Why I Loved the LSH?

In 1991, when I first entered Gallaudet as a freshman, never did I meet a loyal fan for Legion of Super-Heroes, affectionately known to the fans as LSH. I was aware of its loyal fan base for the futuristic books set in 30th Century -- but I was never a particular fan of futuristic books because the future they often portrayed is clean, beautiful and all that. But these LSH fans (I distinctly remembered them: Clyde, Elliott and DeNisco) insisted that it is not what it is all about. Years later, when I realized my favorite characters were portrayed in LSH more frequently, I had to buy and read these back issues. They were simply great.

The 30th Century (between 2974 to 2995) saw that the countries on Earth has unified as one world government known as EarthGov, also allied to the United Planets scattered throughout the universe. Sounds like a perfect utopia?

But not with LSH's vol. 4 (Issued from 1 to 65, check the timeline if you want to), written by Tom & Mary Bierbaum and Keith Giffen. IN fact, they made this particular series very dark and tragic before the DC Comics decided to wipe the future timeline off with its stupid Zero Hour storyline.

I was impressed with the storyline -- the dialogues were pretty real and funny. For instance, when Ayla Ranzz met a younger clone of herself, Ayla Ranzz, she said, "I can't believe I was so beautiful!" The younger clone smiled and hugged her back, "I can't believe I will be so beautiful!"

There are issues that simply shocked you to no end. IN fact, some of the issues did not prepare you for shocking revelations like Shvaughn Erin. For many years, many LSH fans knew that there was this Science Police Officer Shvaughn Erin had an infatuation with LSH member's Element Lad, known as Jan Arrah.

In one particular issue where the Dominators infilitrated the EarthGov and started to attack its people across the world -- the Dominators triggered the sudden destruction of Luna which killed millions of people on the planet in LSH #18, prompted its citizens to revolt against the Dominators once and for all. Shvaughn Erin needed the medications to conceal her secret but since the world was in chaos, she could not obtain the pills called ProFem.

What is it? It is sex-change pill. C'mon, don't be so shocked. In 30th Century, anything is possible -- you might not need the surgery to do the trick.

Shvaughn Erin was transformed back to Sean Erin, which pissed off many LSH readers. But that did not stop them both at all.

About a month after Earth announced its victory over the Dominators as they fled back to its homeworld, Elia, the city of Tokyo suddenly collapsed into the ground. Thousands of people died. People wondered why. The scientists discovered that the high unstable substance known as proton jelly, a toxic chemical that were used in the 24th Century -- about 500 years before. Earth often dumped the proton jelly in the space before the United Planets passed a decree that banned the space debris. So in 2300s, someone decided to bury the proton jellys beneath our planet.

Slowly, that toxic substance caused a mineralogical virus which overwhelmed everywhere else in the planet. 4 billions of Earthlings were evacuated in the sky. 94 cities were able to save itself and flow up in the space, others failed and crashed. People could not believe that a month after its victorious over the Dominators, Earth is going to go off no matter what. Some people chose to stay. Some people could not bear to leave Earth. It was not 30th Century's fault but someone else in the 2300s that did this to them. But what can they do about it?

As you can see the picture on this entry, these people left on Earth stood and waited, all in unity regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, for their final moments on the planet. Then it was done deal. Earth exploded into nothingness as 94 domed cities floated by. By then, 2 billion of people has perished when Earth ceased to exist.

However, I loved the LSH vol. 4 series because it attempts to be realistic as much as can be. And it was fun riding it out with Keith Giffen and the Bierbaums. However, in that pivotal issue where Earth ceased to exist, a character named Devlin wrote a subtle message for all.

What he wrote applied to us all as of today, like it or not.

It isn't fair. After all we've gone through. After all we've triumphed over. It just isn't fair.

But then, life isn't fair, is it?

Well, no. In fact, life is fair, really. It sets out some clearly defined rules and challenges humankind to fashion its heaven within those rules. And in those rare moments when we realize heaven is all around us and always has been, we've got a chance. But when we decided we've got a better idea -- that we can cajole, threaten, sneer, resent, whine and hate life into being something different from what it is -- that's when the battle is lost.

