Friday YouTube Nugget

Gracious readers:

Hope you all saw my Letter to the Editor in today's News.

You all know I'm not the most sentimental guy in the world, but not even a cynical curmudgeon like me could resist joining in the latest Internet phenomenon. I give you the heartwarming, uplifting, life-affirming tale of Christian the Lion:



Somewhere, Roy Horn is gasping "What a gyp!"

Johnny Desperado Strikes Again

Forget President, I think he's running for God

It must be quite the season of despair and tumult in the McCain '08 campaign....the last few weeks have not been exactly kind to him. To wit:

• July 10th - McCain's top economic adviser, Sen. Phil Gramm, takes the high road and calls hard-working taxpayers struggling to cope with skyrocketing costs in every sector of their lives "whiners" who are all lathered up over a "mental recession". Professor Charles Xavier must have unleashed this "mental" recession because it is a motherfucker that has wiped out five banks in one year, including the third-largest collapse in U.S. history.


• July 16th - It is revealed that, during his first run for the Senate in 1986, Senator McCain told a joke at a fundraiser that is definitely "Maverick"-esque....as in, you have to have some set of balls on you to tell a piece of shit joke like this in public:

According to the Tucson Citizen, here's what McCain, then a two-term Congressman from Mesa, said during his run for the Senate:
"Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, 'Where is that marvelous ape?'"

Charming, isn't it? Just the sort of sparkling wit needed to win over those delusional holdout Hillary supporters. Speaking of the Clintons, don't think they were spared the blade in Johnny's Joke Karavan....even if his target was a teenager. Somehow, I doubt we'd see Obama making "ho" jokes about Cindy McCain.

• July 21st - Senator McCain graced the Queen City with his presence....or should I say graced his donors because he kept the public and the press at a safe distance. Unless you ponied up megabucks to nibble on tenderloin at Tony Gioia's backyard or cozied up to the candidate at Albright-Knox, you were shit out of luck. Well, he did clear a cool $1 million, which should go a long way to close the $30 million fundraising gap with Obama in the 2nd quarter of this year.


• July 21st - The unrivaled foreign policy expert in the election apparently forgot about a little land mass between Iraq and Pakistan called Afghanistan

• July 20-27 - Senator McCain has taunted Obama for weeks about his supposed lack of foreign policy experience and, specifically, his absence in Iraq or Afghanistan over the past two years to see conditions on the ground for himself. Obama's response? Hit the road and make your opponent look like a jackass. Imagine that - the dirty-fucking-hippie-Muslim-Socialist-American-hating candidate being cheered by our troops and respected by international heads of state. Not to mention, Iraq's Prime Minister Maliki endorsed Obama's 16-month troop withdrawal plan, much to the consternation of the McCain campaign and the Bush White House. They apparently thought it was A-OK with the Iraqis if we hung around for a few hundred years. Damn ingrates wanting self-rule!

With Obama's overseas tour continuing in Israel and headed to widely anticipated speeches in Berlin, Paris and London, poor Senator McCain could do little but pout like a spurned ex-girlfriend about how his formerly lickspittlish press sycophants "abandoned" him. Waaaaaa.

And then we come to the sad events of yesterday where, at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, Senator McCain actually said the following:



Let's look at that quote:

"...It seems to me that Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign..."

Someone should advise the Senator that this is what he has surrogates and operatives for. Let the 3rd rate hacks from the conservative think tanks and the Fox News idiots spew this garbage. Not only is it unseemly for a Presidential candidate to insult and question his opponent's patriotism, he also accomplished the neat trick of spitting in the face of the better-than-60% of registered voters who want a withdrawal from Iraq along the lines Obama is proposing. Good job in winning those independents over to your side, Senator.

Spoiler Alert

The Dark Knight was a fucking masterpiece and well worth the hype and attention. Although, I could have done without the revelation that Rachel Dawes was really a dude...

Friday YouTube Nugget

Wow, I am really getting lazy with the posting as of late. No posts since last Friday's Nugget? Bad Humanist!

Anyhoo, I'm taking the afternoon off to join the hordes waiting in line for the movie event of the summer - Mamma Mia!....er, wait, no. The Dark Knight. All these young whippersnappers who think this is an event shoulda been with us in June '89 at the premiere of Tim Burton's Batman. Now THAT was an event!

