Some essential points about PRISM

Some essential points about PRISM 

Leaders of the intelligence committees in Congress defended the program Sunday.

• Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said it helped lead to convictions in two cases:
• -- Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan-born Colorado man who pleaded guilty to conspiring to bomb targets in New York.
• -- David Headley, who pleaded guilty to conducting advance surveillance for the Pakistani jihadists who attacked hotels and other targets in                        Mumbai, India, in 2008, killing 164 people.

• "These programs are within the law," Feinstein, D-California, told ABC's "This Week." And Rep. Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC, "The inflammatory nature of the comments does not fit with what Dianne and I know this program really does."

• "The instances where this has produced good -- has disrupted plots, prevented terrorist attacks -- is all classified," said Rogers, R-Michigan. "That's what's so hard about this."

James Clapper, director of the Office of National Intelligence says programs were authorized by Congress

• "In a rush to publish, media outlets have not given the full context -- including the extent to which these programs are overseen by all three branches of government," Clapper said. Clapper's office declassified some details of the programs, which it said were "conducted under authorities widely known and discussed, and fully debated and authorized by Congress."

• Phone-call data isn't looked at unless investigators sense a tie to terrorism, and only then on the authority of a judge. Officials say analysts are forbidden from collecting the Internet activity of American citizens or residents, even when they travel overseas. 

• Clapper's office said PRISM was created in 2008, targets "foreign targets located outside the United States" and gets reviewed by the administration, Congress and judges. And Rogers told reporters Sunday that "there is not a target on Americans." "There has to be a non-U.S. person believed to be on foreign soil. That is a huge difference than what is being portrayed in the media," said Rogers, R-Michigan.

photo credit: jef safi \ 'Parker Mojo Flying via photopin cc

Look how far our nation has come.

I don't have any wonderful anecdotes to share, nor do I have a particular family in mind for why I am blogging. I know so many loving LGBT families, it would be hard to choose. However, I wanted to lend my support to the 8th annual "It's Blogging for LGBT Families Day." 

I luckily grew up knowing and loving people from all walks of life. As a child, I didn't learn to put labels on people, or look for differences in them.  My parents sponsored Allied officers from other countries including Japan and Cambodia; so we were able to learn so much about other cultures. My mom's twin brother was gay and in a long term relationship from as early as I can remember, so I never learned anything other than we all love who we love. Perhaps that is why unorthodox families were not a big deal to me. I didn't realize until I was out on my own how different the world viewed things.  

I have three daughters who have grown up in a whole different world. This world is made up of young, vocal, tolerant children. That's fantastic. Yes, I know there is still way too much hatred and prejudice around us, but we really have come so far in a relatively short time.  It's hard to believe it was only in 1973 that the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their list of mental illnesses.  

I found a wonderful timeline of the gay rights movement.  I look forward to seeing how far we'll come as a nation in the next thirty years.  

Timeline . Stonewall Uprising . American Experience . WGBH | PBS     

Zachary Quinto vs. Leonard Nimoy: "The Challenge"

Gotta love this.

Absolutely great!

May Day History

I decided last night as I was laying in bed that today I was going to achieve some new goals for myself. I'm making my own New Year's resolution. For those of you that know me, it's shouldn't be too surprising that I'm doing this five months late. I didn't want to wait till after my anniversary or start on Monday or wait for a holiday, etc.

Ironically, today is a holiday. In fact, this day might have more holiday traditions than any other day. So, I thought I'd do a little research. 

The first of May was originally celebrated by pagans throughout Europe as the beginning of summer. A maypole was often used to celebrate.
Ribbons were tied at the top; young people would dance around the maypole and as the ribbons intertwined, couples would be formed. Often these couples paired off for the night to celebrate the day of fertility.
I remember dancing around the maypole in our schoolyard when I was a kid...but we didn't know what we were reenacting.

Beltane or Beltain, is the Gaelic May Day festival. It is most commonly held at midnight, April 30, halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals along with Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasadh. Rituals vary, but most include the symbolic use of fire.

In 1644 the British Parliament banned the celebration as immoral, but it was largely ignored. In an attempt to assimilate the festivities, the Church canonized Saint Walpurga on May 1st and she became associated with May Day as well, known as Walpurga's Night.

May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries and celebrated unofficially in many other countries as International Workers' Day in commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago where workers first fought for 8 hour work days. The day is full of demonstrations and often features elaborate parades. 

President Grover Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1st could lead to more riots, so he moved Labor Day to September 1st. May 1st then became Loyalty Day in the US. It is a special day for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom. 

Lastly, Hawaii celebrates the day as Lei Day.

photo credit: Pete Ashton via photopin cc

photo credit: Richard Milnes via photopin cc

Arthur Darvill in Once on Broadway

I think my daughter's fondest wishes have come true. Doctor Who and Broadway collide.

http://stagedoordish.com/doctor-who-star-hits-broadway-the-mysterious-appearance-of-arthur-darvill-in-once/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/apr/23/doctor-who-arthur-darvill-broadway-once


http://www.broadway.com/buzz/168938/doctor-whos-arthur-darvill-joanna-christie-set-as-new-leads-of-bways-once/

Darren Criss Listen Up... Summer Tour '13

I had to post this just for my daughter Allison and my daughter from another mother, Becca! Darren Criss is going on tour and making a new album. I need to hide the credit cards. :)

Theo Katzman will be opening on some dates of the tour and the schedule includes a free show in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he attended the University of Michigan, on June 13.

The LISTEN UP tour will visit both the United States and Canada, and Darren will be previewing new material from a new album which is reportedly being released on Columbia Records.

Fan pre-sale tickets for the tour go on sale April 25 at 10:00 AM at Facebook.com/DarrenCriss, with general tickets on sale April 27 at 10:00 AM.







LISTEN UP Tour Dates
May 29 - San Francisco - The Fillmore
May 30 - Los Angeles - House of Blues
May 31 - Anaheim, Calif. - House of Blues
June 3 - Dallas - House of Blues
June 4 - Houston - House of Blues
June 6 - Nashville, Tenn. - The Cannery Ballroom
June 7 - Indianapolis - Deluxe at Old National Centre
June 8 - Chicago - House of Blues 
June 10 - Minneapolis - Varsity Theater
June 12 - Toronto - Phoenix Concert Theatre
June 13 - Ann Arbor, Mich. - Sonic Lunch/Michigan Theatre *FREE SHOW
June 14 - Cleveland - House of Blues
June 27 - New York - Roseland Ballroom
June 28 - Philadelphia - Theatre of Living Arts
June 29 - Boston - House of Blues
June 30 - Silver Spring, Md. - The Fillmore

Sequel to Pitch Perfect... Cups (Pitch Perfect's "When I'm Gone")

 I love this video...Also, Universal announced at its CinemaCon presentation that it plans to produce a Pitch Perfect sequel that would hit theaters sometime in 2015.