Why President Obama Should Not Attend The National Prayer Breakfast

It is no secret, I am a Christian. Now, before you go imagining fire breathing evangelists, let me assure you I am not that kind of Christian. The Bible thumping fundamentalists have hijacked the word "Christian" and it's almost impossible to identify as one without the negative stereotypes getting in the way.

Well here is one reason those stereotypes exist. It's a group known as the "Fellowship Foundation" or sometimes "The Family". They are a strange group of people who hang out at the infamous "C Street House" in Washington DC and their members include Senators and Congressmen. My problem with this bunch is their subversive attempts to integrate religion with the government.

For example, Senator James Inhofe(R-OK)evangelizes while traveling at taxpayer expense. That is pretty clearly a violation of that whole church/state separation. More importantly, this group sponsors the National Prayer Breakfasts which have become almost mandatory for politicians wishing to score points with the fundamentalist right.

It is because of that group and their activities that CREW, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is urging everyone from the President on down to avoid the breakfast. You can read their letter here.

If you want more proof of the Fellowship Foundation's dirty deeds, look to Uganda and their anti-homosexual law that is before the Ugandan legislature. It was inspired by a visit from Fellowship members.

Scott Roeder Convicted of Murder

The man who killed Dr. Tiller in the foyer of the church where Dr. Tiller was serving as an usher has been convicted of murder. Scott Roeder saw himself as a champion of unborn children. Instead he was just a murder with delusions of grandeur.

Roeder was steeped in the anti-abortion rhetoric that fuels such violent acts, and his own statement, "those children were in immediate danger if someone did not stop George Tiller", shows how he has continued to try to justify murder.

The jury deliberated only 37 minutes to convict Roeder, and now he will serve a mandatory life in prison sentence.

In my opinion, the verdict should go further and should find that the radical organizations who fueled Roeders delusion should be included as accessories to this crime, but that won't happen.

No matter whether you are pro-choice or anti-abortion, such acts of violence and insanity should not go unpunished. A degree of justice has been handed out by the Kansas jury, the real injustice of Dr. Tillers murder can never be righted.

I am no fan of abortion, but I am certainly no fan of terrorists like Scott Roeder. The tough decision to seek an abortion should be between a woman, her physician and her family. Nobody rejoices over abortion, but it is a choice that should still be available as a last resort.

Jon Stewart Nails It Again!

How come a comedian can see the truth and our elected officials can't?

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Ted Haggard - White Knuckle Straight

In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, allegedly "ex-gay" evangelist Ted Haggard said he stays on the straight and narrow by checking in with his wife, constantly!

He calls this being "super accountable", but I really think it is something else. Let's try "white knuckle". This kind of continuous monitoring sounds an awful lot like Ted still wants to "lay with men as with a woman" to me. Like most "ex-gays" he is fighting his real nature. It is the same thing a lot of LGBT people do before they come out. They try tactics to "stay straight" even though their minds, their bodies and their souls are gay.

Eventually Ted might either learn to accept his true nature and live that "abundant life" spoken about in the New Testament, or he will continue to be a gay man on house arrest. That never turns out well.

I am praying for you Ted.

Face Zippers And Other Fashion Disasters!

Ever need proof that fashion designers are putting a big one over on the women of the world? Check out the "face zippers" that addorned the models at this Paris fashion show. Face zippers? Oh puleeze!

Right Wingnut O'Keefe - Watergate Redux?

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. The famous words of Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr are loosely translated as, "the more things change, the more they remain the same." They are quite apropos in the case of the recent break in of Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office by right-wing activist James O’Keefe. His arrest looks an awful lot like the Watergate break-in from many years ago. O'Keefe was doing dirty work, trying to polant a bug in the Senators office.

His previous adventures include impersonating a pimp and secretly taping an interview with an ACORN worker. Guess this arrest will pretty much stifle his "activist" career at least for a while. Funny how federal crimes do that?

He has already been pulled from the GOP speaking tour and dissinvited to address a group of conservatives in Salt Lake City. I suspect when the full involvement of others is discovered, things will really get interesting. Even Glenn Beck was outraged...well maybe that isn't so unique?

Working Toward Sexual Freedom

Last weekend I spent the time working with a group of hard core activists.The experience was both invigorating and humbling. Some of the people there were high powered legal types and other celebrities. And then there was me.

The group was the board and advisory committee for the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Named after Victoria Woodhull, an early pioneer for women's equality and a champion for human sexuality. She is not often listed in the history books but she worked alongside Susan B. Anthony and even was nominated as a Presidential candidate long before women even had the right to vote.

The foundation focuses on a simple and elegant premise, "sexual freedom is a basic human right". The nice thing about that mission statement is that people across the political spectrum can get behind it. The advisory board encompassed people of a wide variety of sexual orientations and political background. That is encouraging.

The direction we, and I say we because I am now on the advisory board, are taking the group is an exciting one. You can expect to here more specifics soon. Until then you can find more about the organization at Woodhullfoundation.org. You can also make a donation there as well to continue and expand the organizations work.

While you are at it, mark the date September 23 on your calendar. It will be the first "sexual Freedom Day", and we are planning several events to commemorate it. The date just happens to be Victoria Woodhull's birthday!

Scott Brown's Wife In Racy Video

Over the weekend I was in Washington, DC working with a non-profit I am associated with. At one of our lunch breaks I spoke with a wonkish friend about the whole Scott Brown thing. He rolled his eyes and said, "there is a scandal there, and it just hasn't broken." I figured he was just postulating but this guy smells more and more like someone who has a past and I don't mean a clean one.

Not only did he pose nude in Cosmo, but his wife starred in a racy music video below for Digney Fignus. Enjoy now before it gets yanked from YouTube.

New Pro LGBT Film - Written for Teens

Below is a trailer for the upcoming film, FIT. It is a film about bullying, teenagers and being LGBT designed to be seen by teens. Needless to say, it won't be seen in the US anytime soon, but it will be shown in schools in the UK.

GOP Defrauds Citizens With Fake Census

Imagine this scenario. You open your mail and there is a very official form from the government that looks like the census. As you read it and answer the questions you come to a part that solicits money for the Republican party. What the hell?

Yup, you have been duped by the GOP. Michael Steel and the rest of the shysters at the RNC have created a fake census form that is actually a fund solicitation. Ben Smith at Politico describes it and AmericaBlog actually has one of the forms posted on their site. It is very convincing and the worry is that it will confuse residents when the real census comes out.

Already complaints have been filed with the Postmaster General's office and I expect this dirty trick to end up in congressional hearings.

One Nation of Corportations, for Corporations and by Corporations

Well the legacy of the Bush years continues to haunt our country. Now the Supreme Court has ruled essentially that corporations can pour as much money as they want into the political arena.

This opens the flood gates for political contributions that will shape the laws of this country in unprecedented ways. If you thought companies ran the country before, just wait!

The whole thing stems from a ruling that gave corporations the same rights as individuals. According to Bush ideologue, Chief Justice John Roberts, "The text and purpose of the First Amendment point in the same direction: Congress may not prohibit political speech, even if the speaker is a corporation...."

Now the saying that we have the best government money can buy will no longer be just a cynical jab, it will be the truth. God save America.

More Terror Panic - Is it a Bomb, No It's Tefillin!

OK this is just silly, but I suspect it reflects the growing xenophobia that has infected our citizenship.

On a US Air flight a Jewish teenager was reciting a prayer and practicing the orthodox ritual of "wrapping Tefillin". The ritual which is practiced by many orthodox Jews involves a literal enactment of a Torah verse that states, "And you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm, and they shall be a forefrontlet between your eyes.".

Leather straps are wrapped around the arms and forehead to attach small boxes with scripture verses inside. It is a beautiful process but strange to some, therefore it MUST BE TERRORISM!

The teenager was escorted off the plane by law enforcement officers. Sheesh! If a fundamentalist Christian was speaking in tongues would they be arrested as well? Good God folks, caution is one thing but just downright ignorance is another. As long as we remain so domned jumpy the terrorists have won. We are terrorized! Get it?

Morgan Stanley Execs Try to Drain the Company Dry

Morgan Stanley suffered a really bad year last year. The firm lost money, the first time in it's 74 year history. You'd think things would be tight there, but not for the high paid executives. They set aside $14.4 billion for salaries and bonuses. Needless to say, this has the folks in Washington fuming. It should have the shareholders in Morgan Stanley fuming as well.

I guess these guys are not content with being extremely rich, they feel the need to be super-rich. Somehow, all these obscene salaries and bonuses make me not so much envious as sick to my stomach.

The Simpsons in Stained Glass!

Just found this in the Telegraph. An artist in England, Joseph Cavalieri produced a series of amazing works based on the long-running animated series. Check them out.

Martin Luther King - Dreams and Action

Dr. King did not just have a dream, he was a man of action and contrary to what many think, the speech on the National Mall during the March on Washington was not all about hopes and dreams, it was about injustice and what must be done to right the wrongs.

Here is a very little quoted passage from that great speech:

"In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt"

Now imagine if you will that he had substituted the acronym LGBT for "Negro". In reality, I believe Dr. King wanted freedom and justice for ALL people. Some may remember that one of the men who organized the march back in 1963 was Bayard Rustin, a black gay man.

Where are the leaders like Dr. King and Bayard Rustin today?

IE6 Source of Chinese Hack Attacks?

Microsoft products have long been seen as Swiss cheese by the hacker world. This was made abundantly clear this week when the Chinese hacker attacks on US companies found a nice convenient entry point in Microsoft IE6. According to BetaNews IE6 was given the official thumbs down from the German government who told its citizens they should stop using the popular browser. Further smoking guns come from McAfee's blog which specifically enumerates the vulnerability in the browser.

Should you stop using IE6? No, stop using any Microsoft browser. Their security issues are ongoing and there seems to be a systemic weakness in their products. Opera. Chrome, Safari and my favorite FireFox have much better security records.

CNN Reporter Joins the Rescue Effort

I watched CNN last night as hey covered the ongoing tragedy in Haiti. Dr. Sanjay Gupta was reporting from an area where volunteer doctors had been working with survivors. The doctors were told to pull out because of security concerns. The doctors let, but the CNN reporter, Gupta remained behind to treat people who needed help desperately. That is dedication and he deserves high praise for ending to his work as a doctor above his reporting duties.

I know lots of you are tired of me blogging about Haiti, but the situation there is worse than anything we have seen in the western hemisphere in a long time. Even the earthquake in Mexico City in 1985 was not this bad. Mexico City is a highly developed place with lots of infrastructure. The devastation there was heavy and 10,000 dead, but it was localized in fewer areas than Haiti. Haiti is dirt poor and so many people are affected in the capital it will be difficult to rebuild not just the buildings but the countries political structure as well.

Again, please donate to the legitimate organizations trying to help out.

Navy Hospital Ship on Route to Haiti

The Navy hospital ship, Comfort is steaming toward Haiti at this moment to bring much needed medical aid and hospital facilities. The ship has 250 beds and a staff of 560.

Wyclef Jean's Relief Fund for Haiti

Yele Haiti is a movement led by Wyclef Jean, Haitian Hip-Hop artist, that is helping to bring hope back to Haiti. Projects are designed to make a difference in the fields of education, health, environment and community development. Yele Haiti (previously known as the Wyclef Jean Foundation) is a 501 (3) tax exempt charitable organization.

Wyclef is actually in Haiti right now helping to extract survivors and bodies from the rubble. His effort and that of many folks like him may help bring Haiti much needed relief.

Dallasites Return from Haiti

A group of 10 members of the Highland Park United Methodist Church have safely returned from Port au Prince. A few are receiving medical treatment for injuries received during the earthquake. The 10 were members of a medical missionary group sent by the church. Two other members of the group are in Guadeloupe receiving medical attention.

Bodies Piled in the Streets in Haiti

The nightmare that is the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake continues. Bodies are piled in the streets and aids is slow in arriving because of logistical problems with the infrastructure.

Sarah Palin Even Amazes Glenn Beck With Her Stupidity

This clip speaks for itself. Beck even says "bull crap" when Sarah says her favorite founding father was "all of them".

Nightmare in Haiti

Aid agencies all need funds. Help has been arriving but the devastation is so widespread it will take years to rebuild what is left of the Haitian capital.

The clip below was taken just minutes after the quake. Warning:it's pretty graphic.

Teddy Pendergrass - Dead at 59

Another recording great from the 70's and 80's has passed into history. Teddy Pendergrass, the soulful voice that sang with Harold and the Blue Notes and later had a very successful solo career died from complications of colon cancer.

Pendergrass' career was almost cut short in the late 1980's when he was paralyzed from a car accident, but he continued singing from a wheelchair. His deep velvet voice will be missed.

Pat Robertson Claims Haiti Earthquake Due to "Pact With the Devil"

Yes Pat Robertson, that old fart of an evangelist is bringing "good news" again. (I am being sarcastic here, just in case you can't tell.) He has laid blame for the Haitian disaster at the feet of the Haitian people! He claims they made a pact with the devil and now they are paying their due.

Oh puleeze!

Pat claims Haitians were originally "under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon the third, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil.... They said, we will serve you if you will get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal."

Leave it to a money grubbing televangelist to ignore the suffereing and lay blame on the victims. He needs to just go away!

Bodies Piling Up in Haiti

Latest reports say there may be as many as 100,000 dead in Haiti after the massive earthquake yesterday.

Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive said after touring the rubble, "I've seen so many buildings, so many neighbourhoods totally destroyed, and in some neighbourhoods we don't even see people."

More here from ABC News.

More News from Haiti

This blogger has updates from the scene in Haiti. It is not good, and according to his reports the National Palace, Government Buildings, a Boys Home, Hospital, UN Headquarters are all destroyed.

Livesay Haiti Blog

Video from Haiti

Just found this raw video post from Haiti. News is sketchy but it looks really bad.

Helping Haiti

If you are like me you have wondered how you could help the devastated people of Haiti. Relief is beginning but it will take days. I suggest the following organizations who have mounted Haitian relief campaigns:

Doctors Without Borders

International Red Cross

UNICEF

United Church of Christ Relief Effort

From the White House this morning:

You can also help immediately by donating to the Red Cross to assist the relief effort. Contribute online, or donate $10 to be charged to your cell phone bill by texting "HAITI" to "90999."

