GayPatriot

The Internet home for American gay conservatives.

Scenes of a Charlotte Christmas

by

I keep forgetting to post these photos taken of PatriotManse by PatriotPartner.  We have the outside decorating down to a science and can complete it in one afternoon.   The Christmas Tree, on the other hand, requires two weekends and help from PatriotPhillyPal, Mark.

PS — It is close to 60 degrees here in Charlotte today.  And I just had to turn on the A/C.Â

UPDATE:  Sun came out and the Queen City is approaching 70 degrees today.  Yee haw.

In the meantime….. Dude, Where’s My Global Warming?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Comments

  1. “Global warming” is an oversimplified term; it’s called global climate change for a reason. Possibly why you’re using the A/C on the 25th of December?

    Anyway, Merry Christmas, and the Manse looks beautiful.

  7. AE there are many people in the US today who are working very hard, have valuable skills and are still having their jobs pulled out from under them, losing their pensions, watching their retirement savings shrink, depleting their savings to get by and losing their houses (not just those who got funky mortgages). Do you even know what happens to those who are downsized, outsourced and whatever other “nice” word used to mean fired to protect the company’s profits? Do you ever wonder why there are 40yr olds with degrees out their ears managing fast food restaurants or driving delivery for grocery stores? Or do you even notice or care. What do you think happens to a 55 year old who has been at the same job for 30 years and is let go? What about the thousands of people who worked for the financial institutions who are going under. 100s of thousands of people in this country HAVE worked hard, WILL work hard, WANT TO work hard and are DESPERATE to work hard but oh wise one WHERE ARE THE F’ING jobs?!? I fully understand that companies have to make money to keep going and that there are many slackers and/or people who have jobs only to keep a “diversity” quota up and that there are many unemployed who take advantage of the system. But many of us (meaning the citizens of the USA)are screwed right now and your statement is the result of an obscene assumption about good people. One good thing I will say about you – you’ve never claimed to be a “compassionate” conservative so your comments aren’t hypocritical – just crude and unfair to those who are fighting to keep from going under.

  8. oops left out, Bruce nice house, beautifully decorated. I’m envious, not of the house, I have no need of that much room, but of the gardening opportunities with those temps!! ok, so maybe a little bit of they house -ceiling fans on the porch, oh my…

  10. And which part of that is supposed to justify theft?

    Last post you displayed your self loathing and projection, this post will apparently be about your rationalization.

    Rationalizing bad behavior is not compassionate. Telling people they aren’t capable is not compassionate. Making people dependent is not compassionate. Encouraging people to get “degrees out their ears” is not compassionate if the degrees are useless. And theft is not compassionate. Indeed, your idea of compassionate is anything but! What you believe is compassion is actually harmful and thus evil.

    I don’t claim to be a “compassionate” conservative because the phrase implies conservatism isnt compassionate to begin with. It is redundant. Conservatism is the only compassionate ideology, which is a major reason I am a conservative.

    You feign compassion, conservatives practice it.

    Merry Christmas!

  11. I am very likely to be downsized in the near future because I work in the defense industry, and the incoming president has made clear his plans to “slow down our development of future combat systems.”

    But as I see it, I have a lot of skills, I’m highly educated, and with God’s help, I’ll get by, even if it means my lifestyle has to be scaled back. I’m more worried about my kids, and the opportunities they will lose if our economy becomes Euro-socialized. It is wicked hard for a young person in Europe to get ahead because of the taxes and regulations.

  13. I was told once that Christmas decorations were put up for the children of the house hold.

    So who is the child?

    Sorry I know you all must be self hating already subjecting yourself to the GOP bigotry on a daily bases.

    Even the comment section here is full of rage for what I would assume from other self hating homosexuals that is extremely disturbing that there are so many people out there that need theory this badly.

    So how does this work you guys find a “partner” that is will to put up with your crap or do you have to brainwash them into self hatred before denying yourselves marriage?

    Merry Christmas

  14. Very nice house. The Hermitage didn’t get decorated, things have been a bit stressful domestic-wise.

    ignatious, I assume you’re job hunting and will be taking advantage of unemployment benefits COBRA etc. as a safety net, not a hammock. Sorry to hear about you being downsized, the layoff scythe just missed me, so I sympathize.

    adDave. I looked at the layoffs as “I’m doing the best I can. If that’s not good enough, frak ’em.” Self Confidence, it’s not just for straights. 😉

  15. “Rationalizing bad behavior is not compassionate. Telling people they aren’t capable is not compassionate. Making people dependent is not compassionate. Encouraging people to get “degrees out their ears” is not compassionate if the degrees are useless. And theft is not compassionate. ”

    none of which has anything to do with what I said. The point is your statement is an ASSUMPTION that people aren’t working hard or upgrading their skills. And that is so typical of people like you who falsely claim to be conservative. You “practice” nothing but selfish, cruel judgment and filthy lying. Every sentence in your comment shows that. Compassion comes from having a heart – you have none. You would throw a match on someone who just had gas spilled on them. How do you live assuming the worst about everyone – kind of makes your “Merry Christmas” a lie.

    PatriotMom – true and the vast majority of those who find themselves in that situation fight to get out of it as soon as possible. They are not “stealing” and they did not choose to get into that situation to begin with. Those currently employed are also able to benefit from unemployment if they at some point need to.

    “adDave. I looked at the layoffs as “I’m doing the best I can. If that’s not good enough, frak ‘em.” Self Confidence, it’s not just for straights. ”

    perfect 🙂

  16. Beautiful home. But turning on the A/C at 60 degrees. I don’t turn mine on until I can feel the beads of sweat trickling down my — nevermind.

    I don’t begrudge anyone their success. I work hard, live simply, and splurged on one kick-@$$ computer set-up. That’s all I need. (Except maybe a second 23-inch monitor.)

    Happy Holy-days Everyone!

  17. Agree with Julie. Bruce, beautiful house and decor.

    (ignatov is not Ignatius, by the way.)

    Merry Christmas and happy holidays to every single one of you whether we agree or disagree on any or every issue. This agnostic wishes peace and success to all.

  19. We didn’t go all out on the decorations at Casa de Quatros Gatos, but our tree, which my son picked out and which we bought from the local Boy Scout troop, was beautiful. The gifts we exchanged were unusually thoughtful for each other. Most important, I spent it with my sons (and one son’s girlfriend whose family isn’t all that into Christmas.) I felt very happy this Christmas, despite my apprehension about the future.

    Also, I was up until 0400 Christmas morning chatting with a friend who, unfortunately, did not get to spend Christmas with his family and was feeling down about that.

  20. Oh, BTW, true story: Christmas Eve, my son and I ran out to pick up some last minute supplies at the local Bloom. Most people who were out were cheery, but as we left the store, this older guy gave me a dirty look, snarled something I didn’t catch, and got into a car with not one but two Obama stickers on the back. I didn’t realize until later I was shopping in my National Review sweatshirt.

  21. A Differently-Abled Dave,

    “I got laid-off” is a statement worth compassion.

    “I got laid off and your house is too big and nice, I should use the government to steal your money from you and give it to me” is not.

    Ignatov said essentially, “I am suffering, how dare you have success, you should suffer too!” It is a statement of greed, envy, and malicious spite. In other words, the very heart of liberalism, no wonder you identified with it immediately.

    And everything I said about your asinine comments is spot on.

  22. GP, your house looks gorgeous by the way. I particularly like the wreath and garland around the front door.

    I didn’t go as bat-shit crazy on the Christmas decor as I usually do either, but it still looks like Martha Stewart exploded in my house.

    The eaves are still outlined in white lights, with a cedar wreath, lit with red berry lights, nestled under the peak, but I usually wrap all the deciduous trees in the yard in white lights and adorn strategic shrubs in the red berry lights. But its very time consuming, so last year I decided I would “save” time by just leaving the lights on the trees instead of taking them down. Unfortunately, the squirrels got to them and I ended up not only having to take all the lights down after-all, but repair them as well. Lesson learned.

    But then we got buried in snow and, well, my dedication to my light display fell victim to my reluctance to freeze my ass off. So I only have one tree and one bush done. Que sera sera.

