The polls are saying this election is tied in the presidential race. If they are correct, then there is something very

[peppertree]

126. Well said.

I lived in the Ft. Worth area for a couple of years - and remember some of the RW blockheads.

This was when Dubya invaded Iraq. What seemed to bother them most, wasn't domestic opposition - but in France!

"We oughta nuke Paris!" was a common sentiment - though again, only among the Repuglicans.

Suffice it to say, LGBT issues were utterly taboo - and weren't to be even mentioned (although I do remember the rumors around Rick Perry and a supposed 2004 incident having to do with a gay tryst in an Austin hotel - and a fire alarm which, they say, sent him into a panic attack).

It's nothing to me - I'm bi, myself (and by myself ). As it happens - I remember stopping for dinner in Amarillo once, and the receptionist was this very pretty gay guy, no more than 20, who was as sweet as can be and gave me a mischievous smile (nothing happened).

But I do remember thinking how brave he must be, being gay and in Amarillo. Yes, the owner of that restaurant (cowboy-themed, as I recall) seemed to appreciate him. But what of some of these others - like the people you described.

So - kudos to you, Mark, for your own bravery. Here's hoping that, someday soon, the good people of Amarillo wake up to the fact that Cheeto and his billionaire bankrollers just see them as props - to be used and abused as the occasion requires.

All the Best.