Ya think?

I sent an email through the HRC website to my representatives urging them to support the Matthew Shepard Act. One of the pre-loaded representatives was Sen. Roland Burris. Here's the auto-reply I got from him in my inbox, because I'm sure allll those emails he's receiving are related to the issues, right? Maybe he could carve "auto-reply email drafter" to his accomplishments on that giant monument of his.


Thank you for taking the time to contact me. Due to the overwhelming amount of mail I receive, it is more efficient to send a message through my official web form. Please visit www.burris.senate.gov to send a message about issues that are of concern to you. If this is a scheduling request please contact: Burris_Scheduling@burris.senate.gov.

If you are not a constituent of Illinois, I urge you to contact your representative, by visiting http://www.senate.gov/
Please let me know when this has been implemented.
Thanks

My very own Obamarama

By the most amazing stroke of luck, I found myself in Washington, DC last week. With an amazing seat (yes, an actual chair!) to an utterly once in a lifetime historical event, the Inauguration of President Obama.


I have a friend who worked on the Obama campaign, and knows a lot of people. We'd discussed whether he was going to be able to score tickets for him and his wife, and in passing discussed the possibility of me coming out there and possibly being able to join them. I really never thought I'd be able to, I kept hearing how airfare was doubling and tripling the usual cost, that is if you could even find available transportation. Then I got a call from my very generous and well connected friend asking again if I'd really be able to get out there. The idea that I might actually be able to go seemed almost too good to be true! I talked over some last minute vacation time with my boss and weighed the ability to attend this historic event with me missing an otherwise absolutely mandatory meeting involving some big wigs at work.... we decided if I can figure out transportation he'd be ok with me leaving, and we would make sure the powers that be understood I would be missing work for a very very good reason.



I went home and looked up a flight into Reagan National. $1200, no way I can afford that. How about a train? Amtrak, sold out into every surrounding major city, not to mention DC. Greyhound bus? I've never rode a bus for a long trip before... but doable, right? It would cost something like $260 and would take me a full 24 hours to get there. Blerg. I am not driving, I would never make it. I've been known to get lost driving to the homes of my close family members.

Then I got another phone call from Matt who found tickets I could actually afford! Done and done! Flying into Philly, out of Baltimore....and I will be in DC for the Inauguration!


A few days later I was on a plane headed into Philadelphia. Matt's wife Noelle, also a very wonderful and generous friend, picked me up, and we went straight into Baltimore. We were lucky enough to have VIP tickets to Obama's last public speech before the Inauguration. Giant American flags draped the street as we walked up to the Courthouse.

We made it just in time to get into the gate alongside the stage where he was to speak, and watched from the steps of the building on his right, so lucky to have such an amazingly close view! In the cool, crisp air of Baltimore, you could literally feel the electricity of the excitement in the crowd. I could not imagine what it would be like on Tuesday!

The next day, Sunday, we headed into DC for the Inauguration kick off concert. We watched from near the base of the Washington Monument,via jumbo-tron. I was especially excited to hear U2 (though not sure why they only announced Bono when other members of U2 performed with him?) and Stevie Wonder perform. Garth Brooks milked it a little too long, if you ask me. And Laura Linney? Ooook! But it was definitely cool to see Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington present.

Here is a photo of me, Matt, and Noelle there for the concert.

Tuesday we were out of the house at 5am, drove from their home in Northern Maryland down to Falls Church, VA in order to park and take the Metro into DC. The trains were already packed shoulder to shoulder. By some more amazing luck Matt was able to obtain an extra ticket for me from his coworker who didn't want to deal with the traffic and all the people that would be there. He and his wife had blue, standing room tickets. I ended up with a yellow ticket in the seated section, compliments of Senator Carper of Delaware. I tried giving it to them since they are of course the only reason I was able to come out there in the first place, but since there was one yellow and two blue, they were kind enough to insist I keep it. Of course I didn't hear the end of it, but I expected nothing less :)

As we were going to two different gates, I got off the train before them and we parted ways. I realized I had no idea where I was going (surprise surprise), and was told to head toward 3rd. I walked the 13 blocks down and realized the few cross streets that were not blocked to foot traffic were so packed with people you couldn't get over anyway. People were selling every imaginable kind of Obama memorabilia on the street. Even Obama perfume and cologne, aptly named "Hope" and "Change". I passed on that one.

