A Small Victory

Because we are moving (to the next town over), my kids will be switching school districts come September. I was originally worried about this, as Nat will be attending the now infamous Mepham High School. Much like voting for a president, sometimes one has to decide which issues are the most important. Besides the logistics - not to mention the illegality - of keeping Nat in our school district, there's the matter of academics. It looks like we're getting the better end of the bargain in that area by sending her to Mepham (compare Mepham with EMHS). The deal with DJ is even better. Instead of going to middle school in September, like he would with our current district, he'll get another year of elementary school, which I think he could use. I've always been against sixth grade being part of middle school, anyhow. He gets to go to a school that parents rave about, he already knows a few kids there and - the best part - it's across the street from the new house. The only downside I can find is that the name of the school is Dinkelmeyer, which elicits giggles from the kids every time I say it. So, yea. I'm sure you were all very interested in this, but posting it here makes it easier when friends and relatives ask me why I'm doing a 180 on the school district thing. Copy, paste, email.

Posted by me at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (1)

Doh! I moved the quiz over to my other page. Where quizzes and the like are supposed to go. psssst...there's nothing here. go back

Posted by me at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)

I just bought myself a present. They're plush. I can snuggle with them. But I won't. I plan on being really nice to Meatwad and Frylock, but I'm going to beat the shit out of Master Shake. He's a bastard. It will feel good to literally knock the stuffing out of him for every time that he hurt poor Meatwad. Hey, I got something for you. Schoolly D - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Theme (mp3) Lyrics below. Raise your hands in the air like you just don't care. Yo. Shake-zula, the mic rulah, the old schoolah you wanna trip, I'll bring it to ya. Frylock and I'm on top rock you like a cop Meatwad you're up next with your knock-knock.... Meatwad make the money see, Meatwad get the honeys G Drivin in my car, livin' like a star Ice on my fingers and my toes and I'm a Taurus. Cause we are the Aqua Teens. Make the homeys say ho and the girlies wanna scream. Cause we are the Aqua Teens. Make the homeys say ho and the girlies wanna scream. Aqua Teen Hunger Force number one in the hood, G

Posted by me at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Look ma, no controversy! I'm really working hard on this disco themed post I'm writing. So don't forget to help me. I'm also writing something lengthy about Jesus, but I don't think you can help me with this one. Unless you can raise Pilate from the dead so he can answer a few questions for me. Hey, get Herod over here while you're at it. Speaking of Jesus. Man, that was frightening. Someone should animate that with Flash and set it to music. I bet Quiznos would buy it and name a sandwich after it. We like the Dean... We like the Christ... Mel Gibson is teh suck.

Posted by me at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

And the Super Bowl fallout continues.

U.S. regulators should consider whether radio and television services carried by cable and satellite must adhere to indecency standards, Federal Communications Commissioner Kevin Martin said on Wednesday.

No. No they shouldn't. I pay a ridiculous amount of money every month so I can get all the smut, cursing, violence and vulgar entertainment I want. I choose those station. They don't magically appear on my television unless I specifically call my cable company and say "Give me my Cinemax!" I control my own airwaves, because I pay for that right. I certainly don't think it would be fair for me to fork over $88 every month just so I can have my movie choices hindered by someone else's idea of indecency. This is about choice and freedom. No one is making you subscribe to the Playboy Channel. Even with basic cable, you get a remote that allows you to block certain channels. If you have a television in your kids' rooms, block the channels you find offensive. If you don't trust that the magic buttons on the remote will keep your kids from watching some ultra violent movie, then don't allow cable into your home in the first place. It's a choice. You choose to bring those movies and programs into your home. While I do believe that cable companies should offer more freedom with their packages, i.e., the ability to pick and choose your channels rather than subscribe to a pre-made package - my Spidey-sense is still tingling about this. Where does it stop? When does the FCC come to the realization that I do not need them to babysit me? Neither cable tv nor satellite radio are given away are accesible for free to anyone who wants them. When you sign up for either, you sign up for a certain amount of entertainment that you may find offensive. Don't like it? Don't subscribe. But don't go around making rules and regulations as if you know what's good for me. If I thought nudity and the word "mother fucker" and bloody knife fights were offensive, I wouldn't be getting 200 channels of blessed digital cable in my home. And I wouldn't be purchasing satellite radio for my car. The FCC must stop acting as if they were everyone's parents. Where does the line get drawn? Whose standard of decency to we use to curtail what is seen on pay television? What the hell happened to deciding for ourselves what kind of entertainment is seen or heard in the privacy of our own homes? I thought a conservative government meant less laws, not more. Step up and repudiate this idea, then. I'm just waiting for the day when some government regulation installs a curse jar in my house and comes to collect my Quarters of Indecency every month. Fuck that.

