The more I see of Elizabeth Warren, the more I love her….
She is one smart – brilliant- woman and I hope to God she gets elected to the Massachusetts Senate seat so she has a platform to run for President in 2016.
I also love that she talks about the Social Contract. I was thinking I was the only one left who believed there was such a thing….
We desperately need more politicians like Elizabeth Warren…
Filed under Congress, Elections, Politics, The Economy, Uncategorized
My friend Kirk strikes again….
He sent this to me earlier today and I wanted to share it- especially after we discussed this on Facebook recently…
I never would have thought of this….
From Yahoo! News:
If the phone number 867-5309 sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Tommy Tutone’s 1982 hit single “8675309/Jenny” emblazoned the iconic phone number in our minds (and in our ears, thanks to its catchy chorus), and as it turns out, the number can save you some money.
Increasingly, large retailers are offering loyalty programs that are tied into your phone number: just key it in and get a discount on certain items. But if you don’t want to sign up for a new card or loyalty program and don’t want to give up your real number, just give the cashier Jenny’s number: Your local area code + 867-5309.
Why Does it work?
Many people are hesitant to give their real phone number to marketers when they sign up for an account, so they use a fake number. What fake phone number comes to mind first? You got it: good-old Jenny! Since the 80s Billboard chart topper had such a contagious hook, odds are someone else has already used it to sign up for an account — and that means you can borrow their discount.
As mentioned in the video, Becky tested this trick from New York to Hawaii, and it worked like a charm every time. Of course, we wouldn’t recommend redeeming someone else’s hard-earned membership points or freebies, but using 867-5309 for a “member’s only” break on your receipt will save you time — and money, of course.
Beyond Discounts: Serious reasons to protect your phone number
Giving your phone number out freely can be annoying down the road, but it can also be dangerous. All personal information is vulnerable to potential hackers and identity thieves — even those innocuous 10 digits we so readily hand out to friends and family.
According to security researchers and “white hat hackers” Nick DePetrillo and Don Bailey, that simple, harmless seeming string of digits can unlock a world of your personal data. With your 10 digits in tow, a hacker could use software to ferret out your full name and even track your location via GPS over a mobile network — more than enough information for a deft identity thief to wreak havoc on your accounts.
via Upgrade Your Life: Save big with Jenny’s number | Upgrade Your Life – Yahoo! News.
Filed under Uncategorized
How can people be so blind- and so cruel?
I guess it’s easy to be hard….
Ron Paul told TPM on Wednesday that even if there’s a “case or two” that makes Americans uncomfortable, the government should stay out of the health care business. Even if one of the cases in question is his former campaign manager, Kent Snyder, who died with $400,000 in unpaid medical bills after being unable to secure health insurance due to a pre-existing condition.
via Ron Paul Says Aide Who Died With $400k Medical Bill Didn’t Need Government Help | Election 2012.
Filed under Elections, Health Care, Medicare, Politics, Uncategorized
NOTE: Please see the updated guide for today’s General Election here:
https://lostinthe21stcentury.com/2011/11/06/greensboro-voter-guide-for-general-election/
I want to share this with my fellow Progressives in Greensboro, NC, Jamestown and Guilford County….
Below is the list of endorsements from Replacements Pac for the October Primary elections.
These candidates are not just supportive of GLBT rights, but are good Progressive choices for City Council and Mayor.
I encourage you to consider supporting these candidates on the Primary Election on October 11th and during early voting starting September 22nd.
PLEASE VOTE!!!! It does matter. A lot…..
Unless you are a Republican, then I would suggest just spending the day at the Spa…..
