sluggobear

WOW.

This is so surreal for me.


Salt Lake City No on Prop 8 Rally from Reid on Vimeo.

Prop 8 was a huge loss for us. But this is not the end, just a setback.

So now what do we do?

From Wikipedia:


We're traveling upwind, and we've been zigging for a long time. Maybe it's time to zag.

Given such a great disappointment, it's easy to react quickly. But stop... we need to think... and then we may even need to re-think. Paul Hogarth says (emphasis added):


Our initial reaction has been angry. There's been a flood of "fuck you's" (Twitter, LJ, Facebook, blogs like Suck my Dick, California!) There's been de-friending on LiveJournal. There's been blame-throwing and flame-throwing. (Even before the election, my friends were flipping-off Yes-on-8 supporters on the street.) All along, we kept chanting the same thing: "hate! bigotry! discrimination!"

While "hate and bigotry" may describe a portion of our opposition, they don't apply to everyone who voted in support of Proposition 8.

Let us take some time to listen to our opposition. Rod Dreher says:

Sadly I'm in agreement with this statement. Our community is hurt beyond words. But right now some of us are probably seething at the notion of "an honest reckoning of why Prop 8 won." People, we need to dissect this. We need to examine the scene of the accident. Instead of chanting "hate! hate! hate!" we need to ask ourselves: what can we do to convince our fellow citizens that this inequality is wrong?

In order to win the game you must understand your opponent. I fear that many of us don't understand the opposition at all. NOW CALM DOWN. I did NOT say condone or excuse them. I did not say their actions are justified, nor did I say we shouldn't be angry. (We should.) All I said was that we need to better understand them.

The worst thing we can do is tell them to fuck-off, or dismiss them as insane fucktards.

From an essay (unrelated to Prop 8):


A lot of blame has been thrown at groups (blacks, old people, Mormons, San Diego County residents...) There are people who feel strongly about the matter... on both sides. And for many, no amount of campaigning would change their minds. But there's a big group of people in the "squishy middle." Maybe they heard both sides, and likely voted based-on the fear that was sold to them. We need to speak to these folks and convince them that "no one is free while others are oppressed."

And we need to evaluate how effective our campaign was. What really worked? (Something tells me it wasn't lawn signs or rallies.) Where did we fail? For one thing, we should've more effectively countered the slime that was thrown at us via television ads.

And some of us, myself included, need to ask ourselves if we did enough. (Yup, I donated to the campaign. I spoke with my family about it. But I didn't take any time to talk about it with my non-gay friends, co-workers and fellow citizens. I'm now regretting that.)

More soon.

Dunno if anyone else saw this.

With so much buzz about the presidential election and Proposition 8, let's not forget about another important item on the California ballot: Proposition 1a.

Prop 1a aims to help finance a modern high-speed rail system in California. It will reduce automobile and air traffic, stimulate economic growth and reduce our impact on the environment. (YouTube video below, 1:44sec, work-safe.)



For more information, check-out this video (YouTube, 10 mins, work-safe) or visit CaliforniaHighSpeedTrains.com.

In California, we've been seeing a lot of TV ads for Prop 8... both for and against. I never really thought any of them were very all that good.

This one, however, I think conveys the right message. (YouTube, 30sec, work-safe.)

(YouTube, 2min, work-safe)

From The Onion
October 13, 2008 | Issue 44•42

WASHINGTON—With Republican nominee John McCain continuing to flounder at the polls, the unknown force that orders the universe announced yesterday that Scott Bakula has entered the body of the struggling Arizona senator in order to "help him out of a real jam."

Bakula, who was last seen jumping from the body of a fighter pilot he helped to escape the Bermuda Triangle, will reportedly spend the next three days in the 72-year-old's body, where he will attempt to solve the financial crisis and learn to respect the opinions of young people. Bakula will then be jolted unexpectedly through time into a 1950s-era African-American man, before next landing in the body of a free-loving female Woodstock attendee who must make a very difficult decision about abortion.

Witnesses said they first detected a difference in McCain's demeanor yesterday, when he paused suddenly in the middle of a speech about Obama's tax policies, shook his head and demanded to know what year it was. Others were reportedly confused when McCain abruptly left the stage to find a mirror and softly touched his face while whispering to himself, "Oh, boy. Who am I this time?"

A number of McCain supporters have said they hope Bakula, with the assistance of a cigar-chewing holographic projection known as Al, can help the Republican's chances by gaining ground in key battleground states, making love to his wife for the first time in ages, and staying up late baking a batch of his famous blondies for everyone on the trail.

read more | digg story

A good blurb from the Oct 13th Newsweek. (Sentence bolded by me for emphasis...)

Fellow Americans, please, please make sure you are registered to vote in the November election!

Register today!

Pretty-awesome! I especially love Obama's scene in the woods...

(Flash, 2 minutes, work-safe.)




