Thank You....

On the eve of the most important election of our lifetimes, I am spinning out my anxiety at FlyWheel on South Beach, an uber high-tech extreme exercise emporium. I mull over the last several months where I've freely given countless hours to the grassroots campaign to re-elect our President Obama. The time given, unconditional except for the desire to see our country continue moving forward with a leader that in my eyes, has been one of the most effective and unwavering presidents we have had since John F. Kennedy. I'm free of regret as my time has been paid back exponentially with newfound wisdom, a greater connection to humanity and fulfillment knowing that I stopped watching the world spin by without my input and actually contributed to it's orbit towards one direction.

As the spinning instructor\dominatrix commands us to go faster, my eyes burn with sweat dripping from my brow and I close my eyes to prevent the sting. I begin to visualize what will happen if all this work will be for naught. What if my president doesn't win? What will happen to this country if the religious extremists finally get the full control they have fought centuries for. The thought burns a fire and in an instant I am pedaling furiously-faster, forgetting my body's limits.

I try pulling back from the doomsday scenario in my head of American Taliban hijacking our government, our constitution and my equal rights as a gay american. I see the big picture and recall other dire moments in history where the harsh lessons were an unexpected byproduct. I think of the worst example and try to see the good from Hitler's horrible crimes against humanity. Even in the horror he created and blatant disregard for human life, he seeded the Earth with the idea that what he did must never-ever happen again. In that moment, I come out of my spinning trance, wipe the sweat from my eyes to focus on the instructor's calls and beautiful motivating smile. She, like our President is calling and spurring us on to fight harder for our health, for our lives, for our equality to chase after those "transparent dangling carrots".

If American liberals are guilty of anything is that they suffer from a case of extreme Buddhism. Their natural tendency to look at life through a live and let live lens allows the right wing-nuts who scream and fight oh-so-much louder to oftentimes win against our wishes and even allow them to infringe upon our rights. This time, this election, in the words of Debbie Wasserman; it's personal. This election is personal to the senior who doesn't want to have to navigate a voucher system in their golden years peppered with senility instead of a safe and secure Social Security system. It's personal for a woman that inadvertently gets pregnant and wants to choose when she will bear a child so that she doesn't derail her life's career because someone not of her religious beliefs stole her right to decide when she will bring a child into this world. It's personal for all LGBT citizens who want nothing more than to be finally left alone to live a life with their life partners with full and equal rights as any other tax paying citizen and for them to marry the love of their lives and not be told that their marriage isn't as legitimate as a heterosexual man marrying his mail order bride from Russia. This election is personal to the young latino immigrant that worked two jobs for years to pay for their way through college and only dreams of being naturalized through the Dream Act.

We are a nation as divided as during the Civil War over 150 years ago. One side of the country towards progress and equality free from enslaving segments of our society and the other still wanting to keep those limits intact. Like Paul Revere lighting up the night with his call to arms, the obstructionists, one by one with their bizarre and twisted justifications to take away our rights have bitch-slapped so many of us apathetic and tolerant liberals to finally jump up and say what the fuck are you trying to do with my government?!

I thank Sarah Palin with all her ignorance of the facts and mockeries of the truth, I thank Lyin' Ryan and Myth Romney for spinning their Rumplestiltskin web of lies, spinning a golden mythological yarn, promising to magically fix all our problems without even telling us how. I thank Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter for giving a byproduct birth of the Stephen Colbert show and giving Bill Maher, John Stewart and Rachel Maddow their voice; emboldening their resolve with every barbaric diatribe that you spit in our faces. I thank their selective ignorance for spurring me to educate myself to be able to shut them and their minions down at a moment's notice. I have trained myself for years to stand up to their justifications and I too have found my voice. Thank you extreme Republicans, for you have stung us all awake from our slumber of generations.

Thank you Putin, Mubarak, Pope Ratzinger, the Castro Brothers, Kim Jong Il, Chavez, Ahmadinejad and all dictators of thought for pushing the opposition to fight harder every day to expose the truth, to fight for their freedom, no matter how many you killed or tortured; you never were able to completely cover the sun with your finger or your many and varied weapons. Thank you people of Egypt for inspiring the flames of hope for the rest of the Middle East and reminding us that no matter how many they shoot, they can never kill us all....that revolutions can still explode and not be contained.

We are certainly a divided America but we, the people are more activated and ready to fight than ever. Eventually the scale will tip, history is on our side. Injustices will not always reign and tipping points will be reached. The question is will it happen tomorrow or 4 more years from now?

I thank America for still being a place where telling the truth is not a cause for murder, imprisonment torture or death threats. Where anyone can research the truth enough to uncover the lies and corruption, expressing all without paying with their lives. The defenders of the truth; Bloggers, activists and journalists are still assassinated, tortured and imprisoned in parts of our world.

