Tori (L) and Kate Kendall, who already share the same last name, hold their five-month-old baby Zadie while being are joined in wedlock as the era of same-sex marriage begins in California, June 17, 2008 in West Hollywood, California
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
After 55 years together, they finally say "I do"
Lesbian rights activists Phyllis Lyon, 84, right, and Del Martin, 87, are among the first to exchange vows as California becomes the second state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. (more)
Another story on them (Lesbian pioneers wed at San Francisco City Hall)
If the above photo doesn't touch your heart, I don't know what does.
Al Gore to endorse Obama
From CNN Associate Political Editor Rebecca Sinderbrand
(CNN) — After remaining neutral throughout the Democratic primary season, former Vice President Al Gore is officially backing Barack Obama's presidential run, and will appear with him at a Michigan campaign event Monday night.
"A few hours from now I will step on stage in Detroit, Michigan to announce my support for Senator Barack Obama," said the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee in a fundraising e-mail sent to supporters Monday. "From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected President of the United States."
Former presidential candidate John Edwards also announced his decision to endorse Obama at a rally in the crucial fall swing state.
I'm not the only one.
I used to love, LOVE Keith Olbermann. Then he started slamming Hillary. And as a Hillary supporter, I was hurt. He's suppose to attack the OTHER side.. the McCains and Bushs.. not OUR girl. It got so bad, I stopped watching.. I started going to CNN instead. I used to love his Special Comments.. but now it seems he is turning into a version of Bill O'Reilly of the left. Since ratings will probably follow I doubt he'll come back to us. Sad.
Tim Russert on Olbermann:
As Russert put it to me shortly before his death, "Keith and I have each carved out our roles in this vast information spectrum." He continued, "What cable emphasizes, more and more, is opinion, or even advocacy. Whether it's Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olbermann or Lou Dobbs, that's what that particular platform or venue does. It's not what I do. What I do is different. I try very, very hard not to come up and say to people, 'This is what I believe,' or 'This is good,' or 'This is bad.' But, rather, 'This is what I'm learning in my reporting,' or 'This is what my analysis shows based on my reporting.' And as long as I can do that I'm very, very comfortable. And nobody has asked me to do anything but that."
Tom Brokaw On Olbermann (and Chris Matthews):
Brokaw says he sometimes feels that he has been cast in the role of hall monitor at NBC News; if so, his charges have kept him busy. The day after the New Hampshire primary, Matthews asserted that Hillary Clinton owed her election as senator to public sympathy for her in light of her husband's sexual peccadilloes. "It was completely out of line," Brokaw says. "And Keith took it to another level" with his "shut the hell up" commentary.
MSNBC executive on Olbermann's relationship with Clinton supporters:
"It was, like, you meet a guy and you fall in love with him, and he's funny and he's clever and he's witty, and he's all these great things," Griffin said of the relationship between Olbermann and the Clinton supporters among his viewers. "And then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal. And that is how the Hillary viewers see him. It's true. But I do think they're going to come back. There's nowhere else to go."
Tim Russert on Olbermann:
As Russert put it to me shortly before his death, "Keith and I have each carved out our roles in this vast information spectrum." He continued, "What cable emphasizes, more and more, is opinion, or even advocacy. Whether it's Bill O'Reilly or Keith Olbermann or Lou Dobbs, that's what that particular platform or venue does. It's not what I do. What I do is different. I try very, very hard not to come up and say to people, 'This is what I believe,' or 'This is good,' or 'This is bad.' But, rather, 'This is what I'm learning in my reporting,' or 'This is what my analysis shows based on my reporting.' And as long as I can do that I'm very, very comfortable. And nobody has asked me to do anything but that."
Tom Brokaw On Olbermann (and Chris Matthews):
Brokaw says he sometimes feels that he has been cast in the role of hall monitor at NBC News; if so, his charges have kept him busy. The day after the New Hampshire primary, Matthews asserted that Hillary Clinton owed her election as senator to public sympathy for her in light of her husband's sexual peccadilloes. "It was completely out of line," Brokaw says. "And Keith took it to another level" with his "shut the hell up" commentary.
MSNBC executive on Olbermann's relationship with Clinton supporters:
"It was, like, you meet a guy and you fall in love with him, and he's funny and he's clever and he's witty, and he's all these great things," Griffin said of the relationship between Olbermann and the Clinton supporters among his viewers. "And then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal. And that is how the Hillary viewers see him. It's true. But I do think they're going to come back. There's nowhere else to go."
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
"I endorse him and throw my full support behind him"
WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton suspended her pioneering campaign for the presidency on Saturday and summoned supporters to use "our energy, our passion, our strength" to put Barack Obama in the White House. (READ/WATCH)
Jeremy Gerard: "A Great Speech"...
Hilary Rosen: "Cemented Her Place In History"
Jeremy Gerard: "A Great Speech"...
Hilary Rosen: "Cemented Her Place In History"
Thursday, June 5, 2008
America's 40 Years War at an End
How fitting--even how poetic--it is that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination during the week in which we mark the fortieth anniversary of the death of Robert F. Kennedy. This harmonic convergence has deep significance.
These events may come to be seen as the bookends of the second American civil war, a war that has divided the nation and been a dominant force in our politics for four decades. There is genuine reason to hope that 2008 will bring at last an armistice--maybe even a lasting peace--in America's Forty Years War, the internal conflict more commonly known as the Culture Wars, which began in 1968. (MORE)
ok, so he's our guy. Let the love begin.
I looked at a mountain of pics from Tuesday's decisive night, and kept coming back to this one.
First, I appreciate the color of Michelle's dress, reprising -- at least to me -- the '04 conclusion that America (in contrast to the hyper-polarized red state/blue state dichotomy perpetuated by the media) is actually a lot more purple.
I also appreciate Michelle's proud, private, knowing, understated, intimate and unselfconscious expression, as well as the lack of tension in each partner's body. Observing them these many months, it is evident to me that the Obamas' ability to remain so relaxed is a natural expression of confidence.
Mostly though, I tried (fruitlessly) to imagine John and Cindy or Bill and Hillary celebrating the impending nomination with a fist bump, illuminating the fact that, as much as anything, the gesture -- just like this outcome -- is truly a generational thing.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
According to Carrie Bradshaw...
Enjoy yourself, that's what your 20's are for. Your 30's are to learn the lessons. Your 40's are to pay for the drinks.
I like this...
Celebrating Gay Pride Month: In a statement on Sunday, Hillary recognized June as Gay Pride Month and stressed her commitment to the LGBT community: “America deserves a President who appeals to the best in each of us, not the worst; a President who values and respects all Americans and treats all Americans equally no matter who they are or who they love. That is truly the promise of America.”
Hillary has been talking to the gay community from day one. Obama only at the last minute and only in one statement. I think he'd shelf our cause in the appearance of "compromise".
Saturday, May 31, 2008
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I had a gay kid say to me the other day, 'Men and women on death row can marry people on the outside. They're allowed to get married. And gays want the same rights as people on death row.' I thought that was pretty good thinking … It's just an interesting thing that gays don't have the same rights as people on death row.”
— Bisexual gossip columnist Liz Smith during a joint blog post with actress Candice Bergen and newswoman Lesley Stahl on their website, wowowow.com
— Bisexual gossip columnist Liz Smith during a joint blog post with actress Candice Bergen and newswoman Lesley Stahl on their website, wowowow.com
Friday, May 23, 2008
McCain on the Ellen show talking about same-sex marriage.
