Obama's Open Letter to the LGBT Community

Well, better now than never, Senator. Personally, I find his position of wanting to leave it up to the states to decide how many or what specific civil rights LGBT folks have downright awful and reeking of pandering. Not to mention how reminiscent of the calls for states' rights in the South during the Civil Rights Movement. If equality is a "moral imperative," why would you let Gerogia or Vermont or Utah decide how equal LGBT people are to everyone else? Anyways, at least he's at long last finally "talking" about the issues:

I’m running for President to build an America that lives up to our founding promise of equality for all – a promise that extends to our gay brothers and sisters. It’s wrong to have millions of Americans living as second-class citizens in this nation. And I ask for your support in this election so that together we can bring about real change for all LGBT Americans.

Equality is a moral imperative. That’s why throughout my career, I have fought to eliminate discrimination against LGBT Americans. In Illinois, I co-sponsored a fully inclusive bill that prohibited discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity, extending protection to the workplace, housing, and places of public accommodation. In the U.S. Senate, I have co-sponsored bills that would equalize tax treatment for same-sex couples and provide benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples — whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage. Unlike Senator Clinton, I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – a position I have held since before arriving in the U.S. Senate. While some say we should repeal only part of the law, I believe we should get rid of that statute altogether. Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does. I have also called for us to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.

The next president must also address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. When it comes to prevention, we do not have to choose between values and science. While abstinence education should be part of any strategy, we also need to use common sense. We should have age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception. We should pass the JUSTICE Act to combat infection within our prison population. And we should lift the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. In addition, local governments can protect public health by distributing contraceptives.

We also need a president who’s willing to confront the stigma – too often tied to homophobia – that continues to surround HIV/AIDS. I confronted this stigma directly in a speech to evangelicals at Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, and will continue to speak out as president. That is where I stand on the major issues of the day. But having the right positions on the issues is only half the battle. The other half is to win broad support for those positions. And winning broad support will require stepping outside our comfort zone. If we want to repeal DOMA, repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and implement fully inclusive laws outlawing hate crimes and discrimination in the workplace, we need to bring the message of LGBT equality to skeptical audiences as well as friendly ones – and that’s what I’ve done throughout my career. I brought this message of inclusiveness to all of America in my keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention. I talked about the need to fight homophobia when I announced my candidacy for President, and I have been talking about LGBT equality to a number of groups during this campaign – from local LGBT activists to rural farmers to parishioners at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. Martin Luther King once preached.

Just as important, I have been listening to what all Americans have to say. I will never compromise on my commitment to equal rights for all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my ears to the voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it is necessary.

Americans are yearning for leadership that can empower us to reach for what we know is possible. I believe that we can achieve the goal of full equality for the millions of LGBT people in this country. To do that, we need leadership that can appeal to the best parts of the human spirit. Join with me, and I will provide that leadership. Together, we will achieve real equality for all Americans, gay and straight alike.

Happy President's Day!

(lower the volume if surrounded by impressionable youths...or not)

There Will Be Milkshakes

ok, enjoy this until this "I drink your milkshake" becomes the next endlessly referenced quote a la anything mike myers did as that 007 satire guy who shagged everything...cause you know it will...but in the meantime, it's hilarious:

It's Not an American Election Without Voting Irregularities!

hmmm, zero votes for Obama on Supecalifragilistic Tuesday in Harlem and 80 of NYC's election districts? Yeah, I'm sure it's just a "clerical error." Via NY Times:

Black voters are heavily represented in the 94th Election District in Harlem’s 70th Assembly District. Yet according to the unofficial results from the New York Democratic primary last week, not a single vote in the district was cast for Senator Barack Obama.

That anomaly was not unique. In fact, a review by The New York Times of the unofficial results reported on primary night found about 80 election districts among the city’s 6,106 where Mr. Obama supposedly did not receive even one vote, including cases where he ran a respectable race in a nearby district.

