Monday, June 29, 2009

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Dave Hill: The Gayest Day of the Year Top
It's Monday and I am still coming down from the gayest day of the year (Gay Pride Day in New York City, in case you happen to live here and didn't leave the house) in a city that is already pretty gay year round if you really think about it. I am not a gay myself, but sort of like how everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, I tried to gay it up as much as possible on Gay Pride Day anyway, stopping short of doing anything actually seriously gay that might have changed my totally not gay life forever. I started by having myself a delicious brunch (albeit by myself, which- to be fair is not very festive and- as a result- also not very gay)) and then just sort of walking around my neighborhood being as fierce as possible (a popular thing to do among gays), which- given the fact that I was kind of tired and all- mostly consisted of me just putting on a bright yellow T-shirt and wearing sunglasses that I am pretty sure were meant for an old lady. Given the level of gayness that was happening all around me, however, it was really hard to compete with the actual gays who were gaying it up like it was some kind of contest (which I guess it sort of it when it gets right down to it). By mid-afternoon, I kind of gave up and just went home and didn't really act very gay at all other than working on my abs for a bit. Things got slightly gayer at night as a couple of my good friends, who happen to be totally gay even though I don't in any way think of them as "my gay friends" because I am really, really open-minded and accepting of their super-gay lifestyle (except for when they do something totally gay right in front me and it's really more than I can handle), called me up to meet up with them and celebrate their gayness. Because I didn't want to become gay by association, I was hesitant at first but in the end decided to fully gay it up with them for a little while before we went our separate ways, me to go home and be so totally not gay that it's not even fucking funny and them to go home and probably be so gay that it's actually kind of ridiculous. Now it's Monday and the streets of New York have gone back to just being sort of gay instead of totally gay. I miss the dancing in the streets and the good gay times in general though. I think we could all stand to gay it up a little more each day, even people like me who are totally into having intercourse sex with chicks. Gay it up, New York City! Gay it up, America! You know you want to! Dave Hill
 
Victims lash out at Madoff sentencing Top
Excerpts from statements made by victims of Bernard Madoff's financial fraud. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison Monday. "I was introduced to Bernard Madoff 21 years ago at a business meeting. ... I now view that day as perhaps the unluckiest day of my life. ... This beast who I call Madoff. He walks among us. He dresses like us ... but underneath the facade is a true beast. ... He is an equal opportunity destroyer." _ Sheryl Weinstein. ___ "The man sitting in this courtroom robbed me. ... He discarded me like road kill. ... Forgiveness for now will have to come from someone other than me." _ Miriam Siegman. ___ "He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in-between. He had no values. ... His was a violent crime without the use of a tangible weapon. ... My life will never be the same. I am financially ruined and will worry every day about how I will take care of my wife." _ Tom Fitzmaurice. ___ "I can remember the exact second my wife told me the news. ... The fallout from having your entire life savings robbed from right under your nose is like nothing you can describe. ... In a sense, I would like somebody in the court today to tell me how long is my sentence." _ Dominic Ambrosino. ___ "Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can't wake from." _ Carla Hirshhorn. ___ "Bernard Madoff should no longer be let back in society." _ Michael Schwartz. More on Bernard Madoff
 
Ian Schrager In Talks To Buy Famed Ambassador East Hotel And Pump Room Top
Ian Schrager, the hip hotelier and onetime impresario of New York nightclub Studio 54, is in talks to buy a pair of faded Chicago landmarks, the Ambassador East Hotel and its Pump Room restaurant.
 
Ron Christie Slams Mark Sanford: "Disgrace" Who Should Resign (VIDEO) Top
GOP strategist, and former Special Assistant to President Bush, Ron Christie appeared on "The Ed Shultz Show" tonight and slammed disgraced South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, calling him a "disgrace" and saying he should resign: I think it's a disgrace for a politician, be they Republican or Democrat, to betray the public trust. This is a man who left the country for five days. He's the chief executive of the state; he's in charge of the Army National Guard. I think it's a disgrace. I think more people, my mother is a constituent, she lives in South Carolina, and she is beside herself as to why this man remains in office. Shultz seemed unprepared for the forceful nature of Christie's condemnation, but said "obviously" I agree with you. Christie also agreed with Shultz that the GOP would be better off urging Sanford to resign than talking about the power of redemption as a reason for Sanford to serve out the rest of his term as governor. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy More on Video
 
