Proposition 8 and the Ties That Bind

In the simplest terms:

There is more hate in this world than can be believed, the world is dark with it. So to me, whenever two people find each other and love each other, that is good.



Love is love, whether in the form of parents with their children, brothers and sisters who love each other and fight constantly, friends who would give anything to help each other, and even strangers who reach out to help someone they don't know in need.



The most pure and sacred form of love there is, exists between two individuals who love each other for who and what they are and chose to celebrate this love with a recognized union; whether civil union or marriage.



Love, pure unselfish love is so rare, that the world should stop and hold its breathe with joy and amazement when two people are so brave as to commit to share their lives together. Regardless of sexual orientation. Man and woman, woman and woman, or man and man. Love is still love regardless of the container or outside wrapper.



What is important is the feelings and the caring.



If two people who love each other wish to commit to share a lifetime together it should be treated as a sacred vow and commitment. Maybe some day, people -who are not harmed or affected and have no real reason to fear can let go of their fear and see the love that is there.



Maybe.



A friend sent me the link to this video, to those of you who are against marriage between two people who love each other (regardless of sex or sexual affiliation) please look at the faces of those you fear. They deserve the right to commit with joy just like we have.






"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Sick and Bored in Bed with Bill O'Reilly

I'm sick and in bed with the flu. However, being sick and bored while having internet access means that you can have fun zipping aroung youtube.

I found the following Bill O'Reilly out takes hysterical.
Warning-lots of colorful language is used, so if you have kids around shoo them out the door or turn down your volume.



The ironic take on O'Reilly's questions to Marylin Manson about profanity and swear words is how much he swore in the first video when off the air.






No idea how O'Reilly got all of this from a clip on Senator Obama's speech and one NYC Councilman Charles Barron's remarks.


Phil Donohue pwns O'Reilly over Cindy Sheehan. Mind you I am not a fan of Ms. Sheehan.


Note to self, when talking to O'Reilly use posh brittish accent in a quiet voice-it seems to calm the wild beast within him.


and then Letterman kicks him around a bit as well


Ok-I know the election is over, but this is certainly an interesting series of clips on Senator McCain.

A New Start

I write about art and have done so since the summer of 2007 at another blog. Occasionally I've also posted about politics, current events, and my thoughts and opinions about both and I've become concerned that I am straying from the purpose of that first blog-which is to write about art.

I've decided to separate the political postings into a different blog. This should help keep the art and politics where they belong, as separate entities.

My art blog is hosted wordpress, but I wanted to try out the options and plug-ins that I know are available at blogspot. So here I am. I will probably play with this a bit before linking both blogs.

Farewell Governor Dean

Last Saturday night I attended an event in honor of Governor Howard Dean, the outgoing Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) hosted at the American History Museum in Washington, DC. Although this post is late (I was without the internet or laptop for most of the weekend) I wanted to post it anyways as a tribute to a great man.

The Govenor Virginia, Tim Kaine, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as the replacement for Govenor Howard Dean as the Chairman of the DNC. This was submitted to the DNC membership for vote on January 21st and passed with no issues.

What a great party! There was great music, food and drink in a stunning setting that was filled with a huge crowd. I was lucky enough to see a few folks I'd meet while volunteering at the DNC and it felt nice to be remembered.

After a short presentation of some interesting video clips, Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia introduced Governor Dean. Before Dean took the stage, they played a great video message from President Elect Obama. Then Governor Dean came out and gave one hell of a speech. I had no idea he was such a great orator!

As soon as his speech was over he was mobbed by well wishers. Sadly for me I was within 10 feet of him so I was mobbed as well, but you could forgive people for their love an enthusiasm (for him not me).

44th Presidential Inauguration

I was fortunate enough to attend the 44th Inauguration, we had tickets to the Purple Area which was located on the Senate side of the Capitol Building, I was lucky, I was able to get in. The lines and crowd were enormous. The folks in the Yellow line snaked around for at least 8 blocks (that I could see). I had another acquaintance tell me he spent hours in a confused and twisted space for the Orange line but he was able to get in as well. I spent the night of the 19th with friends who actually live on Capitol Hill which meant I only walked about 6 blocks to get to the Purple Entry Point.

Some of the direction signs were wrong. I am familiar with the neighborhood so I knew the

Senate side was not where the signs indicated to those exiting the Captiol South Metro Stop. I guess the committee wasn't too worried about the sign since purple ticket holders were supposed to exit at Union Station (red line). The sign confusion probably added no end of grief to out of towners.

The Presidential Motorcade
While crossing to enter into the area, I was almost run down by some cop cars-it took a few moments to realize it was the Presidential Motorcade! I scooted and only managed to snap one pic of it and sadly missed the one of “The Tank.” If you know artist Matt Sesow he has a video of it on his facebook page!
Although I was in a ticketed area I am very short. So I couldn’t see a thing except the dome and the upper part of the building. Nada. Then again, unless you were over 6 feet tall you also didn’t see much. There were some grumbles but most people were like me, just very grateful to be witnessing the event.

Jumbotran View Someone did not do effective planning for the location of the Senate-side jumbotran. Or if they did, they never double checked what it looked like with crowds, who were viewing it from down slope. Most folks in the Yellow and Purple side had a rather large tree which obstructed the view of the jumbotran. So I had a lot of shots of a tree and a vague indication of different peoples faces.

Even though we couldn’t see, ok-we the short one- couldn’t see, we didn’t care~we were there!! Everyone was happy and considerate for the most part; it was like being in Manhattan at Christmas time! If it was crowded so much the better since those beside and behind acted as windbreaks!

In case you didn’t see the speech here it is in it’s entirety courtesy of youtube

And in case you missed the actual event on TV here is a link!

President Obama's Inagural Address

My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers ... our found fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Source for the transcript is provided by Yahoo News.

...and in the Gaza Strip

Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish, my thoughts and prayers are with you tonight for you and your family.
This has got to stop.