Photos Surface-Desdemoana Seen Strutting Her Stuff in San Francisco and Paris

Now I've had the great privilege of meeting Desdemoana and she is everything you would expect. Here Moana is at the GAYVN Awards. It isn't clear if she was invited to the event, but believe me no one was gonna tell her she wasn't going in. The limo in the background doesn't seem to be hers, but she had just stepped out of it, according to reports. Now I know if you are seeing her for the first time, you are saying "god she has a big mouth and big lips," I know I was. She told me once that's how she made it to the top. I don't know if she was referring to her singing career, or others exploits, I'll leave that up to your imagination.

Another landmark conquered. Here she is ever so excited to be caught by the cameras. She swears she got lost trying to find a place with good cup of coffee and ended up at this place, but she widely disputes that she was out cruising in the middle of the day as many have reported. I don't know about you, but it seems a bit suspicious that Moana is wearing the same gown and tiara she had on the night before, and I know for a fact she didn't come back to the hotel after the awards ceremony and grand ball afterward.

In Paris, Desdemoana is always hounded by photographers, day and night. She finds that between the flashes from the cameras and the lights of the city, she has a hard time moving about, without wearing shades of some type to shield her tender eyes from the intensive glare. Moana has often tried to convince everyone in Paris to use less lightning. It isn't that she is an eco-Nazi, she just thinks her photos turn out better with low light. 

Desdemoana has never been seen in Paris without a drink of some kind in hand. No one knows if this really makes her a lush or a bad role model, but no one is willing to confront her. The last person that did confront her, disappeared, but not before leaving a note saying he was moving to the Himalayas to get some air. The funny thing is, that I knew this person, and the handwriting on the note didn't seem to match his handwriting. The handwriting suspiciously looked like the scribble of someone else I know, but I won't name any names.

When You Assume, You Make An Ass Out Of Yourself

When I was listing some of the seven interesting things about myself, several days ago, I made a mistake, because of my haste and my bad attempt to be light and funny. It isn't like me to be hasty or to spread incomplete information, but this time I did, and I have to make that wrong, right. With "birthers" out there trying to exploit information like this, it was foolish for me not to thoroughly address the issue in the post. I quickly stated in that post that I could not become president, because of the contentious legal state of my birth abroad, but there were two pieces of information I did not include, which are very important to understanding the statement. First of all anyone born abroad to two US citizen parents can attempt to become president. Second of all this creates a situation in which there is no legal precedent.

I was born in Germany, and even though both of my parents were citizens, even though I was born in a US Army hospital, I can't serve as the the nation's highest official without causing a firestorm, because, in our constitution, "natural born citizen," has never been clearly legally defined. That would likely become a sticking point for any citizen, in my situation, trying to win the presidency or vice-presidency. I personally would never want to cause an event, such as the one in the 2000 election; the nation is already divided enough, so I would never run for the presidency, even if I wanted to, until that legal mess is cleared up. I'd rather others didn't force the issue during an election either, with pressure to resolve the issue expeditiously, to seat a new president. We have been through that once, and I am sure I don't have to remind you where that brought us.

Many times throughout our nation's history, this issue has been brought up, but it has never been addressed by our national legislature or our highest court. This should be worked out, without the pressure of a looming political debacle, but it rarely comes up. I think both sides of the political spectrum have a vested interest in not tackling this, when there is time to spare. Like the infamous "F" word, filibuster, both sides won't strike at this issue, unless they have to, because there is the possibly someday it may be politically useful for them to use. We have many rules of procedure which have become political tools, and there are many gray areas in law that legislators are perfectly happy keeping gray for the same reason. It isn't pretty, but it is the truth

I hope this clears everything up. I want to thank Joy at Babble On for leaving a comment, which helped me to see how easy it would be for someone to pick up the wrong information, or manipulate it, from what I had written. If you aren't following Joy already, you should be. She is quite a lady.

The 2010 State of the Union Address-What I Am Thinking About The State Of The Union

It isn't really necessary to say much about the details of the president's address; to pick it to pieces, bit by bit, or swoon over it like it was a siren's song is a frivolous effort. It was about what I would have expected from a president presiding over a severely divided, increasingly unhappy, notoriously apathetic nation, with many terrible, looming problems on the horizon. These addresses tend to be broad in scope and thin on details, as it should be. This is not a briefing, nor a committee meeting, it is a formal address to the nation, by its' highest officer.

I liked many of the ideas the president spoke of and I disagreed with some of them as well, but that really doesn't matter. To debate the contents of this address is meaningless. It would be like writing a review of food of a meal at a restaurant, while looking at the menu, before you had the chance to sample one bite of the meal you would order and consume. What matters are the discussions, the decisions, and the actions that will come in the following weeks and months. It's not about the talk, it is about the walk.

The important actions will have to come not just from the president, but from many people. The last time I checked we were still a capitalist republic, with three distinct branches of government. Each handles different elements of government. Each has a task, a mandate if you will. Coupled with one of the other branches, there is an obligation to balance the third element of our government. Over my lifetime these three branches have worked fairly well, though outside influence threatens their collective processes now.

Then there is the last component of our government, the one most forget, the people. It is the most important, and is unfortunately mired in apathy and self indulgence; it is the most dysfunctional part of our political system and is the greatest cause of our suffering and failings. Look not to others for our dreams, our future, or our salvation, they are within each of us. Look not to others for our misfortunes, our errors, our injustices the source for them too, is within us. For any action to occur all four elements need to function together, not in harmony, though that is a nice thought, but by using civilized discourse to meet the goals of the nation, sustain the will of the people, and to have the vision to prepare for the necessary changes of progress.

One person has the power to change much, but one person does not possess the power to mold, shape, and guide a nation. Government is collaboration. We are fortunate enough to live in a nation where the people are supposed to spearhead that collaboration. Get. Busy. People. The inane wind bagging, useless blaming, idle tirades, and meaningless pop talk grows increasingly tiresome for the world. Clear the fog in your minds and hearts. If we don't lead, someone else will. Others don't have to make us irrelevant, we have set a course to do that ourselves. We the people are the problem in this nation. Until we accept that and change it, this nation will have the walk of a tanked drunkard, in his mind only looking back at what he once was, constantly begging for more change, just to get through the next day, visciously barking at anyone who tells him he desperately needs to pull himself together and get with the program.

And those are my thoughts on the state of our union. I hope that we address them.

To read the official transcript of the address go here.

Vote for Soundtrack to My Day, at the Tenth Annual Weblog Awards!

http://2010.bloggies.com/

One of my favorite blogs, Soundtrack to My Day, has been nominated for the Tenth Annual Weblog Awards for the category Best Weblog About Music. Howard is not only a great guy, but has one of the best blogs relating to music in existence. Please go to the awards site and cast your vote for him.

The voting procedure is one vote per email address. If you return to vote again, the ballot will be cleared out, so be sure to mark all the categories you have with your favorites. Voting is open now. You have until Sunday, January 31st at 10PM to cast your vote. 

To place you vote, click on the header of this post, and you will be taken to the voting site. The music category is about halfway across. At the far right, there is a place to fill in your email address and an anti-spam device to fill out before completing the process. A verification email will be sent to the address to finalize the vote. 

The winner will be announced in March, at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. 

Kreativ Blogger Award

What I am supposed to do:

1.Thank the person who nominated you for this award. Bob, I am deeply honored. You are a kindred spirit in many ways, and so this award coming from you, means that much more to me.

2.Copy the logo and place it on your blog. Done!

3.Link to the person who nominated you for this award. If you don't already follow Bob get busy! You can find him at http://ishouldbelaughing.blogspot.com/2010/01/id-like-to-thank-little-people.html.

4.Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting. See the list below.

5.Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers and post links to the 7 blogs you nominate. All of these blogs are wonderful places to find creative people and independent thinkers. My choices are:

Ramona at Ramona's Voices http://ramonasvoices.blogspot.com/

Alane from Land of Shimp http://landofshimp.blogspot.com/

DuPree from Clorine in the Gene Pool http://chlorinex.blogspot.com/

Ken at Bucko's World http://buckoclown.blogspot.com/

Mistress Maddie at A Day With The Mistress Borghese http://mistressmaddie.blogspot.com/

Steven at No Excuse No Explanation http://noexcusenoexplanation.blogspot.com/

Mauro from Reality Observer http://mauro-paim.blogspot.com/

6.Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated. Working on that now.

Seven interesting things about me you might not have known:

• I can't ever be president here in the United States, without some serious problems. I was born in Germany, and even though both of my parents were citizens, even though I was born in a US Army base hospital, I can't serve as the the nation's highest official without causing a firestorm. The term, in the constitution, "natural born citizen," has never been clearly legally defined and would likely become a sticking point for any citizen, in my situation, trying to win the presidency or vice-presidency. I don't want to cause an event, such as the one in the 2000 election, the nation is already divided enough, so I would never run for the presidency until that legal mess is cleared up. Many times throughout our nation's history, this issue has been brought up, but it has never been addressed by our national legislature or our highest court. I'd rather others didn't force the issue during an election either. This should be worked out, without the pressure of a looming political debacle. So all of you who have been rallying for me to run for president, are barking up the wrong tree. :)
• I suffer from enochlophobia, the fear of crowds. My phobia stems from not feeling safe around many people I do not know personally. It probably started when I was teased, taunted, verbally abused, and physically tortured, by others my age, while I was a child through my adolescence. It is a natural psychological protection mechanism meant to shield you from perceived harm. It is a fear based reaction, so I have to work pretty hard to keep it in check and be around groups even now. Fight your fears or let them consume you.
• My only sibling(brother) is gay and I have a cousin who is gay. There are reports of other friends of Dorothy in my family, but they are not corroborated. Is there a genetic/bilogical component to gayness? I'd place my bets on yes.
• I became an atheist in my pre-teen years. I hid that secret just as closely as I tried to hide my gayness. Being one would have been hard enough in the southern United States, being both was excruciating. I still wouldn't change a thing. :)
• I am a loner. Despite my friendly persona online, in real life, I'm a crabby aloof hermit. This media acts as some kind of natural filter. Go figure. In the real world Stan has to put up with my closed off, irritable nature, which, in my eyes, makes him the world's most tolerant, loving person or quite possibly a saint. Love you hon!
• Stan and I met online, through a free dating service. Imagine that, meeting online, for free. Don't close off avenues for love. It could be waiting for you anywhere.
• I have not driven since I was fifteen. I knew then that consumption and environmental degradation were killing us. After I figured out what we were doing to the planet and what I could do to change that, I made a pact with Mother Earth that I have never broken.  Most people have no idea that I don't drive. Most people can't wrap their heads around this part of the pact, so I don't reveal the information unless it comes up. Many feel this would limit their life, but believe me, it frees it in more ways than you could imagine. The only restrictions on your life, are the ones you make. There are more paths available to us than we have been taught. Choose a different road and it may be harder, but ultimately it will be more personally rewarding. Think. Outside. The Box. The box is an illusion.

*This post has been edited to add more content and clarification about me becoming president in the US.*

Huffington Post-Are Diamonds A Girl's Best Friend?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/25/conflict-free-diamonds-a_n_431912.html?slidenumber=dI0QP%2B%2B3lYA%3D&

Just in time for Valentines Day. Diamonds are contentious items because of the tremendous negative human and environmental impact they have. Take a look at this article to get some ideas for alternatives to buying diamonds in conventional ways, from conventional diamond sellers. Those diamonds hurt people and hurt the environment. I'm sure you don't want that shiny stone around your finger to be a constant reminder of brutal injustices of the world.

Guardian-Chinese Legal Experts Call For Ban On Eating Cats And Dogs

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/26/dog-meat-china

I guess we are having great influence in China's culture. I can't say I'm unhappy to see this at all. But, before anyone demonizes the Chinese for eating cats and dogs, which we revere as companion animals, remember we slaughter 35 million cows annually here in the US for our use. The cow is a sacred, honored creature in India. They have worshiped and protected the cow since ancient times. The penalty for killing a cow in India is life in prison. 

TheDailyGreen.com-Five Of The Fastest Growing Green Jobs

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/green-jobs-460110-2?src=rss

Want to go green with your job as well? Then take a look at these jobs from The Daily Green. What better way to give back to Mother Earth, than to trade up to an eco friendly career.