Pat Robertson Thinks Gays Want To Destroy Marriage...And Other Fantasies

Sometimes Pat Robertson can be downright funny, but most of the time he is annoying and occasionally infuriating. After watching this clip, I am not sure whether to be mad or laugh. Pat on his hour of propaganda, the 700 Club has determined that gays are not out to gain equal rights such as marriage, but to destroy marriage completely.

News Alert for Pat: Heterosexuals have done a pretty good job of that already! Want to save marriage, outlaw divorce! Yeah right.

Watch this clip and let me know whether you laughed or threw a brick at your computer.

South Pacific On Broadway - What A Show!

Last week my partner and I spent a few days in New York City after the National Equality March. We were lucky to get tickets for the revival of South Pacific, the Rogers and Hammerstein classic about love, war and racial prejudice set on a military base.

The venue of the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center is an amazing place to see this big a production. The theater is a thrust stage with seating on three sides, more suited to intimate plays than big musicals, yet this production uses hat intimacy to its advantage.

Actors who might normally play their roles more broadly on a big theater stage can lend more subtle touches in the Beaumont and it works well in this show. The orchestra, a big ensemble for such a small venue was lush and forceful without overwhelming the action on the stage.

For me Paulo Szot in the role of Emile de Becque was a revelation. I had always associated the role with Rossano Brazzi in the 1950s movie of the show, but Szot gives de Becque character real depth. His singing brought me to tears along with much of the audience. What a telant!

Kelli O'Hara as Nelly Forbush is spot on with her accent, so much that my partner thought she was actually from Arkansas. An this girl can sing!

Finally, Danny Burstein was a real audience favorite as Luther Billis. The Billis character has several great songs, and a real chance to show the actors comic talents in the "Honey Bun" drag number.

This South Pacific is timeless, and if you get a chance to see it, don't pass it up.

Pope Recruits Homophobic Anglicans

In a direct response to the inclusion of LGBT people in the Anglican church, the Pope has made it easier for Anglicans to convert to Catholicism. According to a New York Times article:

Pope Benedict XVI approved a new church provision that will allow Anglicans to join the Catholic Church while maintaining many of their distinctive spiritual and liturgical traditions, including having married priests.

His invite is designed to gather the homophobic members of the Anglican church who have broken away from the Episcopal Church in America after the ordination of openly gay priests and Bishop Gene Robinson.

So much for God's grace, love and inclusion in the Catholic Church!

Frail & Emaciated - The Latest Fashion?

By the look of the runway models at the recent Fashion Week in New York you would have thought the country was suffering from Cholera. The frail and sickly looking twigs that pass for models border on the disgusting. Ralph Lauren even recently retouched a photo to make his model look even thinner!

At a time when Americans are larger than ever, designers are making clothes for people suffering from starvation. Come on guys, I know you really hate the women you design for but please don't try to kill them!

Is FOX Real News? Is Pro-Wrestling Real?

Finally the administration is telling the truth and it's high time the media listened. Here is the deal:

FOX News is simply a propaganda arm of the Republican Party.

There are no "ifs", "ands" or "buts" about this and anyone who hase even half paid attention knows this. Now, it's time the real media stopped taking their lead from FOX and started doing their job. Reporting the news.

Listen to NPR some day or the BBC and you will hear real news. They have no agenda, they try to be objective and they spend time investigation stories instead of just reading press releases or having alleged news shows which feature talking heads spouting party lines.

I am so friggin' tired of a reporter simply saying "he said - she said" instead of finding the facts behind the talking oints I want to scream. Some pundit saying "blah-blah" is not news, it is one man's opinion and nothing more. Try actually finding the facts and when anyone, including politicians of eaither party lie, call them on it! For God's sake that is one reason why we have freedom of the press, so start exercising it!

Oh yea, and Pro Wrestling? Well it's a wonderful athletic display of strength and tumbling abilities but a real contest? Please. Years ago during the heydays of World Class Championship Wrestling at the Sportatorium in Dallas, I used to run a ringside camera for the television feed. The director always knew when to call for us to get a shot of an "unexpected" move. Nuff said.

Balloon Boy - Or Not!

I go out of town for a few days and don't watch TV and what do I miss? BALLOON BOY!

I caught a glimpse of it in J&R Music World in New York. For the uninitiated, J&R is a temple to anything electronic. A block long complex of stores that have everything imaginable that needs batteries or plugs into the wall.

Well, while waiting for a clerk at J&R I saw an image on the wall-sized Plasma TV that looked a lot like a stunt my partner and I tried several years ago. We constructed a bunch of balloons with glow sticks attached to release in the dark hoping to spark a little talk-radio buzz about UFOs. We got nada! Not a peep by anyone even though the ascending glows looked pretty cool.

Well here was a monster sized version, except some guy actually made a Mylar flying saucer balloon and the press was all over it. Not as a UFO but because somebody somewhere said a kid was in it. For hours the 24 hour news junkies followed pictures of the obviously unmanned or un-kidded balloon drifted aimlessly over Colorado.

Meanwhile lots of "real" news was happening but oh noooo, we had to watch endless pictures of a flimsy Mylar balloon and hear announcers ramble ad nauseam about how they really didn't know anything about it.

Turns out there was no kid on board and now the Sheriff is trying to drum up charges because he is so embarrassed he was wasting time following a damned balloon.

Ain't TV grand!

Another Reason Our Health Care System SUCKS

Pilgrimage To The Smithsonian

OK, I admit it, I am sooooo gay! We spent our last day in Washington at the Museum of American History, home of the original Ruby Slippers worn by Judy G in the Wizard of Oz. OK it's just a pair of shoes, but still I had to see them again. They look a bit dingy, but still have a sparkle left in them.

We also visited Julia Childs' Kitchen, preserved in its entirety in the Smithsonian. They even had a tape of Julia trussing up a chicken running from her TV show. Damn, that woman used a lot of butter!

After a late lunch we made our way to the Holicost Museum. Any elation I had from seeing the Ruby Slippers vanished there. It's a wonderful museum, but it is well designed to have an overwhelming effect on visitors.

The heavy iron truss work that surrounds you and the slow descent through the madness of Nazi Germany to the final rooms with an actual box car used to transport Jews, Gays and Gypsies to the camps was very effective.

The room that got to me was one filled with shoes. Shoes confiscated from prisoner prior to their gassing and cremation. These are the actual shoes gathered from one of the camps and seeing all of them piled knee-high as you walk a path through them was intense. Each pair spoke of the owner and their absence.

If you miss this museum on a visit to Washington, you are short changing yourself.

Tomorrow, riding the Acella Train to New York City!

And Now The Money Shot From The Oozenator!

This is a real kids toy that looks like a behind-the-scenes tool for porn producers. Go figure!

A Few More Photos of The Equality March in DC

Thousands of LGBT People March On Washington - Where Is Barney Frank?