What Happens If Illinois Doesn't Pass A New Budget By Tuesday's Deadline? Top
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- The state's budget year ends Tuesday, and lawmakers are nowhere near a deal on a spending plan with Gov. Pat Quinn. Does that mean someone shuts off the lights of state government at midnight Tuesday? In a word, no. Construction crews likely will work on state highways even if Illinois lacks a budget on July 1. You'll be able to get a fishing permit or renew your driver's license. Public schools will continue planning for the fall semester. But if the stalemate continues far into July, state employees' pay runs dry. That's when services could be interrupted across the state. "You stop issuing paychecks, you have people not showing up to work, services not being provided - just think about transportation, secretary of state, human services - the consequences of that are going to be unthinkable," said Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville. With the state wallowing in red ink, Quinn, a Democrat, wants to raise the income tax rate to pay for government services. But he couldn't get agreement from the Democratic-controlled Legislature, which instead passed a budget that would require drastic cuts in human service programs. Budget talks have dragged on for weeks since then, with no real progress. Now legislators must decide whether to send Quinn a budget that slashes services, pass a temporary budget so talks can continue or simply let the new fiscal year begin without any spending plan in place. "Stay tuned," Quinn spokesman Bob Reed said Monday, adding that the governor "remains optimistic" that a new spending plan will be approved in time. Even without a budget in place, government would continue to function normally, for a while. It could still pay bills for expenses incurred under the previous budget. Big projects such as road work will likely continue because they are typically tied to multiyear contracts. Building goes on with the understanding that payment will follow eventually, although contractors technically would be taking some risk. Public schools aren't immediately in jeopardy because they don't receive any state aid payments in July. Agencies can still purchase commodities - gas for state police squad cars, for instance - because they buy on credit. And welfare checks to low-income families continue uninterrupted thanks to a 1993 court ruling that Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and Medicaid cannot be halted because they are paid in part with federal funds. The date to watch is July 15, the first pay day in the new budget year, according to state Comptroller Dan Hynes' office. Those getting paid that day are staff members working for constitutional officers, such as the governor, treasurer and attorney general, and payroll information has to be sent to the comptroller by July 9, although there's a little leeway on that deadline, Hynes spokeswoman Carol Knowles said. Pay deadlines for other groups of employees follow on subsequent days. "When July 1 comes, if there isn't a budget, you can pretty much go until mid-month until things start to be a problem," Knowles said. And it would be a problem. In 2007, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and lawmakers agreed to a one-month budget for July, but it expired without action in August. Blagojevich told Hynes to write paychecks anyway, but Hynes maintained that he needed an authorized budget to do so. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sued Hynes, and a Christian County judge brokered a deal that allowed state employees to be paid in August, but ruled that in the future, the comptroller may not cut paychecks unless he had a budget or a court order in hand, except for minimal payments required by federal law. "It is wearying," AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said of the annual budget wrangling. "People are sick of the games, sick of the posturing, tired of the excuses and have every reason to be sick of the uncertainty." State employees aren't the only ones on edge. Sen. Emil Jones III, a Chicago Democrat, said he had heard of private social-service agencies that rely on state funds already turning away new clients. Those agencies will continue getting paid for at least a few weeks because they are submitting receipts for services through June, for which there's still money. But to get paid for work in July, they have to have new contracts with the state, which requires a budget. The anxious moments ramp up pressure on legislators to adopt an income tax increase, said Jones, who voted for the Senate plan to hike the individual income tax rate from 3 percent to 5 percent - and from 4.8 percent to 7.2 percent for corporations - that failed in the House. Jones said he's received a lot of calls and letters from constituents in the past few weeks, so those who have resisted a tax increase must be getting even more. "I'm quite sure the ones that didn't vote on it are reconsidering their votes," Jones said. -ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
Sharon Glassman: What is Work? Part II: Finding Your Passion Top
In my last post, folks who "work with work" spoke about the classical and modern definitions of work . Which leads us to the very modern idea of work as a means to happiness. Work that works for us personally may sound like an unreasonable dream in tough economic times. But the good news is, the "ol' daily grind" can result in soul diamonds. Careers replete with personal meaning are possible, says career advisor Debbie Robins , a woman who combines tough talk about jobs with mega-empathy for the seeker's process. Part of that empathy comes from Robin's professional training in psychology. Which happens to be part of her second career. Over a working lunch in New York (a city whose name becomes New Work if you switch one small letter), Robins told me that humankind's fear of change - aka: "the pull to equilibrium" - is a major challenge for people seeking happiness in and through their work. Equilibrium sounds like someone we should want. But it's more of a psycho-biological set of training wheels glued to a straight-jacket. The pull weighs us down in areas where we're naturally lighter and hems in where we're naturally ready to expand. There is a reason for this, of course. A pull toward equilibrium was a great career tool for cave peoples. Back then, our primary job description was Not Being Dinner. Fighting and fleeing predators would take up a lot of the workday. At which point we'd rest. Our brains-in-progress deduced that this no-stress was good. And thus was born the concept of equilibrium as retirement . Flash forward from the second half of the twentieth century until today. Jobs are more personal. Careers became more flexible - and tenuous. The idea of retirement is open to question. (If your life is a reflection of your person, how and why would you opt to stop it on some arbitrary date?) Enter: the idea of work as calling. And the stress that comes as we try to find it. Which is something Robins knows a lot about, firsthand. The first part of her career was a trip from A-B using someone else's map. On paper, the map looked amazing. She had produced a hit play after college and wanted to do more of them. But then Hollywood optioned the play, and there was a chance to go to LA. And, well, only a fool would turn down Hollywood, right? Flash forward a career. Deb Robins is a very successful professional. And a very unhappy person. She's a Hollywood Producer by virtue of having done it. But She - if you think of our real selves with initial caps - isn't a producer at heart. And her heart is breaking. So what is she? (In case you're wondering: this moment of crisis is the same for everyone who arrives at a huge career change. Yes, someone who's been downsized is in a different boat from someone who's trapped in a job they hate, or is looking for meaningful work post-retirement. But the ocean is the same - and appears equally vast and unswimmable.) So, how does someone get across an ocean of fear of change to Work They Love? The key, Robins says, is learning how to trick our biology. "Getting really excited about a bigger goal," she says, can push "people through or past the pull to equilibrium." The key is substituting eustress - or positive stress - for fear. Here are Debbie Robins's tips for doing that: 1) Eliminate the words "should" and "try" from your career diet. To say that we "should" work a certain job, earn a certain amount of money or stick things out is like ordering Equilibrium on wry -- without the wry. "It's a loser's game," Robins says. And trying is equally fear-based, because, "part of your consciousness has already decided you've failed." Remember: language is a brain tool. Use it wisely and your brain will do its chemical part. Substitute the words intend or promise into your career-seeking vocabulary and your confidence - and passion - rise. 2) See your present condition as a good thing, dammit! You've been laid off. You have a job but hate it. You don't know what to do. Look at life as a classroom as opposed to race, Robins advises. "Bottom line," she adds, "if it's happened, you have to make it a good thing." Debbie Robbins doesn't use the V word. But her idea strikes me as a great way to get out of Victim mode and into Passion mode. We may feel like we're faking positivity the first time we say, "You know what? Losing that job was a real opportunity!" But the truth is, change is an opportunity to sink or swim. And once we decide how we intend to swim, the moment will feel real - and exciting. 3) Find Your Passion Robins prescribes this exercise to her clients: a) Imagine you had an endless supply of cash. You've taken care of yourself, your friends, family and community. But guess what? You still have a trillion dollars left - which you have to spend. "What you would love to do with that money that would make the world a better place and serve other people?" Robins asks. And then: b) "What would someone do in the world that is passionate about that?" and c) "What is a small easy next step toward that?" Now, ask friends and family "Do you have any thoughts about how I can do this?" "A lot of the answers like in remembering our human family," Robins says. "We forget that we're a tribe. And this is where our professional passion can boost our personal world as well, creating a career that is life, work and love combined. "The only way I know to do that is to discover what you really want to do and go for it. And those are the success stories at every tier of the economic ladder." Coming up next in "What is work?" Working with passion...and major life changes. More on Happiness
 
Inspector General Calls For 'Much More Transparency' On Olympics Bid Top
City Hall's top internal investigator today urged more openness and public hearings in Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. More on Olympics
 
