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POPSAn Old Law Dies So Same-Sex Marriage Can Thrive Massachusetts has repealed it 1913 law that refused recognition of marriages performed in their state that would not be recognized in a couple's home state. New York, and California will also recognize same-sex marriages in this manner. This will probably result in many lawsuits in states that have banned gay marriage, by demanding that their marriages from Massachusetts and California be honoured at home, claiming that it is unconstitutional to refuse recognition of marriages from other states. Anyhoo, this is another step forward towards marriage equality in the U.S. and it is about time.
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POPS4 Teenagers Are Arrested in Attack at Gay Shelter As much as things have improved in society in its acceptance of glbt people, these kinds of horrible incidents occur on a daily basis. It is important for the members of the gay community to NOT fall into a state of complacency, because homophobia is still alive and well.
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POPSJesse Helms is Dead Mike Signorile definitely speaks for many LGBT people and our friends in his July 4th blog posting. Although, as I said in a piece I clipped yesterday, I do not take joy in the death of another human being. But in the case of Helms, it is hard to find even a core of sympathy or remorse at his passing. In his professional lifetime, he sent many innocent and good people to their deaths due to his hatemongering and homophobia. If he could not cry for us, how can we cry for him?
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POPSTHE Bigot is Dead Jesse Helms was a disgraceful representation of an elected official in our country. He despised blacks, gays, lesbians, hispanics and everyone who did not look like him or believed as he believed. While I never take pleasure in the death of another human being, it is my sincere hope that with his death, another layer of bigotry in the U.S. is buried with him. I have to think that maybe seeing Obama on the brink of the presidency may have been just too much for his aging heart to take.
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POPSJapan's Booming Sex Niche: Elder Porn Any entrepreneurs here in the west, might take a lesson from the Japanese business world. Instead of paying our elderly their measly social security payments, perhaps we could offer them jobs in the porn industry. The money is great, and they can work mostly on their backs.
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POPSA Verb Brief History of Mugabe This is a very brief article from Time Magazine, which I urge all of you to read. I found it difficult to clip because every word of this short article is relevant. It is hard to understand how the U.S. or any other country can stand to allow this monster to continue to hold onto power of these poor defenseless people. Oh yeah! I forgot. The people of Zimbabwe do not have oil under their feet, as do the people of Iraq.
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POPSIndependent study validates Canada's medicare program With all the shouting in the U.S. as to how the Canadian system is so totally inferior than the fee based system at home, it is nice to occasionally find an article such as this to clip. As someone who has lived under both systems, and who makes major use of heathcare services, I can tell you without any hesitation, that the Canadian system is far fairer and superior to the discriminatory system in my home country, the U.S.
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POPSAverting our gaze from U.S. cruelty This article examines the depravity with which the Bush adminsitration has conducted itself since 9/11. It asks some very important questions. But the biggest question to me is why the hell is Bush and his henchmen not being tried for war crimes?
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POPSGay Unions Shed Light on Gender in Marriage My clips do not come close to describing the differences found between the two types of relationships. I would encourage anyone interested in this topic to read the entire piece, which is not very long at all. It delineates many of the differences along with the perceived reasons for them.
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POPSPresident Bush's Clout in the Middle East is Going, Going, GONE! Georgie W. Bush, the lame, lame-duck guy temporarily occupying the Oval Office has no clout in the Middle East, or anywhere else in the world of foreign policy. His credibility is shot. His allies are few, and most of the world is counting the days until he shakes hands with his replacement at the new president's inauguration in January. The world is waiting to take its collective sigh of relief on the winter morning, when the war criminal in chief finally bid farewell, and hopefully gets dragged to the Hague where he will be tried for war crimes. Oh well, I can dream, can't I?
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POPSBush & McCain Support the Troops by Saying...F**k 'em!
President Bush and Presidential wannabe Senator McCain are always bragging about how they support the troops and honour their service. Oh yeah! This sounds great, but when it comes to actually doing something good and fair for them when they return from the firing line, they say fuck 'em. No money for their education or other benefits. After all, if we make it too good, they will wanna leave the service rather than remain canon fodder indefinitely. Neither of these political pieces of fecal matter stop to think about how increased and improved GI benefits will bring additional people into the service that will more than make up for those who might leave after three years. All they care about is having enough bodies willing to be shot up in Iraq so they can maintain their illegal and tragic war. These war criminals should hang their heads in shame as should anyone who would consider voting for McCain after seeing what a hypocrite he really and truly is.