Posted by me at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBacks (2)

Ok, I'm back on the controversy wagon. I stole this whole thing verbatim from Andrew Sullivan and I'd like your comments. Note: This was not Sullivan's writing, but an email he received from a Republican lawyer. The FMA as a Trojan Horse

Now that opponents and proponents of gay marriage are all riled about the FMA its time to talk about the true impact of including a definition of marriage in the Constitution. The potential impact of inclusion of the FMA will effect every American straight or gay because the FMA is not about gay marriage, it is a dangerous Trojan Horse that could completely redefine the powers of the federal government. As an attorney who is researching this issue, let me explain to the best of my ability, why I haven’t been sleeping well since Tuesday. Under the Constitution of the United States there is no express right to privacy, rather this right to be free from excessive government interference in our personal lives has arisen from Supreme Court precedent that cites the lack of regulation of intimate relationships and the protections of the bill of rights as the basis for an inference of the right to privacy. The right to privacy, according the Supreme Court is found in the penumbras and emanations of these two factors. A shadow of a right, very delicate and now threatened. By including a provision regulating the most intimate of relationships into the Constitution, the traditional analysis that the court has used to limit government power will be fundamentally changed and the right to privacy, if it is not destroyed completely, will be severely curtailed. As a result, decisions like Roe v. Wade, (Abortion), Griswold v. Connecticut (Birth Control), Lawrence v. Texas (Private Sexual Acts), will all be fair game for re-analysis under this new jurisprudential regime as the Constitutional foundation for those decisions will have been altered. A brilliant strategy really, with one amendment the religious right could wipe out access to birth control, abortion, and even non-procreative sex (as Senator Santorum so eagerly wants to do). This debate isn’t only about federalism, it’s about the reversal of two hundred years of liberal democracy that respects individuals. So why isn’t anyone talking about this aspect of it?

The floor is open.

Posted by me at 07:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (64) | TrackBacks (1)

In all my sound and fury, signifying nothing, emotional vomiting yesterday, I forgot two note two anniversaries. Jay Solo celebrated his first full year of blogging and Matt Drachenberg now has two years under his belt. Congrats on all that time putting out great stuff, guys. I'm working on something to post later on (something that does not involve war, religion or hurt feelings), and I need your help. It's actually something worse than war, religion and hurt feelings. It's disco. Go over to SQotD and play a little word association. It's for the good of the world, you know.

Posted by me at 07:29 AM | Permalink

I leave you tonight with a song. Elvis C. - What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding? (mp3) Those three things aren't just for tree-hugging hippies, you know. As I walk through This wicked world Searchin’ for light in the darkness of insanity. I ask myself Is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred and misery? And each time I feel like this inside, There’s one thing I wanna know: What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? And as I walked on Through troubled times My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes So where are the strong And who are the trusted? And where is the harmony? Sweet harmony. ’Cause each time I feel it slippin’ away, just makes me wanna cry. What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? So where are the strong? And who are the trusted? And where is the harmony? Sweet harmony. ’Cause each time I feel it slippin’ away, just makes me wanna cry. What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh What’s so funny ’bout peace love & understanding?

