Lost to Apathy

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Oh, the irony. I'm sure she's thinking about The Man Upstairs and the sanctity of marriage while she's grinding the pole for "fitness." Not that there's anything wrong with pole dancing; I just wonder what church elders think of this "sport"?

When we last saw the Mormons, they were attempting to murder love. Having succeeded on that, they've apparently moved on to more pressing concerns: getting pole dancing into the Olympics.

...I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the woman who tries to justify her six-inch stripper heels by saying they're great for the calf muscles.

BTW, the petition for Olympic pole dancing has a massive 300 supporters on it.

H/t Americablog.

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Microsoft had their annual shareholders meeting the other day.  As anticipated, His Royal Homobigot, The Reverend Ken Hutcherson was there to "put the fear of god" into Microsoft for not hating on the gays.  His proposal got 4.59% of the vote, and was not approved.

The language of the wacky proposal and the official transcript of Hutcherson's defense of it before the shareholders are below the fold.  You can listen to his presentation by clicking on "Webcast" under the heading Recent Events, Microsoft Annual Meeting of Shareholders found here.  Hutcherson is introduced 16:00 minutes in.  Funny, but I don't hear anything remotely "fear of god" in there.  More like, I hear in his voice a guy who knows he's going to fail mightily.  But that's our Ken.

Also, check out the bio of the guy who actually penned the proposal for Hutcherson.  It's at the very bottom of the diary.
Hutcherson's defense of the Proposal:

Hutcherson photo art via Mike Tidmus.

Final item of business to come before the meeting is Shareholder Proposal Number 3.  The shareholder proposal and its supporting statement are set forth in the company's proxy statement, and the secretary will read the resolution.

BRAD SMITH:  Resolved, to list the recipients of corporate charitable contributions of $5,000 or more on the company's Web site.

CHRIS LIDDELL:  This proposal has been submitted by Mr. Thomas Strobhar.  The company recognizes Mr. Strobhar's representative,  Ken Hutcherson for a period of three minutes.

KEN HUTCHERSON:  Thank you.  Appreciate the opportunity to speak towards this.

We believe that there is an opportunity to correct a process that this company is, should I say, not being very open-minded to who we support, why we support because we are supporting the issue that we believe, especially as an African-American, that there are problems in where you are sending your charitable gifts towards the homosexual community.  I do not believe our company would ever support a group of people that is very prejudicial in their views, that is very intolerant in their views, that is very hateful in their views.

And I think that you gentlemen, and the rest of the stockholders, if you watch television, have seen the example of many of the homosexual groups and activists that this company is putting millions of dollars in supporting.  And I don't think this company and the stockholders, and myself, is pretty excited about a group of individuals that would run around and call the African-American community, especially, 70 percent of the traditional Black church that voted, and helped pass Proposition 8, have been called the N-word on national television.  This company is saying that we will continue to support groups like that.

They have attacked groups, you've seen it on television if you have a television, if you watch the news at all, what has taken place towards the African-American church, what has happened to evangelical churches, that have stood and just voted, and exercised their freedom in voting.  And they have been attacked by these groups.  One old lady was taken, and a cross was taken out of her hand, stomped, and she was pushed around.  One woman had her bible taken out of her hand, and was hit across the head and knocked down.  And if it was a white supremacy group that was doing exactly the same thing, this company would be the first to stand up and deny that we're going to support any group that was doing such things.

And yet, still, I'm asking this company to make sure we vote down putting this kind of money, millions of dollars, in a group that is not good for the family; millions of dollars in a group that has proven intolerance; millions of dollars in a group that has proven that they do not like anyone that does not think the way they do; and I think this company has a right and a responsibility not to put millions of dollars in an intolerant, hateful group such as this.  That is why we have this resolution, that is why we would like for the stockholders to vote it down, and the board not to support this group.

Thank you.

CHRIS LIDDELL:  Thank you, Mr. Hutcherson.

The board recommends a vote against this proposal for the reasons set forth in the company's proxy statement.

The Proposal and Microsoft's Recommendations to its Shareholders, from the 2008 Proxy statement:

PROPOSAL 7

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL NO. 3

Mr. Thomas Strobhar, 2121 Upper Bellbrook Road, Xenia, Ohio 45385, has notified the Company that he intends to submit the following proposal at this year's Annual Meeting:

Whereas, charitable contributions should enhance the image of our company in the eyes of the public.

Whereas, making known the recipients of our company's charitable gifts to as many people as possible should promote the company's interests.

Resolved, it is requested that our company list the recipients of corporate charitable contributions of $5,000 or more on the company website.

Supporting Statement

The more people know of our support of philanthropic activity the better it is for our company. For example, if we should decide to give money to the American Cancer Society we might garner good will from the millions of people touched by cancer. Similarly, should we decide to give money to Planned Parenthood, the nations largest abortion performing organization, we might be expected to win sympathetic praise from many who support the choice of abortion. Possible contributions to organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation or other organizations that focus on the interest of people who choose to define themselves by their interest in homosexual sex, would likely engender positive feelings among potentially millions of people who enjoy engaging in sex with members of their own sex or simply those who support same sex marriage. If we gave money to the Boy Scouts of America we might expect the plaudits of potentially millions of their past members, even though they refuse to allow homosexuals to be scout leaders. Contributions to the American Heart Association or a myriad number of other worthwhile cultural and educations charities could be a source of ongoing public approval. Proper disclosure of charitable contributions would cost us little and should only serve to enhance our corporate image. For these reason and others we urge your support for the above resolution.

Vote Required and Board Recommendation

The affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the shares of common stock cast in person or by proxy at the meeting is required for approval of the proposal.

The Board of Directors recommends that shareholders vote AGAINST this proposal for the following reasons:

Microsoft provides a wealth of information on our citizenship programs and charitable contributions. As a result, this proposal would not add any meaningful value for shareholders in the context of the extensive information that is already available.

In addition to employee contributions in fiscal year 2008, Microsoft directly donated $122 million in cash and $376 million in software to nonprofits worldwide. Since 1983, Microsoft and its employees have given more than $3.4 billion in cash, services, and software to nonprofits around the world through localized, company-sponsored giving and volunteer campaigns. Our programs have won numerous awards and recognition in the U.S. and worldwide from a variety of organizations, including the Red Cross, the United Way, and the Points of Light Institute.

Our corporate citizenship Web site, www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship, contains extensive information about our charitable programs including:

The Citizenship @ Microsoft annual report

The Unlimited Potential campaign, our umbrella for a number of programs aiming to enhance worldwide access to technology. For example, many specific grantees of our Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program are identified.

A list of our strategic partners such as Tech Soup who support NGOs by building their information technology capacity, in part through software we donate

Employee giving and volunteer programs including company matching of cash and volunteer time contributions

Our specific efforts using technology and other resources for relief of natural disasters and other humanitarian crises

We also detail our activities in numerous surveys by third parties such as the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, and other publications.

As the Citizenship @ Microsoft report details, Microsoft's priorities in its citizenship efforts are transforming education, enabling jobs and opportunities, encouraging local innovation and industry collaboration, maintaining a safe and secure computing ecosystem, and maintaining high standards of accountability in our business practices. Microsoft's worldwide citizenship efforts are far more broad and diverse than a simple list of cash donations could convey. Reducing our citizenship practices to a list of donations would distort and oversimplify our efforts, and could in fact be counterproductive by providing opportunities for distraction by groups pursuing narrow agendas.

Because the information requested by the proposal would provide little or no incremental benefit to our shareholders and other stakeholders, the Board of Directors recommends a vote against the resolution.

By the way, check out Hutcherson's associate Thomas Strobhar, the apparent brains behind the bigotry.  He styles himself the investment guru for haters and forced-birthers.  A real piece of work.  I wonder how much he soaked Hutcherson for penning the proposal?

For over twenty five years, Thomas Strobhar has worked reliably to meet the financial needs of the people he serves. Moreover, he has integrated moral screening criteria into his investment strategy in a way that few advisors have attempted.

