Transphobic RFT Reporter Strikes Again

At the beginning of this year, I posted about the criminal insensitivity of Riverfront Times reporter Chad Garrison.  Now he is at it again with this transphobic blog post.*

"Shemale" is an offensive term often used to describe transgender people.  The term is most frequently used in porn that fetishizes trans bodies.  Please comment on Mr. Garrison's post to let the RFT know that you do not appreciate transphobia in their publication.


UPDATE 12/21:  Thanks to your comments, Chad Garrison has changed the headline of his post.  I hope that he will continue to educate himself on issues relevant to the trans community, so that his writing for the RFT will be more sensitive in the future.


* Thanks to Anita Fitzwater for alerting me to this post.

Dana Loesch Defends Rick Perry's Gay Bashing Advertisement

Dana Loesch voted for Mitt Romney in a GOP primary and endorsed his individual mandate before she realized it was more profitable to be a goth tea party rebel.

She supported the St. Louis Tea Party before deciding that they were a drag on her career.

And guess what? She used to actually be friendly with the LGBT community, before she figured out that she had to pander to the most far right fringers in the country.

On Monday, Loesch defended the Rick Perry advertisement where Perry said that there was "something wrong with our country" because "gays can serve openly in the military."

You can watch Perry's advertisement here:

And here's Loesch's pathetic defense of the ad:


While we're on the topic, I thought this statement from Perry was the most sense I've ever heard him make:

Bad Lip Reading: Rick Perry's "Strong" ad - watch more funny videos

Tell Six Flags that Bigotry Is Too Scary for Fright Fest

On Saturday, October 15, I went to Fright Fest at Six Flags St. Louis. The bigotry I found there was more frightening than any of the Halloween attractions.

Rotten Heterosexism

For starters, there was the sexism and homophobia at P.T. Barnum's Side Show. Presented by the Rotten Brothers, the show began with a voice-over straight from the chauvinistic days of yore: "Gentlemen, please heed to your lady friends if one of them shall faint by the ghastly acts." Just a little something to give the show (in the Rotten Brothers' words) "an authentic feel." Too bad little kids won't understand the intention. All that kids are going to pick up from that line is that boys are brave and girls are weak.

The show continued in that manner, and they asked for "a brave little boy" to volunteer. Why not a brave little girl? One of the Brothers later told me on Facebook, it was because little girls "are more brave and can and have upstaged" him. He also said that his wife is one of the bravest people he knows.

Later in the show, they asked for "a married couple" to volunteer, "preferably a man and a woman." That was when I walked out. My partner later confirmed to me that they never did ask for a girl to volunteer.

Again on Facebook, one of the Rotten Brothers claimed that both of them support same-sex marriage. He said that the joke was simply "pointing out the issue." He also said that his gay friends think the joke is funny.

Someone pointed out that the joke was merely pandering to their conservative audience. We continued to dialogue for a while, and I was impressed that the Rotten Brothers weren't deleting comments.

The next morning, however, the thread was gone, replaced by the following status update:

This is a family friendly website. I have been forced by my wife to delete an interesting thread. I knew I shouldn't have left my pants out for her to put on.

So much for all of that feminist talk he had engaged in earlier.

Stigma for Sale

The other bigotry I found at Six Flags was in the form of one of their haunted houses. Dubbed "Insanity Alley," the description in the flyer is as follows:

Welcomed by our very own Nurse Luna Tick, terror awaits those who dare to take a stroll through our Insanity Alley. Come on in, stay awhile, and see how the truly insane live! Did we mention new patients are always welcome???

This description -- and the accompanying imagery -- perpetuate the damaging myth that people with mental illnesses are creepy, violent and dangerous. In truth, most people with mental illnesses are not to be feared, and are far more likely to harm themselves than anyone else.

When I complained to Guest Relations about both of these attractions, the response I received from Terese Bargman, entertainment manager at Six Flags St. Louis, included the claim that the shows at Fright Fest are "over the top," "not reality," and "not meant to be insulting." From her email to me:

The product here at the park is in no way real, we do not harm individuals in the productions or the haunted attractions. There is no entity of the shows and talent in the park that is meant to be taken as realistic, it is all designed to be a fun time in the spirit of Halloween. All of the attractions and street shows are very over the top, that again is in the nature and fun of the Halloween spirit. [...] People come to the park to get scared, they know it is not real but simply engage in the drama for the shear [sic] fun.

Sound reasonable to you? How about if I tweak the description of Insanity Alley just a bit?

"Terror awaits those who dare to take a stroll through our Ghetto Alley. Come on in, stay awhile, and see how the truly impoverished live! Did we mention new gang members are always welcome???"

If that were one of the haunted houses at Fright Fest, the news would be all over it, and there would be mass protesting of Six Flags. The excuse that the attractions are not real just doesn't cut it. All of the other haunted houses feature spooky themes that are entirely fictional -- zombies, trolls, sinister clowns, classic horror films -- except for "The Slaughter House," which is scary by definition. It is unacceptable to exploit a real, highly stigmatized and disadvantaged group of people in order to make money scaring people. (Did I mention that it costs an extra $7 to get into Insanity Alley?)

Take Action!

Please contact Six Flags and tell them that bigotry in their shows and attractions is unacceptable. You can log a complaint by calling Guest Relations at 636-938-5300 x397, or you can do it online here. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the email comment form.  Select "Comments/Concerns" as your reason for writing and "Six Flags St. Louis" as the park.)

In your complaint, please emphasize the following points:

• The Rotten Brothers should be told to remove the bigotry from their act. If they refuse to comply, then Six Flags should not hire them again.
• Six Flags should take care in the future to avoid hiring performers who make bigoted comments or jokes in their shows.
• "Insanity Alley" is stigmatizing and should be removed from Fright Fest.
• Six Flags should take care in the future not to feature attractions that unfairly portray disadvantaged groups of people.

Loesch Claims Gay Soldier Booed by GOP Crowd Was Asking a "Gotcha Question"

Dana Loesch, in full disconnected-from-reality spin mode, is denying that GOP crowds have consistently embarrassed themselves with inappropriate cheering and booing at the Republican primary debates. First a GOP crowd loudly cheered for the high number of executions in Texas, then they cheered for letting an uninsured man die, and most recently some in the crowd booed gay soldier Stephen Hill when he asked the candidates if they would prevent him from being allowed to serve openly.

Loesch, in a move reminiscent of the time she demanded that a woman should apologize for having her neck stomped on by a Rand Paul supporter, has declared that the solider was asking a "gotcha question" by wondering if he would be allowed to serve his country. Here's what Loesch ridiculously claimed:

An individual, via those in attendance, hollered at the health care story and the audience rebuked them. Two men booed the gotcha question posed by a gay soldier and they were so strongly rebuked for booing that the audience’s hisses and shushes overpowered the volume of the rude men’s outburst.

This is the question from Hill that Loesch called a "gotcha question:"

Do you intend to circumvent the progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?

And in case you missed it the first time, you can watch the video and judge for yourself whether Loesch's claims have any plausibility here:


Also of interest, in light of Charles Johnson's documentation of the pattern of racist comments at Breitbart's sites, is that one of Breitbart's commenters immediately compared homosexuality to bestiality:

Tell us all, please: When did you last father a child on a member of the same sex? Okay, now tell us when you fathered a child with a member of another species.

We'll wait.

Wonder how Loesch will spin that one? Oh wait, she can't, because she's done the same thing.

March In The Pride Parade With Women's Voices Raised For Social Justice

From Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice:

Join us for a fun event! Sunday, June 26 is the PRIDE Parade. We'll gather at the corner of S. Grand and Utah at 11:00 am, along with a huge, crazy, enthusiastic crowd of folks. We'll march with our signs and Women's Voices banner. The parade ends at Tower Grove Park where the PrideFest is underway. Bring family and friends - all welcome.

