When did the Democrats get a backbone?

The Democratic Party has been all but neutered since...um...John Kerry's run for president? The Republican "Contract with America"? Jimmy Carter? Lyndon B. Johnson's lack of a second-term? Yeah, that one.

But, in the past two days, two separate events have rocked this liberal's socks off:

1) (First, a little background) The Federal minimum wage has remained at $5.15 since 1998. In contrast, the US Congress has raised its salary from $136,700 to $162,100 between 1998 and 2005. That's an increase of $25,400 over seven years (or an increase of about $3,628 each year)

So, the minimum wage worker hasn't seen a pay increase in almost a decade, but the Congressperson has seen a substantial pay increase during the same time period. Now the Democrats deserve some blame for the anemic minimum wage, but who has been in control of Congress for all that time period--and the White House for most of it--the Republicans of course.

That is why I'm so proud to see that Senate Democrats want to raise the minimum wage to $7.25, while simultaneously blocking a Congressional salary increase. Is it possible that the Democratic Party, who stills holds just a minority in Congress, may actually stand up and do something substantial and worthwhile for the nation? Oh God, please say it's so.

(I’ll refrain from debating which is better: giving tax-breaks to rich and expecting the benefits to “trickle-down” to the lower-income individuals, or giving more money to the lower-income individuals, who will in turn pump money into the US retail economy. If you want to have that discussion, email me)

2) You may remember that back in March, Senator Russ Feingold introduced a resolution to censure President Bush, based on the President's controversial wiretapping program that some consider to be circumventing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. I must say, the concept of any politician speaking his mind by proposing legislation that will probably go nowhere, simply because that politician wholeheartedly believes that the said legislation needs to be proposed, is politically incredible. The concept of that politician being one of the current incarnations of Congressional Democrats is all but astonishing.

Well, Senator Feingold continued to be a politically rarity when, on this past Sunday NBC's "Meet the Press," he once again spoke his mind. He discussed, with veracity, honesty, intelligence, and eloquence on subjects such as the Iraq war, potential troop withdrawals, whether the war has made America safer, and defending himself against Vice-President Cheney's perennial charge that anti-Iraq sentiment boils down to "cut-and-run" and other hot-button issues.

I'll let the man speak for himself:


Russ Feingold on MTP June 25, 2006

russ feingold


While I don't agree with every word Senator Feingold said, it is clear that he's not regurgitating some pre-approved Democratic talking points; he's talking from the hip. If the Senator Feingold keeps saying what he means, and meaning what he says, I may just weep for joy.

Supporting a minimum wage increase AND Democrats speaking their mind; Democratic Party, are you revived?

Ahhh! Real Monsters!

Congrats to Nicole Kidman for marrying the (non-psycho, non-couch-jumping, non-homosexual, non-closet-case, non-Scientology drone) country crooner Keith Urban. Congrats to Keith Urban for being about the luckest man on the planet.

With that being said, forget Nancy Pelosi, Nicole Kidman's over-botoxed dad scares the ever-loving beJesus outta me. Ahhhh.

click at your own peril.

(He reminds me of that guy in "Hannibal" who was in the wheel chair and got eaten by the warthogs. Freaky.)

Yeah, right

These guys were plotting a terriorist attack against the Sears Tower?




Please, they look like rejects from the rap group Bone-Thugs-n-Harmony. And they asked for boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios, vehicles, bulletproof vests and $50,000 in cash from al Qaeda to wage their proposed jihad against the U.S. That's not a very good jihad-waging list; but wow, they would have been the most strapped guys on the block. And $50,000 can buy lots of pot, which it appears that these fellows enjoy.

Oh, and the guy they were requesting their supplies from wasn't from al Qaeda; he was from the FBI.

Terrorism should never be funny, but damn this is just hilarious. Idiots.

Nothing could be finer than to be in CAROLINA in the morning

Carolina Hurricanes: Stanley Cup Champs, 2006.
Hells Yeah!!

Fair and Balanced

In the interest of "fair and balanced" criticism:




As a democrat, it is so sad that Democratic Party may take a majority of Congress in November, not due to the party's strength and vision, but rather due the public's dissaifiaction with The Grand Ol' Party and the President.