I asked one lady who appeared to be some kind of traffic guard how to get to Constitution and Louisiana. She just looked at me like I was asking her what all these people were here for. Apparently asking nicely counts for nothing, hrumph! The poor secret service people were being bombarded with people asking for directions, they had no idea. There really were no signs pointing you in the right direction or advising of detours. I began to panic a little thinking I was never going to get to my destination, then a kind lady who was from the area assured me I was headed the right direction, and tada! Yellow gate! Well, not quite. The line for the yellow gate, which wrapped around many many blocks.

About an hour later I was through security and walking to my section to find a seat. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon walked right past me! I found my seat and absolutely marveled at my proximity to the Capitol, and the sea....sea of people behind me. It looked like layers and layers of ants crawling on each other...waiving American Flags. The air was cold, and the heat of 2 million people literally hung above them in the clear blue sky. Truly a sight to behold.

Everyone stood on their chairs taking photos. They began announcing people. When "The Honorable George W. Bush" was announced everyone booed. I honestly didn't even know Dick Chaney came out with him because I couldn't hear his name over the booing. I gave him a few courtesy claps. The lady next to me half seriously scolded everyone around us for booing, telling us "your mothers would all be ashamed!" And then laughed. I'm told the television broadcast cut to some music so the people at home didn't hear this booing!

The excitement in the crowd was palpable. My fingers hurt from the cold but my core was warm and buzzing from the anticipation and the weight of the historical importance of what I was there to experience. I kept taking pictures of what amounts to the same thing over and over (capitol, crowd) but felt like I had to take as many as I could to document my being there. I kept trying to email a friend at work a picture from my blackberry so I could share it live with my coworkers but with so many people there, cellphone service was spotty. This also meant I could not get through to Matt and Noelle, but I trusted they hopefully found their gate as I had.

The crowd went insane when the Obamas began to be announced. And when Barack Obama came out, the volume of 2 million people cheering behind me was deafening. The process of him taking his oath of office was a lot quicker than I expected, it was over before it began, really. I couldn't really see the jumbo-tron due to an unfortunately placed tree, but could hear it pretty well. I tried to super zoom my camera and get between "fur hat lady" and some other people in front of me to snap a few pictures, but it was a little difficult to get anything good. I did manage to get a short clip of him giving his inaugural speech:

After it was all over, I snuck up as close as I could and took some more photos. It was at this time the Obamas, and America, said good-bye to Bush, ushering him into Marine One and out of our lives.





Here is a 360 view of where we were at, taken after people started to leave:

I then headed out to find Matt and Noelle. After finally finding them, I found out that they had indeed made it to their gate.... but never got in. They weren't the only ones. My friends, with their blue tickets, spent 4 hours smushed in a mass of people just outside the gate, unable to hear or see any part of the inauguration. I felt terrible, and of course they were pretty upset at whatever happened to cause ticketed people to not be able to get into their section. I don't blame them. I wouldn't have even been there if it wasn't for them, and they didn't get to see any of it! Boo! Thankfully I did take lots of pictures to share with them, and we DVR'd the whole thing so all of us were able to watch it the next day. They were glad I was able to get in, but I still felt bad.

A lot more walking later and we finally made it to the Metro station, and were headed back home. No Balls for us, too cold, too tired, and too broke to afford to attend one!

The next day we relaxed and watched the DVR'd recording of everything, and ordered pizza. I did get a chance to go back a couple of days later with Noelle to do some sight seeing and museum hopping, which was fun.

I flew back Friday, and here I am. It was an amazing experience, and I am so grateful to have such generous, wonderful friends that made my trip out there possible.

Here is the link to all my photos if anyone is interested. Hope you enjoy them!

Road rage

As a profession, I speak with people on a daily basis who do stupid things with their car. This could be backing out into their mailbox, being completely oblivious to what's going on around them and pulling out in front of someone, or running a red light, among countless scenarios people get themselves into.