City election officials this week said that their formal review of the results, which will not be completed for weeks, had confirmed some major discrepancies between the vote totals reported publicly — and unofficially — on primary night and the actual tally on hundreds of voting machines across the city...On Feb. 5, Mrs. Clinton carried 61 of the state’s 62 counties but won Brooklyn by a margin of less than 2 percent. Because delegates are awarded proportionately on the basis of the primary vote in each Congressional district, Obama supporters expressed hope that if the official count continued in their favor, they might gain an additional delegate or two.

Washington Post Hails John McCain As Hobbit King Of The Potomac

Last night, America elected its first co-presidents of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia: a charismatic young senator, and some sort of midget goblin.
via wonkette

god supports obama over clinton

...or maybe god is simply pissed at hillary supporters. mind you, i did not create this map, it's all the fault of the new york times, those morally bankrupts heathens of far-leftism. actually, gawker took two nyt maps and superimposed them, but lets be trendy and blame the times anyway!

*note: obama won alabama, but hillary won each county in that state with a recorded death from tuesday's storms.

super tuesday thoughts

so, i will be off later today to vote in the primary, and for once it will mean something. my good friend (and sorkin pal) meredith sent me a wonderful piece she wrote, and i feel the need to share it with y'all:

Hello my fellow friends and family - thought you might be interested in what I came up with at 11:30pm last night when I couldn't sleep:

My version of the (almost) perfect world. It's simplistic and idealistic, I know, but whatever. It's my (almost) perfect world. It is what I say it is. FYI - I limited myself to the "real" world, so while I would like to see a female president in my lifetime, I don't think there's anyone in U.S. politics right now that really fits the bill (and that includes Billary) and therefore I had a choose a different "perfect" president.

Enjoy!


In my (almost) perfect world, Al Gore would be president. Because we need a president who already has an Oscar, an Emmy and a Nobel Peace Prize. We need someone who actually cares about more than his (or her) political agendas.

John Edwards and Barack Obama would be Co-Vice Presidents. Because in my (almost) perfect world, I say two people can get twice as much done. Then maybe the VEEP wouldn't be such a do-nothing position.

Bill Richardson would be Secretary of Energy and Joe Biden would be Secretary of State. Mike Gravel would have some kind of Cabinet job because I like crazy Alaskans.

The Clintons would drop out of public life and retire to fight with each other for all eternity.

The Axis of Evil - Bush, Cheney and Rove - would be in jail in The Hague, on trial in the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The county would discover that, in a wonderful little twist of irony, Larry Craig and Rick Santorum have been having a secret affair for years.

All overtly radical right-wing media would be shut down - Rupert Murdoch would be bankrupt, Bill-O and Rush Limbaugh would be forced off the air and have permanent pieces of duck tape slapped across their mouths.

Education would be free and universal all the way through high school. Schools would be palaces, with the best equipment and technology. Competition for teachers would be fierce. Teachers would have passion and high salaries. There would be a national curriculum that still gives each state, school district and school its own flexibility and creativity. Classes would emphasize world history and culture, languages, math, literature, science, art and music. Creationism would be laughed at and everyone would recognize Darwin and evolution.
Every single citizen would have free and quality health care. No one would ever be turned down for coverage based on their ability to pay. Prescriptions for seniors and low-income citizens would be covered by health care and no one would ever have to choose between paying rent or buying medicine. Preventative care would help stop most emergency cases before they became emergencies. Stem-cell research would thrive and flourish and medical professionals would have all the funding they needed to eradicate diseases.

There would be no threats to a woman's right to choose. Abortions would be safe and legal (as they mostly are now) and free from radical attacks. Schools would be required to teach more than abstinence only in sex ed classes. And with the proper education about safe and effective birth control, abortions and teen/unwanted pregnancies would be less frequent because people would actually use the birth control.

Marriage would be possible for any two people who wanted to get married, regardless of their gender. Gay and lesbian couples would be afforded the same rights and privileges as any hetrosexual couple. "Family values" would actually value the family, in any form the family happened to take.

The U.S. would ratify the Kyoto Protocol and take serious and significant steps to reverse global warming and protect the environment. American cars would have better gas mileage, people would strive to reduce their own carbon footprints and the naysayers would be silenced. ANWR would be protected from drilling and the U.S. would develop alternative energy sources and ween itself off Middle Eastern oil.

