Coleman's still got his legal battle to fight, apparently, wasting the taxpayers' dollars he complained about during the recount. I hope this isn't another one of those "Dewey Defeats Truman" things.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Oh. Hell. Yes.
Coleman's still got his legal battle to fight, apparently, wasting the taxpayers' dollars he complained about during the recount. I hope this isn't another one of those "Dewey Defeats Truman" things.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Progression is Unstoppable.
The pendulum swings. And as we as the human race discover more and more about our own minds and bodies, we have no choice but to progress. What's the quote? Something about once you learn something you can never go back?
Proposition 8 passed in California, my home state, and the state to which I will probably always swear allegiance, if it even makes sense to do that in this country or on this planet; to swear allegiance to one part of this whole floating all alone in the vastness of the universe is kinda stupid. But I digress.
Proposition 8 passed in California, banning gay marriage and ultimately determining that some people have more rights than others. I seem to remember (from my textbooks) that the same kind of shit went down in the 1950s and 60s with another oppressed group and, well, history is repeating itself.
I started writing a scathing entry to those in CA that voted to ban gay marriage yesterday, but I was too angry to talk straight (pun... intended?) so instead I let myself cool down and searched through my Facebook friends to find people that were pro-Prop 8 and promptly deleted them. C'mon, it's Facebook - don't talk to me about intolerance.
And this morning, I received an email from Prince Gomolvilas of Bamboo Nation who has been very vocal and eloquent in his fight against the hateful amendment. I include some of it here:
"It's unbelievable to me that so many people in the land of the free have effectively spit on the U.S. Constitution, which makes very clear: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." ...
Either the supporters of Prop 8 do not believe in the U.S. Constitution—or they simply do not consider gays and lesbians to be equal citizens of the United States. Neither explanation sits well with me. And if those notions don't give pause to even the staunchest opponents of gay marriage, then there is something fundamentally broken about their vision of this country.
But you know what? Despite the fact that I almost titled this post "Fuck You, California," I refuse to despair over this for a number of reasons.
First of all, supporters of Proposition 8 may have logged a victory and dealt a blow to equal rights, but theirs is an empty victory. It's been well-documented that their campaign of TV ads, e-mails, mailings, and direct appeals was built on a foundation of absurd scare tactics, distorted facts, and outright lies. Apparently, for them, the ends justify the shady means, and they do not take ethical implications into consideration, even when their God is watching them. But, deep down, I'm sure they realize that cheating to get to the finish line does not make them winners. And claiming that they are not being discriminatory and homophobic over and over again does not make it so. To them, I say, "Shame on you. Shame. On. You."
What we continue to struggle with is making people—even people within the gay community itself—understand the idea of interconnection. But it's simple, really. Cultures of intolerance—whether overt and ugly or whether hidden behind a "loving-the-sinner-but-hating-the-sin" veneer—communicate to society that treating gays as second-class citizens is acceptable, which leads to things like increases in anti-gay hate crimes. One thing does follow another. Diseases spawn many symptoms. And just because you can wash blood off your hands doesn't mean that the blood was never spilled.
Secondly, let's put things into perspective, lest we become consumed with gloom. In 2000, when the first proposition to propose banning gay marriage (Prop 22) was put to a vote, it passed with 61.4% approval. (It's the ban that was reversed by the California Supreme Court in May and that led to Proposition 8.) Prop 8 received 52.4% approval (as of this writing)—although the measure passed, it was a narrow win, and the 9% drop in supporters of the ban is nothing to scoff at."
There's more on Bamboo Nation.
"No one is free while others are oppressed."
Proposition 8 passed in California, my home state, and the state to which I will probably always swear allegiance, if it even makes sense to do that in this country or on this planet; to swear allegiance to one part of this whole floating all alone in the vastness of the universe is kinda stupid. But I digress.
Proposition 8 passed in California, banning gay marriage and ultimately determining that some people have more rights than others. I seem to remember (from my textbooks) that the same kind of shit went down in the 1950s and 60s with another oppressed group and, well, history is repeating itself.
I started writing a scathing entry to those in CA that voted to ban gay marriage yesterday, but I was too angry to talk straight (pun... intended?) so instead I let myself cool down and searched through my Facebook friends to find people that were pro-Prop 8 and promptly deleted them. C'mon, it's Facebook - don't talk to me about intolerance.
And this morning, I received an email from Prince Gomolvilas of Bamboo Nation who has been very vocal and eloquent in his fight against the hateful amendment. I include some of it here:
"It's unbelievable to me that so many people in the land of the free have effectively spit on the U.S. Constitution, which makes very clear: "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States." ...
