This time it's not Newsweek's fault

Oh, come on, we torture and murder your innocent citizens, but look on the bright side - we sent you Laura Bush! Read More......

Clueless in Washington and Brussels

It probably won't stop the US and EU from taking action but think about it. China is telling the US and EU that "if you want higher textile prices, sure, no problem. We'll give you higher prices and pay ourselves for doing it." So now consumers will pay more and who gets the extra profit, but the Chinese government. I have to hand it to the Chinese on this because they completely outmaneuvered our hapless politicians. Only an idiot would remotely fall for this and so far the US and EU are falling for it. This is such a perfect example of why our politicians are politicians. China wins this round, hands down.

Whether we're talking about public funding for sports team worth hundreds of millions (and paying players millions and millions) or international trade deals like this or when we bailed out our lazy steel companies or more recently with our welfare program for oil companies, our politicians are so clueless about business. Read More......

The wonders of Gaydar - not the sixth sense, but the Web site

I've been fascinated for a while now by the power of the Internet as a tool for meeting people. Putting aside the community-building thing we do with blogs and activism, I mean the actual one-on-one meeting of other people, be it for coffee, a date, a hook up or whatever. The Internet has clearly opened up a whole new world in that realm, but what I've been trying to figure out is whether it's opened up something better than what we had before or not?

I came out in the early 90s. The only way to meet guys back then was either the bar or via phone chat services (like the kind that anti-gay Virginia congressman used, and got caught). I enjoy going to bars, but I'm terrible at chatting up strangers, way too shy, truth be told, so I tried the gay chat lines. Made one friend, and think I'd met a few other guys but honestly don't remember anymore. Soon after, we had the Internet, so then I tried that.

I signed up for AOL sometime in the mid-90s, used it for dating (i.e., not just hooking up, but actually also used it for trying to meet friends and boyfriends). And while on AOL it's pretty easy to find a fling, I've never found it particularly useful for making friends or getting dates. So many of the coffees I set up with guys just ended up being weird. I keep trying to figure out if it was me, the nature of the guys on AOL, the nature of online dating, or what.

Now there's so much more than AOL. A few years ago I was going abroad and asked friends if there were any good Web sites for meeting guys in other countries (and no, not just for sex, but to actually find some interesting gay people I could go out with while on vacation, etc.) Friends pointed me to Gaydar and Gay.com. I tried both, and really had better luck with gaydar than gay.com, and actually made great friends with a wonderful gay couple in Rome - we're still good friends to this day. Gaydar also tends to, overall, have a more international and educated crowd, things I like in friends and dates, so I like it.

And now there's Friendster and other such sites. Again, tried them, and again, had some very weird coffee dates.

I've never found any of the online sites overwhelmingly helpful for making friends or getting real dates, but then again, that might just be me. Still, it does amaze me how much the Internet (and technology more generally) has helped to bring people together, and gay people especially - though I'd be curious to hear from straight people to what extent they too use the Net to meet people when they travel, either abroad or at home. I'd also be curious what other people's experiences have been with other sites. I know the French tend to like a site called CiteGay, but I've never used it.

Anyway, just meandering in my mind a bit. And no, I didn't meet anyone on this last trip in either Morocco or France (well, because in Morocco I got the sneaky feeling I was being propositioned by prostitutes, and in France, well, it's just damn hard to get through to French guys, but that's another story). Anyway, just curious your thoughts on the entire online dating thing, if you have any. Read More......

Open Thread

Shake it up... Read More......

Female Afghan TV host murdered

I know the wingnuts all like to go on about what a great success the US invasions have been, but tell me again how Afghanistan is doing so well? Riots and deaths due to US policy and actions (not Newsweek) and continued stories of abuse by the US and now this story about a female TV host who was murdered in Afghanistan. I know, let's send our new special envoy to the rescue! After all, Laura Bush had such a successful visit to Afghanistan recently when she spent about two hours on the ground behind a fortress and she must have met at least a dozen girls and women there. Yes, Laura Bush to the rescue because she has been so effective in the past.

Now remind me again of what exactly she has done besides tell horse masturbation jokes? Read More......

Wait a sec, THIS is the bill that MD Governor Ehrlich vetoed, even though he has an openly gay chief of staff?

What a piece of unadulterated crap that man is.

Modeled after laws in California, Hawaii and other states, the legislation would have granted nearly a dozen rights to unmarried partners who register with the state. Among those: the right to be treated as an immediate family member during hospital visits, to make health care decisions for incapacitated partners and to have private visits in nursing homes.

Yes, God forbid Ehrlich sign legislation that lets his openly gay chief of staff visit his partner in the hospital. They're both useless. Read More......

Laura Bush to the rescue?

We've really fallen on hard times if she is the savior of the US image both in the US and abroad. What's she going to do on this mission? Tell more horse masturbation jokes? Talk about how her own run in with the law when she ran a stop sign and killed her boyfriend? Her months of hard work in the public school system before she focused her energies on child rearing? Talk about a success story... It's pretty obvious that George isn't up to the task because he's spent so many years of ripping down our image internationally and now nobody abroad wants to listen to him, Cheney, Condi or Rummy so who else is left? Read More......

Open thread

Off for lunch with Joe. Read More......

Maryland Governor Ehrlich vetoes gay bill even though his chief of staff is openly gay

How interesting that Governor Ehrlich, a Republican, is worried that gays "threaten the sanctity of traditional marriage" when his own chief of staff, Steve Kreseski, is openly gay and has been for the 15 years I've known him.

Steve was Ehrlich's chief of staff on the Hill and now has been his chief of staff as governor for years. It's hard to believe that Ehrlich doesn't know Steve is gay, he's been out and about in town since the early 1990s at least, and Steve even once told me years ago, when he was working for Ehrlich on the Hill, that Ehrlich knew he was gay.

So the question is begged: Why does Ehrlich have an open gay chief of staff if Ehrlich claims to support the family values agenda? If gays threaten that agenda then how can he have a gay as chief of staff?

Both Ehrlich and Kreseski have some answering to do. Let's ask them to explain, more here and here.

Office of the Governor
Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr.
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1925

410.974.3901 (p)
410.974.3275(f)
Toll Free 1.800.811.8336
email: governor@gov.state.md.us
Web mail form: http://www.gov.state.md.us/mail/

Chief of Staff Steve Kreseski: (410) 974-3591 Read More......

Weyrich: No Compromise you little puppet,Bill Frist

These two paragraphs in today's NY Times pretty much explain the entire nuclear option debate:

On Friday, reports spread among social conservative groups that have pushed hardest for the rule change that Republican aides were preparing them for a possible deal, officials of three groups said.

"I immediately contacted Frist's office," said Paul Weyrich, founder of the Free Congress Foundation, who said he heard the reports from others. "They said flat-out it is just not true, period." Mr. Weyrich added, "I don't know if they have got the votes or not, but they are not involved in any compromise."

They had nothing to worry about. Bill Frist is doing their bidding....the nuclear option debate is all about the giving more and more power to the right wing nuts (which, of course includes the Bush White House.) Read More......

Open Thread

It's the weekend.... Read More......

Dean won't back down on DeLay comment and why should he?

The Democratic Party is a mess because of the spines of goo who wither every time there was an attack by the GOP so hell no, Dean has no reason at all to back down. The more people learn about DeLay, the more they see just how tainted he is. Go ahead and keep makingg a fuss about Dean so the entire country can have a closer look at just how sleazy DeLay is and let the country decide who is correct on this one.

The list for GOP attacks is never ending and no matter how outrageous their remark they just keep coming. The Democrats, heaven forbid, say anything and the wingnuts go on the warpath and demand that the person steps down and is silenced. I think we have too many people in the DNC who just have no idea how to stand up to the GOP bullies but they better move aside or else the Dem's will never gain control of anything ever again. I like Barney Frank, but he's wrong on his criticism of Dean. Circle the wagons and let's talk some more about DeLay. Read More......

"Let's Go USA!" - Made in China

Oh the irony. Read More......