Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece

Speaking to a fellow Cuban Democrat today he stopped and said I can’t talk about politics, my family is Republican and its useless and they get very angry. I wondered to myself since when do Democrats have a gag-order placed upon their mouths? Since when did intelligent debate become a bad thing?

Our country was founded upon democratic principles from ancient Greece where the beauty of debate at the Agora was a revered expression of intelligence and catalyst for progress. To debate calmly and intelligently using facts, only served to progress a society. False assumptions can be dispelled, incorrect facts can be clarified as lies. When we stop debating we cage our ideas however right or wrong, inside our minds and Democracy is as a result, degraded. When we don’t speak up they win, when we don’t call them out on their lies they win in rewriting reality to fit their version of it. So the next time a Republican starts to huff and puff and spew their lies forcing you to roll your eyes into acquiescence, stand up to their rants, debate intelligently (www.factcheck.org is a good place to start) and calmly no matter how loud they scream out their fabrications. The fact of the matter is, they and their policies have never been so wrong in our country’s history. Their party irresponsibly dug us into this huge deficit, trickle-down economics don’t work and never have, deregulation of Wall Street and getting us into two expensive wars we should’ve never gotten into caused this great recession, they are NOT fiscally conservative especially when it comes to military spending, our country was founded by separation of Church and State, gay rights are human rights, banning abortion doesn’t stop abortions any more than prohibition stopped alcohol use, ignoring the need for universal health care only adds to our deficit by requiring coverage of uninsured through Medicare and bankrupts our citizens, we cannot continue to ignore the 12 million undocumented workers living in this country, nor can we deport them all.

Our president elect has been incredibly effective, more effective than any other president in my adult life. He stopped us from falling into a “depression” that by all accounts we were inevitably crashing into. Our recovery is happening and however shaky, things are better, even though the obstructionists have tried their hardest for him to fail. If you don’t believe it, look at Europe which is still reeling from and falling back into a recession.

It should never be just about Democrat or Republican, it should be about who has the best ideas and most intelligent vision of moving our country forward and right now, it happens to be a Democrat. When our country wins, we all win. If we are not united in that goal we all fail. So the next time a Republican tries to bully you into silence, stand up and say "You really don't have a leg to stand on, you voted for George Bush twice!"

It’s no longer about two different ways of dealing with our country’s issues, it’s about whether or not we move forward or go back to the same old ways that weren’t working and were definitely unsustainable.

And for the Cubans in Miami still loyal to the Republican party because of the Bay Of Pigs fracas, please move on..it was a long time ago and it was never America’s responsibility to free Cuba! The Republican led embargo has done absolutely nothing to foment change for over 50 years and it’s high time for a “change” on how we look at Cuba. The “change” we need in this country is not going to come from any one leader as much as the “change” in how active we are with the state of our affairs.

In the words of President Obama- "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

 ...silence does nothing

Is It Time For Us To Go "Commando"?

Words, words words, oh ever so powerful words. They can be used to imprison people (Hitler's speeches against Jews) or liberate them (Churchill's motivational speeches to the English masses). They can also start wars (Crusades started by a Pope, Jihad started by Muslim leaders). The million dollar question is why is it that people keep listening and following these words and/or the leaders that espouse them? When will the "faithful, god-fearing sheep" grow a pair and start thinking for themselves? It's simple, they don't want to think for themselves they'd rather be lead and shown the way. The only problem is these "look over there" leaders are pointing to the wrong ails of their societies. The Muslim clerics blame the western imperialists and their all too liberal society as the problem when it's really lack of jobs, education and poor infrastructure caused by generations of bad government. The Catholic evangelists or mo' haters, like to blame the Gays and\or Abortion as the cause of the problem in America when the real problem is an all too materialistic society that overspends and lives an unsustainable and irresponsible lifestyle that is damaging our environment.

