Inside the Stonewall Inn 42 Years After

This is a video inside the Stonewall Inn while the vote was taking place. What a difference 42 years makes!  Great video clip from Riley Kilo.

Gay Marriage in NY!

The party at the Stonewall Inn after the vote was announced.

Sally Kern - Cashing in on Ignorance

Sally Kern, the Oklahoma lawmaker who seems incapable of saying anything that doesn't offend a minority has decided to cash in on her notoriety  She has a new book, "The Stoning of Sally Kern" which apparently explains her martyrdom in detail.  Morover, the book contains lots of nice examples of Kern's ignorance and bigotry. 

From an interview in the Tulsa Beacon she reiterates:

“I am always being accused of hating homosexuals. I don’t hate anyone. This isn’t a matter of hating someone or trying to deny them their equal rights. All American citizens have equal rights under our Constitution. This is trying to get acceptance for a behavior that is specifically mentioned in God’s Word that is wrong.”

If the homosexuals get special status for same-sex marriage, what would stop them from seeking approval for group marriage or marriage to animals or children, Kern said.
“It just opens Pandora’s Box,” Kern said.

Perhaps she should join Rick (man on dog sex) Santorum on a GOP presidential ticket? 

New "It Gets Better" Video by Target Employees

And this is one reason I haven't boycotted Target. 

Gay History Moment, Fire at the Everhard Baths 1977

As part of a little research for Pride Week, I ran across this footage of the fire at the "Everhard Baths" (the nickname for the Everard Baths) back in May 1977.  The Everard Baths were a popular gathering lace for gay men since the 1920's.  The fire resulted in several deaths and many injuries.  ironically a fire sprinkler system was about to be installed in the aging structure. The date on the video is incorrect.

Rethinking Nuclear Power - A Really Bad Idea

I have never been a fan of nuclear power except when I was a child and the government was boasting the the Atomic Power Plant would make electricity so cheap it wouldn't pay to meter it.  Sounded too good to be true then, and it was.

Nuclear has proven to be expensive and very dangerous.  Three Mile Island and Chernobyl were the tips of the nuclear iceberg.  The massive amounts of radioactive waste and the continuing safety problems make this kind of power generation a fools bargain.  Want proof?

Look at Fukushima in Japan.  After the massive tsunami the plant was damaged we were told, but now the extent of that damage looks much worse than anyone was lead to believe.  Three reactors went into full melt down, their nuclear cores melting through the bottom of the containment vessel and into the ground.  The are still hot, reacting and not under control.

This interview with theoretical physicist Michio Kaku should send shivers up your spine because what he says is all too true.

Meanwhile the US Senate has decided to at long last investigate the aging US power plants that should have been decommissioned long ago.  According to an article in Huffington Post: "Of the plants were licensed for 40 years, 66 of 104 reactors have been re-licensed for another two decades. Safety regulators at the NRC have never denied a request."

Our Friend the Atom?

And Then There Were Eight. More Resignations at GLAAD

GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation serves an important role.  I am somewhat attached to this organization since I served on the board of the local chapter here in Dallas many years ago during the organizations formative years.  Back then, the local chapters were really a grass roots effort to monitor the media and attempt to change the way LGBT people were portrayed.

Today GLAAD seems to be more about Hollywood celebrities and media money.  Just look at the current scandal that has decimated the Board of Directors of the organization.  So far eight members have resigned over the AT&T letter campaign to the FCC in which GLAAD directors sent letters that seemed to be against "net neutrality".  Is this an LGBT issue?  Maybe.

More startling was the letter to support the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile. Other than AT&T being a corporate sponsor of GLAAD this one seems a real stretch and it is what brought the board down. 

For me the most important resignation was that or Troup Coronado. He resigned voluntarily, stating that he wanted "to do what was in the best interest of GLAAD."  Troup must feel awful about it, but I have serious questions about his loyalties since he previously served with the Heritage Foundation, a far right organization that has a well known anti-gay stance.  He also worked for Orin Hatch of Utah and his work helped put several judges backed by George W. Bush on the bench.  I would pretty much classify Mr. Coronado as a "mole" who has infiltrated the LGBT  political scene with questionable motives or perhaps he is working deep cover in the GOP, however that seems pretty remote.  This is all speculation of course, and I seriously doubt if we will ever know the whole story.

Welcome to LGBT politics!

Say Hello to My Little Green Friend

OK, now this movie I will not miss!

Al Gore Asks, "How Many Disasters Will It Take?"

Apparently people are not listening. Climate change is happening and faster than I would like.  Listen to this clip of Al Gore in a recent appearance.


What can you do? Buy a more efficient car when you consider a new car. We have a hybrid and a very fuel efficient small SUV.

Switch to a renewable energy supplier. We use Green Mountain. Only a slight bit more expensive and all renewable sources.

Recycle, reduce and reuse.

This list could go on, but I guess nobody is listening.

GLAAD Resignation Exposes a Mole?

As GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios resigned under pressure Saturday, the organization discovered another tie to ATT.  Barrios released statements supporting AT&T and it proposed merger with T-Mobile.  Clearly issues outside the scope of the organization.  As the story broke and more scrutiny was directed at GLAAD and its board, another member was caught in the spotlight.

Troup Coronado,  former AT&T executive and current GLAAD board member has some suspicious ties to the virulently anti-gay Heritage Foundation.  Coronado also sat on as many as four other LGBT rights organization boards including the Equality California Institute, and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Not surprisingly each of these organizations sent letters to the FCC in the recent "net-neutrality" hearings supporting AT&T's position.  The letters have since been retracted.

Coronado would seem to be what in the world of espionage called a "mole".  Someone who burrows deep into an organization and uses their position to gather information and to steer the organization surreptitiously.

The idea of someone from the Heritage Foundation deep in the hearts of several LGBT groups is disturbing.  The incident calls into question the vetting of board members for LGBT groups and in general makes the right-wing look a heck of a lot more nefarious than before.

Make no mistake, groups like Heritage Foundation are not just folks with differing opinions, they are outright enemies and cannot be trusted or ignored. Additionally, donations from big businesses can be just as corrupting an influence on LGBT groups as they are on politicians.


UPDATE: Latest news is that at least 6 board members of GLAAD have resigned as the scandal grows.

Couple Together 61 Years Await Marriage in NY

I only hope I can live with my partner this long and someday even be married legally.

Clarence Thomas Must Resign! Caught Taking Corporate Bribes!

Say it how you will, taking money from corporations who bring cases before the court is called bribery in most places. Why has Clarence Thomas gotten a pass in this?

From Think Progress:

Harlan Crow, whose company often litigates in federal court, donated $500,000 to allow Thomas’s wife to start a Tea Party group and he once gave Thomas a $19,000 Bible that belonged to Frederick Douglass. The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank which frequently files briefs in Thomas’ Court, also gave Thomas a $15,000 gift.

We are talking about a sitting Supreme Court justice!   This is outrageous and he needs to be forced to step down.

Lady Gaga New Video - The Edge of Glory

OK, I admit I am a big Lady Gaga fan and her latest video adds more fuel to that fire!  How can you not like this?

Faux Lesbians and the Blogosphere

As thought it wasn't bad enough that the lesbian blogger Amina Arraf on the blog “A Gay Girl in Damascus” turned out to not only be not Syrian, but a man, now the popular lesbian blogger “Paula Brooks,” editor of Lez Get Real" turns out to be a dude as well! 