Suggestions: wear your purple WVs t-shirt, or a white shirt, khaki pants, comfortable shoes and sunscreen! Water is your best accessory. Carpool if possible - parking is available on the side streets off Grand.

Email Susan Hayman if you're coming: lghayman@att.net

Support Local Control By Signing Up for Group Headed By Anti-LGBT Former Legislator?

Let me reiterate that I 100% support the citizens of St. Louis City having control over the police department. Excellent pieces in the St. Louis American, including a column by Jamala Rogers, who's been working on this issue for years, successfully make the case that even people who have suspicions about collaborations with Rex Sinquefield should support the passage of the bill. I think everyone should contact their state senators and tell them to support the bill, and I've been very disappointed in Maria Chapelle-Nadal for holding out on this issue, even if I agree with her reasons for distrusting Rex Sinquefield.

I'll further add that I don't think the argument that this is a nothing more than an opportunity for the city to raid police pensions is a good one. The pensions seem reasonably protected in the proposed legislation, and the reality is that cities across the state and country have been in control of their own police departments for a long time: that's just how the system should work in a representative democracy.

However, I still have some pretty major concerns with how the campaign is being conducted by certain members of the St. Louis political establishment. As pointed out earlier, several local politicians had been directing people to sign up for a local control lobby day without informing people that they were signing up through Rex Sinquefield's group, which could presumably be used to push destructive right-wing ideas like the mega sales tax. In fact, with the exception of State Representative Jamilah Nasheed, many of these local officials whom I asked directly refused to commit to fight the mega sales tax. Martin Casas, when asked point blank on my facebook wall, said that he didn't have a position on the mega sales tax issue, a remarkable statement for someone running as a Democrat for Jeanette Mott Oxford's seat:
(to see why the mega sales tax is such an obviously horrible idea for anyone remotely progressive, and even too extreme for many Republicans, see here and here and here)

Casas is now back with a new article on the issue for Vital Voice. He argues that local control is an LGBT issue, since the city of St. Louis is more LGBT-friendly than the state of Missouri. However, at the bottom of his post, he asks people to "sign the petition for a safer Missouri:"

The petition page it goes to is pretty clear that it is signing people up for the Rex Sinquefield bankrolled group, United For Missouri:

And, as aficionados of this blog or FiredUp Missouri will know, the executive director of United For Missouri is Carl Bearden, who moved there after he was done working for the Koch Brothers' astroturf Americans for Prosperity group in Missouri.

Why is this important? Because Bearden had a long record of anti-LGBT activity when he was a Republican leader in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Bearden voted to ban the existence of gay/straight student alliances in Missouri.

He was a co-sponsor of HB885 in 2004, which would "Prohibit public institutions or any entity receiving state funds from adopting discrimination policies that exceed state and federal protections against discrimination."

He voted in favor of placing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in Missouri on the 2004 ballot.

In other words, Bearden's record was nothing more than the most cynical of Republican strategies of bashing the LGBT community to score political points with social conservatives in Missouri.

Like I said, I'm in favor of local control and I even understand why Democrats might want to work with conservative allies to get it. However, are we really supposed to believe that Mayor Slay or the Young Democrats of St. Louis can't simply make their own petition and email list rather than gathering signatures for a leader of anti-LGBT activities of the legislature a few years ago? Couldn't Slay's group use some of the Civic Progress money they're funneling to cronies (some of whom worked for Rex on the other end of the earnings tax initiative) to get one of their buddies to do two hours of work to make their own petition site? And Casas is running for office: shouldn't he be building his own email list? I think it's ridiculous that the community of Vital Voice is being asked to support Bearden's organization, when other clear alternatives could be available.

