Photo of the Week: Dog.Gone.

This is the rug that greets you at the sheriff's office in Pinellas County, Florida, for which taxpayers paid $500; not such a bad price except ...

... after being there for two months someone finally noticed that instead of 'In God We Trust,' Florida's state motto, it read ...

... 'In Dog We Trust.'

The error was made by the rug's manufacturer and it is being replaced, while the original, according to Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, will be auctioned off for charity.

I have a better idea; I know someone, out there in the Pacific North West, who would just love this rug, and i know a couple of Labs who'd like it as their personal nap spot.

Just sayin'.

Florida Police Use Pictures Of Black Men For Target Practice

I, for one, am really glad that MLK Day is over so we can go back to being the racially insensitive we are most every day of the year. I mean, that’s who we are, right, because how else can we explain this story?

Down in Medley, Florida, the police were at the local Firearms Training Center doing a little target practice; at first, this sounds good because then, maybe, rather than shooting to kill a Black man who has his hands up, or shooting to kill a young African American boy who has a toy pistol in his hand, maybe the police can just shoot to maim; shoot to injure, and that way no one gets killed.

Just sayin’.

But, at this particular rifle range, after the North Miami Beach Police snipers had their practice, a group of National Guard troops came in for their practice and found that the police had been using photographs of real people for target practice. And all of them were "mug shots of African American men," with at least one of which belonged to a suspect that had previously been arrested by the department.

Sgt. Valerie Deant of the National Guard told  a local news outlet that she was left "speechless" after finding one of the targets was her brother Woody Deant, who had been arrested and sentenced to four years of jail in 2000 for involvement with a illegal drag race that killed two people. Her brother, however, was outraged:

"Now I'm being used as a target? I'm not even living that life according to how they portrayed me as. I'm a father. I'm a husband. I'm a career man. I work 9-to-5."

Sickening, isn’t it? But what’s even more disgusting is the response from North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis, who said that using real faces was necessary for facial recognition drills and added that "there is no discipline forthcoming" for any officers involved. 

Oh, he did say he was, ahem, “bothered” by the inclusion of an actual resident of North Miami Beach, but said that the agency used similar sheets of all-Hispanic or all-white targets. But not on that day, I guess because, maybe, maybe it was just Black People Target Practice Day for the North Miami Beach Police.

This type of behavior might be just one of the reasons why the number of Black Americans shot and killed by police is far greater than the numbers of any other race shot and killed by police. I mean, if the police are using pictures of Black men in target practice, that kind of reinforces the idea that Black men are the criminals and should be shot dead; it’s even more sickening that out of all the options available to the North Miami Beach Police — like say silhouettes of criminals — they chose to use actual photographs of real young Black men.

I don’t think is what MLK was dreaming about …. 

source

Random Musings

It’s been a while since I’ve Randomly Mused — darn those pesky holidays — but I do have something to say, first and foremost about a show past its prime or relevance and about a hottie on that show …

Marshall Williams, an actor, model and contestant on Canadian Idol — and let’s not discuss the lack of relevance of America Idol — is joining the cast of Glee for its final … thank the goddess …season, playing Spencer, a foot ball star and stud and gay man.

But producers are quick to point out that Spencer is a “post-Glee gay — no one messes with him about his sexuality because he will kick their asses if they do.”

But do they mess around with him in, um, other ways?

Asking for a friend …

Speaking of gay, the oh-so-not-gay Congressman Aaron Schock Tweeted this vacation snapshot.

That’s all.

While watching the tube the other night an ad for Selma, the new picture about MLK and the Civil Rights Movement came on. I mentioned to Carlos that I wanted to see it and he said, “Selma? Selma Hayek?”

I said, “Yes, Selma Hayek, noted Civil Rights activist from the 1960s.”

Carlos gets a pass because he was not raised in this country and therefore never learned about Selma, but still, I almost choked from laughter.

Plus, it’s Salma Hayek, I reminded him.

Over there to England, Sir Elton John married David Furnish, his partner of 21 years, over the hols — that’s what they call holidays in Britain and I’m feeling a little Madonna so I’m’a fake a Brit accent, too.

But, sad to say, things need to change in the UK because had Sir Elton married a woman she would be Lady John, but David, as a an … gasp … is given no such title.

C’mon, England, make David a Sir.

Earlier this week, virulently homophobic former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of corruption. Wait? A corrupt politician? Say it ain’t so!

McDonnell, after being sentenced, addressed the court:

"I stand before you as a heartbroken and humbled man.”

