I’ve never been one deeply moved by hip-hop music. Just ask my husband, who thinks hip-hop is essential to every task from washing clothes to reading the Bible. (Thank you Jesus.) And so when I was motivated by my husband to listen to Frank Ocean’s new album Blonde, I cannot be blamed for hesitating to cooperate. It was only after I discovered that his motivation took the form of withholding sex that I reconsidered listening to Mr. Ocean’s Blonde. I was not yet aware that the album had debuted at Number One on the Billboard charts. I knew it was highly anticipated, of course.

It had been four years, after all, since his first album blast onto the music scene with such adulation that even I could not ignore it. Channel Orange was a blend of soul, R&B and hip hop, a fusion that certainly got my attention, if only for its uniqueness. Frank Ocean’s lyrics peel back layers of emotions that are so normally in place that you feel they are essential. Or, at least, they are essential until he removes them and you feel exposed and liberated at the same time. It’s like what happens when you have a good cry—in public. There’s a certain humiliation about the experience but at the end of the day, you feel pretty doggone good about yourself. And so it is with Frank Ocean.

In addition to the lyrics, which are always supposed to say something meaningful and poignant, there is the unexpected music—some of which is so unobtrusive that it becomes soothing background music. And even when Frank finally sings his first line, it’s almost a whisper compared to other hip-hop artists’ hostility—jamming and pushing their curse words and crushed grammar down our throats as if we have no choice to accept it. Well, I have a choice, and I’ve, more often than not, refused to accept such trash as art. But this–this Blonde–art is art.

I guess I should have known that I would have a bond with this singer/songwriter/performer/lover. I had forgotten that years ago Ocean had admitted via Tumblr about the moment he realized that he was in love with a man. It was an outpouring so heart wrenching in its purity that I should have seen the genius inside at that moment.

“4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. ,” he wrote. “We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him, and his smile. I’d hear his conversation and his silence…until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often share with him.  “By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love, it changed my life.

“Back then, my mind would wander to the women I had been with, the ones I cared for and thought I was in love with. I reminisced about the sentimental songs I enjoyed when I was a teenager.. The ones I played when I experienced a girlfriend for the first time. I realized they were written in a language I did not yet speak. I realized too much, too quickly. Imagine being thrown from a plane. I wasn’t in a plane though. I was in a Nissan Maxima, the same car I packed up with bags and drove to Los Angeles in.

“I sat there and told my friend how I felt. I wept as the words left my mouth. I grieved for them, knowing I could never take them back for myself. He patted my back. He said kind things. He did his best, but he wouldn’t admit the same. He had to go back inside soon, it was late and his girlfriend was waiting for him upstairs.”

I’m told that Frank Ocean has made $1 million from Blonde since its release only days ago. I now understand why. Thank you husband for the forced introduction.

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In a word, Ethos Greek Bisto is  Fantastikós. Fantastic.

In this city where there’s a Thai restaurant on every third corner, the opening of a Greek restaurant on Wilton Drive is cause for celebration. We’re not talking about breaking plates on the floor and holding hands dancing the Kalamatianós. We’re talking about a celebration of healthy food where the platters arriving from the kitchen are a mosaic of colors and aromas that looks as fresh and healthy as they are.

True to every Greek menu is an assortment of wonderful spreads, served with toasted pita bread. Our favorite is the Zesty Creamy Feta with the roasted red pepper. But then, Ethos serves some of the best Hummus around as well, albeit heavy on the garlic…but oh so delicious.  $6.00 a plate and enough to share around the table.

For those who don’t know Greek Dakos, the version served at Ethos is as flavorful as any we’ve ever experienced in Crete from where this dish originates. It’s a Greek-style brochetta that uses a hardened bread called rusk which is topped with tomato puree and feta cheese, plus basil. Ask for some chopped olives to complete the taste and be sure to pass around. $9.