Sarah Palin Battles The Internet (And The Rest Of Your Scritti Politti) Top
So, like a month ago, David Letterman told some jokes. Some not-that-great jokes! And one or two of them were directed at Sarah Palin and her family. And so, in keeping with the prophesy, she let slip the dogs of aerial wolf-hunty outrage, and then everyone, everywhere was warblogging about it. Me, I said, "Lo, but this is some stupid nonsense. Sarah Palin, really, like Alex Pareene once said, you got to let the stuff slide, sometimes ." It doesn't make mean jokes okay. It doesn't make wrong stuff right. It's just that sometimes, you have to appear to be above it all, untouched by the vulgar vagaries of late-night comedians and their captive audiences of claques. But the Sarah Palin fans, they could not be assuaged! And in many millions of emails, they asked me if I would "let the stuff slide" if it were directed at my kid. Many of them, budding late night comedians themselves, fell all over to come up with their own vulgar jibes, and I enjoyed them all. And the answer, my friends, is that I don't know what I'd do if I were insulted in the same way by David Letterman. But I do know that the nation is not potentially counting on me to remain calm and level-headed in the case of crisis. If I flip out, and choke some fool in the middle of the street, guess what? The Republic will survive. But Sarah Palin -- who wants to be president maybe? -- will face madmen and cryptofascists and evil mullahs if she's elected. And in addition to these madmen and cryptofascists and evil mullahs, she will also, as president, have to contend with people who aren't on K Street. So, my advice to Sarah Palin would be to do as the old ad copy said: Never let them see you sweat . Don't get involved in a land war with David Letterman. Let other people go crazyface on your behalf. Yet, this past week, some blogger no one had ever heard of did a photoshop putting the face of a talk show host no one had ever heard of on the body of Trig Palin . And now, all of these people that you had heretofore never heard of are famous, because Sarah Palin wouldn't let the stuff slide. Even dumber, she said that the Photoshopping was a "desecration," which means she believes Trig had been "divested of her sacred character." Now I think Trig Palin is an awesome kid, but COME ON. That's a really pretentious thing for a parent to say. Anyway, shortly after Sarah Palin went WARBONKERS on a blogger you never heard of, the entire internet responded in an even more vapid and juvenile fashion, and now there are stupid Photoshops everywhere, thanks to Sarah Palin, because that is what happens when you feed the beast with your stupid anger, instead of calmly letting some stuff slide and depriving the beast of oxygen. Yes, Sarah Palin has not learned and will probably never learn the important, presidential art of sometimes letting some stuff slide. And every other leader of the GOP knows this. And that is why when David Gregory or some such teevee talking-face asks any random GOP figure about whether or not Sarah Palin is a presidential contender or the "future of the Republican Party," they all -- EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM -- say something like, "Uhhh...yeah? Sarah Palin? Boy, yeah. She's just...great...we have so many great Republicans...uhhhh, yeah. Whole bunch of 'em. Say? Have you heard about Haley Barbour?" Not Afraid To be Oversharey : Man, I'm not sure how I feel about Ross Douthat writing an article entitled " The Way We Love Now. " But hey, Mickey Kaus has been blogging for ten years, now. And somebody out there said, "Hey, let's make an incomprehensible sequel to Transformers, with Egyptology, and robot boobs ." I guess we're living in a brave new era of terrifying possibilities. My Ongoing Series On Demystifying The Political Press : I want to just point out, in Ceci Connolly's defense, that the Washington Post has never made it a requirement that their reporters be smart enough to know the difference between the substance of an issue and the politics of an issue . Evidently, I mean. Straw Men Form Civil Liberties Group, Provide Obama With Political Cover : Via Spencer Ackerman , inquiring minds want to know: Who are these civil liberties groups who are said to have "encouraged" the Obama administration to enact a "prolonged detention system...through executive order." [Would you like to follow me on Twitter ? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here .] More on Barack Obama
 
Linda Basch: Advancing Women into Financial Leadership Boosts Bottom Line Top
Last week, we heard that Citigroup, like so many other financial companies in peril, is going to raise base salaries by as much as 50 percent in order to discourage the culture of excessive risk-taking in pursuit of big bonuses. Newsflash! Citigroup: there's a foolproof way to shift away from high-stakes gambling in the financial sector that makes perfect economic sense, namely: hire more women. In a report released last Wednesday entitled Women in Fund Management: A Road Map for Achieving Critical Mass - and Why it Matters , the National Council for Research on Women highlights the gender differences in investment approaches and makes a solid business case for diversifying the top echelons of the financial sector. According to recent research, women-owned funds on average outperform funds in general. Hedge Fund Research Inc. has just released data showing that women-owned funds delivered an annual return of 9.06 percent compared with 5.82 percent among all hedge funds from 2000 to date. Yet, despite these results, a scant 10 percent of all traditional mutual fund managers are women and in 2008, women managed a mere 3 percent of the approximately $1.9 trillion invested in hedge funds. So why the lack of confidence in women's performance? Debora Spar , President of Barnard College and a former Harvard Business School professor, hints at the answer: "Women make financial decisions differently than men do. They don't make them better; they don't make them worse. In the aggregate, they make less risky decisions." Indeed, numerous studies confirm Spar's assertion. The Center for Financial Research at the University of Cologne found that women managers tend to take less extreme risks and adopt more measured investment styles than their male peers. Women also tend to favor a more detailed, comprehensive approach, according to a study published in the International Journal of Bank Marketing . This same study found that men are more likely to simplify data and make decisions based on one overarching schema. Additionally, a 2008 study of male traders by researchers at the University of Cambridge suggests a direct link between increased testosterone and a willingness to take risks, particularly following a series of profitable trades. Maria Chrin, a founder and managing partner of Circle Financial Group , also argues that these differences should be seen, not as cause to rank one gender over the other, but as a clear indicator that we need men and women to balance each other out at the top levels of financial management. She explains: "What we have found is that the talent that women bring to the table is complimentary to a portfolio where there already are mangers who are willing to take on a lot of risk." Unfortunately, women drop out of the financial sector at every rung of the career ladder for a myriad of reasons. For starters, women have much less access to capital; only 4 percent of venture capital, for example, gets invested in women-owned businesses. Studies show that women aren't socialized to market themselves as aggressively, nor are they as integrated into financial networks as their male peers. But the problems begin much earlier. Girls, despite performing on par with boys on math and science tests, tend to avoid classes in these areas and still make up only 30 percent of MBA graduates. We need to look hard at how math and technology curricula are designed and how technology toys and video games are marketed so that they target and capture the interest of girls. Also, young people, as they say, cannot become what they cannot see. We must increase the visibility of female role models in the financial sector and highlight the practical applications of math and science for girls from an early age. Most importantly, it's time that the financial sector--at all levels, but especially at the top-- institute, what we at the National Council for Research on Women identify as the "critical mass principle." We are calling on the sector to convene a group of industry leaders--women and men alike--to determine what policies are needed for achieving significant numbers of diverse leaders. This picture needs to include measurable benchmarks and guidelines for holding companies accountable, and draw on lessons learned from other male-dominated fields--electoral politics, science, math and engineering--in which progress has been made selectively in diversifying the ranks. Making room for women at the table isn't only a nice or even ethical thing to do (although these are certainly part of it). Rather, it's a case of getting the best and the brightest, the most diverse and innovative minds out there to manage our financial system so that we can ensure a more secure and sustainable future for everyone. Jacki Zehner , lead sponsor of the report and a founding partner of Circle Financial Group, sums it up: "We need to imagine a world where women, and like-minded men, use their economic clout to drive needed change."
 
