If you care about the environment and oil independence, you might want to think twice about supporting John McCain’s pick for VP, Sarah Palin. She supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:
Stick with Obama, you’ll be glad you did
Add comment August 29th, 2008
They’re tacky and probably offensive to some people, but fake bull testicles on automobiles have become the latest target of Florida lawmakers. If this bill becomes law, drivers displaying Truck Nutz or similar fake bull balls could be fined $60.
It sounds like the Florida senate should concentrate their efforts on more important issues, such as global warming. Hey Florida! Wake Up! Your state is going to be under water soon, and you’re worried about whether a truck has a pair of gonads hanging from the trailer hitch.
April 25th, 2008
Red. It’s one of the colors you think of during the holiday season… red ribbons, red lights, bank account in the red. But why Christmas in the Red Zone… and what is the “Red Zone” anyway?
I often refer to the rural part of Washington state between Seattle and Spokane (or between Olympia and Portland, OR) as the Red Zone because during the last two presidential elections, the rural areas voted Republican and are also areas not known to be gay-friendly. Well, my parents live in the Red Zone… 70 miles north of Spokane and that’s where I’m spending Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Christmas with my family. But with the upcoming election in 2008, I can’t help but have on my mind that I will be in a county where 63% of the people voted for George W. Bush and nearly 70% of the people voted for anti-gay Republican Cathy McMorris. Not all of those 63-70% of voters in 2004 made their choices based on anti-gay bias, but unfortunately anti-gay bias does still exist in Northeast Washington.
Despite all this, I will still enjoy myself and consume my share of eggnog and cookies with my loving and accepting family.
December 21st, 2007
Sentator Larry Craig (R - Idaho) joins a growing list of conservative lawmakers who have been caught engaging in sex acts with someone of the same gender. Larry Craig was arrested for “Lewd Conduct” at the Minneapolis Aiport in June, 2007. You can read the police report here.
Ok… if you’re a conservative lawmaker and you’re in the closet, get the hell out of the closet and slam the door behind you… all this sneaking around is making the rest of us in the gay community look like a bunch of sleazy sex perverts.
August 28th, 2007
The right-wing evangelical religious founder of the Moral Majority has kicked the bucket, bought the farm, cashed in his winnings, went belly up, bit the big one… yes, Jerry Falwell has croaked. They say he died from heart trouble; more than likely due to lack of a heart. His hatred toward the gay and lesbian community is legendary. I wonder what he was thinking this morning when he got to heaven and discovered that God is a big black lesbian…
1 comment May 15th, 2007
This is a probably a very controversial statement in wake of the tragic events at Virginia Tech this week, but I feel that it must be said. I also feel that it must be said because I just finished watching the movie Bowling For Columbine, which addresses the shooting at Columbine High School in the late 1990’s, and it really asks a very good question: why are there so many gun-related deaths in the United States?
These two tragedies actually have little to do with gun rights or gun control. I have many liberal beliefs, but I do not believe that gun control could have prevented these tragedies. I believe that the following factors may have played a significant role in the lives and attitudes which led these young people to commit such horrific crimes:
There’s a lot of blame and finger pointing surrounding these tragedies, and I’m not trying to make any one or any group of people wrong about what happened. I’m simply pointing out what I see as the factors which led to the tragedies, and I feel that these are factors that we as Americans need to take a hard look at.
April 19th, 2007
Homophobia in the NBA has hit home in Seattle.
According to this article written by Seattle Times columnist David Postman, two principal owners of the NBA Sonics and the WNBA Storm were the top contributors to the conservative organization Americans United to Preserve Marriage. Because of the homophobic bigoted views of the owners, the Seattle Sonics have just lost me as a fan… so I shall look to my past in Portland and once again become a fan of the Portland Trail Blazers.
This story is bad news for the Sonics, especially at a time when they are looking to the Washington State Legislature to help them build a new arena. I doubt that most conservative legislators would support tax increases for this new arena, and with this added news, I think the Sonics would lose support from liberal legislators. On top of that, I would imagine that the Storm organization will also lose longtime support from the GLBT community.