Speaking of sharing, the best way to get an instant sample of all the spreads as well as other popular dishes at Ethos is through its Taste of Ethos Silver or Gold assortment platters. In the Silver Sampler, enjoy the various spreads, a Greek salad (with vine ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, feta, kalamata olives, house greens, red wine vinegar & olive oil), stuffed grape leaves (a Greek classic with rice, herbs and lemon sauce), and the meat platter of gyro, grilled chicken, pork tenderloin, grilled kefte rice, and wedged potatoes. At $21 per person, (with a minimum of two persons), it is the bargain taste treat. The Gold Sampler adds two lamb chops to the mix for an extra $6.00.

For a slighter smaller dish in plate size if not quantity, try the Surf and Turf (pictured), two full-sized lamb chops with shrimp saganaki—a shrimp over rice dish named after the skillet in which it is cooked. Separating the portions is some lovely grilled eggplant. Magnificent. $26.

Every Greek restaurant has at least one version of Calamari, and at Ethos you’ve got your choice of two—Grilled (on a bed of sautéed red cabbage) for $11, and Fried (dusted with seasoned flour and served with red marinara sauce for $10. The Grilled Octopus at $14 is sashimi grade and charred to perfection.

The ambiance of Ethos is sophisticated stonework and well-polished wood with a long, packed bar on the south side of the restaurant and an exposed kitchen to the west. The skilled servers, including our own fresh-faced John, were school in the food and steeped in Greek history. From the look through the kitchen’s glassed front, it is a well-run place with a choreographed display of grilling, slicking and plating that needs only an orchestration to be its own show.

Unfortunately for Ethos, its major downfall is its very design. Planned throughout to allow intimate seating for two or four, and with gentle lighting that says romance in tones of orange and gold, Ethos drops the ball in its music level, which is so high that customers try to overcome the sound my speaking louder.  The perfect setting for a lingering feast with a loved one, and the kind of fabulous food we would cherish to consume often is overwhelmed by a noise level that is disturbing in its intensity.  A request to manager Jamie Logue to lower the music brought only a temporary respite, for all too soon, it was re-upped with the spirited and glamorous crowd right with it.

Plan to make a stop at Ethos Greek Bistro. Go early before the crowd gets too loud…and be sure to them that the Agenda sent you. Fantastikós. (2055 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL  754-999-0034)

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So there we are, all of us bundled together as LGBTQ (and XYZ for all I know). Although I’ve discussed this before, in case you’ve forgotten, among that alphabet soup, I’m officially a B, as in Bisexual, as in feeling more or less the same with women as with men.  Love ‘em all.

That fact is more than a little upsetting to my husband, who sees the way women cruise me in the local Publix. He’s only too happy to point out my wedding ring (and his) to all those who glance my way—no introductions needed.

He is officially a G in the mix, and highly protective of his B. I always thought of it as cute, until recently that is.  Just this week, a new study was released, commissioned by the world famous Adam and Eve Adult Toy Company of Carrboro, North Carolina. You know, the ones who make all those clever items that are sold by Hustler and other adult purveyors. Like the Clone-A-Willy Kit which allows you to make a perfect rubberized duplicate of our penis for $44.95. In any case, I digress.

Adam and Eve commissioned Dr. Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli from Deakin’s School of Health and Social Development to ask 1,000 adults what they thought about having a relationship with a bisexual. I was shocked to discover that all these years, I had over-memorialized my skill at seduction.

According to the study, nearly half of those polled (47%) said they wanted nothing to do with a bisexual, regardless of how handsome or physically fit he might be. We were just knocked off the list because we apparently made ourselves too available to, well, everyone.

The good news was that 35% of the group actually thought the idea of hooking up with a bisexual was rather like a special treat. Like homemade pistachio sorbet, only different. And then there were those 19% who couldn’t decide whether they would like it or not. (But since I’m certain that some simple seduction would bring them around, I’m willing to commit that a full 50% would find a bisexual half in a relationship just dandy.

But it’s that other 47% that worry me. (Stick in the muds if you want my opinion.)  There was some small consolation when Dr. Maria said that of the group who would welcome a bisexual in the master bedroom, there were more men than women who felt that way (39% versus 31%). Additionally, 23% of the women and 15% of the men were unsure when surveyed. They really can’t be counted since they’re just “confused,” as my Aunt Dorothy used to say.

In any case, there was more good news when the study was reflected upon slowly. According the Dr. Pallotta-Chiarolli, many of the women praised the “emotional depth, sexual intimacy and equitable gender dynamic of their mixed-orientation relationship”, with some actually sharing the reality that they would never be with a heterosexual man again. Suddenly I’m feeling much better.

The Doctor’s new book is titled Women in Relationships with Bisexual Men – Bi Men By Women. And according to Pallotta-Chiarolli, “Through this research and book, it is my hope that we can stop presenting only the stereotypical story.”

Stereotypical story? About bisexuals? Reading a bit deeper into the book, I discovered to my absolute astonishment that it is generally believed that bisexuals (in other words, me) are “untrustworthy and have secret affairs; that all bisexual men transmit HIV and STI to women; and that all bisexual men are abusive to their women partners.” What? I should sue. Nothing short of character assassination, I tell you.

“While we found these issues are certainly out there and we don’t shy away from discussing them, we need to lift the stigma for the women who choose to be in relationships with bisexual men and indeed say that bisexual men make better lovers and fathers,” Pallotta-Chiarolli added.

Well, that part is true. We do make better lovers and fathers. If you don’t believe me, ask my husband.  Just look for the French Creole flashing his wedding ring.

The post Call Me BiSexual (but not out loud) appeared first on Florida Agenda - LGBT News.

There are only so many excuses you can make for the man.  In this case, the man to whom I’m referring is Donald Trump who seems to have as many lives as cats, lions and tigers—oh my.

His latest prediction in his crazy Republican campaign is that he will receive 95 percent of the Black vote in America. He based this number not on polls, which clearly show he has zero percent of Black support. Rather, he based it on his “recollection” of black neighborhoods, an area of which we imagine he’s visited preciously few times.

“You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs. Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?” Trump was speaking at yet another of his rallies that feature over 90 whites in attendance.” Trump said, “And at the end of four years, I guarantee you that I will get over 95 percent of the African-American vote. I promise you. Because I will produce.”

He says that blacks will vote for him because they have NO other choice. “We can never fix our problems by relying on the same politicians who created our problems in the first place. A new future requires brand-new leadership.”

The blithering continued as if no-one cared to find the off switch on the teleprompter. “No group in America has been more harmed by Hillary Clinton’s policies than African-Americans. No group. No group,” he said. “If Hillary Clinton’s goal was to inflict pain on the African-American community, she could not have done a better job. It’s a disgrace. Tonight, I’m asking for the vote of every single African-American citizen in this country who wants to see a better future.”

Of course, there was no proof offered for these allegations, which comes as no surprise since they are not based on truth.

In the background, poor Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s new campaign manager, was pacing the floor and looking as if she needed a stiff Knob Creek without ice. You’ll remember of course that Kellyanne, who’s 49, was brought on-board to keep The Donald from running his mouth and sticking to the message.

This was only his second rally with Kellyanne in charge, but—gee—the 98% black vote comment was nowhere to be found on any teleprompter in the room. So much for keeping his nose to the grindstone and following the script.

There was no mention of the recent Washington Post that suggests that Black’s favor Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton 99-1. Kellyanne is of the impression that these numbers mean nothing because Blacks don’t want to be publically seen endorsing Trump, even though they do. “He’s cares about them and they know it,” she said.

While that statement was already as hard to swallow as a swordfish, the situation was further complicated two days later—at another rally, this one in Florida.

It was there that Sean P. Jackson, the head of the Black Republican Caucus in Florida was literally removed from backstage at a Trump rally by Karen Giorno, Trump’s Florida campaign manager. Karen confided that it was all a misunderstanding. She didn’t “recognize” Jackson, she said.

