The heinous Westboro Baptist Church is planning on coming to my neck of the woods this weekend to “protest” the death of a young soldier, not 30 minutes from where I live. He went to one of my high school’s most fervent rival schools, lived in the town my husband grew up in, and died serving our country—doing his job—at much too young an age. Now the “God Hates Fags” church is going to go make a mockery of his memorial service. Read More

Mark David Chapman Denied Parole Again Mark David Chapman, the individual who was convicted of the murder of rock icon John Lennon in 1980, was denied parole from his life sentence today, making this the sixth time his case has been reviewed. The three-person panel who decided to keep Chapman in prison had plenty of things to say about their decision. One stated, "Come on, man. You killed a freaking Beatle. And not just any Beatle, but one of the two that people really, really liked. That was... Read More

Click image to enlarge Kind of strange that the most censorious segment of American society today doesn't come from the religious fundamentalists, nor the extreme right, but the colleges. Read More

A comment from a reader of Change.org’s article, “Growing Number of Historians Believe Abraham Lincoln Was Gay,” pretty much sums up how I feel about the idea of President Lincoln being gay: “Honest Abe has long been one of my favorite American presidents and if he was gay, well, then bless his little rainbow heart.” I would alter the comment only to say “big rainbow heart,” since it seems like the man likely had one. Read More

Are you feeling like you need a little more sophistication in your life - but perhaps you are a little short on the funds? It must be your lucky month then! The sixth annual Museum Day (a part of Smithsonian magazine) is offering FREE Admission to many theaters across America later this month (September 25, 2010). This promotion will entitle you and a guest to enjoy a museum absolutely free (on 9/25/10 only)! Read More

Humility washes over me like the first proper shower a soldier feels after returning from years of sand and death in the desert. Maybe it's the fifth of scotch that's been my only companion these past few hours, or maybe it's because I just spent an entire day trying to get politicians from Israel and Palestine to behave like adults in a civil society and not like combatants in a civil war. Whatever motivates the feeling, I can't escape a sense that an incredible responsibility hangs over me... Read More

Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virgi nia. That, in alphabetical order, is the list of Anti-Whore Super States. The Attorneys General of the aforementioned chunks of America drafted a letter to the craigslist corporate office earlier this week (with Massachusetts drafting its own because it just always has to be a little different, egotistical... Read More

When ubiquitous, quasi-political entity Sarah Palin tossed a crumpled-up piece of paper out the 15th floor hotel suite where she was staying in between one of many paid speaking engagements earlier this week, one of the harrowed journalists who follow her trying to get access to the famously cagey Palin media machine picked it up. He discovered it was a To-Do list written in Sarah Palin's own hand. Unfortunately, it detailed not her upcoming plans, but those that have already passed. Regardless... Read More

Can you believe that the National Organization for Marriage—a vehemently anti-same sex marriage group who travels the country extolling the sanctity of marriage and crying about how if people from the same sex wed it will all just fall apart (and who, by default, are pretty much ignoring the real threats to their sanctity—such as divorce, spousal and child abuse, and the like)—actually dared to play Peter, Paul, & Mary’s rendition of Woody Guthrie’s folktale classic, “This Land is Your Land... Read More