I once spoke with someone who got into a high-speed chase with another driver down the interstate, exited the highway, then proceeded to have the other driver get out of their car and punch them. This, my friends, is what we like to call road rage. Road rage, if you ask me, is the stupidest and most avoidable loss situation there is.

Today I was driving back up I55 from Bloomington. I had set my cruise to 74 mph and was momentarily in the left lane to pass a slower-moving car. I wasn't accelerating because at the pace I was going, in another 2 or 3 seconds, I would be ahead of that car and I would be able to move back into the right lane.

Right as my car was at the point where the back half of it was still parallel to the car in the right lane, I noticed a white minivan seriously flying up behind me. People exaggerate to me all the time how fast they think another car was going, but I can honestly say this car had to have been going at least 90 mph coming up behind me. Well, my car was just about to the point where I could get over, but I, admittedly, hesitated for just a moment because I just couldn't believe this guy. Of course he flys up on my tail and is about thisclose to me. He's getting super impatient and jerks over into the right lane the same moment I do, as I'm trying to get out of his way. This of course pisses him off even more because of course he's in such a hurry. He continues to ride my tail in the right lane, as I look up in my rear view mirror and see him and his female passenger yelling at me and flipping me off. I scrunched up my face in disbelief and motion to the left - Well get over then! He then jerks back in to the left lane and flys past me. I can feel my face burn as their windows pass mine. Yes, I admit I flipped him off as he drove by. I figured he'd just keep on going, secretly hoping a cop was up there somewhere to bust him for driving like such an ass. I mean come on, what a jerk!

But then, his wife or girlfriend or whoever must have saw me flip him off because they suddenly slow down and start pacing me. Well this kinda scares me because who knows what this weirdo is capable of. Just drive on if you're in such a hurry, why are they hanging back now? Images of this guy swerving over into my lane and hitting me then trying to blame it on me are going through my head. But that's the claim rep in me, I guess. They slow down to the point where they are over and just barely ahead of me. I see the passengers side window roll down. Mind you, it is super windy today and they were going about 80 mph. The female in the passenger seat then proceeds to stick her head out of the window and scream profanities at me while flicking me off. I just stared at her in disbelief, hoping they'd just keep driving. After a few moments of this she finally got back into her car and they flew off at an unbelievable speed.

I watch the white minivan with dealer plates, DL 1550, drive off... I wonder if I could call that in? Nah... I don't even know who I could call? It's not 911-worthy. But come on. These are the jerks that cause accidents! These are the people that get into an accident from this kind of behavior, then refuse to believe that they could possibly have any negligence, or lie about what happened! This is how people get hurt.

I guess I just want to remind everyone, especially now when the weather starts getting bad and the roads can be treacherous, to please... take your time. Drive relatively near the speed limit. LOOK AROUND YOU. I can't tell you how many times people get into accidents and never saw the other person coming. And please... don't drive like this jerk! Or you or someone else might end up getting hurt. I know you might be in a hurry, but so is everyone else. Please, just calm down. Drive at a safe speed, watch out for the other guy, and more often than not, you'll get to your destination safely.

Pat Boone on Prop 8

Hate is Hate, according to Pat Boone.

Yes, Pat Boone. The washed-up country singer turned right-wing commentator. I think he and Chuck Norris, whom I've written about before, should get together and make babies. All this anti-gay rhetoric has got to lead to some major latent homosexuality between those two. Sounds like a classic case of deflecting the issues that you don't feel confident about in yourself. I mean look at this photo of him, he'd fit right in to the scene!





Of course if they got together, they might be disappointed to find out how difficult it is to adopt children as a gay couple though. Ah, but I digress.

Let me pull up a few of my favorite quotes from Mr. Boone:

To them, there is only one acceptable worldview – a theology they intend to enforce on all humankind

--The irony in this quote is just astounding.

...was saddened to hear that the estimable Brad Pitt, who has done a lot for the displaced people in New Orleans, pledged $100,000 to his friend Ellen DeGeneris for some campaign to overturn Prop 8, saying something about constitutionally guaranteed "equal rights." I'd like to know – on just what constitutional writ does Brad base this statement?