Jackson’s take was considerably different. “It all starts with Karen Giorno. She has repeatedly failed at embracing blacks across the state.”

“I have been saying repeatedly that you cannot go into a black community in the ninth hour of a campaign and ask them to vote for a GOP candidate,” Jackson says. “The party has done a piss-poor job of courting the black vote over 50 years. So you have to have more vested interest in time and in your financial effort for the whole campaign, not just in the last 100 days.”

Well, with less than 70 days until Election Day, the Blacks seem to have spoken.  Just not to Donald Trump.

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It’s just like our mothers always said: The bigger the gay bully, the more likely they’re gay.  And while that logic may work to soothe the minds of the bullied, it certainly doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if you think about it logically. Or so we always thought until the Journal of Sexual Medicine published its latest findings on the subject.

The Journal labels itself “The Official Journal of the International Society of Sexual Medicine” which sounds rather self-important, but apparently there is such an organization based in the Netherlands, and presided over by an elected president—currently a professor of urology at Tulane University in New Orleans.

A study recently reported in the Journal, titled Homophobia: An Impulsive Attraction to the Same Sex?” had us glued to the pages. The report studied 38 heterosexual male students from the University of Geneva who first were given a survey to determine the extent of their homophobia. Apparently, there’s quite a lot of that going around in Geneva, because a good ¾ of the guys seemed to be homophobes.

Both the bigots and the could-care-less straights were then shown a series of homosexual visuals—both videos and photos. And just as the old-wives tale suggested, the men who held the most negative attitudes about homosexuality showed the highest interest in the material–far more than that shown by less anti-bigoted men.

Dr. Boris Cheval, a PhD from Switzerland University of Geneva, who was the lead author of the study, said that his study confirmed previous research that found that about half of the anti-gay men became sexually aroused when shown erotic homosexual videos.

“Nevertheless, I think that others studies are needed to correctly evaluate the importance of this denied attraction,” Cheval remarked. Cheval leaves no bully unturned.

It was then that Cheval and his researchers make the participants take a computerized test known as a manikin task, clinically designed to measure unconscious, impulsive tendency toward homosexual images. Sort of like a lie-detector for the eyes.

In all, there were 12 practice trials and 64 test trials in which the men rated 20 pictures of gay and straight couples on a 9-point scale from “very unpleasant” to “very pleasant.”

During this portion of the experiment, the participants wore eye-tracking equipment to precisely measure how long they looked at each photograph.

It was a “gotcha” moment for Cheval and his colleagues who found that anti-gay men tended to spend more time looking at the homosexual photographs than the heterosexual photographs. And the bigger the bully, the longer the lingering over those gay pics.

On the other hand, straight men who did not hold anti-gay views didn’t look at homosexual photographs and longer than their heterosexual counterpart pics.

“Findings on the viewing time allow understanding why some (but not all) men high in homophobia have a sexual interest in same-sex individuals,” the researchers concluded. “This study provides a better understanding of the psychological processes involved in the processing of erotic gay material among men high in homophobia, and provides a fine-grained prediction of sexual related behaviors.”

The researchers acknowledged their findings are limited by their small sample size, and that it would have been useful to measure stress and anxiety to see how this was affecting the results. They concede that there is always the possibility that just the stress of looking a gay imagery influences their behavior.  Dah, no doubt.

These limitations and complexities aside, the researchers concluded that their findings provide more evidence consistent with the idea that “some men high in homophobia indeed have a sexual interest toward homosexual stimuli.”

Just like your mother told you all along.

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As most of you know by now, I’m a writer by trade. It’s all I really know. (That, and how to make an incredible cherry crumb pie—but that’s a different story.) For years, I’ve written much of this newspaper every week. In addition, there are 27 non-fiction books out there in the marketplace with my name on the line reserved for the author. All of which is to say I know how to get the written word on the printed page.

For this talent, I’ve also been sued many times. It comes with the territory, I suppose, in a country where anyone can sue anybody for anything—and usually do. That said, I’ve also never lost a case, or for that matter, even had to step foot into court.

