Taking Up My Cross

This article in The Huffington Post made me think about something I haven't given much thought to in a while. I try not to think too much on religious issues, not because it doesn't interest me but because it's a painful topic to rehash. I lived with religion, actively and inactively, even vicariously, all my life. A person can't live in the American South without dealing with religion in some way, shape, or form.

However, this article in particular revived the thought in me about my Cross. All of us have some kind of Cross - a God-given weight or burden - in our life. My partner, who teaches college classes, comes home often with stories of her students saying things like "I've had so much going on. It's just been a tough time for me. You don't understand."

Oh, we understand. Anyone who is human understands. The Pollyanna "Life is Good" and "God is Good" types aren't being real. Life is hard and it has struggles. If it didn't, then what's the point of believing in Heaven? Heaven is supposed to be a reward, and if life is perfect here, then what is there to look forward to?

God never promised us a perfect life if we got saved or believed. It was supposed to be hard. Being a Christian wasn't supposed to be easy. I hear a lot of people say, "I'm so blessed" or making quick Facebook posts or tweets about "Praying for God to bless me."

Why? What have you done that gives you a right to be blessed? Have you...oh, I don't know done something like get nailed on a cross for someone else's sins? Really, we're such an arrogant, self-aggrandizing people!

Anyway, I was thinking about my Cross. You're probably wondering what it is. Okay, maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anyway.

It's my sexuality. The fact that I'm a lesbian is my Cross.

On the surface, that sounds bad, right? If you consider it in light of the article above though and the nature of this season, it makes perfect sense.

Jesus was given a Cross to bear. He was to be the Messiah - the Savior of Mankind. It wasn't something that he wanted, but it was his destiny. He couldn't deny it anymore than he could deny His Heavenly Father. Becoming the Savior was who Jesus was meant to be and who God created Him, in an earthly image, to be. It was a gift bestowed upon Him that was bigger and larger than the seen world. He accepted His Cross with grace and appreciation for He came to understand the world in a way He hadn't before. He went through troubles and tribulations (40 days in the desert) but came out with a deeper understanding of who He was in God.

Please note, I am not trying to compare myself to Jesus, but we are commanded in the Bible to "pick up our Cross." To implies, that we all have one. In that way, we are Christ-like. We have troubles and problems, everyone does...even those Pollyanna "praying for a blessing" types. Perhaps their Cross is that they are keeping up a front for others? Eh, that's their business.

As for my sexuality, I never saw it as a curse or a problem. Yes, it's a complication. Life would be easier (not Cross-free, but easier) if I was heterosexual. No doubt about that! However, I do see my sexuality as a Cross in the sense of a weight or burden to carry. It complicates my life but it makes the living even richer.

It has given me a truer understanding of love. It's not blind. It's eyes wide open. It's not unconditional because we've been let down too many times to believe otherwise. It's not perfect and it's sure as hell not easy. It takes work to continue to love through the pain. I know love when I look at Gabrielle. She can make me so angry, yet I simply want to hold her and protect her from the world. I look at Michelle as she sleeps, and my heart swells with tenderness and affection and a little something more fierce...powerful. The love that I've experienced, and the limits of love, because of my sexuality proves a genuineness that runs deeper than any marriage license can convey. There is a power in the love that is beyond comprehension.

It has shown me the true sense of family. It's not the one you're born into but the one you choose that matters. It's the one you decide to build and make with another. The one that takes precedence over all others. My sexuality has also taught me that family has nothing to do with blood and everything to do with choice.

I've learned about real friendship. The kind that stands up beside another and fights not for our own good but for others as well. In recent years, there have been some friends that I had considered family that let me down. I knew that these were people I would have stood beside in the darkest of moments, yet that mere test wasn't passed by them. I believe even Jesus spoke of true friendship being that in which one will "lay down his life" for another. The number of people I know that would do that have dwindled considerably over the years. Maybe I'm just too cantankerous to love. ;)

My sexuality hasn't been a detriment but a blessing in so many ways. It's opened my eyes and shown me a world that I wouldn't have known otherwise. I've seen the best of human nature (the beauty of a love that bonds souls) and the darkest parts of ourselves when hatred and general disregard, even from those I thought loved me, from others. There's been pain and wonder, lows and highs, hope and despair, but it's all been worth it.

