Over Time with Bill Maher, October 17, 2014

Bill Maher and his guests – Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Barbara Lee, David Miliband, David Frum and Joel Stein – answer viewer questions.

Home Improvement: the Easiest, Cheapest Upgrade that You Never Get Around to (Shower Heads)

Ugh. . .we were taking showers through that!

Here at Chez Greenlee, we've put a lot of money and effort into upgrading the joint. Initially, it was due to a renewed pride of ownership after a seeming eternity upside-down. Back in the black, we thought we needed to freshen the place, and make it a more happy place. We finished some time in the spring.

Better!

But this fall, we made a decision that we're finally going to start planning for a future move. That move could be anywhere from months to years away, but we want to be ready. So, we started looking room-by-room, for things that need fixing. Outlets that don't work. Grout that needs cleaned and sealed. Paint that needs patching. Doorknobs that need replacing. A water softener so that all of our lovely sinks, faucets and appliances don't get crusty. And showerheads. Because they're already crusty.

Also better!

I've been meaning to replace them both for years, and especially meant to during our recent renovations. But we just--for some reason--never got around to it. Today, I went and bought a couple at Home Depot. I didn't want to go nuts, since we won't be in the house for all that much longer. So, we got one for the guest bath for $20, one for the master for $35. One's a Water Pik, the other a Delta. Both installed with little effort. If you can work a wrench, you've got it. It's the cheapest, easiest upgrade you can do, and almost everyone gets by with the crap ones the builder put in!

Here's the embarrassing part: those old crusties that you're used to? When you have guests, they see them. Up close, when they're showering. I know, because I've seen them at others' houses! Rusty, limey, yucky showerheads. I was once one of you! No more! And I tell ya, if and when we get a new house, if those ones are crusty too? Out they go, first couple of days.

 

The Gay Thing: Arizona Joins Marriage Equality States; Alaska Re-Joins

Well, well, well. As my favorite blogger Joe Jervis at Joe.My.God. is fond of saying, "Zoom, zoom." We've basically racked up 12 states in 12 days into the marriage equality camp. That puts us--unless my math is wrong--at 31 states plus Washington DC with same-sex marriage! 19 (plus Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, etc.) to go!

These two states are particularly shadenfreude-filled, because both states have had a lot of anti-gay animus from the GOP leadership. A hearty Nelson Muntz "Ha ha!" to anyone feeling even a modicum of discomfort over this subject. And perhaps, in addition to the futility of obstruction seen in Nevada and Idaho, this will illustrate to other states that are dragging their feet. It's quite simply a waste of money to try to delay any longer, particularly in any state where a Circuit Court has already ruled. Texas, Louisiana, Ohio. . .your circuits haven't ruled yet, so you have a (tiny) ledge to stand on here. But I wouldn't throw much of the budget at it, if I were you.

[Excerpt]

Supreme Court Allows Gay Marriage In Alaska

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed gay marriage in Alaska to go into effect, increasing the number of U.S. states that permit gay marriage to 31. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

[Excerpt]

Judge strikes down Arizona's ban on gay marriage

A federal judge has cleared the way for legally recognized gay marriages in Arizona by ruling that the state's ban on same-sex unions is unconstitutional. The ruling Friday by U.S. District Judge John Sedwick bars state officials from enforcing a 1996 state law and a 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment that outlawed gay marriage. . .

Read more at: MSN/AP

Ebola (A Rocky Mountain Mike Song Parody)

It was so obvious, I can't believe I didn't think of it: a song parody about Ebola, set to The Kinks' Lola. Enjoy!

And get more Rocky Mountain Mike here.

 

Right Wing World: Outrage Over Houston Sermon Subpoenas

It's always something in Right Wing World, some outrage--usually outrageously overblown--to obsess about. It will usually erupt into the mainstream, first as a "what's got their knickers in a twist?-type story, then it either gets treated like a real story, or is tsk-tsked away as a nothingburger. I only wish the latter was how it always went.

This time, it has to do with a lawsuit--filed by the religious side--that has resulted in the subpoenas of church sermons. Why? Because discovery goes both ways in a lawsuit, and because tax exempt churches should not be overtly involved in politics. Simple, right?

No, it would apparently be the worst thing that has ever happened to freedom in America. Even though churches have pretty much been begging for this for years. And waiting

The Usual Suspects, from TowleRoad

for it, so they could do the present freak-out. And it doesn't hurt that the case is LGBT-related either.

Don't buy it. In fact, don't ever buy it without looking into what the current outrage is about.

[Excerpt]

RIGHT-WING FREAKS OUT OVER HOUSTON'S SUBPOENA OF PASTORS' ROLE IN CITY'S EQUAL RIGHTS ORDINANCE CASE

Back in August we reported that anti-gay activists in Houston had failed in their efforts to collect enough signatures for a ballot measure that would place Houston's LGBT-inclusive Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) up for a public referendum. The activists (which included local pastors) proceeded to sue the city over the rejection of signatures and a court date was set for January 2015. . .

Read more at: TowleRoad (and yes, I chose a gay news site on purpose)

That Bizarre Florida Governor's Debate

Our first contestant, a former Florida Governor Charlie Crist. Crist, more convincingly tanned than John Boehner, changed parties since the last time, and acquired a wife, though that hasn't put a stop to the rumors about his sexuality. Our next contestant, is the impossibly creepy, oily, borderline-scary Rick Scott, he of the massive payout for Medicaid fraud.

For the life of me, I can't understand how Scott was ever elected in the first place, as he really does look like a Hollywood special effect. But he did, and now he's trying to get reelected. He might win again too, because--you know--Florida. But I'm hoping for Charlie, if only by process of elimination. Either way, nobody could have expected how their debate would go down.

[Excerpt]

Rick Scott Almost Refused To Debate Charlie Crist Over Fan



Florida's second gubernatorial debate got off to a bizarre start Wednesday evening when incumbent Gov. Rick Scott (R) initially refused to debate his opponent because he had a fan under his lectern. Democratic candidate Charlie Crist, the former Florida governor hoping to unseat Scott in next month's election, had a small electric fan placed under his lectern. This, Scott's campaign claimed, violated the debate's "no electronics" rule. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Rude Pundit: On Cowardly Democrats

Lee Papa, The Rude Pundit

I wrote recently on the Democrats' maddening tendency toward cowardice, particularly during campaigns. Instead of touting the strengths of say, ObamaCare, they instead pretend they have never heard of it. That kind of thing. But, as usual, somebody done it better already: The Rude Pundit. As usual, it's more than worth a read.

[Excerpt]

Democrats Once Again Put on Their Coward Pants (With Exceptions)

Look, you can cavil all you want about Kentucky Democratic Senate nominee Alison Lundergan Grimes's refusal to answer whether or not she voted for Barack Obama. You can sit there all self-satisfied and pat yourself on the fuckin' back that you support the sanctity of the secret ballot and that, really, it's not all that important that she answer. You can pretend all you want that Grimes is correct to stand on principle or that, if she said that she voted for Obama, it would be used in attack ads endlessly by that unrepentant, smug cuntface, Mitch McConnell. You know that it's far, far more important that McConnell refuses to say if he thinks climate change is human-caused or that Kynect, Kentucky's Obamacare exchange, would be harmed if you got rid of Obamacare, something the governor of Kentucky ripped McConnell for. That's shit that affects the daily lives of Kentuckians, not what Grimes did in a voting booth. . .

Read more at: Rude Pundit

Joe Biden Disses the Tea Party.

Image from source, Mediaite

Way to go, Joe! Sometimes, the man can be inelegant, but he is often right, whether he hits the right notes or not. Here, on this topic, there is no need for delicate phrasing.

