Patrick Swayze Fights Stage Four Pancreatic Cancer

Truly heartbreaking, as it is with anyone. Recent startling pictures have been published showing a 105 lb Patrick Swayze out & about at a gas station en route to the hospital. I won't post any here, out of respect for him and his family. They are online everywhere, should you care to search them out.

From justjared.buzznet.com:

The 56-year-old Dirty Dancing star reportedly weighs only 105 lbs and has been undergoiing chemotherapy. Swayze was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer last year and recently said that he may have only two years to live.

Reports say that the beloved star has decided to go forward with a “Do Not Resuscitate” order, requiring doctors to let him die in the event that he stops breathing or his heart stops beating. Whoopi Goldberg recently said, “You know what, he’s doing what everybody else is doing, he’s taking it one day at a time. He does not have an expiration date on his backside - none of us do we just know at some point it’s going to happen and that’s how he’s looking at it.”

Part 1 (of 5) of a Barbara Walters interview dated January 2009:



If you wish to send a Get Well card or message of support to Patrick by mail, please send it to:

WKT Public Relations
335 North Maple Drive Suite #351
Beverly Hills CA 90210
(courtesy of his fan club website)

Betty Brown: Asians Should Change Their Names to Make Them 'Easier for Americans to Deal With'

On Tuesday, State Rep. Betty Brown (R) caused a firestorm during House testimony on voter identification legislation when she said that Asian-Americans should change their names because they’re too hard to pronounce:

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.

Brown later told [Organization of Chinese Americans representative Ramey] Ko: “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

Yesterday, Brown continued to resist calls to apologize. Her spokesman said that Democrats “want this to just be about race.”

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I emailed her:

Ms. Brown,

I will keep this short & to the point. I am shocked & baffled by your quote: “Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?”

This is not only a fatuous remark, but an insult to all Americans, and a further advancement of the deeply ingrained stereotype of Texans as redneck hicks.

Tonight I am ashamed.

Jase Donaldson
Dallas, TX

You can too

Vermont Close to Legalizing Gay Marriage

The state motto says it all: Freedom and Unity. Many of my gay brethren and lesbian...sistren(?)...you get the idea...in the Green Mountain State are no doubt jumping for joy this evening, as the Vermont Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the state, by a vote of 26-4.



The House has scheduled a meeting on Tuesday to consider the bill to legalize same-sex marriage within the state, and is expected to similarly pass the bill into law.

Peep the story over at CNN

Natasha Richardson's Shocking Death at 45

I am stunned and saddened by the swift and tragic passing of Natasha Richardson from a fall while skiing on Monday. The whole ordeal is so horrific, and for me personally, brings up memories of when my own mother suffered a brain injury several years ago. Fortunately, she survived it. My thoughts and prayers tonight are with Ms. Richardson's adoring family. She will be sorely missed by masses of people the world over. My heart truly goes out to her loved ones.

From Yahoo News:

NEW YORK – Natasha Richardson, a gifted and precocious heiress to acting royalty whose career highlights included the film "Patty Hearst" and a Tony-winning performance in a stage revival of "Cabaret," died Wednesday at age 45 after suffering a head injury from a skiing accident.

Alan Nierob, the Los Angeles-based publicist for Richardson's husband Liam Neeson, confirmed her death in a written statement.

"Liam Neeson, his sons (Micheal and Daniel), and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," the statement said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

The statement did not give details on the cause of death for Richardson, who suffered a head injury when she fell on a beginner's trail during a private ski lesson at the luxury Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. She was hospitalized Tuesday in Montreal and later flown to a hospital in New York.

Family members had been seen coming and going from the New York hospital where Richardson was taken.

Vanessa Redgrave, Richardson's mother, arrived in a car with darkened windows and was taken through a garage when she arrived at the Lenox Hill Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side about 5 p.m. Wednesday. An hour earlier, Richardson's sister, Joely, arrived alone and was swarmed by the media as she entered through the back of the hospital.

read the rest here...