Homoerotic White House Press Corps

In case you haven't noticed, todays news his hilarious and disturbing with a queer angle.

Here's the latest from AmericaBlog.
A very summarized version goes like this. A 'journalist' at a White House press event asked a very easy question in a very biased way. A bunch of bloggers at DailyKos, Atrios, and AmericaBlog found out that Jeff Gannon was probably not his real name, and instead it was JD Guckert. It gets better when people noticed that Jeff Gannon's website was owned by the same guy as some gay military fetish sites and a military escort site. We all know that escort means prostitute, right? So the guy resigns last night from his 'news company.' Oh yeah, there's a picture of him posing in his tighty whities too. He also seems to be associated with the Valerie Plame scandal.

You really don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Tony Andrade: Stop teaching kids to fuck goats

Ok, I'm paraphrasing, but Tony Andrade whose initiative is called "Civil Rights for Families," is circulating a petition for a proposition in California to stop schools from teaching about people fucking goats, or dead people, or dead goats.

Ok, disgusting visual imagery, I know. But Tony Andrade is way more disgusting for pushing this initiative.

"The petition language released Wednesday by Secretary of State Kevin Shelley's office and written by Attorney General Bill Lockyer's staff is straightforward, calling for a ban on sex ed in kindergarten through sixth grade and for daily parental permission slips for older students...He said his aim is for schools not to promote homosexuality and deviant sexual behavior. "This is sex, not sex education," said Andrade, who said he was inspired by his fear that homosexuals are using high schools as a recruiting ground."

The petition is here. [PDF] What he is doing is attaching words like pedophilia, necrophilia, and bestiality to other words like homosexuality and oral sex. It's another attempt the radical Christians to interfere with everyone's children's education. It will have the effect of scaring ignorant Californians into denying young people life-saving health information, and will wipe any mention of GLBT from schools. It's also grossly offensive to GLBT people, by implying that our relationships are somehow akin to fucking farm animals.

Under the initiative, parents would have to sign a permission slip for every day that they are in a class that is discussing sexuality. That includes sexual health education, as well as history and social studies. In order for teachers to talk about gay marriage (obviously a very big social studies topic) or even HIV (you know, that worldwide pandemic) in public school, students need to get a daily permission slip.

I sincerely hope that Californians are not stupid enough to go forward with this.

Other links:
Move To Stop 'Gay Sex' Talk In Calif. Schools [365gay.com]
Sex ed initiative proposal has a strong anti-gay component [Greater Sacramento GLSEN]

and for that radical Christian perspective: California Petition Targets 'Sexual Indoctrination' in Public Schools
[ChristiansUnite.com Absolute News]

Gay Marriage Fun in the New Year

Michele Bachmann, Minnesota's favorite Christian extremist aside from former State Rep. Arlon Lindner, plans to advance her cause to move American society closer to a Christian Taliban with the re-introduction of the Defense of Marriage Amendment in the 2005 legislative session.

That, and she's so pretty.

History of the Anti-Gay Movement

If you've wondered how these anti-gay organizations and foundations started, Mitch Gore has a brief history at DailyKos. The connections between white supremecists and current anti-gay outfits like the Heritage Foundation and Coors Brewing are pretty fascinating. I think it would change a lot of people's minds if, say, a major newspaper or magazine were to tell this story...I won't be holding my breath.

Priorities

Reuters: The Senate voted 65-30 for the legislation late on Saturday that sets aside funds for a range of priorities including a presidential yacht, foreign aid and energy.

"...I'm serious. If the DNC isn't on the ground tomorrow running ads saying Bush took your kid's Pell grant away so he could spend the money on a yacht they're fools..." [Atrios]

Thank You, Edina

Edina and Edina (ēdīna and edēna). The person, and the city. They have a lot in common: they're rich, lots of shopping, big houses. They both have the white stuff. One Edina snorts it up her nose, the other one plows it off the streets. AbFab series 1 episode 3 is called France, and the main street in town is also called France. If you're from the Twin Cities area you know the saying, "That bitch got hair like an Edina housewife!" Edina has hair not unlike an Edina housewife. Coincidence? Totally.

The purpose of this very important, socio-political essay, is to point out the stark difference between the Edinas:

I used to love one, and hate the other.

Until Edina voted for a Democratic Presidential Candidate for the first time in its history, I used to make fun of those people. EDINA = Every Day I Need Attention. It was really easy to pick on the wealthy suburb, with its Galleria and Southdale mall.

I still don't like suburbs, but Edina could be worse. And of course AbFab's Edina kicks ass. Cheers, darlings.

Urban Archipelago

The editors of the Stranger (be sure to check out "Welcome to our World: Liberals Are the New Gay") have a new essay and website: the Urban Achipelago. They say a lot of things that I've thought lately: that urban America IS the 'blue' and the rest is the 'red'. It's not the states, it's the cities vs. non-city. And they lay out the case that instead of down-playing urban values, urban liberals and progressives need to promote urban life for what it is: a really good thing!

So how do we live and what are we for? Look around you, urbanite, at the multiplicity of cultures, ethnicities, and tribes that are smashed together in every urban center (yes, even Seattle): We're for that. We're for pluralism of thought, race, and identity. We're for a freedom of religion that includes the freedom from religion--not as some crazy aberration, but as an equally valid approach to life. We are for the right to choose one's own sexual and recreational behavior, to control one's own body and what one puts inside it. We are for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The people who just elected George W. Bush to a second term are frankly against every single idea outlined above.

I think it is no mistake that urban areas are 'blue.' We get what it is to live with people. We aren't xenophobic. Everyday we literally see and reap the benefits of taxation and government. We also see where reform is needed as we walk past panhandlers and drug dealers. We even see why the city attracts the panhandlers and drug dealers: opportunity, shelter, and most importantly other people.

And what about those folks who want the benefits of urban America without supporting urban America?

People who commute to the city for their livelihood and then attack urban areas and people in the voting booth are the worst kind of hypocrites. Commuters, we neither want nor need you. We welcome, however, new residents, new urbanites, the continual influx of people from other places who come here to stay (are you listening, liberal residents of Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming?). These transplants help create the density we find so attractive, and they provide the plurality that makes cities thrive.

This is one aspect of state politics that has always frustrated me. We advocate for better mass transit, which we desperately need in urban areas, and the rest of the state is enraged. Well, guess what? The economic benefits of living in a state with a large metro area doesn't come from the fields or the mines, it comes from the city.

The essay definitely has a point. The Democratic Party needs to embrace urban politics and grow its urban base.

Choices

You know how the scary bible-reading people are always saying that being gay is a choice, gays can 'go straight', and gays don't need 'special rights' since it's just a 'behavior' that you choose?

Well, I think that fundamentalist churches should have to pay taxes just like everyone else, since being a fundamentalist christian is a CHOICE and being a member of that church is a CHOICE. If they want my support, they can make the CHOICE to convert to Unitarian Universalists.

Oh, I know that little first amendment to the Constitution says otherwise, but why don't those of us who don't like that amendment, come up with our own amendment saying something like fundamentalist christians or evangelicals undermine the true and historical meanings of religion?

Hey, what's good for the gays is good for the bigots.

Minnesota: True Blue

Minnesota voted for John Kerry 51.1% to Bush's 47.6%.

Minnesota has voted Republican only once since 1960, and not since 1972. In 1984, it was the only state in the nation to vote for the Democratic candidate (MN native, Walter Mondale). It's had the longest streak of voting for a Democratic Presidential candidate than another other state in the nation. Only Washington DC has never voted for a Republican candidate (DC gained the right to vote in 1961).

According to the MN Secretary of State:

There are approximately 3,658,000 eligible voters in MN and 2,828,637 turned out at polls in MN. 77% of eligible voters turned out in Minnesota compared to 54% nationally. Once again Minnesota has the hightest voter turnout in the nation. Just another reason why Minnesota kicks all you other state's asses. Haha!

The gays did it...

