We got in a discussion about the security measures on new id’s. In the case of RI this is only visible under UV light. I seem to recall being carded at a bar and they used a UV scanner on it to verify it.
Just thought you might want to know.
Month: May 2008
A favorite Comic Strip
I love Non Sequitur by Wiley. In the past it was Bloom County that captured my political views, now Wiley does it.
In this trip we see John McSame doing all sorts of politi-speak. Go back in the history at the Non Sequitur site to see the whole thread.
Colorado gets anti-discrimination law
Seems Colorado Governor Ritter signed into law a bill that prohibits discrimination based upon sexual orientation. In essence, and ENDA bill.
And as usual, the batshit crazy religious fundies at Focus on the Family was one of the prime opponents to the bill.
And as Opponents said the bill would have serious consequences, such as opening up Colorado public restrooms and locker rooms to all genders and transgender people, exposing children and women to sexual predators.
In that statement they automatically associate men and LGBT with being sexual predators. There are already places where men and women and children all mix and nary a report of predation has come out that.
Again, the religious fuckwits maintain that being gay is a choice when we who are gay know that it is NOT a choice. I made no conscious choice to be gay. But now they take it a step further and call me a sexual predator.
Honestly the religious aren’t happy unless they’re fighting against someone or crying discrimination against themselves.
AFA: Nads in a twist over porn in the military
I just couldn’t pass this one up. I know some readers of my blog are porn connoisseurs and will get a chuckle out of this:
Department of Defense ignoring law, selling p’orn
Urge your representative to co-sponsor Military Honor and Decency Act
Dear Anthony,
According to some at the Department of Defense, porn is harmless entertainment. To them, porn should be made readily available to military personnel.
A decade-old law officially bars military exchanges from selling or renting videos or printed material with “the dominant theme of which depicts or describes nudity” or se-ual activities “in a lascivious way.” But the Defense Department, despite the law, has deemed it appropriate to sell many se-ually-explicit publications to soldiers stationed throughout the country and around the world.
It is hardly comforting to know that publications such as Celebrity Skin, Pl-yb-y’s College Girls, and Playmates In Bed are approved by the Defense Department.
The por-ogr-phic industry has become a societal threat of monumental proportions. Its primary targets are men and boys, but families and society as a whole cannot escape its destructive impact. It leads men to adopt unrealistic expectations of their wives and demeaning views of women in general. It rips apart marriages and destroys families.
Rep. Paul Broun, a former jet engine mechanic in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and later a medical officer in the U.S. Navy, has introduced the Military Honor and Decency Act (H.R.5821), which would close a loophole that permits access to se-ually explicit material at military exchange stores.
Our soldiers are already encountering the unfortunate but necessary images of war as they honorably fight to preserve our liberty and extend its reach abroad. It’s time for Congress to revisit the law and clean out por-ogr-phic material on all military premises.
I see they still drop the x out of sex. Come on now, do you really think Jesus Christ himself was celibate? The definition of celibacy is one who is unmarried. Doesn’t mean he more than likely didn’t partake of the flesh himself. I know this may be blasphemous to some but consider that Christ was Jewish. Then take into account that the myth estimates he was 33 years old when the Romans finally crucified him. Yet no mention of a wife? That’s anathema in Judaism.
But enough on the mythology. Look, I see porn as a healthy outlet for sexual gratification. Nothing more, nothing less. If our boys in the military want to spank one out, so be it. Hey, we’re finding out that prostate problems may be directly related to NOT spanking one out on a periodic basis not to exceed a few days.
A buddy of mine had a rather vulgar saying on that subject. He used to say “Munch all you want, I’ll make more!” in reference to semen. We’re constantly producing sperm and seminal fluid, gotta get it out every now and then.
I guess the AFA sees that they’re losing the gay marriage war and so now they’ve moved on to porn.
Religious Whackos in New York
Oh this is too rich for words. It appears in the Gainsville Sun.
The Rev. Duane Motley of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms says the Democratic governor is circumventing the Legislature and courts and slapping New Yorkers in the face.
Motley says granting government benefits to gay couples will come at a cost to the state even as Paterson calls for cuts in spending because of looming deficits.
I’d like to know what part of the Constitution the Rev. Motley doesn’t understand, is it the Equal Protection under the Law clause of the 14th Amendment? Because that should be the primary basis of claims to marriage equality.
