Karl Rove is Still Lying

How do you tell when Karl Rove is lying? His lips are moving. He goes after Obama in a column in the WSJ, writing:


"On Tuesday night, Mr. Obama told Congress and the nation, 'I reject the view that . . . says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity.' Who exactly has that view? Certainly not congressional Republicans, who believe that through reasonable tax cuts, fiscal restraint, and prudent monetary policies government contributes to prosperity."

Okay, so the Obama stim package has the largest tax cut in history and that's "unreasonable?" Bobby Jindal provides the official GOP response with an opening anecdote to remind everyone how ineffective government was in responding to Hurricane Katrina and that anecdote wasn't intended to de-legitimize government's role in aiding its citizens? (nor was the anecdote really, well, true.) And aren't most of the "congressional Republicans" in Congress today the same ones who earmarked and abetted George W. Bush's spending binge that left us $4 TRILLION in debt?

Does anyone take Karl Rove seriously anymore? The bloom is off this turd blossom and only the turd remains.

Golden Arches

I snapped this biking to work yesterday. The Memorial Bridge at the fool of the Lincoln Memorial just as the sun is coming up...I see this on clear days...the light fills the arches of the bridge.

Progressives in the White House

The Obamas invited a group of "progressives" over to the White House the other night (seriously, how do we come up with these labels?). The point? to ask for help. According to this account:

"The gist was, `We’re gonna need people out there telling the story of the stimulus and telling the story about how much we need big health care reform and clean energy and green jobs,’” the attendee says.

Among those on the guest list: Labor leaders Jimmy Hoffa, Gerry McEntee and Andy Stern; MoveOn’s Eli Pariser; Sierra Club’s Carl Pope; Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richardson; and Joe Solomonese of the Human Rights Campaign."

Joe Solomonese of the Human Rights Campaign?

Well, kudos to Joe HRC and good for the community that he was part of that group.

But Joe, you do remember that HRC exists to advance gay rights, not health care reform and green jobs, right? I mean, I understand how we need to help the President get what he wants in a you scratch my back kinda world, but at some point, you are going to say, "Mr. President, we're happy to support you, but we need some indication -- action, even -- to show that you are putting a priority to fulfilling your campaign promises to the gay community."

I mean, the HRC wouldn't place the interests of the Democratic party above the gay community.

Right?

War Crimes and Truth Commissions

I believe the Bush Administration engaged in war crimes.

Yet I am dubious about the desire by many on the left to prosecute or hold "truth commissions."

I am not unswayed by arguments that the United States isn't above the law and that if what the Bush Admin did was done by another country against us we would be seeking war crimes prosecutions. I'm not agnostic to the fact that punishing those who committed the crimes would restore some of America's moral authority.

I just don't know if I trust the Democrats in charge of Congress to conduct the hearings seriously and fairly in today's partisan-charged environment. Any attempt to use the proceedings for partisan gain or retribution for political slights would risk de-legitimizing the outcomes and further divide this country. And I just don't know if leaders in Congress (in either party) could rise to the level of seriousness such proceedings would demand.

I know, it's not a satisfactory position.

Thoughts?

A Giant Explosion in Space

"The US space agency's Fermi telescope has detected a massive explosion in space which scientists say is the biggest gamma-ray burst ever detected, a report published Thursday in Science Express said."

Somewhere, at some observatory, some geek like me is surely saying, "I can confirm the location of Praxsis, but...I can no longer confirm the existence of Praxsis."

Pakistan and Islamic Law

Some are concerned that Pakistan has agreed to assert Islamic Law in certain parts of that country.

Why not? We legislate (selected parts of) Deuteronomy here in America.

Pope Benedict on the Horns of a "Bizarre Optical Illusion."

Oops.

NASA Image of the Day

A Magnetar cracks and spews Gamma Rays.

A Magnetar is not a character in the X-Men. NASA says its a neutron star with a super-duper magnetic field.

Kenny Chesney Loves the Babes

Kenny Chesney is straight and loves banging the babes and he's quite anxious to tell you about it. In a recent interview in Playboy he claims to have gotten more booty than A-Rod and to have bedded 100 women. It's unclear how many of those were during the two days the Country Island Boy was married to Renee Zellweger.

Look, Kenny, here's some free advice. Drop it. Gay or straight, the more you talk about your sex life the more scrutiny you invite and the more you tempt some ambitious reporter to start looking up those women you claim to have shagged and to have them say your tractor really isn't all that sexy -- or to follow you around to see if you have a wide stance or like to get massages from gay escorts.

Frankly, you remind me of my father's behavior when I came out to him -- he went out of his way to make "look at the tits on that one" comments to assert his sexuality, as if mine were some sort of threat. I understand it, but it's a bit ridiculous, don't you think? And how do you think that comment makes the women you've been with feel? Just one more notch on your belt.

I understand that if you are gay that it's a threat to your career. Well, hello, join the club. At least you've made your millions; there are gay people who lose their jobs because of it and have nothing to fall back on.

If you are gay and came out, think about how freeing that would be for you as an artist. In a recent album, you sing a lyric, "be as you are." Well...what better place to start than admitting to yourself and your friends and family who you really are instead of trying to live a life of lies? Think of the inspiration you could be to all the gay kids in places like Tennessee and Oklahoma who would see in you that all the garbage they are fed about gay people is a lie. Sure you might lose the good ol' boys in your fan base, but you won't lose the girls and you stand to gain a lot of gay fans. Just look what we've done for Madonna, Cher and Bette.

One final thing. If you want people to stop speculating you are gay, stop wearing skin tight jeans and muscle shirts.

Although if you do, I will be very, very dissapointed.

Dybul Trouble: HRC

Remember Mark Dybul, and Bush Admin Global AIDS Coordinator who was asked to stay on for an interim period by the Obama folks, only to be sent suddenly packing (literally) two days after the inauguration? What happened?

The answer appears to be: Hillary.

No Gays on Stage: School Cancels Rent

Via Queerty, a high school principal bans the school's production of Rent. Not because of the drug use of one of the key characters, but because there are homosexuals in it. Never mind that the most stable romantic relationship portrayed in the show was between two gay men (did the principal even SEE Rent?). Here's an account from an alumnus of the school:

Mrs. Asrani (the principal) is firmly against the portrayal of
homosexual characters in RENT, despite the fact that all displays of
affection have already been edited out of our script. Of course, a gay
couple kissing on stage should not be inherently more offensive than a
straight couple kissing, but that's beside the point (sort of). The
fact that the administration would not even allow a positive PORTRAYAL
of these gay characters, whose romantic tendencies have already been
neutered in Musical Theater International's "RENT: School Edition", is
appalling.

Maybe the principal would be happier with a play about dysfunctional straight couples, like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Oh wait, there's a gay in that one too. But then again, he's conflicted and closeted. So maybe that's okay.

Hurt: Johnny Cash

This is How We Treat Our Veterans

Amy Brian served honorably in the Kansas National Guard, re-enlisted and served a tour in Iraq. Returning to the states, she was working a desk job for the Guard, was putting herself through school with her Guard benefits. Until someone outed her to her commanders. She got kicked out, lost her benefits and had to drop out of school.

Yes, she served her country, put her life on the line in Iraq and this is how we treat her:

"Brian's life since her military discharge has been stressful. She went without work for two months and dipped into her 401(k) savings to get by. She couldn't finish her master's degree because she had lost her educational benefits."

Meanwhile, Andoni at Citizen Crain highlights a positive op-ed in the New York Times where straight veteran Owen West details his change of heart in "allowing" gays to serve in the military. It's a good piece, but this paragraph is telling:

"Most military jobs are office-based and provide sufficient individual privacy. Even in Iraq many of our fighting forces are comfortably housed with compartmentalized showers."

So that's what it comes down to...to keep a few bigots comfortable in the showers we give decent Americans like Amy Brian the boot.

Somehow I think most men and women serving are bigger than that. I just wonder if their leaders are.

Things You Don't Want to Hear

When the car you are riding in is being driven in heavy, fast-moving traffic by someone having trouble driving stick-shift:

"I'm going to try and pull out in front of that bus..."

Especially when "the bus" in question is called a "diablo rojo" (Red Devil) by the locals because it's been involved in so many fatalities.

This is Where I Am

In case you're wondering why blogging is light. This is near Colon, Panama. We spent the day on the east coast of Panama. Some things I've noticed:

Prime, oceanfront realestate that would be snatched up by developers and the wealthy is inhabited by the poor and in many places was pasture.

There are exceptions, and where there are developments they are so close to the water in a way I can't imagine would be legal in the U.S.

If you wonder how infrastructure is related to the economy, try driving here. Traffic and road conditions are so bad that a cross-town or cross-country trip is difficult and dangerous. And of the four Latin American countries we've traveled in, this one seems to be the wealthiest.

But you still have the incongruity of soem of the world's preetiest scenery combined with terrible litter. The United States is always cast as the world's worst polluter, but we've done much to clean up our act compared to what I've seen here (and elsewhere in the third world).

In fact, driving back from the beach yesterday, we were behind a car of nuns, one of whom was throwing the litter from her snack out the car window.

We dubbed her "Sister Mary Basura."

Bill O'Reilly vs. Christian Bale

Warning: Foul language and lots of it.

A Sign

I want to hang a sign around the LTR's neck for all to see (especially his colleagues) that says:

"Hello. I am a paranoid hypochondriac. Any comment you make that implies -- intentionally or not -- that I don't look 100% A-OK will send me in a panic to my doctor."

Comments like, "Hey, are those dark circles under your eyes?"

Palin/Plumber Ticket in 2012?

Why not...the GOP says Palin is who they most want to be like and they're listening to Joe today to get his advice on the Stimulus package.

Sarah Palin & Joe the Plumber...Palin/Plumber 2012. You heard it here first.

The GOP Guvs Want the Money

The Republican governors want the stimulus money, even as their Congressional brethren vote -- and campaign -- against it. Says LA Gov Bobby Jindal:

"Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a former member of the House, said he would accept the stimulus money but would have voted against the bill if he were still in Congress"

Um, "I was against the money before I spent it?"