While there are so many threats to our freedoms; in this country we still have a voice to fight the opposers of progress. Every 4 years we can vote for who we feel best fights for this truth. When you do vote, don't vote for a party or what anyone tells you is right or wrong. When you are in that booth where no one can see you, vote for who your instinct tells you isn't lying to you just to allay your fears. Vote for who supports the truth and liberty that we thankfully still enjoy. Vote for who supports equal rights for all of us instead of dividing and degrading sections of our society.

In a time that feels as if the Tectonic plates are shifting, as if a megaquake is about to bust apart the world as we know it. It is crucial now more than ever, to hold on to our hope- that same hope that the religious right turned into a bad word as if it was something to be closeted and ashamed of having. If tomorrow we see the extremists take over our constitution, our bodies and probably throw us into a new war of their design, do not let go of the hope that we have carried and were repaid with a President that stood up for us. Do not give up that hope, for it just means that more of us need to get on the FlyWheel and start spinning, start spinning towards a new world we have all dreamt would come but will just take a little bit longer to materialize.

"Sometimes life has to break us to make us. It's just a bend and not the end. We're all a little bit like glow sticks, no matter how much we're bent and broken our light still shines." DeAndre Carswell

An entry from evangelists Oral Robert's gay son Randy Roberts Potts on Facebook-

randy roberts potts
32 minutes ago

Tomorrow I will vote for the first President of these United States to openly declare that I am an equal citizen deserving of equal rights under the law. He's a man who values the bond my husband and I made in New York, who values the stability marriage can provide for the three children we are raising under our roof, who believes that our right to visit each other in the hospital is a right and not a benefit, who values our service in the military, in the schools, as firemen, as police officers, enough to say that we deserve to pass on what we leave behind to the person we love the most. I am proud to vote for Barack Hussein Obama, the man with the "funny" name, the man with the darkest shade of skin ever to sit in the White House, a man who chose to be a community organizer on the "bad" side of town instead of cashing in on his degree from Harvard.

The argument that a gay man, a bi woman, a transgendered person could vote Republican this year for economic considerations is bogus -- my family, my husband and our three children, are my primary economic unit. For the first time in history, one party values this unit, welcomes it, encourages it, while the other pretends it doesn't even exist. Denial economics just doesn't make sense.

4 years ago, the choice for LGBT people might not have been quite as clear, and I value the work of groups like the Log Cabin Republicans because they are one of the main reasons the Republican party will change, and it will change, eventually. Even so, the LCRs lost a huge opportunity this year when they endorsed a man who has a miserable track record of over and over and over again, over many years, refusing to treat us as people deserving of dignity and respect.

 I am not a member of either party and I have friends, close friends, on both ends of the spectrum, but this year there I can't see any value in an LGBT person voting for a candidate and a party that openly, in its platform, in its robocalls, in its alliance with NOM, in its private statements, in its public statements, does not value us as full human beings capable of building families and contributing to society and serving in the military. Not when there is another party that openly declares its support for us.

If a candidate does not want your service, do not offer it.

 If you are a member of the Republican party, as I know many LGBT men and women are, remember John Milton's words, "they also serve who only stand and wait." It's a point of honor to push your party on this issue, to remind Republicans daily that you exist. It is also the most honorable service you could provide for your party to stand aside this year, to vote for a more deserving candidate, and wait.

And for all you Democrats out there, well kids, you've got it easy!

Tomorrow's going to be a big day for marriage equality. I'm on the edge of my seat, literally. We might lose in a couple states; we might not. We might reelect the first sitting President ever to come out for marriage equality, and then again, we might not. Tonight, the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. ring as true as ever:

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."

Now get out there and vote tomorrow and let's get on with that dream!

It's A Mad World - Maddening Us Gays

Reading through the paper, passing the countless updates on legal battles going on presently in this country regarding gay rights; "Lingle compares gay marriage to incest", "Gay groups sue governor Lingle of hawaii to overturn her veto to gay marriage ammendment", "Washington DC court upholds gay marriage bill, preventing a majority to ever vote to strip a minority's rights in that state", "Proposition 8 Overturned! Opponents Vow to take Appeal To US Supreme Court", "Montana Tea Party Advocates Hanging of "Fruits"" etc, etc. I get a little down and Google, "cheer me up" and find an article that rates the 10 happiest cities to live in the United States. My mind begins to wander and think happy thoughts...What if we (us gays) could build our own utopian island on par with the man made islands off the coast of Dubai- a modern day mythical Atlantis reborn by and designed by legions of the top minds from our LGBT communities across America. Our ardent opponents fantasy's of shipping us all off to an island would finally be realized. Sure, we already have our gay sanctuary-cities like LA, New York and Miami but like Sergio Arau's "A Day Without a Mexican", America would finally see what a day or several years without a gay is like and what will happen to our society with the complete removal of it's "gays". I know it would totally suck but just stick with me here.

