Birther Watch

Here's an "AP" story being circulated by the Birthers. They really need to try harder if they're going to pull off a fake AP story -- I can't see the news wire actually using the phrase "looking pretty grim." And at the end of the email the sender urges his readers to "pass it along -- because the media won't" -- well, I don't think you get any more MSM than the AP. They are so deluded they lack even the bare amount of internal logic necessary to ever be credible.

AP- WASHINGTON D.C. - In a move certain to fuel the debateover Obama's qualifications for the presidency, the group "Americans forFreedom of Information" has Released copies of President Obama's college transcripts from Occidental College. Released today, the transcript indicates thatObama, under the name Barry Soetoro, received financial aid as a foreignstudent from Indonesia as an undergraduate at the school. The transcript was released by Occidental College in compliance with a court order in a suitbrought by the group in the Superior Court of California.

The transcript shows that Obama (Soetoro) applied for financial aid and was awarded a fellowship for foreign students from the FulbrightFoundation Scholarship program. To qualify, for the scholarship, a student must claim foreign citizenship. This document would seem to provide thesmoking gun that many of Obama's detractors have been seeking. Along withthe evidence that he was first born in Kenya and there is no record of himever applying for US citizenship, this is looking pretty grim. The news hascreated a firestorm at the White House as the release casts increasing doubt about Obama's legitimacy and qualification to serve as president. Whenreached for comment in London, where he has been in meetings with BritishPrime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama smiled but refused comment on the issue.

Britain's Daily Mail has also carried the story in a front-page article titled, "Obama Eligibility Questioned," leading some to speculate that the story may overshadow economic issues on Obama's first official visit to the U.K.

In a related matter, under growing pressure from several groups, Justice Antonin Scalia announced that the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear arguments concerning Obama's legal eligibility to serve as President in a case brought by Leo Donofrio of New Jersey. This lawsuit claims Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. Donofrio's case is just one of 18 suits brought by citizens demanding proof of Obama's citizenship or qualification to serve as president.

Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation has released the results of their investigation of Obama's campaign spending. This study estimates that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records. Mr. Kreep indicated that the investigation is still ongoing but that the final report will be provided to the U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder. Mr. Holder hasrefused to comment on the matter.

"I'm Praying For You"

I guess it's nice when someone says that to you, it means they care and are thinking of you. It's nice, but not really helpful.

What would be helpful would be if they could share God's response.

Otherwise they might as just as well say "I'm thinking about you."

DC Metro

I don't ride Metro regularly. Today I did.

I was somewhat amused and alarmed that as we were leaving the Archives station the driver announced that the next stop was Archives. And as we pulled into L'Enfant station the driver repeated his mistake by announcing that we were arriving at Archives.

If Metrorail train operators don't know where they are I doubt they're really paying attention to driving the train.

On this Day in History

Today, in 1790, a swath of land at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers was designated as the seat of the new nation's government.

Marion Barry was arrested the next day.

Obama Born Outside US

Right wing whack-job Alan Keyes (I know, you thought I meant Sarah Palin there for a minute) has won a small technical victory in his case declaring Barack Obama an "illegal" president, alleging he was born in Kenya and not Hawaii (via Joe).

But even if we assume for a moment that this were true, Obama would still be eligible to be president because if I read Title 8 of the US code correctly, he is still considered a "natural born citizen" because he had one parent who was a US citizen. According to Title 8, people who are "Citizens of the United States at birth" include this:

Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)

This would describe Obama's situation if he were born in Kenya as Keyes delusionally thinks.

Adopting Dori

UPDATE: She is much improved. She still has diarhea but is eating and is perky and active. Things are looking much, much better and we're hoping for a discharge tonight. (7/13 10 a.m.)

"If it's a congenital heart defect, there is no prognosis. We would have to put her down."

You don't expect to hear those words less than 24 hours after adopting an eight-week-old puppy. Only a few short hours ago we were wrestling with what name to give her and where to put her crate. We didn't expect to be at the Vet with our new puppy, let alone being confronted with this dire possibility.

Of course, things haven't gone exactly as expected for us, dog-wise. Two weeks ago today while hiking in the Shenandoah National Park, Dave and I spoke about the waning days of our 12 year old dog Buster while one-year-old Dixie darted back and forth on the trail beneath our feet.

And then she vanished into the underbrush -- the scent of a deer luring away our expected 12-15 years with this sweet dog.

I wasn't sure I was ready to adopt another dog so soon after Dixie's disappearance but when Dave started e-mailing me links to adoptable puppies, I knew I wouldn't have a choice. And when I came home last Wednesday and found the profiles of three puppies printed out and sitting on the dining room table, I gave in.

We settled on the puppy named "Mallory." She was a lab/retriever mix from South Carolina, being rescued by Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. LDAR is an amazing organization. They rescue dogs from "high-kill" shelters in the South, bring them to the DC area and place them in foster homes until they can be adopted. A transport of dogs from South Carolina was scheduled for Saturday at 4:30 and Mallory -- and her 5 siblings -- were heading North.

Because we had successfully adopted from LDAR before Dave was able to arrange for Mallory to skip the foster step and go right into adoption with us.

Saturday we began getting ready for having a puppy in the house -- our first in 12 years. A neighbor gave us a crate. We secured the back yard. In keeping with the times we went to Green Pets on 14th Street to get supplies. Nothing but organic, non-pesticided foods for this pooch. We were determined she have small carbon pawprint.

At 4 pm, we nervously made the trip to a parking lot in NW DC (yes, there are parking lots in NW, who knew?) where the transports were arriving.

This sounds simple but it's actually a complex, hectic task. There are 40-50 dogs in crates in a large cargo van arriving. Meanwhile a crowd about twice that size of humans is standing around, waiting for their foster dog. The dogs arrive and we crowd around the van. The LDAR volunteers somehow sort the dogs out, calling the name of the dog so their temporary humans can claim them. While the humans take the dogs for a much needed walk, the LDAR folks sort out the dogs medical records which have also arrived in the van. Only then can the dogs go to their temporary homes.

They gave us special instructions because we were dealing with a pup who hadn't had all her shots yet. Parvo is a nasty dog tummy disease that is hard and costly to treat and it's very contagious. No touching other dogs. Don't put her on the ground where other dogs have been. She'll need a drink of water but only let her drink out of her own bowl.

We teamed up with Susan, a saint who is fostering Mallory's five siblings (How many people do you know would open up their home to five un-housebroken puppies covered in dog-yuck? But because of her these animals will not die and will go to good homes, probably with kids who will have happy, lifelong memories of their childhood dogs. Because of this woman -- and all the volunteers at LDAR) We got the dogs sorted out and I picked Mallory up.

She was tiny, clearly the runt of the litter. I could see fleas crawling through her thin mat of fur. She smelled of urine and feces and vomit and had puppy breath.

And I thought she was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

She has a white face with beautiful olive eyes. And she lifted her face to my chin and licked my beard.

We got the paperwork done, gave her a drink and finally we were off taking her to her "forever home."

We let her walk around the back yard a bit and then gave her a much needed bath. Actually, by this time we all needed a bath and so the humans showered and all flea-contaminated clothes were quickly washed.

She ate.

And then puked. And pooped. Pooped nasty watery foul smelling slime.

But she seemed fine enough before bed time and again in the middle of the night when we checked on her.

But this morning her crate floor blanket was covered in puke and diarrhea. I cleaned her and fed her. And the whole process started again. I thought she seemed lethargic and less lively than she had been the night before. And then we saw blood in the stool.

