31 July 2009

OMG! OBAMA WANTS TO KILL THE OLD PEOPLE...AND WORSE!!!1!!11!!!

these people should be publicly flogged (start with laura friggin' ingraham):



srsly. this is what they're being told! don't believe ME? this is an e-mail i received today from a dear, misguided senior citizen republican friend (yes, i have them). i'm her "truth-o-meter" on these things and yet she continues to fall for the lies every time...and doesn't realize she's being played.

what's ironically amusing, in a sad and befuddling way, is that this friend has shared that she's planning to move to a retirement village in MEXICO. this is the same person that forwards me the most vile and xenophobic e-mails about "illegal immigrants taking over america".

the name has been removed to protect the innocent (misguided). i felt no qualms about not deleting the e-mail of the a$hole that has my sweet friend scared sh*tless):

-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 10:24 AM
To: 'David M. Greer'
Subject: FW: Peek Inside The ObamaCare Bill: Esp. see pgs. 425, 427, 429

David, I am sending this to you because I don't have time to read through the original HR 3200 bill and I know you are in the know about all of this stuff. I am not forwarding this stuff to anyone else because I don't know for sure it this is going to be passed or if what they are saying here is true. I am so out of the political stuff right now that I really don't know anything that is going on anymore.

What is your take on this bill? Do you think we need to be concerned? I am worried because I am a senior and from what I have heard, people over 59 cannot have heart surgery and that a lot of age related problems (the elderly) will be untreatable and we will just have to deal with getting older and won't be able to be treated by a doctor, and it will be determined who and who cannot be treated. Is this hogwash or is there truth to this?


I think I mentioned I am looking at moving to a retirement community in Mexico after my mom and Muffin passes, but if my mom and I cannot get the healthcare we need, I need to go ahead and look into moving my mom with me if she is still living and not waiting until she passes.


I am especially concerned about the following, as well as many others listed below. Does this 1st paragraph mean that Medicare that I now have will be under ACORN and Americorps? Also, it is stating that AARP members (the elderly - over 55) will be rationed on treatments they can receive. This scares the hell out of me if all this is true.


I don't want to ask anyone else because they are so far on one side and will just scare me more, so this is why I am asking you?




Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Government will use groups, i.e.; ACORN & Americorps, to sign up individuals for Government HC plan.


Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.


PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill — Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members — your Health care WILL be rationed.





-----Original Message-----

From: jo.n.haynes@exxonmobil.com [mailto:jo.n.haynes@exxonmobil.com]
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 7:41 AM
Subject: Fw: Peek Inside The ObamaCare Bill: Esp. see pgs. 425, 427, 429




Looks like “change”!


A peek inside The ObamaCare Bill: Is reading it before they vote too much to ask Congress? See link at the end....... After reading this, if you feel like passing it on......... Be my guest.. Many folks should know of the plans in store for them.



Some examples, from a quick inventory by Family Security Matters:


Pg 22 of the HC Bill mandates the Government will audit books of all employers that self-insure.


Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill — a Government committee (good luck with that!) will decide what treatments/benefits a person may receive.


Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill — YOUR HEALTHCARE WILL BE RATIONED!


Pg 42 of HC Bill — The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Benefits for you.


PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill — HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise.


Pg 58 HC Bill — Government will have real-time access to individual's f inances and a National ID Healthcard will be issued!


Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your bank accounts for election funds transfer.


PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations (read: ACORN).


Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Government will create an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Government control.


PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill — Government mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example — Translation for illegal aliens.


Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Government will use groups, i.e.; ACORN & Americorps, to sign up individuals for Government HC plan.


PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill — Specifics of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members — your Health care WILL be rationed.


PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill — Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.


pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue Government on price fixing. No "judicial review" against Government Monopoly.


pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill — Doctors/ AMA — The Government will tell YOU what you can earn.


Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE.


Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.


Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual

taxes.=2 0(Americans will pay.)

Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & em ployees of HC Admin (the GOVERNMENT) will have access to ALL Americans' finances and personal records.


PG 203 Line 14-15 HC — "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that.


Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.


Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill — Doctors — doesn't matter what specialty — will all be paid the same.


PG 253 Line 10-18 Government sets value of Doctor's time, professional judgment, etc. Literally, value of humans.


PG 265 Sec 1131 Government mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries.


