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.

MYOFB!

Didya hear? The Republicans, either in their death throes or so empowered by cheating and lying, are going all in to oppress the women they can never have. Republican dweebs all over the country, elected to state legislatures thanks to gerrymandering, are passing laws like crazy to stop the chicks from controlling their own lives. Powered by white male geeks and gender traitors, these laws are becoming easier to pass. Signed by Republican nerd Governors and almost immediately overturned by the courts, the end game is clear. Get one of these laws to the Supreme Court where professional Catholic Samuel Alito, own the libs and unqualified turd Clarence Thomas, folksy fascist Neil Gorsuch, Justice Ragey Boy and beer swilling loudmouth Brett Kavanaugh, and possibly Chief Justice John Roberts will vote to turn Roe V Wade on its ear and send the country back to the Dark Ages, ya know, when America Was Great.

This blast to the past I think is inevitable. The white people of this nation, led by a proto fascist reality show clown, are in the midst of throwing a tantrum not seen since. well when they think America was great. The fantasy 50's where whites lived in suburbs with perfectly manicured lawns, the blacks knew their place, the gays lived in those suburbs hiding who they were, the Mexicans were all in California, the women all stayed home and drank, the children all went to segregated schools and kids had measles parties where they got dangerous diseases and liked it. Great.

Idiots who believe that the 1950s rocked are strangely delusional. Oh fuck it, no they arent, they are just unwilling to give up their white male privilege. Their collaborator gender traitors, who just cant seem to get their shit together, are the rock in the road forward that allows this to happen. Women, and their male supporters not threatened by them, are the key to this nonsense coming to an end. Im just afraid its too late. If RBG or Breyer leave, its over my friends. Back to the hangers and bleach and suicides . The Handmaids Tale will be a reality. That absurd novel and absurd Hulu show aint so absurd any longer.

I cannot believe that the only abortion policy that makes any sense isn't world wide. That abortion policy is MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS Dont want an abortion, dont fucking get one. And men, well us men. Shut the fuck up! We cause the "problem". We should have no say in its conclusion. Until a man has pushed a bowling ball out of his ass and then wanted to do it again, just be quiet. You should have no say, but instead you elect these Republican assholes to not only control womens bodies, but at the same time get great pleasure in killing death row inmates.

Look, we have a Governor in this state, a cue ball looking jackass named Pete Ricketts (yes that Ricketts of the Chicago Cubs) who bought himself a Governorship with Daddy's money, who wants nothing to so with fun of any kind. He likes to kill people, in fact when the Nebraska Legislature repealed the death penalty and overrode his veto, Pete forked over millions of his own money to get a ballot proposition to bring back the Middle Ages and of course, in this Middle Ages loving state, the death penalty was restored. In fact, Pistol Pete got his wish later when he presided over the killing of a cab driver murderer. Pete hates abortion. Pete likes lethal injection with illegally obtained drugs, but he hates Plan B or the pill or any other contraceptives that prevents future Nebraska Republicans from being born. Unfortunately for Pete, the Nebraska Legislature, a band of Republican hicks, Democratic centrists, and one black guy who keeps them from passing this kind of shit wont pass a heartbeat law. So Pete expresses support for Alabama and Georgia rubes like a helluva lot of us want him speaking for us.

Look for most of these Republican misogynists and their female Aunt Lydias a heartbeat bill would mean one thing. These fuckers could be aborted NOW because to have a heartbeat you must have a heart. These pricks and their dumb bunnies dont.

Cher!

When you get a $20 groupon to get tickets to see a living legend you grab the opportunity. Cher! Ive never seen Cher, never really had the desire to see Cher, but at my age what the hell.

Nile Rodgers and Chic opened the show with a barrage of hits you didn't see coming. Wait he wrote that? And that? Rodgers is a hit machine with songs he wrote and produced for Diana Ross and David Bowie, Daft Punk and of course his own band, Chic. The 50 minute show was a hoot, a throwback to the late 70s funk and disco played by real musicians and damn good musicians. Horns and guitar, a kick ass drummer and a keyboard player who performed Lets Dance with a perfect imitation of David Bowie. Two wonderful singers who could belt out the high notes and take it down to the soul vibe of Rodgers slower songs. Nile Rodgers is a genius from way back, and his personal story of overcoming cancer was inspiring.

