Gay Marriage, Child Porn & George W. Bush

Okay, this is my second to last entry. Tomorrow we’ll have my AT&T story and a funny video clip and that will be it. I don’t think I’ll have anything on politics or news, unless something really big happens.

Arnold on the Termination of the Ban on Gay Marriage

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) says he supports the recent California Supreme Court ruling that supports gay marriage. And it’s fine and whatever for Schwarzenegger to have this position but I’m just a little confused on his stance on this issue. He says now that he personally opposes gay marriage but doesn’t want to force his views on everyone else.

That’s fine but it does seem like it’s kinda hard to be a governor and not be forcing your views on other people. I mean, isn’t that what signing legislation is all about…forcing your views on other people?

And I know, this issue can be viewed as a moral discussion leading to the ‘well my personal opinion is but…’ sorta answer. But Schwarzenegger had vetoed same sex legislation before. So he was legislating his own personal views then.

He now says that he did that because he didn’t think the legislature should override the will of the people and the people had defined marriage between a man and a woman in Proposition 22. He thinks it’s okay for a court to override the will of the people because they’re experts and voters are not. But isn’t it kinda strange that the legislators, who are elected BY the people don’t have the right to nullify the will of the voters but justices who aren’t elected have that right?

Don’t get me wrong, I personally support each state making their own decision on gay marriage and don’t support a federal ban. Marriage is essentially a state issued contract and any religious connotation is derived on an individual view basis and should not bind the state one way or the other. A state has every right to set the parameters of the contracts they issue and each state should be able to decide whether they honor the contracts set up by another state within reason and with understanding given to the full faith and credit clause. Personally, I would support the state granting marriage licenses to gay couples. My complaint with Schwarzenegger has nothing to do with the stance itself…just the idiocy and contradiction of his argument.

Running Mates in the Running

CNN had a really great feature about possible running mates for both tickets that go over the potential pros and cons of each candidate. It’s very helpful and a must read. My picks for each ticket: For the Republicans, Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) and Governor Ted Strickland (D-OH) for the Democrats. Both choices shore up the ticket, though neither is especially impressive outside of the context of this race and the unique issues of the primary season.

Child Porn Ruling

The Supreme Court decided by a count of 7-2 that child porn is not protected by the First Amendment as free speech. Is it somewhat concerning that two justices (Souter and Ginsburg) sided the other way on that one? I’m all for free speech and I believe that it even covers expression that isn’t fully speech (burning the flag as an example) but how someone could even put forward the argument that child porn is protected speech is truly absurd.

Another Bush Book

Former White House Spokesman Scott McClellan became the latest former aide to President George W. Bush to publish a book critical of the administration. And the White House responded in their usual manner…to attack the character of the individual. They did that to Richard Clarke, Paul O’Neill and George Tenet and now they’re doing it to McClellan, labeling him as “disgruntled” and Karl Rove said he sounded "like a left wing blogger.”

First, without “disgruntled” individuals, history couldn’t be written. If only the ‘gruntled’ wrote, half the story would remain untold. So, dismissing him as disgruntled, isn’t getting at the point.

Here’s the thing about McClellan. It’s not easy to be given a script of stuff to say that’s total shit. You know it’s shit but you hafta say it because that’s your job. And I know, ‘Why didn’t he leave?’ but that’s much easier to say from this side of the screen than it is to do when you’re actually in the job. Because if you leave, you have to start over somewhere else, in a new place and maybe things aren’t so bad or maybe they’ll get better.

In the end, McClellan likely left because there’s only so much shit you can recite before you lose your soul. There’s only so many lies you can repeat before you just feel like you’re a liar and there’s a cost to that. There’s a cost to how you view the people you work for, the way you view the people you work with and ultimately, the way you view yourself.

If McClellan finally got tired of shoveling the President’s shit to the public, I understand. And if he wrote this book because he wanted to clear his own conscience, maybe to find a sense of redemption on some level, I understand that too. And if he’s able to find that lost respect he once had for himself…well, I’d be somewhat surprised.