That's when life stops being fair.

Tom & Mary Bierbaum were right on this account. Treat this Planet with kindness or it will not do you right. Simply as that.

Cheers,

R-

1.12.06 Tidbits

IN the last two weeks, I received lots of emails regarding different issues throughout the world and on my blogsite as well. It is time to follow up on this.

Bitch Session? I got lots of emails complaining that they preferred me to resume the Bitch Session once a month to save its flavor and excitement. Any suggestions? 24/7 Bitch Session or Once-A-Month Bitch Session?

Jonathan Katz Is An Idiot! This fella, Jonathan Katz, should stick with Physics. He argued that two Deaf lifeguards who were dismissed at YMCA because they cannot hear the victim screaming for help.

Most of our self-deception occurs in softer fields, where its consequences are less immediate and less obviously catastrophic, and where the ideological pressures to enshrine fantasy as reality are stronger. For example, two deaf people sued YMCAs for enormous sums of money after losing jobs as lifeguards on account of their deafness. We all wish the disabled could do everything other people can do, but they cannot. That is why they are called disabled. The deaf cannot hear a call "HELP!''. Should people drown to maintain the lie that deaf people can do a lifeguard's job?

Nothing is far from the truth. Even I have First Aid and CPR certification and I personally knew many Deaf lifeguards -- it is all about visual image of one being in distress. Oh, by the way, I'd love to meet a guy who drowns without making a scene but resort only to shouts for help. Pathetic figure. Oh, by the way, you can harass him at katz@wuphys.wustl.edu. Hat tip to Shannon.

Dick Cheney Flip-flopper? I got this from a friend of mine who verified the source. Believe it or not, Dick Cheney spoke of this:

"I think the proposition of going to Baghdad is also fallacious. I think if we were going to remove Saddam Hussein we would have had to go all the way to Baghdad, we would have to commit a lot of force because I do not believe we would wait in the Presidential Palace for us to arrive. I think we'd have had to hunt him down. And once we'd done that and we'd gotten rid of Saddam Hussein and his government, then we'd have had to put another government in its place. What kind of government? Should it be the Sunni government or the Shi'i government or a kuridsh government or Ba'athis regime? Or maybe we want to bring in some of the Islamic fundamentalist? How long would we have had to stay in Baghdad to keep that government in place? What would happen to the government once the U.S. forces withdrew? How many casualties should the United States accept in that effort to try to create clarity and stability in a situation that is inherently unstable? I think it is vitally important for a president to know when to use military force. I think it is also very important for him to know when not to commit U.S. military force. And it's my view that the President got it right both times, that it would have been a mistake for us to get bogged down in the quagmire inside Iraq."
-Dick Cheney. The Washington Institute's Soref Symposium, April 29, 1991.

Wow. A true flip-flopper. Hat tip to McFly.

Another Fabulous UK Deaf Website: Another email urged me to check this website out and I did. I like it. Especially the ones in that category, Stories: The Truth. It reflects the reality of hearing society upon us all. Shameful. Hat tip to Carrie.

NYSD Finished: New York Society for the Deaf, founded in early 1900s has been merged with the FEGS organization in New York primarily because the NYSD Board (mostly hearing people) and Kathleen Cox, herself a hearing person who cannot sign worth a shit -- drove the organization into the grounds to a point where the offer by FEGS to take over was something that they cannot resist. So NYSD was virtually swallowed by the FEGS -- don't believe it? Check www.nysd.org. Oh, by the way, Kathleen Cox was finally phased out of its NYSD workforce -- now guess who runs the agency? Hearing people, of course.

Sarah Pack Would Love This: For a long time, she asked me to link something that might make her *ahem* horny. Since I'm gay and she was lesbian, I really did not care about posing women. But this one deserved the attention. I wonder if our cheerleaders in this country should start something like this? Will the attendance improve? You decide. Hat tip to Anonymous who feared that he'd be bashed by his girlfriend.

Speaking of Sarah Pack: There will be another memorial service for Sarah Pack, this time it will be facilitated by DIRC (Deaf-Interpreter Relations Committee) in New York. Check this link for further information. Sarah frequently attended this meetings and took me to the meeting when I was really, really antisocial at a particular time. I ended up enjoying the event. However, this event, I wish I could be there but cannot make it. Anyone that plans to go, please let me know about the outcomes of this nice gesture by the DIRC for Sarah Pack. Hat tip to Svetlana.

