Taking a broad swipe at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s practice of allowing companies to settle cases without admitting that they had done anything wrong, a federal judge on Monday rejected a $285 million settlement between Citigroup and the agency…
The agency contends that it must settle most of the cases it brings because it does not have the money or the staff to battle deep-pocketed Wall Street firms in court. Wall Street firms will rarely admit wrongdoing, the agency says, because that can be used against them in investor lawsuits.
We got into this awful economic mess that is hobbling America because of conservative lies that told us the free market did not need to be regulated. We had millionaires in pin-striped suits, who should be wearing prison stripes, gambling with our money because they knew the rules had changed — making the potential reward of enormous riches greater than the risk of public humiliation and prosecution. The result of gutting regulations has devastated America and much of Europe, which followed our lead.
What did we learn from this? Apparently nothing.
As we can see, the criminals still have the upper hand because the watchdogs are purposely underfunded — making white collar crime a lucrative, if not legal, activity. When I read that the SEC, “does not have the money or the staff to battle deep-pocketed Wall Street firms in court” I know it is only a matter of time before America crashes and burns. And, when it happens this time, we may be too poor to bail ourselves out, propelling us in a downward spiral with no escape hatch.
When criminality is incentivized and the fox has the keys to the hen house, the vast majority of people lose, while the thieves get rich.
I’m a big believer in free markets, but they must be fair markets to succeed. Winner nations reward innovation — not monopoly-fueled stagnation — and risky paper profits over genuine production. It is time that we give the watchdogs the tools they need to do their jobs, unless we want to go down the tubes.
Why does this concern a website that deals with anti-LGBT extremism? Because big, dumb, undereducated, poor countries bursting with angry, disgruntled citizens looking for scapegoats tend not to treat LGBT people very well. It is in our interest to see policies enacted that prevent America from descending into a “Loser Nation.”
The best part of the holiday season is that everyone is generally in a good mood and works a little harder at getting along with their neighbors. (Except on Black Friday, where neighbors will bite through their neighbor’s buttocks to get a flat screen TV before they are all gone.)
One exception to the jolly feel-good smiles and warmth is the opportunistic power grab by fundamentalists who selfishly want to make Christmas all about them — and humiliate and exclude those who don’t want to turn the holiday into an excuse to foist sectarianism and bitterness into the public square.
Evan pointed out earlier today that the first attempt to exploit Christmas already took place — by Liberty Counsel’s Matt “Bam Bam” Barber. There will be more such attempts to shamelessly lie about phantom attacks on the holiday and disingenuously appropriate Christmas for profit or political gain. Don’t let the fundies fool you. Not only do they not own this holiday — they don’t even know the history of it. Here is a short article I wrote last year on the topic:
The New York Times had an interesting piece by Adam Goodheart that touched on the origins of Christmas in America. You might be surprised to find that in 19th century America, the holiday had little religious significance compared to today:
Culturally, Christmas in 1860 was also at a strange transition point. In many parts of America, it was still celebrated as a riotous old pagan Saturnalia: working-class revelers known as “callithumpians” paraded through the streets in drag or blackface (sometimes both), firing off guns and starting street brawls, defying annual attempts by the city fathers to ban Christmas, as it were.
But commercialized, mass-market Yule was already coming into its own. An article in the New York Herald analyzed Christmas retail trends much as a newspaper today might do. (Candy sales were up compared to the previous December, while jewelry sales were down: consumers, anxious about the political news, were economizing on gifts.)
American Christmases in the mid-19th century do not seem to have had much religious significance – neither for the callithumpians, nor the proto-shopaholics, nor anyone else. Many, if not most, Protestant churches did not even have Christmas services, though some staged holiday parties, pageants, and “entertainments.” The New-York Tribune remarked in 1860 that only gradually was the festival starting to become as widely observed as more important national celebrations like the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day.
These very interesting historical facts seem to run counter to the overbearing fundamentalists who scold most Americans for having fun on Christmas. It seems, like in every other aspect of life, the uptight fundies are factually wrong and have unnecessarily politicized this holiday.
