On this rock, a myth was built

Just a pre-Thanksgiving history lesson for everyone. I grew with this story since growing up in Massachusetts and as a kid I can't tell you how many elementary schools field trips I took there. It's a cute little video with some pretty corny graphics. Out of all of the holidays on the calendar Thanksgiving had been my favorite.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/11/22/an_animated_history_of_the_pilgrims_voyage/

Weird Dream and Progress Report 4.5

I really don't dream that much at least not many that I remember anyway. Well last night I had a dream I was drink either with some football hooligans or a rugby team. It definitely did not take place in the US. I'm not sure which, I didn't recognize the bar/pub and I'm not sure if they are gay or straight, it was pretty much just guys drinking and watching a game. It was a pretty festive time. So I guess over all it was good but the hell does it mean, it was pretty random? If your good at interpreting dreams just leave me a comment and please explain what the hell it al means.

On a side note the contractors are here, why they have to show up at 8am on a Saturday is beyond me. But the house is probably at 95% they are finishing a few touch ups, the kitchen cabinets and stretching the carpet. Unfortunately the kitchen won't be 100% until Tuesday, the counter-top had been delayed. Which is cutting it close to having a kitchen to cook for Thanksgiving, I've pretty much said I'm not eating out on the holiday. The sofa is going to be delivered this afternoon. Tuesday I'm going to talk to someone about getting the dining room chairs re-upholstered and finding some fabric for those since our roomate doesn't seem to care and has been dicking the dog. I decide to hold off on the photos and until there is a finished product.

Sethy here's another Yellow guy for your little trip through the color wheel.

Dolly Parton Voices Support

I always knew there was a reason I loved Dolly Parton. I had thought it had been because of movies like 9 to 5 (which rocked) or maybe it had been The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (also hilarious). But it's nice to see her speak her mind no matter what back lash it could have. Oh wait the didn't some group boycott Dollywood, I'm sure that worked as well as the Boycott of Disney. But, I especially love the way she layed the smackdown to religious zealot pastor Joel Osteen. The CNN's Joy Behar interview is at the bottom of the post.

Dolly Parton Voices Support for Gay Marriage - The Boot
by Stephen L. Betts

The always candid Dolly Parton has revealed that she's in favor of granting gays and lesbians the rights to marry.

"Sure, why can't they get married? They should suffer like the rest of us do," the outspoken superstar told CNN show host Joy Behar. When Behar suggested Dolly's Southern roots might not mesh with the idea of marriage equality, the singer agreed, "I know that's true."

Dolly's not alone. This year, Reba McEntire surprised some of her conservative fans when she spoke in support of her gay fans and "many gay friends." "Don't judge me and I won't judge you," she said. "Keep an open mind."

Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, too, recently celebrated her gay fans. "I've always had a large gay following," the singer, who has performed at Gay Pride in Atlanta three times, said. "Particularly in the lesbian community. I am grateful for that ... It also means that I'm a cute girl singing a rock song in an alto voice!"

As for Dolly, the flamboyant entertainer admits she feels a certain kinship with her many gay and lesbian fans."I think it's because they know I'm different too, and it took me a long time to be accepted," she reasons.

"Plus, a lot of my gay guy friends love to dress up," she adds. "I think they just appreciate the fact that I love everybody for who they are."

Dolly did have some strong words, however, for Houston megachurch pastor Joel Osteen, who earlier this month stated that "homosexuality is not God's best work." "I don't want to talk about him," she said with a laugh. "I think God made us who we are and how we are, and I don't think if [Osteen] was a religious person, he would be judging people."

Dolly herself has weathered gay rumors. She and assistant Judy Ogle are constantly spotted together, and their close friendship (they've also been best friends since the third grade) eventually fueled speculation about whether the two were romantically connected, as well.

"We're totally honest, open, and comfortable with each other," Dolly told AARP magazine of her friendship with Judy. "We've been accused of being lovers. We do love each other, but we've never been like that."

Dolly shrugs off the rumors and insists that the "I dos" she said 43 years ago with husband Carl Dean were meant for life.

"I know we'll never divorce," she says. "He always knows I'm coming home."

Dolly's 'Live from London' CD/DVD was released last week.

Eye Candy

Things are moving along at the house still not as fast as we would like. I still owe you some photos of the progress, I know. But how about some eye candy instead.

Happy Veterans Day

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour of 1918 the armistice was signed to end the war that was to end all wars. We are still waiting on that. . . .

