Queer Musings

CNN - Suspect charged with murder in slaying of gay teen in Puerto Rico

So here it is late Wednesday and I finally see a mainstream news site reporting on Jorge's horrible murder.

I still feel that Obama and the White House should release a statement supporting a federal investigation of a possible hate crime. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law for crimes like this.

Will we go another day waiting for Pres. Obama to make a statement condeming the killer of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado?

Where is Jorge's Fierce Advocate?

Obama and the White House is really letting down. Not a peep out of them after what appears to be the first hate crime commited after the signing of the Matthew Shepard act.

I'm not all that surprised that the mainstream media hasn't picked up this story. Of course that would probably change if Obama would become the fierce advocate he said he was.

I think it's time every LGBTQ American called the White House tomorrow demanding Obama to speak out for Jorge and call this murder what it really is... a hate crime.

(via Another Quiet Day in the LGBT Community and Mainstream Media | The Bilerico Project)

Time to Privatize Police, Fire and Schools

I've decided I'm going to embrace the right wing conservative view that health care should only be available to the people that can afford it. I'm only going to embrace this view if the right wing will meet my one simple request.

It's such a small thing really. I just think we should totally embrace the conservative argument that socialized medicine would be bad for the country. However, is doing so we should realize that socialized police protection and socialized fire protection are evil and must be privatized immediately. Also socialized public schools are work of Satan and must be abolished forthwith.

When someone's home gets broken into they should only be able to contact the police if they have the proper insurance, or can pay out of pocket to have the police investigate. Imagine the price of a speeding ticket now. Not only will one have to pay the fine for speeding, they'll have to pay for the police officers time in pulling them over. We will probably need to estimate how much gas was used from the time the officer pulled up behind someone, and they actually pulled over. Probably need to think about the cost of administrative fees to have the ticket processed through the traffic court system.

Is your house on fire? Hmmm, hope you remembered to pay your fire protection premium this month. I would hate for you to call the fire department and have them tell you "sorry you don't have the right coverage for us to come put the fire out for you."

Are your children currently enrolled in public school? Well I hope you make enough money to afford yearly tuition. There really is no economical sense in sending poverty stricken children to a school free of charge. Odds are the child will grow up to be a poverty stricken adult. They don't really need to know too much to flip our McBurgers for us. Anything they need to learn, they can learn on the job.

Now that I've gotten those ridiculous requests out of the way, I hope anyone reading this will take the time to stop and think about everything in their community that is socialized. Our tax money go to the government so they can pay for such things as police, fire and schools. Do you have any parks and community centers in your neighborhood? If so please add them to the list of things that are socialized.

My point is simply this, we've already embraced a system that could be considered socialism for many things. Why should we be so afraid of a government run health care system? Most seniors I know are happy with Medicare. That's a health care system set up and ran by the government.

Health care in this country is such a mess at this point, it's past time that we've taken a look at the system and overhauled it. If we don't overhaul the mess we've gotten ourselves into, then I'm deadly serious. I want my above requests to be considered by the right wing and the Blue Dog Democrats that are doing everything they can to stall, delay, and flat out put an end to health care reform. If health care is only for the rich and powerful that can afford it, then the same should be true of our police, fire and school services.

Will Facebook be the Next Target of Twitter Users?

Earlier this month Amazon faced some harsh criticism from Twitter users upset over the apparent banning of sales rankings on LGBT books. They had to come up with a response the Monday after Easter due to the overwhelming outcry from Twitter users.

Will Facebook become the next target of Twitter users outrage? It could happen with the rejection of an ad for the lesbian film And Then Came Lola.

The movie was hoping to target the ad to women who listed themselves as interested in women and over the age of 18. So where's the problem? From my way of thinking, that is the demographic that would want to see And Then Came Lola.

Honestly I see nothing wrong with the picture they wanted to use for the ad. It's not any different than ones I see on Facebook daily advertising gay cruises. At least all three of the women are fully dressed. There doesn't seem to be anything inappropriate happening between the three of them.

Is this a form of homophobia on Facebook's part?

According to the Facebook FAQ for Advertising Guidelines:

"Facebook is committed to protecting our user experience by keeping the site clean, uncluttered, and free from intrusive advertising. We believe that we can help transform existing advertising on Facebook into tailored messages to our users, because they are based on how their friends interact and affiliate with the brands, music artists, and businesses they care about."

Well the ads I see every day look like the one pictured. Everyday I'm treated to the sight of two shirtless gay men advertising what has always been in my mind nothing more than a floating bathhouse.

The reason Facebook gives for rejecting the advert is as follows:

"The image of this ad is either irrelevant or inappropriate. Per sections 3 and 8 of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines, the image on your ad should be relevant and appropriate to the item being advertised. Make sure your image is directly relevant to what you are advertising. Images that are overly explicit, provocative, or that reveal too much skin are not allowed. Images that may either degrade or idealize any health condition or body type are also not allowed. If you choose to submit this ad again, please use an appropriate image that adheres to all of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines."

I get the overly explicit part. I don't go to Facebook to see advertisements for adult oriented sites. I already know how to find most of those, and those I don't know about I can always Google.

What I don't get is the rest of the response. There's much less skin showing in the movie's picture than the one for the cruise. I don't find it any more provocative than the ad showing a gay couple enjoying themselves on the deck of the cruise ship.

When it comes to the part of an idealized body type, they may have a point. All three women look to be the typical model/actress type of build. It's not any different with the cruise ad. Neither of those men look like me. They have a pretty idealized body type.

Everything they said in their rejection is something I see everyday. I'm hoping that Facebook made an honest mistake, but I don't think they did.

I just don't get the reasoning behind the rejection. Maybe someone can explain it to me.

Urban Outfitters Mocks Closeted Gays

Maybe I'm being a little overly sensitive about Urban Outfitters selling joke envelopes making fun of GLBT people still in the closet.

I find this offensive to all of our GLBT brothers and sisters that are in situations where they can't come out of the closet. Especially coming from a company who's chairman is a staunch conservative. Urban Outfitters chairman Richard Hayne has donated thousands of dollars to right-wing causes. He even donated to the campaigns of homophobic former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. That right there makes this a slap in the face to the GLBT community. It wouldn't surprise me if Hayne was the reason the "I Support Same-Sex Marriage" shirts got pulled from the store shelves. According to The Advocate:

Following that controversy, gays and lesbians may take offense that the retailer is selling a collection of cards that seems to put homosexuals on a par with "Sheep Lovers" and "Lowlife Rat Bastards" -- other "companies" represented in the package of six envelopes.

These prank envelopes really aren't any different. Not when you take this one envelope and look at it in context of the other ones in the pack, it just becomes that much more offensive. The other ones include "www.PORNPHOTOS.COM," "Back Hair Removal System," and "The Compulsive Masturbation Assistance Group."

Now before anyone starts thinking that I'm anti-gay humor, the opposite is in fact true. I've laughed at some of the highly inappropriate things in South Park. I love watching The Big Gay Sketch Show. And while I'm not a huge fan of Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, I've chuckled occasionally at some things it did. I even like equal opportunity offender Carlos Mencia.

Okay, so a couple of my examples are produced by gays and lesbians, but the other two aren't. I think the difference, at least for me, is that South Park and Carlos Mencia temper their comedy with more support for the GLBT community than what's been offered by Urban Outfitters.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Am I being too sensitive about this, or am I right?

Palin - Being Gay is a Choice

First it was reported that McBush's crazy ass choice for VP stated that humans and dinosaurs coexisted some 6,000 years ago. Now Palin is on record saying a dear friend, who happens to be a lesbian, made a choice she would not have made.

First things first. In my mind there's more than enough evidence to show that we did not live side by side with dinosaurs. While carbon dating is not an exact science, it's accurate enough to show that dinosaurs predated humans by thousands of years.

Also if man and dino coexisted, why do none of the cave paintings show a t-rex? Cave paintings have been found dating back some 32,000 years. The usual theme includes horses, bison, deer, and other mammals that would have been hunted. Not a one show a representation of a dinosaur.

Surely ancient man would have felt the need to include dinosaurs that would have been hunted at the time.

Now to be on record insinuating that homosexuality is a choice...

Jeebus!!! This country does not need another nut job fundie in Washington. Our current talks to God fundie has gotten our country into enough trouble. We can't afford to put another one in office.

While I will admit that the science linking homosexuality to genetics or hormones is a little fuzzy at this time, I don't think I would have made the decision to be gay.

The American Psychological Association has this to say about homosexuality:

There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation.

When I think back to the social and cultural influences on my life, they would not have made me gay. I grew up in a small rural town here in Texas. It was about as right-winged, God fearing, Jeebus loving, KKK like community you could ever find. The two most diverse families in the town was a family that immigrated from Spain, and a Native American family. Other than that it was filled with WASPs.

Within one year the town had run off the first African-American family to move there sometime around 1985 or so. It's only been within the last five years or so they coldly embraced an African-American family to the community. That was only because they had a son that could play a kick-ass game of football.

Then there was hatred that my sister and I faced from the community for the longest time because our mother was the first divorced woman to ever move to the town. This was around 1973, but you would have thought from everyone's attitude about divorce it was 1953. It wasn't until about 1980 that a long time resident kicked her husband out and filed for divorce. Even then her family was treated as outcasts.

So trust me when I say given my childhood, I would not have made a choice to be gay. If anything it helped prepare me for the discrimination I would face later in life as a gay man.

So Sarah, I feel pretty confidant is saying your "dear friend" did not choose to be a lesbian.

And to my fellow Americans I have this to say. It's likely McBush won't make it through a four year term in office. So really Palin would be less than a heart beat away from the most powerful office in this country. We can not afford to have another Jeebus loving fundie in office. She seems to not know that our government is supposed to be a secular institution. She would let her crazy right-wing beliefs dictate what bills she signs into law and which ones she vetoes. Lets not forget that her foreign policy experience is based on the fact that Alaska separated from Russia by 53 miles wide Bering Straight, and they also happen to border that evil country Canada.

I have a feeling the Vice President Debate tomorrow night is going to be a painful experience to watch. It's probably going to be like a train wreck. We'll want to turn it off, but we won't be able to help ourselves from watching it.

UPDATED

I found this YouTube video floating around where she talks about not judging her friends, or other Americans choice to be gay.

Charter Adding Spyware Hardware to Its Network

Charter Communications is getting ready to install hardware that will track a users surfing habits and deliver ads based on a variety of factors. The hardware will come from NebuAd. Thankfully two members of Congress have decided to raise a stink about this.

Charter is describing this as an "anonymized" ad-delivery system. Users are going to be able to opt-out by setting cookies in their browsers.

Since Charter is my ISP, I have some issues with this.

The main problem I have is one of privacy. I shouldn't have to opt-out of a system that is going to track my every move on the web. Maybe Charter can tell me how I'm supposed to set cookies on my two TiVos, or on my Wii when they connect to the internet. While the Wii does have access to an Opera browser for general web surfing, there's still the news and weather applications that doesn't use a standard browser.

What's going to happen to all of the security conscious surfers that have their browser set to not accept cookies. Some people even have their browsers set to delete all cookies on exit.

Also how much of my information is Charter going to divulge to NebuAd? I don't know this company. I have never heard of them until now. How do I know if they are trustworthy, and won't sell any information given to them by Charter?

Then there's the issue of stealing revenue. Where are these ads going to appear? Will they only be on Charter.com and Charter.net? Honestly I don't think so. That leaves one other option for Charter. They will most likely appear on other web sites. This will cause potential problems in revenue that would normally go to the site you're visiting going to Charter.

I'm sure there's other things that could be added to the discussion of why this is a bad idea, I just thought I would get the discussion started. Charter really needs to think long and hard about all the potential problems associated with installing the hardware on their network. If they do decide to go ahead with this beyond a trial run it really needs to be an opt-in program.

Sadly I don't see myself changing ISPs because I enjoy the 16Mb connection I have with Charter. This is faster than anything I can get from a DSL provider. I will be calling them to let them know what I think about adding what I consider to be spyware on the network. I do everything I can to minimize spyware on my computer, I shouldn't have to worry about it being installed in my ISP.

Catholic Bishop Says Gays Use Holocaust as Political Tool

I am outraged by the Right Rev. Joseph Devine's claim that gays only use the Holocaust to further our political agenda. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Motherwell made these claims to a Glasgow audience. It was titled 'Sectarianism and Secularism: Bugbears for the Catholic Church in Scotland'.

"It is ever present at the service each year for the Holocaust memorial - as if to create for themselves the image of a group of people under persecution," he told the audience.

"I want to ask you if you are able to see the giant conspiracy that's taking place before our eyes? It's a very small group of people, but very active and organized, and extremely indulgent."

This from a representative of the Church that has dioceses going bankrupt from child molestation charges.

Then the Bishop also had the nerve to attack Oscar-winning actor Sir Ian McKellen.

"In this New Year's Honours List, I saw actor Ian McKellen being honoured for his work on behalf of homosexuals. A century ago, Oscar Wilde was locked up and put in jail."

Maybe Devine would like to open Auschwitz or Chełmno again.

Sadly I can't name one member of the GLBT community that faced persecution and death at the hands of the Nazis. I can, however, name a Catholic priest that suffered the worse fate possible at Auschwitz. Prisoner #16670, better knows as Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe was murdered with an injection of carbolic acid.

Not to belittle the honors bestowed upon Kolbe, because heaven knows he did more for the persecuted than Pope Pius XII did. Pope Pius XII didn't have much to say publicly about the Holocaust when it was happening. But, let's look at some facts. St. Maximilian was a member of a very large group of people, politically/socially active and organized, and extremely indulgent.

I'm sorry, but to me that sounds like the potato chip calling the pretzel salty.

As a gay man one of the most difficult things for me watch was Paragraph 175, which dealt with the legal code that sent many gays and lesbians to the camps. The first hand accounts of gay and lesbian survivors of the Nazi camps was horrifying.

Many of their stories mirror those of Jews and other groups that were victims of Nazi persecution. Through their stories, it made me feel that their legacy to me is the right to attend a yearly service for the Holocaust memorial if I so choose.

Their suffering and deaths gave me the right the visit the Anne Frank House, and openly weep at not only the fate of an innocent child, but also the fate of my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters who were held at the Nazi camps.

Ultimately it boils down to this. The GLBT community has every right to use the facts of the Holocaust as a political tool. We have every right to use any discriminatory policy or law as a political tool. We have the right to use the fact that gays and lesbians are still put to death in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and United Arab Emirates as a political tool.

For Devine to say otherwise makes me feel that he condones the atrocities committed by Hitler and the Nazis.

I've Been Violated

I'm pissed. Some asshole decided that my blog needed to be hacked.

Luckily I was able to log into my Movable Type set up and rebuild the blog. Hopefully my host can track down some information and I can see what kind of action I can take against the jerk.

Technorati Tags: Hacked, Pissed Off

WTF People it is Only a Game System

After talking to a friend up at work, I decided to see what some of the Sony PlayStation 3's sold for on eBay. All I want to know is are these people insane? I mean come on, does someone really need to pay $110,000.00 for four PS3's? Why did someone feel it necessary to pay $25,000.00 for a gaming system that retails for $600.00?

I'm all for someone making a few extra bucks for their time spent in line, and dealing with the craziness that was the PS3 launch. Surely they don't spoil their kids by spending obscene amounts of money on them. If they do, they need to learn how to tell their brats "no" occasionally.

I guess it is a good thing I don't have any kids begging for one for Christmas. I would have to just teach them that life is sometimes unfair and you don't always get what you want, when you want.

Technorati Tags: eBay, Insanity, Sony PS3