| christian grantham | |||
| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later was a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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latest postsSeptember 30, 2004
OK, how did we do? I want to thank Ben for pointing out that C-SPAN carried the entire debate SPLIT SCREEN. C-SPAN rocks!
Bush looked off his game on the split screen. He looked pissed. He looked like a guy who hasn't faced criticism, much less the facts, in four years, and John Kerry put it to him. John Kerry did an awesome job and presented his case and the differences. If you get a chance later to re-watch the debate, do it on C-SPAN.
filed under: 2004 Debates
September 30, 2004
The letter was released by the White House on the eve of the first presidential debate, in Miami on Thursday, between Bush and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran.In the one-page "Tender of Resignation," Bush hand-wrote the following reason for resigning: "Inadequate time to fullfill (sic) possible future commitments."
[Document: Bush Leaves Military Service - Reuters - 09-30-04]
We need a Commander in Chief with a life pattern of making time to fullfill committments.
also read: Why the debate over Vietnam matters
filed under: For The Record
September 30, 2004
President Bush can thank Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX) for helping take away three votes for President Bush in the state of Texas. Today's indictments of DeLay's close colleagues are the latest dominoes to fall around DeLay's crumbling grip on a clear conscience. If Texas justice is truly swift, maybe Tom Delay will be the fourth convicted felon in an illegal, power-hungry money laundering scheme.
The three defendants might want to take the advice of Gregg Cox and "suggest to investigators that they were hardly acting on their own personal whims."
That should not offer much comfort to DeLay. The three defendants so far include DeLay aide Jim Ellis, his chief Austin liaison in the long-running re-redistricting battle at the Capitol last year (although he then briefly attempted to evade legal action by claiming he's a stranger to Texas). Ellis is accused of the first-degree felony of money laundering in connection with $190,000 in corporate ("soft") TRMPAC funds that were contributed to the Republican National Committee and then apparently returned to Texas legislative campaigns as individual ("hard") money donations.The TRMPAC executive director, John Colyandro, a former assistant to George W. Bush political advisor Karl Rove, is also accused of money laundering, as well as 13 counts of unlawfully accepting corporate contributions.
Warren RoBold, a national GOP fundraiser who solicited money for TRMPAC from several of the indicted corporations, is facing nine third-degree felony charges of "making and accepting" prohibited corporate contributions. It doesn't seem too far a stretch to speculate that, faced with potential punishments ranging from heavy fines to imprisonment (a first-degree felony, said Cox, "is punishable by five to 95 years or life in prison"), Ellis, Colyandro, and RoBold may want to suggest to investigators that they were hardly acting on their own personal whims.
[TRMPAC Indictments Come Down, 'More Work' Remains - Austin Chronicle - 09-30-04]
filed under: Scandal
September 30, 2004
227 for (192-R / 36-D) and 186 against (27-R / 158-D). The bill fails to get two-thirds majority. The 227 that voted for this amendment are a disgrace to American principles of fairness and equality.
"Years from now people will look back on this debate with the same incredulity as we do today for the ban on interracial marriage" said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D- NY)."If any member of this House feels that by letting gay and lesbian couples who love each other marry it would somehow endanger or threaten their own marriage would they please explain how that could be. Any takers," Nadler challenged GOP lawmakers.
[Gay Marriage Amendment Fails - 365gay.com - 09-30-04]
10-01-04 - Title corrected per Dave's comment. Thanks Dave!
filed under: Equal Marriage Rights
September 30, 2004
For all the rediculous stonewalling by Iranian Mullahs of unyeilding internal forces for freedom, Iran seems to have a more progressive view and treatment of transgender people than America.
Transsexuals face rejection and mockery in whatever state of gender they are in, and more often than not are simply branded homosexual - a criminal offence in Iran where the law allows for persistent offenders to be punished with death.But perhaps surprisingly in Iran, there now exists an accepted and religiously approved procedure for those wanting to change their sex - illustrated by the ticket to femininity Javad now proudly brandishes.
"A sex change operation for Javad D., aged 27, due to a disorder of gender identity, is authorised," states the permit from a doctor in the state medical office.
And once several years of painful operations and hormone treatments are completed, Javad will also be able to start his new life as a "she" with an officially changed birth certificate and national identity card.
The state health organisation may also subsidise his operations. Hessam A. Khatir, a 76-year-old Tehran-based plastic surgeon, said a complete female to male operation costs up to 7,500 dollars (6,000 euros) and a male to female op up to 3,700 dollars (3,000 euros).
According to campaigners for the rights of transsexuals in the Islamic republic, the first Iranian Shiite cleric to give the green light for such operations was none other than Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, before he became the father of the Islamic regime.
