NATIONAL EQUALITY MARCH

It's not driven by religion. It's not driven by preference. Simply put... it's driven by law. This will be the first time I have ever stepped up, and taken action, and hopefully it will be in a big way, along with thousands of others from around the country.

Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. We will accept no less and will work until it is achieved. Equality Across America exists to support grassroots organizing in all 435 Congressional Districts to achieve full equality.

BARACK OBAMA. HE WILL BE THERE.

We are guaranteed equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. Free and equal people do not bargain for or prioritize our rights. Full equality necessarily includes all members of the LGBT community and encompasses, but is not limited to:

* The right to work our jobs and go to school free of harassment and discrimination.
* The right to safety in our daily lives, and protection from hate crimes.
* The right to equitable healthcare, and the right to donate blood.
* The right to equitable immigration policies.
* The right to marry.
* The right to serve in the military openly.

Many bills currently exist to address some of these issues, but we do not support a piecemeal strategy. We seek one federal solution to full equality.

LADY GAGA. SHE WILL BE THERE.


As members of every race, class, faith, and community, we see the struggle for LGBT equality as part of a larger movement for peace and social justice. The National Equality March is an important event to show support for full equality on the door step of those who can make that happen: the Congress of the United States. It will be held October 10-11, 2009 in Washington, DC and each Congressional District Action Team will mobilize its community to go to DC.



The 14th Amendment says:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Did you see a mention of skin color, sexual orientation, or sexual identity. It says if you are born in America... and that's it. And that's what I, WE, are demanding.


SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11


I WILL BE THERE. WILL YOU?

Ben & Jerry's Supports Gay Marriage... With Ice Cream Flavor!

Here is a press release straight (no pun intended) from the desks of Ben & Jerry's...

In partnership with Freedom to Marry we are gathered here to celebrate Vermont and all the other great states where loving couples of all kinds are free to marry legally. We have ceremoniously dubbed our iconic flavor, Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby in support, and to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality. Check out our press release.



If you live in Vermont, or visiting, you’re invited to celebrate the pride-filled occasion with an all naturally fabulous union of Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream, fudge and pretzels. Enjoy our Hubby Hubby Sundae for the month of September in participating Vermont Scoop Shops!


To learn more about the issue in your state and take action, visit www.freedomtomarry.org

Remembering Michael Jackson

Yesterday Michael Jackson died from cardiac arrest. I was just leaving my house to pick up April at around 5:00 PM when I was flipping thru the radio stations and came across one that was playing a good song. After that song completed the DJ came on and said that Michael Jackson had suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital and that he hoped MJ would make a quick recovery, he then said he would play a 5 minute block of Michael Jackson songs just to "encourage" him along... send his "support" so to speak. At that moment the tone was "news like". Calm and hopeful. After that 5 minute of MJ songs completed the DJ said that Michael's condition had worsened and then started to play all MJ songs... you could tell just from the feeling in the air that the tone had changed. I started to flip thru the stations and every minute that went by, one by one they started to report the story and eventually they started to play all MJ themselves. The feeling in the air was now one of deep concern, as it was reported he was in a coma. One DJ at around 6PM stated said "I have a feeling that we will remember this day for a very long time". At around 6:30PM her words proved true. Sitting at the drive thru ATM at the bank listening to the car radio HOT 99.5 reported that TMZ was officially stating that Michael Jackson had died... then moments later Ryan Seacrest made his way onto every Top 40 radio stations nationwide LIVE, confirming Michael's death. All histeria broke out. DJ's got emotional, radio listeners calling in crying... it was unforgettable. After dropping April off shortly thereafter, I rushed to go over Christie's and I picked her up and we went to K Mart and I got some bars of soap and, well here's what I did...


I left that on all night last night driving around the entire island with Christie blasting MJ music, making sure everyone got the message. I went to work today like that as well. I woke up to every station remembering Michael Jackson. All day today on the radio, every station, all you heard was Michael. And that was fine by me. It seemed like the world was celebrating his life. Yes there was mourning... but it was mostly a celebration. It has definitely been a unique and special experience to be a part of history.

"The King of Pop" will live on forever thru his music.




UPDATE 6/27 5:15 PM: As I said yesterday, Michael will live on thru his music... and BOY was I right. Take a look at these screen shots from the iTunes store...He has seven songs in the Top 10 songs in the USA right now, including the number 1 position. Also 9 out of the Top 10 Albums are his, again claiming the number one spot there as well. On Amazon.com he claims 19 of the top 25 songs on there, as well as being the number one artist on that site and guess who is number 2... The Jackson 5! Billboard claims that Michael Jackson will break history next week, having the NUMBER ONE ALBUM in the country and likely the world. Click here for the full and intriguing story.

MICHAEL JACKSON IS DEAD

Michael Jackson has died from a heart attack at the age of 50 in Los Angeles. I am in shock. Radio is playing NOTHING but him, on every channel.

U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency As Swine Flu Spreads

Dang... this is pretty crazy. Take a look at this article on CNN.com. Apparently there is an outbreak of swine flu occuring in Mexico, where they have shut down schools, and the outbreak has spread to the U.S. Click here to read all about it.

Hurricane Gustav

This is a look at how things evolved with Hurricane Gustav from right before landfall, during landfall and afterwards. It was my first attempt to do a "Storm Alert Mode" continual posting of breaking news regarding the storm. I don't know if I will do it again, but it was pretty cool to do it once.
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 - 6:00 PM NOTE: THIS IS THE LAST STORM ALERT POST FOR GUSTAV
Strength: Category 1
Winds: 80 MPH
Central Pressure: 966 MB
Location: 15 Miles N of Lafayette, LA
Moving: NW 16 MPH
Expected To: Continue To Weaken

Comments: Hurricane Gustav is continuing to hammer inland Louisiana. New Orleans was spared that brunt and the levees seem to have held up to the challenge, despite being topped by a few feet. Gustav has spawned 100's of tornadoes and continues to do so. Gustav is still expected to stall over northwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas. As of now 2 million people in Louisiana are without power. Oil prices plummeted by $4.16, down to a closing prices of $111.30 a barrel.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 - 11:45 AM
Strength: Category 2
Winds: 110 MPH
Central Pressure: 955 MB
Location: 70 Miles SW of New Orleans
Moving: NW 15 MPH
Expected To: Weaken

Comments: I slept in :-P Anyway, Gustav has officially made landfall in south central Louisiana. There are widespread power outages as you would expect. The levees in New Orleans are holding up well as of now, however the water has risen to a point that it is overflowing in some areas. Also, there is a barge loose in one of the cdanals, and the fear is that it will crash into the side of the levee and repeat the situation that happened in 2005. As far as oil/gas prices go on the markets, it pretty interesting to say the least. Everyone was saying that it was going to skyrockect, and that would make sense. But oil prices have plummeted more than $4.50 a barrel, and gas price futures are trading down 10 cents a gallon. All of this will change of course if we hear of damage to oil rigs or refineries. Just FYI, I am now watching Tropical Storm Hanna in the Bahama's. It is expected to become a hurricane Wednesday and make landfall on the Georgia/South Carolina coast Friday. Also Tropical Depression 9, soon to be Tropical Storm Ike has formed way out in the Atlantic. That will be our next major hurricane, and it just may enter the Gulf of Mexico way down the road.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 31 - 11:00 PM
Strength: Category 3
Winds: 115 MPH
Central Pressure: 954 MB
Location: 220 Miles SE of New Orleans
Moving: NW 16 MPH
Expected To: Stay Same Strength

Comments: So Hurricane Gustav has held steady at 115 MPH. It is still a dangerous Category 3 Hurricane barreling down on Louisiana's coast. The forward speed has started to slow, and is expected to continue that trend and when it makes landfall and moves into north western Louisiana and eastern Texas, it could stall and cause catastrophic flooding. The first deaths have been reported here in the USA from Gustav. 3 critical care patients in New Orleans who were being evacuated from their hospitals died en route to their destination. Media coverage of Hurricane Gustav is extreme, non stop on every network. I am going to bed, and will update you tomorrow morning.


SUNDAY, AUGUST 31 - 10:10 PM
Strength: Category 3
Winds: 115 MPH
Central Pressure: 952 MB
Location: 260 Miles SSE of New Orleans
Moving: NW 17 MPH
Expected To: Slightly Strengthen

Comments: Hurricane Gustav was a Category 4 when it made landfall this time last night in Cuba with winds of 150 MPH. After reemerging into the Gulf of Mexico it had a hard time regaining the strength it had lost over land. However, it seems that the latest satellite images show it regaining good shape and the central pressure has steadily been dropping at a slow pace. I am pretty sure winds will atleast slightly increase when we get our update from the National Hurricane Center at 11 PM. This info that I have is from 8 PM. Hurricane force winds extend 70 miles out from the center and Tropical Storm force winds extend out 220 miles from the center. 96% of all oil in the Gulf have been shut down and evacuated. 95% of New Orleans residents evacuated. Hurricane Gustav has lead to the largest evacuation in Louisiana history. At one time, The Weather Channel's Mike Bettes was reporting live and a rain band came through and he saw rotation as tornado sirens blared. If that makes it to YouTube I will post the link.

Censoring The Bible?

Well, we knew that this was coming sooner or later. And now we can see how it can happen and how quickly it can happen. Just shows where we are in the stream of time. Here's an interesting news article.

Christian leaders gathered in Denver Tuesday in opposition to an anti-Christian censorship law that could open the door to censoring the Bible.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed the state bill, SB 200, which aims at silencing all publications that discriminate against homosexuality.

"Section 8 of Senate Bill 200 is a wide open door for any judge to censor anything that condemns homosexuality, including Scripture," Colorado State Rep. Kevin Lundberg said.

Many Christians fear that one day the Bible will be considered illegal in America.
"I do believe that the Bible is banned, under the plain language of this new statute," Steve Crampton, general counsel of the pro-family Liberty Counsel, said, indicating he believes that day is already here.

Section 8 reads, "No person, being the owner. agent, or employee of any place of public accommodation. shall publish. distribute, give away. except as provided in this section, any communication. book, pamphlet, writing. or advertisement of any kind. intended or calculated to discriminate. against. sexual orientation, marital status (which) is unwelcome."

It is titled, "Publishing of discriminative matter forbidden."

HUMONGOUS Udate!

So lots to talk about in this post. I woulda made a video update but I didn't feel like it :-P So here we go, each updated subject will have it's own paragraph.

Phone: I was looking on YouTube and I saw that there is a new software update for the Voyager. It's like a total makeover and would basically be like having a new phone. And I've been itching for something new until I get a new phone, and this would be the prefect remedy. Well I called our local Annapolis Verizon and asked if they had the update there and they said yes but that they've been having issues with it so until next week instead of updating the phone you bring in, they just give you a new phone with the new software already installed! So I might be doing that today. The problem is, because of the big accident on the Bay Bridge a few weeks ago, they are doing reconstruction of the wall and it is causing a 4 hour backup. So once I cross that bridge, I know I will be in extreme traffic coming home. Is it worth it?
7:45 PM Update- I just got the software update, but not a new phone.


Yesterday: I was gonna go across the bridge and go shopping, eat dinner and get the software update for my phone yesterday, but at the last minute I changed my mind and went to Easton instead. I went to Applebee's, then got my haircut, as you can see in the picture to the left. Likey?



Hurricane Gustav: Well it happened, as I said it would on Tuesday. Hurricane Gustav has become a major hurricane. Today it is a Category 4. At this moment it has sustained winds of 145 MPH. It is gonna hit Cuba today and tonight enter the Gulf of Mexico. There it will become a Cat. 5 hurricane and move towards the Louisiana/Texas coast. My grandfather, who works for the electric company, has already been told he is leaving Monday morning and being sent to the Gulf Coast to help restore power in the aftermath. He did the same thing when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the same region in 2005. This also means that all the oil rigs are being evacuated and prices are about to skyrocket. They are in the direct path of this monster.

Gas Prices: Well, as you can imagine, with a huge hurricane about to pound the Gulf of Mexico, oil prices have shot up. Fortunately, atleast here, it hasn't been reflected in prices at the pump. Right now we have the lowest prices in that state, which has been the case this year, and the lowest prices in months. Two days ago I took the picture to the right of gas prices at $3.38 a gallon. That won't be the case as these next few days pass. Will Hurricane Gustav finally force our local gas station owners to raise the prices over $4 a gallon for the first time ever? We shall see.

Shopping Needs: I need to shop. Badly. I need winter clothes, but I still really need shoes. I'm still using the same pair of shoes and they are not comfy at all. Maybe if I cross the bridge to get the Voyager software update I will go ahead and get some shoes.
7:45 PM Update- I got the software update on phone and while waiting for it to finish, I went to the mall shoe shopping, didn't find any shoes I liked so I got frustrated and left. I did get some worthless socks though.

Blog: So I didn't want to make a separate post just for this so I will include it in this one for obvious reasons. When August 2008 ends, it will be the busiest month ever for my blog. For the first time in the over 2 years I have had this blog, I might actually reach the 30 posts in 1 month threshold! June of this year was the first time I reached 20 posts in a single month, and now just 2 short months later I may make it to 30. Either way, this will still be "most posted" month ever since the previous record is June 2008 with 22 posts, this is already the 28th post of this month. Awesome!

Hurricane Gustav... Crap!

Above is the forecast path to what will be a major hurricane. Hurricane Gustav is hitting Haiti right now, however as soon as it moves off the coast, it is expected to stay over warm Caribbean water and is therefore expected to rapidly strengthen, and explode into a major hurricane. That's not good at all. It is then forecast to enter the Gulf of Mexico Saturday and continue to strengthen. We are potentially looking at a Category 5, the strongest there is, churning in the Gulf. As you see, the forecast has it aimed straight for the oil rigs of the Gulf coast. If Gustav, as forecasted, hits them with such stregnth, our gas prices will easily skyrocket to and possibly over the $5 a gallon range. Right now gas is $3.46 a gallon.

Congratulations Michael Phelps!

He did it. Michael Phelps just moments ago won his 8th Gold in Beijing. This is the first time anyone has won 8 Golds in one Olympics. He also has the most golds ever, combining all his Olympic wins. So once again, the boy from my own backyard, right here in Maryland... CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL PHELPS! THE WORLD'S GREATEST OLYMPIAN IN HISTORY!

If I Get A New Car, This Will Be It

With a sticker price, fully loaded, at around $27,000 this just might be the first car I buy and make payments on. Coming in Fall of 2008 baby!

UPDATED 6/13/08- New, better video has replaced former video. Watch the new and improved NBC report of this wonder car!

She's 115!

The woman you are looking at is 115 years old! She turned 115 today. She was born April 20, 1893... 1893!!! That's insane! And get this, she has five grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great grandchildren!!!! Isn't that crazzzzy!?! It's a glimpse as to what we can expect in the new system, of course minus the looking like we are getting old part!

Anna Nicole Smith Is Dead

CURRENT WEATHER: SUNNY 23*


Wow, I can't believe it. I heard the news yesterday at around 4PM at work on the radio and my jaw dropped. I mean I always thought that she was disgusting and unreasonable. However in 2002-2004 when I watched her show on E!, I saw that she had true, strong love for her son and close family. After her son died, I doubted her future, I just didn't think it would come to this. Even though she was "out-there", it is so unfortunate that she is dead, leaving behind her newborn girl.