Yoga Korunta

The Paradoxical Commandments

2009-12-13T11:38:00.005-05:00

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

The Paradoxical Commandments were written by Kent Keith in 1968, when he was 19, a sophomore at Harvard College. They were part of The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council, his first booklet for high school student leaders.

No excuse for tainted meat

2009-12-02T12:43:00.007-05:00

Clark Behind The Headlines
From HLN's Money Expert Clark Howard

Have you heard about this E.coli outbreak that killed two people and made hundreds more sick? It’s because of a food processor in New York that had to issue a recall on a huge amount of ground beef. They weren’t testing for a strain of E.coli that was banned 15 years ago.

If you remember, in 1993 there was a deadly E.coli outbreak involving the fast food chain Jack in the Box. And as a result of that, the U.S. Department of Agriculture banned this strain of E.coli from meat and introduced new rules for companies to test their products. But they made it voluntary. Well, a lot of meat companies, including this big one in New York State, came under pressure from the slaughterhouses and suppliers and decided, “Yeah, well, we're just not going to test for that.” And as a result, you have people dead who wouldn't be, and people hurting who wouldn't have been. Inexcusable.

It is so third world that we have the ability to prevent these illnesses and deaths, and just because of financial interests of meat packers, we don't do it. But a few retailers are making an effort. Costco Wholesale processes its own meat, and it fully meets the advisory guidelines and tests everything they put on the shelves. It’s just something where you think, why would a business cut corners like that and why would the meat industry have people lose faith in the safety of the food supply just to shave a penny here or there?

You know, in capitalism, businesses that mess up get punished by the marketplace. And often they get destroyed like the people who sold tainted peanut products. But the fact is, the people that get sick or die are still sick or dead.

The answer is very, very simple. The Department of Agriculture needs to make mandatory the inspections for the E.coli strains that they know are deadly. Think about if it was your kid who died because some meat processor decided to cut a corner and not test its product to make sure it's safe. I find that very upsetting.

A Cat in Heaven

2009-11-16T08:26:00.001-05:00

A cat dies and goes to Heaven. God meets Kitty at the pearly gate and says, "You have been a good cat all these years. You can have anything you desire. All you have to do is ask."

"Well," said Kitty, "I've lived all my life in a New York office and all I had to sleep on were marble floors."

"Say no more," says God, and instantly a fluffy pillow appears.

A few days later, six mice are killed in a tragic accident, and they go to Heaven. God meets them at the gate with the same offer he made to the cat.

"All our lives," the mice say, "we've had to run. Cats, dogs, women with brooms have chased us. If we had roller skates, we wouldn't have to run anymore." God says he can take care of it and, instantly, each mouse is fitted with a beautiful pair of roller skates.

A week later God checks on Kitty, who is asleep on his pillow. God gently nudges him awake and asks, "How are you doing? Are you happy here?"

"Never been happier," says Kitty, stretching and yawning. "And those meals on wheels are great, too!"

Death And Dying: Nature Is Selfish, Get Over It

2009-11-12T20:11:00.007-05:00

Deborah Calla, www.theloveprojectinc.com, creator, writer/producer of feature films and TV programming
Posted: November 12, 2009 01:33 PM

I have always thought when people passed away that the ones left behind cried for the fact they would not have the person they loved in their lives any longer. The truth is we cry for not having that person but we also cry for all they will never get to do and to experience; new presidents, newborns, love, restaurants, films, political and social changes etc.

I once read that nature is selfish -- a powerful but truthful statement. Nature doesn’t stop for anyone or anything. No matter what is happening in our lives people still rush to work, fight wars, make love, waste time and the world goes through tsunamis, global warming, sunsets and sunrises.

It is so brutally shocking when our lives are falling apart and the rest of the world does not seem to notice. The first time I really experienced this was when my husband was lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life and I went for a walk around the hospital. I needed air and sunlight after spending three days locked up in his room without leaving.

As my body walked my mind was still tied back to what was happening in that hospital room, but all the people walking by me didn’t seem to notice or care. They laughed and carried on like nothing was happening. I wanted to stop and tell them “Don’t you know what’s happening? My husband is fighting for his life. How can you just carry on? ” But of course I couldn’t do that. The truth is that everyone has their drama, small and big, at different times in their lives and nature doesn’t care and it doesn’t stop. But that is how life is; it has its own force.

