Category: General

Missing Myron Cope

February 27, 2008
GeneralPhilosophicalReligion
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My Dad called this morning to break the news, and it felt like somebody in the family had died. Amazed at my own reaction, I realized how much this incredible talent meant to me and my family. I never even met the man, but he was as much a part of my childhood as anybody else.

Yoi.

Cope was always there. No matter what, Myron would help us make sense of it all, every game, win or lose. Myron gave us the Terrible Towel so we could celebrate, and he let us know when it was alright to bring the Towel to the stadium.

And we followed him religiously. The Steelers were our religion. Even our priests knew that in Pittsburgh, there was the Christmas Season, Lent and Easter Season, and Steeler Season. Period. Some of them even had black and gold stoles.

Rule #1: The Terrible Towel only came to the stadium for the playoffs. That was when we were all but certain we would get there every year. And when the Steelers weren’t so great, Myron was there to tell us why, “Hmmm, haa!”

Rule #2: Listen to Myron.

I waved that Towel to the sky this evening, and I wept inside. And laughed. All day, for some reason, I had Myron’s horrific version of “Deck the Halls” running through my mind.

Double Yoi!

The Terrible Towel

Thanks, Myron.

Missing Heath

January 22, 2008
General
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Heath Ledger

I don’t know why his death makes me so sad.

28 years old and gone.

From the New York Times:

Heath Ledger, the Australian-born actor whose breakthrough role as a gay cowboy in the 2005 movie “Brokeback Mountain” earned him a nomination for an Academy Award and comparisons to the likes of Marlon Brando, was found dead Tuesday in an apartment in Manhattan with sleeping pills near his body, the police said.

Already there were suggestions on ABC news that this was a suicide or drug related. They found sleeping pills.

At least the NYTimes showed some restraint, and did not draw these conclusions:

“There was no indication of a disturbance,” he said, adding that there were no signs that Mr. Ledger had been drinking. Nor were any illegal drugs found in the loft, which takes up the entire fourth floor. Neighbors said Mr. Ledger had occupied it for several months.

Police officials said that a bottle of prescription sleeping pills was found on a nearby night table, but that they did not know whether the pills had anything to do with Mr. Ledger’s death. Officers who checked the apartment found other prescription medications in the bathroom. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said an autopsy would be conducted on Wednesday.

And then this:

Mr. Browne said no obvious indication of suicide, like a note, was found in the bedroom.

I’m just very, very sad to hear this news. I don’t know what happened to him. No speculation at all. I’m just missing Heath right now.

Iran, Oil, and the Neverending Story

January 12, 2008
EconomyGeneral
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I get it.  We’re stuck with oil and there’s no way out.  At least that’s what we’re supposed to think if we believe Robert Bryce at the Washington Post.   Bryce sets out to dismiss 5 arguments many make regarding our dependence on foreign oil:

  1. Energy independence will reduce or eliminate terrorism.
  2. A big push for alternative fuels will break our oil addiction.
  3. Energy independence will let America choke off the flow of money to nasty countries.
  4. Energy independence will mean reform in the Muslim world.
  5. Energy independence will mean a more secure U.S. energy supply.

The thread that ties all of these, according to Bryce, is that “we’re woven in with the rest of the world — and going to stay that way.”  While arguing that there has been terrorism before there was oil, indeed, “terrorism is an ancient tactic that predates the oil era,” he concludes there is no other alternative but to keep using oil.

But his arguments fall short.  In dismissing alternative fuels, for example, he relies on the United States remaining with the internal combustion engine, which may or may not happen.

I’m always loathe to believe anyone who claims to know the future.  The fact is that all of these arguments fall short of the wonderful, profound truth that we need to pursue alternative energy solutions for more important than Bryce’s confining arguments.  Alternative energy, energy independence, simply means imagining for just a few moments that we are actually dreaming once again.

And we may arrive at completely different and innovative solutions to our current energy problems.  And, for my friends on the Right, these may actually prove lucrative as well.

On A Positive Note with the HRC

January 1, 2008
ElectionsGeneralGLBT
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The Human Rights Campaign launched a short video with ideas for New Year’s Resolutions.

This just in from Joe Salmonese:

Did you make any resolutions last night?

Have you broken any yet?

I’m excited to share a new HRC video with you: it’s a close-up look at some of the faces of our community and the changes they want to make in their lives this year.

Watch now >>

I have to say, people came up with some great, unexpected ideas about how to promote GLBT equality in 2008.

And there are a few other resolutions in there that might surprise you, too. For example, did you know what “lesson one of the Beyoncé handbook” is?

Me neither. Don’t ask. Just watch.

