ANOTHER Name for Obama?

How About

"He Who Is Jack of All Issues But Master of None" or... "He Who Is Still Timid On Gay Issues?" or... "He Who Will Not Be A Diplomatic Dimwit?" or... "He Who Will be More Like A Kennedy Than A Clinton?"

I just read this:

Obama Gets New Name
by The Associated Press

Posted: May 20, 2008 - 1:00 pm ET

(Crow Agency, Montana) Democrat Barack Obama got a brand-new name as he courted native Americans in the West.

The presidential candidate was adopted as an honorary member of the Crow nation, and given a name that translates as "One who helps people throughout the land."

"What an enormous honor this is," said Obama, occasionally stumbling to pronounce the complex native American names.

Yes, it IS a great honor to be adopted by a Native American tribe. There are so few of them, however, that adoption is the only way to go these days. The article talks about Barack Obama "courting" Native Americans. Politicians "court" while good leaders listen to what the people have to say. Has Obama been listening?

He definitely has listened to what critics have to say, because he has had to fend them off as deftly as possible. The bruhaha raised concerning his statement about meeting with enemies really did get his attention and, I will have to admit, he answered it wisely:

"Here's the truth: the Soviet Union had thousands of nuclear weapons, and Iran doesn't have a single one. But when the world was on the brink of nuclear holocaust, Kennedy talked to Khrushchev and he got those missiles out of Cuba. Why shouldn't we have the same courage and the confidence to talk to our enemies? That's what strong countries do, that's what strong presidents do, that's what I'll do when I'm president of the United States of America." -

But has he listened to the gay community? Here's what he said in February in a letter:

365gay.com
Feb. 28, 2008

"And as president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The letter goes on to say that if elected president he would use the bully pulpit "to urge states to
treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws."

But he also said "I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment."

I think he's faultering there. He gets marks for listening on ENDA and adoption, but not on the issue of civil unions. "The bully pulpit" will definitely not include talking to the other pulpits throughout the country about same-sex marriage. He might be a very good diplomat, but it will take more than diplomacy to right the "right" when it comes to equality for the LGBT community in that respect.

Today, I've just learned that the latest numbers reveal a 24% increase in gay bashings in the year 2007.

24%

Will he remember that if he gets the nomination? Of course, he still has the race issue to contend with in his campaign and I can almost forgive a politician's ADD when it comes to something as heated as race: polls in Kentucky and West Virginia indicate that many voters refuse to vote for a black man and will vote for anyone else if forced to choose - or they won't vote at all.

Another Name? How about "He Who Still Has A Ways To Go"?

***

A personal word on gay rights.

May 21st mark the 29th anniversary of San Francisco's White Night Riots - the result of former City supervisor Dan White receiving only a six year sentence for killing gay supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

I was at the riots, both at the Civic Center and at the Castro. You've never lived until you've had 50 riot-helmeted policemen approaching you in a phalanx. While cop cars were burning at the Civic Center, police were indiscriminately bashing heads along Castro Street. I happened to be in a bar called The Midnight Sun. It was safe: no windows and a steel door. Someone trying to get from their motorcycle to the safety of the Sun was pounding on the door. We cracked open the door and yanked his bloody figure inside. We heard glass being smashed. Later, we found out it was a group of police crashing through the glass doors of the corner bar, Elephant Walk. One policeman went behind the bar and beat the bartender senseless. He was in a coma for months.

This is obviously not something to celebrate. But it is a time for reflection: there are many people who possess such homophobia, that they would do anything to hurt gays. Some of the pictures below are evidence. This world hasn't changed as much as many people would think.

And some people think that's a good thing.

Gay men being executed in Iran

A picture of broken ribs after a gay bashing

Get A Load of San Francisco Values!

This insulting ad for politician Graves' congressional bid posits "San Francisco Values." Why is it insulting? True, San Franciscans like to party, but the money being doled out is usually to charities and non-profits.

And the three paid actors don't look or move like San Franciscans: they're lame and plain. Is the guy in the middle supposed to be gay? Guess he doesn't go to the same bars I do. The men I meet have more rhythm. The young (?) lady in pink looks like she fashioned her character on someone out of the 80s who 's definitely been "supersized" too much. The other woman is supposed to represent a conglomeration of our Asian/Hispanic population. She doesn't. And besides, there would have to be fifty people in the picture to represent all of the ethnic groups we house.

