Thursday, June 15, 2006

Red State Island, U.S.A.

There's no poetry in the presidency anymore. What was once a stage for soft talking and big sticks, of not fearing, of buck-stopping, and of doing for your country has been replaced by penis rattling and crotch grabbing games of "bring it on." Today's idiot bravado of presidential idioms floods our heartland with a sea littered with money that floats like lily-pads on its bloody surface of bobbing soldiers' corpses. That sea circles the middle of the country and the Deep South, making entire parts of our country a cultural island run by unthinking, selfish, greedy, redneck, red state bastards.

This is no time to pull punches. I've actually seen bumper stickers on cars and splash-guards on pickup trucks and even on a Lincoln SUV proclaiming "Proud to be a Redneck!" Pride and prejudice, indeed! Why are so many people around here proud of their ignorance? Because they can be. Because they're in charge. Because they believe their god, their race and their president will save them from the rest of us. Meanwhile, who is there to save us?

I think it is clear that we don't want to wade across their filthy moat and join them on their disturbed island. Oh, they'll try to get us there. They'll throw bad legislation as unimaginitive as their president's rhetoric at us to use as personal floatation devices so we can swim to them. Most insidiously, they'll even give us legislative "victories" in issues we care about, like civil rights (as in the flag burning issue) and privacy rights (as in the gay marriage amendment), but be aware: those round, red things they are throwing at us are not life preservers. They're targets, and they only tie up to the shores of Rove-land, where those most like them live.

Similarly, they will try to frame the "Victory in Iraq" resolution that's before the House of Representatives today and tomorrow in two ways. First, they will say that they gave Congress the opportunity for debate on the administration's policies in Iraq. Second, they will point to those who vote against it, and Prince Karl of Rove-land will be able to say that only the Republicans care about victory in Iraq.

We must be vigilant. Like the southern border's new Minute Men, we must patrol the border of Blue-land, but not to keep people out. We should be watching to keep people in. (At least four Democrats crossed the aisle today to disallow amendments to the "Victory" resolution. Why??) We also need to look for people to pull out of the murky water who are trying to escape the red menace (allusion intended).

The Statue of Liberty still stands on our shores. Breathe free. Reach out and rescue a Republican from transparent rhetoric and veiled agendas.


Rescue a Republican and you may just rescue the country. Just remember that in our country, a strong military does not exist with out soft-talking diplomacy, that we do not give into fear-mongering, that we believe in government accountability and, for the sake of our nation, we all must participate in ensuring her a free and prosperous future. And one more from the last President's first inauguration speech: "We must be bold!"

When we stand up, they will stand down!

PBG

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Funny...You Don't Look Danish

As senator after senator takes to the floor to rail against same-sex marriages, several have cited an article in the Weekly Standard that supposedly talks about large numbers of children born out of wedlock since the more "permissive" Scandinavian societies the article cites have legalized homosexual unions. This argument is so fully bogus. It really has nothing to do with the United States or same-sex marriage.

How did the article define "wedlock"? If one or both partners of a lesbian couple has a child, is that considered out of wedlock?

When In Denmark...

To stand on the floor of the Senate and pretend that Scandinavians and Americans have the same magnets swaying their respective moral compasses assumes a commonality that just does not exist. They simply do not have the same qualms about the "out of wedlock" issue that we do. As our society hangs on to the last vestiges of Puritan morality that even make Victorian era conduct seem edgy, that very old part of the world just south of the Arctic Circle has not had a puritanical thought for centuries. (I'd say where we hold back they go forward, except that is only partly true because they move forward whether our status quo is in stasis or flux - neither of which is progress).

I'd like your input on this, because I may be off base, but to my thinking the stigma of having children out of wedlock is as faded as a 40-year-old draft card. As long as you're not still in high school, I don't have a problem with it. Your body. Your choice.

The Evolving Human Condition

Maybe that's why Americans under thirty don't see what the big deal is with Gay marriage. You don't have to be married to raise wonderful children. Many of them know that from their own experiences as children of divorce. Having a mommy and daddy is just another way to experience life, as is having no daddy, two dads or two moms.

Social spiritualist and philosopher Gary Zukav talks about society evolving away from the need for formal marriage, opting for commitment to a spiritual life partner. On last night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart referred to this social change as part of "the evolving human condition" and implied that gay marriage as an institution is inevitable.

To paraphrase the Guess Who, "Seasons change and so do societies. There's no time left for your kind of ignorance."

Bear the Pandering

In the end, the consensus is that the President and the conservative senators who are making this an issue are just making their base happy, and for that base, a principal of children as part of a "complete" (read: heterosexual) family is important. Yesterday James Inhofe, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, actually showed a big foam-core poster of his own large family, saying something like, "...and nobody's ever had a gay relationship. We're proud of that." (Not surprisingly, that little statement is missing from the text of the speech on the senator's website and from the "substantially verbatim" Congressional Record. That's why I watch C-Span.)

I truly believe no notion of family is wrong as long as love, guidance, support and true partnership are present to sustain it. And you know, in a hundred years family may mean so much more.

Francene Busbee Update

The results of yesterday's special election in San Diego for the indicted Duke Cunningham's seat in Congress is over and unfortunately our girl Francene Busbee fell just a few percentage points short of victory.
The bright side: with over 100,000 voters casting ballots, we lost by less than 5,000 and we were outspent nearly 2-to-1. The message is clear. We all must stand up come November and be counted. Don't let them frustrate you!
PBG