Recently in In the News Category

…who got caught in a dangerous contraption?

Related articles:

• “Balloon Boy Falcon Heene Comes From A Family Of “Bad” Boys” and related posts (anyguey.guanabee.com)

My friend Glen sent this to me. Of course, I just had to change it a bit. Anyway, I was one of those weird little boys who loved Winnie the Pooh. This made me laugh out loud.

Related articles:

• Happy Birthday, A. A. Milne (wired.com)
• LeapFrog intros Tag Junior reading companion for children (engadget.com)
• Talisker Players and Winnie the Pooh combine for charming music (thestar.com)
• Winnie the pooh thought on Swine flu [Stress buster] (shoutmeloud.com)
• So You’ve Decided To Get Swine Flu… (chicagoist.com)
• Swine flu fears stalk living, dead in Mexico City (cnn.com)
• Swine flu fears stalk the living and the dead in Mexico City (cnn.com)

You gotta love Anderson Cooper. At the end of this clip, he delivers one of the funniest lines of the week with a perfectly straight face.

 

Via Joe.My.God.

Related articles:

• Without Kathy Griffin, Anderson Cooper Goes in Search of a New Bitch (jossip.com)
• The Media Are Actually Paying Attention to a Dead Feminine Black Boy (queerty.com)
• Anderson Cooper’s Advice to Children: “Don’t Be a Blowhard” (jossip.com)
• Sheepish Anderson Cooper Keeps His Screaming to the Bedroom (jossip.com)

Seeing the photos and video of the German woman who jumped into the polar bear exhibit at the Berlin Zoo reminded me of the day I recently spent with my dad at the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium near Phoenix.

The tigers were in an enclosure that consisted of a wire fence and a small wooden barrier that keeps vistors at a little more than arm’s length from the big cats. All of the tigers were sleeping except one white tiger who was pacing wildly (as you’d expect a tiger to do).

 

I recall thinking that it would have been very easy for a small child to crawl under the wooden barrier and stick his or her entire arm through the fence. There were a few parents who were just letting their tots run around unattended. 

My dad and I actually saw a little girl who must have been about three years old sticking her hands in the water of an exhibit of turtles. Her mother shouted at her, but she was at least 10 yards away eating her lunch. For all she knew, the pond could have had a school of piranha in it!

Related articles:

• Polar bear attacks woman at Berlin Zoo (cnn.com)
• Lonely Man Leaps into Polar Bear Cage Because “He Looked Lonely” (treehugger.com)
• Sousa Family Sues SF, SF Zoo Over Wrongful Death (sfist.com)

Joe.My.God. posted this photo of the crazy German woman who climbed into the polar bear enclosure at the Berlin Zoo and asked for captions.

My favorite has to be:

This is NOT what you do for a Klondike bar!

Related articles:

• Lucky to Be Alive: Attacked By a Polar Bear (abcnews.go.com)
• Polar bear attacks woman at Berlin Zoo (cnn.com)
• Polar Bear Attack! (huffingtonpost.com)
• Lonely Man Leaps into Polar Bear Cage Because “He Looked Lonely” (treehugger.com)

I just read about the growing controversy surrounding Playboy magazine’s recent Mexican edition that features what is obviously a sexy, half-naked Virgin Mary. WTF?!

Who would be stupid enough to do something like this in Mexico? Many Mexicans revere the Virgin Mary more than God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost combined. Did they really think they could get away with something like this in a country where there are probably more shrines to Mary than modern toilets?

Today, Playboy issued an apology and denied that the cover was meant to portray the Virgin Mary. Hum, then I wonder what the stained glass window and the headline “Te Adoramos, María” is all about. What about that iconic pose? Duh!

I think this is yet another example of people fucking up and then not having the balls to admit that they did something stupid. I’d rather that they just say “Screw you, Catholic Church. We knew this would offend you and we did it anyway.” At least that would show they stand behind their tasteless pornography. Instead, they offer an apology and lie about their intentions.

I’ve read that many Catholics consider this to be blasphemous. But, I think that you have to actually believe in Christianity (or whatever faith you prefer) in order to commit blasphemy. Pornography isn’t very Christian. So, the Catholic Church should focus their outrage on the bigger picture — a magazine with photos of naked ladies. 