--So Brad Pitt (above all others apparently?) is a bad man now for supporting equal rights for his friends and for every citizen of CA and this country? And as for Constitutional writ... does the Declaration of Independence ring a bell? As in "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."?

Every homosexual citizen has the same, identical rights as any other American

--Really?? Really??? Please, Pat! Come live one day in a gay person's shoes! Please! Try to adopt children, visit your ill partner in the hospital, or apply for health benefits through your partner's employer! TRY! I think my head might explode.

Slavery was abolished, blacks and women obtained the rights to vote, and these true rights were not obtained by threats and violent demonstrations and civil disruption (though these things did occur, of course), but by due process, congressional deliberations and appropriate ratification.

--What he forgets to mention is that the thirteenth, fifteenth, and nineteenth amendments provided rights obtained by the legislative process, representative government. Not by popular vote, as was Prop 8. Big difference! Oye. Throwing the civil rights of the oppressed minority to the wolves of the majority oppressor for a popular vote... is NOT the same thing.

And last, but certainly not least, the most unconscionable quote of all:

What troubles me so deeply, and should trouble all thinking Americans, is that there is a real, unbroken line between the jihadist savagery in Mumbai and the hedonistic, irresponsible, blindly selfish goals and tactics of our homegrown sexual jihadists. Hate is hate, no matter where it erupts. And by its very nature, if it's not held in check, it will escalate into acts vile, violent and destructive.

Yes, Pat. Hate is Hate. And you have done a fine job of exemplifying yours, by drawing a comparative connect-the-dot from the terrorists in Mumbai to the LGBT and gay-supportive community who demonstrate and protest for equal rights and protection under the law. A clear comparasion. For a wing-nut.

Blago, oh-no.

First let's state the obvious.


Blagojevich is comedically arrogant, unequivocally idiotic, and entirely corrupt. The allegations against him are astounding. The transcripts of his conversations are F-bomb-ladenly hilarious and unbelievable. And his hair is straight out of the 80s.




"Nothing but sunshine hanging over me....whatever I say is always lawful" Well-chosen words one day before being arrested?


Dig the Maddow Show fake-Chicago accent reenactment of the Blagojevich tapes. Oh, snap! Even Patty got in on it!


I think my new favorite line is "I got this thing, and it's F*@&% golden," referring to Obama's vacant Senate seat which he basically put up for sale. Classy. Had I known Senate seats were for sale, I would have included it on my Christmas list to Santa.


As expected, all eyes now turn to Obama. What did he know? When did he know? Did he know? What's his tie to all this corruption? After all, he IS from the "Chicago Machine." I'm sure, if they have been taping all of Blago's phone calls, that if any communication took place between Obama or his staff and Blagojevich regarding the Senate seat, it will come out. I just hope beyond hope that Obama was being 100% truthful when he said "I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening." I? We? Which one is it? Whichever one it is, it better be true.


Axelrod said he talked to him. Obama said he didn't. Now Axelrod is rescinding the comment. But wouldn't it be entirely plausible and legal for someone from the Obama camp to communicate at some point with the Blagojevich office regarding future appointment to the seat that Obama has vacated, just for general conversation, sans the attempts to get paid for it? Wouldn't it then be strange for him to say there was absolutely no communication between the two offices? I don't know.


But some sort of communication between someone must have taken place for Blago to call Obama a "Mother F*&%er" for not being willing to give him anything more than his "appreciation" for whoever he was to appoint to the Senate seat. The question is, where do you draw the line between direct ties on behalf of Obama, and a possible conversation by one of his staff members with Blagojevich, unbeknownst to Obama? I would really just hate to see this taint Obama before he even gets sworn in. Talk about terrible timing. Yet another "guilty by association" scandal for people to run with. Ayres who?


Any communication that did take place, I hope it reinforces the current notion that Obama remained clear of this scandal and corruption. At least the Obama camp has that going for it right now, they seem pretty clean. I hope it stays that way!

