Random Tuesday - Need More Discoball!

Let's have another round on the Random Tuesday Wheel... where she stops, nobody knows!

I'm kinda digging the Random Tuesday thing, big thanks goes to the UnMom for starting me on it. Now go over there and see how it's SUPPOSED to be done.

Does anybody have a Facebook friend that seems to have endless time on their hands and continuously does those inane online tests? Come on... hold it down to one a day or something... maybe you can choose to not have the results published for EVERY ONE! Folks, we don't care that you got a 88% on a questionnaire which wanted to know: "How well do you know Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"!??!!!!

Christopher Street Day 2009 in Berlin was FAAAAABUULOUS!! There is just something about 50 thumping floats, 500,000 extroverts, enough color to last 10 lifetimes and being around people very much like you, to make a girl smile.

Somewhere in my brain is a post about my feelings on the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots... um, it is rattling, but not rolling yet. Soon as my fingers find their way, I'll post what's been going on in my head (well, not everything that is going on in my head... that would simply be tooooo much I'm afraid... someone would have me arrested I'm sure).

The "Grandfather of the MP3 player", the Walkman turns 30 this week... I'm feeling rather old at this moment. How about it folks? Is there anyone else out there who carried one of these clunky things the whole way through Junior/Senior High School?

Do you enjoy night photography? Don't miss these night shots of London from above... in the sky... like in an airplane. I simply must figure out how the photog did that. Normally to get that much light the camera must remain "open" for minutes at a time. HOW on earth do you do that while hovering in a helicopter or airplane?

Speaking of airplanes, is it just me or does it seem that Airbus planes are dropping out of the sky at an alarming rate?

OK, so I admit that this flew under my radar for a while... but they closed Broadway to traffic on Times Square? Whoa!

Have you ever noticed that the P.S. has been out-moded?
(Is out-moded even an English term? Damn German!)
I used to love putting an addendum at the end of a letter... it was my way of expressing my scatter-brained train of thought.

It's been a while since Frank has appeared on the blog, let's remedy that.

Obama is trying to do good things for the gay community. These things take time people!

Prepare for REALLY OFF COLOR SNOOKER...
Best Billy Mays joke I've heard yet: "They say celebrities always die in threes (Ed McMahon, Farrah, Jacko)...Leave it to Billy Mays to throw in one extra COMPLETELY FREE!" R.I.P. Billy

Hooters is coming to Berlin! Before you start thinking me a misogynistic cad, you should know that I am addicted to their wings and would just as happily take my order of 10 hot/10 super hot to go!

Michael Jackson's death was foretold by the National Enquirer. Reminds me of the movie "Men in Black" where they say that the tabloids are the ones with the "real news". Perhaps if you cry wolf enough, eventually the story will coincide with an actual event. I'm not sure what is more scary, that the N.E. did this or that someone is actually archiving old issues of the rag.

OK, that's enough of this merry-go-round.
Have a lovely time checking out the other Random posters.

OH, and P.S. ... We need more Discoball!

Photo Friday - Debris

My first attempt at a Photo Friday entry. The topic was debris and I could think of nothing better to signify debris than the leftovers from a party.

The party represented below was the La Fête Nationale française à Berlin - which celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 and the first major event of the French Revolution.

Every year Berlin celebrates the removal of the monarchy and beginnings of a democracy in France with a party on Pariser Platz, located directly in front of the Brandenburg Gate which also happens to be the location of the French Embassy.
More pics from that day.

See more entries or participate yourself by visiting Photo Friday.

The idea for my participation in Photo Friday came from Headbang8 over at Deutschland über Elvis. Thanks man.

Random Tuesday - The Burning Question

Hello and welcome to another round of TeePee Talk... OK, so not really. Bonus points to the person that comes up with THAT quote from a movie. (No cheating, I know the Interweb is a wonderful thing... but you know that you won't sleep at night if you do a Boolean search and come up with it.)

I'm kinda digging the Random Tuesday thing, big thanks goes to the UnMom for starting me on it. Now go over there and see how it's SUPPOSED to be done.

Has anybody else been fascinated with what is happening in Iran? Corrupt government hedging on dictatorship steals election and the people get pissed. Makes me harken back to the days of Al Gore v. Bush in Florida. You can bet your ass that there aren't any Mullahs decrying the "hanging chad". Where were the American protests about that event? Was I blissfully unaware of the public outrage?

