I Didn't Say It .... The Jason Collins Edition

Jarron Collins, Jason Collins’s twin brother, on his brother’s coming out as the first openly gay, still playing, professional athlete:

"I won't lie. I had no idea. We talked, he answered my questions, I hugged him and I digested what he had told me. At the end of the day, this is what matters: He's my brother, he's a great guy, and I want him to be happy. I'll love him and I'll support him and, if necessary, I'll protect him. What does Jason want out of this? He wants to live his life. He wants a relationship, he wants a family, he wants to settle down. He wants to move forward with his personal life while maintaining his life as a professional basketball player. That's all, really. This announcement will be surprising to some people. I already anticipate the questions: 'Are you the gay twin or the straight one?' This is uncharted territory, and no one can predict how it will play out. It's a big deal -- but it's also not a big deal. When the media crush is over, Jason will have the strength to deal with whatever challenges come from being openly gay. Today, Jason has taken a huge weight off his shoulders. And I've never been more proud of him." 

Coming out is hard.
Coming out to your family, and wondering if they'll still love and accept is harder still.
Coming out to a twin, who feels about you like Jarron Collins does towards Jason, is a great, great thing.

Chris Broussard, of ESPN, saying Jason Collins cannot be gay and a Christian:

"Personally, I don’t believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle or an openly, like premarital sex between heterosexuals. If you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, then the Bible says you know them by their fruits. It says that, you know, that’s a sin. If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, whatever it maybe, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. So I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don’t think the bible would characterize them as a Christian."

I think the Bible might characterize Broussard as a person who judges others, and yet, doesn't the Bible say something about not judging.
And, by the way, if The Gays were allowed to marry we wouldn't all be having pre-marital sex. And, again by the way, the Bible lists all kinds of sins, Chris; and I'm sure you commit some of those 'sins' and still call yourself a Christian.

Frank Bruni, writing for the New York Times, on when gay folks will stop talking about famous people coming out:

"Many of us want to, and will: when a gay, lesbian or transgendered kid isn’t at special risk of being brutalized or committing suicide. When the federal government outlaws discrimination against people based on sexual orientation, which it still hasn’t done … When immigration laws give same-sex couples the same consideration that they do heterosexual ones. When the Defense of Marriage Act crumbles and our committed relationships aren’t relegated to a lesser status, a diminished dignity … When a Rutgers coach doesn’t determine that the aptly ugly garnish for hurling basketballs at his players’ heads is the slur 'faggot. When professional football scouts don’t try to ascertain that potential recruits are straight … When an athlete like Collins can be honest about himself without he and his co-author having to stress that he’s a guy’s guy, a godly man, someone who stayed mum about himself before now precisely so he wouldn’t disrupt his teams or upset his teammates, someone who’s inhabited locker rooms for 12 seasons already without incident … When a gay person’s central-casting earnestness and eloquence aren’t noted with excitement and relief, because his or her sexual orientation needn’t be accompanied by a litany of virtues and accomplishments in order for bigotry to be toppled and a negative reaction to be overcome."

One day it'll be no big deal.
One day it'll just be.

Ellen DeGeneres, on Jason Collins’ coming out:

"I applaud you Jason Collins, I applaud you. That is a very brave man. I would high-five you but I don’t think I can reach you. But when I see you, I am gonna hug your knees so hard. So, so brave. Really, you’re an incredible role model. Because of you, there’s a little boy playing basketball right now who knows that he can be who he is and play the sport that he loves. Now that little boy’s only obstacle is that he’s gonna be 5’4” and terrible at basketball. But you’ve done your part." 

As I always say, one person, any person, famous or not, coming out, makes a difference. You might not know it because it won't make the news, but every time once of us comes out, the world changes for the better.

Bryan Fischer, of the ironically named hate group American Family Association, calling Jason Collins a sexual predator:

"I will guarantee you if the ownership of whatever team is thinking about bringing him back or thinking about trading for him - and they go to the players on that team and they say 'how do you feel about an out, active homosexual being in the same locker room sharing the same shower facilities with you' they'd say 'no way. I don't want that. I don't want some guy, a teammate eyeballin' me in the shower and my wife does not want that." 

I find it funny how much time and energy people like Bryan Fischer fantasize and sermonize about gay sex. Methinks he's a little too interested in it.
And, for the record, Jason Collins was gay last year, and showering with other men, and I didn't hear any uproar about him "eyeballin" the other men. Maybe it's because he's less obsessed with gay sex than Bryan Fischer.
And, lastly, Fischer is such a troll he need not worry about any man, gay or straight, trying to eye his balls.

