ALPHAVILLE reminds us what

the 14th amendment says

i HAD to

show everyone this wonderful posting from bob cesca's awesome blog! (no, that's the actual NAME of the blog. but it IS awesome)

he points us to this sarevil quote

"This is the problem with that lamestream media throughout our country, it's not just this issue but so many. One of the media outlets the other day just, ah, just was killin' me on this one, Sean, where they had a caption across their screen that said this Arizona law will make it -- it will make it illegal to be an illegal immigrant -- some bizarre type 'a headline like that where it was just this illustration that they just don't get it." Sarah Palin on the Hannity show last night

then shows us this picture:

via

shout out to sheriff clarence dupnik

for recognizing stupidity and racism when he sees it. well not just recognizing it BUT ADMITTING IT OUT LOUD

Arizona sheriff won’t enforce law that’s ’stupid and racist’
By David Edwards

At least one Arizona sheriff disagrees with a new immigration law that critics say could lead to civil rights violations. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik is promising not to enforce a law believes is "racist and stupid."

The law directs enforcement to use a "reasonable suspicion" standard to decide which persons need to be stopped. People without documentation proving they are legal residents can be imprisoned for up to six months. Governor Jan Brewer signed the legislation into law Friday.

Dupnik is becoming one of the most vocal opponents of the law. The Pima County Sheriff told KGUN that the legislation was "disgusting" and "unnecessary."

"I think the law, as I have said is unwise. It's stupid and racist," said Dupnik.........

wow

an edge over which it is impossible to look


Nearly half a year ago, a reader emailed with a link to a paper by Andrew Crompton, called "Three Doors to Other Worlds" (download the PDF). While the entirety of the paper is worth reading, I want to highlight a specific moment, wherein Crompton introduces us to the colossal western bellmouth drain of the Ladybower reservoir in Derbyshire, England. ..............

pic: [Image: The Ladybower bellmouth at full drain, photographed by Flickr user Serigrapher].

how cool is this?

via

for the record, i've never seen the twilight (or read it) shite. but man, i watched EVERY buffy!

this should be something special

i'm planning on watching (yes, i'll make sure i'm somewhere that has a tv).

Moyers and Hightower Talk Populism on the Last Edition of 'Bill Moyer's Journal' | BuzzFlash.org

BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

The following is a press release from PBS.

After years of insightful, award-winning television journalism, Bill Moyers' final edition of his weekly PBS "Journal" will air this Friday evening, April 30. For his concluding show, Moyers features a discussion about "America's real populism" with longtime populist agitator, Jim Hightower.

Hightower, a Texas-based author, radio commentator, nationally syndicated columnist, and former statewide elected official has spent the past 40 years carrying the banner of progressive populism across the country,battling the corporate powers that are running roughshod over working families, consumers, small business, and our environment.

In Friday's "Journal," Moyers draws on Hightower's experiences and well-honed wit to draw the line between the real thing and what Hightowercalls "the faux populist posturings" of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and othercorporate-funded mouthpieces for America's economic elites. In the hour-long broadcast, Moyers and Hightower highlight some of the current efforts that folks around the country are making to break the iron grip that big corporations have on our economy, environment, media, and government. One of the featured groups is Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a feisty and successful grassroots organization working to empower and unite people from all walks of life to take control of their communities.

To see what time Moyers' final show will air on a PBS station in your area,
and to get more information about the program, go to
www.pbs.org/moyers/journal.

Blackwater Will Be Allowed to Bid on Big State Department Contract « The Washington Independent

from the sublime absurd to the absurderererererererer................

one would think blackwater xe (a steamin' pile o' shite by any other name) could only bid on jobs in some brand new country (which thinks they need mercenaries), we've not heard of yet, but noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. they're actually ALLOWED to bid on united states jobs. shame on us. really. shame on US

Blackwater Will Be Allowed to Bid on Big State Department Contract « The Washington Independent

By Spencer Ackerman

GUANTANAMO BAY — A brief detour from my Guantanamo coverage, as a State Department official, speaking only on background, confirmed something else I’ve been working on. The private security company formerly known as Blackwater and now known as Xe Services, will be allowed to bid on the next generation of the State Department’s lucrative Worldwide Protective Services Contract. The company’s track record of killing Iraqi civilians, shooting at Afghan civilians, taking for personal use U.S. military-issued rifles from the Afghan police and setting up shell companies to win government contracts will not be an obstacle.

Once again, the fact that no federal acquisition official has recommended Blackwater be barred from bidding on federal contracts means, the official said, that “any company, including Xe Services and its subsidiary companies, [may] submit a proposal in response to an acquisition process established on the basis of full and open competition.”............

wow, she really IS dimmer than i even imagined

and here i thought that was impossible. silly ME!

Palin distorts Arizona law: ‘No opportunity for racial profiling’ | Raw Story
By David Edwards and Muriel Kane

When former half-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was asked for her reaction to Arizona's new immigration law, her first response was to defend it against charges that it will lead to racial profiling.

"Thankfully, Byron York, he hit the nail on the head," Palin told Sean Hannity of Fox News on Tuesday. "There is no ability or opportunity in there for the racial profiling. And shame on the lamestream media again for turning this into something that it is not."

