politics

Here, here! Well-spoken, Bruce!

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From a discussion being held by The Poor Man Institute with a wingnut:

The loyalty “owed” a President, or any government official, or any policy of the same, by a private citizen, is this much loyalty: zero. Let me say that again: the loyalty I, or you, or anyone “owes” to someone in the government, or to some course of action they favor, is none whatsoever. To think otherwise, Teddy Roosevelt might comment, is “unpatriotic and servile”. Now, this is not to say you can’t give your loyalty to the President or his policies – it’s a free country, and you can do any non-treasonous thing you want with your loyalty – but that’s your decision, and nobody has to live with it but you (and all the people who suffer from the consequences of your stupid choice of loyalties, of course.) Personally, I think the President is a horrible fucking stupid cunt and his policies are for shit. Your results may vary. But if someone tells me that I “owe” it to the President or his crap policy to act like I don’t think that, well, that person can get in the big long line with WPE and the rest of folks who really desperately need to go fuck themselves.
But Democracy gets even worse. The President and the President’s policies owe me loyalty. The President and his policies are supposed to be working for the good of the country and her people. That’s how the loyalty flows. The President is required to act for my (ok, “our”) benefit; if he does not, the betrayal is his, and the sorts of things which you’d like to call “disloyalty” become duty. Does Gore’s speaking out against torture “undermine” the country? That’s a tricky position to hold if you oppose torture. Does it “undermine” the policy? I wish. No, it does this: it reminds the world that however fucked up our government is, it isn’t us, it doesn’t speak for us, and it can never, ever make us quiet down. And I do say God Bless America.

Continue ReadingHere, here! Well-spoken, Bruce!

The Myth of Big Government Liberals

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Atrios has a dead-on post about the myth of “Big Goverment Liberals.”

I don’t know any “big government liberals” in the sense that Andy means. I don’t know anybody who gets a stiffy at the thought of raising taxes and increasing government spending as a share of GDP just for the hell of it. Liberals I know tend to think there are things government should do and we should, roughly, figure out how to pay for those things, though we’re not entirely allergic to deficit spending. When taxes have to go up to cover interest and debt repayment costs no liberals I know are going to go “YAY! HIGHER TAXES! WOO HOOO!”
For a long time the Left was tarred as idealistic utopians, addicted to ways of doing things no matter what the consequences. I have no real opinion on whether that criticism was ever true, but in any case it’s something which has been embraced wholesale by the Right. They have a small government fetish, and that fetish is linked almost entirely to the top marginal federal income tax rate. Liberals have no such corresponding fetish for “big government” even if they tend to be fans of some government programs conservatives like to demonize as being “big government liberalism.” No one’s going to enjoy sweeping up after Bush’s fiscal train wreck.

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Dick Cheney Shoots Me

And then Dick Cheney shot me, too! That bastard!!!

Cheney accidentally shoots fellow hunter
‘Steph was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good’
Sunday, February 12, 2006; Posted: 9:01 p.m. EST (02:01 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend Wabbit hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.
Steph Mineart, a millionaire Website Designer from Indianapolis, was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a Corpus Christi hospital Sunday, said Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System.
The accident occurred Saturday at a ranch in south Texas where the vice president and several companions were hunting Wabbit. It was not reported publicly by the vice president’s office for nearly 24 hours, and then only after it was reported locally by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times on its Web site Sunday.
Armstrong said she was watching from a car while Cheney, Mineart and another hunter got out of the vehicle to shoot at a covey of Wabbit.
Mineart shot a Wabbit and went to retrieve it in the tall grass, while Cheney and the third hunter walked to another spot and discovered a second covey.
Mineart “came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn’t signal them or indicate to them or announce herself,” Armstrong said.
“The vice president didn’t see her,” she continued. “The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a Wabbit and was following it and shot. And by God, Steph was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good.”
Mineart has been a private practice Website Designer in Indianapolis since 1950 and has long been active in Texas Republican politics. she’s been appointed to several state boards, including when then-Gov. George W. Bush named her to the Texas Funeral Service Commission.

And just like it would happen in real life, I gave them a really old picture of myself, too.

Continue ReadingDick Cheney Shoots Me

Dick Cheney Shoots Lady Liberty

Passed along to me by my friend Ian..

(Not Really) CNN — Lady Liberty, a 225-year-old Freedom Fighter, was in stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend Traitor hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.
Lady Liberty, a millionaire Freedom Fighter from America, was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a Corpus Christi hospital Sunday, said Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System.

Ian made the page at: http://igotshotbydickcheney.com/
Get peppered by Dick yourself!

Continue ReadingDick Cheney Shoots Lady Liberty

Johnny Weir Dodges the Gay Question

Johnny’s flamboyant, but he’s not officially out…

“I think it’s funny that people care,” Weir said before ultimately placing fourth. “I don’t have a problem with people saying anything. People could be saying, ‘Oh, let’s poll about Bode Miller. Let’s poll about Michelle Kwan being a lesbian. It’s not a big deal. Who I sleep with doesn’t affect what I’m doing on the ice or what I’m doing in a press conference.”

Earlier in the week, the Tribune interviewed Rudi Galindo, a former U.S. champion and one of the only openly gay figure skaters in the business. Galindo complained that the media was not confronting Weir about the question of whether he is gay.

“He’s drinking tea with his pinkie finger in the air, and he’s so over the top and feminine, why is everybody asking him about his style and not just ask him if he’s gay?” Galindo told the Tribune. “It’s the funniest thing to watch.”

Weir has never publicly discussed rumors that he is gay, though according to the Tribune, at nationals he said he had been through a tumultuous personal relationship recently that had had a negative impact on his skating. When asked to further discuss that issue again at the Olympics, he declined.

In past news conferences, Weir has described himself as a “diva” and called himself “princess-y,” making sure to point out that he is not a jock but an athlete dressed in rhinestones and sequins.

Then, when asked about the subject on his personal Web site, Weir replied: “People talk. Figure skating is thought of as a female sport, something that only girly men compete in. I don’t feel the need to express my sexual being because it’s not part of my sport and it’s private. I can sleep with whomever I choose.”

I’ve seen it a dozen different places already online, but I can’t help making the reference myself, because I sing the song every time I think of him – Johnny Are You Queer?

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Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Costs $363.8 million

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon’s costs for firing service members for homosexuality under its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy were nearly twice as high as a government estimate made last year, an independent commission said on Tuesday.
A University of California commission of military experts said it cost at least $363.8 million to implement the policy from 1994 to 2003. That is 91 percent more than the $190.5 million estimated a year ago by the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ investigative arm.
Opponents of the policy — a compromise forged when former President Bill Clinton tried to lift the Pentagon’s ban on gays serving in the military — said the report showed more reason to end restrictions entirely.
Under the policy, gays could serve if their sexual orientation remained secret and if they refrained from homosexual conduct. More than 10,000 service members have been fired for homosexuality since 1994, the panel said.

Too bad the government didn’t go with the “So they’re gay, get over it” policy instead — it cost $0.00. And we could have built a few schools with the savings.

Continue ReadingDon’t Ask Don’t Tell Costs $363.8 million

Guerilla Marketing Tips

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I found this interesting post on how the Chick Tracts nuts suggest distributing their mini hate-comics to the public.
The comedic, ironic aspects of Chick Tracts aside, they actually have some interesting guerilla marketing techniques on how to get their message across that could be duplicated, say by a GLBT direct action group in Indianapolis. If there still were one.

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2008 GOP Convention in Indianapolis?

The [link deprecated: http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/243304-2091-127.html] Indy Star reports that our fair metropolis is on the list of cities invited to bid to host the 2008 GOP Convention. Requirements: we have to foot the bill for security.

God no. Please no. I’d rather gargle with motor oil than pay for security for wingnuts. Oh, wait. Can I pay for really crappy security?

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LGBTQ Youth Equality Ride Across the U.S.

During March and April The Soulforce Equality Ride will be visiting 19 religious and military schools to give voice to those who can not speak up themselves because of oppressive school policies. Many of these schools expell lgbtq students who come out or are outed.
At military and religious colleges around the nation, bans on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender enrollment force students into closets of fear and self-hate. These bans devalue the life of GLBT people and they slam the door on academic freedom. The Equality Ride empowers young adults to challenge these college bans.

Scheduled to take place in the spring of 2006, the Equality Ride will take 25–30 young adults on a seven-week bus tour to confront numerous religious and/or military colleges that ban the enrollment of GLBT students. At each stop along the journey the members of the Equality Ride will present a powerful case for GLBT equality.

Like the Freedom Rides of the 50’s and 60’s, the Equality Ride is a student-led effort that takes young adults into epicenters of intolerance and oppression to make a better tomorrow. In going on this journey, the Equality Riders draw inspiration from those Freedom Riders over forty years ago.

The goal of Soulforce is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance.

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