Men Fashion Maestro on Holiday Attire

Published by Details of Men.Style. Our famous Italian fashion designer, Giorgio Armani shared his "10 Rules of Style" for holiday attire. The things he stresses the most for any style are confident, timelessness, and keeping thing simple. Find out more about his 10 rules of style below.

1. When choosing a men suit, a man should look for something that he can wear, and not something that will wear him. In other words, elegance, sophistication, and timeless style are always better than of-the-moment trends, which will date—and date the wearer. 2. As for style, a two-button suit is more timeless than a three- or a one-button. A single-breasted is more versatile than double—allowing you to dress your suit up or down more freely and use the jacket as a separate more easily. 3. The most important thing is to feel comfortable in your clothes. If you feel comfortable, you will feel self-confident.

4. The worst sartorial faux pas you can make is looking like you’re trying too hard. To develop your own individual style, really consider what suits you.

 



5. If you remain curious about the world, you will stay young at heart. Beyond that, I recommend an hour’s exercise every day and a healthy diet with a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits.



6. The holidays mean a handsome velvet tuxedo jacket. If you’re entertaining at home and feel like it, you can try one in a midnight blue or deep plum and you should wear velvet slippers. If you go out, wear shoes—preferably wing tips. 7. When buying a men suit, go for a color that will not date too soon, like a mid-tone gray or a black. 8. When an actor, like George Clooney, is on the red carpet, or when a man goes to a formal event, he shouldn’t dress excessively—he risks becoming too much of a spectacle.



9. At black-tie events you can get away with a jacket that has a bit more of an extreme line, something that’s really fitted. And you can never go wrong wearing a clean white shirt.



10. Confidence and a sense of humor make a man sey. And having an Armani wardrobe doesn’t hurt either. For those who still remember, find out Armani's 21 rules to achieve style, which he shared with us a year ago.

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Technorati Tags: Man Fashion Tips, Giogrio Armani, Rules of Style, Holiday Attire

Our Revolution Will Not Be Televised

As I’d written about in the last blog, Jon Stewart on the Dec. 10 edition of The Daily Show took much of Mike Huckabee’s philosophies on the gay and lesbian community to task. Interestingly enough, the entire argument pertained to the same-sex marriage fight. To summarize, Stewart noted below:

“I think it’s a shame that they have forced gay people (in California) to have to make their case that they deserve the same rights as someone else.”

Marriage … is the bellwether of whether “gay people … deserve the same rights as someone else.” Not to belabor the point, but it must be made: this is the most recent item to come to the table. Any number of other issues pertinent to GLBT have been on the front burner for some time, and are suddenly (and notably) absent.

“Gay Liberation? I ain't against it. It's just that there's nothing in it for me.” — actress, Bette Davis

That encapsulates much of the media rhetoric that’s occurred recently. We’ve seen it on Ellen DeGeneres’ shows (even interviewing GOP presidential candidate John McCain), Hollywood’s stars coming out with splashy TV ads supporting it, Prop 8 national protest media coverage, and gay and straight print media alike (e.g. The Advocate, New York Times) are drawing heroic struggle comparisons between marriage rights and the Civil Rights movement. In a nutshell today, it’s all about marriage.

Nothing else matters – or at least that’s the message communicated to everyone else still waiting for hate crimes protections, employment opportunities, access to health care, and even domestic partner benefits! Hello? Did our Queer Community leadership forget about this one? That’s a pretty ephemeral memory, I must say ….

All of the other incomplete (and glaringly disparate) issues have been overwritten and completely buried in media lately. Some may say that these other issues have already been attained and are unneeded – if not in codified protection, at least in practice as there’s greater public exposure, reduced levels of hate and plenty of gays and lesbians in employment up to even the highest levels of business and government. Heady days!