We are no different from the Kurds in Iraq or Muslims in Bosnia-just another minority that would better off be eliminated or altogether made to disappear so that the majority won't have to tolerate or understand us. The idea of a gay Atlantis-utopia would call them on their bluff and while others would call it cowardly, I muse it would be a passive-aggressive, checkmate move. It wouldn't take long for the same factions that opposed us to create a new demonized segment of society and create a new holy war against divorces, illegal immigrants, tangas or mini-skirts. Like removing the US embargo off of Cuba, robbing Fidel of his excuse for his country's miseries. These Ameri-bans would finally be exposed for the fear-mongering fanatics that they are and the masses would finally "get it"-then maybe then we could return from our safe-haven-utopia and finally be left alone to live our lives without having to fight every damn day to defend ourselves and gain equal rights.

Staring at this map of happiness I remember my first day of school where I kicked, screamed and scratched to not go into that classroom. A place where no one knew me and where I felt I was too different-not because I was gay-I didn't have an inkling of that yet but because I was a strange young boy that never spoke- Too focused on figuring out this strange world to speak or relate to anyone...So many questions I obsessed about; Why money had value? Why did my parents run around, working so much and not spend more time with my siblings and I? Why there were killings, rapes and wars? Why were kids at school so competitive and mean to each other? Why did I feel like a lepper?

High school gifted me with an angelic being and my first gal-pal of many that would provide solace and sanctuary for me. It was only fitting that she looked like a younger version of my tender, loving idol; Marilyn Monroe. We were brief lovers and in her arms I found a shoulder to drown my sorrows and finally confess my "gayness". She soon after, released me to take the gay, road-less-traveled. 23 years later, the world is still cruel and cold but a little more tolerant and our people are no longer the free, gay and happy people that created the epitome of good times from the 70's and 80's. Our world renowned wit, dampened and drowned out by our cries for equality, finally getting fed up enough to quit partying and start demanding respect.

We are in wartime, no time for being light and caddy, we are a weary, beleaguered masses yearning to breathe free. A shadow has been cast by our tireless political opponents obsessed with lying about our love, cheating and manipulating laws to have their religious war won, eroding the fabric of America's Constitution along the way. The shadow is cast over almost every gay community worldwide by a religious cloak from almost every religion hiding the hatred and homophobia behind their regurgitated and selectively manipulated doctrine. We, as a people have lost a part of ourselves along the way, lost in our own rainbow. Our cause is just and as important as the recession everyone is stuck wallowing in. This battle affects millions of lives of good and Gay American citizens. We are a large portion of society fighting and counting the days until we can feel free, light and good again- to finally feel fully equal and accepted. It's a mad world- maddening to one of the last portions of society to be included in one of humanity's final exams, truly testing the tolerance of it's inherent differences. Our rights were supposed to have already been afforded to us by the Constitution with a clear separation of church and state. We shouldn't have to fight this battle but nonetheless, here we are mired in it. Although it took us a while to get pissed off enough to get organized, we are now witnessing one of the biggest battles of our times, where hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on either side of the political battlefield.


I imagine a day when we are finally done with this mess and all those millions can be redirected towards helping to change the really damning problems of our world like lack of water, overpopulation, incurable diseases, etc. I imagine a time where I could reunite with my brothers and sisters on a dance floor, where the music is uplifting and good again. Where I don't leave feeling depressed from a gay club, sensing the sadness oozing off these reality escapees of a harsh world -dancing to forget. I await on a metaphorical cliff looking out to a new horizon where this civil rights war is behind us and we can finally regain our joyful outlook and wit that we were so famous for. I can't wait for my younger gay brethren to feel as loved and accepted as they were on their birthday as every child should feel. For LGBT suicides, gay bashings and death penalties for gays to be relegated to the dark pages of our history books for good....to serve as a reminder that this time that mentality should never be repeated. I await and dream of the day we win this battle for equality and justice. To be able to sing happy birthday to "us" and this mad world will become a bit more of a glad one.

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!" — Jack Kerouac (On the Road)

One day we will be able to look in the mirror and feel beautifully whole and comfortable in our own skins with a contented smile instead of expressionless, poker faces and smiling will be cool again. I pray that after we do that the hatred doesn't shift to illegal immigrants in this country as it already seems to be happening.

This whole gay thing isnt about gay or straight -it's about loving each other-for real this time- no matter what- to end this hatred amongst ourselves and knock the cycle of hatred, division and intolerance out of this Earth grid for good. Or at least until a new challenge like acceptance of beings from other planets comes inevitably along our evolutionary path. That moment of contact will never happen until we can get over our differences here at home. Would you want to visit such unfriendly territory if you were light years ahead of Earth?

