first lieutenant part two

Quite a moving moment. This is where Choi's and my paths begin to part, I suppose. Choi stands to be the face of a movement, while I try to write about it by relating it to my own experiences.

I have submitted my first resume. Not quite the same as handing my proverbial "you're fired" papers over to a U.S. Senator, but a journey of a thousand miles . .

Almost a winner

A Saturday night full of bingo, corned beef & cabbage and a little too much dessert & soda made for a wonderful diversion, even if I was just one number away from a large diamond BINGO.

I've been as attentive as usual to all the goings-on in the news this week. Rather than look at politics and other news in a glass half-empty, cynical and jaded point of view, I'm going to approach what I've read/seen by giving thanks.

I'm thankful Jared Polis is in Congress and that Constance McMillen is standing for what she knows is right.

I'm thankful Eric Massa spoke the truth instead of hiding and denying it. I've been on the receiving end of that sort of harassment at work and feel blessed it was not as severe and humiliating as it must have been for his staff member.

I'm thankful that Roy Ashburn also spoke his truth when his secret was found out. It could have turned out to be more cringe-worthy than it was and, while Massa's drama continues to play out, most people have nearly forgotten about Ashburn's incident because he dealt with it quickly and concisely.

I'm thankful for Hilary Clinton for tapping even a small hole into what seemed before a solid, flawless fort of support for Israel. I won't pretend to understand the complexities of the relationship between Israel and Palestinians, but to swear a blind allegiance to one side of any conflict without a full appreciation for why the other side does what it does will let one fall for anything their ally does. I don't expect her or anyone in U.S. politics to find a solution that works for all parties. That she flew in the face of convention tells me she's not nearly as predictable as others have been in the past.

Finally, as odd as it sounds, I'm thankful Keith Olbermann took the time to talk about his father's illness and the fact his family was able to talk about how his father wanted to be cared for when he was too ill to speak for himself. While his father is done fighting, I hope for others this starts a discussion that ends with a Living Will. I've had one for 15 years and it's something I have never worried about since.

We can choose to let the news weigh down and exasperate us or celebrate those in the news who help us to appreciate what we have and challenge us to do something outside of our comfort zone.

Rays of sunshine on the Boulevard today

When I stepped out of my cubicle and onto Hollywood Boulevard late this morning to take one of three brisk-paced walks I take each day to clear the cobwebs out of my head, I was greeted at the corner by a young woman (who is hidden behind the folks standing at the sidewalk's edge) with a bright orange flyer full of talking points.

The photo I snapped of the 10 or so young people from across the street doesn't give the best view of all of their homemade signs. You might make out the partial phrase on a bright blue poster board saying "HoNK 4" or the green letters on black background to the far right reading "Stop Ha . .".

These folks had chosen a popular intersection to try raising awareness and to get some horns a-honking in support of defeating legislation pending in Uganda to make homosexuality a crime with much more severe penalties. The bright orange flyer I received pointed out on the bottom that the punishment of death for engaging in homosexual behavior had since been modified "..because of immense international disapproval."

Sadly, the bright orange flyer had no website referenced and, thanks to my superior(?) storage skills, the flyer just could not be scanned so I could post it here. However, one of our local papers did post a brief "story" about today's mini-rally, so I could tell that the students who gathered this morning made quite a trek to get to Hollywood this morning.

As horns from cars, trucks and tour buses blasted off in support of the student gathering and I continued on my quick walk after snapping the photo above, I had to bite the inside of my lip a bit to stop from crying a bit. It gets way too easy to sink into cynicism over how apathetic we as a country seem to others in need outside of the U.S. There are certainly plenty of places and people here which could use our attention, but it is far too easy to think that just one person cannot make any difference, so why bother?

I can tell you ten teenagers made a difference in my life. If only for today. Anyone's guess who else might have noticed this happening today as well.

Whoa-oh-whoa it's OK

It's Friday night and I'm in a mood to celebrate!