I've seen comments on liberal blogs blaming the gay marriages in San Francisco and other cities for Bush winning the election by rallying the fundamentalist base. Indeed, more fundies voted in this election than ever before. Some people also say that it incited a response from libertarians against 'activist judges' and what-not.

I guess I don't understand. If the majority of a population decides it's ok to discriminate, or deny rights, (or wherever marriage benefits fall in the spectrum of things-that-most-people-get), that's ok? What if the majority said people whose last name starts with Y cannot get a driver's license? The majority of a population can be wrong, you know.

I think it's despicable for any liberal to blame the very group of people who have lost the most here. All we are trying to gain the is the same government benefits. And, you know, not get the shit kicked out of us.

If your not pissed off enough, hear the words of gays who did vote for Bush. Meet gaypatriot and right side of the rainbow. They don't like gays either, I think. Well, mostly just "the radical gay leftist agenda." I'm suprised they aren't just calling themselves 'homosexuals' engaging in 'sodomy.' I'm sure I'm not being fair, but honestly, I don't care.

The Day After Election Day Prediction

Votergasm.com will claim responsibility for a national shortage of morning after pills, much to the chagrin of anti-choice fanatics. By (ahem!) popular demand, a gay bar in Ohio will play Britney's "My Perogative" twice in one night. A lot of liberals will be hungover, and about half of them will be pissed off. I'll still be cleaning "Remember to vote today!" emails out of my inbox. Eminem's new video won't be as popular after the election. Citypages will still totally hate Mary Kiffmeyer.

Bush is a versatile top

President Bush reversed his position on civil unions yesterday. Some would call him a flip-flopper. Jon Stewart says he's a "versatile top."

John Kerry in Minneapolis

Wow. Probably tens of thousands at the rally. [dailykos]

Mary Cheney

The Nation has some good history of Mary Cheney's involvement in politics as an out lesbian. Here's a choice quote:

"It's not like Mary Cheney's been quietly pursuing lesbianism by playing softball and raising cats in Northampton. She has devoted her entire career to providing cover for lesbian-hating organizations, corporations and political parties."

It's really shocking. Mary has been doing some really wonderful things for the anti-gay crowd. It's a shame Kerry/Edwards haven't done more to expose her hypocrisy.

Midterms. They are hell for a working boy. And by hell, I mean I feel like I've been locked in a room and forced to listen to Celine Dion with my eyelids pried open and there's a big screen playing Nicholas Cage 'films.'

Oh yeah, there's, like, an election coming soon. Go somewhere else and investigate voter registration fraud or stop Sinclair from using your public airwaves to spew propaganda.

Nick Colemen: bloggers are 'sad loners'

Nick Coleman in last week in the Star Trib:

"Do bloggers have the credentials of real journalists? No. Bloggers are hobby hacks, the Internet version of the sad loners who used to listen to police radios in their bachelor apartments and think they were involved in the world.

Bloggers don't know about anything that happened before they sat down to share their every thought with the moon. Like graffiti artists, they tag the public square -- without editors, correction policies or community standards. And so their tripe is often as vicious as it is vacuous."

That's not very nice, Nick.

When fashion and politics meet...

Check out this label. [via DailyKos]

They are produced by Tom Bihn. They're good people. Buy some shit, it goes to charity.

Michael Moore at the U of MN

Michael Moore's going to be in town Friday for his "Slacker Uprising Tour." (Presidential Debate #2 will unfortunately be happening at the same time)

Date/Time: Friday, October 8 doors open 6pm program, begins 8pm
Location: Williams Arena, 1925 University Avenue SE�, Minneapolis on U of M East Bank
Details: Tickets are $6 and can be purchased in person at the following locations:

Minneapolis Campus Bookstore at Coffman Memorial Union, 300 Washington Ave SE, open 8am-6pm.

St Paul Campus Bookstore at the St Paul Student Center, 2017 Buford Ave, open 9am-5pm.

Gopher Ticket Office at Mariucci Arena, (Minneapolis) 4 Oak St. SE. open 8am-6pm Wednesday and Thursday and 8am-4pm on Friday. From 4pm on Friday until the event, tickets will only be available from the Williams Arena Box Office at Oak St. and University Ave SE.

Who are Lance Kropf and Mike Serface?

"Oregon gay couple campaign in favor of marriage ban" [via the Advocate]. These two self-hating (alleged) homos have 'come out' in ads supporting a gay marriage ban in Oregon.

In the ad, Lance Kropf says he and his partner, Mike Serface, "recognize the reasons for keeping marriage between one man and one woman." Says Serface: "We keep hearing about benefits that gays don't have because we're not married, but we've had no trouble getting benefits."

Are they for real? (Probably not.) How can any self-respecting homo do this? And it's not about 'benefits,' Lance, as much as it is having our relationships recognized as legitimate.

According to Google, Lance has landed a cozy job as a used car salesman. Check it out, half-way down the page. If anyone has the urge to call and ask him why he's doing this, his work number is listed under "RV & Car Dealer." (I've got way to much homework)

Just be sure to write me and tell us what he says!

Keyes Daughter a "selfish hedonist"

Rumor has it Alan Keyes daughter is a homosexual. [via Dailykos]

After Keyes comments about Dick 'go fuck yourself' Cheney's daughter, it kinda puts the Alan Keyes in 'hypocritical hate-mongerer Alan Keyes', don't it?

Why I don't live in the South...

Ever wonder what Bush supporters might be thinking, but would never dare say out loud? Check out this lovely caller from C-SPAN's Washington Journal transcribed at Blast Off!

Also, in the Bible, God said … God … that, uh, also, like (unintelligible) and faggots, that he says, anybody that lays down with another man and has sex with his own sex, and any woman that lays down with another woman and has sex should be put to death and their (unintelligible) upon them. It also says that about interracial marriages and everything. So that’s the reason why I’m voting for my president, Bush.

Unbelievable.

Religious Intolerance

From pamphlets being distributed in West Virginia:

"There is a line drawn in America today," one ad says. "On one side are the radicals trying to uproot our traditional values and our culture. They're fighting to hijack the institution of marriage, plotting to legalize partial birth abortion, and working to take God out of the pledge of allegiance and force the worst of Hollywood on the rest of America."

"Are you on their side of the line?" the ad asks before making the plea to "support conservative Republican candidates."

The literature shows a Bible with the word "BANNED" across it and a photo of a man, on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word "ALLOWED." The mailing tells West Virginians to "vote Republican to protect our families" and defeat the "liberal agenda."

Oh my god, how fucking rude.

The War

I rarely write about the war. It's not fun, or gay. Over the past few days, the Iraq war has become a nightmare; a nightmare that was never planned correctly to begin with. We've given those that hate America more fuel for their fire than Bush could have ever dreamed. The gross miscalculations and the false pretenses have brought this psuedo-religious war to a near defeat. DailyKos says it better than I ever could:

"Weve lost this war. We've literally lost entire swaths of Iraqi territory to the insurgents. We've empowered Al Qaida and Islamist militants with new recruits and pictures of prison torture and rape to fuel their cause. We''ve stretched our military thin, hurt recruitment, made it impossible to respond to actual threats.

In short, this is the biggest political and military blunder this country has faced since -- I'll let the historians decide when. But as things are going, this is going to have worse repercussions for our nation than Vietnam ever did."

The sad part is, this administration is still ahead. YOU, reading this right now need to make sure that this trend does not continue.

Mom, what were you thinking?

Tonight I convinced my mom not to vote for Alan Keyes. (Remember, I grew up in Illinois). You'd think that would be a given, but ya'll have never met my mom.

Keyes on his opponent Obama: "Christ would not vote for Barack Obama because Barack Obama has voted to behave in a way that it is inconceivable for Christ to have behaved." CBS 2 Chicago

And of course, homosexuality equals "selfish hedonism." Seattle Post Intelligencer

No only is he a theocrat, but he's also a carpet bagger. Rumor has it that he's renting an apartment in Illinois month-by-month. Convincing my mother took very little time. Now, 48 days to convice her that she's worse off with Bush.

Comments on johnsons

Two posts on penises in 15 minutes? I must have something on my mind.. ahem!