...His advocacy on behalf of morally responsible investing has earned Thomas the reputation as one of the best known investment professionals in his field. He has stood up to fight corporate involvement in pornography, abortion, and gay marriage by speaking at corporate meetings such as Pfizer, Merck, Target, Johnson & Johnson, Ford, General Mills, Berkshire Hathaway, American Express, JP Morgan Chase, At&T, and Microsoft.

...Thomas Strobhar also provides stock market screening information to a number of large professional organizations. This information helps Catholic dioceses and religious orders comply with the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops' Investment Guidelines. This information has been helpful in avoiding companies involved in immoral business pursuits especially pornography and abortion. Evangelical groups have been especially appreciative where this applies to gambling and corporations that support gay marriage.

Thomas Strobhar's twenty five years of investing experience have proven it is a myth to think that investment results have to suffer because of an integration of moral standards. He is guided by the familiar admonitions, "what does it profit a man to..." and "blessed is he who hungers and thirsts for righteousness for they..." It is for many of the above reasons that individuals and institutions such as Human Life International trust Thomas Strobhar to invest their funds wisely.

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Crossposted from Bilerico-Florida.

We knew it was coming.  It was only a matter of time until the backers of Florida's Amendment 2 proved exactly how dishonest they were during their lie-filled campaign and went after domestic partnership benefits in Florida- despite saying it would have "no effect on benefits" and it was "only about one thing- marriage."

David Caton, executive director of the Florida Family Association (one of the groups backing Amendment 2), says he will push for a change to the Hillsborough County Charter in 2010 to preemptively ban same-sex benefits for county employees.  That's right, banning benefits.  This is exactly what we warned would happen and they swore wouldn't.

Isn't lying a sin, Caton? I guess you're just glossing over that part of the Ten Commandments...

In an interview with the Miami Herald, Caton let this loose:

We're going to use the momentum from the marriage amendment to speak to the fact that most people in this state don't want a recognition of that type of relationship.  At this time of economic stress, our government should not be providing benefits to nonemployees on the basis of their sexual relationships.

"That type of relationship"??  So loving, committed couples shouldn't be able to share even the most basic benefits?  It looks like the true face of the Amendment 2 supporters is coming to light.

Caton said efforts to recruit volunteers and gather signatures will begin next year.  Caton also laid bare the plans of the backers of Amendment 2:

Domestic partnership will be the battlefield between the pro-family agenda and the gay-radical agenda.

So denying health care and other rights to families is now part of the "pro-family agenda"?  

After months of listening to Amendment 2 backers bleating about how "health benefits and hospital visitation" wouldn't be affected, the truth comes out.  Not surprising from a group that used lies and illegal tactics throughout its campaign.  Caton is simply saying what we already knew- they won't be happy until they have taken everything away from us.

Am I the only one who is completely sick of those claiming the "moral majority" being the biggest liars and hypocrites out there?  They run horrendous, hate-filled campaigns against us filled with lies.  They protest our pride events and boycott equality minded businesses for years, but cry foul when we take to the streets to protest or call out their financial supporters.  They claim to be "pro-family" while tearing apart our families.

Take a good, hard look, Florida.  This is the lie you believed when you went to the voting booth.  

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For years, Princeton Freshman have trampled sidewalks of town and campus alike with impunity, despite consistent popular support among upperclassmen for a return to the days when the Frosh had to walk on the grass. Now, thanks to recent successful efforts to eliminate rights of a minority group in California and other states, the upperclassmen have a strategy to restore Traditional Perambulatory Values here on campus. "Princeton Proposition 8," a student group dedicated to saving our sidewalks, is collecting signatures in order to put Frosh sidewalk use up for a vote of the student body. The group had tremendous success yesterday, gathering signatures from more than 300 supporters!

Supporters gathered in the bitter cold at 9:30 this morning for a second day of visibility and signature-gathering. Pictures from yesterday and today below the fold!

See my flickr page for more pictures!

http://community.livejournal.com/cat_macros/4815414.html

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moar funny pictures

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Wow. The Bush economy is taking a lot of companies down the toilet as Dear Leader and the GOP try to wash their hands of the destruction left during his eight-year reign of terror as he packs his bags and flies to Crawford.