Who Is Jesse Conrad? I stumbled upon his blogsite. When I first saw him at Gallaudet, he was so effeminate. I mean, any gay person who is blind can identify him, period. He was a freshman from North Carolina. But he hung out with Adrean Clark and his Christian friends. He was quite homophobic and made it clear that he is not gay. Then one day, he vanished for about a couple of years. Then he re-surfaced back in Washington, DC area ... as a gay man.

Few years ago, I saw him at Paramount Kings Dominion one time and attempted to say hi out of a nice gesture, this fool acted like he does not know who I am! And I told him that I distinctly remembered him being Xian homophobe -- he insisted that it was not him, but someone else. I asked if he was Jesse, he nodded. Then it was him all along. And he claimed that he was always gay, even at Gallaudet as a freshman.

C'mon and admit it up, Jesse, repent your sins. You used to hang out with Mark Wood's group or that Campus for Christian Crusade (or something like that!) at Gallaudet. Please do not bother to deny this because the damages you did to gay brethren was duly noted back then!

A Word from Yawar of iCandy Lounge: I was surprised to get an email from the public relations of iCandy Lounge, the new gay bar in West Hollywood, California. Last week, I wrote a tidbit about the TV series that I saw about the development of iCandy Lounge. Among the stars on the show was Yawar. He wrote:

I wanted to address your observations. I CANDY prides itself on including everyone. Our crowd ranges from 21+ over to 65 and over! Our customers are every shape, size and color, so I would encourage you to come in and check it out for yourself! Our staff is fun, professional and friendly, so I hope you will give us a chance.

Perhaps I will check this out eventually. Thanks for the email, Yawar.

Mrs. Alito, Thanks for the Show! Good try but no cigar. You're merely doing an act. Typical.

Is This For Real? According to Marty Nemko, the best jobs in 2006 also included Audiologist and Speech Therapist! I know the baby boomers and the excessive use of iPods may lead to hearing loss and all that. But if you step outside of the box itself, you will see that the hearing people are merely exploiting the system on our expenses. Hat tip to Carrie.

And This Is Good Example: A certain Deaf fellow in Philadelphia recenty took 4-months old Deaf son to her pediatricist for a typical check-up, her Pediatricist was relentless in pressuring the mother to implant the cochlear implant on her son. She felt it was abrasive and rude of her pediatricist to insist and repeat the whole thing again, again and again. In fact, the Pediatricist said that if her Deaf son would be implanted, it'd develop his brain better.

What the fuck? Naturally, the mother felt offended by that comment.

I do recall reading an article that the Pediatricists, in some states, have a certain point at children's development to test their hearing. And if the child is Deaf, it was the doctors' duty to inform them of options -- but many doctors are purely uninformed when it comes to deafness. They would say things like one that was being said to the mother of Deaf 4-months old son.

Alfred Mann, the guy behind the so-called "near-miraculous" device now known as the Cochlear Implant, is No. 203 on Forbes' List, his net worth is at $1.4 billion dollars. How nice is that? At our expense. And he is not going to stop at that. He founded his foundation to lobby, pressure the local, state and federal government to Medicaid, Medicare and other healthcare insurances as well as exploring the means to pass the laws, perhaps someday, to require all Deaf children to have the option of being BORGized? This will prompt Alfred to climb much higher in the future, like it or not.

Alfred Mann has made personal contributions to Senators and Representatives in 2002, 2004 and 2006. See? For an ordinary Deaf person, that is pretty a lot, I guess. Maybe the Deaf Community needs to stop fighting each other and start to do something proactive like contributing or something else. This is more of Sonny Wasilowski's line than I do!

On second thought, I attempted, along with few, to see if Dr. Irving K. Jordan has made any contributions -- so far, I could not find anything. A friend of mine found Dr. I. King Jordan's wife, Linda Jordan, donating a measly fifty dollars to Senator Tom Harkins (D-IA). And Linda is not even Deaf.