This ad will go out to people who have never even seen a postcard of San Francisco. Is his target group from Appalachia?

White is the New Black! Or Is Black the New Black?

Senator Byrd Is Not Just Liberal (and Therefore Godless),
He's Downright Unpatriotic!
(Actual Photograph of Our Lord and Savior)

Hell, maybe our country is FINALLY color blind!

My, how our country has changed: a former member of the Ku Klux Klan has just endorsed African American Barack Obama for his party's nomination. But look into the biography of Senator Byrd (D - WV) and you'll find nothing resembling White Power. Byrd, who now holds the record for the longest senate seat in history, apologized for his past affiliation and says (with apparent sincerity) "I will always apologize. I was wrong." After he had an epiphany, he went from Dixiecrat to liberal in a total makeover that would make all the guys in "Queer Eye" dizzy. He opposed the war in Iraq so vehemently that Republicans began loathing him en masse. At one time, he compared George Bush to Hitler:

Octogenarian Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia made the equation in the context of Bush’s attack on Senate procedures which might slow or halt his on-going attempt to pack the courts with extreme right-wing fanatics. Byrd said Bush’s moves to destroy time-honored Senate rules parallel Hitler’s ramming fascist legislation through his gutted Reichstag. “Hitler never abandoned the cloak of legality,” said Byrd. “He recognized the enormous psychological value of having the law on his side. Instead, he turned the law inside out and made illegality legal.” (Harvey Wasserman, The Free Press, March 7, 2005)

A Wise Old Byrd.

Or a courageous one. Just think of all the death threats he will probably get: Christian Identity is certain to send him one, plus Aryan Nations, Church of Jesus Christ Christian, Kingdom Identity Ministries and every neo Nazi group in the country. He's not only made every Republican politician despise him, but he's incurred the wrath of Christo-fascists everywhere: his patriotism has been in question for a long time. Hell, he doesn't seem to want to kill Islamists! I tried to find out just what part of Christianity he espouses, but biographies have insufficient data as to his denomination. Being from West Virginia, you might think he's Southern Baptist 100%, but I don't think so. I think his focus on religion changed along with his views on civil rights (they would have had to!).

So now the 2008 campaign again has a race issue - just not the kind anyone anticipated.

Oddly enough, today commenorates the day Auschwitz opened and so graciously accepted Jews. Its hospitality became world famous later on, but Christian groups knew what was really going on. (wink wink)

Below: the early center for Christo-
Fascism: Father Charles Coughlin's Basilica
of The Little Flower. Irony: the first of Coughlin's
churches was burned down by an affiliate
group of the Ku Klux Klan. Go figure.

Auschwitz:

snl-best-of-gilda-radner-20051019112134306-000

snl-best-of-gilda-radner-20051019112134306-000
Originally uploaded by toshes@sbcglobal.net

Her best Roseanne Rosannadana:

"Mr. Richard Feder from Portsmouth New Jersey writes about the Tut exhibit: "I keep hearin about this Tut. What is Tut? Did you see Tut? Should I see Tut? Will Tut ever come to my town in New Jersey?"

"Mr. Feder - This young king's dead. Don't make matters worse for him by makin' him go to New Jersey!"

We miss you, Gilda!

Lindbergh-Earhart

Lindbergh-Earhart
Originally uploaded by Mary Bogdan

Today, Lindbergh started on his historic flight from Long Island to Paris. It was a technical tour de force that tens of thousands met him when he landed at Orly. He was actually more than just a flier, he was an engineer who wound up advising government projects. The kidnapping and murder of his infant son became the "crime of the century." His fall from grace happened when he took it upon himself to visit Hitler.

OMG! Sister Aimee Is STILL With Us!!

Oh, That's SAINT Aimee to you, Hagee, Parsley and Hinn. And All The Right-Wing Pentecostals, Assembly of God congregations,
Charismatics, etc., etc.

Aimee's "Parsonage" attached to Angelus Temple

On May 18, 1926, Aimee Semple McPherson vanished at Los Angeles' Ocean Beach. It was believed that she drowned. The famous evangelist who founded the 5300-seat Angelus Temple was so well known that the Los Angeles Times (a Hearst paper) kept up the story for weeks, Sinclair Lewis wrote a poem in her memory and hundreds of people kept seaside vigils ("A futile search for the body resulted in one parishioner drowning and another diver dying from exposure" - Wikipedia)

Sister Aimee in 1920

At about the same time, Kenneth G. Ormiston, engineer for KFSG, also disappeared.

After 35 days (on June 23), McPherson stumbled out of the desert in Agua Prieta, Sonora, a Mexican town just across the border from Douglas, Arizona. She claimed that she had been kidnapped, drugged, tortured, and held for ransom in a shack in Mexico, then had escaped and walked through the desert for about 13 hours to freedom.

Several problems were found with McPherson's story. Her shoes showed no evidence of a 13-hour walk; indeed, they had grass stains on them after a supposed walk through the desert. The shack could not be found. McPherson showed up fully dressed while having disappeared wearing a bathing suit, and was wearing a watch given to her by her mother, which she had not taken on her swimming trip. A grand jury convened on July 8 to investigate the matter, but adjourned 12 days later citing lack of evidence to proceed. However, several witnesses then came forward stating that they had seen McPherson and Ormiston at various hotels over the 32-day period.

The bad press never ultimately hurt McPherson's reputation or her church: The Interntaional Church of the Foursquare Gospel's 5300 seats were always filled, three times a day, seven days a week! Over 100,000 repentant sinners per week! Parsley, Hagee, Osteen, Jakes, are you READING this? She also had a Foursquare Gospel radio show!

After McPherson died of an accidental drug overdose in 1944, the church passed into the hands of Aimee's son, Rolf K. McPherson.

On the right Aimee and her "Gospel" car
Forerunner of personal jets.

As of 2000, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, commonly referred to as the Foursquare Church, had a worldwide membership of over 5 million in almost 30,000 churches in 123 countries. This includes 1,844 churches with 218,981 members in the United States.

Was Aimee a fraud? Her teachings were very much in line with Pentecostals and charismatics today: 1.The Bible as the inspired word of God, 2.The atoning death of Christ for sinners, 3.Salvation through the grace of God by Faith Alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, Baptism by immersion, Divine Healing, Return of Jesus Christ, Final Judgment, and, of course, Tithing and Offerings. She lived well (above is a picture of her "parsonage"), but not so extravagantly that there were grumblings of inappropriate expenditures.

She wasn't a "Word of Faith" preacher who extolled faith in God being rewarded with money. She wasn't a hell-fire preacher, but she put on a great show. She knew that she was what the times needed (especially after the Crash). She made herself famous (in addition to her radio show, she appeared at civic events and parades). She didn't spew hate or politics. Of course, if she had conquered television, she might have had her own broadcast network by now. She obviously had enough charisma to raise millions of dollars for her church and her causes. Her church endures even to this day (although, quite tellingly, most of the congregants are in foreign countries - the megachurch pastors have seen fit to ease the Foursquare Church out). In effect, she's still with us.

Will the Word of Faith mega-pastors be able to say the same in 70 years?

We hope not.

Angelus Temple then...and now.

One of HM King Farouk's Faberge eggs 1906 Swan Egg

One of HM King Farouk's Faberge eggs 1906 Swan Egg
Originally uploaded by Magda Malek

Interesting little piece of history and jewelry. King Farouk was an avid collector and what better piece of beauty than a Feberge egg to acquire! The story about his rise to fame as a goldsmith and jeweler is that Czar Nicholas wanted to give out Easter presents, but small ones with captivating beauty (also less expensive). When the Czarina Alexandra opened the box and saw a plain white egg surrounded by a thin gold band - definitely not very impressive, but when she opened the egg she found that it had a golden yolk. When she opened the yolk, it revealed a golden hen with a ruby in its beak! She was so delighted that she asked to be given a "surprise" egg every Easter! Relatives were also given extravagant egg treasures, sometimes with surprises, sometimes with such beauty on the outside that the egg was exquisite!

Faberge Easter Egg for the Czar's mother.