My aunt always liked to say, "when you point a finger to blame someone, you have one pointing at them and three pointing at yourself.". It's ever so true for these religious leaders that are unsurprisingly in bed with the religiously aligned Republican party. The Republican party, pound for pound has more sexual scandals than a crack addicted pimp on Biscayne Boulevard. Don't believe me, there's a whole website devoted to it. These charlatan leaders or snake oil salesmen (pick either) need fear to lead, it is their mother's milk and their followers are very afraid. For one reason or another these followers or "minions" just aren't wired for bravery or the self contained faith to know everything is going to be alright. Like deposed evangelist, Ted Haggard recently said in an Advocate interview "The number 1 way they can raise funds is not to encourage people to be more loving, less greedy or more kind. It's to say there's a secret homosexual agenda to siege America, and fund us so we can battle this agenda to save the family."

As the whole Wikileaks debacle and mass revolutions across the Middle East can attest, the world and it's sheep are ready for the truth, in fact they are starving for it. Michael moore so eloquently put it, "Wikileaks isn't killing people, the secrets are". More and more sheep are breaking ranks and finding their own path to the truth of what is really wrong with any given country. Like Ted Haggard, whose fall from grace helped him "get real" and is now advocating his small church to accept the gay community and to advocate for the religious right to follow suit. Or Sarah, the Kansas city mom who stood up to her critical pastor after she accepted her son to dress as Scooby Doo's Daphne and created an uproar across the US. Or Howard Stern who has finally tired of saying the word "fag" on his show after realizing the effects of bullying on gay youth in America. And the 3000 parishoners that returned hate filled DVD's mailed to their homes in Minnesota in the church's effort to get people to vote against marriage equality for gays in that state. An ever-increasingly vocal yet still in the closet, Anderson Cooper criticizing a Hollywood movie trailer, getting them to remove a "that's so gay" comment out of a recent film.

This ideological civil rights battle has reached a tipping point and we can't wait for more of our youth to commit suicide or more laws passed by religiously led drives to take away more of our rights we have fought so hard to gain. We can no longer heed the advice of the Beatles and “let it be”. We need to go balls out, "warrior up" and take action and dispel the ignorance and myths spread about us. A quick, neutralizing factor is needed to disassemble and defuse these leaders leading this war against us. Like the hustler Mike Jones was for Ted Haggard or the cop in the bathroom for Larry Craig and the 20 year old twink bringing down the ever so dark George Rekers in my hometown, Miami Airport.



One of the most slapstick yet effective commando tactics is the "pie in the face". It the quickest and easiest way to make a statement and humiliate these bullies at the pulpit. Who could ever forget the pie in the face of Anita Bryant for her anti gay crusade in the 70's after succesfully getting a gay adoption ban passed in Florida? Or the more recent pie in the face of an antigay Bishop that claimed pedophile priests should be protected and that gays deserve AIDS? The pie is a messy contraption and really hard to run with to get a good shot at any given podium. I suggest a supersize pink Slushie, a' la Glee. It's a much easier to carry and less menacing looking tool as you casually sashay and slurp your way up to the podium. The pink colored Slushie, a fitting metaphor, since pink has always been one of the most prominent colors used to represent the gay rights movement since Hitler marked homosexuals with pink triangles on their way to the concentration camps. Shakespeare once wrote, "Truth will out" but sometimes truth needs a little nudge to come to the surface, especially when the next generation of our gay brethren are dropping via suicide, gay bashing or as was recently the case for David Kato in Uganda, old fashioned hammer-to-the-head, murder. It looks like outing these human weapons of mass destruction is one of the most powerful and efficient ways to get them to stop lying and dangerously misguiding their flocks. They won't out themselves folks.

We need to "warrior up" and Act Up as we did in the 80's when we were dying by the thousands from AIDS. It's time again for us to "ACT UP"! I certainly in no way want to incite violence but if these elected political officials or religious leaders are misrepresenting themselves and bringing violence and harm to their communities as a result, then someone needs to let these folks know who they are really following. If the journalists or the leader's peers don't out them, then who better than the gay community? We can fight using their own tactics like Gay teen activist Caleb Laieski who has notified officials at every school in Arizona that they must put a stop to bullying, or else he threaten to file a lawsuit however that attempt is easily ignored by these crusaders.

