Today marks one year ago that I gathered with my family, friends, and fellow Obama campaign volunteers to watch the election results come in to campaign headquarters in celebration of all the things we have worked so hard for. Today I also woke to the news of the repeal in Maine that takes legal rights away from gay & lesbian citizens of that state. My friend and former boyfriend Tom is from Maine and lives there with the love of his life, Ray, with whom he has made a family for 15 years now. I called him this afternoon after hearing how distressed he was to offer some comfort and solace, and to encourage him to not be defined by this or to allow his love, his life, or his family to suffer one millisecond more of pain inflicted by these horrible people responsible for making this happen. Fortunately for us, love wins out and he and I both are fortunate not only that we have such a bounty of love in our own lives, but that we can celebrate it in each other because it matters.
There is a lot of responsibility that needs to be assumed and taken up. It's time once again to stop being complacent and start getting proactive, to start engaging one another and to call out those who mean us harm wherever they might be - loudly, without restraint, and without apology. ALL OF US have this responsibility, not just my GLBT brothers and sisters, but all of our straight friends and allies - if indeed you are our friends and allies. You can no longer stand idly by and watch as we suffer these indignations like it doesn't affect you, and if it doesn't affect you to watch those of us you call loved ones suffering the tyranny of second class citizenship, then we must force ourselves to question our loyalties to you. You cannot have it both ways because this is too important, and we can no longer afford to pretend that your silence isn't complacency. Speaking for myself, I would do that for each and every one of you because it is right and because it matters, and I cannot accept anything less than the same in return.
Regret is a terrible, numbing, cancerous thing. A few short decades ago hundreds of thousands of white people in this country stood by and said nothing when black people were denied civil rights, when they were tortured and killed, and they maintained an uncomfortable silence about how wrong this was, how evil discrimination is, all of the things they knew were true yet kept to themselves and those like them for fear of becoming vilified. That's a terrible thing living in that kind of fear, but it is also a wholly unnecessary thing and let's be honest - it's WRONG. It is WRONG to see an act of injustice and say nothing. It is WRONG to hear someone preach hateful speech about people you love and respect and say nothing. It is WRONG to maintain the status quo for the sake of comfort when it creates damage in the homes and lives of those you claim to love and respect. Moreover, it is WRONG to be silent amongst those perpetuating a wrong and not call out what you know is RIGHT. Silence is acceptance, and your silence is not good enough anymore. It never has been.
I am tired as I write this. I am life-tired. With everything that is going on in my personal life, I cannot help but be exhausted. I've been this tired before and I will be this tired again, but damnit - that's NO excuse to sit on my ass and not do any and every thing I can to say and do something that matters. That's all it takes, really - the courage to look fear in the eye and the drive to look into the faces of those who may never agree with you, who may very well even turn on you, even the will to push exhaustion aside long enough to make a declaration.
Because it matters. Because as my beautiful friend Greg recently learned and shared with me, it is a fact that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning teenagers are more likely to complete a suicide attempt than their heterosexual contemporaries - and one of them could be YOUR child. Because approximately one in four underage kids who come out to their parents are kicked out of the house. Because an estimated 40+% of the homeless teenagers in NYC alone are GLBT and were kicked out of their homes and are made homeless by their god-fearing parents' indifference to love in favor of embracing religious hysteria. Because the average duration of life on the streets is one year after which it's death or prison. Shelters are run internally by gangs like crips, bloods. Sissy boys and butch girls are safer on the streets. Because there are homeless teenagers dying of HIV/AIDS as I type this that are beyond medicine and in support volunteers' homes so that they won't be forced to die alone. Greg knows this because he is volunteering his time for these kids, these children, the very same ones thrown into the trash by parents who are likely the chief constituent voting bloc that is responsible for the decision in Maine. Which, by the way, should never have been up for a vote in the first place.
That's what we're teaching our children, be they heterosexual or otherwise. That is what they are learning whether they are hearing it from the misguided voices harmonizing their collective bigotry or the deafening silence that results when such things are not being called out in opposition for the true evil they represent - and as I stated earlier, silence is acceptance.
So I'm challenging you all to share these words with as many people as you can. Repost word for word or cut and paste what you can personalize if you must, but you have an opportunity to throw a gauntlet down and step up and be a hero for me and people just like me, and we have never needed you to rise to this challenge more than we do now. Do it because it takes balls to do a courageous thing, no matter the cost. Do it because enough people have been beaten, tortured, and killed for simply being who they are and their voices and their hopes and dreams have been stolen from us all - and you can be their voices, hopes, and dreams so that their suffering is not in vain. Do it because nothing is faster than the speed it takes for compassion to die and it is the death of compassion that makes all of this necessary in the first place. Do it because Matthew Shepard can't and you can. Or do it for the best reason possible - no reason at all - because you don't need a reason to do the right thing.