[Iran's transsexuals get Islamic approval, but! - Middle East Online - 09-30-04]
filed under:
September 30, 2004
The U.S. House of Representatives is currently debating a bill seeking to amend the United States Constition to deny equal marriage rights to gays and lesbians. Let's take into account the desires of some to hold them accountable for thier votes. Let's hold them accountable to our nation's higher principles of fairness and equality.
"Thursday's vote in the House of Representatives on the 'Marriage Protection Amendment' will be one of the most important votes in Congress in my lifetime," said Christian Coalition President Roberta Combs in a press release."Members of Congress are going to be held accountable for their votes, not only in this election but in future elections as well. We are asking every Member to secure the future for our children and grandchildren by voting yes on the Marriage Protection Act."
[House to Vote Thursday on Marriage Protection Act - CNS - 09-30-04]
Let's not forget Senate Republicans foolishly proclaiming just months ago that denying equal marriage rights is the "ultimate homeland security." History will also hold them accountable for their audacious state of national priorities in an unprecedented time of war.
filed under: Equal Marriage Rights
September 30, 2004
Before the first Presidential debate begins this evening, check out the litany of ridiculous rules drawn up between both parties. I hope that both parties aim to break these stupid rules and have a real debate.
I'm very proud of the media proclaiming they will not abide by these silly rules, but don't count on them to defy their rampant laziness in fact checking the candidates. I mean, why on earth would they bite the hand that feeds them tens of millions of dollars in advertisements over the past year?
Afterward, drop your comments about what you thought of both candidates.
filed under: 2004 Debates
September 30, 2004
Shortly after the announced launch of LOGO, Traditional Values Coalition's Rev Lou Sheldon announced a boycott.
"Homosexuality is defined by sex, and this channel is bound to take us into new, dirty unchartered waters. For my part, TVC will participate with other pro-family groups in the boycott of any advertisers on this new channel"
[TVC Announces Boycott Of Homosexual TV Channel Advertisers - TVC - 05-25-04]
The "other pro-family groups" are chiming in. After an August American Family Association Journal piece on Viacom's LOGO, a letter to the editor appeared in the Mississippi Press.
God did not make a mistake when he created men and women. He created men and women. He did not make a third human and say, "This one can go either way." One thing He did do was to give each human "free will" -- a "free will" that is severely abused by humans and includes murder, abortion, free sex and numerous other violations against society and against God.It is time to get involved -- time to voice objection and show our disapproval of the trash entering our homes via television, music, computers, etc. Make some phone calls, boycott the sponsors/advertisers of trash. Yes, even boycott Disney World for their support for the pro-homosexual agenda through corporate practices.
['Trash' on MTV - Mississippi Press - Janet DeForrest - 09-01-04]
Janet DeForrest ended her letter asking readers to join AFA and call the local cable carrier and demand they refuse LOGO. She was clearly upset by American Family Association President Tim Wildmon's assertion that LOGO will present sex to children.
"The homosexual community doesn’t have a common language, or music or food. The only thing ‘gays’ and lesbians all have in common is their same-sex proclivities," he said. "You can rest assured that sex will quickly become a major theme on Logo.""That means parents have to worry about kids scanning past a channel with 24-hour-a-day homosexual programming on their way to watching cartoons," said Wildmon.
[Viacom/MTV to launch 'gay' TV network - AFA Journal - 08-04]
Since then, others have expresssed a desire to boycott LOGO.
"If you think that the public will just sit back and accept this type of trash programming, then you are dead wrong! Any advertisers associated with this will be boycotted, guaranteed! You can tell your advertisers that! Enough is enough! There is enough coverage for gay and lesbian lifestyles on the air now! Put it in the mainstream and you will lose in every way." Brad S. - Wilmington, DE
[CNS - 06-14-04]
also read: I Want My LOGO TV?
filed under: Media
September 30, 2004
As the MOBO awards go on in the UK tonight at the Royal Albert Hall, you'll notice the nominations of Vybz Kartel and Elephant Man have been withdrawn for their inflamatory lyrics advocating the brutal murder of gays and lesbians. You'll also notice Outkast, Usher and Alicia Keys have declined their invites.
Take a look at Jamaica's violently anti-gay environment that has found expression in these and other Jamaican acts. If you are thinking about a vacation in Jamaica, maybe this will give you second thoughts.
It is like living in Afghanistan under the Taliban," says Richard, a 28-year-old gay Jamaican. "I wake up in the morning not knowing whether today I will live or die." Richard is lucky. He is still alive. But he bears huge scars from a machete attack by a homophobic mob. Jamaican police stood by and allowed the crowd to chop at him like a piece of butcher's meat.Amazingly, Richard survived. Others are less fortunate. The Jamaica Gleaner newspaper reported a gay man being chased by vigilantes into a Baptist church. Cornered near the altar, he pleaded for his life. They pumped him full of bullets.