ZP Heller: U.S. Military Escalation Leads to Record Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan Top
According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and a newly released UN report , there were 800 civilian casualties between January and May 2009. Armed clashes between insurgents, the U.S. military, and the ISAF are up 24 percent this year, and have displaced tens of thousands more people. With over 1,000 recorded incidents of violence in May alone, Afghanistan is experiencing the worst security since the war began. And to make matters worse, the UN reported concluded, "The next period will likely experience an increase in the level of violence compared with the same period last year, including complex suicide attacks, intimidation and assassinations carried out by insurgents." That period, unfortunately, coincides with the Afghan presidential and provincial council elections slated for August. The deadly consequences of militarizing the political crisis in Afghanistan may seem logical, but they're no less disturbing as we see staggering numbers of civilian casualties from this war. Complicating matters is the fact that insurgents have been targeting NGOs and aid workers. In the past six months, there were over 60 security incidents involving NGOs, with many aid workers reported killed or kidnapped. Such violence undercuts the chances of already underfunded humanitarian efforts, and yet the Pentagon has responded with more troops and airstrikes, creating more violence, more casualties, more anti-American sentiment, and the need for even more aid. U.S. military leaders clearly view the precarious situation in Afghanistan in part as a PR war. That's why they were so quick to blame Taliban militants for the Farah province aistrikes that left up 140 civilians dead. But as Gareth Porter reported last week, the official military investigation of that disastrous attack revealed there were no Taliban fighters killed during second and third B-1 bombings, in which the majority of civilians died. So much for the military's human shield theory. We can't allow the Pentagon to continue blaming Taliban insurgents when it's obvious that these civilian deaths are primarily the result of current U.S. foreign policy. To help those Afghans whose lives have been shattered by US military operations, contribute to RAWA through the Afghan Women's Mission . And to help change foreign policy to incorporate a more humanitarian approach, sign up to become a Peacemaker . More on Barack Obama
 
Michelle Obama Wears Givenchy Belt, Tasseled Bracelet: Beltway Bombshell! (PHOTOS) Top
Michelle Obama was at the top of her fashion game on Monday, as she paid a visit to a visit to Unity Health Care's Upper Cardozo Center and later in the day appeared at an LGBT Pride Month event with President Obama. She belted a chic white jacket with a wide silver Givenchy belt, wore her hair tucked flirtatiously behind one ear, and sported a set of bracelets that include some tasseled dangling thing. See photos below. More on Michelle Obama Style
 
Chuck Todd Interviews Robert Gibbs On "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Health Care Reform, Stimulus (VIDEO) Top
NBC's Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd, filling for Chris Matthews as host of "Hardball" tonight, conducted a lengthy interview with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. Todd questioned Gibbs on whether the White House really thought that Congress could handle all the items on President Obama's agenda, including energy legislation, health care reform, and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT). Gibbs, coming off a pretty significant victory in getting climate change legislation through the House, sounded quite confident, even saying they could handle "financial regulatory reform" and place Sotomayor on the Court in good time: There's no doubt that it will be hard. The easiest thing for this town to do is the same old thing. I think we've proven, in a short period of time, we're not afraid to tackle a lot of big issues, and I think we've seen progress in Congress dealing with a lot on their plate. Todd brought up the stimulus package, calling it a "political football" for Republicans. He asked Gibbs point-blank when we should start to judge whether it's working or not. Gibbs replied," I think we should begin to judge it now." Todd then pressed Gibbs, asking to judge it on what, and if we should include recent job losses. Gibbs backed off a bit, and told Todd that we should take the "long view." Gibbs called the stimulus a two-year plan, "so it's not all gonna be fixed in 90 or a 100 days." At the end of the interview, Todd played a clip of Gibbs saying firmly that the Obama administration would end DADT, and then a clip from a month ago Gibbs appearing to soften its position by saying they want Congress to do it. Gibbs gave lackluster responses, especially when later asked why Obama doesn't stop the discharges of critical gay service members, like Arabic translators. However Gibbs did emphasize that when Obama faces re-election in 2012, DADT will have been repealed. Watch the interview below. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy More on Video
 
