In a Tank or a Jet Fighter

Basically, it is okay to be gay in either of those.  Or any other military conveyance.  The "long awaited" Pentagon report on how those in the military think about gays in the military was released today.  And it "indicates that over two-thirds of service members do not object to gays and lesbians serving openly in the U.S. armed forces." (CNN.com)


The report also pointed out "more than nine out of 10 troops said their unit's ability to work with someone they thought was gay or lesbian was very good, good, or neither good nor bad."  But, that doesn't necessarily mean that 'don't ask, don't tell' will be repealed this year.  There are only a few weeks left for this Congress to vote on it, and with all this other stuff going on, they might not get to it.


So, you can be gay in a Tank or a Jet Fighter.  But, you might not be able to be gay in a Pirate Ship or Dumbo ride at Disney world...  Johnny Depp told Vanity Fair that Disney "couldn't stand" his Pirates of the Caribbean character Jack Sparrow and one person there even asked if Sparrow was gay.  Although, Depp replied "all my characters are gay," that makes Disney executives nervous. 


Oh, well me Maties... don't ask, don't tell when you're hunting for the dead man's chest.

So Very True

The Simpsons took on Faux News - again!  It's funny because it's true

Faux News - Flying over the Cuckoo's Nest

Whether it is Glenn Beck and his chalkboard (too many examples to cite), or Bill O'Reilly taking on "cartoons" (he didn't like their spoof "Not Racist, But # 1 With Racists") or that what is Sarah Palin (again too many to cite), Faux News is a crazy place.  And today, they have another, perfect example of the crazy.


Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatrist and member of the Fox News Medical A-Team.  He wrote the headline on FoxNews.com today:  "TSA Scans -- All Part of Obama's Plan."  The doctor speaks of the Obama Administration's "contempt for individual autonomy and callousness when it comes to balancing liberty and government authority."  He also says "The TSA and its procedures are Obama's biggest public education initiative" teaching our children that it is ok "to be humiliated by uniformed government security personnel."   FoxNews.com

What the doctor fails to mention, however, is that the TSA was not Obama's plan.  It was created by the 107th Congress on November 19, 2001.  Hmmm, and who was in charge of the government then?  And the TSA was were given mandates by that Congress: "responsibility for security for all modes of transportation; recruit, assess, hire, train, and deploy Security Officers for 450 commercial airports from Guam to Alaska in 12 months; and, provide 100 percent screening of all checked luggage for explosives."  TSA.Gov

Yes, it is a scary place we live in (and have to fly out of).  But, accusing Mr. Obama of taking away independence or freedom and thrusting government authority on the masses, is not fair or balanced.  Dr. Ablow tells us "I am not paranoid. Trust me; I'm a shrink."


Right, the inmates have overrun the asylum.

Should we all try failing?

Failure must have many different definitions.  Faux News ran a story where Mitt Romney says that President Obama and the Democrats "failed" America.  And they all want Mr. Obama out!


But in other areas - well, same area really, just different people - failure doesn't mean the end of somebody.  "A failure is [one] who has blundered, but is not able to cash in the experience."  ~Elbert Hubbard.  Just ask Sarah Palin, "With a showbiz-fueled net worth widely estimated in the double-digit millions" (NYTimes.com)  So it pays for her to have failed as a Vice Presidential candidate and governor.


And somebody is following in the Momma Grizzly's footsteps.  Christine O'Donnell is on tap to headline the Northern Virginia Tea Party's annual fundraiser next month, speaking at an event called "Celebrating Our Progress." (MaddowBlog.MSNBC.com)  Tea Party spokesperson Daniel Cortez says, "She's a role model for others."


So, a failed Senatorial candidate is still getting the spotlight, and seen as a role model.  Probably thinks that if she keeps this up she will get to be on Dancing With the Stars and the Tea Partiers can help her win, too.

Holiday Travel

Although I think they should charge more for the lap dances!

Copyright © 2010 Universal Press Syndicate

All Things Palin

Probably shouldn't be written about, but if they aren't 'exposed' now, then it leaves that scary thought of President Palin.  She has told the New York Times Magazine that she is thinking about a 2012 bid.  But she is a little worried about 'being under the bus' again.  Sadly she says "Other candidates haven't faced these criticisms the way I have," although perhaps she deserves some criticism.  (Global Language Monitor to name "refudiate" as one of the top words used in 2010.)


Her new book "America By Heart" (not written on her palm) is coming out soon and she tells the world how she loves Simon Cowell from American Idol.  She loves him because he tells the "self-esteem-enhanced but talent deprived performers" that they "in fact, can’t sing, regardless of what they have been told by others." (FrumForum.com)  Would Simon tell her that she can't, in fact run a country?


