Pay the lady, dammit!!!

The campaign for equal pay at Wimbledon got a shot in the arm yesterday. First from British Prime Minister Tony Blair who said "he fully supported the campaign for equal pay at Wimbledon."

Tennis legend John McEnroe weighed in as well noting that "There should be no argument that there should be equal pay."

As it stands, the men's winner takes home about $50,000 more than the lady champ. Considering that both take home over a million bucks, the difference is a meager sum. But the symbolism is huge. Says defending champ Venus Williams,

"I'm disappointed not for myself but for all the women who have struggled so hard to get here, the great legends like Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova who have never stopped fighting for equality. And I'm disappointed that the home of tennis is sending a message to women across the world that we are inferior. How can it be that Wimbledon finds itself on the wrong side of history? It can only be that Wimbledon is trying to make a social and political point, one that is out of step with modern society."

When asked how she felt about tennis' original superbrat John McEnroe backing her cause Venus replied, "It's very nice to have a world champion like him, someone who has a respected opinion, to speak up on the women's behalf. I understand he has four daughters also."

And Britains' Prime Minister?

Says Venus: "The fact that Mr. Blair finds this cause extremely important really gives credence to the free world that (equal pay) is something that really makes sense, something that needs to be done"

It's worth noting that the tournament in Dubai (in the United Arab Emirates) offers equal prize money to the men's and women's winners. So moderate Arab nations are willing to pay up for equality's sake, but not Wimbledon. Ironic?

I'll close my feminist rant with this. Sports Illustrated suggests that-- for what the women bring to the game-- they should be paid MORE than the men! Naturally, I agree. But for now I'm happy being pragmatic.

You can be Jackson Pollock (with out the alcoholism!)

Art can be cool and fun!

My friend Ted sent me this link were you can make your very own digital Jackson Pollick art!!

I've had a little too much fun on that site today, but it's fun and really addictive.

Teens with Credit Cards and other WMD's

Which is the scariest? (click to enlarge)

If you ask me, the answer is:
a little from column A
a little from column B
and a little more from couumn C.

I realize that a credit card in the hands of a teenager isn't really a weapon of mass destruction, but it's pretty darn close. I was in college when I got my first credit card. I was studying in Boston and went straight to Manhattan and maxed out the card buying shoes, clothes, booze. When the dinner bill would come I'd cover the whole check then have the others pay me back. Then I promptly took the cash to buy those pesky non-chargeables. Like drugs and god knows what else. And to think I thought I was being clever. OY!!!

I not exactly pround of it. But I worked really hard to mess up my credit and it pretty much started in college. It's a cautionary tale. If I had a kid going off to college, I'd put the 'credit card talk' right up there with the "drug talk" and the "HIV talk."

Image courtesy Cal Grondahl.

Purple Heart recipient goes to Canada

I don't wanna be drunk and on drugs pissing away my life waiting to die in my room like many other Iraq Vets are doing.--Darrell Anderson

Here's a guy who got hit by a roadside bomb early in the Iraq Occupation, comes back to the States to recover, gets a Purple Heart, gets orders back to Iraq........

Only his family drives him north of the border where he applies for refugee status. You must check out this guy's story. Not only is he real juicy eye candy, but he has a provocative and thoughtful message as well.

Some folks will view what Darrell Anderson has done as a noble act of courage. Others will view him as a coward or a traitor. Either way, one thing is clear. Darell Anderson is a man of principle. Which is more than I can say for the men (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld) who sent him to Iraq to do their dirty work.

It Pays to Discover

I got a wild hair up my ass today. I thought it would be cool to call my credit card companies and ask them when I become eligible for a lower interest rate.

Would you believe that in both cases, they lowered my APR? They further suggested I call back in 6 months to get it lowered again! Who knew???

Now, I don't have the best credit rating on the planet, but I am good at paying the minimum on time I guess. Presumably if I go another 6 months without ever being late, they'll lower the rate again. I swear if I knew it was this easy, I might have called earlier! But being an informed consumer ain't always easy and I never would have guess that lowering my credit card APR was as easy as a phone call.