(I have a little cameo *snicker*)

Thank you Newt Gingrich, beacon of morality! *rolls eyes*

(Note the irony in his references to "tyranny," and such phrases as "instruments of oppression," and "dictate their values.")

Our very civilization is at stake? What a drama queen.

(YouTube, 2:30, work-safe.)

San Diegans (and Californians, for that matter...)

Elections are coming-up on June 3, 2008. This particular ballot includes some very important races for us, including Mayor, City Attorney, Congress, State Senate, State Assembly and Superior Court Judges, several propositions, and more.

San Diegans: if you're not sure if you're registered, you can check online instantly, right now!
http://www2.sdcounty.ca.gov/rov/Eng/Evoter_query.asp

If you're not registered, act fast! The deadline to be registered for this election is TOMORROW, May 19. If you are in possession of a registration form, you can mail it... just make sure it's postmarked by May 19. If you don't have a form, you can register in-person at the Registrar of Voters office, or several other locations. Call (858) 565-5800 for details.

Did you know anyone in San Diego can totally vote by mail now? So you don't even have to go to the polls on June 3... very convenient. Refer to the San Diego Voters website for more info:
http://www.sdvote.com

You should register to vote, even if you're a new resident in California. There's no waiting period or minimum time of residence. You can register now.

It's worth noting that current San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, and current City Attorney Michael Aguirre are both running for re-election, and both recently praised the California Supreme Court's ruling to legalize gay marriage. (Then again, there are other factors to consider, too, so it's good to get educated.)

Here are a few places where you can educate yourself on the stuff you'll be voting-on:
http://www.smartvoter.org/2008/06/03/ca/sd/ballot.html
http://calvoter.org/voter/elections/2008/state_primary/congress/

I've seen that quiz going around, and to be honest, I'm not sure I trust it.

I found this matrix to be a little more useful... it's an interactive grid where you can rate each candidate's stance on several issues. It gives a much more visual idea of how you match-up with candidates. (MSNBC.com, requires Flash player.)

You can spend a few minutes on it, just to see what it's like... or you might find yourself filling-in the entire grid. I got through about 20 ratings and surprised myself a few times with the outcomes.

It is very interesting stuff... though I don't know if it's all that useful, since I can't really vote for anyone until November... and since I'll only have a few choices at that point anyways.

I've also been reading with great curiosity about what Bloomberg might be planning. Watch him.

Interesting... a world map, re-proportioned to show which countries have the most oil. Click map to enlarge.


Via JoeMyGod, via Andrew Sullivan.

Also noteworthy... who uses the oil... the US uses vastly more than any other country, even the ones whose populations vastly outnumber us. *sigh*

You have to hand it to the American Family Association. Their announcement today says "The gays want Wal-Mart sales to go down so they can claim victory."

(Which is funny.  Dare I say it?  I think gays prefer Target anyways.  But I digress...)

This is also funny because the AFA had this to say about their own boycott of Ford in a recent e-mail:

The boycott of Ford Motor Company continues to be effective. Ford sales in October were 9.5% less than in October of 2006. Ford sales have dropped in 18 of the last 20 months since the boycott began.

Perhaps Ford will soon realize that their support for the homosexual agenda is costing them big bucks. Ford evidently feels that appeasing the homosexual activists is more important than selling their automobiles.

That's pretty brazen... taking (at least partial) credit for sinking sales of a company whose sales would be flagging anyways.

This whole thing is just silly. If the AFA wants to boycott every gay-friendly company, they're also going to have to boycott many, many other companies. Like Disney. Oh wait! They already did that. For nine years, in fact. Then they ended it, along with the Southern Baptist Convention, with critics duly noting that they didn't really accomplish anything and Disney didn't really change much. I seriously think the impact of that boycott was a proverbial drop in the bucket of Disney's profits.

If you're up for another good laugh, read the AFA's announcement on the whole matter. It's hysterical.  (Michael Eisner ousted!  No more offensive Miramax movies!  Holy moly, did that boycott work!)

Oh yeah. Here's the USA today article that probably sparked the AFA's ire.

San Diegans...

I'd encourage you to send a little thank-you note to Mayor Sanders for his support of the recent amicus brief.  You can do this online at the mayor's website.

Fill-out the requested information.  Under the question "What would you like to discuss with Mayor Sanders?" look for "Opinion," then select "City Council Item."

Be sure to thank him for his support of the amicus brief, and for doing the right thing.

(I imagine it wouldn't hurt if any non-San Diegans want send him a thank-you letter, too.)

Remember that post about the amicus brief that was being voted on by the San Diego city council? We thought there was a chance of it passing city council, which it did.  Then, the mayor announced his intention to veto it, supporting civil unions but not gay marriage.

But I don't think any of us expected this. (YouTube, 5 minutes, work-safe).


While this resolution doesn't actually change any laws, it is still a step in the right direction.  The mayor is totally getting a thank-you letter for this one.

Three months ago? How did I miss this? (YouTube, 1:30, work safe.)