William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – Tipping the Cow
August 26, 2010
Alan Simpson’s opinion of Social Security and those that accept it.
News/Politics
Pakistan Floods: The watery nightmare continues unabated.
NYC Cabbie Stabbed: Make no mistake, this was a text book hate crime. But what set Michael Enright off?
Help Wanted: Need nine people fluent in Ebonics. Apply at DEA.
Blagojevich Retrial: Boxing trainer Gil Clancy enjoyed telling a story about being in the dressing room with a fighter who’d just lost. “Get me him again,”the fighter said. “You just had him,” answered Clancy. The same goes with Blago. They had him, lost him, and now it’s time to move on.
Glenn Beck’s “Dream”: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Ken Mehlman’s Outage: No surprise, of course, but maybe some of these RNC types could come out while they still have political power.
Tea Party Power: As expected, the Tea Party will be the best thing Dems have going for them this November.
Sports
Tiger Woods’ Ex speaks: Elin Nordegren speaks out for the first time, and comes off as the only likable, real character in the whole mess.
More Football: The NFL wants an 18-game season? I’m ok with that.
Blogs
Crooks & Liars: A new design and some new bloggers for the venerable (by Web standards) blog.
Emptywheel: New Wikileak: CIA Admits US Exports Terror.
The NonProfit Quarterly: Wikileaks is all about exposure. Except when it comes to its own finances.
Swampland: Even Joe Klein is wondering about the truth of “Dems being depressed with Obama.”
Paul Krugman: Every day and in every way, we’ll learn that Krugman has been right all along.
And Finally
Seth MacFarlane is an interesting case. He’ll try and break every rule in the book on his TV shows, but becomes a babbling, uncertain fool when discussing real-world events. Also of interest, the ADL complained about MacFarlane using the term “Nazi.” Five-thousand politicians have compared Obama to Hitler, but MacFarlane gets chastised? Weird.
–WKW
William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – July 27, 2010
July 27, 2010
Paul Briggs does an outstanding imitation of how the Obama Administration handled the Shirley Sherrod video nontroversy.
News/Politics
Wikibombing: How will the U.S. react to the Wikileaks developments? Mostly with denials and bombs in Afghanistan.
Wikileaker Speaks: Julian Assange tells you all about his mission, getting the word out before the death squads show up.
The Money Hole: An audit shows $8.7 billion in Iraqi funds is unaccounted for. A nickle here, a dime there …
Islamaphobia: As a matter of fact, that Islamic Center won’t be built at Ground Zero.
He, Al Franken: The Senator talks Democratic agenda and Net neutrality: “Net neutrality is the First Amendment issue of our time.”
BP’s Loss: British Petroleum announces Tony Hayward is out and that they’ve lost $17 billion after being unable to control its product.
Back in Iran: Russia once again stands between Iran and the West.
Blogging Warren: Bloggers love Elizabeth Warren – maybe because she’s one of them?
Pakistan’s Double Play: NY Times Magazine’s look at how Pakistan is playing both sides.
Jailbreak!: It’s your iPhone. Now you can do what you want with it legally.
Today in History
1967: The first ATM machine was installed. The line was ridiculous.
What Scientologists Really Believe
“A fool and his money need to be audited.”
Blogs
Good As You: What NOM really wants.
Sadly, No!: Erick and the Angry Inch.
Daily Kos: As shakedowns go, it doesn’t seem that British Petroleum has gotten the $20-billion memo.
Tweet of the Day
“Breaking: Andrew Breitbart admits release of edited Sherrod tape was result of “massage gone awry.” And meth. Shitloads of meth”
–WKW
Ted Haggard over-repents, shooting past straight and right back to Gay
July 26, 2010
COLORADO – Hours after admitting that his sexual liason with a male prostitute was a “massage gone awry,” Ted Haggard has admitted he is again feeling Gay urges.
“What can I say,” said Haggard. “I over-repented and shot straight past being straight.”
Haggard, who gets paid to tell people how they are supposed to act, was forced to resign nearly four years ago as president of the politically powerful National Association of Evangelicals and to step down from the megachurch he founded, after admitting that he had bought methamphetamine from, and had a sexual encounter with a gay prostitute.
This time around, Haggard said it was a trip to a steam bath gone horribly wrong.
“I’m just minding my heterosexual business having a steam and then all hell broke loose,” said Haggard. “Then all of a sudden I’m doing meth and having sex with a dude named Chuck. I blame the steam.”