I highly encourage people to contact their Missouri State Senator and tell that Senator that they support local control. I would also recommend contacting Maria Chapelle-Nadal and respectfully telling her that you think it's important that people have oversight of their own police department. And if you don't mind being on Sinquefield and Bearden's email list, by all means sign that petition as well, now that you know what you're getting yourself into.

Update: If you're interested in working to support local control, I'd recommend signing up with CAPCR, a group that has been working on this issue for a long time, well before any of Rex's money got involved: capcr_cob@hotmail.com

RFT “Criminally Stupid” When Reporting on Mental Illness, Trans Issues

With all due gratitude to the Riverfront Times for featuring the Activist Hub as one of its favorite blogs and our beloved Adam Shriver as “Best Gadfly” of 2010, I feel the need to call them out on something. The RFT has been incredibly insensitive when reporting on people with mental illnesses and those who are transgender.

Take Chad Garrison’s recent article about a man—Trip Powers—shot by a police officer on Sunday after allegedly breaking into a Denny’s restaurant. The article is posted online in the blogs under the “Criminally Stupid” category. Garrison quips that the man was shot, “while seriously craving a Grand Slam omelette. Or maybe it was a Moons Over My Hammy?”

According to Powers’s mother, Teri Powers, a licensed clinical social worker, her son Trip is suffering from a mental illness, and he is not a criminal. “Everyone involved should recognize that keeping Trip jailed and without psychiatric treatment and medication is doing him an injustice,” Teri told me via Facebook message. Bill McClellan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is doing a respectful series on Trip Powers and his situation. So why the stigmatizing sarcasm from a reporter for the Riverfront Times?

This is not the first time that the RFT has ridiculed someone with a mental illness. Remember Susan Stone? She was also written about under the “Criminally Stupid” category.

Now, I’m not a psychiatrist, but I’m pretty familiar with mental illnesses. I saw Stone at the Metro East Pride vigil in October. It seemed pretty clear to me then, based on some of the things she said, that she was suffering from some kind of mental illness.

While other local media showed disrespect to Stone, using her legal (male) name and referencing her with pronouns that do not match her gender presentation, the RFT went one step further by nominating her as “Ass Clown of the Week,” calling her “he/rself,” and “s/he” in that article.

It sounds to me as though the RFT could use some sensitivity training.

Dana Loesch Compares Gay Marriage to Bestiality

Dana Loesch is one of those conservatives who loves to point out how they are totally friends with people in the LGBT community. But in my opinion, this combined with her behavior since joining Breitbart's site just raises the question: what's worse? Actually being a bigot, or being someone who knows better but nevertheless promotes bigoted ideas in order to further your career?

A day after calling Eric Boehlert George Soros's "butt boy" because he destroyed her ridiculous claims, Loesch wrote a post on gay marriage in which she featured a cartoon of Kanye West kissing a fish:

The cartoon, of course, was from a South Park episode, and the joke there made at least a little sense. But the picture had absolutely nothing to do with Loesch's post about gay marriage. Nothing, that is, except being a reference to the right wing's idiotic claim that "once you allow gay marriage you'll have to allow people to marry their pets."

Furthermore, Loesch's arguments were idiotic, claiming that the RNC candidates' support of the right-wing National Organization for Marriage's (NOM's) position on marriage was a "defense of religious freedom." Perhaps this point would be worth discussing if the question at the RNC debate had been whether the candidates supported forcing churches to marry gay couples. But, as clearly pointed out by Tommy Christopher (the blogger Loesch was attacking), and as could be seen by anyone who watched the debate, that was not the actual question. The question was whether they supported the position of NOM, which is the position that gay marriage should be completely banned. In other words, it is clearly a position that is at odds with religious freedom, because it bars churches from being able to decide for themselves whether they will marry gay couples. Her arguments are, as usual, complete nonsense.

Of course, Loesch should and does know better. However, she's already decided that she'll do anything for fame and money, and that includes throwing friends and allies under the bus when it suits her. What a shame that these are precisely the attributes that make the right-wing media love her.

