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December 29, 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Saturday's Links
Activism
In 2001, Microsoft received the Corporate Vision Award from the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. The award was given for Microsoft's "leadership in promoting the civil rights of gays and lesbians." But after their backwards stance on gay and lesbian rights last week, the LA Center asked for their award back. Only, Microsoft won't do it. They won't even take the Center's calls. John Aravosis, over at AmericaBlog, has the skinny on how you can call Microsoft out. Let them know you won't stand for them bowing to political pressure from the fringe right, and tell 'em Still Fighting sent ya!
News
Gerald Allen: He's Fighting To End the First Ammendment to Protect YOU! Gerald Allen is a Republican lawmaker. He lives in Alabama. And he has introduced a bill into the State House that would disallow public school libraries from purchasing new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters. These libraries would also have to remove any offending books (like Tennessee Williams, "The Color Purple," etc). "I don't look at it as censorship," he is quoted as saying. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children." Really? You think that? Because Webster's defines "to censor" as "To examine and expurgate." Since Mr. Allan does appear to be uneducated, we'll edify him. Expurgate: To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication. So, Mr. Allan doesn't think what he is proposing is "censorship?" If Mr. Allen doesn't want children reading these books, then perhaps he needs to read up on a little something we like to call the First Amendment. What's next? Book burnings?
Retirement Bill. No, that's not a new character on Sesame Street. Rather, Bush believes that Congress will have drafted a new "Retirement Bill" by June, which would include a new Social Security plan. You know our feelings on this by now - we're simply aghast that Bush thinks he will be able to push this through. Once again, he warned Democrats not to "play politics as usual," but the threat is an empty one, as Democrats will obviously not back down on this issue. Social Security could turn into the defining moment of Bush's presidency, sadly enough, because if he has his way, this legislation will cut guaranteed benefits for millions of Americans. Maybe Bush feels that he hasn't pissed off enough Americans, so he's going to hit them where it hurts - their pocketbooks. Hopefully, it will end up defining him - his failure to actually do his job properly will ultimately result in him finally being viewed for all-time as the cynical charlatan half of us know he is.
Clinton Finds His Surrogate Family. If you're like us, you feel a bit dismayed at watching Clinton cozy up to the Bush family over the past few months. We like to think of Clinton as a man, if not genuine in his private life, at least genuine in his concern for all Americans. How can he be so close to men who don't give a damn about the American people? You know that we'd give the Bushes a piece of our minds if we were around them for so long. But that's part of Clinton's gift, as well as his curse - he's great at being liked by everyone he meets, which is good for him, because he seemingly needsto be liked by everyone in the world.
Editorials
Crisis of Faith: How Fundamentalism is Splitting the GOP. Andrew Sullivan on the current state of conservatives. We couldn't be happier reading this editorial, because it means that the Democrats are doing the right thing - slightly nudge, but stay quiet; let the Republicans hurt themselves, which they have been doing with unadorned aplomb lately. From hypocrisy to outright lies, we've seen the GOP fall a few pegs. But it's more than that - Sullivan does a great job showing how conservatives have done, if not a 180, then a 179 since 1994. It may be hard for a liberal to really understand where a conservative is coming from, but Sullivan leads you down that path, and after reading this article, you'll have a much better understanding of the "right." A must read for anyone, liberal or conservative. It's a little long, but certainly worth the time.
Bolton's British Problem Michael Hirsh on yet more John Bolton screw-ups; this time, it's all about Britain, and helps to explain why Colin Powell spoke out against Bolton. Bush describes Bolton as the perfect person to "hardline reform the U.N.," but it was GOP Senators that wanted to hold off on the vote. What a coup it would be for Democrats to be successful in blocking Bolton's nomination! a
Right Wing Power Grab: Frist Voted To Continue A Filibuster Against A Judicial Nominee. I know, you're shocked to read even more Republican hypocrisy, but there it is. How do these people live with themselves? Look at Chris Bowers's research and see that GOP filibustering of judicial nominees has happened in the past, and Frist is no stranger to it. So why, oh why, do they strut and preen now about how wrong it is? If we did this at our jobs, we'd be fired quicker than you could say "hypocrite." It's too bad Frist is retiring from the Senate, because it'd be pretty satisfying to take him down. We guess that might have to wait until the '08 Presidential race...
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December 29, 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Saturday's Links
Activism
In 2001, Microsoft received the Corporate Vision Award from the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. The award was given for Microsoft's "leadership in promoting the civil rights of gays and lesbians." But after their backwards stance on gay and lesbian rights last week, the LA Center asked for their award back. Only, Microsoft won't do it. They won't even take the Center's calls. John Aravosis, over at AmericaBlog, has the skinny on how you can call Microsoft out. Let them know you won't stand for them bowing to political pressure from the fringe right, and tell 'em Still Fighting sent ya!
News
Gerald Allen: He's Fighting To End the First Ammendment to Protect YOU! Gerald Allen is a Republican lawmaker. He lives in Alabama. And he has introduced a bill into the State House that would disallow public school libraries from purchasing new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters. These libraries would also have to remove any offending books (like Tennessee Williams, "The Color Purple," etc). "I don't look at it as censorship," he is quoted as saying. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children." Really? You think that? Because Webster's defines "to censor" as "To examine and expurgate." Since Mr. Allan does appear to be uneducated, we'll edify him. Expurgate: To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication. So, Mr. Allan doesn't think what he is proposing is "censorship?" If Mr. Allen doesn't want children reading these books, then perhaps he needs to read up on a little something we like to call the First Amendment. What's next? Book burnings?
Retirement Bill. No, that's not a new character on Sesame Street. Rather, Bush believes that Congress will have drafted a new "Retirement Bill" by June, which would include a new Social Security plan. You know our feelings on this by now - we're simply aghast that Bush thinks he will be able to push this through. Once again, he warned Democrats not to "play politics as usual," but the threat is an empty one, as Democrats will obviously not back down on this issue. Social Security could turn into the defining moment of Bush's presidency, sadly enough, because if he has his way, this legislation will cut guaranteed benefits for millions of Americans. Maybe Bush feels that he hasn't pissed off enough Americans, so he's going to hit them where it hurts - their pocketbooks. Hopefully, it will end up defining him - his failure to actually do his job properly will ultimately result in him finally being viewed for all-time as the cynical charlatan half of us know he is.
Clinton Finds His Surrogate Family. If you're like us, you feel a bit dismayed at watching Clinton cozy up to the Bush family over the past few months. We like to think of Clinton as a man, if not genuine in his private life, at least genuine in his concern for all Americans. How can he be so close to men who don't give a damn about the American people? You know that we'd give the Bushes a piece of our minds if we were around them for so long. But that's part of Clinton's gift, as well as his curse - he's great at being liked by everyone he meets, which is good for him, because he seemingly needsto be liked by everyone in the world.
Editorials
Crisis of Faith: How Fundamentalism is Splitting the GOP. Andrew Sullivan on the current state of conservatives. We couldn't be happier reading this editorial, because it means that the Democrats are doing the right thing - slightly nudge, but stay quiet; let the Republicans hurt themselves, which they have been doing with unadorned aplomb lately. From hypocrisy to outright lies, we've seen the GOP fall a few pegs. But it's more than that - Sullivan does a great job showing how conservatives have done, if not a 180, then a 179 since 1994. It may be hard for a liberal to really understand where a conservative is coming from, but Sullivan leads you down that path, and after reading this article, you'll have a much better understanding of the "right." A must read for anyone, liberal or conservative. It's a little long, but certainly worth the time.
Bolton's British Problem Michael Hirsh on yet more John Bolton screw-ups; this time, it's all about Britain, and helps to explain why Colin Powell spoke out against Bolton. Bush describes Bolton as the perfect person to "hardline reform the U.N.," but it was GOP Senators that wanted to hold off on the vote. What a coup it would be for Democrats to be successful in blocking Bolton's nomination! a
Right Wing Power Grab: Frist Voted To Continue A Filibuster Against A Judicial Nominee. I know, you're shocked to read even more Republican hypocrisy, but there it is. How do these people live with themselves? Look at Chris Bowers's research and see that GOP filibustering of judicial nominees has happened in the past, and Frist is no stranger to it. So why, oh why, do they strut and preen now about how wrong it is? If we did this at our jobs, we'd be fired quicker than you could say "hypocrite." It's too bad Frist is retiring from the Senate, because it'd be pretty satisfying to take him down. We guess that might have to wait until the '08 Presidential race...
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December 29, 2005
In 2001, Microsoft received the Corporate Vision Award from the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. The award was given for Microsoft's "leadership in promoting the civil rights of gays and lesbians." But after their backwards stance on gay and lesbian rights last week, the LA Center asked for their award back. Only, Microsoft won't do it. They won't even take the Center's calls. John Aravosis, over at AmericaBlog, has the skinny on how you can call Microsoft out. Let them know you won't stand for them bowing to political pressure from the fringe right, and tell 'em Still Fighting sent ya!
News
Gerald Allen: He's Fighting To End the First Ammendment to Protect YOU! Gerald Allen is a Republican lawmaker. He lives in Alabama. And he has introduced a bill into the State House that would disallow public school libraries from purchasing new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters. These libraries would also have to remove any offending books (like Tennessee Williams, "The Color Purple," etc). "I don't look at it as censorship," he is quoted as saying. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children." Really? You think that? Because Webster's defines "to censor" as "To examine and expurgate." Since Mr. Allan does appear to be uneducated, we'll edify him. Expurgate: To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication. So, Mr. Allan doesn't think what he is proposing is "censorship?" If Mr. Allen doesn't want children reading these books, then perhaps he needs to read up on a little something we like to call the First Amendment. What's next? Book burnings?
Retirement Bill. No, that's not a new character on Sesame Street. Rather, Bush believes that Congress will have drafted a new "Retirement Bill" by June, which would include a new Social Security plan. You know our feelings on this by now - we're simply aghast that Bush thinks he will be able to push this through. Once again, he warned Democrats not to "play politics as usual," but the threat is an empty one, as Democrats will obviously not back down on this issue. Social Security could turn into the defining moment of Bush's presidency, sadly enough, because if he has his way, this legislation will cut guaranteed benefits for millions of Americans. Maybe Bush feels that he hasn't pissed off enough Americans, so he's going to hit them where it hurts - their pocketbooks. Hopefully, it will end up defining him - his failure to actually do his job properly will ultimately result in him finally being viewed for all-time as the cynical charlatan half of us know he is.
Clinton Finds His Surrogate Family. If you're like us, you feel a bit dismayed at watching Clinton cozy up to the Bush family over the past few months. We like to think of Clinton as a man, if not genuine in his private life, at least genuine in his concern for all Americans. How can he be so close to men who don't give a damn about the American people? You know that we'd give the Bushes a piece of our minds if we were around them for so long. But that's part of Clinton's gift, as well as his curse - he's great at being liked by everyone he meets, which is good for him, because he seemingly needsto be liked by everyone in the world.
Editorials
Crisis of Faith: How Fundamentalism is Splitting the GOP. Andrew Sullivan on the current state of conservatives. We couldn't be happier reading this editorial, because it means that the Democrats are doing the right thing - slightly nudge, but stay quiet; let the Republicans hurt themselves, which they have been doing with unadorned aplomb lately. From hypocrisy to outright lies, we've seen the GOP fall a few pegs. But it's more than that - Sullivan does a great job showing how conservatives have done, if not a 180, then a 179 since 1994. It may be hard for a liberal to really understand where a conservative is coming from, but Sullivan leads you down that path, and after reading this article, you'll have a much better understanding of the "right." A must read for anyone, liberal or conservative. It's a little long, but certainly worth the time.
Bolton's British Problem Michael Hirsh on yet more John Bolton screw-ups; this time, it's all about Britain, and helps to explain why Colin Powell spoke out against Bolton. Bush describes Bolton as the perfect person to "hardline reform the U.N.," but it was GOP Senators that wanted to hold off on the vote. What a coup it would be for Democrats to be successful in blocking Bolton's nomination! a
Right Wing Power Grab: Frist Voted To Continue A Filibuster Against A Judicial Nominee. I know, you're shocked to read even more Republican hypocrisy, but there it is. How do these people live with themselves? Look at Chris Bowers's research and see that GOP filibustering of judicial nominees has happened in the past, and Frist is no stranger to it. So why, oh why, do they strut and preen now about how wrong it is? If we did this at our jobs, we'd be fired quicker than you could say "hypocrite." It's too bad Frist is retiring from the Senate, because it'd be pretty satisfying to take him down. We guess that might have to wait until the '08 Presidential race...
