Monday, November 20, 2006

Wanna see some magic?

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Saturday, November 11, 2006

It's Not A Conspiracy!

Movers and Quakers

Gay MarriageThanks to the likes of Foley, Haggard and the gay marriage ban on ballots during the midterm elections Gays and Same-Sex Unions are hot again. One of the primary stumbling blocks in the road toward Gay and Lesbian equality is the religious right. But who could have guessed the most devout and literal of all Christian sects, the Quakers, would publish this letter as a response to the Gay Marriage controversy.

On November’s ballot, Wisconsin will vote on a constitutional ban on same-gender marriages. We of Religious Society of Friends believe the movement to isolate and scapegoat homosexuals, to promote hatred against them, and to impose in law one group’s religious beliefs on us all, is blatantly immoral and contrary to Jesus’ teachings.

With half of marriages ending in divorce, unquestionably the right thing to do is to strengthen marriages. But diverting the question to whether two people of the same sex can have legal rights together completely loses track of the problem of frail marriages.

The proposed constitutional amendment really has nothing to do with marriage; it is a thinly veiled attack on gays and lesbians, part of a pattern of discrimination and institutionalized hatred. It is a strategy of power practiced by would-be tyrants throughout history.

Some have portrayed persecution and hatred of gays as a Christian thing to do. We can find nowhere that Jesus said anything about homosexuality. Nor did Jesus ever suggest encoding Christian teachings into a Sharia-like law to force religious beliefs on society.

We believe that God loves us all equally, and that we are called to treat each other with the same love in which God created us. We have no need to hate, or to discriminate against, any group for any reason. It is simply not Christian to do so.

To determine where you stand on this issue you must answer one core question: Is homosexuality a choice or is it genetic? If you believe it is the conscious decision of the participant then granting marriage rights to a sexual fetish would be daft. However, if you contend it is an uncontrollable feature of one's development then it is cruel to deny them the same benefits you and I are capable of taking advantage of.

There is one point I'd like to take to task in the Gay rights camp. Their struggle is often compared to the African-American struggle of the 1960s, this is completely incongruous. Gay and Lesbians did not migrate from the Motherland to America, homosexuality is a pan-cultural characteristic and is more akin to Women's Suffrage and Feminism than the Civil Rights movement. They would do their cause a great service if they were to correct this flawed connection and give the public a clearer idea of the true nature of their fight.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince

It has been a few days since the Democrats snatched control of the House and Senate, and, although this is far from a surprise, the Republicans are still spitting and sputtering. The one Republican I really feel sorry for is our own John Gard who lost against "Dr. Millionaire," Democrat Steve Kagen. Now, I'm not the kind of guy who'd rub such a crushing defeat in the face of the venerable Mr. Gard, and I'm not the kind of guy who'd remind him that I wrote a letter explicitly stating he couldn't go the distance if he didn't inject some semblance of humanity into his politickin'.

In fact I'd like to offer some advice, don't think of it as though you're losing the chance at a comfy House position, Former Republican Congressional Candidate John Gard, think of it as a chance to spend more time with your family, read the classics (like "A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks) or hunt on that land in Lena you're so fond of. I'd even like to take this opportunity to thank you.

Thank you, John Gard, for coordinating such an intellectually insulting campaign. Thank you for restoring my faith in the Democratic system. Thank you for never - not even once - deviating from the pre-approved script and staying true to your Republican grooming. Most of all I'd like to thank you for losing, so you can stay at home and hold your unenlightened opinions about stem cell research, the Iraq War and gay marriage in private without writing them into law. But I shouldn't be the one thanking you, you should be thanking Steve Kagen for winning, because if at the end of the day he wasn't victorious you'd probably be seeing him again in court for all of the slanderous remarks you waged against him. Just think of it, you're a lucky man after all.

So, I must bid you goodnight. Lay your head on that pillow and dream of the fall of The New York Times or of the abolition of environmental restrictions or of Pat "Mr. Universe" Robertson setting the headquarters of the ACLU ablaze. Because for the rest of us the nightmare has ended and the dream has just begun.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Who's Rae Vogeler?

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Up here in the frozen tundra the most media attention is being placed on the 8th Congressional Race between Gard (R) and Kagen (D) and the Gubernatorial Race between Doyle (D) and Green (R), but virtually no time is being spent on the Senatorial Race between incumbent Herb Kohl (D) and his challengers Robert Lorge (R) (who is as sweet as he is insane) and Green Party candidate, Rae Vogeler. The chief reason not a lot of press is devoted to this race is because Kohl's challengers are weak, he's able to surpress their message with his campaign funds (Herb Kohl is one of the richest members of the Senate).

It's a real shame too because Vogeler's message needs to be adequately weighed in the marketplace of ideas. In Kohl we get a Democrat in name only (DINO). He is a millionaire many times over and owns the Milwaukee Bucks, he's voted to make it easier for Credit Card companies to declare backruptcy, he voted to give oil companies billions of dollars and has never shown any anger toward the Iraq War or how it's been conducted. With Democrats like these who needs Republicans?

First off, one could probably guess from her party affiliation how she feels about oil companies. But with the state of the environment and according to this latest report, unless somebody aggressively fights the country's fossil fuel addiction not only will the planet undergo irreversible climate change the effects on the economy will be devastating. On Iraq, Vogeler has stated what everybody knows, but a handful of candidates are saying, that our occupation of the region inflames radicalism consequentally endangering our troops, our homeland, our way of life and is basically the most counterproductive activity our country could be engaged in if we're serious about national security.

What's most intriguing about Vogeler is her socio-economic status. She's a mother of two and resides squarely in the middle class, unfortunately this will prove to be her fatal flaw. In order to rise to any position of political power in America you need to have millions of dollars and spend hours with your handlers so they can sanitize your image. Vogeler doesn't appear to want any of it. She's all about the quality of her ideas and not the bulk of her billfold.

To learn more about Rae Vogeler visit her site: http://www.voterae.com/

Friday, November 03, 2006