Families of Americans living in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at 888-407-4747.

From FedEx:

FedEx is working with our designated charitable relief organizations to help ensure aid is on the way to Haiti. We plan to provide transportation services for the American Red Cross, Heart to Heart International, Direct Relief International and Water Missions as soon as conditions allow.

Glad to see American corporations pitching in so fast!

Pictures from Haiti

This just posted on HaitiFeed, The presidential palace in Haiti is gone!

Pray for Haiti - 7.3 Earthquake

Haiti, the poorest country in the hemisphere was devastated by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake this afternoon. The US envoy to the country calls the event a "catastrophe of major proportions".

Hospitals and other emergency buildings have collapsed and one official from the US who was on the scene says the sky is gray with dust from the destruction. The Haitian Ambassador to the US said, "I just hear a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance".

More as this tragedy unfolds.

Earth to Get Close Shave Tomorrow!

How about a really close shave? Astronomically speaking we are going to dodge a bullet tomorrow, Wednesday, January 13, 2010. An asteroid about 50 feet across called "2010 AL30" was located by the NASA Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research program, and announced Monday by the Minor Planet Center at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.

It will pass closer than our moon to our little blue planet, in fact only about 1/3 the distance of the moon to be accurate. That is close!

Read more here.

Pope Calls Gay Marriage Threat to Creation

And once again the Pope wades into the cesspool of bigotry and takes a stand with the cesspool!

In his address to a group of diplomats, Pope Benedict the 16th framed gay marriage as a threat to civilization. His Holiness joins a long line of fear mongers in trying to demonize same sex marriage.

"Creatures differ from one another and can be protected, or endangered, in different ways, as we know from daily experience. One such attack comes from laws or proposals which, in the name of fighting discrimination, strike at the biological basis of the difference between the sexes,"

This veiled reference is every bit as offensive as the tired "Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve" drivel that flows from the fundamentalist pulpits. The Catholic church made a calculated decision when it chose Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope. It decided to turn its back on the tide of history and becomf even more fossilized. Now in an effort to maintain that dusty position, the Pope must resort to name calling and fear. Sad for the "Vicar of Christ" who many call the Prince of Peace to sew the seeds of hatred.

Oh Joy! Sarah Palin is Going to Fox News.

As though her 15 minutes of fame was not up months ago, Ms. Palin, the quitter-governor of Alaska is going to appear regularly on Fox News. I have to assume they will teach her to read a teleprompter, otherwise America will be treated to even more blithering idiocy.

Of course that is assuming Fox viewers can tell the difference between news and crap...oh yeah, they are Fox viewers after all!

Do I sound uncharitable? You betcha!

Simpsons at 20 - Even the Vatican Likes Homer!

So who would have though that the little animated bumpers used between segments on the Tracy Ullman show wold become the worlds longest running animated sit-com? The Simpsons marked its 20th anniversary this month. That is a milestone for any show, much less an animated one.

Most surprising was the comment by the Vatican, congratulating the show and mentioning a Simpson take on theology that is enlightening and provocative. Homer's numerous struggles with God and his relationship to religion are often a theme on the program.

The Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano said of the show's lead character, "Homer finds in God his last refuge, even though he sometimes gets His name sensationally wrong....But these are just minor mistakes, after all, the two know each other well."

That last quote referred to one of the several episodes where Homer and God have a chat.

Congratulations Homer and Matt Groening for an incredible and praise-worthy achievement.

Michael Jackson's Doctor to be Indicted

Looks like Conrad Murray, doctor of Michael Jackson, will finally be indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges. This after an extensive investigation and much speculation may put a final chapter to the story.

The coroner ruled Jackson's death as a homicide. His death was caused by acute intoxication of the powerful anesthetic propofol along with other sedatives. The trial will most likely prove to be as spectacular as the singers life itself.

Rudy Giuliani Tries to Rewrite History Again!

It's amazing how the GOP manages to live in their own reality. The latset delusion comes from Rudy Giuliani who made the amazing statement,

"We had no domestic attacks under Bush; we've had one under Obama."

Dang, I could swear there was some kerfuffle about a couple of airliners striking some tall buildings in New York, but heck maybe that was just a bad dream?

Make no mistake, 9/11 happened on Bush's watch. I don't blame him, but the way he handled the crisis was amazingly bungled. Now I wonder where Rudy Giuliani was during that time....oh yea, he was Mayor of New York!

Prop 8 Vote May Have Been Corrupted

Reading an abstract of a study that says the Proposition 8 vote in California does not mesh up with exit poll results. There may have been tampering. More as it develops.

Goodbye Kiss Triggered Airport Shutdown

Seems a traveler and her friend just couldn't say goodbye before screening, so he slipped through the security checkpoint to give her a goodbye kiss. That activity was caught on video, yet the breach triggered the shut down of Newark International Airport for hours.

The TSA officer in charge had left his post when the incident happened. That officer is on administrative leave.

Body Scans and Going Deeper

OK, I have already blogged about going through the Full Body Scanner in Indianapolis Airport during the holidays. Personally, I don't have a problem with it. It is preferable to a frisking, that is unless the guard is really good looking, and I don't have a problem with an official being able to see under my clothes. Invasion of privacy? Maybe, but if not carrying a bomb is a prerequisite to flying, then there have to be ways to check. The Nigerian guy understood you are not supposed to carry a bomb on a plane and yet he did.

My biggest problem with the scanners is the immediate jump to an untested technology in favor of something that works time and again. I am talking about dogs. Man's best friend has a really good track record at detecting explosives, drugs and just about anything that smells. Our friends at GE who made the ill fated puffer gadgets that were supposed to detect explosives can't make that claim. Those big bucks machines are now basically huge paperweights, paid for by the general public's hard earned dollars.

Now the body scanner enters the picture and yet another big company gets richer.

Doesn't Alpo have a lobbyist? A bomb sniffing dog would be faster and less intrusive than one of these peeping scan things, but since no one gets rich from dogs they remain on the sidelines.

This article in Mother Jones says pretty much the same thing, so I am not the only one with this nagging question. Mentioned in the piece is a British device that does a virtual body cavity search. If it's expensive, you can bet it is in our future as we remove every last bit of fun from flying.

Partner of Freddie Mercury Dies at 61

I have been humming Queen songs for a week, then today I find that Freddie Mercury's former partner, Jim Hutton died. Coincidence? Who knows?

Hutton lived with Freddie for the last six years of his life as he died of complications of AIDS. Hutton died of cancer, though no word has come of exactly what the cause was Hutton was also HIV positive.

Mercury's music will probably be remembered for a very long time.

Dolphins Should be Treated as "Non-Human Persons"

That alarming headline came directly from a research study by scientists looking at the cognitive capacities of dolphins. Though it sounds like something PETA might publish the study seems authentic and according to the Times, dolphins brains are second only to humans even outstripping greater apes when it comes to intelligence.

Now I am no fan of animal rights folks. Most I have met are certifiably wacky, but when it comes to dolphins, that is a different matter. I had the distinct privileged of working with these amazing animals in several live performance venues and in films. They are indeed not just clever, but they have distinct personalities and even understand humor. Humor? Indeed.