As the blog world reels from the shock, I frankly am not surprised.  Consider how many people you may have chatted with online.  Have you ever met any of them in person?  Most likely not many.  Just because you have a Facebook page and an avatar of a hot guy or hot girl doesn't mean a thing.  The world of online communication is most text based.  As a writer, I understand very well how easy it is to write in a different persona.  It's what writers of fiction do all the time, so why can't peoiple get through their heads that their online friends may not be at all who they claim.

The story of Paula Brooks is only now beginning to play out, I expect several more well known bloggers may be exposed as not being who they say they are. For my readers, I assure you that the picture on my blog is me, and I am who I say I am.  Just Google me....after all if it's on the internet it must be true!

NY State Assembly Passes Gay Marriage Bill

New York will soon become the next state where same-sex marriage will be recognized.  After hours of deliberation the bill was passed by a vote of 80-63. Next the state Senate will vote tomorrow and preliminary numbers show only 1 more vote needed to pass the measure.

Broadway Bares All, Sunday June 19

If I could only be in New York City this weekend!  The 21st annual Broadway Bares AIDS benefit looks really fun.  If you are nearby, don't miss it!

Naya Marie Does Lady Gaga - Acapella - Video

This girl, Naya Marie, is wonderful! It's great to see You Tube unleashing so much creativity and talent.

Killer Queen Cover by Fredde Gredde - Video

Wonderful cover of the Queen song. Thanks to Towleroad for the clip! Made my morning so much brighter.

Half-Shares - New Comedy Series Pilot

I am a big Alec Mapa fan, so this was perfect for me. Looks like a pilot in search of a network. I hope it finds one. because it looks very funny. Think Fire Island meets Ab-Fab.

Surfing Geese - Silly Video

Yes this is silly, but I needed a laugh today.  According to the source, no geese were injured and some even did it again.

Rick Santorum - New Definition: "Sorry Sack of Santroum."

So Rick Santorum in an interview with CNN's Don Lemon says that "he has gay friends."  Furthermore, Santorum states that he "loves his gay friends".  What he forgets is that he wants his gay friends to be second class citizens.  This sorry sack of shit actually expects us to by the same crap bigots used during the 1960 saying, "I have black friends" and then expects the listener to figure he isn't such a bad guy.

Sorry Rick, I don't believe you for a minute.  A friend wouldn't treat a friend like you do LGBT people.  So that makes you not only a "Frothy mix of lube and fecal matter" but a lying sack of Santorum.

Facebook Using Facial Recognition Software Secretly - Creepy?

Facebook began using facial recognition software a while ago and without our permission it has been tagging every photo of us it finds in the Facebook universe.  Watch this ABC segment on the process.

Ann Coulter is Still a Jerk - Making Cheap Gay Jokes on Hanity

And this is the person GOProud, (the allegedly LGBT Republican Group) invited to their soiree. Coulter is a vile, disgusting loudmouth who will say anything if it gets her ink in the press. She has the moral center of a marshmallow and I sincerely believe she cares for no one but herself. Aside from that I guess she is just plain despicable. Can you tell I don't like her?

CNN Confronts George Rekers with Kirk Murphy Suicide

George Rekers, a discredited psychologist who was once the darling of the "ex-Gay" movement, has now been exposed as a major player in the "Sissy Boy" experiments.  His use of young children as lab rats in his experiments have caused not only deadly problems for people like Kurt Murphy but is still being cited by anti-gay groups.

Rekers, as most will remember, was co-founder of the Family Research Counci, one of the most visible groups touting "cures" for homosexuality.  Rekers was spotted last year in the company of a paid male escort, who he met through a "rent-boy" website and who accompanied him to Europe.  According to the escort he frequently gave Rekers sexual massages on the vacation. Not the kind of behavior you expect from an anti-gay proponent.

CNN has been doing a series on the "Sissy Boy" program and confronted Rekers about the suicide.  He was relatively unconcerned.

I believe Rekers and medical professionals like him will go down in history as modern day Dr. Mengeles (the Nazi doctor who performed inhuman experiments on concentration camp prisoners).  His inability to understand his crimes stems from his still repressed sexuality and his shockingly effective cognitive dissonance. This is one of the most important pieces of investigative reporting CNN has done about the ex-gay quackery.

If You Don't Like History - Make It Up! Blatant Lies to Defend "Creation Science".

The right-wingnuts amaze me at how they feel it's just fine to rewrite history, or in this case, just make it up out of whole cloth. Seriously? David Barton, an alleged historian, claims Thomas Paine and other founding fathers argued the theory of evolution? Let's check our facts here. Thomas Paine wrote in 1776 and Darwin wrote "The Origin of Species" in 1859. So I am guessing that Paine and the other founding fathers were consulting a Ouija board into the future?  No, the Ouija board wasn't invented until 1890!  Wow they sure were prescient!




What did Thomas Paine really say about creation? Here is his critique of the Bible:

“As to the book called the Bible, it is blasphemy to call it the Word of God. It is a book of lies and contradictions, and a history of bad times and bad men. There are but a few good characters in the whole book.” ~ Thomas Paine, Letter to William Duane, April 23, 1806

Remembering the 1979 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights

I found this rare film footage of the march including shots of Alan Ginsberg and other folks key to the movement at the time.  It's in French so you will have to translate, enjoy!

LGBT History - "A Gay Manifesto"

In the nascent Gay Rights movement of the 1960's and 70's, Carl Wittman wrote "A Gay Manifesto".  This sprang from the emerging gay scene on the west coast and is a vital part of our history.  This list of imperatives is the conclusion of the document and it bears reading and remembering.

1.  Fee ourselves: come out everywhere; initiate self defense and political activity; initiate counter community institutions.
2. Turn other gay people on; talk all the time; understand, forgive, accept.
3. Free the homosexual in everyone; we'll get a good bit of shit from threatened latents: be gentle, and keep talking and acting free.
4. We've been playing an act for a long time, so we're consummate actors.  Now we can begin to be, and it'll be a good show!

Though the language is steeped in the 60's counterculture it still rings true. Whittman was the son of a prominent Communist organizer, so a lot of what he says has that Marxist ring to it, but I think there are some basic truths there worth trying to understand.  Think about it as we head into LGBT Pride Month.

Rick Perry Joins Hate Group for "Day of Prayer"

So if our governor participated in a Ku Klux Klan rally most Texans, (I said "most") would be outraged.  A call for his resignation would ring so loudly the state Capital dome would shatter.  Why?  Well the KKK is a hate group plain and simple.

So where is the outrage that our governor plans to participate in a "day of prayer" with another recognized hate group, the AFA?  The American Family Group has long been a bastion of anti-LGBT rhetoric and is now recognized for what it is, a "hate group" by the SPLC.  This is the same organization who tracks other hate groups like the skinheads and KKK throughout the nation.  The AFA and it's activities fall well within the definition of a hate group and as such our governor should have nothing to do with them.  Instead Rick Perry is touting his participation in a "day of prayer and fasting".

I sincerely believe we need to be vocal in disapproving this outrageous action by our state's governor.  The AFA has a history of defaming LGBT Americans as well as Jews, Muslims and other minorities.  Start writing those letters!

Search of Farmhouse for Mass Grave Triggered by "Psychic"

I guess people in Hardin, Texas have been watching too much television and can't determine the line between fiction and reality.  The recent news story of a mass grave and dismembered bodies being sought was triggered by a tip from a self-proclaimed psychic.

