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	<title>marmel.com &#187; horrible things</title>
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		<title>Asshat of the week!</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/10/asshat-of-the-week/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/10/asshat-of-the-week/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:19:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1529</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/10/asshat-of-the-week/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/capt.05e0a81cf61c18c29b0912824511ec30.jpeg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>And the award goes to&#8230;


NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana&#8217;s governor and a U.S. senator joined Friday in calling for the ouster of a local official who refused to marry an interracial couple, saying his actions clearly broke the law.
Keith Bardwell, a white justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish in the southeastern part of the state, refused [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">And the award goes to&#8230;</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center; margin: 0px;"><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="size-full wp-image-1530 aligncenter" title="Hi!  I suck!" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/capt.05e0a81cf61c18c29b0912824511ec30.jpeg" alt="Hi!  I suck!" width="213" height="140" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana&#8217;s governor and a U.S. senator joined Friday in calling for the ouster of a local official who refused to marry an interracial couple, saying his actions clearly broke the law.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">Keith Bardwell, a white <span id="lw_1255736788_0">justice of the peace</span> in Tangipahoa Parish in the southeastern part of the state, refused to issue a <span id="lw_1255736788_1">marriage license</span>earlier this month to Beth Humphrey, who is white, and Terence McKay, who is black. His refusal has prompted calls for an investigation or resignation from civil and constitutional rights groups and the state&#8217;s Legislative <span id="lw_1255736788_2">Black Caucus</span>.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;"><span id="lw_1255736788_3" style="border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: #0066cc; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial;">Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal</span> said in a statement a nine-member commission that reviews lawyers and judges in the state should investigate.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">&#8220;Disciplinary action should be taken immediately — including the revoking of his license,&#8221; Jindal said.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">Bardwell did not return calls left on his answering machine Friday.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">Bardwell has said he always asks if a couple is interracial and, if they are, refers them to another justice of the peace. Bardwell said no one had complained in the past and he doesn&#8217;t marry the couples because he&#8217;s worried about their children&#8217;s futures.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">&#8220;Perhaps he&#8217;s worried the kids will grow up and be president,&#8221; said Bill Quigley, director of the <span id="lw_1255736788_4">Center for Constitutional Rights</span> and Justice, referring to <span id="lw_1255736788_5" style="border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: #0066cc; cursor: pointer;">President Barack Obama</span>, the son of a black father from <span id="lw_1255736788_6">Kenya</span>and a white mother from Kansas.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">Bardwell, a Republican, has served as justice of peace for 34 years. He said he has run without opposition each time, but had decided earlier not to run again. His current term expires Dec. 31, 2014.</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">You know what I like about this issue?  It&#8217;s not Republican.  It&#8217;s not Democratic.  It&#8217;s not Tea-baggy.  It&#8217;s so simple, and clear it&#8217;s ridiculous.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">This guy is an a-hole and deserves to know it.  Fiercely and loudly.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">Whether he&#8217;s getting his groceries, filling up his gas tank, going to a movie or simply walking his dog in the park, people should walk up to this guy and tell him he&#8217;s a d*ck.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">For the rest of his days, he should have people remind him that he&#8217;s a relic of a bygone time, a shadow of a human being, an ignorant, intolerant bastard who needs to have a little bit of misery sprinkled in his every day life.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">That he&#8217;s been allowed power and the lie that he&#8217;s somehow right for this long is a crime against Karma.  It&#8217;s time for Karma to be a boomerang.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">Don&#8217;t hurt him.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">No violence.</p>
<p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1em; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px;">But if you&#8217;re near him, and you make him miserable, gold star for you.</p>

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		<title>He&#8217;s not suggesting a coup, he&#8217;s just saying it wouldn&#8217;t be the worst thing.</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/09/hes-not-suggesting-a-coup-hes-just-saying-it-wouldnt-be-the-worst-thing/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/09/hes-not-suggesting-a-coup-hes-just-saying-it-wouldnt-be-the-worst-thing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:30:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1510</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/09/hes-not-suggesting-a-coup-hes-just-saying-it-wouldnt-be-the-worst-thing/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/529606e7c0ea32913abf33b6dc81061d-150x150.jpg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>Yes.  Imagine a bloodless coup, where the will of the majority is overthrown by a shrill minority.

Just imagine.

