"Distort, Attack, Repeat": Check out Rolling Stone's profile of the master propagandist, Roger Ailes

Read this insightful expose of Fox News and Roger Ailes. I don't mind political commentary on TV; I just object to biased political reporting pretending to be objective news.

I have a lot of problems with MSNBC but for the most part they don't try to hide their biases or pass themselves off a neutral news source. (BTW, MSNBC's catch a predator shows are some of the most questionable and tasteless things on TV.) I don't watch MSNBC much, including Rachel, who I is too polarizing for 60 minutes...too much gotcha.

As for Roger Ailes, he belongs to that pantheon of angry white GOP men who are all about stoking fear and dividing this great country (and enriching themselves while doing it): Pat Buchanan, Rush, Mr. Beck, Rick Santorum, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Bill O'Reilly, etc. They may be wealthy and powerful, but at the end of the day, most fair minded people (and history) will not judge them to be great men. And for me, that's what counts.

Tent fail!: the rain starts & my tent leaks as I go to bed

Here I am on the breath-taking Oregon coast camping or trying to camp. LOL. Last night, after a wonderful time with eating oysters and drinking a microbrew beer with locals, I returned to my comfy tent, in the most ideal oceanside camp site. I was cozy and content, enjoying sounds of the oceanside surf, in my dome tent. Then it started to rain and, for the first time, my heretofore trusty tent failed me. I got packed my belongings, laughed at the situation, and quickly found refuged at a good local hotel. Turns out my tent rainfly lost its water-replenancy over the years and I need new one. I will buy a new fly or tent today. Staying dry in Tillamook, Oregon.

Having just spent 4 days in a hot springs in the Cascades, I am grateful to be alive & to the LGBT Americans who have died fighting for our freedom

This Memorial Day weekend, I finished reading this new book below on the Berlin crisis of 1961. Fascinating. Well-worth reading, and a good reminder that the forces for good have be strong and savvy in the beautiful and fearful world. Today I especially bow my head to LGBT Americans who gave their lives fighting for the ideals that are embodied in our Constitution. I am committed to realizing those ideals, especially equality for LGBT people, thus helping to create, what the President calls, "a more perfect Union."

I just completed a seven-mile hike, with 2200 foot elevation gain, this morning through the most enchanted land full of gushing streams, lush ferns and trees, wild flowers, and spectacular vistas. I am grateful to be in this body and enjoying such a beautiful country. Despite all our challenges, I really mean this when I say "God bless America".

My last post for a while: we will miss Buster in 2011!

Due to this collision, Buster has a broken leg and is out for the season.

A sign of the times: NYC's Fleet Week

Now that's a party I would like to attend! With Seals

On vacation for the next 10 days in Oregon, I will be posting infrequently

My "little brother" launches a gay artist co-operative in DC: Boys Be Good: http://boysbegood.com

Today, Chrysler paid off its government loans showing that Obama was right in preserving the American auto industry & jobs. The GOP works for Wall Street

Watching my anger, doing what's needed, & forgiving myself & others

After Tennessee's governor signed a law banning local LGBT discrimination ordinances, I was really pissed at the South. How can this large part of America resist social change and be so backwards?, I thought. Well, there are a lot of reasons for this that I won't go into now.

What I feeling was a tremendous amount of anger and frustration with Tennessee, its business community and citizens. Rather than denying that or amplifying it, for me the best course of venture is to sit with that feeling when I can, and then wisely choose my next course of right action. From what I can tell, Lincoln did this and Obama does it too. They managed their emotions for the public good, and do not make decisions when they are angry.

The really ironic thing last night is that I came across this video of the TV show "What would you do?" which recently filmed in a small rural town in Texas. Two actresses posing a lesbian couple with two young kids are verbally attacked for being gay by another actress who is playing the role of an intolerant waitress. The people in the restaurant don't know that this is a set-up to see how they react to drama. The bottom-line, half of the people in this deep South restaurant came to the aid of the lesbian couple while, when the show was filmed in more liberal New York state, only a fraction of the people stood up for the lesbian couple. Mea culpa.

So I have to forgive myself for my judgments as well as the South for being so conservative, and I will continue to be a passionate and fierce advocate for LGBT equality and other forms of human rights.

Inner work results in a better outer world

If humans clear inner pollution, then they will also cease to create outer pollution.

--Eckhart Tolle

The good & decent parents of deceased gay vet Andrew Wilfahrt speak the truth about marriage equality in Minnesota. They represent true family values

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves." -- Abraham Lincoln

I disagree with Lincoln on this: everyone deserves freedom and equality under the law, even those who oppress gay people.

NBA star Steve Nash speaks out for marriage equality

After watching Tennessee Governor sign a bill banning local LGBT ordinances, I watch this video about Southerners coming to the aid of a two-mom family. There's hope!

NYTimes profiles gay teenagers who are coming out

Amazing, especially to remember that as late as the early 1990's, the NYTimes refused to use the word gay. Check this interactive feature.

What is Buddha?

"Are you a god?" they asked. "No." "An angel?" "No." "A saint?" "No." "Then what are you?"

Buddha answered, "I am awake."

His answer became his title, for this is what Buddha means. The Sanskrit root budh denotes both to wake up and to know. Buddha, then, means the "Enlightened One" or the "Awakened One." While the rest of the world was wrapped in the womb of sleep, dreaming a dream known as the waking state of human life, one of their number roused himself. Buddhism begins with a man who shook off the daze, the doze, the dream-like vagaries of ordinary awareness. It begins with the man who woke up.

--Huston Smith

Via Tricycle.com

I enjoyed this crazy & crude movie "Bridesmaids"

Michelle Obama alludes to gay families in speech to graduates at West Point

"I ask you to remember that family has always been a centerpiece of our American story. No matter how you’ve grown up, no matter how you define family, all of you have someone in your life who believed in you and pushed you."

Watch this GOP Iraqi vet speak out in favor of marriage equality. He understands the Constitution

I love my SF Giants: making a little go a long way

From the Chronice.

It is important to sign this change.org petition to tell AT&T, Nissan, Comcast, and FedEx to withdraw their support for anti-gay legislation in Tennessee

Our LGBT brothers and sisters in Tennessee deserve our support. Click here to support this petition.

Watch as these brave, unarmed democracy protesters in Syria confront a government tank

Photo of Harvey Milk at the beach

I saw this photo at the entrance of the library in the Castro. Harvey looks good.

George Takei vs. Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" Bill

George Takei vs. Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" Bill

Today, the brave Syrian people continued to defy their oppressive & murderous government

"Know the One"

Know the One.
Love the All.

--T'ao-shan

via Zen Calendar

Pure sexiness in the form of an Australian plumber

A sharp shift of Americans in favor of marriage equality

Gallup notes a large shift of Americans in favor of marriage equality. Read about it here. I believe the extended and heated media discussion about the repeal of DADT, the all the gay-positive episodes of GLEE, and the continued coming out of millions of Americans (including athletes) is making a big difference!

A sad development: GOP blocks a distinguished legal scholar to be a Federal appeals court judge largely over his views in support of marriage equality

Sometimes politics trumps justice. Read about it here.

With dignity & humility, Queen Elizabeth apologizes for England's historical mistreatment of Ireland

Tennis great Novak Djokovic strips down for Vogue

The Syrian-Iranian connection: these nations shoot their citizens and suppress journalists. This reporter tells her story about being imprisoned by both

Forgiving Joe

After working for two hours on an important business word document this morning, I lost it. Gone! Poof! Lost forever!

I looked and looked for it on my new MacBook but to no avail. Even Google Desktop or Spotlight couldn't find it. My ego was furious with myself, but another part of me said to be gentle with Joe...I am tired and need a vacation, after a challenging first five months of the year.

Forgiving myself was hard this afternoon but I did the best I could. I noticed my anger and just held in that middle place, exactly between denial and obsession. This is the best I could do and I bow to my own vulnerability, emotion, patience and witnessing.

Words do matter: NBA Pro Grant Hill takes on homophobic slurs said on the court

Peace is possible between good people: today, a British monarch visited the Republic of Ireland for the first time

This young man means the world to me. I have been proud to be his "big brother" for 16 years

Jase is 20, a sophomore in a DC college, a dean's list student, smart, creative, and capable. Best of all, he is a good (young) man: kind, authentic, strong, compassionate, and doing his absolute best. He went through more than his fair share of difficult and messy struggles as a teenager and came out better the other end. Our friendship has been one of the best things in my life. I am happy that he is so alive and present.

Photo of the day

A photo of today's Space Shuttle launch. (It looks like a sperm being launched from an egg.)

Self-acceptance

The moment we want to be something
we are no longer free.

--Krishnamurti

Via Zen Calendar

(My friend Lou says things like this, too)

Baltimore Raven linebacker supports marriage equality

My last post before I go back to sleep. On Dominique Strauss-Kahn...

I was having a set of weird dreams so I am hitting the reset by blogging at 1:30AM. But not for much longer.

I don't want to prejudge this guy but given that the reports are coming out that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has engaged in this type of behavior before, with a well-known French reporter as well as other hotel maids, at the moment I am not very sympathetic to his cause.

When powerful men believe that they can sexually abuse women, I get furious. That abused person could my mom, cousin or business partner. If Dominique Strauss-Kahn is guilty, his karma is going to be bleak.

On that note, good night, again.

One blog site I like: "Three kids. Three time zones. One mission…" The blog of three high school athletes who are making their own way in this beautiful & homophobic world

Check their blog out at http://bradrobertben.wordpress.com/ and I bet all those incredibly vivid and vulnerable feelings of high school will come roaring back.

Giants announce they will be the first MLB team to produce an "It Gets Better" video: I love this city of Giants!

I am proud to be one of the 6600 people who petitioned the Giants to do this via change.org, an electronic social advocacy petition site for LGBT and other progressive issues. And the Giants responded. Read about it here.

We are winning most of the battles as well as the war: the LGBT movement is gaining strength, each day

In 30 years, gay people have gone from social pariahs to socially acceptable members of society...well, in most cities and blue states. When I stand back, I find our progress to be staggering and accelerating, gaining acceptance much quickly than the civil rights and women's suffrage movements experienced. Sure, we lose a few important battles like on Prop. 8 but we are learning from these losses and doing the work required for winning total equality.

Everyday, more and more well-known gay athletes, newscasters, executives, etc. are coming out of the closet, encouraging others to do the same a. But as Harvey Milk so well understood, it is the millions of ordinary gay people coming out to their families that is changing our society and its beliefs. I am glad to be alive during this time and whole-heartedly participating in this movement for full LGBT equality. I can hardly wait to see what we will accomplish in the next 10 years.

The importance of staying open...in mind & body

I don't believe one grows older. I think that what happens early on in life is that at a certain age one stands still and stagnates.

--T.S. Elliott

The joy of In-N-Out! I am not taking about sex here, but my favorite burger chain opening in Texas

Life imitates art...in this case, very closely:)

A big deal: CNN News anchor, Don Lemon, comes out

This is the first time a major network news anchor has come out of the closet. Good for Don Lemon, a truly intelligent and authentic voice on CNN. Good for the millions of LGBT kids. Good for the LGBT movement.

Read about it here.

I've had some technical difficulties since last week

Last week was challenging: my trusty laptop went on the blink Monday night, I pulled a small back muscle moving a big planter around on Wednesday morning, and the Blogger service that I use for veryjoeandbullish went down for two days. With all that happening, I did what any good sporty gay male would do: I called my mom and she told me to ice my back, bought a new laptop at the Apple store, and went camping at a hot springs which helped heal my back and spirits.

So I am glad to be back with a new and improved MacBook Pro desktop (pictured above). Sorry for the interruption.

--Joe

Italian street artist BLU

Obama interviewed on 60 Minutes: smart, composed & dignified: thank God for this man

What a difference a real leader can make. Not since FDR has a U.S. president faced so many challenges in a 30-month period. Obama is not perfect as no man can be, but he is rebuilding the U.S. after the GOP wrecking ball of George W.

I am glad to be alive in era when great men can cry

Tears are no stranger to Spanish tennis great Rafe Nadal (or to his arch rival, Roger Federer).

Read about the background story on Rafe and his tribute to the late Spanish golfer, Seve Ballesteros.

The quiet grandeur of the ordinary

Little minds are interested in the extraordinary;
great minds in the commonplace.

--Elbert Hubbard

Via Zen Calendar

Alliance of shame: Iran advises Syria on how best to suppress & murder pro-democracy protesters

From the Wall Street Journal last month, the extremely religious and murderous regime in Iran is advising the very secular and extremely murderous regime in Syria. Read about it here.

What sort of governments shoot and kill their own people? The answer: immoral ones who are desperate to maintain their power and privilege!

Hockey maverick Sean Avery speaks out for gay rights

The support of this 31-year-old hockey star shows the growing acceptance of younger people for full equality for LGBT people. Read about Sean Avery here.