Pg 317 L 13-20 OMG!! PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Government tells Doctors what/how much they can own..


Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion — Government will mandate hospitals cannot expand.


Pg 354 Sec 1177 — Government will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs people!


PG 425 Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consultations.

Think Senior Citizens end of life prodding.

PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in how to die.


PG 427 Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of life.

The Government has a say in how your life ends.

PG 429 Lines 10-12 "advanced care consultation" may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from the Government to end a life!


Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION. 1 monthly payment to a community-based organization. (Like ACORN?)


Here's HR 3200 as of 7/14/09:

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.pdf


these people have no shame.

30 July 2009

herein lies the problem...

from the hill (emphasis added):

In an apparent warning to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), some liberal Democrats have suggested a secret-ballot vote every two years on whether or not to strip committee chairmen of their gavels.

Baucus, who is more conservative than most of the Democratic Conference, has frustrated many of his liberal colleagues by negotiating for weeks with Republicans over healthcare reform without producing a bill or even much detail about the policies he is considering.

sounds good, right? well, until you get to this part:

Harkin and Baucus are on different sides of the question of whether to create a government-run insurance plan.

While Harkin, a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, wants a strong public option, Baucus has favored a more modest proposal to set up a co-op program.

Some senators suggest privately that Baucus might be more open to persuasion if his chairmanship is subject to regular votes.

Another senior Democratic senator endorsed Harkin’s suggestion but declined to speak on the record for fear of angering Baucus.

“Put me down as a yes, but if you use my name I’ll send a SWAT team after you,” said the lawmaker when asked about a biennial referendum on chairmen.

Some Democrats have pushed back against criticism of Baucus.

A Senate source argued that critics do not have a realistic view of what it takes to enact an overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system.


senate/house dems don't even have the testicular fortitude to stand up to their own, how can we expect them to ever stand up to the REAL enemies: republicans, the uber wealthy at the expense of the good of the majority, lobbyists, multinational corporations, wall st., CEO's, ad nauseum.

one of these things is not like the other...a tale of two headlines

Medals of Freedom: Obama Honors Ted Kennedy, Harvey Milk and 14 Others

VS.


Alcee Hastings Withdrew DADT Amendment Under White House "Pressure"


if harvey milk were alive today, he would graciously decline the award.

it's past time to honor harvey milk but it's also past time to start actually DOING SOMETHING about glbt civil rights. until then, keep your medals.

28 July 2009

WHO KNEW THAT THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S BALLS, BOTH OF 'EM...WERE IN MAXINE WATERS' PURSE ALL ALONG!


it's about time rahm emmanuel was exposed for the blue dog enabler he has been all along. remember, folks, this is probably the most powerful man with the president's ear (and, NO, that doesn't excuse the "fierce advocate's" lack of spinal fortitude!).

could we be witnissing the birth of a third party?

...the "blue dogs" are certainly making a case with their unwillingness to support health care reform in favor of health insurance reform.

via huffpost:
(emphasis added)

In the House, Democratic leaders continued to negotiate with conservative and moderate rank-and-file party members with time running out for a vote before lawmakers leave Friday for a monthlong vacation.

The fiscally conservative Blue Dogs were at odds with the leadership over how to pay providers in a government-run health plan that would compete with private insurance. The House bill models the payments based on Medicare, but the so-called Blue Dogs want a negotiated rate similar to private insurance. Other issues remain sticking points for the Democrats.

"We're not ready to support a bill yet," said Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., a member of the Blue Dog group, who added: "We'll get there. We are going to pass a health care bill, whether it's now or in the fall remains to be seen."

Without the backing of the 52-member Blue Dogs, it would be difficult for Democratic leaders to pass a bill, especially since no Republican supports the legislation.

if this isn't a complete abdication of party loyalty and betrayal of their constituent's wishes, i don't know what is...oh, wait, the blue dog's constituents are the lobbyists, insurance companies and big business...you know, REPUBLICON LITE.

27 July 2009

UPDATED: bwahahahaha. fare thee well, sarah.

h/t to twolf1 at dependable renegade:


twolf1 is absolutely en fuego over at dependable renegade today...


DR is one of my "must stops" in my daily routine. the snark there and at Mock, Paper, Scissors gets me through even the worst of days!

how serious can gillibrand be about the repeal of DADT...

