So the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are behind us, just in time for Twelfth Night and the opening of Carnival Season. Kudos to Frank Perez for a successful kick off on Twelfth Night with his annual Mystic Krewe du Rue Royal Revelers fundraiser for the Gay Archives Project. The Double Play was a great host location and it’s safe to say a good time was had by all.
I also want to give a special THANKS to Ken GrandPre for his efforts in helping put on our Ambush Relaunch Party at his bar, GranPre’s on North Rampart Street. It was a great venue and he and his staff contributed to the event being every bit a success.
Back in Trump Land-what passes for America after last year’s election- we have a fake president, defending fake Christians against fake attacks on what can at best be described as questionable religious beliefs. The attacks on marriage equality, LGBT employment protection, Family Planning, and a woman’s right to choose have been constant and pervasive in every aspect of this administration since taking of ce. Trump lied, bullied, and conned his way into the White House. To have fallen for the lies and the con job is one thing, but to continue to support them is very much another. The threats to reverse, undo, repeal, or outright ignore the gains we have fought so long and so hard for are very real, and grow more serious every day this man is in office, shielded and enabled by a rubber stamp congress of like minded zealots.
His attacks on the free press, on the separation of powers, and on the very role of the office of the President have provided enough cover for him and this congress to get away with an unprecedented attack on the very fabric of our democratic institutions, putting the Republic at greater risk than perhaps at any other time in recent history. The vacuum created by his malfeasance in international affairs and the damage to longstanding alliances and treaties are quickly being filled by other international power players – most of whom are not friendly to the USA. Recently, there was a story about one of the “Nostradamus” type prophets who “predicted” the election of Obama and stated in somewhat vague terms how he would be the “last President.” With the rise of Trump and now talk of Oprah as a candidate in 2020, are we one election from having a “celebrity monarch,” a celebrity President to entertain us while a much overly gerrymandered congress slams through any and all hyper partisan measures? There are no good outcomes in this scenario. The founding principles of this democracy, those that brought us to the heights which we achieved and the greatness for which we were revered the world over cannot be allowed to be brushed aside. We have to be ever watchful and to stand up for our rights and the rights of any minority – however unpleasant – because only together can we withstand the onslaught that is upon us now.
The first priority is to get the religious zealots out of government. Hold on to your right to be you. If it’s not their bed and not their body, it’s NOT their business!
Get ready for Mardi Gras! Eat a lot. Drink a lot. Love a lot. All of which we do best in NOLA!
