A Marine and his mouth...A double edged sword.

Today I am thinking about the Marine (Gary Stein) who is being discharged (other-than-honorable, which means he will lose his benefits) for his comments about President Barack Obama on his facebook page. To be honest I have very mixed feelings about this. 


**If you haven't had a chance to read the article or you do't know what the hell I'm talking about, the link below will bring you up to speed.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/25/11394219-marine-who-criticized-president-obama-on-facebook-discharged?lite



I want to go ahead and get out of the way that the things he said were definitely inflammatory, and EXTREMELY disrespectful to his Commander in Chief, and at no point does the military give you the option to be disrespectful to your commanding officers, whether or not you like them is irrelevant. I’m sure there were plenty of Armed Forces personnel that didn’t think a whole lot of President Bush, but as a soldier you give up many of the rights that you fight to ensure the rest of us have and keep...and that’s a choice you make when you choose to enlist. So that being said I see, understand and even agree that what he did was wrong, HOWEVER the consequences of said actions seem inappropriate  in conjunction with his nine years of service to this great nation of ours. If you served in the last 10 years you served at a minimum one tour in Afghanistan and/or Iraq, but it is far more likely you served two, three, four...or more over the last nine years. I understand he was working as a recruiter as of late but still, he spent time in combat ensuring you and I continue to have the right to be the opinionated assholes we all love being...and that should weigh heavily in favor of his at least retaining the benefits I feel like he earned.



On the upside of this he will figure out first hand why the Obama healthcare plan is a necessary change because he will no longer have those cushy government benefits (the irony is not lost on me) BUT I still don’t think his military benefits should be stripped. In a perfect world I would love to see the President request that he retain his benefits, that the President show the respect for his service that he couldn’t show for the President or the choice the majority of the United States made in 2008 when WE THE PEOPLE elected President Obama, and before too many choose to say “I didn’t vote for him” blah, blah, blah...many did and that’s how our great nation works, the majority rules and when you don’t like it you work to convince people that the next time the majority needs to see it in a different light...we call that election time and it happens every four years so whether or not I like your choices or you like mine nothing lasts forever and change is always just one election cycle away...so don’t be lazy, get out and vote for the guy you think will do the best job, but when the choice is made, be respectful.



The bottom line here, for me, is that I really don’t think Mr. Stein should lose his benefits. I think he is an ass to be honest...it’s very easy to say the healthcare plan is a terrible idea when you have cushy government healthcare, regardless of those thoughts the fact that he has defended my right to say such things about his statements should give him, at the very least, his cushy government benefits. We lack balance in our society and this all or nothing mentality is what’s killing this nation. Perhaps we could all make an attempt to take just one step into the road and listen to what others have to say, you may still think they are wrong but at least you have listened and that is FAR MORE than what most are doing today...and that is true of both sides. It’s shameful and we all need to evaluate our idea of what’s right and what’s wrong not what’s right and what’s profitable or politically correct.

" Occupy Seattle"

      Sunday I took a drive to Capitol Hill's Seattle Central Community College so I could see for myself the “Occupy Seattle” encampment and was surprised how truly disappointed I was with the scene. I of course saw the tents which I took pics of, but in the whole thirty minutes that I walked around the encampment the only person who spoke with me was the librarian inside the make shift library that provides books to help pass the time. Truth is though I think she spoke to me because I stuck my head in the door way and ignoring me would have been awkard. Don't get me wrong, she was very nice and actually gave me plenty of information like where the encampment will be moving too and how the people knew this was a temporary spot. She showed sympathy for the school and appreciation for letting them be there as long as they where...and I thought “do you actually watch the news because these people here at the college have nothing nice to say and have been desperately seeking a legal loop hole since your arrival” but instead I nodded my head and listened to her optimistic chatter about her time there and the prospects of the next place. I am sure there are people in the school that sympathize but it's not the board or the administration, I have a friend however who has inspired me to try to be kinder because my words can be strong without being abrasive (or so abrasive anyway) and so I nodded my head and listened until the right moment to ask about walking around the encampment. Now here is where the situation became a little disheartening, as I walked around snapping pictures and looking around at how few where actually camped out there, not one person stopped to speak to me, not one! In fact, as a generally polite person, I asked if I could photograph the First Aid tent and one of the boys got up and left with a brief explanation of how he didn't like his picture taken. First, I was shooting the First Aid tent for the same reason I shot the Library, to show a sense of community, and second, if you don't want your picture taken you probably shouldn't be in the encampment at all. I feel reasonably sure that the press (although they should) is not obtaining written consent or even verbal consent from the majority of people they have photographed and before anyone digs into “I'm not the press”...in this situation, given the circumstances and the lack of press coverage being given to force a fizzle of the movement itself, I am the press and somebody should have assumed I might be...or anyone else walking through there for that matter. They should have taken advantage of a moment to stop and speak with me to be sure I was educated on the purpose of 100 young people camping on the lawn of the community college on Capital Hill. I understand it was raining but this is Seattle folks, it rains. I was out in the rain specifically to take some pictures of the Occupy movement and post them on my facebook account to do what I can do, which is keep people informed, involved, and interested. In my mind if you live at the encampment your job title becomes Ambassador, that means you are open to being photographed and willing and able to speak to total strangers about the hardships of our beautiful country and the importance of getting involved and doing whatever you can to spread the word. Right now would have been the perfect opportunity to encourage me to shop the boutiques on the Hill instead of the Macy's just down the hill or to eat at local restaurants instead of eating in the obvious places. The saddest part of the day was that I started downtown where the movement was originally located at Westlake Center and what I found was a Merry Go Round, Cotton Candy, coffee, and hot chocolate vendors and a plethora of other holiday family fun things. I want to say up front I am NOT anti-Christmas but did the Occupy protesters not see this as the perfect place to remind people that corporate greed is drowning us? They could have done something as simple as have 5 or 10 people passing out flyers and speaking to people, if not flyers (because those cost money) they could have just loitered and spoke to people, the homeless do it. What might have worked (although it would take a bit of effort) would be to have approached small businesses and restaurants and came to an agreement that the business supply the advertisements and/or coupons (i.e. flyers) for their business and the movement would supply the free labor in passing that advertisement along thus opening the door to chat with people about the importance of eating and shopping local mom and pop shops and doing their part to not feed into the corporate ideal.

