Just a Reminder

 

Just a Little Reality Check

 David Frum: But if both Republicans and Democrats, left and right, suffer political violence, the same cannot be said of those who celebrate political violence. That's not a "both sides" affair in 2020s America. You don't see Democratic House members wielding weapons in videos and threatening to shoot candidates who want to cut capital-gains taxes or slow the growth of Medicare. Democratic candidates for Senate do not post video fantasies of hunting and executing political rivals, or of using a firearm to discipline their children's romantic partners. It's not because of Democratic members that Speaker Nancy Pelosi installed metal detectors to bar firearms from the floor of the House. No Democratic equivalent exists of Donald Trump, who regularly praises and encourages violence as a normal tool of politics, most recently against his own party's Senate leader, Mitch McConnell. As the formerly Trump-leaning Wall Street Journal editorialized on October 2: "It's all too easy to imagine some fanatic taking Mr. Trump seriously and literally, and attempting to kill Mr. McConnell. Many supporters took Mr. Trump's rhetoric about former Vice President Mike Penceall too seriously on Jan. 6."

 [David Jeffrey Frum (/frʌm/; born June 30, 1960) is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, who is currently a senior editor at The Atlantic as well as an MSNBC contributor.]

Celebrating 8 Years Married and 34 Years Together

 Happy Anniversary!

Leon & Frank

We've gone through a lot of changes since we met in 1988. I was 40, Leon/Lee was 26. Just a bambino. To this day whatever brought us together and kept us together is a mystery. 

Lee, the bambino, has grown cuter every year and I, I have grown older and older and greyer and wrinklier with every year. What he sees in this old man is beyond me!

I am so fortunate to have Leon in my life. We have weathered storms and illnesses and have been strong for one another during some trying times. And we've had three dogs to share our lives and travels with.

Well. I don't want to get too sentimental and mushy...so.

I've picked out a few photos.- all selfies or pics of us together. I don't have 34 pics because there were several years between 1994 and 2001 that are missing photos...Was that before cell phones? 

Also I am not great at keeping track of dates. The photos that I scanned weren't always dated and even the early digital photos do not have date stamps. I have dated some photos with (circa) because, well, close enough.

(circa) 1988

(circa) 1989

1991

1992

1993

(circa) 1994

(circa) 1995

(circa) 1999

2001

2002 (too much salt in my pepper)

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009 - (I think I stopped dying my hair and beard after that)

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014 - Our Wedding Day October 25, 2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

 

I Love This Guy

 I wish he'd run for president again.

If You Ever Thought Republicans Were Innocuous - WAKE UP!

 

We as members of the larger LGBTQ community are living in dangerous times. Prepare for the McCarthy era "Lavender Scare" all over again. The republicans in congress are proposing insidious bills to make us and our authentic lives illegal once again. Even if this bill does not pass, the animus behind it is palpable and real. These haters are NOT going away and they will not stop their hateful rhetoric and attempts to make LGBTQ lives a living hell.

Thanks to Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters for the alert:

Be aware that Congressperson Mike Johnson (La.) has/or will introduce a bill that is so broad as to make any LGBTQ discussion, dipiction or activity illegal. The definition of "sexually oriented material" (see highlighted) is all encompassing. This bill is ostensibly aimed at "drag queens" reading to children in public libraries, but is really a version of the Russian anti-LGBTQ law that has terrorized people in Russia and Chechnya.  

I'm not sure if congressperson Johnson is aware that his bill can be used to target and repress heterosexuals as well as LGBTQs, but, while not its intent, it can perhaps be turned against them as well.

From Holy Bullies Blog: "Alejandra Caraballo, clinical instructor at the Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic, breaks down the damage Johnson's bill  can do in a Twitter thread. According to her, should Johnson's bill become law:

"Universities, public schools, hospitals, medical clinics, etc. could all be defunded if they host any event discussing LGBTQ people and children could be present. The way they define "sexually oriented material" simply includes anything about LGBTQ people...

I can't overstate how radical the private right of action portion is. The bill is so broadly defined that a pediatric hospital could be sued for having a pride flag or a medical pamphlet about gender dysphoria. It deputizes anti-LGBTQ bigots to engage in bounty lawsuits."

These are the Co-sponsors of the bill: 

ProvinceTown - Province Lands Flora and Fauna

 Just a few more pics...in no particular order...

Pines and oaks

Seals feeding along the shore - Race Point

Seals

Bayberry - Wax used for making candles
but haven't seen real bayberry candles in years

Sea Gulls are fascinating creatures

National Park Service has been restoring grasses to ward off erosion

View of Forest from National Park lookout

Red beach rose

Grass on the dunes at Herring Cove

Beach Rose hops

White Beach Rose

These gulls arrived as soon as we opened our lunch bag

They hung around 

And got a few scraps - fought over a few scraps

The bravest one

Cranberries in their native habitat

Oak

Horseshoe crab shell - never seen one alive