Bombastic 'Mo

My Past and My Present

I thought this encompassed the liminal state I’m in right now.

Obama’s First Successful Act

He’s keeping his Blackberry!

For those of you who have been following the story, as Obama transitions into office, he’s been told time and again that day 1, he’d have to hand over his coveted device.

Barack Obama has already proven to the electorate that he is the most tech savvy president to date.  His campaign used innovative new methods of communication to get out the vote, solicit donations, and keep his constituents apprised of his actions and thoughts.

Obama used MySpace, Facebook, and even Xbox live in-game ads to inspire voters to get out of their house November 4th.  He announced Biden via text message.  His online addresses have been viewed more than 5 million times.  103,512 people submitted 76,031 questions to his Open for “Questions” section of Changes.gov.

A poll on Wired.com (which granted, targets technophiles), indicated that 76% of readers thought that Obama should have the right to maintain his Blackberry, while only 11% thought it would compromise national security.

But the transition hasn’t been easy, and it was unclear he’d get his way.  According to the Washington Post, Obama’s aides arrived at the White House to find themselves impeded by the federal bureaucracy of disconnected computers, non-working phones, and PCs still running Windows XP.  Eugh.  (Obama’s campaign used Macs).

“It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari,” Obama spokesman Bill Burton told the Washington Post.

So when I woke up today, I did what I do most mornings: grab my iPhone and load up the most recent Associated Press feeds.  Before my cup of coffee, my morning shower and even before I put on my glasses, I read through the news of the day.  And the tops news today was “Spokesman says Obama is keeping his BlackBerry”.

After a drawn-out battle of wills, Obama has reached a compromise allowing him to use the device to stay in touch with his close senior staff and personal friends.   Security will be amped up on the device to protect national security, and the e-mails will likely be subject to the Presidential Records act, meaning he’d better be careful which forwards he receives.  But he’s staying keyed in.

P.S. he also closed Guantanamo.  :)

“Fact 1: People aren’t buying stuff”

With that straightforward headline, Schmudget really nails the root factor for Washington State’s fiscal crisis.

Washington State’s government relies on sales and property tax.  Which is stupid.

I used to be fine with losing a third of my paycheck every other week.  I figured I didn’t need the money, and it was going to great services that I valued, such as roads and transit, police and firefighters, Planned Parenthood, and public schools.  I’ll admit, it hurt when I realized I was really, really wrong.

When I realized that all of that money went only to the Federal Government, which for the entirety of my middle-class career has funded Abstinence-Only Education, the War in Iraq, and George W.’s salary, I felt hoodwinked.  I was being robbed twice a month, and the state I lived in wasn’t getting a penny.  It would be like if Robin Hood stole from everybody and then put our money in a big pile and burned it.

Washington State, and all of the services that we have come to rely on, is funded only through property tax and our 9% sales tax.   You know, the part you doubled for that $3 tip last night.  After all, you were feeling generous.

And that’s why we’re in trouble now.  In a recession, spending stops.  To return to the central theme, if no one buys anything, then the government gets no money.  Kind of sucks, because at the same time, if no money is spent, no one has jobs, and a lot of people are probably going to end up needing things like food stamps, unemployment, or access to services that are not coincidentally underfunded.   Uh oh?

86% of the United States have an income tax.  Because it makes sense.   The seven states that currently do not have an income tax are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

Income tax has multiple benefits.  First off, you’re not taxing the poor for things they need, such as clothing each winter.  People pay into the fund what they can afford.  I think it was started like 2,000 years ago by some guy with a powerful father.  Tithing or something?  Surely even the most die-hard fiscal conservatives can get behind Jesus.  WWJP?

Second, during times of recession, Big Brother stays in business.  Guaranteed, as of today, I’m suddenly happy to be donating federally again (if only I had a job… shucks).  But you prevent the double-whammy of the failing economy paired with a government that can’t afford to help.  Think about it.  If only the left had their own version of Tim Eyman.

P.S. Planned Parenthood gets a lot of their money through donations.  Throw them a bone or two now, or else throw your unplanned grand-kids a lot of money later.

P.P.S. And if you’re craving a post about property tax… it’s coming my babies.  But I’m waiting for Schmudget to give me that link….. Also, it’s motherfuckin’ inauguration day.  This post was written in a hurry, and edited while slightly intoxicated.  It may have errors.  I love you.  And our new president.

He’s as great as they say

http://barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com/

My first nap under the new president!

It’s 11:13 AM.  I’ve been awake since 6:40 AM, which to you working folks is probably nothing, but I typically wake up at 12:30 PM each day to start my quasi-matutinal routine of drinking coffee and blogging.

