A recent series of hate crimes can be attributed to several factors. The large number of guns out there in America makes it easy to commit hate crimes. Additionally, we live an increasingly morally and intellectually deteriorating society where reason is being crowded out by hate. That is the legacy of the Bush years. Lowering standards of living with no hope in site leave many alienated and frustrated. Those are the ones willing to through their lives away by seeking vengeance against some scapegoat. Further inflaming them is the hateful rhetoric of one party that is willing to incite this element. And most of that hate is directed at Barack Obama.

This concerns me greatly. And it should you. It is a culture of hate reminiscent of the Kennedy years. And it could end up the same way. And if it does, the Republicans will be largely to blame.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Update: This article by the well known NY Times columnist, Frank Rich, echoes my words. I did not read it until after I had written the above.

H.I.V. Found in 22 Actors in Sex Films Since 2004

This is another reason why the porn industry should be shutdown. Porn "actors" should be treated like regular prostitutes under the law. And porn producers should be treated like pimps:

Health officials in Los Angeles said Friday that 22 actors in adult sex movies had contracted H.I.V. since 2004, when a previous outbreak led to efforts to protect pornography industry employees.

The officials accused an industry-supported health clinic of failing to cooperate with state investigations and of failing to protect not only industry workers but their sexual partners as well.

“We have an industry that is exposing workers to life-threatening diseases as part of their employment,” said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health for Los Angeles County. “That is outrageous and anachronistic. These infections are virtually entirely preventable.”

They are breaking the law. Shut them down:

Occupational health officials have long argued that failing to require that performers wear condoms during intercourse and other acts is a violation of safe-workplace regulations.

But Deborah Gold, a senior safety engineer with the California occupational health department, said violations in the pornography industry were so widespread that the state had a difficult time cracking down.

“Many of these companies have two sound stages where they do two to four scenes a day with actors hired from talent agencies,” Ms. Gold said. “In that case, it’s clearly a violation” to have performers have sexual intercourse without condoms.

Six Flags Files for Bankruptcy

A sign of the times:

Six Flags, the big theme park operator, filed for bankruptcy in early Saturday morning in Delaware after failing to reach an agreement with lenders over a plan to reorganize its debt outside of court.

Six Flags became only the latest company to prove unable to cope with its debt load at a time when previous solutions like refinancings are largely unavailable. The theme park operator, which had $2.4 billion in debt, faced nearly $300 million in payments to preferred stockholders due in August.

But the company is hoping to make its ride through bankruptcy a short one. In a statement, Six Flags said that it is seeking court approval for a pre-negotiated restructuring plan, one that has the unanimous approval of its lenders. That proposal would eliminate $1.8 billion in debt and slice off the $300 million in preferred stock payments.

“The current management team inherited a $2.4 billion debt load that cannot be sustained, particularly in these challenging financial markets,” Mark Shapiro, Six Flags’s chief executive, said in a statement. “As a result, we are cleaning up the past and positioning the Company for future growth.”

In its bankruptcy filing, Six Flags said that 37 of its subsidiaries, including parks like Great Adventure and Hurricane Harbor, had also sought court protection. The parks will continue to operate normally, but analysts have questioned whether attendance would fall off as some consumers shun waiting in line for roller coasters at a bankrupt theme park operator.