Gary Cohan: The Republican Summer Olympics of 2009 Top
Showcasing and broadcasting "traditional family values" has become a core public relations strategy of the Grand Old Party's "Contract with America." Republicans perpetually fight to post and preach the Old Testament's Ten Commandments in every public venue that the law allows. Ironically, their private embraces are often in complete contradistinction with their own oft-trumpeted, Biblically-mandated "moral" guidelines for the rest of us. Sure, the Democrats have former U.S. President, serial adulterer and cigar-wielding Lothario William Jefferson Clinton , former New Jersey Governor and once closeted "gay American" Jim McGreevey , former North Carolina U.S. Senator and adultering "maybe-baby Daddy" John Edwards and the ever-entertaining former straitlaced New York Governor and "hooker acolyte" Eliot Spitzer to keep the nation amused with their hetero- and homosexual peccadilloes. Yet none of these men so brazenly used the Bible as a political bludgeon to compete for their official roles. The Republican Party's sanctimonious" "Big Tent" of superstars in the fields of hypocrisy and immorality refuses to be outdone by the rank amateurs holding elected office in those sinful Blue States. In terms of public-private duplicity, the GOP enjoys an unparalleled record. So this summer, individual Republican elected officials have come together -- in the style of a traveling USO show -- to entertain a financially beleaguered and emotionally embattled nation. Although not officially sanctioned by the RNC, Republicans across the political spectrum have generously staged an off-year Summer Olympiad to demonstrate that their deepest and most personal visions for the "American Dream" are far more interesting than their "official" on-the-record moral-electoral preachings. The following is a summary of the competitive events included in the Republican Summer Olympics of 2009 -- with their stellar roster of political athletes in the fields of moral turpitude, hypocrisy, deceit and corruption -- and a list of the medalists to date: Synchronized Sinning : • Gold : South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford (Parsimonious and sanctimonious anti-abortion and anti-gay-marriage crusader and "principled" Federal stimulus bailout money rejector who apparently is tone-deaf to the suffering of his jobless and impoverished constituents; Sanford abruptly disappears from and abdicates the responsibilities of the S.C. Governor's office -- and from his wife Jenny and four young sons on Father's Day weekend -- to surreptitiously hook up with his hot Argentinean mistress -- Maria Belen Shapur -- on the taxpayer's dime; worse, he leaves word with his confused staffers that he was "hiking the Appalachian trail" when, in fact, the only "trail" he left was a string of embarrassingly romantic and sexually explicit emails that have dashed any hopes of running for the Presidency in 2012) • Silver : Nevada U.S. Senator John Ensign (born-again Christian, staunch monogamy advocate and most prominent member of the evangelical men's moral and sexual purity group -- the "Promise Keepers" -- who has famously castigated Democratic and Republican adulterers alike from his moral "high ground"; Ensign subsequently has an extramarital affair with a female staffer, doubles her salary, puts her son on the Republican National Senatorial Committee payroll and then charges the mistress' husband -- another Ensign staffer -- with extortion; a family affair indeed...) • Bronze : Louisiana U.S. Senator David Vitter (abstinence-only sex education advocate, "intelligent design"/creationism school curriculum promoter, anti-abortion crusader, anti-gay marriage activist and Constitutional "Marriage Protection Amendment" co-sponsor whose profligate prostitute and brothel patronage including adult diaper-wearing-during-sex -- while still married to his ever-loyal wife Wendy -- has motivated his well-informed electorate to keep him in office to this day.) • Coaches (and their areas of special expertise): • Arizona U.S. Senator and public relations magician John McCain (Bottom-of-his-class at the U.S. Naval Academy, serial Navy aircraft crasher (5 planes), "Maverick" Bush-hugger and perennially-defeated U.S. Presidential candidate; for cheating on his disfigured and crippled first wife after her horrific car accident despite the fact that she supported him and the whole family during his infamous 5 ½-year stay at the "Hanoi Hilton"; McCain starts to feel better after extensive physical rehabilitation and runs off and marries a hot, 26-year-old, wealthy beer heiress named Cindy and divorces the old, beat-up first ball and chain.) • Former House Speaker and moral charlatan Newt Gingrich (for personally delivering papers to surprise his cancer-stricken first wife with a divorce while she's in the hospital recovering from surgery for uterine cancer; Gingrich then fails to provide adequate child support payments for his two children for which his jilted wife and two kids have to rely on church handouts; Mrs. Newt #1 is forced to take him to court to care for his own spawn; Gingrich subsequently cheats on Mrs. Newt #2 with a woman 20 years his junior and marries the hapless young mistress to become the third victim in the tragic lineage of numbered Newt wives.) • Former Florida Congressman Mark Foley (for the artful irony of espousing as sacrosanct strong child protection laws from sexual predators whilst texting sexually explicit messages to underage male Congressional pages.) • Former Idaho U.S. Senator Larry Craig (for championing anti-gay "family values" and legislation while perfecting wide-stanced, toe-tapping routines in public restrooms to attract undercover male sex partners despite the repeated and continuing assertions by Craig that "I am not gay") Spiritual Advisor : Former Evangelical Leader and Mega-Pastor Ted Haggard (Ultra-pious, anti-gay, moral purity preacher on Sundays; pays to be being sodomized on weekdays for three years by a hunky male prostitute while Haggard is high on crystal methamphetamine; confesses to "sexual immorality" and -- after intensive "rehabilitation" -- now claims to be a "heterosexual with issues") Torture Triathlon (constructing illegal CIA prisons, condoning extraordinary rendition, engaging in disingenuous but repetitive denial): • Gold : Former Vice President Dick Cheney (diabolical scheming) • Silver : Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez (diabolical enabling) • Bronze : Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (diabolical acquiescence) Conservative Bloviator Pentathlon : (hate-mongering, fear-inciting, wedge-driving, patriotism-questioning and high-profile hypocrisy): • Gold (tie): Conservative Talk Radio Super-Bloviator and de facto Republican Party Messiah Rush Limbaugh (former high school footballer and Southeast Missouri State University dropout who subsequently lost his college deferment for the Vietnam War draft and then was quickly deemed "ineligible for military service" -- by his own private physician -- because of a "pilonidal cyst" on his rear end; Limbaugh's OxyContin-fueled rants and uproarious Michael J. Fox Parkinsonism symptom imitations along with his broadcasting of the chart-topping ditty " Barack the Magic Negro " have won him astronomically high ratings with rednecks, Church Ladies and people with IQ's in single digits) • Gold (tie): "Bomb-throwing" best-selling author, media mongrel, 9/11 widow-insulter, skeletal black cocktail dress-wearing and talk show circuit regular Ann Coulter (castigates Democrats who practice free speech and then hides behind the First Amendment for making vile and libelous statements about anyone who dares to voice a progressive or thoughtful opinion; supports government spying on Americans, torture as a "spectator sport," labels all terrorists as "Muslim," promotes the moral justification for the murder of abortion providers, blames "Gun-Free School Zone" laws as "the reason schools are consistently popular targets for mass murderers," unapologetically calls Bill Clinton a "rapist," Al Gore " a fag" and John Edwards "a faggot;" refers to Democrats as the "Spawn of Satan" and a "brain-damaged" voting bloc, espouses an environmental policy in which she interprets the Bible's teaching about man's respect for Mother Earth as to "be fruitful, multiply and rape the planet... it's yours," promotes an immigrant reform policy of "hire illegal immigrants to build the wall...it's cheap labor...and (then) throw out the illegals who are here;" and regards George W. Bush as "the man responsible for keeping Americans safe from another terrorist attack on American soil for nearly seven years and who now will go down in history as one of America's greatest presidents".) • Silver : Fox "News" political commentator and bellicose blowhard Bill O'Reilly (for creating an on-air atmosphere of hatred and intolerance that is widely believed to have contributed to the murder of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller and for providing a female Fox News producer a verbal "how-to" manual on phone sex topics such as vibrators, threesomes, masturbation, and Caribbean sexual fantasies, including the unexpected carnal pleasures of shower loofah mitts) • Bronze : Conservative political commentator, herbal/homeopathic medicine scholar and father to Rockstar Energy Drink's CEO Russell Weiner, Michael Alan Weiner aka "Michael Savage" (for his on-air and in-print "conservative" railings against autistic Americans, homosexuals, Islam, Roman Catholics, Mexican immigrants, feminists, sex education and the homeless have earned him broadcasting's "Anti-Mother Teresa Award" for spewing vitriol, intolerance and general nastiness; now officially banned from entering the United Kingdom for "fostering extremism and hatred") • Coach : Fox "News" commentator and radio personality Sean Hannity (fanatical George W. Bush apologist, ardent Iraq war-justification supporter, free-speech hypocrite, Constitutional Church-State separation denier, and self-proclaimed "Great American" who, despite his $20 million yearly contract, agrees with Phil Gramm's condescending comment on Americans' reaction to the faltering economy that we are a nation of "whiners;" "pals around" with his racist, Neo-Nazi "soul mate of hate" and extremist nutbag Hal Turner and provides Mr. Turner with free airtime -- and a "secret" call-in number to Hannity's show with his true identity thinly disguised as "Hal from North Bergen" -- to spew Third-Reich-inspired invective) Influence Fencing : • Gold : Former California Congressman and homophobic criminal Randy "Duke" Cunningham (for commenting on the routine medical rectal examination for prostate cancer as "just not natural, unless maybe you're Barney Frank;" for suggesting that the Democratic House leadership (and formerly, Vietnam War protesters) should be "lined up and shot;" for referring to gay soldiers as "homos" on the floor of the House of Representatives; for accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors who bought his home and his yacht and provided him with a Rolls Royce, Persian rugs, jewelry, antiques and prostitutes; convicted in 2006 of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion for which he is now serving a 100 month prison sentence) • Silver : Former Ohio Congressman and xenophobic "Freedom Fries" inventor Bob Ney (for using his Congressional influence as Chairman of the House Administration Committee -- colloquially known as "The Mayor of Capitol Hill" -- to grant political favors to the infamous Jack Abramoff lobbying team in exchange for gifts, including a free trip to the Super Bowl, Northern Marianas Islands, golfing in Scotland, the use of luxury boxes at sporting events, concerts and expensive meals; took multiple bribes as "campaign contributions" to support Indian gaming; sentenced to 30 months in prison and to 200 hours of community service) • Bronze : Former Alaska U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (developed a novel bartering system for home repairs and remodeling, trading influence in awarding oil-field service contracts in exchange for massive increases in personal home equity) Coaches : • Republican super-lobbyist and super-criminal Jack Abramoff: (central character in the greatest number of high-profile Republican political scandals than anyone in American political history; involved in defrauding multiple American Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars, corruption including bribery and influence-purchasing of more than 15 public officials; illegal international schemes involving the nations of Scotland, Russia, Malaysia, Sudan and the offshore U.S. Commonwealths of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands; widely regarded as the most successful and influential lobbyist to the Bush Administration; indicted or convicted of conspiracy, mail/wire/bank fraud, tax evasion and bribery; currently "naming names" and cooperating with over 100 FBI investigators in a plea deal which will keep him incarcerated at a Federal prison camp near FBI headquarters as inmate # 27593-112 until December 2011.) • Former Republican House Majority Leader Tom "The Hammer" Delay (Conservative "Christian values" arbiter, anti-environmentalist, Clinton-impeachment advocate/leader, Terry Schiavo feeding tube interloper, partisan Texas gerrymanderer, profligate acceptor of "gifts" from the aforementioned super-criminal lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the winner of the dubious distinction of being the first Congressional leader ever to be criminally indicted on felony charges -- on conspiracy, money laundering and conspiracy to violate election law) In the June 28, 2009 issue of the New York Times , Op-Ed columnist Charles M. Blow cogently outlined and graphed Republican/conservative double standards in a think piece entitled " The Prurient Trap ." He highlights "the appalling hypocrisy of ... social conservative(s) saying one thing while doing another." Mr. Blow aptly notes that Republican strategists and voters routinely use "sexual morality as a weapon and now it's shooting them in the foot." According to statistical analyses, social conservatives tend to buy more Internet porn, get divorced at higher rates and have the highest teenage birth rates. It will require highly-skilled political pole vaulting to break free of the giant pile of manure dumped on this great nation by the very people claiming the closest proximity to God. Thank the good (nondenominational) Lord that the majority of the American people were finally awakened in the 2008 elections to this dark legacy of vile criminal deceptions and cheating by "social conservatives." Now we can enjoy a real President (and not merely a Neocon-controlled, Manchurian-candidate frat boy) as our national torch-bearer with an athletic intellect, finely-honed political skills and a muscular mandate from the electorate to take America back from the illegitimate theocracy that we have become and to re-institute true Democratic principles as outlined in our Constitution. Let the heavy lifting begin. More on GOP
 
