Adam Kinzinger, former Republican congressman and member of the January 6th Committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol in 2021, throws down the gauntlet, calling Trump "the biggest victim, the biggest crybaby, the biggest sissy to ever exist . . . a corrupt, evil man . . . a disgrace to everything America stands for."
It does your Head Trucker's heart good to hear a real man, brave and true, call out Trump no uncertain terms. I hope there will be many more good men and women who heed the call.
Last Saturday in D.C. Goddamn, what a man. You go, Bernie.
I don't agree with some of Bernie's proposals, and he is wrong on a couple of points of history. But I endorse the main thrust of his message. There's far too much money in too few hands. Money = power, and power, as Lord Acton said, tends to corrupt; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
That's why our Founding Fathers set up a government with three branches (divided power; checks and balances) and periodic elections, ensuring that power changes hands from time to time. They also endowed us with a Constitution that cannot be easily changed (the rule of laws, not men) and a free press that can expose the misuse and abuse of power to the attention of the people. But when 3 or 4 people own most of the wealth in this country, working hand-in-glove with a would-be dictator, you don't have to be a "communist" to see that means the end of democracy.
The system is not perfect, but then NO system is. There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be a Utopia where everyone gets everything they want when they want it. The best that can be done is to provide the greatest good for the greatest number most of the time. Capitalism properly restrained and regulated can be a good thing, bringing prosperity and security to many millions - with enough left over in the public treasury to provide a social safety net for the elderly, disabled, and unfortunate - as has been generally the case in the Western world for over a century now.
But unbridled, unregulated capitalism is simply the dictatorship of the rich, and profoundly un-American.
Unelected and unaccountable, the super-rich could buy and sell all the lawyers, judges, police, and politicians they need to get their way, immune from any and all consequences. They could control all sources of news and information, in print or online, indoctrinating everyone young and old with their corrupt wordview, and inciting the masses to fear, resentment, hatred, or violence against anything or anyone, as their masters pleased. And rhey could manipulate the price of all goods and services and housing to squeeze the last dime out of the propertyless common people, in effect making them serfs perpetually dependent on the goodwill of the overlords and their digital informers/enforcers. America or Soviet Russia? Who could tell the difference?
The super-rich could also dispose of whoever is president, if he doesn't do their bidding. There is an old saying that "there is honor among thieves." But who knows what might happen when thieves fall out with one another?
And by the way - don't fear what may happen one day. It has already happened. That little god-box in your hand that you just can't live without? That plastic slab you carry everywhere you go and use to do everything with? You do know, don't you, that it tracks every movement you make, 24/7, and they are recorded somewhere, as is every call you make and every word you type. So are all your purchases, all your bank and credit card data, the names and numbers of all your friends and kinfolks, even your casual hookups and favorite porn. It can all be used against you - and may well be. Don't fear the slavery to come - the chain is already around your neck and the knife at your balls. Resistance, I'm afraid, is too late. You have been assimilated. And paid good money for it, too, you fool. So enjoy it while you can.
But what do I know? I'm just a tired old man who has outlived his time, waiting for his flight to be called, that's all. Move along, nothing to see here.
Officer Daniel Hodges of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, who was severely beaten and nearly crushed to death by J6 rioters four years ago, gives his reaction to Tyrant Trump's pardoning his assailants:
Here's the footage of Hodges being attacked and crushed in a doorway, very hard to watch:
Officer Hodges, by the way, is back on the job guarding the Capitol and fulfilling his sworn duty to the American public, even after all he's been through. What a man.
Listen to these Republican snakes and slugs brushing off questions about the pardons. And Susan Collins is, of course, concerned.
Rep. Eric Swallwell (D-Calif.) says, "Trump does not back the blue, he backs the coup." (Turn up the volume.)
Tyrant Trump has vehemently denounced Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, who in her sermon yesterday at the National Catheral very meekly asked him to rule with mercy. As one journalist put it, "she delivered her sermon so gently – meek and mild, you might even say – that she came across like an unusually brave dormouse." Now the MAGA cult is viciously attacking her. CNN reports:
God bless the good Bishop for having the courage to speak so quietly and yet so very boldly, as a Christian before a lion. She is an example for us all.
Zelensky and his family in happier times. Click to enlarge.
BBC correspondent Katty Kay, based in the United States, writes:
Since coming into office, Joe Biden has spoken repeatedly about the tectonic struggle between democracy and autocracy. It's been the leitmotif of his presidency. His argument is that democracy must deliver for its people if it's going to survive. But there's another side to that social contract. We citizens have to deliver for democracy as well.