So, have a great time this Christmas and don’t let self-righteous hypocrites use guilt to ruin your holiday. Eat, drink, and be merry — like Christmas was meant to be. Like it was in the good old days.
Gay Man Claims Ssempa Paid Him To Say He Was ‘Ex-Gay’; Ssempa’s ‘Ex-Gay’ Also Testified in Favor of Anti-Homosexuality Bill Under What Appears to be Coercion and Duress
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Truth Wins Out today called on Ugandan authorities to investigate anti-gay activist Martin Ssempa (pictured) for potential extortion, perjury and fraud, following the New York Times’ discovery that Ssempa may have paid and pressured a witness to give false testimony in favor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
In a last ditch effort to bring the “Kill the Gays” bill up for a vote, Ssempa brought so-called “ex-gay” activist George Oundo to a meeting with the speaker of Parliament, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi. In the meeting, Oundo said that he had gone from gay-to-straight and strongly urged the speaker to pass the notorious measure.
However, with Ssempa no longer present, Oundo (pictured left) reversed his testimony and told New York Times reporter Josh Kron that he was paid by Ssempa to say he had gone straight and actually opposed the anti-gay bill. Clearly, there appears to be coercion, if not extortion involved, given Oundo’s quick repudiation of his testimony and his allegation that he was paid for delivering a bogus sexual conversion tale.
“Something stinks in Martin Ssempa’s corrupt campaign to get a vote,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Ugandan authorities should immediately launch an investigation of Ssempa to find out if he has engaged in coercion or illegal activity in pursuit of passing the Anti-Homosexuality bill.”
Mr. George Oundo, 26, a transgender person who used to go by the name Georgina, went next. (testifying to Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi)
“I used to call myself the Queen Mother and Lady of the City,” Mr. Oundo said. “I was recruited into homosexuality many years back, when I was 12.”
“When I joined Mr. Ssempa, I told him all my problems,” he said. “I had to come out and join the struggle.
“Please help us; let the bill pass,” he said.
But an hour later, in a quiet hotel, Mr. Oundo recanted much of what had been said at the meeting.
“David Kato was murdered; it was a plot,” Mr. Oundo said. “I don’t support the bill.”
As for being a “former homosexual,” that, too, was not true.
I’ve always been gay,” Mr. Oundo said, in a timid but growing voice. “I didn’t choose it.
“David Kato was the first one who taught me to protect my human right,” Mr. Oundo added.
Mr. Oundo said that his presence alongside Mr. Ssempa at Parliament had been to “protect” himself and that he had been contacted only that morning by Mr. Kagaba about the meeting and offered about $42 to attend. He said Mr. Ssempa had offered him about $2,000 in 2009 to repent and switch sides in the debate, but later reneged. Either way, Mr. Oundo became a poster-child for Mr. Ssempa’s anti-homosexuality movement.
Mr. Ssempa declined to comment on the allegations.
Mr. Oundo admitted that he had picked up boyfriends at high schools and universities, what the antigay movement calls recruiting. But he said Uganda’s gay population was full of “natural-borns,” like himself.
“If I live or die, I am gay, and if I am buried, bury me gay,” he said.
“It is clear that George Oundo came under an inordinate amount of pressure to lie about his sexual orientation and suppress his actual position on the this bill,” said TWO’s Besen. “Ugandan officials should question Ssempa to see if blackmail, extortion or fraud led to Oundo’s false testimony. If it is determined that Ssempa lied or forced Oundo to lie at any time under oath, he should be charged with perjury. Martin Ssempa should not be above the law.”
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.
Bill Donohue Has Become America’s Chief Apologist For Catholic Priest Sexual Misconduct, Says TWO
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Truth Wins Out today condemned The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue after he tried to scapegoat gay men for Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandals in a full-page New York Times ad. Donohue’s full-throated defense and attempt to blame others highlights Donohue’s role as chief apologist for the unthinkable crimes committed against young people at the hands of trusted clergy in the Catholic Church.
