The Malcontent

The Other Shoe Drops

I suppose it was the kiss of death to put a javascript counter at the upper-left counting up from the last time we received a "cease and desist" order.

On Sunday, the counter had finally reached 300 days.  Given the fact that I started the blog on July 25, 2005, that would mean we have never received such an order.

That is, until yesterday.

At least one lawyer out there seems to think that The Malcontent is infringing on his client's copyright.  His demand, however, is that we pull down 100 percent of all video and images related to this celebrity.

There are a couple of things wrong with this: First, we are not willfully infringing on anything, and that is very important from a legal standpoint.

And second, I always operate within the bounds of "fair use."  This is not some bittorrent site that is just making episodes of programs available willy-nilly.  It is a gay-related site, operated by a trained journalist, that provides portions of and commentary upon media materials of interest to the gay community.

Here is what the law says, in part, about "fair use":

[T]he fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

(Emphasis added.)

I think it's clear that this blog and the content we make available fit within those definitions.  I have never tried to pass off the copyrighted work of others as my own.

If additional disclaimer is required or the "substantiality" of the content can be negotiated, then it will be.  But a blanket demand for removal of content is absurd, and that will be my response to the attorney.

So that brings us to our poll (upper-right corner) — more of a quiz, actually: Which celebrity is responsible for our first C&D order?

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UPDATE: In the "making matters worse" category, look which "random" Google ad sometimes just happens to pop up when you click on the poll results button (I swear, this is not a commentary on the correct answer):

And Then There Were Two

Buh-bye, Elliott.  Tough call, but there are clearly a lot of palsy fans in the nation.

So who will win?  Who should win?  Take our two-question poll.

Or just view the results.

Can We Question Their Patriotism Now?

Witness how the howling mad moonbats are reveling (link is to anti-AMERICAblog's comments) in a wholly unscientific Web poll showing a significant majority — 64 percent at this writing — answering in the affirmative to the following:

Do you agree with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's severe criticism of U.S President George W. Bush?

This is Hugo Chavez, people.  Not Hugo Boss or Hugo Weaving or even the late Victor Hugo.

Hugo Chavez, who hates not just George Bush but this country.

Hugo Chavez, best buddy and protege of the most retrograde and despicable dictator in the Western Hemisphere.

Hugo Chavez, who might just make the current price of gas look like a Costco-style bargain.

Hugo Chavez, who apparently wants to sell our own warplanes to the most fanatical regimes on Earth, regimes that constantly threaten their neighbors with complete annihilation and lie about their production of nuclear weaponry.

So are you one of those 64 percent?  If so, then congratulations: You have crossed the line from run-of-the-mill, blinkered Bush-hatred to borderline treason.

Sometimes the enemy of your enemy should just be ... your enemy.

Bush Freefall Continues

The latest: 29 percent.

Splitting the Baby

"Like it" made a valiant last-minute charge, but it was clear that a solid majority of you don't like "Gay Day."

But there were also passionate arguments in favor of keeping this feature that so many love to hate.

So with nothing less than the wisdom of Solomon, I am inflicting upon myself the worst of both worlds: "Gay Day" stays, but most or all of it will be relegated to the "jump page" so as not to inconvenience those with rheumatoid arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome, or who just haven't yet learned how to operate a mouse.

So let it be written; so let it be done.

Gay Day: Like It or Lump It?

OK, it seems the very existence of the "Gay Day" feature has caused a mini-fracas.

Seeing as how I'm not completely immune to democracy – and how I'm in favor of sparing myself needless work – I have posted a poll on the left sidebar, if you care to answer it.

And if anyone can tell me how to include polls within the body of a Typepad post, by all means.  (Typepad does some funky stuff to formatting within posts that screws up a lot of stuff.)

A Taylor-Made Idol?

I think Robbie might bring some "American Idol" highlights today – including a Paula montage that will showcase her mysterious blubbering after Elliott's performance, and stomping her feet after Chris sang like a horse that knows how to do math.