Posted by me at 08:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

[this is the standard "written on the fly and in the heat of passion" disclaimer. typos, bad grammar and spelling and mixed metaphors may or may not be edited later. this is raw meat.] Ten. That's how many emails I received today from people telling me that they, too had been cast aside by old friends because of political differences. Ten people who once had good friends, but one date - that date being September 11, 2001 - drew a line between them. I've been living on that line for two years now. I had been doing a balancing act for a while, swaying to the left and right, wondering on which side of the line I would eventually fall. That I had to fall on one side was not my idea, it was the idea of people pulling me - or pushing me - in either direction. I've written about the chasm between "us and them" before. It's only getting worse. When I said that this year is going to be like 1968 all over again, it wasn't hyperbole on my part. It's getting there. The build-up is going to go on for months and the culmination will happen in August or November. It's ugly now and it will only get uglier as time goes on. But who is making this divide? It's not me. I can say that with all honesty. I'm not threatening you or blackmailing you with friendship so that you vote my way. I'm not telling you that you are an idiot for voting the way you see fit. I don't hate you if you don't think like me. I have not dropped one friend since I crossed that center line. They have made the decision to drop me. I have not declared liberals or democrats or whatever you call yourself on that side of the fence my enemy. I don't hate you. I don't want this divide. I don't want America to self destruct in a couple of months. And there's that hippie/liberal who still lurks deep down inside me coming out. I do want to live in peace and harmony. Who doesn't? I do want rainbows and fuzzy bunnies and a world where everyone smiles. I want to hold your hand even though we don't see eye to eye on everything. I want to be able to talk to you about what we do have in common rather than fight over the things we don't. Most of all, I want to learn from each other. I want to know why you feel the way you do, why you vote the way you do. I want to talk, to debate, to understand where everyone else is coming from. When I was in high school I had this vision of a perfect America, where everyone wore flowers in their hair and were pleasant to each other and to other nations. I had a dream. It was a stupid, naive dream, but it was mine. The older I got, the more I realized how unlikely it was that I would ever see such a peaceful America. But I never in my wildest dreams imagined anything like this. As an eight year old child, I stood in the midst of an all-out riot that broke out during a protest of the Vietnam war. Even at that age, I read the paper every day, I watched the news and I knew that America was not a happy place. People were mad at each other. People were hating and fighting and crying. But I never once felt the venom that and pure hatred that I am feeling now. I never thought in 1970 that the divide was final. I do now. And it's depressing. Just remember when you talk about the great divide in that I have not disowned you. I have not crossed you off my Christmas card list or taken your email out of my address book. Those ten emails I got today were all from people who have been dropped off the cliff by people who use voting for Bush as a litmus test for friendships. That dream world I envisioned when I was 16 is just a fantasy. The nightmare I'm seeing now is real. It eats at me every day. I admit that I was part of it for a while. But I realized what I was doing and stopped. I stopped spending my days writing about what the folks at Indymedia were up to. I stopped scrutinizing every sentence a liberal columnist wrote. I tried to be kinder and gentler and less divisive so I would not be part of the death of my own teenage dreams. I put on my smiley face and hoped for the best. I wrote about my family, my life, anything but what the left was up to. It's been almost five months since I went on my left-bashing hiatus. When I write about politics now, I try to do it from my own point of view and not spew hatred against people who don't share that view. I make the effort to spread peace, love and understanding. I am so angry today, so disappointed and sad. What have we done with this country? What have we become? In October I compared the tension between the left and the right to West Side Story. Towards the end of that entry, I wrote: There's a definite rumble coming. There's gangs lining up on every side; the terrorists here, the protestors there, the pro-war people, the Jew-haters, the Death To America crowd, the extremists and Bush haters; it's showdown time in the back alley! We've been dancing too long. The tension in the gym, all decorated with flags and anti-flags, depending on which side you are standing on, well, its become unbearable. We're gonna rumble like it's 1968. Alas, everyone loses in this rumble. Everyone. We all go home with our heads hanging and blood on our shirts. Too bad. I was really hoping we could dance.

Posted by me at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (49) | TrackBacks (7)

Dean and his family need your help. Dean has been more than generous with his time; he has helped many a blogger move off of Blogspot and without Dean, Operation Give would not be the success that it is. So give a little back. The blogosphere, as I very well know, is made up of very generous people. Whether you like Dean's blog or not, think about giving the Esmays what you can. Empathy and thoughtfulness do not know of politics.

Posted by me at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The woman who died while viewing The Passion of the Christ worked for Clear Channel! Eh, make up your own conspiracy/religious theory. I'm drawing a blank. via Gawker

Posted by me at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (1)

On February 26, 1993 the war against America went into full swing. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef entered the United States with a false Iraqi passport in 1992. Yousef and others built a complex bomb with materials on which they spent a total of $300.00 The bomb was planted in a car with the help of Yousef's accomplices. At 12:18 p.m., the bomb exploded underneath the World Trade Center. Six people were killed. Thousands were injured. Yousef escaped to Pakistan shortly after the bomb went off. He was arrested two years later in Pakistan and in 1998 was sentenced to 240 years in prison. John DiGiovanni, Bob Kirkpatrick, Steven Knapp, Bill Macko, Wilfred Mercado and Monica Rodriguez Smith all died eleven years ago today by the hands of terrorists. In the wake of 9/11, their deaths became a footnote in history. Please don't forget them. We must never forget; not this one, not the USS Cole or the Khobar towers or the bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa, not 9/11. Don't forget them.

Posted by me at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (7)

The problem with coming over to someone's weblog and making assumptions about them based on one entry is this: your assumptions will most likely be way off base. For the reasoning-impaired, let's review. * I am not from the religious right. In fact, I am an atheist. * I do not consider myself a Republican. I have not voted for a Republican president ever - and I've been voting since 1980. * I am not homophobic or bigoted. All you needed to do was scroll down the page a bit and you would have figured that out before you made an ass of yourself. * I am not a gung-ho, Bush-can-do-no-wrong kind of person. When I vote for him in November, it will not be done with a great amount of joy. Ways not to win an argument: * Insist that everyone who does not agree with you is stupid or misguided. * Assume that anyone who likes Bush for his stance on terrorism has been "brainwashed" by the party line and cannot think for themselves, nor come to conclusions without having them whispered in their ear. You want to talk? Debate? Go over facts and figures? Fine. Let's do that. But I'm going to start off assuming that you are an intelligent, thoughtful person who is able to make your own decisions and come to your own conclusions. If you cannot do the same for me, then we cannot debate or talk. Ever. That is all. Update: If you are coming here from various links, you might want to read this post first, so you have the context for this one. And then hit the main page, where I go off on some wild-eyed rant about America, 1968, dancing and West Side Story.