He's off to the west coast to raise funds to Democrats. His opinion of the march, "Barack Obama does not need pressure." Commenting on Michelangelo Signoreli's radio program Frank says we should model ourselves as lobbyists on "the National Rifle Association." He says people should not come to Washington and should stay home and lobby their members of Congress.

Well Senator Frank, they should do both! If you and other members of Congress won't change the unequal system we have now, someone else will. I would not be surprised if Barney Frank loses his seat in the next election if full equality is not given to all citizens of America. I guess he has his, so screw the rest of us.

Sorry for the editorial comment, but lets get real. Incremental appeasement is only creating an apartheid in America. Imagine if the Civil Rights bill had been as "measured" an approach as our GLBT politicians are advocating?

And for Frank, who says most of Washington didn't even know about the march. Here is a photo of just a few Americans who are denied their rights, or did you forget who we were?

(Photos copyright Hardy Haberman 2009)

Equality March Draws Thousands

It was a big turnout for the National Equality March. I would estimate close to 200,000 or more.
Wonderful weather for the march and lots of news media, and that is what we hoped for!


I was tired but really happy when Patrick snapped this shot. I was glad the march had reached its destination.

Obama Says He Will End DADT

President Obama did what no sitting president has done before last night. He spoke to the Human Rights Campaign at their annual dinner. Though there were protesters gather outside, the scene inside was much more cordial.

He opened with a joke, saying, "It's a privilege to open tonight for Lady Gaga" the iconic singer who performed later in the evening. Then he got down to his speech.

Obama made a bold promise, "I will end 'don't ask-don't tell." The same words he spoke during his campaign. Then he acknowledged the he understood the impatience felt by the LGBT community but he assured the crowd of about 3000, "do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach."

Now my only question is, when? Thirty years ago I came to this same city and marched for gay rights. and here I am still marching 30 years later. I am not going to live my entire life without seeing equal rights!

So Mr. President, had I had a micerophone to ask questions during your speech I would have thanked you for your show of support and then encouraged you to take action and use the bully pulpit to move Congress forward to real equality for LGBT people.

Washington, DC - City Of No

When I was a child, my family took me to Washington, DC to see where the sausage was made. They didn't call it that, they used terms like "how our government works", but you get the idea.

Back then it seemed every street had a "No Left Turn" sign at the corner and my father began calling DC the "city of no". Well, here it is fifty years later and it's still true. I had to laugh at every corner because of thre number of "no" signs.

Some things never change.

In Washington, DC.

After an uneventful flight and a short train ride from Baltimore, we are in DC. The low light of the trip so far was the amazingly lack luster service at American Airlines ticket counter. Other than a half hour wait to speak to a ticket agent who was on the phone for that entire half hour, it was OK.

We arrived in Washington Union Station and had a tasty lunch at Pizzeria Uno and cabbed to the hotel. So far I highly recommend the Hotel Lombardy in Washington. Charming small boutique hotel just a couple of blocks from the White House and right off two Metro stops. Reminds me of some of the nicer hotels we stayed at in Europe.

Lots of LGBT people starting to be visible on the streets and particularly at Union Station. I suspect by tomorrow night the city will be bursting at the seams with queers! Yeah!.

Off To Washington!

I am leaving for Washington DC in the morning. My partner and I will be attending the March and various activities while there. I will be posting to my blog here and to the Dallas Voice blog with reports from the March and the events in DC. Hope to have pictures and more soon. See you ALL there!

Republican Senators Vote In Favor Of Covering Up Rape

I have often spoken about "family values" in this blog, usually in the context of the Republican lawmakers who seem to have none of them. Now I offer further proof that a big portion of the GOP is not only against"family values" but pro-rape. What?

Yup, just look at who voted against a recent amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill by Senator Al Franken that would punish contractors if they "restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court."

Who would be against that? Well Huffington Post has a list.

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

Every one of these guys thinks it fine if a big company covers up a rape of one of its employees. Just to make it clear, they all feel business is more important that the safety of employees, even if they are sexually assaulted.

Now that's "family values" but only a "Crime Family". But hey, they are Republicans?

Larry Wilmore Plays The Race Card on The Daily Show

So it was a funny bit, but even better Larry Wilmore did some nice slight of hand on the Daily Show last night. Two of my favorite things, magic and political commentary, great work Larry.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Playing the Race Card
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

Brand America - Number One!

It seems like forever since the USA was considered a respected member of the international community. Today comes the report that our brand, the USA, is the most admired country in the world.

According to the National Brand Index (NBI), the US rose from #7 to the top spot. From a report on Reuters:

The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll.

It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI). “What’s really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009,” said Simon Anholt, the founder of NBI, which measured the global image of 50 countries each year.

Glenn Beck Loses More Sponsors!

Even more companies have decided to distance themselves from Glenn Beck, the poster child for the right wing lunatic fringe.

The total of advertisers who have walked away from Beck's show is now 80 and growing. Internationally his sponsor base is slipping as well. Think Progress poster these responses that were originally posted on Color of Change's website about Beck and his hate filled show.

“We are appalled at what’s going on. Metropolitan Talent Management is 100% dedicated to not buy advertising on any part of Fox News.” — Metropolitan Talent Management

– “We’re no longer going to book any of his air time. I’m really glad to be informed of what you guys are doing.” — Overture Films

– “The Seoul government has no plan to extend, resume, or add its commercial on the program. In other word [sic], there will not be Seoul commercial in the Glenn Beck program any more.” — Seoul Metropolitan Government

– “You will not see Flexitol commercials on the Glenn Beck show. Period.” — Eulactol USA, makers of Flexitol

Another Reason to March On Washington - DADT

As I get ready to travel to Washington D.C. for the National Equality March, I find another reason to go and to be vocal when I get there. When Senator Harry Reid sought President Obama's help in repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell he got this response:

"The President appreciates the Majority Leader's letter and looks forward to working with him and other members of Congress as they move towards a legislative repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

So, if anyone reading this can go, get your butts to Washington and let the President and Congress know there are thousands of LGBT people in this country who are second class citizens and demand full rights!

Depression, Psychosis - Go to the Emergency Room , The GOP Health Plan!

It's Official - Florida Hates Gays!

That is the message sent by a court ruling in a Dade County Federal Court when it threw out a lawsuit by the partner of a lesbian who was dying in the hospital. Her partner of 17 years was denied the right to visit her as she died.

To add insult to injury she was told by a social worker at the hospital "Florida is an anti-gay state".

To be fair this is a Federal Court and therefore it highlights just how LGBT people in this country are denied the same rights as anyone else. Read more about the case here.

Send Max Baucus Your Health Care Bills!

Watching Stephen Colbert and he had a GREAT idea. Max Baucus stated clearly he wanted a health care bill, yet he ditched a public option. Colbert's idea? Send Baucus your health care bills.

