Goldman-Sachs Profits = US Taxpayers $$$

Wonder why Goldman has such rosy profits? Jon Stewart explains better than most TV Business reporters.

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Rachel Maddow Spanks Pat Buchanan For Racist Rant

Just in case you missed it, Pat Buchanan was on Rachel Maddow last night and she spanked him good for his racist white rant about how little African American's contributed to our country.

The segment below opens with Obama's speech at the NAACP and it's well worth the listening. He reminds people of the sacrifice made to achieve equality, a message the LGBT community has begun to remember.

Next Pat Buchanan comes on to attach Sotomayor and that's when the fun begins.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Rick Perry Does An About Face On Federal Funds!

We have our own special brand of "idjuts" here in Texas, and the number one Idjut is our Governor, Rick "secessionist" Perry.

Y'all remember back when Perry in his imminent wisdom rejected the $555 million that the U.S. Government wanted to give our state that would have expanded unemployment benefits for Texans. At the time the "Guv" said taking the money would force the state to expand eligibility to include part time workers and others who don't earn enough to contribute to his campaign. Then he mouthed the mantra of the GOP that it would increase the tax burden on Texans, blah, blah, blah.

We guess what? Now Ole Rick is asking the Federal Government for $170 million loan to keep unemployment benefits flowing. Nice turn around from the guy who threatened succession!

What it all boils down to is a grandstand play. Perry wants to look strong and individualistic. "Aw heck we don't need any of that stimulus money here in Texas!"

That was for the "base". Now as the pickings are getting slim, Perry is back with his hands out, hoping the news media will forget to cover the event.

You know, I take back the whole "idjut" thing. Perry is nothing but a duplicitous asshole. Take that to your damned "teaparty" Governor Perry!

How Can I Get A Job Like This?

As General Motors emerges from bankruptcy, it's ex-CEO Rick Wagoner walks away with over $10 million in retirement benefits. What a country!

When management can run a company into the ground by having absolutely no clue what the American consumer wants and still get off with a cool $10 million! You gotta admire that kind of chutzpah.

I had a really nice company once. My business partner and I worked hard and built up a thriving business. We had such an attractive company that a group of venture capitalists acquired us and rolled us and two other companies into a much larger "dot com". We got stock and a little cash but the promise of bigger things. In the end, we were pushed out the door with worthless stock and bupkis. OK, chalk that up to experience, but how come these CEOs stay rich?

I guess it all has to do with who you went to school with and the practice of lining your board with other fat cats who will make sure you get a very shiny golden parachute. Of course the GM stockholders, well they get... you guessed it, bupkis!

Ft. Worth Mayor Apologizes For Rainbow Lounge Raid

The Fort Worth City Council meeting was eventful last night. The most impressive event was the apology by Mayor Mike Montcrief for the incident at the Rainbow Lounge.

It even made the Associated Press. Check this story in the San Francisco Gate.

National Equality March - Oct. 11 Washington, DC

Open Letter To The President Of The SCLC

The Sounthern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization started by Martin Luther King to combat racism and injustice has threatened to fire the president of its Los Angeles chapter, Dr. Lee, because he supports same-sex marriage and opposed Proposition 8.

I could not sit still and not write them about this insanity. I thought I would share my letter with you and encourage you to write them as well. Their website form is here.

DR. BYRON C. CLAY, President & CEO
Ron Woods, Executive Director
SCLC Tel:404.522.1420 (Georgia)

Dr. Clay

Your recent threat of disciplinary action against Rev. Lee is unacceptable for a group founded by a man who is widely quoted as saying, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

To fail to speak out in favor of equal rights including marriage for LGBT Americans is an insult to the memory of Dr. King.

You forget that the man who orchestrated the March on Washington was Bayard Rustin, an openly gay African-American.

I have stood by the Civil Rights movement since the 1960's when my Father, a white Jewish professor joined the NAACP to show his support for justice. Today, I still support causes for any group who is oppressed in our society. Just because some gay and lesbian American's have a measure of affluence does not mean they have equal rights. Rights are not measured by the bank account but by freedom and equal protection.

I strongly suggest you reconsider and support the LGBT movement in the struggle to end inequality and bring justice to all.

If you really believe in the "beloved community" then there are no "others" only brothers and sisters, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Sincerely,

Hardy Haberman

Kinky Mouth Gag On QVC?

And I thought I was kinky? This device is supposed to exercise your cheek muscles, but it really looks like a great SM toy!

Giant Squid Invade San Diego Beach!

In California, seaside residents are use to strange sights. One visit to the beach will confirm that, but this is different.

On the beach in San Diego dozens of Giant Squid are washing up onshore. The huge beasts, not to be confused with the mechanical one in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", are several feet long and a rare sight. Apparently they were disturbed by an undersea earthquake, but that is still speculation. Meanwhile, it's calamari fiesta for the seagulls.

Fort Worth Rally - Rainbow Lounge Raid Protest

The rally in Fort Worth yesterday to protest the treatment of patrons at the Rainbow Lounge was a success. About 300 people showed up on the steps of the Tarrant County Court House for the event.

Dozens of rainbow flags, leather flags and hundreds fo signs gave the protest a festive feel, even if the message was one of outrage. The organizers, Queer Liberaction did a great job of pulling together the event and the line up of speakers was well paced.

The event culminated by Blake Wilkinson attaching a list of demands to the courthouse doors and the a spontaneous march to City Hall where the same list was taped to the doors there as well.

Even though the weather was oppressively hot, attendees seemed ready to face the sweat in order to get their point across. News media was also there in abundance and that was what the event was rally about. Keeping this incodent in the eye of the press will get action from city hall and the police.

Eagle Closure Update

Meanwhile the many Dallasites in attendance were still upset about the TABC action at the Dallas Eagle bar on Friday night. Though the timing seems suspicious and their anger is understandable, these were two very different events.

The TABC action at the Dallas Eagle was a result of the liquor license being issued for the old address, a few yards away from the new loaction on the same property. It was a picky technicality that should have ended when the TABC entered the bar and ordered liquor sales to cease. Unfortunately, sales resumed once the agents left and that prompted an undercover officer to call in another enforcement action which resulted in closing the bar completely.

The alleged "ninja masks" spoken of in several emails following the closure were to protect the identities of the undercover officers who called in the enforcement. In court their identities are revealed, but they wear masks when returning to a venue to protect their undercover status.

Now that said, I am not casting any dispersions on the Eagle or the TABC in this case. It just looks like the kind of thing that could have been avoided.

I do feel that gay bars get far more scrutiny from the TABC than other establishments and that should be investigated. Perhaps the ACLU or Lambda Legal could look into that, because I get the feeling if the records were tabulated, gay bar enforcement would be higher than straight bars. Just my hunch. I have seen several of these "raids" in the gay bars and have never seen anything remotely similar in a straight br or restaurant. I have seen my share of both establishments.

I have seen sloppy fall down drunks in straight bars and never seen anyone arrested for Public Intoxication. Just visit any of the watering holes in Deep Elum or Lower Greenville and see if you have your evening disturbed by the TABC. It doesn't happen very often.

So, am I upset about the TABC actions. Yup, sure am. Do I think the Fort Worth riad and the Dallas Eagle closure are related? Only in the fact that they are part of a larger picture of discrimination against LGBT establishments that needs to be addressed.

