Accepted American Bigotry

So overall the elections went well, unless you count every ban on gay marriage up for a vote passing. We have finally elected a black president but we still see fit in this country to deny people in love the right to marry simply because of Judeo Christian bigotry against homosexuality. To all of my gay and lesbian friends, my heart goes out to you. To borrow from the civil rights movement, we shall overcome.

History in the making

As I sit here catching my breath I am filled with hope. CNN just made the official call that Barack Obama will be president. When Martin Luther King spoke of having been to the mountain top and having seen the promised land, a day like today is what he saw. The realization of the dream begins its culmination tonight. I am such a swirl of emotion right now I don't feel I can wax sufficiently poetic to capture the significance of this moment but I felt I must log this moment in time. It is my hope that this night will truly change the course of our nation. Words fail me.

UPDATE: McCain just conceded. His concession speech is the best he has given this whole election. It is both graceful and gracious. Well fought Senator McCain. Your concession speech has set a tone of unification after a divisive and long election. Thank you.

The Big Day

I voted this morning. It is the first time I have ever voted almost straight Democrat. Most importantly, I placed my vote for Barack Obama, the first politician to ever inspire me. As I try to make it through the day without gluing myself to the hundred channels of election coverage I find myself both worried and hopeful at once.

As I stood in a record line this morning filled with young first time voters in a precinct that usually looks like a sparsely populated retirement home I felt a glimmer of hope. By the discussions going on in line there were at least eight Obama voters in a row in front of me and two more in back meaning in a district filled with McCain signs there were at least 11 people in a row casting a vote for change. It felt good to be a in a little flotilla of blue in a sea of red state voters.

As the final days of the campaign wound down I stopped focusing as much on the dirty lies of the McCain supporters and looked at the other issues around the country. Two popped immediately into view.

First, the dirty ad campaign of Elizabeth Dole claiming that Kay Hagan was supported by the Godless Americans and implying that she made promises to that group were as vile as all of the racist things said about Barack Obama. What offended me more though was that Kay Hagan not only defended her faith and denied the lies that she had made promises to the Godless Americans but in doing so implied that Godless Americans are an Anti-American group to be feared. I am a Godless American you intolerant hate mongering bigots. The time is coming when Americans will see the lies about us for what they are and equate them with the stories Nazis told about the Jews. The smartest among us are Atheists. Does being smart make you a bad American?

Speaking of hate mongering, I have something to say about Proposition 8 in California. I think any California resident reading this should call their local civil rights attorney and start a class action lawsuit to strip any religion that has contributed to this hate filled campaign of its precious tax exempt status. That's right Mormons, I am looking squarely at you. You still believe that in the Celestial Kingdom all righteous men will have more than one wife and have only suspended polygamy here due to bigamy laws. Don't believe me? The manifesto of 1890 only repeals the practice, not the doctrine. You of all people should be ones to talk about a "1 man, 1 woman" definition of marriage. Most of all, Mormon interference in this election by supporting Prop 8 from both wallet and pulpit stands in direct violation of federal tax codes governing church tax exempt status. Catholics and Baptists, you are in the same boat. All of your hate mongering money machines need to be taxed and taxed now. Religion is a multi-billion dollar industry. When your pulpit and coffers are used to support legislation of any kind you should be subjected to the same taxes as the rest of us. When you worship in private and keep it private, I have no problem. When you play in the public sphere, you must also pay in the public sphere. Until you open your pockets and pony up taxes like everyone else, your mouths need to stay the fuck shut.

Braindump

Every so often here in Untitled Life I feel the need to write but have so much information I wish to convey that it all comes out at once and rarely in a full cohesive thought. That is when we have the fun of a braindump where I throw up all of my thoughts in a single stream of though post and let you sort it out... or slink away slowly to call the men in white coats to pick me up.

First, last Sunday was the First Annual Texas Freethought Convention. It went well even considering some planning mixups. Originally I had been set to speak but due to scheduling and two big name speakers coming out, I got bumped. I did get to perform the de-baptisms which was a fun, tongue in cheek way for those baptized as children to undo something done to them without their consent. Purely symbolic silliness but it was all in good fun. Overall it was a great day and I was lucky enough to meet some fellow atheists from all over Texas, giving me hope for this red state. A special shout out goes to Anastasia, my fellow recovered Mormon, and Kelli and Staise, the documentary filmmakers and fellow hardcore atheists who will be immortalizing this first here in Texas. Also, much love to FACT, American Atheists, and all of the other local and national organizations that made this possible.

