From the Archives (20 September 2007) So. Another so-called family values Republican official has been busted for sexual abuse—only, this time, there's no homosexual element.
Perhaps this explains why the mainstream media has barely covered the story. Or maybe it's because the pedophile is a US attorney in a Republican state where the story stands a decent chance of being conveniently hushed up for the good of the party.
Shh!
Just as the repugs are now attempting to silence the Gonzales debacle—Please! Let the good man get back to his work protecting the chillllllll'ren, people! Stories such as this are silenced too often unless we make enough of a fuss to ensure the attention they deserve.
Or who knows? Maybe a grown man showing up with a Dora the Explorer doll and a jar of Vaseline to f*ck a five-year-old just doesn't scream "scandal" to Faux News the way a gay man's attraction to a DC page who at least has hair around his genitals does.
What's especially disgusting to me is that Atchison told the deputy who was posing as the girl's mother not to worry because he'd go nice and slow with her.
Meanwhile, The Portly Dyke has posted a picture of the youth cheerleading squad that this pedophile assists, which makes me worry how he has been "assisting" them . I guess the answer to that question will either be hushed up too or made apparent soon enough though.
* * *
And now, on a completely different note, my cute little brother has embarked on a cross-country bike ride to raise money for the families of the nine Charleston SC firefighters who died this year fighting a furniture warehouse fire.
Check out his blog to see gorgeous pictures of his journey.
He left Georgia on 9/6 to drive out to Palm Springs (where he will embark on his journey) and plans to roll into Charleston in early October.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
281. DING DONG
From the Archives (15 May 2007) Well what a SHAME and boo hoo hoo.
Jerry Falwell—legendary homophobe and enemy of Tinky Winky and opportunist who actually blamed LGBT people and liberals for the 9/11 terrorist attacks—has finally kicked the proverbial bucket.
How can one adequately mourn a man who warns evangelicals that the mythological antichrist is a male Jew living among them?
Hmm. I wonder if Ralph Reed will be at the funeral in all his shame...
...and how quickly Pat Robertson will go on air to blame Jerry's death on the lesbians....
At any rate, the sun has come out today and one less bigot dwells on this earth, brothers and sisters, so let me hear an amen!
Jerry Falwell—legendary homophobe and enemy of Tinky Winky and opportunist who actually blamed LGBT people and liberals for the 9/11 terrorist attacks—has finally kicked the proverbial bucket.
How can one adequately mourn a man who warns evangelicals that the mythological antichrist is a male Jew living among them?
Hmm. I wonder if Ralph Reed will be at the funeral in all his shame...
...and how quickly Pat Robertson will go on air to blame Jerry's death on the lesbians....
At any rate, the sun has come out today and one less bigot dwells on this earth, brothers and sisters, so let me hear an amen!
280. AWW, CAN'T GET RID OF THEM?
From the Archives (15 May 2007) The latest from the American (Narrowly Defined, Intent-on-Keeping-Up-Appearances) Family Association:
So. I thought maybe I'd offer the good Christians an exchange. They give me It's Not Gay to distribute to my friends and I give them It's Not Christian for them to distribute to their friends.
My DVD begins with footage of Jerry Falwell arriving at a rural courthouse with busloads of his faithful in tow. They are there to protest the fact that a minister has been charged with child abuse and murder for throwing his toddlers onto a heating grate in an effort to "send them back to hell"—an act that left one dead and the other with third-degree burns over a large portion of her body.
(A true tale.)
Let's listen as Jerry informs the camera that God has ordained men as heads of their families and made women and children their property.
Watch Jerry explain that this "man of God" should thus be allowed to punish his children any way he chooses without legal intervention because, in his world, this country based on equality and separation of church and state should and must follow the laws of his faith.
Now let's segue to Fred Phelps, the bigoted, angry minister who tauted Matthew Shepard's parents at their child's funeral.
Listen as Fred informs the grieving parents that "Matthew is in Hell where he belongs"—because it's Christian to torture the grieving and broken-hearted, particularly when their young son was discovered severely beaten and left to die on a cold Wyoming fence.
Next a white Christian explains how Genesis proves that "nigras" are not human beings, but are, instead, "mud people"—I kid you not—which means, conveniently, that human rights laws don't apply to them.
Then there's the Southern woman explaining that Jesus wants her to "submit graciously" to her husband or anyone with a dick in her general vicinity who wants to tell her what to do with her one wild and precious life.
You know, Landover Baptist sells "What Would Jesus Do?" thongs on their website, so I'm thinking that maybe my DVD can end with a sexy shot of this thong, then pan out to the story "Pope Appears in Credit Card Ad to Pay Off Class Action Molestation Suit Brought by 23% of New Jersey."
A voice from on high can then boom "Ask a molested child about straight male Christians, y'all."
Grrr.
Special Offer On "It's Not Gay" DVDUm, I guess I state the obvious when I point out that this homosexual story no one has heard before (told in queers' own words!) is limited to a very specific subset of queers who buy into the lie that their inherent homosexuality is wrong and so try to suppress their insuppressible attractions.
From now through Tuesday, May 8, we are offering our video It's Not Gay for only $10, and that includes shipping.
It's Not Gay has already been shown in an estimated 10,000 churches. It's Not Gay tells the other side of the homosexual movement, a side which the mainstream media and professional associations never mention.
It's Not Gay presents a story that few have heard, allowing former homosexuals* the opportunity to tell their own story in their own words. Along with medical and mental health experts, these individuals express a clear warning that the prevalent view of homosexuality being presented to America is not the whole story.
With a running time of 28 minutes, it is excellent for a Sunday School class, Bible study group or other situations.
To order your copy of It's Not Gay, click here.
P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends!