Unrest In Tehran - Police Beat Cameraman

These images from an Iranian blogger really give a good picture of what it is like to be in a country without press freedoms. The cameraman is attacked by police and pummeled to the ground while shooting. More here.

Fox Host Invokes Racial Purity - What An Idiot

If you ever needed proof that Fox News is run by a bunch of racist idiots, listen to this utter drivel pouring from the mouth of Brian Kilmeade as he talks about racial purity.

Tool Making Crows! Now That's One Smart Bird Brain.

My grandfather used to tell me stories about how smart crows were. I rarely believed him until now. Watch this video that is making the rounds of the internet. The crow in the video uses a wire to try to get at food. when the straight wire doesn't work he figures out a better method. Watch and be very afraid!

LGBT = Second Class Citizenship

If you ever needed proof that LGBT American's are second-class citizens here is a story posted on the El Paso Times website.

Guards at a Chico's Tacos on the East Side ejected a group of gay men from the restaurant because two were kissing, police said Wednesday.

"It was a simple kiss on the lips," said Carlos Diaz de Leon, who called police when he feared he and his group were targets of discrimination after his friends, both men, kissed in public.

At about 12:30 a.m. on the morning of June 29, the five men were placing their order at the Chico's Tacos on Montwood when the two men made their public display of affection, sparking the ire of two contracted security guards at the restaurant, police and witnesses said. After the group sat down, the security guards told them "they didn't allow that faggot stuff to go on there," and made them leave, de Leon said.

An officer arrived at the restaurant about an hour later, after police received five calls, including from the security guards and de Leon. The men were told to leave the restaurant and had anti-gay slurs directed at them while they waited for the police.

Read the whole story here.

Now, need any more proof of that second-class citizenship? How many straight couples have been ejected from a restaurant for kissing? I am waiting for the answer!

Anti-Gay Marriage Group In Maine Gathering Signatures

Religious fundamentalists are on the march in Maine. With the help of the quasi political organization, the Mormons, they have raised what may be enough signatures to prevent the law from being enacted in September.

The petitions will have to be verified by the state prior to any action, however the group calling itself, Stand for Marriage Maine, is continuing to gather signatures.

This is another Prop 8 in the making and the LGBT community and its allies need to handle this one with more expertise than the California mess. Might I suggest not sitting around and hoping the voters will come to their senses? A strong push needs to be made to convince Maine residents that LGBT rights are Human Rights.

United Airlines Breaks Guitars! Nice Video Revenge,

Listen to the saga of a musician who had his $3500 guitar destroyed by United Airlines. Later they would not compensate him and he swore revenge. Here ya go!

Comic Book Gets First Gay Kiss

For years there have been rumors about Batman and Robin, but the ambiguously gay duo always stayed platonic in their relationship. During the height of the AIDS epidemic the character Northstar came out to promote AIDS awareness. Now the world of comics has a genuine gay relationship.

X-Men spinoff comic X-Factor features a kiss between two male characters in its 45th issue that has set the comic world on its ink and newsprint ear. The characters Ricktor and Shatterstar share a kiss after what has been a long and tense relationship.

I am not a comic fan myself, but if you are, feel free to comment on your impressions and give me some background on these two.

Milk Box Rally in Ft. Worth, Texas

The police riot at the Rainbow Lounge is not going away. About 150 people gathered last Sunday in Sundance Square in Ft. Worth, Texas to make sure that didn't happen.

It was a patriotic event worthy of the 4th of July weekend. Free speech is a founding principal of our country and that is what the Milk Box actions, named after gay activist Harvey Milk, are about.

Speakers included an eyewittness to the police and TABC actions that night. He assured the crowd that excessive force was used and that the injuries sustained by Chad Gibson were a result of excessive force from the TABC.

Keeping this event in the media and minds of elected officials has resutlted in some action. Investigations are being called fro by not only the Ft. Worth police but by the Mayor and other officials. Protests do work!

Of course the whole scene was a bit strange. A real protest for sure, but the strains of piano bar music drifting through Sundance Square gave it a surrealistic edge. I chalk that up to it being in Fort Worth. Cowtown has always had a special sense of culture and style!

Next Sunday, another protest is planned for the steps of the Tarrant County Courthouse. The event will start at 7:00pm and should be even beter attended than the last. Be there!

(Photo Courtesy of Neko and Oblivion Images)

Why CBS Can't Shoot Fireworks Or Symphonies

I just watched the CBS special from Boston of the Boston Pops 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. The music was fun but the microphone positioning was atrocious. You'd think CBS could figure out how to mike a friggin' symphony, but hey, who am I to judge?

Finally the fireworks happened and they were spectacular. Over the harbor reflected on the water. Great. Once again CBS failed to capture the event with any kind of skill. You'd think CBS could shoot a huge fireworks show well. But who am I to say?

OK, so here is my take on this. Today the only events that are shot live are sports and the directors and camera people who do that are concerned with showing the action and keeping the camera on the ball. Well in an entertainment show, there is no ball and something like fireworks need to be seen in their entirety not close up. A nice wide shot of the harbor, which they did show occasionally gave the best impression of how massive and delightful the event must have been, but the director who I will lay big money on, shoots football or baseball normally and so he or she kept calling for "zoom in" or give me a tight shot!

The result was a lot of zooming in and out and shots of the crowd in the dark watching. Who cares? We are watching the fireworks not the crowd.

It reminded me of the way modern TV directors try to shoot live dance numbers. The get closeups of faces and feet. Ever see a great musical movie with memorable dancing like "American in Paris", or "Royal Wedding" ? The director shot the numbers wide enough so you could see the dancers whole bodies. Because dance is a full body experience, not a close-up medium. Well same for fireworks!

End of rant. Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!

Independence Day! My favorite holiday of the summer....well pretty much the only holiday of the summer.

The Statue of Liberty's crown is open for the first time since 9/11 so get those climbing shoes out and start climbing the steps. You will need a ticket and unfortunately they are sold out for another month. Wouldn't you know!

Hardee's B-Hole Vs. A-Hole

OK so part of this is because I am always reminded that people think my name is the same as the hamburg restaurant, and it's not. However, this is a really strange campaign and I have to say I like it.

Palin Quits!

Watching MSNBC, Sarah Palin just stepped down as Governor of Alaska. What the heck is the deal? She said something about the scandals and costing the state money, etc., but I have to believe there is a big shoe about to drop.

My bet would be the probes into her have exposed a big legal problem, that or she is sick and isn't telling. Weird!

UPDATE: Just watched her speech. The most rambling Sarah Palin speech yet. It often made no sense and sometimes it seemed she was trying to talk around whatever the issue really is. I suspect she is about or was about to be indicted on some corruption charge and is resigning to avoid it. Barring that or some announcement of a life threatening disease I cannot imagine what she is thinking.

Michael Jackson's Last Video - Tour Rehearsal Tape

I was amazed by this video of the rehearsal of Michael Jackson's last tour. Posted on CNN it shows his amazing attention to detail and talent. Too bad we will never get to see him perform it live!

Gay Sailor Murdered - DADT Must Go!

Want another reason to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell? How about this one. A gay sailor was murdered in California on the base. He had told his family he was being harassed, but he could not go to authorities or risk discharge.

This policy is not only hurting our military it is resulting in DEATH! If the president is not willing to use the bully pulpit and prod Congress along the path to repeal, then what option is there. March in the streets of Washington DC for one!

