Evangelical bullies upstaged at University of Nebraska at Kearney by 'drag queen'

After seeing posts of this on Joe.My.God, then Towleroad, both referring to "Drag Queen" in their headlines, AKSARBENT was, like, Whoa! there are drag queens in Kearney? Nobody informed us before proceeding with this...

Imagine our relief when we actually watched the video and realized (as a commenter at JMG confirmed) that this was not a drag queen, this was a boy in a dress.

Whatever. We still liked the guerrilla theater that threw a monkey wrench into the photo op that the Christers undoubtedly intended to use to fleece more money from their flock.

As one YouTube commenter more familiar with Kearney and its denizens than we are, said: "Attaboy Spencer!"

Finally, as much as we like to root for the home team, we still prefer the way the reprobates at Yale handle situations like this. So thanks, pushy Cornhusker Christers, for providing AKSARBENT another excuse to show this magnificent picture taken by the Yale Daily News in 2009. We get almost as much of a kick out of the reaction of pink shirt dude as he is getting from the proceedings.

Today in Police War on Photography

Not all Texans enamoured of Rick Perry

Photo: Reinhard Heinen, Flickr

A friend of AKSARBENT's, wincing at Rick Perry's rise in national polls, (this was before his idiotic debate performances) all but prayed for the resurrection of Molly Ivins. ("I'm not antigun. I'm pro-knife.")

Fortunately, we may not need a second coming of Miss Ivins. In the deathless prose of George W. Bush himself: "Can't get fooled again."

The New York Times sums it up:

Unwilling to be taken for saps this time around — the local press pretty much gave G. W. B. a pass leading up to the 2000 election — many of the major publications have sharpened their coverage, especially since Perry announced. Cronyism? The Houston Chronicle has been relentless in tracking Perry’s pay-to-play tendencies. Opposition to progressive health care? The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit Web site (which is affiliated with The New York Times), revealed that Perry had an experimental adult stem-cell procedure for his back pain. And my Texas Monthly colleague Paul Burka has been moonlighting as Cassandra, deploring the collapse of state institutions during Perry’s term.
...This isn’t just about snobbery but about something far more important here: money. Texans who have spent zillions to brag about the state’s opera and ballet companies, and who have paid the likes of Santiago Calatrava for architectural gewgaws, also know that multinational corporations aren’t willing to locate in a place that has awful schools and toxic air and that wears its provincialism proudly.

Esoterica: How many times did The Rifleman fire?

Nothing is ever as cut and dried as you think. AKSARBENT counted 13, but it's apparently either 11 or 12 according to the excruciatingly informed comments (samples below) attached to the first YouTube video below. Not insignificant is the contention that the 1892 rifle Chuck Connors is supposed to have only held 11 bullets. BTW, Chuck Connors, who was better known as a baseball player, was the first professional basketball player to shatter a backboard, which he did in 1947 when he played for the Boston Celtics.

11 in holding 1 in chamber = 12.

—PremiumBlank

If there was one in the chamber, he would have to pull the hammer back and pull the trigger, but he cocks the rifle which would eject the one in the chamber.

—devroshart

The soundtrack is part of the confusion, as Connors cocks the rifle you can hear part of a gunshot which some people count, so year hear 12.5 shots and see 12. I saw Connors in 1963 at the Houston Fat Stock Show, where he fired his rifle, which was loud but didn't sound like the show, confusing to a 9 year old.

—devroshart

I've read where Chuck said it only held 8, which I can't figure out. I own a 1892 44/40 and it definitely holds 11 shells. The only thing I can think of is that on set they never loaded more than 8 blanks for scenes and Chuck never realized it could hold more.

—devroshart

I believe the answer is 11. This is because a close-up shot is duplicated when the 2nd camara (zoomed-out) took over. In addition i think 13 total shots are heard though in total, perhaps 1 extra due to the duplication + 1 from the grassy knoll?! :)

—9x19mmProductions

The Rifleman opening sequence, extreme edition:

NHL won't take any action against Wayne Simmonds

Statement by NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations regarding the slur (fucking faggot) that Sean Avery accused Simmonds of using against him:

"Since there are conflicting accounts of what transpired on the ice, we have been unable to substantiate with the necessary degree of certainty what was said and by whom. Specifically, Flyers player Wayne Simmonds has expressly denied using the homophobic slur he is alleged to have said. Additionally, none of the on-ice officials close to the altercation in question heard any inappropriate slurs uttered by either of the primary antagonists. In light of this, we are unable at this time to take any disciplinary action with respect to last night's events."