But these are still unaddressed issues in gay and bi communities of color! Did any of the GLBT leaders ever bother to ask them? I did. Yeah, folks … it’s not been addressed. Ask! H. Alexander Robinson of the National Coalition for Black Justice (NCBJ) recently noted a study showing that staff in GLBT organizations were only 5-7% on average. They make up 12% of the population nationwide – do the math. Undoubtedly the same numbers are likely to be found in other ethnic categories on GLBT employment as well. On average, when they lead organizations these same ethnic minorities are paid $9000/yr. less.

Further down the food chain are (as many consider us) the lowest of the low: the Transgenders. Gay and Lesbians (per estimates) equal 10% of the overall population, with Transgenders at 2%. Finding one of six employees in GLBT-land being transgendered is a dream we will likely never live to see. For a community separate from gay or lesbian, where everyone states that educating on our distinct issues is paramount, the message that communicates to straight corporate America (that even gay and lesbian organizations can’t bring themselves to consider transgenders equal) speaks volumes.

Yet with all the continuing need and over a decade’s worth of advocacy work, the only thing on popular TV and in print is what the privileged, moneyed leaders of what’s now become of the GLBT movement demand. And these, our well-funded leaders, insist upon that being about marriage. The rest of the movement will take care of itself (or so the mindset appears to be).

“You say you got a real solution, well you know
We don't all love to see the plan.
You ask me for a contribution, well you know
We're all doing what we can.
But if you want money for people with minds that hate,
All I can tell you is brother you have to wait.” — Revolution 1, the Beatles

And what if it doesn’t take care of itself? In essence, it’s going to be “who cares? We got ours!” There’s always Cabinet positions to lobby for or other high-visibility positions or elected offices to aspire. Or if they can’t get that, maybe fabulous vacations somewhere. (Do people still do “vacations” in broke-ass America? How?)

Don’t believe me? Take a look at uber-liberal Massachusetts, home to Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Ted Kennedy. Marriage is legal, even out-of-staters can marry there. Trans people? There’s not any meaningful effort to do anything there for them, beyond some dry-jacks for PC image purposes. Equality Massachusetts has plans to go around other states in New England to help pass other marriage laws.

If you’re trans and your celebrating that, you’re brain dead. Get a clue, they’re free.

Otherwise, when gay marriage finally pushes forward through every state in the union (however many decades that takes), we can count on … well … all the Hollywood stars and the media and employers and everyone else fixated on what shows up in front of their noses on the TV set will go away. You think someone like Jon Stewart’s gonna come to the transgender community’s rescue? Fat chance! Do you believe Hollywood’s top stars are going to give impassioned pleas to retrace back and begin pushing to employ trannies? Dream on! Do you really entertain any fantasy about media digging around and discovering that trans people were blithely left behind? Hell to the no!

If you’re lulled by the delusion that Washington’s L&G leadership (personified prominently, but not exclusively by HRC) are going to come back, lift you up, treat you as equals or make amends … well, I’ve got two words for you. WAKE UP!

If you want to fall for unctuous ‘promises’ from the likes of Ol’ Barn’ (“let me shoot ‘em Andy!!!”) Frank, or fake reports of contrition from the likes of Teddy-Boy Kennedy, or any of the sugar-bullet promises from DC “professionals” in LGBT-land, then keep the delusions to yourself or work for the other quislings.

Bottom line, once marriage and all other items on their agenda are attained, all the above parties are going on about their daily lives and never even noticing we exist. That is … unless we take a page from Sylvia Rivera.

Sylvia admitted a year before she died that there was a time to negotiate and a time to “take to the streets”. When you negotiate, you can only realistically do so with those of whom you can negotiate in good faith! Negotiating with these folks have gotten us nothing more than burned, discredited, censored and completely shut out, so that’s obviously not going to work.

The time to unleash your voices is upon us. The unemployed, the disenfranchised and disempowered won’t enjoy the televised assistance to attaining equal treatment. It’s up to us all to raise hell and find a way, by whatever means possible, to stealing back our voice and pushing for our own rights.

