SomewhereonNeptune

What on earth would be the point of that? Like wearing a raincoat in the shower. Or asking to be knocked up when you've been on PrEP for considerable time.

Or he could be like the hecklers who sit on the sidelines downvoting posts without having the courage to contribute and subject their own views to critique. Right? 😆

The highlighted section was what made me laugh, @harrysmith25. Not laughing at you, just at your sense of wit. Staggering Biden was overtaken by Collapsing Springsteen that's become viral on X today. Before I was just another Jersey boy who didn't like "The Boss". 🤣

If I could do that, I don't think I'd leave the house much. 🤣

More because seminal fluids are not as effective in carrying the HIV payload as blood, yes? Ya know, since your mileage may vary. 😉

Well put @nanana. The dreaded ⬇️ seems to come out and be wielded like knives when someone 'disagrees' or 'doesn't like' a post, regardless of merit or facts or the illustration of a position. I've already accepted that I'll post a position and cite data and if almost on queue, someone will emerge from the woodwork to downvote it rather than do something like state 'Here's why I disagree with your assertion'. Certain people will be reasonable. Others will be passive/aggressive. It's why we are so divided even within the more parochial LGBTQIA++ community. I picked this post out as an example that there is common ground on which many of us can agree. Biden did come out as an ally where Obama was politically posturing. I commend him for that. Just like I commend him for pushing for the funding for the Hudson River tunnels, improvements to rail in the Northeast corridor, and other commitments that were made at a federal level that people like Chris Christie and Donald Trump dismissed or ignored when they were clearly needed. And I think you'll find that most people don't harbor ill-will toward same sex couples. Our Presidents are imperfect. Our popes are imperfect, People in general are highly flawed, it's a very imperfect world and we're all human.

Do y'all remember back in July of 2022? Especially if you lived in the UK? That was my vacation. Wouldn't have been so bad in Florida, but much of the UK does not have air conditioning. Plus part of my plan was first to visit friends in Lincolnshire, then hop a train to Edinburgh before I learned that their rails seem to warp and airport tarmac tends to really soften there. So it can get hot anywhere. It's more who is prepared for it. I'm not far from Sarasota and came through the hurricanes in '24 unscathed (mine went through the eye as it passed overhead). Depends where you are and how you're built, and I find my place is different from most in Florida. I'm knocking wood because my homeowners actually decreased a bit on renewal this year. But Florida homeowners insurance is hitting hard in (a) many older homes (over 25 years), (b) those not built to the Hurricane Andrew (Cat 5)/Miami-Dade building codes, and (c) those hugging the coast. Places like Sanibel/Captiva, Fort Myers Beach and a few other Gulf islands are still dealing with damage from '22, and even Punta Gorda from '24 (my aunt hit all 3 of the criteria above in Milton, her house and pool levels were the same as her canal at one point, fun times). Basically, you either like Florida or hate it intensely. My alternative was NY, so...I lean more to liking it.

Bit of a stretch though. Like referring to Ketchup as "tomato sauce" or a tomato as a "fruit". Yeah, they are, but you wouldn't put ketchup on pasta or tomatoes in a fruit salad. 🤣 You must be from Alberta! I hear that y'all aren't too happy about the political direction there. 🤣

"...no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should." - Desiderata Carlin was edgy for his time in a way that many current comedians and late-night TV chat show hosts...well, aren't. Regardless of partisanship, I can enjoy a good laugh (and usually do) on political figures and the extremes on all sides since so often there is hypocrisy in all of it that makes for a healthy chuckle. The problem is that we have created a divided culture that seems intent on forcing a point of view with which we may not agree. Or particularly like being force fed. Or to have everything become politics. Here's an example: I loved Letterman. I absolutely cannot stand Colbert. Loved Carson and Leno. Even Conan O'Brien. Now for the most part, many subscribe to similar political ideologies, but the ones that made you laugh and think through humor (absurd or sublime) appeal more than the ones who night after night after night repeat the same message to the point that I want to throw solid objects at my TV. Hell, I'd laugh constantly at Bush ("W", not the elder) and Biden for very similar reasons. They're comedy gold. Gutfeld and Graham Norton are both funny for similar reasons: Their chat show formats are focused on the humor exchanged in story-telling and discussions. By the same token, I don't laugh at Trump because there is very little that's true humor with the guy and he's more a troller. But I digress. There is a subtle art at making you see the humor in yourself and your beliefs. There's humor in the every day absurd or the inherent contradictions in life. But having to beat your head in to make a point is much like explaining how or why a joke is funny: If you need to do either, your joke didn't land and the heckler in the back row is waiting for his turn.

