My thoughts on immigration reform

I thought on this Father's Day, I'd share my thoughts on my father's immigration experience and the current debates among our lawmakers on this subject. Check out my post on Bring It On! for more.

Happy Father's Day to all you fathers and baby daddys out there.

Thursday morning Eva "La Yerbabuena" blogging

Por solea:



Eva, you are too good.

Gay Bomb

The Pentagon confirmed the existence of an Air Force proposal to create a special type of chemical weapon that would disperse strong aphrodesiacs and hormones that would "cause homosexual behavior."

"The Ohio Air Force lab proposed that a bomb be developed that contained a chemical that would cause enemy soliders to become gay, and to have their units break down because all their soldiers became irresistably attractive to one another," Hammond said after reviwing [sic] the documents.

"The notion was that a chemical that would probably be pleasant in the human body in low quantities could be identified, and by virtue of either breathing or having their skin exposed to this chemical, the notion was that soliders would become gay," explained Hammond.

The Pentagon told CBS 5 that the proposal was made by the Air Force in 1994.

Firstly, do I even have to go into how stupid this is? Just like how you can't pray the gay away, you can't spray some love potion on somebody and >poof< make them gay.

However, some market-savvy inventor should jump on this idea, create a body spray and market it in a way that's similar to Axe that will make the gay menz swoon over each other. On second thought, gay men probably wouldn't buy it. All the ones I know are way more high-end than that, and would probably balk at the idea of buying a cologne from the drug store. But you know, this could be an option for the bois on a budget.

Hey, screw that; how about making one for us single, straight women out here? I can use all the help I can get.

FlyPink

I always hated the color pink. And now, I hate it even more:

THE WAGS have been doing it for years – but now every woman’s dream is about to come true with the launch of an airline for shopping trips to Paris, Milan and New York.

Called FlyPink in homage to all things girly, the airline which promises to put the glamour back into air travel, has a totally frivolous fuchsia-pink livery.

It makes its inaugural flight to Paris next month from Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport.

Passengers will sip pink champagne in a pink-themed cabin aboard the 100-seat Fokker aircraft. They will even be treated to a free manicure at the airport before they fly.

The boutique airline is aimed at Coleen McLoughlin and Vic­toria Beckham wannabes aged 21 to 35.

Heh heh. The aircraft's name is Fokker.

Halliburton Plans Move to Dubai

Interesting. Very interesting.

The company said it hoped the move to the United Arab Emirates would help it expand its business in the Middle East.

Halliburton won valuable contracts in Iraq following the US-led invasion of 2003, some of which were awarded without competitive bidding.

The company also has extensive operations in Saudi Arabia.

The oil giant will keep an office in Houston but the posts of chairman, president and chief executive will be based in Dubai.

BIO post: Seriously, Who's Running the Show Here?

I wrote a post on Bring It On! this morning that discusses yet another incident in the dysfunctional House of Bush regarding Iran and diplomacy. Check it out.

Not just a former racetrack, yo

Recreation area at the Tanforan Assembly Center

Did you know that the site of the Tanforan mall in San Bruno also used to be a Japanese internment camp?

I didn't either.

That mall sucked anyway.

Anyway, today at the mall, internees and their children (some of them born at the Tanforan site during the internment period) held a reunion to hold testimony about their pasts and remind current generations "of the injustices that the internees experienced."


Thanks to the good folks at SFist for the heads up.

(Photo credit: Japanese Cultural and Community Center)

eHarmony sued

Bigotry seriously has no place in this milennium, and I'm glad to hear that someone's finally calling eHarmony on their shit:

A lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay.

Lawyers bringing the action said they believed it was the first lawsuit of its kind against eHarmony, which has long rankled the gay community with its failure to offer a "men seeking men" or "women seeking women" option.

You know I have no love for eHarmony. I noticed this bullshit years ago, and I'd even take it a step further and say that interracial relationships aren't part of Dr. Neil Warren's idea of what constitutes a harmonious relationship, either.

So what, you say; interracial marriages and gay marriages are two different things.

Are they? Really? It wasn't until the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 1967 in the Loving v. Virginia case that denying two people of different races the right to marry was unconstitutional.

But God says that homosexuality just ain't natural, you say? Well, they tried that whole 'God argument' in the Loving v. Virginia case too. Said the trial judge in the original case against the Lovings:

Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.

Seriously, he said that.

I understand that the issue of gay marriage isn't something that will go away in the blink of an eye, but I'm glad to see that the fight hasn't ended. This is why I'm in support of gay marriage; just 40 years ago, it would have been illegal for me to marry a white man in the state of Virginia. For what? The color of my skin? For being who I am? For something over which I have no control?

Ain't nobody gonna have any power over me, telling me who I can and can't fall in love with and marry, and vice versa.

R.I.P. Michael Dawson

You know how you just sort of feel close to a person even though you don't see them every day?

I want to pause for a moment here to pay my deepest respects to Michael David Dawson, a man whose friendly, bright, and warm personality shone like a beacon at many Peet's Coffee & Tea locations up and down the Peninsula. Words cannot even express how great this guy was.

Last Wednesday, May 30, he passed away during his morning shift.

When I heard the news, I didn't even realize it was him until yesterday afternoon. Shame on me.

I'm honored to say that I've had the pleasure of working with Michael on several different occasions a few years ago. His open and overwhelmingly friendly personality helped me get through some pretty stressful times associated with taking on new responsibilities, opening new stores, etc. He made such an impression on me that I never forgot him, even when I left. Michael Dawson was an awesome human being, and I will miss him.

My truly heartfelt condolences to his wife and his family.

Get your voyeur on.

Memes are great for giving your readers insight about the person behind the blog. They're also great for helping you out when you're lacking (ahem) in inspiration. Or writer's block. Or political scandal fatigue. Or if you've just been too ... busy to blog.

In addition to political blogs and Perez Hilton (don't judge!), I read a few food blogs. And I discovered that they also do memes, but food related. Of course, I think this is the coolest. Thing. Ever. And since I tried to start a food blog once (let's just say it's on hiatus), and have written a couple restaurant reviews and posts about cooking and food on this blog, I thought I'd play along.

So I picked up this "what's inside your fridge" meme from eggbeater, who got it from Becks & Posh.

Inside

I eat vegetables, I swear. They're in that drawer thing on the bottom. I need to remember to throw out that quinoa.

Refrigerator door

A girl loves her condiments. And cute mini soda cans. I still don't know how I feel about that bottle of osmanthus iced tea. I love the idea of it, but now I'm a little freaked out to try it. I don't know why. I have food issues. Shocking, I know. But there are a few things that freak me out. And pre-made, bottled iced tea from China does, sorta.

Freezer

Man, I need a shelf. And what self-respecting Filipino doesn't have lumpia ready to go at a moment's notice? Also, if any of you have a good recipe for ox tails (that's what's wrapped up in the brown paper), please let me know.

Want to see more? Click here to see other folks who participated.

Jerry Falwell Dead at 73

Falwell has found himself at the center of several controversies, such as the one sparked by his comments two days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which he seemed to blame "abortionists," gays, lesbians, the ACLU and People for American Way for causing the attacks, saying they "helped this happen."

On September 14, 2001, he told CNN that he would "never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize."

Let the eulogizing begin.

The Carpetbagger compiled a list of Falwell's career accomplishments, so you don't have to.

(source)

Sunday Morning "Strangest Shit I've Seen in a While" Blogging

groensaks rock!

You've been SERVED!

To all my break-dancing friends who love to battle: Watch out, this could be you:

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (May 9) -- A man died while trying to outdo a rival with an acrobatic move while "battle dancing," police said.

Robert Stitt, 48, and his rival were competing in a parking lot Monday night when he tried a forward flip and landed on his head.

"It was just two guys dancing. Everybody was laughing," Stitt's friend John Boxley said.

Boxley said James Brown was on the radio and Stitt wanted to outdo a rival dancer, who had flipped in the air.

Police said the victim went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead a short time at a local hospital.

Police said several people were in the parking lot drinking and battle dancing - a competition in which each dancer tries one-upmanship with unique moves.

My question is, why was a 48-year-old man still trying to battle? Maybe he had just watched that South Park episode.

What Tarot Card Are You?

Fear me.

You are The Devil

Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession

The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

(Props to the God of Biscuits for the inspiration.)

Brand Identity Overload

Donald Trump is now selling steak.

From Meat News (yes, "Meat News"):

Until now, Trump Steaks were only available at Donald Trump’s resort restaurants, but now these same steaks can be delivered to homes exclusively from The Sharper Image. Trump Steaks are made exclusively from corn-fed Angus stock—“The Butcher’s Breed” from the Midwest. Products are individually sealed, flash-frozen, packed in dry ice, and shipped in a distinctive black-and-gold Trump Steaks presentation box, according to a promo piece.

Somewhere out there, Richard Branson's getting jealous.

And I'm getting hungry.

(Photo lifted from Dethroner.)

Free Paris REDUX - Now I've seen it all

Paris Hilton supporters created a petition asking Gov. Schwarzenegger for leniency. Indulge me while I give you a little excerpt:

Paris Whitney Hilton is an American celebrity and socialite. She is an heiress to a share of the Hilton Hotel fortune, as well as to the real estate fortune of her father Richard Hilton. She provides hope for young people all over the U.S. and the world. She provides beauty and excitement to (most of) our otherwise mundane lives.

[...]

As most of America now knows, Ms. Hilton was just charged in a Los Angeles court with DUI and sentenced to 45 days in Century Regional Detention Facility in California beginning on or before June 5, 2007.

We, the American public who support Paris, are shocked, dismayed and appalled by how Paris has been the person to be used as an example that Drunk Driving is wrong. We do not support drunk driving or DUI charges. Paris should have been sober. But she shouldn't go to jail, either.

Whatever, people! Yeah, Paris is such a victim. In her own words:

"I think I get in more trouble because of who I am," posits Paris. "The cops do it all the time. They'll just pull me over to hit on me. It's really annoying. They're [the cops] like, 'What's your phone number? Want to go out to dinner?'"

So NOT sympathetic to your cause, girlfriend.

UPDATE: In response to this absurdity, I just had to create a rebuttal petition. Read (and sign) it here.

U.S. Troops = Al Qaida Bait?

Um, and this is a GOOD thing?

That's what Dick Morris seems to think. From Think Progress:

Last night on Hannity and Colmes, right-wing pundit Dick Morris also claimed that we need to keep U.S. troops in Iraq so that terrorists don’t come to the United States. But he argued that we need to put “Americans right within their [terrorists’] arms’ reach” so that they have the opportunity to “kill Americans” there. He added that therefore, “they don’t have to come to Wall Street to kill Americans. They don’t have to knock down the Trade Center. They can do it around the corner, and convenience is a big factor when you’re a terrorist.”

Great. So Morris is somehow suggesting that playing "Monkey in the Middle" with our troops is better than coming up with a strategic plan to end the war and bring our soldiers home. Fabulous.

Morris says that if you're a terrorist, it's the convenience of "killing Americans" that they love so much. So if we were to follow that warped logic, why the fuck would you want to keep American troops there?

Watch the insanity here.

(Thanks to The Carpetbagger Report for the link.)

The Oprah Touch

Oprah gave her endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president on the Larry King Live show last week.

"Beloved" flop aside, I wonder if this will help Obama and hurt Hilary.

Hmm.

Socialite in the Slammer

Let the "Free Paris" campaign begin!



I wonder if 45 days in the clink will teach girlfriend some maturity.

There aren't any "don't drop the soap" prison jokes for women, are there?

Basically, Miss Thang got arrested for violating her probation by driving on a suspended license. She claims to not have known about her license being suspended for 90 days, even though she signed a document saying just that:

[Paris] said that when an officer who stopped her in January made her sign a document stating her license was suspended, she thought he was mistaken and did not actually look at the document.

Poor girl. She probably thought the officer was asking for her autograph.

UPDATE 5/4: In this L.A. Times article, Hilton's attorney declared the verdict unfair, saying that Paris, whom he said was a person with "unique issues and needs" [apparently], was selectively prosecuted because of who she is.

Bitch, please. Nobody is above the law, especially socialites who are too stupid to take shit like this seriously.

Oh yeah, and Paris made the sign of the cross before hearing the verdict. What, all of a sudden she's religious? Heh.


(Photo credit: Damian Dovarganes/AP)

Do you have love for New York?

New York (Tiffany Pollard, above) dumped Tango (Patrick Hunter) to make way for another season of our favorite train wreck, "I Love New York" on VH1.

Look. They even put out a casting call on Craigslist. Keep it real, yo!

UPDATE 5/1: Word around the campfire is that New York and Crazy Mofo Sister Patterson aren't even related. Is nothing sacred out there in reality TV land?

Don't answer that.

(Props to A Socialite's Life for the info.)