"The Family", UPDATED!

it's too bad that the only person to be covering this story effectively is rachel maddow!

this is a nice overview:


fascinating interview with author, jeff sharlet, on The Thom Hartmann Show:



some of rachel's reporting:

...so, where ARE our leaders?

...we're ready to fight the good fight, but we lack a cohesive strategy that can only come from a leader of the glbt civil rights movement. this is the subject of a very good, albeit long, article in The Advocate.

buried in the 3rd page of the article, larry kramer speaks up and tells us what we need to hear: that we need to follow the strategy employed by Act Up that was so effective in the early days of the HIV/AIDS awareness fight.

from the article, emphasis added:

History offers an uncomfortable answer. At the start of the 1990s, when Bill Clinton had a vision for America and we were part of it, gay people were intoxicated with excitement and a sense of opportunity. By decade’s end, the president had signed DOMA and “don’t ask, don’t tell.” “The movement was not honest enough with itself about our own failures,” Guerriero says. “The president caved to Congress because we didn’t show up and provide the air cover he needed with smart, strategic, robust activism.”

That’s because, on the federal level, “we don’t have an organization that fights for us with sufficient teeth in their arsenal,” says novelist, playwright, and gay rights pioneer Larry Kramer. “I’m sick of saying it, and everyone thinks I’m nothing but a curmudgeon. But I am approaching closer and closer to death, to my death, without being able to marry my lover, without being able to leave my estate to my lover without it being taxed into oblivion.”

Kramer’s tone isn’t curmudgeonly. It’s weary, almost shell-shocked. Gay activists in Washington are feckless, he argues, because they are enchanted by a false idea of power. “We are not here to make friends,” he says. “We are here to get our rights. And these two statements do not join together to blend into one happy halo.”

The national gay rights movement is trapped between activism and politics, between anger and ambition. We are trapped between wanting equal rights and wanting to get invited to parties at the White House. Even Joe Solmonese, the president of HRC, who according to Kramer represents the movement at its most complacent, suggests that to become real players we are going to have to start acting a little more like heroes: “One of the things our movement does not give enough appreciation and reverence to is ACT UP. Their rage. Their anger. But always with an endgame, always with a strategic center,” he says.

Kramer, who cofounded ACT UP in 1987 to address the AIDS crisis, says the group worked on very simple principles. “We all, hundreds of us, got ourselves in a room, and we planned very specific points of attack, and we divided the various plans into segments, each of which was taken over by one or another of our committees and put into operation. You go after the things that you want. Marriage, inheritance, adoption, ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ repeal of DOMA. And then you start doing public demonstrations about each of them. Passing out detailed literature explaining the action. Naming names of the people who are preventing progress on these actions. You are merciless in confronting [those people], day after day. Consistency is so important. You have to be an activist every day, seven days a week, until you reach your goal. It’s not rocket science, any of this. You want something that somebody won’t give you? You find out how to get it.”

The gay movement today, he contends, lacks leaders with the level of commitment that animated ACT UP -- people who are willing to employ the shaming techniques that ACT UP used, and people who are willing to identify as gay first and foremost.

Kramer’s right on both points. Yet the problem is intractable. Shy of another dozen equally well-publicized Matthew Shepards or a new plague, it’s hard to see how a critical mass of gay people might be moved to experience themselves as “gay first and foremost,” how we might be moved to choose the radically separatist identity that has been, in our own history, our best weapon. Is it possible that the enemy has changed? If so, is it possible that different techniques are called for?

“I do not see a different enemy,” Kramer says. “The enemy is the enemy. We are hated too much by too many. And we are afraid to acknowledge this and to look it in its face for what it really is, hate, and to stare it down and fight it back. And become, as we did in ACT UP, our own heroes."

Blue Dogs, You Have Been Warned...

...and while olbermann's commentary was directed at the health care reform issue, progressives are going all the way in opposition. if you cast your lot with the republiCONS, you WILL be targeted for replacement in the primaries.

if you don't have time to read the full transcript or watch the full special comment (both of which i highly recommend), here's the "money" portion:

But I think you get the point. We don't need to call the Democrats holding this up Blue Dogs. That one word "Dogs" is perfectly sufficient. But let me speak to them collectively, anyway.I warn you all. You were not elected to create a Democratic majority. You were elected to restore this country. You were not elected to serve the corporations and the trusts who the government has enabled for the last eight years.

You were elected to serve the people. And if you fail to pass or support this legislation, the full wrath of the progressive and the moderate movements in this country will come down on your heads. Explain yourselves not to me, but to them. They elected you, and in the blink of an eye, they will replace you.

If you will behave as if you are Republicans — as if you are the prostitutes of our system —you will be judged as such. And you will lose not merely our respect. You will lose your jobs!