There would be no such thing as the NRA and the U.S. would have strict gun control laws. It would be nearly impossible for anyone (besides law enforcement officials and the military) to own or buy a gun. Wal-Mart and Kmart wouldn't be allowed to sell bullets.

The War in Iraq would end. The U.S. and its allies would defeat the Taliban and Al Queda in Afghanistan and establish stable local governments (i.e. governments made up of the people of that country, not U.S. military forces) in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. would devise of policy to diplomacy over war and would never again invade a sovereign nation that had not attacked us first. It would use the military to help with humanitarian missions, esp. in Darfur (and possibly in Kenya and Chad).

There would be a multi-nation, multi-religion world peace summit to address issues and problems, especially in the Middle East. While world peace may not be achieved in my (almost) perfect world, the U.S. would at least try to get fighting countries to listen to each other. A real effort would be made to establish a Palestinian state. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wouldn't be allowed to speak publicly unless he had something constructive and helpful to say. Radicals and/or fundamentalists of ANY religion who would seek to harm people whose faith disagreed with theirs would not be tolerated.

No one, in any part of the world, would be discriminated against based on race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or political views.

And Britney Spears would finally get her act together and behave like an adult and mother, but no one would be paying attention because they're all too busy with more important things.

in memory of st. rudy of 9-11...

wonkette has complied the top 6 rudy "i'm running for president of 9/11" giuliani sept. 11 references in honor of his now-imploded campaign. i know, how can you pick just six out of...well, at least 911 of them...oh rudy...

6: After Rudy placed sixth in the Iowa caucus, all the newspaper and teevee reporters wanted to know if this in any way “worried him,” it being sixth place and all. But he told the New York Daily News that it didn’t, although another time in his life something else happened and, indeed, he was worried: “None of this worries me - Sept. 11, there were times I was worried.”

5: After Hillary sobbed like a little whore in New Hampshire, the folks at MSNBC wanted to know if the Mayor of Everything ever sobbed. And he did, at the various 9/11 funerals! Was this because of the death surrounding him? Or was it then when he realized he could turn this into a lucrative “security” firm as well as a failed presidential bid?

4: When Rudy’s firewall in Florida collapsed — other humans forgot he existed after a while — he knew just the trick to win over those similarly one-track-minded Floridians: mention that 9/11 and hurricanes are both bad things, and that he should be the president by default.

3: Muslims are torturing, killing, Americans are dying, a religion bastardized, fires, mayhem, planes, illegal guns, Iran, nuclear weapons, fear, fear, jihad, Al Qaeda, no freedom, rape, Muslim rape. Image of World Trade Center rubble. Rudy’s best ad.

2. Rudy was on fire one night before the John Birch society, which drinks as much if not more blood than Rudy on a Saturday night. He let it all out:

“This war ends when they stop coming here to kill us!” Giuliani said in his speech. “Never, ever again will this country ever be on defense waiting for [terrorists] to attack us if I have anything to say about it. And make no mistake, the Democrats want to put us back on defense!” Giuliani said terrorists “hate us and not because of anything bad we have done; it has nothing to do with Israel and Palestine. They hate us for the freedoms we have and the freedoms we want to share with the world.”

1. In September — the same month that 9/11 happened several years ago — an “independent, non-denominational grass-roots campaign to raise $10,000” organized a special “theme” for its fundraiser: it requested $9.11 donations for a delightful fear party. The Giuliani team distanced itself from the private event after, you know, the media heard about it, and they even returned the $9.11 donations after many weeks. This may not have been Rudy himself, but nothing more accurately described the Giuliani Campaign’s basis for existence, ever.

she's like the black patti labelle!

the view's resident conservative town fool (and i don't mean that hassleback chick), sherri "i'm not sure if the world is flat cause i'm too busy feeding my kid" shepherd has once again made joy behar look like a nobel laureate:

mitt let the dogs out and looked like an idiot

nothing good ever comes from referencing the baha men on mlk jr. day. nothing.

later....