Sydney Pollack Passes Away

Sydney Pollack, director of ‘Tootsie’ and ‘Out of Africa’ died of cancer at the age of 73. Pollack was an understated director that never got the credit that bigger name directors got but he just kept making great, solid movies. He didn’t have a ‘style’ to speak of other than his movies were smart and always worth watching.

He also appeared as an actor in many movies, and he was a quiet yet forceful presence on screen. It never felt like was just a cameo or something. He always added to the film he was appearing in.

I find myself feeling very sad about this and over the last couple days I’ll think about him. And maybe that makes me sound stupid. I don’t know.

Top 1000 Movies

Okay, I’m not a huge fan of this list but it’s the top 1000 movies according to They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They…and I’m a huge fan of meaningless lists of meaningless data. It’s slanted too much toward foreign movies and while I certainly like some foreign films, I don’t give them bonus points for having subtitles the way some snooty critics do.

Cable Corner

Remember how I mentioned earlier that my old apartment complex is getting rid of Comcast and switching to Shentel? Well, I finally looked them up on the Internet and it’s a funny little site. It’s very plain and all their services are called ‘solutions.’ So instead of saying they offer cable television service, they say they offer ‘video solutions’ and instead of telephone service, they offer ‘voice solutions.’ I’m wary of anything that offers solutions before there’s a problem. It’s like a warning.

Nowhere on their website do they offer pricing plans or what channels they carry. They do assure readers that they do have stuff…they just don’t worry about being specific. Which is great because I think that saying you carry ESPN is just giving too much away. You should play it coy when you’re a business. Don’t let the consumer know what they’re getting. If we think we know what we’re getting, then we might be disappointed when we don’t get it. But if we don’t know what’s coming, we can’t ever be let down.

Now, I haven’t exactly enjoyed my Charter service so far. My Internet only works during certain hours and the HD signals are constantly being interrupted, making HD programs virtually unwatchable. I’m having a problem with a payment I gave them in person that they’re now showing they haven’t received. During a call yesterday, the customer representative claimed I didn’t really go into the office like I claimed and began screaming at me (as in screaming so loud her words were more like sirens, unable to be fully distinguished).

However, the phone service has actually worked okay.

I Won the Lottery

I got a great email the other day. I won the National Lottery. It was the National Lottery in England. Now, I never actually bought a ticket and I’m not sure how I got in the running for this but I’m quite thrilled. I looked up the National Lottery page and it says, “As a general rule, if you have not purchased a ticket for the UK National Lottery, you won’t have won a prize, and you should treat the email with absolute caution.” I respect their opinion but when you’ve just won millions of dollars, caution is the last thing you should be thinking about. Did Ken Jennings exercise caution when he was winning all those games of ‘Jeopardy?’ Did Two Scoops Berry exercise caution when he was on American Gladiators back in the 90s? No, they were all about kicking ass and winning stuff. And me too. I was so dominant in my lottery outing, that I won without buying a ticket. Yeah, I did good.

Poor Sean…Sean Has No Job

NC Sean lives in northern Virginia but he’s still called NC Sean anyway. You see NC Sean lived in North Carolina for a year and that was enough to become NC Sean. NC Sean doesn’t like being called NC Sean (I do it anyway). But his nickname issue isn’t his biggest problem.

You see, NC Sean recently lost his job. NC Sean has a wife and a child (the child was born before his wife was his wife but that’s neither here nor there). NC Sean is on the search for a new job but he’s finding the job market to be somewhat difficult. Now some people say this is a bad situation but it isn’t all bad. He’s gotten the chance to watch a lot of television and is now an expert on soap operas.

He also had a great exchange with a telemarketer who called him to ask for a charitable donation and NC Sean told them that he had lost his job and had no money to give them and that he had a wife and a child (the child was born before his wife was his wife but that’s neither here nor there). The telemarketer reportedly replied, “I’m sorry” and NC Sean added that the caller could give HIM money but the telemarketer repeated that he was sorry and told NC Sean to have a good day. But NC Sean has no job.

NC Sean does have several prospects though. He learned about the Dalai Lama threatening to resign because of the violence in China and stuff and Joe thinks he might like to run for that position. He’s reading Wikipedia and Sports Illustrated’s Olympic coverage to determine what he needs to do.