Harry Reid Gives Lt. Dan Choi His Ring Back

One of the highligts of Netroots Nation this year (which I was able to attend thanks to the generous DFA scholarship) was when Lt. Dan Choi gave Harry Reid his West Point Ring and told him not to give it back until Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed. Today, Senator Reid gave Lt. Chois his ring back:

DADT: Ed Martin Doesn't Need Silly Things Like Facts

Ed Martin claimed yesterday that "Democrats like Claire McCaskill" are "not the party of Missouri" because they support having a military that doesn't discriminate:

When Jennifer Haro, the person he was responding to with his "correction," pointed out how ridiculous his position is given that the vast majority of Americans fully support homosexuals serving in the military, Ed Martin responded by saying that he didn't need silly things like facts because he talks to Real Life Missourians, like, all the time:

Seriously, who would think that applying statistics to large samples of people would be a good way of gauging opinions when you can instead talk to people like Gina Loudon?

Haro let it rip on Martin, first pointing out Martin's support from Karl Rove's secretive donors:

Then linking to statistics that show that 77% of Americans supported the repeal of DADT:

And finally pointing out that maybe hanging out with people who carry coffins to Congressmen's homes and burn photos of them isn't the best way to get the sense of the average Missourian:

Ed Martin has been spending the last few weeks positioning himself for a run for office in 2012. Apparently, he thinks the best way to do that is to show how utterly clueless, out-of-touch, and regressive he is.

Photos From Rally to Celebrate Repeal of DADT

I sadly wasn't able to be at the Show Me No Hate celebration of the repeal of DADT outside of Mokabes, but I did get to see some nice photos of the event courtesy of Máire Cait Ailín:



I'll try to update when I see additional coverage.
Vital Voice has a nice video from the rally:

Activist Hub Radio 10/17/10

Hi all,

This week I was joined by guest-host, Ed Reggi, of showmenohate.com, to talk about the state of LGBT rights in Missouri. We discussed Ed Martin's statements on Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT), at the second congressional debate in Arnold, Missouri, along with the Tea Party, and the Obama Administration's performance on gay rights.

Ed Martin Calls Repealing DADT "Social Engineering" (VIDEO)

Ed Martin selectively quotes the generals who agree with him and claims that repealing the discriminatory Don't Ask Don't Tell policy would be "social engineering:"



Update: Show Me No Hate has some video of Ed Martin being just ridiculously obnoxious in the 2nd debate in Arnold in response to the same question:

Gina Loudon Says She "Could Have Speculated" Reporter Was Gay Because He Has Psychological Profile of Person Who Attacks Children-Updated

Earlier in the year, Gina Loudon compared gay marriage to people marrying animals. She later compared people who wanted to build an Islamic Community Center in New York City to nazis. Amazingly, her bigotry managed to reach a new low in this past week, as she claimed on the Stage Right Show that she could have "speculated" that Vanity Fair reporter Michael Joseph Gross was gay because he has a "psychological profile" of someone who "attacks children." Here's the video:



Transcript of the relevant section:

Larry O'Connor: Just for the record it's not a secret...Michael Joseph Gross is actually an out-of-the-closet gay man, so I don't think he has any children that I'm aware of...

Loudon: Oh! See and that...I mean I'm sorry I did not know that Larry, I honestly didn't, and I could have speculated as much just by several little pieces I had picked up in looking at the sort of psychological profile of someone who behaves like this...attacks someone's children. And then you just don't even want to consider the whole hidden-on-the-deck-next-door-thing.

The "hidden-the-deck-next-door-thing" is referring to the fact that Gross visited a reporter who had rented a house next door to the Palin's mansion.

Outright, unhidden, unapologetic bigotry. And yet the St. Louis tea party chooses to have Loudon as one of their leaders. What does that say about them?

