Can't we keep playing, dad?
San Francisco on My Mind
Thom Lynch with Ambassador James Hormel
Today San Francisco was on my mind all day. No, not in a Tony Bennet “I’m coming back,” sort of way. Just by circumstances have the normally foggy town revealed itself in my mind.
Some of that is that I was thinking of Occupy Oakland and I used to live in Oakland with my now recently passed away dog, Jake. I watched the news and was impressed with the actions in Oaktown. But then I look at the BAR on line and I see my mentors, friends, and allies all over the news. It felt so connected to my old life there, though connecting very well to life in the southern sun.
There is a good friend of mine running for mayor, Bevan Dufty, whom I absolutely respect and expect to be an exeptional mayor. He’s a good guy and wants to do the right things. And Bevan has my full endorsement. I also know Dennis Herrera, who I traveled with and got to know fairly well after that trip, later playing my small role in No on 8 and the winter of love in San Francisco. He’s a good man too.
I’m glad that Jane finally has her plaque. She put Jake and I up when we came back from Madrid and it was sad that she left so soon after I moved out.
My dear friend and mentor Tom Nolan leaving Project Open Hand but surely not leaving the world of activism and leadership. And what a thrill to hear about Ambassador
Hormel’s story of his life soon to be published. I can’t wait to rea
d it. We went on a trip with a group to Israel and Jim just shared some of the smartest perceptions with me that led me to look at life differently.
San Francisco is a lucky place to have such distinct leadership leaning against its hills in the most dynamically beautiful place in the world.
Good memories.
Posted in American Successes, Dogs, friends and allies, LGBT Leadership, Recommended Books, travel
Tagged Good Stuff
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The decision is made
Keeping Jake alive any longer now is just for me and not in his best interest. He has cancer in his spleen, kidney, lungs, and spinal column. Tomorrow morning at 9 AM I am going to let him go and release him from the agony he must be in. I am eternally grateful for the joy and love he brought me.
Jake is dying, and I have to decide when…
Let's play, Dad!
The joys of pet companionship are myriad. Here is the one being in my life who always loves me. And he depends so completely upon me. He’s lived with me in San Francisco, Madrid, and West Hollywood, so he’s know time in many of the great gay neighborhoods of the world. He understands commands in English and in Castilian. He has been in my life for 13 years. He was never an easy dog. More energy than any fat middle aged man should ever have to deal with. But we connected.
He now has cancer that has spread throughout his body. Just these tests have already cost nearly $2000. Even if he were healthy, he would probably live one or maybe two years more. To treat him would cost about $10,000. Money I don’t have. But how do you put a price on an animal that you’ve loved. I left my husband nearly 21 years ago. And since then, I’ve had no serious relationships. My work has been my life. But there is always the dog. Three in that time. They are an anchor for me. Jobs like mine are not the kind of jobs that lead to love. They lead to respect and honor, but love is something else.
In addition to the cancer that affects his breathing, he has for the most part lost the use of his rear legs. His hips are so inflamed and damaged that he can not go up stairs, even one or two. And the breathing means it exhausts him too much. So we’ve set up a makeshift park on the back balcony. His range now reduced to the apartment. No more walks, not good for him says the vet.
He’s on meds and he had about 60 fluid ounces of fluid drained from his chest. He’s breathing a bit better. And the meds seem to have brought back his appetite big time. But the fluids will come back soon.
I don’t know when, but he will need to be put down, as they say. It’s a decision I don’t want to make. I just want him here with me in this new city where I know almost no one. And I don’t want to guess wrong. Too soon, too late. But it will be when I feel he can not live a content life, even a limited one.
Please keep him in your prayers, energies, thoughts. And maybe hold a spot for me too.
No, I don’t support the President’s actions in Libya. Nor should you.
Aside from what many may perceive as a hypersensitivity on my part about the direction the neo-cons have been leading this country into one protracted war after another, and that the easily pointed to outcome of these wars along with massive cuts to the rich and corporations; well, I simply don’t believe the US has any vital interestes in what happens in Libya. Certainly the struggling politicians of England, France, Spain, and Italy may have domestic reason to to it. And they are capable of it. So let them.
Our interventions in the region has never gone well, see Iraq, Somolia, Congo, Ivory Coast, and then the very fact that our allies are not killing citizens in Bahrain and Syria, and, will were does it end? Because of course there is no end game. We are now a nation of perpetual war while feed our ologarchy and destroying the middle class. I find it hard to believe it is not all of one piece.
I’m glad the president is using multi national support and participation (though the Arab League changed its mind pretty quickly. But the imperial presidency is alive and well under Obama. Congress was not involved. This is a direct break in his campaign promise, but is so along with many national security state issues.
I hope our soldiers are well and are not dying for another war we have no reason to be in. Bring them Home. Heal our country.
Posted in American Extremism, Hope, Obama in the World, politics, Republicans, Violence, World Community, world news, Yikes
Tagged Democratic Bumbling, Obama Broken Promises
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On the road again
The last few years have been my wanderlust years. After nearly two decades in San Francisco, I got the bug to experience other cities. After a wonderful time in Madrid, a city I still miss, I have moved to Los Angeles for a fabulous position as the Executive Director of GMCLA. My life has always been centered around cities, either by living in them, or by living near them. Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Madrid, and now Los Angeles.
The chorus is one of the best of its kind in the world. Over 200 men dedicate themselves to bringing beautiful music, fun productions, great CDs and videos, and concerts around the world. This is an amazingly talented group of people. On top of the wonderful musical success, they have touched lives and moved hundreds of thousands of people, bringing a message of affirmation and acceptance, and advocating for equality for everyone. I’m extraordinarily proud to be associated with them.
I will write a lot about the group and our work on this blog. I’ll also write about my new experiences in a new city as I did when I lived in Madrid. And of course politics and social issues will remain a part of my passion that I will l continue to share with you.
Los Angeles is more fun than I thought it would be. San Franciscans often have a natural resistance to live in the Southland. Angelenos tend to love San Francisco. I love both. I have a wonderful apartment here, and for the first time in more than 20 years, my apartment is spacious and has storage! The weather is unbelievably great. So sorry to bring this up to my friends back East or in Madrid. But the truth is it is just beautiful here. I live about 10 minutes drive from work so commuting has not been an issue. There’s a pool in the yard, the Sunset Strip one block up and boy’s town about 5 minutes away.
There are cultural differences. It seems everyone is in the entertainment or media business. Of course, part of my job involves working with many of these people, so I’m not sure that’s a fair statement for everyone.
All I can say for now, is I’m loving it. More to come.
The Enthusiasm Gap and the Game of Expectations
A lot of people know that I’ve been highly critical of the Democratic Party. They have achieved some important legislation, but often began their negotiations by conceding huge portions of the debate to the right wing. They have failed take on the American Plutocracy. They have not seemed to take up the traditional mantle of the party as a fighter for the middle class and the working class. This at a time when it could be a powerfully effective message.
They’ve also continued to erode basic civil rights in the name of security. The President has been cowardly on LGBT rights. And worst of all they have let the Republicans off the hook on their failed economic policies and the war crimes of the past administration.
And so it no surprise that the progressives of the party are less than enthusiastic about running out to vote for the Democrats. And the media has fed this story on a daily basis. The Dems are going to be swamped. That’s what the experts say. Though the evidence is not as clear as they make it seem. President Obama remains the nation’s most popular national politician. And there is one more vital piece of information we can not forget.
The Republicans are absolutely insane. I may argue that the president is weak in his approach to stimulating the economy and the Republican party response is “cut taxes, he’s a muslim terrorist, anti-colonial Kenyan tribal socialist.”
There’s just no balance in this sort of debate. The Republicans are hostage to their crazies. Heck, some of them are the party’s leaders. So I don’t get the enthusiasm gap. I understand disappoinment. I have been disappointed. I have had my civil rights voted down by my fellow citizens. And few or our national Democratic leaders fought for me.
And yet, I would crawl over glass to prevent the Republicans from taken over Congress. They are clearly a party of racism, extremism, and wholey owned by the wealthiest and most powerful of our country. The Democrats are a central right party right now. But a least they have policies that are defendable. At least they stand for the welfare of the whole.