But if Donald Trump has his way, it’s going to get a whole lot easier to slam someone with a lawsuit—1^st Amendment of the Constitution be damned. The Donald, he would have us believe, has been slandered by the press, of all people. That’s what he says.

What he actually means is that he thinks he’s been libeled by the press, every time that journalists, including myself, say anything that he finds offensive. (Which, let’s face it, is just about every single article he reads.)

Freedom of speech may seem like a right that even the LGBT community is free to enjoy. (We have so few actual rights that we hold on to the ones we’re sure about like dear life itself.) Unfortunately, under Uncle Don, we are jammed in the same pot as the rest of the soiled voters who are not allowed to bring up negative things to say about the Republican candidate.

Interestingly enough, not even Trump followers have the freedom to show unbridled support for their candidate. At any Trump rally, according to his press advisories, there cannot be “homemade signs, banners, professional cameras with a detachable lens, tripods, monopods, selfie sticks, back packs or large bags.”

The attempts to eliminate banners and signs have been repeatedly enforced at campaign stops, in blatant denial of 1^st Amendment rights of free speech.

The professional camera bans do likewise, as media crews have been limited photo access in preference to Trump’s own camera crew—presumably to allow the candidate to review pictures released to the media.

Then there are the media organizations who have had their press passes revoked completely, like the Washington Post and the Des Moines Register. Donald didn’t like the way they were painting his policies, and called them “crazy.” Imagine that.

If elected President, you would think that the head of the free world would be open game for quotes and pics.  Not so, according to Trump, who feels that he should have complete control on not only which words are included from his speeches, but which pics are taken when out in public.

This stomping on rights business seems to be a Republican thing. If you’re old enough, you may remember that Dick Nixon, who ruled supreme from 1969 until he resigned from the Presidency in 1974, had an “enemies list” for whom he made life a living hell—just because they wrote negative comments about his presidency.

George W. Bush and Dick Chaney upgraded the bending of Free Speech by creating “Free Speech Zones” around events. Disagree with their policies, and protestors were moved a mile away from the action so that “free press” would have ready access only to those who favored the President and Vice President.

This week, Trump made it clear that he intended to press for laws which would make it easier to sue reporters for writing negative critiques. It would be funny if he wasn’t actually serious in his intent. Almost as funny as his idea to build a wall across the entire Mexican border, and toss millions of legal Muslims out of the country solely on the basis of their religion—something else protected by the 1^st Amendment.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1789 that “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”

Unfortunately, just like the Bill of Rights, Donald Trump hasn’t read that either.

The post Trump Takes Aim at 1st Amendment appeared first on Florida Agenda - LGBT News.

There is usually a lull after the Republicans and the Democrats host their respective conventions, as the nation exhales in unison after the excesses of politics put on their ugliest faces to signal the latest national Presidential campaign has begun.

As with most things reflecting the dueling organizations representing Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, nothing is ever quite what one would expect.

At a time when Trump could have most benefited by keeping his normal absurdities to a minimum, he seemed to feel compelled to spew non-sequiturs on the national stage, directing them for the most part at Khizr Khan, the Muslim attorney who lost his son in the Iraq War fightinght as a soldier in the US Army.

Speaking over the weekend to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Trump questioned why Khan’s wife Ghazala wasn’t allowed to talk. “His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there,” Trump said. “She had nothing to say. She probably—maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say.” (In an editorial in The Washington Post, Ghazala Khan said her emotions kept her from speaking.)

It was a statement that brought cries of outrage from the GOP. Even long-time supporter Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey called Donald Trump’s statements over the Khan family “inappropriate.”

“We need to honor their sacrifice for our country and we need to honor their son’s sacrifice for our country,” Christie said. “And to focus on anything other than that, to me, is missing the point. That’s what we should be doing, and any comments that we’re making publicly or privately should be with that in mind.”