Update: Palingates has a nice take on Gross's reply.

How NOT to Respond to a Sarcastic Blog Post

The strange character Jimi 971, one of the St. Louis tea party's biggest defenders on Twitter (and President-For-Life of the Dana Loesch Fan Club), took issue with my recent post that mocked Gina Loudon's claim that her culture was being "threatened" by the fact that gay couples could now get married:


So first of all, its fascinating that this guy who spends hours ranting about how the tea party is soooo open minded starts out his comment calling me an "angry gay man." Does he think that you need to be "an angry gay man" in order to be a proponent of equal rights?

Then he says that Gina Loudon, "has everything she had before." Ummmm, yeah dude, that's kinda the whole point of the post. Loudon tries to play the victim card and pretend that her life is somehow threatened by other loving couples being able to get married, but this claim is ridiculous. Her "way of life" is only threatened insofar as her way of life involves trying to push her own beliefs on everyone else. Nothing about gay marriage would directly impact anything about her life, and it's sad that she tries to force her values, via the government, on everyone else.

And while we're on the subject of poor responses, check out this nugget from Jimi when he was angry that I spoke at a rally with the NAACP:


Seems to me that Jimi is not exactly doing a good job showing the world how enlightened the tea party is.

Final Score: Equal Rights: 215, The Loudons: 40 (Photos and Video)

The National Organization of Marriage (NOM) held a rally in St. Louis yesterday as part of their nationwide bus tour claiming incoherently that two loving same-sex partners getting married would somehow destroy the family unit. In preparation for the rally, tea partier and former state senator John Loudon said that gay people should quit complaining and move to a state that allows gay marriage, and his wife Gina Loudon (also a tea party leader) compared the right for same sex partners to get married to a person marrying an animal.

Unfortunately for the Loudons, and fortunately for the rest of us, St. Louis sent a strong message yesterday that we believe in equal rights for all, including of course the right for same sex partners to get married. The NOM/Loudons' rally only attracted a puny crowd of about 40 (probably all from the bus), while the counter-protest (organized by PROMO, Faith Aloud, and Show Me No Hate) gathered at least 215 people (at one count: other people said that the crowd grew to over 300 later in the event). So there were at least 5 times more counter-protesters than there were protesters at NOM's event. Below are some photos from the pro-love side of the event, stolen from Ella:














Here's a Vital Voice article about the rally, and below is a Fox 2 video.

 

Nice job St. Louis! Even if it's maddeningly slow, we (and the rest of the country) are moving in the right direction!

Bill Streeter 1, Dana Loesch 0

A funny exchange on Twitter: Dana Loesch, whom I'm told used to be a somewhat open-minded and tolerant person (relative to other right-wingers), is now coming out against gay marriage, and pretending that it has something to do with Big Government:


Bill Streeter quickly pointed out the absurdity of her claim:

St. Louis Blog Posts for Progressives - June 2

Getting to this a bit late, but here are a few local posts that I enjoyed yesterday....

The Environment
Ryan Witt at the Political Buzz Examiner continues to be a go-to source of information about the BP Oil Spill. Here are a few of his posts from yesterday:

Jon Stewart makes fun of BP, President Obama for failed Gulf oil spill efforts.

Sarah Palin now claims she was against offshore drilling all along

BP CEO apologizes for his earlier apology over Gulf oil spill.

Conservatives now favor more government after the BP oil spill disaster

Florida holds special significance in BP oil spill disaster.

Latest updates and pictures from the BP oil spill.

Shark Fu at Anger Black Bitch discusses some Hollywood characters trying to offer suggestions on the BP oil spill.
Erich Vieth discusses the things we don't know about climate science.

Media:
Eric Vieth at Dangerous Intersection laments our current media environment. I'm with him on that (and most issues).