I told NC Sean that he’d be better off not becoming the next Dalai Lama because he’d have to deal with Richard Gere and no one needs that in their life. When Mr. Gere heard that Mr. Lama talked about resigning, he reportedly said, “Don't take your Dalai and go home!”

NC Sean had a promising interview with McDonald’s though. He was told that in six weeks, with good performance, he could become a manager and get a different shirt. He’d be NC Sean and the Amazing McDonald’s Shirt of Many Colors. NC Sean isn’t as enthusiastic about this prospect as I am for him.

NC Sean tried growing a beard, which he thought looked okay but his wife told him he looked like a homeless person. Which I suppose explains why NC Sean told me that he was able to walk through DC without being bothered by panhandlers last week.

A lot of people have told NC Sean that ‘When life throws you lemons, you should make lemonade,’ but I say that if you want lemonade, you should just go to the grocery store and buy yourself some lemonade. NC Sean has asked me to stop bringing up lemonade.

I say NC Sean should stop sitting on towels but that’s just my opinion.

Final Thoughts

Scientists say that smiling can hurt your health. See? This is what I’ve been trying to tell you!

I wish I could jump high. Maybe like 20 feet just straight up in the air. I’d be talking to someone and then just jump high and they’d be surprised. It'd be great.

I’m glad my name’s not Kevin.

The World According to Savannah

So, I'm in Savannah right now in a business center that is hot and smells funny. My brother is upstairs, I guess still asleep or maybe wondering where the hell I am. I just finished having the hotel's 'hot breakfast,' which is better described as lukewarm. Nothing says yummy than a bowl of Fruit Loops while watching two bugs climb the wallpaper that's been secured to the wall with a series of staples.

I'll be heading back to Atlanta tomorrow morning and I can't wait to be back.

Touring SCAD

As previously mentioned, my brother was accepted into Savannah College of Art and Design and we came down here to look at what exactly accepted him. The lasting memory that stays with me from Thursday's visit was when we went to the Fashion Hall, which is no doubt named for a rich donor...Richard Fashion, and there were two labs, each with three tables and students were working behind glassed in windows so we could see them. It was something like visiting a zoo of Fashionistas. 'Observe the creature in their natural habitat. See the slightly fake smile and upturned nose of disgust.'

The tour lasted over two hours, which was a problem because I parked in a meter that only allowed me to put two hours of quarters in the meter so as soon as the bus (excuse me, shuttle), stopped, my brother went in to meet with an advisor and I ran (and I mean actually ran) to the car to see if I had a ticket. Thankfully, I did not. But I was tired from running.

Did my brother find what he was looking for? I don't know. I know that he had a lot of stuff to write about in his journal though. Every time we take a trip somewhere, he spends most of his time writing. Actually, there are two parts of any trip he goes on...the time where he's away from his journal and the time when he's writing about being away from his journal. It's like the journal has asked him, "Why haven't you been with me lately?" and he has to explain in detail why he had left the thing behind. I say that's a pretty demanding little journal.

And Then...Dinner

I was looking through the phone book to find something to eat last night and I saw a restaurant that offered a personal gormet chef. And what would I eat if I could order anything I wanted? I'd tell that chef to "Gormet me some Sloppy Joes."

Finally, I talked my brother into going to a Mexican restaurant. He was hesitant but I told that if I was such a picky eater and I was willing to eat there, how bad could it be? With an argument like that, he had to agree. But the first place we tried was closed down and the second place looked like a converted gas station. We ended up settling on a steak place and my GPS led me into a neighborhood. I thought maybe it was trying to get me to cut through but no, we stopped at the house of Jim and Nancy Powell. I told them we were there for the steak but they acted like I was crazy and said they were going to call the Cops. I said that if the Cops were good people, they were welcome to join the dinner. We could all play charades and it'd be a great time.

We left the Powells behind and went to Western Sizzlin, which I thought had all been closed down along with Sizzler and Quincys. I ordered a steak and when it arrived, it was a cheap piece of meat and looked like it had barely been cook. I like rare steak but this was almost dangerous looking. I ate it anyway and it wasn't 15 minutes later that I started feeling sick. We rushed back to the hotel and I threw up the dinner. I had mixed feeling about vomiting it all back up. On the one hand, it was like a waste of money and I hate throwing up. On the other hand, I felt like I had an eating disorder and that made me feel fashion chic.

