Heading home for the holidays

I have been remiss in my blogging duties lately. Though there has been ample to blog about, life has been too hectic for the last month to focus on any topic for more than a moment. It started with a pre-Thanksgiving parental visit, which involved cleaning for a week. I did not inherit my mother’s cleaning gene and I underestimated the crack and crevasse fur factor. I assumed that I would have ample time to write between the two holidays. Yeah. That obviously didn’t happen. Instead the pace of day to day obligations merely intensified after my parents left, the holiday looms large and 2009 is almost over.

I haven’t done any shopping. I haven’t sent cards. I have managed to evade caroling, holiday music and endless post office queues. I am not participating. I am boycotting all commercial elements in favor of putting gas in my car, driving to New Mexico and hanging out with my parents and friends for a week.

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On the road to recovery?

As 2009 winds down, there is no question that this has been a tumultuous year economically. Though there are now more headlines lauding a stabilized economy than a year ago, the ranks of unemployed and underemployed have increased dramatically over the last 12 months.

Often my cynical perceptions are not assuaged by the optimistic headlines heralding recovery. The statistics and market segments cited are often offered as isolated variables rather than as part of a larger mechanism. There is no way of gauging whether the system is sound while simultaneously infusing billions into the economy via governmentally subsidized programs.

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Gay rights rant

Fundamentalists and right wing pundits in Maine demonstrated their finesse at utilizing morality to win the public hate debate surrounding gay rights.

The entire gay rights debate chafes me. I am annoyed that there is a debate about something that should be a non-issue. Is there anything new about being gay? Nope, we’ve been around since the species started recording things, though long term marginalization requires sifting and sorting through the details to find us. Is homosexuality unusual? Nope, there are more of us than there are left-handed people, people with green eyes or people with IQs over 140. Furthermore there are people that are green-eyed, left-handed, with an IQ well over 140, gay and/or transgendered. Genetic variations are astonishing, aren’t they?

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October job report | Unemployment hits 10.2%

Whereas last week politicians, pundits, Wall Street and economists heralded headlines touting 3.5% growth in GDP and 640,000 jobs created by the stimulus package, unemployment reports continue to be the wet blanket stifling economic recovery on Main Street. Today’s job report indicates more of the same.

In October the nation’s unemployment rate rose above 10% for the first time since 1983, a much worse jump than expected as employers continued to trim jobs from payrolls. Economists had forecast an increase to 9.9%.

According to the Labor Department there was a net loss of 190,000 jobs in October, an improvement from a revised estimate of 219,000 job losses in September. This was the 22nd straight month of job losses.

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Extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit

The Senate voted on Wednesday to extend the home buyer tax credit through April 30, 2010.

The National Association of Realtors had been pushing hard to extend the credit, as well as include non-first-time home buyers, saying the legislation has helped stabilize the housing market and increased home sales, projected at 5.1 million for the year.

Supporters of the tax credit say that it has helped to boost existing home sales in recent months and that the housing market, and broader economy, would suffer if it is allowed to expire. They contend that extending the credit would help further support sales, stabilize housing prices and generate jobs in the face of an expected increase in foreclosures next year, which is expected to put ongoing downward pressure on prices.

“Tax credits like this only work by creating the sense of urgency to take advantage of them,” Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), the measure’s main sponsor, said in a statement. “This is the last extension of the home buyer tax credit, and I urge all Americans whether they’re first-time buyers who’ve always dreamed of having a home of their own or someone who’s been gridlocked in the failure of our move-up market to take advantage of this opportunity.”

• The program is being expanded to include a $6,500 credit to buyers who “move up” or “trade-in” their home for a better one, as long as they have lived in their current property for at least five years.
• The credit will not cover second homes.
• It is limited to homes purchased for less than $800,000.
• The credit will be extended to a larger pool of buyers by raising income caps to $125,000 for single filers and $250,000 for joint filers, up from $75,000 and $150,000, respectively.
• Provisions strengthening the authority of the IRS to oversee the processing of credits have also been included in light of reports of rising fraudulent claims. A HUD-1 settlement statement will now be required when claiming credits.

