Former Notre Dame football coach and current ESPN commentator Lou Holtz is considering a run for the US Congress in Central Florida. Holtz would run as a Republican against newly-elected Democrat Suzanne Kosmas. As the Orlando Sentinel reported, if Holtz runs, he would join an already-crowded GOP primary field that includes two state legislators and a Winter Park city commissioner. Still, even at the age of 72, the prospect of Holtz getting in has Republicans buzzing about his fundraising ability and aura of celebrity. Suzanne Kosmas replaced the corrupt Republican dolt Tom Fenney in the 2008 election and thus far, she has been an outstanding Representative for Central Florida. I have personally contacted her office 4 times, urging her to vote for important legislation related to healthcare reform and GLBT civil rights. Each time, she has responded in-favor of initiatives which are reversing the horrendous trend set by Fenney. While I am a fan of Holtz for his college football insight, I am NOT in-favor of having him elected to an office that requires a progressive and intelligent policymaker. Holtz has been a staunch Republican (even providing an hour-long pep talk to Republican politicians after their largescale defeats in 2007) and has also been in hot-water for recently labeling Adolf Hitler as a “great leader.” Now is not the time to elect conservative Republican celebrities to Congress. We need to continue forward-progress and thus far, Suzanne Kosmas has shown she is just the person to bring-forth the change we so desperately need.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Lou Holtz Considering Bid for Florida Congressional Seat
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Clueless GOP Leader Shows More Ignorance
Continuing to show just how out-of-touch he and the rest of the Republican Party are in the United States, GOP Chairman Michael Steele wasn’t even able to give CNN a clear answer on which company provides his health insurance. While Democrats are working hard to bring access to healthcare to a greater number of Americans, Republicans as always can’t see the big picture of how much taxpayer money we will end-up saving with a government-subsidized insurance plan. Below, watch as pathetic Michael Steele tries to remember his health insurance company…Laughably ridiculous…
Think Dems vs. the GOP is Bad?
So you think the fights and debates between Demorats and Republicans are bad? Check out this video from the 7/22 South Korean Parliament proceedings:
Friday, July 3, 2009
Senate Health Plan Could Save Taxpayers Billions
The government subsidized plan will be priced on a sliding scale, which will vary depending on the individual’s income. This plan has some amazingly positive implications. First, it will require Americans to take responsibility for their healthcare and make sure their health is a personal priority. Too many Americans don’t believe health insurance is an essential necessity which costs millions upon millions of dollars to our healthcare system when these individuals become sick and have to enter hospitals for care. Second, this plan will expand accessibility to the healthcare system, which will allow a greater number of people to access primary and preventative care, which will reduce the number of costly hospitalizations which are currently being subsidized by taxpayers through tax and charity write-offs. While tax dollars will be used to subsidize the government insurance plan, individuals who opt for it will have to pay for it out-of-pocket as well. In the long-term, the millions or perhaps billions of dollars saved by allowing greater access to primary and preventative care will offset the massive expenditures currently being allocated for healthcare for the uninsured.
While the details are still in-development, it is likely the government-subsidized plan will actually end-up being administered by a private insurance company. Currently, Medicare, the largest funding source for the United States healthcare system, contracts with multiple private companies like Blue Cross and Blue Shield to administer many aspects of their insurance plan. I applaud the Senate for working on this with President Obama and the Democratic leadership. As Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd said yesterday, it’s time to put the healthcare needs of individuals and families ahead of profits for health insurance companies which rates are too high for many to afford and which restrict care access to grow their bottom line.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
More Ridiculous Conservative Comments
As if the laughably absurd comments made by drug-addicted Rush Limbaugh weren’t bad enough (or how about the comments made by the Chair of the Republican Party Michael Steele that affording gay people equal rights would be just too expensive), the new conservative poster child Glenn Beck made a terribly offensive remark Wednesday on Faux News actually encouraging a terrorist attack to “wake up” Americans! Here’s the transcript:
“The only chance we have as a country right now is for Osama bin Laden to deploy and detonate a major weapon in the United States. Because it’s going to take a grass-roots, bottom-up pressure, because these politicians prize their office, prize the praise of the media and the Europeans. It’s an absurd situation again. Only Osama can execute an attack which will force Americans to demand that their government protect them effectively, consistently, and with as much violence as necessary.”
Absolutely disgusting.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Idiocy at Its Best
As if the Republican Party isn’t a laughing stock as is, their fearless new leader, Michael Steele, is really becoming quite an embarrassment. Steele, attemping to defend the anti-gay marriage equality sentiment of his party, said the following in a speech to Georgia’s Republican Party last week: “Now all of a sudden I’ve got someone who wasn’t a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for. So how do I pay for that? Who pays for that? You just cost me money.”’
