Saturday, February 21, 2009

I Took the Polar Plunge

Still recovering.

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Friday, February 20, 2009

Word Choice

Hilarious:
A Utah state senator on Friday was kicked off a judicial committee he chaired after he drew criticism for comparing gay activists to radical Muslims in an interview aired this week.

Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, also told former local television reporter Reed Cowan, an openly gay documentary producer who now works at a Miami station, that gay activists are "probably the greatest threat to America going down."

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Getting Worse in Asia

AIDS is spreading fast:
The AIDS virus is spreading rapidly among gay and bisexual men in Asia as younger people shun condoms and authorities fail to increase awareness of the disease, health officials said Friday.

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Sarah Palin's Next Vacation

It could be in Texas:
Millions of wild pigs weighing up to 300 pounds have been tearing up crops, trampling fences and eating just about anything in their path in Texas. But now they had better watch their hairy backs.

A state lawmaker is proposing to allow ordinary Texans with rifles and shotguns to shoot the voracious, tusked animals from helicopters.

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

All About the Hetero

That's Utah for you:
(Salt Lake City, Utah) A bill that would have offered unmarried couples - straight or gay - inheritance rights and the power to make medical decisions when the other partner is incapacitated, Wednesday in the legislature.

It was the fifth defeat for a group of bills called the Common Ground Initiative that would have expanded LGBT civil rights in Utah.

Tuesday, legislation to include gays in job and housing protections was defeated and bills to allow for joint support and the creation of a domestic partner registry also failed to gain traction.

A fifth bill which would have allowed same-sex couples to sue for wrongful death damages was defeated in a state Senate committee last month.

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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Crazy Lives On



















That's noted right-wing shill Michelle Malkin posing with who we've dubbed "Swastika Guy," owing to the sign he carried right onto the stage with State Senator Josh Penry, Congressman Mike Coffman, Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams, State Senator Dave Schultheis, former Congressman Tom Tancredo, and Independence Institute president Jon Caldara, among others. None of whom did anything about it, and in fact one person defended the guy to one of our people saying that the swastika is not a Nazi symbol, but an honored Native American symbol.
An honored Native American symbol? Really?

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Crazy in Ohio

Christian, heartland values
:

A man held a woman captive in handcuffs and an adult nappy for three days while he read Bible passages to her in the US state of Ohio, police said.

Troy Brisport, 34, picked up the woman last Wednesday night in Detroit after she told him she had nowhere to stay, and brought her to his home in Toledo, about 90 kilometres away, police told The Toledo Blade newspaper.

The woman told police that after she fell asleep Brisport handcuffed her wrists and ankles, gagged her, undressed her and put her in an adult nappy, then read Bible passages, police Captain Ray Carroll said.

She apparently was not sexually assaulted, Carroll said.

However, court documents alleged that Brisport tried several times to suffocate the woman using a pillow and blanket.

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Still Bleeding

Another bad year for Afghanistan:
The number of civilians killed in Afghanistan's worsening conflict jumped 40 percent to a new high last year, and more than half of the deaths were inflicted by Taliban insurgents and other militants, the United Nations said Tuesday.

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Whining to No One

That's what the Republicans do these days:
Republicans have spent quite a bit of time lately criticizing Congress. By now, the arguments are probably familiar: the Democratic leadership hasn't been "bipartisan" enough. They completed a stimulus package behind closed doors. They passed a package filled with pork and radical policy ideas.

With all of this in mind, I can only imagine how annoyed GOP leaders will be with the new Gallup poll.

Congressional approval ratings have been pretty abysmal for a while, but with the economic recovery package passing, Gallup found "a sharp 12 percentage-point increase from last month, rising from 19% to 31%."

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Monday, February 16, 2009

Rather Embarrassing

Oops:
The stepson of megachurch pastor T.D. Jakes has been arrested on an indecent exposure charge.

Dallas police say Jermaine Jakes is accused of exposing himself to two undercover vice detectives last month. He turned himself in Thursday and was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.

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Faux Pas

Bill Clinton really needs to be more circumspect:
(San Diego, California) Former President Bill Clinton has come under fire from California gay rights groups for speaking to a trade group at a hotel being boycotted for its owner’s support of Proposition 8, the measure passed last November which bans same-sex marriage in the state.

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Only 7th Worst

Bush should be proud:
Devoted Bush bashers will be surprised to learn that despite what they may think of No. 43’s presidency, according to a survey of historians, George W. Bush is in fact, not the worst POTUS ever – he’s only the 7th worst.

The honor of worst American president ever this President’s Day goes to James Buchanan, who directly preceded Abraham Lincoln as president and who is largely blamed for not doing enough to prevent the Civil War.

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Happy Valentine's

Get kissing, people:
Just in time for Valentine's Day, a panel of scientists examined the mystery of what happens when hearts throb and lips lock. Kissing, it turns out, unleashes chemicals that ease stress hormones in both sexes and encourage bonding in men, though not so much in women.

Chemicals in the saliva may be a way to assess a mate, Wendy Hill, dean of the faculty and a professor of neuroscience at Lafayette College, told a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Friday.

In an experiment, Hill explained, pairs of heterosexual college students who kissed for 15 minutes while listening to music experienced significant changes in their levels of the chemicals oxytocin, which affects pair bonding, and cortisol, which is associated with stress. Their blood and saliva levels of the chemicals were compared before and after the kiss.

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Scrounging

The military is growing more and more desperate for manpower. This has beneficial consequences for immigrants:
The U.S. military will begin recruiting immigrants with special skills who are in the United States on temporary visas, offering a chance to become citizens in as little as six months, The New York Times reported.

A report on the newspaper's website on Saturday said it would be the first time since the Vietnam War that the armed forces would be open to temporary immigrants, provided they have lived in the United States for at least two years.

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Progress in Hawaii?

Perhaps:
A bill that would give same-sex couples in Hawaii all of the rights of marriage has passed the state House on a 33-17 vote. It now moves to the Senate.

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That's My Home State

Guns and churches:
Arkansas pastors may soon have to worry about more than their flocks' spiritual battles. After a number of shootings in churches nationwide, should congregants be allowed to bring concealed weapons into their sanctuaries?

Under current Arkansas law, holders of concealed weapons permits can take their guns anywhere they want except bars and houses of worship. A bill in the state Senate would let churches decide for themselves whether weapons should be allowed.

"I believe it would disturb the sanctity and tranquility of church" said Pastor John Phillips, a bill opponent who was shot twice in the back as he finished a service 23 years ago. If a church opts out, "Do you want ushers to stop you at the door and frisk you?"

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