The religious right hate groups are now boycotting Ford Motor Company because, among other reasons, Ford offers benefits to its gay and lesbian employees and actively recruits gays.
THIS is what we were trying to tell Microsoft. These pigs aren't attacking you because you endorse pro-gay legislation. They're attacking you, and will continue to attack you, until you revoke your pro-gay INTERNAL policies and until you actively discriminate against gay and lesbian employees.
These are hate groups, they know one thing: hate. They exist for one thing: hate. They will not stop attacking you until you become as bigoted and hateful as they.
My point: Microsoft, you did the right thing, not just because it's the right thing, but because these sick pseudo-religious fucks wouldn't have left you alone until you fired every single gay employee.
Just boarded my flight to dc and on the way into security at the atlanta airport there's a display of prohibited items. Included in the display is a big real-life chainsaw. Yes, no chainsaws are allowed in your carry-on baggiage. And who says we don't have great security? In other news, the panel went great. Hinderaker was actually quite nice, though i did have a run in with the "liberal"
Gannon/Guckert, media pig, is on some show called "Lie Detector" on PAX tonight at 8 pm. Okay, never heard of the show...so here's the format:
Each hour-long episode will present three compelling cases with one common thread - they are stories whose conclusions are unresolved for those who tell them. After viewers get a firsthand look at each subject through news footage and taped interviews, Watts goes one-on-one with each participant for an in-depth and candid conversation, giving them an opportunity to tell their side of the story.
Finally, the moment of truth is revealed when the guest submits to a lie detector test administered by Dr. Ed Gelb, a leading polygraph expert in the field who has polygraphed such notables as John and Patsy Ramsey and former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman, with the very real results all captured on camera! At the end of each segment, Watts reveals to our subjects whether they have been vindicated or branded a liar and gets their sometimes extreme reactions to the test results.
Where to begin...Where to begin....So, I know the possibilities are endless, but what questions would you ask Jeff/Jim Gannon/Guckert?
The Massachusetts Legislature overrode Mitt Romney's veto of the state's stem cell bill today, AP reports:
The Legislature on Tuesday overrode Gov. Mitt Romney's veto and approved a bill designed to propel Massachusetts to the forefront of embryonic stem cell research.
The bill immediately became law over Romney's objections, after both chambers exceeded the two-thirds vote needed to override a veto. The vote was 112-42 in the House and 35-2 in the Senate.
Under previous state law, scientists who wanted to conduct embryonic stem cell research in Massachusetts needed the approval of the local district attorney. The new law seeks to expand stem cell research by removing that requirement but giving the state Health Department some regulatory controls.
The Republican governor vetoed the bill last week because it allows the cloning of human embryos for use in stem cell experiments - a practice Romney said amounts to creating life in order to destroy it.
And, let's be real here. Mitt's objection wasn't about policy. It was pure politics...pandering to the GOP theocrats politics. But in very, very Catholic Massachusetts, policy won anyway for a change. Consider this a victory for the "pro-cure movement."
Watching Wolf Blitzer interview Pakistani President Musharaff via satellite. Our panel is at 2. Hinderaker of Powerline blog is on the panel, should be interesting. Saw Christiane Amanpour in the hallway (ok I admit it, am a bit star struck :~) BTW am typing this on my phone, so necessarily a bit curt.
CNN and ABC News are reporting on a pretty cool story from the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair. They identify "Deep Throat" from Watergage as W. Mark Felt. He was the number two official at the FBI while the whole scandal was unfolding. This year, at the age of 91, he is admitting he was the key informant for the Washington Post reporters.
ABC actually interrupted the Bush press conference to announce this news.
This morning, the Washington Post did an analysis that said Chimpy didn't have a mandate anymore (some would say ever):
Two days after winning reelection last fall, President Bush declared that he had earned plenty of "political capital, and now I intend to spend it." Six months later, according to Republicans and Democrats alike, his bank account has been significantly drained.
In the past week alone, the Republican-led House defied his veto threat and passed legislation promoting stem cell research; Senate Democrats blocked confirmation, at least temporarily, of his choice for U.N. ambassador; and a rump group of GOP senators abandoned the president in his battle to win floor votes for all of his judicial nominees.
With his approval ratings in public opinion polls at the lowest level of his presidency, Bush has been stymied so far in his campaign to restructure Social Security. On the international front, violence has surged again in Iraq in recent weeks, dispelling much of the optimism generated by the purple-stained-finger elections back in January, while allies such as Egypt and Uzbekistan have complicated his campaign to spread democracy.
So, this morning, Bush did a press conference to let us know he's not a lame-duck. More on that in a bit as we sort through to see if he said anything that was either true or relevant. Unlikely, I know. Sounded like the same blah, blah, blah to me.
Christ, not bad enough that Jim West was on the Today Show. The Times has a total puff piece on the "loving" Cheney family.
But, New York Times...one question....funny thing that kinda contradicts the whole "loving" family facade you construct. It's in your photo with the article...the one from the Republican Convention last August. Here's a hint: who is missing from your Cheney family photo?