Personally, I don’t know why anyone would want to mix religious images with porn. Do many straight guys have fetishes about this kind of thing? I would imagine it to be a major turn off to most guys. I know I wouldn’t want to see a sexy, naked Jesus in gay porn — not that I’m into that kind of thing. 

Bush is such an idiot! In Iraq, throwing a shoe at someone is the worst possible insult. It is something reserved for criminals and tyrants. Bush not only had two shoes thrown at him during a press conference, he had the nerve to trivialize the significance of this in Iraqi culture by saying, “So what if he threw a shoe at me?”

 

What a grade-A asshole! Our president is an embarrassment. He has zero class. He has no concept of deportment. He received one of the highest insults possible in Iraq and he responded by trying to make a joke about it.

Here’s the translation of what the man shouted as he threw the shoes:

First Shoe:

“This is the gift from the Iraqis —  this is the farewell kiss you dog.”

Second Shoe:

“This is from the widows, the orphans and those killed in Iraq.”

Yeah, Iraqi widows and orphans are something to joke about. They’re something that our president can shrug off with a simple “So what?”

Bush must be charged and out on trial for war crimes. He is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. They were blown to bits for nothing — a war based on lies and motivated by profit.   

I live in a forested hillside area in Monterey. It is a lovely place and I often take hikes through an area called Skyline Forest, which is about 1/4 mile from my house.

Here’s the view from my front door:

The entire area is lush with trees and full of deer and other wildlife. It is almost like living out in the woods. Well, imagine my surprise when I read the following “police brief” in my local newspaper this morning.

Body found in woods near abandoned car

The body of an adult man was found in the Skyline Forest area Sunday afternoon by Monterey police investigating an abandoned vehicle.

No cause of death has been determined, but Monterey police Lt. Leslie Sonne said the death was not being treated as a homicide.

She said the man’s body was found about 100 yards from Mar Vista and Skyline drives. An autopsy was scheduled today. Police were looking in the area because a vehicle had been left there for several days, she said.

What puzzles me is that I drive on Skyline Drive every day — I have an obsession to take that route. I can’t recall seeing an abandoned car over the last few days. I think I would have noticed. The road is very picturesque and a car sitting at the side of the road would stand out.

I wonder if this was a suicide. The news article doesn’t give any details. I suppose it is likely that someone would choose this location to end his life. It is a beautiful spot and once you walk into the forest, it is very secluded.

It seems that Alan Colmes has had enough of Sean Hannity and is leaving Hannity & Colmes:

Alan Colmes leaves BFF Hannity
by: Pam Spaulding
Tue Nov 25, 2008 at 09:00:00 AM PST

Sean Hannity will have to look for another punching bag sparring partner for his Faux News show. (WaPo):

Alan Colmes of the network’s “Hannity & Colmes” said Monday that he’ll be leaving the prime-time show after 12 years. He’ll continue as a commentator on Fox programs, keep doing his radio show and is developing a weekend show at Fox.

“We have a Democratic House, Senate and president,” Colmes said in an interview. “My work is done.” No decision has been made on who will replace Colmes, or whether he will be replaced at all.

So if Hannity decides not to go solo, who should take the Colmes chair?

To answer Pam’s question, here are a few ideas as to who should replace Colmes:

How about Gary Coleman? He’s probably out of work right now. He’s just as irrelevant as Alan Colmes. Heck, he did run for governor of California!

Stephen Colbert could be a fun choice. He could keep his show on Comedy Central and do both. Perhaps he’d find Hannity to be a…formidable opponent.

This one has to be the best choice for Hannity — a puppet! In addition, Kermit is used to working with pigs.

If you want to do your own Photoshop, here’s a link to the blank:  http://thumbsnap.com/vf/UcYIb2vv.jpg

If you use the blank, leave me a link to the Photoshop in the comments. 

Related articles:

• Last Liberal Voice Leaving FNC
• Alan Colmes leaving “Hannity & Colmes”
• Alan Colmes leaving ‘Hannity and Colmes.’
• Does Hannity have the guts to partner with a ‘big-league liberal?’

On Sunday, I attended a rally at Monterey’s Window on the Bay that was organized by the local Democratic Club and No on 8. About 250 supporters of Obama and opponents of Prop. 8 showed up to hold a joint rally.

