RockHardNYC

I was apologizing to all readers who feel as you do. Quotes are not the same thing as copying the entire text of an article and posting it. Providing a link to a media source is not identical to posting the full text (or quotes) in any forum. Your "book" is quite mistaken.

I apologize to those board viewers who aren't subscribers to The New York Times. I happen to believe it's one of the most important news outlets in the world, so I highly recommend joining the online service. Their business is at an all-time high, which generally means they have the money to invest in good reporting. Due to the new board rules concerning copyrighted material, you won't see me posting copyrighted material anymore, which includes text from published articles of interest. I don't like the new rules, but I prefer to show respect to the board's owner. Maybe the day will come when Oz feels like making a Fair Use case for his little playpen, and the rules will change. Fingers crossed. If you Google the article's title, sometimes you can find the article printed elsewhere for free. I'm happy to share newly found anecdotes that strike me as interesting topics of conversation, but I can't breast-feed everyone. For those who refuse to join NYTimes.com, for whatever reason, you may have to work a little harder to enjoy some of my posts.

I can't believe I read this in The NY Times, but it seems times, they are a changin'. This Party Stinks. That’s the Point.

Some good writing in the NY Times lately. I'm in agreement with Nathan Hersh (even though I'm not Jewish). Whoopi Goldberg Apologized. Punishing Her Further Is Un-Jewish.

Interesting that Mitch McConnell has gone public with his denunciation of the RNC's ridiculous and hate-filled censure. McConnell Denounces R.N.C. Censure of Jan. 6 Panel Members

Sadly, the story runs a bit deeper than that. Trump was a catalyst for sure, but the party lost its way long before that, and many of their leadership were in denial about the party's base and way too many of its members. Stuart Stevens, a well-known, veteran Republican operative, spells it all out very well in his recent book: It Was All a Lie HOW THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BECAME DONALD TRUMP

If ever there was a year where the Olympics needed all the help it could get, THIS IS THE YEAR. But, no, NBC had to go and fuck things up, probably because of greed, probably because of ego. Was Leslie Jones really a threat to their $7.75 billion broadcasting rights? I sincerely doubt it. Why didn't they simply put her on payroll and support her efforts, which the athletes and the fans seem to enjoy? Now, after this completely unnecessary public brouhah, NBC is finally saying OK to Leslie. However, it's difficult to put an ugly cat back in the bag once the cat has destroyed the bag and the ugly is out there for all to see. It will be interesting to see if Leslie can forgive NBC and resume her Olympics social media. NBC says Leslie Jones can keep offering her commentary on the Olympics.

It's true. I hear from diabetic friends that metformin, the most common drug used to treat early stages of diabetes, causes weight loss. Some friends have lost 60 to 100 pounds without dieting. However, a serious downside to that drug is severe digestive issues, mainly, never-ending diarrhea. Talk about an erection killer. Be careful what you wish for. Nothing worse than being stuck with a not-so-fun sex partner who needs another hour of stimulation before he finally cums.

If you're getting, maintaining, or increasing healthy erections while being on statins and/or beta blockers, I would consider yourself very lucky. The evidence supporting the opposite outcome is overwhelming. A simple Google search will reveal the unfortunate odds. I know a few gay doctors who are on Lipitor and Lisinopril, and all they talk about these days is limp dick. Lipitor is also famous for short-term memory loss. The drug works miracles, but a lot of people refuse to tolerate it because the side effects fuck up their lives.

Sorry, I get the meds mixed up. Statins are for reducing cholesterol, and beta blockers are for lowering hypertension. Many older gay men take both. However, both can play a serious role in erectile dysfunction. Diabetes is also something to consider. There are some ACE inhibitors that don't effect the ability to get an erection, but regulating blood pressure is a very individual thing. Good doctor's tend to prescribe what works best for an individual, ignoring the side effects. I have never heard of any blood pressure or cholesterol drugs that are good for erection health. Perhaps there are outliers, since science is often not black and white.

Their radical base, who now controls the party. Elected GOPs are so afraid of their base, they created a monster they can no longer control. It's anarchy now, and unless Trump drops dead from a Big Mac heart attack, I really don't see how much change is possible. There simply is no one in the GOP who has anywhere near the "star" power of the Don. At least in NYC we got some good news today. Michael Avenatti Is Found Guilty of Stealing From Stormy Daniels. I guess the jury struggled a bit with one lone holdout, until the judge said, "no emotion." The lone juror must have fallen under Avenatti's spell as he represented himself in his trial. Silly. He didn't offer one witness on his behalf. Very strange. What an amazing rise and fall in such a short time. Avenatti had the media by the balls for a quick minute, and I'm sure Trump didn't appreciate the grip that Avenatti had on his balls, either. Poor Stormy. She can see dead people but she couldn't smell a crook in her employ. Since I'm assuming Avenatti has no money, I wonder what Stormy gets out of this?

Breaking news: G.O.P. Declares Jan. 6 Attack ‘Legitimate Political Discourse’ The people who run this party have completely lost their minds. Fuck the U.S. Constitution. Fuck the rule of law. Fuck Democracy. We are so far from Benghazi, it's very difficult to see how we correct course without a major war. I doubt a Trump death is enough to fix this. We can only hope Covid takes out a few more red states. The crazies aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

If at your age you are still getting wet dreams, I'd say you are doing pretty well in life. Most everyone I know is taking blood pressure medication. A major side effect of statins is decreased ability to get an erection and/or sustain an erection. My PCP, who runs a famous practice serving the gay community, tells me that "limp cock" is the #1 complaint among his patients over the age of forty-five. Many men have no choice, they have to pick between life and sex. Getting older, living longer, with the help of medicine, often means you can't have both. I say, if this is your reality, learn to live with the reality and find other ways to have fun.

Absolutely! Sadly, I no longer have the patience or desire to educate the profound ignorance that exists in our gay community (unless the guy with foot-in-mouth disease is young, handsome and sexy). PBS News: What Whoopi Goldberg's Holocaust remarks can teach us about antisemitism

According to the Nazi's, Jews were an inferior race, one that needed to be exterminated. "This is why the Nazis targeted anyone with a Jewish grandparent, regardless of whether the person identified as Jewish or not. Nazism was a blood-based doctrine of racial supremacy, and its consequence was the genocide of the Jews." It's true, more now than ever. Alternate realities. My son can't figure out how they get away with their lies and bullshit. I answer, it's simple. They're in the minority, they're mostly racist, mostly White, and their Republicanism is in-bred. The only way they "win" is by sticking together and towing the party line. I can't agree that their strategy is a winning one. Evil eventually comes back to kick you in the ass. Karma is a bitch, too. But as long as Trump is alive, and his base of fans remains strong, we'll be on this roller-coaster hell-hole ride for awhile longer, I'm sorry to say.

Are Jews a Race?

Many people like to argue semantics when it comes to the word "race." But the truth is race and ethnicity are social constructs. As humans, we belong to the human race. Whoopi said "the Holocaust was not about race." She was wrong, and she's apologized several times. Her argument that "race" meant solely the color of someone's skin was ignorant, and she never should have revealed such ignorance on national television. It's true, she is not and never has been a Holocaust denier. As I said earlier, she is on-record describing herself as Jewish. But to make a false, misleading argument on national TV about race, using the Holocaust as your subject when anti-semitism is on the rise (much thanks to Donald Trump's embrace of White nationalism), is a public relations disaster for a famous, Black, female celebrity. She has always enjoyed being outspoken and opinionated, which explains why she was popular on The View. However, with ABC suspending her so quickly, I'll bet lots of money the powerful suits are questioning her future with the show.

I know Whoopi Goldberg. I've worked with Whoopi Goldberg. I can't believe she said something SO STUPID on national television. It continues to demonstrate, no matter how smart you are, no matter how successful, a day may come, a moment may strike when you do something so utterly STUPID, say something incredibly damaging to your career, hurtful to your co-workers and friends, and cause a public relations fiasco that may prove extremely difficult to overcome. Whoopi Goldberg may be apologizing for a very long time, an apology tour, and it probably won't do her much good. It'll be interesting to see what cancel culture does with her. The goal of Nazi Germany in the 1940's was to exterminate the Jewish race (along with many other minorities). To not know this as an American celebrity (who has identified as Jewish in her past), someone educated in America, someone who has worked with and for Steven Spielberg, is beyond comprehension. It must really suck to be Whoopi Goldberg right now.

Did the review side of this site die with photo uploads? I've had plenty of great experiences with new guys who asked for their money upfront. Trust is often a 2-way street. In the world of female escorts, paying after service is usually a no go. Why should it be different for gay male escorts? There are countless tales of bad, awful customers. Escorts have to deal with a lot of assholes, particularly drunk or drug-induced assholes. If you're meeting someone new, how is either person supposed to gain the trust that is needed to secure an equally satisfying deal? What is the proper negotiation that works for everyone? If you are hung up on NEVER paying upfront, then it is incumbent on you to SCREAM that in your advance communication with a new purchase, and then see how that goes. Are you willing to take the risk of being forever dumped? Trust matters more to me than silly, self-imposed rules. You attract more bees with honey. Starting off a negotiation with "demands" usually ends badly for everyone. That said. I never fall in love with a photo. I do my best to stay away from known smokers and drug users. I don't go to unknown addresses. And if you don't speak a language that I speak, then I probably won't hire you.

I sincerely doubt there are more liars in the U.S. government than there are in your own personal life. Human beings tend to lie when it's convenient, easy, or it will save their ass. I know plenty of people who work for the U.S. government who care deeply about the work, this country, and the public service. Of course it's always the bad apples who ruin things for everyone. But when you seriously think about large bureaucracies, especially the ones where employees come and go with each new administration, it's hard to imagine any mission that can be perfectly executed with so many hands coming and going. Run a business, any business, and find out how difficult it is to create a perfect execution. Or better yet, see how easy it is for just three people to keep your secret. America's problem is education, and it has been a serious problem for decades. Republicans in particular prefer to keep their voters stupid and scared. As long as there are too many stupid, scared people running around, there is no way they will ever be able to wrap their brain around science. If the cross you want to bear is science-denial, then you just might die on that cross. It's proving true for many anti-vaxxers.

The sad reality: if more anti-vaxxers die from Covid, the safer the world will be for the rest of us.

There's nothing like a killer pandemic to bring out the CRAZY in most everyone. And I agree, Đoković got what he deserved. IMO, any famous person who goes public with his/her anti-vax bullshit (especially their lies) deserves to die from the most deadly form of Covid (thankfully, some are dying). I can't tolerate famous, wealthy people who choose to show their ignorance of science or science denial. If for some life-threatening reason your body can't tolerate a vaccine, then excuse yourself from society and work, and sit the pandemic out. It's the right thing to do. What is going on in our own Supreme Court is despicable. Neal Gorsuch deserves to have his balls kicked with steel-toed shoes for his anti-mask behavior aimed at Justice Sonya Sotomayor. Supreme Court veteran, Nina Totenberg, writes about it HERE. This revealing article should be read by everyone. When I saw the recent rant by asshole Rand Paul against Dr. Fauci (one of many), and Paul had the nerve to say, "There have been more Covid deaths under Joe Biden than Donald Trump," implying that Trump was the "leader" for less covid deaths, I wanted to VOMIT. Shameless mother-fuckers. Trumpers are to blame for EVERY Covid death because of their behavior. They blew their reputation with their disastrous handling of this disease. Had Covid been handled properly from the beginning, the United States could have led the world on eradication and/or control of this virus. Thankfully, Fauci pointed out that Rand (and others) are raising lots of money with their dangerous Covid rhetoric, and it this evil money that is keeping Covid (and every future mutation) alive for many years to come. In the United States, we can't get rid of Covid because of Republican behavior. And worst of all, it is this evil money and rhetoric that is killing many of their voters, since most of the dying are the unvaccinated living in red states. This is a MORAL DISGRACE that America will have to live with for a long time. (Sorry to bring politics into this thread, but sadly, Covid is political now. You can't put that nasty cat back in the bag.)

There are several in my circle, including myself, who have slowly and steadily prepared for the possibility of leaving. Considering all the metrics, America seems hell-bent on entering a dark period. It would be foolish to ignore the vast numbers of people who voted for Trump in the last election. Even more foolish to ignore what red states are doing with their laws to make it legal to "fix" an election they don't like. None of the great thinkers in America know what to do with this problem. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom and lose everything to appreciate what you once had. I don't think of myself as a quitter, but I'm only one guy who believes in democracy rule. I do everything I can to fight back, but at a certain point, you have to find a way to survive and be happy, living the life you dream.

Betty White was a pure treasure, especially in the gay community. She's had a long history of working with gay people in the industry, recognizing and fully appreciating their contributions. Anyone who had the pleasure of meeting Betty would never forget the experience. She always said she was the luckiest woman in the world because she was blessed with good health. And she was right. Many people in show business (and elsewhere) can't live a long, plentiful life due to chronic health conditions. So many actors are struck with some form of early dementia (often aggravated by statins), which obviously affects their ability to remember lines. If you can't remember lines, your life in show business will not survive. Word gets around quickly, and it's rare to see any production support for actors who want to work, but need a little help to get them through. Betty White was the exception. Her good health allowed her to never retire, which was always her wish. She loved her work, and she never wanted to see it end. Lucky lady.

The various tiers of ad-click revenue are complicated. Not sure there's much more than pennies without clicking all the way through. What gay, male fool clicks ads on a porn site these days? Hello Russia and China. Lord knows, I'm all for making money. But there's a gentlemanly way to do it, and a crass way. I find the controlling methods extremely LAZY, and thus, very crass. I can't remember the last time I logged in over there. Have no interest in a dead horse. But judging the way you are treated as an observer, they can take their non-stop ads and shove them up their asses. Not a creative, insightful soul in the bunch.