Not more meaningful...just more of the same really...

Like all politicians (except maybe GW) Chuck Schumer is, or is at least trying to be slick. But for people paying attention it's not hard to see what is really going on here. Ya see, Schumer isn't doing to well these days, and in fairness what incumbent really is doing that well right now? But Schumer could possibly be the next majority leader (perhaps MINORITY leader if things keep up) of the Senate, whenever that time comes so when I saw a story on the New York Times site about the possibility of his political "mortality" I had to take a look. Turns out his poll numbers are plummeting...well, SOME of them are. Some of them show that he is flat, but if you average plummeting and flat together the result is still equal to: Not good. NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg isn't happy with him for not bring enough money back home to New York for healthcare (join the club Mr. Mayor!), Wall Street is mad that in their view he is not "pro-Wall Streety" enough, and his constituents...well, they're not happy with him either. The latter, according to the pollsters doesn't really show that he is necessarily in electoral trouble, just a lack of enthusiasm among his supporters. No one is writing Schumer's political obituary just yet, but as we saw in the special election disaster in Massachusetts; lack of voter enthusiasm can turn into a candidate's lack of employment quite suddenly even for someone once considered a shoo-in.

But here's where he starts to look like a slickster, Schumer has been very pro-Wall Street and very pro-big banks for years. In fact, it wasn't long ago that the bankers LOVED this guy.

"Wall Street’s current disaffection is intriguing, as Mr. Schumer served for 30 years as Horatio at the bridge, guarding against too many incursions against the financial industry. He artfully sidetracked an effort to tax hedge funds and pushed for repeal of legislation that prohibited commercial banks from engaging in risky investments like trading stocks or mortgage-backed securities. And he helped craft a bank-friendly bailout. In return, he has taken in more money from the securities and finance industry over the course of his career than any Democrat other than Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts."-SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/

So you see, until the financial crisis Schumer appears to have been a Wall Street Darling, but now not so much. My how times have changed...

"Of late, Mr. Schumer has put a little flannel in his pinstripe love. He favors an Obama administration proposal to tax large banks. He has spoken out about “outrageous” bank overdraft policies." -SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/

So, now that things have gotten just O' SOOO OUTRAGEOUS...he wants to give them an extra tax, and hey, he even CALLED them OUTRAGEOUS! OMG..I bet they must have cried when they heard that!

I have better idea, how about instead of whining about how "outrageous" bank practices are let's have  Senate hearings on fraudulant bank practices that not only brought the American economy to it's knees, but that of the entire world. If it's so "outrageous" why not see a few bankers heads roll? We've certainly seen plenty of other heads roll that had very little to do with the problem, except maybe buying a home.

In the end, Schumer will probably be re-elected, and corrupt bankers will run away with millions and retire to their own private island on the Mediterranean, and that is why this is "not more meaningful, just more of the same!"

Adversarial Light,
Mortecai

Fuckie, Suckie

I give this title because politics is "fucking sucky" these days. It seems like everything is just one bullshit argument after another, and more often than not nothing is accomplished afterwards.

Given the current state of affairs I'm having a very hard time finding something interesting to comment on.  OO OO OOOOOO...DON'T ASK DON'T TELL! Did ya hear? They're gonna repeal it! Oh but, not tomorrow, not this month...not even within the next six, and if you believe the Secretary of Defense not even this year. So that's just great, it's not like it's already over due, or that it could help retain valuable soldiers in a time of war, and a stretched military...so by all means take your time, no rush.

The little "President's Question Time" was a hoot! And with a title strangely resembling "Mother Goose Story Time" how could it not be?! So glory be, Obama moped with court with a bunch of Rush Limbaugh's retarded cousins...it's just ashame that he can't manage to do the same thing on Healthcare, the war, the enviornment, the economy, or ummm...well, let's just be honest..he can't mop the court with them on anything except speaking.
And let me be clear, I am thrilled that we finally have a president who can put words together in coherent sentences for..say... a couple sentences, or hell, maybe even an entire speech! Who knows, maybe he even knows how to diagram one! But what does it really matter if the government has come to a complete halt since a year ago (probably longer, but who's counting)??
Oh wait, I'm sorry, I government actually did get something done recently!! They decided that it's a good idea to let mammoth corporations (ya know, the one's "too big to fail") give as much money as resources as they care to to the candidate, campaign, or party they want to during elections! And when you think about it, it really does make sense...I mean, they just about brought down the economy single handedly, why not give them a shot at the political system?? It is after all much more fragile than the economy anyway, so...maybe it will work this time! We gotta try, right? After all it wouldn't due to go for a while without a fresh new crisis brewing, now would it?

I guess that's about all for now, until things get interesting and/or meaningful again.

In Adversarial Light,
Mortecai

The Bible Tells Me So...

I came acrossed this video a while back. It is a Trailer for a film called "For the Bible Tells Me So" it's a little out of date, but I still liked it so I'm reposting it here...have a look! :)

Two years later...

