Man Fashion: Levi's Way to Reveal Your True Beast

Yesterday, I received a mail from Scarlett, one of my blog reader, who shared a very creative campaign by Levi's 501. Here how it's go.

In the spirit of their “Live Unbuttoned” global campaign, Levi’s gets personal and asks you to Unbutton Your Beast.


From the website, You can create, customize, and send your beast to your friends and family. Whether it’s Sock Nasty, Paul the Pincher, or Saucy Sal, you can choose the beast that best reflects your unbuttoned self. Then select the pre-made message or instantly record your own via phone. Once you’re done, get ready to share your beast and shock your loved ones.

Check out more on Levi's "Unbutton Your Beast" website.

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Technorati Tags: Men Fashion, Levi's 501, Unbutton Your Beast, Levi's Jeans

Biden Keynotes HRC’s DC Gala. But Where’s The Protest?

“I detect the El Supremo
From the room at the top of the stairs
Well I’ve been around the world
And I’ve been in the washington zoo
And in all my travels as the facts unravel
I’ve found this to be true
While the poor people sleepin’
With the shade on the light
While the poor people sleepin’
All the stars come out at night.” — Show Biz Kids, Steely Dan

Glitz, glamour and all the glorious accoutrements will greet Sen. Joe Biden tonight the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National Gala. It’s one of their top money draws per year, their ostentatious display to Washington and political America beyond it. And they’ll no doubt put on the good face, playing up their strong points and hard-pushing for gay and lesbian rights. They’ll even have a tranny or two in attendance, including their throwdown “transgender leader” to mouth the words that everything’s fine, all is okay, we have no urgent need for transgender rights at the moment, we’ll wait.”

My advice to Joe Biden: as you would do with John McCain’s rhetoric on policies, look behind the façade!

They can give slogans about equality and believing in equal treatment, but leaving people out of equal rights bills, that’s not equal rights! You don’t see transgenders as leaders or even employees in their own organizations, that’s not equal rights! You don’t see all voices being heard and all issues taken seriously, that’s not equal rights! Come on!

Meanwhile, it’s been very silent on the DC Gala. Too silent. If there is a protest this year, it’s very much beneath the radar – but I get the impression there is no transgender presence getting the truth out there. If so, this will be very tragic for the transgender community! It’s message is: HRC wins, transgenders give up … and basically HRC will continue disenfranchising our community with impunity.

One year ago, of course, was the very same gala – very hotly protested by the transgender community. It was the first gala that followed the removal of the trans-inclusive Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA). It was NTAC’s very first sponsoring of an HRC protest, and drew folks from around the country and media as well. Even Mara Keisling got into the act corralling media and picking up a few donations as well. Two board members of NCTE were out protesting with us, but another NCTE board member (also a board of governors member of HRC) attended.

Since then the protests have continued and grown, drawing much-needed and beneficial attention to HRC’s prejudice. Without a doubt, it’s had a good effect for the community – even for Mara Keisling (their previous “throwdown” tranny) who’s traveled around the nation doing the “I hate HRC’ tour and raising more funds.

It makes me wonder if they are throwing in the towel. It’s counterintuitive to keep a high profile protest silent. And it’s not like there’s a lack of potential organizers as there are a number of capable folks in the DC area, including Keisling, NCTE board member Donna Cartwright in Baltimore, and NCTE board member Dana Beyer (who will likely be attending the banquet rather than protesting as she is still on HRC’s Board of Governors).

In fact, this reminds me. There was allegedly a meeting Beyer had also mentioned back in July about a tentatively scheduled meeting with transgender leaders and HRC.
http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/07/season-of-weird-for-hrc-siders.html

If that’s going on, it’s the best-kept secret in the country. More likely, HRC backed out of the deal. Unless you’re an apologist or a good lap-dog, there is no desire by HRC to meet, much less know about our issues first-hand anyway.

Over the years HRC developed a thick insularity: hire or promote as leaders financially stable trans people who’ve never had to live through the job losses or hate crimes first-hand. They then go to the trans community in general as a liaison for the gay community to hear the stories, find out the issues (as they’ve been mostly removed from the common day-to-day trans existence and the difficulties thereof), then report back. They function as go-betweens.

HRC will state it’s due to the lack of communication skills or ability to articulate our issues. That’s garbage. It’s all about insulating them, and preventing them from being made to face up to what they’ve done. They managed to communicate this to the African-American community after the Civil Rights Law. But they don’t want, and in fact refuse, to see that they’ve done the same – and worse – to transgenders that was done to Bayard Rustin and their own. They’re in DC this weekend, but they’re really in a state … of denial.

