Homophobic Republican Outed.

Yes, again. No, really.

This is getting to be hilarious. All these self-hating homophobes getting caught having sex with men and repeating the mantra "I am not gay" until it hurts. They vote against equal rights for the LGBT community and then go out and have a good time at our expense. The latest has everything; blackmail, extortion, cross-dressing, and porn. There is kink in this, too. Jebus, and they tell me I'm Queer!

Why don't we just ask all Republicans to raise their hands if they're NOT gay. Nah, that wouldn't work

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A Republican state legislator who repeatedly voted against gay rights measures resigned his seat Wednesday amid revelations he had sex with a man he met at an erotic video store while in Spokane on a GOP retreat.

In a written statement, Rep. Richard Curtis, of La Center, said that while he believes he's done a lot of good during his time in the Legislature, "events that have recently come to light have hurt a lot of people."

"I sincerely apologize for any pain my actions may have caused," he wrote. "This has been damaging to my family, and I don't want to subject them to any additional pain that might result from carrying out this matter under the scrutiny that comes with holding public office."

Three days earlier, Curtis had insisted to his local newspaper that he was not gay and that sex was not involved in what he said was an extortion attempt by a man last week.

But in police reports, Curtis said he was being extorted by a man he had sex with in a Spokane hotel room. The other man contends Curtis reneged on a promise to pay $1,000 for sex.

Check out the updated version here. What goes around, comes around. Hopefully my appetite will return later this evening.

More later.
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Thinkin' 'Bout a Sea Cruise.

Wooo-eee, woo-eee, baby, and like that. OK, so maybe you’re not old enough to remember Frankie Ford…well, (ahem) neither am I. OK I lie. Not only do I remember him, I knew him since we share the same hometown. If you click on Frankie's link, be forewarned that it's more than over the top, with lots of animated and exploding graphics, but fun in a NOLA-kitchy kind of way.

Spent most of the afternoon searching for cruise dates, cabin options and prices, and cruise line ratings all of which has been educational, yes, at least that. I am not into the all 'gay cruise' thing (more expensive and not sure I would enjoy that experience). I've found a few companies that put together gay & lesbian groups for regularly scheduled cruises. The groups consist of 20 to 50 people and one doesn't have to be a 'friend of Dorothy' to be included. So, if you're gay and your travel companion is straight, no problem. Assuming, of course, said companion knows you're gay.

You see there are two places that I want to see before I leave this “earthly plane” and they both begin with “A” – Australia and Alaska. Doing the math I’ve discovered that the former is not feasible any time soon, but Alaska has some very tempting options.

I found a few 7-day round-trip out of Seattle that looks very good and they’re not on mega-ships of 3,000+, but smaller vessels carrying about 1200+. Much more to my liking. Thankfully, some have no formal night and that’s another plus. I just don’t get tuxedos with tundra, do you? I’m thinking more in terms of the Python song “I’m Lumberjack” if you get my drift.

Oh, and thank G*d Baked Alaska is off the dessert menu. I mean, isn’t Global Warming doing that already? That's another reason I feel this trip is urgent...I want to see the glaciers before they're gone. Hell, and before I'M gone!

I’ll be talking with a travel agent in the near future to find out more and see what good deals are available.

Um, question: every website I visited warned to never, NEVER pay full price for a cruise. What I want to know is; why are the inflated prices listed online in the first place? I'm just sayin'.

The next mission is to find a travel companion with an interest to see Alaska and it’s a go. The cruise is seven days in September 2008. Drop a line, or leave a comment if interested. I’ll delete your email address before I post your comment. Promise.

More later.

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Halloween? It's Not For Me.

Maybe it’s because I am from NOLA (and well, how much more Halloween can one get?) with voodoo, black candles, and all that, but I’ve never really gotten into the spirit (so to say) of the holiday. Oh sure, as a kid I did the usual rounds of the neighborhood in costume reaping the rewards of candy, fruit and sometimes bags of local pecans. Yum.

But, when I saw the cover of this issue, I knew why I have never been too enthralled. It’s enough to make you, well, you know. The Lord of Darkness has never been so frightening.

There are hayrides, spooky trail tours happening, and where I live on the marshes, I could put together a wicked (sorry) late night, scary tour of my own. Sadly, I don’t own the place and because I am not that into Halloween, I will skip the ghoulish festivities.

More later.

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Rain, Sun, and Sea Witch

The three days of rain ended last evening and today dawned bright and clear. Not a cloud in the sky.