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POPSCalifornia Says YES to Same-Sex Marriage Great news, indeed! Even greater news is that Ahnold has promised to abide by the court's decision, and NOT support the upcoming state constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage. So, this is a done deal. This comes at a very interesting time for me. My partner and I are getting married on August 31. We are a same-sex couple, and we live in Canada where gay marriage came into being in 2005 (country-wide.) So, naturally, we are really thrilled to know that finally the U.S. seems to be taking a step in the progressive social direction. It is certainly about time.
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POPSThe Conservtive Gov't of Canada is imitating the Bushies Canada has always been far more democratic than the U.S. when it concerns access to information and transparency in government. Not perfect, for sure, but terrific compared to some of the tricks used in my home country of the U.S. But since the Conservative government, which is essentially made up of remnants of the failed Reform Party, has come to power, they have done everything in their power to imitate the machinations of the Bush administration and its policies of secrecy and outright lying. This article explains how they have now, without any notice whatsoever, closed down the access to information database that is used by journalists and the public to track the goings on in government. Canada must dump Stephen Harper and his gang of regressive assholes, and bring back transparency in government before the entire system turns into a carbon copy of the Bush administration. Harper has said his political hero is George W. Bush.
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POPSAre lice art? Israelis scratch their heads I read and re-read this story several times and I still cannot figure out the artistic merit of this particular cultural endeavour. However, if a bunch of Germans wish to sit in an Israeli museum, while hosting lice in their hair, who am I to argue.
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POPSIt's Never Too Late for Romance and Marriage Stories like this really warm my heart. I am sure the fact that my partner of 26 years, Arnold and I are getting married in Montreal on August 31st has something to do with my personal reaction to this report. I am so proud to live in a country that finally recognizes that same-sex couples are just as much in love, and dedicated as heterosexual pairs. Anyone who knows Arnold and me knows how very much in love we are, and how we share our lives together completely. These two ladies are another example of how love between two people is special no matter what sexual orientation is involved. As an American living in Canada, I am always saddened to see how far behind my home country is from Canada and other countries in the world who are finally recognizing the rights of gays and lesbians in their society. Yes, a great deal of progress has been made in the U.S. but there appears to be a real hard-core resistance to granting equal rights to homosexual couples.
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POPSPetraeus to Head Centcom This scares me a bit. Fallon is leaving because of his differences with Bush on his Iran policies. Bush and his neo-cons, including Republican candidate McCain are proponents of military action against Iran. Petraeus also agrees with a tough Iran policy. It is too convenient for my comfort to know that months before Bush is finally to leave office, he is ridding himself of a general who does not favour his Iran policy with one who does. To me this stinks of the probability of war with Iran before the end of the Bush administration, and passing it on to the next president to deal with.
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POPSThe New York TImes Scolds Hillary for Demeaning the Campaign Even though the New York Times has previously endorsed Hillary in her run for the Democratic presidential nomination, they now seem to be reconsidering due to her tactics. The editorial board is disgusted with her use of Rove-like tactics against Senator Obama, in a "win at all cost" campaign that is making both candidates look bad in the eyes of the voting public. I am not one of those folks clamoring for Hillary to drop out of the race. She certainly has the right to hang-in there up to the convention if she that is what she wishes to do. After all, these are called "nominating conventions" for a reason. They are NOT called "coronations." But if she continues in the race she should at least fight fair, and not throw the kitchen sink at Obama, and begin making the arguments McCain and his campaign will be adopting in the general election. For example on at least two occasions she has essentially said that McCain is better equipped to be president than is Obama. That is just a b
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POPSNew North Carolina Hospital rules Will Benefit Gay Families Patients will now be able to determine for themselves who can be at their bed side no matter the legal status of their relationship. Up til now gay couples were often separated during illness in hospital because there was no legal requirement to permit non-family members to visit. As ridiculous as that might sound, there are countless stories of gay men and lesbians being kept away from their partners because of their lack of recognized legal status as a couple. One would think there would be no need for this kind of rule to be established. How sad that this is the situation in a free and democratic society.
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POPSHollywood Still Forcing Gay Actors to Remain Closeted Hollywood producers and studios continue to have little faith in movie fans, and believe that if an actor comes out as gay, they will stay away in droves. This problem does not seem to exist in Canada, Britain, France etc. I can't help but wonder why it is that the U.S, even in these allegedly enlightened times, continues to be fearful of gays. I know the original Puritanical basis of the country is often blamed, but we must remember, those Puritans came from the same countries that are now much more accepting of homosexuals.
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POPSRemember the Lieberman "hack attack"? Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman publicly accused Ned Lamont's campaign of deliberately crashing his Web site during the contested senate race in November 2006. As it turns out, the FBI ran a complete investigation and determined that it was the fault totally of the Lieberman campaign for using second-rate, bargain hosting services that caused the crash. What is particularly interesting is that these results were reported well before the actual vote, and yet Lieberman and his campaign refused to report the findings or apologize for the false accusations against Lamont up to this very day. The only reason the news came out now, is because a journalist got the information through the Freedom of Information Act. So here is Joe, showing what a lying scumbag he really is. First he makes a false claim against his opponent, and then when proven that the claim is false, he hides the information from the public. The man is a total disgrace, and I hope the people of Connecticut turn on
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POPSJay Leno Apologizes for An Insensitive Remark Jay does have a rather snarky sense of humour, but I have never known him to be anti-gay or homophobic in any manner whatsoever. But his snarkiness caught up with him while trying to go for the quick joke. However, he paid for it by the reaction from not only his guest, but the entire audience as well. At least the man had the balls to apologize.
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POPSFormer Republican Senator Cafee Blasts a "two-faced" Bush Lincoln Chafee was a rare breed in the senate. A very Liberal Republican. The words Liberal, and Republican are just not thought of together. But this man put his belief in fairness for all, above political party ideology. He is one Republican I was sorry to see go in 2006.
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POPSMore Rejection of Lieberman in Connecticut We tried to warn those folks in Connecticut who fell for Joe's pretend Liberal bullshit, and voted for him over the Democratic candidate in 2006. Now they are rapidly learning what a huge mistake they made. Too bad they have another 4 1/2 years to live with their mistake.
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POPSAnother Watergate? Unbelievable! Three different members of the Bush State Department bust into the passport files on Barack Obama, and we are expected to believe it was in error, or merely curiosity. The sad thing is that even Hillary Clinton's campaign has some explaining to do, as one of the people who resigned over this incident was President Clinton's ambassador to Paraguay. This campaign is just getting dirtier and dirtier. And hell, this is only the primary. I'm already getting sick over thinking what the fall will bring.
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POPSThe City of Baltimore Asks Maryland State Legislators to Permit Same-Sex Marriage Although Maryland and Pennsylvania are neighbours, their politicians seem to have very different views on same-sex marriage and civil-unions. I don't really believe that the folks in Pennsylvania and Maryland are all that different, especially considering the fact that 57% of Pennsylvania Conservatives support civil unions. It just seems that there are still too many Republican/Conservative politicians who have yet to get the message that their mean-spiritedness is no longer appreciated by their constituents.
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POPSThe Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee passes an Anti-Gay Amendment Even though 57% of Conservatives in Pennsylvania support civil-unions, the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee still passed a proposed amendment to the state's Constitution that would ban same-sex marriage or civil-unions. These Republicans cannot even fall back on the argument that they are respecting the wishes of their constituency, since the Conservatives in the state approve of civil-unions. This is just mean-spirited and hateful political posturing.
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POPSAnother Republican Hatemonger I am so sick of the hatemongers who exist in our government. I am even more upset that so many of them seem to be Republicans. It is because of people like this that I left the Republican party. This party has been taken over by right-wing Christian bigots who want to change our country into their theocracy, no matter which group they have to put at grave danger in order to do so. I hope most fair-minded Americans will remember this come next November.
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POPSTucker the Gay Basher Gets Bashed MSNBC is finally dumping Tucker Carlson's 6:00 P.M. show. The bully boy who bragged that he and a friend gay bashed a man in a public toilet and thought it was hilariously funny, is finally getting a professional bashing of his own. And I for one could not be happier.
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POPSFormer Speaker Hastert's Congressional Seat is Lost to a Newbie Democrat! If this is any indication of things to come, and it is, the Republicans have a lot to worry about come November. This seat has been reliably Republican for decades. The Democrats didn't even contest a couple of elections in Hastert's area. Just two weeks ago it appeared the Democrat didn't stand a chance. I really believe the country has finally awakened to the facts that the Bush administration, and their supporters in Congress has taken the country in a terribly wrong and deadly direction.
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POPSTroy's Poision Pill Please read this entire article in Mother Jones. It explains how a Bush appointee made it next to impossible for a person to sue a drug or pharmaceutical company, or medical device manufacturer for injuries sustained from use of their product. The claim goes that if the FDA approves a drug or device, that that should be the end of the line. As long as the product meets FDA approval, not judge or jury should be able to determine that said product could be responsible for someones injury. This is another example of how the Bush administration has put big business over human lives. Is it any wonder he demands preemptive immunity for communications companies, when he already had the FDA preempt medical liability lawsuits? This just gets disgustinger and disgustinger.
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POPSCanadian Same-Sex Marriage OK in New York It's ironic that a same-sex divorce case would open the door to legitimatizing same-sex marriage in New York State, but that appears to be what has happened. There is a same-sex marriage bill stalled in the state legislature, which governor Spitzer said he would happily sign once the bill is passed. But in the meanwhile the courts have been making it very difficult to continue to discriminate against gay couples who wish to wed. This is a fascinating story, no matter which side of the issue you might be on.
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POPSAlec & baby brother Steve have differing views on samd-sex marriage Normally, celebrity opinions don't register with me. But in this case I find it interesting that two close brothers could be at such political odds. Alec, totally favours same-sex marriage while Steve quotes the bible. Oh well, at least the fundies can't talk about the incredible lack of morality in Hollywood. All they have to do is look towards little Stevie Baldwin.
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POPSMSNBC Blends News With Opinion, and is Increasing Its Viewership This is an excellent article from the Los Angeles Times reporting on MSNBC's new image of including news with opinion. Fox, of course has been doing it for years, hacking for the right-wing of the Republican party. Now, MSNBC has decided it is times to take the cloves off and give the viewers what they apparently want. I kinda have mixed feelings about this. Being a lefty myself, I am delighted when Keith Olbermann goes on with one of his commentaries blasting Bush and his fellow hangmen. But the bi-partisan side of me questions whether or not Keith should also be considered a news anchor. For example, Bill "the lying fascist" O'Reilly is not presented as an news anchor, but as a commentator and interviewer. Then again, if you watch Fox anchors, you will see that their news is infused with opinion. So, I think I will just take a seat and watch the fireworks and form an opinion later. :-)
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POPSWillie Nelson Wants to See Bush Impeached Country singer Willie Nelson wants to impeach Bush and "Throw the bastards out." However, he does not see the Democrats as a viable alternative considering how they have not done a thing to change direction in Iraq and keeps caving into Bush. He feels the deck is stacked against the people. Ya know what? I think he has a good point. The only hope I think the county really has right now is to elect Senator Obama as president. I honestly do not know if he will be a good president or not. However, I really believe he has the potential to be a transformational political figure and we should give him a chance to live up to that potential. He is the only candidate on the scene who can move the nation in a positive direction emotionally, and motivate them to engage themselves in the election, which is something very much lacking up 'til now. I honour the work Hillary has done and continues to do as a senator, but as president she would be back to the future.
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POPSBill O'Reilly Must Go!! This is not a matter of free speech. This is the matter of a well known, extremely popular and influential media maven, who is suggesting that if Michelle Obama actually has some negative feelings about the country, she should be lynched. Don Imus was thrown off the air for referring to a women's basketball team as "nappy headed ho's." David Schumer, a well respected and generally fair-minded journalist was suspended for suggesting employing a poor choice of words regarding Chelsea Clinton's participation in her mom's presidential primary campaign. But Bill O'Reilly, for some reason has been declared untouchable by Fox News after making this hateful and racist comment, not the first time I might add that he has used similar inflammatory language. It is time for the public to demand that O'Reilly be held accountable for his irresponsible and hateful speech. Please call or email Fox and demand his removal from our airwaves.
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POPSThe Loosening of America's Sphincter Mark Morford, one of my favourite columnists espouses on the notion that America is finally parting with the ways of the fundamentalist Christians and the anti-everything movements. Sex toys can now be sold legally in Texas, and New York City is handing out free condoms and lube. Wow! Can it get better than this? You bet it can!
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POPSRigged Trials at Gitmo This is but a very brief clip of a fascinating and very important article just released on the Nation Web site. Please, read the entire piece, and learn how the guy running the trials at Gitmo is demanding there be NO acquittals.....period. The situation gets dirtier and dirtier every day. I can't wait until Jan 20, 2009.
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POPSThe Press Soooooo Love McCain The media continue to cover the McCain presidential campaign of......2000. i have no idea how much more McCain has to reverse himself on before they realize that this man is not the same candidate that ran in 2000? Isn't his reversal on the torture bill enough for even a blind man to see clearly? I don't think in the end any of this will matter because McCain, in my opinion, is not going to be elected President of the United States. But a little realism, if not fairness, would be appreciated from our once outstanding media.
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