Wonkette comments on John Kerry's comment on Minnesota johnsons..or is it Johnsons?

Bush vs. Kerry: Bumper Sticker Challenge

...or the I-94 Test!

Eleventh Avenue South is proud to announce the results of this weekend's uber-unscientific test to determine which candidate Wisconsin will vote for on November 2! Wisconsin will go to Kerry with 66.7% of the vote!

Methods
I drove the entire length of Interstate 94 heading east from Hudson, WI to Milwaukee, WI on Saturday, August 28th, and then in reverse on Monday, August 30th. Along the way, I counted and categorized bumper stickers that fell into three categories: those supporting Bush, those supporting Kerry, and those advocating the removal of Bush (seriously, click this link. Very funny). No bumper stickers advocated voting against Kerry.

Bumper stickers on cars not identifying themselves as Wisconsin residents (read: WI liscense plates) were excluded from the study, but will be mentioned anyway.

Limitations
The Saturday portion of the study was affected by Friday night's going away party for my dear friend Jennifer. She's moving to the hornet's nest, aka Texas, where she will be doing exceptional work at changing attitudes with her warm personality. Needless to say, this political pseudo-scientist was feeling a bit under the weather, and may have missed a sticker or two.

Additionally, the rainy weather for the duration of the Saturday portion reduced visibility.

Results
A grand total of 11 vehicles identified themselves as being from one of the three categories. 3 were from other states.

All vehicles: 11
Pro-Bush: 2
Pro-Kerry: 8
Against Bush: 1

MN vehicles:
Pro-Kerry: 2

IL vehicles:
Pro-Kerry: 1

WI vehicles:
Pro-Bush: 2
Pro-Kerry: 5
Against Bush: 1

Discussion
As you can see, according to the I-94 Test, Kerry has a 66.7% lead on Bush. If we exclude the Against Bush sticker and assume a vote for Nader, that lead is reduced to 60%. However, if a vehicle is advocating the removal of Bush, the likely vote would be cast for Kerry, who maintains a significant lead over Nader. Therefore, the I-94 Test has determined a victory for Kerry in Wisconsin with 66.7% of the vote.

You heard it here first!

Liberty 'University' Law 'School' Course Guide

Jerry Falwell's Liberty 'University' 'School' of Law is off to a great start! Halleluia! In a few short years, these new lawyers will, in Jerry's words, "infiltrate the culture with men and women of God who are skilled in the legal profession."

What courses could these budding law 'students' possibly be enrolling? Which cases will they study? If I was dean of Liberty 'University' 'School' of Law (fortunately I'm not as I wouldn't fit the dress code), these are the courses I would add to the course catalogue:

Course: Family Law. In this course students will learn that a woman's place in the home is in the kitchen. Jerry's view on the patriarchy: "These women just need a man in the house. That's all they need. Most of these feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead the home."

Course: Criminal Law. Students will learn that anything is legal as long as the couple in question are married. Obviously, that marriage must consist of one man and one woman. Jerry's perspective: "Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them." [CNN's Crossfire, 5/17/97]

Course: Health Care and God's Law. In this course students will learn why God creates certain health problems, and which people will incur the wrath of God. One of Jerry's favorite cases: "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

Course: International Relations. In this course students will learn that many aspects of liberal America anger the Lord, and are responsible for terrorist attacks. In Jerry's words: "The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America, I point the finger in their face and say: you helped this happen."

Course: Tax Law. In this course students will learn how to unsuccessfully use nonprofit organizations and tax-exempt churches to violate IRS tax law by politicking from the pulpit.

Course: Constitutional Law. Students will learn that freedom of speech only counts if you are a Christian. If you are a pornographer or make fun of a Christian, you should be sued. See Hustler Magazine, Inc. et al. v. Jerry Falwell and Falwell vs. Fallwell.com.

Looking for the real texts to be used as Liberty 'University' 'School' of Law? Have a look here

Who da man?

Bush's awards for military service.

Kerry's awards for military service.

Images from DailyKos who's got a great post about Kerry and Bush.

Minnesota Political Roundup

The move to recall St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly. You may remember last week when he pulled a Norm "Switcheroo" Coleman and endorsed President Bush despite his membership in the DFL.
via Dunner's Stunners

Minnesota unemployment unchanged, jobs down.

Handheld fingerprinting device being tested by Minnesota Police. "There is certainly the potential for challenges if people's privacy and constitutional search and seizure rights are violated,'' said public defender Leonardo Castro. "The authority of a police officer diminishes, if not eliminates, the voluntary nature of most of their requests. The Supreme Court ruled you have to give your name. A fingerprint is a whole different ball of wax.''

St. Paul's success? Paul Demko has the story in the CityPages. "St. Paul's citizens will be paying for Coleman's corporate charity well into the future. Between 1993 and 2000 the total indebtedness facing the city rose from $460 million to $619 million--more than this year's entire budget." And don't forget Coleman's promise: "I've done it for St. Paul. I'll do it for Minnesota!"

Also, more links on the far side-bar. I'm whoring out link space. Got a good link? Send it too me! All grey-space must go!

"I am a gay American" - James McGreevey

(He was a bisexual American not two years ago when he and his wife screwed, blessing them with their 1 year old daughter)

Is he a heroic gay American? The New York Daily News thinks so:

"With Thursday's spectacular act of political self-immolation, New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey became, at a single stroke, a national hero to the gay community" - Errol Louis, New York Daily News

"It didn't take long after New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey came out on national TV for gays everywhere to hail him as their newfound hero." - Fernanda Santos, New York Daily News

There are a lot of issues here.
Pro: It takes balls to come out in the national spotlight.
Con: He was cheating on his wife and broke the vows of marriage.
Pro: This is exactly why gay marriage should exist. This family would have never had to go through if being gay was not a stigmatized identity.
Con: This is exactly what religious conservatives will use to say gay marriage undermines straight marriage.
Pro: His coming out was very well articulated and explained to America much of the issues gay folks deal with. He did such a good job, even Rush Limbaugh got it.
Con: He hired an allegedly unqualified man to his cabinet and paid him while allegedly having an affair with him. Very unethical.
Pro: He is kinda good looking for an older guy.
Con: He was already in the midst of several scandals when he made this announcement.
Con: Being in the closet is not heroic. He wouldn't have come out unless he was forced to do so.

More cons than pros. McGreevey was a closeted man, a cheater, and an allegedly corrupt governor. Not really the hero type.

Response to comment RE: Response

Regarding the comments in "Twin Cities Festival," we'll have to agree to disagree. I want to say that I love debate, so keep on commenting. It's really getting me to think about where I stand on religion and sexuality.

As far as debate goes, I think we differ here: I'm talking about changing the system (Christianity) and you're talking about avoiding bits of the system you don't like. Both are fair; I just tend to think my position is more proactive.

I think gays condemning Christianity are doing it out of self-pity. Boo-fucking-hoo, a Christian is trying to save me from a hell he believes in. How dare he love my soul enough to say what I don't want to hear!

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." I don't mind if someone loves my soul enough to keep me from going to hell. If that were the whole story, I could just avoid the problem and walk away. It's when this idea is legislated, enforced, and used to 'cleanse' society that I get angry and spew "narcissistic bile."

It's called spiritual violence and it kills people. I would recommend those reading who care about this issue to join Soulforce. Their mission: "We are an interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people. We teach and employ the nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. to the liberation of sexual and gender minorities."

My final paradoxical question before I move on: Aren't you being intolerant of my belief that certain aspects of christianity are intolerant and hateful? Ah, things that make you go hmmm. (C&C Music Factory, oh yeah!)

Wealth in Congress

I was perusing a local gay men's yahoo group this morning, one where heated political conversation can be found amongst inquiries searching for discrete blow jobs over lunch break, and someone had posted an article by right winger Michael P. Tremoglie called "Party Of The Rich And Powerful".

Here's the response I gave (read the article first):

Rich Republicans are generously represented in the oil and communications industries (Rupert Murdoch and Fox News for instance), and the House of Representatives.

