Waitin' for the Weekend

 

Bonus:  How to add more bulk to your package. But what the hell is VPL?

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Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

The course of American history has changed.  The Supreme Court today overturned Roe v. Wade by a 6-3 decision.  The landmark 1973 case had legalized abortion in the United States as a constitutional right.  Today's ruling leaves state legislatures free to restrict, forbid, or criminalize abortion.  

As a gay man, the abortion question has never been an issue for me; but I do know that my late mother and other female relations thought a woman should definitely be able to get an abortion, and I think no man should have a say in that: it's up to the woman who has to bear that child, and in nearly all cases, raise that child.

But today's ruling, supported by all three of the conservative justices Trump appointed to the Supreme Court, is another landmark case that bodes ill for many other rights that we have come to take for granted in the last half-century.  A new era begins today, and it's not going to be pretty.

Read the full Supreme Court ruling here (PDF); the first 8 pages are a summary of the actual 200-page opinion.

This is only the first domino to fall.  You fellas who are married - you do realize that you could now be un-married by the Supreme Court with the stroke of a pen, don't you?  You fellas who aren't married - you could now be prosecuted as felons for having gay sex, the way it used to be here in Texas, if the Court continues to apply today's legal reasoning to other cases.  What the Supreme Court gives, it can also take away.

It seems to me that today's ruling is just the first step in establishing a totalitarian, right-wing, one-party government that fuses religion and politics, and crushes the life out of all dissent.  Don't think it can't happen here.  It just did.

With a two-to-one majority on the Supreme Court - and with a Republican majority in both houses of Congress the likely result of this year's elections - a new dark age looms ahead.  Wake up, guys.  You Have Been Warned.

Mark my words:  the right-wing wolves have tasted blood now, and they won't stop with abortion rights.  Better enjoy Pride month while it lasts.  Here's live coverage of today's events:

 

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Pick a House

This might become a regular feature on the Blue Truck when I run out of other things to post.  And the slow dissolution of civilized life is simply too sad to write about.  But there was a time, not so very long ago, when it was still possible to believe in beauty; and from some old plan books, here are some lovely Colonial-style homes to look at, chosen at random from my files.

If you had to pick one of these to live in, which would you choose, and why?  (Click to enlarge; then from the lightbox, right-click to open them really big.)

C, L, Bowes, 1925

The Home Plan Book, 1939

National Plan Service, 1927

National Plan Service, 1963

National Plan Service, 1947

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Today's Quote

From Mere Christianity (1952), Chapter 9, by C. S. Lewis, emphasis mine:

Love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people.

I pointed out in the chapter on Forgiveness that our love for ourselves does not mean that we like ourselves. It means that we wish our own good. In the same way, Christian Love (or Charity) for our neighbors is quite a different thing from liking or affection. We 'like' or are 'fond of' some people, and not of others. It is important to understand that this natural 'liking' is neither a sin nor a virtue, any more than your likes and dislikes in food are a sin or a virtue. It is just a fact. But, of course, what we do about it is either sinful or virtuous. . . .

The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.

 There is, indeed, one exception. If you do him a good turn, not to please God and obey the law of charity, but to show him what a fine forgiving chap you are, and to put him in your debt, and then sit down to wait for his 'gratitude', you will probably be disappointed. (People are not fools: they have a very quick eye for anything like showing off, or patronage.) 

But whenever we do good to another self, just because it is a self, made (like us) by God, and desiring its own happiness as we desire ours, we shall have learned to love it a little more or, at least, to dislike it less.

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Note:  C. S. Lewis was, in a way, my spiritual mentor.  I came to the Episcopal Church as an adult, and was confirmed after a short, perfunctory course in the fundamentals; but I wanted more guidance.  I had already come across some of Lewis’s writings, so I bought up most of his non-fiction books, perhaps a dozen, and read and re-read them for years.  His keen insight and intellectual perspective, along with good humor and humility, gave me the spiritual roots I needed in that seedling period.

Sadly, I have not been to church for the better part of two decades now, for very good reasons.  But my faith goes on.

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Waitin' for the Weekend

Happy Pride!

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Elder: A Gay Mormon Love Story

Not as boring as you think!  This is a poignant story of coming to terms with the truth you were taught and the truth you know inside.  I suppose all of us good little gay boys who grew up in a homophobic church (and they all were, in my day) has a story of the Love That Could Not Be like this one. And of finally daring to step outside the sacred circle - and finding not judgment, but peace.

 

A YouTube commenter has kindly supplied the rest of the story from the New York Times (behind a paywall): 

Though Tom left Gianni in Italy, their relationship continued in various forms over the years. Gianni still lives in Pescara, where he is an artist and cares for his elderly mother. Tom returned to the United States, where he remained closeted but eventually left the Mormon Church. (His marriage to a Mormon woman ended in divorce, after which he came out.) Tom now lives in Salt Lake City with his partner. Although their romance has ended, he and Gianni still consider themselves deeply connected and close friends. 

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Your Questions Answered: Elephants

Do elephants have rights?

Answer:  NO.  Only human beings have rights.  Human beings are the only creatures capable of conceiving rights or exercising them.  Animals have no conception of rights, or the obligations that go with them.  