Every poll, every analysis, every vote, every region of this country supports health care reform, and the essential great leveling agent of a government-funded alternative to the unchecked duopoly of profiteering private insurance corporations. Cross us all at your peril.

and now, presented without comment, olbermann's "special comment":

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

the full transcript (the names have not been changed, but they have been placed in bold, as have the health care lobby dollars secured by these crooks, to protect the guilty and links within the special comment are retained from the transcript at MSNBC):

Finally tonight, as promised, a Special Comment on Health Care Reform in this country, and in particular, the "public insurance option." In March of 1911, after a wave of minor factory fires in New York City, the City's Fire Commissioner issued emergency rules about fire prevention, protection, escape, sprinklers. The City's Manufacturers Association in turn called an emergency meeting to attack the Fire Commissioner and his 'interference with commerce.'

The new rules were delayed. Just days later, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The door to the fire escape was bolted shut to keep the employees from leaving prematurely. One hundred and fifty of those employees died, many by jumping from the seventh floor windows to avoid the flames. Firefighters setting up their ladders literally had to dodge the falling, often burning, women. This was the spirit of the American corporation then. It is the spirit of the American corporation now. It is what the corporation will do, when it is left alone, for a week. You know the drill. We all know the drill.

You get something done, at a doctor's, at a dentist's, at an emergency room and the bills are in your hands before the pain medication wears off. And if you're one of the lucky ones, and you have insurance, you submit the endless paperwork and no matter whether it's insurance through your company, or your union, or your non-profit, or on your own dime, you then get your turn… at the roulette wheel.

How much of it is the insurance company going to pay this time? How much of it is the insurance company — about which you have next to no choice, and against which you have virtually no appeal — how much is this giant corporation going to give you back? What small percentage of what they told you they were going to pay you, will they actually pay you? You know the answer. And, you know the answer if you don't have insurance. But do you know why that's the answer?

Because the insurance industry owns the Republican Party. Not exclusively. Pharma owns part of it, too. Hospitals and HMO's, another part. Nursing homes — they have a share. You name a Republican, any Republican, and he is literally brought to you by... campaign donations from the Health Sector. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota? You gave the Republican rebuttal to the President's weekly address day before yesterday. You said the Democrats' plan was for"…government run health care that would disrupt our current system, and force millions of Americans who currently enjoy their employer-based coverage into a new health care plan run by government bureaucrats."

That's a bald-faced lie, Senator. And you're a bald-faced liar, whose bald face is covered by…your own health care plan run by government bureaucrats. Nobody would be forced into anything; and the Public Insurance Option is no more a disruption than letting the government sell you water, and not just Poland Spring and Sparkletts. But, as corrupt hypocrites go, Senator, at least you're well paid. What was that one statement worth to you in contributions from the Health Sector, Sen. Thune?

Five thousand dollars? Ten? We know what you are, Sir, we're arguing about the price. What about your other quote? "We can accomplish health care reform while keeping patients and their doctors in charge, not bureaucrats and politicians." Wow, Senator — this illustrates how desperate you and the other Republicans are, right? Because Sen. Thune, if you really think "bureaucrats and politicians" need to get out of the way of "patients and their doctors," then you support a woman patient's right to get an abortion, and you supported Michael Schiavo's right to take his wife off life support, and you oppose "bureaucrats and politicians" getting in the way, and we'll just mark you down on the pro-choice list. That's a rare misstep for you Sen. Thune. No twelve-thousand dollar payoff for that statement! I am not being hyperbolic, am I, Senator? On the money?

Sen. Thune has thus far received from the Health Sector, campaign contributions — and all these numbers tonight are from "The Center For Responsive Politics" — campaign contributions amounting to one million, $206,176. So much for Sen. Thune. How about Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite? Good evening Ma'am. You are the Florida representative who claimed on the Floor that Democrats had…"…released a health care bill which essentially said to America's seniors: drop dead."

Now those are strong, terrorizing, words — that's exactly what your Insurance and Medical Overlords wanted to hear. But are you truly worth every dollar of the $369,000,255 of them you have received over the years from the Health Sector? I'd reed the rest of the operative part of your speech myself, but your rendition actually cannot be matched:

Listen up, America, seniors have special needs. This bill ignored the, ignores the needs of Florida's health care system. We should be fixing what is broke. Not disseminate, disseminating, decimating, the care of our senior population. -- July 21, 2009

You can always tell, can't you, Congresswoman, when the hostage is reading her own ransom note, and when she is reading one written for her? So much for Rep. Brown-Waite. There are so many other Republicans, bought and sold — like the unfortunate Congresswoman there —by the Health Sector. Minority Leader McConnell of the Senate.

Rep. Bart Gordon of Tennessee. Congressman? Undecided on the public option? At $1,173,000 in donations from the Health Sector, I'm surprised. You should have already said no — and loudly. The only thing you should be "undecided" about, is whether or not you're really a Democrat. So much for Rep. Gordon. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana. Good evening, Senator.