...if her office can't even get the number of dismissals right?

from the daily beast
:

A statement from the Gillibrand’s office, shared exclusively with The Daily Beast, notes that “265 men and women have been unfairly dismissed from the Armed Forces since President Barack Obama took office.”


a quick trip to the side bar of this blog shows the current number (same date as the article above) to be 320. at 3 dismissals per day (the actual number is closer to 2), the 265 number was reached 18.33333333 days ago.

23 July 2009

the numbers are slipping...

...while the msm would like to pin the blame on the right and center... i agree with the assessment made here that it's actually coming from the left.

Emmy-nominated, Prayers For Bobby:

via HuffPost:

Prayers for Bobby has spawned an incredible response and positive action for LGBT youth. Jody Huckaby shared with us that since its premiere there have been requests for at least 60 PFLAG chapters to be formed throughout the country. The Prayers For Bobby team has been sharing letters of gratitude stating emphatically that they share Bobby's experience and this film kept them from committing suicide. To see some of these letters take a look at my recent story on Prayers for Bobby.

Prayers for Bobby has been viewed by millions of viewers during its Lifetime Network screenings. It can also be downloaded at iTunes, and will soon be released on DVD.

22 July 2009

going to the dawgs...

slow news day. nuttin', but nuttin' caught my attention today...

so, enjoy "roxie teh pitty princess" as she discovers the "magic rope"!

20 July 2009

carolyn maloney needs a sheet and hood

from HERE. emphasis added:
There is Carolyn Maloney, ripping into Kirsten Gillibrand broad and hard for voting against the two stimulus bills and for changing her positions on several core Democratic issues, sounding out her case on the fly as, “It’s the NRA, it’s immigration, it’s all these other things. In fact, I got a call from someone from Puerto Rico, said [Gillibrand] went to Puerto Rico and came out for English-only [education]. And he said, ‘It was like saying n—r to a Puerto Rican,’” she said, using the full racial slur. “I don’t know—I don’t know if that’s true or not. I just called. I’m just throwing that out. All of her—well, what does she stand for?
how very "white" of you maloney (and, no, i will not refer to you as "representative", "Ms." or "Ma'am" because you aren't worthy of a prefix other than "bigot"...well, maybe "cracker").

srsly, WTF? "i don't know if it's true or not" ('but i'll just pour that gasoline right onto the fire', she did not add).

18 July 2009

brilliant speech, mr. bond...

you are to be commended for your words to the Human Rights Campaign.

this should be required viewing for all humanity: gay and straight, black-white-brown-yellow-red, jew-christian-muslim-agnostic-atheist, democrat and republican.

if you read this posting, i exhort you to invest 25 minutes of your time to listen to these powerful words, delivered with great eloquence.





my only concern, mr. bond, is that it's very easy to give this type of speech in front of the HRC. i would like to see you give this same speech, word-for-word, next year at the 101st anniversary of the NAACP.

h/t to Raymond Leon Roker's HuffPost article where I saw this video.

17 July 2009

color me freaking surprised.

"fierce advocate" is just another spineless politician unwilling to take on pharma, health insurance companies and their minions of lobbyists (despite LYING TO US to get elected).

from the wall street journal:
(outraged emphasis added)

WASHINGTON -- The pharmaceuticals industry, which President Barack Obama promised to "take on" during his campaign, is winning most of what it wants in the health-care overhaul.

The final contours of the legislation are far from settled, but the industry, led by a onetime powerful congressman, has notched a string of victories.

Legislation expected soon in the powerful Senate Finance Committee will leave out cost-cutting steps as part of an agreement with the industry and the White House, according to Congressional aides, industry lobbyists and others involved in the talks.

The missing items include two planks of Mr. Obama's campaign platform: allowing cheaper drugs to be imported from Canada and giving the federal government the right to negotiate Medicare drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies.

way to go, O, you really showed 'em but good, din'cha?

to those so-called progressives telling GLBT people to "wait our turn"..."the time isn't right"..."can't you see obama's busy"...

will "fierce advocate" veto the military spending bill that has hate crime protection for GLBT people attached to it? enquiring minds and all...