Cher!

Hey look, I love Cher. I was a 10 year old boy who didn't really know why but I found Cher very fascinating. She was one of the reasons I knew I liked girls. When the Sonny and Cher show was on, the family watched it. Cher was hot, sarcastic, funny and baby she was my type. A strong woman who didnt take shit from that dweeb Sonny. Little did I know she was not strong and Sonny was a dick.

When I turned into a young adult Cher became a clown to me. Wild hair, questionable choices, overrated acting, she was I hate to say it, irrelevant to me. And it stayed that way for years. But then came the night when she went head to head with one of my heroes, David Letterman, and won. Holy shit, she upset Dave? Ok then, Cher is hot and sarcastic and strong again.

Last night, Cher came to Omaha and put on a 90 minute show that covered a legendary career both in songs and in film. Opening with Womans World and proceeding along thru Strong Enough then came what could be argued was the highlight of the show. Cher told everybody to sit down and began a 15 minute story that went thru her life with Sonny, tax troubles with the IRS, her 40th birthday and the 90's encounter with Dave. Hey, the woman could do a one woman show and I'd go. Write a damn tell all book, I'll read it. The woman is fascinating. I was 10 again.

She sang with a film of Sonny, she did a trio of songs from ABBA, they showed a montage of her movies, she did Elvis, and ended with the re-creation of the If I Could Turn Back Time complete with her bare ass.

This show is worth a Groupon. In fact I feel like, dollar for dollar I won big here. No 73 year old in the world can do what she does. Cher is it, man. If I could turn back time, I'd go back and love her forever. I got uou, babe.

Graduation Day!

Graduations are a chore. They last forever, the speakers generally suck, the awarding of the diplomas takes more time than it took the grads to earn them, the parents and families are rude, and very few of the kids want to actually be there.

But if its YOUR kid. Then it becomes bearable, even if your last name tends to fall into the last 10% of the ceremony.

My kid graduates from college today. Proud isnt even a word I use but dammit am I proud of this young man. He never ever got a B all through high school, it was all A's. His record was perfect. He earned himself a full ride academic scholarship. He put up with a lot of shit in the 4 years on a social level but the kids eyes remained on the prize. He wants to be a lawyer and he will be in about 3 years or so. He earned another scholarship, graduates with high distinction and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

This fall he will enter law school with another prize to keep his eyes on. Things change I know. I remember the original goal of being a paleontologist and searching for dinosaur bones. But this prize is something I hope never changes. The future lawyer wants to help people. He wants to work for the ACLU, or some other group that sticks up for regular people. Immigrants, the downtrodden, the poor, the ones who lose their rights to the upper crust intent on keeping them down. In other words, this putrid administration.

If that happens, and I am pretty sure it will because this youngster cannot be stopped, life has been a success. Who would have thought when the baby came, and didnt even cry, and he looked at me like who the fuck are you, that the result would be this? Look I am not a smart person (and I can show you my transcripts). I am only "well read" as they say. I know just a bit more than most people. But as far as smarts go, fugetaboudit. His mom contributed just as much to this kids ethic as I did. Compassion and empathy came from her. Also a will to stand up for one's self. I am more of a loudmouth who ends most arguments with a big fuck you. She will get results without that fall into the abyss ending (except for the hotel in Denver story woo hoo) I tend to stumble into. Thus, the kid is a combo of loudmouth and pragmatist. I make him think by challenging his views while most of time not even meaning what I pontificate about. She keeps him on the straight and narrow with practical advice. It worked so far.

Anyway, allowing me to brag for a bit is appreciated. We may have made a significant contribution to helping this country stay true to itself with the unleashing of this kid. Fingers crossed.

Trumpistan!

Damn. Is there really enough prison space to hold everyone in the putrid administration who belongs there?