To illustrate my point, here is a story that is true and telling.

While working at a sea life park directing several non-animal shows, I spent a lot of time passing the dolphin tanks. I got in the habit of stopping to watch, and the animals regularly popped up from the water to check me out. I sincerely believe their smiles are genuine expressions of their attitudes, and they were not present every day.

They would often come over to the side of the pool and even let me pet them a few times. I had no fish or other treats, so this was voluntary on their part. What's more they seem to recognize that I was unassuming and laid back. A quality not present in some of the folks I dealt with.

The case in point was when a business associate accompanied me. He was dressed in a suit and was pretty much out of place at the laid back park. The dolphins noticed this and very accurately managed to squirt a stream of water onto his freshly pressed trousers, missing me and the others standing around the pool. They then quickly retreated to the far side and bobbed up to watch the reaction.

Everyone but the man in the suit was laughing, including the dolphins with their taunting chuckles.

This happened time and again and they were uncanny in finding the exact person who would be most ruffled by a splash. To me that was a sign of not just perception, but the abstract principal of humor expressed in a slapstick manner. Now what was that about Flipper being unrealistic?

Co-conspirators in Ugandan Genocide

Three advocates of the widely discredited practice of "curing" homosexuals spoke in Uganda and are being implicated as part of the motivation for the new anti-homosexual laws there.

Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge and Don Schmierer all spoke at a conference attended by thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians. Today, they are all trying to distance themselves from the issue, but luckily the press is keeping the ties crystal clear. The far-right fundamentalists fuled the hatred in Uganda and as the saying goes they are "inheriting the wind."

From a story in the New York Times, a minister who attended the conference states:

“What these people have done is set the fire they can’t quench...."

Mr. Kaoma was at the conference and said that the three Americans “underestimated the homophobia in Uganda” and “what it means to Africans when you speak about a certain group trying to destroy their children and their families.”

“When you speak like that,” he said, “Africans will fight to the death.”

These rabble rousers must be held accountable for what they are doing on foreign soil. If they were Muslim, they would be called terrorists.

Say "I Do" In New Hampshire!

At midnight January 1, the state of new hampshire began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A couple who had been together 19 years was the first to wed, Linda Murphy and Donna Swartwout tied the knot at 12:01am.

Now, if the bigots don't come out of the woodwork and try to overturn this just and fair law, perhaps the momentum might once again build to give full and equal rights to all Americans.

Toys I want next Christmas

OK it's he new year and time to start making those Christmas lists. Right at the top is this great Japanese toy robot that was made during the 1980's. I seem to remember seeing it at a great store here in Dallas called Modern Toys. Alas, Modern Toys is gone but just maybe the toy is still around on Ebay.

Naughy or nice? You decide.

Is the Cotton Bowl Still the Cotton Bowl?

Lured away by visions of luxury suites and big screen video, the Cotton Bowl is playing in a domed stadium in Arlington, TX instead of it's namesake venue. Kind of strange and to me, very sad.

Football has always been a rougher sport that it's more genteel brethren like Baseball. It is played in the winter and fall and that has always been part of the game. Inclement weather made games less predictable and made fan loyalty a real statement of fortitude. Yes games were often played in snow, rain or sometimes blazing heat (after all it is Texas here) but the Cotton Bowl has always been played in the Cotton Bowl.

The venerable old stadium has gotten yet another face lift, additional seating and amenities. It's still in Fair Park, the crown jewel of the Dallas Park system and it's got history. I wonder if the fans will feel the same way about Jerry Jones hi-tech glitterdome?

Most people know, I am not big fan of football, but college ball is a different story. The games have more heart and the fans go through hell and high water to cheer their teams to victory. This year they will watch most of the action on a humongous TV screen and dine on snacks served in luxury suites instead of popcorn and cotton candy.

It just won't be the same.

Portrait of Dorian Gray - Hot Gay Movie?

This film was released back in September and I never saw it. I am trying to track down whether it was released in the US or just the UK, but this scene is wonderfully hot.

Cheney Has A Big Mouth & The White House Says So!

From the "it's about time file", the White House has issued a response to the criticism lodged by Dick Cheney about President Obama's measured response to the attempted airline bombing.

"There has been a lot of discussion online and in the mainstream media about our response to various critics of the President, specifically former Vice President Cheney, who have been coming out of the woodwork since the incident on Christmas Day. I think we all agree that there should be honest debate about these issues, but it is telling that Vice President Cheney and others seem to be more focused on criticizing the Administration than condemning the attackers."

The post on the White House blog goes on to say:

"...for seven years after 9/11, while our national security was overwhelmingly focused on Iraq – a country that had no al Qaeda presence before our invasion – Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda's leadership was able to set up camp in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they continued to plot attacks against the United States. Meanwhile, al Qaeda also regenerated in places like Yemen and Somalia, establishing new safe-havens that have grown over a period of years. It was President Obama who finally implemented a strategy of winding down the war in Iraq, and actually focusing our resources on the war against al Qaeda..."

An then the best line in the whole post:

"To put it simply: this President is not interested in bellicose rhetoric, he is focused on action. Seven years of bellicose rhetoric failed to reduce the threat from al Qaeda and succeeded in dividing this country. And it seems strangely off-key now, at a time when our country is under attack, for the architect of those policies to be attacking the President."

Read the whole thing and you will probably feel like I did... it's about fucking time!

More States Allow First Cousins to Marry than Gays

While researching same sex marriage I found this disturbing map. It was generated by the New York Times and published in Chicago Now. The map shows a comparison of states where same-sex marriage is legal vs. states where you can marry your first cousin. Go figure!

I will have to apologize to my friend from Mississippi, looks like Ole' Miss is not a Cousin Marryin' state!

The Graying of Gays

OK, I am no spring chicken anymore, in fact I doubt I ever was, so the prospect of growing older concerns me. I know it is inevitable, but it is what will happen to me and my friends as we age that bothers me.

Oh I am well aware of the physical problems, but it's the prospect of geriatric care that is my real concern. A recent article in an Australian publication details the problems facing gays as they age. Discrimination and unreasonable treatment by nursing home staffs is certainly a biggie. I know there are speical facilities for LGBT people, but they are few and far between. The general public needs to understand the challenges of the aging sexual minorities.

Once upon a time, I was involved in a project to create a retirement community for leatherman and leatherwomen. Unfortunately, that project stalled when the dot com boom busted. I sincerely believe it is still a very necessary project and hope it can be resurrected before I am old enough to need it.

I will continue to write about this as I find out more, but in the mean time, I urge you to seriously think about what you will do when you get too old to care for yourself.

Canada Bans Carry-on Luggage

Well, if anything good has come from the latest terrorist attempt is that Canada is banning carry-on luggage with the exception of purses, laptops, medical devices and camera bags. This will ease long backups at screening checkpoints and inspections.

The good thing for us travelers is we don't have to put up with people trying to cram full sized suitcases into the overhead bins. People travel like refugees carrying so much junk they take forever to board. We also won't have to wait in line inside the airplanes while people try to unjam their bags.

I check my luggage because I don't like lugging it around inside the airport and hoisting it in and out of the plane. Now the airlines will also get the benefit of extra luggage fees, which they surely won't reject.

Battlestar Galactica Rhapsody

OK, I admit it I am a scifi geek. That's why this video cracks me up. The whole plot of the series condensed into a single video set to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Great satire!

Full Body Scans and Other Fun Flying Events!

As I entered the passenger screening area of the Indianapolis Airport, I noticed devices I thought were the infamous "puffer" machines. Puffers or whiffers or whatever supposedly smell explosives on a person and wonder of wonder, they don't work very well. Still some airports spent millions to buy the fluky machines and now most sit idle because of problems.

Nope, these were not what I thought, instead these were the body scanner machines called "millimeter wave scanners" and essentially they are a virtual strip search. Images from these can see details including a person's gender and just about every detail of what is beneath your clothing.

I stepped into a booth and was told to spread my legs and hold my hands over my head. A device swung around me and then I was asked to do the same facing a different direction. It was painless, but mysterious in that no one told me what it was doing.

To my surprise not everyone was asked to go through this gadget and that is what bothers me. The TSA is playing an odds game. They figure a random screening will either deter or catch any suspected bad guys, but as has been shown over and over it doesn't work. The man with the bomb on the plane to Detroit when through screening both in Nigeria and the Netherlands and still managed to get explosives on the plane. Perhaps these body scanners would have seen the material he carried in his crotch, maybe not.

The whole point is, there is no such thing as absolute safety. If we are going to screen passengers, then screen them all, otherwise it's a coin toss. My partner and I wondered if a few good old-fashioned bomb sniffing dogs would have been more efficient. Probably so, but they don't make millions for technology companies and in the end I still think it's all about money.

Airports may end up looking like armed camps and passengers may be asked to submit to body cavity searches and still a clever terrorist will figure a way to disrupt things. They might simply switch to car bombs or something not related to transportation at all. The point is Terrorism is something we are going to have to live with unless someone figures a way to get at the root cause. That is not a simple solution and one that may have no answers.

Meanwhile, the Obama administrations statement that the system worked is silly, almost as silly as the Bush administration's assurances that we would defeat the terrorists by attacking Iraq.

This one is going to take real strategy and most likely its solution will not involve warfare and bluster, but negotiations and PR. The terrorists have already won, but we don't realize it. We are a nation that seems to be pretty much terrified, and unless we get over that and start dealing with our fears, you can count on more high tech gadgets that make our lives less enjoyable.

Terrorists Aided by New Media

Listening to CNN today as they ranted and conjectured about the failed incendiary bomb attempt, I realized that they are complicit in the plot. The 24 hour news cycle delights in these kinds of events. This one, in particular must have been disappointing to them, but they are making the best of it.

Disappointing in these respects. First it was a failure. They guy tried to light something chemically and it fizzled or just burned and ended up setting his leg on fire. Secondly, there was little panic in the air or on the ground. Passengers and the crew, from all reports and the crew acted quickly to put the fire out and restrain the guy. The passengers in the rear of the plane didn't really know what happened and from first interviews were not very upset. A few thought it was firecrackers and in fact some news reports called it fireworks.

CNN was not content with this and kept on pushing in heir interviews asking eyewitnesses over and over if they were terrified. They weren't. They asked if the plane was in a state of panic, it wasn't, but that didn't stop them from trying to put words in the passengers mouths.

Finally they found one susceptible woman who used the word terrified and that is the quote that is used over and over in the press today.

The news media aids and abets terrorists when they try to milk these events for ratings and sensationalism and it's time someone said so. Terrorists mission is to what? Terrorize! Without CNN and Fox and others marching a parade of alleged experts past their cameras giving conjecture about what if and maybe...well they create the very fear the terrorists want.

This was a failed attempt and a pretty bad one at that. There will be more of these and undoubtedly some may be successful, but if the news media continues to blow everything even remotely resembling terrorism into a major story we will continue to be a country paralyzed by fear.

The truth is terrorists will continue to attack us. The genie is out of the bottle and they know how easy it is for a determined individual or small group to wreak havoc, and with the help of the voracious appetite of the new media they will undoubtedly succeed beyond anything they could have expected.

Bill James - Mecklenburg County Bigot, and Proud of it!

When commissioner Vilma Leake had finished her impassioned story about her son who dies of AIDS during a debate on including same-sex partner benefits to county workers in Mecklenburg County, South Carolina, her colleague leaned over and asked, "Your son was a homo, really?"

The bigot who said this was Bill James, a county commissioner. It is amazing how insensitive and cruel people can be, particularly bigots like Bill James. People's capacity to be heartless amazes me.

Just so any of my readers from Mecklenburg County might wonder, this picture is what a bigot looks like.

Two Brave Gay Men Marry - in Uganda!

Somehow I am reminded of the Jews who amidst the cruelty of Nazi Germany managed to survive when I read about this story. Two men in Uganda, with the blessing of their parents were married in a traditional tribal ceremony. It sounds beautiful and more than that it is amazingly brave.

With the Anti-homosexuality laws there, which carry penalties including death for just being gay, these two and their families take a grave risk. Still the description in a blog I discovered bears reading.

Mexico City Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages

OK, USA, you are falling behind. Mexico City just announced it is recognizing same-sex marriages. DC, Mexico City...hey why not Dallas, TX?

Dubai Gay Scene? Not So Much.

Speaking of places not likely to show up in the Dameron guide, Dubai makes the list. This really great story of a visit to the Emirates "gay scene" takes a lot of the luster off this oil rich, but financially strapped oasis of excess.

Franken Does the Unthinkable - Acts Like a Democrat!

Wow! Al Franken acting like an actual Democrat and like a real Senator! If only he could get his colleagues to do the same!

His amendment prohibiting defense contractors from barring their employees from pursuing legal remedies for workplace crimes passed and was signed into law by President Obama. It's about time!

The GOP blocked this bill which allows an employee who is abused or threatened on the job to use the courts to seek remedies, just like any American can. The GOP doesn't like this because their Master, Halliburton/KBR will now be liable for a gang rape of a contractor by other employees.

Constituents got mad about this and let the GOP know in no uncertain terms they had better not block this bill and now it has become law! Way to go Senator Franken! Now get your fellow Democrats to grow a pair and actually act like the majority party not a bunch of sempering wimps!

Questions About Prostitution? Call David Vitter!

Christian Terrorists In UK

A group calling itself Christian Voice in the United Kingdon is advocating the same kinds of genocidal laws as Uganda for the UK. The movements spokesperson, Stephen Green, quotes a few carefully picked lines of scripture to justify the Uganda law and he advocates the same kind of penalty in England.

So what about terrorists? Well, someone who advocates killing people because of a few dusty and often mistranslated verses in a Holy Book, are exactly the kind of people we have been calling terrorists, at least as long as they have Arab names. Well, it's time we called a spade a space, this radical group is no better than the radical Islamic groups who would kill innocent people as part of their holy war. The only difference is that they are using the King James Bible and not the Holy Koran.

Green has been arrested before for distributing homophobic pamphlets at the Cardiff Mardi Gras celebration back in 2006. He sees the law in Uganda as just and the worlds condemnation of it as wrong.

