Saturday, June 30, 2007
Introduce Yourself
I have now introduced seven of my readers on this Blog. I have also received notes and messages from other readers who, due to their circumstances do not wish to be featured.
For those of you who do not want to be featured, as I have said before, I would love to hear from you either via comment or e-mail. So far, people from 91 countries - I am truly amazed at the number of viewers - have viewed this blog. I'd love for some more of you to tell me about yourselves. My e-mail address is: michaelinnorfolk@gmail.com
Another of My Readers
I hope readers will check out Lyn's blog at http://lgbtboomers2.blogspot.com/. I am honored to have somehow made his short list of "friends he's met on the Internet." What's funny is that two of my other readers and fellow bloggers - Jim at Though Lovers Be Lost and Euphoric at Real Euphoria - are also on the short list.
Lyn's decision to come out to family and even more so on his blog makes me feel that perhaps I am achieving some of my purpose for doing this blog. Here's part of what Lyn said in a message to me and two other bloggers:
After reading your blogs now for a few days, I have decided to write a more honest blogger profile of myself . As I mention in the profile, I'm at and have been since last summer when my best friend Bill passed away, at a crossroad in my life.
And if I going to start coming out, even if only selectively for now, I may as well be honest in my profile for all to see. Thanks for your collective inspiration, even though you didn't have any idea you had given me any. Bloggers can hide behind their blogs and be who they are not, or be honest with their readers and lay the cards on the table.
And if I going to start coming out, even if only selectively for now, I may as well be honest in my profile for all to see. Thanks for your collective inspiration, even though you didn't have any idea you had given me any. Bloggers can hide behind their blogs and be who they are not, or be honest with their readers and lay the cards on the table.
I wish Lyn success with his blogs and I am sure he will be an inspiration to others of our mutual generation. I will continue to try to honestly lay my cards on the table and tell it like it is, or at least how I perceive it to be from my vantage point.
77 Percent Believe Iraq Going Poorly
A CBS poll finds a record high number of Americans who say the war in Iraq is going poorly and a record low number who approve of President Bush (27%). Thankfully, more and more Americans are not believing the delusional PR being put out by Chimperator Bush and Dick "Darth Vader" Cheney:
The poll found the highest-ever percentage of Americans -- 77 percent -- who say the war in Iraq is going badly. Just 52 percent of Republicans continue to hold on to the idea that the war is going at least somewhat well, while 90 percent of Democrats and 80 percent of independents say it is going poorly.
Two-thirds of Americans want to decrease or remove US troops from Iraq, according to the poll, and 51 percent of Americans think our occupation is creating more terrorists. President Bush's approval rating slips to its lowest rating in the new poll, to 27 percent.
I certainly hope that the public recognition of the maladministration by the Bush regime spills over and taints the entire GOP up through the 2008 election. I continue to believe an election catastrophe in 2008 will begin the much needed turn around of the GOP.
Indoctrinating Children, Christian-Style
The New Yorker has an interesting story (http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker/2007/06/a-few-miles-sou.html) about the author's visit to the new Creation Museum in Kentucky. These quotes say it all:
The Creation Museum takes the usual trajectory of science education and turns it upside down: the Enlightenment initiated the dark ages, and only the discovery of Biblical truth can lead us out of it. There’s very little attempt to persuade visitors with even spurious scientific argument. The truth is asserted within a hermetically closed system of belief.
Many of the quarter of a million people expected to visit the Creation Museum by the end of the year will be children. They will be indoctrinated into an ideology that systematically warps their understanding of the physical world and fills them with hostility toward the facts and concepts of modernity. As we have learned over the past few years, this doesn’t mean that they’ll be outcasts and failures. A great political party has largely abased itself before their world view and offered them unprecedented access to government power. The Creation Museum, a combination of a natural-history museum and a Communist Party propaganda center, will help to arm and arouse the next generation of Christianists in the ongoing war against secular and scientific America.
This country must look increasinly like a bunch of idiots to the rest of the world. Better education is a higher and higher priority to many developing nations, but the Christianists in the USA want to dumb everyone down to their level.
Saturday Musings
We were watching the Logo channel this morning - yes we do now have Logo available in Norfolk - and a story was on about Matthew James, a young gay college student who had been expelled from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, for being gay (based on Lee's own website, only 9% of the student body is non-caucasian). During his interview, he discussed how his room was secretly searched and materials taken by the administration, including a DVD of "Latter Days." One of the things that the administration of the college tried to force James to do was enroll in an Exodus ex-gay program.
James' own parents had previously placed him in an ex-gay counseling program. Anyone reading this Blog knows that in my view, Exodus is a fraud and should be shut down. It is clear from Matt James' statements that he tried - much as I did - to immerse himself in religion to make the gay go away (it was one of the reasons he went to Lee University). As any rational person knows, it just doesn't work. In fact, it is now my view, that parents who place their children in such programs are guilty of child abuse and, in a more perfect world, ought to be prosecuted for the psychological harm they do to their children.
Last fall, I posted about a great column that addressed the damage this type of child abuse does and the fact that it is one of the few forms of child abuse still openly condoned in many quarters. That post is here: http://michael-in-norfolk.blogspot.com/2006/09/i-came-across-this-column-on-blog.html. I recommend it to anyone who has not previously read it. Anger in me generated by that column, inspiration I received from reading Matt's coming out story over at Debriefing the Boys, and encouragement from my therapist resulted in me deciding to start this Blog.
After the Matt James story, After that, Rachel Madow did a follow up story on the numerous "Christian" colleges and universities that have policies similar to that of Lee University. What I found most maddening is that many of these institution receive federal funding even though they actively discriminate on the basis of religion, Matthew James being one example. In my opinion, such colleges and universities should be barred from receiving ANY tax derived funds. They can discriminate if they want in pursuing their sick version of Christianity, but no taxpayer should have to indirectly fund these institutions. In short, if they want to discriminate, they need to get their snouts out of the federal funding trough.
Poland's Homophobic Bigotry
365gay.com has a report on the European Union’s reaction to Poland’s increasingly rabid homophobia and proposed anti-gay legislation:
(Warsaw) The European Union's watchdog for human rights hammered the Polish government on Friday or what he called an abysmal record in the treatment of gays and lesbians.
Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg presented Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski with a failing grade in a human rights performance report.
Afterwards Hammarberg told reporters that the country has a homophobia problem and the government needs to tone down the rhetoric. "I think we should remember that one of the groups that were targeted by the Nazis were homosexuals.
Meanwhile, the Catholic News Service is reporting positively on Poland's homophobic behavior. Of course this is the same institution that had bishops colaborating with the Communist secret police in Poland.
Personally, I believe the EU needs to back more back bone. The more recently admitted countries like Poland should be told in very blunt terms that either they comply with the EU's standards regarding human rights, or they will be expelled from the EU. Bullies and bigots sadly only understand action, not talk.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Resegregation Now
The U. S. Supreme Court decision yesterday with respect to school integration issues should be a wake up call to Black Americans of what the Christianist version of America will look like. Gays are NOT the only targets of these false Christians, who long to restore America to their perverted version of the early 1950's when gays were hidden deep in the closet, Blacks were second-class citizens, and Hispanics and Asians were not much better off than Blacks. One only needs to read the web sites of the leading groups like Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, the American Family Association, etc. These organizations are descretely racist, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, etc. They are against ANYONE not just like themselves. Today's New York Times lead editorial (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/opinion/29fri1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) hits this huge step backward head on.
The Supreme Court ruled 53 years ago in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated education is inherently unequal, and it ordered the nation’s schools to integrate. Yesterday, the court switched sides and told two cities that they cannot take modest steps to bring public school students of different races together. It was a sad day for the court and for the ideal of racial equality.
Since 1954, the Supreme Court has been the nation’s driving force for integration. Its orders required segregated buses and public buildings, parks and playgrounds to open up to all Americans. It wasn’t always easy: governors, senators and angry mobs talked of massive resistance. But the court never wavered, and in many of the most important cases it spoke unanimously.