For a start, we have to bother to vote. It's an activity America is famously bad at. In the 2020 election, one of the most consequential in recent history, only 62% of eligible voters bothered to turn out and vote. That was a modern day high. The UK doesn't do much better, 67% voted in its last general election. . . .
Of course it's not just the lack of participation that weakens liberal societies. Twenty-first century democracies are hotbeds of social and economic inequality. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Many democracies, like the US, have such polarised political systems that you can't get laws passed that would make lives better. They've become virtually ungovernable. Long-term challenges, like climate change, get kicked down the road as politicians focus their efforts on short term gains, like getting re-elected.
Democracies aren't giving the next generation the tools they will need to be responsible democratic citizens in a complicated, changing world. Our kids need lessons on how to spot real news from fake news and how to avoid baseless conspiracy theories that undermine the strength of democracy itself. . . .
I am part of a generation that has taken political pluralism for granted. Decades of peace produced a failure of imagination. Despite the war tales our parents told us, we couldn't envisage that a way of life we'd all got used to might disappear if we didn't defend it.
Ukraine has snapped us awake. It has shown us both the risks, and, more inspiringly, what it means to really care for democracy. In a war they didn't choose, Ukrainians are fighting, and dying, for the right to free elections, to the rule of law, and an impartial media, for the right to be a democratic country. Their bravery puts our laziness to shame.
Ukrainian President Zelensky will be interviewed on the long-running CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes tomorrow. Excerpt:
"We are defending the ability of a person to live in the modern world," Zelensky says. Rhetorically, no one can dispute that inconvenient truth that puts all Western nations to shame. "Being brave is our brand, " Zelensky said two days ago, "This is what it means to be us. To be Ukrainians. To be brave. If everyone in the world had at least ten percent of the courage that we Ukrainians have, there would be no danger to international law at all."
It may not be not quite that simple - but once again, he gets to the heart of the moral dilemma confronting the West that I have mentioned since my first post about this damnable war: every moral fiber quivers with the impulse to join Zelensky and his people in the fight against a monstrous evil; but to do so would probably mean a death sentence for many millions of people far from Ukraine, and unthinkable destruction on a gigantic scale. A devil's dilemma, that's what it is.
And who knows but what the unthinkable won't happen anyway, no matter how carefully Western leaders tiptoe around the edge of the abyss? God forbid. I have no idea what to do or what to say. I can only join with all other decent men and women in saluting the fierce courage of the Ukrainians and their indomitable president. May God deliver them from all assaults of the enemy and give them peace - and all the rest of the world, too.
Permit me to share some personal experience. When Japanese Americans were sent away to internment camps during World War II, simply because we looked like the enemy, we had legitimate fear of angry mobs, as well as a deep and utter despair over a country that had turned its back, not only upon a whole group of its own people, but upon its very values. But amidst all the unfounded hate and suspicion of us, there were also many good Americans who came to our aid: neighbors who offered to look after farms, homes and pets; Quakers who visited us in camp to bring vital services and monitor our treatment; lawyers who filed suits on our behalf and saved tens of thousands of us, including my own mother, from being deported. Even in the darkest of times, there were so many ordinary heroes who gave us hope and succor. It is they whom I remember most today. It was they who helped change things for the better.
There are many who rightly feel afraid for what will happen next. But hard as it is to face, we must remind ourselves that fear is the favored weapon of bullies and thugs. Fear can make us turn away from our hopes and give in to mistrust and cynicism. Let us instead take each moment of fear as a challenge to stand up ever taller. When my community was faced with some of the harshest of treatment during the internment, there was a word we often repeated: gaman. It means to endure, with dignity and fortitude. We did not permit them to strip away our basic humanity. We rallied, gave comfort to each other, and got through it. Gaman has been a steadying and comforting bedrock principle for me through these many decades. . . .
Some sixty million Americans voted for Donald Trump, and I refuse to accept that most did so because of what he stands for, but rather despite it. And while some argue that enabling or ignoring his rhetoric when casting a vote makes his supporters complicit, I choose to find hope in the despite—in the fact that most Americans still agree that racism, sexism, and discrimination of any kind is wrong. For these voters in this election, these things sadly did not outweigh their bitterness and mistrust of the political establishment. Our answer must not be to shut them out as uncaring or bigoted, but to address their concerns, to win back their trust by restoring their hopes, to not turn our backs but to open our hearts. And to do so when all of our instincts cry out simply to cut them out—that is the measure of true commitment. . . .