So. I thought maybe I'd offer the good Christians an exchange. They give me It's Not Gay to distribute to my friends and I give them It's Not Christian for them to distribute to their friends.
My DVD begins with footage of Jerry Falwell arriving at a rural courthouse with busloads of his faithful in tow. They are there to protest the fact that a minister has been charged with child abuse and murder for throwing his toddlers onto a heating grate in an effort to "send them back to hell"—an act that left one dead and the other with third-degree burns over a large portion of her body.
(A true tale.)
Let's listen as Jerry informs the camera that God has ordained men as heads of their families and made women and children their property.
Watch Jerry explain that this "man of God" should thus be allowed to punish his children any way he chooses without legal intervention because, in his world, this country based on equality and separation of church and state should and must follow the laws of his faith.
Now let's segue to Fred Phelps, the bigoted, angry minister who tauted Matthew Shepard's parents at their child's funeral.
Listen as Fred informs the grieving parents that "Matthew is in Hell where he belongs"—because it's Christian to torture the grieving and broken-hearted, particularly when their young son was discovered severely beaten and left to die on a cold Wyoming fence.
Next a white Christian explains how Genesis proves that "nigras" are not human beings, but are, instead, "mud people"—I kid you not—which means, conveniently, that human rights laws don't apply to them.
Then there's the Southern woman explaining that Jesus wants her to "submit graciously" to her husband or anyone with a dick in her general vicinity who wants to tell her what to do with her one wild and precious life.
You know, Landover Baptist sells "What Would Jesus Do?" thongs on their website, so I'm thinking that maybe my DVD can end with a sexy shot of this thong, then pan out to the story "Pope Appears in Credit Card Ad to Pay Off Class Action Molestation Suit Brought by 23% of New Jersey."
A voice from on high can then boom "Ask a molested child about straight male Christians, y'all."
Grrr.
279. OPEN LETTER FROM MICHAEL MOORE TO THE US TREASURY SECRETARY
From the Archives (14 May 2007)
Secretary Henry Paulson
Department of the Treasury
Secretary Paulson,
I am contacting you in light of the document sent to me dated May 2, 2007, which was received May 7, 2007 indicating that an investigation has been opened up with regards to a trip I took to Cuba with a group of Americans that included some 9/11 heroes in March 2007 related to the filming of my next documentary, on the American Healthcare system. SiCKO, which will be seen in theaters this summer, will expose the health care industry's greed and control over America's political processes.
I believe that the decision to conduct this investigation represents the latest example of the Bush Administration abusing the federal government for raw, crass, political purposes. Over the last seven years of the Bush Presidency, we have seen the abuse of government to promote a political agenda designed to benefit the conservative base of the Republican Party, special interests and major financial contributors. From holding secret meetings for the energy industry to re-writing science findings to cooking the books on intelligence to the firing of U.S. Attorneys, this Administration has shown time and time again that it will abuse its power and authority.
There are a number of specific facts that have led me to conclude that politics could very well be driving this Bush Administration investigation of me and my film.
First, the Bush Administration has been aware of this matter for months (since October 2006) and never took any action until less than two weeks before SiCKO is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and a little more than a month before it is scheduled to open in the United States.
Second, the health care and insurance industry, which is exposed in the movie and has expressed concerns about the impact of the movie on their industries, is a major corporate underwriter of President George W. Bush and the Republican Party, having contributed over $13 million to the Bush presidential campaign in 2004 and more than $180 million to Republican candidates over the last two campaign cycles.
It is well documented that the industry is very concerned about the impact of SiCKO. They have threatened their employees if they talk to me. They have set up special internal crises lines should I show up at their headquarters. Employees have been warned about the consequences of participating in SiCKO. Despite this, some employees, at great risk to themselves, have gone on camera to tell the American people the truth about the health care industry. I can understand why that industry's main recipient of its contributions—President Bush—would want to harass, intimidate and potentially prevent this film from having its widest possible audience.
And, third, this investigation is being opened in the wake of misleading attacks on the purpose of the Cuba trip from a possible leading Republican candidate for president, Fred Thompson, a major conservative newspaper, The New York Post, and various right wing blogs.
For five and a half years, the Bush administration has ignored and neglected the heroes of the 9/11 community. These heroic first responders have been left to fend for themselves, without coverage and without care. I understand why the Bush administration is coming after me—I have tried to help the very people they refuse to help, but until George W. Bush outlaws helping your fellow man, I have broken no laws and I have nothing to hide.
I demand that the Bush Administration immediately end this investigation and spend its time and resources trying to support some of the real heroes of 9/11.
Sincerely,
Michael Moore
Secretary Henry Paulson
Department of the Treasury
Secretary Paulson,
I am contacting you in light of the document sent to me dated May 2, 2007, which was received May 7, 2007 indicating that an investigation has been opened up with regards to a trip I took to Cuba with a group of Americans that included some 9/11 heroes in March 2007 related to the filming of my next documentary, on the American Healthcare system. SiCKO, which will be seen in theaters this summer, will expose the health care industry's greed and control over America's political processes.
I believe that the decision to conduct this investigation represents the latest example of the Bush Administration abusing the federal government for raw, crass, political purposes. Over the last seven years of the Bush Presidency, we have seen the abuse of government to promote a political agenda designed to benefit the conservative base of the Republican Party, special interests and major financial contributors. From holding secret meetings for the energy industry to re-writing science findings to cooking the books on intelligence to the firing of U.S. Attorneys, this Administration has shown time and time again that it will abuse its power and authority.
There are a number of specific facts that have led me to conclude that politics could very well be driving this Bush Administration investigation of me and my film.
First, the Bush Administration has been aware of this matter for months (since October 2006) and never took any action until less than two weeks before SiCKO is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and a little more than a month before it is scheduled to open in the United States.
