Santa is gay!

The apartment of a gay couple in New York somehow ended up as the address for Santa Claus. It's puzzling because the letters they received clearly listed a particular apartment on 22nd St., not North Pole. They never found out why they were getting the letters, but after receiving about 400 of them and being affected by the contents they decided to take on the role. Some friends helped out by promising to fulfill some of the letters and the couple bought gifts for many of the others. Perhaps 150 of the letters were fulfilled. This post contains a 7 minute video of their adventures.


An energy policy that turns towards renewable energy just might make headway in a Congress partially under GOP control. That might sound surprising giving how the most recent energy bill fared. Here's the calculation: The GOP swept congressional representation from Texas to the Dakotas. This region is being heavily developed for wind farms. A renewable energy installation tax credit ends on Dec. 31, threatening lots of jobs. It is GOP lawmakers who will hear the complaints, meaning a new energy bill will come from the GOP side. Dems might be able to vote for it even if it contains funding for (snort!) clean coal. The other driving factor is rising energy costs, making wind energy cheaper. Just don't mention global warming in the bill -- most incoming GOP lawmakers have publicly questioned the science behind global warming.


I wrote recently about corporate control of the classroom and what we will lose in the process. Here's a look at how close that is coming. The Los Angeles school district is auctioning off naming rights to cafeterias and sports stadiums. The district gets money, the corporation gets advertising space. There are guidelines to eliminate corporations whose products are not age appropriate, such as Budweiser. Many school officials are uncomfortable, but not enough to stop the process. My prediction is the corporations want more than naming rights. The rich decry raising taxes to fund schools because elected officials then control the money. But if the rich fund schools through corporate donations then they get a say in how the money is spent -- and what is taught in the schools.


A short quote in an article about the Washington dynamic of a GOP House and Dem Senate and prez. has progressives laughing. GOP Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said, "There will not be one American that will not be called to sacrifice" under the needed spending cuts to deal with the deficit. He's serious? After that tax bonanza for the rich? Apparently other GOP voices are making the same claim. Come on, Mr. Coburn, tell us some more jokes. Get us laughing so hard we don't notice what is happening to the country.