Yes, but... If you speak with most people around the globe, they'll refer to those from the United States as "Americans" and people from other countries as from their country of origin (Argentinian, Brazilian, Colombian, Peruvian, etc.). I don't think I've ever been referred to as anything other than American when I've traveled (at least to my face). If I referred to you being from Canada as an "American", I reckon you'd consider that insulting. Yes? 🤣

I'm guessing there was a lot of pumping of various kinds going on there. 😉

Funny story: It was 1997 and I was walking around Disney Epcot. An attractive bear of a guy just came up to me and kicked off a conversation, so I went with it. I could tell quickly he was gay and his goal was hitting on me, but since we were just going around the park it was a chance to do things with someone rather than alone. We spent the afternoon doing the rides and attractions and he said that he needed to get back to his hotel for his luggage and then to the airport. So I offered to take him both places since it gave me a chance to see a resort on the Disney property (Wide World of Sports). I dropped him at the airport, he lived in NYC and I was only about 90 minutes aware from there, we exchanged numbers and kept in touch. We kept a friendship for many years though it never grew into a relationship (or anything more 'intimate') but he was a great guy and he even linked me up with a recruiter friend who connected me with my next job. He went through a couple relationships, relocated to Boston, and got married.

Since I've mostly topped, it's close to 100%. Notable exception was this Asian guy who wanted to get fucked, then as soon as we were about to do it, he breaks out the condom and things rapidly go downhill from there (spoiler: he didn't get fucked). Then he asked if he could give me his number, and I just said no thanks and that was it. And that was 10 years ago. Otherwise, generally no one asks, it isn't discussed, and if someone's offering themselves up without any mention of it, the presumption is they want it raw. And sure enough, it's never come up in a "What's your sign, and do you have a recent STI panel" type of way.

I think this could be knee-jerk given the exceptionally lax restrictions on border control by the (ahem) prior administration. To me it seems challenging that people are being flagged based on sexual preference. Is it possible that for some of these, the media is providing a partial rendition of what happened or CBP isn't providing the full reasons for denial of entry? For instance, if a CBP agent does an inspection from someone clearing customs from certain countries, they will look to see signs such as a visitor's visa but carrying work-specific equipment and enough evidence that they may be looking to overstay a visa and try to apply for work. The Philippines and India are 2 nations where that activity is highly likely. What we don't know, or aren't being told to be fair, is whether there are other mitigating circumstances or intelligence suggesting certain flights may be logical choices for potential threatening activity. I don't know your friends who've gone through this and cannot speculate, but I know people who've had encounters coming to the US who were "selected for enhanced screening" including a family that visited me in October. Some years ago, I got selected for enhanced screening coming out of Dublin back to JFK, and they did the process in Dublin pre-boarding. I have Global Entry, TSA Pre-Check and other items to help me pass security more easily since I used to travel both for business and holidays. I don't fit the profile of someone on a watchlist. CBP can see my travel record across the globe. I'm so white and American I probably scare Casper. But I got the full treatment and no one could tell me why. Yeah it sucks.

I'm not sure I buy into that. Foremost, he hired Scott Bessent as his Treasury Secretary, and he's openly gay. He also had kind things to say yesterday about a gay couple, though he wasn't complementary on the job one of them did. He didn't use comments on his view of Buttigieg's performance to throw shade at their child and relationship and said it was a "nice family". Now he may be echoing the sentiment of many that there are only 2 sexes as defined by chromosomes, but that doesn't mean that we'd necessarily take giant leaps backwards in human rights to begin restricting existing rights. (I know someone will probably bring up abortion, and there's a difference there in terms of whether that should be restricted. Trump has already cited the Florida 6-week limit as "too restrictive", proposing that 13-weeks is a better target) The other thing about Cardinal Prevost/Pope Leo XIV is that he follows in alignment with Francis, by whom he was appointed. We're both Catholic, so we know that the pendulum of the Church swings rather slowly. If he follows Francis (as with the other 108 Cardinals Francis appointed), I've no doubt the Church will swing toward a more liberal approach to LGBTQIA issues, but it'll likely stop short of female priests and gay marriage. If you want that, try Episcopalian. 😉