In June, in Montego Bay, a man was beaten to death - with police acquiescence. He was accused of "looking" at another male. There was no proof that he was gay, but mere suspicion was justification enough for killing him.
A few years ago, the Jamaican media reported that a Gay Pride march was scheduled in the capital, Kingston. Hundreds of people wielding guns, machetes, clubs and knives turned up at the starting point. They had come to kill the "battymen" (a patois term of abuse meaning "queers" or "faggots"). The police turned up, too - not to protect the marchers, but to help murder them.
Under Jamaican law, homosexuality is a crime punishable by ten years' hard labour. Men who sexually abuse girls in their early teens face a maximum of seven years in jail. Queer-bashing victims cannot go to the police for help, because officers are likely to abuse, assault and arrest them. Amnesty International confirms that gay men and lesbians have been "beaten, cut, burned, raped and shot on account of their sexuality". Jamaican police, instead of assisting the victims, are often themselves guilty of homophobic "violence and torture", says Amnesty.
Gay people taken to hospital after being queer-bashed sometimes have to face the ordeal of hostile doctors and nurses. Badly injured victims of gay-bashing have been insulted by hospital staff and made to wait nearly 24 hours for medical treatment.
[New Statesmen - Black and Gay and Hunted - 10-04-04]
filed under: Media
September 29, 2004
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan couldn't bear hearing that UK Prime Minister Tony Blair had the balls to apologize to his nation for taking them to war on false pretense.
Take a look at McClellan doing a pathetic dodge ball routine when pressed by questions as to whether President Bush will also apologize. Scott McClellan blatantly lies saying over and over that the President has already said "this" and "that," but he won't say what "this" and "that" is.
QUESTION: Tony Blair has apologized for the evidence that brought the country into war against Iraq, apologizing since apparently some of it was wrong. Do you think the President will also apologize?MR. McCLELLAN: The President has already talked about what Prime Minister Blair said. The President said we all thought we were going to find the stockpiles, and we're surprised that we did not. But also look at what Prime Minister Blair said and what the President has said: It was the right decision to go in and remove Saddam Hussein's regime from power; he was a threat that we could no longer afford to ignore and let -- and let him continue to deceive the world.
QUESTION: Was it appropriate to apologize?
MR. McCLELLAN: The President has already spoken to that issue, John. So he's already said that --
QUESTION: Did he apologize?
MR. McCLELLAN: He's already said that, I thought we would have found the stockpiles.
QUESTION: That's not an apology.
QUESTION: Is that an apology?
MR. McCLELLAN: Dick, he's already addressed this issue. It's the same -- Prime Minister Blair said what he's been saying, too. We all expected to find the stockpiles, but the decision to remove Saddam Hussein, as Prime Minister Blair reiterated again yesterday, was the right decision, because he was a threat and the world is better off with Saddam Hussein removed from power. And that's --
QUESTION: Can you say that's more an explanation or an apology? I don't think the statements are --
MR. McCLELLAN: The President said this quite some time ago, he spoke to this very issue quite some time ago. He said the same thing -- Prime Minister Blair said we all thought we were going to find the stockpiles. We all thought we were going to find the stockpiles. But it was the right decision to remove Saddam Hussein --
QUESTION: Where is the word sorry?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- from power, and that we're better off -- and we're better off because of it.
QUESTION: -- into a place where you use words like --
MR. McCLELLAN: I'd be glad to show you where he said that we all expected to.
QUESTION: It's the contrition --
MR. McCLELLAN: I think he's already said --
QUESTION: There's no apology.
MR. McCLELLAN: He's already talked to this very issue, Jodi.
[White House Press Briefing - Air Force One - 09-29-04]
filed under: White House Press Briefing
September 29, 2004
"I would guess if we had gone in there, I would still have forces in Baghdad today. We'd be running the country. We would not have been able to get everybody out and bring everybody home."And the final point that I think needs to be made is this question of casualties. I don't think you could have done all of that without significant additional U.S. casualties. And while everybody was tremendously impressed with the low cost of the (1991) conflict, for the 146 Americans who were killed in action and for their families, it wasn't a cheap war.
"And the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam (Hussein) worth? And the answer is not that damned many. So, I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the president made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq."
[Defense Secretary Dick Cheney - Discovery Institute in Seattle - 1992]
filed under: Flip-Flops
September 29, 2004
Martin Kozloff, a professor of Education at the University of North Carolina, is nervous. "Christian, I'm going to get fired," Kozloff told me in a long phone conversation.