It is so important to live life for what we think is important and brings us the greatest amount of happiness and satisfaction and not fall victim of any type of fictional or social interpretation of what life should be or look like.

Life is what it is and it’s to be lived to the fullest at every moment because things can change on a dime. This is by no means a gloom and doom statement. It is actually beautiful and powerful and it can be simple to live by making every day count and being in the moment. If the moment is talking to a friend, then let’s dedicate the time to the friend. Let’s not think about what we need to do after we leave our friend. Let’s be in the moment. If the moment is making love, let’s not think about what happened before and what will happen after. Let’s be in the moment and try to let our body and mind experience every feeling and sensation.

We are so often in a hurry that we miss out on fully experiencing what happens to us until something tragic happens and we realize that we have rushed through too much and now have much to regret.

So while nature is selfish and life will continue on no matter what happens to each one of us, we can make our own lives count by dedicating our journey to ourselves. Our best friend lives within us, and it is actually ourselves. We are the only ones who will never leave and will always hear our thoughts and feelings and know everything that there is to know about US. So why not give our best friend the best life possible by letting ourselves truly experience life by being in the moment? Think about it.

Follow Deborah Calla on Twitter: www.twitter.com/debcalla

Tuesday is Fryday!

2009-11-10T23:17:00.011-05:00

Sniper John Allen Muhammad executed

By Jeanne Meserve and Mike M. Ahlers, CNN
November 10, 2009 10:39 p.m. EST

John Allen Muhammad, 48, was executed for the D.C. sniper attacks in 2002 that left the Washington area gripped in fear.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Officials say John Allen Muhammad had no final words before his execution. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said he found "no compelling reason" for clemency. Muhammad, 48, said he was innocent before execution; he's declared dead at 9:11 pm ET. Supreme Court refused to hear Muhammad's appeal on Monday.

Jarratt, Virginia (CNN) -- Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad was executed Tuesday by lethal injection, a Virginia prisons spokesman said.

He was declared dead at 9:11 p.m., said Larry Traylor, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Corrections.

"There were no complications; Mr. Mohammad was asked if he wished to make a last statement," he told reporters. "He did not acknowledge this or make a last statement whatsoever."

Mohammad, 48, said nothing from the time he entered the death chamber accompanied by guards, Traylor said.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine denied a last-minute clemency request Tuesday for Muhammad, the mastermind behind the Washington-area sniper attacks of 2002 that terrorized the nation's capital.

During three weeks in October 2002, Muhammad and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, then 17, killed 10 people and wounded three, while taunting police with written messages and phoned-in threats and demands.

"Having carefully reviewed the petition for clemency and judicial opinions regarding this case, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was recommended by the jury and then imposed and affirmed by the courts," Kaine said in a written statement.

"Accordingly, I decline to intervene."

Kaine's announcement came a day after the Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case.

During two trials -- including one featuring testimony from Malvo, whose youth meant he was not eligible for the death penalty -- and in years of appeals, Muhammad professed his innocence.

Muhammad's attorney had argued his client was not given sufficient time to file his final appeal, but said Tuesday -- after the high court and the governor declined his request for a stay -- that he would make no further efforts to delay the matter.

"We respect their decisions and will make no more legal efforts to stop this process from going forward," said lawyer Jon Sheldon in a written statement. "In its effort to race John Allen Muhammad to his death before his appeals could be pursued, the state of Virginia will execute a severely mentally ill man who also suffered from Gulf War Syndrome the day before Veterans Day."

Muhammad met Tuesday with J. Wyndal Gordon, who was his former stand-by attorney in his Maryland trial, in which he represented himself.

"His attitude was strong, it was sturdy," Gordon told reporters. "Mr. Mohammad maintains his innocence in this case, and he always has. He is not remorseful, although he does extend his condolences to the families. What these families went through is tragic in every level. Given the injustices in this case, what Mr. Mohammad went through is equally as tragic."

Gordon said he does not consider Mohammad to be insane. "However," he added, "I am not a psychiatrist or a psychologist."

The lawyer said Muhammad's last meal was "chicken and red sauce, and he had some cakes."

Gordon predicted earlier Tuesday that Muhammad's strength would continue until his final moments.

"I expect that he will come into his death bed with this head held up high," he said. "He is not a broken man and even on his death bed, he will express his righteous indignation for his own execution."

Muhammad, who opted not to select a spiritual adviser, met during the afternoon with his immediate family. He was to meet with his attorneys later in the afternoon, said Traylor.

