My People

Until the GOP can come to grips with...

the farce that is Sarah Palin, they will continue in the wilderness.

Until the religious right can come to grips with the farce that is Sarah Palin, they will continue in the wilderness.

Intellect is back in style.

Check back in three years.

The statistics of strangers

Statistics suggest that today, during my interactions with strangers throughout New York City, I will encounter at least one person who knows they have less than six months to live.

Statistics tell me that today, while riding the subway, I will be within five feet of at least fifteen people who have a close friend or relative who will be dead within a month’s time.

Statistics tell me that today, while walking up Madison Avenue to work, I will pass at least three people with AIDS, three people with cancer and at least twenty people who cannot pay their medical bills from the previous year.

Statistics suggest that today, while eating my lunch at the southeast corner of Central Park, at least sixty people that cross my path will be unemployed, ten will be homeless and twelve will get their food for the week from a food bank.

Statistics suggest that today, while waiting on the platform for my train, at least one person around me will commit suicide within a year, three will come out of the closet to the rejection of their family and ten will have their electricity turned off before the month ends.

But ultimately there is something that these statistics cannot tell me. They cannot tell me that today, without precondition, I have been charged to love my neighbor as myself because within every stranger that I pass there is a life worthy of my respect simply because it is lived.

Got fear?

Breaking News: The FBI has issued an alert that terrorists may be planning an attack on the New York City subway this holiday season.

I have lived here for a while and these alerts are nothing new but even to this day when I hear something like this, it makes me a bit frightened. Which I suppose is the point, right?

However, the husband and I have to go to work and live our lives -- lives that include riding the subway every single day.

Ugghh!!!

Ps. I schedule some posts ahead of time so if they appear and you comment, I may not be around right then to approve instantly. Just keep that in mind if you comment and it does not appear right way.

Straining for Gratitude

Just a quick thought since I don’t have much time for posting this week:

Today while reviewing our finances and figuring how to pay the bills while still having enough money for food, a thought hit me…a kind of depressing thought, but a thought nonetheless.

A year ago, the husband and I had more money than we knew what to do with. We were busy making plans with the security that the money brought. Then, my husband got very sick, lost his job, got sicker and within two months we had burned through all our savings on doctors.

This Thanksgiving we have been forced to borrow money from a friend just to pay the rent, are trying to decide whether to pay the electricity bill or the phone bill, have given up trying to sift through all the medical bills and are praying that somehow we make it through the holidays with a roof over our heads.

It is an amazing turn of events. But the most amazing thing about it is how grateful we are to have what little we have. We have a car that’s paid for, a nice loft (for the time being) and we have each other and our wonderful dog, Trotter.

I try not to look at the bank account much anymore unless I have to (like today) because there are only so many ways you can make zero go into zero. But I do look at my life. Though the money is gone and the luxuries are a distant memory, I am grateful.

I am grateful that, for today, I am safe. I am grateful that, for today, I have the love of my life still in my life. I am grateful that, for today, I know where my next meal is coming from.

But most importantly, I am grateful that, for today, I have not been brought this far only to be abandoned now.

Devil's Food Layer Cake with Peppermint Frosting

This is cross posted at my baking website, BakeItTilYouMakeIt.com
The recipe can be found here

The Naked Baker, Jon-Marc McDonald, makes the Devil's Food Layer Cake with Peppermint Frosting from the December issue of Bon Appetit Magazine. This is a two part video. NOTE: If you would like to watch the videos in "high-quality, watch them on their respective YouTube pages and click "watch in high-quality" below the screen on the right side. Part 1 here. Part 2 here.

Part 1:

Part II

Joe the Turkey Slaughterer

Please God, let Sarah Palin run in 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032...

A pie chart on marriage

Broadway's American Buffalo put out to Pasture

Well, that was quick wasn't it? The revival of David Mamet's American Buffalo, starring Cedric the Entertainer, John Leguizamo and Haley Joel Osment, is set to close less than a week after it opened.

My review is here.

Details to come.