Martina Navratilova, openly gay tennis legend, on Jason Collins’ coming out:

“When I came out, in 1981, I didn't have much public support and I know I lost endorsements. But I never had to worry about losing my job. In tennis, there are no bosses, no general managers and no coaches who can keep players from competing. So I was safe in that regard. For team sports athletes, this is not the case. A homophobic coach at any level -- high school, college or pros -- could keep a player from playing. …Now that Jason Collins has come out, he is the proverbial "game-changer." One of the last bastions of homophobia has been challenged. How many LGBT kids, once closeted, are now more likely to pursue a team sport and won't be scared away by a straight culture? Collins has led the way to freedom. Yes, freedom -- because that closet is completely and utterly suffocating. It's only when you come out that you can breathe properly. It's only when you come out that you can be exactly who you are. Collins' action will save lives. This is no exaggeration: Fully one third of suicides among teenagers occur because of their sexuality. Collins will truly affect lives, too. Millions of kids will see that it is OK to be gay. No need for shame, no need for embarrassment, no need for hiding."

She's right: it was easier for her to come out, even 30 years ago, because she wasn't part of a team, and there wasn't that stigma of 'What will the team do?'
And she's also right that, while she lost endorsements, the tide is changing and companies will realize that a gay player is just as "ad worthy" as a straight player.

Andy Roddick, tennis star, and longtime crush, on becoming an LGBT Athlete Ally:
"Yesterday was an incredible day for athletes everywhere. Jason Collin’s courage and leadership in coming out reminds me of how important it is for an athlete to be able to be true to him or herself. As an Athlete Ally, I want to support every athlete to feel comfortable and confident being themselves and to make sure that all people - players and fans alike – are welcome and included in tennis.”

All I got is: he's hot.
And an LGBT ally, which makes him even hotter.

President Barack Obama, on Jason Collins' coming out: 
"I had a chance to talk to him yesterday. He seems like a terrific young man. I told him I couldn't be prouder. One of the extraordinary measures of progress that we've seen in this country has been the recognition that the LGBT community deserves full equality, not just partial equality, not just tolerance, but a recognition that they're fully part of the American family. And given the importance of sports in our society, for an individual who's excelled at the highest levels in one of the major sports to say, 'This is who I am, I'm proud of it. I'm still a great competitor. I'm still 7 foot tall and can bang with Shaq and deliver a hard foul.' And you know, for, I think, a lot of young people out there who are gay or lesbian who are struggling with these issues, to see a role model like that who is unafraid, I think this is a great thing. And I think Americans should be proud that this is just one more step in this ongoing recognition that we treat everybody fairly and everybody's part of a family and we judge people on the basis of their character and their performance and not their sexual orientation. I'm very proud of him."

It was a great and brave thing to do.
Being the first at anything is hard, but someone had to do it.
Thanks Jason.

Judy and Dennis Shepard, on the story that Jason Collins chose #98 to wear in honor of Matthew Shepard [it's the year Matthew died]:

“(Collins) couldn’t have been that old (when it happened), so it must have had a tremendous impact on him, the story behind Matt, for him to want to do that. And then to wear it all this time without telling people why until today, that’s incredible.”

We all take our steps towards coming out, and Collins choosing that number was a way to remind himself that his journey toward being out was on its way.

Random Musings

So, Mariah Carey and her husband Nick Cannon decided to renew their wedding vows; apparently they have done so each of the five years that they've been married, a la Seal and Heidi Klum--and we know how that worked out.

Still, it's kind of sweet, you know, reaffirming your love and commitment, but ...

And you just knew there had to be a but.

Carey and Cannon renewed their vows at Disneyland in California, and had the entire park shut down for their ceremony. Then they invited "journalists", like Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O'Dell, and sold pictures to the magazines of Carey dressed like a princess, Cannon dolled up like Prince Charming, and their two kids in storybook costumes.

So, the question is, is this love or self-promotion? Or, as the cynic in me wonders, is it an attempt to say 'Look at us, we're so in love' when they actually might not be?

Asking for a friend.

Remember when Right Said Fred was 'too sexy for his shirt'? Yeah, well he's got nothing on one Omar Borkan Al Gala. He's too sexy for Saudi Arabia and has been deported for being too hot.

You read that right ... deported for hotness.

It seems that Saudi Arabia was a'scurred of what Omar might do to their women-folk--and perhaps some of their men-folk--and so they ALLEGEDLY had the man kicked out of their country and sent back to Abu Dhabi. 