McCain opposes gay marriage
Sen. John McCain tells Ellen DeGeneres why he opposes same-sex marriage
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/05/22/sot.mccain.on.ellen.cnn
Sen. John McCain tells Ellen DeGeneres why he opposes same-sex marriage
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/05/22/sot.mccain.on.ellen.cnn
Thursday, May 15, 2008
California wins same-sex marraige
Same-gender Couples Win Freedom to Marry
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released the following statement today regarding the state Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage:
“I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.” (READ)
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released the following statement today regarding the state Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage:
“I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.” (READ)
Mr. President, the war isn’t about you — or golf
Olbermann: Bush's claim he gave up game to honor dead GIs is ludicrous
SPECIAL COMMENT By Keith Olbermann
President Bush has resorted anew to the sleaziest fear-mongering and mass manipulation of an administration and public life dedicated to realizing the lowest of our expectations. And he has now applied these poisons to the 2008 presidential election, on behalf of the party at whose center he and John McCain lurk. (READ/WATCH)
SPECIAL COMMENT By Keith Olbermann
President Bush has resorted anew to the sleaziest fear-mongering and mass manipulation of an administration and public life dedicated to realizing the lowest of our expectations. And he has now applied these poisons to the 2008 presidential election, on behalf of the party at whose center he and John McCain lurk. (READ/WATCH)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Something light...
I got the opportunity to hear Madeleine Albright speak last week in support of Hillary. I think she's brilliant and funny. (She even signed a book for me)
Here's a fun interview of her on GMA about her signature brooches! Enjoy!
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4791645&affil=whas
Monday, May 5, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
North Pole Could Be Ice Free in 2008
abcnews.go.com, April 27, 2008
You know when climate change is biting hard when instead of a vast expanse of snow the North Pole is a vast expanse of water. This year, for the first time, Arctic scientists are preparing for that possibility.
"The set-up for this summer is disturbing," says Mark Serreze, of the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). A number of factors have this year led to most of the Arctic ice being thin and vulnerable as it enters its summer melting season. (READ)
What Does a President Really Do All Day?
Sunday, April 27, 2008; Washington Post
A simple and deceptively tricky question: What does a president do?
If you had to put together the Help Wanted ad for the position of chief executive, what would you write? Something like: "CEO needed to supervise 3 million employees. Must be at least 35, native-born, willing to work at home. Spectacular public failures likely." (READ)
A simple and deceptively tricky question: What does a president do?
If you had to put together the Help Wanted ad for the position of chief executive, what would you write? Something like: "CEO needed to supervise 3 million employees. Must be at least 35, native-born, willing to work at home. Spectacular public failures likely." (READ)
The Messiah Wears No Clothes
Bilerico.com, Filed by: Jerame Davis
April 27, 2008 4:24 PM
Indiana has become the center of the universe thanks to the red hot contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. I cannot recall the national interest in what Indiana has to say about the presidential race ever reaching this point. The commercials, the radio ads, the unending rallies and press conferences. And the mail.
In fact, campaign mail is a big part of what I want to focus on. I believe one of the reasons Obama has gotten such a pass on the "negativity factor" is that the mainstream media (MSM) hasn't bothered to look at his direct mail. (READ)
Saturday, April 26, 2008
What would you do?
20/20s Gay Public Displays of Affection Draw Police and Glares
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Primetime/WhatWouldYouDo/
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Primetime/WhatWouldYouDo/
Sunday, April 20, 2008
White Men
Huffington Post by NORA EPHRON
Here's another thing I don't like about this primary: now that there are only two Democratic candidates, it's suddenly horribly absolutely crystal-clear that this is an election about gender and race. This may have always been true, but weeks ago it wasn't so obvious -- once upon a time there were eight candidates, and although six of them withered away, their presence in the campaign managed to obscure things. Even around the time of Ohio, when there were primarily three candidates, the outlines were still murky, because Edwards was still in there, picking up votes from all sectors.
But now there are two and we're facing Pennsylvania and whom are we kidding? This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women. And when I say people, I don't mean people, I mean white men. How ironic is this? After all this time, after all these stupid articles about how powerless white men are and how they can't even get into college because of overachieving women and affirmative action and mean lady teachers who expected them to sit still in the third grade even thought they were all suffering from terminal attention deficit disorder -- after all this, they turn out (surprise!) to have all the power. (As they always did, by the way; I hope you didn't believe any of those articles.)
To put it bluntly, the next president will be elected by them: the outcome of Tuesday's primary will depend on whether they go for Hillary or Obama, and the outcome of the general election will depend on whether enough of them vote for McCain. A lot of them will: white men cannot be relied on, as all of us know who have spent a lifetime dating them. And McCain is an attractive candidate, particularly because of the Torture Thing. As for the Democratic hope that McCain's temper will be a problem, don't bet on it. A lot of white men have terrible tempers, and what's more, they think it's normal and sort of attractive.
If Hillary pulls it out in Pennsylvania, and she could, and if she follows it up in Indiana, she can make a credible case that she deserves to be the candidate; these last primaries will show which of the two Democratic candidates is better at overcoming the bias of a vast chunk of the population that has never in its history had to vote for anyone but a candidate who could have been their father or their brother or their son, and who has never had to think of the president of the United States as anyone other than someone they might have been had circumstances been just slightly different.
Hillary's case is not an attractive one, because what she'll essentially be saying (and has been saying, although very carefully) is that she can attract more racist white male voters than Obama can. Nonetheless, and as I said, she has a case.
I spent the weekend listening to one commentator after another saying that Obama has it locked up, it's a done deal. I dunno. Hillary is the true whack-a-mole and if she survives on Tuesday, it will be a whole new ballgame. And it will be all because of white men.
Here's another thing I don't like about this primary: now that there are only two Democratic candidates, it's suddenly horribly absolutely crystal-clear that this is an election about gender and race. This may have always been true, but weeks ago it wasn't so obvious -- once upon a time there were eight candidates, and although six of them withered away, their presence in the campaign managed to obscure things. Even around the time of Ohio, when there were primarily three candidates, the outlines were still murky, because Edwards was still in there, picking up votes from all sectors.
But now there are two and we're facing Pennsylvania and whom are we kidding? This is an election about whether the people of Pennsylvania hate blacks more than they hate women. And when I say people, I don't mean people, I mean white men. How ironic is this? After all this time, after all these stupid articles about how powerless white men are and how they can't even get into college because of overachieving women and affirmative action and mean lady teachers who expected them to sit still in the third grade even thought they were all suffering from terminal attention deficit disorder -- after all this, they turn out (surprise!) to have all the power. (As they always did, by the way; I hope you didn't believe any of those articles.)
To put it bluntly, the next president will be elected by them: the outcome of Tuesday's primary will depend on whether they go for Hillary or Obama, and the outcome of the general election will depend on whether enough of them vote for McCain. A lot of them will: white men cannot be relied on, as all of us know who have spent a lifetime dating them. And McCain is an attractive candidate, particularly because of the Torture Thing. As for the Democratic hope that McCain's temper will be a problem, don't bet on it. A lot of white men have terrible tempers, and what's more, they think it's normal and sort of attractive.
If Hillary pulls it out in Pennsylvania, and she could, and if she follows it up in Indiana, she can make a credible case that she deserves to be the candidate; these last primaries will show which of the two Democratic candidates is better at overcoming the bias of a vast chunk of the population that has never in its history had to vote for anyone but a candidate who could have been their father or their brother or their son, and who has never had to think of the president of the United States as anyone other than someone they might have been had circumstances been just slightly different.
