Live and let live, fool.

Above, Mr. Shirvell (whose surname could be accurately transposed to Shrivel) complains that the Univ. of Michigan's gay class president is using his position as a bully pulpit to promote a "radical homosexual agenda." Meanwhile, the only person maniacally promoting a radical agenda is Mr. Shirvell himself.

The most frustrating part of bigotry is that it introduces insecurity into the victim's life. Blacks have to parse words for hidden meanings and gays have to lose their sense of humor. Women have to harden themselves and Muslims have to hide their faith.

Every day, I hasten through the City with a disregard that borders on freedom. I'm mostly unconcerned with everyone else and I'm fairly assured that everyone else has a similarly laissez-faire view towards me. It's something I appreciate when I'm wearing wellies (they're not cute, damnit) or singing on my bike. And I miss all the unaffected New Yorkers when I step outside our area codes only to realize that I'm not wearing the uniform or speaking the language.

Newt Gingrich is a big FAT idiot.

The Economist

Esquire

NY Times

Joe Scarborough

Pat Buchanan





It is unbelievable - in the way that it's "unbelievable" when you slam your shin for the fuckteenth time against the edge of the bedframe that you convinced yourself wasn't too big for your room. Anyway, it's somewhat unbelievable that we're debating whether a completely inoffensive organization has a right to build near Ground Zero. The progress that conservative leaders have made conflating Islam with evil and being a Muslim with being a terrorist is really startling, yet somehow unsurprising.

Southern Man

While I believe all my friends that defend the confederate flag as a symbol of Southern heritage, its value as a symbol of white supremacy and hate can not be denied. Eradicating the symbol should not be seen as a rejection of the South's heritage but as an acknowledgment of ALL of it. Every aspect of Southern heritage and culture - the food, the landscape, the music, etc, etc - can be attributed as much (or more) to the efforts of Black Southerners as to their White neighbors. Why continue to celebrate a symbol that was originally intended to deny Blacks' worth?



Further reading:
Southern Discomfort by Newsweek editor, Jon Meacham