Another "Brokie" passes away

Today the Courier-Post reported that Robert Baxter, a critic and reporter who covered the arts scene in south New Jersey for the Courier-Post from 1979 until his retirement in 2008. Mr. Baxter was 69 and died of pancreatic cancer.


To many online friends in the "Dave Cullen Ultimate Brokeback Forum,", Mr. Baxter was known by the name "Tacitus." Like many people who saw Brokeback, many gays and some straights, Mr. Baxter was inspired by the film to re-think his life and many of the fears and conflicts over his sexuality that had cast shadows over his life. He had already survived a violent gay-bashing and had seen friends take their own lives due to the rejection of those closest to them. In remembrance of Mr. Baxter's many contributions, the Courier-Post ran a 2006 column in which Mr. Baxter told readers about his struggles and gradual self-acceptance as a gay man. In 2007, the Ultimate Brokeback Forum published an anthology of posts, "Beyond Brokeback: The Impact of a Film." Much of the Courier-Post's memorial reprint was taken from on of "Tacitus'" entry in the book.

His earlier experiences did include a same-sex couple in Wyoming, the setting of Brokeback Mountain:

You can imagine, I'm sure, the thrill I felt when I met Bud and Manuel. I was 5, maybe 6, holding onto my grandmother's hand when she introduced her cowboy pals to me at the county fair. When Bud leaned down and shook my little hand, I caught the pungent smell of fresh sweat and stale tobacco.


From their scuffed leather boots to their weathered Stetsons, they looked like real men. Lean, muscular, with big, calloused hands and strong faces, tanned by the sun. The kind of cowboys Marlboro later glorified.
Bud owned a cattle ranch. Manuel was his foreman. They built barbed-wire fences and rode the range together on horseback. They also shared a bed.

Bud and Manuel were gay cowboys even though neither man would have known what that term meant 60 years ago. In those days, gay folk were called queers and homos.

Nobody who knew Bud and Manuel would have dared to ask if they were gay, but everyone sensed Bud belonged to Manuel. They formed an inseparable pair, just like my grandmother's married friends. Somehow, the names of the two men fit together as comfortably as Charlie and Mary or Harry and Alice.

I've thought a lot about Bud and Manuel since I saw Brokeback Mountain. They are long gone, but I wish they were here to share their story with me. How did they forge a relationship in rural California when society -- from our families and churches to our government -- shrieked "No!" or shouted "Don't you dare!"

Baxter noted that despite the often mortal dangers faced by gays in that setting and era, the intrepid couple managed to have "the ranch -- and they shared the love -- Jack and Ennis could never find."


The Courier-Post reported that "Mr. Baxter, 69, was a critic and reporter whose work reflected a high degree of talent and expertise. But many people on Thursday remembered his passion, describing a quiet and reserved man with a lifelong love for the fine arts, particularly opera.

" 'He was such a wonderful gentleman, and so dedicated to the arts in South Jersey,' said Cynthia Lambert, executive director of the South Jersey Cultural Alliance.

" 'I'm not sure there are words to express what Robert was to the South Jersey arts community,' said Bruce Curless, artistic producing director of the Ritz Theatre Co. in Haddon Township. 'As a patron of the arts, they come no better.' "


for more information about "Beyond Brokeback", see the Dave Cullen Ultimate Brokeback Forum.

Next Up: The Jews Caused the Oil Spill

Of all the conservative reactions we might see to former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman coming out as gay, you're not likely to see anything half as vindictive, though predictable in its way, as that of Tony Perkins of the "Family Research Council".  Tony has just discovered the reason for GOP losses in 2008 and in the previous 2004 midterm elections.

It was the gays. Those sneaky gays. They engineered it all. Tony explains:

"First, I am saddened by this announcement. I'm saddened because I know Ken and care about him as a person. Homosexuality not only has negative implications for society, it also has profound, well-documented negative physical and mental health consequences for those who engage in homosexual conduct as well.

"This unfortunate confirmation helps explain the scandalous failure of many in the Republican establishment to vigorously uphold the values and policy positions expressed in the party's platform in 2004 and 2008, particularly the need to protect the definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman nationwide. While grassroots activists succeeded in passing marriage amendments in dozens of states across the country, they received little support and even outright resistance from Party officials at the national level, which contributed to the GOP's electoral failures in 2006 and 2008. Now we know one of the major reasons why."

Tony added as a postscript that "When the news about Mehlman hit the wires this morning, FRC's two Kens--Blackwell and Klukowski--tackled the tough road ahead for the Republican Party in a brand new column. "If Republicans flinch on marriage," they write," America could have eight years of President Obama."

You can check it out their first anti-marriage equality op-ed on FOX.  Fair and Balanced.

American Bar Association endorses marriage equality

On the heels of Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling on the Proposition 8 lawsuit came not only celebratoins but the usual suspects' predictions of the end of the world/USA/universe as we know it, complete with the usual comparisons of same-sex relationships, even long-term ones, to bestiality. (These are NOT people you would want petsitting for you).  Talk radio and the blogosphere has seen a fresh regurgitation of demands for judicial impeachment and the passing of a first-ever Constitutional amendment drafted specifically to deny civil rights to a designated group.

And then, there's the American Bar Association's statement, released just two days ago:

"Gays and lesbians should have the right to marry in civil ceremonies, the ABA’s policy-making House of Delegates declared on Tuesday. The measure passed on a voice vote.


"A lineup of ABA leaders, both past and present, spoke in favor of the resolution. Incoming ABA President Stephen Zack asked 'Why would anyone in this country not want two people who love each other to enjoy the blessings of marriage and the protections of law?'

"Former ABA President Tommy Wells told the House that “our citizens of the same sex who are being denied the right to a civil marriage are only seeking to participate in an equal basis in a foundational institution of our civil life. They simply want to share in the legal blessings that we give to married couples. It can only strengthen marriage.”

"Only Leslie W. Jacobs, past president of the Ohio State Bar Association and a partner in the Cleveland office of Thompson Hine, spoke against the measure. He sought to table the motion, which was ruled out of order. “I have reluctantly concluded that silence on an issue of political correctness is cowardice,” he told the House.

“ 'What we do [in the House] seriously affects our perception in lawmaking forums. If we are perceived to be off-base on something that lawmakers readily understand, I don’t think they can be expected to defer to us on something on which they don’t understand,' he said.

Resolution 111 (PDF) had been gaining momentum in the House since a US District Court judge ruled last week in Perry v. Schwarzenegger that California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage violated the U.S. Constitution. On Saturday, Laurence Tribe, the U.S. Justice Department’s senior counselor for access to justice, speculated during a program at the annual meeting that there is a good chance the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold the district court ruling, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy likely providing the swing vote.

In an interview after he participated in a Sunday morning program, David Boies, one of the lead plaintiffs attorneys in Perry, said it would be “significant” if the ABA comes out in support of marriage equality. “The ABA obviously is the most respected legal organization in the United States, and probably the world, and its opinion will be listened to by legislators and courts,” he said.

The House has long supported the legal rights of gays and lesbians. Among its actions:

• In 1989, it urged passage of statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

• In 1995, it opposed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in matters of child custody.

• In 2004, it adopted policy opposing efforts to enact a federal constitutional amendment that would prohibit states from recognizing same-sex marriage.

• Last August, it urged repeal of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act; that section denies federal marital benefits and protections to lawfully married same-sex spouses.