In the New York Times ad titled Straight Talk About The Catholic Church, Donohue attempted to distract Americans from problems with the Catholic Church’s poor handling of many abuse cases by saying that “the issue is homosexuality, not pedophilia.” Interestingly, Donohue never tried to explain why there isn’t an avalanche of multi-million dollar sexual abuse lawsuits in LGBT neighborhoods, churches, and community centers – as there are in Catholic dioceses.
“Bill Donohue’s blame game is a disgraceful attempt to deflect criticism from the Catholic Church’s poor handling of many sexual abuse cases against minors,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “He ought to be ashamed of himself for serving as an apologist for gross misdeeds in the Catholic Church. Instead of showing humility, Donohue is trying to humiliate and bully abuse victims and look for scapegoats.”
Aside from attacking the LGBT community, The Catholic League’s ad pointed fingers at the Orthodox Jewish Community and the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). Indeed, Donohue had the nerve to write in the ad that SNAP was “a professional victims’ group” that “are dogmatic in their convictions; their hatred of the Catholic Church palpable.”
“It takes real courage to come forward and share testimony about sexual abuse,” said TWO’s Besen. “Bill Donohue’s attack on these survivors is mean-spirited, cruel and shows a genuine lack of compassion. Once again, Bill Donohue is placing church politics above the harm suffered by real people at the hands of Catholic priests.”
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.
The New York Times had an interesting piece today by Adam Goodheart that touched on the origins of Christmas in America. You might be surprised to find that in 19th century America, the holiday had little religious significance compared to today:
Culturally, Christmas in 1860 was also at a strange transition point. In many parts of America, it was still celebrated as a riotous old pagan Saturnalia: working-class revelers known as “callithumpians” paraded through the streets in drag or blackface (sometimes both), firing off guns and starting street brawls, defying annual attempts by the city fathers to ban Christmas, as it were.
But commercialized, mass-market Yule was already coming into its own. An article in the New York Herald analyzed Christmas retail trends much as a newspaper today might do. (Candy sales were up compared to the previous December, while jewelry sales were down: consumers, anxious about the political news, were economizing on gifts.)
American Christmases in the mid-19th century do not seem to have had much religious significance – neither for the callithumpians, nor the proto-shopaholics, nor anyone else. Many, if not most, Protestant churches did not even have Christmas services, though some staged holiday parties, pageants, and “entertainments.” The New-York Tribune remarked in 1860 that only gradually was the festival starting to become as widely observed as more important national celebrations like the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day.
These very interesting historical facts seem to run counter to the overbearing fundamentalists who scold most Americans for having fun on Christmas. It seems, like in every other aspect of life, the uptight fundies are factually wrong and have unnecessarily politicized this holiday.
So, have a great time this Christmas and don’t let self-righteous hypocrites use guilt to ruin your holiday. Eat, drink, and be merry — like Christmas was meant to be. Like it was in the good old days.
The New York Times had an interesting article on a new generation of AIDS activists — and most of them are heterosexual.
Roughly a quarter-century after gay men rose up to demand better access to H.I.V. medicines, a new breed of AIDS advocate is growing up on college campuses. Unlike the first generation of patient-activists, this latest crop is composed of budding public health scholars. They are mostly heterosexual. Rare is the one who has lost friends or family members to the disease. Rather, studying under some of the world’s most prominent health intellectuals, they have witnessed the epidemic’s toll during summers or semesters abroad, in AIDS-ravaged nations like Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
College activism, and AIDS activism in particular, is nothing new. On Wednesday, World AIDS Day, students across the nation will participate in speeches, fund-raisers and the like. But a loose-knit band of about two dozen Ivy Leaguers, mostly from Harvard and Yale, is using more confrontational tactics, as well as some high-powered connections, to wangle encounters with top White House officials in a determined, and seemingly successful, effort to get under Mr. Obama’s skin.
In what may prove a significant development for the 2012 elections, David Brock, a prominent Democratic political operative, says he has amassed $4 million in pledges over the last few weeks and is moving quickly to hire a staff to set up what he hopes will become a permanent liberal counterweight over the airwaves to the Republican-leaning outside groups that spent so heavily on this year’s midterm elections.
