Westwood College

My latest commercial:

Bill Maher on Stewart's Rally

Rachel Maddow: MSNBC is not the liberal version of FOXNews

There's a general malaise and false equivalency out there, where people assume that MSNBC is simply the "liberal version" of FOXNews. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's that blurring of the lines that poses the real danger in today's political discourse. Yes, there's a lot of noise out there being pumped through our TV cables, but people have an obligation to stay informed, search for the truth and not get lazy. FOXNews has managed to market and sell fear to the masses - and simultaneously persuading untold millions to vote against their own interests.

Jon Stewart's "Rally To Restore Sanity"

Amen.

Abortion Protesters Get What They Deserve

Shit Happens - Deal With It !

Chilean Miners Are Being Rescued As I Type !!

Nothing to say - too excited and emotional. Family members are greeting their loved ones as they exit the tiny shaft... unbelievable. This is great news. :)

The Tragedy of Today's Republican Party

Here are just a few examples of the kind of radical views that are perfectly at home in today’s Republican Party:

Eliminating Medicare” Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, proposed phasing-out Medicare by replacing the entire Medicare program with a privatized voucher system and then having that voucher gradually decrease in value over time. Yet Republicans have kept Ryan as their chief budget policymaker in the House, and Cantor even co-authored a book touting himself and Ryan as the party’s new “Young Guns.” Some Republican candidates have even claimed that Medicare is unconstitutional.
Privatizing Social Security: Countless GOP lawmakers and candidates — including Republican budget chief Ryan — want to privatize Social Security, even though privatization imposes significant new risks on seniors, creates new administrative costs, forces benefit reductions, and costs more money than the present system. Some of these candidates also believe that Social Security is unconstitutional.
Tearing Up The Constitution: Beyond the fringe claims that Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional, leading GOPers have embraced repealing the Constitution’s grant of citizenship to all children born in the United States, repealing the constitutional right to elect your own senators, and one leading GOP Senate candidate claimed that it is unconstitutional for the United States to belong to the United Nations.
Former Witches Against Masturbation: The National Republican Senatorial Committee even cut a $42,000 check to Delaware GOP Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell, an anti-masturbation activist who “dabbled into witchcraft” and who wants to stop the “whole country from having sex.”
Lest there be any confusion about what positions GOP candidates are allowed to embrace, ThinkProgress is happy to provide this handy chart explaining which stances the GOP does and does not view as too extreme:

Christine O'Donnell - Cuckoo For Cocoa Puffs

WASHINGTON — Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware said in a 2006 debate that China was plotting to take over America and claimed to have classified information about the country that she couldn't divulge.

O'Donnell's comments came as she and two other Republican candidates debated U.S. policy on China during Delaware's 2006 Senate primary, which O'Donnell ultimately lost.

She said China had a "carefully thought out and strategic plan to take over America" and accused one opponent of appeasement for suggesting that the two countries were economically dependent and should find a way to be allies.

"That doesn't work," she said. "There's much I want to say. I wish I wasn't privy to some of the classified information that I am privy to."

"A country that forces women to have abortions and mandates that you can only have one child and will not allow you the freedom to read the Bible, you think they can be our friend?" she asked. "We have to look at our history and realize that if they pretend to be our friend it's because they've got something up their sleeve."

O'Donnell's campaign didn't immediately respond to questions about the comments.

A Glimpse of America With The Tea Party In Control

As ThinkProgress has noted, there are currently two competing visions of governance in the United States. One, the conservative vision, believes in the on-your-own society, and informs a policy agenda that primarily serves the well off and privileged sectors of the country. The other vision, the progressive one, believes in an American Dream that works for all people, regardless of their racial, religious, or economic background.

The conservative vision was on full display last week in Obion County, Tennessee. In this rural section of Tennessee, Gene Cranick’s home caught on fire. As the Cranicks fled their home, their neighbors alerted the county’s firefighters, who soon arrived at the scene. Yet when the firefighters arrived, they refused to put out the fire, saying that the family failed to pay the annual subscription fee to the fire department. Because the county’s fire services for rural residences is based on household subscription fees, the firefighters, fully equipped to help the Cranicks, stood by and watched as the home burned to the ground:

Imagine your home catches fire but the local fire department won’t respond, then watches it burn. That’s exactly what happened to a local family tonight. A local neighborhood is furious after firefighters watched as an Obion County, Tennessee, home burned to the ground.

The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered to pay whatever it would take for firefighters to put out the flames, but was told it was too late. They wouldn’t do anything to stop his house from burning. Each year, Obion County residents must pay $75 if they want fire protection from the city of South Fulton. But the Cranicks did not pay. The mayor said if homeowners don’t pay, they’re out of luck. [...]

We asked the mayor of South Fulton if the chief could have made an exception. “Anybody that’s not in the city of South Fulton, it’s a service we offer, either they accept it or they don’t,” Mayor David Crocker said.

The fire reportedly continued for hours “because garden hoses just wouldn’t put it out. It wasn’t until that fire spread to a neighbor’s property, that anyone would respond” — only because the neighbor had paid the fee.

A local newspaper further pressed Mayor Crocker about the city’s policy, which has been in place since 1990. Crocker, a Republican who was elected in 2008 and serves with a county commission where every seat is also filled by a Republican, likened the policy to buying auto insurance. The paper said he told them that, after all, “if an auto owner allowed their vehicle insurance to lapse, they would not expect an insurance company to pay for an unprotected vehicle after it was wrecked.”

Ironically, in the county commission’s latest report on its fire services, which outlines which parts of the municipal area will receive fire services only through subscriptions, the commissioners and fire service officials brag that the county is “very progressive.”

UGH !!! The insanity of it all...

"Sister Wives" is a new show on TLC. I used to think that TLC was an anagram for the words "The" "Learning" "Channel". Obviously I was wrong.... It seems that TLC is an anagram for "Total" "Loser" "Channel". I say this because of shows like "Sister Wives" where the documentary style drama follows a Utah man and his three and soon to be four wives.

This B.S. is unbelievable... to watch these poor women with HORRIBLE self esteem issues, get involved with a total DOUCHEBAG polygamist is more than a normal person can deal with. The women are visibly angry, sad, confused and bitter. The DOUCHEBAG guy gets to "court" any woman he wants and pretends to break down and cry in order to manipulate his other wives into feeling sorry for him, which in turn gives him permission to screw any woman he wants. The real problem is that all of these women have children... and the children grow up in this toxic, dangerous, gang family style chaos.

My question is this: WHERE THE FUCK IS NOM ?? Seriously.. where are they? Where is Maggie Gallagher?? Where is Bryan Brown? Where is the "ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN" Hate Bus ??? Where is Focus on the Family ?? Where are the religious fringe fundamentalists ??? Where is the American Family Association? Concerned Twats, I mean, Women for America? HELLO - ????

These women are visibly shaken, damaged, insecure, manipulated, emotionally abused, subservient, etc - the list goes on, and to be perfectly honest, that's their decision. However, the line that is crossed is that they are damaging their children by exposing them to the abuse and chaos of a polygamist lifestyle.

TLC films the abuse of children who are trapped in the polygamist lifestyle and sells shares to advertisers. They need to be held accountable and every social service and child protection agency should be knocking down the door of these sick individuals and rescue these helpless young victims of these damaged, twisted harmful people.

Christine O'Donnell - Hypocrite and Liar

Not only did Christine O'Donnell "screw" her way through college, she also is a liar:

From Joe.My.God

According to Tea Party loon Christine O'Donnell's LinkedIn profile, she attended Oxford, Claremont Graduate, and Fairleigh Dickinson. Only, whoops, not really! Talking Points Memo breaks down the lies:
Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell (R-DE) proclaimed on her LinkedIn the University of Oxford under "education," but it turns out that's another exaggeration on her resume. The claim is that O'Donnell earned a certificate from an Oxford course which her campaign said is "overseen" by a summer seminar program called the Phoenix Institute. The Washington Post's Greg Sargent uncovered the whopper of a discrepancy, and a Phoenix representative overseeing the course she took told Sargent that O'Donnell's LinkedIn claim is "misleading." Sargent reports that Chris Fletcher, who oversaw the Institute's 2001 Oxford Summer Programme and the course O'Donnell took, said the course wasn't overseen by Oxford at all. "We never represented it as a course run by Oxford University," Fletcher told Sargent.
And what's this? O'Donnell never attended Claremont Graduate either?
The same resume lists O'Donnell as having attended Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. The claim seemed suspicious since O'Donnell had yet to receive her undergraduate degree, from Farleigh Dickinson University, until last summer. So I asked CGU's public relations officer, Rod Leveque, if the school had any record of O'Donnell attending classes there. His response: In short, no. Claremont Graduate University has no student or education record for an individual named Christine O'Donnell. In 2002, O'Donnell was listed as a "Lincoln Fellow" at the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank also based in Claremont. However, the institute is not affiliated with the Claremont Graduate University or any of the other Claremont Colleges.
Aaaand O'Donnell's 2006 Senate campaign materials stated that she was a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson, a degree that wasn't actually issued until last year. The Baby Jeebus is crying, crying, crying at all this teabagging false witness! But he's totally not touching himself or evolving!

RELATED: The first (and best) comment on TPM: "But she DID stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night!"

Keith Olbermann Calls Sharon Angle a "whore"

I could be TOTALLY wrong here BUT - if you listen to Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person In The World" segment on the evening of 9/28/10 (Tuesday), after Sharon Angle (voted the Worst) was exposed to receive "socialist" government cash from her husband's pension AS WELL AS Federal Health Insurance, it appears during the lull in the music, Keith actually says, "whore". Priceless. I hope he did because that is EXACTLY what Sharon Angle is - only the word "hypocritical" needs to proceed "whore".

Gloria Stuart, 'Titanic' actress, dies at 100

Stuart was a leading lady in 1930s films, then gave up acting and turned to art. Her role in 'Titanic' earned her an Academy Award nomination.

Read the whole story at: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-gloria-stuart-20100928,0,7578184.story

"it's sad cause it's true.."

Hat tip to The Atlantic.

"China is doing moon shots. Yes, that’s plural. When I say “moon shots” I mean big, multibillion-dollar, 25-year-horizon, game-changing investments. China has at least four going now: one is building a network of ultramodern airports; another is building a web of high-speed trains connecting major cities; a third is in bioscience...; and, finally, Beijing just announced that it was providing $15 billion in seed money for the country’s leading auto and battery companies to create an electric car industry... Not to worry. America today also has its own multibillion-dollar, 25-year-horizon, game-changing moon shot: fixing Afghanistan," - Tom Friedman.

MORE pesky Christianists...

Yet another story of how a "Christian" pastor/homophobe just got caught with his pants down. Pastor or Bishop (whatever) Eddie Long is one of the most foul-mouthed, nasty, evil, hypocritical douchebags to ever disgrace God's good Earth. He's the Baptist pastor who seduced victims at his suburban megachurch in Atlanta - The New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. More than 30 young men have come forward with proof of pastor Long's appetite for having sex with underage men.


LITHONIA, Ga. — "Men can look attractive when they are dirty," writes Bishop Eddie Long in his 1997 book I Don't Want Delilah, I Need You! "We see sweating, dirty, hardworking men on television all the time and we say to one another, 'There's a macho guy.'"

Despite this affinity for sweaty, macho men, Long is one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement. His book, subtitled What a Woman Needs to Know, What a Man Needs to Understand, appeared in the midst of a roaring growth period for Long's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., near Atlanta. During the mid-'90s, it swelled to over 18,000 congregation members, men and women who worship in a multimillion-dollar complex that's the size of most major universities, spread out on 240 acres of land.

Much of what appears in I Don't Want Delilah was espoused in the videotaped "Back to the Future” sermon Long gave when his church was still small.

"It is the most unattractive thing I have ever seen, when I see women wearing uniforms that men would wear, and women fighting to get in the military!" Long shouted to his congregation then. "The woman gets perverted to turn towards woman … and everybody knows it's dangerous to enter an exit! And everybody knows, lady, if you go to the store and buy these devices [marital aids], it's Memorex! It ain't real!"

The audience, seated in a congested sanctuary, erupts in laughter. But what Long says next is no joke.

"God says you deserve death!"

Long's message is: Hate the sin and the sinner. It's a popular message. His congregation now tops 25,000.

In 2004, Long and his followers vigorously supported a proposed amendment to the Georgia state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Civil rights activists cringed as Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter, Bernice, handed a torch to Long, whom she has referred to as her "new father," as they marched side by side to her biological father's gravesite in a demonstration held "to protect the institution of marriage."

The amendment ultimately passed.

When Bernice's mother Coretta Scott King died last year, her memorial service was held at Long's church. Harry Belafonte, the actor, refused to attend. Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, protested the funeral as well.

"I knew her [Coretta Scott King's] attitude toward gay and lesbian rights," Bond told AOL Black Voices. "I just couldn't imagine that she'd want to be in that church with a minister who was a raving homophobe."

In addition to Long's works, the bookstore in the front lobby of New Birth carries only the books of other high-profile white and black homophobes from the Christian Right. They include James Dobson, leader of the anti-gay Focus on the Family, and Bishop Harry Jackson, leader of the evangelical anti-gay organization, High Impact Leadership Coalition. Long's 2004 book Deliver Me From Adam is foreworded by Rod Parsley, the hard-line leader of the anti-gay Center for Moral Clarity in Ohio, which led the charge getting a state referendum on banning same-sex marriage onto the 2004 ballot.

That passed, too.

In Deliver Me From Adam, Long pines for the days when "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best" were on primetime television, a time when he claims "every family had a mom and dad." Nowadays, Long continues, "most of the situation comedies project fractured families … with openly gay family members and relationships."

Also for sale in the New Birth store is Ministering Graciously to the Gay and Lesbian Community, by Bishop Brian Keith Williams. In a section titled "All Dogs Go to Hell," Williams warns that "the truth concerning homosexuality is that, if one engages in this dog-like sin, it will result in both an immediate and ultimate hell."

How's that for gracious ministering?

Last year, Long extended an invitation to gays and lesbians looking for a "cure" to attend a "Sexual Orientation and Reorientation" conference at New Birth. The event consisted mostly of "ex-gay" ministers like the Rev. D. L. Foster and former gangsta rapper Samantha Coleman preaching that people can be "delivered" from the "unwanted desires" of homosexuality. Foster told the small crowd of black and white Christians with same-sex attractions how he "never once prayed to God for him to make me homosexual … but I didn't know how to get rid of it."

Coleman, similarly, said that she'd been aware of her feelings for women since she was 4, but would sometimes regret them, wishing she were just a "normal girl."

New Birth also offers an ongoing ministry called "Out of the Wilderness" that claims to help gays and lesbians "convert" to heterosexuality. New Birth's counseling staff did not return phone calls from Intelligence Report seeking specifics on the program. Program sessions are closed to the public.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, merchants peddled skin-whitening bleach creams to African Americans, suggesting to potential customers they could alleviate the consequences of racism by simply changing their skin color. Programs like "Out of the Wilderness," which mainstream psychologists and medical experts reject because they say homosexuality is not a condition that needs a "cure," operate on a similar principle. If black gays and lesbians feel emotionally desolate, alienated, or abandoned by their church, Long says, it's not because of bigoted attacks on them but because of their own sexual sin.

And if they don't change, he warns, they're going straight to hell. "Homosexuality and lesbianism are spiritual abortions," Long says. "Homosexuality is a manifestation of the fallen man."


Spiritual abortions? Hmmm. The only "spiritual abortion" is not living as your true self - the way God intended. Yes, God made gay people and he did it on purpose. These so called "christians" need to deal with that and stop projecting what they are and hate onto others. One thing's for certain and that is if ANYONE spews such horrible, anti-gay hatred, it surely is a cry for help. They look into the mirror and hate what they see. My advice? GET INTO A PSYCHOLOGIST'S OFFICE FOR SOME SOFA TIME ! In the case of bishop/pastor (whatever) Long, he should spend a long time in prison for harming these young kids.

You've GOT To Be Kidding Me !

According to Gallup, almost 20% of Americans believe that the Sun revolves around the Earth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_geocentrism

That's about 1 in 5 people in this country that have shit between their ears... and they vote. Interesting that Sarah Palin has a similar percentage in approval ratings.

Check out this website: http://www.geocentrism.com/ Apparently, there is a conference happening this year in November. I hope all these attendees can manage to get into the parking lot...

Those Pesky "Christianists"

From Andrew Sullivan's "The Atlantic":

"We have two competing world views here and there is no way that we can reach across the aisle -- one is going to have to win. We are either going to go down the socialist road and become like western Europe and create, I guess really a godless society, an atheist society. Or we're going to continue down the other pathway where we believe in freedom of speech, individual liberties and that we remain a Christian nation. So we're going to have to win that battle, we're going to have to solve that argument before we can once again reach across and work together on things," - Congressman John Fleming (R-LA).

You hear that? It's a mythic battle, folks. For the record, people in Western Europe have the freedom of speech, individual liberties and many believe in the TRUE teachings of Christ - you know, like, tolerance, love, treat people the way you want to be treated, don't judge - you know all those great Christ-y things that the "Christians" in the USA seem to ignore.