His address is here.

He and the other lame guys in Washington need a dose of reality. How about a truck load of medical bills. Heck they can afford it, hey get millions from insurance companies!

Dems Cave On Public Option

OK, let's just get this out in the open. Democratic Senators and House Members are PUSSIES!

They have a super-majority and the American public wants a public option, so what do they do? Strip it out of the health care bill.

What would you call that? Pussies for sure!

Right Wing Confrence Calls For Violent Revolution

Say what? Yup, pretty much the story. The "How To Take Back America Conference" featured a speaker who advocated a citizen's arms buildup in preparation for a violent confrontation with the government.

Kitty Werthmann led a workshop called “How to recognize living under Nazis & Communists.” During the strange lecture she advocated the following:

If we had our guns, we would have fought a bloody battle. So, keep your guns, and buy more guns, and buy ammunition. [...] Take back America. Don’t let them take the country into Socialism. And I refer again, Hitler’s party was National Socialism. [...] And that’s what we are having here right now, which is bordering on Marxism.

Excuse me but I could have sworn National Socialism was about "National Identity" run amok. Hitler wanted an ethnically pure master race. Funny, the current government advocates diversity and inclusion. Is this crazy lady not sure she is talking about her own ideals?

She also forgets that the Nazis and the Marxists were about as polar opposite in their political beliefs as can be but hey, why let facts get in the way?

Vandals Destroy Gay Soldier Billboard

A billboard promoting National Coming Out Day in Memphis was vandalized and ripped to shreds according to news reports. The billboard pictured a marine and said, "I'm gay and I protected your freedom"

Funny how the right wingnuts always talk about how much respect they have for our troops in uniform and yet can find it in their puny philosophy an excuse to deface a picture of one of those same troops. These are the same people who were livid that anyone could criticize the President during a time of war, that is as long as the president was white and Republican. Now they deface billboards with pictures of marines and join in Facebook polls with topics like, "should Obama be killed?"

Enough of their crap! it's time we treated them just like any other criminal. Vandals should go to jail and people who make threats against the President should be arrested. Where is the outrage? Right here!

Good Morning!

Just once I want to wake up and feel like this!

Great New Ad parody

Will Ferrel On Health Isurance Reform

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Anti Gay Marriage Forces In Maine Lying Again!

Surprise, surprise! The anti-gay Catholic Church funded groups in Maine are lying again. I guess that 10 commandments thing only applies when you want it to. They are claiming that schools would be required to teach about same-sex marriage in their curriculum. The truth is it's not an issue.

Glad to see a local TV station telling why their ad is false!

Arizona Steals Benefits from LGBT Couples

The leatherfaced governor of Arizona signed a bill that steals the benefits that had been available to LGBT couples who are state employees. Jan Brewer signed the bill in the name of cost savings. I wonder how cutting benefits to straight couples as a cost saving measure would go over.

Can you say "bitch"?

Lingerie Football! Sign Of The End Times?

Just when I thought I had seen every cheesy exploitation trick in the book along comes Lingerie Football! Yup, you heard me, Lingerie Football, and no it isn't a bunch of guys in camisoles. This is a team of buff, tanned, fitness model women in sports bras and trunks with garters and a few other frillies and football pads. Silly, oh heck yes.

Now do I think this is degrading to women? Pretty much as degrading as it is to the men who watch it. You see I have watched men looking at these kinds of "tease" gimmicks and it's really hard to tell who is being used. Yes the pretty girls are being objectified and quite frankly made to look ridiculous, but the men watching might as well be drooling. Both the watcher and watched get an equal dose of degradation.

So, though society hasn't come to an end, I have to wonder if this isn't a sign of the end times.

So to my feminist friends, get your pens out and start writing letters and to my straight make friends, here is the link. Oh, and to my lesbian buddies, that same link will work for you too.

Dallas Gay Pride Parade A Hit!

It was the largest crowd I can remember for this year's Alan Ross Freedom Parade, (aka, Dallas Gay Pride Parade). Cheering parade watchers lined Cedar Springs from the corner of Wycliff all the way to Turtle Creek and then up that street to Lee Park. Estimates put the crowd at 40,000+!

The thousands of p[eople included lots of LGBT Dallasites as well as a whole lot of straight folks and families. It was really nice to see so many people enjoying the event. Only 5 protesters stood at the corner of Hall and Turtle Creed shouting through bullhorns, but largely drowned out by cheering well-wishers.

Additionally, it was nice to see all but one City Council member riding in the parade as well as the Police Chief and Sheriff, who was one of the Grand Marshals. Luminaries were in abundance including activist Cleve Jones and author Larry Kramer.

Once again the weather was great, but muggy. That was the only challenge for those of us wearing leather.

Carrie Prejean Attempts Speech

Carrie Prejean, former Miss California and gay marriage hater, spoke to the Values Voters Summit today. I watched a tape of this speech and I have to wonder, how could anyone not fall asleep during it. She sounds like she is trying very hard to formulate every word. I had to wonder if her reading skills were impaired or she was just so used to answering pageant questions with a halting deliberate style that is supposed to look like you are thinking.

She is the best they could do? Boy the conservative movement is in such big trouble. First they rally round Sarah Palin, the brain dead former beauty queen and former governor of Alaska and now this air head. Why are there no brilliant women in the conservative movement? Guess they are too smart to buy the right wing crap.

Bill O'Reilly Back Public Option For Health Insurance

Once again I am taken aback! Now Bill O'Reilly is coming out in favor of a "public option" to private health insurance? OMG!

Insurance Company Gets Justice - Fined $10 Million For Revoking HIV+ Teens Insurance

It's about time we took a good long look at the health insurance companies in this country. I guess the South Carolina Supreme Court feels the same way. Today they ordered Assurant (formerly called Fortis) to pay $10 million for revoking the insurance policy of a 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV.

This kind of behavior goes on all the time in the insurance world and it's high time it stopped. Health insurance companies are blood suckers who prey on healthy Americans and deny coverage to those who are sick. Pretty sweet business huh?

Imagine opening a casino where the only bets you could make were "long shots". That's the kind of odds these guys want. If there is a remote chance you are going to ever get sick, they will turn you down and if you do get sick while insured they will try every trick in the book to deny coverage.

Next time you hear one of those talk show liars saying we have the best health care system in the world, send them to this story and let them backpedal their way out of it. We need national health care NOW!

Baucus Is An Idiot And A Whore! (Metaphorically Speaking)

After getting seven figures from health insurance lobbyists, Max Baucus has trotted out his crappy bill and it stinks to high heaven. It is exactly what I was afraid of, a bill that mandates everyone must buy insurance and gives all that money to insurance companies. What a f*%king surprise?!?

