Arlene foster, Northern Ireland's monster

I am incensed and bewildered. This is the same kind of shit the minority population have been putting up with from the DUP under the guise of religion for generations and it is no loner acceptable. Why could't the Church of Ireland (Anglicans) be the largest Protestant group in the province? If they were today, Catholics and Protestants would be governing in unity. The DUP's ranks are filled with nothing but a bunch of paranoids who adopted the belief and religious system of Southern state evangelicals in the US. Their divinity degrees come from Bob Jones and other third-rate US universities, etc. The United States government must refuse Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster permission to enter the US when permission is caught to enter. She is a white Mugabe. She is a bigot and supports hate. Her position against LGBT rights is untenable and her speech is full of vengeance because they dare to seek equality. This woman is quite simply a monster and must be replaced with someone who is enlightened and human.

There are consequences

Grey's Anatomy star, Isaiah Washington, admits he has some major issues he needs to address. In October, he attacked co-star Patrick Dempsey after Dempsey was angry that Washington called another of their co-stars, TR Knight, a 'faggot' when Washington was angry about being kept waiting on the set.

While it was common knowledge among the cast that Knight was gay, it was not common knowledge in Hollywood and Washington's public outburst effectively 'outed' him in a profession that is at best squeamish about having gay actors play leading roles. Being a human being as well as an actor, Knight felt he could not allow the slur to pass without comment and stood up to the plate to announce in an interview with People Magazine that he is gay and Washington was out of line.

Even more shocking, Washington (who'd apologized to the cast and suits at ABC in October about his outburst) showed he'd no balls and that money and retaining his job were of more importance than personal principle because he denied calling Knight a 'faggot' when asked about the October incident by a reporter as the entire cast was interviewed about their win backstage at the Golden Globes.

I do like Grey's Anatomy this season--last season, I stopped watching it as the plot lines were a bit too mushy and maudlin but am glad I gave it a second chance the writers are back on form--and like to forgive, but I think in this instance Washington must go. In America, we keep saying 'there are consequences to our actions' and this is a case where Washington must be made to pay the price. His apology in October appears to have been insincere.

It is not acceptable to use the 'N' word and it is not acceptable to use the 'faggot' word, either. Children have been beaten up and called 'faggot' for years in playgrounds--in fact, it's now conceivable Mr. Washington could have been one such bully during his school days--and Matthew Shepard was tied up, tortured and killed in a lonely Wyoming pasture for being a faggot. Have we not moved forward?

A producer of the show is reported as stating it's not acceptable to fire Washington and to think about replacing him with another black actor. She holds the view that that is insulting to blacks. Obfuscating or attempting to mitigate the real issue, HOMOPHOBIA, by introducing the issue of black discrimination is at best disingenuous. Forget about the tons of money you're earning and try and set the world right in this matter. It is good Mr. Washington is showing a willingness to change his attitudes but there are consequences and the price must be fully paid.