Hillary's case is not an attractive one, because what she'll essentially be saying (and has been saying, although very carefully) is that she can attract more racist white male voters than Obama can. Nonetheless, and as I said, she has a case.
I spent the weekend listening to one commentator after another saying that Obama has it locked up, it's a done deal. I dunno. Hillary is the true whack-a-mole and if she survives on Tuesday, it will be a whole new ballgame. And it will be all because of white men.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Joe Scarborough Walks Off MSNBC's "Race To The White House" After Exchange With Rachel Maddow
Update from MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines to Huffington Post:
"Joe didn't walk off. He chose not to participate in the final couple of minutes of the discussion because he felt the conversation didn't fit his role as a political analyst."
Previously:
Did Joe Scarborough walk out of David Gregory's show "Race to the White House" Thursday night on MSNBC? It seems that way by the video below. Joe was a panelist on the show along with Air America's Rachel Maddow, CNBC's John Harwood and former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr.
The panel was discussing the effect of Sen. Obama's personal and professional relationships on his campaign when Rachel and Joe disagreed. Joe started to challenge Rachel's argument that relationships only become an issue when a political opponent makes them an issue, but she cut him off, "Let me make my point and then you can dismiss me." She then finished with an example of a McCain campaign co-chair in Florida's bathroom activities.
After a commercial break, Joe prefaced his rebuttal to Rachel's point by saying "I don't engage in Crossfire-type debates and certainly I don't want to talk about what people do in bathrooms." When he finished speaking, and after David Gregory had shut Joe vs. Rachel down, John Harrow came on camera. Then, viewers can hear Joe taking off his microphone (2:47 into the below video). When the panel picture came back, no Joe.
Watch Rachel and Joe make their points, hear Joe unplug, and then (after a jump) see the panel after Joe has gone: (WATCH VIDEO)
"Joe didn't walk off. He chose not to participate in the final couple of minutes of the discussion because he felt the conversation didn't fit his role as a political analyst."
Previously:
Did Joe Scarborough walk out of David Gregory's show "Race to the White House" Thursday night on MSNBC? It seems that way by the video below. Joe was a panelist on the show along with Air America's Rachel Maddow, CNBC's John Harwood and former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr.
The panel was discussing the effect of Sen. Obama's personal and professional relationships on his campaign when Rachel and Joe disagreed. Joe started to challenge Rachel's argument that relationships only become an issue when a political opponent makes them an issue, but she cut him off, "Let me make my point and then you can dismiss me." She then finished with an example of a McCain campaign co-chair in Florida's bathroom activities.
After a commercial break, Joe prefaced his rebuttal to Rachel's point by saying "I don't engage in Crossfire-type debates and certainly I don't want to talk about what people do in bathrooms." When he finished speaking, and after David Gregory had shut Joe vs. Rachel down, John Harrow came on camera. Then, viewers can hear Joe taking off his microphone (2:47 into the below video). When the panel picture came back, no Joe.
Watch Rachel and Joe make their points, hear Joe unplug, and then (after a jump) see the panel after Joe has gone: (WATCH VIDEO)
Will Ferrell Brings Back Bush Impersonation, Slams Jon Stewart
Will Ferrell dusted off his George W. Bush impersonation Sunday night to raise money for autism education. The cause, Comedy Central's "Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit For Autism Education," was started by "Saturday Night Live" writer Robert Smigel, whose son is autistic. Ferrell, as Bush, shared reflections of his legacy with host Jon Stewart.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Gay couples face higher tax bills
MOUNT LAUREL, New Jersey (AP) -- For gay couples, the April 15 tax filing deadline can be a reminder of the disparities they face, even in a nation that is becoming more accepting of same-sex couples.
art.gay.taxes.ap.jpg
Beth Asaro and Joanne Schailey at their civil union ceremony in 2007.
Gay couples often pay higher taxes because they don't get the federal tax benefits that go with marriage. And for couples in state-sanctioned domestic partnerships, civil unions or same-sex marriages, filing federal income taxes can involve doing three sets of paperwork instead of one.
"It's a significant financial disability," said Beth Asaro, who last year entered into one of New Jersey's first legally recognized civil unions.
While the debate over government recognition of gay marriage is a political hot-button with arguments about morality, civil rights and tradition, the tax issue is a mostly practical one for hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples.
Most states ban gay marriage and don't recognize same-sex unions in any way. Only in Massachusetts can gay couples legally marry. Since 1997, nine other states and Washington D.C. started offering civil unions or domestic partnerships that give some or all the legal protections of marriage.
Those protections include allowing gay couples to file state taxes jointly -- and potentially save them money. But they can also make tax filing more complicated for the couples.
That's because the state protections do not help with federal taxes. Under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, the government defines marriage as being allowed only between a man and a woman.
"You're running one household," said John Traier, a partner in the Butler, New Jersey, accounting firm Hammond & Traier. "But the federal government and a lot of states treat them as two households." (MORE)
art.gay.taxes.ap.jpg
Beth Asaro and Joanne Schailey at their civil union ceremony in 2007.
Gay couples often pay higher taxes because they don't get the federal tax benefits that go with marriage. And for couples in state-sanctioned domestic partnerships, civil unions or same-sex marriages, filing federal income taxes can involve doing three sets of paperwork instead of one.
"It's a significant financial disability," said Beth Asaro, who last year entered into one of New Jersey's first legally recognized civil unions.
While the debate over government recognition of gay marriage is a political hot-button with arguments about morality, civil rights and tradition, the tax issue is a mostly practical one for hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples.
Most states ban gay marriage and don't recognize same-sex unions in any way. Only in Massachusetts can gay couples legally marry. Since 1997, nine other states and Washington D.C. started offering civil unions or domestic partnerships that give some or all the legal protections of marriage.
Those protections include allowing gay couples to file state taxes jointly -- and potentially save them money. But they can also make tax filing more complicated for the couples.
That's because the state protections do not help with federal taxes. Under the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, the government defines marriage as being allowed only between a man and a woman.
"You're running one household," said John Traier, a partner in the Butler, New Jersey, accounting firm Hammond & Traier. "But the federal government and a lot of states treat them as two households." (MORE)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Yes, I'm a dork and you can be too.
Ok, after all this talk about the Sci-Fi series "BattleStar Galactica" being the best show on television and all the hooplah on the beginning of the fourth season, I headed over to the Sci Fi Channel's website and found this hilarious "get all caught up" movie.
http://www.scifi.com/index.php?clip=frak
After watching this, I bought the first season on DVD.. watched it.. loved it and ordered season two. Enjoy the recap movie.. it's a hoot.
'Sex And The City' Movie: Secrets, Details And An Exclusive Look
There's a moment in the new "Sex and the City" movie, The Post has learned, when Carrie Bradshaw is lounging in a cliff-top Mexican villa, overlooking a breathtaking view of the ocean, with her pink Swarovski-encrusted cellphone in hand. She's checking her voice mail.
First message.
It's from Big, who, as many know by now, actually has a name: John James Preston.
"Babe," he says affectionately, before saying he needs to talk to her urgently.
In a moment of pure impulsiveness, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) throws her phone off the cliff. It goes sailing through the air, with the sun sparkling off the crystals as it falls into the ocean.
It's ludicrous. It's exciting. It's over-the-top.
And it's achieving what many in the film industry believed impossible just a few years ago: building a cinematic fantasy that's bigger than Big. (READ MORE)
First message.
It's from Big, who, as many know by now, actually has a name: John James Preston.
"Babe," he says affectionately, before saying he needs to talk to her urgently.
