Perhaps A Step Too Far? (NSFW)

This cute guy is Abel Azcona, a Spanish queer performance artist, who doesn't like Donald J Trump, president of the U.S.A., at all!

Recently Abel decide to show his dislike for the president in what has to be an extremely painful manner, by tattooing the words of the president’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again”, in a circle around his anus.

The tattooing of the phrase occurred in the Defibrillator Gallery in Chicago. Azcona told The Huffington Post that he considers the statement to be "a queer, political act".

If you are sure you can handle it, click Read more for a picture from the performance and the result.

Damn!

The Democrats were slaughtered in yesterdays midterm elections in the U.S.A. The Republicans won a majority in both the house and the senate.

The above picture comes from the first page of Huffington Post, via J.M.G.

Damn, damn, damn! And did I say damn?

Happy 8th Rezday, Dej

[14:05:56] Dej (dejerrity.mycron): Dear Abbey:  Eight years ago today, on October 23, 2006, I read an article on the Huffington Post about a new virtual world, where you could create anything, be anything, and interact with people from every corner of the Earth.  I must have been really fucking bored that particular day, because I followed the link thinking it might be cool to build a starship.  Never once did I think that by clicking "Download" it would change my life forever.  Never once did I foresee the true friendships, the wild fun, the wacky adventures, the all night dancing, having a career managing clubs...and falling deeply in love....  SL has added a great deal to my life, and I hope that I have been able to add something to the lives of those I have met here and come to cherish, especially to those that we have lost.  When all is said and done - I think I will give it another year.  Love you always, Dej (who still doesn't look a day over 5)

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That was the message from my sweet and loving brother that greeted me when I logged in-world today.

Let me tell you, my dearest Dej, there is no doubt about how much you have added to my life and to others that I have known and still know. I love you dearly and I know for certain that if you had not been there at the time when I needed it, I would not still be in SecondLife. And I still need you, everyday. I love you, Dej, please be a part of my life always!

Happy rezday, my darling brother! The honest truth is that you barely look a day over 4, we are all wondering what lotion you are using...

Extortion, Not Stalemate

I am still lingering on the shutdown of the American federal government, because I simply cannot wrap my mind around how something like this can occur in a democratic country with a healthy economy.

Time Magazine's cover for October 14, 2013

I think I may have stumbled upon a great article by US Political Commentator Brian Normoyle on Huffington Post's political pages. The article is entitled This Shutdown Is About Extortion, Not Stalemates.

"Those following or reporting on the U.S. government shutdown should refrain from using terms like "impasse" or "stalemate." These words imply two honest parties negotiating in good faith have arrived at a temporary but surmountable deadlock. That's not even remotely the case here.

Instead, two parties--the Senate Democrats and the House Republicans -- each passed divergent budgets earlier this year. The latter, propelled by a very small yet ideologically rigid minority of its members, made the calculated decision from the start not to negotiate.

Democrats made 18 requests since April to go to conference and compromise on a budget bill; Republicans blocked every single one of them. And now they are using a manufactured crisis to extract policy concessions on duly passed legislation they don't like and cannot repeal through the normal democratic processes: elections, legislative votes, and litigation.

Meanwhile, House Republicans continue to insist they're doing the will of the American people despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. While a plurality or small majority of Americans remain confused about or opposed to the Affordable Care Act, a strong majoritywant a budget approved without conditions to repeal, defund, or delay it -- mainly because they see the law as a settled issue.

And so it is. Republicans lost this fight repeatedly:

• in the 2008 election in which this was a primary issue;

• in a year-long debate in the halls of congress, media, and the public square, after which the law was passed by both chambers of congress and signed by the president;

• in the Supreme Court--the final arbiter of the constitutionality of a law;

• in the 2012 presidential election, which 2/3rds of Americans now see as a referendum on Obamacare;

• in the 2012 congressional election, in which the GOP failed to take the Senate, lost seats in the House, and lost the popular vote in that chamber by more than 1,000,000 votes;

• in the 46 House votes to repeal, defund, or delay Obamacare that were dead on arrival in the Senate and had no chance of becoming law.

Most curiously, Republicans now have the votes to end the shutdown immediately by putting a clean resolution on the House floor with no riders or conditions. Such a bill certainly would pass, and 800,000 Americans could return to work tomorrow, but Boehner doesn't do it.

The evidence suggests the GOP intentionally put these workers out of a job by using a historically routine budget resolution to undo the outcome of three lost elections. And they now have the hubris to demand Senate Democrats and President Obama negotiate with that extremist position. As Republicans continually shift the political goal posts ever further to the hard right, negotiating now requires meeting them somewhere between extreme and preposterously irrational. Democrats justifiably have declined to do so here.

This is not an "impasse" or a "stalemate." It's an attempt at extortion that was prevented."

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I believe I finally understand what has happened in the US after reading this article. We have a bunch of lousy losers who cannot accept that they lost and now are trying to shove their point-of-view down everyone else's throats to make them accept it. It's no new tactic, I have seen it before in both my lives, although never on such a dramatic scale.

Saggy Pants Ban

"Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. thinks he's found a way to put one of this Jersey shore resort town's problems behind it. Wildwood is ready to ban overly saggy pants, no ifs, ands or butts.The city is set to pass a law Wednesday regulating how people dress on its boardwalk. It bans going shirtless, as well as walking on the boardwalk with bare feet.But the provision that has gained widespread attention is a prohibition on pants that sag more than 3 inches below the hips, exposing either skin or underwear. Troiano said Wildwood has been inundated with complaints from tourists upon whose money the popular beach town depends for its survival. "

Read the whole article at Huffington Post - Weird News Saggy Pants Ban Set To Pass In Wildwood, New Jersey