Not just another gay McDonald’s ad

There seems to be progress in Malawi…

I am more concerned about the reaction of the people than the condemnation itself.  So even though they have been pardoned, they are in grace danger.

On the don’t-ask-don’t-tell front…

What I find revolting is the obligation to lie.  The requirement to be a hypocrite.

I am very grateful to institutionalized American homophobia.  I remember going in for the military IQ test.  On the desk, in huge letters, was a sign saying “CLAIMS TO BE A HOMOSEXUAL”.

My fellow potential recruits smirked at me.  Fortunately for me, I was self-assured.

The psychiatrist who studied me asked me lots of questions about my education.  He was very curious.

And finally…  The IQ test itself showed I had a very limited intelligence.  Since it was mostly about screwdrivers and different sorts of screws, I didn’t let the results weigh on me too much.

So I escaped the draft.  Yay.

I loathe the idea of the military, and I can’t see why anyone would want to learn to kill people.  I especially can’t understand why gay people would want to do that.  I suppose they’re no different from people who CLAIM TO BE HETEROSEXUAL.

How exceptionally sad.

Gay couple sentenced to maximum 14 years in Malawi

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) – A judge sentenced a couple to the maximum 14 years in prison with hard labor under Malawi’s anti-gay legislation, and crowds jeered the two men as they were driven from the court house to jail Thursday.

see rest of story…

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We haven’t really won anything.

  Walt Whitman
  I sing the body electric

6

The male is not less the soul nor more, he too is in his place,
He too is all qualities, he is action and power,
The flush of the known universe is in him,
Scorn becomes him well, and appetite and defiance become him well,
The wildest largest passions, bliss that is utmost, sorrow that is
utmost become him well, pride is for him,
The full-spread pride of man is calming and excellent to the soul,
Knowledge becomes him, he likes it always, he brings every thing to
the test of himself,
Whatever the survey, whatever the sea and the sail he strikes
soundings at last only here,
(Where else does he strike soundings except here?)

The man’s body is sacred and the woman’s body is sacred,
No matter who it is, it is sacred–is it the meanest one in the
laborers’ gang?
Is it one of the dull-faced immigrants just landed on the wharf?
Each belongs here or anywhere just as much as the well-off, just as
much as you,
Each has his or her place in the procession.

(All is a procession,
The universe is a procession with measured and perfect motion.)

Do you know so much yourself that you call the meanest ignorant?
Do you suppose you have a right to a good sight, and he or she has
no right to a sight?
Do you think matter has cohered together from its diffuse float, and
the soil is on the surface, and water runs and vegetation sprouts,
For you only, and not for him and her?

It’s still your birthday in the UK, so:

Happy Birthday, Kez.

 Danger Danger Will Robinson!

Two fun scams

I got two interesting emails the day before yesterday.

The first was from a friend of mine who wrote that she’d been robbed in a hotel in London and would I send her $2000 dollars via Western Union.

The second was from Apple, confirming an order from the store.  The link led to a site owned by someone in Madras, India, which downloaded an .exe file – presumably a virus of some sort.

I knew the first could not be from Maggie, since she has never typed an email that didn’t contain at least one typing/spelling mistake in each word.  

The second I checked by going directly to my apple account rather than clicking on the link provided in the email.  / The hint that something was up was:  1) I hadn’t ordered anything lately and 2) Apple-store order numbers start with letters.

Just a word of warning.

Supreme Court stops execution of convicted killer in Texas

The justices want more time to study Hank Skinner’s appeal for DNA testing of evidence from a triple homicide. The stay is issued an hour before he was to die.

By David G. Savage

March 25, 2010

Reporting from Washington


With just an hour to spare, the Supreme Court blocked the Wednesday evening execution in Texas of convicted murderer Hank Skinner, who maintains his innocence and who has sought DNA testing of key evidence for a decade.

The justices issued a stay of execution and said they wanted more time to consider Skinner’s appeal. It will probably be several weeks before the court decides whether to hear his case.

Last year, the court ruled 5 to 4 that the Constitution does not give convicts the right to demand DNA testing of crime-scene evidence. The case, however, did not involve a prisoner facing execution.

Texas Execution Set for Tomorrow Despite Untested DNA

  
Texas authorities are scheduled to execute Hank Skinner tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. CDT despite untested DNA evidence that could prove his innocence or guilt.

From the moment he was arrested more than 16 years ago for a triple murder, Skinner has maintained his innocence. He has requested DNA testing for a decade, but Texas courts have repeatedly denied the tests.

Thousands of people from around the world have sent letters to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, urging him to delay Skinner’s execution date so DNA testing can proceed. Will you join them by taking action right now?

Yesterday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced that it was not recommending clemency in Skinner’s case. His last hopes for a stay that could allow testing to proceed are the U.S. Supreme Court, where he has an appeal pending, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who can order a 30-day delay.

Skinner was convicted in 1995 of killing his live-in girlfriend and her two adult sons. His attorneys say they have developed evidence since his trial that calls his guilt into doubt and points to the possible involvement of an alternate suspect. Among the evidence Skinner is seeking to test are knives from the crime scene, hairs from the victim’s hand and a windbreaker possibly worn by the perpetrator.

The Innocence Project doesn’t represent Skinner, and we don’t know whether he is guilty or innocent. It is clear, however, that DNA testing should be conducted in Skinner’s case before he is executed.

Please take action today by calling on Texas Gov. Rick Perry to stay the execution.