It's Official . . .

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Best Picture of 2005 . . . Brokeback Mountain.

I finally watched Crash (the actual winner) last night. Instead of moved, I felt manipulated. Could it have been any more treacly and self-reverent?

ZOMG, that is so totally LA! You mean, like, people's lives are all connected and shit? In a city? No. Way. That could totally only happen there . . . NOT. Replace the Persians with Poles and the Koreans with Irish and voila! - it's Chicago.

Spoiler alert . . . (although I doubt a spoiler alert is necessary 3 years later.)

Things did not start well - The early, pre-carjacking dialogue between Anthony (played by Ludacris) and Peter (Larenz Tate) was cringe-inducing. And look! It's Sandra Bullock. (Never a good sign.)

However, as each of the following vignettes played out, I thought I might be won over:
- The vaunted car wreck scene with Matt Dillon (yum) and Terrence Howard's wife
- The Persian shop-owner and the beyond-sexy Papi locksmith
- Ryan Phillipe's character and Peter in the car

Alack, it was not to be. As the denouement (finally) approached and that ghastly 15-minute-long Sarah McLachlan-esque song played and played and played, I emerged from the emotive haze and realized that without question Brokeback Mountain was five million times better and truly the Best Picture of 2005.

Let Us Now Pause to Reflect on the Perfect Beauty of Jack and Ennis (above) . . . le sigh.

As Annie Proulx, the author of the short story on which the movie was faithfully based, wrote:

The people connected with Brokeback Mountain, including me, hoped that, having been nominated for eight Academy awards, it would get Best Picture as it had at the funny, lively Independent Spirit awards the day before. (If you are looking for smart judging based on merit, skip the Academy Awards next year and pay attention to the Independent Spirit choices.) We should have known conservative heffalump academy voters would have rather different ideas of what was stirring contemporary culture. Roughly 6,000 film industry voters, most in the Los Angeles area, many living cloistered lives behind wrought-iron gates or in deluxe rest-homes, out of touch not only with the shifting larger culture and the yeasty ferment that is America these days, but also out of touch with their own segregated city, decide which films are good. And rumour has it that Lions Gate inundated the academy voters with DVD copies of Trash - excuse me - Crash a few weeks before the ballot deadline. Next year we can look to the awards for controversial themes on the punishment of adulterers with a branding iron in the shape of the letter A, runaway slaves, and the debate over free silver.

It's important for me to include the final sentence of that piece:

For those who call this little piece a Sour Grapes Rant, play it as it lays.

Sing it, sister. I attended the GLAAD Media Awards earlier this year at the very same Kodak Theatre (note the spelling of theater) at which the 78th Academy Awards were held on March 5, 2006. The location of the "theatre" could not be less impressive - it's in the midst of a shopping mall that could be an LA version of Water Tower Place in Chicago or Grand Avenue in Milwaukee circa 1987. The Academy Awards are held in a "theatre" in the middle of the King of Prussia Mall!

Why is that relevant? I think Annie Proulx's piece in the Guardian was more evocative of LA's "uniqueness" than Trash - excuse me - Crash was. I am not anti-LA, but there is no way that Crash was better than Brokeback Mountain. To me, the only way to see Crash as "Best Picture" is to view it through a lens of obnoxious, myopic LA-centrism with a dash of Hollywood's own brand of craven, money-driven homophobia.

On a related note, see JMG's piece on how Milk's own stars may already be guiding that film to the same not-Best-Picture fate.

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All that said, hello Michael Peña! ¡Cáseme, Michael!

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11/30/2008 11:41PM - link to Annie Proulx piece corrected. Duh.

Help Me Lord, Help Me Jeebus . . .

It cannot be. It just cannot.

Via Huffington Post:

FiveThirtyEight's Sean Quinn reports that MSNBC host Chris Matthews is, in fact, running for Senate in Pennsylvania . . .

Why??

Look, Tyna with a y . . .

Leave Brian alone!!!!!



Via Towleroad, a link to this HuffPo piece about Chicago Bears hunka Brian Urlacher.

Football tough guy Brian Urlacher dresses his son in pink Cinderella diapers and paints the 3-year-old's toenails blue, the child's mother charged in Will County court Tuesday.

The mother, Tyna Robertson, threatened to block Urlacher from seeing the boy if the beefy linebacker kept up the alleged effeminate antics.

Uh, Tyna, first of all . . . back off, ho. Stop wasting Brian's (and the court's) time with this BS. Secondly, the whole "effeminate antics" business - not cool.

Some of my favorite comments from HuffPo readers:

- "How come it seems like it won't pass the smell test? Nasty divorce + famous dad = Mom dropping some crazy stuff coming out in court." (by DangitRuss)

- "Wait... this is a serious story? How could someone have the audacity to file a claim about something like 'you're dressing our son in pink diapers.' Wow. Some people are really gender polarizers." (by UneMondeNouveau)

- "This woman has the stink of Heather Mills." (by sagopalm)

and the winner . . .

- "News that people actually care about: Ur doin it rong" (by Mister_X)

I especially like this excellent summary of the post's many flaws:

Hey, if you're going to write these article summaries and put them on your front page, give us a little context so it doesn't foster a sense of "guilty before proven innocent." A closing sentence along these lines, "At this point in the proceedings it is impossible to determine the validity of these claims, or their exact nature should they prove to be true." The way it was worded was a little careless and snarky, sounding more like subtle amusement at the prospect of the guy being a hypocrite, than a weary report on some strange allegations in a divorce/custody lawsuit.

Characterizing his public persona as that of a beefy "tough guy," and contrasting it with his ex's allegations, suggests that you believe his public persona is a deception -- which gives readers the impression that, should the allegations be true, the nature of them was abusive.

If you defined the age of the kid when these things allegedly occurred or the frequency (or even explain the absence of these facts in your article and/or the lawsuit,) then the colorful language describing the guy wouldn't dictate the nature of the story as much.

He could be a weirdo, or he could just be a cool dad who doesn't buy into gender hysteria and agrees to paint his kid's toenails at his request, or thought it was funny to dress his unaware non self-conscious baby in a "girl's" diaper.

That comment is by Endangered Jackalope. Word.
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Preemptive acknowledgment: I know I'm Marc with a c . . . but that's just a little less Hooters-waitress-esque than Tyna with a y.

I Love Teh Internet

Really, I do.

Just tonight, I've read the following:

This beautiful post by fellow Chicagoan Tater. A lovely excerpt:

I am on guard against reverting to cynicism, of giving up faith in the process of living, of being jaded by disappointments, of the human frailty of others. I realize that everyone is just writing their stories as life happens to them, just as I do, and that we only grow from errors forcing new chapters to be written, and that we all do our best to edit and rewrite a more flattering past. An effort not necessarily to fool others, but to softly pull the wool over our own eye/

As I said in my comment, I don't know what led up to his writing that. I'm so glad I found it tonight, though. I couldn't agree more.

