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.

In a battle over a foreign partner, American Airlines faces a lose-lose proposition | Mitchell ...

In a battle over a foreign partner, American Airlines faces a lose-lose proposition | Mitchell ...

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The revival of the "Lets GOOOOOOOO Mountaineers!" chant

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!

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!