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So Much for Republican Bipartisanship

January 26, 2009September 29, 2018 B. John 483 Views 0 Comments Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, John McCain, Economy, Economic Simulus, Paul Krugman, Harry Reid

That didn’t take long. John McCain is on TV this weekend saying he won’t vote for the stimulus package. Other leading Republicans are complaining about the package not having enough tax cuts…blah, blah, blah. Of course they’re also on all the Sunday morning talk shows complaining about the dangers of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, and prattling on with the lies about all the released prisoners “returning” to the battlefield. The Republicans seem to have always thought that bipartisanship means that everyone must agree with them. For some reason, the spineless Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have gone along with the bullies, thinking somehow the Repubs won’t be so mean to them, if they just give them everything they want. I’m hoping that Obama is going to demand that Pelosi and Reid grow a spine. It sounds like maybe he has one. It’s been reported that Obama, during a White House meeting with Congressional leaders last week, said matter of factly, “I won.”

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The Inaguration – My Take

January 20, 2009September 29, 2018 B. John 453 Views 0 Comments john roberts, Barack Obama, Yo Yo Ma, Oath of Office, Inaguration, Bush

I took time out, as did a lot of Americans, and watched today’s ceremonies swearing in Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. As you might expect, I have some opinions on the ceremony and some of the participants. I’m a sucker for the ceremonies of state, and today’s was “high church.” Barack and Michele Obama, and his children, were just the height of grace and beauty, and it does give me some hope that maybe a new day has begun.

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Rick Warren and The Obama Inauguration

December 29, 2008September 29, 2018 B. John 573 Views 1 Comment bigotry, hate, Obama, Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, Inaugration

For those of you living under a rock, President Elect Obama has invited Rick Warren, from the Saddleback Mega-Church, to deliver the invocation at Obama’s inauguration. Gay rights and other activists groups have strenuously objected, and Obama and his aides have made any number of statements defending the choice with the tired old line of how the Obama campaign has always been about “uniting people” and showing how “we can disagree without being disagreeable.” So let me be clear in my response. In the case of claims by the Warren supporters (including you Obama), they are correct. I am being intolerant and am applying the standard applied by Warren and his supporters to love the sinner and hate the sin. I believe that the sin of hate and bigotry, most especially when used for monetary gain, should never ever be tolerated. I guess that fits the definition of intolerance, so I am guilty as charged.

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Milk – A Movie Review

December 27, 2008 B. John 530 Views 2 Comments Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Harvey Milk, Milk, Gus Van Sant, Biopic, Allison Pill, Emile Hirsch, Drama, James Franco

His life changed history. His courage changed lives. In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans. Milk charts the last eight years of Harvey Milk’s life. This is an important story.

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Boy In The Striped Pajamas, The – A Movie Review

November 23, 2008 B. John 722 Views 0 Comments Cara Horgan, Drama, David Hayman, War, Asa Butterfield, hate, Jack Scanlon, War crimes, Vera Farmiga, Friendship, Holocaust, WW II, Nazi, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend

It is not often that I make a movie review one of our featured posts, but after my experience watching this movie, I realized that this was a movie that needs to be seen. It is a miraculous story with so many lessons about life and morality that I just don’t know where to begin. This is definitely a movie I may see again, and it’s certainly a movie I will encourage others to watch. Leaving the movie was like leaving a moving religious service.

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Enough is Enough – The Fallout From The Gay Marriage Vote

November 17, 2008 B. John 465 Views 0 Comments Undo 2, HRC, Equality Florida, Kevin Beckner, Linda Saul-Sena, Marriage, Civil Rights, Amendment 2, Proposition 8, Stop the H8

Maybe, finally gay people have decided that enough is enough when it comes to having second-class citizenship foisted upon us by krazy kristian kooks. Across the country Saturday were a series of rallies decrying the enactment of three marriage amendments on election day which enshrine discrimination in the Constitutions of Florida, Arizona and California. As angry as we may all be, we should not be surprised at the outcome. There is no leadership within the gay community, and practically no community left anyways. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has become a parody, and while I respect the work done by Equality Florida, they too have been totally ineffective. So let’s take a look at what happened, and think about what comes next.

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2008 Election Wrap-up

November 10, 2008September 29, 2018 B. John 437 Views 0 Comments Right Wingnuts, voting, voters, Campaigns, republicans, mccain, Democrats, Democracy, Obama, Palin

Last Tuesday night/Wednesday morning was certainly a bittersweet time. As I’ve said before, I’m not one of the millions of Obama-maniacs, but I was glad he won. I think America will soon be in far better hands than she is now. I was even more pleased to see a good number of hateful and bigoted Republicans kicked to curb, and their nasty campaign rhetoric repudiated. Obviously though, the passage of the three anti-marriage amendments was a great disappointment. In this post, I’ll provide my observations on where we are now relative to the election.

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Election Day 2008

November 4, 2008 B. John 404 Views 0 Comments Presidential Politics, Early Voting, supreme court, Election, North Carolina

Last week with work was a real bear, and I’m traveling for work this week, so expect posting to be lite. Hopefully there won’t be that much news, especially election news, to post about. I did want to make note of a few things that have been going on. We’ll talk about some experiences with early voting, voter involvement, and the eve of election day.

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Indocrination – BOO!

October 26, 2008September 29, 2018 B. John 492 Views 0 Comments Gay Rights, Insanity, Florida Constitution, Florida Amendment 2, John Stemberber, Dishonesty, Marriage, indoctrination, homophobia, Election Law, bigotry, Attorneys, hate, Constitutional Amendments

An article at the Florida Bilerico project points out the lengths to which the American Taliban will go in order to scare people. John Stemberger, lead proponent of Florida’s Amendment 2, is claiming that if Amendment 2 fails, the schools will have indoctrinate children to gay marriage. And to top it all off, despite being an attorney (or maybe because of it), Stemberger and Florida4Marriage.com are being accused of violations of campaign finance laws. Seems they may be trying to hide who their donors are, a violation of Florida Campaign laws.

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The McCain Hate Talk Express Barrels Through North Carolina

October 21, 2008 B. John 508 Views 0 Comments U.S. House of Representative, republicans, liar, lie, Lying, John McCain, 2008 Election, Hate Speech, Robin Hayes, U.S. Representative

The current political climate and the divisiveness of modern campaigns is an embarrassment to this country. The politicians have found they can just lie without remorse, because there seems to be no accountability. As someone once said, in a democracy, we get the government we deserve. We let this crap work, so it’s what we get. I for one, hereby today and forthwith take a stand to say NO…NO MORE…to this kind of bull shit. U.S. Representative Robin Hayes (R, NC) made the following statement at a rally a few days ago, “Folks, there’s a real America. Liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God.” Then had temerity to blatantly lie and say he never said…the recording of his comments notwithstanding.

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Toronto Travel Travails

October 20, 2008September 29, 2018 B. John 570 Views 0 Comments United, Airlines, Toronto, Air Canada, Chicago, Weather delays

I know, I have not been posting much lately. Once again, work has been extremely busy with some travel thrown in for good measure. Since my work involves a lot of writing, by the time I have time to write here, I’m just too wrung out to carry on. I do have some things percolating in my mind that I want to get set down here, so I’ll to get more posted this evening, and I do owe you a few movie reviews. I guess the biggest story though is my first trip outside the U.S. You got it, I’m 49, and just now have crossed the border. I went to Toronto on business, and must say, I was impressed with the little I got to experience of the city. As is so often the case though, air travel chaos accompanied me as I headed home last Wednesday (and then into Thursday).