Bush is an asshole.

I've avoided this topic so far, but seeing as how this blog is no longer going to get checked on a regular basis, I feel the need to state that I wish the Government would treat gays with the dignity and respect we deserve. Barring that, at least don't pull this move and attempt, please, to make it a bit safer for us to walk the streets at night

While I have never been the victim of a hate crime (far more typical is "Can I join in?" "NO!"), the same cannot be said of everyone in my community. I'd like to state that there's bullshit afoot when our government claims that "The administration favors strong criminal penalties for violent crime, including crime based on personal characteristics, such as race, color, religion or national origin..." but can't be bothered to lift a finger for the GLBTQ citizens of this nation. That confounds me; it makes no sense. I look for the other side of the argument, but can't seem to find it with a damn magnifying glass. The only reasoning I can relate to is paragraph that quotes:

Moreover, the bill’s proposed section 249(a)(1) of title 18 of the U.S. Code raises constitutional concerns. Federalization of criminal law concerning the violence prohibited by the bill would be constitutional only if done in the implementation of a power granted to the Federal government, such as the power to protect Federal personnel, to regulate interstate commerce, or to enforce equal protection of the laws. Section 249(a)(1) is not by its terms limited to the exercise of such a power, and it is not at all clear that sufficient factual or legal grounds exist to uphold this provision of H.R. 1592.

This at least makes a smidgen of Constitutional sense. The other argument the Statement covers is the same one the government has been using for years: if we protect homosexuals as a minorities, we have to protect all minorities, like
"the elderly, members of the military, police officers, and victims of prior crimes)"

Well, what's stopping us? Why the hell not do something about protecting these groups? We have to start somewhere.

I know there's a solution that is legally feasible under all the muck and political gestures, if our public officials would just look for it. Until then, gays are left looking out for ourselves.

Our Maintenance People Rock My Socks.

If you're not sure what you're looking at, I'll enlighten you. It's one of the many problems Guinan has been having lately. Limping around the dorm, (because that's how my joints roll, yo.) I counted something along the lines of seven busted lights, two (or three, depending on the day and mood) doors that don't work, a courtyard fountain that spouted like a three story gyser yesterday (wish I was kidding; I have it on film!) and a water heater that just turned back on this evening.

First of all: our maintance crew kicks it old school. You people rock! Way to stay on the ball!
Secondly: before you all go commenting, "But Megan, aren't you a ResCouncil officer?", yeah yeah yeah I KNOW. I'm on it, people. I've already scheduled Father Pilsner to come in tomorrow to exercise the demon, or whatever.

Snails, amongt other things...

As I went on my nightly walk to the museum district, I stepped on several snails, which always makes me sad to think about because we as large, lubering creatures, often step on other living things as we go about our merry way through life, often times without even a clue that we've just snuffed out an irreplacable life.

But that's not what this post is about. Because unlike those snails I accidentally smushed under my Chuck Taylors, snail mail is a very live and thriving thing, which is good for small independent news publications.

Sorta.

Because your government (yes, yours!) wants to give breaks on postage to large media corporations, but leave smaller, independent news sources out in the cold. This could be a good thing if all you ever read is the Wall Street Journal, but for those of you who enjoy, you know, variety, this could be a problem. Tax breaks for larger media companies means an easier time distributing information, but only for LARGER MEDIA COMPANIES. You should look into it a bit more, and take action. Journalism works for us, dammit.

Now, a moment of silence for the snails...

I need to share this with you.

For it is much less depressing than the anti-war lyrics I posted earlier today...

"...Because the keys to the kingdom got locked inside the kingdom
And the angels fly around in there, but we can't see them
And I gotta girl in the war, Paul I know that they can hear me yell
If they can't find a way to help, they can go to Hell
If they can't find a way to help her, they can go to Hell..."

Legislation that doesn't look cute in a onesie

So, as you all probably know, the Supreme Court chose to ban partial-birth abortion today in a close and disappointing vote of 5-4. Ruth is crying, Sandra is kicking herself, and I'm cringing at Bush's praise of the majority as he speaks of "...protecting human dignity and upholding the sanctity of life." I suppose no one informed him that an unnecessary war is a bit of a snub to the sanctity of life, and that we as a nation seem to be in more danger from disgruntled college students than terrorists from afar.

Oh well. As long as Bush pays attention to abortion, maybe he'll stay away from the gay community...and I'll refrain from tacky comments about unborn gay fetuses.

On another note, China, having successfully learned to control the Internet, is moving onto bigger better things...China Attempts to Control the Weather. That's hot....

I am, for the most part, going to ignore the comments to my latest post, because they were, for the most part, harmless and ill worded (it's your, not you're, and "grammar" is spelled with an "a", not an "e"), but I would like to provide this helpful bit of advice:That being said, I'd like to speak on something that is very important to me: House, M.D. Specifically, House, M.D., and its lack of appearance on youtube. Look, I can only take so many House/Wilson slash videos before my head just spins in circles.

I don't quite understand the copyright issue with taking House off youtube. No, I don't want anyone making money off posting the latest episode the minute it's done airing; (dammit, if I can't make money that way, no one will!) but is it really all that different if I tape it on VHS and hold it to my bosom in a decidedly-greedy fashion? Or what if I was really rich (and geeky) and TiVo'd it, and then took that TiVo and copied the hard drive? Either way, I would still have my very own copy of Gregory House being snarky, and I wouldn't have to pay a cent...kinda like I don't now when I watch it on my six-inch TV screen.

I think that Clear Channel needs to get with the time. Fox, Time Warner, every dinosaur company is fighting tooth and nail to keep their footage in the reels, and that's not how people are watching TV anymore. Very rarely do I make time to watch an entire TV show; I catch it on the run in five minute increments like everyone else. That's why independent stations like CurrentTV are such a blessing. (Thank you, Lord Al Gore. I will spread your Good Message...)

Wired Magazine (the know-all-be-all, in my book) had this to say:

Until about five minutes ago, remember, almost all video-entertainment content was produced and distributed by Hollywood. Period. That time is over. There was a time when advertisers could count on mass audiences for what Hollywood thought we should be watching on TV. That time is all but over. There was a time when broadband penetration was too slight and bandwidth costs too prohibitive for video to be watched online. That time is sooooo over. "The era of the creepy blue light leaking out of every living room window on the block is now officially at an end," says my pal and occasional colleague Steve Rosenbaum, founder of video-sharing startup Magnify.net and one of the inventors a decade ago of citizen video. "The simple, wonderful, delirious fact is that people like you and me can now make and share content."

Without being overly simplistic or melodramatic, the state of the Old Commercial Broadcasting Model can be summarized like this: a spiraling vortex of ruin. Fragmentation has decimated audiences, viewers who do watch are skipping commercials, advertisers are therefore fleeing, the revenue for underwriting new content is therefore flatlining, program quality is therefore suffering (Dancing With the Stars. QED), which will lead to ever more viewer defection, which will lead to ever more advertiser defection, and so on.

Well, that settles it.

Also, a question. Was an actual order put out to fly flags at half-mast? I'm getting mixed signals from my people...