He might be right. Earlier today, a blogger named Ed Cone posted excerpts of a post to HorseFeathers that Kozloff later admitted was his. The post was a long rant about defending our country from terrorists, and the excerpts are startling.
Ordinary Americans are arming themselves for war with you. I and many of my friends have closets full of handguns, rifles, shotguns and thousands of cartridges. If we had enough ammunition and time, we would kill every last one of you.One day soon, our planes and missiles will begin turning your mosques, your madrasses, your hotels, your government offices, your hideouts, and your neighborhoods into rubble.
And then our soldiers will enter your cities and begin the work of killing you, roaches, as you crawl from the debris.
And if you come to this country and harm a child, shoot a mother, hijack a bus, or bomb a mall, we will do what we did in 1775. Millions of us will form militias. We will burn your mosques. We will invade the offices of pro-arab-muslim organizations, destroy them, and drag their officers outside.
We will tell the chancellors of universities either to muzzle or remove anti American professors, whose hatred for their own country we have tolerated only because we place a higher value on freedom of speech. But we will no longer tolerate treason. We will muzzle and remove them.
We will transport arab-muslims to our deserts, where they can pray to scorpions under the blazing sun. You have fucked with the wrong people. We will rid the world of your foul breath. Your caliphate will be your grave.
[HorseFeathers - LETTER TO OUR ENEMIES - Martin Kozloff - 09-25-04]
After two days of the post remaining anonymous, Professor Mark Kozloff identified himself and took credit for the post.
It's more than nice to know that my feelings are shared by so many other folks--most of whom have served their nation longer and better than I.For a long time I've become more and more alien to my (former) friends, and they to me. Unless there is something fundamentally different in how we make sense of things, I can only believe that they have never allowed themselves (never "lowered" themselves enough) to imagine what it would feel like to jump out of the Twin Towers to avoid being burned to death, and never listened to a man scream through his bleeding neck stump after being butchered before the camera.
Even my dear wife has begun to suspect that "Martin may be obsessing about this war and about combat." Why, she actually insists that I NOT have a loaded .45 at the dinner table! [So, I just carry it concealed.]
[Posted by: Martin Kozloff at September 27, 2004 10:45 PM]
"I am afraid for our Democracy. The same thing that is happening to our country happened to Athens and Rome," Kozloff told OutletRadio.com in a phone interview. "People are writing the Chancellor and trying to take my job away over this. This is supposed to be a Democracy."
Kozloff distanced himself from his post, and a later post claiming authorship, suggesting the post was a literary device in the vein of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal," which satirically advocated the Irish fight famine by eating children.
"I wrote this to a friend, Steve Rittenberg, hoping it would get people to look at themselves. The letter was sociological in intent. It was a literary device to get readers to examine their own assumptions," He added. In a later post, Kozloff wrote, "The letter was NOT my opinion. I was NOT advocating ANYTHING in that letter."
Shortly after the blogosphere echoed his post (EdCone | Atrios), and OutletRadio.com called, Kozloff posted long retraction saying, "I have NO hatred of Arabs or Muslims in general--only killers, as clearly stated in the letter."
filed under:
September 29, 2004
I spoke with Planet Out's Bryce Eberhart about last week's post regarding the October GAY.com billboard campaign. Bryce told me despite markets in Florida, Tennessee, Iowa, Arizona, Indiana and Wisconsin banning the billboard, he felt the campaign is appropriate for all of the markets.
"We were told that the Gay.com ads, which show less skin than most aftershave ads, did not meet community standards in the markets where they were rejected."
Bryce added that previous campaigns by GAY.com featured fishermen and cowboys. You'd think communities that have a problem with this billboard would have said something about the Village People spreading cheer with gay abandon for the past 20 years.
filed under: Media
September 29, 2004
Cable subscribers in Las Vegas are in for a rude awakening in February if they are anticipating Viacom's launch of the all gay cable channel LOGO. I just spoke with the editor of QVegas, Steve Moore, and he tells me Cox Cable will only carry the channel if the community expresses a demand for it.
This is an early example of what is sure to play out in smaller markets across the country. While larger markets will carry the channel despite interest, smaller markets will provide a strong indication of whether the gay and lesbian community really wants LOGO.
Is it time for a campaign reminiscent of George Lois and Dale Pon's "I Want My MTV?" The popular campaign, launched by MTV in the early 1980s, featured pop-stars proclaiming "I want My MTV!" The campaign was a response to cable carries refusing to carry the novel all-music channel. The campaign worked, and who can forget it?