Haggard recently started a new church in his backyard and has built his congregation to more than 200 in just two months.
“Tiger Woods needs to golf. Michael Vick needs to be playing football,” said Haggard, who also admitted to electrocuting a puppy during a “trip to a dog park gone awry.”
While this latest setback threatens his non-stop attempt to tell Gays and Lesbians they are going to Hell, Haggard said he feels like he’s ready to give it all one more shot.
“I need to be leading a church,” said Haggard. “I’m hoping that this time around, I repent the exact right amount to be heterosexual.”
–WKW
It’s always the closeted Robosexuals that make all the fuss
July 12, 2010
Futurama tackles an issue on which we all have an opinion – Robosexual marriage. And wouldn’t you know, it’s a closeted robosexual leading the charge against robot/human marriage:
| Futurama | Thursdays 10pm / 9c | |||
| No on Infinity | ||||
|
||||
HT Joe.My.God
–WKW
Mike & Christine
June 27, 2010
“I am a transsexual sportswriter. It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words. … When you reach the point when one gender causes heartache and unbearable discomfort, and the other brings more joy and fulfillment than you ever imagined possible, it shouldn’t take two tons of bricks to fall in order to know what to do.”
– Christine Daniels, April 26, 2007.
Less than a year ago, I was waiting for a flight at an airport in Portugal when a tall, very striking woman caught my eye. Unable to look away for a moment, I noticed something about the woman – she was transgendered. I immediately poked my wife and whispered, “Wow, look at her, that’s a man.”
I’ve thought a lot about my reaction that day, feeling both guilty and introspective. It still bothers me that I – as someone who has so often written about LBGT rights – so easily reverted to an unenlightened spectator, looking and speaking of this woman as if she were an oddity rather than a fellow human.
While I have made efforts to understand and support transgendered people, I must confess that I have often so focused on the LGB much more than the T. And as someone who is very well aware that violence against the transgendered is both commonplace and horrific, it is a confession that hurts my soul. But it is also something I work to rectify.
Which brings me to Mike and Christine. Born Mike Penner, he was a long-time sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times. Then, more than three years ago, Mike Penner went on vacation. And came back as Christine Daniels. She wrote about her decision in a beautiful column for the Times:
Today I leave for a few weeks’ vacation, and when I return, I will come back in yet another incarnation.
As Christine.
Christine’s announcement was initially met with a rush of positivity, as readers wrote in to support her.
“Writing that piece, which I didn’t initially want to write, ended up becoming one of the best things I have ever done,” Daniels said in an interview. “And a day I dreaded all my life has ended up being one of the best days I’ve ever had.”
Of course, not all reviews were positive. Paul Oberjuerge, a former colleague of Penner (and of mine) viewed the change to Christine in stark terms.
I hate to be judgmental about these things, but Christine is not an attractive woman. Which probably isn’t a surprise when you’re 50 and have spent your in-the-world life as a fairly drab guy. Who has a fairly prominent Adam’s apple (not all of us do) … Who also isn’t exactly petite. Maybe 6-1, 200?
So … she looks like a guy in a dress, pretty much. Except anyone paying any attention isn’t going to be fooled — as some people are by veteran transvestites. …
The thing is, and maybe this is cruel, but there were women in that room who were born women in body as well as soul. And the difference between them and Christine was, in my mind, fairly stark.
It seemed almost as we’re all going along with someone’s dress-up role playing … and I assume it’s far more important than that inside this person’s head. But it’s going to take a while for the Average Joes among us to get our minds around this. And I’ve got to assume Christine understands that.
For a while, she thrived as Christine. She wrote a blog for the Times titled “Woman in Progress” where she detailed her changes and her life. And offered invaluable support to other transgendered people. She used her new name as her byline. Then, after less than a year, Christine Daniels took time away from the Times. And returned again. As Mike Penner, in byline only as he worked from home.
“Eight months into the transition, we started hearing less from Christine. By the middle of 2008, we heard nothing. By October, she’d gone back to the Mike Penner byline, writing a notes column from his LA house. He didn’t return e-mails, texts or calls,” wrote ESPN columnist Rick Reilly.
I write this to remind myself and others to not overlook or ignore the “T” in LBGT Pride Month. I write this to remind myself and others that to be progressive means to embrace all who don’t comfortably fit into an easily understood box. I write this to remind myself and others that to be a supporter of LGBT rights means you must be a supporter of transgender rights.