"There is a template of pain and suffering on this planet that the earth is tired of and we need to move through it to progress. Love light and happiness begins with you. " Guru Ganesha



Gay director John Waters muses on the current state of the gay community. Click here

Russian billionaire calls for the extermination of all gays and lesbians on Moscow public radio.

*Photos above by Jeff Kilmer from his recent book "23%".

A mother's gay-straight alliance with her son

Today, more than ever I am proud to be the son of a mother who has joined me as a dedicated soldier in my fight for equality. Today, my mother; Doctora Isabel Gomez-Bassols http://doctoraisabel.net/ asked me to speak on her national radio talk show on Univision radio to debate our points of view regarding whether or not celebrities should come out of the closet to aid in the gay civil rights battle in this country. After reading my blog about the topic I had explained to her that it is a social war and the most dangerous gays are the ones that are in the closet and that are so self-hating that they'll do anything in their power to undermine our struggle just to free themselves from being discovered as being gay themselves. The Catholic church is chock-full of self-hating gays preaching for others to not accept us. The government also has it's shar of self-hating, closeted gays (Senator Larry Craig, Mark Foley) pushing for laws denying any rights to my people. The same way whites in the north stood up to the false notions of racists in this country that discrimination because of color was unjust, my mother has utilized the platform of her show to help me in being vocal for gays in this country to finally win and end their struggle for full civil rights. One day, we will look back and laugh at all this bickering and manipulation by religious establishments. One day hopefully, religious institutions will be a thing of the past too. I envision a world without separate and divisive religious organizations, a world with one, unified belief system, without religious doctrine based on fear. All religions believe in god so why can't we just boil it down to one belief system that holds love amongst men unconditionally to be the highest form of spirituality? After all, isn't that the purpose of spirituality, to spread God, Mohammed's, Allah, whomever's message of love to all?

I guess being a son of such a powerful and intelligent woman rubs off on you in some way. I guess that's where I get the conviction to live out and proud and speak on her national radio show to defend the rights of gays in this country. She did a perfect job of raising me and for this I thank her and pay homage to her in this blog.

When I decided to tell my mother my most tragic and sad secret, it was motivated from my trying to live a more honest, truthful life. In the same way I felt it was disrespectful to be with a woman sexually and fantasize about being with a man, it was disrespectful and hurtful to have her believe the lie that I was straight, regardless of whether that lie was supported by her self-inflicted illusions or my actions to hide it. Her being a mom first and psychologist second trumped her education and her initial reaction was that it was a result of not having enough interaction or affection from my father. It was more a knee-jerk reaction to my announcement than an actual belief. In the end, she knew better.

When my farm raised, Cuban father found out, it hit him so hard that all he could do was ask himself where he went wrong. He was so focused on what he did wrong to cause this to happen to his secretly favorite son. The son that he thought would bring pride to his name, succeed where he went wrong and completely eat that piece of American Pie he came to this country for. I'll never forget how my sister told me of the night he broke down and fell to the floor crying after getting out of his truck on his way home from work. He kept rambling and crying uncontrollably, asking her "Where did I go wrong?, What did I do to make him this way? That night in a reversal of roles, she cried with our father and held him as if he was her son. He was a man that never cried not even at his father's own funeral. It wasn't his fault, nor my mother's. He did nothing to cause what I was and am today. I can confidently confess with every cell in my physical being and every bit of my soul that I was simply born that way. It is not a curable disease, it is simply another color in the human rainbow, another way to love. Not the destruction of humanity but rather a challenge to humanity for compassion and understanding among men, across cultural and national borders. Homosexuality has always and will always exist just as heterosexuality has in every country in the world. We will not go away or disappear into invisibility. We are humans, Americans, leaders, sons, daughters, citizens of this world with our only wish being to be left alone to live out our lives and learn our karmic lessons in this life along with the rest of the beings on this blue marble we call Earth. If you are a fellow warrior, now is the time to be vocal, to not be afraid to stand up in church, at dinner tables, parties, wherever hatred is espoused against fellow humans whom happen to be homosexual. It is time to call people out on their hatred wrapped in religious justifications. The year is 2009, it is time for us to get over this to move on to bigger and greater things like saving this Earth before we completely extinguish ourselves. That, my friends is the real threat to humanity. If my mother were Pope, that is what she would preach. Why is it again that women can't be pope?

Pope accused of stoking homophobia after he equates homosexuality to climate change:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5387858.ece

Listen to the recording of my mother's show where we debate over closeted celebrities (in Spanish) 1/9/09 http://www.miunicast.com/Public/Media/DraIsabel-2009.01.09.mp3