Plus, I'm pretty scared of the current House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, becoming the Majority Leader. No; seriously, her face scares me, and I don't want to see it more than I have to.

Republican Hypocrisy

From a friend’s “bulletin” on myspace:


Ronald Reagan - divorced the mother of two of his children to marry Nancy Reagan, who bore him a daughter only 7 months after the marriage.

Bob Dole - divorced the mother of his child, who had nursed him through the long recovery from his war wounds.

Newt Gingrich - divorced his wife who was dying of cancer.

Dick Armey - House Majority Leader - divorced

Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas - divorced

Gov. John Engler of Michigan - divorced

Gov. Pete Wilson of California - divorced

George Will - divorced

Sen. Lauch Faircloth - divorced

Rush Limbaugh - Rush and his current wife Marta have six marriages and four divorces between them.

Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia - Barr, not yet 50 years old, has been married three times. Barr had the audacity to author and push the "Defense of Marriage Act." The current joke making the rounds on Capitol Hill is "Bob Barr...WHICH marriage are you defending?!?

Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York - divorced

Sen. John Warner of Virginia - divorced (once married to Liz Taylor.)

Gov. George Allen of Virginia - divorced

Henry Kissinger - divorced

Rep. Helen Chenoweth of Idaho - divorced

Sen. John McCain of Arizonia - divorced

Rep. John Kasich of Ohio - divorced

Rep. Susan Molinari of New York - Republican National Convention Keynote Speaker - divorced


While I do not have the time to confirm the validity of all those statements, I have no reason to believe they are false; especially since I already knew about some of them. Also, I know that two of the greatest Americans to ever live—Franklin D. Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr.—both had affairs; if these two great Americans could stumble in their fidelity, what would prevent Bob Barr from making a career out of getting divorced?

So, it seems that the abovementioned Republicans have done a pretty good job at “threatening the sanctity of marriage” without any homosexuals involved.

Ahhhh, Republican hypocrisy never gets boring.

No 40 virgins

I'm not quite sure what meaning or message this imagery is supposed to convey. Perhaps that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi either performed or oversaw a number of ruthless beheadings and other forms of violence, and the above is his Danté's Inferno -style eternal punishment. Perhaps it is some form of Islamic imagery to which I am unfamiliar. Whatever the message, it does convey that the bastard is nowhere near those 40 virgins, and that is enough for me.


And while I wish that his death translated into a decrease--or discontinuation--of the insurgency-inspired violence in Iraq, I doubt it...

Watch out!

HA!



("Compassionate Conservative" my ass.)

What constitutes The South?

Yesterday, my new friend Ben was waxing poetic about his home state of Arkansas. Now, I’m not going lie, I didn’t think there was much to be proud of in Arkansas unless you supported Bill Clinton—or lived in Little Rock. Nevertheless, Ben taught me to appreciate the Ozarks, Razorbacks athletics, and Arkansas’ strong Southern culture.

Excuse me, Southern culture? Arkansas?

Now, I know you may find it strange that a gay black man loves the South (and trust me, I find it just as strange), but I never considered Arkansas to be part of my Dixie. But after my personal—and I’ll admit haphazard—test of Southern-ness (prevalence of Rebel Flags, sweet tea, Confederacy membership, unbearable humidity) I decided to concede and recognize Arkansas as the South. Upon retrospect, I should have also inquired about the local pervasiveness of kudzu and use of the phrase “y’all,” but we all know that hindsight is 20/20.

So, for your edification, my South now constitutes: Southern Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.

And now, to explain the notable exclusions:
1. Northern Virginia (or NOVA, as the locals call it) cuddles right up to the sprawling metropolitan area of D.C. As a result, NOVA’s attempt at an identity is lost in the shadow of a capital known for its progressiveness and intermingling of diverse national and international cultures, both of which constitute an antithesis to the South.
2. Kentucky is on the fringe of being the South, so I’ll consider the state if someone convinces me to care about it.
3. Texas can't be the South because everyone from there seems to wants Texas to be its own nation anyway.
4. Florida, much like California, is such an American oddity that marches to the beat of its own Red Bull fueled manic drummer, that sometimes I wonder if it’s still considered part of the nation, let alone the South.