And then there should be some criticism of her lovely children.  First there is Bristol "winning" dancing with the stars, although she can't dance and there is a Tea Party conspiracy to get the audience vote “Operation Bristol waltzes in tonight! As #DWTS starts vote at abc.go.com Tweeps pls tweet phone info, will RT.” (HollywoodReporter.com)


Then there is her other daughter.  "Willow Palin, 16, told a Facebook friend that he was 'so gay' and used the homophobic insult (the 'f-word') after he criticised former Alaska governor Mrs. Palin’s reality TV show." (PinkNews.co.uk)  She then goes on to type “Sorry that you guys are all jealous of my families success and you guys aren’t goin to go anywhere with your lives.”  The future of America, behind the Mamma Grizzly... how many "families" does she have?


Very scary prospect that this could be the new "First Family" of the U.S.  And sorry about the kittens.

Offense Taken

This story is offensive on SO many levels.  First let's start with the background.  Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, who is the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, was honored today at the White House.  "His courage and leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon's ability defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands." (Time.com)


The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. And is awarded to those who distinguish themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States." (Wikipedia.org)


No where in that definition does it say that they have to kill somebody.  They have to risk their own life.  But somebody thinks that the Medal of Honor is too "girly" because it is awarded to Sgt. Giunta and he didn't even kill anybody.  And what is so funny about that statement (and not in the ha-ha that's funny sense of the word), is who actually said it, American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer. (JoeMyGod.blogspot.com)


Now, the American Family Association is a non-profit 501(c3) organization, a Christian ministry, that "spurs activism in Preservation of Marriage and the Family, Decency and Morality, Sanctity of Human Life, Stewardship, Media Integrity." (AFA.net)  Somehow, Bryan Fischer missed that one about "sanctity of human life." 


And what about that "girly" comment?  That sounds very misogynistic.  How is it possible that a "loving, Christian organization" (read the finger quotes) can insult two groups of people and promote a murderous attitude in one sentence?


Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 


But it is so much better to just shoot and kill somebody, right Bryan?

Getting Smarter in Louisiana

There is a rich diversity of people in Louisiana, according to the state's website, Louisiana.gov.  And now, those people will be smarter.  It all starts with new high school textbooks with real science in them, instead of 'pseudoscience'.  The Associated Press reports that "A state panel recommended Friday that Louisiana's top education board adopt a new batch of high school biology textbooks."


Why is that newsworthy?  Well, because some people objected to the books because the books "should include information about intelligent design and don't offer enough questioning about certain parts of evolutionary theory."  So, intelligent design, which the dean of the LSU College of science says is "simply not science" needs to be taught to high school students, according to these people.


So, yes there is a God.  And it seems officials in Louisiana might be listening to experts and not the Religious Right fanatics.  Amen.

Writing Memoirs For Dummies

Obviously there should be such a book.  It may have helped a certain former President with some "Decision Points".  George W. is making rounds trying to sell the tome.  Jon Stewart had a few laughs at his expense, pointing out that there are some definite contradictions that Mr. Bush has made on the talk show circuit.


Some of them were small.  Like telling most of the talk show hosts that he had never compromised his principles, and then telling Matt Lauer that he indeed compromised the principle of capitalism.  Then he talked about how he bent the rules on water-boarding and had to follow the rules on Katrina and couldn't send in troops.  Stewart skewered him on these points.


But, now for the need for a "dummies" help book.  Mr. Bush hadn't really done all of the writing of his very own memoir.  It seems that he lifted "quotes word for word from other peoples' books, passing them off as his own recollections." (HuffingtonPost.com)  People like General Tommy Franks, the BBC and Time Magazine.


He even put in some flat out lies.  He wrote a passage about a poignant meeting between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a Tajik warlord on Karzai's Inauguration Day.  The funny thing is... Bush never attended the inauguration.


Maybe he should have just stuck with "See Spot Run."

Unsportsman Like Conduct for 15

During the month of October, the NFL commemorated Breast Cancer Awareness Month with its largest on-field presence.  They did everything from game balls with pink ribbon decals used for every down, players wearing pink cleats, wristbands, gloves, chin straps, sideline caps, helmet decals, eye shield decals, captains' patches, sideline towels and quarterback towels and pink coins used for the coin toss.  It was quite the display of support.  Everybody applauded the effort.


Too bad the applause couldn't be carried on for one High Schooler's attempt to show some support.  Mendenhall, Mississippi High School football coach Chris Peterson kicked 17-year-old placekicker Coy Sheppard off the team for attempting to wear pink cleats.  The player was also ridiculed for his choice of footwear (Yahoo.com).  The cleats were a gift from Sheppard's 82 year old grandmother, a breast cancer survivor.


The coach claims that he wasn't kicked off for the pink, but for failing to follow his coaches' instructions.  If the instructions were do not wear girly, pink cleats, then the coach is right. The kicker has filed suit to clear his name and to be able to graduate on time.


Sounds a lot like homophobia.  Probably worth more than 15 yards.

Where is the Outrage?

All through the elections, the Tea Baggers were screaming about "less government and more freedom."  At least according to Jim DeMint, Republican senator from South Carolina (WSJ.com).  But there is little noise about that now, two weeks after the elections.  Where is the outrage?  Where are the rallies to get the government out of our daily lives?


The government is still in.  Lawmakers in Northern California want to regulate Happy Meals, for goodness sake.  A San Francisco law would limit toy giveaways in children's meals that have excessive calories, sodium and fat. It also requires servings of fruits or vegetables with each meal (HuffingtonPost.com).  So, where are the Tea Baggers for the rights of the children to get Nuggets and Megamind toys?


And another case is this law passed in June 2009 giving the FDA authority to regulate tobacco, including marketing and labeling guidelines, banning certain products and limiting nicotine. Now, the FDA wants to scare the bajeebus out of smokers.  The FDA is proposing 36 labels for public comment, which include phrases like "smoking can kill you" and "cigarettes cause cancer," but also feature graphic images to convey the dangers of tobacco use.


Come On Tea Bagger society!  Get your posters out!  Go hold a rally in D.C.! 


Wait, maybe nuggets and smokes aren't worth it.

How to Make It on DWTS, and Influence People?

As most everybody knows, DWTS - Dancing with the Stars - is a reality show airing on ABC in the United States, and CTV in Canada (WikiPedia.com).  And of course there are big "STARS" on the show.  In the Spring of this year, the top three "dancers" were Nicole Scherzinger, Evan Lysacek and Erin Andrews (??? Who are these "stars"?)


The current season has another notable "star".  She has a lot of 'courage, grace and diversity', according to her mom.  And she proffers such great life lessons.  No, not the kind about not getting pregnant at 16, but more along the lines of "They're going to criticize anyway, so I might as well DANCE!" (@SarahPalinUSA - Twitter account).


So, yeah, Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol is on the show.  And what better thing for the Rogue Tea Bagger could there be?  Having the Palin name once again all over TV is perfect set-up for a political career.  And just think if Bristol - the dancer - won?


But, perhaps this is just another scam being run by the "housewife" from Alaska.  Although the dancing Diva "received the judges’ worst score" last week, she was not kicked off the show (Bloomberg.com)  And why?  Well, because the #TeaParty Twitter Brigade is conducting a "Get Out The Vote" campaign (JoeMyGod.Blogspot.com).  If the Tea Baggers can win the House, then little Bristol should be able to win DWTS.


So, Sarah's influence goes on.  Scary.  But why didn't she and Todd just stuff the DWTS ballot box themselves?  "The maximum number of votes per voter per medium is equal to the number of couples performing that night, or five votes, whichever is larger."  That would only be 30 votes between the two of them. 


So, let the tweeting - and the voting - begin, Tea Baggers.  Another triumph for liberty!

Social Media Sobriety Test

This is probably a good idea.  For all of those people who sit at home alone on a Friday night, partaking of a little of the fire water, and decide to tell the whole world that they got dumped by some bitch, or their ex is really an ass, or whatever else might be bothering them.


But help is just a download away:  "Social Media Sobriety Test" a free Firefox plug-in from online-security company Webroot. (CNN.com)  "[T]he plug-in will ask you to pass a simple test before being able log on" during hours of the day that you decide might be susceptible to drunkeness and make it hard for you to be nice on Facebook or Twitter.  Because, according to the website "Nothing good happens online after 1am." Just 3 steps will help you be a sober tweeter or a responsible FB friend.  Download/Customize, pass a test, post away (or if you fail, maybe just go to bed.) 

So, maybe, before you type something like this into your status bar "I'm drunk, ate 4 bags of doritos and a box of pizza pops. Who wants to webcam?" you should download the test.

A Happy Halloween?

So, a kid wanted to go to a Halloween party dressed as Daphne, from the Scooby-Doo movie.  A cute little outfit with a pink shirt, purple sweater and a huge, brightly orange wig.  But there were some mothers who were not all that thrilled with this costume choice.  Mostly it was because the kid who was wearing it was a boy. (Advocate.com)


The kid's mother, who writes anonymously at the blog Nerdy Apple Bottom, said that some mothers were just shocked!  They told her she "should never have ‘allowed’ this" and if the boy was older, say in kindergarten she would "have had to put [her] foot down and ‘forbidden’ it."  How could she let him wear a "gay" costume?  And they went on to tell her "how mean children could be and how he would be ridiculed."


