Ms. Angle isn’t even trying to be factual. This ad is a complete lie. In fact, Reid and the Democrats voted down the amendments offered during the health care debate, just like the one Angle touts in this ad, because they knew they’d see negative ads on them if they didn’t. Not to mention that [...]
Archive | October, 2010
GOTP ‘Hicks’ for John Raese Ad Pulled in West VA.
They didn’t even spell “John Deer”(sic) right for the casting call. Mike Allen broke the story, which has now freaked out the GOTP and pushed the NRSC to pull the ad from YouTube, while releasing an overwrought statement that they had nothing to do with the ad. A little late, folks. From Politico: … The [...]
Another Reason Why People Hate Congress
–bumped and updated below– Democrats have some explaining to do. The title says it all: Foreclosure Cover for Banks Seen in Bill at Obama’s Desk: A bill that homeowners advocates warn will make it more difficult to challenge improper foreclosure attempts by big mortgage processors is awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature after it quietly zoomed [...]
Food Stamps Shouldn’t Be for Coke & Pepsi
[...] The ban would apply to any beverage that contains more than 10 calories per 8 ounces, except for milk products, milk substitutes like soy milk and rice milk, and fruit juices without added sugar. A 20-ounce sugar-sweetened drink can contain the equivalent of as many as 16 packets of sugar. [...] In fiscal year [...]
Not These Guys Again
The fat cats at the big corporations are drooling at the prospect of “Speaker Boehner,” and why not? The industries giving the most to Boehner: insurance companies, drug manufacturers and Wall Street firms, all of which now face new regulations adopted by the Democratic-controlled Congress. The political action committees and employees of insurance firms, for [...]
What’s In It for Hillary?
“There’s absolutely nothing to it,” senior adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday night. “The president is blessed to have a spectacular vice president and an outstanding secretary of state. They’re both doing great work, and he wants to keep them on the job.” Advisers to Clinton said the same, and another Obama adviser called the idea [...]
USA Today Shocked to Find No Vagina Voters
Where was Susan Page in 2008? It’s articles like hers that make the case for why people like Howard Fineman and Howard Kurtz are happily moving to new media. Under the title of “Elections are likely to trim number of women in Congress,” Page’s article becomes the latest to fail to rebut the notion that [...]
You Don’t Want To Know
Gallup earns its reputation for “volatile” polling with this one. Nate Silver does the analysis. …But then at about 5:45 p.m., this poll — Gallup’s weekly tracking of the generic ballot — hit the newswires. The poll gave Republicans a 3-point edge among registered voters — well within the range that Gallup has shown in [...]
Sarah Palin’s Candidate, Christine O’Donnell: ‘I’m not a witch’
Meanwhile, independents continue to lean heavily toward the GOP in their voting intentions, a sharp change from both 2006 and 2008. Among independent voters most likely to cast ballots this year, 53 percent say they favor the Republican in their district, compared with 33 percent who favor the Democratic candidate. – Democrats gain in poll [...]
That Sinking Feeling
… Most Democratic incumbents who are going to lose in November will get at least 45 percent of the vote. Many will get much more, losing by only 2 or 3 points. That’s what happens in elections. The Democratic base in most competitive districts is at least in the low to mid-40s. Given that, it [...]
Dems Still In It, Because the Alternative Is Frightening
Once-despondent Democrats now believe that they may be able to avert a total midterm wipeout, as a series of important states now appears to be trending in their direction or growing more competitive. The bad news: In a sign of how hostile the election environment remains for the party, the cautious optimism is largely due [...]
Gay in America: Coming Out, and Recent Suicides
October 11 is National Coming Out Day. Coming out can still be dangerous. As can being “outed.” Recent suicides by young gay men reveal this, or rather, reinforce the reality in which significant numbers of LGBTs (of all ages) still live. Discrimination is real, in spite of gains ranging from tolerance to acceptance to active support.
In Washington, D.C., on the 11th of October, 1987, the second major LGBT demonstration occurred in the nation’s capital. Amazingly, a half a million people showed up. The energy from the “March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights” carried over, and four months later about 100 LGBT activists from around the nation met. The result was the decision to have a day that would celebrate “coming out.” One major reason for that decision was a recognition that the LGBT community was frequently on the defensive. Why not turn that around? Rather than defending who we are, why not celebrate it? The October 11th anniversary date of that 1987 March was chosen for NCOD
And even with all the changes for the better since 1987, NCOD is still important, because “coming out” is still necessary, and while it is surely easier, safer to do now than even five years ago, it’s also still done in a society in which a fairly significant number of people think “homosexuals” are abnormal if not evil. A few right-sighted sites:
American Family Association: http://tinyurl.com/252uqp7
Family Research Council: http://tinyurl.com/2e8wkps
Our American Values: http://tinyurl.com/28og2dx
Or you can just listen to some among the DC Elite who are defending the need for DADT (or read the infamous questionnaire), and opposing the need for ENDA.
Check out this important message, via YouTube (http://tinyurl.com/33v2fvc) from Ellen DeGeneres about the recent suicides of young gay men — high school and college ages. “Bullying” seems to be perceived, rather often, as a no big deal, “kids will be kids, suck it up,” kind of thing. Or as “the fags and dykes deserve it.” Parents, community members in general, administration, teachers, school boards, local, state and federal government all share responsibility. As, of course, do the students of whatever age who think, as in the case of one of the recent suicides, that it’s perfectly okay to secretly live stream sexual intimacy between two “fags.”
This isn’t new, of course. But I think the fact that in significant ways, it is “easier” to be out, that it’s a “no problem” kind of thing for many … I fear that it’s easy not to notice the discrimination and harassment that does, in fact, exist. Kids, at very young ages, are marked as “gay” and different and therefore targets of everything from playground taunting to being chased down school hallways to being left to die hanging on a fence. In various professional roles, I’ve had many conversations with targets of such, and with parents and teachers and administrators. The range of harassment is wide. Hallway, loudly voiced jabs: “Hey, are you a dyke?” “Look at the queers!” Shoving and pushing. Hitting, with fists or baseball bats, or whatever is handy.
This reality isn’t limited to any age group, of course. The fact that “homosexuality” remains something many feel quite comfortable openly judging, mocking, demeaning … this is one reason why it is important how DADT, ENDA, DOMA, etc., are handled by the White House, as well as Congress.
To read about the current suicide stories among young gay men, among multiple sites check out:
Pam’s Houseblend (http://tinyurl.com/yufbqh)
Box Turtle Bulletin (http://tinyurl.com/645zdd)
The Bilreco Project (http://tinyurl.com/yoetge)
The Dallas Voice (http://tinyurl.com/296r7om)
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (http://tinyurl.com/29otzjs)
Electric Blue (http://tinyurl.com/25aeqne)
State Dept. Awards Blackwater $10 Billion Deal
“From this war’s very beginning, this administration has permitted thousands of heavily-armed military contractors to march through Iraq without any law or court to rein them in or hold them accountable. These private security contractors have been reckless and have compromised our mission in Iraq. The time to show these contractors the door is long [...]
The Day That Rahm Left, Dems Couldn’t Be in a Worse Position
–this post has been updated– … Our last national poll found that 19% of voters both disapproved of Barack Obama’s job performance and disapproved of the Republicans in Congress. Those folks are planning to vote Republican for Congress by a 76-6 margin this fall. They may not be happy with either side but when it [...]
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