September 14, 2011 · 11:15 pm

Libertarian Legacy? Ron Paul’s Campaign Manager, 49, Dies Uninsured Leaving Family $400,000 Debt

You have to wonder if these Ivory Tower Libertarians and Conservatives ever really contemplate the real-world implications of their policies….

Sadly, this poor guy found out the hard way:

The Wall Street journal reports that Kent, more than anyone else, persuaded Ron Paul to run for president. And Kent, according to the WSJ, developed what “ultimately became a $35 million operation with 250 employees that helped deliver more than one million votes for the Texas congressman’s bid in the Republican nominating contest.”-

Ron Paul posted this message about Snyder on his website: “”Like so many in our movement, Kent sacrificed much for the cause of liberty, Kent poured every ounce of his being into our fight for freedom. He will always hold a place in my heart and in the hearts of my family.”

Sadly, the Libertarian heart apparently does not include health care. The poor guy raised tens of millions of dollars and couldn’t afford the $300-$600 a month that COBRA medical insurance would have cost.

Paul has some good ideas– get out of Iraq, get the US out of a lot of other countries. But his opposition to government, to universal health care– these ideas just don’t work– and his campaign manager’s death makes a tragic example of it.

via OpEdNews – Article: Libertarian Legacy? Ron Paul’s Campaign Manager, 49, Dies Uninsured, Of Pneumonia, Leaving family $400,000 Debt.

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September 13, 2011 · 10:51 pm

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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September 11, 2011 · 1:40 pm

A Southern Boy’s Reflections on New York on September 11th | My Southern Gothic Life

Here are my thoughts on September 11th from a while back…

Seems like a good day to revisit them again…

Here’s a brief excerpt fromt he beginning and a link to the full post:

I am blessed to be able to go to New York at least 3 or 4 times a year- for either business or pleasure.  I can say, with no shame, guilt or qualification that I love New York.  As I have said before, I’ve had my love affairs with London and Paris, but I always come home to New York as my favorite city.  It is the most alive place I have ever been.

I know people go to New York to escape where they are from or who they may have been before.  That’s part of the magic.  Nothing is as it really seems.  From Broadway to the Bronx, you create your own reality in New York.  But it is always alive and you can’t hide from life in New York.  At least not easily.

In other parts of the country, you can isolate yourself.  You can’t do that in New York.  You can only have so much delivered.  You have to go out.  And when you go out, life smacks you in the face.

via Chapter 20: A Southern Boy’s Reflections on New York on September 11th | My Southern Gothic Life.

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September 8, 2011 · 9:27 am

Rick Perry Campaign Refuses To Rule Out Ending Social Security

This proves:

a) Governor GoodHair is just as stupid as has been reported

b) He thinks the Dems are too stupid to play this position up in the General Election

c) He knows this is now the official GOP Platform plank and he’s too stupid to hide it like the rest of them

d) He spends so much time with Rich People and egghead Conservative theorists, he thinks this is a popular, winning position.

e) All of the Above

Make no mistake about it: Rick Perry is running against Social Security. Last night in the debate, Perry stood by his oft-repeated claims that the popular government retirement program is a Ponzi Scheme and a “failure.”

And after the debate, Team Perry refused to rule out ending the program all together under a Perry presidency.

From the Huffington Post’s Jon Ward:

A top Perry aide refused, under repeated questions from The Huffington Post, to rule out the idea that Perry would favor dissolving altogether the 76-year-old program that pays out benefits to seniors.

“I’m not going to parse his words,” Perry aide Ray Sullivan told Ward after the debate when asked “why he would not just say that Perry does not want to end the program.”

via Rick Perry Campaign Refuses To Rule Out Ending Social Security | Election 2012.

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September 8, 2011 · 9:17 am

FALLING OUT OF THE MIDDLE CLASS: A Statistical Look At The People Who Have Lost The Most

It’s becoming an accepted probability, for the first time in our history that, in financial terms, children will probably not do as well as their parents.