Not so fast, you more of a busted man, a criminal man, but he also said he will dedicate the rest of his life “newly to service.”

Hopefully in the prison laundry.

No starch please.

Since marriage equality finally came to Florida, it wasn’t such a shock that Tampa Bay Times named Florida’s Attorney General Pam Bondi its "Loser Of 2014":

“It's hard to imagine how someone who won re-election so handily (rival George Sheldon could not afford a single TV ad) could emerge from 2014 more wounded and diminished as our Republican attorney general … Bondi's clumsy communication skills and relentless defense of Florida's gay marriage ban have made her a modern-day Anita Bryant. Antagonizing Florida's gay voters over same-sex marriage and Hispanic voters over immigration reform ensures Bondi has a bright political future ahead of her — if she moves to Mississippi.”

C’mon, don’t do that to Mississippi!

Wait, so David Furnish can’t be a ‘Sir’ but Joan Collins gets to be a ‘Dame’?

The diva of Dynasty was made the female equivalent of a knight in Queen Elizabeth II's annual New Year's honors list. She was recognized for her services to nonprofit groups helping children.

Sadly, right after the awards, Krystle Carrington appeared out of nowhere and shoved Joan into a pool.

More Carlos? M’kay.

He has the habit of not wanting to use the last of anything. He’s been known to ring a deodorant stick dry rather than open a new one; he’s been known to make dinner, and then dig out a piece of Tupperware to save … literally … a teaspoon of rice for the next day.

But this is about toilet paper. We recently had a houseguest at Casa Bob y Carlos and Carlos was cleaning the guest bathroom when he saw that the toilet paper in that bath was down to its last two or three sheets. He replaced the roll with a new one, but brought the nearly unused roll into the master bathroom for us … or me … to, er, polish off. Well, I decided to test Carlos and so I refused to use it and instead used a new roll.

That nearly-done roll sat in out bathroom for over a week until Carlos finally broke and used it. Then, he brought out the cardboard roll and tried to shove it down my shirt. I tossed it at him; he tossed it at me … we’re children, you know … and then I tossed it to the floor. H left it there and I said it would stay there, possibly to become a cat toy unless he picked it up.

Children, remember.

But then I had an idea. I took that toilet paper roll, which still had a single sheet dangling from it, and drew a face on it, with a tongue sticking out, and taped it to a piece of card stock and stuck it in the mailbox for Carlos to find when he returned from work.

That’s all, there’s no real point to the story except that, well, we’re children, and I am far more childish!

In a bit of crazy, Teabagging loon and Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert promised to be the engine of change that conservatives have been calling for in their rebellion against the establishment wing of the Republican Party and vowed to unseat John Boehner as Speaker of the House. 

If elected speaker, Louie Louie said he would “fight amnesty tooth and nail” because immigrants have no place in the Land of the Free, and that he would defund Obamacare so only the wealthy could afford healthcare, and he would, ahem, bring “positive solutions that will return power back to the people.”

And by people, he means rich white guys who hate women, the Gays, the immigrants and, well, anyone who isn’t rich white and male.

Sadly, Gohmert failed at his attempt, though, also sadly, we are stuck with Boehner for the next two years of a Do Nothing Congress.

If Christians Can Pass Out Bibles, Satanists Can Pass Out Coloring Books

Okay, so … religion. It’s fine for those that want it, and it’s fine for those that don’t. But the problem lies within certain religious groups because some folks believe their faith is the only faith and all others are meaningless. But, sometimes, well, a lot of times, they’re proven wrong and then a little kerfuffle ensues.

Case in point:

Down in Florida, or as I have often called it, having lived there, Flori-duh, the Orange County Schools have allowed a group called World Changers of Florida to distribute Bibles in public schools.

Twice!

Naturally, this does not sit well with those of us who believe in a Separation of Church and State, but it also doesn’t sit well with The Freedom From Religion Foundation — an atheist group — who wanted equal time in the schools and threatened a lawsuit.

So, to settle that suit, and because they know they’re wrong wrong wrong, Orange County Schools agreed to allow The Freedom From Religion Foundation to pass out their atheist materials in school as well.

And that’s where the Satanists come in.