The Candidates in Bold Red Print are the ones I know I will be personally voting for in my District or At-Large. You may vote for 3 At-Large City Council candidates and I have wish we had the chance to vote for 4 as I really like Marikay Abuzuaiter, too…
Please do NOT vote for Bill Knight for Mayor or Mary Rakestraw in District 4
Early Voting
September 22 – October 8
Primary Election: Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
2011 LGBT Primary Voter Guide
Guilford County
Greensboro Mayor
(R) Robbie Perkins
Greensboro City Council At-Large
(U) Nancy Barakat Vaughan
Greensboro City Council At-Large
(D) Yvonne J. Johnson
Greensboro City Council At-Large
(D) Wayne Abraham
Greensboro City Council Dist 1
No Primary
Greensboro City Council Dist 2
(D) Jim Kee
Greensboro City Council Dist 3
No Primary
Greensboro City Council Dist 4
(D) Nancy Hoffmann
Greensboro City Council Dist 5
No Endorsement
Jamestown
Jamestown Town Council
(D) Frank Gray
Jamestown Town Council
(R) Brock Thomas
Jamestown Town Council
(U) Robert Wenzel
Jamestown Town Council
(D) Tommy Walls
Our data about candidates is obtained through survey responses, conversations with candidates and a candidate’s public record. Following are primary candidates who returned surveys and are supportive of LGBT issues in varying degrees.
Greensboro
Bradford Cone
(D) Very Supportive
Tom Phillips
(R) Very Supportive
Marikay Abuzuaiter
(D) Very Supportive
Clarence Easter
(D) Very Supportive
Cyndy Hayworth
(D) Somewhat Supportive
Hayden Jesserer
(D) Very Supportive
Chris Lawyer
(R) Very Supportive
Sal Leone
(D) Very Supportive
Christopher McLaughlin
(D) Very Supportive
Dan Fisher
(U) Very Supportive
David Crawford
(D) Very Supportive
Jamestown
(R) John Regis Fete
(R) Somewhat Supportive
via Replacements Ltd PAC.
Filed under Elections, Greensboro, North Carolina, Politics, Uncategorized
Interesting article from Alternet…
I’ve always said the Republicans look backwards with fear while the Democrats look forward with hope.
Should Perry be the GOP nominee, it would definitely set up an interesting group of dynamics. Rich vs the Poor and Middle Class. Past vs Future. Corporate Power vs The People. Ignorance vs Science and Knowledge. And yes, many, many more….including North vs South.
It would be one nasty, scary battle as Perry fights in the gutter. I just hope he’s done himself in with his comments about ending Social Security, Secession, and many, many more totally stupid comments….
However, America elected George W Bush, at least once, so I never under-estimate the power of ignorance and venality to triumph in this country….
Should Perry win the GOP presidential nomination, an obvious subtext of the presidential contest will be “Confederacy v. Union — The Rematch.” And, at the visual level, the theme will be conveniently reinforced by each man’s respective race.
Earlier this week, Perry delivered a speech from the stage of the 10,000-seat amphitheater at Liberty University, the evangelical institution founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, one of the early leaders of the religious right and an opponent of school desegregation. “When God has drawn a line of distinction, we should not attempt to cross that line,” Falwell told his flock in 1958, according to a report by Sarah Posner for AlterNet.
In introducing Perry to the Liberty U audience this week, Falwell’s son, Jerry Jr., lauded the Texas governor “for having the guts to say things that weren’t exactly politically correct, like when Gov. Perry said Texas might secede one day from the union.”
Indeed, Perry made such intimations more than once during the rancorous debate over the president’s health-care reform legislation. At the time, Tea Party leaders were vociferously talking up the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, which reserves to the states all powers not enumerated within the document, as the means for challenging the health-care bill’s mandate for individual purchase of health insurance. The impetus for all the 10th Amendment love comes from states’ rights advocates, often known as Tenthers, many of whom view the Civil War as the result of unlawful usurpation of power from the states by the federal government.
via Would a Perry v. Obama Contest Be a Confederacy v. Union Rematch? | | AlterNet.
Filed under Elections, Uncategorized
Cheyenne Jackson is one of my favorite Broadway performers. He is not only immensely talented and gorgeous, he also does a lot of good work for AIDS and Gay causes.