If you’re simply going to play polite and wait for marriage to pass before you receive your rights, once that victory’s won the lights go out and the equipment gets packed up and rolled away. And your revolution will be standing there empty-handed in the dark … all by its lonesome.

“If you say you want a revolution, baby,
There is nothing like your own….
After you revolution, baby,
There is nothing you can't be.” — We Are The Revolution, World Party

The Next Revolution On TV: Marriage!

........The Same-Sex Marriage Debate is viewed in Black & White
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was one of my two favorite shows from the days when I had cable and used to watch TV a bit more. Today I pulled it up online and watched his show featuring former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, half of which focused on gay marriage and the difference of opinions Stewart held on Huckabee’s opinions expressed in his most recent book: “Do The Right Thing.”


As an aside, I never previously noticed the delicious double entendre in that statement: Do the right thing a la Spike Lee’s movie, as in doing the correct thing, as opposed to a GOP take on do the right thing (which would obviously be exhorting one to do the devoutly conservative thing). They aren’t always mutually inclusive.

Ever an open and engaging interviewee, Governor Huck admitted he was disenchanted with the way the pro-life movement in America had conducted themselves. In a lot of ways, Huck is a renaissance type of Republican, not really given to the same red-meat, arrogant rhetoric of his party-mates, and even admitting that blind mantras of slashing government a la Grover (the muppet) Norquist. Heck, Huck even supports funding for the the arts! The heresy!

“The party of Lincoln should be reaching out to blacks, Hispanics, gays and so forth and so on.” — former Calif. Senate Candidate, Michael Huffington

“I guess this makes us so forth and so on ….” — National Transgender Advocacy Coalition President, Vanessa Edwards Foster

But it seems one point Huck won’t recant is the dogmatic homosexuals-are-the-unclean automatic myopia. One would have thought he’d be a little more circumspect than the rest of the red-meat crowd, and he is tamer rhetorically. But devout he is, and Stewart took him to task on it.
Some of the points of highlight from the Jon Stewart – Mike Huckabee exchange:

Jon: “you talk about how marriage is the bedrock of our society, why would you not want more couples [to marry] … why would you want that precluded for an entire group of people?”
“in your book, you write that it is corrosive to society to allow them have all the privileges that the rest in society enjoy.”
“Religion is far more of a choice than homosexuality.”
“A loving financially secure gay marriage beats the hell out of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline any day.”

I couldn't have stated it any better. "Check and mate" Mr. Stewart

Mike: “The only way we can create the next generation is through a male-female relationship.”

Actually we know better than that. Remember the Test Tube baby anyone? In-vitro fertilization?

Mike: “Marriage is a privilege, it is not a divine right…. Marriage still means between a male and a female.”
“Words do matter. Definitions matter.”

Indeed, words and definitions do matter. As defined, privilege is a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor; especially such a right or immunity attached specifically to a position or an office. Privilege by its nature is not equal treatment, but special treatment. If marriage is a privilege, then who is the arbiter of this privilege in a non-theocratic (we’re still advertising we’re democratic here – freedom of religion and all) government and society? Marriage per Huckabee is then not a “legal or moral entitlement” decided by law. If marriage is not binding by law, then what is government doing being involved in enacting law against it for anyone, or even deciding who may be recognized as being married and able to claim next of kin, property inheritance, etc. It’s not law.

Mike: “Those who support gay marriage have a lot of work to do to convince the rest of us….”

As marriage is simply a privilege deigned upon us by some shadowy set of individuals, who is it specifically we’re having to work to convince? Keep in mind, not all marriages are church ceremonies. Clearly that means that just going to the church involved to convince them isn’t going to work uniformly. Some churches already support and will marry same-sex couples. That sounds arbitrary and privileged, doesn’t it?

Is this something that only people of certain monetary means should be privileged with? What impact does that have on impoverished individuals who get married every day – how do they manage to get this privilege? If it’s not a right or a law passed down from our elected leaders, who has to be paid or bribed (if that’s the case) in order to be married?