Second, the health care and insurance industry, which is exposed in the movie and has expressed concerns about the impact of the movie on their industries, is a major corporate underwriter of President George W. Bush and the Republican Party, having contributed over $13 million to the Bush presidential campaign in 2004 and more than $180 million to Republican candidates over the last two campaign cycles.
It is well documented that the industry is very concerned about the impact of SiCKO. They have threatened their employees if they talk to me. They have set up special internal crises lines should I show up at their headquarters. Employees have been warned about the consequences of participating in SiCKO. Despite this, some employees, at great risk to themselves, have gone on camera to tell the American people the truth about the health care industry. I can understand why that industry's main recipient of its contributions—President Bush—would want to harass, intimidate and potentially prevent this film from having its widest possible audience.
And, third, this investigation is being opened in the wake of misleading attacks on the purpose of the Cuba trip from a possible leading Republican candidate for president, Fred Thompson, a major conservative newspaper, The New York Post, and various right wing blogs.
For five and a half years, the Bush administration has ignored and neglected the heroes of the 9/11 community. These heroic first responders have been left to fend for themselves, without coverage and without care. I understand why the Bush administration is coming after me—I have tried to help the very people they refuse to help, but until George W. Bush outlaws helping your fellow man, I have broken no laws and I have nothing to hide.
I demand that the Bush Administration immediately end this investigation and spend its time and resources trying to support some of the real heroes of 9/11.
Sincerely,
Michael Moore
278. CODE PINK DRAG
From the Archives (11 May 2007)
What was she wearing that so displeased the gentle men of the House? Inquiring minds want to know.
My guess: a pink Code Pink T-shirt that stood out amongst the grey-suited set. And I do wonder if they would have kicked out an anti-choice guy wearing a picture of an embryo on his—because they are so often white men—white T-shirt.
Reading this news story reminded me of the time when OUT! (Oppression under Target), a direct-action group I protested with back in the day, disrupted an NEA hearing after Jesse Helms objected to taxpayers paying for homoerotic art.
Minnie Bruce Pratt was there and the guerrilla grrrls came down from NYC breathing fire and protesters lined the 14th St. sidewalks.
We were Hell-bent on getting arrested and, if memory serves—this was way back in 1990 when the world was young and we didn’t yet know that Reagan was probably telling the truth when he said he didn’t remember—the NEA's posted minimum dress code for the event was work/professional, and they only admitted members of the general public who conformed to the board’s aesthetic sensibilities.
OUT! crashed the party, even though we couldn’t wear our typical black OUT! T-shirts and ripped Levis and black Doc Martens with big silver buckles.
We also hid accordioned homoerotic art posters under our nice professional outfits, then disrupted the meeting when the committee tabled any discussion on whether or not they would continue to fund homoerotic art.
Long time passing ... and now our government has issued another dress code.
You'd think fallout from Brownie’s e-mail descriptions of his Fashion God status (that he sent while New Orleans residents drowned) would have taught us all the difference between appearances and someone actually having something useful to say about how the government runs.
Meanwhile, rumor has it that Cindy Sheehan may run for a house seat.
Sheehan is certainly an effective direct action protester—and boy did we need someone like her to stand up and state the obvious—but I wonder how effective she would be in DC.
Still, it would be refreshing to see someone on the Left who refuses to compromise and play nice.
I admire Rudy’s refusal to tow the repug party's anti-choice line (despite the fact that his “while I don’t approve myself” stance is weaselly at best) and am interesting to see how this stance affects voters.
Most Americans are pro-choice, after all, and many fiscal conservatives/social liberals are sick (just SICK, I tell ya) of having their party hijacked by the Flat Earthers. So maybe Rudy will show the conservatives that they are nuts to entertain the nuts and remind them to focus on money matters that affect ALL of our bottom lines and not just those of the big corporations.
I doubt it though.
And speaking of nuts, did anyone see US Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) on CNN, equating Rudy’s support for abortion rights with support for slavery rights?
(Add another chalk mark in the reason-impaired repug category.)
READING: CARMAX extended warranty details (never never never buy a car from this place) • Michael Roston’s “Conyers to Gonzales: No, Let’s Keep Talking about the US Attorneys” in Raw Story (5.11.2007) • David Edwards/Mike Sheehan’s “GOP Pundit Equates Giuliani Abortion Hypocracy to Slavery” (5.11.2007), online here • a boring article on fiscal responsibility
LISTENING TO: Nina Simone’s cover of ”Strange Fruit”
BEST-OF SPAM: Even snakes need love
After a procedural objection by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) over a protester from the group Code Pink, [House Judiciary Committee Chair (D-MI)] John Conyers had the protester removed [from yesterday’s hearing with Gonzales], telling her, “With the right attire you’re perfectly able to attend this hearing.”
What was she wearing that so displeased the gentle men of the House? Inquiring minds want to know.
My guess: a pink Code Pink T-shirt that stood out amongst the grey-suited set. And I do wonder if they would have kicked out an anti-choice guy wearing a picture of an embryo on his—because they are so often white men—white T-shirt.
Reading this news story reminded me of the time when OUT! (Oppression under Target), a direct-action group I protested with back in the day, disrupted an NEA hearing after Jesse Helms objected to taxpayers paying for homoerotic art.
Minnie Bruce Pratt was there and the guerrilla grrrls came down from NYC breathing fire and protesters lined the 14th St. sidewalks.
We were Hell-bent on getting arrested and, if memory serves—this was way back in 1990 when the world was young and we didn’t yet know that Reagan was probably telling the truth when he said he didn’t remember—the NEA's posted minimum dress code for the event was work/professional, and they only admitted members of the general public who conformed to the board’s aesthetic sensibilities.