1 comment February 28th, 2007
The Alaskan Way Viaduct has cast it’s shadow on the Seattle waterfront for more than 50 years and has reached the end of it’s useful life. It’s time for this big ugly nightmare to end, but city and state goverment can’t seem to decide on any real alternative to fix the problem. The state of Washington would like to rebuild this double-decker monolith with an even taller, wider monster. Seattle mayor Greg Nickels would like to bury the freeway underneath Alaskan Way in a tunnel which would be narrower than the current viaduct.
They just don’t seem to get it.
Seattle, a city with a reputation for protecting the enviroment and looking to alternative forms of transportation, needs to widen their view of the world and find a REAL alternative to rebuilding this highway. Both San Francisco and Portland removed freeways and opened up their waterfront areas and provided alternative transportation methods… why can’t Seattle?
The viaduct needs to go… no tunnel… and absolutely no elevated highway.
February 27th, 2007
Today marks the end of the Republican stronghold on the United States government. With a Democratic majority in congress, the right-wing agenda should now be brought to a screeching halt. Living here in the progressive city of Seattle, I had no doubt that the candidates in my district would be Democrats… but it’s a treat to see democrats get elected in such places as Montana, Missouri and Florida.
My most personal dream for this election has come true as the voters of Pennsylvania have decided to clean the Santorum off the senate floor. Pennsylvania is a blue state once again.
November 9th, 2006
Just when I thought all the hate-mongers had left North Idaho, Post Falls business owner Jim Valentine puts up an anti-gay message on his reader board.
This story appeared in the Spokesman-Review newspaper on Saturday (site requires subscription):
Post Falls man advertises his bias
Thousands see sign grouping pedophiles, gaysJim Valentine lumps gay people and pedophiles together. And he doesn’t want any of them living in Idaho.
The 55-year-old Post Falls business owner posted a message in bold letters on his reader board Friday morning: “Peds queers fags your in Idaho now …”
That’s what northbound drivers on Pleasantview Road see when they drive past the sign for his landscape supply and horse-boarding business, Dixie Services.
“Don’t fruit with Idaho kill yo-yo boy” is the message greeting southbound drivers.
According to Valentine, “yo-yo boy” is his nickname for convicted killer and child molester Joseph Duncan, who killed three members of a Coeur d’Alene family and allegedly abducted two children from the family home so he could molest them.
Valentine said he came up with “yo-yo” because he played with Duncan-brand yo-yos when he was a kid.
“People are kind of numb. I think they need to wake up a little bit,” said Valentine, who drives classic cars emblazoned with the Confederate flag. One has a horn that plays “Dixie.”
The father of eight said he was inspired by the “Kill Duncan” bumper stickers he has seen around town. Valentine said he believes he’s speaking on behalf of others in the community who are “afraid” to speak up.
Valentine said drivers who saw the signs have been honking their horns in support of his message. Another sign advertising his business has a picture of the Confederate flag and reads “Welcome to Idaho.”
For those who have worked diligently to promote human rights in North Idaho, Valentine’s message is shocking and sad, said Tony Stewart, board member of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.
“It sends a message of hate directed at an entire group of people,” Stewart said. “It’s stereotyping an entire population. It’s so unfortunate when that happens.”
Stewart said the crimes Duncan committed have affected the entire community.
“We all condemn completely the atrocious crimes of Duncan,” Stewart said. “We wanted swift justice and harsh punishment.”
“One can’t use a certain crime to preach hatred against a whole community of people,” Stewart said.
About 3,500 cars pass Valentine’s property on Pleasantview Road each day, according to the city of Post Falls.
Post Falls police and the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department had not received any complaints about the signs as of Friday afternoon.
Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas said there’s no statute under which Valentine could be prosecuted for displaying the messages.
“That type of distasteful speech is not covered by the malicious harassment law unless it’s accompanied by some threat of imminent injury,” Douglas said.
Well, there may be no legal statute to procecute Mr. Valentine, but there are two things that Idaho residents and tourist can do:
October 23rd, 2006
Inland Northwest GLBTQA Calendar
