Pour yourself a beverage, sit back, and take your mind off the state of the world for a while with these fascinating videos. WARNING: May cause acute hunger pangs in sensitve individuals. And everyone else.
1. Short Order Cookery (1973) - This vocational training film shows how one man can cook everything, all at the same time. Who knew that griddles had different heating sections?
2. Give Your Eggs a Break (1966) - Another vocational film, with some comedy relief thrown in.
3. Spider (197x) - Kenneth Osgood, a former Golden Gloves boxer, was a phenomenal short-order cook at a diner in New Hampshire. When you watch this film, you'll understand how he got the nickname of "Spider."
4. New Jersey's Busiest Diner (2021) - A look behind the scenes at a ginormous diner with 125 staff in the kitchen, serving 15,000 meals a week. I know M.P. will love the mountain of disco fries, an old favorite of his - I like them too. We also love chicken and waffles, a Southern treat that goes back at least to the 1920s.
Matt Baume of the American Foundation for Equal Rights reports:
More about the Alaska Supreme Court decision here.
A video of retired Army colonel Ed Cuyler and wife Robbie speaking out in support of their lesbian daughter and daughter-in-law who are raising a family in Oklahoma:
And sadly, recently retired Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, whose consecration in 2003 rocked and split the Anglican Communion, has announced that he and his huband, Mark Andrew, are divorcing. The couple have been together for over 25 years. Read Bishop Robinson's announcement in the Daily Beasthere.
I guess you fellas know that New Hampshire Republicans are trying to repeal the state's equal-marriage law, which came into effect on January 1, 2010. But in one family, at least, family values are proving stronger than party loyalty. The story goes like this:
Craig Stowell fought with the U.S. Marines in Iraq in 2004 and now is fighting for the right of gays, like his brother, to marry in New Hampshire.
"My brother and best friend, Calvin, was tormented all the way through high school because people knew he was gay," Craig Stowell, 30, said in an online petition seeking to pressure New Hampshire legislators not to repeal the state's 2009 law that legalized gay marriage. . . .
As the New Hampshire Legislature prepares to vote on whether to repeal the law, HB 437, Craig Stowell -- who serves as the Republican co-chairman of Standing Up For New Hampshire Families -- has launched an online campaign to keep the law as it is.
"If HB 437 passes, same-sex couples will no longer be allowed to marry," he says in an online petition he has posted at www.change.org. "This mean-spirited attack is nothing more than state-sponsored bullying."
In other news, remember all those gay and lesbian couples who got hitched in Canada after equal marriage became the law of the land in 2005? Well now a Canadian lawyer in the Justice Department of Stephen Harper's Conservative government, which won a huge majority in last year's parliamentary election, has argued before a court that foreign couples who could not marry in their home countries cannot legally marry in Canada, either - which would make several thousand gay and lesbian couples now totally unhitched, their marriages null and void.
Dan Savage, who married his husband Terry Miller in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2005, commented this morning:
When I got out of bed, I was a married man and as soon as I got on my Twitter feed I realized I had been divorced overnight.
A shocked Olivia Chow, member of Parliament for downtown Toronto and widow of the late New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton, says Harper's government has used a "back-door way" to attack same-sex marriage, and has hugely embarassed the nation with this about-face.
Video report here from the CBC, which won't let me embed it.
Update: Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, and Freedom to Marry have issued a joint statement on the news from Canada. Excerpt:
No one’s marriage has been invalidated or is likely to be invalidated. The position taken by one government lawyer in a divorce is not itself precedential. No court has accepted this view and there is no reason to believe that either Canada’s courts or its Parliament would agree with this position, which no one has asserted before during the eight years that same-sex couples have had the freedom to marry in Canada. . . .
The message for same-sex couples married in Canada remains the same as it is for same-sex couples validly married here in the United States: take every precaution you can to protect your relationship with legal documents such as powers of attorney and adoptions, as you may travel to jurisdictions that don't respect your legal relationship. There is no reason to suggest that Canadian marriages of same-sex couples are in jeopardy, or to advocate that people try to marry again elsewhere, as that could cause these couples unnecessary complications, anxiety, and expense.
Nother update: Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said Friday that equal marriage is still cool - and, most importantly, legal - in Canada, no matter where you're from:
I want to make it very clear that, in our government’s view, these marriages should be valid. We will change the Civil Marriage Act so that any marriages performed in Canada that aren't recognized in the couple's home jurisdiction will be recognized in Canada. This will apply to all marriages performed in Canada. We have been clear that we have no desire to reopen this issue – both myself and the prime minister consider this debate to be closed.
Well, that's a relief for lots of folks, I'm sure.
State lawmakers approved a bill on Wednesday to make New Hampshire the sixth U.S. state to authorize gay marriage, but the legislation still requires the governor's signature.
New Hampshire's Democratically controlled House of Representatives endorsed gay marriage in a 198-176 vote, hours after the state Senate approved the legislation by 14-10 along party lines, making the state the fourth this year to back gay marriage in the United States.
