The more things change, the more they stay the same

From the Dallas Voice blog:

You’ve gotta be sh*tting me
June 28th, 2009

I got a phone call at 3 this morning from Todd Camp, the founder of Q Cinema and former reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It was Camp’s birthday and the night of a special Q Cinema screening of two Stonewall documentaries… because it was ALSO the 40th anniverary of Stonewall, as anyone knows.

Except, apparently, the Fort Worth PD.

Or maybe worse, they DID know and wanted to make a point.

The horrific details after the jump.

According to Camp, the newly-opened Rainbow Lounge is “the only cool gay bar in town,” but the police raided it, arresting numerous patrons for no reason.

I got another perspective in my in-box this morning:

The not awesome thing was the paddy wagon of homophobic police that showed up … looking for trouble. My group and I were sitting on the back patio at a picnic table. Nobody was being wild out there. [The police] came through with flashlights, being loud asking what was going on out here, then asked why everyone was all the sudden being quiet. When one group started up their conversations again, they took one guy away. I left shortly after and as I walked through the front bar there were numerous cops with plastic handcuffs all ready to go. I [left] the bar and they [had] a big van in the parking lot and numerous cars on the street. And just so you know, it wasn’t fire hazard crowded or seedy wild in there. … The worst part is [friends later told me] that [the police] had numerous people face down on the ground outside. I just moved to Fort Worth from Dallas, so this is such a shock to me. I know Dallas would not put up with this. … I am still so shocked it is 2009 and this just happened.

Anyone else there last night? Write to me (jones@dallasvoice.com) or my editor (nash@dallasvoice.com).

— Arnold Wayne Jones

Sheesh, and on the 40th anniversary weekend of the Stonewall Uprising. Some cops apparently don't learn from history. It gets worse:

Man injured in Rainbow Lounge raid may need surgery to stop bleeding around brain
June 29th, 2009

Senior Editor Tammye Nash is just now leaving the hospital in Fort Worth where she spoke with Chad Gibson’s family. Gibson is in intensive care after reportedly suffering head trauma when he was thrown to the ground by police early Sunday during a raid of the Rainbow Lounge. Nash said she visited with Gibson’s mother and his sister this morning, and they told her that his condition has worsened. Gibson reportedly has a brain bleed — also known as intracerebral hemorraghing — and the clot inside his skull has gotten larger and shifted, which is a bad sign. Gibson is scheduled for another CT scan at 10 a.m. today. After that, doctors will decide whether the clot can be shrunk with medication or whether they need to perform surgery. Stay tuned, and keep Gibson in your thoughts and prayers.

— John Wright

Later developments include the officers involved in the raid claiming 'gay panic' for their purported excessive use of force. (Ooooo. The big scary gay men looked at me, so i HAD to slam them up against the walls.) Now the Fort Worth police chief is claiming that alleged victim Gibson was not injured by the police but is instead suffering from alcohol poisoning. That's a creative bit of 'blaming the victim,' given that witnesses and the hospital don't support that story.

Response to the police chief's imaginative narrative:

The police statement said one patron was so drunk he was vomiting. Morgan said her brother threw up because of his head injury.

She also questioned police efforts to summon medical help. The time on Gibson’s ticket for public intoxication is 2:10 a.m. An ambulance wasn’t called until 2:25 a.m.

Club Manager Randy Norman said Gibson didn’t seem drunk and was walking from the men’s room, holding a bottle of water, when an officer pushed him against a wall and then pushed him to the ground. Some patrons said they heard Gibson ask the officer a question, but that he didn’t fight back. At least three officers were involved in handcuffing him.

“The first question I heard was, ‘How much have you had to drink?’” said Shane Wells, a dancer at the club. Gibson “said, ‘I don’t have to answer that question’ and they grabbed him and ran him against that little wall.’”

i knew there was a reason why i didn't care for Dallas/Ft. Worth other than Jack Iker.

Jay Brannan's video tribute to Michael

"did anyone really know michael jackson? ever really see him? or did we set up another person as a god, and ultimately destroy them? "

And the winner is...