Tremoglie asks: Which political party really is the party of the rich -- Democrats or Republicans? According to him, the liberal media distorts who has money. It's the democrats in the Senate, after all, that control all the wealth.

While that may be true in the Senate, the House of Representatives is dominated by wealthy Republicans. Here's the first 19 out of 23.

1. Amo Houghton (R-NY):$475,000,000

3. Darrell Issa (R-CA):$100,000,000

4. Doug Ose (R-CA):$53,300,000

5. Robin Hayes (R-NC):$50,000,000

6. Charles Taylor (R-NC):$35,000,000

8. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ):$18,000,000

9. Porter Goss (R-FL):$14,000,000

10. Chris Chocola (R-IN):$12,600,000

12. Katherine Harris (R-FL):$11,600,000

13. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT):$11,200,000

14. Gary Miller (R-CA):$9,900,000

15. Jeb Bradley (R-NH):$8,000,000

16. Cass Ballenger (R-NC):$7,800,000

17. David Dreier (R-CA):$7,500,000

18. Thomas Petri (R-WI):$7,100,000

19. F. James Sensenbrenner(R-WI):$6,500,000

21. Paul Gillmor (R-OH):$5,700,000

22. Johnny Isakson (R-GA):$5,600,000

23. Anne Northup (R-KY):$5,500,000

So yay! Look what I did. I proved that Republicans are rich. I'm not a hack at the level of Michael P. Tremoglie, but I was able to prove the same point he did using statistics. Big deal. The reason Republicans get labeled as the wealthy party, is because of the way they vote. They overwhelmingly vote for business interests.

I don't care how much money an elected official has, I just want them to do their job. And if I agree with how they do, I'll vote for them again.

Response

Disclaimer: I love comments and the folks who comment, even comment spam for viagra and the like (hey guys, muah!). However, I'm cranky and experiencing massive nicotine withdrawals, and I need to release some frustration. Fortunately, I disagree with much of this recent comment. It was in response to the Twin Cities Festival post I wrote a few days ago. I'll only respond to the important bits, but definitely check out the entire post and comments section on what has become a very talked about festival.

pm: I am disgusted at the intolerance displayed at this website.
Andy: You should browse the archives!

pm: I have to admit that I heard in advance that it was a Christian event, so I had some idea what to expect. (Frankly I think one would have had to live under a rock to miss the fact that this was a Christian event).
Andy: I had to do an internet search to find out what kind of festival this was. And I hate internet searches (not really). Nothing about my post had anything to do with whether people knew the event was evangelical. I was simply pondering the issue of deceptive marketing.

pm: It sometimes seems that we find love for each other only through the common bond of hatred for others who do not share our life-style or ideology. So sad.
Andy: Hate the hate, not the hater. A look into the archives shows that I never use the word hate against any single person, but I definitely use it against ideology. I think it's perfectly justified to hate an ideology that hates me. It doesn't help me find love or a common bond with anyone. Typically, love and common bonds are found around more benign parts of life. But hate does hinder these things. Heterosexism and homophobic hate actually hinder me from finding love or a common bond, as it does for a large number of marginalized people. Yes, I am angry with a certain ideology, and I do not have to tolerate that ideology.

pm: What I saw at the Twin Cities Festival were good people, loving each other, and worshipping their God. Are we as a united community going to say that our intolerance toward them is acceptable and justified, even though we have been the victims of intolerance? How dreadfully hypocritical!
Andy: I find it both acceptable and justified in being intolerant of a belief system that has largely been intolerant and downright violent toward me. Being intolerant to injustice is how change happens. If we just gave a blanket acceptance or 'tolerance' of christianity, then how would we make change? And don't you dare compare my experiences as a marginalized person to those of a belief system that has held the dominant position in terms of world power and wealth for centuries. There is no level playing field in this case. The only way I could be seen hypocritical is if there were.

pm: News flash: There are bad Christians, and there are bad homosexuals. Get over it, and you might find that there are many slices of life that you can participate in and enjoy, that you formerly excluded yourselves from. Why put oneself in a prison of ones own device? Why not understand reality?
Andy: I do not exclude myself from any 'world.' Ever been to a SoulForce protest? I have. Lord Almighty, I've even fucked in a church! Now that's participating in a slice of life!

pm: The Christian community is not en masse out to get us. There are undoubtedly some who are, but from what I could tell, they were not at the Luis Palau Twin Cities Festival.
Andy: I would never try to argue that the christian community as a whole was out to get us. From my post about the Twin Cities Festival the next day I make that quite clear: "There are so many people working to reconcile churches right now, and many faiths are coming around. Just because most Baptists harbor hatred against the GLBT community does not make it appropriate to make blanket statements. The Universalist and Metropolitan Community churches would certainly take offense" to any blanket statement to the contrary. However, Luis Palau himself is very much against homosexuality. Check it out here...and a quote: "For several years, since his early teens, Kenneth had practiced homosexuality. More than that, in rebellion against God and his parents, he flaunted his lifestyle."

I love many Christians, but not all. Luis Palau thinks I'm going to hell. His followers' follow; that's what they are supposed to do. They probably feel the same way. I'm not going to be an appologist or be tolerant of his belief system. I'm urging you not to be either.

Doug Grow, Palau, Twin Cities Pride correction

In my previous post I wrote about Doug Grow's editorial on the Strib's sponsorship and the Twin Cities Festival. I should clarify that Doug Grow is actually criticizing the Strib for sponsoring the event and creating the perception of an endorsement of a particular belief, which in turn creates pressure on the newsroom.

As well, a quote from the article was actually Ben Taylor's. And I've fixed the post to reflect that.

I like when my mistakes get pointed out. It means people are actually reading. Haha!

Star Tribune, Palau, and Pride

Thanks to J at mesouthern for commenting with Doug Grow's editorial. Grow explains that the Star Tribune has no bias in its decision to sponsor the Twin Cities Festival organized by evangelist Luis Palau, but the perception may look that way.

However, Doug Grow has a quote that infuriated me for several reasons:

Ben Taylor, senior vice president for corporate communications, explained the newspaper's participation simply. It's a way of getting the Star Tribune name before a massive target audience of young people. The newspaper sponsors all sorts of events, he noted, ranging from Gay Pride functions to the Basilica Block Party.

Do people really need to pit christianity and the GLBT community every time religion and politics are mentioned? There are so many people working to reconcile churches right now, and many faiths are coming around. Just because most Baptists harbor hatred against the GLBT community does not make it appropriate to make blanket statements. The Universalist and Metropolitan Community churches would certainly take offense.

Also, the Star Tribune REFUSED to run Twin Cities Pride advertisements this year.

Ben Taylor, Senior Vice President of Communications for the Star Tribune told KSTP news: "Our feeling was that this was an advertisement for an event, and two men kissing was clearly meant to be inflammatory.”

Star Tribune Publisher J. Keith Moyer in the Star Tribune: “we felt the imagery submitted was gratuitous and counterproductive to the ad's purpose."

So much for liberal media.

UPDATE: Here's the link to the Twin Cities Pride website, which has the story on the Strib's refusal to print the ads, as well as the ads themselves in .PDF format.

Twin Cities Festival

The Twin Cities Festival is in town! You've seen the lawn signs and posters all over town. Live bands, extreme sports, and professional athletes will grace the festival in downtown St. Paul.

What the signs don't say: The Twin Cities Festival is a giant evangelical Christian outreach event organized by Luis Palau.

I have no problem with giant evangelical Christian outreach events. I do have a problem with giant evangelical Christian outreach events that market themselves as a music and extreme sports festival without ever mentioning in the marketing that they are giant evangelical Christian outreach events.

Has christianity gotten such a bad reputation that it must resort to deceptive marketing in order to draw people in? Shouldn't the benefit of being 'saved' speak for itself? Do they really need skateboards and Twins to lure people to the festival and them peer pressure them into going to church on Sundays?

I can just imagine the outrage if the GLBT community held the Loring Park Festival, lured people in with Cyndi Lauper, Sandra Bernhart, and fried candy bars on a stick, only to discover that this was a gay thing. We'd be accused of 'recruiting' and run out of town. And, to be sure, if any other 'movement' or 'cause' did a similar thing, there'd be a bit of distrust.