As much as that, though, I write this as a thank you to Mike and Christine.
Mike Penner, the veteran Los Angeles Times sportswriter who made international headlines in 2007 when he announced he was transsexual and began working under the byline “Christine Daniels,” has died.
Colleagues said today that Penner was found dead at his Los Angeles home and that suicide was the suspected cause of death. He was 52.
–WKW
Transgender Resources
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force – Transgender
–WKW
Originally posted at Alan Colmes’ Liberaland.
William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – June 24, 2010
June 24, 2010
Remembering Mike & Christine.
Wolfrum’s Word
June is LGBT Pride Month. I, like many, have often overlooked the Transgender part of that equation, even though I’m well aware of the violence and intolerance directed toward them. I wrote down some of my thoughts on that issue in my latest post at Alan Colmes’ Liberaland – Mike and Christine.
News
McChrystal’s Ouster: Gen. Stanley McChrystal is out and Gen. David Petraeus is in. But that doesn’t change the fact that things are still out of control in Afghanistan.
Still Gushing: For a time, yesterday, British Petroleum’s oil geyser in the Gulf of Mexico was going full force. But with the cap back on and new plans in the works, BP is anticipating the gusher to be stopped … some day.
Health Care Woes: Remember when Republicans argued that the U.S. had the world’s best health care system? They were lying.
Odd News
Twitsky: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has now entered the world of Twitter. Lenin weeps.
Jesus Returns: Forty percent of Americans believe that Jesus will return by 2050. If they really read the Bible, they’d be terrified.
Sports
USA! USA!: Nearly 24 hours after Landon Donovan’s World Cup-saving goal against Algeria, no referee has come forward to disallow it. So I think the U.S. is safely into the Final-16. Looking forward and dreaming: The U.S. could find itself in the semi-finals with wins over Ghana and South Korea if things play out right. But it’s all gravy from here on out for the boys in Red, White & Blue.
Still Playing: At Wimbledon, John Isner and Nicolas Mahu played for 10 hours until darkness forced them to stop – with the fifth-set tiebreaker at 59-59.
Blogs
Bad Astronomy: Whooping cough is now an epidemic in California. Another victory for Jim Carrey and his merry band of ant-vaxxers.
Campaign for America’s Future: Every way you measure it, it’s been downhill for all but the wealthy since Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.
Trini Salt Like: The U.S. may have destroyed Trinidad’s World Cup dreams 20 years ago, but here’s one transplanted Trinidadian who has learned to love U.S. soccer football.
Tweet of the Day
“If Italy can beat Slovakia by three or more goals in #worldcup tomorrow, McChrystal gets his job back. FIFA has weird rules.”
–WKW
William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – June 16, 2010
June 16, 2010
Brazil fan Zé Aparecido was pensive during the first half of Brazil-North Korea World Cup match.
News
Obama on the Oil Spill: Taking to his biggest bully pulpit, President Barack Obama laid out steps the government has taken and will take in fighting British Petroleum’s oil disaster. The final step? Prayer. Lots and lots of prayer.
Ashburn Changes Course: Since being nabbed for a DUI coming from a Gay bar, California Sen. Roy Ashburn has seen the light. This Q&A showcases the new and improved Ashburn.
Prop. 8 Closing Arguments: The Federal Trial to judge whether California’s Proposition 8 is Constitutional is today. Here’s a handy guide to follow the action.
Wealth Inequality in U.S.: Not that facts should matter, but we are truly living in a second Gilded Age.
More: The first steps toward austerity in the U.S., the Truth of Bloody Sunday finally revealed, Arizona wants to toss American children out of the country, Westboro Baptist Church brainwashing children with hate.
Sports
Brazil Beats N. Korea: The North Koreans did all they could to slow down powerful Brazil, but an impossible-angle goal by Brazilian Maicon helped lead Brazil to the three points in its first 2010 World Cup match. In news from Brazil – the whole nation was up until 3 a.m. shooting fireworks after the game, my dogs are going to have a long World Cup.
Portugal-Ivory Coast Tie: Not a lot to say about this evenly matched game, except that when it comes to the top players in the world – Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – I’ll take the humble and professional Messi over the vain and spoiled Ronaldo any time.
Bonus Portugal & Brazil Fact: You know how Polish jokes have long been a staple of American humor? Well, in Brazil they make those exact same jokes – but about the Portuguese. It’s a fact.
