here you have it

lou dobbs said what?

it's this, and so much more. i hope it's not already too late.

check out the original article

or read the snippets:

Victorious Democrats will, with the opening of the 110th Congress, have a historic opportunity to right the course of a country that has been hell-bent on permitting free-trade corporatists and faith-based economics to bankrupt the nation.

Our monthly deficits have reached record levels in two of the past three months.

...the U.S. dollar hit a 20-month low against the Euro.

The new Congressional leadership understands that, at least in part, their majority was won as a result of growing middle-class concerns over job insecurity, stagnant wages and disgust at a class of elites that has subordinated the well-being of our middle class to the dictates of corporate masters.

I hope they can acknowledge that so-called free trade has come at an inordinate cost to working men and women in this country. We've lost three million manufacturing jobs as a result of these so-called free trade agreements that enable corporate America to export plants, production and jobs to cheap foreign labor markets. Millions more American jobs remain at risk of being outsourced.

Instead of opening new markets to U.S. products and services, the U.S. government over the past 10 years has negotiated nothing more than a series of outsourcing agreements.

The new Democratic-led Congress will be called a lot of names by the devoted servants of corporate America and the U.S. multinationals who have no regard for the standard of living or quality of life for working Americans and their families. I hope that we'll be able to call this new Congress true reformers and servants of the people.

just thought you should know

it is 12:07 am on wednesday.

my math homework for this particular section is deceptively easy, but i'm still only half finished. the answer to (i + i^2)/(i^3 + i^4) is -1. that's it. -1. it's like math isn't math anymore, it's some kind of twisted riddle to which i am memorizing someone else's idea of logic. i am being easily distracted now that my references to the answer key yield no suprises.

i love music that involves pj harvey. much like some people to portishead (who i also love), her voice makes me want to have sex. her face doesn't, though. whoever made this copy of desert sessions volume 9 & 10 such that it found it's way to me should be awarded a medal. partly because this recording also contains music from psapp and rjd2.

i had strange dreams last night. the strangest in a long time. so much so, that i am putting off going to sleep because it means that, tonight, i will wake up from any more of them alone. but... if i disappear tonight, it's because those weird dreams about ufos outside my window last night were not actually dreams...

i think i'm finally ready to listen to that mix cd that i recieved in the mail for my birthday last year.

maybe i should just finish my math and go to bed.

listening to:
that sweet 95 song mix that shannon gave me from some random person who gave it to her

welcome to gay hockey

for the last month or so, we've been learning.
last week, we made teams.
tonight, we make history.

here's the official release:

Don't miss your chance to experience a milestone moment in Madison LGBT history! The Madison Gay Hockey Association (MGHA) opens the first official games of its first season this Sunday night, November 19th, as they set a world record for being the biggest inaugural launch of a gay hockey association EVER. The almost 60-player league divided into 4 teams of incredibly diverse skill levels have spent the past 5 weeks teaching each other how to skate, play positions, pass and compete in what has been possibly the most ambitious attempt in recent years that the Madison gay community has seen in creating something socially constructive. See the MGHA Thunder take the main ice at the Madison Ice Arena starting at 7:50 p.m. with the BLACK team, captained by Mark Sadowski, facing off against Michelle Mancuso's GREY team from 7:50-8:50 p.m., followed by Vivian Lin's RED team challenging Captain Sarah Covington's team TEAL (with the already infamous "Mean of Teal"), from 9:00-10:00 p.m. Come share the fun, watch your friends and be a part of something that in record time has established itself as cornerstone in our community!!

Stop by the table in the lobby to grab your copy of our team player rosters that include a photo of each player and their jersey numbers. Also, be sure to sign up for our fan club so you don't miss out on "big game" announcements and lists of our social events! Then, if you haven't recently, check out the MGHA website at www.madisongayhockey.org to find photo galleries, player statistics, the league calendar and how you can start learning to play with us!

The Madison Ice Arena, official home of the MGHA, is located at 725 Forward Drive on Madison's West side, just off of Schroeder Road and the Whitney Way exit on the beltline.

what was all that?
black vs gray 7:50 to 8:50 pm
red vs teal 9:00 to 10:00 pm
madison ice arena

some hockey fan faqs:

yes, there is food there... i think. there is a concessions stand at the rink, however it has not been open any of the times that i have been there. i don't know who runs it, but maybe they open it up for spectator events.

sorry, i do not know if they sell beer. i don't know what the policy is about bringing stuff in, but someone on one of the teams furnished himself with a case of high life last time we practiced, so i say give it a try. just be sure to not leave a mess, making us look bad to the teenage figure skaters who have ice time after us.

i am pretty sure that this event, and all of our games are free. we will be having fundraisers throughout the season, though. come to the shamrock on december 2nd to bid on a date with your favorite mgha superstar. proceeds help mgha pay for ice time, refs, and player insurance.

yes, it's cold in there. but not colder than it is outside. bring a blanket and a thermos of hot cocoa. there is a ton of room for seating, so you might huddle together to keep warm. i don't think you mind.

if you've never watched a hockey game before, check out our hockey terms site, and these basic tidbits:

* there are, at any given time, 5 players from each team on the ice, plus one goalie. three are forwards and two are defenders. there are normally 2 people from each team assigned to each position. only one of them is allowed on the ice at a time, and they can switch at any point during the game. as quickly as possible.