So you're supposed to be negotiating all this out with the Republicans and hesitant Democrats? To gain bi-partisanship with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Health Sector? Bi-partisanship that will get you, what? A total of no votes? And your price has been, let's see $414,000 in donations from Hospitals. About $667,000 from the insurance companies and just over a million from Big Pharma. There was a $1,300,000 from other health professional and $237,000 from Nursing Homes.

When you think of getting $237,000 in campaign contributions from nursing homes, Sen. Baucus, do you ever think about whether they subtract that amount of money evenly from all the patients suffering and dying in the lousy ones, or just from a few of the lousy ones? So much for Sen. Baucus. Sadly, this list could go on almost all night, too.

I could ask Blue Dog Congressman, Democrat John Tanner of Tennessee, if, since he's gotten $215,000 from hospitals over the years, if I and the appropriate number of my friends were willing to make it $216,000, if we could buy his vote — or would there have to be an auction?

We could bring up Senator Hagan, and Congressman Pomeroy, who, at 628-thousand, appears to represent the Insurance Industry and not North Dakota. I could bring up Sen. Carper, and Sen.Blanche Lincoln.

Senator Lincoln? By the way, considering how you're obstructing health care reform, how do you feel... every time you actually see Sen. Kennedy? I could bring up all the other Democrats doing their masters' bidding in the House or the Senate, all the others who will get an extra thousand from somebody if they just postpone the vote another year, another month, another week, because right now without the competition of a government-funded insurance company, in one hour the health care industries can make so much money that they'd kill you for that extra hour of profit, I could call them all out by name.

But I think you get the point. We don't need to call the Democrats holding this up Blue Dogs. That one word "Dogs" is perfectly sufficient. But let me speak to them collectively, anyway.I warn you all. You were not elected to create a Democratic majority. You were elected to restore this country. You were not elected to serve the corporations and the trusts who the government has enabled for the last eight years.

You were elected to serve the people. And if you fail to pass or support this legislation, the full wrath of the progressive and the moderate movements in this country will come down on your heads. Explain yourselves not to me, but to them. They elected you, and in the blink of an eye, they will replace you.

If you will behave as if you are Republicans — as if you are the prostitutes of our system —you will be judged as such. And you will lose not merely our respect. You will lose your jobs!

Every poll, every analysis, every vote, every region of this country supports health care reform, and the essential great leveling agent of a government-funded alternative to the unchecked duopoly of profiteering private insurance corporations. Cross us all at your peril.

Because, Rep. Ross, you are not the Representative from Blue Cross.

And Mr. Baucus, you are not the Senator from Schering-Plough Global Health Care even if they have already given you $76,000 towards your re-election. And Ms. Lincoln, you are not the Senator from DaVita Dialysis.

Because, ladies and gentlemen, President Lincoln did not promise that this nation shall have a new death of freedom, and that government of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation, shall not perish from this earth.

Good night and good luck.

best. quote. evar. regarding Senator Thune:

we know what you are, sir. we're arguing over the price.

that's gonna leave a big mark!

"town hall" meetings under the Shrub Regime were carefully screened to weed out dissent...

what a difference a "change" makes. now, look at the civility of the birthers, freepers, wingnuts, et. al...





these folks really need to be carrying pitchforks with amerikkkan flags attached to them:

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.

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.

"fierce advocate" strikes again on DADT

so much for the pre-election rhetoric. glbt civil rights, meet bus (driven by president obama).

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

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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.

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.

rachel pwns!!!!1!1!! gov. goodhair.

'twas a thing o' beauty.

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

saturday song IV (promise, this is the last one)

chitlins ~ the boom boom dance

Chitlins - The Boom Boom Dance
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Explore more music videos.

...i've always been a sucker for a good novelty song...especially if it comes with its own dance!

saturday song III

lee ann womack ~ solitary thinkin'

Lee Ann Womack - Solitary Thinkin'
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

one of THE BEST female voices in the history of country music.

saturday song II

chrisette michele ~ what you do

Chrisette Michele - What You Do
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

one of the best of the neo-soul movement.

saturday song

rhianna ~ disturbia

Rihanna - Disturbia
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Explore more music videos.

silly conservatives! don't you realize there's videotape?

the real pwnage begins at the :30 second mark.



deer, meet headlights! bwahahahahahahaha!!!1!!

BAD, BAD KITTEH!!!

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.

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"!

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).

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.

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:

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

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!!!

or, Create a Petition

Change.org

BLOW JOB! SHE SAID BLOW JOB!!!1!!

Clinton lied, nobody died.

the "money shot" comes at about 3:30...PRICELESS!



suck it, beyotches.

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.

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

Patrick Murphy: Proud Patriot, Congressman, Fierce Advocate

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



...brilliant on rachel maddow's show.

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

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.

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

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).

taking the day off...

..."bidness" in houston today.

talk amongst yourselves.

this made my brain hurt, also, you betcha

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

they eat their own: palin version.

WTF?!? a fox talking head defending modo?!?

all hat, no cattle..the box turtle speaks

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 :(

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.

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.

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."