The sheriff  took the tip seriously in part because the caller had details about the interior of the house, so I can't fault gullibility as the only cause but back to the psychic thing.  First of all, no matter what you have heard, there is absolutely no conclusive scientifically verified psychics.  So let me rephrase that:

Psychics = Fiction

Meanwhile, the authorities have traced the phone number of the psychic and are now seeking him or her.  Wouldn't a real psychic have known that?

Fox News Thinks Tina Fey is Sarah Palin

Those guys at Fox News not only don't check their facts (except with the Republican Party) they don't even look at the photos they post one their network.

During an update on GOP candidates they showed a photo of Tina Fey doing a Palin impersonation apparently not knowing it wasn't Sarah Palin.

Fair, balanced, and SLOPPY!

Sarah Palin, Still Pretty, Still Pretty Dumb

I have refrained from posting the clip of Sarah Palin's screwed up version of Paul Revere's ride until now, when I saw a note that she stands by her version of his famous ride which she somehow mangles into him warning the British not the colonists.  In Sarah's bizarro world it was all about Revere warning the British that they "weren't going to take away our guns."

Enjoy.

Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum in the Running

After much coy dilly-dallying, Rick Santorum has thrown his frothy mixture stained hat into the ring for President in 2012.  He adds yet another lackluster name to the GOP candidate field and will probably serve to divide the ultra right wing vote even more.  That's a good thing for Democrats!

"We are ready to announce we'll be in this race and we'll be in it to win," Santorum said on ABC's Good Morning America.

Need a reason to not like Rick Santorum?  Try this list of offensive statements Santorum has made.

Denver Airport Filled With Phallic Symbols and Satanism?

I am reminded of the wacko Wilson Bryan Key, who saw subliminal messages in advertising photos (See his book "Clam Plate Orgy"). All a bunch of hokum! Trust me I did advertizing photography and we never included anything subliminal, we were too concerned with making the products looks better than they really were.

Here William Tapley gives a blow-by-blow description of all the Satanic phallic symbols in the Denver Airport. This guy really needs something to do, he has way too much free time.  Perhaps a nice long stay at the happy farm?

Rick Perry Wants to Return to Biblical Principals - For the Economy?

Guess he hasn't read the Bible lately, biblical principals for the economy would mean slavery as endorsed in the Bible, multiple wives as endorsed in the Bible and lots more "biblical principals" that no citizen would endorse.

Rick panders to the Right-Wing on James Robison's prayer fest:

Patriot Act Continues With No Changes - No Privacy Amendments

Last night, Congress passed and the president signed a four-year extension of three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act. You may recall that the original expiration was scheduled for December 31, 2009 — and what did Congress do after 18 months of short term extensions, sporadic hearings and a markup or two? Nothing. The Patriot Act was reauthorized as-is without a single additional privacy protection.

More at ACLU.ORG.

White House Launches LGBT Website

The cynic in me says this might be pandering, but hey, name one other US President who has actively posted information for the LGBT community?  The new White House LGBT site is really pretty cool, and features the proclamation from President Obama for Gay Pride Month. The site also includes several "It Gets Better" messages from the President and his cabinet.  Check it out!

Mets Not Having a Great Season, but Their Bats Are!

Amazing fluke with a baseball bat.

30 Years & Counting - AIDS Hasn't Gone Away

Back in the 1980's we called it Gay Cancer, the disfiguring blotches of Kaposi's sarcoma that began appearing on a few gay men.  Later it was called GRID (gay-related immune deficiency) and I saw men who were once the picture of health hobbling down Cedar Springs with canes and walkers.  Some thought it was caused by poppers (alkyl nitrites used as an inhalant), others thought it was a government experiment gone wrong, or right depending on your level of paranoia.

It was soon given a name, AIDS and in the 30 years since then it is still around and now affects 60 million people with the number growing every day. Half of those infected are dead already, proving contrary to the media hype pushed by drug companies, AIDS is not a "chronic condition" like Diabetes.

We know now how the infection is spread.  It is preventable, and yet new cases keep popping up. Why?  Mostly because people live in the cognitive dissonance of "it can't happen to me". Young gay men have started having "bareback" sex shunning condoms as "so yesterday".  IV drug users continue to have poor access to clean needles and therefore share the used ones.  In developing countries, condom use is seen as "unmanly".  The Catholic Church continues to preach against condom use exposing billions of people to the infection on"religious grounds".

AIDS should be gone by now.  It should be so rare that it pops up only in extremely rare circumstances, yet it spreads. Though there is no cure, we know how to prevent the spread and yet it is still around.  What a hollow monument to all those who died before they knew how they became infected?

This article in the New York Times gives a good look at the past 30 years of the pandemic.

San Francisco Debates Banning Circumcision

OK, cut or uncut seems like something for a family to decide but not in San Francisco.  There the good citizens  that city feel it should be illegal to circumcise a boy.  Sounds to me like someone with a foreskin fetish is trying to deepen the potential pool of uncut penises for future generations.  Oy vey!

Rick Perry Considers Presidential Run - Where is His Rent Boy?

This needs to be nipped in the bud.  Pretty boy Rick Perry has said he is considering a 2012 run for president .  Texas has already foisted one idiot on the US Presidency, we must not send another!

Perry has proven to be a governor deeply in the pocket of business with a very conservative agenda.  Where is that "rent boy" who was rumored to be carrying on with Perry now? Sadly there is nothing like a sex scandal to take the wind out of a candidate's sails.

Tennessee Senate Passes "Don't Say Gay" Bill

If ignorance is bliss, Tennessee must be slap-happy!  Th Tennessee Senate, apparently tired of doing real work, wrangled with the wording of a bill designed to prevent teaching of homosexuality in schools.  never mind that the schools don't "teach homosexuality" now, in Tennessee that makes no difference. From the Christian Post:

The original bill, backed by Republican Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville), prohibited the teaching of or furnishing of materials on human sexuality other than heterosexuality in public school grades K-8.

But because some of Campfield’s colleagues were uncomfortable with the language used in the proposed legislation, an amendment was written, limiting any instruction or material made available or provided to a public elementary or middle school exclusively to “age-appropriate natural human reproduction science,” according to The Associated Press.

Silliness in the Tennessee legislature knows no limit... First they debated banning Sharia Law, a religious law that never has been the basis of any legislation in the state and now this.  In the words of my grandfather who was born in Tennessee, "them damned piss-ants ain't got nothin' better to do!"  Amen Pawpaw, amen.

Rick Perry Signs Manditory Sonogram Bill - Police State Tampering With Womens Health

This from Think Progress, I am too disgusted with our state to comment:

Effective Sept. 1, doctors in Texas must perform sonograms before abortions, must describe the presence of internal organs or limbs and must make the fetal heartbeat audible. [...]
“Every life lost to abortion is a tragedy we all must work together to prevent, and I commend Rep. Miller and Sen. Patrick for their hard work on this significant legislation,” Governor Perry said.

Meanwhile, the Texas House recently voted to slash $61 million from the state’s family-planning budget, which estimates say will result in an additional 28,000 unwanted pregnancies and 13,000 births in the state every year. Two hundred teenage girls in Texas become pregnant every day.

Tornado Damage in Metroplex - Dallas News Covers Divots on Golf Course!

©2011, The Dallas Morning News, Inc.

And you wonder why the local paper is losing subscribers?  Well, take a look at the home page of their web site the morning after tornadoes hit the Metroplex.  Top story - 4,000 divots in golf course?

