back in business - 11.2.2011

IT'S ALIIIIIIVVVVEEEE!!

Yes, I know, we took a short break, and yes, I've received your messages about where we went. Two things happened: One, Halloween, and I wanted to enjoy my favorite holiday. Two, I had a strange thing happen to me, and since I'm an open and honest guy, I'll share. At the Democratic cocktail party, for reasons that I (nor can my doctor) cannot explain, I had a severe drop in blood pressure. It was completely random, but it was enough to make me faint and when I fell, my head apparently "bounced" off of the concrete floor of the Ramada hotel. Then, I came to, fainted once more, and tapped my noggin again. I got checked out the following day, and other than a little confusion and fuzziness, I was fine. No concussion, no bleeding. I lucked out.

I don't know what caused it, but just to be safe, I've cut energy drinks/shots out completely, and am watching my sugar intake. To my knowledge, I'm not diabetic, though it runs in my family, so I will be getting tested for that, too.

Needles. Joy.

But hey! We're back in business! Now, on to the good stuff

Paranormal Disappointment

I finally got to see Paranormal Activity 3, and contrary to what I thought it was going to be, it sucked. Severely. They clearly cut a good 45 minutes out of the movie and the ending was so hokey it made the ending of The Last Excorcism look like an Oscar worthy performance. Maybe they'll redeem themselves in Paranormal Activity 4. I've heard rumors about a high school, this time. And trust me, there's nothing creepier than three things: creepy kids in horror movies, creepy old folks in horror movies, and creepy high school buildings at night in horror movies.

The Sanctimoniousness of Marriage

Two things happened this week. One, the National Organization for Marriage had an advertised display for their bigoted brigade of discriminating dorks in the Granite State. New Hampshire is one of the few states in the nation where Jaron and I could get married if we wanted to, and this wonderful goon squad wants to take that right away from us. Anyway. They advertised this photo of a crowd at a rally opposing same-sex marriage:

Oh WOW! That looks like quite a large gathering of anti-equality assholes, doesn't it! Wow, I'm sure shaking in my left-wing, socialist, gay agenda-promoting boots!

But, much like their anti-gay platform is based on lies, falsehoods, and misinformation, so are their political tactics. You see that massive crowd of people supposedly standing up for a state's perrogative to make gays second class citizens? It's actually a photograph taken from a rally from 2008 in favor of then-Senator Barack Obama's candidacy for president. Observe:

Now, I highly doubt that people going to an Obama event are generally the type that want to ban same-sex marriage.

But WAIT! It really, really does get better! I give you photo number 2! From the National Organization for Marriage in New Hamspshire, here's a second ad, showing a bunch of tireless crusaders for everything traditional, looking to take our country back to 1685:

Yeah! Look at all of those brave souls fighting to take away what few equal rights I have in this country. Boo-yeah! ....But wait.... something about that photo looks strangely familiar........

IT'S FROM AN OBAMA RALLY! Check out the left hand side of both crowds... anyone look familiar?? Again, not the type of people that would want their likenesses being used to promote institutionalized hate.

I'm wondering something... The fact that NOM is using photos from Obama rallies for their nefarious legislative purposes can mean only one thing, right? That maybe they have to fake the support for the repeal of marriage equality because New Hampshire doesn't want marriage equality repealed! According to a recent poll by NH news outlet, WMUR, 50% of New Hampshire residents want to keep marriage an equal right in the Granite State while only 27% want it to go away. In addition, in the same poll, it shows that only 8% of New Hampshire residents felt that marriage equality had negatively impacted their state while the vast majority -- to the tune of 88% -- felt it had little or no impact on their lives.

Maybe NOM is the oppressed majority they claim to be, being that they want people who support gay rights investigated by the federal government for harassing them and all (though what they call harassment, the rest of us call participation in the democratic process and not voting their way).

Or maybe, they're just a bunch of assholes:

Like, Woah, Man...

Here's the second thing that happened this week. Again, in the much talked about State of New Hampshire, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R-Obviously) was clearly in rare form as he gave a campaign speech.... Some are saying he was drunk. I've been around drunk people, and that's not how they act. Jaron and I closely examined the video footage of this incident, and after laughing hysterically, and subsequently watching it a second time, we came to two conclusions: 1, PLEASE GOD LET RICK PERRY BE THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE. And 2, this guy was high. That's right, high. If Rick Perry wasn't stoned off his ass at that speech, then I'm an NRA member. But why take my word for it when you can watch it in all of its glory, yourself:

Songs You Should Listen To

This song is dedicated to all of those punks who said I was too young for a seat on County Council, yet now think Stefanie Salavantis and Steve Urban, Jr. are just right to vote for. It's a cover of a Wheatus song, updated for my generation (i.e., New Found Glory instead of Iron Maiden. I really DO love NFG!). I guess I'm just a Teenage Dirtbag, baby, you don't know what you're missin'!

october surprises - 10.20.2011

Politics Written ALL Over It

According to this wonderful piece from the Citizens Voice today, it appears as though the Harvey's Lake Council has "passed an ordinance regulating all things oil and natural gas-related, from drilling to pipelines". Ohhh reeeeeallllly now? According to the article, it seems as though the borough has decided to finally take the threat of gas drilling seriously, once and for all!! ...Erm, actually, not so much. In fact, quite the opposite, as I'll demonstrate. The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund lobbied hard for its passage and according to Francis Kopko, Borough Council President, it is "very comprehensive" and includes natural gas compressors, metering stations, pipelines, wastewater treatment facilities, and sets limits such as how far away they can be from structures and noise levels.

Noise levels. Right....

Pardon my lack of enthusiasm, because I want to kick the gas drillers out of here as much as anyone else who likes clean drinking water and, you know, NOT getting cancer, but I find myself laughing more than anything else. And here's why:

The Democratic ticket at Harvey's Lake for the November 8th election this year includes heavy hitters Michelle Boice and Ed Kelly. Ed Kelly has served on Council before, and is well-respected. His name carries a lot of weight in the borough and as someone who has met him and gotten to know a bit about him, I can vouch for the fact that he's just an all-around good guy and that people like him. Michelle Boice is Luzerne County's Crusader for the People: Remember that protest on the court house steps after the debit card scandal and the property reassessment debacle when everyone was screaming for Greg Skrepenak to "SECOND THE MOTIONNN!!!!"? That was Michelle Boice's doing. The informative calls on Corbett and Sue Henry that you hear, issuing warnings about accidents pertaining to natural gas drilling that, somewhere in the state or the country, eventually come to pass? That's Michelle Boice. The other two names on the ticket, who have dubbed themselves the Harvey's Lake Hopefuls, I am not as familiar with, however, with Boice and Kelly on the ballot, the Democratic candidates have a BIG chance at upsetting the political status quo at the Lake and winning the election.

This ordinance, while as a symbol a great thing with a purpose I generally support, is a watered-down response to the top issue. It's an October Surprise -- wanna know how I can tell? It's because the very same Council that just took such a "strong" stance on gas drilling actually REJECTED an ordinance in March that was stronger and more substantive. In fact, the same councilmembers that voted for this current legislation are the same ones that voted down the better proposal earlier this year.

They said they voted down the March ordinance because it would have put the borough at risk of being sued by the gas companies -- gee, way to grow a spine, everyone -- and, they also claimed, because it would have violated the PA Oil and Gas Act, even though it actually wouldn't have, because other jurisdictions in Pennsylvania had passed similar ordinances. In a nutshell, it was the borough not wanting to upset the apple cart too much.

Now, with the election right around the corner and the Harvey's Lake Hopefuls running a strong campaign, Council now decides to get its act together and pass something to curb gas drilling? Puh-Leeze. This ordinance has nothing to do with gas drilling and everything to do with the election, which is only 19 days away.

I'm not sure why such politically motivated moves are called "October Surprises" when they're all the same. They should really call them "October Political Re-Runs".

WTF Is Michele Bachmann Smoking??

Did anyone catch the latest GOP presidential candidates debate in Las Vegas, NV? I had it on as background noise as I was doing something more important than watching Mitt "Corporations Are People!" Romney, Rick "Execution Afficionado" Perry, and Herman "I'll Only Sign Bills 3 Pages Long" Cain  try to out-right wing each other (which, by the way, was changing the strings on my guitar and tuning it, if you're curious). However, my ears perked up and honed in on one comment from Michele Bachmann with bat-like precision. The good Congressnut from Minnesota had mentioned that Iraq and Libya should re-imburse the United States for liberating and rebuilding their countries.

Did you pick your jaw up off of the floor yet? Here's the video, if you don't believe me, or if you didn't watch the debate:

Excuse me, Congresswoman, but what kind of drugs are you on, exactly? I'd speak to your dealer about quality, if I were you, because you got some bad stuff....

Bachmann suggested two things in that response: first, that she thinks you shouldn't expect the U.S. to help get rid of dictators or tyrants or help in natural disasters unless you can afford to pay us back every dime for it -- Imagine if FDR had that policy about Hitler -- and two, that if we go into another country, uninvited and unasked, kill their leader and shoot the place to Hell in the process, occupy them for years, and torture captured citizens in secret prisons like Abu Ghraib, that they should turn around and pay us for it... the torture-politics aside, the idea that Iraq should repay us for what we spent rebuilding their country after we damn near destroyed it is beyond-the-pale crazy, even for Bachmann's standards.

I mean, seriously, let's look at this logically for a second: Say a guy smashes his car into the side of your house, and then turns around and bills you, asking you to re-imburse him for the time and money he spent repairing the damage that he caused. What would you say to such a guy?

I know what I'd say. So, I'll say it. Michele Bachmann, "Go frak yourself".

Blythe Evans' New Video,

Candidate for Luzerne County Council Blythe Evans (R-Plymouth) has a new campaign video out, and he wanted me to share it with everyone, and because I'm an equal-opportunity liberal, I would of course be happy to. Blythe is not a partisan, nor is he a political insider. In fact, we often times find ourselves agreeing rather than disagreeing on local issues (state and national may be another story, however, but alas, that's for another time, hehe). He's a pretty stand-up guy, and his ad is very well done, I must say. We Evanses have to look out for one another, and so without further ado, here's Blythe's new ad. Oh, and also, when he's examining the solar panels in the ad, check out his awesome Welsh Flag shirt! As a Welsh/English American, I salute him for wearing the colors of St. David.

Songs You Should Listen To

For this edition of "Songs You Should Listen To", I bring you some tunes that will certainly please your eardrums from the British music duo known as Massive Attack. They're one of my favorite artists (or rather, pair of artists). Here's "Atlas Air" from their album Heligoland (2010):