02/20/2007
News: Air Force Rapist, John McCain, Light Bulbs, Nova
Continental Basketball Association relieves Tim Hardaway of his duties.
In bid to cut greenhouse gases, Australian government plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs within three years: "Turnbull said the banning of incandescent bulbs would help trim 800,000 tons from Australia’s current emissions level by 2012 and lower household lighting costs by 66 per cent."
300 rally with Candace Gingrich at Indiana Statehouse to demonstrate against amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. Gingrich: "You know what? Same-sex marriage already is illegal in Indiana, but it's the second part of this that they (proponents) don't want you to know anything about, that they want you to ignore. They don't want you to dig into the second part of the amendment because it could harm not just gay Hoosiers, but all Hoosiers." According to the Indy Star "The amendment's first sentence defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The second says neither the constitution nor state law can be construed as giving 'the legal incidents' of marriage to unmarried couples or groups."
Sirius and XM Satellite Radio announce plans for $4.6 billion merger.
Sarah Silverman's neighbors Steve and Brian not your typical TV gays.
Creepy: Court martial begins for Air Force officer accused of drugging and raping four men and attempting to rape two others: "Prosecutors told Col. Thomas Cumbie, the military judge, that the victims described experiences similar to the effects of gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, also known as the date-rape drug. Prosecutors said the men met Taylor at bars, had drinks and then blacked out."
A Q&A with the founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales.
John McCain slams Rumsfeld: "We are paying a very heavy price for the mismanagement - that's the kindest word I can give you - of Donald Rumsfeld, of this war. The price is very, very heavy and I regret it enormously. I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history." Although what he said upon Rumsfeld's retirement was far different: "While Secretary Rumsfeld and I have had our differences, he deserves Americans' respect and gratitude for his many years of public service."
QueerCents announces weekly series intended to guide gays and lesbians through tax season.
Two female pop stars choose divergent paths.
Early-rising amateur astronomers can spot a nova with the naked eye right now if you look hard enough.
Italy's government in closed-door sessions with the Vatican over draft bill giving legal rights to same-sex and unwed couples: "The meeting, at which Bertone and other prelates met Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, President Giorgio Napolitano and other officials, was a regular diplomatic event but was the first since the disputed bill was proposed earlier this month. Pope Benedict has accused political 'lobbies' of damaging the family. 'Divorce and free unions are on the rise, meanwhile adultery is viewed with an unjustifiable tolerance,' he said on Saturday."
Posted 1:08 PM EST by Andy in Australia, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Crime, Gay Marriage, Global Warming, Indiana, Italy, John McCain, News, Radio, Space, Tim Hardaway | Permalink
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Regarding the military rapist, I want to tell all my gay brothers out there to NEVER NEVER NEVER let your drink out of your sight in a bar or allow a man to hand you your drink. The date rape drug is out there and you never know who will try what.
Once at a bar, I met a couple who wanted to bring me home (guess what for). I wasn't interested, but one of them bought a drink from the bartender and brought it over to me. I took the drink and dropped it into the garbage and walked out. You can never be too careful.
Posted by: Big Dave | Feb 20, 2007 1:30:01 PM
Why does it burn when I pee?
Posted by: GHB | Feb 20, 2007 1:49:15 PM
Something about all this "meltdown" business strikes me as scripted and manipulated. Britney spends all of her adult and professional life fleeing paparazzi, then, at the most vulnerable moment in her life they are curiously within two feet of her at some obscure ostensibly undisclosed location recording every embarrassing, wincing-inducing minute?
My theory is Spears couldn't stand to cede once more pixel of precious acreage to that dead woman. After all, if you're a formerly "hot" pop star transitioning into an overweight divorcing single mother of two spinning out of control, you can't really die ( yet) alone in a hotel room of an overdose orphaning your babies, fans, stylist, lawyer and potential earning power. You can, however, shave your head and get a tattoo (thereby wresting the reassuring attention of the "Entermercial" Industrial Complex away from one trailer trash whore to another). Think of the lost revenue a "tragic" and premature death would prevent; Trimspa, Weight Watchers are waiting. I can just hear Britney's publicity retinue now: "shear with bravado, tear with remorse, invoke your sainted mother! It's 'dangerous!' It's 'edgy!' The tweens will love it!" This suspiciously transparent strategy remarkably and consistently maintains Spears' clean pop persona and is calculatedly free of illegality unlike, say, a DWI, drug offense or sexual impropriety. So, everybody wins and Disney isn't shamed!
Cha-ching. Anna Nicole who?
I'm just saying...
Posted by: Ben D. | Feb 20, 2007 1:50:45 PM
Australia will most likely save some greenhouse gas emissions, but has anyone noticed that these lightbulbs contain mercury. The ones I saw at Home Depot did. Why do flourescent lightbulbs have to contain mercury? What is the impact of each drawback, mercury that will end up in landfills versus more greenhouse gases because of inefficient incandescent bulbs?
Posted by: vstill | Feb 20, 2007 2:03:05 PM
The date rape drug...GHB. The date rape drug...rohypnol. The date rape drug...ketamine. Blah, blah, blah.
Just once I would like to see some media outlet inject a little reality into this tired old trope and say/print: "the date rape drug...alcohol."
Alcohol is THE ONE drug overwehelmingly associated with instances of date rape.
All these nervous nellies worried about some evildoer spiking their drink, or--gasp!--their daughters' drink, with some evil drug, need look no further than the booze/beer/wine itself.
But I guess abuse of a legal drug consumed freely by a majority of Americans doesn't make for very sensational media coverage. Issues of personal responsibility rarely do.
Posted by: 24play | Feb 20, 2007 2:06:16 PM
VSTILL: Ikea will recycle compact flourescent light bulbs (but I think it will only take their brand...which are pretty good). They're good things--even the non-Ikea ones, but they have to be treated as hazardous waste. Contact your local recycle center, write letters to Home Depot and Wal Mart asking them to recycle the bulbs.
Posted by: JT | Feb 20, 2007 2:27:51 PM
I don't know if I like our community represented by Steve and Brian. I mean, ugly, fat and hairy? Aren't we all smooth with swimmer's build with 8+? That is all the men I see on manhunt, etc.
Posted by: gay is the new straight | Feb 20, 2007 3:01:20 PM
Fluorescent bulbs are an ailing technology. They contain mercury, are very fragile and never last as long as advertised (unless they are always "on"--once you start cycling the small bulbs their lifespans are scarely longer than regular bulbs), and they are expensive. The new white LED's are more efficient and bulletproof, though still expensive and complicate. Then, there are things called quantum dots, which seems to be the ultimate light source of the future. I'm not sure if FL bulbs are saving a lot of greenhouse emissions if they require a lot more energy to produce.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED
Posted by: anon | Feb 20, 2007 3:03:31 PM
McCain is a tool who has gone from an image of POSSIBLY one of the few Repugs with any honor to a shameles politiwhore who will say or do anyone he thinks will get him the most votes.
The biggest accomplishment of Jimmy Wales, Ms. Wikipedia, is cybersorting the greatest collection of anal retentives on Planet Earth. They troll the pages looking for an excuse to change something per their own "point of view." And the idea that they can decide what topics are "notable" enough to be included is pseudo-intellectual arrogance in the extreme. As a "virtual" rather than printed "encylopedia," there is no excuse for leaving any topic out. I was happy to see someone dare question him about the absurdly complex "how to" instructions that have become the e-equivalent of Alice down the rabbit hole, but not surprised by his hollow answer. Would that someone had brought up the evidence of homophobia among his sanctioned editors as recently discussed in the "Washington Blade."
Posted by: Leland | Feb 20, 2007 3:07:34 PM
We replaced almost all of our lights when the new energy efficent bulbs to save energy. They are more expensive in the beginning but worth it!
That guy's smile scared me :X
And I am glad that XM and S are finally merging now I might consider getting one.
Posted by: Travis | Feb 20, 2007 3:19:50 PM
I agree with Big Dave. You should be VERY careful when you go out. The guy could be straight and looking to do you harm. Look at what happened to Matthew Shepard.
Steve and Brian on The Sarah Silverman Program are disgusting. I could never believe that a real gay couple would live like them. This whole thing about gay men are just like straight men has gone TOO FAR. Gay men don't play the same game as straight men. Men (gay and straight) are visual people meaning they look at a potential mate on a more visual level than a intelectual or emotional level. So gay men need to look good in order to attract the mate that they want. Not exactly the case for straight men who can look terrible and still have an attractive woman. Gay men; workout, eat healthy, and think positive.