June 26, 2009 (Petaluma, CA) – As the crowd chanted “Pabst, Pabst,” the celebrity judges deliberated between the so-named boxer-mix shelter dog and Rascal, a former world champion Chinese Crested to determine who would be the 2009 World’s Ugliest Dog Champion tonight at the Sonoma-Marin Fair. First timer Miles Egstad from Citrus Heights, California was stunned at Pabst’s win. “ I don’t think he’s that ugly!” he said of his boxer mix whose under bite was his most compelling physical feature. His sweet personality made him an audience favorite.

He looks like a real sweetie to me. "Who's Daddy's ugly boy? Are you Daddy's ugly boy? Yes, you are! Now gimme a sloppy kiss."

Get the whole skinny on the annual "World's Ugliest Dog Contest" at the Sonoma-Marin fair's website.

Fr. "Big Mama" Capretta, Old Catholic Priest

"Forgive me, Fr. Mama, for i think some of my cosmetics were tested on animals...."
"Bless you, my son. Go and donate that cheap ass makeup of yours to less fortunate drag queens. Now go say ten "Oh, Marys" and remember - you are FAB-U-LOUS! Your sins are forgiven."

From The Advocate:

Big Mama's a Closet Priest
By Amita Parashar
Big Mama's a Closet Priest

Big Mama Capretta's hit single is number 25 on the U.S. Billboard Club Play dance chart. But here comes a big surprise -- by day, Big Mama is actually a Catholic priest from Columbus, Ohio.

In celebration of Pride Month, Big Mama Capretta has revealed her daytime identity: Vincent Capretta, also known as Father Anthony, a practicing Catholic priest.

"It's Big Mama, y'all! And I am no longer afraid to come out of the closet as a gay Catholic priest!" Capretta said in a statement. "I am enjoying my life being who I am and who God intended me to be! Now let's dance, y'all!"

Although newly out, Capretta is hardly new to the music world. He has been studying theory and classical guitar since the age of 7. His first music video was "Fallin' Again" in 1987. He has also covered disco classics including "I Will Survive" and "Turn the Beat Around."

Capretta is listed as a member of the United Reform Catholic Church International on the organization's website.

And the response from the RCC franchise:

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) – On Thursday news sources around the world were buzzing with the report that the famous drag queen “Big Mama Capretta” was, by day, a Catholic Priest in Ohio. The media, however, is not reporting that the man, Vincent Capretta who also calls himself "Father Anthony", is actually part of an Independent Old Catholic Church not the Roman Catholic Church.

To set the record straight, Capretta is actually listed as rector of the Community of Charity (www.communityofcharity.org), an Independent Old Catholic Church that describes itself as all-inclusive. That definition includes 'sexual orientation'in this group. He is not a part of the Roman Catholic Church and his church is not in communion with the See of Rome. The man, Vincent Capretta, is not a Roman Catholic. He is a member of the schismatic Old Catholic Church.

Oooooooooo! Touchy, touchy. i'll just bet Fr. Capretta doesn't wear designer gowns and Prada slippers like Papa Ratzi. Don't get your surplice in a twist, dear.

Check out Big Mama's video, "Big Mama's in the House"

How to really be welcoming & inclusive

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

While anti-gay rights pastors like Rev. Ken Hutcherson get tons of publicity, a big contingent of Episcopalians will be showing the flag and proclaiming their faith in this weekend's Sunday of Pride march in Seattle.

"In organizing these events, I wanted to reclaim Christianity from these people and remind the community, Christian and secular, that there are inclusive, welcoming and affirming voices in the church," said Blaire Notrica of the Commission for Emerging Mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia.

With the approval of Bishop Greg Rickel, the church contingent will be marching behind a banner proclaiming, "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You."

The "affirming voices" have already been lifted. A Pride Eucharist and Party drew more than 100 people to St. Mark's Cathedral on Monday.