Congress has passed a significant piece of hate crimes legislation by extending the existing federal hate crimes laws to cover crimes committed against lesbians and gays. I feel just a little bit safer and a little more at peace that violence done because of "those f***ots" or "those dy**s" will hold increase penalties for offenders. I can even dare to hope for future conversations about the reasons people commit such crimes in the first place and try to put a stop to that crime before it begins.

On top of that, my partner and I are celebrating 21 years together tomorrow and we're celebrating the recent wedding of one of our relatives (if this blog were about them, I'd name them) !

While I'm in a celebratory mood, click play on the YouTube clip below featuring Christian singing duo Jason & DeMarco (and they are boyfriends in real life! Yikes! Yippee!!) a fairly recent hit song "It's OK"

Because maybe it really is

I love a good speech

As I type this, I'm watching C-SPAN's broadcast of the Equality Across America rally at the foot of the Capitol building in Washington D.C. I'm about an hour into the 3 hours being broadcasted live while I watch it off of a DVR. I can pause and reflect on each speech . . literally!

As is often the case with LGBT marches and rallies, there is a rainbow of participants on the stage, 18 years old to AARP eligible, every shade of skin color, all heights and widths and everything else that makes watching one of these events so joyous for me.

Before today's march and rally even began, Representative Frank has already weighed in on what the LGBT community really should be doing instead of marching and rallying and making speeches in D.C: lobby your congressional representatives to get pro-LGBT legislation passed the Congress and signed into law. While today's speakers are happy to use this "wet-blanket" proclamation as a springboard to justify the frustration and vehemence in their tone, when the last of the trash is policed from the Mall and everyone has been bussed and flown home later today, Representative Frank's words will find their place in the hearts and minds of even the most verbose participant.

Now is no time to stop pressuring our Representatives to get pro-LGBT legislation from being passed and signed into law.

While "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", the overturning of the "Defense of Marriage Act" and repealing a ban on persons with HIV/AIDS from entering the U.S. are most certainly issues our community can support, we also need to be mindful of pending legislation that also affect us directly but does not name us specifically. Here, I'm referring to the passage of meaningful health care and health insurance reforms and a peaceful end to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

If you're like me, and you're trying to decide which issue you should support with your money (not issues plural -- times are tight for everyone), before trying to take a large enough bite into these nationwide concerns, each of us can lend support in ways besides clicking in a credit card number.

Volunteer a few hours a month to knock on doors in support of a pro-civil rights candidate for a city, state or nationwide elected office.

When you hear a defamatory joke being told, or a person perceived to be gay/lesbian being taunted, teased or picked on, stand right next to them and look the bullies in the eye. No words are necessary -- your presence next to the victim will make a difference. This 18 year-old who took the podium today in D.C testified to this today.

Click on the banner that will stay atop my blog and find out what you may do to help support the Trevor Project. Anyone who is contemplating suicide because they do not believe they can live with pride about who they are must know this group existence. One more person dead because they think they are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and/or transgendered is too horrible a tragedy for me to contemplate.

If none of these opportunities resonates with you, there's a quote you can write down and keep with you as a promise you can make to yourself:

"Be the change you want to see in the world"

Beer diplomacy

Perhaps the alcoholic in me should examine my level of enthusiasm over an upcoming meeting at the White House.  I just think it's fantastic that three guys are meeting over a glass/pint/bottle/mug of brew at the White House.

Now, even someone like me knows full well nothing much more will get resolved over this meeting than apologies all around (some more heartfelt than others) and, perhaps, whether two men from Red Sox territory can talk a die-hard White Sox fan into who-knows-what.  I've been around enough men and enough beer to know that all bets may be off if enough beer is served.

Well, again, I'm well aware that, if all three of them are lucky, they'll only get a few sips in to wet their whistle so as to continue the conversation.  Even if the Sergeant is a tough-nut conservative, who wouldn't enjoy a conversation with the President of the United States AND a Harvard Professor?  Even yours truly could well have sat down with President George W Bush and, say, Professor Harvey Mansfield (though I would have switched us over to chamomile tea -- just so the conversation has a chance of remaining intelligent).