“Show business kids makin’ movies of themselves
You know they don’t give a fuck about anybody else.” — Show Biz Kids, Steely Dan

Did Bush Threaten Congress With Martial Law?

It was mystifying to see how the House, after voting and defeating the previous non-pork laden Economic Rescue bill (or Wall Street Welfare State bill), managed to vote through the bill on Friday. Unsurprisingly, an overeager President Bush signed the bill into law less than two hours later (record time!)

I just could not fathom how this occurred until I saw this, from Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) in his speech on the House Floor urging prudence and issuing warning about this bailout:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaG9d_4zij8

Indeed, I'd noticed something a couple weeks back and issued a blog on it coinciding with the October 1 deployment of the Army for potential "crowd control" and other sundry reasons here in America

http://transpolitical.blogspot.com/2008/10/american-militarys-next-deployment.html

based upon an article culled from the online September edition of Army Times.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/

Considering the Army brigade noted in the article had been training during the month of September in preparation for this October 1 deployment, it begs some questions:

How long before this recent "crisis" on Wall Street did the White House know of the impending Wall Street crash of major institutions?

How were they able to keep this off the radar screen and keep these failing institutions together until they could put the plans in place (both military and the bailout plan)?

Did the Bush Administration use this domestic deployment as a method to ramrod this draining of the Taxpayers' collective fund for Wall Street through Congress?

This is highly unprecedented: using the threat of suspending the Constitution and going to Martial Law in order to hijack Congress or the will of the people. This borders on a coup d'etat by our own head of state.

I fear we've just witnessed a sublime, yet watershed metamorphosis of American democracy as we've known it.

Bush And Wall Street Win, America Loses

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ["I just screwed ya! Can ya feel it?"]

“He’s not a leader, he’s a Texas leaguer.
Swinging for the fences, got lucky with a strike.
Drilling for fear makes the job simple.
Born on third, thinks he got a triple.
Blackout weaves its way through the cities….” — Bushleaguer, Pearl Jam

Today, October 3, 2008, was a huge victory for George W. Bush. It was a smashing success for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. It was a piece d’ resistance for Wall Street tycoons and high-rolling investors around the nation. Tonight the Champagne corks will pop, Republicans will breathe a sigh of relief and let their hair down and Corporate America will continue it’s search for ever higher plateaus of profit and financial security for all the top execs.

Yes, today the House of Representatives passed the WSWS – the Wall Street Welfare State Bill (or the Emergency Economic Rescue bill, whatever they want to call it.) It’s happy days in Fat City!

Meanwhile, it was an utterly stunning defeat for middle-class, working-class and impoverished America. Now we will all – including those of us who’ve paid dearly for the excesses of Wall Street over the decade – pay for the “deciders’” greedy over-extensions.

As the Senate gave a 74-25 vote to the newly revamped bill, fresh with $105 billion in extra pork on top, intended to “sweeten the deal” to entice previously skeptical House Republicans’ votes, the House today followed suit with a 263-171 vote.

"The broad authorities in this legislation, when combined with existing regulatory authorities and resources, gives us the ability to protect and recapitalize our financial system as we work through the stresses in our credit markets," said Treasury’s Henry Paulson. Note the phrase “broad authorities” … this will come back to haunt us all.

“New York and L.A.
City halls are falling down.
There’s no escape
When a class war comes to town.” — Class War, D.O.A.

"Wall Street is so hungry for the $700 billion they can taste it. To get it they need to ... create panic, block alternatives and herd the cattle. We ask Congress not to rush. Defeating this bill today isn't the last step. It's the first step in passing a good bill," said Rep. Brad Sherman, (D-CA) in an attempt to slow the process down and exercise prudence before enacting a quick-fix.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, who has called for the FDIC and SEC to use their powers to ease the credit crisis, said soon before the vote, "Pray for our Republic. She's being placed in ... very greedy hands."

A clearly elated President Bush immediately signed the bill upon passage. My one burning concern is this: what did he change on it with his “signature statement.”

Just four days ago, upon signing the Emergency Spending Bill, Bush made clear he still wields his “unitary executive powers” vis a vis his signature statements. Per the article, Bush said he reserved the right to “interpret and construe” the bill as he saw fit. You can bet whatever provisions made by Congress to limit powers by the Treasury Secretary of Bush himself will be vastly different after his signature statement. It’s astonishing that Congress hasn’t picked up on this habit of his yet. Congress just gave Bush the bank.