The 1968 law defines hate crimes as those carried out on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin. It also limits federal involvement to when the victim is engaged in a narrow range of activities, including attending a public school, serving as a juror or participating in an event administered by a state or local government.


we've been waiting since 1968. i think we've been plenty patient.

i'll take "CRACKERS" for $1000, Alex:

WHAT IS PATRICK J. BUCHANAN?

rachel handed him his a$$ on a stick last night. now if MSNBC would just stop putting him on my teevee machine all would be well with the universe:

16 July 2009

Meghan McCain: Honorary "Miss Thang" for a day...

although i tend to find her, generally speaking, vacuous (see: abysmal meltdown on bill maher's program where she was beyotch slapped by paul bagala), there's "money" in her current interview with OUT.com:

(emphasis added)

Shortly before McCain sat for this interview, Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, gave an interview to Christianity Today in which he complained about “queers” and declared, “I wouldn’t have them anywhere near my children.” Unprompted, McCain rails against the man her father’s presidential campaign touted as an American everyman and made a showpiece in the weeks before the election. “Joe the Plumber -- you can quote me -- is a dumbass. He should stick to plumbing.”


snip

Homophobia is the last socially accepted prejudice,” McCain says, repeating it for emphasis. So it’s only natural that she also views the fight for gay equality as “my generation’s civil rights movement.” At a time when California can constitutionally ban gay marriage and the current presidential administration -- having vowed so much -- has yet to fulfill its promises, it’s hard not to be won over by this bubbly optimist. “In general, I don’t get a good response from the conservative movement,” she admits, unfazed. “But there are a lot of people who have said, ‘I’m Republican and I’m pro–gay marriage. Thank you for showing that you don’t have to be anti–gay marriage to be a Republican.’ ”
note: the entire article is very revealing. i don't think she's just paying "lip service" (are you listening, 'fierce advocate'?)

Repeal DADT Petition!!!


14 July 2009

13 July 2009

blogiday staycation...

...sorry folks, i need a couple of days off...

will resume normal (whatever that is) daily blogging on thursday...unless, of course, something rears it's head that demands attention.

12 July 2009

Sunday Song

i haven't listened to this album in a long time (it came out a year or so ago). i had forgotten just how much i loved it until i took my mp3 player off shuffle and listened just to this album while weeding the purple hull peas yesterday.

the closest thing to "country" she's ever done...pedal steel, great backing vocals, a track with a little yodel action, great piano arrangements.

...and an extra bonus is that her hunk of a bull-ridin' husband, ty murray, is also in the video!

Jewel ~ I Do

11 July 2009

Patrick Murphy: Proud Patriot, Congressman, Fierce Advocate



...and now he's leading the charge!



...brilliant on rachel maddow's show.



rep. murphy is the type of straight-but-not-narrow advocate we need working to advance glbt rights (particularly dadt) inside the beltway.

paragraph du jour

OMG! just read this and almost fell out of my chair:
That's when the even shinier Mark Sanford story hit the news, along with Sarah Palin's "Oration On The Verbal Frappe Currently Coursing Out Of My Mouth In Alaska, Because I Have No Political Advisers Who Are Worth A Good God Damn." And Marion Barry straight up stalked a lady, in DC, because he is crazypants. But now: Ensign!
"verbal frappe" and "crazypants"...all in the same paragraph! too rich.

10 July 2009

pot, meet kettle:

we have seen thee, arlen, and thy name is DINO:
(emphasis added for snarkalicious hypocritical tastiness)

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter called his fellow Democrat, Rep. Joe Sestak, a "flagrant hypocrite" and accused his rival of registering as a Democrat "just in time to run for Congress."

Sestak has said that he will challenge Specter, who has the backing of President Obama and party leaders, for the Democratic Senate nomination next year. Specter, a longtime Republican, switched his party registration to Democrat this year.

i know you are, but what am i....glass houses, etc...bwahahahahahahahaha.

"say it ain't so, pete...also...you betcha"


photo via ap: 'cuz i just can't get enough of crazy-eyed sarah.

from an article in TheHill.com:
(emphasis added for snarkalicious goodness)

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R), who is running to become Michigan’s governor in 2010, said he needs a better explanation of why Palin suddenly quit her job before he’d want her campaigning with him in Michigan.


“I’ve thought about it but I don’t have an answer,” Hoekstra said. Before making a call on a Palin visit, he said, “I need a better understanding of why she quit. Why quit with a year and a half to go?”


chortle, snort. yeah, that "better understanding" might come in handy if you get elected and then crash and burn! bwahahahahahahahaha.

