Gay Activists Urge Boycott of Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Gay activists are urging a boycott of Virginia because of a new ban on civil unions and other marriage-like arrangements for same-sex couples.

VirginiaisforHaters.org urges people not to buy products or services from Virginia-based companies and suggests tourists visit other states. The name is a play on the state tourism motto, ``Virginia is for lovers.''

Another group, Make Love Legal, is developing strategies for boycotting the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Jamestown in 2007.

``This whole idea is: Don't spend your money in a place where people hurt you,'' said Diane Horvath, a Richmond attorney who is spearheading the Jamestown initiative.

The state's Affirmation of Marriage Act, which prohibits gay marriage, was amended this year to also ban civil unions and arrangements ``purporting to bestow the privileges of marriage.'' Gays fear it may interfere with legal contracts, such as powers of attorney, medical directives and wills.

``This is a national issue,'' said Jay Porter of Seattle, who with his partner created the boycott Web site. ``Someone came up with this really punitive legislation and got it through the state legislature and in my mind, that could happen just about anywhere in the U.S.''

The bill's sponsor, Republican Delegate Robert Marshall, said he believes the threat of economic harm to Virginia is remote.

``If they don't like the expression of the will of the people of Virginia, they don't have to come here,'' he said. ``This was done by freely elected representatives.''

Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner tried to amend the bill to make it less restrictive, but lawmakers rebuffed his attempts by veto-proof margins.

``Governor Warner has devoted considerable time and effort to promoting Virginia tourism, and this certainly will not help,'' said Warner spokesman Kevin Hall.

The new ban takes effect July 1, and gay-rights group Equality Virginia plans a legal challenge. Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore has vowed to defend its constitutionality.

The boycott Web site also targets companies that have contributed Marshall's campaign, including Altria Group Inc., parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris.

Altria spokesman David Sylvia said his company contributes to both Democrats and Republicans and offers domestic partner benefits to employees.

Another targeted company is clothing retailer J.Crew, which has a distribution and customer service center in the state and, according to the boycott organizers, many gay customers. A company representative declined to comment.

On the Net:

http://virginiaisforhaters.org

Delegate Robert Marshall: http://www.trincomm.org/marshall/

from the HARPERS INDEX

* Number of blank votes recorded by touchscreen voting machines in a January election for the Florida House of Representatives: 137

*Number of votes by which that race was one: 12

*Minimum number of misleading statements on Iraq made by the Bush Administration's top officials since March 2002: 237

*Percentage of these that contradicted, made selective use of, or mischaracterized existing government intelligence: 100

*Number of Holsteins diqualifed from the Ohio State Fair because they were wearing a hairpiece: 2

*Percentage of same sex unions granted to Vermont residents since July 2000 that have been dissolved: 3

*Percentage of heterosexual marraiges that are dissolved within 5 years: 20

*Percentage of the 13,129 varities of dirt in the US that are endagered: 4

Mission Accomplished ???

One year ago today, that yahoo cowboy of a President got his rocks off by struting on the deck of an aircraft carrier and proclaiming that he had done what not even his father had the balls to do... and it was over.

or was it?

last year the president's people disavowed putting up that fateful sign saying it was done by some "over eager seamen" but that may 1, 2003 definitely saw and end to what they called major hostilities

or was it?

this past month (april) saw 134 american servicemembers and several american contractors die in Iraq. More deaths than any previous month so far.

Is this mission accomplished mr. president? Is this an end to major hostilities mr. president?

When will it end ? It seems from everything we have found out from books and commssions that a lot of people spent a lot of time planning to getting us into iraq. it doesn't seem that anybody ever contemplated how to get our troops home.

National Guard troops who were called up at the start of our invasion have now been there over 18 months and many units have been told they will now have to stay there at least four more months. Yet the president says its mission accomplished, an end to major hostilities, and things are going as planned.

In just 60 days, the US is supposed to turn over control of iraq to iraqis. but who exactly are we going to give control to? and who is going to control iraq if the most powerful army in the world cannot keep the peace and control the country. the u.s. wil be caught in a hard spot however if we do not turn over control of iraq to iraqi on june 30. if we give up control of iraq, then we are creating a vaccum of power and unleashing chaos on the whole middle east that will make the antics of saddam look like childs play. if we do not give up control of iraq, there are many millions of people around the world who will have even more reason to dislike us for going back on our word. it looks as if dubbya might have created his own cage with a rock on his left and that proverbial hard spot on his right.

in any case, american soldiers will remain in iraq, as targets, and more americans will die.

of the 134 dead soldiers this month alone, photographs of the 116 who have been identified by the pentagon were shown on friday morning's USAToday. the white house doesn't want you to see their coffins because it humanizes the war dead... so other people are going to make sure that you see their faces.

almost 800 american servicemember have died since our aggressive move of "pre-emption" into iraq. friday night on ABC's nightline, the entire show was devoted to reading the names of those dead soliders. The pentagon has prevented any photographs from being taken of our brave soldiers being returned to their country or photographs of our country honoring their remains at burial, but there are people who want to make sure that their sacrifices are honored and acknowledged in some small way.

Note: the Nightline show was not broadcast on 8 ABC stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting company who have given lots of money only to Republican candidates this year. This company has an obligation by broadcasting over publically owned frequencies to serve the public interest and guarentee that all issues and opinions have access to state their views. The names of the servicemen who have died in iraq are regularly published in newspapers all across the country. i guess it only peoples a problem when you say their names out loud.

Since the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers in flag-draped caskets.

The Bush administration has found a simple solution. On the eve of the Iraq war, a directive arrived from the Pentagon "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base, to include interim stops.




Today it was reported that a civilian worker and her husband were both fired from a contractor doing work in kuwait for photos she sold that appeared in the Sunday Seattle Times.

Why is the Shrub trying to be so secretive ??




In an effort to help expose what is really going on with the war, author Russell Kick filed and Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Defense to have access to any photos the government may have of the coffins of dead Americans returning from the war, in a effort for all of use to understand what is going on in more human terms. Although his initial request was rejected, eventually the DoD did send him a CD with 361 high resolution digital photographs on it which are published on his website: the memory hole

be aware that his site does load very slowly even with my DSL connection. i don't know if that is because of its unusually high load due to the recent stories in the news or what, but its well worth a look if you are so inclined.

In the meantime more and more American men and women are dying every day in Iraq and the President has no idea how or when to bring them home....

...war without end....

What is a liberal ??

Somebody came along and said 'liberal' means 'soft on crime, soft on drugs, soft on defense and we're gonna tax you back to the Stone Age because people shouldn't have to go to work if they don't want to. And instead of saying, 'Well, excuse me, you right-wing, reactionary, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-education, anti-choice, pro-gun, Leave it to Beaver trip back to the '50s, we cowered in the corner and said, 'Please don't hurt me.'  The West Wing 


Liberalism is, I think, resurgent. One reason is that more and more people are so painfully aware of the alternative. The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith


As mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality. George Washington


Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved. Aristotle


Liberalism is trust of the people, tempered by prudence; conservatism, distrust of the people, tempered by fear. William Gladstone


Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. People have the right to expect that these wants will be provided for by this wisdom. Jimmy Carter


Liberalism is the supreme form of generosity; it is the right by which the majority concedes to minorities and hence it is the noblest cry that has ever resounded on this planet. Jose Ortega y Gasset


A liberal is a man or a woman or a child who looks forward to a better day, a more tranquil night, and a bright, infinite future. Leonard Bernstein


Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives. John Stuart Mill

What is a War Criminal ?

What kind of victory is it when someone is left defeated? What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy. What is a war criminal? Was not war itself a crime against God and humanity, and, therefore, were not all those who sanctioned, engineered and conducted wars, war criminals? The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty.
   — Mahatma Ghandi

63 of 100 biggest metro areas lost jobs during bush years

According to a study by American City Business Journals using statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, two-thirds of the countries metropolitian areas have fewer jobs than they did before The W became prez.

79 of the top 100 metropolitian areas showed slower job growth under Bush the younger than they did during any of his 3 predecessors: Clinton, Bush the elder, or even Ronald Reagan.

99 of them had worse employment conditions than under President Clinton. THe only exception was lone Honolulu.

The cities with the BEST job growth under the shrub's administration were: Riverside, CA (3.24%), Las Vegas (2.93%), West Palm Beach, FL (2.15%), and Sacramento, CA (1.97%). The worst under his administration were: San Jose, CA (-6.04%), San Francisco, CA (-4.15%), Detroit, MI (-2.22%), Toldedo, OH (-1.98%), and Dayton, OH (-1.94).

The cities with the best job growth under Bill Clintons administration were: Las Vegas (7.28), Austin, TX (5.93%), Phoenix, AZ (5.60%), Sarasota, FL (4.98%), Orlando, FL (4.93). The worst cities during his administration were: Honolulu (-0.18%), Hartford, CT (0.64%), Buffalo, NY (0.68%), Syracuse, NY (0.81%), and Los Angeles, CA (0.85%).

Looking at Bush's numbers even the worst cities during the Clinton Administration dont look so bad. And we are supposed to elect Bush in november because why .............. ???