David Brock can be a tough SOB. And that is why he is the right person at the right moment in history to take on this laudable project. We need someone who knows how to throw a punch and beat the social conservatives at their own game. Count me as a supporter of this noble effort. Liberals have to start selling their ideas and fighting back when totalitarian forces lie and distort the record.
Truth Wins Out has been a leader in showing liberals how to fight back and not get rolled. David Brock’s Media Matters has also, on a larger scale, held right wingers accountable for their misdeeds. There is also MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbemann. These are the individuals the Democratic Party can learn from, in terms of countering our opponents.
Note to David Brock: If you are going to set up broadcast services, like Air America, do not take the ostensibly easy route by hiring famous people to be hosts. Stars will only get you initial ratings, but will not sustain the success unless they are top-notch hosts. It is far wiser to hold auditions and find the best talent — and turn them into stars. This is exactly what FOX News did with Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. They took relative unknowns with talent and the stardom followed.
I try not to get too excited about supposed HIV/AIDS breakthroughs. I first heard about the disease when I was twelve and it is still around ruining lives and affecting millions of people. However, an article in today’s New York Times, “Daily Pill Greatly Lowers AIDS Risk, Study Finds”, looks promising. According to Donald G. McNeil’s article:
In a development that could change the battle against AIDS, researchers have found that taking a daily antiretroviral pill greatly lowers the chances of getting infected with the fatal virus.
In the study, published Tuesday by the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that the hundreds of gay men randomly assigned to take the drugs were 44 percent less likely to get infected than the equal number assigned to take a placebo.
But when only the men whose blood tests showed they had taken their pill faithfully every day were considered, the pill was more than 90 percent effective, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, head of the division of the National Institutes of Health, which paid for the study along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“That’s huge,” Dr. Fauci said. “That says it all for me.”
If the results stick, this could be a milestone in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Let us hope this is a genuine advance and not another test tube tease.
On a related note, Sean Strub has written an interesting article on the POZ magazine blog about how some people are taking a dose of HIV meds right after sex if they think they may have been exposed to the virus. Like all of Sean’s work, it is well-researched, thought provoking and well worth the read. Here is a snipet:
I enjoy speaking on college campuses.
No matter the main topic of my talk, I always mention post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), the highly effective strategy for avoiding HIV transmission after one has been potentially exposed to HIV through sexual contact or a shared needle. The topic is invariably new to the students; only rarely are any of them familiar with PEP.
PEP has long been standard practice for healthcare workers after they get accidentally stuck with a needle. If an employee at an AIDS service organization, hospital or clinic gets a needle stick, they are put on a 28 day course of anti-retrovirals within minutes.
A quick response is important; the sooner to the point of exposure PEP is commenced, the more likely it is to prevent infection. After two or three days, it is vastly less effective.
But in a condom breaks or someone does something they quickly regret, it is difficult to access PEP even if one knows about its efficacy. Why are there not PEP hotlines or delivery services to provide information and treatment when it is needed, when it can still prevent an infection?
There was an interesting article in the New York Times detailing how some fundamentalists and Tea Party enthusiasts do not believe in Climate Catastrophe, which is backed by almost every real scientist in the reality-based community.
Exhibit A of this backwards mentality is Norman Dennison, founder of Indiana’s Corydon Tea Party. At a forum for Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), the Tea Bagger chastised the congressman for supporting efforts to keep this planet from being ruined.
“It’s a flat out lie,” said Mr. Dennison, adding that he had based his view on global warming from the preaching of Rush Limbaugh and Scripture. “I read my Bible. He made this earth for us to utilize.”
During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama liked to say, “We are the change that we have been waiting for.” In the parlance of these dangerous fundamentalists: “We are the apocalypse that we have been waiting for.”
Unfortunately, the rest of us have to live through the dire consequences of their delusional fantasy that earth’s resources can mindlessly be exploited with reckless abandon. Indeed, in their warped worldview, God encourages, even applauds, when “God’s People” despoil precious resources.