Take the grand daddy of all evangelists in the country for the African American Community as an example; Atlanta's bishop (sexting pictures above) Eddie Long, who after being accused by 4 of his underaged parishoners of sexual abuse and coercion is unbelievably still preaching at his pulpit. He is one of the largest leaders of the anti-gay movement, fiercely fighting any comparison with the gay civil rights movement and the black civil rights movement in this country, stringing along a money hungry, anti-gay relative of the late Martin Luther King to prove his point. Even though Mr. Long's expensive lawyers are "mediating" before going before a judge this summer and will probably get the boys to settle out of court a' la Michael Jackson, his unfinished fall from grace was the catalyst that created an olive branch of support being offered by the NAACP to gay rights groups for a first-time-ever cooperation. It is that kind of monumental change that can happen overnight from outing these con artists.

These are the real freaks, they are the bullies. Their mouths, weapons of mass destruction, much as Muslim clerics incite fatwah to kill Americans, these Benedict Arnold's of America have incited a holy war against our own children. So much so, that in one month last September, they caused 11 suicides of young citizens at the hands of a hatred born at the pulpit, emboldening youths to bully and gay bash, all in the name of the lord. The blood of these youths are the strange fruit harvested from these charlatans.

The trick to "going commando" is to do it right. Larry Flynt's offer of a million dollars to "out" an antigay senator is a really powerful and effective way to get the ball rolling but he didn't name a name- yet. Money always works quickly to get mercenaries to your door but another quick way to "go commando" is to organize "baits" in the local communities where the WMD's reside and lure them via online social apps such as Facebook, Twitter, going to their church and playing the wounded dove looking for a strong father figure to mentor them. Any way to get them to meet you in private. When you do, make sure the room is completely wired and someone else has a high def, FlipCam aimed at the meeting. Video is much more effective at proving their gay-ways than an easily adultered photo. You can also call IRS to report religious organizations that take part in political initiatives or ballots. Religious organizations that do this should lose their tax exempt status, period!

While there are hundreds of gay advocacy groups (HRC, GLAAD, Lambda legal, Save Dade, etc.) effecting great change, using the same legal system to fight our enemies that they use against us, it is taking too long and the gay suicides and bashings are still happening every month. Evangelists are even exporting their hate and causing gay death penalties to be added to the books of African countries that already give years of jail time for being caught in any homosexual act. We also have had huge victories in the last several years; repeal of DADT, Proposition 8 overturned, Matthew Shepard act was signed into law by Obama, removal of the HIV restriction for visa and immigration entries into the US and gay marriage rights being won in many states.

It's time to up the ante and show them these American idiots with their redneck agendas what a gay agenda really is about. It's about civil rights for all and "outing" the truth, however ugly that may be.

Hopefully then, the minions will tire of being minions and look inside themselves for the answers to what is right and wrong without the need for a religion to feed it to them. It's high time they take the wheel and drive themselves to enlightenment road.

So watch your back Maggie Gallagher, Rick Warren, Scott Lively, Brian Brown, James Dobson, and Richard Cohen; we are coming to snare and expose you We will snare you. We will look underneath your beds and in your dirty closets, take samples and pictures, CSI Miami style until you are busted. This is a war we are fighting- a war against terror and religious extremism in our efforts to win equal rights and a more civilized, less violent world, securing a real and new homeland security.

The next time you see any of these self-hating mo's at their pulpits pointing fingers at how sinful homosexuality is, just smile and ask yourself- "When will you get busted in a gay bathhouse or your naughty pics to underage boys hit the web?"

Kandi Burruss from Housewives of ATL, "Every saint has a past and every sinner a future." We are the "sinners" in this battle and we've got the love to get through this war.

*This video of YouTube'r Cadillac Kimberly is dead on and totally worth a listen.

"Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer." William Burroughs

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A great video on the effectiveness of PieIng for political activism.

The 8 largest scandals that outed politicians

The largest mass exodus of 24,000 parishioners at one time from an Evangelical church over it's position on gay equality

The 10 most prominent lies told about the LGBT community.

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%".