The choice to speak out in agreement is yours, I can only hope you will share this message with others. As many times as I've done this and seen one flame light a thousand torches to provide illumination for others to see, it isn't a choice for me - it is a necessity - a responsibility - and while your complacency is and will continue to be heartbreaking, I'm never giving up this fight until such a time that conversations in the future refer to this kind of discrimination against families like mine as a thing of the past. Do you understand what I'm saying? I will not be complacent, I will never give in to people telling me what is right and fair when they couldn't be more wrong, and I will no longer stand up to support those who will not do the same thing for me because they'd rather be cowardly and prefer the comfort they take for granted, something I refuse to do.
It is your turn to share this and spread these words so that others may do the same from your example. It's one small action, that is all I'm asking for right now. It is your turn to say something, what will YOU do?
In a little over 2 weeks, we will be making the move to Arizona. Damien's last day of work here is Thursday the 19th, and before I go to bed that night EVERYTHING will be properly packed into boxes. We get the U-Haul truck on Friday the 20th, load up that day and then get some rest before heading out at 0'dark:30 Saturday the 21st. We'll be stopping for the night right about halfway in San Antonio, then arriving in Phoenix on Sunday the 22nd. Depending on the time of day we'll unload the truck that following Monday, the 23rd, turn the truck in that day or the day after, and then spend a few days getting everything situated in the new condo.
Speaking of the new condo, it is S-W-A-N-K! Here's a virtual tour of it. Don't hate. Also, there's a lake across the street from us, and it's right around the corner from Trader Joe's - one of my most favorite places to shop EVAR.
I'm going to be using my Dreamwidth blog to document the move and life in Arizona, everything will be crossposted here though. I'll be making status updates to Facebook while we're on the road to check in and let everyone know where we are and how we're doing, and in case I cannot post normally from the road to here I'll make voice posts.
Our going-away party is happening at Maggie's house This Saturday, so there will be lots of pictures coming from that.
Everyone has been SO fantastic and loving and encouraging and supportive and generally wonderful, more than I could even ask for in fact, and all in all I'm very excited about the move and the new adventures awaiting us on this new part of our family's journey. I know the homesickness is coming down the road and I'm in for rough days ahead sooner or later, and I'm ready for it, as long as it doesn't happen while we're still here. I can do this as long as I keep it together until we land, and if I can manage that (and I have all the faith in myself I could possibly have that I will) then that will be more than half of my battle.
I give you permission to BE overwhelmed for no longer than 5 minutes, and to FEEL overwhelmed for no longer than 10. Life is great, you are surrounded constantly by love, and even though in only 3 short weeks you're leaving the only home you've ever known your entire life, and this is really hard to grapple with - it's all going to be okay. In fact, it's going to be great.
I give you permission to be upset that you're not going to get as much time with people as you want before you leave. It's okay though, because love travels really well.
I give you permission to want to freak out because of all the boxes, all of the clutter, and all of the chaos - just don't actually freak out, you've got way too much to do for all that. It's only 3 weeks - just keep the dishes clean and the laundry done, occasionally sweep the floor, and this time next month everything will be nicely unpacked, organized, and clean in your new home.
I am compiling a list of links, points of reference, and resources for a write-up that may not happen until Sunday, essentially to prove how this abject BULLSHIT about how the White House/Obama Administration 'declaring war' on Fox News is much ado about nothing. If you have any links that might help, please post them in comments - will credit those who make the effort to do so.
Seriously, it's pissing me off that this is even necessary, but I'm just about half past giving a shit and frankly, otherwise reasonable and logical people are buying into the nonsense - it needs to be set straight for once, so I'm asking for anyone who wants to contribute something here to do so now - I'm short on time, but I really need to do this.
Post as many links as you like in comments citing valid sources where Fox News is flat out lying, being disingenuous, or otherwise - and if possible, counterpoints to debunk their claims. Snopes.com, FAIR.org (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting), you name it - I want it all, as many sources as you can link to. Please, try to avoid blogs unless they cite credible sources of reference and not just opinion/commentary pieces, there are plenty enough of those - I'm talking brass tacks.
So yesterday I had a bike wreck on the way home from downtown - in the cold - hit the ground hard - and I have a sore shoulder and back. Also, bike is SCREWED. Somehow while changing gears the chain jumped too hard or too fast, slung the entire gearbox into the spokes, locked the tire up, and as I was riding near a curb threw my tires into said curb and throwing me off and onto the hard, cold ground. Which, by the way, LOOKS deceptively soft. It wasn't. AT ALL. To which I must now say You, Mother Nature - YOU, madam, are a bitch. Best of all, it happened about 30 feet from the spot where Michael, Bessie, & myself thought we found a dead body in broad daylight on their first visit here, just on the other side of TSYS in Murderville.
Did I mention it was fucking cold and I only had on a sweatshirt? Yeah - the temperature dropped like 10 degrees from 1 to 4 yesterday!