Yeah, everyone hearts Huckabee (except maybe Dustin Hoffman who’s wondering if this was his Ishtar II). But Mike, methinks you stepped in it here. As you said, marriage is a privilege … not a right. That means that if the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut have already passed their laws, it’s their responsibility to privilege their citizens thusly. And it will never be taken away by anything the federal government does because they are a legal body in a federalist nation that passes laws. Rights. Not privileges.

“We've got gays working there. If they can demonstrate long-term relationships, we make same-sex benefits available just as we do with common-law marriages. Gays are productive people. Some fly airplanes, some work in breweries.” — Pete Coors

Neo-cons in America are probably frothing at the mouth right now. They’re both furious and frenzied over this prospect (especially considering there is still a Full Faith and Credit Clause in the Constitution, ensuring that the law of the land passed in one state is recognized as such by the others). Then again, neo-cons are beatific at this revelation as well. Think of the phobia this will generate and the heavy-duty fundraising windfall this will produce!

Yes America, there is still one recession-proof industry that will always have job openings: neo-con, religiopolitical, gay-despising, red-meat political advocacy and lobbying organizations. Line up!

Putting an excellent final-point on this, Jon Stewart opined, “I think it’s a shame that they have forced gay people to have to make their case that they deserve the same rights as someone else.”

Indeed, why should some people in America accept the fact that we will never have the right to deserve equal consideration? Where was it I read that “all men are created equal”? Maybe someone should sue them for false advertisement.

One last observation on this (which will lead to my next blog) … note how the only rights discussed on The Daily Show, the point Jon Stewart used exclusively, was marriage? Why is marriage the only issue on TV which will make the gay community equal? [… to be continued]

“God did not create gays and lesbians so He could have something to hate!” — Rev. Troy Perry

Man Travel: Travel With Style

International business travel is an activity that is becoming more and more complex on a daily basis. You must be well prepared before you start your journey and be prepared for all eventualities.

Most important, do not carry a lot of clothing. You need only basic wardrobe and some leisure items (sports maybe) and make sure that it’s consistent with the local weather conditions as well as custom. But no matter how long the flight, you can always avoid looking like you stowed away in the cargo hold. Here, the clothes that will let you stretch your legs without short changing your style when you're 30,000 feet in the air.

1. Men Washed Cotton Shirt

The last thing you need while sleeping in-flights is a stiff collar scratching your neck. A rumpled cotton button-down helps you maintain some decorum even when you're slumping in your seat.






2. Men Cardigan

A cashmere cardigan keeps you just as insulated from the airplane's air-cond as a complimentary Scotch whiskey or two, but without the dehydration too. Unlike a pullover, the beauty of Cardigan is that it's easy to put on or take off.






3. Soft Structured Men Jacket

A deconstructed gray jacket makes an ideal outer layer for traveling. Stow it once you're in the air, then slip it on as soon as you exit the lan for a minimum hassle, put together look.

1. Dark Denim

When there won't be time for a post-flight change of clothes, choose a pair of dark jeans that will weather wrinkles, allowing you to move seamlessly from seat to your next destination.

Lastly, don't over-stuff your suitcase. Pack enough clothing for each day of your trip, plus an extra shirt or two for variety. Strike a balance and travel with style.

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Technorati Tags: Man Fashion, Man Travel, Washed Cotton Shirt, Men Cardigan, Soft Structured Jacket, Men Dark Denim, Travel with Style

More Random Thoughts As Winter Gloom Settles In

'A Christmas Carol' scene from central New Orleans as seen from the Omni Hotel
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It turns out that I got pretty lucky last night (at least as far as we snow-phobic south Texans go): I ended up getting flurried with a few little snowflakes along with it. A mile north of me on my trip to the 99-cent Store (yes I shop there – or will shop there until later this month when they close the store due to not being profitable enough), I got to see snow falling. Real live flakes and noticeably falling in front of my headlights and in the parking lot. But we stayed one degree above freezing here, and my outdoor plants didn’t die (bonus!)