But I wanted to provide the latest dialidol.com update:  It shows Kellie and Paris battling it out for the bottom spot, with Paris the one who will be going home.  It continues to baffle me how Americans are so mesmerized by the ditzy, daffy blonde that they simply can't hear her terrible singing.  I've heard racist jokes that were less off-key than she was the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, Taylor continues to have a very slight edge on Chris for first place, with Elliott not far behind.

If that spastic freak wins, I think I will finally be cured of my "Idol" addiction.

The People Have Spoken

Malcontent readers believe, by a margin of 55-45, that snarky comments made about gender-confused "American Idol" contestants do indeed constitute homophobia.  (Some of you need thicker skins!)

The next poll is actually a short survey.

Have you ever wondered what kind of behavior and etiquette others use in public restrooms?  Well, we have, because we're sick fucks.  Take the completely confidential survey now ...

UPDATE: I should have figured out how to do this sooner, but you can watch a running tally of the results here.

Do Me a Favor

Vote for Rod.

Show With Many, Many Gays Homophobic?

There's a new poll on the right sidebar.  I'm curious what everyone makes of the kerfuffle GLAAD kicked up over remarks Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson made last week on "American Idol."  Do you think what they said was homophobic?  (The main comments cited involve telling one contestant to shave his beard and "wear a dress," while another male contestant of severely ambiguous gender was asked if he was a girl.)

We posted a little video on this here.

More Contests, More Opportunities To Alienate People

Within the next few days, I will be posting New Year's resolutions of assorted digerati among the blogosphere.  One of my own resolutions, after the clusterfuck that was the Weblog Awards (and our endorsement of blog-pal Ethan), should be to steer as clear of those things as possible.

But since it isn't 2006 yet, allow me a couple of more plugs for friends:

The boys at GayPatriot have searched high and low to find "Conservative Blogress Divas," seeking to prove that diva status is not limited to the left.  Their nominees are here, and you can vote here.  (Gay-hating venom-spewer LaShawn Barber isn't nominated?  The fix is in!)

Our endorsements are usually only good enough for a solid second-place finish, so I don't know if it is a blessing our a curse that I will be voting for Bridget Johnson (AKA "GOP Vixen.")  She's funny, irreverent, smart, and she needs the publicity more than some of the others.  Plus, she's always been good to this site, and is very friendly to the gays!

And finally, my friend Ran has the dubious distinction honor of being nominated for Gizmodo's "Dork Contest Finals."  Follow the link and tell me that it doesn't get much dorkier than a kid in a Spock T-shirt who looks so pleased with himself at meeting Leonard Nimoy. 

Come to think of it, maybe it's Nimoy who should have been nominated.

(Unless they are rotating the nominees, he is eighth on the list.)

Toussaint? Too Much!

The bus drivers in New York earn an average of $63,000 (bus drivers!) and are asking for 8 percent raises every year for three years.  Can anyone tell me another class of workers in America who are so notoriously lazy and so unskilled who make that kind of money, and who also have the cojones to ask for that much more?

And how many other workers would be justified in arguing that anything more than zero paid toward their own healthcare is too much?  (I don't know about you, but my premiums alone are about $3,000 a year, which doesn't count deductibles, copays or my husband's premiums.  So it's hard for me to have a lot of sympathy when the union says 1 percent of their salary is too much to pay for their health.)

The Manhattan Offender is running a poll seeking to assign blame in the NYC transit strike.  Of course, he favors these upper-middle-class "underdogs" of the Transit Workers Union.

But if what you already know wasn't enough to convince you, a New York Daily News editorial provides a tidy indictment of Roger Toussaint, the union leader.  [HT: Chad]

My Last Post on This Inanity

Well, it is all over except for the recriminations and gloating.

And since I can't gloat, I will recriminate.

Cheers to Ethan, who came in a strong second as "Best LGBT Blog."  Not bad for a rookie whose more conservative "competitors" fought bleached tooth and manicured nail among themselves until about two days ago.