According to Viacom, LOGO "will be advertiser-supported, targeting primarily gays and lesbians, 25-49, and will provide a mix of original and acquired programming that is authentic, smart, inclusive and open-minded."
LOGO's availability in larger markets, including Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Francisco, will be announced soon.
LAS VEGAS WANTS LOGO?
call Cox Communications-Customer Service
702-383-4000
filed under: Exclusives
, Media
September 29, 2004
To President Bush, those that know better about matters of war and Iraq are just "pessimists." That makes it easier for President Bush to dismiss reality and what intelligence has to say about committing troops to war in Iraq.
"The CIA laid out several scenarios that said life could be lousy, life could be OK, life could be better," Bush said. "And they were just guessing as to what the conditions might be like. The Iraqi citizens are defying the pessimistic predictions."
[Bush shrugs off his CIA skeptics - Newsday - 09-22-04]
Oh really? Here is what the "pessimists" told President Bush before the war. Why did the President of the United States mischaracterize these assessments to the American people?
The estimate came in two classified reports prepared for President Bush in January 2003 by the National Intelligence Council, an independent group that advises the director of central intelligence. The assessments predicted that an American-led invasion of Iraq would increase support for political Islam and would result in a deeply divided Iraqi society prone to violent internal conflict.One of the reports also warned of a possible insurgency against the new Iraqi government or American-led forces, saying that rogue elements from Saddam Hussein's government could work with existing terrorist groups or act independently to wage guerrilla warfare, the officials said. The assessments also said a war would increase sympathy across the Islamic world for some terrorist objectives, at least in the short run, the officials said.
The contents of the two assessments had not been previously disclosed. They were described by the officials after two weeks in which the White House had tried to minimize the council's latest report, which was prepared this summer and read by senior officials early this month.
[Prewar Assessment on Iraq Saw Chance of Strong Divisions - New York Times - 09-28-04]
Don't count of President Bush listening to the architect of our war in Iraq, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, either. Wolfowitz simply makes too much sense for President Bush's prefered reality.
Wolfowitz: -- there have always been three fundamental concerns. One is weapons of mass destruction, the second is support for terrorism, the third is the criminal treatment of the Iraqi people.The third one by itself, as I think I said earlier, is a reason to help the Iraqis but it's not a reason to put American kids' lives at risk, certainly not on the scale we did it.
[Paul Wolfowitz DoD Press Conference Transcript - 05-09-03]
filed under: Catastrophic Success
September 29, 2004
The first debate between President George W. Bush and his Democratic opponent Senator John Kerry on Thursday is setting up to be the most watched, most important of their three debates, and both camps are going public with their strategies.
The face-off is in Miami, and the main subject is Iraq. Two new national polls find more voters questioning the war and questioning President Bush's leadership on Iraq, but the polls find most voters still unwilling to switch to Kerry.
[Pres. Bush, Sen. Kerry making last min. preps for Thurs. debate - WISTV - 09-29-04]
filed under: Polls
September 29, 2004
My goodness. Are homosexual urges so prevelant among Nigeria's heterosexuals that it's triggered by colorful braids? The very idea is as absurd as arguements made in this country that protecting fairness and equality will turn our nation into a writhing orgy of gayness.
Many of Nigeria's top footballers, including national captain Jay-Jay Okocha and star striker Nwankwo Kanu, have their hair braided. In the late 1990s, defender Taribo West had his braids dyed in the national colours.
But some football officials seem to have had enough.
One senior football official has ordered the removal of any unacceptable braids from players' hair at an upcoming junior tournament. He says their fashion statements are not culturally acceptable and promoted homosexuality.
[Soccer hairstyles banned for being 'too gay' - IOL - 09-29-04]
filed under:
September 29, 2004
Joe Traigle clearly doesn't understand that free speech is protected by the United States Constitution. Perhaps Traigle should give it a good read. Protecting the right to free speech doesn't condone the message of those that excercise that right. It's a shame Traigle seeks to deny Jimmy Swaggart that right instead of doing his job as co-chair of Capital City Alliance by engaging a public dialogue on why Jimmy Swaggart is wrong.
At a news conference Tuesday, Capital City Alliance Co-Chairman Joseph Traigle announced he has asked both the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorney David Dugas of Baton Rouge to consider whether the ministry broke any federal tax laws.The alliance, in a letter to the IRS, does not cite any specific provision of the tax code.
The letter concludes "Common sense, and a fair IRS ruling would prevent the continuance of a tax-exempt privilege for any organization that believes in and verbalizes violence against American taxpaying citizens."