They also have no concept of right or wrong - that is to say, morality - or of law; some may have a kind of limited intelligence, and can be taught to obey human commands and do wonderful tricks, but they lack reason and abstract thought, along with other strictly human qualities.  The higher animals can in fact be loyal, useful companions to human beings, which is a lovely thing as far as it goes - but they can never be human beings.

That being said, in your Head Trucker's estimation, human beings have a moral duty to treat animals humanely, not abusing or mistreating them; the higher the animal, the greater the duty.  This duty can and should be enforced by law.

Consider the elephant in this video:  would you want him for a roommate?  What do you think he smells like?  Is he really a person, just like you?

Optional homework assignment:  Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and for each occurrence of the word "everyone," mentally substitute the word "elephant," and see where that gets you.

See also anthropomorphism.

Your Head Trucker has answers to a lot of other questions now bedeviling the public mind, like What is a woman? and Is Donald Trump a pathological liar? but it's probably best that I stop right here.

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Sunday Drive: Holy, Holy, Holy

Trinity Sunday

 

Lyrics are here.

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Golden

A brilliant short film by German director Kai Stanicke that I posted here six years ago but which deserves a repeat:

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Blue Bulls

A gay farmer talks about love and loss and his life's work, breeding cattle in rural Australia.  A very touching story.

 

See Jon's Blue-E website here.

To see what Jon looked like about ten years ago, click here.

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UK Gay Pride 1979

This BBC documentary from 1979 shows what progress had been made in the ten years since Stonewall, and what yet remained to do.  It provides an interesting perspective, slightly different in details but essentially similar to the American gay rights movement at that time. 

A PBS show from about the same year called Word Is Out was a must-see event for me, still closeted at the time, but the full program is strangely missing from YouTube. I wonder if any of my truckbuddies remember watching it. Here is a trailer:

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Platinum Jubilee Highlights

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations conluded today with a rather interminable pageant (like an American inaugural parade, only sillier), with members of the Royal Family watching from the grandstands in front of Buckingham Palace. The pageant concluded with the Queen's appearance on the palace balcony, surrounded by three generations of her family. Sky News provides the highlights of the four days of festivities:

 

The Queen issued this closing message:

When it comes to how to mark seventy years as your Queen, there is no guidebook to follow. It really is a first. But I have been humbled and deeply touched that so many people have taken to the streets to celebrate my Platinum Jubilee.

While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all; and I remain committed to serving you to the best of my ability, supported by my family.

I have been inspired by the kindness, joy and kinship that has been so evident in recent days, and I hope this renewed sense of togetherness will be felt for many years to come.

I thank you most sincerely for your good wishes and for the part you have all played in these happy celebrations.

ELIZABETH R. 

Your Head Trucker is reminded of the words of the first Queen Elizabeth in her Golden Speech to Parliament, 1601:

Though God hath raised Me high, yet this I account the glory of my Crown, that I have Reigned with your Loves.

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Party at the Palace, 2022

The Platinum Jubilee festivities continue with a Party at the Palace, curiously featuring only two or three big names, and a long list of unknown youngsters whom nobody ever heard of.  Perhaps it's some sort of jubilee scheme to help disadvantaged children - the Queen is keen on that sort of thing.  And who knew Diana Ross was British?

Update, Midnight in London:  I was away from the computer and could not watch the concert, which is not really my cup of tea, but here is the whole phantasmagoria from the BBC:

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Platinum Jubilee Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul's

A service of thanksgiving for the life and reign of HM Queen Elizabeth II was held in St. Paul's Cathedral in London this morning.  I haven't found a YouTube video of the complete service yet, but this short news clip shows members of the Royal Family and a few political leaders arriving at the steps of the cathedral.  The Queen, "with great reluctance," did not attend the service, owing to ongoing mobility problems; she was represented by the Prince of Wales.

 

When a full video becomes available, I will post it here. Meanwhile, perhaps my truckbuddies will enjoy hearing one old queen dish about another:  Queen Margrethe II of Denmark celebrated her own Golden Jubliee - 50 years on the throne of Denmark - this past January. She is an artist and a delightful personality herself; here she speaks about her long friendship with Elizabeth II.

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Trooping the Colour, 2022

Live coverage of the first big London event of the four-day Platinum Jubilee celebrations begins at 10 a.m. London time, which is five hours ahead of New York time.  It is thought that the 96-year-old Queen will not take the salute in person on Horse Guards Parade, as is customary, but she may appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace afterwards when the Royal Air Force flypast provides the climax to today's festivities.

The Telegraph reports:

Or you can watch Sky News coverage from a different vantage point: 

 

The Queen issued this Jubilee message yesterday:

Thank you to everyone who has been involved in convening communities, families, neighbours and friends to mark my Platinum Jubilee, in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth. I know that many happy memories will be created at these festive occasions.

I continue to be inspired by the goodwill shown to me, and hope that the coming days will provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved during the last seventy years, as we look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm.

ELIZABETH R.

You can find the schedule of other Jubilee events this week at the BBC website here,

For other information, the official website of the British Royal Family is here.

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