make up your minds
One day the economy is growing, the next it's not. I wish some of these reporters would actually take the time to do some research instead of just writing down what some partisan told them.
Geez. I'm getting dizzy.
Today is a "being poor sucks and it's not getting better" day. These seem more reasonable to me than "the economy is great! our tax strategies are working!" days. I know people who are un- and underemployed. I know how hard it was for me to find a job 6 months ago. I know I got lucky, and if I were looking again today, it would be hellish out there.
Let's just all admit that the economy sucks, spending money in Iraq is not helping, and cutting taxes for the rich really doesn't do much except give the rich more money to play tennis with. "Nice shot, Bitsy!"
Greenspan Urges Pension Benefit Cuts
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Friday that the country will face "abrupt and painful" choices if Congress does not move quickly to trim the Social Security and Medicare benefits that have been promised to the baby boom generation.
Economy Grows at 2.8% Rate in the Spring
The U.S. economy, struggling under the weight of a bloated trade deficit, grew at a relatively modest 2.8 percent annual rate in the second quarter, a slower pace of expansion than previously thought.
Ahold Sees U.S. Retail Profits Fall
Dutch food retailer Royal Ahold NV said income from its U.S. retail operations plunged 30 percent in the second quarter, blaming sluggish performance at Giant Food and Stop & Shop Stores, its two biggest American chains.
More Americans Were Uninsured and Poor in 2003, Census Finds
But somehow it took until just a few weeks ago for Bush to stop saying things like "We're turning the corner"
Bush speech drops 'turning the corner'
aaaaaaaaaaaaa
I'm not sure. I may have used that title before. But, as Martha Stewart would say, it's sooooooooo appropriate.
I just have one appalling item to post today. As you can all probably tell, the first thing I read is the NYT. I'm not trying to inform anyone of anything subtle, because anyone can read the tTimes, I just note the things that come together to horrify me and make me throw the paper down in disgust (except that I read it electronically, and there's only so swiftly you can close a window to make it seem like disgust...)
Anyway, here's today's whopper. It's an editorial from the Times. Not even an Op Ed piece... And I'm going to print the whole thing, 'cos I don't ever want to lose the content of this one...
Holding the Pentagon Accountable: For Religious Bigotry
The first reports sounded like an over-the-top satire of the Bush Pentagon: the deputy secretary of defense for intelligence - the ranking general charged with the hunt for Osama bin Laden - was parading in uniform to Christian pulpits, preaching that God had put George Bush in the White House and that Islamic terrorists will only be defeated "if we come at them in the name of Jesus." But now a Pentagon inquiry has concluded that Lt. Gen. William Boykin did indeed preach his grossly offensive gospel at 23 churches, pronouncing Satan the mastermind of the terrorists because "he wants to destroy us as a Christian army."
It was stunning last fall, after the general's lapse into brimstone bigotry became public, when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, far from disturbed, praised General Boykin for an "outstanding record" and kept him at the highly sensitive intelligence post during the inquiry. Now it is simply mind-boggling that Pentagon reports suggest the general may survive with only a reprimand for having failed to clear his remarks in advance.
General Boykin has to be removed from his current job. He has become a national embarrassment, not to mention a walking contradiction of President Bush's own policy statement that the fight against terror is bias-free and not a crusade against Islam. (General Boykin preached of a 1993 fight against a Muslim warlord in Somalia: "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol.")
The sense of offense among Islamic Americans is already deep. Removal of the preacher-general should be a no-brainer, however much the president's campaign generals might fear offending the Christian right voting bloc.
so long....
no, not "so long" as in "see ya"... It's just been so long since I wrote on this one.
The news is so incredibly appalling lately that I don't even know where to start. The whole Swift Boat Veterans for Lobotomies thing has me and everyone I know amazed. I mean, if you're gonna lie, find one that's not so freakin' obvious, ok? Like everyone else?
Articles come out every day in the papers that sound like Watergate blurbs, and what's worse is that both sides are competing at being ignorami.
Bush Campaign's Top Outside Lawyer Resigns
By JIM RUTENBERG and KATE ZERNIKE 12:57 PM ET
An election lawyer for President Bush also has been advising a veterans group running TV ads against John Kerry. [ed. note: I can almost hear the tick tick of the wire printer from the last few minutes of "All the President's Men"...]
