off to California or New York to take care of these procedures when they are needed. And he's already demonstrated that he doesn't give a shit about anyone else.

Sad, sad, sad.

Two Photos, taken on the same day, and sumper-imposed upon each other...

... can say a thousand words about the country we live in.

One photo is of our "elected" president, entertaining a bunch of uber-patriotic crackers at a hog-calling contest, or a tractor-pull, or a monster-truck rally, or a little league baseball game, or whatever sort of bullshit they do in Red States over a long Labor Day weekend.

The other is totally, instantly, emotionally recognizeable. A hurricane survivor struggling, hoping for food, or water, or transportation out of town, or for any type of assistance to materialize, for herself and her child.

Now that the storm is over, and people want to know what happened, what went horribly wrong: the right-wing media is trying to spin lies that the "president" was begging and pleading with the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Lousianna to evacuate the masses prior to the devastation of the hurricane.

They want us to see that the President has toured the area and met with survivors. That he's been aware of everything, every step of the way, every minute of the day. That FEMA responded properly and accurately, even after its budget was slashed, and most of its functions were privatized, and it was down-graded from a cabinet-level agency. And yes, the president does believe that running an effette Arabian stallion ranch in Colorado and donating thousands of dollars to the GOP, does quailfy one to be in charge of FEMA and providing disaster relief to millions of Americans at a potential time of desperate need.

No, really, REALLY, he is a leader! He is effective. He isn't just some gee-shucks, cowboy-appealing, front-guy doing the bidding of the evil oil conglomerates and all the other nasty influence-peddling, money-controlling snake-heads of the current-day GOP Gorgon.

Well, no one is buying it!

[ Hmmmm. Gorgon: that reminds me, did you hear what Barbara Bush said?: "In a segment on a news show on the surge of evacuees moved to Houston (second home to George H. W. Bush and clan). The uber-Republican-matron Barbara Bush said: "Almost everyone I’ve talked to wants to move to Houston." Then she added: "What I’m hearing is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed with the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (she chuckled)--this is working very well for them."] What a total bitch! I've always hated her. Most of the delusional American public has been misled into thinking that she's some kind of gentle, matronly, care-giver just because she's fat, wears pearls and has the same hair-style as George Washington! Wake up, this is the creature that gave bush to all of the Bush boys!

In closing: I believe the only hurricanes G.W. Bush were thinking about that infamous weekend, were being served with lots of rum, in little plastic tumblers while all of the privledged, isolated Texas Republicans were barbequing farm critters in Crawford.... and perhaps Barbara Bush had a couple of these just prior to her now, infamous TV interview.

The Hurricane Principle

This photo perfectly symbolizes the arrogant perspective of our ruling elite: America, the newest Third World country.

Thank you Neo-Cons, thank you Ronald Reagan, thank you every red-neck, bible-thumping dumbfucker who has ever voted for any of these Republican sociopaths!!!

For the past 25 years (minus 8 years of Bill Clinton when we were kind of in a holding pattern, halfway between neo-Con deconstructionism and apologist moderate liberalism) we have disassembeld government, we have dumbed down public education, we have lowered expectations. We have bartered down to the lowest common denominator.

The rich are now in a position to take care of themself (and only them) and all of the rest of us are on our own.

It seems we are careening toward an inevitable collapse!

We should all be paying more attention, holding our elected officials accountable, and plotting the overthrow of this corrupt system.

What I Did Over My Summer Vacation (a.k.a. See, I Really Am a Horrible Procrastinator)

I didn't mean to not blog for the entire summer. I wish I could say it was because I was busy taking all kinds of fabulous international vacations, being seduced on beautiful beaches by hot guys serving mango margaritas: or remodeling my new home, as an expatriot outside of this fucked-up country; or finishing that semi-amazing novel that's bouncing around inside my head, that only really comes out when I'm dreaming -- or high... but alas....

I've just been busy at work and lame about posting.

Actually, work has been crazy. And I haven't had much time do to do any blogging during the work day, and although I've started to blog from home a few times, that has never quite come to fruition. I drift to creating the most sublime of iPod playlists and get instantly distracted.

Somehow, despite all of these distractions (or perhaps because of them), I have actually managed to try to quit smoking -- AGAIN. One week so far! Woo-hoo!! Some folks say it's because my much beloved smoking partner has up and moved across the country on me -- but that's not the case. (although I miss her terribly...)

Staring down the calendar at my 42nd birthday, made me realize that for the sake of my health and longevity, it was probably about time to finally quit. So, after one last weekend of desperate chain-smoking , I have stopped.

That being said, once I get past the one-month mark, I do plan on being one of those annoying ex-smokers who will desperately crave a smoke whenever I'm out socially drinking and will instantly befriend anyone from whom I can bum a fag. Which, if karma does actually exist, will mandate that if I am perchance craving a menthol cigarette, that I will have a regular cigarette and a breath mint simultaneously thrust upon me..

Smokers be warned! If I am half lit, I'll be on the prowl for a smoke.

As a side-note: I've been very angry and pissed off about everything our fucking president has said and done lately, so expect a plethora of cranky posts to be forthcoming.