Archive
Bush Torture Memos Released
You can find information and the actual “torture memos” from the Bush Administration here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/bush-torture-memos-releas_n_187867.html
Young and Gay in the Bible Belt: ‘My Mom Came at Me With a Butcher Knife!’
Young and Gay in the Bible Belt: ‘My Mom Came at Me With a Butcher Knife!’
By Bernadette C. Barton
AlterNet. Posted April 15, 2009.For many Bible Belt gays, “home” is not a haven from the outside world. Home may be more dangerous than the streets.
The crisis gay youth face in the Bible Belt struck home particularly hard for me this week while dining with members of a gay/straight alliance in a small Southern town.After asking the conversation-opener of the group — “So, would you like to all share your coming out stories with me?” — a young woman on my right named Angie* immediately burst out, “My mother came at me with a butcher knife!”
Stunned, I was trying to process this when a young woman to my left whispered, “You don’t want to hear my story, it’s too violent.” More violent than your mother attacking you with a butcher knife? How is that possible? What does that mean?
Palin’s New Disaster – The Daily Beast
Oops. An excerpt:
Palin’s New Disaster
by Max BlumenthalThe governor is reeling after nominating for attorney general a man who allegedly defended the right of men to rape their wives. Now, Max Blumenthal reports, she may dump him to save herself.
While priming her political machine for a likely 2012 presidential primary run, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has fomented a scandal that threatens to further erode her reputation in the Last Frontier. In March, Palin nominated Wayne Anthony Ross for attorney general. Ross, a colorful far-right lawyer and longtime Palin ally who sports his initials, W.A.R., on his Hummer’s vanity plates, was once considered a shoo-in for confirmation.
However, his nomination was thrown into grave peril when his opponents presented evidence that he called homosexuals “degenerates,” hailed the “courage” of a student who lionized the Ku Klux Klan, vowed to undermine the sovereignty of Native American tribes, and allegedly defended men who rape their wives. According to two sources close to the confirmation hearings, Palin may ask Ross to withdraw before his appointment comes to a vote.
Can Cuba cope with an onslaught of Americans?
Watch out, Cuba! If you thought Batista and Castro were bad, wait until American tourists come calling!
An excerpt:
Can Cuba cope with an onslaught of Americans?
ABC News
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press
Sun Apr 12, 1:32 pmHAVANA – A push in Congress to do away with U.S. travel bans on Cuba could set off a flood of American visitors to the long-forbidden island.
But many wonder if a country where foreigners have long complained about lousy food, sluggish service and iffy infrastructure is ready for an onslaught of Americans unseen since the days of Meyer Lansky and Al Capone.
Cuba has about as many hotel rooms as Detroit and most are already full of Canadians and Europeans. Experts say droves of Americans could drive up prices, unleash calls for more flights and cruises than Cuba can handle and force the government to tighten visa restrictions to regulate the stampede.
“There is great pent-up demand,” said Bob Whitley, president of the United States Tour Operators Association, which opposes the travel ban. “It will have to be controlled by officials in Cuba, but also by U.S. tour operators to make sure the infrastructure is up to it.”
Bills in the U.S. House and Senate would effectively allow all Americans to visit. Trips for U.S. citizens with relatives here already got easier last month. Cuban-Americans can now come annually instead of every three years.
Cuba began encouraging international tourism after the fall of the Soviet Union, and its top feeder countries are Canada, Britain, Italy, Spain and France. Foreign tourist visits jumped 9.3 percent last year to a record 2.35 million, generating $2.7 billion or 11 percent more than 2007, the government says.
Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?
Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?
Adams HE, Wright LW Jr, Lohr BA.
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602-3013, USA.The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n = 35) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n = 29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980). The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.
Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal? [J Abnorm Psychol. 1996] – PubMed Result
Deflation – The Opposite of Inflation. How It Can Grind the Economy to a Halt
A Visual Guide to Deflation
by WallStats.com on 4/8/2009Deflation is inflation’s polar opposite. It’s what happens when prices go down and you get more bang for your buck. Sounds good right? But deflation, like inflation is complicated and much less understood than inflation. It can lead to what’s called the deflationary spiral and grind the whole economy to a halt. In this second of a two-part series we take a look at deflation.
Socialism has failed. Now capitalism is bankrupt. So what comes next?
Republicans Planning “Tea Parties” on April 15th
Information via ••Rachel Maddow and MSNBC••.
Sarah Palin’s Mistakes
I know I should let it go, but I really can’t stand this woman. Here’s a review of her vice-presidential debate performance. Stunning.
GOP govs get dose of stimulus reality
GOP govs get dose of stimulus reality
By BEN SMITH | 4/9/09 7:48 PM EDT
The list of governors threatening to decline federal stimulus money last month read like a list of Republicans considering running for president in 2012: Governors Mark Sanford, Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin led the anti-stimulus charge.But what began with a bang is ending with something closer to a whimper. All three of those governors have been forced to scale back their expectations, to varying degree, as the push of conservative philosophy gave way to the pull of political reality.All three found that praise from the conservative movement in Washington meant nothing to furious state legislators of both parties. And in the end, along with other conservative Republican governors, the three submitted letters in recent days asking to be eligible for federal funds, a spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget confirmed.
GOP govs get dose of stimulus reality – Ben Smith – POLITICO.com
Interesting Links Past and Present 