"Mama don't take my Kodachrome away!"
The Eastman Kokak Company announced that it is retiring its famous film in light of declining customer demand in an increasingly digital age. Sales of the film are just a fraction of 1 percent of the sales for the company. 74 years of production! Whew! Think of how many of your family memories are on Kodachrome film.

Today on my way to work I caught myself humming Christmas songs... um, yeah.

Also on my way to work I managed to sail through three streetlights. YES, they were green, and that was the unusual thing; normally I get caught behind the red on each one. Isn't it wonderful when a random coincidence such as this happens? You almost feel as though you've been given a gift. My gift this morning felt like it shaved five minutes off of my commute.

Last weekend was the first part of the week long Gay Pride celebrations here in Berlin. The Motzstrassenfest is a two day street festival which I wait for every year. There is nothing like 400,000 gays and lesbians getting together to party. Everything goes and I really love it!

The thing which strikes me every year is that while the more "colorful" of our compatriots get more attention, the average homosexual is just like everyone else. As I wound through the streets taking in all of the humanity it struck me that these people aren't any different from straight people, they are simply trying to get through life the best that they can. Who cares if they love someone of the same sex? I've seen plenty of sex kink in the straight world... enough to say with some authority that taking a whip to your wife or having her wear a french maid's costume during sex games strikes me as a fine line from what gays and lesbians are shunned for.

That said, there is something about seeing a drag queen chomping on the business end of a pretzel in the shape of a giant penis to really put a smile on my face. Sorry no picture, I was in fear for my life if caught... she was at least six foot five inches tall before the stiletto heels, I hope that you will forgive me.)

Coming back to the public outrage I was considering with the "hanging chads"... It puts me in mind of the latest round of fiery protests here in Berlin. The radical left is taking out its anger and frustration at the government and anyone who has money by torching cars and trucks throughout the city. (some more pics here) Over 150 (check out a map of the locations... simply staggering) have been charred since the beginning of this year.

All of this was supposedly ramping up to the big Squat Tempelhof Airport demonstration which took place last Saturday. (more pics) They are protesting the city's decision to allow the construction of luxury housing on the grounds of the recently closed historic Tempelhof Airport.

If you know me well, you will know that I actually live close to the now quiet Tempelhof Airport. If you know me even better, you would assume that I was chomping at the bit to head down to the demo to squeeze off some shots to share with you. Sweet No would have had none of it, so I didn't even begin preparations. She was nervous about me attending a peaceful rally against the financial crisis a few months ago... and these boys were going to attempt crawling over the police force and an eight foot barbed wire fence and another police force to get onto the airport grounds. I didn't think I had much of a chance of getting away with that one.

This weekend while Sweet No is gallivanting off to one of the local lakes for a little underwater time, I will be whooping it up with a couple hundred thousand people down at the Gay Pride Parade, or CSD as it is known in Germany/Europe (CSD for Christopher Street which is where the Stonewall Riots took place). Can't wait!

Random Tuesday - Before Pride Edition

Let's take another ride on this Random Tuesday thing. The Un Mom will probably be surprised to learn that I'm joining her randomness a second time in a row, hell MY Mom would probably be astounded to know that I'm actually doing one of these "joining" things twice... well, if she read the blog that is.

Would you drive around with a car that had been vandalized to say "fAg" and "u r gay" in red paint? Erin is doing it, and girl... you go! I love how she's turned something horrible and stupid into a possibility to start people talking.

Reminds me of my own days of driving a really cool limited edition, available on the Internet only, Vapor New Beetle. Imagine a paint color that was such a light shade of blue that a great majority of men saw it as white, and lots of women stared affectionately as I passed. No kidding, it was a conversation starter for sure. There were MANY times that I was approached by people and asked to settle an argument about exactly WHAT color was my car. You can see pictures of my scale model of the car. Oh, and let me tell you... if I had wanted to be a pedophile I would have had my chances. MY GOSH people, teach your kids that having a cute little car does NOT mean that you should run up to any stranger and ask for a ride. This happened more times than I think should in this day and age.

Erin's story makes me think about how I had a rainbow sticker on all of my vehicles, yet as far as I can tell, I never had any vandalism. This could be caused by one of four three things, an open-minded simply educated town, really great luck, lack of skinheads in my city, or idiot thugs so stupid that they didn't know what it symbolized. Nice thought, eh?