Yesterday, the court’s radical new majority turned its back on that proud tradition in a 5-4 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts. It has been some time since the court, which has grown more conservative by the year, did much to compel local governments to promote racial integration. But now it is moving in reverse, broadly ordering the public schools to become more segregated.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, who provided the majority’s fifth vote, reined in the ruling somewhat by signing only part of the majority opinion and writing separately to underscore that some limited programs that take race into account are still acceptable. But it is unclear how much room his analysis will leave, in practice, for school districts to promote integration. His unwillingness to uphold Seattle’s and Louisville’s relatively modest plans is certainly a discouraging sign.
In an eloquent dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer explained just how sharp a break the decision is with history. The Supreme Court has often ordered schools to use race-conscious remedies, and it has unanimously held that deciding to make assignments based on race “to prepare students to live in a pluralistic society” is “within the broad discretionary powers of school authorities.”
Chief Justice Roberts, who assured the Senate at his confirmation hearings that he respected precedent, and Brown in particular, eagerly set these precedents aside. The right wing of the court also tossed aside two other principles they claim to hold dear. Their campaign for “federalism,” or scaling back federal power so states and localities have more authority, argued for upholding the Seattle and Louisville, Ky., programs. So did their supposed opposition to “judicial activism.” This decision is the height of activism: federal judges relying on the Constitution to tell elected local officials what to do.
The nation is getting more diverse, but by many measures public schools are becoming more segregated. More than one in six black children now attend schools that are 99 to 100 percent minority. This resegregation is likely to get appreciably worse as a result of the court’s ruling.
There should be no mistaking just how radical this decision is. In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens said it was his “firm conviction that no Member of the Court that I joined in 1975 would have agreed with today’s decision.” He also noted the “cruel irony” of the court relying on Brown v. Board of Education while robbing that landmark ruling of much of its force and spirit. The citizens of Louisville and Seattle, and the rest of the nation, can ponder the majority’s kind words about Brown as they get to work today making their schools, and their cities, more segregated.
Impeach Cheney
This from Andrew Sullivan with which I am in full agreement http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/06/impeach-cheney.htmle:
A conservative makes the case. Conservatives should be more outraged by his assault on the law, the constitution and individual liberty. He's also clearly a war criminal - a knowing enforcer of torture and abuse of military detainees. We once executed Nazis for the same techniques as Cheney has approved and enforced. I don't want to see him impeached. I want to see him prosecuted under American and international law as a criminal. The link to the article Andrew references is http://slate.com/id/2169292, where all of Cheney's activities are described. Here is a partial description:
Let's review the record of his abuses and excesses:
The vice president asserted presidential power to create military commissions, which combine the functions of judge, jury, and prosecutor in the trial of war crimes. The Supreme Court rebuked Cheney in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. Mr. Cheney claimed authority to detain American citizens as enemy combatants indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay on the president's say-so alone, a frightening power indistinguishable from King Louis XVI's execrated lettres de cachet that occasioned the storming of the Bastille. The Supreme Court repudiated Cheney in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld.
The vice president initiated kidnappings, secret detentions, and torture in Eastern European prisons of suspected international terrorists. This lawlessness has been answered in Germany and Italy with criminal charges against CIA operatives or agents. The legal precedent set by Cheney would justify a decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to kidnap American tourists in Paris and to dispatch them to dungeons in Belarus if they were suspected of Chechen sympathies.
The vice president has maintained that the entire world is a battlefield. Accordingly, he contends that military power may be unleashed to kill or capture any American citizen on American soil if suspected of association or affiliation with al-Qaida. Thus, Mr. Cheney could have ordered the military to kill Jose Padilla with rockets, artillery, or otherwise when he landed at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, because of Padilla's then-suspected ties to international terrorism.
The man needs to be removed from office. He definitely suffers from a Darth Vader mentality and has made America look like some third world dictatorship in the making.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
UK Military To Gays: 'Sorry'
This week the man in charge of equality training for the Ministry of Defense, Wing Commander Phil Sagar, apologized for the persecution that gays and lesbians had suffered prior to 2000.