Posted by me at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (68) | TrackBacks (6)

I don't even know where to start on this topic. Ok, I'll just dive right in. Once again, differences in politics and beliefs have caused hurt feelings, broken friendships and some sadness. I'm not going to address the plethora of people who are on my case today. I only want to address Chris, because he was a good friend at one point, one of only two blogging friends who were invited to my wedding, someone I've had dinner with, someone who has been in my home. I'm not providing a link, not because I want to be secretive, but because I don't want anyone going over to his comment section and making things worse. Chris - and many others - can't understand how I can be a one issue voter, yet they want me to not vote for Bush based on one issue.

But if you know me, and consider yourself my friend, and appreciate me as a person, and you still vote for George W. Bush this coming November, then let me tell you something right now: Don't ever let me know that you did. Because I will never speak to you again.

Further down, he says, on the same subject:

then I am sorry, but I do not ever want to see your face or hear your voice in my presence. It's a done deal. My apologies if that offends anyone, but guess what? If that's you, you've been offending me for a long, long time. And I'm just a little bit angry about what you would allow to be done to me, and to our country.

I'm stunned. Completely stunned. You are asking me to consider one issue and one issue only in the coming election, yet you are taking me to task for doing the same. Yes, I believe in gay rights. I believe they should be allowed to marry. And I don't think there's a chance in hell that Bush's proposed amendment to the consitution will pass. But that's not enough. It's not enough for my gay friend to know that I support him and once loved him like a brother. I now have to vote like him. A vote for Bush is not a vote against you, Chris. It doesn't mean I think less of you. It just means that I've weighed my options and I took into account my own life, my own situation, my family, concerns and Bush turned out to be the best candidate for me. It's not like Kerry is going to press for the right for gays to marry, either. So what of the people who vote for him? Will you still talk to them even though he doesn't believe in your cause? In his next post he says:

All I can say to those who disagree with me on this issue is, I'm sorry we've reached this place. I'm sorry the world's gotten so fucked -- ignore the reasons why -- that people who all believe in liberty have to be torn apart by which ones to protect first: I'm sorry that the assault on our freedoms is so fierce, and comes from so many assailants, that we have to fight each other before we can get permission to fight back. Shit's fucked up and I have to believe that I'm doing what I can to make it better. I guess you do too, but at the end of the fight, if it ever comes, I want you to sit down and take stock of what you have, and then think about what your neighbor still has, and ask yourself: Was it worth it?

I believe the same things as you, Chris. I believe that what I'm doing is right for the long term. I could ask the same question about you. And like I said yesterday, I cannot go into the voting booth and take into consideration you and my neighbor and myself and make the right choice for all of us. It's impossible. So what do I do? Make the choice that 's right for you? Isn't knowing that I support your cause enough to keep a friendship going, or do I have to actually march in your footsteps and do all the things you do in order to regain your acceptance? I can't do that. But I can be really, really sad that it's come to this. I've lost friends over politics before. I've had blog fights and I've had people delink me and call me terrible things. But nothing hurts as much as a friend telling you that, because you are putting your beliefs and needs ahead of his when voting, that he no longer cares about your existence. I'm not going to defend my choice any longer. I'm not going to explain once more why I've made that choice. I don't know why I even felt like I owed anyone an explanation to begin with. Yes, I am incredibly pissed at George Bush for the action he has taken in regards to gay marriage. It's one issue that he's really gone opposite from me on. So you want me to vote for Kerry instead? I don't agree with Kerry on anything. Sure, he's not going to try to change the constitution. But everything else about him drives me mad. I'm torn apart here, trying to figure out what it is I'm supposed to be doing in order to make this world a better place, a safer place; in order to make my children's future bright and free of terrorism; in order to make wars stop and the economy rise and inflation go down and every single child in the world have food and clothing and proper schooling and hey, let's cure cancer, eliminate natural disasters and draw rainbows across the sky while we're at it. There is no one - no one candidate - who can fulfill all your wishes. So why would you expect me to not vote for the candidate who at least fulfills a good portion of mine? I'm angry and upset to the point of being nauseous. I'm being attacked on from an incredible amount of people from all sides on this issue. I'm confused, angry, hurt, most likely incoherent and not making much sense and just...livid. I've managed to keep a lot of friends who are so liberal they make Indymedia look like NewsMax. I manage to still be friends with people who are anti-war, who poke fun at my politics or march against the things I stand for - and vote against them, too. I've accepted that basic fact that everyone is different. If I stopped talking to people who have values opposite mine, I would be a very lonely person. This is going to eat at me all day. I've encountered three people in the last half hour who come off as if they would put a knife in my heart and spit in the wound if they met me. Maybe I'll lose all my gay friends, which are, admittedly, a big portion of my friends. Maybe I'll eventually lose every friend I have who is liberal or voting for Kerry or anti-war. But the one thing I will never lose is my sense of self. I am not going to fold up my Bush tent because someone has used a friendship to bully me into it. Never.