This new wave of Republican, right-wing extremism is terrifying in that it represents a totalitarian theocracy - where people have LESS freedom of speech, LESS individual liberties and a nation where some, made up, perverse idea of Christ become national law.

That which they crave is not America. Indeed - this is a battle that the true Americans must (and will) win.

CA Judge Overturns Proposition 8

Judge Vaughn Walker today overturned Proposition 8. There's lot's of reactions to this and mostly they are positive, as they should be. This ruling is a victory for everyone - not only for the tens of thousands of couples that it directly affects, but for every person in the state of California, no matter what side they are on. For this ruling ensures us that justice, fairness and equality still matter in California, that our state's constitution is alive and well and is doing it's job, protecting ALL citizens of this state. So, it's a great day for EVERYONE in California.
Now go out and celebrate... :)

Prop 8 Ruling FINAL

Cucumber Mint Margarita

Looking for a new twist on an old favorite? Well, check THIS out !

First - the CLASSIC Margarita. This is easy, delicious AND refereshing...although, an ass-kicker. In a big pitcher, equal parts of Tequilla and Triple Sec, then a big splash of FRESH SQUEEZED LIME JUICE - just enough to change the color to pale yellow/green. Seriously - not too much. Ok - "juice" a couple English, hot-house cucumbers (the kind that are wrapped in plastic). Peel them first, cut lengthwise and remove the seeds. If you have a juicer, GREAT. If not, put them in a food processor, then strain the liquid/pulp through a sieve or cheesecloth until you have a dark green, pure juice - no pulp.

Pour the cucumber juice into the pitcher (the amount of cucumber juice should AT LEAST equal the amount of Tequilla and Triple Sec together. Feel free to adjust to your personal taste)

In a cocktail shaker, muddle about 12 fresh mint leaves. Add a few cubes of ice. Pour Margarita/cucumber mixture. Shake for AT LEAST 30 SECONDS. Pour into chilled martini glasses or enjoy in Highball glasses filled with ice. Garnish with fresh mint. Enjoy. :)

MA Judge: DOMA Unconstitutional

I know.. this story is EVERYWHERE ! Massachusetts judge rules that DOMA (Defense Of Marriage Act) violates or "offends" the US Constitution, particularly the 5th and 10th Amendments.

Celebrate today for this is the beginning... and tomorrow there will be an appeal. :(

By the way, here is an excerpt from a speech given by Seaborn Roddenberry, a US Representative from the State of Georgia, in congress on December 11, 1912 on creating a Federal Anti-Miscegenation Law, banning interracial marriage across the country, after the African American, heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson married a white woman:

"No brutality, no infamy, no degradation in all the years of southern slavery, possessed such villainious character and such atrocious qualities as the provision of the laws of Illinois, Massachusetts, and other states which allow the marriage of the negro, Jack Johnson, to a woman of Caucasian strain. [applause]. Gentleman, I offer this resolution ... that the States of the Union may have an opportunity to ratifty it. ... Intermarriage between whites and blacks is repulsive and averse to every sentiment of pure American spirit. It is abhorrent and repugnant to the very principles of Saxon government. It is subversive of social peace. It is destructive of moral supremacy, and ultimately this slavery of white women to black beasts will bring this nation a conflict as fatal as ever reddened the soil of Virginia or crimsoned the mountain paths of Pennsylvania. ... Let us uproot and exterminate now this debasing, ultra-demoralizing, un-American and inhuman leprosy"

Here's another gem...

On January 6th, 1959 a Virginia judge, Leon Bazile, after ruling AGAINST Richard and Mildred Loving (in the famous, interracial marriage case Loving vs. Virgina), declared the following:

"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."

These attitudes are almost identical to the same rhetoric, language, fear & ignorance based nonsense that NOM, AFA, FOTF, & the GOP spout everyday in regards to same sex marriage today. Bigots really do suffer from both short term and long term memory loss.

The 2nd Worst President - Ever !

Since 1982, the Siena Research Institute has polled presidential scholars on whom they view to be best and worst presidents in American history, based on a variety of issues from “integrity” to economic stewardship. This year’s poll of 238 scholars found that President Franklin Roosevelt was once again ranked on top, joined by Presidents Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, and Teddy Roosevelt to complete the top five. However, President George W. Bush did not fare well since the last poll was conducted in 2002. He dropped 16 places to 39th, making him the worst president since Warren Harding died in office in 1923, and one of the bottom five of all time, according to the experts:

Today, just one year after leaving office, the former president has
found himself in the bottom five at 39th rated especially poorly in handling the economy, communication, ability to compromise, foreign policy accomplishments and intelligence. Rounding out the bottom five are four presidents that have held that dubious distinction each time the survey has been conducted: Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin Pierce.

Bush was rated second from the bottom on “intelligence,” “foreign policy
accomplishments,” and “handling of U.S. economy.” This despite promises from Bush supporters that “history will be very kind” to the former president, as his Attorney General John Ashcroft put it. Bush’s father’s legacy “held constant” in this year’s poll, with George H.W. Bush coming in at 22nd. President Reagan “dropped two places from 16th overall in 2002 to 18th today.” President Obama was ranked 15th. (HT: Taegan Goddard)

From the "Better Late Than Never" Department....

Are Your Children Playing With Lucifer’s Testicles? is a Christian Bible based tome that “teaches parents how to easily explain to their children that Easter (as it is celebrated by the Unsaved) has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus Christ but is actually a holiday celebrating lewd and sexually explicit pagan rituals of fertility.”

"Easter Eggs are one of the wiliest tools of the Devil," Daniel Cameroon, the writer of the book declares. "Pagan kids didn't have anything to do on Easter Sunday because their mommies and daddies were stuck in a false temple all day, naked and writhing around with their neighbors in Satanic orgies of the flesh. You see, parents had to come up with a way to occupy their children while they were away from home, praying and fornicating under the altar of Satan. And since they didn't have babysitters back then, they gave their kids eggs to play with and sometimes paint.” He continues to state, "But the reason they chose eggs had nothing to do with any sort of fertility or fertilizers (as some misguided Christian historians would have you believe). Nope, it was because of Lucifer's testicles! Glory to God!”
Oh the fun! Can't wait to color, dye and crack open some of my own Lucifer's Testicles. Do you think Easter Eggs are the tools of Satan?

A Letter To Rep. Ike Skelton From A Soldier In Iraq

From the site: "Towleroad"

You may recall that earlier this week Rep. Ike Skelton expressed his opposition to repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because, he said, it would harm families who would then be forced to discuss homosexuality with their children.

Asked Skelton: "What do mommies and daddies say to their 7-year-old child?"

I reported this morning that Skelton was to be the target of a protest today for those remarks. He was, and I should have a report on that later. As part of that protest, by GetEQUAL and Missouri LGBT activist groups, a letter was read to Rep. Skelton from a gay, Missouri soldier who is currently on active duty In Baghdad and facing discharge under the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law. The letter calls for the Armed Services Chairman to stop his efforts trying to thwart any attempt at progress toward the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'.

Here's the letter:

Representative Ike Skelton
US House of Representatives
2206 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-2504

Dear Representative Skelton,

It was in Ray County, Missouri that I first decided that I would join the Army. I was sitting on the pond dock at my fathers’ home, and came to the realization that my life was not heading anywhere that I wanted it to. I had no way to pay for college, and it seemed I would be stuck in that town not amounting to much. I went and spoke with a recruiter in Liberty, Missouri and eleven days later I was sitting at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Nearly four years later, I do not regret that decision. I am now sitting in Baghdad preparing to redeploy back to the United States for a second, and final time. I can honestly say I am proud of the work we have done here. I look at the Iraqis that I personally helped train as a member of the Military Transition Team and can rest assured that we are leaving the area in capable hands. Through serving the country in the United States Army I have become more patriotic than I knew possible.

However, my pride in the Army and what we stand for has been yanked away. One of the first lessons that I learned after joining the Army was the importance of Integrity. I have served our great country honorably in two deployments. I have earned eight awards and have a clean record. I was one of the first responders to Muqdadiyah in 2007 when then President Bush ordered the surge, where my unit spent fifteen months in various provinces. I returned again nine months ago to finish what we started and am proud to be a member of the last combat brigade operating in theatre.

Although my record is untarnished, there is one thing separating myself and the rest of ‘America’s hero’s.’ Though I have less than a year left before my contract has been served, I was informed that the Army is considering discharging me under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, and this hurts extensively. My command realizes and respects the efforts and contributions to my unit and the fact that we are low-manned. It seems that they are holding out as long as they can on my discharge process, waiting for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to be repealed.

I can understand if your views are against gay and lesbians in general, but sir you must realize your unique role in the United States. Were it not for uncomfortable truths there would be no need for you at all. As a representative of the State of Missouri and a leader in Congress’ role pertaining to the Military, it is imperative that you not succumb to weak leadership. However, I find it disturbingly necessary to remind you today of your job and that is to open national discussions on issues to find the best resolution. That is your job, and were it not, there would be no need for Congress.

Congressman Skelton, I demand that you apologize for your remarks. You need to recognize the disrespect that you issued to the gay and lesbian soldiers, like myself, who are currently serving regardless if we are recognized or not. I demand that you look at this from my perspective. I have spent the majority of my adult life fighting for a war in which you sent me to. I am fighting for your safety and freedom, and for every “mommy and daddies” seven year olds’ freedom and safety. I come in from a long day out in the streets of Baghdad and see on television my representative, my voice, condemning the act of acknowledging my existence.

Congressman regardless of your personal views on the issue, we are serving now. To be disrespectful to us is not only intolerant but ignorant. We deserve at the bare minimum an honest assessment and a fair judgment on the matter. In order for this to happen you, as the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, must allow these discussions to take place. I will continue fighting for your freedom congressman, will you cease blocking mine?

United States Army (Specialist E4)
Baghdad, Iraq

Obama Proclaims June LGBT Pride Month

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
May 28, 2010

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2010

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are created equal and deserve the same rights, privileges, and opportunities. Since our earliest days of independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that promise. An important chapter in our great, unfinished story is the movement for fairness and equality on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This month, as we recognize the immeasurable contributions of LGBT Americans, we renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists.

LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national life. From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, LGBT individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline. They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our friends and neighbors. Across my Administration, openly LGBT employees are serving at every level. Thanks to those who came before us -- the brave men and women who marched, stood up to injustice, and brought change through acts of compassion or defiance -- we have made enormous progress and continue to strive for a more perfect union.

My Administration has advanced our journey by signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which strengthens Federal protections against crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation. We renewed the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides life-saving medical services and support to Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and finally eliminated the HIV entry ban. I also signed a Presidential Memorandum directing hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to give LGBT patients the compassion and security they deserve in their time of need, including the ability to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions.

In other areas, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a series of proposals to ensure core housing programs are open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. HUD also announced the first-ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services has created a National Resource Center for LGBT Elders.

Much work remains to fulfill our Nation's promise of equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. That is why we must give committed gay couples the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We must protect the rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal benefits. We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in a supportive environment. I am also committed to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish that goal.

As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of our founding principles. Our Nation draws its strength from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the greater whole. By affirming these rights and values, each American benefits from the further advancement of liberty and justice for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

When Will We Wake Up ??

The BP (British Petroleum) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a disaster that makes the Exxon Valdez disaster look like spilled milk. As horrendous as this disaster is, the worst part of it all is the unequivocal evidence that people and governments don't run our country, corporations do. For the past 150 years, corporations have slowly, but surely, blurred the lines between government and business. While filming the shores of Louisiana after the spill, CBS was threatened with arrest by BP officials - escorted by the US Coast Guard. Yes - the US Coast Guard told CBS that it's BP that "makes the rules". This is a tremendous WTF? moment. BP has destroyed one of the most fragile and profitable ecosystems in the world. The Louisiana coastline ranks 29th in the global economy. That is gone now... done. Finished. The Gulf of Mexico continues to be polluted by thousand of barrels of crude every hour. It's been 36 days so far, and it keeps on gushing. No one knows how to stop it.
BP has already profited as a result of this disaster in that their insurance company has paid them for the destruction of their digging platform. I haven't even mentioned the 11 men killed, it's too heart wrenching to even write about at the moment. But the countless animals that are dead, slowly and painfully dying, choking, their habitats are destroyed. Whole living ecosystems are dead and the vast amounts of oil are now in the "loop," headed to the fragile coral reef just of the coast of Florida, then the oil will head up the East Coast, polluting the beaches of southern Florida, North and South Caroline, Maryland, Delaware, Long Island and eventually Cape Cod until heading out into the mid Atlantic.
Whose fault is this really? Is it BP's fault? The government's fault? No - it's OUR fault. We, the passive consumers who have over the past 150 years, allowed large corporations to become the behemoths that they are. From oil companies to insurance companies, we are now at the mercy of their whims. They buy elections. They influence voters. They start wars. They destroy our planet, our TRUE quality of life - and we drive up to the pump every day of every year to fill our gas guzzlers with petrol. Thousands of our young men and women in uniform are dead because we must make certain that we have all the oil we need to go on vacations, run our errands and heat our homes. Despicable.
Instead of people waking up and really taking stock in the problems that slowly destroy our lives, we have a group of lunatics who proudly call themselves "The Tea Party" who have their heads so far up their own, ignorant asses, that they believe all the lies that corporate America tells them. They blame Democrats, the government, immigrants - everyone but themselves. They, as the rest of us, need to take a long, hard look in the proverbial mirror and start taking responsibility for the world that we have created.
It's time to wake up, America - before it's too late.

Letter To The Editor

Thanks to Rob Tish for posting this on his wonderful blog, "wakingupnow.com" :

Sharon Underwood wrote this letter to the Valley News in White River Junction, Vermont, in April of 2000.

Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I’ve taken enough from you good people.

I’m tired of your foolish rhetoric about the “homosexual agenda” and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.

My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay.

He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other boys. He was called “fag” incessantly, starting when he was 6.

In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn’t bear to continue living any longer, that he didn’t want to be gay and that he couldn’t face a life without dignity.

You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don’t know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn’t put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it’s about time you started doing that.

At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won’t get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don’t know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty that it is inborn.

If you want to tout your own morality, you’d best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it. For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I’m puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will? If that’s not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?

A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I’ll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for “true Vermonters.”

You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn’t give their lives so that the “homosexual agenda” could tear down the principles they died defending. My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.

He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn’t the measure of the man.

You religious folk just can’t bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilities that he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance.

How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage.

You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin.

The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about “those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing” asks: “What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?”

Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?

Her son is doing fine now, and was the first member of his family to graduate from college.

The Age Of Miracles

"The past comes upon you like smoke on the air, you can smell it and find yourself gone
to a place that you lived without worry or care. Isn't that where we all once came from?

Green leaves and tall trees and stars overhead and the sound of the world through the screen
But now you sleep with the covers pulled over your head and you never remember to dream

You think you're just standing still, one day you'll get up that hill
In the age of miracles, is one on the way?

Greenland is melting, the west is on fire but don't ever stop praying for rain.
It's a curious place between hope and desire - different gods but the prayer is the same.

And a thousand-year storms seem to form on a breeze, drowning all living things in their paths
And when a small southern town finds a rope in a tree, we're all once again trapped in the past.

It seems we're just standing still, one day we'll get up that hill.
In the age of miracles, is one on the way?

We can fly through space with the greatest of ease, we can land in the dust of the moon.
We can transform our lives with the tap of the keys, still we can't shake this feeling of doom.

But I woke to find monks pouring into the streets marching thousands strong into the rain.
Now, if courage comes dressed in red robes and bare feet, then I'll never be fearful again.

If I'm just standing still, one day I'll get up that hill
In the age of miracles, there's one on the way, there's one on the way, there's one on the way..."

- MCC

Mother Nature Sends A Strong Message To Republicans

This excerpt from HuffPost:

"Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared the slick "a spill of national significance," meaning the government is designating more forces to contain its spread toward the U.S. coastline. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Obama has directed more people and equipment to the area to "aggressively confront" the spill.

An executive for BP PLC, which operated the oil rig that exploded and sank last week, said earlier in the day on NBC's "Today" that the company would welcome help from the U.S. military.

"We'll take help from anyone," said Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP Exploration and Production.

The Coast Guard has urged the company to formally request more resources from the Defense Department. Obama has dispatched Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson to help with the spill.

But time may be running out: Oil from the spill had crept to within 12 miles of the coast, and it could reach shore as soon as Friday. A third leak was discovered, which government officials said is spewing five times as much oil into the water as originally estimated -- about 5,000 barrels a day coming from the blown-out well 40 miles offshore."

So, "Drill, Baby, Drill" huh? One could say that a "higher power" has obviously intervened. Speaking of - where are all of the lunatic televangelists and religious zealots who should be touting how this is God's retribution for man raping the Earth?

Silence.

America, The Chubby

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan's, "The Atlantic" for this startling story:

Alex Tabarrok posts the above picture of "Chauncy Morlan (1869-1906) who, because of his 'freakish' weight, people once paid good money to see as he toured Europe and America with the Barnum & Bailey circus" and asks:

What would the circus goers of 1890 have thought if they were told that in the America of 2010 Chauncy Morlan would be unremarkable?

Sarah Palin Sells Out For A Cool $12 Million

From ABCNews' The Blotter:

Pundits can debate the political costs and benefits of Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor, but the monetary advantages of leaving her $125,000-a-year public service post are beyond dispute.


Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin addresses attendees at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, in this Feb. 6, 2010 file photo.

Since leaving office at the end of July 2009, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee has brought in at least 100 times her old salary – a haul now estimated at more than $12 million -- through television and book deals and a heavy schedule of speaking appearances worth five and six figures.

That conservative estimate is based on publicly available records and news accounts. The actual number is probably much higher, but is hard to quantify because Palin does not publicize her earnings. She reputedly got a $7 million deal for her first book, with the bulk of that money due after her resignation as governor, and will earn about $250,000 per episode, according to the web site The Daily Beast, for each of eight episodes of a reality show about Alaska for the The Learning Channel. She has managed to keep a lid on reliable figures for her earnings from a multi-year contract with Fox News and a second book deal with HarperCollins.

A Palin aide responding to questions from ABC News said the governor "is now a private citizen. As a result, her fees and earnings are private."

While book and television royalties are huge earners, Palin, 46, has taken on a breakneck schedule of public speaking engagements, booked through the Washington Speakers Bureau. Her typical fee is $100,000, according to a January report in Politico, though she accepts a somewhat smaller fee for events on the West Coast because they are easier to get to from Alaska. Speakers Bureau officials did not respond to emailed questions.

Palin appears to select audiences that are likely to provide a warm welcome. In February, Palin coupled a paid speech to the Daytona Chamber of Commerce with an appearance at NASCAR's Daytona 500 and a local book signing, and was welcomed with cheers of "We love you, Sarah!" In the past nine months, she has stopped in to address the Bowling Proprietors Association of America, the Complete Woman Expo, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, and the Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference, among others.

The Piece Of Sh*t That Is Mike Huckabee

This from Think Progress, and other sites:

Huckabee Compares Gays To Drug Users, Says They’re Unfit To Adopt Kids Because ‘Children Are Not Puppies’
Former Arkansas governor and current Fox News personality Mike Huckabee gave an interview with the College of New Jersey’s magazine The Perspective in which he made clear that he is just as intent on depriving gay men and women of equal status as ever. For instance, he said that gay couples shouldn’t be able to get married because it would be like accommodating drug habits of addicts:

Even civil unions are “not necessary,” Huckabee said. “I think there’s been a real level of being disingenuous on the part of the gay and lesbian community with their goal of civil unions,” he alleged, referring to LGBT activists who first claimed that their goal in several states was to enact civil unions, but subsequently launched efforts to implement full marriage rights.

Huckabee went on to draw parallels between homosexuality and other lifestyles that are considered by some to be morally aberrant. “You don’t go ahead and accommodate every behavioral pattern that is against the ideal,” he said of same-sex marriage. “That would be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let’s go ahead and accommodate those who want who use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them. There are people who believe in polygamy, so we should accommodate them.”

Huckabee also insisted that same-sex couples shouldn’t be allowed to adopt or become foster parents because they’re somehow unfit to take care of children:

“I think this is not about trying to create statements for people who want to change the basic fundamental definitions of family,” Huckabee said. “And always we should act in the best interest of the children, not in the seeming interest of the adults.”

“Children are not puppies,” he continued. “This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?”

Alvin McEwen writes at Pam’s House Blend, “While Huckabee doesn’t come out and say it, the nasty implication is clear — lgbt families are inferior because lgbts are incapable of giving love and support to children. Furthermore, lgbts don’t really want the children. They just want to further their ‘agenda.’”

Huckabee has proudly stated in the past that he is not “pro-gay,” which he has equated with being “pro-sodomy.” He has tried to downplay violence against gay men and women, compared homosexuality to necrophilia, and said that “civilization” may not survive if “what marriage and family means” is “rewritten” to allow gay marriage.

Right On! - Michael Jensen

AfterElton blogger, Michael Jensen had some appropriate words for CNN's lack of credible journalism. He get's today's "Right On!" award: "It's 2010 and CNN expects me to seriously sit here and expect that this issue is really still up for debate? It certainly is in some quarters, but those are quarters that at this point respectable journalists should stay out of. I guess this means we can look forward to other CNN segments including 'The Holocaust — did it really happen?' with anti-Semites invited to discuss the topic, as well as 'Race in America: Should African Americans go back to Africa?' with Ku Klux Klan leaders brought on as 'experts.' And just to be well-rounded, how about 'Is the earth really flat?'

"When I contacted CNN, I honestly assumed they'd at least issue an apology for the offensive wording of Phillips' question and admit Cohen was a poor example for an 'expert' to discuss this issue. Instead, they defend their actions as if they are actually behaving responsibly by doing this story and doing it this way. Oh, and CNN? Don't bother 'exploring other views and positions.' You've now got zero credibility on the subject anyway, so why bother?"

Massey Energy CEO Has Blood On His Hands

Since the SCOTUS has now allowed corporations to have the same rights as individuals, it seems that Massey Energy's CEO Don Blankenship needs to be held accountable for the 25 (so far) deaths that have taken place in the West Virginia coal mine. Blankenship released a statement immediately following the disaster : "Our top priority is the safety of our miners and the well-being of their families." Bullshit.

The New York Times is reporting that in 2009, the mine registered 458 safety violations. The Los angeles Times reports that federal officials have repeatedly cited Massey for safety violations. Clearly, Blankenship doesn't give a shit about his employees.

Not only is this a real argument for banning coal, but it brings up a more timely - possibly political argument; if corporations now have the right's as individuals regarding funding campaigns, doesn't that also come with the responsibility of being held accountable when you murder your employees?

Every share holder at Massey Energy needs to be held accountable for the dangerous conditions they placed each of their miners.

What's it called when you kill people?

Tea Party Movement As Popular As Socialism

This interesting chart/graph from guest bloggers over at Think Progress:

The numbers don’t lie.

Check out this link to see the charts: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/04/05/socialism-vs-tea-parties/

The percentage of Americans viewing “The Tea Party movement” favorably: 37 percent. The percentage of Americans with a positive image of “socialism”: 36 percent. (Both sources, Gallup).

Although the question wording is not exactly the same, the point is obvious. You can find roughly 4 in 10 Americans who will give a positive rating to just about anything in politics that they know little about.

Born Gay

Part I

Hi. My name is Carlton, but my grandmother decided when I was born that since I was 'the third', she was going to call me, Tré. I was always grateful for that, even though we were never close - it was truly a blessing since my parents were going to nickname me, "Little Buddy", after my father, who was known as "Buddy".
As long as I can remember, I had a vision in my head - a vision of two men at some sort of alter, wearing white tuxedo jackets and black dress pants. One man had dark hair and the other man had blonde hair. I knew right away that the blonde haired man was me - but in the future. Now this vision was completely contradictory to everything I had seen in magazines, seen on TV, commercials or saw in photos in family albums.
Just before my third birthday, my mother was tucking me into bed, like she did every night. We were saying 'goodnight' and the vision popped into my head again. "Mom, why can't two men get married?" I asked her honestly and suddenly. "Well....they can." was the response. My mother wasn't quite sure what to say. "Well - why don't they?", the question could have not been more innocent and honestly inquisitive. "When you grow up, you'll start liking girls and then you'll understand" my mother said with a cheerful wink in her eye.
Well......it's 43 years later, I'm grown up and I still don't understand.
But that doesn't matter anymore. My late teens and early twenties were the "explorative" years. At 19, I attempted suicide. A lame attempt, but an attempt none-the-less. I was at the beach with my two best friends - "Mark", a tennis pro who women went crazy over and "Sam", a slick, fast talking womanizer who looked like cross between George Clooney and Journey's Steve Perry (trust me - it's better than it sounds) - when I noticed that the beach house next to ours was full of college lacrosse players who at 2:30 am, were drunk and decided that it would be "hysterical" if they took off all of their clothes and paraded around the front porch completely naked.
The fact that I was mesmerized by this assured me that my worst fears had been confirmed - I was gay.
I've often heard of people having near death experiences - where their life flashes before there eyes during some sort of trauma. Well, my life flashed before mine. Only I saw the future - rejection from the only people, at that time, I trusted and loved most. I was certain, from all of the "fag jokes" at holidays told by my ignorant uncle and cousins, to the apparent pleasure of my parents, that my family would completely reject me. That was too much to bear...
I went into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. I found what looked like several bottles of prescription drugs... without thinking, I opened a bottle, swallowed all of the contents with a big swig of water. I closed the medicine cabinet, left the house and walked to the ocean.

Part II

When I got to the beach, it was low tide. Approximately 3:00 am, the rising barely-crescent moon over the water made the Atlantic Ocean look inky - like an oil tanker just spilled a trillion gallons of raw crude off shore. At least that's how I remember it. But something wasn't right. I should have been terrified, instead I was overwhelmed by how beautiful the moon was, the gentle waves, the enormity of the black ocean. Instead of feeling the fear of what were going to be my final moments of life, I felt as if I had simply decided to go swimming at night - in an environment few people get to experience. The beauty of that moment with the moonlight dancing on the waves in almost pitch darkness, lured me into the water - and I swam out on that 'bumpy road' of moonlight. I was the captain of my high school varsity swim team, so I had an excellent swim stroke. Even so, I ended up taking in large amounts of seawater on those first few strokes. I stopped to cough/choke out the water, when I turned around to see exactly how far out I had gotten. As I treaded water, I noticed how the moonlight was illuminating the facades of all of the boardwalk hotels and closed businesses - like I was looking at a seaside ghost town. Then it hit me. I was supposed to be drowning myself in some dramatic 'A Star Is Born' moment and instead I'm taking in the beauty of this 3:00 AM swim. "What the hell am I doing?" I muttered to myself and I began to swim back to shore.
The swim back was not as pleasant, which I'm certain worked in my favor. Feeling like somewhat of an ass, I took in more seawater as I sprinted to the beach. The water seemed to become colder, not as beautiful - scary. I became freaked out about what nocturnal sea creatures were going to be clamping down on my toes as I stirred up the water with my kick. The opening scene from "Jaws" began to loop in my mind. Somewhat panicked, I made it to the beach, walked out of the water and vomited. The seawater in combination with the large amounts of vodka I had consumed earlier, forced my stomach to involuntarily rid itself of it's contents.
The next morning, I woke up having to vomit again, which I did twice. Both times, I noticed quite a bit of blood. My friend, Mark (the tennis pro) and I went to grab some breakfast. I thought eating would make me feel better, but it didn't. I was glad that I survived that night, but feeling like an ass that I almost allowed outside influences to determine my worth and my future (or lack thereof). I was embarrassed - I had let myself down.
However more than that, I was instinctively aware that I had taken the first steps of my own personal journey. The sinking feeling inside of me was either the effects of a really bad hangover or the realization that I had a lot of hard work ahead of me. I knew that I had to begin to accept myself.
Something about that image of the inky black water, the moon low on the horizon, the waves creating the illusion of a rippled, lunar highway, made me realize that whatever I'm faced with, I can handle it. Although I was extremely vulnerable and alone on that beach, I had never felt so connected to the beauty, fragility and power of life. Something that night was letting me know that it may not make sense now, but no matter what happens, I am here. I am me... and I am supposed to be.

Part III

It's amazing to me how much outside influences play a part in determining how we, as human beings, conduct ourselves. What we wear, the way we speak, who we're friends with, who we're not friends with, what car we drive - it's all determined by how we see ourselves and wanting to be a part of something... to essentially fit in.
I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and had a relatively 'normal' childhood - actually, no - I take that back. 30% of my childhood was wonderful. 60% was a constant struggle, 10% was 'normal'. I am the oldest of two boys, my parents were 20 years old when I was born. My mother claims she was in labor for a total of 30 minutes - I guess I had to get out of there. Maybe that was the first sign? I even know where I was conceived - a drive in theater in Timonium, MD which later would become a business park where I would work for a civil engineering firm. From my desk, I'd often look out the window and think, "I've literally gone nowhere... "
Growing up, my parents, brother and I lived in a two bedroom apartment in the northern part Baltimore City, "Charm City" it was nicknamed then. I was aware then that if a city has to give itself a nickname, then the reality must be the complete 180 degree opposite of the nickname it gave itself. Years later, a young director by the name of John Waters would perfectly capture this irony on film.
As a kid, I spent weekends with my grandparents. There were lot's of kids my age to play with. The apartment complex my parents, brother and I lived in was mostly old people - no kids, except the ones that would come visit their grandparents. My grandparents were amazing - my grandfather was dry and hilarious. "Hey Pop, what size shoe do you wear?" I asked, moments before they took me shoe shopping. "Well, I wear a 9 but a 10 feels so good I buy an 11...." I also remember his infamous, 'birds and bees' talk we had one Saturday afternoon. He sat me down in a chair in the living room and said, "Now as you begin to get older, your armpits will start to stink, your crotch will start to stink and you'll want to go marry a girl like your cousin Allison." I thought it was the funniest damn thing anyone had ever said to me. Allison was really pretty but...
My grandmother, Frances (not the one who named me) was truly a soul mate. Not the kind people tend to think of as the person they marry, of course, but the actual true meaning of the term. We had a bond that was unique - I can't explain it but many of my family members, including my mother, were extremely jealous of it. My grandmother was a very attractive woman who captivated men throughout her life. She was completely unaware of her magnetism, yet she was still somewhat vain, in that she always looked and dressed as if she were being greeted by the press. She worked as a secretary at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute - a college prep high school, which I would eventually attend.
As I would pass his classroom on my way to various classes, Mr. "H", a history teacher who, out of respect shall remain anonymous, would pull me aside, into his darkened classroom and with booze on his breath and with one eye lid half shut, would comment on how beautiful my grandmother was, particularly her chest. He would eventually turn away from me, slowly walk to the window, shades drawn and let out an exasperated sigh... I would then leave him to his misery. Sure it was uncomfortable - creepy, even and the smell of stale whiskey emanating from his pores didn't do much to ease my discomfort. But, I 'got it' - she was a knockout and I was proud to be her grandson.

Part IV

When I was 6 1/2 years old, my brother Christopher was born. What a traumatic experience that was. For almost 7 years I was the center of attention (good and bad) and now suddenly I had competition. I came home from school one day to find my mother finally home from the hospital. She took my hand and said, "let's go see your little brother." I reluctantly reached out to her, she grabbed my hand and we walked into what had been up to that moment, my bedroom. In the crib was a tiny bundle of "my brother". So small, so quiet, born with a full head of hair. I looked at my mother and said, "he's ugly - let's go" and I pulled her out of the room.
I still spent weekends at my grandparents house which was great. There was such a simplicity and peacefulness there - I didn't have to hear my parents late at night from my bedroom, fighting about money, screaming at each other, breaking dishes, my mother criticizing my father for him not being able to afford a house of our own. I loved weekends at my grandparents house.
Maybe it was because there were not many kids in my neighborhood or that I was spending too much time with my grandmother, but my father had decided that I needed more interaction with men. OK by me. I was literally forced into The Boy Scouts of America. I was a good kid, a good son. So, without protest, I gave this Boy Scouts thing a whirl.
My parents took me shopping for camping equipment, which was not fun at all. I felt like I was being shipped off to war. My parents didn't have much money so everything I needed for the monthly camping trips ended up being on the cheap side. On these camping trips, I tried to hide my dining plates and utensils. My 'mess kit' had pictures of Lassie on it, which was beyond humiliating. "You have LASSIE ON YOUR PLATE?", screamed one scout, prompting a deafening silence and head turn of everyone within ear shot. One older kid came up to me and said, "you're new right?" I said, "yes". He then proceeded to wipe charcoal lighter fluid all over my shirt. I was standing next to an open fire as he did this.

Part V

It was in the Scouts that I first learned about boys engaging in homosexual behavior. Interesting that they are so adamant about not allowing gays in their group. I guess they're very selective. I, however, did not make the cut. I was painfully shy, quiet, had low self esteem since I was very skinny. The ones having sex with each other were a little older and very handsome. I was too young, too skinny, too unattractive. So I felt more comfortable bunking with the troop 'bed-wetter' and the troop 'crybaby', who smelled like baby powder and onions. Not sexy...
After obtaining Tenderfoot status, I decided that this group of spoiled, elitist brats was too much to take, especially since I wasn't gettin' any. I quit The Boy Scouts.
Before my Boy Scouts of America experience, I had a typical, all American male, boyhood fascination with figure skating. I loved the Winter Olympics - the international spirit, everyone overcoming their differences to come together as one - the human species on planet Earth.
I was 12 years old when I became a fan of Olympic figure skating. Dorothy Hamill rocked the rink in the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. For my 12th birthday, I wanted ice skates and I wanted to learn how to ice skate. My parents, for some inexplicable reason, fought me on this. For a month leading up to my birthday, I begged and pleaded for ice skates, but I always heard the same answer, "No... !"
I said before, I was a good kid. A very good kid. I always got A's on my report card, I never talked back, I went to the store and bought cigarettes for my mother, even though I hated doing it. Actually, one time after buying the cigarettes for my mother, I took 50 cents from the change and bought a gold fish. When I got home and showed my mom, she took the goldfish from me, pulled me into the bathroom and flushed my goldfish down the toilet. That certainly showed me.
I had blocked that traumatic memory from my childhood. My mother called me one night a few years ago and in an alcohol induced, guilt ridden emotional dump session, she informed me of what she did to my goldfish. I was shaking with rage to the extent the telephone almost fell out of my hand.
My point is - I was a good kid. So, why couldn't I get the ice skates I wanted? Something felt weird about this - I couldn't place it, but looking back, I detected passive aggressive behavior. My birthday came and to my surprise, my parents handed me a big square box. It was heavy. I was confused but getting happier every second. I opened the box - the smell of the leather hit my nose like a bully's fist on the playground (but in a good way). And there they were - a brand new pair of black ice skates. Figure skates.
I was ecstatic ! That is until I looked up from the box and saw my parents faces - it was soul crushing. The look of sadness and disappointment in their eyes is something that I will never forget. After studying their faces, I looked down again at the skates. I began to notice that they looked the same as girl's skates, except they were black. I remember thinking that the other boys' skates didn't look like these - they had something called hockey skates.
This supposed celebration quickly turned into incredible confusion. Why did my parents dislike these skates so much? Why did they try to persuade me to not get them? What did I do? I must have done something to make them so upset. Then it hit me - they had been trying to change me for years. Why? What was wrong with me?
With insecurity and shame pulsing through the fabric of my being, I was too embarrassed to look at my parents. I mean, by the way they were acting, you'd think I had been begging for a sequined cocktail dress with matching handbag, for crying out loud.

