Friday, November 7, 2008

Farewell to Douchebags

.....and like a bolt of lightning sent by Zeus himself to prove me right.....

Check out the subject of Obama's very first press conference, as President-Elect, not even as President yet.....

CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama said Friday that the country is facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and "we're going to have to act swiftly to resolve it."

Flanked by members of his economic advisory board, Obama held his first press conference as president-elect, stressing that the focus of his efforts would be the struggling middle class.

"We need a rescue plan for the middle class that invests in immediate efforts to create jobs and provides relief to families that are watching their paychecks shrink and their life savings disappear," Obama said in his opening statement before taking questions.....

Now that the dust has settled, more or less.....

That giddy sense of euphoria is a dizzying thing. When I sit down and truly consider the fact that we as a country - by a majority that could not even remotely be argued - elected the nation's first African-American president, swept away much of the moldy evangelical, hate-spewing representatives of the GOP from the House and Senate, legalized medical marijuana in one state, and shot down potential abortion notification propositions.....I get a little misty-eyed.

The one downer? The sore losers of the GOP support base. Even those higher-ups in the party cannot seem to accept they have been roundly bitch-slapped, instead focusing on emoting a "sour grapes" attitude, talking about how much higher taxes are going to be, how "we shall see", and "history will tell", etc., et-fucking-cetera.

Here's the thing, my Republican friends (whom I must throw a disclaimer about right here: I love you all to death, but y'all need to wake the fuck up.....):

- Taxes were going to have to go up regardless of who was elected. Doubt me? Then consider the events that have led up to this momentous time: Two failing - yes, failing - wars which are costing approximately ten million (or was it billion) American dollars per month when one of the countries (Iraq) has a 90+ billion dollar surplus in it's coffers. This is in combination that the American public as a whole DO NOT WANT TO BE DEALING WITH THIS FUCKING SHIT ANYMORE. Wonder why your little bitch-boy Bush's approval ratings are so low? Well, outside of not being able to balance any sort of budget or speak without stumbling over the simplest of words/phrases, he keeps insisting these two wars are "winnable" when the reality is that the Taliban has regained power in Afghanistan because he decided to fucking "double-down" with Iraq and now no one, NO ONE, wants us over there anymore. Our credibility as a country has been driven into Hell. We need to pull out of both countries and let them each figure the shit out for themselves. If they need help, they can ask us and the U.N. But otherwise, get the Hell out. If they all kill each other, well, would that honestly be a horrible thing? I mean, seriously, that's all WE are doing! Let them do it to each other themselves.....at least THAT way no one can blame America for their bullshit.....

- The single largest "bailout" (which, by the way, runs contrary to everything a supposedly "free enterprise" Republican like John McCain actually believed in.....) of the nation's financial institutions. This also amounts to a form of socialism, whether you wish to accept that or not, and was NOT proposed by either Independents or Democrats; it was the brainchild of the figurative head of the GOP for the past 8 years, George W. Bush. And before anyone starts pointing fingers at Obama and other Democrats for signing off on it: there really was no other choice. While the Republican contingent had their own reasons - perhaps more financially motivated with special interest abounding - the Dems felt they needed to provide something to the American public in the way of relief. The biggest problem now? Banks are taking advantage of it and tightening up their loaning restrictions when the entire plan was meant to loosen their purse strings and allow for an easier flow of cash to the public, which would then - in turn - assist in bolstering the stock markets worldwide.

- When Bush came into office, Clinton - love him or hate him - had left the country with the largest budget surplus in American history. By contrast, Bush - a member of a party traditionally known to be conservative in their spending - not only wiped that surplus out, but created the single largest budget deficit in American history. Way to go, Neocons!

- Because the bailout is not being applied on the level it should be, people are still losing their homes and the value of houses is continuing to go down. This means that Obama - working with the government as a whole - will now have to re-examine what was drafted and apply some sort of aid package to stabilize the housing market and keep citizens in their homes (which, by the way, will not go over well with any or all of this nation's banks and credit unions because it will force them to back the fuck off; anyone speaking on behalf of a bank/credit union will tell you "Well, see here: we don't LIKE foreclosing on any property because it means we then have to turn around and take a loss on it when we end up selling it at auction or to an individual at a greatly reduced price point....." Yeah? Well, that sure as fuck doesn't stop you from DOING it, now does it?)

