Denial?

I lifted this vid from Long Walk to Green, a blog I found linked from, of all places, Opine. Long Walk to Green titled it, appropriately, "So Sad..."

I'd like to think this guy isn't typical for Republicans. He's griping about a measly five million dollars out of a huge transportation spending bill. Yet how can you get better bang for your buck than with bikes?

Our Xtracycle has made our car almost obsolete. Every day I ride past long lines of cars on my commute, and yet I'm pretty sure 70% to 80% of the commutes in my city are easily bikeable. Bikes use no greenhouse gas, no fossil fuel, and they cause very little wear and tear on roads. They park easily, almost anywhere.

This guy is dissing proven technology that does exactly what is proposed - why? Just because it's been around a long time? Or is it denial? Is his ExxonMobile stock falling?

A New Low for the RSM

We live in interesting times – markets crashing, the specter of extremist Islamic terrorism, and the first African-American presidential candidate of a major party leading in the polls. We also have a long history of violence, racism, assassinations, and domestic terrorism, such as. So I feel a particular disgust with the rhetoric recently coming out of the McCain camp and the Republican Smear Machine equating Barack Obama with terrorism.

This is a tactic that would be disgusting if we had a history entirely devoid of violence and racism. But given our history – given the Birmingham church bombing that killed four young girls back in 1963; given the assassinations of Martin Luther King, JFK, RFK, and even the attempt at Ronald Reagan's life; given the long history of lynchings and the Ku Klux Klan; and given the understandable national reaction to the extreme terrorist attack of 9/11, this goes beyond disgusting. It is, whether intentionally or not, incitement to violence. Members of the Republican Party are provoking an assassination attempt on a candidate for president of the United States.

Perhaps it's just habit, going back to the successful race-baiting tactics of Lee Atwater, through the more recent lies of the Swift Boat campaign. But McCain's strategists are intelligent, careful, and experienced at manipulating voters and the public. I have a hard time believing they don't know what they're doing. They should be aware that 9/11 and the color of Mr. Obama's skin change everything.

McCain and Palin are currently conducting a campaign that is without honor. It is vile. It is unworthy of a veteran and war hero of this nation.

It seems that Mr. McCain is becoming aware of that. I just hope that he can defuse the situation before it becomes something he cannot control at all.

Meanwhile, Mr. Obama, please – keep your head down. Wear a bullet-proof vest everywhere you go.

My prayers for your safety go with you.

More Changes

Five years ago, the invasion of Iraq transitioned into occupation, and Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay came to light. Simultaneously, I grappled with the deepening awareness of my own gender dysphoria.

I wanted to take action, but I didn't know how. Instead, I spent a lot of time reading the news and feeling depressed. I scanned the headlines and surfed the internet daily, expecting to encounter the article announcing that impeachment proceedings had begun. I read Newsweek cover-to-cover. Gradually, the cowardice of the Democrats and the lapdog mentality of the Republicans became clear. Both groups in congress were (and are) more willing to toss justice, the rule of law, the Geneva Convention, and American freedom onto the dunghill of history than they were to take on Bush, Cheney, Rove, and the RSM (Republican Smear Machine). I felt helpless as I watched my country disgrace itself.

My depression continued to deepen until I became suicidal. By 2006, I could barely function, and still I read the news and did nothing.

When insanity, suicide, or, at minimum, a nervous breakdown loomed as certain if I didn't change course, I finally put all that I value and love at risk, and began to transition. I rang in the New Year of 2007 with my first taste of estrogen.

And magic began to happen.

I got a new job. I stopped reading the news daily. I started to focus on, as Voltaire put it so well in Candide, "tending my own garden." Things got better. My relationships with my kids began to improve.

In August, I changed my name and started presenting as female 24/7. By November, I started volunteering for a queer activist non-profit corporation. In the spring of 2008, I volunteered for a citizen's advisory committee on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. I studied NVC, and started a study group to improve my skills. Last month, I joined Toastmasters to increase my skill and confidence in public speaking.