Part VI

Heterosexual imagery is everywhere, as it should be, I guess. Every advertisement, whether it's on TV, in a magazine, on a billboard, whatever, features half naked women, women and men together, or women cleaning something. I never once gave this a second thought. I did however, enjoy staying up late on Saturday nights at my grandparents house. We would watch the Mary Tyler Moore show, The Bob Newhart Show, The Carol Burnett Show and then Love, American Style. Love, American Style was great because they always had shirtless men in swimsuits or semi-nude in semi-sexual situations, which for some reason, I found semi-intriguing.
As a teenager rapidly approaching puberty, my awakening desires began to creep into my subconscious. I remember my first "n.e." (nocturnal emission). It went something like this: I was at my family's swim club. I walked around the corner to find all of the male lifeguards, who, by the way, were built like brick shit-houses, standing around completely naked and showing off their penises to each other. "Mitch", the lifeguard who had the best body, also happened to have the largest penis and was proudly displaying it. A sensation came over me that I had never felt before and I promptly woke up wondering what the hell just happened to me and how soon could I feel that again. At the same moment, I realized that I just had a wet dream about naked men. Damn it! This was not good.
At 13, I saw "Star Wars" 7 times. This was the summer of 1977 and I was headed to high school after Labor Day. I learned to swim that summer and tried out for the high school swim team that winter. I made the J.V. team. The next summer, I joined the summer swim team and won the "Most Improved Swimmer" trophy. I joined the Knights of Columbus Swim Team and when I wasn't swimming at my pool in the summer, and high school in the winter, I was swimming with KCST during the spring and fall. Within one year, I had gone from not knowing how to swim at all to being a year round swimmer. Sophomore year I made the varisty team. By senior year I was voted, by my teammates, captain of the varsity squad. Later that season, I won the Maryland Scholastic Association Swim Championships I.M. relay for my team, at the Johns Hopkins University.
High School for me,was great. I had lot's of friends, I was on the varisty swim team, I had lot's of girls come to see me swim - including my mother. She was easy to spot in the stands during the diving portion. Her entire body was turned in the opposite direction of everyone else, convinced that she would witness one of the divers cracking his head open on the diving board.
There was one guy in high school who I despised. We shall call him "Billy". He would pass me in the hallways, between classes and make comments like, "Hey faggot" or other typical gems of creative genius. This was bizarre to me - I didn't appear 'gay', like the feminine Asian guy I would throw volleyballs at in gym class. It was almost like he knew my darkest secret. I knew he didn't but I tell you - that's one hell of a coincidence.
The only imagery of homosexuality I ever remember seeing growing up was 1) Gay Pride Parades on the news, showing guys in leather chaps and moustaches, dancing around on floats, 2) my mom's stack of gay porn magazines under her side of the mattress or 3) the movie, "Making Love" starring Kate Jackson and Harry Hamlin. My mom and I watched that movie on TV together (my dad was probably at work). During the portion where Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean undress each other and begin to go at it, my mother looks over at me and shouts out, "Isn't that WEIRD?" "Uh-huh..." I muttered as I tried to conceal my erection.

Part VII

At nineteen, I had a great job as a Lifeguard and Pool Manager/Operator at a Jewish Country Club in Baltimore County. There was quite a circuit of lifeguards in the Baltimore area and we all knew each other, hung out together and went drinking at all of the local 'hot-spots' together.
One of my best friends, Mark, was the tennis pro at the country club. He, I and another friend of ours, Sam, had all met through mutual friends and became pretty close in a relatively short period of time. In fact, we were planning on a trip to Ocean City, MD., for a long weekend. We didn't have a place to stay, but we weren't worried. We knew of a house that 5 girls were renting for the summer and if we couldn't find accommodations, we would charm our way onto their couches and floors.
The afternoon we were to leave, my dad took me to the liquor store and bought me a half gallon of vodka. Since I was underage, I didn't want to have to rely on fake I.D.'s to get us what we wanted. Dad obliged. I think he was glad that his son was going to the beach with his buddies to raise a little Hell. There was no way to know that his son, after consuming this vodka, would later that night, attempt to take his own life.
We packed the car, drove to the beach, could not find accommodations and showed up at Jenny & Kathy's (et.al.) summer rental. They were pissed at first, but they let us stay anyhow. For the entire summer, they had been living next door to a bunch of guys from the Johns Hopkins Lacrosse team and I think they were glad to have some males around who were at least pretending to be into them - even if they knew we only wanted a place to crash.
Sam, Mark and I got semi-dressed up, went to a bayside bar where 20 something's hung out and drank, and we grabbed a table and began a long evening of drinking, laughing and picking up girls - only I could have done without the 'girls' part. But I played along, like I had done for years. It was like repetitive motion syndrome...and it was starting to hurt. I did it all the time, with no passion, only because everyone else did it. For almost all of my life, I thought every one felt like I did, and that one day I would grow out of it. "When you grow up, you'll start liking girls and then you'll understand". To this day, I can still hear my mother's voice.
On our way home from the bar, after drinking too much and acting too immature to attract the women we were after, Mark said jokingly, "Hey - wouldn't it be great if we were gay? We could go home and have sex with each other!" My heart almost stopped. The roars of laughter assured me that Mark was joking, but inside, I wasn't laughing - I was hiding. Once again, I tried to push the feelings deep down, as I had been doing since I was three years old, but there wasn't room for it anymore. I was full.

Part VIII - Final

When we got back to the house, it was about 9:30pm and the girls were having a small party - and so was everyone else it seemed. I broke out the vodka and proceeded to make really strong drinks. It was a warm, typical August night and there were parties going on everywhere. After a while, Mark, Sam and I had split up and had stumbled off in our own directions, in search of what we considered to be a good time. Somehow, I ended up dancing on the median strip of Highway One, wearing nothing but a beach towel around my waist and a baseball hat with the word "Shrooms" across the front of it, no doubt to the delight of motorists passing by, as told by their honking car horns.
It was getting really late, I was running out of energy, so I stopped dancing, crossed the highway, as if I was in a life sized version of the video game 'Frogger' and started to walk back to the house. When I arrived, I noticed that the house next door looked as if the electricity had gone out, which was weird because next door - where I was staying - was completely lit up. There also were a few women gathered on the lawn of the house next door. As my eyes began to focus, I could detect naked male figures walking around the living room and then suddenly, out on the front porch! There must have been two dozen guys, all in phenomenal physical shape, completely naked, enjoying their casual exhibitionism. Obviously they were showing off and my God - they had every right to do so. Naked college lacrosse players - pecs, shoulders, abs, obliques, shadows, tan lines and patches of thick, dark hair in places where there should have been boxer shorts, were just several of many delights that should have conspired to create an evening of enchantment. But for me, that sight was just one in a long line of experiences that confirmed my worst fears. What I was feeling at that moment was indescribable. I was 'turned on' like crazy yet simultaneously feeling shame to a degree I didn't know possible. In my drunken, depressed, shame ridden, inadequate state, I knew what I had to do...
The next morning was horrible but I'm thankful that there was one. I'm truly grateful for that.
It was a long time ago, a lifetime ago - but that night on the beach was for me, the end of innocence and the beginning of a new journey, which I'm still on today. I disappeared from my group of friends and began exploring people and places where I didn't have to pretend to be something I wasn't. Sometimes one must go out into the world alone to find his true place in life. I've loved a lot, learned a lot and grown a lot. After a year or two of exploration and self discovery, I had received a letter from my friend Mark. Aside from a lot of inside jokes, he wrote about how much fun we all used to have, triggering a wave of great memories. He finished the letter with this: "We don't care who or what you are, we miss you a lot and hope you are well."
It is crystal clear to me why gay-teen suicide rates are sky high. I've been there. Hopefully, my story will reach others who are also feeling alone, confused, and isolated. My message to them - You are you, you are here and you are supposed to be.
Today, I live in California with my "dark haired" partner of 5 years, even though we've known each other for ten. We met in 1999 while doing the California AIDS Ride and from day one felt a comfortable, familial bond. My family loves him and his family loves me - his nieces and nephews even call me "Uncle Tré" - how about that? We're planning on making the Uncle 'thing' official this Fall. By the way - he's totally into the idea of a white tux jacket and black pants for wedding wear. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the California Supreme Court allows us to do so.