With the bulk of Trump’s supporters, we must find common ground, as tough as that presently sounds. But let me be clear on this other point: It is one thing to reach out, as we must and should, to white working-class voters who rejected our message in this election. But it is another thing entirely to oppose, as we must, the real threat to our values, progress, and rights presented by the incoming administration. While we recommit ourselves to being the champions to all middle class and working Americans, we can and will do so by holding Trump and his cohorts accountable at each step for their regressive economic agenda, by safeguarding our cherished liberties of a free press and the right to worship and assemble, and by opposing any policies or actions that might do damage to our communities, our economy, and our environment. . . .
No one is under any illusions that the next four years will be easy. But the Japanese have a saying: “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” It is time for us to stand up again, and to press on with renewed determination. So hold your heads up high and carry on, turning your fear and anger into clearest resolve. As my mother would say to me in the camps, “Gaman, Georgie. Gaman.”
Love Free or Die (a play on the state motto of New Hampshire) is a new documentary about Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, whose consecration in 2003 has effectively, if not formally, split the Anglican Communion into schism. Gene attended his consecration wearing a bullet-proof vest and has lived with death threats every day since. Even if you're not religious, you should admire his courage and his integrity in the face of overwhelming condemnation and vituperation from religious conservatives, both in and out of the Episcopal Church.
Filmmaker Macky Alston discusses his motivation for the documentary:
Gene gives a sermon during Gay Pride in New York City, entitled "Act of Commitment":
A heckler disrupts Gene's sermon during the Lambeth Conference in England, 2008 (Gene was pointedly disinvited from this gathering of all the Anglican bishops in the world, but went to England anyway to meet with supportive clergy and laity):
From Newsweek's interview with Dan Choi on his arrest with Capt. Jim Pietrangelo after handcuffing themselves to the White House gates last week:
Why not now? Within the gay community so many leaders want acceptance from polite society. I think there's been a betrayal of what is down inside of us in order to achieve what looks popular, what look enviable. The movement seems to be centered around how to become an elite. There is a deep schism [in the gay-rights movement], everyone knows this. But this shouldn't be about which group has better branding. There is a tremor right now in every gay and transgender youth that these groups are not grasping. I would say to them—you do not represent us if all you are looking for is a ladder into elite society.
When I get messages from people who want to be a part of this I ask back: what are you willing to sacrifice? We are tired of being stereotyped as privileged, bourgeois elites. Is someone willing to give up their career, their relationships with powerful people, their Rolodex, or their parents' love to stand up for who they are? I'm giving up my military rank, my unit—which to me is a family—my veterans' benefits, my health care, so what are you willing to sacrifice?
They say freedom is not free, but it doesn't have to cost anything either. Jesus up on the cross did not have a party with all his major donors to raise money for his cause, his cross was free. Ghandi did not need three-course dinners and a cocktail party to get his message out. These are people who sacrificed their lives. For them it was hemlock, a cross, the bullet that shot Harvey Milk . . . it was not the size of their distribution list, but their message that endured. . . .
When I was handcuffed to the gate someone else asked me what's next. I'm standing there with hands lifted skyward and I just told him, "This is." I have fully committed my life and all the sacrifices necessary to manifest equality and America's promises. Like I said at court, "I'm not guilty, I'm not ashamed, and I'm not finished."
A trial date is set for April 26. They will also likely face courts-martial by the military. Below, the two men after being released on bail last Saturday at the D. C. Courthouse:
You should go read Joe's post about Zelda Rubinstein, who just died at age 76:
I never lived in Los Angeles, but I remember seeing those ads; probably in the Advocate or some other, more pictorial (ahem!) magazines back then.
Never knew anything about Zelda, but what a sweetheart she was. And even though her career took a big hit, totally unafraid to do the right thing. Bless her, and God rest her soul.
Which does remind me of my own mother's character: and perhaps she instilled in me some of that moral courage, which is much more rare than the physical kind. And therefore more worthy of our praise.
Yes, my friends, we are right to be disappointed and upset about the slow progress of equality and civil rights, including marriage rights, ENDA, DADT, and UAFA.
But in the midst of our justified anger, fellas - do keep it all in perspective. My truckbuddy David Mixner, long-time activist, recently called the current situation in the United States "gay apartheid."
Now David has paid his dues and been on the front lines for civil rights for all Americans since the Vietnam era; and he's worthy of a lot of respect from those of us who, unlike David, have never been beaten or jailed for taking a public stand.
But I do think his phrase overstates the case. As I've posted recently myself, things could be worse, much, much worse for gays, and in my own lifetime, they have been.
So while we're pissing and moaning about our own government - give a thought to the holocaust our brothers and sisters in Uganda are facing right now.
And I say, even if Obama doesn't do another goddamn thing for gays in his whole life, he must speak out against this genocide about to happen in Uganda. Mixner thinks so too. Don't you agree, boys?