Here's the classic opening theme to the 60's TV series of Batman. Enjoy

Friday YouTube Nugget

Greetings and salutations! After a busy week at work and having one of my posts backlinked by a much more reputable (and widely-read) local blog, I'm going to be spending the weekend in Detroit visiting friends. In honor of the Motor City, here's the legendary Motown artist, Marvin Gaye, and my favorite song from his seminal 1971 album, What's Going On

"What's Happenin Brother," like many of the tracks on the album, was inspired by Marvin's brother Frankie and his experiences from a 3-year tour in Vietnam. The album is told from the point of view of a returning veteran coming home to an America in the early 70's in tumult, reeling from social strife, injustice, corruption, poverty, pollution and a host of other maladies. While all the songs on the album are classics, I'm especially taken by the poignancy of "What's Happening Brother" - listen for the lyric "And tell me, friend/How in the world have you been?" - always sends chills down my spine:

The Humanist's Eye on Hollywood - The Mini-Me Sex Tape Scandal

The Happy Couple

I have to admit that I'm fascinated with the travails of one Verne Troyer (aka "Mini-Me" from the Austin Powers film series and.....God knows what else). If you haven't heard, a tape featuring Mr. Troyer and his, ahem, regular-sized live-in girlfriend engaged in el sexo comico was stolen from their possession and a portion of it (no sex, but they are naked and kissing) has made the InterTubes. Yes, I have seen said clip. No, it's not as bad as "2 Girls, 1 Cup" (but it comes damn close). No, I will not post the link, you lazy, sick bastards...find it yourselves!

Verne realizing his girl may not be solely taken by his natural charm

This seemingly run-of-the-mill Hollywood sex tape story intrigues me because it involves an uncommon movie star - a 2'8'' dwarf. My instinctual reaction to the story was revulsion (ewwww....dwarf sex!), but then I considered what this man has endured in his life and the utter miracle that his life has become and I felt remorse. I shouldn't be sickened or repulsed just because this man has the same natural appetites as anyone else. I'd like to think I'm a better person than some shallow heel who laughs at other people's "shortcomings" and physicial disorders....I judge what's inside the man. Yup.

Then I read some of the spicy details Mini-Me's co-star was offering up. Mike Myers should forget about the goofy accented characters and put this shit up on screen....it'll be the funniest thing he's ever done:

• She nearly drowned him in the bathtub due to sexy bubbles:

"I thought it would be fun to do it in the tub. Sadly, I almost killed him. While Verne was watching TV I ran the bath, emptied a bottle of bubbles in it and called him in. But the bubbles were so thick and high that once he climbed in he got lost under the water and I couldn't see him. Verne's voice is just like it is in the films and as he disappeared under the water, I heard this tiny yelp for help. I could just hear him crying, ‘Ranae, I can't see! Get me out, I'm drowning!' I was frantic and started to scoop the bubbles out so I could find him. The bath was only about 3ft deep but for someone of Verne's size it was like he'd fallen into the deep end of a swimming pool—and he CAN'T swim. "I thought it would be fun to do it in the tub. Sadly I almost killed him. I couldn't believe I'd tried to do something sexy and ended up almost killing him. He looked like a drowned rat."

Comic gold, right? But wait, it gets better....

"Then when I asked, ‘Shall we have sex now?' he was so out of breath he just stomped off with foam on his shiny head and said, ‘I don't feel like it now.' It was dreadful."

I'll bet it was....but not so dreadful that Mini-Me wasn't able to guilt her into getting her freak on with him the next night:

• Verne Troyer: Porn Auteur

So the next night, when Verne asked her to star in his DIY sex video, guilty Ranae felt duty-bound to agree. She said: "Without a doubt there's nothing Verne enjoys more than seeing himself on screen. Watching his own films is his favourite hobby. So it was no surprise when he asked if he could film us having sex. He said we could use it to get ourselves turned on."
Verne then turned director...telling Ranae where he wanted furniture because he was too small to move it himself. She said: "Verne ordered champagne and strawberries to get us in the mood. Then we got down to it. "First the tape shows Verne pleasuring me for 15 minutes which was amazing. The next 45 minutes is us having sex. And we really enjoyed ourselves."

I guess I should have warned you not to eat before reading the above paragraph....sorry about that.