This Gay Rights Tango- Our Dance Towards Full Equality

On December 28th, 2009 Evita Peron's smile beamed down on her country from her Presidential Palace in the heavens above. Always an ardent fighter for the repressed and poor, Latin America's first gay marriage would've brought tears of joy to this goddess of Argentina's history. Evita has said "A decent woman is one who rides roughshod over machos."

This national icon and eternal fag-hag would be proud knowing that in her country, the "gay's" had finally overcome the bully that is the powerful Roman Catholic Church to finally witness the marriage of Latin America's first gay couple. Latin America, like the Middle East has a strong male dominant society where tolerance of sexual diversity is non-existent and violence against gays is a common occurrence. This marriage highlights the cracks in the system that has kept gay communities silent and fearful and that it is indeed crumbling.

A little less free but a lot more gay and happy

This whole marriage thing is a hallmark that we finally have the self-esteem to believe that another man is worth loving for the rest of your life. That we ourselves are good enough to marry another and have a chance at something as sparkling clean as a true love that may last a lifetime. It is a coming of age for a generation of gay men, forging a free and truly gay life for future generations of our gay brethren. In the words of Latin America's first groom, "Because "our" family is worth it.".

Worldwide, the advances have been peppered with setbacks in a strange 1-2 step tango. 3 steps forward, 2 steps back, 1 step sideways, cha cha cha.

Back to America, I wait for my partner of a year and a half to return from our local grocery store to fetch Almond milk when suddenly my 8 year old nephew blurts out, "Tio, I dont want you to be gay anymore!". A pregnant moment of silence later, I whip my head to the back seat and see my nephew avoiding my gaze, visibly upset and looking out the window. This is a boy that has been an integral part of my life for 8 years, and the son of a single mom whom is my sister. He has always accepted me and my life and my partner as normally as anyone would of a normal heterosexual couple. He has simply never known hate and is as pure as the day he was born, which is partly why he can make friends with anyone of any age, color or social class within seconds of meeting them. It is one of his greatest qualities and he's as magnaminous as Obama in that respect. At a loss for words, I ask him, "Why would you say that to me? Who did you talk to about this?". He replied back still looking out the window, "These boys at school said that gays shouldn't be in this country and need to go away.". Black and white images of civil rights protests where policemen spray down black protesters in the middle of the street came to mind. I was being talked about the way the racists in the 60's talked about blacks. They wished they would just all go away. The irony of the account was blaringly obvious. I replied to him "Well, honey you know that is what you call "hate"and when your grandma came to this country from Cuba there were signs posted on buildings saying "No Cubans". It was very hard for her to get a job or to find a place to live because the people in Miami didn't want Cubans in this country either. Since your father is a black man living in Venezuela, he also has to deal with people hating him because of his color. I can't stop being gay any more than your grandmother can stop being Latino or your father being black. The next time you hear those boys saying things like that you stand up to them and tell them that's not right and tell your teacher.". My nephew finally turned away from the window and looks at me with doeful and watery eyes, "Ok Tio, I love you.". I reply, "I love you too."

I recount this incident because there is no greater hypocrisy than when a group that has survived marginalization to go and downplay another marginalized group's struggle. They should be the first one's running to the plate to help fight the battle. When Black religious leaders stand at their podiums and preach that their civil rights movement has nothing in common with ours or that we are "pimping their movement", I call "bullshit" because it IS the same. The same hatred, the same narrow mindedness, the same ignorance, the same rhetoric and the same limitations and dangers to my life. So much so, that the team fighting to overturn Proposition 8 as I write this blog has used the example that our President Obama would never have been born if the laws prohibiting blacks from marrying whites were never overturned in this country.

We are witnessing one of the most crucial battles in American history that may not go in our favor due to an overly conservative Supreme Court but we will keep fighting because it is our right to do so and the limits to our rights are constitutionally wrong.

The growing worldwide tide for our cause may be the only thing to finally wrestle the medieval chokehold the religious right has on this country and it's politics and push our courts to finally overturn this legislated discrimination.

