Many Democrats wonder how any of the Republicans can support their presidential nominee. His slogan of  “Make America Great Again” seems to have inspired blind loyalty across the country despite his lack of actual policy ideas or plans. They just like the general idea of him because of his charisma. 

It got me thinking about my strong support of Hillary Clinton. Other than her infrastructure plan, I couldn’t name any of her specific policies that have swayed my vote. In fact I probably couldn’t name any of her policy plans period. Admittedly I’m as uninformed as any of the Republican voters I ridicule and just like them my vote for HRC is mostly due to personality. 

So for the sake of honesty, here are the honest reasons why I’m voting for Hillary Clinton. 

1. I just like her. She’s got a badass take-no-prisoners head bitch in charge attitude that I’ve always loved. I actually slightly preferred her over Obama in 2008. 

2. I think she’d get shit done. 

3. She’s a Democrate and I’ve got no other option. 

4. Republicans can’t win. 

5. I don’t give a shit about all her ties to wall street. 

6.  She’s a moderate politican for the most part and that’s what we need right now. I think a more liberal president would only further divide the country. 

7. There needs to be a female president. 

8. She’s been in politics for decades and is more experienced with it that probably anyone else. I’ve never understood everyone’s preference for a totally inexperienced outsider. There’s no other job where inexperience is a good thing. 

9. Did I mention Republicans can’t win?

10. I like that she’s not the soft and pretty female stereotype that society wants. She strong and confident. 

11. She’s a Democrate. 

Looking over my list I acknowledge that with only minor alterations many of these reasons could be used by republicans in support of their nominee. We’re all voting as much for someone as against someone. Clearly I’m no better then them and the only thing that I have in my favor is that I’m right and they’re wrong. 

Socks have become the new signaling devise. What do your socks say about you?

There are certain things that make my gay heart swell. Nothing gives me more joy than unabashed expression’s of queerness. Shante you stay queen. 

1. Beyonce’s Crazy in Love

 

2. A drag queen’s runway reveal

 

 

3. Brendan Jordan

 

4. The video for Madonna’s Girls Gone Wild

 

5. A fierce death drop

 

6. The Prancing Elites

7. The Schuyler Sisters performed by Lucas, Joshua, and Douglas

I’ve never been to Tidal Wave but my friend Andy Samples offered to act as a guest writer and give his of the event.

1. Now that waterproof phone are a thing, a lot of people are on Growlr in the pool. 🐻
2. The hotel has literally an unlimited amount of fresh, clean, towels. Feel free to get a new one every 20 minutes. there are always more. 😉
3. The sporty gays refer to hooking up with a couple as a 2 point conversion. 👬
4. A lot of people don’t realize how intense Florida sun is and forget to wear sunscreen. We call those people “tomatoes.” ☀️😡
5. Pool view rooms do offer a an excellent view, but the club music pumping until 2am means you won’t be going to sleep before then. Don’t get a pool view room if you’re a light sleeper who wants to get to bed at a decent hour. 🚫😴
6. “Come see me in 12 cheeseburgers” is the best rejection line you’ll hear all weekend. ☺️🍔
7. Going anywhere on the elevators will take a while but use the opportunity to chat up any cuties who are waiting with you. Close the deal quickly enough and your floor destination may change during the journey up. 😏
8. Straight people check in on Sunday and the kids get right into the pool, completely unaware that the water their 7 year old is sucking in through her snorkel may contain some additional ingredients. 💦😳
9. The bathroom at the pool could itself be described accurately as a pool. So wear flip flops. 🌊🚽
10. Inevitably someone who isn’t your type will latch on to you. The pool is huge and full of bears to flirt with and hide behind, so use this to your advantage to escape. 😎
11. Don’t use the lobby bathroom at the hotel. 💩😖

I want to read every article and consume all the media surrounding the Orlando massacre but my soul isn’t strong enough. A simple scan of my Facebook newsfeed brings me so close to tears that I must utilize every cell in my body to push the emotions away. I must lock those feelings away because I’m not strong enough to begin to unpack them. I need to make jokes and use humor to disassociate and numb everything I’m afraid to feel. I’m not strong enough to read articles about a victim who texted his mom good bye because he knew he was about to die. I’m not strong enough for that level of heartbreak. So many people have to said so many eloquent things but I have to stop reading them. My soul is fragil and avoidance feels like the only option. I’m not strong enough. 

Over the weekend we were all shocked and horrified to hear about the shootings in Orlando. As the deadliest shooting in modern American history it’s a subject too serious and complex for me to tackle and I’d rather not focus on my sadness and rage. The more manageable subject I will tackle is how to deal with these things on Facebook. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of never ending repetitive content especially when major news events occur. Pointing fingers and trying to get everyone else to change their Facebook habits is an effort in futility. I prefer to look at ways in which I can improve myself and lead by example. 

