Out of Town this Weekend!
First the holidays, and now I am out of town this weekend, hence the significant decrease in new posts here and at my other blog.
I am currently in Pittsburgh, PA for the weekend, hanging out with friends and generally having a relaxing, party-filled weekend. Luckily, unlike the last time I left town, I brought my entire computer with me this time, but computer time is limited, so don’t expect too much to be happening over here until Monday, December 1.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is having a great weekend. See you Monday!
“You Never Know if You’re Going to Get a Hug or a Brick Through Your Window”
Prop 8 has brought forward a great deal of emotions among not only Californians, but people of all sexual orientations across the country. A matter of civil liberties and equal rights does not merely affect those would directly benefit from them, but also those people’s families, friends and generally anyone who believes that certain privileges, if given to one group of people, should be given to all other groups of people.
The Human Rights Campaign recently put out an email with a call to action for all people who believe in equal rights; simply talk to your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and anyone else who will listen, about why marriage equality matters to you. Along with this, they also told the story of two women, Jan and DeAnn, who were married in California this August. I loved the story and while you all should already be out there speaking out about why marriage equality is important and why it matters and why legislation like Prop 8 is a homophobic, bigoted, close-minded approach to legislate away the rights of hard-working Americans who deserve everything this country has to offer–And is already giving one group of people, if you need more inspiration here you go:
Jan and DeAnn, who were married in California this August, had spent 8 years living next to Jon and Brenda. They chatted about lawn care, skiing, and home repair, and DeAnn even taught their four children in spelling games and rounds of Old Maid once a week – but knowing the anti-gay stance of their neighbors’ religion, Jan and DeAnn had decided never to discuss their personal life.
Brenda was in her yard when the limousine pulled up on Jan and DeAnn’s wedding day. When she asked what the occasion was, they decided to tell Brenda they were getting married. They were shocked when Brenda immediately hugged them, burst into tears, and sobbed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Jan replied, “You never know if you’re going to get a hug or a brick through your window.” DeAnn said, “I was afraid of losing your children.”
Then, Jan says, “We all cried, gave one last hug, and entered the limo with soaring spirits.”
There needs to be more stories like this and more people need to get out there and shout out from the rooftops about why it is so important for same-sex couples to be given the same rights as heterosexual couples to make more stories like this possible.
Wanda Sykes is Out and Proud
I’m a little late with this, but as the saying goes, it’s better late than never. So, for those of you who didn’t already know or for those of you who just cannot get enough of this wonderful speech Sykes gave, here you go.
* warning for the YouTube comments, as per usual, they consist of almost nothing but bible-thumping bullshit.
Wanda Sykes is officially out of the closet–publicly.
The article that was written in Black Voices about this is a little…demeaning if you ask me. First of all, the title sounds more like a punch in the gut–Wanda Sykes: Declaring Herself Gay, After Feeling ‘Attacked’ By Proposition 8
Declaring herself gay? Like that’s all there is to it? Someone just wakes up one morning, declares themselves gay and goes to Starbucks for a latte? No, I don’t think so. The article itself is pretty straight-forward, but then we’re hit with another ‘WTF’ moment when we get to the bottom of the article and we see a poll with the heading What do you think of Wanda Sykes’ revelation that she is gay?
Wanda Sykes’ revelation, huh? Maybe, just maybe, if this writer listening to Sykes’ speech, they would know that this wasn’t a “revelation,” but I just had a revelation of the writer of this article being an asshole, throwing subtle gut punches into an article for perhaps their own, personal amusement. I was waiting for a line like ‘Wanda Sykes has made the choice to become gay,’ but I guess these two examples of a writer writing an article they should have definitely steered clear of is just as good.
I Think GenderAnalyzer was Created by a Man (100%)
While reading one of my favorite blogs, Womanist Musings, I came across a post of hers about this website, GenderAnalyzer, which tries to guess, basically, if your site is written by a man or a woman. Obviously, I was very interested in finding out if my site was written by a male or a female and apparently I am doing something right or very wrong because they got it right.
Now before you start saying that of course GenderAnalyzer said Menstrual Poetry was written by a woman; just look at the name! You would also conclude that Womanist Musings would have come up as written by a woman, given the fact that the word ‘woman’ is in the title, but no, it concluded that a man is behind that blog.
Perhaps it’s the amount of times I have used words such as vagina or abortion, although most of the people who have such a huge problem with that are oddly middle to eldery aged men, or maybe I really do just blog like a girl…
Hillary Clinton Considered for Secretary of State Position
The transition into an Obama administration is shaping up to be as historic as he being elected as president.
It’s no secret that Obama is sick of usual politics when it comes to this country and it is also no secret that his entire administration will be aiming for the change he has been talking about for the past two years. With a change of administration and leadership aiming for radical, much-needed change of government, Obama has also grown tired of the usual candidates up for the position of Secretary of State, such as John Kerry (D-Mass.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and maybe former Democratic senator Sam Nunn of Georgia and has one, particular person in mind for the job and hold onto your hats, it’s a woman we’re pretty aware of.
There’s talk, indeed, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) may now be under consideration for the post. Her office referred any questions to the Obama transition; Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to comment.
The pick of the former presidential contender and Senate Armed Services Committee member would go a long way toward healing any remaining divisions within the Democratic Party after the divisive primaries. Also, Clinton has long been known for her work on international women’s issues and human rights. The former first lady could also enhance Obama’s efforts to restore U.S. standing amongst allies worldwide.
And Obama could put her in his speed-dial for a 3 a.m. phone call every morning.
Fuck yes.
Does Your Car Turn You On?
Oh the brilliance of Sarah Haskins. Here’s a newish Target Women to feast on. Remember, when we buy a car, we need to feel sexy in it because we are women and when we are not sexy, we are useless…Unless we are baking pies or taking the kids to soccer practice.
Personhood USA will Not Rest until All Women Have No Choices Left
There’s a new anti-choice group on the scene and apparently, they are aiming to make the pro-life movement hip and cool. This incredibly disturbing video shows us what we have to look forward to; basically this new organization, Personhood USA, is on a mission to change the face of the anti-choice movement…by making us all believe that fetuses are the shape of the United States and thereby trying to brainwash the American people into believing that being pro-life is patriotic. ‘If you love this country, you will banish women from being able to make their own choices!’
During the election, Colorado had a ballot initiative called “fetal personhood” that went down in a massive 73% to 27% defeat. This initiative called to define the term “person” to include any human being from the moment of fertilization. Since this initiative crashed and burned, Personhood USA is calling to extend this initiative to cover 17 states nationwide. Apparently if you fail the first time, the key to success is to set your sights higher and spread your venom over a larger amount of space and hope the people in other areas of the country can be fooled into voting to take rights away from women because apparently this is more important than that woman.
Bloggers in Pajamas, Sarah Palin Hates You
While catching up on some political news, I was watching some MSNBC news clips and came across this little gem. Apparently Sarah Palin thinks bloggers are simply people who sit in their parent’s basements, in their pajamas, getting off on the fact that they are spreading gossip and lies. I guess bloggers are simply contributing to the “rotten apple baskets of media” she likes to go on about so much.
Sarah Palin sure likes to blame the media a lot and is simply proving, by doing all of these interviews after the Republican ticket went down in flames on election night, that it was a good idea made by the RNC to keep her away from the media without a teleprompter.
And for the record, no I don’t live with my parents, I’ve been out of my father’s house since I was 17, thank you very much Sarah Palin. Now, as for the whole pajamas thing, we like to be comfortable, okay?
Keith Olbermann at His Finest
I really cannot add anything more to this. These are wise and honest words coming from a man who over 50% of Californians should be forced to watch and listen to.
Bush Admits He has Regrets
As Bush’s Republican Reign of Terror draws to an end, he admits that he has a few regrets from over the past eight years.
A few regrets? A few? I’d call his entire presidency one, giant American regret, but alright, if that’s how he wants to play this thing…
“I regret saying some things I shouldn’t have said,” Bush told CNN’s Heidi Collins when asked to reflect on his regrets over his two terms as president. “Like ‘Dead or Alive’ and ‘Bring ‘em on.’ My wife reminded me that, hey, as president of the United States be careful what you say.”
I agree with Laura Bush here; no matter what you’re really thinking, it’s always a good idea to lead the American people into a false sense of security. That way, when we’re in a third world country killing innocent civilians, we think we’re doing it for a good reason and not just because “we’re soldiers” while knowing that the entire war is one big pissing contest. Moving on…
The president said he wishes he had not spoken in front of a “Mission Accomplished” banner he declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq on May 1, 2003. The now-infamous moment occurred aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln only a month after U.S. troops in Iraq were deployed.
Ah yes, declaring a win just a month after troops deployed; what was that thing about luring the American people into a false sense of security again? He sure knew how to play his cards back then, I’m just glad that most of us see through all this bullshit now, even if merely after the fact.
So is this Bush admitting defeat? Nah, if we can keep spending up to $10 billion in Iraq every month for a war there was no reason to start to begin with then I doubt Bush would admit defeat when it comes to his entire presidency. Perhaps he’s trying to up his street cred, since he is the least-liked president in the history of the United States.
So are we willing to forgive Bush for his discrepancies now that he’s (finally) leaving the White House? Well, I won’t, since I have been pointing out these little regrets he has now back when they were happening and everyone was calling me crazy. I do not care that Bush has decided to go all soft in order to restore his name and his poor excuse for a presidency; in fact, the only thing I have to say to Mr. Bush is ‘war crimes.’
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Out Campaign
The OUT Campaign allows individuals to let others know they are not alone. It can also be a nice way of opening a conversation and help to demolish the negative stereotypes of atheists. Let the world know that we are not about to go away and that we are not going to allow those that would condemn us to push us into the shadows.