OUT! crashed the party, even though we couldn’t wear our typical black OUT! T-shirts and ripped Levis and black Doc Martens with big silver buckles.
We also hid accordioned homoerotic art posters under our nice professional outfits, then disrupted the meeting when the committee tabled any discussion on whether or not they would continue to fund homoerotic art.
Long time passing ... and now our government has issued another dress code.
You'd think fallout from Brownie’s e-mail descriptions of his Fashion God status (that he sent while New Orleans residents drowned) would have taught us all the difference between appearances and someone actually having something useful to say about how the government runs.
Meanwhile, rumor has it that Cindy Sheehan may run for a house seat.
Sheehan is certainly an effective direct action protester—and boy did we need someone like her to stand up and state the obvious—but I wonder how effective she would be in DC.
Still, it would be refreshing to see someone on the Left who refuses to compromise and play nice.
I admire Rudy’s refusal to tow the repug party's anti-choice line (despite the fact that his “while I don’t approve myself” stance is weaselly at best) and am interesting to see how this stance affects voters.
Most Americans are pro-choice, after all, and many fiscal conservatives/social liberals are sick (just SICK, I tell ya) of having their party hijacked by the Flat Earthers. So maybe Rudy will show the conservatives that they are nuts to entertain the nuts and remind them to focus on money matters that affect ALL of our bottom lines and not just those of the big corporations.
I doubt it though.
And speaking of nuts, did anyone see US Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) on CNN, equating Rudy’s support for abortion rights with support for slavery rights?
(Add another chalk mark in the reason-impaired repug category.)
READING: CARMAX extended warranty details (never never never buy a car from this place) • Michael Roston’s “Conyers to Gonzales: No, Let’s Keep Talking about the US Attorneys” in Raw Story (5.11.2007) • David Edwards/Mike Sheehan’s “GOP Pundit Equates Giuliani Abortion Hypocracy to Slavery” (5.11.2007), online here • a boring article on fiscal responsibility
LISTENING TO: Nina Simone’s cover of ”Strange Fruit”
BEST-OF SPAM: Even snakes need love
277. GOVERNMENT-STYLE PRE-RELEASE PUBLICITY, OR, I GOT THAT FAHRENHEIT 9/11 FEVER AND THE BOGEY-MAN CURE
From the Archives (10 May 2007)
Does anyone see a similarity between the lip service that the repugs (thanks for the term, mehitabelmmoss!) pay to heroic 9/11 workers (who, in reality, are routinely deprived of adequate medical treatment by repug policies) and the lip service that the repugs pay to patriotism when, in reality, the soldiers they pretend to support and honor are actually inadequately paid, insufficiently armored, and cannot obtain adequate medical treatment because of the corporate-fattening-at-
the-expense-of-the-rest-of-us repug policies?
Nice job making yourselves sound good though, guys.
Perception of truth, not truth—you know, Truthiness—is what matters in the end for this administration.
And you gotta hand it to them. They understand that they can fool many of the people much of the time with the right combination of speciously squishy soundbite-heavy jingoistic communication strategies (with the piquant taste of fear added for extra flavoring)—and boy do they use this knowledge to their advantage.
This is definitely a bottom-line administration—one whose policy has consistently been to cut funding and/or deregulate protections and hope for the best. After all, they can always hire publicity folks to sugarcoat the damage when the chickens/attorney generals who fire US attorneys of who poutyboy does not approve/illegal prisoners/torture victims/maimed soldiers/legislators/lobbyists/crumbling bridges/bursting levees come home to roost.
In other news, did anyone else note that Army officials actually accused Pat Tillman’s parents of being unChristian when they questioned the lies they were being told about their son’s death?
That’s right folks—our government’s response to their grief and desire for answers was to shift the blame to the grief-stricken parents of the Armed Services' poster boy whom our own soldiers killed (oopsie!)—and they did this by questioning whether or not the Tillmans are religious enough.
As if!
But I digress. We were talking about Michael Moore and how he, in a moment of true marketing genius, placed a copy of SiCKO (which premiers next week at Cannes) in a “safe house”—not to be confused with one of Bush&Co’s blood-spattered black houses—in another country “to protect it from government interference.”
Hey, Michael, why not seize the opportunity to market your flick?
I mean, if the government is going to harass someone who points out the administration’s blatant failings—What up, guys? Michael didn’t have a convenient wife whose secret identity Dick could reveal?—then why not pay a fine for your transgressions, then use the harassment to promote your film?
Sounds like a good marketing strategy to me.
Huh. I guess Cheney is still ticked off about Fahrenheit 9/11.
Meanwhile, back at the Oh Holy Shit um I mean Oh Holy Cross Ranch, the Christianists are calling for a boycott of Ford products because Ford supports PFLAG and an upcoming Out at Work session.
The repug protest of the Matthew Shepherd Act might be paying off too, since Bush is vowing to veto the act.
So now’s the time folks. Register your support so that the Christianists don’t leave the world with the impression that all Americans condone hate.
If enough people contact their legislators, then maybe Bush won’t get away with it.
LISTENING TO Holly Near’s “I Am Open”
READING “Michael Moore Faces U.S. Treasury Probe,” by David Germain, Yahoo! News, 5/10/2007. See here.
BEST OF SPAM: you have already won
This office has no record that a specific license was issued authorizing you to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba.That’s what Dale Thompson, chief of general investigations and field operations for the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, wrote to filmmaker Michael Moore after he took eleven ailing 9/11 workers to Cuba to obtain the medical treatment they have been unable to receive in the US. Moore documents this journey in Sicko, his new critique of the US’s high-profit, low-care health-“care” industry.
