Category Archives: The Other Side

This is what I’m talking about.

I’ve just finished debating a length with a friend of mine who prefers W in this year’s election. His main reason is fear that Kerry will not be harsh enough in dealing with the likes of Iran and North Korea, thus allowing them to develop and use nuclear weapons against us. We debated the merits of this claim for a while, then made our way to a multitude of other topics. At some point, Reagan and AIDS came up. While my friend wanted to tout Reagan’s accomplishments, I wanted to point out that he took an awfuly long time to address the AIDS crisis and help develop policies to combat it. I also quoted Reagan’s communications director, Pat Buchanan, who stated that AIDS was, “nature’s revenge on gay men.”

This of course led to a exchange on how being a gay person influences one’s priorities when voting. When I mentioned that I could not support Bush because of his policies regarding GLBT individuals, in addition to Cheney’s doublespeak on the issue, I was accused of rejecting an entire large entity because of one small aspect of it. It was also insinuated that I was less a patriot for putting the interests of this special interest group above those I should hold as a patriot and American.

I realize that there are many issues at stake in this election. Considering the position I am in, some issues are more important than others. I see nothing wrong with this. Don’t older voters and young voters have different worries? Don’t rich voters and poor voters have different worries? Urban/Suburban – White/Minority …./…. ??? I don’t mean to imply by this that these groupings represent exact opposites or polar pairings. But I do think it is fair to imply that one’s situation does determine how one prioritizes issues.

I reject George Bush because I beleive that he is sincere about the FMA. I reject Dick Cheney for publicly disagreeing with Bush but agreeing to support him nontheless. And I reject Mary Cheney for supporting someone who seeks to disenfranchise her, even if that person is indeed her father.

I also reject George Bush because I beleive that he is not a worldly man, and is not the right person to be appointing those who represent our country to the rest of the world. I reject George Bush because I beleive that it is difficult to be a war hawk when you and your 2nd in command did all you could to avoid serving. I reject George Bush because I beleive that the war on terror is far too important to go alone, and that 4 more years will result in a weaker front against those who harbor and espouse such tactics.

I reject George Bush as a patriot, an American, and a homosexual. Parcel is part as part is parcel.

To acknowlege both our own special interests and that which serves the greater good of our country – and be able to weigh and reconsile the two – is the most honest form of patriotism.

Debating Republicans

Tomorrow – Important – Vote – Future…

It has been a great weekend. Saturday marked the IVth annual pumpkin party. Unfortunately, I could not host the party this year (I no longer have a dorm room and common area at my disposal.) But, Kate stepped in and did a wonderful job. The hilight of the party included playing taboo (like password and $36,000 pyramid.) Suffice to say Sam and I would have won if it wasn’t for T’s nautical excretory term…

In terms of food, it was a good few days. I got to hit up Tom Can Cook – a brilliant pan-asian restaurant in Waltham on Moody; Legal Sea Foods at Park Place; Minado on Rt. 9; Jewl of India; and Campo di Fiori. Let’s just say that two days of moving jobs paid well for my culinary delight.

Yesterday, the whole gang headed over to Walden pond. After proceeding to get seperated immediately, Jude and I decided we’d go for a swim. With Tri as our witness, Jude and I did a deck change on the sandy shore and plowed into the frigid waters of Walden. Suffice to say, it was one of those silly manly dare type moments, and after a few spasams of splashing, we both headed back out immediately. However, standing on the shore after the brief forray in the October waters, there remained an intense feeling of clarity and purity – Henry David would have been proud.

Today, Jude and I headed to the Blue Hills reservation in Canton. Taking the “Skyline Loop,” we proceded to immediately get seperated, and take two entirely different hikes, ending up back at my car two hours later within five minutes of each other. Today was one of those perfect hiking days – the air was as crisp and clear as it can only be here in the Northeast, and the sun warmed skyward facing boulders. The view of Boston from the trail, and later from an old observation tower, was flawless – the buildings, harbor islands and beyond all stood with more clarity than could ever be captured in the most expensive HDTV.