At a King parade in Florida Mitt Romney offered advice to African Americans. “Teach kids they should get married before they have babies and encourage the formation of families. It’s an enormous advantage to kids.”

hucabee pulls a rick "man-on-dog" santorum

just when you thought the national political arena was safe from more gay marriage is like bestiality analogies, along comes mike huckabee:

"Well, I don’t think that’s a radical view to say we’re going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we’re going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal. Again, once we change the definition, the door is open to change it again. I think the radical position is to make a change in what’s been historic."

this from a guy whose kid hung a stray dog, ya know, to death...maybe he should worry about that kind of man on animal action and the family value of teaching your kid not to kill dogs.

c-span makes a "new" error

no wonder he got so few votes in new hampshire...who votes for the senator from mexico?

what's finishing sixth in iowa feel like?

“None of this worries me - Sept. 11, there were times I was worried.” - Rudy Giuliani

ok! enough already, let just make him president of 9/11 and be done with it.



btw, nicely done young-people-who-love-the-obama...that was quite something...on to nh and maybe some more clinton-thwomping?

top 10 quotes of the year

as listed in the Yale Book of Quotations:

10. "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."
-- Jimmy Carter, interview in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 19


9. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
-- Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., describing Sen. Barack Obama, quoted in New York Observer, Feb. 4


8. "[I have] a wide stance when going to the bathroom."
--Larry Craig, senator from Idaho, explaining why his foot touched that of an undercover policeman in a men's room (as noted by the interviewing policeman), June 11


7. "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody [Vice President Dick Cheney] who has a 9 percent approval rating."
-- Harry Reid, senator from Nevada, remarks to the media, April 24


6. "There's only three things he [Rudy Giuliani] mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9-11."
-- Joseph Biden, senator from Delaware, comment at Democratic presidential debate, Oct. 30


5. "I don't recall."
-- Alberto Gonzales, U.S. attorney general, repeated response to questioning about firing of U.S. attorneys, congressional testimony, April 19


4. "That's some nappy-headed hos there."
-- Don Imus about Rutgers University women's basketball team, Imus in the Morning radio broadcast, April 4


3. "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."
-- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, at a Columbia University appearance, Oct. 10


2. "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for our children."
-- Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen USA, responding to a pageant question about why one-fifth of Americans are unable to locate the United States on a map, Aug. 24



1. "Don't tase me, bro!"
-- Andrew Meyer, University of Florida student who had been questioning Sen. John Kerry, being dragged away by campus police using a Taser stun gun, Sept. 17

hey, the south africa is in the news unrelated to miss teen s. carolina

...but it's not really a good thing...via wonkette:

Because there are hardly any pressing problems left in South Africa with which its government must deal, two weeks ago President Thabo Mbeki (on the left) signed into law a bill that makes it a criminal offense for teenagers under 16 to “kiss, touch or rub up against each other in public.” They probably did this in some sort of half-assed effort to stop the spread of AIDS in South Africa, since they don’t really want to get into things like comprehensive sex education and massive condom distribution programs and whatever, not that Mbeki believes that HIV causes AIDS anyway. This was, in fact, also the rule at my high school, and I was warned for holding my boyfriend’s hand under the lunch table and then given detention for whispering in his ear and it definitely didn’t stop me from having sex, so take that lunchladies and stupid government leaders! What did keep me from getting pregnant/diseased from said sexing, though, was the extremely comprehensive sex ed classes that were required by the State of New York and taught without embarrassment by our teacher. But, hey, a new law criminalizing teenage PDA is sooo much better.

Once again: abstinence only education doesn't teach you how to not have sex, it teaches you how to not have safe sex. also, i hope they don't have crowded buses or subways in cape town...otherwise you could commit about 10 crimes on your way to work by unwillingly rubbing up against some random guy with the strange hat...

Top 20 Favorite Albums of 2007

and the lists continue...

