As most of you have probably noticed, the stem cell debate has been in the news again triggered by our fearless leader's veto of the proposed bill to increase federal funding on research - the first veto of his presidency. With a republican controlled house and senate, you'd think approving bills would be an easy process for a republican president, right? Not when our moral leader, who has cornered the market on morality, needs to show the country what real morals are.

Stem cell research is what brought me to California. My partner, Larry, was conducting research with mouse embyonic stem cells at Washington University in St. Louis, got a job offer in the private sector here in California, so we moved.

Fifty nine percent of registered voters in the state approved the California Stem Cell Initiative, opening up a lot of doors here for research to begin. Some say there will be a backlash from the same ultra-right wing who penned the term 'snowflakes' and call for the adoption of unused frozen embryos like they were pet rocks or something - if they're not gay, black, or something that isn't white, right? Until they can use same genetic research that they oppose to discover how to detect such things and correct them, their morals will suffice. Besides, if the embryo or fetus does die, they can take Rick Santorum's lead, pickle it, bring it home to the kids and PROVE to them that it was a living human being. It's a win win, right?

Already though, the initiative is at a stand-still, caught in court by the aforementioned freaks.

The good news is that the ball is already rolling. The private sector - funded by private, non-government investors - isn't constrained by the same limitations set by Chimpy McWonder Monkey and has already gone above and beyond the appoved stem cell lines. And if things get worse here, the research will go to other countries, as it already has. The US is not the leader in this research, and probably won't be for some time. But as soon as a scientist in Singapore discovers a way to cure Parkinson's Disease, Diabetes, Alzheimer's or AIDS, all the Rick Santorums of the world will get in line to buy the pill. Well...maybe not AIDS, because all infected gays deserve to die, right?

Meanwhile, as he is so determined to save lives here, Bush's war is killing thousands of innocent people in Iraq according the Washington Post:

"In the first half of this year, 4,338 Iraqi civilians died violent deaths, according to a new report by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq. Last month alone, 3,149 civilians were killed -- an average of more than 100 a day."

I think if we substituted 'Iraqi civilians' with 'Snowflakes', The Party of Life might actually start giving a shit.

'Cause it is 'shit' right, Mr. President?

In reference to the leaking of the identity of a covert CIA operative, Bush said, "I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action."

Later we found out that he personally declassified the information so that it could be leaked. He lied about it and his staff lied about it...over and over again.

Weapons of mass destruction, illegal and warrantless wire-tapping, torture at Abu Ghraib...fuck it. The list gets longer every day and I'm damn sick of trying to keep up with it. Most of us realize that the man's nose is ten times longer than Ron Jeremy's dick. On top of that (Whoa! Bad choice of words) he's a crook, a spoiled brat and a total brownie hound.

I'm truly exhausted with trying to keep up with the scandals, lies and general bullshit that surrounds this man. I've even cut down my television news consumption down to a bare minimum. I mean, watching something every night that does nothing but piss you off is some seriously freaky S&M shit, right?

Speaking of 'shit', I think CNN definitely had the most creative headline with 'The Sh_t Heard 'Round The Wold'. Turns out The Decider a.k.a. Chimpy McKnuckle-Dragger didn't realize that the mic at his table was live while he chatted with lapdog Tony Blair. Oddly enough, I couldn't give two shits about the profanity because the thing that I couldn't believe was how disgusting the man behaved at the dinner table....AT THE G-EIGHT SUMMIT!!

The whole affair is entirely too disgusting for me to think about, and besides, Angry Black Bitch summarizes it all entirely too well.

So, we know he's a liar. Now we also know that he's...well....disgusting. But it doesn't end there...

With friends like The Hammer, Brownie, Turd Blossom, Robby Bobby, Kenny Boy and The Blade, one might ask "At what frat party is this man hitting the beer bong?".

Answer: The G-Eight Summit.

Yes, Georgie has put on his frat boy charm for the entire world to see, which included giving an impromptu back-rub to the German chancellor.

