Hello from Baehr and Curadh, a podcast from the Land of Awes Information Services.
I love you, Curadh.
I love you, Baehr.
This is episode 156 of the Baehr and Curadh podcast.
We're going to talk about why stupid people become successful.
Hmm.
Okay.
You read the headlines and I'll read the synopsis.
Ikea steps up with their support of the queer community whilst others cowled.
It seems far more important than ever that we share any good news regarding businesses
that continue to step up to the plate on their continuing generous support of the queer community.
A shining example of this is Ikea, now the world's largest furniture company, whose first
advertisement featured a gay couple in 1994.
That's way ahead of its time, wasn't it?
Mm-hmm.
You never saw that, ever.
Did you see that commercial?
I remember hearing about it.
I don't think I saw it, though.
But I remember hearing about it.
I don't really remember seeing it or hearing about it.
Really?
Well, I was in college at the time, so maybe that's why I heard about it.
Maybe it was Big Stink or something about that, so.
Well, about the time you were in college, I was entering the workforce, so.
I wasn't out yet, either, so.
I probably, well, I was probably still running the gay information line, but, um, 1996, I
shut down the Land of Oz.
The Land of Oz bulletin board system in 2000, because that computer would not work on Y2K.
So, you had to shut it down.
And I said, this is, I'll have to spend a lot of money to get a new computer, and bullet
boards were kind of on their way out anyway.
The internet was taking over, so I said, well, we'll close that down.
Mm-hmm.
Hmm.
Okay.
Hmm.
But I, I also think another company that has not stepped down is AT&T.
Oh, really?
Mm-hmm.
I didn't know that.
Which, since we're going to have to get our own phone plan here pretty soon, um, I think
that's the one we'll go with.
Yeah, I was thinking AT&T.
Simply because they support us.
Yeah, that's a good point.
And the phone I have has been on AT&T for many, many years, and it's working.
It's working okay.
Okay, well, my Verizon, I know.
And I, I don't think it works very well at work, but when you've got thousands of people
all connecting at the same time, I, I can imagine that's a problem.
Yeah.
I imagine so.
I don't know if your phone can be converted over to AT&T.
It's probably a Verizon-only phone.
Mm-hmm.
I don't know.
We'll have to find out.
I think you flash it over.
But, yeah, I don't know.
Probably.
Or maybe just keep it the way it is.
Yeah.
Just have a policy of my own.
Yeah, we could do that, too.
I mean, it depends.
I guess we'll have to look at it.
Mm-hmm.
So, okay.
On to the next one?
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Texas GOP killed recent bill on emergency alerts.
The measure, House Bill 13.
Keep in mind, this is a bill that's been in place for a long time.
Keep in mind, this is Texas.
Yeah, my blood pressure rises every time I hear that.
Would have created a new government council to establish the power emergency response plan
and administer the grant program,
both of which would have been aimed at facilitating better communication between first responders.
And had they had that in place, well, I don't know if they would have had time to make any difference.
But it was...
It was right after the floods.
Mm-hmm.
And they did nothing.
Yeah.
Didn't the money go somewhere else or something like that, too?
I think there's another thing.
Yes.
Let's skip way down.
Oh, way down.
Okay.
I got it.
Texas GOP holds special session to address...
to address deadly floods and files and anti-trans bathroom bill instead.
Wow.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called a special legislative session
to address the deadly floods that have left 134 people dead and 101 others missing.
Those numbers probably have changed since then.
However, in preparation for the session,
state GOP lawmakers have...
have filed a hundred...
No, sorry.
82 mess...
measures,
none of which address the flooding.
Instead, they seek to ban transgendered women from using women's bathroom facilities.
So, that's where their priority is.
Well, to discriminate against...
Well...
That's what they did instead of dealing with the flooding.
That's crazy, isn't it?
That's Texas.
That's Texas, yeah.
So, we shouldn't...
We shouldn't be surprised.