Wow.  Really, there’s not much more to say than wow.  I went to a breakfast at the Bottleneck Lounge on Madison.  They served scones filled with an amazing mixture of eggs, blue cheese and mushrooms, and I tore through the sandwich, 2 mimosas and a bloody mary.  (Before noon…)

But we were all celebrating.  Surrounded by a slew of middle-aged queers including my mother, I watched Bush get dethroned and Obama crowned king.  It was clear how many of our hopes are pinned heavily on his collar, alongside that stupid flag lapel pin.

And I wasn’t the only one to tear up during the inauguration.  This moment was such an amazing transition.  The last 8 years are officially over.  Let’s take one last moment to say “sorry world, sorry poor people, sorry New Orleans, sorry Iraq, sorry entire Gaza strip, sorry rich people, sorry pretty much everyone who wasn’t smart enough to run away to Canada back in 2000″.  I almost wanted to see Obama hip-check Bush as they walked off the stage after the event.  It’s probably for the best he didn’t, but it would have been gratifying.

The millenium has officially started.  We have a president who is Internet-savvy (I’ve been told he reads this blog), who is a profound writer, who likes to think, who works out everyday, and who has an adorable family.  Betcha the Dow goes up a few points today alone.

I’m going to take a nap before I continue blogging (and editing the color scheme of this site).  Holy shit we did it.  Now let’s just hope he’s able to meet our expectations.

Coretta Scott King: Amazing Radical Woman

I know I’m pulling from the same few blogs here, but Queerty has yet another great story about Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King.  And I’m sure Martin Luther would be ever proud to share this eponymous day with his underrepresented spouse.

Sadly this article was one of the first places I had heard of Coretta.  It sounds like she was an amazing advocate for social change in all of its forms.  The civil rights movement lost a hero when she died in 2006.

Rachel Maddow and Rev. Gene Robinson

I found this copy of their interview from 5 days ago. Got to love our famous queers.

Some of my favorite moments:
Rachel Maddow was eloquent but straight to the point when referencing the Gay’s disappointment in Clinton e.g. “The Clinton administration threw the Gay and Lesbian people under the bus.” She also asked some good questions about Obama’s 1996 flip-flop on Gay Marriage.

And of course, perhaps a slight faux-paus, but I giggled like a school girl when Robinson said “No one had a bigger tent than Jesus.”

Come on. Gay men should know better….

Logic vs Panic

Queerty has an amazing story up today regarding the amicus curiae briefs for the California Supreme Court hearing on Proposition 8.

“Last week, the deadline passed for amicus curiae briefs, or so called “friend of the court” filings, for the upcoming California Supreme Court hearing on Prop. 8. Hundreds of groups sent in their petitions to the court, both for and against the measure, which outlawed same-sex marriage in the state. They range from 120-page treatises on prior case law to bizarre ramblings from the lunatic fringe, but they represent the last major hurdle before the Court begins its hearings, which may be as soon as early March. “

I can only encourage you to follow the link, as they have a great graphic.

If a Republican ends up on unemployment….

I’ll leave it up to you to finish the joke for me.  (i.e. in the comments people… am I trying too hard yet?)  Make it a real zinger.  Go ahead and put fake@gmail.com as your e-mail address.   Digressing…

The Washington Post has a story up today regarding all the newly-unemployed Republicans.  I guess it’s kinda ironic.  If you spend 8 years fucking up the economy, it gets really hard to find a new job when your time in the spotlight is up.

Currently even the affluent companies are on a hiring freeze.  The others, laying off people or closing their doors.   So it comes as no surprise that the politicians who still stink of George W. Bush are having a hard time getting interviews.

No longer will unemployed single mothers be the archetypal image of those sucking on welfare’s teat.  It’s time to replace it with the image of old dudes wasting our tax money on fancy scotch and rank cigars.

My Three Preachers? Four? Do street preachers count?

Fair is fair.  If we’re going to give free speech rights to bigoted Rick Warren or sodomite Gene Robinson, we’ve got to give everyone a soap box.

The Washington Post has an interesting (if awkwardly written) story on a number of very angry “street preachers”, aka those guys who think that everyone is going to hell, even you, Sport Nut.

Equipped with bullhorns and vitriol, these preachers wanted to make sure everyone heard their messages.

“Obama, he’s only a human,” said one of the unnamed preachers from the Washington Post article. “Don’t make a human being your lord and master. Your messiah. It’s very simple. You return to the Bible or you return to the jungle.”

Another called out those damned “Baby Killing Women, Porno Freaks, Sport Nuts, Drunks, Homos, Jesus Mockers, Mormons.”

Guess the father’s of all the abo’d babies get off scot-free.  Unless of course they’re a little too into the Mariners.

But all this frivolity doesn’t get us past the reality:

“A 17-year-old walked up to one of the preachers but was unable to speak. He wore an Obama button and a rainbow cuff. He was trembling. His name was Victor Eilering and he was a high school exchange student from the Netherlands. ‘What is the problem?’ he finally asked the preacher, quietly. ‘We did nothing to you.’”