During the rally, between 25 to 30 McCain supporters arrived to give a counter demonstration, heckling us with slogans such as “B.O. stinks” and “Go back to Russia!” And, those McCain supporters began to leave shortly after the No on 8 folks showed up in force. A few I spoke to as they were leaving said they didn’t want to protest a No on 8 rally.

The rally lasted from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with huge crowds holding Obama and No on 8 signs.

So, I was somewhat shocked when the local Fox affiliate ran the following story:

The story should have focused on the number of people who showed up to oppose Prop. 8. Instead, the reporter said that both supporters and opponents of Prop. 8 were there. That’s not true. There was one — and only one — Prop. 8 supporter very early on. He left after about 30 minutes. There was only one other person holding a Yes on 8 sign  and he picked it up from the ground (I have photos showing that to be the case). You will notice in the video not a single Yes on 8 sign is shown. That’s because there weren’t any!

The story should have been “Hundreds of Obama supporters and opponents of Prop. 8 joined forces today in Monterey…”

Instead, Fox News was deliberately deceptive. They focused on the few McCain supporters and marginalized the No on 8 and Obama supporters who were there in much larger numbers.

If you want to see what was really going on at Window on the Bay, check out my Flickr set for the event.

http://flickr.com/photos/fritzliess/sets/72157608604588504/detail/

You will clearly see that only a handful of McCain supporters showed up to make their presence known. This was obviously an Obama/No on 8 rally — NOT a shared event between Democrats and Republicans.

I don’t know how Fox gets away with simply inventing stories like this. They went out and took video of what was obviously a huge turnout for both Obama and No on 8 and made it seem as if there was equal representaion by the opposition. That’s a lie — a total fabrication.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a group of San Diego firefighters who sued the city for forcing them to participate in a Gay Pride parade.

Well, the big babies lost their case. The judge ruled that participating in parades is part of community building — just as I predicted he would.

Judge: Gay Pride firefighter appearance not illegal

By 365gay Newscenter Staff
10.13.2008 1:52pm EDT (San Diego, California)

A San Diego judge has ruled the city did not act illegally when it ordered four firefighters to take part in a gay pride parade. The ruling, by San Diego Superior Court Judge Michael Anello, came a week after a mistrial was declared in a sex discrimination lawsuit by the firefighters.

In his ruling, Anello rejected a motion from the the firefighters’ attorney for an injunction barring the city from from requiring participation in parades.

Now I’ve heard everything! The loonies at Fox News have started a fake controversy about the photo of Sarah Palin that appears on the cover of Newsweek magazine.

Apparently, Newsweek didn’t airbrush the photo to make the 44-year-old Palin look like a teenage beauty queen. The idiots at Fox News think that’s a bad thing!

Personally, I think it is a great photo. There’s nothing wrong with showing a woman’s wrinkles. Newsweek certainly wouldn’t airbrush John McCain’s wrinkles away. Why do it for Sarah Palin.

Palin isn’t a covergirl. She’s a politician. She should be shown to the public warts and all (not that she has any warts on her face).

This kind of sexism has to end.  

Check out this news story about four firefighters in San Diego who claim that they were traumatized when the city ordered them to work during a Gay Pride event.

I think that anyone who can’t handle dealing with gay people or any other minority group shouldn’t be working as a firefighter. How can they serve the public when they’re afraid of a group of LGBT citizens?

Testimony Ends in Firemen’s Trial Over Gay Pride Trauma

Last Update: 9/29 5:53 pm    

SAN DIEGO - Testimony ended Monday in a civil trial stemming from a lawsuit brought against the city by four San Diego firefighters, who claim they were ordered to participate in the 2007 gay pride parade and suffered emotional problems as a result.

Capt. John Ghiotto and firefighters Jason Hewitt, Alex Kane and Chad Allison claim they were called names and subjected to other harassment by scantily-clad parade attendees.

The firefighters, who manned a station in the Hillcrest neighborhood where the parade took place, were ordered to take part when another crew had to back out the night before the event.

More…

It is likely that these assholes simply saw this as an opportunity to get rich. I hope the lose the case and their jobs. What a bunch of wimps! 

