Oh lawd is that some racist monkey buisness?
The Curious George cartoon character is getting dragged into the presidential race again in an ugly way - and Boston’s WGBH-TV isn’t happy. Labels: controversial, election, local news, racial news
A Georgia tavern owner has been selling T-shirts showing the cartoon monkey happily eating a banana with the words “Obama in ’08” written underneath.
The tavern owner, described as an “ultra-conservative,” has since seen his Marietta, Ga., establishment picketed by outraged critics who say the characterization of presidental candidate Barack Obama as a monkey is racist.
Curious George, created by the late longtime Cambridge residents H.A. and Margret Rey, is a beloved figure among kids and adults alike across the country - and especially in Boston.
WGBH, which co-produces a “Curious George” children’s television show, isn’t happy with George’s use against Obama, an African-American.
“It’s offensive,” said Jennifer Welsh, a spokeswoman for the PBS-affiliated station. “We would never grant permission for this.”
But it wasn’t clear yesterday what could be legally done about the T-shirt being peddled by the Mulligan Food & Spirits owner, Mike Norman, who has called his product “cute.”
A spokesman for Boston’s Houghton-Mifflin, which owns the book rights to Curious George, couldn’t be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for NBC Universal, which owns the film rights to Curious George, also couldn’t be reached for comment.
NBC Universal and WGBH co-produce the “Curious George” TV show.
This isn’t the first time Curious George has been dragged into the current presidential race.
Earlier this year, loudmouth radio jock Rush Limbaugh apologized on air for laughing at a caller’s comment that her daughter thought Obama looked like Curious George.
(Ed note: I think it's political parody so there's no real way to go against him legally, of course. But, of course it's a racial shirt. He's a fucking moron to think otherwise.)
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With Clinton winning in TX and OH, battle with Obama marches on into April.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama: Welcome to Pennsylvania, a sprawling state with two large cities and a farm region larger than Massachusetts.
It's 12.4 million diverse residents like the kind of face-to-face interaction with candidates more often seen in small caucus states such as Iowa and they're likely to get just that during the seven weeks until they vote in a primary to allocate 158 delegates to the Democratic national convention.
Thanks to Clinton's wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island on Tuesday, Pennsylvania has gone from political afterthought to must-win state for the Democratic presidential contenders.
With just two much smaller contests between now and the state's April 22 primary — in Wyoming and Mississippi — Pennsylvania is in for a marathon of rallies, town-hall meetings, television ads and high stakes get-out-the-vote efforts.
"We're going to get every bit, if not more, than the voters in Iowa and New Hampshire got," boasted Philadelphia lawyer Mark Aronchick, a national fundraiser for Clinton's campaign. Mark Alderman, a national fundraiser for Obama, agreed that Pennsylvania is going to "look more like the Iowa campaign than anything since Iowa."
One additional wrinkle in Pennsylvania: Only Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary; independents, who have strongly supported Obama in other states, are barred. But the campaigns have until March 24 to persuade the state's 984,000 registered voters who are not members of either major party — plus any wavering Republicans — to sign up as Democrats so they can vote in the primary.
The nation's sixth most populous state, Pennsylvania bears many similarities to Ohio, where Clinton defeated Obama handily.
Two major metropolises — Philadelphia in the southeast and Pittsburgh in the southwest — bookend a vast rural region with 58,000 farms on 7.7 million acres — an area larger than Massachusetts.
It's a Rust Belt state largely abandoned by the once-mighty steel, coal and railroad industries. Today, its biggest employers are the federal government, the state government and Wal-Mart, in that order.
Pennsylvania's comparatively high union membership — 13.5 percent of state wage earners compared with 12 percent nationally — and large elderly population — only Florida and West Virginia exceed its 15 percent aged 65 or older — make it fertile ground for Clinton, whose political base is anchored by older white voters and blue-collar workers. The state AFL-CIO estimates a third of the registered voters live in union households.
Only 10 percent of Pennsylvanians are between age 18 and 24, a group that Obama has captured in other states.
Political observers expect Obama will do well in Philadelphia, the state's Democratic hub, where more than 40 percent of the residents are black, and among the younger, better educated voters in the city's suburbs. Clinton, they say, may do better among more conservative, working class Democrats in northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania.
The state has a slim track record of electing women and blacks to public office — relevant in a year when Democrats likely will have either the first female or first black nominee for president. Women comprise just 13 percent of the state legislature, in contrast to the national average of 23 percent. Blacks held 8 percent of the seats, equal to the national average.
In Washington, Pennsylvania's 21-member congressional delegation includes one woman and one black.
Of the state's 29 superdelegates — the officeholders and party leaders not bound by the primary vote — 13 have endorsed Clinton while four back Obama.
Most polls show Clinton leading in the state, but the margin has shrunk in recent weeks. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Clinton with 49 percent of the vote and Obama with 43 percent.
