the view through the windshield car blog

"Not That There's Anything Wrong With That."

In a 1993 'Seinfeld' episode, a woman is eavesdropping on the conversation that Elaine has with Jerry and George at Monk's coffee shop.

Elaine decides to give the woman the impression that Jerry and George are a homosexual couple. Unfortunately, the woman is a reporter.

When she asks Jerry if he's gay, Seinfeld vehemently denies it, with the politically-correct qualifier, "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Hence the title of this page of various blog postings, which, however, may not always be politically correct.

Check out these fabulous posts:


What's In A Name? Over at Powerline, Susan the Ammo Grrrll wrote, "Anybody know what the deal is with gay men and the formality they seem to prefer in names?

Maybe your experience is different, but every gay man I have ever known – and remember, I lived in San Francisco just off Castro Street for several years – wanted to be called Robert, or Michael, or James. Never Bobby, Mike or Jimmy.

A notable exception would be Pete Buttigieg. Though, I suppose if you are a gay man and Butt is already part of your name, adding Peter to the mix would be a bridge too far."

I had a high school friend named Wally. When he came out as gay, he became Walter. (posted 4/27/20, permalink)


Gay Hypocrisy: Tim Cook, Steve Jobs' successor as CEO of Apple is gay - not that there's anything wrong with that. Recently, he made snarky comments about the pizzeria in Indiana that wouldn't hypothetically cater a gay wedding, although they've never catered any wedding - gay or otherwise - and you have to wonder what kind of uncreative gay dullards would want pizza served at their wedding.

Cook wrote an op ed for the Washington Post condemning laws that protect religious freedom, concluding with these words: "Opposing discrimination takes courage. With the lives and dignity of so many people at stake, it's time for all of us to be courageous."

John Hawkins of Right Wing News and Gay Patriot Bruce Carroll penned an open letter to Tim Cook, which was co-signed by a number of conservatives. The letter concludes, as follows: "Tim Cook says that, "Opposing discrimination takes courage," and we agree. We call on Mr. Cook to live up to our shared principles by pulling Apple out of Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran until they stop their official government policies of jailing and murdering gays and lesbians." Amen. (posted 4/15/15, permalink)


"I'm A Lumberjack And I'm OK ..." I had never heard of lumbersexuals before. Had you?

Their attire is apparently "jeans, work boots, and a flannel shirt." And tattoos.

Q: Jeez, how do you tell them from Lesbians?

A: They have facial hair, usually beards, although some gay people still in the closet still have beards when they go to social events at work for visits with family. Thanks, now I'm really confused.

Defining quote ... (more >>>)


The Only Government Report With An Ugly Plaid Flannel Cover: A federal study to determine why 75% of lesbian women are obese and gay men are not has totaled nearly $3 million.

"They have determined that gay and bisexual males had a "greater desire for toned muscles" than straight men, lesbians have lower "athletic self-esteem" that may lead to higher rates of obesity, and that lesbians are more likely to see themselves at a healthy weight even though they are not." (posted 9/6/14, permalink)


Gays Won't Be Happy With The Derb: John Derbyshire, late of National Review, bemoaned today's society including our approach to AIDS. "The first time I fully grasped the scale of this Cultural Marxist lunacy was in the 1980s when the AIDS scare came up.

It was plain that AIDS was being spread in the U.S.A. mainly by promiscuous homosexual buggery. I assumed that AIDS would set back the liberalization of attitudes to homosexuality by 100 years; that a general revulsion by the 97% would push the 3% firmly back in the closet."

Initially, I was a supporter of AIDS research because I thought that such work would offer trickle-down benefits such as new drugs/cures for other immune system diseases such as scleroderma, lupus, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis and the like. Didn't happen.

The Derb continued, "That would not, by the way, have been something I would have welcomed, as an irreligious person of live-and-let-live inclinations with a couple of homosexual acquaintances. It is only what I expected to happen.

'Imagine my surprise' (as the narrators of Victorian novels say) when the opposite thing happened: the homosexuals who were spreading the disease became victims, their transgressive lifestyle became something to be celebrated with pride, and the conquest of this single easily-avoided venereal disease became a matter of the highest national priority and the recipient of billions of taxpayer dollars. An athlete who caught it became a national hero, worshipped at shrines throughout the land by weeping devotees, most of them from the 97%.