I just saw these Chanel light bulb shoes in today’s USA Weekend magazine.

They cost $2,200 and the light bulb actually lights up.

What in the hell is wrong with rich people? Why would anyone buy these ugly things?

How many stupid rich women does it take to screw in a light bulb? Apparently, one. She just puts on these shoes and drives the bulb into the socket with her feet!

WTF?! I just read the following article in this morning’s newspaper:

Obama effigy found hanging from Ore. campus tree

By MARY HUDETZ, Associated Press writer
Wed Sep 24, 6:43 PM ET

NEWBERG, Ore. - Officials of a small Christian university say a life-size cardboard reproduction of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was hung from a tree on the campus, an act with racial undertones that outraged students and school leaders alike.

[…]

Taped to the cardboard cutout of the black senator from Illinois was a message targeting participants in Act Six, a scholarship program geared toward increasing the number of minority and low-income students at several Christian colleges, mostly in the Northwest…

More…

What outraged me more than this hateful, racist act was that the reporter chose to describe it as “an act with racial undertones” — UNDERTONES!

This is not an act with racial undertones. It is an act with racial OVERTONES! The meaning behind lynching Obama in effigy is implicit and obvious.

I can’t imagine why the Associated Press would choose to play down the obvious racism behind this act.

On today’s The View, Whoopie asks John McCain if she needs to worry about the return of slavery since he wants the Constitution to be as the Founding Father’s intended…

I was shocked to learn that an anti-gay group held a rally just a few miles from my home yesterday. According to an article in today’s Monterey County Herald, an organization from Pennsylvania called The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property (check out their scary website) gathered at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and San Carlos Street carrying anti-gay signs and a red banner with a lion and the words “Tradition, Family, Property.”

One Carmel resident described the demonstration as “fascist” and several others felt compelled to give these crazy folks the finger.

Apparently, this Phelps-style hate group is conducting a 30-day tour of the state, protesting marriage equality — and really pissing people off in the communities they visit.

For those of you who are not familiar with Ocean Avenue in Carmel, it is a little bit like an amusement park without the thrill rides. It is a beautiful shopping district with art galleries, quaint shops, outdoor cafes, and a quiet smalltown atmosphere. I can’t imagine anyone holding a demonstration like the one described here. It would be exactly like protesting on Disney’s Main Street!

Here are some excerpts from the article:

It has been seven long years since George W. Bush promised us that he’d get Osama Bin Laden dead or alive. As far as we know, Bin Laden is still alive and well and living in hiding. I feel that this is the biggest failure of the Bush administration. A mass murderer has not been brought to justice. The crimes of 9/11 have not yet been avenged. Bush will soon leave office and retire to his ranch in Texas. If he had any honor, he’d keep his promise and search for Bin Laden after his term in office expires.

Today, scientists in Geneva, Switzerland fired up the Large Hadron Collider.

First Beam For Large Hadron Collider

ScienceDaily (Sep. 10, 2008) — An international collaboration of scientists today sent the first beam of protons zooming at nearly the speed of light around the world’s most powerful particle accelerator—the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)—located at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) invested a total $531 million in the construction of the accelerator and its detectors, which scientists believe could help unlock extraordinary discoveries about the nature of the physical universe.

More…

Unfortunately, some other scientists have expressed concern that these experiments could result in the creation of a black hole that will suck in the entire world and result in the end of all things as we know it. 

I wonder if it will look anything like this:

Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun

Yes. She certainly did.

Just as the blogosphere was reeling with the news that John McCain has selected a “bimbo beauty queen” as his running mate, we learn that she has a “whore” teenage daughter who is unmarried and pregnant!

Assessing the Political Impact of Bristol Palin’s Pregnancy

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s family at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, gust 29, 2008. Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol, is holding four-month-old Trig Palin. (Melina Mara / The Washington Post)

ST. PAUL — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced moments ago that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant and is planning to keep the baby and marry the father.

“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,” said Sarah and Todd Palin in a statement. “Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.”

More…

Obviously, Sarah Palin is an unfit mother. She ignored her duty to keep her child pure and virginal until marriage. (So will say the religious right.)