I suppose it doesn't really matter. I won't be going, mainly because the people at the event would condemn me to hell for holding my (non-existent) boyfriend's hand. And I've really been condemned to hell enough this year. And I don't like christian rock; what it lacks in artistic ability, it more than lacks in depth.

St. Paul Mayor Endorses Bush

What is it about St. Paul? Sure, it's uber-boring and the streets make no sense, but why does it crank out some sorry politicians?

(DFL) Mayor Randy Kelly crossed his own party to endorse Bush/Cheney in 2004.

You might remember St. Paul's previous mayor, Norm "flip-flop" Coleman. He once was a Democrat, but is now a Republican.

I know there are good people in St. Paul. I just don't understand why anyone would want to live that lifestyle, especially with a history of shady mayors. Blech.

Gas

This is for all you suckers with functional automobiles. That war for oil is really bringing those prices up! Not quite the expected outcome, I'm sure. Here's a few metro areas to compare and contrast!

--via Ibartz

My Fake Interview with a Christian extremist

In an editorial last week, Robert Knight blamed gay marriage for terrorism, prisoner abuse, and the murder of Nick Berg.

"We were told that men "marrying" men and women "marrying" women is inevitable – not only for America, but for the world. Imagine how those images of men kissing men outside San Francisco City Hall after being "married" play in the Muslim world. We couldn't offer the mullahs a more perfect picture of American decadence. This puts Americans at risk all over the world... ...isn't it time for liberals to apologize for systematically aiding and abetting the cultural depravity that produced the Iraq scandal?

These are some strong assertions. Not one to back down from controversy, I'd like to dig a little deeper and see what Mr. Knight is all about. In the spirit of dishonesty, propaganda, and hate-mongering, I'd like to introduce:

The responses to my questions are actual quotes taken completely out of context from the article. Let's begin.

EAS: First of all, Mr. Knight, thank you for posting your editorial online. It makes it very easy to take your words out of context. Where else can the average person find your regular writing?
RK: Easy. It's found on thousands of Internet porn sites and in the pages of "gay" publications.

EAS: That's terrific. You've worked with issues of sex and sexuality for many years. I'm wondering, how would you propose that America fix the shortage of really good head?
RK: Fines have not done enough...The American people should start by getting on their knees.

EAS: So you'd agree that bad blow jobs are a perennial problem in American culture?
RK: It's past time to get serious about this moral cancer that is destroying our nation.

EAS: Who would you say is to blame for the low standard that has been set for fellatio?
RK: Christian missionaries who are trying to bring the Gospel to people trapped in darkness for millennia.

EAS: It was said somewhere that you often had trouble "rising to the occasion" in the bedroom in the past. How are things lately?
RK: Finally showing signs of life, thanks to Democrat Commissioner Michael Copps and Republican Commissioner Kevin Martin.

EAS: They truly are an inspiration. What else caused this turn-around in your libido?
RK: Those images of men kissing men outside San Francisco City Hall.

EAS: Last Spring, you posted a fake or 'hypothetical' interview with Rep. Barney Frank on the Concerned Women for America site. It's been a terrific inspiration for me personally. How often does CFWA use fake interviews to get a point across?
RK: It's standard fare among some of their more active supporters.

EAS: Thank you, Mr. Knight, for being here. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
RK: The "Howard Stern Show" is appropriate at all times, regardless of whose kid is listening.

EAS: Amen.

A great idea for Ralph Nader

Bruce Ackerman, in yesterday's NYT op/ed piece, 2-for-1 Voting, suggests that Nader should nominate the same electors as Kerry to the electoral college. This move would still allow Nader to keep running and gain from the popular vote, and would allow electors to choose to vote for either Kerry or Nader based on the election turnout.

Nader voters would not have to feel like their wasting their vote and giving the presidency to Bush. Progressive voters don't have to vote for Kerry if they think he is a douche-bag.

Ackerman says:

On Election Day, [voters] will see a line on the ballot designating Ralph Nader's electors. But if voters choose the Nader line, they won't be wasting their ballot on a candidate with little chance of winning. Since Mr. Nader's slate would be the same as Mr. Kerry's, his voters would be providing additional support for the electors selected by the Democrats. If the Nader-Kerry total is a majority in any state, the victorious electors would be free to vote for Mr. Kerry.

The choice, then, is Ralph Nader's. If he truly has no desire to be a spoiler in November, he can structure his candidacy to allow his supporters to vote both for him and for Senator Kerry. But he must act now, when he is organizing his campaign to get on the ballot.

This idea is in line with the founders of this country and has precedent in Supreme Court decisions. I'm calling Ralph today to let him know that I support this idea.

Oooh! Who's hand is he shakin'?

I haven't yet blogged about Iraq or WMD's or Condi Rice.

But I saw this picture and I couldn't help myself. It's Donald Rumsfeld and Saddam Hussein shaking hands in 1983 after the US has learned that Iraq is using biological weapons against Iran!

I would STRONGLY encourage everyone reading this to check out this site from George Washington University on the National Security Archives. It gives a very detailed account of US dealings with Iraq in the 1980s supported with links to actual government documents.

John Ashcroft in Porn

Below is John Ashcroft's face made up of tiny porn pages. (via Hublog)

It's fitting that Ashcroft's likeness is made up of cocks, tits, and ass, considering the Justice Department's war on obscenity. Roughly 25% of Americans use the internet to visit 'adult sites,' that's gonna be more than a few alienated voters. And add that to Howard Stern's fan base, Bush's appeal to the religious right and associated obscenity legislation could cost him this election.

Al Franken on MN Airwaves

Hooray and thank you to WMNN AM 1330 for picking up "The O'Franken Factor."

Strib story here.

The bad news? WMNN was just purchased by Catholic run Starboard Communications. This probably means no more "O'Franken Factor" and no more "The High Ground" with Wendy Wilde; the only two non-conservative talk radio shows available outside of MPR.

But I'm skipping my first class today to listen before it's gone.

My Big Gay Update

The Minnesota House passed the Marriage Amendment by a vote of 88-42. The bill is currently in the Judical-something-or-other committee and is expected to go to a floor vote by tomarrow.

In my own corner of the gay politco world, the campus student group, the Queer Student Cultural Center presented its appeal to the U of MN administration today. I spent the better part of the early morning hours putting my case together, after it was revealed that a local GLBT newspaper slandered one of the students on the decision-making committees. This really skewed what we had to say. Its a very long and complicated story that I'll tell when I wake up from my nap.

Finally, there was a thunderstorm today. Spring is here for a weekend at least, and not a day too soon.

Don't let the Capitol door hit you on the way out

Arlon Lindner will not be running for another term.
When speaking for his bill to strip GLBT equal rights from the Minnesota constitution, he said "What I'm trying to prevent is the Holocaust of our children [from AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases]. If you want to sit around and wait until America becomes another African continent, you do that, but I'm going to do something." He was, of course, trying to make the case that all GLBT people spread HIV.

Also when speaking of his anti-GLBT bill and asked about homosexuals and the holocaust: "It never happened," Lindner told the Minnesota House. "I was a child during World War II, and I've read a lot about World War II," he said. "It's just been recently that anyone's come out with this idea that homosexuals were persecuted to this extent. There's been a lot of rewriting of history."

When the Dalai Lama came to Minnesota, Lindner wrote: "He claims to be a god-king, a leader of the Buddha religion, which historically has been considered a cult because of its anti-Biblical teachings concerning the one true Holy God, Creator of Heaven and earth and His Son, Jesus Christ." And then he boycotted the visit.

He said and done many other fundie christian things over the years. It's gonna be great to see him go! Bu-bye honey!

PS. I found this picture on the internet! Oh my! There's a ton more here.

Shit

Queer Minnesotans take note. The organizations and institutions that have made the Twin Cities an excellent place to live are about to take a huge hit.

