Dave Muskera, M.A.
I live with my cat "Tazzy" in a gracefully aged old inner-city brick house in a small university town on the Ohio River (home of Marshall University). I also keep a get-a-way cabin on 20 very private acres about an hour into the country of nearby eastern Kentucky. As often as possible, I escape there to write (in winter) or just relax and play.
I pen mostly political,religious and social opinion commentary often with a dash of humor and satire. I also enjoy news analysis. When writing about gay related topics, I bring to bear not only my experiences as an out gay man for the past 20 years, but also that of having been long-time married in another universe. I have two adult children and a granddaughter. We are all close. My ex-wife, a gracious good lady, remains a very dear and trusted friend. The same is true of my ex-partner of 12 years. Though we separated in 2008, we also remain good friends.
In 2008, my family grieved at the tragic loss of Jon-Michael, my 8 month old grandson who died in Feb. that year of a rare form of brain tumor (ATRT). Two of my articles are about this terrible event. Still, out of this glooming sadness came a re-bonding between me and my only son. During this tragic family journey, we rediscovered our meaning to each other.
In October of 2010, my book "Babe In the Ironwoods-The Adventures and Misadventures of an Ex-Married Gay Psychologist"(a ten year+ project)was published. It is available as an eBook on Amazon.com. I call it a "memoir of sorts" because it recounts the years of my "coming out" and, as well, attempts to shed light on the myths and misunderstandings held by so many good and decent people regarding homosexuality and contemporary gay issues. For 2011, I plan on eBook publishing several collections of my most popular articles from here on the American Chronicle.
Email with your questions/comments - (good or not so good). I love hearing from people all over the world. I´ll try to answer all inquiries.
Contact Information
Articles by Dave Muskera, M.A.
January 02, 2012
In this commentary, Mr. Muskera lays out the reality of the differences between big-business and government and wonders out loud why it is that so many voters distrust government, which they can control through voting and give an accepting hug to big-business which has (by its own track record)walked all over the middle class and is unaccountable to voter input. It seems this "reality" is but another example of the power of political propaganda and big money political advertising.
December 26, 2011
Not for the casual reader: Mr Muskera talks about the importance of words and there common meanings and how the misuse of words leads to the development of prejudice and misunderstanding in hot topics like "gay" and the now repealed DADT military law. He also takes the difficult to define "gay community" to task for its otherwise laudable attempts to include all sexual minorities under the same name umbrella.
April 12, 2011
With tongue in cheek and a dash of sarcasm and humor, Mr. Muskera, a 40 year practicing psychologist, discusses why we just aren't likely to get reliable percentages from the many recent sex surveys that purport to tell us how many gays, etc there are in this country. He points out the fundamental reality that people in western cultures are more likely to fib about their sexual activity than most any other area of their behavior.
April 11, 2011
Mr. Muskera takes shoddy science reporting to task especially when they deal with anything associated with a "gay" topic. He laments that some journalists seem more intent on entertaining folks than in doing careful research before publishing a story. He point out how one badly done story get repeated over and over without any effort at refinement or digging deeper as if to do so would cause the average reader to lose interest.
April 08, 2011
Mr. Muskera, in support of gay marriage and in the hopes of helping people better understand that the fact that we love is far more important than the gender of who it is we love, shares a very personal page from his daily journal written last December after he met a very special person. Mr. Muskera hopes this personal contribution will enlighten some and cause others to stop and think about the injustice of keeping marriage a locked heterosexual institution. That people who love each other ought not have their right to marry (or not) be decided by popular vote or even legislative dictates. For these reason, he opens his heart to you.
April 03, 2011
Mr. Muskera takes on the repealers of the DADT repeal and gives some reasons why they are having such a hard time giving up their old stereotypes. He urges that we get past all the certification requirements quickly, fully repeal DADT and let the military get back to its main job of defending our country.
October 22, 2010
Mr. Muskera laments about the state of mentality of the US electorate and its potential impact on the coming mid-term elections.
March 23, 2010
Mr. Muskera discusses the potential contributions of conservatism and liberalism to the advancement of human culture over the span of history and the current political tendency to use fear as a method of control.
January 25, 2010
Mr. Muskera writes about the book "Jack and Lem" published in 2007 and detailing the life-long close friendship of these two men who met in their teens and remained very close till JFKs death by assignation in 1963. The twist is the Jack was without doubt a straight man and Lem was without doubt gay. What lessons this relationship offers the rest of us today is why Muskera encourages people to read this well written and interesting book.
