Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time.[2] Clapton ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”[3] and fourth in Gibson’s Top 50 Guitarists of All Time.[4]
In the mid sixties, Clapton left the Yardbirds to play blues with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. In his one-year stay with Mayall, Clapton gained the nickname “Slowhand”, and graffiti in London declared “Clapton is God.” Immediately after leaving Mayall, Clapton formed with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce the trio Cream, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and “arty, blues-based psychedelic pop.”
Son of Iowa Lesbians Fights Gay Marriage Ban
19-Year-Old Eagle Scout Tells Committee Chairman, ‘You Would Be Proud of Me.’
The latest Internet hero is Zach Wahls, a 19-year-old University of Iowa engineering student and Eagle Scout whose parents are lesbians.
Wahls gave a three-minute speech Tuesday before Iowa legislators urging them not to pass a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage and civil unions.
His words went viral across the Internet and had nearly a half million hits on YouTube today.
“In my 19 years, not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently that I was raised by a gay couple,” said Wahls. “And you know why? Because the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero affect on the content of my character.”
Introducing himself as a “six-generation Iowan,” Wahls said he had achieved the Boy Scouts’ highest rank and attained a 99th percentile on his college aptitude test.
“If I was your son, Mr. Chairman, I believe I would make you very proud,” he
I’m not really so different from any of your children, said Wahls. “My family really isn’t so different from yours. After all, your family doesn’t derive its sense of worth from being told by the state, ‘You’re married, congratulations!'”
Wahls was one of hundreds who testified Monday before an Iowa House hearing on a proposed gay marriage ban. His mothers, Dr. Terry Wahls and Jacqueline Reger, were married after the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2009.
He described his biological mother, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, as the “bravest woman I know.”
Wahls didn’t grasp the impact of his speech until the next day, when a friend told him, “Do you realize you are all over Facebook?”
“I had no idea what she was talking about,” said Wahls. “It took up half of her news feed, and I saw the YouTube video, and it had 5,000 hits Tuesday afternoon.
“The response was overwhelming,” said Wahls, who got barraged with calls from the media. “It was the most stressful snow day I have ever had.”
His speech, however, fell on deaf ears. Three Democrats joined 59 Republicans to vote in favor of amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage, which passed by a 62-37 vote.
If approved by legislators and voters in 2013, the amendment to the constitution would ban gay marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships and any government recognition of gay and lesbian couples in the state.
video
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/zach-wahls-son-lesbians-speech-anti-gay-legislators/story?id=12832200
Court Hears Arguments Against Voters Rights Act of 1965
By Matt Murray
Published: February 3, 2011
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates set aside time yesterday to hear argument s against the Voters Rights Act of 1965, writes the Washington Post. The Voters Rights Act was instituted in 12,000 southern jurisdictions where “pre-qualifications” such as literacy tests were being used by whites in order to keep voting age black voters from the polls. The law requires these counties to obtain approval from Congress on any voting law changes, ensuring the law’s protection of black voters.
Only 17 of the 12,000 jurisdictions covered by the bill have been awarded amnesty from the bill, all 17 are in Virginia, including Fairfax County. Shelby, Alabama is attempting to make their case that the law no longer has merit, yet they have been cited for pre-qualifications violations twice. The Alabama chapter of the NAACP and local voters gathered 16,000 pages of testimony to prove the law was still necessary, including 420 separate cases that seem to be “intentionally discriminatory”.
“Congress’ considered judgment that racial and language minorities remained politically vulnerable . . . is not only amply supported by the legislative history but is entitled to deference by the courts,” Justice lawyers wrote in seeking to dismiss the case.
The Shelby case follows the Supreme Court’s ruling in a test case brought by a municipal utility district in Austin. The court in June 2009 avoided the underlying issue by ruling narrowly that such small jurisdictions have the same right as states and counties to try individually to “bail out” of Section 5’s restrictive provisions.
In the 8-1 opinion delivered in the Austin case, Chief Justice John G. Roberts questioned the relevance of section 5, but ultimately sidestepped addressing the issue directly in his official Supreme Court opinion.
http://www.lipmantimes.com/?p=19973
These haters will never stop trying to take away our right to vote. It’s sickening.
LIE, CHEAT, STEAL… wash, rinse, repeat=GOP
They’ll never take away our right to vote, try as they might. Most not all Blacks will vote for Barack Obama, and that’s a PROVEN FACT!
You’re not taking away our right to vote, mofos. Not ever!
No, HOSNI, your 30 year reign of terror and your refusal to step down is causing CHAOS
Mubarak tells ABC his resignation would cause chaos
By the CNN Wire Staff
February 3, 2011 3:44 p.m. EST
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday blamed the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood for the violence unfolding in Cairo and said his immediate resignation would plunge Egypt into further chaos, ABC News reported.
Mubarak told ABC correspondent Christiane Amanpour that he was troubled by the bloody clashes that broke out Wednesday in Tahrir Square, the epicenter of anti-government demonstrations.
He rejected the notion that government instigated the violence, instead blaming the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist umbrella group that is banned in Egypt.
“I don’t care what people say about me,” Mubarak told ABC. “Right now I care about my country, I care about Egypt.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/03/egypt.protests/index.html?hpt=T1
AP Source: Usher, Slash slated for Super halftime
By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Pro Football Writer Howard Fendrich, Ap Pro Football Writer – Thu Feb 3, 7:56 am ET
DALLAS – Usher and Slash are heading to the Super Bowl.
A person familiar with the plans for Sunday’s halftime show told The Associated Press that R&B star Usher and former Guns ‘N Roses guitarist Slash are slated to make surprise appearances.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Wednesday, because the musicians’ performances were not going to be announced.
Usher and Slash are supposed to join the Black Eyed Peas, who are the main halftime act for Sunday’s NFL championship game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers at Cowboys Stadium.
Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am is featured on Usher’s hit single “O.M.G.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110203/ap_en_ot/us_super_bowl_usher_and_slash;_ylt=AmaH7Y.2ThEsYgVrmReqRNtxFb8C;_ylu=X3oDMTJ1OXI0Z2lzBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwMjAzL3VzX3N1cGVyX2Jvd2xfdXNoZXJfYW5kX3NsYXNoBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDNQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNhcHNvdXJjZXVza
These beckies just can’t contain themselves…
Sally Singer on Michelle Obama’s McQueen Dress: ‘It Should Be Worn by a Diminutive Younger Woman’
‘s Sally Singer went on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today to discuss — sigh — Michelle Obama’s red Alexander McQueen dress. Predictably, she touched on how Michelle Obama’s choice of a British designer put American fashion folks in a snit, but then she took the discussion in a whole new direction: She thought the dress looked bad. “I actually think the problem with the dress is that it didn’t fit her well. I don’t think that it was the right dress for her. It was then worn again by Mila Kunis, and it should be worn by a diminutive younger woman,” she said. There are a number of debatable things in that statement, not least of which is that the McQueen dress that Mila Kunis wore at the SAG Awards this past Sunday was decidedly not the same garment.
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2011/02/sally_singer_on_mobamas_mcquee.html
bitter bitter biyotches.
I think they are most offended that this BLACK woman thinks with her own mind, and buys what SHE wants for HER body. …and pays them no mind, let alone asks for their approval.
HOW.DARE.SHE.
you go FLOTUS.
You do the best Michelle Robinson Obama that you can do.
I saw this hunched over CaC this morning and turned the channel.
Bitter, envious beyotches; it’s soooooo unattractive.
Go First Lady Michelle Obama; YOU.DO.YOU!
BWA HA HA Yes, Sally meant that she or some other white woman should be First Lady and wearing that dress.
Dream on honey, NO ONE CAN ROCK THESE CLOTHES BUT FLOTUS. They just don’t have the body for it… **looks@flatass**
NO ONE CAN ROCK THESE CLOTHES BUT FLOTUS. They just don’t have the body for it… **looks@flatass**
BWA HA HA HA HA
These hos need to sit down and shut up. FLOTUS looks good and she knows it. Hell, they know it or they wouldn’t keep talking about her.
First Lady Michelle Obama:
“Look, women, wear what you love.” She tells Robin Roberts of Good Morning America, “Look, women, wear what you love. That’s all I can say. That’s my motto.”
And these pencil thin CACs will be sitting on the set of some cable network whining about what the FLOTUS is wearing. BWA AHA HA HA
These white women can’t stand it that the Black woman is not defined by their standards of beauty, fashion, or grace. And thank God for that!!!
And there you have it!
Jealous bitchassness!
These bitches can’t help themselves. They are seething because Michelle Obama was rocking the fk out of that dress. Phuckem! And tomorrow Michelle Obama will still be FLOTUS!
LOL!
Make like Casper and DISAPPEAR!
Make like Michael Jackson, and BEAT IT!
Make like horse shit, and HIT THE TRAIL!
Make like a TREE and LEAVE!
…make like a missile and cruise.
****rolls eyes****
Anderson Cooper Attacked Again In Egypt
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/anderson-cooper-car-attacked-egypt_n_818170.html
Anderson Cooper has been attacked for the second day in a row in Egypt. On Thursday, Cooper tweeted: “Situation on ground in #egypt very tense. Vehicle I was in attacked. My window smashed. All ok.”
Cooper was attacked by pro-Mubarak mobs on Wednesday, and was punched at least ten times. Journalists have become targets as the violence in Egypt escalates; dozens have been detained by the army and some have been beaten by government supporters.
Screw Anderson Cooper. This is NOT about you, dude!
Whatever Andy!
LOL@ Don Lemon avatar! Is he your new heart throb, Dannie?
AC needs to do a 360, make like a hockey stick and get the puck outta Egypt. It ain’t about you AC!
Hey Ametie!! Yes I’ve kicked Cory to the curb and fallen madly in live with Don Lemon!! He’s so FOINE!!!!
AC needs to do a 360, make like a hockey stick and get the puck outta Egypt.
LOL
….make like lightning and bolt.
Edward R. Murrow spent the better part of 5 years in constant danger of having his as bombed DAILY. did he bitch and whine about the ‘mean’ Germans?
NO.
he accepted that this was part of the job.
here’s a hint – if you take your ass to a revolution…guess what, there’s guns and violence, you whiny bitches. if you can’t take it – get your ass back to the safety of a studio.
you notice how Christiane Armanpour isn’t whining?
I respect christiane. She went in and got the story. All Andy is doing is walking around crying in that damn t shirt.
Unlike, you Anderson Cooper, you sniveling, self-absdorbed mam’s boy, Christiane Armanpour’s got cajones, and certainly brings REAL NEWS.
Report: Obama Invites Jennifer Lopez And Marc Anthony To Watch Super Bowl
by Colby Hall | 5:22 pm, February 2nd, 2011
Gossip Cop is told exclusively that President Obama has invited Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to watch the Super Bowl with him at the White House.
Gossip Cop is told exclusively that President Obama has invited Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony to watch the Super Bowl with him at the White House.
First-time unemployment claims fall
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/03/news/economy/initial_claims/index.htm?hpt=T2
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits eased more than expected last week, setting the stage for the government’s closely-watched jobs report due Friday.
There were 415,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Jan. 29, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was down 42,000 from the week before, and better than the 425,000 claims economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected.
Email Print Continuing claims — which include people filing for the second week of benefits or more — fell to 3,925,000 in the week ended Jan. 22, a decline of 84,000 from the week before.
Yet all we hear is the talking heads whine abou, POTUS not doing enough about Egypt, and them not getting into a room to watch POTUS sign the SALT Treaty. Self-absorbed, lackadasical, incompetent clowns, the lot of them.
Photos of POTUS signing the START Treaty
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/xcGkydwe4yh/President+Obama+Signs+New+START+Treaty/tsgrcnUbmsU/Barack+Obama?pa=1&u=qnCWEWf6YrN&tb=C&e=alert&l=title
Sarah Palin Snubs CPAC, Won’t Give Keynote Address
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/sarah-palin-cpac-2011_n_818103.html#comments
Sarah Palin has declined an invitation to deliver the keynote address at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, ABC News reports.
Last year, the former Alaska governor turned down an opportunity to speak at the event, reportedly over concerns of being affiliated with CPAC organizer David Keene. In 2008 and 2009, Palin pulled out of plans to address the conservative gathering.
“We’re disappointed that she wasn’t able to make it this year,” said Keene through a spokesman on Thursday, ABC News reports. He added that Palin had “expressed interest” in attending the event.
House Republicans Back Off ‘Forcible Rape’ Language In Controversial Bill
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/republicans-forcible-rape-abortion-bill_n_818014.html
House Republicans announced Thursday that they are taking a step back from a particularly controversial passage of a piece of anti-abortion legislation that many had criticized as a dangerous redefinition of the acts that constituted “rape.”
“The word ‘forcible’ will be replaced with the original language from the Hyde Amendment,” a spokesman for Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), one of the sponsors of H.R. 3. The “No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act,” told Politico.
The Hyde Amendment is the existing measure meant to bar the use of certain federal funds to pay for abortions.
Here’s the key passage from the latest bill, which appeared to provide a narrower interpretation for what would be considered as rape.
[I]f the pregnancy occurred because the pregnant female was the subject of an act of forcible rape or, if a minor, an act of incest;As HuffPost’s Jason Linkins reported earlier this week, the undefined nature of “forcible rape” had left many questions about what actual exceptions would be allowed.
Obama’s Egypt Response Slammed In Israel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/egypt-protests-barack-oba_n_817992.html
JERUSALEM — President Barack Obama’s response to the crisis in Egypt is drawing fierce criticism in Israel, where many view the U.S. leader as a political naif whose pressure on a stalwart ally to hand over power is liable to backfire.
Critics – including senior Israeli officials who have shied from saying so publicly – maintain Obama is repeating the same mistakes of predecessors whose calls for human rights and democracy in the Middle East have often backfired by bringing anti-West regimes to power.
Israeli officials, while refraining from open criticism of Obama, have made no secret of their view that shunning Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and pushing for swift elections in Egypt could bring unintended results.
“I don’t think the Americans understand yet the disaster they have pushed the Middle East into,” said lawmaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who until recently was a Cabinet minister and who is a longtime friend of Mubarak.
“If there are elections like the Americans want, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Muslim Brotherhood didn’t win a majority, it would win half of the seats in parliament,” he told Army Radio. “It will be a new Middle East, extremist radical Islam.”
Three decades ago, President Jimmy Carter urged another staunch American ally – the shah of Iran – to loosen his grip on power, only to see his autocratic regime replaced by the Islamic Republic. More recently, U.S.-supported elections have strengthened such groups as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories and anti-American radicals in Iran.
Of course PBO’s response would be slammed in Israel. Israel cares about Israel.
Good morning all!
Hi Dannie! :-)
Obama Speaks At National Prayer Breakfast
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/03/obama-national-prayer-breakfast-video_n_817975.html#comments
President Obama is speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. Also scheduled to speak is the husband of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, astronaut Mark Kelly.
Egypt PM apologizes after night of violence Protesters’ camp hit by gunfire with at least five killed overnight
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41402303/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa
CAIRO — Egypt’s prime minister apologized Thursday for attacks by government supporters on protesters after a night of violence in which gunfire was heard in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and at least five people were killed.
Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq told state TV that the attack on the anti-government protesters which began late Wednesday was a “blatant mistake” and promised to investigate who was behind it. He said the actions of the pro-Mubarak supporters were “a million percent wrong.”
In an attempt to quell the violence, Egyptian army tanks and soldiers cleared away pro-government rioters Thursday and deployed between them and the protesters seeking the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
The protesters accuse the regime of organizing the assault, using paid thugs and policemen in civilian clothes, in an attempt to crush their movement.
Democrats cool to Obama’s offer to overhaul rules on malpractice
By Mark Arsenault
Globe Staff / February 3, 2011
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s offer to join hands with Republicans and “rein in frivolous lawsuits’’ by overhauling medical malpractice rules was among the key bipartisan bullet points in his State of the Union speech.
But the president’s proposal has mostly fallen flat with his allies in the Senate, including Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. It also potentially puts him at odds with the nation’s trial lawyers, a powerful constituency of the Democratic Party.
Despite his willingness to reach across the aisle, the president himself remains opposed to caps on malpractice damage awards, a central element of Republican proposals to change the rules, the White House said last week in the days after his speech.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2011/02/03/democrats_cool_to_obamas_offer_to_overhaul_rules_on_malpractice/
Health Care Repeal Vote Fails In Senate
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/02/health-care-repeal-vote-f_n_817652.html#comments
WASHINGTON — A Republican drive to repeal the year-old health care law ended in party-line defeat in the Senate on Wednesday, leaving the Supreme Court to render a final, unpredictable verdict on an issue steeped in political and constitutional controversy. The vote was 47-51.
Moments earlier, the Senate had agreed to make one relatively minor change in the law, voting to strip out a paperwork requirement for businesses.
President Barack Obama, who has vowed to veto any total repeal of his signature legislative accomplishment, has said he would accept the change. It does not directly affect health care.
Republicans conceded in advance their attempt at total repeal would fall short. But they also said they had accomplished an objective of forcing rank and file Democrats to take a position on an issue that reverberated in the 2010 campaign and may play a role in 2012.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the vote marked an opportunity for Democrats who voted for the bill last year “to listen to those who have desperately been trying to get your attention.”
McConnell can GO bite a bag of rusty nails. It has been him and the rest of his GOP OBSTRUCTIONIST cohorts who have NOT been listening or paying attention to American’s needs. Go to HELL, MItch.
Rise and Shine, 3 Chics!
Myspace Good Morning Comments & Graphics
Good Morning, SG2 & Everybody! :-)
Drink up! http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__j-Yh5rKmeY/Sh2rGgOB69I/AAAAAAAAAjQ/o5mFlyVP8pk/s400/cup-of-coffee.jpg
Good coffee! Thank you. I need it to help wake me up. SG2 is tired!