Featured Model - Manuel Escamilla Jr.

Model Manuel Escamilla Jr. is 26 years-old and lives in Lubbock, Texas. He describes himself as a focused, easy-going, straight/single black male "trying to reach for the stars". One of my guilty pleasures is Mr. Escamilla's tumblr, where he posts LOTS of pictures of himself - God bless him.

Model Mayhem Profile

Mr. Escamilla Jr's Tumblr

.

Texas Board Doesn't Want Kids Learning About The Muslins

The untrawingnutty Texas Board of Education is at it again - attempting to push their conservative agenda via the textbooks students use. And since Texas is the second largest purchaser of textbooks, publishers are usually happy to oblige.

This time they don't want students learning that Muslins are anything other than dirty terrorists. From Gawker:

The Texas Board of Education will vote tomorrow on a resolution decrying the "gross pro-Islamic, anti-Christian distortions in social studies texts." Of course, the books in question haven't been used since 2003, but no matter.

Don't mess with Texas!

Featured Model - DeRay Dalone

Dallas resident DeRay Dalone, 26, actually began modeling on a dare.  I dare say he has made a promising start.

Model Mayhem Profile

Featured Model - Josiah Jennings

At the direct request of Josiah Jennings, all images have been removed.

Off To The Great Breakfast Buffet In The Sky

I was so sad to hear that country music star, television host, and sausage wrangler Jimmy Dean died on Sunday. But my sausage-sadness lessened when Michael K at Dlisted reminded me of one of my favorite YouTube videos EVER. Listen all the way to the end - it's worth it.

I'm not kidding, I think this recording was made by my Uncle Jim Bob (even though he says his name is "Randy Taylor"). Yes, I REALLY have an Uncle Jim Bob who lives in Texas. He is married to my Aunt Dixie Sue (seriously) and they happen to have three kids - 2 boys and a girl (who are now adults).

Coincidence???

Featured Model - Daniel Caesar Sandoval

From Daniel Caesar Sandoval's Model Mayhem PAGE:

My name is Daniel Sandoval and I am from a small country town in West Texas that nobody has ever heard of. I enjoy modeling, writing and composing original music, playing the guitar, acting, running, working out, expanding my business, my family, and having the time of my life!

Ultraconservative Texas Extremists Rewrite U.S. History

The Texas State Board of Education wields undo power over textbook publishers, since Texas is the second-largest purchaser of textbooks.  Curriculum guidelines adopted in Texas affect what students nationwide learn because book manufacturers will print whatever their largest customers want them to.  These Texas-approved textbooks are sold to smaller states/school districts all over the nation, and the lessons in these texts are taught to students everywhere.

On Friday the conservative-dominated Board injected their radical ideas into the social studies, history and economics curricula that will be taught for decades.  Some of the changes included (via Joe.My.God)...

-The Board removed Thomas Jefferson from the Texas curriculum's world history standards on Enlightenment thinking, “replacing him with religious right icon John Calvin.” 

-"Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state." “I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, a conservative from Beaumont who works in real estate. “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”

-The Board refused to require that “students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.”

-McCarthyism will be taught as an example of how communism was rooted out of the federal government.

-Students will learn about the "patriot movement" of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract With America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association.

-"Board members also rejected requiring history teachers and textbooks to provide coverage on the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, while the late President Ronald Reagan was elevated to more prominent coverage."

You've got to hand it to conservatives - they don't miss a trick, do they?  It's amazing ... and disgusting.

HAPPY PRIDE! Gay Bar Raided On Stonewall Anniversary

Fort Worth's Rainbow Lounge was raided by police on the EXACT 40th anniversary of the initial raid on the Stonewall Inn in NYC (June 28). Many of the Rainbow Lounge Patrons were rounded up and charged with "public intoxication" - and some experienced excessive force from police. From Daily Kos, a dancer from the bar recalls:

I was one of the dance entertainers last night at Rainbow Lounge. I was dancing on a box in the VIP lounge and was looking right at the first guy that was arrested. The male patron was standing at the bar doing nothing but having a having a drink and a fun time (like people do in bars) when an officer entered that section of the club and made a beeline straight towards him. The officer forcefully spun the man around, shoved him against the bar and placed plastic restraints on his wrists. The officer then marched the man out the club. The guy was stunned and obviously really scared.

I then noticed another officer in the VIP section and several other officers filtering into the club. I made the decision at that point to go ahead and get dressed in case they were going to start arresting everyone in the entire place.

When I got inside the dressing room there were other dancers already in there getting dressed. They were panicking and saying that this is not something they have ever had to deal dancing in Dallas. I got dressed and walked out the door and saw that several more officers had made their way into the club. I went into sort of a surreal haze at that moment. I was so disturbed and saddened because it occurred to me in that moment that being after midnight, it was actually the exact same day as the Stonewall Riots. I just couldn’t believe what was happening.

I was still standing near the entrance to the VIP lounge with a friend when an officer approached a man standing there. The man had water in his hand. The officer asked him how much he had had to drink and the man said that he didn’t have to answer that. The officer then said that he was going to arrest him for public intoxication. The man said,"You can’t do that I am just standing here right now drinking water." At the time the officer shoved the man over towards the wall near the dressing room and then back to the rear wall near the men’s restroom, then down onto the floor. Several other officers, made their way back there to hold that ONE MAN down on the ground as they placed restraints on him. At the time I noticed that all of them did not have FWPD uniforms on. Some of them were actually State Police.

There is now a Facebook Group dedicated to discussing the raid. Here is their group summary:

Last night around 1 a.m., on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the Fort Worth Police Department raided the Rainbow Lounge and began randomly handcuffing and arresting patrons and shoving anyone who dared to ask why. It was a sobering reminder that on this pinnacle date in the history of gay rights, we still have a very long way to go. I created this group to give folks a chance to discuss it, share stories, pictures, etc.

Apparently eighteen people were arrested and one was actually hospitalized. It's things like this that remind us that we still have a long ways to go toward equality.

Texas Mayor Picks Papi Over Politics

From Towleroad:

J.W. Lown, Mayor of San Angelo, Texas, resigned Wednesday, after deciding that the relationship he had with a man from Mexico was more important to him than his job.

The Mayor has been PAPIMATIZED!! In other words, J.W. was chillin' south-of-the-border with his hot man and started thinking: "Hmmm ... should I go back to my Mayoral job (which only paid $600/year - WTF??), or should I stay here, have sex with my piece, and drink margaritas on the beach...?". Not much of a choice there, in my opinion. I would have done the same damn thing!

Personal side note: My Mom, Uncle and Aunt (who I had lunch with this week) all grew up in conservative San Angelo - and my grandparents still live there. Escandalo!