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Mainely disappointed

On Tuesday voters rejected a state law that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed in Maine. The repeal comes just six months after the measure was passed by the Maine legislature and signed by the Democratic Governor.

Maine voters, known for their moderate, independent-minded views,would have been the sixth state in the country to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, but instead becomes the 31st state to oppose the unions based on popular vote. They would have been the first to endorse same-sex marriage in a statewide ballot. Alas, intolerance prevails.

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Money and greed

I realized that a lot of films made about business and Wall Street in the 80s are relevant to the economic situation that we are in today. I revisited several of the classics: Wall Street, Boiler Room, Glengarry Glenross, Network and How to get ahead in Advertising. I also browsed snippets from recent documentaries: The Ascent of Money, the Greed Game and The Corporation. The process of writing a blog was completely derailed by video clips and, subsequently, Windows movie maker.

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Transgender rights from a ‘cisgender’ perspective

A community comprised of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people encompasses a lot of different personalities, with different perspectives and experiences. Each sub-group includes different issues, but our chosen community acronym includes everyone.

In much the same way that spirituality that does not fit neatly within one of the socially defined slots of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, gets lumped into an ‘everything else’ category, the LGBT community is an amalgamation of people who deviate from narrowly defined concepts regarding gender expression and sexual orientation.

I learn a lot about the variety of perspectives while surfing the net for blog fodder and interacting with my readers. It is usually the latter that provide the greatest opportunity for insight. The topic that consistently generates response is Transgendered rights.

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9 bank closures brings the 2009 total to 115

Regulators shut down nine more banks last Friday, bringing the total for the year to 115. Nine subsidiaries of FBOP Corp., a multistate holding company that included California National Bank of Los Angeles, are the latest casualties of the banking crisis.

The FDIC announced that U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis has agreed to assume the deposits and assets of the failed banks. The FDIC and U.S. Bank agreed to share losses on about $14.4 billion of the combined purchased assets.

This year’s bank failures have already reduced the FDIC’s insurance fund to below $10 billion, from $45 billion a year ago. Friday’s closures will cost the FDIC an estimated $2.5 billion. Over the next four years, the agency expects bank closures will cost over $100 billion.

There are about 8,000 banks in the nation. The bank failure count for 2009 is below 1989’s record high of 534 bank closures, which occurred during the savings and loan crisis.

I have several concerns:

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Oxendine’s political strategy based on attacking queers for cash

Yet another Republican candidate for office has concluded that the best way to raise cash and secure office is to avoid all issues of substance in favor of bashing gays.

John Oxendine is currently running for Governor of Georgia.  He issued a press release on Friday, October 9th in response to the LGBT March on Washington for Coming Out Day (excerpt):

…one of the most important issues to conservative voters is the institution of marriage.  But not just white voters. Many minority voters are very traditional in this area and they tell me they resent the gay lobby “hijacking” the civil rights movement for something
besides skin color or gender.  Those on the other side of this argument, made up of mostly Democrats, the gay community and special interests, have utilized any and every thing to secure civil marriage for themselves—including municipal governments, state legislatures, executive orders, courts, and did I mention, courts.  The GLBT lobby and activist groups have employed every tactic to distort ballot initiatives and spin the issue as something other than what it is.  Now, they want to apply pressure to President Obama and have him deliver for them.

I’m impressed by Oxendine’s ability to vilify a large cross-section of the local population in one paragraph. Bang those drums of righteousness brother! Whereas it is clear who he opposes in his statement, it is difficult to ascertain what he represents.  I am particulary impressed by his attempt to redefine civil rights as exclusively a gender or race issue.

Considering his career choice, Oxendine seems remarkably uneducated about the concept of civil rights.  Civil rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one’s ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.  Civil rights encompasses discrimination based on race, gender, religion and age, though evidently ‘skin color and gender’ are the only relevant variables when pandering for votes in Georgia.

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