Muhammad's first wife, Carol Williams, showed a letter in which he asked her to visit him on his execution day. "Carol, I miss my family for the past eight years," he wrote, referring to the time he has been incarcerated. "I don't want to be missed the day that these devils murder my innocent black ass."

Williams said Tuesday's reunion was to be their first in years, though they had communicated by letter and spoken by phone.

"Basically he wanted me to just let his kids know that he loved them very much and to just tell me some different things, that he was sorry that he never gave our marriage a chance to work, because he was having an affair," she said. "So basically he was just apologizing."

Asked about his father, Lindbergh Williams said his feelings about the death penalty had not softened with the approach of the execution. "If you commit a crime, you can pay the time," he said.

Asked whether he believes his father regretted what he did, the younger Williams said, "Yes, I really do."

Mildred Muhammad, the sniper's second ex-wife and the mother of three of his children, told CNN on Monday that she last saw him in 2001 at a custody hearing and had not sought to visit him in prison.

"I had emotionally detached from John when I asked him for a divorce," she told CNN. "And my emotions were severed when he said that you have become my enemy and as my enemy, I will kill you."

She has asserted that she was her ex-husband's target, and she blamed the first Gulf War for changing his personality.

"He went from someone who was always happy, that knew what direction he was going in, and was focused, to a person that was totally confused, depressed all the time, and didn't know how to do or get to where he wanted to be."

She said he never received counseling after his return to the United States.

But lawyer Gordon disputed her account, saying that Muhammad "was absolutely not affected by his time in the Gulf War. We did discuss that."

CNN Supreme Court producer Bill Mears contributed to this report.

Burn, baby, burn.

Yes, it's racist

2009-10-02T17:31:00.010-04:00

Bloggers, this article was written by one of my favored bloggers, Deborah Newell Tornello, aka LITBRIT.

Somalia and Piracy

2009-04-13T20:08:00.002-04:00

February 4, 2009

You are being lied to about pirates
by Johann Hari

Somali pirate “ships” are small, but the ships they seize are huge. They held one gigantic tanker for months until ransom was paid.Who imagined that in 2009, the world’s governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy - backed by the ships of more than two dozen nations, from the U.S. to China - is sailing into Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-shoulder pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on earth.

But behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an untold scandal. The people our governments are labeling as “one of the great menaces of our times” have an extraordinary story to tell - and some justice on their side.

Pirates have never been quite who we think they are. In the “golden age of piracy” - from 1650 to 1730 - the idea of the pirate as the senseless, savage thief that lingers today was created by the British government in a great propaganda heave. Many ordinary people believed it was false: Pirates were often rescued from the gallows by supportive crowds. Why? What did they see that we can’t?

In his book “Villains of All Nations,” the historian Marcus Rediker pores through the evidence to find out. If you became a merchant or navy sailor then - plucked from the docks of London’s East End, young and hungry - you ended up in a floating wooden Hell. You worked all hours on a cramped, half-starved ship, and if you slacked off for a second, the all-powerful captain would whip you with the cat o’ nine tails. If you slacked consistently, you could be thrown overboard. And at the end of months or years of this, you were often cheated of your wages.

Pirates were the first people to rebel against this world. They mutinied against their tyrannical captains - and created a different way of working on the seas. Once they had a ship, the pirates elected their captains, and made all their decisions collectively. They shared their bounty out in what Rediker calls “one of the most egalitarian plans for the disposition of resources to be found anywhere in the 18th century.”

They even took in escaped African slaves and lived with them as equals. The pirates showed “quite clearly - and subversively - that ships did not have to be run in the brutal and oppressive ways of the merchant service and the Royal navy.” This is why they were popular, despite being unproductive thieves.

The words of one pirate from that lost age - a young British man called William Scott - should echo into this new age of piracy. Just before he was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, he said: “What I did was to keep me from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirating to live.”

In 1991, the government of Somalia - in the Horn of Africa - collapsed. Its 9 million people have been teetering on starvation ever since - and many of the ugliest forces in the Western world have seen this as a great opportunity to steal the country’s food supply and dump our nuclear waste in their seas.

Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the U.N. envoy to Somalia, tells me: “Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury - you name it.” Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to “dispose” of cheaply. When I asked Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: “Nothing. There has been no cleanup, no compensation and no prevention.”

At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia’s seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by over-exploitation - and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300 million worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster and other sea life is being stolen every year by vast trawlers illegally sailing into Somalia’s unprotected seas.

