Matt Bevin: America's Worst Governor

Kentucky’s Republican Governor Matt Bevin has once again proven he’s unfit to lead a homeowner’s association, much less an entire state.

During remarks to the Louisville Rotary Club, Bevin responded to a question about what can be done to stem gun violence. He first read the GOP mantra about mental health and firearm safety—as opposed to actual gun control—but then took aim at …wait for it …it’s epic … teachers:

“One thing you almost didn't hear anything about while we had people pretending to be sick when they weren't sick and leaving kids unattended to or in situations that they should not have been in—a little girl was shot, 7 years old, by another kid, because they were somewhere that they weren't intended and because a parent didn't have any option, put them in a situation so that they could go to work, it left these kids in a compromised situation where they encountered a gun and there was not enough awareness."

Bevin seemed to be referencing a March 12 shooting where a 7-year-old girl was shot by her 11-year-old brother inside their home while their guardian, their uncle, was outside. But he didn’t say anything about that, he blamed striking teachers for the death of a child.

Of course, this is not the first time Bevin has claimed teacher protests have put children in harm's way. After a teacher rally in April 2018 shut down dozens of school districts across Kentucky, Bevin told reporters that children were being sexually assaulted or ingesting poisons somewhere in the state because teachers were not in class.

And, of course, as Republican’s tend to do when they put their foot in their mouths, Bevin lashed out at the media for reporting what he … reporting exactly what he said:

"The only thing you all are pumping out there is talking this 7-year-old girl who was shot—really? That's pretty sad. And it's why our state is struggling because we're not focusing on things that are important."

The death of a child by gunshot is unimportant, y’all in Kentucky and so, please remember that your governor—for now, because Bevin, who gleefully praises the NRA for its endorsement is seeking reelection—seems less interested in the death of a child than he is in painting teachers striking for a living wage as the cause of that death.

And it’s ironic, because the first thing NRA-goose-stepping Republicans do when there’s a shooting death in America and people began screaming for stricter gun control, is to shout that this should not be a political issue, and yet here is Matt Bevin doing exactly that.

You don’t politicize the shooting death of a child … of anyone.

Courier Journal

Bobservations

As I said earlier in the week, last Friday Carlos and I had an appointment with the tax accountant to get our taxes done. Carlos said the appointment was at 9AM … and you know where this is going.

I took the morning off—well, I took the whole day because …—and we had breakfast, took showers, got our papers ready. At 8:45 I yell…

‘LET’S GO!!!’

Carlos comes down the hall and grabs his things and off we go. The accountant’s office is here in town so it’s a quick drive, and when we pull up, I notice the ‘Open’ sign is off.

“I guess she doesn’t open until 9?”

“I think so, but our appointment is at 9:30.”

“9:30? You told me 9AM!”

“I’m pretty sure I told you 9:30.”

Here we go into that usual argument where I remind Carlos that I have a better memory and don’t forget dates and times and such. Finally, I say:

“Why, if I knew the appointment was at 9:30, would I hurry you out of the house at 8:45?”

“I figured you wanted to spend some quality time with me. A little romantic moment—”

“In the parking lot of a tax accountant at 8:45AM? You need to work on your game.”

Worse yet was he suggested we go to the gas station on the corner for coffee while we wait.

Gas.Station.Coffee? I could never!

The Elton John biopic Rocketman starring Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, and Jamie Bell is getting a lot of buzz, but the word I’m worried about is that Paramount is pressuring filmmakers to cut a very gay, very nude sex scene from the film so it will get a PG-13 rating.

Seriously? A film about Elton John and you’re gonna cut a nude same-sex love scene? And a nude love scene between Taron Egerton and Richard Madden?

I.Will.Not.Have.It.

Earlier this week we talked Chick-fil-A and their continuing anti-LGBTQ donations. Well, at least one place is taking a stand.

The San Antonio City Council, on a 6-4 vote, removed a planned Chick-fil-A location from an airport concession agreement after a councilman flagged the company’s anti-LGBTQ activity.

Good. Bye.

Proving he’s one of the biggest idiots in the GOP, Kentucky Governor, and anti-vaxxer, Matt Bevin decided to prove he’s also unfit to be a parent when he revealed that he forced all nine of his children to purposely contract chickenpox.