While discussing the general misery of the Bush economy, take note of the businesses listed below that won't get to belly up to the taxpayer buffet like Big Auto and Wall Street. Yet all of these closings translate into a whole lot of people out of work -- people who won't have money to buy a car built by Big Auto. These retailers simply aren't "too big to fail", but enough of these midsize businesses going under will have a big impact on the already craptacular economy. It looks like a lot of malls will be ghost towns soon.

STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS:

By the end of Dec. 2008 as announced Circuit City Filed Bankruptcy, they promised to keep all stores open for the holiday season, but afterwards, they plan on closing 155 stores nationwide.

 Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide. A company spokeswoman said the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let  the stores that will close this fiscal year  know over the next month

 Eddie Bauer to close more stores. Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the  first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.

 Cache closing stores. Women's retailer  Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.

Lane  Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide. The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug, Catherines Plus Sizes will close about 150  underperforming stores this year.  The company hasn't provided a list of  specific store closures and can't say ! when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.

 Talbots, J. Jill closing stores. About  a month ago, Talbots announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men 's stores. Now t he company says it  will close another 22 underperforming stores.  The 22 stores will be a mix of  Talbots women's and J Jill, another chain it owns.  The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a  company press release.

Unfortunately this list continues below the fold.
You might want to rethink getting gift cards from stores that made the list and are still clinging by a thread - they are under no obligation to stop selling gift cards that the company will not be able to redeem down the road when they declare bankruptcy.

 Gap Inc. closing 85 stores In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic . The company said the closures - all  planned for fiscal 2008 -will be weighted  toward the Gap brand.

 Foot Locker to close 140 stores. In the company press release and during its conference call with analysts today, it did  not specify where the future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be immediately reached for comment

 Wickes Furniture is going out of  business. Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores. Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that  targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

 Goodbye Levitz / BOMBAY - closed already. The furniture retailer,  which is going out of business.  Levitz first announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December.  The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the 1960s, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefront of the  furniture industry.  The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay .

 Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores. The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it  plans to close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it announced that it is closing another 23 underperforming stores.  The company said it's not providing a list of specific store closures.  Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.

 Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores. The Walt Disney Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores.  The exact number of stores acquired  will depend on negotiations with landlords.  Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March.  In the news release, Disney said it has also obtained the right  to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S.  The press release didn't list those stores.

 Home Depot store closings. Nearly 7+  months after its chief executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot  Inc. announced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a slumping US. economy and housing market.  The move will affect 1,300 employees.  It is the first time the world's largest home  improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons.  Its shares rose almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the underperforming U.S. stores being closed represent less than 1 percent of its existing stores  They will be shuttered within the next two months.

CompUSA (CLOSED). clarifies details on  store closings Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions.  Gift cards, rain checks, and rebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during the final sale.  For those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be returned to owners.

 Macy's. Closing 9 stores

 Movie Gallery - 160 stores will close as part of a reorganization plan to exit bankruptcy. The video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall.

 Pep Boys closing 33  stores

Sprint Nextel closing 125  retail locations. New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations.  Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5,000  layoffs last year)! and 8% of company-owned  brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas .  Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.

 J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot will be scaling back and cutting jobs.

 Ethan Allen Interiors - The company a nnounced plans to close 12 of  300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.

 Wilson's the Leather Experts closing all 260 mall stores.

 Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand  Seventy-four underperforming Demo stores closed last May.

 Sharper Image:  The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing.  The retailer will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores have performed poorly and also may close.

 Bombay Company. The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.

 KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization.

 Dillard's to Close More Stores. Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing underperforming stores, reducing expenses and  improving its merchandise in 2008.  At the company's annual shareholder meeting, CEO William Dillard II said the company will close another six underperforming stores this year.

 Starbucks closings: Starbucks will close approximately 600 company- operated stores in the U.S.

 Pier 1 closings: Announced that they would be closing an undisclosed number of stores.