Oh my gawd, has it really been 40 years since the Stonewall Riots? If you're clueless as to what this is, don't worry, way too many gay people don't know either. It was what can be thought of as the start of the Gay Civil Rights Movement. 40 years and we're still fighting for the right to have the same legal status as straight people? Makes me sad people.

I have always wanted a rainbow peace sign as a tattoo. Donations are accepted, and any donations coming in AFTER the fact can go toward my hospital bill when Sweet No finds out.

Lest you think this blog is going to be ALL LESBIAN - ALL THE TIME, let's move on, shall we?

Snooker has been feeling under the weather. Nope, it is not entirely because of the ... oh let's just say it... F*d up weather here in Berlin. April was summer with temps reaching slightly uncomfortable warmth, May was spring again with cooler temps than April, thus more like what May should be, and June... June has been like November or something. Cold, rainy, windy and just generally unpleasant doesn't make Snooker very happy you see.

The Germans say that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. But hell, shall we throw out there that it is IMPOSSIBLE to KNOW what will happen in the day's weather by checking out the weather forecasts. One radio station says that it will be sunny until around lunch, then get more cloudy and rain by dinner time. The next says that it will be sunny all day and rain all night. The TV weather says that it will rain all day long, but clear up overnight. In reality it was sunny and warm all day and clear all night. I'M NOT KIDDING, THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME! Unless a Berliner leaves the house everyday with an umbrella, sunglasses, a light coat, a heavy coat and special water-proof shoes... they should plan to be unprepared for what could possibly happen.

OK, back to being under the weather. Something happened to me on Saturday morning... my throat started to tickle and my internal thermometer turned off. (don't you just HATE when you KNOW you're getting a cold?) I didn't get a fever until Sunday, but I could tell by the fact that I always felt cold or always hot that something more than allergies were going to be messing up my life soon. All the "ward off a cold by taking our special, slightly expensive medicine at the first signs" didn't help. At this point I've been away from the office for two days, notice I didn't say "off work", just not physically at the office... there is a significant distinction. But the heavy load has passed, and my boss has officially given me the OK to be sick now... YEA! Still love working with her though.

Isn't that some crazy shit that's going on in Iran right now? Ah... I love the voice of dissent.

Being home all day has reminded me of the unfair life I lead. Do you KNOW what my cat does all day long? He sleeps, he eats, he poops. I get up at the crack of dawn and make my way to work, put in a full day of slavery cleverly disguised as contributing the the Gross National Product to bring home the bacon so that I can pay for the comfortable roof over his head, feed him the crack-like product which is known in my house as LAMB WHISKAS, and for the ultimate thrill... clean his shitter! Oh yeah, twice in 24 hours he deems it OK for me to caress him like the king he is. Now I ask you, which creature is higher in the intelligence ratings?

Watched two episodes of "House" tonight. Um, I think I like "Monk" better. Man, I'm not a doctor, and I just feel stupid after watching 39 minutes of House's arrogance. Oh, and if I were a patient and had to undergo treatment (which have the chance to be worse than the disease) for two diseases before he finally figures out what is the source of my ailment... I think I would be PISSED! It is just like I wouldn't want to be Jessica Fletcher's friend, you know, from "Murder, She Wrote". Simply knowing her or knowing someone that knew her was as good as a death sentence.

Movie club... I've decided to bastardize the book club craze and try out a movie club with the same basic premise. Our most recent version was a "classic night" where a group of people got together and watched "The African Queen" with Bogie and Hepburn. Afterwards we sat and chatted about the movie and what we thought. I think the next one should be picked out to polarize folks, perhaps "Doubt" with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman would be a good choice. Aw shucks, if we are willing to incite a riot, maybe we'll just supply a bunch of wine and watch "Mama Mia" then dance and sing until we can dance and sing no more. Anyone have thoughts of the perfect movie club movie? Anyone? Anyone?
(get it? movie reference - bonus points to the first person that figures out what the H E double hockey sticks Snooker is babbling about.)

OK, enough. Peace out!
I hope nobody minds typos and strange sentences. My night time meds are catching up with me and soon I'll be blissfully unaware that the world exists outside of my dreams. Thus, no editing! Hey, is that random or WHAT!?

