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Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Monday, September 28, 2009

East Cleveland Mayor's Transgender Life Exposed | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel

East Cleveland Mayor's Transgender Life Exposed | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel

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East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer's apparent transgender life has been exposed days before a primary election is to be held, the Cleveland Leader reported.

Brewer is livid after photos allegedly of him dressed in sexy female lingerie and makeup were leaked to various media outlets.

Cleveland's NBC affiliate, WKYC Channel 3, was the first to broadcast the racy photos.

The segment titled Picture Controversy was aired on Wednesday, September 23. “We have no reason to believe the nearly four dozen photos we have are not real,” Tom Meyer said in his report.

Brewer claims that his opponent, Gary Norton, and the East Cleveland Police Department are responsible for the leaked photographs.

“My opponent and his supporters, along with members of the East Cleveland police department, have circulated pictures they have claimed to be of me throughout the city, and have caused them to be placed in numerous resident homes.”

“Some of the photographs – I have heard but not seen – showed a male sex organ and fall within the legal definition of obscenity. Instead of enforcing state laws that prohibit the dissemination of obscene materials, I have been informed that members of the East Cleveland Police Department, along with the Chief of Police, were actively engaged in their dissemination,” Brewer told reporters on Friday.

Both the candidate and department deny any involvement in leaking the photos.

“I condemn whoever put them out,” Norton told WKYC. “I think they are a distraction at this time from the people of East Cleveland and what the City of East Cleveland needs.”

But Norton does admit he's known of the photographs for about a year.

In a statement, the East Cleveland Police Union refuses to identify Brewer as the man in the pictures, defends itself, repeats its endorsement of Norton, and disturbingly smears Brewer's masculinity.

“As we have seen and learned through past practices, the Mayor will put his name and picture on things as his 'stamp of approval' to show that 'HE' is responsible. Well what stamp of approval is this?”

William Safire's Rules on punctuation.

William Safire's Rules:

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William Safire died over the weekend but left us with great observations of English structure and usage. Here are some rules we should all follow as much as possible.

William Safire's Rules for Writers:

  • Remember to never split an infinitive.
  • The passive voice should never be used.
  • Do not put statements in the negative form.
  • Verbs have to agree with their subjects.
  • Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
  • If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
  • A writer must not shift your point of view.
  • And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)
  • Don't overuse exclamation marks!!
  • Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
  • Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
  • If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
  • Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
  • Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
  • Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
  • Always pick on the correct idiom.
  • The adverb always follows the verb.
  • Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Gotta love "The Onion"


U.S. Condemned For Pre-Emptive Use Of Hillary Clinton Against Pakistan

Today, I'll yell about HSBC, their credit cards and their supposed customer service

I have a couple of credit cards issued through HSBC that I use and used to like. The interest rates were reasonable and it came with Best Buy Rewards points which are always useful.
The first sign of trouble came soon after the new customer protection regulations were instituted and I was informed that my interest rates would climb (but they did give me a years notice) so I stopped using them and began paying them off.
The second sign was a notice that at the end of the year, the Best Buy program would change and that points would expire annually instead of rolling over. Even worse, if I bought something in December the points would expire almost immediately rendering the plan almost worthless but those two reasons were annoyances more than anything else. Reason number three is why I'm here today.
The third reason is the absolute ridiculous "automatic payment" feature. Almost as soon as I got the two cards I set up an auto payment through the website. This is done through HSBC's VERY OWN WEBSITE. This isn't a payment made through my bank to them but a full on authorization on my credit card's website to automatically pay the bill every month. The system automatically chooses the date itself and payments are made. The system is sold as a way to make sure payments are always on time and a way to avoid late fees and all that. It should be a great system but, of course, credit card companies really don't want you to pay on time because they can't hike your rates as easily or charge you late fees, over the limit fees, etc.
So far, this all sounds great, right? Well, here's where it all fails. Even though the computer picks the dates for payments and those dates are picked for infinitum (I can scroll through the "scheduled payment date" list for years) it can't coordinate due dates with the payment statement. In other words, while the DUE DATE moves at the whim of the credit card company, the payment date won't. So, the company PICKS the date the payment is due and PICKS the day the payment will process and seems to make sure that the PAYMENT is made after the DUE DATE ensuring that I am always late. Handy feature, eh?
Furthermore, when I bring this situation to the attention of the "customer service associates" via email I get standard, cut and paste emails that don't address the issue I'm raising but offers standard regrets and suggestion on how to be a better customer. It's insulting.

I sent an email with essentially this question...
"Why does the due date change but the automatic payment date not change?" and got this response...
"
We are writing to you in response to your inquiry regarding your Account
ending in 4684 issued by HSBC Bank Nevada N.A.

We can certainly understand your concern regarding the late fee. As on
09/16/09, Our records do not indicate any late fee assessed on your account.


What does that have to do with my question?
So, I sent this response.

" I didn't say I had a late fee this month (which tells me my email isn't being read, read completely or understood at all) but it has been an ongoing problem in the past with getting them. I have a standing re-occurring payment set up through your own system that pays you on the 18th of every month but this month (and in several past months) the due date falls before that. Why doesn't the payment date move automatically or, since the payment is a standing payment, the due date move to the autopay date so that I don't have to do this every month?"

and they return...

We are writing to you in response to your inquiry regarding your Account
issued by HSBC Bank Nevada N.A.

We can certainly understand your concern regarding the late fee. This email
confirms a Standard Online Bill Pay payment of $xxx will post to your
Account on 09/18/09. Your billing statement closes on or around the 16th of
the month. Your payment is due 20 to 25 days after the closing date. Because
the number of days can differ each month, your due date may vary.


Which makes me mad and I ask...
"What use is an automatic payment plan if the plan doesn't prevent the payment from being late?"

And they respond by cancelling my automatic payment!
What craziness is that? Because I'm questioning their tactics they pull my automatic payment? How PETTY!

I'm so not happy with your customer service HSBC!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Ever need a minute of relaxation?

Here's a video I took from the North Shore in Hawai'i. Just a minute of relaxation and peace. If you're having a rough day and need a minute to find your zen, here's a chance. ENJOY!


Picasa Web Albums - Brian - Hawaii

Enjoy some pics from my trip to Hawai'i!


Picasa Web Albums - Brian - Hawaii

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Thursday, September 10, 2009

After the events of last night, I found this interesting.

This is from the House of Representatives Committee on Rules-Republican Party (italics added for emphasis).


"The precedents of the House allow a wide latitude in criticism of the President, other executive officials, and the government itself. However, it is not permissible to use language that is personally offensive to the President, such as referring to him as a “hypocrite” or a “liar.” Similarly, it is not in order to refer to the President as “intellectually dishonest” or an action taken by the President as “cowardly.”

Monday, September 7, 2009

The Text of the Pres. Obama speech to students

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.
And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Friday, September 4, 2009

A picture that brings me great joy.



Nothing makes me happier than when VPI makes themselves look foolish.

Great Pictures, Bad Ideas



This is case of poor planning courtesy of Marshla University



Another case of bad planning. This pic is from a few years ago at The University of Alabama.