July 2009 Archives

The company I work for recently received an inquiry about the software package I mostly work with from the UK. I overheard the president talking with the lead programmer, and he referred to tonnes, VAT and some other terms/spelling unique. He joked about that maybe we should hire someone who spoke with a British accent. I jumped in that I could probably recite most Monty Python sketches from memory and that obviously years and years of nerddom might finally pay off.

I also recalled Scott Thompson's (of Kids in the Hall) wonderful Queen Elizabeth character/impersonation, but I figured that bringing drag up might not go so well. ;) (And let's face it, I am WAY too hairy to do drag. I am NOT prepared to sit in a vat of Nair, thankyouverymuch.)

A book burning? Are they serious? We live in America and the idea that some group of folks can determine what everyone else can read is appalling!

Library fight riles up city, leads to book-burning demand

(CNN) -- A fight over books depicting sex and homosexuality has riled up a small Wisconsin city, cost some library board members their positions and prompted a call for a public book burning.



A washing machine was part of a July 4 parade float made by a group seeking changes at West Bend's library.

The battle has stirred much of West Bend, a city of roughly 30,000 people about 35 miles north of Milwaukee. Residents have sparred for months on blogs, airwaves and at meetings, including one where a man told the city's library director he should be tarred and feathered.

The row even spread to this year's Fourth of July parade, which included a float featuring a washing machine and a sign that read "keep our library clean."

"If you told me we would be going through a book challenge of this nature, I'd think, 'Never in a million years,' " said Michael Tyree, director of the West Bend Community Memorial Library.

The strife began in February when West Bend couple Jim and Ginny Maziarka objected to some of the content in the city library's young-adult section. They later petitioned the library board to move any sexually explicit books -- the definition of which would be debated -- from the young-adult section to the adult section and to label them as sexually explicit.

Ginny Maziarka, 49, said the books in the section of the library aimed at children aged 12 to 18 included homosexual and heterosexual content she thought was inappropriate for youths.

(More at the article)

Amd some whiners have the unbelievable temerity to claim that their emotional and mental well-being are somehow threatened by books simply existing at the library??? If you disagree with a book that much, don't read it. State your opposition. But no one has the right to demand that a book be banned for everyone simply because some folks don't like it.

Outside West Bend, the fight caught the attention of Robert Braun, who, with three other Milwaukee-area men, filed a claim against West Bend calling for one of the library's books to be publicly burned, along with financial damages.

The four plaintiffs -- who describe themselves as "elderly" in their complaint --- claim their "mental and emotional well-being was damaged by [the] book at the library."

The claim, unconnected to the Maziarkas, says the book "Baby Be-bop" -- a fictional piece about a homosexual teenager -- is "explicitly vulgar, racial and anti-Christian."

Braun, who says he is president of a Milwaukee group called the Christian Civil Liberties Union, said he singled out the book because it "goes way over the line" with offensive language and descriptions of sex acts.

The call for burning the book showed his passion, Braun, 74, said. "I don't sit on the fence when I do these things. When I make a decision to speak up on something, I go for it."

The ALA will help the library oppose the claim if it goes forward, Caldwell-Stone said, adding she felt that was unlikely because "it has very little basis in law."

Library fight riles up city, leads to book-burning demand - CNN.com

We are redoing our 401K plans with another firm at work, and I had some questions. I called the financial planner and the receptionist said that he was out of the office. I asked if the planner had voice mail, and the receptionist said, "He has me." in what I first parsed as a slightly sad/regretful voice. (As in "Do I rate so low in the world that someone would rather talk to a piece of hardware than me?") Actually, I am sure that she was fine, but I almost wanted to apologize for being dismissive. ;) Or maybe I am just being neurotic/weird.

It’s been, what?, a couple weeks since the last conservative Republican political figure was caught with his pants down.

Seriously, how do these folks keep a straight face while blathering about standing up for family values and stigmatizing GLBT folks whilst stepping out and flagrantly violating the values that they are supposedly espousing.

Talking about the sanctity of one man/one woman marriage or whatever other talking points the Religious Right folks have fed you does not count when your private life belies that.