I have been pondering what else we might be able to resolve if we could get folks from two sides of a political argument to sit together and sip one down.  If it meant both sides getting into the same room and having a meaningful conversation, I'd even settle for early afternoon with glasses of chardonnay or milk & cookies late at night.

Hard to argue with a mouthful of dairy and sugar.

A chef, a Chase guy and a cheap pair of glasses

Those who have read a few of my posts over these last 7 1/2 months have, no doubt, noticed a "glass half-full" point of view when I offer an opinion.

With the daily astonishing, inspirational and largely peaceful rallies/protests in Tehran, the timid step forward with today's Executive Order regarding LGBT government employees and the recent push to reform health care toward lowering costs and increasing quality, there is certainly plenty to comment on in the world.

So these monumental events can stay in the spotlight, I'll keep the comments short:  I wished Americans were as passionate about their votes in the last few Presidential elections as Iranians appear to be on their recent Presidential election where it seems all but certain that votes were stolen/fudged/tainted.  Rachel Maddow aired a beautiful yet brief video from a recent rally -- it was quite the spiritual moment

On the Executive Order:  the LGBT community has gotten far more done when we have to push harder against the government to get the equal right to which we are entitled as citizens.  Maybe Obama is a smarter student of history than anyone knows ?

And, uh, health care reform without a public health plan option?  If it does not include some sort of availability to a public health care plan, how could it possibly be reform?  What sorts of incentives would private insurers have to decrease administrative costs and provide better quality coverage if there isn't an equally large public plan with which to challenge them?

Amongst all of the usual political silliness and the knee-jerk talking point debates on all issues involving the government, my big "ain't it cool" moment was waiting for me at one of the Metro stops this afternoon.  On any given day, one of three dudes I mentioned above is usually waiting to board the same train I am.  Each of these guys is very easy on the eyes in their own way and range in age from 25 to 45.  There are even some days when I do not see any of them -- I tend to get very focused on the political chat shows playing on my radio without the visual distractions.

Today, I saw all three at the same stop, each looking their best.  It seems that just when I've had too much insanity in my day, I sometimes find myself being able to enjoy the view all that much more.

The trail of whacky news leads to my backyard

Most days, nothing fires my creativity.  Somedays, I struggle to pare down the fascinating news down to three stories:

Yes, I know this story is now weeks old, but I saw it in full for the first time earlier today.  Did you know that there are a few states in the U.S. that are charging their prison's inmates a nightly rate for staying in the prison?  Apparently, some prisons have hiked the price of junk food in the snack bars, started charging for regular meals and/or lessened the portion of food served in each regular meal?  The Christian Science Monitor does a good job of sampling the various fund-raising efforts in states that are otherwise hurting for funding to support their state's prison population.

It does beg the question: What happens when an inmate has no source to tap for money to pay the nightly usage fee, buy food or otherwise pay for their keep?  Outside of prison, when one cannot pay the rent, the property manager can evict the tenant.  Might inmates strapped for cash have their parents, spouses, brothers and/or sisters tapped for cash to support the inmate in the prison?  If someone other than the inmate is directly funding the inmate's stay in prison, what new rights does the . . uh . . patron (?) have? 

If I had to pay for a relative's stay in prison, shouldn't I have the right to ship my inmate relative to a cheaper prison?  Would married inmates face a greater percentage of divorce to cut the tap off to the state for the inmate's stay?  What about the victim(s) of the inmate's crime? If they still want justice for their attacker/thief, perhaps they could chip in to cover the tab??

The endless meandering imagination of a liberal like me can take this argument to the Nth degree.  The depths of ridiculousness . . just no end.

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A pair of men from Britain have been languishing in Santa Ana City Jail since July 2008. (Santa Ana, CA -- in the middle of Orange County).  For what reason?  Have they been charged with something? They can't afford bail?  Is the City Jail pitching in to keep a tight hold on detainees in the War on Terror ??

I'll quote the author of this article from the L.A. Times, Dana Parsons:

The men, known as the "heretical two" to supporters, aren't in U.S. custody because of their world views. Nor have they committed any crime in America. Their lengthy detention is largely the product of the asylum-seeking process that Sheppard and Whittle brought on themselves when they entered the country. They and their original attorney acknowledge that motions they filed helped prolong the case.

