UPDATE: Tom Klansnic Needs Your Help ..... Followed by ..... I Ain't One To Gossip But ....

UPDATE:

Last Wednesday, I posted the story of Oregon school principal, Tom Klansnic who, after ten years in public school education, was recently told his contract with the district would not be renewed, with explanation as to why, and many parents in the district think it’s because he’s gay. [See post HERE]

Late last night I received an email from Denise McCloud, one of those parents who feels Tom was wrongly terminated simply for being gay, and she asked me to pots the link to a petition to give Tom back his job at Change.org.

So, I'd like to ask you all to go HERE and sign the petition.

This isn't what we should be doing in this country, firing teachers and educators for being gay. We don't do this.

So take a second and go HERE and add your name to the list of people who think Tom Klansnic deserves to keep his job.

And now ....... Gossip ......

So, sadly, Joy Behar, funny and liberal, is leaving The View, but now comes the news that Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the right-wing, conservative loon on the panel, has been let go because, well, folks don’t like her.

According to a source—and you know it’s Babs Walters because that bitch promotes any news about her show—The View’s resident conservative voice is being ousted after market research revealed that she isn't popular with TV audiences: "The viewers they polled all said she was too extreme and right wing. People did not watch the show because of Elisabeth. So they told her yesterday her contract would not be renewed."

A rep for the show says, however, "Elisabeth Hasselbeck is a valued member of The View and has a long term contract."

And, while Babs has said Lizzie ain't goin' anywhere, Lizzie herself isn't talking .... for a change. And.we all know a long term contract can be bought out or, can end in August?

Say g’bye Lizzie.

On the Lohan Legal front, Lindsay had wanted a plea deal in her lying to the cops case, but then nixed the deal and now comes word that she won’t accept house arrest either.

She’s making it real easy for the judge to send her drunken ass to prison.

Multiple sources—Michael and Dina Lohan, looking for a cash fix, or payment in tequila—say that both the Santa Monica City Attorney and the L.A. City Attorney have softened their position from lockdown rehab to 90-day house arrest but Lohan wants to fight it all because she’s …. Lindsay Lohan Dammit!

And while Lohan’s lawyer—called an idiot by the judge in the case—and the prosecutors are trying to negotiate a sufficient house arrest length, Lindsay keeps saying she’ll accept no punishment.

And why should she accept punishment when she doesn’t even accept responsibility.

That’s our Lohan!

So, Demi Moore and her adopted son, Ashton Kutcher, had a lovely time together until Ashton went hot-tubbing with a blonde who loved to gossip. Then it was over, and yet we waited and waited for either one of the couple to file for divorce. When neither did, all sorts of rumors swirled that they didn’t need to divorce because they were never really married, legally, in the first place.

Well, now we know that isn’t true, because Ashton—boning Mila Kunis now—filed in December, and Demi, not happy with the way things are looking, filed her own divorce case last month. Apparently Demi felt that Ashton wasn’t being fair with her in the financial settlement part and she wanted a larger cut of his earnings during their six year marriage. Demi wants spousal support from Ashton and a she also wants him to foot the bill for all her legal fees because she feels she took a back seat during their marriage, letting him be The Star, and putting her career on hold.

Two things: 

#1:Ashton isn't a 'star' he's a star-f**ker, and

B: I think GI Jane put Demi's career on hold.

Still, this whole thing is kind of laughable because Demi is actually worth more than Ashton but she fells she’s under financial hardship because Whip-Its and rehab and even younger boyfriends are expensive. And she’s still pissed that he cheated on her, and a man who’d cheat on his grandmother should be made to pay.

Or something.

It seems like LeAnn Rimes, who went to rehab last year for, um, something called ‘social-media-related emotional issues’—which means she Tweets too much and should shut up, is headed back to rehab for the same issues again.

It seems LeAnn Rimes has fallen off the Twitter wagon again, despite her 30-day in-patient treatment last fall, and has recently unleashed a series of increasingly bizarre tweets.

In early February, LeAnn flew off the handle when a Twitter follower—and let me remind you this is a person LeAnne doesn’t know personally, except on Twitter—intimated that she was taking pole-dancing classes because Brandi was too, Tweeted: “I’ve been doing it for two years with my firend [sic] Liz. If you’re so obsessive, look at my old tweets.”

If YOU’RE so obsessive. Pot.Kettle.Hasbeen Country Singer.

A source—and it’s probably Eddie Cibrian, who could use the income—says, “LeAnn was supposed to not tweet any negative stuff or engage with people who don’t like her, but she’s not sticking to that anymore. She is tweeting at people who aren’t fans and saying a lot of angry stuff about Brandi again. She can’t help herself!”

Oh, she could help herself. Turn the computer off. Put the SmartPhone™ down and get a life.

So, like Demi and Ashton, are JLO and her grandson, Casper Smart breaking up?

See, media-whore JLo wasn’t at the Oscars and we all know how much she loves a red carpet, and she and her young ‘friend’ didn’t go to a single Oscar party either.

Well, the rumors says that Jennisper—CasLo?—haven’t been around lately because Casper feels they’re spending too much time together and he wants his own space.

In West Hollywood, ALLEGEDLY.

An insider—and it’s probably Casper because, well, other than dance what does he do?—says, “He is with Jen and her kids so much. He wants to have a place he can go to in case this comes to a screeching halt.”

Emphasis on “screeching.” I mean, we’ve all heard JLo ‘sing,’ haven’t we?

Just sayin’.

So, Chris Brown in a woman-beating, dressing room demolishing, homophobic asshat, right?

He’s also one cheap mutha fu—Shut yo mouth.

It seems that Brown unleashed his anger issues on an innocent parking valet at an LA bowling alley last week. He cussed out the young man over the $10 service charge, and the whole thing was caught on tape—Google it, if you want, I can’t stand looking at Brown.

See, when Chris went to get his car, the valet asked for the $10 charge and Chrissy went off. And when the valet made it clear he couldn’t release the car without the cash, Chrissy and his posse of wannabes and asshats surrounded the guy.

Chrissy was mad because he says he was only there 30 minutes and shouldn’t have to pay the valet fee of $10 for parking his car, even though there are no rules about partial payments for a half hour or such.

Sounds to me like someone’s career might be taking a nose-dive if ten bucks sends him into a tizzy.

Hopefully Rihanna will never ask him to pay the Domino’s delivery guy.

So, last week, in a story of Celebrity Excess, I posted about Beyoncé’s animal hide, $5,000 shoes. This week, though, we’ll focus on one Elton John, who, and I’ll say ALLEGEDLY, while in Brazil for a concert booked a separate hotel room for his ….

Children? No.

Husband? No.

Sunglasses? Ding ding ding we have winner.

The reason the specs needed their own space? He wanted them to be kept at a specific temperature.

Oh, yes he did.

Hotel staff and concert organizers made sure that the room stayed at 16 degrees Celsius—or 60.8 Fahrenheit.

Elton, inspired by JLo no doubt, also requested large vases of red and white roses—not, I’m guessing, for the glasses—four bottles of cranberry juice, a pint of fresh skimmed milk and two bottles of good quality Pinot Grigio wine, plus eight small bottles of Evian water, and five large bottles or 12 small bottles of San Pellegrino sparkling water.

Still, how exactly does one check-in sunglasses because I have a pair of Kroger frames that are special to me.

Johnson & Johnson Doesn't Care If People Die.......It's All About Profits

You gotta love Big Business. Tax breaks, bail outs, billions in profits.

People dying.

Oh, yeah, that last part may not be included in the quarterly report to shareholders, but it's true.

It seems that monster pharmaceutical company, Johnson & Johnson,  is refusing to participate in the Medicines Patent Pool, which is designed to lower the prices of HIV medicines and increase access to them for people in the developing world.

Profits. It's all about profits.

From Doctor's Without Borders:
"Johnson & Johnson, which holds patents on three key new HIV drugs desperately needed throughout the developing world, has so far refused to license these patents to the Medicines Patent Pool. The Pool has been set up to increase access to more affordable versions of HIV drugs, including fixed-dose combinations that include multiple medicines in one pill, and to develop much-needed pediatric HIV drugs.The Pool would license patents on HIV drugs to other manufacturers and the resulting competition would dramatically reduce prices, making them much more affordable in the developing world. However, since the Pool is voluntary it will only work if patent holders like Johnson & Johnson choose to participate."

Johnson & Johnson holds the patents on the HIV medicines rilpivirine, darunavir, and etravirine. Rilpivirine is a promising antiretroviral, under development for use in first-line treatment regimens, while darunavir and etravirine are important for patients who have developed resistance to their existing treatment.

And, even though Johnson & Johnson offers "reduced access pricing," the cost of these drugs is out of reach of many in the world's least-developed countries--many of those in sub-Saharan Africa. The cost of darunavir and etravirine alone runs more than $2,000 a year in countries where $2000 is what one might earn in a lifetime. Developing countries pay even higher prices.

Last December, the National Institutes of Health, which holds the intellectual property rights for a manufacturing process for darunavir, put its patent for the AIDS drug in the patent pool. Johnson & Johnson holds the drug’s remaining patents, and is effectively blocking other companies from manufacturing and making darunavir available at prices affordable for patients in the developing world.

Blocking the manufacturing of a drug that could save some people's lives. For profit.

Please go HERE, to the Stop AIDS Campaign and sign the letter asking Johnson & Johnson to join the Patent Pool.

source

Read It First....Then Tell 'Em To Piss Off

Imagine it's just any day in Maine, an ordinary day, and you are out and about doing errands, groceries, dry cleaning, post office. And it's there, at the Post office, that something odd happens. You walk in with your letters to mail, or a handful of bills to buy stamps, and a woman asks you to sign a petition; she's holding two clipboards.

"What's the petition for?" You ask.

"This one, " she says, holding up the one in her left hand, "is against gay marriage. But this one," she shows you the one in her right hand, "is for gay marriage."

You're perplexed, because gay marriage....marriage equality....is legal in Maine. So, you take a look, a close look, at both petitions, and discover that they are both against marriage equality.

That's what Gerard Caron discovered at the Auburn, Maine, Post Office. And he said a friend had the same thing happen to him at the Lewiston Post Office.

from the SunJournal

Julie Flynn, deputy secretary of state, said her office has received calls from people concerned about the petitioning process, but not a surprising number.

"It's a buyer beware situation for the voter; they really need to be sure of what they are signing," she said. "But people can say what they want, it's a First Amendment issue. We don't have anything in law that allows us to monitor or enforce signature gatherers."

I understand First Amendment rights, and i understand people behind against marriage equality based on religious issues--no matter how old, how antiquated. But I don't understand how it's right to allow people to gather signatures for a ballot initiative by lying to people about what they are signing.

So, if you live in Maine, and some glassy-eyed-wingnut-with-a-pasted-on-smile asks you to sign something, READ IT!