Posted by: Jack! | Feb 20, 2007 3:23:51 PM
Leland, my darling: I can't help but point out that YOU READ THE FUCKING INSTRUCTIONS! Ha! You were going to post something, weren't you? Ha! (just in case you didn't hear it the first time)
Posted by: JT | Feb 20, 2007 3:24:33 PM
It burns when I pee!
Posted by: GHB | Feb 20, 2007 4:02:33 PM
I looked at the Wikipedia article on "homosexuality" and it takes a "kitchen sink" approach, covering a lot of ground and points of view. No evidence of any particular bias there, however, I did not have time to read the whole thing.
Posted by: anon | Feb 20, 2007 4:14:24 PM
Anon you have to look at all LGBT-related articles. They get vandalized all the time with anti-gay slurs by looking in the Edit this Page section. Also people try to downplay or completely eliminate an LGBT person's sexuality unless they are bad. Leonardo da Vinci, James Dean, Cary Grant, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Alexander the Great, Richard the Lionhearted, and many more have all had their sexuality downplayed so not to "offend" anyone.
Posted by: Jack! | Feb 20, 2007 4:34:48 PM
Britney is the new Paris (Hilton).
Ergo - we can stop talking about her, can't we?
Posted by: mark | Feb 20, 2007 4:45:01 PM
There was an NPR report on this a few days ago and the main issues are:
The new bulbs contain mercury
The recycling set up today in trhe USA will not accept these bulbs
Huge concerns about mercury poison
if you break a bulb on the ground the dust gets onto the soil and then into your ground water
You have to bring old bulbs, when they wear out, to a special dump site for toxic waste
even if American wanted to do it, if it is not made easy to recylce etc...the forget it
They have been using these bulbs in Japan for over 5 years, but have places to dispose of them easily
Posted by: Chip Arndt | Feb 20, 2007 5:12:46 PM
RE Wikihomophobia:
For those who missed it, here are excerpts from the "Washington Blade" commentary about a Wikipedia "editor" removing references to speculation about Anderson Cooper's sexuality. I often disagree with the Blade, but it has existed for nearly 40 years and remains, essentially, one of the gay "newspapers of record."
The Wikiette: “There is no evidence the Washington Blade is a significant, non-trivial, reliable source. We have an obligation to make certain that WP is not seen as a vehicle that can be used to “Out” people, or in any other way be used to damage or smear people.”
Blade: Let’s just ignore this blatantly homophobic comment. Suggesting that describing someone as gay constitutes a “smear” is a tired old insult.
Wikiette: “The advantage of including such allegations, or in other words the usefulness to the average user of WP, is minimal at best.”
Blade: Again, the use of the word “allegations” – as in criminal – suggests a serious lack of understanding of these issues. This person is clearly not qualified to edit the biography of a gay person.
Wikiette: “At no point do we have verification from Cooper or any other reliable source that he is in fact gay, only speculation. Speculation is not encyclopedic, nor does it have any room in WP.”
"Encylopedic" is a term Wiki Trolls throw around constantly, adjusting its definition to fit their point of view [which is a cardinal Wiki sin itself] and kill anything they disagree with. Creator Wales slogan, "the free encyclopedia that anyone can EDIT" [emphasis mine] was his first mistake. That only encourages people to tinker just because they can. Better he should have said, "that anyone can contribute to," and created a group of volunteers with demonstrated objectivity to edit. It's a cluster fuck now, and responsible discussion of gayness suffers because of it.
Though, since the Blade commentary, Cooper's page has been updated to reference the speculation about his sexuality, they recently highlighted the page on Scouting as one of Wikipedia's best, despite the fact that editors defend the page creator's refusal to adequately include facts about the group's vicious homophobia. They opine that because it's, allegedly, only been an issue in the US and the page is about "the scouting movement," there's no justification for amplifying this: "More recently, Scouting organizations that do not allow the participation of atheists, agnostics, or homosexuals have been publicly criticized."