Taxes were going to have to go up regardless. These same people will also move through the next four years, criticizing Obama's each and every move monthly if things don't move fast enough for them, not taking into account that their own party, the GOP, have left this country in such a shithole that it will take at LEAST two terms to clean up the mess and perhaps bring things to something similar to an even keel.....

And if Sarah Palin is supposed to be the GOP's future for 2012, all I can say is "Hallelujah!" because THAT particular approach will do nothing but ENSURE that Obama has two terms. Maybe we can adjust the Constitution to give him an extra term.....

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

hmmmmmmm....

......well, I WAS gonna buy "Rock Band II" for my PS3.....but I don't see any ads for that game featuring barely dressed super models.....

I may have to re-evaluate.....

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

History

Faith Restored


My faith in this country has been restored this evening. That is pretty much all I have to say.....

The 44th President Of The United States: Barack Obama

Personal Beliefs and The Sean Doctrine

I thought I would share with everyone an email reply I sent to my Mom today. Whenever she makes a comment that references "God" or "prayer" or her "faith", she tends to say something to the effect of "....you probably don't want to hear this...", because the impression I give is that I hold God and those who call themselves Christians in such low regard. This isn't actually the case, although I must admit to being somewhat critical of those topics (and people). So, at the risk of tarnishing my "devilish" image, here was my email to her for your perusal; please feel free to comment as the need arises:

Just so you know, I do not have any problem with anyone referencing God or prayer. While I tend to lean toward being Agnostic, it isn't that I have a problem with God, per se; it's any and all forms of organized religion, especially those who attempt to lead their flocks into the maelstrom of the political fray. There was a very solid reason our forefathers dictated "separation of church and state" and that position should be held in the highest regard. I do not like any person or group of people who think that because they worship their version of some invisible man who lives in the sky that they are either better than me or believe they have some sort of divine right to tell me what I should and should not believe. Their blood is just as red as mine. Someone like yourself has a much more pure relationship with God and you truly gain strength from it; that is something I can appreciate and respect. But anyone who would harm anyone else or deny rights to anyone or any group of people in God's name deserves nothing but derision and disrespect from me. God doesn't give a shit about anyone's politics; he loves everyone, in spite of the fact that most of the monkeys in this world are completely undeserving of that sort of unconditional love. He is color blind, cares nothing about what two people do behind closed doors - as long as they love and respect each other and do no harm to anyone else. I can and do respect any and all who exhibit a true and open attitude to others while enjoying their own specific faith; just don't push your ideas onto me. I have explored and read enough to have been able to make my own choices and I allow that to flow into my children so they can make their own choices as well without simply being a lemming who follows. Not to put too fine a point on it, but "The Devil" to me represents Man's inherent nature, that of rebellion, of chaos, of constant change, of the desire - and sometimes enjoyment - of shocking those who need a tweak in the ass every now and then. Those attributes are not necessarily bad things, you must admit. They are aspects of our basic natures which allow us to move forward, to tear down conventions, to change. It amuses me because it caters to my deeply held belief that we must all never become complacent, we must never close our eyes and simply "accept" how anything is. Sometimes it is necessary to push people down and force them to re-evaluate, figuratively as well as literally at times.

In short, God loves everyone without conditions. And, if anyone claims to be a "Christian" or one of the "faithful" to me, they had better back it up by showing they have the tolerance, the grace, and the patience to truly be an example of that. Basically, don't assume that you are better than anyone else simply based on your beliefs.

So, you should never feel you have to disclaimer anything you say that veers into referencing God with ".....I know you may not want to hear this but.....". Just understand and accept that we have different views. I already do that. We have never really addressed that previously and I felt the need to do so now, for whatever reason. Not attacking or arguing.....simply letting you know that you do not have to disclaimer anything around me because I know you and I know your faith is pure in your heart. Just allow me the occasional role of "devil's advocate" (to coin a term.....), for the sake of debate and argument, as it can often be entertaining..... :)

Monday, November 3, 2008

Proposition 8

I was reminded that I wanted to write something about this issue when I scrolled down to the bottom of my page out here and saw that the Google Ad-Sense application I have installed had placed a "Yes on 8" banner advertisement.

That irritated me. Fuckers.

I will admit that throughout my life, I have not been a shining example of tolerance. I have made jokes at the expense of gay men and women, both those I have known and those I have not known. But as I have grow older and more people enter my life, I have come to understand how my lighthearted attempts at humor on those occasions actually truly hurt those who were the butt of such barbed jests. In short, I like to think I have evolved a bit and can sympathize with the difficulty such individuals face such as this latest proposition which snaked it's way onto the California ballot and will be voted on tomorrow.

