Say it ain't so O

It seems our consensus loving, and by that I mean corporation and corporate politician loving, President is considering taking away Miranda rights for terrorists. More than one person on the right wing of the political spectrum suggested doing it so Obama thinks that there is a groundswell of public opinion in favor of this awful idea. That's his M/O.

If it really is that case that he's considering this then I have just one thing to say about, NO. No, a thousand, million, billion times NO.

Treating all suspects, and remember people are still innocent until proven guilty EVEN IN TIMES OF SO CALLED WAR, fairly and somewhat honestly (I say somewhat because of the way our judicial system was and still is gamed against the poor and people of color.) is a hallmark of American justice. The right is fond of crowing that we are a nation of laws, and then they want to toss them out when it comes to people they say are terrorists. And in the name of getting reelected President Obama is going to agree and work with them to take away the rights of defendants? Bullshit.

This is a huge slippery slope. Who decides who a terrorist is? Are all Muslims now terrorists? What about if a Shinto priest nuts up and goes Postal on a group of American tourists in Japan, are all Shintos then terrorists who get no Miranda warnings? We've been in a war on drugs for years, do we take away the Miranda warnings for those accused of drug offenses? We were in a war on poverty for a time until the corporations and lobbyists defeated it, but if we brought it back do the poor lose their Miranda warnings?

That animal who killed Dr. Roeder was a Christian terrorist. Tim McVeigh was a Christian terrorist. That Fox News lover who shot up that Unitarian church in Knoxville is a terrorist. Teabaggers who advocate 'taking their country back' by force are terrorists. Communists who advocate the violent overthrow of the United States government are terrorists. Anti abortionists who advocate violence against doctors who perform abortions are terrorists. Christian ministers who advocate violence against those they disagree with and those who they say are in violation of their bible are terrorists. Oath Keepers who seek to incite civil unrest and insurrection are terrorists. Skinheads and Neo Nazi's are terrorists. And in my opinion the heads of all organized religions, the CEO's of all fossil fuel companies, and the heads of most every multinational for profit corporation are terrorists. All those people should now lose their Miranda rights too.

To those in power at the time, Jesus Christ was a terrorist. Abolitionist John Brown was a terrorist. George Washington and the rest of the founding fathers were terrorists. Rosa Parks was a terrorist. Martin Luther King Jr. was a terrorist.

And the fact that I am against this usurpation of our rights makes me a terrorist in some quarters. Do I still have the right to remain silent if I get arrested? Obama lost my vote for not keeping his promise to close Gitmo, repeal the Patriot act, and end the spying on of innocent Americans. Now with this, he's forced me to campaign against him. With this further lurch to right by Obama, it won't be hard for me to find someone to the left of him. Because now, most all Americans are to the left of Bush Obama.

Hate and Maine

Fear and hate won the day in Maine this past election day. And no matter what you say, that election was all about hate and keeping gays and lesbians from having their civil rights. I've seen the ads the anti gay marriage people ran in Maine and they are all fear based. They played on the uneducated and religious people's basest darkest fears. They used the fear of children being exposed to homosexual sex to scare people into voting to take away rights that they themselves already have.
And let's be honest here too, the gay marriage foes are against same sex marriage because their church tells them to be. It is written in their book of metaphors and fairy tales that it is evil for two dudes to kiss and love one another and it's horrible if two women make love with each other and have a stable loving home. Some guy chiseled that into a stone tablet back in the Bronze age so it must be true.

But people of reason and goodwill know it's not. And another thing we know is that if your religion and your church and your minister is against same sex marriage and extending civil rights to gays, lesbians, and transgendered folks then you are too . It doesn't matter if you say you're for same sex marriage, if your church is against it, then so are you. If you proclaim your love for gays and you say you want them to be able to get married, but if the religion you follow is against it, then so are you. If you are a Roman Catholic and you say, "I love teh gay! I want teh gays to get married!," but your church as a whole opposes same sex marriage and works to outlaw it, then you by your financial support, by your attendance, by your adherence to it's dogma, help keep those gays you claim to love from having marriage equality. Same goes if you're a United Methodist, a Presbyterian, a Sikh, a Muslim, a Seventh Day Adventist, a Scientologist, a what the fuck ever. If you really want to see gays get the right to marry then you need to stop supporting religious organizations that work their sanctimonious asses off to keep them from being equal.

Film director Paul Haggis put his money where his mouth was and he very publicly left the cult of Scientology over this issue. How many of you have left your church over it? How many of you pay lip service to loving gays and wanting gay marriage but still pay, through your donations, to keep gays separate and unequal?
But you know, having lived in the so called Bible belt for so many years amongst some of the most hypocritical people on earth when it comes to religion and sex, I can see how and why they hate gays so much. The born agains hate and fear gays because their Bible tells them to and because they are either uneducated or just plain ignorant. A former boss of mine, a reasonably intelligent woman with a college degree, once told me that she was glad that gays couldn't serve in the military because she was afraid if they were allowed to serve in the middle of battle those gays might be winking at other soldiers instead of trying to kill the enemy. And the sad truth is she's not the only one who thinks that gay people are some kind of hypersexed beasts who think of nothing but getting it on. When you hear someone claim they don't their kids around homos, it's a good bet they think that somehow gays can't control themselves sexually around anyone, especially kids.

While I can see why people who believe that witches are real and that the earth is only a little over 6000 years old hate gays and want to keep them from having the same freedoms and rights that straight people have, there is one group who's opposition to same sex marriage baffles me and that group is black people who lived through the Jim Crow years. If anyone would know what it feels like to be a second class citizen with the law stacked against them, then it's older black folks. The parallels between the struggle for civil rights for blacks in the 1950's and 1960's and the fight for equality for gay folks are as obvious as the noses on their faces. Both groups were ostracized and derided for seeking justice, both groups were beaten and mocked for seeking equality, both groups were told that the oppressors had the Bible and Jesus on their side, and both groups faced enormous amounts of hatred when they set out to gain rights that others had.

Just like in the struggle for civil rights for black folks, the federal government is going to have to step in on this one. If the government hadn't stepped in and forced schools to desegregate then it would never have happened. If Robert Kennedy and LBJ hadn't used the power of the federal government to stop voter intimidation then many black folks would still be unable to vote in many parts of this country.

The sad fact is that in this country the minority will always have to use the power of the courts and the federal government to gain equal rights. If we had put civil rights for blacks up for a vote back in the '60's like we do same sex marriage today, then blacks would still be living under Jim Crow laws today. It's time for our judges to become activist once again, like they did when Earl Warren was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and extend marriage rights to all the citizens of this nation.

I'm California doctor too!

Some, notice I said some, Christians will stop at nothing to prevent all people from having marriage equality. I refuse to post the original ad these 'actors' are auditioning for but I sure as hell will post this because it debunks the original ad:

Liars, NOM is full of nothing but god damned bigoted liars. If you aren't for same sex marriage then don't marry someone who is the same sex as you. Remember people, the ones who oppose same sex marriage are the same kind of people who opposed interracial marriage, inter faith marriage, and giving full civil rights to blacks, gays, and women.

I remember Harvey

I remember hearing the stereotypical jokes about limp wristed swishy homosexuals as I was growing up.

I remember Cousin Psycho calling me "fag," "femmy," "queer," and "faggot" because I was different from him in that I didn't like killing small fur bearing animals and song birds and because I did not try to date rape every girl I went out with.

I remember a time in this country when you could get beaten up for being homosexual, and I'm sad to say that in some places, including the area I live in, this is still true.

I remember a time when it was professional suicide for homosexuals to come out of the closet.

I remember when Harvey Milk became the first out gay man to get elected to public office in this country. I was living in Jonesville, not exactly a hotbed of political tolerance but it turns out it was a hotbed of homosexual activity, especially among females, and I thought it was a good thing that a gay person was finally in a position of power, even if it was in a city that was across the country from me.

I remember when Dan White gunned down Harvey Milk and George Moscone and I remember thinking that it was such a shame that those two men had to die at the hands of such a bigoted asshole.

I remember Anita Bryant's anti homosexual crusade and how the "Christians" in Jonesville backed her publicly and loudly. I remember they said that the homos were going to recruit in the schools because they could not reproduce. I then expected to be recruited but it never happened. It didn't happen in college either. And I was kind of disappointed because I had my response all figured out if they did try to recruit me. I was going to give them the speech I got from girls in high school and college who did not want to date me, "Thanks, really. I'm flattered but I don't like you guys like that. I only like you guys as friends. We can be friends but that's it." Then I was going to give who ever tried to recruit me a chaste hug or a pat on shoulder.

I tell you all that because Sparky and I saw this last night:

And seeing it brought back a lot of memories about the gay rights movement and growing up in the mid and late '70's.

As you all know by now, this film tells the story of Harvey Milk's life in San Francisco when he became an activist and a city supervisor. The film shows parts of Milk's life journey as it mirrored the journey of the gay rights/equality for all movement.

It's a fine film and yes, Sean Penn deserved his Oscar for it. He turned in a fearless performance as he lost himself in this role. He's a big time movie actor, which is different from being a big time movie star. Bruce Willis is a movie star, Sean Penn is a movie actor and if you can't tell the difference then you are a Philistine and you need to stop reading my blog.

I highly recommend this film and even though it's sad, it's actually hopeful too. I think it would have tickled Harvey Milk pink, don't excuse the pun, to see his story get told to millions of people. And I'm pretty sure that Harvey would love what Sean Penn and Gus Van Sant did with his story. I hope closeted gay people see this and it gives them the courage to come out and live their lives honestly. I hope gay teens see it and it gives them hope for a better tomorrow. I hope straight people see it that they get a better understanding of what it is to be gay in this country. I hope everyone sees it and that they then join the fight for equality for gays, lesbians, and transgendered people. I hope this film is seen by the hundreds of thousands of intolerant Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and they they see that their fight against equal rights for gays is misguided and a crime against the gods they claim to love and serve.

I remember Harvey Milk and I hope you will too long after you see this powerful film.

Well, this move is sure to piss off the PUMAs

President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay act into law today and hot chicks with douchebags every where celebrated accordingly.

My lack of religion demands that I stand up to hate

Not only should liberals, progressives, and all people who love equality boycott the wretched home state of the Church of Latter Day Haters, the people who are otherwise known as the
we should also boycott the state of California until their legislature gives back the rights that the Mormons and Catholics (sorry FranYouAre) took away with Prop 8.

If I see that a product is made in California I won't buy it until this wrong against gay people is righted. I know all my California commenters are pro gay marriage and my boycott isn't meant to harm or take away business from you fine people, it's meant to hurt and take business away from the asses who don't want their fellow gay and lesbian citizens to be equal.

This latest out pouring of hate is nothing new for the Mormons. For many years they preached that Native Americans and African Americans were lesser beings than whites. They claimed that the people with dark skin were responsible for Jesus death and so it was okay to hate and marginalize them. They claim that they no longer feel that way but I think they are lying because many years ago the snake oil salesman who founded their "religion" said that Mormons could lie to anyone about their odious beliefs and practices as long as it made people accept them into the mainstream of American life.

You Mormons need to put on your sacred underwear and gird your loins because now that we have put a Democrat in the White House we're on the hunt for equality for our gay brothers and sisters. We're not about to let you hateful fucks who believe in a religion that's stranger than most (Think about this, if there was this great civilization that used chariots and smelted iron in America during the time when Jesus was supposed to be alive as the Mormon bible claims, then how come there have never been any artifacts of it unearthed? BECAUSE MORMONISM, LIKE ALL RELIGIONS, IS A MADE UP STORY.) get away with this bit of bullshittery. If you had had your way before you would have wiped out black and red folks long ago. You sanctimonious prigs disgust me and I relish the fight against you.

Equal pay no matter what they say

Go read this post by Vikkitikkitavi and then go sign this petition to tell Bush McCain to stop insulting women.

The first gays I ever met

That awful gay marriage "comedy" starring these two jack asses is getting ready to open nationwide in a theatre near you soon. How dumb is the studio who green lit this project? Did they really think that America wanted to see an unfunny movie that is mocking the fight that gays and lesbians are waging for equal marriage rights?


The only thing good about this stinker may be that it gets all of us talking and thinking more about equal rights for all. It got me to thinking about the first gay people I ever met.


Technically the first gay person I ever met was my Uncle Jerry. He was my Mom's brother and he was gay. He did not come out or anything when I was young but he was gay nonetheless. The grown ups on my Mom's side of the family referred to Uncle Jerry as a 'confirmed bachelor.' He lived by himself, as far as I knew, and he went to work every day that he was supposed to and he lived a regular life. He never seemed like he was a crazy sexual voracious pervert or anything like that to me. He just seemed like he was a regular guy who was nice to us kids and who took us out from time to time, he took me to my first pro hockey game when I was a kid.

Years later when I found out he was gay, I also found out from my brother that Uncle Jerry was sick and dying of HIV/AIDS or one of the many diseases related to it. My brother said that Uncle Jerry turned into a bitter angry old man who no one wanted to be around. That bit of news did not surprise me since after all Uncle Jerry was gay before Stonewall, before the gay pride movement, and when he finally did come out everyone knew he was dying of that awful disease. He never got to be who he truly was and he had to endure society's taunts, prejudices, and scorn. His parents would have thrown him out and turned their backs on him if he had come out when they were alive. So really, it's no wonder he was a bitter angry man when he died.

The first out gay person I met was a man named David. He was a friend of my Dad's. They met, I believe, in one of the many mental hospitals my father was in during the late 1960's and early '70's. At that time the American Psychiatric Association said the being gay was a disease so people had their gay sons and daughters put in mental hospitals along with people who actually were mentally unstable.

David came to visit one day and us kids were introduced to him and then we were herded upstairs to play. I think my Mom was afraid for us to be around David, as if he had some gay germ he would infect us with. He and Dad stayed down stairs and played records, talked and laughed, drank a few beers, and then he went home. He seemed perfectly normal to me and my Dad seemed to like him. I don't know what has happened to David since but I'm sure he had to put up with all that same shit my Uncle Jerry did.

My point is that gay people are normal, they are just like you and me. The only difference is that they love people of their own gender. And I, and millions of others as well, think that they should have the same legal rights to marry and adopt children just like straight people do. I'm willing to bet that gay and lesbian married couples would be a hell of a lot better at raising children and making a marriage work than a lot of straight couples you and I know.

I can't do anything about my late Uncle Jerry or about my Dad's friend David, but I can do something about seeing to it that gays and lesbians are granted the same rights and protections that I have. And I can also damn well make sure that I never ever pay to see that piece of junk that The King of Queens and Nicky Boy made. And I hope you don't either.