This whole process is a huge gaff for the Senate and especially for Mas Baucus. He needs to toss this crap out and just propose a single payer government controlled system. It works in just about every other industrialized country, why not here? Well because we have a multi-billion dollar insurance cabal running Congress. Oy Vey!

Atlanta Police Raid Details Offer Troubling Allegations

The police department released the details of complaints filed against the Atlanta Police after the raid on the Eagle Bar. The specifics are troubling to say the least.

The similarities between this outrage and the raid on the Rainbow Lounge in Ft. Worth are stunning. It seems the police were having fun as they abused patrons and made them lie face down on the floor for up to an hour. Some say they were kicked in the ribs, and one offered this quote by police in his formal complaint:

"Then I heard laughing and giggling and saying this is more fun than raiding niggers with crack. They also told us to shut the fuck up unless we were spoken too [sic]."

Southern Voice has more.

OMG I Agree WIth The Grand Mufti!

What a week, first I agreed with George W about Sarah Palin's lack of experience and now I am on board with the Grand Mufti of Egypt.. Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa declared it was OK for women to wear trousers, but stretch pants were unacceptable. Boy isn't that the truth!

Now let me hear those complaints!

Max Baucus Is An Idiot

Strong headline? Yup, but true. Look at the facts. He spent weeks negotiating with Republicans and watering down a health care bill until it had no public option and just about everything the GOP wanted and they still won't sign on. Of course they won't, they are Republicans! Their mission is to keep things the same, thus the name conservatives.

Max Baucus is cowed by their antics and has let the GOP screw any chances of a meaningful health care bill and for what? NOTHING! The Democratic party has control of Congress yet they are afraid to act like it. If that isn't idiotic, I don't know what is.

Truth About Insurance Companies - The Real Death Panels

Video From The Million Moron March

After watching this video I understand Al Qaeda disbanded. They figured , "why bother?" The level of ignorance is astounding.

OMG! I Agree With George W. Bush?

In a new tell all book about the behind-the-scenes goings on in the Bush White House, former speech writer Matt Latimer details a quote from "W". He is speaking about Sarah Palin when he was told she was the VP choice for McCain.

"This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for,” he said. “She hasn’t spent one day on the national level. Neither has her family. Let’s wait and see how she looks five days out.”

I couldn't agree more. Palin was the least competent choice McCain could have made and she might have lost him the election with any "thinking conservatives" and I use that term rarely.

Now It's The Catholics!

First it was the Mormons who funded the huge effort in California to defeat equal marriage rights for LGBT people, now it's the Catholics. The same church that brought your pedophile priests is pumping millions into Maine to throw the election against equality.

Anonymous Tip Prompted Atlanta Eagle Raid

OK, it is the semi official word that teh raid on the Atlanta Eagle was because of an anonymous tip to the Mayor's office. Funny that they would send 10 police cars and 15 officers for a single anonymous tip. So if this isn't harassment, then annonymous tips about straight bars should bring similar results.

Thanks to Dan Savage for postin the Atlanta Mayors address and email as well as a list of straight bars here.

Mayor Shirley Franklin
Tel: 404.330.6100
Fax: 404.658.6893
mayorfranklin@atlantaga.gov

Come on folks, the mayor of Atlant is standing by waiting for your tips!

Will DOMA Finally Be Repealed?

Next week, Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler (NY), Tammy Baldwin (WI), and Jared Polis (CO) will be introducing legislation to repeal DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. The bill has just over 50 co-sponsors as it goes before the House.

Maybe the President will chime in since this was one of his campaign promises?

Police Raid Alanta Eagle Bar !

What the heck is the deal? Did the police departments across the country get a memo that said, "hey let's harass gay bars?" The latest outrage is the raid on the Atlanta Eagle where patrons were thrown to the floor and handcuffed for dancing.

Welcome back to 1969!

The Real Liars

Think Progress put this together and it's great. Joe Wilson and his party are the liars.

Eight Years Ago

I always get up early. It's a curse of mine since childhood. The good thing is I get to enjoy a nice cup of coffee and savor the early morning hours as the sun rises.

It was just such a moment 8 years ago as I was vacationing with friends in Michigan. I had joined a few folks who were also early risers and had just taken my first sip pf coffee when I overheard one of the busboys mention that they saw on the news that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

I got up and walked to the resort's bar where the TV was tuned to the news. I got there just in time to see the second plane hit the towers. This was no accident and from that moment on it seemed that the whole world changed.

I know now that the world didn't change, only my perception of it did. Instead of living in my insular mundane life, I realized I was part of a tumultuous planet where numerous factions driven by a variety of grievances are constantly battling each other.

Though my country had often participated in these wars overseas, the action had not touched our shore in such a dramatic way as this. Now we were engaged in the world community fully, we were victims of the same kinds of attacks that were being carried out everywhere, except now we understood we could not separate ourselves from it.

We had domestic terrorists like McVay but they didn't seem as dangerous as the 9/11 perpetrators, even though they accomplished the same things. Sometimes it takes something dramatic to wake us up.

Since that tragic day we have added our own share to the blood shed for radical causes. We invaded a country that was not connected to the 9/11 plot simply because our leaders decided it was a good strategic move. They were wrong and so were the 9/11 hijackers. Their actions killed thousands of people who wanted nothing more than to get on with their daily lives.

I would never excuse the terrible actions of those madmen. Their hatred and passions drove them to do hideous things. In the long run their acts did not have the intended results. In the case of the 9/11 hijackers, they did not bring down our financial institutions, we had greedy investment bankers to do that. Our invasion of Iraq did not bring the blessings of democracy to the Middle East, the people in those countries will do that all by themselves and probably in a way that we might not like. Meanwhile, that invasion acted as a recruiting tool for Al Qaeda much like the attack on New York and the Pentagon acted as a recruitment tool for the armed forces.

Unintended consequences.

Now it's time to remember those people who died as a result. They were not heroes, just folks like you and me who suddenly found themselves on the world stage in their final moments. May their memories serve to end radical acts that cause such terrors and someday serve to remind us just how important each life is. I hope 9/11 will always be a wake up call, I just hope I don't need any more like it.

Buh Bye Michael Savage - Flagship Radio Station Drops The Jerk!

It was pretty plain that San Francisco based radio station 910am decided Michael Savage was not right for them. Here is their statement:

I'm going to answer the very first question many of you have.

"Why did you take Michael Savage off the air?"

Here's your no-spin direct answer; we have decided to go in a different philosophical and ideological direction, featuring more contemporary content and more local information.
The Savage Nation does not fit into that vision.

We're #37! In Health Care That Is.

Joe Wilson Deep In Debt - Opponents Cash In After Heckle

So ornery old Joe Wilson, Republican from South Carolina opened his mouth and put his foot squarely in it when he shouted at the President last night during Obama's address. President Obama was making the point hat the bills under consideration provide that no...let me emphasize NO illegal immigrants would be eligible for coverage. That is when Wilson shouted "you lie".