Twenty years further on, two men - so far it's just two - who want to bugger each other on a regular basis can pretend to be "married"; and if you think this degrades the ancient institution of marriage, and are incautious enough to say so out loud, you can be fired from your job. Meanwhile the disease toll from buggery slowly rises, and we await the next plague outbreak."

The entire article is worth a read as Derbyshire takes on Black America and other politically incorrect topics. (posted 8/25/14, permalink)


car blogGood Riddance: The Rev. Fred Phelps, the hate-filled, virulently antigay preacher, who drew wide, scornful attention for staging demonstrations at military funerals as a way to proclaim his belief that God is punishing America for its tolerance of homosexuality, has finally died at age 84.

A disbarred civil rights lawyer who had once been honored by the NAACP, he ran for office repeatedly and unsuccessfully as a Democrat. He once sued President Ronald Reagan for establishing diplomatic relations with the Vatican; denounced the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who called Mr. Phelps a "first-class nut"; and picketed the funerals of Al Gore's father and Bill Clinton's mother.

At Phelps' funeral, Tom McMahon suggested, "Why not have The Gay Men's Chorus sing "So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night" from The Sound of Music?" (posted 2/25/14, permalink)


Transformation To Old Lesbian Almost Complete: It began when Bruce Jenner was gradually emasculated by the Kardashian clan of grifters. Having stretched his bony face to the limit with plastic surgery, Bruce Jenner is now having his Adam's Apple shaved off surgically. Jenner told TMZ that his decision "has less to do with how he feels in his own skin than with how he feels in a turtleneck."

All that's required to finish off Bruce is a pair of old Birkenstocks and a friendship with Billie Jean King. (posted 12/19/13, permalink)


Starting To Feel A Little Queer Around Here: Gay weddings made up 17% of marriages in Washington this past year, the first year gay marriages were legal in the state. So far, most of Washington state's same-sex marriages - 62% - were between two women. From the news photos I've seen, mostly ugly ones. Maybe this is a good thing; the pretty girls become breeders and the future human race gets better-looking.

In Clark County, where I live, there were 785 same-sex weddings accounted for 30% of all weddings performed here. There were 1,828 opposite-sex weddings, for a county total of 2,613.

These data are a bit misleading since couples from neighboring states (Oregon, Idaho, Montana) flock to Washington to exchange vows then return home. Clark County is just over the Oregon border, so undoubtedly a lot of Portlandia lesbians pilot their Jeep Cherokees across the bridge to get hitched. (posted 12/9/13, permalink)


Arabs Invent Gaydar: A medical test being developed by Kuwait will be used to 'detect' homosexuals and prevent them from entering the country – or any of the Gulf Cooperation Countries.

"It's illegal to be gay in 78 countries, with lesbianism banned in 49. Five countries mete out the death penalty to gay people – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and Mauritania."

Exceptions are probably being made for sex involving goats. Not that there's anything wrong with that. (posted 10/9/13, permalink)


When Pope Nancy Pelosi Kicks Me Out Of The Catholic Church ... I guess I won't look at becoming an Episcopalian: "St. Mark's Church in the Bowery holds Christian services in its sanctuary every Sunday morning at 11 am. Unlike most churches, on the last Sunday in June, the Episcopal church hangs the disco ball, turns up the music and invites a disco diva to lead their music ministry for the annual Gay Pride Disco Mass."

"The Disco Mass at St. Mark's is a longstanding tradition that offers the church a way to celebrate Pride weekend festivities in a worship style that has ranged from camp and drag to liberationist," explains St. Mark's pastor, the Rev. Winnie Varghese, herself an out lesbian. ... (more >>>)


It's A Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay World: First Lady Michelle Obama will attend a fundraiser later in May with Jason Collins, a mediocre NBA player who rose from relative obscurity when he became the first openly gay athlete on a major men's U.S. sports team.

The fundraiser will be held in New York City for the Democratic National Committee and will honor the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender "community." I'm not sure where this community is located - probably near NYC. I guess you'll have to find it by driving around neighborhoods until you see an odd mix of Jeep Wranglers, Mazda Miatas and Subaru Outbacks in driveways and children wandering around with confused looks on their faces.

This will be the first time the First Lady has fundraised with a gay man who isn't her husband. Barack Obama said at a recent press conference, "He seems like a terrific young man, and I told him I couldn't be prouder." He telephoned Collin right after the NBA star came out, although the president couldn't be bothered to telephone the families of any military killed in the line of duty during the same period.

In the eight days since Jason Collins announced he was gay, the news media have covered the story in 2,381 places. But in the first eight days of the trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell and his 'House of Horrors' abortion business, the media covered the story in 115 places, meaning that Collins' "gay" news received over 1,970% more news coverage. (posted 5/7/13, permalink)


Your Tax Dollars At Waste: The National Institutes of Health has awarded $1.5 million to study biological and social factors for why "three-quarters" of lesbians are obese and why gay males are not, calling it an issue of "high public-health significance."

In related news, Pendleton has commissioned a private study to find out why so many fat lesbians wear flannel shirts. The secret code name for the investigation is 'Rosie O'Donnell'. (posted 3/18/13, permalink)


2013 Rose Parade: Is it just me, or are all of the floats becoming cause-centric? I seem to remember when parade floats didn't have politically-correct, guilt-inducing messages, just giant dogs made of flower petals or huge bears in helicopter beanies with waving arms, with hair made of dyed long-grain rice.

This year, there was 'The Global Face of AIDS' float, which - I am not kidding - was awarded 'The Queen's Trophy'. Not that there's anything wrong with that. They didn't say what floral items were used in its construction but I'm guessing pansies. I kept hoping that The City of Hope 'Journey To Cure' float would sideswipe the AIDS float, spilling vats of pharmaceuticals on it, while the lab-coated people on the Hope float yelled, "Die! Die! Die!" But, alas, such drama was not to be. Nor was my other wish that the unfortunate Indiana high school marching band - the one that ended up stuck behind the AIDS awareness float - would don rubber gloves and surgical masks while performing.

Farmers Insurance presented 'The Love Float' and actually married a couple before an audience of millions. Oh well, at least it was a man and a woman.

'The Nurses Float' inexplicably spotlighted ... (more >>>)


They Never Had This Problem When John And Mary Got Hitched. The New York Times recently ran this correction: "A report on Sept. 30 about the marriage of Paul Poux and David Pfingstler misidentified them in the accompanying photograph. Mr. Pfingstler was on the left, Mr. Poux at the right." (posted 10/17/12, permalink)


Recuperation Gift: My friend and fellow plastics buddy, Dennis, had knee surgery recently. All of us are now discovering that, as old age descends upon us, our parts are starting to wear out. And our warranties have expired.

I thought to myself, "I should give him some kind of get-well-soon gift but I don't want to send flowers because that seems kinda gay."

Someone in the floral biz suggested ... (more >>>)


Every Gay Florist Will Want One: Mini will begin selling the Clubvan, a nostalgic kind-of panel truck this August.

joe sherlock car blog

Prius missed the boat, when they failed to offer a panel version of the Prius v, something I had recommended in April 2008 and offered a rendering to assist Toyota:

joe sherlock car blog

(posted 7/5/12, permalink)


Not That There's Anything Wrong With That: In the most unsurprising coming-outta-the-closet news story since David Ogden Stiers announced that he was a bit light in his tassled loafers, Anderson Cooper has revealed that he is "gay and proud."

Now, I have very poor gaydar but even I knew this guy was a poof.

Maybe now that Katie's through with Tom, Andy can hook up with him. Or John Travolta. (posted 7/3/12, permalink)


sherlock blogAnd Gays Wonder Why People Hate Them: Last week, President Barack Obama invited prominent homosexual guests to celebrate the White House's first-ever gay pride reception.

They showed their own despicable nature taking photos of themselves beside the late President Ronald Reagan's portrait while giving him finger. And posting the disgraceful images online.

And then there's this: "Police say they arrested 66-year-old Larry Brinkin, the high-profile gay activist, on possession of child pornography on Friday night.

