Transgendered Political Appointment By Obama; Predictable Reaction By Christianists

President Obama has appointed a male-to-female transgender, Amanda Simpson, to senior technical adviser for the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. She's got 30 years in the field and is well-respected for her abilities. Of course the Christian 'tards have congratulated her in their own, inimitable fashion:

"Is there going to be a transgender quota now in the Obama administration?" asked Peter LaBarbera, president of the anti-gay group Americans for Truth. "How far does this politics of gay and transgender activism go? Clearly this is an administration that is pandering to the gay lobby."

"Simpson's nomination was forwarded through to President Obama by a gay activist group, making it appear that this appointment of a male-to-female 'transgender' activist to a high level Commerce Department position to be payback to his far-left base for their political support," a spokeswoman for Focus on the Family said in statement.

Yeah, because knowing a woman was born with male reproductive parts (despite the perfection of Gosh's intelligent design), and yet had the audacity to take advantage of modern medical practices to correct mother nature's screw-up will make people lose Jesus.

Good. If you're his representatives on Earth, we don't want him.

(Aside, am I going to Hell for not capitalizing a pronoun pertaining to the bearded guy with doe-eyes?)

The only appropriate response is, of course, Carlin:

"Don't these professional Christians have anything to do during the day?"

Via RichardDawkins.net.

Gay Marriage Split Decision

By now you've probably heard that gay civil unions passed in Washington State, but gay marriage failed in Maine. The fact that this is even an issue that needs to be put to a vote is shameful and depressing. The haters can bitch and moan about activist judges all they want, but the fact is, most of the time the courts are ahead of the curve when it comes to civil rights and doing the right thing. And Iowa's Supreme Court makes me prouder all the time.

Here's what you're going to see as a result of this: You're going to see an extension of what's happening in corporate America. Companies that do not have gay-friendly employment policies are slowly losing their talent pool of gay people (and those who support basic rights on principle) to those corporations which do. In the same way, those corporations which are not in gay-friendly states are going to start taking gay rights into consideration when they are being recruited to a particular area of the country. It won't be a deal-breaker, by any means, but it will be a factor. And I could see it being a matter of politics, too, with companies leaning on politicians to get civil marriage--at a minimum--passed to as to provide them with a better environment in which to recruit better employees and therefore improve their competitive advantage.

Or we'll just wait for the haters to die out and the next generation to vote in the rights gay people deserve.

Either way, we can't rely on politicians to do the right thing. I'm looking at you, Mr. Obama.

I'm also looking at you, Catholics (you knew this was coming, right?). Your church helped defeat gay marriage in Maine again. Your church is on the outside of the right thing looking in. You are continuing to support an organization that doesn't give a damn about human rights, and whose closeted gay hierarchy is projecting its self-loathing on everyone else, just like closeted politicians in America. I'm tired of it, you have no excuse to which I will listen. You need to decide that your church is in the wrong and leave it.
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Later: Sullivan has a letter a gay Catholic wrote to his priest (who's apparently still in the closet but not to the parishioner). It's beautiful in its eloquent, steely barbs:

Hatred fueled by the resources of hundreds of thousands of parishes will be the central reason why the Church will eventually wither and die. I can no longer bear the stench of the rotting body and hierarchical ignorance. I can no longer embrace what has become a menace and money machine to support evil. We are all tainted by what happened in Maine. We are all lesser citizens because our brothers and sisters are lesser citizens.

The Catholic Church donated over half a million dollars to the anti-gay vote. When are these fecken twerps going to get it through their mitres that they're ranting about a subject their own parishioners aren't even that concerned about?

Obama Won The Nobel? HUH?!?!

FOR WHAT? Not starting a war with any countries that didn't have anything to do with 9/11? Even Bush only made that mistake once.

Sorry, not declaring war on East Timor and making a nice speach in Cairo doesn't rate a Nobel when you're still raining down Hellfire missiles from drones on targets in AfPak.

All I can say is, it must've been an awfully slow year in the peace-making business. But then again, any "peace" award with Yassir Arafat as a past recipient should be disinfected in the first place.

Judge Orders FBI Interview With Cheney Released

Hey, Dick, does the name Valerie Plame mean anything to you?

The FBI interviewed Cheney in June 2004 as it was investigating the leak of Valerie Plame's identity after her husband publicly criticized the Bush administration. Both the Bush and Obama administrations said they wanted to keep the interview confidential because future presidents and vice presidents may not cooperate with criminal investigations if they know what they say could became public.

But U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled there was no justification to withhold the entire 67 pages of records documenting the interview since the Plame leak investigation has concluded. He said that limited parts could be withheld to protect national security or personal privacy.

I hope that evil motherfucking traitor--and remember, if you out an American agent, that's the legal definition of treason--gets his due.

Which he won't.

Republican Hypocrisy (Or, Dog Bites Man)

A dear friend of mine once got very offended by an Andrew Sullivan comment that discrimination against gays was a part of the official Republican Party platform. That friend clearly doesn't have a leg on which to stand (yes, I'm a grammar snob, deal with it). The hypocrisy is spelled out in plain language on the official GOP website:

Individual rights – and the responsibilities that go with them – are the foundation of a free society. From the time of Lincoln, equality of individuals has been a cornerstone of the Republican Party. Our commitment to equal opportunity extends from landmark school-choice legislation for the students of Washington D.C. to historic appointments at the highest levels of government. We consider discrimination based on sex, race, age, religion, creed, disability, or national origin to be immoral, and we will strongly enforce anti-discrimination statutes.

Except when it comes to queers:

Because our children’s future is best preserved within the traditional understanding of marriage, we call for a constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage as a union of a man and a woman, so that judges cannot make other arrangements equivalent to it. In the absence of a national amendment, we support the right of the people of the various states to affirm traditional marriage through state initiatives.

Oh, so it's for the children, is it? Bullshit. What they really mean is, the gays are coming for your children to co-opt them into a sinful lifestyle, and we can't let that happen. All of which is simply code words designed to stir the batshit crazies faithful into voting for them again.

So I'm sorry, but yes, bigotry towards gay people is an official position of the Republican Party. And if you think not allowing gay people to get married like the rest of us isn't discriminatory, sit down with a few queers and try that line out on them.

And I don't care whatever other arguments you care to make about denying gay marriage, I can counter them all. It boils down to the question, do you have a heart or don't you?

PS: That "traditional marriage" bullshit? That's code for the Christianists who believe that "male and female, He created them." Never mind that the bible mentions no fewer than eight acceptable forms of marriage. And has another passage that disagrees with marriage altogether. And that Jesus never mentions any damned thing about marriage/sexuality at all, the whole time hanging out on a fishing boat with 12 bearded, long-haired dudes...

PPS: What party was in power when DOMA was passed? And who shoved Don't Ask Don't Tell down Clinton's throat (pardon the visual). And no, the Democrats don't get a free pass, because they colluded. But it was the R's who brought it about.

PPPS: Open letter to Democrats: You're just as bad because of your cowardice and indifference to correcting the injustices you helped perpetrate.

Helen Philpot Spanks The Republican Party

You know, this is the one good thing about getting old...you can say anything you want and not give a damn anymore...

Honestly, if I could , I would put the entire Republic party over my knee and give them a good spanking. What does it say about our country if the biggest debate of the decade is no longer about the two wars we are fighting but rather about preventing children and families from having access to affordable healthcare? I’ll tell you what it says to me. It says the Christian Right never really was and Value Voters aren’t very valuable.

And she gets personal, too:

Sarah Palin is worried about death squads. I think she should spend a little more time worrying about getting at least one child into college.

Rush Limbaugh is worried about Socialism. That’s a big word for a college drop out, but isn’t it nice when such a wealthy person shows so much concern for poor little us. I wonder if he’ll spend a little of his $400 million contract and write you ditto heads a check when you can’t afford your hospital bills.

And go read what she has to say about Michele Bachmann.

Iowa Gay Marriage--Good News, Bad News

From the Des Moines Register. Good news:

The overwhelming majority of Iowans - 92 percent - say gay marriage has brought no real change to their lives.

Sixty-three percent say candidates' stands on other issues will be more important in making their decisions in the 2010 elections."

Bad News:

Forty-one percent say they would vote for a ban, and 40 percent say they would vote to continue gay marriage. The rest either would not vote or say they are not sure.

The most intensity about the issue shows up among opponents. The percentage of Iowans who say they strongly oppose gay marriage (35 percent) is nearly double the percentage who say they strongly favor it (18 percent).

Promising news:

"It's really none of my business what other people do in their lives," said Curt Goodell, 38, a Johnston resident.

He identifies himself as a Republican but said he worries his party will try to make marriage a key issue in coming elections. "I don't have any judgment toward people who want to get married: gays, straight or whatever," Goodell said.

John Smith, 50, a Republican from Clarinda, opposes gay marriage because of religious reasons, but he supports civil unions.

"I'm going to nursing school now, and part of the nursing code is to be nonjudgmental," Smith said. "In hospitals, if a same-sex partner couldn't visit or get information about their partner's health? I just think that's wrong."

The best news: It's not going to a vote for at least two more years, if ever. And while most people will vote on a candidate based on other issues, this one isn't unimportant, either. Let's target some of the haters and get them out of office--the process has to have two consecutive votes of the legislature before it goes to the people for a Constitutional Amendment. Cut it off at the pass.

Via Sullivan.

Tour Of Missouri: Political Chicanery

(First, congratulations to Dave Zabriske for winning the overall title. Good guys finishing first...love that)

The following statement is shocking coming from me, but I'm on board with a Republican, at least on this issue.

The Tour of Missouri bike race is ranked one of the best stage races in the world outside of Europe, and yet the Democratic governor of Missouri is trying to scuttle some of the funding:

"Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon hasn't exactly thrown his support toward continuing the race. The Democrat, voted into office last November, has taken a few shots at the Tour, and even tried to pull a $1.5 million tourism allocation for this year's race — a move that resulted in over 1,000 e-mails from race supporters.

Nixon has been at odds with Republican Lt. Governor Pete Kinder, leader of the state's tourism commission and a huge Tour of Missouri proponent. After failing to entice Nixon to watch one of the race stages, he plans to send a letter to the governor on Monday to set a meeting and talk about its future.

"It seems to build each year in interest, in excitement and viewership," Kinder said. "I think if we can put aside other differences and pull together, we can pull off an even better 2010 Tour of Missouri.""

That might be the most sensible thing I've heard a Republican say in years. I wonder what the Governor's side of the story is.

American Excellence, My Ass

This video pretty much sums it up:



Riffing on what Bill Maher said a few years back (left channel audio, only):



I would like to point out that the whole health care screeching has definitely pointed out the true mindset of the right wing: Fuck you, I've got mine!

Obama On "Death Panels"

Fuck you very much, Sarah Palin...



Via Sullivan.

Quote of the Day

"I will show you President Obama's birth certificate when you show me Sarah Palin's high school diploma. "
--Bill Maher

The Birth Certificate

Shut up, already, birthers.

Oh, and just in case you fucktards still think it's bogus, you can be a U.S. citizen if you are "a person born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States and one of whom has had a residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the birth of such person..."

US Code Title 8, Chapter 12, Subchapter III, Part I, Section 1401, Para (c).

The Quitta from Wasilla

Yeah, it was a stretch. Muhammad Ali, I ain't.

Slog had an excellent idea: Go to Conservatives4Palin.com and read the quotes. This one is worthy of a *rollseyes* if ever anything was:

"We have to put on our armor - we are her praetorian guard! That's right - 2012 here we come!!! GET READY!"

I'm guessing the lass who wrote that is also a fan of the Left Behind novels.

This one gave me the best laugh of the weekend (posted prior to Palin's announcement):

"I don't want to read an article, I want to see Palin say it herself at her press conference...I NEED FOOTAGE! I won't believe anything until I hear it from her lips."

SHE'S A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR AND YOU ARE A DEMENTED, DELUDED FUCKTARD!!!11!1!!

I'm forwarding that to Sullivan. This is rich!

Doug Stanhope on "One Nation Under God

Couldn't have said it better.

NSFW:

Iranian Election LOLs

Thanks, Pete.

Green--It's The New Black!

The Daily Dish has changed is basic header colors to green to show solidarity with the citizens of Iran who are protesting the despicable election fraud perpetuated by that slimeball AhmadiNejad. (Side note: Could even Central Casting come up with a sleezier-looking villain? The bad guys in Delta Force looked more respectable.) Since my blog is somewhat simpler in layout and already uses the color green in some areas, I've changed what text and borders I can in support. Please do the same.

You can also show your support by changing your Facebook and MySpace pictures to this...

Coolest. Excuse. Ever.

"To Kennedy's teacher....Please excuse Kennedy's absence.... she's with me."

Barack Obama.

Via Sullivan.

Anthony Woods for Congress

I love anyone who'd bicycle across the country for a good cause (Habitat for Humanity), but this California Congressional candidate makes me swoon:

• Graduated West Point
• Graduated Harvard's Kennedy School of Business
• Bronze Star in Iraq (2 tours)
  
• Reconstructed homes in New Orleans after Katrina

He also is a black, openly gay man. Love it.

So what part of Don't Ask Don't Tell makes sense, again?

Via Sullivan.
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Later: Video from his interview with CNN's Campbell Brown.

Quote of the Day

"Leave Sarah Palin in Alaska. Send Mike Huckabee there as well. Ron Paul can stay."
--Douglas Kmiec, giving unsolicited advice to the Republican Party.

Jesse Ventura Wants to Waterboard Dick Cheney

I'd buy tickets to see this:

Jesse Ventura: I would prosecute every person who was involved in that torture. I would prosecute the people that did it, I would prosecute the people that ordered it, because torture is against the law."

Larry King: You were a Navy S.E.A.L.

Jesse Ventura: Yes, and I was waterboarded [in training] so I know... It is torture...I'll put it to you this way: You give me a waterboard, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders."

Via Sullivan.