My Cross is my sexuality. Yes, I'm gay, but I'm wonderfully blessed in ways both seen and unseen - a beautiful daughter and a loving spouse, and a heart that knows more of this world than the average person can fathom.

What is your Cross?

The Value of Social Networks

There are two camps when it comes to the value of social networks. Either sites like Facebook and Twitter are destroying our culture or they're the best thing since fire was invented.

I, personally, fall somewhere in the middle most of the time. However, there are times when I loathe it. Like when someone almost runs me off the road while they're trying to text about American Idol or when my poor college professor wife comes home from a rough day irritated because she gives the students ten different ways to access the same information but they can't bother to write it down or bring it to class. Instead, those students sit there the whole class and text their friends. I need to stop myself now on that topic because I could really go off on a soapbox about it. *sigh*

The good part, but also sometimes not a great part, about place like Facebook is the ability to be in touch with people all over the world, family you rarely see, and friends you'd lost touch with. Sometimes though, you remember why you don't still have those people as a constant presence in your life. Friends make crude or insensitive remarks. An issue or major event happens to you and they don't ackknowledge it. I've even had family members "unfriend" me. I've had former classmates "unfriend" me. One was someone I would have considered a best friend back in the day. These things can be painful and hurt your feelings, but the good part about that is that we learn if we, the human beings that we are, really matter to others.

Granted, I am a VERY opinionated and political person. I have my views, particularly when it comes to gay rights, that I'm passionate about and will fight over - verbally or otherwise. Some things are just worth fighting for and my right to be an equal in this world with others is one of those things.

So, when I spend a decent amount of time sharing information that matters to me, that affects MY LIFE and MY FAMILY, and it is essentially ignored by people I thought had a little more humanity and depth of character, it's frustrating and hurtful. The hurt doesn't last long because then I just get pissed off and type up a blog like this. For the last couple of weeks, since the events in Egypt unfolded, I calmed down my Facebook presence and tried to be more lighthearted. Then the events in WI and the Republican attacks on our freedoms kicked up this week, and I went on a tirade yesterday. Education is one of my soapbox areas. You want to get me going debate with me on education. I was a teacher, and now I work in higher education and trying to complete a doctorate in education. My wife is a college professor and working on her dissertation. Most people I know are in education in some way, and now I'm co-chair of the first GLSEN chapter in TN, so yeah, I get fired up when the topic turns to education.

With everything going on in the world and with all of the news I share, what do I see on my friend's status updates on Facebook? Some freakin' trees on Auburn University's campus have been poisoned and will likely die. OH! You would have thought someone had kicked their dog! Oh, the outrage. And someone on one of the friend's lists responded about having twisted priorities to do something like that. WTF?! Are you serious? They're pointing fingers about "twisted priorities" when a revolution took place to unseat a dictator and install democracy (btw, not a damn one of my conservative friends on FB even mentioned it!) and the Republican party (which these same friends voted into office...thank you, oh so fucking much!) is systematically tearing down unions, women's rights, child labor laws, and not to mention going after, you guessed it...the queers. Yet, a FUCKING TREE gets their attention.

SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCK!?

Oh, and to top it all off, an old high school friend, after being an FB friend for probably over a year now and hearing me go on about equality rights for me and my family, decided yesterday to "like" an anti-gay marriage page on FB. Nice! She survived the last round of me deleting people off my friend's list because she hadn't directly been disrespectful before, but I don't think she'll fare too well this time.

See, that's the good thing about social networks. While sometimes it stings a little to know that people you thought were once decent people think you're a worthless piece of shit, at least their actions prove to you that they're not worth knowing. I know some people would say, "Yes, but shouldn't you keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? At least you'll know what they're planning and how to counter." Honestly, there's no countering that. There's no countering hatred or fixing stupid. They're stuck on stupid and like being there. One day, the way this country is going, I'll probably see these people across a battle line before I could ever hope to reach their hearts. Some people aren't worth trying to save or teach or talk to. They've deemed I'm not worth listening to. Why should I give them the respect they can't extend me?

The New World Order...Republican-Style

Thanks to the election of a new Republican majority, we have a new world order taking place. I just want to say "thank you" to the people (friends and family) who refused to listen, who bought into the fear and bigotry, and who selfishly thought of only themselves this last election. Are you happy now? Is this REALLY what you wanted? For all of them, when it comes home to bite YOU in the ass, just remember: WE TOLD YOU SO!!!

For those who watch something other than Fox News and reality shows or read something beyond Sunday morning cartoons, it's no surprise to see that about a dozen states are being calculatingly attacked by their new Republican governors and legislators. Everything from labor unions, including eliminating child labor laws, to health care to mental health services and school safety has been attacked since they took office. The focus isn't on jobs unless it is to force people to hold as many as possible just to pay their bills.

The biggest story is coming out of Wisconsin. The Republican governor there is going after the teacher's labor union in an attempt to dismantle it all together. The employees, God bless them, aren't taking it. They have been demonstrating for the last few days and the numbers are growing every day. It's what one person has termed "going Egypt" on them.

The same thing is happening here in Tennessee and reports have also been told about it going on in other states. This is part of the process of building the New "Republican" World Order. This IS 1984 in action. Make people so poor and disenfranchised that they can't do anything but work to keep their heads above water. They have no time nor money for getting further training or education. They can't pay for their kids college so their kids are destined to lives of minimum wage (if that!), long hours, and poor conditions. It's the method of keeping the masses under their thumb and controlled. An uneducated population is a controllable population.

A poster on Facebook said it far better than I could. Below is what she said:

The attack on public sector employees is the first stage in a larger agenda to transform all states, not just WI, into 'right-to-work' states. Private sector unions will be next, - they will be broken up, busted, and outlawed. The demonizin...g of public employees and those who protect them, is part of a larger attack on every working person in this state, and soon enough, this nation.

This is part of a larger far-right strategy to turn every state into a 'right-to-work' - NO UNIONS/UNIONS ARE ILLEGAL - state. Right-to-Work means right to be fired on a whim (for being too tall, too short, too black, too female, too fat, too liberal, too ugly, - whatever the employer disagrees with or doesn't like), - it also means right to work for less - no say in wages, no input on benefits, - just whatever the boss wants to pay, and it will be a race to the bottom as states and businesses compete to get the lowest prices to the consumer etc. while shortchanging employees, - right to work also means right to work in unsafe, unsanitary, dangerous, and in all other ways bad working conditions, - no union, no voice, - no say about public or worker safety, no input into the workplace environment, no recourse for things like discrimination based on sex or race or age, - it's open season on every working person, - all in the name of making 'a better business climate' - in essence, every job will be a worse than Wal-Mart job, - no benefits, no living wages, temp or part time would be the norm, erratic hours, no stability, and no say in how things get done or how you are treated as a human being who also happens to be a worker.

This is the vision of Walker and the GOP. State and NATIONAL.

If we can take Walker down on this issue, we might be able to prevent it from taking off nationally, - it is not just about demonizing the public workers, - though this is also part of a larger strategy to demonize and destroy the public sphere so that it becomes inefficient and cannot function - and what can function with limited funding and with such poor treatment of workers, etc. - so, once they demonize the public sphere, they will set out to sell it off, piece by piece, and privatize it. Once something is privatized there goes the voice of the democratic people - there goes the input of the public, there goes the fact that public spaces, places, and things have to be open for everyone, have to be accessible to all, have to serve the people, and have to be free from things like censorship (libraries, for example) and subjected to certain standards and etc (schools), - once something is privatized it is no longer democratic, it is no longer ours, - it is a source of profit for one or a few people, and it is up to them what gets done, what gets taught, what is available, who gets in, how things get done, and etc. And the bottom line is no longer the public good or the public need, but profit, and profit only.

This is the picture being painted and the agenda being pushed by Walker and the WI, and National GOP.

This is what we are up against.

Additionally, Walker's attack on Unions is important because Unions back Democratic candidates more often. The recent ruling by the Supreme Court gave corporations and Unions the right to contribute to campaigns. Since most corporations back the GOP, it was easy to see the impact of this decision, - the GOP had big wins and big money in the midterm - big money was spent by outside sources, - and the Unions spent some on the Dems, but since Unions don't have as much, well, -anyway. The key here is that if you break the Unions, - make them illegal, cut them off from their people, break the solidarity, take away the funding, take away the networks, you also take a way the support for Dems in 2012, - this is what the GOP is after. Walker is going to come after the emails of public employees soon, - to ensure that the Union can no longer contact those who used to be union members, to further break up contact and solidarity and destroy networks and communities.

Add to this the attack on voters rights, - VOTER ID, - this will disenfranchise - this is it's only purpose. Voter fraud is false, - and not a threat, - 14 cases in two years, in WI, is hardly something to crack down on, and all were caught, and the system works, - but VOTER ID is aimed at making it harder for some people to vote, - you have to pay for another state ID, - you have to have money and a DL to get this ID, then you have to have this ID with you when you vote, - to get this ID you have to have money, a DL, and time to go to the DMV, you also have to be very well informed on what is happening in order to know that you can no longer vote without this ID, - this bill puts up unnecessary barriers to voting, - primarily for poor people, - and also for the elderly and college kids, - they also want to do away with same day registration and make it harder to register to vote. SO add this to it, - and this is 2012, - they want to make sure less people vote, and these people they are targeting tend to be the people who would vote for Democrats, in many cases - they are also framing the need for VOTER ID as protection against 'illegal immigrants' voting, - which has never ever been a real thing or a problem. Thus, they are hoping to intimidate Latino voters, - add to this they are going to try to attempt to pass Arizona style racial profiling laws that would further create fear and intimidation in communities of color in WI.

And then, finally, with eyes on 2012, add to this the census data, the redistricting, and the fact that rather than actually rely on facts, the GOP will break up districts in ways that give them more districts, more power, and more control, - it does not matter where people are, where population grew or declined ,what matters is how to squeeze out and shrink Democratic districts, transform independent districts into GOP ones, and increase the number of GOP leaning districts, - thus, more power for the GOP in the state and more power for the GOP nationally.

I am sure there's more to add. I just know it. Add to this Walker's attack on pregnant women and children and the poor and the ill, - taking away Badgercare, - and add to this his stance against the health care reform bill, - taking away other access to health care, - the move is to make people desperate, - to make the poor even poorer, to make the middle class into the new working poor, and to make it so that people will end up wanting to do anything for any wage just to stay afloat, to break solidarity, networks, connections and to turn WI into a third world country, complete with third world environmental and labor laws - namely NO environmental protections, no labor laws, and no public safety laws, - this is what Open For Business means, - businesses get the power and the voice, they get what they want, and those of us who work, - and consume, - well, we are supposed to smile and say thank you, because if we get too rowdy, well, the national guard is here to take care of us.

And to top all of this off, all of these things even when taken together do not decrease the debt, and surprise, do not limit government. This is BIG GOVERNMENT at its worst and most oppressive, and this is no way to bring jobs jobs jobs, or balance a budget

I think we could take some lessons from Egypt.

Why I Haven't Commented on Egypt

The news out of Egypt just keeps coming. There's so much going on that I can't even manage to link all of it here. Admittedly, I've never been much of a follower of the Middle East news happenings. It's just all so complicated and difficult to figure out.

What I do know is that the citizens of Egypt want Mubarak out, and they want a change in their government.

Our nation was founded on this very premise. We wanted freedom from England, and instead of fighting on our own shores to overthrow the powers that be, we left to make our own way. Ultimately, we couldn't run from the confrontation. The war came to us, and we fought to stay free.

Everyone simply wants to live free. This is human nature. We don't want to be ruled and overpowered or disenfranchised from our society - to have our control taken from us.

Freedom, though, is subjective. Tyranny, likewise, is in the eye of the beholder.

The Egyptians want to be free and to overthrow a government they see as tyrannical. The American in me, that lives at the core of me, sympathizes with this desire. What I see though as an affront to my freedom may be very different from someone else's. The Obama administration isn't tyrannical. Under Obama, I have seen freedoms obtained that wouldn't have happened under a Republican political leader (DADT repeal, health care reform, etc.). It's my view and personal opinion that Democrats give and expand rights for all, while Republicans take them away. Earlier today, in fact, I saw a news story about Republicans, instead of working on creating more jobs if they got the majority in Congress, are filing bills to redefine rape in order to limit access to abortions. Yes, because apparently controlling my body and what I do with it is freedom in their book.

