August 10, 2012

Night in topless bar becomes embarrassment for Oregon GOP lawmakers

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/08/night_in_topless_bar_becomes_e.html#incart_river_default

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SALEM -- With Republicans still reeling from the sex scandal involving Rep. Matt Wingard and a young female staffer, former House Republican Leader Kevin Cameron confirmed he abruptly stepped down last month, in part, because of a retaliatory threat that the public would find out about the night he and other GOP lawmakers -- including Wingard -- spent at a California topless bar.

"I am not proud personally about what I did at that point in time," Cameron, R-Salem, told The Oregonian this week.

In January, Cameron, House Co-Speaker Bruce Hanna and five other Republican House members took a three-day golfing vacation to Palm Springs, where they also visited a bar featuring topless dancers.

No state or campaign money was spent on the trip. But the embarrassing details are surfacing just as Republicans are trying to win majority control of the House, or at least maintain the 30-30 tie that granted them equal power to Democrats in the past two years.

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There's a lot more frivolity at the link.

August 7, 2012

Let's discuss the difference between punk rock and hate music.

I am a musician. And yes, I can actually play a number of instruments and I was classically trained and educated in music. I'm also a former minor punk rock singer so I think I'm qualified to post about this issue.

This asshole who decided to shoot a bunch of peaceful Sikhs does not represent the punk movement in any way. Hate rock is NOT punk.

Real punks of any age (I'm 57) do not associate nor identify with any of the hateful assholes in so-called white power movements. We have ALWAYS rejected this bullshit.

Real punks are gay, lesbian, straight, whatever. We never have judged each other. All we know is that we are disaffected and share a distrust of the establishment.

The one thing we are united about is fucking FAIRNESS.

Every single one of us has been screwed over somehow by society, from Nixon to Bush and beyond. That is precisely why we are punks. We see that we are being fucked over. And we were the first to make a big stink about it. And we were way out front, more than 30 years ago.

One night in 1978, I was chased up a blind alley and had the shit beat out of me by some small-town jackasses because they thought I was queer. I'm not. But, ever since, I've been on the side of the queers. Sure, I had gay friends but it was at that moment that I finally understood.

It seems weird to me that I must post in defense of punk rock, but please remember that the punk rock movement continues today. The whole point was to shock people into thinking.

I like that.

August 5, 2012

Sikhs seek peace. Whoever did this does not understand them.

The guiding principles of the Sikh faith are Truth, Equality, Freedom, Justice, and Karma.

Today, we are all Sikhs.

The violence must stop.