Sen. Paul Stanley, Champion of Family Values, Caught in Sex-and-Blackmail Scandal

By Jeff Woods in Legislature, Politics, Woods

Tuesday, Jul. 21 2009 @ 7:14PM

Sen. Paul Stanley

Well, it was only a matter of time, wasn't it? According to authorities, one of our own social conservative Republicans has been caught cheating on his wife, and he was doing it with a young legislative intern. At this juncture, we're going to resist the temptation to make a joke about family values. That's getting so old it's not funny anymore.

(Read the full article here)

Nashville - Nashville Scene - Pith in the Wind - Sen. Paul Stanley, Champion of Family Values, Caught in Sex-and-Blackmail Scandal

My mom forwarded this to me. Too much fun! It’s wonderful to see folks in that age bracket savoring life.

StoryCorps is a national organization affiliated with NPR. They are going to be in Erie for late July through mid to late August to record conversations between pairs of people (friends, partners, relatives, whatever.) It takes about an hour. There is no interviewer; two people just sit down and talk. StoryCorps records the conversation and gives you a CD when you are done and also stores it in the National Archives in DC. They are actively seeking GLBT folks for inclusion. (Among other groups as well, of course.) A few of us are already speaking, but there are some slots that opened that need to be filled very quickly.

Here is what I got from Lily at StoryCorps today. We need to hear from people right away! This is a great opportunity to document the local GLBT community.

I'm putting finishing touches on the StoryCorps' Erie schedule and I just got some last-minute cancellations. It's a shot in the dark, but I thought I'd write to you since you seem so fast and plugged into the community. Would Erie Gay News have interest in taking one more StoryCorps appointment? I'd really like to make sure GLBTQ stories are strongly is represented in our Erie recordings, and so far Erie Gay News is the only partner that's explicitly gay-oriented.

I have an appointment at 4:30 on Monday, August 3, and several on the afternoon of Sunday, August 16. The only catch is that I'd have to book the appointment super quickly--like preferably today, and tomorrow latest. Super short notice, I know, and no pressure at all. I just thought I'd ask in case anyone comes to mind immediately.

Hope you're well, and thanks!

This is most welcome news! I am not sure whether the not so good amendments made it to the final version. But I am thrilled to hear that it is heading to President Obama's desk to be signed.

Here is the email that was forwarded to me from the Human Rights Campaign:

 

I  have great news to share: the Senate has passed the Matthew Shepard Act!

The bill will soon be on its way to President Obama's desk, where he'll get a chance to make good on his promise to sign it.

This vote came on the heels of tremendous pressure from radical right-wing groups that used every trick in the book.

They called the bill the "Pedophile Protection Act," among other outrageous claims. They dismissed the barbaric hate crime that took Matthew Shepard's life as a "hoax." They flooded the Senate with hundreds of thousands of letters and calls.

But your calls, emails, and financial support for our work helped make sure the truth prevailed in the end. Without you, this victory for equal rights would not have been possible.

Will you do one last important thing? Both of your senators voted "Yes" on the bill and both need to know we appreciate their courage under fire.

Please call and thank your senators today: Sen. Bob Casey (202) 224-6324 and Sen. Arlen Specter (202) 224-4254 .

Once you've called, please report your call. Don't skip this step! It helps us track all the calls.

A simple 'thank you' after the vote is just as important as all the calls and emails before the vote. It lets lawmakers know that their constituents are engaged, and makes them more likely to pay attention when we need their help again. This is a tremendous step forward for full equality for LGBT Americans, but we most certainly will need their help again.

Please take a minute from your busy day to make these two quick calls.

Thank you for all your help!

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese
President

Technorati Tags: Human Rights Campaign,Matthew Shepard Act,Hate Crimes

My mom sent this along as a forward from my uncle Bernie. This was done by his daughter (and therefore, my cousin), Emma.

The email from Bernie:

Emma's first attempt at a scholarship. this one is from the Tea foundation - the "Calm-a-Sutra" Competition. she had to make a video that explains a benefit of tea. She did all the animation, music, drawings, editing, etc. Not a bad first try.
So.....
Go To
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLMRRqdpCAU
Please, and click on her video. It'll help them believe.
Then send it to everyone you know with the same request.
Thanks,
Bernie

My sister Su and Joyce Savocchio at my sister's high school graduation from Strong Vincent High School in June of 1983. I believe that at the time that Joyce Savocchio may have been a principal at Strong Vincent High School. When I graduated in 1981, Savocchio had just been elected to her first term on Erie City Council. Oddly enough, I now live 2 to 3 blocks down the street from Strong Vincent.

My brother found this a few weeks ago, and this was the first chance I had to scan it in.

This is pretty cynical and awful. I am not entirely comfortable with the death penalty and most definitely believe that it should not be extended to other crime.

URGENT ACTION: Poison pill to federal hate crimes expands death penalty

If you support hate crimes legislation, oppose the death penalty, or both, read this.
On Thursday, the US Senate amended S. 1390- a defense appropriations bill- to include federal hate crimes protection on the bases of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, and disability. Today, as early as 3pm, the Senate is expected to vote on Senate Amendment No. 1615, an amendment offered by Senator Sessions of Alabama that would expand the federal death penalty to include kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, sexual abuse, and attempted murder.
The amendment is clearly unconstitutional since the US Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty cannot be used in non-homicide cases. It is also a blatant attempt to kill the hate crimes provision.
The Senate could vote on this amendment as early as 3pm today. Please call Senator Specter at 202-224-4254 and Senator Casey at 202-224-6324 and ask them to oppose Senate Amendment No. 1615 on S. 1390, the Sessions amendment. Talking points include:

• At a time when states are narrowing and repealing capital punishment, this is no time to expand the federal death penalty.
• More than 130 people have been exonerated in the United States after being sentenced to death, including five this year alone.
• (If you support hate crimes legislation...) This is a blatant attempt to kill the hate crimes amendment that the Senate passed on Thursday.

Thank you!
peace,
Andy

URGENT ACTION: Poison pill to federal hate crimes expands death penalty

This is just a series of odd coincidences. At work this morning, we had a phone conference with several branches of the Oregon Food Bank.

When I went to the wedding, I talked with a friend who is considering a job with a company based out of Oregon, although most of the job involves travel.

I just bumped into my friend Bryan at the Zone who mentioned that he is getting closer to moving to Oregon.

Not sure why it came up so much today, but amused by a trend.

I had an absolutely lovely time this afternoon at my friend Dan’s wedding to Becca.

Dan’s mother, Shari, performed the ceremony, which was held at Brushwood Folklore Center in Sherman NY. This was during Sirius Rising. Becca’s family is Jewish, so they included the traditional smashing of the glass under foot by the groom at the end, to which the crowd happily exclaimed “Mazel tov!” Someone made a very nice rainbow yarmulke for the father of the bride.

After the ceremony, we headed over to the Chautauqua Golf Club for the reception, which was very nice indeed. We joked about being kind of out of place. Someone jested about “My Big Fat Hippie Wedding” and I wondered if we weren’t about to embark on a remake of the movie Caddy Shack.

There was a very nice bit of drumming, which included the bride and groom. Hey, when it’s your wedding, why not do what makes you happy? Everyone enjoyed that. There was also some dancing during the second bit of performance.

And how cool is it that after taking the photos of the various family configurations that we saw a rainbow? A great sign!

Wishing Dan and Becca many, many years of happiness! See the whole photo set here.

Brilliant, just brilliant. So, Gov. Rick Perry stands up for what he claims are his principals. Until he runs low on cash.

Earlier this year, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) "was one of a handful of Republican governors who refused some federal stimulus funds from President Obama's economic recovery package on the grounds that there were too many strings attached to the money," CBS News reports.
"Now that the state is dire straits, however, Perry is asking the federal government for a loan to cover the very expenses the rejected stimulus money would have paid for."

Governor Who Rejected Stimulus Funds Now Needs Loan
Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:05:59 GMT

I have a wedding to go to later today at Brushwood. So, I have my camera bag on my belt, and I dragged my GPS with me, since I get confused easily. This is in addition to the Palm TX, the iPod Touch, cell phone and the digital voice recorder. (In case I have some ideas whilst driving up.)

Yeah, I pretty much am a gadget nerd, and am just this close to being a Borg.

A client at work had asked me a question, and I wrote back what I hoped wasn't too involved of a response. I asked if what I sent made sense.

