Some Views of My Favorite City

Where Were You Then?

You won't hear me down the Democrats much in my writing, but as I read some of John Kerry's speach today, I could only ask, "Where were you and the other critics before the war with Iraq even started?" I still cannot believe how easily Bush & Company led the US into war against Iraq. I was not even the slightest bit privy to the intelligence the Bush Administration and our US Congress had at the time, but I doubted seriously the threat Sadam Hussein was to us. I knew he did not possess WMD's, and that he had nothing to do with 9-11. If the UN inspectors could find nothing, and the US wouldn't tell them where the WMD's that we had such tremendous evidence existed were, how could anyone believe WMD's really did exist? And who was I but a little peon? Why were so many, like Kerry, supportive of Bush & Company? The answer, I'm afraid, is that to speak against going to war with Iraq, to not support the invasion of Iraq, was an unpopular stance at the time. But now, everyone is on the bandwagon criticizing the war. Now it's popular to criticize. I'm not saying the war should not be criticized, because it certainly should be, 2000+ dead is a crime, but why not earlier? I only wished the Democrats had the balls back then, when it was unpopular, to stand against the war in Iraq!

Light A Candle For The 2,000

Well it's been 2,000 dead Americans in Iraq. (God only knows how many Iraqis). How many more before Bush & Company admit it was a BIG mistake? I wonder if in 10 years we'll be still asking when this thing will be over? And, will we be lighting a candle in 10 years for the 10,000 dead?

An Answered Prayer: If It Could Only Be

If only Bush and Cheney got exactly what they deserve!

Retirees Victim of GM Stupidity?

In September, reports stated that US automakers were bracing for an autumn chill. Experts predicted dismal sales for the Big Three Automakers, amongst them GM. As gas prices rose, big SUV popularity dropped. No surprise! Who in their right mind wanted a "gas guzzler" with gas prices reaching $3.00 or more per gallon? GM was pressuring the United Auto Workers Union to lower health care costs, and Ford Motor was restructuring in a way that would close plants and cut jobs. However, the reality is auto sales are actually healthy overall. Several analysts predict 2005 sales will be around 17 million vehicles, unchanged or up slightly from 2004. Translation: company execs would continue to receive their share. But the problem? Asian car manufacturers, which didn't offer employee discounts this summer, haven't seen the kinds of ups and downs that are plaguing GM and Ford. Their U.S. market share could climb nearly 10 percent in September to 43 percent. And today, GM announced a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers that will help the embattled automaker lower its health care costs even as GM reported a whopping $1.6 billion loss for the third quarter. The tentative agreement on health care is projected to reduce GM's retiree health care liabilities by about 25 percent, or $15 billion, and cut its annual employee health care expense by about $3 billion, CEO and Chairman Rick Wagoner said. Cash savings are estimated to be about $1 billion a year. Bottom line: retirees suffer in order to make sure GM can keep its profits up!
How unfare is this? Workers who gave years of their life to GM are now losing health benefits because GM couldn't make the profits it wanted. And part of the reason GM could not make those profits was stupidity! Keep making huge SUVs that eat gas like a linebacker at a buffet. GM, and other US car manufacturers had the opportunity to make smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles but chose not to do so. US car makers chose not to build hybrid vehicles, while foreign manufacturers did. Back in the 1970's, when the US faced a major gas shortage, US car manufacturers saw the need for fuel efficient cars. But, due to greed, both on the part of the car companies and US consumers, large gas-guzzling vehicles were once again in high demand. Now, it's again the "little guy" who suffers. It's the retirees, who have no choice or fight in the matter of their health benefits being cut, that have to suffer.
The US car manufacturers are just morons. Not only is the quality of US cars for the most part less than safisfactory, the choice of vehicles made is just as unsatifactory. It's no wonder foreign cars are so popular in the US.

And We Wonder Why They Hate Us?

US air strikes in Iraq have reportedly claimed the lives of 20 Iraqi civilians and 6 children. 25 civilians were injured. Of course, the Bush Adminstration is denying this report. And we wonder why the world hates us so!