My Walker, Texas Ranger Story

I got caught up watching Walker Thursday morning and I learned several things. First no one, and I truly mean no one, can maintain a single facial expression longer than Chuck Norris. Every time he was on screen, it was a bowl of awesomy goodness. The only thing that would've made it better is if he'd said, "I'm loving me some Huckabee." That would've been too much to handle.

The plot of the episode was that he had taken a hit to the head and suffered amnesia. The only way to recover is to take another shot to the head. That's a scientific fact that's been proven time and again on cartoons throughout history.

My favorite scene was when he looked deeply into a mirror and asked, "Who are you?" I actually felt inspired. But it got better. He punched the mirror, shattering it like he was Rick Springfield in 'Jessie's Girl."

I turned the channel after it went to commercial and forgot to change it back. I found Pat Robertson condemning Rev. Jeremiah Wright for being a preacher who says controversial things. That's kinda like the pot calling the kettle black...WAIT! That came out wrong.

‘The Dream Ticket’ Concept Could Be Nightmare

There’s been some talk about Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) sharing the same ticket and while that seemed kind of absurd when Clinton floated that idea a couple months ago but it’s downright ridiculous now. There’s so much animosity between the two candidates that I don’t think either one could live with a dual ticket situation.

The only way it would even be proposed in a way that would make sense is if he’s the President and she’s the Vice President, and there’d always be a perceived power struggle throughout the term(s) they served together. And since Bill Clinton feels the Obama campaign has painted him as a racist, it seems even less likely this is a possibility. I found a good article though that talks about why it’s not going to happen. I mean, there’s a reason the Founding Fathers quickly reversed course on Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 by creating the Twelfth Amendment. Having rivals occupy the Executive Branch is rife with problems.

More Clinton News

Former President Bill Clinton told the Washington Post that if the Democrats used the Republican Primary system, his wife would be winning. The Democrats award delegates on a proportional basis whereas Republicans give out delegates as ‘winner-take-all,’ more similar to the Electoral College.

You know, one of the complaints Obama has raised has been that Hillary Clinton is using Republican style attacks and now the Clinton campaign is saying that if the Democrats would just adopt Republican rules, they’d be winning. I’m not sure if this is the wisest strategy to go with right now.

Some People Don’t Approve of President Bush

As first reported in this space, there are subtle signs that America might be turning against President George W. Bush. I read a good article on the approval ratings and trends with this president that I thought was worth reading. The arc of his presidency is nothing short of remarkable and I felt this article did a good job of looking at that path.

For what it’s worth, and it’s not worth much, but Bush has successfully obtained the worst disapproval ratings in the history of the Gallup Poll, which is impressive. I mean, some aspire to be bad but others take the next step and become the worst.

I like reading these polls though because they have stats like this: 27% view this administration to be a success. What? I’m hesitant to throw around titles like ‘the worst’ but under what qualifications has he been a success?

Mugabe and the Recount

Zimbabwe still hasn’t announced a president following the March 29th election, which the opposition party appeared to have won but following recounts, it’s now looking like Mugabe can claim victory in at least one district, just outside the capital. Oh, what a shocker. Did Jimmy Carter go over there to monitor this election or was he playing pinochle with Khaled Meshaal and other Hamas leaders?

Al-Qaida Upset With Iran

Recently, Iran’s Foreign Minister stood behind President Mahmoud Ahmadinejed’s previous statements questioning the official account of the September 11th attacks. It cast doubt that al-Qaida was really responsible and whether nearly 3,000 people actually died. This should be no surprise from a country that doubts the existence of the Holocaust but one group is offended by Iran’s statements…al-Qaida.

In newly released audiotape, Ayman al-Zawahri, deputy of Osama Bin Laden, condemned Iran’s position. No official word on al-Qaida’s view on those ‘9-11 Truthers.’

Osama v. Obama

Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s last name, if you haven’t noticed is one letter away from Osama. Some individuals (including Obama supporters) and media outlets have accidentally referred to the Senator as Osama and many critics have made references to the terrorist leader intentionally. And now, there’s a church in South Carolina with a sign out in front that reads: “Obama, Osama, hmm, are they brothers?”

Pastor Roger Byrd said the sign isn’t political or racial but “It's simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ.” What exactly does ‘in there’ mean but the White House or the office of President and if that’s the case, how’s that not political? Shit like this will continue to happen as long as the IRS doesn’t crack down on churches making political statements by revoking their tax exempt status when they violate the law. For far too long, churches (on both sides of the political aisle) have flirted with making political statements or endorsements of one party or candidate over another, some more egregious than others and it really is something that needs to be stopped. The federal government is essentially paying churches (and some other non-profit groups as well) to propagate political viewpoints in a way that appears to be a violation of the law.

When Pastor Byrd was asked if Obama was a Muslim, he said, “I don't know. See it asks a question: Are they brothers? In other words, is he Muslim ? I don't know. He says he's not. I hope he's not. But I don't know.” After Obama’s situation with Pastor Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ, I kinda thought (mistakenly) that the ‘Obama is a Muslim’ conversation would die down but…

Seamless Transition from Osama/Obama News to Miley Cyrus

There’s urgent news regarding Miley Cyrus of ‘Hannah Montana’ fame, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, of ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ fame. She’s signed a deal to write her memoirs for Disney-Hyperion Books. Which begs the question, how many memories can she have to report on having been on this specific planet for 15 years, the first five years likely being rather fuzzy in her memory?”

Hasselhoff v. Alleged Surgery

David Hasselhoff, the most famous person with the last name Hasselhoff to ever appear in both ‘Knight Rider’ and ‘Baywatch’ reportedly went to the hospital to have something removed from above his eye, though his spokesperson declined to say what was removed, other than denying he had been admitted to rehab. Why do things like this always happen to the Hoff? I mean, he chose to eat a hamburger topless while on the floor and the media made a big deal about it. Paris Hilton chose to eat a hamburger while washing a car. The way we choose to eat our hamburgers is no one’s business. When are we all going to learn not to Hassle the Hoff? When? This is the guy who singlehandedly brought down the Berlin Wall. Show some fucking respect!

Is Larry King Still Alive?

The CNN anchor voted most likely to be an Animatronic Disney ride creation just signed on for another two years at CNN, a deal that will keep him on air until he’s 77. Honestly, I thought Larry King was already 86.

A Victory for the Blind

A blind man was able to overpower a home intruder. How dumb does that intruder have to feel? ‘I got taken down by a blind man. This is worse than when I got the shit beat out of me by the 12 year old with Down Syndrome.'

What I Watched on Television Last Night

I watched 'The Office,' 'Scrubs' and '30 Rock.' Because this room is like a sauna and I just want to get out before I die of a severe case of hot, I don't want to take too much time on this. All of the episodes were below average. Dwight's hobbitt comment was funny. I liked Kelso in 'Scrubs' but the other subplots were forgettable. And '30 Rock' works better at 8:30 than at 9:30.

What is Playing on my Mp3 Player

Well, I'm in a room that is trying to kill me to death...which is very deadly from what I read, so I don't have an Mp3 player going right now. But last night, I tried to introduce my brother to Bishop Allen. He wasn't impressed. He seemed a little more interested in Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Boris Yeltsin is dead. He probably spent too much time in a hotel business center listening to a guy deal with his insurance issue on the phone.

Random Thoughts

I’ve decided that I’m going to become an expert on a subject so that when someone says, “Hey I have a question about (BLANK), I should ask DJ because he knows all about that subject.” And I’ve decided that subject will be Phil Collins. I’m gonna learn everything about Phil Collins so I can be a Phil Collins expert.

Illegal immigrants get all the assistance they want' has become the new 'They can put a man on the moon but…'

I was watching 'The Colbert Report' last night and I realized that I missed Marie's Colbert Stare a lot more than I thought I would.

I guess scientists really do have everything down to a science

How special do I have to be to be able to drive in the emergency lane just because traffic is backed up?