Using Steele’s logic, I guess we can safely assume the Emancipation Proclamation was completely off-base because surely it has cost so much money! And ending racial segregation in the public school system was so expensive that I assume Steele would rather see this reversed? PATHETIC!!! Watching the train wreck that is the Republican Party continue to implode on nearly a daily basis is really entertaining…Kieth Olbermann agrees:
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Research/Polling Shows Changing Beliefs
There’s probably no better state in the nation to gauge the current barometer of social conservativism in a large populace than Texas. The state which brought us the worst president in the history of the United States is staunchly Republican and highly conservative in their political ideology and voting behaviors. This is exactly why recent polls, indicating an increasing acceptance towards equality for gays and lesbians is so important in a more national context. In 1985, Houstons business establishment and some of its leading politicians led a successful campaign to overturn its city ordinance that would have protected gay city employees from job discrimination. But now, 24 years later, according to the latest Houston Area Survey, fewer than half of Harris County residents believe homosexuality is morally wrong, 61% believe its an innate characteristic rather than a lifestyle choice, and 43% believe gay marriages should have the same legal status as heterosexual ones up from 32% just two years ago.
Rice University Sociologist Dr. Stephen Klineberg conducts the annual survey. These data show that beliefs about homosexuality and gay and lesbian civil rights issues are changing, even in areas where social conservativism has long had a stronghold. Social science and even nursing-related research has long indicated gay peoples’ “coming out” and being open and honest with their friends, family, and coworkers as a main reason most are changing their viewpoints. The research in my Doctoral Dissertation showed a strong correlation between heterosexuals’ personal relationships with openly gay or lesbian persons and decreased levels of homophobia. Perhaps summarized best by Houston gay rights activist Ray Hill, Its not about what they think about us, its about what we think about us. There is almost no reason in the world for anyone to be closeted any more. (Source: chron.com)
Monday, April 20, 2009
A Fantastic Walk Through Grey Gardens
Saturday saw the premiere of HBO Films Grey Gardens, which detailed the story of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ estranged aunts who turned their backs on being part of the socially elite to live a life in solitude and squalor in a decrepit and decaying mansion in East Hampton throughout most of the 20th Century. The film is a fantastic exemplary of just why HBO continues to show its dominance as the premier subscription cable channel and also highlights the amazing talents of its stars Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore.
Grey Gardens shows how a mother’s influence can have profound and lifelong effects on her daughter and just how powerful issues like self-esteem and self concept can create massive psychopathology among individuals who are intrinsically connected by a stringent codependency unlike any other. The movie intertwines the filming of a documentary about the pair (which really occurred in the early 1970’s) and what unfolds earlier in their lives which ultimately leads to a life that most would look upon in disdain. As I was watching Grey Gardens, I continually found myself in greater and greater disbelief. I judged these individuals’ lives in-terms of missed major life milestones and ultimately concluded their lives were perhaps vain and with very little importance and meaning.
But in the end, we are left knowing that despite the conclusions made about this mother and daughter, nothing is quite as it seems in-terms of their existence and undying love for each other. Each of these women lived for the other. While certainly mental illness and psychological disorders abound and become more obvious as the story unravels, some of the conclusions I made were completely debunked by the time the credits began to roll. Grey Gardens is beautifully photographed with painstaking attention to every minute detail of the estate both at its prime and its demise. And the score couldn’t have been more appropriate and well-orchestrated in the context of the story.
If you missed Grey Gardens, you missed quite an amazing movie that looked like it belonged on the big screen rather than the small. While the story at the root of the film proves shocking, at times frustrating, and even sometimes sad, in the end, it is amazingly moving and was put in the hands of some masterful actors and filmmakers who ensured the film could’ve easily played in megaplexes in wide-release rather than televisions and home-theater systems. Grey Gardens will repeat for the next several weeks on HBO. To check showtimes, visit http://www.hbo.com/films/greygardens/. A DVD release is also scheduled but dates have not been set just yet. This is a great movie and I would highly recommend seeing it so that when it takes home every golden statue from the Golden Globes and Emmys at the end of the year, you’ll be quite familiar with why it is earning its accolades.
The full trailer for Grey Gardens, from HBO Films:
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Keep it Up!!!
If you’ve not heard by now “teabagging protests” are being held across the nation by thousands of conservative idealists, angry because President Barack Obama is having to make very tough and expensive fiscal decisions necessary to end the economic disaster caused by George Bush and the Republicans from the previous administration. Calling Obama names like “fascist” and comparing him to Adolph Hitler, these individuals are showing not only their ignorance and stupidity, but also that they are members of an ever-dwindling minority. Obama’s approval ratings have remained quite high, averaging between 55%-59% since March. Senior Political Analyst David Gergen hits the nail on the head in this video clip. As far as I’m concerned…KEEP IT UP!!! As long as the “teabagging” events continue to show just how off-base these fringe conservatives, and largely, Republicans, are, we can all hope the populace will continue to laugh at their ridiculous sentiments.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
HBO Goes Behind the Scenes on Grey Gardens
HBO just released a behind-the-scenes snippet for their forthcoming motion picture Grey Gardens, depicting the story of Jackie O’s eccentric and mentally ill cousins who were once socialites but eventually lived a life of seclusion in a decaying mansion that was virtually uninhabitable. Scroll below for the complete trailer for the movie. Below is the behind-the-scenes snippet featuring interviews with the production team and stars Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. Grey Gardens premieres at 8:00 pm on Saturday April 18th on HBO.