Duke City Derby

Real-life roller derby queens in the Duke City are more than just knocking around the idea of a league. They're on a knock-down, drag-out mission to take part in a rollicking renaissance.

Duke City Derby in the Albuquerque Tribune.

Providence Roller Derby

The brand new flat track Providence Roller Derby League will skate it's first bout this Sunday, May 1st.

The Providence Mob Squad will skate against the Sakonnet River Roller Rats.

Sunday, May 1.

Bank of America Skating Center.

Doors open at 3 pm, bout at 4 pm.

Admission is $5.

As this is an outdoor venue, May 8th is set as the Rain Date.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Providence Roller Derby

Putas vs. Rollers

The banked track Lonestar Rollergirls will skate this Sunday, May 1st.

The Putas Del Fuego take on the Holy Rollers

Sunday, May 1.

At the new Thunderdome.

Doors open at 6 pm, bout at 7 pm.

Tickets are $10.

Music by Stevie Tombstone and the Mudflaps.

Visit the Lonestar Rollergirls website for more info.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Lonestar Rollergirls, Putas Del Fuego, Holy Rollers

friday elfgirl blogging

friday random ten

Lauren has the instructions.

the lie and how we told it yo la tengo
garden of serenity ramones
lovely creature nick cave and the bad seeds
bodies sex pistols
come back glass eye
hammer horror kate bush
cops swans
male model sleater-kinney
(i'm) stranded the saints
surf cowboy throwing muses

Ask the Preznit

Gallup's April 18-21, 2005 national survey of 1,003 randomly selected Americans included this simple question: "If you could talk with President George W. Bush for fifteen minutes and give him advice about anything that's on your mind, what would you tell him?"

That the neo-conservatives are liars. They used 911 to attack Iraq. www.stopthelie.com would be useful to look at. Male, age 35

That he's an idiot because he turned the surplus to the deficit. Female, age 35

I guess take care of the senior citizens Social Security. Some kind of break for the poor folks. Male, age 54

Stop the (swear word) war. Male, age 56

Get our troops out of Iraq. Use the money being spent in Iraq and work on the awful problems in this country. Female, age 58

That if he is a real Christian that he should do what God would really want. Female, age 42

I'd probably go to jail for the rest of my life. Female, age 77

Via Dan Froomkin

Gore takes on the GOP

Remarks as prepared by former Vice President Al Gore
Washington, DC.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Unfortunately the virulent faction now committed to changing the basic nature of democracy now wields enough political power within the Republican party to have a major influence over who secures the Republican nomination for president in the 2008 election. It appears painfully obvious that some of those who have their eyes on that nomination are falling all over themselves to curry favor with this faction.

They are the ones demanding the destructive constitutional confrontation now pending in the Senate. They are the ones willfully forcing the Senate leadership to drive democracy to the precipice that now lies before us.

I remember a time not too long ago when Senate leaders in both parties saw it as part of their responsibility to protect the Senate against the destructive designs of demagogues who would subordinate the workings of our democracy to their narrow factional agendas.

Our founders understood that the way you protect and defend people of faith is by preventing any one sect from dominating. Most people of faith I know in both parties have been getting a belly-full of this extremist push to cloak their political agenda in religiosity and mix up their version of religion with their version of right-wing politics and force it on everyone else.

They should learn that religious faith is a precious freedom and not a tool to divide and conquer.

I think it is truly important to expose the fundamental flaw in the arguments of these zealots. The unifying theme now being pushed by this coalition is actually an American heresy -- a highly developed political philosophy that is fundamentally at odds with the founding principles of the United States of America.

We began as a nation with a clear formulation of the basic relationship between God, our rights as individuals, the government we created to secure those rights, and the prerequisites for any power exercised by our government.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident," our founders declared. "That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights..."

But while our rights come from God, as our founders added, "governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed."

So, unlike our inalienable rights, our laws are human creations that derive their moral authority from our consent to their enactment-informed consent given freely within our deliberative processes of self-government.

Any who seek to wield the powers of government without the consent of the people, act unjustly.

Over sixty years ago, in the middle of the Second World War, Justice Jackson wrote: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion."

His words are no less true today.

The Power And The Glory

Come and take a walk with me thru this green and growing land
Walk thru the meadows and the mountains and the sand
Walk thru the valleys and the rivers and the plains
Walk thru the sun and walk thru the rain

Here is a land full of power and glory
Beauty that words cannot recall
Oh her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom
Her glory shall rest on us all (on us all)

From Colorado, Kansas, and the Carolinas too
Virginia and Alaska, from the old to the new
Texas and Ohio and the California shore
Tell me, who could ask for more?

Yet she's only as rich as the poorest of her poor
Only as free as the padlocked prison door
Only as strong as our love for this land
Only as tall as we stand

But our land is still troubled by men who have to hate
They twist away our freedom & they twist away our fate
Fear is their weapon and treason is their cry
We can stop them if we try

--Phil Ochs

HJR 6: Bigots 102, Sane Lawmakers 29

"This amendment is blowing smoke to fuel the hellfire flames of bigotry."
Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston

HJR 6 Recorded Vote

Visit the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas website for updates.

Dear Leader

The Republican Party Loyalty Oath

...

Trust Fund Terrors vs. Tough Cookies

The banked track L.A. Derby Dolls will skate this Saturday, April 30th.

The Trust Fund Terrors take on the Tough Cookies.

Saturday, April 30.

At the Dollhouse, 182 Sotello Street in Chinatown.

Doors open at 7:15, bout at 8pm.

Advance tickets are sold out. There will be a limited number of tickets ($15) at the door.

Tickets to the May 7th bout between the Flight Crew and the Sirens are still available.

Visit the L.A. Derby Dolls website for more info.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, L.A. Derby Dolls

Rat City Rollergirls - April 30th

Seattle's flat track league, the Rat City Rollergirls will hold their second bout of the season this Saturday, April 30th.

The Throttle Rockets skate against the Sockit Wrenches in the first match.

The second match features the Derby Liberation Front vs. Grave Danger.

Saturday, April 30.

Southgate Roller Rink (9646 17th Avenue SW).

Doors open at 6 pm, bout at 7 pm.

Music by Betty X.

Advance tickets to the bout are sold out. A limited number of $15 tickets will be available at the door on the day of the bout.


Visit the Rat City Rollergirls website for more info.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Rat City, Seattle