Then a colleague looked through the OpenSecrets.org and found this list. Only *one* Gallaudet student has donated $ to Congressmen -- guess who it is? Remember Nick Beck from Illinois? That's him. He is the lone figure that did this! AS much as he may annoy many, he did something that not many of us would have done as Gallaudet student. Only 12 associated with Gallaudet Community donated. 547 associated Georgetown University Community donated. I checked RIT's list -- it appears that Dr. Robert Davila donated $250 to Republican National Committee in 2002 -- what a dickwad.

James Sorenson did not surprise me at all -- the Head Honcho of so-called Sorenson Video Relay Services has donated $5,000 to the Republican State Committee of Massachusetts, probably trying to stop gay marriage in that state. Let's try for Benjamin Soukup! Ahh, Benjamin Soukup smooched more than $750,000 per year and donated nothing.

Anyway, I personally do not care if you want to be BORGized or not. But to provide the inaccurate information to the parents of Deaf children is something that I cannot really ignore. Like, telling the mother of deaf child that having an implant will improve its brain. Nothing is far from the truth.

Check this link -- this website is more of advocate for the use of Cochlear Implants. Be sure to check its Hall of Shame. It may surprise you of its choices. Ahh.

Next Entry: Why I Loved The LSH?

Cheers,

Optimistic Views

Today at the gym doing a workout, I was approached by the owner of the gym whom I hadn't seen in a week. He said that he noticed that I'm getting smaller and that my arms are getting bigger. I smiled and thanked him. It's been nearly 2 months. It is work in progress, really.

I agreed with him. in fact, my shirts are bigger. And the best part, I can feel my arms being solid. I can see my trapezius muscle getting bigger. I can feel pectoralis major slowly turning solid. My guts has a long way to go but I'm getting there. One at a time. One at a time.

I got in touch with an old friend who asked me whether if I want to get out of the United States for five days in few months? Naturally I expressed an interest. Only time will tell whether if we plan to do that.

Did anyone else notice that the moderator of Deafreedom.com, Dale Patterson, which I coined as Whale Fatterson seemed to be very bitter and angry man? He has nothing positive to say at all. He seems to use my blog just to attack me from time to time. It is pitiful. He's about 400-lb guy. Probably crushed his wife in a trailer home. Probably had the remote control stuck somewhere in his rolls. At least, I blocked him permanently.

Oh, yeah, after I am done with this entry, it will be the 1,495th entry in two and half years. I did not expect this at all, really. Sometimes it is fun to entertain readers, sometimes it is tiresome to entertain some. I now averaged 440 visitors per day. That is nice. I'm curious to see whether if I'll have 1,000 visitors per day. Of course, I'm still better than that McWeenie who attempted to call himself as "premier blogsite". That boy can do nothing but to make me chuckle at times.

Ahh. For now, I shall retire to relax a bit -- after all, I had a good workout. I love to feel the throbbing of my muscles. Can't wait ... to look good.

Just To Make You Smile: This boy is lucky to drink it. But not at his age!

Want To Read A Theory? I forgot to share this a while ago -- Joseph Rainmound gave the link to me and it made me wonder if he was nuts or ... not. Check The Chappelle Theory!

Who Is James Frey? I did not know who he is until I saw the segment on NBCNEWS recently about this author who wrote "A Million Little Lies" -- apparently, the author fabricated the non-fiction novel that won the acclaims by Oprah Winfrey. Guess she's human after all. Anyway, TheSmokingGun.com was trying to find his mugshots after seeing James Frey appearing on Oprah Winfrey's Show -- they had a difficult time in finding the exact information that James Frey wrote. Suffice to say, so far, I'm on page 3 and I'm intrigued. Check the link if you want to.

Cheers,

R-

I Hate This When ...

I had another flare with Mom today. Her incessant of using this particular sign is rephrensive. She knew it'd piss me off when she used her middle finger to stick out while leaving her other fingers back and rubbed the middle finger on her nose repeatedly to identify a particular group in order to degrade them in the process.

God knows how many times I told her to stop uttering that racist sign. Dad attempted to rebuke me that I should "respect" mother. I just cannot respect a person who has so much hate in her blood. Each time she used that sign, my stomach churns to no end. I ended up calling them "white trash" in retaliation.