This really is going to be a major blow to McCain’s campaign. I’m from the Midwest and nothing can get the tongues wagging and the hellfire burning like a girl who gets herself knocked up. Both the mother and the child are vilified!

Most fundies will be shocked that Sarah Palin has announced her “shame” publicly. They would prefer that Bristol Palin be sent away to a secret location to give birth her bastard child out of the public eye.  

Last night, I went over to my friend Tom’s house for spaghetti and a movie. Tom had already selected the DVD The Secret, a movie with David Duchovny that I’d never heard of (Tom is a big X-Files fan, so I wasn’t surprised by his movie pick).

Anyway, the movie was about a father and daughter who have a secret. The mother and daughter are in a car accident and the mother dies. Somehow, the mother’s spirit ends up in the daughter’s body. It was kind of a spooky Freaky Friday.

Instead of announcing this major metaphysical discovery to the entire world, the father and daughter argee to keep it a secret. Then, there are some creepy suggestions of father/daughter incest. Yuck.

The movie was okay. The one thing we all agreed on was that Duchovny looked pretty hot. He hasn’t aged very much since his X-Files days. In fact, I think he’s gotten even more attractive over the years.

This morning, I was still thinking about The Secret and Duchovny when I read the following article in the Sunday newspaper:

Duchovny in Rehab
 
Compiled by JULIE BLOOM
Published: August 29, 2008

David Duchovny has entered a rehabilitation center for sex addiction, The Associated Press reported. Mr. Duchovny, who plays a sex-obsessed character on the Showtime show “Californication,” did so voluntarily, according to a statement on Thursday from his lawyer, Stanton Stein. The statement also quoted Mr. Duchovny as saying, “I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family.” Mr. Duchovny has been married to the actress Téa Leoni since 1997… 

#92 Visit the Great Pyramids of Giza.

#93 Ride on the Orient Express.

#94 Hike to Machu Picchu.

#95 Learn to pilot a hot air balloon.

#96 Go on an African photo safari.

#97 Dive on the Great Barrier Reef.

#98 Go deep sea fishing in the Caribbean.

#99 Climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

#100 Safety proof your house. 

100 Things To Do Before You Die author Dave Freeman dies

August 28, 2008 12:00am

The man who co-wrote the best-selling travel guide 100 Things To Do Before You Die has died at the age of 47.

Dave Freeman had visited half the places mentioned in his book, whose recommendations included nude night surfing in Australia and running with bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

He died after falling over at his home in Venice, California, and hitting his head.

The advertising agency executive wrote the 1999 book with his friend Neil Teplica after collecting odd locations on a travel website they ran.

The irreverent guide to the world’s wackiest places suggested a voodoo pilgrimage to Haiti and taking part in the loudest yelling competition in North Carolina.

More…

The year was 1972. It was an election year — and the Democratic primary was heating up with names like George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, Sam Yorty, Eugene McCarthy, Shirley Chisholm, and Edwin Muskie vying to run against Richard Nixon. There was also another name being presented as a possible presidential candidate. Archie Bunker, a character on a new and controversial TV sitcom, was being promoted for the office through t-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons, and other merchandise.

That summer, our family went on a typical roadtrip vacation. We started out in Anaheim, California driving east to visit family in Kansas and Nebraska. One of the first things our family did to prepare for a roadtrip was to go shopping for new outfits. My mom liked to see the entire family dressed up in matching costumes. That election year, Mom decided that patriotic red, white and blue was the way to go. She was quite a character.

At the department store, my twin brother Frank and I spotted red, white and blue Archie Bunker for President t-shirts. We had to have them! Mom chose a red, white and blue tank top and matching hot pants for herself. Dad got saddled with a stars and stripes shortsleeve collared shirt and jeans.  

Mom, me and my twin brother Frank (left to right) in our patriotic-
themed vacation outfits in 1972. Inset: A detail of the Archie
Bunker for President t-shirts we were wearing.

A couple of days into our trip, Dad stopped in Ogden, Utah for lunch. We all sat down to eat at a cosy little diner and waited for the waitress to come and take our order. We waited and waited.

Finally, a man appraoched our table and identified himself as the manager. He told Dad that the t-shirts my brother and I were wearing were unpatriotic and offensive. We’d have to take them off or we would not be served.