My Ignorance Is Just As Great As Your Knowledge

"The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant threat winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as great as your knowledge."  -- Isaac Asimov

Do you realize that there are people who will read the above quote and not even get it?  Not even be able to comprehend it or understand what it means?  And then I read that "In Mississippi, 52% of GOP respondents say Obama is Muslim...12% believe he is a Christian and 36% are unsure.  In Alabama, 45% of Republicans say Obama is Muslim....14% believe he is a Christian and 41% are unsure."  Dare I say that Alabama is smarter than Mississippi?  And what about all of the others -- Louisiana, Idaho, Tennessee, Georgia, Utah....shall I go on?  


We live in a nation who no longer forms opinions based on fact, the truth.  We no longer think.  We feel.  We believe our ignorance, our sources!, are more important than actual knowledge.  And that will be our demise.

Tax Deductions

So what if every single tax deduction taken for each child in the U.S. was not permitted, or not taken, or not allowed to be taken?  I'm not sure of what the dollar amount is per child....maybe $2,000 or so??  What if those deductions were actually not removed.  What if that dollar amount was allowed to stand.  Or, horrors!, what if parents were actually required to pay for each of their children simply for having them....for allowing them to consume space, air, water, food, etc., on this planet.  Perhaps there could be a sliding scale.  Families would be permitted to have one, or two, children without penalty -- but beyond that they would be required to actually dish out so many thousands of dollars each year for each of their children. 

Consider what that would do to our tax base.  Add to our bottom line instead of take away from it.  I've never understood why we give tax deductions to children.  When they are occupying space on this earth, they eat food from it, they crap on it, they yell and scream on it, they require so many resources from Mother Earth -- and yet they not only are not required to pay for all of that but they actually get to charge the U.S. Government for it.  In essence, I am paying for it.  And that doesn't sit well with me.  Oh, I know, I know....there are million and one reasons for wanting to fund children, fund early childhood development and all of that.  And I am well aware that the children of today are the leaders, educators, and adults of tomorrow (and that scares the living hell out of me, quite frankly.....). 

I will never understand why a family of two parents and, oh say, four, five, six or even more children are permitted to pay tax on two people instead of six or eight or ten.  I don't get it.  They dirty the earth, they require so much in the way of products, toys, plastics, "things" made in China, giant double-wide strollers, fuel, petroleum products, and the like.  And the parents have to have a giant minivan and pay for the gas to operate it.  The hole just gets deeper the more I think about it.  And the noise pollution level operates at such a higher level with yelling, screaming, crying.  I hate noise and this just adds to my furor. 

I have educator friends and teachers who disagree with me wholeheartedly on this.  But I can take it.  I just don't believe how a guy with no children should be required to fork over extra tax money each year to help take care of those who abuse and neglect the reasonable number of decent children in this world.....all the while the actual parents pay less.  One of life's mysteries. 

Trump This

Oh kids, I'm not a big fan of The Donald.  I think he's a pretty smart, straightforward business guy and all...but our politics do not coincide.  And that's fine but don't expect me to vote for you.

Mr. Trump is, indeed, against "Medical and Civil Benefits" being extended to same-sex couples in addition to being against gay marriage.  He hasn't yet decided whether I should be able to visit LoverBoy in the hospital.  He said it as one of his clear answers to a clear question.  And if you'd been the one who has been discriminated against in your life, or ignored, or demeaned, or told that you can't marry, or told that you're a disappointment to your parents because of your lifestyle choices, or don't have equal benefits or rights, or had been taxed to the tune of $3,700 per year on your partner's medical insurance, then perhaps you would feel differently.  Until you've been called a queer while riding on a city bus with your partner, there's so little room to pass judgment.  Shut your pie hole, comes to mind. 

Beyond that, he's got horrible hair.  But I think he loves that.  And I think it's kind of sexy.  It's given him a whole new level of attraction and provides the media something to chat about.  I tend to like his black and whiteness.  He shoots like me.  Only I'm open minded and he's not.  He's rich and I'm not.  He likes multiple numbers of pretty women and I don't (except for staring relentlessly at their tanned, deep cleavage).  You know, I'm more than willing, sort of, to put up with listening to your ideas and thoughts and what you believe.  But the moment you dive into territory that you've never been a part of -- the moment you start casting judgment against me and my people -- you're in trouble.  So, yeah, go and be big and rich and famous and let the wind blow through your colored hair while you sit in your Madison Avenue suite.  The Donald's disconnect with the real world is clear.  He's up there and I'm down here. 

