12.20.05 Tidbits, Part 2

VOTE for Observe But Do Not Interefere

2005 Deaf blog Awards to vote for me in three categories:

Best Eavesdropping Entertainment Blog
Best Politics Blog
Best Deaf Blog

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NewsFlash from CSD Headquarters in Sioux Falls: I was alerted a while ago that at Communication Services for the Deaf, 15 employees were laid off on December 15. Basically, they were offered with two choices: "voluntarily accept the layoff and receive two weeks' pay plus cashed out vacation time or be laid off regardless."

From what I understand, 15 staff were laid off out of 60 projected layoffs.

Of course, inquiring minds want to know whether if Benjamin Soukup, Patty Kuglitsch, Randy Gerloff, Jim Skjeveland, Dr. Phil Bravin and Ann Marie Mickelson will get pay cut with their six-figure salaries?

I mentioned about their outrageous salaries last August. You can read this entry.

Please remember, the one you just saw is based on 2004 Fiscal Year Budget -- I'm sure 2005 is not much different, really. Last year, the "executive officers" had the 2004 tax return of $2,126,478. CEO Benjamin Soukup has not earned less than 590,000 dollars in the last 3 years for the total of $2,022,826.

Enough? Let's compare CSD with American Red Cross, the CEO at American Red Cross made $450,000. the CSD CEO Benjamin Soukup made, in 2004, $729,596.

So? CSD's total revenue was $74,889,067. The American Red Cross' total revenue was $3,065,541,356. Yes, you got it right -- three billion dollars! While I am on that subject, the CEO of ARC's salary was .01% out of its total revenue whereas Benjamin Soukup's salary was .97% out of its total revenue!

What does it means? Simply put, CSD's pay for CEOs outpaced any non-profit organizations in terms of pay scale for non-profit organizations.

You decide.

Ooo! Joel Osteen's Naughty Wife: I always had a funny feeling that I saw Joel Osteen at some gay bathhouse before. But that is not the issue here.

Why Jane K Fernandes Must Not Be Gallaudet President, Part I: Check Jeff Carlson's link which was published last September.

Good Thing It Failed! It was reported that Stalin wanted this experiment to happen, but it did not. This just made me wonder -- what if this experiment was a success?

Brokeback Mountain Smashing Success: It was reported few days ago that the film, Brokeback Mountain, was released only in 69 theaters across the nation and ended up No. 8 on the Top Ten earning list with 2.4 million dollars out of 69 theaters. And it was mentioned that many theaters in Middle America has been flooded with calls about the film being shown in the area. The distributor said that they'll increase the distribution to 400 theaters starting in January. Xians, you've lost the war. Go fuck a sheep!

Confidential to McWeenie: 1,300 hits in a day for the Deaf Community is a record? Try mine. I hit more than 1,900 hits in a day twice or thrice before. So fuck off, coward. McWeenie, you are purely coward for deleting people's comments. Only ones that agreed with you will be kept on. Goes on to say what kind of person you are.

Cheers,

R-

12.20.05 Tidbits, Part 1

MTA Transit Strike: For the first time in 25 years, the NYC subway has come to a halt. TWU Local 100, an union who did the transit strike on MTA that enraged many capitalists including Mayor Michael Bloomberg who complained that by setting up the strike, New York stands to lose $400 million per day and its tax revenues up to $12 million. The Mayor and MTA asked the Court to fine the union $1 million per day for disrupting the transit system.

See the pattern? Your lives are not important, money are important. What do I think of this? I think the cost of living in New York is pretty high. Most people who worked for state, local, federal governments and the non-profit organizations earned less than the ones who works in for-profit organization. The gap between these two is growing at an alarming rate.

I think the Transit Workers Union was justified to do something about it. Enough is enough. They proved that by doing the transit strike, the capitalism gets rattled. People needs to realize that beneath the coat of capitalism, there are humans who needs the earning base to survive in this city.

You can find the blog which Transit Workers Union addressed the points which the MTA and the city government chose to ignore.

You can see the pro-comment about TWU local on this blog. And you can see the malicious comments against the Union by DowntownLad. DowntownLad also rightfully attacked that gook ho, Michelle Malkin and Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit, for trying to get involved in a city they do not even live in. You can see why I enjoyed DL's postings. He is blunt as can be. And I love him for that.

As for Deaf Bloggers who had to improvise their ways in the city due to the TWU strike, you can find this and that to satisfy your curiosity whether if it pissed them off or not.

Bad Santas on Rampage: This is amusing.

Virginia Cavaliers 7-1!: Today, they routed Marshall 67-35. Again, Lyndra Littles and Sharnee Zoll netted the first time in UVA history to have two players to hit for double-double. Sharnee Zoll had 11 points and 13 assists while Lyndra Littles had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

It is nice to know that the team is determined to make a statement despite the fact that they are very young team. Only in time, they will pull few surprises against the teams. I'm hoping that the team gets to knock Duke and North Carolina.

It is entirely possible that Virginia Cavaliers is better than No. 1 Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Before you roll your eyes, hear me out on this one. Virginia played George Washington in Washington, DC and led 36-23 at the half, they never trailed at all, okay? Not only that, they led as many as 22 points before substituting liberally in the second half, but nevertheless won 66-53.

As for Tennessee, they played at George Washington and won 59-43. But Tennessee trailed as many as 10 points and was up by 5 at the half, 34-29. And in the second half, Tennessee steadily expanded the lead to win the game, 59-43.

I have the guts that it could be the year that Virginia Cavaliers gets to shock someone else.

I'm a fan of Coach Debbie Ryan for the last 18 years. In fact, when I approached her, she instanteously knew who I am. What else is new? I'm sure she sighed at the fact that I was harsh on her in the past when the teams struggled.

Oh, yeah, here are the pics of me with Coach Ryan, Lyndra Littles and Sharnee Zoll. Cool, is it? I need a major haircut, obviously. And I still work out, thank you very much.

Cheers,

R-

12.19.05 Tidbits

Anyone Else?? Anyone who had bad experiences of dealing with Dr. Jane K. Fernandes can submit their stories to me via the e-mail at Ridor9th@gmail.com. Why do I need this? We need to document the evidences that Dr. Jane K. Fernandes is not the suitable choice to replace Dr. I. K. Jordan as the next President of Gallaudet University.

Suicidal Cat: My sister, Lily, has a white, puffy cat that seems to be suicidal these days. She sat on the middle of the road -- I had to yell at her to get off the road each time I visited her place. She won't budge. I tried to scoop the car closer to her -- my sister said the cat is still next to the car -- then I slowly rolled by, she refused to move -- it took someone else to get out of the car to remove her around. Maybe she's tired of the Taylors' clan?

Elton John Should Not Turn It Down! It was such a mistake for Elton John and David Furnish to turn the offer from American media for 10 million dollars to cover their wedding. If it was showed, it'd make an impact on Americans' attitudes that the sky won't fall if gay marriage is legalized in this country!

The Rise of Darth Vader: I'm not a fan of Star Wars when it comes to novels. But last Friday night, I skimmed the Star Wars' novel about the rise of Darth Vader -- the period that happens right after the Revenge of Sith took place. I was hooked on it. I may end up buying it to indulge my thoughts.

GW Bush Is Amazing When It Comes To Compassion: GW Bush actually authorized the government to spy on us all when it comes to terrorism. Where is freedom of privacy? Please do not use this excuse to say that freedom comes with a price -- that is what Nazism is all about!

I watched 60 Minutes last night about this particular Muslim who had no ties to the radical Muslim organizations but that does not stop the CIA from abducting him and flew him to different places -- Afghanistan, Morrocco, Jordan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Macedonia and Egypt to torture him. The CIA agents also taunted him that he will never be found. Nobody will ever know that he existed because the CIA is going to make him nonexistant. But when the CIA made a mistake, they simply dumped him in Albania with hopes that he'll be killed by someone else.