Some other tidbits about this not-at-all cringe-inducing affair:

• Mini-Me hates her pet Maltese (avg size - 7-9 inches in height) because when the dog stands up on her back legs, she's taller than the movie star. Bitch.
• Mini-Me is on the starving college student diet - "Luckily I didn't have to cook much—because after two biscuits Verne is full. One slice of Hawaiian pizza and he's happy for the rest of the day!"
• To have sex with his 5'6" girlfriend, Mini-Me has to crawl up her legs and, since they can't kiss while having sex, he makes do by pecking her stomach. I'd pay $10 bucks to see that at the cineplex.
• Mini-Me rides bareback....because he kinda has to...

"It wasn't quite as passionate as sex with a normal-sized man but he did his best. He didn't wear a condom. There was no point, they're all too big.

• As if that wasn't embarassing enough, his galpal revealed that Mini-Me has to remind her not to hold his hand when they enter a restaurant....lest they look like a mother holding onto her child. Snarf!

OK, yes, I admit it.....I'm a shallow bastard who finds the whole mechanics of this relationship hilarious. He's a big movie star with money, fame and probably more girls who will let him crawl up their legs, so what does he care?

An Independence Day Message From Jack English, True American Patriot

America Rules England Sucks - Watch more free videos

Friday YouTube Nugget - Happy Birthday America!

In celebration of liberty, freedom, democracy and Bed, Bath & Beyond:

Wes Clark Is Making Sense; Therefore, He Must Be Destroyed

General Wesley Clark on Face The Nation, 6/29/08:


CLARK: Because in the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk. It's a matter of gauging your opponents, and it's a matter of being held accountable. John McCain's never done any of that in his official positions. I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, "I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not, do you want to take the risk, what about your reputation, how do we handle this publicly? He hasn't made those calls, Bob.

SCHIEFFER: Can I just interrupt you? I have to say, Barack Obama hasn't had any of these experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.

CLARK: I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president. (emphasis mine)


I think General Clark is absolutely right in his comments and he's being quite bold in going after McCain's sole advantage in the General Election. A reasonable-thinking person sees the quote above and can discern that, yes Wes Clark, a fellow decorated Vietnam vet, honors John McCain's service and his time in captivity as a POW, but he's saying that being a POW isn't any more or less of a qualification to be president than is being a community organizer and editor of the Harvard Law Review....or a failed oilman and owner of a major league baseball team. McCain will get as much mileage as he can out of his time in captivity; but what has that experience taught him? How has it made him a better candidate? This is a Senator, after all, who is in lockstep with the current administration in wanting to prolong the Iraq debacle another few decades or so. Not to mention the sad spectre of a former POW, a man tortured so severely that he cannot raise his arms above his head, voting to authorize the President to torture whomever he deems worthy.

General Clark isn't "swiftboating" John McCain...he's neither demeaning nor insulting McCain's service in the worst imaginable conditions - he's asking a relevant and wholly legitimate question. How did the 5+ years John McCain suffered as a POW make him a better candidate for President? If the press is going to give McCain a pass on this, why then did they mock and belittle Admiral James Stockdale, Ross Perot's running mate in 1992 and a man who spent 7 years being beaten and tortured in the same POW prison as McCain?

Of course, Republicans desperate for anything to distract the voters away from how badly they've fucked up the nation over the past 7 years will distort Clark's statement and intent as if to show that he's demeaning McCain's service. Nevermind that a scant four years ago, these assholes had no problem questioning the service and patriotism of another Vietnam vet wounded in action:

But in 2008, no one is questioning John McCain's service or his patriotism. Wes Clark just said McCain was a hero of his. No one at the Democratic National Convention will be wearing "Purple Heart Band-Aids" or mock "Hanoi Hilton" pajamas. No Democratic pundit will be appearing on "Hardball" to push the idea that McCain got special treatment in the POW prison or that he should be held accountable for making taped confessions after years of getting his brains beat in.

But let's not pretend that McCain is the second coming of Eisenhower.

P.S. George McGovern, the worst embodiment of liberal evil incarnate in the 20th century and History's Greatest Monster, flew 35 bombing missions in World War II and won the Distinguished Flying Cross as a B-24 pilot without once being shot down or captured. No wonder he got trounced in the electoral college 520-17 against Nixon in '72.