Does anyone see a similarity between the lip service that the repugs (thanks for the term, mehitabelmmoss!) pay to heroic 9/11 workers (who, in reality, are routinely deprived of adequate medical treatment by repug policies) and the lip service that the repugs pay to patriotism when, in reality, the soldiers they pretend to support and honor are actually inadequately paid, insufficiently armored, and cannot obtain adequate medical treatment because of the corporate-fattening-at-
the-expense-of-the-rest-of-us repug policies?
Nice job making yourselves sound good though, guys.
Perception of truth, not truth—you know, Truthiness—is what matters in the end for this administration.
And you gotta hand it to them. They understand that they can fool many of the people much of the time with the right combination of speciously squishy soundbite-heavy jingoistic communication strategies (with the piquant taste of fear added for extra flavoring)—and boy do they use this knowledge to their advantage.
This is definitely a bottom-line administration—one whose policy has consistently been to cut funding and/or deregulate protections and hope for the best. After all, they can always hire publicity folks to sugarcoat the damage when the chickens/attorney generals who fire US attorneys of who poutyboy does not approve/illegal prisoners/torture victims/maimed soldiers/legislators/lobbyists/crumbling bridges/bursting levees come home to roost.
In other news, did anyone else note that Army officials actually accused Pat Tillman’s parents of being unChristian when they questioned the lies they were being told about their son’s death?
That’s right folks—our government’s response to their grief and desire for answers was to shift the blame to the grief-stricken parents of the Armed Services' poster boy whom our own soldiers killed (oopsie!)—and they did this by questioning whether or not the Tillmans are religious enough.
As if!
But I digress. We were talking about Michael Moore and how he, in a moment of true marketing genius, placed a copy of SiCKO (which premiers next week at Cannes) in a “safe house”—not to be confused with one of Bush&Co’s blood-spattered black houses—in another country “to protect it from government interference.”
Hey, Michael, why not seize the opportunity to market your flick?
I mean, if the government is going to harass someone who points out the administration’s blatant failings—What up, guys? Michael didn’t have a convenient wife whose secret identity Dick could reveal?—then why not pay a fine for your transgressions, then use the harassment to promote your film?
Sounds like a good marketing strategy to me.
Huh. I guess Cheney is still ticked off about Fahrenheit 9/11.
Meanwhile, back at the Oh Holy Shit um I mean Oh Holy Cross Ranch, the Christianists are calling for a boycott of Ford products because Ford supports PFLAG and an upcoming Out at Work session.
The repug protest of the Matthew Shepherd Act might be paying off too, since Bush is vowing to veto the act.
So now’s the time folks. Register your support so that the Christianists don’t leave the world with the impression that all Americans condone hate.
If enough people contact their legislators, then maybe Bush won’t get away with it.
LISTENING TO Holly Near’s “I Am Open”
READING “Michael Moore Faces U.S. Treasury Probe,” by David Germain, Yahoo! News, 5/10/2007. See here.
BEST OF SPAM: you have already won
276. AMERICAN FAMILY (AND SPECIOUS REASONING) ASSOCIATION
From the Archive (8 May 2007) The American (Very Narrowly Defined) Family (and Specious Reasoning) Association forwarded to me a "list of representatives who voted to give homosexuals special rights," along with this message:
Senior citizens, children, and pregnant women are perhaps more vulnerable to physical assault, but this is generally based on perceived vulnerabilities, not hate.
People would perhaps be more prone to assault these folks because of a perceived belief that they would be unable to defend themselves, but such a case does not involve assaulting a person because of his or her political views or life choices.
Court witnesses are, of course, already protected.
And, lookie, here's yet another example of the repugs trying to classify the unborn as viable human beings.
(Acorn. Tree. They're the same, right?)
The Christianists clearly knew that these unparallel groups were inappropriate for this legislation too, otherwise they would NEVER have considered throwing in pregnant women.
I mean, come on, do they WANT to be charged with a hate crime every time they harass a woman who wishes to end her pregnancy?
If this legislation passes, then could they be charged with a hate-crime assault every time they attempt to bar a woman entrance to a Planned Parenthood clinic. Inquiring minds want to know.
Dear Demiurgicgrrrl,Umm. Where do I begin?
Below is a list of representatives who voted in favor of the Hate Crimes Act which gives homosexuals special rights not given to others. Homosexuals are considered a “protected class” under the bill.An attempt was made to add senior citizens, pregnant women, prior victims, children under 18, the unborn, court witnesses and members of our armed forces to the bill, giving them the same “protected class” given homosexuals. The Democrats defeated all amendments, reserving the “protected class” for homosexuals only.
If your representative is listed below, please call and let him or her know that you will remember the vote in the next election.
You can reach your representative by calling 202-224-3121. Ask to be connected to your previously? representative. If you don’t know your representative, give the operator your address and you will be connect directly to his or her office.
Senior citizens, children, and pregnant women are perhaps more vulnerable to physical assault, but this is generally based on perceived vulnerabilities, not hate.
People would perhaps be more prone to assault these folks because of a perceived belief that they would be unable to defend themselves, but such a case does not involve assaulting a person because of his or her political views or life choices.
Court witnesses are, of course, already protected.
And, lookie, here's yet another example of the repugs trying to classify the unborn as viable human beings.
(Acorn. Tree. They're the same, right?)
The Christianists clearly knew that these unparallel groups were inappropriate for this legislation too, otherwise they would NEVER have considered throwing in pregnant women.
I mean, come on, do they WANT to be charged with a hate crime every time they harass a woman who wishes to end her pregnancy?
If this legislation passes, then could they be charged with a hate-crime assault every time they attempt to bar a woman entrance to a Planned Parenthood clinic. Inquiring minds want to know.
275. NOW THAT'S A REAL HATE CRIME!
From the Archives (5 May 2007) I subscribe to the American Family Association's (AFA) action alert service so that I can alert my progressive friends to the need to counter fundie protests. Hence I know that the Christianists really have their panties in a wad this week.