Oh, and I had a great new drink this weekend called a Grasshopper. If anyone wants to make me extra happy after dinner, then the previous sentence should be a hint.

I like if then statements.

If “For More Years,” then one very disheartened American.
If business as usual under Kerry, then one very disheartened American.
If eel sushi, then happy Matt.

The Mutual Pursuit of Pleasure through the Stimulation of the Organs Indended for Procreation.

Tonight I’m going to watch C-SPAN2. Why, you ask (and that’s a legitimate question.) Alan Keyes and Barak Obama are debating. As most of you probably know by now, Obama is the
Democratic party’s rising star, and soon to be senator from IL. Running opposite him is Alan Keyes, who is a religious far right winger. Because I heard eariler this week in the talk radio universe about Keyes’ comments regarding Cheney’s daughter, I figured it’d be good to find the actual audio of those comments. So, here it is, in MP3 format (you might want to right click, save as)

http://www.unspun.info/il/040831-signorile-keyes.mp3

What’s even funnier than the actual interview is the rambling commentary on the page that linked me to that file. It’s from a website called “Free Republic,” which bills itself as a “gathering place for independant, grass-roots conservatism on the web.” I imagine I shall have fun browsing this site in the future.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1213062/posts

So, I’ll report back from the debate later. I’m really hoping Keyes is his old self – it should be quite amusing.

For now.

The 700 Club

In keeping with my deeply held belief in diversity and the wonders of cable TV, I decided tonight to watch The 700 Club. For those of you who don’t know, the Club is a human interest news show produced by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN.) The lead face of this little Jesus cult is Pat Robertson. On tonight’s show, he was interviewing a Urkranian Jew for Jesus living in Jerusalem. This woman had been in the vicinity of a terrorist bomb but luckily survived. She creditied, of course, her survival to JC himself. Another story was about a teen who, to be popular, drank and smoked a little. But, fretting the hollowness of that existance, decided to walk in the path of JC and reclaim his purity. The best segment, though was about a campaign they are doing called Stand United in Prayer. From their site:

We are on the eve of the most important election in our history. So much is at stake: our National Security, the future appointment of Supreme Court Justices, our Christian heritage and even our most basic freedoms.

Yet, our country is so deeply divided. The battle for the hearts and souls of Americans is raging as never before. The Bible tells us that “a house divided cannot stand.” It’s time to unite and pray for America.

On September 24th, we will launch 40 days of prayer and fasting for America. Please join with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and pray for the upcoming election. May God give us godly and righteous rulers who will do His will. Take a moment and sign up now to pray together for America — declare to the world and future generations that “United We Stand.”

Another interesting part of the website contains a link to their Sanctity of Marriage campaign. Since I love you guys so much (bless your souls,) I’m going to show you the nifty little bumper sticker they have created:

Isn’t that precious? Allelujah!

However, I must admit, the 700 Club is polshed and professionally presented. The two women hosts this night looked very wholesome (read, less dowdy than Lynne Cheney.) One was a plumper white woman and the other was a very light skinned black women. Although I’m not a big fan of the nuveau-Church Lady look, they were agreeable targets of my gaze. There is also a great feeling that the anchors are speaking directly to you. After each segment, one of the anchors moralizes about what’s just been shown for about a minute. As they go on and on about Jesus and love and redemption and salvation, the camera very slowly zooms into a face shot. Their words are hypnotic, and you are literally drawn towards these conduits of Christ.

Now we all feel lonely at times, or unclear about direction. Very cleverly, during each broadcast, they post a 1-800 number, and show a bunch of clean cut operators supposedly talking to callers just off to the periphery of the set. Other partisan shows, like the Daily Show, leave the viewer agreeing with many things, but then off bed. These people go for the kill while the carcas is still steaming. Draw them in, get one phone call out of them, give them a free gift, get their mailing address, snag a new name on the Republican/Christian Coalition roster and get you some votes.