This started after I read the article about Richmond Mayor Douglas Wilder mapping out the 5-year plan for the city, which I liked his ideas. Bob Daniels once said to me that Richmond is the town that has not changed since the Civil War. He is right. This particular town is pitiful. It was the largest city in the South before the Civil War. In fact, it was bigger than New Orleans, Charlotte, Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, Jacksonville, Orlando. Today, these cities soared past Richmond.

Atlanta already hosted the Summer Olympics. Let's be serious, Atlanta and many cities has accomplished so many that Richmond has not done. What did Richmond has to accomplish? Dad said, "History!" I mentioned that history can take us so far, but that is it. We gotta stop rely on history too much and start to focus on the growth of Richmond -- how? To enhance Richmond, one must restrict the history's influences to an extent.

Dad said, "Richmond has White House of Confederacy!"

Oh, I chortled that it is shameful that Richmond has attempted to preserve what should have been done in the first place -- destroy them. Do you preserve Adolf Hitler's homes? Do you preserve Josepf Stalin's homes? Do you attempt to admire the swastika flags and erect them in your neighborhoods? Same idea, honey. You simply do not subscribe to that shit, I said.

The fact remains the same: the North won the Civil War, people in the South has to shut up and move on. Let the Confederacy die. Let it burn. Let it be a tool to find in the historical books. It is bit amusing and sickening to see idiots trying to re-enact the Civil War battlefields for what? Do you see people re-enacting the D-Day?! Why don't we have the US Armed Forces dropping two Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki each year as a way to re-enact and remember our conquest of Japan during the World War II.

The truth hurts -- the truth is that the Southerners are bunch of idiots, especially the ones in Richmond.

All Hell broke loose as Mom kept on using her middle finger to rub on her nose and whined about the NAACP subjugating the whites and all that shit. It was ridiculous. That was not even the whole point. But what do you expect these people with the flawed educational background?

Man, I'm telling you -- it is tough dealing with these folks. How do you deal with these people, my friends? Do share your opinions about this racist sign.

Cheers,

R-

About Bitch Sessions

Two major changes regarding the Bitch Sessions.

1. Bitch Session will not be done once a month. It can be done anytime, 24-7. It is going to be unmoderated. And the best of all, I do not have to copy and paste from your emails.

2. From now on, Bitch Sessions will not be done via emails through my entries. It shall be done on ShoutBox on the right side of the blog. Why? It is time for a change, really. It is annoying that I kept on getting angry emails from people accusing me of writing these flaming comments despite the fact that I posted the disclaimer on every emails.

Start Bitchin'!

UPDATE: Much to my chagrin -- this fuckin' ShoutBox does not permit cuss words. You can bet I'm looking for a new one.

UPDATE II: I changed the host and this is much better. You can cuss, you can take pop it up off from my blog. How cool is that?! But I had to abandon some comments that were said on the first host. My apologies for that -- now do it all over again!

Marcus Vick ... AGAIN! Last night, Marcus Vick got arrested once again for brandishing a gun at McDonalds Restaurant in Suffolk, Virginia.

MCI Center No More! Now it is Verizon Center.

Three Books To Purchase ... ! I am going to buy three books. They are Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, The DaVinci Code, and last, Geno: In Pursuit of Perfection-- the last one is about Geno Auriemma -- the Women's Basketball Head Coach of Connecticut Huskies. He used to assist Coach Ryan at Virginia. When I first saw him as a kid, I was enamored with him. And today, I still do think he's sexy. Geno, despite the fact that I do not approve of him coaching at UConn, is a winner that serves a huge thorn in Tennessee's backs. Good for him.

Off to the gym for a heavy workout. I need that.

Cheers,

R-

Brendan Stern, Desperate Housewives & Times Dispatch

What About Brendan Stern? He is talented writer who has the knacks of making readers smile and laugh. I never had a chance to loiter with him in person at all. He's pretty selective or that he heard the horror stories about me to a point where he did not want to say "hey" to me, I guess. But reading his articles in The Buff and Blue, Buck Naked Bison are certainly something that I enjoyed the most. He has the way of saying words that makes me chuckle. I'd love for him to guestblog at least once in a while. Perhaps ... I can try.