Strangely enough, I have hidden a few friends on Facebook because they are annoyingly conservative, but I still check out their profiles sometimes out of curiosity. Just today I saw one commenting on Egypt and a friend of theirs pondered how things would go down if the same thing took place here against the current administration. Another commenter lumped "liberals" with Islamists (i.e. you know, terrorists) and communists.

See, the reason I haven't commented on Egypt isn't because I don't feel strongly about the situation or that I don't empathize with the human desire to be free. It's because what we view as freedom and tyranny and a worthy justification for revolution is all subjective. Conservatives, Tea Partiers, and Republicans tend to see themselves as being under tyrannical rule by Obama, liberals, and Democrats. If there was a chance to do as the Egyptians have done, they'd gladly take it and feel justified. A few years back, I wouldn't have had a problem with protesting in the street to get rid of Bush. I used my fair share of phrases that called Bush and Company tyrants and fascists.

I haven't commented because I don't want to be misinterpreted by the conservatives I know. They are identifying with the Egyptians right now, seeing God at work in their dreams of democracy as they define it. That is, a democracy that only allows their beliefs to exist. And I don't want them to think that I believe as they do. I don't see Egypt as the next great opportunity for conversion to a Christo-fascist state like Iraq or Afganistan, or that America must do its Godly duty and overthrow the godless tyrants of the world so we can fulfill His plan.

No, the tyrant is already there. A tyrant who is far more like the Republicans of our country than the Democrats, and the people are fighting a government that I fear we'll have if Republicans gain the presidency again. But see, that's just my view...my belief. And it's as right and as real as those held by my conservative friends.

So, I don't comment because there's no way to win this. There is no right or wrong because each of us believe we are right and everyone else is wrong.

Religion and the Right to Hate Gays

Yesterday, an announcement came from Belmont University, a college began and funded by the Southern Baptist Convention, that the school has decided to add sexual orientation to their non-discrimination policy.

Belmont Adds Sexual Orientation to Policy

This comes after a month of deliberation and a variety of focus groups asking questions about making the addition, and even longer since Belmont's women's soccer coach, Lisa Howe, mysteriously left the university after telling her athletes that she and her partner were having a child together.

Neither side will confirm or admit that the new policy has anything to do with Howe's supposed dismissal over her sexual orientation. Belmont's president Bob Fisher only said the policy came about as a way to put a "longstanding policy" in writing.

Now, anyone who knows anything about Belmont knows that the campus has a significant LGBTQ population of both students and faculty. I found it quite interesting that within a couple of weeks of the situation with Howe that it seemed like the entire music department at Belmont left. Job postings at Belmont were very numerous and most stemmed from that department. A few were from the athletic department too. The article above even mentions that some stated feeling "welcome" until the incident with Howe. Are they leaving over policy? We may never know but from an employer perspective having a mass exodus of employees is a very bad sign. It sends up red flags to other potential candidates and could make recruitment of both faculty and students extremely difficult. Most people don't want to work for someone that discriminates because one day the chopping block could come down on them. Then there's that whole "guilt by association" thing.

Most employees and students at Belmont have no issue with gay people on campus. Those that I have known that work or worked at Belmont or went to school there were very open-minded. Not all Christians, just like all gay people, are cut from the same cloth. Unlike what the press would have us believe, not all Christians hate gay people. The ones that do just happen to be the loudest and most aggressive in politics and policy. Unfortunately, Christians who aren't haters don't speak out, and too many (including gay people themselves) are willing to give religious people a pass when it comes to being hateful of anyone, but especially of LGBTQ people. We say that churches, Christian-run companies, and religious colleges/schools have a right to think this way. As if hate is a civil right.

Is it? Is hate a right but love isn't?

Interesting when you look at it from that perspective.

Another little related news piece came out about Chick-fil-A, the fast food restaurant that is well-known as Christian-owned, going so far as to close on Sundays on religious principles. The news piece isn't really news for some people. It clarified that CFA has stated they do not like same-sex couples.