January 22, 2010
A cry in the wilderness about the spread of stupidity in the American population and voting public. Muskera paints with sarcasm and humor, a somewhat depressing picture of how the "super stupid" have and will continue to significantly influence the outcome of elections as we now conduct them.
January 21, 2010
A follow-up article about Alexander the Great and the difficulties many have today with the very idea of a gay male making a good soldier. A punch at homophobia with a fist of reality.
June 09, 2009
Muskera tells why his "discovery" of Paul Potts, the winner of the 2007 Britton's Got Talent contest, has been so meaningful and thrilling.
June 08, 2009
Writer Dave Muskera, a retired psychologist speculates on how the homosexuality of Alexander the Great might have contributed to the man's glorious success as a leader of men and the conquerer of the known world in the 300 or so years before the Christian era.
March 12, 2009
A tongue in cheek discussion of how a persons love or hatred for cats and dogs gives away their "livability quotient". A must read lesson for anyone in or thinking about a long-term relationship by a seasoned couples counselor.
March 05, 2009
How much longer are we going to call ourselves a democracy and the land of the free while holding the civil rights of some minority citizens up for a popular vote?
November 17, 2008
Some thoughts on the relationship between hatred of women and anti-gay obsession by the religious far right.
November 15, 2008
Comments on the voting habits of Americans and the dumbing down of political candadates
November 06, 2008
A reaction to the passage of Proposition 8 in California
August 06, 2008
Further thoughts and reflections on the use of the gay boogieman by the religious far right in their war against gay citizens.
July 13, 2008
A discussion of the concept of "Deeply Held Religious Beliefs" as contrasted to gay realted issues.
June 27, 2008
Muskera wonders out loud just why it is there is not so much complaining about SCOTUS and "activist" judges following the Supreme Court's recent Second Amendment decision.
June 12, 2008
An article discussing gays in the military and a reason not often discussed that helps explain the resistence.
May 19, 2008
Some unfiltered thoughts from a gay man about the California gay marriage decision and it's potential misuse by the political right.
May 15, 2008
A gay psychologist discusses the differences between sexual orientation and transgenderism.
May 13, 2008
A story of gay adoption and conflicts with fundamentalist religion and the courts
April 24, 2008
Thoughts and reflections of a people-watching psychologist on the cattle qualities of many in the voting public. Easily lead and easily influence...many voters fail to do their own thinking.
March 25, 2008
A final tribute to my grandson who died February 20, 2008 of a rare brain cancer just past his eighth month of life.
February 14, 2008
Reflections on the dying of a child from cancer.
January 27, 2008
An article analysing the frequently used term "Activist Judges" and suggesting that these judges may be the only ones doing their job.
January 24, 2008
Intro note: I'm reposting this article from November 20th. It was accidentally deleted. It has been one of my more popular and reposted articles - so if you missed it the first time, here it is again. Hope you enjoy.
If I read or hear the words "the gay lifestyle" one more time, I´m go...
January 18, 2008
Dave Muskera, a retired clinical psychologist, takes on a recent article in the Times Magazine about gay relationships and straight marriages that he believes asks the wrong questions and makes the wrong comparison.
January 11, 2008
I’ve been thinking of late about the conservative v. progressive ideology split that so very much permeates our political and cultural atmosphere. Of course, it’s nothing really new. It’s been going on since before the founding of our country. In more recent years however, these terms have taken o...
January 08, 2008
A small “study” of gender differences in spatial navigation done recently in the biology department at London’s Queen Mary College is making headlines. You might ask, why is that? And why would such a geekie sounding topic be of any interest to crotchety old newspaper editors and salivating-to-get-...
January 06, 2008
When I was a kid of seven or eight, I didn´t question the reality of Santa Claus, the tooth fairy or the boogieman. While Santa and the fairy were definitely cool and positive, the ol´boogieman was a decided fright. As an adult, I became aware of how these imaginary characters - create...
December 31, 2007
The name of Edward Livingston, the eleventh US Secretary of State, most likely does not come easily to anybodies mind unless they are a US government history buff. His name is certainly not enshrined anywhere in the annals of the modern gay rights movement either. Yet, gay folks owe him, and many wh...
