The rumbling tummy.

Just finished watching a documentary on the Weather Underground-- great documentary, very interesting subject matter. Makes me feel like ...well, I suppose, somewhat guilty for not being more involved in counter-culture, anti-government stuff. At the same time, while the Weathermen/Weather Underground had a SERIOUS point, a very real point... they were insane and depraved to stoop to destruction and violence. I understand the urge, but the reality is that violence really is not the answer. It is better to sit in protest in the face of death, than strike another human being down in cold blood, in order to 'save lives'. Not unlike anti-abortion extremists who kill abortion doctors.

I have an acid stomach, and this time I think it's this documentary that's worked me up. It's clear to me that our government and a handful of large corporations will stop at nothing to maintain their places at the top of the food chain. It's clear to me that my government is corrupt, that policians on both sides of the aisle are conspiring against average people, to keep themselves in powerful positions. I have lost all faith that the United States is a Democracy; the more I think about the past two elections, the way the Democrats just laid down and took the results of both elections, the corruption and illegal acts that the Republicans participated in... I've just lost all faith that this is Of, By, or For 'the People', other than the weathy and politically connected. How else can Samantha Buck be doing so well, anyways?

I'd love to start a counter-culture, anti-government movement. It's just that the problem with a counter-government movement is that people who WANT to disseminate power, give it back to the people... they aren't the kind of people who can LEAD very effectively! People like me don't want to keep power for themselves, alone-- they want it for everyone. True equality. But people like me are Beta, not Alpha --we're not not agressive, violent, self-centered and egomaniacal. A Beta will never win a popularity contest! So how can they lead a anti-corruption, counter-culture movement effectively?!

I've been abstaining from talking about politics on this blog (avoiding the blog, really)... because I am so digusted and disheartened with what I see, what I read and hear...

Well... another early morning awaits me, so I best get to bed.

Security.

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do we children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." --Helen Keller

I voted.

I voted this morning.
I was Ballot #1 in my precinct.

Now... we wait.

PREDICTION: Kerry is going to kick some ass today.

Remember when we used to just LAUGH at W?

Here, read:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/la-102804ads_lat,0,7592904.story?coll=la-home-headlines

That is hilarious. Had to C.G. in supportive troops. Gee I wonder why he couldn't find any... oh, that's because they're ALL IN IRAQ! Bush can't speak to a rally full of troops.. they're all too far away FIGHTING!

Or maybe it's also hard to find supportive troops, especially if they've already been to Iraq. I imagine it would take a lot of delusion (or pain meds) to be supportive of the guy who sent you to war, under false pretenses, when you're confined to a wheelchair, or missing a limb.

That's the poll I want to take. What percentage of wounded-in-action soldiers are planning to re-elect their Commander In Chief.

As for the Democrat reaction to the doctored ad: I wish, for once, that John Kerry would just laugh at W! Just LAUGH AT THE STUPID, FUCKING BUSH! Or let something go, instead of constantly being on the attack. At this point, the way they respond is Pavlovian.

I think it's sad. Kerry and his campaign people just don't have a sense of humor. That's what Bill Clinton had-- a god damned sense of humor.

If he really wanted to sway a voter, he'd come out laughing, and say, "Man, that's just SAD", shake his head, and talk about something else.

The Gay Issue in America: How one former isolationist became an activist.

Below was an email that was sent to me by my dear friend Howard Emanuel.


From: Howard Emanuel,
Subject: One Angry Man...In the Voting Booth
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 16:43:43 -0400


As most of you know, I lingered in the hospital for two and a half weeks this past April, suffering from an acute flare-up of ulcerative colitis, brought on by e-coli, of all things. Ulcerative colitis is an autoimmune disease where the white blood cells attack the colon, erroneously marking the large intestine as a foreign invader and attempting to eradicate it as they would any disease. (And for the record, my silly little white blood cells couldn't be more wrong! I wish they'd get the message!) I have been FINE for years and expect to continue to be so, but as a result of the flare-up, I lost some 45 pounds, my muscles atrophying to a dangerous, debilitating point.