"We’re sorry for anyone who has suffered personal trauma," Sagar told the BBC.
"We’re sorry for anyone who has suffered personal trauma," Sagar told the BBC.
"Our challenge is to create an environment where there is a genuine freedom from harassment and discrimination. We’re only seven years down the trail . . . I guess there’s still some way to go."
In the years since Great Britain ended the ban on gays serving in the military the government has paid out more than $1.6 million to service members drummed out of the services. The figures represent 24 former service members who threatened court action over their dismissal after the removal of the ban in 2000. More than 50 claims are still pending.
On Saturday LGBT members of the Royal Navy will be taking part in a Gay Pride march in London, all of them wearing their uniform. Members of the Army and the RAF have been banned from wearing their uniform at pride events.
The United States is the only major Western power to bar gays from serving openly in the military, under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Obviously the problem free experience of the USA's allies means nothing to the Christianists whose goal is to stigmatize gays in any manner possible.
A public opinion poll conducted in the US last month found that 79 percent support gays serving openly in the military.
Bush D. C. Veto Threat
Dondon009 had this story on his blog (I love the poster set out above) and I could not resist posting portions of his comments and the poster here:
President Bush issued a warning to Congress on Wednesday that he will veto budget appropriations for the District of Columbia unless the measure contains language barring the district from using any of the money for its domestic partner registry.
The registry allows same and opposite-sex unmarried couples to register their relationships.Three quarters of the District of Columbia's budget comes from local revenue - city taxes and fees. But, about $120 million in additional funds comes from the federal government. That money is contained in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act.
Under Republicans the legislation stated that none of the federal money could be used to support the partner registry.When Democrats took control of Congress the requirement was removed.
In threatening a veto the White House on Wednesday issued a statement saying: "The Administration strongly opposes the bill’s exclusion of a longstanding provision that disallows the use of Federal funds to register unmarried, cohabitating couples in the District, to enable them to qualify for benefits on the same basis as legally married couples.
Under Federal law, legal marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Federal tax dollars are not used to extend employment benefits to domestic partners of Federal employees, and D.C. should not enjoy an exception to this rule."
The Domestic Partner registry includes such partner rights as hospital and nursing home visitations, medical decisions, and inheritance rights.
Wow, such an ominous threat to heterosexual marriages!!! For Don's complete post see: http://dondon009.blogspot.com/
Bush Won't Supply Subpoenaed Documents
Today's Washington Post story, portions of which follow, provides yet further evidence that Chimperator Bush thinks he is "der Fureher" and above the law:
The White House said today it would not comply with congressional subpoenas for documents and testimony relating to the firings of federal prosecutors last year, setting up a potential constitutional confrontation over its claim of executive privilege.
In a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate judiciary committees, President Bush's counsel, Fred F. Fielding, said the White House refuses to turn over documents that were subpoenaed by the two committees on June 13. The deadline for handing over most of them was today.
The committees are seeking the documents to determine the extent of White House involvement in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year. That action by the Justice Department has caused an uproar in Congress and prompted many Democrats and some Republicans to call for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.
In a separate action, the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday issued subpoenas for White House documents related to the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program. The White House did not immediately say whether it would turn over those documents by the July 18 deadline.
I think we all can guess what the White House response will be. For the full Post story see: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062800567.html?hpid=topnews
Ex-EX-Gay Apology
In follow to yesterday's post, set out below is the text of the apology/press release by Darlene Bogle, Exodus-founder Michael Bussee (pictured at left), and UK's Jeremy Marks:
As former leaders of ex-gay ministries, we apologize to those individuals and families who believed our message that there is something inherently wrong with being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Some who heard our message were compelled to try to change an integral part of themselves, bringing harm to themselves and their families. Although we acted in good faith, we have since witnessed the isolation, shame, fear, and loss of faith that this message creates. We apologize for our part in the message of broken truth we spoke on behalf of Exodus and other organizations. We call on other former ex-gay leaders to join the healing and reconciliation process by adding their names to this apology.