But more importantly, imagine the sick, pathetic human piece of dog crap that would wish for that to happen.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s getting more insane, folks.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="size-full wp-image-1511 aligncenter" title="529606e7c0ea32913abf33b6dc81061d" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/529606e7c0ea32913abf33b6dc81061d.jpg" alt="529606e7c0ea32913abf33b6dc81061d" width="594" height="476" /></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">From John L. Perry&#8217;s September 29 Newsmax column:</p>
<blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 20px; padding-top: 10px; padding-right: 15px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; background-color: #fafbfd; border: 1px solid #e6ecf2;">
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America&#8217;s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the &#8220;Obama problem.&#8221; Don&#8217;t dismiss it as unrealistic.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">America isn&#8217;t the Third World. If a military coup does occur here it will be civilized. That it has never happened doesn&#8217;t mean it wont. Describing what may be afoot is not to advocate it.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">Will the day come when patriotic general and flag officers sit down with the president, or with those who control him, and work out the national equivalent of a &#8220;family intervention,&#8221; with some form of limited, shared responsibility?</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">Imagine a bloodless coup to restore and defend the Constitution through an interim administration that would do the serious business of governing and defending the nation. Skilled, military-trained, nation-builders would replace accountability-challenged, radical-left commissars. Having bonded with his twin teleprompters, the president would be detailed for ceremonial speech-making.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">Military intervention is what Obama&#8217;s exponentially accelerating agenda for &#8220;fundamental change&#8221; toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama&#8217;s radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.3em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">Unthinkable? Then think up an alternative, non-violent solution to the Obama problem. Just don&#8217;t shrug and say, &#8220;We can always worry about that later.&#8221;</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px;">In the 2008 election, that was the wistful, self-indulgent, indifferent reliance on abnegation of personal responsibility that has sunk the nation into this morass.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You must be sh******g me.  So now, less than a year into Obama&#8217;s victory, a resounding victory, a country-wide victory&#8230; there are some (at least one) who want the military to come on in and have a civilized chat about the &#8220;Obama problem.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Final solution&#8221; anyone?</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t an &#8220;Obama&#8221; problem.  This is a problem steeped in the fact that a small amount of lunatics took the promise of a permanent Republican majority as an irrefutable fact, and now that it&#8217;s clearly not the case, are okay with pulling a Tiananmen Square or, more recently, an Iran, to get it.</p>
<p>They couldn&#8217;t beat him in the election.  They couldn&#8217;t boot him with their false claims of citizenship.  He&#8217;s still popular, despite all the venom and hate mongering, and despite everything the fringe is tossing out there including &#8220;bring your guns to the speech&#8221; days &#8211;  nobody&#8217;s taken a pop at the guy yet &#8212; that we know of (thank God.)</p>
<p>So here&#8217;s this asshat, slyly, hypothetically, but hopefully asking &#8211; will the military please rise up and take control of America?</p>
<p>And Obama&#8217;s the fascist?</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t even have jokes for this.  This just turns my stomach.</p>
<p>This is some sick, infantile fantasy of a group of (I&#8217;m assuming) evangelical racists who despite the fact they have been praying since Obama was sworn in for some sort of divine intervention in the form of stealing the election back or wose, no longer have the patience to wait for an election.   They want the military to come in &#8211; wrapped in the flag, holding their bible, guns at the ready &#8211; to &#8220;Split power.&#8221;</p>
<p>Yes.  Imagine a bloodless coup, where the will of the majority is overthrown by a shrill minority.</p>
<p>Just imagine.</p>
<p>But more importantly, imagine the sick, pathetic human piece of dog crap that would wish for that to happen.</p>

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		<title>Nicely done, loon from Minnesota.</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/09/nicely-done-loon-from-minnesota/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/09/nicely-done-loon-from-minnesota/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:01:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Census]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Glenn Beck]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michelle Bachman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minnesota]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1464</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/09/nicely-done-loon-from-minnesota/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/bachmann-150x150.jpg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>So, remember when Michelle Bachman decided that the census was some sort of threat to people?  Well, the people who believed her &#8211; apparently &#8211; fought back.

Yeah, awesome.
So, does this a-hole from Minnesota get to continue walking around like she&#8217;s not complicit in the death of this census worker?  Or do we finally start holding [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So, remember when Michelle Bachman decided that the census was some sort of threat to people?  Well, the people who believed her &#8211; apparently &#8211; fought back.</p>
<div id="attachment_1465" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 310px;  border: 1px solid #dddddd; background-color: #f3f3f3; padding-top: 4px; margin: 10px; text-align:center;"><img class="size-full wp-image-1465" title="bachmann" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/bachmann.jpg" alt="I'm complicit!" width="300" height="415" /><p style=' padding: 0 4px 5px; margin: 0;'  class="wp-caption-text">I&#39;m complicit!</p></div>
<p><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1466" title="Picture 1" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Picture-1.png" alt="Picture 1" width="624" height="633" /></p>
<p>Yeah, awesome.</p>
<p>So, does this a-hole from Minnesota get to continue walking around like she&#8217;s not complicit in the death of this census worker?  Or do we finally start holding people accountable for their words and actions?</p>
<p>I&#8217;m sure she&#8217;ll wake up tomorrow, surrounded by thread count and people telling her what she wants to hear.  I&#8217;m sure tomorrow, she&#8217;ll blather on about something with zero insight, and no concern for consequence.</p>
<p>And Bill Sparkman will be dead.</p>
<p>Congratulations, Michelle Bachman, lunatic from Minnesota.  You&#8217;ve made a difference.</p>

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		<title>&#8220;Underfair&#8221; night in Atlanta, Georgia.</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/09/underfair-night-in-atlanta-georgia/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/09/underfair-night-in-atlanta-georgia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:20:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1430</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/09/underfair-night-in-atlanta-georgia/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/atlanta_ga_skyline400-150x150.jpg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>I like Atlanta.  I think it&#8217;s one of the greatest cities in the South, and I do not mean that as a backhanded compliment.   I&#8217;ve found it warm, friendly, creative and tolerant.  So, when I saw this article (click the link for the full article) I was a little bummed out:

(APN) ATLANTA &#8212; At [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I like Atlanta.  I think it&#8217;s one of the greatest cities in the South, and I do not mean that as a backhanded compliment.   I&#8217;ve found it warm, friendly, creative and tolerant.  <a href="http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0508.html">So, when I saw this article</a> (click the link for the full article) I was a little bummed out:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="size-full wp-image-1435 aligncenter" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/atlanta_ga_skyline400.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="317" /></p>
<blockquote><p>(APN) ATLANTA &#8212; At approximately 11:30pm on Thursday, September 10, 2009, a gay bar in Atlanta, the Atlanta Eagle, was raided by the Atlanta Police Department (APD).</p>
<p>The present writer for Atlanta Progressive News&#8211;who had come to the bar to dance&#8211;witnessed as several bar staff and male dancers were arrested between approximately 12:30am and 1am and taken away in paddy wagons, but it is not immediately clear why. One source stated he believed it was because the bar did not have a license for the dancers.</p>
<p>About ten police cars and about 15 cops raided the bar, allegedly looking for drugs.</p>
<p>However, the police were said to have ordered all patrons to get on the ground&#8211;including patrons who were just dancing or standing at the bar&#8211;and numerous patrons said people were handcuffed indiscriminately.</p>
<p>Bar patrons were furious at the aggressive and indiscriminate treatment and called the incident &#8220;harassment.&#8221;</p>
<p>One police officer stated, as he and others left the parking lot, &#8220;This is gonna keep happening if we keep getting complaints from the community.&#8221; The officer did not specify what complaints he was referring to.</p>
<p>Bar owner, Richard Ramey called APN on the morning of September 11 to confirm the information in this article, except the correction noted above that no patrons were arrested.</p>
<p>Ramey said the only charge faced by bar staff and dancers is that the male dancers in their underwear had been dancing without a permit.</p>
<p>&#8220;No patron was arrested. I was under the impression the only time you needed a license&#8230; is if they&#8217;re strippers. These dancers were in their underwear,&#8221; Ramey said.</p>
<p>Ramey said he is upset and concerned about the civil rights of his customers. He wants bar patrons who feel they were mistreated to contact him. &#8220;After everything they did to our customers and our staff&#8230; they did this like they did in the Stonewall days,&#8221; Ramey said.</p>
<p>Ramey said the so-called complaint from the community consisted of &#8220;a noise complaint&#8230; How can they made everybody lie on that nasty floor without probable cause?&#8221;</p>
<p>According to one patron, APD handcuffed all Eagle staff members and dancers, patrons in a leather shop, and anyone who was wearing only underwear; Thursday is advertised as underwear night.</p></blockquote>
<p>“Underwear night.”</p>
<p>Okay, so at first glance, that idea seemed silly to me.</p>
<p>And then I thought to myself:  Whoa there.  Wait a minute.  I go to the San Diego Comic-Con every year.   They too, have people walking around in underwear.  Yes, they wear it that outside spandex, like Superman.  And yes &#8211; I understand that being gay is not a choice, and liking costumed crime fighters is a choice&#8230; it might not be the best metaphor on the planet, but it&#8217;s the best I have.</p>
<p>I get that something I am passionate about might look silly to an outsider, and vice versa.  I also get that nobody gets arrested for being a comic book fan at Nerdigras.</p>
<p>So then I think more, and get a little miffed that these people were put through this because of their difference – that “complaints from the community” triggered this level of response to a noise complaint.  I&#8217;ve had cops come by my house because of noise &#8211; I was asked to turn it down and I did.   It did not end with me handcuffed, eating pavement.</p>
<p>But I realize:  I’m a white male.  Yes, I’m Jewish, but I have blonde hair and blue eyes.  Nobody’s going to give me grief about my differences unless I make mention of it and, honestly, I live in Hollywood.  Jewish is not an issue here, most of the time.</p>
<p>And then &#8211; I think about this being Atlanta.  Georgia.  Supposedly one of the more tolerant of southern cities.   And I&#8217;m pretty sure:</p>
<ul>
<li>If this had been Pro Rodeo Week instead of Underwear night;</li>
<li>If Cowgirls were dancing on the tables instead of men in their undies;</li>
<li>If the noise coming from the bar was “Yee-HAW!” instead of dance music…</li>
</ul>
<p>…this story never gets written because this doesn’t happen.</p>
<p>And that’s where I get angry.</p>
<p>Yes, I will admit… I giggled a little bit when I read “Underwear night.”  Because, as I have said before, there are things where I act like I’m nine.</p>
<p>But the other thing 9 year-olds have is a good sense of what’s fair.</p>
<p>And this is not.</p>