Health Care:
Nicholas Phillips at the RFT reports on some of the changes to the health care laws, in a rather snarky way.
Left and Right agree (for different reasons): Roy Blunt whiffed on health care.
Also from FiredUp Missouri, Peter Kinder appears to be skirting sunshine laws with his LLC.

LGBT
Kira Hudson Banks provides some context for Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Israel/Palestine:
Kholood Eid shares some photos from a rally and counter-rally outside of Claire McCaskills office.
Sheila at The American Muslim provided news updates and analysis of the flotilla incident.

State politics:
Nicholas Phillips at the RFT reports that the former Ladue Police Chief feels Vindicated by the attorney general's racial profiling report. The rest of us, hopefully, feel disturbed.
Tony Messenger at the Post-Dispatch reports that Republican State Auditor candidate Tom Schweich says he won't accept gifts from lobbyists, but FiredUp reports the oddity of saying that while taking numerous checks for tens of thousands of dollars from various groups.
Both Jake Wagman at the Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Public Radio reported on the united front of Francis Slay and Jay Nixon at a downtown development.
Hotflash at Show Me Progress argues that Rick Stream is too far right for Kirkwood. Can't say I disagree.
Sean at FiredUp discusses Ed Martin's New Jersey roots in the hilariously titled Scary Concept: When Being From New Jersey Is The Least Of Your Problems. For the record, I actually like New Jersey quite a bit (although Martin puts a damper on that enthusiasm), but check out this hilarious picture from FiredUp:


St. Louis Built Environment/Urbanism
Steve Patterson at Urban Review the debut of the Union Pacific's 'City of St. Louis' back in 1946.
Paul at Vanishing St. Louis is doing an interesting series on the inception, demise, and re-use of St. Louis Centre.
Courtney at Next Stop St. Louis reports on Metro partnering with the Koman Race for the Cure to fight breast cancer.
Ecology of Absence announces an opportunity to tour Southwest Garden by bike this Saturday.
Ian Frobe at the RFT announces the route for the second St. Louis Open Streets.
Jeff Vines provides a guest post at Ecology of Absence reporting back from his trip to the Next American Vanguard Conference in Philly.

Miscellaneous:
Stephen's excited about not being a gardening failure! I know that feeling well.
Contra Yogini discusses her experiments with St. Louis heat-based asceticism.
Terry offers suggestions on how to offer IT support.
Toby at B.E.L.T. has some automobile nostalgia.
Eric Vieth at Dangerous Intersection discusses the value of failure.
Creative St. Louis shows some video from an ongoing turf war over a prime graffiti location.
Gloria at Occasional Planet discusses some past failed bids to the Supreme Court.
Cool image of Cherokee Street at the Beacon.
The Beacon also reports that unemployment has dropped in the Metro area.
Creative St. Louis announced an experiential auction this Sunday at the Atomic Cowboy.

St. Louis Blog Posts for Progressives - June 1

Some posts and media from locals today that I found interesting...

Environment:
Jean Ponzi of EarthWorms interviewed Julia Butterfly Hill and "No Impact Man" Colin Beavan on Monday.
Ryan Witt at the Political Buzz Examiner discussed the risk of hurricane season combined with the BP oil spill.
Shark Fu at Angry Black Bitch discusses the agony of fubar and the limits of liability.
Arthur Lieber at Occastional Planet writes about the difficulty of managing a crises when everyone's looking.
Joe of Green Cartoons offers three plans for cleaning up the oil spill.

LGBT:
Several interesting articles from the Vital Voice:
A report on the Youth Brunch for Harvey Milk Week.
The Kick-Off of the LGBT Legal Project.
LGBT Elders Get Increased New Support

St. Louis Urbanism
St. Louis/Elsewhere discusses the future of the Delmar Station.
Steve Patterson joins many others in promoting the recent City to River call for activism.
The County Council ok'd a new public health center.

State/National politics:
Jake Wagman at the Political Fix writes about how IL Senate Candiate Mark Kirk distorted his record and how Jo Ann Emerson distorted Tommy Sowers record, although worth pointing out that Wagman let's Kirk off the hook without recognizing the Kirk has made these claims repeatedly.