In other news, it looks like Barack will win the White House. That said, I will not breathe a sigh of relief until they have sworn him in. If McCain wins even with the polls predicting a Barack landslide I am taking to the streets. I don't care if I am the only person in this red state protesting. I get the feeling I won't be. Republicans be warned. The American people are tired of your dirty politics. We will not have another election stolen.

My wife got the call Tuesday that her great grandmother had been diagnosed with late stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma. While she will be going through chemo her prognosis looks grim. Ester is the kind of grandmother everyone wishes for. She is always ready with a smile and a hug for her family. Until recently she could run circles around any of us, maintaining a little shop in the flea market and caring for her many grand and great grandchildren. She has led an amazing life and if I can leave this world accomplishing half of her life I will die feeling fulfilled. Ester, we love you and if you leave us, you will be mourned and missed.

Heros and Monsters

"Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes into you." — Friedrich Nietzsche

America currently stands on a precipice overlooking a great abyss. This soul sucking chasm's gaping jaws await as on all sides we are pushed towards it by the "monsters" we are told are seeking to kill us. Fear is used by our leaders to prod us into giving up our basic liberties. Our collective rage is quelled and misdirected by leaders who scare us with shadow puppets. We need a hero.

The hero is one who can shine the light on the puppet show and rid us of the shadow monsters, leaving only the puppet masters and the real monsters. This opens avenues of escape once blocked by fear. This hero needs to guide us away from the precipice and rally our nearly broken spirits. There are real monsters to fight and we must be ready for them.

Every day I gaze into this abyss that looms so large, wondering if anyone else even sees it. Some days it gazes back. There are days when I find the fight to pull the world from the edge exhausting. I know I am not the hero this world needs. My light simply isn't big enough to dispel all of the shadow monsters. I can see the puppet masters with their giant lights, projecting monstrous shadows yet few around me can see the same.

I feel like I am standing by a train track, watching those around me standing on the tracks. I am screaming warnings of an oncoming train but they are too immersed in their iPods to hear me. When I try to pull out their ear buds to scream the warning, they simply anger that I have stopped the music and refuse to hear anything further. I wonder if they will move when the tracks start to rumble or will they even notice? Maybe when the glaring light is bearing down on them, or will they simply think it sunrise?

Is there anybody listening or am I simply screaming into the storm?

How can this happen?

How can the race between John McCain and Barack Obama be this close? After eight years of an idiotic right wing nut job in the house that almost no one approves of, how can the Republicans in America want more of the same? Can we afford another pair in the White House who think God put them there? Can we afford two ardent supporters of a war that was started on a lie and is currently responsible for trillions of dollars of debt? If we as a nation were to spend half of what we have wasted on this war of lies here at home, not one child in this country would go without health care. Invested in education, millions of lower income students could turn the tide of poverty by going to college. Republicans talk of ending the "welfare state" and yet refuse to invest in the one idea that can fix that, education. Instead they send our young men and women into countries that hate us to die bringing democracy to countries that want theocracy. Speaking of theocracy, should John McCain die in the White House, likely due to his age and health history, we would have someone in the White House who believes that God put her there to enact "his" plan to rid the world of abortions, even for rape victims. She would continue by furthering "his" plan to end the teaching of evolution and replace it with creationism. She would set up the Christian answer to Sharia Law in this country. We have to stop this lunacy and we have to stop it now. We must do everything we can to prevent the election of McCain/Palin.

Sarah Palin

Holy fuck on a stick. Sarah Palin, the new Republican VP nominee, scares the living bejesus out of me. If John McCain wins, this far right wingnut Pentecostal will be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If this woman doesn't make you scared, you either aren't paying attention or should be committed. This woman wants Creationism in our science classes, God in our government, no sex ed in schools, and no abortions for anyone, ever. This in 2008. This is the best Republican can come up with? Are they out of their fucking minds? Rhetorical question...

First, I know a few Pentecostals and they are generally good people. Good people who believe they can speak in tongues, believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God, the sick can be healed through prayer, and one can be "saved" through "acceptance of Jesus Christ." That is fine for an individual who isn't making key decisions on how the most powerful nation on earth is run.

