Adrian Campbell speaks out at rally

Here's a video of Adrian Campbell from Sicko speaking out on healthcare and the war at a rally in Michigan. She appears in the first minute.

Predator sex sting in Nassau County nabs 21 pervs.

I know I haven't been posting nearly as frequently as I was last month. I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo, which is a huge book, so that's probably why. Also, I might be going back to school in January to take a one-year program in paralegal studies. I really wanted to go to law school, but just the money that would be involved, as well as the time, it's just too big an undertaking for me to really consider right now. And I think this is a nice middle ground.

Anyway, I got this from Newsday. Nassau County had their own kind of a "To Catch a Predator" like sting operation, and they busted 21 people. Thankfully, Newsday spares us the sanctimonious crap of it being "entrapment", that it wasn't the pervert's fault, etc. We just get a solid news story about 21 sick people being brought to justice. Until next time..

Live Fast, Die Young, yada yada yada...

A recent research study shows that rock and pop stars are more than twice as likely to die quickly than the general population. Who knew?

Super Mario Frustration

Someone modded a version of Super Mario Brothers that just looks so freakin' frustrating. This series of videos with one guy playing it is pretty funny, it's worth watching through them.

Onward, Christian Soldiers

In yet another breach of the separation between church and state, the Pentagon has had Christian evangelical groups within its confines on multiple occasions. On at least one of those occasions, one of its leaders has been said to be passing around Christian literature to Pentagon personnel, as well as "saving" some of their "souls."

Also, "care packages" that were organized by another Christian group for transport to our troops in Iraq, and that included Christian-themed goods, as well as a copy of the video game "Left Behind" (based on the end-of-times themed Biblical apocalypse books) in which Christian soldiers must convert and hunt down non-Christians. Thankfully, this was made public in the nick of time, and the U.S. Army won't be sending these packages.

A few questions and thoughts about this Larry Craig scandal

I've been following this, and I have a mixed opinion about it. I'm really new in knowing about this communication system for men to signal that they want to have sex in a public place like a men's bathroom, so bear with me. I'm still perplexed as to what exactly Craig did that resulted in him getting arrested. To me, giving signals, knowingly or not, shouldn't be enough to warrant an arrest and sentence. But again, rumors have been circulating for years of Craig cruising for men, and he did plead guilty rather than fight the charge, so there might have been something to it.

However, I have a few questions and thoughts:

1) Why the outcry and ceaseless pressure from many in his own party for Larry Craig to step down and retire, when one of his colleagues, Sen. Vitter, didn't get the same treatment for a similar transgression? Although this wasn't a police matter, it came out that Vitter was having sex with prostitutes, according to the diary of some well-known madam in Washington. Vitter, like Craig, was also married. This didn't happen long ago, a few months, but while it was a scandal, it was nowhere on the scale of this, and not too many people on the GOP side of the aisle were pressuring Vitter to resign. It's probably because Vitter was a bit more, should we say, "traditional" in his methods of extramartial affairs. He didn't make the mistake of going on the wild side and cruise for men, unlike the unfortunate Larry Craig.

2) Also, this "sting" took place in a public bathroom, that happened to be in an airport in Minnesota. Now, in the wake of 9/11, the only business a police officer or any member of law enforcement has in a public bathroom located in an airport, is to do either #1 or #2. It's been almost six years, but as a result of the war on terror and the invasion of Iraq, and in a climate where we're hated by many, especially Muslims, our law enforcement must be vigilant and keep on the ball, and watch out for any who could do us harm. Catching gay men having sex in bathroom stalls should be pretty much at the bottom of their list of priorities. Who's in charge of the Minnesota Police Department, Ashcroft?

The country moves on, but not New Orleans

Another really good post from The Bru Notes, containing a variety of articles on the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, as well as some of the blogger's personal thoughts, which I share. It's monumentally staggering to compare and contrast our reactions as a nation to 9/11 and 8/29.

Also, there's a new television series coming up that takes place in New Orleans, and is also filmed on location. It's called "K-Ville." I saw the pilot episode yesterday, it's a pretty good buddy-cop action drama. Hopefully, amidst the gunfights and explosions, there'll also be room for some examination and social commentary of the post-Katrina recovery. I find it'll be a worthwhile program, only because it's being filmed in New Orleans, providing jobs and a much-needed boost to the economy there. Hopefully Fox will give it a real chance to succeed, rather than pull it too quickly, which is what they do with a lot of shows.

You can watch the pilot episode here.