Thanks to Republican policy since Reagan-with notable assists from the Dems on many occasions, thanks to the decline of Unions, thanks to the loss of well paying manufacturing jobs, thanks to declining educational standards, thanks to our contaminated food supply, thanks to the redistribution of wealth to the top 1%, thanks to a lot of poor decisions by a lot of people….

 

This puts some numbers around who is most likely, demographically speaking, to have been pushed out of the Middle Class– so far.

From YahooNews.com.  Hat Tip to my friend Kirk for sending me the article:

 

The American Dream of upward social mobility has stalled for some people, according to a big new study from Pew.

The study checked in on a bunch of middle class teenagers from 1979 to see how they were doing 25 years later. Notably this survey was performed before the Great Recession, so most of these numbers would be worse today.

Pew found that 28% of the sample group had fallen out of the middle class. This number was significantly higher for certain demographic groups including divorced women and black men.

Divorced women are 35.8% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class.

Divorced men are 13% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class.

Unmarried women are 17.6% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class.

Unmarried men are 10% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class.

Black men are 17% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class (vs white men).

Black women are 5% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class (vs white women)

Women without a college degree are 16.3% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class.

Men without a college degree are 7.5% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class.

Hispanic men are 8% more likely to have fallen out of the middle class (vs white men).

Hispanic women are actually 2% less likely to have fallen out of the middle class (vs white women).

via FALLING OUT OF THE MIDDLE CLASS: A Statistical Look At The People Who Have Lost The Most | Daily Ticker – Yahoo! Finance.

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September 5, 2011 · 7:03 pm

Happy Birthday, Freddie Mercury

Queen’s Freddie Mercury would have been 65 years old today.

I was never a fanatic fan of Queen or of Freddie Mercury, but I did appreciate their music and thought he was one hell of an entertainer with one hell of a voice.

Unfortunately, he died of AIDS in 1991 and we lost that great entertainer.  One can only imagine what he would be doing today.

Here’s Queen’s Official Birthday Video Tribute:

And Freddie live in performance with Queen on “Bohemian Rhapsody”

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September 5, 2011 · 11:11 am

Cheney’s Book Features Foreword by Satan

Great satirical article from Andy Borowitz at  “The Borowitz Report”.

At least I think it’s satire.  It could well be true…

Hat tip to my friend, Vanita, for making me aware of  this….

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) – Publishing circles were abuzz today with the news that the new memoir by former Vice President Dick Cheney features a foreword by an unusual contributor: Satan.

In his introduction, the Prince of Darkness said he rarely reads political memoirs but made an exception in the case of Mr. Cheney “because we had worked so closely together in the past.”

When he began to read the Cheney manuscript, however, the Lord of Misrule said he was “surprised” by what he found.

“Quite honestly, I couldn’t put it down,” Satan wrote.  “It was almost like a book I would have written myself.”

In what could be construed as minor criticism of the book, Satan admitted he was “miffed” that Mr. Cheney took total credit for the idea of invading Iraq, but added, “We were such close collaborators at the time, it may be hard for Dick to remember whose idea was whose – half the time we were finishing each other’s sentences.”

While Satan said he is unlikely to make a habit of writing introductions to books, he said that he could foresee making another exception in the future: “I’ve heard Rupert Murdoch is working on his memoir.”

Elsewhere, after Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) said God created last week’s earthquake and hurricane to punish America, God issued this rebuttal: “Actually, that’s why I created Michele Bachmann.”

via Cheney’s Book Features Foreword by Satan « Borowitz Report.

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September 5, 2011 · 6:27 am

Happy Labor Day

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September 4, 2011 · 10:57 pm

Broadway and ‘Glee’s’ Cheyenne Jackson Weds Longtime Partner

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.

 

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September 4, 2011 · 10:02 pm

Don’t Mess with Erica Kane!

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.

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