      It is possible that my expectations of those who are privileged enough to be there are a bit high, but I just feel like if you're going to talk about it, and go as far as live in the encampment you have a certain responsibility to use the opportunity to actually make a difference rather than proving to the conservative base that the Occupy encampments are nothing more than a bunch of young 20 somethings using it as an excuse to party and disrupt an otherwise “civilized” city...and make no mistake...that's what they think. They say it on the news, they say it on facebook, hell they have an entire news channel saying it, you only have to listen to know that I'm correct in my opinion here. The bottom line here folks is that if we do not win over the conservative thinker than we will not win. It is the same with Gay marriage, until Straight people stand in front of their Gay brethren and DEMAND marital bliss for all, it's not going to happen. It's awesome that liberal minded people agree with each other, but isn't that what makes us all liberal? We need to convince the other side, and using the encampments as a hangout rather than a base camp for a “working” movement isn't the way. I'm not sure the Oakland Occupy is the perfect example in that they are erupting regularly, but they are certainly getting more attention brought to the subject, and with that attention other occupiers through out the country should use that momentum to create a conversation with those in their community. I am not naive, I know that many conservative thinkers are completely unwilling to even have a conversation, but if we don't keep trying, keeping hammering away at the point, it will never be heard. I hope that those who are inspired by Occupy understand that I to am inspired by the thought of it, I would just like to see it executed more effectively. So this is what I can do, I can share my thoughts, I can share my pictures and I can share my hope that this continues to grow and evolve and not burnout or fade away. You have my support Occupiers, please don't give up.

Putting my finger on what's bothering me

I was really having a difficult time putting my finger on what exactly was bothering me about the events of Saturday, Jan. 8th, 2011. I was just all over the place with my outrage but then my friend Cameron posted this article  (here is the link below, copy and paste it into your browser)
http://eastvalleytribune.com/opinion/columnists/article_afce05b6-1c31-11e0-952c-001cc4c03286.html
and really hit home for me. Not just because I wish Sarah Palin would go away, but because it really just summed up the bottom line for me and helped me organize my own thoughts about it, so here goes...This is EXACTLY what's bothering me...

Dems are not perfect...they say dumb crap too, but Saturday afternoon just a few hours after this happened I watched Keith Olberman who said basically that he had said hateful crap (and he quoted himself and asked that conservative press people feel free to quote him cuz he was wrong to say these things), that he had riled people up, that he was sorry he had done that and that he was going to make an effort not to anymore; and I thought "that's awesome...take responsibility for what comes out of your mouth...be willing to admit when you're wrong"...now that I can respect, and it's what makes debate great...but if you cannot admit you are wrong... ever... that means you have nothing to learn...everyone has something to learn and anyone who thinks they know it all already is probably the biggest dumb ass you know...sorry...but that's just how I feel about it.

The conservatives at large are saying this is not politics (guess what...that kid shot a congresswoman, that makes it politics) and that we should all pray...they have no idea that I spent the whole weekend, off and on, talking to God and crying for that little girl...and how dare they assume because I'm not a conservative christian that I might need to be reminded to pray for the spirit of those that where slain by a whack job. I know he was a whack job...DUH!!!!!!...but it's like throwing meat at a hungry lion...do you think the lion will just hangout or do you think he might ravenously eat the meat...if you throw blood in the water the sharks will come...don't be stupid...and that's what conservatives want us to believe right now..."we didn't know"... yeah you did...you're just horrified that it worked...but horrified or not, now is the time to say..."maybe we went to far" and "we're sorry, we were wrong to do it" at least that I could respect.