As we look forward to (2010) twenty-ten (doesn't that sound positive?), we see a world wrangling together to help a devastated Haitian country with thousands dead and we are pushed to begin a year with a thoughtful focus on humanity and unity. Hopefully this focus will carry on throughout the year and years to come as we will eventually break through and gain our full equality in this great country where anything is possible. Maybe then we can stop doing this Gay Rights back and forth Tango and finally waltz our asses to our nearest city hall and finally get married.

Gay right's milestones 2009

*Mexico City is first Latin American city to legalize full, gay marriage.
*Uganda plans a bill that would serve a death penalty to homosexuals in that country.
*Obama promises to end Dont Ask Dont Tell to a crowd of gay activists at a fundraiser.
*Argentina passes full gay marriage rights.
*An Argentinian judge puts a hold on Argentina's first gay marriage in order to "review" the ruling then approves after their home province backs the marriage.
*Washington D.C. passes gay marriage.
*New York votes defeats gay marriage bill.
*Portugal passes full gay marriage rights with adoption rights granted by April 2010.
*Voters in Maine vote against gay marriage rejecting the measure.
*The biggest city in America, Houston, Texas elects the first openly gay mayor of any U.S. city.
*California's Supreme Court upholds the discriminatory Proposition 8.
*Sweden approves same sex marriage.
*Iowa and Vermont sign legislation to allow gay marriage.
*Obama signs into law the Matthew Shepard hate crimes act and extends federal benefits to partners of same sex couples.


Milestones to look forward to for 2010

*Hawaii will review legislature to revive civil unions for gays in that state.
*Senator Carl Levin will schedule a hearing to discuss ending the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy.
*The Supreme Court will vote on whether or not Proposition 8 should be overturned.

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Time magazine's gay right's timeline:
http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,1904681,00.html

To get up to date info on the Supreme Court trial go to:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/GetTheTruthOut

Hawaii will vote for Gay Civil Unions this year:
http://www.gayvantage.com/gay-news/hawaii-legislators-to-vote-on-civil-unions-3748291780/

Repeal of the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell to be debated on Capitol Hill 2010:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/14/gay-military-ban-military_n_422893.html

The United States elects it's first openly gay mayor:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1947648,00.html

The debbie-downer-Pope at it again-calling gay marriage an "attack"
http://advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/01/11/Pope_Calls_Gay_Marriage_an_Attack/

Latin America weds it's first gay couple:
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/argentina-hosts-first-gay-marriage-in-latin-america-17352907

Why You Have to See Bruno the Movie

Going in to the movie; Bruno I had heard why the gay community was up and arms about a scene in the film where an adopted baby was in a hot tub with uber-gay, femme fatale Bruno and his gay playmates while one was eating another guy's arse. The producers apparently promised to remove the scene but never did. I fully expected it to be a "it's your turn gays" to take some satire and some tongue-in-cheek jabs at ourselves (as if we haven't had enough already). Regardless, I am open to these tests and I went anyway. Going in, I realized how few of my gay brethren were in attendance. Being a theater in the heart of the gay mecca that is South Beach hetero\homo ratio is about 50/50. The audience was actually very straight, about 95% on the Kinsey's scale. There were a good amount of African American viewers as well which is uncommon to the area as well. The movie took me through so many uncomfortable yet funny moments that I found myself covering my face and hiding behind my girlfriend's shoulder from the embarrasingly gay, screaming nelly on the screen. Growing up yearning to see my people represented in film, I finally got my wish but not in the same way I envisioned. It was unbearable to see all the extreme stereotypes that I have dreamed would one day be cleared away as soon as Richard Simmons passed away.

As Sacha Baron Cohen's (a straight Jew from London) antics progressed I realized that the film was not poking fun at the gay way of life but at society's extreme stereotypes of us and the extreme factions within our society that are vehemently opposed to our ways. As the theater emptied I took joy in seeing the confused faces of all the folks who thought they were going to a Hollywood sanctioned gay-bashing. The joke was on them. They paid 10 dollars each to see a reflection of a part of themselves in the homophobic, backward-ass cretans and religious freaks that hate us so for no good reason apart from that society has always reassured them that they they're right and we are wrong. Bruno left them with a lot to think about and with a possibly newfound motivation but nevertheless a motivation to separate themselves from the neanderthals on the screen. Don't reject Bruno for being such a flaming homo just yet, he might just be our best ally yet.