[Gay group challenges Swaggart tax status - Advocate - 09-29-04]
filed under: Free Speech
September 29, 2004
Ornstein is right. The fact that the base of the Republican Party thrives on fear and the desire to discriminate says it all. It also says to the American people that we have a choice in November of whether to embolden that base or whether to stand up for our country's founding principles of fairness and equality.
Norman Ornstein, a congressional analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the issue is being pushed by Republicans to energize their conservative base."The upside potential in convincing the Christian conservative community that Armageddon will come if John Kerry and Democrats are elected is greater than losing Log Cabin Republicans and some socially moderate Republicans," Ornstein said.
[House leader: Ban on gay marriage will fail - Indy Star - 09-28-04]
filed under: Political Subterfuge
September 28, 2004
The White House believes John Kerry's plan for Iraq would allow the enemy to "wait until we would withdraw troops" and then "continue their efforts to disrupt what is going on in Iraq." Call me stupid, but four years of reconstruction and building a police force while the enemy waits "until we would withdraw troops" doesn't sound like a bad plan to me. It must not have been too bad of an idea for President Bush to describe Kerry's idea as his own.
QUESTION: Karen was saying on some of the talk shows this morning, that it's clear to her that Kerry would be able to bring troops home . What's her thinking? What evidence does she have on that?MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Senator Kerry has spoken to that himself, and talked about pulling troops out beginning next year. And that's --
QUESTION: -- four years --
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and then over the course of what would be his term in office. It is the wrong message to send to our allies and to the Iraqi people, and, most importantly, to the enemy. All the enemy would have to do is wait until we would withdraw troops and then the next day they could continue their efforts to disrupt what is going on in Iraq -- which is our efforts to build a free and peaceful country for the Iraqi people, which will help make America more secure. This is about transforming the Middle East , which has been a very dangerous region of the world. We can no longer afford, in a post-September 11th world, to ignore the realities on the ground in the Middle East that have led to terrorists hijacking airplanes and flying them into buildings.
[White House Press Briefing - 09-28-04]
filed under: White House Press Briefing
September 28, 2004
Take a listen to Alan Keyes (Clip1 | Clip2) dodging questions about his daughter, Maya Keyes. These clips were provided by WBBM 780AM.
Keyes silent on gay daughter rumor - UPI via Washington Times - 09-28-04
also read: Archpundit, 3yearsofHell
filed under: Coming Out
September 28, 2004
Not all things said in Vegas, stay in Vegas. Here is what President Bush told the National Guard Association in Las Vegas September 14 about what he's doing for them in exchange for their service.
BUSH SPIN
"We're improving benefits and the quality of life for our nation's citizen-soldiers. We have expanded health care benefits for Guard and Reserve forces and their family members, giving them access to the military's TRICARE system for up to 90 days before they report and 180 days after deactivation -- and I will ask Congress to make that expansion permanent."
[President's Remarks to the General Conference of the National Guard Association of the United States - 09-14-04]
What the President failed to tell those serving our country is the truth, that President Bush refused to do as much as Democrats wanted. Instead of spending $10 billion over 5 years to take care of America's National Guard and their families through TRICARE, President Bush chose a miscalculated and reckless path that left those serving our country uninsured.
FACTS
The Graham-Daschle amendment again passed the Senate’s version of the FY 2005 Defense Authorization bill by a 75-to-25 margin, and again the Bush administration came out forcefully against it. The amendment contains two provisions, one which would make reservists and their families eligible for TRICARE coverage regardless of their mobilization status, and another that would require the Department of Defense to pay civilian health-care premiums for active-duty reservists, along with their dependents, who elect to maintain their civilian health-care plan.In all, the Pentagon estimates that this would cost a little less than $2 billion per year for the next five years. Though this is a relatively small amount by Pentagon standards, the Bush administration has expressed its hostility toward allocating Defense Department funds to pay for these provisions. In a letter to the Senate Arms Services Committee dated June 28, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz claimed that the costs of the Graham-Daschle amendment "could only come at the expense of other higher-priority defense needs."
[Some Gratitude - American Prospect - 09-28-04]
Do tax cuts count as higher priorities than taking care of the people who serve our country on the battlefield, Mr. President? What sacrifices are being asked of America's wealthiest 2% to take care of the families of the National Guard?
filed under: For The Record
September 28, 2004
He's launched a speaking tour, a 2 million piece mailer, his own website, and he isn't running for anything. George Soros wants to talk to you about why you should vote George W. Bush out of office.
Soros says he has vowed to do everything in his power to prevent Bush from winning re-election -- and Soros's power is considerable. He is chairman of New York-based Soros Fund Management LLC, which manages about $8 billion of his own wealth, and he has joined forces with Democratic Party allies in organized labor, the environmental movement and women's groups.