Cleland Attempts Delivery of Protest Letter
Letter to Bush Signed by 9 Democratic Senators Protesting Anti-Kerry Swift Boat Ads [ed. note: at least they didn't kick over his wheelchair...]
CONSTITUTIONAL FORK New York Judge Rules City Can Ban Protestors From Park By CHRISTINE HAUSER 4:42 PM ETA State Supreme Court judge ruled today that New York City can ban protesters from using the Great Lawn in Central Park.
Reports Show a Mixed View of Economy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's factories saw orders for costly manufactured goods in July post the biggest gain in four months. New-homes sales, meanwhile, slid, according to a pair of reports that offered a mixed picture of economic activity.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders for durables goods -- big-ticket items expected to last at least three years -- rose 1.7 percent in July from the previous month -- lifted by stronger demand for goods including airplanes, machinery and communications equipment. [ed. note: Hm.... Airplanes? Machinery? Communications equipment? War? Hm...]
Abu Ghraib Report: Abuse Panel Says Rules on Inmates Need Overhaul
No... Really?
Rumsfeld's War Plan Shares the Blame
By Thomas E. Ricks
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's leadership of the Pentagon has been weighed by a jury of his peers and found somewhat wanting.
A report by a blue-ribbon panel he appointed to review the military establishment's role in creating and handling detainee abuse problems at Abu Ghraib prison said that the Iraq war plan he played a key role in shaping helped create the conditions that led to the scandal.
Report: Prisoner Abuses Due to Human Failings
Intelligence Policies Not Cause of Abu Ghraib Misconduct, Pentagon Investigation Says
By Thomas E. Ricks
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
The latest Pentagon investigation of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal found that more than two dozen military intelligence soldiers were involved in the abuses, but said that most of the errant behavior was not the result of official policies and did not occur in the course of gathering intelligence. [ed. note: FORK FORK FORK!! Fox! Henhouse! helloooooo! Do we expect Pentagon investigators to say, "hey... y'know? I think we suck. I think we're terrible people, and we should all be put in jail. Here. Handcuff me right now and drag me to the Hague..." Yeah.]
Cheney Breaks With the Boss Wednesday
Aug 25, 2004; 12:04 PM
What is Vice President Cheney trying to do, get himself dumped off the Republican ticket? [this is appalling because I don't want to have any reason to feel the tiniest sense of compassion for this man... Luckily, I can let myself believe that he has a more disingenuous agenda.]
on the DNA front... accidents...
Minn. Frog Found With 5 Legs, 23 Toes
Some Experts Disturbed By Discovery
A 9-year-old Minnesota girl found a five-legged frog with 23 toes near Stewartville, Minn., according to a report. [ed. note: other experts are ok with this?]
and purposeful...
Building Better Bodies
fork, fork, forkety fork fork.
They're all forks today because I have a sinus headache, and that's what it feels like.
the giant political machine FORK
F.B.I. Goes Knocking for Political Troublemakers
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
The F.B.I. has been questioning demonstrators in an effort to forestall violent protests at the Republican convention.
Herbert: Suppress the Vote?
he big story out of Florida over the weekend was the tragic devastation caused by Hurricane Charley. But there's another story from Florida that deserves our attention.
State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill over efforts to get out the black vote in November.
The giant Patriot FORK
Detention of British Travelers Brings New Policy
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: August 16, 2004
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 - One by one, the British travelers recounted their dizzying experiences upon arriving at American airports: One man was detained and denied the opportunity to call his wife and lawyer. One woman was handcuffed and another was placed in ankle cuffs that she complained were too tight
The Giant Environmental FORK combined with the Giant Economic FORK
Polluted Sites Could Face Shortage of Cleanup Money
By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: August 16, 2004
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 - With about six weeks left in the federal government's fiscal year, dozens of Superfund sites that are eligible for cleanup money are likely to be granted nothing or a fraction of what their managers say is needed because of a budget shortfall that could exceed $250 million, according to a survey by the Democratic staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
Huge rise in brain diseases...
