Dear Democrats,

I’m worried.  I’m worried I’m going to have to write a Dear John letter soon.  The Democratic Party is proving itself to be weak.  The only thing keeping my faith in the National Democratic party right now is the US house who seem to have their act together without compromising our integrity and our core beliefs.  The Senate is just a mess, and we need someone other than Harry Reid as senate leader.  Why is it we need 60 votes to do anything?  Bush sure as heck didn’t, and he certainly pushed through a lot of his crap through congress.  Is it Obama?  Is it the Senate?  I’m not sure.

Part of it is all nice and good that Obama is all about building consensus, and trying to form some sort of coalition government.  Everybody holding hands and working together in harmony.  That sounds just great, but the Republicans out there would just rather cut off our hands then try to hold them.  And they are united in that desire.  And we are not united.  It’s time to get our act together.

We need and want a progressive agenda.  Our nation needs a progressive agenda.  That’s why Democrats were elected after all.  But we refuse to live up to our ideals in the name of electability.  But that’s why we were elected!  What’s up with this Democrat Disconnect.  We sacrifice what got us elected in the name of electability.  And then we don’t get elected anymore.

For really the first time, I found myself this morning understanding why people don’t vote.  Why bother?  Either way, the same crap happens.  The parties are hardly recognizable from each other on the policy side (rhetoric is one thing and that is different between the parties, but in the end, the policies are far too similar than the rhetoric would suggest.)  When we will live up to our ideals?

So, dear Democratic party.  I’ve volunteered for you countless hours.  I’ve voted for you in every election that I’ve been eligible to vote in.  But I’m starting to waver.  What’s the point anymore?  I get the hypothetical reasons why, but in the real world what’s the point.

-Me

There is unimaginable destruction and loss of life in Haiti.  It’s driven me to tears, it’s driven me to donate.  And this has driven me to anger – Pat Robertson saying its all because Haiti made a pact with the devil, and Rush Limbaugh saying its a golden opportunity for Obama to help blacks.  These less than 24 hours after the quake hit, while people are still trapped under broken buildings dying by the minute.  Have you no decency?

I got a weird feeling when I was reading the courtroom liveblogging of the Prop 8 case over at http://prop8trialtracker.com/ and something hit me.  See, I’m gay.  And my rights are on trial here.  I’m on trial in California.

I’ve never really cared about gay marriage before now.  I’ve always thought we ought to be putting our efforts into getting ENDA passed first, since, well, that affects me more than not being able to get married.  First things first.

But reading the bloggers summations of what is being discussed…really put me in an odd mood.   I’m on trial.  Who I am and what I am worth as a human being is on trial.  Some may think that’s taking it a step too far, but its true.  Prop 8 declared I am not all that worthy has a human being, because I don’t deserve the same rights as others because of who I am.  This is the first time I’ve ever really had these feelings before.  And I don’t really know how to process it to tell you the truth.

A question for each GOP candidate for governor:

Are you in favor of a national constitutional amendment or laws to ban gay marriage?  If so, how do you reconcile this with your state’s rights position?

That’s right, I’m disappointed with Obama.  I had high hopes – I thought his ideas on the campaign trail were good, and of course he is one of the best political orators in the game right now.  But it seeems upon entering the White House, he lost his spine.

Yes, he has done good things.  But the positive things I’ve seen are not policy based.  Bringing esteem back to the White House, improving our standings in the eyes of the world, etc.  That’s like, attitude based stuff.  Which is important, I acknowledge, but he doesn’t seem to want to fight for his promises.

Now, I also understand the whole need for consensus and wanting to bring both sides to the aisle.  But if the other side refuses to budge, well, then if you are stuck on consensus that just moves you further and further away from your position and towards theirs, which totally happened in the Health Care debate.  I hope Pelosi stands her ground in the negotiations, which I love how are being televised like Obama said they would be, because right now the Senate is acting like that are the only governmental body in America – they seem to be forgetting that the House is just as important as the Senate (and if the Senate bill does add a tax, don’t all revenue bills have to start with the House?  just sayin’)

Obama is the leader of the party, in theory, and leader of the nation, in theory.  He isn’t stepping up to the plate and leading here, and who the hell knows where Biden is.  When Bush/Cheney were out there destroying the country, they were at least active in doing it and leading the charge downward.  He’s dropped a lot of what he promised for and what this country needs.  He could have gotten it done, but chose not to, and that is so disappointing.

It’s been a while since we posted on this blog – blame our jobs for cranking out into high gear, blame our political fatigue, blame our laziness.  Well, I’m going to try to post twice a week here – at least get some new content stuff up.

And we have a new mayor in Atlanta.  Well, that “we” doesn’t really include me, as I live outside the city limits.  Outside the perimeter.  Heaven forbid.  I did watch a little of the campaign, and I definitely saw some racial undertones out there, although most of my mid 30s white friends went for Reed over Norwood, I was a bigger fan of Norwood over gay rights issues.  I didn’t like Reed’s stance on the Eagle raid, and he doesn’t support full gay marriage, although I do acknowledge he was one of the few who did vote against the Georgia gay marriage amendment.  So I’m withholding judgment on Reed – let’s see what he’s able to do inside Atlanta.  I hope he can meet his goals and I hope he can not disappoint us (I’ve been far too dissapointed with Obama lately.)  We’ll see – only time will tell.  Good luck Mayor Reed – you have a lot of challenges ahead of you, and a lot of problems to tackle.