P.P.S. Tonight's statement from Wesley Clark:

"There are many important issues in this Presidential election, clearly one of the most important issues is national security and keeping the American people safe. In my opinion, protecting the American people is the most important duty of our next President. I have made comments in the past about John McCain's service and I want to reiterate them in order be crystal clear. As I have said before, I honor John McCain's service as a prisoner of war and a Vietnam Veteran. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. I would never dishonor the service of someone who chose to wear the uniform for our nation.

John McCain is running his campaign on his experience and how his experience would benefit him and our nation as President. That experience shows courage and commitment to our country - but it doesn't include executive experience wrestling with national policy or go-to-war decisions. And in this area, his judgment has been flawed - he not only supported going into a war we didn't have to fight in Iraq, but has time and again undervalued other, non-military elements of national power that must be used effectively to protect America. But as an American and former military officer, I will not back down if I believe someone doesn't have sound judgment when it comes to our nation's most critical issues.”

Cheers to him for sticking up for his own common sense. Jeers to the Obama campaign for leaving him out to dry.

Friday YouTube Nugget

Found this a few weeks ago on the ol' YouTube...the haunting, lovely theme from the film Serpico (1973) by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. Try not to get shot in the face like Frankie....

Goodnight, Funnyman.....Say Hi To Lenny and Richard For Us

5/12/37 - 6/22/08

Just saw the news this morning that George Carlin died last night of heart failure in Los Angeles. It's a real gutpunch to see someone who shaped your youth and influenced your philosophy so much shuffle off the mortal coil. Carlin and Richard Pryor stand as the two greatest and most impactful figures in American humor in the second half of the twentieth century and it's not that far a stretch to say every comic working today takes some of his massive influence. After all, it was his routine "Seven Words You can Never Say On Television" that resulted in a landmark Supreme Court decision on the government's authority to uphold broadcast indecency standards and the establishment of obscenity-free, family-friendly "prime-time" network broadcasting hours in the evenings. Of course, with the explosion of cable programming over the past two decades, the palate of indecent language has expanded greatly, but when there were only three networks in the game, this was a huge deal.

I can't do justice to Carlin's awesome legacy without posting some of his notable routines, but the IT Nazis at work cut us off from YouTube. I'll post some of my favorites later tonight, but for now, in honor of a comic legend and free speech champion, here are those infamous Seven Words, plus Three auxillary words added to later routines:

Shit

Piss

Fuck

Cunt

Cocksucker

Motherfucker

Tits

*Fart

*Turd

*Twat

Friday YouTube Nugget

I'm in a happy mood, so from their 1972 tour, here's the Rolling Stones' "Happy":




oh, and because I missed last week, here's my new favorite song - Gnarls Barkley's "Going On":

"Not a fan of the ladies, are you...Trebek? Hahahahaha!"

I believe this is where the SNL writers derived the inspiration for all those wonderful "Celebrity Jeopardy" sketches...in a 1995 installment, Lynn Redgrave endures a painful evening on the game show, about to be outclassed by Stephen King and David Duchovny:



Here in the interview section, Alex says what's on everyone's mind at the 0:26 mark:



oh my good Lord, was Lynn Redgrave out of her league. "Artful Dodger", lol:



Mercifully, it ends in Final Jeopardy....and looky-look! She fucked up the one question she should have gotten in a heartbeat! Fucking Tiffany's, bitch! YOU WERE A FAMOUS ACTRESS IN THE 1960's!!! HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW TIFFANY'S, YOU CRETIN?!!!!



By the way, nice choke, Duchovny. You got beat by Creepshow...lol.

Thank you, Senator Clinton

An absolutely gracious speech under the most difficult of circumstances. This is exactly what she needed to do and she nailed it.

"Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward..." Amen.

Friday YouTube Nugget - Double Feature!

Due to the momentous week we've just experienced...and because I was a lazy sod last Friday, I'm gracing you with the Official Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice And Sing (performed by the Boys Choir of Harlem):





and the unofficial Black National Anthem - McFadden & Whitehead's Ain't No Stoppin Us Now:

"This was the moment..."

Another Presidential first: the Obama Fistbump

Senator Barack Obama, St. Paul MN, June 3, 2008:

Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end.