Scientists alarmed as number of cases triples in 20 years
Juliette Jowit, Sunday August 15, 2004
The numbers of sufferers of brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and motor neurone disease, have soared across the West in less than 20 years, scientists have discovered.
The alarming rise, which includes figures showing rates of dementia have trebled in men, has been linked to rises in levels of pesticides, industrial effluents, domestic waste, car exhausts and other pollutants, says a report in the journal Public Health.
And even a Giant No Child Left Behind FORK
Headaches grow as class sizes shrink
BY STEVE HARRISON
To prepare for the start of school today, the Broward School District made an unusual purchase: dozens of five-foot partitions, the type usually found in office buildings.
The dividers are earmarked for about a dozen schools where this year, some single classrooms will host two classes and two teachers. Hundreds of returning students will find themselves and their classmates squeezed into half a classroom, with only a flimsy barrier separating them from a different class.
Schools feeling growing pains as enrollment swells in Texas
As many students return to the classroom today, Texas is living up to its reputation for bigness, with nearly 1 million new students added in little more than a decade. To keep up with the population boom, many of the 26 school districts in Harris County are enlarging schools or building new ones.
Second Amendment FORK (Those 5 year olds are damn scary at night...)
5-year-old accidentally shot by stepdad
Stepfather says he fired the shot after mistaking her for a burglar
By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
A Houston man shot and killed his 5-year-old stepdaughter early Sunday after mistaking her for a burglar in their northeast Houston home, police said.
Oh, hell, the US is violating everyone's privacy, the UK might as well get in on the act. Mind you, this is under the guise of "good-doing"...
Government plans to 'track' criminals' children
Press AssociationMonday August 16, 2004 The government is planning to monitor and offer support to the children of offenders to ensure they do not follow their parents into a life of crime.
Under the proposals, the children of criminals will be 'tracked' from birth to their teenage years in a bid to prevent them joining their parents in jail.
Finally, some evidence of sense in the US...
The uneasy Republicans
By Hugh Sykes BBC, United States
The US presidential candidates have been arguing about it. The American media talk constantly about it. And the opinion polls have been asking voters about it.
Bush risks alienating his natural constituencyBut just how much will the war in Iraq affect the November elections? Hugh Sykes found evidence that, with mounting US casualties, the answer could be "quite a lot".
And, from the freedom files, this is just food for thought.
http://bugmenot.com/register.php
Finally, because I just got my copy in the mail, a section of mediabistro's daily list of appalling media news...
WAPO'S ADMISSION NOT ENOUGH?
Greg Mitchell: The Iraq "mea culpa," via Howard Kurtz, contained more excuses than admission of mistakes. And, crucially, no promise of corrective action. Indianapolis Star: The media's duty is to ensure all sides get their due, writes Dennis Ryerson. Al Jazeera: There has been a remarkable lack of investigative reporting and insightful editorial criticism of U.S. actions in Iraq from the illustrious home of Bernstein and Woodward, writes Bill Henderson.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000612630
http://www.indystar.com/articles/6/170311-7756-021.html
http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2004%20opinions/August/16%20o/All%20the%20Truth%20By%20Bill%20Henderson.htm
swift boats
I just pulled this first batch of today's list straight from the dem-daily, the newsgroup from democrats.com, 'cos I'm lazy, but I would have found the same stuff had I dug for it...
Bush Must Condemn the Swift Boat Lies About John Kerry
"To George W. Bush: As Jim Rassman writes, '35 years after the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in Vietnam... This time their attacks are more vicious, their lies cut deep and are directed not just at John Kerry, but at me and each of his crewmates as well. This hate-filled ad asserts that I was not under fire; it questions my words and Navy records. This smear campaign has been launched by people without decency, people who don't understand the bond of those who serve in combat... Sen. McCain called on President Bush to condemn the ad. Regrettably, the president has ignored Sen. McCain.' As a candidate, you promised to 'be a uniter, not a divider' ... 'restore honorand integrity to the White House' ... and 'change the tone in Washington.' We therefore call onyou to condemn the lies by your supporters about John Kerry's Vietnam medals." Sign the petition!