* getting the puck into the goal is not easy.

* icing is one of two common penalties, for which the game will be stopped, and a faceoff will happen in the zone where the icing happened. icing is when you shoot the puck from your goal line, all the way down the ice, past the other team's goal line. you can't do that, someone has to take it there.

* offsides is the other common penalty, mostly because not many of us know the game well enough yet to realize where we're standing. you can't be in the other team's defensive zone if the puck isn't also there. the puck has to go first, and when it leaves, you have to get out.

* there are 3 major zones on the ice, divided by 2 blue lines: each team's defensive zone, which is where their goal is, and a neutral zone in the middle. the "crease" is the little blue semicircle in front of the goal. no one can be there except the goalie.

* the puck has to be shot into the goal, not thrown or kicked or pushed there. shot.

* there is no checking in this league, however, contact and pushing eachother down are totally unavoidable. smashing eachother into the boards, though, is illegal.

umm, that's all i can think of off the top of my head. please by and check us out if you can. this league is one of the most amazing things i've seen come out of the madison gay community since i came here. the level of support and hard work and falling down on the ice that has gotten us to our very first game is something we're all beside ourselves to share with as many people as possible.

and, by the way,

i'm on the red team!

judge and jury

the decision was unilateral,
testimony sound but not heard,
appeals are apparently out of the question.

i am more than a little upset by the decision,
(which was not made by - or in part by - me).

how the fuck does this thing work
if the ship gets jumped
when the going gets rough?

wait, it's november?

today is officially my first day off since classes started in late august. no work, no school, just studying for the tests that i have coming up on monday and tuesday, as well as attending jennie's first public roller derby event, AND g-wen's fabulous birthday event.

there are many, many things i could be blogging about right now, por ejemplo:
~ the first real snowfall of the season last night
~ my motorcycle getting put into storage this morning
~ roller derby
~ gay hockey (i'm on the red team!)

but no, you're getting this:

the presidential medal of freedom. i clicked on the link to the story from cnn.com because it said "andy griffith sues andy griffith" and what i got was a bland story and a hilarious picture. the presidential medal of freedom? what?

i don't know about you, but i grew up with certain beliefs, many of which have been proven incorrect as i've grown into adulthood:
~ the golden rule is actually a law
~ santa clause drinks the same beer as my former father
~ police officers are upstanding, law obiding citizens
~ college students are intelligent and upstanding citizens
~ my insurance company will pay my medical bills
~ the president is very intelligent and says and does very important things

what do you have to do to be awarded the presidential medal of freedom, anyway?
wickipedia:
it is designed to recognize individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the united states, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

umm... bush is aware that andy griffith wasn't actually a sherrif, right?

the people of wisconsin have spoken:

i do not deserve the same rights as everyone else.

and

the state has the power to kill people, and the jackass new state attorney general to persue it.

it's time

for all of us queers who call wisconsin a home, along with our families in several other states, we hold our breaths tomorrow as we wait for our verdict.

from staceyann chin:

why the fuck should i vote in 2006?

less than twenty-four hours
left
before the mid-term elections

the weeks have tricked us
into days/the moment
descends and my fingers itch
for a poem
a great rage to inspire you
to rise you up
early or late tomorrow

to go vote

for Katrina
and the ill winds that flapped
incumbent at the throats of old women
who marched in Selma

for the children who will never know
the New Orleans into which they were born

for Alabama
and Georgia

for Tennessee
Missouri

New York City and how this town
has become a place
only the wealthy can enjoy
vote against these small boxes we pay
entire months wages for

every month
I have to cut something else
snip
snip
snip away at the doors Black teenagers can walk through
pile all the Puerto Ricans on top of each other
call them Mexicans
because you don’t know better

if your mother is Dominican
if your father is from Barbados
your older brother is still in Belize
grandfather is in Nigeria

if your maternal grandmother is Jamaican
if you have never seen the city where your people are from
white as a WASP and liberal
or independent
or you used to be republican

Go Vote

for all the rights they have taken away
under Bush
and the bevy of oiled gods they pray to everyday

get up tomorrow and go vote
because last time Ohio
bore the burden of scapegoat

if more of us had voted last time
Ohio would not have mattered so much

if we had won Florida
or New Mexico

Indiana
Nevada—liberals need to get the fuck up
off these futons
and altars of energy
and astrology and artistry

put down the pens
and the posturing and the pontificating
just get up
put your gloves
and your scarves
and your politically correct shoes

go vote

for South Dakota
and the right for a woman to choose
whether her reproductive life will be hers

for West Virginia and the broken teeth
of residents working without access to doctors
or livable wages