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		<title>BOYCOTT SUNDANCE:  It&#8217;s time to take this issue out of the hands of local idiots.</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/09/boycott-sundance-its-time-to-take-this-issue-out-of-the-hands-of-local-idiots/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/09/boycott-sundance-its-time-to-take-this-issue-out-of-the-hands-of-local-idiots/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:09:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boycott sundance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Civil Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gay Rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governor Herbert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Huntsman]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New York Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1412</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/09/boycott-sundance-its-time-to-take-this-issue-out-of-the-hands-of-local-idiots/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sundance_film_festival_2008_logo_image-150x150.jpg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>In the same breath they are telling the gay community - who are such a big part of Hollywood community - "Yeah, we know it sucks... but it's SUNDANCE."  And for the only week they have to stand in Utah, they are essentially, tacitly, standing WITH Utah.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The New York Times jumps in:</p>
<blockquote><p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1413" title="sundance_film_festival_2008_logo_image" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/sundance_film_festival_2008_logo_image.jpg" alt="sundance_film_festival_2008_logo_image" width="300" height="462" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/opinion/13sun2.html"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">EDITORIAL FROM THE NY TIMES:</span></span></span></span></span></a></p>
<p>Published: September 12, 2009</p>
<p>It is remarkable how little progress gay people have made in securing the basic protection against discrimination on the job. In 29 states, it is still legal to fire workers for being gay. But momentum is building in Congress for the first federal law banning such discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.</p>
<p>Federal law has lagged behind the reality of American life. There are now openly gay members of Congress from between-the-coasts states like Colorado and Wisconsin. And according to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights advocacy group, 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies have policies protecting gay employees from discrimination.</p>
<p>But gay rights advocates have for years faced opposition to a federal civil rights law from the religious right, and from parts of the business community, who argue that it would lead to a flood of litigation.</p>
<p>Bipartisan bills have been introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, modeled on existing civil rights laws that cover race, religion and sex. Unlike some past bills, these include gender identity, protecting transgender people from discrimination.</p>
<p>The bills were written to meet some of the concerns of opponents. The law would not apply to religious organizations, or to businesses with fewer than 15 employees. It would not allow for quotas or “disparate impact” lawsuits, which generally use statistical disparities to prove discrimination.</p>
<p>There is reason for cautious optimism. In 2007, the House passed a nondiscrimination law that did not cover transgender people. The current Congress is more Democratic, and even in the past two years, gay rights have made significant strides. As states and localities have passed antidiscrimination laws, it has been clear that they do not disrupt the workplace, and they have not resulted in an enormous number of lawsuits.</p>
<p>Supporters in the House think they have the votes. The biggest hurdle is likely to be winning the support of 60 senators, the de facto number now required for most legislation because of filibuster rules.</p>
<p>People who believe in workplace fairness should lobby senators to get on board. It is unacceptable that in a nation committed to equality people can still be fired in more than half the states for being gay. Congressional leaders should make passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act a top priority.</p></blockquote>
<p>Amen.</p>
<p>And here&#8217;s what the NY Times did that I have been trying to do in my own little way:  Separate this issue from gay marriage.  Gay marriage is an issue that includes faith and &#8211; like reproductive rights &#8211; it&#8217;s going to take time for people to wrap their minds around it, to turn around &#8211; like an ocean liner making a 180 degree turn.  It&#8217;s possible, but it&#8217;s going to be slow.</p>
<p>However while that is happening, this should be the easiest thing in the world.</p>
<p>This is a very simple issue.  Should it be legal to fire somebody because you don&#8217;t like the fact that they&#8217;re being gay?  Clearly, that answer should be NO.  And clearly &#8211; with 29 states unwilling to take that stand &#8211; it&#8217;s time to take it out of the hands of small-hearted people who feel differently.</p>
<p>Hollywood, as a community, needs to do more here&#8230; and can.  Yes, I&#8217;m yammering about Sundance again.  Utah is a unique state in this debate &#8211; Hollywood floods that state once a year, and shines it&#8217;s light on them.  It&#8217;s a beautiful state, and all our beautiful people go there to pose in front of the camera and get in front of the media.  And once a year, and we almost forget how backwards that state has been allowed to be for so very, very long.</p>
<p>But in the same breath they are telling the gay community &#8211; who are such a big part of Hollywood community &#8211; &#8220;Yeah, we know it sucks&#8230; but it&#8217;s SUNDANCE.&#8221;  And for the only week they have to stand in Utah, they are essentially, tacitly, standing WITH Utah.</p>
<p>This is my problem with it.  This is why I wish Sundance would go somewhere else, especially while this Governor Herbert clown is in office.  It doesn&#8217;t matter to me that he wasn&#8217;t elected &#8211; that he was handed his job by the duly elected Governor &#8211; actions have consequences.  As recently as a few days ago, he reiterated:</p>
<h4>
<blockquote>
<p style="margin-top: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Herbert&#8230; said sexual orientation shouldn&#8217;t be a protected class, dismissing the idea by saying it could lead to blue-eyed blondes seeking similar rights.</span></p>
</blockquote>
</h4>
<p>Three years of this folks.  The next election is in 2012.  You want to support this guy, and his vision of what the state is?  Keep telling the rest of the country &#8211; through EXTRA! and E! and ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT that it&#8217;s a great place and you have no problem with this.  Otherwise, suck it up, and move it some place a little less beautiful on the outside but a heall of a lot beautiful on the inside.</p>
<p>Back to the Times piece:  This is why we have a Congress.  This is why we have a Senate.  So that decisions can be made as to what kind of a nation we want to be.  So that the rights of a minority can be protected against the whim of a majority.  This is suffrage.   This is civil rights.  This is persecution.  And the Governor Herberts of the world aren&#8217;t going to make that decision, because they want to continue to have the word &#8220;Governor&#8221; in front of their name.  They care about keeping their job more than they care about a gay person keeping theirs.</p>
<p>So, sorry to continue to beat this horse, but I wont stop beating it until it&#8217;s dead. (Great, now I&#8217;ve pissed of PETA).</p>
<p>Boycott.</p>

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		<title>BOYCOTT SUNDANCE:  Utah Governor tips his hand.</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/09/boycott-sundance-utah-governor-tips-his-hand/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/09/boycott-sundance-utah-governor-tips-his-hand/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:05:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[boycott sundance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gay Marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Govenor Herbert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Herbert]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prop 8]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sundance Film Festival]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utah]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1403</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/09/boycott-sundance-utah-governor-tips-his-hand/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/1251764-150x150.jpg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>Well, you can say this.  He may be an idealogogue, but at least he&#8217;s not savvy enough to keep his horrible ideas hidden.

