Atlanta Out Loud

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm off to London for a proper American Thanksgiving. :-) I may have a chance to update from there, but not likely. Hope everyone gets stuffed for the holiday!

boortz.com: Nealz Nuze | "WHOLE FOODS MUST CLOSE IN MASSACHUSETTS --- OR ELSE" This is simply amazing in a free market society!

Baby gorilla doesn't survive | ajc.com This makes me cry.

I'm in Philly right now for a week of classes at The Wharton School. I came in a day early just to play in the city for a while. I really like it here. It's a great walking city...

I spent Saturday wandering around Old City and hanging out at the National Constitution Center. I didn't feel like standing in line to see the Liberty Bell, so I settled for looking at it from the sidewalk through a window. I even stumbled across the Real World Philadelphia house, right beside the Betsy Ross house. No sign of Willie -- drats!

Dinner Saturday was at Morimoto's Restaurant. Yumm! I had the omakase (tasting menu) and it was worth every penny of the three-figure bill. Absolutely incredible flavors.

I'm rather unimpressed witht he Gayborhood here. Just doesn't really seem to be very vibrant.

Today before my classes started at Wharton, I walked -- yes, walked (the natives here can't believe it) -- to South Philly. All I wanted was a real Philly Cheesesteak. So, I went to the places where the cheesesteak supposedly began -- the corner of 9th and Wharton St. The most famous cheesesteaks in the world are made by two rivals -- Geno's and Pat's. I started off at Pat's "King of Steaks". I stood in the LONG line and practiced ordering -- you gotta get it right or go to the end of the line. I successfully ordered a "Wiz Wit" -- a Philly Cheesesteak with Onions and Cheeze Wiz. I was hesitant about the Cheese Wiz, but that seems to be how they eat them here. As if that didn't totally fill me up, I crossed the street to Geno's Steaks and ordered another "Wiz Wit" for my taste test. Hey, I came all this way and couldn't have one without the other. Geno's wasn't as intimidating with the ordering process and were generally nicer, although the line wasn't as long. An added bonus was the HOT Italian kid taking drink orders. He had Gotti hair and was mesmerizing.

Anyway, my conclusion for the best Philly Cheesesteak is Genos. The bread was more delicious, even though the sandwich wasn't as "juicy". Pat's is probably more famous, but Genos is the best for me.

Alaska governor gets jet over public objections | Maybe this would be okay... IF... Alaska wasn't the biggest mooch in the nation in terms of per capital pork taken from the U.S. Taxpayers. When will we ever learn and put a stop to this shit?

Gays push to recast marriage on morals | Duh. We should have been playing the conservatives at their own game all along. Instead, the HRC and other self-appointed gay Gods have alienated themselves from conservatives and may have to devote decades to rebuild the relationships. A "non-partisan" organization it is not. Now they are (maybe) catching on. The have enjoyed not a single victory in any major political battle in the past decade. They are obsolete and unworthy to speak on my behalf.

Out On Film Atlanta's Gay & Lesbian Film Festival runs Friday, November 11 through Thursday, November 17. I WOULD be in the theater all next week if I didn't have to traipse off to Philadelphia for work next week. Ugh!

Fauver leads race by three votes | We still don't know if there will be a runoff in the District 6 City Council race. Brodie will undoubtedly request a recount before the deadline next Tuesday.

The question will really come down to the 9 write-in votes. If those are counted in the total, then Anne Fauver gets 49.95 percent of the vote and Steve Brodie gets 49.90 percent. That would require a runoff. If those votes are not counted (and the Fulton Elections office says they have been disqualified), then Anne wins with 50% plus 3 votes and a runoff would not be required. No word on why the write-in votes have been disqualified.

This race is special because it is the only race in the U.S. where two gay candidates are running against each other. That's good... because in gay Midtown, there should be a gay representative on the Council. And there will be, no matter what happens.