While Representative Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville), House Speaker Steve Sviggum (R-Kenyon) and 26 other Representatives introduce a constitutional amendment to bar the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in Minnesota, other more realistic and far-reaching attacks are happening under the radar.

The University of Minnesota's Queer Student Cultural Center has been reeling from a recommended 40% funding reduction announced last week by the student service fees committee, a student-run committee stacked with conservatives. I might add that the openly homophobic Students for Family Values received a recommendation for funding increase of 126%.

Meanwhile, rumor has it that members of the Minnesota Legislature are looking to sneak a measure into session that would prevent state employees (including University of Minnesota employees) from contibuting to the Community Solutions Fund by payroll deduction. This means that District 202, Minneapolis' GLBT youth drop-in center will take a huge hit, as well as, Twin Cities P-FLAG.

This comes on the heels of significant funding decrease to HIV/AIDS service organizations, significant defunding and reorganization of the GLBT Programs Office at the U of MN, and increased legal actions by 'christian' student groups at the U of MN to try and legalize discrimination against GLBT persons.

And I've got a MAJOR midterm tomarrow morning. Thanks to Peter Bell, the Met Council, and God, I'll probably be stranded in a snowstorm trying to find a parking spot because of the transit strike while my classmates are finishing essay #2.

Christians harass lesbian couple

A Minnesota couple seeking to adopt a child was harassed by 200 members of the Minnesota Family Council, so much so that the couple has asked to have their names removed from the Lutheran Social Services website.

This doesn't sound very pro-family to me. But isn't pro-family just another term for anti-gay?

Christian theocracy

Christian Reconstructionsts or Theocratic Dominionists are looking to turn America into a christian version of the Taliban.

Three pieces of legislation could take really close to that reality.

SJ RES 26 "Constitutional Amendment - Declares that marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Prohibits the Constitution or any State constitution, or State or Federal law, from being construed to require that marital status or its legal incidents be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.'

This would codify a particular religious belief in the Constitution, and violate the separation of church and state. But the christians have this one figured out! Let's get rid of as much seperation of church and state as possible with:

The Religious Liberties Restoration Act "States that the following powers are reserved to the States or their political subdivisions on property owned or administered by them: (1) to display the Ten Commandments; (2) to recite the Pledge of Allegiance as: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all "; and (3) to recite the national motto as "In God we trust". "

States that such powers are excepted from the jurisdiction of Federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court.

And another attempt to keep "activist courts" in their place. The Constitution Restoration Act:
This legislation reinforces states rights by clarifying that the Supreme Court and district courts do not have jurisdiction to hear cases brought against a federal, state or local government or officer for acknowledging God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.

Welcome to the United States of Jesus Christ.

Unpatriotic

I'm jumping on the bandwagon and using "unpatriotic" as a tool to supress any disagreement. If you don't agree with me, then you obviously hate America and should get out.

Corporations that hold offshore accounts and do not pay their share of taxes are unpatriotic. If they benefit from American people and resources, then they need to pay their taxes.

According to this site, every year, about $70 billion dollars in revenue are lost
from American corporations that have moved their corporate headquarters
or subsidiaries to places like Bermuda, and from wealthy individuals
moving their assets overseas.

Here's a list of unAmerican corporations. Believe it or not, the Vice President of the United States actually ran one of these corporations.

Backfire my ass

Listen. The folks who say Mayor Gavin Newsom's action over the past week will backfire and generate support for a Constitutional amendment are basically career GLBT activists with their ass to far up their collective lobbyist asses to even appreciate the great strides we've made over the past year in spite of a CONSERVATIVE CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT. My advice is to quit whining and start praising the actions that are quickly growing in numbers and start using this momentum.

Massachusettes started it. San Francisco Mayor Newsom added fuel to the glorious fire. Now Sandoval County, New Mexico is issuing liscenses. Chicago, Salt Lake City, and upstate New York are already outspoken about supporting gay marriage in their parts of the country.

And as cold and passive aggressive as Minnesota is, it never ceases to amaze me how supportive the Twin Cities can be. Mayor Rybak yesterday added his support for Newsom.

Minnesotans: Keep your eyes and ears open. There are big things in the works for Minnesota. Trust me.

It's the end of the world as we know it...

And I feel fine.

Fortune magazine doesn't strike me as a tabloidesque rag, or an environmentalist wacko glossy, so why are they reporting about a nearly inevitable catastrophe caused by global warming?

"The threat that has riveted their attention is this: Global warming, rather than causing gradual, centuries-spanning change, may be pushing the climate to a tipping point. Growing evidence suggests the ocean-atmosphere system that controls the world's climate can lurch from one state to another in less than a decade—like a canoe that's gradually tilted until suddenly it flips over. Scientists don't know how close the system is to a critical threshold. But abrupt climate change may well occur in the not-too-distant future. If it does, the need to rapidly adapt may overwhelm many societies—thereby upsetting the geopolitical balance of power. "

The Pentagon is planning for disaster and the article reads like the plot to a Hollywood movie.

Of course, I knew this already. I've spent many a summer in the forest measuring energy and ecosystems, and I've seen the changes first hand. It's hard for trees to lie.

I found this great link at The Game.

Kerry on Gay Marriage

This is hopefully before the spin gets out of control, and I'm not a John Kerry fan, so my defense of his statements does not imply my support.

What Kerry said on All Things Considered today when asked if he supports a constitutional amendment defining marriage between man and women was - it depends. He said it depends on the wording, because it bothers him that the word 'marriage' is used in this debate. He said what we are debating is rights and benefits. He is so close to getting it right. He should have said that he would support legislation that would remove marriage from government and give it to religion to hash out who can and cannot get married, and let the government hash out the benefits debate which ultimately would include same-sex partnerships, unions, etc.

Today, he explained his vote against DOMA saying that it was nothing more than Republicans gay-bashing on the Senate floor.

Kerry is getting incredibly close to being GLBT supportive, but until he's whooping it up in a Chicago gay bar, he's still not an ally.

Gay animals

I don't need an answer to the "gay" question of biology versus environment. Probably, most of you don't either. But here's a story about homosexual behavior in nature and the ensuing discussion at Metafilter.

I'm not sure why, but I'm getting increasingly more libertarian with these issues. I mean, it's my hot body, I'll do what I want. Same goes for smoking, drinking, drugs, piercing, tattooing, not wearing a seatbelt, eating fast food, skydiving, etc. Admittedly, the last three I don't do for safety, health, and fear-of-flying reasons. And as a human being, I don't need animals or christians as as agents for proof or condemnation to help me sort it out.

What I'm trying to say is that the striking of the Texas sodomy law was awesome, but the Massachusetts ruling on same-sex marriage seems a bit off to me. They should have struck down mixed-sex marriage and done away with any benefits. To continue to say that I am less of a person and deserve less of a standing in society because I choose to remain single or am forced into that situation based on outside factors, is not equality. I refuse to have my government reward me for partnering when the love and companionship should be reward enough.

Back to the penguins: This story reminds me of my trip to Las Vegas in 2002 when we met a pair of gay pengiuns at the Flamingo Hotel, which is why I'm really posting this news. I'm not sure if the picture accurately points them out, but I think that pair in the middle is them.

Go, Cho, Go

Margaret Cho has been recieving harassing email since Drudge posted a few quotes of her comedy set at the MoveOn awards ceremony on Monday.

Cho has posted the harassing email on her site. And has written a response to them in her personal blog.

Read through the emails, as painful to read as it might be. These are the christians, and the Bush supporters in their own hateful words. You can read more of it at this FreeRepublic thread.

It's truly frightening to think that these are people who have a similar mind to those currently in power. This whole thing is really depressing.

Spreading Santorum

Just doing my best to spread the santorum.

Pronunciation: san-TOR-um
Function: noun
Etymology: Savage Love - 05/29/03

1. The frothy mix of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex.

2. Senator Rick Santorum

Sometimes I really love Dan Savage.

When the Right is wrong

The Strib is reporting a study that finds abstinence-only sex ed ineffective. I've gone off on this issue before, so I won't elaborate too much.