"Liberty and Justice for All -- Offer Not Available In Some Areas -- Prices Subject to Change"

Secret Millionaire

Have you seen it?  Secret Millionaire on ABC?  I like it.  Perhaps Hollywood'ish.  Perhaps planned.  Perhaps well crafted for emotional moments.  But I still like it.

The other night when we were on the Oregon Coast, I pinned LoverBoy down and made him watch it.  It was the story of Gary and Diane Heavin -- the Texas owners of Curves a workout facility for women.  They live in the middle of nowhere Texas....on acres and acres of land.  Their property is gated.  And the gate is one mile from their home.  That means that their driveway is one mile long!  It keeps them isolated in a beautiful, quiet country estate.  They really do seem like nice people. Christians.  The kind of Christians that pray for things, before meals, for blessings....that sort of thing. 

So, if you don't know already, the show sends millionaires to an unknown location in the US.  They are provided a roof over their heads...and that's about it.  Seriously, it's a very trashy home.  Dirty, unkempt, you and I would not live there.  It is typically inner city.  Dangerous areas.  All poor folks.  Children who are not cared for.  Families who struggle.  They receive $6 or so dollars per day to live on.  And that means Top Ramen for every meal along with maybe white bread with peanut butter.  They drive a beat up car....one that they would never have back at their well-to-do ranches.  And then they are left on their own.  To find a group or two or three to help out for a week.  They are "Secret Millionaires" going under cover as helpful volunteers who are just trying to see what they can do to assist the local neighborhood.  Each show is different, each organization that they discover is different.

On this particular episode, Gary and Diane are sent to Houston's Third Ward.  Honestly, it has to be one of the US's worst places to live with some of the nation's worst crime and poverty.  They found three organizations to help out -- No More Victims a group that assists children and family members of incarcerated parents.  Their goal is to stop the cycle of victimization....and keep the children from following the same steps that their parents do.  Extremely powerful footage of young children describing their home situations and what they do to keep their heads above water.  The second group that Gary and Diane helped was the Sean Ashley House....a home dedicated to helping adults and children living with disabilities, primarily autism.  And the third organization that they discovered was Lazarus House....an amazing group of folks dedicated to helping people with the devastating cycle of malnutrition and muscle wasting that accompanies numerous chronic illnesses like cancer, HIV/AIDS, lupus, and muscular dystrophy.  Gary and Diane are like fish out of water throughout this whole episode.  Gary, especially, struggles to find his way.  A way to relate.  A path to draw commonality.  And the Lazarus House is filled with gay people, those with HIV.  It is obviously the very first time that either Gary or Diane have ever met not only a gay person....but a person with HIV.  They are caught off guard.  And I loved it.  I loved how they did their best to help out, to relate, to kick in and help.  They leave each of the groups with many many thousands of dollars at the end of the week.  They come clean with those who they have rubbed shoulders with for the week about who they really are and what they are there to do.  It is one of those moments. 


In spite of having preconceived ideas about Gary and Diane from my many years inside the four confining walls of many churches, I am very proud of the way that they honestly tried to do their best.  My favorite parts of the show were when Diane said to a young blind HIV-positive lady at the Lazarus House that "I've never met anyone with HIV before."  And when Gary went outside with a clearly gay man and painted.  Brush stroke after brush stroke on a house that needed it badly.  A Christian millionaire with the most common of HIV-positive homosexuals.  To say it brought tears would be putting it mildly.  And the third thing I liked hearing was about that gate.  That big huge giant gate one mile from Gary and Diane's front door.  The gate that keeps them blocked off from the rest of the world.  And in the very last line of the show Gary talks about that gate -- and how it needs to come down.  How there is clearly a world outside of his ranch that needs his help.  And there is. We probably all have one of those gates in our lives.

All In a Day's Work.....

So, I know you think that we Air Hostesses do nothing but pour refreshing cold drinks, take coats for hanging, and say "Oh yes, why of course...." to any request.   Well, there is the occasional heart or asthma attack....but that really doesn't count.  But I'd like for you to take a careful look at what happened yesterday on a flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles.  This hits strikingly close to home.  And pay attention to the repeated Air Hostess requests for compliance.  I spend a huge percentage of my work life asking people to do this, or that, or reminding them of things that I'm required to do.  And, quite often, the requests are disregarded or ignored.  So, even more often, I find myself simply turning my head or ignoring things that are going on.  For my own sanity.  And because it happens so very very often.  Take a look:

Shortly after Flight 241 departed from Mexico City bound for Los
Angeles yesterday, flight attendants observed unusual behavior from
three male passengers that continued during the four-hour flight. Out
of concern for the safety of all of the passengers onboard, the crew
erred on the side of caution and authorities were notified. The crew
did not realize at the time that the passengers were Orthodox Jews
engaging in prayer ritual in Hebrew.