Since it wasn't obvious in the puff piece, we'll spell it out: the lesbian and her partner are missing. There was an oblique reference to that in the article, "She and her longtime partner, Heather Poe, sometimes did not appear at big celebratory moments." Why was that? Maybe because the GOP base had been whipped in to a gay-bashing frenzy by the Bush-Cheney-RNC team?
But in case you had any doubts about Mary willingness to join in on that GOP gay-bashing agenda, we get confirmation from another GOP team member, Kenny:
Ken Mehlman, who was Mr. Bush's campaign manager last year, said Mary Cheney's influence had also extended well beyond working with her father. "She also understands and weighed in on almost everything we did in the room when we were planning our message, our surrogates, our travel schedule," he said.
So Mary was in on the whole strategy. Despite all her years as a professional lesbian, Mary joined the gay-bashing. In today's suck up story, that's kinda glossed over. Although they did note, Mary
drew sharp fire from many gay rights advocates for declining in last year's campaign to address contentious topics like same-sex marriage (or Mr. Bush's support for a constitutional amendment to ban it, which her parents opposed).
Sounds like she not only didn't address those issues, she helped craft the strategy. To think that people questioned John Aravosis when he launched www.dearmary.com last year. Leave her alone, they said. Not fair, they whined. She was intent on destroying our rights....she's a major hypocrite, too.
It's amazing that this is who the US is keeping company with these days in terms of human rights. Mugabe is continuing his crackdown on voters who supported the opposition MDC in the recent election and destroying their homes and vendor shacks.
And protests from foreign governments for this latest attack? Still waiting on that.
Matt Lauer did the interview with anti-gay, but not gay, Jim West, the Mayor of Spokane.
There was a pretty tough intro piece detailing all the lurid details of Jim's escapades...and a very heavy emphasis on his anti-gay record.
Stealing a page from Jeff Gannon, Jim wouldn't answer the question about his sexuality. Like Jeff, he invoked the pain this was causing his family. He said this whole mess was especially difficult for his 79 year old family, his other relatives and his ex-wife. Matt asked him how he characterized himself and he saide he wouldn't on national tv.
But we learned during the interview that Jim was not an anti-gay leader. He just voted the way his constituents wanted...that's what it was. It wasn't his fault. Hmmm. LIAR. Remember this tidbit from the Spokesman-Review:
As Spokane's incoming mayor in November 2003, West said he's opposed to extending City Hall benefits to domestic partners, citing the cost. In April 2005, the City Council approved domestic partner benefits in a 5-2 vote, enough to withstand a mayoral veto.
Jim wasn't just a legislator when that happened. He was the Mayor. And, the most of the elected officials in his city supported the measure.
Basically, Jim West hasn't ever done anything wrong so stop being so mean to him. He denied any criminal activity and was adamant that he is a CONSERVATIVE. He kept telling us that.
So, to sum up the interview, he is a CONSERVATIVE man of unclear sexual orientation who never committed any -crimes and was never an anti-gay elected official.
Being the spineless wimp that he is, Chirac has appointed Dominique de Villepin as the new Prime Minister. I'm going to brace myself for street marches because this guy is so establishment it's not even funny. I thought that it would be a long shot for up-and-coming Sarkozy to get the nod but I just don't see Chirac's choice as doing anything to settle the rage against his blundering government. What I heard from the massive failure of the EU referendum was a strong rejection against the political establishment who has un-democratically rammed political decisions down the throats of France (and Europe) and de Villepin has yet to ever be elected to a political position.
With this announcement at least it might actually speed up the departure of Chirac and his looming corruption trial which will start after he's out of office.
Pretty cool cnn reception. Met alessio vinzi, ceo of all cnn, nic robertson, saw ted turner, and a slew of the cnn international crowd. Our blogging panel is apparently going to be attended by everyone at the conference. Oh yeah, also met christopher allbritton of time magazine - he's the guy who raised money online to go to iraq on his own and blog the war. Very cool guy. Off to bed, John
Spokane's anti-gay (but not gay, of course, even though he likes boys) Mayor Jim West is going to appear on the Today Show tomorrow morning the Spokesman-Review is reporting:
According to an e-mail from West’s attorney, Bill Etter, West agreed to appear on the NBC morning show in response to many national media interview requests.
West was accused earlier this month of molesting two boys while he was a Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy in the mid-1970s and of more recently abusing his mayoral office to solicit sex from young men.
Well, if Katie or Matt or any of their staff are reading this tonight, nail the bastard. Make sure you do your homework on his legacy of gay-bashing throughout his legislative career. The Spokesman-Review has the whole ugly history. And, while you are on their web page, take a gander at some of his on-line chats.
And, whatever you do, don't settle for that "I'm a victim" crap he's tried to peddle. And, if he pulls the "I'm reformed now" thing, really nail him.