I've heard rumors, but I can't confirm them as fact, that this may be the first race ever in Georgia where there will/may be a runoff where only two candidates were running against each other. Interesting....

UPDATE: Who knew "write-in" candidates had to be "registered"? Chrisishardcore did. He hints that there may have been a conspiracy. I'm not so sure the voters of Atlanta are that sophisticated, but I suppose it's possible. I'm hoping for a runoff.

HIV-positive man pleads guilty to consensual sex charge: Former Emory medical student sentenced to two years in prison, eight years on probation | I've followed this fascinating case since the beginning. It brings up so many issues, but not many answers.

I feel very sorry for Gary Carriker. He is (was) a very bright, good looking guy with a great future ahead of him as a doctor. In short, quite a catch! Now he will sit in jail for at least two years, with another 8 served on probation. Having a friend of mine in jail, my heart goes out to Carriker for the treatment he will receive from guards and other inmates there.

I'm not suggesting what he did was right. But, I've always thought there must be more to this case than is being reported. I don't have any theories about what it might be, but it's nagging to me. It would make more sense to me if some disgruntled ex-fling got pissed off and filed charges against Carriker -- typical scorned lover stuff. But, for it to happen multiple times seems strange.

Barebacking is a VERY common practice these days. It seems that everybody -- especially younger gay guys -- are doing it bare more often than safe. It amazes me the guys who are not only willing to have unprotected sex, but who actually don't have sex any other way -- no questions asked. Hell, there's even a specific chat room on Gay.com for guys who prefer things "raw".

Again, no excuses for Carriker, although I do feel sorry for him. Our decisions have consequences. Having said that, it takes two to tango and the responsibility for protection lies with both consenting adults. This was not rape... it was consensual. The decisions of Carriker's partners have consequences too.

Bottom line: if you're going to have unprotected sex these days, you need to assume you are doing so with an HIV+ person.

This "Poll of the Month" shows up on Representative Tom Price's (R-Georgia's 6th District) website:

Poll of the Month

Do you agree with the recommendations of the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform?

Yes -- 4%
No, implement the Fair Tax -- 91%
No, implement the Flat Tax -- 3%
No, leave the tax code the way it is -- 2%

Judge Throws Out Charge in Gay Attack | ajc.com There is justice in the world. There's more about this here (which requires an annoying log-in, so use www.bugmenot.com) and here. The short version is that a kid in Philly tried out for American Idol. Afterwards, he was walking to meet some friends to tell them the excitement. A group of teenagers start harassing him and calling him "faggot", etc. He tries to run away and they jump him. He stabs one with a pocketknife and the thug dies. He sat in jail for manslaughter because his family couldn't raise the money for his bail.

Now, a judge has thrown the manslaughter charge out. Good. Justice is served. This kid actually did us all (straight and gay) a favor. The world is rid of another scum bag and all is well.

Boeing 777-200LR WORLDLINER Wow!

From USA Today:

The 777-200LR Worldliner — one of Boeing's newest planes — touched down shortly after 1 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) at London's Heathrow Airport after an almost 23-hour journey of more than 12,586 miles from Hong Kong.

The record-breaking attempt is part of Boeing's fierce competition with its European rival Airbus. The Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner was designed to compete directly with the popular Airbus 340-500, which has a flight range of 10,380 miles.

I am doing something today I haven't done in ages. I'm going on a "mileage run" -- actually a "status run" if you want to be technical about it -- to guarantee my elite status on Delta for next year. Mileage Runs and Status Runs are flights that are taken by people who are addicted to frequent flyer miles or elite status on airlines for the sole purpose of earning said miles or status.