By the time I finally got home, I washed the grease from the bike gears that were ripped off of the rear tire (I had to pry them out of the spokes) so that it would actually roll instead of me dragging it uphill skidding the whole way. Then I noticed I still had grass and dirt on my sweatshirt, so I had to change out of that.
I'd gone downtown on the bike when it was still just cool and not yet cold to get a coffee and hang out at Brothers for a bit. I was going to take some more pictures of downtown to have for later, but totally forgot to do that - and when it really started getting cold and windy I knew I'd better hurry home as the temp was dropping so fast.
The universe conspired to make me lighten up, and it worked. I hobbled for 2 miles pushing a broken bike uphill in the cold laughing at myself.
This was the response I got a little while ago. I had asked her if she wanted to go to the premiere of Where The Wild Things Are on Friday with me, considering she's not only the one who introduced me to that book but also taught me how to read it:
Brad,
You have truly touched my heart. Seldom do teachers receive such an honor from former students. Your letter elegantly describes what I have always loved... teaching and children. Yet, you have allowed me to see my passion through a student's eyes. You have made so many wonderful memories come rushing back... the bath tub, Charlotte's Web, multiplication drills, and that huge roll of poster board.
In the 1970's, I had just begun my teaching career and knew I had made the right decision the first day I walked through the doors of South Columbus. Students like you kindled my passion for teaching for thirty-two years. Though I have now retired, the passion is still there!
I remember when your dad brought that HUGE roll of poster board to our class. He made a son proud and a teacher happy. In those days, supplies were extremely limited. Thanks to your dad, we had enough poster board to create all our class projects. I’ll never forget the size of that roll of poster board and my excitement when your dad brought it into our classroom.
I laughed when I read your comments about the bathtub. I must admit that I had as much fun with that bathtub as you did. I’m surprised I didn’t have “my day” in the bathtub. I do remember getting in on several occasions. Yes, I was a kid at heart! I guess that is why I loved teaching so much!
I am delighted to know that my love for reading was instilled in you. From your Facebook page, it is quite apparent that this love has enabled you to accomplish many life dreams and goals. Your excitement is evident in your Facebook postings.
This former teacher beams when she reads your profile. At age 38, your accomplishments are numerous. What’s more important, you are happy! You know what you want and can stand on your own merit. Brad, I am proud of you! Never stop dreaming. Make those dreams accomplished goals. Stay happy, strong, loving, and determined! I wish you much success as you add a new chapter to your life. Embrace Arizona as you have Columbus, Georgia.
I would love to go see Where the Wild Things Are with you. An early Friday matinee would be perfect.
We're officially leaving Georgia the last week of November, if all goes according to the current plan. That means there is a bit more time to get everything packed properly, and some time spent with loved ones here on the East coast.
We're conserving as much money as possible right now, because savings are really going to take a hit to finance all of this - and that is scary. What that means is that I won't be able to visit Atlanta friends or go out and party here or there as has been suggested. We just cannot afford to spend any money unnecessarily that is going to have to be used getting us from A to B.
I already decided that I was going to have a blog set up to not only document the move and this drastic life change when it became a reality, and while I have no current content on it, that blog is brad for those interested. I'll start posting content once most of the house is packed up and the actual moving starts.
This entire situation is incredibly difficult and trying. I'm 38 years old and Georgia is all the home I've ever known or had. I'm not going to make this a pity-party, because it shouldn't be - there's a whole new life waiting for us to begin, and the journey alone is exciting.
I thank everyone who has offered us support and love, and look forward to the future when I'm able to enjoy things and not be frozen in fear.
"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart."
I have read your touching letter. I plan to write you tomorrow when I can spend some "quality" time at my computer. Seldom am I speechless but your letter has made me speechless. You have given me the highest honor a teacher could ever hope for in her or his lifetime.
I found my 3rd grade and favorite teacher, Miss Shore, this morning on Facebook. I sent her a friends request and the following letter. I'm posting here the edited version because I felt it important to share but edited the original for my own personal reasons. Anyway, here it is:
The level of discourse in the comment threads has become intolerable. I have not been keeping up with the threads to this post because I'm in the process of packing up my entire life and moving to the other side of the country in the space of one month, and trying to squeeze in as much time with loved ones as possible. I'm about to leave the only home I've ever known for almost 40 years and I'm under tremendous stress, that is why I haven't jumped into the fray until now - but enough is enough.
Whether you're on my friends list or not, I ask that you learn to respectfully agree to disagree with one another, or you can cease commenting here. Keep it up and I'll outright ban you. I am not asking you to agree with me or anyone else, but if you wish to remain welcome here you WILL get hip to the fact that I don't need this, not now, not ever - but especially at this difficult time in my life.
I'm all for arguing your position, as long as you are able to defend yourself and treat others with respect, even when that may be hard to do. If you cannot manage to treat others with respect, take some responsibility and do not engage them - or at least take it elsewhere. If they don't deserve your respect, then don't bother talking to them in the first place. Either way, take responsibility for your behavior and do not disrespect people in my journal. Putting words in other people's mouths, gross exaggeration, making accusations on personal bias that you couldn't possibly substantiate fairly REGARDLESS of your position, and yet some of you have the nerve to call shame on someone else? How ironic that being so self righteous blinds you to your own hypocrisy. You people who are so hellbent on calling someone else out, let's see how good you are at taking your own medicine.
Comments are now all locked down and screened only for me to see, and I'll look at them and consider responding when I feel myself stronger and not so prone to a fucking nervous breakdown. If you have behaved yourself, then obviously I'm not talking to you so don't take it personally.
I have long said that a huge contingent of Americans are intensely stupid people, and of the stupid people contingent, the most dangerous elements are those who deny reality in favor of self delusion and ignorance. It was spelled out in a much clearer language for me after seeing a recent Real Time episode on the economy, featuring Michael Moore, economist Paul Krugman, and former New York governor Elliott Spitzer. This is all largely paraphrased from the points they each made and in a way I'm really just summarizing.
Documentary film maker Michael Moore has a new film called "Capitalism - A Love Story". In his no-nonsense style, he is calling out those who have successfully ruined our economic standing as a superpower. I know many of you conservatives absolutely despise him (and rightly so, he calls most of you on your bullshit) and write him off as a propagandist, but it is especially you who should see this film. He really puts his money where his mouth is in his films and this one is no exception. He says of this new film that he told his crew on the first day of shooting that he wanted to make a film that put everything they wanted into it, "...so much so that no studio will ever want to give me another dime again." You have to respect that kind of dedication and absolute willingness to lay his entire career and future on the line for a greater good. Don't want to pay for a ticket? Fine - buy a ticket for Pandorum and sneak into this one instead. Just see it for yourselves, research the points it makes for accuracy if need be, and make the effort to learn something.
He argues that capitalism is no longer the ideal and fundamental backbone of the American Dream. In fact, he considers what we now think is capitalism in this country is actually nothing more than a pyramid scheme which guarantees that the richest 1% of our population in the United States now owns more wealth than the remaining 99% of us combined. Let me repeat that so it will sink in better: the richest 1% of our population in the United States now owns more wealth than the remaining 99% of us combined. That 1% sits at the top of the pyramid hoarding their wealth and convincing the rest of us that with enough hard work and dedication, we to can be just like them. Not only will that never happen (come on - 1% is about as narrow a margin as it gets), they've rigged the game so that it cannot happen. This isn't hyperbole or exaggeration, it is fact. That is what passes for capitalism now, the ultra rich get richer and unless you're ultra rich, you're essentially poor by comparison. We can live comfortably without being ultra rich, but they're dictating how we get to do it through rampant cronyism and corporate welfare - currently capitalism is the new communism - and that is ultimately the beginnings of the problem.
Consider a few things. Greed is still greed. Those ultra rich are sitting at a table with a pie cut into 10 pieces. They give 1 slice to 9 possibly starving people to share and maybe fight over, and hoard the remaining 9 slices. Again, they repeat the myth that if you work hard enough, you TOO can be the guy hoarding more than is fair by fairness standards, and they'll believe him - and those greedy, starving bastards are just as greedy themselves for buying into that. The problem here is that a disproportionate amount of that pie wasn't bought with rich guy's money alone, although that's how he's gotten away with having it. Some of that pie is yours - a lot more than you think, actually. Not all rich guys are crooks by the way, but let's not be disingenuous here - 1%. Don't forget that figure, it's rather important.
Elliott Spitzer maintains that "what we have had over the last decade is not capitalism. That was a perversion of capitalism, that was crony capitalism, where you've had Republicans who didn't believe in government destroying the moral foundation of a system that does create wealth." It is critical to note that what he means by 'moral foundation' is the fact that it is not the richest 1% who has created this wealth, it is the middle class who has created it with nothing to show for it. There has been no system of distributing that wealth amongst those who have rightfully earned it - that's what years and years of deregulation have created. When you hear conservatives bitching about the 'redistribution of wealth', take note of this. What they're really saying is that greed rationalizes and legitimizes theft.
Consider that the top income tax rate was 90% under Eisenhower, and not many paid that. Even among the rich there were tons of loopholes in the code. It was 70% in the 1960's. It was 50% under Reagan. Assets have become phantoms on paper in the financial services sector that had no substantiated reality behind them, and it has not stopped, not even now under President Obama. Sure, we all hope he will deliver on his promises, but there is little evidence that he and this current congress is serious about fixing what is broken or at least stop the free bleeding at the majority's expense.
Consider that misallocation of real money on creating wealth unfairly for a select few, money burned on illegal occupations disguised as war, and ridiculous amounts of other unnecessary government spending in the past 6 years alone could have not only paid for universal health care for every American, but also the highest quality education for every American citizen up and to a 4 year college degree and STILL had a surplus. Nothing will change without fundamental policy changes within the system, and nothing will cause that change until more people in this country who claim to love it and fear for its well being start getting real and holding their elected officials' collective feet to the fire and DEMANDING accountability.
Consider that a full 1/6 of the economy in this country is based on people getting sick. That is an astonishingly high number when you get down to brass tacks. To call what we have in this country 'health care' would be laughable if it weren't so evil. A system that is based on profit and not wellness does not really have anything to do with care, it has everything to do with making money off of people being sick and dying. We are literally a sick society, and it is lucrative like you cannot even imagine. There is a bureaucratic army that creates jobs in this industry, currently the fastest growing job market we have, and it is mostly geared towards profiting on misery and illness - but not prevention or reasonable treatment. The grease for that machine is the insurance industry.
Consider this statistic: 30 years ago, the ratio of the average company CEO's salary to the average worker's salary used to 40 to 1. A CEO made 40 times more than the average worker. Now that number has exploded to 550 to 1. Now the average CEO makes 550 times more than the average company worker. Those average company workers, once factoring in the rates of inflation and costs of living over that period of 30 years haven't really had a lot to show for it, and are now facing tremendous sacrifices because they can barely afford to live within their means. Factor in their own greed and living well beyond their means, to say nothing of the sense of entitlement the coming generations have because today's parents encourage it, and it's no wonder people everywhere are freaking out. The average median household income in this country has held steady for the past 4 years, with no signs of progress.
So how do WE as regular citizens, just normal people, have a say in fixing this clusterfuck? We start by talking - really talking - after educating ourselves on the facts and not what some political pundit on a fake 'news' show tells you (because they're making millions with the fear mongering and dependence on you staying ignorant) and speaking logic and truth to power. You must see your equals as equals and stop using terms like 'real Americans', and 'true patriots', and first know that we are all your equals. We must learn to responsibly use the tools of reason, logic, clarity, dissent, civility, and debate. Those things are the basis of nonpartisan democracy and they are essential for the well being of our society. We have to get back to civics, which goes beyond Republican and Democrat, conservative and liberal. We must teach these things to our children so that they may do better than we have. Serious, legitimate effort has to be put into teaching this to ourselves, each other, and coming generations or it will be lost to fundamentalists of any stripe and the stupidity they are sustained on.
Consider that sustained democracy in any form is only a couple of hundred years old. If you don't maintain it, you end up with monarchy and theocracy and totalitarianism. This is a great country made better by responsibility, and there is nothing responsible in pointing fingers and assigning blame upon those who deserve none.
Educate yourselves, share what you learn, and take responsibility.
Print the pledge and ask all your teabagger/libertarian friends and family to sign it!
The Teabagger Socialist-Free Purity Pledge
I, ________________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:
I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.
I will complain about the destruction of my 2ndAmendment Rights in this country, while I am duly >being allowed to exercise my 2ndAmendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.
I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also.
I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:
Social Security
Medicare/Medicaid
State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
Public and State Universities and Colleges
Public Primary and Secondary Schools
Sesame Street
Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
Public Museums
Libraries
Public Parks and Beaches
State and National Parks
Public Zoos
Unemployment Insurance
Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, Stateor Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or
Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies
Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies
If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care
I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist
locations, including but not limited to:
Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
The government-operated Statue of Liberty
The Grand Canyon
The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC
I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.
I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.
I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.
I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.
Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.
Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.
SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF ____________ IN THE YEAR ______________.
Rep. Joe Wilson [R, SC-2], shouted “You lie!” at President Obama when he said that the healthcare bill would not cover illegal immigrants. “The supporters of the government takeover of healthcare and liberals who want to give healthcare to illegals are using my opposition as an excuse to distract from the critical questions being raised about this poorly conceived plan,” Wilson said the next day in a campaign fundraising video.
However, in 2003, Wilson voted to provide federal funds for illegal immigrants’ healthcare. The vote came on the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which contained Sec. 1011 authorizing $250,000 annually between 2003 and 2008 for government reimbursements to hospitals who provide treatment for uninsured illegal immigrants. The program has been extended through 2009 and there is currently a bipartisan bill in Congress to make it permanent.
Who's the bane of YOUR existence? Surely there's someone who pisses you off in such a huge way that it merits flogging, at least. 'Round here, we call that person a RAT BASTARD. Who is the person you most want to rip a new asshole for whatever reason? Go ahead - now's your chance to put them on blast. Start commenting, and have fun gettin' your hate on - and out.
This is being reposted here for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, because it is designed to dispel misinformation and lies, to set records straight in the proper historic contexts. Second, this crowd who shouts buzzwords and catchphrases (as well as assorted strawmen and red herrings) as absolute truths: Obama is a: Muslim... Marxist... Socialist... Fascist... Nazi... Obama is responsible for out of control spending... Obama = tyranny = death of liberty as well as Grandma = choices being taken away = HYSTERIA, this crowd needs to be shut down on their illegitimate arguments and faux rage. Once you debunk the misinformation and lies, there's still the ugliness of racism that some want to ignore and some want to pretend isn't as insidious as it really is.