I have tried to find Omar because I think he's just sexy enough for Smallville.

While we're on the topic of hot men ...

One Life To Life and Desperate Housewives hunk, Tuc Watkins, has officially, and publicly, come out as gay. Though he never hid the fact, he also never spoke of his personal life. Still, the pingpingping of the Gaydar was right this time.

Life imitates art, and vice-versa. When Watkins joined Desperate Housewives as Bob Hunter, one-half of a gay couple--with Kevin Rahm--their storyline included one about adopting a baby.

The plotline hit close to home, because Watkins was going through the same thing--albeit as a single dad--in his real life. He recently welcomed twin sons, Catchen and Curtis, via surrogate.

He said, of being gay and being a father:

"A lot of people at some point in their lives think, 'Am I going to be a parent? Do I want to be a parent?' And when I was young, I knew three things: I knew I was gay, I knew one day I was gonna be a dad, and I knew that Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was going to be the best movie of all time. So far, I've been right about all three."

Hot Funny Gay Daddy.

Congratulations on both events!

On the Broadway front, I smell a bomb of epic proportions. Or, a big smash if craptastic gets butts in seats.

See, ahem, Rocky is going to be a Broadway musical.

This production--which recently premiered in Germany--brings together Tony Award-winning writer Thomas Meehan--The Producers and Hairspray--with composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens--Ragtime--director Alex Timbers--Here Lies Love and the musical-play hybrid Peter and the Starcatcher--with fight choreography by Steven Hoggett--Once--and dance choreography by Kelly Devine--Rock of Ages. That's quite the list of talented folks working on the musical, but I keep thinking one of the big numbers has to be Yo, Adrian and I get a little queasy.

For his part, Sylvester Stallone, who penned the original Rocky and plied him through four sequels, says, “I couldn’t be more proud or more excited about this production and how my original story of Rocky Balboa has been brought to spectacular life onstage.”

Yo, Adrian.

And speaking of Broadway, the four child actresses who rotate in the title role of the Broadway musical Matilda will not be eligible for a joint Tony Award nomination for best actress in a musical this spring.

The decision is noteworthy because it sets aside a precedent that allowed the three teenage boys sharing the lead role in Billy Elliot to be eligible for a joint best actor nomination; and the three did win the Tony.

The producers of Matilda had sought joint eligibility for the four girls--Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro--but, instead of granting the request, the Tony committee announced that the actresses would receive a special award, a Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theater, “to recognize their outstanding performances this season.” 

It's a shame that the girls couldn't get the same treatment as the boys.

I think we're going to see The Great Gatsby this weekend. I think it looks amazing, though, for the life of me, why they have a 3D version is beyond me.

But, it's directed by Baz Luhrman, who directed Moulin Rouge so I imagine it will have that same sense of flash.

Speaking of Baz, I have had a wee crush on him since the first time I laid eyes on him and it keeps going and going and going .... The gray hair, that accent.
I am a sucker for a man with an accent.

Texas Governor, and Not Gay, Rick Perry, got his granny pants ion a twist last week when the Sacramento Bee ran a cartoon that showed Perry boasting about booming business in Texas in one frame, than showing an explosion in the next.

The cartoon ran a week after a fertilizer plant explosion killed 14 people in a Texas town and Miss Ricky says she wants an apology from the newspaper on behalf of the town:

"While I will always welcome healthy policy debate, I won't stand for someone mocking the tragic deaths of my fellow Texans and our fellow Americans. Additionally, publishing this on the very day our state and nation paused to honor and mourn those who died only compounds the pain and suffering of the many Texans who lost family and friends in this disaster."

The Bee's editorial page editor, Stuart Leavenworth, responded that the artist, Jack Ohman, "made a strong statement about Gov. Rick Perry's disregard for worker safety, and his attempts to market Texas a place where industries can thrive with few regulations. … It is unfortunate that Gov. Perry, and some on the blogosphere, have attempted to interpret the cartoon as being disrespectful for the victims of this tragedy. As Ohman has made clear on his blog, he has complete empathy for the victims and people living by the plant. … What [Ohman] finds offensive is a governor who would gamble with the lives of families by not pushing for the strongest safety regulations. Perry's letter is an attempt to distract people from that message."

What Ohman showed was not disrespectful to those who died, what he showed was that, if not for Perry’s political dealing, with low taxes and no regulation—the plant that exploded had not been inspected in seven years—this might not have happened.