In a moment of pure impulsiveness, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) throws her phone off the cliff. It goes sailing through the air, with the sun sparkling off the crystals as it falls into the ocean.
It's ludicrous. It's exciting. It's over-the-top.
And it's achieving what many in the film industry believed impossible just a few years ago: building a cinematic fantasy that's bigger than Big. (READ MORE)
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Starbucks economy
Forget about the millions of foreclosures, rising unemployment, gas and food price inflation -- you want to know how to tell the economy is really tanking?
Americans are cutting back on their morning lattes at Starbucks.
This tidbit comes to us from Time Magazine's Justin Fox, who writes in his "Curious Capitalist blog " that during a visit to Time's corporate offices on Monday, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said "For the first time in our history as a company, we have negative traffic this year vs. last."
Americans are cutting back on their morning lattes at Starbucks.
This tidbit comes to us from Time Magazine's Justin Fox, who writes in his "Curious Capitalist blog " that during a visit to Time's corporate offices on Monday, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said "For the first time in our history as a company, we have negative traffic this year vs. last."
New information from Al Gore
In Al Gore's brand-new slideshow (premiering exclusively on TED.com), he presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting, and challenges us to act with a sense of "generational mission" -- the kind of feeling that brought forth the civil rights movement -- to set it right. Gore's stirring presentation is followed by a brief Q&A in which he is asked for his verdict on the current political candidates' climate policies and on what role he himself might play in future. (WATCH VIDEO)
"Sex and the City" and the Photoshop
As the Sex and the City movie fast approaches (May 30, have you circled the day on your calendar with a big red pen yet?), new photos of the fabulous foursome have been released to promote the premiere. The ladies look like no time has passed since they first began sipping cosmos together on-screen a decade ago. Ah, Hollywood magic. Still, some news outlets are expressing surprise that the actresses may have been digitally enhanced in the promo pictures. Um, duh? (READ MORE)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
How about THIS ticket?
Earlier this week the New England Historic Genealogical Society uncovered distant relatives for all the major presidential contenders. Turns out if you're a Democrat, no matter how you vote, you're voting for the Brangelina Ticket. Those clever genealogists discovered that Obama is related to Brad Pitt and Clinton to Angelina Jolie. Talk about your dream ticket. (READ)
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The power of stillness
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo
Stillness influences the system.
Watch this short video first to see this in action.
Standing still changes how people react to you. It may not be instantly, but soon people will ask: what's going on here?
And it will change what you notice in the system. It can help you notice patterns and to get a "meta" view.
And that new perspective can help you to work out what really matters.
Stillness influences the system.
Watch this short video first to see this in action.
Standing still changes how people react to you. It may not be instantly, but soon people will ask: what's going on here?
And it will change what you notice in the system. It can help you notice patterns and to get a "meta" view.
And that new perspective can help you to work out what really matters.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Bush Gutting The Endangered Species Act
Officials Regularly Overrule Agency Scientists' Recommendations... Personnel Barred From Using Info To List New Species... Not One Species Listed As Endangered In Nearly Two Years... Conservation Group: "Roadblock To Listing Under Bush Is Criminal"...
Some Species Have 'Vanished' (READ)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Jamie Lee Curtis takes shirt off for magazine
NEW YORK (AP) -- Jamie Lee Curtis went shirtless to pose for AARP The Magazine.
Jamie Lee Curtis couldn't be happier about growing older.
Curtis is shown sporting gray hair and wading in water up to her chest on the cover of the magazine's May/June issue, which will be available Monday.
The star of "True Lies," "A Fish Called Wanda" and other films becomes eligible for membership in AARP, the nonprofit organization for people 50 and over, when she celebrates her birthday November 22.
"I want to be older," she tells the magazine. "I actually think there's an incredible amount of self-knowledge that comes with getting older. I feel way better now than I did when I was 20. I'm stronger, I'm smarter in every way, I'm so much less crazy than I was then."
Curtis, who is married to Christopher Guest and the mother of two children, says she reached a turning point two years ago when a tabloid published a photo of her and gave her weight as 161 pounds.
"I was like, 'How dare you -- I'm not 161 pounds!' I was indignant. I got home and I went on a scale and I was 161 pounds. I was in denial about it," she says.
"So I started a really healthy way of eating, just avoiding things that I had been shoving in my mouth. Over the course of a year, I dropped about 20 pounds," Curtis says.
"Now, I get up at (5 a.m.) every day, filled with energy. I play tennis three times a week, and I do yoga."
Curtis says growing older means paring down to an essential version of yourself.
"I've let my hair go gray. I wear only black and white. Every year I buy three or four black dresses that I just keep in rotation. I own one pair of blue jeans. I've given away all my jewelry, because I don't wear it," she says.
What about her life would she do over?
"I've been an inconsistent parent at times, and it's my greatest regret," she says. "When my daughter was small, I worked too much. I was replicating what my own mother (Janet Leigh) did."
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Crow Says She'll Sing With Fleetwood Mac
LOS ANGELES — Sheryl Crow says she'll soon be singing with Fleetwood Mac, a move sure to give new life to the classic rock band, which hasn't toured in several years.
"I don't want to make any official announcements, but I will say that we definitely have plans for collaborating in the future, and we'll see what happens," Crow told the AOL music Web site Spinner.com in a story posted Thursday.
The 46-year-old singer didn't give a date, but said it could happen next year. (READ)
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Transcript of Obama's speech
The following is a transcript of Sen. Barack Obama's speech, as provided by Obama's campaign.
We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.
Sen. Barack Obama has said the controversy over his ex-pastor's remarks has been "a distraction" to the campaign.
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy.
Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least 20 more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution -- a Constitution that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time. (DO YOURSELF a favor.. read the entire thing)
We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.
Sen. Barack Obama has said the controversy over his ex-pastor's remarks has been "a distraction" to the campaign.
Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy.
Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.
The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least 20 more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.
Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution -- a Constitution that had at its very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time. (DO YOURSELF a favor.. read the entire thing)
Monday, March 17, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
yes, I love Tina Fey.. see her new movie clip
The two women play polar opposites who come together when white-collar Kate (Tina) hires working-class Angie (Amy) to be her surrogate. What ensures is what Tina calls “as close as you can get to seeing me and Amy in a movie version of Laverne & Shirley.”
She doesn't speak for me.
What you're about to hear is a portion of a jaw-dropping speech delivered by an Oklahoma State Representative at a gathering in her district. This is what they say when they think we're not listening. Learn more at www.victoryfund.org/listening
Hypocrisy and power
SO.. if you are a big moralist you're probably cheating with hookers, if you are a gay basher you are probably gay, if you go after child predators, you prey on children oh.. and all of the above are politicians. And their wives.. why do they show up for the press conferences?
(MORE)
This is funny?
George Bush took the stage and sang an early farewell at the Gridiron, an annual roast among politicos and journalist in D.C. Although the media weren't allowed to bring their cameras, somebody did manage to smuggle out of some footage.
LYRICS:
Yes you're all gonna miss me, The way you used to quiz me, But soon I'll touch the brown, brown grass of home.
I spent my days clearing brush
I clear my head of all the fuss
But the fuss you made over harriet and brownie
Down the lane I look and here comes Scooter
Finally free of the prosecutor
Chorus
And then I wait and look around me
At the oval walls that surround me
I realize I was only dreaming
For there's Condi and Dick, my old compadre,
Talking to me about some oil rich Saudi,
But soon I'll touch the brown brown grass of home."
Chorus
That old White house is behind me,
I am once again carefree,
Don't have to worry 'bout a crisis in Pyongyang.