Today, I realized that I'm no longer whining – I'm doing. My country is still disgraced, Bush and Cheney still haven't been called to account for their crimes, people are still being tortured in Guantanamo Bay, the Democrats are still spineless, and the Republicans are still amoral lapdogs. Nothing has changed, except that I feel empowered. I'm making a difference.

That is a change worth celebrating.

2008 Oregon Primary Election Endorsements

Eugene City Mayor: Kitty Piercy. Easily the best choice. She has taken significant strides to start dealing with the major issues our city faces, such as Peak Oil – issues Jim Torrey hasn't paid much, if any, attention to in his former term(s). She also has a much better record on human rights.

Eugene City Council, Ward 7: Andrea Ortiz

Democrats:

Secretary of State: Kate Brown. Vicki Walker's good, too.

US Senator: Jeff Merkley. But it's close between him and Steve Novick. I almost want to do a co-endorsement for them.

President: Obama. Nice as it would be to see a woman in the White House, we really need some new thinking. Hillary's been hammered by the RSM for too long, and too hard. She needs some time to recover and adjust to a new role in the majority before she'll be ready to take on the office of presidency. Her experience as First Lady and in office is exactly what makes her unready at this time – contrary to her rhetoric. Obama has a much greater chance of uniting the country and formulating new strategies to deal with the crises at hand.

Republicans:

US Senator: Gordon Leitch. We really do need to get rid of Gordon Smith.

Mostly, I recommend that Republicans reconsider their positions. Read Unequal Protection, Screwed: the Undeclared War on the Middle Class, and What Would Jefferson Do?, by Thom Hartmann. Read about Gandhi. Learn about Nonviolent Communication. Forget hollow economic theory by folks such as Ayn Rand and Friedman, and learn how economics actually works by reading folks like Paul Krugman and Paul Omerud. Get to know some queer folks, and reflect on how much better it would be if none of us were oppressed. Meet some folks with dark skin, and reflect on how much closer in values and interests they are to you, compared to the filthy rich corporate lawyers and and multi-national oil and weapons executives who determine policies for the GOP. Learn to recognize the sly manipulation and divisive media tricks the RSM uses, so that you can join with the rest of us to create a new system that meets everyone's needs.

Some Wars Are Just Plain Wrong

I'm a lukewarm member of Moveon.org. There are things I like about the organization – it's been anti-war from the start, and it supports Democrats rather than Republicans. And there are things I don't like. I don't like their language, the divisive way they attack, the mindset that is so – well, so GOP vile. So I don't donate cash to them, and usually don't get involved in their political ploys.

This time, they've asked their members to publish this video on our blogs. I feel a little torn about it, on the one hand, because I don't find the language particularly connective, and I'd much rather run a positive campaign about 'us,' rather than a negative one about 'them.' Even better, would be to run a positive campaign about 'us.'

I'm publishing this video ad, ultimately, because this invasion and occupation of Iraq is just wrong. It is a national disgrace. It's worth a bit of a reminder how we got here. I don't know how to clean it up, how to regain honor – do we get out now? Try to support the people there? I don't know. But I do know this – I don't want a Republican in charge of it. This country is badly in need of a change, and McCain and Clinton are not change agents enough, and Obama likely isn't either. We need the national recognition that the Iraq occupation is wrong, and Obama and Moveon.org both recognized that long before the other two contenders.

May god have mercy on our poor nation. We're gonna need it.

News You Just Can't Use

I used to be a news junky. George W. Bush, the MSM, and the Republican RSC (Rubber Stamp Congress) cured me shortly after the 2004 election, when I realized that waiting, day after day, for Congress to start growing a spine and prosecuting the chief executive for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ (or for the American people to actually demand it/hold the Bush administration accountable) did nothing for my life except cause depression. Since then, I limit my news intake to the minimum necessary to keep up with the Superbowl, March Madness, who to vote for, and the weather.