It sure looks to AKSARBENT that he said what Sean Avery accused him of saying...

Darrel Choat, Albion, NE native, recounts Marine reaction to his coming out on NPR after end of DADT

CAMP RIPPER, Iraq - Regimental Combat Team-2 awards officer Capt.
Darrel L. Choat (left), 42-year-old Albion, Neb., native, and Cpl. Paul N. Ibarra,
a 20-year-old Brooklyn-Mill Basin, N.Y., native and administrative clerk,
discuss work while working late one night. 2005 photo by Cpl. Ken Melton.

Well, one buddy leaned over and said, hey, were you on NPR this morning? And I said yes. Then, well, what was that about? And I said, well, "don't ask, don't tell" ended today. And he looks at me and he goes, yeah - so? And I says, well, it was about "don't ask, don't tell" ending today. And he goes, Oh. Then he finally got it.

At this point AKSARBENT supposes it would be just mean to dredge up the chant which used to be popular in the Air Force: "If you have a low IQ, you can be a jarhead too. Onnnnnne.......two. Onnnnnne.......two.

Fast-moving fire of unknown origin guts Iowa City's only gay bar

The fire started shortly after 2:00 a.m. (bar closing time in Iowa) at a Bagel shop next to the Yacht Club last Saturday. Mitchell Schmidt of the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported:

Amazingly, the building housing Iowa City's only gay bar, The Yacht Club and three apartments still was intact when the sun came up.

"I thought we were done," Thomas said, standing near a now water-covered dance floor. "I can't believe it's not worse than it is."

Thomas is one of several Iowa City business owners, residents and officials reeling from Saturday's fire that caused extensive damage to the Bruegger's Bagels building, 225 Iowa Ave., and the neighboring Van Patten building, 9 S. Linn St.

Mitt Romney / Donald Trump meeting lambasted by DNC in web video

(Via Americablog)

ABC's Desperate Housewives attacks Atheists; Marc Cherry onboard with the Christers-as-victims program

Last night's episode mentioned, in passing, the death of class rodent mascot Cupcake, whose burial occasioned a mini-meltdown as Susan obsessed over her coverup of Carlos' lethal reaction to intimidation of his wife by her stepfather/abuser. Typical Marc Cherry strange: trivializing (and worse) the church that allowed the abuse of Gabby to continue (a church which demonizes gay people like Cherry himself) then pandering to its adherents by taking a swipe at people who work to stop religious incursions in public schools. Here's the snippet of dialogue which aired last night:

There's a little spot in the garden where we bury the class pets... Have a little funeral, say a few words. Just don't mention god. Amanda's parents are atheists, lawyers and MAJOR douches.

The McGurk Effect

Short takes: Another state GOP cries wolf over 'voter fraud;' origami paper bag handles; new hack can intercept PayPal session; messed-up military rape law

Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster's claim that 200 out-of-state-tuition rate students were registered to vote in Maine and possibly double-voting not corroborated even once after a two-month investigation at state expense.

Do low capital gains taxes really spur investment?

High School students in Covina, California not amused by the firing of their gay water polo coach.

Microsoft charges Casio to license... Linux? ...and Windows 8 certified hardware may block Linux installations.

Practical origami: instant handles for paper bags.

New JavaScript hacking tool can intercept PayPal, other secure sessions.

Meat industry still denying antibiotic resistance.

Ask a Mexican: Am I supporting the Mexican drug cartels if I smoke pot?

Congress' messed-up new military rape law shifts consent burden of proof to defendent; but under the constitution, that's the prosecution's job.

Google Exec. Chair Eric Schmidt grilled at hearing by Al Franken on company's conflict of interest: fair search results vs. promoting company products

Bar heckler explains why he told Bristol Palin that her mother, Sarah, is a whore

He's a 47-year-old consultant who said he did the same thing to Newt Gingrich at the Four Seasons and who insists he was not a plant and isn't an actor.

Maggie Gallagher to lead Special Victims Unit of National Organization for Marriage

Maggie Gallagher couldn't bait gay people enough to attack her on her bus tours; in fact she couldn't even get kicked out of a recent public reading of the Prop 8 trial at a New York City theater, even though she did her best to block a balcony row and ate noisily from a plastic feed bag she frequently and loudly crunched.

