Rebekah Brooks Arrested, Can Rupert Murdoch be Far Behind?

Rebekah Brooks, the stubborn executive at New International who refused to resign was arrested as she arrived at a police station to assist in the investigation of the New of the World hacking scandal.

She is the latest executive of the Murdoch medial empire to be cuffed by police as the scandal threatens to spread to the US. Already the FBI is investigating allegations that News Corp operatives tapped cell phones of 9/11 victims. The trail may lead to Fox News and perhaps Rupert Murdoch himself.

Whatever happens the story is getting bigger and bigger and I predict it will topple the Murdoch media empire or at least change it drastically.

"Iron Man" Style Hand Cannon - For Real

A clever inventor, Patrick Priebe, has created a palm sized laser cannon that looks like something out of Iron Man.  Small but very powerful it can pop balloons and make fabric smolder.  Not much...yet!

Dow Jones CEO Latest Casualty of Murdoch Scandals

New Corp is teetering.  First News of the World goes down, then the Rebekah Brooks, head of News International resigns and now Les Hinton, CEO of Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal resigns.  All due to the hacking crimes of NOTW and other Murdoch papers.

This adds fuel to the rumor that the scandal may spread to the US and the extensive media holdings of Rupert Murdoch here.  Additionally, the FBI has launched an investigation of News Corp to determine the extent of any illegal activities that might have taken place in this country. There are allegations of phone hacking of 9/11 victims and bribes to former NYC police officers.

I would imagine the folks over at Fox News are quaking a bit, considering rumors of their own shady practices this could be ugly for them as well.

Debt Talks - Why the GOP Won't Budge and Why We are in Trouble

It is understandable why President Obama is frustrated with the debt ceiling talks.  He is dealing with a modern version of the Roman god Janus.  Janus had two faces one looking to the future and one to the past.  The GOP has two faces as well, one the more rational conservative like Mitch McConnell (R, KY) and the other the far less rational Tea Party face of Eric Cantor (R, VA). 

The whole thing boils down to politics, but the most risky kind imaginable.  Right now Moody's, the credit rating service, has said it may downgrade US securities.  That would be a real blow to a slow recovery.  It would mean higher interest rates and a loss of confidence from our lenders, like China who has already warned against defaulting on our debts. Yet apparently that means nothing to the Tea Party. 

The problem is the Tea Party folks have little grasp of the realities and complexities of how our economy works.  To them it's just a simple balance sheet of income and debt.  Well as any company accountant will tell you, that might work fine for a check book, but things are far more complicated in the world of big money.

The more rational conservatives know we have to raise the debt ceiling in order to keep growing and to eventually grow our way out of our recession. They raised the debt ceiling several times without a whimper during the Bush administrations and never gave it a second thought.  Now that they are out of power things have changed?  Not really, only the players names and parties. 

The GOP sees a chance to make political hay out of this and the Tea Party has caught on to it and rather than seeing it as a tactic, they see it as a line in the sand.  They have been watching way too much Fox News, and have lost their grip on reality.  That is evident when complete whack-jobs like Michele Bachmann can be considered presidential material.  The unfortunate thing is the GOP embraced the Tea Party folks figuring they could be reigned in and join the fold.  They can't.

It all reminds me of the point when the GOP decided to play to the evangelical crowd.  The fundamentalists had been quietly practicinig their brand of religion for a while and no one gave them a second thought. The GOP saw them as an opportunity and courted their leaders forming the inappropriately titled "moral majority".  That dance with the devil brought a radical edge to the Republicans that still exists, only now it takes the face of Tea Baggers. 

Obama has his work cut out to negotiate with this modern day Janus.  Once face looking to conservative principals and the other glued to Fox News.  God help us all!

Meet Rick Perry's Freinds on Prayer Day - Mostly Hate Mongers

Take a look at who Rick Perry is aligning himself with.  People who believe Oprah is the devil and gays are plotting to take over the world. They also believe the Holocaust was God's doing to punish the Jews.  In other words, wackos and hate mongers. Hope you don't vomit.

Conservative Marriage Vow Pledge - Slavery = Better off Black Children

The Family Leader, a notorious anti-gay group has backtracked on their "Marriage Vow".  Apparently they are taking too much flack for their bumbled wording about African American families.

“...sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.”

Even conservatives were wary of signing a document this wacky.  Now the Family Leader has tried to cover their tracks with this statement:

“After careful deliberation and wise insight and input from valued colleagues we deeply respect, we agree that the statement referencing children born into slavery can be misconstrued, and such misconstruction can detract from the core message of the Marriage Vow: that ALL of us must work to strengthen and support families and marriages between one woman and one man. We sincerely apologize for any negative feelings this has caused, and have removed the language from the vow.”