Associated Press &#8211; September 11, 2009 11:05 PM ET
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &#8211; Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has barely been in office a month, but he&#8217;s not wasting any time charting a more [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well, you can say this.  He may be an idealogogue, but at least he&#8217;s not savvy enough to keep his horrible ideas hidden.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1404" title="1251764" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/1251764.jpg" alt="1251764" width="306" height="205" /></p>
<blockquote><p><em>Associated Press &#8211; September 11, 2009 11:05 PM ET</em></p>
<p>SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &#8211; Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has barely been in office a month, but he&#8217;s not wasting any time charting a more conservative course than his predecessor on the very issues Jon Huntsman used to vault to national prominence within the GOP and an ambassadorship to China.</p>
<p>In an interview with The Associated Press, Herbert says he is skeptical of how much humans affect global warming; that he fears protecting gay people from discrimination could lead to courts legalizing gay marriage; and that he has no desire to do any more to bring Utah&#8217;s liquor laws in line with much of the country.</p>
<p>It is a big shift from Huntsman, who was the most popular governor in state history, but had a habit of angering the conservatives that dominate state party politics.</p></blockquote>
<p>Well, there you have it Utah.  Enjoy being dropped back into the 1950s.  And watch out, other minorities &#8211; if there&#8217;s a way you can be next, you will be.</p>
<p>So much for &#8220;States Rights&#8221; and believing in local municipalities ability to blah blah blah &#8211; I can&#8217;t even write it anymore.   It&#8217;s such a pile of horse crap.</p>
<p>There.  This guy said it:  If gays get protection on the job, he&#8217;s afraid it will lead to gay marriage.</p>
<p>Sorry, regular gay guy who wants to live a regular gay life and not have to hide your gayness.  You can&#8217;t even flip a burger and be gay without fear of being fired.   Because the governor is a&#8217;scared of you.  The lousiest straight employee has better protection in a Utah workplace than the most qualified homosexual on the job.</p>
<p>Hey, Hollywood, are you listening?  You gonna  film a movie there and know some of your employees are surrounded by intolerance and scorn?  Gonna slip on some skis and have cocoa with people that would probably burn the cup you drink out of because they&#8217;re afraid of catching what you have?  And are you still going to have your annual party of cool, independent thinking in a state that wants to shove you back in the closet and hates you?</p>
<p>You gonna bring Sundance there, when there&#8217;s so many other cities in so many other states that would welcome the prestige, the money and the spotlight?  Cities and states that &#8211; even if they don&#8217;t back gay marriage &#8211; would at least be willing to protect your individual human rights?</p>
<p>Reasonable people &#8211; even if I disagree with them on other issues &#8211; should be able to say &#8220;You can&#8217;t fire a person for being gay.&#8221;  And if a governor of a state can&#8217;t say that, and if Hollywood truly stands with their gay friends in this issue  then Hollywood should be standing outside the state lines of Utah.</p>
<p>Boycott.</p>

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		<title>Nicely done, jackass.</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/09/nicely-done-jackass/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/09/nicely-done-jackass/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:58:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blue Dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max Baucus]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1370</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/09/nicely-done-jackass/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/r-baucus-large-150x150.jpg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>
WASHINGTON – Americans would be fined up to $3,800 for failing to buy health insurance under a plan that circulated in Congress on Tuesday as divisions among Democrats undercut President Barack Obama&#8217;s effort to regain traction on his health care overhaul.
As Obama talked strategy with Democratic leaders at the White House, the one idea that most appeals [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1373" title="r-baucus-large" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/r-baucus-large.jpg" alt="r-baucus-large" width="600" height="279" /></p>
<blockquote><p>WASHINGTON – Americans would be fined up to $3,800 for failing to buy health insurance under a plan that circulated in Congress on Tuesday as divisions among Democrats undercut President <span id="lw_1252457003_0" class="yshortcuts">Barack Obama</span>&#8217;s effort to regain traction on his health care overhaul.</p>
<p>As Obama talked strategy with <span id="lw_1252457003_1" class="yshortcuts">Democratic leaders</span> at the White House, the one idea that most appeals to his party&#8217;s liberal base lost ground in Congress. Prospects for a government-run plan to compete with private insurers sank as a leading moderate Democrat said he could no longer support the idea.</p></blockquote>
<p>Jesus.  Could these idiots implode any more?</p>
<p>The day before the President is going to lay out his plan, what&#8217;s the news peg?  Some bonehead from a tiny mountain state wants to fine you if you don&#8217;t get health insurance.  Not &#8220;health insurance for as many people as possible,&#8221; but &#8220;we&#8217;ll hit you with a fine if you don&#8217;t have it.&#8221;</p>
<p>I get it.  Baucus wants health insurance to be like car insurance.</p>
<p>You know what?  I want ponies to be like unicorns.</p>
<p>But you would think that the day before the President of the United States is going to lay out his vision for health care &#8211; which, quite frankly, has been blurry and all over the map &#8211; this small-state, small d, dip**** could keep it in his pants long enough to not be a talking point.  And let Obama&#8217;s health care idea live or die based on it&#8217;s own merits.</p>
<p>There is no good discussion out of this.  It allows the Sarah Palins and the Glenn Becks of the world to grab on to something simple and turn it into something horrible.  This isn&#8217;t an issue steeped in logic, or an era where calm discourse wins, so care needs to be taken to not blow an opportunity for a clear, lean message that defends against demagoguery.  This is the OPPOSITE of that.</p>
<p>So why would he do this?  Why?</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Lobbying disclosure filings for the first quarter of 2009 reveal that five of Baucus&#8217; former staffers currently work for a total of twenty-seven different organizations that are either in the health care or insurance sector or have a noted interest in the outcome. The organizations represented include some of the top lobbying organizations in the health sector: Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Researchers of America (PhRMA), America&#8217;s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Amgen, and GE Health Care.</em></p>
<p><em>The overall health and insurance sectors haven&#8217;t just been kind to Baucus&#8217; staffers, but they&#8217;ve also aided his campaigns handsomely over the years, especially in his barely contested 2008 reelection campaign. In 2008, Baucus received $1,148,775 from the health sector and $285,850 from the insurance sector. For his career he has received $2,797,381 from the health sector and $1,170,313 from the insurance sector.</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Oh.  Right.  That.</p>
<p>So well done, Max Baucus, you smug putz.   You can slip quietly into your end days knowing that C-blocked your president, sold out the public, lined your own pocket and did not help.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s a good thing you&#8217;ve got Senatorial health care.</p>
<p>Otherwise, you&#8217;d catch your death of dumbass.</p>

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		<title>Texas sized socialism:  These boots were made for walking&#8230; right past the facts.</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/09/texas-sized-socialism/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/09/texas-sized-socialism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:00:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ceasar Chavez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Newt Gingrich]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obama Speech to Schools]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Nixon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ronald Reagan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Texas School Board]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thurgood Marshall]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1351</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/09/texas-sized-socialism/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/newt-gingrich-150x150.jpg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>Personally, I find this much more insidious - much more, dare I say it, socialist - to do this.  After all - which governments attempt to bury facts?  Or re-write history?  Or eliminate the suffrage of those they disagree with?   Anybody?  Beck?  Anybody? 

I wonder how many of the people on that board were screaming "Socialist" over Obama's speech to school children, while  practicing it in the privacy of their government offices?  Nice Politburo you have there, comrade BigHat McBootsFullacrap.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Remember:  It&#8217;s only &#8220;brainwashing the youth&#8221; if a Democrat and/or an African American does it.</p>
<div id="attachment_1352" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 308px;  border: 1px solid #dddddd; background-color: #f3f3f3; padding-top: 4px; margin: 10px; text-align:center; display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;"><img class="size-full wp-image-1352" title="newt-gingrich" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/newt-gingrich.jpg" alt="Newt counts the amount of times he's been intellectually honest in the past decade.  He's off by one." width="298" height="447" /><p style=' padding: 0 4px 5px; margin: 0;'  class="wp-caption-text">Newt counts the amount of times he&#39;s been intellectually honest in the past decade.  He&#39;s off by one.  </p></div>
<blockquote><p><a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/09/could_texas_gingrich_based_curriculum_go_national.php?ref=fpa">From TALKING POINTS MEMO:</a></p>
<p>While Republicans are busy gnashing their teeth over President Obama&#8217;s imminent <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/09/obama_speech_to_students_sparks_new_controversy.ph">indoctrination</a>of the nation&#8217;s schoolchildren, there&#8217;s an education story bubbling up in Texas that could have considerably more far-reaching consequences.</p>
<p>The GOP-controlled State Board of Education is working on a new set of statewide textbook standards for, among other subjects, U.S. History Studies Since Reconstruction. And it turns out what the board decides may end up having implications far beyond the Lone Star State.</p>
<p>Approved textbooks, the standards say, must teach the Texan student to &#8220;identify significant conservative advocacy organizations and individuals, such as Newt Gingrich, Phyllis Schlafly, and the Moral Majority.&#8221; No analogous liberal figures or groups are required, prompting<a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6581189.html">protests</a> from some legislators and committee members. (Read an excerpt <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/09/excerpt-of-proposed-texas-us-history-textbook-standards.php?page=1">here</a>.)</p>
<p>The standards on Nixon: &#8220;describe Richard M. Nixon&#8217;s role in the normalization of relations with China and the policy of detente.&#8221;</p>
<p>On Reagan: &#8220;describe Ronald Reagan&#8217;s role in restoring national confidence, such as Reaganomics and Peace with Strength.&#8221; (That&#8217;s it.)</p>
<p>The Cold War section is rendered as &#8220;U.S. responses to Soviet aggression after World War II &#8230; &#8221;</p>
<p>Next to a noncontroversial seeming item requiring students to &#8220;describe how McCarthyism, the arms race, and the space race increased Cold War tensions&#8221; is the note:</p>
<p>&#8220;MV[Multiple Views]: One member thinks that if McCarthyism is noted, then the Venona papers need to be explained that exonerates him.&#8221;</p>
<p>A bullet point on &#8220;women and minority employment&#8221; as an economic effect of World II caused &#8220;one member&#8221; to gripe &#8220;there is too much emphasis on multiculturalism.&#8221;</p>
<p>And &#8220;one member&#8221; deemed a section on &#8220;effective leadership&#8221; a perfect place to bring to students&#8217; attention Charlton Heston&#8217;s celebrated (among right-wingers) culture war <a href="http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/charltonhestonculturalwar.htm">speech</a>.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s what makes this a national story: what happens in Texas doesn&#8217;t stay in Texas, says Diane Ravitch, professor of education at NYU. That&#8217;s because Texas is one of the two states with the largest student enrollments, along with California. &#8220;The publishers vie to get their books adopted for them, and the changes that are inserted to please Texas and California are then part of the textbooks made available to every other state,&#8221; says Ravitch, who wrote a<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375414827/qid=1142603375/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-8728019-4134513?s=books&amp;v=glance&amp;n=283155">book</a> about the politics of textbooks.</p></blockquote>
<p>So remember:  When Obama wants to talk to children and start a discussion, even about something as innocuous as staying in school and working hard, that&#8217;s propaganda.  But when propaganda is inserted (or deleted) in textbooks as fact, then forced down the throat of children state and nationwide, thats good ol&#8217; fashioned learnin&#8217;.</p>
<p>Some books were made for burning.  But if you&#8217;re truly sneaky, you can just use a laser to zap out the parts you don&#8217;t like &#8211; like their attempts to ethnically cleanse the contributions of <a href="http://blog.pfaw.org/content/texas-may-bar-students-learning-about-cesar-chavez-thurgood-marshall">Ceasar Chavez or Thurgood Marshall</a>.</p>
<p>Personally, I find this much more insidious &#8211; much more, dare I say it, socialist &#8211; to do this.  After all &#8211; which governments attempt to bury facts?  Or re-write history?  Or eliminate the suffrage of those they disagree with?   Anybody?  Beck?  Anybody?</p>
<p>I wonder how many of the people on that board were screaming &#8220;Socialist&#8221; over Obama&#8217;s speech to school children, while  practicing it in the privacy of their government offices?  Nice Politburo you have there, comrade BigHat McBootsFullacrap.</p>
<p>If you disagree with &#8220;indoctrinating the youth&#8221; on the left, you need to disagree with it here.  Right here.  In this instance.   Otherwise, I invite you to look up the word &#8220;Hypocrisy.&#8221;</p>
<div class="body">
<blockquote>
<div class="pbk"><span class="pg">–noun, </span><span class="pg">plural </span><span class="secondary-bf">-sies.</span></p>
<table class="luna-Ent" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="dnindex" width="35">1.</td>
<td>a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="luna-Ent" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="dnindex" width="35">2.</td>
<td>a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="luna-Ent" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="dnindex" width="35">3.</td>
<td>an act or instance of hypocrisy.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<div class="ety"><strong>Origin:  <span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="rom-inline">1175–1225; </span>ME <span class="ital-inline">ipocrisie</span> &lt; OF &lt; LL <span class="ital-inline">hypocrisis</span> &lt; Gk <span class="ital-inline">hypókrisis</span> play acting, equiv. to <span class="ital-inline">hypokr<img class="luna-Img" src="http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/660000/i/imacracute.png" border="0" alt="" /></span>(<span class="ital-inline">nesthai</span>) to play a part, explain (<span class="ital-inline">hypo-</span><span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hypo-&amp;db=luna">hypo-</a> </span>+ <span class="ital-inline">kr<img class="luna-Img" src="http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/660000/i/imacracute.png" border="0" alt="" />nein</span> to distinguish, separate) + <span class="ital-inline">-sis</span> <span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=-sis&amp;db=luna">-sis</a>; </span><span class="ital-inline">h-</span>(reintroduced in 16th century) &lt; L and Gk<img class="luna-Img" src="http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png" border="0" alt="" /></span></strong></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="ety">I&#8217;m putting it there, just in case it&#8217;s not in YOUR version of the dictionary.  In which case, you can thank a few small minds from a very big state for that omission as well.</div>