...a kiss is just a kiss...

...unless you're gay and in a taco shack.

grrrrrr. discrimination sux.

The five men, all gay, were placing their order at the Chico's Tacos restaurant on Montwood when the men kissed. All five sat down, but the two guards at the restaurant told them to leave.

De Leon quoted one of the guards as saying he didn't allow "that faggot stuff" in the restaurant.

De Leon said they refused to leave and called police for help. He said an officer arrived about an hour later in response to calls from his group and the guards.

As they waited for police, the guards directed other anti-gay slurs at them, he said.

snip

Briana Stone, a lawyer with the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project, disagreed.

She said the city anti-discrimination ordinance protects people on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation in public places. Perhaps more troubling, she said, was that the police officer chose not to enforce that ordinance and might have contributed to discrimination.

"This is such a blatant refusal to uphold the law on account of discrimination," she said. "The result is devastating. The Police Department is allowing that and even participating in it by refusing to enforce an anti-discrimination ordinance, which is what their job is."




As Time Goes By:

This day and age we're living in
Gives cause for apprehension
With speed and new invention
And things like fourth dimension.

Yet we get a trifle weary
With Mr. Einstein's theory.
So we must get down to earth at times
Relax relieve the tension

And no matter what the progress
Or what may yet be proved
The simple facts of life are such
They cannot be removed.]

You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.

And when two lovers woo
They still say, "I love you."
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by.

Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date.
Hearts full of passion
Jealousy and hate.
Woman needs man
And man must have his mate
That no one can deny.

It's still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die.
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by.

Oh yes, the world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by.

© 1931 Warner Bros. Music Corporation, ASCAP

09 July 2009

i *heart* alec baldwin...

...for slapping down cnn's pompous a$$, jack cafferty:

I would like to make a deal with Cafferty. Jack, you don't tell people that a career in the performing arts disqualifies them from seeking elected office, and I won't say publicly that your being convicted of leaving the scene of an accident in which you struck a cyclist and then ran two red lights while you were pursued by the police and were subsequently ordered to serve 70 hours of community service back in May of 2003 disqualifies you from posing as a "Man of the People" on a major cable news network.

beyotch. that's gonna leave a mark!

the AG of Mass. is BRILLIANT!

let's see...republiCONS support marriage equality as a state's rights issue.

the mass. AG sees DOMA as preventing the state from legally providing marriage equality.

methinks the republiCONS "state's rights" meme is about to bite them in their DOMA-supporting behinds!

from Care2:

What Does The DOMA Challenge Consist Of?


State Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed the lawsuit, called the Commonwealth v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, citing that, in order for Massachusetts to be able to define marriage as its sees fit, DOMA, which itself defines marriage as being solely between one man and one woman, must be repealed so that the state be allowed to exercise the very same rights as prescribed in DOMA's own legal wording when it gives states the right to make such autonomous decisions on the validity of same sex marriages.



The complaint contests that the DOMA legislation oversteps its bounds (contrary to the Full Faith and Credit Clause) as it prescribes that all states be subjected to the Federal perspective on what marriage is and that the law is the US Government directly interfering with a matter of state jurisdiction and determination when it comes to such things as benefit allocation, and that it does so by use of an overreaching and discriminatory law (violating the Equal Protections Clause).

04 July 2009

happy fourth of july...

we're in a burn ban around here, so this is as close as i can get to fireworks this year :(

03 July 2009

ah, beautiful, beautiful video...

also...you betcha... (updated with additional ed: commentary)


photo: AP ('cuz one can never get too much cross-eyed sarah)

OMG! WTF???

Rumors of an "iceberg scandal" have been circulating.

Resignation is certainly out of character for Sarah Palin.

You betcha!

ED: i laughed. i cried. it was better than "cats".
ED2x: i saw this coming on 1 july! now, where did mother put that magic 8-ball.

cue republiCON fauxrage in 3...2...1...

first our president had the audacity to take his wife to NYC for dinner and a show...

...now our vice-president has gone to iraq to support and encourage the troops reunite with his patriot son, beau biden.

how DARE they use public funds for "personal use" (oh, and shrub was clearing brush in crawford for 497 days and spent 487 days at camp david...BUT, iokiyar, don'cha know.)

get a brain, morans.



yes, the only thing more irritating to me than "fierce advocate's" abdication of his support for the GLBT community is the sense of entitlement and fauxrage by the republiCONs.