The local fishermen have suddenly lost their livelihoods, and they are starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: “If nothing is done, there soon won’t be much fish left in our coastal waters.”

This is the context in which the men we are calling “pirates” have emerged. Everyone agrees they were ordinary Somalian fishermen who at first took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least wage a “tax” on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coast Guard of Somalia - and it’s not hard to see why.

In a surreal telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was “to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters … We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas.” William Scott would understand those words.

No, this doesn’t make hostage-taking justifiable, and yes, some are clearly just gangsters - especially those who have held up World Food Program supplies. But the “pirates” have the overwhelming support of the local population for a reason. The independent Somalian news site WardherNews conducted the best research we have into what ordinary Somalis are thinking - and it found 70 percent “strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defense of the country’s territorial waters.”

One of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was “to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters … We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas.”
During the revolutionary war in America, George Washington and America’s founding fathers paid pirates to protect America’s territorial waters, because they had no navy or coast guard of their own. Most Americans supported them. Is this so different?

Did we expect starving Somalians to stand passively on their beaches, paddling in our nuclear waste, and watch us snatch their fish to eat in restaurants in London and Paris and Rome? We didn’t act on those crimes - but when some of the fishermen responded by disrupting the transit corridor for 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, we begin to shriek about “evil.” If we really want to deal with piracy, we need to stop its root cause - our crimes - before we send in the gunboats to root out Somalia’s criminals.

The story of the 2009 war on piracy was best summarized by another pirate, who lived and died in the fourth century BC. He was captured and brought to Alexander the Great, who demanded to know “what he meant by keeping possession of the sea.” The pirate smiled and responded: “What you mean by seizing the whole earth; but because I do it with a petty ship, I am called a robber, while you, who do it with a great fleet, are called emperor.”

Once again, our great imperial fleets sail in today - but who is the robber?

Johann Hari is a writer for the Independent newspaper. He has reported from Iraq, Israel/ Palestine, the Congo, the Central African Republic, Venezuela, Peru and the U.S., and his journalism has appeared in publications all over the world. To contact him, email johann@johannhari.com or visit his website at JohannHari.com. This column previously appeared in the Independent and Huffington Post, where the following postscript was added:

Postscript: Some commentators seem bemused by the fact that both toxic dumping and the theft of fish are happening in the same place - wouldn’t this make the fish contaminated? In fact, Somalia’s coastline is vast, stretching 3,300km (over 2,000 miles). Imagine how easy it would be - without any coast guard or army - to steal fish from Florida and dump nuclear waste on California, and you get the idea. These events are happening in different places but with the same horrible effect: death for the locals and stirred-up piracy. There’s no contradiction.

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He dodged those things like they were Vietnam!

2009-01-29T23:13:00.010-05:00

Monument to Bush shoe-throwing shines at Iraqi orphanage

Fiberglass, copper sculpture of shoe thrown at former President Bush unveiled
Orphans help artist build the $5,000 sculpture displayed at the orphanage
Director: Monument is a gift to next generation to remember heroic action
Orphans who helped build shoe "were the victims of Bush's war," director says

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- For the war-beaten orphans of the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit, this big old shoe fits.

A monument to a shoe thrown at former President Bush is unveiled at the Tikrit Orphanage complex.

A huge sculpture of the footwear hurled at President Bush in December during a trip to Iraq has been unveiled in a ceremony at the Tikrit Orphanage complex.

Assisted by children at the home, sculptor Laith al-Amiri erected a brown replica of one of the shoes hurled at Bush and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by journalist Muntadhir al-Zaidi during a press conference in Baghdad.

Al-Zaidi was jailed for his actions, and a trial is pending. But his angry gesture touched a defiant nerve throughout the Arab and Muslim world. He is regarded by many people as a hero. Demonstrators in December took to the streets in the Arab world and called for his release.

The shoe monument, made of fiberglass and coated with copper, consists of the shoe and a concrete base. The entire monument is 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high. The shoe is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) long and 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide.

The orphans helped al-Amiri build the $5,000 structure -- unveiled Tuesday -- in 15 days, said Faten Abdulqader al-Naseri, the orphanage director.

"Those orphans who helped the sculptor in building this monument were the victims of Bush's war," al-Naseri said. "The shoe monument is a gift to the next generation to remember the heroic action by the journalist."