We encourage current leaders of ex-gay programs to have the courage to evaluate the fruit of their programs. We ask them to consider the long-term effects of their ministry. "My heart breaks as I hear the many stories of abuse and suicide from men and women who couldn't change their orientation, regardless of what Exodus and other Christian ministries told them. One of our female attendees became so depressed over her inability to change that she jumped off a bridge rather than continue the struggle. I was told it wasn't my fault, but my heart knew better. ....There does need to be a change in our lives, but our sexual orientation is not what needs to be healed. I call for a time of healing within the body of faith that will celebrate Christ's life within all His children," said Darlene Bogle, founder of an Exodus off-shoot called Paraklete Ministries in Hayward, California.
Some of the fruits and effects of their ex-gay programs have been and are self-hatred, deep depression, and suicide when the falsely promised change does not occur. One can only wonder how many lives have been damaged by these fraudulent programs. While I was never in an ex-gay program per se, false religious promises certainly cause me unmeasurable anguish and self-hate for many years.
Some good new is that according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, a majority of Americans (56%) do not believe that sexual orientation can be changed. Now if only the GOP would wake up to reality.
For younger gays who never experienced the decades in the closet like many in the older generation, I do not think they fully understand the Hell we experienced or how long the process takes to get over the damage, including the time involved in free one's self from a sense of guilt and/or failure.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Another Catholic Church Revelation of Hypocrisy
MyWay News has an embarrassing story on the Catholic Church in Poland. Turns out that a number of bishops were collaborators or agents of the communist secret police. Portions of the story follow:
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - A special commission of Poland's Roman Catholic Church said Wednesday that documents in secret police files showed "about a dozen" living bishops had ties to the communist-era secret services.
After six months of work, the commission said that among Poland's 132 bishops "about a dozen were registered by the security services of communist Poland as 'secret collaborators' or 'operational contacts,'" while one was registered as an "agent" of the intelligence service.
Back in January, the New York Times reported:
Warsaw’s new archbishop, Stanislaw W. Wielgus, caught in Eastern Europe’s widening witch hunt for former Communist secret police informers, admitted Friday that he had collaborated with the Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa, or Security Service, known as the S.B.
Wielgus (pictured above) ultimately resigned. It should be no surprise that an institution that covered up the sexual abuse of children world wide also cooperated with repressive secret police agencies. I can only wonder how many lives they damaged in this manner. This same wonderful institution currently is working overtime to deprive gays in Poland of civil legal rights.
Former Ex-Gay Leaders Apologize
Beyond Ex-Gay (http://www.beyondexgay.com/conference) is reporting that former ex-gay leaders held a press conference in Los Angeles and apologized for their past involvement with Exodus International affiliates:Three former ex-gay leaders issued public apologies for the roles they played in ex-gay ministries affiliated with Exodus International. They also shared portions of their personal stories.
The event was covered by members of local and national news media including CNN and Azteca America . More information about the apologies, the leaders, and their statements will be released later today.
The event was covered by members of local and national news media including CNN and Azteca America . More information about the apologies, the leaders, and their statements will be released later today.
I will post more information as it becomes available. Meanwhile, I am sure the fundie talking heads like Robert Knight, Stephen Bennett, Peter LaBarbera, et al, will be denouncing these folks with foam at their mouths. Once the ex-gay myth collapses, a good share of these guys' livelihoods will dry up.
Do you love the kid or not?
John Aravois at AmericaBlog has a great challenge to Dick and Lynne Cheney (See: .http://www.americablog.com/2007/06/do-you-love-kid-or-not.html )
It's time for Dick and Lynne to prove whether they love their new grandson or not.Bush is now threatening to veto the DC Appropriations bill because it no longer includes gay-bashing language that the GOP has put in there for years. The language banned the DC government from using federal funds to in any way support domestic partner benefits, civil unions and the like (not that the DC government was using federal funds, but it was a nice chance for the GOP to gay bash anyway). Now that the Democrats have dropped the GOP gay-bashing language from the bill, George Bush is threatening a veto.