Funny Foto Freitag - BIG Edition

OK, so you're wondering WHAT is so funny about this...
You might have to click the picture to see it full-sized to get what made me giggle so much. Perhaps a bit of back story would help. In all of Germany I bet there are 300 such trucks on the road, thus it is strange to see them at all. Let alone a Dodge Truck, normally they are Nissan. Then compound that with flat black paint (no shiny stuff). Heck, I can't even remember seeing flat black on ANY cars without counting 70's American muscle cars.

But what is so cute about this HUGE truck (something we don't see too much here in Germany) is the license plate. The "B" is seen on every car registered in Berlin, but the "IG" is just classic.

Oh, and the guy who slid out of this thing... he was all of about 5'2"(160 cm) tall, weighing 100 lbs (45 kg) and had a chip on his shoulder like he had something to prove.

(common sense says that if I have to explain the joke, it probably wasn't funny anyway... but DAMMIT, I giggled for half an hour... maybe it was a location joke... you know... you had to BE there)

And just because it is SOOO KEWL:

- Random Tuesday Thoughts

Kinda fun thing this Random Tuesday Thoughts. I found it through Blogging Mama I believe, which took me to The Un Mom who actually hosts the thing.

Since I felt like being totally random today it seemed a great time to try this out.

At lunch yesterday a friend said that she doesn't like blogs with too much personal information. I know blogs like this, where you get to read the absolute minutiae of someone's life. In some ways for me it can be a bit disturbing. In others it makes me feel closer to them. Either way I don't think I've ever done this with the Snooker blog, in fact while reading afterward sometimes it seems a bit impersonal... eh fuck it, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I can be personal, but just don't want to get THAT personal. Maybe I should try this personal thing... eh? As far as I know there has never been a direction with the Snooker blog. So hey, I'm random... get it?

This morning seemed perfect to ride Mimi the Vespa even though the sky looked grey and icky and the hit or miss parade (weather forecasters on the radio) talking about nasty weather for my ride home tonight. Aw heck, ya only live once... and I like living it with fresh air! Who cares if there are little water spots on my face shield... it helps to clean the bike! This morning we (yes, WE... Mimi and I... you got a problem with that?) went up onto the bicycle lane again, passed about 3 km of cars which were at an absolute standstill and giggled the whole way! Nobody tell Sweet No, OK?

Tonight I'll have a blogger dinner with Adam who is coming to Berlin for a quick visit along with Yelli and her Scientist, and never forget the cute and cuddly (he probably wouldn't appreciate this terminology) Baby Bird!

Last weekend was the birthday party of my Mother in Law. They had a big shindig complete with enough Italian snackies to feed twice as many people as attended. YES, I had my fill of antipasti and then some.

I had a lovely time going from couple to couple laying down my shitty German and seeing them try to understand. Nah, actually it wasn't too bad. Somehow or another I manage to have decent conversations with folks even though I must admit to having a lot of trouble understanding accents. One guy is from Freiburg and OMG! WHAT language is that!? It is very much like someone from a northern city in America trying to understand the babble which is the language spoken in New Orleans.

Really it shouldn't be too bad for me, I have an Austrian friend (and we all know THEY don't really speak German) and a Saxon friend (and she even ADMITS that she doesn't speak German). But that Freiburg accent always throws me for a loop.

My boss is out of town again... and I love it. Of course it sounds bad to say this, but when she leaves, I finally have time to do all the back work which never seems to get done when she is within eyeshot. She's a great gal though, and I really like working for her.

On top of regular work duties I also edit all English texts which go out to more than five people. The hard part... we use mostly British English.
Oh yeah, let's have the American speak a different language for work.
How in the world did we get to the point of the Brits and the Amis spelling so many words differently?
Favorite vs. Favourite?
Center vs. Centre?
Meter vs. Metre?
Catalog vs. Catalogue?
How did we get to spelling Medieval differently? Mediaeval
Program vs. Programme
Traveling vs. Travelling
We won't even get into the whole language pattern differences and how this confuses me.

Let me just say this... I NEED a haircut. My bangs are now hanging to the bottom of my glasses. It has gotten so long that there is no longer any shape. One of my colleagues wants me to go all girly, but dammit, I'm a dyke. We have special hair needs!

Cliff wanted to get his traditional (I'm away from home haircut) when he was in Berlin but never got it done while here, I wonder if that has changed since getting home.