Meg Favreau: A letter from the cosmos regarding the death of Michael Jackson Top
Hello Americans! The spiritual center of the universe here. I'm just reaching out across countless galaxies, through burning stars and endlessly dark black holes, to tell you to STFU about Michael Jackson. Oh, don't make that face and proceed to perform a stiff-lipped, defiant "Thriller" dance in my direction (which, yes, is everywhere ). I'm not telling you to stop because I'm sick of hearing about MJ (although, yes, I am) -- it's for the safety of your eternal soul. See, it's a matter of universal balance. The Chinese refer to it as yin and yang. The idea also factors heavily into the Hindu concept of karma. How else to explain it...Paula Abdul needs Simon Cowell. And, yes, Simon needs Paula. Randy is just there to let people know that the show isn't racist. Anyhow. This balance. Normally, when someone who is close to you like your grandmother dies, you mourn their death by discussing your memories of that person extensively. This process will take several days. Right now, people are treating the death of Michael Jackson like everyone's grandmother died at once, and everyone's grandmother had a monster-based dance move and bunch of top-40 hits they could blast in every single public and non-public venue for 72 hours straight. All of this mourning of someone you didn't really know is throwing off the balance of your soul (or, as I like to call it, your "Personality Black Box" that I fish from the depths of your body when you die to figure out WTF went wrong). "Oh!" you might argue. "We're not crying. We're not upset. We're just remembering Michael." Here's a tip: when you remember, use your brain voice, not CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, ESPN, every major newspaper, every pre- and post-show soundtrack, all of the internet, and every magazine except the Dowsers Quarterly journal. No one wants to hear about your Michael Jackson memories, unless you're the Culkin child and can set a few rumors straight. If you danced to "Billie Jean" on your first date with your wife, if you first-learned what crotch grabbing was at a young age from watching a televised concert, welcome to the cross-section of humanity known as "pretty much everyone." Yeah, the guy wasn't old, and premature deaths are always sad. But nobody would argue that that man was in perfect mental or physical health. And, moreover, even though he was working on his comeback tour, I think we can all agree that Michael was not likely to ever make music better than his old stuff. A lot of you, if you look deep inside of your Personality Black Boxes, would probably realize that you didn't even like Michael Jackson as a person; you found him creepy, but you enjoyed his music. I'm not trying to be callus (although I can be: vengeful god, etc. etc.), but please, let's be reasonable: the coverage, both from the media and from your mouth-hole, is way overdone. Put away your MJ albums for a couple of weeks so when you listen to them again, you're not completely tired of the music. Anyway, that's all I've got for you today. Oh, and I know I haven't communicated with you in a while, so feel free to print this page out and tape it in the back of whatever holy book you prescribe to. Xo, SCotU (Spiritual Center of the Universe) More on Michael Jackson
 
Jamil Zaki: Courage contagion: Social influence in protests Top
The last two weeks in Iran have reminded us of many things we'd rather not remember about governments, and of at least one thing that we should remember about people: they can stand up for their beliefs even when doing so poses great risk. Amid threats from Ayatollah Khamenei that further protests would be met by "bloodshed and chaos," and jarring evidence of continued violence against peaceful protesters, Iranian citizens have expressed their resolve to keep demonstrating until the election is reconsidered. The bravery of protesters--from those in Iran to civil rights activists in the American South 50 years ago--is a major reason that violence and coercion so often fail to quell political movements. However, psychologically, protesters' behavior runs counter to several intuitions. Typically, learning that something is dangerous causes people to avoid that thing, especially when learning occurs through means as horrifying as the videoed deaths of protesters like Neda Sultan. The sheer size of many protests should compound people's reluctance to participate; it's unclear why anyone should risk harm simply to make the Iranian government contend with three million and one demonstrators instead of three million. Why would people overlook their personal safety and join a dangerous protest, even when their individual contribution to it will be inevitably small? One possibility that's often ignored is that courage may be contagious. Psychologists have long known that we are enormously influenced by the actions, beliefs, and attitudes of those around us. For the most part, the study of social influence has focused on negative versions of these effects, cataloguing myriad ways that the presence of other people renders us thoughtless and selfish. We tip less at large tables, fail to intervene when someone needs help but other bystanders do nothing, and spiral into debt trying to keep up with our neighbors' standards of living. However, social influence is not as one sided as its most prominent descriptions. More recent research has demonstrated at least two ways that other people can bolster our ability to face danger. First, others serve as powerful models of what we can expect from the environment, and ways that we can respond to it. The most well known example of this is vicarious fear conditioning. During normal fear conditioning, you see a neutral stimulus (a blue square, for example), and it is paired with something aversive, like an electric shock. Later, seeing the blue square alone is enough to become tense and anxious; you have learned to fear something perfectly innocuous by association. In vicarious conditioning, people learn fear through others: I watch you being shocked after seeing the blue square. Later, when I see that square, my brain and body react as though I had learned to fear it by being shocked myself. However, vicarious conditioning is critically different from regular conditioning; not only the fear-evoking object--but also your reaction to it--will shape my later emotional responses. If you fear something, I will also. If you do not, I may actually be buffered from feeling fear when I have to face it. This effect is called social referencing. Referencing is most often studied through children, who look to their parents to learn how to react to new experiences. This process is in action after a toddler falls--without injuring himself--and for a split second, looks his parent's expression for a cue as to what to do. Research has demonstrated that, in such situations, if parents look frightened, children are much more likely to start crying. If parents instead model positive behavior like smiling, children will follow suit, aborting their typical panicked reactions. Other animals show this effect also; a recent study showed that even ancient, inborn fears, such as rhesus monkeys' terror for snakes, can be reversed if monkeys see a courageous cage-mate playing with a rubber snake before being faced with one themselves. Such social referencing likely plays a role in inspiring people to conquer their fears through other's bravery. In a recent column , Roger Cohen quotes an email he received from an Iranian student: "I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to be killed. I'm listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow!" The student goes on to say that she wrote those lines "for the next generation," so they would know the character of those who came before them. However, her words and attitudes may have just as much impact on her own generation, the ones taking a deep breath and following her into an uncertain, but fiercely upheld struggle. The presence of other people not only reduces the anticipatory quakes of facing risk; it can also lessen the suffering we feel during hardships, if we have company. An enormous and underappreciated public health risk factor is social isolation. Lonely people suffer greater anxiety, stress, and heart disease than the non-lonely--an especially troubling idea given that more people live alone now than at any time in history. The other side to this is that the presence of people softens the blow of negative experience. People living in violent neighborhoods, for example, report less anxiety about the risks of living there as the cohesion of their community grows. Physical pain sensation is also reduced by the presence of close others, and in a recent brain imaging study, people demonstrated less neural response to pain when holding their romantic partner's hand than when alone. Others' courage can both inspire us to face risk and support us as we experience hardships. This feedback loop between the bravery of individuals in a group and their effect on others lends people the tenacity to continue through dark conditions like the one we have witnessed in Iran in the last weeks. While the outcomes of these protests are uncertain, the "courage in numbers" shown by the citizens of Iran has been extraordinary. At least some of this courage may stem from the positive side of social influence. More importantly, it is a central reason that, as President Obama reminded the Iranian government last week: "suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away." More on Iranian Election
 
Joshua Glazer: 90,000 Ravers With Very Few Clothes Break Attendance Record at Electric Daisy Carnival Top
This weekend, I missed Electric Daisy Carnival for the 10th year in a row. But while I've never been to EDC, I figured I'd been there . Yet as reports from this year's fest, allegedly the largest single festival day in America , start to filter in, I'm wondering if maybe I've missed out. Where else can you find 90,000 ravers and so little clothing (nsfw) . Of course, we all feel like we've been to that rave. Thanks to the '90s coverage from scene staples like (my now employer) URB Magazine , it was easy to envision the sort of colorful and druggy rituals taking place on a massive scale each weekend in Southern California. And it's not like my hometown of Detroit didn't have it's own scene. But we certainly had nothing like the tens-of-thousands kids who came together each weekend out west. So I traveled. I went to Winter Music Conference in Miami, the annual industry bacchanal that takes place in clubs across South Beach. I went to Love Parade in Berlin, where over 1 million people flood the streets and techno blasts from sparkling floats. I hit up Sonar--where an entirely more sophisticated form of "smart" electronic music is celebrated by large numbers of hard partying Europeans. But nothing I've seen quite relates to Electric Daisy Carnival--a heady mix of Cirque du Sole stage production, technicolor party people, DJs in t-shirts and lots of young adults from across the cultural spectrum having way too much fun. In a perfect world, Electric Daisy would represent the ideal model for future music festivals. It's is run by an independent promoter--Pasquale Rotella--who operates outside the giant corporations that control much of the American live music scene. It takes place in a much maligned older venue--the magnificent LA Sports Coliseum, which has endured controversy in recent years as its own USC football team threatens to relocate--rather than a newly minted (and pricey) McStadium. And It attracts a vastly diverse ethnic audience, despite the overwhelming whiteness of the performers--global mega-stars like Paul Van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold and The Crystal Method. What's most impressive is that an event like EDC can take place at all. It doesn't feel so long ago that "raves" were public enemy number one, with the R.A.V.E. Act (Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act) all but making large scale electronic music event illegal across the land. But as has been proven time and time again--whatever heats up the culture wars in one era will eventually cool down. I expect some authority backlash if these sorts of massive scale parties continue to grow un-abetted, but perhaps the American government finally has more important things to handle than Congressional acts of buzz killing. Another thing to consider is the tides of popular culture. If the early '00s made dance music passé with the return of rockers like The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs killing off dance music. But things happen in cycles, and there's no doubt that dance music (at least in Southern California) is back and bigger than ever. What's most impressive is that through all the ups and downs, Electric Daisy Carnival has weathered the hardest part, kicking off in 2001 (right when things began to decline) and sticking true with a faithful audience and growing into the largest festival around--regardless of the music direction. Kudos to them.
 