Here are a few of the issues that concerned the flight crew:

•  Flight attendants instructed everyone to stay seated with their seatbelts fastened as the aircraft flew through turbulence shortly after takeoff. The three passengers disregarded repeated requests, however, and stood up several times to retrieve objects from their luggage in the overhead bin that the crew had never seen, including small black boxes fastened with what appeared to be black tape. The crew learned after the plane landed that these were tefillin boxes worn during the prayer ritual.

•  The men prayed aloud together in a language unfamiliar to the crew while wearing what appeared to be black tape and wires strapped to their forearms and foreheads and wires on their chests. Their actions and behavior made some other travelers and the crew uneasy. The three passengers responded, but provided very little explanation, to a flight attendant’s questions about the tefillin boxes and what they were doing.

•  Later in the flight, two of the three passengers visited the lavatories together while the third waited in the aisle and continually looked around the cabin and toward the flight deck door. Flight attendants thought he appeared anxious, as if he were standing guard.

The safety and security of our passengers is our top priority. While
our flight crews must be vigilant in watching for suspicious behavior,
they are also trained to be aware and recognize the personalities and
practices of a very broad and diverse group of travelers. Out of an
abundance of caution to protect all of our customers, we
misinterpreted the behavior of the three passengers who were praying
and wearing tefillin.

We embrace the cultural and religious diversity of our
passengers and employees. We apologize for the experience these three
passengers went through after landing in Los Angeles as well as for
any inconvenience to our other customers onboard. To help make sure
this misunderstanding does not happen again, we plan to incorporate
awareness training of Orthodox Jewish religious practices into our
ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts. We’ve asked the Jewish
Federation of Greater Seattle for their assistance to help us better
serve our Orthodox Jewish customers and employees alike.

This is the official report from the airline.  You can find the complete Internal Review Here.  Would anyone care for a beverage??

Dog-Gone It

So, yeah, some days I think we're further down this trail of actually living in the year 2011 than others. Some days I think we're still living in the Dark Ages, the Stone Age, when things were rough, tough and horrible. But this is, indeed, the year 2011. When we are supposed to respect others. When we are supposed to draw attention to living and enjoying life. Being productive and progressive. And then the wind gets knocked out of our sails........

About 100 Husky dogs were slaughtered execution style in British Columbia last spring. After all of the hoopla and money surrounding the Olympic tourism died down and the visitors all returned home. Outdoor Adventures in Whistler, BC, is in a bit of trouble. As they should be. Their website makes note of the fact that they have suspended dog sledding for the time being. They ordered one of their employees to shoot 100 dogs and to dispose of them. And he did, to preserve his job. The investigators are now digging up the mass grave to continue in their investigation -- to decide if the dogs were even dead when they were placed into the grave. Rumors have it that at least some were still alive and clamoring to get out of the giant hole they were put into. And I love the part in the Outdoor Adventures Environmental web page where they talk about how much attention they give to recycling, that they are a carbon-neutral company, and that they are an "industry leader in stewardship and sustainability." Really? Really? Bullshit. I'm so sick of coverups and corporate crap. Fancy websites mean nothing if you've just ordered the shooting of 100 beautiful dogs to profit your bottom line.

Here is the Press Section of the Outdoor Adventures website attempting to explain how they were really trying to make this whole operation come off in a pretty, healthy, happy way....only killing the dogs that were "too old, sick, or not adoptable." What? You were employing dogs that were old and sick? Ugh. Oh, and the website also says that the company is "shocked and appalled" at the accusations. Umm hum, I'll just bet that they are. And here is an editorial by The Province journalist Jon Ferry.

You're worthless. Zeros. Nothings. I will speak up for the dogs any day over you. Our world is a mess. We're upside down, good looks bad and bad appears good. And now we're minus 100 beautiful, amazing and charming creatures in this world. Makes me so proud to be a human being living here on planet earth.

Wind Knocked Out of the Sails

Well well now, that was rough, wasn't it? Red casting its bloody hue over blue -- making exactly what color? Who knows. I'd say that there are a fair amount of hacked off people in this nation. In all sorts of corners with all sorts of feelings and issues.

I was doing my safety demonstration today standing in mid-cabin when I just happened to glance over my shoulder and down to the magazine that a man was reading. I learn a lot of things that way. All I caught was "An Armed America is a Safe America" before he turned the page to another precious article titled "Armed Citizens Are America's Saving Grace." It is straight out of a publication by you know which group...and I refuse to put a link to it. And then it hit me -- I'm a stranger living in a foreign land. I'm living in a nation where people don't think like me, appreciate me for being who I am, nor care about my rights. Some do, many (most?) do not. Fags are not a respected group in the country of my birth. And it's time that I face that. I've spoken before about the liberal sort of free spirited bubble that we tend to live in here in Portland. And it is exactly that...a bubble. Not reality, except for Portland's. Not an accurate reflection of our country as a whole. Just Portland's own little thing. For which I am highly thankful. I couldn't be happier to live right there. But even here, things are closing in. We are damned close to electing the very first Republican governor in my 13 years here in Oregon. People have had it. They are pissed and full of anger. Not just at Democrats. Everyone is angry with everyone. I've written repeatedly about how I think our world is going to self-destruct sometime. Implode. Dissolve. It can only continue for so long. I easily see a sort of civil war or destruction in this Red, White and Blue Nation. The proud, the patriotic, aren't really so. I mean, it sounds good when the flag is waving, or perhaps when a Lee Greenwood song is playing over loudspeakers, or candles are lit. Or even when a military jet flies over. But the inbred bottom line and reality is that we're fighters, scrapers, schoolyard bullies. We have minimal respect for one another. We like to say we do, but it's quite scant. We'd rather have a gun slung across the cracked back window of our pickup than allow two men to marry. We think that it's more important to allow freedom of speech than to actually invest in the systems of this nation that may keep us afloat. Screw education....that costs money. To hell with the young and old, we just can't afford it. Maybe we should just get rid of Social Security (after all, it was a Democratic-induced social system, don't forget). Apparently our focus is not on helping those who need it.

I told my bigoted far-right Republican step father a few years back that I really have little interest if you call yourself a Democrat or a Republican. The name means nothing to me. What matters is your actions.....toward others, not yourself. What are you actively doing to help others, to make others lives better? What matters is that you take care of those who cannot help themselves. The poor, the young, the old, the mentally and physically challenged. And we're not. We're far more focused on how much money it's going to cost. So, here we are. Rich white people in charge. A few good looking airheaded women for added measure. One nation under god? Nope, I don't think so. There's little about this nation that is "one." And god will have nothing to do with this mess. And we continue to suffer. And suffer we will. Until we cave in. The walls will collapse. They've already begun to.

Proper Washing of Bath Towels 101

Bath Towel Washing 101

You're going to hear it from me first. Before anyone else. Because I just have this sneaking suspicion that not one other single writer in the world is probably covering this titillating topic today. They're probably busy with other less important work (don't tell them I said so). On the other hand, let's not pretend like you've never had the reason that your towels smell so badly cross your mind. You know, you use a towel or wipe your hands off on it and, suddenly, your hands stink like that wretched towel. Towels tend to get pretty icky and sour smelling if not taken care of....regularly, every single time. If you think I'm kidding, just do your very own research on The Internets or the Googles. All sorts of folks are having trouble. And I used to....I spent one entire day about a year ago devoted to washing, rewashing, drying and redrying all of our towels. With baking soda, with vinegar, with a special product from a sporting goods store. Over and over until they were smellin' like roses! So, if you've got your cup of tea nearby and are ready to learn, keep reading. Because I know that you represent the best in today's Modern Woman....and because inquiring minds want to know:

• Wash towels far more often...don't allow bacteria to form in the first place.
• Don't fold up towels after use and allow them to sit all day folded in bathrooms without allowing them to dry. Keep them opened up, spread out, to make sure they dry each day.
  
• Wash them in hot, hot water. Today's high efficiency washers use far less water than older washers....so make sure it's nice and hot.
• Use the right amount of detergent -- today's high efficiency washers require less detergent which means less mildew-fighting ingredients. Make sure you use enough. And did you know that not all detergents are created equal?
  
• Use the hottest temperature your dryer allows....do not use the automatic cycles for towels. Today's high efficiency dryers use lower temperatures for drying....and towels require far hotter temperatures to be sure the bacteria is killed. Dry towels for longer than any other item.....even if they feel dry or feel hot, does not mean the bacteria is killed.
  

If you've got towels that currently smell like they have dried your inner upper thigh private areas one too many times, here are a few ideas:

• Use baking soda, vinegar (not balsamic....save that for your pasta), or WIN High Performance Sport Detergent (sporting goods stores) along with your hot water. You may have to repeat the wash cycle several times to get the towels up to a Modern Woman's proper standards.
• You may have to allow your washer load of towels to actually sit in the hot water and detergent above for a bit. To kill, destroy!, the invading bacteria.
  
• Use extra rinse cycles at least until the towels are brought back up to good-smelling standards.
• Using fancy, flowering-smelling fabric softeners and dryer sheets to cover up smells does exactly that...covers them up. Skip the good-smelling stuff so that you can see if your towels are actually clean or not.
• Dry the hell out of those things....on high, for longer than you think is necessary....ours dry for one full hour on the hottest temperature available.
  

Here are a few links from the Internets if my above thorough information hasn't provided you quite enough food for thought:

WikiHow -- How to Remove Mildew Smell From Towels

And because I know that most of you are, indeed, "Modern Women," I present.....

Today's Modern Woman -- How To Get Mildew Smell Out of Towels

You'll thank me for all of this information later. I just know you will. I feel it.

Obama

Well well now, my hands have been gently slapped. In a nice sort of way. One of my readers has brought to my attention that I have not really expressed my viewpoints on President Obama since that big, old giant Inaugural Party that we hosted way back when. You remember, don't you? When we just knew he was going to be the end all, be all, for we who are less than citizens.

I am fully aware that politics will play out as they usually do -- in the media.....and that all depends on which news channel you watch and which newspapers you read. What is said and done today doesn't really matter. It's all how it plays out in the months, and years, to come that matter. Long term versus short term. The big picture. Having said that, I have been more than happy to have President Obama in the driver's seat whilst compared to the lunatic that we had before (haven't heard a word from Bush, have you??).

I must admit that my feeling about our nation, and world for that matter, in general is waning. Something is not right....we're off kilter. And it's a far larger issue than our President. But, admittedly, I have been left with a less-than-pretty feeling about what has happened, or not happened, in our country since he has taken office. I am adult enough to recognize that any President is dependent upon the House, Senate, governors, Supreme Court, and other local entities to make it all work out. He is not singularly in charge of meeting each of our whims. And that's where many of us take him to task. We want more! We want it differently! We want this and that. Hell, who doesn't!

I am more than happy that he has appointed two females to the Supreme Court. I am happy that his administration has hired more gays and lesbians than the Bush and Clinton White Houses put together. He has made the environment a larger focus than before, he has shifted the war from Iraq back to Afghanistan where it began, he has closed torture-camp Guantanamo Bay, he has at least tried to get the health care monster headed in the right direction, he and the First Lady have both made education a huge priority, and he has taken away the unilateral, by god and by gum, sort of attitude that Bush ran his regime with, and he has added sexual orientation to hate crimes legislation as it should be. I'm pretty pleased with that. We certainly didn't have it before. And we certainly wouldn't have much of it with, oh say, a President McCain.

I do wish for more. But I do not wish for more at the possibility of it being taken back away in the future by the Supreme Court or by the next Presidential administration. I want it done right, legally, formally, set in stone. Don't Ask Don't Tell is a biggie. Huge. And definitely needs to happen. And there are days that I wish that Obama would grow a big old giant pair of black balls and wrestle that DADT deal to the ground. But I doubt that will happen. But I do not want it to happen in the wrong way, or with the possibility of creating additional adverse conditions for those GLBT service members already serving. You do realize that it's not going to be all yummy smelling roses....right??? And, remember, it was a Democrat who signed it into office thinking that it was the best way for it to accomplish an overtly touchy subject.

And I do wish that we gays could marry. Who doesn't?! But we can't. We live in a country of hate and old-school, Dark Ages, sort of mentality. We live in a country divided. It's time that we face that. It's time that we recognize the fact that we gays often live in a bubble. A pretty glass bubble. I live in Portland, Oregon, where gays and lesbians pretty much have the run of the mill. We are open, live freely, and are able to walk the majority of our city with freedom and safety. But I also live here knowing that if I venture more than 20 miles past our city borders, I'm in trouble. In general, the nation I live in doesn't like me. I know that. And yet, I'm still here. I'm still an American. I'm still a fag. It's not always going to go my way. It takes a big person to come to grips with that. I wasn't born in one of the many intelligent, fair countries currently giving marriage benefits to gays. But it doesn't preclude us from continuing to hope, and work toward, more. But I honestly don't think we'll ever be a nation like many of those in Europe. I'm a realist. I know that in my life, I probably will never be able to be recognized on a Federal level as far as many rights go. That's the harsh reality of living here.