George Bush is willing to veto Mary Cheney's baby. And not a word from Dick Cheney or Lynne Cheney about the legislative child abuse Bush is about to inflict on their grandson. It's bad enough Dick and Lynne Cheney sat by for so many years as the GOP (and Dick's own boss) bashed their daughter, but you'd think that the Cheneys would finally come to the defense of their own innocent grandson, Samuel David. The Cheneys have a simple choice. They can side with their own flesh and blood, or they can side with the people who bashed Mary and Heather and their newborn child.So the question remains, Dick and Lynne, do you love the kid or not?
Unfortunately, I suspect Cheney will sell out his daughter and grandson.
Pentagon Idiocy - Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Talk about idiocy. PageOneQ is reporting that the Pentagon is encouraging gays discharged under the stupid Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy to "continue to serve their nation and national security by putting their abilities to use by way of civilian employment with other Federal agencies, the Department of Defense, or in the private sector, such as with a government contractor.” (See: http://pageoneq.com/news/2007/pentagon062707.html) . A copy of a Pentagon press letter is set out above. Highlights of the article follow:According to SLDN Communications Director Steve Ralls, "Pentagon leaders clearly acknowledge that lesbian and gay Americans make important contributions to our national security and that our country is better off when their skills are employed, not turned away."
Pentagon public affairs no longer made a 'necessity argument,' and no longer pointed to any support for the law among its command or the rank-and-file. Instead, the debate over 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' became one the Pentagon deferred to Congress to settle. Congress, the Pentagon correctly pointed out, has full authority to debate the law and, if they see fit, repeal it. With this new statement, DoD has taken an even more significant step forward. Now, Congress should repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and welcome every American who wants to serve, regardless of sexual orientation.”
This in particular illustrates the idiocy of the current policy:
Daimeon Pilcher, a former member of the Air Force, told PageOneQ, "I met my first boyfriend when he was an openly gay contractor working with me at the Pentagon. He was out of the closet and served in a support role to some of the nation's highest ranked military officers.
The situation with my clients who I posted about last week does the same: their command deems them to be mission essential and is trying to make the charges go away.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Giuliani Makes Regent University Appearance
Living in the same area as Pat Robertson's Regent University, it is disgusting to see GOP candidates make their pilgrimages to do the equivalent of kiss Pat Robertson's ring. Guiliani is just the lastest candidate to show he will pander to incredible lenghts to try to win Christianist support in the GOP primaries. We have had Romney visit twice, as well as McCain, who I once upon a time respected (he was a POW in Vietnam with a good friend of mine). Here's a part of the Virginian Pilot coverage:
Giuliani steered clear of attacking any of his GOP rivals in an address to about 650 business, corporate and political leaders at Regent University, the conservative Christian college founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.
Instead, he accused Democrats of weakness and naivete in dealing with terrorism, aligning himself with President Bush in opposing calls from congressional Democrats and Republicans for a date to begin drawing down U.S. troops from Iraq.
Of course, meanwhile we are learning more about Guiliani's and the ferderal government's failure to inform 9-11 first responders of the true dangers from the pollutants in the air. Was Guiliani's failure due to naivete or plan old cynicism?
Norfolk - Not Attractive to Young Professionals
Forbes just did a ranking of the best cities for young professionals and Norfolk ranked 34 out of 40 (it was the only Virginia city to make the rankings at all):*
Life can get expensive in Norfolk for those just out of college. Salary levels are among the lowest of the cities we measured, and costs aren't cheap enough to act as a counter-balance. Additionally, a ranking of 30th for businesses and 37th for its never-married population pushed it down in our rankings.
Behind The Numbers Our list was compiled by tracking where the graduates of top universities across the country ended up 10 years after commencement; where the best business opportunities exist; which cities had the most young and unmarried people; and which cities paid young professionals the best.
The complete story is here: (http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/2007/06/21/cities-jobs-young-forbeslife-cx_mw_0621realestate.html.
Personally, I am not surprised. As my post on June 23, 2007, noted a new study found that prosperity, business opportunities, and salaries are higher in cities that are more gay friendly. The Virginia General Assembly has done everything in its power to make Virginia hostile toward the LGBT community as well as straight unmarried couples. Given the state's strong anti-gay legislation, I guess the surprise is that Norfolk made the rankings at all even though it is a liberal center of the universe compared to other parts of Virginia.