Oooh yeah... extra napkins...

Tonight I was driving home from work. It's winter so it's only 4:45 but it's already pitch black out. My iPod, which as about 1200 songs on it, is on shuffle but invariably "shuffles" the same songs it always "shuffles". Why it thinks I want to hear Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" more than once a week is beyond me. Of course, you never can trust a big butt and a smile.

The constantly recurring "Lady" by Styx I can deal with.


So I'm driving down 83, singing along to some Styx when I glance in my rear view mirror, like I've done a million and one times before. But this time is different, I notice something. What is that? I reach up above the mirror and my fingertips come to a dip in the plastic, and pull it down. Oh my god. I have a visor. A very narrow, long visor right above my rear view mirror.


I know, who the hell cares, right? I'm too short to really even put it to good use. I need a visor that comes down to the freaking steering wheel. Or a phonebook to sit on to bring me up to that level. But listen, I have had my car for 4 and a half years. I have over 73,000 miles on my car. I practically live in my car, and I never once noticed this visor.


It provided me with a flash of self-awareness. This is so typical of me. I am so oblivious to blatantly obvious things going on around me sometimes, I didn't even notice this stupid visor in my car.


I'm notorious for having no clue when someone may be showing signs of interest. No clue when someone is actually making fun of me, until it's too late to stick up for myself. No clue when it's inappropriate to say things until it's already out of my mouth and I've made a fool of myself.


Case in point, had a conversation a few days ago with a friend on the subject of women over 30 with nose rings. Of course I blabbed my mouth about how getting your nose pierced at that age may be a little trashy and desperate, and how yes, I have mine pierced but come on, I got it done when I was 20. Of course I did not notice the lady standing right next to us in line at the store was well over 30...and had a nose ring. My friend was kind enough to point this out. After I opened my mouth about it. Whoops.


I'm not stupid, and I'm not typically un-cooth. But I do have my moments. Maybe that's why I usually just keep quiet and observe, and hate speaking in front of people.

******************************************************************************

Side note, two videos that must be watched. For some reason it won't let me post a video as a video, so you'll have to click the links.

First, Prop 8: The Musical. It's a brand new, bright, Obama Day!

Second, one of the funniest yet most disturbing things I've seen in a long time.

Let me just say, I will never look at my former restaurant managers the same again.

Braggin on the fam!

I have to brag on my family for a moment...

My aunt's store "The Chalkboard" was featured on Fox Chicago as one of Chicago's "Favorite Toy Stores". Her, my cousin Becky and her daughter Morgan are all in this clip! Morgan is the blondie letting us know she wants a science experiment for Christmas. Note to self!

Check it out :)

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=7967841&version=1&locale=EN-US

Turkey with a side of politics

Politics and family gatherings don't mix. Just in case you needed a reminder.

My brother in law loves to talk politics around me because we are from two very opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm pretty far left, and you might as well call him "Mrs. Palin." Every chance he gets, he'll bring up how he thinks Obama will bring the end of the world as we know it. I like to remind him that his guy lost, so suck it up and deal with it.

Well, I'm totally used to this from him, and it doesn't really bother me because it's really all in good fun. But today my brother started in on it too. My brother! This is the brother that I totally idealized growing up. He's 12 years older than me, so of course he was just the coolest thing since sliced bread to me when we were growing up. I don't know why, but I always assumed we would have pretty much the same view on things. Boy was I wrong!

Now, I can completely appreciate people with differing points of view from me. Why would I want everyone to agree with me, where's the fun in that? What I have no patience for is just utter ignorance and stupidity. Of course I recognize that my idea of stupidity is another person's complete belief system. So that being said... I guess I was just shocked to hear what came out of his mouth today!

First my brother in law starts in with his Obama talk, how we're going to turn into a Socialist nation with Obama and he wants his stimulus check and something about windfall profits... whatever, I tune him out. But then my brother starts dropping the middle name "Barack Hussein Obama" and how he's a Muslim an all Muslims want to kill Americans.

Excuse me, what? Wait, you're joking right? No, no. He's serious. His wife confirms it, my brother honestly believes Obama is a Muslim. The brother in law then chimes in "Yeah and he wasn't even born in this country! He's a foreigner! He has no birth certificate!"

Oh man. I turn to my brother and shoot him a look. I said to him, "First of all, he's not Muslim. But even if he is, who cares?" He says, "I do. Muslims are terrorists." Now, his 7 year old daughter is sitting right there, listening to every word we are saying. I shot him another look and said, "do NOT teach your daughter that." His wife chimed in that their daughter indeed has Muslim friends at school, so he better watch what he says.

I am just floored at this. I can not believe that my brother, an educated, professional person, and member of my family, would actually believe this crap! I don't care if he's a Republican and voted for McCain, but I do care if all that super right wing crap has seeped into his head and he truly believes this racist bull!

Even my mom, who never ever talks politics, and refuses to tell anyone who she voted for, piped up in this conversation. Mom said "He just got elected and hasn't even started yet, give him a chance." Go, mom! That small nugget of a political opinion coming from her is huge!

I just have to say that I am utterly disappointed in my brother. Not for having a different political viewpoint than me, but for falling prey to the fear tactics that come from the far right, and for sharing those beliefs around his daughter. Where do you think racist people learn to be racist? Their parents. Hatred is not innate, it is learned. I hope, man to I hope... that he doesn't talk like that around her all the time. Kids are impressionable, and I would hate to see her go to school and treat her Muslim schoolmates any differently. You just have to be SO careful what you say around children. Be a bigot if you want, but don't force bigotry on your kids!

I'm an addict.

Yes, I'm an addict. I have to get my fix at least once a week... and it's been known even to occur several times a day. Late at night, with friends. After work by myself. Even a quickie before work.

And I'm thoroughly ashamed of myself. I am addicted to..... Wal-Mart.

Yes, I know. You're either thinking to yourself, "Oh relax, everyone shops at Wal-Mart, who cares!" or "Good God woman, stop now while you still have a chance!" I have friends on both sides.

Once I had a friend make me promise I wouldn't tell his girlfriend we made a trip to Wal-Mart to buy a bath mat. He made me stash the evidence. So, he walked in with a bath mat, no plastic bag and no tag. I wonder if she thought that was strange?

It's especially hard to stay away this time of year. And Wal-Mart knows it! As most other retailers are bracing themselves for what's sure to be the most disappointing Holiday Season in recent memory, Wal-Mart is basking in the glory of being one of the few retail corporations who have actually come out ahead in this current financial crisis. With stores from Linens 'N Things to Home Depot (who happens to be the #2 retailer behind Wal-Mart) closing some or all of their stores, Wal-Mart has posted a 10% increase in 3rd quarter profits.

As a side note, watch your gift-cards this holiday season with all the store closings... they may be worthless shortly...

I have to admit... a lot of my money goes to Wal-Mart. I mean... stuff is really cheap! Let's be honest, even if Wal-Mart hadn't run all the Mom and Pop stores out of town, none of us would still be able to afford to shop there! At least I couldn't. Thanks to all the credit card debt I have... from shopping at Wal-Mart (Dang it!!).

Besides, it's convenient. Especially the Super Wal-Marts. Where else can you go to buy Hamburger Helper and get an oil change at the same time?

If I had a dollar for every one spent at Super Wal-Mart when I was in college... I could buy my own Wal-Mart. I have fond memories of late-night trips with my best friend in college... getting donuts and just being fools at 2am. Where better to waste time than Wal-Mart? It's certainly consumed massive amounts of my free time.... Oooh, what's that? A kitchen towel with little snowmen on it...with matching washcloths?? I *need* that! And that... oh! And that...

Kind of reminds me of Kristen Wiig's "Target Lady" on SNL...

It's true, Wal-Mart is killing our economy while we continue to shop there. They are forcing suppliers to manufacture goods at cheaper and cheaper prices, forcing companies to ship jobs overseas to meet the demand for cheap labor.

Suppliers who are forced to fall in line for that demand for cheap product, dare not speak out against Wal-Mart, or run the risk of being blacklisted.

