Gay Rights

Bizarre Links To Greatest Civilian Death Toll Before 9-11.

A vigorous and rancorous campaign to politically force California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto a new law opponents say will force public schools to hold ‘gay day’ celebrations every May 22.  Last Thursday the California Assembly approved AB 2567, which designates May 22 as ‘Harvey Milk Day.’ The 43 to 26 vote occurred on party lines with Democrats for, Republicans against. Earlier this week, AB 2567 passed the California State Senate on another party line vote 22-13 - Democrats for, Republicans against.  The bill will require all public schools to ‘conduct suitable commemorative exercises’ in “commemoration of the anti-religious, homosexual agenda of the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk”. ‘This bad bill will teach impressionable schoolchildren the anti-religious, homosexual-bisexual -transsexual agenda of Harvey Milk,’ warned Randy Thomasson, President of Campaign for Children and Families.

According to a Senate analysis of the bill, ‘This bill requires the Governor to proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day. The designation of a day of significance triggers statutory encouragement for public schools to observe and conduct commemorative exercises suitable to the day.’

Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 - November 27, 1978) was an American politician who was the first openly homosexual man to be elected to public office in the United States, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was elected in the Castro District after the city redistricted into neighborhoods rather than citywide districts.

On November 27, 1978, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated. Milk was an activist for homosexual rights lobbying to change local sodomy laws, and for what he saw as homosexual rights. Moscone was a heterosexual who advocated for homosexual rights and was infamous for not investigating  San Francisco Housing Commission Chairman Jim Jones and his People’s Temple Cult for alleging criminal wrongdoing. Jones fled the country and oversaw the mass murders at Jonestown, the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until September 11, 2001. Jones was the cult’s leader who oversaw the poisoning and deaths of 918 men, women and children, including his own by having them drink arsenic laced grape Kool-Aid.

Our fearless leader will go down in history as anti-conservation. His policies certainly have established that legacy.

He certainly doesn’t seem to have an issue with arsenic in drinking water, and he reneged on a campaign pledge to lower carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. He refused to sign the Kyoto Treaty because it would hurt the economy. Well, we didn’t sign it and could the economy be any worse? He’s long been a proponent of opening up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to his oil drilling buddies. Most recently he indulged in a little political posturing when he lifted the ban on offshore drilling just six months prior to the end of his hapless administration and just in time to blame the Democrats if the Congress doesn’t follow suit.

Meanwhile, back at the “ranch” in Crawford, Texas, George Bush uses passive solar to heat his water. In addition, geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet deep in the ground where the temperature is a consistent 67 degrees. This water is used to heat the house in the winter and cool it during summer months, and it uses only 25% of the electricity required for traditional heating and cooling systems. If that isn’t enough to a 25,000-gallon reservoir collects rainwater from roof runs, while wastewater from sinks, toilets and showers first goes through a purifying process and is then funneled into the same reservoir. This is used to irrigate the landscaping. Amazing, isn’t it? Sure is. It’s also the height of hypocrisy. Why?

Well, I suppose in a free-market economy, Mr. Bush is one of the people who can afford to be ecological in his own home. However, it is his refusal as our president to even look at these technologies for development on a broader scale that keeps the rest of us from being able to afford it. Of Bush’s 63-member energy advisory team, 62 have ties to oil, nuclear or coal interests. His national energy policy places nuclear power, increased oil and gas drilling and “clean coal” at the top of the list. Solar, gray water reclamation, and wind are nowhere to be found. In 2001, his administration utilized the strategy of having Mr. Bush interviewed at carefully-selected, including the Crawford ranch, in the hopes that it would soften his more contentious policies. However, this plan backfired when it served to do nothing but bring attention to our president’s hypocritical approach to the environment and his dismal environmental record. The plans were dropped.

Just as hypocritical is David Heymann, the architect of Bush’s Crawford Ranch. At 4,000 square feet he calls the ranch “stunningly” small. Really? Oh, yes, according to Heymann most people are building 16,000 to 20,000 square foot ranches. That’s because it’s a stretch to call it a ranch, what with the built-in pool insisted upon by the Bush daughters. The Bushes affectionately call it the girls’ “whining pool.” In a USA Today interview, Heyman goes on to describe, “There’s a great grove of oak trees to the west that protects it from the late afternoon sun. Then there’s a view out to the north looking at hills, and to the east out over a lake, and the view to the south…out to beautiful hills.” Too bad our hypocritical ecological president’s policies do absolutely nothing to ensure that such ‘beautiful views’ remain for the future.

In short, the family ranch in Crawford, Texas is just another stage for George Bush to act on. While it’s painted as a beloved, established family get-away much like the Kennedy Compound on Cape Cod or FDR’s beloved Campobello, the reality is that construction was completed in November 2000, just before his election. The grazing cattle was left by the previous owners and the horses are just for show. Bush doesn’t know how to ride. Just ask Vicente Fox, who wanted Bush to go riding on one of his trips to Mexico. In fact, all of Crawford is his stage. Estimates given prior to the Crawford ranch construction put the population of the area somewhere between 400 and 700 people. The Crawford Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture was actually formed after the ranch was completed.

Like everything else associated with George Bush, Crawford is just a sham.

Fifty-four percent of Californians support amending the state constitution to ban marriage between homosexuals while 35% are against it. Ten percent are not sure including 12% of men and 9% of women according to an poll conducted for the LA Times and KTLA an LA radio station. Women favor the change by 55%.

This fairly well reflects national sentiments on the issue as reflected in a May 8-10 Gallup poll that found 56% oppose same sex marriage and 40% support it. On the issue of amending the US Constitution. An October 2007 CNN poll found the same 56% - 40% split nationwide. A 2006 Quinnipiac University Poll found 52% to 40% split.

The matter is pungent in California following its Supreme Court decision overturning a statewide vote to ban it, and another vote steamrolling toward the November 2008 ballot.

You can call this a “post-dated” Round-up. I am very likely preoccupied and taking advantage of my conjugal rights, as SSG Dizzy has very likely arrived from Iraq, for RnR, by now. I decided to post today’s Ten Post Round-Up anyway, so you wouldn’t come a-knockin (wink-wink):

1: Retraining our brains and our bellies no thanks to our parents dietary mismanagement in our formative years….

Do You Know When to Stop Eating?–AlterNet

2: Consider it studying for the live-action version…

10 Books You Should Read Before Seeing The Movie–The Best Article Every Day

3: How sad is it that a communist country is pushing this ideal and the so-called “greatest country in the world” seeks to stifle it?…

Cuban Government Backs Calls to Combat Homophobia–CommonDreams.org

4: And the Republicans are considering pushing this guy as VP?…

Mike Huckabee thought McCain’s ‘bomb, bomb, bomb Iran’ song was funny.–Crooks and Liars

5: Old-school racism making a comeback?…

Curious George And The Men In The Pointy White Hats–Firedoglake

If you have a weak stomach and a short temper, you might want to get yourself another cuppa before reading today’s Ten Post Round-Up:

1: How sad….

GOP’s New Slogan Already Being Used To Market Anti-Depressant–Alternate Brain

2: Well, maybe it cuts down on all the whining about “Are we there yet?”…

Detainees Drugged Against Their Will–BlackListedNews

3: There will be winners and there will be losers, who will be whom?…

California To Rule On Gay Marriage: Good News, Bad News?–Bring It On!

4: Boston newspaper says “sorry” for smearing the New England Patriots…

Apologizing To The Pats–BuzzFeed

5: Maybe we need a “BedFax” for used mattresses for sale…

Caveat Emptor: This Mattress Dates Back to Circa 1989–The Huffington Post

I don’t know if the electorate are really bitter or not, but today’s Ten Post Round-Up will probably leave a grimy taste in your mouth:

1: So it seems that the only people that benefit from your college education is the college and the banks that issue student loans…

America’s Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor’s Degree–The Chronicle of Higher Education

2: Glass houses come to mind…

You Can’t Complain About Sexism If You Participate In It–The Democratic Daily

3: Single mom flips the script and sues RIAA…

Accused music pirate turns the tables on the RIAA–Geeks Are Sexy

4: Dizzy is a sucker for true crime murder mysteries…

Smiley Face Killers: All About The Growing Mystery Gang–The Huffington Post

5: Wright-Obama controversy: An interesting perspective on why religion and politics should stay separate…

Separation of Church & State Really of Religion & Politics.–Hypocrisy.com

America was different in the past. It will be different in the future.

Let’s hope we have unique leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King whose life and accomplishments we honor with an annual holiday. Tomorrow, is that holiday.

MLK was a poet. He chose words that grabbed and touched people deeply. Unfortuately those words were felt by much of white America too slowly back then and in all races too shallowly today.