Anyone who has read the bills knows it is the truth, and Wilson, who has since given a lame appology either hadn't read the bill or is just a jerk. My bet is on both.

Meanwhile financial disclosures show Mr. Wilson is teetering on bankruptcy with debts exceeding his assets by a bunch. Seems he has a lot of loans from federal credit unions and banks.

Meanwhile his opponent, Rob Miller a democrat pulled in over $400,000 in new campaign contributions since last nights little outburst.

Thank you Mr. Wilson.

President Speaks on Health Care - GOP Heckles!

The President just delivered a great speech in support of Health Care Reform. The details were very strong and he was emphatic that he wanted a bill now. Embarrassingly for the GOP a couple of their members actually heckled the President from the floor.

Though the Democrats had good reason to deride President Bush, they never heckled the President during an address. The GOP has sunken to a new low and they deserve our scorn.

Particularly, Republican Joe Wilson who screamed "you lie" when the President assured the public that illegal immigrants would not be covered (denying illegals coverage is actually part of the bill). What an asshole!

The Democrats need to pass a bill without the GOP and to hell with them.

Republican Family Values Guy Caught On Tape Detailing Kinky Exploits

Talk about being in bed with lobbyists! California Assemblyman, Republican Michael D. Duvall, was caught on tape bragging about his kinky activities with a lobbyist. Now this is the same guy who ran on a "Family Values" ticket.

Had this happened on the phone or in private it would be even less of a scandal, but he laid this egg over a mic at the assembly and on tape!

"She wears little eye-patch underwear," said Duvall, who is married with two children. "So, the other day she came here with her underwear, Thursday. And
 so, we had made love Wednesday--a lot! And so she'll, she's all, 'I am going 
up and down the stairs, and you're dripping out of me!' So messy!"

OMG! The tape is here.

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Endorses Equality March

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has moved to endorse the National Equality March on October 11. One more reason you should attend!

In their press release they stated:

"The Task Force will be there at the march to support the voices of new activists, LGBT people and our allies who push and push for the end to hatred, discrimination and unjust laws..."

More here.

To March or Not To March?

From David Mixner about the National Equality March:

Many things have been written on whether one should march or not march on October 11 in Washington, DC. Let me make it easy for you.

Are you really happy with the progress we have made over the last eight months with this Administration and Congress? Are you really happy with the progress we have made on the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)? Do you think that the leaders of our political parties have embraced marriage equality and our God given rights, benefits and protections that come with it? Are you content, relaxed and happy with where we are at this moment in history in the struggle for freedom?

Think very carefully about the above questions. Then make plans to come to Washington, DC on October 11th to march with thousands of your brothers, sisters and straight allies for freedom.

So, are you going? I'll be there and I hope to see you as well.

Health Care Reform? NO, Insurance Reform!

OK, enough of the Health Care Reform talk, the real issue is insurance reform and specifically Health Care Insurance reform. Finally, the President has started framing the issue as just that, but it has take way too long and it might be too late.

Alarmist? A bit. Allowing the right to frame this whole thing has been a big mistake. If this was spoken of a Insurance Reform form the get go there would not be the scores of misguided folks showing up at Town Halls chanting about "socialized medicine". They would be chanting, "Insurance reform NOW!"

Calling this whole debate Health Care Reform brings images of losing your doctor, changing the delivery system and even these weird "death panels" that just won't go away. Nobody wants to lose their health care if they have it, any of it. However, everyone has a gripe against the insurers. Why didn't Obama and the Democrats use that to frame their ideas? I guess George Lakoff didn't send them the memo.

And as far as Death Panels go...the real death panels already exist. They are the phone banks that the insurance companies run designed to minimize what health care you get and deny your claims whenever possible. That is how they boost the bottom line. Why isn't anyone talking about these "death panels"?

It's time we reclaimed this debate and moved forward with a solution. That means a big solution and not a mealy-mouthed-incremental-step-never-going-to-get-done piece of crap from Congress. Time to get tough Mr. President. After all that's why we elected you.

And while you are at it, what about all those promises to the LGBT community? I guess we will have to see you in Washington on October 11 about those.

John Barrowman's New Song - Tell My Father

I had no idea John sang. I have watched him in Torchwood for several seasons and though I found him immensely talented never knew of his musical career. This song, "Tell My Father" is a touching ballad dedicated to LGBT serviemen and women. Get out your handkefchiefs.

Come to Washington D.C. - Oct.11!

Al Franken Meets The Mob On Health Care!

Anyone who though Al Franken would be an ineffectual representative for Minnesota needs to watch this video. He is confronted by an angry crowd at the State Fair and he actually moves the discussion into rational territory and has a meaningful discussion! OMG!

AIDS Vaccine! Maybe This Time?

It seems like a lifetime, and for many of my friends it was, since AIDS began its deadly work in our community. For the past 2 decades we have heard whispers of "vaccine" but have yet to see any research that bears this rumor out.

Now come word that Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla is reporting they have isolated a couple of antibodies that can neutralize many strains of the HIV virus. I hesitate to get too excited. We have heard this story before and it has always ended up disappointing.

It will bear watching to see if this time there really is a viable vaccine that can stem the spread of the disease. I have to wonder how hard the drug companies that make millions selling anti-retrovirus drugs will fight against this? Do I sound skeptical?

I pray that this research is going to pan out. I am very tired of watching people fade away.

Ben & Jerry's New Flavor - "Hubby Hubby" Honors Gay Marriage!

It figures that Ben and Jerry's would do something to celebrate the arrival of a basic human right to their state. As Vermont becomes the 5th state in the country to sanction same-sex marriage, Ben & Jerry's issues a relabel for their "Chubby Hubby" flavor. "Hubby Hubby" even has a pair of grooms on the label! Another reason to cheat on my diet.

Glenn Beck Goes Off The Deep End?

While a lot of folks on the left are laughing at the wacko antics of Glenn Beck, I am not. It would be easy to make fun of this buffoon, but the problem is his listeners don't see him as funny. They believe everything he says and do not question it. His crazy rant about how secret messages are hidden in the names of organizations and programs seems silly to anyone with a 5th grade education but it is heady stuff to his followers.

Take this clip for example. Yes the literati will notice that Beck can't spell, and apparently no one at Fox News corrected him, but the problem is he is preaching to a small very angry group of folks that don't use critical thinking. That means what he says is the truth to them.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Take Tissues Or Insulin

OK, I admit part of the fun of this movie is getting to see Eric Bana naked dozens of times, however the film itself is pretty good.

Let me temper this by saying I never read the novel, so I am basing my opinion solely the movie. It is a stange story of a woman who falls in love with a man who somehow moves back and forth through time. Rather than a voluntary thing, his travels are triggered by some random means so he is often tossed into a strange situation. Because it is something genetic, he arrives au natural, something that makes his trips less than serene.