And he’s right. Miss Ricky should be ashamed of herself.

Miss Ricky is such an asshat. A Texas-sized asshat.

Sometimes I love South Carolina.

We live in "Smallville" which is about forty miles--as the crow flies--from Columbia, the state capital. And this week, in Columbia, a new billboard went up that is causing a stir and some giggles.

The controversial new billboard, by AshleyMadison.com--a dating site, designed for people already in relationships who want to have affairs--features our very own Appalachian Trail Hiking ex-Governor, and current candidate for the House of Representatives, Mark Sanford.

It says "Next Time Use AshleyMadison.com To Find Your Running Mate."

Again, sometimes I love South Carolina.

I didn't watch the Amanda Knox interview on ABC though I saw bits and pieces as it was promo'd to death. And, I didn't really follow the story too closely as her murder trial went down in Italy, so, well, to be honest, I may be wrong but ....

She doesn't seem to have any emotion about the murders--whether she's guilty of them or not. In fact, she seems aloof and detached and, well, not quite truthful.

Just sayin.

Speaking of TV interviews, the other night Piers Morgan interviewed Jason Collins' ex-girlfriend of eight years Carolyn Moos about her reaction to the news that he is gay.

She said: "He actually called this past weekend and we spoke a couple of times on Monday, so it's really fresh in my mind. It's going to be a process, absolutely, and it just takes a lot of perspective, and a lot of understanding, and a lot of open conversation."

Then Morgan asked, "Did he apologize to you?"

Moos replied, "I think he's in the process of taking ownership of the here and now which is actually coming out. That can be very – I assume – overwhelming."

Urn, again, I may be wrong, but why does he need to apologize to her because he's gay? Is it because he kept that secret from her? Perhaps not, because maybe he wasn't ready to face the fact that he was gay and thought being in an opposite-sex relationship would be the thing to do.

Perhaps he thought he was bisexual, and interested in Moos at the time.

And perhaps he was interested in her, but was still working through his own ‘stuff' and didn't know what to say and do.

But he doesn’t owe her an apology the same way a man who dates a woman for eight years, breaks it off and then marries another woman doesn't owe the first woman an apology.

By asking if he apologized, Morgan is playing up some notion that Collins lied, and tricked, Moos into being in a relationship.,

Last I checked she's a grown-assed woman and she made the choice to be there.

Apologize? Never.

Speaking of Jason Collins....TWEET OF THE WEEK:

Church Cancels Leroy Butler Speech After He Congratulated Jason Collins

You know, I was more than pleasantly surprised after Jason Collins came out this week—the first still-playing professional athlete to do so—that people were so supportive and accepting and welcoming and congratulatory. Sure, the wingnuts didn’t disappoint—and by that I mean the ilk like Bryan Fischer and Pat Robertson—but most people were just wonderful about the whole thing.

As they should be … but I digress.

Even former Green Bay Packers safety Leroy Butler was happy for Jason Collins, and in fact, Tweeted his response: “Congrats to Jason Collins.”

Those four little words sure did start a fire. See, Butler was supposed to give a speech at a Wisconsin church this week, but his Tweet caused the church to cancel his speech unless he begged God for forgiveness. The church decided that those four words show that Leroy Butler lacks the morals to speak to its congregation.

Butler verified, via Twitter of course, that he was informed he’s no longer welcome at the church because he dared to congratulate Collins. He has, thus far, declined to identify the denomination or location of the church, but did say:

“This is what bothers me the most. They said, ‘If you ask for forgiveness and remove the tweet and you say something to the effect that you don’t congratulate [Collins] then we’ll let you do the engagement and get the speaker’s fee,’ and I said I’m not doing that. Every gay and lesbian person will say ‘You know, Leroy doesn’t speak up for the weak or the silenced. He doesn’t stand for anything as a man and he did it for money.’ Why would you ask me to reduce my integrity like that?”

Butler told the pastor that he believes the church was trying to intimidate him:

“‘This is a form of bullying, what you’re doing. ‘You’re trying to get me to do something I don’t want to do.’ He disagreed, and I said, ‘We agree to disagree’ and he said, ‘No, I’m right and you’re wrong.’”

Of course, once the shiz hit the fan—and by that, I mean, the story going viral—the church did try to apologize to Butler to apologize. He said he accepted their apology, but he would not speak at the church.

I say, Take to Twitter and congratulate Leroy Butler for being a true Christian, and not a Bigot in Christian clothing. You can Tweet your support for him at: @leap36, so named because he wore #36 and invented the Lambeau Leap.

