November 10, 2011 · 5:26 pm

Bank Of America Charges Debit Fees for Unemployment Benefits Debit Cards

This is just disgusting….

I can’t say this often enough:  If States, Federal and Local Governments are going to contract with these banks to manage Government Benefits, these contracts should specify that these banks cannot charge these poor people fees to use the benefits.

This is robbery of the poor and most vulnerable by the rich, politically powerful, government bailed-out banks who assume these people don’t have the power to fight back.

B of A already gets a percentage of each charge from the merchant.  That’s fine as that’s how the credit/debit card system is meant to work.  The cost is- or should be- built into consumer  pricing….

These additional fees are at the very least immoral and should be illegal.

I’ll say it again:  Bank of America is just plain evil….

From the Huffington Post:

Bank of America recently aborted plans to charge ordinary banking customers $5 a month to use their debit cards in the face of national outrage. But the bank has quietly continued to mine another source of fees: jobless people who depend upon the bank’s prepaid debit cards to tap their benefits. Bank of America and other financial firms — including U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase — have secured contracts to provide access to public benefits in 41 states. These contracts typically allow banks to collect unlimited fees from merchants and consumers.

In short, the same banks whose speculation delivered a financial crisis that has destroyed millions of jobs have figured out how to turn widespread unemployment into a profit center: The larger the number of people who are out of work and dependent upon the state for sustenance, the greater the potential gains through administering their benefits.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, a Columbia nonprofit that represents low-income people facing foreclosure, food insecurity and other problems. “It should not cost you any more to use a debit card than if they had issued you a check.”

For the state, handing Bank of America responsibility for unemployment benefits secured cost savings, said Berkowitz, but they have come at vulnerable people’s expense.

via For Bank Of America, Debit Fees Extend To Unemployment Benefits.

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November 10, 2011 · 12:57 pm

How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the OWS Protests

Brilliant article in “Rolling Stone” by Matt Taibbi.  Finally, someone truly both gets and can articulate the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Here is a very brief excerpt and a link to the full article.  I strongly encourage you to click the link and read the entire article.

It’s not very long, so don’t be afraid….

 

…Occupy Wall Street was always about something much bigger than a movement against big banks and modern finance. It’s about providing a forum for people to show how tired they are not just of Wall Street, but everything. This is a visceral, impassioned, deep-seated rejection of the entire direction of our society, a refusal to take even one more step forward into the shallow commercial abyss of phoniness, short-term calculation, withered idealism and intellectual bankruptcy that American mass society has become. If there is such a thing as going on strike from one’s own culture, this is it. And by being so broad in scope and so elemental in its motivation, it’s flown over the heads of many on both the right and the left.

via How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the OWS Protests | Politics News | Rolling Stone.

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November 9, 2011 · 8:01 pm

From New Jersey- John Gorka: The Anti-Snooki

I’ll gladly admit I’ve never actually seen “The Jersey Shore.”

I’ve seen snippets and read enough to know it exceeds my limits for blatant sorriness…..

Poor New Jersey already had enough bad PR.

This show single-handedly wiped out all the positive image gains from Bruce Springsteen.

However, in New Jersey’s defense, I wanted to post this…I like this singer, John Gorka, a lot and have a couple of his CD’s.

(Yes, I still buy CD’s.  I need  a “hard copy” of my digital music.)

Anyway, I know too many great people from New Jersey to let Snooki and Company completely ruin the state’s image.  I’m going to post this as my feeble attempt to help New Jersey’s image recover from “The Jersey Shore.”

This is John Gorka singing his song “I’m From New Jersey.”

I also recommend you check out more of John Gorka’s music….

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November 9, 2011 · 5:05 pm

National Review: Cain Is More “Authentically Black” Than Obama

I knew it was only a matter of time before the GOP started this…

They are so proud to have a Black Republican they just don’t know what to do….

All I can think of is Bernice on “Designing Women” when here dementia acts up and she starts singing “Black Man, Black Man”…..