Bruno hits Miami:


Bruno at a Christian Rock concert:


Bruno vs. Skinheads:

The state of Gay PDA today- Are we capable of public displays of affection?

In this month of love I felt it appropriate to write about how we express love with each other and the implications that it may have depending on geography. I visited Jerusalem several years ago and have never forgotten the feeling of injustice I felt when a Palestinian shopkeeper started screaming eptihets in Arabic (you could tell because of the hand gestures) at a straight couple stopping in the market's passageway to kiss each other while holding hands. While being a romantic Kodak moment to my eyes, in Islam (Sharia law) public displays of affection are forbidden and considered offensive, even punishable by prison (yes prison) no matter what country you come from. The couple was so offended and afraid that they walked away very quickly in bewilderment from the angered shopkeeper. I truly felt bad for these two innocent human beings forbidden from loving each other and sharing a beautiful moment, in a city where so many have died for literally thousands of years because of religion and continue to so to this day. Irony is everywhere.

Different cultures express love in so many different ways but thankfully we live in a country where we have a magnaminous new president that enjoys a healthy and happy relationship so much so that he has no qualms with PDA, even on stage at his inauguration. Obama and Michelle have been the most affectionate first couple I've ever seen in my lifetime. I don't think George Bush ever even laid his hands on Laura in the entire 8 years of his presidency. In America it is safe to show affection to one another. Thankfully, the religious right in this country hasn't removed that freedom from us.....yet.

In a country not so far away like Malaysia, it is so offensive to kiss that a tourist couple almost got put in jail for a year for it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4879248.stm

Imagine that you are a adventurous, young, gay couple and you decide to take a trip to see one of the wonders of the modern world; the Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur and you decide to take a picture of yourselves kissing underneath the famous air bridge that unites the two buildings. You could find yourself instantly handcuffed and crammed into a surreal 3rd world jail cell a' la Midnight Express.

Since we DON'T live in Jerusalem, Malaysia, Dubai or Iran, etc. then why don't us gays seem absolutely devoid of the ability to show any type of affection for each other in public? Do we fear the anti-gay ghestapo will rappel down from a helicopter and whisk us away to concentration camps? Will latin american gun-men shoot us point blank against a concrete wall? None of the above...why because we live in a FREE and modern country that has no laws against any public displays of affection. This includes everyone gays, lesbians, straight, bisexual, etc. While we wouldn't exactly choose to make out or hold hands in the middle of Yeehaw Junction, Florida we should be able to express our love for one another in an honest, subtle manner whenever we feel so inclined in the same way that straight or bi-racial couples do. Being a Miami native, as a kid we'd go to Disney every summer and I'd often stare at young couples waiting in line, appreciating how they would lean and kiss each other's cheeks while waiting to get on the next ride. I wished that when I grew up I could do the same with my partner. Some 20 odd years later, I CAN do that and do even if it does make my current boyfriend uncomfortable or fearful. I stick to my guns and my belief that one of the most beautiful things to see in this life is people freely showing the love they have for each other at any given moment. It was a pleasing sight at my neighborhood Target to see an attractive blonde girl feeding a chocolate kiss to her black boyfriend and he responding with a sweet pop kiss to her mouth. How wonderful that they can feel free enough to express themselves like that in today's America, then I paused to ask myself when will that time come for "the gays"?

