Australia Gives Howard The Boot

I rarely look at politics down under, but the stunning defeat for John Howard and the conservatives of Australia really give me hope. For years Howard’s conservative faction held a grip on politics in Australia. The election this week which delivered 81 seats of he 150 in parliament to the Labor Party.

Unlike the GOP leadership in the US, Howard took full responsibility for the defeat. ``I accept full responsibility for the Liberal Party campaign, and I therefore accept full responsibility for the coalition's defeat in this election campaign,'' Howard said in his concession speech in Sydney.

A key part of his oppositions platform was immediately signing the Kyoto Protocols and withdrawing from Iraq. Sound familiar?

Wal-Mart Rates "Don't Buy" From HRC

My friends already know I won't shop at Sam's or Wal-Mart because of their policies toward labor and their promotion of offshore manufacturing. Now I have another reason to avoid the big box behemoth. The HRC gave Wal-Mart a "red" rating or "do not buy" due to their refusal to provide domestic partner benefits for their employees.

Target, my favorite discounter, rated an 80 on the same scale or a "green" rating from HRC. I always knew there was a reason besides the clean stores, stylish merchandise and great advertising that I liked Target.

Republican Senator "Underwhelmed" With Bush Knowledge Of Iraq

It’s interesting that even a few Republicans are finally getting the picture of what a mess we have in the White House. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) "raised some eyebrows" with his recent remarks about President Bush. After a visit with the president Senator Corker said, "I was in the White House a number of times to talk about the issue, and I may rankle some in the room saying this, but I was very underwhelmed with what discussions took place at the White House."

When asked to clarify his remarks he continued that when discussing the situation in Iraq, "I just felt a little bit underwhelmed by our discussions, the complexity of them, the depth of them."

When the Republicans realize that we have incompetence in the White House, it’s really bad. Even their characteristic ideological myopia seems to be failing. Time for Impeachment to be back on the table!

Florida Gets No Deligates For Democratic Convention

This whole "our primary is first" fiasco is getting really out of hand. Today the Democratic National Committee told the state of Florida it’s delegates will not be seated at the national convention because the Florida legislature moved it’s primary so early it violates party rules. The DNC rules state that states that have not been granted a special waiver have to schedule presidential nominating contests after Feb. 5. To make matters worse, there are no hotel rooms reserved for the Florida delegation.

This harsh penalty was designed to encourage other states not to start upping the dates of their primaries, thus making the primary process even more chaotic than normal. The state legislature now has 30 days to comply or the ruling will be final.

Another part of the problem is the Florida legislature is controlled by Republicans. Many think they pushed the date froward precisely to get this kind of response from the DNC. Personally, I think that is a given. Needless to say the lawsuits continue.

Oral Roberts Calls "Emergency Meeting" at ORU

Things at ORU are heating up. Yesterday Oral Roberts himself addressed an "emergency meeting" of the faculty to address the problems at the school bearing his name. The faculty had previously vote several no-confidence measures in the then head of the school, Richard Rogers. Rogers stepped down in the wake of the scandal and according to many faculty at the school, there will be mass resignations if he returns.

Scott McClellan's New Memoir Implicates Bush In PlameGate!

Scott McClellan has finally written a tell all book about his time at the White House. What he tells is no surprise to me, but it’s nice to hear it from someone inside the White House as confirmation. According to his memoir Scotty puts the blame for the Valerie Plame scandal directly at Bush’s feet. Time to call another congressional investigation and this time get Scott on the stand. Then tell me why impeachment is off the table?

Read the rest at Think Progress and then call your Senator and Representative!

Hate Crimes Rise 8% for 2006

In a report marked by spotty and uneven reporting the FBI concluded that Hate Crimes are up 8% for the year 2006. Southern states are the worst at reporting hate crimes whereas states like California are more efficient.

Most criminals who perpetrate hate crimes are white 59% and most victims are minorities. Black account for victims of most racially biased crimes, Jews fall victim of religiously motivated hate crimes, Hispanics are the ethnic victim of choice and no surprise gay men lead the list of sexual orientation.

Though the report gives no conclusions of what it means, I think it’s safe to say a lot of the rise has to do with the timbre of public discourse in recent years. As far right evangelicals cry for punishment of gays and lesbians and the media drums up racial divisions it is no surprise that hate crimes are on the rise. Biased reporting and programs that promote stereotypes add to the problem, but they are not the root cause.

The real problem is in the hearts of Americans. Our country has always been a melting pot, but with that mix comes fear ignorance and prejudice. We have had times of much worse violence against minorities, but that is no excuse. What we need is a new way of understanding what it means to be an American. I think we have dome a disservice to our kids when we fail to teach them about the great waves of immigrants that settled this country. When we fail to teach them about the past prejudices and problems, they will be clueless when they have to handle them.

We need to be spreading a message of not just tolerance, but acceptance. So long as our politicians and church leaders use wedges to divide us from them, we will continue to have the problem of hate crimes.
It’s time someone actually started teaching the golden rule as something other than a platitude.