Flags and Fags, a republican diet for success

Or is it Gays-n-guns??
With Congress gearing up to amend the Constitution to partially repeal the First Amendment in order to address the grave threat of flag burning, Bush decided to take a minute (while in Austria last week) to scrawl his name on the flag for some fans. This is not his first flag-autographing stunt. Here he is doing it back in 2003. (click pic to enlarge)

Bush wipes his fanny with the flag every day. Why the double standard?

And you thought Philly sports fans were bad!

World Cup pee is killing the trees in Berlin. Clearly this is proof positive that European sports fans are no more civilized that their American counterparts. Guardian UK:

The only thing the organisers of the World Cup appear to have got wrong is the number of toilets provided. Biologists have warned that trees in Berlin are in danger of dying because of male fans urinating in the bushes. The huge, leafy 'fan mile' in the centre of the city has regularly been attracting crowds of up to 700,000 who have gathered to drink beer, eat sausages and watch games on giant screens - but it only has 280 portable loos.

Now I'd be lying if I said I've never wee'd on a tree before, but I try to rotate my targets as much as possible. For all other outside pissers, I recommend doing the same. So does Tilman Lamparter, a biologist at Berlin's Free University who cautions, "The urea sinks into the ground as ammonia. In small quantities this is a good fertiliser, but too much acidity is bad for the soil and could damage or even kill the trees."

Not to mention the smell!

Hippy Chickenhawk

I wonder how differently Dick Cheney would feel about war-waging, were it not for his draft-dodging prowess in the Viet Nam era.

The mind reels....
(Image courtesy Mike Lane)

Tidbits....

Looks like Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has signed a law banning the death penalty in her country. Aparently, Arroyo was under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church to end capital punishment. To their credit, the Catholics have long advocated to ban the death penalty. So the new law means that the 1,2oo prisoners on death row in the Philippines will serve life-terms.

I made up my mind once and for all about the death penalty when I interviewed Kirk Bloodsworth, the first American exonerated from deathrow by DNA evidence. Check out that interview here.
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*On a much lighter note, Wimbledon starts tomorrow. The ladies in the tournament are pissed that the men get paid more prize money, even though the gal's game gets bigger TV ratings. All the other Grand Slam-tier tournaments offer equal pay, so Wimbledon's unwillingness to treat women fairly really is difficult to defend. (On the bright side, blacks are still allowed on the courts.)

In the pic, Maria Sharapova (r) and Venus Williams (r) illustrated the total prize money difference awarded by Wimbledon (£6,132,770) to male and female players in the past decade. Ahhh, life in the pink collar ghetto........
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Also on the Wimbledon front, lesbian goddess Martina Navratilova is entered in the doubles draw. She and her partner are seeded 7th. Astonishing to know that she'll be 50 this year. She won her first Wimbledon (with Chris Evert) back in 1976 which blows my mind.
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Ya'll remember the BBQ I had for Congressional Candidate Rich Sexton a few weeks ago? It was a big success and at the party we raised $1,515 for Rich's campaign to unseat a nasty republican and send a great guy to Congress. Well, thanks to the generosity of Lassiter Space readers and some contributors who didn't show, the total is now well over $2,ooo!! I am not worthy.
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Finally, did you hear the one about the chicken and the egg? Well, the chicken and egg are lying in bed. Ok, the chicken is laying there, smoking a cigarette looking totally satisfied. The egg is laying next to the chicken looking totally dejected and says to the chicken, "well, I guess we answered that question!"

Lassiter and the Transexuals take over Trenton

I knocked on over 10,000 doors (while stumping in the 14th district) and not one of the people I spoke with said to me, 'when you're elected you should ammend the constitution to discriminate against the gay community.' Not one." -Republican Assemblyman Bill Baroni Trenton was gayer than ever yesterday and Jim McGreevy was nowhere to be found!! And even though we definitely had a gay old time, there was a serious message to Equality Day at the state house. Namely, marriage and gender equality. The day was put on by Garden State Equality and Gender Rights Advocacy Association NJ. Our plan was to lobby the powers-that-be to remain sympathetic to our cause, which is equality for all citizens of New Jersey. Plain and simple.

jay lassiter :: Equality Day at the State House (updated with pics!)

We first met with the chiefs of staff for the Governor, Senate President Codey and Assembly Speaker Roberts. It was pretty obvious by the dialogue with these folks with that we (gays and transsexuals) have genuine allies in Gov. Corzine, Codey, and Roberts. We next met with some members of the GOP caucus, who impressed me with their enlightened views on gay- and trans issues. John Bramnick (R-Union), Bill Baroni (R-Mercer) and Sean Kean (R-Monmouth) all showed up as did NJ GOP state Chairman Tom Wilson. I must confess, this meeting with the republican caucus was the most spirited of the day in my opinion. In addition to assurances we received that the GOP caucus would not write discrimination into the NJ coustitution, ("Never gonna happen" says Bramnick) they really held their own in a lively discussion on equality and diversity in the state. My lasting impression was these GOP memebers were really good guys. It was nice to engage with the other side without the fear that my "lifestyle" might be used against me on election day. Would you believe me if I suggested that these guys hold themselves to a completely different standard than Karl Rove and his brand of republicanism? (enlarge pic to see a captivated GOP caucus) Next up was a meeting with NJ's brand spankin' new Public Advocate, Ron Chen. What's a public advocate you ask? Something akin to an ombubsmnan between NJ citizens and the government. An interloctor between "us" and "them" with regards to civil rights and other issues of advocacy. Mr. Chen's background as a law professor at Rutgers and with the ACLU inspired confidence. Not only does this guy have an intimate knowledge of NJ constitutional law, he also earned some stripes at the ACLU, as well. Blue Jersey invited Mr. Chen to write an op-ed piece here on the site, basically explaining in more detail the roll he hopes to play in the Corzine cabinet. So stay tuned for that. After lunch it was back to the lobbying. We met with NJ State Senate majority leader Bernard Kenny (D Hudson) who said the right things to us, albeit it in a non-committal way. (Note to Sen. Kenny: simple questions require simple answers.) Next we were treated to a mini-nervous breakdown courtesy of Sen. Bill Gormley (R- Atlantic) who is generally open to GLTBI-issues but seemed horrified at our contingent. "You've ambushed me!" and "I have nothing to say!" and further "i don't want to listen to you either." Sen. Gormley's lack of hospitality was bitterly ironic. The gang was there to present him with a placque, basically thanking him for being a friend to the gays. EEEEKK!! Shortly thereafter Sen. John Adler paid us a visit. His assurances that the bill protecting transexuals from discrimination would be "one of the first" pieces of legislation we take up in the next section. There was a woman in our juggernaut named Jacqui who presented the legislators with three years worth of rejected resumes which she suffered while trying to find a job after her (stunningly gorgeous) transformation. Basically, Jacqui couldn't find a job in NJ and had no legal recourse to fight the obvious discrimination she faced while seeking employment. "New Jersey failed me. Please don't make anyone else have to endure my fate." I should add that Jacqui is no longer living in NJ. So we lost a tax payer, and a life long Jersey homegirl. Our loss. By the end of the day, we had also met with Assemblyman Joe Cryan, Chair of the Democrat State Committee who is clearly a friend and ally of the gays. In fact, of all the legislators, he seemed genuinely the warmest of the lot. Honestly, you learn a lot about a person watching them react to a transsexual. Joe Cryan seemed to exude an aura which said "I don't care where you fall on the gender continuum, you're still a knucklehead. Now come gimme a hug!!" (In this pic, I attempt to get the scoop from Cryan staffer Bob Bresenhan, but i was clearly distracted by the faaaaaabulous decor of the statehouse rotunda. click to enlarge) In conclusion, our message could be boiled down to this: "We're still here, we're still queer. But we are also a powerful lobbying body and we vote and we matter and we're watching you." (after a long day lobbyin' NJ NOW president Suzannah Porter leans in to congratulate Garden State Equality prez Steven Goldstein on a job well done. click to enlarge)