Please give presidential candidate Fred Thompson an applause.

The TFN Gala is at La Zona Rosa tomorrow night. I would totally go if you buy me tickets. I love me some Ruthie Foster.

I know this is useless, but let's look at his statement on why he voted against child health care programs.

From his release:
“SCHIP has been a remarkable success. I strongly support the reauthorization and expansion of the SCHIP program" But, uhm Senator...you voted against it

"We must not allow this important program to be undermined by those who want the federal government to play an even greater role in our lives." Senator, just curious...what invades our private lives more, the Patriot Act or providing health care to uninsured children?

"Using the SCHIP program to expand federal control of health care does not help our children. We can do better." Wait a second, Senator. Didn't you just say the program was a remarkable success? Why would expanding something that's been a remarkable success not help our children? If we can do better then why aren't you coming up with a great solution to help uninsured children?

Glad we cleared that up.

"Wide Stance" Larry Craig may still be with us. Let's put toe-tapping piped-in music in all of the Texas capitol restrooms. Would be a lot more honest than what we have right now.

Reminiscing is always nice...

A Tennessee man killed himself in front of the mayor and city council when they voted not to rezone his property from residential to commercial. As far as wielding influence with the city council, suicide is not an effective strategy. I would recommend all lobbyists jot that down on a list somewhere. "In the event I do not convince legislators, do not kill myself."

The senate pushed the NASA budget $1 billion over the president's budget. That's a lot of money. That's a lot of money when there isn't a war that's costing an arm and a leg (literally) or when there aren't deficits or when there isn't enough money for Medicare or Social Security or children's health insurance.

Two words: Fiscal conservatism are starting to creep into my vocabulary.

Adam Sandberg's I Ran video from SNL: "I know you said there were no gays in Iran, but you're in New York now, baby."
Ann Coulter: Women shouldn't have the right to vote.
Mitt Romney: gets it from the Log Cabin Republicans
Chris Matthews: Bush vetoes children's health care

Finally! A politician has some explaining to do after images of nude women were found on his computer and appeared onscreen during a presentation he was giving to high school students. I guess we should all be relieved that it wasn't underaged boys...again.

And, just as an aside...Rep. Barrett is kinda hot.

The veto on children's health insurance is still just a game. Politicians could give three shits whether poor children get health care coverage or if they died malnourished on a street corner. The Democrats are using the issue as a beautiful expose on the Republican's lack of support for the health care changes in America. The GOP is confident they can turn the debate around.

Evidence is the memo swirling around House Republicans: House Republicans quietly distributed a survey by David Winston, who is close to Boehner, that came to a different conclusion. It said critics of the legislation can win the public debate if they say they favor "covering uninsured children without expanding government coverage to adults, illegal immigrants and those who already have insurance...."

So, remember...it's about crafting the message to manipulate the public and win favor...it is never about expanding health care.

I just wanted to remind you, in case you got hit in the head this morning and forgot what politics was all about or something.

There have been four fires in Senate office buildings yesterday. All were extinguished and are considered suspicious. Really? Four fires in one day are considered suspicious?

So far, only God has denied responsibility. Through a representative he released this statement, "I have not smote any member of Congress or their bathroom and am not responsible for their uncleanliness. Like the rest of the world, I weep for your future but I have not resorted to my vengeful days...yet. But, that sinkhole in California yesterday? Yeah, I totally did that. Those Californians totally deserve it."

Hillary Clinton is trying her best to show that she's not always an uptight bitch. Jon Stewart continues the endless analysis of her laugh.

I think she's really quite human, but the compassion does sometimes look a little forced. I feel like sometimes she really just wants to say, "Oh go fuck yourself."

Or maybe that's just me.

The South steps of the Capitol will be home to Austin's Seven Straight Nights for Gay Rights. Across the country, heterosexuals are joining the cause of gay rights in America. If you'd like to join them or support their cause, check out the site.

You can also join them on October 10 for a night of music and community.

The PBS series, War, on KLRU or whatever is your local PBS station? It's a reminder of a different time. When wars were fought on a global scale and the cause seemed heroic and every person in America waited for the news and for their boys to come home.

