Roman Catholic Pin-up Hunks

Hard to believe there is a calendar available with twelve months worth of sexy priests.

If they were this hot when I was a young Roman Catholic schoolboy, there's no doubt whatsoever that I would have become an alterboy. I would have gone to confession everyday!

Just imagine...

Jay: Forgive me Father for I have sinned, it's been fifteen minutes since my last confession....

But I digress.

The pics here are from the new Calendario Romano, which is available for all you irony-loving Catholics out there.

My 2006 calendar is twelve months of Annna Kournikova. Not very gay of me, but Anna's face is still pretty nice to look at. But next year, I might have to switch to these sexy Italian priests.

Ave maria!

More evidence our "terrorist alert" is Hooey

(John at Americablog reports)-- More evidence that this Red Alert is a wee bit suspect .

Check out the photo below.

Yes, Ma'am, we think you might have highly explosive liquids in your possession that could kill thousands of Americans and blow up an entire airplane. So please pour the liquid out in front of these hundreds of passengers, including that small baby just three feet behind you, and into this large bucket mixed with all sorts of other unknown and possibly explosive (and reactive) liquids, including alcohol, peroxide, acids, and more. Yeah, that would be the smart way to dispose of suspected terrorist explosives.

These guys are either lying to us, or criminally negligent morons. But this is coming off as bad as the duct tape fiasco.


More here.

The Republicans want to gamble away your retirement!

With the seventy-first anniversary of Social Security coming up this monday, Senate Democrats are serving notice that they plan to make the President's privatization scheme a centerpiece in their stragety to retake the House and Senate in November.

After the resonding political defeat Bush took on socSec privatization last year, you'd think the idea would be long dead. Think again. In fact, the President's Chief of Staff and Treasury secretary have both expressed their will to renew the push to gamble your retirement security in the stockmarket. You know the calculus by now: if Bush gets his way, the debt will go up up up and benefits will go down down down. I should note that the stock market is actually lower today than it was the day Bush was elected...I'll let you do the math. In the meantime, it's worth underscoring that without a compliant GOP Congress, the President's plans will fail. Resoundingly.

Yesterday, the outreach and advocacy group Center for America's Future hosted a conference call with Senator Menendez and others to discuss the stragety to beat back the privatization scheme once and for all. The fact is, this issue is huge. Not only is socSec the single biggest issue among the over-65 set, but it's a priority for swing voters as well. In other words, this is a major campaign issue for the Democrats heading into November.

Sen. Menendez:

(Social Security) ensures dignity and independence in the twilight years. Americans -- when armed with the facts will refuse to go along (with Bush's plan to privatize.)

Sen. Menendez then reminded us that Tom Kean Jr's position on socSec remains deliberately fuzzy. We all know Junior ran for Senate in 2ooo promising to support the president's scheme to gamble away the future of millions of Americans. Sen. Menendez also pointed out that he was the leader of the Democratic House Caucus that fought (and won) round one of this debate last year when the President first rolled out his plan to privatize.

Ask Junior what his position is nowadays and his mealy-mouthed reply will go something like this: "I am fighting for the people of NJ and the issues that are important to them." Aparently Junior does not grasp the gravitas of this issue in the minds of NJ voters, especially older ones. Polling shows this is a big deal to swing voters as well. And since Dems enjoy far more support on this issue than Republicans, it seems fitting that our side make Social Security a front-and-center issue during the campaign.

The New Jersey Democratic Delegating will begin holding townhalls on socSec to raise awareness among voters that 1) the President still wants to roll the dice with your retirement and 2) we're not gonna let him.

Clever Cartoons and Blah Blah Blog

It's raining, I'm not in the mood to blog. Besides all this news about another "foiled" terrorist plot is depressing. Of course, I have no idea what the real story is, but working the public into a frezny about their carry-on luggage sure is a good distraction from all the rest of the goings-on in the world.

One thing is for sure, no one is talking about Iraq anymore. I am sure George Bush isn't sorry about that. In any event, a picture is worth a thousand words.Image Courtesy Bill Schorr

Gas and hot air

I just filled up my tank and it set me back an eyepopping $52. The government's policies continue to fail me. I wonder how rich you have to be to benefit from George Bush's priorites?

Gas in Cherry Hill, NJ went for $3.29 a gallon this morning. I do take some solace that here in the Garden State we pay self-service prices for full-service treatment. So at least I don't actually have to pump it myself.