Clinton has the backing of Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, one of the state's prominent black leaders.
The last time the Pennsylvania's primary made a difference was in 1976, when former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter's victory cleared the way for him to win the nomination and, in turn, the presidency.
Registered Democrats numbered 3.9 million last fall, but officials in many counties say their ranks have swelled with voter interest in the Obama-Clinton contest. The 8.1 million voters registered for last year's elections included 3.2 million Republicans as well as the 984,000 voters not registered with either major party.
In presidential elections, Pennsylvania has been a "swing state leaning Democratic," according to Terry Madonna, a pollster at Franklin & Marshall College.
Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry carried the state in 2000 and 2004 while losing nationally to Republican George W. Bush. In the previous 12 presidential elections, Pennsylvania voted for the winner 11 times, siding with only one loser, Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968.
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Get Busy Child
The Crystal Method roared into WETbar's DJ booth and took the mostly rolling and mixed-sexual orientation crowd by storm. With a hard trance ferocity, they rocked their set without giving the people gathered much time to collect their breath. While they only played 3 of their own songs (that I could recognize through the heavy layering and improved remixing), I don't think anyone went home disappointed. Labels: breeder news, clubbing, drugs, election, electronica, Heretic, music, personal, WETbar
Well, except one guy that I was with.
He is older, has shoulder length long hair, and is best described as looking like a rock musician -- except he actually installs audio/visual equipment for business and residence.
I'd seen him a long time ago at Heretic, but he'd been going mostly to Blake's and WETbar lately and they had been treating him quite well after he installed some new equipment for them.
So this got us into VIP which as I think I've stated before really isn't all that amazing. But I guess it's just the allure of something the great unwashed can't get into that makes it all so much better, right?
So anyway, this guy, he's hot, handsome, really into me. Too much into me, actually and that becomes off putting. I let him know rather quickly that his aggressiveness is too much for me. I try to go more on the attack with little success. And though I had a moderately good time making out with him and bumping uglies on the dance floor to what should be Barack Obama's theme song for the younger set (Keep Hope Alive), I just couldn't go home with him.
I turned him down.
Maybe in the end that my way of finally overpowering an extremely dominate seme. But I started to think about how it wasn't going to work out anyway. While I can please some as uke, I'm not especially good at the role in the bed. While it's always great to do things out your ordinary comfort zone, I didn't think it would lead to anything really all that pleasant. At least not for me.
And you know NOT going home with him STILL was quite unpleasant as WETbar and Blake's shuttle stopped running after I was to be the only one needing to ride it back to my car. They actually told me to get back off the bus, they were shutting it down. I complained. I knocked on the closed WETbar door and complained some more to the bartender who opened it. And after walking the 8 blocks back to my car at 3:30 in the morning, after driving back home, I pulled up their website to complain to them some more. They're the assholes that should have been fucked last night.
It seriously makes me reconsider going to see Hybrid in 2 weeks and Deep Dish in 4.
VIP... ha! The Heretic wouldn't have treated me that way.
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Quick news
*** Mitt Romney has suspended his bid for The White House, leaving only Mike Huckabee to legitimately oppose John McCain. Sure, Ron Paul is still in it, but I mean, it's fucking Ron Paul. Labels: boys, celebrity non news, China, controversial, election, health news, holiday news, money, music news, shota
*** A woman who sued a hospital because she was unsatisfied with her son's circumcision was denied her lawsuit. Apparently once you sign the consent forms and they've committed to the snippy snippy, you can can't get mad when it looks like shit. (A second doctor did clean it up a bit though.)
*** Amy Winehouse is unable to get a Visa in order to come to the US to pick up the assumed buttload of Grammy's she'll win. Apparently she's gotten so skanky, border guards won't even fuck her.
*** Today begins the Chinese New Year and The Year of The Rat. I'm not sure what soothsayers predict that means, but I do know that despite all my rage I am still likely going to be a rat in a cage.
*** Apparently in New York City there are places that are now accepting Euros as opposed to old fashioned American dollars. Considering how poorly the dollar is doing vs the European Union's currency, it's not surprising.
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Super Tuesday
Don't forget to vote if you're in one of the many many states voting in the US tomorrow. You can't say nuthin' for the next few years about how crappy things are unless you get out there and have your say. Sure your guy or gal may not win, but the important thing is voice your say. Labels: democrats, election, republicans
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The glorious re-return of the Pretty Boy Poll
Primary election day comes to many states this Tuesday with the Presidency on the line and tight races on both sides of the aisle. But you can get to voting early in the newest Pretty Boy Poll! Labels: election, pretty boy poll, secret stash
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Quickly all the news that's fit to type in like a few minutes.
