January 2006 Archives

Republican Sen. Sam Brownback... said Monday he meant no offense to homosexuals when he used the word "fruits" in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

   "President Bush will say 'America is addicted to oil'" in his State of the Union Speech tonight. Will he snicker after saying that, or will he just smile? Seriously, it hasn't been an issue for him in the past, or in the past several years of his presidency. Perhaps he will suggest a 12-step program for Americans. Hmmm.. how would that go?
1. We admit that we are powerless when it comes to big, freakin' SUVs that guzzle gas.
2. We came to believe that Saudi Arabia would restore us to sanity.
3. We decided to maybe look at a Prius for our next car, unless a really cool muscle car comes out.
4. We made a financial inventory and decided that $2/gallon is better than $3/gallon,
5. Admitted to driving in the high capacity lane with a blow up doll.
6. We're ready to have Bush remove our problems for us.
7. Went to ask Bush for help, but secret service escorted us from the property.
8. Made a list of the environments we've ruined with oil spills, etc.
9. Fined companies with gazillions of dollars relatively wee little amounts.
10. Continued to take inventory, and decided buying alcohol is more fun than buying gas.
11. Sought through email forwards to encourage others to not buy gas on certain days.
12. Upon having this awakening, decided to start drinking and find another, more fun 12-step.

(source: Bush says U.S. addicted to oil)

   A small one: When walking around the house someone blurts out, "What's Wrong???" when nothing is in fact the matter.

   I'm taking a class in Accounting this quarter. It seems like an alternate universe sometimes - where you debit an account to put money in, and credit it to take money out. Hmm.. maybe my bank will use that method next time I overdraft...

   I have determined that almost any disasterous meal can be saved with a dash of Lawry's Salt. I made the most bland, dry meal from a recipe that I found. It really should have been very tasty, but.. not so much.

   Yesterday turned into the longest workday ever! I ended up setting up Valentine's Day stuff for way longer than I had planned or imagined. It was kinda funny that as we were getting the new merchandise out people were practically tripping over us to see what we were putting out. People going nuts over heart shaped candle holders and Hershey Pots-o-Gold.
   Today is a good day! I'm going to be signing a contract today that culminates 4 years of work for the Community Center, and a plan is in the works to make a huge difference in the LGBT community here. People are very interested and their energy is rubbing off on me. I feel like I should look outside and see a bright sunny day.
   Also I notice that Jimmy is posting once again over at Wonderboy Blog. Happy to see him back, and best to him in 2006!

   I have gone on a cleaning spree in the office. You know all that crap that somehow accumulates all over your desk? You know you need all of it, or at least you will someday. But I cleaned it all away! My computer speakers were starting to crackle and die, so they got replaced with smaller profile ones. Which left room for this fun little plasma light to sit in front of one of them. Now when I'm listening to BPM on XM it's flashing and pulsing like I'm in a dance club. And as a dear friend of mine likes to say, "One can never have too many lights or queers!"

   I went to the bank today to add people to the commercial accounts for the Community Center. I had been told that two current account signers must be present to add others due to the Patriot Act. I'm not quite sure why this makes sense. The funny thing is that after I made arrangements for 6 people to be at the bank at the same time so we comply with the Act, no one even checked our IDs. They didn't ask, inquire, or even mention seeing anyone's driver's license. So don't I feel safe now?

   The House is considering new regulations regarding representatives' relationships with lobbyists.
Among the changes ... under consideration are ones that would ban House members from accepting free travel and meals from lobbyists and toughening a ban on gifts from them.
Duh.. oh but what will the adult entertainment industry do now? No more dildos in the mail I suppose.

Attack and counterattack — Washington's election-year war of words has begun.
   Oh is it an election year thing? I thought that was all the time. Like a 24/7 porn channel, there's never any real plot and it just keeps going.

   A proposed anti-gay marriage amendment is moving right along in PA.
The proposed amendment may come in conflict with provisions already in the Pennsylvania constitution.
Article I calls for equal treatment.
   Aw c'mon. How many states have overlooked that little hypocracy already? Equal treatment on paper is different from equal treatment in person, right?

(sources: Republicans propose Congress ethics reforms; Washington's war of words heats up; Gay Marriage Ban Gains Momentum In Pennsylvania)

   So I got a bluetooth headset for my cell phone last week. I wasn't sure how much I'd use it, but it's very useful in the car. Especially since I've been told that a new city ordinance requires hands-free cells in the car. Anyway, so I push this little button on the headset and my phone says, "Please say a command." Normally one would say something like, "Call someone," then it asks for the name, etc. Just for kicks I told it to make me some dinner, and it replied that I should go fuck myself. Technology...

   My partner and I have been anticipating the movie Brokeback Mountain since we heard it was filming. Most of it was the hype about having a mainstream Hollywood director as well as my boyfriend's fixation with Heath Ledger. We finally got to see it last night at the Cedar Lee, and we certainly weren't disappointed.
   The crowd at the theater was mixed and of all ages. No one left or made smart remarks. There were more than a few tears shed in the theater, and at the end there was applause. It's been awhile since I've heard that reaction at the end of a movie.
   The previous hype had nothing to do with what I think of this movie - the expereince of seeing it was enough. It is over two hours long, but time seemed to slip away unnoticed. Brokeback is one of those movies that you can become completely wrapped up in feeling as though you have some stake in the characters. It is both beautiful and gut-wrenching. It is simple yet provocative.

   In England calling a horse gay can mean hate speech charges. Apparently a guy walked up to a police man's horse and told him that it was gay. Now I don't know about this whole hate speech thing, but really how do you know that a horse is gay? Did it have a limp hoof or something that gave it away? And did I miss something, or does anyone actually care?
(source: Charges Dropped In 'Gay Horse' Case)

   In recent news, I have been re-elected chair person of the Board of Directors for the community center. I'm pretty excited about this year. The officers on the executive committee are all people I know and trust to do an amazing job. And we have new board members who bring new ideas and new energy. It's going to be a good year. Our anniversary dinner is coming up this weekend which is always fun. Now I have to write a speech...

"We believe that the courts don't have the right to go in and change law that the Legislature has passed." - Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-Wenatchee
   So when Congress passed laws like ones regarding segregation or ones that are obviously historically discriminatory, there should be no check or balance? Apparently Mr. Armstrong is not aware of the manner in which the American government was set up. You know, the part about three separate branches each with check and balance power over each other.

"We already defined it, and that's the definition we want the court to honor." - Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla (said regarding marriage)
   Mr. Hewitt aka Mr. Webster perhaps is unaware of the Webster definition of marriage:

mar riage 1 a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage

(sources: Wash. GOP leaders: Marriage is our turf; Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

   From "Exploring Psychology:"
"Many mental health professionals view psychological disorders as harmful dysfunctions. They label behavior as harmful and dysfunctional when they judge it to be atypical, disturbing, maladaptive, and unjustifiable." (470)
My goodness! Doesn't this apply to at least half of the American public at one time or another? I mean you could even apply this to presidential persons...

The Rhetoric is currently undergoing some upgrading - Movable Type upgrades are FUN!
update 1-3-06: Most everything is back in order. Just a few minor bugs to work out I think. For instance, wBloggar now gives me invalid login errors. With all the time I've spent working on this, I'm about to move back over to Blogger...

What happened to the rest of the country?