Go Vote

for the scores of us
eking a living from a shrinking margin
of managing on what is left of your salary
after your student loans

how many of us are pressed
urgent toward the dentist?
the gynecologist ?

without Health Insurance
what will become
of the babies we may need medical coverage for

one day

one day my pussy will belong to me
the state will have no tongue
in who licks
sucks
or prays to the soft folds of my inclination

broken record
broken

record this!
you close-minded-racist-evangelical-piece of shit!

we on the left of you
do not mind

if you have a little nookie now and then
please
go right a-head
fuck anyone who has the ability to consent

and if you feel you need to, please
go a-head and repent
before any savior
any spirit

buy little packets of powder
or crystals to make you forget
the impossibility
of the pseudo-puritanical path
you have chosen

hang from the proverbial chandelier
whip each other into a Pentecostal frenzy

we only ask
that you be honest about how good it feels
to live outside of those self-righteous
unholy truths you hold
self-evident

admit to yourself
that any journey toward any god
is private

that you have no right to prescribe
what is right
for me
or Jimmy Swaggart

with regard to religion
or love
or sex

my orgasms should not be fodder
for your Sunday morning sermon
five year old bodies
and minds
should have no part
in the discourse on how I have sex
or with whom I may make promises
or forever
or now

this public display of the Pharisees
is likely to leave you torn

and Haggard
and without legs to remain upright
in any church

look at Teddy
he can’t even go
get his customary “massage”
now that the tension is mad tight
against the back of his neck

his pulpit
has been reduced to shameful grins
in moving cars

other voices reading letters
they say he wrote

you’d think his crew
would be more ashamed of his failures

instead the efforts have doubled
the republicans are out
flying on only a right wing
these fallen angels
are knocking on the doors

of old folks and young folks
jumpstarting old lawn-mowers
picking up trash

pulling at the skirts of the flock
that cost the Democrats
the last two elections

if your life is better
because of the Republican war

if you believe we worse off
than under Clinton

if you believe Bush is ugly
or Harold Ford is honest

Tester
Corker

whatever reason holds you fast
to the process of choosing

state it
bellow it from your blog
your blue collar

bleat it animal
from the heartbreak of this intent
go find someone who needs help
with a lawnmower

or a lift getting there
carpool
or ride in groups

make sure your friends
your ex
your ex’s ex
your mother
who you have not spoken to in too long

your aunt or uncle who cares nothing
for politics
call them
email the fuckers
or the not fuckers in your life

get them out tomorrow
early or late
volunteer to walk with them

voice your view
if you want cleaner air
or cooler summers

better dental experiences
nicer headlines in the news

I invite you to list here
the reasons you intend to vote

in the next few hours
let us argue
about those reasons that might keep you
away from the right to say
how you live
or love
or fuck
or pray

let us hear them here
those reasons
that will make you show up
for change

mix tape call, 2006

before i write what i sat down here to write, i just want to tell you all that my palm is black. last thursday, i went to an open skating event to practice some of my fledgling hockey skills. i wore my elbow pads and my knee/shin pads because these are the places that take the most impact when throw yourself down on the ice during an attempt to switch from skating forwards to skating backwards at approximately 2 miles per hour. what does this have to do with my palmar discoloration? i wasn't wearing my padded gloves, and during one particularly daring attempt to go from skating backwards to skating forwards, i wiped out and landed not on my padded knee or elbow, but on my palm. specifically, the pad just below my thumb. that night, my palm was slightly swollen and red. the next day, a faint, faint purple. yesterday, a little bit more purple, and today it's straight up black. it looks like i was drawing with charcoal and using the ball of my hand to smear it around. i, apparently, am easily excitable.

ok, on topic.

the point of this post is to get the attentions of stacy, drew, and derek, who i still owe a mix cd. i know it was a year ago, but i moved twice and had all of my stuff in storage for several months and now that i'm settled into my new house, i still can't find your addresses. i feel like i can't make a 2006 mix until i've delivered to you all my 2005 mix. so please, email me your current address and i'll get that out asap. and then i can work on the new one. by the way, i really loved the cds you all sent me last year. favorites tracks include:
the kilers' "andy, you're a star" from drew's "berrytang's autobiographical best of 2005"
run's "snow patrol" from stacy's "bri's mixed cd"
and, not to be playing favorites, but my favorite:
the lo fidelity allstars' "battle flag" from derek's "intelligent design"

good stuff, you guys. in realizing just how awesome mixes are, i sincerely apologize for not prioritizing getting mine sent out to you. can i have another chance?

also, anyone who wants to get in on a 2006 mix exchange, email me. i haven't made my 2006 mix yet, but if you want a copy of my 2005 mix, let me know.