Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Fag Hags
Michael Musto, one of my favorite columnists for the Village Voice, has a great posting on his blog about Fag Hags. Luckily I have never had a fag hag in my life, mainly because the only women I can stand for long periods of time are my mother and sisters and my married women friends who strangely enough don't think spending time in a gay bar would be good for their marriage. But I've had friends and have even dated guys before who had fag hags leeching into their lives, and it doesn't seem like fun. I went on a first date with a guy once who talked about his female friend that he performed some sort of bootleg music with. He showed me a picture of a mousy little thing that probably had trouble getting dates with straight guys. In the middle of the date she calls him on the phone and he's like, "I'm having dinner...I'm on my date." Like the bitch didn't know everything that was going on in his life. It was a clear attempt to control him. I knew right then that I would never want to date him again (that and the fact that he drove a PT Cruiser). If I talk to a guy and he mentions a special girlfriend, I run. If I wanted a woman to be all up in my business, I would have stayed straight.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Angry White People
CNN and other media outlets are FINALLY reporting on the anger and rage at McCain rallies by rabid republicans afraid they are about to lose the election. One woman said to McCain, "I've read about Obama, he's an Arab." Others talk about being scared that Obama may be the president, one woman saying she didn't want to bring her unborn child into a country with him as the president. McCain and Palin are stoking this type of behavior in one of the most disgraceful campaigns ever run in American politics (and that's saying something). I've not always been a fan of Obama, I was a Hillary supporter until just after the convention, but this behavior by these right wing nut cases is making me support Obama even more. These republicans talk about being mad that Obama is winning, well you know what, I've been mad for the last eight years, starting with the 2000 election they stole from Al Gore. I've been mad since George Bush lied to us about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to fulfill some sick twisted sort of father son vendetta and invade a country and waste thousands of American and Iraqi lives. I've been mad since we had to vote to spend $700 billion of our taxpayer funds to bail out the very people who are mad that Obama may be the next president. So I say, if you're mad, get used to it and get over it, just like you've been telling us to get over it for the last eight years. And fuck you we're winning.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
McCain Isms
This is great...check it out
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-feldman/the-mccain-isms-that-lost_b_132974.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-feldman/the-mccain-isms-that-lost_b_132974.html
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Pre Debate Thoughts
I read this on a blog yesterday and thought it was so true...something to think about before the debate tonight...
"Alaska has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country, the higest rape rate, one of the highest rates of child sexual abuse, one of the highest rates of meth addiction, one of the highest rates of domestic violence and this is an example of America and how we want America to be?"
"Alaska has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country, the higest rape rate, one of the highest rates of child sexual abuse, one of the highest rates of meth addiction, one of the highest rates of domestic violence and this is an example of America and how we want America to be?"
My Dream House
for years I have thought about what type of house I would build if I had the chance. I have always wanted to build a house on the water (lake, river, etc) and have seriously thought about buying a lot on the Brazos River near Glen Rose TX and eventually building a very modern house on the lot. This is my dream house, although it is very impractical and inTexas a glass house would be a bitch to cool in the summer...but possibly a variation on this design...
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Screw Them
So let me get this straight. The same businesses and corporations who for years have:
- Expected large corporate tax breaks and incentives to either move to other cities or move their jobs overseas and put people out of work
- Fought any legislation that would increase the minimum wage to a living wage so the people who do have jobs can live decently
- Fought regulations that would keep the workplace safe so workers in dangerous jobs don't have to fear losing a limb or their life
- Fought any effort to create a national healthcare system or to regulate insurance companies and health care prices so their workers can have decent health care
- Voted en masse for Repbulicans so they could keep the fallacy of laissez faire economics alive
- For years expected profits to be privatized and losses to be socialized
- Fought any regulation that would have prevented this crisis in the first place
- Fought for lower taxes for corporations and the extremely wealthy
- Contributed to the largest disparity between rich and poor of any industrialized nation in the world
These are the same people who are expecting the American taxpayers to bail them out of the mess they have created themselves? They expect US to spend approximately $2300 each of our money to make sure they have credit to continue to run their businesses?
I say screw them. Until we get national health care, a living wage for everyone, a fair tax system that taxes the rich rather than the poor and more regulation to keep this from happening again, they should get NOTHING!! I say let them fail and maybe if they have to struggle a little like normal people they will have a little more empathy for the common man.
Where We Are
This is a commentary I've submitted to KERA and hopefully they will air it...
Where We Are
Almost five years ago the Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas, decided government could not dictate sexual behavior between consenting adults, effectively de-criminalizing same sex relationships. Today forty-one states have Defense of Marriage laws on the books which were either enacted by legislatures or by voters. As the gay community in Dallas prepares to celebrate Gay Pride this weekend, it would be well do look at where we as a community stand on the issue of gay marriage.
After the Lawrence v. Texas decision, I wrote a commentary for KERA that described that decision as a sort of Gay Independence Day. In 2003 it seemed like the shackles that had held our community down for so long were finally being removed. I thought then that it was only a matter of time until gay marriage was legal and the full promise of equal rights would be realized by my community. Then came 2004 and the cynical use of gay marriage as a wedge issue by Republicans in their successful attempt to refocus the election from a failed president and a faltering war to fears that gay marriage would lead to the end of American civilization as we know it. A map of current “Defense of Marriage Acts” in the U.S. on NPR.org is disheartening. Almost every state except a few on either coast has outlawed marriage except between a man and a woman. Other states either have no laws on the books or are in the process of voting on laws denying the right to marry to a portion of the population. Millions of people have decided discrimination against a specific group of people is acceptable. Not since Jim Crow have laws been passed specifically denying rights to a group of people and most people seem not to be bothered by that.
Recently my mother and I were talking about gay rights. She was under the mistaken impression that it was illegal to fire someone for being gay. She was appalled that in most states I could be fired just for my sexuality, something I believe I was born with. Many people believe gays should have equal rights to housing, jobs, equal access to government benefits, etc, but when it comes to gay marriage, they draw the line. The reasons for this are as varied as the people who hold them. I know some straight people I have spoken to about this believe the Bible states marriage should be between and man and a woman and should be taken literally. I think there is also an “ick” factor for some people. They know gay people, but they don’t really want to think about what gay people do to express their sexuality in and outside of a marriage. No matter how they justify it, discrimination is still discrimination. You can’t put lipstick on that pig and make it pretty.
I believe in many respects the gay rights movement has moved backwards in the last five years since Lawrence. While California and Massachusetts have gay marriage laws on the books, there are movements in each of those states to outlaw gay marriage. Republicans continue to threaten to force a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in the U.S. and Democrats hem and haw and say they are for civil unions but not gay marriage per se. Until the Supreme Court is made up of justices who will interpret the constitution in such a manner that will end discrimination in marriage, the right to marriage movement in the gay community will continue to spin its wheels. Gay people must also do their part. We have to begin to exert our economic and political influence to force politicians and the country as a whole to move away from their prejudices and move toward fulfilling the promise in the Declaration of Independence.
The idea that, “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is not limited to people who are attracted to the opposite sex.
Where We Are
Almost five years ago the Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas, decided government could not dictate sexual behavior between consenting adults, effectively de-criminalizing same sex relationships. Today forty-one states have Defense of Marriage laws on the books which were either enacted by legislatures or by voters. As the gay community in Dallas prepares to celebrate Gay Pride this weekend, it would be well do look at where we as a community stand on the issue of gay marriage.
After the Lawrence v. Texas decision, I wrote a commentary for KERA that described that decision as a sort of Gay Independence Day. In 2003 it seemed like the shackles that had held our community down for so long were finally being removed. I thought then that it was only a matter of time until gay marriage was legal and the full promise of equal rights would be realized by my community. Then came 2004 and the cynical use of gay marriage as a wedge issue by Republicans in their successful attempt to refocus the election from a failed president and a faltering war to fears that gay marriage would lead to the end of American civilization as we know it. A map of current “Defense of Marriage Acts” in the U.S. on NPR.org is disheartening. Almost every state except a few on either coast has outlawed marriage except between a man and a woman. Other states either have no laws on the books or are in the process of voting on laws denying the right to marry to a portion of the population. Millions of people have decided discrimination against a specific group of people is acceptable. Not since Jim Crow have laws been passed specifically denying rights to a group of people and most people seem not to be bothered by that.
Recently my mother and I were talking about gay rights. She was under the mistaken impression that it was illegal to fire someone for being gay. She was appalled that in most states I could be fired just for my sexuality, something I believe I was born with. Many people believe gays should have equal rights to housing, jobs, equal access to government benefits, etc, but when it comes to gay marriage, they draw the line. The reasons for this are as varied as the people who hold them. I know some straight people I have spoken to about this believe the Bible states marriage should be between and man and a woman and should be taken literally. I think there is also an “ick” factor for some people. They know gay people, but they don’t really want to think about what gay people do to express their sexuality in and outside of a marriage. No matter how they justify it, discrimination is still discrimination. You can’t put lipstick on that pig and make it pretty.
I believe in many respects the gay rights movement has moved backwards in the last five years since Lawrence. While California and Massachusetts have gay marriage laws on the books, there are movements in each of those states to outlaw gay marriage. Republicans continue to threaten to force a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in the U.S. and Democrats hem and haw and say they are for civil unions but not gay marriage per se. Until the Supreme Court is made up of justices who will interpret the constitution in such a manner that will end discrimination in marriage, the right to marriage movement in the gay community will continue to spin its wheels. Gay people must also do their part. We have to begin to exert our economic and political influence to force politicians and the country as a whole to move away from their prejudices and move toward fulfilling the promise in the Declaration of Independence.
The idea that, “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is not limited to people who are attracted to the opposite sex.
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