Either the supporters of Prop 8 do not believe in the U.S. Constitution—or they simply do not consider gays and lesbians to be equal citizens of the United States. Neither explanation sits well with me. And if those notions don't give pause to even the staunchest opponents of gay marriage, then there is something fundamentally broken about their vision of this country.
But you know what? Despite the fact that I almost titled this post "Fuck You, California," I refuse to despair over this for a number of reasons.
First of all, supporters of Proposition 8 may have logged a victory and dealt a blow to equal rights, but theirs is an empty victory. It's been well-documented that their campaign of TV ads, e-mails, mailings, and direct appeals was built on a foundation of absurd scare tactics, distorted facts, and outright lies. Apparently, for them, the ends justify the shady means, and they do not take ethical implications into consideration, even when their God is watching them. But, deep down, I'm sure they realize that cheating to get to the finish line does not make them winners. And claiming that they are not being discriminatory and homophobic over and over again does not make it so. To them, I say, "Shame on you. Shame. On. You."
What we continue to struggle with is making people—even people within the gay community itself—understand the idea of interconnection. But it's simple, really. Cultures of intolerance—whether overt and ugly or whether hidden behind a "loving-the-sinner-but-hating-the-sin" veneer—communicate to society that treating gays as second-class citizens is acceptable, which leads to things like increases in anti-gay hate crimes. One thing does follow another. Diseases spawn many symptoms. And just because you can wash blood off your hands doesn't mean that the blood was never spilled.
Secondly, let's put things into perspective, lest we become consumed with gloom. In 2000, when the first proposition to propose banning gay marriage (Prop 22) was put to a vote, it passed with 61.4% approval. (It's the ban that was reversed by the California Supreme Court in May and that led to Proposition 8.) Prop 8 received 52.4% approval (as of this writing)—although the measure passed, it was a narrow win, and the 9% drop in supporters of the ban is nothing to scoff at."
There's more on Bamboo Nation.
"No one is free while others are oppressed."
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
T-Minus xxx Hours
Do we have to wait much past 10pm Central time to get our results already?
From 538.com: It's Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, Election Day in America. The last polls have straggled in, and show little sign of mercy for John McCain. Barack Obama appears poised for a decisive electoral victory.
Yes. We. Can.
Yes. We. Will.
And soon...
YES. WE. DID.
*tears of joy*
Right Exercised.
I hopped out of bed with unusual gusto at 6:45 this morning, pulled on some clothes and strutted out of my house with the confidence that I would be in and out of the polls that were right across the street from my house within 15 minutes. I stepped outside (into the amazingly warm fall morning - someone upstairs loves an election day!) and saw the line to vote, 10 minutes before the polls opened, already stretched across the parking lot, probably close to 150 people strong. I gasped, knowing I would not know the waning warmth of my bed again till tonight with this nonsense, but also feeling an overwhelming sense of pride in my democracy and its participants... and a fuzzy sensation of - you guessed it - change. Coffee in hand, I stepped back into my apartment for a minute to compose myself. This election and all it brings with it has gotten me worked up into a grateful and weepy citizen on more than four occasions. Just thinking about how I think tonight is going to go thrills me beyond words. I just can't wait to get our reactions on videotape and show it to my kids and say, "Look! This is the day America became the loving, supportive, and awesome country it is today. And the day we voted the first Black person into the Presidential Office!" And they'll say, so what, Mom? We've had Blacks, Women, Native Americans, Everyone in office! And I'll say, you little punk! You don't get it! Eat your organic Wheat-Os.
Two minutes pass as I let a tear of joy fall, I step out into the street and take my place in line. An hour later, after getting away without having to show my ID (I still have a New York ID. Gah! But I did bring my utilities bill just in case), I left with my red sticker and walked past the rest of the eager voters who had doubled in mass.
I can't wait till tonight.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
McCain: Human or disfunctioning android?
Okay, jokes aside, I do love seeing moments like this caught on film. It just makes me think, aw, McCain's a wacky guy - I'm sure I can love him like Biden does. I just don't want him as POTUS.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
I like to think I'm pretty self-aware.
Just this morning, I was thinking, man... I have been posting a lot of political stuff lately. Granted, it is the noise of our national atmosphere right now, but I like to think this blog is about all kinds of things. So, I'm giving you a break:
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
The Real World 3000: US Politics
Does anyone else get the feeling that we're just watching a reality TV show with this election? With the VP debates last night followed by seventeen hundred Anderson Cooper squints (can someone please make a YouTube montage of that?) (btw - on attempting to find an image of Anderson Cooper squinting, the first choice in the auto-text in my google box upon typing his name was "Anderson Cooper Gay") and a bunch of weird looking TV people giving their 10-word assessment of the night, I was so happy to turn off the tube and return to reality. Of course, then the conversation turned to what reality actually is. I have half a mind to recount that conversation here, to expound upon my non-fear of a McCain administration and my desire for the shit to hit the fan so that America can experience a rebirth from the ashes of holocaust, and how, no matter how important you think politics are, they are never above the laws of nature and the universe, which means that humans are susceptible to the same fate as say, the dinosaurs... but I digress.