Truth v. Swift Boat Liars
eRiposte writes, "Many media outlets have been providing a relatively easy outlet for the so-called 'Swift Boat Veterans for Truth' (SBV for short; more appropriately described as theSwift Boat Veterans Who Have a Problem With The Truth or as Swift Boat Veteran Flip-Floppers for Bush or as Smear Boat Veterans for Bush). Since the media continues to parade these folks(fondly and appropriately described by Hesiod as 'Swift Boat Liars for Bush') before viewers, often without critically examining their egregious charges against Senator John Kerry (some media outlets are far worse than others on this), I wanted to get a clear picture for myself on what is being said and what is really the truth. What emerges is simply the fact that this is the beginning of Part II of The Hunting of the President." This is an amazing compilation of the details of Kerry's medals that counters the SBV's smears.
Boston Globe One of the Few US Media Sources to Accurately Report Kerry 'War Authorization' Story
Bush laid an ambush for Kerry this week, one in which the AP obviously colluded. Bush asked:''My opponent hasn't answered the question of whether, knowing what we know now, he would havesupported going into Iraq." Kerry answered he would have still voted to authorize thepresidential power to declare war (reason: in a case of impending attack, there may not be timeto convene Congress). A.P. and subsequently every other US news outlet reported falsely thatKerry said he would have voted to go to war even knowing there were no WMDs and that theintelligence was wrong. Kudos to the Boston Globe!
APPALLING FORK Gas Drilling in Colorado's Wildlands
The Bush administration is finalizing a gas-drilling plan that would send roads and drill pads slicing through southern Colorado's HD Mountains, the only remaining stretch of the San Juan Basin untouched by energy development. Covering 40,000 acres, the old-growth ponderosa pine forests of the HD range provide habitat for elk, black bears, northern goshawks and mule deer. Rich archeological sites in the area date back 1,000 years. The administration's coalbed methane plan calls for drilling 79 wells and constructing compressor plants and 36 miles of roads in this unspoiled lowland forest in violation of the "roadless rule," which is designed to protect the wildest areas of our national forests from development. For only a tiny amount of gas, the project would decimate nearly 90 percent of the HD Mountains' old-growth stands, leave mountain streams cloudy with sediment, disturb archeological sites and uproot wildlife.
and... finally... what's become of our War On Drugs?
U.S. Customs Seizes Drug Shipment To Senior Citizens
No, silly, Uncle Ralph isn't looking for smack, he's just trying to keep his blood pressure down... Hard to do around here, isn't it?
childhood reality
Child-proofing reality TV
Many shows give kids a distorted idea about life.
[ed. note: adults too...]
Tho' quite frankly, I think the news gives kids a distorted idea about life also. Not that the following isn't a fine public service, but, c'mon. The freakin' Homeland Security team doesn't know what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. Let's get our kids all hopped up on adrenalin thinking that the warheads are going to be raining down any day. Hey everyone! Duck and Cover! Plastic sheeting and duct tape could be this decade's answer to the safety of the underneath of a wooden school desk...
Kids' role in securing USA
Coming soon to a school or TV near you: efforts to teach fourth- to eighth-grade kids the ABCs of emergency preparedness in the event of a terrorist attack. Complete with a mascot - an American shepherd dog - and instructions to bug parents to develop a family emergency plan. Just as they may have been doing to get you to quit smoking or recycle the garbage.
More appalling news...
Bush Jokes About Tax Dodgers
Why does W. think it's funny millionaires escape the tax man?
While the following is appalling, it's not just the republicans. The dems put dissenters into a cattle pen also... (Jim Hightower is my hero, by the way. He's snarky, knows his shit and has better East Texas aphorisms than Dan Rather.)
Bush Zones Go National
Jim Hightower In the undeclared war against dissent, disagreement has become a crime.
NYC Fire, Police Unions May Strike at RNC
This one goes out to the clever people who run the Bush campaign. Yeah, go get 'em tigers! Let's put the campaign in the place where Bush first got to look presidential! But, oops! Have we forgotten our real heros? Apparently we have, and they're going to exercise their rights all over the convention...