"Governor Jan Brewer did what she had to do as the CEO of that state to help protect the citizens of her state," Palin continued. "I think it's shameful too that the Obama administration has allowed this to become more of a racial issue by perpetuating this myth that racial profiling is a part of this law."..........

i wear 'em

via

angst

via

Jersey Mayhem: That Depends, What Kind Of Tastykake Are We Talking About?

by Dave Bry
A New Jersey man was arrested in Asbury Park Friday for offering an undercover police officer $10 and a box of Tastykakes in exchange for a sex act. The specific type of Tastykake has not been disclosed...............

pic via

THE definition of DICKwad

After calling health care reform unconstitutional, Ailes declares: ‘I don’t do politics, I do the news.’

By Matt Corley

Yesterday, while speaking at the Ritz-Carlton Naples Golf Resort during an event hosted by the Ave Maria School of Law, Fox News President Roger Ailes took shots at his cable news rivals and attacked the health care legislation signed by President Obama. “It doesn’t seem constitutional to me to have the government tell you you have to buy something,” said Ailes. He told a reporter after the talk, “I don’t do politics, I do the news.” Nevertheless, when Ailes was asked how Republicans could win in November, he responded, “We have got to get back to the Constitution.” In a separate interview with a local Fox affiliate, Ailes defended Fox’s conservative content, saying, “We think we are fair and balanced. We think the others aren’t.” Watch it:

.................

you go grrrl!

there's also a google docs electronic petition you can sign, at the link below. it's to the gop telling them to come into the 21st century AND STOP DISSIN' MY SISTAHS

Send Me "Back to the Kitchen"?

Rep. Betty Sutton

Democratic Congresswoman (Ohio's 13th District)

Last week a talented, young woman full of promise came to me with a flier her family received in the mail from the Republican Party. As she handed me the mailer, with a sense of disappointment and hurt, she pointed to a line in the flier that read, 'Let's take Betty Sutton out of the House and send her back to the kitchen.'

The young woman, her heart heavy, then said, "I can't believe that this is how some people value women. And, even if they do, I can't believe that they would feel comfortable promoting it in a flier like this." And then, this bright, capable woman, who I know to be ready and able to do great things for our community and nation, said this: "I don't know why I even went to college; if this is how people treat you, what's the point?"

The mailer was supported by funds from a Republican multimillionaire challenger by the name of Tom Ganley who has decided he wants to take my place in Congress. Ganley placed a huge advertisement in the flier to build support for the campaign to - how did they put it - oh, yes, to get me "out of the House and back in the kitchen.".....................

an article worth reading.

this is pretty intense but a good read. it's written by a straight, ex-mormon, atheist which makes it all the more interesting

i can't pretend to know what it's like to be so fearful and angry (or is that guilty) at oneself that you'd go to a 'conversion' camp like this. i understand gay is NOT in league with a lot of christian sects. i understand gay is NOT in league with simple day to day living (you know what i mean. i mean it's not necessarily accepted by the neighbors). i also know you can't change who you are

What Happened When I Went Undercover at a Christian Gay-to-Straight Conversion Camp
By Ted Cox

I don’t remember exactly when I felt his erection pressing into my back. It might have been while he whispered in my ear, “Long ago, you were the Golden Child. But, somehow, that Golden Child was hurt, and you put up a wall to protect yourself.” Or it might have been when other men in the room broke out in song:

How could anyone ever tell you
That you’re anything less than beautiful?
How could anyone ever tell you
That you’re less than whole?

I sat on the floor between the outstretched legs of a camp guide, my head leaning back against his shoulder. The guide sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my chest. This hold was called “The Motorcycle.” Five men surrounded the two of us, their hands resting gently on my arms, legs and chest.

There were about ten other groups like this sitting on the floor in the darkened room: one guide giving “healing-touch therapy” while the surrounding men rested their hands on the receiver. Some men were held in the Motorcycle position. Others were turned towards their guide, cradled the way a parent would hold a sobbing child who had just scraped her knee on the sidewalk.........

oh my effing goddess

if you're running in an area where you feel COMPELLED to carry a firearm, perhaps you'd best find another area to jog in. by the way, this doesn't make you a he-man in my book. just the opposite

Texas gov. shoots, kills 'wily' coyote during jog

By JIM VERTUNO

The Associated Press

this looks very interesting

it also looks very sad and very hard to watch



prodical sons

i'm amazed we're still on this planet

via

tuesday humor (more from dangerous minds)

although he's NOT TRYING to be funny





What Does Bathroom Etiquette Have To Do With God?
Posted by Richard Metzger
Pastor Steven L Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church (and Teabagger) preaches that men must urinate while standing up. This is what being a man is all about. And it’s emblematic of everything that’s wrong in the world. Apparently. And did you know that President Obama probably pees sitting down. too? That’s what the good reverend thinks! How he knows this, I can’t say..........

blond on blond is one of my favorite albums

so i was especially happy to see this: (but dangerous minds ALWAYS has cool music and other stuff)


The Making of Blonde on Blonde in Nashville
Posted by Richard Metzger

nteresting 2007 essay by Sean Wilentz from the Oxford American Magazine about the recording of one of the greatest albums of the last century, Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde. A couple of interesting quotes in the piece from actor-musician Kris Kristofferson, who at the time (1965) worked as a janitor in the recording studio where the album was made. Here Wilentz describes the scene when the epic Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands was created:

The strangest Nashville recording dates were the second and third. The second began at six in the evening and did not end until five-thirty the next morning, but Dylan played only for the final ninety minutes, and on only one song: “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.” He would later call it a piece of religious carnival music, which makes sense given its melodic echoes of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the chorale “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Unlike “Visions of Johanna,” though, this epic needed work, and Dylan toiled over the lyrics for hours. The level of efficiency was military: Hurry up and wait.............

Visions of Johanna from ramonramon on Vimeo.