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"When the next generation sees the shoe monument, they will ask their parents about it," al-Naseri said.

"Then their parents will start talking about the hero Muntadhir al-Zaidi, who threw his shoe at George W. Bush during his unannounced farewell visit."

Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader toppled by the United States in 2003, was from the Tikrit region.

Al-Zaidi marked his 30th birthday in jail earlier this month. One of his brothers said he is "in good health and is being treated well."

Al-Zaidi's employer, TV network al-Baghdadia, keeps a picture of him at the top left side of the screen with a calendar showing the number of days he has spent in detention. The network has been calling for his release.

By tradition, throwing a shoe is the most insulting act in the Arab world.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2009-01-19T10:39:00.004-05:00

Yes, the change is going to come!

This is National Service Day, Bloggers!

Best Individual Blogger: Driftglass!

2009-01-10T15:43:00.004-05:00

Blogger friends, please help our comrade, Driftglass, in the Best Individual Blogger category: vote here.

2009-01-01T12:36:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

Mayfly Project 2008

2008-12-30T08:50:00.007-05:00

A Year in 24 Words

Barrack Hussein Obama is President!

Prison time for O.J.!

I love Cap'n!

Blue Gal reigns!

Cowardly George W. Bush dodged those shoes like Vietnam.

See http://meish.org/mayfly/

Shoe Throwing

2008-12-27T22:50:00.005-05:00

Yes, Attaturk Said It Best!
"He dodged those things like they were 'Vietnam'"

Perfection.

This was ruthlessly stolen from superior blogger, Alicia Morgan.
Thanks, Alicia!

Onward, Christmas Soldiers!

2008-12-25T04:58:00.006-05:00

Bloggers, this card was used with the permission of Jess Wundrun. Thanks, Jess!

TIME's Person of the Year

2008-12-17T09:27:00.010-05:00

Bloggers, TIME has announced its selection for Person of the Year:

Barrack Hussein Obama!

Hell, yes! They got the annual proclamation right. This blogger is proud!

A Day Without Gays

2008-12-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

Bloggers, the following was ruthlessly stolen from CNN. It is being published here in honor of my blog love Cap'n Dyke. Love on ya, me Pirate Queen!

By David CraigSpecial to CNN

Editor's note: David Craig is a film, television and Web producer, an adjunct professor at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California, and a gay rights activist.

David Craig says there's growing support for recognition of gay unions and gay marriage.

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- My battle for marriage equality began in 1990, after my partner, Brian Binder, and I had a commitment ceremony. The ceremony was held at the end of a conference for Parents and Friends of Lesbian and Gays and was attended by more than 300 friends and members of both our families.

We were featured in a couple of books on gay marriage because the concept was so new at the time. We also registered as domestic partners and entered into every possible form of legal recognition available at the time.

A few years later, Brian was visiting his parents in Nevada to inform them that he was giving up his battle with AIDS. Something went horribly wrong, and he was rushed to the hospital. I flew there immediately.

As his caretaker, I knew his medical condition and had been involved in every medical decision. We had shared the joy of making a commitment to one another and the pain and suffering of a horrible disease.

But when I arrived, I was told I could not see him because I was not "family" and because my legal documents were valid only in California. Even as I heard him calling out my name, they refused to let me see him because we were not married. Brian died in 1992.

In 1995, I helped organize the first Freedom to Marry March in Los Angeles. Ten years later, the idea for A Day Without Gays was conceived.

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I was discussing same-sex marriage with Delia Fine, my colleague at the A&E Network. I proposed a gay version of Lysistrata, an ancient Greek satire about Athenian women who withheld sex from their husbands until they agreed to stop going to war.

She replied, "what if gays went on strike instead?" and the idea was born.

We convinced A&E to produce a movie based on the idea, which became a romantic comedy called "Wedding Wars" that aired on the network in 2006. Critics compared the film to "A Day Without a Mexican," which led to the one-day protest by the Latino community called A Day Without Immigrants.

In the wake of the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which banned same-sex marriage, I posted the event on Facebook. My fellow organizer, Steve Holzer, inspired by the Latino protests, suggested we call it A Day Without Gays.

We soon discovered that other organizers had conceived of the same idea simultaneously, and we all agreed to schedule the protest for December 10, which is International Human Rights Day. A week later, Join The Impact, the group that organized City Hall rallies nationwide November 14, joined forces with us.