Here we are, in the midst of war, again and everything is different.

President Bush vetoed the Children's Health Insurance Program. Awesome. F you, poor kids.

So that no one will ever accuse Pinkdome of being radically gender-biased, we have included both contests. Best Male Ass NSFW and the Best Female AssNSFW. Should we include pics of Perry and Craddick? hm.... that's a problem; which category do they fit in?

Remember back then? Ah, the good ol' days of being stupid. I'm so glad we didn't have MySpace and Facebook when I was in college. Who knows what retardation I would have posted. Certainly not anything as bad as the girl at the University of Louisiana that posted a video of her friends re-enacting the "Jena 6" beating. By now, you'd think as soon as someone suggests 'blackface' and shouting 'nigger puts the noose on' you should turn off the video camera. Not to mention, refrain from posting it on Facebook.

Ugh. Sometimes I weep for our future.

Some border towns in Texas are refusing to give the feds access to their land for the proposed border fence. Mayors in Brownsville, Del Rio, El Paso and Eagle Pass have either refused altogether or only allowed limited access to the feds for surveying and planning.

For every fence, there is a way over, under or around it. This boondoggle is not only bad policy, it's also hideous.

Conservative Christians met in Utah to consider backing a third-party candidate for the presidency. Not content with holding the existing nominees hostage, they've decided to stomp their feet and pout for not having a soldier to carry the torch of mixing politics and religion.

I'm all for this. Go ahead. Nominate Mr. Dobson himself for president. Let's just go ahead and get this over with.

Gov. Corzine of NJ is suing the Bush administration over the new SCHIP limitations. The Governor's press release states that the lawsuit "accuses the Bush Administration of circumventing the public rule-making process by fundamentally and arbitrarily changing the program [SCHIP] via letter, which would have the effect of denying health insurance coverage for over 10,000 New Jersey children."

update: It seems that Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York and Washington are planning to join in on the fun also [NJ.com].

The Washington Post is running live video coverage of the Blackwater congressional hearing today. Should the privatization of the military continue? If anything comes of this hearing, I will be happily surprised.

The mayor of Pasadena, CaliforniaTexas has resigned so he can run for Congress. As a Republican. Ain't. Gonna. Happen. No way the GOP is going to elect a man with last name, Manlove. Especially not with all the Larry Craig and Mark Foley jokes still going around.

Seriously, change your name!

Other names of failed GOP candidates:
Chester M. Olester
Harry Pedophile
Turgid Member

Did we decide and I missed it? Medicare premiums will increase just 3% in 2008, but that's based on the assumption that health care providers are going to take a 10% cut in reimbursement. That's probably not going to happen. Even if it does, the number of providers that will accept Medicare is going to drop drastically.

Oh well, I can't think about that today. I'll go crazy if I do. I'll think about that tomorrow, after all...tomorrow is...another day.

If this is the first time you're reading this blog, let me assure you that it's not a conservative wingnut site. The headlines this morning just happen to appeal to my conservative values.

A middle school sent a girl home for wearing a shirt that said "Juicy Angel" across her developing breasts. The mom is upset and says the school was out of line. The mother also doesn't see any culpability in buying her daughter clothes that maker her look like a hooker. I completely support the school district in this one.

Moms, quit dressing your 13 year old girls like hookers! You're like a big group of pedophile enablers. So, way to go Bailey Middle School.

Read the story with this headline:

'I killed her. ... She deserved it,' suspect says in taped confession

And then remind me why you think scum like this should continue to walk the same earth as I do.

Georgetown student Philip Anderton Cooney was arrested in connection with a September 9 attack in which a fellow student says he was assaulted after being followed and taunted with homophobic slurs. Philip is the son of former Bush aide, Philip..gee these Republicans are real creative with their names!. Philip, Sr. is Bush's former chief of staff of the Council on Environmental Quality. Philip Sr., admitted during 2007 Congressional hearings that he had altered environmental reports in order to downplay the effects that man-made greenhouse gases were having on global warming.

