Deep Something

That’s right folks. The good christian people at Focus on the Family don’t want schools to have effective anti-bullying campaigns because they want to be sure their kids can continue to beat up kids who are or are perceived to be gay. Oh they try to dress it up in nice words saying they want safe schools for everyone, but if you go around and tell kids it’s not OK to beat up the gay kids, then you’re teaching them that being gay is OK.

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OK, I admit I’d not given much thought to the Democratic Primary for 11th Congressional District. I’m not overly impressed with Cathy Castor, but she’s generally socially progressive, so I expected to vote for her. I frankly didn’t even know she had an opponent. That changed tonight, and Tim Curtis has earned my vote.

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Two teenaged children conceived by artificial insemination get the notion to seek out their birth father and introduce him into the family life that their two mothers have built for them. Once the donor is found, the household will never be the same, as family ties are defined, re-defined, and then re-re-defined. This was an excellent movie which I highly recommend with some caveats.

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Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible — inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.

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This past weekend was rather busy around this household. The biggest event was Sunday when we had our niece’s 4th birthday party here at the house. Saturday night we attended the Una Voce Florida Men’s Chorale concert. The concert title was “Harmonia Mundi” or music of the world. After the concert, we went over and picked up the nephews to spend the night. Whew! As soon as everyone left Sunday and all the trash was stashed, I sat down in my favorite chair, and was out light like a light for about two hours.

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Here’s the first in a brand new series here at Deep Something. I’m sick and tired of hearing the Republicans and krazy kristian kooks like the American Family Association and Tony Perkins and many others just make shit up about gay people and the issues faced by LGBT people in this country (and around the world). They do it because they get to try to hide behind press releases, podiums, security and websites. So I’ve decided to call them out. I’m going to find a number and do my best to get through to them or their staff person, and I intend to respectfully and thoughtfully challenge them to say it to my face (or at least over the phone).

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Rush on his show getting bent out of shape about the fact that 16 million children will go hungry this summer without their school lunch. Since he can’t miss a chance to slam any Obama, he proceeds to say that since Michele Obama thinks kids are too fat, maybe it would be good for these kids to go hungry all summer. Yes, he suggests they go dumpster diving. The irony of someone Rush’s size suggesting it would be good for fat children to go hungry all summer pales with the knowledge that Rush himself has fed at the public trough. Yes friends, there was a time when Rush was out of work and using food stamps and unemployment checks to sustain himself.

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This is a letter written to Republican House Member Todd Akin in response to remarks he made today in a floor speech concern the possible repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Funny thing, we owe our victory over the British to a Gay General, and Akin wants to invoke Washington and what he would think.

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“Robin Hood” chronicles the life of an expert archer, previously interested only in self-preservation, from his service in King Richard’s army against the French. Upon Richard’s death, Robin travels to Nottingham, a town suffering from the corruption of a despotic sheriff and crippling taxation, where he falls for the spirited widow Lady Marion, a woman skeptical of the identity and motivations of this crusader from the forest. Robin Hood delivers what it promises. Solid action, good narrative, and the inclusion of a bit of history with action between England and France gives the movie an added meat and almost realistic feel to it. The dialog is a bit ropey at times, and Robin’s “merry men” could have had a bit more screen time, but otherwise i see no major fault with this movie.

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If you’ve ever played any of the old school video games, Tetris, Pacman, Donkey Kong and others, you’ll love this video. The effects are amazing. It’s what would happen if the Pixels took over New York City. Look for characters from Space Invaders, Pacman, Tetris, Arkanoid, Donkey Kong, and Frogger.

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Easter Sunday afternoon me and Lay went to his parent’s farm down in Ruskin to hide Easter eggs and eat. At one point, I was running to a nearby Walgreens to pickup a couple of items. I was stopped at the traffic waiting to turn in and noticed a young man on the corner holding a large sign and his Bible. I felt sorry for him, because the picture was one of an angry God, and I have trouble with that image, but it’s an image held by too many on the religious right.

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Thursday was a long and grueling day at work. After work I raked leaves and did some yard cleanup. So I was ready to sit down and relax with a nice cold cup of diet coke after my shower. Instead, I wound up with a major clean-up/disaster recovery effort on my hands.

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As most of you know, the United States Senate has a cloture rule which requires at least 60 votes to end debate to then vote up or down on the bill itself. It is important to note that the Constitution says nothing about the rules of the Senate, and does not require such a super-majority. Should the rule be modified to require a lower threshold for cloture, or eliminated all together? Tell us what you think in our poll.

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Many obstacles and stumbling blocks remain in the way of health care reform. The House and Senate bills will have to be merged, and then the House and Senate both will vote on the final bill. But just for fun, let’s look at what conventional wisdom says will be in the final bill and see if there is anything in it that will be an immediate benefit to people with mesothelioma cancer and other asbestos-related disease.

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Below is a youtube of a segment from Meet The Press this past Sunday in which E. J. Dionne calls out Sen. Orrin Hatch for the Republican’s continuing bullshit about the use of reconciliation to pass things based on a simple majority vote in the Senate. We need to be discussing policy and health insurance reform (or elimination), but instead, all the Republicans can come up with to try to “win” is to run around like Chicken Little complaining that the sky will fall if some Senate procedure is “out-procedured.”

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Photos of my two annual guests who are sticking around this year for a bit longer than usual. Also a link to the photo gallery of the State Fair photos.

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Over at One News Now (an ultra-conservative non-news outlet), they published another story this week trying to refute the idea of Global Warming, with what may be the most absurd argument yet. Christians are called to believe that the earth is the creation of God and is a gift given to humans for our care and nurturing. I believe that responsible Christians are especially called on to protect the environment and all in it. So why have so many so-called Christian Leaders and Organizations seen fit to argue over the nuances of data collection instead of concerning themselves with the deterioration of the environment and the ever increasing cost of energy? To whom are they beholding?

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Take one preconceived notion and grasp it strongly. Bake this idea into your mind until well seared. If necessary, run around shouting it at the top of your lungs with your ears plugged and eyes shut so as to drown out any competing notions.

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Patrick Strudwick is a journalist for the British paper, The Independent. Strudwick spent some time undercover going to therapist sessions with a therapist who would attempt to convert him from gay to straight, apparently by discerning the cause of his homosexuality.

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Today in Sunday School, We still going through the Rick Warren book. This discussion was about being friends with God. The discussion went off in a number of directions, and I’m not sure how much I got out of this week. Today is also the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so I wanted to work in a reference to that in today’s prayer. I heard a great story this morning on NPR about how King had once been asked, in his teenage years, what he was looking at as he stared out the Window. He was watching the gas lamp lighter going along lighting the gas lights. King said he was watching the man, “knock holes in the darkness.”

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