The more you know. Thanks for clarifying. I'd have thought the combination of a more liberal climate and a decent gay scene would have made a fertile field (pardon the pun) for bathhouses that are not fuck free zones. I mean do you all ask pronouns and whether I can touch you? (Kidding but not entirely) Again...wow! If those were the questions you asked out there, they'd be the same questions I asked on the East Coast and never had any issues. Are people that uptight? And do they put on their profiles that they like candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach? 🤣 East Coast, there's a lot of activity on Sniffies and most people looking also host with more bare backers by me than not. BBRT can be flakey (no one hosts, few real responses), and that leaves NastyKinkPigs for the hardcore stuff. Disclaimer: If you don't live in or near Lauderdale, It's a crap shoot (I'm on the Gulf south of Tampa, aka God's Waiting Room), average age tends to be...well, don't make me go there. 🤣

I'd hope our UK brethren here could weigh in on this, using the examples of Tory, Labour and Liberals. The labels of conservative and liberal are relative. Maybe even Canadians offering their views. Do we even have UK or Canadian conservatives here? Anyone from Alberta? 😉

I wish him well, and it seems like the conclave coalesced around a new Pope in nearly record time. As a New Yorker, I'd hoped for Dolan as he's more charismatic and pragmatic in nature, but having a Pope from the US is a pretty big step for an institution that has almost never gone outside Europe for a choice. For those unaware, the Methodist Church came through a schism that basically split the church into factions that supported full inclusion of LGBTQIA++ persons, and those who took a harder line. And there are a lot fewer Methodist churches as a result (an Aunt's church recently split into a non-denominational aligned with old Methodism). What I hope is that the pendulum doesn't swing so far as to create another schism in the Catholic Church. A number of commentators are suggesting that his views align with Francis who really edged the church toward being more liberal (Catholicism doesn't change quickly or radically, so don't expect married Catholic clergy or gay weddings in our lifetimes), so guess we'll see how it plays out.

And who could ever forget, "Corn pop was a bad dude" or "I have hairy legs". (ahem) [think before following links] https://youtu.be/oqiOeiG4VNo?si=-z6IhhZDIb8iLqFV I wish I had an answer to why he seemed to always be sniffing people's hair, but on so many occasions he simply seemed lost. I have a non-verbal autistic relative who associates by smell. When I'd visit him, he'd walk up to people to smell them and if he recognized them by that, he'd be ok with you being there. While that is likely not the case with Biden, you have to wonder about whether that is something psychological at play. And too, too many things were chalked off as "Joe being Joe", such as his racist comments (the one about "if you aren't voting for me, you aren't black" on Charlemagne the God's radio show, or 'in order to walk into a convenience store you need to have a slight Indian accent'), but let's be honest, the treatment of those by the media we know would be completely different if President Trump were to say the same thing.

For the benefit of our UK listeners, Biden recently did an interview on Radio 4 in which he said about walking away, "it was a difficult decision". Your picture shows it was difficult for him to walk anywhere. The media tried to brush that off, but it all unraveled when it came to his debate performance. After being gaslit for years that Biden's "the best Biden we've ever seen" (credit: Joe Scarborough), we all saw it. Stevie Wonder could have seen it. And used to their profit later in first lying to us, then capitalizing on it by writing tell-alls to the effect of 'How I knew Biden's mental faculties were slipping and kept quiet so I could profit by writing a book, but you can trust me'. 😉 This is what people fail to realize. "Trans for Palestine". Do they understand that Muslims will actually throw queer people off roofs? I'm not meaning this to sound Islamophobic, but that Biden was ineffective in resolving the Israel/Palestine conflict and wavered in thinking should cause many to give pause. The prior administration spent like crazy, but when you look to find various items that were the outcome of the spending, they're difficult to find. $1.2 Trillion on an infrastructure bill. Buttegieg didn't do much with it when you consider that only 8 electric vehicle charging ports were ever built, and no investment was made into the very aging air traffic control system that people now blame on the administration that had been in power a short time when the DCA airport crash occurred. Buttegieg had 4 years, but does anyone go back and say "why didn't you address..."? We have short memories and want a throat to choke that's currently in power. That's human nature. I actually found an infrastructure bill project in the Orlando area last year: It was recurbing a corner for ADA compliance. The sign for it looked to be the largest cost to that project. And by saying that I'm not making light of the physically challenged, but to tout a $1.2 trillion spending act to small things like this when we needed very major overhauls? It's like worrying about a small pothole when the entire bridge ahead has collapsed. There was a lot of emphasis placed on identity politics, subjects like "minor attracted persons", trans athletes in women's sports, and a variety of other causes that weren't meaningful to Americans who were struggling under massive inflation and a sagging job market. As another Democrat, Bill Clinton, once said, "it's the economy, stupid". Americans just want to know we're not spending into a chasm and transparency on where our taxes go would be a bonus. People may not like everything that Trump does. I'm no exception. I even liked Bill Clinton. But I agree with @harrysmith25 that people will probably downvote these posts and suggest that we're all watching Fox News or wearing tinfoil hats (we aren't). But Americans would rather swallow hard and endure some trolling to focus on important things that matter to us than four more years of what I'll kindly call 'elder abuse'. I wish him reasonable health AND a pleasant retirement.