Sixteen months have passed since we first stood together on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Thousands of miles have been traveled. Millions of voices have been heard. And because of what you said - because you decided that change must come to Washington; because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest; because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations, tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another - a journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

I want to thank every American who stood with us over the course of this campaign - through the good days and the bad; from the snows of Cedar Rapids to the sunshine of Sioux Falls. And tonight I also want to thank the men and woman who took this journey with me as fellow candidates for President.

At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office. I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better. They are leaders of this party, and leaders that America will turn to for years to come.

That is particularly true for the candidate who has traveled further on this journey than anyone else. Senator Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign not just because she's a woman who has done what no woman has done before, but because she's a leader who inspires millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to the causes that brought us here tonight.

We've certainly had our differences over the last sixteen months. But as someone who's shared a stage with her many times, I can tell you that what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning - even in the face of tough odds - is exactly what sent her and Bill Clinton to sign up for their first campaign in Texas all those years ago; what sent her to work at the Children's Defense Fund and made her fight for health care as First Lady; what led her to the United States Senate and fueled her barrier-breaking campaign for the presidency - an unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be. And you can rest assured that when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country, she will be central to that victory. When we transform our energy policy and lift our children out of poverty, it will be because she worked to help make it happen. Our party and our country are better off because of her, and I am a better candidate for having had the honor to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton.

There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well I say that because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time. There are Independents and Republicans who understand that this election isn't just about the party in charge of Washington, it's about the need to change Washington. There are young people, and African-Americans, and Latinos, and women of all ages who have voted in numbers that have broken records and inspired a nation.

All of you chose to support a candidate you believe in deeply. But at the end of the day, we aren't the reason you came out and waited in lines that stretched block after block to make your voice heard. You didn't do that because of me or Senator Clinton or anyone else. You did it because you know in your hearts that at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - we cannot afford to keep doing what we've been doing. We owe our children a better future. We owe our country a better future. And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say - let us begin the work together. Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.

In just a few short months, the Republican Party will arrive in St. Paul with a very different agenda. They will come here to nominate John McCain, a man who has served this country heroically. I honor that service, and I respect his many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine. My differences with him are not personal; they are with the policies he has proposed in this campaign.

Because while John McCain can legitimately tout moments of independence from his party in the past, such independence has not been the hallmark of his presidential campaign.

It's not change when John McCain decided to stand with George Bush ninety-five percent of the time, as he did in the Senate last year.

It's not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs, or insure our workers, or help Americans afford the skyrocketing cost of college - policies that have lowered the real incomes of the average American family, widened the gap between Wall Street and Main Street, and left our children with a mountain of debt.

And it's not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians - a policy where all we look for are reasons to stay in Iraq, while we spend billions of dollars a month on a war that isn't making the American people any safer.

So I'll say this - there are many words to describe John McCain's attempt to pass off his embrace of George Bush's policies as bipartisan and new. But change is not one of them.

Change is a foreign policy that doesn't begin and end with a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged. I won't stand here and pretend that there are many good options left in Iraq, but what's not an option is leaving our troops in that country for the next hundred years - especially at a time when our military is overstretched, our nation is isolated, and nearly every other threat to America is being ignored.

We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in - but start leaving we must. It's time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their future. It's time to rebuild our military and give our veterans the care they need and the benefits they deserve when they come home. It's time to refocus our efforts on al Qaeda's leadership and Afghanistan, and rally the world against the common threats of the 21st century - terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. That's what change is.

Change is realizing that meeting today's threats requires not just our firepower, but the power of our diplomacy - tough, direct diplomacy where the President of the United States isn't afraid to let any petty dictator know where America stands and what we stand for. We must once again have the courage and conviction to lead the free world. That is the legacy of Roosevelt, and Truman, and Kennedy. That's what the American people want. That's what change is.

Change is building an economy that rewards not just wealth, but the work and workers who created it. It's understanding that the struggles facing working families can't be solved by spending billions of dollars on more tax breaks for big corporations and wealthy CEOs, but by giving a the middle-class a tax break, and investing in our crumbling infrastructure, and transforming how we use energy, and improving our schools, and renewing our commitment to science and innovation. It's understanding that fiscal responsibility and shared prosperity can go hand-in-hand, as they did when Bill Clinton was President.

John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy - cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota - he'd understand the kind of change that people are looking for.