They were 
convicted in Britain of "disseminating hate speech" on a website one of them ran.  The men figured they could receive political asylum in the U.S. as our country is well known for supporting free speech.

The L.A. Times does a good job of bringing the facts on this.  So, now for my righteous liberal indignation for the ugly words and thoughts these two decided to spew on line:

What a bunch of hooey!  That's right.  Hooey!!

It may turn my stomach to read/hear the absolutely nutty ravings of people who seek to blame everyone else but themselves for their own perceived misfortune.  That said, I would rather be free to read/hear those nutty ravings.  Short of their diatribes encouraging violence and vehement, in-their-face ugly words in the faces of those these "writers", I say let them at a keyboard.  All the better to see them with.  

The article writer seems quite doubtful their stint in Jail is due to end anytime soon.  11 months could well turn into several years, unfortunately.  Should the U.S. give these two political asylum?  Well, yeah!  There is some measure of difference between posting ones thoughts on-line and the horrors physically brought on others in recent years based on twisted beliefs.

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and, finally . . in my backyard, sort of:

One of the newest medical marijuana dispensaries in California will be opening in Whittier, CA!  Seems the city's Planning Commissioners saw fit to go counter to the City Council's vote in April 2009 where

 " . . the council by a 3-2 vote asked staff to draft an ordinance banning the medical marijuana dispensaries. Councilmen Owen Newcomer and Bob Henderson were the dissenting votes."

In what has traditionally been a conservative corner of Los Angeles County, the City Council couldn't even get unanimous consensus on this issue.  My guess is that this more a function of the state of the economy rather than a genuine concern for those who were prescribed marijuana for treatment of their ailments here in our fair city.

I'm going to go ahead and give some of the credit for this moderate shift in the city government's mindset on the grassroots group which started months ago (and who, sadly, I have not met with for a couple of months now.  I knew something had to give when I started a full-time job working away from home again).

Soon enough, when you need to smoke 'em, you'll soon be able to get 'em . . locally . . uh, as long as the Council votes to OK this next month.  Who knows?

The trail of whacky news could continue to wind about for some time to come.

So, how is California doing today?

A local church's list of weekly services has been, well, tweaked a bit.  The handwritten request was actually sitting inside the sign's glass, not slapped over the glass.

Today's announcement of two former rival attorneys joining together to file suit in federal court today in an attempt to overturn Proposition 8.  I knew that the thousands of marriages last year would leave a door cracked, but I had not planned on something further getting started today.

On a slightly more personal note, one of my coworkers felt comfortable enough to talk about how traffic was stopped in L.A along the 101 freeway early yesterday evening, which runs just to the east of downtown. 

A rally was planned last night, no matter how the court ruled.  The frustration over having traffic grind to a halt was understandable, but it lead to a brief discussion over what Proposition 8 really is.  The coworkers rather uneducated opinion about the situation did not sit well with the fairly liberal bunch I work with; however, the opinion was not entirely out of character and, where the coworker grew up, he likely faced much more basic life concerns than whether one has the right to marry or not.

Baby steps with all of this, I suppose, and I'm doing my best to do my part.

Today's court ruling

OK, so it's not a great big roaring thunder of traffic, but I kept having a moving picture much like this in my head since 10 am Pacific today.  SF Gate (the online version of the Chronicle) has all the details on California's Supreme court ruling from earlier today.

To be fair, most everything I was hearing/seeing/reading was preparing everyone for an upholding of Proposition 8.  The real "nail biter" here was whether all of the marriages of gay couples and lesbian couples between May 2008 and early November 2008 would continue to be valid or if they would be invalidated.

Those marriages, per the court ruling, are still valid.

Not being an attorney or legislator, the other picture in my head formed was that of two groups of employees at a company.  90% of them get the same 3 weeks of paid vacation time each year and the company closes its doors during those three weeks. The other 10% of employees only get one of those weeks paid.  