[Excerpt]

Biden Reportedly Calls Tea Party ‘Crazy’: ‘They Have No Judgment’

Vice President Joe Biden met in private with black clergy members in South Carolina today, and according to one report, Biden told them that the tea party is “crazy” and very much unlike previous incarnations of the Republican Party. . .

Read more at: Mediaite

US Facing Ebola with No Surgeon General

Why don't we have a Surgeon General to shepherd us through a medical crisis like Ebola? Three guesses. . .

Mitch McConnell: Kill ObamaCare! Keep Kentucky's Part of it! (WTF?)

Mitch McConnell is talking out his ass again, this time at his debate with Alison Lundergan Grimes. Yes, Yertle seems to think we should eliminate every "root and branch" of the Affordable Care Act, and yet leave Kentucky's Kynect (or just its web site?) intact. The problem, of course, is that Kynect is ObamaCare, it's what it was always supposed to be, one of 50 state-run exchanges. And it worked! And it's popular! So, it puts Mitch in this trick bag.

If Grimes is smart, she'll play this up big time: "Kentuckians, Mitch McConnell thinks you're stupid. He thinks you're so stupid, that you don't know that Kynect is part of the Affordable Care Act. He's hoping you're so stupid, that you'll vote for him, and let him take away your insurance."

I'm not particularly a fan of Grimes. I think she's a calculating, politics first, talking points-based candidate. I think she's hoping that Kentuckians are stupid enough to think she's anti-Obama, because they are stupid enough to vote against her for being an Obama supporter. I think there are better ways to play this, than posturing and fake-outs. But very nearly anyone would be better than Mitch McConnell. The fact that this is even close tells you that the "Kentuckians are stupid" gambit could very well work for either side.

[Excerpt]

McConnell Wants To Keep Obamacare 'Website' But Repeal Obamacare

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on Monday night he wants to repeal Obamacare "root and branch" but keep the law's state-based insurance exchange in Kentucky, called Kynect. "I think it's fine to have a website. Yeah," he said during the first and only scheduled Kentucky Senate debate with Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, pressed on whether he wants to keep Kynect. . .

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

The Gay Thing: New Marriage Equality Landscape

I was on vacation all last week, so I wasn't able to comment on the stunning* developments in the marriage equality movement over the past stretch of days. In the past week, we've gone from 19 states and Washington, DC, to DC plus thirty. And the number will likely grow to 35, given the fact that there are a few holdouts in those states already covered by a Circuit Court decision. That's nearly double, in what will amount to a few weeks.

Image from Wikipedia. Dark blue represents those states
with full marriage equality. For the full key, see: Wikipedia.

Ironically, the marriage equality movement would likely not be where it is without the anti-gay movement. When marriage equality seemed to be on the horizon in Hawaii back in the 1990s, a tsunami of pre-emptive anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendments hit the whole country. Caught by surprise, the notoriously nebulous gay rights movement (gay agenda my butt) had no working strategy. While we had all of the good, legally sound arguments, they just weren't at the forefront, and attitudes were still much less supportive at the time. Add to that, the fact that only abortion and gun legislation draws arch conservatives to the polls more reliably, and you really had a perfect storm.

But, as I said, opinions were slowly shifting, and those good arguments started to stick their landings. Except for some blatantly anti-gay judges (looking at you Tennessee and Arkansas), there was simply no way for the judiciary to decide any other way: same-sex couples should have the same rights, responsibilities and benefits that opposite sex couples receive. Calls to tradition, religion and "nature" simply aren't effective in a court of law. Thankfully.

Now, interestingly, my marriage is suddenly effective in my state of residence (though the nutbars at the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage are still trying to intervene). My husband's home state recognizes us too. In three of the four states we just visited (Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania), we were also legal. But, unfortunately, in my home state--a state we may move to in the months or years to come--we are not recognized. Our marriage winks off when we cross the border into Ohio.