When the polar bears eventually drown; when lovely homes on Florida’s coast wash into the sea; when drought, dislocation, disease and wretched refugee camps kill millions of people; when bloody wars are started over dwindling resources; when intense storms drown American cities; these fundamentalists should be blamed. Thanks to their remarkable ignorance, spiritual arrogance, and selfish disregard for their fellow man, we may all pay unthinkable consequences.
Isn’t it time that people take pause and ponder the viability of fundamentalism in modern civilization? What does it mean when a religious worldview is so neanderthal that it threatens the existence of humanity? How can America prosper and advance when leaders scorn science and potentially lead us off of a cliff at full speed? Is the majority just expected to sit around and reverently express our “respect” for such nihilistic beliefs?
No – we must speak out against such scripture-based suicide. Sure, fundamentalists have the right to believe such nonsense. But, we also have the right and responsibility to say such beliefs are destructive to the planet. It is our duty to do so, because we inhabit the planet their beliefs are strangling.
While our opponents like to idiotically say that marriage equality will end the earth, the archaic policies to keep the planet frying actually does present a genuine threat. These “moral” scolds love to talk a good game about “family values”, but what type of world are they leaving for the next generation and beyond?
The New York Times article listed recent polling data that shows the Tea Baggers are an unmitigated disaster for our planet and a threat to life as we know it.
Those who support the Tea Party movement are considerably more dubious about the existence and effects of global warming than the American public at large, according to a New York Times/CBS News Poll conducted this month. The survey found that only 14 percent of Tea Party supporters said that global warming is an environmental problem that is having an effect now, while 49 percent of the rest of the public believes that it is. More than half of Tea Party supporters said that global warming would have no serious effect at any time in the future, while only 15 percent of other Americans share that view, the poll found.
And 8 percent of Tea Party adherents volunteered that they did not believe global warming exists at all, while only 1 percent of other respondents agreed.
Someone has to say this: The Tea Baggers are by far the stupidest people in America. They operate in a blind, all-consuming rage, that includes not an iota of brain power. They consistently get suckered and duped into regurgitating lies from discredited sources.
For example, the Tea Baggers are the ones who are most likely to believe the garbage spewed by fake think tanks, funded by Big Oil money, that claim there is no such thing as Climate Catastrophe. They get their information from FOX News, which is a front for the corporate interests of the GOP and billionaire media baron Rupert Murdoch. What these pea-brained Tea Baggers don’t seem to comprehend, is that they are not working for “the people”, but doing the bidding of the royalists, such as Murdoch, and billionaire-brothers, David and Charles Koch.
With the elections only days away, our nation may be saddled with extremists placed in positions of power. Their retrograde policies will make us the laughingstock of the world, harm our national security, and put The United States of America at an economic disadvantage. While our Tea Party leaders are living in the past — busily extracting and profiting handsomely from fossil fuels — countries like China, India and Denmark are busy investing in the clean alternative energy of tomorrow.
It takes brainpower to remain a superpower — which means that America will continue slipping if Tea Party con artists candidates are victorious on Election Day. Without enlightened policies, the only thing America will be number one at — is claiming that we are Number 1. (We’ve already seen a great erosion in our worldwide education rank — thanks to the glorification of ignorance, exemplified by the Tea Baggers)
I’ve said this before: The more fundamentalist a nation, the more anachronistic it is — and the worse it is economically, spiritually and culturally. If our nation embraces stupid politicians with dumb policies, there will be consequences. And if disaster strikes mankind, there are many of us who are keeping score and will hold these religious fanatics responsible for the living hell they brought to our planet.
When openly gay Republican Steve May was elected to Arizona’s state House in 1998, he surely lost the votes of some social conservatives who thought he led a sinful lifestyle. It turns out that these detractors were correct, although it had nothing to do with the politician’s sexual orientation.
A New York Times story revealed that May has become a soulless dirty trickster for the Arizona GOP, who is recruiting drifters to run as Green Party candidates in a sleazy effort to siphon away Democratic votes.