In July 2003, Soros kick-started a network of nonprofit political organizations with an $18.5 million contribution. "George was violent on this before a Democratic candidate was even chosen,'' says Byron Wien, senior investment strategist at Morgan Stanley and a close friend of Soros's. "It was anybody but Bush.''
[George Soros Bankrolls Voter Hunt in Swing States (Update1) - Bloomberg - 09-28-04]
filed under:
September 28, 2004
Crawford, TX, reporting for duty.
The Lone Star Iconoclast, which has a weekly circulation of 425, said in an editorial dated Sept. 29 that Texans should rate the candidates not by hometown or political party, but by where they intend to take the country."Four items trouble us the most about the Bush administration: his initiatives to disable the Social Security system, the deteriorating state of the American economy, a dangerous shift away from the basic freedoms established by our founding fathers, and his continuous mistakes regarding Iraq," the editorial said.
[Tiny Crawford Newspaper Endorses Kerry - AP - 09-28-04]
also read: Kicking Ass
filed under: For The Record
September 28, 2004
"Besides, since we've graduated from college, we're looking around for something to do for the next few years ... kind of like Dad."
[2004 RNC remarks by Barbara and Jenna Bush - 08-31-04]
Fewer than two-thirds of the former soldiers being reactivated for duty in Iraq and elsewhere have reported on time, prompting the Army to threaten some with punishment for desertion.The former soldiers, part of what is known as the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), are being recalled to fill shortages in skills needed for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Of the 1,662 ready reservists ordered to report to Fort Jackson, S.C., by Sept. 22, only 1,038 had done so, the Army said Monday. About 500 of those who failed to report have requested exemptions on health or personal grounds.
[Former soldiers slow to report - USA Today - 09-28-04]
filed under: Catastrophic Success
September 28, 2004
What would you think if the Operations Director for a prominent Republican Senate campaign sent an email to staff asking them to respond to a nigger who sent them a letter? Should they be fired?
Lisa Hall, chairwoman of the Central Savannah River Area Rainbow Alliance, which works to raise awareness of gay and lesbian issues, in July invited both Senate campaigns to an Oct. 7 town hall meeting to discuss issues of interest to gay voters.Democratic nominee Inez Tenenbaum promptly promised to send a representative, but after receiving no reply from the DeMint campaign, Hall sent a follow-up e-mail Monday.
[Ginny] Allen, apparently thinking she was forwarding the e-mail to someone inside the campaign, inadvertently replied to Hall. "Come on, fag, give this dike a reply," Allen wrote.
[DeMint aide rebuked for remark about gays - The State - 09-28-04]
filed under:
September 28, 2004
It didn't take long for the fruit cups on the right to attack California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He shouldn't take it personally. Afterall, these fruit cups are desperate to divert Americans from holding President Bush accountable for fiscal irresponsibility and deficit spending.
If that winning message was enough to bring California Republicans and Democrats together to recall Governor Gray Davis, it's enough to bring them together to recall George W. Bush.
"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must not be too troubled by what he's called 'girlie men' because he's just signed a bill into law that maintains 'sex' in California to include drag queens, cross-dressers and transsexuals," the Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition said in a statement. "Schwarzenegger has sided with the homosexual and drag queen lobby in muddying the biological realities of male and female."
[Arnold governing like a 'girlie man'? - WorldNetDaily - 09-28-04]
filed under: "W" is For Wackos
September 28, 2004
As predicted, the media wants to know how Alan Keyes can hold such dispicable positions on equality for gays and lesbians when he has a lesbian daughter. More importantly, America wants to know how Alan Keyes can hate such a beautiful daughter and powerful young lady that Maya Keyes is becoming.
At a Town Hall meeting Monday night on Chicago's Southside, the television, print and internet media almost outnumbered the black community members who came to hear Keyes emphasize the plight of the black community and answer audience issue questions at Chicago Southside's Israel Methodist Community Center.But the press was anticipating that Ambassador Keyes would break news Monday night in response to web-related questions which began to appear over the weekend on gay blogs and gradually found their way onto Rich Miller's CapitolFax Monday morning.
[Keyes refuses to answer speculations concerning 19 year old daughter - Illinois Leader - 09-28-04]
Yesterday, Maya deleted her Yahoo profile and scrubbed her online journal of as many, but not all, references to her public professions of being a lesbian. So many people continue to try to read Maya's online postings to her father's Senate Campaign Yahoo group, that the bandwidth has been exceeded, and Yahoo shut the site down for the day. It's is still down today under the weight of interest.
Maya is as out as Mary Cheney, and the media ought to feel as comfortable with that as is Maya. Go read the few April selections Maya has made available within the past few hours on her journal before her beautiful voice is silenced by her father's outrage and hate.