The fundies are worried SICK about the possibility of the Hate Crimes Act actually passing, so yesterday they urged folks to ask PrezBush to veto the act should it reach his desk.
The AFA also warned religious brethren that they will no longer be able to spew their hatred in church or on the Web or in a public setting without being arrested unless if they fail to successfully defeat this act.
Reasonable people would say that folks who target victims because of their sexual orientation should be charged with a hate crime, since these people are committing an act of hatred—remind me to tell you all about the joys of having queer spray-painted onto your car when you’re sixteen years old and living in a small southern town if you doubt that—but the AFA insists that "liberal leaders" just want to extend special rights to us queer folks.
(No. No. You're confused. Special rights are those things that you and your ilk extend only to heterosexuals who fall in love.)
So. Today the AFA has taken a particularly dishonorable stand and resorted to equating pedophilia with queer love.
(Yes, yes, I suppose you could get the two confused, since the government insists on placing the names of queers who engage in consensual sex on the same sex0offender lists as the men who kidnap and molest your toddlers.)
Yep. Today's Action Alert warns that, since the definition of sexual orientation is not spelled out in the act, Christians will be forced to stop discriminating against ANY form of sexual orientation.
Then (because they're nothing if not thorough), the AFA includes the following list of sexual orientations (er sex crimes)—a list that the logic-challenged will no doubt assume lists acts that will be protected under the Hate Crimes Act.
(Note how many times queer people crop up, when most sex crimes are committed by heterosexual men.)
Interesting that lewdness is defined as a sexual orientation too.
The um good folks at Don Wildmon's wet-n-wild ranch would have you believe that this is really a 'Thought Control Bill," but no one is saying that people can be charged with a hate crime for what they think.
So listen up, Bubba: we're talking actions here.
It's your ACTIONS, how you express your bigotry, that are being put on notice. Spewing hatred has real consequences and your campaign against queers causes real crimes.
And you don't get to violate other people's rights just because you don't approve of their choices.
Capiche?
Okay. Life will be saner after this weekend, when my chorus's concert and my (gulp) duet are behind me.
(The first performance went fine, despite my stage fright, and a woman in the audience even told me that my cello-rich voice brought tears to her eyes.)
Sweet, huh?
The fundies are worried SICK about the possibility of the Hate Crimes Act actually passing, so yesterday they urged folks to ask PrezBush to veto the act should it reach his desk.
The AFA also warned religious brethren that they will no longer be able to spew their hatred in church or on the Web or in a public setting without being arrested unless if they fail to successfully defeat this act.
Reasonable people would say that folks who target victims because of their sexual orientation should be charged with a hate crime, since these people are committing an act of hatred—remind me to tell you all about the joys of having queer spray-painted onto your car when you’re sixteen years old and living in a small southern town if you doubt that—but the AFA insists that "liberal leaders" just want to extend special rights to us queer folks.
(No. No. You're confused. Special rights are those things that you and your ilk extend only to heterosexuals who fall in love.)
So. Today the AFA has taken a particularly dishonorable stand and resorted to equating pedophilia with queer love.
(Yes, yes, I suppose you could get the two confused, since the government insists on placing the names of queers who engage in consensual sex on the same sex0offender lists as the men who kidnap and molest your toddlers.)
Yep. Today's Action Alert warns that, since the definition of sexual orientation is not spelled out in the act, Christians will be forced to stop discriminating against ANY form of sexual orientation.
Then (because they're nothing if not thorough), the AFA includes the following list of sexual orientations (er sex crimes)—a list that the logic-challenged will no doubt assume lists acts that will be protected under the Hate Crimes Act.
(Note how many times queer people crop up, when most sex crimes are committed by heterosexual men.)
Interesting that lewdness is defined as a sexual orientation too.
SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS
Coprophilia—sexual arousal associated with feces
Exhibitionism—the act of exposing one's genitals to an unwilling observer to obtain sexual gratification
Fetishism/Sexual Fetishism—obtaining sexual excitement primarily or exclusively from an inanimate object or a particular part of the body
Frotteurism—approaching an unknown woman from the rear and pressing or rubbing the penis against her buttocks
Gay/Homosexual—people who form sexual relationships primarily or exclusively with members of their own gender
Gerontosexuality—distinct preference for sexual relationships primarily or exclusively with an elderly partner
Incest—sex with a sibling or parent
Kleptophilia—obtaining sexual excitement from stealing
Klismaphilia—erotic pleasure derived from enemas
Lesbian—a homosexual female
Lewdness—sexually unchaste; inciting to lust or debauchery
Masturbation—erotic stimulation of one's own genitals
Necrophilia—sexual arousal and/or activity with a corpse
Paraphilia—a condition in which a person's sexual arousal and gratification depend on fantasizing about and engaging in sexual behavior that is atypical and extreme
Partialism—A fetish in which a person is sexually attracted to a specific body part exclusive of the person
Pederasty—Sex between an adult and a child, usually an adult male and a male child
Pedophilia—Sexual contact between an adult and a child—Bisexual Pedophilia—term used for an adult who derives sexual gratification from sexual contact with a child without regard to the sex of the child
Heterosexual Pedophilia—term used for an adult who derives sexual gratification from sexual contact with a child of the opposite sex
Gay Pedophilia—term used for a male adult who derives sexual gratification from sexual contact with a child of the same sex
Lesbian Pedophilia—term used for a female adult who derives sexual gratification from sexual contact with a child of the same sex
Prostitution—the act or practice of offering sexual stimulation or intercourse for money
Sexual Masochism—obtaining sexual gratification by being subjected to pain or humiliation
Sexual Sadism—the intentional infliction of pain or humiliation on another person in order to achieve sexual excitement
Telephone Scatalogia—sexual arousal associated with making or receiving obscene phone calls
Toucherism—characterized by a strong desire to touch the breast or genitals of an unknown woman without her consent; often occurs in conjunction with other paraphilia
Transsexual—a person whose gender identity is different from his or her anatomical gender
Transvestite—a person who is sexually stimulated or gratified by wearing the clothes of the other gender
Urophilia—sexual arousal associated with urine
Voyeurism—obtaining sexual arousal by observing people without their consent when they are undressed or engaged in sexual activity
Zoophilia/Bestiality—engaging in sexual activity with animals
The um good folks at Don Wildmon's wet-n-wild ranch would have you believe that this is really a 'Thought Control Bill," but no one is saying that people can be charged with a hate crime for what they think.
