Women Born Transsexual

From Alternet:  http://www.alternet.org/vision/151570/being_anti-war_is_not_a_crime_–_but_that%27s_not_stopping_the_fbi_from_raiding_activists%27_homes/

Activists who organized anti-war protests at the 2008 RNC have been targeted with raids, subpoenas and government spies.

By Lauren Kelley 
July 8, 2011

In the early morning of May 17, longtime anti-war and immigrant rights activist Carlos Montes awoke to the startling sound of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department SWAT Team breaking down his door. “They came in with guns on their shoulders, yelling. I was shocked,” 63-year-old Montes told the Pasadena Star-News. “I thought, let me close my eyes so I can go to sleep and see if I wake up from this nightmare.”

Authorities searched Montes’ home, confiscating his cell phone and computer. Montes says the authorities also sorted through, stacked and organized a large number of personal documents and photos, many of them relating to his activist activities and trips he took to Colombia and Cuba (Montes founded the Brown Beret Chicano youth group in the 1960s and has been involved in anti-war efforts for four decades).

When authorities discovered an illegally purchased firearm in his home, Montes was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a felon (Montes was convicted in 1969 of assaulting a police officer), possession of ammunition, and four counts of perjury for lying on his gun registration.

Montes already felt the raid had less to do with firearms than with his political activism, but what happened next solidified that feeling. While sitting in the back of a patrol car, Montes was approached by a plainclothes FBI agent who questioned Montes about his involvement with the Chicago-based Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

There is other strong evidence suggesting that Montes is being targeted by the FBI because of his activism and political views. The raid on Montes’ home follows a flurry of home raids and subpoenas issued to nearly two dozen activists last September. Many, if not all, of the activists, including Montes, were involved in staging anti-war protests at the September 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. Also searched was the Minneapolis office of the Anti-War Committee; it was later revealed that a government spy had infiltrated it and similar activist groups in the Twin Cities.

Continue reading at:  http://www.alternet.org/vision/151570/being_anti-war_is_not_a_crime_–_but_that%27s_not_stopping_the_fbi_from_raiding_activists%27_homes/

Numerous people have been commenting on how much Marcus Bachmann sounds like a cast member of “Boys in the Band”.  Could his homophobia be camouflage?

I think Kinsey’s 10 percent was right and that the missing 5 percent can be found in right wing and religious closets.

There is nothing sadder than an ego-dystonic self hating closet case.

From Raw Story:  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/09/marcus-bachmanns-clinic-practices-reparative-anti-gay-therapy-reports/

By Kase Wickman
Saturday, July 9th, 2011

Two reports were published claiming that Bachmann & Associates, the Christian counseling clinic owned by Rep. Michele Bachmann’s husband, practices “reparative therapy,” or psychological treatment targeted at reorienting homosexuals.

The claim isn’t new — in fact, Marcus Bachmann has refuted it in the media for years. In 2006, he told City Pages that his clinic didn’t use the controversial therapy.

“Am I aware that the perception is out there? I can’t comment on that,” Bachmann said. “If someone is interested in talking to us about their homosexuality, we are open to talking about that. But if someone comes in a homosexual and they want to stay homosexual, I don’t have a problem with that.”

Mother Jones pointed out that this is more than just a problem as a political spouse: Michele Bachmann lists the business among her financial assets, and when she boasts about starting and owning a business on the campaign trail, she’s talking about the clinic. The clinic that has suddenly become a much larger liability in her 2012 presidential campaign.

The reports, however, tell otherwise. Though Bachmann himself may not personally administer the anti-gay therapy, not all members of his practice can claim the same.

Continue reading at:  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/09/marcus-bachmanns-clinic-practices-reparative-anti-gay-therapy-reports/

From Common Dreams:  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/08-3

by Jane Hamsher
Published on Friday, July 8, 2011 by FireDogLake

According to both the Washington Post and the New York Times, Obama is proposing cuts to Social Security in exchange for GOP support for tax hikes. Lori Montgomery in the Post:

At a meeting with top House and Senate leaders set for Thursday morning, Obama plans to argue that a rare consensus has emerged about the size and scope of the nation’s budget problems and that policymakers should seize the moment to take dramatic action.  As part of his pitch, Obama is proposing significant reductions in Medicare spending and for the first time is offering to tackle the rising cost of Social Security, according to people in both parties with knowledge of the proposal.

And Jay Carney’s carefully chosen weasel-words today do not contradict this:

“There is no news here – the President has always said that while social security is not a major driver of the deficit, we do need to strengthen the program and the President said in the State of the Union Address that he wanted to work with both parties to do so in a balanced way that preserves the promise of the program and doesn’t slash benefits.”

Nobody ever says they want to “cut” Social Security or Medicare. They want to “save” it.  Just ask Pete Peterson, he wants to “save” it. Likewise AARP.  They don’t want reduced benefits for senior citizens, they want to “preserve” it for future generations.  If they have an enormous customer base they can market private “add-on” accounts and other retirement products to when Social Security goes bye-bye, I guess that’s just a happy coincidence.

Continue reading at:  http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/08-3

From Think Progress:  http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/07/07/262890/hatch-poor-people-contribute-taxes/

By Travis Waldron
Jul 7, 2011

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) dusted off one of his favorite talking points on the Senate floor today, calling on the poor and the middle class to shoulder more of the pain of deficit reduction because they don’t pay enough in taxes. After the Senate considered a Sense of the Senate stating that “any agreement to reduce the budget deficit should require that those earning $1,000,000 or more per year make a more meaningful contribution to the deficit reduction effort,” Hatch took to the floor to defend rich taxpayers, whose tax rates are at modern lows thanks to the Bush tax cuts.

Hatch complained that 51 percent of Americans don’t pay income taxes and hinted that what the poor and middle class pay in payroll taxes doesn’t count as a contribution since it goes toward Social Security:

HATCH: I hear how they’re [Democrats] so caring for the poor and so forth. The poor need jobs! And they also need to share some of the responsibility. Now we don’t want the really poor people who are in poverty to pay income taxes. But 51 percent of all households? And that’s going up by the way because of our friend down in the White House and his allies.

Watch it:

Complete article at: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/07/07/262890/hatch-poor-people-contribute-taxes/