I don't mean we have to be all over each other all of the time but when it's a moment that you feel love for the person you are with, the most natural thing reaction is for you to show it. It takes effort to hold it in and why would you? It's as simple as squeezing their hand while walking, rubbing their backs or even yes god forbid, a pop kiss. If people can say "awww" and find the beauty in two dogs kissing in Lady and the Tramp then I have absolutely no doubt they would find our moments of true and honest love to be equally endearing.
The primary defense that religions use against Gays showing affection in public is that it is damaging to children. After coming back from a recent Carnival Cruise I can confidently tell you what I find offensive and disturbing to children. Obesity is offensive. Families allowing their children to be obese, stuffing their faces at a buffet 5 times a day is offensive. Bad taste in clothing is offensive. Hairy backs on men roasting in the sun is offensive. Extreme acts of violence shown on the afternoon news are offensive. Images of Jesus Christ dead and nailed to a cross are deeply disturbing, people wearing sandals with fungus infected toe nails is disturbing. What messages do those things tell the children of the world? Do we gays really believe that the expression of our love is more offensive than the examples I've described above? Really? What gives them the right to be out and proud with their nasty-as-they-wanna-be-selves and us not to be?

In the same fashion that some gays still remain in the closet even though thousands are out and proud, this is just another form of self-inflicted repression. As I've said before, fear is part perception and part reality. It is a human right in the United States and other democratic countries to be able to express affection for the ones you love within the norms of society, of course. I don't think anyone wants to see two people slobbering all over each other at a dinner table, unless you're a pervert but at the same time you wouldn't arrest them from doing so. You have the choice of just looking away. T'is the beauty of living in a free country.

I'd love to see the day when gay and lesbian couples all over America and other free nations, show the world that we don't just have hot sex but that we do love, we do express affection for one another, that our love is true and yes, inoffensive. Just make sure you aren't in Dubai before you do (that goes for the straights too).

A warning from the UK to travelers visiting arabic countries: http://www.newser.com/story/46369/no-pda-cheating-in-muslim-nations-uk-warns-travelers.html

Heinz pulls their ad of two gay men kissing because it was deemed to offensive to children: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-8125.html

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

"GAY" is the new "BLACK"

While I am exhilarated by the election of our shiny, new president Obama, the first presidential candidate that has ever been vocal in his support for the gay community, on the flip side i've been brought down from my "high" at the realization that while we made one large step forward, some small religious extremist groups in this country have succeeded to yet again tarnish the American Dream for all in their efforts to create a faux, holy utopia without us "gays". That envisioned utopia used to be one without any blacks, latinos or anyone that wasn't purely American and white. Since these extremist groups realized long ago that goal was impossible, they have settled on an easier target for their holy war, "By golly. let's get them gays and fix this country."

These groups; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Catholic organizations such as the Knights of Columbus (http://www.kofc.org/), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Saint Andrews Alms fund, the National Organizaton for marriage http://www.nationformarriage.org/, and the American Family Association http://www.afa.net/, all non-profits and have all collected large sums of money from their followers to write discrimination into the books across our country.

Let's call a spade a spade, these folks are our Taliban or "Ameri-bans", governed by their fear of the modern world as the Taliban in the Middle East. It is their "Jihad" and their satisfaction will only come when they see no homosexuals in the public light by either curing them or pushing them so far into the closet that they are invisible again. The only thing is, who will be their next target for a holy war? Unwed mothers, single mothers, couples living together that don't want to marry? There will always be a target for them. Today the gays are the target who will they attack next?

Now what I find painfully ironic is the groups that have been mostly discriminated against in this country; latinos and blacks were the ones that poll numbers have shown, widely voted for these discriminatory measures which ultimately passed.

Gay is the new black! Although blacks and latinos don't like to call it discrimination, although it is wrapped up in a blanket of religion, it is still a pig in a blanket.

The late wife of Martin Luther King; Coretta Scott King said in a speech at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago in 1998, “Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spreads all too easily to victimize the next minority group,” Mrs. King explained. We are currently in a civil rights movement in this country and it will only grow louder until we win our equality and legal protection. In the words of a gay protester in South Florida, "No more Mr. Nice Gay!".

Anti-LGBT marriage bans passed in Florida and Arizona, and in Arkansas voters voted to bar all unmarried people, LGBT or straight, from adopting children or serving as foster parents. California's proposition 8 passed as well, preventing any further marriages of same sex couples to take place, statewide.