Lakers Force Game 7: When the Lakers are playing at their best, Boston has no chance. In Game 6, the Lakers left it all on the court, and forced a Game 7 with a remarkably efficient 89-67 victory.
Blogs
Black Politics on the Web: The election of Barack Obama hasn’t translated into more Black political candidates.
David G. Simmons: Taking a look at Obama’s speech from the Oval Office.
DagBlog: The great Libertarian wonderland of New Hampshire is not quite all it’s cracked up to be.
Tweet of the Day
“Remember when Ronald Reagan solved the Iranian Hostage Crisis thru power of Prayer (and selling arms to Iran)?”
–WKW
Mark Kirk: One week ago he was a heterosexual with a sterling military record
June 1, 2010
This probably isn’t the week Mark Kirk envisioned. The Republican running for what was Barack Obama’s Senate seat in Illinois started the week as a big Republican hopeful. Today – not so much.
Kirk was caught lying about his military record. That he could have survived.
The fact that the notorious Mike Rogers has outed him as a Gay Male? Naw, probably won’t survive that in the GOP’s Tiniest Possible Tent.
From Joe.My.God.:
Rogers goes on to recount having met Kirk personally at a 2004 party largely attended by gay men. It should be noted that Kirk has one of the more positive records on LGBT rights and recently earned an 88% score from the Human Rights Campaign. Last June he signed on as a House co-sponsor of ENDA.
What a difference a week makes.
–WKW
Dear George Alan Rekers, Thank you. Love, RentBoy.com
May 5, 2010
Dear Mr. Rekers,
We just wanted to send you a message to thank you for choosing Rentboy.com to “carry your luggage” and helping give us more publicity than we could have ever hoped for. Your help will put us on top this year.
While most of your beliefs terrify us, your decision to cruise over to RentBoy.com was a decision that truly changed our lives, and business model, forever.
So again, thank you so much for choosing Rentboy.com, and remember, if you ever need your luggage carried again, we’ve got the boys for you.
Love,
The RentBoy.com Team.
P.S.: Give our love to James.
–WKW
The most homoerotic, anti-gay diatribe ever!
April 28, 2010
Eugene Delgaudio, the Republican District Supervisor in Sterling, Virginia, is a man that works hard to spread homophobia and keep many rights away from gay and lesbian Americans.
But in writing a fund-raising appeal, Delgaudio somehow turned all that hate into one big homoerotic masturbation story. An Expert from Thomas Wellborn at Alan Colmes’ Liberaland:
Trembling with worry I went inside. It was worse than I ever imagined. Row after row of boxes bulging with pro-homosexual petitions lined the walls, stacked to the ceiling. My mind reeled as I realized hundreds, maybe thousands, more boxes were already loaded on the tractor-trailers. And still more petitions were flying off the press.
Suddenly a dark-haired man screeched, “Delgaudio what are you doing here?” Dozens of men began moving toward me. I’d been recognized. As I retreated to my car, the man chortled, “This time Delgaudio we can’t lose.”Driving away, my eyes filled with tears as I realized he might be right. This time the Radical Homosexuals could win.
Ok, seriously, I’m heterosexual but that was starting to get me hot and bothered. Too bad it was written by a homophobic hate-monger.
Read more at The Washington Note.
–WKW
Much respect to Ricky Martin
March 29, 2010
Having known people throughout my life that have struggled mightily with coming out, I think the “duh, of course he’s gay” jokes that are already attached to Ricky Martin coming out as a gay man are thoughtless at best and hurtful at worst.
So here’s offering much respect and admiration to Ricky Martin on his announcement today:
A few months ago I decided to write my memoirs, a project I knew was going to bring me closer to an amazing turning point in my life. From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time. Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside. Writing this account of my life, I got very close to my truth. And thisis something worth celebrating.
For many years, there has been only one place where I am in touch with my emotions fearlessly and that’s the stage. Being on stage fills my soul in many ways, almost completely. It’s my vice. The music, the lights and the roar of the audience are elements that make me feel capable of anything. This rush of adrenaline is incredibly addictive. I don’t ever want to stop feeling these emotions. But it is serenity that brings me to where I’m at right now. An amazing emotional place of comprehension, reflection and enlightenment. At this moment I’m feeling the same freedom I usually feel only on stage, without a doubt, I need to share.