Silence on the Rooftop

Some things have come up and I will not be able to post for a few days. Sorry. Be back soon.
Pinky-swear!

Over 300 Hundred Protests Tomorrow

How my heart aches that I will not be able to attend the protest(s) tomorrow but I have a prior commitment that I cannot get out of (trust me, I thought of every way possible).

But please, go to one if you can. They are happening in every state in the country. It is truly amazing to see what is happening across the land. The pride I have in my community (and our straight allies) is too much for words.

Check here for a protest near you.

Ps. send me pictures and I will try and post them tomorrow night. My email is jon-marc@LiveDotCom

Family News in Focus: Where truth goes to die

I have listened to Focus on the Family's (FOTF) Family News In Focus (FNIF) for most of my life. As a child my mother would have the radio on a "Christian" station at all times and FNIF was continually broadcast.

As an adult, I have payed close attention to both FNIF AND FOTF due to the bizarre influence James Dobson has on many in my family (and millions of others families).

But over the past few months FNIF and FOTF have become more unhinged than usual. Sure, they have always been peddlers of half-truths but over the past few months they have taken to outright, unabashed lying. Almost everything they air (which consist of at least a 40% daily helping of "focus" on the "gay agenda") is so blatently false and so verifiably refutable I am genuinely concerned with what's going on.

Therefore I have decided to start a somewhat regular series on Screaming devoted to exposing FOTF in general and FNIF in particular. Look for it soon.

What should I call the series? I'm thinking "Focus on the Faggot" or "Family News that Fucsus"
What say you, bloggers? And ideas?

Ps, all comments are moderated so if you don't see it right away, don't fret. It will be there soon enough (though I reserve the right to discard all comments I deem worthless).

CONTINUED: Prop 8 Protest in New York on November 12, 2008 (11/12/2008)

The first set of pictures can be found here

Pictures from Prop 8 protest in New York City (NYC) on November 12, 2008 (11/12/2008)

UPDATE: More pictures can be found here


Pictures from the Prop 8 protest in New York City on November 12, 2008. More pictures to come l8er today. A rough cut video of the protest is in the post below the pictures

Larry Kramer

Me (Jon-Marc McDonald, on the left) and my friend Doug. The blue armband I'm wearing is because I was a marshal or sumthin'?

Dan Savage

Andy Towle, who is pretty darn cute

Prop 8 Protest in New York on November 12, 2008 (11/12/2008)

This is the rough cut of the Prop 8 protest march (rally) on November 12, 2008 (11/12/2008) in New York Cith (NYC). There were well over 10,000 people there. More pictures tomorrow.

Among those marching were Larry Kramer, Whoopi Goldberg, Jake Shears, Dan Savage, Andy Towle, Jefferey Self along with sidekick Cole Escola

The Great Awakening

My friend Doug (MFD): What are you up to?

Me: Working

MFD: Me too. Actually, I’m not working as much as I am facebooking my ass off at work.

Me: Must be nice. You should be a good gay and go to the protest tonight at the Mormon Temple.

MFD: I AM! Are you going?

Me: I AM!

MFD: Well we should meet up and march together!

If you live in the NYC area, you should be there too at 125 Columbus Avenue at 65th street at 6:30. It's gonna be big! Pictures tomorrow.

What kind of world do you want?

Why Sarah Palin Still Matters

Read this and then read it a second time and then forward it to everyone you know.

Andrew Sullivan:

Some readers think my continuing attempt to expose all the lies and flim-flam and bizarre behavior of Sarah Palin is now moot. She's history - they argue. Move on. I think she probably is history. Even Bill Kristol and his minions in the McCain-Palin campaign may not be able to resuscitate her political viability now. But even if she is history, she is history that matters.