Down the lane I look, Dick Cheney is strolling
With documents he'd been withholding,
It's good to touch the brown brown grass of home."
LYRICS:
Yes you're all gonna miss me, The way you used to quiz me, But soon I'll touch the brown, brown grass of home.
I spent my days clearing brush
I clear my head of all the fuss
But the fuss you made over harriet and brownie
Down the lane I look and here comes Scooter
Finally free of the prosecutor
Chorus
And then I wait and look around me
At the oval walls that surround me
I realize I was only dreaming
For there's Condi and Dick, my old compadre,
Talking to me about some oil rich Saudi,
But soon I'll touch the brown brown grass of home."
Chorus
That old White house is behind me,
I am once again carefree,
Don't have to worry 'bout a crisis in Pyongyang.
Down the lane I look, Dick Cheney is strolling
With documents he'd been withholding,
It's good to touch the brown brown grass of home."
A sign of war with Iran?
Fallon resigns as chief of U.S. forces in Middle East
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Adm. William Fallon has resigned as chief of U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia after more than a year in the post, citing what he called an inaccurate perception that he is at odds with the Bush administration over Iran.
Adm. William Fallon had been serving as chief of U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia since 2007.
Fallon, the head of U.S. Central Command, was the subject of a recent Esquire magazine profile that portrayed him as resisting pressure for military action against Iran, which the Bush administration accuses of trying to develop nuclear weapons.
In a written statement, he said the article's "disrespect for the president" and "resulting embarrassment" have become a distraction.
"Although I don't believe there have ever been any differences about the objectives of our policy in the Central Command area of responsibility, the simple perception that there is makes it difficult for me to effectively serve America's interests there," Fallon said.
In Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that he accepted Fallon's resignation "with reluctance and regret."
But, he added, "I think it's the right decision." Watch why some believe Fallon was forced to resign »
"Admiral Fallon reached this difficult decision entirely on his own. I believe it was the right thing to do, even though I do not believe there are in fact significant differences between his views and administration policy," Gates said. (MORE)
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Remember How Women Got The Vote?
by humbled and voting Wednesday, Jun. 23, 2004 at 1:29 PM
Vote is a verb, it does not exist without action. It is a hard won right not a candidate or party.
Remember how women got the vote
The women were innocent and defenseless. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 helpless women wrongly convicted of "obstructing sidewalk traffic."
They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.
Thus unfolded the "Night of Terror" on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote.
For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.
So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?
Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie "Iron Jawed Angels." It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.
There was a time when I knew these women well. I met them in college--not in my required American history courses, which barely mentioned them, but in women's history class. That's where I found the irrepressibly brave Alice Paul. Her large, brooding eyes seemed fixed on my own as she stared out from the page. Remember, she silently beckoned. Remember.
I thought I always would. I registered voters throughout college and law school, worked on congressional and presidential campaigns until I started writing for newspapers. When Geraldine Ferraro ran for vice president, I took my 9-year-old son to meet her. "My knees are shaking," he whispered after shaking her hand. "I'm never going to wash this hand again."
All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes, it was even inconvenient.
My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was. With herself "One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie," she said. "What would those women think of the way I use--or don't use--my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn." The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her "all over again."
HBO will run the movie periodically before releasing it on video and DVD. I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum. I want it shown on Bunko night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order. It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: "Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity."
Friday, March 7, 2008
AHA.. a win/win
HI, I'M BUFFY SUMMERS, AND THIS IS MY LOVER SATSU
In the 12th issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 comic book series, released this week, it was revealed that Buffy slept with a woman ((Thanks to the dozens of AE readers who wrote in to alert me to this news!). You should definitely check out the whole issue — it's a good one! — but for you impatient types, here are the relevant panels, in which Buffy wakes up in bed with a fellow slayer named Satsu who had recently confessed her love for Buffy: (more)
Messed Up.. what if women killed men who hit on them?
When I was in Chicago last weekend. The DJj played this clip on air then took calls. I was shocked that the first caller said he understood what the killer was thinking. The DJ and myself were shocked at his comments. If murder is somehow a rational response to unwanted advances, no men would be left on the planet. Sick.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
In case you missed it...
Hillary laughs it up on "SNL"
I want several things from our next president. A coherent foreign policy. An economic plan that helps the poor and middle class instead of corporations and the rich. An extension of full equal rights to all LGBT Americans. And last, but not least, an ability to laugh at her/himself. However you feel about Sen. Hillary Clinton, she proved she could deliver the latter this past weekend, with a surprise stop by Saturday Night Live. (READ)
It's never easy being a trailblazer. For whatever missteps or miscalculations her campaign may have made along the way, you have to applaud how historic Hillary's candidacy has been. In a race with so many firsts, it's easy to overlook what a truly transformational notion a female president still is in America. And if her candidacy does nothing else, perhaps it has exposed how opposed some still are to the very thought of a woman in charge. If I hear/read/see one more discussion about her voice/laugh/dress/hair/femininity/lack of femininity, I think I'll scream. In the face of all the mainstream sexism and old-school misogyny that still exists, it's easy to get discouraged. And, even here, maybe Hillary has shown us the way. Just laugh.
(READ)
Obama Makes Gay Push, Hillary Pushes Back
In terms of the Clinton call, Herrin added, “What really surprised us was her passion – that she understood the immediate need for our community.”
Within the first 100 days of her presidency, Herrin said, Clinton promised to extend benefits to all same-sex couples who work for the federal government with an executive order, end “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and use the bully pulpit to advocate for a fully inclusive ENDA and a fully inclusive hate-crimes bill. (Herrin and her executive board were not clear how Sen. Clinton would end “don’t ask, don’t tell” – if by executive order or some other means.)
Clinton also discussed how adamant she is about allowing everyone in America to adopt children if they are a qualified couple. “It was like she was indignant,” Herrin said of Clinton’s manner while talking about same-sex couples’ adoption rights. “Her voice just really changed, and that was the part that surprised us – her passion.” (READ)
Within the first 100 days of her presidency, Herrin said, Clinton promised to extend benefits to all same-sex couples who work for the federal government with an executive order, end “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and use the bully pulpit to advocate for a fully inclusive ENDA and a fully inclusive hate-crimes bill. (Herrin and her executive board were not clear how Sen. Clinton would end “don’t ask, don’t tell” – if by executive order or some other means.)
Clinton also discussed how adamant she is about allowing everyone in America to adopt children if they are a qualified couple. “It was like she was indignant,” Herrin said of Clinton’s manner while talking about same-sex couples’ adoption rights. “Her voice just really changed, and that was the part that surprised us – her passion.” (READ)
Slate's Delegate Calculator
IT ONLY GETS HARDER FOR CLINTON GOING FORWARD.
By Chadwick Matlin and Chris Wilson
Updated Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at 1:18 PM ET
The dust hasn't quite settled from last night's festivities, but Clinton almost certainly finished the night better than she started it. She picked up about a dozen delegates in Ohio, according to NBC News and, as of now, is ahead in Texas' delegate assignments. More nuanced delegate estimates and caucus returns are still trickling in throughout the day, so Obama could still trump her in Texas, despite losing to her in the primary. (READ - PLAY WITH CALC)
She Lives!
CLINTON HAS COME BACK, BUT HAS SHE COME BACK FAR ENOUGH?