A good interview:
Salman Rushdie on Terrorism, Intellectual freedom and the Patriot Act
Salman Rushdie, one of the most highly acclaimed writers in the world, discusses the Bush administration, civil liberties and war in a rare appearance in New York. Rushdie was forced into hiding and lived underground for many years after Iran issued a fatwa calling for his death following the publication of his controversial novel The Satanic Verses. [includes rush transcript]
At the very least, read the last quote Rushdie uses. It's one of my favorites, and it actually lost me a freelance gig once. [long story] Sometimes you do what you have to do...
jobs jobs jobs
Job Growth Grinds Nearly to Halt in July, Labor Dept. Reports
By DAVID LEONHARDT 2:17 PM ET
The disappointing numbers of the last two months have created a potential political problem for President Bush.
Low Numbers, New Problem
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE 10:39 PM ET
In the face of paltry numbers on job growth, President Bush's new slogan, "we've turned the corner," sounds premature at best.
Surprisingly weak job growth in July has raised doubts about whether the economic expansion can be sustained. Nonfarm payrolls rose just 32,000 in July, far below the 215,000 on average expected by economists. But the unemployment rate fell to 5.5%.
Employment Situation Report (bls.gov)
But didn't I just post this one a day or so ago?
Job Picture Looks Good Now, but Recession Left Fears That Endure
By FLOYD NORRIS
Despite rapid job growth this year, many Americans continue to believe there is a job crisis.
I really wish we could all just agree that whatever models we have for employment suck, and need to be updated.
even tempered
It's actually easy to be appalled on both sides of the playing field.
www.spinsanity.com and www.factcheck.org
Now, as a fair warning, they criticize both the right and the left, but to be honest, both sides need some trimming back. I'm not thrilled with the criticism of op-ed pieces because they're not supposed to be reporting NEWS, they're OPINION pieces. But, I'll let it ride. (spinsanity criticized one of my NYT heros, Paul Krugman, and I'm trying to be open minded about it.)
More later. Got to get to work.
bushisms
From the White House...
[the important bit...]
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people and neither do we."
Do you think the person who has to type Bush's speeches into the whitehouse website is ever afraid of losing his job?
Then again, they can't possibly be as worried as the guy who decided to make the Bush/Cheney '04 campaign logo available on their website as the "sloganator"... that was bright...
Appalling news
Suit Accuses Halliburton of Fraud in Accounting
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
Published: August 6, 2004
our former finance employees at the Halliburton Company contend that a high-level and systemic accounting fraud occurred at the company from 1998 to 2001, according to a new filing in a class-action lawsuit on behalf of investors who bought the company's shares.
Shocking.
Group Plans Illegal Protests on 2nd Day of Convention
By DIANE CARDWELL
Members of a group opposed to the Republican National Convention have threatened to illegally protest the convention during its second day.
Have we gone so far that the term "Illegal Protests" doesn't even raise the hair on the backs of our collective necks?
Job Picture Looks Good Now, but Recession Left Fears That Endure
By FLOYD NORRIS
Despite rapid job growth this year, many Americans continue to believe there is a job crisis.
Ooh, that'll pick up the spirits of my UNEMPLOYED FRIENDS!!!
This is just a good reference article from the Public Editor at the NYT...
Other Voices: The Liberal Question and the Privacy Question
By DANIEL OKRENT
Few Public Editor columns have attracted reader mail as intense as the comments provoked by my last two.
back to normal
That's better. I was worried that the news was going to be unappalling forever, but I was happily surprised to see a glut of appalling pieces today, and I didn't even have to leave the NYTimes.
U.S. Officials Defend Warning of Possible Terror Attacks By BRIAN KNOWLTON
International Herald Tribune 4:57 PM ETOfficials said that even though militants might have conducted much of their surveillance some years ago, the threat was no less real.
Reports That Led to Terror Alert Were Years Old, Officials Say By DOUGLAS JEHL and DAVID JOHNSTON
Published: August 3, 2004
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 -Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way.
Gee... You don't think that maybe the reports were dropped right after the convention to draw attention away from Kerry, do you?
Polls Show Tight Race With a Few Gains for Kerry By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Polls showed the smallest postconvention bounce for a challenger since George McGovern was nominated in 1972.
GASP!! Shocking!
Bush Endorses Naming a Chief on Intelligence
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and PHILIP SHENON
Published: August 3, 2004
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 - President Bush on Monday generally endorsed the two main recommendations of the 9/11 commission, saying he would support creation of a potentially powerful post, national intelligence director, and the establishment of a counterterrorism center to coordinate intelligence analysis and efforts to thwart attacks.
