[ Passive Aggressive Notes ]

...are cracking me up. Check it out.

[ The Velvet Revolution & the Iranian One ]

"Walking around [Prague during the Velvet Revolution] the morning we arrived we were approached by three Czech students. After determining that we were not secret police—jeans, leather jackets, and American accents made us likelier to be secret police—they gave us some fliers. They implored us to carry the fliers out of the country with us when we left. They made sure we understood that we would have smuggle the fliers out. We would have to hide them from border guards. We would need to conceal them in our luggage, or rolled up and stuck in our toothpaste tubes, or in our underwear."

Dan Savage, sex columnist extraordinaire has an amazing story of his time in Prague during the Velvet Revolution. It's a must-read and also links to the words of Vaclev Havel on the whole Iranian matter.

[ Guess Who Fucking Said This? ]

"If [a State] were to permit homosexuals to marry, these marital benefits would... presumably have to be made available to homosexual couples and surviving spouses of homosexual marriages on the same terms as they are now available to opposite-sex married couples and spouses. To deny federal recognition to same-sex marriages will thus preserve scarce government resources, surely a legitimate government purpose."

So who do you think? George Bush? Darth Cheney? Rush, right? Wrong. The answer is good ol' Barack Obama. Yeah. I can't fucking believe it either.

[ Quotable ]

My mother said to me, "If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope." Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso. -Pablo Picasso

[ You Have Already Seen This ]

But it is hilarious.

[ Comic of the Day: Starbucks ]

(click the image for a bigger view)

[ California Supreme Court Upholds Citizen's Rights to Discriminate ]

You probably already heard that Prop 8 was upheld in California. Here's what my good ol' friends are saying on the book of faces:

1. embarrassed, disappointed and ashamed to be a California citizen today.
2. California Supreme Court : cowards.
3. 's love for California is once again shaken by the arrogance of a few. Prop 8 is upheld...just to rub it in our face some more.
4. NOOOO! At least the 18,000 marriages are still valid... but this is a crappy crappy day. #rejectprop8
5. RT @almightygod Looks like a certain state is getting more wildfires and earthquakes in the near future. #rejectprop8
6. will be protesting the continuing ban on gay marriage at 5:30 today in response to the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold Prop 8. Information at dayofdecision.org
7. thinks we need to get our shit together, Cali.
8. When the highest court in California upholds the blatantly discriminatory Prop 8, who can we turn to for equal protection under the law? We have to rise up and put an end to the legal discrimination and bigotry against gays and lesbians in California. We have to rise up!
9. brain damage. (quite honestly, this one may not have anything to do with it).

[ I Have A Dream. Gay Rights in America ]

I never watched American Idol, so I didn't realize the two finalists were a Christian Conservative versus a potentially gay man. The NYT thinks the fact that the Christian won means nothing as it pertains to the gay civil rights movement in America. There are theories, however, as to why Obama has stalled out on all his campaign promises on the issue:

The most common rationale for his current passivity is that his plate is too full. But the president has so far shown an impressive inclination both to multitask and to argue passionately for bedrock American principles when he wants to.

Personally, I think he knows he's going to take a hit in his nomination of the Supreme Court Justice (whomever it is), so he's going to take his time on the gay rights issue. What's interesting, though, is how the media keeps putting it back on the table. John Stewart. Rachel Maddow. Everyone's talking about it.

[ I Hate to Have to Do This To You... ]

"...but can I put you on hold for a few minutes while I research this?" I wonder if the "I hate to have to do this to you" part was in their little script binder, or just an added line from the person I was talking to. In either case, it reinforces why I'm a mac person.

I have been on hold long enough, however, to bang out this entire post, so I must have really stumped them. This may be due to the fact that it's a made up problem and I'm just trying to secure a new battery for my computer.

[ Hubble Telescope Retired ]

This is the final image the Hubble telescope will ever take. Endings are, somehow, always profound.