Anyway, I stumbled upon the 2005 Fall issue of Gallaudet Today last night. I cringed upon seeing the image of Ben Lewis and his love-affair with foreign countries in that issue. Did anyone notice that Gallaudet President I. King Jordan has 5 pictures in 3 pages (page 4, 6 and 7) -- what a case of infatuation the magazine has for him! Then I read the brief appearance of Ty Giordano as well. Ty is correct when he mentioned that "it was absolutely thrilling to be a part of history (about being part of Broadway play as Deaf actor)" and I'm happy that he mentioned Bruce Hlibok as well.

However, I found the article where Brendan Stern penned about his backpacking adventures in Europe and Africa. It was great stuff to read -- hell, you will learn something new out of that as well. Check his stuff. Thanks for sharing this with us all, Brendan!

Did Anyone Sees Desperate Housewives Tonight? Priceless. Any thoughts?

My Letter in Richmond Times-Dispatch: Last week, the Times Dispatch mentioned about the need to build or renovate the baseball stadium for Richmond Braves, the AAA team. The current stadium, The Diamond, sits far away from Downtown Richmond. In fact, it sits in middle of nothing except for the adult bookstore, Greyhound bus station and Bill's Barbecue restaurant with its vast ground for parking.

It was time for a new stadium -- the trend among many cities are to position one in or near Downtown. The city officials offered a space in Shockoe Bottom, a trendy community like Georgetown or Camden Yards. It was perfect location, really. Within a reach of Interstate 95, the stadium can view the skyline of Richmond and James River. There are tons of restaurants, clubs and things to do after going to the ballpark such as the Canal Walk (patterned after San Antonio's canal, I believe). The newly renovated Main Street station is accessible with the city buses and trains as well.

But some folks complained about the lack of parking and that it is prone to flooding. As usual, the city dropped it and suggested the nearby Fulton GasWorks with spacious parking as well, a bit far away from Downtown. I'm for Shockoe Bottom -- this is the perfect location. Apparently, the city officials do not learn from Charlotte, Baltimore, Atlanta on how to make the city entertaining -- by putting stadiums within Downtown.

The Times-Dispatch popped a question to the readers whether if one likes the proposed Fulton GasWorks. Needless to say, I chimed in my opinion as well. You can find my letter at the bottom of this website.

Oh, by the way, I've decided to change the format of Bitch Sessions. Will cover on this subject tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Cheers,

R-

1.8.06 Tidbits

Xian Extremists Censors Bareback Mountain: Of course it has to be in Salt Lake City.

The Harvey Murders: The drama continues today as the police department announced the arrest of two men in Philadelphia who murdered the Harvey family along with another family (WTF?) -- reason? They said it appears to be robbery. But I am skeptical about that. I found out that Kathryn Harvey, the deceased mother of 2, who made a gesture to the family friend that something is wrong earlier before getting killed. Kathryn is the half-sister of actor Steve Culp, you may know him as Dr. Rex Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives who died last year. You probably knew his wife, Bree Van De Kamp.

Brokeback Mountain Captioned? Last Friday, I learned that the film debuts in Richmond's Regal Westhampton Theater -- this is bad news. Only Regal Short Pump Theater provides open captions -- the Regal Short Pump Theater sits in the western part of Henrico County, roughly about 17 miles outside of Downtown Richmond. Thus, about 37 miles northwest of where I am. So far, I complained that it was too far away from many Deaf Richmonders who lived scattered around in and around Richmond to the Regal Offices, they claimed that it was InSightCinema.org that chose the place! I emailed the InSightCinema.org about it. So far, no response.

Either way, I called the Regal Westhampton Theater and pressured them to get the captioned film. They kept on saying to call the corporation office, I insisted that they do it! I plan to do it, too. I bet you that the corporation will say that it was InSightCinema's decision to put where the open captioned films in whichever the theaters are.

Amusing Observation: Last night, I went to Richmond's gay bar, Barcode, with a friend of mine. Perhaps it was because of its small population, the guys' preferences were clear and set. I met many caucasians who made it clear that they wanted African American males. I met many African Americans men who wanted caucasians. I'm flexible, I have my own preferences but I try to keep open mind with anyone else. I mean, it may turn out very good than I expected -- you just never knew. But not in this town, gay men are set. They either wanted one race or nothing. One caucasian guy told me he refused to date caucasians, I chortled, "So limited."

He said, "What did you say?"

I said nothing. I miss New York where everyone is treated as an individual, pretty much.

See Why the Bush Administration Is Bad for Americans: Read this. To Bush supporters, entertain us with your so-called beliefs that the Bush Administration is not coddling with the corporations, is not ignoring the safety needs of others, is doing positive to improve the lives of others. Just fucking PROVE it.

Interesting Information about Cats: Where did the cats come from? Of course it is not Antarctica.

Muslims & Gays: As much as I loathed GW Bush's flawed policies in Middle East, I keep in mind that Muslims would love to see gays killed, period. Do not tell me that they do not discriminate. They certainly do. I want to elaborate three different things.

1. Arabs are not always Muslims. Many Arabs belonged to different faiths other than Islam.

2. Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, can be misinterpreted by many and used for wrong reasons. And they did so many times that I cannot count the exact numbers on all three religions.

3. Muslims seemed to embrace the poor, uneducated and frustrated masses of the Middle East. Naturally, they submitted their wisdom to the Imams who spewed such hatred rhetorics on many issues.

These three has to be understood in order to combat the Islamic Extremists and break the cycles of poverty by providing health care, education and better jobs. This will break the Imams' stronghold on the masses as they will eventually separate the government from Islam, like we did in our country.

Right now, name one country in the Middle East that has gay protection, gay rights, gay and lesbian community center, gay bars, hosted gay parades et al. Name one. It is Israel. None of Islamic countries has that. In fact, many gay Muslims sneaked to Israel or other countries so that they can be themselves for a weekend. Yes, there are gay Muslims out there but they are afraid of their governments and its own people.

I agreed with one blogger that it is irritating when I heard of a gay Muslim complaining about the United States. It did happen to me in New York when I met this gay Muslim who kept on criticizing us, I quickly penned on the notepad daring him to open his own gay bar in his country. He grimaced and left. He knew the answer because he would be decapitated so fast.

In these countries, being gay is good reason to get yourself hanged up, toppled by a falling wall, or decapitated. I do not think freeing Iraq from the Saddam's regime will provide a path for GLBT rights in that country at all. In fact, the powers-to-be vaccuumed into Baghdad are many, but there are many Muslim extremists in that country, primarily from many families in poverty due to the UN & US Embargos for many years. These group of poor but Muslim extremists outnumbers the educated Moderates. They eventually will create laws that continue to attack gays and lesbians. If the extremists won the majority, expect the Shari'a laws to pop up in different parts of Iraq whether you like it or not. After all, it is democracy being instituted in that country. People will decide to vote for these discriminatory laws based on their misguided information.

Meanwhile, what can we do about it in our country and Europe where these Muslims extremists wanted to enact the Shari'a laws in our backyards? We gotta stand up for ourselves and tell them to fuck off. No, it is not racist to blast the Muslims off on their beliefs. I'm sure many Muslims, in their private homes, are fuming about the "denigration of cultures" and wanted the Shari'a laws to enact, just like the Xians wanted the pro-Xian laws to enact. But unfortunately, in today's society, the spotlight is on Muslims' treatment of others who do not agree with their beliefs. It is OK for them to resort to violence against us, but it is racist for us to blast them on their beliefs? I think not.

That is the boundary line I stop -- nobody, not even you, will stop me from criticizing a Muslim fellow when they complained about our way of life. Especially in our homes or gay bars.

Of course, my comments are not meant to advocate what GW Bush did -- Hell, GW Bush's policies were largely flawed that will continue to jumble the goals of many -- I only speak of morals when it comes between me and Muslim Extremists. I reserve the right to disparage Muslims when they made a derogatory comment about my country. Hell, my country is not perfect -- that's why we are trying to fix it ourselves. At least, we are better than many.

Cheers,

R-