The Republic of T.

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 28th through August 31st:

• How Obama Can Win on Health Care –
• “The Dream” Remains a Vision –
• Bill Moyers Disses Dems as “Spineless” –
• President Obama: Eulogy for a Lion –
• It’s Republicans, not Democrats, who are trying to kill the elderly. –
• The GOP’s health care solution. –
• Katrina’s Hidden Race War: Four Years Later –
• We Ration. We Ration. We Ration. We Ration. –
• Four Years After Katrina, Thousands Are Homeless and Struggling In New Orleans –

Over the past week, I had some downtown from work, and I used it to do some much needed editing on the LGBT Hate Crimes Project. (Yes, to those who emailed me about the various spelling and typographical errors, I did read your emails. And, no, the errors are not a sign of lack of care on my part. But the sheer volume of these stories makes me more driven to record as many as I can than to spend time editing the ones I have recorded.) It brought be back to some stories I’d researched and intended to write up. So, I’m getting back into that now.

One of the reasons I started the LGBT Hate Crimes Project was to because, while researching a post on the Hate Crimes Bill, I noticed several that I was aware of (had read and/or written about) weren’t listed on Wikipedia. I soon found out why they weren’t — and never will be — listed on Wikipedia. The story of Narcisso P. Leggs’ murder is a prime example.

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 27th through August 28th:

• The Secret History of Hurricane Katrina –
• Teddy’s Resume –
• Redacted –
• Health Care: Americans Want Change While Keeping Status Quo –
• Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Hatin' on Ted Kennedy –
• Adam Neiman: The Tenacity of Fear… –
• How Obama Can Honor Kennedy –
• Terrence McNally: If I Were President: How I Would Have Answered the Public Option Question –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 26th through August 27th:

• Ted Kennedy: A Model for Obama –
• Ted Kennedy: Master of Opportunity –
• Arianna Huffington: Ted Kennedy and the Missing National Conversation –
• Ted Kennedy's Legacy in the Black Community –
• Politics and the Poor –
• Bailed-Out Financial Firms Forked Over $6 Million To Members Of Congress Since November –
• Thomas Frank: Health Care and the Democratic Soul –
• Katrina Pain Index – 2009 –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 25th through August 26th:

• Simon Johnson and James Kwak – Don't Want a Public Plan? Well, What Do You Think of Medicare? – washingtonpost.com –
• The Cause of Ted Kennedy’s Life –
• The Senate’s Fighting Liberal –
• Last Chance for the Public Option? –
• Shaking Up Suburbia –
• Is Health Care Reform Reviving the Militia Movement? –
• Status Quo Is Not an Option –

It was quiet this morning, when I sat down to read the news, after seeing the rest of my family out the door. It was quiet this morning when I read about the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy.

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 23rd through August 25th:

• We Need to Know What Was Done in Our Name –
• The Real Debate About Health Care –
• Tom Sullivan: Health Care Protesters: "I'm All Right, Jack" –
• Guns, the NRA and the Obama Opposition –
• Is Glenn Beck Finished? –
• Marian Wright Edelman: The Economic Costs of Uninsured Children –
• After 5 Years of Legal Gay Marriage, Massachusetts still has the lowest state divorce rate and Western Civilization is intact –
• John Marshall: To Boldly Go Where No Plan Has Gone Before –
• This Isn’t Reform, It’s Robbery –
• Still Crazy After all These Years –

Being a parent of a small child — who is apparently entering the “terrible twos” a few months early — I tend to put things in that context sometimes.

You’ve been warned about the “terrible twos,” but you may be unprepared for this rite of passage if your child has been cooperative up until now. The stage doesn’t always begin exactly on your child’s second birthday. Development experts say it can strike as early as 18 months and as late as 30 months (though some angelic children never go through this phase). How do you know if you’re in the midst of the TTs? Look for new signs of assertiveness from your toddler. Hallmark behaviors to watch for: He may insist on doing exactly what you’ve told him not to do or throw himself down on the floor in a fit of temper if he doesn’t get his way. His demands may alternately frustrate and amuse you. At times, for example, he’ll likely ask for something that he doesn’t even want, just to see if he has enough power to get it.

What we’re seeing from the health care town halls, what we’ve seen from the “birthers” and what we saw during the campaign is essentially what I call “Tyranny of the Tantrum.”

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 21st through August 23rd:

• Steve Rosenbaum: Health Care Ponzi Scheme –
• Dying for Affordable Health Care – the Uninsured Speak –
• America’s (Invisible) Liberal Majority –
• Op-Ed Columnist: The Guns of August –
• Want to Boycott Fox News Sponsors? Here’s a List –
• Norman Horowitz: Let Them Eat Cake –
• America is Not Yet a Post-Racial Society –
• School Censorship, Justice and LGBT Rights –
• The Exponential Idiocy of ‘Moderate’ Democrats –
• Why the Gang of Six is Deciding Health Care for Three Hundred Million of Us –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 20th through August 21st:

• Bob Burnett: At Last Liberals Get Angry –
• Missing: Democrats’ Passion –
• 7 Delicious Meat Alternatives (and Not a Lick of Tofu in Sight) –
• What Is Heterosexism? –
• The Super-Rich Are Getting Poorer –
• Chris Hedges on Health Care, War and the New Racism –
• Big Brother in Your Pocket –
• Health Care Rats Come Out of the Woodwork –
• Carol M. Swain: 'Whites are People Too': Why Some White People are Stating the Obvious –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 20th from 08:43 to 12:50:

• Michele Swenson: 'Public Option' a Shadow of Its Original Intent – Dr. Marcia Angell Advises Optional Medicare Buy-In –
• Les Leopold: Palin calls for Wall Street "Death Panel" –
• Frank Rich fears right-wing ‘rage’ will lead to violence –
• Thomas Jefferson: The Face of a Rapist –
• No, We Can’t Wait –
• Best Answer to Townhall Stupidity –
• Cenk Uygur: How the Democrats Should Have Handled the Health Care Debate –
• Joe Klein: GOP Has Become A Party Of Nihilists –
• FBI ‘trained NJ blogger to incite others’ –
• Watch: Barney Frank tears into protester –

The unpredictable nature of hate crimes isn’t something that gets a lot of consideration, but it’s a factor in the increased level of stress LGBT persons often experience. At least according to researchers at UCLA.
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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 19th from 03:00 to 21:56:

• FBI trained Turner to incite hatred: Lawyer –
• Feigned Empathy and the Death Penalty –
• FBI trained white supremacist to incite others: lawyer –
• Former Agent: Gun-Toters Creating ‘Atmosphere of Danger’ for Obama –
• Keep Up Pressure for a Public Option –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 18th through August 19th:

• Ex-Gay Survivors Gain Exposure in Media –
• New Study Exposes 2007 as the Year of the Super-Rich –
• Southern City Supports Same-Sex Marriage –
• The Co-op Model Would Mostly Suceed in Protecting the Insurance Industry –
• MSNBC's Maddow Show Propels Growing Scandal Over Washington's "Christian Mafia" –
• 13 Things a Burglar Won’t Tell You –
• Alinsky’s Rules for Right Wingers –
• Eric Boehlert: Health care mobs = Swift Boat Vets. And the press plays dumb, again –
• It’s Now or Never for a Public Option: Why We Need to Take a Stand Against to the Insurance Industry’s Greed –
• “I’m Sorry, But We’ll Need to See Your Genitals” –

One of the major lasting effects of hate crimes is the fear that they spread through the community at which they’re directed. In many ways, that’s the intended outcome: to make people afraid to do that which they have every right to do and every right to expect to be safe in doing.

There’s a ripple that spreads through a community that’s just experienced a hate crime. For one, people see themselves in the victim, and see their everyday actions reflected in the story of the victim’s activities just prior to being attacked. We say to ourselves “I walk down that street just about every night, on my way home,” or “I love that bar! I go there two or three times a week.” And, seeing how vulnerable the victim was in the same circumstances, we change our routine. We take walk a different route home. We decide not to go to that particular bar tonight.

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 17th from 10:16 to 22:26:

• Dean: No reform without public option –
• Obama’s health care surrender: Taibbi –
• Joe the Plumber on Pelosi: I Would "Beat the Livin' Tar" Out of Her –
• Human Rights Group Documents Widespread Torture and Murder of Iraqi Gays –
• Senate Dems Cave to “Death Panels” Lie –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 14th through August 17th:

• Dean: ‘You can’t really have reform without a public option’ –
• Crunch Time for the Public Option –
• Ohio Police Dispatcher Passes Along Racist Image of Air Force One –
• Who’s Got the Power? –
• Why Does Popular Culture Treat Prison Rape As a Joke? –
• Rosa Parks sign torn up at town hall –
• UK defends health care for all –
• The Sky Isn’t Falling: It Turns Out Gay Marriage Has Not Destroyed the Institution for Heteros –
• False ‘Death Panel’ Rumor Has Some Familiar Roots –
• False ‘Death Panel’ Rumor Has Some Familiar Roots –

iii

Tell me, tell me, tell me the answer…

“Helter Skelter,” The Beatles

His name was Jason. I didn’t remember that right away, but I remembered him. As I closed the book on Rader and asked myself how people could sit right next to a murderer like him — or like any of the others whose deeds I’d been reading about — and not now it … I thought about Jason. I hadn’t done that in a long time.

He was, when I knew him, a fairly ordinary guy. I didn’t know him well, and we weren’t close friends. He was, for a while, part of my social circle in college. Most of the time, I’d see him in the dining hall, where some of us who had a break in classes at the same time of day would gather for lunch. Or I’d see him when (roughly) the same group got together for dinner in the dining hall.

I don’t remember how he came to be a part of the group, which was randomly assembled. He may have been someone’s roomate. Perhaps he had a class with someone in the group, or attended the same high school, or came from the same hometown.

He was a pretty regular guy from what I recall. He was average height or maybe a little shorter, kinda skinny, brown hair, blue eyes. He had a nice smile and a somewhat deep voice. Knowing me, I might even have thought he was somewhat cute back then, briefly, before moving on to some other crush on some other guy within a day or so.

Anyway, he was straight, so I likely dismissed the notion quickly. He dated one young woman in our group, for a while. They eventually broke up, but don’t remember any drama about it. He still hung out with the group.

Most of all, I don’t remember anything that stood out about him. He wasn’t, violent as far as I remember. I don’t remember anything about him that suggested he was likely to murder anyone.

Like I said, I couldn’t even remember his name. But I remembered him. And, more than that, I remembered his victim’s name.

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Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for August 14th from 01:13 to 13:35:

• Commentary: ‘Death panel’ rumors are false –
• False ‘Death Panel’ Rumor Has Some Familiar Roots –
• Get Real on Obama –
• Lane Hudson: Why I interrupted Bill Clinton's speech at Netroots Nation –
• 10 Awesome Things That Would Happen If Health Reform Passes –
• How Bad Things Might Have Been –
• Op-Ed Columnist: Republican Death Trip –