In the event you have spent your life under a rock or simply have felt it did not apply to you so why bother reading the news stories about it further, here it is in a nutshell: In 2000, voters passed Proposition 22 with a 61% majority. Before Prop 22 was brought before the voters, Section 300 barred California from recognizing same-sex marriages as legal and valid, defining marriage as ".....a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary." A separate section (308) noted ".....A marriage contracted outside this state that would be valid by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the marriage was contracted is valid in this state." This basically was viewed by those supporting Proposition 22 as something of a loophole. With the passage of Proposition 22, a new section - numbered as 308.5 - is definitive in it's wording as ".....Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

Despite the passage of Proposition 22, on May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court struck down this initiative and related California law in a 4-3 decision, giving same-sex couples the right to marry.

Now we face Proposition 8. This is yet another attempt by the right-wing Christian Conservative base to effect discrimination against gays and lesbians, since they were bitch-slapped by the state Supreme Court. If it passes, Prop 8 would ".....change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California." A new section would be added stating ".....only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." This proposition is being supported by all of the same whack jobs who want to overturn Roe v. Wade (which will never happen, so give it up) and who claim that gays marrying is a sign of the Apocalypse.

Give me a fucking break.

When I have confronted several people on this issue, they all say the same thing: "Well, it isn't that we are trying to discriminate against anyone....but why do they have to call it marriage? Why can't they call it something else?" This strikes me as being akin to saying "I'm not a bigot or racist.....I have black/Asian/Mexican friends.....".

The passage of Prop 8 would be the sanctioning of discrimination, plain and simple. I can appreciate that you may not agree with an individual's lifestyle, but how can you call yourself a true Christian when the entire concept of a Christian God is based on love? This does not mean God loves only YOU.....it means that God loves ALL PEOPLE. And if two people are in love - regardless of color, religion, or sexual orientation - shouldn't they have the same right to marry as YOU do? How is their committing to each other affecting you? Do you honestly believe it somehow lessons your own marriage? It was not all that long ago that African American people were not allowed to marry anyone outside of their own race. That had been the law. But somehow, somewhere along the road, more intelligent individuals prevailed and realized that was bullshit racisim and struck it down. For years, Armenians and other immigrants were barred from buying land in the Central Valley of California, simply based on their ethnic background. Do you think that would fly in today's world?

I am Agnostic, bordering on Atheist. I believe the Bible to be a work of fiction, some great stories that served a larger purpose of keeping the general populace in control with some fairly specific laws. But it was written thousands of years ago. It is no longer relevant to today's standards. You cannot use it as the backbone of your argument to discriminate against gay and lesbian individuals. If there is a God, I can promise you that he doesn't give a shit what gay and lesbian people do sexually.....as long as they love and respect each other and those around them. Fear governs those who are supporting this proposition. Fear and hatred and they do everything they can to mask it, to try and show that they are not trying to discriminate. But that's all this proposition does. It is even written into it as plain as day. Here is the actual wording:

"ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Fiscal Impact: Over next few years, potential revenue loss, mainly sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments. In the long run, likely little fiscal impact on state and local governments."

I get sick to my stomach when I see these idiots on TV, holding prayer meetings in lame attempts to make certain this passes. I get angry when I see how the Mormon Church is funding the "Yes on 8" push from outside of California. What right do they have to meddle in the affairs of our state?

This proposition may very well pass. As I write this, the final race for it is pretty much neck and neck with the "No on 8" enjoying only a very slight lead.

Does this proposition's passing or not passing affect me directly? Nope. But as someone who chafes at being told what I can and cannot do on any level - especially by those who do not have the brain power to think for themselves and have to have "faith" in some invisible man in the sky to tell them how to live their lives - I am hoping it fails. No one has the right to tell anyone else they cannot marry the person they love. And I can tell you right now if someone told me that, they would be facing a beat-down. So imagine how those who will be affected by this proposition feel if it passes. It is discrimination, no matter how it's supporters try to hide or camouflage it even from themselves so they can continue believing they are "good people". And I only have one thing to say to all of them who support it, even as much as some are my friends:

"Wake the fuck up, dumbass."

P.S.
And by the way, I already voted, bitches.