Chris Rodda: Camp David Chaplain: "First we get the military, then we get the nation" Top
Note: The White House has denied the report that Obama has chosen the chapel at Camp David as his church. This, however, does not change the the core issue raised in this post -- the problem of military chaplains and chaplain endorsed organizations that seek to use the U.S. military as the vehicle to transform the nation and the world for Christ, or the fact that Obama appears to be doing nothing to curtail this, so I am not changing anything in this post, written prior to the White House's denial. One thing we do here at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is to do a quick check on any military chaplain whose name shows up in the news for anything other than a routine reason. So, with the news this morning that President Obama had selected the chapel at Camp David as his church, we did our usual thing of checking to see if any big red flags popped up regarding the chapel's pastor, Lt. Carey Cash. Within minutes, we found Lt. Cash quoted as saying, "First we get the military, then we get the nation," a statement that, needless to say, we considered a big, giant red flag. Cash made this statement via video in 2005 to the congregation of Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The event was an Independence Day weekend service at which Campus Crusade for Christ's (CCC) Military Ministry Executive Director Bob Dees delivered the sermon, a sermon during which Dees made statements such as: "I'm here today to testify that we have found the weapons of mass destruction. It is Satan's artillery," and, "...the reality is, too many of our troops are prisoners of war still. Prisoners of war to the master of deceit, these troops do not yet know liberty in Jesus Christ." During the service, Lt. Cash came up on a video screen, reiterating Dees's CCC talking points, and making the statement, "First we get the military, then we get the nation," a statement that echoes CCC's mission: "Evangelize and Disciple All Enlisted Members of the US Military. Utilize Ministry at each basic training center and beyond. Transform our culture through the US Military." According to Dees: "We must pursue our particular means for transforming the nation -- through the military. And the military may well be the most influential way to affect that spiritual superstructure. Militaries exercise, generally speaking, the most intensive and purposeful indoctrination program of citizens..." According to CCC's Military Ministry, in a statement referring to their "gateway" strategy of preying on new recruits and cadets while they are worn down by the rigors of training: "Young recruits are under great pressure as they enter the military at their initial training gateways. The demands of drill instructors push recruits and new cadets to the edge. This is why they are most open to the 'good news.' We target specific locations, like Lackland AFB and Fort Jackson, where large numbers of military members transition early in their career. These sites are excellent locations to pursue our strategic goals." CCC's goal, which appears again and again in their literature and videos is to transform the U.S. military into "government paid missionaries for Christ," and, with the organization's already prodigious presence at our military's basic training installations, military service academies, and ROTC campuses, they are well on their way to achieving this goal. As commander in chief, President Obama, rather than giving his tacit endorsement to a chaplain who subscribes to the goals of CCC's Military Ministry by choosing to attend his services, should be ridding the military of such chaplains and organizations. For more on CCC's Military Ministry and the disturbing extent to which it has become ingrained in our military, see MRFF's reports from October 2007 and December 2007 . More on Barack Obama
 
EPA Reveals Dangerous Coal Ash Sites Top
The Environmental Protection Agency released on Monday afternoon a list of 44 "high hazard potential" coal ash sites that the federal government had previously insisted be kept secret . At a June 12 press conference, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said the Department of Homeland Security and the Army Corps of Engineers had placed a "huge muzzle" on her staff regarding the coal ash sites. A coalition of environmental groups, including Earthjustice and the Sierra Club, had pressed for the release of the information in a Freedom of Information Act request. Earthjustice praised the EPA in a press release for disclosing the sites. But Lisa Evans, an attorney with Earthjustice, isn't totally satisfied. "It is laudable for the EPA to respond to our FOIA," Evans told the Huffington Post. "But now that we can see the list, it raises questions. Like why some are not on the list." In addition to the 44 coal sites that have been designated "high hazard," there are hundreds more that could pose environmental and health risks. Evans noted that there are no Tennessee facilities on the list. Boxer called a recent massive coal ash spill from the Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee 100 times worse than the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. "There are no [Tennessee Valley Authority] facilities on the list," said Evans. "While I personally knew the TVA Kingston facility would not be there, I expected some of the other TVA sites to be included." The EPA said in a release that the agency will "require appropriate action" at any facility that is found to pose a risk. "The presence of liquid coal ash impoundments near our homes, schools and business could pose a serious risk to life and property in the event of an impoundment rupture" said EPA administrator Lisa Jackson in a statement. "By compiling a list of these facilities, EPA will be better able to identify and reduce potential risks by working with states and local emergency responders." According to the EPA's fact sheet , "A high hazard potential rating indicates that a failure will probably cause loss of human life. The rating is not an indication of the structural integrity of the unit or the possibility that a failure will occur in the future; it merely allows dam safety and other officials to determine where significant damage or loss of life may occur if there is a structural failure of the unit."
 
Michael Jackson's Best Animal Moments (SLIDESHOW) (POLL) Top
Michael Jackson was known around the world as an animal lover, and over the years on his Neverland Ranch he collected many interesting pets and exotic creatures. Vote on your favorite Michael Jackson animal moment in this poll. More on Michael Jackson
 
Riana Van Nieuwenhuizen Lives With Cheetahs, Lions And Tigers In South African Home (VIDEO) Top
The Daily Mail reports on the bizarre story of Riana Van Nieuwenhuizen, the South African woman who lives with 11 orphaned cats. However, these are not your typical house cats; they consist of four cheetahs, five lions and two tigers. The Daily Mail has some incredible photos as well as more details. Apparently the cats are just allowed to roam freely and have been integrated into the normal family life. However, this seems like a situation that could quickly spiral out of control if these cats suddenly remember that they're wild animals. Read more from the Daily Mail here . -OR- Watch a video report on the woman below. More on Video
 
Frida Berrigan: Coup! U.S. Military Support for Honduras Top
In the last ten years the United States has delivered $18.41 million in weapons and defense articles to Honduras through the foreign military sales program. Foreign Military Financing , a grant of U.S. funds to foreign militaries, totaled $7.37 million between 2003 and today to this nation of 7.7 million . International Military Education and Training funds in that same period came to $14.82 million. Within the context of the tens of billions in weapons deals the United States makes each year and the $4 billion plus doled out through FMF, these tens of millions in military aid and weapons sales over the last decade or so do not add up to a lot in terms of dollars. But for Honduras , the second poorest nation in very poor Central America, the aid and weapons sales have provided a significant boost to the very same military that stormed the presidential residence and put Manual Zelaya on a plane to Costa Rica in his PJs yesterday morning. And these contributions must be understood within the context of decades of U.S. military support for successive Honduran strongmen, and the United States' use of Honduran territory to wage the Contra War against the Nicaraguan Sandanistas through the 1980s. In recent years, robust U.S. military support has been replaced with much smaller allotments, but they still add up. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies , Honduras had a military budget of about $76 million in 2007. U.S. aid, training and support for the Honduran military and police and counter-narcotics assistance totaled more than $10 million, according to data collected by "Just the Facts."
 

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