The reason?  Does it matter?  Why wouldn't everyone get 3 weeks paid vacation? Or, why not give everyone one week of paid vacation and two weeks unpaid?

Now, in the real world, it's rare a company closes its doors for three weeks.  Vacation pay in the U.S. is determined by the employer and, at least in my experience, is based on how many years you have worked for the company.  Those with the largest number of years of employment with the company get the largest amount of vacation pay.  Outside of the U.S.'s relative cheapness in giving employees paid time off, most workers are O.K. with "more seniority, more paid time off" as the rule.

So, who would ever agree to randomly select 10% of employees to only receive one week of vacation pay and no pay for the other two weeks while my fictional company closes its doors for its workers' mass vacation?

It seems the California Supreme Court had no problem agreeing to this while "grandfathering" a small group of the 10% who, through determination and hasty preparation and execution, found a way to get all three weeks vacation paid.

And, now I'm back to why I've had traffic in my head most of the day.  Those thousands of G & L couples whose marriages were not invalidated today have laid down a big street over which all sorts of attorneys and advocates will motor to give all consenting adult couples, gay, lesbian, straight, what-have-you, will eventually have the full right to marry and all enjoy the same benefits and same designation.

Ready to ride?  Start here.

Happy Long Beach Pride Weekend!

Before I dig in to some gay/gay adjacent tidbits, I've been watching, listening and reading what time permits on who ordered what and who was told what and when regarding torture at Abu Grahib, Guantanamo Bay, etc.

The cast of characters are much the same and . . . oh, surprise . . . our former VP Cheney seems to be the top dog in the whole sordid mess.  And, just so someone can point and whine like a sulking child "See? She knew it too! She should be in truhhhh-bulllllllll !!!!  waaa-aaaa-aahhh !!", Speaker of the House Pelosi has gotten caught up in this mess, too.

So, I'll wait to see what piles of dung get flung where next week, hold my nose and poke around all of it to see what it all means.

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The Pride Festival and Parade take place this weekend in Long Beach, CA.  I'll be one of the volunteers there tomorrow afternoon and, if I don't get too exhausted after that, I'll head back to Long Beach  on Sunday for the Parade.  I have not been to one of these parades in over 10 years.  I'm not expecting anything I had not already seen in previous parades; however, in light of all the things happening in the world of teh gay lately, it seems this is a good time to reconnect with my tribe.

Now, as an appetizer to this weekend's festivities, I could not stop laughing at the first segment of last night's Daily Show.  I've not been so tickled and laughed so hard and long in quite awhile.  All because . . . "he's gay!"

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Dan Choi Is Gay
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

NOM, R-NC and ST

Three is the magic number for me when it comes to stories.  Here we go:

Our delightful new Miss California is insisting on continuing her affiliation with the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).  This will make me sound catty, but good luck sweetie getting one of my tribe to fix that hair, apply that makeup and pick attractive clothing for you from now on!

North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R) had some . . . well, the kindest way to put it is "ill informed" . . . words about the pending federal hate crimes bill (which passed the House today).  Read the explanation from Foxx herself and, if you must throw something, make it something soft and safely stow away your fine breakables first.

I just cannot fathom this -- a Representative who chooses to cite skewed news "reports" about the crimes committed against Matthew Shepard instead of just . . . reading . . the . . . freakin' . . COURT TRANSCRIPTS!!  She could have found any number of other reputable sources and may have even had a good argument against passing the bill.  I have no problem with a solid, well-sourced conservative/right-wing point of view -- it's such a shame that so often the arguments formed by right-wing mouthpieces are no better than a gaggle of hausfraus spinning gossip at the laundromat.

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The new "Star Trek" movie had its premiere at Graumann's Chinese Theatre tonight.  I snapped a few pics before the festivities begun.  Hollywod Blvd was closed down all day today and the photo/interview section plus bleachers were set up right in the middle of the boulevard in front of the Theatre (it's part of the reasons the photos are as close up as they are).

Sadly, I had to make my way home and could not stay long enough to check out the stars.  Still, it is not often that a studio hires a DJ to spin vinyl prior to the arrivals.  I hope the movie is nearly as good as the hype!