My question is: Why? This is not freedom. This is not what the Americans are all about. Yes, the terrorists are monsters but again, so do ours. Please do not act surprised or shocked if someone decided to bomb the American city eventually. In fact, this particular victim was asked by his son who did this? The father responded, "Americans."

Of course, this will fan such hatred amongst the Muslim Youths. We gloat about our freedoms but do not care about theirs, even if they are in Spain, Italy or Germany. Condeleeza Rice refused to comment on this subject but she also mentioned that rendition is part of the "war on terrorism". By her translation, she was turning the accused ones to the countries to be tortured whereas she can say that the United States never engaged in any form of tortures but are willing to turn them over for few hours, days or months. It does not exonerate the United States from claiming that they do not torture, they knew these countries that did not ratify with the Geneva Convention on torture -- they were apostate for doing the rendition in the first place!

It was such a noble for GW Bush to admit the mistakes. It was so comical, really, for him to claim for months and suddenly, admitted that it's all based on a lie, really. Now, with the reports coming out that Dr. Germ of Baghdad, Rihab Taha, has been released from the prison with *no* charges (Where is the due process for all, remember GW Bush claimed to free Iraqis and to restore justice and peace to Iraq but continues to deny the due process for many!) at all. Rihab Taha was imprisoned for 2 years and suddenly, she is free.

Bush argued that Iraq "is the beginning of something new: constitutional democracy at the heart of the Middle East." If he wants to defend that, then act like one! Stop tortures, imprison people for years without any due process and spying on people. It ain't democracy at all.

Where Is Xians' Compassion? Thanks to Neil for telling me about this article. This is perfect example of Xians who claim to defend the "sacred marriage" from gays by destroying gay people's lives. It is amazing that Xians actually claimed that the current law will not "discriminate" gays, they claimed that it protects the marriage itself, not discriminating. It is shame, really.

Confidential to Kurzetard: Get a therapist. You really need one more than I thought.

Cheers,

R-

"I Need A Fork!"

At Regal Short Pump Cinemas, about an hour northwest of my parents' house, has an open caption of The Family Stone, despite the fact that they showed the film at very unorthodox time -- early mornings or very late night showings. The Regal Cinemas probably felt that showing the open captions will not make money. This is the classic example why capitalism failed Deaf people in general. They were quick to tell me that not many Deaf people showed up at the showings "anyway!" -- I was quick to point out that their unorthodox times made it DIFFICULT for anyone to show up on a consistent manner. But they won't listen.

However I made it a priority to check it out because my good friend, Ty Giordano performed in this film. Despite the fact that the reviews of the film was not bad nor good, I still had to check it out because I wanted Ty to succeed. Anything to contribute that for Ty is good, in my opinion. And you should do the same.

I was not disappointed with the film. Ty performed as a deaf, gay character named Thad Stone. He was one of five siblings (with Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Elizabeth Reaser) coming home for the Holidays with their parents who were performed by Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson. Oh, yeah, Thad has a boyfriend who is African American. Practically, everyone signs in the house including the cute boyfriend of Thad.

I was impressed with Rachel McAdams' conversations with Ty. In one scene, when Amy talked about Meredith Morton's quirky habits of clearing her throat loudly, Thad was intrigued as Amy signed, "TRUE BIZ" to indicate that she was telling the truth. You do not see that in films these days.

It appears to me that Ty made others look good -- I mean, the actors/actresses' signs did not seem to be crispy at all. Even Diane, Craig, Luke and Dermot! I was jealous that Ty got to sit on Luke Wilson's lap -- that ought to be me. But again, I probably would break Luke's legs. And seeing Ty touching the hand of Dermot Mulroney (whom has VERY nice ass that I saw on another film) just fucking enraged me. ;-)

I loved the scene where Sybil Stone (Diane Keaton) actually threw the fork at Thad's dinner plate to get his attention -- I had to snicker because I hadn't seen a film where someone does the little things that pinpointed the Deaf/hearing interaction tendencies. It was nice to see ASL/spoken English transcend with each other in the household. At least we did not have to deal with cued speech or cochlear implants, really.

I thought Ty did a great job of acting as Thad Stone. I still find it hard to believe that he TRUE BIZ acted as a gay character. I know he told me that he does not see any problem with it at all -- I certainly understand that but it is still amusing to know that a fella that I knew from college days acted as one. That is his job as an actor. And damn, he's enjoying himself as much as can be. I would be if I was in his shoes.

The Family Stone is drama-comedy film that will delight your hearts, even in the end.

Good job, Ty!

Cheers,

R-

Me & Virginia

Yesterday in the afternoon, I failed to drag my parents to the Robins Center for a game of Collegiate Women's Basketball between Richmond Spiders and Virginia Cavaliers. That is alright, at least, I get to go by myself.

The last time I saw the Cavaliers in action was when I was in New York. They defeated Long Island 76-59 but it was such a sloppy game. At that time, they had players like Brandi Teamer and LaTonya Blue.

This time, the Cavaliers does not have Brandi Teamer and LaTonya Blue at all. What a difference! The quickness of Cavaliers' perimeter defenders were astonishing. Sharnee Zoll is so quick with ballhandling skills. In fact, Virginia roared to a 16-2 lead with 15 and half minutes left to go in the first half.

But again, the Cavaliers has only one senior. In fact, 8 out of 12 players are either Freshmen or Sophomores. After taking a 14-point lead, they squandered the lead to 4. The team regrouped to expand the lead to 10 at the half, 31-21.

In the second half, I enjoyed watching Lyndra Littles crashing the boards and taking baskets for her own. Suffice to say, Virginia Cavaliers routed Richmond Spiders, 66-45 to improve the season at 6-1.

After the game, I get to meet Tanzania Williams, the sister of Tamika Williams, a former player at Connecticut. It was good to see Coach Debbie Ryan once again. Then I finally got to meet the dynamic Sharnee Zoll and Lyndra Littles. Talked a little -- Did not realize that Sharnee Zoll has gorgeous eyes. Lyndra Littles was easy for me to lipread and follow what she has to say. Needless to say, there were pictures taken. It shall be posted one way or other.

Go Cavaliers!

Cheers,

R-

Just Because One Is Gay, He Is Out!

Thanks to DowntownLad for making me resent the American soldiers more than ever.

This guy, Kyle Lawson, is being driven out of the United States Army in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Sierra Vista is hometown of Brad Dale, the current President of Gallaudet's Rainbow Society of Gallaudet University. Sierra Vista is roughly 75 miles southwest of Tucson and about 185 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona.

I do not see any of my friends in Phoenix and Tucson object to this harassment of Kyle Lawson!

Veronica Kozlowski? Chlms? Philip Mecham? Do make a call to that fucking place to show your displeasure of your fucking country, willja?

R-

Say No to Fernie!

I have created a petition as a way to get the message to the Board of Trustees at Gallaudet University because the rumors persisted that Dr. Jane K. Fernandes was expected to be the next President of Gallaudet University.

By itself, it does more harm than good to the welfare of Gallaudet Community. Dr. Fernandes has not set up a good relationship with faculty, staff, students and alumni. She created a lot of bitter resentments amongst the groups at Gallaudet. I heard the stories about how she has done to students, parents and staff at Hawai'i and in DC.

And in the last few years, Dr. Fernandes has done almost nothing but treat the student body with contempt. She and Paul Kelly has done nothing to improve the Department of Public Safety's communication access. It is well known amongst the faculty and staff that Dr. Fernandes is the puppet of Dr. Jordan's team of "Yes-sayers".

I acknowledge the changes that Dr. Jordan has done for the University, it is time for a fresh start. A fresh perspective to energize the Deaf Community and usher Gallaudet University into a new era.

How can you help this out? By signing the petition online to let the Board of Trustees that Dr. Jane K. Fernandes is not the right candidate for Gallaudet University!

Here is the link and be sure to spread the word around the world since Gallaudet affects practically everyone who is Deaf, deaf and hard of hearing!

Cheers,

R-