So when a friend emailed me this article linking Eliot Spitzer’s fall to the RSM, it didn’t exactly cheer me up. In fact, I wondered, “Is my life better for having read this?”

Not really. This is just another case of “News you can’t use.” If it’s true (and this is the kind of conspiracy theory that makes sense to me), what can I do about it? Not much. I can put it in my blog, and maybe three people in the whole world will read about it. And in any case, it was still Eliot’s own idiocy that brought him down. Just another man at the peak of his career, brought down by stupid sexual indiscretion.

You have to wonder – don’t these guys read the papers? Do they live in some kind of vacuum where they haven’t heard of the internet? I mean, I avoid newscasts – and I still see this kind of thing come up again and again.

On the other hand, looking back at history, I see some notorious womanizers who didn’t fall on their swords. Benjamin Franklin comes to mind. John F. Kennedy. Thomas Jefferson had a 25+ year relationship with one of his slaves, and even when it came out in the press, he didn’t have to surrender his position. Even Bill Clinton survived impeachment looking less slimy and sleazy than the RSM that tried to bring him down.

So I wonder if Eliot wouldn’t have been better off to just blow it off. “So what? I wasted a bunch of money on a high-priced call girl. I didn’t hurt anyone except my family. And I think prostitution oughta be legal anyway. I’ll pay my fine, and next time, I’ll go to Nevada. I’ll be single by then, so I won’t even hurt anybody.”

Whatever. The whole thing is depressing, and another reminder that I’m best off concentrating on where I can make a difference – in my own life, with my neighbors and friends and community, actively building an economy of sharing, mutual support, and love; tending my own garden, learning, sharing, and practicing NVC; and avoiding the news.

I feel better already.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

I am deeply blessed, I believe, by being politically aware without being a political junkie. I don’t watch the news on TV, and in fact, don’t watch TV. I avoid political advertising like I avoid transphobic right-wing rednecks. I tend to not watch political debates, and instead go to the source, and read what candidates have to say about various issues. I also tend to believe what the candidates say about and for themselves before I believe what their opponents say about them; while at the same time, taking their own words with a grain of salt.

So when I read about Democrats smearing Hillary or Barak, I feel disappointed and sad.

For the record, here is one Obama supporter who has nothing but good to say about Hillary Clinton. I had a difficult choice in picking one over the other, and the balance came down on Obama’s side based hugely on two things: what I believe our nation needs right now to bring us out of this terrible rift of the Culture Wars and the havoc of the Bush mis-administration, and on what roles in which I believe the two candidates, based on their personalities and experiences, can be most effective . They are both good candidates, and I believe they would both make competent presidents. I’ll back Obama to the convention, if need be, and I’ll back the winner, whole-heartedly, all the way to November.

So here is my request to all members of the Democratic community, including the candidates themselves: We’re all on the same team. I’d like to think we can choose a captain without smearing each other. Believe me, the RSM will take care of that, without any help from us. Can we, please, just all get along? Can’t we leave the down-putting and smears to the GOP, and focus instead on supporting our candidates based on their own merits, and on the issues?

In fact, let’s not even smear John McCain. Let’s not concede any issue to him – certainly not national security – but let’s fight based on the issues, not on his personality or any corrupt choices he made in the past. At the same time, let’s defend, vigorously and proactively, against any smears the RSM throws at our candidates – and there will be plenty. Let’s concede nothing to the GOP except slime, and let’s forego slime altogether; let the GOP/RSM have a monopoly on it. Look at the speeches of FDR. He managed to turn attacks on their heads by calling them out, rebutting them, and going straight to the issues of his attackers. Instead of smearing John McCain, let’s point out that he is an honorable man and experienced patriot who just happens to be completely wrong and out-of-touch on national security, on the economy, on health care, on nearly every issue you can think of. Let’s attack his policies, not him. It’s the thing that disappoints me most about the Democratic party – that we feel we need to stoop to the lowness of the GOP, even though we’re right on most of the issues. If we run this campaign based on smears, we’re gonna lose – no way we can smear as well as the RSM. If we run on the issues, no way we can lose - as long as we don’t concede our strengths, such as national security, like Kerry did.

(No, Virginia, a bigger military engaged in more overseas conflicts does not make us more secure. Re-distributing vast quantities of the military budget – 75% or so – to convert our energy supplies from overseas oil to local, renewable sources (even, god forbid, domestic coal and nuclear power), will. If we cut the military budget that much, we’d still have the biggest, richest, best-trained and equipped military in the world – by far. More on that in a future post.)

An Open Letter to Hillary Clinton

First of all, congratulations on your wins in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island.

But you’re still behind in delegates, and the math is disastrous – enough to make victory a very steep uphill climb for you, but not enough to guarantee a victory for either you or Barak. The worst nightmare of me, and the worst nightmare for the American people, is coming into focus: You and Barack pound each other face-to-face all the way to the convention, while McCain and the Republican Smear Machine (the RSM) pound you both, practically unopposed; a brokered convention, with a lot of pissed off, discouraged Democrats at the end; a split party, and masses of disgusted independent voters; and a victory for McCain in the fall.

At this point, it’s hard to imagine a worse outcome for our entire country.

Please, don’t let it happen.

Barack won’t quit – He’s ahead, and the math favors him.

That leaves the onus on you, to prevent the looming disaster.

Granted, this argument comes from an Obama backer – why should you listen to me? (Especially since I’ll vote for the Democratic nominee even if it turns out to be a sock puppet.)

Because my brother, an independent who probably hasn’t voted for a major party candidate for president in his entire life, is ready to vote for Obama – and he likes McCain. He will likely vote for McCain if you win the Democratic nomination.

How many more votes like that are out there? Enough to turn a close election, like the last two?

We're all on the same team. Let's not lose the game because we're arguing over who gets to be captain.

Because what our nation needs right now in the White House is Barack’s brand of inspiration. I’m sorry, Hillary, but that is the hole in your platform. Your health plan is better than Barack’s. Your stance and understanding of gay and transgendered issues is better than Barack’s. Your experience in the political arena is greater than Barak’s.

But frankly, if the issue is experience, McCain’s got you both beat in spades. As for the 3:00 a.m. call, I have full confidence that you, Barack, and McCain can all handle that with competence. My concern is the day-to-day policy – the considered decision to waste more of our national treasure in military adventurism, to ignore the depredations of the far right on the queer community, to abandon our public to the mercies of a profit-driven, heartless health insurance industry, to let our civic infrastructure rot. You and Barack can both handle that competently, and neither will allow us (hopefully) to go too far over the cliff to not step back (if indeed Bush hasn’t already put us there).

So it comes down to that unifying, inspirational presence exhibited by Barack Obama, and for all your wonderful qualities and competencies, Hillary, that presence you do not have. But, you have gathered a lot of political capital. Don’t step down without a deal. Don’t step down without making sure that your own contribution will be secured.

There is a better place for you than in the White House. A place that will upset the right-wing fringe, the Ann Coulter’s and Rush Limbaugh’s, more than if you did win the White House. A place where the ranting of the right will no longer have any influence on your career, but where your brand of tenacity, wisdom, experience, and policy knowledge is sorely needed. A place where your legacy will be assured.

It is an almost sure bet that the next president (assuming all the aging justices survive into the fall and Bush doesn't get another one) will nominate at least one and likely more than one Supreme Court justice.

Now is the time to go to Obama, and to the superdelegates of the Democratic party (quietly, of course), and broker a deal that will unify the party to fight off McCain and the RSM, while securing your own legacy.

And trade in your presidential run for a seat on the Supreme Court.

I'd rather have you on the bench for 20 (or 30) years than in the Oval Office for four (or eight), anyway.