A GOP Plan To Oust Cheney?
Today's Washington Post has a story by Sally Quinn that conjectures about ( See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/25/AR2007062501038.html?nav%3Dhcmodule&sub=AR) about a possible GOP to oust Vice President Dick "Darth Vader" Cheney. I certainly believe Cheney is a menace to the country - and seriously unbalanced - and I look forward to him being out of office. Here's a summary of some points from the Post's story:
The big question right now among Republicans is how to remove Vice President Cheney from office. Even before this week's blockbuster series in The Post, discontent in Republican ranks was rising.
As the reputed architect of the war in Iraq, Cheney is viewed as toxic, and as the administration's leading proponent of an attack on Iran, he is seen as dangerous. As long as he remains vice president, according to this thinking, he has the potential to drag down every member of the party -- including the presidential nominee -- in next year's elections.
Today, another group of party elders, led by Sen. John Warner of Virginia, could well do the same. They could act out of concern for our country's plummeting reputation throughout the world, particularly in the Middle East.
For such a plan to work, however, they would need a ready replacement. Until recently, there hasn't been an acceptable alternative to Cheney -- nor has there been a persuasive argument to convince President Bush to make a change. Now there is. . . . . Fred Thompson.
Unfortunately, in my view, there is a great deal more toxic within the GOP currently than just Cheney and Bush. Therefore, I believe that nothing short of a disastrous defeat at the polls in 2008 will be enough to force the Christianist element now controlling the GOP to be driven back into the political wilderness. Unless and until that dangerous element of the GOP is driven from power, I candidly see little hope for the GOP becoming a party I and many other moderates would want to support, much less see in control of the White House and/or Congress. Thus, if Cheney can be reined in and not start a war with Iran, I would rather see his toxicity drag down every GOP candidate in 2008.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Possible Move to Defund Cheney's Office
Since Vice President Dick "Darth Vader" Cheney claims that he is not part of the executive branch and, therefore, not subject to any oversight, etc., I support the possible Congressional move to deny Cheney's office any funding. Here's portions of The Raw Story.com's coverage:
While some would argue that Dick Cheney has sought unlimited power for his office in President George W. Bush's White House, the Vice President could soon be facing some major limits on his government bank account. A top House Democrat has announced his intention to offer an amendment to strip funding from the yearly budget for the Office of the Vice President.
On the Hill, there's an overwhelmingly positive reaction," a spokesman for Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) told RAW STORY Monday afternoon. He went on, "This is an important amendment and question, and it's a choice that the Vice President should make. He cannot be allowed to accept executive branch funding and not adhere to executive branch rules. There is no fourth branch of government."
Increasingly, Cheney thinks that he is exempt from any rules whatsoever. I guess he thinks he's Hermann Goering - they do have a similar body build, now that I think of it, although Goering had more hair. :) Perhaps Mussolini is another hero idol for him.
Number of Blacks Joining Military Down
I am glad that Black Americans are catching on to the the Bush/Christianist tactic of recruiting minorities to go fight in their "crusade" in Iraq. Whenever I see the Army and Marine recruiting ads cynically targeting those from low income areas, it makes me ill. Promises of college education funds may not do these kids much good if they are maimed or suffering from traumatic brain injuries. Here's portions of the Washington Post story:
WASHINGTON -- The number of blacks joining the military has plunged by more than one-third since the Afghanistan and Iraq wars began. Other job prospects are soaring and relatives of potential recruits increasingly are discouraging them from joining the armed services. According to data obtained by The Associated Press, the decline covers all four military services for active duty recruits. The drop is even more dramatic when National Guard and Reserve recruiting is included.
Walking past the Army recruiting station in downtown Washington, D.C., this past week, Sean Glover said he has done all he can to talk black relatives out of joining the military. "I don't think it's a good time. I don't support the government's efforts here and abroad," said Glover, 36. "There's other ways you can pay for college. There's other ways you can get your life together. Joining the Army, the military, comes at a very high price."