Late last month, the House rejected a similar bill. But Senate and House members met last week to reach a compromise, approving new language giving clergy and religious institutions opposed to gay marriage greater protections, including the legal right to decline to marry same-sex couples.
Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, has said he would veto a gay-marriage bill if such protections were excluded and is expected to sign the latest bill into law.
Update: Governor John Lynch signed the bill into law at 5:20 p.m. It comes into effect on January 1, 2010, exactly two years after the state began performing civil unions. The Boston Globe reports:
Gay marriage is now legal in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts -- all of the new England states, except for Rhode Island. Gay marriage is also legal in Iowa. . . .
When Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004, New Hampshire seemed unlikely to follow. Republicans had enjoyed virtually uninterrupted control of both houses of the Legislature since the late 19th century.
But in 2006, Granite State voters unseated a pair of GOP congressmen amid rising upopularity for the Iraq war and the presidency of George W. Bush. The voters also swept Democratic majorities into the State House. A few months later, the new Legislature approved civil unions.
In early May, Lynch reiterated his position that civil unions were best for the state. But two weeks later, he said his thinking had changed. He said society's views on civil rights have "constantly evolved and expanded" throughout our history. "That is what I believe we must do today."
The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, elected in New Hampshire in 2003 as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, was among those celebrating the new law.
"It's about being recognized as whole people and whole citizens," Robinson said.
"There are a lot of people standing here who when we grew up could not have imagined this," he said. "You can't imagine something that is simply impossible. It's happened, in our lifetimes."
I know just what the bishop means. Full text of Governor Lynch's comments at the bill signing is here. Key excerpts, emphasis mine:
New Hampshire's great tradition has always been to come down on the side of individual liberties and protections. That tradition continues today.
Two years ago in this room, I signed civil unions into law. That law gave same-sex couples in New Hampshire the rights and protections of marriage. And while civil unions was [sic] recognized as a step forward, many same-sex couples made compelling arguments that a separate system is not an equal system. . . .
Today, we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that they will receive the same rights, responsibilities - and respect - under New Hampshire law.
Today, we are also standing up for religious liberties. This legislation makes clear that we understand that certain faiths do not recognize same-sex marriage, and it protects them from having to participate in marriage-related activities that violate their fundamental religious principles.
With the signing of this legislation today, New Hampshire will have taken every action possible to ensure that all families have equal rights to the extent that is possible under state law.
Unfortunately, the federal government does not extend the same rights and protections that New Hampshire provides same-sex families, and that should change. . . .
Most families in New Hampshire will awaken tomorrow, go to work and to school, and feel no impact from what we have accomplished today.
But for some, they will awaken tomorrow knowing we have said to them that they are equal, that they have the same rights to live and to love as everyone else.
Today is a day to celebrate in New Hampshire. Today should not be considered a victory for some and a loss for others. Today is a victory for all the people of New Hampshire, who I believe, in our own independent way, want tolerance for all.
Political shocker: Reuters reports that the revised marriage-equality bill was defeated by just two votes in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, although the Senate approved it. One of the voices raised against the amended bill was that of gay Republican Steve Vaillancourt. Figures. The bill now goes to a joint committee for further negotiation.
And the Christian Science Monitor has a miscellany of interesting articles, none of them gay-related, but all of them thought-provoking:
- A review ofFingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality, by veteran NPR religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty. A quote:
‘God’ may not be, as the atheists have it, a delusion – but perhaps a conclusion driven by the math of the universe. [R]ather than dispel the spiritual, science is cracking it open for all to see. It seems to me that the instruments of brain science are picking up something beyond this material world.
- The Republican National Committee abandoned its attempt to pass a formal resolution asking the Democrats to call themselves the Democrat Socialist Party. The roommate laughed out loud and didn't believe me when I told him this, but I'm not making this up. Geez. Those RNC lamebrains have no clue what a real socialist party even looks like - and it's sure not the Dems, who I have to say are starting to work my nerves with their pussyfooting around.
- The RNC also got a pass today from the Federal Elections Commission, which ruled that Sarah Palin's dress-to-impress $150,000 Neiman-Marcus wardrobe was A-OK with them, because the money came from party funds, not contributions. BTW, she's hard at work on writing her memoirs right now - don't you know that will be a hoot to read?
- A professor of media economics writes an insightful opinion piece on "why journalists deserve low pay": in this age of bloggetry and twitteraciousness, journalists must adapt or die, giving consumers value-added expertise and information that they can't get for free just by surfing the 'Net.
- And the U.S. Senate voted 90-5 to impose limits on how bad the credit-card companies can jerk you around. About damn time, too; the last 20 years, the conniving, money-grubbing, effing Republicans have let the credit and banking industries screw consumers mercilessly. If you don't read any of the other stories, do check out the list of what the legislation will specifically do (and not do) to protect you, if passed by the House as expected.
