Thursday Night Power-Blogging

A busy day today, and after braving the mall to buy some Christmas presents, I need to blow off some steam. What better way than to exercise the mind with some good old-fashion power-blogging. So sit back and hold onto your hat.

Progress contines in Iraq, where democracy in action there puts the American electorate to shame:

Up to 15 million Iraqis -- including large numbers of Sunnis, who boycotted the January elections -- voted in historic parliamentary elections Thursday to establish a permanent democratic government amid only scattered violence.

The polls stayed open one hour later, until 6 p.m. local time (10 a.m. EST), because of such high turnout. Long lines were reported in some precincts, said commission official Munthur Abdelamir, some of which wrapped around neighborhood blocks. The commission said results will be announced within two weeks.

The brilliant actor Morgan Freeman says the more we focus on our differences in America, the longer the differences will remain:

Freeman notes there is no "white history month," and says the only way to get rid of racism is to "stop talking about it."

The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism.

"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," Freeman says.

Speaking of race, this analysis asserts that the fatality odds were actually against whites when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans:

But the state's demographic information suggests that whites in New Orleans died at a higher rate than minorities. According to the 2000 census, whites make up 28 percent of the city's population, but the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals indicates that whites constitute 36.6 percent of the storm's fatalities in the city.

African-Americans make up 67.25 percent of the population and 59.1 percent of the deceased. Other minorities constitute approximately 5 percent of the population and represented 4.3 percent of the storm's fatalities.

Overall for the state, 658 bodies have been identified. Forty-seven percent were African-American and 42 percent were Caucasian. The remaining bodies were either non-black minorities or undetermined.

The first couple (lesbians, of course) legally joined after Vermont passed its civil-union law in July 2000 are splitting up. Violent behavior is being blamed. BaT experts predict a mixing of green and red plaid in the wash is to blame:

Bari Shamas, a member of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, said gay relationships are prone to the same difficulties as heterosexual marriages.

"There's no proof that our relationships are any better than heterosexual relationships," Shamas said.

And these two may not be lesbians but they certainly are deserving of some violent behavior upon their empty heads:

Two German women have been arrested for giving a Hitler salute and singing a neo-Nazi song to foreign tourists on their way to Germany's Sachsenhausen concentration camp museum, prosecutors said Thursday.

Finally, you still have 45 minutes to vote for Ethan over at Brat Boy School for Best LGBT Blog of 2005. Go here now while there's still time. Every vote helps, and don't be discouraged by the current total. Some reconciliation of the numbers is possible once validation begins.