    The inside still puts martha to shame if I do say so myself. 😉

    One of my neighbors a couple of blocks away goes a different direction, but I love it. His yard looks as though he has struck a deal to warehouse Home Depot’s backstock. I think he has one of every inflatable Christmas decoration ever made on his lawn, with lighted candy canes lining his drive, pre-lit deer, pre-lit trees, toy soldiers, snow globes, snoopy, snowmen, you name it. All in a postage stamp sized front yard.

    The garishness of it all is simply masterful. I love it!

  23. Of course it is AE, because you said so and there is simply no possibility for it not to be true. I’m sure that all those who are unemployed through no fault of their own and are struggling to hold things together for their families would be comforted if they knew that it is asinine to acknowledge the reality of their existence.

    I didn’t say that I identified with it. My unit is being outsourced (which the company will soon learn is going to cost them in earnings, clients and reputation) but at least it is to a US bank not overseas. I have no intention of remaining unemployed if it comes to that. I have no intention of collecting gov’t money, though if I did it would certainly be far less than I have paid in taxes since I started working at 12 years old.

    Ignatov’s statement about flaunting was indeed crude but his last sentence was not a statement that he was going to “steal” our tax money. Perhaps is a speculative word, it does not mean “I am” it does not mean “they owe me”. Reading it that was stems from your personal issues as does your classification my comments as asinine. If he actually said what you claim then I would agree completely. Except for the excrement about it being the heart of liberalism. I know you’re an intelligent person which is why it’s so disturbing to see your complete inability to see outside your tiny little fantasy box. Real people are hurting, real people are hungry and real people are losing their houses. That means nothing to you, because you are always right.

    V, thanks for number #19

  24. different Dave, my sincere best wishes to you and I hope you’re in a very secure position soon. Based upon what I’ve read of your comments, I don’t think we disagree on most economic goals, just the means to reach them.

  25. Do you ever wonder why there are 40yr olds with degrees out their ears managing fast food restaurants or driving delivery for grocery stores?

    During the last recession, I worked as a DJ nights and waited tables at a struggling restaurant sometimes seven days a week, despite having “degrees out my ears”. Like V the K put it, you do what you must, you pare back expenses, you buy what you can afford, and you live within your means. My grandparents did it, my parents did it, and I did it; why can’t other people?

    Of course, the Democrat Party pretends to like you then — but once you realize that if you actually start putting those degrees to use, you will be punished and have all your hard work taken away from you so they can “redistribute” it, it rather disincents one to work.

  26. Real people are hurting, real people are hungry and real people are losing their houses.

    That’s easy to fix; have all the Democrat Party members like Kerry, Kennedy, Soros, Pelosi, Reid, and Obama, multimillionaires all, hand over all the income they make annually over $200k.

    After all, it’s what they want to do to the rest of us. Why shouldn’t they pay too? Think of how many people could be housed and fed just from the profits for selling Nancy Pelosi’s vineyards and country homes.

  27. NDT, I also have enough money in the bank to get by for three months, I have barely touched my home equity line of credit and could live on that for a year, at least. I have several weeks worth of food in storage. I have a pick-up that I own outright. I have a large extended family who, as a last resort, would make sure I would not end up homeless. And I belong to a church that would help me out as well, should the need arise.

    The point is, I never assumed the “good times” were going to last forever and I prepared, even though it involved denying myself a lot of luxuries that other people consider essential to their lifestyle. I don’t have a 78 inch plasma screen TV, I buy my clothes at Kohl’s and my groceries at Food Lion not WholeFoods.

    I have sympathy for people who are out of work and facing tough times, but I also have to ask why more people weren’t prepared for this?

  33. #31 NDT, you could simply have posted the link that you did and agreed with V that his church is very prepared to help those in need. But that doesn’t satisfy you – you absolutely have to get in a slime ball dig against liberals, millions of whom belong to churches that run shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries for those in their neighborhoods, church members or not. Looking around the city I live in the majority of those who have regular, consistent, year-round programs for those in need are liberal, mainstream churches. But I thought I read that liberals only consider their religion a hobby. What a surprise, yet another POS lie spread by a few pseudo-conservatives.