That's when the fear hit: Parvo.

Parvo is a virus that attacks the cells of the digestive system and can invade the heart, causing sudden death. It is difficult and expensive to treat. And it's common in dogs from the South.

At 10 AM this morning we were on the front stairs of our Vet's office waiting for them to open. We had no appointment, but they were able to take us in. By this time it was clear that "Mallory" was literally one sick puppy.

They first tested for Parvo. While we were waiting for the results, she got a thorough exam.

She was pale. I didn't know dogs could be pale, but they can be. You look at the gums. The Doc thought this meant she was anemic. She had a heart murmur. Could be because of the anemia, the Doctor guessed. She's dehydrated from the vomiting and pooping. And she's malnourished.

The Parvo text came back. Negative. That was a relief - - but we knew at this point Mallory was going to need more intensive care than we could give her. An hour later, when the blood work came back, the doctor's guess of anemia was confirmed.

This is where the Doctor starts speculating. The anemia was likely due to blood loss from intestinal worms and fleas feeding off her. Fleas can literally kill a dog or cat through blood loss. Fleas can bleed a dog to death. I did not know that.

Or...it could be a congenital heart defect causing her to bleed into her intestines.

I know which theory I'm going with.

So, we took her to the Friendship Heights Animal Hospital where she is getting IV fluids and nutrition as well as meds to get her digestive system in order. We're hoping this will correct the anemia which could also end the heart murmur.

Her little crate is here, empty. Her blanket -- which she spent just a few short hours on -- is clean, soft and waiting. While we wait for the hospital to call with an update.

As we were about to walk into the hospital earlier today, Dave stopped and turned to me and, with tears in his eyes said, "We have to name her. We can't leave her here without a name."

I looked at her and knew. "Her name is Dori," I said.

Get well, little Dori.

A New Puppy

Dave is pushing for a new dog after Dixie disappeared two weeks ago.
I think it's a little soon, but admit the chances of her re-emerging at this point are slim. Working theory -- someone found her, liked her and kept her. At least until she decides to take another walkabout and plop into someone else's life.

So, Dave contacted the pet rescue people and found this pup -- "Mallory," a lab/retriever mix.

So, the name "Mallory" has to go. The Pet Rescue people, we think, give the dogs names because it's probably easier to adopt a dog with a name than a number. Dixie came to us as "Selena."

Mallory makes me think of Alex P. Keaton's sister. So we talked about a new name last night.

Dave: How about "Pooka dog."

Me: What?

Dave: It's Hawaiian for "hot dog." Isn't that clever?

Me: I'm not going, "Here Pooka Dog!" That's too gay.

Dave: Well, how about a regular girl name. [he thinks for a minute] How about Bonnie?

Me: We have a friend named Bonnie. We can't name her Bonnie

Dave: But she's moving.

Me: [knowing I need to come up with an acceptable alternative or I'm going to be stuck with "Pooka Dog" -- which means why not just get a poodle and groom her and tie pink ribbons in her fur] How about "Betty?"

So we're thinking about "Betty." Feminine, yet kind of working class girl. And we don't have any friends named Betty.

Thoughts?

Tortured Quote for the Day

Sarah Palin:

"I’ve never thought I needed a title before one’s name to forge progress in America."

She gets lost in one sentence. It starts out about her and ends up about everyone. She should have more properly said, "I never thought I needed a title before my name to forge progress in America." Or, more modestly, "I never thought a title was required to forge progress in America." And the "forge progress" part is clunky -- "forge" makes me think of a blacksmith or something large and bulky from a time when trains belched steam. I don't sense "progress" in the forging. "Spark, spur," or even a simple "create" would have sufficed.

But perhaps I expect too much from someone the Republican Party said was qualified to be leader of the free world.

I doubt there is a scandal coming. This smells like a temper-tantrum.

I don't think she needed a scandal to force one's resignation.

See, she's got me doing it.

Marion Barry

You know, we should just forgive his tax debts in light of the entertainment value he keeps providing year after year.

At the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Summer is here and that means the Smithsonian has erected tents on the mall and invited folk singers and tellers and craft makers from far and near to come sing their songs, tell their stories and make their wares. This is done for the entertainment of tourists and today, for me on my way home from an early closing at work for the holiday.

I love the musical acts they bring to these things. A few years ago a sister duo from the Orkney Islands reduced me to sobs with a violin duet written by a man mourning the passing of his lifelong wife.

Today I listened to a Welsh duo singing about beheading horses. They said it was a Christmas song.

I did not stick around for the Halloween set.

Next I witnessed a beautiful, young African American woman and an elderly Asian man spontaneously (and actually somewhat sensuously) dance together to the music of a Colombian dance band. They were soon joined by dancers from every creed, race and walk of life.

I mean, does anyone do this anywhere else? America: a place where everyone, no matter who they are, can stand up and make complete fools of themselves.

(That was the point of the George W. Bush presidency, was it not?)

I took a picture of the dancers on my iPhone, which I will add to this post later. I'm too lazy right now.

F**K Gay People

This man remains markedly cool as he's verbally assaulted by a gang of teens and other kids following the Minneapolis Gay Pride Parade.

I could not have remained as cool. Via Joe.My.God.

I Married a Wiener

A Kinder, Gentler DADT

Is this progress?

Change we can believe in?

Facebook of the Day

From DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who is one of my facebook pals:

"Nothing could be sadder than going to a service for a man you respected, who died in the Metro collision, than going to the service of Gen. David Wherley and his wife, Ann, at the Armory where he worked and lavished love on D.C., especially our kids. Their cremated remain in one modest wooden vessle. Enough of sadness. Off to Martha's Vineyard for a few days."

Well, I'm glad she could overcome her grief.

Irony Alert

Signs posted on major highways into DC:

"July 4th Events Downtown. Avoid Delays. Take Metro."

Search and Rescue

We were hiking in the Shenandoah National Park yesterday when our dog, Dixie, spotted something and gave chase. She did not come back.

We looked and waited and re-walked the trail and no signs of her. We're going back today. The trail we were on started at the cabin we were renting so there is at least a chance that she would find her way back there.

But if we don't find her, she is wearing a tag with our name and phone number.

Anyway, that's why posting has been light.

Mayor Fenty's Conservation Corps Makes Its Own Work

Leaving the house this morning to walk my dog in my Columbia Heights neighborhood I find this door-hanger flyer lying on my front steps, near the sidewalk. In case you can't read this, it says:

"The Mayor's Conservation Corps -- We're here to help clean and green your neighborhood! "

Apparently their first act of conservation was to conserve the energy it would have taken to walk all the way up to my door to actually hang the flyer. Clearly they set a good example for the Pizza Mart guy who, impressed with their energy saving maneuver, saved his own energy and placed his flyer thoughtfully on top of Conservation one.

And it wasn't that my stairs are overly steep. I found the Conservation Corps "We're here to green your neighborhood" flyer on the sidewalk, in a neighbor's fenced-in yard, on other front stair steps and the street gutter. I guess when they said they would "green" the neighborhood what they meant was littering it with green flyers.
















Hopefully their second act will be to walk back through the neighborhood and pick them up.

And while we're on the subject of conservation -- perhaps the cash-strapped District could have conserved a few dollars and not printed the green litter brochures in the first place. There are abundant community blogs and listserves they could have spread the word to at no cost and without the trashy residue.

A Tale of Two Obamas

David Link sees two Obamas: One who bodly addresses the thorny problems of the Middle East and one who shirks from (surely less) thorny gay issues.

In the Tank

The newest addition to my aquarium, a purple firefish. He (or she) was immediately shoved around (literally) by the Damselfish. I'm nervous about he (or she) making it...but she (or he) did show interest in food this morning (though didn't eat). I'm hoping he (or..) oh hell, it eats tonight. If so I think it'll make it. If not...

Remember, this is a relaxing hobby.

UPDATE: Fish ate a nice portion of mysis shrimp this morning.

Gays on the Back Burner

Accepting, for the moment, that Obama is sincere in his pro-gay positions, it's clear the Administration has given absolutely no thought or had no discussions about fulfilling campaign promises to gays. They've been caught with their pants down by this uproar and have bungled just about every aspect.

We've been put on the back burner (which led to DOJs throwing us under the bus and backing over us a few times).

And why not? Where else do we have to go? No one is under any illusions that we would be better off with McCain in the White House (with the possible exception of the deranged GOPride folks). Hey, we've got a financial crisis and two wars and health care to fix -- the gays can wait. They're not going anywhere.

And if this were October, 2012, and all that transpired this past week happened then, and it was Romney and Obama on the ballot, where would our dollars and votes go? Would we sit it out?

Sometimes to be gay in America feels a bit like being a man without a country.

Obama Throws the Gays a Bone, Part II

Taking a break from writing fiction, Alan Scott writes me:

"Gay rights are a bitter pill for most people to swallow, so we have to take baby steps to turn negative public opinion to our side. I know that we are pinning a lot of hopes on Obama but sweeping changes aren't going to happen overnight. Baby steps, although frustratingly slow, are how we have to gain our freedoms. :)"

There is some doubt that this was even a step, or if it was, it was a step in place. John Arovosis claims Federal agencies already had the ability to offer these benefits. And the claim that Obama couldn't offer health benefits because of DOMA is at the least debatable because DOMA defines marriage -- not domestic partnership. And the benefits offered in the presidential memo go to domestic partners, not same sex spouses.

It may make some political sense to cheer Obama for this "step." I admit it was striking to see Frank Kameny at the President's shoulder in the Oval Office.

But my fear is that this was a cynical ploy on the part of the White House to smooth over relations with the gay community. In fact, that's what the New York Times reported:

"But administration officials said the timing of the announcement was intended to help contain the growing furor among gay rights groups..."

There is the growing sense that Obama's actions are the exact opposite of his words. He claims to be a "Fierce Advocate" for gay rights, but as the Washington Post notes today:

"Obama's memorandum, designed to be both incremental and pragmatic, typifies the cautious way he has approached gay issues since taking office five months ago."

Obama claims to find DOMA "abhorrent" yet allows his DOJ to advance some of the most abhorrent notions about gay people possible to defend it. Much has been made of the brief's comparison to incest, but to me the most offensive is the claim that if gay people want to marry, they can -- they just have to marry someone of the opposite sex! See, no inequality! To me, that denies our existence and our humanity -- it stands contrary to the fact that gay people require someone of the same sex to meet their physical and emotional human needs, just as straight people require someone of the opposite sex for fulfillment. It's a view that is rooted in pre-nineteenth century scholarship about homosexuality.

Finally, you say that "sweeping changes aren't going to happen overnight." But in a sense, they are -- the recent successes for same sex marriage at the state level augur for some type of sea change. But let's leave the more vexing question of marriage aside for a moment.

As Sean Bugg has been hammering home, 70 percent of Americans support allowing gays to serve openly in America's armed forces. Obama claims he will remove DADT but has taken no steps in that direction, despite the fact that a vast majority of Americans would support him on it. Even the pragmatic "incremental steps" mentioned early are absent here -- the Pentagon says there has been no talks about changing the policy and apparently there hasn't even been staff level discussions about it between the White House and Senate leadership. Apparently Obama and Sen. Harry Reid are staring at each other from opposite ends of Pennsylvania Avenue pointing at each other saying "you do it!"

"Fierce Advocate." Hrmph.

I'm glad every day that John McCain is not in the White House. But until I see action indicating otherwise, President Fierce Advocate is a dud on gay rights.

Obama Throws the Gays a Bone

Obama is extending Federal benefits to partners of federal employees.

The gays were just thrown a bone.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful. Yes, it's progress. It's a step. But it's a baby step. Obama just had the Feds do what many large corporations did in the 1990s.

It doesn't make up for the incendiary language of the DOJ brief; it doesn't end the sweeping inequality that gays live under because of DADT and DOMA. If the gays are impatient it's because we were promised "change" and taking incremental baby steps as a means to placate our demands for full equality is also something that harkens back to the 1990s. Been there, done that, Mr. Fierce Advocate. It's not change. It's more of the same.

Understand this -- our relationships are trashed by federal law and demonized by the current DOJ. In fact, that brief denies the core of who we are -- a people who's emotional and physical needs are best met by a partner of the same sex. Obama's DOJ denies that by arguing that if we want equal marriage rights all we have to do is marry someone of the opposite sex. Mr. Obama -- the Federal government recognizes your humanity and need to marry the person of your choice. Why are we denied the same? The law makes us unequal Americans and you have done nothing to change that and this latest move does not change that.

America has higher ideals than this, Mr. President. But we lag behind many other nations who recognize their gay citizens' humanity and recognize their equal right to marry and serve in the military. I would have more rights in the Queen's England than I do now in Thomas Jefferson's America.

We can do better than this. You can do better than this.

I am glad that the community is in an uproar. As Americans, we will not put up with being treated as second-class citizens.

Pride Festival

I had a great day signing up people for DC For Marriage yesterday. Along the way I ran into many good friends from DCDD, GMCW, Metro Weekly and others. It felt like a family reunion.

After I signed up more than 150 folks in support of DC marriage equality (Yes, we will email you. You will need to take action. This will not happen without you). I scarfed down some festival "food." I asked for a kebob and somehow ended up with a faux-chicken gyro. I was in too good a mood to quibble. Just nibble.

I was happy because so many people seem energized politically. Pride can serve a purpose other than going to a party by enabling our organizations to reach people -- and organize.

HRC Wakes Up

A well done letter from HRC taking Obama to task for the anti-gay DOJ court brief.

Just remember, Joe -- accept action, not words.

(Michael, where are you...I've been expecting you to pop up here and say "told ya so!")

Obama Owes an Apology -- of Action

David Link walks through what likely may have "allowed" the offensive Obama DOJ anti-gay legal brief to be written and filed. I agree with his call-to-action:

The ball is now in the President’s court. He owes us an apology – and not one of words, but one of action. Signing a hate crimes bill won’t do it. Nor will an additional imprecation to Congress to do something about DOMA. It is he who was elected President with the explicit promise that gay equality would be on his agenda. What Presidents do is lead, and after this anything less than the kind of leadership he shows on other issues will be confirmation of a betrayal of those like me who voted for him in good faith.

Iran (continued)

Statement by the Iranian Queer Railroad (Canadian-based group that helps gay Iranians escape persecution in Iran):

Three days after upholding an election that saw tens of millions of Iranian citizens participate in an unprecedented display of hope for "change" in the social, economical, cultural and political aspects of the society, the cities of Iran have become scenes of violent crackdown against people by police and intelligence forces. A large number of people, political activists and journalists have been detained; cellular phone services have been disconnected, access to the Internet has been made virtually impossible, and almost all of the newspapers and publications reflecting reformist or other critical perspectives have been shut down.

Despite the overwhelming participation of the supporters of the two candidates running against Ahmadinejad in this election, and the widespread proliferation of the slogans of "Hope, Reform, and Change", the ministry of state, only hours after the voting deadline, announced Ahmadinejad as the outright winner amid a wave of shock and disbelief; an announcement that was very quickly acknowledged and officially supported by the supreme leader of Iran.

What the supporters of the two reformist candidates and the opposition against Ahmadinejad are correctly calling "wizardry" and "coup d'état" against the will and choice of the people, is a virtual martial law in the streets and universities aimed at a severe crackdown and bloody suppression of the protesting voices.

Overwhelming evidence supports the case that there has been an unprecedented rigging of the results of the tenth presidential elections, evidence that is not only supported by the voters and the representatives of the people at voting stations, but is also acknowledged by the staff of the ministry of state and an established group of well-known clergy.

"Majmaae Rohanyoone Mobarez", which has the former reformist president Mohammad Khatami as a member, has declared the elections "rigged" and called for cancellation or recount of the ballots.

Opposing the true will of the people and their struggle for reform and change, by resorting to organized governmental fraud and the bloody crackdown of the masses, is a clear cut demonstration of severe violation of human rights in a large county where millions of citizens have resorted to their most basic legal right, to arrive at freedom, justice, civic rights, and a friendly relationship with the rest of the world in accordance with international laws and human rights codes.

"Multiple Voices for Change", representing a number of Canadian-Iranian citizens, condemns the harsh crackdown on the Iranian people by the Ahmadinejad government, and calls for human rights organizations and the government of Canada to support the movement of the Iranian people in the name of getting their vote and rightful president back. Crackdown on the Iranian citizens, going against humanity and human rights, and governmental fraud, will not remain contained within the boarders of Iran.

We ask those whose voices echo with us all around the world, regardless of their particular positions in relation to the election, not to leave the Iranian people alone in this uneven fight. Please contact your governments and ask them to support Iranian people and DO NOT indorse the Iran election result.

Ari's Plea

The WaPo reports on the Iranian elections this morning as a done deal -- but following the story online shows the situation to be much more dynamic. I'm reposting my Iranian friend Ari's request for help and vigilance:

To all non-Iranian friends: please help spread the news of the outrage and disgust of the Iranian people with the election results. The western media is very conservative at the moment regarding this blatantly fraudulent election. This is some sort coup d'etat....This is not the will of the Iranian puplic; they are mostly in shock or despair, and the braver ones are being mercilessly beaten on the streets.

By "conservative" I think he means with a smal; "c," not in the liberal vs. conservative political sense.

And here's what happened overnight, from a HuffPo reader via Andrew Sullivan:

"My next door neighbor is an Iranian immigrant who came here in 1977. He just received a SAT phone call from his brother in Tehran who reports that the rooftops of nighttime Tehran are filled with people shouting 'Allah O Akbar' in protest of the government and election results. The last time he remembers this happening is in 1979 during the Revolution. Says the sound of tens of thousands on the rooftops is deafening right now."

And because cell phones and access to Facebook and Youtube have been shut down by the Iranian Government, this "Allah O Akbar" protest was organized by Twitter. Seriously.

Random Thoughts on the Pride Parade

I marched with the Marriage for DC contingent in D.C.'s Pride Parade this evening. Devoted Scott's Take readers and personal friends may be surprised to hear that, given my experience two years ago.

Well, the marriage issue has got me wanting to take to the streets again. So, here are some random thoughts about the parade:

• It didn't rain. I have yet to march in a gay pride parade with rain. So if you wanna march dry, better make sure I'm there.
• Wow, some spectators were really drunk.
• There seemed to be more people than ever.
• DCDD Drum line lookin great!
• The DC Cowboys may look Brokeback Mountain, but they seem to be increasingly clubbish in their repertoire. Still hot, though.
• The Food and Friends float, and the drag queen in the grocery bag costume, were my favorite.
• Lots of bride drag. I'm not sure that really helps. Oh well, not everything has to be taken seriously. I'm learning.
• The DC for Marriage contingent was well received. A group in front of the Crew Club was exceptionally enthusiastic. Hmmm.
• I liked the chant, "When I say 'dee-cee' you say 'marriage.' 'Dee-cee:' 'Marriage!' 'Dee-cee!" Marriage!" It was easy on the throat and since they didn't give us water that became really important for loud chanting, especially by 17th street.
• Why do they have announcers at reviewing stands? Every group has people carrying a big banner with their name printed boldly on it. I think it takes away from what the people on the street are doing. I felt that way as head of a marching band; I felt that way as a dry-throated chanter.
• If every person who took one of our cards signs our petition and gets five of their friends to do the same...wow! Pride matters politically this year more than ever, and in the next several years to come. Rather, it matters if we use the annual gathering to really come together and organize. Which means giving us your email address, people!

Iran

My friend Ari is Iranian and he has sent out an urgent plea, which I'm passing on to you:

To all non-Iranian friends: please help spread the news of the outrage and disgust of the Iranian people with the election results. The western media is very conservative at the moment regarding this blatantly fraudulent election. This is some sort coup d'etat....This is not the will of the Iranian puplic; they are mostly in shock or despair, and the braver ones are being mercilessly beaten on the streets.

The Daily Dish has a good coverage of historic events in Iran.

Pride

I'm going. If for no other reason than to find the Democrats' booth and ask them, "WTF?"

A Gay Soldier's Husband

Via Jimbo.

What it's like to be a "legal stranger" to the most important person in your life.

Obama Admin Defends DOMA

And in pretty vile ways to boot.

Forget the call for a March on Washington in October. How about a March on the White House this weekend? It's Pride weekend here in Washington, so lets take all those thousands of queers who will be here up to Layfette Square at 1600 Penn. on Sunday.

Federal Security Clearance Interview

Yesterday I was interviewed by an Office of Personnel Management investigator who is looking into the background of a friend of mine for her security clearance as an appointee in the Obama Admin.

Here's part of the interview:

Q: What types of social events did you and she attend together?

A: We used to go down to the Hookah bar and hang out after our al Qaeda sleeper cell meetings.

Those Federal agents have no sense of humor.

Re-Asking the Same Sex Marriage Question

Polling guru Nate Silver points out that Americans are more likely to be okay with marriage equality if asked the right question. Via Gay Politics:


When gay marriage is polled, it is almost always framed as a positive right, as in: “should the government permit Adam and Steve to get married?"

But there is a different way to frame the question that is no less fair, and flips the issue on its head. Namely: “should the government be allowed to prohibit Adam and Steve from getting married?“. This is closer to the logic embodied by the court decisions in Iowa, California, Massachusetts, and other states. Those courts didn’t create gay marriage; they argued, rather, that it was already protected by their respective state constitutions.

Quote of the Day

At the end of the WashPo story about the Holocaust Museum gunman, this from one of Van Brunn's fellow travelers on the shooting at the museum:

"The responsible white separatist community condemns this," he said. "It makes us look bad."

Umm, no. At least, it's not the first thing that makes you look bad.

Scenes from the Aquarium

This is one of my coolest saltwater aquarium residents, a green serpent starfish. He hides in the rocks until feeding time. When that happens he can move with surprising speed toward the food. I have almost got him taking pieces of cooked shrimp from my hand.

The blur to the left is a Damsel fish. Damsels are known for their hardiness -- and their aggressiveness. This particular Damsel I have named "Hitler" for he is the meanest of the Damsels. And a killer -- he killed one of the other Damsels in the first week. His method is to "hit" a fish over and over, biting. Which is why "Hitler" is such an apt name (as opposed, say, to "Osama"). He is working on killing another fish, whom I've named "Lazarus." Because I've given him up for dead several times after Hitler's relentless attacks. But he keeps coming back.

The most peaceful fish in my tank is a Yellow Tang, whom I've named "Wanda." If you can see the short spikes of white by her tail they are in fact spikes, which she used to keep Hitler at bay when she was introduced to the tank. Now he doesn't bother her and she minds her own business, grazing on the algae. Unfortunately for me (but not for her) there's a banquet of algae for her to feast on.

The Right to Bare Arms...and Everything Else

Nudists lobby Congress. It should be an easy sell, since so many members can't seem to keep their pants on.

Swoopy Bird Gets Humans

We have one of these birds in our neighborhood. We call it the "swoopy bird."

No humans were harmed in the making of this video.

Here's Where I Stand

From the Musical Camp, which I have not seen. But it's a great song. Happy Pride.

Supreme Court Thows Out DADT Challenge

Apparently, granting a request of the Obama Administration, which argued: "don't ask, don't tell" is "rationally related to the government's legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion."

Hmm.

Must be part of the plan.

HRC, Obama and the Gays

I think John Aravosis has a compelling interpretation of the HRC/Obama "agenda setting" flap, particularly this:

"Many of us have been worried that the Obama administration might be trying to Sista Souljah the gays (i.e., distance themselves from the gays to show just how independent, how "new Democrat," they really are). The irony is that the embattled lead gay groups, in order to survive in an increasingly angry post-Prop-8, and increasingly expectant post-MA-NH-VT-IA-ME-CT, world, may end up having to Sista Souljah Obama in order to regain credibility in the eyes of their own members. And if that happens, I can't name a single Democrat (or Republican for that matter) in recent memory who's been on the receiving end of our ire and walked away unscathed."

As President Obama has to be careful not to be too far in front of public opinion. But he also must not get trampled in its wake.

Ironic

David Carradine was in Bangkok filming a movie -- titled "Stretch."

Did HRC Throw Gay Service Members Under the Bus?

Sean Bugg provides info and links to the breaking news that HRC made a "deal" with the White House to put off repealing DADT in favor of ENDA and Hate Crimes legislation.

Obama Apologizing to Terrorists

I don't have to watch Rush or get Newt's Tweets to know that's the meme launched by the wingnuts over Obama's speech in Egypt and his comment that after 9/11 America lost sight of its values.

Truth is, we did. George Bush & Company (and this includes Congress) put "safety" as the sole touchstone to justify their actions. And when your only value is "safety" and you give in to your fear you can justify any action, no matter how draconian. As I've written about before, I believe we must pursue life (i.e., "safety") and liberty, a Jeffersonian construct.

Obama's saying it didn't reveal a secret shame. The whole world has seen the Abu Grahib photos and Gitmo is no state secret.

And to those who say it's a weakness to admit we were wrong I ask, is that what you teach your children? To pretend you're right, refusing to admit error while everyone you know is aware of your mistake?

We know what that looks like. We just had eight years of it.

This is, indeed, change.

Air France Flight 447: Turbulence CAN Bring Down a Jet

The crash of the Air France flight caught my attention, not only because of the tragedy itself, but because I'm a nervous flier and I tell myself that jets just don't drop out of the sky.

More specifically, whenever I'm flying and we encounter "rough air" (my second favorite flying euphemism, with "water landing" being the first) I tell myself (repeatedly and urgently) that turbulence can't bring down a jet plane. Why, they fly planes into hurricanes!

Turns out, yes turbulence CAN bring one down. Here's what a commercial pilot blogging at Flight Level 390 has to say:

"A thunderstorm is a violent and scary entity. It has the power, and I mean real power, to easily rip the wings from an A330, or any other make or model of aircraft. No problem whatsoever."

Oh great.

On a recent flight to Louisville we encountered "rough air." And the woman sitting on the window grabbed the arm of the man in the center seat. Apologetically, she said "I'm a nervous flier and my husband isn't here. Do you mind?" He didn't, of course. And a few bumps later I started eyeing his arm closest to me.

"Turbulence can't bring down airplanes" I told myself, and quelled my desire to grab the man's arm.

Now I don't think I could be that calm.

So how do I buy airline tickets for seats next to hot, tolerant men?

The Washington Post and the Wone Murder Case

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The Mormons and their "Image"

A Washington Post story today on the Mormon church's role in the anti-marriage equality fight included this:

A 2008 poll by Gary C. Lawrence, author of "How Americans View Mormonism: Seven Steps to Improve Our Image,"

Okay, stop right there. Hey Mormons. You want to improve your image? That's a pretty Earthly concern, don't you think? Did Jesus take a poll? Did He conduct focus groups? Consult Frank Luntz? Did He dial test the Sermon on the Mount?

But since it seems to be important to them, I have a suggestion. Mormons, if you want to have a better image, I think it's easy.

Be more Christ like!

As Garry Wills states, in his excellent book, "What Jesus Meant:"

Many would like to make the reign of Jesus belong to this political order. If they want the state to be politically Christian, they are not following Jesus, who says that his reign is not of that order...If people want to do battle for God, they cannot claim that Jesus has called them to this task, since he told Pilate that his ministers would not do that." (page 54).

And:

What is the kind of religion Jesus opposed? Any religion that is proud of its virtue, like the boastful Pharisee. Any that is self-righteous, quick to judge and condemn, ready to impose burdens rather than share or lift them. Any that exalts its own officers, proud of its trappings, building expensive monuments to itself. Any that neglects the poor and cultivates the rich, any that scorns outcasts and flatters the rulers of this world." (page 77)

Marriage Equality - a Busy Day

Lots today on the marriage equality front.

All the major GLBT "activist" organizations counsel against filing federal lawsuits on marriage equality.

David Boies and Ted Olsen (yes, that Ted Olsen) file suit to do just that, claiming Prop 8 violates the U.S. Constitution.

Meanwhile, more locally, some pastors announce plans for a referendum in DC on whether we will recognize same sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions.

Lots to digest. Meanwhile, there is a great discussion over at Pam's House Blend about the call for a moratorium on lawsuits by our "leaders" and the Olsen gambit. Don't just read the post, there's some great points made in the comments.

And, President Obama's spokesperson ducks and weaves on the issue. Perhaps he should consult a Constitutional law professor.

I'm mulling it all over. What do you think?

Republicans: Not a Political Party: It's an SNL Skit

I think after 2008 the GOP must have decided that trying to win elections and govern in today's troubled world was just too much of a drag. And they noticed how much everyone loved those SNL skits during the election. People hated Sarah Palin; but they loved Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin.

So I think they have secretly decided to mount a perpetual SNL satire in real time.

What else can explain:

1) The Michael Steele goofiness
2) The Bobby Jindal speech
3) Renaming the Democrats the "Democrat Socialist Party"
4) Rush
5) Newt
6) The Cheney self-parody

And now, this:

National Review Online's Mark Krikorian: "Putting the emphasis on the final syllable of Sotomayor is unnatural in English... and insisting on an unnatural pronunciation is something we shouldn't be giving in to."

The National Review? Really? You have stooped to this? William F. Buckley must be rolling in his grave.

It's all so lame it has to be a joke.

Right?

So it must no longer be about the votes. It's about ratings. They want us to laugh.

California Supreme Court Ruling

On balance, I actually see it as a plus.

The court didn't rule on the substance of marriage equality (other than we can have all the rights of marriage, just not the word marriage. While I think we have to claim the marriage word, and wonder if this is consistent with the court's previous ruling, I'll leave this one be for now).

And the reason I'll leave it be is that the court left the 18,000 couples who married while they could stay married. Their existence and daily lives among their neighbors and coworkers will help defuse this issue. They will help make gay marriage seem normal to those who find it alien. It helps set the stage for repealing Prop 8 at the ballot box, as surely it must be.

A victory at the ballot box is a stronger victory for us, it will have more positive implications nationally and robs the right of one of it's most relied upon crutches, the specter of "activist judges."

While a short-term disappointment, I think the stage was set for a long-term and stronger victory.

Harvey Milk Day: Recruiting Gays

I missed HM Day last week (May 22nd, what would have been his 79th birthday). Gay Politics offers some numbers worth highlighting:

Harvey was the fifth openly gay elected official in the United States. Today there are 440.

While that number is progress, it is only a small fraction of the more than 500,000 elected positions in the U.S. today (again, according to Gay Politics).

If you accept the standard theory that 10% of the population is LGBT then we are way under-represented. Hell, even if we're only 1% of the population is queer we're largely absent in elected office.

Unless you count the closeted Republicans.

All of which leads me to ask: Are the national LGBT "activist" organizations doing anything to recruit out LGBT candidates? I know there are PACs that support gay-and-ally candidates, but is there any organized effort to find and field such candidates?

It would seem a fitting way to remember Harvey, who began his speeches with the line, "I'm Harvey Milk, and I'm here to recruit you."

Same Sex Marriage: The Slide to Man on Dog

It's starting.

Opponents to same sex marriage have warned that recognition of same sex marriage was flouting God's law.

I'm already seeing the consequences in my aquarium.

This morning, I witnessed an unnatural crab-on-snail encounter. My hermit crab, Obi-Wan, had mounted one of the snails. "Uh-oh," I thought. "There goes the natural order of things." I watched in horror as Obi-Wan went for some hot slimy snail sex.

Actually, on second thought, I think he was just eating algae off the snail's shell.

Whew! A close call for the universe! But if the California Supreme Court overturns Prop 8 today, I'll be rushing back to my aquarium with great trepidation.

And if I get a hit on this page because someone googles "hot slimy snail sex" I am going to be very frightened.

The Dallas Principles: A Call to Action

Put together 20-some gay activists frustrated by LGBT "activst" organizations that aren't and by Democrats who promise progress but don't deliver, you get the "Dallas Principles."

These activists met in Dallas over the past weekend and issued a call to action and underlying principals, bedrocked on accountability:

"Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised."

While I don't support all of the group's specific policy goals (federal hate crimes legislation being exhibit one), our movement desperately needs the type of thinking, action and philosophy that are embodied in the Dallas Principles.

I should add that I don't know that the reason this group assembled was driven by frustration as I state it above -- I may be projecting my own frustration -- but their call to action is precisely needed because of those reasons.

Full Civil Rights. No Delays. No Excuses.

I got an email from Barack Obama

It said: Scott, I need your voice on health care.

Well, Barack. I need your action on Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Resistance is Futile

I look like I've been partially assimilated by the Borg. Actually, it's a 24-hour heart monitor. Despite the fact that I actually weigh less now than when I was in college and am in better shape at 44 than I was at 24 (yes, I'm bragging) my heart has decided to beat in mixed meter (irregularly, for you non music readers).

It's been going on for about a month now. I really don't think it's anything serious -- I've gone through some pretty strenuous workouts (see: body weight lower than college) and I'm still here. Still -- worth getting checked out.

The worst part about this is it messes up my workout routine. And they shaved my chest where the electrodes are.

Actually, she shaved my chest. The most sterile, uncaring nurse I've ever met. It was one of the most awkward feeling moments in my medical experience. She had me stand, hover over the trash can while she shaved me. It felt strangely humiliating. The few rectal exams I've endured felt less violating (and part of me saw it as a lost opportunity...this might have been fun with a male nurse).

My ticker is in all likelihood just fine. But the whole experience reminds me -- something's gonna get me eventually.

And resistance is futile.

Obama and the Gays

Some in the community have expressed disappointment that Obama hasn't expressed greater enthusiasm for the advancement of marriage equality in the states over the last few weeks. Well, that really shouldn't be a surprise -- Obama does not support gay marriage. He's a one man, one woman kind of guy. While we may hope otherwise, when it comes to gay marriage he's not so audacious.

So, don't be disappointed that he hasn't said, "I applaud Vermont for approving something I don't support." Take cold comfort in the fact that, at least on this issue, he is being consistent.

Torture in America

This morning I heard the Morning Joe anchorette -- the blond leggy talking head who seems to grace these shows -- say something like, "the people who are opposed to torture." This caught me up short. She so casually stated that America tortured people as if that were normal, and for the way it made those who oppose torture sound out of the mainstream.

Can it be that our generation's contribution to American history is the reversal of a policy in place since George Washington that America will not torture as a matter of officially accepted policy? Will we leave that stain on the shining city on the hill?

As Lady Macbeth would say: Out damned spot! Out I say.

And yet the spot remains. Who'd have thought there'd be so much blood in it?

Time Travel -- A Story of My Grandmother and My Son

Can everyday objects connect different people and different times?

The other morning, as I do every day, I opened the large brown ceramic bowl next to the coffee pot to pull out a package of splenda for my morning java. That bowl has served that purpose for almost 22 years, holding the artificial sugar that Dave and I put in our coffee to start the day.

I looked at that bowl and traveled through time.

Not literally, of course. But my mind went instantly to two places, one in the recent past and one in the (hopefully) distant future.

The past I thought of was immediately after my maternal grandmother's funeral 11 years ago.

After the service, we went to her house. My grandpa had died several years earlier and my grandmother spent the last months of her life in "a home," as they say. My mother had recently auctioned my grandparent's things off to help pay expenses. After the funeral, all that was left was an empty house, with a few scattered items the auctioneers didn't want. It looked like the place was ransacked.

That was hard. I spent some of the happiest moments of my childhood in that house, with them. I walked through its emptiness now, picking up the discarded items. And the memory of that made me think, that morning, looking at that brown sugar bowl, of the yearbook.

My grandma's high school yearbook, 1927, to be exact. I had discovered it sometime when I was a teenager and was transfixed. When I was in college I snatched it. I think I did tell her sometime that I had it, but I'm not sure.

I loved it because it was a link to my grandparents that somehow made them more, well, like me.

Yearbooks in the 1920s -- at least those from small, southeastern rural Ohio towns -- were mostly "do-it-yourself" affairs. You had to write in all the events and paste in your own snapshots. But the basics were the same -- highlights of the school year, pictures, friends writing in your book.

I learned, from the yearbook, that Grandma was Captain of her high school girls basketball team (Grandma played basketball?) Her team, according to her handwritten record, was 4-5 her senior year.

In a section labeled "Stunts, Doings and Jokes" she has written little tidbits that mean nothing to me, but must have been memorable to her. Why didn't I ask her when I had the chance?

This entry: "January 17, 1927: "You can't get away this time... Reva & Eva" (my grandmother was Eva and Reva was her best friend). What mischief were they up to?

And: "Remember always, July 4, 1926" Why? Was it a first kiss? A night with best friends? When she realized she was in love with my grandpa? What?

And speaking of my Grandpa, his photo is in here too, pasted in by my grandmother. It's a candid shot (and the last one in her yearbook) with him seated, collar crooked and hair (he had hair!) slicked back with a cocky smile on his face. I can look at it and only come to one conclusion: Grandpa was hot.

As I said, they wrote notes in their yearbooks, but they were all little poems that must have been well-known cliches at the time. My Grandpa wrote this in my Grandmother's yearbook:

Friendship is like a silken tie
That binds our hearts together
And if you never break the tie
We will be friends forever.

Someone with the initials "J.S.D." wrote the same poem, but apparently my Grandpa had it all over him, because the man my grandmother spent nearly the next 60 years with was not J.S.D. And I guess my grandparents were an item in school, because someone else wrote:

A pair in a hammock
Attempted to kiss
When all of a sudden
They went like [this]

In the book the the "this" is written upside down. And below it is written: "Pair = Eva and Forrest" -- my grandparents.

I love that little book. And I thought of it as I looked at that brown sugar bowl. I thought about her holding it, when the pages were white and not brown. When the memories were fresh like spring. When she was a serious girl with an ornery streak like you see in the picture of her with Reva. When she held the book as she wrote in it with long, slender smooth fingers not stained with age or warped by hard work. When she was young and full of hope. Before a Great Depression, a World War, the tragic death of her father and ill health turned her into an anxious old woman.

Boom. I looked at that sugar bowl, remembered the yearbook, and was connected to this young, dead woman.

But I also thought of the future.

The sugar bowl is a fixture in our kitchen and, unless it breaks, will likely be there until the end. When Dave and I are both gone, I imagined our son holding it, one of the "worthless" possessions left behind he will have to deal with. It doesn't contain the detailed memories of a yearbook, but oh, the many mornings that his Pappa and I began with our hands reaching for that little brown bowl. The many early morning conversations it lay a mute witness to.

When Grandma held that yearbook in her girlish hands I doubt she knew her grandson would pour lovingly over it 80 years later. When Eli holds that brown sugar bowl in his hands after we are gone I don't know if he'll envision all the mornings his Daddy and Pappa started their days with that dish. But in that one second, the other morning, all those events, past, present and future, were one.

Can everyday objects connect different people and times?

Obama's First 100 Days -- the Gay Perspective: Rainbow High

The Washington Blade (DC's weekly gay newspaper) headline this weekend is:

"High Marks for the President's First 100 Days"

The WashBlade asserts that "many activists" are "awarding President Obama high marks for his work in leading the country and addressing LGBT issues during his first 100 days."

The "activists" in question are leaders from HRC and the NGLTF.

Joe Solmonese lead activist of the Democrats HRC, would have praised Obama for moving on action items for the first 100 days his group submitted during the transition, including developing a plan to roll back Don't Ask Don't Tell. If Obama had actually moved on them (he hasn't). How Solmonese can give the administration"high marks" for not doing anything his organization asked him too seems a bit of a stretch. "Heckuva job, Brownie," anyone? Oh -- "high marks" Joe did praise Obama for appointing gay people to high positions. Okay, so Obama did the same thing my boss did -- he hired some gay folk.

I'm an Obama man and I give him high marks for his first 100 days. But not on gay issues. There his record is woefully incomplete. I'm willing to give him time -- and he's had a lot of things to deal with -- but history and our gay rights organization's tendency to think they're front groups for the Democrats instead of civil rights activist organizations makes me nervous. Their reaction to his inaction reinforces my nervousness. I think a more realistic analysis of his record on gay issues is 0. Here's the chart to prove it.

But let's look at the Gay Republican analysis of the first 100 days.

Jimmy LaSalvia, who is executive director of GOProud, a new gay Republican group, said, according to the Blade:

Obama has been a "disappointment" in the White House and gave him a "d-" for work on LGBT issues.

Right. Because you know that if the GOP was in control, DOMA and DADT would have been repealed long before now.

Jimmy, how would you rate Michael Steele's moderation of the Republican Party? How would you grade the GOP's ability to see that aligning itself with Evangelicals makes it a regional Party unattractive to moderate and younger voters in the 160 some days since the 2008 election. How is your attacking the President helping you move the GOP to a more libertarian position?

My wish list?

Gay "activists" who don't turn into apologists for disappointing Democratic politicians and Gay Republicans who understand their real problem is Evangelical base of support in the GOP. In this dream world Democrats would be held accountable for their pro-gay promises from the left -- and anti-gay opposition from the right would be weakened.

You Might be a Redneck if...

see more pwn and owned pictures

Coutesy of FailBlog, one of the funniest sites on Al Gore's Internet.

"Openly Gay"

Isn't it time for the media to retire this tired phrase? As in this story:

[DC City Councilman David] Catania, who is openly gay, also complained that the clinic does not have the resources needed to stem the city's HIV/AIDS epidemic.

First of all, is the fact of Catania's sexuality really germane to the story, which is about Catania's belief the clinic is being mismanaged? Yes, HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects the gay community, but this story isn't about that. It's about bookeeping and compliance with Federal laws. If Catania were straight, would the Post have found it necessary to point that out?

And if they need to mention Catania's sexuality, why not just say "gay?" It's not as if they're going to write, "Catania, who is secretly gay..."

The problem I have with "openly" is it implies there is something to hide. As if being "open" is unusual and out of the ordinary. That might have once been the case but hello, Washington Post, they're marrying the gays in Iowa! The closet has vastly shrunk. Worse, the qualifier "openly" makes an important but mundane aspect of Catania's life sound tawdry. It sounds like condemnation. "Catania, who is openly an arsonist..."

Catania. Is. Gay. Not a biggie.

The phrase "openly gay" needs to follow its predecessor "practicing homosexual" to the ash heap of history.

The Nationals and the District of Columbia: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I shouldn't be surprised the Nationals are screwing the District. After all, the song warned us:

Take me out to the ball game

You can't get there yourself?

Take me out with the crowd.

Gee...we have to take everybody?

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks

We have to feed you too?

I don't care if I ever come back!

Hey...we don't have to keep Metro open late!

Oh its root, root, root for the home team

How's that going?

If we don't win it's a shame

No, the shame is the way th eDC government kowtows to MLB

Oh it's one, two, three strikes you're out

Three strikes and counting, and out of how much in taxpayer money?

At the old ball game!

DC Nationals -- What DC Metro Late Fees?

If you're a group like, oh Susan G. Komen for the [breast cancer] Cure have to reimburse Metro if their events require it to open early or close later than normal, to the tune of $27,000 per hour.

But if your a major league baseball team named the Nationals don't worry -- the DC City Council has decided that the city -- i.e., taxpayers -- will pay the fees!

What budget shortfalls? What understaffed police force? What economic downturn? What axle busting streets?

And last Monday, when Metro stayed open past it's normal midnight closing to accommodate a late-ending game, how many thousands of people did we save from having to endure, oh, I don't know, arranging alternate transportation?

16.

The city paid $27,000 to give 16 people a train ride.

That's what I love about the DC City Council. They care so much. As long as you're major league baseball bent on raping and pillaging the District of Columbia. It seems Mayor Fenty and the Council are to the Nationals what Vichy France was to the Nazis.

So if you're a cash-strapped non-profit trying to find a cure for cancer and need some free help from the city, dress up your cause in something the Council will find socially redeemable Tell 'em you're not walking for a cure, tell 'em you're walking for Major League Baseball. Apparently that will open doors and the city coffers.

Play ball!

One Iowa

The Hawkeye state continues to show heart and leadership.

Earth Day Facts

Founded by a Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970...and is not connected to Communism as some have said. All that and more about the origins of Earth Day at WildSingapore News.

Happy Earth Day!

Joe Rospars vs. Michael Palmer

Dude -- the election is over. You lost. Get over it.

I watched Michael Palmer, McCain's eCampaign director and Joe Rospars, Obama's Director of New Media, in a panel discussion of how they "Did It" (Thank God it wasn't James Carville and Mary Matalin, as a how we "did it" discussion may have a whole other meaning).

It should have been on Celebrity Death Match.

Palmer decided to turn the session into a grudge fest.

He didn't have a "celebrity" candidate. He didn't have enough resources. And the media was out to get them.

Rospars got a few digs in too, but it was Palmer who came across as whiney, petulant and unprofessional. I've been in DC for well over 20 years and this is the first time in going to sessions like these I've seen a campaign pro loose his professional detachment post election (see Carville-Matalin). This is either a sign of the time (last shriek of the right as we've known it) or an indication of Palmer's professionalism.

Behavior aside, here's a key take away point.

Palmer made a strong point that new media is just a tool in a tool box (and he did have a great line about Twitter being a bent screw rattling around in the bottom of the tool box). Point taken.

But Rospars pointed out how the Obama campaign made their online activities strategic, by building and reinforcing their message of empowering voters to come together and share their efforts to bring change...to not follow Obama but to work together. To show fundamental respect for voters and their role in the process.

To me, it was that strategic use of new media that puts the Obama campaign ahead...leaving the Michael Palmers nipping at their heels.

NASA Image of the Day: Earthrise

Taken by Apollo 16.

Circle of Life

I don't think I've ever been to a funeral that made me feel full of life.

But let me tell you what happened this weekend.

On Saturday, the LTR and I drove to southeastern Ohio, to his family's farm there. I've long thought that farm, purchased by the family decades ago and the residence of the LTR's oldest brother, was his family's spiritual home.

It was my father-in-law's favorite place.

It is nestled in the soft foothills of the Appalachian mountains from which the LTR's family emerged. On the rolling land sits a small farmhouse overlooking two ponds the family created, surrounded by two sun-filled meadows.

The LTR's father had asked that his ashes be scattered there. Regular readers here know he died last fall.

The family added its own touches. We would, on a sunny April afternoon, close to what would have been his 80th birthday, plant a tree on the farm in his memory.

And so it was that we gathered there last Saturday.

We gathered, after sharing a few drinks and happy talk and laughter, on a rise on the meadow opposite the farmhouse across the larger of the two ponds, to plant the tree. Each of us took turns, sons, a daughter, in-laws and wife, making a space to nurture the living memorial.

I've not planted many trees. I doubt that many, if any, have been planted with as much care and love as this one.

And soon it was time to spread the ashes. The oldest brother -- the family patriarch now -- said a few words. The LTR, true to his public relations self, had prepared a few words. He said:

I know that our Dad is looking down from Heaven and smiling. I know that
because he always loved this farm. Mostly because he saw it as a place
that brought the family together. So here we are today carrying out his
last wish. And we can't forget that his ashes are being scattered on the
place he loved so much by the people he loved so dearly.

I read a letter he had written to his parents while in the Army. The words of a young man concerned about his parents' worries were heard on those Ohio hills. Others family members movingly spoke. And then, one by one, we reached into a box and shoveled out and scattered around the base of the tree the ashes left from the flesh and blood of the man who had brought us all to this place.

I can't help but contrast this to the funerals of my grandparents. I loved my grandparents and my family did what we thought was best to honor their memories at their funerals -- the traditional way. But at each one someone would invariably say, gazing into the open coffin, "She looks good."

No, I thought. She looks dead. Actually, she looks like a figure from Madame Tussuad's gallery. Have you ever touched an embalmed body? There is nothing natural or human about it. And then you escort it to the cemetery to see it dropped in an expensive box into a lead lined vault for eternity. It's as if we're trying to preserve the moment of death -- to forestall the natural order of things as long as possible.

I much prefer the "ashes to ashes" approach.

What we did for my grandparents was expected. What we did for my father-in-law was beautiful. One entombed death in time. The other embraced the circle of life.

Years from now, long after we are gone, after the tree we planted is gone, his DNA, if not his spirit, will still be a part of that place.

In the meantime, every April, the month of his birth, a tree we planted for him, nurtured by him, will bloom.

What a tribute. And it moves us all.

1980. Not.

I often (somewhat) jokingly ask my Republican friends it they realize it's not 1980. In an effort to get back to their Gipper-roots, they often seem to be parroting his anti-tax, anti-government message as if the challenges we face today are the same (they're not) or as if the last 20 years of history had not occurred. David Ignatius points out today's Republicans are missing a more fundamental key to Reagan's success:

The Republican leadership, with its gloom and doom talk about the budget, is falling into a trap that its modern patron saint, Ronald Reagan, would have dodged. Reagan succeeded by contrasting his optimistic vision about America with the malaise and intellectual exhaustion of the Jimmy Carter era...Now, the Republicans have taken over as the "tut-tut" party, and they are unwittingly embracing the narrative of America as a nation in decline. That's never a good bet.

Ronald Reagan had a message that was pitch perfect for his time. But this is not 1980. And singing the same tired refrain is going to get the GOP tuned out.

Teabaggers Turn their Lonely Eyes to Reagan

I don't like taxes either (unlike top officials of the Obama admin, I do pay them).

The teabaggers, best I can tell, want to return Reaganism. Let's look at some numbers.

In 1988, the last year of Reagan's term of office, the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans had a tax burden of 57.2 percent.

Obama is proposing a tax rate on the top 2 percent of wealthy Americans to around 38 percent.

So in order to be like Reagan the teabaggers would have to raise taxes for more people much higher than anything Obama is proposing.

Is this why the Governor of Texas is threatening seccession?

Another comment on Reagan. Ronald Reagan built his political career with the goal of limiting communism. Republicans today seem intent on building their party by limiting the rights of other Americans. That doesn't seem very Reaganesque, if you ask me.

Fish Story

I've given in to my long desire to have a saltwater aquarium. I had several freshwater aquaria in high school and was intrigued to go to sea.

I was also lured in by my saltwater aquarium "how to" book that having a fish tank is relaxing and soothing.

Well, I can tell you that is total bullshit.

I mean if you let the salinity vary you're doomed. Temperature varies, doomed. Don't get the nitrogen cycle right? Sorry, Charlie.

I now have starter fish in the tank. They're Damselfish and you get them because they are hardy and can help get the nitrogen cycle going (the conversion of bad chemicals into safer chemicals).

They're also mean as hell (maybe because you expose them to all the bad chemicals so they can make it good for other fish? I'd be pissed off too). One of them is literally eating another slowly, chasing him around the tank and slowly biting pieces of him off. I tried removing the little devil, but can't catch him. As soon as the net enters the tank, he hides in one of the nooks or crannies of the rocks I was told to place in the tank so the fish would have a place to, uh, hide in.

So what do I do? Tap on the glass and shake my finger, "Bad fish! Bad fish!" I spent Saturday stressed out over a $5 fish? This is soothing?

And get this. Whatever you do, maintain constant salinity. More important than keeping it at the right salinity is making sure the salinity of the water doesn't change, to keep the fish healthy.

But wait -- what do they tell you to do if a fish gets sick?

Dip it in freshwater!

Hello! I think that would qualify as a sudden change in salinity!

But...

One of my new critters is a green serpent starfish that is close to eating from my hand...plus a hermit crab we've named "Obi-Wan," and a long-legged sally lightfoot crab that resembles someone I know -- they are cool.

So if I can get the fish carnage under control this might be fun.