Lewis Black Blasts Rush Limbaugh on Robin Williams Suicide Comments

Image from source RawStory

As I have stated on this blog in the past, Rush Limbaugh is a big, fat, disgusting pig. He proves it endlessly, and did it again this week when he blamed Robin Williams' suicide on liberals.  And as is typical for Limbaugh, when he got sufficient heat for it (even from some on his own side), he walked it back. Well, sort of. He--of course--did not apologize. He claimed the liberals (of course) took him out of context. They did not. He knows his listeners will believe anything he tells them, so he lied  to them. But I guess they deserve what they get.

Comedian Lewis Black, a friend of Williams', didn't take Limbaugh's comments well. Who could? So he gave Rush both barrels (or middle fingers, more aptly) in a Facebook message. And he couldn't be more on the money.

[Excerpt]

Lewis Black blasts Limbaugh: ‘F*CK YOU’ for making light of Robin Williams’ death
 
“F*CK YOU Rush Limbaugh,” Black wrote on his Facebook page. “Your statements were beyond cruel and stupid. They were intolerable. Enough is enough from you. You are an idiot. Don’t you ever demean the death of another human being. He was my friend. You disgust me.”

Read more at: Raw Story

Anti-Gay Bully Found Guilty of Major Counts

Tyler Clemeni, the student driven to suicide
by bullying. Source: Towleroad

The topic of suicide among gay youths is a troublesome and sad one. On one hand, publicizing a rash of such suicides makes people aware of the problem. On the other hand, suicides among young people can sometimes catch like wildfire. For whatever reason, the act seems to be contagious. So, making it too big an issue can make the problem worse.

The guilty verdicts in a case of a bully whose actions resulted in a suicide are nonetheless welcome, and a bit surprising. Critics will say that the verdicts punish thought, and that we can't know what the accused's motivations were. Guaranteed, there are people saying he was convicted of "thought crime," right now over at FreeRepublic.com. But these kinds of criminal activities often result in reduced charges, and in light punishment. The "Twinkie defense" in the case of Harvey Milk's assassin is but one of many examples of light treatment afforded to anti-gay criminals. So it is heartening to see when the system works.  Then again, we haven't seen the sentence yet, so I could be getting ahead of myself.

[Excerpt]

Dharun Ravi Found Guilty of Major Counts in Tyler Clementi Case


After 12 hours of deliberation, the jury in the Dharun Ravi case today returned a verdict, and Ravi has been found guilty on a number of major counts including bias intimidation and invasion of privacy that could land him in prison for 10 years. . . 


Read more at: Towleroad

"Christian" Newswire: Celebrities Responsible for Gay Suicide

Looks better with quotes around "Christian."

The word "Christian" is in the headline in quotes as snarky retribution for their use of "gay" in the same. In the case of the latter, the term for it is a scare quote, or possibly a futile protest that the dictionary definition of the word has more than one meaning. They do love their word definitions.

Anyway, I'm featuring the excerpted story below, only because I'm flabbergasted by its existence. It is about the suicide of a gay teenager, the latest in a string of them. Now, one could argue that publicizing particular suicides could cause the Werther effect, the very real syndrome of copycat suicides. But "Christian" Newswire doesn't go there. No, they believe that gay kids kill themselves because they haven't been made to feel bad enough.

These moral crusaders like to toss around words like perverse. But what is truly perverse is to blame gay teen suicides on people who try to make them feel better about themselves. Bill Keller, the subject of--and possibly the speaking-in-third-person author--of this piece has turned a real trick with this viewpoint. He also has absolutely, positively no idea what he's talking about.

Jamie Hubley killed himself because he was bullied
for being gay. It wasn't Anderson Cooper's,
Ellen DeGeneres' or Rachel Maddow's fault.

Keller says: "A 15-year-old has no real understanding of sexuality, and most are still trying to figure out life and how they fit in."  Ask any adult when they knew if they liked girls or boys. I'd wager the high ninety percentile would peg it earlier than 15.  Personally, I knew for sure at 14, and can recognize signs as far back as five years old.

Keller says: "The fact is, suicide is exponentially higher amongst those who choose the homosexual lifestyle, and while those in the media want to blame people like myself who take a Biblical stand on this issue, the fact is, they are the ones most responsible!"  Yeah, I'm not sure Keller knows what "exponentially" means, but it is true that suicides are higher among gay kids. But it is precisely because of the hellfire, brimstone and bullying. Not solely because they're gay, but because of the reaction to it. And don't get me started on "choose," and "lifestyle." This is another of the many areas where Keller is clueless.

"Over the past 20 years, Liveprayer has helped thousands of men and women make the choice to turn from the sin of homosexuality." Bullshit. Prove it. And exactly how many have you driven to suicide, jackass?

Ugh. As you can see this claptrap pisses me off. And it probably just makes people like Keller happy to get my goat. But people like my Mom like to shrug and say that "most" people don't have a problem with gay people. "Just ignore them," she would say. I'm sorry, I can't. I've got to call them out.

[Excerpt]


Cooper, Maddow, DeGeneres, The Media, Responsible for the Suicide of Hubley

Bill Keller, the world's leading Internet Evangelist and the founder of LivePrayer.com, with over 2.4 million subscribers worldwide reading the daily devotional he has written every morning for 12 years on the issues of the day from a Biblcial worldview, is calling out Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Ellen DeGeneres, the media, and gutless pastors for the suicide of a Canadian teen who claimed to be "gay. . ."

Read more (if you dare) at: "Christian" Newswire

News of the Weird: Man Decapitates Self

Maybe he really misunderstood the basics of auto-erotic asphyxiation?

[Excerpt]

Police: Man with cable about neck decapitates self


A Chicago man who quickly accelerated in a sport utility vehicle with a cable around his neck decapitated himself after a domestic dispute in Yorktown, authorities said Tuesday.

York-Poquoson Sheriff Danny Diggs said a deputy responding to a call of a domestic disturbance Tuesday was taking a statement from the man's ex-wife when another deputy driving by noticed an SUV pulling a utility trailer that was on fire. Authorities say the man started the fire. . .

Read more at: Sacramento Bee

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

The Sissy Boy Experiment from Anderson Cooper 360°

This is a really interesting and heartbreaking story about reparative therapy for gay children, and the tragic results it can have. Kudos to Anderson Cooper for exploring the subject matter, and for exposing the utter wrongness of the practice, as well as the hypocrisy of people like George Rekers.



Unfortunately, previous attempts to post all three segments to this post resulted in the SAME segment three times, no matter what I tried. I trust you can seek out parts 2 and 3 on CNN's site from this video.

Google Runs "It Gets Better" Ad for its Chrome Browser

Very nice, and kudos to Dan Savage for breaking into the mainstream with his important effort.

It Gets Better: Video Message from Joel Burns, Ft. Worth City Councilman

A message to gay teens, from an openly gay politician in Texas of all places. Must-see viewing.

Kung Fu Star David Carradine's Strange Death

Photo from source, Asylum

When I heard on the way to work the other day that David Carradine had died, I thought it was sad, but didn't give it much thought. Then, when I heard he'd committed suicide, I was a little stunned. I wondered, was he in bad health? It just didn't seem to make sense.

But the story took a strange turn, and it would seem--at least for now--that he died from "auto-erotic asphyxiation." The first time I heard the phrase, was in an episode of The X-Files, when a psychic character played by Peter Boyle predicted that David Duchovny's character Fox Mulder would meet his end that way. At the time, I thought it meant something slightly different, with me thinking that Mulder must be spectacularly endowed if he could choke himself with it. When I found out what it really meant, the scene was no less funny, but the mental image wasn't as impressive. And given Duchovny's much publicized sex addiction, it doesn't even seem unlikely.

Michael Hutchence, the lead singer of INXS is probably the most famous accident victim of the practice, but that one is somewhat in dispute. Some people think he really did try to kill himself, and that auto-erotic asphyxiation was a cover for it. Why that would seem better to anybody, I have no idea.

[Excerpt]

A Brief History of Erotic Asphyxiation

Initially, it was the sad death of a 72-year-old. Then it was a suicide. Then there was a rope found around his genitals. Now investigators are suggesting screen legend David Carradine accidentally killed himself during a practice known as erotic asphyxiation, or intentionally cutting off oxygen to the brain for sexual arousal. . .

Read more at: Asylum

More on the Wanda Sykes Faux Outrage

Image from CBCNews

I had another thought on the Wanda Sykes/Rush Limbaugh faux outrage story. While reading some of the ludicrous bloviating on some of the right-wing blogs, I ran across a common theme.

Some would comment that they knew somebody who experienced kidney failure, and how horrible it was of Sykes to invoke these painful realities. To these people--giving them the benefit of the doubt that their stories are true--I cast no dispersions aspersions about their personal stories. I find no humor in actual kidney failure. But their "pain" is felt by countless others for countless reasons.

If you know somebody who has been a victim of heart trouble, cancer, suicide--or hell even something less physically troubling like adultery--you've been in the exact situation. It will suddenly seem like every TV program has a story about it. Even comedy programs, or stand-up specials will suddenly feel like they apply to your situation. It just happens.

Now, Sykes was very likely not wishing an actual physical malady onto Limbaugh. She was completing a joke that was the counterpart to Limbaugh wishing for President Obama's agenda to fail. She needed something about Limbaugh to fail, and she picked "kidney failure" as her stinger. She could have picked anything.