This is for everybody. Remember always that you are in charge of your own destiny. Life can be hell, yes, but no matter what happens the choice to live is always yours and yours alone.And a special note to my A n j u l s: Remember always who you are. You are strong and you are beautiful and don't forget it. Don't let them get to you. Keep fighting.
[Maya Keyes]
filed under: Coming Out
September 28, 2004
If you are wondering why President Bush hasn't called up OPEC to jawbone them to open their spigots, stand in line. I think Bush plans to actually follow through on his own brilliant advice only after we've tapped our national reserves and oil in well above $50 a barrel.
BUSH TALK
"What I think the president ought to do is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots. One reason why the price is so high is because the price of crude oil has been driven up. OPEC has gotten its supply act together, and it's driving the price, like it did in the past. And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price."
[First in the Nation: The New Hampshire Debates -- GOP Presidential Candidates Square off - CNN - 01-26-00]BUSH WALK
"The president is disappointed in today's decision," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "Producers should not take steps that harm American consumers and our economy."
[UPDATE 1-White House expresses displeasure with OPEC - Forbes - 03-31-04]
filed under: For The Record
September 27, 2004
The arch of justice bends.
Thomas M. Finneran - arguably the most viciously anti-gay Democrat in Bay State politics - is out as Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Finneran announced his resignation Monday morning, amid a federal investigation into Finneran's role in the redrawing of the state's legislative districts."We're ecstatic,'' said Arline Isaacson, co-leader of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. "While this certainly does not guarantee a change in the outcome [of a proposed consitutional amendment], it sure as heck helps.''
[Stonewall Democrats United - 09-27-04]
filed under: For The Record
September 27, 2004
Should I even ask whether President Bush actually read the National Intelligence Assessment widely reported and echoed by Secretary of State Colin Powell this weekend? The White House desperately clings to mixed signals while Scott McClellan blathers election year inanity about "pessimists and naysayers." Is the truth too difficult a place in which to meet a majority of Americans who feel Bush is mishandling the war in Iraq?
BUSH PIPE DREAM
He said nearly 100,000 "fully trained and equipped" Iraqi soldiers, police officers and other security personnel are already at work, and that would rise to 125,000 by the end of this year.WORLD REALITY
The documents show that of the nearly 90,000 currently in the police force, only 8,169 have had the full eight-week academy training. Another 46,176 are listed as "untrained," and it will be July 2006 before the administration reaches its new goal of a 135,000-strong, fully trained police force.
[Key Bush Assertions About Iraq in Dispute - Reuters - 09-26-04]
filed under: Catastrophic Success
September 27, 2004
For people interested in pictures publicly available online, here is Maya Keyes, daughter of Alan Keyes, as identified by the Illinois Leader. Besides her beautiful smile, notice her ear rings and necklace.
Now, check out this photo of Maya and her cute girlfriend. You can see this photo in her girlfriend's online profile at GAY.com under "GraceFire," or Bria Grace. Gracefire calls the photo "Me and my Anjul." Notice how "Anjul" is spelled just like "DangerousAnjul," the Yahoo username Maya Keyes used to post to her father's Senate Campaign Yahoo group. Maya deleted that earlier today. You'll also notice Gracefire links to Maya's GAY.com profile. I'm sure after we post this, that will soon be removed as well. Notice the exact same ear rings?
Now, check out this picture of Maya snogging Gracefire. Check out the same necklace and ear rings as in the Illinois Leader photo. How can Alan Keyes deny something special like that? Also notice the "George Bush YOU'RE FIRED!" button. Maya is a self-proclaimed anarchist, and she isn't sure if she's going to vote for John Kerry. She's considering Ralph Nader. If Alan Keyes is going to blow a prayer gasket over his daughter, let it be over that.
filed under: Coming Out
, Exclusives
September 27, 2004
After Ronald Reagan passed away, Republicans wanted to put Reagan on the $10 bill. That made me so mad, because even a Democrat like me knows George W. Bush deserves it even more. Here are just a few of my reasons. Aren't you better off now than you were four years ago?
Record of Success: Reasons to Add George W. Bush to the $10 bill
1) President George W. Bush worked with a Republican controlled Congress on tax cuts and deficit spending measures. He didn't even have to use the veto!
2) President George W. Bush used diplomacy to tear down the walls of the Weapons of Mass Destruction factories of Iraq. He even had a plan for Halliburton to fix everything we broke, saving the U.S. tax payer billions.
3) President George W. Bush is a Great Communicator, too.
4) President George W. Bush is a uniter, not a divider
also read: Claybourn
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