Our goal is to raise awareness that marriage is a "basic human right" as declared by the U.S. Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia, the case that ended race-based restrictions on marriage.
We believe that to deny gays and lesbians that right, and the 1,400 state and federal legal and economic benefits of marriage, is discrimination and in violation of the 14th Amendment.
We are asking people who support us to "call in gay" to their workplace by taking the day off or to shut down their businesses. Our goal is to raise awareness that we are gay and lesbian Americans who work, own businesses, pay our taxes and support the economy to the tune of $712 billion a year, according to an analysis by Witeck-Combs Communications, a public relations agency that specializes in the gay and lesbian consumer market. This is a declaration that we take our rights seriously and demand full equality.

Our Facebook site has had a million visitors, and more than 225,000 people indicate that they will or might participate. There are also more than 17,000 postings from participants who have taken the time to debate, support and/or deride these issues.

There is still much to do. Thirty states have passed bans on same-sex marriage. Thirty states allow employers to fire someone based on sexual orientation, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Some states have instituted or are considering bans that directly or indirectly prevent gays and lesbians from adopting or fostering children.

In addition, the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act by Congress in 1996 denies civil unions what Barack Obama's campaign described as the more than 1,100 benefits of marriage including immigration, taxation, Social Security and veteran's benefits.

A recent Newsweek poll reflects that, for the first time, a majority of Americans now believe that gay and lesbian couples deserve recognition, with 55 percent supporting legally sanctioned unions. It found increased backing for inheritance and other rights and found that 39 percent favor gay marriage.

The tide is clearly turning in our favor, and I believe that love, equality and support for all families will triumph. In the words of Tony Kushner, "We will be citizens. The time has come."

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Craig.

Pearl Harbor

2008-12-08T00:07:00.001-05:00

This blogger recalls being taught as a child that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. This is true. He doesn't recall being told that the United States blockaded Japan to control expansionism.

Sayin,' not "just sayin'."

Country Music Inbreeding

2008-11-25T23:20:00.004-05:00

Dad raped daughters for 27 years

Dad in UK sentenced to life in jail for subjecting daughters to rapes over 27 years

Rapes resulted in 19 pregnancies, nine births, seven children

Surviving children suffer genetic disorders

Judge questions why social workers, professionals did not find out about case

Next Article in World »

Read VIDEO

(CNN) -- A British man was jailed Tuesday for raping two of his daughters and fathering nine children over 27 years, a case with echoes of Austria's Josef Fritzl.

The two daughters were made pregnant 19 times; there were nine births, five miscarriages and five terminations. Seven of the children are alive but suffer genetic deformities.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons banning the identification of his victims and the surviving children, pleaded guilty Tuesday at Sheffield Crown Court, northern England, and was sentenced to serve 25 life sentences to run concurrently.

The judge said the minimum term the 56-year-old rapist should serve in jail should be 19½ years.

South Yorkshire Police Chief Superintendent Simon Torr said, "The victims of these terrible crimes have asked me to state the following: 'His detention in prison brings us only the knowledge that he cannot physically touch us again. The suffering he has caused will continue for many years, and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives.' "

Speaking for the police, Torr added, "The main concern ... is for those who have been so badly affected: the victims who have suffered a terrible ordeal. We will continue to offer them our full support to try and help them get on with their lives.

"As far as the sentence goes, we are satisfied that this offender has received the strongest possible punishment for his heinous crimes. Now we need to ensure continuing support for those who have suffered as a result of his actions."

The daughters first told police about their ordeal in June, but the abuse dated to 1981.

It emerged that in 1998 one daughter rang Childline, a charity to help abused kids, and asked for assurances about being able to keep her children if she came forward. When Childline could not make that guarantee, the daughter did nothing more to raise her plight. Watch how the case came to light »

The UK's Press Association reported that the rapes began in 1981 with daily attacks and that for long periods, they would be raped up to three times a week, and the assaults would continue through pregnancies. Their only reprieve came after they had just given birth or when they were ill because of the abuse.

If either daughter tried to refuse their father's attacks, they would be punched, kicked and or held to the flames of a gas fire, burning their eyes and arms, PA reported.

Despite visiting hospitals and meeting with social workers over the 27 years of abuse, no investigation was launched into the family.

The case comes in the wake of the death of a baby, known only as Baby P, which has dominated headlines in Britain. The baby endured horrendous torture and died despite being on the local authority's child protection register.