To many this seems to be a watershed moment with even Republicans saying “enough is enough” with reckless comments and gratuitous insults. Yet, The Donald isn’t even close to getting the message.

That much is obvious in the Republican candidate’s refusal to endorse Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the GOP candidate as Representative of Wisconsin’s first Congressional District. The lack of endorsement is a grudge match that goes back to the time when Ryan refused to endorse Trump as the GOP presidential candidate.

So too with Trump’s lack of endorsement for Arizona Senator John McCain, who is running for a fifth consecutive term.

“It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party,” McCain said. “While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us,” McCain said.

The Senator added a personal “thank you” to the Khan’s for immigrating to America.

“We’re a better country because of you. And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation — and he will never be forgotten.”

As the fallout continued over Trump’s behavior, even his own campaign manager joined the conversation. New York Times reporter John Harwood said on Twitter that he learned from an ally of Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort that Manafort is no longer “challenging” the candidate, and that staff morale has plunged, described now as “suicidal.” CNN reported that Trump campaign staffers “feel like they are wasting their time.”

At a time when it appeared that things could not get worse for the Republican candidate, President Barack Obama spoke out on Tuesday in a plea for Republicans to think seriously about the damage their candidate is doing in the world political arena.

At the White House, Obama castigated Trump on Tuesday as “unfit” and “woefully unprepared” to serve as president. He challenged Republicans to withdraw their support for their party’s nominee, declaring “There has to come a point at which you say ‘Enough.’”

Extremely uncharacteristic of a sitting President. But unusual times call for unusual measures. This is one of those times.

The post Trump Campaign Imploding as Insults Escalate appeared first on Florida Agenda - LGBT News.

The Democratic National Convention played out this week in Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love and home to the birthplace of our nation. There was the predictable line-up of speakers, and the formal nomination of Hillary Clinton as the first female presidential candidate from a major political party in our country, and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, as her vice-presidential running mate.

In reality, however, the Democratic National Convention symbolized far more than the traditional nominating showcase for the party’s White House candidates. This convention carried with it a mandate to take back America from the hate and fear mongers that terrorized the nation for much of the previous week as the Republican Party held its convention in Cleveland.

The world was watching as First Lady Michelle Obama took to the Democratic convention stage and mesmerized us by being, at once, political and apolitical, stirring and comforting, as she glided between patriotism, feminism, family, home, race and partisanship, eloquently reminding all of us that what we had been hearing the previous week from the Republican Presidential nominee was not only untrue, but radically irresponsible.

The First Lady reminded us that America has not lost its way, has not forgotten its past, and has not become some sort of vigilante state that needed to be made great again.

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great—that somehow we need to make it great again—because this right now is the greatest country on Earth,” she told the audience. “And as my daughters prepare to set out into the world, I want a leader who is worthy of that truth.”

There was a steadiness in your eyes and voice that dared you to doubt that she spoke the truth. None of the shouting we had seen from the Republican carnival. No naked pandering to prejudice that Donald Trump had dared to pass off as reality.

His address was a toxic combination of unsubstantiated claims. “Excessive regulation is costing our country as much as $2 trillion a year,” Trump said, before added that ending such regulation will produce more then $20 trillion in job-creating economic activity.”

Trump also dared to repeat his ridiculous assumption that “NATO is obsolete,” as if any organization that worked toward world peace could possible become archaic—ever.

In any other election year, such talk along with the verbal bashing that Trump has directed toward Mexicans and Muslims, as well as the character assassination of Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, would have had the international press reeling in disbelief and demanding that the Republican party disown itself from such absurd and mindless chatter. Instead, journalists have been so barraged by the never-ending insults and farcicalities that no one can focus on any single insult, the barrage is that great.

And then suddenly reason returned to America in the form of the First Lady of the United States whose approval rating has reached nearly 80 percent across all political parties, races and religions.

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” the First Lady said. “And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn,” she continued. “And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.”