 Kirklands Closings: A chain of home decor stores will be closing nearly 130 stores nationwide.

 Sprint closings: to cut 4500 jobs. and 125 stores.

 Linens 'n Things closings: Is closing 120 stores nationwide

 Dell Inc. closed its 140 kiosks in the United States

 Liz Claiborne, Inc. said it's closing the entire 54-store Sigrid Olsen chain.

 Lone Star Steak House closings: 27 stores closing.

 84 Lumber closings: 12 stores closing

Rite Aid closings: 28 stores

 Big Dollar closings: dollar stores closing 10 stores

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It looks like whatever murky international ties to the finances of Bill Clinton have been addressed and Barack Obama plans to name Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of  State. Steve Clemons had this to say:

Clinton may be the bad cop to Obama's good cop. Because she is trusted by Pentagon-hugging national security conservatives, she may legitimize his desire to respond to this pivot point in American history with bold strokes rather than incremental ones.

So what say you, Blenders?

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Paging Tina Fey, we need one more skit from you... it doesn't get any better/worse than this. The failed GOP Veep candidate gabs about the greatness of small business and happy turkeys while the fowl is offed behind her. And she knew what was going on.:

The governor was being interviewed by a local television news station while the work of the Triple-D Farm and Hatchery continued.

That's when Governor Palin found herself in a less than desirable spot for the interview.

Just minutes after pardoning one turkey, a farm worker began processing another turkey just a few feet behind her, plainly visible in the background of the video.

Governor Palin was told by the photographer what was going on behind her and allowed the interview to continue.

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moar funny pictures

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I was going through some photos and thought these might strike someone as macroable:

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Inspired by </a></b></a>spock74's blanks...

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This is my cat Me-Me. My mom had her put down without me knowing a year ago and I felt like macroing my favorite picture of her!

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Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Following an historic turnout in the 2008 election comes a flurry of election reform agendas from both sides of the battle over voting rights. Since November 4, some state lawmakers have seized on the success of early voting and Election Day Registration (EDR) as models for facilitating voter registration, while others appear to have been threatened by the heightened turnout and inspired to introduce restrictive voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bills for the 2009 legislative session.

Following what appears to be significant progress this year in closing participation gaps among historically underrepresented young and minority voters, we review Election Day stories in states with voter ID and EDR laws, and preview next year's legislative battle for election reform.

http://community.livejournal.com/cat_macros/4813488.html

thanks for teh blank </a></b></a>compost75 

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I haven't posted any in a long time, so here are some cats from the Humane Society of the Lakes in Detroit Lakes, MN. I didn't post everyone, mostly because it's really hard to get a decent picture of a cat, much less a funny one.




This is El Twa. Don't ask me what that is supposed to mean, because I have no idea. The people who found her gave her the name. I added her because I thought she has kind of an evil look on her face. She's not evil, but who has to know?


This is Hershey. He is the kind of kitty that will get between your hand and any other cat you happen to be petting at the time because no one should get any attention unless he's getting some, too. I think he looks kind of surprised in this pic.


From left to right we have: Jillian, Kellog, and Promise. I don't know what to tell you, people, I rarely get to name the kitties any more. They are all from the same litter and are all revoltingly cute.


This here is Pauton. She looks a little forlorn, don't you think? She has the loudest purr I have ever heard in a kitten.


Here's Pursey (I know). He is a sweetie with a grumpy looking face. At least, I think it's grumpy looking.


And last but not least here's Milo. Milo is my main squeeze at the moment. Yes, he's missing part of his tail (which you can see in the pic) and yes, he has a weird rash on his neck that we can't seem to get rid of, and yes, he's kind of bony... Anyway, he's awesome and I would love it if someone would macro him. He also has scrafty fur and a croaky meow, if that helps!

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As always, this is a difficult day. I’ve been aware of Transgender Day of Remembrance since its first year, and have always commemorated it in some way each year. Sometimes attending an event if there was one in my region, often lighting a candle at home, and in the last few years, saying something about it to the congregation of our local UU during a Sunday service.