Tom Prichard of the Minnesota Family Council, an organization more obsessed with gays than a drunken sugar daddy at the Saloon on a Thursday, thinks the reason it's not working is because abstrinence-only doesn't go far enough in it's message. We need go back to stoning adulterers and homosexuals, and making unwed mothers wear giant red A's.

Well, he didn't really say that. But he's still an asshole.

Um, a poet, eh?

Remember when I made of fun of Bush's poetry to his wife? Turns out he never wrote the poem.

According to The Nation who heard Mrs. Bush admit to it on Meet the Press, she's all like:

MRS. BUSH: Well, of course, he didn't really write the poem. But a lot of people really believed that he did. That evening at the dinner, what some woman from across the table said: "You just don't know how great it is to have a husband who would write a poem for you."

Like, ok, whatever. You don't gotta lie and say you're husband is better than other people's husbands to make yourself feel better. Sounds like that girl's got some issues.

Keeping forests healthy by destroying them

A comments thread at Calpundit, brought me to this Rolling Stone article by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

"The White House has masked its attacks with euphemisms that would have embarrassed George Orwell. George W. Bush's "Healthy Forests" initiative promotes destructive logging of old-growth forests. His "Clear Skies" program, which repealed key provisions of the Clean Air Act, allows more emissions. The administration uses misleading code words such as streamlining or reforming instead of weakening, and thinning instead of logging. "

This is some really shady stuff that hasn't really been on any mainstream press radar yet (at least as far as I can tell). What I do know from my education and my experience measuring the ecological systems of northern hardwood forests, is that they are complicated. Logging is not always bad, especially as a replacement for traditional natural disturbances such as fire. But even then, some forest systems (such as those comprised of jack pine for instance) require the actual fire to keep the balance of species. Selective thinning should also involve burning of slash once logged. Clearcutting should never be implemented.

This whole debate about logging becomes really political. It reminds me of some work I did in the Illinois River Valley in Central Illinois a few years ago. Some forest stands on the bluffs were shifting from an oak-hickory composition to a sugar maple monoculture because of a lack of regular forest fires. Sugar maples have very broad leave that shade out the understory, including the traditional oak-hickory seedlings, and as a result, much of the soil of the bluffs erodes contributing to landslides and toxic siltation of surrounding streams. We worked on controlled burns and selective thinning of the maples. The results were dramatic. Huge amounts of dormant understory plants thrived within months.

Then the local Sierra Club chapter showed up, took pictures of us improving an existing ecosystem, and "exposed" us as "loggers" even though our work never went into wood or paper production, nor were any trees fit for production, or even enough to put into production. Up until that point, I had only seen and heard the bad anti-environmentalists, but now I know that it's fucked up on both sides.

So take the article by RFK, Jr. with a grain of salt, please. But take George Bush's environmental record for what it is: piss poor.

Death in Minnesota

I know this is a bit late in the game...but I'd like to weigh in my two cents...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty called for a reinstatement of the death penalty in Minnesota, earlier this month. Minnesota abolished the death penalty in 1911.

I have two thoughts on this. Pro-life and pro-death penalty are in Pawlenty's plans for Minnesota. Is there a contradiction here? I understand that an embryo or fetus is incapable of committing a capital offense, which is why a death sentence would be meted out. When is life sacred and when isn't it? I never thought I'd say this, but the Catholic church is on to it. They are pro-life and anti-death penalty. I'll give them credit, for once I agree with them (I am pro-choice, but somewhat less inclined to agree that abortion is appropriate birth control).

Why do people still hold on to the notion that capital punishment is a deterrent? Does anyone really think that a potential murderer weighs the pros and cons before killing someone? To me, (and I am no expert) killing seems to be a product of rage or mental deficiency. The only real deterrent is fear getting caught, and even that is saved for those killers whose intent is to get away with the crime and who understand the consequences to begin with.

Dean in a gay bar

Howard Dean campaigns in a Chicago gay bar. Huh. That's kinda awesome, but if I were him, I woulda went to Roscoe's. They have a lot cuter guys.

Cleanin' out the bookmarks

I went through and looked at some stuff I had intended to post in the last few weeks but hadn't. Here's some links and commentary.

I've bashed the RIAA here and here before. But what can us indie rockin', anti-radio folks do about it? Stop RIAA Lawsuits and Downhillbattle have a few ideas. And check out this fun page as well. It has fun tips for kids and parents about purchasing music. For fuck sake don't buy your kids a CD for Xmas.

*

The NRA is funny. The created a 19 page blacklist of gun control supporters. 19 fucking pages of people, businesses, and organizations to boycott. What are gun lovers supposed to do? Lock themselves inside cleaning their guns, and boycott the world? If a boycott truly is thier intended purpose, then no more Brittney Spears? no more Kevin Bacon? or medical advice from the American Medical Association? or visits to see my older family members in AARP? or Levi Strauss casual wear? I mean seriously, if 19 pages of celebrities, corporations, professional organizations, and religious institutions don't agree with NRA politics, then why is the NRA so compelled to show that virtually noone in America agrees with their politics?

*

I saw this a few days ago. The Tweny Most Annoying Conservatives in 2003. Unabashed conservative bashing. Good for a chuckle.

Crazy Christians

So, the Maranatha Christian Fellowship is suing the University of Minnesota claiming that the equal opportunity statement is unconstitutional. All registered student groups must sign the statement in order to use the public services that the university offers, including grants, meeting space, and other ammenities.

They want to make sure that athiests, queers, and other satanic peoples do not rise to the leadership ranks in their happy little group. What they don't seem to understand is that once discrimination is legal at the university, they will be the ones discriminated against as well. That statement protects EVERYBODY including christians, republicans, and nazis, as well as, queers, athiests, and people who wear pants.

The real hemorrhoid on this asshole of a discussion is that christians still have this oppressed and disenfranchised rhetoric. YOUR MARTYR DIED 2000 YEARS AGO. And you've managed since then to plant your ideology into a huge chunk of the planet. In this country and the State of Minnesota, the government is run by devout Christian men. It doesn't count anymore, you are the majority.

Don't be suprised if we all point and laugh at your little lawsuit claiming your rights are being violated. My rights are continually violated by your ideology including but not limited to all the times prior to May 2001 that I fucked some guy or got my dick sucked in Minnesota. Or in the future, when I try to have my relationship legally recognized.

Anyway, for a more tame discussion and some quotes from me, check out this week's The Wake. Google cache here if link fades.

It's the elephant in the room...

A list from Cory Farley at the Reno Gazette-Journal
“Things you have to believe to be a Republican today.”

*Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you’re a conservative radio host. Then it’s an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.

*The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

*Government should relax regulation of Big Business and Big Money but crack down on individuals who use marijuana to relieve the pain of illness.

*“Standing Tall for America” means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.

*A woman can’t be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

*Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

*The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans’ benefits and combat pay.

*Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins unless you someday run for governor of California as a Republican.

*If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won’t have sex.

*A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

*HMOs and insurance companies have the interest of the public at heart.

*Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

*Global warming and tobacco’s link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

*Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush’s daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a “we can’t find Bin Laden” diversion.

*A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

*Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

*The public has a right to know about Hillary’s cattle trades, but George Bush’s driving record is none of our business.

*You support states’ rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have a right to adopt.

*What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the ’80s is irrelevant.

*Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

World AIDS Day

Tomarrow is World AIDS Day. Much of my life lately has been dedicated to stopping the spread of the disease in Minnesota. I've been fortunate and cautious enough in my sluttiness that I haven't been infected by any of the pernicious and deadly diseases that are spread by sex juices. That said, let's talk about AIDS.

The first cases of what would later be called AIDS were discovered in the US in 1981, although evidence suggests the pandemic started in the mid-late 1970s. The history of the disease is here.

HIV is the virus that degrades the human immune system which causes the syndrome, AIDS. For an introductory biology lesson on HIV and AIDS, click here.

An estimated 21.8 million people have died since the discovery of HIV. Click here for global AIDS statistics.

As of December 2002, 501,669 people in the US have died from AIDS. Click here for more US AIDS information.