Asked & answered!

Less than 10 minutes after I finished the post below, I stumbled onto this article/photo essay.

Whatever this school is doing to foster this sense of love, compassion and justice could stand to spread all over this country.

God is, indeed, so good!

Jaheem Herrera

Yes, it has happened again.

CNN reports on the death of Jaheem Herrera.  Once again, 11 years old.  Once again, bullied mercilessly over not just the perception he was gay, but the fact his family is from the Virgin Islands.

If you or someone you know is feeling like you may harm yourself, no matter the reason, please click on the banner above to get connected to the Trevor Project.  While they specialize in working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer/questioning youth, they also help match resources to people in need if they are not equipped to help.

Blessedly, Jaheem's suffering is over.  If there is any sense of justice for those who taunted, teased and bullied this boy, their days of suffering are just beginning.

May they find forgiveness somewhere and somehow.  They won't find it here.

While I'm settling all of this in my head, here's the new Green Day song.  I've had it on the iPod for a while and it's grown on me with each play (lyrics here).  Enjoy!

Why do we keep doing all of this, and . .

My apologies for the overflow of stories in these posts.  Not much time during the week to compose, so everything in my head just comes rushing out on Saturdays.  I'm hoping to upgrade my computer and finally break down and get something I can carry with me for composing while I'm on the light rail commuting.

I just listened to a clip from former TV chat show host Montel Williams from earlier this week.  Mr. Williams started on Air America earlier this month and this past week had a chat with Congressman Ron Paul, primarily regarding the hypocracy inherent in the War on Drugs.  There is plenty to cringe over regarding Dr. Paul's political views, but I am right in line with what he shared during the interview.

Also, once again courtesy of tvnewslies.org, a link to a story on Brian Ross' Blotter, which is on the ABC news site, about a KBR employee whom AIG (yes, that ginormous insurance/mortgage hybrid with enough TARP money to fund several small countries for years) covered for health insurance issues.  The post includes a video interview with the employee regarding his experience with AIG.

If you thought the whole "toxic assets" bad mortgages mess was outrageous, AIG seems to have now plumbed the depths of the most despicable managed care companies in the U.S.

For all the vitriol against universal, single-payer nationwide health insurance, at least this man may have had a better chance at quality health care if he didn't have to handle health care decisions at the hands of a greedy corporation.  

If anyone reading this has a similar story about a Canadian or British citizen who was treated similarly even after going through their country's health care system, I'd like to hear about it.  Perhaps all of us in the "industrial nations" are facing the same sorts of struggles.

And still more silliness!!

To close out a dizzying week of big gay news, this big gay blogger will cede to this not-gay blogger to deliver a counter-point to the "we straight folks are a'feared of teh gays getting married!" video/advertisement released this week.

HRC does a very thorough job of dissecting the advertisement.  A shame the "behind the scenes audition" for that commercial is no longer available for viewing.  I will say that it does a good job showing not too terribly good "actors" mauling the lines (aren't they supposed to learn the script before coming in to audition?  Please correct me if my assumption is incorrect).

To be fair, I'd imagine actors are used for all sorts of political ads on all points of the political scale.  So, perhaps these "political PSAs" should also come with a "I'm MetalHead39 and I approve this message" tag at the end like we hear in ads for political candidates.  Or maybe a "the views expressed in this advertisement do not reflect the views of the people in this advertisment"?

Or have I gone well past the point of silly in all of this?

Great Gobs O' Gay News!

As I was reminded by a straight co-worker today, there is much to celebrate as of late in the world o' "teh gay"

HuffPo has a nice, concise post about court decisions, legislation vetoes, city council unanimity all moving toward giving more and more gay & lesbian couples the right to be legally married (or to have their marriages legally recognized).

And, now, New York wants in on some of the fun.

Meanwhile, while my home state awaits word from its' Supreme Court re: Proposition 8, one of our state's most popular church leaders seems to have gone "sour grapes" over gay marriage.  And just a few months back, his tone seemed so different!

