Year In Review-Jib Jab

The Choice Is Ours Now

by Melissa Etheridge

This is a message for my brothers and sisters who have fought so long and so hard for gay rights and liberty. We have spent a long time climbing up this mountain, looking at the impossible, changing a thousand year-old paradigm. We have asked for the right to love the human of our choice, and to be protected equally under the laws of this great country. The road at times has been so bloody, and so horrible, and so disheartening. From being blamed for 9/11 and Katrina, to hateful crimes committed against us, we are battle weary. We watched as our nation took a step in the right direction, against all odds and elected Barack Obama as our next leader. Then we were jerked back into the last century as we watched our rights taken away by prop 8 in California. Still sore and angry we felt another slap in the face as the man we helped get elected seemingly invited a gay-hater to address the world at his inauguration.

I hadn't heard of Pastor Rick Warren before all of this. When I heard the news, in its neat little sound bite form that we are so accustomed to, it painted the picture for me. This Pastor Rick must surely be one hate spouting, money grabbing, bad hair televangelist like all the others. He probably has his own gay little secret bathroom stall somewhere, you know. One more hater working up his congregation to hate the gays, comparing us to pedophiles and those who commit incest, blah blah blah. Same 'ole thing. Would I be boycotting the inauguration? Would we be marching again?

Well, I have to tell you my friends, the universe has a sense of humor and indeed works in mysterious ways. As I was winding down the promotion for my Christmas album I had one more stop last night. I'd agreed to play a song I'd written with my friend Salman Ahmed, a Sufi Muslim from Pakistan. The song is called "Ring The Bells," and it's a call for peace and unity in our world. We were going to perform our song for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a group of Muslim Americans that tries to raise awareness in this country, and the world, about the majority of good, loving, Muslims. I was honored, considering some in the Muslim religion consider singing to be against God, while other Muslim countries have harsh penalties, even death for homosexuals. I felt it was a very brave gesture for them to make. I received a call the day before to inform me of the keynote speaker that night... Pastor Rick Warren. I was stunned. My fight or flight instinct took over, should I cancel? Then a calm voice inside me said, "Are you really about peace or not?"

I told my manager to reach out to Pastor Warren and say "In the spirit of unity I would like to talk to him." They gave him my phone number. On the day of the conference I received a call from Pastor Rick, and before I could say anything, he told me what a fan he was. He had most of my albums from the very first one. What? This didn't sound like a gay hater, much less a preacher. He explained in very thoughtful words that as a Christian he believed in equal rights for everyone. He believed every loving relationship should have equal protection. He struggled with proposition 8 because he didn't want to see marriage redefined as anything other than between a man and a woman. He said he regretted his choice of words in his video message to his congregation about proposition 8 when he mentioned pedophiles and those who commit incest. He said that in no way, is that how he thought about gays. He invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids. He told me of his wife's struggle with breast cancer just a year before mine.

When we met later that night, he entered the room with open arms and an open heart. We agreed to build bridges to the future.

Brothers and sisters the choice is ours now. We have the world's attention. We have the capability to create change, awesome change in this world, but before we change minds we must change hearts. Sure, there are plenty of hateful people who will always hold on to their bigotry like a child to a blanket. But there are also good people out there, Christian and otherwise that are beginning to listen. They don't hate us, they fear change. Maybe in our anger, as we consider marches and boycotts, perhaps we can consider stretching out our hands. Maybe instead of marching on his church, we can show up en mass and volunteer for one of the many organizations affiliated with his church that work for HIV/AIDS causes all around the world.

Maybe if they get to know us, they wont fear us.

I know, call me a dreamer, but I feel a new era is upon us.

I will be attending the inauguration with my family, and with hope in my heart. I know we are headed in the direction of marriage equality and equal protection for all families.

Happy Holidays my friends and a Happy New Year to you.

Peace on earth, goodwill toward all men and women... and everyone in-between.

While creating this post, I did a search for photos of Pastor Rick Warren, and came across this very interesting website. Wow-there are some real psychotic people out there.

Report: White vigilante groups blockaded small town in post-Katrina New Orleans and murdered blacks.

Earlier this week, A.C. Thompson of The Nation revealed that after Hurricane Katrina, white vigilante groups patrolled New Orleans, blockaded streets, and shot at least eleven black men. It “was like pheasant season in South Dakota. If it moved, you shot it,” said one vigilante. Color of Change is organizing a campaign to tell Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and state officials to investigate the shootings, as “Louisiana’s broken law enforcement agencies have refused to investigate these crimes.”

Color of Change is also sending messages to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Attorney General nominee Eric Holder. Sign the petition here.

This is what happens when you deny your sexuality...If it were just something to "choose" or turn off or on, there would not be such a struggle for people.

A MUST SEE

Seniors Rapping

I Could Not Resist

They're on a roll.

Cheney says Obama will appreciate their expansion of executive power.

Uncle Jeb as US Senator?

Go away Bush's.

In this July 19, 2007 file photo, an iceberg melts off Ammassalik Island in Eastern Greenland. More than 2 trillion tons of land ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted since 2003, according to new NASA satellite data that show the latest signs of what scientists say is global warming. (AP Photo/John McConnico)
Arctic Ice Melt Of Over Two Trillion Tons Has Occurred Since 2003.

Gingrich Rips RNC For Its Blagojevich Attacks

Newt Gingrich:

I was saddened to learn that at a time of national trial, when a president-elect is preparing to take office in the midst of the worst financial crisis in over seventy years, that the Republican National Committee is engaged in the sort of negative, attack politics that the voters rejected in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles.


The recent web advertisement, "Questions Remain," is a destructive distraction. Clearly, we should insist that all taped communications regarding the Senate seat should be made public. However, that should be a matter of public policy, not an excuse for political attack.

In a time when America is facing real challenges, Republicans should be working to help the incoming President succeed in meeting them, regardless of his Party.

From now until the inaugural, Republicans should be offering to help the President-elect prepare to take office.

Furthermore, once President Obama takes office, Republicans should be eager to work with him when he is right, and, when he is wrong, offer a better solution, instead of just opposing him.

This is the only way the Republican Party will become known as the "better solutions" party, not just an opposition party. And this is the only way Republicans will ever regain the trust of the voters to return to the majority.

This ad is a terrible signal to be sending about both the goals of the Republican Party in the midst of the nation's troubled economic times and about whether we have actually learned anything from the defeats of 2006 and 2008.

Blago

Quite Amazing, Really

Did you know you can make a six figure salary by posting videos on youtube? Well, it's a little more complex than that...but, wow, I need to rev up my creative side and get going...

She's BBBAAACCCKKK

Gorgeous

Think Progress catches Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove agreeing that there is a conscious effort among parts of the media, including the New York Times, to paint a dire picture of the economy in order to help Obama. Their logic seems to be that if the media can portray the economic situation as direly as possible, any change when Obama takes office will be for the better, thus giving the new president a bump. We're of the mind that the economic crisis is actually as serious as news reports make it out to be.

Really? What alternate universe are they living?

The best article I have read to date, regarding the religious argument in opposition to gay marriage. The Rev. Richard A. Hunter, a United Methodist minister, makes more sense than most other religious officiators, in my humble opinion.

Unexpected deep pleasure possible during joblessness

By JENNIFER A. SLATER
Tuesday, December 09, 2008

I was laid off from my job a few months ago and, although money has been tight, this time off has given me unexpected gifts. Carefully doling out my meager savings, rising to “power seller” status on eBay, and learning the definition of “deferred payments” have all contributed to my survival while I continue to send out mass e-mails of my résumé. But it dawned on me as I was raking leaves the other day that I have enjoyed some of the most mundane activities since I found myself on the outside of the rat race.

If you’re currently unemployed, don’t despair — set aside a certain amount of time for scouring the want ads, making phone calls and doing your share of worrying — but then take a break from it. You are defined by more than your role as provider or by your occupation for that matter — there’s so much more. Don’t waste this opportunity.

What are some things you’ve always wanted to do but never had time for? Think of things you could accomplish that would make your life easier when you do go back to work. Here are some ideas:

1. I cleaned my house! And I’m not talking just hitting the big spots — I mean really cleaned! It’s amazing what can accumulate over the years when you’re squeezing household chores between work, laundry, dinner and sleep. I’m not saying my house looks like a model home now — I still need a heads up if you’re stopping by — but with three kids and two big dogs, I’d say the place looks pretty darn nice!

2. Tackle projects. Like anyone else I have a Honey-Do list. The only problem is, I’m the only Honey in the house, so between acting as breadwinner, cook, chauffeur and chief bug killer, things didn’t always get checked off that list. Until now! So far I have stripped wallpaper, organized drawers, cabinets and closets, built an awesome doghouse, and refinished all my kitchen cabinets to go with the new paint job. I even cleaned out and painted my garage and hung pegboard so I have a place for all my tools other than the floor. No wonder my house stays so clean now!

3. Spend time with your kids. This one is right at the top of my list. I actually went on a field trip with one of my children without worrying about using up a precious vacation day. When my daughter had a weeklong art project in addition to having to read a novel, I read “Dracula” out loud to her every night while she worked on her art. We play video games, lie around and read, take walks, watch movies — why didn’t I do this before? Oh yeah, I was always working.

4. I’ve become incredibly frugal. I actually take time now to read the ads for sales and cut out coupons and then plan every week’s meals accordingly. What a concept! I honestly cannot believe the amount of money I’ve saved. I’ve even traded coffeecakes, lasagna and other home-baked goodies for trunkloads of firewood with a guy at church who cuts down trees for a living — really made a difference on my heating bill. Be creative! And barter, barter, barter!

5. I learned how to cook again. Shortly after I was laid off from my job, my son came home to this mouth-watering aroma wafting through the house and asked, “Wow, what’s for dinner?” When I told him pot roast, he looked around the kitchen and asked where I hid the crock pot. It dawned on me that my kids had never had pot roast with brown crusty potatoes baked in an oven all afternoon. They loved it! It became my mission to pore through my cookbooks and spoil my children with home-cooked meals that I had never had the time or energy to prepare. Do you like to cook or wish you were a better cook? Now’s the time to take it to the next level.

6. I have become a master at Sudoku! Pathetic, you say? I think not. Who will be laughing when the government offers me a job as a secret-code-breaker. Never thought of that, did you?

7. I finished my book. Have you ever wanted to write a book? This has been one of the most personally rewarding gifts I have received during this drought. After years of trying to complete a book I was writing to help encourage, organize and motivate other single parents, I finally finished it and have even launched my own Web site. Now this could be something that defines you! It feels amazing — you need to try it!

How sad that some of our best dreams are rarely at the top of our priority list as we fly through the self-inflicted routine of our lives. And as one of my favorite authors says, “Everyone is an expert at something.” What are you an expert at? What would you do if you had all the time you needed (which, uh, you do right now) and you knew you couldn’t fail? Go for it!

Write a book or a manual, start your own business, work as a dishwasher in exchange for free food at restaurants across the country as you experience places you’ve never had the opportunity to see while you were stuck in a nine-to-five job (unless you have a family at home, then absolutely do not do that last one). All I’m saying is, while you’re unemployed, sitting home being discouraged is not the only option.

During this time among the unemployed, I have truly come to appreciate so many things in my life and been able to take advantage of opportunities I’ve not had the time or energy to enjoy. We all have so many gifts, open your eyes and start seeing them! And get started while you’ve got the time!

• Jennifer Slater, a resident of Acworth, is founder of theSingleParent.org, an organization devoted to enriching the lives and self-esteem of women and single parents.

https://www.23andme.com/

I want to do it.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

What a Hottie, and a Caring One at That

At The Death House Door

Duplicity

My kind of movie. Love Julia.

Six week old Siberian tiger cub ‘Antares’ is presented at the Tierpark Friedrichsfelde zoo in Berlin August 4, 2008.

Oprah did a great show last week on The Blue Zones-term coined by Dan Buettner--referring to areas in the world where people live the longest.


Starting Healthy Habits Later In Life Still Makes A Difference
Written by Kathryn Savage

We know that diet and exercise play a vital role in living a long, healthy life, and scientists are always coming up with new information that helps explain why this is.

A recent study, (July, 2007), published in the journal Science, reveals that even if we start later in life, healthy lifestyle habits, (eating lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and a diet low in saturated fat, along with exercise), has a profoundly balancing effect on our hormones. This may extend more than our ability to rock those skinny jeans, it also extends the health of our brains.

Read more here.

I cannot believe I am feelin' NKOTB again.

The Iraq War Has Claimed All Kinds

I debated about whether or not I was going to post this video. It's sick. I found this site (http://patdollard.com/young-americans) from another site, and it appears to be that of a soldier who fought in Iraq. This video is disturbing, and while I cannot imagine what it is like to fight in a war, etc, it's a little scary to think these people are living among us.

FERRELL INAUGURATES B'WAY-BOUND BUSH BASH

By JACKSON F. KURTIS

A helicopter tether falls from the ceiling and an annoyed ex-president, George W. Bush, is lowered to the stage.

"I told them to take me someplace interesting. Someone suggested the Island of Manhattan," he says. "But I didn't realize that's just the Indian word for New York City."

With that, comedian Will Ferrell kicks off his two-hour monologue, "You're Welcome, America. A Final Night with George W. Bush."

The show premieres at the Cort Theatre on West 48th Street in February, but a surprised audience - which included "Juno" star Michael Cera - got a sneak peak of the sketch this week as Ferrell perfected his "strategery" at Los Angeles' Upright Citizens Brigade theater.

According to people in the audience, Ferrell jokes about:

* Global warming: "I believe in that about as much as I believe in Bigfoot. Then again, I believe in Bigfoot about 80 percent, so I guess that's pretty real."

* The Geneva Convention: "The laws that will govern us when we colonize the moon."

* The contested 2000 presidential election and Al Gore's retracted concession: "That kind of p - ssed me off, since I had already taped my M-80s [fireworks] to my superhero action figure."

* Reducing water-quality standards: "Everyone knows that after calcium, arsenic is the most important ingredient for strong bones."

* Dick Cheney: "Some say he's the strongest president we've ever had . . . He shot a guy in the face and that guy apologized to him."

* Drilling in ANWR: "It would give the animals something to talk about."

* Finding Osama bin Laden: "Kinda dropped the ball on that one."

Beyond the one-liners, Ferrell's portrayal of Bush was surprisingly touching, as in moments when he mused about the members of the military who had died.

We Failed Miserably

Katrina Kids: Sickest Ever
By Mary Carmichael | NEWSWEEK

Even before the storm, they were some of the country's neediest kids. Now, the children of Katrina who stayed longest in ramshackle government trailer parks in Baton Rouge are "the sickest I have ever seen in the U.S.," says Irwin Redlener, president of the Children's Health Fund and a professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. According to a new report by CHF and Mailman focusing on 261 displaced children, the well-being of the poorest Katrina kids has "declined to an alarming level" since the hurricane. Forty-one percent are anemic—twice the rate found in children in New York City homeless shelters, and more than twice the CDC's record rate for high-risk minorities. More than half the kids have mental-health problems. And 42 percent have respiratory infections and disorders that may be linked to formaldehyde and crowding in the trailers, the last of which FEMA finally closed in May. The "unending bureaucratic haggling" at federal and state levels over how to provide services and rebuild health centers for the Gulf's poor has made a bad situation much worse, says Redlener: "As awful as the initial response to Katrina looked on television, it's been dwarfed by the ineptitude and disorganization of the recovery."

More here.

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."-Samuel Adams
(PerezHilton)

MORE BOURNE!!!

Read here.-As depicted on Huff Post
I'm very excited. I hope it is good, though, in the spirit of the first three, and not just a lame attempt to make another hit.

Some Amazing Photos from the Fires in CA

View more here.-Los Angeles Times

Memphis, TN, gives Barack Obama a Booking Number

Link here.

Memphis Tennessee infamous for being the city where Martin Luther King lost his life in 1968 will now go down in history as the city that placed the first Black President in the criminal system.

On November 4th an over zealous City of Memphis Public Works employee, Gene Soucy cited Barack Obama personally and not the local campaign office for the placement of campaign signs in areas that the city states they should not be.

Obama court date was set for yesterday and after the President -elect did not appear a bench warrant was about to be rendered in General Sessions Div 14 by a judge that was sitting in for Judge Potter who was absent from his bench on yesterday.

The word of this foolish act got to attorney Javier Bailey who also is a Democratic State party member who went in and got the date reset for December 8,2008 at 1:30 PM.

On the very same day that he became President of the United States of America where he was voted into office by millions,He also received a booking number 08725976.

I spoke with Pulic Works Director Dwan Gilliom who stated that he had been expecting my call and was about to refer me to Toni Holliman the spokesperson for mayor Willie Herenton. But as our conversation continue we both found that there no need to call with Holliman because I had more information about the matter then either of them. Gilliom was unaware that President -Elect Barack Obama now had a booking number and wondered why Soucy didn't confer with him on the matter.


TO SEE FOR YOURSELF CLICK ON AND TYPE IN BARACK OBAMA UNDER GS CASE HISTORY

http://jssi.co.shelby.tn.us/

Giving Up on God

By Kathleen Parker
WashingtonPost.com

As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit. Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.

I'm bathing in holy water as I type.

To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh.

Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth -- as long as we're setting ourselves free -- is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.

The choir has become absurdly off-key, and many Republicans know it.

But they need those votes!

So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so, as it has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners.

Short break as writer ties blindfold and smokes her last cigarette.

Which is to say, the GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. In the process, the party has alienated its non-base constituents, including other people of faith (those who prefer a more private approach to worship), as well as secularists and conservative-leaning Democrats who otherwise might be tempted to cross the aisle.

Here's the deal, 'pubbies: Howard Dean was right.

It isn't that culture doesn't matter. It does. But preaching to the choir produces no converts. And shifting demographics suggest that the Republican Party -- and conservatism with it -- eventually will die out unless religion is returned to the privacy of one's heart where it belongs.

Religious conservatives become defensive at any suggestion that they've had something to do with the GOP's erosion. And, though the recent Democratic sweep can be attributed in large part to a referendum on Bush and the failing economy, three long-term trends identified by Emory University's Alan Abramowitz have been devastating to the Republican Party: increasing racial diversity, declining marriage rates and changes in religious beliefs.

Suffice it to say, the Republican Party is largely comprised of white, married Christians. Anyone watching the two conventions last summer can't have missed the stark differences: One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting.

With the exception of Miss Alaska, of course.

Even Sarah Palin has blamed Bush policies for the GOP loss. She's not entirely wrong, but she's also part of the problem. Her recent conjecture about whether to run for president in 2012 (does anyone really doubt she will?) speaks for itself:

"I'm like, okay, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is.... And if there is an open door in (20)12 or four years later, and if it's something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door."

Let's do pray that God shows Alaska's governor the door.

Meanwhile, it isn't necessary to evict the Creator from the public square, surrender Judeo-Christian values or diminish the value of faith in America. Belief in something greater than oneself has much to recommend it, including most of the world's architectural treasures, our universities and even our founding documents.

But, like it or not, we are a diverse nation, no longer predominantly white and Christian. The change Barack Obama promised has already occurred, which is why he won.

Among Jewish voters, 78 percent went for Obama. Sixty-six percent of under-30 voters did likewise. Forty-five percent of voters ages 18-29 are Democrats compared to just 26 percent Republican; in 2000, party affiliation was split almost evenly.

The young will get older, of course. Most eventually will marry, and some will become their parents. But nonwhites won't get whiter. And the nonreligious won't get religion through external conversion. It doesn't work that way.

Given those facts, the future of the GOP looks dim and dimmer if it stays the present course. Either the Republican Party needs a new base -- or the nation may need a new party.

Jobless claims surge to a 16-year high

The sun will come out tomorrow; we just don't always know when "tomorrow" is.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The ranks of Americans getting by on unemployment insurance are rising fast.

As the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance reaches a 16-year high, President Bush on Thursday announced he would extend unemployment benefits by signing the stand-alone jobless benefits bill pending in Congress.

FAMOUS BAR EXAM FAILURES. Read about it here.

Bar Exam Study Time Again

It's getting to be like a ritual--twice a year--it begins anew. I am going to blog about the painful process this time in hopes that this somewhat provides additional accountability somehow. Not that being unemployed for this long does not provide adequate motivation, but I find it difficult to focus at times, living in this dark apartment, no where to go to hang out, no true friends nearby to commiserate with, all the while Doby is lounging on the couch staring at me trying to will me to take him outside once again.

Life in Jonesborough, TN, in my lovely and quaint house, and my little job at the courthouse doesn't seem quite so bad right about now. It was comfortable, cozy, rural enough but close enough to the "city" so as not to feel isolated on an island in the middle of the Pacific somewhere, and it didn't cost $1000 a month. It wasn't freezing nearly 9 mos of the year (our house is always cold here, regardless of the season), and it allowed light in through the windows more than a mere 3 hours a day.

Oh well, that was then, this is now. I am where I am; I must endure, because it has just got to get better than this.

And, speaking of the bar exam, it really is a self confidence buster at times to think of those past who have passed the stupid thing, yet, I seem...unable...but I know I am capable, just different circumstances. And besides, had I passed the thing the first time around, I would not have had all this time to really change to become the person I am meant to be.

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy

by Andy Borowitz

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find itself saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate -- we get it, stop showing off."

The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

Burlington, Vt., is healthiest city, CDC says

-Church Street in Burlington

What's the healthiest city in America? It appears to be Burlington, Vt.

Vermont's largest city is tops among U.S. metropolitan areas by having the largest proportion of people — 92 percent — who say they are in good or great health.

It's also among the best in exercise and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and other measures of ill health, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This New England city of 40,000, on the shores of Lake Champlain, is in some ways similar to the unhealthiest city — Huntington, W.Va. Both are out-of-the-way college towns with populations that are overwhelmingly white people of English, German or Irish ancestry.

But there the similarities end:

_Burlington is younger, with an average age of 37, compared to 40 in Huntington, according to the Census Bureau.

_Burlington is better off financially, with 8 percent living at the federal poverty level, compared to 19 percent in Huntington.

_It's much more educated, with nearly 40 percent of area residents having at least a college bachelor's degree. Only 15 percent in the Huntington area do.

The cultures are significantly different, too. Bicycling, hiking, skiing and other exercises are common in Burlington. Neighborhood groups commonly focus on improving parks, working in community gardens and repairing and improving sidewalks.

"There's this norm of a lot of activity," said Chris Finley, Vermont's deputy health commissioner, who works in Burlington.

And though college staples like pizza are common, healthier foods are also popular. Grass-fed beef is offered in finer restaurants, vegan options are plentiful, and the lone downtown supermarket is run by a co-op successful in selling bulk rice and other healthy choices to low-income residents.

Burlington is helped by the presence of IBM and other employers offering more generous health benefits and corporate wellness programs than companies in Huntington, some experts suggested.

Focus on the Family...Not So Much

More layoffs at Focus on the Family
Ministry spent more than $500,000 to pass California's Prop. 8 gay marriage ban

UPDATE: Focus on the Family announced this afternoon that 202 jobs will be cut companywide — more than 20 percent of its workforce. Initial reports bring the total number of remaining employees to around 950.

Focus on the Family is poised to announce major layoffs to its Colorado Springs-based ministry and media empire today. The cutbacks come just weeks after the group pumped more than half a million dollars into the successful effort to pass a gay-marriage ban in California.

Critics are holding up the layoffs, which come just two months after the organization’s last round of dismissals, as a sad commentary on the true priorities of ministry.

“If I were their membership I would be appalled,” said Mark Lewis, a longtime Colorado Springs activist who helped organize a Proposition 8 protest in Colorado Springs on Saturday. “That [Focus on the Family] would spend any money on anything that’s obviously going to get blocked in the courts is just sad. [Prop. 8] is guaranteed to lose, in the long run it doesn’t have a chance — it’s just a waste of money.”

In all, Focus pumped $539,000 in cash and another $83,000 worth of non-monetary support into the measure to overturn a California Supreme Court ruling that allowed gays and lesbians to marry in that state. The group was the seventh-largest donor to the effort in the country. The cash contributions are equal to the salaries of 19 Coloradans earning the 2008 per capita income of $29,133.

In addition Elsa Prince, the auto parts heiress and longtime funder of conservative social causes who sits on the Focus on the Family board, contributed another $450,000 to Prop. 8.

“They should do more with their half-million dollars than spending it to collect signatures to take the rights away from a class of people,” said Fred Karger, the founder of the anti-Prop 8 group Californians Against Hate. “I think it’s wrong and it’s hurtful to so many Americans.”

In addition to promoting socially conservative issues such opposition to abortion and gay rights, and supporting abstinence-only education, the evangelical Christian ministry is a purveyor of Christian books, CDs and DVDs. Two months ago, citing Wal-Mart and online retailers as having cut into its product market, Focus announced that 46 employees would be laid off from its distribution department. Late Friday, Focus spokesman Gary Schneeberger confirmed that more layoffs are in store, but said the ministry will not release details until Monday afternoon. Schneeberger hinted that some programs may be eliminated entirely, but declined to elaborate.

“We’re going to need to talk to our own family first,” he said. “We need to respect the people who are affected.”

Schneeberger also refused to discuss the funding priorities that Focus made this fall, including pumping money and in-kind contributions into Proposition 8.

This is the third year that Focus has laid off employees due to budget cuts. In its heyday, the ministry, which relocated to Colorado Springs from Arcadia, Calif., in 1991, employed more than 1,500 people. Many of those employees worked in mailroom and line assembly jobs, processing so much incoming and outgoing correspondences that the U.S. Postal Service gave Focus its own ZIP code.

In September 2005, nearly 80 employees were reassigned or laid off in an effort to trim millions of dollars from its 2006 budget. In addition, 83 open positions were not filled in the layoff, which included eliminating some of the ministry’s programs. At the time, Focus employed 1,342 full-time employees.

“To the extent that we can place them within the ministry, we will try to do that,” said then-spokesman Paul Hetrick. “Most of them will not be able to be placed.”

In September 2007, amid a reported $8 million in budget shortfalls, Focus on the Family laid off another 30 employees; 15 more were reassigned within the company. Most of the layoffs were from Focus’ constituent response services department (i.e. the mailroom).

At the time, Schneeberger, who had replaced Hetrick, said that giving was actually up by $1 million during the fiscal year. However, a very “aggressive” budget goal of $150 million did not materialize.

In a statement issued this September, marking the end of the ministry’s fiscal year, Chief Operating Officer Glenn Williams weighed in on the additional layoffs of 46 people.

“It is certainly heartbreaking that in this case fulfilling that duty means having to say goodbye to some members of our Focus family, but industry realities really leave us no alternative,” he note in his statement. “We are accountable to our donors to spend their money in the most cost-effective and productive manner possible.”

But Lewis, the Colorado Springs activist, wonders whether the families who donate to the nonprofit ministry, realize where their funds really end up.

“Seriously, I would imagine their supporters have got to be asking the question about whether their church is really practicing their theology.”

For Lewis, who is straight, the issue boils down to the significance of targeting a class of citizens for exclusion, at the expense of the families that the ministry could be helping — in this case their own employees.

Lewis likened Proposition 8 to Colorado’s Amendment 2, the 1992 anti-gay measure that was designed to prohibit gays and lesbians from seeking legal protections. Colorado voters approved the measure, which was marketed by proponents, including Focus on the Family, as an effort to prohibit gays and lesbians from seeking “special rights.” The U.S. Supreme Court stuck down the measure as unconstitutional four years later.

“You can’t make homosexuals second class citizens — we’ve learned that already,” Lewis said. “People will look back on this and see how absurd it is.”

Days before this year’s election, Focus founder James Dobson appeared at a closing rally at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego to rally the anti-gay troops.

Karger of Californians Against Hate, termed the rally a “big bust.” Organizers promised that more than 70,000 supporters would show up; the final tally was close to 10,000, he said.

Yet three days later, California voters approved the measure with 52 percent of the vote. While the measure will certainly head back to court, California has become the 31st state in the country to pass measures that define marriage as being between a man and woman only. In all, Proposition 8 has proven to be the most expensive social issue in the country, with more than $73 million pumped into the cause from both sides. One of the larger contributors to the anti-Prop. 8 efforts was Colorado gay philanthropist Tim Gill, who contributed $720,000 to oppose the measure.

“I’m very disturbed by organizations from out of state like Focus on the Family,” Karger said. “They came in early to make sure the measure got on ballot; they’ve got muscle and they are out to hurt a lot of people and destroy a lot of lives.”

The Disappearing Male

Read more and watch full documentary here.

Read about it.

Michael Vick's Pits

Now have their own wine. Each bottle will come with a story about the doggies' life on the back of the label and 10% of the profits will go to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah that houses the dogs. -Featured on TMZ.

January 20, 2009

In this Jan. 20, 1981 file photo, shows a wide angle view from the Capitol balcony as President Ronald Reagan, visible at center, addresses the nation following his swearing-in ceremony in Washington. President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration is expected to draw 1 million-plus to the capital, and already some lawmakers have stopped taking ticket requests and hotels have booked up. (AP Photo, File)
-From Huffington Post
Working on a plan to get to the Inauguration!!

Bailout Junkets 2008

You really need to check this out.

October U.S. Deficit: $237.2B

WASHINGTON — The federal government began the new budget year with a record deficit of $237.2 billion, reflecting the billions of dollars the government has started to pay out to rescue the financial system.

The Treasury Department said Thursday that the deficit for the first month in the new budget year was the highest monthly imbalance on record. It was far bigger than analysts expected, over four times larger than the October 2007 deficit of $56.8 billion, and more than half the total for all of last year.

More here.

New Yorker Special-Edition Print
Litho-print “Ground Zero” - September 24, 2001 by Art Spiegelman

New Yorker Cover
November 17, 2008 by Bob Staake

New Yorker Cover Print
January 27, 2003 by Harry Bliss

-From PerezHilton

Rosie O'Donnell's Blog Entry on Election Day

election day with ruby dee
11.04.08 at 8:36 pm in life

i am in detroit r shooting america
a film about foster care
which we r making in a former boys home
closed a few months ago

in the extras waiting room
a bright blonde beautiful boy
a young eminem
looked about twelve

fifteen he told me
and i asked him to stand
which he did - smiling
a neck full of hickeys

later in the driveway
with his older pal in tow
we chatted about life - his parents
his parole officer - his medication

he lived in the foster home
we were filming in
for over a year
he is back with his parents now

he doesnt sleep home often
he crashes with friends
on couches or floors
his nails were dirty

did i sleep on my money - he asked
a million dollars in the mattress?
he has no plans for his future
no dreams of what he will be

in ten years i ask
what do u imagine for ur life
i hope with a house
and maybe a car - he said

i looked at his tiny body
not even in puberty
his baggy pants sagging
he held my eyes

mama lucas is inside - he told me
from american gangster
shes in the wheelchair
right in there

ruby dee
civil right activist - leader inspiration
what a privilege to spend this election day
in her presence

we spoke of martin and malcolm
their words and spirits felt this november day
as the nation once again rides together toward the truth
amen amen

she walked onto the set
opened her heart
like watching picasso paint
baryshnikov fly

the crew applauded after each take
amazed - captivated
as she wiped the tears
from her ethereal brown face

such grace
such beauty
such a gift
for us all

peace be with u

Dickipedia

See it HERE.
See it HERE.
See it HERE.
See it HERE.
(Format a la PerezHilton)

For a Washington Job, Be Prepared to Tell All

By JACKIE CALMES
New York Times

WASHINGTON — Want a top job in the Obama administration? Only pack rats need apply, preferably those not packing controversy.

A seven-page questionnaire being sent by the office of President-elect Barack Obama to those seeking cabinet and other high-ranking posts may be the most extensive — some say invasive — application ever.

The questionnaire includes 63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants’ spouses and grown children as well, that are forcing job-seekers to rummage from basements to attics, in shoe boxes, diaries and computer archives to document both their achievements and missteps.

Only the smallest details are excluded; traffic tickets carrying fines of less than $50 need not be reported, the application says. Applicants are asked whether they or anyone in their family owns a gun. They must include any e-mail that might embarrass the president-elect, along with any blog posts and links to their Facebook pages.

The application also asks applicants to “please list all aliases or ‘handles’ you have used to communicate on the Internet.”

The vetting process for executive branch jobs has been onerous for decades, with each incoming administration erecting new barriers in an effort to avoid the mistakes of the past, or the controversies of the present. It is typically updated to reflect technological change (there was no Facebook the last time a new president came to town).

But Mr. Obama has elevated the vetting even beyond what might have been expected, especially when it comes to applicants’ family members, in a reflection of his campaign rhetoric against lobbying and the back-scratching, self-serving ways of Washington.

Read more here.

You know things are bad when even lawyers are getting laid off.
...
Over all, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the legal services industry lost more than 1,000 jobs in October.
...
“The last time we saw anything like this, this bad, was in the early ’90s,” Ms. Miller said. “But it’s starting to feel even worse.”

Librarians To Out Smart Google

How do people judge credibility on the Internet? According to research from the "Credibility Commons" project, the two top factors are 1) how pretty does it look? and 2) do I agree with it already? This is, to say the least, a nonoptimal way of evaluating information, and the Reference Extract project wants to use extensive academic credibility research to build a search engine that can out-Google Google—and the group has $100,000 in funding to come up with the technical blueprints for the system.

More here.

I Was So Excited

On election night, I forgot to post this picture I found on Huffington Post of a polling place in Vermont, Woodbury, VT, to be exact.

Former Bexar County DA lost faith in capital punishment system

SAN ANTONIO – Sam Millsap is embarrassed to admit he doesn't remember how many people his office sent to death row when he was district attorney here in the 1980s.

"Somebody who has been responsible for making those decisions, for directing those prosecutions, ought to be damned certain how many executions he's responsible for," he says, wincing.

He estimates it was eight, maybe nine.

Back then, he just didn't think much about the death penalty, Mr. Millsap says. "I was 35 years old. I knew everything. I was bulletproof."

Now 60, he thinks about the death penalty a lot – about wrongful convictions, flawed eyewitness testimony, DNA analysis.

"I am concerned that the system is absolutely incompetent to deal with these issues," he says.

'Breathing fire'

If anyone had told Mr. Millsap he'd lobby against the death penalty 25 years ago, he would have laughed. Growing up in San Antonio, his interest in law was piqued by the Perry Mason television show – where he was amazed that the prosecutor never won.

But as a student at the University of Texas, Mr. Millsap was "in love with the idea of being a top drawer corporate lawyer," he says.

In 1973, he joined a prestigious civil firm in Houston. But he returned to San Antonio and ran for district attorney in Bexar County in 1982.

"Breathing fire" during the campaign, if asked about the death penalty, he responded that he would "prosecute it vigorously."

"It's sort of like income taxes ... it's part of what we live with, it's a given."

During his four years in office, he guesses his prosecutors pursued the death penalty in 30 to 40 percent of eligible cases.

Mr. Millsap never witnessed an execution.

But back in civil practice in the late 1990s, he "started getting twitchy" about capital punishment. The "waterfall of DNA exonerations" in noncapital cases bothered him. So did a study about problems in the administration of the death penalty.

And the execution of Gary Graham from Harris County, who insisted the lone eyewitness in his case was mistaken, disturbed him.

"That was the first death penalty case that I think I ever really, really looked at and was bothered by on the innocence issue," Mr. Millsap says.

Doubts about system

After Mr. Graham was executed in 2000, Mr. Millsap publicly called for a moratorium. "I am no longer satisfied that our legal system guarantees the protection of the innocent in capital murder cases," he wrote.

But, he says, he remained "absolutely certain that every person I had prosecuted for the death penalty was guilty and deserved to die."

His statement made a small stir that faded quickly. But his wife's reaction made him mad.

"You're an opponent of the death penalty but don't have the courage to admit it," she said.

"The position that you've taken is that there should not be any more executions until we have a system that guarantees the protection of the innocent. [But] the system will never guarantee the protection of the innocent."

Mr. Millsap eventually realized he agreed with her.

Several years later, the Houston Chronicle called him about Ruben Cantu, a 17-year-old whom Mr. Millsap's office prosecuted for a robbery and murder on the basis of a lone eyewitness. He was executed in 1993, but the witness later recanted his statement.

Mr. Millsap was initially disbelieving that he could have sent an innocent man to death. But after re-examining the case, his opinion changed. For a while he thought Mr. Cantu was innocent, which meant "the most ultimate failure imaginable."

An academic exercise became deeply personal. So personal that he broke prosecutorial ranks and called for abolition of the death penalty.

Today, he doesn't think Mr. Cantu was innocent, but he believes the case should not have been prosecuted as a capital crime because it was based solely on one eyewitness.

The case haunts him.

"It's not about Cantu; it's about what we owe ourselves," he says. "In every criminal case, there but for the grace of God, go you."

He tells his story to law schools, legislators and journalists. On the anti-death penalty circuit, he is "treated like a rock star."

Practical reasons

Mr. Millsap is not particularly comfortable with the movement, which often lionizes death row inmates. "There aren't any innocent lambs," there, he says.

His opposition to capital punishment is rooted in practicality.

"Retribution is an acceptable goal," he says, "so it's really hard for me to identify with, you know, what I refer to is the 'turn-the-other-cheek' crowd.

"Because the sanction is so final, so absolutely final, what we have to have is a system that guarantees the protection of the innocent."

The only way to do that, he says, is to ban executions.

"As long as human beings are making the decisions and they are at every point in the process, the potential for error is there," he says.

Mr. Millsap thinks the chances of outright abolition are small. But practicality may demand a de facto abolition.

"The moralists have been carrying this debate for decades," he says, "and they haven't moved the needle at all. ... What's driving the movement right now is the innocence issue."

He believes Texans can be persuaded to abolish the death penalty, because it costs more to prosecute a capital case through execution than it does to imprison someone for life.

The system "will collapse of its own weight," he predicts.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Glamour Women of The Year Awards

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accepted her award by saying "When you find your passion, you'll realize that you didn't find it, it found you."

An ObamaDoodle

Obama sketched this on the floor of the US Senate.

Have We Found Yet Another Way

To undermine Bushy??

Congressional Democrats are eyeing a little-known, Clinton-era law as a way to reverse Bush administration midnight regulations — even ones that have already taken effect.

It’s a move that would undermine the White House’s attempt to finalize its energy and environmental regulations by November so that Barack Obama couldn’t undo them after he’s sworn in as the 44th president on Jan. 20.

It could take Obama years to undo climate rules finalized more than 60 days before he takes office — the advantage the White House sought by getting them done by Nov. 1. But that strategy doesn’t account for the Congressional Review Act of 1996.

The law contains a clause determining that any regulation finalized within 60 days of congressional adjournment — Oct. 3, in this case — is considered to have been legally finalized on Jan. 15, 2009. The new Congress then has 60 days to review it and reverse it with a joint resolution that can’t be filibustered in the Senate.

In other words, any regulation finalized in the last half-year of the Bush administration could be wiped out with a simple party-line vote in the Democrat-controlled Congress.

Piper's Goin' Places

I really do not care for her mother, but this child is so cute. I think she's definitely going somewhere-if she can get out of Alaska and not get herself involved in any prearranged marriages.

Inbred Klan Members

Eight people were arrested Tuesday, one on a charge of murder, in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman at a remote Louisiana campsite during what police say was an initiation ceremony for the Ku Klux Klan.