Pope's Continued Stance Against Gays

Daniel Williams of the Washington Post, has again brought to light Pope Benedict 16th’s opposition to homosexuality. In the past 5 months, the Pope has continued to make known his stance against homosexuality. This message has become one of the prime themes of the new Pope. Even before becoming Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was very outspoken against homosexuality.
In addition to issuing new guidelines to inhibit gays from entering the priesthood, Pope Benedict 16th has fought against gay marriage. He is definitely not a friend to the gays. Critics have said that Benedict is simply preoccupied with sex. “It’s an obsession,” said Alessio de Giorgi, founder of a gay website that supports legal rights for gay couples.
In April 2005, Benedict condemned the government of Spain for legalizing gay marriage. In May, more than 100 parishioners in St. Paul, Minnesota were denied communion because they wore rainbow colored sashes to support gay Catholics.
Isn’t a shame the Pope has not spoken out against sexual abuse of children as much as he has against the opposition to equal rights for gays? Not a whole lot out of the Vatican condemning this heinous crime, which in my humble opinion, is much more of a threat to society, and yes, even the sanctity of marriage, than gay unions. (Let’s face it, kids that are victims of sexual molestation remain screwed up for life. Relationship issues and even criminal issues are just a couple of the results of molestation).
Again, as I have written before, how any gay man or woman can remain faithful to the Catholic Church is beyond my comprehension. Even the scriptures say there are a variety of ministries, all of which proclaim faith in God. The Catholic Church is not the only way to practice one’s faith as so many Catholics seem to think.

Bush To Appear On "Dancing With The Stars"

Read all about it....

SURVIVAL

Some people can make a party out of any situation!

The Last Photo I Ever Took

Not exactly sure where these came from,
but I can assure you I did not take them....

Tired of Campaign Ads Yet?

Anyone else sick and tired of hearing or seeing campaign ads yet? I have been for weeks now. No matter what tv or radio station I put on, the ads are there. An ad plays for Joe Blow, saying what he is in favor of or how much his opponent will destroy you, then either the next ad, or a couple minutes later, there's the ad for Sam Sucks, refuting what was just said about him and telling you Joe Blow will make your life miserable. And every ad is so exaggerated and full of mistruths (I won't call them lies). I really believe most people just tune these ads out anyway, so I really don't know why candidates spend so much money on them.
Every Sunday, The Press of Atlantic City has been examining the commercials of candidates to explain the accuracy of the ads. It is interesting to see what is really truth and what is exaggeration. One example given is that one candidate for governor voted a gizzilion times (now I'm exaggerating) to raise taxes on the lower class. True? Not totally, but everytime the candidate in question voted for the Bush tax cuts, this was considered a vote to raise taxes for the lower-middle class. So, not completely accurate, but stretched truth.
With all the talk of campaign reform, I think there needs to be discussion about limiting campaign ads. They start way too early. There is no reason I have to start hearing or seeing this nonsense in August, or even earlier. PLEASE! At least let me wait until October to begin being bombarded. And maybe limits on the number of ads per day per station should be considered. Every 5 minutes is entirely too much to have to be tortured.
I really don't want to, nor do I think I'd really be able to, turn off my radio and tv the entire campaign season, but sometimes I really feel like doing just that!

What God Really Said To Bush

See what Mark Morford of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks God really said to Bush......

Another Theocracy In The Making?

NO.........I am not talking about Iraq, but the good ol' US of A. Bush's new supreme court justice nominee, Harriet Miers was selected based on her religious beliefs. A great qualification for supreme court justice, being a good conservative religious fanatic. Is the US becoming more and more like Islamic countries? Are we really headed toward a Christian v. Islamic worldwide fight as well as one here? BUSH NEEDS TO BE STOPPED! This is getting more and more ridiculous the longer his reign continues.

How OUT Are You?

Take the Human Rights Campaign 2005 Coming Out Day Quiz.......

Donovan: Go Get Your Surgery!

My advice to Donovan McNabb: Go get your sports hernia operation done now. According to McNabb, there is a small tear in the lower abdomen which will definitely have to be repaired with surgery. When asked by Terry Bradshaw on Fox NFL Pre-game show, McNabb said if he had the surgery done now, he would be out for 4-6 weeks. Well, Donovan, you're not helping the team any right now, and if by some chance the Eagles do make it into the playoffs, don't you think you should be healthy then? It is quite obvious after yesterday's thrashing by the Dallas Cowgirls(boys), that McNabb's injury is not as easy to live with as he proclaims. Sure, the Eagles made a fantastic comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs, but that scenario is not going to play out every week to get the Eagles into the playoffs. Superbowl teams do not have comebacks each and every week. Superbowl teams do not squeak through victories. Superbowl teams are consistent week after week after week. And McNabb cannot do this as long as he has this hernia. So, my advice, for what it's worth, is that McNabb leave now and get his hernia repaired. Then, if/when the Eagles make the playoffs, McNabb will be at his best game.

Another Marine's Story

Iraq vet, Jimmy Massey, has a new book out, "Kill, Kill, Kill." In the book, Massey, a former staff sargeant, explains why the US faces such bloody insurgency in Iraq, and he discusses some of the atrocities the US has committed. Massey contends that US military training has created troops so desensitised to violence that battleground brutality in Iraq is rampant -- and has helped fuel the bloody insurgency seen there today. Massey says that the daily attacks against US troops are occurring "because of the brutality that the Iraqi people saw at the start of the invasion." According to Massey, US troops, including Massey and other Marines, killed dozens of unarmed Iraqi civilians because of an exaggerated sense of threat, and that they often experienced sexual-type thrills doing so. Of course a Pentagon spokeswoman said that Massey's allegations had been investigated and found to be unsubstantiated. Is Massey another voice of opposition that the Bush Administration will try to make out to be a total idiot? It's quite amazing how many people leave the Bush Administration, or how many soldiers leave the military, serving this country in a commendable manner, then all of a sudden they're blooming morons.

A New Enemy of Mine

My dear religious-fanatic grandmother sent me an e-mail like she does quite often, but this one pissed me off like no other. It was a daily devotional from “LivePrayer.com”, owned, operated, and run by Bill Keller. Keller, as the biography on his website states, “was raised in the United Methodist Church and asked Jesus Christ into his heart at age 12, feeling a call of God into the ministry at a young age. Bill's life became sidetracked while attending Ohio State when he started a small business that became very successful. Going into the ministry soon was not in the plan as Bill spent the next 11 years running from God.” Keller became involved in insider trading and was convicted and spent 2 ½ years in federal prison. And then, “Shortly after going into prison, Bill rededicated his life to the Lord, received an undergraduate degree in biblical studies from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and was discipled by two precious charismatic couples. Upon his release in August of 1992, Bill went into full time ministry, holding evangelistic meetings in churches all over the country.” My own opinion, Keller found a way to make money. If you go to his website, he is constantly asking for money, money, money. Now back to what pissed me off.
The devotional my grandmother sent me started off with: “The "gay lie" being told to YOUR children. On the Liveprayer TV program, I often get calls from viewers who start out by saying, "I am a homosexual."Whenever that happens, I immediately jump in before I allow them to continue to correct them. I point out the fact that there is no such thing as a homosexual, only a homosexual act. There are people who CHOOSE to have sex with people of the same sex, but that is a sexual act, not what a person is.I have to admit, the saddest calls like this are from young men and women,clearly in their teens, calling up and claiming to be "gay" or "lesbian."” Keller goes on to state: “The purpose of this Devotional today is to warn those who are not aware towhat extent the pro-homosexual agenda is being fulfilled and to hopefully wake up the bloated, weak, and apathetic church that has to bear much of the responsibility for the moral decay of our culture. The goal of those who have chosen the homosexual lifestyle is to justify their sinful choice that is inherently destructive both to society and themselves. They are trying to force society to validate legally and ethically their choice of sexual behavior and relationships, and to enact laws that allow them to promote this sinful choice to our children as normal, even desirable behavior.”
Piss you off too? I sure hope so! Here is this man who never even graduated college professing to know what being gay is all about! A man, who was a business major, not a biologist or scientist, telling his audience that there is no such thing as a homosexual, only homosexual behavior, which of course, is a S-I-N! And then the distortions he preaches to his audience are outrageous!
The sad thing about it all: there are people like my grandmother who believe this
S-H-I-T! From a man who claims to be a man of God, but more than likely is a man of self, making a living off lies and using others!

QUEEN To Reunite

For the first time since the death of Freddy Mercury in November 1991, members of QUEEN may reunite for an upcoming tour. According to reports, Paul Rodgers of the 70's rock group FREE will replace Mercury for the tour. ROCK ON QUEEN!

Civil Unions For Gay Couples Begin In Connecticut

Gay couples like Edward Rivera and Pablo Santiago, Hartford, Connecticut, have begun to receive their Civil Union licenses in the State of Connecticut. Connecticut became the first state to legalize civil unions without being forced by the courts after lawmakers passed a law endorsing the unions in April. Massachusetts allows gay marriages and Vermont recognizes civil unions because of lawsuits. Connecticut law affords all the legal rights of marriage — such as spousal health care benefits — to same-sex couples, but defines marriage as between a man and a woman. It's a start. Hopefully, more and more states will at least legalize civil unions for gay couples. And then, marriage. In California, the state legislature passed a law making gay marriage legal, but it is Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the law on Thursday. The Republican governor had earlier this month indicated he would veto the bill passed by California's Democrat-led legislature. The bill was the first of its kind approved by a state legislature. Schwarzenegger said he would leave the contentious issue of same-sex marriage to voters and the courts. In NJ, a court case was heard to allow gay marriage. In June, a New Jersey appeals court ruled that the state constitution does not require the recognition of same-sex marriage. The court, in a split decision, said that it is up to the legislature to change marriage laws if same-sex couples are to wed in the Garden State. However, one of the plaintiffs died Wednesday, and will never realize her life's dream. How many more will die in these United States without ever realizing full civil rights?!

Bush "Encouraged" With Progress In Iraq

I am glad George Bush is "encouraged" by the progress with Iraqi security forces trained by US forces. "I'm encouraged by the increasing size and capability of the Iraqi security forces. Today they have more than 100 battalions operating throughout the country, and our commanders report that the Iraqi forces are serving with increasing effectiveness," Bush said in his weekly radio address. America should be so relieved by Bush's encouragement, even though his top generals in the field may not agree. During congressional testimony on Thursday, Gen. George Casey, top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Gen. John Abizaid, top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said the number of such battalions had dropped since July to one from three, out of the roughly 100 Iraqi battalions. If Iraqi security forces are doing so well, why is another US led offensive taking place in Anbar? Where are the Iraqi security forces? And will this offensive end as other US led offensives, with the insurgents recapturing the area once the US troops leave because the Iraqi security forces cannot keep the insurgents out? Here Bush goes again, speaking just the opposite of what his generals are saying. Remember when top military staff said troops did not have sufficient weapons? Bush straightened them out by informing them that they most certainly had the very best equipment possible. But then again, remember when Bush said Iraq had WMD? Remember when Bush said Iraq had a direct relationship to 9-11? Again, Bush continues to distort the truth...isn't that lying? But it will probably be the last we here about the lack of Iraqi trained security forces, because generals like Casey and Abizaid will be told to shut up. I can only hope the press and the American people don't head the president's advice. I do believe people are truly, finally getting fed up with the Bush truth distortions!

Logo Is On!

Logo TV, the new gay television channel created by MTV, is now on Comcast. In my area it is Channel 163. Even though it's a bit "adolescent", it has some informative and interesting info, especially about gay travel. Some of the documentaries on the gay rights movement and gay life look to be interesting. Check it out! (And don't forget, HERE TV, another gay network, is also on Comcast.OnDemand, in the "movie" section. However, there is a $3.99 charge per show).