I don't know why this surprised me at all...

Yesterday the US Senate had a vote on the Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Kennedy Amdt. No. 3035. This deals with a Bill which has come to be known as the Matthew Sheppard Act, and would expand federal law to include sexual orientaion, amoung other things, under the definition of hate crime. Well guess how Ol' Wide Stance voted? That's right....against it. Go see which other Senators are using homophobia to keep themselves in the closet at the links above.

Red-Shirt Friday

There is a campaign going on to try to get people to wear red on Friday in support of the pro-democracy demonstrators, led by Buddhist monks, in Burma (now called Myanmar by the ruling military junta). There have been 9 confirmed protesters killed by the military, but the number is probably higher. As well, hundreds of monks have been arrested and their monasteries ransacked in raids by the military. However, the protests continue.

I can't resist... A Post About Larry Craig... sigh

So today, lawyers for Larry Craig are asking a Minesota judge to allow Craig to withdraw the guilty plea he submitted after being arrested in a sex sting at Minniapolis- St. Paul airport. Judges do not normally grant approval for such requests.

While I can't deny deriving a significant degree of pleasure, and indeed (dare I say?), blissful glee, at witnessing yet another conservative, anti-gay Republican turn out himself to be gay, the saga of Larry Craig is representative of a very sad, and common, phenomenon in America and the world today.

Growing up gay in America, especially in certain social circles and during particular eras, carries pressures and stresses unimaginable to those who don't themselves experience them. James McGreevey, former governor of New Jersey, who resigned after his extra-marital afair with a male employee became public, wrote a brief , but very illustrative and enlightening piece in the Washington Post, "A Prayer for Larry Craig", in which he attempts to describe the turmoil associated with growing up gay. It's definitely worth reading in its entirety. McGreevey's "Prayer" is that "Larry Craig and his loving family come to peace with his truth", and, "To those who judge him harshly, I ask that they fill their hearts with compassion and equanimity."

McGreevey is in a unique position to experience empathy with Craig. Personally, I have a difficult time forgiving gay politicians for actively participating in the persecution of gay people. Then again, I have difficulty forgiving conservative republicans at all.

However, I just can't feel that the prosecution of Larry Craig makes any legal sense. Foot tapping is not illegal. Indeed, soliciting sex in public is not illegal. Having sex in public is, and I suppose, should be, illegal. But nothing Larry Craig did constitutes a violation of any law that I am familiar with. The fact that the flimsy legal basis for the prosecution of Larry Craig is being ignored by the public, and the media, is the most significant and disturbing facet of this story.

I call it treason, but no one seems to care or even notice.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
-Article I, Section 9 of the US Constitution

Yesterday, Sept. 19, 2007, the US Senate voted on a cloture motion, that in my opinion should not even be an issue. This should have been taken care of long ago by the courts, or by We the People! The statement of purpose of the amendment in question is, "To restore habeas corpus for those detained by the United States." I'm sorry, but does no one else get pissed off beyond belief that the Senate would even have to vote to RESTORE the right of Habeas Corpus? It is bad enough that people didn't care when this right was taken away, but now the Senate votes to NOT to restore it, and again there is silence. This is how democracy will be destroyed. Not with gunfire and bombs. Not with the police beating the shit out of protesters in the streets. No, democracy will not die kicking and screaming. It will not even die with a whimper. The death of democracy will be silent...

Oh the Irony

The reason the Administration is now giving for staying in Iraq, i.e. "there will be a disasterous sectarian civil war if we leave", is the same reason many on the left gave for not going to Iraq in the first place. Aren't some I-told-you-so's in order?

Rhythm Clapper Manifesto

So, I went to see Railroad Earth last night. It was fantastic: an extremely high energy show with everybody dancing around and loving it.

Some of you are aware of my extreme (psychotic?) aversion to people rhythm clapping during songs. Anyway, there’s this guy right next to us just trying to prove how loud he can clap. My usual strategy is to try to look them in the eye and give them a “that’s kind of obnoxious, man” kind of look. It works about a third of the time. The times it doesn’t work, it almost backfires. They seem to think, “Hey, that guy is looking at me. He must really think I can clap good!”… or something. Next thing I know, he stops clapping altogether. Heather informs me that she has asked him to stop. I couldn’t believe it. She is SO non-confrontational. The guy appeared to be kind of sulking now. I sorta felt bad at that point. Poor dude was dancing and having fun, and now he’s all bent outa shape.