So, yeah, I'm glad that President Obama is our President. I simply cannot imagine having Vice President Sarah Palin and President McCain at our helm. More? Oh yeah, I want it. Happy? Pretty much but not completely. Sounds like most of life, doesn't it?

Why I've Decided to Switch to Being a Republican

Overpriced Military Suicides and Facebook

Anybody have a ton of extra money laying around to spend? Nope. I didn't think so. Here's a list of 10 items that are overpriced and carry a giant markup when you purchase them. Its funny, I think of it often -- my mind is just geared that way, I guess. From text messages to Starbucks to bottled water.......we need to think smarter and stop opening our wallets as often. We need our own money more than anybody else needs it.

And speaking of something that just isn't quite right.....I ran across this startling article including disturbing information on the number of suicides in our country's military ranks right now. Four soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, over just last weekend alone took their lives. My buddy who returned from Iraq recently tells us quite the stories of stress and mental strain that lurk in the bodies of many of our military folks. We do a very poor job of taking care of those who have volunteered their own lives for our nation's good.

My MIL is now in her new assisted living home. Its quite nice. Meals, baths, laundry, house cleaning, cable TV, phone, electricity, medications, treatments, transportation....all provided. I'd live there! She is a woman quite easily prone to anxiety-ridden moments. So it doesn't really matter where she is or how good it is....there will always be trouble. But I must admit that it feels better to us that she is safe and watched over. They will do a 30-day assessment at the end of one month to see if they feel she is still a good fit for the property and that her needs don't exceed what they can provide. We're keeping our fingers crossed that she recognizes that she's not in Club Med.

My hiatus from Facebook has been quite nice. I haven't missed it much at all. And the free time that I now have, and the lack of self-induced pressure, have been more than welcome. I'll be back on from time to time .... but it will not be like before. My life needs some attention right now. Its not right. Something is amiss and it must be controlled soon.

Glenn Beck for President....And Other Reasons Why I Haven't Been Blogging

Holy moly. I was really on a nice roll there for a bit with my writing. Geez. Been working like a bad boy over the past 5 days as this cute little map will show you.

My MIL has been approved for Medicaid benefits and will be moving from her current nursing facility to a permanent assisted living facility relatively soon. She's a pill, there's no doubt about that. Doesn't like this, doesn't like that, nothing is ever quite right. LoverBoy has been inundated with paperwork, phone calls, emails and the ins-and-outs of getting all worked out. All by himself. He's had no help or proper assistance from those who should be helping him. But, he's been a trooper, like he always is. He often gets taken advantage of that way.

My head has been spinning with a long thread of thoughts in my brain. Regarding my own personal well being and my evolvement on this planet. Remember that Jet Blue flight attendant dude Steven Slater? I think that he may be living inside me. I've had more than my normal, fair share of strange feelings lately. Its unlike me. And its unpleasant. And its not right. I'm a tough old SOB and something is amiss in the house. You think that you get to be 48 years old and that you now have life by the balls. I'm rethinking that theory. If my thoughts ever formulate into anything other than a bitch session, I'll put them on virtual paper for your perusal. Until then, its nearly all that I'm thinking about these days.

As is the norm, "I can't believe the summer is over and that there are only two more days left of August." Have you ever said that? Ever heard that before? Thought so. Me too. We have invitations to Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco and a good friend's birthday bash in Palm Springs in the next month or so. I'm not sure that we'll make either....but we're trying. We are in the middle of the arduous process of trying to refinance our condominium. Plenty of details and pieces to put together for that to happen -- but there's a good chance that we're going to trim some cash off of our monthly mortgage. Smiles all around.

And on a final note, I think Glenn Beck would make a super dooper amazingly delicious new President for the United States...don't you? He would fit right in nicely with the simplicity of thinking in our glorious nation. Did you know that he struggled with "attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder"? Nah, I wouldn't believe it either. (Side note: He's 2 years younger than me.....please tell me that I look better than him....please, please......)

Target Musical Review

A perfect opportunity to show off your musical skills in a nice, toe-tapping way while still making a valid point. Target doesn't like the gays in case you didn't know.