2,528 Minnesotans have died of AIDS. For information on HIV/AIDS in Minnesota, click here. And click here to see state-by-state information on HIV/AIDS.

For more information on HIV/AIDS and STI's in Minnesota, please visit these sites:

Minnesota AIDS Project, PrideAlive, Aliveness Project, Open Arms Minnesota, Youth and AIDS Projects, Rural AIDS Action Network, Program in Human Sexuality at the U of MN, Red Door Clinic, Clinic 42, and Camp Benedict.

It has started already

Just got the word that Minnesota will be trying to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

The legislative session doesn't begin until Feb. 2nd. Good god! I'm going to be a busy man in 2004.

Forum

I talked about this a week or two ago. Here's a great event if anyone wants some action on this topic.

Rolling Out The Trojan Horse
The CDC's New Plan for HIV Prevention

The feds have a new plan for preventing HIV and it ain't all that good. Abstinence until marriage is the guiding light, and less and less money for tried and true community prevention seems to be the way Uncle Sam wants to go. It's all starting to sound like a throw back to the Eighties when we couldn't talk about the real needs of gay and bisexual men, there was a witch hunt mentality about HIV testing, and blame was placed at the feet of people living with HIV. Hear what Terje Anderson, executive director of NAPWA (National Association of People with AIDS) has to say about our government's break from effective HIV prevention and how it will affect you.

Tuesday, November 18
7 - 8 p.m.
Davis Auditorium at
Macalester College
St Paul

A PrideAlive, Positive Link, MAP Public Policy event sponsored by Minnesota AIDS Project.

To register, please contact the MAP AIDSLine at
(612) 373-AIDS or (800) 248-AIDS

Science versus ideology

Reading Bob Herbert's November 3rd New York Times editorial got me thinking.... This country is becoming more puritanical, more deadly. The fact that a fundie group could create so much excitement, by creating a list of scientific research that they disagree with, is cause for alarm. But what is even more alarming is that this ideology is winning.

A while back, I was handed a report by Rep. Henry Waxman, which this site is based on. Science is swiftly becoming replaced by christian ideology, and pretty soon we'll be faced with the assertion that, yes indeed, the universe revolves around the Earth, again (sorry Galileo, Copernicus).

The dangerous part is that queer healh concerns are being erased from conciousness of American government. It started with Healthy People 2010, a report comissioned by the Clinton administration to evaluate the health of the country. For the first time it had specific focus on GLBT health concerns. As soon as Bush arrived, the GLBT part of that report was rescinded.

Then, the government started increasing funds for abstinence-only until marriage health education, at the same time it continued to rally support for the proposed amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage, thereby mocking all queer youth in America, telling them they are worthless and sexless. This is a perfect recipe for inflicting psychological torture on our queer youth as well as denying them any useful information about their sexual health.

The Centers for Disease Control also altered their information on condom effectiveness. In addition, studies on the CDC website that showed that comprehensive sex education does not cause kids to have sex was deleted. Abstinence infromation was put in it's place.

And around the same time, HIV prevention and education programs thoughout the country are under attack.

This is only the tip of the pimple known as the Bush administration and its fundie christian pus is ooozing all over our health and safety. Welcome back to the 80s.

Ugh!

This week is Protection from Pornography Week as proclaimed by Bush. I am sooo relieved! I've had nothing but problems with pornography: evil videotapes leaping off the shelf and bashing me in the head, homocidal flying porn DVDs, the deadly multiple paper cuts perpetrated by whacked out, violent, nudey magazines, and identity theft resulting in millions in personal debt traced back to tech-savvy downloaded movie files.

Enough is enough people! (hehehe).

Fundie Christians are so cute

The Maranatha Christian Fellowship at the University of Minnesota is suing the university because they are scared that queers, communists, vegetarians, and other crazy folks are going to infiltrate their happy little group.

The heart of the suit focuses on the Equal Opportunity Statement that all U of MN student groups must sign in order to receive the benefits of registered student group status. These benefits include access to grants, free meeting space, and a credit union account among other things. They contest that the statement violates the group's First Amendment rights.

MCF does not want to sign the document that would theoretically allow gays, atheists, adulterers, and fornicators into leadership positions within the group. MCF is concerned that these evil-doers will gain leadership and bring them down from the inside.

I don't know how I feel about this one except that it would set a dangerous precedent if the Equal Opportunity Statement was ruled unconstitutional.

On a more serious note, I stopped by the MCF table at Coffman Union today out of curiousity, and thank the lord I did! As it turns out, the bible condemns Halloween, and dressing up for it is considered evil. Whew! That was a close one. Just think, I could have burned in hell for dressing up on Friday.

I don't generally like to make fun of people.

Wait, that's a lie. I do like to make fun of people and our fearless leader makes it so easy.

You see, he wrote a poem to his wife, and it goes like this:

--GW Bush, 2003

Apparently "my, lump in the bed" is a pet name for the first lady.

President Bush proclaimed October 12-18 "Marriage Protection Week." Doesn't he realize that I already proclaimed the week of October 12th "National Coming Out Week" at the University of Minnesota? Hehe. I'm so excited to have a week filled with uber gay activities already planned during his little marriage week thingy.

He really needs to start checking with me first before he cooks up these hairbrained schemes.

FCUK you

Don't these people have better things to do than tell me what clothes I can shop for?

I'm going to Marshall Fields tomarrow and buyin' me some FCUK! FCUK these catholic bitches.

It really makes me wonder: With all the poverty, disease, and corruption in our country, this is the best cause they can some up with?

Sad, very sad.

UPDATE: I bought an awesome button up from FCUK, and a black T-shirt that says "fcuk fashion." I know, the irony of it doesn't make sense but it was cheap and I just wanna wear it to mass or something.

Michael Moore

Michael Moore is coming to the University of Minnesota next week, to promote his new book, "Dude, Where's My Country?"

I am going to be there, no matter what it takes.

Weapons of mass destruction

This is fcuking hilarious.

(Caution: Lots of pop-ups)

Go into google, type in "weapons of mass destuction" (no quotes, btw), then hit "I'm feeling lucky."

It looks like a 404 error page, but be sure to reaad it carefully. Hehe.

Thanks to David for the heads up.

I feel really bad for stupid people

I haven't written many political entries (actually only one), so I thought I'd post my homework for Literature of Public Life or U of M course code EngL 1501.

The assignment: Read and respond to a New York Times OP/ED piece.

The nytimes.com link requires registration.

David Brooks writes about the hostility that politically conservative students face in colleges and universities. He asserts that the liberal political atmosphere of most higher institutions of learning can be damaging to the careers of these conservative students, and most professors Brooks’ questioned said they often try and steer students away from ‘liberal’ careers or tell students to ‘keep their views in the closet.’

I’ve seen this ‘discrimination’ in my courses right here at the University of Minnesota. In a political sociology course, a discussion of the Iraq invasion came up. One of the students mentioned praise for conservative author Ann Coulter’s ideas about Americanizing and Christianizing the people of the Middle East and her statements about the evils of Islam. His remarks were met with scoffs and plenty of argument by the students, teaching assistant, and professor.

Some conservative members of the campus community feel that the university is too liberal and their views aren’t heard. Well, I’ve heard them. I saw them having an ‘Affirmative Action Bake Sale” in an effort to show their support for an end to affirmative action. They even had chocolate brownies to signify African Americans.

And on a personal note, I heard the views of these conservative students - the very same ones having the bake sale as I never forget a face - while walking through campus with a guy I was dating. They basically told us we were immoral and destined to hellfire and brimstone. Not their exact words, but pretty close to the point.

So when conservative students complain about having to ‘keep their views in the closet,’ I laugh really, really hard. After all, these are the students working hard to shove my friends and I back into the closet.

Ultimately, the lessons learned both in the classroom and as a part of college life outside the classroom are meant to expand the mind, encourage us think critically, and to understand the complexities of life. Their views should be heard, however ridiculous the sound.

US Regime change: Reason #1

This is a great time line of the garbage spewed by the Bush administration over the war in Iraq.