So listen up, Bubba: we're talking actions here.
It's your ACTIONS, how you express your bigotry, that are being put on notice. Spewing hatred has real consequences and your campaign against queers causes real crimes.
And you don't get to violate other people's rights just because you don't approve of their choices.
Capiche?
Okay. Life will be saner after this weekend, when my chorus's concert and my (gulp) duet are behind me.
(The first performance went fine, despite my stage fright, and a woman in the audience even told me that my cello-rich voice brought tears to her eyes.)
Sweet, huh?
274. INTIMATING POETRY
From the Archives (18 April 2007)
But you’re right. Innocent people are dying violently and our public policies do drive (or at least contribute to) this continued violence.
Lawdgawd these are sobering times. And the sad reality is that survivors will now flash back to bloody VTU or Columbine or Amish classrooms when the slightest trigger reminds them of them of the slaughter they survived.
Maybe it's a solidarity thing, but the fact that the shooter was an English major—someone who wrote plays and poems, used a creative venue to try to give voice to the chaos and psychosis and violence that terrorized him—bothers me too.
"It was not bad poetry. It was intimidating," poet Nikki Giovanni said of his violent writing (after she kicked him out of her poetry class because he intimidated other writers).
Yeah. Psychotic people are intimidating. And potentially dangerous.
And NEED TREATMENT.
When the killer wrote, was he using language to sort through the chaos, to explore his anger à la Larry Brown? Or was he using language as a vehicle for creating a virtual world where violence reigns and paranoid megalomaniacal fantasies can run unfettered?
The jaded self-loathing part of me says, Well, at least the guy was trying to get in touch with his anger—which is more than I can say for this scattered writer, who paid boocoodles of money to complete graduate writing studies at a private institution and even dared to call herself a writer once upon a time, but who has since sunk into the tepid managerial workaholic waters that, way too often, numb my feelings in the name of higher efficiency (and the occasional night of sleep).
And what's my excuse for not updating this blog in so long?
Well, the truth is simple.
The trade-off is good though and I am drawing up plans for a poetry shack that will help me find some precious time alone eventually.
Take a step back for a moment and think about how frightening those shootings at VA Tech were yesterday, and then consider—painful though it may be to do so—that Iraqis face that kind of massacre every day, and they have done so for several years. ...Um. One example is a contained and theoretically safe place of learning with a safety department assigned to protect folks, and one example is an entire country that's at war being bomboarded by soldiers who signed up for the armed services.
32 people died in Virginia on Monday and 65 perished in separate attacks in Iraq the day before. The latter hardly made the news.—Joshua Holland
But you’re right. Innocent people are dying violently and our public policies do drive (or at least contribute to) this continued violence.
Lawdgawd these are sobering times. And the sad reality is that survivors will now flash back to bloody VTU or Columbine or Amish classrooms when the slightest trigger reminds them of them of the slaughter they survived.
Maybe it's a solidarity thing, but the fact that the shooter was an English major—someone who wrote plays and poems, used a creative venue to try to give voice to the chaos and psychosis and violence that terrorized him—bothers me too.
"It was not bad poetry. It was intimidating," poet Nikki Giovanni said of his violent writing (after she kicked him out of her poetry class because he intimidated other writers).
Yeah. Psychotic people are intimidating. And potentially dangerous.
And NEED TREATMENT.
When the killer wrote, was he using language to sort through the chaos, to explore his anger à la Larry Brown? Or was he using language as a vehicle for creating a virtual world where violence reigns and paranoid megalomaniacal fantasies can run unfettered?
The jaded self-loathing part of me says, Well, at least the guy was trying to get in touch with his anger—which is more than I can say for this scattered writer, who paid boocoodles of money to complete graduate writing studies at a private institution and even dared to call herself a writer once upon a time, but who has since sunk into the tepid managerial workaholic waters that, way too often, numb my feelings in the name of higher efficiency (and the occasional night of sleep).
And what's my excuse for not updating this blog in so long?
Well, the truth is simple.
1. I am so freaking busy with my new boss that I don't have the luxury of insight right now;My reality is that acclimating to life with Danishgrrrl (and her three kids, one dog, one cat, one bird, and frequent need to process) feels, in general, like an exercise in giving up all hope of time for reflection.
2. Danishgrrrl sometimes reads my back entries and becomes upset by my descriptions of previous lovers, and then compares these experiences to our hectic life together while doubting my commitment to her;
3. I am too scattered to even think much these days and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight short of quitting my job.
The trade-off is good though and I am drawing up plans for a poetry shack that will help me find some precious time alone eventually.
273. SATIRICAL BONBONS AND THE GHOST OF JONATHAN SWIFT
From the Archives (16 January 2007) “If you’re dealing with the ugly social issues of our time, why not serve them up as a delicious bonbon?” asks Julien Nitzberg, clever librettist for The Beastly Bombing (or a Terrible Tale of Terrorists Tamed by Tangles of True Love).
