NYCweboy

Turn, And Face The Strange

Given my various interests (boy is that gonna seem like a loaded opening), it's probably no surprise that I try to keep an ear tuned to the low grade buzz over ex-gays.  Like many gay people, I find the Ex-gay Ministries disturbing, unhappy outgrowths of the highly discredited movement to convince gays that they can "change," and become straight, and that this is a healthy, normal thing to do.

This used to come up a lot over at Lucianne.com when I first joined up - someone would post some sort of anti-gay hysteria (there was more of it in the mid-nineties, before various right wing gay scandals happened and gay marriage took over their consciousness), and then some occasionally well meaning, but usually prejudiced and angry, soul would say "it's just a choice" and cite the notion that dozens, nay, hundreds, had gone the other way.

I always like to answer these things, because the numbers game was the really funny part.  I'd point out that there were thousands and thousands of gay people who had absolutely no interest in changing, that they felt just fine the way they were, thank you very much, and it was foolish to believe that gay people would just go away or become straight.  I think, gradually, some of that sunk in; at the vry least, I got some people to realize that ther conceptions of what being gay was could probably be defined as limited.

But the Ex-gay Ministries have played funny games with those perceptions, giving a new legitimacy to the old claims... and now, a new study has come out with some curious claims about the potential for change.

Laying Down The Law

Okay, I've just been remiss not covering Mike Mukasey, Bush's semi-surprise choice for Attorney General. I could claim that it was time to sift through the material about him, but that's a lie.  I just keep meaning to write about him... and then put it off.

However, in some ways, I was right to wait.  Initially, Mukasey's connections to Chuck "Is That A Camera" Schumer and Schumer's role in finding an appropriate candidate so flummoxed the right that it looked for a moment as if the nomination might get derailed by conservatives, a la Harriet Miers. However, as things have progressed, while conservatives are clearly withholding full approval, the details coming out around Mukasey's handling of terror cases as a Judge in New York (and some shenanigans with his US Marshall detail) is beginning to give cautiously optimistic liberals, including me, pause.

Let's at least be thankful Republicans are still smarting because Ted Olson, the former Solicitor General was passed over.  Olson - whose wife Barbara, a conservative author of some note herself, died on 9/11 in the crash at the Pentagon - had served as Bush's attorney in Bush v. Gore, and had been rewarded with an appointment as Solicitor General, arguing cases before the Supreme Court (an early indicator, really of just how hollow Bush's "let's come together" rhetoric was at the start of his Presidency).  Olson's been a true believer in the conservative world for years, and as Solicitor General  argued things like the Administration's opposition to affirmative action in education.

To their credit, Democrats signalled strongly and quickly that an Olson nomination would be DOA; Reid promised it would not pass on the Senate floor, and Schumer suggested it wouldn't leave the Judiciary Committee.  Though conservatives were ready for a fight, the Administration - probably sensing that this was not the time to have a protracted fight on this - wilted and then came up with Mukasey, who had been someone Schumer talked up during the Gonzalez mess.

The Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Is Hillary Clinton inevitable?

No, really, is she?

Can you tell?

Fear of Hillary Clinton has gripped this nation as never before... or, at least, that's all I can divine from the amazing trifecta of Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd, and Gail Collins (alas, poor Gail, we hardly knew ye) all writing practically the same column in the space of two days.  Hillary-fear is marked by the tendency to let one's frustrations get the better of one, to turn mindless shouting at the TV into column fodder, and to lose almost total sight of the destination, or the purpose of your journey.

Look, I don't want Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic Party nominee, never mind our next President.  I don't know if her success at running is inevitable or not.  What I do know is that she's not going to lose because she laughs funny, or gets lit too well in her own home, or because her blouse is undone an extra button.  Jesus, look up, people, not down.

The more that "taking Clinton down" becomes the objective, the less rational the argument seems to become.  And really, we know where this road leads.  The mounting hysteria among democrats ("she might... win something!") is only outstripped by the insane terror of the right that their PIAPS (Pig in a Pants Suit - and you ask me why I read the folks over at Lucianne.com) will become the all-powerful She-Devil they know she is. She will have her enemies killed (literally); she will find hidden information in their FBI files; and she will have an abortionarium on every block.

Fantsatical? You bet.  And it starts here.

Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar

Is there anything sillier lately than the "controversy" over the Folsom Street Fair?

I know... "What controversy?" you ask.  Well, apparently someone is upset that this ad is meant to resemble The Last Supper:

And they're going after Miller Beer for serving as a sponsor of the Fair.

Now, you may also be asking, "What's the Folsom Street Fair?" which, apparently is something Michelle Malkin should have asked, too.  Contrary to Malkin's overheated description, it's basically summed up as a primarily gay leather and fetish, BDSM type thing.  Mostly, it's a bunch of nice, middle aged folks who share a common interest in the leather scene. How Malkin and others get "Catholic bashing" into it is beyond me.

But mostly, this is silly.  This is the conservative right at a loss for a good controversy frantically trying to turn something hardly worth a look into some sort of big deal; it's not going to work, mostly because the Folsom Street folks are really kind of mundane, and the poster, really, is a kind of low-rent exercise in this sort of thing (and if you want to see how low-rent, go take a look at the astonishing collection of "Last Suppers" Dan Savage has managed to assemble - and I think he missed History of the World, Part I).