I'll easily make Silver Medallion on Delta, but not being satisfied with that, I'm going for Gold. So, I'm getting up at 5:00am for this madness:

Thu Nov. 3: DL 1121 7:15AM Atlanta -- Indianapolis 8:43AM
Thu Nov. 3: NW 3763 10:05AM Indianapolis -- Detroit 11:23AM
Thu Nov. 3: NW 0025 1:45PM Detroit -- Tokyo 5:10PM (Fri Nov. 4)

Sun Nov. 6: NW 0026 3:45PM Tokyo -- Detroit 1:20PM
Sun Nov. 6: NW 1505 3:15PM Detroit -- Indianapolis 4:24PM
Sun Nov. 6: DL 1131 8:04PM Indianapolis -- Atlanta 9:38PM

Almost as much time in the air as on the ground. Less that 48 hours in Tokyo and I intend to take advantage of every minute of it. God I love that city... and oh, how I love those Japanese boys! Not to mention this leads me to unlimited upgrades next year.

If you think this is absolutely insane, it probably is. But, I'm not the only one with an addiction to frequent flyer miles and elite status. In fact there is an entire cult over at FlyerTalk.com.

They are the only ones who understand the insanity that makes this OK.

War has been declared. The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform issued their final report yesterday and essentially copied the 1986 Tax Reform Act. Take away a few deductions, flatten some tax rates, and call it tax reform. Trouble is that the 1986 "reform" has been amended over 10,000 times to carve our special exemptions for various groups.

So the battle is on for the FairTax. Supporters of it clogged the White House switchboard twice last week and will do it again and again this week. Call them at 202-456-1414 and tell George we're done with the current tax code.

Sure it's a long shot. The FairTax takes mucho power away from politicians. They can't protect their power base by giving up their ability to manipulate our tax code for the benefit of certain voting demographics and specific support groups. But we gotta do it!

As hard as we're fighting enemies abroad, we're losing the war on internal threats to our economic security. Destruction from Within -- read it all.

Pandemic Flu NOW we're ready for the flu. We've borrowed $7.1 billion and got ourselves a website. Bring it on!

The Democrats showed just how pathetic they really are yesterday by hijacking the U.S. Senate. They have no ideas, no message, no vision, no hope. They can't even seize upon blunders of the Bush administration, so the throw a temper tantrum. They have to resort to hijinks like this to appease their slobbering base. They even have a website devoted to being stuck in the ancient past: Give 'Em Hell Harry.

Harry Reid, when making his grandiose remarks about the stunt (which by the way is the FIRST time ever that this rule has been used without notifying the other party in advance), had this to say:

"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions."

Poor Harry must have fallen asleep during Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's Press Conference last week and missed the part where Fitzgerald said:

"“This indictment is not about the war.”

What's interesting is that every main-stream-media report I saw or heard about this edited out the first part of the sentence when quoting Harry Reid. So, all the listeners heard was Harry droning on opining that "this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions." Maybe the MSM is trying to cover up Harry's obvious misinformation.

The Republicans get no points for yesterday either. What did they do in response? They rolled over like submissive little schoolgirls and agreed to form a 6-Senator panel to study pre-war intelligence. Hello!??!?! Why are they playing these Democratic reindeer games? The 9/11 Commission has already studied this and issued an extensive report on it's findings which included the conclusion that intelligence information was not manipulated by the Bush Administration. That didn't serve the Democrats so well, so when they run out of ideas, they shut down the Senate and resort to all they have left: "Bush lied, people died" and we need another investigation.

What a great strategy! ... For the 2004 election, maybe... although early indications are that it won't work even back then.

More good news for The BeltLine: The Tax Allocation District was unanimously passed by the City Council Community Development/Human Resources Committee yesterday. The full City Council will vote on the BeltLine TAD November 7th.

The Atlanta Development Authority bought Jim Maddox's vote for the Beltline yesterday. Throw the bozos in SW Atlanta a few bones, and Jim's all for it. I guess it's a good strategic move on the part of the ADA, but I just don't understand the "what's in it for me" mentality. There are parts of this city I rarely visit, but somehow I feel that what's good for Atlanta -- any part of Atlanta -- is also good for me.