I'm no comedy writer, but I'll take a stab at it:

"Rush Limbaugh wants Obama to fail? Well, I want his penis to fail! Wait, it already did! That's why he needed the Viagra!"

Now tell me honestly, do you really think that would have attracted any more or less faux outrage than Sykes' actual routine?

Financial Collapse Sparks Suicide

Image from Mace27

We're all familiar with tales of Wall Street brokers jumping to their deaths after the 1929 stock market crash. I don't know how numerous they really were, but there must've been enough to put that story into all of our heads. Now, the coming second Republican Great Depression (as radio talker Thom Hartmann puts it) has taken a casualty of the same sort.

It's possibly not the first, but it is the first I've seen reported. And it certainly sounds messy.

[Excerpt]

Fund Chief With Madoff Ties Said to Commit Suicide

Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, a founder of the hedge fund Access International Advisors, was found dead early Tuesday in his office in Manhattan, the French business daily La Tribune reported on its Web site, after losing as much as $1.4 billion that had been invested with Bernard L. Madoff, the money manager accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Mr. de la Villehuchet, 65, committed suicide, La Tribune said, citing a someone close to Mr. de la Villehuchet. . .

Read more at: CNBC

It's Official: Suicide

Photo from source, dcist

Did that freak you out for a second? I know, I didn't realize how deceased madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey kinda looked like Sarah Palin. Several months ago, Palfrey, who had been found guilty of prostitution, hanged herself in a shed in Florida.

Many--including me--didn't really buy the story. After all, she supposedly had a roster of many powerful and influential Washington, D.C. clients. Something about her death just seemed fishy.

According to this story, her death has officially been deemed a suicide. So much for my conspiracy theory. Now, will conservatives who are currently tinfoil-hatting about Barack Obama's birth certificate give up their fight? Doubtful.

[Excerpt]

Case Closed on D.C. Madam's Suicide

Looks like the story on the D.C. Madam has, finally, come to a close. The police in Tarpon Springs, Fla. are officially ending their investigation into Deborah Palfrey's death, confirming it was indeed suicide. . .

Read more at: dcist

Image from source, MSNBC

As noted previously, I'm entertaining friends and family from out of town, and have been unable to blog up until now. And right now, I may only have a moment. I'll just give a few quick news items I've been missing, with a brief editorial and some links.

Not much to say here, except. . .yikes.

[Excerpt]

Coach Killed in Beijing

Relative of U.S. coach killed in Beijing attack

A Chinese man stabbed the in-laws of the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball coach, killing one and injuring the other while they visited a Beijing tourist site near the main venue where Olympic competitions began Saturday, officials said.

The victims were Todd and Barbara Bachman, parents of former Olympian Elisabeth Bachman, who is married to men's volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon. Bachman's father was killed. . .

Read more (with video) at: MSNBC

Anthrax Case: FBI Stalked Ivans' Family?

Image from source, MSNBC

I haven't said anything about the 2001 anthrax attacks, and the recent "resolution" of the case. It's a story that leaves me kind of slack-jawed, sort of like that Deborah Jeanne Palfrey "DC Madam" case, only this one had more dire consequences. Yes, both supposed anthrax guy, Bruce Ivans, and Palfrey conveniently committed suicide ("suicided" if you prefer), only in the anthrax case, other people died. In both cases, my Spidey-sense was tingling.

The anthrax attacks were the terrorist attacks after 9/11 that conservatives conveniently forget. And they languished forgotten for many, many years. Then, it all got wrapped up in a nice tidy package, with a dead guy as the prime suspect. You'll get no argument from him.

But, of course many (myself prime among them) think there is much more to this story. It's all very convenient and fishy. Read on, and see what you think.

[Excerpt]

FBI said to have stalked Ivins' family
Son, daughter, bureau all decline to comment on agents' tactics

Before killing himself last week, Army scientist Bruce Ivins told friends that government agents had stalked him and his family for months, offered his son $2.5 million to rat him out and tried to turn his hospitalized daughter against him with photographs of dead anthrax victims. . .

Read more at: MSNBC

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link!

DC Madam: Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

Photo from source, Orlando Sentinel

I've already covered the "DC Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey's death, but there's one thing (OK, several things) that I really want to know. Where is her phone list? And what else might she have as evidence?

Many, many people (and not just liberals, not by a long shot) think that Palfrey was likely murdered for what she knew. And what we're waiting for is the evidence. This already sounds like a movie, and in movies the "suicided" victim always left behind evidence, right?

This is the part that makes me wonder:

[Excerpt]

D.C. madam's mystery death: The Orlando connection

On one trip down the stairs, she lugged a 2-foot-wide box she suggested carried materials related to her infamous court case.

"This is my evidence," she told Strizack before carrying it out the door.

Read more (with video) at: Orlando Sentinel

DC Madam Warned that She Would be "Suicided?"

Photo from source, Prison Planet

I told you this story made me reach for my tinfoil hat. Obviously, I'm not the only one. Check it out.

[Excerpt]

DC Madam Predicted She Would Be Suicided

DC Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey predicted she would be "suicided" on several occasions both recently and as far back as 17 years ago - comments that now appear ominous in light of the announcement that the former head of a Washington escort service allegedly killed herself today. . .

Read more at: Prison Planet

DC Madam Palfrey Commits Suicide

Photo from source, Raw Story

A couple of weeks ago, when it was reported that so-called "DC Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey was already found guilty at trial, I remarked, "Wow, that was fast. And nary a juicy name in sight. My tinfoil hat beckons with news like that!"

Well, the tinfoil hat is screaming for me now, Palfrey having apparently committed suicide today. And both people on the right and left are hatching theories.

For starters, the woman seemed tenacious, and willing to fight to the end. And secondly, as we all know, her phone number list supposedly held the names of prominent DC personalities, from members of the media to politicians. Talk about motive. And depending upon how powerful some of those on the list were, ample opportunity. It just smells fishy.

[Excerpt]

Reports: DC madam commits suicide in Florida home

Two weeks after being convicted on federal charges for running a prostitution ring, "DC Madam" Deborah Jean Palfrey has committed suicide at a Florida home, according to several news reports.

Police in Tarpon Springs, Florida say the body was found in a shed near Palfrey's mother's home Thursday morning. There was a suicide note, but police did not disclose its contents. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Shameless Gossip: Bush, Sex, and Suicide

Shameless Gossip is a Greenlee Gazette feature that departs from the usual straight-ahead news and commentary. Stories under this banner should be read with a great deal of skepticism. But you never know, they could turn out to be true. . .

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link to this site. I had not intended to run Shameless Gossip again so soon after the previous edition. This story is so lurid and interesting, however, that I just couldn't resist.

[Excerpt]

The Strange Death of the Woman Who Filed a Rape Lawsuit Against Bush

Early one Saturday afternoon in July 2003, I made a simple phone call to Margie Schoedinger, a Texas woman who filed a rape lawsuit against George W. Bush in December 2002. [snip]

"I am still trying to prosecute [the lawsuit]," said Schoedinger, a 38-year-old African-American woman who lived in the Houston suburb of Missouri City. "I want to get this matter settled and go on with my life." [snip]

Well, Schoedinger hasn't gone on with her life. In fact, three months after I spoke to her, she died in an apparent suicide. . .

Read on at: OpEd News

GOP Sex Scandal and MURDER?

I've already outright stolen a post from AmericaBlog.com recently (fully attributed, of course), so this time, only a short comment, and then the headline. I'll let you click over there to read the story. And believe me, you'll want to read the story.

First a comment. This constant GOP sex scandal carousel is in effect a catch-22 situation. The Republicans campaign strenuously on an anti-gay, "family values" platform. This causes people who share their ideology (particularly the 25% who seem hard-wired to be Republicans) to be outwardly straight. And by straight, I don't only mean heterosexual. I mean the mythical, idyllic morally straight.

Problem is, most people don't fit this strict definition. You raid anybody's closet, you're likely to come out with something that might need a little explanation. So these people with urges to cheat, to see hookers, to get kinky, to get it on with their own sex--these people have to suppress those urges wayyy down. Kinda like priests, need I go on? Yep, that naughtiness comes busting out in inappropriate ways. So the GOP is somewhat complicit in creating the kind of person that gets caught in a sex scandal. Isn't it ironic? Don'tcha think?

That said, this one went way over the line from inappropriate, to criminal. Allegedly.

READ: Another GOP gay scandal brews in murder-suicide case? at AmericaBlog.com

Chinese Toymaker Commits Suicide After Recalls

OK, first the Chinese government executes their equivalent to our FDA head, and now this. This sort of thing just doesn't happen here, when one of our bigwigs gets busted.

[Excerpt]

Owner of Chinese Toy Factory Commits Suicide

By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: August 14, 2007

SHANGHAI, Aug. 13 — The head of a Chinese company that was behind the recall this month of about a million Mattel toys committed suicide over the weekend, China’s state-controlled news media reported Monday.

Zhang Shuhong, a Hong Kong businessman and owner of Lee Der Industrial, a company that made toys for Mattel for 15 years, hanged himself in a company warehouse in Foshan, in southern China, The Southern Metropolis Daily said Monday.

Read more at: NYTimes.com