Shit’s hurtful.  Jeese.

Not funny, just sad and poetic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpC3GPlO9_U

Like, I kind of wanted to laugh, but really, shit.  8 years = 2,922 days.  That’s a lot of damage.  (I counted leap year, but not that extra second added to 2008.)

Sexting Update: Yuma County Sext Free!

As a follow up to my earlier story,  I’ve been watching out for any other news about these poor kids who were charged with child-pornography for taking self-portraits.  It’s really breaking my heart and I just feel for these kids.  Here’s the local news’ varying reactions to the tale:

Yuma County Sext Free

Apparently Yuma County, Arizona is quick to pat itself on the back for youth-well-raised.  In an article titled “Teen ’sexting’ not seen as trend in Yuma,” Sun writer William Roller was quick to point out…

“The provocative practice of teenagers sending nude photographs of themselves via text messages - or “sexting” - is a growing phenomenon elsewhere in the country but has not surfaced locally, according to law enforcement officials.

The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office also reports no occurrences of sexting by Yuma teens or any involved with posting inappropriate images online, according to Capt. Eben Bratcher, YCSO spokesman.”

Denver Lawmakers creating phone-inclusive child-porn laws

“Now, Colorado state lawmakers are looking at a bill that would expand Internet luring and distribution of child pornography laws to include cell phones in an effort to curtail sexting.

“It happened at Castle Rock Middle School. Six students took nude photos of themselves and forwarded them to classmates. One of the photos ended up being circulated in California.

At least one parent said the law should also apply to the kids themselves.  “It’s wrong and they know it. It’s not like they’re 5-year-old kids that took a match to something and had to learn. These kids know better,” said parent Shannon Marx.  Lawmakers said the courts will decide how to prosecute a case if a teenager were to be charged, but the law is truly intended to target predators.”

Wisconsin Teen Charged with Uploading Naked Photos of Ex to MySpace

“Alex Phillips, a ‘wise guy’ who wanted to get revenge on his 16-year-old girlfriend by posting photos of her most private parts on MySpace, now faces felony child pornography charges in Wisconsin.

“When the girl discovered the photos had been posted on the Internet with explicit captions, she contacted police, who asked Phillips to take them down or face jail time. Police said the boy refused, saying, ‘Fuck that, I am keeping them up.’” 

While I’ll admit, this one doesn’t get my sympathies, it’s still a scary precedent.

Quick to Capitalize

Nothing sells products better than fear.  Parents who are afraid their children will be forever tainted by the Sexting epidemic are able to purchase special sim cards from Houston based Spygadgets.com. The sim cards allow parents to spy on their kids every text.

“‘Our phones have been ringing off the hook,’ says Jon Marshall, CEO of SpyGadgets.com in Houston, TX. ‘Parents just want to protect their kids and they are scared. Nobody wants to see their child end up in prison or have their future ruined just because of something like this.’ Marshall sells a cell phone spy device that is used to recover data from the SIM card found in some cell phones on the market. It can let you view text messages stored to the SIM card, even deleted text messages. While it won’t recover pictures from the phone, reading the messages will give a parent an idea of what their teen is texting.”

Sucks to be young….

OMG Becky! Your body’s not your own.

In a startling example of sex-negativity, invasion of privacy, and just plain stupidity, the police department of Greensburg, Pennsylvania is charging six teenage students of Greensburg Salem High School with child pornography offenses.

The charges stem from the nude and semi-nude photos three 14 and 15-year-old girls took of themselves and sent to three of their male peers via cell phone.

Police are charging the three girls with “manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography”, and the boys are being charged with possession of child pornography.

“Taking nude pictures of yourself, nothing good can come out of it,” said Police Captain George Seranko in a statement to local news affiliate, WPXI.

The photos were discovered in October, after officials at the high school took the cell phone from one of the boys.  Cell phone use is against the school’s policy.  The first photo found was a self-portrait taken by one of the girls.

Apparently Captain Seranko decided to file the charges in order to send a strong message to other students.

“It’s very dangerous,” Seranko told WXPI. “Once it’s on a cell phone, that cell phone can be put on the Internet where everyone in the world can get access to that juvenile picture. You don’t realize what you are doing until it’s already done.”

MSNBC picked up the story, and spoke with Patrick Artur, a Philadelphia defense attorney regarding the charges  “It’s clearly overkill,” Artur told MSNBC.  “… The letter of the law seems to have been violated, but this is not the type of defendant that the legislature envisioned.”

This entire debacle makes me sick.  According to a Cincinatti article on “sexting”, 20% of teens have sent or posted online nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves.  Cincinatti.com also contacted Christopher Kraus, the director of the group Postponing Sexual Involvement based out of the Cincinatti Children’s Hospital.