But that's enough about "them" let's now focus on us, the positive, forward thinking, non fearful, challenge and adventure-loving Americans. What can we do to win this ideological war against hatred?

I'll take this opportunity to blog about a blogger;

It's about time that another individual rose from the ranks to lead my people (the gays) a la Harvey Milk, to a new level. This new leader is a blogger named Amy Balliett who happens to be a lesbian. She blogs to the world from Seattle and several weeks ago she wrote calling for a national day of protest against the passage of California’s anti-gay marriage Proposition 8. Her blog spread like a gay virus, soon after, more than one million people read the blog. One blog created history, on November 15th at exactly 1:30 p.m. EST, dozens of cities across this great country staged peaceful protests where thousands attended. Gays, straight allies, politicians, citizens of the US attended in solidarity. This was truly a grassroots campaign in every sense of the word. All started by the greatest invention ever created; the Internet and one person's vision. I've never been so proud to be gay and an IT Help Desk Manager at the same time.

The next big event that you can take part in is a Day Without a Gay on December 10th. http://daywithoutagay.org/ The time has come to really show the nation who we are and how much we contribute to it's growth and add to it's society. I am, we are citizens of the USA who deserve equal protections under the law!

We have a lot of work to do, DOMA (Defense of Marriage act) http://www.domawatch.org/index.php exists in 37 states in the US and it must be overturned just as the laws preventing women from voting and interracial marriages have been overturned in this country. History is on our side, you cannot continue to repress such a large group of human beings and expect them to just go away. We just need to better organize, focus on what is most important right now, maintain positivity (which has always been easy for us) and finally to speak out to everyone we know. Affect all of your circles of influence, instigate conversations on the topic and read up on the topics so you know what you are talking about. We cannot allow these small extremist and soon to be dinosaur groups of Ameri-bans in this country to take us back to the dark ages. We will overcome this! We will KEEP ON RISING! (queue music now)


Gay is the New Black video documentary

http://video.newsweek.com/#?t=4122447001&l=2269776001

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Positive highlights of our recent advances and a message from Joe Solomnese, President of the HRC (Human Rights Campaign).

We increased the ranks of pro-equality lawmakers in both the House and the Senate. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), ringleader of the campaign to write discrimination into the U.S. Constitution, was soundly defeated. Jared Polis (D-CO) became the first openly gay man ever to be elected to Congress as a non-incumbent. Democrats took the New York State Senate, giving us our best chance ever to pass a same-sex marriage law in a legislature. We won the right to marry in Conneticut and marriages there have already begun.

With Obama in office we can now pass critical LGBT equality measures like the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act and begin unraveling the damage of the last eight years.

Moving forward, HRC will:
Continue our efforts to win incremental victories for relationship recognition, so that legally married lesbian and gay couples in Massachusetts and Connecticut have full standing under federal law; the same holds true for civil unions and domestic partnerships in places like New Hampshire, Vermont and Oregon.

As Obama said last night, “That's the true genius of America – that America can change.”

Yesterday, an unfortunate majority of voters stood with the most extreme and negative elements of society to deny the rights of loving and committed gay and lesbian couples. But it’s not the first time that has happened to us, and it won’t be the last.

"It doesn’t change the fact that we are married. It doesn’t change the fact that we have families. Make no mistake. We are bowed, but not discouraged. We are sad, but not disheartened. We grieve, but not as those who are without hope. "

Joe Solmonese President http://www.hrc.org/
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Here's a couple of easy ways you can help with a click: sign the Anger into Action Declaration here: http://www.kintera.org/c.qkIWKaMZIxF/b.4746361/k.29E1/Anger_Into_Action_Declaration/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx
Over 200,000 people have already signed the pledge—and thousands more are signing every day. Even non-Californians are signing the pledge in solidarity. If you'd like to sign, click here:
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51024&id=15119-6248121-aS9KyPx&t=2

After you've signed, be sure to share with your friends and family, post to your Facebook page, and get the word out.

Sign a petition to overturn ammendment 2 in Florida:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/amendment2/

Keith Olbermann's passionate plea to the religious right in this country:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUecPhQPqY