Thursday, March 5, 2009
Give Prop 8 the boot
You can watch the Prop 8 legal challenge oral arguments live here from 9-12 (PST) today (Thursday March 5). I'm not sure if I will watch them live or not, because I can't tell if both sides will be arguing and I'm not sure I can can refrain from yelling at the people in favor of upholding the ruling, and since I'll be at work, it might not be appropriate. Maybe there will be a pod cast...
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Message from the squawk box
Among the many infuriating things that Limbaugh did and said during his keynote speech at CPAC, he thought it important to let everyone know what conservatives really stand for. And, I'm not a conservative, but I'm not convinced he did a bang-up job representing his party. On the surface, he makes it sound like there is no biased toward any groups, that conservatives (based on his definition) love everyone:
"When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don't see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people we want to exploit. What we see -- what we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and see the average American, the person that makes this country work. We do not see that person with contempt. We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes. We believe that person can be the best he or she wants to be if certain things are just removed from their path like onerous taxes, regulations and too much government."
--http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/01/transcript-rush-limbaughs-address-cpac/ (emphasis mine)
But there is a very dangerous message in those words. The idea that the "average American" has not yet attained the best he or she can be, implies that they are somehow inferior. This is the very reason we have such strong class divides, the very reason that rates for smoking, drinking, and drug abuse rise as income decreases; we are telling the average worker, "Joe the Plumber," if you will, that what he does isn't good enough, that they haven't attained all they can.
"When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don't see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people we want to exploit. What we see -- what we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and see the average American, the person that makes this country work. We do not see that person with contempt. We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes. We believe that person can be the best he or she wants to be if certain things are just removed from their path like onerous taxes, regulations and too much government."
--http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/01/transcript-rush-limbaughs-address-cpac/ (emphasis mine)
But there is a very dangerous message in those words. The idea that the "average American" has not yet attained the best he or she can be, implies that they are somehow inferior. This is the very reason we have such strong class divides, the very reason that rates for smoking, drinking, and drug abuse rise as income decreases; we are telling the average worker, "Joe the Plumber," if you will, that what he does isn't good enough, that they haven't attained all they can.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Chris Buttars...championing the "spiritual and moral framework" of our government one idiotic comment at a time
Chris Buttars, a member of the Utah State Senate, (a glowing beacon of a red state, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised) has gotten press lately for his defense of marriage comments. What gets me is this is his statement defending himself on his website:
“Despite the recent venom directed at him for defending traditional values, Senator Buttars will never abandon the framework of spiritual and moral values upon which our government was founded. Senator Buttars will continue to stand against the very aggressive special interest groups whose mission is to eliminate all traditional and moral values from government.” (http://www.chrisbuttars.com/home/issues)
This complete and blatant disregard for separation of church and state baffles me. How can an elected official actually say that our government was founded on spiritual and moral values? I want to find this man and do horrible, horrible things to him. Oh, and for the record, we are on the brink of giving Utah one more seat in the House (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11793280).
Monday, February 23, 2009
Mourning
We are going to sell the family property in Dublin that has been in my family for almost 200 years. I've known this was coming for some time; as a family we have been negotiating with the City of Dublin to turn the property into a park so that the mounds and the history of the land can be protected. It all seems so hollow to me, though. There is no amount of money, no plaque, no dedication that can begin to account for the life that has been lived on that property. It can't account for the ways that we have been molded and changed into the people and the family we are today. Without question, I am crushed. I don't know how to mourn the loss of a space, when the space is so much more than simply that. I don't know how to get over the loss of the place that has comforted me through the loss of those that are dear to me. I define my sense of place through this land. I define my sense of self through this place. How do you say goodbye to that?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Whew!
President Barack Obama! I feel giddy when I say it! I have to admit that I'm drinking the koolaid a little bit, but not just because of what I think he will do, but because I'm proud to be an American now. I believe that we can begin to make changes that will not only make life better in the short term, but will be the catalyst for lasting, broad-reaching change. I'm proud that Obama is our president because he has the power to inspire people to become better citizens. He has the ability to speak our language and to ask us to do our part. Will he disapoint me in policy along the way? Without a doubt. Will he make all the right decisions? Not a chance in hell. But if we can continue to ride the wave of hope and humanity that has energized so many of us, then he will have done his job.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
It's time
It's time for a change. It's time to take responsibility for our actions. It's time to take responsibility for those who need our help. It's time for diplomacy. It's time for love. And most importantly, it's time to find hope, even in the places where there doesn't seem to be any left.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Politics are in season
As much as the candidates on both sides of the line have spoken about changing politics and reforming Washington, this is turning into the most divisive, polarizing campaign in quite some time. Granted, this will only be the fourth time I've been able to vote in a presidential election, but the "water-cooler" talk allows for no middle ground.
It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'm an Obama supporter. I can't envision a time in the foreseeable future where I would vote republican. But I also would not call myself a democrat because there are many things in the democratic party that I disagree with (but there are few things in the republican party with which I agree). This time, though, I'm inspired by the democratic candidate. I'm voting *for* someone, not against the republican. I'm encourage by the promise of a new kind of politics, by a person who thinks before he speaks, by someone who believes in diplomacy, by someone who voted AGAINST the war!
We desperately need this as a country, both because of the policies Obama wants to enact, but maybe more importantly, because it's time for a large population of people, who have been disenfranchised since the birth of our nation, to have a voice. The time of the old, white politician will not end, but the time of the non-white politician will be born. When all groups are represented, only then will the needs of our country as a whole be addressed.
And yet, as I watched the RNC last night I was profoundly disturbed. Not because of the personal attacks launched by the speakers. This is a form of campaigning that has been successful in recent decades, so why quit now? I was disturbed because people buy it. Because people laughed and jeered when the fact was brought up that Obama was a community organizer. When did this become something negative? Obama spent years of his life helping those less fortunate try to get back on their feet, to empower them to help themselves, and an entire convention of people LAUGHS? What does that say about us as a people?
I sat on my couch, watching the TV, feeling utterly and totally helpless and defeated. We do not have to agree on the policies it will take to get to a better America. In all likelihood, neither party is completely right about anything. But, are we so far gone that we can't agree that there is a lot of common ground on where we want to go? And if so, is name calling and jeering going to get us there?
Lest we forget that less than 250 years ago, most of our ancestors were foreigners, coming to this country to make something for themselves. Many of them were given land or purchased it through land grants, making it accessible to those who came here with virtually nothing. This is a country of immigrants, a country that was founded on the ideals that anyone can make it if they work hard.
When it becomes acceptable to laugh at those trying to help their fellow man, how can we possibly dig ourselves out? I'm concerned that we have landed in a place that is so far removed from what our founding fathers envisioned that it's too late to go back. Of course it is natural to evolve as a country. We should. The global economy, the pressures we face as a nation, could not have in any way been anticipated centuries ago. But the vision of our Democratic country that is championed as a mainstay of our identity as Americans by conservatives and democrats alike, has become nothing more than rhetoric.
It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'm an Obama supporter. I can't envision a time in the foreseeable future where I would vote republican. But I also would not call myself a democrat because there are many things in the democratic party that I disagree with (but there are few things in the republican party with which I agree). This time, though, I'm inspired by the democratic candidate. I'm voting *for* someone, not against the republican. I'm encourage by the promise of a new kind of politics, by a person who thinks before he speaks, by someone who believes in diplomacy, by someone who voted AGAINST the war!
We desperately need this as a country, both because of the policies Obama wants to enact, but maybe more importantly, because it's time for a large population of people, who have been disenfranchised since the birth of our nation, to have a voice. The time of the old, white politician will not end, but the time of the non-white politician will be born. When all groups are represented, only then will the needs of our country as a whole be addressed.
And yet, as I watched the RNC last night I was profoundly disturbed. Not because of the personal attacks launched by the speakers. This is a form of campaigning that has been successful in recent decades, so why quit now? I was disturbed because people buy it. Because people laughed and jeered when the fact was brought up that Obama was a community organizer. When did this become something negative? Obama spent years of his life helping those less fortunate try to get back on their feet, to empower them to help themselves, and an entire convention of people LAUGHS? What does that say about us as a people?
I sat on my couch, watching the TV, feeling utterly and totally helpless and defeated. We do not have to agree on the policies it will take to get to a better America. In all likelihood, neither party is completely right about anything. But, are we so far gone that we can't agree that there is a lot of common ground on where we want to go? And if so, is name calling and jeering going to get us there?
Lest we forget that less than 250 years ago, most of our ancestors were foreigners, coming to this country to make something for themselves. Many of them were given land or purchased it through land grants, making it accessible to those who came here with virtually nothing. This is a country of immigrants, a country that was founded on the ideals that anyone can make it if they work hard.
When it becomes acceptable to laugh at those trying to help their fellow man, how can we possibly dig ourselves out? I'm concerned that we have landed in a place that is so far removed from what our founding fathers envisioned that it's too late to go back. Of course it is natural to evolve as a country. We should. The global economy, the pressures we face as a nation, could not have in any way been anticipated centuries ago. But the vision of our Democratic country that is championed as a mainstay of our identity as Americans by conservatives and democrats alike, has become nothing more than rhetoric.
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