WARNING: I do believe some may be morally impaired and socially irresponsible

So yesterday I was chatting with a friend and I started thinking and talking about the Tea Party people and how I really do not understand their platform at all. They say they are all about the Constitution and the principals that our great country was founded on, o.k. seems clear enough, but if you move one step away and look back at history you would immediately see that we are in a very different time. The fathers of our great nation wrote the Constitution in a way that it would be a living, changing and growing document, that it would evolve as we evolved, so with that in mind it can never be read as literally as the modern Tea Party people would like to read it. In fact if it didn't evolve and change with society American Indians would still be considered a scourge (on the land we stole) that needed to be exterminated (and the Constitution does use the word EXTERMINATE in reference to the people that were here long before the white man). Women would not have the right to do anything because all references were toward "men" and Blacks wouldn't have found there way in our country either because white men wrote the Constitution so surely only white men should be regarded. If you agree with any of those thoughts than you should move your hooded sheet from the back of your closet to the front.

Some points that are in my opinion being thrown to the wayside are that we as a society were A)much smaller (obviously) and B)our general morals were different then they are now. That's not to say that people no longer have morals, it is however to say that those morals are generally different for many (not all, but many). The population of the United States and the world was not the 3 billion intertwined world society that we are today. This matters for a lot of reasons, the first to come to mind is if we suffer a full on depression so do several other countries that are tied to our economy, so those who would have said we should have allowed the banking industry to fall on it's face are not considering that it is not just Americans that suffer anymore. The greed that took over Wall Street long ago is an international situation, and as we borrow money from wealthier countries we create new problems that need to be dealt with. The Constitution allows for taxes to take care of our perfect UNION, meaning; we all need to take care of her, and that folks means... taxes. Sorry... but it will not recover because we close our eyes and wish it so. It would not have mattered whether the president elect in 2008 was republican or democrat because the problem came to a boiling pimple head before that, that person was just left holding the bag and picking up the debris. I understand that no one wants to pay more taxes, I certainly don't want to, we are barely getting by as it is, but I am willing to if that's what needs to happen, and frankly it doesn't matter what I'm willing to do because those in Washington are working for themselves, not us.

Which brings me happily to my next point, compared to those who founded our nation some of us are morally impaired and socially irresponsible. It's not that I think we are all bad people, I do however think that we (especially these Tea party people) are lacking the broad mindedness to keep in mind that when our forefathers came here with their women and children and built up their communities (which was VERY challenging) they did it with a sense of "social responsibility" we just don't have as a society anymore. The town doctor may not have been the wealthiest person in town, but that's not why he became a doctor, he became a doctor because he loved humanity and wanted to do his best to make sure that people under his care where as good as they could be in the circumstances that surrounded them. People paid him money if they had it, or traded services that he may have needed or bartered with the things they grew in their family gardens or traded animals from their farm...so maybe he had the best stead in town but maybe he didn't...it wasn't about that. Of course people where God fearing and religious, after all that was one of the two main reasons they fled the King, they needed to be able to worship without prejudice (which is ironic since those types pass out the most prejudice, then and now) and later to escape being taxed and getting nothing in return. Honestly I think our forefathers would be disgusted by our current society who lives and dies for themselves and nothing else. A society that feels no responsibility to it's people but only to itself, that is not at all what they meant to put into motion in my opinion. The fact that State Governors can decide to cut medical aid so deeply that they sentence people to death is grotesque, that a congressman can say out loud that his job is not to work for the constituents of his state but for the Constitution that he hasn't even bothered to read is ridiculous, that his most important goal is to oust our president rather than improve the life of those who voted for him should be criminal...but instead these Tea Party people rally behind this rhetoric of hate and single minded greed and for what? To what end? It's like somebody opened the safety gate and let the 5 year old  run free "you're not the boss of me" "don't tell me what to do". I'm sure it's not helping that the public figures that speak out for these people also feed them as much fear as they can, Glen Beck and his survival packs (starting at just $199.99) is a great example of that. Sarah Palin talking with disdain about Mrs. Obama's child obesity initiative as if there is not a growing problem in this country that is costing tax payers much more than it should because people are choosing to sit on their ass and letting their kids do the same. It just seems outrageous, ignorant and not at all well thought out when these people get out and about yelling no big government, no health care overhaul, no support to our current administration UNLESS... of course, we are getting tax cuts (that will further harm our country's economy), continued unemployment (didn't hear anyone complain about that) and by the way no we won't give up our kick ass GOVERNMENT health insurance. I just don't get it...

WARNING: I believe people have the inalienable right to be who they are!

It wasn't my goal to make my very first blog political and controversial, however, I read an article this morning that got me going. First of all there is a WARNING label for you, I believe people have the inalienable right to be who they are! Straight, gay, black, white, red, brown, whatever your religion...you have the right to be who you are. You should not be made to feel ashamed, or nervous, or afraid or unworthy because you are not the same as the person standing next to you. It doesn't matter how intelligent or unintelligent you are, what matters is you give the same space to others that you desire.

With that being said I would like to throw out there a small history lesson for those who will immediately argue that God is against gays. First I want to say that there will be future blogs about what I think God is against...and it isn't Gays. Second, let's consider where that thought comes from. I knew a young woman once (her name was Claire) who first introduced this thought to me, and as I thought it over it made a great deal of sense and I was even able to take this thought one step further...so here it is. The early references to the gay lifestyle being bad is in the old testament. It says man shall not lie with man and woman shall not lie with woman, but it also says thy shall not throw thy seeds on the ground. The points I think are important to remember are that A)the Jewish people were a dying race at that moment in history. They were God's chosen people at the time and they were struggling. B)they did not have the scientific knowledge we have now. They did not know that a man's seed was endless therefore putting that seed into anything other than a womb to procreate and rebuild their race would have been a serious crime against their race, thus a very serious sin. There would be no point of a woman lying with a woman because no child could come of that and the biggest point I want heard is the one I never hear conservative Christians address, throwing the seed on the ground. Why is it o.k. to play with your pee pee when it clearly says in those same phrases that wasting the seed is bad? Those passages are about the SEED...making a new person to help rebuild their race. According to Christians the Jewish people are no longer the chosen race and the Earth is a very over populated place so I no longer see the relevance in these passages. As far as passages about the Sodomites I think it is important for man to remember that man wrote the bible, not God, so how much of it is and was personal prejudice?

There are so many points taken out of context. We no longer offer burnt offerings or blood offerings because those things are no longer relevant, then why are the passages about being gay? We no longer require a woman to go be by herself for seven days and then seek out the clergy to make offerings to cleanse her of her filth (although some women need to be alone during their period for the sake and safety of those who dwell with her), nor do we require that she be unto herself for seven days (if it's a boy) 14 days (if it's a girl) after birth, then to make burnt offerings via the priests again so they can be cleansed. Do you see what I'm saying here? Then there is of course the biggest argument that the bible was written by man for man so you have to wonder what personal biases of that moment where interjected into the many versions of the book that have come to the fore front. The fact that I can even say "many versions" should bring a little bit of pause to those who will want to argue.

In the article I read this morning this woman was quoted as saying “You can talk about providing support, but you’re also creating a gay recruiting tool.”. Do you know anyone who could be "recruited" into the gay life? The fact that anyone seems to think that this life is one of ease and leisure is in itself a tell tale sign of short sightedness. That they could "recruit" as if they are offering excellent campuses with lots of night life like a fun college is ABSURD!

It's not easy being gay, and straight, right wing conservatives make it as hard as possible. They teach their children that being gay is worse than murder and so those children go out into the world and act out those lessons by bullying and crucifying other children for being different. It is time for every straight person that agrees with me to step up and protect their gay brothers and sisters. It is time to speak out, to be protective, to be intolerant of hateful crap, to teach our children to speak out against hateful crap, and to remember that there have been many different kinds of racism in our nation, Blacks, Asians, Irish, Italians, and as each of these cultures overcame the hateful crap slung at them they finally were integrated into our society as just one of the many (but they all can tell you stories of being called names, being stared out, of people crossing the street, clutching their bag in fear, of being bullied...). It is far time that we act as intelligent as we claim to be, as a society, we need to stop pretending we some how are better than those who are different because the truth is each individual is different than the individual that stands beside them, for better or worse. And if you fear recruitment, perhaps you should seek your true inner feelings about what you find erotic because no straight person I know is going to be "recruited" to other side. The fear is unfounded and is really just a tool to justify hateful crap!

Happy 2011

One of my goals for 2011 is to write more. To articulate what I think of the world around me, so today I set up my blog here on Google. The things you can expect to see here are going to be from one end of the spectrum to the other. Sometimes I am going to want to talk politics and sometimes I'm just going to want to make your mouth water with the description of the kahlua chocolate cheesecake I am trying to perfect. Sometimes I will be super happy and sometimes I'm going to be beyond aggressive, mean and mad...depends what I'm thinking about, but most importantly, I will ALWAYS be honest. If I tell you this is how I feel about a subject...it is how I feel about the subject, I have no intention of holding back or blowing smoke up anyone's butt just so they feel better about me. I welcome your feedback and your debate, both actions show me that your thinking, and that's my over all goal for writing this blog, to provoke people into thinking, and to provoke them into thinking about the things I'm thinking about. Happy New Year.