My Visit to San Francisco and Some Thoughts on Pride

I was pushed into finally getting up from my desk and going on vacation this last weekend; a task I should try to do more often in general.  My girlfriend Jamie wanted to go to San Francisco, where she used to live.  It ended up being the perfect weekend for this, as we left on Friday, June 26^th, a day which will live in the history books as the day homosexuals won the right to marry everywhere in the United States.

There could be no more perfect place to go than San Francisco on a day like that.  This is the city that has typically been accepted as the mecca for gay rights.  And to place the cherry on top, it was Gay Pride Weekend.  We expected it to be hopping with celebrations when we arrived.  Our only fear was the amount of traffic that was likely awaiting us.

We were pleasantly surprised to find there wasn’t much traffic at all.  This was soon to turn into a disappointment.  There really wasn’t much celebrating going on.  Everywhere we went was business as usual.  There was apparently one area of town that was celebrating, but the city in general was pretty darn quiet.

Late on Friday night, (close to midnight) we heard booming.  Jamie and I feared it was explosions, then we thought it was dumpsters being moved, and at last we realized it was fireworks.  I ran outside in my sock feet, anxious to finally see celebrating happening.  But there was none.  The few people I came upon seemed annoyed by the fireworks, and uninterested in their meaning.  I followed the sound one way until I realized they were coming from a different direction, then determined they were coming from yet another direction, and then another.  The booming was bouncing off the sides of buildings such that it was impossible to figure out where they were.  When I finally figured out the proper direction by the smoke drifting over the moon, I headed toward it.  By the time I got high enough to see, though, they were over.

As I chased these ghost sounds I ran across several people; none of whom were interested in the historic event taking place in their city.  The same was true on Saturday.  I’ll speak more about San Francisco in general in another post, but I was disappointed to learn that the city seems to be losing its spirit.

On Sunday we went down to City Hall to see the Pride Parade, and there at last saw crowds of people celebrating.  They had all congregated in one place, and they were so packed together we could not get through to anywhere close to the front.  Here they were not merely commemorating who they were as people, they were celebrating a triumph, and the march was a victory parade.  Contrary to what some people would have you believe, their cheers were of love and acceptance; their joy unbridled.  They were free.

I will, however, make one criticism.  Along with the celebrations of gay pride and the Supreme Court’s decision came a faction of people who often connect themselves to gay rights activism; I call them fetishists.  It’s the people who wear ass-less chaps, merkins, tasteless lingerie, sadomasochistic attire, bondage equipment, slave collars, and sometimes nothing but a cock ring.  I will not judge these as perversions; everyone has a right to their own desires in sexuality.  But I will argue that it is a different issue, and bringing them out to something as important as marriage equality distorts the issue.  It provides ammunition to the detractors, and scares away those who would otherwise be allies.  Most of all, it’s not truly the same issue.  Fetishism is a right for straight couples as well as gay couples, and there is certainly a place for that entire conversation.  (And by the way, I will be on the side of the fetishists as I believe in that right as well.)  But the basic right to love and marry who you want is what is being commemorated at Pride, and this year in particular is being celebrated for its victory.  It is a celebration for everyone as it improves our democracy.  It should be done with dignity, and should be visible to all, including children, without being clouded by other issues.

All in all, however, I am grateful and, well, proud, that I was there to see this historic Pride march.  As for the rest of San Francisco, well, that’s another story of which I will write later.

Dear Hollywood

Having been involved in the Hollywood scene for so many years, I just love this guy's insights into its inner workings.  It's the beauty of Youtube, the REAL independent revolution.

My Two Cents About the Confederate Battle Flag - Part 2

Now that some of these people in office are coming to their senses and removing the Confederate battle flag from government buildings, I’m sensing a disturbing trend in overzealousness.  It’s become a venerable witch hunt for anyone, public or private, who displays the battle flag in any way.

In an absurd example, Apple has deleted all games from their sales library that has the Confederate flag; i.e. Civil War games.  Stores are removing any books that show the flag, as if deleting the Civil War itself from memory will solve our problems.  Even battlefields and museums are being pressured to remove the flag, even though their primary purpose is to teach history.

The fury of course comes from the bastardization of the flag by racists since the formation of the KKK and other hate groups.  They had no right to bring back the Confederate battle flag and make it theirs, but they did, and I understand why it is viewed with fear and anger.  However, consider this.

Slavery did not begin with the Confederacy.  It existed under the American flag for many years before the south seceded.  It also existed before that in the UK for many years.  Both of those countries also slaughtered indigenous people in North America, reducing their numbers in America by 96%, the largest atrocity of people per capita in history.  The UK also slaughtered people across the globe in their colonization efforts.  The Spanish killed countless Indians in South and Central America.  The Chinese murdered millions of their own people, as did the Russians, and several other nations.

So here’s the question, why aren’t their flags banned?

If you’re really going to criticize individuals for waving the Confederate flag because of slavery, then you have to criticize individuals for waving just about every flag on Earth, because no one is innocent.  Every country is guilty of something as atrocious as the Confederacy, the United States included.

So yeah, the Confederate flag has no place above government buildings, and people need to be sensitive about where and why they place it, as it has been misused by hate groups.  However, to bury it completely, even from our museums and other historical locations, is overreaching and downright hypocritical.  And if we’re not very careful, it may be turned into a symbol of freedom of speech.

My Two Cents About the Confederate Battle Flag Controversy - Part 1

As a Civil War buff, I’ve felt like I should weigh in on the whole Confederate flag debate, but I sort of put it off because I feel that the incidents that started this discussion warrant a deeper discussion on bigger topics, like violence and the roots of racism.  But I suppose this debate is long overdue.

First, it’s important to note that the flag that is commonly referred to as the Confederate flag is not actually the flag of the Confederacy.  It is the battle flag intended only for use by the military.  Therefore, no one was ever supposed to wave it unless they were a soldier.  Anyone who waves it who is not a Confederate soldier is like the a-hole who wears a fireman’s outfit to go into a bar to pick up ladies when he is not, in fact, a fireman.  To put it another way, you have to earn the right to wear that uniform, or wave that flag, by risking your life in either endeavor.

That having been established, the fact that the flag belongs to the military says that it has no place on a government building.  To place it on a civilian public building implies that a military coup has taken place, and the government has been taken over by force by the military.  This is a type of government that neither the USA nor the CSA claimed to want to be.  It therefore further had no place on public location.

Finally, even those who had a right to call themselves Confederate soldiers were ordered in 1865 to furl their flags and “unfurl them no more.”  That is a direct quote from none other than Robert E. Lee when he ordered his men to put the flag away and to serve the United States flag.

So those people who wish to wave the flag on any official building are not only waving a symbol of rebellion against the country and a sign of lingering racism, they’re disregarding its very meaning, trying to set up a military government, and disobeying a direct order from the head of the Confederate armies.

So I just have one question for those who want to keep raising the Confederate battle flag… Why are you hating on General Lee?

Two Gun Hart Documentary

It occurred to me that I probably have not posted my own documentary about Two Gun Hart.  I've been using this as a 10 minute promo.  (The original documentary had stuff about Al as well.)

Here's the 1 minute version:

Sometimes Fathers Have the Best Stories

The first book I wrote that really launched me into publishing and being a serious author was Pro Bono, which is the true story of my father and grandfathers' involvement in the Caril Fugate case.  It took me many years to get around to doing this, and by that time, many of the people involved had passed on, including my grandfather; whom I never appreciated fully while he was alive.  In researching and writing the story, he became a bit of a hero of mine, and it's hard to imagine that I had known this man.

Luckily, my own father had remembered a lot about him, even small details.  He and my grandfather both worked hard at getting Caril Fugate out of jail, a girl/woman they believed firmly was innocent.  My father has since then gone on to provide me with the inspiration and basis of two more non-fiction books, The Great Heist and Two Gun Hart; both of which originated from comments his father told him.

Lesson, listen to your dads.

These books are available on Amazon.

Pro Bono:

http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Bono-18-Year-Defense-Fugate/dp/1479108375/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1434924345&sr=8-6&keywords=Pro+Bono&pebp=1434924349263&perid=0YKZ5N4B8KHDAJDFPP2W

The Great Heist:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Heist-Biggest-Robbery-Returned/dp/1493532693/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434924377&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Great+Heist

Two Gun Hart:

http://www.amazon.com/Two-Gun-Hart-Long-Lost-Brother/dp/069237289X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1434924398&sr=8-2&keywords=Two+Gun+Hart&pebp=1434924402359&perid=1EM64ZV2JNAMYVBM7X5R

#fathersday #stories

Independent Book Review

A few months ago I found myself complaining that no one reviews independently published books on Youtube.  Then I thought, hey, no one else reviews independently published books on Youtube!  I should both put my money where my mouth is, and corner that market!  Here's one I did.

Tabletop

If you don't know what Tabletop is, you need to know.  This is a Youtube program that showcases great games, and captures the spirit of board gaming.  What Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day have done is miraculous.  I hope to make Command Combat Battle Reports a part of them, especially since we're both members of the wonderful city of Burbank.

Best of Over the Garden Wall

A friend of mine stayed over night one night, and in the morning, before she left, she told us she wanted to show us one short episode from this show.  We ended up watching the entire series in one sitting.  These are some of the best clips from it: