Cheney Impeachment Vote Blocked By Democrats & GOP

Dennis Kucinich brought the measure to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney to the House today as promised. Surprisingly the GOP backed it at the last minute trying to force a floor vote. What they knew was the Democrats were spineless and feared debate as much as the GOP. Instead the measure was sent to committee and essentially trashed.

Dennis Kucinich may very well be the most honest and courageous man in Congress. His candidacy for President has been derided as a long shot. Mostly that would be because of the press. The media loves to burlesque people who are different, and Dennis is different. He is honest and liberal and unafraid to tell truth to power. Because of that the media has discounted him as unelectable. I wish the American people would prove them wrong, however I suspect that will not happen.

Cheney’s impeachment would have sent the kind of message that the American people sent the Democrats to Congress for. The problem is that once someone actually tells it like it is, the big forces behind the scenes squelch them for fear of changing the status quo.

I had hoped Barak Obama would be such a man, but his embrace of the homophobic singer Donnie McClurkin has left me speechless. Whoever Obama’s advisors are, they should be fired. In that one move he lost the LGBT vote while trying to pander to the African American community. The sad truth is that the African American community is behind Hillary more than Barak and so the effort is backfiring.

Some dismiss Kucinich as a wacko, but having met the man and listened to him speak, I think he has more sense than the rest of the Democratic and Republican field combined. Not to mention he has a smokin’ hot wife! (Yes even a gay man can appreciate that!) Give ‘em hell Dennis! You got my vote.

Televangelists Investigated by Senate Committee

Now it seems that the chickens are coming home to roost. The Senate is finally investigating the televangelism racket. Six prominent TV preachers are under scrutiny as to their tax exempt status. Among them Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar and Eddie Long.

Senator Grassley, the Iowa Republican, is trying to determine whether or not these ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to evade taxes and shield lavish lifestyles. Interesting that a Republican should lead this effort? Does this signal a turn away from the radical fundamentalists that have been the GOP base for so long?

I eagerly await their findings.

Homeland Security Visits My Blog

My post on the Homeland Security proposal "Secure Flight" apparently got the attention of Homeland Security. The HS folks spent a few minutes reading the post and my profile so who knows if I will be able to fly in the future?

To the HS folks, welcome to free speech in our country! The proposals, though I understand is intended to help make things more secure, has that backfire potential that makes it not worth the effort. The next step would lead to closing our borders and after that I don't even want to think about.

Someone Stole My Book - Part 2

Well I sent a letter to Scribd notifying them that the material that was posted was copyrigted and not authorized to be on their site. I was plesantly surprised when the removed it within a few hours.

I appreciate their diligence, however there seems to be something wrong with this system. They have a site that has absolutely no requirement for copyright verification when was posted by "Annon" . Now come on folks, if you don't even track who posts the stuff it seems to me you are aiding in the problem. Would a check cashing place cash checks on accounts without insisting on ID? Not if they wanted to stay in business long. The problem here is Scribd has nothing to lose. The make the copyright owners police the site for infractions and then correct the matter if it is caught.

If it is caught is the key. Over 2000 people read my book online according to the Scribd log. That might mean 2000 potential sales and that costs me money. Now I don't make squat from these books anyway, but that doesn't mean I worked all that time for nothing. Additionally I paid a very skilled artist to make the illustrations in the book. These were online as well.

Well enough of the rant. My point is you can parse the words in the mission statement, but having no verification for material posted sucks.

I Feel Violated - Someone Stole My Book!

I was surfing the net yesterday during a break in teaching a class at Kinky Kollege in Chicago when what to my wondering eyes appears, but the full text and illustrations from my book, “Family Jewels” online!

Now I am not a fat cat author who lollygags around all day dining at Spago and sipping mineral water. I am a poor sucker who works freelance and makes a slight, very slight income from the sale of my books. I found the site called http://www.scribd.com/. It is a site designed to steal intellectual property from the rightful owners and distribute it for free. Now I have as much angst toward “the man” as the next old burned out hippy, but come on folks! First Napster now this? For God sakes the book is available in some libraries, and if you can scrape together $13 bucks you can own a copy. Send it to me and I’ll even sign it, but don’t steal it!

This kind of crap, though it may be done in the name of “freedom of information” makes as much sense as “freedom of money” as a justification for robbing banks. I am pursuing legal remedies to persuade the misguided folks at scribed to remove the book, and I would encourage all authors to check the site for their works. Mine was posted with an intentional misspelling in the title to avoid search engines finding it, but I found it and I am not happy about it. I don’t have the funds to mount a big law suit and I sincerely hope they will remove it voluntarily.

To the folks at Scribd, give me a break! Authors toil for years in some cases to produce their work and they have a right to make a living from what they write. If I stole the code that runs the Scribid website, I suspect you would not be pleased.

To everyone else, don’t download stuff from this site that is in obvious violation of copyright law. Stealing is stealing weather it is done with a keyboard and a mouse or a gun and a mask. Enough already!

Airport Blogging - TSA & Our Freedoms

As I sit here stranded in Airport limbo, I hear the continuous announcements that blare over the PA system. “The Transportation Security Administration and Homeland Security remind you that any liquids of gels must be contained in a plastic bag…”

Now I am not a chemist, but I do know a little about the basics and there are a large number of binary or other substances that explode that can be mixed up in just a few minutes from small quantities of liquids or gels. So why does a plastic bag do anything to prevent this? The answer is that it does not. It’s just a security blanket for American travelers to feel safe. It also comes from the numerous complaints TSA and Homeland Security got after banning all liquids and gels.

Like the half-assed screenings that delay travelers and make flying absolutely no fun at all, these are for our minds, not our protection. If we see screening, we feel that the government is doing something. It is a seductive illusion, but it is nothing more than an illusion. OH sure the most clumsy bad guy or girl could be picked up by this technique, but someone really intent on doing harm is going to find a way through.

The “shoe bomber” tried to light the fuse of his bomb with a match. So lighters were eliminated. Now, however, I can buy a lighter in the airport gift shop. What changed? Well they screen your shoes now! Big deal! There are lots of other ways and that isn’t the problem. All this is a technique to keep us afraid. A fearful public is malleable and will consent to the loss of personal liberties at the expense of perceived security. In the end, we live in a state of terror…and isn’t that what the terrorists want?

So who is the winner and loser? Well the average American is the loser and those who seek more power and control over our lives are the winners. The new regulations proposed by TSA and Homeland Security that are scheduled to go into effect in February will make things for travelers even more difficult. We will have to have all our travel approved by the government. It makes driving a lot more attractive, but with the escalating gas prices, even that is tough.

I hate to make comparisons to folks like the Nazis, because when I use that word most people are conditioned to not take me seriously. How could we be like them? Well if you want to know exactly how, read some of the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer written during the 1930’s. You will find an erie similarity to today’s climate of fundamentalist madness. Then it was a “Germanic Religion” that was seeping into everything. A deadly combination of church and state. Today it’s faith based initiatives and pandering to the Radical Fundamental Christians. We have developed an American religion. A perverse blend of nationalism and apocalyptic nuttiness born from the fiction of Tim LaHay and the rantings of the Jerry Falwells of this country. A cross wrapped in a flag. It’s an image Jesus would be sickened by, but it is showing up in more and more places.

TSA & "Secure Flight" - The Implementation of The Police State

OK time to get serious. This coming February, the TSA and Homeland Security will implement new regulations. They call it Secure Flight Plan. Most are hard to understand and cloaked in byzantine language, but here is the gist.

To travel overseas, American Citizens will have to be cleared by Homeland Security. Get it? You will need permission from the Government to leave the country or enter. Now in case you are younger than me, you may not have learned the history lesson taught when I was a child. It was the story of Germany in the 1930’s and that fatal day when the Nazis began controlling who left and entered Germany. It was the beginning of the “final solution” and that should be something you do know about.

I am not saying that the US government has any such plans for a “solution” but the idea of having to have all my travel cleared by the Government makes me angry and sad at the same time. How could our lawmakers, the people we elected do this to us? Easy, they are easy dupes for this kind of thing. Wrap a bad law in a patriotic name and the Congress will vote for it rather than to have to explain to their constituents what it means.

We have become a passive nation, where we blindly accept anything that is fed to us. I thank TV for that. As our collective asses grow wider from sitting and ingesting the junk food of TV news we have become sheep. Sheep serve a couple of purposes on a farm. They can be periodically sheered for wool and slaughtered for meat. So we are sheered by big corporations and slaughtered fighting wars to save those corporations money in the global marketplace.

I am not a conspiracy nut, but I do see a real problem with this new law, and it scares the hell out of me.

Please, please read the article on Daily Kos about this. If you are not upset by it, then line up for the guy with the sheers!

Last Live Saturday Night For A While

And who is that guy in the Obama mask?

Pakistan, Our Ally?

Things in Pakistan are pretty nasty right now. I think the New York Times sums it up best with this quote characterizing the “emergency act” put into place by Musharraf is essentially marshal law.

“The emergency act, which analysts and opposition leaders said was more a declaration of martial law, also boldly defied the Bush administration, which had repeatedly urged General Musharraf to avoid such a path and instead move toward democracy. Washington has generously backed the general, sending him more than $10 billion in aid since 2001, mostly for the military. Now the administration finds itself in the bind of having to publicly castigate the man it has described as one of its closest allies in fighting terrorism.”

With allies like these who needs terrorists?

More From Pakistan - Things Getting Worse

Now for those of you who balk at my comparisons of Pakistan to the US, consider this quote,"Some judges by overstepping the limits of judicial authority have taken over the executive and legislative functions". Those same words have come from our fearless decider and now come from Pervez Musarraf in his justification for suspending constitutional rule in Pakistan!

Musharraf had the Supreme Court sealed off and has seized absolute military power after the courts threatened to overturn his election results. Remind you of another election? Maybe I am being alarmist, but I have to wonder if the same game plan hasn't crossed Dick Cheney and George Bush's mind for our Supreme Court.

Pakistan On Verge Of Disaster - State of Emergency Declared!

There is no other way to say it, Pakistan seems ready to implode. Today Pervez Musharraf, the president of the country has declared a state of emergency preceding the ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as to the validity of his election. He has clamped down on all press, TV communications and suspended the constitution. That is the act of a dictator and despot, and the bad news is, he is our ally.

Obviously the Court will rule against his authority and he will use the military to retain his power. Once again the US has come down on the side of a ruthless dictator. How many times do we have to have this happen before we learn? Bush in his attempt to create a coalition to fight Al Qaeda has teamed up with a military strongman and now we reap the consequences. Worse still, the entire region may be thrown into turmoil by a ruthless regime armed with nuclear bombs. Meanwhile Bush rails against Iran, a country with no nuclear bombs yet.

I sincerely fear the outcome of this state of emergency for the Pakistani people, and more importantly I fear something similar happening here. What? It can’t happen here. Nonsense! Bush and his cronies have been carefully eliminating any barriers to his power in the government with their political appointees. These folks are usually unqualified to run the agencies they are in charge of, but they are loyal to Bush and that is all important. It is no small leap to see ourselves in a similar situation.

Already Bush has threatened to rule by administrative decree and circumvent Congress. His Executive Orders have laid the groundwork for a dictatorship in the event of a “national emergency” where Congress would be dissolved. All this could lead up to a similar scenario to what is happening in Pakistan.

These are troubling times, and though I still believe in the good sense of the American People, I often worry that we have been lulled into a sleep. I sincerely hope when we awaken it is not to a completely different country, one this is no longer a democracy. God bless America, and God bless the people of Pakistan.

NeoCon Commentator Calls Waterboarding a "Swim Lesson"

Consumer Product Safety Commission Gets Free Trips From Industries It Regulates + More Recalls

I suspect that like me, you are living under the illusion that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is actually there to protect us from possible dangers in hazardous products. Well time to wake up and smell the lead.

Seems the head of the CPSC, Nancy Nord, has taken dozens of trips all paid for my the companies she is supposed to regulate. The Washington Post details the trips to places like Hilton Head Island, San Francisco and Hong Kong. That last one was funded by the American Fireworks Standards Laboratory to the tune of $11,000 and funny how this alleged “American” group has only one lab, in Asia!

Yup, the foxes are running the hen house and we are all the hens! Think our products are safe? Ask Mattel about lead paint. Regulation is a thing of the past and under the Bush appointees, industry calls the shots.

Though food is the job of the FDA, the story over there is pretty much the same. And add to the latest recall list 414,000 cases of Totino’s and Jeno’s Pizzas, tainted with our old friend E-Coli. Bon Appetite!

Note: This is my 1000th blog entry. Does anybody read this stuff? If so let me know!

The Writer's Strike - Oh Boy, More Reruns!

Since I have never been part of the Hollywood production scene, I am looking at this as a semi-outsider. I am a filmmaker and have worked with television networks as well as independent producers. Most of my experience is in commercial production. That said, let’s talk about Hollywood writers. For he most part they are an anonymous bunch, working away to script everything from Sitcoms to Award Shows. Yes even the award shows are written!

The WGA is holding out for more specifics and more money from “new media”. That’s code for DVDs and HD-DVDs and any other delivery method for programming content. The studios want to keep it and the writers want a piece of it. That is an over simplification, but pretty succinct.

Without writers, television and the movies would grind to a halt. There are only so many reality shows you can create, and even they have writers. Writers are the unsung heroes of the media. Without their toil, the teleprompters would not roll and the actors would have nothing to say. As you can tell, my sympathies are with the WGA (The Writer’s Guild of America) in this dispute.

Let’s hope the networks and studios will negotiate with the WGA and production can start up again. Without it, not only will lots of people be out of work, but we will have to suffer through even more reruns on TV!

Day of Judgement for Fred Phelps

Finally Fred Phelps and his cult are getting justice. A lawsuit filed by a family of a dead Iraq veteran against the Topeka, Kansas storefront church ended in a jury awarding $11 million in damages. The church, consisting mainly of Phelps family members, makes a practice of protesting at Iraq War veterans funerals with signs stating “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “God Hates America”.

Their twisted logic is as follows. Because America tolerates gays and lesbians and because abortion is legal, God hates America. The dead soldiers are a sign of that displeasure and therefore a wakeup call to all Americans. Say what?

Phelps pledges to go on with his crackpot activities. In the past he made news by protesting at the funerals of men and women who died of AIDS. His infamous “God Hates Fags” signs were a prominent feature at the funeral of Mathew Sheppard, the man murdered in a gay hate crime in Wyoming.

Time for a new sign. “God Loves Everyone Including Fred Phelps, but Wants Him to Pay Up or Shut Up”

Toys R Us Recalls More Lead-Laced Poison Toys From China

It’s almost Christmas shopping season. Have you stocked up on your lead tainted poison toys yet? We check out Toys R Us, where until today you could get Elite Operations toys. 16,000 of these action figure sets sold between July and October of this year are being recalled because of unsafe levels of lead paint.

Specifically the toys are as follows, Elite Operations Super Rigs (#1004), Command Patrol Center (#1020), Barracuda Helicopter (#1023), and 3 Pack 8-inch Figures (#1024). Other toys in the line have yet to be recalled. This on the heels of the “Ugly Teeth” toy costume teeth that were recalled for lead levels 1oo times greater than acceptable. Nice for a toy designed to go into a child’s mouth!

And while we are at it take back those Ribbit board games were sold by SimplyFun. The frogs in the games are painted with lead paint. Where were these toys made? China of course!

UPDATE: Also in the parade of recalls, Family Dollar Stores has recalled 380,000 Galaxy Warriors toy figures due to surface paints containing excessive levels of lead.

Jo Ann Stores has recalled around 97,000 Children's Gardening Tools for excessive levels of lead paint, violating the federal lead paint standard.

For a complete list so far check the Consumer Product Safety Commission's listing on their web site.

Castro Street A Ghost Town This Halloween

In years past the Castro district in San Francisco has been the site of one of the most outrageous and festive Halloween parties in the country. Every year thousands of revelers crammed the streets in wild and sometimes revealing costumes for a night of spooky fun.

This year the only spooks will be the ghosts of years past. The Castro has shut down its Halloween party. City officials and neighborhood groups fearing violence that marred last year’s celebration have opted for a “Home For Halloween” campaign. The streets will roll up and even buses to the area will stop running at 8:30pm. Bars, restaurants and stores will be shuttered.

Sounds spooky to me. Apparently even increased police presence failed to stop a shooting and the year before several stabbings. To avoid the problem the Castro businesses and community have surrendered to the violence and just shut down. Thugs 1, Gay Citizens 0!

Bush Plans Administrative Orders to Govern, A Dictatorship?

Though it is veiled in the language of government what Bush is proposing for his last few months in the White House is a dictatorship. Really.

According to the Washington Post because Bush has had so much trouble pushing his decisions through a Democratic Congress, he will rule by decree. The White House says Bush is planning to implement as much new policy "as it can" by administrative order. This means he will just declare it law whenever he pleases.

The real reason for this announcement? Many suspect it is because Bush is planning a preemptive attack on Iran. Time for Congress to get busy and impeach this dangerous despot now!

More Toxic Toys from China - Buyer Beware!

It seems like I am blogging about poisoned Chinese toys almost every day. New recalls and other warnings about the colorful and cheep playthings arriving by the boatload from China come so often they are easy to ignore. Now it seems that one of the biggest poisons is not a prohibited chemical like lead, but a basic ingredient to most of the soft plastic toys. Polyvinyl chloride, the material used in the toys, has additives called phthalates and it’s these that are the problem. Already outlawed in Europe, phthalates have been implicated in the impediment of the production of testosterone and disruption in the sexual development of infant boys.

A disturbing article in The Nation by Marc Schapiro should be a warning to all parents of the possible dangers that are present in just about every toy in the US that is made in China. Don’t look to the Consumer Product Safety Commission to do anything. As I mentioned earlier they have no interest in tightening restrictions and inspections on imported or domestic manufactured goods. Their attitude is “let the market regulate itself”. Just look at the number of recalls and incidents of poisoned food and products lately to see how well that works.

Let the buyer beware?

Giuliani Lies in Campaign Ads and the Press Yawns

Rudy Giuliani is getting down to business early, the business of lying. True to the GOP playbook, Giuliani is making it up as he goes along and that holds true for his quote about prostate cancer. In an attempt to discredit the British Medical system he stated that the survival rate from prostate cancer in America is much higher than in Great Britain. It even appears in his campaign advertisement. Problem is it’s a lie.

The actual rates of survival from prostate cancer is about equal between the US and Britain. I would also ask Mr. Giuliani what about all those folks who get prostate cancer and can’t afford treatment or even diagnosis because of the for-profit American medical establishment? The sad truth is, if you have money you live and if you are broke, you die. And even more sadly, if you are a Republican you lie!

Consumer Product Safety Commission Opposes Increased Funding?

Feel safe buying products you find on the shelves of America’s retailers? Think again. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, once a genuine watchdog for hazards to consumers, is now a hollow shell. To give you an idea of its impotence, there is one inspector for all toys to test for choking hazards! Of the thousands of toy designs sold in the US, one guy is going to test them all? I don’t think so.

Well those wonderful folks now say that a bill to strengthen their agency should be rejected! Amazing! Amid the recall of millions of products for unsafe levels of lead, the latest being those Halloween teeth with over 100 times the acceptable level of lead in them, the agency designated to police them says it wants no more money or power. The head of the agency, a Bush political appointee, (sound familiar?) Nancy A. Nord, sent letters to Congress against increasing power and funding for the agency. Her argument was that more regulation would harm free trade. Guess more lead is just what our children need?

Nancy, like her clone, “Brownie” over at FEMA are what you get when you politicize every arm of government. It is strange that it’s a GOP administration that is doing this, because the former party of fiscal responsibility now seems content to pay for bureaucracy that does absolutely nothing for the billions we pour into it.

FEMA Fake Press Conference Organizer Gets Promotion!

Here is a valuable lesson in Bush Speak. If Bush says we, “never torture” it really means we do torture, we just don’t call it that. The latest lesson comes from the FEMA staffer who took the fall for the fake press conference that was foisted on the American public as the real thing. In it he had staff members posing as the press asking softball questions for propaganda purposes.

John “Pat” Philbin, FEMA’s director of external affairs resigned with a mumbled apology and the administration used the resignation to demonstrate they took the scandal very seriously. Today that same John Philbin becomes Director of Public Affairs for the Director of National Intelligence. See how it works? Whatever the Bush folks say, they do the opposite. Up is down and right is wrong.

Class excused.

UPDATE:

Accrording to Mitch McConnell, director of PR for the DNI, John Philbin will not be joing the department. This was not true this morning, when he was still listed as the new director. Apparently public outrage has nixed it, or at least so far.

According to McConnell:

"We can confirm that Mr. Philbin is not, nor is he scheduled to be, the director of public affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence."

Larry Flynt Hints at New Sex Scandal In the Senate!

Larry Flynt, infamous editor and publisher of Hustler magazine and crusader for free speech has promised a new scandal in Washington in the next few weeks. Flynt has had a bounty out for sexual hypocrites in politics for years and it looks like he must have been paying off on his promises. He hinted that this sex scandal will set Washington in its head. It will be either a male or female member of the Senate and his hints point to the GOP!

Go Larry, go Larry!

Bush Arrives for Photo-op, Relief Stops!

Sitting here in Tampa while at a conference I spoke with a guy who works for the Red Cross as a first responder. He told me the same thing the firefighters in California said about the Bush visit. When Bush comes to a disaster scene for one of his photo-ops it stops everything. Relief efforts stop, traffic stops and everything is on hold while the Bush Secret Service secures the area and basically shuts it down for the photo-op.

So to show how concerned Bush is he prevents people from getting the relief and supplies they need for his own publicity. That’s a sorry position to put people in and it’s no wonder Bush has such a poor reputation in disaster areas. He is a showboat!

ENDA Will Be Reintroduced Soon!

Fox News Blames California Fires on Al Qaida!

It’s good to know the folks at Fox News are still as bat-s*#t crazy as ever. The actually went on the air today and postulated that Al Qaida has been setting the forest fires in California. Sighting a 2002 FBI memo that raised the possibility that Al Qaida might try to start fires in western states like Wyoming and Montana, Steve Doocy raised the “booga booga booga – it’s the terrorists” alarm that Bush and Fox revert to when they have nothing else to say.

The administration and the propagandists at Fox News play the terrorism card so many times that if and when the terrorists do attack inside the borders of our country, we will ignore it as just another cry of “wolf”. Of course by then there will be new terror level colors and even more alarming warnings about Iran, so maybe we can blame the next natural disaster on the Iranians?

State Department Loses $1.2 Billion - Private Contractor Shell Game?

The US State Department is starting to sound like a doddering old relative who constantly misplaces things and just can’t remember what happened to his keys. Seems they misplaced $1.2 billion of taxpayer’s money, give or take a few million. That’s what the two new reports released yesterday show.

A State Department review by its own auditors says the practices used in keeping track of money being spent with private contractors are shoddy at best. In fact the department has no records of what it received from one of its largest contractors, DynCorp for most of the $1.2 billion it was paid to train police officers in Iraq. Other contractors mentioned in the audit are the infamous Blackwater USA and Triple Canopy.

It’s starting to seem as though anything to do with private security contractors and Iraq is a recipe for making money disappear. With so much money missing and Bush asking for billions more for the war in Iraq, I have to wonder how much longer Congress will sit on its collective ass and do nothing? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where the money is going. It’s going into the pockets of DynCorp, Blackwater USA and Triple Canopy. Private security contractors with little or no oversight and a license to not only kill in Iraq, but apparently perhaps to steal. It's the private sector shell game. Why use public funds to fund government agencies when someone else can do a shoddy job and make a profit?

And as the State Department officials near the end of their term under the Bush administration I suspect a few of them are either lining their pockets or lining up choice private sector jobs with offshore assets and bank accounts in Dubai for their retirement.

I lived in Mexico for a year back in the 1980’s. It was a time in Mexico when each administration that was in power left with the treasury at the end of their 6 year term. (Something Vicente Fox brought to an end!) I am beginning to think the Bush folks have used that corrupt government as a model. More importantly, they used the old Mexican economic model as well, very few super-rich and lots of peasants!

Al Qaida in Iraq Starts PR Push - Maybe.

Al Qaida in Iraq is trying to improve its image. According to bloggers in Baghdad Al Qaida forces have been circulating in some neighborhoods handing out money and fixing up storefronts. They are actively encouraging people to return to their closed shops and businesses. They are offering protection against further attacks and violence.

Unfortunately, these same factions have been implicated in assaults and rapes of Iraqi civilians in the same neighborhoods. The stories are still only anecdotal but it would follow a similar pattern that has happened in the past. The assaults are designed to threaten and intimidate anyone who cooperates with the US forces.

Mix this latest push with the actions of the rival militias and the whole situation sounds pretty chaotic. There have been brief respites in the violence, but the long term outlook is still dim. For a personal and enlightening look at life in Baghdad check out
http://last-of-iraqis.blogspot.com/.

National Review - Delusional Neo Cons

The National Review, long-time bastion of conservative opinion has actually become delusional in recent days. Columnist Tom Gross postulates that Bush and Cheney might be deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize for their rhetoric and posturing about war with Iran. This is the same kind of craziness that drives our foreign policy. I swear we are living I the Late Roman Empire, where peace is secured through continued conquests. Peace through war is about as oxymoronic a concept as you can imagine, and it’s just what our government is doing.

Meanwhile, Kathryn Jean Lopez another delusional writer for the National Review is encouraging Lynne Cheney to run for president. What have these people been smoking?

Obama's Latest Ad in New Hampshire

Messages like this are why I like Obama!

Government Official in India Killed by Monkeys!

Sometimes a news story is just too strange to ignore. Hope you are sitting down.

An Indian official in New Delhi was killed by a gang of….(wait for it)…. Monkeys! Yup, roving bands of Rhesus macaques have been wreaking havoc in New Delhi and the official, Deputy Mayor S.S. Bajwa, fell from his home balcony into a gang of the wild monkeys.

Part of the problem is that Hindus believe monkeys are manifestations of the monkey god Hanuman, and so they often feed them with fruit and nuts. The government has been trying to catch and disperse the monkeys with little success.

And now back to the real news.

50% of Americans Would Not Vote For Hillary According to New Poll

The results of the latest Zogby poll are exactly why I just can’t get behind a Hillary ticket in 2008. According to the poll roughly half of all registered voters surveyed say they could never vote for Hillary. Does that mean Hillary is a bad person? Nope, she is just a potential problem for a Democratic ticket.

As most of my friends know, I support Barak Obama in the primaries. The reasons are many but the top one is his electability. I feel Obama has the charisma to inspire people and give our country hope at a time when a lot of people have lost that valuable commodity. After the 8 years of George Bush, we desperately need a person who inspires hope for our country and a better tomorrow.

Additionally, on the scale of who you would never vote for as president, Obama came in at 37% and it this case it puts him near the lead for people likely to garner votes. Check out the poll numbers and consider the problems ahead. A Democratic victory is not a sure thing and with Hillary as the candidate a GOP contender could campaign on “I’m not Hillary” as a platform and do well. I would rather see someone who could use that tactic for the Dems but their motto would be “I’m not Bush”.

Gonzales May Face Criminal Charges

Finally, looks like the Justice Department is going to live up to its name. The US Inspector General may recommend criminal charges against Alberto Gonzales. Gonzales lied about the reasons for the firings of US attorneys under oath. That is a crime in our country.

That would be some vindication for the politicization of our government by the Bush administration, but I really wouldn’t be happy until the war crimes tribunal was called for the folks that took us into the illegal and immoral war in Iraq.

Vallerie Plame's Job - Prevent Iran From Obtaining Nukes

Pentagon Pushing for High Profile Convictions to Boost 2008 Election

The folks at the Pentagon are planning some election year surprises. Seems a few of the politicized members of the civilian staff are pushing for some high profile convictions before the 2008 elections.

According to a Washington Post article former lead prosecutor at Guantanamo, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, said senior defense officials discussed in a September 2006 meeting the "strategic political value" of putting some prominent detainees on trial. According to Davis there is the same kind of pressure on for 2008. In part it is why he resigned.

Look for lots of tricks in the next year to boost Bush and the GOPs sagging ratings.

Rep. Stark Speaks Out & Gets Scolded - When Will Democrats Start Fighting the White House?

Representative Pete Stark tells it like it is and gets a slap on the wrist from Pelosi. Now that makes me angry. In a debate on children’s health care in the house, Stark stated the obvious.

"You don't have money to fund the war or children," Stark accused Republicans. "But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement."

Both Democrats and Republicans have called on him for an apology and I for one don’t see why. Stark is telling the truth and those who can’t see it are blinded by either their political ambitions or simple stupidity. Drop Nancy Pelosi a line and let her know how you feel. I just did and told her it’s about time a Democrat stood up and spoke the truth in the House.

SM Death Inspired Exley Foundation - BDSM Safety Through Education

By now everyone has heard of the tragic death of Adrian Exley. He was a young man who enjoyed bondage and SM and met an untimely end in an accident. It was an accident that didn’t have to happen, but unfortunately a lack of proper precautions and simple common sense ended not only Adrian’s life but the life of the man he was playing with. Gary LeBlanc the man who invited Exley to visit for a weekend of bondage and SM committed suicide after finding Exley dead and trying to hide the body.

Some people could dismiss this whole incident as another example of how dangerous SM people are. They would seek any excuse to condemn a whole group of people because of the actions of just two men. It would be as illogical to condemn all white men because some of them cause car accidents. In that context it sounds silly, and it is. So let’s get beyond the blanket condemnations and look at what can be learned from this tragedy.

First, if you are going to engage in any kind of BDSM play, you should know the risks and be prepared to take precautions to avoid complications. For example, Exley sought a long term bondage scene in what we in the SM world might call mummification. It involves being wrapped in a constraining material, like plastic wrap and then covered in duct tape or other material to restrict almost all movement. Is that dangerous? It can be if the wrap is too tight, which might restrict breathing, or insufficient space is allowed for a clear airway, both nose and mouth.
Second, someone in bondage as extreme as mummification, cannot communicate as easily as someone just in restraints like handcuffs or shackles. People in extreme bondage need constant monitoring. Their breathing should be watched and they should be checked for overheating and dehydration. Many people give the person in bondage occasional sips of water from a straw and some even take their temperature just to make sure they do not succumb to any heat related problems.

Third, at the first signs of trouble, the person should be removed from bondage and if needed medical help sought.

All three of these precautions were mission in Adrian’s case. He was mummified or bound, hooded and given a straw to breathe through. Then he was left in a closet, unattended while Gary went to bed. The problem, a straw is not enough air to survive for long and not only do they collapse, but a closet fills with bad air in a short time.

Almost any experienced SM player will shiver at that set up, it is a recipe for disaster. The problem, a straw is not enough air to survive for long and not only do they collapse, but a closet fills with bad air in a short time. A person left unattended in bondage cannot signal if they are in trouble.

Education and personal responsibility are the lessons that can be learned from Adrian and Gary’s deaths. Taking more precautions and knowing the warning signs of a problem could have kept the scene from becoming fatal. In fact, it might have been a really fun weekend for both men had they just known and used the basic principals of safe, sane and consensual BDSM.
Adrian’s brother has set up a MySpace page in memory of his sibling. It is a small start, but it is my hope it will grow to spread the message of education and safety for BDSM enthusiasts. As the Education Chair of the National Leather Association International, I sincerely hope the Adrian Exley Foundation succeeds in its mission. I am lending my support and wish Adrian’s brother and family the best in their endeavor. Visit the page and see the progress they are making.

http://www.myspace.com/theadrianexleyfoundation

Brownback Pulls Out of GOP Race

The rabidly anti-gay candidate Sam Brownback has pulled out of the GOP race for presidential nominee. The Senator from Kansas is expected to run for governor of Kansas in 2010 after his term in the senate is up. His main problem in this campaign has been raising money. His far right-wing views have not played well with the contributors and his support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants hurt him in Iowa.

Personally I breathe a sigh of relief. Brownback added just one more shrill voice to the GOP rant. Without him it, it will be more civil but still a losing cause I my opinion.

China Spins Safety Of Toys - Mattel Profits Suffer

So China has learned how to work the spin machine as well as the best corrupt politician here in the US. Their latest push is “Chinese Toys Are Safe”, to paraphrase the numerous stories that popped up when I Googled “Mattel” in the news. Not surprisingly the articles which were released by the Chinese news agencies all tout the tight government regulation of manufactured goods from China.

Speaking at the Communist Party Congress, Li Changjiang, the Director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said that “Children around the world love 'Made in China' toys, especially at Christmas. And China's toy manufacturers will do their best to make safe and reliable toys for children around the world before the Christmas season."

That assertion rings pretty hollow in light of the myriad of recalls because of toys containing lead paint and other toxic materials. Unfortunately, the US media is just quoting these pronouncements wholesale and not doing any research into how well the alleged regulations are actually being enforced. Mattel can testify as to the “safe and reliable” toys made in China, and so can their bottom line. The supplier found cheaper paint and in an effort to maximize profits went ahead and used toxic paint from a non-approved supplier.

The Communist Party in China is very good at passing regulations, but they have a dismal record of enforcing them, especially where profits are concerned. Sounds a lot like our Government doesn’t it? All we need now is a dictator…oh wait, guess we already have one?

Richard Roberts on "Leave of Absence" from ORU

President of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa is taking a leave of absence. That is what the board of the university is calling it. In reality he can return only if the board approves and then only after an audit is completed. To quote Roberts, “I pray and believe that in God’s timing, and when the board feels that it is appropriate, I will be back at my post as president.”

He will continue to receive his salary as well as continue his role as CEO of Oral Roberts Ministries and appear on his television program. The move by Roberts and the board is the latest chapter in the scandal that has enveloped the university. A lawsuit is still pending as well as charges of sexual impropriety by Roberts wife with underage students.

Colbert Declares He WIll Run For President - Only In SC

Larry Craig Lying Again!

Larry Craig (R-ID) is really making lying into an art. In an interview with Matt Lauer on NBC last night, he stated categorically that he doesn’t use the internet.

“Matt, you won’t believe this. But I don’t use the Internet. I don’t have a computer at my desk. I’ve never used the Internet. It’s just not what I do. I e-mail with my BlackBerry. No, I did not know that. I had no reason to know that.”

Funny, the Washington Examiner notes that Craig not only has extensive internet experience, but he even won the Silver Mouse award for his web site, and he endorsed Mitt Romney for president on YouTube. Add to that his quote that he “Googled the term Mission Creep” and you got a big fat Republican Liar!

Come on Larry, fess up!

UPDATE: For those who want more, Huffington Post has a video clip from the interview. Amazing stuff, to watch this guy blatantly lying!

More Oral Roberts University Scandal - Video Clip

I couldn't resist posting this. Looks like things in Tulsa are getting ugly. Hope all the students there don't get burned in the mess.

Iraqi LGBT Group Needs Your Help Now

While we are fighting in Iraq, a group of Iraqis is losing ground every day. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Iraqis are targeted daily by Iraqi Police, Badr and Sadr Militia. Sometimes their only salvation is a safe house run by a non-governmental organization. Iraqi LGBT is a human rights group that supports and runs these safe houses as well as advocates for LGBT Iraqis.

Right now that group is stretched to the limit and desperately needs funds. Please check out their blog and donate if you can.

SCHIP Works, Ask Bethany.

US Military Deaths Hit 3828

3828. That is the number of US Military that have been killed in Iraq since the war began. One of the latest was from Krum, Texas, a sleepy little farm town that is fast becoming a suburb of the DFW Metroplex. Army Sgt. 1st Class Justin S. Monschke, 28, Krum, Texas; died Sunday in Arab Jabour when an explosive detonated near his unit. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

This number is moving steadily closer to the 4000 mark, and still the President and Congress refuse to pull out of what has become a fierce civil war. Surge or no surge, Iraq is a mess and without serious diplomatic work and a functioning government the country will have no hope. The continued deaths of Iraqi civilians and US and coalition military is having little effect beyond areas that have become secure locked-down camps.

Meanwhile people who live and work in Iraq continue to suffer. For an inside glimpse of what life there is like I suggest visiting last-of-iraqis.blogspot.com. It’s a sobering experience. I will continue to pray for the safety of our troops and the Iraqi people.

Another GOP Official Caught In Sex Scandal

Well lately it seems you can’t turn over a member of the GOP without finding a sex scandal! The latest in the string of juicy tidbits comes from the Wisconsin GOP. There a party Chair has resigned after being accused of enticement and fondling of an underage boy. The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that Donald Fleischman, Brown County GOP Chair posted a $20,000 bond and was released from jail. Fleischman faces two counts of child enticement, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child, and one count of exposing himself to a child.

More as it develops!

Major Scandal Hits Oral Roberts University - Another Sex Mess for the Religious Right!

Scandals and televangelism seem to go hand in hand. Now, Richard Roberts, Oral Robert’s son and President of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa is deep in the middle of a swirling scandal that involves tales of lavish spending, lawsuits from fired faculty and the Big Kahoona, sex!

Roberts is accused on illegal involvement in a local political campaign for starters but now a lawsuit by former professors makes the following charges as reported by the Associated Press:

- A longtime maintenance employee was fired so that an underage male friend of Mrs. Roberts could have his position.

- Mrs. Roberts - who is a member of the board of regents and is referred to as ORU's "first lady" on the university's Web site - frequently had cell-phone bills of more than $800 per month, with hundreds of text messages sent between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. to "underage males who had been provided phones at university expense."

- The university jet was used to take one daughter and several friends on a senior trip to Orlando, Fla., and the Bahamas. The $29,411 trip was billed to the ministry as an "evangelistic function of the president."

- Mrs. Roberts spent more than $39,000 at one Chico's clothing store alone in less than a year, and had other accounts in Texas and California. She also repeatedly said, "As long as I wear it once on TV, we can charge it off." The document cites inconsistencies in clothing purchases and actual usage on TV.

- Mrs. Roberts was given a white Lexus SUV and a red Mercedes convertible by ministry donors.

- University and ministry employees are regularly summoned to the Roberts' home to do the daughters' homework.

- The university and ministry maintain a stable of horses for exclusive use by the Roberts' children.

- The Roberts' home has been remodeled 11 times in the past 14 years.

Not bad for starters, but Friday another suit was filed and this one included charges that Mrs. Roberts spent the night in the university's guest house with an underage male on 9 separate occasions. It further states there are numerous photos of Mrs. Roberts and the underage male alone in her sports car after city-wide curfew.

I will refrain from dancing the Schadenfreude Polka until the dust settles.

UPDATE: The scandal from a student's perspective, sounds like everyone on campus saw this coming.

Who Will Fix Our Nation's Health Care System?

It’s about time I added my voice to those calling for a plan to fix our system of health care in this country. Let me tell you my story. I am a reasonably healthy 57 year old man. I am overweight like many people my age. I had asthma as a child and take a medication for a seizure disorder but have had no seizures since my mid 30’s. Other than that, not much else.

I don’t work for a major corporation, but eek our a living doing freelance film production and writing. As a self employed American I have tried to get health insurance many times. I always get send back the letter telling me I can get insurance under the Texas High Risk pool for health insurance. OK, so for some reason, one that my doctor has yet to be able to tell me, I am considered high-risk.

Here’s the problem, the “high-risk” pool is a scam. It got written into the state law as a concession to coverage for people without employer sponsored health plans. According to the law, which I can only assume was written by insurance lobbyists states that persons applying for insurance in the pool can be charged 3 times the normal rate for their coverage. Sound high? You betcha!

For me, I got a quote of $1500 a month and that was with a $5000 deductable. Now unless you are rich, or crazy, that’s a hell of a lot of money for health insurance, and that is the idea. They don’t want to insure anyone who may ever have a problem with their health. It’s all about maximizing profits and not health. $1500 a month is $18,000 a year, and ad the $5000 deductible and you come to a whopping $23,000 a year in out of pocket costs if you get the insurance and get sick.

Unless I made six figures a year, that’s impossible for me to justify and there is the problem. Why should people have to pay sometimes half their yearly income for health insurance? I invite any reader to give me a valid reason.

So here is the deal, just about every other industrialized country in the world has a health insurance program for its citizens. It means higher taxes in some cases, but in the end it would mean higher profits for American companies (with the exception of the insurance scam industry). No more strikes or negotiations over health care plans with unions. No more costly insurance plans cutting into profits. Most importantly, no more people dying because they can’t afford health care.

My advice to you? Well unless you work for a big company and expect to for the rest of your life, don’t get sick. Your sickness will be used against you as a reason for denying your insurance in the future.

That part about dying because you are poor? Well it has happened and is happening now with people I know. They have no insurance, so they must rely on the minimal public health system in our county. It is not well funded and has little room for more people, yet the number of patients they see grows daily.

Our country is sick. It is sick in a very deep and disturbing way. Our country has businesses that are profiting, big time, from the treatment of sick people. I have no problem with private health care, but I think it should be a rich person’s option and not the rule. Call me a socialist or whatever, I just know from experience that our health care system is badly broken and no one is trying to fix it.

Mattel Has More China Problems - Now a Possible Stock Scandal Too!

Get ready for an interesting Christmas shopping season this year. Looks to me like Mattel, one of the nation’s leading toy brands is going to go down hard by the bow. They are already plagued with lead tainted toys from China, and now according to a CNN report I just watched, they are being sued by stockholders for not disclosing problems earlier. Furthermore, seems like insiders at Mattel sold off $33 million in stick just before the last round of bad news about lead poisoned toys. More distressing, Mattel hid these problems for months before reporting them.

As I said earlier this year in a rant about imported toys from China, it will take a major Enron style collapse before American companies wise up and stop looking for cheaper and cheaper sources for products. Mattel and Fisher-Price may soon be things of the past, and all because of corporate greed!

Robot Dragonflies? High Tech Spy Gadget Sighted at Anti-War Protest

Robot Dragonflies? Sounds like science fiction, but according to The Washington Post and several eye witnesses these sci-fi creatures have shown up at political and anti-war rallies in the United States. Though the CIA and the government officially deny their existence, it has been widely known that the military has been developing micro-robots for surveillance for years. Now it seems they are being used to infiltrate anti-war protests.

Should this story turn out to be true, I would not be surprised. Remember the Bush folks see no problem with warrantless spying on Americans if they see fit. Now all they have to do is shout “Global War of Terror” ® and they feel they can do anything they want. Just a note that gives this story even more credence, the alleged dragonfly robots were flying in a pack. Dragonflies, the organic kind are solo flyers.

Lipstick Latest Poisoned Product - What's That Color, Dead Red?

I have often heard the expression that “vanity knows no pain”, but now I realize it’s not vanity at all, just lead poisoning. Seems lots of lipsticks sold here in the US contain high amounts of lead. In fact 61% of the 33 randomly tested lipsticks contained a significant level of lead, but lead was not listed as an ingredient.

Seems like product safety here in our country has gone the way of the Dodo bird. Kind of makes you long for the pre-Regan era when the Consumer Products Safety Commission had some power and real teeth in its rulings. I also seem to remember the FDA actually monitoring this kind of thing back then. But maybe my mind has been affected by the lead in everything from kid’s toys to cosmetics. Duh?

BBC Releases GI Jonny - Anti-Barebacking Infomercials!

The BBC has once again broken new ground in television and media. Their spoof action figure, GI Jonny is a campaign to educate young adults to the dangers of barebacking (unprotected sexual intercourse). The campaign has its own website with a hillarious mock TV commercial that is a must see. I wish the US government took disease prevention seriously and would do a real anti-HIV campaign here. Instead we get the same old ineffective "abstinence only" plan from our Decider in Chief.

Well Mr. Bush, better watch out or GI Johnny might pay you a visit with his "protect-a-shield" and the country would be a safer place, especially since you seem intent on f*#king us every chance you get.

Baptist Preacher Dies in Kinky Accident

Imagine the shock of his congregation when the pastor of the Thorington Road Baptist Church was found dead at his home. Imagine the additional shock of the police report.
Reverend Gary Aldridge died of "accidental mechanical asphyxia" and was found hogtied and wearing two complete wet suits, including a face mask, diving gloves and slippers, rubberized underwear, and a head mask. Additionally an autopsy revealed a dildo in him covered with a condom.

Aldridge was an associate of the late Jerry Falwell and a graduate of Falwell’s Liberty University.

I would guess that his politics were as conservative as Falwell’s and it is another amazing incidence of hypocrisy that he died in such a tragic manner.

As a BDSM practitioner myself, I know the dangers of autoerotic asphyxiation. A close friend of mine died that way last year and I have heard many other stories. This kind of edge-play is often cautioned and condemned in BDSM workshops as patently unsafe, and had the Reverend been out with his kink, he might have attended some of these events and learned that lesson. Unfortunately it is now too late.

I would be tempted to dance a few rounds of the Schaddenfreude Polka, but I find I can only grieve for his family and friends. I hope his tragic death will serve as a cautionary tale about living in the closet and playing too close to the edge.

White House Leaks Critical Intel - Destroys Valuable Source!

So in our “Global War On Terror ™” the Bush administration is not only its chief proponent but its greatest hindrance. Seems that the US intelligence folks had a pretty good channel into the communications of the Al Qaeda people. To my surprise it was through a private source as well. SITE, a private intelligence firm, was contracted by the government to monitor the Web and Internet sources for Al Qaeda info.

Things went very well, to the point where SITE handed over a video of Osama Bin Laden that was destined to be broadcast at a later date. The condition was that the White House would keep it secret until the broadcast date, but could use the video to analyze the content. Our friends in the Bush Administration just couldn’t keep a PR opportunity like that quiet and leaked the video to the press and before long it was all over television.

Leaking that video exposed the back channel surveillance and what had previously been a productive and active source of intelligence suddenly dried up. A spokesperson for SITE said hat the company had worked years to develop and exploit the sources of intelligence and the White House’s actions made them useless.

Wonder why they leaked that video? Maybe to give the impression that the Bush Administration was “on top of things” at a time when their approval ratings were slightly above those of sewer rats? Or perhaps it was to assure that Al Qaeda would remain a threat as long as possible, thus continuing the massive profit windfall the “Global War On Terror ™” has been for defense contractors in the US? Any ideas?

The Blackwater Story - As Told By The Daily Show

More GOP Restroom Sex - Senate Candidate Drops from Race Under a Cloud

Another conservative in the closet? Looks like it. This one is a Senate candidate from Louisiana named Joey DiFatta who has now dropped from the Senate race under a cloud caused by documents that surfaced connecting him with 2 lewd conduct charges in public restrooms with police.

Police documents outline a 1996 "peeping Tom" encounter and a 2000 "toe-tapping" escapade similar to that of Larry “Guilty/Not Guilty” Craig. Seems you can take a Republican out of the restroom but not the closet.

The whole episode is another sad chapter in the story of self-hating closeted conservatives who act-out their sexual frustrations in inappropriate ways instead of just coming out and living an honest life. Of course that would be difficult for a Republican, but I understand it can happen.

More Meat Recalled - E-Coli Again Implicated

When I was a teenager, I worked with my father in his laboratory. He was a microbiologist and researcher. As a summer job I was a lab technician for a couple of years. Today that would never happen because of liability suits and other regulations, but the 1960’s were less litigious ties.

While working in the lab I often handled specimens that contained Escherichia Coli, E-Coli for short. This bacterium lives in the lower intestinal tracks of all kinds of animals including humans. It helps the body digest the food and when confined to the gut is a good bacterium. When it gets into our food supply it’s a bad bacterium. Strains of E-Coli cause everything from diarrhea to death in some patients. So how does it get into food? In a word, poop!

Fecal matter contains E-Coli and when food handlers do not take proper precautions like washing their hands after using the bathroom, it gets into the food chain. Not a pretty picture. Now I don’t have proof, but the recent outbreaks of e-coli in ground beef point to a big problem. First that meat packing employees are not practicing preventative hygiene, or they are not slaughtering animals in a way that prevents cross contamination from the animals own gut. To me this means there is not enough education of the dangers of this problem to employees, or the USDA and FDA inspections are ineffective or infrequent. I would bet both are the case.

Budget cuts in the USDA and FDA have been cited in the pet food problems that occurred back in the spring of this year. There is no reason to believe that anything has changed, and as many warned it would eventually affect the food humans eat. Well that pigeon has come home to roost. Last week Topps Meats closed its doors after a recall of 21 million pounds of ground meat, and this week Cargill recalled 844,812 pounds of ground beef patties because of our friend, E-Coli. Cargill is a much bigger company than Topps and perhaps it can withstand a massive recall, but in the end it’s going to come down to better practices and more inspections.

Meanwhile here is a tip. Cook meat well done, and wash your hands before preparing food and afterward. Take my advice, I know from experience. I handled hundreds of specimens infected with E-Coli and never became infected. Hand washing is the reason. Bon Appétit!

Another DC Closet Case? Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. That would be the shoes of Representative Pat McHenry (R-NC) who it turns out owns a home with another man in Washington DC. He also took a homestead exemption on his taxes on that home while he still was a registered voter in North Carolina.

McHenry is not the only same-sex homeowner couple in the Republican Party. Condi Rice owns a home with a woman in Palo Alto, California. Now I would never make a big deal of GLBT folks buying homes together, or for that matter even straight men and women doing it, but I have to wonder when the whole story will come out. Mike Rogers, known for outing the DC political set, has the story at BlogActive.com.

Jon Stewart on Bush Children's Health Care Veto

One again Stewart nails this and in doing so shows Bush for what he is, a tool of corporate America.

Blogging From Austin This Weekend

This weekend I am in Austin, Texas. Not only is the city the capitol of Texas, it’s the capitol of funkiness in Texas. From the eclectic cafes to the ubiquitous live music, Austin has a character that is decidedly unlike any other city in Texas. I don’t know if it’s the waters of the Colorado River that flows through the center of town or the crunchy-granola vibe that emanates from the University of Texas. Whatever it is the city is both charming and absolutely maddening.

The streets are in a continual state of “under construction” and everyone drives like my grandmother. No one in Austin wears real fashion, just a hodgepodge of slacker wear, sandals and an occasional rumpled suit. Such is the laid back scene here. It’s as though Berkley, California was dropped right in the middle of the Bible Belt. You gotta love that dichotomy.

I am here for the Central Texas Boys of Leather anniversary party. These “boys” are all adult before anyone gets any odd ideas, and they invited me to come down and give a class of one of my favorite BDSM activities. I will spare the uninitiated the details, but suffice to say it will be fun!

Judge Denies Senator Craig's "Do Over"

Too bad Larry, you will have to live with your guilty plea! A Minnesota Judge rejected Senator Larry Craig’s attempt to withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct. Craig as everyone knows was arrested in a sting in a public bathroom in the Minneapolis airport trying to solicit sex from a male undercover officer. Since then he had hoped the matter would disappear, but it didn’t.

Craig hedged his bets saying “I intend to resign” from the Senate, however that means he intended but might not. Well the judge didn’t buy his argument that he didn’t intend to solicit sex, so I wonder if he will actually resign now and give it a rest?

Craig is not gay, being gay would mean he was open about his sexual preferences. Craig says he is a heterosexual man, he just wants to have sex with other men. Being gay would indicate a healthy acceptance of your orientation; instead Craig is one sick puppy and needs to figure out what he really wants. Hope you find out some day Larry, but do it in private.

Take Action on ENDA!

How's This For Funny? More Poisoned Chinese Toys!

Here’s a funny one. So you recall a bunch of toys because they contain poisonous levels of lead paint. As an apology you send your customers a free gift toy to retain their business. Now here’s the fun part, wait for it… Now you find that gift has lead in it too and have to recall the gift! Is that a knee slapper or what?

Thousands of Thomas & Friends toys were recalled back in June and the company sent out free gifts to customers who returned the poisoned toys. The gifts are now being recalled for lead paint. No joke.

I will ask the question again and again, how many more times will companies get burned by poisoned Chinese goods before they realize that China is not a safe place for manufacturing. Someone with a brain could open a toy company here in the United States and manufacture toys right here, and even though they would cost more, the public would buy them. When is someone going to realize this? The economics of having to recall your products is going to take a toll on profits eventually. Globalization is not bad, but having absolutely no product quality and safety controls is!

HRC Board Member Resigns Over ENDA Flap

Looks like the HRC has really screwed the pooch with their wishy-washy stance on the ENDA bill and the possibility of dropping transgendered people from it. Board member Donna Rose has resigned in protest. Donna was the first and only openly transgendered person on the board of the Human Rights Campaign. Because of the dust up regarding the Employee Non-Discrimination Bill she has walked out, leaving HRC with no openly transgendered people on its board.

I hate to see the GLBT community split like this but I have to support her actions. Throwing Transgendered people under the bus in order to get a watered down ENDA passed is a crappy way to cave to the bigots in Congress. Time to add an asterisk to that equals sign hat HRC uses as their logo. In fine print it should say, “*equality for everyone but transgendered people, and anyone else we find politically incorrect.”

The whole thing reminds me of the prejudice towards leathermen and drag queens back in the early days of the Gay Rights movement. The politically astute gay men forgot that Stonewall was started by drag queens and supported by leathermen. Time for HRC to get over itself and affirm that transgendered folk are just as queer as the rest of us.

Al Jazeera Cameraman Held Prisoner Since 2001 Near Death in Guantanamo

So I guess most of you have forgotten about the prison at Guantanamo. I had, until I was jolted from my temporary memory loss by an article on Al Jazeera. Seems during the sweep of arrests in the Afghan invasion, the US picked up a cameraman for Al Jazeera working in the area. After the arrest he was never charged with any crimes but was whisked away to Guantanamo without any charges or explanation.

Sami Al-Hajj, the cameraman, has been on a hunger strike to get attention to his situation. According to a fellow inmate who was released on Sept 25, “His health condition is extremely deteriorating. He is losing weight continuously. He suffers from kidney infection and he urinates blood."

Sources say health care at the prison is minimal at best and they fear for his life. Additionally, as with many prisoners at Guantanamo, there are allegations of torture.

Isn’t it time this crap stops? What kind of country have we become that we arrest people without charges and torture them? That is certainly not the America I grew up in, and 9/11 or no 9/11 it shouldn’t be America today. Come on Ms. Pelosi, let’s put impeachment back on the table!

Bush Vetos Health Care for Poor Kids in Secret Ceremony

Working behind closed doors is the standard operating procedure for the Bush Administration. The only time you see Bush or Cheney is in a staged press photo opportunity or a carefully controlled press conference. No surprise then that Bush vetoed the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan in secret.

You see, health care for lower or middle income children is just not a priority for Bush. As an employee of the businesses in the war industry, healthy kids just don’t get much attention. I guess if there had been a provision for purchasing more V-22 Osprey aircraft (that’s the one that falls from the sky so often) it might have passed. No guns or bullets, and no signature with this administration.

Bush justifies his despicable actions with the specter of “Socialized Medicine”. We are supposed to cower in the corner and clutch our insurance cards and quake in fear when we hear those words. In reality millions of American’s cannot get health insurance, while the rich get untaxed benefits of lavish health plans and the President and Congress get their health care on our dime. SCHIP would assure insurance for mostly children, from families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford their own private coverage. The problem with that? Well private insurance companies might miss out on a few more bucks in their coffers from these marginalized groups, and God forbid we deprive big business of profits!

So, in the secrecy that Bush is so comfortable in, he makes a stroke of a pen and kids will be sick or die without health care. And Bush sleeps well at night knowing he has rescued the Insurance Lobby from a slight down turn in profits. Thanks Mr. President, for nothing!

Torture and Death in Iraq - Eyewitness Account

To say that things in Iraq are ugly would be the understatement of the 21st century. I read the blog of a friend in Iraq on a regular basis. His writing gives me an idea of what the real Iraqi people are facing in their everyday lives. A few weeks ago he told of his fears of Cholera, and now there are hundreds of cases of the disease in Baghdad. Now his blog details the creative ways the militias and Al Qaeda have found to kill and torture innocent civilians.

In his words, “it’s a blessing now if an Iraqi dies by a bullet or an explosion.” As to the techniques that have sprung up, “the militias and AQ (Al Qaeda) seems to enjoy killing and I think they look at it as an art or something.” He talks further about a torture referred to as “Drilling”. Since he is a dentist, I assumed it had something to do with teeth, but the reality is more horrific than even I could imagine.

The militias just take a power drill to the victim. They drill holes in the person until they confess to whatever crime they are seeking or they just die from loss of blood and shock. Why would anyone do this? Well the reasons are many, but one prominent “crime” is cooperating with the Americans. For that act you can be drilled or worse. Lately people are being beheaded for helping American troops. No wonder things are so difficult for our forces over there.

I tell you these stories not for any political reason, just to let you know that there are real people in Iraq who are suffering unimaginable tortures and hardships. Too often we look at Iraqis as some faceless group. We do not see the individuals that are trying to find some semblance of normal life in a country that has been flipped upside down and left in chaos.

Read Mohammed’s blog if you dare. It isn’t easy or fun. What I find amazing about it is that in the midst of this nightmare, he can still find the words to tell the world what is happening. That is a testament to his spirit and humanity. May Allah bless him and his family, and may the long nightmare that is the Iraq war be wiped away by the light of a new day.

ENDA Stalled Over Transgendered Inclusion

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is hitting the skids before it even gets a vote. House leaders (and that is the Democrats damn it) are stalling the bill for a while. Here is the statement issued by Congresspersons Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, George Miller and Tammy Baldwin.

"After discussions with congressional leaders and organizations supporting passage of ENDA, we have agreed to schedule mark-up of the bill in the Committee on Education and Labor later this month, followed by a vote in the full House. This schedule will allow proponents of the legislation to continue their discussions with Members in the interest of passing the broadest possible bill."

Let me translate, “We are throwing transgendered people under the bus.”

The committee is reportedly taking “transgendered” out of the bill to assure its passage. I do not understand why this would be better. I know there are right-wing bigots in Congress who will vote against ENDA, but they will do that with or without the transgender part, so what gives?

Imagine a Civil Rights Bill that assures the rights of all Americans regardless of race, religion or national origin, except for Jamaicans and dark skinned Cubans. Think that is fair? Backing off from the idea of full equality will bring no victory. ENDA must contain guarantees of non discrimination for gay lesbian bisexual and transgendered people or it will be morally flawed.

As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.”

A Day at Jury Duty - Now I Need a Chiropractor

It is a mind numbing exercise, Jury Duty. I have a great respect for our judicial system and would want a jury of my piers to decide my fate should I ever be accused of a crime, but there has to be a better way to physically do it. Prospective jurors are herded from one uncomfortable waiting area to another like cattle, all the while being constantly told how important we are and how much the state appreciates our service. In reality we are a commodity. Enough supply for the demand. We are interchangeable parts to be used or discarded and that's the truth.

If only they would hold a bond election to buy more comfortable seats for waiting, it would pass overwhelmingly. The pews, for that is really what they are, that jurors wait in are hard wooden and straight backed and probably came from some strict Calvinist church where the discomfort was considered penance for sins real or imagined. After waiting for hours on end in these torturous seats, the simple act of standing comes as a relief.

Why couldn't they come up with a system of "call on demand" jury where your cell phone wold ring if you were needed. You would be given a time window where you would be "on call" and wold be required to be only an hour from the courthouse. I am sure there are lots of holes in that plan as well, but hey at least it's outside the box and not on the hardwood bench.