Posted by me at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (104) | TrackBacks (12)

Before you start calling Clear Channel a tool of the Republican Agenda, read this post at Late Final, which lists some of the politicians who have been on the receiving end of Clear Channel donation money. Last I looked, Chuck Schumer was not part of the Republican Agenda to Take Away Your Radio.

Posted by me at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I told you I would bring the QotD back. And I have. It's located here, and you can go there now because I will be late to the blogging party this morning. Go, go! It's got a cartoon theme today!

Posted by me at 07:35 AM | Permalink

Clear Channel has once again proven that they want to be a dictator to our ears.

Clear Channel Radio has suspended the broadcast of Viacom's Howard Stern show, consistent with its Responsible Broadcasting Initiative announced earlier today. After assessing the content of yesterday's Howard Stern show, Clear Channel worked with local market managers to take swift and decisive action. "Clear Channel drew a line in the sand today with regard to protecting our listeners from indecent content and Howard Stern's show blew right through it," said John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio.

Protecting their listeners? If they were listening to the Stern show, they weren't expecting anything less than vulgar. He's been doing this how many years? And Clear Channel is just now getting around to editing/censoring him? Janet and Justin have no idea what they have brought upon the entertainment industry. I expect Jeff to have something to say about this. Update/Clarification: Editing and censoring were the wrong words to use. But that's besides the point. I'm not really all that strung out over Stern's predicament; I just think it's kind of funny that he's been doing this kind of thing for years and Clear Channel just now - in the wake of Janet's boobie exposure - decides he should be taken off the air. It's a knee-jerk reaction on CC's part - Stern surely is a ratings boon for most of their stations and a money maker - and in the long run it's only going to get more people listening to Stern on the stations on which he is still airing. I'm not much of a Stern fan (I certainly used to be, back in the early days), I prefer to listen to Curtis and Kuby or music on my ride to work. I just believe that this means absolutely nothing to Stern and company except more fodder for his show, less listeners for Clear Channel and another reason to get satellite radio.

Posted by me at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBacks (1)

Attention West Coasters: American Idol spoiler below. (I'm so sorry, btsi) Leah was totally ripped off. Chicks voted for John because he's cute. Girls are dumb. DUMB! Stop thinking with your hormones!

Posted by me at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

To the inadvertently unfinished post below is this: Full workouts, baby. For one glorious moment, everything is right with the world. No matter what the calendar or the weatherman says, spring has sprung for me.

Posted by me at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (1)

I knew something seemed different this morning. The air was warmer, sweeter. Even though there was a light dusting of snow on the ground and a think layer of ice on the car windshield, I still sensed spring's presence in the air. No, not just spring, it was something else as well. Something that Update: Yea. This was supposed to be on draft, not publish. Doh! But I like where you're going with it. Continue.

Posted by me at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

That stands for Sporadic Question of the Day. Today's question comes from my buddy Todd. You didn't know I take request, did you? Well, I do*. Todd asks: If you were going to do the bump and grind with any cartoon character (past or present, male, female or animal), who would it be? And for the euphemism challenged, by bump and grind, I mean have sex with. And there's no need to put a disclaimer here about safe sex and all that because as far as I know, cartoon characters and human beings cannot reproduce together. Imagine that hybrid! Oh, just to make it more interesting, Jessica Rabbit is off limits. *If you'd like to pose a question for the SQoTD, just send me an email with said question

Posted by me at 01:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (68) | TrackBacks (2)