In other news, Pennsylvania is a Mid-Atlantic state, maybe even the Mid-West, but not New England (if you were wondering).

Do I crave the center of attention?

Ahhh, life is returning to something that resembles normalcy. I’m four weeks into the six week training at the new job, I have received the first paycheck, and the new apartment is no longer buried under a clutter of boxes. I suppose you could say that “the flux” has subsided.

Oh, and the wedding of Lindley and Mark was wonderful, as was the carpool down to Greenville (thanks for the company Linda and Phil).

But something has been troubling me since Greenville. The night before the wedding I was talking with my friend Kat who was also down for the holy matrimony. Kat randomly wanted to confirm her hypothesis that a certain Furman graduate and I did not get along, because, as she put it, “your similar personalities might clash.” Indeed, this Furman grad (let’s call him “Sturgeon”) and I aren’t exactly friends; but we’re not enemies either—at best, we’re acquaintances.

Well, as the conversation with Kat continued, she half-way said that both “Sturgeon” and I tend to dominate conversations. Um, wow.

So, now I wonder, “do I dominate conversations?” Certainly, as an only child whose parents divorced, I was the focal point of my mother’s attention. Perhaps I crave that same attention in other venues in my life—with friends, social situations, facebook, this blog, etc

Could it be that my sociability verges on being domineering?

Maybe I need to tone it down in social situations: stop focusing on myself and my stories as much, while simultaneously lessening the expression of my humor, verbal quips and one-liners (which would directly contradict this blog's existence, I know).

Or maybe I don’t over-dominate conversations. Maybe my ability to excel in social situations is not due to me browbeating other people into social submission, but rather due to me just excelling in social situations.

I haven’t really figured it all out yet.

What was that clicking on the phone?

Yeah, we're getting a little closer to "Big Brother" here.


(Although, I gotta say, I’ve never put much stock in the idea that terrorists want to kill Americans because we have freedom of speech, press, to bear arms, religion, or judged by a jury of our peers. This is because I think someone on the other side of world who’s just trying to make it day by day couldn’t care less about what political concepts make Americans’ lives more free.

I mean, do they want to kill us because they’re jealous that we can peacefully assemble?

No, they want to kill us because our government has a long history of getting involved in, and manipulating, foreign nations’ political and social climates, including—but not limited to—surreptitiously supporting coups. That, and our presence and influence in the Arab world (not to mention our support of Israel) are seen as an affront to Islam and to Arabs controlling their own part of the world. Not saying that any of that warrants terrorist activity, just saying that's why terrorist hate us, not our freedoms.

Wow, didn't expect to go on that tirade...)

Ring Finger

As I've gotten older, I've noticed some new interest have entered my world.

I now care about 401(k)s and IRAs. Getting good medical coverage rocks my world. I watch CNN like it's my religion, and I see MTV as a stinking pile of crap that destroys your mind and sense of what is good and evil.

I realize that by renting an apartment instead of living in a townhouse, I'm essentially throwing my money away every month. I have become inquisitive about where to purchase the best furniture for the best price (which has lead me to bemoan that's there's no IKEA closer than four hours away, and forced me to accept that Target may not actually be the best place in world).

Furthermore, everyday I'm more and more upset about how much the state and federal government waste my tax money. (WHY am I still paying for Social Security?)

Well, today, I realized that I have achieved another rite of passage into adulthood. Twice today, I found myself looking at an attractive male's ring finger to see if he is married. TWICE. I knew people did such things, but geez. Is it possible that guys my age are more likely to be married than gay? (um, yeah, rhetorical question, I know the answer.)

Is it possible? Am I getting old?

What's next? Will I be impatient to receive AARP benefits? Will I start watching C-Span? Will I call the 16 year old speeding by in his Mustang a "young whipper-snapper?" Will I go on a harangue about when I had to walk to school, up hill, both ways, in the snow? Will I wax nostalgic for the days when gas cost less than a dollar a gallon?