The bottom line about abortion is it is a valid medical procedure for women who for one reason or another can't carry the pregnancy. There are plenty of valid reasons for it and the decision in the end must be between the woman and her Doctor. If you don't own a uterus, you don't get to be involved.

Abstinence education DOES NOT FUCKING WORK! Texas teen pregnancy rates are through the roof here in Texas as a direct correlation. Condoms save lives, prevent disease, and prevent unwanted pregnancy. Parents in America are so sexually repressed that they can't teach their kids what a condom is and how to use one. Teens have sex. Teens who are educated about it are more likely to wait to start having sex and once they do are smarter about it. Studies have come in by the thousands that real, honest sex education prevents disease and pregnancy. Anyone fucking stupid enough to deny that has no business in a position of power, period.

Creationism is the clear attempt of religious lunatics, the people who brought you the inquisition and flat earth theory, to pry their way back into science classrooms. Creationism and intelligent design are NOT FUCKING SCIENCE. They are religious propaganda.

In the final analysis, if you want a theocracy, vote Republican. If you want sane, rational government, vote Obama. People like Sarah Palin must be fought at all turns in the same way one might oppose Adolf Hitler.

I was gonna let it go...

I was going to let CNN's telecast of the Presidential Evangelical forum pass. I swear I was going to pretend not to give a shit. I figured there would be no surprises, and there really wasn't. The questions were all softball lob shots with no surprise questions. It was a nonstop love-fest with the standard fare about pro-life / pro-choice, platitudes, and empty pandering to the evangelical set. I was going to leave all of that be. That is until every single mouth breathing neanderthal talk radio host on both sides couldn't shut off their drool holes about it. The conservatives complained that the interviewer was not a real Evangelical because he doesn't discuss sin enough in his church. The liberals were annoyed by the clearly conservative slant of the questions. By the end of the day all I wanted to do was relax after foaming at my radio sufficiently doctors almost gave me a rabies shot.

So I sit down to surf the net and chill. The problem is, CNN is my homepage. Then I just had to pop. The most important point that every single pundit misses has nothing to do with whether the church hosting the forum was to liberal or conservative. The biggest problem with this forum is that it was in a church, hosted by a minister, and the product of this religious exercise is being used to help choose the president of a nation whose constitution strictly prohibits the mixing of church and state. You might as well just fucking inaugurate Sun Myung Moon. Son of a bitch, we did...

Are they all insane?

The more I listen to politicians on both sides, the less sane I think they are. Take the energy policy debate. You have the "DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW" crowd screaming for new offshore drilling and drilling in ANWR. On the other side we have the Democrats calling for no new drilling at all and instead investing in "green" technology. Somehow there is no middle ground. There are thousands of ready made wellheads, ready for drilling and no one is stopping the oil companies from drilling. There is no need to fight for ANWR or extra offshore drilling locations. We need to invest further in "green" technologies that will move us away from dependence on oil. We need all of this and we need it now. The most annoying part is that not one politician is needed for these decisions. Oil companies already have clearance for thousands of acres of drillable land. There are plenty of market demands for green technology. No governmental interference required.

More ranty goodness...

So here I am, on the flip side of 30 and living a better life than I did at 20. Some people talk about wanting to be 20 or 25 again. I wouldn't go back if you paid me. I lead a good life. I am more conscious of the world around me. I am free to think and say what I want and be who I am. Some days that makes me so happy it almost hurts. Other days I also feel the burden of knowledge.

The other night I went out to grab some dessert for Tiff and I. When I returned she was watching "Platinum Weddings" on WE. I sat down to enjoy some mindless television with her. As the show progressed there were two things that stood out to me. The first was the ridiculous amount of money this woman was spending on an event that would only last a few hours. I understand the feminine desire for a nice wedding. I get that these can be pricey. This woman blew over $500,000 for this event, including a $30,000 cake, $120,000 in jewels, and thousands of other insane items. Her mother was footing a large part of the bill. Her mother was born and raised in Haiti. Haiti is one of the nations the U.S. State Department advises U.S. citizens not to travel to due to political unrest. It also has a child death rate of one in eight, rampant poverty, and starvation. The cost of this woman's wedding could feed thousands of Haitian children for a long time. I understand this woman's right to spend her money however she wants. I am just aghast at such conspicuous consumption from someone whose roots are in a land that is dying more every day.