The Satanic Temple wants equal access to the schools as well, to distribute its Satanic Children's Big Book of Activities, a coloring book. Lucien Greaves, spokesman for The Satanic Temple explained the group's motive, saying the Satanic Temple:

“would never seek to establish a precedent of disseminating our religious materials in public schools because we believe our constitutional values are better served by respecting a strong separation of Church and State, but if a public school board is going to allow religious pamphlets and full Bibles to be distributed to students—as is the case in Orange County, Florida—we think the responsible thing to do is to ensure that these students are given access to a variety of differing religious opinions, as opposed to standing idly by while one religious voice dominates the discourse and delivers propaganda to youth.”

And while I am not now, nor have I ever been a Satanist, I say, Go for it.If a public school system in this country is going to allow one religious group to come into a public school and pass out their literature, then they must allow each and every other religious group to do the same.

Failing that, maybe those parents who want their kids to have Bible passed out at school should send their children to a church-affiliated school and leave the public schools alone. Not everyone worships Satan, not everyone worships God, hell, oops, not everyone worships at all, so let's keep all of these faiths, these belief systems out of public schools and stick to reading, writing and arithmetic.

Otherwise your children will spend all their time collecting literature from Christians and Catholics and Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and Satanists and Pagans and Wiccans and Atheists and Agnostics and never really get any education at all.

via NCRM

ISBL Asshat of the Week: Congressman Curt Clawson

We all know this has been a Do-Nothing Congress for the last, well, since Obama took office, but is it too much of a stretch to say that, while some members ‘do nothing’ other members ‘know nothing’?

Case in point, our nominee for this week’s ISBL Asshat of the Week. Florida Republican Congressman Curt Clawson; for the record, Clawson is the man who replaced Congressman Trey Radel who was arrested in a drug bust a few years back.

During a recent hearing at the Capital, Congressman Clawson was speaking to two U.S. government officials, Nisha Biswal and Arun Kumar, as though they were visitors from another country when, in fact, they hold senior positions at the U.S. State Department and Commerce Department:

“I am familiar with your country; I love your country, and I understand the complications of so many languages, and so many cultures, and so many histories, all rolled up in one. … Just as your capital is welcome here to produce good-paying jobs in the U.S., I’d like our capital to be welcome there. And there to be freedom of capital, and I ask cooperation and commitment and priority from your government in so doing. Can I have that?”

Remember, he is speaking to two Americans, but, apparently, because their names sound foreign and because they have brown skin, well, they must be foreigners. In fact, Arun Kumar, is alleged to have laughed openly at Clawson’s remarks — perhaps the “I am familiar with your country” remark — while  Nisha Biswal responded like this:

“I think your question is to the Indian government. We certainly share your sentiments. And we certainly will advocate that on behalf of the US.”

Stunned deeper into stupidity, Clawson muttered, “Of course. OK. Let’s see some progress.”

And then, following Clawson’s opening statement, Congressman Eliot Engel, the full panel’s ranking Democrat, noted that Biswal and Kumar work for the United States:

“Thank you both for your service to our country, it’s very much appreciated.”

Clawson, of course, as Republicans are apt to do when it comes out that they have no idea what they are saying, or even to whom they are speaking, later apologized:

“I made a mistake in speaking before being fully briefed and I apologize. I’m a quick study, but in this case I shot an air ball.”

Something to learn, say, before running for public office, might be knowing the men to whom you are speaking, and know the topic at hand before sitting down.

But, failing that, I guess, with a Do-Nothing Congress, and men like Clawson in office, maybe it’s a good thing they get nothing done, because just think of all the damage they could cause if they knew what was going on.

Curt Clawson, the ISBL Asshat of the Week.

source

Random Musings

Well, it looks like I'll have to stop calling you Flori-duh; and maybe Carlos and I can get married in Key West????

So Carlos and I are hooked on TNTs Murder in the First because … Taye Diggs. Of Course, it’s also a pretty good show, but still … Taye Diggs. Anyway, we were watching it Monday night and I look over at Carlos and he’s asleep.

‘Go to bed,’ I say.

‘I was just resting my eyes,’ he says.

I give him my Wendy Williams’ Mmm hmmm and a few minutes later and he’s asleep again.

‘Go to bed,’ I say.

‘I was just resting my eyes,’ he says.

‘If you’re tired …’

‘I’m not.’

I give him my Wendy Williams’ Mmm hmmm and he’s out again.

I watch for another five minutes or so, looking over at him, head down, eyes shut, a snore on the horizon, and I kindly set the DVR to record the show, and then lean in very closely, and very sweetly, with all the love I can manage, shout into his ear:

‘GO TO BED!’

Oy. It’s hard out here for me and my sleepy man.