At one point today, the Dow-Jones was up over 200 points. Now that the WSWS Bill is law, and Wall Street now going into government hands, the Dow was up a meager 23 point as of 2:30PM (shortly after signing), and finished down 157 points! (Congress, you just got punked!)

In other good news today, new unemployment claims shot up to 159,000 – the highest in more than five years. Great news for all of us looking forward to that vacation – albeit an unpaid, open-ended one. Hey, at least Bush reopened up the credit markets for you!

After eight years of Bush-baby tax-cutting policy, over ¾ million jobs have disappeared in this year alone, and all jobs are more tenuous than ever in this “fundamentally strong” economy. Of course, Sarah Palin last night reminded everyone that we need more tax cuts to help create jobs. Just like it has this past eight years, eh?

And the last bit of news comes from Akron, Ohio, where 90-year old Addie Polk shot herself twice in the upper body as sheriff’s deputies were evicting her from her home that was being foreclosed. As Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) reminded after the House vote, “This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world.

“This bill will take care of Wall Street, and the market may go up for a few days, but democracy is going downhill.”

Amen.

“The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied...but written off as trash.” — John Berger

“Things do not change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.” — Henry David Thoreau

Man Fashion: Are You More Savvy When Come to Men Fashion?

In this financial turmoil, I am sure everyone are cutting down to their spending on men fashion clothing, so the first and direct impact will be all the big guys on the streets. Some of the stores reported sales was down by 30% as compare to last year, and this even expanded to most of their online stores too, Gucci, Guess, D&G, DKNY you name it.

It does not mean people are cutting down their buying, but just some change of buying habits. SourceWire reported that Men’s discount designer fashion website sees a 20% increase in traffic during this period.

Managing Director of Fashion Hunt, David Card comments on the increase in visitors:

“People are still spending money on the things they want, they are just being a bit more savvy when it comes to where they buy. The Fashion Hut has seen a 20% increase in visitors because people can buy designer fashion very reasonably, shoppers are changing the way they shop and discount stores are benefiting from that.”

So are you more savvy and change your buying habits lately? Give your opinion in my poll.

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Technorati Tags: Man Fashion, Online Store, Men Gucci, Men DKNY

American Military’s Next Deployment: America!!!

So you thought it was crazy enough that we’ve had runs on the bank induced by Wall Street institutions financially built on a house of cards? You think it’s beyond belief the our illustrious president was brazen enough to ask Congress for a $700 billion check, payable by the taxpayers for this financial fiasco he’s allowed to run rampant after all these years of lies about the economy being “fundamentally strong”? You reckon this insanity will end when the people have their say, only to realize Bush is going to yet again strong-arm Congress-critters of both parties into force feeding this to us with a front-loader?

It’s enough to cause a citizen’s revolt – and a lot of people are emotionally there, now!

Well, here’s a little comforting thought for all you Wall Streeters (provided you weren’t already informed of this well before hand). U.S. Army troops will be on guard, here in America, to help patrol our cities! True.

Our Armed Forces will be deployed right here in the good old U.S.A.! Coincidental, eh?

“Now the first thing I noticed when we hit the street was the seventh fleet
They was cruisin' through the center of town. (Quite peculiar.)
No one seemed real clear 'bout who’d sent them there
But they sure looked grand with the band, the balloons and the clowns. (I love a parade.)
And the played "Anchors Aweigh" for the rest of the day
'cept the times that they'd lower their guns and shoot some renegade down.” — The Ballad Of The Night The Clocks All Quit (And The Government Failed), Tonio K.

Beginning October 1, 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team “will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command (NorthCom), as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.” There was a nice, breezy article on it in the September edition of Army Times: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/

For the next sixteen months or so, they “may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.” They’ve been training for this new “domestic deployment” for the past month in Fort Stewart, GA, and will even be coordinating with other branches of the Armed Services, including National Guard.

Indeed our soldiers will be utilizing “the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,” 1st BCT commander Col. Roger Cloutier was quoted in the article. This refers to “crowd and traffic control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals without killing them” according to the article.

“I don’t know what America’s overall plan is – I just know that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that are standing by to come and help if they’re called,” Col. Cloutier said. “It makes me feel good as an American to know that my country has dedicated a force to come in and help the people at home.”

If you can’t remember when we last deployed a brigade here in the U.S., don’t feel bad. I can’t remember it either. There’s a good reason, too.

The article notes that the deployment “marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.” Thanks, Patriot Act!

