January 5, 2012

Brockton Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart mulling run for state rep. against Geraldine Creedon

Brockton Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart mulling run for state representative against Geraldine Creedon

BROCKTON —

In less than an hour, Councilor-at-large Jass Stewart had 30 comments to his Facebook post asking for feedback on a possible run this fall for state representative in the 11th Plymouth district.

In the Facebook post, the two-time mayoral candidate said he is “seriously considering” a Statehouse run and had spoken with the incumbent, Rep. Geraldine Creedon, D-Brockton, about his intentions.

Reached by phone, Stewart would not divulge what the contents of his conversation with Creedon entailed, saying the conversation was private.

Creedon, first elected state representative in 1995, told The Enterprise she had no plans to retire.

More:
http://www.enterprisenews.com/answerbook/brockton/x987654197/Brockton-councilor-at-large-mulling-run-for-state-representative-against-Creedon

See also:

Results 1 - 10 of about 212 from democraticunderground.com for Jass Stewart. (0.21 seconds)
https://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.democraticunderground.com+jass+stewart&ie=UTF-8
http://tinyurl.com/7dku52b

Anti-Gay Bigot Nazi Geraldine Creedon May Have Opposition in November!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=158&topic_id=13854&mesg_id=13854

How did YOUR legislators vote re same-sex marriage amendment?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=158x11163

January 4, 2012

National Geographic explains the biology of homosexuality

National Geographic explains the biology of homosexuality

NatGeo explains how one's sexual orientation is determined during embryonic development. They look at how it is possible for one identical twin to be gay and the other to be straight. They address a new branch of Genetics called, Epigenetics. This area of Genetics explores and explains how one's DNA sequence is NOT the only factor in one's phenotypic (actual) outcome. This episode explains how both twins could have the gene for a disorder, yet only one twin actually has the disorder. The same science explains sexual orientation differences in twins. I have only included the homosexuality explanations.

Before anyone complains, I didn't write the wording for the description, which could be misread to assume that the author thinks of homosexuality as a "disorder."

January 4, 2012

Finally a Rape Prevention Campaign Targeted Towards Men

MyStrength is a project of the California Department of Health Services and the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), a statewide coalition of rape crisis centers and prevention programs founded in 1980.

Update 1/3/2012 3:50pm EST: The campaign was first launched by Men Can Stop Rape in Washington, DC public high schools in February 2001 but the posters weren’t released until 2007.

Men Can Stop Rape also has a program called the Men of Strength (MOST) Club, a primary prevention program for male youth in the country, that has provided middle and high school age men with a space to learn about healthy masculinity and translate learning into community leadership.



More:
http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/01/finally_a_rape_prevention_campaign_targeted_towards_men.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A


See also:

Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Pulls Ad That Blames Women For Getting Date-Raped
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024162

January 4, 2012

ObamaCare’s Hidden Trigger Paves The Way For Single Payer

ObamaCare’s Hidden Trigger Paves The Way For Single Payer

When ObamaCare was passed conservatives slammed it as a government takeover of the health insurance industry and progressives complained the law didn’t offer at the least a public option, but it seems as though that the law had a hidden trigger that may very well pave the road to single payer health insurance system or Medicare for all.

That trigger is the medical loss ratio. This is the part of the law that makes the health insurance industry use at least 85% of your premiums to cover medical expenses.

This is something the for profit health insurance industry detests, because it limits the amount of dollars you pay into the system to go toward CEO pay, bonuses, lobbying and advertisements.

Listen here to my interview with Rick Unger,

More:
http://www.politicususa.com/en/obamacare-single-payer

January 4, 2012

Republican turnout embarrassingly low at Iowa Caucus...

Republican turnout embarrassingly low at Iowa Caucus; Obama received more votes than Romney, Santorum, and Paul combined

The Republican turnout at their Iowa Caucus was only 51% of what the Democratic turnout was at their Caucus in 2008. 239,000 Democrats voted in their Caucus in 2008 compared to only 122,000 Republicans in their caucus this year.

Obama as a candidate back in 08 received more votes in the Democratic Caucus than Romney, Santorum, and Ron Paul combined in the Republican Caucus in 2012. What does that say about the state of the GOP and their enthusiasm for their candidates?

Even if the Republicans eventually settle on Romney as their nominee and try to unite around him, there is still a palpable enthusiasm gap between them and the Democrats. Sure there is some discontent about Obama on the left but the Democratic party is as united as it has ever been. Obama has managed to unite the Democratic party more than any other President in recent memory probably with the exception of George W. Bush who united us for totally different reasons.

Republicans who were dreaming of making Obama a one term President better come up with a survival strategy for the next 4 years. Obama flipped 9 red/purple states in 08, all he needs is to hold on to the traditional blue states that Kerry won and just 1 of those states that he flipped in 08 and he's in for another 4 years. I thought America was finished after the Teabaggers took over the House in 2010 but it seems like there is hope for this country after all.

Why stop the recovery?

More:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/politics-other-controversies/1463232-republican-turnout-embarrassingly-low-iowa-caucus.html

Hat-tip to:
http://www.facebook.com/ajax/sharer/?s=99&appid=2309869772&p%5B0%5D=153964677960664&p%5B1%5D=308151735896404

January 4, 2012

Marcus Bachmann’s Reaction Shot

Marcus Bachmann’s Reaction Shot

Politics Buzz That awkward moment when your wife reveals on national television that you spent the day before the Iowa Caucuses “buying doggy sunglasses” in Des Moines while she campaigned to be President. Doggy sunglasses: Strong enough for a man, but made for Marcus Bachmann.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattcherette/marcus-bachmanns-reaction-to-michele-saying-he-sp



Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=abTKQWWfJ74

January 4, 2012

Newt Gingrich's Iowa Rhapsody (Bohemian Rhapsody Parody)

Hat-tip to: https://twitter.com/#!/DavidShuster/status/154580662769295362
http://tinyurl.com/7sqsym8

January 1, 2012

Cee Lo Green Changes 'Imagine' Lyrics To 'All Religions,' Fights Twitter Anger

Cee Lo Green Changes 'Imagine' Lyrics To 'All Religions,' Fights Twitter Anger

Charged with singing Lennon's famous solo-era tune on NBC's New Year's Eve show shortly before the ball dropped in Times Square , Green changed the lyrics from "Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too" to "Nothing to kill or die for, And all religion's true."

The change didn't go unnoticed, and to preempt criticism, he soon tweeted, "Yo I meant no disrespect by changing the lyric guys! I was trying to say a world were u could believe what u wanted that's all."

That did little to comfort angered Lennon fans, who lashed out over Twitter. Watch the performance below and then read the angry exchanges over Twitter.

WATCH:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ourduRjODPA

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/01/cee-lo-green-changes-imagine-lyrics_n_1178313.html?ref=entertainment

December 28, 2011

Monkey business: Is Tarzan's chimp Cheeta a cheater?

Monkey business: Is Tarzan's chimp Cheeta a cheater?
By David Leafe
Last updated at 11:41 PM on 3rd April 2009

<snip>

Recent investigations suggest Cheeta cannot be as old as claimed and certainly isn't the chimp who appeared in the early Tarzan films. If this is true, the world's favourite animal film star is an impostor.

The story of Cheeta's life which has been accepted until now relies heavily on the accounts given by his first owner, Hollywood animal trainer Tony Gentry. He claimed to have acquired him as a baby chimpanzee during a visit to Liberia in West Africa in 1932, hiding him under his jacket and smuggling him aboard a Pan Am flight back to America.

<snip>

First there was Tony Gentry's claim about bringing Cheeta back to America on that Pan Am flight in 1932. Rosen's research showed that there were no transatlantic airline services until 1939.

Next was the suggestion that Cheeta had played Chee-Chee in Doctor Dolittle. Although this had been supported by numerous newspaper stories since, Rosen watched a DVD of the movie and was puzzled to see that Chee-Chee was portrayed by a juvenile chimpanzee who was clearly no older than eight.

Since the film was made in 1966, by which time Cheeta would have been at least 34 by Tony Gentry's own account, this could not be the same chimp that starred with Johnny Weissmuller in the Tarzan epics.

More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1167159/Monkey-business-Is-Tarzans-chimp-Cheeta-cheater.html

December 23, 2011

GoDaddy withdraws SOPA support in face of massive protests

Internet domain registrar GoDaddy just announced it will no longer support the controversial SOPA legislation after being threatened with a massive boycott from users who oppose the bill. GoDaddy had been an outspoken supporter of SOPA until just now, even saying that it had worked with lawmakers to draft its provisions, but that support ultimately made the company an easy target for SOPA's furious opposition.

A boycott movement started after Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh threatened to move his company's 1,000 domains away from GoDaddy unless the company reversed course, leading to Reddit users planning a December 29th "Leave GoDaddy Day." Faced with concrete impact to its business, it appears GoDaddy did the only sensible thing — fold.

Although the pressure was enough to cause GoDaddy to withdraw its support for now, the company still believes similar reform is ultimately necessary — in a statement, company CEO Warren Adelman said that legislation to fight piracy is important, but that "we can clearly do better... Getting it right is worth the wait."

We'll see how the company decides to act on that thinking in the future, and if it decides to stay involved — the fight over SOPA is just beginning, and ultimately the GoDaddy saga is but a sideshow.

More:
http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/23/2657930/godaddy-withdraws-sopa-support-in-face-of-massive-protests