I haven’t written a Gilbert-and-Sullivanlike satirical operetta involving skinheads and al Qaeda operatives who sing “I Hate Jews” while plotting to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge recently, but do find myself in the awkward position of trying to define if and when satire can cross that proverbial line, particularly when it comes to children.
See, I watched South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut with Bugboy recently—or rather he watched it as I designed then printed then trimmed then numbered my chorus’s concert tickets and dance tickets and raffle tickets while looking up every now and again to watch the antics.
Bugboy and I laughed when the devil, who was unhappy about his relationship, picked up Satan is from Mars, Saddam is from Venus. We laughed when Eric sang “Kyle’s mom’s a bitch, she’s a big fat bitch” (and yes, I do understand fat issues and am aware of just how many girls and women starve themselves on a regular basis in an attempt to conform to our stupid misguided cultural norms).
We laughed when Terrance sang the infamous La La La La . And we laughed when Mr. er Ms. Garrison showed up for class with her balding head and womanly earrings and funkdalagalactic dress, even though this image pokes fun at queers and, unbeknownst to Bugboy, his father.
Then Bugboy uttered the near-constant “Shut up you Jew” line—and, well, herein lies the problem with satire.
Some people—and not just half-grown chill'ren like Bugboy—believe that the quest for laughter gives them permission to use a racist or sexist or heterosexist line that was uttered for satirical emphasis in a different context.
Not funny.
I like to think that most of us recognize the difference between satire and insult, but it’s clear that we need to discuss these nuances with Bugboy.
Free expression keeps thinking people sharp and questioning. Uncensored reflection doused with a healthy disrespect of convention is vital to good art and good democracy and good cogitation too. Satire reveals connections that lectures and so-called PC behavior obfuscate. And we all know that censorship is employed to force acquiescence, obedience.
I appreciate how well South Park’s writers reflect the more ridiculous aspects of our culture. They leave no stone unturned, which is as it should be. That’s why their cultural jabs are so right on.
The writers get their point across succinctly when they do such things as name the lone black student Token. Their depiction of Starvin’ Marvin, the Ethiopian who would rather live on another planet, and the lisping Big Gay Al and his island for misfit queer animals highlight what our policies and assumptions can do to real people.
One of my favorite South Park episodes involves the children turning against the rainforest because they get so many bug bites there.
Then there’s that dangerous smug cloud that stretches from LA to South Park CO after George Clooney gives his awards speech. The cloud grows stronger and more dangerous each time a Prius owner opens his or her mouth too.
(And yeah, we all know that global warming and deforestation are big deals, but these episodes are just too goddamn funny for words.)
Years ago, I helped project the Mapplethorpe exhibit onto an exterior wall of the Corcoran after the museum cancelled the show because I was so pissed that the board bowed to Helms’ censorship pressure. I don’t want to show Mapplethorpe’s arm-fucking photo to my partner’s eleven-year-old though.
I haven’t written a Gilbert-and-Sullivanlike satirical operetta involving skinheads and al Qaeda operatives who sing “I Hate Jews” while plotting to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge recently, but do find myself in the awkward position of trying to define if and when satire can cross that proverbial line, particularly when it comes to children.
See, I watched South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut with Bugboy recently—or rather he watched it as I designed then printed then trimmed then numbered my chorus’s concert tickets and dance tickets and raffle tickets while looking up every now and again to watch the antics.
Bugboy and I laughed when the devil, who was unhappy about his relationship, picked up Satan is from Mars, Saddam is from Venus. We laughed when Eric sang “Kyle’s mom’s a bitch, she’s a big fat bitch” (and yes, I do understand fat issues and am aware of just how many girls and women starve themselves on a regular basis in an attempt to conform to our stupid misguided cultural norms).
We laughed when Terrance sang the infamous La La La La . And we laughed when Mr. er Ms. Garrison showed up for class with her balding head and womanly earrings and funkdalagalactic dress, even though this image pokes fun at queers and, unbeknownst to Bugboy, his father.
Then Bugboy uttered the near-constant “Shut up you Jew” line—and, well, herein lies the problem with satire.
Some people—and not just half-grown chill'ren like Bugboy—believe that the quest for laughter gives them permission to use a racist or sexist or heterosexist line that was uttered for satirical emphasis in a different context.
Not funny.
I like to think that most of us recognize the difference between satire and insult, but it’s clear that we need to discuss these nuances with Bugboy.
Free expression keeps thinking people sharp and questioning. Uncensored reflection doused with a healthy disrespect of convention is vital to good art and good democracy and good cogitation too. Satire reveals connections that lectures and so-called PC behavior obfuscate. And we all know that censorship is employed to force acquiescence, obedience.
I appreciate how well South Park’s writers reflect the more ridiculous aspects of our culture. They leave no stone unturned, which is as it should be. That’s why their cultural jabs are so right on.
The writers get their point across succinctly when they do such things as name the lone black student Token. Their depiction of Starvin’ Marvin, the Ethiopian who would rather live on another planet, and the lisping Big Gay Al and his island for misfit queer animals highlight what our policies and assumptions can do to real people.
One of my favorite South Park episodes involves the children turning against the rainforest because they get so many bug bites there.
Then there’s that dangerous smug cloud that stretches from LA to South Park CO after George Clooney gives his awards speech. The cloud grows stronger and more dangerous each time a Prius owner opens his or her mouth too.
(And yeah, we all know that global warming and deforestation are big deals, but these episodes are just too goddamn funny for words.)
Years ago, I helped project the Mapplethorpe exhibit onto an exterior wall of the Corcoran after the museum cancelled the show because I was so pissed that the board bowed to Helms’ censorship pressure. I don’t want to show Mapplethorpe’s arm-fucking photo to my partner’s eleven-year-old though.
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