From a great Mother Jones article critiquing this idiotic article in the National Review:

The comparison between Cain and Obama isn’t so much “volatile” as it is flattering to conservatives who, having latched onto Cain as a racial alibi, an explanation for the fact that the party of Lincoln hasn’t broken 20 percent of the black vote since Richard Nixon, desperately need a symbolic figure of racial absolution. The only time conservatives aren’t using trite arguments about black authenticity as an explanation for ongoing racial disparities is when they’re relying on them to show everyone how well they understand the soul of the Negro. Hanson doesn’t bother to explain how it is that the overwhelming majority of black people haven’t discerned that Barack Obama is a fraud and that Herman Cain is the second coming of Marcus Garvey, but that’s because their “brainwashed” opinions don’t actually matter. The sole purpose of establishing Cain’s racial authenticity, premised as it is on Hanson’s rather limited view of what constitutes “the black experience,” is for Hanson to flatter himself and his ideological allies as racially enlightened.

Link to full Story:   National Review: Cain Is More “Authentically Black” Than Obama | Mother Jones.

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November 9, 2011 · 7:19 am

Chris Birch, Former Rugby Jock, Claims Stroke ‘Turned Him Gay’

Now I’ve definitely heard it all….

At least, it’s more evidence- as if it’s needed-  that being gay is not a choice, but an inherent part of who someone naturally is…..

Still….

From The Huffington Post:

The “nature vs. nurture” debate over sexual orientation continues at full force, but now, one former rugby-playing Welsh jock claims to have actually “woken up gay” after a gym accident led him to suffer a stroke.

As the Daily Mail is reporting, 26-year-old Chris Birch was trying to impress his friends with a back flip while training, but broke his neck and suffered a stroke. When he came to after being rushed to the hospital, Birch, who hails from South Wales, said his personality had completely changed. “It sounds strange but when I came round I immediately felt different,” said Birch.

Birch tells the Mirror that his most profound discovery came about during the recovery process, while he was watching a TV program featuring a handsome actor. “I felt my stomach flutter and the same feelings I used to have for pretty girls came across me,” said Birch, who also added he was no longer interested in sports and had little in common with old friends. “I had never felt like that about a man before but I knew immediately what the feeling was. I fancied him.”

Birch says he immediately started losing weight and dramatically altering his looks. Though he returned to his old job in a bank, he soon left his position and, much to the surprise of his friends and family, re-trained as a hairdresser and found work in a salon. Birch now lives with his partner Jack Powell, 19, above the salon, according to the Daily Mail.

Though he’s never heard of a stroke changing someone’s sexuality, Joe Korner, director of communications for The Stroke Association in the U.K. believes the stroke could potentially have a massive impact on a victim’s life. “Strokes are traumatic, life-changing experiences, which can make you reassess life and your feelings so perhaps that’s the reason behind it,” Korner tells CBS News. “Whether or not the stroke turned Chris gay, or whether he was gay anyway but unaware of it, his experience seems to be a positive one, which is great.”

via Chris Birch, Former Rugby Jock, Claims Stroke ‘Turned Him Gay’.

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November 6, 2011 · 5:40 pm

Greensboro Voter Guide for the November General Election (Revised)

For my friends and neighbors in Greensboro, NC, here is the Replacements PAC Voter’s Guide.

I strongly recommend this as a guide if you are looking not just for LGBT Friendly Candidates, but for Progressive Candidates in General.

Here are the recommended Candidates.  While all the Candidates below are good and recommended, there are two, in particular, I strongly support:  Robbie Perkins for Mayor and Nancy Hoffman in District 4.    They really need to replace the respective opponents and  both would be great additions to our local government and for moving Greensboro forward.

I also strongly support former Mayer Yvonne Johnson and Wayne Abraham for two of the three At-Large seats.  For the third, I lean toward Marikay Abuzuaiter instead of  Nancy Barakat Vaughn.  I think either would be very good.

My concern is that Ms Vaughn and Mayor Johnson will probably be the top vote getters.  I hope Mr. Abraham and Ms. Abuzaiter don’t split the vote and allow one of the conservative candidates to take the third slot.  I wish Ms Vaughn had stuck with her earlier decision not to run.  Believe me, any three of these four candidates would be better than what we have with current at-large Councilman Danny Thompson…

My gut tells me, best case scenario, former Mayor Johnson, Ms Vaughn and Ms. Abuzaiter will take the 3 At Large seats.  I’m afraid Mr Abraham, who I do support, will have to try again another year.  I could be wrong….

So much depends on turnout.  The current Conservative Council and Mayor are in place because the Tea Party turned out in the last election, while the Progressives stayed home.  I truly hope that does not happen again….

In any event, please, remember to vote on Tuesday, November 8th!  Too often bad candidates win simply because more Progressive voters stay home……

2011 LGBT General Election 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 (D) Donnell (DJ) Hardy

Greensboro City Council Dist 2 (D) Jim Kee

Greensboro City Council Dist 3 (R) Zach Matheny

Greensboro City Council Dist 4 (D) Nancy Hoffmann

Greensboro City Council Dist 5 No Endorsement

Jamestown Town Council (R) Brock Thomas

Jamestown Town Council (U) Tommy Walls

Following are other Greensboro candidates who returned surveys and are supportive of LGBT issues in varying degrees.

Marikay Abuzuaiter City Council At-Large (D) Very Supportive

Chris Lawyer City Council At-Large (R) Very Supportive

T. Dianne Bellamy Small City Council Dist 1 (D) Somewhat Supportive

Jay Ovitorre City Council Dist 3 (D) Very Supportive

Alamance County

Ossippee Town Council (U) Billy Carter

Swepsonville Town Council (D) Virginia Miller

Graham Mayor (D) Thomas Bruton

Graham City Council (U) Lee Kimrey

Graham City Council (D) Jeanette Beaudry

Randolph County

Franklinville Town Council (D) Lowell Whatley

Rockingham County

Madison Alderman (R) J. Lee Mills

Mayodan Town Council (R) Gloria Powers

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November 5, 2011 · 2:59 pm

Jewish Bagel Shop Rescued By Muslim Cab Drivers

I love stories like this, even if the Mainstream Press rarely seems to cover them…

The press and the Right Wing Fundamentalists much prefer stories where people of different religions are at war and don’t cooperate to those about the times people of different beliefs do work together.

And the “religious leaders” then wonder why so many people now only have a negative image of any religion….

From The Huffington Post:

A 91-year-old New York Jewish bagel shop about to go under was saved by two former Muslim cab drivers who vowed to keep it kosher.

Coney Island Bialys and Bagels was set to close its doors in September, with longtime owner Steve Ross citing a bad economy as the culprit, the Jewish Daily Forward first reported.

But Peerzada Shah and Zafaryab Ali couldn’t let that happen, so the two former New York cab drivers and one-time roommates bought the store together.

Ali had worked at the shop for about 10 years and didn’t want to see the iconic neighborhood store shut down. Shah went to culinary school in Manhattan and was knowledgeable about ovens and baking equipment, the Jewish Daily explains. Both men immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan.

Ross’ grandfather, Morris Rosenzweig immigrated from Poland and opened the shop in 1920.

Some might wonder whether the “geopolitics that divide Muslims and Jews” pose a problem, but all three men say it doesn’t factor in anywhere.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ali told the New York Daily News. “I make the food for everyone.”

A longtime customer also told WPIX he didn’t have any issues with the religion of the two men.

The new business partners are renovating certain parts of the shop, but plan to use the same recipes, equipment and the kosher menu, MSNBC points out.

Joseph Jackson has worked at the shop for 30 years and decided to stay with the new owners.

“The two men are very, very good-natured, well-intentioned and just good people,” Jackson told MSNBC. “They want to keep the bakery kosher and I want to help them succeed.”

via Coney Island Bialys and Bagels, Jewish Bagel Shop, Rescued By Muslim Cab Drivers.

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November 4, 2011 · 11:28 pm

The Time Has Come: Ban Straight Marriage

Great article from David Mixner’s blog, Live from Hell’s Kitchen:

 

The LGBT community likes to believe it is a tolerant community that is open to a wide spectrum of alternative relationships. However, with the recent marriage of Kim Kardashian that lasted for only 72 days we might have reached our limit. After a ten million dollar wedding, entirely sponsored by commercial interests, we are treated to a scam of a divorce. If only this was an exception in the straight community but alas it is just the latest in scam marriages that have placed heavy burdens on the institution of marriage.

What kind of message does this send our children? What kind of role models does this provide our little ones? These high profile short term marriages are just the ones visible. Can you imagine how many straights have practiced this violation of their marriage vows across the country?

The time has come for a Constitutional Amendment to ban straight marriages .

The haphazard way that straights have approached marriage hurts LGBT marriages. The LGBT community has worked hard to win marriage equality. With these clowns staying with their spouse for less than six months seriously demeans our scared vows. The LGBT community has had its patience tested with these quick divorces and it is time we take action.

Look at the record of the celebrities who have scarred the institution of marriage. Gwaker reports that these marriages have lasted less than six months. It is shocking, I tell you, it is shocking!

More:   DavidMixner.com – Live From Hell’s Kitchen.

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November 4, 2011 · 8:35 pm

My Southern Gothic Life: Chapter 60: Look Away, Dixieland

There is a new post up on my other blog….

Here are the intro paragraphs and a link to the full post:

Let me set the stage for the next few entries….

My college was Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.  At the time I attended school there it was an all-male college.

And for those of you with dirty minds, let me get this out of the way right now.  I never had sex with any of my fellow students- or professors- during the entire time I was an undergraduate.

I realize, only I could be a Gay man at an all male school and manage not to have sex.  I’m special that way.  I’ve always been really good at missing opportunities for sex.

And homosexuality was still “the love that dare not speak its name” back in those days.

I’ve since found out there were quite a few of us around-concurrent with, before and after me– and most were more adventurous than I.  I’ve also discovered it seems about 90% of the Gay Alumni seem to have been members of my old fraternity- at various times.  We’ve compared notes….

In any event….

How did I end up at Washington and Lee University?  I’ve asked myself that a hundred times and tried to remember…

More:   Chapter 60: Look Away, Dixieland | My Southern Gothic Life.

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November 4, 2011 · 6:47 pm

Occupy Wall Street More Popular Than Justin Bieber On Twitter

Well, there is some comfort here….

Occupy Wall Street is a serious, grass-roots uprising of normal citizens try to force society into recognizing and dealing with income inequality and the Corporate ownership of our government.

I guess that’s a little more important than some no-talent, plastic pre-pubescent “entertainer” who is a manufactured product of the very mass-produced culture generated by these corporations, strictly  to make money from gullible Americans, and forced down their throats via distribution, broadcast and media empires owned by said Corporations…

Besides, I’m still not convinced Justin Bieber isn’t really a 24 year-old Lesbian being marketed by the Corporations as a  teenage boy.

Call me cynical, but remember Milli Vanilli…

From Huffington Post:

The Occupy Wall Street movement topped Justin Bieber as the most popular story on Twitter, according to the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Despite the teen heart-throb’s over 14 million Twitter followers, Occupy Wall Street was the top story on Twitter between October 24 and 28, followed by Bieber, who has made the New Media Index charts three times in the last five weeks. Steve Job’s death, the news of which broke October 6, came in third and the 2012 presidential elections ranked fourth.

The Occupy Wall Street movement was the third most popular news story on blogs (Bieber didn’t make the cut!) and the New Media Index notes that the protests “inspired very different conversations on blogs and Twitter.”

“On Twitter, the tone was markedly pro-protestor, with Twitter users sharing images and videos of police using tear gasduring protests in Oakland,” wrote the New Media Index in its report.

Recent analysis by Google found that search interest in Occupy Wall Street had waned slightly from its peak on October 15.

An NMIncite study released October 19 concluded that social media “buzz” about Occupy Wall Street “reached its peak on October 6th with 13,133 messages being posted in one day,” though the New Media Index’s findings suggest conversations about the movement are up again on Twitter.

Bieber enjoys such high popularity on Twitter that employees at the social media company have joked that the star has his own servers.

“At any moment, Justin Bieber uses 3% of our infrastructure. Racks of servers are dedicated to him. – A guy who works at Twitter,” tweeted Dustin Curtis last year.

via Justin Bieber Less Popular Than Occupy Wall Street On Twitter.

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