 Strengthen marriage?  Well the rest of the pledge includes condemning Sharia law, downsizing government, keeping gays out of the military,  and stopping illegal immigration.  Sounds a whole lot more like a GOP platform than a vow to protect marriage.  More from the SPLC on this bunch, who aligns themselves with the hate-group, the AFA.(American Family Association)

Ron Paul - Buh Bye!

So Ron Paul, the perennial Libertarian/Republican/Whatever candidate for President is giving it another whirl. He announced today he is not seeking reelection so he can gird his loins for the 2012 Presidential run.

The 75-year old doctor has been known for his obstinacy in the House and gained the nick name, "Dr. No".

He is running somewhere around 6th in the polls for Republican candidate, behind unannounced candidate Rick Perry.  Though he may have been one of the founding forces in the Tea Party, I seriously doubt he will get the GOP nod for president. 

My guess is he might run as an Independent or Libertarian or even better just not run at all. I think this will be pretty much the last we hear from Mr. Paul, though his offspring may still be a factor in the future.

Amazing Magnetic Boy? Amazing What People Believe - Video Bunco

This actually made a news story. Supposedly, it's a Brazilian boy who is a natural magnet. The video purports to demonstrate this.

Any young magician knows this parlor trick. A little moisture on the skin can make smooth objects stick, But apparently reporters are easily fooled. Watch:

Hugh Grant on The News of the World Hacking Scandal

Surprisingly, actor Hugh Grant was one of the first to expose the News of the World hacking of celebrities phones.  This interview on British TV is very interesting and the confrontation between one of the reporters who did this is revealing of the motives of the News Corp organization.

Murdock Editor Will Be Arrested!

Former-News of the World Editor Andy Coulson will be arrested on Friday morning, according to The Guardian, over suspicions that he played a direct role in the phone hacking scandal that has brought down the paper. Phone hacking by the paper included a cell phone of a murdered girl and deleting messages left for her and her parents.  Amazing!

This scandal is growing by the moment and Murdock's closing the paper is a shabby attempt to distance himself and his media empire from the crimes.

Murdock's "News of the World" Folds!

Plagued with scandal and pending legal actions for hacking into the cell phones of celebrities and crime victims, Rupert Murdock's tabloid, News of the World is closing.  The best selling London daily will cease publication this Sunday.

From the LA Times:

Earlier this week, Britain was rocked by reports that a private investigator hired by the tabloid had illegally accessed – and deleted – voice mail messages on the phone of a 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped and later found murdered.

That incident and many others including alleged hacking into military and government phones has brought a boycott of Murdock's papers in the UK. 

Murdock also owns Fox News as part of his News Corporation empire.

Political Fundraising. Obama Raking It In - GOP Trickling Down.

From the number of fundraising calls I get, I can tell you that President  Obama has his reelection campaign in full swing. Hardly a week goes by that I don't receive a letter or call from the campaign. Add to that the regular fundraising for the DNC and it's pretty easy to tell that the Democrats are cranking the cash machine at full speed.

Meanwhile, over at the GOP/Tea Party things are not so smooth. With a field of a dozen or so candidates it's hard for any one person to raise the massive amounts of cash needed to mount a campaign against an incumbent. The Republican front runner, Mitt Romney pulled in a cool $18 million in the first quarter, but the GOP itself is bogged down in $18.5 million in debt.

Add to that a recent poll that showed 60% of probable voters said they were entirely or somewhat comfortable with a Mormon candidate.  And that kind of information can only be disheartening to both Romney and Huntsman (the other Mormon presidential candidate).

I know it will be a tough election cycle and I am somewhat confident that President Obama will win reelection but I have to wonder what the GOP will pull from its bag of tricks to level the playing field?  One thing is certain, it won't be Sarah Palin!

Connecticut Adds Transgender Protections

From Raw Story:

Democratic Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed legislation Wednesday that is designed to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or expression.

The new law adds the phrase "gender identity or expression" to all existing state sex discrimination laws, making Connecticut the 15th state to specifically protect transgender people.

Video - Massive Haboob Engulfs Phoenix, AZ

Haboob is Arabic for Dust Storm. Amazing video.

More Crap from the Christian Right? Dangerous Gays!

This was too good to miss.  Found this on Joe.My.God.  Enjoy or fume.  Me, I did the latter.

Fireworks at Fair Park - July 4, 2011

Had a great time last night except for the heat, but that comes with living in Texas.

Tried out my new iPhone and shot fireworks, enjoy!

Have a Bang Up 4th!

Fred Astaire with some 4th of July Fireworks as only he could do it!


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The Fabulous Step Brothers with Foot Fireworks

ON sorry about the alliterate headline, but on July 4 back in 2001 the last surviving member of the tap dance sensation known as the Step Brothers passed away.  Luckily for us their magic has remained on film and now on the web.  OK the images are stereotypical,but get beynd that and enjoy their artistry and amazing energy.

Why Fireworks on 4th of July?

OK burn bans aside, which I understand very well since it is dry as a tinderbox here in Texas this summer, fireworks on Independence Day  are as American as Apple Pie.  Mentioned by our founding fathers, specifically John Adams in a letter to his wife (got the date wrong):

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

So there City of Dallas!  Time to follow our founding father's advice and legalize fireworks in Dallas.  I used them as a child, and was taught how to fire them safely and with care.  Kids nowadays have no such instruction and because they are illegal most often shoot them covertly and in most cases, dangerously.

With common sense and care, fireworks can be fun and reasonably safe and should once again be part of the 4th of July!

Pro Sports RIP? Season of Discontent in Pro Sports

The NBA may lock out players making next season in doubt.  Now from my perspective this isn't a big deal.  I pretty much don't give a rats ass about pro sports except baseball, and that only applies to going to the games.  On TV baseball is as exciting as watching paint dry, pitcher/batter is not the game, the real game is in the outfield and can only be seen from the stands.

But I digress.  The NBA is embroiled in a labor dispute that is simply put, a bunch of billionaires trying to negotiate with a bunch of millionaires how much to pay them.  For all it's street popularity, basketball at the pro level is all about being rich.  Season tickets are well beyond the price range of the common man and much of the game is about sky-boxes and sponsorship bucks.  Not very interesting to me.

Meanwhile the NFL is doing the same thing.  Owners (billionaires) vs Players (millionaires) in a game of brinksmanship.  All so the fans can pay big bucks to watch in air-conditioned comfort from new domed stadiums.  Doak Walker would spin in his grave!

So will there be a season this fall?  Frankly I don't care, I'd much rather watch minor league baseball or college football anyway and that would be on rare occasions when I had absolutely nothing better to do.

Scientists use Diamond to Create Quantum Memory - Quantum Physics Friday!

Remember in the movie Superman, when Christopher Reevesuses a crystal shard to retrieve images and data from Krypton?  Well that may not be that for from some future computing tool. 

Scientists working with nitrogen electrons and diamond have managed to store information at the subatomic level and perhaps open the door to quantum computing.

A story in Science News gives details:

The physicists were able to coax the fragile quantum information contained within a single electron in diamond to move into an adjacent single nitrogen nucleus, and then back again using on-chip wiring.

 More here for you science geeks!

Paris Street Dancer - Amazing Video

Found this while looking for something entirely different but had to share.  The clip shows a wonderful street performer in Paris.  Not the full dance, but enough to brighten your day.

Exploring the Bible's Various Authors - Computer Finds Clues to Writers

For years, biblical scholars have looked at the bible as being written by a variety of authors.  The Pentateuch, or five books of Moses have long been attributed to "priestly" and "non-priestly" writers.  The teasing out of the difference has been through analysis of the word choices and writing styles which vary in come cases widely and other cases in more subtle ways.

For example the names used for God in the Pentateuch change sometimes from passage to passage.  This would indicate that the work had at least two authors.  The research has taken many years and a lot of very devoted scholarship, until now. 

A new computer program has been used to examine the scriptures and it reached similar conclusions to those of scholars, except that it took only a few minutes.  The new tool may shed some light on details of the origins of the scriptures that make up the Bible and give us a better understanding of the authors and their styles.

For Biblical literalists, this will sound like heresy, so to you I say, never mind.  Personally, I have always believed the Bible was a collection of works that expressed our struggle to understand the divine.  It is a collected work that contains many truths if they are taken in the right context.  For those interested I suggest reading Marcus Borg's "Reading the Bible Again for the First Time".   There is a lot more truth in the Bible than just a collection of children's stories.

Independent Review of Atlanta Eagle Raid Finds Widespread Wrongdoing

Police in Atlanta tried to cover up their actions the night of the raid on the Atlanta Eagle. Cell phone records and testimonies recorded by an independent review show the department gave misleading information to the public when they answered reporters' questions about the controversial raid at the Atlanta Eagle bar on Sept. 10, 2009.

The federal lawsuit against Atlanta police was settled for $1 million and the findings of the new review confirm the charges in that lawsuit.

All this is very interesting as the NYPD is possibly involved in the same kind of harassment of the Eagle in New York City on the same night as the same-sex marriage vote, in  fact only minutes after the vote was confirmed.

Watch for more on this soon.

Rick Santorum - "Same-Sex Unions "Cheapen" Marriage

As though Rick Santorum hasn't said enough offensive things about LGBT people, now he attacks the idea of Same-Sex unions saying it somehow cheapens marriage.  In a recent speach he said, "When you redefine marriage, you cheapen marriage. You make it into something less valuable, less special ... [and] it is a sure bet that will undermine faith."

Mr. Santorum seems to miss the fact that heterosexuals have been doing a really good job of cheapening marriage all by themselves.  Take Newt Gingrich, who now on his third marriage, having had affairs that ended the previous two marriages.  Sounds pretty cheap to me! 

Or Ronald Reagan whose first wife Jane Wyman divorced him because his political ambitions took precedence over their marriage. Sounds equally cheap to me, to value your political career over your marriage?

So Mr. Santorum, when I look at these figures:

According to enrichment journal on the divorce rate in America:
The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%

 I would say you heterosexuals are screwing marriage up pretty well on your own.  Perhaps you might consider the possibility that LGBT people who actually are having to fight to get married, might do a better job of it.  For LGBT people marriage isn't cheap, it has cost us millions of dollars and thousands of hours of activism, and we haven't got it yet.

More Dangerous Heterosexuals - 51-Year Old Actor Marries 16-Year Old With Parents Permission

Apparently one again straight people have proven to be really bad parents.  A couple has allowed their daughter, Courtney Alexis Stodden who is 16 to marry a 51-year old actor in a Las Vegas ceremony. Las Vegas law will not allow 16-year-olds to marry without a parent's consent.  The parents gleefully consented.

The new bride, who dresses and looks like she is much older is a model and aspiring country singer and former Miss Washington USA contestant.  Her new husband, Doug Hutchinson has appeared in the television show, "Lost" and the movie "The Green Mile". 

Once again proving how dangerous heterosexuals are a parents, letting their children marry men 35 years older than them shows questionable judgement and generally makes them to be unfit as parents.

OK, once again for those who are irony impaired, I include this story because it shows that heterosexuality is no measure of suitability as parents.

Dangerous Heterosexuals - Why Straights Should Not Be Allowed To Raise Children

Add this tragic story to the list of why straight people should not be allowed to conceive or raise children.

The case of Christian Choate. The 13 year old boy who spent the last year of his life locked in a dog cage by his straight parents and was beaten repeatedly and starved before being buried in a shallow grave under concrete in 2009.

His body was only discovered 2 years later. The parents, Riley Choate and Kimberly Kubina are charged with murder, battery, neglect of a dependent, confinement, obstruction of justice, moving a body from a death scene and failure to notify authorities of a dead body. Nice parenting huh?

I say all this ironically, just in case anyone cannot figure out the intent. This tragedy is not funny and it was caused by a couple of very mean sick parents. Their unsuitability for parenting had nothing to do with their sexual orientation.  Likewise the suitability of a gay or lesbian couple as parents has nothing to do with their sexual orientation either.  Why is this lesson so hard to learn.

Sometimes tragedies can be teaching moments even if the lesson is only tangential to the story.

Let The Hate Begin - Family Research Council Puts Out Scare Video

Hope you haven't had any food lately, you might loose it watching this gut wrenching hateful video.  So why publish it?  We need to understand what kind of lies these folks are spreading.  This video contains lots of stuff that is presented as fact that is from discredited "research" yet it is shown as true.  Video is a powerful tool, and FRC knows how to use it well.  Where is our think tank doing this kind of stuff to sway public opinion? 

Watch and hold your stomach.

Echos of the Rainbow Lounge - NY Police Harass Gay Bars During Pride

Even as New Yorkers were celebrating the new freedom to marry, regardless of sexual orientation, the NY Police Departmet were conducting "inspections" of local gay bars.  At the NY Eagle, patrons reported police enterig the bar and shining flashlights in patrons eyes and ended up charging the bar with 6 counts of violations, all of which seem very tenuous.

Charges of "unnecessary noise" as well as charging the bar with not having a "public assembly " permit because of the crowd seem really lame to me.  The timing could not have been accidental and just like the harassment at the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, I suspect the police knew it was the start of Gay Pride week and thought they would just go out and "harass some queers".

More here from the New York Times.

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!