Gay marriage loses in Maine: the campaign finance scorecard
on Nov 6, 2009 in LGBT Scholars & Rogues campaign finance civil liberties civil rights conservatives fundamentalism gay rights human rights infrastructure media popular culture public interest religion sex Stand for Marriage Maine On Nov. 3, 299,483 citizens of the state of Maine were persuaded to tell women who love women and men who love men that they cannot marry. Those Downeasters who voted “Yes” on Question 1 — to repeal a same-sex marriage law — bashed ga...

Your Friday weirdity: why Koreans shouldn’t be allowed to play baseball
on Nov 6, 2009 in funny sports baseball korea wtf What. The. Fuck. Click here to view the embedded video.

Nil Desperandum
on Nov 6, 2009 in poetry politics Fox News by Ann Ivins if legitimate news only gives you the blues and to cogitate causes distress if crazed peroration fills you with elation and bile never fails to impress if your pupils dilate during civil debate as you long for a rushian screed and the ti...

Happy Birthday to The Commonwealth: could this be Britain’s future?
on Nov 6, 2009 in UK politics Australia British colonies Canada China Christian Commonwealth Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement Conservative Party England Europe Fiji Hindu Hong Kong India Jamaica London Mozambique Muslim Nauru Pakistan Roland Huntford Samoa Scotland Scott and Amundsen South Africa Special Relationship Tories United States Vanuatu William Hague Zimbabwe I was surprised to learn that 2009 is the 60th anniversary of The Commonwealth—the association of former British colonies that still, amazingly, continue to work with each and talk to each other on a variety of issues. This would be a cause for cel...

Exclusive: Pentagon pursuing new investigation into Bush propaganda program
on Nov 5, 2009 in Afghanistan Bush administration Iraq Obama administration censorship government journalism media military neocons new media news newspapers television Brad Jacobson Bryan Whitman Congressman John Tierney GAO report Gordon Heddell investigative journalism military analyst program new investigation Pentagon Pentagon Inspector General propaganda Raw Story Roxie Merritt The Pentagon’s Office of Inspector General is conducting a new investigation into a covert Bush administration Defense Department program that used retired military analysts to produce positive wartime news coverage.

Tournament of Rock – Legends: the Nirvana pod
on Nov 5, 2009 in Tournament of Rock music Altamont Bob Marley John Mellencamp Los Lobos Nirvana Red Rocks Sweet 16 the greatest band of all time The Rolling Stones The Sex Pistols Wailers Results: About what you’d expect – The Stones laid an Altamont on all comers. Maybe they’ll find stiffer competition at the next level. The numbers: #2 The Rolling Stones 80%; #7 Bob Marley/Wailers 13%; #10 The Sex Pistols 7%. Stone...

When will the U.S. and Russia stop acting like it’s still the Cold War?
on Nov 5, 2009 in nuclear weapons THE DEPROLIFERATOR — Sometimes it seems as if neither the United States nor Russia got the message that the Cold War ended almost two decades ago. Previously I wrote about the Dooomsday Device, a back-up defense system that Russia developed in...

Motivating climate action: Last Chance – Preserving Life on Earth
on Nov 5, 2009 in Arts, Literature & Culture Book Reviews ClimaTweet Nature WordsDay environment global warming antelope Charles Keeling climate change climate disruption Endangered Species Act EPA Greenland IPCC Lake Erie Larry J. Schweiger Last Chance NASA National Wildlife Federation NOAA polar bear public interest sea level rise In the introduction to Last Chance – Preserving Life on Earth, author Larry J. Schweiger, the CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, comes right out and says that he’s not trying to change minds with this book. Instead, it’s his...

What’s it Wednesday
on Nov 4, 2009 in What's It Wednesday Thoughts?

I man-love me some Obama
on Nov 4, 2009 in politics a-ha Abba Ahmadinejad Al Gore apolitical armies Bill Clinton Borders bureaucrats but I won’t do that creationism Dallas Davos Denmark economics football George W. Bush Henry Kissinger I will do anything for love Indianapolis Iran Ivy League Jakarta Jimmy Carter Kanye West Manhattan Meatloaf Nobel Prize Norway Norwegian Obama Hillary Clinton Peace Prize President salvation Scandinavia science Sevierville sinners Sweden Tennessee World Economic Forum by John Harvin Or I did. Now I am not so sure. I voted for Obama, defended him from the snarks of my Hillary-supporting friends, and maxed out my contribution. In Indianapolis, I walked down dim halls that smelled of vomit and urine begging sick old...