This gay Ugandan blogger's latest post is here - a heart-rending blend of disbelief, optimism and pessimism. From the comments section, a reader asks:
I hope the bill wont see the light of the day. How about your safety and that of other gay men at the moment?
The blogger's response:
Ha, life is unfair. No real assurance, or insurance to it.
Ok, seriously, what about our safety? Well, we are making lots of noise as and when we can now. When the bill becomes law, those of us who are out will be most likely hauled in for any more 'promotion' of homosexuality...!
But, sometimes, sometimes it is actually worth the while to hang out ones neck. Afterall, I will only die once.... Gallows humour. But, better than nothing.
"I will only die once." God have mercy. The courage of the defenseless - the courage of St. Sebastian.
This law was inspired and directed by American fundamentalists, showing just exactly what they would do to us if only they could.
Earlier tonight, Rachel Maddow aired an excellent 10-minute news segment about the Republican and evangelical leaders who, despite deep ties to Uganda, refuse to tell their close friends in the Ugandan leadership not to proceed with an antigay genocide and mass suppression of the families, doctors, and pastors of allegedly homosexual Ugandans.
The segment implicates Senators James Inhofe, R-Okla.; Sam Brownback, R-Kan.; Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., members of The Family, mega-evangelist Rick Warren, and others in silent complicity with genocide.
Bottom Line: You can tell the President what you think he should do about this murderous plan here. He wants to hear from you, he said so during the campaign many times - remember?
I remember, as I've posted, being beaten by homophobic bullies in high school; yet they broke no bones, drew no blood, the only lasting scars were those on my soul. But I hate a bully. I look at what's happening in Uganda now, and I see the same thing, a million times worse, about to happen. And I think, therebut for the grace of God am I.
Will Obama stand up for just one shining moment and tell the bullies to back off and leave the little guy alone? Does he have the guts to take a stand for what's decent, for all those precious human rights he loves to speechify about? Will he lift one finger to protect those at the mercy of religious hatred over there?
Will you?
Write. You voted for him, didn't you? You're paying his salary. He owes us this much. At the very least.
P.S. - This law will go into effect next month, if passed. Time is short. And I'm furious that other world leaders - Gordon Brown and Stephen Harper, to name just two - have already spoken out face to face with Ugandan leaders - but not one damn peep out of my President.
Why the hell aren't you East Coast boys picketing the gates of the White House already? And the Ugandan embassy? You got guts? Or at least nuts? Or not?
Or is it really true, what they say about all us sissies? You tell me.
“I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children…” - an Iranian blogger, with more courage than most of us will ever know.
[T]he green light has now been given to the basij to kick ass and take names. "The way of the law is open," [Khamenei] says. "If people continue to take the other way, I will come back and speak more directly." Qanun, qanun, qanun. Law, law, law. His emphasis on the need for law and order. By the end, uncharacteristically, the leader, gets hot. Interjections from the crowd interrupt him and he tells them to stop and listen. He talks about the U.S. and the West and how the U.S. wanted to launch a spurious velvet revolution in Georgia. He says that these "aqmaqha" -- idiots -- think that they can do the same in Iran.
And then he ends by weeping. He tells Iranians that he loves us more than we can know. Ten years ago, Khamenei wept publicly when students were protesting in the streets. That's when regime loyalists began to crack down. "Our vote is written in blood, and we gave it to the leader," the mosque crowd yells back.
Things do not look good. It is worse than it ever was.
Tomorrow is the Saturday of destiny....Tonight the Allaho Akbar is louder than other nights....Where is this place? A country were people have only God left to reach out to... This is a country where every night people's scream of Allah O Akbar is louder than the night before... Every day I wait till night time comes so I can hear this sound and see if it is louder than the night before or not ... My body is shaking... I wonder if God is shaking himself?
Wow, guys . . . this just blew me away big time. You gotta see this clip from the public hearings just before Vermont passed the equal marriage bill last month. James Neiley is just 17 - the kid has got BIG balls:
James is a bigger man than most guys twice his age. He reminds me so much of myself at that age - only back then, I couldn't have imagined speaking out publicly about the torments of high school hell. It wouldn't have been allowed, anyway: nobody cared, nobody wanted to hear it - teachers, counselors, preachers, parents. Nobody.
Just shut up and suffer, faggot, you're going to burn in hell anyway: That was the message all of society put out; and I took it in, all alone. Somehow I survived. Lots of kids don't.
I'm so glad all that is finally changing now, and about damn time. Kudos to James for the bravery and courage to speak the truth with the whole world watching.
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.