Then I remember that even here in this country children die of malnutrition. Every day in this country, millions of children will go hungry. We need not look to the third world to find starvation and needless death. We in the richest nation on earth need only travel a few miles in any direction. Every day thousands of uninsured children are turned away from medical care that could save their lives because their parents make too much for free medical care but not enough for insurance. Every day in every city in America there are children whose only meal of the day is the lunch provided at their school.

Have we become the new Roman Empire? Has the American elite forgotten the fall of Caesar? In a land where children are dying it takes someone truly self centered to burn that much money, a fraction of which could spare hundreds of people suffering, on such a self indulgent exercise in narcissism. Weddings should be about the sharing of love and the vowing of devotion, not spending enough to feed a small country as an opulent display of self love and delusions that you are important. The woman in this story kept referring to this wedding as "her day." The groom almost seemed to be more of a decoration than half of this ceremony.

My wife and I are examples that a wedding doesn't have to cost much to have real meaning. We were married on the beach and the most expensive thing was the minister for $100. Even if you factor in the rings which were purchased much earlier our wedding cost less than $3,000. We have been married almost seven years now and I love her more today than the day we said, "I do." What I love most about her is the way she loves me, with her whole heart and unconditionally.

More political ranting brought to you by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court cranked out a few tough decisions over the last couple of days. I support their choice on repealing the death penalty in child rape cases simply for the number of falsely convicted fathers out there whose vindictive ex-wives frame them. Frankly, if the case were clearly and unequivocally provable I would personally kill them slowly by beheading with a butter knife. I just can't get behind execution in cases that are not an exact science. I understand the close split on this and for that I give them a pass on this decision.

What irks me is the narrow margin by which second amendment rights were supported. Before I go further let me refresh everyone's memory as to the exact wording of the amendment.

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

I support the decision of the court that banning the owning of firearms by private citizens is unconstitutional. Strange to hear from a liberal, isn't it? The court supported reasonable legislation but restricted states from completely banning firearms. What disturbs me is that this decision was not unanimous. To be clear, the job of the Supreme Court is to interpret the Constitution and apply it to the cases brought before it. Whatever the personal belief of the judge, the Constitution must reign supreme. The intent of the writers of the amendment is quite clear. The people's right to bear arms is maintained specifically to form militias to protect themselves from the government. These men had just fought off an oppressive regime using a militia formed by men with their own personal guns. It was tantamount to the founders that, should the government ever become oppressive, the people must be able to rise up. A government not scared of its people will trample its people. Look at every major genocidal regime in history. They started by disarming their people. The enemy of tyranny is a well educated and armed populace. That bears saying again.

The enemy of tyranny is a well educated and armed populace.

I hate that defense of the right to bear arms falls to the uneducated dolts of the Christian right who inherently tie guns to conservatism. Defense of liberty is a very liberal ideal. There is no reason to let the conservatives take this ideal and run with it. More importantly, the justices of the Supreme Court have no business attempting to legislate from the bench. The intent of the framers of the Constitution is quite clear. Allowing infringement of the rights of the people to keep and bear arms is directly controverting the very duty of the Supreme Court. The four justices who attempted to reinterpret the intent of the second amendment were one vote away from doing away with one of our basic liberties, the right to defend ourselves. Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer, you shame the institution of the Supreme Court and sully the reputation of its justices by ignoring the real intent of the document you are sworn to defend.

Getting Older

Now that I have pissed off the three religions most likely to declare holy war, it is time to wax reflective. Whoever said 30 is the new 20 needs to have a semi-automatic shotgun shoved up his ass without lube and have the trigger pulled until it clicks. You know you are getting old when you turn on the classic rock station and hear the stuff that came out when you were in high school. Metallica's Load album is not classic yet, is it? For that matter, could it ever be? I digress. I had my hair cut today only to reveal more gray hair. I'm turning 30, not 60. I shouldn't have this much gray hair. I actually found a few grays on my chest. A kid I taught in Sunday school when he was 5 is 14 now. My brother, a kid whose diapers I changed, is a 6'5" 19 year old.

