There is less than obvious beauty in this world, often times, right under our noses, perhaps far away from the banks of the Hudson, or yet again, right along those banks but lost in the shuffle of daily life.

by Cody Lyon
History shows that Democrats gave up on the South after the successful Southern strategy by Republican candidates who first latched onto racism and later pedaled hot button right wing social topics that played well in the Bible Belt, while the truly immoral injustices of economic, health and educational equity continued to fester in many parts of the region.

Cody Lyon
A January 15, gathering of "like minded" suburban democrats in Birmingham Alabama on healthcare reform unintentionally became a point of contention for some local LGBT members who can point to potential veins of hypocrisy deep inside the regional realty of politics, signs of conflicts within the very fundament of proclaimed liberal idealistic thinking.

In truth, one Congressman's (who happens to be Presidential candidate Barack Obama's local campaign chairman) statements exposed what might be seen as a disillusioning and ugly reality of American political life and perhaps the misguided faith in a system that continues to let many LGBT American citizens down.

The gambling parlors they've passed so far have all been closed. Maybe that's good, considering the warnings of a friend, who said, the odds for winning in those houses were bad, since in Alabama, there is no regulation, no gaming commission or lotto that's run by a public agency.

Can we please - please, please, please - start a substantive conversation on race in America?  There are ground rules though - no kicking, screaming, eye-gouging or biting allowed.  All participants have to agree not to put on silly hats or funky bandanas and march around with crosses or guns.  Think I'm being facetious?  OK - try having this discussion without the accompanying folderol.  Someone always has to start the button pushing - and immediately the ears close, the mouths open and for all intents and purposes we might as well be at a Jerry Springer taping.