Cities Install Cameras To Prevent Public Sex - Why Not Put On A Show?

Seems like a lot of cities have the idea that they can put cameras in areas where people have public sex and stop the problem. Perhaps, but it does offer a possible secondary use. I am not a fan of public sex, I feel it places people in non-consensual situations and that goes against my grain. However, the use of surveillance cameras also bothers me. I would like to propose an entertaining and practical solution for both problems.

In communities where the cameras are installed, some enterprising performance artists, dancers, actors, etc, should take advantage of the free screen time, especially if these are posted online like those proposed in Miami, Fl. Why not find the cameras and at times when public sex is known to happen, put on a show for the surveillance cameras? Nothing pornographic or racy, just good old fashioned song and dance. If the cams are online, you have instant exposure, and your activity will deter any public sex. It might even entertain the police who watch hours and hours of dreary footage with nothing happening but a few shadowy figures involved in whatever constitutes that type of crime.

Whoever succeeds in this, please send me the video if you can get it. I would love to see this put into action as both a statement against the "big brother" aspects of the cameras and as a creative way of deterring public sex.

Senate Stays In Session Through Thanksgiving Holidays To Block Bush Appointments

In a welcome show of "cajones" the Democratically controlled Senate will stay in session during the holidays in order to prevent President Bush from making recess appointments of judges and from passing legislation as "executive orders". With the Senate still in session Bush cannot claim any need for such boondoggle appointments of people who would not hold up to Senate scrutiny.

So write Harry Reid a letter of thanks for protecting our democracy.

Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 The GOP's One Trick Pony

If you have heard Giuliani speak you have heard the phrases, "on September 11", "post 9/11" or the famous "since September 11". You would think he could find another way to connect with the American people, but instead he has only one trick and he keeps going back to it again and again.

GOP Rep. Bob Allen Convicted and Resigns

Republican State Representative Bob Allen of Florida resigned last week in the wake of a conviction for solicitation. Seems the Honorable Representative was caught in a restroom offering to have sex with another man, and unfortunately for him it was an undercover officer. Once again the party of Character and Morals has been shown to be the party of hypocrisy and sleaze.

The growing number of busted GOP folks is starting to look like a pattern. If you are uncomfortable with your sexuality, or ashamed of being homosexual, you become a Republican and try to pass as straight. More importantly, if you are closeted enough, you become an elected official who persecutes openly gay people. Now I am not a doctor, but that’s a pathology in my book.

And by the way, if you are in the GOP and somehow can bring yourself to be openly gay, join the Log Cabin Republicans. There you can pretend that your party gives a damn about your rights and you can continue to give money to the folks who actively work to deny those rights. Now that’s really a pathology!

Back From Orlando - Boy Are My Legs Sore!

Well I survived the IAAPA convention and trade show. That is the Amusement Park convention to those who don't know. It is a zoo, but fun. The convention center in Orlando is about a 1/4 mile square and was full to overflowing with exhibits and suppliers.

Full sized rides set up both inside and outside. Free food, all fried of course, and lots of noise. After standing for 4 days and walking my ass off (unfortunately not literally) I am glad to be back in Dallas.

Didn't make it to any of the theme parks in Orlando, but I did get away one night to watch Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D. That is a must see! The movie was not shot in 3-D but they used a very sophisticated conversion process to make it that way and it rocks. I suspect it took many thousands of hours to do it. Also saw a preview of a new live action movie shot in Digital 3-D that will be out in the spring. Also eye popping and fun.

I got some good business leads and made valuable contacts and caught up with a lot of old friends. Overall a good time. No pics, since they would not let cameras on the floor! (suppliers are so worried about their new ideas I guess)

Speaking of new ideas, I saw several cool new rides. I'll give descriptions soon.

Orlando, Florida Blogging - At The IAAPA!

I am attending the IAAPA convention and trade show this week in Orlando. It is the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions for the uninitiated. The trade floor is filled with vending supplies, games, consultants and even full sized rides. It is like a trade show on steroids and lots of fun as well as exhausting.

So why am I here? Well, I used to be in that business and now that I produce films and video I am soliciting business from parks and suppliers for industrial documentaries and instructional videos. Also, having a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

I will post pictures of the madness in the next day or so from my camera/phone. Back to politics as usual soon.

More Poison Chinese Toys - Time For A Change and A Boycot

OK folks this is getting out of control. China just announced it has confirmed the presence of poison on toy beads sold to children around the world. In this country the near toothless Consumer Product Safety Commission says now, seven children are sick from the toy beads.

The toys called Aqua Dots are made using toxic glue that is activated when the bad are exposed to water. Here’s the kicker, that’s how you play with them! When wet they stick together, big fun! Oh yea, and they poison you!

If the government won’t do it the American people need to. Time to boycott toys from China until the companies shipping the work overseas can assure the public their toys are safe. So I propose giving your kids books this Christmas, printed in the USA or Europe. For toys, consider some of the companies that actually make them here still or those from Europe. Chinese toys have been shown to be unsafe and manufactured in an irresponsible manner. If the government won’t stop it, the people must!