Maybe if he went to Iowa and met the student who works the night shift after a full day of class and still can't pay the medical bills for a sister who's ill, he'd understand that she can't afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and wealthy. She needs us to pass health care plan that guarantees insurance to every American who wants it and brings down premiums for every family who needs it. That's the change we need.

Maybe if he went to Pennsylvania and met the man who lost his job but can't even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one, he'd understand that we can't afford four more years of our addiction to oil from dictators. That man needs us to pass an energy policy that works with automakers to raise fuel standards, and makes corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future - an energy policy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced. That's the change we need.

And maybe if he spent some time in the schools of South Carolina or St. Paul or where he spoke tonight in New Orleans, he'd understand that we can't afford to leave the money behind for No Child Left Behind; that we owe it to our children to invest in early childhood education; to recruit an army of new teachers and give them better pay and more support; to finally decide that in this global economy, the chance to get a college education should not be a privilege for the wealthy few, but the birthright of every American. That's the change we need in America. That's why I'm running for President.

The other side will come here in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions, and that is a debate I look forward to. It is a debate the American people deserve. But what you don't deserve is another election that's governed by fear, and innuendo, and division. What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon - that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first.

Despite what the good Senator from Arizona said tonight, I have seen people of differing views and opinions find common cause many times during my two decades in public life, and I have brought many together myself. I've walked arm-in-arm with community leaders on the South Side of Chicago and watched tensions fade as black, white, and Latino fought together for good jobs and good schools. I've sat across the table from law enforcement and civil rights advocates to reform a criminal justice system that sent thirteen innocent people to death row. And I've worked with friends in the other party to provide more children with health insurance and more working families with a tax break; to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure that the American people know where their tax dollars are being spent; and to reduce the influence of lobbyists who have all too often set the agenda in Washington.

In our country, I have found that this cooperation happens not because we agree on everything, but because behind all the labels and false divisions and categories that define us; beyond all the petty bickering and point-scoring in Washington, Americans are a decent, generous, compassionate people, united by common challenges and common hopes. And every so often, there are moments which call on that fundamental goodness to make this country great again.

So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union; and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.

So it was for the Greatest Generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.

So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines; the women who shattered glass ceilings; the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom's cause.

So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that's better, and kinder, and more just.

And so it must be for us.

America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that

this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless;

this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal;

this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth.

This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Hey Bo Diddley

In honor of a true rock pioneer and in anticipation of a pretty large celebration tomrorrow...

HEY BO DIDDLEY

We Shall Overcome

My heart was full and my sense of social justice was very pleased by the recent California Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage for the state. And more good news followed this week - the voters of California seem loathe to overturn the Court's decision:

The Field Poll result, released today, shows the highest level of support in more than three decades of polling Californians on the hot-button issue of same-sex marriage laws. The poll found 51 percent of registered voters favor the idea of allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed, while 42 percent disapprove.

What this indicates, I hope, is "So goes California, so goes the rest of the nation." There's a long fight ahead, as eighteen states have passed various anti-gay, "defense of marriage" amendments to their respective state constitutions in the past two federal election cycles. Twenty-seven states include some form of restriction on same-sex marriage currently. It will most likely be a state-by-state battle to restore civil rights and equal opportunity for a minority that's been demonized and marginalized for far too long.

The crux of the matter here is not "special rights," as conservatives love to bray - it is simply recognizing equal rights for adult, tax-paying gay and lesbian Americans (living will designees, property inheritance, hospital visitation, etc.) as straight Americans enjoy. As far as the "threat to straight marriages" canard goes, I doubt the the "spectre" of Adam and Steve or Ellen and Portia getting hitched drove Vito Fossella to knock up his secret lover or Larry Craig to cruise airport bathrooms for dick or David Vitter to get in a diaper for a romp with a prostitute. And it sure as hell didn't prevent Bill Clinton from getting a squeezer from an intern in the Oval Office before he signed the repugnant Defense of Marriage Act into law.

Gay and lesbian citizens have fought for this country, they've been responsible for advances in medicine and technology, they've been captains of industry and have been the most grassroots of organizers. They've held elected office and have inspired the political structure from the outside.

I won't even begin to list the contributions gay and lesbian artists have made to the books we read, the music we listen to, the TV shows and movies we watch, the live theater that entertains us, the art we appreciate, the sculptures that impress us, the poems that inspire us, etc.