Many people told me: “Ricky it’s not important”, “it’s not worth it”, “all the years you’ve worked and everything you’ve built will collapse”, “many people in the world are not ready to accept your truth, your reality, your nature”. Because all this advice came from people who I love dearly, I decided to move on with my life not sharing with the world my entire truth. Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions.
If someone asked me today, “Ricky, what are you afraid of?” I would answer “the blood that runs through the streets of countries at war…child slavery, terrorism…the cynicism of some people in positions of power, the misinterpretation of faith.” But fear of my truth? Not at all! On the contrary, It fills me with strength and courage. This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.
These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed.
What will happen from now on? It doesn’t matter. I can only focus on what’s happening to me in this moment. The word “happiness” takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.
I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.
RM
–WKW
One-Liner: Anti-Gay Republicans
March 4, 2010
If anti-murder Republicans were actually murderers as often as anti-gay Republicans were actually gay, it would be a bloodbath out there.
–WKW
God speaks: “Beauty Pageant Contestants are going to Hell”
February 26, 2010
HEAVEN – God, the all-powerful entity that controls all things on the planet, spoke to his people today for the first time in hundreds of years. Using the voice of actor Dennis Haysbert so that he wouldn’t shatter the eardrums and souls of ordinary humans, God was swift and to the point.
“Beauty Pageant Contestants are all going to Hell,” said God, 46. “Did you not read what I said about pride?”
God’s surprise announcement comes only days after Miss California contestant Lauren Ashley said that gays and lesbians should be put to death.
“If man lies with mankind as he would lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination,” Ashley reportedly said to Fox News. “They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them.”
God’s comment regarding Pride has to do with Proverbs 8:13, where God says” “Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”
God ended his speech with a warning toward judgmental beauty contestants and their families.
“How about you people lead your lives, and then I’ll judge you,” said God, originally from Cerritos, Calif. “Oh, and if you enter your young child in a beauty pageant, you get eternal damnation. No compromises.”
While God didn’t mention Ashley or Carrie Prejean by name, his feelings toward beauty pageant contestants seemed clear. noted God expert Sarah Palin agreed with God’s words on Fox News.
“Beauty pageant contestants are an abomination,” said Palin. “I’ve always believed that.”
–WKW
Veteran Phillip Spooner on Gay Equality: “What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?”
February 4, 2010
What do you think about Gay Equality? WWII Veteran Phillip Spooner says it better than nearly anyone else could. A must-see video.
We Americans grow up hearing about “Freedom and Liberty.” It is literally drilled into our heads day after day. We are now at a time when those words must either be proven true, or dismissed all together. A thank you to Mr. Spooner for his service and his beautiful sentiments.
–WKW
I’ve never been in the military but I know what the troops think
February 4, 2010
I have never served in the U.S. military. It was never really an option for me, as I tend to be quite cowardly and flee at the first sight of trouble. Also, I’m about as disciplined as Dennis Rodman. In fact, not only have I never served, I don’t really even know anyone currently serving. Nonetheless, I know exactly what men and women in the military are thinking.
First off, there are a lot of 18-year-old, old-fashioned, testosterone-laden men in the military who are tough guys. They’re often politically old-fashioned or conservative; they are not necessarily at the vanguard, in many cases, of accepting alternative forms of lifestyle.
Yes, these tough guys (and tough girls, I suppose) are willing to go into enemy territory, fight death-wishing terrorists and do whatever it takes to keep our nation safe. But they’re horrified of gay people. The mere sight of a gay person leads to what they call in the military (I’m assuming) “Spontaneous Pants-Pooping.” These may be brave men and women, but they are mostly conservative and mostly terrified of what someone does in their own bedroom. Trust me, I know.
Despite never having been in the military, I have a stunning deal of knowledge on the subject. After all, I love war. Thus, I’m an expert on those in uniform. Here are some facts you might not have been aware of:
- All of our troops are Christian. If they weren’t when they joined, they are now.
- Our troops risk their lives for the American people. Except for the Gay American people. They must fend for themselves.
- When our troops torture enemies (and all of them torture enemies, all the time) they call it “Happy Fun Time.” Like me, most of them orgasm just thinking about torture.
- Everyone in the military wants war, perpetually.
- Everyone in the military under the rank of Colonel has a vestigial tail.
How do I know so much about the mindset of those in the military? Because I’ve watched a lot of movies about war. And after watching them, I know that American soldiers always win. And I know that they, like I love war. But more than anything, I know they are closed-minded and despise gays and lesbians. I do, after all, so they must, as well.
--WKW