It’s fiendishly clever.

I am Jewish and although I am not particularly religious, having religion be a component of my being, I beleives, sometimes helps me to reflect. I know, Ayn Rand would not be happy, but then again, she’d have one or two other beef’s with me as well… I don’t need to go to temple all the time, keep kosher, or even observe the sabbath every week. The level at which I hold my religious beliefs is deep within me, and certainly not something I’d like to push on others.

But in a way, I can see the lure of these individuals. They shure as heck look friendly and happy. In a modern world so disconnected (i.e. individuals ranting about personal issues to strangers in blogs,) I can see the need to have something to beleive in which is beyond yourself. Organized religion is a great way to fill that void, and of those for whom it does, power to them. And, if in addition to creating personal happiness, it teaches compassion and kindness for other humans, then it is certainly a good thing. In that sense I’m a friend of religion.

But when the right Jews are Jews for Jesus, when our leaders must be followers of Him, and when the Constitution is looked upon as a means for enforcing discrimination, then I wonder if religion is such a good thing after all.

http://www.cbn.com/700club/

Fashion Police

I was listening briefly to Air America radio today and heard the story of two people being arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts at a Bush speech. What was particularly shocking about this even was that it was held on public property – at the West Virginia Capitol. The T-shirts had Bush’s name crossed out on the front and the words, “Love America, Hate Bush,” and “Regime Change Begins at Home,” on the back.

The couple was led from the event in handcuffs after refusing to remove the shirts.

Although the charges were later dropped, the incident caused one of the protesters to briefly lose her job. The city’s public officials have apologized. The two, however, are bringing a lawsuit against the federal policing agencies involved in the arrest, with the help of the ACLU.

This is a very clear cut case. These individuals, one of whom is a registered Republican, were singled out because the political message on their shirt did not sit well with the authorities. These people were not out there trying to shout the president down or belittle other supporters, instead they were involved in a quiet but visible protest. Protest is not always about disruption, and wearing a shirt with a particular message is a direct way to make yourself heard without speaking.

Take two examples from back at Trinity. For one, a certain sorority during pledge time had shirts made up for pledges. As part of the ritual these pledges had to wear the shirt and a white skirt around campus on certain days. The shirt said, “If I don’t remember it, it didn’t happen.” As you might imagine, some people on campus were furious about these shirts. They found them demeaning to women, and couldn’t understand why some would chose to wear it. Someone mentioned it in a letter to the editor of our newspaper, and the issue was discussed. However, no T-shirts were confiscated, and the girls (I say girls because I mean girls) wearing them were not kicked out – all perfectly correct.

Another instance is when I would wear my famous “San Francisco Physical Education” T-shirt around campus. The message of this shirt was pretty obvious, and I knew that a lot of people did not agree with the message. I’d get stares and sometimes glares, but again, nobody demanded I remove the shirt or leave Trinity.

Obviously what these people were trying to do was bring attention to their viewpoints. Their intention, as far as I can ascertain, was to use the shirts to engage with those who did not agree with the messages on them. Furthermore, they did this all at a public gathering in a public location. Had this been a private place, such as a Bush-Cheney “Town Hall,” then such censorship, though perhaps still odious, would be legal.

But this was a traditional public forum. As such, the arrest of these individuals expressing their viewpoints in a non-disruptive manner, based solely on the fact that the authorities didn’t like the message, is clearly a violation of the 1st Amendment.

I can only hope that this two people, who acted within the law during both their protest and arrest, can get their message out there. There is no doubt in my mind that the treatment these two received has been imposed on countless others, both outside of and within the Bush administration. Incidents such as this are what really turns me away from these Bush type Republicans more than anything else.

Peaceable public protest is the guarantee that makes this country so special and so hated by those who would rather stifle all dissent. If Bush’s platform is going to be a hard line against intolerant regimes, then he must practice what he preaches.

But I don’t see that happening.