I was fortunate that after a previous extended battle with my partner's employer (my partner of 5 1/2 years), we managed to acquire health insurance benefits for BOTH of us. These benefits included--for traditional, male/female couples ONLY, we later discovered--paid leave to care for an ill or recovering spouse.

A day after being discharged from the hospital (and just 3 1/2 weeks from beginning GUYS AND DOLLS at the Paper Mill Playhouse), I took a dangerous turn for the worse. I was passing out. I could not walk. And my god, the pain... Joey literally carried me from the couch to the bathroom and back again that morning, dragging my atrophied legs behind me. Because we'd lost an enormous amount of income during my illness (something from which we're STILL not recovered), and afraid he might lose his job, Joey had planned to return to work that day. But given my suddenly worsening state, he decided against it.

I reminded him that there are legions of friends “waiting in the wings” who are more than willing to help us. Thus, we made a few phone calls, and with a friend at my bedside ready to carry me to the bathroom and back, Joey returned to work, full of guilt, fear, and concern. And just one hour late. Now, had we been a married, male/female couple, he could have remained home under his employer’s policy. Because we were not, our option was to either lose yet another day’s pay or to leave me home to fend for myself.

Why am I bothering you with all this? Fair enough question. Let me try to answer…

After seeing a friend in 12 ANGRY MEN at the Roundabout Theatre (It's GREAT! Go see it!), I was forced to face the potential consequences of my silence and inaction. In America, one person telling their story can potentially sway a similar mind. The domino effect of changing minds can—and has—alter(ed) history itself.

At first glance, the consequences of Pres. Bush's failed Constitutional Amendment proposal banning same-sex unions seem inconsequential. (I do not agree.) At first glance, it might appear that his opposition to embryonic stem cell research, research which COULD potentially cure my disease, is unimportant. (Dana Reeve, wife of the late Christopher Reeve, and I do not agree.)

Because of the anti-gay support drummed up by Pres. Bush's Constitutional Amendment, what Frank Rich of the NY TIMES calls "fear and ugly rage," Virginia recently passed a law refusing to recognize ANY legal agreement between two members of the same sex that is seen by the state as "existing for the purposes of imparting a benefit normally reserved for marriage." This means that legal contracts imparting power of attorney, wills, medical directives, hospital visitation, child custody, joint bank accounts, and on and on and on, WILL NOT BE HONORED in the state of Virginia. While this new law CLEARLY interferes with people's right to enter into contracts and INDISPUTABLY violates the 14th Amendment guarantee to due process and equal protection...well...hey. Jim Crow violated all of this as well. Didn't it. Wait. Wasn't Jim Crow a similarly worded "law?" Well, it was swiftly overturned, at least. Wasn't it? Or was it.

Benefits imparted to some but restricted to others FOR ANY REASON is dangerously un-American.

Perhaps, as one newspaper put it, Virginia should change its state motto: "Virginia is for lovers. Some restrictions apply."

In January, shortly after the inauguration of the next president, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court William Rehnquist is expected to announce his departure from the bench. Through the course of the next administration, three additional Justices are expected to resign. The Constitutionality of Virginia’s law, along with one pending in Michigan that would allow doctors the right to refuse care to patients within 24 hours of learning that they are gay (can you BELIEVE it?) and a similar measure under consideration in that bastion of civil rights, Alabama--along with a woman's right to choose, along with stem cell research and countless other actions that will either further our democracy or hinder it, could be decided by the next Supreme Court--which will sit on the bench for decades to come.

The next president might well have the power to appoint FOUR Supreme Court Justices. Is this a power you really want George W. Bush to wield?

History shows that no right is truly guaranteed. Despite what the Constitution says, despite the governing ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence, every freedom ever granted to humanity has always been fiercely fought for, through angry cries for justice, civil disobedience, and revolutionary legislation.