Continue to Confound the Wise

It will come as no surprise to most of you that I have strong roots in the Christian church in America. Born, raised, practically lived on the church pew. Presbyterian. Assembly of God. And everywhere in between. Giant missionary and traveling musician background around the globe. The stories are endless. But I am still amazed at how different the Christian church in America "looks." To me, to others....compared to the Christian church in other nations or parts of the world. It just looks different. Apparently the same Bible. Apparently the same scriptures. But drastically different visual effects. Viewpoints on nudity, alcohol, smoking and what is, and is not, permitted inside the church vary widely from nation to nation. Somehow, the good ol' USofA has cast its own eerie glow over many centuries-old traditions. We tote it as the gospel truth. Despite the fact that we are one of the younger social groups around the earth. We stand proud and declare that it's our way or the high way. But we're wrong. Well, many of those inside mainstream evangelical Christianity in America are wrong, perhaps I should say. It is not new news to anybody that hypocrisy rules most churches in America today. The examples are endless.

Recently novelist Anne Rice has declared that she is quitting Christianity because she's seen too much hypocrisy. She's not alone. She's not the first person to open her eyes and see it. But she is one of the more popular to call it what it is and want to get the hell out. It's like living a lie. Living inside of a body that isn't yours. I admire her open mindedness and ability to think for herself instead of have a church pulpit think for her. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life completed a 2008 study of faith and religion in America. Check out these quotes from evangelical pollster George Barna:

• American Christianity (side note: Notice how he defines it as the American version!) is not well, and there's evidence to indicate that its condition is more critical than most realize -- or at least want to admit.
• Little measurable difference between the moral behavior of churchgoers and the rest of American society.
  
• Born again Christians are more likely to divorce than other Americans (an act strongly condemned by Jesus).
• Born again Christians are more likely to be racist than other Americans. (Duh...)
  
• While evangelical Christian overwhelmingly say they believe in abstaining from premarital sex, they are more likely to be sexually active than peers.
  
• Every day the church is becoming more like the world it allegedly seeks to change.
  
• An unsettling conclusion: Many people who call themselves Christians don't really believe, deep down, in the tenets of their faith. Their actions reveal their true beliefs.
  
• Churches in America are said to be the most segregated places in America.
  

Any astounding conclusions here? Nope. I didn't think so. I love knowing that many of us know this crap already -- and we have for a very, very long time. I wonder when The Steeple will figure it out?

The Way We Treat Them......

This is the way we treat educated, professional human beings who want to serve our country. We get rid of them. I'm telling you kids, I feel like we're in the Dark Ages instead of the year 2010. Something continues to be seriously amiss in this, one of the most powerful nations on earth. These are just two of the amazing folks attempting to serve our nation in the U.S. military but who are not permitted to because they are gay.

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ted Haggard's Coming Around Again

Gay People Welcome -- Gay Marriages, Not So Much.....

Just like Carly Simon, it just goes to show that you can't keep a closeted homosexual meth user down. Ted Haggard is back doing what he loves to do. I remember another sex-related scandal in my own church growing up. Apparently, congregations don't like it when the senior pastor is discovered in bed with one of the elder's wives. Tsk tsk. At least in my church in Idaho they didn't. Good luck, Ted. Be honest about yourself this time around, would you please? It'll be easier on all of us.

Oregon....Home to the World's Tallest Trees

Generally, this bad boy doesn't like being touched while at work. And it happens regularly as you'll remember from this writing. But when it happened today, I begged for it on the other side. My wish was granted. Enough about that.....

On to more important issues. It will come as no surprise that I love living where I do...Portland, Oregon is an amazing place. The Pacific Northwest is filled with trees, water, rocks, ocean and lots of green growing stuff from bushes to grasses. What I didn't realize until today is that the coastline from British Columbia south to Northern California is home to some of the world's most tall trees. The trees here are typically 130 feet or better. And small patches of the Redwoods in Northern California actually reach nearly 200 feet! They are hundreds of years old and are hit hard by strong Pacific winds and many inches of rain each year. This article was on the front page of The Oregonian today. I rarely read the newspaper any longer but this caught my eye and held my attention. It goes on about the earth's carbon and how much we release back into the oceans, air, and ...... trees. It just confirms one more time why I count my home as one of the world's greatest and most beautiful places to live.