* John McCain won the Florida primary in a tight battle against Romney. Labels: colin, democrats, election, Florida, loli, movies, myspace, personal, republicans, secret stash, yaoi
* Rudy 9/11 Gulliani 9/11 is expected 9/11 to quit 9/11 tomorrow.
* Hillary won in Florida for the Dems, but wins no delegates.
* Meet the Spartians STILL hurts days after I saw it.
* There are rumors of Hannah Montana naughty pics on her MySpace. Oh lawd.
* If you ever wanted to see me in a compromising situation...
* You are running out of time for January's Secret Stash.
* Next month's stash is all about love due to the Valentine's Day holiday.
* Yaoi posts may resume tomorrow if I'm feeling like it.
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America Politics Suck
Even the liberals are conservative. Labels: democrats, election, republicans
When I took the political compass quiz, my results put me close to Dennis Kucinich whom I did vote for in the 2004 Georgia Primary.
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Huckabee trots out tired link between gay marriage is akin to beastiality.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republican presidential hopeful and former Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee linked gay sex to bestiality and abortion to slavery in an interview Thursday, explaining why, if elected, he would try to amend the constitution. Labels: election, gay news, religious news, republicans
"Marriage has ... as long as there's been human history, meant a man and a woman in a relationship for life. Once we change that definition, then where does it go from there?" he asked in an interview with online "Beliefnet" magazine.
"Well, I don't think that's a radical view, to say we're going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we're going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal," he added.
"The Bible was not written to be amended. The Constitution was," he said, announcing his intention to amend the document if he were to be elected president in November to ban abortion and establish that life begins at the moment of conception.
Leaving it up to individual states to outlaw abortion within their own borders is not enough, he said.
"That's again the logic of the Civil War -- that slavery could be okay in Georgia but not okay in Massachusetts. Obviously we'd today say, 'Well, that's nonsense. Slavery is wrong, period. It can't be right somewhere and wrong somewhere else.' Same with abortion," Huckabee said.
Huckabee won the Iowa Republican caucuses earlier this month, the first contest in the race for each party's nomination to run for the White House. He is in second place behind Arizona Senator John McCain in opinion polls for Saturday's primaries in South Carolina.
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Hillary sneaks past Obama; McCain wins more solidly in New Hampshire's primaries.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton powered to victory in New Hampshire's Democratic primary Tuesday night in a startling upset, defeating Sen. Barack Obama and resurrecting her bid for the White House. Sen. John McCain defeated his Republican rivals to move back into contention for the GOP nomination. Labels: democrats, election, republicans
"I felt like we all spoke from our hearts and I am so gratified that you responded," Clinton said in victory remarks before cheering supporters. "Now together, let's give America the kind of comeback that New Hampshire has just given me."
Her victory, after Obama won last week's Iowa caucuses, raised the possibility of a prolonged battle for the party nomination between the most viable black candidate in history and the former first lady, seeking to become the first woman to occupy the Oval Office.
"I am still fired up and ready to go," a defeated Obama told his own backers, repeating the line that forms a part of virtually every campaign appearance he makes.
McCain's triumph scrambled the Republican race as well.
"We showed this country what a real comeback looks like," the Arizona senator told The Associated Press in an interview as he savored his triumph. "We're going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina and win the nomination."
Later, he told cheering supporters that together, "we have taken a step, but only a first step toward repairing the broken politics of the past and restoring the trust of the American people in their government."
McCain rode a wave of support from independent voters to defeat former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, a showing that reprised the senator's victory in the traditional first-in-the-nation primary in 2000.
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Iowa begins the race to replace Bush
DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Barack Obama swept to victory in the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, pushing Hillary Rodham Clinton to third place and taking a major stride in a historic bid to become the nation's first black president. Mike Huckabee rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to win the opening round among Republicans in the 2008 campaign for the White House. Labels: democrats, election, republicans
Obama, 46 and a first-term senator from Illinois, told a raucous victory rally his triumph showed that in "big cities and small towns, you came together to say, 'We are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come.'"
Final Democratic returns showed the first-term lawmaker gaining 37 percent support. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina gained second, barely edging out Clinton, the former first lady.
Huckabee celebrated his own victory over Mitt Romney and a crowded Republican field. "A new day is needed in American politics, just like a new day is needed in American government," the former Arkansas governor told cheering supporters. "It starts here, but it doesn't end here. It goes all the way through the other states and ends at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Huckabee, a preacher turned politician, handily defeated Romney despite being outspent by millions of dollars and deciding in the campaign's final days to scrap television commercials that would have assailed the former Massachusetts governor. He stressed his religion to the extent of airing a commercial that described himself as a "Christian leader" in his race against a man seeking to become the first Mormon president.
Nearly complete returns showed Huckabee with 34 percent support, compared with 25 percent for Romney. Former Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. John McCain battled for third place, while Texas Rep. Ron Paul wound up fifth and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani sixth.
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