PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM ALERT: Archbishop Desmond Tutu amongst the “sixteen agents of change”

Desmond Tutu, The Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace and The Presidential Medal of Freedom

The White House yesterday announced “sixteen agents of change” to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Harvey Milk, R.I.P.

Amongst the other sixteen are Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King.

Billie Jean King

Focus On the Family, predictably, is having a complete meltdown over it.¨ read it all at Box Turtle bulletin by Jim Burroway, click HERE


¨Jeff Johnston of Focus on the Family has written an irresponsible piece on Harvey Milk that is all over the map. It looks like the piece was created to criticize the movie Milk but tailored to include talking about Milk's recent selection as a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.¨ read it all, click HERE


·Thanks to President Barack Obama, The White House
·Thanks to Flickr Photosharing
·Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin, at the right sidebar
·Thanks to Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, at the right sidebar

INSANITY ALERT: The Sky is Falling, BEWARE, There is No Place To Hide!

HOLA FRIENDS, Thanks for visiting my reentry into this cyberplace and special thanks to Bonnie for the kind welcome home!

I´m glad to be back as I encountered various settings and engagement with raging insanity in the Good Ol´ U.S.A.


I´m trying to regroup and put life and REALITY into perspective...I keep wondering why there are so many insane people with so much denial strung along and FAR OUT by the bigoted ¨haters¨...really it´s staggering, sober, to think that the Eisenhower Republican All Americano Club of my parents has been converted into the ego tainted frothy, mean, know-it-all Party with many rabid shrewdies/dummies and ¨gross¨ unseemlies...what do I know, I was brought up at sweet Betty Crockers house (thanks be to Dad, Mom and God...TRUMAN/IKE suggested we build our bombproof white picket fense) and as everyone knows, Betty was Republican (even though her illustrations and editing were always done perfectly by smart Democrats who were Publishers too.).

I recently visited a few chambers of contemporary Americana Horror...shock!

Anyway, I´m probably not the person to figure it ALL out but I certainly had various opportunities trying to seperate/absorb fantasy from pretend while viewing drug addiction, wincing at active and living/boozing alcoholism and alternately embracing some of our beloved yet emotionally/spiritually ¨challenged¨ defiant selfdestructionists...I had trouble finding a healthy balance taking in all I encountered.

Probably the most serene part was going shopping for designer bargains with a young Russian immigrant friend that I see at a Convention we attend every year...always a different city, makes the searching fun!

Of course there were some ¨attending¨ enablers around the infirmed. My least favorite. The Mommies/Daddies ¨little helper¨ ¨killers¨ ¨adjusters¨, the codependent partner who blood/spiritsucks and attempts to manage lives for ¨your own good¨..all, so they can get, get, get or play, play, play or whatever they NEED! Getting whatever it is they think THEY must have as they seek cover in the souls of some of the walking wounded!

Engaged codependents can be sometimes seen when keeping themselves ¨safe¨ by using ALL manipulative and artificial, CONTROL, shame and/or blame on a ¨emotionally offtrack¨ ricipient/target/lovedone in their care...codependents sometimes convolute REAL into their version of personal correctness and heroism, sometimes their ¨good intentions¨ go unappreciated, not pretty...some need constant reassurance for their ¨helpfulness¨ which is a temporary fix for their TERROR FILLED SELVES...they burn out, but not without a FIGHT to FIX YOU! DECADES later, the party is over (with any luck at all).

Let´s see if I have a steady enough head and hand to report back to ALL of you and review MY personal experiences/travels/observations and upclose ¨exposure¨ this year, Summer 2009, in the Land of some of the nearly BUSH DAMNED (many think so in Latin America) but never-the-less, mostly a report from the Red, White and Blueland of the admired and BRAVE.

Not-so-oddly, I think the once closeted manufacturers of mass vileness toward fellow human beings no longer hide their nastiness in the U.S.A, they take pride in their prejudice...some of vintage fear/hate is brought to US by the all-new selective Scriptural purist/fundie instigating preachers/blamers of the subsidized viciousness towards the marginalized...not forgetting, of course, the religiouslike pontificating/fundraising of hatedriven common con artists, blowhards, prancers, opportunists, common thugs and liars for fame (they´ve twisted into a mission for Christ).

I´m certain there will be a upcoming Part Two of this RANT!

Please stay tuned, after I settle down, I´ll give you the specifics and ¨tone it down¨ lovingly before Father Jake makes an appearance and shows me to the door of MY OWN HOUSE!

In the RIGHT NOW, I WILL PRAY TO GOD FOR A GIANT (and inclusive) SPIRITUAL WELLNESS PROGRAM to spread throughout the land of good crowning and brotherhood (maybe Congress can attach the ¨emergency emotional wellness/anti-greed¨ part to the Health Bill reform)...ofcourse, as you probably know, the worst sorting/bottoming out and self-revealing-into-healing always happens individually, person by person, before anything can be done, even for me, a aspiring self-righteous/reformer, sinner/ observer who has seen more than enough selfishness, jealousy, greed, fear, thievery, bigotry and hate acted out in the lifetimes of those amongst us who don´t give a damn regarding the well being of others...no, really, wake up, they don´t...as Mom and Dad often said, ¨actions speak louder than words.¨ Pray for silence and healing before there is a revolution in the streets.