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		<title>Boycott Sundance Part III:  Real effects of a real unfair law</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/08/boycott-sundance-part-iii-real-effects-of-a-real-unfair-law/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/08/boycott-sundance-part-iii-real-effects-of-a-real-unfair-law/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:05:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1306</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/08/boycott-sundance-part-iii-real-effects-of-a-real-unfair-law/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/sundance-utah-map-150x150.gif class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>This is about the simple, kind, human concept that you shouldn't be able to fire someone simply because you don't like how they're different.

And if that's the case, why isn't Hollywood making THAT an issue?]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.sltrib.com/utahpolitics/ci_13162500?source=rss ">From HERE</a></p>
<p><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1307" title="sundance-utah-map" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/sundance-utah-map.gif" alt="sundance-utah-map" width="238" height="270" /></p>
<blockquote><p><em>Salt Lake City resident Candice Metzler wanted to let her work colleagues see the transition she already had begun in her personal life. Known to them as a man, Metzler wore mascara, eyeliner and white-tipped acrylic nails to a company barbecue.</em></p>
<p><em>Three months later, Metzler, was unemployed and homeless. Although her boss had supported her coming out as transgender, clients began shunning the small, home-inspection enterprise after the picnic. The struggling business let Metzler go.</em></p>
<p><em>She felt the sting of discrimination more sharply, she said, as she applied to job after job in the construction industry but was turned down. She lost her home and lived on the streets for nearly a year. She finally found a job as a receptionist.</em></p>
<p><em>Metzler&#8217;s story is not uncommon.</em></p>
<p><em>Earlier this year, a gay man from Pleasant Grove told a Utah House committee he was fired from his credit-union job after he asked whether his employer offered domestic-partner benefits. It was the first time he had let a supervisor know he was gay.</em></p></blockquote>
<p>So, there you go.  Two stories.  Out of, I&#8217;m sure, hundreds.</p>
<p>This is what I&#8217;m complaining about.  This is what seems patently unfair.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t give me the nonsense about choice.  If you believe gay to be a choice, you have to at least accept that religion can be a choice as well.  Non-believers can be converted, and then suddenly they are protected from being fired or discriminated against because of that choice.  However, if you believe gay is genetic &#8211; as I do &#8211; then it deserves just as much protection as &#8220;Black,&#8221; &#8220;Latino&#8221; or &#8220;Woman.&#8221;</p>
<p>So there, part II.  No matter where you are on the issue &#8211; there&#8217;s logic for being disgusted by this unfair policy.    And yes, other states besides Utah have this policy.  But no other state has Sundance.</p>
<p>The idea that Hollywood &#8211; diverse in its work force, compassionate to it&#8217;s homosexual bretheren &#8211; would travel to a state where they could be fired for a job simply based on their sexual orientation?  Would throw a party celebrating its diverse, cool and counter-culture&#8230; knowing that the Governor of the state doesn&#8217;t have the stones to protect them and the legislature has turned their backs on them?</p>
<p>This isn&#8217;t about Prop 8, or the Mormon religion.</p>
<p>This is about the simple, kind, human concept that you shouldn&#8217;t be able to fire someone simply because you don&#8217;t like how they&#8217;re different.</p>
<p>And if that&#8217;s the case, why isn&#8217;t Hollywood making THAT an issue?</p>