Next, I was led to a first-time viewing of the blog See My Briefs by the hottie who goes by CSCFON, where I read this brilliant Onion-esque piece:

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
Stunning Break with Last Eight Years

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' "Sixty 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.

How perfect is the Palinspeak???

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UPDATE 11/25/2008 12:59PM

That was written by Andy Borowitz - originally appeared on Truthdig.

No prob. Still glad I found See My Briefs!
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Scrolling down a bit on See My Briefs, I was linked to this cathartic piece of perfection:

DEAR "YES ON PROP 8"

To all you folks who voted Yes on Prop 8...

Fuck you. Yes, I'm talking to you. I'm done being polite about this, about pleading my case with civility and discourse.

Fuck your arguments about children, education, or "activist judges", because it's about none of those things, and you know it. You hide your bigotry behind lies and political rhetoric.

Fuck your argument that the only good family unit contains a mother and a father. I was raised by a single, awesome dad, and I turned out pretty fucking great. Fuck you for marginalizing my childhood.

Fuck your arguments about the sanctity of marriage, my partner and I have been together fourteen years, what makes your marriage more worthy of state recognition? Spare me the lecture. Or, make divorce and quickie weddings illegal, too.

Fuck your arguments about the history of marriage, learn its *real* history, which is hardly confined to the last few centuries of Christian belief. If the church didn't want this day to come, they should not have let the government take over marriage. But since they did, and since government should treat everyone equally, we are here now. We're not the concept of marriage as it stood three hundred years ago, we are here, right now. Act like it.

Fuck your argument that it's about freedom of religion, which only proves that it's a clear violation of the separation of church and state. How would you like it if I voted on your religious rights, too?

Fuck your arguments about the "slippery slope" it would create, in either marriage or democracy. Give society some fucking credit for having a modicum of common sense. A sudden wave of marrying dogs and widespread polygamy won't happen, and you know it.

Fuck you when you say that civil unions should be enough, because separate but equal isn't equal, and you know it.

Fuck your excuses about the will of the people, because sometimes all that amounts to is mob rule, especially when that mob is created through fear and lies, religious dogma, and massive out-of-state funding.

Fuck you for saying "oh, please understand that *my* personal decision isn't driven by religious beliefs or moral propriety," because underneath it all, it most certainly is... and if you're dancing around that issue to justify your vote some other way, you're in denial.

Fuck you for saying "some of my friends are gay" and still voting yes, because it doesn't hide your bigotry. Your actions are your words.

Fuck you for making me a second-class citizen.

Thankfully we have a President now who acknowledged my existence as a Gay American in the first few minutes of his acceptance speech. Maybe, in time, his efforts at unifying this country will be successful for all of us, gay and straight. I don't always agree with Andrew Sullivan, but he had a great post tonight that said "We must never let popular votes affect our own internal sense of our worth, our equality, our dignity as human beings. Our marriages are real; all that is at issue is whether a majority will recognize them in law. The next generation already does."

That masterpiece was written by e_ticket, whose blog THIS IS NOT A DARK RIDE led me to the author's very interesting professional home page and bio. It could go on and on . . . and it does!

Thanks, Al Gore! (/snark)

A Few Questions/Observations for Chicago Cab Driver #1126:

1.) Why do 90% of Chicago cabs, yours most definitely included, have the same smell? (I’m referring, of course, to the homeless person sweat/nasty ass/haven’t bathed in a week or more smell.) I suspect that having the heat on as high as possible probably doesn’t help the freshness factor.

2.) What did residents of my building do to make you and all of your colleagues start ignoring our cab light? Recall that there is a covered circular driveway into which you could have pulled - that would've been much easier for both of us than stopping on the (very busy) street in front of the building. Thx.

3.) Why, even though your meter was broken and you charged me a flat rate to O’Hare, did you still do the supremely annoying but seemingly universal foot-off-the-accelerator-in-an-attempt-to-not-make-the-green-light thing as we approached each intersection with a signal?

4.) The speed limit on the Kennedy is 55 mph. Perhaps you noticed that most of the other drivers (you know, the ones passing us) were going faster than this, some considerably so. Note the absence of law enforcement regarding this today. Note as well that even if you are not willing to keep up with the speed of traffic, you are legally allowed to travel up to the posted 55 mph speed limit. 45-50 mph is probably too slow for the highway.

5.) Finally, I understand that you were reluctant to remove your hands from the 11 o’clock/1 o’clock death grip that you had on the steering wheel, but it would have been appreciated if you would’ve at least covered your mouth when you coughed (which you did frequently.) I am hopeful that I don’t get sick.

I know your job can be difficult . . . Thank you for your time.

Why is gay.com Dumb?

Not the entire site . . . just the "writer" who came up with this headline:

Why do young gays get AIDS?

MAJOR headline fail. Gawd. Who wrote that??? Nobody "gets" AIDS. The only people who use the phrase "get AIDS" are homophobic trolls in comments threads . . . oh, and gay.com, of course.

Not Sure What To Make of Typealyzer . . .

Thus far, my sizeable and significant blog ouevre warrants this analysis from Typealyzer:

ISTP - The Mechanics

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment (and) are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.

The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

Independent? Check.
Problem-solving? Yeah, I guess.
Prefer to think things out for themselves? Definitely.
Avoid inter-personal conflicts? Definitely. (Thanks, Mom and Dad.)
Enjoy working with other independent and highly skilled people? Most definitely.
Often seek fun and action both in their work and personal life? [huh-huh, huh-huh - they said "action".] Absolutely.

but then . . .

They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

WTF???

I Am . . . Decidedly Pro-"Single Ladies"

It seems some of us are not fans of Beyoncé's new video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" I, on the other hand, am smitten. I am beyond addicted. I love the song--the remixes are going to be so awesome--but I cannot get enough of the video.



I imagine that for straight men, this video's sex appeal is the equivalent of what watching Carlo Masi, Gage Weston, and Luke Garrett in wresting singlets flexing (and then some) would be for me.

It's evident that this is not your typical 2008 hip-hop video featuring gratuitous bootie-shaking by writhing hoochie-mama hos. These ladies are nobody's hos! Beyoncé is of course, impossibly beautiful, and "back-up" dancers Anastasia Vertrais (lighter hair with highlights) and Vanessa Kenan (darker hair) are sublime. Together with Beyoncé, they evoke Chita Rivera, Paula Kelly, and Shirley MacLaine in "Sweet Charity". Actually, at some points they more than evoke them - there are a few moments of the very same Bob Fosse choreography. It's a true homage, performed flawlessly - watch their feet (in heels)--they're perfect. Pause at any point in the video and all three are spotlessly precise. Their timing could be computer-generated. I don't know if it's possible to edit videos the way sound engineers make singers of limited talent sound good--surely it must be--but this looks live and unedited to me. It doesn't hurt that all three ladies appear to have the exact same arm and leg proportions (there appear to be slight differences elsewhere).

Some highlights for me:

- 0:51-1:01 - WOW! For ten seconds there, even I feel straight. WOW. The pose that Vanessa (in back) hits at 1:01 will never be equaled for fierceness and elegance.

- Vanessa gives major face at 1:46-47, and then Anastasia does at 1:55-56. Perfection.

- If there's a weak point in the song, it's the bridge (?) from 2:01-2:29. But look at the movement! If that's unedited footage, they are astounding.

Bring on the remixes!

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Oh, and could we please not hear tomorrow that Beyoncé gave $1 million to Yes on 8 in California, hates the idea of gay marriage, or anything like that. Thanks.

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Apologies for the poorly-placed video embed. Still learning.

We Just Need to "Lighten Up"

. . . so sayeth megadouche thespian Stephen Baldwin, who is not moving to Canada:

"The liberal Democrats who didn't get that I was joking need to lighten up," the born-again Christian told Page Six. "Obama is obviously talented and intelligent, and I have great respect for the man. He's got my full support, and I'm gonna be praying for him and his administration." Baldwin, who hosts tomorrow's fund-raiser for 146 Love, a charity that seeks to end Asia's child-sex trade, still won't support gay marriage: "If they legalize gay marriage in all 50 states in my lifetime, I'll get a Billy Ray Cyrus tattoo on my butt to go with the Hannah Montana one."

Thanks, asshole! Ah yes, "The liberal democrats who didn't get that I was joking need to lighten up." I hereby issue a complete and permanent moratorium on the "I was joking" crap.

Furthermore, shitty, has-been, obnoxious actors need to STFU.

Finally, I don't think technology has been created that can measure how little of a shit I give whether Stephen Baldwin supports gay marriage.

Meanwhile, Canada is spared. From bstewart23's awesome blog, this brilliant signage:



More Canadian perspective on Baldwin's latest BS from bstewart23 here.

Public Service Announcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

To clarify:

I am beyond sick of having my existence be a source of controversy. I should not have to justify who I am to knuckle-dragging Xtianists who turn into whiny, scared, panic-ridden punks at the thought of men loving each other. The fact that guys have sex with each other is not an excuse to become violent.

My humanity is not open to debate. To quote Reporter-Cub:

. . . those who want to "reach out" and "have a dialogue" with us in the end wish to convert what cannot be converted. Sorry, but I am not going to shake your bloody hand.

Nor am I, for the record.

Cult members are not allowed to engage in provocative "outreach" behavior in the Castro and then claim they were victimized when their incendiary actions produce an unfavorable reaction.

I would like to get through one day without hearing some thoroughly demented yet well-publicized statement regarding gay people that is treated with "objectivity" and "balance", as though it were one of many "sides" of a story and thus worthy of any consideration and reporting.

While people are free to have beliefs that are direct from the Dark Ages, they are certainly not free to impose those beliefs on others.

Thank you.

Chicago: First City!

I'm gonna go a little Boosterish and post this excerpt from Garrison Keillor's awesome article at Salon about the worldwide impact of the Obama victory.

So enjoy the afterglow of the election a while longer. We all walk taller this fall. People in Copenhagen and Stockholm are sending congratulatory e-mails -- imagine! We are being admired by Danes and Swedes! And Chicago becomes the First City. Step aside, San Francisco. Shut up, New York. The Midwest is cool now. The mind reels. Have a good day.

tee-hee . . . step aside SF, shut up NYC.

But - I should not inject/project divisiveness into/onto the unifying spirit of the article! Read the entire thing. It's a feel-good piece in the midst of so much ICK. For example, this blurb:

Next time you fly to Heathrow and hand your passport to the man with the badge, he's going to see "United States of America" and look up and grin. Even if you worship in the church of Fox, everyone you meet overseas is going to ask you about Obama and you may as well say you voted for him because, my friends, he is your line of credit over there. No need anymore to try to look Canadian.

Oh, and Canadians overseas, with the Maple Leaf on every single article of clothing and accessory in an obvious effort to say "We're Not American!" . . . can't say I've blamed you for the past 8 years, but all that conspicious, overly-demonstrative Canadian-ness is a little less necessary now.

Miss Thing Did NOT Say That

. . . Oh, but it did.

via Joe.My.God., the latest in the anti-gay pile-on is . . .

This thing:

He pointed to a Bible. “But there’s the problem of interpretation, and you’ve got some churches, some people, basically doing things and saying it comes from here, but it doesn’t. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum you’ve got blue, you’ve got the Democrats, and they’re, like, ‘You can do whatever you want.’ Gay marriage, whatever. But neither of them is right.” When asked about his perspective on social issues—gay marriage, abortion—Prince tapped his Bible and said, “God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, ‘Enough.’ ”

Oh, hell no. Take your sanctimonious Jehovah's Witness-driven, magic fairy dust-believing bullshit and stick it wherever.

Seriously, does a day go by when there's not at least one news story of some "celebrity", "church", or churchy celebrity making an unbelievably outrageous statement about how awful we gays are? They are allowed to say whatever they want as if it's just another side of a rational argument. I'm fucking sick of it. Tell me it doesn't have an impact on our collective psyche. Is there another group that is publicly targeted as much? No, there is not.

True, the hydra-like Christianist Homophobia movement is frightening in its size and wealth and mind-bogglingly infuriating in its deceitfulness, immaturity, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. Nonetheless, we're not going away, you troglodytes! As Mr. Sullivan wrote,

And we're here for the duration. Because what we're doing may not always be popular or uncontroversial, but because we know in our hearts that we are pursuing what we believe is right.

Got it? We're here for the duration. Unlike you, we have reason and justice on our side, and we are citizens of the twenty-first centiry. Deal.

Stonewall 2.0?

Here's hoping!

As anyone who's been anywhere near the gay blogosphere knows, yesterday, Saturday, November 15 was an international day of protest against California's malevolent Proposition 8 and all the similarly vile examples of majority malice towards a minority in Arizona, Florida, and (no surprise) Arkansas.

It was a cold, damp day in Chicago, but that did not stop a large, ever-growing crowd from showing up in Federal Plaza. One of Chicago's gay men's choruses (can't remember which) started out the event with a few numbers. Their performance was of the highest quality, but somehow a gay men's chorus doing "Do You Hear the People Sing?" just did not feel militant enough for me. I would've joined in if they'd followed up with "A New Argentina", but that was not on the day's playlist. Dog bless 'em, though - I shouldn't bitch!!

From what I saw, Chicago's Police Department conducted themselves with detached, professional deportment. In other words, they did their job. Naturally they provided a safe space for some haters to puke up their vomitorious, antiquated slogans [See Tater's blog for some excellent photos of the event, including a few shots of the vile Matt Barber ("Homophobe, self loathing, bible thumping closet case", to quote Tater's spot-on description of that shitstain) for those brave enough to gaze upon that grotesque waste of cytoplasm.] In addition, I did catch a few thumbs-down gestures, etc, from tourists driving by on Dearborn on board those cheesy (motor-driven) "trolleys" . . . Go home, fuckers--nobody asked you!!

Once again, first-generation iPhone did its best as a camera. Here are a few shots:


HelLO guy in blue Nike cap and Colorado Rockies shirt. Rage on, bro!

One of my favorite signs:

FOCUS ON YOUR OWN FAMILY . . . So fucking true.

[For any architecture buffs out there, the two shots above feature a couple of Chicago's many architectural hightlights: a prime example of the post-modernist style and an early post-fire Chicago Style masterpiece. (Factoid courtesy of my friend John.)]

Imagine my surprise and delight when I checked out Tater's blog and found this candid shot of BF Jim (left) and me (right) pursing our lips for some reason:

(I was proud to be sporting a Sydney Swans scarf at this event - Go Swannies!)

I e-found Tater through his excellent, incisive, and hilarious comments on Joe.My.God. Here's another great photo of his, appropriately titled "Fabulous Courage"

I was reminded of Camille Paglia's astute observations regarding the bravery of drag queens - they do not expect, nor do they need the "protection" of the police. They are OUT THERE, being themselves, and dealing with the consequences on their own.

It looks like Dan and his friend Polo must've been quite close to us. Here are the two cuties (via Dan's site):


After several impassioned speakers, the crowd walked/marched throughout the Loop and then up le Boul Mich, at one point occupying all of North Michigan Avenue north of the Chicago River! Throughout it all, the Diva Drag Fabulon pictured above was out front with her sign, making her presence known to those stuck in nearby passing traffic. GO GIRL! That is truly Fabulous Courage.

Here we are on the West side of City Hall:

Note the ubiquitous Chicago street signs sponsored by Richard M. Daley, Mayor, congratulating "Chicago's own" Barack Obama, President-Elect. Nice contrast between the relief and joy of that outcome and the gigantic skid mark that is Prop 8 and its despicable brethren in other states. Note as well the many Gay Liberation Network-provided rainbow flags. Someone handed me one before we started marching/walking, and I was proud and emboldened to hold it high as I walked the entire route. (I'm sure my years in the color guard of the world-champion Madison Scouts during college helped with my flag-handling skills.)

Here's a blurry shot of us on Michigan Avenue:

As Dust Bunny King David reported from NYC, tourists everywhere were snapping photos like they were at the friggin' zoo. "Welcome to Chicago, the bluest of the blue - and thank you for your money!" was my loud and proud response.

As we neared the northern end of Michigan Avenue, the bar at NoMI in the magnificent Park Hyatt Chicago was looking awfully enticing. BF Jim briefly changed one of the chants to:

What do we want?
A cocktail.
When do we want it?
Now!!

Towards the end of the march I saw a group of 3 mangy, adorable sk8r bois, each with an anti-Prop 8 sign . . . and they weren't "Straights against 8" signs, either. Yes, I felt a little old, but more than that, I marveled at these twentysomethings and their energy, their unabashed activism, and how comfortable they were in their own skins. Here's an inspiring quote from one of Mr. Sullivan's many posts about the protests:

The next generation, gay and straight, get this more than ever. They will lead us now. I could not be happier to let them show me the way. This battle feels so much less lonely than it once did. The ripple has become a flood.

Go twentysomethings!!

To add to the beauty of the day, in Las Vegas, via Vegas Happens Here, the great Wanda Sykes came out, declaring

"I’m proud to be a woman, I’m proud to be a black woman and I’m proud to be gay."

"People shouldn’t have to talk about their sexual orientation, we shouldn’t have to do it, but with the legislation that they passed, I can’t sit by and just watch. I just can’t do it."

Brava, Wanda! Wanda cracks my shit UP every time she just as much shows her face on Curb Your Enthusiasm . . . especially when she and Larry start arguing.

Finally, I think this protester in Dallas wins the All-Time Gold Medal for The Most Fabulous Sign Imaginable:

I found that photo on Mr. Sullivan's blog--he has numerous posts up documenting the turnout throughout the nation. The photos, reports from readers, and his blurbs are fascinating reading and very inspiring.

Rage on!

Say NO F-ING WAY to Joe

Ugh, Evan Bayh was on Rachel last night blabbing on about Perpetually Constipated Joe LIEberman. He “answered” every one of Rachel’s question with some wussy variation on this:

1.) If LIEberman resigns, the Republican governor of CT will appoint his replacement.
2.) If LIEberman stays and is removed from the Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, he might become “embittered” (what is he now?) and not vote with the Democrats (cuz he does that so much now??) Oh, heavens no, we wouldn’t want him to become embittered. Tut tut – that would be unseemly.

According to Bayh, LIEberman “doesn’t have the ability to do whatever he wants” and the Caucus members “still exert oversight and control over him”. What?? Since when? Who’s exerting all this oversight and control? Harry Reid, King of the Wimps? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

What was Digby’s take on this pathetic display? A beaut:

Bayh was just embarrassing. He's going to have to pop a fistful of viagra and watch some "24" just to persuade himself that his testes are still descended after that pathetic performance.

More Digby, from Monday:

Quisling

So Obama has told the Democrats that he wants them to leave Joe Lieberman alone.

He will regret it. Joe Lieberman is a sanctimonious egomaniac who has no sense of loyalty or gratitude and he will stab Obama in the back as often as possible. He may even use his subpoena power on the Homeland Security Committee (which they are going to have to let him keep) to harrass him on behalf of conservative interests. It's a huge mistake to keep him in the caucus where he will have knowledge of their strategy and legislative tactics. He will be the first one called upon to "speak for" Democrats who are unhappy with Obama's inevitable "overreaching." He is a mole for the Republican party.

I drew upon that post heavily in my communications to my Senators. Their responses:

1. Obama: Duh, in case you haven't heard, I'm President-elect. Laters!
2. Durbin: (pending)

UPDATE 11/13/2008 9:53PM

Tonight, Her Excellency Dr. Maddow brilliantly dissects Bayh's "argument" and lays out all the reasons NOT to let Lieberman lurk around and pretend to be a Democrat.

UPDATE II 11/17/2008 9:58AM

Response from Dick Durbin, via e-mail:

November 14, 2008

Thank you for your recent message.

We face a number of important questions in the Senate, and I value your input.

I am working with President-elect Barack Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid as we begin to move forward on the wide variety of pressing matters that face our nation at this difficult time. I will keep your views in mind as our work continues.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

RJD/hw

[Short version: STFU you DFH - we're serious, important people who are busy with "pressing matters". Leave us alone.]

Is The Advocate Trying to Become Irrelevant?

Oh, for the love . . . speaking of being "Entertainment Tonight-esque":

I just finished watching the clip of Dan Savage out-reasoning, out-arguing, and out-humaning Tony Perkins of the "Family" "Research" Council. I'm sickened after listening to Perkins puke up the same discredited, lying bullshit again and fuming that liars like that shitstain are even invited to participate in "discussions" on CNN. I'm trying to get some work done but this goddamn Prop 8 thing is bugging the shit out of me and so I'm glued to my blogosphere echo chamber trying to absorb it all and mitigate my anxiety. In the midst of all this, my iPhone chimes to let me know I have a new e-mail:

11/13/2008 1:13PM
From: Advocate.com Editors
To: Me
Subject: Pregnant Man Thomas Beatie Expecting Again

No.

Really??

Dear Advocate: It's Thursday, November 13, 2008, and not one cell in my body gives one one millionth of a quark of a rat's ass that the "Pregnant Man" is expecting again. How dare you waste the 1/100th of a calorie of energy that was required for me to open and read that e-mail. How dare you add one millisecond of use to my iPhone with that e-mail. After years of complacency, gay people are finally taking to the streets to rage against our vile adversaries, and according to you, TODAY'S TOP STORY is "Pregnant Man Thomas Beatie Expecting Again"??

Rage!

Saturday. 12:30PM. Federal Plaza (Dearborn and Adams), Chicago. I'm so there.

Exposé: Air Marshals

When in hotels, I ordinarily use the USA Today as a doormat. Call me an elitist, but I don't like its Entertainment Tonight-esque gloss (Front page blurb today: "An epic moment for Nicole - Family, romantic saga have Kidman aglow. Interview, 1D") and its lowest common denominator approach.

Today, however, I was very interested in the Cover Story: Policing the Air Marshals: Crimes within the ranks raise questions about agency's hiring"

Shawn Nguyen bragged that he could sneak anything past airport security using his top-secret clearance as a federal air marshal. And for months, he smuggled cocaine and drug money onto flights across the country, boasting to an FBI informant that he was "the man with the golden badge."

Michael McGowan used his position as an air marshal to lure a young boy to his hotel room, where he showed him child porn, took pictures of him naked and sexually abused him.

When Brian "Cooter" Phelps wanted his ex-wife to disappear, he called a fellow air marshal and tried to hire a hit man nicknamed "the Crucifixer."

Since 9/11, more than three dozen federal air marshals have been charged with crimes, and hundreds more have been accused of misconduct, an investigation by ProPublica, a non-profit journalism organization, has found. Cases range from drunken driving and domestic violence to aiding a human-trafficking ring and trying to smuggle explosives from Afghanistan.

The Federal Air Marshal Service presents the image of an elite undercover force charged with making split-second decisions that could mean the difference between stopping a terrorist and shooting an innocent passenger.

But an examination of police reports, court records, government reports, memos and e-mails shows that 18 air marshals have been charged with felonies, including at least three who were hired despite prior criminal records or being fired from law enforcement jobs. A fourth air marshal was hired while under FBI investigation. Another stayed on the job despite alarming a flight attendant with his behavior.

This spring, after U.S. embassies, airlines and foreign police agencies complained about air marshal misconduct overseas, the agency director dispatched supervisors on international missions.

Oh, really??? (Thanks Michael McGowan! Atta boy, Cooter!)

These guys always bugged the crap out of me. Like the attitude-filled TSA zombies making life miserable for travelers, they were both a subtle, disconcerting reminder of 9/11 (on a plane) and a visible manifestation of Dubya's ham-handed, arrogant handling of the War on Terra. Worst of all, on a 737 or A319, they take up two of the first class seats!! Adding insult to injury, it's my understanding that the struggling airlines are not paid for these seats! They have to eat the cost and surrender two of their possibly most lucrative seats.

Typical of Dubya's style, the entire thing is clumsy and flawed. Allegedly undercover, they're always sitting there in 2B and 2C (the prime aisle seats) with their John LeCarre paperbacks when the real passengers start boarding. Gee, who are those guys?

I am hopeful that the new administration will bring some sanity to air travel. I loved Jeffrey Goldberg's excellent article in this month's Atlantic:

Airport security in America is a sham—“security theater” designed to make travelers feel better and catch stupid terrorists. Smart ones can get through security with fake boarding passes and all manner of prohibited items—as our correspondent did with ease.

"Security theater" - Perfect.

[If I'm never heard from again, look for me in Gitmo.]

photo by Sharon Steinmann, Houston Chronicle

I Cannot Stop Watching This

One of Keith's Best Persons in the World:
(If you have not seen or heard of this, just be patient and watch the whole thing.) May have to click through to YouTube to get Kyle to stop talking. (Again, sorry 'bout that.)



Can't tell from the blogosphere: Is she a UGA or UF girl? Either way, it's hilarious.

Some commenters, however, have justifiably asked: What were they doing filming in the bathroom, anyway? (The thought that it was staged has diminished its hilarity a tiny bit.)

Uh. Muh. God.

I just plotzed.

. . . and therefore had to spend $20+ on iTunes to buy it, even though I have 90%, no make that 80% of the songs elsewhere--but not with me here in Fargo on this trip, so a couple of clicks (and an invisible credit card charge somewhere in cyberspace) later, and voila, 48 "new" Smiths tracks on my laptop. su-weet

UPDATE 11/13/2008 12:33PM

Listening to "How Soon Is Now?" at the moment! It is certainly among the greatest songs ever. Word of advice: If you have never done karaoke before, do not attempt to make your debut with this song. No matter how good you may think you sound singing along with Morrissey in private, being up on stage with the karaoke "music" and in front of a crowd will be much, much different . . . and it may not be pretty. Just sayin'.

Say NO to JOE

Gawd I cannot stand the "perpetually constipated" Joe LIEberman.



I just e-mailed one of my senators, Dick Durbin, to let him know I'm extremely unhappy that he appears to be going soft (the Democrats' specialty) on Lieberman keeping his position as Chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Not that he gives a rat's ass - I'm just one of his "constituents" (how quaint, no?)

As digby wrote today,

It is an old truism that the Senate is the most exclusive club in the world and that all of its members believe they would make a better president than the current one. It's been proven time and again that if a president wants an easy confirmation all he has to do is nominate one of the club members and that person will likely sail through. They do not like to see one of their own treated with anything but kid gloves --- after all, that means it could happen to them too.

I was encouraged when Howard Fineman said on Keith's show the other night that Durbin "is really loaded for bear about Lieberman, he wants to kick Lieberman off that chairmanship." I hope he's right and that the smoke signals today don't mean otherwise.

(I wish I could take credit for the hilarious and 1000% accurate "perpetually constipated" bit. I can't - it was Camille Paglia.)

For a GREAT time

in the blogosphere, be sure to read Joe.My.God.'s dazzling post on the "People's Premier of Milk". It truly is a bit of wonderfulness in the midst of all the ugly news of the day. Definitely check out his last pic of one of the Milk Men . . . dios mio . . . AND be sure to read the comments to enjoy JMG's readers at their finest!

[As of 4:32PM Central on 11/11, no trolls have appeared and no e-fights have broken out in the comments section, so it's just a lot of fun, hilarious remarks and one-liners.]
_______________

UPDATE 6:18PM

Well, that lasted all of 90 minutes. Using a wussy fake ID (which happens to be the title of one of Joe's very best posts about a friend who died of AIDS . . . how clever), some shit stain has puked up this delightful nugget in the aforementioned comments thread of one of the best posts by one of my favorite bloggers:

Joe, your faggot face looks like it's been ravaged by full blown aids. jesus you look like old shit. give it up and die of aids already!!!!!!!!

Talk about ruining my atmos!! So sic the Feds on me, but man, I would like to have my hands around that fucker's worthless neck. Bash back! I hope JMG publishes that turd's name and address.

But back to the good:

- Read Arianna's uplifting post about Barack,

and

- Check out several restorative, encouraging posts regarding Prop 8 at Bitch Ph.D.

"Please God, no"

LOL - That's Mr. Sullivan's reaction to the news that Terry McAuliffe is considering running for governor of Virginia. I'm totally with him on that. If you want a laugh read the comments from the politicalwire.com post, or go here to join in (Stuart Smalley voice): "Terry McAuliffe's Conversation with Virginians".

I sat next to McAuliffe on a flight from Chicago to New Orleans last November . . . the night of one of the Democratic debates. I believe he was on his way to the League of Cities convention. He had middle-aged-man breath and was wearing hideous tassell loafers. I think that's all Virginians need to know.
__________

UPDATE 3:50PM

Wait a minute . . . do I detect a whiff of star-fuckery in the above post? About Terry McAuliffe? Ew. I need help.

Go Bears!!

Here's my super-secret fuck buddy Bears QB Kyle Orton talking about his injury:



I like when he talks about waking up with a smile on his face. Me too, buddy! Huh-huh huh-huh - it was sore when he woke up Monday morning. He's talking about his ankle, people!!

Poor Rex Grossman is starting today against Tennessee. 7-0 at the moment! (A first quarter TD!) I'm a Rex fan, so I hope he does well. That said I want to see scruffy, scrappy Kyle back on top . . . of his game . . . as soon as possible.

Sorry, football turns me on. (Football players, more like.) What can I say? Just a red-blooded American male, I guess.
___________________

Sorry as well if the embed automatically plays when you open the page. It does that on a Mac using Firefox; not sure if it's the same in PC world on IE.
(11/9/2008 2:31PM - it also does that on a Mac with Safari.)
___________________

HALFTIME UPDATE 11/9/2008 1:29PM

7-7 at halftime. Gah! Or should I utter a Derbyshire-esque "Pah!"

OK, seriously over the Miller High Life commercials in which the real American, salt-of-the-earth African-American MHL delivery guy busts in on all these effete, not real American, not real Miller High Life-drinking metrosexuals (and clearly some homosexuals in the latest installment) and schools them on how to properly tailgate or steals back their Miller High Life because they're in their luxury box not paying enough attention to the game like the true fans in the stands.

Booooo, MillerCoors. Hand me a Bud. At least that's Belgique and they haven't run any homophobia-tinged ads lately (that I know of).
___________________

1:47PM 14-7. Beh. Stupid Titans.
___________________

2:25PM 21-7 Titans. Argh. Stop celebrating LenDale (LenDALE ? ?) White.

And Rex, get a grip!!! Gawd. Do you need to see a sports psychologist or something? Dang. Let the booing begin.

(I'm sure I could do a much better job . . . heh)
___________________

2:48PM 21-14! 4:55 left to play. Rex totally heard me.

2:52PM Bears fans are hot.

2:57PM FUCK!!!!

3:08PM Oh well - Bears lose. If you're gonna lose a game, better this week than next, blah blah blah. Wev. Time to get back to fighting the vile Mormons and the Knights of Columbus and helping to bring about the end of organized religion.

8:55PM Iggles fans are really hot.

ACT LIKE PROGRESSIVES, DEMS!!

OK, Barack has been elected. Now we must hold him and the entire hidebound Democratic Party fully accountable. Get ready to call, write, and/or visit your Congresspeople the minute they start wussing out . . . and something tells me they will.

(NOTE: It's "Democratic" party. Democratic. Not "Democrat" party, you sixth grade right wing asshole bitches. Keep saying that, and you will get beat down on the playground, big time.)

A repeat of 2006 on a broader scale is simply not acceptable. Democrats must act like Democrats. Barack was elected as a Democrat, and this "governing from the center"/"can't be too librul" BULLSHIT makes me grind my teeth and shout obscenities.

So here's Craig Crawford of CQ Politics and "MSNBC Political Analyst" gurgling on about the Perpetually Constipated Joe Lieberman with Keith Olberman:

CC: . . . despite all that’s happened, they like him, on a personal level.

You know, the Senate is a club. Lieberman, despite some of the decisions he’s made that have aggravated his fellow party members, they actually like him. I think they would like to figure this out and of course with margins as close as they are, and as close as they are to 60, it would be better for the Democrats if they worked something out with him.

KO: Why do they still like him?

CC: [laughing (more)] On a personal level, not on the political. I think a lot of them just scratch their heads and can’t understand. I mean this is a former running mate on a national democratic ticket, and despite the fact that he’s the one that chose to bolt there’s still some reservoir of goodwill toward him . . . on a personal level!

He later adds some BS/"insider information" on how unpopular Ted Stevens is in the Senate.

Uh, I was under the evidently erroneous, silly impression that we were electing a government, not the Homecoming Court. WHO CARES if Lieberstank's fellow "club" members like him, personally or politically. He's a total putz, and he made a total asshole of himself in supporting the vile McCain campaign (against Barack Obama--you know the President-elect)!

. . . and there's former Chief of Staff on the Senate Finance Committee, Lawrence O'Donnell on Rachel: "This is an eerie rerun of 1993".

No it is not. It will be 16 years later when Obama takes office. (And who gives a rat's ass if you have the signing pen from Clinton's stimulus package/an extension of unemployment benefits or that you were backstage at Grant Park?? Ooooh, impressive.) Aren't we always being told that past performance is not an indication of future returns? As my favorite mensch Glenn Greenwald wrote today,

. . . there's a tendency for people to live in the political past and to be traumatized by past political losses, paralyzed with irrational fear by the obsolete battles of prior decades.

Dawg, I hate the Beltway media.

BONUS Here's a link to the "Just Enough" segment from Rachel's show where I saw the life-changing Randy Marsh "Losers! Losers! Losers!" South Park clip. Be sure to watch the entire thing to catch the "Bacon defeats Fries" bit.

Two words re: (Republican challenger) Matt Fries - BIG. QUEEN.

Wait, make that three words: BIG. BIG. QUEEN. Oh and by the way, Matt: 1985 called, it wants its hair back. [I know - not original, but so right.]

The Perfect Parisian Cafe

Mon cher ami Rich is in Paris, and he reports that he's found the perfect little Parisian cafe:



Hilarious text message from Rich (the triathlete): "I feel fat here."

Is There Anything This Twit Will Not Say?

Man, I have had enough of the paranoid rantings of John Derbyshire.

He received a well-deserved Malkin Award nomination from Mr. Sullivan for this psychotic blurb:

"I see that some of my NRO colleagues are scratching around for shards of optimism — of Hope! — in the general wreckage. Good luck to them. I see nothing for conservatives to hope for in an Obama administration. We just have to stick it out. This shallow, ignorant, self-obsessed man, who held an actual job for just one year of his charmed life (low-grade editing for an obscure newsletter — he felt, he tells us in Dreams, “like a spy behind enemy lines,” the enemy of course being capitalism), this red-diaper baby and his wife, will be our First Couple for the next four years and some weeks. It’ll be interesting. Interesting,"

What will be interesting will be watching his head explode if we're lucky. And that's quite enough hatin' on Michelle, you whiny bitch! On Wednesday, Joan Walsh of Salon alerted us to this turd nugget, in which he referred to Barack's "shake-down artist of a wife, with the permanent frown!".

I'm not even going to re-print what he said yesterday, but for those with the stomach, the links are in this post by Mr. Sullivan:

. . . it has to be a land speed Godwin's law record for someone to compare a president-elect, only days after the election, with both Hitler and Stalin. I do think that comparing Obama's proposals for voluntary service to the forced labor marches in building the White Sea-Baltic canal by Stalin is absurd. But it is also deeply insulting to the actual victims of Stalinism.

Word, Sullivan. That Derb douche is ruining my atmos on a Saturday morning! "Pah!"

Rachel for Empress of the World in Perpetuity

I found this glorious photo on Towleroad, with the fabulous, 1000% accurate title:

GLAM NEWS LESBIAN GODDESS

photo by Roger Erickson at Indochine in New York

Perhaps you have a life and are not at home [or better (worse?) yet, in a hotel in Fargo, ND . . . albeit a very cool one] on a Friday night. If so, and you have not watched/are not watching the Rachel Maddow show, FIND IT! Find it online or on iTunes. View your videotaped copy TiVo'd episode. Regardless, find it.

She is transcendent tonight. Her take-down of Sarah Palin's latest "press conference" is beyond. It's simply beyond.

And here's Melissa Harris-Lacewell, Associate Professor of Politics and African American Studies at Princeton University, discussing Proposition 8 with Rachel. She's an African-American and they're talking about how AA's voted 70% in favor of Prop 8 at the same time that they turned out to elect Barack. WOW. I really like MHL, so I was concerned when she started talking about how the (admittedly flawed) No on 8 people "didn't do enough work in communities of color". Wha?? However, she does also add (really quickly) that these same communities of color displayed a lot of bigotry. "demonstrated an awfully bigoted vote." What the hell is this reasoned discussion between two brainiacs doing on the MSM?? Somebody do something! They weren't even shouting at each other.

Phil Donohue is on! He compliments her on her show, and she responds with "That's like getting complimented on home runs by Hank Aaron." OMG Phil just used the term macher. Wow. I'm in libtard heaven. His movie "Body of War" (available on the Pearl Jam website) looks - powerful. That's the only word I can think of at the moment.

Finally, as Dr. Maddow asked during the "Lame Duck Watch" segment, "How much better would it be if January 20th were, like, tomorrow?" Amen, sister.
___________________

How excellent was Barack in his first press conference? Complete sentences! Thinking! Answers! Not calling on Fox "News" for questions!!

First Puppy

What Digby said:

Like millions of other Americans I am shamefully taken with the story of the Obama girls and their new puppy (and I confess that Obama's comment that he wanted to get "a mutt like me" gave me a ridiculous sense of happiness.) I confess that as much as I am cold-eyed and realistic about the political scene, I absolutely love the Obama family and any time I see them all together and think of those little girls growing up in the White House I get verklempft. So shoot me.

I'm so totally one of those millions of other Americans!



If you want to see something awesome, go to Obama's Flickr set from Election night. I first saw some of the pics on The Huffington Post, but check out the entire set on Flickr. So cool.

UPDATE 11/7/2008 8:10PM

Hey! This was my 100th post. That was fast.

(100 posts, frequent comments in teh gay blogosphere, and not one troll. Oh well - mustn't be greedy.)

UPDATE II 11/7/2008 11:52PM

OMFG that guy is our President-elect. He is from Illinois. From Chicago. He was one table away from me at the AFC gala in 2003. My friend Rich sat at they very same table with him in 1999 or 2000 at some other event. OMFG. Even if all of that were not the case, and putting all of the Prop 8 BULLSHIT aside, this brilliant "mutt" of a man who can think on his feet, speak in complete sentences, and is not a total asshole is going to be our President, and I am so psyched about that. OMFG.

[Anyone see the complete South Park election episode? Of course, there's a depiction of the South Park lefties celebrating Obama's victory, and naturally it's a perfect parody of everything that we were all saying in Grant Park on Tuesday night (Summary: "Everything's going to be OK!!"). It all leads up to one woman helplessly stating "I don't know what to do now!", to which the inimitable Stan Marsh replies "I know what to do now". Stan proceeds to start taunting the McCain/Palin contingent of South Park with the chant of "Losers! Losers! Losers!", which is quickly taken up by his fellow travelers. Loves it.]

As Digby wrote above, I get verklempft thinking about la première famille. I mean, just look at the photo above - the two girls are beyond adorable. Look at Michelle being a total mom keeping an eye on them, and look at Barack just being his Barack-y self. Just go away, Dubya - go away!

UPDATE III 11/8/2008 10:21AM

I called Michelle a "total mom". She is of course, much more than that, as rightly noted by Ezra "Momma Said Wonk You Out" Klein.

Signs of Life: Fargo, ND

Oy:



Somehow I don't think they're Cubs fans.

On a brighter note, at the same strip mall (where my Fargo Starbucks is located), I did see an SUV in the SBUX drive-through with a window sticker that read "Summer Sucks". A true northerner!

UPDATE 10:32AM

Another very interesting sign:

Gas at $1.999!

(That's not a typo, I do think it said $1.99 and nine tenths). Meanwhile, back in Chicago, I'm sure we're still well up above $3.00. (Thanks Todd!!)

Both Sides Do NOT Do It!

I couldn't agree more with dday, who couldn't agree more with John Aravosis:

After eight years of having Republicans call me an un-American troop-hating fag-loving socialist, after months of John McCain embracing the hate to a level where his own supporters were calling out for Barack Obama to be assassinated, no one is going to be permitted to tell me with a straight face that "oh you know, both sides do it."

Your side was abominable. Your side was hateful. Your side race-baited. Your side gay-baited. Your side lied like we've never seen in recent presidential campaign history. Your side used a tax-cheat who would do better under Obama's tax proposal to be your everyman on the issue of taxes. Your side, in a veiled effort at race-baiting, said Obama doesn't put his country first. Your side had the audacity to call Obama a socialist. Your side suggested he was a Muslim. Your side suggested he was a terrorist. Your side suggested he was Osama bin Laden.

Spare me the crap about how both sides do it. You people are a disgrace, you've been a disgrace for eight long years, and all your hate and lying and venom and vitriol finally bit you in your collective fat ass.

I was saying that last night as we watched all the CNN bozos (and even people in the crowd) get all maudlin about what heckuva great guy McCain is. He served his country admirably in Vietnam, and from what I can tell, he's spent the rest of his life being a huge asshole. And don't even begin to compare the Dems and the Republicans in terms of the ugliness.

UPDATE 11/6/2008 12:32PM
. . . and nobody had better even dream of starting to try to rehabilitate this sack of shit:



As one commenter on Melissa McE's Shakesville post put it:

The only photo I want to see of this horrible little man is his mug shot from the Hauge.

NRO Hits a New Low

. . . and I know that's sayin' something.

I don't dare look at the site itself, but be sure to read this post by Joan Walsh of Salon in order to get an idea of the stinking hot excrement being shat out by the right this morning. As Walsh rightly notes, the vile rantings of John Derbyshire at first appear to be satire, but they are not.

Be sure to disinfect your mind by reading the comments (at Salon, not NRO!).

BRAVA!

I've already linked to this, but it bears re-linking. It's Melissa McEwan's magnum opus, a veritable Gettysburg Address, a St. Crispian's Day speech exposing the incomprehensible awfulness of Dubya. Do read the whole thing, but here's a big chunk:

You're goddamned right I hate George Bush.

You're right if you think I found him an insignificant slip of a man who was unprepared for and undeserving of the presidency, whose history as a drunken dullard, constructed aw-shucks shtick, and careful positioning as the ordained man who would marry religious extremists with neocon corporatists made me want to puke from the moment I laid eyes upon his sneering visage.

You're right if you think that his leadership shames me, that every heh heh which has emanated from his condescending mouth has made my skin crawl, that I am utterly unable to find the merest shadow of anything to like about him.

And you're right if you think I hate him to the point of abject indifference, fervently longing for the day he takes his leave from governance and retreats to Crawford for good, where I won't give the tiniest, microscopic shit about him whether he is lost in a tragic brush-clearing accident and his body devoured by wild dogs before the search party arrives, or whether he lives out the remainder of his useless life in good health and happiness—either way, I don't care, as long as I never have to think about him for the rest of my days.

Yes, I hate him. But not blindly. I have reasons—more than I can bloody well count.

And I can't wait for the day when he will be gone for good, never to give me another thing to add to my list of his crimes and failures.

I can't wait to see him go.

Sing it, sister. Neither. Can. I.

At the Rally

UPDATED 11/5/2008 7:58AM
Sorry the original "live-blogging" was so lame. iPhone did its best with limited (non-WiFi) internet access and a heavily taxed battery.

6:10PM

On the way in . . .



7:23PM

Finally made it in. We're being tormented by CNN on the big screen.

WTF is that map that John King is using?

WHO is smoking??

7:52PM

The guy in front of me has a crush on Candy Crawley of CNN. WTF? But wait - he mentioned something about his BF so it's just a news geek fan thing.



"The guy" turned out to be Patrick - we ended up near him and 3 of his friends, all of whom were very cool.

8:02PM

Yes! NY, WI (sorry, Dad!) MN, MI - all Obama!

OK, the two squirrely twentsomething girls who just squirmed in next to us need to move. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah . . .

update 11/5/2008
around 10:00PM

Polls close in the western states; CNN goes to a commercial, and then returns with "Breaking News".



I'm glad there's already a video up on YouTube.


WEDNESDAY 11/5/08 8:16AM

More later - just wanted to make this post a little less skeletal. (Oh yeah - Barack won! But BOOO to all those Californians who voted yes on Prop 8. When do I get to vote on your marriages? Thanks, fuckers.)

And Now For Something Completely Different

I'm back on my No-On-8-supporting Mac after a few weeks/months strapped to my work-provided evil-GOP-supporting Dell PC. Ah, the freedom, the beauty, the elegance, the ease . . .

. . . the pics I'd saved before I started this blog:



Glory to Dog in the highest, and peace on earth to (COLT) men of good will (and their admirers)! It's Adam Champ and Carlo Masi in jockstraps. Swoon.

Are they at Folsom St? Dore Alley? What is Miss Thing the Tourist with the sweater/sweatshirt tied around her waist doing taking a picture of them like that? Is she at the zoo?? It's beyond unseemly--it's like dropping the Torah.

Arggghh

Chicago, Monday, November 3, 4:01PM
__________

Anxiety levels running high all 'round. Remember those horrible "election" nights in 2000 and 2004? Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want and let tomorrow night be different. It will either be a cathartic, joyful celebration in Grant Park, or another mind-boggling, surreal low point.

Speaking of 2004, remember when the London Daily Mirror was execreted for this headline?:



Remember the shrieking from the unctuous right, the howls of indignation?

Hrmmmmm . . . perhaps there was something to it after all?
__________

Back from a week in Phoenix - WAY too many "Yes! on 102" signs in evidence. On one stretch of Shea, someone had planted one of the small signs about every 10 feet or so. I've never fully understood why fat middle-aged men get so worked up about abortion, and the same principle is in play here. Dear Mormons, Knights of Columbus, etc, etc: We could not give a rat's ass about your goddamn sacred marriages (except maybe when one of your "straight", discrete menfolk wants to have sex with us--then that's kind of hot), so get your sanctimonious, cave-dwelling noses out of our lives. Does Prop 102 (or 8 in CA) really require a sign in the median strip every 10 feet? Is it really The Most Important Thing to you? Everyone have a job? Decent health care? Sufficient (reality-based) education? Economy humming along just fine? I guess so, since you freaks have all this time and money to spend making sure two gay people don't get married.

My friend Richard and I were disturbed to see a "Yes! on 102" sign on his sister's neighbor's lawn. Strangely, it was not there as of Saturday night. (We have no idea what happened to it!)
__________

Some pre-election predictions from Glenn Greenwald (with slight format changes by moi--each list item moved to a separate line for clarity):

Incumbent losses that would produce the greatest pleasure (among those with a reasonable prospect to lose):
(1) Saxby Chambliss;
(2) Michelle Bachmann;
(3) Marilyn Musgrave;
(4) Robin Hayes;
(5) Elizabeth Dole;
(6) Dave Reichert

Democrats whose defeat would prompt indifference (or even joy):
(1) Chris Carney;
(2) Tim Mahoney;
(3) Nick Lampson;
(4) Jim Marshall;
(5) Jack Murtha.

Five terms I hope never to hear again for the rest of my existence:
(1) Joe the Plumber;
(2) Hockey Mom;
(3) game-changer;
(4) tightening;
(5) Sarahcuda.

Three dumbest pieces of already-solidified conventional wisdom among the Right and the media (if Obama wins):
(1) The Liberal Media was unfair to McCain;
(2) Obama better resist his "liberal impulses" and govern from the center unless he wants to spawn disaster;
(3) The Pelosi/Reid Congress is going to pressure Obama to move to the Left.

Oh, a-MEN about Saxby, Michelle, and Liddy. Add closet queen Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to that list, please.