I guess we took it for granted after so many years, but it’s always eye-opening to see how we are viewed by the rest of the world.

Here’s the BBC’s view:

Utah lifts ‘weird’ drinking curbs
Utah has eased its strict controls on public drinking by announcing the end of restrictions under which bars had to function like private clubs.

From 1 July, anyone wanting a strong drink in the largely Mormon state will no longer have to fill in a form and pay a fee in order to enter a bar.

It is hoped the move will attract more visitors to Utah, which has a tourist industry worth an annual $6bn (£4.2bn).

Some bar customers said they welcomed the end to Utah’s “weird drinking law”.
(more…)

see more pwn and owned pictures

Read what you want into this article in today’s Houston Chronicle, but it still falls into the “separate but equal” category in my book.

eHarmony has been one of the most anti-gay businesses launched on the Internet and only did this separate “gay” site to settle a discrimination lawsuit. I’m sure they’ll put all of the same efforts into it as the “straight” version (lol).

Until they recognize that other relationships can and do exist and are potentially just as committed as a woman and a man’s, I would not support them (and believe me, they do charge for this service).

eHarmony launches gay coupling site
Move comes in settlement of New Jersey court case
By David Colker | Los Angeles Times-Washington Post

As of Tuesday, eHarmony comes out of the closet.

The adamantly heterosexual dating site, which has accepted only male-female couples since its inception in 2000, is launching a gay matchmaking service called Compatible Partners.

But eHarmony’s new relationship with the gay community is like a shotgun wedding: The company agreed in November to start the dating service as part of a settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General in the wake of a discrimination lawsuit.
(more…)

Ain’t this just the cutest?

I finally watched the movie Milk last night.

Can someone explain to me why it was passed over for the Academy Awards’ Best Picture this year?

There’s no question that Sean Penn deserved his Best Actor award and that Dustin Black’s script earned the Best Original Screenplay fairly. But no other awards from its eight nominations?

I know Slumdog Millionaire was the “feel good hit of the season” and all, but really, Best Picture? What was its social relevance in a world that still revels in codified discrimination (e.g. California’s Prop 8)?

Milk‘s story paralleled today’s world (30 years later!) as it dealt with California’s Prop 6 — an attempt to fire not only all gay teachers, but anyone who supported them. Really?

As ridiculous as that sounds now, it’s not far removed in tenor and tone from OUR own Prop 8 and the “religilous” right who still try to foist their narrowly-defined world view on the rest of us — even if it means abrogating the U.S. Constitution (which in the not-too-distant future, we shall see rectified).

Milk was a sad and often poignant snapshot of the times (I was on my mission in Brazil during most of the events in the film and missed them in my LDS-wrapped cocoon) that came to life for me in ways that brought tears to my eyes and a desire to get more involved in “righting the wrongs”.

I feel like I missed major social upheavals and world events during my time of intense activity in the LDS church (1973-1988). Am I the only one who saw (or sees) “through a glass darkly” during church activity?

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?”

–Satchel Paige

So today is my 51st birthday.

My honey is in Brisbane, Australia, the cats and dog are sleeping (Reno is snoring) and the sun is rising over Mount Olympus. No clouds today.

A little lonely, but overall, not a bad day.

Click the headline to read the whole article:

Do the Secret Bush Memos Amount to Treason? Top Constitutional Scholar Says Yes

Legal expert Michael Ratner calls the legal arguments made in the infamous Yoo memos, “Fuhrer’s law.”

In early March, more shocking details emerged about George W. Bush legal counsel John Yoo’s memos outlining the destruction of the republic.

The memos lay the legal groundwork for the president to send the military to wage war against U.S. citizens; take them from their homes to Navy brigs without trial and keep them forever; close down the First Amendment; and invade whatever country he chooses without regard to any treaty or objection by Congress.

It was as if Milton’s Satan had a law degree and was establishing within the borders of the United States the architecture of hell.

I thought this was — and is — certainly one of the biggest stories of our lifetime, making the petty burglary of Watergate — which scandalized the nation — seem like playground antics. It is newsworthy too with the groundswell of support for prosecutions of Bush/Cheney crimes and recent actions such as Canadian attorneys mobilizing to arrest Bush if he visits their country.

The memos are a confession. The memos could not be clearer: This was the legal groundwork of an attempted coup. I expected massive front page headlines from the revelation that these memos exited. Almost nothing. I was shocked.

Freedom Action Inclusion Rights (F.A.I.R.), a Southern California-based grassroots organization fighting for marriage equality and the repeal of California’s Prop 8, has partnered with artist Shepard Fairey to open a ‘Love Unites’ store.

100 percent of the proceeds go toward efforts to repeal Proposition 8 and secure equality in California.