I'll be there October 11 and I hope a few hundred thousand of my close personal friends will be also. We have to hold the Democrats to account or they will discard their promises and leave us holding the bag.

Obama Addresses LGBT Crowd at White House

OK, it's a small step, but it's a first and if we keep the pressure on it won't be the last.

MN Supreme Court Rules In Franken's Favor - Coleman Conceds

Minnesota has a new Senator, Al Franken (D-MN), former SNL star and talk show host has won a victory in the Minnesota Supreme Court.

His opponent, Republican Norm Coleman formally conceded in a press conference ending speculation as to whether he would appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Finally after months of legal battles Minnesota has representation in the Senate. Additionally, the Democrats have a filibusterer-proof majority as well. Time to see a few bills that have been held up by the GOP move forward now!

Sally Kerns Opens Mouth and Inserts Foot Again!

Sally Kerns, the woman who set back the public image of Oklahoma over 100 years is at it again. She just can't keep here bigoted mouth shut. Now she blames the recessoin and just about every other problem on gays and pornography.

Hold your jaw as you watch or you might lose a tooth when it hits the floor!

Paris Fashion Week, Ugly Is The New Style!

I have long believed that the "great" designers of men's and women's fashion are on crack, but now I have proof. The latest "trends" from Paris Fashion Week are beyond ugly. The men walking down the runway looked like someone hated them and made them wear the crap that adorned their near perfect but scrawny bodies

Hugo Boss was about the only designer that had anything close to attractive, and the abomination by John Galliano looked like someone ran over Carmen Miranda and then put the carnage on the guys heads.

Of course you will never hear this from a fashion critic. If they told the truth they would never be invited back and therefore, no career.

Take a look and please comment back on what you see.

And let's not forget the ladies! The latest for them is what I could call "blade runner meets Ringling Brothers". These designers really must hate women in a BIG way.

China Exports Most Faulty US Goods

This is news? I have been blogging about all the poisoned and defective products from China for years and just now the press and the Consumer Products Safety Commission discovers that China has been exporting poisoned and defective crap to us for years?

Read this and weep.

Gale Storm - TV's "My Little Margie" Dies

Gale Storm, the spunky little Texas girl, (Josephine Owaissa Cottle) who's delightful comic ability gave me hundreds of laughs as a kid has died at age 87.

Her TV career in the 1950's was highlighted with her tow hit shows, "My Little Margie" and "The Gail Storm Show". Storm battled alcoholism that some say cut her career short, a struggle she wrote about in her autobiography, "I Ain't Down Yet".

She will be missed.

Police Raid Ft. Worth Gay Bar - Flashback 40 Years!

Yesterday I spoke at a rally that both commemorated Stonewall and highlighted the lack of progress as far as assuring LGBT rights in this country. Nothing could have been more illustrative of that lack of progress than the raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Ft. Worth, Texas the previous night.

Police and TABC officials raided the bar, arresting 7 patrons and sending one to the hospital with a brain injury. Say what?

Yup, here we are 40 years after the Stonewall Rebellion and we still have police harassing LGBT people. The arrests were for public intoxication, a common charge when police just don't like someone's looks. They were in a bar for crying out loud, and they found people drinking? Shocking!

This raid is obviously some kind of homophobic statement by Ft. Worth Police, who are trying to make a statement. One of the bubbas must have read something about Stonewall and decided to go take revenge for that precieved slight to police authority 40 years ago. (This is conjecture, but we'll see how true it is.)

In the meantime, Chad Gibson is in intnsive care, bleeding in his brain thanks to the Ft. Worth Police.

A protest was held on the steps of the courthouse last night and Ft. Worth's only openly gay councilman spoke and assured the crowd that ther would be in investigation. At least we have one voice in city politics there. Dallas has none at the moment, a situation that needs to be changed ASAP.

Perhaps another Stonewall Rebellion is due, this time in Cowtown.

Daily Show In Iran - Video

Jason Jones trip to Iran turned out to be cutting edge as far as breaking stories are concerned. His intent was to debunk a lot of the myths people in our country have about Iran, and generally poke fun at some of the events happening surrounding the election. He narrowly missed being sequestered as most journalists were just a day or two after he left.

What his faux reports have done is give a really good picture of Iran prior to the unrest as well as a touching tribute to the Iranian people. And then of course there is the Hip-Hop Video.

Enjoy!

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Jackson May Have Died Of Overdose

Now comes word via TMZ that Michael Jackson's family thinks he died from a Demerol overdose. Apparently he got daily injections and had one at 11:30am, just before he went into cardiac arrest.

Jackson had a history of prescription drug abuse and once was admitted to Betty Ford Clinic for treatment. If this story turns out to be true, it is a very sad one indeed.

Jackson was poised for a farewell tour in London where he already had 50 sold out performances scheduled.

UPDATE: Via TMZ:

We've learned law enforcement is looking for a doctor who lived at Michael Jackson's home -- and the doctor is nowhere to be found.

Law enforcement sources tell us a BMW belonging to the doctor was towed from Jackson's home last night.

UPDATE: 911 Tape Released

Just listened to the recording of the 911 tape from Michael Jackson's house to the police. They mentioned that he was not breathing and they could not revive him using CPR, prior to the EMTs arriving. Also, no mention of Jackson's name or his doctor's was made during the call.

Word comes from other sources that his doctor went to the hospital with him and personally administered CPR at the hospital to no avail. One has to wonder if he was not already dead and the doctor was putting on a show for authorities? The fact that the doctor has gone missing and his car was impounded by police seeking evidence is telling.

Man In The Mirror - RIP Michael Jackson

One of my favorite Michael Jackson songs from his later work is as poignent today as it was then.

Michael Jackson |MTV Music

Michael Jackson Dead at Age 50

TMZ is reporting the king of pop is dead.

Michael Jackson Rushed To LA Hospital - Not Breathing

Paramedics arrived at the Bel Air home pa Michael Jackson to find him not breathing. They performed CPR and rushed the pop star to the UCLA Medical Center just a few minutes away.

Jackson was preparing for his latest tour. Word of his condition is still unknown.

Million Gay March - Texas This Sunday!

So though organizers do not expect a million marchers, they do hope for thousands at the event this Sunday, starting at 2:00pm. The million refers to across the nation and doubtlessly there will be that many.

The event commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion which is credited with being the spark that ignited the gay rights movement in the US.

I got an invitation to speak at the rally following the march, so if you are there, say hello! Bring friends and relatives, anyone who can stand the heat. This is no parade, but a real honest to God protest march and boy do we need it now!

Fox News Labels Gov. Sanford As Democrat! He Isn't.

Fox News is about as dishonest a group of alleged reporters as there is. Media Matters caught the liars again. While reporting on Republican Governor Sanford's admission of an extramarital affair, they labeled him as a Democrat. Fair and balanced my ass!

The Other Shoe!

Well Stanford admitted in a press conference he is having an affair! No surprise after the laissez faire attitude of his wife about his disappearance. He is talking live on TV right now.

He claimed he was in Argentina crying for the past five days. Cue Patti LuPone...

Governor Sanford's Excellent Adventure - Listen For That Other Shoe To Drop!

Word comes now that vagabond governor of South Carolina was not alone on his trip to South America. Oh this is sweet!

This could be the reason he ditched his security detail. More here at TPM.

Howard Dean Pulls Out Of Ill-Fated DNC Fundraiser

According to a report on Americablog.com, Howard Dean has pulled out of the LGBT fundraiser for the DNC. The excuse is "scheduling conflicts". Too bad Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank can't have the same calendar issues?

SC Governor Will Have Press Conference at 2:00PM Today.

The elusive governor of South Carolina will have a press conference today at 2:00pm EST. Why do I suspect there will be a surprise announcement during this conference? Maybe something of a scandalous nature?

The Case Of The Missing Governor

And it just keeps getting stranger and stranger. Gov. Mark Sanford’s (R-SC) little "excellent adventure" has taken another turn. First nobody knew where he had gone. Even his wife when contacted on vacation over Father's Day weekend had no clue but strangely didn't seem the least worried.

Meanwhile once the press began hounding the governors office, they told reporters the Governor had gone hiking along the Appalachian Trail to "clear his head." OK, sounds sort of plausible, but then NBC new reported his car was seen at the Atlanta airport and he was seen boarding a plane. Hike?

Now comes new that he was in South America for a short vacation, a seven-day trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now that is a hike! More worrisome is his failure to transfer power ion the state or his notifying his staff or wife where he was.

Now far be it for me to start rumors, but oh what the heck! South America? Sounds like he was getting away for a little illicit activity that he didn't feel safe participating in in the US. Heck if I wanted to clear my head I could go to hundreds of places here in the US before I took off to Buenos Aires, but hey, I'm not the governor of South Carolina. With behavior like this, he might not be for long either!

Barney Frank To Reintroduce ENDA Today

Just got this from Pam's House Blend.

FRANK TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE
ON THE EMPLOYEE NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT (ENDA)

WHERE: Room 2219, Rayburn House Office Building

WHEN: Wednesday, June 24, 2009, 1:00 PM

WHO: Rep. Barney Frank, joined by Rep. George Miller, Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, Rep. Jared Polis, Rep. Rob Andrews, Rep. Mike Castle, Rep. Todd Platts, Rep. Leonard Lance, and others. Also participating will be representatives of the Human Rights Campaign, the AFL-CIO, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

BACKGROUND: This week, Congressman Barney Frank will introduce the Employee Non-Discrimination Act. The legislation would extend federal employment laws, which currently prevent job discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, age, and disability, to also cover sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill covers both the public and private sectors.

Although some states have passed laws to prevent such discrimination, it is legal in 30 states to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and legal in 38 states to discriminate on the basis of gender identity. According to research by the Williams Institute, there is an ongoing pattern of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity nationwide.

Over 100 co-sponsors, including members of both parties, have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.

Prison Rape - Fantasy vs. Reality

Though it might be the stuff of a hot adult video, the reality of prison rape is not. Every year over 60,000 inmates are sexually abused while in prison. This startling figure comes from the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission whose report was issued yesterday.

According to the survey 4.5% of all inmates interviewed were raped in the past 12 months. Also surprisingly, more of those rapes were not by other prisoners, but staff of the prison.

The report points to oversight of staff and inmates as a deterring factor. Some facilities report virtually no problems while others seem to be hotbeds of abuse. Jails got a much better report and had fewer rapes than prisons.

I am assuming this report only is referring to rape and abuse, since consensual sex among prisoners is not addressed. It's an eye opener.

House Democrats Urge End To DADT

Cut off the money and you get people's attention. That is what this seems like to me.

77 Hours Democrats are urging President Obama to end discharges in the military under the Don't Ask Don't Tell rules. In fact it will have to be the lawmakers who take the final action, however a boost from the White House would make that easier.

Read more here in the Boston Globe.

Obama Administration Agrees to LGBT Leadership Meeting

Somebody got the message! The Obama administration is having a major sit down with LGBT leaders next week to hash out DOMA and try to find a solution. That is a start. Pity it took such a fuss to get their attention.

I am reminded of my grandfather. He was a crusty old guy, a blacksmith by trade. He once told me how to train a mule. He said, "you roll up a newspaper and tap the mule on the nose but first you hit the mule over the head with a 2X4 to get his attention!"

Now where is that rolled up paper?

DNC Fundraiser A Bust! Gays Pull Out.

What is the Democrats threw a party and nobody came? Well that is the situation for the DNC fundraiser targeted at the LGBT community. The event which was to honor Vice President Joe Biden boasted a list of attendees that was a Who's Who of the LGBT political front. And then there was that brief. You know the on where the Obama Justice Department compaired homosexuality to incest and ...well it's been discussed ad nauseum.

Now the list of luminaries has shrunk to almost nobody. One after another the big names are pulling out including the HRC, GLAAD, Stonewall Democrats, David Mixner, blogger Andy Towle, Lambda Legal, and more. Additionally, the fundraiser looses one of its biggest donors, Bruce Bastian who has dropped mega-bucks on the party before.

All this because Obama is defending the Defense of Marriage Act, or rather his Justice Department is. LGBT activists and politicos want action from Obama, not tokenism as expressed in his lame executive memo this week. He needs to push through some legislation overturning DOMA, DADT and hate crimes and he needs to do it now. Otherwise he and Congress will face a landscape that is noticablly lacking in LGBT funds and some very visible demonstrations.

Enough is enough, and we won't be taken for granted. Time to see some action Mr. President.

Stonewall Democrats Pull Out of DNC Gay Fundraiser In Protest!

Well the Stonewall Democrats certainly have shown they have a pair! They have pulled out of the DNC fundraiser next week along with a host of other gay luminaries and groups. All this is in response to the DOJ brief that the Obama administration filed in defense of DOMA.

Here is a clip of the Stonewall response from Ben Smith's blog:

The members of the Board and our membership put our hopes, our dollars and our time into ensuring the election of Barack Obama because we believed that he supported us. To now have his Administration refer to our relationships in the same terms used by our long time enemies such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and James Dobson hurts on so many levels. To have our committed and loving relationships referred to as the moral equivalent of incest and pedophilia is not something that any of us ever expected from this Administration considering how hard we worked to be seen and respected. For that reason alone, advocating for attendance at a fundraiser to support the Administration and the DNC, while they have not condemned this hurtful language, is not something our membership will receive positively.

Solomonese on Olbermann - "Obama Went Way Over the Line"

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Schwarzenegger Declines To Defend Prop 8!

Talk about strange bedfellows! I am 100% behind Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and that is pretty strange. The GOP Governor of California is doing what the Democratic President of th US should be doing and that is declining to defend the constitutionality of a bill that denies marriage rights to gays and lesbians.

The Governator has said he will not defend the constitutionality of Proposition 8 in future legal challenges. This decision to remain neutral in a federal challenge to the initiative means no statewide official will be defending the measure in federal court.

My question to President Obama is why couldn't he have done the same with DOMA? Instead the Department of Justice issued a hateful brief that not only defended the law but effectively comnpaired gay marriage to incest and pedophelia. Fir that kind of abuse we could have gone to the Neocons!

Another GOP Politician Caught In Affair

From high in his glass house Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, tossed stones at Bill Clinton for his infidelities and stumped for the Defense of Marriage Act. He would seem to be a poster child for moral decency, at least in the straight white male Republican variety. Not so fast!

Ensign admitted this week that he had an ongoing affair with a campaign staffer for over nine months while he was running against Harry Reid. I guess he figured "what happens in Nevada stays in Nevada."

Another example of duplicity that is rife within the GOP. But to be fair, even though the Republicans rarely are, the Democrats have their share of scandals as well. It is just that the GOP likes to campaign on some imagined ideal of moral decency that they regularly ignore in their own lives.

GOP Continues To Lie About Health Care

Once again the GOP is telling Americans the Big Lie. This "Big Lie" is that we have the best health care system in the world.

Not only is it a lie, but it's just about 180 degrees from the truth. We have one of the most inefficient and poor health care systems of any industrialized country. In a recent study of 6 large democracies, US, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, we came in dead last for efficiency, safety, access and equity of service.

To hear the GOP talk, as they are today in their attack on President Obama's health care speech to the AMA, you'd think we were number 1.

Even if you have lots of money you'd get a better return on your cash in any of the other countries and if you are broke, well we all know how that works here. No money...no health care. You end up using county emergency rooms as your physician and only then when you have no other choice.

Still the Republicans rail against the threat of "socialized medicine". The problem is for many Americans, that would be more medicine than they get now. The "for profit" model is broken and needs fixing.

The Spirit of Stonewall - Time to March in the Streets Again!

As the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots approaches I wonder if LGBT Americans really understand what second class citizens we really are?

The marriage issue is nice, but it's just one part of a larger picture. Without full rights as citizens, marriage won't really do the trick. I sometimes wonder why some gay activists decided to draw a line in the sand with marriage and not just go for Civil Rights. Gay marriage would be a no brainer if we were assured full rights and protections of the Constitution. Instead we have some rights but not all.

In most states a gay or lesbian employee can be fired just because of their sexual orientation. No protection, no recourse. That would qualify as second class citizenship to me.

An LGBT American can't serve openly in the military simply because of his or her sexual orientations. Sounds pretty second class to me.

An LGBT American can be harassed or even killed because of their sexual orientation with no protection under federal Hate Crimes laws. Why? Because we are second class Americans.

You see we have become complacent because many LGBT people are affluent. Having money does not give you more rights, it just lulls you into a false sense of equality. Just because a gay man is upper middle class in income doesn't buy him any more rights than other Americans.
It just means he can buffer the discrimination with a little more cash.

The cynic in me could go on for hours about the illusion that wealth brings privilege. It does until you run into the legal loopholes that say LGBT Americans are less valuable than their straight counterparts. Don't believe me, just see how money can't buy you access to a loved one who is hospitalized. If you are not "related" in the eyes of the law, you are out of luck.

So my point is that LGBT Americans need to wake up and realize that until we demand full rights we will never get them. Nobody is going to give them to us, we have to demand them and work to educate others to our plight.

We have an administration in Washington who is at least more sympathetic than the previous one, and it's time we made our voices heard loud and clear. On this 40th anniversary of Stonewall, we need to be back in the streets. It was marching and protesting that broughts full civil rights to other minorities in our country and the same will be true for us.

Jon Stewart - Napoleon? Mais non!

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Buh Bye - Carrie Prejean Stripped Of Miss California Title

According to a statement on the NBC website:

The Miss California USA Organization, in conjunction with the Miss Universe Organization and with the blessing of its owner, Mr. Donald J. Trump, announced today the termination of Carrie Prejean as Miss California USA 2009, citing continued breach of contract issues.

Another Domestic Terror Case - Holocaust Museum Shooting

Today, hatred took center stage again. This time at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. A man now identified as James Von Brunn entered the museum and began shooting. He shot a museum guard before he himself was shot. Both he and his victim are in serious condition.

Von Brunn, an 89-year-old man with ties to white supremacist groups has been in trouble with the law before. He once entered the Federal Reserve and tried to take hostages. He was arrested and convicted and after his sentence was living in Hew Hampshire.

If you have any doubts that hatred had anything to do with this attack, consider this, in a recent blog post, Von Brunn wrote that Hitler's "worst mistake" was that "he didn't gas the Jews."

So how is this not terrorism?

Sometimes the Terrorists Win

When Scott Roeder walked into the Lutheran church in Wichita, Kansas and murdered Dr. George Tiller, it was an act of terrorism.

Now, I am often accused of hyperbole but let me explain. A terrorist by nature of his or her name is intent on instilling "terror" for whatever agenda they may have. In Roeder's case that agenda was to close the Women's Clinic where George Tiller worked. His tactic was to murder Dr. Tiller to instill sufficient fear to force the clinic to close.

It worked.

Women's Health Care Services Inc. is permanently closeing and the family issued the following statement, "Notice is being given today to all concerned that the Tiller family is ceasing operation of the clinic and any involvement by family members in any other similar clinic."

This is the kind of statement that comes in response to one thing, fear. Scott Roeder successfully freightened the family to cease all activities related to the clinic. That is a prime example of how terror can work.

From his jail cell when told of the actions of the family, Roeder said, "Good". What's worse is that according to a report on CNN, Roeder said he is "feeling good," and getting encouraging letters from people around the country, many of whom he does not know.

This is a prime example of how terrorism works, it creates fear in its victims and encouragment for other potential terrorists. Sounds a lot like Islamic extreamists doesn't it?

The lesson of this tragic story is this:

If we fail to treat the violent and violence advocating foes of abortion as terrorists they will continue and more death will occur. We can look forward to more bombings, shootings and other terroristic acts until the authorities stop treating anti-abortion groups with kid gloves. If they advocate violence, they are terrorist groups, no different than any other.

It's time we got serious about radical fundamentalists of any religion when they cause death and destruction.

Protesters Picket Bush's Dallas Residence

It was a scene that made me beam with delight. Driving home through Preston Hollow, the neighborhood where George and Laura live, I ran smack dab into the group of protesters who Cindy Sheehan had lead to the former President's house.

They were a boisterous group and they carried the requisite signs calling for war crime trials and more. Some were residents of the area with signs politely telling Mr. Bush to get out of town. Of the 100 or so who gathered about a dozen additional protesters came to protest the protest. These hapless few held signs at passing cars that said, "Honk if you love George Bush". Traffic was unusually quiet this afternoon. I heard only one honk and I suspect it was an impatient motorist who wanted to make the next traffic light before it changed.

Now if we could just get the former president to pay for all the police that guard his street I would be happy to have him holed up in Preston Hollow. After all, I only have to drive through it, not live there.

David Carradine - Victim of Auto-Erotic Asphyxiation?

News comes from Bangkok that actor David Carradine may not have committed suicide after all. Police say a rope was found tied around his genitals and was naked. They have postulated he migt have been playing a dangerous game of auto-erotic asphyxiation. If this turns out to be true, chalk another one up to carelessness.

Breath play of any kind is dangerous, but doing it alone is way beyond any of my boundries. The whole issue of safe-sane and consensual kind of goes out the window when you try to hang yourself just long enough to almost pass out but not to die. Kind of tough to make that call when you are near blacking out. It's so patently obvious that I still marvel at how many deaths this kind of play causes each year.

I won't cast aspersions on the late Mr. Carradine until we know for sure how he died, but if it was caused by risky sex games, then this tradgedy needs to be used as an object lesson for those who would seek to participate in this behavior.

I am as kinky as the next person, but I sure as hell want to survive to have sex another day!

Stephen Colbert Is In Iraq!

The enigmatic Stephen Colbert has landed in Iraq for a USO tour entitled "Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando." He will perform his shows in front of the troops for the next week, according to Comedy Central.

Colbert and several other Comedy Central notables have traveled to war zones to entertain the troops. Previously Rob Riggle of the Daily Show broadcast reports from Iraq, though Riggle is an officer in the Marine Reserves, Colbert is strictly civilian.

I find it interesting that liberal-leaning comedians like Colbert, Riggle and Al Franken hove done USO tours in war zones, yet outspoken supporters of war like Sean Hannity have not.

Women's Tackle Football - Dallas Diamonds!

Years ago I used to attend the Dallas Diamonds games when they were a women's professional basketball team. Sadly those days are no more, but the name Diamonds has reemerged. This time it's the International Women's Football League team and they are doing very well.

With their win over the Miami Fury, the Diamonds remain undefeated and apparently their games are a blast. The team plays at Pennington Field in HEB and the games look like a fun evening. Check them out here.

Limbaugh Admits He Is Unpatriotic

For the Bush years right-wing talkers on radio characterized anyone who dissagreed with the President as unpatriotic. Now Rush Limbaugh finally admits he is unpatriotic as well.

On Sean Hannity's show he confirmed that by frankly declaring, "I don’t hide from it, I do want and I still want Obama to fail."

That kind of talk would have been classified as treason by the GOP last year, and yet now, the rules seem to change. One more example of just how self-serving and unpatriotic these guys really are.

When The Wedge Dosen’t Work

The news that Dick Cheney, dark lord of the GOP even supports gay marriage, the signals are clear, the old wedge issues held so dear by the GOP operatives are no longer working. Yes abortion still rings a bell for some folks, but the recent murder of Dr. Tiller is a frightening example of just for whom that bell tolls.

No longer can the Republican Party rally its troops with these issues. Even conservatives have begun to understand that same-sex marriage is a basic right of citizenship and that abortion is not so black & white an issue. When states like Iowa make gay marriage legal, and conservative lawyers like Ted Olson (who argued for George Bush in the Bush vs. Gore case), are willing to team up with former opponents to take gay marriage to the Supreme Court, it’s a sign things are changing.

More to the point is the issue of health care. Years ago the GOP and health care insurers teamed up with the “Harry & Louise” ads. They successfully scared voters into resisting efforts to solve the national health care problem. Today, that tactic isn’t working as well.
Many Republicans as well as Democratic lawmakers are willing to take a long hard look at the broken health care system without fear of offending the base.

The playbook of the right-wing is getting pretty thin, and when they loose the tried and true wedge issues like gay marriage, health care and maybe even abortion, there won’t be many pages left.

That is a bad and a good thing. Good because they will have to argue issues based on facts rather than fear. Bad because they will look for other ways to push the panic button.

Terrorism is still a workable tactic. Should another terrorist attach take place on American soil, the GOP will exploit it as robustly as they did 9/11. It is unfortunate that the Democrats don’t remind people that terrorists have already attacked, just this week when Dr. Tiller was murdered in his church. That was an act carried out by a radical fundamentalist, driven by ideology and fueled by hate. The only reason the Democrats won’t call him a terrorist is his religion. For many Americans “Muslim = bad” and “Christian = good” no matter what despicable acts are carried out in their God’s name.

The other remaining wedge is racism. I know some think we live in a post-racial society, but just bring up “illegal immigrants” and the racist language starts flying. Look at how Judge Sonia Sotomayor is being portrayed by the right-wing talking heads. Now that we have an African-American President, brown is the new black.

If a few Democrats in congress would grow a pair and break these last two wedges by speaking the truth we might see a better America where all people really do get to live out their dreams and pursue happiness.

O'Reilly's Hate Speech Fans The Flames Of Terrorism

If you don't think people like Bill O'Reilly have an effect, consider the murder of Dr. Tiller by a domestic Anti-Abortion Terrorist. Wonder where he got that idea?

Terror Suspect Arrested - Claims To Be Christian?

The terrorist who killed the Doctor in Kansas has been identified. Here is a short quote from McClatchey News:

The suspect in custody for the slaying of Wichita abortion doctor George Tiller was a member of an anti-government group in the 1990s and a staunch opponent of abortion.

Scott P. Roeder, 51, of Merriam, Kan., a Kansas City suburb, was arrested on Interstate 35 near Gardner in suburban Johnson County, Kan., about three hours after the shooting. Tiller was shot to death around 10 a.m. inside Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita.

In the rear window of the 1993 blue Ford Taurus that he was driving was a red rose, a symbol often used by abortion opponents. On the rear of his car was a Christian fish symbol with the word "Jesus" inside.

Those who know Roeder said he believed that killing abortion doctors was an act of justifiable homicide.

Now it's time to call a terrorist organization a terrorist organization. The anti-abortion groups who advocate murder must be considered armed and dangerous. We should treat them just like any other radical fundamentalist group. That means surveillance and arrest when necessary.

They cannot hide behind an the mask of religion forever. What part of Jesus teaching says "kill people"? As a Christian I am appalled at the kind of folks who adorn themselves with crosses and fish and claim to follow the Prince of Peace. They are not followers of any Jesus I know.

Domestic Terrorist Attacks Church - Kills One

A domestic terrorist attacked a man in a church in Wichita, Kansas, killing him in the lobby of the building. The victim, a member of the Reform Lutheran Church, was George Tiller, age 67. Tiller worked with Women's Health Care Services at 5107 E. Kellogg and was targeted because he provided abortion services.

The terrorist who shot him is in custody. The clinic where Tiller worked was bombed previously in 1986 and has been the target of terrorist threats before. Today's killing is a sad example of why militant anti-abortion groups should be included as domestic terrorist organizations.

No arrests were made in the 1986 bombing.

Anti-abortion organizations, though they do not specifically endorse violence, use high powered rhetoric when characterizing abortion service providers as "murderers".

Free speech is one thing, terroristic hate speech is another!

Right Wing Scare Tactics on Health Care

Get ready to be scared! That is the message the right wing is rolling out about health care. They are trotting out a pack of lies to convince us that having the government oversee our health care system will bring disaster. Here is the truth: THEY ARE LYING!

American health care is already a disaster. We are suffering under one of the worst health care systems in the industrialized world. The bottom line governs all aspects of our health care in this country and that is just plain STUPID.

Right now I have two very close relatives in the hospital. My aunt who is in her 80's needed surgery, and her insurance/Medicare supplemental tried to force the doctor to shove her out the door in a "day surgery" scenario. That would be fine for a healthy 40 year old, but a woman who has had multiple heart attacks and myriad other health problems needs to be monitored after surgery, plain and simple. Why the bums rush? Bottom line concerns not doctor's advice is behind it.

I was visiting Canada recently and I asked the group I was speaking to for a satisfaction rating on their health care. They all said it was just fine. Yes they had to wait sometimes, but it was better than what we have...no coverage for millions of Americans, and high deductibles and pencil pushers making health care decisions not doctors. So, I know it was an informal poll, but at least it was a real answer, not just a bunch of scare tactics.

We need government provided or at the very least overseen health care in our country. It is painfully obvious to everyone except the insurance companies who are making a killing, and that pun was intended, in profits! How about turning most of those pencil pushers into civil servants whose prime concern is the health and welfare of citizens, not corporate profits. That makes so much sense I feel sure most of the GOP and the right wing corporate mouthpieces will be screaming "socialized medicine". Socialized Medicine would be a quantum leap from the lousy care we have now.

Think about it.