Christian Minard is a lesbian who was studying at Southwestern Christian University, a school affiliated with the International Pentecostal Holiness Church so you know what that means. But, one semester shy of her sports management degree, Minard married her girlfriend Kadyn Parks, and when the school learned of her same-sex marriage she was expelled.

I was aghast and angry, but then I thought again. Christian school? Pentecostal Church? And the fact that as part of her admission requirements, Minard signed a lifestyle covenant that prohibits “homosexual behavior like same-sex marriage.

Sure, it’s backwards; sure it’s wrong. But Minard signed it because this was the only school that had the degree program she wanted. And she never once challenged the requirement during her entire stay there, so my question is, wouldn’t it have been better to wait until after graduation to marry and thus avoid being expelled and having to start over at a different school? Or, if she got married to try and test the school’s rules, why not do it earlier and avoid this mess?

I’m all for fighting for our rights, but she didn’t fight for them at all until they personally affected her.

Apparently one of Fox & Friends hosts, Heather Nauert, was all confused and stuff by Illinois State University's "all-gender" bathrooms that avoid any kind of confusion for transgender and cisgender students. In fact, she was so confused, she became an eight-year-old girl again as she and her ‘friends’ snickered about it on-air.

So, they had Fox News’ Steve Doocy take to the streets with a copy of the new bathroom sign and showed it to a collection of Fox News fans to get their feedback and expected the same sort of childish nonsense the news folks displayed.

"Maybe a family restroom?"

"Restrooms for both genders."

"Transgender, that's right."

Responding to the viewer's lack of dismay, confusion, or moral outrage, host Brian Kilmeade said, Well, they're better people than us."

No kidding.

That Jesse Palmer, the college football analyst from ESPN. I might have to rethink my sports watching. That’s all. Carry on.

Well, color me shocked, but who knew that a red Speedo was a ticket to homophobic harassment and being kicked out of a water park — a place where one might expect to see a Speedo?

It seems that Jesse Colter wore his red Speedo to the Kentucky Kingdom and was told his swim attire was suitable, suitable, by one of the park's public safety officers.

But then an officer from the Louisville Metro Police ALLEGEDLY approached Colter, called him "queer" and threatened to arrest him for the crime of Speedo wearing; Jesse says the officer told him that several Public Safety Officers from the park had warned him against the Wearing of the Speedo — which seems to be untrue — but Jesse still left the park to avoid being charge with wearing a bathing suit at a water park.

Let me get this queer, though, because I imagine that police officer would have no problem with a woman wearing the tiniest of bikinis in the park, and would probably be hiding in the shrubbery rubbing one off, but a guy in a Speedo is a crime?

Only in Kentucky, though sadly, that’s probably not true either.

Look, here’s the deal: you can disagree with me on every single issue, social or political, all you want, day and night, week in, week out, but please, for the love of the Baby Jeebus, if you’re gonna carry a sign, or spray paint your message on a building, learn to effing spell!

I mean, if the "English-only" crowd is going to demand President Obama deport millions of immigrants, shouldn't they first be required to learn to spell?

Thomas Ravenel, a former Republican state treasurer in South Carolina who was convicted of drug trafficking and starred in a reality television series —  Bravo's "Southern Charm" — has filed a petition to run as an independent candidate for U.S. Senate.

Sit down, asshat.

Outgoing, though not fast enough for me, Minnesota Congressnut Michele Bachmann actually blamed those migrant children on the borders for the deaths of innocent children in Minnesota and the rape of women in her home state.

Oh, yes she did.

“Foreign nationals that have come into the United States are between 300- to 500,000 [and] my heart is broken for a female college student in Minnesota who was raped, murdered and mutilated by a foreign national who came into our country. We had a school bus full of kids in Minnesota — four children were killed on that school bus because an illegal alien driving a van went into that school bus.”

Yes, she believes that these migrant children are crossing the borders to grow up, get jobs driving buses so they can kill good American children. Or, maybe these migrant children, the boys I assume, are coming here so they can grow up and rape our womenfolk!

Gosh, I want this dingbat to run for president in 2016 because we’ll need a good long laugh while we wait for Hillary to win.

I caught a little of Lifetime’s The Witches of East End, but found it nothing at all like the fabulous American Horror Story: Coven.

But it did come with man candy, so it was fun to watch for that reason alone, though I doubt I’ll watch again.

Still, from the top: Christian Cooke, Daniel Di Tomasso, and Eric Winter. Yum.