By John Dickerson
Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2008, at 12:58 AM ET
During Hillary Clinton's 11 straight losses to Barack Obama, her aides and allies started talking about the Clinton roller coaster. She wasn't in a death plunge, they said; it was just a steep drop before an inevitable upward rise. By winning the Ohio and Texas primaries Tuesday, Clinton got that lift, but her campaign seemed less like a roller coaster and more like Lufthansa flight LH 044, a careening near-death experience that stabilized only at the last white-knuckle moment. (READ)
Why is everyone beating up on Hillary? Can't we complete the race?
Or is it just me? But I don't see why Hillary should quit when it's so close.. lets finish. I'd like to vote yet too ya know. I tried to find an article on this view but couldn't find one. So here is something else. If anyone see one, please comment with it.
Dems Fret Over Prolonged Bitter Fight
"Despite Obama's impressive victories in February, Clinton's comeback is based on sowing political seeds of doubt," said Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist and one of nearly 800 party leaders known as superdelegates for their ability to determine the nomination. "In order to clinch the nomination, he must anticipate the worst attacks ever." (READ)
Dems Fret Over Prolonged Bitter Fight"Despite Obama's impressive victories in February, Clinton's comeback is based on sowing political seeds of doubt," said Donna Brazile, a Democratic strategist and one of nearly 800 party leaders known as superdelegates for their ability to determine the nomination. "In order to clinch the nomination, he must anticipate the worst attacks ever." (READ)
Is it the beginning of the end for marriage?
Forced to unpack my antipathy, I would cite four po-faced motives: atheism; feminism; a loathing of state and/or public intervention in matters I deem private; and something more oddball regarding the close-down of narrative possibility. One reason would be enough to quash any Doris Day ambition; the four together topple into each other like spinsterish dominos. (READ)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Thought Process Flowchart: Ralph Nader
http://www.236.com/news/2008/02/25/thought_process_flowchart_ralp_1_4699.php
Ralph Nader, what the hell are you thinking?
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
this looks like fun
Indiana Jones teases us with his new leading ladies
Break out the bullwhip and dust off the fedora. Indy is back. And the lovable old coot has some great gals with him along for the ride. The teaser trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released last week, and while it may not show us a lot, it sure brings up a lot of nostalgia.
Well, gosh, that looks fun. Twenty-seven years after the first Indy adventure and nineteen years after its third and seemingly final installment, the franchise is back with a couple of new faces and a welcome old one. The teaser trailer gives us our first look at Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Indy’s Raiders of the Lost Ark love interest Karen Allen in action. While the plot is rather hush-hush, the film is set in 1957, and Dr. Jones is up against Russian Cold Warriors, including Cate’s character, Agent Irina Spalko. (READ)
Break out the bullwhip and dust off the fedora. Indy is back. And the lovable old coot has some great gals with him along for the ride. The teaser trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released last week, and while it may not show us a lot, it sure brings up a lot of nostalgia.
Well, gosh, that looks fun. Twenty-seven years after the first Indy adventure and nineteen years after its third and seemingly final installment, the franchise is back with a couple of new faces and a welcome old one. The teaser trailer gives us our first look at Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Indy’s Raiders of the Lost Ark love interest Karen Allen in action. While the plot is rather hush-hush, the film is set in 1957, and Dr. Jones is up against Russian Cold Warriors, including Cate’s character, Agent Irina Spalko. (READ)
Monday, February 18, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Edwards Endorsement: Clinton May Get Backing
UPDATE 2/13: John Edwards is "as split as the party he once hoped to lead -- and is seriously considering supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, despite the sharp criticism he leveled at her on the campaign trail, according to former aides and advisers," ABC News reports: (read)
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sources: Gore won't endorse
(CNN) – He's the most prominent Democrat yet to take a side in the presidential election, but two sources close to Al Gore tell us not to expect the former vice president to endorse either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama any time during the primary season.
The sources say Gore talks with both Clinton and Obama, and is on good terms with both. But with Sen. John Kerry and Bill Clinton both aligned to a candidate, Gore has a role to serve as the neutral elder statesman in the party.
If an agreement needs to be struck between Clinton and Obama down the road, Gore is in position to be the likely facilitator of that discussion.
Gore also will want to work closely with whoever wins the nomination to promote an environmental agenda.
As for two other major Democrats yet to endorse a candidate: sources close to both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say neither individuals have endorsement plans.
The sources say Gore talks with both Clinton and Obama, and is on good terms with both. But with Sen. John Kerry and Bill Clinton both aligned to a candidate, Gore has a role to serve as the neutral elder statesman in the party.
If an agreement needs to be struck between Clinton and Obama down the road, Gore is in position to be the likely facilitator of that discussion.
Gore also will want to work closely with whoever wins the nomination to promote an environmental agenda.
As for two other major Democrats yet to endorse a candidate: sources close to both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say neither individuals have endorsement plans.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Safari is about to get crazy fast
When Apple chose the KHTML engine for its Safari Browser in 2003 over the more popular Gecko engine that powers Firefox, a lot of people were surprised. Firefox was way more popular than the Konquerer browser and had a lot more open source developers online.
Since then, Apple has really run with the KHTML engine, forking it off, renaming its development version "WebKit" and making it faster and leaner than Firefox on the Mac and both Firefox and Internet Explorer on the PC. While it doesn't have a lot of the functionality of Firefox plug-ins and the ActiveX controls of IE, more and more support has been built around the Webkit engine as it gains in popularity. (Yes, Opera is very nice as well - especially the torrent downloading.) (READ)
Burned Up and Burned Out by Politics
Rosie O'Donnell, Huffingtonpost.com
President Bush almost killed me. It's true, and I have the scars to prove it -- multiple scars that are part of the public record -- you saw them in magazines and on my show, and you can see them on my blog frequently -- no twelve year wait required.
It was 2000, and the Republican National Convention was on television. The whole affair felt something like a home invasion, with a chronically smirking and arrogant George W. Bush as ringleader. Not wishing to be robbed of my optimism and hope at the time -- or to tumble into depression and despair -- I shut off the TV and decided to go fishing. (READ MORE)
President Bush almost killed me. It's true, and I have the scars to prove it -- multiple scars that are part of the public record -- you saw them in magazines and on my show, and you can see them on my blog frequently -- no twelve year wait required.
It was 2000, and the Republican National Convention was on television. The whole affair felt something like a home invasion, with a chronically smirking and arrogant George W. Bush as ringleader. Not wishing to be robbed of my optimism and hope at the time -- or to tumble into depression and despair -- I shut off the TV and decided to go fishing. (READ MORE)
Monday, February 4, 2008
I want to be your President
Hillary Clinton, Bilerico.com
February 4, 2008 7:45 PM
[EDITOR'S NOTE:] Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton issued this guest post to talk about her support for LGBT civil rights.
As I have traveled around the country these past twelve months, what I sensed in my heart has been confirmed – America is embracing its LGBT sons and daughters with an acceptance and understanding as never before. On the campaign trail, a father of a gay son will ask about ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. A woman will ask why she can be discriminated against just because of who she is. Sometimes they wait furtively for the crowd to thin and then whisper their confidences in a soft voice and sometimes they stand up proudly at town meetings and want me to share my views on how I will help lead the change to assure that this country fulfills its promise to everyone. (READ)
Friday, February 1, 2008
Iraq death toll 'over one million'
More than one million Iraqis have died as a result of the conflict started by the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to a new survey by a UK polling group.