"I hope and pray... that the Western homosexuals and abortionists who are trying to corrupt their youth will be sent a firm message to stop their wickedness."

Wickedness indeed!

Climate Change Treaty? What Climate Change Treaty?

Like the bandits in Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the political leaders have been sitting around the big smoky campfire of the worlds fossil fuel economy saying, "Climate change treaties? We don't got no climate change treaty. We don't need no stinkin' climate change treaty!" (that was paraphrased for all you Bogart purists)

The problem is it's not a joke. The industrialized countries of the world came together and after days of childish bickering failed to get a binding treaty hammered out. Essentially the whole thing was an exercise in finger pointing. "No you pollute more than us!"

Developing countries want cash to curb their emissions, the biggest polluters can't agree on how much to cut the emissions and the entire world looses!

Much of the rancor is about transparency. China, no surprise, want's non of it when it comes to monitoring actual carbon emission levels. Seeing China's track record this is no surprise. Try to find real data on defective products manufactured in China...you won't.

At best this will be a political agreement that might set the stage for a future treaty. Very disappointing and sad for all of us mere humans.

Now, guess I better look into that beach front property in Waco.

O'Reilly Calls Laura Ingrahman "Blind Ideologue"

Well even Bill O'Reilly can see through this crap. Media Matters caught this nifty interchange as she scolds Bill for actually liking Michelle Obama.

Fox News - Subversive & Anti-American

I have just about had it with Fox News. It's time to call it like I see it with them. First of all, they are owned and controled by a foreign national. They are propogandistic arm of a political movement that seeks to destroy the American government. Let me ellaborate.

Though the followers of Fox are most likely American citizens who would be outraged if they saw a foreign country taking over say, our ports and shipping as Dubai World corp tri3ed to do a few years ago, they seem perfectly content to have a foreigner, Rupert Murdock, controlling the press in this country. Funny that double standard, or do they even know it?

Beyond that Fox is effectively and perhaps actually a propaganda arm of the far right wing. These people will tell you that they do not like government and feel almost every government program and office should be dismantled. That sounds pretty much like someone seeking to destroy the infrastructure of our government.

Lastly, Fox has been caught using fake photos and downright lying on poll numbers in recent months.

It all adds up to an organization that if looked at objectively could be considered anti-American and subversive.

Why am I bringing this up? Because Fox and it's parent company News Corporation are about to hold up the cable companies for ransom. They seek to drastically raise their rates for programming. So, I ask you, how much are you willing to pay to support this anti-American group? I would write or call your cable company and ask them to cancel the contracts with Fox or make it an optional pay-per-view service. And while you are at it tell them why!

Pepsi Says "No Thanks" To Super Bowl Ads.

Pepsi joins FedEx on the sidelines at this year's Super Bowl. Siting costs both companies have decided the exposure is not worth the exorbitant outlay of cash necessary for those golden Super Bowl seconds. Last year spots (30 seconds) went for an astounding $3 million a pop.

Pepsi has decided to spend its money doing something good for the country. They are offering $20 million in funds to "refresh" communities. What a concept! A big corporation actually giving back to the community?

I have to wonder if the Super Bowl hasn't gotten too expensive for the return in exposure. After all, Tivo has turned expensive ads into blurs as people pause the action and head for the John during commercial breaks.

Digital Magazine Concept Has Potential

The idea of replacing books with a Kindle has absolutely no appeal to me, however this conceptual piece for a possible future of magazines resonates with me a lot. I like magazines, but tossing them into the recycling bin seems wasteful and they do take up way too much room on my coffee table.

The work by Bonnier working with design agency BERG makes me want one NOW!

Mag+ (video prototype footage only) from Bonnier on Vimeo.

Microsoft Steals Code And Admits It!

For years folks in the geeky set have suspected that Microsoft appropriates code from other developers and finally someone has proven it. Juku, Microsoft's new micro-blogging software turns out to be an exact copy of Plurk. To be fair it turns out a Chinese vendor hired by Microsoft copied the Plurk code to build Juku.

On the good side, Microsoft has fessed up to the theft and has shut down Juku indefinitely. I suspect they will just buy Plurk instead, that's the Microsoft business model from what I can tell.
Now if they can just find a way to replace Vista on my computer with a good operating system I would be content.

This once again shows that the term "R&D" in China means "receive and duplicate".

Oral Roberts Dead at 91

Oral Roberts, for all his hell fire and brimstone, faith healing and mumbo jumbo did start a really nice hospital in Tulsa. Though the university that bears his name is suspect in my book, at least he tried to give back to the community....the straight community. Deep in his bible thumping heart, Oral was a homophobe tried and true. He also had some pretty strange views about sex, as he entones below in this priceless clip from YouTube posted by Queerty. May he rest in peace.

Senate Close to Health Care Reform - And If You Believe That...!

As the Holidays approach, the Senate has decided to gift wrap a turd and call it Health Care Reform. Bowing to the whiner from Connecticut, the Senate is gutting the Medicare extension that would cover folks like me 55+ and essentially have a bill that is "better than nothing".

Why do we always have to lower the bar when it comes to legislation? Perhaps because the Senate is so concerned with some kind of non-existent voter backlash that they would rather do "nothing" and call it "something". All so they can say the delivered on Health Care Reform. What they delivered was a steaming bag of crap, served up hot and burning on the doorsteps of American citizens.

One Tough Nut! S&M Pistachio Ad

This was way too cool not to share.

Write Harry Reid NOW! Tell Him to Keep Medicare Expansion in Health Care Bill

Harry Reid is starting to buckle to Joe Lieberman and he has to be convinced to stop. Politico reports that the White House is urging a deal with Lieberman which might involve dropping the extension of Medicare to 55+ which is one of the biggest parts of the bill.

Write, call, fax email Harry Reid and tell him to grow a pair and stop cratering to Joe Lieberman. Lieberman will only have another thing he wants after the Sentae drops the Medicare expansion. He is a deal breaker and thinks only of himself, so guess what? It's time the democrats get over Joe and start getting the right bill passed. F*%K Joe Lieberman, and pass this already hobbled reform bill. If the Senate doesn't stop cutting it there will be no reform except in the name of the bill.

Now get out there and start calling!

Joe Barton, Idiot Or A Liar ? Maybe Both.

Watching an interview with Joe Barton I was struck at the calm way he describes Global Warming as a net benefit to mankind. Yes, you heard me right, "Smokey" Joe Barton, Congressman from Texas believes or says he believes that since CO2 is something we create when we breathe it must be OK for the ecosystem. I guess he sees no problem with higher sea levels, increased desertification and worse. All not only predicted, but proven to be actually happening.

Watch this an tell me if you think he is just "kicked in the head" stupid or a very skilled liar.

10 Iranian Men Await Execution For Being Gay

It's not just African countries that abuse and imprison LGBT people. It comes as no surprise that Iran is holding 12 young men in prison for "sodomy". What's worse is they are awaiting execution!

Though Iran may look pretty civilized from pictures of it's street life, modern cars, neon signs and lots of internet cafes, its still in the Dark Ages as far as human rights. The dictatorship of the Supreme Leader teamed with President Ahmadinejad makes Iran a pretty bad spot for being gay.