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey will be on hand at Sowers fundraiser next week, according to the Beacon.

International:
Nathaniel at Stay Curious asks what would have happened if Iran or China attacked a NATO member.
Claire McCaskill weighed in on Israel, the proposed China hub, and gun rights.

Miscellaneous:
The Post-Dispatch had an interesting article about how refugees increasing find a home in St. Louis.
Thomas at Creative St. Louis wrote about the KDHX Monday talk lineup and specifically a discussion of The Archive bookstore.
Chris at the Storch Agency discusses how Imo's new store could have an amazing opening.
Alderwoman Kacie Starr Triplett invited people to "An Evening with A Starr."
Erich Vieth at Dangerous Intersection points us towards an interview of Carl Sagan's son.
The Beacon reports on the fact that many hate crimes often go unreported.
Terry at the Bosque shares a really interesting story about his wife's reunion with her father.
Reads4Pleasure shares her summer reading list.

St. Louis Blog Posts for Progressives - Belated Weekend Edition

Here are some interesting stories from St. Louis bloggers/journalists in the past few days:

Memorial Day:
Steve Patterson at Urban Review STL had an interesting post on the architecture of Memorial Day.
Ponytail Tim shared a more traditional Memorial Day video.

LGBT:
Vital Voice writes about the Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal.
Jo Mannies of the Beacon reports from Jefferson Barracks.

The Environment:
Adam at Searching for Sustainability dissects Secretary of Energy Steven Chu's message at his speech to the Wash U Class of 2010.
Erich Vieth at Dangerous Intersections discusses the danger of right wing anti-environmentalism.
Also, follow Ryan Witt on Twitter for great updates about the BP disaster.

Urban Issues:
Steve Patterson interviews Wayne Senville of the Planning Commissioners Journal on his Blog Talk Radio show.
BELT discusses how a fire altered the Belleville downtown landscape.
St. Louis/Elsewhere compares Memorial Drive to Michigan Avenue.
The #3 Forest Park Shuttle is back! So says STL Transit.
Rick at STL Rising encourages people to get involved in City to River.
Michael Allen at Ecology of Absence interviewed Fox Park Neighborhood Association President Ian Simmons about why residents want the historic district expanded.
BELT shares some photos of repairs on the Tower Grove fountain.
Michael Allen of Ecology of Absence asks (rhetorically) why we would want to save an old industrial building.

Labor:
Tony Pecinovsky wrote a response to Mort Zuckerman about public sector unions.

Health Care:
Madonna at Occasional Planet says Single Payer is alive and kicking in Vermont.

College Affordability
Erich Vieth at Dangerous Intersections discusses the college version of the subprime mortgage mess.

State Politics:
Sean at FiredUp writes about Roy Blunt's desire to reenact his wildly unsuccessful "Health Care Solutions Group."
Jo Ann Emerson lied about Tommy Sowers service record. She also refused to apologize.
Meanwhile, Sowers was on a 100 mile road march.
Missouri's competing for Race to the Top school funding.
Jo Mannies at the Beacon reports on Jay Nixon and Claire McCaskill focusing on veterans for Memorial Day.
Dave Drebes discusses the frightening scenario of what happens if Missouri loses a congressional seat.

Education:
Erich Vieth at Dangerous Intersections discusses how to improve math class.
Erich also laments the demise of nutrition education.
The Beacon discusses what students can from hate incidents at schools.

Miscellaneous:
Blogger Shark Fu featured in this month's St. Louis Magazine!
An update from Kymberlie at Misfit Hue Photography.
The Beacon profiles Don Checkett, a pioneering social worker and founder of the Child Day Care Association.
Erich at Dangerous Intersections discusses the politics of ignorance.
The Libertarian Party had a conference in St. Louis last weekend.