Truth

What is a bigot? Merriam-Webster defines it as "a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices".

If two women want to marry, who does it hurt?

If two men want to marry, why should we bother stopping them? What do "we" --those who have only loved the opposite sex-- have to gain from banning their entrance into our club?

The most prominent argument I have heard against same sex marriage is that it would "open the door", so to speak, for all kinds of outrageous abuses of this "sacred institution", such as polygamy, incest, and even bestiality.

There's no need for me dignify the bestiality claim by responding. As far as polygamy and incest in cases where all the parties involved are consenting adults, what the hell do these issues have to do with gay marriage? If polygamists and adults who want to marry their adult cousins start organizing and lobbying Congress, then they'll get a shot at some rights too, but this group barely even exists. It's certainly not an argument against gay marriage.

It's simple... there are enough gay people in the world and in this country to make it crystal clear that they are real people with real wants and needs, and they exist in prodigious numbers. Gay marriage WILL happen in this country. 100% of this country, I guarantee. Even if bigots like Bush and Governor Mitt Romney succeed in putting hundreds of stumbling blocks in its way, it will eventually prevail because these people are not going away. Polygamists and those with a lust for incest exist in absurdly small proportions and bringing them into the civil rights argument for a real class of people is just stupid. The fear people have over gay marriage, like most fear, is born from ignorance. The more homosexuals one gets to know the more they will realize gays are just like everyone else - some are great people and some are assholes, some dress fabulously while some look like garbage, but ALL of them deserve the same rights afforded to the rest of us, period. Those who think otherwise will eventually come around. It may take several generations as it has with other civil rights issues, but people will ultimately realize their resistance is the definition of bigotry.

I Heart the Political Process

Here's an idea for revamping the electoral process which I realize isn't terribly original, but it makes a lot of sense to me:

1. Allow $0.00 to be the maximum contribution individuals, businesses or anybody else, including the DNC and the RNC, can make to political campaigns.
2. Set aside a taxpayer funded (gasp!) account for ALL elections - local taxes would pay for local elections, state taxes for state elections, and federal taxes would pay for national elections.
3. Candidates for public office would have access to this public fund after they've proven eligibility in a number of ways, e.g. getting an appropriate number of signatures, background checks, whatever. ALL CANDIDATES WOULD HAVE THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY AND RESOURCES to use as they see fit, within established limits.
4. Give tax incentives to media outlets for offering discounts for political ads, etc.

It is my hope that system would ultimately lead to the dissolution of political parties, or at least a major drain on their power. The candidates elected under this system would owe no favors to anyone except the people that elected them, which would significantly diminish the power of lobbiests. It would turn our country into a true democracy; rule by the people. We all know it isn't that way now.

I Love This Guy

"I don't know where Bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." - G.W. Bush, 3/13/02

To be fair to our beloved President, I'm sure he was simply trying to point out that Al Qaeda is much more than just Bin Laden, but this quote represents, at his core, what kind of leader he is: a crappy one.

God help us. G.W. Bush sure won't.

Futility Breeds Apathy

Whether one supports the Bush Administration or not one thing is clear: However the president and his cronies choose to behave, there's little or nothing we can do about it. He's not getting impeached unless rock solid evidence is provided for his many "snafus", and the administration is working hard to limit access to information that could help critics of the government (aka Patriots). His poll numbers are abysmally low, but that doesn't mean squat. He still has three years left in his term. How the public currently feels about him is irrelevent. If we're lucky he'll come back from one of his many vacations as a new man --a real leader, determined to do the right thing-- but what are the chances of that? Slim to none, and slim may have just skipped town.

It's no wonder so few people take the time to involve themselves in the political process. Most of the time it feels like a losing battle.

A Moment of Silence

I'd like to observe a moment of silence on my humble blog. I have not posted since tragedy hit the gulf coast, and I don't plan on commenting on the hurricane at all here. That's not to say that it isn't important and there aren't plenty of things to say, it's just that I will respectfully bow out of this one... for now.

Good luck to all of our friends and family down there in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and the Florida pan handle. May this tragedy somehow lead to greater opportunities than you had before.