As this contest never really was about the "best" LGBT blog, I should congratulate the winner and her supporters on having the more extensive email list, and their ability to level stinging charges against Ethan, such as his status as a melanin- and estrogen-deprived American.

And, yes, I congratulate them on having ardent supporters.  They are a people who have lost a lot of elections lately, so I will afford them a wide berth for the witless, juvenile things they have said.

Jeers to the latest of these, which comes courtesy of blog pioneer and spoiled child VividBlurry, who demeaned himself with his last-minute smears against Ethan.  Toby "Zero Covers of Instinct" Halliwell's gratuitous shot at Ethan's "questionable good looks" was so transparently Freudian that I had to laugh.  We haven't seen Toby posting quite so many pictures of his own abs lately.

So Toby writes better than Ethan (in his increasingly infrequent posts), and he wants everybody to know it.  It's completely understandable that someone whose own looks and readership are in decline would lash out at an up-and-coming blogger's appearance and readability.  Project much, Toby?

And as always, it wouldn't be an election if there weren't moonbats exhuming the meme that stolen elections are legitimate only when they do the stealing.  The real lesson appears to be that liberals have the better email lists.  Because, you know, their ideology is so connecting with the voters that matter.

Finally, Jeers to Wizbang.  Any "Best LGBT Blog" contest without The Pen15 Club is no contest at all.

I don't know how they determine these things, but right-of-center bloggers were clearly overrepresented among the nominees.  If it was engineered to grease the way for a conservative victory, any nitwit could have known it would actually make it easier for the lefties to coalesce around a single candidate.  Indeed, I would wager that Pam is the only woman Mike Rogers has ever really "gotten behind," so that in itself was an accomplishment.

The bottom line is that this whole experience taught me what a waste of time it would be to go vote-grubbing in future "Best Blog" contests.  Nope, not gonna do it.

UPDATE: The oh-so-patronizing Toby piles on ...

Time Is Running Out

I notice a few of you are still voting for this site as "Best LGBT Blog," despite our days-old endorsement of Brat Boy School's Ethan Reynolds.

Please, people.  I am not Ross Perot or Ralph Nader here.  Don't waste your vote!

Vote Brat Boy School ... now!  You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time tonight.  Vote for Ethan, January's Instinct cover boy, and you will be able to say "you knew him when ..."!

Brewing Up a Steaming Cup of Tripe

Mike Rogers, who has never met a poll that he didn't want to skew, is at it again.  The master of masturbatory self-appreciation has mysteriously stepped aside in the Weblog Awards to promote leftist hatemonger Pam Spaulding of "Pam's House Blend" for "Best LGBT Blog."

Look, if calling the President "Chimpy" and making vile comparisons between the merely bigoted religious right and the murderous, barbaric Taliban is your idea of useful, trenchant commentary, then by all means, hand victory in this whole silly business over to her.

If you're basing your vote on a left-leaning political label, good for you.  But why not throw your support instead to a worthier blog, like Shades of Gray, Towleroad, or Good As You?

Better yet, consider a vote for one of our right-leaning buddies like Gay Patriot, Brat Boy School, or (returning champ) Boi From Troy ... or, of course, for more quality video and other fine "Mal" content.

Landslide!

The polls are closed, all precincts have reported in, and The Malcontent's fish mascot has a new name:

Rudy Alert

Hizzoner's flirtations with a presidential run have now been elevated to grope status.

You think this might have something to do with it?:

In a new Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) would lose to both Rudy Giuliani (50-39%) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (49-38%) (release).  [HT: Hotline's Last Call!]

So I'm Not a Libertarian. *SHRUGS*

Well, my new co-blogger has done it, so I guess I had better too, for point of reference. [Hat tip: everyone.]

I am a Social Moderate (56% permissive) and an... Economic Conservative (86% permissive) I am best described as a: Capitalist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

A Very Fishy Poll

See the cute, little, world-weary fish I put up on my banner, blowing bubbles every few seconds?  I brought him home from the pet store the other day to audition him/her as a possible Malcontent Mascot.  (Many bloggers have dogs; I do not like to pick up poopies with a plastic bag.)

The problem is, my piscatorial friend doesn't have a name.  And that's where you come in:

I thought about possibly calling him "Malcolm," or maybe 3M ("Malcolm, the Malcontent Mascot") for short.  But a blog is supposed to be a dialog, not a lecture.

So it is up to you to suggest names for him (in the comments section), and when a sufficient number of good nominees come in, we'll have a vote.  Or maybe I should flush the fish altogether?

Either way, it's up to you.  Just don't disappoint me like my last poll.

You Are (Rudy) Getting Very (Rudy) Sleepy (Rudy)

Enjoy this cool, tag-enabled, presidential straw poll.  And my guy is walking away with it!  [Hat tip: AGR]

As an added bonus, it comes with more trackbacks than the Swiss Alps.

Gay Marriage "Backlash" Update

One of the reasons some gay conservatives like our friends over at GayPatriot have been a bit hesitant to get four-square behind equal marriage rights is the whole notion that it is all "too much, too soon."  (Of course, like most things, their critique is a bit more nuanced than that.)

Putting aside for a moment how the closely clipped hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the notion of sitting at the back of the bus, there is new evidence that the tide continues to turn in the favor of the fair-minded, and fears of backlash are dissipating:

Support among American voters for same-sex marriage has rebounded to its highest point since July 2003 and for the first time, a majority favors giving gay and lesbian couples many of the same rights as married couples.

While 53% of those polled by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press oppose gay marriage, 35 percent said they favor gay marriage.  That is the highest number of people supporting same-sex marriage since the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court took up the marriage issue in 2003, ultimately ruling in November that year that gay couples could wed.

[...]

Fifty-three percent, the same number as oppose gay marriage, would permit gays and lesbians to enter into legal arrangements that would give them many of the same rights as married couples.

It has been more than a year now since Goodridge.  The sun continues to rise in the east and set in the west.  Yes, there have been setbacks in some states and over some issues.  But equality is undeniably on the march in this country and several others around the world.

We still believe that the entire debate will be nothing more than a distant memory within our own lifetime.

But until then, we will be traveling to Massachusetts next week with our partner to partake firsthand in this hard-fought and fundamental right.  And we salute all the the courageous pioneers who have gone before us who have made it possible.

A Very Kinky Poll

Disco-loving blogger Joe.My.God polled his blogger buds in an effort to see who has the kinkiest story from their kinky, sordid pasts.  The results are as hilarious as they are enlightening.  [WARNING: Link is text, but NSFW]

As a salute to those lovers of libertinism who bravely stepped forward with their hedonistic confessionals, The Malcontent is conducting a poll of its own to select The Best J.M.G. Tale of Kink.  (Besides, there is just something about the juxtaposing of "poll" and "kink" that we love.)

Out of the 23 stories, we have limited the poll to 20 contestants (arbitrarily lopping off the anonymous entrants), mainly because our polling software supports only 20 candidates.  As a new blog, we will tabulate results long enough to ensure a statistically relevant outcome.  You can vote once a day, so it's time to put democracy to work!

Whose J.M.G. "Tale of Kink" is the best?
	RJ @ Daily Blaque
	Brian @ Faggoty-Ass Faggot
	Farmboyz @ Perge Modo
	Lee @ Glitter For Brains
	Homer @ Homer's World
	Joe @ Joe.My.God.
	Jim @ Jimbo.Info
	John @ Johnny Is A Man
	Lady Bunny @ LadyBunny.net
	Leanne @ Liliane, Bi-Dyke
	Jake @ NoFo
	Paul @ No Milk
	Colin @ Planet CH
	Erik @ Robocub
	Stellina @ Sabred Tongue
	Faustus @ Search For Love
	Chad @ Stop Touching My Food
	Victor @ V-Hold
	Van @ Vanguard, A Miscellany
	Mark @ Zeitzeuge
Free polls from Pollhost.com