“Every single one of my kids had the chickenpox … They got [it] on purpose because we found a neighbor that had it and I went and made sure every one of my kids was exposed to it, and they got it. They had it as children. They were miserable for a few days, and they all turned out fine.”

Medical experts were quick to point out how stupid this is because purposely exposing children to chickenpox can lead to pneumonia, cause secondary skin infections, encephalitis, and death.

But, hey, Bevins saved a few coins on vaccinations so what’s the issue, right?

How to Get Away with Murder actor Jack Falahee recently showed off a new tattoo on Instagram. Lotsa people wondered what it meant, including Falahee’s mother, who asked the significance, leading him to reply:

“[It’s] how many people I’ve murdered.”

His mother responded:

“Oh [How to Get Away with Murder]?”

“No, just in general.”

Falahee has the same warped sense of humor that I have, and I love it.

And he's kinda hot.

This week Betsy Devos, Secretary of Education said:

“Make no mistake: we are focused every day on raising expectations and improving outcomes for infants and toddlers, children and youth with disabilities, and are committed to confronting and addressing anything that stands in the way of their success.”

Then she cut $17.6 million in federal funding for the Special Olympics.

Fuck Betsy Devos.

Apparently one does not kiss the Pope’s ring any more, though his ass may be another story.

But I digress … during a recent mass at Holy House of Loreto in Italy, Pope Frankie Says Relax specifically asked the public not to kiss his ring and no one listened, so he whipped his rung hand away from all who came close and bent down to kiss it.

He didn’t let anyone taste it, not even the tip, and gave no reason why.

I have a few, go figure … first up is 27-year-old Hasan Piker is both hot and political, being a part of the YouTube channel, The Young Turks. Hasan was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey and graduated from Rutgers with a B.A. in political science and communication.

I, personally, would find it hard to concentrate on what he’s saying … cuz I’m shallow like that.

Also, Beau Mirchoff, from Now Apocalypse, is back because ...OMG ... and we also have Devon Long, who plays Otto on the show. It looks like gay Otto and straight Ford, might have a little sump’n-sump’n going on but even if they don’t the scene where Ford, in a wee speedo, applied sunscreen to Otto, also in a wee speedo, was pretty steamy.

Just saying.

Bobservations

We went out to brunch over the weekend with our good friends David and Neal to celebrate both my birthday and their 4th wedding anniversary; four doesn’t sound long, but it’s only the amount of time their relationship has been legally and rightfully recognized. It was actually their 35th anniversary.

So there.

On Sunday, Carlos and I were running some errands and we stopped at Tractor Supply to get cat litter. As we checked out, the cashier asked if we’d found everything we wanted, and I said:

“We did. It’s my birthday and he’s buying me cat litter.”

Later in the day, when Tia Gloria called form Mexico to sing me ♪ ♫ Happy Birthday ♫ ♪ over the phone, she asked how we were spending the day, I told her Carlos had gotten me cat litter for my birthday.

She asked to speak to him. And when I spoke with my father and told him of the gift … he asked to speak with Carlos, too.

Those were all good birthday presents!

As was the day spent with Carlos and the Chocolate Orange Cake he made for me.

There’s a sucker born every minute … at least that’s what the folks at Farfetch, an online luxury fashion platform that sells products from over 700 boutiques, thinks because they are offering a Hanes Beefy-T with a small Prada logo sewn onto it for the low, low price of $410.

Seriously.

Senator Joni Ernst filed for divorce, claiming her husband assaulted her years ago, though she never reported the assault to the police.

Last fall, Senator Joni Ernst dismissed Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against Brett Kavanaugh because her story was  “uncorroborated.”

Let that sink in.

After years of unofficial ’Gay Days’ at Disney theme parks, Disneyland Paris has announced its first ever LGBTQ Pride event called Magical Pride. The park will welcome guests to “discover the enchantment of Disney with the Sparkle of Pride!”

Here’s hoping it spreads to the rest of the Disney empire.

Sidenote: years back Carlos and I were at Disneyworld in Orlando, and as we were leaving the park, and holding hands, two women walked around us and ahead, also holding hands. From behind us someone shouted:

“What is this? Gay Day?”

And one of the women shouted back:

“Every day is Gay Day.”

Yup.

Rent: Live it was not.