Um, you keep hearing about them wanting to succeed and become their own country.
Well, I don't...
I don't buy.
Yeah.
Because, I mean, they're disgusting.
Unfortunately, there's nothing in our constitution that will allow that.
Yeah.
That's too bad.
But, yeah, I mean, yeah, it's just...
I feel sorry for queer people, especially transgendered people in Texas.
Oh, yeah.
Although, here in Kansas, it's probably not much worse.
No.
Probably not.
So, it's terrible, though.
That's just...
It's like they went out of their way to do it, too, with the special session.
I mean...
Yeah.
Okay.
Ready?
Mm-hmm.
First trans people, now bisexuals.
Stonewall National Monument website further erases queer history.
A website for the New York Monument, which...
Which commemorates the historic 1969 riots outside the Stonewall Inn, led by transgender women of color, has seemingly removed all mentions of bisexual people from its official description.
Hmm.
That's interesting.
I wonder why they did that.
I wonder.
Couldn't have anything to do with the administration.
No.
No idea.
No.
That's...
And it really is...
It's unfortunate that our park system is under federal control.
Mm-hmm.
So, it's at the whim of any administration that comes or goes.
And they can change how they feel?
That's...
It doesn't change history.
Mm-hmm.
It just tries to erase us.
Yes.
Yeah.
Completely.
It's...
I know that...
In preparation...
In preparation for the change of administration, a whole lot of public employees went to extreme measures to record everything the way it was before Trump got his dirty hands on it.
Oh, really?
I didn't know that.
And archive.org, the Wayback Machine, where you can look and see what a website looked like at a time and period, they went in overdrive trying to record everything.
Trying to save all the government websites.
Oh, really?
Mm-hmm.
And did they?
Yes.
Oh, wow.
Okay.
That's impressive.
That's awesome.
Okay.
Gay men share the best and worst things about getting older.
The worst thing about gay men getting older is you become invisible in a culture that values youth and beauty above all else.
The best thing?
The worst thing about gay men getting older is you become invisible in a culture that values youth and beauty above all else.
It's kind of true, isn't it?
Mm-hmm.
What else do you say?
It's bad.
I mean, it's...
But it's...
Yeah, here we talk about Republicans being awful, and here we're awful to each other all the time.
All the time.
I mean...
Yeah.
I mean, it's spot on.
I mean, you can't...
But yeah, I mean...
But this is more tongue-in-cheek instead of what we're talking about.
I suppose, yes.
But, you know, we have talked for years now about joining...
Oh, what's the name of the group?
I could have thought of it.
Primetimers.
Primetimers, yes.
Mm-hmm.
They are a very, very busy, active group here in town.
Mm-hmm.
I know the guy who is in charge.
Okay.
And he's well up to the task.
Mm-hmm.
Although his husband died...
Oh, okay.
...not too long ago.
That's too bad.
But they had something several days every week of the calendar.
Oh, wow.
We kind of looked at that, but...
Mm-hmm.
...we noticed that it was super busy.
Is that the reason we didn't do anything with them?
Pretty much.
That's too bad.
Well, I thought they said that we didn't have to go to all the events, though.
No, I guess not.
But how could we resist, really?
Yeah.
But just on a note, I mean, you know, just don't go.
I can't say that it's the same for all cities across the country, but at least here, I really,
really recommend Primetime.
Primetime.
Okay.
Is it a nationwide thing, or is it just a local thing?
It's nationwide, yes.
Oh, it is?
Okay.
There are chapters all over the place.
Oh, okay.
I didn't realize that.
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
All right.
Jim Oberfeld fears same-sex marriages will be erased under Trump.
Jim Oberfeld, the American civil rights activist, and lead plaintiff in the 2015 Oberfeld v.
Hodge's case, has expressed fears that under Republican President Donald Trump, same-sex
partners will be erased.
That's sad.
Everybody's been worried about this.
And the way the Supreme Court's been leaning?
Mm-hmm.
I'm going to be surprised.
Yeah, they'll support it.
Mm-hmm.
I just, you know, yeah, I just, it's terrible news all the way around.
There's nothing good about it.
Nothing good to say about anything.
And maybe the only reason there's been no movement on that is 70% of Americans favor
same-sex marriage.
Mm, okay.
So, it'll still, well, yeah, well, it can never come down to us again.
I mean, you know what I mean?
What if the Supreme Court says, no, it doesn't exist?
When are they going to put it to a vote?
To a vote?
Yeah, it'll never come back into the hands of the people again.
Oh, kind of like abortion.
Yeah.
So.
Yeah.
The worst thing people did by voting for Trump was stacking the Supreme Court.
Mm-hmm.
For years.
Mm-hmm.
For years and years and years and years.
And that's going to affect us for years and years and years.
That is a lifetime appointment.
Mm-hmm.
That's the only way you can get a...
The only way you can get a Supreme Court judge out is to impeach them or they themselves
announce that they want to retire.
Mm-hmm.
Or, of course, die.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
So, we'll be living with those consequences for generations.
Mm-hmm.
You're right.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
But the past few of them, yeah, and right now it's severely stacked against us.
Mm-hmm.
So.
Mm-hmm.
And I just saw the other day Kim Davis, the, I want to say justice of the peace, she was
the county records keeper or whatever that was supposed to record gay marriages or all
marriages and refused to, and I think she went to jail for five days because of that.
She is asked the Supreme Court to overturn it.
Mm-hmm.
And she has become the poster child of the Supreme Court.
for the religious right anti-marriage people.
Really?
Mm-hmm.
That doesn't surprise me.
Those five days in jail got her a lifetime of cushy-speaking jobs.
Oh, yeah.
And books and what have you.
Mm-hmm.
That's infuriating.
Mm-hmm.
All right.
Tennessee woman denied prenatal care for being unmarried.
At a town hall in Jonesboro, Tennessee, a 35-year-old woman shared her story.
She was denied prenatal care by her physician
because they objected to the fact that she wasn't married,
nor did she plan to be,
and she had been with her partner for 15 years,
and they have a 13-year-old child.
Hmm.
What do you say to that?
Once again, it's the Supreme Court.
Mm-hmm.
The Supreme Court said that anybody can say,
you're interfering with my religious rights by demanding your rights.
Yeah.
It's just, it's hypocritical.
Yes, it is hypocritical.
Yeah.
But I can't help but think, if I was her,
I would want to know that my doctor felt that way,
so, I could find a different one.
Yeah.
You'd think she would know that, though, after, I mean,
unless she doesn't go to the doctor at all.
I mean, it says that she has a 13-year-old kid already.
So, you know what I mean?
I'm surprised that she doesn't know that they kind of lean towards that.
And think about it.
This could happen to anybody for any reason.
Oh, yeah.
Your doctor could say, you're a Jew, and I won't treat Jews.
Mm-hmm.
And that's where we're headed.
That is where we're headed.
That's exactly where we're headed.
So, yeah, and people don't think we're that close to it.
And sadly, I think it's right around the corner.
Mm-hmm.
You know what I mean?
So, yeah.
Well, remember that experiment into democracy.
The previous democracy only lasted about 200 years.
Mm-hmm.
Way overdue.
Yep, way overdue.
All right.
Why stupid people become successful.
This is a bit of a long one.
There are plenty of people in the world who are 100 times smarter and more skilled and more talented,
but they'll never have the opportunity to make a dent because they don't have the same resources.
And when rich people are born and raised in those environments,
they generally don't get the life experiences that normal people get,
which are essential for developing competence and ingenuity and problem-solving,
and, of course, empathy.
But they don't have to learn those skills.
They can just throw money at their problems.
When we wind up with millionaires and billionaires who don't know how to pump gas
or make a grilled cheese sandwich or do laundry or treat people with respect,
the public goes,
Wow, look at how smart those people are.
Mm-hmm.
It's pretty sad, isn't it?
It is.
Yeah.
But it's so true.
Mm-hmm.
That's what's so sad about it is that it nails it all the way around about it.
I think it was Marcos.
What's her name?
Manelka Marcos?
What was her first name?
Manelka Marcos?
Yeah.
She had something like 2,000 pairs of shoes and didn't know how to tie them.
Mm-hmm.
Because that, yeah, that spoiled, I guess you would say, or pampered.
So that's sad, though.
But it's, I mean, it is true.
I mean, there's always passes given out to the rich.
I remember a quote once said,
Weird, rich people are called eccentric.
Mm-hmm.
The rest of us are just called fucking crazy.
Yeah.
It's true.
That's true.
He has nothing to say about that.
Pretty much nailed it on the head.
But yeah, it's, well, and then you'll see people who are wealthy,
they don't get put in the crappy status,
they don't get state-run psych homes either.
No, the mental health, no.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
They go in like these posh.
They don't end up on the streets.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
So, sad.
So really, all it takes to be a success in this country is to have a whole bunch of money.
Mm-hmm.
It solves everything.
It'll buy you a presidency.
It'll buy you a presidency, yes.
Mm-hmm.
So.
That's a good statement right there.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Barack Obama calls for gay mentors to guide young boys away from ignorance.
Obama explained that such mentors serve two purposes.
They help straight boys develop kindness and understanding.
They also help create safe spaces for young people questioning their sexuality.
He said, you need that person in your friend group so that when you have a boy who is gay
and they submit to you; you can help them.
have somebody that they can say okay I'm not alone in this hmm yeah, it's deep it is but and
even for kids who don't know an openly gay person suddenly it's becoming very difficult for
teachers to be supportive mm-hmm yeah, I mean they'll go after a teacher even if they're not
gay even if they're just suspected to be gay or Arthur just being helpful to a child who's
questioning mm-hmm I'll take you get in trouble it's sad that's very sad because they've been
trying to try to be helpful mm-hmm I mean yeah just that's work hmm um and
Obama is a pretty good example of this because his philosophy evolved, he was not in favor of
gay marriage at first no really mm-hmm but he eventually came around and embraced it hmm and
we say this all the time um that the key to acceptance is coming out mm-hmm let somebody
know you're gay so that that religious zealot out there who says uh gay people are awful and I
I don't know any mm-hmm well they can't say they don't know any because if they're if they're
surrounded by them yes if somebody comes out mm-hmm they can say well you know this is not
the how do I put that it's rare instead of only hearing bad things about gay people they could say
I know a person and he's not I know a person I don't know a person I don't know a person and he's
not bad mm-hmm yeah get him and this is something that I I've how do I put that something that I've
tried to do my entire life or since I came out okay just keep coming out to people well uh-huh
kiss your husband in front of people mm-hmm so there's basically be opening it out uh-huh yeah
be the change that you want to see in the world yeah, I think I mean I don't we don't show much
public attention to each other I mean we do and I don't know all the time yeah, I mean we don't
openly just make out or anything like that but no we kiss each other in public and stuff like that
so yeah, okay pretty much every time we say goodbye to each other oh yeah well you know every
time because I've got
never you know never know what it can happen and I don't want to hmm it's my
big thing I wouldn't do it at a at a manga rally but no but I don't think we'll ever be at a manga rally
at the grocery store the mall yeah at a manga rally I don't think I don't foresee us ever going to a
manga rally though so I think it's all suck it all right do you have a joke for us this week yes you want to know what I think
trump's big beautiful bill is named after what I'm afraid to know the answer is the name of his future cellmate in prison
that's good that's really good that's the best part is how smug you get after you tell the joke
hmm all right this was episode 156 of the Baehr and Curadh podcast this is Baehr and Curadh goodbye
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