This lawless band of thugs goes way beyond Nixon and his group of liars and cheats. At least Nixon had some sort of patriotism, as warped as it may have been, and a political party willing to throw his crooked ass overboard. Trump and his thieving colluding traitors have nothing in place to stop them. A hack political party that knows its dying out as fast as the oxygen tanks on its base runs out. This party has made a deal with the devil and the devil is the Satan in Chief.

Lets just take this last exhausting month or so. The Mueller Report was released and people like me, still a bit trusting of Government officials to do what is right, clenched our fists in anger as the Attorney General, Fred Fuckstone, flanked by a non blinking jackwagon named Rod Rosenstein, and some bearded lackey that looked like an enforcer, read a statement in effect exonerating the Colluder in Chief of any wrongdoing and that any shenanigans that the Traitor in Chief may have gotten involved in was just because he was "justifiably angry and frustrated" at the pesky Mueller and his deep dive for the truth. Really? Getting out front on something like this is the job of liars like Kellyanne Conway or Sarah the Hillbilly not the fucking Attorney General of the United States. At this moment, despite the lackey press at Fox and the Liar in Chief crowing No Collusion No Obstruction, the Attorney General became just another mob lawyer protecting Big Donnie and the Trump Crime Family.

Jesus this is really exhausting. Led by collaborators like Mitch the Turtle and Lindsay Graham, who MUST be being blackmailed by someone with a tape of him with a live boy or a dead boy, ran interference. Refusing to call hearings or even to release the Mueller Report, this Vichy Government running the United States Senate also became mob thugs protecting the Mobster in Chief. Thanks to America getting sick of this shit in 2018, the House ramped up its investigations after it became apparent they were democracy's only hope.

So the hearings began to be planned. The redacted Mueller report was released. We learned Donnie the Goon thought his presidency was over, he was fucked, and of course he obstructed justice, or at least attempted to, at least 10 times. But because he's so goddamned stupid, and his son is so fucking stupid, no prosecutorial proceedings were beginning, at least by Mueller. Oh great, so if I plan to bomb something, order people to bomb something, yet those people ignore me because I'm so goddamned stupid, I have committed no crime? Welcome to Trumps America 2019. Where crime is only criminal if you have an IQ of room temperature and of course if you're not white.

The Attorney General, a truly despicable toadie from way back, appeared before the Senate this week. Hand jobbed by the Republicans, throttled by a few gutsy Democrats (thanks Kamala Harris your donation is on the way) Barr lied under oath, bobbed and weaved to avoid answering if he was truly Trumps reach around guy, debated the word "suggested" (God remember depends on the meaning of what is is and Republican apoplexy?) and was praised by Fox News and its senile viewers. Barr the refused to appear before the House, a clear violation of the law. Hey, why isnt this truly lawbreaking bobblehead in fucking jail already?

Oh you Democrats. So utterly afraid that people who live in the middle of nowhere will EVER vote for you. Oh we dont want to offend anybody. Oh we might get in trouble. Oh no, Sean Hannity might get mad. Red States might reject us. Jesus Chris fucking man up you preposterous wimps. You are getting no help from anybody on the other side, you're fucked in rural America forever because they see you as the party of the blacks and the Messicans and the sodomites and the uppity broads. The other party is struggling to stay afloat. Their last chance to turn America into a right wing utopia of White Male Supremacy forever is here and they will stop at nothing to achieve it. Passing laws in states to ban the ban of plastic bags, cracking down on pipeline protesters, blatantly defying the Constitution by banning abortion, arming teachers then doubling down by passing more extreme laws to arm teachers, the modern day fascists are using a narcissistic dummy to pack courts with neanderthals and unqualified Clarence Thomases to make sure their draconian laws stay put. Oh yes, it IS a coup all right. Just not the coup that the Victim in Chief cackles about to his cultists.

We are in danger folks. Real fucking danger of becoming Gilead. The Democrats better grow a pair NOW. If this Shitheel in Chief wins again, we are finished. This nation could take 8 years of George W Bush and his boss Dick the War Dog, but not 4 more years of this thuggery beholdened by a political party of collaborating scumbags.

Get out there and fight. And go the fuck away, Bernie, you're only fucking this thing up.