1. The Pigeon Detectives Wait for Me [Dance to the Radio]

2. The Enemy We'll Live and Die in These Towns [Warner Music Group]

3. Hard-Fi Once Upon a Time in the West [Necessary Records/Warner]

4. Tiny Dancers Free School Milk [Parlophone]

5. The Cinematics A Strange Education [TVT Records]

6. Interpol Our Love to Admire [Capitol Records]

7. Dolores O'Riordan Are You Listening? [Sanctuary Records]

8. The Automatic Not Accepted Anywhere [B-Unique Records]

9. The View Hats Off to the Buskers [1965 Records]

10. The Cribs Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever [Warner Brothers Records]

11. Editors An End Has a Start [Kitchenware Records]
12. The Libertines The Best Of [Rough Trade]
13. Little Man Tate About What You Know [Yellow Van Records]
14. Babyshambles Shotter's Nation [Regal Records]
15. Jamie T Panic Prevention [Virgin]
16. 1990s Cookies [Rough Trade]
17. Bloc Party A Weekend in the City [Vice]
18. Various Artists Radio 1 Established 1967 [Sony Music Entertainment]
19. Biffy Clyro Puzzle [14th Floor]
20. Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare [Domino]

Top 100 Favorite Singles Released in 2007

last year i stopped at 75...yes, my music nerdiness is increasing...oh, and thanks to my itunes for counting play stats for me...i have tried to limit the list to singles with a commercial or radio release in the US or UK in 2007:

1. Hard-Fi Suburban Knights [Once Upon a Time in the West]

2. Athlete Hurricane [Beyond the Neighbourhood]

3. Stereophonics It Means Nothing [Pull the Pin]

4. Against Me! Thrash Unreal [New Wave]

5. Silverchair Straight Lines [Young Modern]

6. Klaxons Golden Skans [Myths of the Near Future]

7. Interpol Mammoth [Our Love to Admire]

8. Snow Patrol Shut Your Eyes [Eyes Open]

9. Biffy Clyro Folding Stars [Puzzle]

10. Bloc Party I Still Remember [A Weekend in the City]
11. Editors Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors [An End Has a Start]
12. Arctic Monkeys Fluorescent Adolescent [Favourite Worst Nightmare]
13. Tiny Dancers I Will Wait For You [Free School Milk]
14. Field Music A House Is Not a Home [Tones of Town]
15. Kate Nash Foundations [Made of Bricks]
16. The Pigeon Detectives Take Her Back [Wait For Me]
17. The Enemy Had Enough [We'll Live and Die in These Towns]
18. The Wombats Let's Dance to Joy Division [The Wombats Proudly Present: A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation]
19. Snow Patrol Signal Fire [Spiderman 3 Soundtrack]
20. The Cribs Men's Needs [Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever]
21. Kaiser Chiefs Ruby [Yours Truly Angry Mob]
22. The Bravery Time Won't Let Me Go [The Sun and the Moon]
23. The View Same Jeans [Hats off to the Buskers]
24. Dolores O'Riordan When We Were Young [Are You Listening?]

25. Little Man Tate This Must Be Love [About What You Know]

26. Mat Kearney Undeniable [Nothing Left to Lose]
27. Kings of Leon Fans [Because of the Times]
28. Andrea Corr Shame on You [Ten Feet High]