His response (which made me guffaw with delight) was

As clear as an azure sky of deepest summer.

I think that in the future, all support calls should be sorted by how elegance of phrase. ;) </>

I finally got around to creating the Pride Picnic photo book, and linked to the Qoop store page at Erie Gay News. I played around with a few possible options, and this seemed to be the best. I have no idea whether anyone will actually buy it, but Season and Chris suggested the idea of a yearbook signing party, so we will see.

I also launched another contest for a CD today. This one is for Julian Plenti’s new CD, Skyscraper, and we have 3 copies to give away.

There are some enhancements I have to do for the contest code, but I will probably work on those when I get done with this month’s newsletter.

I had my annual physical check up, and everything is looking pretty good. Fortunately, I have usually bee quite healthy.

Sort of wiped out, and I need to go walk the dogs.

Very interesting, although a tad old hat (to say the very least) about a closeted and creepy Republican senator. Groping another person's inner thigh at a dinner party is invasive and rude. How much do we want to bet that the same senator would verbally blast gays for wanting marriage equality?

In a MSNBC appearance, New York Times columnist David Brooks discusses the loss of dignity in America and recounts a dinner party where he had the misfortune to sit next to a GOP senator who "had his hand on my inner thigh the whole time. I was like, ehh, get me out of here."
When asked who it was, Brooks said, "I'm not telling you, I'm not telling you."

Who Was the Senator?
Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:16:24 GMT

Last night was certainly a mixed bag. I got of work late, and then went over to pick up my friend Deb’s PC, as it seemed to have some malware on it. Before walking the dogs, I went in to work to take a look at it. I need to go back later, but I am hoping that I have it cleaned.

I went out to Craze to support the Dynamic Divas premiere event, and saw a leather guy who was insanely hot. It turns out that he was just passing through, and we chatted a good long while. It came out that he had performed in adult videos (specifically leather and kink) and did stripping. (“Really?” I said in mock surprise.)

He asked about the other bar in town, so I showed him where the Zone was, and we chatted some more. Nothing happened, but it was just a fun encounter. Nice guy, and definitely very hot when he removed his shirt in the bar and was just wearing leather pants and vest. (Memo to self: wipe drool from chin.)

I had a not so nice pair of encounters online with the ex of a friend and someone who wanted to complain about some recent events. Grr. The former I reported to the online service for sending an email while posing as his ex in a defamatory way. (The guy who emailed/IM’ed me seems to be a pretty major horrible person.) The other guy is sometimes not so bad, and sometimes vexing, so I pretty much just chatted back and felt rather annoyed. Oh well.

I have been working on having the furnace and, water heater and roof looked at, so furnace guy came here to gather info for an estimate. I had seen his name as a friend of a political acquaintance on Facebook and asked after that. It turns out that the furnace guy is his son-in-law.

Oh well, I need to have some breakfast and finish up checking Deb’s PC.

I had a slightly surreal experience when driving back to work. I passed by a local coffee shop and there was a youngish guy leaning against a soda pop vending machine and an older guy who appeared to be Amish. I think that I had seen them hanging out there before in roughly the same pose. For some odd reason, it made me think of a hustler hanging out on a street corner. However, the Amish guy seemed out of place for that. (Hmm, if there were Amish hustlers, would they barter for sex? If one was into kink, they might very well have their own buggy whip already, which could be used for both flagellation and then driving home.)

Okay, I need to get a life.

Very interesting! I must admit to being taken aback by Sarah Palin's recent sudden resignation. I don't know what she is think, and I don't particularly care. All's well that ends. But it is interesting that the only other 2 that just quit were dogged by sexual scandal.

The Mudflats: "On a hunch, I reviewed online lists of all the men and women who've been elected governor of their state since the year 1900. Pored over them for a few hours. Over 1200 politicians have taken that first-term oath of office. Some soon died in office. Many resigned to accept other positions in government, including Spiro Agnew who was 'tapped' by Nixon after being the Governor of Maryland for about five minutes. On a handful of occasions, a first-termer was dragged off to the slammer or impeached. One was incapacitated by a nervous breakdown and one left just as impeachment came knocking on his door. So -- how many out of over 1200 just up and quit before the end of their term?"
Three: Jim McGreevy, Eliot Spitzer and Sarah Palin."