I lost my grandmother three years ago to a fast and intense bout of lung cancer that had spread to her bones. She was 91. How truly fortunate I am to have had my wonderful Grandmother for 44 years and in retrospect, she to have had me. Even in her last months, she turned many a gentleman's head. She was always so proud of me. I was a good kid.
The feeling that cradled me that night in the ocean, the beauty of the moonlight dancing on the waves, the one that distracted me from my premature death, has been with me ever since and it guides me to this day.
My name is Carlton, but everyone calls me Tré.

Yes, I am gay and I can assure you, I was born this way.

Is Pluto A Planet? A Tribute To Clyde Tombaugh

Is Pluto a planet? There are apparently three answers depending on who you talk to: Yes, No and Maybe. So, what do YOU think? Do you have an opinion on this recent controversy? But more importantly, why? What is your basis for your answer? Why do you think Pluto either is, isn't or possibly could be a planet?

The IAU (International Astronomical Union) in 2006 voted to downgrade Pluto from it's former 'Planetary' status. Now many in the astronomical community not only disagree, but have vowed to ignore the IAU's recent decision. Pretty intense stance, don't you think?

Why the intense feelings? Why such harsh posturing over a tiny object that is almost four billion miles away from the Sun?

In 1906, Percival Lowell, a wealthy Bostonian who founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, began an extensive project in search of a ninth planet, named "Planet X". You see, something had been messing with Uranus' and Neptune's orbits and the only reasonable explanation was that yet another planet's gravity must be causing the chaos. So the search for "Planet X" was on. Percival Lowell spent the remainder of his life searching for this hypothetical object - which he never found. Lowell died in 1916 at the age of 61. His project was put on hold... indefinitely.

In 1929, 23 year old Kansas farm boy, Clyde Tombaugh, got a job at the Lowell Observatory, cleaning up after astronomers and doing various odd jobs. His interest in astronomy led to a new job of continuing the search for Lowell's "Planet X". He did this by systematically taking photographic images of identical portions of the night sky, two weeks apart and then comparing the photographs with something called a "blink comparator" - it enabled him to quickly switch back and forth between photographs in order to detect any moving objects. Then, in 1930 on February 18th, Clyde found something.

What is a planet? Until 2006, there was only the ancient definition. The word planet comes from the Greek word for "wander". Back in ancient times, when Earth was the center of the Universe, our ancestors noticed that seven lights moved, or wandered, through the sky - the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. This is why we have seven days of the week, by the way. If you know your Latin based languages, you can figure out which planet is which day. I'll give you a hint: Sunday is the Sun, Monday (or Lunes, Luni, etc.) is the Moon, Tuesday (or Martes, Mardi, etc) is Mars, Wednesday (or Miercoles, Mercredi, etc) is Mercury, and so on... can you guess which day is represented by Venus? and Saturn?

Obviously, we don't consider the Sun and Moon as planets any longer, but for more than 15 centuries, we did. Imagine how freaked out people were when Nicholas Copernicus suggested (and Galileo Galilei proved) that Earth was NOT the center of the universe - that, in fact, the SUN was the center of it! Many people died - burned alive at the stake by the Catholic Church - for suggesting this. Galileo, who insisted that the authorities look through his telescope and "see for themselves", wasn't murdered. Instead he was put under house arrest for his discoveries. He died in 1642 - blind from observing the Sun, still imprisoned by the church.

The Catholic Church did finally apologize to Galileo... in 1992. Seriously, 1992.

In March of 1930, as word of Tombaugh's discovery spread across the globe, Venetia Burney, an eleven year old school girl in Oxford, England, interested in astronomy and classical mythology, suggested to her Grandfather that the new planet's name should be "Pluto", after the Roman God of the underworld. On March 24th, 1930, the ninth planet in our Solar System was named. Tombaugh became a celebrity, and to this day, remains so. An uneducated farm boy from Kansas - the first American to discover a planet! "Local Boy Becomes A Hero!"

Today, Tombaugh is immortalized in a stained glass window in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Though not a religious person, I feel it's wonderful that religion and science are able to co-exist with each other, rather than certain, divisive, ideology prevalent in some of today's pro-religion/anti-science communities. To me, this is another way Tombaugh is a hero.

Pluto is far away. Really far. It's so far that we don't have any good pictures of it. Even the Hubble Space Telescope can't get a good, detailed snapshot of it. After it's discovery, speculation was that it was huge, but as more observations happened and as technology improved over the years, astronomers eventually realized that Pluto was tiny. Today we know that it's only one fifth the size of Earth's moon.

We also know that Pluto doesn't orbit the Sun in the same way as the other planets. Pluto's orbit is so eccentric that it actually crosses Neptune's orbit - no other planet does that. Pluto's orbit is also tilted - and not just slightly like Mercury's - it's a full seventeen degrees off the plane of the ecliptic. It also isn't alone... there are thousands, perhaps millions of other rocky, icy objects in it's neighborhood - what's now called the Kuiper Belt. Eris, which is bigger than Pluto, is another discovery in this belt. Does that mean that Eris is the tenth planet in our Solar System?

Could it be possible that, now that technology is slowly catching up to discovery, what we thought was a planet is just one of thousands of newly discovered bodies in a vast belt of icy objects? What about the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter? Should the objects in it be considered planets as well?

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson became the unintended center of a controversy firestorm when, during the exhibit design and construction of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, he decided to group the planets in our Solar System based on their physical properties, rather than their locations relative to one another. For instance, the four terrestrial, rocky planets - Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, are placed together. In a separate area, the gas giants are placed together - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. And finally, the icy, rocky objects in the Kuiper Belt are placed together - and Pluto is there. One day while overhearing a young child ask his mother, "Mom, where's Pluto?", a New York Times reporter broke the story that made his paper's front page and changed Dr. Tyson's life - "Pluto Not A Planet? Only In New York". Again, on the front page of the New York Times, right under the story of George W. Bush's inauguration! Dr. Tyson's mail box was flooded with hate mail - a lot of which came from angry third graders.

What is a planet? According to the IAU, for an object to be a planet it must meet three criteria: 1) it must orbit the sun, 2) it must be big enough for it's gravity to force it into a spherical shape and 3) it must have cleared it's orbit of debris. Although Pluto meets the first two criteria, it doesn't even come close to #3. As a result, Pluto was classified as a smaller object, something called a "Dwarf Planet". This brings up an interesting point - one shared by many astrophysicists and other planetary scientists: 'a chihuahua may be a small dog, but it's still a dog nonetheless'.

Which brings us back to our original question - is Pluto a planet? Again, it seems that the answer to that question depends on whom you talk to. At this point, we really don't know enough about Pluto to come up with an answer that will satisfy everyone. That, however, is about to change. In January of 2006, NASA launched "New Horizons", which is on it's way to do a fly-by of Pluto in early 2015. This small spacecraft will be the first to ever get a detailed look at the distant, icy sphere. It's equipped with three special cameras to capture details of the surface, it's make up and possible ring system. It will approach and pass Pluto, Charon, Nix, Hydra, finally Eris and then keep going, never to return back home. After the photographs are sent, after the data is analyzed, after the mission is complete, New Horizons will continue on into the vast, cold, dark emptiness of space until one day, it'll simply be a memory...

Technology is amazing. Eighty five years after a 23 year old farm boy from Kansas discovered what was once the ninth planet in our Solar System, we will finally begin to have details of this beloved yet controversial object. As fascinating as this may be, to me the most important detail of this remarkable nine year journey is that some of Clyde Tomabugh's remains - his ashes - were placed aboard the New Horizons spacecraft and are now headed to the celestial body that he discovered eighty years ago.

Whether Pluto is a planet or not isn't that important to me anymore. What I find most intriguing is that the Kansas farm boy who discovered Pluto, is on his way to find out for himself. I can't imagine a more fitting tribute.

Thank you, Clyde.