29. Interpol The Heinrich Maneuver [Our Love to Admire]
30. The Cinematics Break [A Strange Education]
31. The Enemy It's Not Ok [We'll Live and Die in These Towns]
32. Manic Street Preachers Your Love Alone Is Not Enough [Send Away the Tigers]
33. Silversun Pickups Lazy Eye [Caravans]
34. Hard-Fi Can't Get Along (Without You) [Once Upon a Time in the West]
35. Modest Mouse Missed the Boat [We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank]
36. Fields If You Fail We All Fail [Everything Last Winter]
37. Dogs This Stone Is a Bullet [Tall Stories From Under the Table]
38. Eisley Invasion [Combinations]
39. The Automatic Monster [Not Accepted Anywhere]
40. Ian Brown Feat. Sinead O'Connor Illegal Attacks [The World Is Yours]
41. Gary Lightbody and Lisa Hannigan Some Surprise [The Cake Sale]
42. Editors An End Has a Start [An End Has a Start]
43. The Pigeon Detectives I Found Out [Wait For Me]
44. LCD Soundsystem North American Scum [Sound of Silver]
45. The Enemy You're Not Alone [We'll Live and Die in These Towns]
46. Mat Kearney Breathe In Breathe Out [Nothing Left to Lose]
47. The Thrills The Midnight Choir [Teenager]
48. Scouting For Girls It's Not About You [Scouting For Girls]
49. The Twang Wide Awake [Love It When I Feel Like This]
50. Maximo Park Our Velocity [Our Earthly Pleasures]
51. Snow Patrol Open Your Eyes [Eyes Open]
52. Arcade Fire No Cars Go [Neon Bible]
53. Modest Mouse Dashboard [We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank]
54. Travis Closer [The Boy With No Name]
55. The Cinematics Keep Forgetting [A Strange Education]
56. Spoon The Underdog [Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga]
57. Aqualung Pressure Suit [Memory Man]
58. The Pigeon Detectives Romantic Type [Wait For Me]
59. Regina Spektor Better [Begin To Hope]
60. Vega4 Life Is Beautiful [You and Others]
61. The Killers Shadowplay [Sawdust]
62. Biffy Clylo Living Is a Problem Becasue Everything Dies [Puzzle]
63. The Shins Phantom Limb [Wincing the Night Away]
64. Cold War Kids Hang Me Out to Dry [Robbers & Cowards]
65. Babyshambles You Talk [Shotter's Nation]
66. Republic of Loose w/ Snow Patrol Comeback Girl [Aaagh!!!]
67. Test Your Reflex Pieces of the Sun [The Burning Hour]
68. Guster C'mon [Ganging Up On the Sun]
69. Newton Faulkner Dream Catch Me [Hand Built By Robots]
70. The Automatic Raoul [Not Accepted Anywhere]
71. Mêlée Built To Last [Devils & Angels]
72. Tiny Dancers Ashes and Diamonds [Free School Milk]
73. The Killers Read My Mind [Sam's Town]
74. Mark Ronson feat. Lily Allen Oh My God [Version]
75. Kaiser Chiefs Everything Is Average Nowadays [Yours Truly Angry Mob]
76. Babyshambles Delivery [Shotter's Nation]
77. Dolores O'Riordan Ordinary Day [Are You Listening?]
78. Little Man Tate Sexy In Latin [About What You Know]
79. The Pigeon Detectives I'm Not Sorry [Wait For Me]
80. Jamie T Shelia [Panic Prevention]
81. Sara Bareilles Love Song [Little Voice]
82. Rooney When Did Your Heart Go Missing [Calling the World]
83. Nina Gordon Turn On Your Radio [Bleeding Heart Graffiti]
84. The 1990s You Made Me Like It [Cookies]
85. Leona Lewis Bleeding Love [Spirit]
86. The Maccabees Precious Time [Colour Me In]
87. Orson Ain't No Party [Culture Vultures]
88. The Hoosiers Worried About Ray [The Trick to Life]
89. Athlete Tokyo [Beyond the Neighbourhood]
90. Marc Ronson Feat. Amy Winehouse Valerie [Version]
91. Bloc Party Hunting for Witches [A Weekend in the City]
92. The Thrills Nothing Changes Round Here [Teenager]
93. Kings of Leon On Call [Because of the Times]
94. The Good, the Bad, and the Queen Kingdom of Doom [The Good, the Bad, and the Queen]
95. The Cribs Moving Pictures [Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever]
96. Arctic Monkeys Brainstorm [Favourite Worst Nightmare]
97. The Courteeners Acrylic [Acrlyic]
98. Interpol No I In Threesome [Our Love to Admire]
99. Turin Brakes Stalker [Dark On Fire]
100. Klaxons It's Not Over Yet [Myths of the Near Future]

Some great songs that did not get released as singles, or they would have made the list:
Phil Campbell Joy [Joy]
Snow Patrol Isolation [Instant Karma]
The Cribs I'm a Realist [Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever]
Leigh Nash Ocean Sized Love [Blue on Blue]
Tiny Dancers Shame [Free School Milk]
The Twang Don't Wait Up [Love It When I Feel Like This]
Feist I Feel It All [The Reminder]
Against Me! Stop [New Wave]

gop state charman in kansas boasts of voter suppression

well, what else is new...via bluetiderising:

Earlier today Kris Kobach, chairman of the Kansas GOP, sent out a self-congratulatory litany of accomplishments. Among them was one particularly eye-catching item:

To date, the Kansas GOP has identified and caged more voters in the last 11 months than the previous two years!

