“You know, I think my biggest concern [if Mitt is elected], obviously, would just be for his mental well-being. I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness and his leadership skills, in his understanding of the economy, in his understanding of what’s missing right now in the economy – you know, pieces that are missing to get this jump-started. So for me I think it would just be the emotional part of it.” – Ann Romney, speaking to a Nevada TV station.
John Travolta vindicated in court – again
From CNN: John Travolta has won again in his fight against several lawsuits related to allegations of sexual assault.
Two lawsuits by two male massage therapists who claimed sexual battery were dismissed in May. And now a judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Travolta and his attorney, Marty Singer.
The lawsuit filed by writer Robert Randolph, who was quoted in an article and wrote a book about Travolta’s alleged sexual behavior, claims that Singer harmed him when he wrote a letter in response to the book and article, according to court documents.
Judge Malcolm Mackey of Los Angeles Superior Court dismissed the case Thursday because he found, in part, that the letter has free speech protection.
A lawyer representing Travolta and Singer applauded the decision:
“Robert Randolph’s ridiculous lawsuit against John Travolta and his attorney Marty Singer never should have been filed,” said Lynda Goldman. “Notwithstanding inane tabloid fodder, two individuals who sued Mr. Travolta voluntarily dismissed their cases, and Randolph’s case was dismissed by the court. Anyone else who thinks about suing Mr. Travolta should expect a similar result.”
Attorneys for Randolph could not be reached for comment.
Red states have higher occurence of teenage births
Although teenage pregnancy and birth rates are declining nationally, teenage girls still give birth to hundreds of thousands of babies a year. To be precise, they gave birth to 367,678 in 2010 alone, according to the CDC.
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This map shows the birth rate among girls aged 15 to 19 by state. And it clearly shows that more conservative states have higher rates of teenage births.
In states such as Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, 1 out of 20 teenage girls gives birth every year. Using the most recent Census data on teenage populations, Arkansas has the highest rate, at 56 births per 1,000 teenage girls.
It’s no surprise that red states have higher rates. Many of them, including the seven states with the highest rates, do not require schools to teach contraception. The theory is parents want to do that in the home. Clearly, that’s not very effective.
Other states that do have sex education require teachers to stress abstinence and advise children to wait until marriage. Again, clearly not very effective.
Studies have concluded time and time again that abstinence-only curricula are not as effective at reducing teen pregnancies and births.
Via Slate.
Grease star, Olivia Newton-John, submits to “arrest”
During a day of press events, Olivia Newton-John saw this sign on a door saying “Grease Arrestor Room.” Without pausing, being the Grease star that she is, she immediately submitted to be “arrested.”
Not sure what a “grease arrrestor room” is, but we thought it funny…
Friday Ben Cohen break
Indiegogo project: The Man Diet
New Indiegogo project from my dear friend Roy Bean:
After several readings and revisions of “The Man Diet” and with the support of many wonderful friends, teachers and colleagues I’ve decided to become a producer, surround myself with an amazing cast and crew, and make a movie.
And with people like Christine Bokhour, Ann Cooley, Taylor Hooper, Brian Howard, Michael Lawrence, Mark Ledbetter, Raymond J. Lee, Robert Matteau, Ryan N. Phillips, Sarah Rigney, Marissa Rosen, Marty Thomas, Nicole E. Velez and more to come… we can’t go wrong.
Synopsis:
JACOB runs a shelter, HELP+U. Although he does great work for the community by day, he has just found out he has an unfortunate reputation in the community by night.
Out for dinner with MARGOT, WILLIAM, and BRANDON, Jacob is inspired – he’s going to go on a “man diet.” No carbs, no fat, no men. His friends are incredulous that he can last, so they challenge him to a bet.
As fate would have it Margot hires, as the new Volunteer Coordinator, DANIEL, a simple, easy going guy. Daniel is immediately attracted to Jacob, but has no idea what is in store for him.
Roy is terrifically talented, and I have no doubts this will be a fab film.
NYC: Health warning – meningitis alert
Via press release: The NYC Health Department is currently investigating a cluster of invasive meningococcal disease, commonly known as meningitis, among gay men and men who have sex with men.
Invasive meningococcal disease is a severe bacterial infection that has a high fatality rate.
Within the past four weeks, there have been four cases; one died and one person is in critical care. The cases are spread across several boroughs and among men ages 31 to 42 years old.
President Obama, jobs and the economy
A popular question in this election cycle has been “are we better off than we were four years ago?” From my perspective, the answer is clear: yes. The stock market has doubled, the US is out of Iraq and getting out of Afghanistan, DADT is history, and more. But most folks are focusing on the economy and jobs, so here’s the story on that topic.
These are facts folks, not the made up stuff you hear in faux news circles, via ThinkProgress
When President Obama was sworn in, the economy was losing jobs to the unprecedented tune of over 20,000 per day. Clearly that wasn’t his fault as it takes several months for a new President’s policies to even begin to take effect.
Between the beginning of 2008 and February 2010 when the tide began to turn, the economy lost nearly 8.8 million jobs—4.3 million on Obama’s watch and almost 4.5 million under President Bush’s.
In February 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law and funds began almost immediately moving their way through the economy and the pace of job losses slowed, turning positive a year later. Since February 2010, including the newly revised data, the economy has added 4.4 million total payroll jobs, an average of 135,00 per month. We’ve had 30 months of positive private sector job growth.
Another statistic that probably has mixed sentiments for conservatives who yearn for “smaller government” – the economy has lost more than 700,000 public sector jobs since 2009. These are teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other local, state and federal jobs. However, this has had the effect of holding back the overall recovery. Without those losses, our unemployment rate would be at least a full point lower.
(source)
Nate Silver Update – September 28, 2012
From Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight blog. FiveThirtyEight provides forecasts of upcoming presidential, Congressional and gubernatorial elections through the use of its proprietary prediction models.
Nate Silver correctly predicted 49 of 50 states in the 2008 election, and all 35 Senate races.
(source)
Ryan Idol, 80s gay porn actor, sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder
Gay porn actor Ryan Idol (real name Marc Anthony Donais) was convicted in September 2011 of attempted murder after beating his girlfriend over the head with a toilet tank lid.
He has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Sacramento Bee reports:
According to the victim’s testimony at trial, Donais entered the woman’s apartment the night of Sept. 5, 2009, and told her, “I came over here to kill you.” The two had been involved in a relationship, but the woman — whose name is being withheld because she is a domestic violence victim — said she cut it off when she caught him having sex with his male lover.
The woman said Donais stormed into her bathroom while she was taking a bath of her 48th Street residence and began to beat her with the porcelain lid until “I felt blood gushing down my shoulders.”