Just Three
Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:51:54 GMT

A co-worker IM'ed me:

Jim : If only DEAD people understand hexadecimal, how many people understand hexadecimal?
Mike Mahler: 57005?
Jim: You're quick!
Mike Mahler: I used a calculator, but I did calculate each digit

Pretty proud of myself for that one.

For the non-geeks in the room: DEAD can be interpreted as either deceased or (in this case) a hexadecimal number. In hexadecimal, each position is an exponent of 16 and values from 10-15 for that position are represented with A-F, with A being 10, B being 11, etc. Therefore DEAD= 13 (which is D) * 16 cubed + 14 (which is E) * 16 squared + 10 (which is 10) * 16 + 13 (which is the last D) or 57,005.

And they say that computer geeks don't know how to cut loose and have a fun time!

On Friday, I went to the Erie County Democratic Party picnic, which was very nice. I visited with quite a few folks. They had a silent auction and I ended up winning a small chest. I had initially just dropped tickets on it semi-randomly, but then I realized that I could use it to store prizes that we give away for the contests at Erie Gay News, so that worked out very well.

I went out for a bit to Craze and then met up with Max at the Zone. We were out at the Zone for a bit.

The Millcreek 4th of July Parade was very nice indeed! We had about the same number of folks marching with us as usual, but there were some new faces. Lots of people smiled and waved back at us. Max heard a boo from the crowd, which struck him as wimpy. He just smiled and waved back.

While we were walking back, we saw a right wing float that ended up pushing for one man – one woman marriage and seemed rather out of place by being strident. I had previously told folks that Millcreek does not allow political campaigning/agenda stuff, so it would not be appropriate for us to have signs and etc pushing for marriage equality and passing PA HB 300, etc.

However, Deb thinks that she didn’t see a lot of people giving an especially enthusiastic welcome to the anti-gay float, so I feel like my first instincts were right. Just being there and smiling and waving is the way to go. The tone of the parade is fairly light and friendly, and I think that whomever decides to get strident about stuff probably hurts their cause.

Sometimes, just being there with other folks in a calm and non-threatening way is a powerful statement in and of itself. Some folks, gay and straight alas, think that any kind of gay presence automatically means the more controversial appearing members of the community will be there or will be the focus. I think that the people who make these claims usually haven’t bothered to check who actually shows up or viewed the local coverage. The GLBT contingent was quite innocuous and certainly nothing in the slightest edgy.

However, things ended on a nice note: when we had walked almost all the way back, we overheard a little girl walking with her dad, who said, “This was the greatest parade ever!”

Afterwards, Deb and I went over to Max and his his friend Mary’s for a picnic dinner, which was yummy and very friendly/relaxing. Alas, I seemed to have strained my hip or leg or something, and I was not feeling well. I came home afterwards and pretty much passed out until 2 AM.

Here's a wacky idea: rather than coming up with ways to selectively apply a flawed policy, why not not just worth with Congress to get it repealed, as was promised during the campaign?? It's a bad law that costs the military valuable personnel at a time when we are strained. Coming up with a more "humane" way of enforcing the policy is like coming up with a more "humane" way of beating your dog. The problem is that there is no way to make something that is discriminatory and counter-productive "humane." Yeesh.

Defense chief giving 'don't ask, don't tell' a closer look

By Barbara Starr
CNN Pentagon Correspondent

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For the first time, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is outlining potential Obama administration plans to enforce the "don't ask, don't tell" rule selectively so that some gays could serve in the military.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says there may be flexibility in applying "don't ask, don't tell."

Gates said he is looking at ways to make the policy "more humane," including letting people serve who may have been outed due to vengeance or a jilted lover. The remarks appeared in a transcript the Pentagon released Tuesday.

In addition, Capt. John Kirby, spokesman for Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday the chairman "supports the idea of a less draconian way of enforcing the policy."

Instituted in 1993, "don't ask, don't tell" ended the military's practice of asking potential service members if they are gay, but it requires the dismissal of openly gay service members.

Gates told reporters traveling with him, "One of the things we're looking at -- is there flexibility in how we apply this law?"

Defense chief giving 'don't ask, don't tell' a closer look - CNN.com