We've all used the phrase "the lesser of two evils" and many of us have used it when pulling the lever in a voting booth. While the word evil may be hyperbole, the hell that having to make a choice puts us through is not. So now the issue faces me and millions of other disenfranchised voters who feel they are not fully represented by one particular political party: who do we vote for in good conscience? I really can't make any case for voting for Kerry, myself. He's my ideological opposite in nearly every way. And I won't vote for Nader again; he's not only an egostical party crasher, he really has nothing to offer me besides a chance to once more throw away a vote. So, Bush. We already know that my main voting issue is terrorism. While I think Bush is the best person to continue fighting the war on terror, I'm still unhappy with his dealings with the Saudis, the continued silence on Iran and Pakistan and the indifference towards North Korea. The world is a bombshell, kids, and if a strong, decisive leader doesn't step up to the plate soon, they'll be practicing air raid drills in schools again. Can Bush be that guy? Well, I think he has more of a chance of being that guy than Kerry or Nader. Am I selfish to make homeland security my number one priority in this election? Damn straight. And why shouldn't I be? My family is my number one priority in life, so I need to make decisions based on what's right for them. What is right for my children, for their future and their potential families down the road? What's right - for now - is freedom and safety. What's right is making sure that they don't live through another September 11th again. What's right is protecting them from the people who want to hurt them just because they are American and they are free. If I took into account every person in the United States when I went into the polling booth, if I took into mind the needs of every gender, race, religion and group with special needs, I would never come out. I'd stare at all the choices and never be able to make the right one for everyone. So, selfish as it may seem, I have to make the right choice for me and what I think is the right choice for the country. Right now I'm down to this: Kerry has nothing for me. Nader is not even a choice. I agree with Bush on several issues though I strongly disagree with him on others. It just so happens that my number one voting issue is one that I trust Bush with. So I don't understand those who chastise me for being self-centered in my means of making a presidential choice. And I certainly don't understand when someone says I am supporting a fear over what I know and that fear is irrational. This is not irrational. It's real. Was this a fake event acted out on a sound stage? No, it was real. How can you say that the fear that comes with something like that is not real? Contrary to what you may believe, Bush did not instill that fear in me. A bunch of radical religious nuts on a jihad did that. Are you so naive to think that they don't want to do it again? How is that I'm selfish if I vote with my own family in mind, but you aren't selfish if you vote with your own agenda in mind? When you go to the polls, you aren't going to be thinking of me or what I want. Maybe the economy or gay rights is number one on your agenda but, as much as those things are important to me, they are not number one on mine. How dare you have the nerve for calling me selfish when I decide to cast my vote according to what I feel should be the priorities of this nation. That's why we have more than one candidate. This isn't the old Iraq, with one name on the ballot. This isn't Iran, where the oppositon is cast off the ballot by those in charge. We have a choice. We make that choice based on our beliefs, our politics, our ideology and our own personal values. I am not voting out of an irrational fear. I'm voting the way I am because my fear is founded in reality. I'm voting with my head and my heart; my head knows the reality of terrorism and my heart wants my children to not live in a place where that reality becomes commonplace. Yes, I used to be like you. I used to think we could all live in peace and harmony and teach the world to sing. I used to think war was inherently evil and America had no right to go into other countries trying to instill democracy. Things change. People evolve. Your ass gets kicked by reality and reality is wearing a steel-toed boot. It hurts. Then you heal. And you learn. Pardon me if my priority is the safety, freedom and future of the children I brought into this world. If that's voting selfishly, so be it. My choice is the one which I feel will give me the best chance that I won't repeat the scene of standing outside on a beautiful fall day, watching the sky to the west turn a hundred shades of death.

Posted by me at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (72) | TrackBacks (15)

I'm really ticked off today. Once again, the blood is boiling, the emotions are surfacing and I'm back in 9/11 mode once again. Oh, it's ok. It's good to revisit this place every once in a while. It's good to get the chance to take some people by their collars and shake the rocks out of their brains. I'll explain later. Meanwhile, I've been working on something. It's called Evolution and it's a timeline of sorts of how I went from from one side of the fence to the other. It's a work in progress.

Posted by me at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Natalie just informed me that her social studies class is using The Command Post to research the War in Iraq. Cool.

Posted by me at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

You know what? I take it back. I was speaking while I was in an emotionally explosive state. I still am a one issue voter. While I am a big supporter of gay rights, defending this country is still my number one priority. What good are our rights if we're dead? Yes, the president has "better things to do than jerk around with the Constitution." We'll all be in Stephen King land if he doesn't pay attention. Defend first. Offend later. That's my motto and I'm sticking to it. And by offend, I mean offend those who think I'm some kind of heretic for supporting gay marriage I'm still with Ed Koch.

Posted by me at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (35) | TrackBacks (2)

It's amazing what can be accomplished when two people decide to lay their emotional weapons on the ground, check their egos at the door and talk like the two mature adults they are. Live and learn, folks. Live and learn.

Posted by me at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

How fitting that the issue of Time I was reading in the doctor's waiting room today was the issue in which Andrew Sullivan's essay about marriage appeared. I'm disappointed in President Bush's decision today. Not that I expected him to do anything else other than support a ban, but it still angers me. What I don't understand is this: why is marriage a religious issue? Isn't that expecting everyone to follow a certain religious standard? Then wouldn't it follow that making the law fit a religious definition of marriage denying us our freedom from religion? I got home from the doctor and immediately went to the computer and hit The Corner. I guess I like to get aggravated. I knew what I would find there. Good old Derbyshire - well, he's so predictable.

I am totally at a loss with this "gay marriage" business. Can someone please tell me (A) Which civil right homosexuals citizens currently do not have, and (B) Which civil right they currently have, that they will no longer have if the President's FMA proposal is enacted? Thank you. Brief answers only, please.