Now, it's true, if you're not a leather Daddy, or into the bondage and fetish scene, the Folsom folks may seem a little, er, hardcore.  But that's what happens when people with a real passion for something get together.... I mean, Trekkies make me anxious too. But despite the heavy breathing, the Folsom Street Fair is basically benign, and not really worth the effort - and the visible huffing and puffing - of the right to try to make this into something it's not.  And Miller, clearly, knows where the customers are (Hmmm... leather Daddies drink beer... who'uld've guessed?)., and won't be abandoning it's hold in the gay market anytime soon. Andrew, really, we hardly knew ye.

And He'll Go To His Grave As The Angry Old Man...

I have to admit, Clarence Thomas has fascinated me.

My argument against Thomas, unlike some, has never been about his politics.  Really, my Dad was a fairly conservative black man, and an occasional Republican (to my Mother's occasional chagrin), and I'm not one to tell you that conservatives have it all wrong.  They've got a lot of it wrong... to be sure, but not everything.

No, my issue with Thomas is that he's not very good.

I think if you're going to have one "black seat" on the Supreme Court - which is, of course, insulting - then you might as well reserve it for the best.  Thurgood Marshall, in most everyone's estimation, was one of the best. A great mind, a passionate lawyer, a widely admired and respected justice.  Clarence Thomas, really, was none of those; at best, he was a loyal Republican and movement conservative who'd done a good soldier's work and hoped for a fair reward. And, well, he got it.

What fascinates me about Thomas is that I think he kind of knows this - he's had a complex life of feeling inferior, of being different, of not fitting in... and frankly, every time I hear or read his thoughts, I always think "what a bitter, bitter man."

And now, here he comes with a memoir to underline just such a conclusion.

Wild Card Status... That's A Good Thing, Right?

Yea, we're like, wild! That's totally good, right?

Yes, Red, I know... just rub it in...

Ask A Weboy: Yes, I Watched Ugly Betty

Among the several cultural notes I owe is mentioning that I caught my new complete lineup - the ABC Thursday night that I suspect will dominate this year.

Jennifer asked if I watched Ugly Betty, and the answer is yes.  And I too was impressed, especially in the final moments.  I don't know if I realized at the end of last season that Santos was dead; I think I kind of suspected.  But that was why the ending caught me off guard, when they revealed that Hilda had been fantasizing the entire time (I don't think this is a spoiler - but others may differ). Mostly I liked being reminded again, as Betty buried the remnants of her relationship with Henry and Daniel buried his drugs, that Betty is basically fundamentally decent (and Daniel, God bless him, wants to be). Sure, there's a lot going on and it's messy... but this romp is grounded in something.

As for Grey's, what could easily have spun into doldrums seems to hum along quite merrily, especially in the little things, like the momentary connection between Karev and Yang over missing their great loves, or Stevens showing her unique confidence to her interns over fixing the deer, or Bailey barely letting up on Torres at the end of her horrible day.  And the lovely echo of the Season 2 ending, putting Meredith between Derek and Lexie and making her choose, was brilliant.  Yes, the loss of Addison was palpable (and if I didn't say it clearly enough, her show, Private Practice is entirely satisfying, too), and the new interns (shades of the last season of Buffy) are a bit colorless as a group.  But as usual, I was undone by the life-or-death  cases (the "blink three times" bit just wrecked me), by the characters we know who are doing things unfamiliar (both Torres and Bailey, as well as Sloan), and the characters we don't know well yet (Lexie, who does complicate things).  I think Grey's continues to be the series that doesn't do exactly what we want it to do... but does what Shonda Rimes wants it to do.  And I'm still captivated.

There's Got To Be A Mornng After

And I don't want to step on my own good press... so scroll down and read The Anniversary Post.

But while I get breakfast, you could also go read Litbrit's lovely post on her son's birthday.  All about wishes, and how it's not just Miss Americas who want World Peace. (PS, as an emerald lover, get a load of that picture of the deco emerald necklace! Way to go!)

There's also an interesting discussion about being, well, doubtful about God, and going into church, expecting the lightning to strike.  I think this is pretty Catholic - they're all about the punishment and suffering (which, BTW, mean the lightning will wound, not kill on the spot).  Episcopals, I find tend to think God is pretty far away... and the cocktails are closer.

But hey, as I always say, why live in fear? When I got more comfortable with my notions of religion, I realized, this isn't about me.  And now, when I walk into church I remember, if someone has some explaining to do... it's God.  I'm just trying to be a decent person.

Why We Write; Or, A Delicate Balance

Today is my One Year Anniversary of blogging.

That would be the day, one year ago, when I finally managed, after several days of gnashing teeth and frustration, to go with a blog server (TypePad) after some frustrating exercises in trying to do it all myself. Templates.  Can't live without 'em, Can't fight 'em.

I started this thing after a month or so off from quitting my job.  I started it feeling brave and crazy and not sure of where it was going. A year on, I still don't know where it's going, but I'm enjoying getting there  and isn't that, really, the point?

It's instructive to me that the panning for this bog happened during Virgo... but the blog itself was born in Libra.  For me, this blog is about balance.  Balancing the light side with the heavy stuff.  Balancing my need to present things just so with the need to put something out there every day. Balancing my views so I can maintain my sense of fairness and decency.  I try not to make the arguments personal.  I try not to be cruel.

I've been thinking a lot about change, how we change, why we change, and how changes have consequences. Everything changes.  Things change.  I've changed.  Blogging - really, making writing into a daily exercise, no more and no less - has changed nearly everything in my life.

And that, really, is why I do it.

Thoughts From The Commercials Between Grey's Anatomy

Tilda Swinton should have Cate Blanchett's career.  Discuss.