I'm reposting this information so that when you go out into public, you can argue with these people and call them out on their bullshit. This information will serve as a point of reference, and when they cannot produce evidence to controvert, you put them in a position to either own their lies or get with the program we call reality. Enough of the bloviating already - it's time to get armed with knowledge and fight against stupidity. This will help do that.
10 Lessons for Tea Baggers
Back in April, the Daily Show's Jon Stewart offered some sound advice for frothing at the mouth Tea Baggers, "I think you might be confusing tyranny with losing." Now five months after their Tax Day outburst, thousands of vein-popping Obama opponents descended Saturday on Washington for Tea Party II. But while Glenn Beck's furious followers alternately slandered the President as a "fascist," a "communist" and worse, they remained unencumbered by either the thought process - or the truth.
Here, then, are 10 Lessons for Tea Baggers:
1. President Obama Cut Your Taxes 2. The Stimulus is Working 3. First Ronald Reagan Tripled the National Debt... 4. ...Then George W. Bush Doubled It Again 5. Republican States Have the Worst Health Care 6. Medicare is a Government Program 7. Barack Obama is Not a Muslim 8. Barack Obama was Born in the United States 9. 70,000 Does Not Equal 2,000,000 10. The Economy Almost Always Does Better Under Democrats
01. Where do you get your morality from? Please explain your morality. Moral constructs begin with reason. You have to consider what would be the consequence of an action if everyone could all do the same thing in a civilized society. For instance, I don't think reasonable people would sanction violent, indiscriminate actions being performed on people like rape and murder as though this were 'normal' behavior. I personally wouldn't want to be beaten up (again) for being gay, so I apply the same logic and would not beat a person for being straight.
02. Why do you believe in evolution? Explain how you came to your conclusions This question presupposes that the counter to evolution is creationism/intelligent design, which I don't think is fair or accurate - but more on that later. The easy answer as to why I believe in evolution is evidence - overwhelming evidence, that supports the theory as plausible. Let's start with the fossil record. Within it, we can see evolutionary transitions between beings. Whales evolved from terrestrial mammals. There is evidence in their genetics and skeletons to support this. When you have a fossil that seems to link the two, how do you know it is an intermediate form between land mammals and whales? The changes in the record, that's how. Take the middle ear for example. The hearing of land mammals in the air is very good, but not as much underwater whereas the hearing of whales underwater is excellent. When looking for an intermediate form in the record, you will need to find a difference in the middle ear structure bridging the two - and that is exactly what is found in the record, overwhelming evidence of such transitions.
Creationists love to dispute the notion that we came from monkeys, which is a complete fabrication of the actual idea. In reality, we actually do share a common ancestor with the great apes. When the genetic code of the chimpanzee was published we were able to compare our genome to theirs. The similarites were undeniable, but there was a difference in chromosomes. Humans have 46 while the great apes (chimps, gorillas, orangutans) have 48. We have 23 from each parent where they have 24. In order for us to share a common ancestor, a pair of chromosomes must have been fused, which we would see in our genome - and we do - it is in our chromosome 2 that we see the difference in our lineage and points to where the fusion occurred. Mind you, this is just in the fossil record, this doesn't even take into account the discovery of DNA, which supports evolutionary theory. You could also take into account bio-genetics, homology, embryology, observed speciation, and observed natural selection. If you ignore all of these things then you could say there is no evidence for evolution, but if making an argument for creationism, there is no evidence - only unsupportable theory and suggestion. The bible is not evidence, nor is faith.
03. What is the meaning and purpose of your life? I'm not sold on the notion that there actually is a meaning or purpose to life. That is not to say that I don't live as though I have no meaning or purpose. I am constantly motivated by a sense of purpose and driven by meaningful things that provoke me to act.
04. What is the greatest thing you have done for others? That is a very subjective question and I don't think I am the one to answer. I think anyone who has benefited from something I have done is the more appropriate person to ask. Let's assume you save the life of a person who unbeknownst to you is completely despondent. You may feel as though the greatest thing you ever did for that person was to save their life, however within a month they inevitably commit suicide. In that context, you may not have saved their life, you may have in fact only prolonged their agony. Consequently, you may do a random act of kindness for someone that at face value seemed insignificant to you, but a decade later is still remembered fondly by that person as a turning point in their own life. Reality is subjective. It's all about perception and perspective.
05. Would you kill for atheism? Of course not.
06. Why are you an atheist and why do you consider your position valid? The idea of an invisible, intelligent, omniscient, omnipotent, all powerful being controlling the universe is completely ridiculous to me. Further, the idea that he/she/it wants to be worshiped, disapproves about people working on the Saturdays and Sundays, cares if I say 'motherfucker' or 'goddamnit', is preoccupied about me having buttsex, and doesn't like me chowing down on crab legs is beyond ridiculous. There is no proof to believe in such things, and no logic either once you really start thinking about it.
07. If you died and discovered god existed, what would you say to him/her/it? "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine." Patti Smith said it best, and you don't fuck with the best. There is a lot I could say and would want to say, but it wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference in swaying my opinion of god.
08. What religion is the most dangerous both today and/or in the past? As for the past, I think it is probably Christianity, in particular Catholicism. Today, it has to be Islam. In countries that are governed by Islamic law, there is no separation of church and state which is always dangerous.
09. Name three peaceful religions you have no issue with. Buddhism is more philosophy than religion (as is Taoism), which I would consider, but it doesn't really fall under the category of religion. Therefore I have to say Wicca (which states as a commandment "Harm none"), Jainism, and Satanism. Jains are rooted in a path of nonviolence against all sentient beings. Satanism is one of the most vilified religions of all, and also one of the most misinterpreted and misunderstood. What is widely considered by many to be Satanism is actually ignorant propaganda, mostly from Christians, and has little or nothing to do with actual Satanism. Furthermore, in reality Christians are far more violent than Satanists.
10. What would it take for you to believe in god? Valid proof, empirical data, actual evidence. Even with those things, I would only acknowledge his/her/its existence, I would never follow or worship.
11. Would the world be a better place without religion? Absolutely. You don't need religion to do good in the world, but it becomes a very convenient excuse to legitimize a lot of atrocity against other humans with whom you disagree.
12. How do you feel about government and politics? Like religion, there is power here for tremendous good and tremendous evil.
13. If you could go back in time and kill Hitler and/or Stalin as babies so they would never be able to kill millions in the future, would you do it? I struggled for days answering this question because it merited a lot of scrutiny and introspection because it is bigger than simply Hitler or Stalin, but I'll focus on Hitler. He was guilty of the mass murder of millions and for that alone I would GLADLY kill him as a baby to prevent it. Of course, if you killed Hitler then you would have prevented the holocaust - but if the holocaust never happened as a result of Hitler, there is no guarantee it wouldn't have happened at least in some form with another ruthless madman at the helm. I reasoned that if the holocaust had never happened, as horrifying as it is to say, there might not be such an awareness of the evil of antisemitism, fascism, xenophobia, and genocide. That might be a plausible argument were it not for Pol Pot and the Cambodian genocide, as well as Srebrenica, Rwanda, and Darfur - all of which have taken place in my lifetime. I don't see any guarantee that preventing the holocaust from happening would have prevented other genocides from occurring, possibly worse and with greater numbers of victims. All of that dwells within what is possible, not what is historic fact. In conclusion, yes I would kill Hitler and/or Stalin as babies to prevent their atrocities from occurring.
14. Why is stem cell research so important? Stem cell research proponents assert that the science behind the research opens new paths to treating difficult to treat diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's, among others. The pro-life movement's argument as the chief opponents of stem cell research is in the use of embryonic stem cells, which must destroy the embryo in order to create the stem cell lines. Their argument is that the embryo is a human life and therefore entitled to protections. My personal argument is that an un-implanted (in utero) embryo is no more a viable human life than a footprint is a boot, or a wall switch is a light bulb.
15. Is abortion evil? No, but it is necessary sometimes. I am pro-choice second and pro-responsibility first. If more people were sexually responsible and more pro-lifers advocated for education and birth control, abortion wouldn't even be an issue except for the most dire of cases where the mother's life is in danger. What is referred to as partial birth abortion is just pro-life propaganda and not the reality of what actual late term abortion is. Doctors who perform abortion services within the third trimester of pregnancy only do so in cases where there is fetal death or when the mother's life is at stake. The notion that women and their doctors engage in this practice simply because the woman decides she doesn't want to have to take care of the child is as absurd as the notion that women walk into abortion clinics with smiles on their smug faces. In my view, there really is no such thing as pro-abortion, regardless what the pro-life movement would have you believe. In fact, if you're a woman and you choose NOT to have an abortion when you concieve a child, you ARE pro-choice because you've made that decision. If you're a man and you're pro-life, that's fine - just please do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up about it until or unless you get cramps, and then I'll personally buy you the Midol.
16. What would the circumstances need to be in order for you to approve of torture, as an individual? I don't know that I can honestly answer this question because at first glance I cannot imagine sanctioning torture. On second glance, I know full well that I am capable of inflicting unbelievably cruel methods of torture that would change the way people would feel about me on a personal level on anyone that raped or murdered someone I love. In fact, I would delight in doing it and my rage would know no limits until I was absolutely certain they were dead. That is not hyperbole, exaggeration, or me talking shit - I mean every word of what I just said as honestly as I am capably of being.
17. Should we try to save animals from going extinct? If we as humans are the reason their numbers are dwindling to the point of extinction, absolutely - otherwise, I believe nature should take its course in the natural world.
18. Do you approve of capital punishment? If so, explain why. Yes. I do not believe that rehabilitation is possible for those who rape, torture, and murder innocent human beings. I do not believe that their choices merit sustained living at taxpayer's expense, especially when some of those taxpayers are the loved ones of the murderer's victims. The costs to keep inmates on death row alive and taken care of are exorbitant, and in my personal view, a waste of money. Unrepentant murderers cease to be human beings as far as I'm concerned and I have no more compassion for them than I have for a cockroach under my shoe. They deserve no compassion and therefore should receive none.
19. Do you believe in aliens, ghosts, spirits, souls, or any supernatural forces? I don't believe that aliens necessarily fit into this equation along with the others mentioned, but I do believe in the possibility of life beyond out own planet. I suppose you could say I'm an agnostic where aliens are concerned. As for ghosts, spirits, souls and other supernatural forces, no. I enjoy the stories of haunted places and creepy things like that, but I do not believe such things are real.
20. Would you sacrifice yourself for a loved one with the chance you might end up in hell for being an atheist? Absolutely, and without reservation. Concern for the consequences of sacrifice is self defeating for the purpose.
21. Explain in detail the process of death. The organs begin to cease working and production within the context of natural death, by age or final progression of fatal disease. Respiration slows and eventually stops altogether resulting in cardiac/pulmonary/respiratory arrest occurring. The muscles of the body go slack. The muscles controlling bowel and bladder may release and the pupils become enlarged and fixed. The eyes may remain slightly open as is the jaw, because those muscles can no longer support the mouth remaining closed. Brain death occurs from the lack of oxygen in the blood and the living cell tissue within the body essentially shuts off.
A Sign of the Times by Paul Begala (Emphasis mine)
The sign said it all. It was not some last-minute message some meth addict scrawled in crayon on a scrap of cardboard. No, this sign was professionally printed. White block letters on a blue background, the four-word message was in all caps. Someone had to have thought this through. Someone wrote it, edited it, planned it, designed it, ordered it, paid for it. Someone approved it, printed it, distributed it. And then someone thought this was a message he or she wanted to convey to the world. Thank goodness someone had the courage to take a photo of it, and then Huffington Post had the guts to post it on its home page.
The sign made me nauseous, made me embarrassed, made me wonder if at long last there is no decency on the far right. The sign said: BURY OBAMACARE WITH KENNEDY.
Oh, I get it. Sen. Kennedy is dead, and these slugs want health care reform to be dead too. That is so clever.
Fourteen days after Edward Kennedy was laid to rest in the company of his fellow American heroes in Arlington, right-wing hate-mongers decided to use his burial to make a cheap point about their opposition to health care reform.
What would they have done if liberals had printed signs that equated Ronald Reagan's burial with the hoped-for death of George W. Bush's plan to privatize Social Security? Or Bill Buckley's painful passing with the GOP's loss of the White House in 2008? Or the demise of my right-wing former colleague Bob Novak with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts? You can't imagine that, can you? Because, while we progressives have our moments of frustration and our occasional lack of couth, there is nothing I can think of that compares to the sick, savage sign that the teabaggers were waving in Washington.
The inmates have taken over the asylum. The ever-sunny Reagan is dead. The congenial Buckley is dead. The old-school conservative Novak is dead as well. In their place is the party of Joe the Shouter and Joe the Plumber and Sarah the Death Panel Screecher.
They hate Pres. Obama - even though he has bent over backwards to accommodate Republicans. They hate tax increases - even though the Democrats have cut taxes for 95% of Americans. They hate health care reform - even though Ted Kennedy fought his whole life to get them the same health care millionaires like him already had.
There was not, to my knowledge, a sign that said, "Let's Bury Medicare," even though Medicare is precisely the sort of single-payer, government-run, socialized health insurance the whack-jobs say they hate. Nor did I hear about a sign that said, "Let's Bury Tricare," although the military health system is as socialized as Britain's, its beneficiaries (including, according to Newsweek, Congressclown Joe Wilson of South Carolina) are very happy with their socialized health care. Nary a sign, so far as I know, decried the Bush prescription drug entitlement, even though it ballooned the deficit, enriched the pharmaceutical companies and furthered the supposed slide toward socialism. Nor, I'm told, were there any signs criticizing the $2 trillion Mr. Bush's unjust, unwarranted, unwise war in Iraq will cost our children and grandchildren. Nor ever a single sign about the Bush tax cuts, which helped squander the Clinton surplus. If this were about fiscal policy, the protests would have happened long ago.
These tea parties are, at least for some, more about hate than high-minded debate. Anyone who needed proof need look no further than the sign captured in the photo on the front page of the Huffington Post.
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