Its hard to put into words about all the flooding going on in Atlanta right now.  Taking a look at some of the pics from Austell makes me want to cry.  Especially this one of Clarkdale Elementary.  We hope that the bigoted attitude of many of the GA GOPers gets washed away with the flood, and that they ask for federal help humbly and are aware that for months and months they’ve been lambasting the same federal government that will come to our aid.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones and property during this Great Atlanta Flood.

Just a quick posting regarding the recent flooding in Atlanta.

1. Our condolences go out to the friends and family members of the (thus far) eight who perished in the flooding.
2. For road closures/updates, this seems to be a pretty decent compilation of information: http://www.ajc.com/news/minute-by-minute-updates-143387.html
3. According to the National Weather Service, if you see standing water on the road, you should turn around and “do not drown.” Sound advice.
4. If there are barricades on the road you wish to use, just assume they are there for a reason. Police, fire, and rescue services have had to rescue more people today than yesterday because people seem to think that roads are safe if there is no water on them. NOT TRUE. A lot of bridges/overpasses/roads have sustained structural damage that must be repaired before they can reopen.
5. Gee, where on Earth are we going to get the money for the millions upon millions of dollars of damage this has done? Crap. New Rule: No natural disasters during a recession.

All in all, things could have been a lot worse. Still, many people lost their homes, cars, and belongings to this flood, and our hearts go out to them.

In the aftermath of the flooding, just remember not to drown.

I have fear in my heart right now, due to the Atlanta police department and their stonewallesque raid on the eagle last night.  I feel less safe because of the apd, who’d rather crack down on us queers rather than people murdering and mugging college students five miles away.  What is that?  Do I deserve to be hunted worse than a murderer because I like boys and not girls?

I went down to the eagle, and people are rightfully pissed.  They want to stand up.  But there’s an undercurrent of fear in everyone right now.  Honest to god, not to make light, but I feel as though I’ve been a victim of terrorism.  I feel some of the same thoughts as I did eight years ago today.  Am I safe?  Will I be able to live my life free from fear again?  How could it happen here?  What did we do to deserve this?  What can I do about it?

And to think the police did it this time.

I feel fear tonight.
I feel outrage tonight.

Neither good.  Neither do I like feeling.  Its easy to want the outrage to win out.  Anger over fear.  There’s not much worse than fear.  But anger can be worse to me.

There is no forgiveness in my heart right now and that makes me even angrier.  There is no understanding in my heart right now and that makes me even angrier.

I’ve never been to the eagle before tonight.  I’ve neglected the gay side of me for too long, letting the corporate side of me dominate my life.  No more.

Barack Obama gave what was supposed to be a very important speech about health care reform last night. Sadly, as I lack cable just as keenly as I lack health insurance, I was not able to watch his speech in real time. However, I was able to use the powers of the internet to catch up on what I missed today.

In some ways, I was very impressed. The President certainly lived up to his reputation as a great orator. No matter what party affiliation, no one can deny that he is a powerful speaker. Long-winded, perhaps, given that it took 12 minutes just for him to get around to introducing “The Plan”, but still talented. In other ways, I was sorely disappointed. Apparently Candidate Obama was neutered when he became President Obama. Since his election, he has wavered on mandates, fines, and the public option. Then, in a speech designed to clarify his stance on these issues, he took the safe road.

I came away from this speech with the feeling that Obama hopes to go down in history not as a great liberal President, but as a great compromiser. This is, in many ways, an admirable goal – who doesn’t hope for bipartisanship and peace across the political spectrum? But at some point, compromising becomes nothing more than giving in, and I fear that President Obama may not recognize how near he is to that point.

In his speech, Obama continued his support for a public option – but he did not demand one. He should have. Obama gave support to the idea of mandating health insurance coverage – but did not address the issue of fines or who would really pay them.

I had hoped that this speech would lay out exactly what Mr. Obama wants to see on his desk. I had hoped that this speech would signal exactly what is and is not acceptable to Mr. Obama. Instead, I saw a President so intent on compromising with the minority party – a party that is home to one member who rudely and inappropriately heckled the President of the United States by calling him a liar during a nationally televised speech – that he doesn’t even recognize how many of his most ardent supporters have lost faith in him.

I am one of those supporters.

One of my favorite movies, Primary Colors, contains a quote that perfectly describes my interest in politics: “You had Kennedy. I didn’t. I’ve never heard a president say ‘destiny’ and ‘sacrifice’ without thinking, ‘bullshit.’ Okay, maybe it was bullshit with Kennedy, too. But…but people believed it, and I guess that’s what I want. I want to believe it.” Al Gore was boring, and he was a known quantity. You couldn’t believe it. John Kerry was even more boring, and more than a tad ridiculous. You couldn’t believe in him, either. But Barack Obama…he was something else. And whether I fully agree with him or not, at the end of the day I truly believed that he would be able to affect some kind of change in a country that has been slowly unraveling for years. Now I’m not so sure.

Yes, I want my President to make overtures to the other side, I want him to reach across the aisle. But if that doesn’t work, if the people across the aisle still insist on calling him a “socialist”, a “liar”, and a “racist”, if the people across the aisle still insist on working against absolutely everything he and the Democratic party stand for, then stop reaching. Some people are impossible to compromise with.

So, to our dear President: Stop compromising and deliver what you promised before you were elected. Clearly the majority of Americans wanted what you said you would deliver, or you wouldn’t be in the White House. So deliver on your promises. Reach down, find some balls, and stand up to Congress. Otherwise, not only will you never succeed in pleasing the Republicans, but you will also lose everyone else.