  34. Well, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? When NDT makes an assertion of fact, he backs it up with links that support his point. Whereas aDDave just says something like, “Where I live, the majority of soup kitchens and shelters are run by liberal churches” as an assertion of fact and provides no evidence to support this assertion.

    He also validates my point that lefties are tolerant of churches as long as they remain do-gooder social clubs, but when churches preach the gospel, and suggest that people should change their lives to conform to the gospel, it’s suddenly “Help! Someone’s trying to force their God on me! Call the ACLU!”

  37. Just popping in while TGCpartner is getting ready for the day.

    1. Nice house. That’s the kind of spread I’d like. Didn’t Yogi Berra (sp?) once say something like “It ain’t bragging if you can do it”?

    2. “Where’s the jobs?” Am I to understand that if I go to Monster.com or open up my paper that there will be no jobs listed? The fact is that there are jobs out there. The question is whether you’ll drop your cock and grab your socks to go get one.

    3. Having “degrees out the ears” apparently doesn’t mean a damn if you put the lame-brained bastards who can’t even run their own cafeteria in charge of businesses like the auto industry etc. Nor does it make much sense to elect a guy who’s promissed (on more than one occasion) to ship even more jobs than ever overseas.

    4. You’ve made your bed by electing liberals. This is the thanks you get. You’ve made your bed and now you don’t want to lie in it? This and the housing kerfuffle is what you voted for. Enjoy.

  38. “Global warming” is an oversimplified term; it’s called global climate change for a reason.

    I think it’s a PR move. The “ignorant masses” weren’t buying global warming because they don’t see evidence of it. It had to be called climate change to keep the masses on the hook.

    That and putting Noah Wiley, near emotional collapse, on TV to piss and moan about the polar bears, who are doing better than ever if the fucking eco-commies would get out of their way and let them do their thing.

  40. Ya know, I wasn’t going to comment on all of this PatriotHouse-bashing stuff…. but here are my two cents.

    My partner and I both individually have earned everything we have. We both had to work through college. Both of us come from lower middle class upbringings and neither of us have ever had a large inheritance to fall back on or look forward too.

    Enough said. Enjoy the photos and stop the hate.

  41. My partner and I both individually have earned everything we have. We both had to work through college. Both of us come from lower middle class upbringings and neither of us have ever had a large inheritance to fall back on or look forward too.

    All of which is the kind of behavior that should be admired and encouraged.

  43. It’s more house than I would want (unless I had a passel of adoptarinos), but fortunately, we don’t live in a system where someone in the government decides how much house we’re allowed to have. At least not yet.

  45. The following question is not an attack on anyone, I would just like to understand something. What reason is there to buy a house that is much larger than what is needed? I realize “need” is a relative term, that’s why I ask and I’m not suggesting a person who can afford to is wrong to live in a large space. Thanks.

  47. We live in a modest-sized house, and although it’s very livable for two people and a dog, more space would be better. It would be nice to have a dining room, a bigger office room, walk-in closets, to have a 4×8 pool table without the need of a small cue stick for some of the shots, and to have more room for entertaining for parties. But we don’t want to go into a huge amount of debt to do so.

    As for living in an apt. in SF, or say NY, I suppose the answer is location, location, location.

  48. I live in about 600 sq ft but most people pay more for their new cars than what it cost me. Location has much to do with it, people aren’t fighting to get into this neighborhood 🙂

  50. What reason is there to buy a house that is much larger than what is needed?

    And this isn’t an attack either: Who the hell’s business is it?

    Why shouldn’t a person be allowed to buy whatever house they can afford? We should only be concerned about aspects like liberals forcing lenders to give loans to people who can’t/won’t pay them back.

  51. unbelievable. a lovely home, decorated in a lovely way, for a lovely holiday by apparently lovely people inspires not esthetic appreciation but hard-core class envy.

    there’s nothing like economic hardship or instability to bring out the ugly in people e.g. not “gotta get me some of that” but “gotta take me some of that”….

  52. …e.g. not “gotta get me some of that” but “gotta take me some of that”….

    That, or perhaps it’s something like “I will never be able to achieve that” concluding with “I therefore don’t want to have that” transformed to “I don’t want you to have that” to “No one should be allowed to have that.”