I just want to thank all of my fellow veterans for the sacrifices they made. Also I want to salute and a thank to all of the active duty Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen at home and overseas. So if you know a Veteran thank him or her and shake their hand.

Below are some photos of the Congressional Medals Of Honor, most recipients never receive the award, it is given posthumously. I f you'd like to find out more about the medal or the stories of the recipients go check out http://www.cmohs.org/

Damn Them Yankees

Well I didn't do to bad with my final analysis of the MLB playoffs and though I forgot to commit to the World Series winner. Though I had been hoping to the Phillies would win, but alas the Yankees took it all. I hating the Yankees only comes natural for me being a Red Sox fan ;-) But my hat goes off for the Yankees they played a hell of series and it just shows that A-rod has shaken the riod stigma. They have a some great bats and had been surging since the All-Star break. They didn't miss a beat even into the playoffs. It's one hell of a way to christen their new stadium in the Bronx.

Now we start with the off season and free agent filings. I believe players can start filing today and then there is a 15 day exclusivity period with their current clubs after that it's free game for the rest of the league. I haven't looked over the whole field to see who is out there but I think Matt Holliday (Cardinals), Jason Bay (Red Sox) and Johnny Damon (Yankees) are all eligible. I would love to see Matt and Jason in Red Sox's uniforms in the spring. Once all of the filings are in I'll try to keep you up to date on who is going where.

Progress Report 4.0

Things are moving along at the house, slowly but surely. Yesterday the HVAC units were replaced so things are bit more comfortable. Today they are mounting the kitchen cabinets, though they haven't finished grouting the floor 1st, don't ask me why they haven't. The carpets and floors are the biggest hurdle to moving back downstairs. We spent last Sunday looking at more furniture, mostly looking for side tables. I think we are also close to purchasing those. We did buy the couch; we got the Troy sofa from Crate and Barrel with Mushroom Micro-fiber that will come in a week or so. Ryan has an idea which TV and stand he wants to get.

We next have to find someone to re-upholster the dinning room chairs and clean up the rest of the furniture. We have been waiting to do that until the kitchen floor or there is less dust. We are pretty much in the home stretch now it's a matter of getting things finished up. Then we can really get picky about fine tuning things.

So the biggest out standing issues are the kitchen stairs and floors. I know I promised photos but I still haven't gotten around to taking them. I'll try to remember to take some tomorrow on my day off and then get those posted.

On a side note Serv-Pro rep came by last night to address a letter that was sent to them. Little was done about the quality of service we received. So if you are ever flooded and live in the Atlanta area DO NOT call Serv-Pro of Chamblee, call Service Master.

Happy Halloween

I hope that everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Progress Report 3.0

I stopped by the house after work this evening to check on Munch and give him his evening treats. Everything is moving along pretty well. All of the drywall is up, taped, sanded and painted. The kitchen floor has the tile down, though they still need to grout and seal it, to call it finished, so things are looking up. Ryan and I had a talk this evening and we are going to move back in Monday or Tuesday, at the latest. We are both really tired of being stuck in the hotel. We know it will be a pain there won't be a refrigerator until Tuesday and there won't be any form of a kitchen until next week, fingers crossed.

Overall the work is about 65% done, though that is probably the level of workmanship as well. We have been using one of our roommates friends, that's a contractor, I have nothing against friends. It's just I have learned from my Dad's lessons that things never turn out the way you want when a friend does it. It's all about competitive bids and references. Yes, he's cutting us a break on cost but you get what you pay for. Maybe with us back in the house they will get the feeling that they are under a watchful eye.

I'm going to spend time over there tomorrow cleaning things upstairs to make it live-able. Right now there is a lot of dust and things are everywhere. I also need to start clearing a way for the HVAC contractor so they can replace those systems. Once that is done the house is going to be a lot greener. I take those long awaited photos tomorrow so you can see the progress that has been made over the last few weeks.

Two Victories in Washington

I have been pretty quiet lately as it comes to politics, I was afraid I may have been boring some people. I had to make sure the word got out about these pieces of legislation. They had been wallowing in committees because the sponsors knew that over the last 10 years the Republicans would have killed them or if them got the votes Bush would VETO them. Finallythese two long awaited piece of legislation have made their way through the US House and Senate and are now on President Obama's desk. President Obama is expected to sign both of these pieces of legislation into law. Now we'll just have to wait for the President to pick up pace on ending DADT and DOMA, as he promised.