As a corporation, Wal-Mart fights against unionization of their employees, who were told that "there could be job cuts if a Barack Obama administration pushed through a law making it easier to unionize," according to the Boston Globe.

They have a spot on the dubious "do not buy" list with the Human Rights Campaign for their refusal to offer domestic partnership benefits to employees.

Yet I can't pass up that $2.97 "Rollback" on athletic socks. Go figure. As a country, have we found yet another way to confirm our gluttony by slowly eating ourselves to death on Wal-Mart merchandise?

I'm feeling a little fat.

Newt, Bill, and Chuck: The Trifecta of Ridiculousness.

Today I was sitting at work, trying to pay attention and stay engaged in the editing and re-editing of the group report we are writing. It's about as fun as it sounds.

Inevitably, my mind wandered and I succumbed to the temptations of the Internet in front of me. I took advantage of the fact that I'm hidden beind the monitor and navigated away momentarily from our net-meeting and onto the Internet. Don't judge, I know I'm not the only one doing this!

I hit the usual places: CNN.com, huffingtonpost.com, MSNBC.com..... scanning the headlines. As of late, I've become very interested in anything Prop 8 themed, so a couple of things caught my eye.

This morning on Morning Joe there was a snippet of Newt Gingrich saying something ridiculous, so I had to read about it.

Listen, I'm not going to pretend and say I really know anything about Newt Gingrich and his beliefs or political history up until this point. I don't. All I know about this man is that I used to hear his name on the news a lot several years ago. And now I know he's a hate sputtering, fear mongering idiot..

Sorry, was that harsh?

This man, in a conversation with Bill O'Riley (naturally) was quoted as saying: "I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion."

Fascism? What is with people thinking it's okay to throw around words like "fascist," "socialist," and "Nazi" lately, just because they disagree with someone? So...let me get this straight (pun!), if I'm gay and I want to be treated like an equal human being and be given the same rights and as any other person, and refuse to send this country back to the 1960s and settle for "separate but equal", that would make me a fascist?

*Shakes head*

Of course Bill O'Riley starts listing off all the examples he has of how "out of control" all those darned gay people are over this darned Proposition 8. Listen. There are violent, crazy people on both sides of this thing. You will have that no matter what group of people you are talking about, regardless of the topic. It's not the right thing to do on either side, obviously. And though there may be some isolated incidents of these unfortunate cases, that's not the majority, and it's not right that Fox News can spread lies leading people to believe the GLBT community is a violent, crazed, immoral group of....I can't even say citizens, because they don't even see GLBT people as equal citizens of this country. Homosexuals. I can just picture the contempt in these peoples faces as they utter the word homosexual. You can practically feel the shutter going through their bodies.

Gingrich also said "you have to confront the reality that these secular extremists are determined to impose on you acceptance of a series of values that are antithetical, they're the opposite, of what you're taught in Sunday school."

Wait a minute... didn't they teach "love thy neighbor" and "do unto others what you would have done unto you" in Sunday School? Along with tolerance, forgiveness, and "judge not lest ye be judged"? Couldn't the bible-thumper ideology he just spouted off be thrown right back in his face and the face of all those right wing Christians who preach hate masked behind a thin veil of Christian righteousness? Does he not see the irony in those words? What does he think Focus on the Family does?? But wait, I'm the one that's "antiethical" right? Right. My new favorite person Keith Olbermann got it SO RIGHT on this very topic in his Special Comment (grab the Kleenex if you haven't seen this yet)

THEN. Then. Then I read....of all people..... Chuck Norris's article on Prop 8. First of all, who the hell does Chuck Norris think he is, and why on EARTH is he now writing a column? Please. Go back to making terrible television shows about Texas Rangers.

So of course I'm already a little peeved after reading about my good friends Newt and Bill and their little convo about things that directly affect MY life, and NOT THEIRS. But anyway, on to Chuck.

So now, according to Chuck Norris, gay-rights supporters have gone from being called fascists to being called anarchists. Better....I guess.....?

Chuck spouts off more examples of how scary and violent these "anarchist" anti-prop 8 people are... shoving old ladies and spitting on them. Also he talks about "A pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back marched into the middle of a church service and flung fliers and condoms to the congregants. They also hung a banner from the balcony that featured two lesbians in provocative positions at the pulpit."

Well that'll get their attention! Agreed probably not the best way to go about it...but really, do we have to lump "pro-homosexual" and "pro-anarchy" in the same description, like they're one in the same? Come on.

Chuck also writes: "the tolerance-preaching activists also have taken their anger to the blogosphere, where posts have planted ideas ranging from burning churches to storming the citadels of government until our society is forced to overturn Prop. 8. You even can find donor blacklists online. The lists include everyone who financially backed Prop. 8 -- even those who gave as little as $46 -- with the obvious objective that these individuals will be bantered and boycotted for doing so.

*Gasp!* You mean gay people are planning on boycotting organizations and individuals that donated money to take away their civil rights? The audacity! The outrage! The...effing genius!

If you know what a DINK is (Double Income No Kids for those of you that don't), then you know the vast amount of wealth the GLBT market holds, and how stupid you would be not to market directly to them or not to protect your hold on their spending power.

I spent the next several minutes finding the biggest list I could of Prop 8 donors. The Knights of Columbus donated $8,889.00. My dad is a part of that organization...and I can't help but wonder if this was a measure that was on the Illinois ballot and not just CA, if he would have donated to the cause? That makes me really uncomfortable. Most of these supporters are, of course, CA based, so I can't boycott them since I don't live in CA. But I will urge anyone I know that does live in CA to refrain from giving their hard earned money to these people. I will also be doing more research on gay-friendly companies, and focusing more on making sure that companies that are not gay-friendly do not get my money. I should have done that a long time ago. And if that makes me a "bitter activist" then so be it. I am bitter.

I have to say, after reading those two articles and digesting the smears and lies and hate... I really was angry. I was angry enough to have to momentarily close my eyes and breathe until the lump in my throat went down and the anxiety building up in my chest subsided. In the middle of work. I closed my browser, I couldn't think about it anymore. Had to focus on work again.

Gay people are not violent. They are not fascists. They are not immoral. They are the same as you, they love, they hurt, they pay taxes. I participated in the anti-prop 8 protest this weekend in Chicago, and I am proud to say I was a part of it. It was inspiring to see all the supporters line the street as we marched by, all the people up in the windows cheering us on, all the people who were stuck in their cars on the street, surrounded by gay people marching and chanting for equal rights, but not angry they were stuck. They were honking in support. And I am proud to say not one person was arrested. Not one incident of violence was reported.

I am also proud to say that our new President has a plan to support the GLBT community, and strengthen Civil Rights for ALL citizens of this country. And though it's becoming cliche, I just can't help but say.... Yes We Can!


"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Gandhi

Really Sarah?

Now.... for as ridiculous as I think Sarah Palin is (despite the fact she was an excellent source of a Halloween costume this year), I can't help but feel a little bad for her right now. You have to admit she's having a rough time. You can tell in all of her interviews...she's tired, defensive, and now that the RNC isn't paying for her hairstylist anymore... looks a little rough. And maybe the allegations of not knowing what countries make up NAFTA (here's a hint... North...American...fill in the blank) or supposedly not knowing that Africa was a continent and not a country, are false. Or maybe they're not. Either way there are obviously some people within the Republican camp that do NOT like her. And that sucks for her, admittedly.

However... when I heard her response to these allegations, I couldn't help but think... Really Sarah? Really? YOU are going to get upset about words being taken out of context? About lies being spread? These people are..... Jerks? Here's her response, taken from huffingtonpost.com:

"If there are allegations based on questions or comments that I made in debate prep about NAFTA, and about the continent vs. the country when we talk about Africa there, then those were taken out of context," she said. "That's cruel, It's mean-spirited. It's immature. It's unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away with it, taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news. It's not fair, and it's not right."

No, it's not fair, and it's not right. But maybe she should have thought about that before she started the "palling around with terrorists" campaign against Obama, inciting crowds of people to yell "terrorist" and "kill him" when she did. Karma, anyone? Just a thought.