Wake up GOP, this is the wave of the future!

My favorite "It Gets Better" video, by Billy Nilles

I love this video clip by Billy Nilles for its authenticity, compassion, and deeply spiritual messages: "you are not alone" and "we love you without even knowing you." He really talks from his heart and his experience. Billy's parents should be very proud of themselves for raising such a good man.

Why it's important to celebrate feminine men

I am back from Oregon and I am really back, rested, relaxed and ready for the next thing in my life, which turned out to be my computer's keyboard not working, this morning. LOL. Well, I got that problem handled temporarily, until Thursday night when I pick up my new MacBook Pro. Anyway, it is good to be back to my life, my friends, the world of ideas, San Francisco, etc.

Below is a video that I came across that touched me deeply, on a subject that is a bit taboo in the gay male community: the acceptance of feminine gay men (the same arguments can be made for feminine straight men, too). Watch the video and come to your own opinion. For me anyway, until I accept all LGBT people just the way we are, I am going to be missing out on all aspects of humanity and will be a lesser, limited person because of my homophobia and sexism. I truly believe that we are all God's children. No exceptions.

Celebrating my birthday in the Columbia River gorge

As you might have noticed, I am gone for a few days and am not blogging. I am on the Washington state side of the Columbia River, about 45 minutes from Portland. I could not be more relaxed: eating salmon, sleeping in a geodesic dome over the creek, hanging out with good friends, and hiking in the rain forests. Life is good and this is a perfect way to celebrate my birthday. I am so grateful to be alive and in this world, challenges and all.

The death of trust

Poor Obama...some people don't trust our government leaders to tell the truth even in the most straightforward matters, i.e. our military kills Osama.

Many Americans will always be skeptical, paranoid, or even conspiracists. That's the way their brains are wired, bless their hearts.

But others are fatigued and un-trusting from decades of our presidents telling them big lies:

*LBJ: that the Vietnam war is worth fighting, winnable, and important to our survival; it wasn't!

*Nixon: that he was not a thief, liar, and paranoid freak who violated the Constitution many times; he was!

*Reagan: that he didn't know anything about the details of Contra-gate; clearly, he did.

*Clinton: that didn't sleep 'that wowan;' clearly, he had.

*George W: that Iraq was involved in 9/11 and a huge stockpile of WMDs; not even close.

Yep, trust is something difficult to re-create once it is squandered. Now, it must be earned again. All politicians shade the truth. But overcoming these years of big presidential lies is a big challenge for Obama.

The power of non-thinking

The more you think and talk,
the more you lose the Way.

--Seng-Ts'an

Via Zen Calendar

Happy Mothers' Day cartoon from the New Yorker

It gets better: a TV commercial and message for the ages

Privileges & principles

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.

--Dwight D. Eisenhower

This is the triumph of democracy over terrorism; the ideals of Obama over Osama's; love over fear

As a follower of the Buddhist way, I can not garner joy from the death of anyone even people who do things as evil as Osama or Hitler. It is just not in me.

On this occasion, I celebrate life and, in this case, the triumph of democracy over terrorism on two levels. First, President Obama kept his eye on the prize in going after Osama where the Bush administration long had lost its way, constantly changed the reasons for starting the Iraq War. Sometimes, Obama may be too cautious in his approaches to problems, but overall he is well-informed and takes educated gambles with his power. I respect this.

Second, the widespread embrace of the democracy movement in the Middle East, starting with Iran in 2009, shows the innate urge of people wanting to be free and govern themselves, create a better lives for themselves and their families, and say no to corruption and the abuse of civil liberties. President Obama talked about this in his famous Cairo speech. People are willing to sacrifice their lives for this movement of love, standing before tanks and marching. The idea of democracy is life-affirming and it trumps Osama's model of terrorism and fear, anyday. The power of human rights, in the broadest sense.

For this I am grateful.

At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Seth Meyer & President Obama poke fun at Mr. Trump. Karma is a bitch

"Clinging to the body"

A tiny prick from a thorn makes us miserable. When there is warm sunshine outside, we feel comfortable and the body is pleased. We are constantly preoccupied with the comfort and attractiveness of our body and treat it like the most precious thing. Clinging to the body is the reason we experience such reactions to the pleasant and the unpleasant.

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, "An Investigation of the Mind"

Via Tricycle.com

Obama's persistence pays off: Osama is dead