Mounties Marry! RCMP Has First Married Same-Sex Couple

Dressed in their scarlet uniforms, Jason Tree and Const. David Connors will become the first married same-sex couple in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I wish I could attend. I have always found the RCMP uniforms sexy as all get-out, and the idea of a couple of these brave canucks getting hitched really gives me goosebumps.

From the story in the Chronicle-Herald: "Provincial RCMP spokesman Sgt. Frank Skidmore said the force was happy to hear about the union, adding that theyÂ’re proud RCMP officers reflect all aspects of the community."

Now that's the kind of diversity this country could use! As with any married couple in the RCMP, neither partner can serve in a position of power over the other in the same detachment. At home, well that's a different matter.

Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment Hearing Locked Behind Closed Doors - Feingold Walks Out

Russ Feingold (D-WI) has a heated exchange with Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the panel holding hearings on a proposed Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment. As the meeting was moved into a secret session he walked out in protest.

Seems the Republicans want to do their dirty-work in secret. As with most things the Republicans do these days, secrecy is the new "black".

As Big Oil Trys To Diss Global Warming - Time For Social Responsibility Amendment

As the film by Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth is set to premier in a few days the big oil companies have begun their campaign of dissinformation and rebuttal. No surprise, since these are the companies that have the most to loose if Americans wake up and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. They ignore the disappearance of glaciers worldwide and the rising sea temperatures and state that there are reliable scientists who claim that it's not happening.

That lie, and it is a big one, is wrapped in the message that carbon dioxide is our friend. The campaign is one of the most outrageous misrepresentations of science ever. "Carbon dioxide, they call it pollution, we call it life." That may be the most insidious tag line since some of the old cigarette ads that had doctors as spokesmen. In 1943, Philip Morris placed an ad in the National Medical Journal which reads: "'Don't smoke' is advice hard for patients to swallow. May we suggest instead 'Smoking Philip Morris?' Tests showed three out of every four cases of smokers' cough cleared on changing to Philip Morris. Why not observe the results for yourself?"

It's time corporations took responsibility for living on the same planet and in the same country as the rest of us. A novel idea is put forth by the author of "Left Hand of God", Rabbi Michael Lerner. His proposal for a "Social Responsibility Amendment" to the Constitution would treat corporate charters much like the FCC treats broadcast licenses. Corporations would have to renew their charters every 20 years and be reviewed as to their performance regarding the public good.

Every corporation doing business within the US (whether located here or abroad) with annual income of over $20 million must receive a new corporate charter every twenty years, and these new charters will only be granted to corporations who can prove a history of social responsibility as measured by an Ethical Impact Report. which will measure the company's sensitivity to the needs of the environment, the community, and its employees. The Ethical Impact Report will be compiled by 3 different constituencies: the corporation itself, the workers (under conditions of confidentiality), and relevant community organizations around the world who wish to present their case about the social responsibility of the corporation.

There are details to be worked out, but it is an idea well worth considering. Of course if the oil companies and others who pollute our planet could find a way to make a profit from clean air, then that would go a long way toward solving the problem. After all, the current American version of capitalism thrives on unbridled greed, profit = good. Apparently a few companies have found a way to make clean air pay. During a recent trip to West Texas I saw fields dotted with wind turbans, drawing power from the prevailing Texas winds. Not a bad start.

Until more folks can get involved in this renewable resource, I suspect we will be choked with more ads telling us to make as much Carbon Dioxide as we want... after all it's what makes plants grow! Oh yea, and it's also poison if taken in sufficient quantities, and it's helping to melt the ice caps.

Why No Indictments Of Karl Rove Yet? Just Wait.

Truthout.org posted an update on the story about the indictment of Karl Rove that was posted last week by Jason Leopold. They stand by their story and offer further evidence that they now have confirmation from other sources.

I am content to wait. I know Mr. Rove is pulling every string he can to avoid this but in the end he will be brought before a court. Keep watching the skies!

US Plans To Bomb Iran

According to a story in the Herald the US has updated contingency plans to bomb Iran if international diplomacy fails. The plan identifies over 400 key targets, many related to Iran's nuclear program.

So anyone taking bets on when we start dropping bombs? My money is on late October, right about the time it looks like the Republicans are going to loose both houses of Congress. Not surprisingly, I can't seem to get anybody to give me odds on that bet.

Bush Must Step Down

Bush must step down. Strong words, but not unprecedented. Nixon was persuaded to resign after the Watergate scandal blew up to epic proportions. The Republicans in Congress confronted the President and persuaded him to leave office for the good of the country and the party. Where are those kind of Republicans now?

With his approval ratings in free-fall and scandal after scandal popping up almost daily, I have to wonder if Bush reads or even cares about what the American people think. Bush has broken the law numerous times, the latest example being his domestic spying without warrants. He uses the unprecedented and highly questionable tactic of "signing statements" when he signs bills he doesn't want to follow as law, and he lies almost pathologically to the public. When will he be held accountable for any of this?

Democrats have thrown in the towel, opting to wait until the Republicans suffer a complete melt down. With the exception of Russ Fiengold, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, they won't even use the power they have to block politicized nominees to the court. Though the 2006 election may give us a Democratic House and possibly Senate, what good will it do if they sit on their collective ass and do nothing?

Come on Democrats, stand up and call it like it is. Tell the Bush machine that its time is up. They have broken the country financially and militarily and it's time to reverse course. Why does it take John Stewart and Stephen Colbert to speak the truth? Isn't that why we elected you in the first place?

This fall, I will vote a straight Democratic ticket, not because I firmly support every candidate, but because I abhor what the Republicans are doing to my rights and my country. I want not only my country back; I want politicians who actually do something again. What a quaint thought.

Shades Of Nixon - NSA Collecting Info On Leaks To Media, Not Terrorists

So am I the only one not surprised by this news. The Bush administration is using the telephone records collected by the NSA to track down White House leaks, not Osama. According to Raw Story:

ABC's Brian Ross and Richard Esposito Report:
A senior federal law enforcement official tells ABC News the government is tracking the phone numbers we call in an effort to root out confidential sources.

And so all the talk about protecting Americans is a total lie, they are protecting their butts and using taxpayer money to do it. This administration will go down it history as the most corrupt ever!