Meanwhile in other news a man was found dead in storm debris in Oak Lawn....

Our city would be a poorer place if the Dallas News goes away, simply because we need a local source for local news, but dang it sure makes me miss the Dallas Times Herald.

Rick "Frothy Mix" Santorum - Presidental Candidate 2012?

Looks like Mr. Frothy Mix is going to make it official and toss his hat in the ring for the GOP presidential nomination.  He will join a decreasing pool of candidates as the more high profile folks like Donald Trump have dropped out and the politically hot Newt Gingrich self destructed by criticizing fellow Republican Ryan for his budget plan.

Now if we can just keep the frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is Santorum talking, he is sure to stick his foot into his mouth and self destruct as well.

Daniel Tosh Gives Commencement Address...Sort Of

OK, guilty pleasure, I like Tosh.0 on Comedy Central.

Tosh.0
Tags: Tosh.0 Videos,Daniel Tosh,Web Redemption

Koch - They're The Evil Thing

Saturday Night Live - The Rapture?

OK so this one wretched minister has put pencil to paper and calculated the end of the world.
Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 6:30pm. 

To try to explain how strange this guy is is useless.  The media has latched onto this tripe and won't let go, so watch and enjoy!

Meanwhile, here's a fun prank for Saturday.  Get some old clothes and lay them out around your neighborhood like they were left by someone who was "raptured".  Then watch the fun ensue!

URGENT ACTION ALERT - TEXAS

We are running out of time here in Texas!

HB 1942 by Rep. Diane Patrick is pending in the Senate Education Committee. Unless the bill gets favorably reported out of committee by the end of this week, we will run out of time to get the bill passed by the full Senate, concurred in the House, and to the Governor for signature.

HB 1942 is the single best opportunity to pass meaningful anti-bullying legislation this session. Don’t let the clock run out!

The Senate Education Commission is scheduled to meet THIS EVENING (Thursday) at Senator Shapiro’s desk to address pending business.

WE URGENTLY NEED YOU TO CALL THE MEMBERS OF SENATE EDUCATION AND ASK THEM TO MOVE HB 1942 FORWARD BY PASSING IT OUT OF COMMITTEE TODAY!

Chair Senator Florence Shapiro at 512-463-0108
Vice-Chair Senator Dan Patrick at 512-463-0107
Senator John Carona at 512-463-0116
Senator Wendy Davis at 512-463-0110
Senator Mario Gallegos at 512-463-0106
Senator Steve Ogden at 512-463-0105
Senator Kel Seliger at 512-463-0131
Senator Leticia Van de Putte at 512-463-0126
Senator Royce West at 512-463-0123
PLEASE CALL NOW!

Cure for AIDS/HIV?

A San Francisco man who tested positive for HIV in 1995 and had been dealing with the disease while living in Berlin, received a bone marrow transplant in 2007.  That transplant contained stem cells from someone who was apparently immune to the virus.  Today, Timothy Ray Brown, has no trace of HIV in his body anddoctors are calling it a "functional cure."

Everyone is cautious not to celebrate too fast, thee is a lot of research still to be done, but if this continues to hold true it might mean a ray of hope in what is still a fatal disease.

After his transplant, Brown stopped taking all his HIV medications.  The story holds a lot of hope.

Rick "Frothymix" Santorum Says "I'm Not A Homophobe" - Guurrrrl!

OK, it's the season of distancing yourself from what you said for politicians.  I understand they want to appear friendly and delightful good guys, but Rick Santorum claiming he is not a homophobe is like Hitler saying he keeps Kosher!  Come on Rick, can't you pull your fothymix together and own up to your own hatred of gays?

You once compared gay marriage to legalizing bestiality, does that sound gay-friendly?

Mr. Santorum,

If you are going to be a homophobe, fine.  That way we will know who our enemy is.  Stop trying to fog the facts and pretend that you don't hate LGBT people.  Your previous statements and actions prove otherwise.  I guess we can add liar and duplicitous hypocrite to your resume?

Yes you are indeed a frothy mix of fecal matter and lube.

Nevada Passes Trans Protections

The Silver State quietly passed a bill offering protection against discrimination in the workplace based on gender identity.  They became the 14th state to provide these protections.  According to an article in LGBTQ Nation two more bills are moving through the legislature:

On April 25, the state Senate approved SB331, which would prohibits discrimination against gays and transsexuals in places of public accommodation including hotels, motels and restaurants; and SB368, which would prohibit discrimination in housing and other real property transactions.

I have always had a fondness for Nevada based on my past relatives living there.  Nevada repealed their sodomy law long before Texas, which still has it on the books!  And I do like Las Vegas, the city that does tacky right!  Now another reason to like Nevada, "Trans-Friendly."

Ohio Considers Guns & Booze Bill

Heck, I though Texas was gun crazy, but Ohio takes the cake!  The Ohio State Legislature is working on a bill making it legal to carry a loaded firearm into a bar or an open air arena where alcohol is served.  That is just what I want, a bunch of drunks with loaded guns, or worse drunk sports fans with loaded guns!

In defense of the insane bill Republican Representative Danny Bubp, said the bill is necessary to make sure law abiding citizens have equal footing with criminals. Say what?

So by that logic we should all carry guns everywhere just in case one of those crafty gun toting criminals is present.  Oh wait!  How will we know who the criminals are?  Well are they the ones with the guns....or the ones with the guns?

This is just more of the political pandering to the gun lobby who believes that until every American, man woman and child carries a lethal weapon we are in danger!  Bullshit.  When are the lawmakers in this country going to wake up and smell the gunpowder?  This kind of thinking will result in old west style shoot outs at every corner.
Of course that is not part of their thinking, they just want the money and the votes.  If someone shoots up a town, God will sort out the bad guys I guess?

Coffee Drinkers Have Less Prostate Cancer

Starbucks must be rejoicing!  A new study shows that men who consume 6 or more cups of coffee during the day have a 60% less chance of developing prostate cancer.  As one of those men, I am delighted to know this.

Now if I can just stop shaking.

Androgynous Male Model Magazine Cover Banned by Barnes & Noble, Borders

Shirtless guys on just about any magazine, no prob for Barnes & Noble or Borders.  But, a shirtless guy who has a very feminine face and hair?  Well that's a different story.

Apparently anything that falls outside the hetero-normative gender imagery is verboten to the gender Nazis at the major bookstore chains.  The stores have insisted on opaque poly bags for the magazine, Dossier if the current issue is to be available in their stores which features androgynous model Andrej Pejic on the cover.

Now women with plunging necklines, lots of skin or more, not so much a problem, so why the double standard?

Fundamentalists Gone Wild - Claim "Gilligan's Island" Was About Bears

I have to wonder if the fixation some fundamentalists have with LGBT people and our lives is more than just a passing interest?  Who would anyone fixate so specifically on teasing out anything that might be considered gay in every aspect of modern culture?  Obviously someone who is closeted and deeply filled with self-hatred!

To my brothers and sisters in the fundamentalist cults like the AFA and others, come out.  It's the 21st century!

This article claims "Gilligan's Island" was the birth of the "bear movement".  I never thought of it that way, but their lurid descriptions of the relationship between the Skipper and Gilligan are absolutely homoerotic.  Why would a straight man write such a torrid commentary if he weren't really a closeted gay man?

Read it and ask that question yourselves.  I think we all know the answer.

PS:  To my humor impaired friends,  this is a link to a parody site.  Please stop getting all "bent" out of shape. 