He's now a lobbyist for ExxonMobil.

Damn, y'all. That's embarrassing. (via Towleroad)

From the DMN:
Federal prosecutors this morning announced sweeping conspiracy charges against State Rep. Terri Hodge, former Mayor Pro Tem Donald Hill, low-income housing developer Brian Potashnik and 11 others.

When the president of Iran said that homosexuality doesn't exist in his country, he received a hearty laugh heard around the world. But, back in Iran, it is a clear reminder that persecution of homosexuals is a part of life for the country's gay and lesbian population.

For a country that is said to have no homosexuality, Iran goes to great lengths to ban it. Gays are punished by lashing or death if it is proved that they have had homosexual relations. Two gay teenagers were executed in 2005 in Mashad, a northeastern city.

Fear of persecution is so strong that some gay men and lesbians have sought and received asylum in Western countries.(NYTimes)

By banning gay marriage, gay adoptions and the like, homosexuality will not disappear. The results are secret lives lived with self-loathing and dangerous behavior. Ted Haggard, Mark Foley and Larry Craig are all examples of gay men that were not brave enough to live their lives with courage and honesty...instead they resulted to furtive and dangerous behavior, and then got caught. By condemning homosexuals as deviants, you force those not brave enough to fight back to become deviants.

The GOP is circling the wagons as candidates distance themselves from the president. The gallows humor about the downfall of the mighty Republican Party is making for some uncomfortable laughs at cocktail parties in Washington, where one lawmaker jokes that "there's talk about us going the way of the Whigs," the 19th century political party long extinct. Fundraising is down, candidate recruitment is down and voters are abandoning the social issues that swept Republicans into power.

Are the days of Lee Atwater, Karl Rove politics coming to an end? The politics of manipulation and "win at any cost" even if it means polarizing voters would be a time in our history I would gladly see resigned to the history books.

We're always Pink, here at PinkDome, but this month you should be, too. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. What should you be aware of when it comes to breast cancer? The main thing is that early detection saves lives. Women should be performing self-breast exams once a month and getting their annual mammograms, especially after age 35. Here are tips on how to perform a self-breast exam:

To find out more, visit the Susan G. Komen Foundation through the link to your right. Wear a pink ribbon. I do, and it gives me the opportunity to speak to strangers about breast cancer awareness and the importance of early detection. Wear yours, and keep a pocket full of them. I'll take the one off my lapel and give it to a stranger to give them the opportunity to remind others of the importance of early detection.

Texans will vote for open government this November. The legislation to require a recorded vote on the third reading is now before the voters. In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to have legislation like this, but this isn't an ideal world...it's Texas. There are way too many shenanigans going on with voting up there for us not to require these recorded votes.

I wonder how many people will start putting those keys in their pocket instead of trusting Debbie to vote for them?

I stumbled upon this hilarious bit of video on voting in the Texas House. I love the graphics as they show how many times legislators are voting. We all know it happens, but it still burns me up to see.

(via)

The feds released the plans for the fence along the border and it's not all butterflies and rainbows for the people that live in the area. The fence is proposed to be 16 feet high and semi-transparent. Groups are forming in opposition to the fence from city officials to biologists. Nothing like a little political football to sit back and enjoy.

I think a fence is a great idea. A fence means no one has to think or put resources into the flow of immigrants and drugs across our border. Just plop up a fence and pretend like that fixes everything. No need for policy and negotiation with Mexico.

It's Sunday morning and I'm listening to Church, like I do every Sunday morning. I've been criticized on these pages before for some of my statements about religion and, what I call, Christian Terrorists. The message today reminded me why I do sometimes rail against what I consider false Christianity. False Christianity is when religion mixes with politics. The message was, "How do you keep the main thing, the main thing?" What a very good question! What is the main tenet of Christianity that strengthens my Faith? We can look to Luke 10:25 for the answer:

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"/"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"/He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"/"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

I could commit to that, but it doesn't mean I won't continue to call out liars, hypocrites and those that preach evil and damnation as opposed to grace and forgiveness.