And Rachel talked about teabagging tonight on MSNBC.  OK, so it's about a grassroots-style protest planned for 4/15/09.   I could not stop laughing (and neither could Rachel)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Some WTF items

With thanks to my buddy Randy, The New York Times catches something not talked about on TV (hmm.  if it's not talked about on TV . . . oh, that's right, there's a lot of things not talked about on TV).  Seemingly, in preparation for an increase in troops and civilians into Afghanistan, two formerly separated groups are now talking about uniting.  And, no, it's not Male Beauty of The Middle East

You're Welcome !

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PepsiCo (which includes Tropicana juice, Quaker Oats and other brands) is being boycotted by a conservative group in response to PepsiCo's donation of half-a-million dollars to "Straight for Equality".

Happily, if it doesn't come out of my kitchen sink's tap, it now comes from PepsiCo.  While I'm at it, I'll take my animated comedy now only from Seth McFarlane and will do my best to not miss any Pepsi commercial from now on.  Ahh, the sacrifices we bloggers demand from our readers.

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Speaking of blogs, do you enjoy reading first-person account, opinion adorned writing from your favorite blogs?  Are you enjoying the freedom of movement amongst any crowd anonymous bloggers enjoy by remaining anonymous (like yours truly)?

If so, then what happened to one of my favorite anonymous bloggers yesterday has lit up quite the firestorm amongst political bloggers, their fans and supporters.  In the coming days, their server will be vastly improved, so don't be surprised if it takes a while to load the page on the first link in this paragraph.

I write here because I enjoy it even though I receive no money for any of this.  AKMuckraker has turned a passion into one of the best blogs out there, building a vast network of fans and fellow bloggers.  Once you read the posting linked to above, please offer words of encouragement, write to any one of the links supplied by those who posted comments and/or join the forum, as I did.

Follow up on "Disappeared . . ."

Nothing on any of the government's websites, but I'm not surprised and I just don't have the focus to hunt around for hours on end.

I did find, off of the ACLU biography of Mohamed Farag Bashmilah, a "reply brief" regarding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit filed by the plantiffs (ACLU attorneys, etc.) to ask the court to overturn a previous decision in the case.  The document was signed on 9/25/08.  I'm not an attorney myself, but from what I could make out, they did a great job convincing me to overturn the decision, if I was that Court, of course.

What I was most curious about was the timing of today's post on Huffington Post.  Best I could figure was that the timing had to do with a press release issued by the ACLU on 2/9/09 and another one released yesterday.  My guess is we'll hear soon about what action is coming soon.

It's one thing to hear in abstract about renditions and the role our government and the corporate world may have played.  When I read first hand accounts from a survivor of rendition and one of the soldiers at Gitmo, it makes it so much more difficult to keep treating this as just another news story.  

I'm wondering who else might be feeling the same as I am and if they're in a better position to do something about it.

All around the blogosphere for 2/6/09

It was all of 7 days ago since I did this "list of blog entries I saw/read and enjoyed and you might too" thing.  Not my usual thing to do these types of entries with so little space in between; yet, there is just so much out there to see which grabbed my interest:

"And the award goes to":  I would have loved to have given some kind of statuette to Senator Graham; however, Senator Boxer called him out on his "theatrics" on the floor of the Senate, which was nearly as satisfying.  I got a lovely fit of giggling out of it and I am so proud she is one of my Senators!

A cartoon panel's worth a couple hundred words:  The General strikes again, summing up the Republican's "morality" and their solution to all the world's ills.  He is owed a manly, heterosexual expression of appreciation from me for this.  

The awards season continues this Sunday:  Cool post at Huffington Post about past music award shows -- who won what and why and who should have won (oh, if only we could have another award show to give awards to those who should've gotten awards: the Oopsies or the WTFs, maybe?)

My favorite story from this morning:  Fred Phelps' version of Christianity versus the real deal.  Proof, if you still need it, that peace and love will always triumph over evil.  Keep the facial tissues handy.

and

My partner is in the process of getting ready to take me to lunch and a movie.  This would be the "married for twenty years and who wants to be out after dark" version of a date. Yay !