While this isn't really news and many people shrug at it as if to say "that's their right," my problem with this isn't necessarily a person, company, or organization's right to not like or accept gay people. The problem is not being CLEAR about it.

In the debacle with Belmont, my comment in many cases was, if you don't want gay people on your staff or in your student body, then say so. Write a policy that says "queers need not apply."

How hard is that?!

The thing is they want it both ways. Belmont wants our intelligence and our talent. CFA wants our money. But they don't really want to know we exist and they definitely don't want us to be open about it.

I really don't care what anyone or any institution thinks, but I do expect openness and clarity about their positions. That way, I know if I want to associate with that person or organization or not, and I know if I should bother apply for a job there or not.

Another situation that arose out the Belmont/Howe issue is Metro Nashville debating whether to extend their non-discrimination policy about sexual orientation to their private contractors. Again, some say that private contractors have a right to hate if they want because they're private. If they're private and they have those beliefs, then they should conduct business with other like-minded businesses. What the Metro Council and Mayor Dean know and understand is that Belmont put a black-eye on Nashville with their actions over Howe, and the city got busy with damage control. They are making a clear statement that the City of Nashville is not a place where discrimination against gay people is acceptable. It's smart business. In a time when industry is leaving our cities and towns and businesses are folding, Nashville is stepping up to clarify their stance in order to retain diversity-minded businesses that will attract the best and brightest from around the world. They're not stupid. You can't be competitive and close-minded at the same time.

There also needs to be an understanding that just like not all Christians are gay-haters, not all gay-people are godless, Satan-worshippers. Some of us may actually want to be associated with other Christians and work in a faith-centered environment or give our hard-earned money to Christian-owned companies.

Simply put, we need to know...what KIND of Christian are you?

Are you the gay-hating kind or the Jesus-ate-with-sinners type?

Now, on a separate but similar note, I just saw an article about Michigan extending benefits to same-sex partners.

My question is, when will Tennessee, as a state, step up and do the same thing? It's kind of pathetic when a Christian-run college adds sexual orientation to their non-discrimination policy before an entire state does. Of course, with a Republican governor in place now, we will be fortunate if that happens. We couldn't even get it with a Democratic governor! But the question remains...what kind _____ (fill-in-the-blank religion, political party, etc) are you?

An Addendum to Yesterday's Post

I have shamelessly stolen this from a Facebook friend (Jen, thank you!) who apparently got it from Bill Maher.

It ties in so perfectly with the post I made yesterday and so much of what I've seen lately from the "progressive" side of politics.

Bill Maher's New Rule: The problem isn’t that there’s too little civility in government, it’s that there’s too much.

President Obama’s state of the union speech is next week, and as you’ve probably heard, members of congress have agreed, in response to the tragedy in Arizona, to break with the tradition of Republicans on one side of the room and Democrats... on the other. Instead, they’re all going to sit together, conservative next to liberal, gay next to straight, nerd next to jock.
Oh wait, that was an episode of “Glee”.

In any event, the two parties are coming together, and they’ve agreed Joe Lieberman has to sit by himself. Now I must say America is such a mystery to me. A lunatic used a Glock to shoot 19 people, and our answer is “Don’t try to control guns or nuts, just be more polite.” Now, I’m just a hockey mom, but… it seems to me when a madman kills people, the problem isn’t the first amendment, it’s the second.

In his big speech, president Obama said we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations. The first of which, I’m guessing, would be to live in a country were children don’t get shot when they leave the house. That’s what’s important. Who gives a damn if politicians mask their disdain for each other with forced niceties? They do it already. “My good friend from the great state of Alabama.” As if they’re really good friends,or anyone outside Alabama thinks it’s a great state.

Oh it’s a love-fest these days. Conservatives couldn’t stop praising Obama’s speech. Of course, because it let them off the hook. The party of assault weapons didn’t get blamed for the assault. Just like the party of oil didn’t get blamed for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Like the party of deregulation skated on tanking the economy.

Again and again, Obama is given the opportunity to lay some richly-deserved blame at the feet of the Republicans, and again and again, he just can’t do it. Because he wants them to like him so badly. Conservatives, stop worrying. He can’t be a Kenyan; he’s a “golden retriever”. He’s done everything he possibly could to appease you short of using bleach.

