Pictures of Chimpy

Sometimes pictures just speak for themselves -- A Scottish news broadcast regarding Katrina, or is it REALLY regarding Katrina ?

Excuse me, your stupidity is showing!

Somebody has to tell me if we're supposed to be taking these guys seriously, or if they've got a great comedy team working for them.

Pat Robertson opens mouth, inserts foot...

"Put on an act so we can get anti-gay laws passed"

Focus on the Family is telling anti-gay pastors, ministers, etc. to basically put on an act so that they can get gay rights turned back. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this just another form of lying?

(Portland, Maine) Pastors opposed to the state's gay rights law are being advised to tone down their condemnation of homosexuality and focus as much on love and support as on sin and scripture.

Haley and Melissa Fryrear from Focus on the Family have urged a meeting of about 200 leaders from Maine's evangelical community to stop quoting Leviticus, which refers to gay sex as an ''abomination," and to avoid sayings like, ''Love the sinner, hate the sin."

They encouraged "balance" in churches, communities, and public policy debates.

That balance could be key for Maine's Christian conservatives trying to win support for a November ballot question. They hope to overturn a state law that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation.

A righteous or hateful tone could steer undecided voters away, while one of kindness and compassion could help win supporters, said Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine.

''You have to avoid coming off in any way as hateful," Brewer said. ''If they can't do that, they won't succeed."

Gay rights advocates question how much love and support conservative Christians can muster while they condemn same-sex relationships as morally wrong.

Jesse Connolly of Maine Won't Discriminate, the campaign to add sexual orientation to the Maine Human Rights Act, questioned how much love and support exist in an effort by conservative Christians trying to stop a law that would ensure that people can keep their jobs, apartments, or lines of credit.

''If there was compassion in what they talk about, they would be on our side," Connolly said.

Christian conservatives in Maine have swayed voters on the antidiscrimination measure before. Mainers in 1998 sided with conservative religious groups and repealed a law that would have outlawed discrimination against gays. Two years later, lawmakers did not pass the measure, but asked voters to decide. Mainers rejected it in a close vote.

The most recent dispute over the antidiscrimination law started last spring. The Legislature enacted the law, but conservative Christians led a drive that gathered enough signatures to force a vote in November.

Colin Lemont of Calvary Bible Baptist Church in Whitefield said he hopes Focus on the Family's message will help to keep the campaign from becoming nasty and divisive. ''That really needs to become a key component through this whole debate and process," Lemont said

Weld says same-sex marriage "offends New Yorkers"


Former Massachusetts governor William Weld said Thursday that he doesn't want to be addressed as "Governor Weld" anymore—unless he wins New York's gubernatorial election next year. "I plan to run as 'Mister,' if I can make that stick, to emphasize that I've got to earn this," he said after his first meeting with state Republican Party officials vetting the candidates.

Weld said his closed-door session with state GOP chairman Stephen Minarik and several county chairs at a Rockland County hotel was "low-key." But Minarik and Erie County chairman Robert Davis were enthusiastic.

Half a dozen other potential candidates were interviewed, as were all the GOP candidates for U.S. Senate. Weld said the party chairs asked him about his positions on several issues and that his support for abortion rights is "not everybody's dish of tea." But he told them he also favors a ban on what anti-abortion activists call "partial-birth abortion," sees no need to reinstate the ban on assault weapons, and, although he supports "100% equality of rights," he would not favor same-sex marriage because the idea offends many New Yorkers.

The Republican nominee is expected to face Democratic state attorney general Eliot Spitzer, and in the last reported poll Spitzer led Weld 56% to 19%. (AP)

Hmmmm....

I wonder, then, if he supports legislation to make body odor illegal, punishable by heavy fine and possible imprisonment. That's offensive, isn't it?

How about bad breath? Listerine or Leavenworth...

I'm sure he'll support legislation that would make it a punishable offense to drop the "F" bomb in public, as it is truly offensive to Christians and people with small children.

What a putz....

Arnold Vetoed the Bill

Not surprising that the Governator vetoed the bill. I suppose, if I really TRY to stand back and look at it objectively, he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. This bill DOES, in fact, go against what the voters put into effect with Proposition 22, but then again, any real American would realize that civil rights have NEVER been won through popular vote. That's the part that I don't get, the part where people think it's okay for the majority of the voters to vote to deprive a minority of ANYTHING, whether it's basic civil rights, or anything else. What the majority has, all should have. That IS the concept behind equality, isn't it? The voting process was never meant for the majority to oppress the minority. It's a sad day when America at large forgets that concept.

In other news, our union ratified our new contract, and domestic partner benefits have been included for health and dental insurance. One has to wonder if the employer was anxious to strike that deal, with our lawsuit looming over their heads. What amazes me is that some people just don't seem to GET IT, when they ask "What's the difference? You've got your domestic partner benefits."

Well, here's the difference. Let's say health insurance costs $500 a month for a family plan. Mr. and Mrs. Smith get that $500 a month paid and the amount of their tax liability on that benefit is zero. When I put Lisa on my health insurance, the amount of MY tax liaibility is going to be on that $500. Yes, that $500 becomes a compensation amount, but the hetero couple's does not.

Our contract is good for 5 years, but what happens at the end of that five years? What if the employer says "Heck, that cost us WAYYYY too much, so we're not going to agree to that again?" Do you think they'd do that for hetero spouses and family members?

This is why it's important to continue through with our lawsuit. Not to mention the fact that there's still the past denial of benefits. In the meantime, we're going to enjoy the benefits that were granted in the new contract. Lisa can go off her employer's plan and her paycheck will go back up. We'll get a 3% pay raise, retroactive to September 1st, and I'm going to "downgrade" our health insurance plan to one with the exact same coverage, but with a higher co-pay for doctor's visits. In the long run, it should save us abot $400-500 in the coming year. That should pay the taxes on the benefit.

Overall, New York State is making some positive strides, but I worry that those strides will be diluted or even canceled out if Chimpy gets his way with the Supreme Court. Talk about setting civil rights back 50 years or so...