Tennessee Steps Backwards Yet Again - Move To Ban LGBT Anti-Discrimination Laws

Ah yes, the barefoot banjo pickers image for folks from the Volunteer State have just been further entrenched.  The state Senate passed a bill that would prohibit anti-discrimination laws that are stricter than the state's.  In other words this would void ordinances like the one in Nashville barring companies that discriminate against gays and lesbians from doing business with the city.   Since sexual-orientation and gender identity are not specifically enumerated in the state laws, if the bill becomes law, it will be open season on discriminating against LGBT people. 

Way to go Tennessee!  I have said this before and I will say it again, my grandfather, a blacksmith from Tennessee, would be appalled if he was still alive.  Though he was functionally illiterate, he was a liberal Democrat who used to tell me that if his finger touched the Republican lever in a voting machine, it would burn his skin.  So when I criticize Tennessee, I have at least a little skin in the game.

Coal Cares Campaign - Free Asthma Inhalers for Kids?

One of the best pranks on the soot industry ever.  Coalcares.org, a prank website with a real message.  Coal polution causes breathing problems for millions of American kids and adults.  But hey you can still get a groovy Miley Cyrus inhaler from them!  (This is ironic folks, but check out the site.  It's genius!)

Tennessee Descends Into The Dark Ages

In an unprecedented step backwards, the Tennessee legislature is crafting a bill to ban "Sharia Law" and to ban any organization that adheres to Sharia.  Beyond the fact that no legislation in the country is based on Sharia Law, making the bill just plain silly, this one goes into personal religious practices.

Here is the deal.  According to this version of the bill, it would be criminal to provide "material support or resources to a designated sharia organization."  By broad definition any two Muslims who gather together and observe Sharia practices would be banned.  

It's a big step into state regulating religion.  Imagine saying that any two Jews who practice Levitical Code would be considered illegal. or to the heart of the matter any two Christians who followed Paul's letters to the Church as law, would be banned.

Putting the shoe on the other foot makes this whole silly thing seem more like a scare tactic, and that's exactly what it is.  The bills prominent sponsor, Sen. Bill Ketron (R), is trying to scare people.  He knows fear works and he is working it for all it's worth. 

More crap like this from the Volunteer State and the image of a bunch of barefoot hillbillies drunk on moonshine running the state will be indelible.  As a guy whose maternal grandparents were from Tennessee, I can say with impunity, they would be appalled by these kinds of shenanigans.

University of Michigan Law Students Walk Out of Graduation in Protest

In a visible protest to the graduation speaker, anti-gay Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) over 100 students walked out of their own graduation ceremony.

Palm Springs City Council Votes To Support Same-Sex Marriage

Though the resolution carries no legal weight, the city council of Palm Springs, CA voted to support “right to full civil marriage equality for all residents of Palm Springs who wish to be married regardless of gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”

The vote was unanimous, and makes Palm Springs the only city in the Coachella Valley to take such a formal stance.  Maybe enough California cities will follow suit and Prop 8 will become history?

Instead of Trying To Create Jobs, House Passes Abortion Bill

John Boehner made a lot of pronouncements when he became Speaker of the House.  He alluded to creating jobs and fixing the economy.  All well and good, but instead the House has been wasting time creating an anti-abortion bill that raises taxes on women, redefines rape and would force the IRS into enforcing the abortion ban.  Say what? 

Yes indeed.  The GOP bill that will never see the President's signature is a complete waste of time and a bad piece of legislation to boot.  Read more about it here.

Texas House Proposes Cutting Education but Gives Breaks to Wealthy Yacht Buyers

It's no joke.  During our states biggest budget crunch the lawmakers in Austin proposed slashing $27 billion from the budget.  That will mean lots of cuts to education, health care and nursing homes, but surprise, there is a provision to cut taxes!

This time the tax cut is for people buying personal boats over $250,000, in other words yachts!  The bill proposed by Houston Republican Rep. John Davis would cap sales tax on the luxury craft and cost the state $1.4 million.  Now just exactly does this help the budget?

Once again the GOP has been proven to be the party of the rich, by the rich and for the rich.  Don't be fooled, they are not trying to balance the budget, merely rob the treasury for their rich contributors. Now let's all go out and buy a yacht!

Facebook Apologizes for Removing Gay Kiss

Facebook has apologized for removing the photo of two men kissing from a page a few weeks ago.  The page was created in support of two men who were tossed from a pub for kissing.  US writer Niall O’Conghaile created the page to publicize a "kiss-in".

My readers will remember I started a campaign on Twitter to report heterosexual kissing on Facebook as "offensive" and request it be removed.  Personally, I reported a few hundred pages and I suspect others did the same.  Apparently Facebook took so much flack that they relented and restored the picture. (I am not claiming credit for this in any way, just noting that it happened.)

Osama Bin Laden is Dead - Now What?

When I first heard the annoncement that US forces has found and killed Osama Bin Laden, I had mixed feelings.  My first thought was, "it's about time!"

For a few moments I was delighted that under President Obama, we had managed to do what President Bush failed to accomplish during his 2 terms in office.  Oh yes, Bush did get us into a costly and unjust war in Iraq, and did spend billions of dollars blowing up the infrastructure of 2 countries, however he failed to get the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. 

After coming to my senses, I find that though less appealing.  The main reason is, that though Bin Laden is dead, terrorism is not and will never be dead.  It's too easy and effective for small factions to give it up.  When a few guys can go through flight training and essentially cripple the economy and security of a superpower with a suicide attack carried out with box cutters, well the bottom line is pretty obvious.

The fact that Bin Laden was found in a comfortable secure compound in a wealthy suburb just a few miles from Islamabad in Pakistan is also troubling.  Obviously Pakistan or at least some folks pretty high up were not serious about bringing Bin Laden to justice.  That is one reason why the operation was done without notifying the Pakistan government.  The truth is they have been compromised sufficiently that information about such attacks would leak back to the intended target.  This means the Pakistani military is probably well infiltrated with Al Quaeda sympathizers.

Then there is the matter of "revenge" which suspect will take the shape of more terrorist attacks.  This is an unfortunate given in this case.  Since Bin Laden successfully franchised the Al Quaeda brand, there will undoubtedly be some loyalists who will hatch plots for revenge.  I would expect to see a heightened security level for the next several years, but we will love through it.   All in all, it is a tough situation.  Let Bin Laden live and get more attacks, kill him and get more attacks!

So I still have mixed emotions about this whole thing.  I was reminded about a quote from Rev. Martin Luther King:

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.“

Now I guess we have to find the light.  That may be more difficult that finding a terrorist mastermind.

Another GOP Town Hall Ends in Chaos

This time it's freshman Representative Rick Crawford (R-Arizona) who tried to use only screened questions. The crowd wasn't satisfied and asked about tax cuts for the rich. The scene turns ugly and Crawford sputters badly.

White House Statement on the Storms

The White House released this statement from President Obama regarding last night's storms.

Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives because of the tornadoes that have swept through Alabama and the southeastern United States. Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this devastation, and we commend the heroic efforts of those who have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster. I just spoke to Governor Bentley and told him that I have ordered the Federal Government to move quickly in our response and informed him that I approved his request for emergency Federal assistance, including search and rescue assets. While we may not know the extent of the damage for days, we will continue to monitor these severe storms across the country and stand ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms.

Alabama Storms Take Deadly Toll

So far over 170 people are confirmed dead in the tornadoes that raked across Alabama and other parts of the deep south last night. The figure is staggering considering the warnings and media coverage and testament to how powerful these tornadoes were.