According to an article in Gay City News:

The information about the ten youths currently under sentence of death for sodomy (lavaat in Persian) was released on November 25 in a joint appeal by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), the Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO), and COC of the Netherlands, the world’s oldest LGBT rights group, founded in 1946. The three organizations called on Western countries “with significant diplomatic and economic ties to Iran, including Germany, France, Canada, as well as the European Union, to pursue diplomatic efforts to cease these executions.”

The US already has problems with Iran and so diplomatic ties are sketchy at best. Seems like Uganda has plenty of company as far as "not ready for prime time" countries.

President Obama Condemns Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Law!

I don't know if it was because of pressure from the LGBT community or because of genuine personal conviction, and I hope it is the latter, but the White House has issued a strong statement on the Uganda law I have been railing about for the last few weeks.

"The President strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history."

More here.

Uganda Moderates - A Little - On Anti-Homosexuality Bill

The proposed law which enraged LGBT activists and just about anyone interested in human rights in Uganda has been amended. The new Anti-Homosexuality Bill still makes it a crime to be LGBT but dropped the death penalty and life in prison portions of the proposed law.

It's not much of a step, but I suppose in Uganda even that is something. Still Uganda is not about to show up in the Bob Damron's Guide any time soon.

Gay Man Injured By Bouncer In Straight Bar

What was he thinking? A gay man walked into a nightclub in Queens New York and began dancing with his partner! The bouncer grabbed him and told him to stop and when he resisted he was beaten and tossed out. What was he thinking?

Maybe, just maybe he was thinking, "hey straight people go into gay bars and dance together all the time, so why not the reverse?"

Considering he is a well known New York gay activist, that is a pretty sure bet. Now the cops might just charge the bouncer with a hate crime and good for them! Equality is a two way street, and as long as an establishment is open to the public, there is absolutely no reason two men or two women can't dance together. Especially in New York City!

I would expect and frankly hope more of this happens, the dancing that is not the beating. We might not be able to get married, but we sure as hell can dance anywhere we please. Does that sound like a "fuck you"? Take it however you wish.

Glen Beck - "Abolish Medicare"

Most mornings I stroll through the mall attached to my office building and sit at a coffee shop to read and get my morning dose of caffeine. As with many malls in America, this one has its share of "mall walkers", mostly senior citizens out to get some exercise and indulge in this new social activity.

A group is always gathered at a table nearby where they discuss everything from grand kids to politics. From the conversations I have overheard, they are conservative and must listen to Glen Beck or Limbaugh from the quotes they spout.

I have to wonder how they would react to Glen Beck's latest tirade on Medicare.

"...why don’t you just abolish Medicare, because it’s so wildly corrupt and out of control. It’s so inefficient, it is so bad and there’s $47 billion in suspected wrong payments, okay, in Medicare."

I would make a bet that every one of those folks at that table are actually beneficiaries of Medicare and so are many of Becks loyal listeners.

In reality, Medicare is actually more efficient at providing health care and costs less than private plans.
Of course that is "reality" and I keep forgetting that conservatives create their own "reality". Go figure!

Former GOP Lawmaker In S&M Scandal.

OK, when a politician says he is "leaving office to spend more time with his family", that always means caught with his hand in the cookie jar, either sexually or monetarily. Well the case of former Missouri Speaker of the House Rod Jetton ( is that a porn name or what?) gets even more fun. And did I say this loser was behind anti-gay legislative efforts in his home state?

Jetton was already facing corruption allegations, but the latest news of his sexual escapades is choice.

Seems Jetton was a bit kinky, and he and his girlfriend (not his wife, mind you) were planning an evening of rough sex. They even arranged a safe-word, "green balloon" but forgot the third part of the BDSM mantra, "Safe, Sane & Consensual". You see Rod brought along a couple of bottles of wine and after his gal pal indulged in a glass or two, she began "fading in and out".

After an evening of very rough sex which included choking and face slapping she was upset. He told her as he was leaving, you should have used your safe word. And there is the problem!

If you are drunk, or in this case perhaps drugged (there is a suspicion of that as well) you can't give consent and if your are "fading in and out" remembering "green balloons" is tantamount to calculus.
Of course that is making the assumption that Rod and his friend had any kind of education in basic BDSM safety and protocol. HAH! (Sorry that was unavoidable, fat chance a homophobic Republican would ever be out enough to get any kind of educaton in BDSM safety!)

Read all about it and let this be a lesson to any would be kinksters, you can't give consent if you are drunk!

Is The Senate Selling Out? Dropping Public Option.

Carefully parsing his words, Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader said the Senate had reached a "broad agreement". That is double speak for throwing in the towel. Other Senators leaked the details to the press and the "broad agreement" includes dropping the public option on health care in favor of "non-profit" private insurance option overseen by the federal Office of Personnel Management. That is a similar deal to what federal employees get...similar is the key word.

One bright spot is that Medicare would be extended to people 55 and older.

My suspicion is that this alleged not for profit deal insures that insurers will get at least the cash flow if not the complete profits from this bill. Cash flow can be a profit center, especially if you are skilled at bilking every dime of interest and add-ons as insurance companies are.

What a lot of people forget is that one of the biggest insurance companies in the country started as a "not for profit" alternative to private health insurance. Blue Cross & Blue Shield was started prior to my birth back in the depression. It was a product of Baylor Hospital who wanted to find a way to provide insurance for working class folks like teachers and to make sure they got paid for their hospital services. It was not for profit up until the 1980's (thanks to the Regan-Bush years) when it became the big time money maker it is today.

So don't expect that non profit thing to last. Meanwhile, the another bright spot was the defeat of an anti-abortion amendment that would have denied coverage for abortion to people covered under the bill. That little gem was another attempt by the GOP to take away a woman's rights. I suspect most Republican men would like to see women's sufferage repealed. But that is another story.

Pepsi Says They Are Appalled By Beenie Man Concert

Apparently enough people wrote Pepsi about their sponsorship of a Beenie Man concert in Uganda that they issued the following statement.

"We are appalled by the performer’s lyrics and find them repugnant. Our bottling partner in Uganda was not aware of the performer's views and never would have sponsored the concert with this knowledge.... Moving forward, we will work closely with our bottling partners to be more vigilant about the events associated with our brands."

Good for Pepsi and good for all those who write and told the soft drink giant how outraged you were. For those who didn't know, Beenie Man is a Jamaican singer whose homophobic lyrics included exhortations to "slit the throats" of gay men.

Stem Cells To Kill HIV? Hope Or Hype?

This year I have posted at least three stories on dramatic advances in the fight against HIV/AIDS only to be crestfallen by the follow up that either indicated the stories were complete hype or the results when reanalyzed were inconclusive. Now comes an announcement by UCLA that they have a "proof of concept" around using genetically engineered stem cells as a vaccine against HIV.

Until I see a patient walking around completely cured of the virus, I can only say...blah, blah, blah! This sounds like hype to secure either funding or to make a first claim on a patent. Today, medical research seems to be about getting patentable drugs and processes rather than about curing disease. The big winners find a way to make previously deadly diseases "manageable". That is medical double speak for , not a cure, but still big profits.