“Adolescent sexuality is part of normal human development,” Kraus told Cincinatti.com. “Teens are trying to figure out how to express their sexuality appropriately. They are learning, and they are learning from adults.”

Apparently they’re learning that the adults are hypocrites.  Although there are no mandatory minimum sentences under Pennsylvania’s child porn laws, the teens could still be forced to register as sex offenders for at least 10 years.  Pretty heavy-duty attack on civil liberties.

Perhaps more disturbing, in the comments section at the bottom of the WXPI article were frustrated pleas from the mother of one of the young boys now charged with possession of child pornography. [Edited for grammar/spelling throughout.]

“Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying what my son did is right and that he shouldn’t be punished.  He should have deleted the pic when the other boy sent it to him.  If I would have found the pics on his phone, he would have been grounded and he wouldn’t have his phone anymore ( I have a daughter).  What I’m trying to say is that my son shouldn’t be charged with sexual abuse of children. My son never touched or hurt anyone!  For the rest of his life he will have to register with Megan’s law.  He won’t ever be allowed around kids.  How will he ever go to college or get a job?  This charge will label my son as a sex offender.  If I don’t find a way to get the charge dropped, my son’s life is over.”

Now is the time to save the world

It’s 8:44 PM.  In the last hour, I have had a doorbeller for www.healthcareforamericanow.org stop by, a phone call from the Seattle Radical Women, who are putting together a rally in Olympia to celebrate reproductive freedoms, and literally as soon as I hung up with Radical Women, a great young activist from ThinkOutsideTheBottle called to ask if I had any pledges yet…oops, I don’t.

To quickly summarize:  Follow those links and make all those things happen!

To add a bit more depth:

Washington CAN and HealthCareforAmericaNow are tackling one of the most important issues of our time.  I’ll go as far as to say it was the most important issue 50+ years ago, but no one seemed to have the balls to tackle it.  Insurance companies are synonymous with evil villains.  Health care is a human right in a country with this much wealth.  By nationalizing it, we’re able to offer all Americans a better shot at life, and also LOWER the costs to businesses.  On their website, they state that despite the media’s claim to the contrary, among small businesses:

• 59% of small business owners support a reform plan with a choice of public or private options
• 75% say there should be more oversight of private insurers
• 70% see a strong role for government in guaranteeing health care for all

It makes no sense that your employer should be paying for your Health Care.  Currently only large corporations can offer decent health insurance, which puts smaller businesses at a disadvantage.  Smaller businesses are fundamental to our economy.  Universalize it already.

Seattle Radical Women are…rad.  They are organizing a rally in Olympia in Defense of Abortion rights.   Typically, the “March for Life” gathers at the Capitol every year on the 22nd.  Somehow Radical Women reserved it first this year.

They are organizing a carpool from Seattle leaving at 10 am.  Those wanting to ride down for the day can call 206-722-6057.

Think Outside The Bottle is doing a lot through relatively simple steps.  Currently our politicians spend a lot of money each year on bottled water for their conferences and meetings.  This is a waste of money, and incredibly inappropriate.  As our public servants and the stewards of our public water supply, they should really be drinking the same water as the rest of us.  Plus, you don’t want to privatize water.  I think that was the main plot point behind Kevin Costner’s Water World.  And I remember a scene where they drank pee.  Help this organization!

We are not a red State or a Blue State, we are a stoned and frugal WA State!

Twelve Washington state representatives are introducing a bill that would reclassify first-time marijuana offenses as a $100 fine.  Currently under state law, possessing even the slightest amount of pot can get you up to 90 days in jail.

I spent last Saturday at the Washington Environmental Council priorities meeting, and had a chance to see Dave Upthegrove in action.  He didn’t mention this bill directly, but one of his co-chairs, Senator-Elect Fred Jarrett, while discussing our recession, said “It would be a shame to waste a good crisis.”

This logic works wonders for the drug war.  This war is costly, and ineffective.  Obama’s scalpel and McCain’s hatchet should be directed here first.  According to statistics found on the Stranger’s slog, marijuana-related incarcerations cost us $7.5 million dollars a year.  The left’s desire to decriminalize drug use and the right’s desire to cut costs may actually come together on this one.

Will it be easy?  Of course not.  Nothing is, and there are still a lot of people out there that are afraid of change.  But other states have done this, and there’s been no negative repercussions.

Currently representatives Upthegrove, Williams, Moeller, Appleton, Pedersen, Ormsby, Dickerson, Carlyle, Roberts, Wood, Cody and Nelson have signed onto the bill.  Pretty good head start.

Let’s get more yes votes.

Anyone can call the legislature.  Contract employees get paid $2k+ a month to answer phones and listen to your opinions.  I’d recommend placing a phone call to your three immediate elected officials.

Easiest way to find these three people is on the following website:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

And here’s the official page for the bill.  You can now even get all the info you need via an RSS feed.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1177&year=2009#documents