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Greetings!
My goodness there is a bunch of great stuff coming up this fall!!! How's a girl to keep up with it all? Well, I hope you'll always consider Social Notes as an important resource, and last week I introduced you to Do713.com.
This week I want to tell you about My Gay Houston, the site which is produced by the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor's Bureau (GHCVB) - group desperately in need of a shorter name! I think it is just awesome that the GHCVB is so supportive of Houston's GLBT community! My Gay Houston includes a calendar, articles, resource lists and more. And you can sign up to receive their newsletter to stay In The Know. If you'd like to get your organization's events posted to My Gay Houston, just email their administrator.
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 | Upcoming "Don't Miss" Events
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Be sure to check the Calendar page of Social Notes for more details on each of these fine events. You'll find time, dates, location, a description of the event, along with prices and a links where appropriate. Click on over so you'll be In The Know.
- Monday, Sept. 20th: Women of Wine Charities Wine Tasting at Masraff's
- Monday, Sept. 20th: Monday Night Women's Bowling League - Planning Meeting
- Thursday, Sept. 23rd: Out&Equal September Happy Hour
- Saturday, Sept. 25th: Lez Films: The Four Faced Liar
- Saturday, Sept. 25th: Rockin' Out Youth Party
- Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25th and 26th: Houston Wine Fest
- Saturday, Oct. 2nd:
Fais Do Do - a Benefit for Krewe of Olympus
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| Weekly/Monthly Recurring Events
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Here's a listing of events which occur regularly - either weekly or monthly. As always, please click over to the Calendar page of Social Notes for all the details about each of these fine events. - Every Tuesday: Steak Night at The Usual
- Every Wednesday: Open Mic Night at The Usual
- Every Thursday: Free C&W dance lessons at BRB
- Third Thursday of Each Month: Book Club
- The 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month: Free C&W dance lessons at BRB
- 2nd Friday of each month: A2 40 Happy Hours
- 1st Saturday of the month: Queer Bingo
- Every Sunday: The Women's Group meets
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| "Save The Date" and purchase your tickets now for these future events!
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 Even though these events may be a few days/weeks down the road,
you need to buy your tickets and/or make your reservations NOW, girlfriend! You can find out all the details, including ticket purchase information, by visiting the Calendar Page of Social Notes
- Thursday, October 7th: The Secret's Out - an Evening with Montrose Counseling Center
- Sunday, October 10th: Decadent Desserts and More
- Friday, October 15th: Northwest Corner Wine Tasting at Rainbow Lodge - everyone is invited!
- Friday and Saturday, October 15th and 16th: Casino Bus to Lake Jackson
- Saturday, October 23rd: Chely Wright in concert
- Sunday, October 24th: Christy Claxton in house concert
- Saturday, November 6th: LHI Health Fair
- Saturday, December 4th: Carol's Holiday Party
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| The Rant
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I don't know how closely you follow upcoming races around the nation, but I am just a wonk for that stuff. After watching a series of wackaloon teabaggers knock off establishment Republicans in a variety of races, I have to wonder: is there anything a Tea Party candidate can say or do that would be considered disqualifying for major office?
It's easy for these candidates to take over a primary - not many people vote primaries, especially during non-Presidential election years. But how much harder will it be for them to win the general elections with beliefs/statements like these (and believe me, this is only a small sampling of the wacky quotes these candidates have produced!):
Sharon Angle, running against Harry Reid for Senate in Nevada:
- If conservatives don't get the results they want from the ballot box, they may have to resort to "second amendment remedies" (this is a thinly veiled hint at violence)
- She opposed a local high school wearing black jerseys because black is the devil's color
- "We needed to have the press be our friend ... We wanted them to
ask the questions we want to answer so that they report the news the
way we want it to be reported." (apparently not understanding the role of an adversarial press in democracy)
- If young girls get raped, even by their fathers, Sharon advises that they "make lemons out of lemonade" and have the baby.
- The gulf oil spill was proof that we need to de-regulate the oil industry
Jan Brewer is running for Governor of Arizona:
- In her one TV debate, she totally froze in her opening statement and produced about 15 seconds of embarrassed silence and chuckles, finally asserting that she "has did the best anyone could for our state". (a thousand grammarians are now rolling over in their graves). After her disastrous performance in this debate, she announced that she would not be participating in any further debates
- She claims that illegal aliens are leaving headless corpses throughout Arizona deserts. A quick survey of all Arizona sheriffs proved that exactly ZERO headless corpses have been found in Arizona. She continued to repeat the lie for weeks, and walked away from reporters who questioned her on it. Finally, she said "If I said that, I misspoke".
Joe Miller, running for Senate in Alaska:
- claims that unemployment benefits and other forms of governmental aid are unconstitutional. I'm not sure how this is going to go over in Alaska, which receives more federal funding per capita than almost any other state.
Christine O'Donnell, a Sarah Palin wannabe running for Senate in Delaware:
- Told Bill Mahr that she has "dabbled in witchcraft" in the past
- Has no visible means of support, other than living off old campaign funds (which is illegal), and has been repeatedly sued for debts
- Wants to stop everyone from having sex outside of marriage, and has famously railed against masturbation. How many non-masturbating voters do you suppose will rally to this part of her platform?
- Said that the concept of "separation of church and state" was invented by Hitler
Rand Paul, Senatorial candidate from Kentucky:
- Wouldn't vote today for the Civil Rights Act
- Wants to eliminate Social Security
- Said nobody would miss a few mountains (in response to the awful mountain top removal mining process which is a hot topic in his state)
Rick Perry, running for re-election as governor of Texas:
- Believes that Texas should secede from the Union if we don't like what is going on in Washington. So much for being a patriot!
There are many more quotes, and many more equally wacky, unqualified and downright dangerous candidates out there. Normally, you would count on the press to expose these nuts, but the press has apparently decided that it is no longer their job to ask hard questions, ask hard follow up questions, or investigate claims for veracity.
Following the successful example of Caribou Barbie, all these wacky teabagging candidates are mastering the art of flying below the radar to keep their most extreme views from the masses. Their websites are full of red meat for the teabaggers during the primaries, but once they win, those websites are scrubbed and sanitized. They generally refuse to debate. The don't do press conferences. They only agree to interviews on Fox News, where they can count on softball questions and a warm welcome. They're hoping that the average middle of the road voter, who isn't paying much attention, will vote for them just because they've got an R by their names.
How 'bout this idea: the press should refuse to cover any campaigns in
which the candidate will not conduct interviews, debates or press
conferences. Yeah, like that's ever going to happen. Look at how they
treat Sarah Palin - every ridiculous Tweet or Facebook posting is given
publicity as if it were God handing down wisdom from on high.
It is really really scary to think that people this far outside the mainstream of American political thought have a chance to win these races. I think this situation is going to get much worse before it gets better. And right now, it's hard to see how it EVER gets better. On that gloomy note, I wish you all a good week.
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So Long!
Well, that's all for this week's edition of Social Notes. One quick note: The LHI Health Fair isn't til November, but you need to make your reservations NOW! Email them today, girlfriend!
Sincerely,
Carol Wyatt
Social Notes
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