But she's a game gal and is now supervising the production of propaganda videos which will apparently feature heterosexual supremacists whose gilded cages are rattled when companies refuse to hire them after seeing how they moonlight.

Frank Turek, NOM martyr crucified by Cisco and Bank of America:



Frank Turek, strutting Christer bully misrepresenting evolution:



Here Turek presents the kindergarten version of evolution, wondering why, if homosexuality is genetic and not learned, it hasn't disappeared because of the rather low birth rates among same sex couples. This only makes sense if you're stupid. If you're not, you would immediately wonder why, for example, about 7% of domestic rams will have nothing to do with ewes. Generation after generation after generation, to the eternal frustration of sheep ranchers. Obviously, nature is selecting FOR a certain amount of exclusive homosexuality among sheep even more strongly than nonreproduction selects against it. But Turek is either too dumb to realize this or too dishonest to say so. Either way, AKSARBENT wouldn't hire the jerk to mop the floor. Now, after googling his activities, CISCO and BofA aren't either, so *poof* he's a victim.

Zzzzzz.

Bristol Palin, daughter of famous heterosexual supremacist, visits West Hollywood bar wearing Christer T-Shirt followed by film crew; gets the footage she came for

John Cornyn, idiot GOP senator from Texas, wants Warren Buffett to release his tax returns

Sen. Cornyn at Ft. Bliss

His reason: “I know that Mr. Buffett’s not likely to release his tax records, but I’ll bet what it’ll show you is that most of what he earns is from capital gains, which is taxed at a 15 percent tax rate rather than deriving it as income [for] which he’d pay a much higher tax rate.”

Well, duh, moron. That capital gains taxes are too low is exactly Buffett's point. And, not incidentally, the Oracle of Omaha DID show his tax return to talk show host Charlie Rose — last month.

News: Georgia simply won't allow gun-pointing, weed-smoking, door-kicking, sheriff-insulting Anthony Peters to remain on its bench

(Magistrate Judge Anthony Peters, via Talking Points Memo)

The Georgia Supreme Court has maintained the high standards of that state's judiciary by throwing Magistrate Judge Anthony Peters off the bench for pulling a gun in the courthouse, pointing it at himself and saying to another judge: "I am not scared. Are you all scared?" Also for smoking pot once a week from at least March to May of 2010. Also for kicking in two doors in his sister-in-law's estranged husband's house. Also for calling in to a talk show where the Catoosa County Sheriff was being interviewed and, after initially trying to disguise his voice with various foreign accents, calling the lawman a "spineless jelly spine," and letting him know that he had "crapped himself."

AKSARBENT applauds the uncompromisingly rigidity of Georgia's judicial ethics and that system's vigilance in maintaining such a high bar of professional comportment. It also suggests that ex-judge Peters try looking for work in Texas.

Jon Stewart worried about excessive taxes on Bill O'Reilly, other millionaires

New Hampshire Rick Perry endorser: state sold kids to gay couples for $10,000 each

Mother Jones reports that a new Rick Perry New Hampshire endorser, state Rep. Al Baldasaro, sparked an outcry in 2010 when he compared adoption by same-sex couples to child traffick­ing. New Hampshire passed a law in 2008 per­mit­ting unmarried same-sex couples to adopt children. Afterward, Baldasaro testified before a legislative committee that New Hampshire "sold each kid to a homosexual couple that's not mar­ried for $10,000." Baldasaro later apologized, called the statement "a bad choice of words," and claimed he was referring to federal money received by the state to cover adoption costs.

Elizabeth Warren vs. Scott Brown in Massachussetts

Sen. Scott Brown doesn't understand why upstart Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren is already leading him by two points in polls. Maybe he should watch this video.


(Via Towleroad; see blog list)

How Florence Henderson figured out Robert Reed was gay; Brady Bunch star also has a Google problem

Related: Florence Henderson's Google problem:

After R.E.M. breakup, Michael Stipe drops some inhibitions and his pants

The short, not really a music video, was posted on Stipe's tumblr page. AKSARBENT, while impressed, likes this earlier video better.

Gay GI in Iraq booed by Republicans at Fox debate

(Dave Evans clip via Towleroad)

Tony Bennett offers completely unnecessary apology for his 9/11 remarks on Howard Stern's radio program

Bennett, 85, fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII and marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 60s. He said the experiences made him into a humanist and pacifist.

Bennett's statement included the following assertion: "There is simply no excuse for terrorism and the murder of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks on our country...I am sorry if my statements suggested anything other than an expression of my love for my country, my hope for humanity and my desire for peace throughout the world."

On Stern's show, Bennett took issue to with Stern's assertions that the terrorists "started it," and obviously referred to blowback from U.S. policies in the Middle East.

"They flew the plane in but we caused it," Bennett said on the show. "Because we were bombing them and they told us to stop."

Iowa Family Leader uses anti-Bob Vander Plaats T shirt to raise money

This shirt, with our President & CEO Bob Vander Plaats's face on it, is for sale at a t-shirt store in Des Moines' East Village. (Note: the letters are not blurred out on the actual shirt.) I guess the people behind this would rather attack and smear an individual than have a civil discussion about the issues.

Vander Plaats, whom the Iowa Family Leader claims was 'smeared,' laughed and said 'Good one' at a fag joke told to him in Audubon, Iowa earlier this year and has refused to apologize. The Iowa Family Leader is using the attack against its leader to peddle $40 yearly partnerships on its web site.

William Shatner at Charlie Sheen roast: 'Who's the warlock now, bitch?'

Comedy Central's Charlie Sheen roast

"I was recently at a celebrity auction where I sold one of my kidney stones for $75,000. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Do you understand what I've done? I synthesized uric acid and calcium inside my bladder and turned it into a house for Habitat for Humanity. Who's the warlock now, bitch?"

Bonus from Mike Tyson: "As the bard once said, "All the world's a stage and Charlie's been booed off them all... (to another roaster) "During your performance I wish I'd bitten my own fucking ears off."

Renault's and Nissan's ad agencies both rip off student spec ad for Mitsubishi electric car

Probably neither Renault nor Mitsubishi copied each other, as their ads came out within days of each other. It's more likely that their ad agencies both ripped off a much funnier spec ad for Mitsubishi's i-MiEV made by German film students months ago...

Privacy: GM now compiling your GPS location and speed 'for any purpose, at any time' — even if you cancel OnStar

Jonathan Zdziarski's blog has some disturbing news for GM owners:

OnStar’s latest T&C has some very unsettling updates to it, which include the ability to now collect your GPS location information and speed “for any purpose, at any time”. They also have apparently granted themselves the ability to sell this personal information, and other information to third parties, including law enforcement. To add insult to a slap in the face, the company insists they will continue collecting and selling this personal information even after you cancel your service, unless you specifically shut down the data connection to the vehicle after canceling. This could mean that if you buy a used car with OnStar, or even a new one that already has been activated by the dealer, your location and other information may get tracked by OnStar without your knowledge, even if you’ve never done business with OnStar.

The complete update can be found here.

Anonymized GPS data? There’s no such thing! ... If your vehicle is consistently parked at your home, driving down your driveway, or taking a left or right turn onto your street every single day, its pretty obvious that this is where you live! 

What is more profitable to OnStar that your personal GPS data could be used for?... How about employers who purchase these records from these third parties to see where their employees (or prospective employees) travel to (and how fast), sleaze bag lawyers who want to subpoena these records to use against you if you’re ever sued...?

...To make matters even more insulting, it was difficult to ensure the data connection was shut down after canceling. I still have no guarantee OnStar did what they were supposed to. I had to request the data connection be shut down repeatedly, after the OnStar rep attempted to leave it on and ignore my requests.

When will our congress pass legislation that stops the American people’s privacy from being raped by large data warehousing interests? Companies like OnStar, Google, Apple, and the other large abusive data warehousing companies desperately need to be investigated.

Craigslist sues unemployed man for $1.2 million for posting management software he "shut down" in 2008; questionable legal tactics alleged; man claims he was never served

Mike Masnick of Techdirt reports on Craigslist's questionable and aggressive legal tactics in going after software writers writing posting management software.

Hubert makes it clear that his software was designed for legitimate uses of Craigslist, for those who needed better management tools. In fact, he makes it clear that he left out and/or disabled certain features if he realized they might be attractive to spammers. For example, after noticing that the Craigslist Personals section was hit with a lot of spam, and realizing that such a category probably wouldn't need such a management system, he blocked the software from posting to that category. Hubert claims that in 2007 Craig Newmark himself reached out to Hubert to ask for some details about the software. Hubert says that the emails were "encouraging" and never once did Newmark suggest any concerns or problems with the software, let alone ask Hubert to stop offering it. Hubert also notes that after running into more issues with spammers trying to use his software, he shut down the whole thing at the end of 2008.

Tea Party trashed in ad by health advocacy group