Ohio (and Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee and the rest of 'em) should be embarrassed. So should those who are still fighting in states covered by the cases the Supreme Court chose not to review. You're being a roadblock just to be a pain at this point. You're dragging your feet for the sake of delay. Knock it off. These are real peoples' lives.

*It should be noted that the Supreme Court's decision to do nothing with all of the cases before them on this topic really was stunning. I don't think I have seen a single pundit, blogger or even commenter who seriously considered the possibility. Most thought they'd take up one or all of the cases, and I think most gave us fairly decent odds of winning. 5-4 or 6-3 were both speculated, with a fear that it might go 4-5, with us losing. There was a smaller group of people who thought they might just sit on all the cases indefinitely, putting them into legal limbo. But I don't recall "refusing to hear the cases" as anything other than a bullet-point nobody thought would really happen.

Back from Vacation, Blogging Resumes Monday Night!

Why not return tonight if I'm back? Well, the picture might be an indication. While it's great that the time zone difference from Eastern to Pacific gives us a little buffer when we return from a trip, it adds three hours to our day. And that's on a travel day where you're usually up early to begin with. Tired. Very tired. Even though it's still early.

So, since this here thingy is a hobby and not a job, I'm calling it a vacation day, and pushing my "return" to Monday. And that is assuming that my return to work doesn't wipe me out!

Off to bed!

Back to Ohio: Greenlee Gazette on Vacation

Sadly, I will not be having this sort of vacation.

Greenlee Gazette is going on hiatus until the middle of October. Vacation does not officially start for another day, but there is too much to do, and too much going on to contribute more tonight. This will be the longest break I've taken in the seven-plus years history of the blog. The reason for this is simple: this is a hobbyist blog, and it's a lot of work for no pay. Though I still enjoy doing it, and plan to keep going with it, I no longer feel the obligation to post multiple posts every day. I've already dialed back my weekends--as most other blogs do--and now have decided that this vacation is a vacation.

That doesn't mean that I won't pop something up if I have the time and interest, or if some huge event happens. But most likely, you're going to see a static page here over the next two weeks. Don't get any ideas if you're an internet-savvy thief: we have a house sitter! But I'm going to let him watch the house (and the cat), and I'm going to let the blog go mostly idle for the duration. I will alert my good friend Reverend Stu', and see if he's so inclined to contribute while I'm away. If he is, you're in for a treat. But if he doesn't, just tune in on the back half of October. I'll be back!

In the mean time, I will be visiting family, driving across at least three states while the leaves change, and maybe even scouting for a new home base, for an eventual change of venue.

Thanks folks. See you when frost is on the pumpkin.

Ebola Comes to the US

Captain Trips is a bitch.

Oh, here we go. As a voracious reader of Robin Cook and Stephen King over the years, this is just the scary thing that resonates with me. I'm heartened that it's difficult to catch Ebola, and that its gestation is so fast that people don't go around as carriers for extended periods. That should keep it from becoming an epidemic here. But yikes, let's hope this is one time that truth is stranger than truth. Meanwhile, we can delight in how FOX News and Right Wing world will turn this into: a) President Obama's fault, and b) somehow a distraction from and related to Benghazi.

[Excerpt]

First U.S. case of Ebola diagnosed in Texas after man who came from Liberia falls ill

A man who flew from Liberia to Dallas this month was diagnosed with Ebola on Tuesday, becoming the first person to board a passenger jet and unknowingly bring the disease here from West Africa, where it has killed thousands of people in recent months. . .

Read more at: Washington Post

Right Wing World: "Republicans Are. . ."

The GOP's new "Republicans are. . ." campaign to cast Republicans as everyday people (in other words, not crazy nutbar teabaggers) has rightfully been met with a bit of snark and incredulity. Even better, it turns out they have resorted to using stock photos for their allegedly "real" Republicans. Which is hilarious. Have they learned nothing from the many errors made by the National Organization for Marriage, in their marketing?