Alec Baldwin Defends Gay Marriage Rights

I always liked Alec Baldwin as an actor. His stint on 30 Rock has confirmed his ability to play both drama and comedy, but I didn't think much about him as a columnist until recently when reading Huffington Post.

Baldwin's piece on Gay Marriage really hits back hard at the supporters of Prop 8 who use the "marriage is between a man and a woman and for the purpose of creating a family" argument.

It is very good and worth your time to read.

Civil Disobedience in San Francisco - 175 Arrested In Anti-Prop 8 Demonstration

From the Mercury News:

San Francisco police arrested about 175 protesters who were part of a group that blocked a major intersection for hours today in response to the state Supreme Court's ruling upholding Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

Hundreds of people filled the intersection of Grove Street and Van Ness Avenue late this morning after word spread of the ruling. The court also ruled that roughly 18,000 existing same-sex marriages in California remain valid.

It's moving to the streets. Unfortunately, that kind of action is what finally moved Civil Rights for African American's into the national limelight. It may take more protests and many more arrests to get our civil rights!

California Supreme Court Upholds Prop 8!

The California Supreme Court has upheld Prop 8 but stated that marriages already in place can stay. They have essentially created two classes of LGBT citizens, those who have the right to marry and those who don't. That in itself should seem unconstitutional, but hey, it's California!

Now the protests begin and a fight for a new ballot initiative in 2010 to toss out Prop 8 or at least make it legal for same sex couples to marry.

Rallies are being held in cities across America. Dallasites can gather at Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs for tonight's rally and protest.

California Supreme Court Decision on Prop 8 Due Today.

The California Supreme Court's decision on the constitutionality of Prop 8 is due out today. LGBT organizations are standing in wait with plans for either celebrations or protests. The decision seemed like a sure thing for Prop 8 proponents a while back, but since the Iowa ruling some observers are wondering if it might not be overturned. We will see soon enough.

If you are available at 7:00pm today, join the rally at Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs.

More info here.

Conservative Talker Admits Waterboarding Is Torture!

Conservative talk show host Mancow Muller consented to waterboarding. He expected to be able to last about 30 seconds and had dismissed waterboarding as just "getting water on your face".

After a very mild demonstration with medical personnel standing by and the ability to stop it at any time, he lasted about 7 seconds before calling it quits. In his own words, this former critic of waterboarding concedes it is "absolutely torture".

Now, having performed this little experiment on friends in a consensual BDSM scene, I can tell you he got off even lighter than anyone I have ever played with. Now when the hell will Sean Hanity try this?

National Health Care - Don't Let The Insurance Companies Scare You!

As the health care folks start making noise about how "we can do better than government run health care", I have to wonder why they haven't? I am not alone. Paul Krugman asks the same question in his column in the NYT today.

It's a valid question and the answer is simple as I see it. Private industry cannot provide health care an efficiently and cheaply as a government run system. Why? They have to factor in the "profit" to any cost they incur. Without that "profit" they are out of business, and they get that by marking up costs and denying procedures to sick people. Not a very nice thing to do.

Jon Stewart asked the real question on his program last week when he grilled Newt Gingrich as to why we couldn't trust the government to run health care but we could trust them to run the military. That reframes the issue in a way anyone can understand.

We have one of the least effective health care systems in the world, and we have millions of American's without any insurance or access to health care at all. How difficult is it to see that the private insurance industry has no incentive to do anything about this? Remember that "profit" item?

American businesses suffer under the weight of providing health insurance for their employees and that cost goes up every year without any predictable limits. Our country's competitiveness is being hindered by our poor system of providing health care and other countries do not have to deal with this. Yes their taxes may be higher, but they can predict those and factor them into their cost.

It's time we got serious and ignored the propaganda being spewed by the insurance industry and start listening to small businesses and the citizens of the country. A government provided health insurance or health care is both practical and efficient. It works for every other industrialized country and it can work here. All we need is politicians with a set of balls who can turn down contributions from the health insurance industry and make a change.

Back in the 1950's the doctors and hospitals teamed up with insurance companies and scared the public with threats of "socialized medicine". That planted a seed of fear that still persists long after most doctors see that the current system is broken.

As a citizen without health insurance, this is of vital interest to me and I admit that from the start. Our great system of health care has consistently denied me coverage as an independent worker because of "pre-existing conditions", in other words just about anything at all that has ever affected my health. I am tired of waiting for some kind of affordable health care and tired of avoiding the doctor to prevent adding any more reasons to deny me coverage in the future.

Health care in this country is only for those with the money to afford it. Even the insured have to fight to get treated properly and that is just WRONG! So write your alleged representative in Washington and tell them to do the right thing, we need national health care NOW.

Jon Stewart Spears Gingrich On Health Care

Last night on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart interviewed Newt Gingrich and presented one of the best re-framing moments I have ever seen. Gingrich was disparaging a national health care system as socialized medicine and putting forth the old GOP argument that big government can't do anything. Steward abruptly changed the subject.

"Why would you believe that a Washington based military program can work?"

To that Gingrich could only return to more "taxation" rhetoric. The framing is brilliant and hard to dispute especially when you are a hawk. Sometimes comedians can see things in a perspective others can't. Great interview.

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Michael Steele Threatens to Resign As RNC Head

I guess it's finally dawning on Michael Steele that he is a "front man" for the GOP. He is the "new face" of the Republican Party...but nothing else. In reality he is the mask of the party that underneath is still the same old one it's always been.

Steele is finally realizing a fact that I have been blogging about for months. He is a figurehead.

As the RNC strips him of any power bit by bit, he finally got the message. In response to the news that the RNC is contemplating taking away the power of the purse from Steele he said, "they can contemplate all they want to, but the reality is if they want a figurehead chairman you can have a figurehead chairman, but it won't be Michael Steele."

Sounds like he is threatening resignation. We'll see.

American Airlines Sucks At Customer Service

Why the strong headline. Well still stuck in DFW waiting for qa flight to Calgary. The airline has not given any reason for the delay, changed gates without telling anyone and now is trying to find an airplane to fly us there. All with no explanation appology or anything.

Damn I hate flying. I remember when it used to be fun.

More Airport Blogging

Ah, the joys of being stuck in an airport. Having spent $20 already on coffee and sodas, I am wired and feeling a bit testy. Supposedly we are leaving around 2:30pm, a full 4 and a half hours late. I will believe it when I am on the plane and off the ground.

Airport Blogging

Bad weather is always fun when you are stuck in an airport. Sitting on uncomfortable chairs and trying to make productive use of time while looking over your shoulder at the status board hoping to see your flight boarding! Long sentence, but it's pretty accurate.

Even in the newest terminal here at DFW there is little to do other than pay per minute to surf the net, get yet another bad airport shoeshine or suck down more coffee. Did I mention the coffee! Guess I have had too much already.

On my way to Calgary, Alberta today for the weekend. I am glad I left a day early since it looks dicey if I will even get out of here before afternoon.

Meanwhile I will wander around and find another Starbucks...you can never have enough caffeen!

New York Assembly Passes Gay Marriage Bill

From a press release by the Empire State Pride Agenda:

By a bipartisan vote of 89 to 52, the New York State Assembly today passed a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in New York. This is the second time that the Assembly has voted on and passed marriage equality legislation. The Assembly first passed the bill in June 2007 by a vote of 85 – 61. Today’s vote saw an increase in four supporters over 2007, including three additional Democrat votes and one additional Republican vote, for a total of 84 Democrats and five Republicans voting to support marriage equality for same-sex couples. Five Assembly members who voted “no” in 2007 voted “yes” today.

Now on to the New York State Senate. The governor is expected to sign the bill if it is approved.

Pope's Spokesperson Denys Benedicts Involvement With Hitler Youth

Apparently the Vatican has been taking lessons from the old Bush Administration playbook. While on his trip to the Middle-East, the Pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, vehemently denied that the Pope was in the Hitler Youth. The problem is Pope Benedict XVI haws freely admitted that he was drafted into the Hitler Youth in 1941.

"The Pope was never in the Hitler Youth, never, never, never,'' Father Federico Lombardi, told a press conference in Jerusalem.

I guess they believe if you keep saying it it eventually becomes true?

Personally , I find the fact that he was a member of the Hitler Youth and yet now has become pope an example of grace. He joined unwillingly at a time when all young people in Germany were effectively drafted into the organization. That he has put that behind him and gone on to become Pope is a testament to how much a person can change and to the strength of the human spirit.

Do I agree with the Pope very often, oh heck no! He is an ultra-conservative whose views on Christianity I do not share, but I certainly don't hold his past against him.

The New GOP?

Wanda Sykes At The White House Correspondents Dinner

Wanda smacks Rush and Hannity. You go girl!

Scribd.com Allows Users To Steal My Book Again!

OK so I don't make a fortune from the books I have written, at least I get a few bucks now and then in royalties for my hard work. I am no J.K. Rowling and I never will be writing the kinds of non-fiction that I do, but at least I get the knowledge that some folks find what I write and publish to be worth buying.

That brings me to the website Scribd.com. This site is to literature and intellectual property what Napster was to music. Their high and mighty mission is about making information available etc, etc...but what the site does is post and steal intellectual property. Now the owners will say that is not their intent, yet the allow folks named "anonymous" to put anything at all online and claim they are the owners of the copyright. Funny, I have never read a book published by "anonymous" except the Big Book of AA.

One of my books has shown up on this pirate site 3 or 4 times. Now, granted they do remove it after I send them a stern legal notice, but that is lame. If they are going to continue to allow "anon" to keep putting it up there then they are complicit in the intellectual theft. Funny how no publishing house has sent this before a Congressional Committee like the music industry did to the pirates at Napster?

I am for the free and open exchange of information, but I am not for putting something written by another author online and claiming I own the copyright. Doing that is what is called THEFT and just because its a book doesn't mean you can steal it. Of course these are the same folks who "share" files over the internet and essentially steal movies and music as well.

Enough rant. Now I have to see if Scribd.com will really take my book off their site or not. Wonder if J. K. Rowling has seen Harry Potter on this site? I did find Angels and Demons a few months ago and I know that surely wasn't written by "anon627". Go figure!

GOPosauric Park!

New Film Outs GOP Governor Charlie Crist

Here is the trailer:

Maine Becomes 5th State To Allow Same Sex Marriage

The State of Maine has become the latest to allow same sex marriage. The governor signed the bill into law today making it the 5th state to allow equal rights for LGBT people.

I can only hope the Supreme Court of California realizes how wrong Prop 8 was! Now if Texas can only figure this out!

Bristol Palin - Spokesperson For Abstinence?

The Bizarro World of the right wing keeps popping up on TV lately. The latest glimpse into the cognitive dissonance of the right is Bristol Palin promoting the virtues of "abstinence" on Good Morning America. Say what?

Yes the poster child/unwed mother whose unexpected pregnancy was trotted before the media as part of her mothers political campaign is promoting abstenince as the best form of birth control. Of course this ignores the reality that premarital abstinence pledges among teens are ineffective and often counterproductive -- teens are just as likely to have sex but less likely to use condoms or other forms of birth control according to a major study.

Of course Palin said back in February that abstinence is "not realistic at all." Apparently she had not yet seen the media opportunity as an abstinence proponent. Like her mother, Bristol is showing all the signs of becoming a media whore. (This is not a reference to her unexpected pregnancy with her boyfriend!)

Ford Announces New Electric Car

The guys at Ford apparently really do have a better idea. They announced the rollout of the Ford Focus...Electric Model!

Scheduled to appear sometime in 2011 the electric Focus will run 100 miles between charges and be an ideal car for city dwellers and folks with short commutes. This morning news came that a former SUV plant in Wayne, Michigan will get a $550 million makeover to produce the new electric cars.

Ford is leveraging technology from Magna International to produce the car. Meanwhile, GM is struggling to produce the Volt completely in-house. With a proposed $40,000 price tag I seriously doubt if I will be driving a Volt in the future, but a reasonably priced Ford? Might happen.

Dom DeLuise Dies

A man who made me laugh more than just about anyone has passed away. Dom DeLuise star of TV and Movies passed away this morning. Dom was lloved by everyone who worked with him and his death will be felt throughout the industry.

Joe The Plumber - Your 15 Minutes Is Up!

So who gave this guy a microphone? Joe the Plumber, (not really a plumber nor a "Joe" since his legal name is Samuel Wurzelbacher), has opened his big mouth again and this time he is slurring me and my friends. In one of his rants he invokes some very bad theology and claims that God was very specific that he wanted none of this "queer" stuff. Then he says he would never let his children near any homosexuals, even though some of them are his friends.

Earth to "Joe". Your 15 minutes of fame is up!

Michael Savage Banned From UK

Well our old friend Michael Savage, aka Scumbag, has been banned from entering the United Kingdom because he is considered to be fostering extremism and hatred. What could they be thinking. After all this is the humanitarian who says an autistic child is just "a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."

Extreme? Savage calls the Quran, the sacred Muslim holy book, a "book of hate". (Obviously he has never read it.)

OK, most of that was intended as ironic, I know my conservative readers don't do irony, but I just can't help myself. Michael Savage is a loud-mouthed provocateur in the same league as Ann Coulter. If he has a genuine well considered opinion, it is so clouded with his hate filled rants that no one can hear it.

The UK realizes this and classifies him in the same league as Fred Phelps and Egyptian cleric Safwat el-Higazi. Thes efolks are really cut from the same cloth. Savage is just another extremist. His difference is he wears an American flag pin insteas of a turban, but he is just as dangerous. It's time US radio stations realized that and turned him off. The air would be so much clearer.

Closing The Offshore Tax Loophole

When US companies like Halliburton or Caterpillar change their corporate headquarters to the Cayman Islands, they don't move their offices, just their legal mailing address for tax purposes. Why? So they don't have to pay taxes in the US. It's a complicated loopholes and I am simplifying the technique, but you get the idea.

These corporations are making their profits in the US and then stealing the tax dollars they should be paying on their gains.

President Obama has proposed changing the tax laws to close this loophole. In the process the US will get several billion in taxes in the next few years, and we need that.

It's about time!

Cowboys Practice Structure Collapses On The Team

The line of thunderstorms that just passed through Dallas left a swath of wind damage in their wake. The most visible damage was the training facility at the Cowboys Valley Ranch facility. The team was on the field during a training exercise as the 60 mph winds tore the walls and cause the entire football-field sized structure to collapse.

Just saw the video from cameramen on the scene as it happened. The whole building began buckling and lights swayed just prior to the collapse. About 10 people are reported to be injured from the falling structure.

Severe storms continue in the area.