Let's be real in a way the national media seems incapable of: this person should never have been placed on a national ticket in a mature democracy. She was incapable of running a town in Alaska competently. The impulsive, unvetted selection of a total unknown, with no knowledge of or interest in the wider world, as a replacement president remains one of the most disturbing events in modern American history. That the press felt required to maintain a facade of normalcy for two months - and not to declare the whole thing a farce from start to finish - is a sign of their total loss of nerve. That the Palin absurdity should follow the two-term presidency of another individual utterly out of his depth in national government is particularly troubling. 46 percent of Americans voted for the possibility of this blank slate as president because she somehow echoed their own sense of religious or cultural "identity". Until we figure out how this happened, we will not be able to prevent it from happening again. And we have to find a way to prevent this from recurring.

It happened because John McCain is an incompetent and a cynic and reckless beyond measure. To have picked someone he'd only met once before, without any serious vetting procedure, revealed McCain as an utterly unserious character, a man whose devotion to the shallowest form of political gamesmanship trumped concern for his country's or his party's interest. We need a full accounting of the vetting process: who was responsible for this act of political malpractice? How could a veep not be vetted in any serious way? Why was she not asked to withdraw as soon as the facts of her massive ignorance and delusional psyche were revealed?

The Palin nightmare also happened because a tiny faction of political professionals has far too much sway in the GOP and conservative circles. This was Bill Kristol's achievement.

It was a final product of the now-exhausted strategy of fomenting fundamentalist resentment to elect politicians dedicated to the defense of Israel and the extension of American military hegemony in every corner of the globe. Palin was the reductio ad absurdum of this mindset: a mannequin candidate, easily controlled ideologically, deployed to fool and corral the resentful and the frightened, removed from serious scrutiny and sold on propaganda networks like a food product.

This deluded and delusional woman still doesn't understand what happened to her; still has no self-awareness; and has never been forced to accept her obvious limitations. She cannot keep even the most trivial story straight; she repeats untruths with a ferocity and calm that is reserved only to the clinically unhinged; she has the educational level of a high school drop-out; and regards ignorance as some kind of achievement. It is excruciating to watch her - but more excruciating to watch those who feel obliged to defend her.

Her candidacy, in short, was indefensible. It remains indefensible. Until the mainstream media, the GOP establishment, and the conservative intelligentsia acknowledge the depth of their error, this blog will keep demanding basic accountability.

My point is not to persecute or hound some random person. I wish I had never heard of Sarah Palin. I wish this nightmare had never happened. I wish totally innocent by-standers, like Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston and Heather Bruce and Trig Palin, had not had their lives disrupted by this circus. It's distressing to everyone, which is why most journalists left many aspects of this charade alone. But Palin is claiming vindication, is on every cable show, is at the National Governors Association Conference, and is touted as a future leader of the GOP. There comes a point at which you have to simply call a time out and insist that this farce cease and some basic accountability and transparency be restored to the process. Since no one else seems willing to do so, the Dish will stay on the case. So where are those medical records anyway?

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

The role of a lifetime

It has been quite a week. Last Tuesday I went to bed euphoric. Wednesday I woke up to news that sent my spirit spiraling into an abyss of hopelessness, the likes of which I do not think I have experienced in all my life. And believe me, there have been some dark times in my past.

I cannot properly articulate the devastation I felt upon hearing the news that Prop 8 passed in California. In all my life, both in and out of politics, I have never experienced something so psychologically damning to my spirit as I did on Wednesday morning.

Within hours my sorrow turned to utter, pure, unadulterated rage. My anger was as black as thunder and as dark as night. I wanted the merchants of faith and the purveyors of “truth” who so willfully and masterfully peddled outright lies and distortions to pay for their mortal sins. I wanted to be the judge, jury and executioner that personally inflicted as much heartache on them as they have on my gay brothers and sisters.

But at just the moment when my rage was reaching the tipping point I realized something I have never realized before. I realized that I had a role in the outcome.

I contributed to the success of Prop 8. I consented to the lies and misinformation.

Every time I hid my sexuality or identified my husband as my friend, I played a role. Every time I stayed silent as a member of my family referred to my husband simply as my friend, I played a role. Every time I said to those on the other side that we would have to agree to disagree, I played a role. Every time I heard the word “faggot” on the subway and did not object, I played a role. Every time I used a neutral pronoun so as not to offend someone when talking about my husband, I played a role. Every time I did not send an email to the media when they were reporting inaccuracies about my community, I played a role. Every time I walked into a church that did not accept my people, I played a role. Every time I left my husband at home while I visited family, I played a role. Every time I applied for a job at a company that did not have a non-discrimination policy, I played a role. Every time I allowed a supposedly heterosexual man who was married to hit on me, I played a role. Every time I stayed silent at the family dinner table when gays were brought up, I played a role. Every time I decided to go to the bar instead of the march, I played a role. Every time I watched as a family member married a closet case, I played a role. Every time I watched a television show or a movie where a gay person was the punch-line, I played a role.

And every time I said thank you instead of fuck you to those that told me that I could ride on the bus as long as I sat in the back, I played a role.

I’m done playing that role!

My review of David Mamet's American Buffalo on Broadway

I finally saw American Buffalo last night. I was supposed to go to a dress rehearsal two weeks ago but some things came up and I was unable to attend. So last night, while the show is still in previews, I made my way to the Belasco Theatre on 44th, the “wrong side of Broadway”.

I should note (for those living under a rock) that American Buffalo is a David Mamet play. Mamet is considered one of the premiere playwrights of our time. His plays are often infused with both acerbic dialogue and a dizzying tempo. Such characteristics require the full and continuous attention of the audience lest they miss a thing.

The current revival of American Buffalo on Broadway stars Cedric the Entertainer, John Leguizamo, Haley Joel Osment and is directed by the legendary Robert Falls. The setting, Don’s Resale Shop – a junkshop, was designed by the inimitable three time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto.

So on with the show.

It is clearly evident from the start who among the three principals is the Broadway veteran. While Cedric and Haley do a respectable job, they are no match for John. He spits out “Mamet-speak” so effortlessly that he makes it look easy. Cedric and Haley, on the other hand, both seem to struggle with letting go of the nuances of screen acting for the hyper-enunciation, in both word and form, that is required on stage. Also, I can't imagine how daunting it must be to make your Broadway debut with American Buffalo. There is so much dialogue. In fact, Cedric is on stage the entire play!

The limitations of both Cedric and Haley are in no way detrimental to the show and, in fact, I believe it is something they will be able to correct as they grow into their respective roles. For instance, Haley’s character, Bobby, is a heroin addict, and though Haley does an admirable job in his attempt to convey the nervous tics of an addict, his mannerisms on stage appear at times simply nervous. What would certainly be conveyed through the intimacy of the screen is instead not so apparent on the enormity of the stage.

Also there were quite a few lines dropped as well as one line added after a door malfunctioned that clearly threw Cedric off. These lines, both dropped and adlibbed, are not devastating and I doubt the audience even noticed.

But hey, this is exactly what previews are for. None of the negatives of the show are insurmountable and even with their presence, the show holds up quite well. Will it be able to escape the comparisons, fair or unfair, of Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow, also currently on Broadway? Probably not. We will find out next week.

But I certainly hope the critics will refrain from an either/or mentality with regards to American Buffalo and Speed-the-Plow. The whole “If you have to pick which Mamet play to go see this season go see…” is a bit over the top . Such mutual exclusivity is not fair since both shows are quite different.

I imagine that Mamet fans will try and see both. And far more people will buy tickets for the leads, without a clue as to who Mamet even is.

My final analysis is that the show is worth the money. It has its wrinkles and it feels a bit strained at times but I have no doubt that the problems are so minor that they can (and should) be worked out by opening night.

As a side note, backstage I had the opportunity to meet Haley Joel Osment. He is extremely nice, genuinely humble and has not let fame go to his head.

Go see it! And tell ‘em I sent ‘ya.

Bakari Sellers may be our nation's second African-American president

Who is this kid (he's 24) out of South Carolina?

He's a state representative of South Carolina. He was on Hardball tonight with Chris Matthews and as my grandfather would say, my soul!

Watch for this kid's star to rise. He will not even be eligible to run for president for 11 years, but when he is, watch out! He gave me chills.