This video is inspiring. It’s funny. And it’ll get you thinking about the small things you can do to make a big difference – in your own life, in your community, and in our country.

We have so much to do together in 2008.

Happy New Year!

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese

Joe Solmonese

President

P.S. Here’s a resolution you can keep right away: donate now and help us reach our goal of 2,008 new and 2,008 renewing members by January 28th.

Worth checking out.

I resolve to persuade as many people as possible to vote.

Conservative William Kristol Joins New York Times

December 30, 2007
General
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The New York Times announced Saturday that William Kristol, “one of the nation’s leading conservative writers and a vigorous supporter of the Iraq war, will become an Op-Ed page columnist for The New York Times.”  The publication acknowledges that Kristol has been a “fierce critic” of The Times.

Interesting twist.  While on the other end of the fence, Kristol has a sharp intellect, and I look forward to reading him.

Will he be sharing an office with Maureen Dowd?

The End of America – Possible, Says Naomi Wolf

November 24, 2007
ConstitutionElectionsGeneralIraqLegalPhilosophicalRepublicansStrange
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Don Hazen has an interview with Naomi Wolf on AlterNet regarding her new book, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot.  In it, she warns that history may indeed repeat itself.

When discussing the Bush Administration, it’s easy to glibly toss around names like “Hitler” and “Mussolini”, and throw in a word like “fascism”, but Wolf raises some alarming concerns about the future of our democracy.

What exactly was going on when Hitler and Mussolini were coming to power?  Are there any comparisons with what is happening in America today, and has been for the past several years?

Wolf does not see much hope for a transparency in the next Presidential election:

We would be naive given the historical patterns to have hope that there’s going to be a transparent, accountable election in 2008. There are various ways the blueprint indicates how events are much more likely to play out. Historically, the months leading up to the national election are likely to be unstable.

What classically happens is either there will be a period of provocation, and we have a history of this in the United States — agitators who are dressed as or act like activist voter registration workers, anti-war marchers … but who engage in actual violence, torch property, assault police officers. And that scares people. People are much less likely to vote for change when they’re scared, and it gives them the excuse to crack down.

In addition, I’m concerned about the 2007 Defense Authorization Act, which makes it much easier for the president to declare martial law.

What are the plans for 2008?  Lower gas prices, and heightened terrorist threat alerts?  Martial Law in the United States?

Genarlow Wilson Free

October 26, 2007
ConstitutionGeneral
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Genarlow Wilson was finally freed from prison today.  He spent two years in prison.  The incredible injustice this young man endured notwithstanding, he actually sounded gracious and grateful to finally be released from prison.  Reporters attempted to bait him into saying that he was bitter, but he would have none of it.  He was grinning from ear to ear.

I find it incredible that anyone would lose two years of his life because of consensual sex — especially when the partners are only two years apart.

There was more to the story, of course.  These kids made the incredible mistake of videotaping their encounter at the party.

I wish Mr. Wilson the best.  Prison is no place to grow up.  But Wilson looked like he succeeded in doing just that.

Sitting Down with Lance Corporal Brian Wiley, USMC

October 9, 2007
General
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Lance Corporal Brian Wiley has served two tours in Iraq. At 21 years of age, he’s seen more pain and violence than most see in a lifetime. He is prepared to serve again.

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Stifling Protest: Bad Choice Between Law And Order

August 31, 2007
General
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From our friends at the First Amendment Center:

Taxpayers and First Amendment values can take a hit when police and other officials forget that dissent is as American as apple pie and also is constitutionally protected speech.

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Amen Salon.com: Rally the Dems!

August 28, 2007
Democratic NewsElectionsGeneral
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Alex Koppelman writing for Salon.com throws a shot at the Democrats: Run against Bush — and toughen up — or lose in ’08.

Koppelman interviews psychologist Drew Westen, who “says Democrats could lose yet again if they don’t learn how to stand up for themselves and connect with voters emotionally.”

His emphasis? The Democrats should run against Bush:

I think the most important thing they could do is to make sure that they tie every Republican incumbent and whoever becomes the Republican nominee for president in with George Bush, because the reality is the Republicans are all going to run from George Bush as best they can in this next election. Elections are won and lost on associations, and right now, unless there’s another terrorist attack on our soil in the next 18 months, the connection to George Bush is going to be a tremendous liability for any candidate …

If the Democrats run against anyone other than Bush and the Republican Party, Bush and the Republican Congress, Bush and the Republican presidential nominee, I think they’ll probably lose, because I think the Republicans are adept enough at getting out of those associations unless the Democrats start making them now.

I would find every picture these guys ever took down at Crawford with “W” and put them on billboards, in major newspapers, on YouTube.

And don’t forget Giuliani in drag: