In November of 2000, Vice President Dick Cheney’s doctors discovered that one of his arteries had narrowed since his last full heart checkup in 1996, leading doctors to insert a coronary stent to prop it open. The stent, was evenually nicknamed by some as “The Segway Stent” because it was originally designed by Segway inventor Dean Kamen.
Now the Los Angeles Times has reported in its November 30, 2006 edition that “Drug-coated stents raise the risk of potentially lethal blood clots in heart patients as much as fivefold compared with bare-metal devices, [as] a Cleveland Clinic Foundation study has found.”
A coronary stent is a small, slotted, stainless steel tube mounted on a balloon catheter, inserted into an obstructed artery. When the balloon is inflated, the stent expands and remains in place to keep the artery open. The Segway Stent implanted into the vice president is not mediated and thankfully Cheney is not at risk.
–Kevin
Senator Brownback (NOT BROKEBACK) (R-Kansas) is considering blocking one of President Bush’s judicial nominees because she attended (but did not participate) in a lesbian commitment ceremony as reported in a story in the Detroit News.
Brownback, who allegedly believes he has a chance at the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination, apparently stated that Michigan Court of Appeal Judge Janet T. Neff’s attendance at a lesbian neighbor’s commitment ceremony raises doubts as to her confirmation becasue it may have betrayed her views on gay marraige.
Brownback has stated on the record that he believes that the issue should not be decided by the Courts but through the legislative process.
I guess this is the first sign of a new litmus test in the beltway. First we had “The Abortion Litmus Test” and now we may have a “Have You Ever Been To A Commitment Ceremony Litmus Test”.
–Kevin
Conservative talk show host Sean Hanity’s website features a section called “Hannidate” and includes a section for persons of one sex who are seeking persons of the same sex.
While Hannity is against same-sex marriage, he is pretty libertarian on gay relationships. In the past he has stood up to gay bashers and even placed former NJ Governor Jim McGreevey’s book on his book club list.
One user of the site, identified as “Michael Burke” (note-the paper did not state that was his real name), a 31 year old from New York, uses the site and according to the Los Angeles Times, has no interest “in joining Log Cabin Republicans, whom he finds too left leaning.” [Has he been talking to James Hartline lately?-LOL]
For the most part, it is my opinion that Sean Hannity’s social values make a nice fit with LCR and I’d like to hear him speak at an LCR event one day.
–Kevin
Here is a 4 minute introduction from the 1990 Milton Friedman series “Free to Choose” with an introduction by the future governor of California.
”. . .chase your own rainbow without the government breathing down your neck or standing on your shoes.”–future Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1990.
I found the comments pretty interesting.
–Kevin
A GLBT couple who wee married legally in Massachusetttes filed for divorce in Rhode island. Rhode Island does not recognize same gender marriages. DOMA permits a state to not recognaze a same gender marraige performed in another jurisdiction. DOMA, however, is not a constituional amendment, and the the full faith and credit act of the US Constitution may trump DOMA.
Stay tunded for more developments-Kevin
The New Jersey Supreme Court has heard arguments on a public school’s duty to its gay students who are bullied.
A New Jersey public school student was allegedly was harassed by 18 students who called him a “fag” and a “homo” at in intermediate public. Also, another incident resulted in the boy being whipped and taunted in the boys’ locker room.
The school made the students apologize to the boy each time an incident was reported and the attackers were counseled by school administrators.
Within days of entering high school, however, the boy was reportedly physically assaulted twice out of school, once walking home from school and once downtown during his lunch period. Although the incidents occurred off school grounds, the high school suspended those involved.
The question for the high court to decide is if the school did enough.
One of the justices called the school’s response “lethargic” and questioned if officials would have reacted the same way if the charge had been harassing based on race. Another Justice agreed and said that words being used against the child were “weapons” used to humiliate and degrade the student’s self-esteem.
“They (school officials) were not educating peers to accept difference among students,” said Albin.
If the New Jersey marriage case is any indication about how the justices feel about gay rights, the decision should be another landmark decision.
–Kevin
It comes as no surpirse to this Blogger that at least 13 of 50 newly elected House and Senate DEMS oppose same-sex marriage and two of those back constitutional amendments to ban gay marriages.
The Washington Blade, also reports that 16 DEMS elected Nov. 7 prefer civil unions to full marriage rights.
9 new DEMS of the 50 examined by the Blade were verified to support full marriage equality for gay couples. 42 incoming DEMS oppose a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
A vote for a Democrat does not equal a vote for gay rights and any DEM who believes in that believes in a falsity.
–”Just the facts, mam”–Kevin
Last year Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich radically called for bitartisan primaries to stanch the flow of party candidates pandering to the extremes.
After seeing the results from the recent California elections in which Victory’06 essentially failed and only two repubilcans were elected to state-wide office, I am seriously pondering the issue that the former Speaker raised.
I am still debating it in my mind. Does anyone else have any opinions on the issue?
–Kevin
