I’m only posting one video this Friday and I hope you will watch it.
It’s the story of Edie Windsor and her late spouse, Thea Spyer, and why Edie is suing to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act.
It’s both inspiring and educational and very personal….
It shows that this isn’t just a political issue, but a very personal issue of equality and fairness…
Filed under Gay, Politics, Uncategorized
North Carolina’s new Republican Governor is succeeding nicely in his quest to infuriate as many people as possible and lead the march to GOP irrelevancy….
This shows just how seriously the Governor and the GOP take the concerns of one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the state and the country…
It’s really quite unbelievable how fast this man is moving to alienate people. I just hope they remember this is his- and all the Republican’s agenda- come the next election.
There are fewer and fewer old white people left who support his kind of politics….
From the Charlotte Observer:
WASHINGTON North Carolina’s Latino advocates are voicing alarm following the governor’s decision to eliminate the state’s office for Latino affairs.
The closing of the Office of Hispanic/Latino affairs was sudden and caught many by surprise. The move appears to have exacerbated the already tense relationship between Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and the Latino community, including criticism over a driver’s license plan for young immigrants.
Advocates say it sends a message that McCrory and Raleigh conservatives are less concerned with the needs of the Latino community. Paradoxically, it comes at a time when issues of deep concern, such as immigration, are at the political forefront.
via McCrory eliminates Latino outreach office | CharlotteObserver.com.
Filed under North Carolina, Politics, Uncategorized
I have a new post up on my other blog, MySouthrenGothicLife.com”:
With all the talk about Marriage- Gay Marriage, in particular- this week, I can’t help but reflect on all the Big Southern weddings I was involved with back in the 1980′s. It was the first few years after college and there was a rush of them- each trying to outdo the others.
I have mixed feelings about marriage, but I can’t deny it’s legal and societal importance. All I can offer to the battle is my memories and perspective of how marriages and weddings have been so important in my life…
So, I’m going to do what I do best: Go back in time and remember and comment….
More: Chapter 71: Big Fat Southern Weddings: Part 1 | My Southern Gothic Life.
Filed under Uncategorized
When I was young, more than once I said: ” I wish I was stupid; life would be so much easier.”
I vividly remember saying that to my friend, Bob, one night during a low period of my life in college at Washington and Lee University.
Of course, knowing how I always applied my vision of life as seen by F. Scott Fitzgerald to my life at W&L, I was probably only being melodramatic and paraphrasing Daisy Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby” when she says she hopes her daughter will be a “pretty little fool.”
Now, I just have a paranoid suspicion that the Republicans just may be putting this mythical drug in the drinking water in the South….
Still, this video offers a modern solution- and outlines the possible outcomes of what life might be if you could lower your IQ to better deal with modern life….
Hat Tip to John Aravosis at Americablog.com, where I first saw this….
Filed under Politics
It’s going to be a big week in the news for Gay Marriage as the Supreme Court begins to hear arguments on the issue.
Let’s just hope they realize how far public opinion in favor of Gay Marriage has come and how fast…
Not that public opinion should matter when discussing Civil Rights, but anything that might sway the conservative majority on the Court helps….
It’s time all Americans have equal rights to love and happiness- not to mention financial security…..
Marriage is not a religious institution, but rather a legal right to protect all families equally….
I just hope at least 5 members of the Court realize it….
From the Huffington Post:
In just the last decade, millions of Americans, from former Vice President Dick Cheney to President Barack Obama, have changed their positions on the rights of gay people. On same-sex marriage in particular, there’s been a shift of opinion so dramatic that it leaves political historians grasping for comparisons. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear two historic cases that could shape the future of same-sex marriage in America, some activists privately worry that the country and its highest court still aren’t ready. They point to the millions of Americans who would still deny gays the right to the marry, the 32 states where same-sex marriage is still banned, and the fear of a backlash like the one that followed Roe v. Wade and froze progress in the pro-choice movement for decades.
But others say the time is right. In 2004, just 30 percent of Americans told pollsters that they supported legalizing same sex marriage. Less than a decade later, as one recent poll showed, that percentage has climbed to nearly 60. For the first time in history, the majority of Americans support gay rights
via Before The Supreme Court Considers Gay Marriage, An American Change Of Heart.
The new- I refuse to say “our”- Governor of NC, Pat McCrory, is shaping up to be the most anti-education Governor North Carolina has ever seen.