Go on now, say thanks.

Go.On.

source

Cemia Acoff Was Murdered ... Once and Again and Again

To paraphrase an old Kermit the Frog ditty, ‘It Ain’t Easy Being Gay.’ See, we’re often told, by many more people than we’d like, that we’re an abomination, a sin against nature, a destroyer of marriage, a pedophile. It gets old. 

But then we have days like we had earlier this week when Jason Collins comes out as a gay man, and most, most, of the responses are lovely and accepting and kind of ‘so what, who cares.’ Those days I like; and then we have days like this, and headlines like this from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Oddly Dressed Body Found in Olmsted Township Pond Identified

Oddly dressed? The title originally said ‘Oddly Dressed Man.’ See, it was a transgendered body, born male and named Carl Acoff, who, after what I can only guess was a lifetime of struggle and questions and pain, began identifying herself as Cemia Acoff.

And it was Cemia Acoff who was murdered; she was stabbed to death, tied with a piece of rope to a block of concrete and her body was thrown into a pond. But, almost as disturbing, and disgusting, as the murder itself, was the way the story was reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

See, even before Cemia Acoff’s body was identified, the newspaper reported that the ‘oddly dressed man’ was found wearing a red Betty Boop tank top, three black bras on top of one another, and a light black hooded jacket, and was naked from the waist down.

The body was never identified as male or female, and because, I’m guessing, of the odd outfit, the paper first took to calling the body ‘it.’ It. Not even human; of course, once the outrage began to stir, the paper suddenly changed its tone and began referring to Cemia Acoff as ‘the body.’ Not male, not female; the body.

It was almost like being murdered twice. And then she was murdered again, by the same paper:

Brutal Slaying Marks the End of Clevelander's Fight for Acceptance

That was their next headline, sort of implying that, by being stabbed and tied to a block of concrete and thrown into a pool of water, somehow Cemia Acoff’s ‘fight for acceptance’ was over. The fight for acceptance wasn’t over, life was over.

The fight might never be over. 

I understand that people, some people, have a kind of icky reaction to a discussion of  transgendered people. I understand that people, some people, think that if you’re born with a penis, you’re male, and vagina automatically makes you female.

But, how would those people feel, being born with a penis, but a brain and a heart and a soul that says to you, each and every day, each and every moment, that you aren’t male; that you are somehow born ‘wrong’. And how might any other transgendered person feel, reading a story like Cemia Acoff’s and seeing the words ‘it’ and ‘oddly dressed’ and ‘the body’? We need to get over the 'icky' factor and realize that transgendered people are people, and they deserve the same dignity, in life and death, that anyone else deserves.

But the newspaper didn't stop there. As if to sort of make it okay that this body was stabbed and tied to concrete and drowned, the paper decided to publish any and every little run-in with police that Cemia Acoff ever had, as if that somehow had anything to do with the story, or with her murder.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is a newspaper, and an online source of news. News, generally speaking, should be factual, and the facts are that Cemia Acoff was brutally murdered. The facts aren’t helped by describing her in a derogatory manner, and they aren’t served by a discussion of her wardrobe or any kind of criminal background she may have had.

A human being was murdered and the Cleveland Plain Dealer didn’t have the decency to tell us the story without their own snickering commentary.

Architecture Wednesday: Fir Tree House: The Lost Wright House

It's not so much lost, as it has been rediscovered, and is the only 100% authentic Wright house in New Mexico.

Fir Tree House is located north of Pecos, alongside the Pecos River, and is designed to be reminiscent of a 'teepee'. Wright built it for a family who wanted a vacation home with four bedrooms, three baths, and a separate servant's room and bath, and a service wing for the laundry, a water-pumping facility, and a stable; it was built for $10,000.

The design employs cedar shingle siding--unusual for Wright--and rough concrete-masonry of the kind seen later at Taliesin West in the Arizona desert.  The home’s hexagonal geometry resembles an unbuilt Wright design of the 1920’s for a resort in Lake Tahoe.  Fir Tree House was completed in 1948 and then expanded with various additions including a carport; the recent addition of a swimming pool is not of Wright’s design.

The plan of the house takes the form of a large parallelogram, with the courtyard entrance passing under the roof, which connects the servant’s room on one side to the laundry on the other. The living room is topped by a teepee-shaped roof covered with cedar shingles. Its large glass window walls meet at a 120-degree angle, and doors open onto a terrace bounded by low stone walls. There is a covered path which edges to a courtyard and the front door, which is angled between the living room and a hallway to the bedroom wing. The living room also features an over sized fireplace and chimney. The hallway leading to the bedroom wing branches to the left as you enter the house. Wright used rough-sawn pine, stained the color of cedar for the interiors. 

The outstanding feature of the lodge is the living room, where the ceiling rises to a 28-foot height. At the perimeter, the roof drops to an 11-foot height, underscored by a flared rim that runs around the exterior of the entire lodge. A continuous band of narrow clerestory windows marks the point where the high roof joins the lower one and dematerializes this juncture with light. Inside, the rough-sawn rafters of the lower roof extend through the open space under the high ceiling, creating a spectacular kaleidoscope of geometric forms overhead. This innovative system of construction for the living-room ceiling remains unique in Wright’s residential work — he never used it again.

As, always, I am a huge fan of Wright’s homes, and this one, which I had never seen before, doesn’t disappoint. Check out Triangle Modernist Houses [HERE] for looks at all FLW homes built from 1889 through 1964; there are even FLW homes built after Wright died, by other builders using Wright’s original designs.

Fir Tree House

In South Carolina This Is A Science Test

Yesterday I poked a little fun at the people of Tennessee for their continuing reelection of anti-LGBT, pro-NRA, delusional wingnut Stacey Campfield, but today I’m gonna aim the spotlight on South Carolina.

This is a test, in a science class at a school In South Carolina; ALLEGEDLY. The “test” was reportedly given to a fourth grade class at a Christian school somewhere in this state. The man, whose daughter was given this test, says he will reveal the name of the school in June because next year his child will be going to a real school where science is fact not fiction.

Oy. South Carolina. Really?

PS: for what it's worth, Snopes rates this story as 'probably true.'

via Daily Kos

Fun Facts To Tick Off Republicans

I’m not a person who would hit a bee hive with a stick, and I wouldn’t bum rush a Rottweiler; I wouldn’t even dare take Tuxedo’s food dish away mid-breakfast. But I do like toying with Republicans and their loose, and growing looser, affiliation with what I like to call facts.

So, while trolling cruising searching the interwebs, across what the author of this piece, Allen Clifton at Forward Progressives, calls “Fun Facts To Tick Off Republicans”, because, you know Republicans and facts are like oil and water.

And heeeere they are:

• Nowhere in our Constitution does it say we’re a Christian nation. In fact, nowhere in our Constitution does the word “Christian” appear even once.
• Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion—it also doesn’t specify any particular religion.
• The 2nd Amendment actually refers to a “well regulated militia.”  While it says the right for Americans to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, the phrase “well regulated” obviously infers that this right doesn’t come without regulations.
• Our Constitution doesn’t mention anything about our nation having to be based on pure Capitalism.
•  A corporation is an entity, not a person, and our Constitution wasn’t created to protect the rights to entities—they have none.
• Education is more important than national defense.  What’s the point of a strong national defense if there’s nothing worth defending?
• There are far more poor and middle class Americans than rich.  If you continue building a society based on taking from the many to benefit the few, then we’re not going to have a nation much longer.
• Rich people didn’t become rich by giving away their money; Trickle Down Economics is the biggest con our country has ever seen.
• Decades ago we all paid a much higher tax percentage, and our economic policies protected the people more than businesses.  During these times our nation saw historic growth and unheard of economic prosperity.  None of that was done by basing our policies on giving more to the rich.
• Perhaps most news seems liberally biased because your news sources refuse to report facts.
• Being Muslim doesn’t mean someone isn’t American. Islam is a religion, not a nationality.
• George W. Bush actually did double our national debt, President Obama has not. Bush also inherited a balanced budget.  It was his tax cuts and unfunded wars which sent us back into budget deficits.
• Social Security and Medicare is socialism—and millions of Republican voters benefit from, and receive, these benefits.
• Health insurance is you paying for another person’s health care—in fact all insurance is you paying for someone else.
• We had record oil prices under Bush, not Obama.
• The “Great Recession” started in 2008, while Obama took office January 20, 2009—you know, after the recession started.
• If Obama is the cause of our economic problems, why do Republicans avoid, at all costs, being associated with George W. Bush?

So, there you have them: facts. And anyone, even a Republican, who says that any of these aren’t  true, well, bring them to me and, if they can prove these facts to be false, I’ll hit a bee hive with a stick, or bum rush a Rottweiler; or, um, even take Tuxedo’s food dish away mid-breakfast.