Canal Street Trolley in New Orleans

As it turns out, points up north had quite a bit of snow but little that stayed on the ground, but east … they got socked! From downtown Houston and further east, everyone got an inch and even inches (plural!) of snow on the ground! Dayton, a small town an hour northeast of downtown, had 4 inches! This sounds funny to folks up north, I’m sure. Keep in mind, we’re not snowbirds! We’re where the snowbirds go to escape the snow up north! This snowfall tied the record for the earliest snow ever in Houston. But in 1944, there was only a trace of snow. East Houston way surpassed that. This is historic.

This morning, the news showed a live shot from New Orleans. It looks like a freaking blizzard hitting town – they’re getting multiple inches! The Big Easy is the Big Freezy today. All this weather makes me long for the days back in the 70’s or 80’s when I lived in Corpus Christi, and we’d go out to the beach even as late as Christmas Eve when it would still be a warm, humid 88 or 89 degrees! What happened to those days?

Scenes from Mid-City New Orleans (above) and its suburb, Metairie LA (below)

The weather isn’t helping my mood. Winter already sucks due to the dark days, and the cold helps shut you in even more. As the mood turns sour, so does your outlook. So being unemployed (as I am) and sitting here in an ice box of a house (no budget for things like heat or A/C), reading about our “Economic Recovery” or “fundamentally strong economy” or whatever the hell Bush-baby wanted to term it all these years, this begins looking like the endless dark tunnel. Maybe it’s a black hole? At least when Bush-daddy left office, as bad as the economy was for most of his term, we were at least on a bit of an upswing.

Things in Houston are feeling like it did in 1986. About the only thing missing are the proliferation of crack dealers hanging out on the street corners. I’m noting the foreclosures nibbling around the edges of my neighborhood, and the spike in random and extreme violence and death here in my part of the world. Wild, wild west Houston indeed ….

Foreclosures apparently have ebbed a little this month, reducing by 7%. Gee, I wonder if the moratorium on them and the $300 billion pumped into the banks to abate this had anything to do with that? Then again, why only 7% for $300 big ones?

Meanwhile the auto industry bailout passed in the House. For the record, I was not a proponent of the Wall Street Welfare State Act (also known as the bank bailout), but now that we’ve officially tanked the nation’s budget and established the precedent, why stop now? The automakers CEO’s should all be canned and replaced with leaders with more vision (instead of buying the gas for those buying their guzzler-SUV-vehicles). But treating them differently than Wall Street folks makes as much sense as exonerating one person for murder, then putting a bullet in the head of the next one.

Oh, but GOP senators want to filibuster and sink the bill. Oddly, the most vocal of these are the senators from southern states … whose own automaking plants are all foreign-owned and healthy carmakers like Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes Benz, etc. Let’s kill off the Big 3 in northern states … and shift more business to the folks in their own. No personal interest in that, eh? Hey, how better to show how patriotic you are than being a senator from a southern (confederate) state making sure that we benefit carmakers who are based in Germany, Japan, Korea and ensure we once-and-for-all kill off those American-based carmakers!

After all, only unpatriotic scum would support American carmakers who actually offer careers for generations of American families, even retirement and health care! Better to shove all those gray-haired former autoworkers onto Social Security … which these same senators also want to privatize and do away with. Entitlements, ya know? Kinda like the entitlements these same senators will look forward to once they retire – oops, shhh! After all … it’s only another 2 million people out of work once it all goes away! We’ve already disemployed 2 million-plus this year … it’s not going to be that big a deal!

Meanwhile, the irascible pundit Bill O’Reilly of FOX (Faux) News promoting his memoir on yesterday’s NPR This Week. He was asked about a passage in which the social and political commentator describes people who think he himself is evil as he "puts themselves on the line." "Some people thought Jesus was evil; they nailed him to a cross," O'Reilly said in the interview.