Alter, who is apparently a cancer survivor, nails the political potential for the stem-cell issue in this week's Newsweek. As Alter notes, the innovative science presents a possible cure for a wide range of diseases from "cancer to Parkinson's to Alzheimer's..."
From there he notes:
After all, every American who has a relative with one of these diseases—which means nearly every American—is beginning to understand the issue in a new way: it's "pro-cure" versus "anti-cure," with the anti-stem-cell folks in danger of being swept into the medical wastebin of history.
But Bush is so beholden to the theocrats, he doesn't care. Nor do many of the members of the House who voted against the stem-cell bill....and the nuts in the Senate, like Brownback, are going to filibuster. This is going to be a political issue in 2006:
Unless there's another war [key caveat from Alter given the Bush crowd], stem cells will become one of the defining issues of the 2006 campaign. Look for smart Democrats to run ads with relatives of the afflicted ("My sister has Parkinson's," "My father has Alzheimer's") pointing out that Congressman X is so extreme, he voted against a bill supported by many Republicans to begin curing these diseases. This will inevitably lead to backpedaling and compromise and the victory of a broad-based "pro-cure movement" that may help save not just my life, but your cousin's or your mother's or your own.
I am part of the pro-cure movement. My 5 year old god daughter has been fighting leukemia for over a year now. And, there is so much cancer, diabetes and other diseases in my family and circle of friends -- and I know it's true for almost everyone -- that if the issue can be raised high enough, it can be decisive. As Alter says, quoting Tip O'Neill, "all politics is local."
Bush and the Catholic Church are so out of their minds on this one, they deserve to lose badly. Alter wrote a great piece for a great cause, but this was my favorite line:
Only Bush bitter-enders and the pope are in the perverse position of valuing the life of an ailing human being less than that of a tiny clump of cells no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.
I have this feeling that the Democrats are getting a lot of gifts, like stem-cell nationally and coin-gate in Ohio. The question is whether they can and will capitalize on them.
I have been so busy reading the Toledo Blade's amazing and ground-breaking coverage of the Ohio GOP Coin-gate scandal, I never took the time to read their editorials. Yesterday's was great. Apparently, the paper has been getting pummeled by critics, including the Governor.
Payback is sweet.
In the editorial, they smack Taft and other GOP leaders:
the resignation on Friday of James Conrad, director of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, is grossly inadequate penance. His total lack of oversight aggravated this crisis, and he simply gets to walk away? No matter what, he must be held accountable.
But the buck didn't stop at Mr. Conrad's desk. Governor Taft belatedly accepted full responsibility for the scandal at a press conference Friday. Maybe he should follow Mr. Conrad's lead and get out.
He also should apologize - first to every citizen in this state for his utterly inept stewardship of public funds and his abuse of public trust, and second, to this newspaper for his verbal assaults on our reporting.
Ouch. Taft deserves it. Maybe he should just resign. And, he's not the only GOP leader wrapped up in this mess.
Now that criminal charges are imminent, and prosecutors say they believe Mr. Noe may have converted a huge chunk of the public's investment to his personal use, we hear a much different tune from Mr. Noe's defenders.
Attorney General James Petro and Auditor Betty Montgomery kept their heads down for weeks, which provides an ironic twist to a quote by Ms. Montgomery in one of our Friday stories: "I hope my record will reflect after all these years that I am guilty of doing nothing."
Though she didn't mean it like it sounded, we couldn't have said it better ourselves. She and the attorney general did nothing until they were shamed into it. You can bet that the two of them have erased any trace of Tom Noe from their Palm Pilots; suddenly they are on the side of all that is good and righteous.
Both Petro and Montgomery are running for the GOP nomination for Governor next year. The third candidate is Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. He was also a big defender of Noe.
Imagine if there were a few more newspapers like the Toledo Blade in America. Imagine a press willing to stand up to elected officials. Imagine that.
Maybe the Toledo Blade could give a seminar on reporting to the White House press corps.
Hey, why stop lying about Iraq just because it's a day to honor the dead?
Today, Bush gave a speech at Arlington Cemetery. AP has the story, but the key passages aren't about what he said today. They are the paragraphs that describe what Bush said two years ago:
Before his Memorial Day remarks in 2003, Bush had declared major combat operations at an end, the U.S. government confidently predicted that weapons of mass destruction would be found and American generals said troops were in the process of stabilizing Iraq.
At that time, some 160 American soldiers had been killed in Iraq. Today, the total is over 1,650.
In his remarks today, Bush talked about dead soldiers and their sacrifice. Of course, he used the same lying language he's used for years now:
"We must honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives; by defeating the terrorists."
Maybe Bush should have read his 2003 speech before he started talking today. Most Americans now understand that invading Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or WMD or any of the other plethora of lies contocted by Bush and co. But he can't help spinning his lies....even on Memorial Day...even while talking about the soldiers who died in his war.
I'm off to the airport to hit Atlanta for the next 24 hours. I'll be photoblogging from there, and Joe will be picking up the slack in about an hour when he returns from NYC. Later.
