In Syria: After bombarding Jisr al-Shughour yesterday, Syrian security forces are attacking the town, the US has declared the escalation a humanitarian crisis, and more than 4,000 civilians have fled to Turkey.
Damage Control, Engage! After calls to resign from Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida), and Rep. Steve Israel (D-New York), Rep. Anthony Weiner has entered a psychological treatment facility and is taking a leave of absence from the House.
Looking Healthy and Happy: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who will leave rehab by the end of this month and will continue outpatient therapy, reports the Houston Chronicle. The first pictures of her since she was shot have been released. You can see them here, along with increasingly awkward add-on speculation about whether she’ll run for office.
In Arizona: The eastern Arizona wildfire has grown to “about the size of Houston,” and the National Weather Service warns that its smoke plumes will continue to move towards New Mexico.
“This is not Greenwich Village or Hell’s Kitchen!” A gay pride flag flies in Virginia, previously comfortable (alleged) bigots freak the fuck out.
Ridin’ Dirty: Federal transportation officials are shutting down a Michigan tour bus company for putting people in the luggage compartment of a bus.
The Michael Jordan of Literature: Salman Rushdie, who is retiring from novels and moving to television, says he’ll write a camel “sci-fi drama” influenced by Mad Men, The Wire, and The Sopranos.
Today in Predictable: The Pope is super-pissed at Lady Gaga.
Crisis Averted! A plane flew too close to Camp David! Spoiler alert: It landed safely in Maryland.
Oh, New England: A mysterious mountain lion has been killed in Connecticut, where this is news.
And finally, for reasons that should be obvious, here are Bill Maher and Jane Lynch with a dramatic reading of Anthony Weiner’s texting transcripts. Good morning!
Gabby’s recovery – damn, amazing, beautiful. God bless her!! And God bless the unfortunate, for no matter what kind of Health Care is passed, I don’t think your American citizen will get her V.I.P. medical treatment. God Bless the Elites! They deserve better than us!! They really do, perhaps? Somebody help me out.
Weiner’s gross, not ill. And it’s too bad the Dem leadership is so damned predictable in their demands he resign. He shouldn’t resign. He should grow up.
@2
I agree. Congress is a place for gross people. Weiner fits in, and with these incidents, he should climb a few tiers of credibility (euphemism being “grow up”).
About the complaints about the pride flag. I remember when a Stranger editor had issues with pride and rainbows too. He seems to have gotten over it?
“Pride isn’t killing anyone–not yet, anyway–but the fwap of rainbow windsocks is definitely making us dull and slow, and leading to a resurgence of bad plays and tight pants. Surrounding oneself with constant reminders to feel prideful–rainbow flags, freedom rings, “family” bumper stickers, pink triangle tattoos, “freedom tumblers,” rainbow-striped dog collars (!)–is to constantly be reminded of shame. The only way to be truly and finally free of stultifying shame is to break free of equally stultifying (if better accessorized) pride. Instead, American gays and lesbians act like cancer patients who, having been cured, remind themselves that they aren’t sick anymore by dropping by the hospital every once in a while for a little chemotherapy. “
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/pride…
Jane Lynch is amazing.
And here’s a fun story about the world’s shortest man:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110611/ap_o…
Fundies in Virginia are pissed at the pride flag. The pope is pissed at Lady Gaga…
Today is a good day!
@7
Not being a prude or smart-ass, where in the article does it say the Pop is pissed, or even quoted at all? ( i’m honestly asking this; Sexy Beast type of articles kind of flash before my eyes). It does say in the beginning he is “on the defense.”
If however you are referring to the intern, she writes “super pissed.” “Super pissed” sounds more pissed than just your writing “pissed.”
You can argue that Pelosi on the rest of the party leadership shouldn’t be dumping Weiner. But once they speak, it’s pretty much political suicide not to ignore them. I think Wrangle’s tax evasions were much worse than Weiner’s twitters, and they didn’t ask him to go. Still, once the party brass asks to you to go – if want any political opportunities in the future – you got to heed them. You can also argue that this antiquated party politics has got to end – but expecting it to do so is not being realistic. And in politics, you can’t dawdle in la-la land for too long.
To accompany Frank Bruni’s amazingly praiseful tour of local restaurants in the Sunday Times, Stranger Genius Award winner Jonathan Raban has a flat-out wonderful piece in the Magazine about driving his daughter Julia from Seattle to California on a spring visit to the university she’ll attend in the fall. (I miss seeing Raban pieces in the Stranger now and then – what happened?)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/magazi…
Gay and lesbian “behavior,” he wrote, “undermines the American economy…”
Did anyone catch this one? That’s a new one I don’t think I’d heard before. I’m curious to hear that claim elaborated upon, I’m fascinated about how, exactly, this would be so…?
@11, probably because, you know, they’re so busy using their disposable income on things like glitter, tight pants, and light bulbs to put up their butts that they don’t stay in LTRs and have lots of squalling children for which they need to buy various and sundry things. Then there are things like washers and dryers and refrigerators. Gays and lesbians– ruining the American economy! I can’t believe I didn’t see the light before.
You know, after a reread I realized that there are people who actually believe that…
I wonder if Dem leadership told Weiner they’re just kidding about resigning in private. Calling for his resignation is good for leadership, but him not resigning is good for the Dems. And it’s good for him to be seen as some sort of rebel.
See, Danny-
perverts like Weiner are SICK!
even he knows it…..
11
well, let’s see….
any behavior that infects 20%* of its participants with HIV is a real drag on the economy.
*20% so far……
And the economy, Social Security, public and private pensions etc depend on a steady supply of competent new adults coming online. Homosexuals are freeloading mooches in the whole replenishing the population equation.
p.s @4, great catch. That’s always stuck in my mind as one of Dan’s best pieces of writing ever. I suppose it’s possible he changed his mind, but way more likely to me is that he’s not such an editorial busybody that he’d want to stifle something Dominic or some other Slog pup is excited about covering.
You might enjoy this piece from SF, where the Castro business owners who took over upkeep costs for the giant Pride flag from the city are catching shit…for not lowering it when Liz Taylor died.
We’ll never run out of eyeroll fodder with Pride Inc.
http://sfappeal.com/news/2011/06/controv…
@11 It’s their usual bearing false witness that the holier-than-thou engage in.
Is it true that Dan Savage just turned 51?
@17
unless you are on unsteady ground way up in the Arctic — then you might be — Bering Fault Isthmus
@15: Gee, a behavior that infects 20% of its practitioners with HIV? What behavior could that be?
I mean, it sounds like you’re talking about homosexuality, but that can’t be right! Lesbians have almost no incidence at all of HIV infection, and among gay men, historically at very high risk for HIV, only 5 to 7% are infected nationwide!
Please, enlighten us as to this 1-out-of-5-with-HIV demographic’s identity.
I hate to say this but doesn’t the “new” Gabby Giffords look just a wee bit like Rob McKenna?
@20
Oh, but for these people, lesbianism is okay because two girls kissing turns them on. Only gay men are bad. Fucking hypocritical assholes.
@21: Stop insulting Rob McKenna!
@4, those issues went away when the Stranger started to be one of the biggest sponsors of the festivities on the weekend.
Myself, I think that the parade and festival should be about something more than a huge display or corporate exploitation of the community.
@4, there was another article that Dan wrote a couple of years before that going after Pride weekend as well (was it 1995 or 1996?). I couldn’t find it but I recall he ended the piece by saying that he was going to celebrate pride weekend by hitting up some of the antique stores in Fremont with his boyfriend. Back in the days when Fremont was really eclectic, cool and the center of the universe.
@26 we still are.
All human behaviors have both positive and negative feedback on the economy, but the bigot was cherry picking (his only alternative to lying) and most everything we do should not be reduced to its economics. With a very skewed and partial perspective, caring for kids is bad for the economy.
@27: Not with you living there.