We're going to move past the fact that any amount of voter identification would be more than the amount the GOP has done in the last two years, or four for that matter. The practice of caging is what caught our eye.

Caging is a particularly devious and underhanded method of purging likely Democratic voters from the pollbooks. It's also illegal.

How does it work?

The use of direct mail caging techniques to target voters resulted in the application of the name to the political tactic. With one type of caging, a political party sends registered mail to addresses of registered voters. If the mail is returned as undeliverable - because, for example, the voter refuses to sign for it, the voter isn't present for delivery, or the voter is homeless - the party uses that fact to challenge the registration, arguing that because the voter could not be reached at the address, the registration is fraudulent. A political party challenges the validity of a voter's registration; for the voter's ballot to be counted, the voter must prove that their registration is valid.

Voters targeted by caging are often the most vulnerable: soldiers deployed overseas, those who are unfamiliar with their rights under the law, and those who cannot spare the time, effort, and expense of proving that their registration is valid. On the day of the election, when the voter arrives at the poll and requests a ballot, an operative of the party challenges the validity of their registration. Ultimately, caging works by dissuading a voter from casting a ballot, or by ensuring that they cast a provisional ballot, which is less likely to be counted.

Slate.com has the best comprehensive write-up on how the Republican Party employs caging techniques to suppress the votes of the poor, the deployed, and college students. (You know, likely Democratic voters.)

Did we mention it's illegal? And that Kris Kobach is proud to be doing it?

Since Kris Kobach can't expand his own party or force his own Party's members to support his candidates he's shamelessly trying to keep Democrats from voting instead. This is the stratagem of a desperate and shrinking party.

Someone needs to ask Kris Kobach which voters he's caging and how he's doing it. Someone like a newspaper editor or perhaps a Grand Jury.

the president cuts millions in childrens health care. again.

first s-chip for the middle class kids, now medicaid for poor and disabled kids is being targeted by the bush administration...and this time, it impacts education, too, and likely will cause local school disrits to find the money elsewhere for speech and physical therapy for kids...so school tax will ilkey be raised, thus meaning the president both cut health care for poor kids and raised taxes. merry christmas, indeed:

President Bush drew criticism this fall for his refusal to fund a children’s health insurance program. On Friday, his healthcare slashing continued.

According to the Washington Post, “the Bush administration eliminated about $700 million a year in Medicaid reimbursements to schools, sidestepping an attempt by Congress to block such a move.”

Issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the new rule is projected to save the federal government $3.6 billion over five years, transferring those costs to school districts. Many school principals and superintendents said that the loss of the funding could force districts to cut other programs.

gun control legislaion supported by the NRA?!

file this under "things i never thought I'd read"

via rawstory:

The US Congress, spurred into action by the Virginia Tech shooting rampage in April, approved Wednesday a measure broadening background checks for gun buyers.

The measure, the first major gun control legislation approved since 1994, passed by voice vote in both the Senate and House of Representatives

The legislation provides funds to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the main US background check system for gun purchases, and to encourage states to broaden checks on local gun owners.

"A credible ... federal database to provide accurate background checks benefits everyone," said Senator Patrick Leahy, one of the bill co-sponsors.

Improving the background check system "will help curb the number of firearms that get into the hands of troubled individuals," he said.

The measure was supported by the powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and now awaits President George W. Bush's signature to become law.

"The end product is a win for American gun owners," the NRA said in a statement, describing the measure as "pro-gun legislation."

oh, how i loathe the grammys

so, every year the grammy nomoinations come out, and every year i yell something along the lines of, "what the motherfing hell do you mean _____ is nominated?!" or "i wish hadn't seen these stuipid nominations so i wouldn't feel so outraged at how awful they are!" this year is no exception to this personal umberella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh, rule, but i think the good folks at best week ever have summed up exactly why the grammys are completely irrelevant:

The Five Types Of Grammy “Best Album” Nominees

The 2008 Grammy nominees were announced today, and at the risk of implying that the annual statue factory that is the Grammy Awards is in any way relevant, let’s handicap the field for this year’s “Album of the Year” nominees, which kiiiind of resembles last year’s “Album of the Year” nominees, and the year before that…

1. The New Album By Rock N’ Roll Band That Grammy Voters Have Actually Heard Of Because They’ve Been Around For 10+ Years: “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” by Foo Fighters.

Past Nominees: “American Idiot” by Greenday, the last six or seven albums by U2

2. The Rap Album By Artist Who We’re Pretty Sure The Kids Are Listening To Because We Saw A Joke On Leno That Mentioned Him/Her, So We Might As Well Give Them One Nomination In a Category Without ‘Urban’ In The Title: “Graduation” by Kanye West

Past Nominees: “Late Registration” by Kanye West, “The College Dropout” by Kanye West

3. The Country Album That We Assume Is Probably Really Popular Because We Heard That Country Is Really Popular Because It Sells A Lot Of Albums: “These Days” by Vince Gill

Past Nominees: “Taking The Long Way” by the Dixie Chicks, “Come On Over” by Shania Twain

4. The Album By The Person Who We Heard Is Generating A Whole Bunch Of Controversy So They Must Really Be The Bee’s Knees: “Back To Black” by Amy Winehouse

Past Nominees: “The Marshall Mathers LP” by Eminem, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” by Lauryn Hill

5. The Album That No One Has Heard Of Or Possesses Any Evidence That It Actually Exists, But Holy Sh*t, We Have To Let It Win: “River: The Joni Years” by Herbie Hancock, featuring Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, and Tina Turner.

Past Nominees: “Genius Loves Company” by Ray Charles, “Two Against Nature” by Steely Dan

well, it's not a news network anyway

maybe they can sell it to fox noise. or the sci-fi channel.

from thinkprogress:

The latest National Intelligence Estimate concluding that Iran discontinued its nuclear weapons program four years ago has claimed one casualty: CNN has postponed speculative documentary “We Were Warned — Iran Goes Nuclear.”

The two-hour spec, which was slated for Dec. 12 under the “CNN Presents” banner, was “set partially in the future,” featuring a what-if scenario as former government officials — playing fictional cabinet members — debate how to deal with the Iranian threat.

That special was “based on a different set of rules and a different set of conditions,” said CNN veep-senior exec producer Mark Nelson, noting that the surprising NIE report “changed everything.”

take that, weimar republic inflation!

100,000 percent?!?! donde los yikes...via bbc news:

Zimbabwe's chief statistician has said it is impossible to work out the country's latest inflation rate because of the lack of goods in shops.

"There are too many data gaps," the Central Statistical Office's Moffat Nyoni told state media.

Many staple goods are often absent from shop shelves after the government ordered prices to be halved or frozen in a bid to stem galloping inflation.

September's inflation rate was put at almost 8,000%, the world's highest.

Other reports suggest the rate could be at near 15,000% and the International Monetary Fund had warned it could reach 100,000% by the end of the year.

sideboob!

best week ever introduces us to a wonderful new term: sideboob! and it has to do with the umbrella, ella, ella, ella, eh, eh lady....the clip in question is after the talk of uncle jesse on the airplane...

yeah, just draw your own conclusions...

These are the most viewed pages on Conservapedia, which Phyllis’ Schlafly’s son created in response to Wikipedia’s “liberal bias” (source: Wikipedia’s “Conservapedia” entry). So I guess these are the most popular pages from a conservative bias:


as if all of this wasn't strange enough, according to the site's FAQ, Conservapedia originated as a project for homeschooled children...