Skeptical? You betcha! The "Living with HIV" industry is worth billions of dollars a year. A cure though it would be wonderful would only generate income until the disease was wiped out. I suspect if polio were an emerging epidemic today, there would be no vaccine, but lots of drugs to "manage" the disease.

McDonald's To Transgender Applicant - "We Don't Hire Faggots!"

Seems like some folks just can't handle transgendered people. The manager of a McDonald's in Florida left a message for a transgendered job applicant on their answering machine. The gist of it was this:

"It doesn't matter how many times you go down there: You will not get hired. We do not hire faggots."

Nice sentiment from the house of Ronald McDonald. Pam's House Blend has the recording.

Joe Lieberman - Self-Interest Over The Public Interest

Uganda Make Me Crazy!

After being pounded by emails and comments from Ugandans defending their Middle Ages bill which makes homosexuality a capital offense, now it looks like Pepsi is in the mix. The soft drink sponsored concerts by Beenie Man, the Jamaican singer whose lyrics endorse killing gay people.

At the Pepsi sponsored concert Beenie Man is reported to have song that gay men should have their throats slit. Now that doesn't sound like the "Pepsi Generation" I remember.

Write or call Pepsi and ask them why they are sponsoring a singer who endorses murder? Or you can sign the online petition here.

Porn Study Ends - No Porn Virgins Found!

Well that must have been a disappointing moment. Researchers at the University of Montreal failed to find a single male in his 20s who hadn't been exposed to porn. Back to the drawing board on that study!

So next time someone gives you grief for watching porn give them the link to this story. If they calim they have never done it, they most likely have their pants on fire, and not from the porn!

Fair Park Esplanade Fountains Dazzle This Weekend!

For those who know me, it's no surprise I am excited about the new fountains going into Fair Park. The installation was inspired by the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas and will give the park's esplanade a wonderful focal piece. Additionally, the two statues often referred to as the "chorus" are back. These disappeared after the 1936 Centennial and have been lovingly recreated to grace the grand entrance of the park.

Below is a computer simulation of the lighting and fountains as they will look starting this weekend during the Holiday in the Park celebration.

New York Senator Monserrate - Convicted Abuser Voted Against Gay Marriage

A nice little tidbit exposed on the Daily Show. Once again Jon Steward is a better reporter that CNN, FOX, and all the other networks combined. He even showed the surveillance footage used to convict him of assault against his girlfriend.

It's here in this segment of The Daily Show:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Gaywatch - Meredith Baxter & New York State Senate
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Uganda Be Kidding Me!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

NY Democrats Who Voted Against Marriage Equality - Traitors!

OK so here are the names of the NY Senators who voted against Marriage Equality:

• Addabbo
• Aubertine
• Diaz
• Huntley
• Kruger
• Monserrate
• Onorato
• Stachowski

None should be reelected and any LGBT person or their allies should actively work to oust them in the primary. With Democrats like these they might as well be Republicans (but please don't elect more Republicans!)

Bishop Says "Gays Won't Go The Heaven" - What About Pedophile Priests & The Church That Protects Them?

Well, the headline says it all. Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan made the statement that homosexuals and transsexuals "will never enter the kingdom of heaven".

Then in a backhanded attempt to sound like a man of God he intoned, "People are not born homosexual, they become homosexual, for different reasons: education issues or because they did not develop their own identity during adolescence. It may not be their fault, but acting against nature and the dignity of the human body is an insult to God."

Of course the good Cardinal like every other Catholic official remains mute on the systematic cover up by the church of the dozens of pedophile priests who have molested children in recent history. Ain't is swell that folks like him actually know how God thinks?

This Christmas, Pass The Red Kettle By

It's hard to miss the Salvation Army red kettles. They are outside most store and malls with a volunteer ringing a bell which I am sure drives retailers crazy.

I used to drop a dollar or two into the pot every time I passed one until I found out that the Salvation Army, actually a worldwide religious organization actively works to obstruct LGBT rights. If you thought all they did was rescue drunks, think again.

In Scotland the Salvation Army actively lobbied to prevent a repeal of anti-gay laws while at home a few years ago they worked in tandem with the Bush administration to remove any barriers to discrimination against LGBT people while still receiving government funds through the "faith biased" initiates program.

John Aravosis over at Americablog pulled this from their website last year regarding their Austrailian barnch:

"[Homosexual activity is] as rebellion against God's plan for the created order.... Homosexual practice, however, is, in the light of Scripture, clearly unacceptable. Such activity is chosen behaviour and is thus a matter of the will. It is therefore able to be directed or restrained in the same way heterosexual urges are controlled. Homosexual practice would render any person ineligible for full membership (soldiership) in the [Salvation] Army." - Salvation Army Australia Web site (emphasis added)

This year why not donate to your local Food Bank, Kiva.org or to the Human Rights Campaign Fund?

Merry Christmas, You're Deported!

Ah, in the spirit of the season the Salvation Army and Houston Fire Department are asking for birth certificates or Social Security cards for the children they are handing out toys to. Yes, St. Nick now works for the IMS in Houston. Something you might want to remember when being asked to donate a toy or other item to these organizations.

Funny, I don't remember Jesus attaching strings to His miracles? Maybe Lou Dobbs is really Santa Clause?

Whale Go Boom!

OK this is an old video, but I first saw it almost 40 years ago when it was first shot... of course the it was on 16mm film.

News reporter Paul Linnman of Portland, OR was sent to cover the story of a dead whale that washed up on shore. The parks department or some other rocket scientist figured they could blow the whale carcas up and the shore birds and crabs would take care of the pulverized remains.

The proceeded to pack the whale with a ton of dynamite and pushed the plunger. The story is below. Obviously no one thought this through and from the huge pieces of blubber falling and destroying cars parked 1/4 mile away, it clearly belongs in the "hey watch this" hall of fame.

Minaret Ban In Switzerland?

I can't imagine this happening here...note the irony in my voice.

Right wing voters in Switzerland look poised to win an election that will prohibit mosques from building minarets. Seems they don't want people thinking that radical Islam is spreading in their country. So they ban minarets?

Seems the right wing Swiss are as crazy as the GOP.

Tarzan Toy - A Boys Favorite Plaything?

This one is amazing, and just in time for Christmas!

Tarzan Fail
by failblog

Dubai Awash In Debt - Asks For Hiatus On Repayments

The city state of Dubai, also known as what I call the "Architecture Factory" is putting on the brakes. Driven by immense debt incurred in it's insane building projects, like the worlds tallest skyscraper in the middle of the desert or the palm shaped islands, the emirate is over $60 billion in debt.
The call for a debt standstill for 6 month has shaken the world markets. Seems everyone is surprised that Dubai is in trouble. I have to wonder do these folks who are the power brokers in he world markets every do some basic arithmetic?

Sheik Mohammed has been spending like a drunk who thinks he won the lottery and now everyone else is figuring it out. Certainly hope he doesn't take the rest of the middle east down with him.

GOP Rewriting History Again - No Terror Attacks Under Bush?

Sure feels like 1984 at least the fictional one. Dana Perino is trying to rewrite history in an interview where she claims there were no terrorist attacks under the Bush administration. Hummm? So what was 9/11 and that Anthrax thing?