Anyone else notice how Palin looked into the camera the whole time while answering questions? Biden answered straight to Gwen's face. I don't know if you've ever looked into a camera for an extended period of time, but either you are staring into a black hole or a reflection of yourself. There is extensive data about what it means when you cannot look another human in the eye with an answer. It means you're lying or you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Or it means you have a teleprompter and Biden was okay with it because he wanted a quasi-fair fight. CNN says that Biden won, but it was close, with 51 percent of debate-watchers (who are they polling anyway?) in favor of Biden. And then the CNN yahoos gave "grades" to each candidate on the website. My two favorites being: "She did well in a huge moment of pressure" and "She did well on style and stayed on message." Really? I will agree - I think that she totally stepped it up since the Couric debacle, but this is the same bullshit with Bush - an idiot for whom we have low expectations, hence when she does something better, we clap our hands and say "hooray!" like she's a little baby stacking blocks. Bottom line - Sarah Palin, as cute and "maverick" (did anyone play a drinking game with the amount of times she said that? You must have polished off a bottle of Cuervo) and whatever-other-American-pioneer-metaphor-you-want-to-apply she is, she is not qualified nor ready to be President of the US.
Also, why are Wall and Main streets the only streets that exist in America now? What about Skid Row? What about 125th Street? It really sickens me that it's about middle class v. upper class. Um, there's no middle without a lower class too. Didn't hear a word about poverty in America last night.
And did you see those freakin' winks? PALIN WINKED AT US. What is this, a joke? You smarmy, disgusting, pretty little worm? I mean, politics are fake, sure, but you're rubbing it in our faces.
Anyone else notice how Palin looked into the camera the whole time while answering questions? Biden answered straight to Gwen's face. I don't know if you've ever looked into a camera for an extended period of time, but either you are staring into a black hole or a reflection of yourself. There is extensive data about what it means when you cannot look another human in the eye with an answer. It means you're lying or you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Or it means you have a teleprompter and Biden was okay with it because he wanted a quasi-fair fight. CNN says that Biden won, but it was close, with 51 percent of debate-watchers (who are they polling anyway?) in favor of Biden. And then the CNN yahoos gave "grades" to each candidate on the website. My two favorites being: "She did well in a huge moment of pressure" and "She did well on style and stayed on message." Really? I will agree - I think that she totally stepped it up since the Couric debacle, but this is the same bullshit with Bush - an idiot for whom we have low expectations, hence when she does something better, we clap our hands and say "hooray!" like she's a little baby stacking blocks. Bottom line - Sarah Palin, as cute and "maverick" (did anyone play a drinking game with the amount of times she said that? You must have polished off a bottle of Cuervo) and whatever-other-American-pioneer-metaphor-you-want-to-apply she is, she is not qualified nor ready to be President of the US.
Also, why are Wall and Main streets the only streets that exist in America now? What about Skid Row? What about 125th Street? It really sickens me that it's about middle class v. upper class. Um, there's no middle without a lower class too. Didn't hear a word about poverty in America last night.
And did you see those freakin' winks? PALIN WINKED AT US. What is this, a joke? You smarmy, disgusting, pretty little worm? I mean, politics are fake, sure, but you're rubbing it in our faces.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Remember how I wanted to get a EU passport?
That desire is now re-kindled, thanks to Eddie Izzard stating he wants to run for parliament in a decade (scroll down). OH KAY!
via Parabasis.
via Parabasis.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Rockin' the Caucus
I caucused for the first time evar last night! It was my half-birthday, meaning I'm 15 and a half, and Trevs and I headed down to Hancock Elementary off Snelling Ave in the freezing cold (well, 20s - not too bad), to write our preferred candidate on a piece of paper and then leave because we couldn't be bothered with precinct delegates. I remember after reading "Stupid White Men" I wanted to become a precinct delegate in New York, but I lost steam on that because that's what I do with hair-brained ideas I get. I know this is a democracy and all, but I do not have the wherewithal to devote my time and life to knowing about politics. I have opinions, sure, and I vote, but I just want it to stop at that.
I can't even write anymore because I am lazy and stir-crazy. I've finally reached the point in my job where I'm so fidgety I can barely stay awake and I'm living for the weekend. 9-5 sucks my ass.
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