I’ll always remember when Steve and I saw him and his partner walking up 8th Avenue with their dog just after we saw him in “Finian’s Rainbow”. They looked so nice and normal.
Congratulations to Cheyenne and Monte!
From The Hollywood Reporter:
The thespian, who stars as the coach of rival singing group Vocal Adrenaline on “Glee” and is a frequent guest star on “30 Rock,” married his longtime boyfriend over the weekend.
Cheyenne Jackson married his longtime partner physicist Monte Lapka, in the Hamptons on Saturday.
“It’s official, after 11 years together, Zora’s no longer a bastard,” Jackson tweeted, referring to the couple’s dog. “Married the best man I’ve ever known.”
The actor-singer is perhaps best known for his role on Fox’s Glee, as the coach of rival singing group Vocal Adrenaline, and his frequent guest stints on NBC’s 30 Rock
via ‘Glee’s’ Cheyenne Jackson: 5 Things to Know – The Hollywood Reporter.
Filed under Broadway, Entertainment, Gay, Uncategorized
Not too bright behavior from a certain ABC Executive…..
Doesn’t he know Erica has outlasted more husbands, careers – and ABC Executives- than we can count?
With only three weeks of ‘All My Children’ left to go in the soap opera’s legendary 41-year run, the show’s stars are finally starting to speak out. Susan Lucci blasts ABC daytime exec Brian Frons in an epilogue to the upcoming paperback edition of her book, ‘All My Life,’ saying “I watched Brian Frons’ decisions destroy the production of our show and the lives of people on both sides of the country.”
According to the New York Post, which obtained text from the epilogue, Lucci’s criticisms weren’t limited to Frons’ business decisions — she also says that Frons appeared “self-congratulatory” when he informed the ‘AMC’ cast of the decision to cancel the long-running soap, and that he “has what, for me, is that fatal combination of ignorance and arrogance. I cannot fathom any network executive choosing to alienate millions of loyal viewers in these economic times.”
Don’t think that this is the first time Frons will hear of Lucci’s discontent. The star says she personally told him, “I think our being in this position is the result of some very bad decisions by you,” including the hiring of Chuck Pratt as head writer in 2008, moving the show to Los Angeles from new York, and getting rid of creator Agnes Nixon.
Speaking of Nixon, the ‘AMC’ creator promises that there will not be any lack of drama in the series’ broadcast finale, especially since she’ll continue with the show as a consultant when it moves online. She told the Chicago Tribune, “We’re going to have a hiatus, you know, for three months. And the head of Prospect Park [the production company taking over the shows] said, ‘We’ve got to have a big cliffhanger for that three months.’ And so I came up with one which I can’t tell you. But they loved it.”
via ‘All My Children’ Drama: Susan Lucci Blasts ABC Exec for Cancellation.
Filed under Entertainment, Television, Uncategorized
This is just incredibly sad. And wouldn’t have happened in Canada, the UK, France or most other civilized countries.
This type of tragedy will just continue to play out until people get past their fear of “socialized medicine” and develop a healthy fear of how the insurance companies prevent people from being covered or getting the care they need.
Tell me again how everything is better in the U.S.A and I’ll tell you again to stop drinking the Kool Aid. The insurance companies played the public like a cheap violin during the health care debate to prevent a public option.
Now we still have inequality and tragedy for the growing number of people without health insurance…
Oh, and don’t forget the GOP still wants to get rid of Medicare and Medicaid for the elderly and the very poor who do have some government coverage.
Kyle Willis, a 24-year-old man from Ohio, died on Wednesday from a tooth infection, Cincinati’s WLWT reported.
According to the station, Willis’ wisdom tooth began hurting two weeks ago, and dentists said it needed to be removed.
Willis, however, was a single father without health insurance, and couldn’t afford the procedure.
After developing severe headaches and facial swelling, he went to the emergency room.
Although doctors recommended antibiotics and pain medication, Willis could only afford one.
Patti Collins, Willis’s aunt, told WLWT what happened next.
“‘The (doctors) gave him antibiotic and pain medication. But he couldn’t afford to pay for the antibiotic, so he chose the pain meds, which was not what he needed,’ Collins said. Doctors told Willis’ family that while the pain had stopped, the infection kept spreading — eventually attacking his brain and causing it to swell.”
Willis leaves behind a 6-year-old daughter, and family members are hoping to create a fund for her future college education.
Dr. Irvin Silverstein, a dentist at the University of California told ABC news that Willis’ story isn’t uncommon.
“People don’t realize that dental disease can cause serious illness.The problems are not just cosmetic. Many people die from dental disease. When people are unemployed or don’t have insurance, where do they go? What do they do? Silverstein said. People end up dying, and these are the most treatable, preventable diseases in the world.”
Four years ago, 12-year-old Demonte Drived died after his mother, Alyce, couldn’t find a dentist who took Medicaid and bacteria from a tooth abscess spread to his brain.
A Kaiser Family Foundation report found that between 2007 and 2008, the number of uninsured adults rose by 1.5 million.
via Kyle Willis, Cincinnati Man, Dies From Toothache, Couldn’t Afford Meds (VIDEO).
Filed under Health Care, Politics, Uncategorized
Lost in the 21st Century 
The Ghost of Jesse Helms
The Ghost of Jesse Helms visited the North Carolina legislature this week. I guess we were moving too far along the Progressive path and he feared his legacy was about to be forgotten, so he had to come back for a visit.
Jesse Helms- or at least his memory and his followers- are still alive and well and living in North Carolina. I forget that sometimes….
I remember when I moved here from Virginia years ago. I didn’t change the tags on my car for as long as possible as I couldn’t stand the thought of North Carolina tags on my car and people seeing them and linking me to Jesse Helms. In those days, he was a universal symbol of all that was hateful, judgmental, mean and petty. Back then, Virginia seemed the more reasonable state.
In more recent years, the loonies have taken over again in Virginia and North Carolina seemed to be becoming a bastion of sanity. Or at least a Purple State. It seemed the old ways and the old days were about to be forgotten and a new era was coming. North Carolina voters supported a Black man in the last presidential election and elected a woman as governor. We have openly gay mayors and legislators. We seemed to have finally put the past behind us and been ready to lead the way into the 21st Century of tolerance and peaceful, non-judgmental coexistence.
I guess it was too much for old Jesse. We all knew he was spinning in his grave and secretly feared something would unleash his ghost.
And it did….
The Ghost of Jesse Helms visited the North Carolina Legislature this week where the remaining followers of Jesse are trying to roll back the clock and bring back legalized discrimination.
By pushing a ballot initiative to ban any sort of recognition for Gay Relationships- not just marriage, but Domestic Partnerships or Civil Unions- the legislature has taken a giant step backwards.
They are showing they are behind the times and fighting a battle that was lost long ago. But in a region that is still fighting the Civil War, how can we expect an easy surrender to Civil Marriage.
Let’s be clear: Marriage is a civil, legal contract. No matter how much the Religious Right carries on, Religion has nothing to do with it. Churches can choose who they marry, but legislators should not choose who to discriminate against. This amendment denies equal protection under the law.
Today, North Carolina moved past a decade of healing and pulled the scab off an old, hateful wound.
My hope is that the people of North Carolina prove that they have moved on, even if their “representatives” have not.
My hope is that they will vote down this mean-spirited attempt to legislate hate, divide people and deny basic legal protection to a class of people.
My hope is the people of North Carolina truly turn out to be the open-minded and open-hearted people I have come to know and love over the past 20 years.
I think they really might surprise those legislators in Raleigh and send Jesse’s ghost away for good.
I hope so….
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Filed under Gay, North Carolina, Scott's Commentary, Uncategorized
Tagged as Civil Marriage, Civil Rights, gay marriage, Gay Rights, Jesse Helms, Marriage, North Carolina