Looking onto my Google Calendar I see that Thursday is "Corpus Christi". WTF is Corpus Christi? Some goofy city in Texas gets its own day? I want BERLIN day! Yeah, yeah I get it. I'm sure it has a religious connotation, but it can't be TOO religious or Germans would have the day off!

Speaking of calendars - I am sooo geeky that I have the perfect calendar set up. Sweet No and I share an online calendar through Google Calendar. Totally cool because at a glance I can see her schedule and mine and know if what I'm preparing to schedule will have a conflict with something she already has. Then we take the geekiness up a notch. We link Google Calendar with our Outlook Calendar... but it doesn't stop there. THEN we sync our Blackberrys with our Outlook. Is that geeky or WHAT!?!

Speaking of all things GEEK... I am in love with a camera. You might question that someone could seriously be in love with a camera, well the answer is yes. Ladies and gentlemen I am ready to move away from the simplicity that is the Nikon D40x and get into something really complicated. Nikon D90. BUT before she went to Egypt in April, my Sweet No bought a super duper underwater camera along with kickass light system and funky arm set to hold it all together. Just this past week she added to this kit a huge wide angle lens which cost more than my D40x AND my first two lenses put together. Ahem. This effectively means that our budget for such equipment is shot to shit. Prepare for the unfair angle. She uses this camera ONLY for underwater shots which means that she pulls it out twelve times a year maximum. I on the other hand, take pictures every day, 10,000 in the first year of ownership. Where is the love!?!

In the past two weeks both ZZ Top and The Eagles were in town but I couldn't go to either one because of scheduling conflicts. Sometimes life sux.

OK, I think that is enough for Random Tuesday madness.
Your Disobedient Servant
- Snooker

The top twelve indicators that the economy is bad:

The top twelve indicators that the economy is bad:

12. CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

11. I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

10. I went to buy a toaster oven and they gave me a bank.

9. Hotwheels and Matchbox car companies are now trading higher than GM in the stock market.

8. Obama met with small businesses - GE, Pfizer, Chrysler, Citigroup and GM, to discuss the Stimulus Package.

7. McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

6 People in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and are learning their children's names.

5. The most highly-paid job is now jury duty.

4. People in Africa are donating money to Americans. Mothers in Ethiopia are telling their kids, "finish your plate; do you know how many kids are starving in America ?"

3. Motel Six won't leave the lights on.

2. The Mafia is laying off judges.

And my most favorite indicator of all.

1. If the bank returns your check marked as "insufficient funds," you have to call them and ask if they meant you or them.

A New Beginning

If you think you should watch Obama's Cairo speech -- and are a bit like me and wondering if you really MUST watch something which is almost an hour long -- I am going to tell you that your time will be well spent. Watch it here and now, or catch it on the White House site complete with transcript.



"Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights."

"It's easier to start wars than to end them.
It's easier to find things that are different about someone than to find the things we share.
It's easier to blame others than to look inward.
But, we should choose the right path, not just the easy path."

"Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and antisemitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed – more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful."

"They [Palestinians] endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable."

“The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security."

“Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop."

"Just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the lives of Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress."

""I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well educated are far more likely to be prosperous.

"Issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world."

Stepping into the fire

Sadness and anger enveloped me as I read of the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in my hometown, Wichita, Kansas. First a little back history. Dr. Tiller was one of few doctors left in the country who would allow women to exercise their legal right to control their reproductive decisions.

The most controversial thing about Dr. Tiller was that he was almost alone in Kansas, let alone the country for performing late second and third term abortions. He was dealing with families who were making heartbreaking decisions to end their pregnancies in late gestation because of the knowledge that the fetus had unalterable abnormalities which could either be life-threatening and/or would cause severe disabilities, both physical and mental.

His life and the lives of his family were in almost constant danger simply because he was faithful to the law that gives women the right to choose abortion over problem pregnancies. The year I graduated high school, his clinic was bombed. In 1991 while I was being robbed at gunpoint, the police officer who responded to the call seventy minutes later apologized because Operation Rescue's "Summer of Mercy" anti-abortion protests at Tiller's clinic were taking the resources of so many officers that they were understaffed. In 1993 someone shot Dr. Tiller in both arms which was as you can see just one of several murder attempts made previous to the one which ended his life as he was serving as an usher in his family church last Sunday.