A bold move, and yet...
Intelligence Chief Without Power? Support Leaves Questions By ELISABETH BUMILLER
White House officials were vague about the authority a new intelligence chief would wield, raising doubts among some experts about the power of the new position.
...not really that bold.
Consumer Spending Plunges to 3-Year Low
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumers, the lifeblood of the economy, clutched tight to their wallets in June and caused the largest spending drop in three years. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that consumers cut their spending by 0.7 percent in June from the previous month as high energy prices and a sluggish job market made for more cautious buyers.
...but, at least someone's doing well...
Industry expands for 14th month
In the first sign the U.S. economy is coming out of its recent stall, the manufacturing sector expanded at a respectable rate in July on strong orders and higher production rates.
Unocal Says Profit Increased by 93%
Hey, weren't these the guys dealing with the Taliban a few years ago?... hm...
Kerry The Hawk
[blurb] Robert Fisk, the brilliant reporter for The Independent , is clearly at the end of his tether, chronicling the lies from Baghdad and getting exasperated:
Watching any Western television station in Baghdad these days is like tuning in
to Planet Mars. Doesn’t Blair realize that Iraq is about to implode? Doesn’t
Bush realize this? The American-appointed ‘government’ controls only parts of
Baghdad—and even there its ministers and civil servants are car-bombed and
assassinated. Baquba, Samara, Kut, Mahmoudiya, Hilla, Fallujah, Ramadi, all are
outside government authority. Iyad Allawi, the ‘prime minister,’ is little more
than mayor of Baghdad. ‘Some journalists,’ Blair announces, ‘almost want there
to be a disaster in Iraq.’ He doesn’t get it. The disaster exists now.
I'm not sure if the following is a Fork or a Duh. I guess I may have to develop a new system.
FORK Martha Stewart Living Posts Unexpected Loss By CONSTANCE L. HAYS
Martha Stewart's legal problems continue to batter her signature company, which posted worse-than-anticipated losses today.
FORK Young women trust Bush with secret, Kerry on price of latte - [My vote for worst headline of the day.]
More than half of women 18-24 thought Kerry was more likely to know the prices of a quart of milk, an MP3 player and a latte versus about one-third who thought Bush would be more likely to know the cost of these items.
Roughly four out of 10 women 18-34 are more likely to entrust Bush with a secret (41 percent) while three out of 10 would trust Kerry with a secret.
OF COURSE people trust Bush with a secret!!! DUUUUH!!! How many of 'em trust him to tell the truth!?!?!?!?
argh.
other countries make us look stupid
Maybe I'm just blindly provincial, but the following news item shocked the crap out of me today.
As Repression Lifts, More Iranians Change Their Sex - By NAZILA FATHI Published: August 2, 2004
TEHRAN, Aug. 1 - Everything about Amir appears masculine: his broad chest, muscled arms, the dark full beard and deep voice. But, in fact, Amir was a woman until four years ago, when, at the age of 25, he underwent the first of a series of operations that would change his life.
I think this is shocking because Iran, burned into my brain as an insular, conservative, religious culture from the news that makes it to mainstream US media, is talking about transsexual operations and subsequent marriages, while the US is doing unbelievably stupid things like
Choir Chief Fired for Backing Gay Marriage - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: August 2, 2004 Filed at 2:15 p.m. ET
SEBRING, Fla. (AP) -- A church choir director who wrote a newspaper opinion piece supportive of gay marriage was fired after church officials took issue with the article.
Dennis Ray, who is gay, said his firing by the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) came as a surprise. He lost his job after a July 22 guest column appeared in Highlands Today in which he claimed half of the church's members believe in acceptance of gay people.
Gooooooo TEAM!!!
(For what it's worth, I *know* I'm blindly provincial because everytime I see pictures of steel and concrete structures in pictures of Ireland I think, "*That's* not Ireland. Ireland has sheep in it." Yes, yes, I know. I'm actually highly educated, and there's no reason for this. I can't help it. In my spinal cord, Ireland is still in, like, the 1600s.)