July 20, 1969

Anybody remember this day? I do. Black and white Magnavox television, rabbit ears perched atop angled just right, and we three kids and my mom piled around the set in our living room. If this video doesn't get you, I think you're minus something inside. It should get you. It should remind you, change you, cause you to challenge our world today. We have so much now. But, yet, we have so little. This was one of the world's greatest days. Today we're used to these sorts of technology challenges being met with ease -- and they happen so frequently that our senses have become blurred, tempered, dulled. Let this take you back. 41 years ago today.

Fresh Beginnings

July 1. Canada day. A new month. And a new blog template and colors. Wild, eh? I've had the same blog template since its beginning in October 2006. And everyone needs a little freshening up from time to time....right?

I've just returned from a Boston layover. My one day off before a six-day stretch of Austin, Phoenix, and several trips to Las Vegas. After that? Bear Week 2010 in Provincetown! Here's last year's memories from P-Town. We're staying in the same house as last year....it's the prior home of the guy who would help turn around the trains at the end of the rail line in Provincetown. If you don't know it already, Provincetown is at the very far end of Cape Cod....protruding out into the Atlantic Ocean. And don't tell the folks over in Plymouth (remember Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims were supposed to have landed first?). But actually Provincetown was the first stop after their journey across the ocean. Shh. You'll screw up history if anybody finds out. We are with a few new friends this year, and minus a few old ones from last year. Change is good.

Once we return from P-Town, Portland's free Summer Concerts in the Parks will be in full swing. We have been going to these for more than ten years now. They run on most nights of the week in a wide variety of parks across the city. We take a picnic, the pooch, and our sand chairs and enjoy. It has become a powerful memory of our years together and reminds us of how much we really dig this city we live in. If you're in the area, you should join us.

I see that Google has become another of the growing number of companies helping to cover the "Imputed Income" that domestic partner's are required to pay for their same-sex health insurance coverages. In case you didn't know it already, I have my domestic partner listed on my health insurance. And he has me listed on his. But since we are not married (and not permitted to be married in the state of Oregon) it means that my employer is required to tack on "Imputed Income" to our taxable income each year. It amounts to about $3,500 for each of us that shows up under additional income. Then we pay taxes on that additional amount. Those of you who are married do not. Unfair. Yes. Thankfully, Google is yet one more company that is helping cover that additional financial burden on its employees. Remember, it's the home of the free and land of the brave.....where we have liberty and justice for some.

Summer time has been slow in coming here. We had one of the rainiest Mays on record. And the wettest June ever. We have had one day reaching 80 so far. The rest have hovered in the 60s and 70s. Personally, neither of us mind it. We're not prone to the throws of depression or that sort of thing when the grey and clouds hang around forever. But, come on, toss us a little bone here. Just a little sumthin'.

I have a growing collection of hats. A few of the baseball variety. But even a few more of the variety that you'll see in this picture. Of course the red one is from Portland's Red Dress Party and I've simply added the others to the collection over the last few months. I sort of like them.

Freedom

Within half an hour the border situation was all but out of control. The pressure-release solution had backfired spectacularly. At the Bornholmer Strasse, the huge crowds waiting behind a screen fence to go through the exit process were starting to push forward, and to threaten the handful of border guards trying to keep them in order. At around 11.30, a group of East Berliners pushed aside the screen fence in front of the border crossing and everyone swarmed into the checkpoint area en masse. Checkpoint commander Lieutenant-Colonel Harald Jager decided that he was not prepared to risk the lives of himself and his soldiers. He ordered his men to stop checking passports, open up fully, and just let the crowd do what it wanted.

And the crowd knew what it wanted. Within moments, thousands began to pour through the checkpoint. They simply walked or, in most cases ran, into West Berlin. The sensation of running freely over the bridge, of crossing a border where such an action, just days or even hours before, would have courted near-certain death, brought a surge of exhileration that, if we are to believe those who were there, all but changed the chemical composition of the air and turned it into champagne.

Large crowds had already gathered on the Western side. They greeted the Easterners with cries of joy and open arms. Many improvised toasts were drunk. By midnight, all the border checkpoints had been forced to open At the Invalidenstrasse, masses invaded from the West and met the approaching Easterners in the middle.

The above paragraphs are from a book that I'm just finishing up. The Berlin Wall by Frederick Taylor, pages 427-428. This scene is from the night of 9 November 1989 when the Berlin Wall was finally breached. I remember that very night precisely. Having been to Berlin myself, and having actually stayed in a hotel on the former East side, this story brings back powerful memories. Especially because this is Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S. I thought it was a perfect story of freedom to commemorate Memorial Day. Have you felt some of those same feelings expressed in the paragraphs above? Have you ever felt such freedom before?