Are you saying there's not much of a gay scene in Portland?!? Now that's surprising. Not talking about saunas because they're quickly becoming a rarity, but just the apps and local cruising spots. You've all gotta stop using Christian Mingle for your hookups. 🤣😂 Seriously, if I go on A4A and see more about wanting a romantic relationship than what he's into sexually, it feels suspect and I avoid it. No clue how I seem to be a magnet for that on there. Sounds about right. I'm in the God's-Waiting-Room side of Florida, and even there I find a significant number of guys who are up for bareback. More if you go closer to Tampa or the Giant Rat.

Oh here we go... Not necessarily a sauna perspective, but more a "bi" one. Women complain about the irritation of those things as well, so the vast majority of those with whom I've been neither ask for them nor want them. Ask yourself how you think friction burn would feel and you probably have your answer. "Are you clean?" Dude, I showered right before I came here, so I could say 'yes' and not really be lying about an STI panel. Seriously? Want me to wear cologne for the ambient effect too? I have the really expensive scents so it can be more romantic for ya. 🤣 Amen bro. If you're looking for ass in a sauna, you're probably in the wrong place to be asking that question. Worried about a 'safe' hookup? Go to Grindr or Sniffies and check the dudes who want 'Condoms Only'. 😂 In a sauna? If the bottom isn't asking, you might want to examine why you are.

Cut. Took me some time to have even seen something uncut. Feel like I missed out.

I feel like I had a topic similar somewhere. 😉 As they say, it takes 2 to tango, and if the other person isn't asking and taking raw loads or willing to fuck you without the question coming up, how do people suddenly inflict the burden on the other person? Oh, that's right, we have a whole section of society that insists on other people taking accountability for their actions. They tell you to shove your dick in them and fuck the hell out of them with no conversation. Then, they complain if you haven't warned them about anything transmittable because they didn't ask. In the previous scene, they were in total bliss being fucked into the next county and telling you not to pull out or cum deep inside them. They didn't ask. They didn't medicate with PrEP. They didn't insist on a condom. They aren't leaving with a year's supply of Turtle Wax or a copy of the home game just for playing. But somehow it's your fault!? I'd stop self-guilting if it were me. So...the presumption is what? You're open to taking on anything including HIV, or would you revisit your insistence on them staying in? I'd assume on your statement that you're "going for the gusto". 😉

Join the line forming behind us, mate. There's more than a few people who have lost reputation score (FWIW) because of very candid posts. I'm sure if I keep posting here, I'll end up with so many downvotes that I'll probably be the first who has a reputation score in negative digits. 😂🤣🤣 "Identity politics". In this country (USA), I can cite the same positions taken by our current President and a number of past Presidents where said positions are identical. The sole difference is who is now taking the position, and how hypocritical the stance can be. Now that's a broad brush stroke, but the cutting of wasteful government expenditures has been a cause championed by a number of prior leaders (the Internet is forever, citation is the many videos of Sen. Schumer, Rep Pelosi, Pres. Obama and VP Biden, generally available on Youtube or C-SPAN), but the current administration is suddenly admonished for doing the same thing and using a data centric approach to identify the specific spending. Point is that we haven't gotten truthful information from the media for some time, stories are being omitted or not covered, and what we're forced into is a gaslit idea of political correctness, much of which doesn't pass a simple logic test. Case-in-point: The media told us that Joe Biden was as sharp as a knife, only to be shown that was wrong when we saw with our own eyes, and then for those same people to write tell-all books the minute that he was out of office (nothing like lying until you can profit more from the truth). I'm not counting on Political Correctness or Identity Politics or gaslighting to go away anytime soon. Because those who utter the truth will no doubt be shut down. Like asking your spouse if they look fat in something, only for them to respond "Absolutely!" It might be true, but that's not what they want to hear.