John Masters, Author at Deep Something

An Open Letter to the UMC General Conference Commission

May 13, 2015May 14, 2015 B. John 888 Views 1 Comment Robert Mugabe, United Methodist Church, GC, General Conference, UMC, Zimbabwe

It seems the Commission on the General Conference for the United Methodist Church, meeting last month, decided to hold the first quadrennial General Conferences outside the United States . The original choice had the GC going to Zimbabwe in 2024, and the Philippines in 2028. Fortunately, an ever-present advocate for LGBT people within the Church was there, and raised a few concerns, including the fact that Amnesty International has declared Zimbabwe one of the most dangerous countries for LGBT people. The years were switched.

Religion Society Gay Issues Right Wingnuts Featured Politics Courts

An Open Letter to Conservative SCOTUS Justices

May 5, 2015September 29, 2018 B. John 1263 Views 0 Comments john roberts, supreme court, Antonin Scalia, SCOTUS, marriage equality

This entry is in the series Gay Marriage

Yes, this is a bit behind, but I had to make comments about some of the discussion points put forward

Right Wingnuts Featured Religion Society Gay Issues

An Open Letter to Anti-Gay “Christians”

May 5, 2015September 29, 2018 B. John 1613 Views 0 Comments pat robertson, Tony Perkins, Matt Barber, Ted Cruz, David Duke, Alan Keyes

This entry is in the series Gay Marriage

Unfortunately, as gay people are less afraid to hide in a stifling closet, and are demanding that they be accorded the same rights as every other American, the heads of the leaders of the evangelical branch of the christian right are exploding. They are ratcheting up the rhetoric to a disturbing level, and some of their language is most certainly designed to evoke a violent response by unstable people who follow them. So, I’d like to drop them a note.

Featured Politics Courts Religion Society Gay Issues Right Wingnuts

An Open Letter to Mike Huckabee

April 3, 2015September 29, 2018 B. John 1415 Views 0 Comments Mike Pence, Indiana, Wedding Cakes, Mike Huckabee

This entry is in the series Gay Marriage

But at the end of the day, with or without these RFRA laws, you still have the same religious freedoms you have had since the Republic was founded. You can pray to whatever God you choose, or you can choose to not pray. You can go to whatever house of worship you wish on whatever day you’d like, and you can crawl into the pulpit and preach the ugliest and nastiest things your sad little heart can drum up about people you don’t like. So Mike, stop with the lying about the need for these laws. The only thing you’re trying to do is get special rights to take your particular from of hatred and bigotry into the public square, and you’re finding that Americans are finally less and less tolerant of your intolerance. I know it’s hard to take now, but in the end, America, and even you, will be better for it.

Culture Entertainment Theater Fun Stuff Humor

Lewis Black – A Show Review

March 17, 2015September 29, 2018 B. John 870 Views 3 Comments Comedy, Lewis Black, John Bowman, Straz Center

This past weekend was my birthday. I love Lewis Black, and have never seen him in person, so I was excited to find that he was performing his current show, “The Rant is Due, Part Deux,” at the Straz Center here in Tampa Saturday evening, March 14. I love Lewis Black and his comedy, but was really disappointed when this show went nowhere.

Featured Politics Legislature Religion Society Gay Issues Business Economy Right Wingnuts

Righteous Bigots Afraid to Own Their Bigotry

March 16, 2015September 29, 2018 B. John 1459 Views 1 Comment bigotry, Oklahoma, Chuck Strohm, Christianists, Emily Virgin, religious liberty

This entry is in the series Gay Marriage

We’re starting to see the backlash against LGBTQ people as the likelihood of nationwide marriage equality increases, and LGBTQ people achiever equality under the law. One of the main ways the Christianists are trying to keep us in our place, is to pass these bogus, and clearly unconstitutional, religious liberty bills. We saw how cowardly they are in Oklahoma this week.

Movies Music Culture

Whiplash – A Movie Review

March 15, 2015 B. John 608 Views 0 Comments Damien Chazelle, Miles Teller, Paul Reiser, Melissa Benoist, Drama, Music, J. K. Simmons

My expectations were not too high, and I was surprised that Lay was interested at all. I was in the band in high school, a great band at that, with a tough (but nothing like the J.K. Simmons character, Terence Fletcher) band director. I just didn’t see how it could be that compelling. Boy, was I wrong. Everything about this film was stellar; casting, writing, acting, directing, music and cinematography all came together to just tell an incredible story. You really need to see this movie, which is already out on DVD, Amazon and Redbox.

Culture Entertainment Featured Fun Stuff Humor

Love has no….

March 5, 2015September 29, 2018 B. John 1739 Views 1 Comment love

This is a great Youtube by the Ad Council. You know them from the late night public service announcement on TV. The Video tells a great story about not judging a book by its cover. Take 3 minutes to get a smile for today.

Culture Movies

Fury – A Movie Review

February 21, 2015February 20, 2015 B. John 562 Views 0 Comments Action, Brad Pitt, Drama, War, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena, David Ayer

April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and his five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Out-numbered, out-gunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany. It was worth watching, and much of the action was realistic, but in some cases logic has to be stretched a little.

Featured Politics Legislature Courts Religion Society Gay Issues

Craziness Roundup for the Week of Feb. 20, 2015

February 20, 2015February 20, 2015 B. John 1189 Views 0 Comments Mississippi, Robert George, Nom, James Van Huss, Tennessee, Roy More, Micah, Alabama, Welfare, school funding, Gene Alday, Roy Moore, Glenn Murdock, Witherspoon Institute, Michael Paulsen, republican

This week’s crazy has been especially over the top, especially with Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore trying to stand in the courthouse doorway, and more Christians believing that only they can defend God (shhh, apparently he can’t take care of himself).

Featured Politics War

American Sniper – War and Politics

February 16, 2015February 16, 2015 B. John 697 Views 0 Comments Iraq, Michael Moore, Chris Kyle, American Sniper, Heroes, cowards

The recent movie, American Sniper, based on the autobiography of Chris Kyle, has sparked quite a bit of heated discussion. I’ve previously reviewed the movie, but in this post, I’d like to take on some of the politics, praise, and condemnation that’s been the result of the movie.