Filter. Everything we post doesn’t have to be seen by everyone we know. Create separate Facebook friend lists to filter who sees what you post. If you want to share a great article about gay rights stop and consider that if you’re seeing it on Facebook it probably means most of your gay friends have also seen it. If you have filtered lists you can easily share it with the people who you think are less informed or have less access to this type of information. We all want to share information but the trouble is that we all have that same instinct which can lead to a newsfeed that is over saturated with constant repetition of the same headlines. A story shared once or twice can be informative. A story shared 7 or 8 times causes me to close Facebook and ignore it all. Don’t preach to the choir. Preach to the people who need to hear it. 

Unfollow. It’s impossible to control what people post but you can filter what you see. We all have friends that are wonderful people in real life but totally overbearing on Facebook. Whether its elections coverage or minute by minute updates about a tragedy these friends want to get the word out. I often need to take a step back and realize this information is important even though there might be too much of it. Clearly this is what interests them and there’s no use trying to squash their passion. Instead tap the unfollow button to make your newsfeed a more enjoyable experience. You still have access to all their information it’s just hidden until you purposely go and seek it out. This is the quickest and easiest solution. 

Unfriend. There’s a point when being Facebook friends isn’t worth the headache. After the attack at Pulse I saw an Orlando friend make an emotional anti-gun post. He received a paragraph long comment from someone in support guns. While reading through the argument that ensued my first thought was, why is he friends with this person? Seriously, what value does this person add to his life? Everyone has the right to their own opinion and regardless of my stance on guns there is the simple subject of the basic lack decency and tact in this situation that I can’t wrap my head around. Being pro-guns is one thing but getting into a Facebook argument with a friend who’s just had an attack on his community a mere hours ago is another. Have the grace to know when it’s time to be quiet. For example, if you saw someone post about his cousin dying in a car accident I would hope you would have enough awareness not make comments questioning her driving ability. Even if her driving was the cause of the accident this is not the time or place to discuss it. For those people who don’t have that awareness the unfriend button is the perfect solution. Unfriending is simple and freeing. 

Orlando we are behind you 100% to share in your sadness and rage. 

Netflix recently acquired Bob Ross’ wonderful painting shows from the early 90’s. It got me thinking about the other old shows I wish were available for streaming. 

1. Murphy Brown
2. Designing Women
3. The State
4. E! Fashion File
5. The Oprah Show
6. House of Style
7. Mad TV
8. Inspector Gadget (cartoon)
9. Today’s Special 
10. Garfield and Friends 
11. The Muppets Babies 
12. The Jetsons 
13. Duck Tales 
14. Gummi Bears 
15. Tiny Toons 

Huffington Post article

Recently I found the above article on the Huffington Post predicting what the electoral college will look like in November. The writer predicts that Hillary Clinton will win the election and goes through several different scenarios explaining her path to the White House. I wanted to post this article for two reasons. First there are so many predictions going around that I thought it would be fun to bookmark one so that I could look back after the election to check it’s accuracy. As a Hillary supporter I want to see her succeed but I assumed the election would be very close until I read this article. The author makes a convincing case for Hillary having a runaway victory. I won’t rehash the whole article but  he present some interesting facts such as: 19 states and the District of Columbia have voted Democratic in the last 6 elections. By contrast only 13 states have voted Republican in the last 6 elections. His point is that Republicans have an uphill climb from the get go. I liked the article and it made me very optimistic for the future.

My second reason for pointing out this article is to make a larger point about being a discerning reader. As a Hillary supporter I read through this entire article and was really buying into everything he was saying. I was excited to see real statistical information from an expert on the subject who could predict the outcome with this certainty. However when I looked to see who wrote the article I saw the name Richard North Patterson: Novelist and contributing opinion writer. Novelist? Opinion writer? I was expecting to see a title of Political Scientist or Political Expert or something else that gave him the expertise I assumed he had. I realized that I willingly accepted his opinions as facts because they were all the opinions I agreed with.  The fact that he’s an opinion writer doesn’t necessarily make his article incorrect but it does create the need for some closer scrutiny. This article is full of mostly opinions and assumptions. It’s easy for many of us to look at a Fox News story and pick apart it’s mistakes because we are already looking at it with a skeptical eye. It’s a lot harder to be a skeptic and see through the bullshit when they’re telling you things that you want to hear. We can make fun of the Fox News audience but don’t be fooled into thinking that we’re any better. Democrats are just as susceptible to bullshit as they are. It’s a good rule of thumb to consider the source of the news you read. Even if it’s just a headline on Facebook, does it come from a well know source like Reuters or some no name site like DefendingLiberalJustice.com. Be a discerning reader.