That led to a question: Was he now comparing himself to Jesus Christ? "No, but I'm giving you an analogy that's vivid," O'Reilly answered. So O’Reilly’s persecution is vividly analogous to Jesus Christ’s, eh? Humble guy. Who wants to bet that the O’Reilly comparison to Jesus does not draw the same “album bonfire” protests by the religiopolitical types that John Lennon’s comments drew? Yeah … as O’Reilly himself said, he sees the world is just “good and evil,” and only self-declared good people can compare themselves to Christ.

Back to the subject of filibusters, it was interesting to note how conservative principle can be shifted in just a few short years. The below was from Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) back in 2005 during the confirmation process for Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Roberts:

"Republicans seek to right a wrong that has undermined 214 years of tradition …. The fact that the Senate rules theoretically allowed the filibuster of judicial nominations but were never used to that end is an important indicator of what is right, and why the precedent of allowing up-or-down votes is so well established. It is that precedent that has been attacked and which we seek to restore….

"My friends argue that Republicans may want to filibuster a future Democratic President's nominees. To that I say, I don't think so, and even if true, I'm willing to give up that tool. It was never a power we thought we had in the past, and it is not one likely to be used in the future. I know some insist that we will someday want to block Democrat judges by filibuster. But I know my colleagues. I have heard them speak passionately, publicly and privately, about the injustice done to filibustered nominees. I think it highly unlikely that they will shift their views simply because the political worm has turned."

So three and a half years later, how does this same senator think of his principled stand stated above?

The Nov. 7 edition of the Triangle Business Journal reported that Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, put president-elect Barack Obama on warning that he would filibuster U.S. Supreme Court appointments if those nominees were too liberal. “He believes in justices that have empathy,” said Kyl, speaking at a Federalist Society meeting in Phoenix.

Earth to Sen. Kyl: remember when George W. Bush was re-elected with what he declared to be a “mandate”? And that mandate was to elect Supreme Court justices that followed his mold, as the electorate instructed? Well, guess what? We’ve recently had another mandate. No less than 57% of those who cast their votes for Obama stated that Supreme Court justices were an important reason why they cast their vote for him. Are you, the ever-so-principled conservative Sen. Kyl willing to openly defy the mandate of the people?

Not only is Kyl an astounding hypocrite, he’s not even a very clever one! How partisan is it when you make such statements mere days after an election, when the new electee hasn’t even been sworn in – much less have any nominees been named! Anyone who had an idea that Republicans were going to be anything but obstructionists out to ensure no bi-partisan common sense can put the last nail in that coffin and lay it to rest!

Let the neo-con obstructionism begin! (And yes, America, nothing will get done, the country will tank, and the red-meat folks will be laughing and wringing their hands while they watch the USA get flushed down the toilet)

This alone would normally nominate Kyl for Tool-Of-The-Day. But no … Joe The Plumber (yes, he’s back in the news) wins that one! Yep, Joe The Plumber’s Tool came out in the news saying he was “appalled” with Sen. John “My Friend” McCain, specifically for his reasons for voting for the Wall Street Welfare State (WSWS) Act (aka: the bank bailout). “I was angry," Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Tuesday. "In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him."

Interesting! There’s only one problem with this … why did he even get on the McCain “Straight People Talking” Bus in the first place when this occurred AFTER the WSWS Act passed and was signed by Bush-baby? Yeah, Plumber’s Tool, go ahead and use that as an excuse … when you didn’t even hit the TV airwaves until the night of the second presidential debate! Joe, do you make it a habit to put your name and face all over the media when you can’t stand the policy positions of the guy you’re shilling for? So how are we to ever believe you on anything when you can pull such straight-faced public deceit, you who stated publicly you want to run for political office against Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)! What a credible guy – NOT!

Meanwhile, the Plumber Tool had only praise for McCain’s running-mate, calling Sarah Palin “the real deal.

"It disgusts me on how often [the media] try to bash her just for her sincerity," he said. "She really wants to work for America." Yeah, I hear the paychecks are nice … and the clothing budgets are pretty cushy too!

I said it before, and I’ll say it again: if the neo-con base has their way, the future GOP ticket will be “Pit Bull With Lipstick” Palin and “Joe The Plumber’s Tool” Wurzelbacher. They’ve captured the minds of Republican America …. You betcha!

The Gloomy Days Of Winter

I decided I’d do something different as it’s been a weird day today … extremely cold, almost freezing here, and snow is getting very close. I actually saw flakes falling a mile north of my house, flurries at home. Strangely enough, Galveston got snow – just three months after Hurricane Ike! Even Seabrook on the coast had an inch of snow! Points north and east of me ended up getting quite a bit of snow, enough to cover the grass!

This is totally bizarre. It’s not even winter yet (and we never get snow before Christmas).

The National Policy Roundtable occurred yesterday (Tuesday). It’s the national gathering of all groups that work on policy work across the country (both national and more localized). Over the years, I’d sensed that NTAC was getting pushed out in favor of the newer, Mara Keisling-led NCTE. It felt even more so this time. I truly miss the Kerry Lobel-era of NGLTF (or even the Kirsten Kingdon-era of PFLAG). Things have never been the same since.

It was also interesting watching the interplay between HRC’s Joe Solmonese and NCTE’s Mara Keisling. It was clear there’s no hard feelings these days between the two parties, even with the words and occurrences over the course of the past year. If anyone is thinking there’s animosity between these two, let me disabuse you of those impressions now.

One item that became news while we were in the Roundtable was the arrest of Illinois Governor, Rod Blagojevich for blatantly selling the appointment of Senator (filling Barack Obama’s uncompleted term). Yes, selling for money. About the only way he could’ve been more brazen about it would’ve been putting the senate seat up for sale on Ebay. Actually, that would’ve been more open and could’ve brought in some really good money for the state deficit – ah … except this lamebrain was keeping the money for himself.

Reportedly Blagojevich even contacted President-Elect Obama (who was hopeful his friend Valerie Jarrett might get the seat) and attempted to solicit money from them for the seat! Obama apparently told him to take a flying leap (and the Lincoln state Guv had some profanity-filled things to say about the President’s not wanting to play politics the old fashioned, graft way!) What a tool. Some things just never change. Greed is greed is greed.

Republicans have also been pleasantly surprised, and even claiming their own Obama-like victory in – of all places – the most democratic seat in the country: New Orleans, Louisiana! Further more implausibly, this was the first Vietnamese-American elected to a federal congressional seat in a very African-American, democrat district. The GOPers are feeling bulletproof and 90-foot tall. Of course, this wasn’t just any old democrat, but Rep. William “Cold Cash” Jefferson – he who was found to have $90,000 in bribe money stashed in his freezer. And of course, there could be another explanation beyond GOP’s inevitable invincibility. Maybe democrats are just sick of scandal and have a desire to clean house – even if it’s one of their own.

Frankly, this should be an example for Illinois to learn from too. Blagger Buddy’s been caught now like genitalia in a zipper. He ain’t getting out of this one, and there will be pain. He needs to do the honorable thing and resign ASAP, and whomever the replacement is should work to make an open decision free of controversy.

Of course, the Kool-Aid drinkin’ neo-cons are already crankin’ up the scandal-tinged rhetoric and calls for inquisitions. “How dare the Democrats …?” These folks have the memory of moths hitting a burning lightbulb: any light goes on and they race to beat themselves to death against the white hot orb. Apparently, Republicans are supposed to be … what? Scandal-free? Uh … Valerie Plame’s outing? Manipulation of pre-war intelligence for Iraq? Sanctioning torture? Defiance of the Constitution? I could go on ….

Locally we have a GOPer who is Harris County’s Tax Assessor / Collector. Here in Texas, that means he’s the one in charge of voter registration collection (and purging, when he’s of a mind). This year, apparently there was a number of folks who registered to vote and were disallowed. They did everything right, but (against federal voting rights statutes) the man in charge, Tax Assessor Paul Bettencourt, saw fit to not register these new voters. Even though he had a hard-fought re-election, being GOP, he was re-elected (even facing the possible lawsuits of disenfranchising voters). After being re-elected, Bettencourt decided to announce he was resigning. Since the County Judge, Ed Emmett is also Republican, that guarantees that the replacement will be – you guessed it – yet another GOP. It’s become a pretty common tack for GOP folks … run for re-election even when you don’t want to, then resign shortly thereafter in order to have one of your own appointed. It gives them instant name recognition while working and learning via OJT their new political office. It gives the appointee the leg-up on competition when the actual election later takes place.

And after all, Ed Emmett should understand this. When the last County Judge was re-elected, he resigned and had appointed one of his own to replace him … Mr. Emmett. Gee, that’s okay … we voters here in the land of the vapid mind are too stupid to notice that pattern … so they say.

This blogger also found it both expected but also counterintuitive that the Vatican decided to oppose France’s resolution to the U.N. to urge member nations to decriminalize homosexuality. It’s a no-brainer that the Catholic Church would not support the resolution as it violates their stated views on the practice. But to conspicuously oppose it could encourage these same implications towards some of their own priesthood who’ve – ahem – thusly sinned. If keeping it criminalized is something that’s implicitly uniform for all, it’s not exactly a good visual having priests frog-marched in handcuffs to the back of a squad car.

And to wrap things up, Marti Abernathey put out a great blog post on “The Gingrich Who Stole Christmas” (not Newt!) She noted the consistency of Candice Gingrich’s statement on Countdown with Keith Olbermann with the most recent revelation (if you can call it that) from Rep. Barney Frank at a bloggers’ get together in Washington, where he noted pushing for inclusive legislation on employment wasn’t “pragmatic.” That’s right, Ol’ Barn’ is planning on pushing for the status quo in the upcoming congress. Shocked?

It’s true, Barney and HRC and the like are being clever with their wording. Lord knows we trans people are allegedly easy dupes, and some of us actually help self-fulfill their prophecy when we fall prey to that crapola. But cunning and guile shouldn’t cause us to take our eyes off of the patterns that are well-established. We need to begin fighting these attempts now. Yes, we’ll get whines from Mara about needing to “damage control” those of us putting forth these “rumors.”

Keep in mind, the “rumors” that were “damage controlled” last time … ended up being true. Learn from history. If you can’t, the rest of us don’t feel like repeating it with you.

"A winters day
In a deep and dark December;
I am alone
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow." — I Am A Rock, Simon & Garfunkel

Men Skin Care Quick Fix: Face Mask

Most of us don't have time and patient for a 45 minutes face mask, no matter how good it does for you, at least I don't want to spend the time on this. Fortunately, with advance of technology, the newest versions usually highly concentrated cleansers or creams, work in a mere five or ten minutes.

Find out more on some of the products based on your skin type.

Men Cleaning - Jack Black Deep Detox Clay Face Mask
Suitable for every man whose face is shiny by mid-morning. It works well for most of the skin type because of oil sucking ingredients like clay and witch hazel remove grease and dirt buildup.

To apply, simply put it everywhere but under your eyes, leave it on for mere five minutes, and rinse with warm water.

Men Hydrating - Elemis Post Shave Recovery Face Mask
This is most suitable for those who reach for lotion halfway through the day, or simply dry skin.
Using ingredients such as almond, lavender and vitamin E add moisture immediately and soothe red, sore skin.

To apply, simply put in on before you get in the shower and wash it off with warm water before you get out.

Brightening - Nickel Mug Shot
This product is ideal for guys with dull complexions. Why it's work? With Chemicals like glycolic acid help to slough away dead skin cells and stimulate the production of fresh ones.

To apply, spread on a thick layer on your face, and remove with a toner. Not WATER after five minutes.

One final tip: If you think of doing weekly mask on a nightly basis, it won't look seven times better. Instead, your face will just be more irritated.

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