Well, take away my Judy at Carnegie Hall Badge, but I kinda think that any issue that has been the subject of numerous lawsuits, including one that was ruled on by the United States Supreme Court, and including others more recently such as issues of disallowing Scouts use of Balboa Park in San Diego and a boating facility in Oakland because of their homohatred; and one that has radically changed the policies of the gigantic charity organization the United Way such that, in many places, it no longer automatically shares donations with the Scouts because of their homohatred; and one that has been the subject of a documentary JUST MIGHT BE "encylopedic" enough to note.
But why it hasn't is obvious when one weeds through the vitae on Wiki-ordained contributors to the page [there is, in fact, a special "Wiki Scouting Portal"] and quickly discovers that one of them declares, "This user has no issue with being associated with the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America."
Uh, you mean the neo-Nazis who proudly kick out gay Scouts, Eagle Scouts, and Scout Masters? Wiki, heal thyself!
Posted by: Leland | Feb 20, 2007 6:18:30 PM
Don't be fooled by McCain! His recent comments about Rumsfeld may be what many of us want to hear, but be careful of this man!! His extreme right wing view of religion in politics and wanting to overturn Roe v. Wade should make us all stand strong and say no to McCain as a candidate potential!
Posted by: ExcellentDF | Feb 20, 2007 7:27:44 PM
Help!! It burns when I pee!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: GHB | Feb 20, 2007 7:32:08 PM
"Britney is the new Paris (Hilton)."
How can she be the new Paris when Paris isn't finished being the new Paris? There's still plenty of cars left in that particular train wreck.
Britney is ANOTHER Paris. Yeah that works.
Posted by: mark m | Feb 20, 2007 8:03:37 PM
Why didn't Britney just shave her head at home? If she didn't have the clippers she (or one of the "bodyguards" who accompanied her to the hair salon) could have driven to a nearby CVS, Target, or RiteAid and bought them (paparazzi snapping it all up). Then she could have just driven back home and quietly sheared off her hair in the privacy
of her own bathroom without the circus atmosphere. Why not just call a tattoo artist to the house?
Hmmm.
Posted by: Ben D. | Feb 20, 2007 11:21:50 PM
I guess Tube comments is a good place to put this comment in, even though it's a throwback to last week's item about Kenny Chesney interviewed by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes. I wanted to add: in Chile last week, when the Spanish subtitles to E News/Daily 10 reported the item, the subtitles read "Kitty Chesney" was to be interviewed. Kitty Chesney denying he's gay, LOL. It was probably just a control booth foul-up, but i think it fits!
Posted by: Daniel | Feb 21, 2007 12:35:43 AM
Not to be too mean, but how can anyone look at the wigged-out BS without cracking up? Maybe if she uses this photo as the cover of the new CD (which she is working on now), it'll be a hit. Might be a clever marketing ploy.... Which day-rehab-spa has she checked into again?
I never thought that Christina would be the one firmly established on solid ground, bypassing all these antics. Guess true talent wins out in the end -- nice to know.
Posted by: k | Feb 21, 2007 1:03:01 AM
There was an arrest this week in that other case regarding the serial rapist of men in Texas.
Posted by: Joe T. | Feb 21, 2007 1:36:37 AM
Well, a contributor to Wiki could create an article on all Scout related SC decisions, including the ones involving gays getting kicked out or an article on Scout-gay relations and keep it separate from the main Scout portal. It would be a test case. I think several important gay-related SC decisions are posted on Wiki already. And, not to give Wiki too much credit, but you can get the free Wiki software and create your own Wiki-Universe, gay-related or not (what to call it... Pinki?), if this has not already been done. One can also complain to the overseers too. Wiki has only recently gained any respect. A year ago you could create a "MySpace" page for yourself and no-one would care (though it was subject to vandalism). They have had a huge problem with robotic software (bots) changing pages and putting viruses/malware on the site, which has led to new usage restrictions.
Posted by: anon | Feb 21, 2007 2:03:45 AM
finally a show with a real world representation of gay men, not all gay men are, twinks, thin, witty, lispy and fabulous on all levels, the majority are regular guys who like to do regular guy things. maybe this sort of image will help dispel some of the nasty myths.
Posted by: Luke | Feb 21, 2007 8:26:10 AM
I agree with Luke.
Posted by: _____ | Feb 21, 2007 12:40:37 PM