"Yes it was lookin' real bad, any luck that we'd had
Had been lost in the park after dark when the army arrived.
They was sweeping the town chasing renegades down
There were no friends to be found, there was no place at all left to hide.
And the Austrian son he was having some fun
He'd been put in command of all the camps and his prisoners all died.” — The Ballad Of The Night The Clocks All Quit (And The Government Failed), Tonio K.

It also defies the Constitution. Per Section 1385 of the Posse Comitatus Act:

“Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.” Basically, the Army is not supposed to be utilized for national policing actions: the National Guard is. Keep in mind though, individual governors are the responsible parties who make the decision to use National Guard troops – not “the Decider.” They’re also deployed intrastate, as a rule, so Louisiana’s governor’s National Guard don’t just patrol the entire Gulf Coast on police actions in Florida, for instance.

Now there is one instance where the President can deploy troop, per the Insurrection Act of 1807. But for this to occur, there must be existing conditions in a state or region where “any part or class of a people is deprived of its right, privilege, immunity or protection” per the Constitution and where the states “are unable, fail, or refuse to protect them.” Basically this means the states have to be overrun to the point where the police at local and state levels are overwhelmed to the point where the governor must call the National Guard out, which then also becomes overwhelmed. If it gets to that point, and there is an insurrection involved (again which neither the local law enforcement or National Guard can deal with), only then can the President order the Armed Forces in.

Republicans did water down the Insurrection Act with a bill introduced by Sen. John Warner, and enacted in 2006. This was rescinded a year later as Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Kit Bond (R-MO) as they noted it made it easier for the President to simply declare Martial Law.

So, here we are, with America’s Armed Forces now on the new front: America. And just in time for … the Government’s nationalizing Wall Street and using our tax money to pay for it! I guess Bush-baby figured we weren’t gonna be very happy about the Wall Street Welfare State (WSWS) Bill. We gotta protect that “part or class of a people” that’s “deprived of its right or privilege,” ya know? Like the corporate, upper class ….

Or maybe there are other reasons Bush-baby brought them in. Maybe they sense what’s about to happen here! What could it be? More bank failures and runs on the banks even after the WSWS Bill? Stolen elections? Maybe ratcheting up the race-baiting thing they’ve been working on? Maybe even a terror attack on the country? (This is October, month of the “surprises” in RNC-land.)

What do they have in mind for us? Even Col. Cloutier, the brigade’s commander doesn’t know. All I know is it’s another one of those “number” days (10/9/08) next Thursday, and I know how these planners like their numbers. Just be careful and stay safe.

This may well be a very harrowing month. They’ve already planned on it.

"The terrorists never stop thinking of ways to harm our country. And neither do we." — President, George W. Bush

"Bright and early next morning without any warning
The sky opened up and the Boss stuck his head through the clouds.
The Army and Navy they opened up fire
But he grabbed him that lightning and laid them all under the ground.
Sam jumped up to salute; the Boss said "that's real cute,
But it's a little bit late 'cause I've seen what's been going down." — The Ballad Of The Night The Clocks All Quit (And The Government Failed), Tonio K.

Forcing Middle America To Pay The Wealthy’s Risky Losses

"I believe the economy's strong. As long as we leave hands in the bucket -- people -- money in people's hands." — President George W. Bush

Lately it seems the worm is turning. Bailout Bill folks are looking for ways to reword the explanation of the proposal to have the government take over Wall Street banks and buy their troubled (and in some cases, virtually worthless) paper with our tax money. Now that the Stock Market dropped 777 points in one day (a new one-day point drop record for George W. Bush!), it seems many of those officially opposed to this plan are losing their resolve.

As I write this Wednesday afternoon, the Senate is sweetening the deal to entice Republicans to vote for the bill. Tax incentives (gee, who’d have guessed?!) If we’re gonna go broke, we might as well go broker than broke, huh?

And the media seems to think like the Congress now: that we “must” do something lest we all fall between the ever-widening cracks in the economy. They’re also reporting how more of us “everyday Americans” are now getting on board, fearing the worst. Way to be in the tank for Bush, media! It’s funny you’ve never paid attention when the cracks were smaller and taking swaths of the “little people” in America. For most of us, the worst is inevitable, and fears have evolved into grim reality.

We’re not in the mood to be told what we feel by either the insulated media or especially the extremely insular Bush Administration.

