If you had to metabolize Bush's nonsense, your liver would be diseased as well

The Republican National Committee has just released this statement in support of Presidental spokesman Tony Snow's cancer diagnosis:

We send our prayers to the Snow family in this, their hour of need. This is just one example of how the new Democratic majority has abandoned real Americans. If Tony Snow were an illegal immigrant, Democrats would be kicking Barbara Streisand in the ass to make her pay for his treatment. Instead, his poor insurance company will be forced to dig into its deep coffers and pay reduced rates for his care. This could result in the reduction of executive bonuses by as much as one-half of one cent. Democratic policies such as this are destroying the country and shipping our jobs overseas. The only way to save Tony Snow is to send another ten thousand troops into Iraq where they can be blow halfway to bits in return for $800 a month in food stamps for their families. If Nanci Pelosi and Harry Reid have their way, all Americans will have their colons removed and have to poop in bio-degradable bags to "save the planet". The sad thing is that this could have been avoided if we'd just maintained a Republican majority.

Image courtesy of Kirk Waters

Quote of the Day, wintersports edition

"Are ice dancers drug tested? Because they sure do look f*cked up!!"

--My boy Greg watching the World Championships on ESPN

March Madness

Bush's Brackets.
Image courtesy of Pennsylvania finest John Cole.

As Iraq War enters its 5th year, NJ activists take a stand for Peace

It's a grim date to commemorate but the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war is upon us.

There's a flurry of activity this weekend to mark the sad occasion and I'm especially grateful for the many events taking place across the Garden State. Clearly the peace movement is alive and well here in New Jersey.

Here's a sampling:

Tomorrow a bus caravan from New Jersey will head to Washington for a big weekend rally.

For those wishing to mark the anniversary in New Jersey there are events in Lambertville and Teaneck, on Sunday.

DFA has four days worth of events nationwide including serveral here in NJ.

There's a huge rally at the Statehouse in Trenton Monday at noon.

Finally there's a Monday evening memorial in Ocean County.

According to a fascinating audio piece on NPR, this is a critical juncture for the peace movement. NPR:

Anti-war groups are planning to protest the conflict over the next several days, at events in Washington, D.C., and around the country. But the anti-war movement, while enjoying broader support than anti-war protests of the Vietnam era, is struggling to reach mainstream America. Activists are organizing Web campaigns to pressure members of Congress. And Move On, a leader in the anti-war movement, has its own political action committee. Apparently, marching on the Pentagon with flowers is considered to be passe.

The (podcastable) clip is only a few minutes long and it's worth a listen, especially since the reporter raises the question of where the netroots fits into the anti-war equation.

If you have an tip about an event this weekend, let us know in the comments so I can update this post. And if you already have plans to mark the anniversary, please share that too.

Thursday NJ Politics Roundup

The state sentate is facing a bit of an exodus, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the early 1970's. Fully one quarter of the Senate (and counting) will be turned over in November and that's before the first vote is counted. That figure does not include folks who get voted out like Tom Kean Junior.

A lot of media response about ex-Gov. McGreevy's paternity suit with his ex-wife. As a Gay American, I like what Monica Yant Kinney has to say about it all. Regarding McGreevy, part of me says everyone deserves the grace to ammend their life while the other half wonders WTF?

Joe Cryan defends budget grants and puts them into some context.

A generation gap in Newark? Corey Booker is mute on his support of Congressman Payne's Congressional reelection. Aparently there's no love lost between Mayor Booker and Asm. William Payne, who's the Congressman's bother.

This is old news generally, but the latest tidbit about our early-ish presidental primary can be seen here.

Did I miss something? Tell me all about it in the comments section.

Gen. Peter Pace's thoughts on Gays

To thousands of Gay soldiers currently risking their lives in the mid-east, their boss offers a lesson in morality.

Surely you've all heard about Marine General Peter's Pace's unfortunate remarks about gays people, both in the military and in general. I read this stuff and it still stings. If the military can bend its standards letting folks into the service to meet recuriting goals, then why not allows gays and lesbians as well? Says Gen. Pace,

"I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral, and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe that the armed forces are well served by saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way, not just with regards to homosexual acts"

No word yet about what Gen. Pace has to say about he morality of war, but that's another blog for another day anyway. I decided to call my dad, a retired Marine whose perspective I value more and more the older I get. What did dad think about the General's remarks?

First a disclaimer: "I've known Peter Pace since he was a Major," dad tells me. "He's a good Marine, the first to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs."

"I believe every person should -- regardless of religion or sexuality or whatever -- should be able to grow up to be whatever they want to be," Dad tells me. "But to make the changes to make that happen would have remifications."

To prove his point he asked me how much having OB-GYN's aboard Naval ships (to care for the many pregnant female sailors) really has to do with combat readiness.

(Note to Dad: point taken)

Dad and I both agree that Gen. Pace would have been well served to keep his opinions to himself and simply defer to the Commander in Chief on the topic. Judging from the tenor of the General's remarks the next day, he feels the same way.

"That's the closest thing to an apology that you're gonna get from Peter Pace," Dad warns me.

Dad's final remarks on the topic were more reassuring: "I disagree with Peter Pace that homosexuality is immoral. It's not. It's not a choice."

By the time I got off the phone with Dad, I didn't feel steamed up about Pace's remarks. I guess the moral of this whole polemic is this: feeling confused, vexed, frustrated? CALL YOUR PARENTS!!

Monday Comic Highlights

Image Courtesy of Cam Cardow, who's widely considered Canada's finest editorial comic. He sure gets my vote.

monday NJ News Roundup

Good morning everyone and welcome to Monday's news roundup. I'll try to keep the commentary to a minimum but it won't be easy. Let's get right down to it!

Tom Hester Jr. reports that the days of nice gifts for lawmakers may be coming to an end. AP:

Free meals, hotel rooms, golf games, train rides and Philadelphia Eagles tickets — those were some of the offerings enjoyed last year by New Jersey legislators. But the days of lawmakers enjoying food, lodging, entertainment and travel paid for by lobbyists may soon be over.

Find out why.

The highest paid workers in the state? Here's a clue: it's not the Governor. Believe it on not, it's it was "Lourdes Montezon, a clinical psychiatrist who admits and treats mentally ill patients at the Sen. G.W. Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital in Hunterdon County. Last year, Montezon made roughly $277,000, about $116,500 of that by working extra shifts." According to the pInky, 85 out of the top 100 paid state workers were mental health professionals whose base salaries were supplemented (sometimes doubled) by overtime pay.

Here's the latest about that horrifying (but titilating) tale from Atlantic City about a politician/priest, a hooker and a video camera. According to media reports, the blowjobee caught on tape was none other than City Councilman Eugene Robinson, described in his City Hall bio as a "minister of the Gospel" at the Second Baptist Church. Too bad he's not Catholic, he could just go to confession and move on with his life of hypocracy. Stay tuned.

Life ain't easy for the aging NJ politician. Tom Moran takes a look at the case of outgoing Sen. Littell.

Here's the latest on the "That's a Family" video that sent the Evesham school district into a tizzy. This story is not going away anytime soon, aparently.

The state budget review starts this week.

The Rutgers Camden provost who's at the heart of Wayne Bryant's no-show job lecturing gig (not to be confused with his arrangement at UNDNJ) takes umbrage with the suggestion that Bryant didn't deliver by saying "This was not a no-show job. We netted significant value out of it."

This just in via NPR: Assembly Budget Chair Lou Greenwald (who happens to represent yours truly in the Statehouse) has promised that this year's budget will be signed sealed, delivered and available for public scrutiny by June 15. That date is much earlier than last year. More to follow on this one, too.

The sun will set on Trenton today at 7:02pm. I am being literal, not metaphorical. Today will be 2:30 longer than yesterday and likewise tomorrow will be nearly 3m longer than today. Spring is in there air and I am so glad. This is an open thread. Fire away.

uploading pics, text to follow

These pics (click to enlarge) are from the Garden State Equality Legends dinner where me and my blogmates (see bottom pic) picked up an award for our liberal activism. We've been on quite a streak of great legislative and electional success this year in New Jersey. Victories include: a state minimum wage hike, a death penalty moritorium, civil unions for gays and lesbians, needle exchange to combat HIV, protections for transgendered New Jerseyans, and on and on. See, I told you I was a liberal!! (And a very proud one I might add.) Anyway, we bloggers were at the heart of all those movements and that's why we got the award.

The guest list was a starstudded one: gay comedien Judy Gold was emcee and the crowd included Gov. Mario Cuomo, Congresscritters Tammy Baldwin and Dennis Kucinich, Mayor Corey Booker and Ambassador James Hormel and others. Fancy, indeed. Hence, the monkey suit.

Greg snapped the first pic when I was not expecting it. It's my tendancy to mug goofyness for the camera, as the second shot so beautifully demonstrates.

Monday News Roundup

I hate to be a downer on this, the first day of a new week, but the war rages in Iraq and many of our neighbors here in the Garden State continue to pay a heavy price. A very heavy price indeed.

Congressman Rush Holt continues to press for answers to the deadly Anthrax attacks from 2001? You're forgiven if your recollection is a bit fuzzy, it has been 6 years afterall.

Governor Corzine is under some question for some gifts he gave to his ex-ladyfriend, who happens to be a Union leader. While I have never had a girlfriend myself, I kinda thought the whole point was to do nice stuff for one another?

Here's the lastest on the toll roads debate. It sounds very Christie Whitman-esque to me.

Did you know the woman who discovered the G-spot has a south Jersey connection?

We all cheered the success of our beloved Scarlet Knights on the gridiron last year, but as Rutgers U continues to cut sports, some of the best student athletes are looking out of state for colleges.

The state legislators are working to make the cellular phone industry a bit more consumer friendly. They must have seen my last bill!

The economic forecast for South Jersey looks bright, with tourism, businesses and hospitals in the region poised to capitalized on a rebounding economy.

I am still buzzing from last night's Garden State Equality gay-la. Unfortunately I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, so if I missed a news nugget out there somewhere, lay it on us our comment section.

Thurday NJ newsbites

In a speech today Gov. Corzine urges New Jersey to take the lead on an environmental policy that will curb greenhouse gas. On a related note, the environmental hazzards of commuting hang heavy in the air.
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Will a tax credit for the working poor help them quickly enough? One thing is for sure, the Governor's budget does seem to be making the working poor a serious priority.
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For many New Jersey Iraq vets, the hardest part is moving on. This is a sad one, folks.
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Have you bought your ticket to the Garden State Equality's legend's dinner this weekend? It promises to be a star-studded affair. Every little detail will be perfect. It will also be a chance to honor and remember our own NJ rights icon, Laurel Hester.
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It's 59 degrees in Cherry Hill and today was 2m50 longer than yesterday. Likewise tomorrow will be another 3 minutes longer than today. We all know how schiziophrenic this winter has been, so consider this a spring-is-coming open thread.