The report was followed by more violence on Thursday, with five people killed and eight injured in a bomb blast in the Kazimiyah neighbourhood of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
The survey, conducted by UK-based Opinion Research Business (ORB), found that 20 per cent of people in Iraq had experienced at least one death in their household as a result of the conflict, rather than natural causes. (more)
The report was followed by more violence on Thursday, with five people killed and eight injured in a bomb blast in the Kazimiyah neighbourhood of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
The survey, conducted by UK-based Opinion Research Business (ORB), found that 20 per cent of people in Iraq had experienced at least one death in their household as a result of the conflict, rather than natural causes. (more)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
My Boy AL!
Not sure what prompted this, but Al Gore has quietly released a video with a forceful endorsement of equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. It pushes the Democratic establishment that much closer to a position he now shares with Eliot Spitzer and some other leading Dems, and is prompting a bit of grumbling in gay political circles that this batch of candidates aren't quite there.
"Gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women -- to make contracts, to have hospital visiting rights, to join together in marriage, and I don't understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to heterosexual marriage," he says on the video, which appears on his Current TV network. "Shouldn't we be promoting the kind of faithfulness and loyalty to ones partner regardless of sexual orientation?"
Gore's words come after the leading presidential candidates have tiptoed up to, but not crossed, the line of support for same-sex marriage. All three support equal substantive rights for gay and lesbians couples, and they've sought to woo gay voters in other ways: Elizabeth Edwards has voiced her support for same-sex marriage, for instance, and Barack Obama recently scolded the black church for homophobia, in a speech to an African-American congregation.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Wicked: the untold story of the witches of oz
I saw the Broadway show WICKED last weekend in Chicago. If you have the means, I recommend you seeing this wonderful production. The background of how two best friends fighting for good became known as "good" and as "wicked" (until that little Kansas brat came along). Here's a little taste from the Tony Awards with the original cast members.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Are you scared of this wackjob yet?
Huckabee touts conservative views to woo Carolina voters
The Iowa caucus winner weighed in Thursday on the state's perennial debate over displaying the Confederate flag, expressing sympathy with those who believe the rebel banner should be flown. The flag is also considered by many to be a symbol of slavery.
"You don't like people from outside the state telling you what to do with your flag," he told an audience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. "In fact, if somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we'd tell them where to put the pole."
In a state where religious conservatives comprised about a third of GOP primary voters in 2000, affable former Baptist pastor Huckabee has added a new dash of the old-time religion to his populist economic pitch.
He has reiterated his support for constitutional amendments to ban abortion and same-sex marriage -- which he told the Web site Beliefnet.com could open the door to polygamy, pedophilia and bestiality. "Once we change the definition, the door is open to change it again," he said.
Before Michigan's primary earlier this week, Huckabee also said this: "What we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards, rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family."
READ ENTIRE STORY
More on this: Huckabee takes heat for gay marriage comments
The Iowa caucus winner weighed in Thursday on the state's perennial debate over displaying the Confederate flag, expressing sympathy with those who believe the rebel banner should be flown. The flag is also considered by many to be a symbol of slavery.
"You don't like people from outside the state telling you what to do with your flag," he told an audience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. "In fact, if somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we'd tell them where to put the pole."
In a state where religious conservatives comprised about a third of GOP primary voters in 2000, affable former Baptist pastor Huckabee has added a new dash of the old-time religion to his populist economic pitch.
He has reiterated his support for constitutional amendments to ban abortion and same-sex marriage -- which he told the Web site Beliefnet.com could open the door to polygamy, pedophilia and bestiality. "Once we change the definition, the door is open to change it again," he said.
Before Michigan's primary earlier this week, Huckabee also said this: "What we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards, rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family."
READ ENTIRE STORY
More on this: Huckabee takes heat for gay marriage comments
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Colbert Portrait Hangs at Smithsonian
Jan. 16, 2008, 11:06 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Stephen Colbert was denied when he tried to run for president this year in South Carolina. Now the fake TV pundit is getting some love from the city of his birth.
His portrait was hung Wednesday at the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery in Washington for a six-week showing in what the museum considers an "appropriate place" — right between the bathrooms near the "America's Presidents" exhibit. Museum officials stress it's only temporary. (MORE)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Me Likey!
(CNET.com) -- As was heavily predicted before its unveiling, Apple's new laptop, called the MacBook Air, is not quite an ultraportable but is still very small.
Mimicking the 13-inch silhouette of the current MacBook line, it's .76-inch thick at its thickest part. Apple calls it the "world's thinnest notebook."
Though the MacBook Air is not quite the thinnest laptop ever, it is among the thinnest we've seen (the Fujistu LifeBook Q2010 and the Toshiba Portege R500 both measure 0.8 inch thick, but neither tapers to 0.16 inch as the Air does).
The MacBook Air includes the usual iSight camera, an LED backlit display, an ambient light sensor, and a big touchpad that works with multitouch gestures, such as rotating a photo by twisting your fingers on the touchpad.
As for what's inside this slim laptop, we're looking at a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, custom-made by Intel to fit into the slim chassis, 2GB of RAM, and a choice of either an 80GB standard 1.8-inch hard drive or a 64GB SSD drive (which really should be standard for something so forward-looking).
Moving up to the SSD drive and faster CPU drives the price up from $1,799 to a whopping $3,098. (MORE)
Monday, January 14, 2008
Creating Change
Creating Change is the one and only time each year that more than 2,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates from every corner of the country converge to strategize, socialize and mobilize for LGBT equality.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Hillary Tears Up Under Pressure of Non-Stop Campaign
Seems to have helped her. I think it's ok to show a little emotion.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
yeah.. chalk one more up for us curvy chicks!
Are curvier women smarter?
CNN's Judy Fortin looks at research that suggests that curvier women are smarter and have smarter kids too.(VIEW)
A Year in Iraq
MANY Americans and Iraqis feel that 2007 was the year the war in Iraq turned around: the “surge” strategy has pacified large sections of the country; previously hostile factions like those of the cleric Moktada al-Sadr and the sheiks in Anbar Province have dropped their opposition or even sided with American and government forces; and the number of insurgent attacks has dropped steadily. Still, numbers don’t lie: for those in uniform, 2007 was the deadliest year since the invasion. (READ)
For fellow Project Runway fans
I found a hilarious recapper (thanks Brandi)
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Project Runway: Bittersweet
via socialitelife.buzznet.com, By J. Harvey
Previously - Steven couldn't hack a wedding dress, so he got booted. Fashion bear Chris was brought back after Jack's face exploded and he had to leave. And we learned that Tim Gunn has made several bad decisions at 3 AM. Get it, Tim!
Oh my sweets, I apologize for my (re)tardniness in recapping this week, as I was in NYC taping that webcast for "The Daily Special" where I looked like an albino bullfrog! It will never happen again! How could I be late on this one, it involved one of my favorite things - CHOCOLATE! Nummers! Let's get to the sweetness and mess! (READ)
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Project Runway: Bittersweet
via socialitelife.buzznet.com, By J. Harvey
Previously - Steven couldn't hack a wedding dress, so he got booted. Fashion bear Chris was brought back after Jack's face exploded and he had to leave. And we learned that Tim Gunn has made several bad decisions at 3 AM. Get it, Tim!
Oh my sweets, I apologize for my (re)tardniness in recapping this week, as I was in NYC taping that webcast for "The Daily Special" where I looked like an albino bullfrog! It will never happen again! How could I be late on this one, it involved one of my favorite things - CHOCOLATE! Nummers! Let's get to the sweetness and mess! (READ)
Friday, January 4, 2008
Iowa Caucus and My Mom
I am originally from Iowa. My mother, who is 80 years old, has lived in Iowa her whole life. She has never attended a Caucus.. until now.