Not to dwell on the story, for fear of giving it away, I will tell you how this film made me feel. The movie had a strange melancholy effect and though it is a touching love story it is also somewhat sad and nostalgic. The message of the picture was about memory, loss and love, and it managed to touch most of the audience by the number of sniffles I heard as we left the theater.

It is a little bit of a science fiction mixed with a healthy dose of "chick flick", and though I usually don't like the latter genre, this movie worked for me. Though some might find it a bit saccharine, I liked it a lot...and Eric Bana has a nice ass.

A Taste of Their Own Medicine - Republican Bachmann Heckled at Town Hall

The tide may be turning. Republican Michelle Bachmann got a healthy dose of heckling at her Town Hall meeting from people demanding "health care now".

Michael Moore Targets Wall Street

Hi Wall Street! Watch this:

McCain Confronted By Angry Citizen - Why Don't We Have Your Health Care Plan?

And now the shoe is on the other foot.

Ted Kennedy - Gone But Never Forgotten

I was awakened this morning by our clock radio. It's tuned to the local NPR affiliate. They were doing a retrospective of the life and accomplishments of Senator Edward Kennedy. Immediately I knew he had died.

It seems that the media never does this kind of thing until you are gone and that's unfortunate. A man like Kennedy, who has been a fixture in American politics since I was a kid should have been better appreciated while he was living. Luckily, the voters in Massachusetts knew how good he was and kept reelecting him to the Senate. Lucky for America, too. He was a real liberal voice in a sea of mealy mouthed moderates.

We will all miss him.

Democratic Headquarters In Colorado Vandalized - Enough Rabble Rousing From The GOP!

The level of inflammatory rhetoric from the Republican party has reached a tipping point. Now their enraged thugs are vandalizing Democratic Party Headquarters. What's next?

The level of rabble rousing has to stop! Reforming the insurance system in this country does not equate to the kind of crazy talk coming from the GOP. The death threats are increasing and the reasoning is completely false.

The GOP is telling its base that reforming health care is in some way "fascist". I guess the base is illiterate because fascism is the exact opposite of what is being proposed but they have never let the facts get in the way. The result of their campaign has lead to violence and I fear worse will come if they do not tone it down.

When supporters of the right wing start showing up at Town Halls with guns (which they have) its playing with fire. People like Grassley and the like need to put a cork in it for a while and stop banging the drums. If our government starts being intimidated into making decisions because of violence, well that is really fascism!

UPDATE: Though some in the press are saying the person accused of vandalizing the Democratic headquarters is a Democratic Activist, I disagree and here is why. A story in the Denver Post today shows the vandal is connected not with the Democratic Party but an anarchist group.

The political identity of alleged window basher Maurice Joseph Schwenkler — once a matter that spawned bickering and accusations between Colorado liberals and conservatives — became clearer Wednesday.

Anarchist websites lit up across the country as Schwenkler's friends in Colorado asked for cash to bail out the 24-year-old, who stands accused of felony criminal mischief and was described in the solicitations as "a transgendered anarchist" using the name Ariel Attack. Schwenkler was released from jail on $5,000 bail Wednesday.

I still lay the blame for the violent mood of the country squarely on the GOP and their lackeys. Not surprisingly, anarchists get riled up just as easily as anyone when you begin waving pictures of the President in a Hitler mustache.

Michael Jackson's Death A Homicide!

Like I said last week, get ready for the indictments in the Michael Jackson death. Today, sources say the LA County Coroner ruled the pop star's death a homicide. More soon.

Texas Health Insurance Sucks - Why Do Texans Want To Keep It?

Finally the Democrats are figuring out that the GOP is never going to reconcile on Insurance Reform. I call it that because this is what this whole thing is about. Health Reform mostly means insurance reform and it's time we called it what it is. The Republicans have been sucking the teat of the insurance companies for so long they are afraid do anything that will upset them. In Texas that is particularly true.

How bad is it here in the Lone Star State?

• 25 percent of people in Texas are uninsured, and 75 percent of them are in families with at least one full-time worker. (U.S. Census Bureau)
• The percent of Texans with employer coverage is declining: from 57 to 50 percent between 2000 and 2007.
• Much of the decline is among workers in small businesses. While small businesses make up 70 percent of Texas businesses,⁹ only 32 percent of them offered health coverage benefits in 2006 -- down 5 percent since 2000.
• Choice of health insurance is limited in Texas. HCSC (Blue Cross Blue Shield ) alone constitutes 39 percent of the health insurance market share in Texas, with the top two insurance providers accounting for 59 percent.
• Choice is even more limited for people with pre-existing conditions. In Texas, premiums can vary based on demographic factors and health status, and coverage can exclude pre-existing conditions or even be denied completely.

To make matters worse, the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality give Texas a "weak" rating as far as quality of care. We have a population that is seeing more and more health problems as well.

• 20 percent of children in Texas are obese.
• 25 percent of women over the age of 50 in Texas have not received a mammogram in the past two years.
• 44 percent of men over the age of 50 in Texas have never had a colorectal cancer screening.
• 66 percent of adults over the age of 65 in Texas have received a flu vaccine in the past year.

So with this kind of situation staring us in the face, tell me why the hell anyone would be upset at having a better, cheaper option to the existing insurance system that quite frankly doesn't cover nearly enough people or conditions?

It's time the Democratic Party went it alone and started acting like the majority. If they don't, they will loose that majority in coming elections. Now, write your Congressperson and tell them to get with the program!

Signs & Wonders - Pastor Blames Tornado On Gays

It figures. When faced with the wonders of nature, some people with puny beliefs have to make connections with the insignificant activities of us humans to everything, and I am not talking about global warming (a real thing!).

John Piper, pastor at Minneapolis’ Bethlehem Baptist Church ( of course he's a Baptist!) has blamed the city's recent tornado damage squarely on the shoulders of not only gays, but Lutheran gays. He sites the recent Lutheran conclave and the decision to “agree to disagree” on the issue of homosexuality.

What a strange God this minister follows. A sociopathic entity who selectively punishes innocent people for the actions and thoughts of others? If that is Old Tyme Religion, count me firmly in the New Age.

Michael Jackson's Doctor May Be Charged With Manslaughter

Don't say I didn't tell you that this would happen, but Michael Jackson's Doctor, Conrad Murry is being charged with manslaughter according to a Fox News report. According to the report there are arrests and more charges coming, too.

"Murray isn’t the only doctor who faces criminal charges in connection with Jackson's death on June 25. A law enforcement source told FOXNews.com that Jackson’s longtime dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, will be hit with charges related to medical malpractice. Investigators are still building their case against Klein, and he will not be arrested for at least another two weeks, the source said."