--McDonald's has agreed to a cash settlement and diversity training for its Louisville, Kentucky, stores, after an employee in a downtown store called five gay customers "faggots" and "cocksuckers" last fall, and the store manager refused to refund their purchases.
Bristol Palin today embarked on Abstinence Tour 2009, making appearances on Good Morning America and the Today show followed by a town hall chat for teens.
"There's one way to prevent [teen pregnancy], and that's not having sex," she told Chris Cuomo on GMA. "I do think it's realistic. It's definitely the harder choice, but it's the safer choice. It's the best choice."
Her baby daddy, Levi Johnston, disagreed with her on the Early Show.
"Abstinence is a great idea, but I also think that you need to enforce, you know, condoms and birth control and other things like that to have safe sex," he said. "I don't think just telling young kids, 'you can't have sex'—it's not going to work. It's not realistic."
--Rep. Virginia Foxx, who last week called Matthew Shepard's brutal murder a "hoax," today wrote a letter of apology to his mother, Judy, head of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. The Foundation declined to comment further, saying it's time to move on and work to pass the federal hate-crimes bill.
--Distinguished actor David Ogden Stiers, 66, came out of the closet. I said, Who knew? The roommate said, Who didn't know?
In Congress, the House today passed the hate crimes bill (formerly known as the Matthew Shepard Act) by 249-175; Ted Kennedy has introduced the companion bill in the Senate, and the President has said he will sign it when it reaches his desk.
To be honest, fellas, I'm still not certain exactly and precisely how a hate crimes bill protects anyone from being beaten or murdered; but I am certain that the right-wing bigots are furiously against the measure. As witness Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) calling Matthew Shepard's murder a "hoax," claiming he was merely a robbery victim, not targeted because of being gay, which is utterly false, by his killers' own admission. Later in the day, Foxx put out an oily apology for using the word "hoax," but kept up her opposition.
--Meanwhile, in New Hampshire today, the state Senate unexpectedly passed an equal marriage bill already approved by the state House; now the bill goes to committee to iron out minor differences between the two versions.
--In Virginia, a major precedent was set for transgender people: U.S. District Judge James Robinson ruled Tuesday that Diana Schroer (formerly David) was entitled to nearly half a million dollars in damages because of sex discrimination, after she was turned down for a position with the Library of Congress. The judge said that's sex discrimination under the civil rights statutes, and threw the book at the government.
--But in Iowa, where same-sex marriage became a reality this week, a Des Moines couple published an editorial and this video about the terrible, terrible dangers of being caught up in the "homosexual cult" - yup, cult - on behalf of the Iowa Family Policy Council. Up till about the 5-minute mark, you think it's going to be a sweet, heartwarming memorial about their late son; but listen to the ending. You need to watch this so you're prepared when righteous Aunt Betty brings it up at the next family gathering:
And also notice how many times the subject of money comes up, and how important that is to them; oh yeah, I know the type of toxic parents who speak that kind of language - the type who are usually very controlling and very rejecting. My parents weren't that way, thank God, but I've known of several who were that way among my friends' families.
And I can picture the scenario: after many years in the closet, he finally got the nerve to come out; but then he got sick and very scared; oh no, God's judgment on me; and back home, dying, under the reproachful eyes of Mom and Dad, like a good prisoner he recanted his queer misdeeds and told his tormentors exactly what they wanted to hear, so he could die in peace. Maybe he even worked himself into believing that the nonsense he was saying was true; anything to get right with God and the parents before it's too late, and the fiery pit looms.
And notice how, even in death - their son still isn't good enough for them. He still doesn't measure up. He still hasn't earned their love - and never will.
They're ashamed of their own son, who defied them for a short time and lived his own life, disobeying the rules. They still haven't forgiven him, or accepted him.
They even look like the couple in Grant Wood's American Gothic. And just as cold. They didn't love their son, they owned him. How fucking pathetic.
--On a positive note, here's a brilliant refutation of Christianist lies about same-sex marriage by a guy named Rob Tisinai. Never heard of him before, but hope to hear a lot more from him. He's good.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, harmony; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may seek not so much to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
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We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.
and welcome to the Blue Truck, a blog for mature gay men with news and views on gay rights, history, art, humor, and whatever comes to mind. Plus a few hot men. The truck's all washed and gassed up, so hop in buddy, let's go.
CAUTION: For mature gay men only beyond this point. Some posts and links may not be suitable for children or the unco guid. You have been warned.
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My Story
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Churches say that the expression of love in a heterosexual monogamous relationship includes the physical, the touching, embracing, kissing, the genital act - the totality of our love makes each of us grow to become increasingly godlike and compassionate. If this is so for the heterosexual, what earthly reason have we to say that it is not the case with the homosexual?
It is a perversion if you say to me that a person chooses to be homosexual. You must be crazy to choose a way of life that exposes you to a kind of hatred. It's like saying you choose to be black in a race-infected society.
If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn't worship that God.