Oh wait, I already do the last one…crap.

Life in Flux

I officially declared early May, “Life in Flux;” when life will be turned upside-down, shaken, tossed around, and then wait around for me to put it upright. There are three reasons for the life in flux:

1. THE NEW JOB:
Yes, once again I have a new job. The mentoring thing didn’t work, mainly because the money was inconsistent (I only got paid for when I physically interacted with a client), so I did the job search once again and hit pay dirt. I will be working for Biogen Idec, doing over the phone customer support for clients taking Biogen’s Multiple Sclerosis medication.

Trust me, the job is awesome: not only do I get to help people with a debilitating disease (something I love), but I also get medical, dental, vision, 401(k), stock options, and an unreal salary—this a real person job.

The new job also means that right now I’m one week into a six-week training for the new job, and that I won’t get a paycheck until the 19th, which may mean that I’ll have to pull out the credit card that hasn’t been used since college, just to make it until the 19th.

2. LINDLEY'S WEDDING:
This upcoming Friday I’ll be driving down to Greenville, SC for a friend’s wedding. I like weddings, and I like Lindley and Mark together, so this event would not be stressful if it weren’t for the wedding being on Saturday, me driving back to Chapel Hill on Sunday, and on Monday moving into…

3. THE NEW APARTMENT:
Indeed, the Monday after Lindley’s wedding, I’m moving into a new apartment with the current roomie Diana. In addition, I have to be completely out of the current apartment by Tuesday.

So, in the span of four days, I’m going to be in Greenville at a wedding, driving back to Chapel Hill, moving out of one apartment, and cleaning and vacating the current apartment. I’m tired just writing that.

Plus, I’m not looking forward to that transition where you have to get all the utilities switched over to a new residence—I may be without cable or the internet for a while (shudder).

My life should be back to normal by the 21st, expect more blogging around then.

Hooters Hokey Pokey

Since it was my last week at the coding job (blog post on the new job coming soon), last Thursday my co-workers decided to take me out to lunch. Awwww.

Now, apparently there have been questions in the office about my sexuality, partly due to the fact that I only came out to a select few co-workers, and partly due to the fact that I’m apparently not the most straight-acting gay man on the planet. So, in an attempt to determine my sexuality, my co-workers decided to take me to the restaurant that no gay man finds intriguing (or stimulating).

Hooters.

I suppose they thought that I would be against eating at such an establishment, citing the objectification of the women’s body or some such, and thus confirm my homosexuality. Instead, I was thinking, “mmm, greasy food, bring it on!”

Our waitress was nice, the table conversations were lively, the food was…um…mediocre, but the big moment came when our waitress pulled me from our table to go do the Hooters Hokey Pokey. She had been informed that this lunch was in my honor, and saw it fit to help me celebrate...or rather have me do something embarrassing in a room full of strangers.

And so, with Hokey Pokey music playing, and rather timid, uninterested onlookers forced to observe this display in Hooters culture, I was made to put my “right wing in” (elbow), then my arms, legs, and “whole chicken.” As usual, this dance was punctuated by shaking of aforementioned appendages, tuning myself around, clapping, and proclaiming that “that’s what it’s all about.” Hilarious.

My co-workers were impressed with my “being a good sport.” I’m impressed that I’ve now been to Hooters.

sidenote: The employees actually called the dance the "Hooters Pokey" to fit into the flow of the song. I refrained from refering to it as such, because poking a hooter just sounds wrong. ha ha.

$2.89 a gallon

The jump in gas prices has hurt, but it could be worse.




Everyone with a fuel-efficient car, please stand up.

White House shake up

Ha ha.

Indeed, when the guy who was in charge of the budget is now in charge of the White House staff, and the guy who handled policy and politics dropped the policy, are you really getting a refreshed staff who will help pull you up from a 33% approval?

How do you?

How do you tell a friend that he’s drinking too much? No, scratch that; how do you tell a friend that he’s getting drunk too much?

How do you tell him that his recent over-indulgence in alcohol and marijuana is unhealthy? How do you tell him that he is using substances to escape the uncertainties in his life?

How do you tell him that, as a man who wants to become a pastor, as a man through which the Christian and non-Christian world views Jesus Christ and the Lord God, he is doing the religion a disservice?

How do you tell a “brother in Christ” that he is stumbling?

And what do you do to help?

I suppose I’ll find out soon. Sigh.

God Be in My Head

I attended Easter service at the Duke University Chapel, and the choir sang such gorgeous choral blessing. The paean was so soft; it verged on being a lullaby, but its words were so powerful and touching, that I wanted to share the blessing with you all:

God be in my head and in my understanding. God be in mine eyes and in my looking. God be in my mouth and in my speaking. God be in my heart and in my thinking. God be at my end and in my departing.

by John Rutter

llegal Immigration

(Note: I use the term “illegal immigrant(s)’’ to refer to any person from any another county who enters the United States via clandestine and non-legal means with intention to reside here long-term.)

Monday was “National day of action for immigration justice,’’ a massive, nation-wide demonstration which advocated the rights of—and pushed for amnesty for—illegal immigrants. The issue of illegal immigration has been in the news for weeks now, and during this time, I have attempted to wrap my head around this complex issue and determine where I stand.

And where do I stand?

On one hand, there is the argument that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes and do not possess necessary documentation to make use of services afforded to American citizens, thereby causing a drain on American resources. You may think that illegal immigration can not cause that much of a drain on resources, but there are an estimated 11-12 million illegal immigrants in the nation. Many, if not most, of these immigrants have children who attend public schools; but these families do not contribute tax dollars for school upkeep and improvement—legal immigrants and American citizens are paying for illegal immigrants to go to school and use school resources.

Furthermore, hospitals are required to assist whoever comes through their doors, even if the patient has no health insurance or a personal means by which to pay for services (illegal immigrants rarely have either). With no way to seek compensation for services rendered, the hospital has to eat the cost of the services, which in turn causes them to raise fees and costs, which causes health insurance companies to raises prices to compensate for higher hospital bills. Yeah, classic snowball effect.

During this illegal immigration debate, I have been very disturbed and confused by the notion that illegal immigrates have some form of “rights’’ that the American government is trying to ignore or circumvent. This notion is perpetuated when people avoid using the term “illegal’’ when discussing “illegal immigration.’’ You may call them “illegal,’’ you may call them “undocumented,’’ but in the end, these are people who gained entry into this nation surreptitiously. They purposely and knowingly avoided the proper channels and process by which to enter the nation, and as such, are not citizens of this nation. So, while illegal immigrants certainly have human rights, they have no rights under the U.S. Constitution. The American government can not circumvent the rights of people who have no (Constitutional) rights.

I have also been baffled by protesters proudly waving non-American flags during pro-illegal immigration rallies and demonstrations. I do not understand what place another nation's flag has at a demonstration that tries to encourage change in the American government. Having pride for your native country is fine, but such pride does not, and will not, persuade the American government, or people, to support your cause. Thankfully, the protest organizers have disseminated the idea that the American flag should be used to persuade the American government to action. Yet, the fact that this idea had to be disseminated demonstrates the protesters’ lack of appreciation and understanding of the nuance of this complex issue. Do they really understand how to get what they want in the confines of American society, history tradition, and culture?

Furthermore, do the protesters understand that for most Americans upholding the law is paramount? If the protesters do understand this, how can they advocate for better treatment for law-breakers? As I mentioned before, illegal immigrants are called such because they broke the law. The idea that we should forgive law-breakers and help them better themselves baffles me.

Imagine, if you will, that you take a vacation for a month. Now during your vacation, a homeless man breaks into your home, eats your food, and wears your clothes to go on a job interview. You then return home to find your house occupied by the homeless man’s family. You order him to leave, but he refuses, citing that he has found a job, that his kids are in school, and to make him leave now would be inhumane. However, he suggests that you should make room for him and his family in your home because he deserves to be treated fairly. This allegory reflects the (unsound) logic used by supporters of illegal immigrants—the supporters would let the homeless man stay.

Supporters of immigrants also claim that illegal immigrants “do the jobs that Americans won’t do.’’ The jobs that are supposedly too demeaning for Americans are: construction, housekeeping, large-scale yard work & landscaping, low-level restaurant staff, etc. But I argue that there are Americans who will do these jobs. I once met a man who lays concrete during the warmer months. He does a job that is not easy, prestigious, or high-paying, but it is a job that he can do. However, every winter he is out of work when it gets too cold to lay concrete. With a lack of job openings in his field, he spends the winter months at home, jobless. Here is a man who takes a job during the summer that most Americans would avoid, but he can’t find work during the winter. Supposedly, illegal immigrants are doing jobs that he wouldn’t, but I think that he would take these jobs if he could. And what of the homeless population with their “will work for food’’ signs? Yes, some of them are mentally unfit to hold down a job, but these men and women desire employment to lift them up out of poverty. In all, where American politicians and illegal immigrant supporters see Americans who won’t take low-paying jobs, I see an untapped workforce.

In light of the above tirade, you’d think my opinion on illegal immigration would be cut and dry. But, in the end, illegal immigrants are trying to better themselves and their families. I know that if I lived in a developing nation and saw a way to gain entry into one of the richest nations on Earth, I’d do whatever it takes to get there. And the fact remains that illegal immigrants want to work hard, make a decent wage, and achieve the American Dream—a universal goal for most Americans, legal and illegal.

Furthermore, as an American, I remember the words emblazoned on the Statue of Liberty,

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Also, as a Christian, I KNOW that God and Jesus Christ see no distinction between “legal’’ and “illegal’’ Americans—that kind of love is unrestricted. In my lifelong journey to be more Christ-like, shouldn’t I try to emulate such loving-kindness?

Alongside my American and Christian status, another facet of the illegal immigration debate complicates my opinion of the issue. There can be no easy, uncomplicated, inexpensive, and/or universally agreed-upon method by which to remove all illegal immigrants from this nation. Illegal immigrants are here, they have burrowed deep into the underbelly of the American workforce; they are a buttress that numerous American businesses rely on. In essence, any federal dragnet meant to remove illegal immigrants would be too porous to get the job done, and too immediately destructive to American business and the economy.

So what are the options? Cut and dry amnesty for those who knowingly broke the law, and continue to do so every second they spend in this country, repulses me.

As mentioned above, forcibly sending every illegal immigrant back to their nation of origin would be complicated and improbable, if not impossible.

Granting illegal immigrants some form of less-than-full-citizen status would clearly create second-class citizens, which is not a viable option.

So, it seems that a guest-worker program is our best choice; but I fear that such a program will come nowhere near resolving the issue.

I suppose that all I can do is hope that our elected officials can make sense of this complex, emotionally-volatile, core-defining issue and devise a workable solution.

I’m not holding my breath…

Katie Couric

I don’t know about Katie Couric’s move to CBS. I mean, the ''whole first female solo anchor'' thing is all well and good, but as the above cartoon insinuates, Katie may not be the best choice as an evening news anchor.

Sure, she reported the news on the Today Show, but she also moderated cooking segments and showed us the new-spring fashions. She’s like that nice neighbor lady who would bake you cookies, show you her new milkshake maker, discuss the protest in France, tell you what Salma Hayek is like, and ask how your first year at college went.

In other words, she’s trustworthy, intelligent, and resolute; but she’s also sweet, personable, and non-threatening. I’m not sure those last qualities are what are needed behind the anchor’s desk of a hard hitting, news driven program.

Of course, the other problem for CBS—and in general, the concept of the evening news cast—is that by 6:30 pm, people have already gotten the day’s news via their cable stations. I know, personally, by 6:30 pm I’ve already watched an hour of The Situation Room with Wolf Blizter (CNN), an hour of Hardball with Chris Mattews (MSNBC), and 30 minutes of Lou Dobbs Tonight (CNN). That’s quite a force for CBS, ABC, and NBC to compete with, and I don't think that Katie Couric is the solution.