Senate votes expand hate crimes protection
Kennedy had fought 10 years to include gays

By Jim Abrams, Associated Press | October 23, 2009

WASHINGTON - Physical attacks on people based on their sexual orientation will join the list of federal hate crimes in a major expansion of the civil rights-era law that Congress approved yesterday and sent to President Obama for his signature.

A priority of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts that had been on the congressional agenda for a decade, the measure expands current law to include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The measure is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student murdered 11 years ago.

To ensure its passage after years of frustrated efforts, Democratic supporters attached the measure to a must-pass $680 billion defense policy bill the Senate approved 68 to 29. The House passed the defense bill earlier this month.

Many Republicans, normally staunch supporters of defense bills, voted against the bill because of the hate crimes provision. All the no votes were Republicans, except for Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, who supported the hate crimes provision but opposes what he says is the open-ended military commitment in Afghanistan.

“The inclusion of the controversial language of the hate crimes legislation, which is unrelated to our national defense, is deeply troubling,’’ said Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican.

New England’s senators voted for the bill, including Republicans Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and Susan M. Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine.

Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr. of Massachusetts, Kennedy’s interim replacement, acknowledged that it was unusual for the legislation to be shoe-horned into the defense measure, but said the “rule of law will be stronger in America’’ because of it.

“It’s an extremely important bill and was especially important to Senator Kennedy,’’ Kirk said in a statement. “He worked on it for years to close the loopholes that have prevented effective prosecution of these flagrant crimes that terrorize entire groups of communities across America.’’

“The statistics about hate crimes are shocking and shameful. For far too long, law enforcement has been forced to investigate these vicious crimes with one hand tied behind its back,’’ Kirk added.

The hate crimes law enacted after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968 centered on crimes based on race, color, religion, or national origin.

The expansion has long been sought by civil rights and gay rights groups. Conservatives have opposed it, contending that it creates a special class of victims. They also have been concerned that it could silence clergymen or others opposed to homosexuality on religious or philosophical grounds.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights group, hailed the bill as “our nation’s first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Too many in our community have been devastated by hate violence.’’

The measure also provides federal grants to help state and local governments prosecute hate crimes and funds programs to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles.

Attorney General Eric Holder said nearly 80,000 hate crimes have been reported to the FBI since he first testified before Congress in support of a hate crimes bill 11 years ago. “It has been one of my highest personal priorities to ensure that this legislation finally becomes law,’’ he said.

The FBI says more than half of reported hate crimes are motivated by racial bias. That is followed by crimes based on religious bias, at around 18 percent, and sexual orientation, at 16 percent.

At the urging of Republicans, the bill was changed to strengthen free speech protections to ensure that a religious leader or any other person cannot be prosecuted on the basis of his or her speech, beliefs, or association.

But that did not convince Senator Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, who said the bill was a “dangerous step’’ toward thought crimes.

He asked whether the bill would “serve as a warning to people not to speak out too loudly about their religious views.’’

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/10/23/senate_votes_to_expand_hate_crimes_protection/

Ryan White CARE Act passes House and Senate
Bay Windows
Friday Oct 23, 2009

Ryan White, the Indiana boy who faced discrimination before he died of AIDS in 1990 at age 13. (Source:Associated Press)

Low-income HIV-positive Americans may soon have the continued promise of better access to health care and federal funding.

The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Treatment Extension Act of 2009, or S.1793, passed the House of Representatives on Oct. 21 with a vote of 408 to 9, and was approved by the Senate on Oct. 19.

The bill, if signed into law by President Obama, would provide federal funding to help low-income, uninsured, or under-insured Americans with AIDS gain access to healthcare.

The President’s Executive Office released a Statement of Administration Policy on Oct. 19 in support of the Act. "The Administration is committed to strengthening access to acre for people living with HIV/AIDS," the statement read. "The legislation reauthorizes all parts of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program."

"The House and Senate leadership and the Members of the committees worked closely with the HIV/AIDS community to maintain this critical program," said Rebecca Haag, the executive director of the AIDS Action Council.

"This bill will ensure the availability of life saving services for those living with HIV/AIDS in all states and territories while we determine the long term impact of health care reform legislation and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy on the health and well being of those infected, affected and at risk for HIV."

"We call on President Obama to sign the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009 to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS continue to have access to the HIV/AIDS treatment, care and medications that they need," said Haag.

The Act is named after Ryan White, a hemophiliac teenager who died from AIDS after receiving a tainted blood transfusion at the age of 13. After contracting the virus in 1984, White was expelled from his Indiana high school. White remained a strong AIDS awareness and research advocate until his death in 1990.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?98004