Hang on Loopie! Hang on!

TRUTH into TRUST!

Healthy, emotional and spiritual change we can believe in...it´s far different than a World where some will continue to self-deceive in and exploit and harm others thinking they are ¨orthodox¨ belivers of all stripe.


Thanks again Bonnie and friends for keeping an eye on me and out for me (my sitemeter reported a nice number of continuing International daily visitors even as I kept my keyboard dark..wow)!

Mil Gracias!

Con Cariño,

Leonardo Ricardo

(with a slightly bruised, albeit innocently/painfully achieved, kneecap injury...God LIVES in the Airline ¨check in person¨ who ordered a wheelchair for me without me asking as I limped into view at International Departures...yikes, I barely made it out of from the Fronts)

UPDATE on MONDAY!

I really do have to think of a way to color my travel story without touching the fragile beings/raging maniacs that I´ve described above...it´s a serious yet wonderful story, that is good, funny and sad. Wait until I tell you about the lovely and dear new crossdressing friend I met...great person (I didn´t like ¨those kind¨ of Gay People before).

God had many messages for me, all were delivered!

Abrazos,

Limp

WAIT, CAN YOU SMELL IT?

Look at the lovely chocolate ¨get well¨ treat that Lynn fixed for me at ¨Off Topic Allowed¨ click HERE and ENJOY it with me!


·Thanks to Father Jake and Father Terry, at the right side bar
·Thanks to Flickr Photosharing
·Thanks to James at The Three Legged Stool, right sidebar
·Thanks to Juan Carlos for tending to my bruised knee
·Thanks to Lynn at Off Topic Allowed, right sidebar
·Thanks be to God I´m home in Latin America

VACATION ALERT:¨One never knows where the nose goes¨ Sir Charles Benjamin, Beverly Hills and beyond! REGULAR UPDATES!

I´m off!

I mean, I´m ¨off¨ on a Holiday/work trip!

I´m off to see the Wizards, of Cross, Fisher, Woods, VanGoey and Clark extended families! There are so many really talented folks it´s hard for me to narrow it down but I can GLADLY tell you that I´m looking forward to several weeks of adventures on the West Coast and then on to the Midwest and more visiting of dear friends.

I´ll try and keep you posted as I discover the many wonderous things that are certain to unfold before me.

First off, one of the beautiful parts of being from a very large English-American family is that we keep discovering one another. There are many more of than ever imagined as literally dozens and dozens of cool cousins are yet to be met! This past year my lovely, talented, and the fabulously endearing daughter of my sister has been doing lots of family research and reuniting many of us who had drifted apart...so, the beginning of my holiday will be a especially heartwarming gathering as I get to know some family members, some of which I´ve not ever met before!

Then off to Chicagoland and then to Indiana to visit my much admired, and longest term, and surviving, accomplice in adult life antics (don´t forget we were from ¨the make love not war¨ generation). When we were quite young she and I literally traveled the world (often, spontaneously without planning but with Passport in hand and hangover in head) and often discovered some little known facts about some never to be seen again trouble makers like us!

Easy does it! Steady, I´m coming in for a landing.

A visit to Wisconsin has been long overdue as another great, and long-term, friend has invited me repeatedly to visit her and enjoy the ¨Summer magic in rural Wisconsin¨...complete with her own little lake where we will swim and bake!

Lot´s of visiting and renewing of friendships and once again I will ALSO meet up with six other friends and we will work together for a little over a week...it´s our annual version of our very own ¨custom work party¨ and it´s FUN! It´s fine dining with Golden Boys Club (we really are the best) every night and we meet in a different major U.S. City every year!

Three cheers for Summertime!

Enjoy!

UPDATE, JULY THIRD:

FIRST STOP, A REPORT FROM OREGON, it's gorgeous here and the weather is really, hot! 4th of July activities everywhere and the everyone seems especially festive (in the face of the economic difficulties that are very present here)...off to dinner! More later! I wonder what TEC Delegates and Bishops are conjuring up in Anaheim?

It's so odd. We have few African decended people where I live in Central America (most folks are indigenous heritage) and here I'm interacting with many African Americans...I keep wanting to HUG them and bring up pro-topics about our fantastic new President...so far, I've been able to just SMILE and act normal, well, sort of normal, instead of jumping up and down for joy for them and for ALL MANKIND...finally we've taken a important step in destroying discrimination, fear and hate...only I can't just blurt that out to passing strangers! Smiling is nice but hugging is better.

I'm looking forward to seeing my sister too and she and her husband are joining me here for a few...it's soon her birthday and she's the Mother of wonderful kids, grandmother of many and a Great Grandmother!

·Thanks to Flickr Photosharing