I can't wait 'til my foot heels and I can just take my bike wherever I need to go. Until then, I continue to drive like an old lady to stretch my gas doller. I get about 23 miles to the gallon which is not great, but better than average. What's your miles-per-gallon ratio??

Who knows, maybe there will be a silver lining to all this. If gas (and energy) prices continue on their meteoric rise, folks will have to adopt more sustainable consumption patterns. And that would be a good thing.

Veterans get screwed (Again)

My Dad was a career Marine and veteran who lives in the lovely rolling hills of Terra Alta, West Virginia. His place in the hills is near the spot where West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania come together. In fact, he's not too far from Pittsburgh, where he goes to the Veterals Hospital from time to time for various healthcare odds and ends.

That's my Dad in the picture at the airport coming home from Viet Nam. My Aunt Pat is next to him, beaming with pride and relief. Click pic to enlarge.

Whis is why I was so disturbed to learn that: (AP)--

about 11,000 patients treated at the VA Hospital in Pittsburgh are at risk for identity theft.The Veteran's Administration said another 5,000 in Philadelphia may also be at risk of identity theft.A Veterans Affairs Department subcontractor lost a computer containing their sensitive personal data.Blue Bell (Pennsylvania)-based Unisys Corporation was assisting the VA in insurance collections for the hospitals.The missing computer was used in Unisys' offices in Reston, Va.The computer is believed to contain names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, insurance carriers and claims data including medical information.

WTF??

After asking someone to fight and die for our country you'd think we could take of them when they come home. And since budget cuts and Whitehouse priorities are such that Vets are getting a smaller and smaller piece of the pie, AT THE VERY LEAST you'd think we could protect the privledged information!!

This is not the first time the identifications of our Veterans have been compromised.

The latest disclosure comes after a string of recent data breaches at the VA, including the May theft of a computer from an employee's home. It had personal data for 26.5 million veterans. The computer has since been recovered, although the Army Times claims that the arrest in the theft didn't address the problem.

The VA has also acknowledged losing sensitive data for more than 16,000 veterans in at least two other cases in Minneapolis and Indianapolis.

This is how we treat the men and women who protect our nation. This is the kind of country we live in! One that sends kids off to die and when/if they come home, we don't give two shits about them!

I used to beproud to be an American. Now I am just disallusioned.

Why I am a Feninist (and always will be)

I don't know if I was born a feminist or if I picked it up somewhere along the way, but it's pretty safe to say that I have been committed to women's rights since at least 1986. That was my freshman year at Great Mills High School down in southern Maryland and my first year on the varsity tennis squad. That was early in the days of Title IX (which in a nutshell meant girls should have the same athletic opportunities as guys in American high schools and universities.) The boy's team at my alma matter was historically pretty bad, while the girl's squad was a regional powerhouse.

1986 was the first year at my highschool that boys and girls had equal number of participants playing varsity sports. Years prior, the squad was made up of nine guys and four girls. My freshman year the team was split equally. And accordingly, we went from the "worst team in the conference" to an actual contender. All thanks to gender equality. That was the lesson for me.

Billie jean King was a big part of the movement in the 1970's to push for equal opportunity in sports. Title IX simply made it the law. If boys can play, then girls can play too. Just like Billie Jean envisoned it. This is why Billie Jean King is my hero.

So naturally I was thrilled to hear this: (AP)--

Honoring Billie Jean King, the U.S. Tennis Association will rename the USTA National Tennis Center the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during an opening-night ceremony at the U.S. Open. King co-founded the WTA Tour, which now offers a total of $60 million in prize money at 63 events in 35 countries. She beat Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes" in 1973 and co-founded World Team Tennis and the Women's Sports Foundation.

Pete Sampras (a tennis icon in his own right) said the tribute was fitting, "She's so respected from all walks of life. It's fitting because of what Billie has done for the sport of tennis and sports in general. She's a legend."

Billie Jean: "Hopefully, this will have an echoing effect," King said. "It's great that a women's name is on something this special, and I think it will send out a great message. It's been my fight for equal opportunity for boys and girls, that's really what I'm about."

Brava, Sister!

It's worth noting that we live in an era when stadiums are usually named after some corporate sponsor. The US Tennis Association gave up a shitload of money to name the arena after Billie Jean. I t could have just as easily been the "Geico Arena" or something.