Brinkin, a community icon who led the fight for the city to recognize same-sex partnerships, was arrested and booked into San Francisco County Jail."

"Brinkin retired from the Human Rights Commission in 2010 and has been a beloved member of the gay community, with the Board of Supervisors even declaring the first week of February as 'Larry Brinkin Week'."

The child pornography involved toddlers, not teens.

Of course, Brinkin lives in San Francisco which is code for either Sodom or Gomorrah. While I'm not sure which one, I'm betting on something not so Gomorrahy but more ... ummmm ... Sodomy. (posted 6/27/12, permalink)


Limited Editions: Garance Franke-Ruta has written in The Atlantic, "Surveys show a shockingly high fraction think a quarter of the country is gay or lesbian, when the reality is that it's probably less than 2%."

It seems like more because some of them are so noisy. And all the media coverage those Pride Parades get. Then again ... they don't reproduce, so whaddya expect?

The author has noted that "the extraordinary confusion over the percentage of gay people may reflect a triumph of the gay and lesbian movement's decades-long fight against invisibility and the closet."

In related news, the New York Times has reported that 'gaydar' actually works 60% of the time. Less so for me, though. I'm too gullible, which is why I avoid palm readers, carny shows and hotels hosting transvestite conventions. (posted 6/13/12, permalink)


If You Drink It, Does It Make You One? In Hood River, Oregon, the Naked Winery offers bottled vino with interesting and humorous names.

One of the varietals, 2010 Dominatrix Pinot Noir, is described thusly: "This Domme has a velvety texture that will whip your taste buds into a frenzy. Thrusty muscle overtones with good intensity release into an unyielding spicy finish. Everyone should experience Dominatrix at least once in their life."

the wiew through the windshield

Naked Winery also offers Gay Rosé, described as "light and fruity in a fabulous way." The wines we sampled were good enough - even without the funny names - that we purchased a mixed case from this happy establishment. (posted 6/11/12, permalink)


A Message From Your Metrosexual-In-Chief: After much wishy-washy tactical avoidance, President Obama took a position on gay marriage yesterday. And it wasn't the missionary position. He said, "For me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married." So, there you go. Three personal pronouns in one sentence - what an egomaniac.

Nevertheless, it's a nice little billet doux to his homosexual voter pals, who have been withholding campaign contributions of late. In fact, they've been clenching their closed checkbooks tighter than an adolescent choir boy's ass at a recital on Fire Island.

Gerard Van der Leun has observed, "Given the fact that Obama is the gayest straight man ever to hold the office of the president, I fail to see what the problem is in his coming out of the closet on a rocket." Not that there's anything wrong with that.

While many of us ... (more >>>)


Gays Want Tolerance Except When They're Being Intolerant: A homosexual activist group calling itself 'Angry Queers' claimed responsibility for smashing nine windows in a church known for teaching traditional sexual morality.

"Upon arriving at the church, we discovered nine separate windows had been smashed in with rocks, including two beautiful 100-year-old stained glass windows," wrote Tim Smith, pastor of the Portland (OR) campus of Mars Hill Church. "We estimate the damage to be several thousand dollars."

The vandals sent an e-mail to local television station KOIN stating they took the action, because "Mars Hill is notoriously anti-gay and anti-woman." Church members say they hold to "traditional Bible-based views on homosexuality."

Last September, the church had to postpone its opening after learning that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender activists planned a "kiss-in" at the church's first ceremony. As to the vandalism, members of local LGBT activist groups Blow Pony and Homocult said, "We support the action and stand in total solidarity!"

I hope these fascist cretins are apprehended, charged with a hate crime and receive serious jail time. (posted 4/30/12, permalink)


Bloody Interesting: A policy that bars gay men from donating blood for life is "suboptimal," advisers to the Health and Human Services Department have proclaimed. HHS asked a committee of experts on blood and tissue donations to reexamine the policy and see if there is a way to let at least some gays donate blood.

It should be noted that "men who have sex with other men, including gay and bisexual men, have an HIV infection rate 60 times higher than that of the general population, the FDA says.  They have an infection rate 800 times higher than first-time blood donors and 8,000 times higher than the rate of repeat blood donors. Tests cannot pick up a new HIV infection in the blood with 100% accuracy; because blood is often pooled, many people may be at risk from a single infected donor."

