More Believe In UFOs Than Oppose Public Option

According to Media Matters Action Network, "the truth is out there. As health insurance reform makes its way through congress, it's easy to observe the partisan fighting in Washington and believe the country is deeply divided over a 'public option'."

The reality is quite the opposite. They cite a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, which found that 65% favor a public option, with only 26% opposed to it. Putting that in perspective, they also cite a 2007 Associated Press/Ipsos poll, which found that 34% of Americans believe in UFOs.

Media Matters goes on to point out that: "It speaks volumes abut the status of the health care debate among the public when it is more mainstream to believe aliens are flying around in spaceships than to oppose the public option."

Write your congressperson, and your senators. Let them know that you expect them to deliver what the American taxpayers want, in healthcare reform legislation: A Public Option.

Contact Your Representative Here
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Harvey Milk: In The Footsteps of Gandhi and King

"The life of late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk in the context of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. This animated documentary charts a time-line of the life of the first openly gay man elected to public office in between events in other civil rights struggles. Produced by Causecast For Focus Features, the piece celebrates the release of the film MILK..." (3:37)

Quote of the Day: Harvey Milk

"It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions." -Harvey Milk

Selections from Playing For Change: One Love

You may have heard of Playing For Change..."a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. Music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race." One of the goals of my blog is to help promote understanding...love...and peace. So, I'll be featuring selected episodes of their journey here over the next few weeks.

To begin...I'll start at the beginning.
Episode One: A multinational performance of Bob Marley's "One Love". (5:08)

Quote of the Day: Pablo Casals

"The love of one's country is a natural thing. But why should love stop at the border?"
-Pablo Casals

Appeal for David's Photo in Jackson Mosaic

A mosaic of fan photos is being produced, in collaboration with the 'This is It' movie premier. My cousin, David Smithee, met Jackson in 1984. The photo in the inset, shows David posing for a picture with Jackson at their meeting. David had cystic fibrosis, and was able to meet Jackson through the Brass Ring Society, an organization that fulfilled the wishes of terminally ill children. David died in May 1984. Please visit his photo page in the Fan Album of Jackson's facebook page, and add your support for his inclusion in the mosaic.

Thanks for your help.

"Amanpour." Debuts on CNN

One should always be aware of the prism through which "News" is delivered, (including the one on this blog). Journalism today is a mere shell of what is was a generation ago. The number of multi-national corporations that control 95% of the news we consume, can be counted on one hand. I don't pretend to be fully versed on global culture and politics, but it never ceases to amaze me the number of people who have strong opinions on global issues, yet avail themselves to no source of education on the subject in question.

If one wants to gleen some cursory understanding of the realities in todays global political, economic and cultural issues, it's important to consult a variety of new sources. While none are without bias, I've found CNN's Christiane Amanpour to be a learned and vibrant conduit of information. She manages to illuminate a variety of complex subjects, while maintaining a strong sense of ethical journalistic integrity.

On Sunday, September 27th, Christiane's new international live news show "Amanpour." debuted. The program included live interviews with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, U.S. and NATO Commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and U.S. Special Envoy to Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. The complexities of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan are second only Palestine and Israel. The history of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan requires that we give the situation thoughtful and informed attention, before any decisions to either escalate, or deflate, our involvement there.

Quote of The Day: Oscar Wilde

"The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything. Except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this...supplies their demands." -Oscar Wilde

Clip of the Day: Glenn Beck's Operation

On the subject of journalistic integrity, The Daily Show's John Stewart takes at look at Glenn Beck's changing positions on US healthcare. (3:48)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Glenn Beck's Operation
www.thedailyshow.com
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News: Annual S.F. Folsom Street Fair Today

The annual Folsom Street Fair brings back great memories and pride for me. For nearly ten years, I held an Open House at my apartment during the fair. My front door is a stones throw from the event. My mother even attended one year. (She was visiting me that week, and the Open House had already been planned.) Admittedly I was a little nervous how things would turn out, but she was a big hit with all my friends. (She always was.)

Folsom is the largest leather event in the world, and draws around 400,000 visitors to San Francisco each year. In 1997, New York began holding "Folsom East", and Berlin founded the "Folsom Europe" event in 2003. In recent years, the event has drawn much criticism from the fundamentalist right. But then again, San Francisco always has. Reverend Phelps holds an "Excorcism of the City" each year on Halloween. All of the leather and parties aside, the central theme of these events is fund raising. The event here, raises about $250,000 each year. Those funds are divided among a number of charities, and have included: SFPD and SFFD designated chairities, AIDS Emergency Fund, Positive Resource Center, Episcopal Community Services, and Catholic Charities. I just love irony.