In Austria this year, Josef Fritzl was arrested, accused of keeping his daughter in a basement dungeon and fathering seven children through the rapes.

Ecological Shopping

2008-11-18T12:39:00.008-05:00

Bloggers, Siel, of Green LA Girl, has helped solve one of the most pervasive problems associated with modern shopping: How to shop without creating further need for bags which become landfill. Here is her response:

Question: I don’t need a drawstring bag, but could use a plain cotton string bag. 7th Generation used to sell them and now I don’t have a source. Can you suggest anyone? Thanks!
David

Answer: I’m unsure what you mean by a “string bag.” Do you mean a mesh bag? Or a plain cotton bag (right) to carry or store produce and grains? In either case, I suggest heading over to Ecobags.

Many thanks, Siel!

Summer Patriots

2008-11-08T06:22:00.002-05:00

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

The man who is always waving the flag usually waives what it stands for. -Laurence J. Peter, educator and author (1919-1990)

© 2008 Wordsmith.org

Colin Powell's Endorsement

2008-10-19T09:28:00.015-04:00

This blog has long held a favorable opinion of Colin Powell despite his Republican sympathies. General Powell's appearance before the United Nations regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq will remain on record.

Colin Powell has done honorably by stating his intention to vote for Barack Obama for President. Hats off to you, sir.

From CNN:

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced today he will vote for Sen. Barack Obama, citing the Democrat's "ability to inspire" and the "inclusive nature of his campaign." Powell said he was concerned about what he characterized as a negative turn of Republican candidate Sen. John McCain's campaign and his choice of a running mate. full story

This country allowed uneducated whites' ignorance and fear to take us to new depths in 2004. You are not forgiven.

Dictionary Day

2008-10-13T06:32:00.002-04:00

A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

Today when we spell the word "color" instead of "colour" we can thank a crotchety, humorless man for saving wear on our fingers, not to mention savings on paper and those obscenely expensive inkjet printer cartridges. Oct 16 marks the 250th birth anniversary of Noah Webster (1758-1843), lexicographer extraordinaire, who compiled the American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), the first authoritative lexicon of American English.

Webster believed in establishing cultural independence from Britain and as such he emphasized a distinct American spelling and pronunciation. His dictionary listed various unusual and shortened spellings of words. He would hardly have imagined how the tide would turn one day. According to reports, more British children today spell "color" instead of "colour", for example. Webster's suggestion of using "tung" instead of "tongue" didn't stick, though.

Today Webster's name is synonymous with dictionaries and the date of his birth is observed as Dictionary Day. In his honor, this week we'll present words about words. As Webster said, "the process of a living language is like the motion of a broad river which flows with a slow, silent, irresistible current."

Tomorrow: Look for a fun contest with a chance to win an autographed copy of my latest book.
epeolatry
PRONUNCIATION:
(ep-i-OL-uh-tree)

MEANING:
noun: The worship of words.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek epos (word) + -latry (worship). The first citation of the word is from Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his 1860 book Professor at the Breakfast Table.

USAGE:
"I read my dictionary for a few more minutes, until tiredness eventually bought my epeolatry to an end for the day."
Roger Day; Anurada Negotiates Our Wobbly Planet; Lulu; 2006.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Here lives a free man. Nobody serves him. -Albert Camus, writer, philosopher, Nobel laureate (1913-1960)

Quote: Friend of Blue Gal

2008-09-28T10:03:00.008-04:00

"Stay strong, stay focussed, stay humble, fight on."

Putting Lipstick on a Pig

2008-09-11T08:56:00.005-04:00

A term used by many, generally in reference to someone who may be trying to make something or someone look appealing or attractive when it quite clearly will not work, or will deceive only the dumbest of people.

Car salesmen are generally good at "putting lipstick on a pig" because they are always selling unroadworthy buckets of shit and try and hide their shitfulness by tarting them up.

The dude in that car yard just put a body kit on that piece of shit. Talk about putting lipstick on a pig

Urban Dictionary

Book: Dreamers of the Day

2008-04-01T11:17:00.004-04:00

Dreamers of the Day, latest novel by Mary Doria Russell, takes readers behind the scenes of the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference, where Churchill, Lady Gertrude Bell and TE Lawrence invented the modern Middle East. A richly imagined, suspenseful novel, Russell's book brings an exciting story of one woman who dares to experience a new world and to push the limits of her understanding of herself and others.

Your blog author attended the book signing and now has an inscribed copy in his library!