Watching the Weather Channel last night I could hear the fear and anxiety in the voices of the meteorologists that I rarely notice. Everyone knew it was going to be bad.

Tuscaloosa was particularly hard hit and according to the Mayor parts of the city were demolished beyond recognition.

Below is a video taken from a Sheriff's car during the storm in Cullman County, Alabama.

 

Tuscaloosa storm from TV station:



From a breathless storm chaser or loacl with a camera. Amazing footage and way-too close.

Increasing the "Awesome".

Video - Constituents Angry at GOP Plan to End Medicare

Florida Congressman Daniel Webster (R-FL) faced an angry town hall who erupted at his suggestion that the GOP budget would end Medicare as we know it.  The crowd clearly is not on his side and he never answers their valid questions.  Perhaps this is the beginning of a real wake up for constituents who realize the draconian nature of the GOP budget.

Webster is the latest congressman to face a town hall backlash after his vote in favor of Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget plan.

Birthers - Please Shut Up Already!

OK, enough of this crap.  The "Birthers" have had more than their allotted 15 minutes of fame.  The White House has released the "Long Form" birth certificate for President Obama and sure enough, he was born in Hawaii!  Why am I not surprised?  Well copies of this have circulated before and only the truly wacko believe there is a conspiracy to conceal the facts.

One silly t"theory" even went so far as to accuse his grandparents of placing fake birth announcements in the newspapers so he could receive welfare.  Problem is the kind of welfare they are talking about wasn't around yet. But never let the facts get in the way of a good conspiracy.

Now, will all the "birthers" please go back to investigating the alleged controlled demolition of the World Trade Center on 9/11?  Please!

Obama Wages War on Easter by Having Easter Egg Roll

I feel pretty sure the Fox folks and the right-wing wackos will find something in this to criticize, but as proof that there is no "War on Easter" here is a link to a story about the White House Easter Egg Roll.  War on Easter my Easter Grass!

War on Easter? Nope But Fox Makes It Up

Anyone familiar with Fox News has heard the silly "War of Christmas" claims Sean Hanity and other Foxites have made.  Their proof?  The fact that there are other holidays that fall around Christmas and some advertisers and communities have started calling it the "Holiday Season" instead of "Christmas Season".  Additionally they cite the use of "Happy Holidays" as a greeting instead of Merry Christmas as being proof that Christmas is under attack. 

I guess we will have to stop watching one of my favorite Christmas movies made in the early 1940's "Holiday Inn" with the title song "Happy Holidays" imprinted on my brain since I was a tot.  Wow who knew the War on Christmas started so long ago?

Now they see a "War on Easter".  What proof do they have?  None!  They are making this stiff up.  There was a single story about a township considering changing the Easter Egg Hunt to a "Egg Hunt" and that constituted a war.  The fact is, the town, Munson Township, Ohio, did not change the name of the event and the Easter Egg Hint is still on. So does that stop Hanity and the other liars at Fox?  Oh hell no!

Just a note to Sean Hanity, the Easter Bunny has about as much to do with Easter as Frosty the Snowman has to do with Christmas.  Both are primarily commercial aberrations and designed to grab as many dollars as possible for retailers. Damned war profiteers!

New Tattoo Rule - Never Tattoo Crime Evidence On Yourself!

File this under the "way too stupid" file.

Gang member Anthony Garcia wanted to commemorate a crime he participated in and got the scene tattooed on his chest.  The scene was so detailed that L.A. County Sheriff's investigators recognized details of the crime scene from a line-up mug shot. 

According to a story in the LA Times:

Each key detail was right there: the Christmas lights that lined the roof of the liquor store where 23-year-old John Juarez was gunned down, the direction his body fell, the bowed street lamp across the way and the street sign — all under the chilling banner of RIVERA KILLS, a reference to the gang Rivera-13.

As if to seal the deal, below the collarbone of the gang member known by the alias "Chopper" was a miniature helicopter raining down bullets on the scene.

 This week they got a confession and the idiot is charged with first degree murder.  Nice work!

So add this to my rules for tattoos:

1. Never get a name other than yours or your mother.
2. Never get a cartoon character - they look really silly when you are 70.
3. NEVER GET A TATTOO DOCUMENTING CRIME EVIDENCE!

Marines Do Britney! "Hold It Against Me"

The Marines of 266 Rein, stationed in Afghanistan, are lip-synching to Britney Spears's "Hold It Against Me." I love seeing these guys having so much fun!

J. Crew Nail Painting - "Right=Dangerous Trans Agenda" - "Left=Potentially Toxic Chemicals"

File this in the "Oh for God's Sake" file!  

Of course everyone heard about the rucus started by the Right-Wingnuts about a cute print ad from J. Crew.  in the ad a mom is painting her son's toenails with pink polish.  It's the kind of silly stuff families do all the time.  It was a bonding moment for Mom and son and had absolutely no significance beyond being funny and something to do. 

Not so for the conservatives who saw this a part of some kind of dangerous "transgender agenda"!  OMG, another agenda to keep up with?  Well at least they are not complaining about the gay one! (that is a joke)

Well the liberals are not to be outdone.  To them they see an environmental nightmare in the nail polish and have gone so far as to enumerate the hazards of it.

The three major toxins of concern are toluene, dibutyl phthalate and formaldehyde, which are found in many nail polish formulas.

"We call them the toxic trio," said Nneka Leiba, a research analyst with the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit and advocacy organization that deals with environmental issues.

Eeek!  Be afraid!   Not only are those insidious transgender activists trying to change our sons into daughters they are trying to poison us as well!

Come folks, let this thing go.  It's just a cute picture of a mother and son, get the heck over it!

Texas Governor Proclaims "Pray For Rain Days"

It's been awfully dry in Texas and the wildfires are spreading big-time.  What we need is help to fight the fires and more importantly, RAIN.  Now I am a religious guy, even though some of my readers might not believe it, however I am not a big believer in intercessory prayer.

Not so our Governor, he as issued an official state proclamation stating in part, "it seems right and fitting that the people of Texas should join together in prayer to humbly seek an end to this devastating drought and these dangerous wildfires."

Though I applaud his sentiment, the idea of a state proclamation urging prayer really treads heavily on the line between separation of church and state. More importantly, instead of asking people to just pray, why not ask them to volunteer to fight the fires?  Actions speak louder than words Gov. Perry.

Oklahoma Takes Another Step - Backwards

First let me give you a little fact.  77% of anti-abortion leaders are men.  I would add that most likely  100% of them will never get pregnant.  That said, the lawmakers in Oklahoma have boldly marched backwards again, this time making it a felony for doctors to perform abortions after a woman reaches 20 weeks of pregnancy.

They base this on a propaganda film that anti-abortion foes have long trumped as "proof" that the 20-week old fetus can "feel pain".  Medical studies say this is false. But never let reality get in the way of the Oklahoma lawmakers.  The other step backwards was another law prohibits health insurance plans in Oklahoma offered under the new federal health care law from offering coverage for elective abortions.

Funny how these zealots claim to be pro-life, but I would wager most of them support capital punishment and are against just about every gun law ever written.  Please someone prove me wrong! 

Kentucky Church Stops Signing Marriage Licenses Until Same-Sex Couples Can Marry

Who would have thought that a church in Louisville, Kentucky would take a bold stand for marriage equality?  The Douglass Boulevard Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) voted unanimously to stop signing marriage licenses which legally grant rights to heterosexual couple that are not available to same-sex couples.