The actor playing Roger, Brennin Hunt, broke his foot near the end of Saturday’s rehearsal, so producers decided to show us a recording of that performance. The show was only truly live for the last few minutes, including a finale with members of the original Broadway cast—Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Taye Diggs—singing “Seasons of Love”.

And so it’s no surprise that Rent Not Live  was the least watched and lowest rated of the trend to date, in part perhaps due to a cast who was saving their best, and fullest, energy for the live performance and not a taped rehearsal.

This week _____ announced that he wanted to allow students who wish to study the Bible to be able to do so in schools, all schools, and his Evangelical Hypocritical Fake Faith Racist base cheered.

They cheered a man who cheated on his first wife with his second wife, then cheated on his second wife with his third wife, then cheated on his third wife with a porn actress and nude model while the wife was pregnant with his fifth child from three different women.

Right?

Lawyers for Kentucky’s Republican Governor Matt Bevin say that former Rowan Kounty Klerk Kim Davis must pay the $225,000 in legal fees owed to the gay couples who sued her for refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her ALLEGED Christian-based opposition to same-sex marriage.

Nice; except it shows the hypocrisy of Bevin. See, while Bevin has called Davis “an inspiration … to the children of America,” after a district judge ruled that the couples suing for marriage licenses clearly prevailed and that the state of Kentucky must pay their fees and costs, Bevin and his lawyers want the bill handed to Davis, and say she acted alone in denying the marriage licenses.

Hypocrisy. GOP.

Russia has embarrassed _____ … again!

This week the Kremlin leaked news that  Putin met with _____ and his nude model wife, Melanie, at the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires last fall.  The embarrassment is _____ meeting with his boss and handler, Putin, but that not one single US official was present … no collusion, nothing to see, witch hunt … no government officials, no translators, no one from the State Department. It is unprecedented to have held the meeting without a U.S. witness, especially someone to record the details of what happened.

But that was only the first embarrassment; the second embarrassment came via TASS, Russia’s official state media news outlet of the Kremlin who, when asked about _____’s lack of even an interpreter, said:

"It’s none of our business whether _____ had an interpreter; Putin’s interpreter is always by his side — we have stability and order in that regard.”

We don’t because Putin owns _____ , his beck-and-call girl, and when Putin calls, _____ obeys.

New Funny Irreverent Show Alert … The Other Two tells the story of siblings Cary and Brooke whose lives are upended when their 13-year-old brother, Chase, becomes a Justin Bieber-esque type overnight sensation.

It’s very funny, and the humor is quite ballsy, and then there’s the relationship between Cary, played by Drew Tarver, left, who is gay, and his roommate, played by Andy Riddings, right, who is not, and how they just like to make out every so often.

Plus, they’re cute, so yeah, there’s that.

But it’s the funny that gets me. Okay, and the cute guys making out.

Tuesday Thought #2

OklaStupid KenFucky Governor Bevins Legalizes Hate

Last week I posted about the Oklahoma congressman caught having sex with a boy and how, under the law, he is entitled to keep his congressional pension; I remarked then, that Oklahoma should be renamed Oklastupid.

This news only confirms that ...

Early this month state lawmakers passed a bill to protect religious freedom in schools., Now, the religious freedom of anyone was never in danger, but this bill will make it easier, and legal, for kids in school to discriminate, bully, harass, taunt, and torture LGBTQ youth because, well, you know the drill, the Baby Jeebus made them do it.

Senate Bill 17 passed the state House of Representatives by a vote of 81-8 and would prohibit school officials from punishing students for wearing religious messages on their clothes and expressing religious or political beliefs in homework, artwork and speeches.

Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said the bill would allow student groups to discriminate against LGBT students “under the guise of religion.” Republican ... because, of course ... state Rep. John Blanton said the bill just guarantees students First Amendment rights ... to hate.

And so, this being Oklastupid KenFucky, last week Governor Matt Bevin gleefully signed Senate Bill 17 into law.

You know, again, because nothing days religious freedom, nothing says I’m a Good Christian, nothing says Jesus, nothing says, God, like being able to tell the gay kid that he’s gonna burn in Hell.

Nothing says God is love like legalizing discrimination.

At least in Oklastupid KenFucky.

WTVQ

Random Musings

The other night Carlos and I were watching the Critic’s Choice Awards because, well, we’re gay and we love awards shows ... okay, because I love awards shows, and Ryan Reynolds .... lord is he hot and funny and hot .... won an award for Deadpool. As he was accepting the award, this was the conversation in our house ...

Carlos: Who is that?

Bob: Ryan Reynolds. God he’s hot.

Carlos: Is he Debbie Reynolds' son?

Bob: No. What? No! Debbie Reynolds is her stage name, so if he was her son he’d have a different last name; like, Carrie Fisher is Debbie Reynolds’ daughter but she has the last name of her father, Eddie Fisher.

Carlos: I just thought since they had the same last name ...

Bob: Well, Reynolds Wrap is her cousin.

Carlos: I don't even know who that is.

Bob: It’s aluminum foil?

Carlos: I thought you meant Reynolds Rap, like a rapper.

Seriously.

‘Memba when _____ blasted Ted Cruz for his associations with Wall Street and Goldman Sachs?

‘Memba when _____ blasted Hillary Clinton for her associations with Wall Street and Goldman Sachs?

Well, _____ just named Goldman Sachs President and COO Gary Cohn to be his National Economic Council Director. 

Drain the Swamp, my ass.

I don’t usually go for the Beefy Mens, but ... John Cena. Wrestler, and now actor, and, well, he’s kinda funny. Plus, in Trainwreck he dared to give us a glimpse, on more than one occasion, of his glorious backside.

So, beefy hot and funny ... a winning combination but ...

He also appeared in this PSA so ...

Beefy hot and funny and smart and compassionate ....

I really would love to scale that man. Just sayin’.

Poor Rudy ... he shoved his head far up the _____ rump to get the Secretary of State position and as soon as it became clear that he wasn’t gonna get it, he started saying he turned the job down.

Sit down, Rudy, no one believes a word that comes out of your mouth.

Oh, and since you won’t be _____’s right-hand ass-kisser, go away.

I actually heard a man in a store the other day say Merry Christmas to someone and the checker was overjoyed ...

Checker: It’s about time people said Merry Christmas instead that Happy Holidays stuff.

Bob: But what if you aren’t a Christian or you don’t celebrate Christmas, wouldn’t Happy Holidays be better?

Checker: I celebrate Christmas.

Bob: So, it’s all about you then? No one else matters?

Checker ...

Bob: No, no, I got my answer. You can have these things back, I’ll shop somewhere else ..... Happy Holidays.

So North Carolina’s governor, Pat McCrory—who was one of those rabid proponents of the so-called “bathroom bills” stoking the fires of hate in his state with ludicrous statements about men in dresses in the ladies room raping children—was finally flushed last week, proving that resistance works, hate does not win, transphobia is unacceptable.

And that’s all well and good, but what makes it great is that, in light of McCrory being flushed out of office, Kentucky's Republican Governor Matt Bevin has announced that he will not use the state's new GOP majority to push through a bill restricting transgender bathroom use even though earlier this year, Bevin joined a lawsuit challenging the federal government's directive that public schools allow students to use the bathroom of their gender identity.

Matty did the flip-flop, saying Kentucky has no need to pass a law restricting transgender bathroom use because it is not an issue here. Or maybe it’s not an issue worth getting yourself flushed out of office?

In another step towards GOP dictatorship, the Republican Party has given control of state-run radio to President-elect _____.

An amendment quietly inserted into the annual National Defense Authorization Act by Republican House leaders would abolish the broadcasting board and place Voice of America [VOA], Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty [RFE/RL] and other international news and information operations under the direct control of a chief executive appointed by the president.

President _____ is really angling to be Putin’s bitch.

Resist.

Sitting at one of our local bars the other night after work, enjoying a glass of wine, I overheard the conversation of two Republican gentlemen sitting nearby. A news channel on one of the televisions had a report on climate change and this is what the two men were saying ....

Gentleman #1: I don’t believe in global warming. It’s all just a myth. I mean, look how cold it’s been lately.

Gentleman #2: Yeah, it’s all fake, but I do think there’s some truth to this climate change stuff.

I wanted to shout ‘Global warming and climate change are the same thing you two asshats’ but, well, I had a second glass of wine instead.

Still, with fools like these men calling themselves Republicans, how did they manage to get _____ elected?