They are our co-workers, our neighbors, our friends, our classmates, our bar-mates and our family. They are us and we are them.

Idealist that I am, I imagine this time as analogous to the late 50's/early 60's, where a Supreme Court decision (Brown v. Board of Education) gave fuel to a nascent civil rights movement and a gradual shift in public sentiment in favor of desegregation. I trust it won't take Bull Connor and the Birmingham police turning hoses on protesters to move the national mood in favor of recognizing that same-sex couples deserve the same rights as their straight counterparts. Nor do I look forward to a Federal act, on the level of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, which inspires, in spite of lofty goals, generations of resentment and political polarization in less-tolerant segments of the nation. States must decide if they want to be on the right, or wrong, side of history.

I'm overjoyed for my business school classmates in California who have been waiting for this ruling for well over a decade and a half and for same-sex couples throughout the state who have been given overdue respect by the state's constitutional authority. I hope this movement spreads eastward and graces all the states in the union with equality for all of our citizens.

It is because I love them dearly and want only for this country to respect them as much as I do that I echo that old anthem -

WE SHALL OVERCOME

UPDATE: New York State is onboard. Thanks Gov. Paterson

Mayor Six-Pack

Sixteen years in office. Sixteen years as the chief executive of the city. The longest serving mayor in our city's history. The dominant political figure in WNY in parts of three decades.

It is difficult, in this era, to fully appreciate the impact of Jimmy Griffin's reign in Buffalo. Under his leadership, the city ended up with the Buffalo Hilton (now the Adam’s Mark), Waterfront development (most notably, townhouses), the Hyatt Regency, the General Cinema in the Market Arcade, a restored Shea’s Buffalo and the HSBC Bank Atrium, and the crown jewel of his administration - Dunn Tire Park.

I say it is difficult because these achievements are overshadowed by the failures of his administration and the rapid decline of the city's fortunes during and after his reign. Despite his constant promotion of the city and battles with the state and his own Common Council over funding, we sit 30 years after he took office faced with the following:

• A startling exodus from the city that has reduced our numbers to under 250,000
• Double-digit increases in the crime rate
• Chronic underfunding of the city's public schools
• Patronage systems installed in city departments, from the Police to the parks
• Neighborhoods, such as the East Side, ignored and allowed to rot for 20+ years

My own memories of Griffin are vague...though he was in office for most of the time I was growing up here, I left in 1989. I remember him as something of a political clown - someone who reveled in ginned-up conflicts with other officials so he could puff out his chest and show his loyal constituents what a "tough guy" he was. Whether he was walking off "A.M. Buffalo" after the interviewer had enough of his rudeness or sucker-punching the County Parks Commissioner outside the downtown ballpark or comparing Buffalo News reporters to convicted criminals, "Mayor Jimmy" never shied away from an opportunity to promote himself at the expense of others.

Of course, one would not expect a hardscrabble, bareknuckled neighborhood politician like Griffin to be the most progressive person in the room, but he seemed to revel in taking shots at groups who didn't put money in his or his cronies' pockets:

• On LGBT citizens: "They are fruits and queers. They're not 'gay' because that means happy, not homosexual."
• On Parks Department workers upset over the 1990 scandal: "They're malcontents and stool pigeons."
• On welcoming Operation Rescue to Buffalo: "An abortionist is probably on a level with reporters. I don't know who's worse or who is better."

I agree with Donn Esmonde's assessment in today's News that the positive legacy that Griffin leaves is tarnished by his pettiness, his self-aggrandizement and inability to compromise. He was, and is, beloved for his charisma, considerable charm (if he liked you or was trying to get your vote) and common touch. He may be our best personification of Tip O'Neill's line about "all politics is local". However, that "local touch" ultimately did little to advance the city or its people.

Nothing's Shocking

Hoo boy...the general election is going to be a cavalcade of mirth if this clip is any indication of the tenor of discourse to come in the fall. Of course, it would be unfair to paint the entire network as promoting this kind of garbage, because you would never, ever, ever find this kind of filth on their broadcasts.

Fox News: Fair and Balanced and Purposefully "Confusing" a Presidential Candidate and the World's Leading Terrorist and Wishing Death on Them Both:



UPDATE: Apparently, the Fox News personality, Liz Trotta , offered an "apology" for her disgraceful comment. I leave it up to you to judge the sincerity of her remorse: