The Hollywood Liberal

Woman’s First Hockey Shot Wins F-150
Brenda Hewlett, 59, had never held a hockey stick before in her life until she was picked to participate in a “Win a Truck” contest at an Akwesasne Warriors hockey game in Ontario, Canada. When she sent the puck “sailing in a perfectly straight line for 114 feet through the puck-sized hole,” she won a new Ford F-150.

Late Late Night FDL: Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
Darlene Love — Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home), from 1993 on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Darlene Love — Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home), from 1993 on The Late Show with David Letterman.

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Gay Bloggers Take Down AT&T Goliath
The story of racist newsletters published under Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul’s name re-emerges; a member of the Zimbabwean parliament is jailed for calling President Mugabe a homosexual; and LGBT bloggers and gay media were essential to the demise of AT&T’s merger with T-Mobile. These discoveries and more below. On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies. The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top. Grappling With Ron Paul’s Racist Newsletters Did you know about the racist newsletters published in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Ron Paul’s name? Gay community apologizes to Amy Koch for ruining her marriage The gay and lesbian community of Minnesota has issued a letter of apology to recently resigned Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch for ruining the institution of marriage and causing her to stray from her husband and engage in an “inappropriate relationship.” Hildegard of Bingen to be canonized Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th-century German Benedictine nun who was also known as a composer, philosopher, writer and physicist, will be named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012. Controversial Facebook Data Yield New Paper Earlier this year, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on a controversy that arose when a team of Harvard researchers downloaded some 1,700 Facebook profiles from one college class without asking the students’ permission. Zimbabwean MP arrested for saying Mugabe is homosexual A Zimbabwean MP has been arrested for allegedly calling President Robert Mugabe a homosexual. Gitmo Forever? Congress’ Dangerous New Bill For nearly 10 years now, Guantanamo Bay’s military prison has been an international symbol of United States lawlessness and a recruiting boon for al-Qaida. How Gay Media Helped Sink the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger There are many stories to be told about the collapse of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger. What It’s Like to Be James Franco’s Professor His English professor at Yale reveals that the actor rarely missed a discussion, even when filming in Detroit. Mitt Romney Spent the Vietnam War in a French Palace Like many hawkish politicians of his generation, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney managed to avoid serving in the Vietnam War through family connections. Michele Bachmann’s socialist summer Rep. Michele Bachmann is a huge fan of the State of Israel for biblical and foreign policy reasons.

The story of racist newsletters published under Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul’s name re-emerges; a member of the Zimbabwean parliament is jailed for calling President Mugabe a homosexual; and LGBT bloggers and gay media were essential to the demise of AT&T’s merger with T-Mobile. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

Grappling With Ron Paul’s Racist Newsletters
Did you know about the racist newsletters published in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Ron Paul’s name?

Gay community apologizes to Amy Koch for ruining her marriage
The gay and lesbian community of Minnesota has issued a letter of apology to recently resigned Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch for ruining the institution of marriage and causing her to stray from her husband and engage in an “inappropriate relationship.”

Hildegard of Bingen to be canonized
Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th-century German Benedictine nun who was also known as a composer, philosopher, writer and physicist, will be named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2012.

Controversial Facebook Data Yield New Paper
Earlier this year, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on a controversy that arose when a team of Harvard researchers downloaded some 1,700 Facebook profiles from one college class without asking the students’ permission.

Zimbabwean MP arrested for saying Mugabe is homosexual
A Zimbabwean MP has been arrested for allegedly calling President Robert Mugabe a homosexual.

Gitmo Forever? Congress’ Dangerous New Bill
For nearly 10 years now, Guantanamo Bay’s military prison has been an international symbol of United States lawlessness and a recruiting boon for al-Qaida.

How Gay Media Helped Sink the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
There are many stories to be told about the collapse of the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger.

What It’s Like to Be James Franco’s Professor
His English professor at Yale reveals that the actor rarely missed a discussion, even when filming in Detroit.

Mitt Romney Spent the Vietnam War in a French Palace
Like many hawkish politicians of his generation, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney managed to avoid serving in the Vietnam War through family connections.

Michele Bachmann’s socialist summer
Rep. Michele Bachmann is a huge fan of the State of Israel for biblical and foreign policy reasons.

Related Entries

• December 22, 2011 Ron Paul Leads in Iowa Polls
• December 22, 2011 The GOP’s Iowa Chaos

GOP Official Unseated Over Voter Fraud Charges
An Indianapolis county court has removed Indiana Secretary of State Charles White from office on charges of voter fraud relating to his 2010 election. The…

Paul Krugman Blasts Romney Campaign: ‘Utterly Fraudulent’
Mitt Romney is blazing new trails in politics, where not telling the truth doesn’t seem to have any consequences….

Shadi Bushra: Hate the Players and the Game: How Legal Corruption Is Eroding Our Democracy
One refrain that has hurt Gingrich’s campaign is the allegation that he did something illegal in accepting $1.6 million from Freddie Mac. As Newt’s experience shows, there are plenty of ways to be involved in Washington corruption without breaking a single law.

Seven States Share $200 Million In Race To The Top
Seven more states will receive $200 million in federal funds in the latest round of the Race to the Top competition, President Barack Obama’s controversial…

Fox’s Hemmer Falsely Claims Only A “Few States” Have Seen Unemployment Drop

Teasing a segment with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Fox News’ Bill Hemmer described Ohio as “one of the few states to see a drop in unemployment” and asked, “So what are they doing right?” In fact, the unemployment rate fell in 43 states in November.

Hemmer Asks What Ohio Is “Doing Right” On Jobs

Hemmer: Ohio Is “One Of The Few States To See A Drop In Unemployment.” From Fox News’ America’s Newsroom:

HEMMER: One of the few states to see a drop in unemployment — not a big drop but a drop nonetheless — the great state of Ohio. So what are they doing right? We’ll talk to the governor, John Kasich, about that. [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 12/22/11]

In Fact, Most States Have Seen Economic Growth, Lower Unemployment In Recent Months

AP: “Unemployment Rates Fell In 43 States In November, The Most Number Of States To Report Such Declines In Eight Years.” From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — Unemployment rates fell in 43 states in November, the most number of states to report such declines in eight years.

The falling state rates reflect the brightening jobs picture nationally. The U.S. unemployment rate fell sharply in November to 8.6 percent, the lowest since March 2009. The economy has generated 100,000 or more jobs five months in a row — the first time that’s happened since 2006, before the Great Recession.

Only three states reported higher unemployment rates in November, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Four states showed no change.

Nevada for the 18th straight month had the highest state unemployment rate: 13 percent. It was followed by California at 11.3 percent. North Dakota again enjoyed the lowest unemployment rate: 3.4 percent. It was followed by Nebraska at 4.1 percent and South Dakota at 4.3 percent.

The biggest decline in the unemployment rate in November compared with October was in Michigan. Its rate dropped by 0.8 percentage point to 9.8 percent, from 10.6 percent in October. [Associated Press, 12/20/11]

Fed Data Shows Economic Growth Has Been Widespread. From the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s coincident indexes for November 2011, which combine four state-level indicators — nonfarm payroll employment, average hours worked in manufacturing, the unemployment rate, and wage and salary disbursements deflated by the consumer price index — to summarize current economic conditions in a single statistic:

[Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 12/22/11]

Schaeffer Cox: FBI Informants Kidnapped Me, Turned My Life Into The Truman Show
Alaska militia leader Schaeffer Cox is asking the court to throw out FBI recordings made by a confidential informant because the informant took actions that were “analogous to kidnapping” and turned Cox’s life into a version of the Jim Carrey…

12 Indicted On Hate Crimes Charges For Hair Cutting Assaults Led By Break-Off Amish Group
A federal grand jury in Ohio returned a seven-count indictment on Tuesday that charges 10 men and two women with federal crimes related to what the feds say were religiously motivated attacks of rival Amish factions.

Happy Holidays to All!

Republican Foreign Policy Mad Libs
It’s the holiday season, a serviceable pretext time for good clean nonsense. Last year I offered my misheard lyrics video for the epic Clash song “Safe European Home” (fairly suitable for work, but funny mainly for Clash fans). Today’s frivolous…

Crony Capitalism in the Air
After trying to push it through as part of the debt ceiling debacle, then in the super committee, Republicans are now trying to attach spectrum auction provisions to the payroll tax holiday bill. Their bill is about as clear an…

Obama in Kansas
I’m ready to wager that when the campaign of 2012 is all over, President Obama’s speech yesterday in Osawatomie, Kansas will be seen as the turning point that led to his victory in November 2012. Readers of this blog know…