[Excerpt]

The GOP’s New #IAmARepublican Campaign is Completely Backfiring on Them in Hilarious Ways

Stock photo lady might not actually be a Republican, though she
does appear to be white. Image from source, Crooks and Liars.

You know, we spend a lot of time ragging on Republicans, but a new ad produced by former Romney Strategist Vinny Minchillo wants us to consider that they are people, too — as opposed to satellite dishes or aardvarks. . .

Read more at: Crooks and Liars

Secret Service isn't Servicing Very Well

Image from source, AOL

What in the world is up with the Secret Service? After a string of embarrassing lapses, including a prostitution scandal (!), it has just come to light that a) the guy who scaled the fence and got into the White House several days ago got deeply into the building, right past the entrance to the President's residential quarters; and b) a sniper shot seven shots into the southern façade of the building, that were not discovered for several days.

The Secret Service used to be a vaunted organization, almost on a James Bond kind of level. People may have been deterred, just from the reputation the organization held, as all-seeing, all-knowing. That's now blown all to hell, isn't it? Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down may not be so far-fetched after all, right? Okay, maybe not, but with these guys, who knows?

I haven't checked, but I wonder if Right Wing World is blaming this on President Obama himself. I mean of course they are, but I suspect it's something along the lines of, the Secret Service has no respect for Obama, and refuse to even give the appearance of protecting him. Am I right? Dan?

[Excerpt]

Reports: White House intruder made it far past the front door

The intruder who climbed a fence made it farther inside the White House than the Secret Service has publicly acknowledged, the Washington Post and New York Times newspapers reported Monday. The disclosures came on the eve of a congressional oversight hearing with the director of the embattled agency assigned to protect the president's life. . .

Read more at: AOL

Over Time with Bill Maher, September 25, 2014

Blast from the Past: The Best of Cyndi Lauper

I say this with sadness: though Cyndi Lauper is an outrageously talented woman, and people still know who she is, her music is tragically stalled in the 80s. I don't know why this is. I don't know if she has a bad agent. Maybe she ticked someone in the industry off? She should by all rights have had two or three "comebacks" by now, and be sharing the "diva" status of Cher or Tina Turner. Maybe she'll surprise us yet. In the mean time, here are some of the hits (and other songs) that make Cyndi one of my favorite artists.

And that rerun, folks, is the best I'm gonna get up this week! Busy doings at the Greenlee Gazette household. Happy Monday anyway!

Daily Show Responds to Faux Outrage "Latte Salute"

Image from source, Daily Kos

The phony controversy about President Obama saluting with a cup in his hand was made more ridiculous by the fact that it--as a "news" story--overtook far more important actual news stories, particularly on FOX "News." And I've got to say, Sean Hannity and (shudder) Karl Rove yukking it up over it, pretty much proves that it wasn't a serious story. It was just another chance to take a shot at the prez, and do so by not-so-subtly calling him "uppity." Jon Stewart skewered the whole "controversy" on Thursdays Daily Show.

[Excerpt]

Jon Stewart to Eric Bolling: 'F*** you and all your false patriotism.'

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

OK, last night's show was so incredible, I had to do a transcript. Jon Stewart blasted the Fox News crew for attacking Obama over his "latte salute", calling them out for their utter hypocrisy. Make this video go viral. Share it on social media. That right-wing acquaintance you know who ranted about it on Facebook? Post this video on their Wall for EVERY one of their friends to see. . .

Read more at: Daily Kos

Seen at the "Values Voters Summit"

This was spotted at the oh-so-moral-and-Christian "Values Voters Summit." Why these extremists attract any mainstream Republican speakers and support is a mystery. If I were a career politician, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near them. But I can nearly guarantee you that nobody there will denounce this sort of thing, even though it was clearly created by a lunatic.

 



Found at: JoeMyGod