One man that May recruited for statewide office is twenty-year-old Benjamin Pearcy. The “candidate” has a faux Mohawk, his campaign headquarters is a Starbucks, and his career is strumming a guitar on the street. He describes himself as the illegitimate son of a stripper.
“I’ve been homeless,” he told the Times, which said that during the interview his eyes darted back and forth.
Another May candidate, Thomas Meadows, 27, is a broke tarot card reader running for state treasurer who wears a court jester’s hat.
The Green Party has urged its supporters to avoid voting for the sham candidates. The Democratic Party has filed a formal complaint with local, state, and federal prosecutors.
“These are people who are not serious and who were recruited as part of a cynical manipulation of the process,” said Paul Eckstein, a lawyer representing the Democrats. “They don’t know Green from red.”
Sadly, at one point May was a legitimate hero, serving in the Arizona legislature and fighting the military’s Don’t Ask/Don’t tell policy.
In February 1999, following a legislative debate on domestic partnership legislation, May objected to another legislator’s anti-gay remarks. In April 1999, the U.S. Army Reserve called May to active reserve duty during the Kosovo crisis. Shortly after he returned to civilian life, an investigation was launched resulting from May’s comments made during the verbal confrontation with the state lawmaker. A military panel recommended that he be discharged – although he fought the panel’s recommendation and eventually won.
It is incredibly disappointing that May would lower himself to perform such degrading acts that mock the homeless and undermine democracy. This man of valor has now become a vulture and has transformed from role model to rogue model. Did May really serve his country only to return home and sabotage elections?
May once chided the U.S. government for forcing him to lie in order to serve his country. Ironically, he now claims, with a straight face, that his candidates aren’t imposters.
“Did I recruit candidates? Yes,” said May, who is himself a Republican candidate for the State Legislature. “Are they fake candidates? No way.”
If one is to believe May’s fantastical story, the preppy conservative just happened to have been strolling in Tempe’s Mill Avenue bohemian district and had the good fortune of meeting Roxie, a one-armed pregnant woman who introduced him to a slew of politically ambitious drifters.
Yeah, right.
In last week’s column, I wrote that Republicans “trick the American people into voting against their own interests.” May’s tawdry campaign to recruit street people vividly proves my point.
One of May’s candidates, a pedicab driver nicknamed Grandpa, is running on a platform of opposition to higher taxes and putting God in the classroom. The aforementioned Benjamin Pearcy has bought into the GOP’s cheerleading about an opportunity society, even as his fake candidacy will help elect officials who will reduce future opportunities for the poor.
“Anyone can do it. We’re all good enough,” says Pearcy, apparently unaware of the policies pushed by May and the Republican Party.
I never thought I’d agree with the Religious Right, but Steve May needs to change his wicked lifestyle. His exploitation of these “candidates” and the American political system is truly perverse.
The best part of the holiday season is that everyone is generally in a good mood and works a little harder at getting along with their neighbors. (Except on Black Friday, where neighbors will bite through their neighbor’s buttocks to get a flat screen TV before they are all gone.)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
However, with Ssempa no longer present, Oundo (pictured left) reversed his testimony and told New York Times reporter Josh Kron that he was paid by Ssempa to say he had gone straight and actually opposed the anti-gay bill. Clearly, there appears to be coercion, if not extortion involved, given Oundo’s quick repudiation of his testimony and his allegation that he was paid for delivering a bogus sexual conversion tale.
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Truth Wins Out today condemned The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue after he tried to scapegoat gay men for Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandals in a full-page New York Times ad. Donohue’s full-throated defense and attempt to blame others highlights Donohue’s role as chief apologist for the unthinkable crimes committed against young people at the hands of trusted clergy in the Catholic Church.
When openly gay Republican Steve May was elected to Arizona’s state House in 1998, he surely lost the votes of some social conservatives who thought he led a sinful lifestyle. It turns out that these detractors were correct, although it had nothing to do with the politician’s sexual orientation.