But then I thought, “You know, that guy was the ONLY person clapping at that point, and he was clapping very loudly. And maybe he’s annoying me more than anyone else, but maybe not, and I’m sure that almost EVERYBODY near him would rather he not make so much racket. Maybe it’s time he learned a valuable lesson”. Right?

I mean, why is it not okay to make a bunch of noise in a movie theater, but it is okay at a concert? Isn’t it just extremely audacious to assume that everybody around you wants to hear your “contribution” to the music? And isn’t it kind of rude to the band, especially with that kind of music- with complex rhythms and abrupt changes. Isn’t the implication that YOU have something to “add” to the music with your clapping? Well maybe the musicians don’t think so. Also, many rhythm clappers don’t have very good rhythm. Those people are the worst. I’d rather have nails driven into my skull.

“Jeez” you say, “Get a life, relax, and try not to let it bother you. People are always gonna clap.” Believe me I’ve tried. I’ve tried really hard. But it’s like someone repetitively rapping their knuckles on my head. I’ve considered professional help. If I could pay an amount of money to guarantee that no one would clap around me ever again, it would be in the several thousands. No kidding.

Why don’t I just move, you ask? Well, I’m cursed, you see. If I move, someone will just start clapping at the area that I move to. I swear. I’ve tested this many times.

So, I’ve decided to take a stand. In life, one must stand up for that in which one believes, right? Truly I say to you, “Yes”, for that is what will define our strength of character! I shall be the voice for all those who sit quietly by meekly enduring their own private rhythm clapper Hell! Apathy, thou hast no place in my life from this day forward! The oppression that now enjoys tortured tolerance shall be relegated to oblivion!

Stand Up! Stand Up! Stand up on your heels and call from the hills! We can stop a runaway rhythm clapper marathon!

So anyway, I’m having a little trouble figuring out the best way to get started. Handing out fliers? A website? T-shirts? Weapons of mass destruction? And I need a catchy slogan.

Are you with me or against me? This may be the quintessential calling of our time, and the most important quest. Will our legacy be that of unrestrained clapping? Is that what you want for your children? I, for one, think that we can do better than that.

I have a dream- where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers and enjoy live music in blissful peace. You may say I’m a dreamer. Am I the only one?

EDIT: Someone pointed out a Mike Cooley (Drive By Truckers) quote: to a rhythm clapper in the audience "you don't have rhythm, don't do that." Fantastic.

Freedom's Watch

I've heard a couple radio commercials by an organization called Freedom's Watch (okay, okay, I listen to some right-wing radio... keep your enemies close, as they say). They're an organization dedicated to increasing public support for the war and the current regime. The spot was just dripping with the worst brand of propaganda, you know, the kind even the President has begun to tone down, using phrases like "Victory can and must be achieved!", and "Some people have forgotten the sacrifices our soldiers have made", and "Congress must make an important and historic choice: Surrender to terrorist in Iraq or help that government defeat the terrorists". The ad also features an old lady fraily saying, "we've already had one 9/11, we don't need another one!"

Wow! A multi-million dollar nation-wide radio/ newspaper ad campaign whose only stated intent is to keep the war going? Hmmm. So, faster than you can say "military industrial complex", I was on a computer trying to figure out the angle on these guys. "Oh cool" I thought gleefully, "I'll be the first to expose these bastards!"

So much for that. Lot's of people beat me to it, obviously.

But it's actually a little less glamorous than the senario I was envisioning, with layers and layers of front groups covertly funnelling money from the likes of Haliburton and Lockheed Martin to finance all this propaganda by Freedom's Watch. No, no! Why so much sneaking around when nobody will even care except a bunch of liberal politicos, and they're already a lost cause?

No, the funding is right up front, and it reads like a list of who's who of American Mega-Industrialists, and Bush fundraisers. Surprise, surprise.

Freedom's Watch masquerades as some kind of grass-roots organization, calling themselves a "group of Americans who are concerned about freedom." But again, this is Bush's inner circle, exclusively.

This is remniscent of Bush's fake newscasts from a few years back, wherein, the administration produced fake taxpayer-funded newscasts on several issues he was trying to promote at the time.

Fake Grassroots movements? Fake news media? Dude, where's my country?