The good news is that the Sea Witch Festival wasn’t a complete washout (sorry.) and downtown was bustling with seemingly hundreds of families and pets that were just dying to show off their costumes and have a good time. I had the opportunity to visit the boardwalk before going to work this morning. What fun.

The not-so-good news is even with all the rain the pond remains low and a few of the turtles are sunning themselves on a bit of mud that still sticks out above the waterline, which is about 18 inches low.

After work I came home and called to let my landlady know about a change in the weather since she had told me there were a few plants she wanted to bring indoors for the winter and they needed to be brought in before a real cold spell.

We’re expecting a frost tonight so I helped bring in to the porch a few potted hibiscuses that were around the pool area, and then we took a walk (my first) in the woods to the end of the property. Just breathtaking and the cool breeze rustling through the drying leaves smelled good.

It’s hunting season and while they’re prohibited from hunting God’s creatures on Sundays, hunters fill the other six days with the sounds of rifles, shotguns and the like. The noise was a little disconcerting at first, but I’ve gotten used to it. These folks have been hunting here for generations and it’s part of their way of life.

On our walk we saw a few duck blinds and small boats on land near the creek. Because it’s Sunday there were no hunters around. I wouldn’t take this walk on any other day until the end of the Hunting Season.

All in all, a good day, indeed.

More later.

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Stop The Nuclear Bailout - NukeFree.org

From NukeFree:

Do you live near a nuclear power plant? You may not today, but if the nuclear power industry has their way, a lot more of us could have those radioactive smokestacks as neighbors.

Please join musicians Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt as well as a growing list of concerned citizens in signing a petition to Congress that will stop a pending bailout of the nuclear power industry.

So, go on over to NukeFree.org and sign the petition. Check out the right frame for a list of all who are taking part.

More later.
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Press Releases: You can't make up.

Spew Alert!!!

From Heckuva Job-Brownie - the man who didn't know of anyone in the NOLA Convention center three days after Katrina, California now gets this:

Former FEMA Director and Director of Corporate Strategy for Cotton Companies Michael D. Brown Available for Interviews Regarding California Wild Fires

394 words , 23 October 2007 , 18:12 , PR Newswire (U.S.) English

Copyright © 2007 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.

NEW YORK, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Michael D. Brown, Former FEMA Director and Current Director of Cotton Companies, one of the leading disaster preparedness and restoration organizations in the nation, is available for comment regarding the wild fires that are devastating Southern California.

Currently, the brush fires are affecting hundreds of local businesses and have forced more than 500,000 people out of their homes. Of these 500,000 people, an estimated 10,000 of them have taken shelter at the local NFL stadium, Qualcomm, vaguely reminiscent of circumstances of Hurricane Katrina evacuees two years ago.

"The agency has learned some hard lessons regarding the handling of mass evacuations especially in regard to the bureaucratic red tape that is involved in such a process," said Mr. Brown. "This is a tragic time for many of the people of California, and Cotton Companies is working to ensure that normalcy is restored and that businesses and organizations are back up and running as soon as possible."

Cotton has already deployed a team to San Diego to prepare recovery efforts and has a Community Assessment Team in full force.

Mr. Brown can speak to the turmoil being caused by the California wild fires as well as to some of the new processes in disaster relief efforts that will help to restore California communities. He can offer advice to residents and businesses on proper relief and recovery efforts and provide suggestions for future disaster preparedness.

Since its inception in 1996, Cotton Companies, the nation's leading provider of disaster recovery services, has been coming to the aid of businesses and communities coast to coast with its ability to react, take charge, mobilize and execute on the spot crisis management. Cotton has responded to such high-alert disasters as Hurricane Katrina and the tragedy of 9/11 in New York City.

Like I said, you just can't make this stuff up.

More later.

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We are: "The Battered"

This is from the "Daily Delaware" site and written by Delaware Dem. Check out the entire piece.

We are all battered. We are under constant attack from the right and their maleovent spokesmen on the airways, in Congress and in the White House. And as we take the assaults on our liberty, on our persons, on our freedoms and on our fundamental sense of dignity, we turn to our elected representatives in Congress with the expectation that they will have our collective backs. We expect that they will be ready to fight back. We expect that they will possess the very same righteous indignation that we do.

And they are generally no where to be found.

Excuse me, I am wrong. They can be found.

Hiding in the ally. Under the table. Behind the curtain. Afraid of the bully.

Speaker Pelosi. Over 80% of Daily Kos (some 12,000 Kossacks) disapprove of your job performance. It is because you do not have our backs.

Majority Leader Reid. I hear you used to be a prize fighter. I think that is a lie. For you do not fight for us. And that is why you are roundly disapproved of in the netroots and around the nation.

This really made my day.
More later.
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Every Day that Comes, Comes Once in a Lifetime.

I really needed to look for more stove top cooked recipes. I was getting bored, already. So I did some searching and came up with a few that read as delicious. Now all I have to do is find the proper pan for this project to be complete. My storage space is very limited. So, I went hunting this morning and didn’t find anything appropriate around here.

Meanwhile, as I was driving into town, an old song from an obscure Broadway show from the 60s popped into my head and took up residence. I was amazed that I still recalled the lyrics as I began to sing out-loud – windows down – warm breezes swirling through the car. I have not heard that song, or anything else from the score in about 20 years.

The show: Subways Are For Sleeping. (I said it was obscure, didn’t I?)

Songs: Betty Comden, Adolf Green, and Jule Styne.

Anyway, the song intruding into my morning consciousness is titled “Once in a Lifetime.” As the day is now ending I feel that I must put these lyrics down, so I don’t forget them again (there is a tie-in to my session with the therapist, but that’s below) so here are some:

Every day, just goes along dawn to sundown,
Here’s the rundown,
Every day that comes, comes once in a lifetime.

Take each day, and that the moments in it.
Fill each minute,
Every day that comes, comes once in a lifetime.

Think of now, tomorrow is waiting in the wings,
Who knows what it brings,
While the future waits, the present swings.

So take each day and gather the romance in it.
Fill each minute
Every day that comes, comes once in a lifetime

Only once come this particular sky,
Only once these precious hours will fly
Only once this incredible day goes by,
So live, live, live….
Today.

At least that’s what I can remember. So…I'm having a session with the therapist and this song becomes the background theme of my life today. No, really. It did!

As we talked (I talked – he shared) I discovered that I had been diligently working on old programs trying to rid myself of their presence and toxicity and that I was essentially singing this song because I have begun to live in the present; the NOW! No wonder I’ve been so exhausted lately – it wasn’t just from work, it was all the internal stuff, too.

I left the session hovering a few inches off the ground.

It’s October 23 and the temps are in the upper 70s with a delightful breeze coming in off the ocean. Everyone is in shorts and tee shirts. I took a walk on the boardwalk, ran into a few folks from my previous life that seemed a bit shocked by my relaxed and open countenance. They didn’t say much, and I didn’t offer much. They seemed distracted. At least they said “hello”!

I came home, sat by the (now closed-for-the-winter pool) and read for a time while listening to the wind rustle through the changing leaves. I am now ready for a shower and getting dinner started. And I still need to find that damned pan sometime soon.

More later.

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The Bring Miracle Home Project

This from Scout Prime over at First Draft:

Hope in Grace has raised over $10,000!

Donations have come in from all over the US, Canada and even Europe.

The magnificent El Gato Negro of Online Blogintegrity has made a great video to continue to help get the word out. I hope you'll watch, pass it on to others and if you have a blog.... post it up.

Scout Prime has been covering the Gulf Coast and NOLA situation like nobody else. I thank her for her continued reporting and being a messenger of truth from NOLA.

More later.

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An Inconvenient Truth

It's been "An Inconvenient Truth" weekend around here.

Let me explain. You see the film didn't play at our local MultiPlex very long, so I only got to see it once in the theater. It's not the sort of fare the owners believe will make them money. Documentaries in the past have not been blockbusters. Although that changed with Fahrenheit 911, they're still a hard sell here. In fact, I've never heard of half the films now playing here.

Anyway, now that I am blessed with DirecTV I have access to a number of movie channels and one of them is running An Inconvenient Truth this weekend so I've had the opportunity to see it twice and I am amazed at how much I missed at the first viewing. It's a powerful film and an indictment of the current mis-administration. If you haven't seen it yet, try renting it and see for yourself.

I've spent some time over at the website touted in the film and I urge you to go there and learn how you can make a difference. It's at www.climatecrisis.net

More later.
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Rowling Outs Hogwarts Character

Now this is interesting --- from the Gray Lady:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.

After reading briefly from the final book, ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'' she took questions from audience members. She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds ''true love.''

''Dumbledore is gay,'' the author responded to gasps and applause....

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Read it all here.

More later.
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Wish We Had YouTube in the 60s

This brings back such vivid memories of that other unfortunate war, the one in South East Asia and it brought my blood back to the boil that I am proud to say, made me want to do more. Alas, I am far older than the targeted audience, but the memories are strong and so I am grateful to feel the passion again.




More later.
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