So it's been two years since images like this started popping up during CBS daytime programming on "As the World Turns", stealing the hearts of millions and igniting the inevitable hissy fit from the far-right. But I'm going to try and NOT let this turn into an assault on the AFA (note: TRY), this is after all a celebration not a fuck the AFA conference. I will readily admit to all of you that I was one of the millions who's heart was stolen...although not until about 10 months after the original kiss aired. Now I might start to sound a little crazy here so just bear with me. I'm not a fan of soap operas, or at least I wasn't until I found this particular story (It's called the Luke and Noah story for those of you who spend most of your time elsewhere in our solar system) and I haven't been able to stop watching since. You'd never know by my posts or by talking to me but I was born and raised as an evangelical christian and lived as one until about the age of 14. By my midteens I had pretty much shed that skin, but there was one problem...I was gay, and despite my rebellion I just knew that I couldn't be gay at least not openly. So I hid it and I hid it for well over a decade thereafter. It wasn't until I found the Luke and Noah story that I was able to see that gay love was just as real as hetero love, and could be just as beautiful (even more so given my personal tastes) and I was FINALLY able to come out.

Despite the obvious lack of any sort of physicality in the early months (we have the AFA's pressure on Proctor and Gamble and CBS to thank for that) it didn't matter, it was still a beautiful and moving story. And that is the magic of Luke (Van Hansis) and Noah (Jake Silbermann); far from the intense sexuality on "Queer as Folk" and other non-US soaps they were able to captivate us (many of us *cough* me *cough* still closeted). So I guess what I am saying is THANK YOU SO MUCH to all involved in the production of this story, (Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann inparticular) it changed my life just as it has many others and we will love you for it forever!!

HERE'S TO MANY MORE YEARS!!

HRC NEEDS YOUR HELP!! MIDNIGHT DEADLINE!!

I have been informed by the President of the Human Rights Campagin that they need to raise 200,000 (much of which has already been raised) by midnight tonight August 20, 2009. I should have posted this earlier but if you're reading it and it's not yet midnight PLEASE donate as much as you can ($35+ includes online membership). This is all so that they can launch the "No Excuses" campaign in the fall to put pressure on Congress to stop their stalling and their complete failure to act on behalf of GLBT constiuents and their families.

In a related story Rick Santorum, the man who thinks education is bad for society, has made a desperate appeal to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM...ya know, the people who think Carrie Prejean is the smartest person on earth) saying that soon gay marriage will sweep the country like wildfire (err..grassfire maybe...anyway fire, something very scary to Santorum and NOM because the Devil lives in fire) and that if they don't act now DOMA is in danger of being repealed....HOLY SHIT!! HOW AWFUL!! *sarcasm* But I have to say that Santorum is more optimistic about DOMA being repealed than I am. Obama and the Dumbocrats (I know, how childish of me) can't even get healthcare passed with a filibuster proof majority. I think Santorum can rest easily knowing that the federal government is being run by a band of spineless pussies that have blown off America's gays since they took office. I doubt very much they will even repeal DADT this year which has 70+% support from the public. Believe me, DOMA IS SAFE...unfortunately.

The scariest part about Santorum is that he is a potential candidate for president in 2012, and if Obama doesn't shape up soon his office will likely be in play in three years. I guess we can always hope that by that time America will be fed up with both Republicans and Democrats and go all third party on them. But that won't happen without a major revolt, and the only people seemingly interested in a revolution at this point are the birthers, the "death panelists", and people who think Obama is an illegal alien antichrist from Kenya. Not exactly the people you want in order to have a proper revolution.

Ok enough! Just remember MIDNIGHT! Donate to HRC ASAP! PLEASE!!

Anti-nationalist NOT Anti-American!

I want to make this clear from the very beginning I am NOT against America, I am against nationalism no matter which nation it is. Nationalism has a nasty way of making others seem as less important; as lesser beings. I see this often. I saw it immediately following the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon and it hasn't stopped since. When those 3,000 people died it was seen as an atrocity; the unjustifiable murder of innocent men, women, and children and I absolutely agree. However when missiles destroy entire neighborhoods in Baghdad and kill innocent men, women, and children it's called "an unfortunate consequence of war." Forget about "oh well, they had to get the terrorists" I've got news for you, often times they don't kill any of them. And with at least 100,000 people killed in Iraq since the war began you would've thought they would have killed all of them by now if the majority of victims were terrorists. Unless of course our actions are breeding more of them...hmmmmm....

Now this would never happen but just indulge me for a moment. If terrorists invaded America and the military had no choice but to engage them in urban warfare on American soil, would it be ok with you if they accidentally bombed your neighborhood and killed your family? Didn't think so. And that's where the problem with nationalism lies...it's ok to do it in another country, but if the situation were reversed it would be intolerable. It's like I said, the lives lost in other countries mean less then the lives of your own countrymen. No wonder we have barely been able to get through a single decade since WW2 without a major war on our hands.