December 21, 2007
In this article, Muskera discusses many questions about human sexual behavior and the influence religion has had on our thinking about this fundamental area of human functioning. He suggests we need to update our thinking and stop being guided by the mental meanderings of a wondering desert tribe of some 2000 years ago.
December 12, 2007
Somewhere in my distant past, I was employed as senior psychologist for a boy’s psychiatric residential treatment center in a rural mid-western state. My young wife and I lived in staff housing on the Center’s multi-acred campus. Our work focused on a population of about sixty seriously disturbed a...
December 10, 2007
Desmond Morris of Naked Ape fame, zoologist and writer now nearing age 80, has changed his mind about the causes of a type of human behavior that, when he graduated from school, was considered an illness. For many years, Dr. Morris held the belief that males became gay as a result of “absent father...
December 10, 2007
E.M. Forster’s novel “Maurice” (written in 1913 but not published until 1971) tells the story of a young lad of good family and upbringing who discovers himself to be homosexual. Raised in the behaviorally rigid social structure of Edwardian England, he later works - as expected - in his families Lo...
November 30, 2007
Over the past few years, I’ve spent a fair amount of time looking at “for sale” properties. I think I may have even developed an addiction to flipping through the pictures and reading descriptions of real estate offerings in those colorful little magazines you find at the grocery check-out. They're...
November 28, 2007
Of late, I’ve begun to believe that some very vocal members of the Christian faith, variably referred to as “Far Right Fundies”, or Fundamentalist Against Religious Trashing - FART for short), are really not going to be content unless they somehow recapture the persecuted position of early Christian...
November 26, 2007
This is the second article in what may become a short series. The series started with my article about the term "gay lifestyle" and how it´s used by the fundamentalist religious right to bash homosexuals. Unfortunately this is not the only term or concept in their bucket of snakes that is t...
November 20, 2007
Mr. Muskera takes a humorous look at the warning label industry here in the US and discusses some thoughts about what has driven it into such a silly reality.
November 20, 2007
Mr. Muskera dissects the often repeated phrase "the will of the people" as it is used most often to bash gay and lesbian people. He shows its absurdity and suggests it be dumped as the guide line for looking at gay marriage and gay civil rights.
November 19, 2007
Mr. Muskera gives over to his negative feelings about rude people and their use of cell phones. With humor and sarcasm, he reviews the social status of cells and their place in culture.
November 19, 2007
I’m disappointed and disheartened by many recent events in the arena of conflict between organized religion and gay citizens. At times, I’m still blind-sided by the vitriol generated by this topic.
Organized religion has a long and ignominious history of perpetuating self-serving “truths” and b...
November 18, 2007
This is mostly a plea to those of you who have forgotten the value of taking a bath, using deodorant and wearing clean clothing; a plea to those who have bought into the idea that drenching yourself with gallons of variously scented perfumes, colognes and body splashes somehow makes you more allurin...
November 18, 2007
I wrote this article in the middle months of 2003, when the Bush Administration was reaching it’s peak of popularity and many had not yet concluded that, just possibly, they had been mislead by our political leaders. How quickly we have forgotten this heated ferver-pitch of patriotism that swept th...
November 18, 2007
At one time or another, most of us have experienced "light-bulb" insights. You know, one of those moments when your thoughts crystallize and you finally see connections between things that just moments before lay disconnected and clouded in shadow. It might be a self-delusion of some sort or not a ...
November 18, 2007
I ran across this little piece of prognostication/satire while looking through my computer files. I wrote it in October of 2004 just before the November elections for a local political forum I contribute to on occasion. Seems a lot of it came true, got one or two things wrong (happily)…with some po...
November 18, 2007
Mr. Muskera talks about anger and anger management in the political arena. Specifically, he laments the misplacement of anger by political leaders in recent world and US events.
November 18, 2007
Mr. Muskera re-creates the day his Italian father came to American and the changes he would have seen in the United States had he lived to the present day.
November 18, 2007
I wrote this longwinded piece a few years ago. It´s a satirical take-off on news freaks done in the writing style and structure of the diagnostic bible of the American Psychiatric Association - the DSM-IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual- Fourth Edition). It´s intended as humor. I hope it comes across that way. I call it "for fun psychobabble."
November 17, 2007
Most mornings, I listen to NPR. Frequently, during the early years of our war of occupation in Iraq, NPR would cameo the life and combat death of some recently fallen young soldier. Those selected for this honor are typically from small towns, are described as well liked, gentle and loving and the...