Fox News Awash In Gratuitous Sex & Nudity

As Fox blares its criticism of TV sex and nudity, it fills its shows with it and actively tries to titillate viewers. Hypocrisy? Duh!

Tom Delay Still Lying About Health Care - Big Time!

Tom Delay was bad enough when he was the Speaker of the House, now he is speaking on the road and he is still a lying sack of poo. At a recent engagement in the UK, Delay stated the following:

“By the way, there’s no one denied health care in America. There are 47 million people who don’t have health insurance, but no American is denied health care in America.”

The crowd laughed derisively at the ludicrous lie. And here is why:

"Observers estimate that anywhere from one to 18 percent of Americans are denied health insurance because of pre-existing health conditions. These conditions can range from heart disease to high cholesterol to yeast infections to being too skinny. "

As a person who was recently denied insurance coverage because I had a slightly high reading on a glucose tolerance test. Not diabetes or pre-diabetes but just one elevated number was enough to throw me into the “High Risk Pool”. This means if I want to pay 3 times the rate of anyone else in the state I can get insurance. For me it would be approximately $1500 a month! Might as well just deny it, but no, in Texas we have this phony pool so the insurance companies can lie and pretend that they do have insurance available for everyone. If I could afford $1500 a month for health insurance I wouldn’t need it. I could self-insure and that is what I have to do.

Now back to Mr. Poo Sack. He began his speech by predicted that if a Democrat is elected president in 2008, he or she would seek to install a universal health care, similar to the system in Britain. The crown applauded thunderously!

So Mr. Delay, shut up and head back to Texas so you can be prosecuted for whatever charges Ron Earl can dig up on you!

Tom Harkin Derides "King" George Bush

Tom Harken (D-Iowa) made one of the best and most impassioned speeches about the confirmation of Mukasey and the disregard for the rule of law by Bush that I have ever heard. I only wish there had been Senators in the chamber to hear him. I suspect it was to a mostly empty chamber.

He is so far as to call Bush a “king” and makes the valid point that even the King of England was held to the writ of Habeas Corpus as delineated in the Magna Carta. Watch it on Raw Story, it should make you shudder

Democrats Cave In and Confirm Mukasey as Attorney General

So last night the Democrats caved in and confirmed Michael Mukasey as Attorney General. This is the man who didn’t know if waterboarding was torture, even though the US had prosecuted other countries for war crimes for the practice. This spirit of reconciliation would be a good thing if we were dealing with a reasonable President. Bush is not such a man. He is a driven and corrupt ideologue who will not give an inch on anything he wants.

By caving in to his nominee, the Democrats have sent a dangerous signal to a would-be despot. They have told him it’s a green light for most anything he wants to do, and though there is much talk of a victory in the form of an overridden veto on the Water Projects Bill, I see nothing that indicates Bush is ready to work together with anyone.

For the record, 6 Democrats voted with Republicans to confirm Mukasey. For their names, go here. If they are your representatives, write them a letter asking them why they are giving Bush a free hand in his choice for Attorney General.

Those Democrats in Congress who are heady with success on the veto over ride, need to wake up and smell the dictatorship.

AT&T Whistleblower Admits Connecting All Traffic to NSA Spy Operation

Big Brother is really out there! According to a whistleblower on the AT&T – NSA illegal wiretapping scandal. He was interviewed on MSNBC’s Countdown program today. He told host Keith Olbermann that he installed the splitters that routed all internet traffic to a secret room in San Francisco where the NSA monitors everything that goes through it.

Legal? Not at all, yet AT&T and the government are doing it. The Bush administration at work to spy on you without your permission or without a warrant again!

ENDA Impeachment & Failures of Congress

Significant things are happening in Congress, but they are not the kind of significance I want to see. First was the pathetic squashing of Kucinich’s resolution to impeach Dick Cheney. Kucinich showed he has the pulse of the American people and introduced a resolution that clearly outlines Cheney’s crimes and at the very least would put on official record the lies and deceptions that Dick Cheney has pushed to the American people.

Because of a gutless showing by Democrats and a sneaky and very predictable tactic by the Republicans the measure has “gone to committee”, or in plain English, “shit canned”. Face it, the Republicans still control the House. They can successfully intimidate the Democrats and get their way even though they are in the minority.

The second significant thing was the passage of ENDA. I agree it is a landmark that such a bill that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not only needed, but long overdue. The problem is it will be a hollow gesture and end up vetoed by Bush. The second problem is that it was done at the expense of gender identity. That part of the legislation was stripped out partly at the suggestion of the White House which will not sign the bill in the first place, so why is it gone? Imagine a Civil Rights Bill for Hispanics and Asians only. Would that be hailed as a great advancement?

So yes I am glad they passed ENDA even without the Baldwin Amendment, but it is a hollow victory. So pardon me if I don’t dance in the street. We still are not protected under federal law and until a bill is passed that actually gets signed into law, I will differ my celebration.