This election day, ask yourself what kind of America WE are fighting for. Will freedom finally ring? Or will an invisible social tyranny reign for decades to come?

You have the power to decide…

With Love and Gratitude,
Howard Emanuel

P.S. Feel free to pass this along to anyone you wish (especially swing state voters who may be swayed positively by my argument) or to delete it with a sigh of agreement or, alas, dissention. Either way, On Tuesday, Nov. 2nd VOTE! And vote not just with your heart--BUT WITH YOUR MIND!

So Sayth The Liberal: "Now, I'm just tired."

Okay. I just want it to be over. I just want it to be November 2, and have it be over with.

As important as this election is, and as much as I hate W... I'm just tired of it. I'm tired of the candidates, BOTH of them, ALL of them, the whole LOT of them, and I wish they'd go away! I'm tired of politics and politicking, I'm sick of being horrified by ads, I'm bored with the talking heads in suits, I'm sick and tired, sick and tired, sick and tired!

And isn't this a waste? Really? This entire SHOW, the THEATER of it all... isn't it all just a waste of our time, and energy? AND MONEY? Isn't it a waste of TIME AND MONEY?

Here's how I think public officials should run for office.
There should be a brochure that comes out before the primaries, with each candidate's personal pledges, statements, and platforms. They should have to swear to these statements in a court of law, and be held accountable if they are caught lying, especially after being elected. During the primaries, the candidates travel to all states (not just Iowa and New Hampshire) before the candidate is chosen. The use of TV and radio commercials is PROHIBITED. (A political commercial doesn't have to be as truthful as a toothpaste commercial-- so what's the POINT?)

Once the candidate/s are chosen for each party, again, brochures are sent to every citizen, bearing sworn statements about what they will do as President/Congressman/Senator (NOT why their opponent sucks).

In October, there should be a series of debates, and these debates should be televised and broadcast on the radio, but again, NO COMMERCIALS. The debates should pre-empt EVERYTHING ELSE ON TV (this point is negotiable).

Then, in November, we vote. If you don't know which one of the candidates you like, at that point, too bad for you. We should not be pandering to the lowest common denominator by allowing them to make a decision based on nothing more than a series of cheap, bargain-basement ads, most of which are full of half-truths and out-and-out lies anyways. It's like Coke being allowed to say that Pepsi is "dangerous", while Coke brain function and sexual prowess! It's ridiculous! It's annoying to those of us who THINK, and I'm sick and tired of it.

"If you THINK, you tend to vote Democratic." ~Frm. President William Jefferson Clinton

"IF you think with the 99.98% of you which is genetically identical to the Apes, you tend to vote Republican." ~Frm. Liberal Activist, now re-Tired, Cara Burdick

Did he?... no, he didn't...

Oh, but he did. Did he really say that... like, right to her face? On national TV?

Oh... you bet he did.

Gwen Ifill asks Dick Cheney about the AIDS epidemic in the United States. She says, "I want to talk to you about AIDS, and not about AIDS in China or Africa, but AIDS right here in this country, where black women between the ages of 25 and 44 are 13 times more likely to die of the disease than their counterparts."

What was his response? Okay, well PART of it. But look it up, folks. About 3/4 of the way through, you can check the transcripts:

DICK CHENEY: "In some parts of the world, we‘ve got the entire, sort of, productive generation has been eliminated as a result of AIDS, all except for old folks and kids— nobody to do the basic work that runs an economy."

What did Cheney say we lose when young black women are dying of AIDS? Part of our "workforce". He did not even concede that young black women dying of AIDS are PEOPLE-- vital human beings with emotions and families and hopes and dreams.

NO, no, to Cheney, they're just part of the workforce.

And notice he didn't say, "Geez, we could be losing a whole next generation of leaders and thinkers!"... no, he's more concerned that maybe there won't be enough people to put little plastic parts together in his fucking BOMB factory.

John Edwards! You sunk my Battleship!