To top it off, George Carlin, the edgy comedian I have loved for years, is dead now. I am watching his tribute marathon, remembering all of the laughs he brought to my time on this planet. In his 71 years on this rock his comedy made people think, laugh, and often run in terror. You will be missed George. In your honor I end with your most famous seven words.

"Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, CockSucker, MotherFucker, and Tits"

Unleashing the misanthrope

You know there are some days my inner misanthrope wants to come out. In these days I look at society and wonder if it can be saved. I look more and more at the issues of faith and religion and the harder I look, the harder it is to understand how the species keeps on going. The New Testament is historically impossible, not just improbable. The Old Testament God needs serious medication and the story is less likely than the gods of Mount Olympus. The Koran is the psychotic ranting of a nutjob, pedophile, misogynistic, warmongering, genocidal maniac. Here in America we are surrounded by shallow, stupid, buffoons who would rather vote for the next American Idol than a president. When they do vote it is for candidates with the best hair or smile rather than their position on the topics that matter. This is how you explain Rick Perry, perfect hair and teeth but not one functioning brain cell. Sometimes I just wish smart people would step back and let the idiots kill themselves off, natural selection style. Darwinian evolution has been hindered by safety measures for too long. The stupid should be left to cut off their own genetic lines in the most horrifically stupid ways. If you don't know or haven't figured out what a misanthrope is, go step in front of a fast moving bus...

Maybe I should lay off the CNN for a few days... It creates anger management issues by robbing faith in the viability of the human species...

P.S. In case you were wondering, yes, I just called Mohammed a pedophile and a maniac, Jesus a myth, God a psycho, Americans morons, and no, I am not apologizing. Truth sucks. Deal with it.

It types like stimulus...

So I have a new toy thanks to the wonderful folks in the United States Congress. Since the government was sending out free money (I'm going to ignore the fact that I paid about 5 times the amount of my "stimulus" in taxes) I decided to invest in my business with a tool that also makes my wife's photography business more productive. We purchased a new Macbook and a 24" external monitor for the primary purposes of photo editing and web design. Of course the side effect is we have a freaking cool laptop with an absolutely sick monitor. I love this shit almost enough to forget that the money they sent was only a small chunk of the massive chunk taken from my hard earned paycheck at gunpoint. If you don't believe the gunpoint, try not paying your taxes a few years in a row. It is like having a thief rob you at gunpoint, take all of your cash and cards, toss a couple of fives at you, and then tell you to get something nice. At least with this nice thing I can make more money... so they can take more money... so the can fund more stimulus checks... Son of a bitch... for a moment I was so happy about my new shit...

Time for change

As you all know, I lost my job a couple of months ago. I have been working as an independent and am actually making a good bit more than I made at my last job. There are a couple of major differences. One, I cannot guarantee I will make as much this week as last week. Two, I have found out that my wife and I are un-insurable. I am ready and looking to purchase good health insurance. My wife and I have no major ongoing medical problems but to insure us will cost more than rent unless we both lose a significant amount of weight. I am stuck in a catch 22. If I spend the money for insurance, I am basically throwing money down a hole in the hopes that they will cover us in a major medical problem, which is never guaranteed. If I don't and then one of us is sick or hurt we will never be able to get coverage for that illness or injury. Even if we lost 40 pounds each insurance would cost just under $500/month for the three of us. Our normal medical costs for six months don't even run that. I make too much money for Medicaid, even for my daughter, but not enough to justify burning $500 a month on something I won't use enough to justify the costs.

The big problem here is that I am not at or below the poverty line. I make more than a significant number of Americans with that number going up every year. I am right in the middle of the middle class and moving up fast. If I can't insure my family, who can? Something has to change and it has to change now. We need sensible health care reform. We need to stand up for a change. We as Americans can't accept the status quo anymore. There is no way we can simply "let the market sort it out." The insurance industry has gone too far, gotten too corrupt, and has ceased to serve the needs of the American people. There is no excuse for the most powerful nation on earth not to be able to provide medical care to every citizen, regardless of class or income. The amount we spend invading foreign countries alone could fund health care for all indefinitely. We have to change our thinking and look at the successful nations of Europe and the Netherlands. Their people are happy, healthy, and not driven into the ground by the costs of medical care. They work fewer hours, live longer lives, and enjoy less of a gap between their richest and poorest citizens.