"This was not about the money, this was about doing what was right," said Arlen Kantarian, chief executive of the USTA when responding to the passed up million$ in potential naming rights to honor King.

Besides, Billie Jean's contributions are priceless.

What's hot (or not) in Blog-topia!

So much good stuff going on this weekend in Blog-topia this weekend, I don't really know where to begin....

Ok, I'll start with the bad news: The psudo-Christians of the radical right hate gay people. Yeah, it's an old tune, but with a horrifying new spin. Mike Tidmus and Wayne Besen decribe the increasingly inflamatory rhetoric aimed as me and my gay brothers and sisters. They are committed to our destruction. Tidmus:

Forget those Ten Commandments. Just say whatever it takes to salvage the cause of fading right-wing christerism. Make up any old shit in a vain attempt to defeat marriage equality, which is slowly but inevitably gaining traction in the US.

My friend Pam guestblogged over at Rudepundit about the obsession religious conservatives have with gay sex. It almost makes you think that some of the most homophobic zealots out there are actually repressed closet cases. It's gross but fascinating. Check it out ASAP!

For politics junkies like me, the race of the season is defintitely the Connecticut democratic primary between incumbent (and Bush-smoocher) Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont who is the darling of the liberal blog-o-shere. The election is Tuesday, but Democrats are flocking to Connecticut in droves to be a part of the finale. This race could define the future of the Democratic party. Stay tuned, things are getting ugly. And it's fabulous!! I might head up to Bridgeport or New Haven on Sunday to canvass and phone bank. It all depends on how my achilles rupture is feeling that day. It's worth repeating: this race is to political geeks what the Superbowl is to football fans.

New Jersey is a step closer to universal health care for Garden State residents. Let's hope we get it soon. Universal health care is good public policy and a great investment. I have no doubt that if we all had health care, a shitload of money would be saved in the long run. I am baffled that republicans care so much about the well being of a fetus and so little about the health of a...person.

Finally, Maya's Granny shares a story about the good old days when she was a wee one at her Grandpa's almond orchard in California. I love Grany 'cuz she always has such a sweet and smart and sensitive take on life. Her commentary is laced with love, experience and most of all heart. It makes me miss my grandparents and all the little anecdotes that they had to share.

Separated at Birth?

I give you U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and actor Morgan Freeman.

Honestly I can not even tell which is which.

It's hotter than Baghdad in New Jersey

Courier Post:

The sweltering heat wave in South Jersey and across much of the United States has Americans feeling like they're living in a desert. According to The Weather Channel, South Jersey's heat index -- what the temperature feels like when heat and humidity are combined -- will be about 115 degrees today. In comparison, Baghdad will experience a high of 111 degrees today. And with little to no humidity, the heat index will be about 111 degrees -- making Iraq feel 4 degrees cooler than South Jersey.

So while we're feeling the heat (and maybe a little self-pity and woe) it's worth remembering that a vast majority of us have can just crank the airconditioner.

Folks in Iraq -- Iraqis and GI's alike -- have no such option. First of all, most of Iraq can't meet electricity demand in the best of circumstances, limiting access in the country to AC, refrigerated water, etc. Secondly, this weather is much more condusive to short tempers and desperation among Iraqis and US soldiers alike. The mind reels.......

Air America:

As temperatures rise above 120 degrees, many Baghdad residents are facing their fourth summer in a row with only sporadic electricity throughout the day, even as the U.S. State Department claims that Iraq met its electricity production goals for the first time this month. The power supply still falls about 33% short of demand, and the dilapidated power grid in Baghdad means that the capital city frequently gets less electricity than its outlying provinces. According to cable sent to the State Department by U.S. Ambassador Khalilzad, one Baghdad neighborhood recently found itself without electricity for an entire month.

Ouch.

That goes for the American Soldiers in the warzone as well. Imagine running around in this heat wearing combat boots, fifty pounds of gear and armour on your back in the sweltering heat and the fog of war. So in addition to roadside bombs, extended tours and lousy civilian leadership the troops now have another deadly factor to contend with: morbidly hot weather. It's no wonder our armed forces are burnt out. Literally and figuratively.

I dunno about you, but putting this into a bit of perspective kinda makes me feel sheepish for all the creature comforts I tend to take for granted.