Lying, disgusting, frat fuck.

I'm not really much of a tv person. But that statement needs a bit of clarification because, technically, I do watch the television quite a bit. My viewing consists mostly of movies (Netflix ROCKS), documentaries, and Fuel TV. I like some sitcoms, but most are quite nauseating. And I can almost safely say that I hate reality tv. It displays all the worst qualities of human nature expressed by the worst human beings on the planet. But, as with everything in life, there are exceptions. "Never say never" are words that I live by.

That being said, as a huge X-Files fan, I just can't turn down anything related to the paranormal. As a kid, I loved horror flicks and slasher movies, but the only ones that really frightened me were the ghostly-natured classics like The Entity, The Amityville Horror, The House on Haunted Hill and The Evil Dead. The Exorcist particularly scared the bejesus out me, but I would watch it over and over and over again.

So anyway, reality tv SUCKS...with three exceptions:

1) Ghost Hunters. As two Roto-Rooter plumbers by day, they trade in their pipe wrenches for EMF detectors to become paranormal investigators by night. The show really possesses more documentary qualities than reality tv bullshit, but only because their main goal is to debunk ghost stories instead of validate them. Most of the time, they find nothing, filling the down-time with low-key drama created by the crew. But occasionally they come across some pretty freaky shit. And when that happens, it's an all-out geekfest.

2) Most Haunted. This crew of Brits travels the European country-side holding 'vigils' at it's most notoriously haunted locales. Medium Derek Acorah and his spiritual guide, Sam (yes, he's a ghost so you can't see him), converse with the dead while Yvette Fielding and her bangs taunt spirits and...well...just scream a lot. The show does make an attempt at being pragmatic, offering a couple skeptic's opinions, but with Derek getting possessed practically every episode, the show's debunkers are really only lame disclaimers. Dust particles in the camera are donned 'orbs'. Creeky noises in 700 year old houses become ghostly communication from spirits in another dimension. Crew members trip and fall in the dark, but we later discover that they were attacked by poltergeists. Needless to say, this show is incredibly entertaining and full of DRAMA. All caps.

I may sound like a bit of a skeptic myself, but I'm not. My soon-to-be-budding psychic abilities tell that everything on this show is real. And even though I've only seen it once, my soon-to-be spiritual guide(s) are telling me that Derek's new show is going to be a smash hit. It has everything Most Haunted has but more - much more - including Doorstep Divinations.

** Oddly enough, both of these shows shot two-hour specials here in Long Beach at the world famous - and extremely haunted - Queen Mary. While the Most Haunted crew got some pretty incredible footage, I  was much more entertained by the screams, crying, possessions and drama. The Ghost Hunters, on the other hand, caught some footage which initially seemed amazing, but was soon discovered to be fraudulent, having been tampered with by someone on the boat. It is also very interesting to note that the Queen Mary has been going through quite a bit of financial trouble. It's a bit cloudy to me, but I think my soon-to-be-budding psychic abilities are telling me that crooked things are amiss. **

I do love paranormal phenomena, but my passion doesn't restrict me to only one kind of television program. On the contrary, my most favorite television show also happens to be the most fabulous reality show EVER made...

3) Project Runway. I've a huge fan since the first season, and last night was the premier of the third. To prevent this post from getting any longer - and to save some material for what promises to multiple, large posts - I'm going to hold off on any sort of synopsis or summary. But, I will divulge that my soon-to-be-budding psychic abilities have already clued me in to this season's winner... which I reveal very soon.

So anyway, as I was saying, I don't really like to watch tv very much...

Eddie Cochran knew what he was talking about. When the weather is beautiful, the last thing I want to do is work. For example...I'm at work right now, but I'm typing piles of meaningless drivel into this blog. I should be working, but I'm not. Besides, there are far more things to do that are pant-loads more fun. Surfing, the beach, surfing, drinking and surfing are just a few that come to mind. It's not as if I really have a choice, though. Money has to be made to pay the bills. So what's a dude to do?