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		<title>The Company You Keep and Create, Sarah Palin.</title>
		<link>http://marmel.com/2009/08/the-company-you-keep-and-create-sarah-palin/</link>
		<comments>http://marmel.com/2009/08/the-company-you-keep-and-create-sarah-palin/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:55:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Steve Marmel</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[horrible things]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Angry Mob]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John McCain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sarah palin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ted Kennedy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Town Hall]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://marmel.com/?p=1297</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a href=http://marmel.com/2009/08/the-company-you-keep-and-create-sarah-palin/><img src=http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/political-pictures-sarah-palin-corrupt-nutjob-150x150.jpg class=imgtfe hspace=5 align=left width=100  border=0></a>Look, I know that Sarah Palin can't be responsible for every comment that ends up in her comment section.  But the flipside is - the loon to human ratio responding to what seemed like an uncharacteristically kind comment is pretty ridiculous.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So, Sarah Palin, in what I can only assume was a drunk blog post, said a classy goodbye to Ted Kennedy on her facebook page:</p>
<blockquote><p>I would like to extend our sympathies to the Kennedy family as we hear word about the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. He believed in our country and fought passionately for his convictions.</p></blockquote>
<p>And it all went down hill from there.</p>
<p><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1298" title="political-pictures-sarah-palin-corrupt-nutjob" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/political-pictures-sarah-palin-corrupt-nutjob.jpg" alt="political-pictures-sarah-palin-corrupt-nutjob" width="500" height="412" />All you have to do is visit her facebook fan page, and you can see&#8230; well, a whole lot of hate.</p>
<p><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1301" title="picture-3" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/picture-3.png" alt="picture-3" width="513" height="875" /></p>
<p><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299" title="picture-5" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/picture-5.png" alt="picture-5" width="328" height="420" /><img style=' display: block; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;'  class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1300" title="picture-4" src="http://marmel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/picture-4.png" alt="picture-4" width="415" height="855" /></p>
<p>*sigh*</p>
<p>Look, I know that Sarah Palin can&#8217;t be responsible for every comment that ends up in her comment section.  But the flipside is &#8211; the loon to human ratio responding to what seemed like an uncharacteristically kind comment is pretty ridiculous.</p>
<p>Of course, Palin could have gone on her page and asked her followers not to spew hate, but that&#8217;s not the way Palin works.  She tosses her grenade and runs.  She quits half way through it.  She&#8217;s a public figure that likes to start things but doesn&#8217;t hang around to see what happens or manage it.</p>
<p>Rather than attempt to shape the debate, her next note is a happy shout out to Glenn Beck.   So, clearly, she could care less.</p>
<p>If you want to swim in the intellectual sewage, get your mask and gear, and dive in to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=122977043434">SARAH&#8217;S FACEBOOK PAGE.</a> But be prepared.  It&#8217;s not pretty.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s a crack about divine wrath (forgetting that it&#8217;s Florida that usually takes the brunt of things, thanks for 2000, Florida), the obligatory Kopechne references <a href="http://marmel.com/2009/08/if-youre-judging-ted-kennedy-youre-judging-laura-bush-too-remember-that/">(please see my earlier post on THAT)</a>, people calling him a rapist and a murderer, and someone who didn&#8217;t even have the foresight to do a spell check on Chappaquiddick while screaming in caps Kennedy should have been hung.  That&#8217;s just a cursory look.</p>
<p>The interesting thing about this to me:  Sarah is clearly not in charge of her mob.  If she had posted her kind words and then suddenly, thousands of her facebook friends sent their regards as well, then that would tell me she is truly a force to be reckoned with.  That would mean she&#8217;s a leader &#8211; the kind of leader that can harness her followers and turn them into a movement.</p>
<p>But that&#8217;s not what happened.  Every thing this woman does is a match to dry brush.  Words + Sarah = Explosion of hate.  She has zero control over these people, and zero influence.</p>
<p>As long as she&#8217;s spewing venom toward the things they want to spew venom toward &#8211; it&#8217;s all-aboard the Palin express.  But the minute she says something counter to what they believe &#8211; whether it&#8217;s a fact or not, or a human kindness or not &#8211; then they&#8217;re off on their own tangent:  The equivalent of a town hall mob screaming at their right of center Congressperson for not being right of center enough.</p>
<p>This is the mentality that keeps Birthers talking.  That incites people to bring guns to presidential rally.  That cause McCain to get booed when he points out that Obama believes in the Constitution.  But hell, even McCain had the nads to toss out a lunatic or two out of his town hall.</p>
<p>Sarah, I am guessing, can&#8217;t.  Or won&#8217;t.  Like her job.  Like her facebook page.   She will quit once it gets tough.</p>
<p>This is why I am not afraid of Sarah Palin.  The &#8220;movement&#8221; that she is currently the mouthpiece for is much less a creation of her, than she is of it.</p>
<p>And in their rabid, mad dog attempt to scream at anything they don&#8217;t like, it will swallow her whole.</p>

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