Week Ending 16 November

This week the rain came back and it felt like winter might be here to stay for a while, but the sunshine returned just as suddenly even if it's not strong enough to warm us up much.

Veteran's Day

I had to laugh when the Shrub claimed to support veterans. He's never been to a single memorial service for an American killed in his war. He's never even sent condolences to a single military family. The simple fact of the matter is that America thinks veterans are chumps and treats them as such. They're pawns in political games and unfortunately they pay with their lives then foolishly expect the American people to pay up. A few months ago Republicans in congress tried to gut veterans benefits out of several health bills. The military is overwhelmingly registered Republican and their party pays lip service to veteran's issues but when rubber hits the road and it comes time to fund initiatives and programs, Republicans drop the ball time and time again. Someday veterans will wise up and support another party, until then, they get the disregard they deserve.

Die Mommy Die

This was such a gay movie. It was really good though. I love plot twists and turns that show foreshadowing. Clues were there all the time and I don't want to spoil it, but at the big reveal I found myself in an "ah-ha" moment thinking back to all the scenes that hinted at the outcome. The tragic melodrama was played up to spoofish proportions and while it seemed a bit stilted in parts, the over the top dialogue and camp acting made it funny instead of groan worthy. The period costumes were great though a lot of times I thought Jason Priestly was decked out better than the women. Charles Busch isn't a very pretty woman but he seemed comfortable with that fact by allowing it to be an issue for the female character he portrayed. He also capitalized on his lack of vocal prowess and integrated it into the plot to perfection. It's a great gay date movie or a fun film rental to see with friends and I highly recommend it.

Taboo

The American premiere of 'Taboo' the musical about the London Night Club of the same name got mixed reviews. Maybe it was Rosie O'Donnel's involvement or the way they tried to 'punch it up a bit' to make it more palatable to US audiences unfamiliar with the Nu-Ro movement and it's downfall into depravity. USA Today said, "Yet the London-based musical about '80s pop star Boy George, which opened Thursday at the Plymouth Theatre, turns out to be a delightful experience — that is, if you leave after the first act." OK so they get a little preachy and syrupy in the second act. Maybe the reviewer was blinded by Boy George's presence as an actor playing Taboo's impresario, Leigh Bowery and simultaneously his presence as a character played by another actor. The fact is, everyone at Taboo was F**k'd up on drugs. Leigh's partner Trojan and Taboo doorman Mark Golding and both died of drug overdoses. Boy George was very public about his stint in rehab so it's no surprise the musical retelling would linger on the issue.

Election '03

Matt Pulls Ahead
Left-wing extremist Matt Gonzalez has pulled ahead of multimillionaire Gavin Newsome for the first time. While the two percentage point lead is statistically insignificant, it's energized his campaign. With three more weeks left until election day, things should be neck and neck barring any new revelations.

Election '04

Senate Talk-A-Thon
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch led Republicans into a 30-hour "Justice for Judges" talkathon Wednesday on the Senate floor. The GOP chorus calling for an end to Democratic filibusters against several pro-life, conservative judicial nominees seemed so hypocritical. Many of the appeals that made it to the media charged the Democrats with 'playing politics' as if a one party talkathon wasn't an extremely partisan political maneuver. The Republican awareness-raising stunt to call attention to the "dire need for new judges" ignores the fact that the current state of the American Judiciary was created by Republican filibusters against Clinton judicial nominees. Turnabout is fairplay and Republican crybabies from Bush on down should be thankful that the Democrats have no backbone on most issues and give up on this one.

The Age of Imperialism

Death Toll Higher Than Ever
This week more Americans died because Bush lied. A bunch of Italians died this week too. Shamefully, the Shrub still doesn't care and has never even called a family to send his personal condolences or those on behalf of the country they died serving.

Priorities
Republicans are far more interested in fixing schools, roads and infrastructure in Iraq instead of fixing schools, roads, and infrastructure in America.

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