From a report by WHAS news:

"As an Open and Affirming Community of Faith (a designation signifying DBCC's commitment to full acceptance of all people, regardless of race, gender, age, or sexual orientation), our membership is committed to treating homosexuals and heterosexuals equally. Our congregation believes it is unfair to provide different services and benefits to heterosexual couples than we can provide to gay and lesbian couples," said associate minister Rev. Ryan Kemp-Pappan.

Senior minister Rev. Derek Penwell added, "Heterosexual couples enjoy a number of benefits that result from having state-sanctioned union. They may inherit property, adopt children together, visit one another in the hospital, and save thousands each year in taxes by filing as a couple. Ministers, as agents of the state, have the power to confer these benefits-and the imprimatur of normalcy-on heterosexual couples, but we do not have the honor to bestow these benefits on gay and lesbian couples."

"In our attempt to live out God's call to pursue justice for all, the Elders of the congregation joined the Pastors in witnessing to the right for gay and lesbian persons to God's blessing on their union and witnessing to the Commonwealth toward ending the refusal to recognize these unions," said Rev. Chuck Lewis, Chair of Elders with the church.

 Bravo!

Transgender Tax Collectors in Pakistan

Not sure how to take this, but in Pakistan, the government is employing a group of transgender folks to act as tax collectors.  Culturally, transwomen are an embarrassment in the Muslim country, and so having one show up at your door apparently has the desired effect of motivating the errant taxpayer to cough up the money.

It speaks volumes about the attitude toward transgender people in that country, however it also shows at least enough tolerance to hire them to work for the government.  Unfortunately, their role is that of humiliation.  I would love to get some of my transgendered readers take on this.

Indiana Considers De-funding Planned Parenthood

This is a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.  In their ideological zeal, the Indiana State Senate has voted to cut off using any Medicaid money for Planned Parenthood.  The reason?  Well, the organization offers abortion services, (albeit only about 3% of their total work) and God forbid any state funds go to that, so all the contraceptive distribution, family planning assistance, women's health clinics and other services to low-income families will just have to suffer.

The Indiana Senate, as well as most of the right-wing fails to see the good being done by Planned Parenthood.  They don't understand that without those services their will likely be an increase in unwanted pregnancies and that means an explosion in population among low income groups.  In other words, bills like this one will have the unintended consequences of growing poverty.  Just what we need, more poor people with large families and no income to feed them or give them proper medical care. 

Most likely this measure will increase the number of abortions rather than slow them, but who cares if it makes an ideological point?

I have to wonder what the Indiana Senate is thinking, or if they are thinking at all?

Misquoting Einstein, TN State Rep. Shows Own Ignorance

OK, people often misquote folks.  It's natural, but if you are standing up in the state house giving a speech into the official record, you damned well better check your facts.  Apparently not in Tennessee.

Remember Tennessee is the state that is trying to get Creation Science (sic) taught in public school.  In support of that bill, State Rep. Frank Nicely (R-Strawberry Plains) makes a common sense argument and quotes Albert Einstein on the subject of religion.  The only problem is Einstein never said it, Francis Bacon did and not in the words he uses.

Einstein was an agnostic Jewish Humanist. One of his quoptes is quite appropriate to this silliness.

“To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms — this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness.”

Einstein would roll in his grave, watch it.




In the interest of full disclosure, my mothers family was from Tennessee, the hills near Pulaski, and once when I visited the family there as a child I remember scenes right out of every hillbilly movie you can imagine. Even being simple folk, my grandmother got an education and taught tutored students in calculus to supplement my grandfather's blacksmith business. They were poor, but far from as stupid as the yokels who are running the state now!

Malaysia Sends Gay Teens To "Cure" Camp

In a scenario sounding more like Germany in the 1930's than Southeast Asia, the government of Malaysia has extracted 66 teenagers from schools and sent them to a camp where they will be put through a "self-development course".  The boys were selected because their teaches had identified them as "effeminate".  Officials denied the boys were compelled to attend the camp, saying they were simply "invited" to do so. 

Yeah right!  These kids were cut from the herd in order to "reeducate them".  This whole thing smacks of the same kind of Ex-Gay crap being pedaled in this country, except I wager in Malaysia thee are few safeguards for these kids well being.  Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country and their laws regarding LGBT rights are nonexistant.  Sodomy is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.  Nice place to visit?  I think not.

One More Passover Video - Who Let The Jews Out?

Couldn't resist posting this one.  Why didn't I think of this?

Google Exodus - The Passover Story On The Internets!

I am laughing so hard I think I hurt myself!  Enjoy!

Easy Budget Fix - Kill Bush Era Tax Cuts

I don't much like simplistic solutions to complex problems.  In most cases they are just plain silly, but here is one that actually holds up.

All the problems with budget cuts in DC right now could be solved with a simple solution.  Let the Bush Era tax cuts for the rich expire!

The government loses $42 billion in revenue this fiscal year because of the tax cuts for the rich.  The budget cuts being squabbled over by Congress amount to $38 billion.  This is simple arithmetic people.  The tax breaks for the wealthy, those earning between $500,000 and $1 million amount to $25,000 and for those earning over $1 million its around $130,000. That is serious cash and it's time we stopped subsidizing millionaires.

Of course the GOP will scream that these are struggling small businesses and we will be killing the economic growth.  Bulls*#t!  The truth is these are contributors to the GOP and they want all the money they can get for their benefactors.

Facebook is Officially Homophobic - Two Men Kissing = Obscene

I have seen a lot of silly, racy and downright suggestive pictures on Facebook, but the absolutely innocent picture of two men kissing apparently is "obscene" to the Facebook folks.

Niall O'Conghaile, a blogger on DangerousMinds.net, posted an article about a Facebook-driven protest against a British pub that had kicked out two men who were kissing.  Along with the story he added a picture of two men kissing.  The next day, the picture was gone and he got the following terse email from Facebook:

Hello,

Content that you shared on Facebook has been removed because it violated Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Shares that contain nudity, or any kind of graphic or sexually suggestive content, are not permitted on Facebook.

This message serves as a warning. Additional violations may result in the termination of your account. Please read the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities carefully and refrain from posting abusive material in the future. Thanks in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

The Facebook Team

Now, I don't know about you, but I have seen profile pictures worse than this, but of course those were of straight folks.  So Facebook, it's the 21st Century and two men kissing is just kissing.  If that is "suggestive" then me and my friends are going to systematically search every page we can to find heterosexual couples kissing and send email notices to you of offensive content until your email boxes are stuffed.  Grow up!

T-Mobile Royal Wedding Video

Wedding entrances have become a big deal ever since the You Tube of the dancers that appeared a year ago.  Now come the Royal version just in time for the Royal Wedding.

Dancing Chimps - Saturday Silliness

From the sublime to the ridiculous. Strange dancing Russian chimps clip. Good trick photography.

Yo-Yo Ma Meets Lil Buck - Video

It isn't often a video will bring me to tears, but this one is so beautiful it had me weeping with joy.  Director Spike Jonez videoed this performance as two distinctly different worlds meet and rather than colliding, they create something new and wonderful.  The performance was part of the opening ceremony of an initiative to bring art back into schools in LA.  With amazing art like this, it has to succeed!

Fur Coat at Circus Roncalli

My friend Paul sent me this clip.  I saw Circus Roncalli when I was in Vienna a few years ago, but sadly this act was not part of the performance.  Really funny trick!  And after learning how it was done, no animals were harmed in this performance, so don't even start with me.  Enjoy!

Senator Kyl Now "Misspoke" About Planned Parenthood

OK the press secretary for Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is taking one for the team.  Previously he said that when Senator Kyl said Planned Parenthood's business consists of 90% abortions, it was "not intended to me a factual statement".  In other words he lied.  But wait there's more.

Now he says that actually made no sense and that the Senator merely "misspoke".  In other words lied.

No matter how they spin it, it's big fat lying. He stated, "If you want an abortion, you go to Planned Parenthood, and that’s well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does."

The truth is almost exactly the opposite, a whopping 3% of their funds go toward abortions. 

I suspect Kyl thought he could just read his lie into the Congressional Record with impunity.  One hitch, Steven Colbert started a hash-tag flurry on Twitter "#notintendedtobeafactualstatement" and thousands of tweets followed.  Kyl looks like the liar he is and now he has to weasel his way out. 

Here he is on the floor of the US Senate MISSPEAKING the truth.

State Rep. Leo Bermann Wants to Pass Laws Based on What He Heard on the Radio!

I really think it's time for Texas state Rep. Leo Berman (R) to retire.  He actually tried to get an anti-sharia law passed because he heard something about Sharia on the radio.  Either he is a gullible idiot or he is just plain daft.

Berman alluded to his belief that judges in Dearborn Michigan "are using and allowing to be used Sharia law.”

The clueless Berman went on to say, "I heard it on a radio station here on my way in to the Capitol one day... I don’t know Dearborn, Michigan but I heard it (Sharia is accepted law here) on the radio. Isn’t that true?“

Well Rep. Berman, it's not true.  The mayor of Dearborn debunks this clap-trap regularly.

Infamous Words? In 2001 Bush Promised the National Debt Would Be Paid Off in 10 Years

Ah, those were the days.  When we blindly listened to a supply-side president who actually believed his own rhetoric and promised the national debt would be gone in 10 years. I didn't believe it then and I was right.  The Bush years and tax cuts have put us where we are today.  Here is the man in his own words:

"My budget has funded a responsible increase in our ongoing operations. It has funded our Nation’s important priorities. It has protected Social Security and Medicare. And our surpluses are big enough that there is still money left over.

Many of you have talked about the need to pay down our national debt. I listened, and I agree. We owe it to our children and our grandchildren to act now, and I hope you will join me to pay down $2 trillion in debt during the next 10 years. At the end of those 10 years, we will have paid down all the debt that is available to retire. That is more debt repaid more quickly than has ever been repaid by any nation at any time in history."

Yeah, right!

Glowing Pork Found In China

Now there is a dish that I have never seen on any menu, glowing pork.  Apparently a woman in Shanghai left some pork chops out overnight and notice a blue glow coming from them in the darkened kitchen.  First, I have to wonder why you would leave pork out overnight, but aside from that the news story, which was obviously translated by a machine, gives the details.

My bet is it's bacterial contamination.  Just to give you an idea of how cavalier Chinese authorities are in these cases, they have already stated that the glowing pork is safe to eat.  What? 
To quote the story in Chinenglish:

This reporter, by method of several checks from the dim and light, in actuality do see the pork emit a faint blue light, that apart by method of the pig’s skin, the whole product of pork was suffused with blue light, as well as a faint blue glow could be also observed on fingers that experienced handled the pork. This reporter afterward intentionally washed this product of pork with consuming water and once more checked in a really dim place, however the pork nevertheless emitted a blue glow, only just slightly extra faint.

Activists Create Guerilla Leather Bar in Straight Bar

The Eagle Tavern in San Francisco is in danger of folding and becoming yet another straight bar. Owners of the Skylark have offered more for the space than the curent tennant, the Eagle and so the landlord is taking the money without regard to the legacy or the community. In protest a group of folks are planning to turn the Skylark bar into a leather bar for the evening. They want to show the owners what happens when you try to take over "queer space". Wish I was there to participate!

Worst Religious Painting Ever?

OK, I am not a big fan of contemporary religious paintings. Most of them are sappy or just plain weird. This one takes the cake.  Found on Jesus Needs New PR blog.

The challenge?  Write a caption for this mess.

More Dangerous Heterosexuals - Child Molesters!

The former pastor of Midway Assembly of God Church in Fairview, Oklahoma is sitting in jail right now.  He is just another example of the dangers posed to our children by heterosexuals.  Yes this "straight" man is charged with molesting his 3 adopted daughters.

In a story from Channel 9 News:  

According to the affidavit, the girl told her mother Pitts had touched her private parts. Pitts' wife then questioned the couple's 12-year-old adopted daughter. She initially denied anything was happening, but when her adoptive mother said the youngest child had already told her the truth, the 12-year-old broke down and admitted Pitts had molested her, as well.

Pitts faces 15 counts of first-degree rape, 15 counts of rape by instrumentation, 20 counts of lewd acts with a child under 16, and 20 counts of forcible sodomy.

Once again it seems obvious that heterosexuals are dangerous predatory beings and should be denied their rights.

(Though I wrote that last sentence with a keen sense of irony, it makes about as much sense as any of the arguments against LGBT rights.)

Donald Trump - Brither

I have long believed that Donald Trump was a narcissistic megalomaniac, but not until today did I believe he is either stupid or just liar.  My bet is on liar since I doubt he is as stupid as he sounds.

Why>?  Well Trump in his silly bid for the presidential nomination has jumped on the "birther" bandwagon and is drinking as much of the kool-aid as he can stomach.

His latest interview is just silly.  He claims President Obama's grandparents "planted" the birth announcement to secure him citizenship and welfare.  Problem is the hospital made the announcement and having a mother with US citizenship makes his access to public programs in the US a given. 

My suspicion is the whole "welfare" angle is intended to play into the right-wing narrative about "welfare queens" and is a less than subtle dig at his race.

Trump is pretty much a jerk, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this kind of crap form him, but most encouraging was that someone in the press actually called him on the lie.  In this interview his lies are refuted and all he can say is "well that was 50 years ago...."  As if 1960 was a time when we kept records with cave paintings that were open to interpretation.

It's time for "the Donald" to go back to investing and get out of the limelight.  Yeah, that will happen!

A Different Light Bookstore in San Francisco Closing?

That's the rumor. Sometime this spring the beacon of independent LGBT booksellers will disappear and with it an era of LGBT literature might just fade as well. In Dallas, our local LGBT bookstore, Crossroads Market shuttered last year and the gayborhood has not been the same since.

Not only are these niche bookstore important outlets for LGBT literature, they are a nexus of community activity. A Different light and Crossroads Market fulfilled much the same purpose as the Country Store in a small town. It was an outpost offering necessities but equally as important it offered a place to convene and connect with others in the community. It was an outpost of civility on the frontier. The LGBT bookstore/coffeeshop was an outpost of friendliness in a hostile straight frontier.

Now we can indeed find books much faster on Amazon.com, but we will lose yet another connection to the age of networks, and though we might be wired, we are essentially alone. Online communities are illusions not realities, and few things compare with chatting face to face.

Orgasm for Jesus?

As a gay man you would think I might be clueless when it came to female orgasms, but I can tell the big "O" when I see it.  This faith healing is nothing more than a hypnotic suggestion for an orgasm and downright strange.  I am about as pro-sex as anyone, but getting fingered by Jesus is just creepy.