Saturday Night Adventures

Instead of posting on some of the hot button topics out there, I am taking this opportunity to share my Saturday night with my readers.  As this is something I have not done before, you can rest assured it will not be about sitting around watching Law & Order repeats while eating ice cream (my normal Saturday night.)  So, by now I bet you are asking yourself, “Well, what the hell did he do?”  Let me tell you–last night my wife and I went out with some friends to a strip show at Altera, the local gay bar in our area.  The event was hosted by Kindred of Maine and they did an excellent job.

Here in the Lewiston/Auburn area of Maine it is hard to maintain an alternative bar as the community is not generally accepting of it and people that would normally patron such a place tend to be rather shy about being seen going there in this area–which is a rather sad commentary for this area.  There have been several such bars in the area over the years–including some that catered to both homo and heterosexual clientele.

I really enjoy going to these events as the people that perform are very brave and always put on a good show.  Along with the strip show we try to attend every drag show that comes to the area and we are friends with several of the queens that perform, including Shaunna Rai.

Now, back to last night.  There were only three performers, however they all did an excellent job and their bravery was quite apparent.  They were all very attractive male performers who appeared quite comfortable with their bodies and despite the limited area they had to dance in, let loose with their bodies and performed very well for their audience.  I wish I had thought to bring a camera with me as I would have loved to include some of the pictures here in this post, but the thought slipped my mind.

I am hoping that Altera lasts for quite some time as I would enjoy making it my regular bar.  It is a nice, relaxing place to go without having to worry about getting hit on which happens at the local straight bar that we go to (on those rare occasions when we go out.)  There is just something about the atmosphere of a gay bar that I find more comfortable, more able to be myself I guess you could say.

At any rate, it was a good night had by all, audience and performers alike.  I just want to throw out to my readers, if you ever get the chance to go to any type of performance at a gay bar, take the chance and go you may just be surprised at how much of a good time you have.

 

Breastfeeding In Uniform

I had initially decided to not post about this one because, well, I am a man.  However, as a critical thinker, and after seeing many outraged Facebook posts and comments I decided I had to step up on the soap box and address this one in hopes of getting some rational thinking out there about this topic.  That being said, I want to state that I fully support breastfeeding as it is quite natural and best for the baby.  I also support a woman’s right/choice to breastfeed wherever she wants to; people really need to get over the entire “OMG look a titty!” deal.  The American society really is stuck in Puritan mode when it comes to anything even remotely related to sex and honestly, it is far past the time when we need to get over it, however I diverge from the main point here.

So, exactly what is at issue here with the image at the top of this post?  Is it women breast feeding while wearing a military uniform?  Women having a “sexual” body part exposed while wearing a uniform?  The answer is no to all of the above.  It has actually really started to irritate me how indignant people online are becoming about this issue when they are not even fully informing themselves about what the issue is.

What the main issue is, what the military is reacting to is the fact that the uniform was used to promote a cause, this is a no-no by military standards.  You cannot use a military uniform to promote any cause whatsoever, that is it folks, nothing about breast feeding at all.  These women have not fallen under any sort of punishment and really the only thing that will come about from this is the incident will be used as a form of education to remind soldiers about the policy concerning uniforms.

I beg you all, before commenting on an issue actually look into what it is about.  Critical thinking skills are very important and will benefit you well in all aspects of your life.  Make sure you are getting all the information available and keep asking questions until you have all your answers.

As a slight side note, given all the requirements for the appearance of a military uniform I honestly do not understand why women would breastfeed while wearing the uniform and risk staining it and then have a surprise inspection called.  However, that is just me using those same critical thinking skills I was just talking about.  By no means am I saying they shouldn’t, I just think that personally it is something I would not do just for the sake of convenience.

 

Related articles

• ‘Proud’ military moms pose while breastfeeding (wtvm.com)
• We’re Seriously Debating Whether It’s Okay for Military Moms to Breastfeed While in Uniform? [Breast Intentions] (jezebel.com)
• Photo of breastfeeding military moms draws controversy (wjla.com)
• Mothers Photographed Breastfeeding in Their Military Uniforms (fox4kc.com)
• Military Moms Breastfeeding in Uniform Surprised at Controversy Stirred by Pic (inquisitr.com)
• Breastfeeding in Military Uniform is like Urinating in Uniform….WTH? (nolababybump.wordpress.com)
• Photo of military women breastfeeding in uniform stirs controversy (foxnews.com)
• Breasfeeding Women in the Military (singlemomontherun.com)
• Photos: Military Moms Proud to Breast-Feed in Uniform (abcnews.go.com)
• Breastfeeding time again (feministphilosophers.wordpress.com)
• Military Moms Breastfeeding in Uniform: National Pride or Over the Line? (thehollywoodgossip.com)
• Breastfeeding Military Women Causes Freakout (buzzfeed.com)
• Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign Featuring Women In Uniform Causes Outrage (alan.com)
• Military Wife Defends Breastfeeding In Uniform Photo (news4jax.com)
• Moms in the Military Breastfeed! What Shall We Do? (thefashionofwords.com)
• Military moms in uniform breastfeed in ad (wnd.com)
• Controversy Erupts Over Photos Of Military Women Breastfeeding (thinkprogress.org)
• Breastfeeding in Uniform Stir Controversy (whoopsies.wordpress.com)
• Military Moms Breastfeeding in Uniform Stir Controversy (gunnyg.wordpress.com)

Nancy Reagan Isn’t Firing On All Cylinders

Official Portrait of President Ronald Reagan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I honestly cannot believe that Nancy Reagan has given her endorsement to Mitt Romney.  I understand they are both Republicans and all, however, Romney is of the era of new Republicans who are not required to have a brain or a conscience.  Even as a Liberal I respected Ronald Reagan as President and honestly, I do not think he would have cared for Romney, or any of the GOP candidates that we saw during this campaign.

Nancy Reagan made a statement about Romney’s “strong principles.”  Exactly which principles is she referring to here?  His love of big corporations?  His hatred for the homosexual population of the country he want to be President of?  His complete disrespect for women?  I am honestly hoping that Alzheimer’s is something that can be passed between married people and Nancy caught it from Ronald and that is the reason behind this endorsement.

Actually, I do not know why I am getting so worked up over this–its not like Romney stands a chance of winning come November, not with his stance on the issues.  We all know that Obama will get a second term, the democrats will take over Congress, as well as those states doing elections, and we will see some actual change come about.

Related articles

• Romney wins endorsement of Nancy Reagan (rawstory.com)
• Is Ann Romney a New Nancy Reagan? (socyberty.com)