I personally would gladly wave my $6 service salary to go toward pads for the benches.

21.7 Million Pounds of Beef Recalled!

Love deregulation? Then you will love this. 21.7 million pounds of ground beef are being recalled because of E-coli contamination. For the lucky “free-trade” American consumer it’s a non-stop parade of poisoned toys and food lately. The ground beef in question has been linked to 25 cases of the illness and was distributed in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

This is stuff produced by Topps Meat Company here in the United States and meat that had passed the USDA testing, allegedly. So, check your meat and don’t trust anything anymore. Gosh I love the free market!

Kucinich Proposes Forcing Vote on Cheney Impeachment

If Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and dark horse presidential candidate can actually do what he is talking about, he just switched me from an Obama backer. Kucinich said on the Ed Shultz Show that our government is basically out of control and “We have a government in place right now that has to be challenged. I'm seriously thinking about calling a privileged resolution on impeachment of the vice president and forcing a vote on the floor of the House."

It’s about time, and I suspect the majority of Americans will agree if he does it. Cheney and his government, for I do believe he is the real president, are drumming the beat for war with Iran so loud they have drowned out common sense. They must be stopped before they destroy America.

The real irony is that a conservative web site set up to impeach Bill Clinton gives the road map for the maneuver in the House of Representatives. He could do so in spite of House Speaker Pelosi’s refusal to bring the issue to a vote. Now we are talking!

Rep. Pallone on Rush Limbaugh's

Rush Limbaugh's wisecrack about soldiers who disagree with the continuation of the was as "phony soldiers" at least made it to the House floor. I doubt that the members will waste more time passing a condemnation like they did for the Move-On add about Patraeus. I personally wish Congress would get down to business and impeach the criminal administration that is pursuing this war.

Bush Wants $42.3 Billion for More War - Nothing for Children's Health Insurance

Bush sends Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to Congress yesterday to ask for an additional $42.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, he threatens to veto a bill to expand health insurance for lower and lower-middle class kids. I gotta wonder what version of the Bible he is reading. Bush claims to be a born again Christian yet he can’t seem to wrap his head around one of Jesus most emphatic commands, “feed my sheep”.

I can only guess our President thinks Jesus meant literal sheep. I have images of Bush wandering around the Rose Garden scattering Purina Sheep Chow. Seriously though, I feel pretty sure that the man who answered the question in the Presidential debates back in 2000 that his favorite philosopher was Jesus, was either lying or just reading the words from a prompter. I see absolutely nothing in Bush’s action that would give me a single clue he has ever taken Jesus preaching seriously.

Am I being judgmental? Not really, just evaluating the facts. His actions speak so much louder than his words.

Here’s an idea. Write or call the White House and tell them you are an observant Christian, or Jew, or Muslim (or whatever else) and that your faith tells you that generosity is one of the pillars of the faith. Then tell them that you encourage President Bush to sign the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation that will be presented to him and put his faith into action. Maybe if enough people call the “decider” might decide the right thing to do. Additionally, write and call your Congressperson and ask them to vote against any further funding for the war in any way. That would be a faith based initiative.

Yet More Poisoned Toys from China! This is Getting Silly.

Another day another poisoned toy recall! Seems like American kids just don't get enough lead in their diet, so our friends in China have graciously supplied plenty in their toys and manufactured goods. I guess that should be "cheaply manufactured goods".

In quest for more profits and low prices, American companies have bulldozed their factories and outsourced virtually everything to China, especially toy manufacturers. The latest recall is more Thomas & Friends toys as well as such things as children's jewelry.

Might just be time to start making your own toys for your kids. Craft stores have lots of stuff that does not contain lead!

TV Review - Big Bang Theory - Who Knew String Theory Could be so Funny!

OK, so network TV usually sucks. I agree, but I have my favorite guilty pleasures. Most of them are on CBS Monday nights and now I can add another. The Big Bang Theory, a sitcom from Chuck “Two and a Half Men” Lorre is packed with intelligent dialogue and just plain funny bits.

The “sit” centers on a couple of nerds, Sheldon and Leonard (I gotta figure those names are a play on one of the fathers of sitcoms) played by Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki. These two actors pull off the nerd roles well. I have to wonder if they didn’t spend time studying people with Asperger’s Syndrome while preparing for the roles. That condition is often referred to as nerds disease and is a very mild form of Autism.

The timing is flawless and their gags seem to always hit my funny bone. In the opening episode the two hapless guys are going to donate their sperm to a “genius” sperm bank. When they ask the receptionist if this is the place, she responds, “If you have to ask, maybe you shouldn’t be here!”

My only downside was the laugh track. They would do better with a studio audience. Watch it Mondays on CBS if you want to laugh and catch up on your string theory.

General Pace Gives a Bible Lesson, but Forgets the Ten Commandments

General Pace appeared before a Senate hearing today and was offered a chance to clarify his remarks about homosexuals in the military. For those with short memories, he previously said, "I believe homosexual acts between individuals are immoral."

Well at the hearing he didn't do much better. Funny when he talked about morals he never mentioned the biblical commandment, "thy shall not kill." The crowd chanted it for him just to jar his memory, but the ruckus caused the hearing to be cancelled. ThinkProgress.org has more.

Larry Craig Hopes For His Do-Over Today

Larry Craig will get another day in court today, at least his attorney will. Today he ties to convince the judge that he mistakenly entered a guilty plea to disorderly conduct. That’s going to be pretty hard considering his plea, which had absolutely no details of the alleged crime was probably intended to get processed and slide quietly through the system before he could be found out by the press or others.

I might have worked, but surprise, he got found out! Now he is claiming he just likes to tap his feet on the john and never intended anything when he wiggled his fingers under the stall at an undercover policeman. Aw heck, people do that every day…right!

If the judge does let him withdraw his plea, he will bring a battery of lawyers into court and cloud the case with a flurry of legal maneuvers designed to shroud whatever it was he was doing and frame the case as entrapment. If the judge denies his withdrawal, Craig might have to make good on his “intent” to resign September 30. Personally I am hoping for the latter, he has had enough time in the spotlight.

Church Denied Insurance Because of Pro Gay Rights Stance

A company calling itself Brotherhood Mutual Insurance has refused to provide a quote for a small church in Michigan because the denomination affirms the rights of gays and lesbians. The big surprise was that the company solicited the church’s business initially.

Brotherhood Mutual told the West Adrian United Church of Christ that their stance for equality for GLBT people made the church a “higher risk” for liability insurance and therefore unacceptable.

Marci J. Fretz, a regional underwriter for Brotherhood Mutual wrote in a letter to the church, "Our company's decision to not submit a quote to your organization arose out of information that was supplied in a supplemental application, indicating that your organization 'publicly endorses or practices the marriage of same-sex couples' and 'publicly endorses or practices the ordination of the homosexual clergy.'"

This refusal is even though the small 100 person congregation is not even listed as a “welcoming and affirming” congregation in the UCC church listings. The church does already have insurance with another company.

This little kerfuffle illustrates the depth of bigotry against GLBT people in this country and also shows the very real risks congregations take when they move to affirm GLBT rights. As a member of a United Church of Christ congregation here in Dallas, I appreciate the stand that the UCC denomination took when it came out for GLBT rights, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

"In Iran, We Don't Have Homosexuals"

The president of Iran spoke at Columbia University today and denied the existance of gays and lesbians in Iran. Maybe that's because they have been exicuting them, more than 4000 since 1979.

I am glad he is speaking here, and also glad the audience finds him as disturbing as I do. I think he and Bush have a lot in common, they both love in a state of denial.

Cholera Pops Up In Baghdad - Surprise!

I was reading a blog by an Iraqi dentist who makes irregular posts on his blog, “Last of Iraqis”. He writes about the cloudy drinking water that comes from the tap and then wonders about the rumors of Cholera in Baghdad that have been circulating. Well the rumors are true according to several news sources.

So now in addition to the plague of violence we have rained down on Iraq, Cholera is poised to sweep the cities. It is really sad when things for the average Iraqi were better under Saddam than our puppet government over there.

I watched the video of the tap water he posted in his blog and I realize that we take things like being able to drink the water from our faucets with reasonable assurances that it will not kill us. I am at once grateful for our countries fine water system, government regulated I might add, and am dismayed at our government’s actions in Iraq. Isn’t it time we stopped this madness and seek diplomatic solutions in Iraq rather than just continuing to pump money into weapons and death?

Whatever happened to those billions we spent to restore the infrastructure over there? Maybe Dick Cheney’s company can explain that mystery?

Marcel Marceau