"Well I'm gonna raise a fuss / And I'm gonna raise a holler / About workin' all summer / Just tryin' to earn a dollar."

Exactly. I'll just bitch and moan about it.

It's not as if I don't have plenty to do. I have loads of things to keep me occupied at work, and we just moved to a new location with a sushi bar on the first floor and a gym in the basement. We have a balcony on the 15th floor and a spectacular view of The Matterhorn.

I even have some drama to keep things interesting.

Last night, our landlords told us that we have to move out when our lease ends at the end of September, if not sooner. It seems that they visited some friends in St. Louis during Pridefest and like it so much that they've decided to move there.

What are the fucking odds of that?! I spend the first 32 years of my life clawing my way out of the litter-box that is the midwest to move to sub-tropical paradise where my landlords decide to sell every single one of their rental properties to move to the very box that I was shit into.

But who cares about them. Larry and I now have to find a new place to live, which excites me about as much as a barium enema before a colonoscopy. But, last night, through the glorious powers of the internets, we pre-qualified for a home loan. I'm actually sort of excited about that, but this post is about the Summertime Blues...

"Sometime I wonder / What I'm gonnna do / There ain't no cure / For the summertime blues"

Once again, he's right. But I seldom wonder what I'm gonna do, thanks once again, to the wondrous internet. For example, while at work, I found several topics that temporarily cured my case of SB ... like the sad news about Syd Barrett ... or the happy news about that bitch Ann Coulter. And were it not for the Summertime Blues, I would have never realized that Stephen King's 'Carrie' was once a broadway musical, or that scientists recently discovered that mushrooms can be a lot of fun (DUH).

Yes, I have plenty of distractions, and lots of things to keep me entertained, but I'll always have to go back to work. Like the cycle that brings Summer every year, there is also the cycle that brings the Summertime Blues...and then work....and then the Summertime Blues...and work again.

Mr. Cochran definitely knew what he was talking about.

 No, there ain't no cure for the Summertime Blues.

So we're 230 years old now, but as a nation, are we adults yet? When compared to our closest relatives in Europe solely by age, the United States is practically an infant. But, giving ourselves a little credit, we have grown rather quickly.

Like the earliest early blooming boy in junior high school, we've grown into our britches rather quickly overcoming severe growing pains like the Civil War and slavery. As pre-teens, we were forced to act like adults in WWI and WWII. Outstanding behavior in both let us graduate from Junior High and pushed us into High School.

As clumsy, awkward freshman, we stumbled a bit through the Korean War, but by Vietnam, our parents started noticing some severed behavioral problems. As soon as we awarded our driver's license at 16, things got worse. We started drinking and smoking and hanging out with the 'wrong crowd': the GOP. Watergate, the Iran-Contra Affair and The Gulf War put on us on the path of the juvenile delinquent. And now with the new Iraq War, Plamegate and stolen elections, we're in Juvy Hall.

We will ever get out? Or will we be moved from one foster home to another, lost in a tangle of bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to treat our social diseases and psychological conditions? The rest of the world doesn't want to hang out with us. They've abandoned us. And when we turn 17 - the age of consent - we'll be dumped back into the cruel, religiously intolerant, FLAT world the we recreated.

At this point in time, I don't have much hope. Maybe it's my cynical nature, but it seems that we're caught in a strange, backward spiral headed back to world that our ancestors escaped from.

Jews are being threatened AGAIN. Nationalism is vogue once more. Our president claims to speak to god, and people believe him. He also thinks he's on a Crusade. Religious 'leaders' are pushing their way into the political arena, further blurring the division between church and state. These same self-righteous 'leaders' - the self-proclaimed possessors of morality - also have their own scandals to deal with.

The pile of bullshit just keeps getting deeper, and there will come a time when we will have to choose. We're already knee-deep and getting dirtier, so will we hose it off? Or will we continue to act like swine and roll in it?

Have we come full-circle? Will we have to once again flee the same religious oppression that we came to this land to escape?

It sure seems like we're headed in that direction.