Meanwhile the military continues to launch witch hunts for gays or those alleged to be gay by disgruntled or vindictive military personnel. Clearly, the theocrats would rather decimate the military that have gays in the military.
Fundie Mental Melt Down
If one needs any more evidence that the fundie Christianist are mentally unbalanced, one need look no farther than Matt Barber's rant at Concern Women for America (http://www.cwfa.org/articles/13225/CFI/family/www.cwfa.org) Of course I find it interesting that these "concerned women" so often only speak through the voices of their homophobic men folk. I had no idea that we gays seeking marriage rights were akin to the Frankenstein monster, a threat to national secuity and/or as damaging as Hurricane Katrina:
"Prior to Goodridge, the concept of a man "marrying" a man or a woman "marrying" a woman was widely and properly considered preposterous. However, with their decision in Goodridge, four of the court's seven social mad scientists have zapped artificial life into a cultural "gay-marriage" Frankenstein monster. And that radical and bizarre new concept has been terrorizing the countryside every since. "
If the 1913 law [that restricts marriage to Massachusetts residents] is repealed and homosexual activists have success with like-minded judges, then we can expect the "gay marriage" levy to break, flooding the countryside with Hurricane Katrina-like destruction to the marriage and family foundation upon which our society rests.
I truly believe Mr. Barber needs some therapy and heavy medication. Meanwhile, CWFA is silent on the fate of war orphans in Iraq, etc., which one would expect true Christians to focus upon. Damn, I forgot. Those orphans are not white and are Muslim. Never mind.
Favoritism Allowed for Christianist Organizations
Nice to know that I have no standing to challenge gifts of taxpayer derived money to Christianist groups who would like keep me a second class citizen (or worse yet). Here' the news brief from CNN:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court Monday upheld the legality of an internal White House office that forcefully pushes federal aid for religious charities, a case with an unusual nexus of constitutional, financial and political implications.
By a 5-4 vote, a conservative majority concluded taxpayers did not have "standing" to challenge in court the discretionary spending authority of the executive branch for its Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI).
Why do I at times feel like I am living in Nazi Germany in the early 1930's?
Bush Undermines Voting Rights and the U. S. Constitution
More and more information is coming to light about the manner in which Chimperator Bush and his regime - I call it a regime, because Bush and Cheney view themselves as co-dictators - want to subvert democarcy. Here's portions of a story from The Nation about voter suppression that sounds like something from a banana republic or the days of the Jim Crow laws.
Thanks to rigorous work by the Brennan Center for Justice and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, it is clear that the US. Attorney scandal – as outrageous as it is on its own – is part of a much broader effort by the Bush Administration to use government institutions for partisan gain.
In their report – Using Justice to Suppress the Vote – the two pro-democracy, pro-civil rights organizations demonstrate that the [Bush] Administration used federal agencies charged with protecting voters' rights to promote voter suppression, influence voting rules, and gain advantage in battleground states. This was achieved through a four-pronged strategy: dismantling the infrastructure at the Department of Justice; fomenting a fear of rampant voter fraud (which has subsequently been disproved – it actually occurs "statistically…about as often as death by lightning strike"); politically motivated prosecutions; and restricting registration and voting.
Experienced civil rights attorneys were removed, transferred, or denied cases in favor of new hires who lacked experience but had the right conservative credentials.
The full story appears here: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=207819
Monday Musings
I did not post yesterday for the first time in weeks. After a lazy morning, we went to the beach in the Ocean View area of Norfolk (photos are posted above), arriving around noon. We went to the beach there because my Jeep is in the shop for repairs, so I had no way to get my surfboard to Oceanfront. In addition, Ocean View is not overrun by tourists, so we did not have strangers sitting almost on top of us.
It was very pleasant and relaxing and a treat to just do nothing. After the beach we ended up hanging out with friends and watching a crazy movie we find hysterical called "Sordid Lives," which has an all star cast and a serious message about coming out intermixed with the insanity. As a result, I never made it to the office where I do most of my Blogging because of better computer equipment and the files I have saved for the "Male Beauty" posts.
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