Read the rest of the story at seattlepi.com

Sometimes, it's not too late to do the right thing

"Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status." Laurence J. Peter (1919 - 1988)

Does the name Frank Kameny ring any bells for you, dear readers? If not, and you're gay, please line up for a smack from my Big Momma Hand. Let's just say that gay people's struggle for equality in the the US wouldn't be where it is today if it hadn't been for brave folks like Mr. Kameny.

From Box Turtle Bulletin:

In 1957, Frank Kameny was fired from his job as an astronomer at the Army Map Service when his supervisors found out he was gay. He protested to the U.S. Civil Service Commission and argued his case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which denied his claim. That experience turned Kameny from an anonymous government employee to one of the most tireless activists of the LGBT movement.

Yesterday, more than fifty years after his firing, Frank was on hand at a special ceremony to receive a formal letter of apology from John Berry, the openly gay Director of the Office of Personnel Management. Kameny was also bestowed the Teddy Roosevelt Award, the department’s highest honor. Upon receiving the apology, Frank Kameny tearfully replied, “Apology accepted.”

Check out the rest of the story at BTB.

Kudos to you, Mr. Kameny. And thank you for all that you've done and continue to do.

When the going gets tough, the tough raise chickens

Reporters Cluck over Chicken-Raising 'Trend'

Despite Jack Shafer's recent complaints, newspapers continue to report on the "trend" of people raising chickens in their back yards.

The latest: The Dubuque, Iowa, Telegraph-Herald, which has taken it even further than a trend—according to that newspaper (whose article was picked up by the Chicago Tribune), it's a "movement":

"Whether they are owned as pets or food sources, chickens have become the animals du jour, the darlings of the growing 'backyard flock' movement," the paper reports.

Of course, there is nothing to support the idea that such a "movement" actually exists; the article is built on nothing but anecdotes. The only trend here is of newspaper reporters insisting that there is a trend.

It may well be true that more people are raising their own chickens. But these stories offer no real data to indicate that it is so.

The Telegraph Herald attributes the "trend" to "a recession and rising food costs or ... food safety and animal welfare concerns."

But as Shafer, Slate's media critic, noted a couple of weeks ago when he recounted several similarly flimsy articles, "keeping chickens is a filthy, time-consuming, and expensive way to keep the pantry filled with eggs."

If the recession or safety are the primary motivations for raising chickens, the chicken-raisers aren't very smart. A part-time job at Popeye's would be a far more effective way to offset the effects of the recession than would building and maintaining a backyard coop.

Dan Mitchell - Reuters

Yeah, well, blow it out your cluck-hole, Mitchell.

Since i'm going to have more time at home once my employer shuts down it's finally possible for me to pursue one of my domestic dreams - keeping chickens for eggs. Yum, yum.

For anyone else who may be inclined along similar lines, the best source i've found online for info on keeping chickens, including building chicken coops, is this website: http://www.buildingachickencoop.com

Happy scratchin'!

Mourning the King of Pop

The Jackson Five - I Want You Back

Ch-ch-ch-changes

i know, i know. Been a while. it's not like anyone actually reads my blog in any case. ;-)

An update: A significant portion of the details of my life have either changed or are in the process of changing. Wes' Mom moved in with us about five weeks ago. She's a wonderful addition to the household, though we're all now drinking wine more regularly than previously, lol! We're working with an architect on an extensive remodel & addition to our house, tentatively expected to break ground in August and to last a year at most. This entails packing up everything, putting a ton of stuff in storage, and moving essentials to a rental house nearby. My Dad's condition has deteriorated and he's now living in a nursing facility across the street from the condo my parents own. i went back to PA for a week's visit last month. It was great to see my family though sad at the same time. So many folks getting older & more frail. The non-profit i've been working with for the past 12+ years is in the process of shutting down due to shaky finances, which means i'll be out of work in about a month or so.

How am i doing? While there are moments of nearly overwhelming trepidation at all the changes, oddly enough i feel a tangible sense of peace most of the time.

Enough about me. What do YOU think of me?