BigFurHat offered this idea: "I propose that blood be separated into two blood banks - gay and heterosexual blood. Registered Democrats can only get blood from the gay blood bank, and the conservative homophobes be stuck with only getting blood from the heterosexual blood banks.

Guaranteed within 4 years the political registration balance would be 90% Republican and 10% Democrat."

He concluded, "There are all sorts of policies that progressives advocate that they wouldn't participate in if it wasn't forced upon everyone through 'shared sacrifice'." (posted 7/29/11, permalink)


A Clockwork Orange: Tom Ridge's color-coded alert levels are going away. I only remember the yellow and orange levels, although I think they had a fuchsia level in case Homeland Security discovered a group of mad, gay Islamists armed with weapons of mass destruction.

What will replace it? Frank J. Fleming has speculated that "robots will warn us of when a terror attack is about to happen by failing their arms wildly and shouting, 'Danger, America! Danger!'"

Or: "Alerts of terror attacks will be done by lanterns in a steeple. One if by bomb, two if by anthrax." (posted 1/31/11, permalink)


My Jesus Mercy is a short Catholic prayer (once worth 300 days indulgence) asking the Lord to be merciful either to ourselves or others that need it. It is often a request on behalf of the dying or newly deceased.

For many, the prayer brings to mind the Gospel of Luke 18:9-14, about contrast between the self-righteous Pharisee and the humble publican - a man who appealed to God for mercy and forgiveness of his sins.

I don't usually follow inside-baseball political stuff but I recently learned that two of the nation's premier "moral issues organizations," the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, are "refusing to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in mid-February because a homosexual group, GOProud, has been invited."

The same day, I received an e-mail notifying me about the death of one of my high school classmates. I found his photo in my yearbook but didn't remember him. Charles and I never shared the same homeroom or other classes.

Reading his obituary, I learned that he was gay. He was with the same partner for almost 30 years and was a friend to many people. Posted tributes referred to Charles as "a kind, very funny and generous man." "Your smile and kind heart will truly be missed." "I'm so grateful that I got to know you and that you were my friend." "... a gentle and funny guy ... We could always count on him for a laugh!" "I can still hear his laughter." "He was the most generous person when it came to family that I have ever known."

Many religions, including Roman Catholicism, would automatically condemn ol' Charlie to Hell for being a practicing homosexual, wishing that he would spend eternity with Satan, Hitler and Pol Pot. Yet these same Christian denominations also proclaim that "Jesus is merciful."

Charles lived his life as best he could and, apparently, was a positive influence on others. He caused neither violence nor harm to his fellow man. It seems that he neither hid his sexual preference nor proselytized it.

I'd like to think that, at this man's final judgement, the Lord took all that into account and paid attention to his own heart and common sense rather than the fallible rigid rules of organized earthly religions. I would also hope that other earthbound organizations, such as the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America would seek to find common ground with rather than exclude their political brethren in what seems like an otiose display of Pharisee-like self-righteousness.

Finally, on behalf of Charles, I would plead: My Jesus Mercy. (posted 1/11/11, permalink)


automobile bloggingThe Truth About Gelato: Gerard Van der Leun has recently written about the pomposity of this frozen dessert, noting that it is "actually soft ice cream but we don't want anybody with just a high-school education coming in our store, our block, our neighborhood, our city and looking for a scoop."

"It's staggering that people crank out this crap when what they are up to is opening an ice-cream store in which they will sell you flavored churned curds at around one dollar a bite.

But is the way these things get done these days. There has to be a thick layer of bullshit smeared on any new business opening around these "Farmers" market sections of our snoburbias and there is. And it does.

It works in these zones because they are thick with educated and intellectually insane white people. The business plan here is the one that we've been running from the control towers of the country since 2008.

It is predicated on one simple notion; People dumb enough to vote in the Democrats and Obama will eat any bullshit you can serve."

I must confess that I had never heard of gelato until 1983 when a gay business associate took me to gelatotorium in a then-trendy part of Seattle. I always figured that gelato was the expensive, gay version of Mister Softee. (posted 5/24/10, permalink)


Out Late: Meredith Baxter, who once played the hot mom on the 1980's sitcom 'Family Ties', has announced she's a lesbian. She told NBC's 'The Today Show' that she discovered she was gay seven years ago, several years after her divorce from her third husband.

Ah, that gives some degree of comfort, I'm certain, to those three confused ex-hubbies.

Meredith, Mistress of the Understatement, noted, "I had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships." Well, duh - that explains it all then. "I am a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition. I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with, and it was that kind of awakening."

She was once so paranoid over possible media exposure of her secret, that she asked her girlfriend of four years, building contractor Nancy Locke - who was openly gay, to park her truck farther away. (And stop wearing flannel shirts, Timberline lace-up boots and that leather tool belt.)

Baxter, 62, recently did geezer insurance commercials for the Garden State Life Insurance Company. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The revelation comes just as National Enquirer released a story saying Meredith went on a cruise with 1,200 other lesbians. Or maybe it was only Rosie O'Donnell "looking large." (posted12/3/09, permalink)


Fly The Fabulous Skies: "The National Gay Pilots Association has designated $15,000 to be awarded in student scholarships during 2010. Scholarships of between $3,000 and $4,000 are available to students pursuing an aviation career as a professional pilot. The scholarships are merit based; criteria include demonstrated academic ability, financial need, and active participation in matters of social justice and the betterment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community."

"Scholarship awards will not discriminate on the basis of an applicant's sexual orientation."

Yeah, right. Like they're going to award one to Clint Eastwood or Chuck Norris. (posted11/16/09, permalink)


Chromosexuals: During a 2009 trip to Montana, the most disgusting thing we witnessed was two gay Harley bikers making out during breakfast at our Great Falls hotel.

Get a room. Or keep it in your saddlebags. (posted 8/27/09, permalink)


Attack Of The Giant, Gay Polymers: A Pittsfield (MA) woman, who attacked her 'wife' with a turkey baster full of her brother's semen in a bid to inseminate her, has been charged with domestic assault and battery. Pittsfield police arrested the woman after a wild incident "spilled out into the street."

Jeez. I remember when Pittsfield, MA was known only for Lexan polycarbonate plastic. Turkey basters are not made from Lexan but usually from polyethylene resin, a completely different polymer. I've read in several articles that turkey basters are often used by DIY lesbians as insemination devices. I've often wondered: do they buy special ones that are advertised as "ribbed for her pleasure"?

Many years ago, I gave a lecture about polymers at a Society of Plastics Engineers chapter meeting held at Betty's Old Towne House in Agawam, MA. Several Lexan folks from Pittsfield attended. After a few post-talk rounds of drinks at the bar, I walked to the parking lot and found that my '67 VW Beetle cranked so slowly that it barely started. A few minutes later, the radio announced that the local temperature was minus 22 degrees. Now that's cold. (posted 3/19/09, permalink)


A Gender Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand: The CBS Early Show asked, "Was Abe Lincoln gay?" My answer: "No, I've always heard he was mostly pretty somber and melancholy." (posted 2/13/09, permalink)


Another Sign That The World Is Going To Hell: A Dutch gay group has organized a 'Pink Christmas' festival for the first time in Amsterdam, featuring a manger stall with two Josephs and two Marys. (posted 12/12/08, permalink)


Motoring On The Other Side Of The Road: The big story in Britain this month is that Lord Montagu of Beaulieu is giving his first public interview about the time when he was jailed for a year - convicted of homosexual offenses at Winchester Assizes (appropriate name, eh?) in 1954. The outcome of that trial was a seismic shift in British public attitudes and a change in the law to legalize sex between gay adults.

Lord Montagu, the 80 year-old founder of the National Motor Museum, who has always maintained his innocence, has admitted he drives on both sides of the road, so to speak. "I am bisexual. To describe it any other way would be dishonest. I remember feeling that I didn't have to apologise to anybody. I am what I am." Hmmmm. Shades of Popeye the Sailor.

Consensual sex in private between homosexuals was approved by Parliament in 1967.

Lord Montagu has since been married twice. To women.

The National Motoring Museum at Beaulieu in southern England is an enthralling place and definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. We visited there in 1995:

I met Lord Montagu once (at the 1996 Pebble Beach Concours); he seemed like a nice guy. I don't care if he's gay, bisexual or whatever. He's a car guy ... and a pretty damn decent one at that. (posted 7/25/07, permalink)


Four Reasons Why ... I don't 'get' the whole gay thing:

1. Responding to complaints from gay groups, Disney has changed its policy to allow same-sex couples to participate in a popular Fairy Tale Wedding program. But if you refer to gays as 'Fairies', they get very pissed.

2. "We are updating our Fairy Tale Wedding guidelines to include commitment ceremonies," Disney Parks and Resorts spokesman Donn Walker said. Gays also get very pissed if you imply that gayness is a mental disorder, yet they have "commitment ceremonies", which sounds like a series of welcome parties at a mental institution.

Of course, one could make the argument that anyone - gay or straight - who pays $8,000+ for a brief ride in a glass coach with a mouse is nuts.

3. Gays are supposed to be exceptionally creative as a group yet they can't come up with better and more clever names than "commitment ceremony" or "marriage".

4. The vast majority of gays are liberal Democrats yet its the Republicans that are known as the 'Grand Old Party', which sounds like something fabulous that Truman Capote might have hosted. (posted 4/9/07, permalink)


Flaming Camp: Last week, Garrison Keillor wrote about societal changes: "I grew up the child of a mixed-gender marriage that lasted until death parted them, and I could tell you about how good that is for children, and you could pay me whatever you think it's worth. Back in the day, that was the standard arrangement. Everyone had a yard, a garage, a female mom, a male dad, and a refrigerator with leftover boiled potatoes in plastic dishes with snap-on lids. ... "

"The country has come to accept stereotypical gay men - sardonic fellows with fussy hair who live in over-decorated apartments with a striped sofa and a small weird dog and who worship campy performers and go in for flamboyance now and then themselves. If they want to be accepted as couples and daddies, however, the flamboyance may have to be brought under control. Parents are supposed to stand in back and not wear chartreuse pants and black polka-dot shirts. That's for the kids. It's their show."

Keillor later issued an apology to gays who were offended and complained. Personally, I think only the hypersensitive and über-flamboyant ones would take issue. The rest of the world - gay and straight - knows that when you have kids, it's time to settle down, grow up and let all the "acting like kids" be done by ... ummmm ... kids.

To those who were angered and upset by Keillor's purely tongue-in-cheek remarks, I say, "Grow up." (posted 3/26/07, permalink)


Coolest Gay Guy Ever: Zanzibar Muslims are pissed about the planned 60th birthday celebration for deceased rock star and native son Freddy Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara), because his sexual preferences and flamboyant lifestyle insulted Islam. (hat tip - Relapsed Catholic)

Screw 'em. Muslims seem to be "outraged" about every #$@&* thing the West does.

Because they know that We Are The Champions ... of the World. (posted 9/8/06, permalink)


Anti-Gay Extortionists: A group with an innocent-sounding name, American Family Association, has successfully pressured Ford Motor Company to stop advertising its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay-themed publications.

AutoExtremist has written: "Corporate pandering to special interest groups of any kind is a no-win proposition. Once a company starts the practice, it immediately cedes control of its decision-making and "business sense" and becomes a pawn in the "controversy-of-the-month" club." I agree.

Corporations have the right to pursue any legitimate market segment. Gays are a good target group; a large percentage of gay couples are DINKS (dual-income, no kids) and have high disposable incomes. At the risk of stereotyping, I'll opine that many gays are trend-setters and their patronage of a particular brand could actually boost that brand's popularity among all style-conscious folks.

It is not up to public corporations to shun buyer groups, especially one (the gay demographic) comprised mainly of taxpayers and 'solid citizens'. (Targeting drug dealers, NAMBLA, white supremacists or a trade association of pickpockets would be an entirely different story, of course.)

I wish Ford had stood up and made a strong, classy statement about "making cars for everyone to enjoy" and refusing to pander to "any groups that promote an exclusionary agenda." But they didn't, so now they'll be the target of every hate group with a gripe.