Health Care Explained on a Napkin

Healthcare Napkins All

View more documents from Dan Roam.

American's Want Government "Out of Medicare"?

Never underestimate the stupidity of the American People, or at least some of them.

This latest poll was ostensibly about Health Care, but it really exposes a problem with our educational system.

Public Policy Polling asked people if the "government should stay out of Medicare".
39% said yes!

To make matters worse, only 62% of those responding believe President Obama is a US citizen. Of the 38 percent who either don't believe or are unsure, some think he was born in Indonesia, Kenya, the Philippines, or France.

Six percent of the total poll respondents also don't think Hawaii is a U.S. state.

I fear for our Republic.

Barney Frank Says What Everyone Else Is Affraid To Say!

I can only say that Barney Frank again has earned my respect as he confronts one of the crazies who are comparing Obama to Hitler.

Colbert Skewers the Pundits Again!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Must-Be TV
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Protests

Health Care Forum Descends Into Antisemitism

The blatant racism expressed at these town hall meetings has now spilled over into antisemitism. At a meeting in Las Vegas a man who was praising the health care system of Israel was shouted down with taunts of "Heil Hitler"!

This crap the GOP is calling debate is a ruse, it's just plain hatred and has nothing to do with the health care system, it's all about the White House and the Republicans no longer being in control. Enough already!

Anchorage Mayor Vetos Gay Rights Ordinance

If you ever wondered about Alaska being the "trailer park" of America, well here is further confirmation. The Mayor of Anchorage vetoed a LGBT rights ordinance. Sarah Palin apparently is pretty typical of Alaskans in her homophobic views.

Now if this sounds like I am throwing down the gauntlet, I am. Please someone from Alaska prove me wrong.

Jack McGeorge Passes

I just got an email that my friend and fellow leatherman Jack McGeorge died today. He was a founder of Black Rose in Washington DC and an active speaker and presenter.

Jack was also an arms inspector by trade and worked with the United Nations prior to the Iraq War looking for WMD. He was outed in the press and did not waver in his job. Now that's something anyone can aspire to.

Jack was a charming and very funny guy and I will miss seeing him at events and parties.

Glen Beck Looses More and More Sponsors

What do ConAgra, GEICO, Lawyers.com, Men's Wearhouse, Procter & Gamble, Progressive Insurance, RadioShack, Roche, SC Johnson, Sanofi-Aventis, Sargento, State Farm Insurance, Wal-Mart, CVS, Best Buy, Allergan, GMAC, Broadview Security,Re-Bath and Travelocity have in common?

They have all pulled their advertising from Glenn Beck's show on Fox.

Beck's baseless drivel and specifically his accusation that the president is a "racist" have gotten his ass in a crack and with luck Fox will find his show unprofitable and put the country out of our misery. Sending Beck to the TV boneyard would be the best thing for American Television since color.

Crazy Arizonans With Guns At Obama Event!

Now pardon me if I am overreacting, but what the hell is the Secret Service doing letting people with assault rifles and pistols at a Town Hall event where the president is speaking?

If this was during the Bush reign, the guy would be in Guantanamo already. This is getting really crazy and security seems way too lax! WTF!

More Republican Lies About Health Care Reform

I guess when you don't have a valid argument you just have to make stuff up?

Roy Blunt, House Republican from the Show Me State (Missouri) needs someone to show him the truth so he can stop lying. This from the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

“I’m 59,” Mr. Blunt said last week during a meeting with Post-Dispatch reporters and editors. “In either Canada or Great Britain, if I broke my hip, I couldn’t get it replaced.”
We fact-checked that. At least 63 percent of hip replacements performed in Canada last year and two-thirds of those done in England were on patients age 65 or older. More than 1,200 in Canada were done on people older than 85.

Stop lying Mr. Blunt. Americans are sick and dying because of our broken health care system and you can't even tell the truth?

District 9 - Smart Science Fiction

In the recent flood of high-tech effects movies there is no shortage of eye popping effects, but what has been missing is a real plot. All the 3-D in the world can't make up for a poor story. Luckily the latest film from director Neill Blomkamp has a great story and the special effects in this case make it possible.

The insect-like creatures derogatorily referred to as "prawns" in the film would not be possible or believable without the artistry of an army of digital artists. They have done their job so well you forget the creatures are not real.

The story is profound in its examination of xenophobia and apartheid. It is a long way from ET to District 9 and that is a good thing. The film is not for kids by any stretch of the imagination, but it will keep adults enthralled. I was on the edge of my seat for much of the film and when it was over I was exhausted. Everyone at the theater I attended went out saying the same thing. "District 9 is the best science fiction film in decades."

I put this on the list right in front of the other sci-fi sleeper this year, "Moon". Though Moon is a much slower paced movie, it was equally enjoyable and thought provoking and that is what the best science fiction does, make you think!

Democrats Give Up On Public Option?

Can't get health insurance? Don't count on Congress to do anything about it. The current Democratic majority seems to be just as cowed as the GOP when it comes to bucking the insurance industry. That's the bad news....now here is the worse news. Congress is making noises about removing the public option from the health care reform bill. That leaves 46 million Americans still without health insurance. But hey, those guys don't vote anyway so what the hell?

Congress and the White House are letting the GOP run the show even though they are clearly in the minority. Why? They are, and this is being charitable, gutless. They are afraid of being labeled liberal by Fox News and the GOP. Why the hell don't they just become Republicans?

If the Democratic Party isn't going to institute any real change, the change that they were voted into office for, then what the hell difference does it make? And that is exactly what the GOP wants. They want real progressives to give up and just hand the government over to them in the next election.

How do we stop it? Well it's a sure bet the Demnocratic Party won't do anything. The only way to get real change is to elect folks in the primaries who are real liberals. It's time to clean house in the Democratic Party. The fossils that have held on to their seats for decades have to go. The Blue Dogs have to go, the liberal talking conservative voting Democrats have to go!

It may be too late. Lots of people who got motivated by the Obama campaign are already loosing faith as one by one the promises are forgotten or postponed. Maybe it is hopeless and our country is a total loss for anyone but the rich. If that is the case, depressed people might turn to a more radical form of governmnet to affect change and that would be a shame.

Those who read history know how popular Communism became in the depression era. Perhaps some new form of system may appear to give the "little guy" hope and perhaps not. Either way something has to change or we will go back to the same broken system we have now.

The looting of the country by buisness and CEOs cannot continue forever. Of course those who are rich enough will just pack up and move to a sunny climate and spend their days burning up the hard earne4d money they stole from the rest of us.

The New Gilded Age

The lyrics that say, "the rich get richer and the poor have children" have never been more true. As of the latest report from a study of income inequality in America the top .001 percent of American earners took home 6 percent of total U.S. wages. This figure is higher than the peak in 1928 in the midst of the "roaring twenties".

