I know you've all been waiting for this all year, so here it is.

Here are my predictions for 2010 (actually, other members of The Loveshade Family contributed to this; they just don't want to admit it):

* The HEALTH CARE REFORM so praised by Americans (that is, those who don't have health care), will pass, but will not work as planned.  Detractors will say it's a huge waste of money, and will put America in the toilet.  However, supporters will say it's at least better than it was, and it will continue to get better.  Rush Limbaugh will say at least I'm still alive.

* ELVIS PRESLEY will be spotted in a shopping mall in New Jersey.

* The AMERICAN ECONOMY will show significant improvement; Democrats will claim it's because of their fine work, while Republicans will claim it's because of improvements made while George W. Bush was still president.

* An American group will work very hard to prove that BARACK OBAMA DOESN'T QUALIFY AS PRESIDENT.  The group will be suspected of having ties to a dissident group overseas.

* The supposedly dim-witted PARIS HILTON will still maintain the facade of being dim-witted, but will none-the-less cleverly manage to get herself in the news for yet another scandal.

* A male AMERICAN ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught with his hand somewhere people don't think it belongs; i.e., in someone else's pocket.

* A female BRITISH ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught exposing a portion of her anatomy that the prudish will not think should be exposed.

* The Law that DEATHS ALWAYS HAPPEN IN FIVES will once again be proven this year.  At least of those deaths will be unexpected, a famous singer, and a famous actor.

* QUEEN ELIZABETH I will not die, but will have a significant medical problem.  (Sorry, your Majesty).

* A major figure in the MIDDLE EAST will be violently killed.

* In the United Kingdom, there will be renewed interest in an ANCIENT ACTIVITY.  It will be something that's been popular in North America for years.

* HIP HOP will still be popular with many, and still hated by many others.

* I will perform a legally-recognized DISCORDIAN WEDDING, and there will be much rejoicing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

THE LOVESHADE FAMILY

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

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Among the factors that go against a candidate for public office in the American state of Texas are these: being a Democrat, being a woman, and being gay.  Somehow, Annise Parker managed to beat the odds and get elected mayor of Houston.  She will become the first openly gay mayor of one of the United States' biggest cities.

Her primary opponent, Gene Locke, is male, but is also a Democrat in the non-partisan race.  Also, he's black.

Admittedly, things are changing in America.  A year ago, the top president-vice president candidates were a black and white man running for office with a white man, and a white man running with a white women.  And Texas has had two woman governors, the most recent being Anne Richards, who was elected to office for 1991 to 1995 as a Democrat.

But the image of the typical conservative southern Democrat was already fading then, and she was replaced as governor by none other than relatively conservative turned ultra conservative Republican George W. Bush.

Right now, Texas is a state where it's very difficult in most areas to get elected as a Democrat, even as a judge.  Travel through a small Texas town when elections are nearing, and you'll see many campaign signs proclaiming Republican in big letters, and maybe a few whispering Democrat in much smaller letters (many Democrats don't even put their party affliation on their signs).

Woman; maybe have a chance in a small Texas town.  But gay?  Highly unlikely.

But Houston is a big city, the fourth largest in the United States.  And large cities draw people from all over the country, and even from other countries.  Large U.S. cities are almost by definition cosmopolitan, more open to accepting people who don't fit the stereotypical "proper type."  Even though it was a city, there was a lot of anti-homosexual rhetoric.

But still, this is a very significant election.  Let's hope things go well for Annise Parker, the city of Houston, and ultimately for Texas.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34399468/?GT1=43001

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

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There is a bill being proposed in Uganda that would make homosexuality a capital crime; violators would be hung.  Anyone who failed to report a homosexual in Uganda could be imprisoned for three years.

Apparently, some of the people behind the bill (possibly the author) are associated with The Family, a conservative Christian organization.

See the video at www.loveshade.org/blog/uganda_hang_gays.html

Thanks to Vernon Avaritt for pointing this out to us.

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

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Parents, moralists and media are curently attacking Sexting, or sending nude, semi-nude or sexually-explicit images and videos of yourself over phone and the Internet.  They're even going after cybersex, or sexually-explicit conversations in chat rooms.  Naturally, the biggest concern is when it's done by "young people."

After all, didn't some 13-year-old girl commit suicide over it?

No.  She wasn't a victim of sending nude photos of herself, she was a victim of vicious cyberbullying.  People who could be helped with counseling for self-esteem issues brought on by hormonal changes and, often, non-supportive parents, need help.  But they can get an easy release by harassing people online.  After all, it takes no courage attacking someone who can't really attack you back (plant your attacks, then log off).

The old "sticks and stones may break my bones, but your dirty words can't hurt me" is a great philosophy to live by, but it doesn't reflect the reality that human beings are a social species.

But can't you get arrested?  Yes.  As we've reported here before, young people have been arrested and charged with promoting child pornography for sending pictures of themselves.  The criminal and the victim become the same person.

But is this because they're victimizing themselves, or its this because of stupid laws?  I think the latter.

In societies where public nudity is accepted, this sort of thing isn't a problem.  Even hormonal teenagers don't get all hot and bothered by seeing each other naked because they see naked people on a regular basis.  So it's the laws that need to change, not the behavior.

But what about those images being seen years later, say when you're looking for a job or running for political office?  Ask Arnold Schwarzenegger if his posing nude in sexual situations stopped him from getting elected governor of the State of California.

Yes, it might be a problem right now, but in the future?  Having posed nude and shared sexy images will be like smoking marijuana is now.  The presidential candidate will say, "Yes, I sent nude pictures of myself in my youth, and wouldn't do that now.  But now I want to focus on current issues...."  Name me a recent president of the United States who didn't publicly say he smoked pot.  There hasn't been one for decades.

Americans, like people in much of the world, freak out over things that are new.  Until 1969, the "pornographic" Playboy magazine didn't even show pubic hair.  Ironically, the family-oriented nudist magazines showed everything of men, women, boys and girls.  Now, most people don't even consider those type of pictures to be pornography--oh, unless they're under the arbitrary age of 18, if they're sexually oriented nudity or semi-nudity and not just nudity, and if they're obscene, which no one has yet to adequately define.

Get over it, folks.  Adolescents are horny, and they were horny before the Internet, television and Playboy.  As a friend of mine here likes to say, America's teen pregnancy rate in the sexually-repressed 1950s was higher than in the sexually-explicit 1990s.  The reason people keep looking for new porn is that what you've already seen gets boring.  If you want to cut down on sexual foolishness and people getting so caught up in their hormones they don't think about what they're doing, expose them to as much sexual imagery as possible.  It's really a turn off.

See a report at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34257556/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets?GT1=43001

And if you want to see a report about something that really is dangerous, texting while driving, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33920495/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

Image is linked to http://www.nbcactionnews.com/media/lib/92/2/d/4/2d4b51e9-f837-4d86-afcd-92c5e04a1e21/Original.jpg No threat to its copyright is intended.

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 03:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

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