-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
As you know part of my contribution as a guest blogger has been the fact that I write much from personal experience. This particular blog is one that I’ve thought about for awhile and have had some trepidation in writing because as you will see it touches on a very sensitive topic for most males. As a boy coming of age in the 1950’s one of the unvoiced, but omnipresent topics was male homosexuality. For a male growing up in that period, among the most upsetting epithets you could be called was queer. This was especially disturbing for those entering puberty, which in the 50’s context was coming into the macho essence of your own self worth. If you were queer you were deemed to be less of a male, a wimp, a fag and most essentially a loathsome pervert who did disgusting things with other males. People were bullied and beaten at school while being called degrading names. Even though I was always big for my age, I was a gentle and sensitive boy and while when attacked I would always fight back, I would be throwing punches through tears of frustration and rage at the injustice of it all. As I cried and fought, all those demeaning epithets would be hurled at me by the jeering bystanders. If I had the temerity to be winning, then other boys would attack me from behind. Finally, a teacher or Administrator would break it up, many times though my rescuer would sneer at the fact that my crying was “unmanly”. Continue reading “Call Me Queer”
We have been following the threats to arrest gay athletes in Russia under the new anti-homosexual laws of the Putin regime — a threat repeated recently by a minister despite assurances from the International Olympic Committee. One official however suggested it may be suspended for the games. Now there are reports The Putin governments alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church has expressed itself in the abusive prosecution of the band Pussy Riot as well as the crackdown on gays and lesbians. Now these reports detail videotapes of gay men being forced to drink urine and abused as a “cure” of their homosexuality.
I guess some jurisdictional questions are easier than others. Prosecutors often look at whether an interstate road was used in a crime, but what is the crime is the interstate road? It may sound like a Yakov Smirnoff skit (“In Russia, you don’t steal away on the road, the road . . . “) but in Syktyvkar, Russia a man was arrested for stealing 82 reinforced concrete slabs that made up a road outside of a city.
Continue reading “Highway Robbery: Russian Man Arrested For Stealing Road”
We have previously followed government officials who are ordering the removal of basic words that they deem offensive. Thus, we saw how “hold down the fort” have been declared unacceptable by Obama Administration officials as racist. In Seattle, the language police have added terms like “citizen” and “brown bag” as racist or offensive. They are to be banned from public documents and discussions by order of the Seattle officials in the city’s Office of Civil Rights. By the way, they might want to start with the city council, which routinely holds “brown bag” lunches.
Continue reading “Seattle Workers Told Not To Use Offensive Terms Like “Citizen” Or “Brown Bag””
The Atlantic Magazine has an interesting article out this week on a little known effort by the Administration to stop Americans from listening to a speech in Mexico by Leon Trotsky that would be transmitted over a telephone line. Assistant Solicitor General Golden W. Bell wrote the memo below stating that the Administration had no such authority. That was before the Office of Legal Counsel and the rest of the Department became more ambitious and less principled. Today they can find interpretations to allow the circumvention of the separation of powers, the assassination of citizens, the establishment of a torture program, and the maintenance of an Imperial Presidency.
Continue reading “DOJ Memo Reveals Effort To Block Trotsky Speech”
A family and animal shelter in Wisconsin is raising questions about the response of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to a fawn being dropped off at the shelter. An Illinois family found the fawn and brought it to the the Society of St. Francis shelter a couple weeks ago. The shelter planned to take the fawn named Giggles to a wildlife shelter. However, the DNR learned of the plan and, according to the shelter, raided the facility and killed the fawn.
It is now confirmed that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia and has left Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International airport. The United States continues to threaten any country that grants Snowden asylum and has been successful in pressuring U.S. media never to refer to him as a whistleblower. While MSNBC hosts mock Snowden and express disbelief why he doesn’t just trust that Obama will give him a fair trial, there is little reason for Snowden to trust those assurances when a president is claiming the right to kill citizens without trial, send some people to military tribunals, and routinely uses classification laws to force the dismissal of public interest lawsuits. What’s not to trust?
Continue reading “Snowden Granted Temporary Asylum In Russia”
This morning we have yet another article detailing a warrantless surveillance program by the National Security Agency that contradicts representations made by President Barack Obama and members of Congress. You may recall how Obama has tried to get citizens to embrace a new surveillance-friendly model of privacy after the disclosure of massive surveillance of citizens, including programs acquiring every call made by citizens. Various Democratic members came forward to admit that they knew of such programs and not to be afraid . . . they have our backs. Yet every story that has surfaced has contradicted claims that such programs are limited and do not involve the content of communications in emails and messages. The latest program being reported is called XKeyscore and is described as scouring emails, chat rooms, and browsing histories . . . all without a warrant. In the meantime, citizens in polls are saying that they are more concerned with the threat of their own government to their privacy than the threat of terrorism. Once again, citizens learned of this program not from their representative or their media but largely from the foreign press and the disclosures of Edward Snowden.
Last week, there was a bizarre and tragic accident killing Amy Stiner, 37, and Melissa Moyer, 38. The two women were hiking in Maine when they became lost. They were rescued only to get into their car and drive of a boat ramp and drown. Adding to the tragedy, Stiner was four months pregnant. Moyer left behind a 12 year old son.
Continue reading “Two Women Are Rescued On Hike Only To Die After Driving Off Pier In Maine”
This dog owner had to pause when he saw what paper his dog decided to chew apart.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has continued his public persona as the Captain Ahab of great big sugary drinks. The state Supreme Court Appellate Division has issued a second opinion that Bloomberg’s ban on large soft drinks in New York City is unconstitutional. Yet, Bloomberg has pledged to fight on with more appeals to defend a law that is not only paternalistic but utterly unconstitutional.
Continue reading “Appellate Panel Votes Unanimously Against Bloomberg Soda Ban”
Russian Lawmaker Vitaly Milonov is promising to arrest Olympic athletes found to be in violation of the country’s new abusive anti-gay law. The “gay propaganda” law has led many to call for the games to be shifted from Russia since the host country would arrest athletes who are openly gay. In the meantime, a boycott of Russian vodka has picked up steam around the world in protest of the crackdown on gays and lesbians.
Continue reading “Russian Legislator Promises To Arrest Gay Olympic Athletes Under New Anti-Gay Law”
Raif Badawi, who started the ‘Free Saudi Liberals’ website to discuss the role of religion in Saudi Arabia, has been sentenced to a Saudi “court” to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for his engaging in free speech. It is the latest outrage from our closest Arab ally. Yet, we continue to treat Iran as part of the axis of evil while our allies deny basic rights and enforce draconian Medieval laws against dissidents and non-believers.
Continue reading “Saudi Court Sentences Blogger To Seven Years And 600 Lashes Under Sharia Law”
We have seen the reaction of police in the United States to being videotaped by citizens in arrests and destruction of equipment. It may therefore be instructive to see how police in other countries respond to such videotaping like this officer in Sweden.
Continue reading “Videotaping Police Is Not Always A Crime . . .”