Stonewall!

Out of the closets and into the streets! 50 years ago the Stonewall "riots" occurred when the NYPD did what the NYPD did best at the time, acted like assholes and raided a bar called the Stonewall Inn. Some of the patrons of Stonewall had had enough and did what others had done in other parts of the country before, they fought back. It was about time.

The Stonewall Inn is generally regarded as the beginning of the gay rights movement because every rights movement has to have a starting point. Oh I know that other gays fought back before 6/28/69, and I know Rosa Parks wasnt the first black woman to refuse to give up her seat, and I know that there were other women before Susan B that fought back, but we need a start. Lets not get too deep into the woods here. Thats the problem with people too close to movement, they know too goddamned much and cant wait to let you know. Democrats take note.

Stonewall may have been a beginning, and to think its 50 years ago boggles my mind. I mean back in 1969 I probably still thought the Stonewall Inn was some confederate bar named after Stonewall Jackson. I didnt know. Christ back in 1969 I am not sure I even knew what a homosexual was. Hey there was no internet then and I was in Catholic school in the Midwest so give me a break.

The difference here is that after Rosa Parks and Selma and King legislation to protect blacks came relatively quickly. Voting Rights Acts and Civil Rights Acts were passed with relatively little opposition. Though it was and still is not as effective as it should be, it was at least an effort. Gays cannot say that. There was a "riot" but nothing changed. It just meant that certain courageous folks suddenly didnt give a rats ass what you thought and let it be known this who I am and if you dont like it fuck off. But that was in big cities.

Those of us in the sticks never saw that progress. Throughout the 70's and 80's the 90s the 2000s and right up to today there is still opposition to any kind of protection for the rights of people born gay. And lets face it, its one party that blocks this kind of progress. The Party of Trump. Living in the Midwest, the out of the closet and into the streets attitude is not 50 years old. It is getting better. I mean the number of openly gay co workers I have and the corporate acceptance of this fact is heartening. Its progress and for tghis part of the country I will take anything I can get.

Thats why when the Annual Gay Pride was held today in Omaha I was there cheering on my fellow human beings. The sheer size of this parade in 100 degree heat was outstanding. The people lining the streets were 6 and 7 deep cheering on their brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and moms and dads and friends and co workers. It was a day to celebrate diversity. Even the Jesus people attempting to convert you were polite and left you alone if requested to do so. The number of corporations sponsoring delegations marching was so vast in number the heat got to me before it was even over and I had to leave. I did not march with my corporate sponsored delegation first of all because I'm old and hate the heat but also because this day isn't about me. Its about others who need to celebrate who they are without being insulted or worse.

So if Stonewall is not technically the start of a movement, it certainly is one of them. Its been 50 years and Im sure its not gone fast enough.
But if the tremendous size of a Pride March in Omaha, Nebraska is any indication, lets hope it goes faster.

The highlight? Not the drag queens or the dykes on bykes or the everyday folks marching, it was the Giant Baby Trump in a crib being paraded down Harney Street and getting reactions from "hey thats great" to "Fuck You Trump!"

Guess which one was my reaction?

When They See Us!

Korey Wise. Antron McCray. Kevin Richardson. Yusef Salaam. Raymond Santana Jr. Thats their names. The Central Park 5.

Donald Trump deserves to rot in hell for a lot of things. Oh so many things. But he deserves to rot in hell alone for his demagoguery displayed in 1989-1990 against 5 innocent teens in the Central Park jogger case. Filmmaker Ana DuVernay uses Trump in the only way to use him. Let him hang himself with his actual words and his actual video. And it works to see the 40 something cheat and deadbeat openly state he wants them killed, he hates them and that "the blacks" have all the advantages. The exact blueprint he used to win over his racist dumb base in 2016. It was there.

Ana DuVernay's film about the Central Park 5 will make your emotions swing like a 10 year old trying to wrap the swing around the set. Buoyed by young actors who express the fear of being railroaded in their faces alone, this 4 part series is basically 4 different films.

Episode 1 concentrates on the crime. In 1989 a young white female jogger was found in Central Park, raped and beaten, barely clinging to life. The NY press goes wild. The NYPD goes crazy. The DA's office goes crazy. Get somebody, anybody to pay for the crime. Oh it was days of "wilding" and "predators" and fear. It was tabloids and racism and Koch. 5 young black men are taken in for questioning, including one who simply went to support his friend. Deprived of lawyers, deprived of sleep, deprived of parents presence, berated and threatened, these young teens all eventually did what they were told. Rat out their friends, confess, tell stories given to them by the cops. All so they could go home. They didnt get to go home, they got to go to prison to satisfy the soulless blood lust of one Linda Fairstein (played with a dryness only Felicity Huffman can pull off) and prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer. It will make you angry.

Episode 2 features life inside. The teens grow into men. The families cope. The lawyers fail. The hatred of the public continues. It will make you sigh.

Episode 3 walks with then teens as they are released. Exceot one. But thats for later. They cant get jobs. They cant leave their houses. They cant be free. Their parents are fired for being their parents. One of them cannot forgive his dying father. One has to cope with a new family who fails to accept him. Two others keep mostly quiet and attempt to survive. It will make you shake your damn head.

Episode 4. Oh my. Episode 4. Episode 4 is the story of Korey Wise. Korey Wise is the oldest of the teens and was the one who simply agreed to accompany his buddy, Yusef Salaam. Korey goes to real prison. He is beaten, humiliated, marked for death, forced into solitary. His mother goes nuts with Jesus. His brother is murdered. Korey is a mess. This episode will make you tear up. The way in which this horrible miscarriage of justice is solved. Its all so unbelievable yet so true. This episode will also make you go whaaaaaa

Now to the acting. Jharrel Jerome.This actor plays Korey Wise from teen to adult and it is a marvel to watch. This guy acts with a sense of wonderment and confusion on his face at the same time. It really is impossible to not admire the performance for the award winning act it is. He is a gift we better enjoy. Whether it be in Moonlight or this. This kid is fantastic.

Kevin Richardson is played as a teen by a doe eyed youngster named Asante Blackk. He is the kid you most worry about at first. He looks 12, he is scared to death. This kid plays it for all its worth.

Michael Kenneth Williams plays the father who berated young Anton McCray to confess and then abandons the family. Williams is one of the best actors of our time and he goes from confident to pathetic over the course of 4 episodes. He is a wonder also.

Hey look. Theres nothing about this 4 part series that drags. Despite the criticism from the ones who perpetrated this tragedy and still refuse to accept responsibility, theres a helluva lot of truth here. Yeah the film does have its nobody is that sweet moments, nonetheless if youve seen the Ken Burns doc or k now of the story you know its 90% true. 90% true is about 90% more than you get from the current occupants of the White House.

Certain events make me wish there was a hell. This event is one of them.

Please watch it

Random Thoughts!

This is exhausting. I'd be pounding on this keyboard 12 hours a day if every time something pissed me off made me grab the laptop. This administration is draining my will to live. I can honestly say I wish I was younger because I'd leave. No country wants an old guy without skills and thats me. So I'm stuck here. All I can do is try my best to rid this country of ignorant politicians. Onward.

1) D-Day. My Dad. Trump.

The thought of the 75th anniversary coming and going and the story was not the thousands of deaths and the unbelievable courage of young men who knew they were going to die but instead some orange motherfucker representing my goddamned country at a ceremony is beyond infuriating. This scumbag elected by 3 million less votes than a woman monotoned his way thru a written speech and to the complicit press it was a turning point in his Presidency. Yet another time when this vile turd did not expose himself or call people names that the press wonders aloud if he has suddenly become human. No you dummies. Within hours the peasant who represents America was sitting with another vile racist with the gravestones in the background and attacking Nancy Pelosi and a Purple Heart winning prosecutor named Mueller. STOP normalizing this out of control nitwit, in fact STOP humanizing this monster. The man is beyond hope. A mentally ill dementia ravaged fiend. It was disgraceful.

My Dad used to drag me to WWII movies. Patton. The Longest Day. A Bridge Too Far. Battle of the Bulge. The Big Red One. Maybe "dragging" is the wrong word. I liked the movies too and it was time spent with my Dad who had spent 4 years trudging around Europe fighting Nazis. Something I couldnt possibly understand. Then came Saving Private Ryan. My god Dad, this one is right in your wheelhouse. D-Day. Spielberg. Tom Hanks. When shall we go Dad? The first excuse was let it play out so theres not so many people. The second excuse was I dont have time. So I went to the movie myself and the horrors of that first 10 minutes was stunning. People werent getting shot and falling down dead. They were suffering. They were drowning. They were having limbs blown off. They were being shot in the head. They were crying for their Moms trying to hold their guts in. It was horrific. It was realistic. So I told Dad about the movie and how great it was. The third excuse was in reality the only excuse. I already saw it I dont need to see it again.

2) Las Vegas

Ive been there a lot. It was fun. Eventually you run out of things to do. Thats if you dont gamble, drink or like hot weather. I hadnt been there in 7 years. I should have stayed away. Oh its still the same old place. The problem is that corporate greed has completely absorbed the place. When you pay for your hotel hold onto your wallet. That $125 a night has become a lie. You have "resort fees", a fancy way of fucking you over for "free" Wi Fi, health clubs, and the right to just walk around. That going to add $35-$45 to the $125 a night. And if you rent a car? Watch the hell out. It will cost you $15-$25 a night to park at the very special falling apart parking garage that used to be free. Return the rental car you got for $25 a day? Watch out because rental car companies now can charge you what is in effect their own "resort fee". Add another $15 to your daily bill. Got the car on Priceline for a reasonable amount? Har Har! Why do owe you the car rental scammers another $50 for 3 days? Cuz you just fucking do thats why.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Along with a lot more of your money than you thought. Hard pass from now on. If I want to experience corporate greed, I can stay home and work.

3) The Trump Crime Family

The Traitor in Chief dragged his entire family along with him to Europe. He subjected England to not only his bloated Penguin self but to his grifter plastic daughter and her husband, the Middle East whisperer. He subjected England to his two sons, Fredo and Beavis. And the other daughter he wanted to abort was also along triggering the Creep in Chief to many "who is that again" moments. And of course the illegal immigrant was also along squinting her way along.

Ivanka kept posting pictures of herself. One with a maxi pad on her head. Another of her and her vampire hubbie gazing out a window in true Omen like fashion. The narcissism doesnt fall far from the tree.

Beavis and Fredo did a pub crawl in Ireland like a couple of aging frat boys with money. Initial reports indicated they deadbeated out on paying the bill which everyone believed because it would be sooooo Trump like to not pay a bill. That was later denied. However Im sure that the two wastes of sperm will somehow bill the taxpayers for their fun soon. Wheres a barroom brawl when you need one? Taking a punch at one of those smug punks would be every Irishman's wet dream.

4) The Avengers Movie and the Godzilla Movie

I have no idea what is going on in either movie. The desperate attempts for a plot really dont interest me. The movies are not great cinema. The fact these movies make billions and only encourage more of the same and less movies about real life makes me nervous about the future of movies. But for the 2 1/2 to 3 hours you sit there, it is strangely entertaining.

Godzilla is special effects and loud noises and craziness. Monsters I forgot about show up. Its all about the climate change now. Look, Godzilla has been around since before I was born so its a really old franchise but in spite of the schlock and over the top loudness it does make a point about what pieces of garbage human beings are. Good for Godzilla.

The Avengers has a moment during its climactic battle scene when the bad guy, Josh Brolin, exclaims to suddenly appearing Elizabeth Olsen, "I dont even know who the hell you are" that summed it up, I didnt even know who the hell half of these people are. I actually had no interest in who the hell they were, I had no idea what was going on, yet the 3 hours went quickly. Strangely entertained. Cant explain it.

5) Brokeback Mountain

I was flipping channels while taking a break from whatever it is I was doing and came upon this Ang Lee masterpiece on a movie channel. I decided to watch a bit of it before resuming duties. The next thing I knew it was 90 minutes later and Ennis was in his trailer looking at Jack's jean jacket and I was tearing up again.

The fact this movie lost a Best Movie Oscar to Crash is a disgrace. Brokeback Mountain is such a classic love story and I know it made people shudder and feel uncomfortable for whatever reason I cannot understand, but if you dont feel what this movie says you are a true dullard. Everyone talks about Heath Ledger as the Joker and yes that was a performance I could watch constantly in admiration, but his performance here as the self hating Ennis is just as good. I hadnt seen this film in years, but watching it again was just as stunning as the first time.

Dig it out. Watch it. It is truly one of the greatest tragic love stories of all time. If you dont weep, you are again, a dullard.

Thats all for today.

In conclusion. Trump bad, Love ya Dad. Vegas sucks. All Trumps bad. Dumb Movies sometimes good. Brokeback great.

See ya.