According to an article in Huffington Post:

"Beginning in economic expansion of the early 1990s, the economy began to favor the top 1 percent of American earners, but much of the country missed was left behind. "The top 1 percent incomes captured half of the overall economic growth over the period 1993-2007," Saes (author of the study) writes."

Krugman on The Republican Death Trip

Paul Krugman has a wonderful piece in the New York Times today. He has come to the realization that I did and I always love it when a Nobel Laureate agrees with me!

The Republicans in Congress cannot and will not be appeased. The are making up wild lies about "death Panels" and worse to do everything in their power to thwart any change and it's time President Obama gave up on his coalition building. The GOP is doing the same thing they did during the Clinton years except this time they are a minority. It's time we treated them that way and began getting things done not with them but in spite of them.

It's well worth a read!

Gun Toting Man Attends Town Hall In NH

Chris Mathews interview a guy who brought a gun to the New Hampshire Town Hall meeting. He carried a sign with a quote from Jefferson about "replenishing the tree of liberty with the blood of tyrants". Now maybe I am wrong but I would swear carrying a gun at an event where the President is speaking would bring the Secret Service down on you like lightning.

What the heck is happening when this guy ends up on TV instead of in jail?

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

Stephen Hawking And The US Health Care Debate

I rarely cut and paste articles here, but this passage from Huffington Post is so vital to understanding the lies being told by the right wing about health care reform that I had to do it.

Rachel Weiner writes in Huff Post:

In an editorial on July 31, Investor's Business Daily warned of end-of-life counseling in health care reform by saying people like Stephen Hawking "wouldn't have a chance" in the such a system.

"People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless."

In fact, Professor Hawking lives in England, where he has been treated by their National Health Service. And by his own account, it saved his life.

"I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS," he told The Guardian. "I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived."

Cruel Shoes - Sky High Heels And Ugly Shoes - Fall Fashion 2009!

I have long believed the top fashionistas of the world secretly hate women and here is proof. These shoes from the Fall 2009 collections are not just painful to wear, they are dangerous and in most cases downright UGLY!

If they were going for fetish wear, they certainly hit it, but for anything else, these designers are on crack.

Health Care Reform - Why We Need It NOW!

If you ever wanted a good reason for health care reform, read this story and when the tears have cleared up, write your do-nothing Congressman and tell them to get this done. Health care reform with a public option is the only version that will really bring reform!

64 Years After The Bomb

64 years ago the United States became the only nation in the world to use nuclear weapons in a war. That afternoon, the Japanese city of Hiroshima turned into a firestorm and 140,000 people were killed or died soon after from radiation poisoning.

Arguments continue as to the ethics and justification for unleashing the nuclear weapons on the world. Was there no other option? Was Japan ready to seek a peace deal anyway? The historical record is muddied by the political agendas of the players at the time. Now we can only look back and hope that it will never happen again.

The mayor of Hiroshima today called for abolishing nuclear weapons entirely. As the only country to have ever been attacked by these weapons Japan is in a unique position to make this plea. My hope is that the world will listen.

Police Gone Wild! More Taser Madness.

Police just love their Tasers! "When it doubt, Taser them," seems to be the new rule for law enforcement.

The latest insane use of non-lethal force comes from Manassas, Virginia. A family ws celebrating the baptism of their grandchild in the privacy of their own backyard. Police arrived after a noise complaint was issued and demanded to see the grandfathers ID. Police say he refused and they Tasered him three times, once while he was on the ground.

Next, the out of control police Tasered a pregnant mother of the grandsons.

Oh, did I mention that the family was Hispanic? Funny you don't see this happen at a white garden party?

Right Wing Protesters Turn Violent

Seems the GOP has taken a page right out of the fascist playbook. Now the alleged grass-roots protesters at town hall meetings are resorting to violence.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), the president of the freshman Democratic class states, “at least one freshman Democrat” has already been “physically assaulted at a local event” by right-wing activists.

He is quoted on Think Progress:

“When you look at the fervor of some of these people who are all being whipped up by the right-wing talking heads on Fox, to me, you’re crossing a line,’ Connolly said. ‘They’re inciting people to riot with just total distortions of facts. They think we’re going to euthanize Grandma and the government is going to take over.”

Birther Movement? How About Racist Movement?

It seems appropriate to talk about birth certificates just a day after our President's birthday. More to the point I want to talk about this ridiculous "birther" movement.

First the whole "birther" thing is no movement. It's a manufactured controversy that has been latched onto by desperate Republicans who have run out of ideas to gain support. Like the allegedly "grass-roots" Tea Bag crap this one is spurred by the media and fuels by the Internet.

Birth records for the president are not in question by anyone with any common sense, instead it is a lunatic fringe that is being goaded into action by talk radio hosts and conspiracy theorists. There are even fake documents allegedly from Kenya being circulated that do not hold up to scrutiny, but for the birthers that is not a problem.

In reality the whole birth certificate thing is about race, not country of origin. The birthers are incensed that we have a president who is of mixed race. They are incensed that the majority of the country has put racial hatred and prejudice behind us. They are angry that they no longer control things in this country. They are like petulant kids who don't get their way after being spoiled most of their lives.

Now this small number of spoiled white kids are being used by the GOP to create a fake grass roots movement. They are acting without reason or intellect and seizing on only the bits and pieces of information that can somehow support their silly premise. Somehow in the "birther world" the newspapers in Hawaii had a premonition that a newborn would someday become president, so they printed fake birth announcements 48 years ago. They ignore the birth certificate produced by authorities in Hawaii and widely circulated in the media.

Mostly, they ignore, or suppress the fact that their real outrage is over race, plain and simple. If Obama was white, there would be no birther movement. John McCain was born in Panama. Other than a few news stories, did a McCain Birther Movement spring up? Nope.

Let's call this what it is, a racist movement veiled in a conspiracy theory.

Happy Birthday Mr. President!

President Barack Obama turns 48 today.

Turkish Building Demolition Gone Wrong!

They build them to last in Turkey! I have never seen a building do this when being demolished.

Sarah Palin's Other Shoe

We have all been waiting for the other shoe to drop and now it has become apparent that it just might have. The shoe? Rumors are flying that Sarah and Todd might be getting a divorce.

The story sounds like an episode of Desperate Housewives mixed with a health dose of trailer trash drama, but if the numerous sources are to be believed it just might be true. Palin was icy cold toward Todd at the "resignation picnic" and her wedding ring was noticeably absent.

Stories surfaced about Todd pulling a gun on Levi prior to the campaign and now that Levi is no longer engaged, his tell-all book should be interesting.

Meanwhile, Palin has supposedly purchased land in Montana. Might be a nice getaway for a newly divorced ex-governor?

So much innuendo and so little from Palin herself. She has been uncharacteristically quiet in the recent days. Of course it could all just be rumor...or not! (Cue dramatic music.)