It's not about a specific civil right, you simpleton. That's my brief answer. The long answer is this - It's about humanity. That sounds short, but it's not. It involves so many things, including compassion, love, fairness, empathy and dignity. It's about treating every man and woman as equal, as members of the human race, not members of some sideshow in the circus. If the constitution is amended, it should be done in plain, truthful language: All man are created equal but are not treated as such. We hereby deny gay people the right to have a legal union of love, care and respect. We, the people, hereby decree that gay people should be stigmatized and treated as a lower form of humanity; a lower form that will not be granted the right to legally come together as one in matrimony. Your religion despises homosexuality? Great. Make an amendment to your church's constitution that your clergy won't marry gays. But where do you come off asking that all of America should act in the same accordance with your church? Oh yes, marriage is a sacrament that stems from religions. Fine. Then let the church keep the word marriage and let there be a secular term - say, union. Ah, but that wouldn't matter. Because there would be some other grounds on which you would find the idea of two men who you don't even know joining together in a legal ceremony. Don't tell me it's about religion. Because deep down, it's about intolerance and bigotry. Those who wish to deny gay people their right to happiness - and for some, happiness will come with marriage and the sense of completion that marriage brings - are small minded. The proposed amendment is about a word. A single word. The result is as devastating as if it were a hundred words painted on someone's heart with a twisting knife. Update: Like Alex Knapp, I'm wondering if Bush doesn't have better things to do than mess with the constitution. We're at war with Iraq, Iran is a bomb waiting to explode, and al Qaeda is still making threats. If Bush thinks that gay marriage is an issue which will bring his voters together, he's dead wrong. He forgot about the thousands of September 11th voters out there who think the number one priority in this country is winning the war on terror, not amending an historical document to fit the wants of the president's conservative base.

Posted by me at 05:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (106) | TrackBacks (8)

Apparently Nat has not fully recovered from her mono because the school nurse just called and said I should come get her and take her home because she's "not right." So, off to get her and get her back to the doctor. Side note: My boss is giving a lecture today on how the media distorts public opinion of the judiciary. He's using this Maureen Dowd column as an example. Anyhow, blogging later. Which is just as well. I'm mentally exhausted today. Oh, but I do have a question for you, which I may expand on later. 2/3 of Americans said they support the idea of televised executions. Would you pay to watch an execution on television? Let's assume that the crime did not in any way involve you or someone you know. Just a total stranger being executed for a crime you only read about in the paper once or twice. Would you watch? Now, what if it were Scott Peterson being executed? Ok, what about bin Laden? Saddam? Just curious, really.

Posted by me at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (46) | TrackBacks (1)

Thanks to the magnificent duo of Solonor and Allen, I do believe the new design is rendering correctly for everyone. Yes? Thank you also to Dave for the script to put the monthly archives in a pull-down menu. And thank you a million time to everyone who offered coding help. I would be remiss if I did not end this night with a hearfelt thank you to everyone's words of love and encouragement in regards to my announcement last night. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The blogosphere is filled with the most caring, generous, loving people in the world. This is my home away from home and I love my wonderful, eclectic dysfunctional blogging family. And now, I have a date with Captain Morgan. With which I will toast to my companions in separation sadness, D and Pix Raise your cup and let's propose a toast - Faith No More - Last Cup of Sorrow (mp3). This is getting old and so are you Everything you know and never knew Will run through your fingers just like sand - Enjoy it while you can - Like a snake between two stones It itches, in your bones Take a deep breath and swallow, your sorrow, tomorrow Raise the cup and let's propose a toast To the thing that hurts you most It's your last cup of sorrow What can you say? Finish it today It's your last cup of sorrow So think of me And get on your way It won't begin until you make it end Until you know the how the where and the when With a new face you might surprise yourself Like a snake between two stones It itches, in your bones Take a deeper breath and swallow, your sorrow, tomorrow Raise the cup and let's propose a toast To the thing that hurts you most Is your last cup of sorrow What can you say? Finish it today It's your last cup of sorrow So think of me And get on your way You might surprise yourself

Posted by me at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

I got this from Stephen, who got it from John Scalzi: Open up your Winamp, put it on shuffle and list the first ten songs that come up. Here's mine: Swiss Army Girlfriend - MTX Nick Cave - Mercy Seat Tool - Jimmy Handsome Boy Modeling School - Waterworld Self - Crashing Parties Type O Negative - My Girlfriend's Girlfriend Combustible Edison - Sentimental Journey Boogie Down Productions - You Must Learn The Mad Caddies - Road Rash Refused - New Noise And because I'm all about excess, I did ten more. Faith No More - Land of Sunshine Deftones - Mascara Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 Danzig - Dirty Black Summer Glassjaw - Motel of the White Locust Lovage - Archie & Veronica Orgy - Stitches A Tribe Called Quest - I Left My Wallet in El Segundo Ol Dirty Bastard - Got Your money Sade - Jezebel Nothing too embarassing yet. Yet.