02 July 2009

the lion of the senate, senator kennedy, is back in the den!

now THIS is change i can believe in!

thanks to senators ted kennedy and chris dodd, we may actually be getting health care reform with an acceptable price tag ($600B over ten years) and that will cover 97% of all americans, with a robust public option.

what did we have on the table before?: a $1TRILLION dollar program and the "possibility" of a public option that might or might not kick in at some unspecified time in the future.

By contrast, an earlier, incomplete proposal carried a price tag of roughly $1 trillion and would have left millions uninsured, CBO analysts said in mid-June.

The letter indicated the cost and coverage improvements resulted from two changes. The first calls for a government-run health insurance option to compete with private coverage plans, an option that has drawn intense opposition from Republicans.

great news for glbt india

the new delhi court struck down penal code 377, which made homosexual sex a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison!

Hot on the heels of gay pride parades in Delhi and Bangalore, which saw the Indian homosexual community and its supporters out in full force and color, this victory gives activists one more reason to celebrate. They were seen on the streets of the capital this morning, distributing sweets and smearing each other with vermillion, the traditional way to mark an auspicious occasion.

"We have finally entered into the 21st Century", claimed Anjali Gopalan, head of the Naz Foundation, to reporters here. "It is very clear now that sex between consenting results would no longer be an offence," added another Naz member.

01 July 2009

required glbt reading:

The Stonewall Riots Haven't Stopped - They've Gone Global
by Johann Hari

a fascinating piece about the plight of glbt people everywhere, but particularly in the caribbean, middle east and africa.

the piece also brings to the foreground the fact that homosexual behavior isn't limited to humans. it's practiced, in some degree, in every genus and every species. (click HERE to read the article on the UC - Riverside study)

please take the time to read this great piece. it says, in part:

Homosexuality happens everywhere, so gay people fight for the freedom to be themselves everywhere. The Stonewall riot -- and its high-heeled kick -- isn't over. In many places, it's only just begun.

...if you thought the national enquirer is gossipy!


photo via ap
because i just can't get enough of cross-eyed sarah

the republiCONS are in an all out, cage match, fight to the finish, "girl, hold my wig and gold" bitchfest!

this is but the TIP o' the iceberg. too see what's underneath (and trust me, it's worth it), go HERE:

bill kristol sez:

“In fact, one aide who raised this possibility in the course of trashing Palin’s mental state to others in the McCain-Palin campaign was Steve Schmidt"


not to be outdone, schmidt strikes back with:

“I'm sure John McCain would be president today if only Bill Kristol had been in charge of the campaign.

After all, his management of [former Vice President] Dan Quayle’s public image as his chief of staff is still something that takes your breath away. His attack on me is categorically false."


"something that takes your breath away". oh. no. he. di'n't go there!!! that's gonna leave a mark.

in "sisterly solidarity", randy scheunemann hops on his broom to come to the defense of kristol...but i digress, go read the article (someone in this little cat fight is going to lose a lee press-on if they keep this up).

girls, girls! step away. breathe. there's enough milk for all you catty beyotches!


ED: i laughed. i cried. it was better than "cats".

i *heart* bernie sanders

he's spot on time and again, issue after issue. the vermont independent out "democrats" even the most progressive of democrats.

he's at it again on healthcare reform. basically saying, screw the threat of a filibuster. it's time to advance real reform and play a game of high stakes "chicken" with the party of no.

read the full article here:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), called on the White House and Democratic leadership in Congress to ensure that party members agree unanimously to support cloture on legislation that would revamp the nation's health care system. Democratic senators on the fence, he added, could still oppose the bill. But at the very least they should be required to let the legislation come to an up-or-down vote.


snip

"I think the idea of going to conservative Republicans, who are essentially representing the insurance companies and the drug companies, and watering down this bill substantially, rather than demanding we get 60 votes to stop the filibuster, I think that is a very wrong political strategy," Sanders added.


snip

"I think it would be great if we could have 100 senators voting for this, but what is important is the product that you get, not bipartisanship," Sanders went on. "So we should ask Republicans to support it. If they choose not to they do so at their own political risk. The focus should be on a strong bill trying to get Republican support rather than a weak bipartisan bill."