Although, it seemed the only ones who were mean and ridiculing were the parents, not the children.  The Daphne-wearing kid's mom though, did get in the last best line:  “If you think that me allowing my son to be a female character for Halloween is somehow going to ‘make’ him gay then you are an idiot. Firstly, what a ridiculous concept. Secondly, if my son is gay, OK. I will love him no less. Thirdly, I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off.”


Yeah, just back off!

What Should I Be When I Grow Up?

Poor Christine O'Donnell.  What will she be when she grows up?  Obviously, it ain't going to be a Senator.  Becuase of course it was just a "symptom of Republican cannibalism" with the likes of Karl Rove dining on her political career. Perhaps she could be a professional Wiccan.  Or maybe a professional virgin... 


But, wait.  She could follow in her Mamma Grizzly's paw prints and get a spot on Fox News.  "O'Donnell made Fox News her national media home during her campaign" and boasted that she had "Sean Hannity in [her] back pocket."  (HuffingtonPost.com)  Nope, nevermind.  The network told Mediaite it has "no plans to hire her."


Oh, well, poor Christine.  Maybe she should follow in the paw prints of a Grizzly Cub... Dancing With the Stars.

Nice Weather We Are Having

Yes, a blatant attempt to change the subject.  But, alas we are still subject to "mid-term elections".  And if you have seen any TV or read any paper or looked at any website, you know the GOP/TP has 239 seats in the House vs. 185 Democrats.  And the Dems have 51 Senate seats to the 46 GOP/TP ones.


But, there are other stories about this election.  Californians didn't want legalized marijuana, dude.  Denver residents voted down a plan to officially track space aliens. San Francisco outlaws the Happy Meal.  And a deceased California Democrat won re-election to the State Senate, 58% to 36%.  That says something about her challenger, doesn't it? (HuffingtonPost.com)


Oh, and this Sarah Palin candidate in Atlanta won something too:

J/K Read the story here

So, now back to the weather.

The Day of Reckoning

It has been a long mid-term election season.  It seems to have gone on forever.  And today is the last day.  After today there will be no more hateful ads on the TV or radio every 10 seconds.  News programs will have nothing to talk about.  FauxNews will not know what to do with itself.  Even Stewart and Colbert may not find anything to report on -- well, that might not be true, there is always something for them.


So, today - in an effort to stymie the withdrawal symptoms of the Decision 2010 ending - Time.com has "25 Crazy Moments from A Crazy Election Campaign". And oh what memories they bring back.  Sharron Angle (NV) running from the press to avoid having to say anything.  Krystal Ball (VA) with racy Facebook pictures.  And wonderful Sarah promoting her "Mamma Grizzlies."


But there are plenty more:

• There was Ohio Republican Rich Lott, who participated in reenactments as a Nazi soldier, saying his fascination was with the military history and not ideology of the Third Reich.

• New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, in an discussion with New York Post political columnist Fred Dicker.  Being the true NY city kinda guy, Paladino told Dicker "I'll take you out, buddy!"

• Then there is Ken Buck.  The Colorado Senate hopeful has said many crazy things, but it all started during the primary season when he was asked by an attendee why she should vote for him, Buck answered, "Because I do not wear high heels."  Is that a fashion statement?

• Jimmy McMillan, "the gloved and bearded maestro of The Rent Is Too Damn High Party" running for Governor of New York -- that crazy just speaks for itself.

• Alaska Republican Joe Miller's private security guards detained and handcuffed Alaska Dispatch reporter Tony Hopfinger at a campaign event in Anchorage.

• Dan Maes, the Republican candidate for governor in Colorado (no really, he is still running) who thought that Hickenlooper's bicycle-promotion in Denver would "threaten our personal freedoms," and put us "under a United Nations treaty."

• Then there is Christine O'Donnell, who could have taken a few spots all by herself in the Crazy Moments department.  There is no masturbating, why don't monkeys still evolve and of course, I am not a Witch... I am you.

Here are all 25

Now, we have 2 years until the next big election.  Would not be surprised if the number of crazy moments between now and then is far greater than 25.  GET OUT AND VOTE!

  

Writer's Block

Didn't know what to write about today, and was looking at the "Rally to Restore Sanity" pictures.... this one from BuzzFeed.com (Click for all) probably is the scariest.