Posted by me at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (9)

David is doing tarot card readings for his readers. He did mine two days ago - before I ever let on that anything was going on with my marriage. It's frightening how spot on he was about everything. Except the spicy smelling lady. Any of you have dark hair and eyes and wear spicy smelling perfume? Dave thinks I want to do you. Heh. Seriously, when you read this you'll see why the skeptic in me nearly passed out. Even the tiny details are right. Go over to Dave's and get your own reading. Even if it's just for fun. (Reading is below) [That tarot card is from the Vertigo Tarot collection, art by Dave McKean] Okay, well, I just did your reading. Honey. You're just not a happy camper right now. Okay, this is what I see: A million ideas, thoughts, escape plans, regrets, possibilities and subsequent limitations are racing through your mind right now. And it's killing your sleep. You're having nightmares when you *can* sleep. You never feel rested because your mind is always churning, churning. About EVERYTHING. Okay, recent past, you made this plan (Seven of Wands). You were in chaos and made a decision to take your life in a different direction. Trouble is, now that you're in this new direction, everything seems utterly absolutely wrong. You are (un)sleeping on a bed of nails. But see, in your mind you have constructed this idea that you can do this, it is an act of mental discipline to be this model mother/wife/helpmeet (Queen of Cups), to put everyone else's needs first, to be dutiful, docile, to come when called. Trouble is, this has left your heart lying pierced and bleeding out its life into the frozen snow. (Ten of Swords) Honey, there is an electrical storm boiling in your deepest inner reaches. A conflict so violent that it could tear you apart if left unchecked. Already you are sowing the seeds for something totally destructive. I don't know what it is, you sneaky, crafty Virgo, but you have planted explosive charges in strategic areas where all you have to do is dial certain numbers on your cell phone and bridges collapse, buildings cave in on entire relationships. It is one of the only things you feel like you have power over right now. But remember, destructive power is never real power. It takes just as much out of you in strength as it gives you in satisfaction. The victories are always hollow. Right now, you are doing the only thing you can do, diligently tending to your chores (Three of Pentacles) and doing what you must do to keep things from flying apart, but meanwhile your heart is feeling like a category four hurricane. There's an irritating man around. An attorney? (King of Swords) You are *this* close to smiting him with the full wrath of your fury, but remember, honey, jobs are hard to find, and you have a new house to move into. All this guy wants is your attention. He wants to get your goat. He wants to feel like he has some kind of effect on you, even if it is to watch you pointedly ignore him. He's a sad little boy. Treat him as such. He's just static. You have bigger fish to fry. I see another female figure on the horizon. Dark hair, maybe curly, dark eyes, spicy smelling perfume or shampoo. What's up with this woman, Michele? Why do you love and fear her? Do you want to be her? Do her? Are you worried she's after your man? Know what? I don't trust her either. You are right to feel wary about her. Keep an eye on that woman. She wants something. As for your outcome? I see restlessness. Restlessness, restlessness, restlessness. You want some changes. You might even want some more time to yourself. Use these powerful emotions that you are soooooooooo good at denying as forces to change your self for the better. Have a look at what's out there. You could have it, too. Otherwise you will melt down from the constant internal conflict. You owe it to yourself and everyone who loves you. Meanwhile, YOU MUST REST. In order to think clearly, to heal properly, to be quick and clever and fast on your feet, you must be well rested. So, rest. Get your eight hours a night if it kills you. You must reconcile this conflict between this Donna Reed in your head and the raging tempest boiling in your gut. It's going to wear you out and make you do things you'll regret. I want to talk more with you about this.

Posted by me at 06:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (4)

David is doing tarot card readings for his readers. He did mine two days ago - before I ever let on that anything was going on with my marriage. It's frightening how spot on he was about everything. Except the spicy smelling lady. Any of you have dark hair and eyes and wear spicy smelling perfume? Dave thinks I want to do you. Heh. Seriously, when you read this you'll see why the skeptic in me nearly passed out. Even the tiny details are right. Go over to Dave's and get your own reading. Even if it's just for fun. (Reading is below) [That tarot card is from the Vertigo Tarot collection, art by Dave McKean] Okay, well, I just did your reading. Honey. You're just not a happy camper right now. Okay, this is what I see: A million ideas, thoughts, escape plans, regrets, possibilities and subsequent limitations are racing through your mind right now. And it's killing your sleep. You're having nightmares when you *can* sleep. You never feel rested because your mind is always churning, churning. About EVERYTHING. Okay, recent past, you made this plan (Seven of Wands). You were in chaos and made a decision to take your life in a different direction. Trouble is, now that you're in this new direction, everything seems utterly absolutely wrong. You are (un)sleeping on a bed of nails. But see, in your mind you have constructed this idea that you can do this, it is an act of mental discipline to be this model mother/wife/helpmeet (Queen of Cups), to put everyone else's needs first, to be dutiful, docile, to come when called. Trouble is, this has left your heart lying pierced and bleeding out its life into the frozen snow. (Ten of Swords) Honey, there is an electrical storm boiling in your deepest inner reaches. A conflict so violent that it could tear you apart if left unchecked. Already you are sowing the seeds for something totally destructive. I don't know what it is, you sneaky, crafty Virgo, but you have planted explosive charges in strategic areas where all you have to do is dial certain numbers on your cell phone and bridges collapse, buildings cave in on entire relationships. It is one of the only things you feel like you have power over right now. But remember, destructive power is never real power. It takes just as much out of you in strength as it gives you in sa