OK, let's step back for a moment. I don't need to tell the reader that abortion is a terribly divisive subject. Even those who identify as being for reproductive rights will lay the line in different places, either for the right to use contraceptives but no abortion, or for abortion but just in the first trimester, or allowance for abortion up into the second trimester.

As a lesbian who does not intend to have a baby I feel that I have about as much of a say about abortion as the average man. No guy has an idea what it is like to miss a period and wonder - no, FEAR - that a pregnancy has started. They've never questioned themselves about what would happen if the person 50% responsible drops out of their lives when they find out that their sex games have consequences which will have dirty diapers.

Also as a lesbian I have never felt the stirring of a fetus in my womb and filled with joy at the thought of bringing another human life into this world. Thus I cannot even begin to understand the horror which a woman who pines for a child yet is barren would feel when considering that abortion is one of the most performed surgeries in America today with over twenty-five percent of pregnancies being ended prematurely.

I'm not going to get into the right and the wrong of what Dr. Tiller was doing in his clinic every day. All I can say is that it was sanctioned by the law in Kansas, and for me that is where it ends.

What I can speak about is my disgust for vigilante justice. No individual has the moral right to become judge, jury and executioner. Due process of the law must be respected in modern society or anarchy prevails.

This man was the fourth abortion doctor to be killed by a vigilante in the last few decades. Is the pro life movement a bunch of fringe lunatic terrorists? No, I wouldn't say that anymore than I would say that the gay rights groups are terrorists. I would say that they are both trying to get laws changed according to what they believe is right.

What I do take issue with is the anger and violent words spewed forth by the pro life movement since Roe v Wade. As a Wichitan in the early 90's I was subjected daily to anti-abortion activists holding up signs with pictures of bloody body parts and screams that I should be in the protest with them if I found the practice disgusting. Witnessing a ten year old child screaming "You're going to murder your baby you stupid bitch" as a tearful pregnant woman with her head down hurried into the nine foot iron gates of Tiller's clinic. All of this as the child's assumed mother looked on with a gleam in her eye. This was for me the epitome of repugnance.

People like Bill O'Reilly have been inciting anger and violence against individuals like Tiller for years. Does this make him partially responsible? By the way, it turns out the man suspected in Dr. Tiller's murder was a huge O'Reilly fan. Are we surprised?

No doubt Bill has come back and said that it was not his intention to incite violence, he may even decry the murder, but there is plenty of evidence that he himself has said that he would like to do away with Dr. Tiller. But then again, let's just add this to a long list of things I don't appreciate about Bill. Nah, he's just spewing those hateful words to reach his base. The problem for me is, his base seems to be OK hearing it. Of course Dr. Tiller was under attack long before O'Reilly even had a show, so blaming him just seems stupid, right?

If you believe in a woman's right to choose you have a duty, even a right to speak out against those who would take that away. If you believe that abortion is murder, you also have a duty and a right to speak out against this practice. Welcome to America. Freedom of speech is a strongly held belief. But does either side have the right to incite violence for the cause?

Just like everyone else I filter the news through my own life's experiences. I have to look at this from my perspective with a minor change. If I were standing in front of a Wichita city official trying to obtain a marriage license for me and my Sweet No, allowing her to immigrate to America and for us to be together, would I be driven to murder because this person says that two women are not entitled to this right? Will I incite others to commit murder if they are in similar circumstances? Would I stand by and listen as someone in the gay community called for the murder of people withholding these rights? The answer to these questions, an unequivocal no.

I am just as frustrated as many of the average anti-abortion people, why would I not be willing to listen to my community leaders calling for the death of all those responsible for withholding my rights? Because I know it is wrong.

No, those people are doing their job, upheld by the law. Until that law changes, those people should be protected for doing their jobs. They certainly don't deserve to die any more than Dr. George Tiller did.

My thoughts are with Dr. Tiller's wife, children and grandchildren in this time of sorrow.

“However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.” - President Barack Obama

Been reading:

• Abortion: A Response to the Pro-Life Arguments
• The Politics of "Murder"
• Pro-Life Tiller Response Continues: Shooting Abortion Practitioner Not Pro-Life
• No Vigilante Violence Against Abortionists!
• Abortion-rights groups: Other side's words led to Tiller death

How the Mormon Stole Everything

I just had to share it...
Not for the faint at heart and quite possibly NSFW.

How the Mormon Stole Everything
A Big Gay Sketch Show preview.

More Gay & Lesbian Videos At LogoOnline.com