As we move now away from conventions and into months of predictably contentious campaigning, the LGBT community is going to find itself stage center: disparaged by the Republicans as being everything from unnatural to evil, and embraced by the Democrats as being part of a nation that places equality at its cornerstone of our heritage.

It is quite likely that Florida will again be the state that decides this election, just as it’s been in previous presidential campaigns. The difference this time is that the fabric of our very nation is at stake, and the future of the world as we know it is going to be decided.

The Republicans know that as well. It is for that reason and no other that Donald Trump made history on the final day of his convention by embracing the LGBT community—the first mention of gays in any Republican convention, a move considered by many to be a watershed moment.

That such a gratuitous gesture came at the end of one of the most aggressive sessions of the Republican-led Congress is as hollow as it is transparent.

Make no mistake. Just as the world’s eyes were on the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia for signs of strength in the face of lunacy, bigotry and threats, so too is the world watching America’s LGBT community to rise above the name-calling and insecurities of the past to stand proud in our conviction that equality is not only possible, it is expected. The reality for every LGBT American is that we are no longer the followers, but the leaders. Taking back America is up to every one of us, and the battle has just begun.

photo: politico.com

The post Taking Back America: The Importance of the Democratic National Convention and LGBTs appeared first on Florida Agenda - LGBT News.

For the last few nights, I’ve watched the Republican National Convention–determined to have an open mind.  As an editor and as a journalist, my personal politics are less important than my responsibility to translate what I see and hear, and reflect it back so that you can wrap your heads around the reality of what is taking place in America. Trust us when we say, it’s not pretty.

The Republican Party has some major problems, and the least of these is Donald Trump. The politicians today who label themselves Republican conservatives do not recognize themselves in the actions of Republicans who label themselves Tea Party conservatives. They don’t recognize fiscal conservatives, or Constitutional conservatives either, for that matter. Each has its message; its supporters; its mandates. They barely know how to talk to one another anymore these days, and are completely paralyzed in their effort to accomplish anything in Congress, despite having a majority.

Add into this puddle of political inconsistency a man named Donald Trump. A clown so incapable of coming up with a concept that is workable that he covers his lack of knowledge and experience with hyperbole about high walls or racial insults so blatant that world leaders look at him like some sort of Yankee punchline from a dirty joke.

Yet there we were, determined to keep an open mind as the show went on: the red, white and blue balloons netted high about the delegates who were making every effort to pretend that there was a party going on. Screams and shouts and high-fives all around as if their laughing stock of a candidate with his laughing stock of a running mate, vice-presidential wanna-be Mike Pence, will somehow pass as the real deal if they could just make enough noise to distract attention for the truth that one of them is a racist and a bigot, and the other is a bigot and a woman hater, albeit one with political connections.

As fascinating as it is to watch these loyal conservatives party in Cleveland, it’s even more interesting to notice who didn’t make the trip. Apparently many legitimate Republicans hate their candidates so much that they did the unthinkable. They didn’t come out to play at all. Ohio governor John Kasich, who lives just two hours away, wanted no part of it. Neither did Ohio Senator Rob Portman. No living GOP nominee showed up (except Bob Dole who looked like he was lost and thought he was in Cleveland). None of the Bushes were there—and we all know how large that family tree is.

We looked but couldn’t find Senator Ben Sasse from Nebraska. Ditto Senator Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire and Marco Rubio from Florida. Rubio, of course, is nearly as nasty a bigot as vp hopeful Mike Pence, so he should have felt right at home. But even Marco Rubio was too uncomfortable with the Trump-Pence ticket to travel to Cleveland and pretend that this fiasco is going to have a happy ending.

“Make America Great Again” sounds like it’s such an honorable goal until it’s put in the guise of an absentee landlord turned politician who drops only vague clues how he’s going to achieve this seeming miracle. Forget that he’s giving the boot to 11 million illegal immigrants who willingly do much of the manual labor in this country. Ban all Muslims, with or without Burqas from entering the U.S. Slap tariffs on all Chinese and Mexican imports, increasing the cost of some cars and food by 50%. Oh, and let’s not forget the $10 trillion in tax cuts for the rich over the next decade. Somehow, we’re not feeling “great” yet.

As we write this, there is one day left in the Republican National Convention—the one in which Donald Trump will speak. The balloons will drop; everyone will dance in the aisles; to Queen’s We Are the Champions to which he does not own the rights. Ah, but technicalities aside, like everything in the Republican Presidential race, this convention was all about The Donald, and making good TV.

Instead we got television at its worst. Misinformation, misdirection, and a missed opportunity to bring together a party now ripped apart more than ever.

photo: theindychannel.com

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It’s been quite the week. We don’t know if you’ve notice, but over the past seven days there has been a renewed outpouring of anti-gay venom that stretches the boundaries of Freedom of Speech to its very limits.

Case in point is rapper Badazz. who formerly was known as Lil Boosie—all 5’6” of him. In an interview on VladTV, Boosie Badazz claimed that TV is trying to make everyone gay. The father of seven says that “they’re trying to make everybody f**kin’ gay. That’s what I think. They’re putting it on our culture. They’re putting it everywhere. Gay stuff is everywhere. I think they’re just doing it to make a monetary gain. They’re not doing it for the gays. They’re not really fans of the gays. They’re doing it for monetary gain. They try to make money off these people, man.”

The rapper, who spent from 2009 to 2014 in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, and was at one time indicted for first degree murder, thinks that the biggest offenders are kids’ cartoons. “You got cartoons that have gays,” he said. “These are kids. Let kids make their own decision if they wanna go that way. Six- and seven-year-olds, five-year-olds shouldn’t be turned onto gay cartoons when their mind not even developed yet. What if they like how that cartoon talk? Now, you’re forcing them to be gay. Every TV show is gays. They’re kissing each other. It’s out of hand.”

While claiming to have nothing against gays per se, if any of his children, especially his son, turned out to be gay, he would try to beat it out of them.  “First, I’ma try to slap his ass back straight,” he says. “I’ma kick his ass. Maybe he’ll realize that he’s not gay. But if I can’t stop him from being gay, I’m not gonna ban my son from my life. I’ll just have to find some crazy ass way to deal with it. But my sons love women.”  Fascinating observation since his son is still a pre-teen.

From the absurd to the insane, we move next to Pat Robertson.  It was only last month that Robertson, the aging evangelist of 700 Club fame, said that liberals were facing a dilemma because they love both LGBT rights advocates and Islamic radicals. Huh?

“We’re looking at a favored group by the left, the homosexuals, and that in Islam is punishable by death or imprisonment or some sanction, so what are the left going to do? How are they going to describe it? And they don’t know quite what to do now. The fact that this Islamic gentleman opens fire in a gay nightclub and kills almost 50 homosexuals, that says something and tells the fact that Islam is against homosexuality, so the liberals are going to be scrambling to find some rationale, I think they’re going to have a hard time doing it.

“In the meantime, Donald Trump is riding high because he said we should screen these people and he’s absolutely right. We should screen them. So the left is saying, ‘Oh you’re anti-Muslim, you’re racist’ and all this. Suddenly, that part of the narrative doesn’t play too well and they’re stuck as to what to do. But Trump is enjoying a victory.”

Yet, Donald Trump and Pat Robertson aren’t the only ones jumping on the back of the Orlando tragedy to get attention. There’s also Pastor Roger Jimenez, of Verity Baptist Church, in Sacramento, CA, who said that it was a tragedy that more didn’t die.

Of the massacre itself, Jimenez said, “I think that’s great. I think that helps society. I think that Orlando, FL is a little safer tonight. But I’m kind of upset that he didn’t finish the job because these people are predators,” Jimenez said. “They are abusers; they take advantage of people.”

Baptists everywhere should be ashamed. But in reality, it is just the beginning of open season on the LGBT community as we stand before the firing squad of Republican haters and conservative fear-mongers. What’s next? We’ll keep you posted.

Photo: the advocate.com

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