The Republic of T.

Stan Collender is right. The NY-26 election special election will change the budget debate. In fact, it already has. Democrat Kath Hochul’s victory over Republican Jane Corwin, in a solidly Republican district, in special election that became a referendum on Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal — which Corwin endorsed — turned up the volume on the debate over the Republican plan to “destroy Medicare as we know it.” The Medicare rhetoric will only get louder.

Though we’ll all hear more about the GOP’s dastardly plans for Medicare, we’ll probably hear less about their equally destructive plans for Medicaid. That’s dangerous, because Medicaid is just as important as Medicare, and the GOP’s plans for it could have devastating consequences for millions of Americans.

Forewarned is forearmed. Here’s what you need to know about Medicare and the Ryan/GOP Budget. (more…)

Who didn’t see this coming?

Last September, megachurch preacher Bishop Eddie Long stood before his congregation at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church a week after gay sex allegations surfaced between him and four teenage boys, and he told members he was going to fight the allegations.

But Long chose not to fight in court. Instead he reached a settlement and paid off the four young men who accused the mega-church preacher of using his power to influence them into sexual relationships with him.
“You can interpret that any way you want, but usually people do not settle cases unless there is some reason to do so,” said former DeKalb County Prosecutor J. Tom Morgan.
Morgan said he is familiar with cases like Long’s.
“They had to reach a settlement if they did not want any statement by the Bishop on record,” said Morgan.

Well.

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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 May 26th through May 28th:

• Republicans Take a Mulligan –
• An economic history of the last three years, interpreted through Slate internships. – By Chris Wilson – Slate Magazine –
• Op-Ed Columnist: Medicare and Mediscares –
• Op-Ed Contributor: America’s Forgotten Liberal –
• Here Are The Electoral Implications Of The Rapture, In Case You Were Wondering –
• When whites say, “What about me?” –
• What will it take for meat-free diets to go mainstream? –

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

• The Tea Party Is Yesterday’s News –
• The big debt lie –
• Paul Ryan gets a taste of his own shameless demagoguery –
• Ryan's Plan "Turns Its Back On Vulnerable At Time Of Grave Economic Uncertainty" –
• Same-Sex Relations, Marriage Receive Record Approval –
• Gene Sperling: “We Should Be Very Deeply Troubled By the Medicaid Cuts” in GOP Budget –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for May 25th from 09:00 to 16:30:

• John Edwards: Democrats’ bitterest disappointment | Amanda Marcotte –
• Would-Be Medicare Eliminators Call The Truth “Mediscare” Because They’re Afraid It Works –
• High School Student Stands Up Against Prayer at Public School and Is Ostracized, Demeaned and Threatened –
• Robert Reich: Paul Ryan Still Doesn't Get It –
• WATCH: GOP Congressman Defends Taking Government Health Care 'Because It's Free' –
• After calling the auto rescue “tragic,” Mitt Romney now claims he “had the idea first” –
• How Roger Ailes Runs Fox News –
• What’s Left of the Ryan Plan? –
• Why The GOP’s Plans To Cut Family Planning Will Cost Us All –
• When Will Republicans Stop Saying Dumb Things About Rape? (Hint: When They Stop Hating Women) –

I won’t watch a movie if I’ve missed the beginning, and I hate missing endings so much that I won’t start watching a movie I can’t see through to the end. As a writer, the beginning and end are two of the most important parts of the story to me. They answer two important important questions in any story: “How did we get into this?” and “How do we get out of this?”

Monday night, I watched Too Big To Fail — HBO’s eponymous adaptation of Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book — from start to finish. Yet, I still ended up feeling like I’d missed the two most important parts of the story: the beginning and the end. Thus, I never got answers to those important questions: How did we get into this mess? How do we get out of this mess?

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Remember back in 2004, when Dubya won re-election and liberals started threatening to move to Canada? Well, maybe I should have considered it. Because according to OECD’s Better Life Index, Canada is where I belong.

But, I’m still not moving to Canada.

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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 May 23rd from 14:41 to 19:44:

• The GOP’s Medicare headache –
• Tennessee Anti-Gay Bill Would Roll Back Civil Rights Protections –
• Why Republicans will never come through with `replace’ –
• Focus on the Family head basically gives up on fighting gay marriage –
• Non-white people make some headway; white people freak out. –

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for May 23rd from 06:00 to 14:24:

• Our first black Irish president –
• Factory Farms Produce 100 Times More Waste Than All People In the US Combined and It’s Killing Our Drinking Water –
• Acceptance of gay marriage Gallups along –
• Mitchell Bard: The GOP Has Gone From the Party of No to the Party of F You –
• Michael Bronski’s A Queer History of the United States: What do 500 years reveal about gays in America? –
• How our debt happened –
• Paul Ryan Budget Could Be Ticking Time Bomb For Republicans –
• Is the Catholic abuse scandal over? | The question –
• 'Blind Allegiance To Sarah Palin': Former Aide's Tell-All Says She Was After The Money –
• What Americans Want –

• Readable / TastefulWords.com
  (tags: tools web reading readability)

I’ve written before about how much I’ve enjoyed my Kindle 3 since I got it, and that was only after one week of using it. I’ve always carried reading material with me, and the Kindle 3 has made it a lot easier to carry all I reading material I want. And I’ve been using Instapaper’s Kindle feature to grab articles online for reading during my commute home. Who knew it would help me keep up with my blog reading and news reading?

What more could I as for? Well, as I said in my earlier post on the Kindle, there were a couple of things I wanted to ask for. And they were important enough to keep me from buying a Kindle for a while, until the combination of the price and capability of reading the Mobipocket were enough to get me over any reservations I had before.

Now, it looks like Amazon is addressing two of my earlier concerns.

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• LATERTHIS /
  (tags: web reference bookmarks)
• about "toread" bookmark service
  (tags: tools web2.0 email reading)

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for May 16th through May 19th:

• Why Movements Matter –
• Chris Weigant: The Ryan Budget Acid Test –
• The symbolic battle over the debt ceiling –
• ProPublica: When Powerful Men Cross Lines: Schwarzenegger and DSK –
• Pity for the Powerful –
• Jeff Danziger: IMF Explained –
• Report reveals “causes” of Catholic sex abuse –
• Keepin’ Em Straight Through Grade Eight! –
• “Ancient History” –

The Catholic Church has finally uncovered the “causes” for its long epidemic of sexual abuse.

A report on the putative “causes” of sexual abuse in the American Catholic Church over the past 60 years is set to be released today. The study, titled “The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010,” claims celibacy and homosexuality were not prime catalysts for mistreatment — arguing instead that many priests were unable to deal with the pressures of the “sexual revolution.”

The report was commissioned by bishops of the American Catholic Church, and compiled by scholars at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. It is thought to have cost around $1.8 billion, half of which was provided by the bishops themselves (the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice contributed approximately $280,000, according to the New York Times).

Its conclusions will doubtless be controversial; they will please neither those who argue for an end to clerical celibacy — thus supporting a priest’s right to marry — nor those who claim that homosexuals are more likely to abuse young boys (who have, in clerical abuse cases, historically been victimised more than girls) and thus should not be ordained.

Well, yes and no.

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It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for Republicans. Almost. The mess the GOP finds itself in, after appointing itself to Medicare’s “death panel,” would be laughable if it weren’t also so pathetic.

Especially since it’s a mess of GOP’s own making, and they know it. That’s why Republicans pitched a collective hissy fit when — and this is the beauty part — Newt Gingrich told them the truth.

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It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that Republican Senators voted to protect oil subsidies — along with Democrats Mark Begich, Ben Nelson — and Mary Landrieu after getting big money from Big Oil. (How big? See here.)

On Tuesday night, Republicans in the Senate filibustered the majority’s attempt to repeal $21 billion in subsidies for the big five oil companies — the same companies that made over $30 billion in profits in just the first three months of 2011. While three out of four Americans believe ExxonMobil and the other oil majors should pay their fair share, instead of receiving taxpayer welfare,
the oil-friendly Senate split 52 to 48 to end the subsidies. Though the
majority of the Senate voted to repeal these oil tax breaks, the
procedural motion required a 60-vote threshold.

An analysis of campaign contribution records shows the gusher of dirty cash that fueled the filibuster:

A Center for American Progress Action Fund analysis finds that the 48 senators who sided with Big Oil received over $21 million in career oil contributions,
while 52 senators who sided with the American people received only $5.4
million in contributions. Each senator who voted for Big Oil received
on average more than four times as much oil cash as those who voted to end the subsidies.

After all, it’s just business. That is, if the first rule of your business is “Leave the money on the dresser,” and second is “No kissing on the lips.”

When white America catches a cold, the saying goes, black America gets pneumonia. Or in this case, when white America has a recession, black America gets a depression. It was true in the Great Depression, and it’s no less true in the “Great Recession.” It seems counterintuitive that, with the first black president in office, African Americans would be worse off economically. But, as has been made clear over and over again, the election of Barack Obama was not a curative for the nation’s racial ills, or for the economic pre-existing conditions that have turned white America’s recession into black America’s depression.

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I’ve been so busy with work and family that I’ve fallen behind on my email. I didn’t know I was in the running, but apparently this blog has been voted one of Circle of Moms Top 25 LGBT Parent Blogs.

What are the best blogs written by or for LGBT parents? Is there a writer out there in the blogosphere who truly tells it like it is for LGBT families and makes you feel like someone out there gets it? Is there someone who is providing much appreciated connection and support through their blog? We want to hear about them!

Voting closed on May 13th. I didn’t check my email soon enough put up a post asking for votes, so I’m even more surprised. Back in March, I was included in their top 25 Daddy Blogs. That was another pleasant surprise.

Well, it’s always nice to be included. Thanks, Circle of Moms!

Here are some of the people writing about some of the stuff I wish I had time to write about, for May 12th through May 16th:

• Op-Ed Columnist: America Held Hostage –
• Editorial: Remembering the Freedom Riders –
• Lincoln Would Weep –
• Earl Ofari Hutchinson: Method to the Madness in Ron Paul's War Against Civil Rights –
• Michael Thornton: 99ers and the Long-term Unemployed Are the Elephants in the Economic Recovery Room –
• Pushing back against regressive taxes –
• Ron Paul And The Civil Rights Act –
• Enslaved to Ron Paul –
• Michael Moore’s “Some Final Thoughts on the Death of Osama bin Laden” –
• Uncomfortably Sexual Company Logos –

Lost in the media tsunami after U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden is news that may prove as economically devastating the terrorism bin Laden masterminded. For a lot of Americans, “returning to the private sector” means practicing saying “You want fries with that?”, with a smile. And they’re the lucky ones.

For African Americans, in the midst of an underreported epidemic of unemployment, the prognosis is grim.

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