Romney: "Strike One"

Jonathan Rauch skewers the hypocrisy of Mitt Romney, who has apparently determined that he's going to ride the anti-gay marriage train to the White House.

Gore '08

I've been saying for months that Al Gore would run and win the next presidential election, and now I'm not the only one. Here's a thorough explanation of the reasoning.

Attention: Joe Pesci fans

Here's a new way to procrastinate. [note: audio not workplace safe]

This just in....

Not even 18 hrs since the votes were tallied and GWB has canned Rummy. It's overdue. Amen.

Is she kidding?

Notice that as Hillary Clinton is thanking her supporters for "standing with her and standing for change" she is surrounded by...no one. And what's the change - she was running for re-election! I guess this is the kind of double-speak we can exepect when she runs for Prez.

Paging Dick Wolf....

If this tragedy isn't an episode of Law & Order in the making, I don't know what is.

Ha-ha

C'mon Faith Hill - nobody believes you were joking and not just a sore loser at last night's CMAs. Suck it up and say you're sorry!

Gaydar Alert?

Maybe I'm off-base, but don't most of these evangelical "leaders" from Colorado Springs look like they'd be equally comfortable in Provincetown, Palm Springs, or Key West? (hat tip: Pam's House Blend)

Three Times The Charm

Looks like there's a little more room in the closet now that Pastor Ted Haggard has finally fessed up after days of denying allegations that he enjoyed regular sessions with a male prostitute. It's easy to attack his hypocrisy for railing against all things gay publicly while enjoying its pleasures privately. Sully, as usual, highlights the real sin:

 

There is no commandment not to be gay. There is a commandment not to bear false witness. Haggard bore false witness - to himself, to his wife, to his traumatized kids, to his fellow gay men and women. repeatedly, pathologically, self-destructively. The right response for Christians is compassion and forgiveness. But also hope: hope that this will help spread the truth about what being gay actually is.

Source: Andrew Sullivan | The Daily Dish

Said the Kettle to the Pot

Kudos to the Boston Globe for reminding us that John Kerry didn't exactly "make an effort to be smart" while in school.

Stop the Insanity!

No, it's not a headline in The Onion. Middlebury College is actually considering an applicant's sexual orientation as a relevant dimension of diversity. Others are sure to follow in that school's footsteps. How can homosexual teens growing up in today's society in which everything [or so it it seems] is gay, gay, gay be considered a minority worthy of a boost up when it comes to getting into college? The mind reels....

Patricia - meet Job.

As if it's not bad enough to lose your job as board chairman, then lose your seat altogether, be hauled before Congress, and then indicted for four felonies - Patricia Dunn has begun chemo to treat her Stage Four ovarian cancer. And there is no Stage Five.

Attention Amnesiacs

Professor Krauthammer offers a much-needed refresher course about Jihadists and Iraq. While obviously we know what has happened since the U.S. invasion, we don't know what would have happened had we not done so. But I don't think any scenario would have made us safer from those intended to do us harm. As Kenneth Pollack persuasively argued in 2002, the sanctions status quo would not hold.

Where do they get this stuff?

ABC News has just released what are proported to be IM's from former-Rep Foley that indicate he was having cybersex with a former page while awaiting an upcoming floor vote. Did his young partner - who appears to have been a willing participant - hold on to the transcript as a reminder of a many splendored night, or did he have more sinister (i.e., blackmail) intentions? Will we find out?

Vacancy

FYI - here's what happens when your Congressman resigns.

Sentence first -- verdict afterwards

So says the Alice's Queen. Mark Foley did something improper, perhaps even illegal., and he's taken responsibility. Unlike other politicians (but I digress). I think it's important to keep perspective. At least based on what we know now, he didn't rape, assault, or otherwise injure anyone. The underage pages - erroneously referred to by some as "young boys" -- were 15 and 16 years old. In many states, that's old enough to be tried as an adult for murder or to get an abortion without a parent's consent or even knowledge.

Wag the Finger

FoxNews Sunday's Chris Wallace provides some background on former president Clinton's meltdown during a recent interview:

Didn't he learn that it's not good to go on the air when you're upset?

Note to Barbara: Better Rein in Rosie....

Here's what the former "Queen of Nice" had to say on The View this morning: "Radical Christianity is as much a threat as radical Islam in a country like the United States." How will Miss Walters, one of the shows executive producers, deal with the fallout? Stay tuned....

Karl's Two Daddies?

Turns out the "Architect" has a gay dad. Can anyone explain the psychology of a person who advocates political positions and uses his power to harm a family member? (Don't even get me started on the GOP's closet case Mehlman.) Is he out for revenge, to punish his old man for breaking up the family? Or does he think he can relieve whatever misguided feelings of shame he harbors by "proving" he's a man? Whatever, I don't see why we should all suffer because Karl had an unhappy childhood. But I guess that's the history of the world....

Crikey! R.I.P.

A freak accident at sea has killed killed Australia's Steve Irwin. Sad news on this Labor Day.

Another cool productivity tool

My satisfaction with time-saving and cool applications like ClearContext has me searching for others. I've been playing with Tidy Start Menu, which does one thing very well: more easily organize my Windows Start menu. Until now, whenever I added an application, or updated a previous one, the new folders and shortcuts messed up my previous organization of links. After a significantly distracting amount of clutter had developed, I'd right click on Start/Programs/ Explore All Users and move things around. To get things right I usually had to double check the default user and administrator folders as well.

Tidy Start Memo makes the task a whole lot simpler and the results are considerably better. I like that I can choose custom icons, and the best feature is that you can delete an app by simply right-clicking on it. Download the free version and give it a try.

Admissions error?

Remember those insecure early days of Freshman/First year when you and most everyone else thought for sure the admissions office had made a mistake? Looks like the folks at Colorado State may actually have made a big blunder:

My brother is a senior at CU Boulder and works in the freshman orientation office. This week, he and his coworkers were trying to assist a young woman who was having difficulty locating a building in which she said she had been instructed to attend an orientation session. When she said the name of the building was Braiden Hall, the orientation crew told her that it sounded familiar, but that it definitely wasn't a CU building. "Let me see your acceptance letter," one person asked her. After looking at the letterhead, the mix-up became clear. "Miss, I believe you've been accepted to Colorado State. In Ft. Collins." She had been looking for the CSU Student Union. The mortified young lady's face dropped. "But I just signed a lease!" she said, then fled immediately.

Self-publishing for the masses

Have a stack of recipes you want to share? How about those short stories The New Yorker rejected? Thanks to Blurb now anyone can create a book of their own, no agent or editor needed.

Free Stuff?

Want to get back at the anti-gay radical right and hit them where it counts - right in the wallet? Check out this bodacious yet sublime scheme.  I wonder how long it will take until the nimrods at Focus on the Family catch on and tighten up their operations. 

Liar, Liar!

Now we know that John Karr is deranged, not homicidal. Big surprise. Way to go, Boulder D.A's office - you're now batting .000!

Boo Hoo

Poor little Tommy Cruise - Paramount has cut him loose. Has Sumner lost his mind or has the no accountability, free ride tide in celebrityville turned? Watch out, Mel - you could be next!

Now, That's News to Me

Boulder is not really the Utopia we all think it is. Who knew?

Get Well Soon, Roger

The great Roger Ebert has posted an e-mail explaining his months-long absence from the movie beat. I hope he's back in action well before the Christmas open-to-qualify-for-the-Oscars films are released.

Microsoft Gets Something Right!

Two things account for my return to blogging after a four-month hiatus: the semester has ended so it seems like I have more time, and Microsoft has just introduced Windows Live Writer. This new stand-alone application makes blogging simpler than ever. There's no need to go to my Blogger account, or click "Blog This" and deal with its awkwardness. Live Writer uses my blogger template, allows me to compose off-line, and then publishes it directly and correctly to this blog.

Try ClearContext - save $15!

I've been using ClearContext, an Outlook add-in, for several months now and it has really helped me get a handle on my e-mail, tasks, and schedule.The following personal coupon code, CC15-15940, will give you $15 off the purchase price of $69.95. At least give it a try with their 30-day free trial available here. Even if you don't think it's worth the money (and I was skeptical at first, but now I don't see how I can work without it!), there's a free version with fewer features that still helps keep your e-mail well-organized.

Those Lips!

The irrepresible Sandra Bernhard hawks MAC lip gloss. Has there ever been a better spokesmodel?

Happy Anniversary! Love, Warren

After years of hoping while studios released every two-bit, dimwitted B movie in their vaults, I am so excited that Paramount is finally issuing REDS on DVD. The 25th Anniversary of the film - one of my all-time favorites (I saw it at least 7 times during its initial release, including back-to-back showings - yes I was obsessed!) - was the peg they were waiting for, I suppose. Will its Oscar-winning director Warren Beatty do any press to push sales? Doubtful, but who cares?! Now, if I could only find more information about what extras, if any, are being included. It seems to me that there is plenty of room on a second (or third!) DVD for the witness interviews in their entirety; is that what the purported 6-part documentary consists of? Well, one can hope...

P.S. Note to Paramount: it's time to update your web site, don't you think? There's no mention of this DVD's October 3 drop.

Braces, Day One

So I had my orthodontic braces installed (or whatever the appropriate verb is) this morning. All went smoothly, and it even took less time than I had thought. The brackets and wires feel awkward, but the staff assure me that within a week or so I'll adjust. Fine. And the Aleve  is working like a charm so far.

Fast forward two hours when I'm ready to sit down for my first meal with my new mouth. TWACK! I felt the top wire shift to the left, and suddenly the subtle pressure I'd been feeling on my teeth is gone. With my tongue I can feel the sharp edge of something metal; that wasn't there before, was it?  Quick trip to the mirror reveals that one of the brackets had come off a tooth.

The orthodontist's receptionist didn't seemed too fazed when I told her my problem; I was offered an appointment for TOMORROW afternoon. Was she kidding? I just had them put on less that three hours ago; couldn't someone fix it today? Time is of the essence - I don't want to spent one day longer than necessary with these things. I'll be seeing someone (who knows what they're doing, I hope), later this afternoon.

Not an especially propitious start, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. I am in Boulder after all, where "no worries" is our mantra.

Oops!

The State of Florida is at it again. Turns out a mistaken judge cost this man ten years of his life behind bars. Between its foster care system, its juvenile justice system, and its election system, Florida should be re-named the "Land of iIncompetence."

He's got my vote in '08

This just in: Senator Russ Feingold says he would legalize same-sex marriages. He voted against the Patriot Act, against the war, for Roberts and against Alito, and his name is synonymous with campaign finance reform. Could he possibly beat Hillary? I hope so.....

Ding, Dong the Witch Is Dead!

This just in: according to an interview just published in TIME.com, Tom "The Hammer" Delay is dropping out of his re-election bid. Next stop: trying on a pair of those orange coveralls Federal prisoners wear....

Civil unions for all!

Here's a well-argued case for getting government out of the marriage business as an affirmation of the separation of church and state. File this under "Eminently sensible, but with no chance of ever becoming public policy."

April Fools! (early edition)

I guess this is what those folks at Microsoft have been working on instead of the new operating system!

What happens in MA stays in MA

Those judicial activists are at it again. In a six to one vote, the Massachusetts Supreme Judical Court has upheld a 1913 law banning marriages to out-of-staters if the marriage would not be legal in their home state. Sullivan argues that this should end all pushes for constitutional amendments, state or Federal, since with this ruling Massachusetts has essentially saved them the trouble. But he ignores those in my situation: I'm legally married in Massachusetts but may or already have moved to another state. How is it just in this "e pluribus unum" nation that for so fundamental a piece of my identity I can have a different legal status depending in which state I reside. Are marriage laws simply like any other statute - those defining criminal offenses or zoning requirements, for examples - or are they intended to protect "the bedrock of society"?

Maybe it was the Ambien...

In India a man accidentally divorced his wife while asleep. Now that tops sleep eating!

OPRAH Approved?

How long until Oprah gets a restraining order to stop this? I think T-Shirt Hell has some pretty funny/shocking items for sale, but have they crossed the line this time?

The Real Cost of Freedom

A marine from Texas who was due to return home from Iraq to his wife and three children this week was killed last Wednesday. He had volunteered to disarm a bomb in Iraq's war-torn Anbar province because, as his widow explained, "he didn't want his children to grow up with people blowing up buildings."

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

In Annapolis, (Capital of) Maryland, at a hearing on the proposed Constitutional Amendment to prohibit gay marriage, Jamie Raskin, professor of law at AU, was requested to testify and he did so.

At the conclusion of his testimony, a right-wing senator rose to say, 'Mr. Raskin, my Bible says that marriage shall occur only between a man and a woman. What do you have to say about that?'

Raskin: 'Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You did not place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.'

The room erupted into applause.

Romney's mascot: a pander bear

Last weekend in Nashville Gov. Romney repeated an insult against gay & lesbian parents by asserting that "every child has the right to a mother and a father." Today he acknowledges that we have "a legitimate interest" in adoption. Gee, thanks Gov.! Never mind that Massachusetts law specifically allows gay adoption, including second parent adoption. This, from a Harvard Law grad. Romney's flip-flop reminds me of his stance on abortion. During his campaign for governor he said he supported the current Massachusetts law on abortion. Now that he's seeking the republican nomination for the presidency, his view has "matured" and he is now anti-abortion. Well, at least he's mastered the political art of pandering....

See for yourself

Last night I raved about Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep at the Oscars. See for yourself here, or view below:

Oscar Trivia, 2006

You'd have to go back 50 years to 1956 for the last time all six top Oscars - Picture, Director, and all four acting prizes - were spread among six different films. I guess that makes this year's Oscars one for the books after all!

Oscar Blog, Final Thoughts

Others may have been surprised, but I expected Crash to beat Brokeback for Best Picture.

Overall, the show was about average, continuing the recent tradition of minimal spontineity, few surprises, and just one moment for the history books.

I thought Jon Stewart did a fine job, and certainly deserves to be asked back. The Daily Show-inspired Oscar "campaign" ads were a hoot, but the zingers were few and far between.

Oh, well - let's do this again in 12 months!

Oscar blog, 7

I remember saying after she accepted the SAG award that Reese Witherspoon just won herself the Oscar. Her speech then, just like the one she gave tonight, was sincere, thoughtful, delivered with confidence and a minimum of distracting tears, and offered a paeon to her chosen profession. Who could ask more in such a speech? Wasn't Philip Seymour Hoffman listening at the SAGs?

Oscar Blog, 6

As expected, Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor, and also as expected he wasted his time on the stage. I don't get it: he's a great actor, who knows lots of great writers (Paul Thomas Anderson and Anthony Minghella, to name a few) yet made lame acceptance speeches at the Globes, SAGs, and even yesterday's Independent Spirit Awards. Why didn't someone who cared about him sit the man down and get him to think about what he would say when (not if) he won the Oscar?

Oscar Blog, 6

There will be calls for a re-count, but "It's Hard Out There For A Pimp" from Hustle and Flow just joined the list of improbable Oscar winners (right behind Eminem and Marisa Tomai) - and left the writer/singer of the song from Crash looking stunned.

Oscar Blog, 5

WOW! Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin just showed us what pros can do when given great dialogue, some rehearsal, and of course, great talent. Their introduction of Robert Altman's Special Oscar will go down as one of Oscar's greatest. Inspired by Altman's signature over-lapping dialogue and unconventional structure, it should win the writers an Emmy - and the performers too, if they're eligible.

Greatest Oscar Prop ever

and the winner is....the March of the Penguins guys who each brought life-sized emperor penguins up to the stage. But what will they do with them during the Governor's Ball?

Oscar blog, 4

Poor Lauren Bacall - she looked frail as she shuffled to the podium and then haltingly read, or didn't, the teleprompter. I'm sure it's only a matter of minutes until her press people start explaining that there was a technical problem, and that her shockingly poor performance was not due to nerves, medication, or lack of rehearsal.

Oscar Blog, 3

Well Rachel Weizs's win supports my theory that if an actress sings or gets naked in a film, she increases her chances of winning an Oscar.

Oscar Blog, cont'

It's 53 minutes into the show and only one major award has been given. And what were they thinking with that montage of biopics? Was there no better use of those four minutes?

Blogging the Oscars...

Jon Stewart started slow and a bit hesitantly, but seemed to relax by the end of what was an average monologue. The video montage of the history of gay overtones in cowboys movies was reminiscent of portions of The Celluloid Closet.

Loved Nicole Kidman's reference to the nominees as "all leading men," and Best Supporting Actor goes to George Clooney. Will his thoughtful speech, without this list of thank yous, be a model of things to come?

My Oscar Predictions

With only 90 minutes to go until the show begins, here are my predictions:

Best Picture: Crash
Best Director, Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Best Actress: Felicity Huffman, TransAmerica
Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhall, Brokeback Mountain
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, Junebug
Best Original Screenplay: Crash
Best Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain
Cinematography: Brokeback Mountain
Animated Feature: Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

I'm going out on a limb with several of these - and I wouldn't be surprised to see Brokeback for Best Picture, Reese Witherspoon (Actress), George Clooney (Supp. Actor), and Rachel Weisz (Supp. Actress) win instead. Nothing will make me cheer more loudly than if Amy Adams wins - the supporting actress category has been a wild card in the past and as prone to recognize great performances (e.g., Marsha Gay Harden in Pollack) as well as payback (e.g., Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love) and hers is the best BY FAR - if only the voters took the time to watch it.

We'll know before too long.....

2 for 1? I'll pass

During the 1992 Presidential race, Bill Clinton joked that if we elected him we'd be getting "two for the price of one" because his wife brought so much to the table. Now we see what a Hillary Clinton administration could bring us along this line - she opportunistically plays politics while he works behind the scenes to achieve exactly what she is inveighing against. Do we need any more reasons to stop Hillary?

Well, that explains everything!

Here's a not-so-far-fetched explanation
for the real motivation behind Fred Phelps' hatred.

Small Investor, Beware!

If you're a denison of the Yahoo stock discussion boards, here's some helpful advice about the "bashers" who toil to make stock prices tank to enrich their short positions.

Brokeback, Part II

One man's imagination of what Ennis & Jack's reunion would be like.

The Source of Evil in the Modern World

I'm all hepped up over high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and last week's trip to the grocery store pushed me over the edge.

Did you know that most commerically produced bread - the kind most Moms in America buy for the kids' lunches, including the supposedly-healthy whole grain types - is made with HFCS? I sure didn't, and believe me you have to read a lot of lables to find the few varieties of non-organic, reasonably priced bread to find one made with honey or cane sugar instead.

This article explains the link between HFCS, Federal corn subsidies, and America's growing obsesity crisis.

And where are our lawmakers in all of this? In bed with the agribusiness giants, of course. Remember this the next time you see an ad on those Sunday morning talk shows from ADM - one of the leading purveyers of this poison, and the most prominant recipient of Federal subsidies.

Can't get no respect....

Hamas says that since the US is the "mother of democracy" we should accept its victory instead of trying to destabilize it. I think the group's leaders miss the point: it is because we respect their election that we are treating them as we would any enemy of our interests.

And now, for a trip to Sleezeland.....

Clay Aiken had gay sex after trolling the Internet for a hot guy. This being America, the trick thought it might be nice to tell all to Howard Stern on Sirius Satellite radio. And what's next for the guy?: a porn career of course!

Brokeback to the Future

Some people just have too much time on their hands. But I've got to give them a 10 for creativity and execution!

And..."We're not gay."

Right. Not yet. See for yourself.

The word of the day....

Fellatial. Try using it in a sentence.

Let's don't get our hopes up....

So, big deal: Alito votes to block an execution. Did anyone really think he wanted his first act on the Supreme Court to be sending someone to his death?

Whew...I passed!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Dan's the Man!

Dan Harris, who first came to my attention while he was an anchor at NECN here in Boston, has surely proved his value to his employers.

Why Gay Marriage is Wrong for America

Read this for a ironic take on the gay marriage debate. The scarry thing is that some people actually believe this stuff.

Is Alito really a conservative?

Not if you look at his investment strategy, which is revealed at the end of the questionnaire he filled out for the Senate Judiciary Committee (it's on the very last page!). Among his assorted stock and bond mutual funds, he holds five individual stocks: Exxon Mobil, McDonalds, Intel, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Disney. Fine blue chips, to be sure, but guess what percentage of his total portfolio his XOM holdings are. Twenty percent! For a single stock. In the energy sector. Not much diversification there. Maybe he's not so conservative after all...

Hypocrisy Watch

Another man of the cloth is caught attempting to put his hands somewhere other than the cookie jar. How many of these closet-cases does it take for the media to get wise and stop giving their screeds credence?

Journalism 101

There's no excuse for the stupid and insensitive delay by officials at International Coal Group in getting the tragic truth to miners' family members. Nevertheless, lost in all the hand-wringing is a mea culpa from the media, who based reports of the miners' survival on secondhand accounts and other unconfirmed sources. The incident reminds me of the moment during live coverage of the attempted assassination of President Reagan when a clearly angered and frustrated ABC News anchor Frank Reynolds berated his producers by sharply demanding, "Let's get it NAILED DOWN...somebody...let's find out! Let's get it straight so we can report this thing accurately!" Time to send these folks back to j-school.