I deeply miss entertaining the 30-40 friends that used to grace my home each year during this event. Sadly, some were lost to AIDS. But most have just scattered to the winds...many returning to their roots in the heartland. I love my roots too...but have roots here as well. This past June marked my 20th year in San Francisco. And, many of the friends I still have here are what I call my "West Coast Family".

I so love this city, I just can't see myself leaving. Her beauty, her weather, but mostly what she stands for: Individual freedom and liberty. A principle foundation of the American idea...and sadly disregarded in many quarters. Perhaps next year I will bring back my Open House celebration. If I'm lucky, I might be able to wrangle some of those long-ago-seen faces up in my crib. Happy Leather Pride everyone. Leather has never really been a big thing for me...but I sure love celebrating it!
(World Premier of "Milk" at The Castro Theater, San Francisco, CA)

Quote of The Day: Harvey Milk

"More people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, my friends...that is true perversion." -Harvey Milk

Clip of the Day: Tori Amos - Leather

In keeping with today's theme...kick back and enjoy Tori Amos' "Leather". (3:55)

Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid

I've been following Dr. Weil for over a decade. Yesterday, I received an article about his new Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid. Dr. Weil is an outspoken critic of the currently proposed health care reform. He advocates emphasis on prevention, and "low tech" treatments for many common illnesses, as a means to drive down costs. Here is what he has to say about his food pyramid:

"Following an anti-inflammatory diet can help counteract the chronic inflammation that is a root cause of many serious diseases, including those that become more frequent as people age. It is a way of selecting and preparing foods based on science that can help people achieve and maintain optimum health over their lifetime."

It's an interesting pyramid, with notes, and can be easily printed to post on your refrigerator for quick reference. Check it out for yourself:
Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid

Clip of the Day: Reba Reads Craig's Book

This is from the "Celebrities Read Excerpts from Craig's Book" series. Reba McEntire is from my home state of Oklahoma, and this is the funniest reading yet in the series. Enjoy! (1:15)

Note: The original clip disappeared. I've replaced it with this one. This is a longer clip, but the reading is at the beginning, and lasts 1:15.

Quote of the Day: Shelley Winters

"I'm not overweight, I'm just nine inches too short." -Shelley Winters

Clip of the Day: Condoms! Condoms! Condoms!

Favorite Sitcom Moments: Condoms! Condoms! Condoms!, The Golden Girls (3:41)
Blanche, Dorothy & Rose prepare for a romantic weekend in the Bahamas.

Quote of the Day: George Washington

"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy." -George Washington

News: Al Qaeda Not Confined to Borders

“The brutality seen on September 11th and in other terrorist attacks we have witnessed around the globe are the violent and desperate efforts by extremists to stop the daily encroachment of western values upon their cultures. That is what we fight. It is a force not confined to borders. It is a shadowy entity with many faces, many names, and many addresses.” -US Senator Robert Byrd, from Arrogance of Power, delivered on the Senate Floor, March 19, 2003

Today’s news, of the arrests involving planned bombings in Dallas and Springfield, underscores the fact that Senator Byrd’s observations were correct in 2003, and are correct today. As we diverted our attentions from Afghanistan, to fight the war in Iraq, the global dispersion of Al Qaeda, of Jihad, escalated. Today’s events call for a reevaluation of the mission in Afghanistan. It’s easier for us to think of war geographically. Unfortunately, failure to adapt our thinking to the realities of the 21st century, may be to our demise.

Clip of the Day: The Cher Doll

Favorite Sitcom Moments: The Cher Doll (Will & Grace) (2:29)

Jack, Will & Grace, wait an hour for a table for four, so the Cher Doll can have here own seat. When Will & Grace leave in disgust, Jack gets a surprise visit.

Quote of The Day: MLK, Jr.

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

News: Should Obama Get Angry?

Pressures from "town hall criers", and from business lobbies have allowed the health reform legislation to get watered down so badly, we may as well pass on it in its current form. Dr. Andrew Weil says its time Obama got angry. I'm so disappointed in congress, I could scream. Read Dr. Weil's Blog at The Huffington Post.