Of course the piece even made it to Slate. The bigots will stop at nothing to deny us our civil rights.
I say we turn the tables on the religious and start revoking the tax exempt status of their churches. I’ve often thought that if a church wishes to play in the political arena they should pay taxes.
Unbelievable! Even Iran is somewhat more enlightened than the U.S.
Found this when I signed into my Yahoo buzz account, Iran is vending condoms and syringes in Tehran.
This utterly shocks me. Here in the U.S. condoms are fairly easy to come by, they’ll be giving out a ton of them during Pride season for we gay people. But the thing that stunned me is the syringe vending.
You’ll never see that here in the United States. We are a country run by those in a small minority who wish us to suffer the consequences of our actions. We need to rise up and speak with one voice against such foolishness that the religious push forward.
You cannot for a moment tell me that we couldn’t put a serious dent in HIV infections in the U.S. if we openly offered syringes and condoms. But in the U.S. that phrase “The wages of sin are death.” rings forth from every Christian whack-job out there.
The costs would be minimal. It’s interesting that prophylactic measures are always less expensive than allowing disease to spread unchecked and then having to foot the bill to treat chronic diseases.
And we really don’t do the chronic so well in this country either. The pharmaceutical companies see to it that life saving drugs don’t come cheap.
It’s like something else I learned about. Did you know that if you suspect you might have been recently (Within a day or so) infected with HIV you could do a treatment called PEP. In essence it’s a high dosage anti-viral cocktail that if taken within 72 hours of exposure will pretty much stop HIV from taking hold in the human body. But not many people are made aware of this. Plus you know we now have HIV tests that take only 20 minutes, so there’s absolutely no reason why this epidemic should still be with us. I recall a comic who was HIV positive and one of his skits had something like “Oh AIDS, glad I got rid of that.” We’re on the doorstep here.
The side effects of PEP are nothing to take lightly, but if it means not being infected most people would probably opt to do it. It’s been used in the medical community for many years to treat accidental needle sticks etc. where the HIV status is either known or unknown.
But the pharmaceutical giants and the HMO’s would never really want this information to slip out.
Again, a prophylactic treatment would be less expensive than treating a chronic disease. Can’t argue the logic in that.
But in the end, Iran leads the way yet you’ve got George W. Bush rattling sabers against Iran. For all the bluster of their Imams and Ayatolahs, I have to give them credit for realizing the cost effectiveness of making condoms and syringes widely available.
AFA vs. Subway Contest that excludes the home schooled
The AFA is miffed again because home schooled kids can’t enter a contest that buys sporting goods, etc. for the winners school.
Instead the AFA wants the prize money to go towards ” local park, church or school of the winning home schooler’s choice” I have no problem with the park, but school of choice or church bothers me. It bothers me because the choice of most home schoolers would probably be some neo-con church and/or school.
And it’s not discrimination. It’s the fact that the intention of the contest is to help a school out. And quite honestly Subway can exclude whoever it wishes to as there’s no requirement that a business open a contest to EVERYONE. If it were the case that they did, you’d have no way to refuse to just pass out as many chances to any Joe off the street as you could, and nor would there be any special purchasing deals.
Subway tells home schoolers: We will not allow you to participate in our contest.
Subway discriminates against home schoolers.
May 27, 2008
Dear ,
Subway, the sandwich restaurant, wants to hear your child’s story – unless he or she is home schooled.
The national chain’s “Every Sandwich Tells a Story Contest” offers prizes and a chance to be published on the Subway Web site and in Scholastic’s “Parent & Child” magazine but specifically excludes home schoolers. Subway’s website states:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Contest is open only to legal residents of the Untied (sic) States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.
Subway will probably say they excluded home schools because of the main prize ($5,000 worth of athletic equipment to the winning child’s school). But Subway could have given it to a local park, church or school of the winning home schooler’s choice.
Subway’s Web site promotion not only misspells “Untied (sic) States,” but offers the grand prize winner a “Scholastic Gift Bastket (sic) for your home.”
Troppe informazioni martedì numero un centinaio di sei e trenta (TMI #136)
1. What lines have you used to let someone down gently.
Pretty much the “It’s me not you…” line which is actually true. It’s all based on my perceptions so in essence I’m being honest.
2. If I gave you $10K to waste, what would you buy.
A nice storage array for the house. I need someplace for all the music. But that’s only a few hundred dollars. I’d probably sink some into kicking my business plan to the next level.
3. If I gave you $10K, but you had to spend it all on someone else, what would you buy.
I’d get a car for Keyron so he can gallivant like I know he wants to do. My wander lust is gone but his is in prime mode right now.
4. If your partner brought a double dildo to bed, you’d be?
A bit shocked. I’m not generally known for my willingness to well, you know. I’m much more on the top side when I comes to anal.
5. What sounds to you make during sex.
Groans, moans, screams. Some vocal stuff, like “Yeah baby!”.
Bonus (as in optional): Tell your worst break up story.
My first breakup had to be in a public place. My then boyfriend had met another friend of mine and they took a shine to each other. I wasn’t too happy about that. So in the middle of a crowded bar I threw his keys at him and essentially told him to go fuck himself. Looking back it must have been comical.
What do you believe, or not believe as the case may be
Check this out, got it off Onanites blog.
The questions are rather simple and I knew what my result would be even before I started taking the test. I’ve been a long time atheist. I delight in opening peoples eyes to the reality that there isn’t any sky fairy, or devil, or any of the creations of the human mind.
I like that part about passive non-believer or a rabid atheist activist. I think you could call me a rabid atheist activist. I have no respect for the religious, I even say I’d like society to move from religious to spiritual, that religion had so much time to dominate that perhaps it’s better for something else to take its place. I also like pointing out that morality is not a function of religion. One can develop their own moral code based upon what they have learned. You don’t need a god creature to formulate a moral code that is beneficial to society.
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You Are An Atheist |
 God? No thanks. You’re not buying into any religion. They’re all bunk to you. You rather focus on what you know is true. You may be a passive non-believer or a rabid atheist activist. But one thing is for sure… no one’s going to make you go to church! |
You may be blind but you shall still see
The letter in the block quote appeared in the Providence Journal today, Tuesday the 27th of May, 2008.
Mr. Dorian has written a very interesting letter in which he discovers his own latent racism. That’s the thing about we humans. For some reason we automatically fear those whom we don’t know, or at least some do.
I’ve re-edited this because I had such an incident today. I was carrying groceries home from the supermarket (It’s less than a mile away) but a young Latino guy asked if I needed any help. I thanked him and told him I only had a short way to go. He was very polite too. It restores my faith in humanity when things like this happen.
But the message that one should never judge a book simply by it’s cover sunk in fairly early with me. It honestly doesn’t phase me what color your skin is, what really matters to me is that you’re a decent person. Luckily Mr. Dorian has found this out. I really don’t have much else to say because Dorian has written an account that should re-affirm ones faith in humanity.
Edward Oscar Dorian: Losing my blindness
01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The other week I had an accident that caused me to discover something about “those people” in Kennedy Plaza and, more significantly, to learn a great deal about myself.After many years away, I’ve recently returned to my native Rhode Island, where in the 1930s and ’40s, when I was a boy, the small, formal, park-like area then in front of City Hall in downtown Providence was seldom used.
Wow, what a change! I, now forced — because of diminished eyesight— to use bus transportation, found the crowded Kennedy Plaza area alien, bewildering and, to be honest, frightening. That is, until the other week when, while hurrying across the plaza, scrupulously avoiding contact with those “threatening” groups of fellows in weird clothes, loud language and of different skin color, I fell!
Instantly I was surrounded, and dark arms reached down offering help. I instinctively refused, but age and pain made rising difficult. Ignoring my repeated, rude refusals, the fellows gently lifted me, all the while expressing genuine concern. One fellow retrieved my glasses and, instead of handing them to me, carefully fitted them to my head. Another attentively recovered and returned my briefcase and its spilled contents. Expressing inadequate gratitude, I hobbled away; they called after me several times, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Only later did I realize that I had not been okay for a long time. Based on little more than clothing and color, I had been stupidly judgmental. Obviously, more than my eyesight had been faulty. My ugly stereotypes had blinded me to the inherent caring, generosity and courtesy in others.
The fall I took in Kennedy Plaza the other week was a valuable learning experience I shall never forget, and for which I’m grateful.
EDWARD OSCAR DORIAN
Cranston
Spewing Truth in the face of Lies 