“Don't be told what you want
Don't be told what you need
There's no future, no future,
No future for you.” — God Save The Queen, the Sex Pistols

So now it appears the fix is in: everyone seems to be aligning to get behind Bush’s Big Bailout for Big Banks. They’re going to push this through, we’re going to give in, and the GOP and Corporate America are going to get what they wanted in the first place!

Over the years, Corporate America and their best friends in Congress and the White House, the GOP, have pushed through their dream list of virtually all they’ve ever wanted. Here’s what they got:

Tax cuts to the tune of 5, 6 or 7-figures or more (both to the wealthy and to corporate America),
Reduction of all forms of federal, state or local assistance to individuals,
Government assistance to business to help them with innovation or to survive during tough times,
Deregulation of all forms in business,
Anti-trust weakening (oligopolies) that starves out small business,
Privatization and profiting from formerly state or federal duties,
Privatization and profit from former utilities,
Restricting Occupational Safety and Hazard standards,
Restricting workers’ rights,
Tax breaks to free-trade that allows shipping work overseas,
Allowing companies to locate headquarters offshore to avoid U.S. taxes,
Allowing corporations to collusively gouge the American consumer and reap record profits,
Focusing tax audits on individuals while turning a blind eye to non-payment of business taxes,
Severely weakening torts and judgments (disincentives),
Appointing judges who favor business over individuals or consumers,
Severely restricting bankruptcy for individuals,
Allowing predatory lending and then allowing foreclosures to proceed while individuals lose homes,
Fomenting a climate where few ever bother with recourse on legitimate claims against business,
Killing consumer confidence due to no recourse against who they do business with,
Killing whistle-blowers rights,
Allowing self-policing that did not,
Ignoring and encouraging cronyism and lobbyist influence to write and further weaken laws for individuals while giving more power to business,
Politicians who openly game the system and pull in heavy “soft incomes” through “favors” or other fashion,
Allowing industries to set the standards and write the legislation which gave them free reign by law,
Won tax breaks for Big Oil on profits reaped from federally owned land leased in the Gulf,
Just won “Drill-Baby-Drill” oil-drilling allowing Big Oil to plant a rig anywhere offshore,
Allowing corporations ability to do nearly anything inside or out of the law that isn’t blatantly (read publicly) provable in a court of law,
Adhering to the mantra that free market are the standard and shall never be compromised,
Knowing of serious problems in the free market economy and instead lying to the public to have it appear problems don’t exist,
Suddenly changing the rules to allow free markets not to fail and to have the government step in to save them,
Allowing CEO’s and top-tier executive to retain stratospheric incomes, pensions and severance packages.

Meanwhile, the individual in poverty, the working-class or in middle class America was on the losing end of all of the above. Here’s what we got:

A couple hundred dollars in tax cuts (if lucky),
Higher local taxes and fees to make up shortfalls from the Feds,
Jobs lost to cheaper labor overseas,
Domestic jobs being streamlined and shed (due to the tight American job market),
Remaining domestic jobs with only increase in production and expectations and stagnant wages,
New jobs that pay less than previous ones,
Corporations merging and retroactively ending pensions,
Paid health care on the road to extinction,
Spiraling prices for everything,
Stuck with paying for their greed and excess.

So how does that feel? And with this Bailout Bill, we’re expected to be the usually docile American public we’ve always been, and just lump it silently.

Congress will pass the bill, and President Bush-baby will sign it, and everyone’s happy. Right?

Just one reminder …. Signature statements.

Below is a news blip from CNN reporting on the Emergency Spending Bill signed by the old Bush-baby before the fiscal year ran out 9/30. Pay special attention to the next-to-last paragraph. Then tell me … do you really trust this President to do the right thing on this, and do you want him signing this bill? I emphatically do not!

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush signed an emergency spending bill hours before the end of the federal budget year.

The stopgap measure includes both a $600 billion bill to continue goverment spending through March 6, 2009 and a $611 billion defense bill that provides $68 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bush signed it Tuesday night.

The interim measure allows a 26-year ban on offshore oil drilling to expire, subsidizes federal loans for automakers and offers aid to Gulf Coast hurricane disaster victims.

The bill also authorizes a 3.9 percent across-the-board pay raise for military personnel.

Bush said he reserved the right to “interpret and construe” the bill as he saw fit.

The end to the ban on oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is a major victory for Republicans, who have seized on drilling as a major election year issue. Speeches at the Republican National Convention in August were often interrupted with chants of “Drill, baby, drill.”

"There's no bread? Let them eat cake!
There's no end to what they'll take!
Flock the fruits of noble birth.
Wash the salt into the earth." — Bastille Day, Rush