One of the things North Carolina is known for is its excellent, affordable public Universities. McCrory and his GOP friends in the Legislature seem intent on destroying this…
Of course, Republicans barely try to hide how anti-education their programs are….They value ignorance much more highly as educated voters don’t vote Republican. In fact, they count on ignorance….
And they seem determined to both show it and drive it in North Carolina….
And the NC Democrats can’t seem to run a campaign or get their acts together to oppose them….
Scary times in my adopted home State….
Jesse Helms would be proud of them….
From WRAL Raleigh:
Lawmakers are considering the possibility of eliminating one or two campuses in the University of North Carolina system, a top Senate budget-writer said Thursday.
Gov. Pat McCrory called for a $135 million cut in funding for the UNC system in the 2013-14 budget proposal he rolled out on Wednesday.
As lawmakers began reviewing the spending plan Thursday, Sen. Pete Brunstetter, R-Forsyth, co-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he and his colleagues are more concerned about how money for higher education is spent than the actual size of the appropriation.
Lawmakers want to trim duplicative programs across UNC campuses, which Brunstetter said could reduce the overall system’s footprint.
“I think our members definitely envision that there could be some consolidation between campuses, and we might need to go from 16 down to 15, 14, something like that,” he said.
The university campuses in the system include UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University, Fayetteville State University, East Carolina University, UNC-Greensboro, North Carolina A&T State University, Winston-Salem State University, the UNC School of the Arts, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Pembroke, Elizabeth City State University, Appalachian State University, UNC-Asheville and Western Carolina University.
Brunstetter didn’t elaborate on which campuses might close.
Filed under North Carolina, Politics
I kind of enjoy playing on YouTube on a Friday evening….
This evenings theme is: Old Show Tunes by New Stars: A New Generation Does Broadway:
First up, Kyle Dean Massey, who was in “Next to Normal” a couple of seasons ago doing an old Anthony Newly/ Sammy Davis Jr song:
Cheyenne Jackson and Kate Baldwin, from a wonderful production of “Finian’s Rainbow” that we saw on Broadway a couple of years ago:
Idina Menzel does two Barbra classics from “Funny Girl”:
I’m not sure people realize how heavily “Glee” pulls talent from Broadway….
Here is Matthew Morrison, “Pre-Glee”, in the wonderful revival of “South Pacific”:
One of my favorite new Broadway Stars, Kelli O’Hara:
And let’s close with “Glee’s” Chris Colfer living every theatre queen’s dream and doing “Rose’s Turn” from “Gypsy”:
Filed under Broadway
Oh, this would have been fun!
Only the GOP could view this as a “Unity Ticket”….
It would have unified the country alright- against their ticket and given President Obama a real landslide….
From Bloomberg BusinessWeek via Huffington Post:
Pegged as an early frontrunner for the GOP’s 2012 presidential nomination, the Republican primary results were showing a different picture. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) claimed the Iowa caucus and a clean sweep of three Feb. 7 contests. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) snagged the conservative foothold of South Carolina on Jan. 21, sparking questions of whether Romney was capable of inspiring the party to victory against President Barack Obama.
A Friday Bloomberg Businessweek report reveals that things could have been worse. Santorum and Gingrich were close to forming a “Unity Ticket,” aimed at knocking Romney out.
Santorum’s stock surged after that February 2012 rally, to a point where there was talk he could capture Romney’s home state of Michigan. According to the Businessweek report, that’s when the “Unity Ticket” discussion reached its peak. But negotiations collapsed just before Michigan’s Feb. 28 primary.
“Everybody thought there was an opportunity,” John Brabender, Santorum’s chief strategist, told Businessweek. “It would have sent shock waves through the establishment and the Romney campaign.”
At the heart of the Gingrich-Santorum breakdown was a battle over who would be the eventual presidential candidate. Based on what Gingrich told Businessweek, it appeared to be a deal-breaking factor.
“In the end, it was just too hard to negotiate,” Gingrich said.
MORE: Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum Nearly Agreed To Form 2012 ‘Unity Ticket:’ Bloomberg Businessweek.
Filed under Politics
I’ve got a new post up on my other blog, MySouthernGothicLife.com, and my head is still kind of there….
These are the videos I’m watching to reflect that….
Filed under Uncategorized
Lost in the 21st Century 
Back to Before | My Southern Gothic Life
A Mini-Post on my other blog:
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Tagged as broadway, gay, Southern Gothic