Could they be better? Yep. And I’ll continue to push and yell at them to improve until they do or something better comes along. But the our only hope right now is for the Democrats to win and for us to give them hell.
Posted in American Extremism, Democrats, Hope, politics, Republicans, Take Action
Tagged Political Accountability, Scary Right Wing Extremists
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A Happy Planet
I was out shopping for furniture with one of my best friends the other day. And as we were talking, a list of what I “needed” just came pouring out of me. A DVD player, cable, end tables, a car, a new lamp, a new everything. Nevermind that I had lived without any of these for years. And he said something to me that I just thought was really interesting and shook me into thought. He said, “You’re starting to think like an American again.”
Values here are different. I miss the values of where I lived before. I look forward to moving someday to a country like Costa Rica (the happiest country in the world).
Here’s a terrifically thoughtful TED talk about how countries can and should measure success besides by GDP.
Posted in American Successes, Health Policy, Hope, Spain v USA, World Community
Tagged Life
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On Civil Wars and Symbols
Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos
If you take a bus ride from Madrid to El Escorial Palace, you will at some point see in the distance an enormous cross jutting 500 feet out from the valley like a scar across the sky. It is the largest cross in the world. It is the Valle de los Caídos, a monument built by Francisco Franco as a memorial to those Nationalists (pro-Franco) who died in the Spanish Civil War. His body now rests within the basillica below the cross. It was partially built with labor from Republican (anti-Franco) prisoners. Many died during its construction. And it remains a controversial and painful reminder of a terrible time in Spanish history.
The right-wing People’s Party has long held that the past should remain in the past. That there were atrocities on both sides and Franco was a complicated and maybe even ultimately necessary figure for the Spanish people. The left-wing PSOE (socialist party) which is now in power has, like many Spaniards, an uncomfortable feeling about what to do with this symbol of Nationalist victory. Certain symbols from that time are rarely seen anymore. The Spanish flag with the black eagle is rare while there remains supporters of the old Spain under Franco.
After the transition to democracy, there was a Pact of Forgetting that was felt to be the only way to move forward. It allowed past Nationalists to participate in the nascent democracy. Spain placed its eyes firmly forward and not to the past.
But ghosts refuse to stay silent. Mass graves have been found. Families want their relatives’ bodies returned. Judges have called for a review of past war crimes. The Socialist government has spoken of changing this Valley Cross to that of a memorial for Spain on its way to Democracy. While I lived there, the government removed the final statue of Franco, late in the dark of the night without notice.
But unlike South Africa and many other countries, there has not been a Truth and Reconciliation process; and that cross still divides.
Recently in the United States, governors of several southern states have declared Confederacy History months. In large parts of the south, it is not unusual to see the Confederate Flag flown. Many of these governors and southerners want to talk about the South and its role in the American Civil War as if that flag were not a symbol of treason and white supremacy. That it symbolizes a lifestyle that was divorced from its slavery. The Original Sin of the United States, the founding of this country as a slave owning country is part and parcel of the Civil War. Sadly, in both Spain and the US, religion is often connected hand in hand with these symbols.
That Confederate Flag will always be tied to slavery and the South. As slavery will always be tied to the South. The terrible Civil War that led to the deaths of 2% of all Americans at the time, and a 100 years of poverty and limited progress in the old Dixie slave states.
Right wing Americans go to pains to define that symbol as not a racist one; as something that beckons to a time that needs to be honored and commerated. Yet it is not surprising to note that the flag’s presence is more common when issues of racism are up and front in this country: during the civil rights battles of the 50s and 60s, some states added the Confederate Flag to their state flag; and now, when Northerners are prominent in the government and we are led by our first African-American president.
This flag is a wound on our country’s soul. I am frustrated to read its defense by politicians. Recently the governor of Mississipee said that the issue of slavery was not a major issue in the Civil War, joining his peer from Virginia.
When we talk of Confederacy History month, or of the “War of Northern Agression,” we are celebrating the darkest part of our National story. There is nothing to celebrate here. There is no way to detach this symbolism from its message of hate. There was no glorious past of this country that include slavery, Southern or Northern.
Perhaps it’s time for our own Truth and Reconcilation.
Posted in American Extremism, Bigotry, politics, Religion, Republicans, Spain v USA
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