Meanwhile, gays can get along very well without Ford products, if they choose to do so. There are lots of other carmakers that seek their patronage. That's a shame for FoMoCo - right now it could use all the business it can get.

PS: The AFA also boycotted Carl's Jr. over a burger commercial touting the chain's variety of offerings, which starred Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and several bunnies. The commercial's slogan: "Because Some Guys Don't Want the Same Thing Day After Day."

I don't trust any group that objects to a good burger. Besides, if Hef can do a 'sandwich' with several bunnies at his age, well ... God bless him. (posted 12/8/05, permalink)


Too Many Transporter Trips? George Takei, who played Sulu on Star Trek, has come out as gay. Maybe that's why crew members always wanted "shields up." (posted 10/31/05, permalink)


Gay Mirage: Some gays think that the so-called "homophobic" Republican machine is trying to trample them. This is a mirage. Jeff Jacoby has written: "In 13 states this year ... voters were faced with proposed constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman. In all 13 the amendments were approved, by majorities ranging from 57 percent to 86 percent." The initiatives gathered large majorities everywhere - red states and blue. (So, it's not just about Republicans, is it?) Meanwhile, on some cable shows, radio programs and blogs, backers of traditional marriage have been denounced as gay-bashers. This is also a mirage.

Gay people should understand that it's not the "gay" part that bothers people - the vast majority of folks feel that most homosexuals are "just wired that way" and recognize that most gays just want to live their own lives and spend most of their time on the same everyday activities as straights - working, paying bills, having a drink after a tough day at the office, etc. Gays are not 'recruiting' for their side and are far less irritating to straight people than, say, Jehovah's Witnesses.

It's the "marriage" part that straights are against. We consider marriage to be a contract between a man and a woman - a 5,000 year-old institution. Not some deal between two guys. Or two babes. Or a PETA advocate and an "animal companion." Or some horndog and an armoire with an interesting knothole.

Gays - men and women - are generally far more creative than straights. The theater, the visual display industry, the writing field, the graphics design arena and other "creative arts" endeavors seem to be havens for gays. We straights are both envious and appreciative of their cleverness, talent, ability to create inspiring works and put on spectacular shows and events. Therefore, it is a disappointment that gays can't seem come up with a better word than "marriage" to describe their civil unions. Gays need their own name - one that invokes awe and wonder and perhaps a little heterosexual jealousy: "Damn. Why didn't I think of that!?" A noun that ends with an exclamation point. Or deserves to. A name that isn't "marriage" - that moniker was taken many years ago. It's been done. By us dull straights. Very passé and unhip.

Memo to gay people: Get your own name - and you'll be surprised how much more support you'll get from us straights. Many of us will applaud and celebrate your legalized, stable relationships. The ones with the cool new name. And we'll support your efforts to obtain equal rights and benefits as couples, under the law.

Speaking of the creative arts, as a car guy, I wonder how many of the exciting car designs - the ones that all those testosterone-pumped, heterosexual young males lust for - were penned by gays? But the auto design business isn't completely gay.

Because only an design-blind, clueless heterosexual could have designed the Pontiac Aztek. (9/22/04, permalink)


Money Quote - from 'The Daily Show': "The gay and lesbian travel market is estimated to be over $54 billion. That's over 18 billion three-dollar bills." (6/18/04, permalink)


Other Pages Of Interest

copyright 2004-21 - Joseph M. Sherlock - All applicable rights reserved


Disclaimer

The facts presented on this website are based on my best guesses and my substantially faulty geezer memory. The opinions expressed herein are strictly those of the author and are protected by the U.S. Constitution. Probably.

Spelling, punctuation and syntax errors are cheerfully repaired when I find them; grudgingly fixed when you do.

If I have slandered any brands of automobiles, either expressly or inadvertently, they're most likely crap cars and deserve it. Automobile manufacturers should be aware that they always have the option of trying to change my mind by providing me with vehicles to test drive.

If I have slandered any people or corporations, either expressly or inadvertently, they should buy me strong drinks (and an expensive meal) and try to prove to me that they're not the jerks I've portrayed them to be. If you're buying, I'm willing to listen.

Don't be shy - try a bribe. It might help.


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