First let me tell you a little about my mom. She's a "greatest generation" woman, widow, and Catholic with a ton of kids. Probably always voted the same way her husband did. This year, in the freezing snow, she decided to attend her first caucus.
Another thing about my mom, she is not an opinionated woman. This woman has trouble deciding anything including what kind of salad to order. A trait no doubt of women from the WW2 generation who always had their husbands to make all the decisions. Then they find themselves widowed and unable to decide anything without help. Expressing an opinion seems a little scary, "what if my friends don't agree?"
MY mom went to the caucus AND wore a Clinton button!! She wore a little volunteer sign for getting there early, and actually TALKED! When someone asked her "why should I vote for Hillary?", she actually gave a really political intelligent answer!! When she got home, she called her lesbian, activist daughter and said "Guess where I've been?!!" all full of excitement.
It really gives me hope and makes me really proud of my Mommy!!
First let me tell you a little about my mom. She's a "greatest generation" woman, widow, and Catholic with a ton of kids. Probably always voted the same way her husband did. This year, in the freezing snow, she decided to attend her first caucus.
Another thing about my mom, she is not an opinionated woman. This woman has trouble deciding anything including what kind of salad to order. A trait no doubt of women from the WW2 generation who always had their husbands to make all the decisions. Then they find themselves widowed and unable to decide anything without help. Expressing an opinion seems a little scary, "what if my friends don't agree?"
MY mom went to the caucus AND wore a Clinton button!! She wore a little volunteer sign for getting there early, and actually TALKED! When someone asked her "why should I vote for Hillary?", she actually gave a really political intelligent answer!! When she got home, she called her lesbian, activist daughter and said "Guess where I've been?!!" all full of excitement.
It really gives me hope and makes me really proud of my Mommy!!
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Yet another reason I like John best...
"In April of last year, Gov. Lynch and the state of New Hampshire passed a bill officially recognizing civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. This courageous act showed us that the idea of America – fairness, justice and equal opportunity – can become a reality when we have the courage to stand up for what is right."
John Edwards about New Hampshire's new civil unions law in a press release
John Edwards about New Hampshire's new civil unions law in a press release
Juno
I saw this movie last weekend. If you like smartass, witty independent movies, I recommend.
Juno is a smart teenager, but she still got pregnant from her dalliance with her geeky classmate Paulie Bleeker. What's a young woman to do? Her spunky friend Leah has an idea: go shopping for parents to adopt the baby. When she comes across a well-to-do suburban couple who is desperate for a child, Juno thinks her problems might all be over. But in reality, even more difficult choices and mixed emotions arise for Juno as she struggles to find her place as a daughter, student, mother, and, ultimately, adult.
Keys to the Kingdom
VanityFair
Between them, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have made 13 of the 100 top-grossing movies of all time. Yet they struggled for more than a decade with the upcoming fourth installment of their billion-dollar Indiana Jones franchise, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Annie Leibovitz gets exclusive access to the set, while Lucas, Spielberg, and their star, Harrison Ford, tell Jim Windolf about the long standoff over the plot, why critics and fans will be upset, and how they’ve updated Indy. (READ)
Annie Leibovitz snaps Cate Blanchett on the set of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Benazir Bhutto (1953–2007)
Benazir Bhutto excelled at asserting her right to rule. In a male-dominated, Islamic society, she rose to become her slain father's political successor, twice getting elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan. She would also be exiled twice. In the end, Bhutto was better at rallying people to the idea of her power than at keeping them inspired by her use of it. (READ)
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Five reasons why I loved/hated my TV in 2007
Whenever I see someone with one of those “Kill Your Television” bumper stickers, I feel two distinct emotions. One, shut up, Smuggy McSmugerson. I bet you don’t read the copies of The New Yorker in your bathroom either. And two, yeah, sometimes I do feel like taking a 12-gauge to the old idiot box. This year I got my usual mix of joy and pain from my television. The highs were so very fantastic. The lows so very sucktastic. Here's a rundown of my top and bottom five TV shows for 2007. (READ)
Britain's Queen Takes Up YouTube
Britain's 81-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, considered an icon of traditionalism, launched her own special Royal Channel on YouTube Sunday. (view her 2007 message)The queen will use the popular video-sharing Web site to send out her 50th annual televised Christmas message, which she first delivered live to the nation and its colonies on Dec. 25, 1957.
Buckingham Palace also began posting archive and recent footage of the queen and other royals on the channel Sunday, with plans to add new clips regularly.
YouTube, which allows anyone to upload and share video clips, was founded in 2005 and bought by Google last year.
"The queen always keeps abreast with new ways of communicating with people," Buckingham Palace said in a statement. "The Christmas message was podcast last year." (READ)
--- personal comment.. the 81 year old Queen of England has a YouTube page, and our president calls it the "internets".. and thinks he might have used the maps thing one time.
Review: Fun 'Wilson's' at war -- with itself
Mike Nichols' undercover history of the liberation of Afghanistan, "Charlie Wilson's War," is so witty and light on its feet, it's a pity it pulls its punches.A society matron (Julia Roberts) gets a congressman (Tom Hanks) involved in the Cold War in "Charlie Wilson's War."
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A deft condensation of George Crile's nonfiction best-seller, this is the story of how an obscure Texan congressman helped bring down the Soviet empire and -- indirectly -- the World Trade Center.
Universal seems at a loss as to how to market this truly tall tale -- but don't blame the publicity guys. The combined smarts of director Nichols, writer Aaron Sorkin, Tom Hanks and Co. haven't pinned down how they feel about Wilson or what he did.
The movie's tone is all over the place: sincere and celebratory one minute, caustic and ironic the next. There's nuance and complexity here, but it's doled out with broad farce and knee-jerk populist rhetoric. It's as if they want it to play inside the Beltway and hit below the belt, both at once.
Set during the Reagan era and resonating uneasily with current events, in many ways this is a deeply Clintonian movie: astute, pragmatic, equivocal and likely to prove highly contentious. (That's what you get if you put the director of "Primary Colors" with the writer of "The West Wing.")
It is fun, though. (READ)
First-Lady Extinction?
IF IT'S IMMINENT, HALLELUJAH.
By Timothy Noah, the Slate.com
In almost any campaign you may still see the wife in the skirted blue or red suit, the sensible pumps, accepting her wrist corsage from the 4-H club winner. But, behind its impregnable smiles and circle pins, the entire institution has been slowly crumbling. Increasingly, politicians' wives have jobs of their own or, cleanest of all, careers that have absolutely nothing to do with politics. Another reason political wifehood is dying is that men now are trying to be political spouses too, and they can't stand it. ... Sometime, in the not-too-distant future, we will acknowledge the passing of [the first lady's] role with the same amazement we felt at the fall of the Berlin Wall, crashing down so easily after standing for decades as an unbreachable certainty. Boy, we'll think; that sucker wasn't as strong as it looked. (READ)
By Timothy Noah, the Slate.com
In almost any campaign you may still see the wife in the skirted blue or red suit, the sensible pumps, accepting her wrist corsage from the 4-H club winner. But, behind its impregnable smiles and circle pins, the entire institution has been slowly crumbling. Increasingly, politicians' wives have jobs of their own or, cleanest of all, careers that have absolutely nothing to do with politics. Another reason political wifehood is dying is that men now are trying to be political spouses too, and they can't stand it. ... Sometime, in the not-too-distant future, we will acknowledge the passing of [the first lady's] role with the same amazement we felt at the fall of the Berlin Wall, crashing down so easily after standing for decades as an unbreachable certainty. Boy, we'll think; that sucker wasn't as strong as it looked. (READ)
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