And when Obama says, “Find a common ground,” oh here comes the bullshit now. Because whenever a Democrat seeks common ground, he always seems to find it right where the Republican was already standing. Ten years ago, we had a ban on extended-ammo clips, so that people like this walking Thorazine ad couldn’t kill supermarket crowds hassle-free. The Republicans killed that ban. And now the compromise is we can never get it back.

I think the old word for that was “surrender”.

Republicans, please note, are not taken in by the myth of common ground. They never move an inch on anything. Gun restrictions are always bad, taxes are always too high, and there’s nothing on earth that can’t be improved by adding either Jesus or bacon.

Sarah Palin knows fewer words than Koko the gorilla. But, it’s not a coincidence that two of them are “Don’t retreat” and the other is “reload”.

The Celebration of Stupid...and Crazy

I got some flack a few days back about calling people "stupid" that don't agree with me politically. You'd think the comment came from a conservative-leaning friend who was trying to get me to see the error of my attitude and that such harsh language would only push people away and never get them to listen, wouldn't you? But no, this came from a self-proclaimed liberal who is quite intellectual and far from stupid.

To me, it's fascinating how the more sophomorish and resistant the GOP and Teabaggers get, the more accommodating and tolerant the so-called liberals get towards them. I've been hearing on blogs and so forth everything from "name-calling makes us no better than them...we should rise above!" to "just ignore them and they'll go away".

REPUBLICANS AND THEIR TEABAGGER INBRED COUSINS ARE BULLIES!!!! Nothing but low-class playground bullies!

They will not go away and they will not stop.

How many years and how many times do we have to "reach across the aisle" only to get bitchslapped before we realize that nothing will change until we fight back?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying fight violence and hatred with more violence and hatred. But I am saying, call a fucking spade a spade. Quit being such fucking pussies!

Liberals, progressives, Democrats, whatever label we feel comfortable with today...we may be smart enough to see these nutcases for what they are and we...in our infinite wisdom and higher order thinking...roll our eyes in amusement and think "let 'em talk, they're digging their own grave and handing us political fodder for the next election." Yet, what we forget is that most people aren't like us. The highlight of their days are watching "American Idol", Alabama football, and WWE wrestling. For a little edumacation (yes, I misspelled that deliberately), they'll tune into Glenn Beck rant about shooting liberals in the head, call it entertainment and a joke, then ignore a Democrat Congresswoman get shot in the head. Oh, but Alabama won their goddamn football game!!! Yeehaw!!!

We're a reality show nation raised on fast food, violent video games, and Jerry Springer. Our children can't write a sentence when they graduate high school, but by God, they can shoot a fucking gun, fart the Pledge of Allegiance, and organize a prayer chain for little Bobby Jo Muffintop who has brain cancer from too much meth and smacks in the head from her baby daddy.

We may roll our eyes and think that surely nothing bad can ever happen to our nation, that the horrors of history (the bigotry, violence, and genocide) could never touch our precious "land of the free" soil. But, we're not the ones running the show. The patients are loose in the asylum and it's all just so damn funny to everyone...but us.

See for yourself:
The Palin Problem

Who Really Controls America?

GOP's War on the Sick

CA Governor Receives Death Threats

Progressive Professor Receives Death Threats After Glenn Beck Targets Her

The MLK Day Parade Bomb

"Mass Bloodshed" May be Necessary if Roe Not Overturned

And of course, when we talk about stupid and crazy, this woman's picture is next to it in the dictionary:

Palin Says She "Won't Shut Up"

I would say that someone needs to stick a penis in her mouth and shut her up, but even her cheating husband doesn't want THAT job!!!

Episcopal Church No Longer Christian Because It Supports Gay Rights

AL Governor: Only Christians are My Brothers and Sisters

And FINALLY...the interactive map of recent domestic terrorist attacks against liberals and government.

I stand by my comments that people ARE stupid and we as a society celebrate that stupidity. We encourage it. Even intelligent, normally liberal and open-minded people I know have fallen for the lies from Fox News, Beck, Palin, et al. If those kind of people are stupid enough to fall for it, how can we expect that meth head getting knocked around by her boyfriend to know any different?