I read a lot of incendiary stuff over on CrooksandLiars that makes me boil for a minute or two, a sentiment I'm confident is shared by many who visit the site. This latest, however, I find repulsive on a whole new level. If you're interested:

Christianist Group's Billboard Compares Atheism To Murder

Truth in Advertising?

I've been working on my marketing material for various products that I sell in the 3d virtual world known as Second Life®, and as my usual curious self was wondering "Does Truth in Advertising" apply to me promoting an entirely virtual product?

So I went a-googling, found a nice F.A.Q. on advertising and the Federal Trade Commission.

Which got me thinking... (oh dear) ... Isn't it time the FCC adopted some sort of "Truth in Broadcasting" statute?

Fiction, parody, etc, all are fine, free speech and all. But to knowingly assert or imply something blatantly false, as FACT in a "News" or "Social Commentary" setting? There should be *CONSEQUENCES* for reporting deceptive and unsubstantiated claims and passing them off as substantiated truthful facts. Especially if such 'stories' are likely to influence voters.

They're welcome to continue lying their asses off the government shouldn't have the right to censor them... but if a news agency and the interests it serves are benefiting from the mis-information they disseminate... there should be heavy TAXESor FINES on those activities to balance them out.

It goes without saying which "News" corporations I think would be the least interested in seeing such legislation passed.

Seperate is NOT EQUAL

"Same-sex couples retain all of the fundamental substantive components encompassed within the constitutional rights of privacy and due process, with the sole (albeit significant) exception of the right to equal access to the designation “marriage,” a term that — for purposes of the California Constitution as it now reads — the people have decreed is to be reserved for an official union between a man and a woman. Although Proposition 8 does diminish the rights of same-sex couples under article I, section 1 in this one respect, it does not have the sweeping constitutional effect suggested by the Attorney General’s argument." -- GEORGE, C.J. Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court

---

Domestic Partnership is not the same as Marriage with a different name. (from wikipedia)

	Domestic Partnerships	Marriages
Can file without being required to share a residence?	NO	YES
Available to minors with parental consent?	NO	YES
Can be filed without witnesses and not included in public record?	NO	YES
Partners of state employees eligible for the CalPERS long-term care insurance plan?	NO	YES
"Putative Spouse Doctrine" ?	NO	YES

Going Postal

I've just sent a one page LETTER to the California Supreme Court Justices, who have until June 5th or so to render their opinion of Prop 8. An actual real paper letter. It feels so antiquated... and official.

A week on Harbor Island

So, despite threat of Swine Influenza... I'm on the non-left coast for the week... at the peach colored house in the middle here:

View Larger Map
The panorama from the back porch:The view from the front porch:


The wildlife out here is something else. "The beach is a buffet... and everyone's on the menu." We could see everything from the Osprey carrying off fish... the dolphins and sharks churning up the surf... the pelicans and ?herons? smacking into the water... pale white ghost crabs scuttling around at night... and the horseshoe crab mating season. (photo borrowed from my cousin Sam).

Tea for 2

Happy FOX syndicated "TEA bag day". Snort. A few hundred people gathered in Boston... and small groups of loyal FOX ditto-heads around the country. Woot.

Kind of pale in comparison to the 80,000+ that gathered in San Diego in protest to Prop 8 passing and other cities. But anyway.

Neologasm of the day: Astroturf. A false 'grass roots' uprising.

Random rantage: There's a rash of 'pro-(traditional/exclusive)-family" videos appearing lately. Far from the worst but the most infamous of which starts with "A storm is coming..." and goes downhill from there.

Over and over folks are decrying that their religious freedoms are being threatened by gay marriage. Best counter argument I've heard yet:

Some churches WANT to perform same-sex marriage... but LAW forbids it in most states. Now.. whose religious freedoms are under attack here? Really?

Tea bagging

Apparently there are a bunch of people planning to hold a 'tea party' on April 15 because they object to bailouts and paying taxes. I won't link to the right-wing nutjobs frothing at the mouth over it.... but I will re-post my comment on their follow-up thread:

Mad at taxes?

Demand that we reduce the stupid wasteful size of our bloated military - and demand we return to peacetime operations with a smaller standing force.

Think about it.... the bail out money is a small fraction compared to how much the U.S. has wasted by "helping" Iraq in a foolish and failed neocon attempt at empire building. The chief goal of which seemed to be helping their war-profiteering defense-inc buddies.

Those money that should have been going into making America an stronger economic force to be reckoned with.... into schools - scholarships - universities - R&D - etc.

So be glad you have to pay taxes... at least you're making money. Unlike the growing number of jobless people running up credit card debts just to pay their mortgages.

Please... if you can afford it... go have your stupid tea. Maybe some people in need will get hired to clean up after you. (which some of you will be paying for out of the interest your late tax payments. How generous of you.)