Mad, mad world

No one in this nation should be a bit surprised that this action is being proposed: The Ku Klux Klan doesn’t want to leave all the immigrant-hating to gun-toting militias and US Congressmen. The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is calling for a “shoot-to-kill” policy at the border. (The Nation)

When we have self appointed Mavens like Sarah Palin talking about impeaching the president, Steve King lecturing about immigration, Bill O’Reilly pontificating about ‘the Blacks’, ‘the Ghetto’ and ‘the Drugs’, Paul Ryan explaining that poor people need government run life coaching to stop being poor, one might expect a deceitful hate group like the KKK to propose actions such as their Wizard say: “If we pop a couple of ’em off and leave the corpses laying on the border, maybe they’ll see we’re serious about stopping immigrants.” (The Nation) When we have found our culture highjacked by some of the most ignorant, misinformed, racists, bigots, and homophobes and taken hostage by selfish activist Justices proclaiming corporations are people but anyone else not just as human, we should not be at all surprised that self proclaimed soldiers of Christ dressed in white robes are once again free to roam not only the back woods of America but now its Main Streets. The adage used to state do not repeat history, learn from it, but in fact with the emergence of the Tea Party, the shambles of selfish politicians, the misrepresentation of religious freedom vs freedom from religion, the rise of a tax code to assist the 1% from never being anything less and the media so much more concerned about being first then being factual, hearing the KKK proposing actions to shoot people of color; history is of no use nor consequence.

The NRA is urging its paid puppets in the Congress to NOT vote for background checks on stalkers, men who prey on ex wives and girlfriends. T-Publican Senator Inhofe, of Oklahoma who has previously stated he thinks climate change is "laughable and a "hoax" blocked a Senate resolution acknowledging climate change is real. The state of Alabama officials stating that the new EPA regulations defy Gods will as God created coal so burning coal must a heavenly gesture. Joni Ernst running for the T-Publican senate job from Iowa is an advocate of nullification even though it was cause for a Civil War and the US Constitution declares it illegal. And oh yeah Gays want Christians to have open sex with everyone according to Pat Robertson.

There used to be a time in this nation where the fringe was considered strange, weird, bizarre. There once was a time when consensus did flourish, when the absurd was blatant, and those who pushed for violence, mayhem, and murder were considered by most Americans as fools. But nowadays when impeachment calls for the president run rampant, Limbaugh, Hannity or Beck are quoted as the intelligencia, Ted Cruz rewrites the constitutionality of our Constitution and FOX News is the final word on current events, comments from the KKK to “…just pop a couple of kids…” is not challenged or immediately called into question. Have we given up all kinds of hope because we are living in a mad, mad, mad world? 

line up

A rant about lines.

I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to act as counselor and trip guide for three summers in a row, taking 40 teen aged kids to Israel for 6 weeks at a time. (As an aside I was more amazed that I was granted the responsibility to chaperone these kids and many times had to say quietly to myself OMG how did this happen.) It did happen and I was quite successful in performing that job description. Now this a rant about lines and their necessity or annoyance. My first summer  while in Israel there would come a time when the teens had to go to a bank and cash their American dollars for Israeli currency. Being good kids brought up by good parents, manners were a part of the behavior while visiting a foreign country. We got to the bank with plenty of time to spare, were there about 15 minutes before they opened, and stood in a very straight line at the ready to enter the bank when it opened. My first year, I was quite amazed that we were the only ones standing at the ready to enter the bank and noticed an absence of Israeli’s  Cool I thought, we will be in and out and continue our tour agenda without too much delay. The 10:00 hour approached and suddenly without any warning, from apparently hidden vestiges of the sidewalk as the doors opened a tsunami of Israeli citizens swarmed the entrance to the bank and any semblance of our American stand in line and wait your turn behavior was torn apart and it became every American and Israeli man and woman for your self. I learned that first year that lines were a charade of Western civilization and were as sturdy and safe as riding on a flat tire.

When my own kids were young we took a trip to Disney/Epcot in Orlando. I had heard that lines could last for an hour at some amusement rides and tried to take all the precautions a parent could to NOT have his young kids moan, groan and get bored waiting in line. Disney is a sophisticated operation when it comes to lines and they have discovered some tricks to not only dissuade any kind of young child hissy fit, but to enhance the Disney experience. It was summer time hot and humid. We were waiting on line for the Pirates of the Caribbean. Adam was calm but Dani was NOT. She was hot sweaty, moody, and wanted to leave. We were already on line for 30 minutes and leaving was not an option. Disney being greedy as ever had vendors selling drinks or ices located at the three bends in the line. Smart, because just when you made the bend and thought you were almost getting on the ride, a vendor was there to stop you from seeing that there were still 50 people ahead of you. Being the good Dad, and trying my best to bribe my daughter I said I would buy her an ice and a drink. I asked Adam to hold his sisters hand swore to him no cooties would be exchanged while touching his sister and walked about three feet to the ice/soda vendor. I turned my head for three minutes bought the ice and went back to where I thought my kids were standing on line. No kids, no familiar other people in front of me or behind me, just me and bunch of strangers. I had no idea we were at the third bend in the line meaning access to thew ride was imminent. A lady wearing hello my name is Ida, walked over to me and said my kids were about to embark on the ride, and they refused to get out of line and asked her if she would find me so they could ride Pirates of the Caribbean.. This was a line that meant business.

This past Sunday, it was Farmers Market time in West Hollywood on Melrose Place (no not that Melrose Place) to be exact. A Farmers Market, a place of freedom, choice, opportunity a place to buy local, a place to kick back and relax and enjoy the fruits of the labor of farmers. There are no lines per say at the Farmers Market. You select your fruit or veggies walk up to the vendor and pay. NOPE, not at this Farmers Market. What you get is a bunch of pushy hipsters eating some of the fruit they have yet not paid for poking their grubby and sticky hands in front of you insisting they were here first or most importantly in a hurry. You get Moms and Dads talking on a phone while pushing some $8000 stroller right in front of you never apologizing for bumping into you but critical of the fact you just disturbed their child. You get a non line,Hipster, Upper Middle Class invention based on nothing but entitlement and selfishness. You get nothing that resembles a line and suddenly you actually miss the LINE!

Queen of stupid

Dear Michelle,

You recently said: Gays Pushing Laws Allowing Adults 'To Freely Prey On Little Children Sexually. “They want to abolish age of consent laws, which means children would…we would do away with statutory rape laws so that adults will be able to freely prey on little children sexually.” Then as if that was not enough stupid you then said: Send those {immigrant} children to labor camps, which you warmly referred to as “Americanization Facilities”, with the goal of having them pay off their past, present, and future care expenses, while assimilating them into American culture. And in exchange for that labor, the children would be fast-tracked on a path to citizenship.(Huff Post)

I am not sure where this rampant virus of political stupid began or even where it originated, but damn girl you have a sever case of it. You are a contagious carrier of the political stupid; it seems the virulent strain of infection is scattered the minute you open your mouth. Each inane, insane unbelievably UnAmerican, UnChristian sentence uttered by you contains enough germs to infect the already vulnerable bigots, racist, homophobes and xenophobes turning them into ignorant zombies. You insist that God talks to you but honey, the voices you hear are those of a Devil who has found a host without a conscience or a clue!

Now, we know that ever since the onset of FOX Noise, Limbaugh Radio and the non vetting of Palin the pathetic minions of stupid rejoiced. These pathetic self hating piranha were tired of feeding upon themselves and thought that there was hope to eat the flesh of others. Replacing the Constitution (most of these self proclaimed Patriots have never read it or for that matter thought it had anything to do with the US of A) for a Bible( you know the same one quoted to proclaim slavery was good, women were chattel and interracial marriage never a plan from God) this group who think fact is pointless, hate is positive and difference is scary sought out larger then life freaks like you and settled into the serenity of stupid! Somehow along the way the direction of life, liberty, equality and freedom was exchanged for bogus, bias and bull shit. And you Michelle have recently become the Queen of stupid replacing such low life luminaries as Sarah Palin, Laura Ingram, and Annie Coulter! 

Here is the truth Michelle, your lack of knowledge of American history, your ignorance of religious purpose, your inadequate adjustment as an adult, and your belittling, begrudging bullying of anyone you fear has just proven how stupid you are. Thank God for your sake this is America and individuals like you are not taken to some remote village and just disposed of. But in the America you envision and pontificate about you in turn would like to grab any and all people who strive for democracy to be locked away and treated like criminals. In other era’s Michelle you might be laughed at, called an idiot, given no credence at all, but sadly the smart of this nation are somehow tucked away in a perceived safe room and think you will just implode. You worry me Michelle because I have never seen such stupid so dangerous. You are the Queen of stupid!

Mr Speaker

Dear Mr. Boehner,

It seems that you are thrilled with a court ruling that may lead to higher premiums, chaos in the health care system, and millions of Americans unable to receive basic care. How cavalier, delightfully devilish and creepy of you to express your delight as millions of American”s may once again go without adequate and affordable health care. As Speaker of the House one might suppose you have the interests of most Americans in mind, but sadly so Sir, it is only your insecure machinations of hoping, wishing and pleading to maintain your title as Grand Pooh-Ba of the House of Representatives that gives you any angst or motivation.

Now I know your GOP/T-Party puppets pretend that they have read history books, but when real history is written about your lack of purpose, politics 24/7, worshipping the Koch Brothers tenure as Speaker ends; your true colors of shame, tyranny, and obstructionism will blind each and every reader. Sadly you think that maintaining power via appeasing the most bigoted, ignorant religious jihadists is the American way when in fact all it does is prove you are a bigger fool then the foolish who only know how to blame.How much do really hate the average American Mr. Boehner; enough that once again you want to deny health insurance, prohibit the cost of health insurance, and ignore a basic right to be healthy? You are a sad little puppet, Mr. Boehner, your puppet masters have you seduced with greed and gluttony and you seem to think that half assed is okay. Is that similar to the cup being half full or half empty? In your case is it half assed or fully assed?

You may fool the FOX crowd of not seeing is believing and understanding is not important. You may delight the racist/bigoted/homophobic/misogynist crowd who get their jolly’s as they wear robes and lather in tar and feather. Why heck you even thrill the 1% of corporations who suddenly were created from sperm and egg; but honestly Mr BONER for the rest of the nation you are anything but a fools paradise. The standard for class and quality in this nation has been on a slippery decline and you Sir, are the master tobogganist leading the slide downhill full speed ahead and full of shit. I might ask if you have an ounce of a conscience, but witnessing your actions and behavior and contempt for fair and equal the answer is a qualified NO. 

Governor Perry

Dear Governor Perry,

I am the father of two kids. When my children were very young I did everything in my power to make their environment a safe, hospitable place. I fended off imagined bogey men as well as helped to fight battles of real bully’s. There was nothing, nothing at all that could have, would have or might have stopped me from protecting my children. Their health, safety, well being were unquestioned responsibilities as a parent were all part of the unconditional love contract which took affect with my children’s first breath. I am happy to say I was able to watch my children grow into young adults living a quality life.

I cannot imagine the angst, fear, trepidation and worry any parent would have to go through to send their children away. Yet mothers and fathers living in Central America are having to decide if the violence, murder, rape and instability taking place in their own neighborhoods can outweigh the kind of protection most parents promise their offspring. Governor Perry you like titles and with every news conference or headline you try to define yourself as an American, a Christian, a Patriot, and a Parent. But here you are standing at the border of your state proudly handling an assault weapon calling in your National Guard to do nothing but intimidate and scare innocent children; doing nothing more but acting the fool. Do you have any idea other then political ambitions as to just how terrible it must be for these children to be away from all they know and love? Are you nothing more then a self serving selfish man?

Governor Perry your intellect is often criticized. It seems you lack depth, perspective and of course insight (other then the plan to try and become president). Had you bothered to recall American history you would recount the hundreds of thousands of young children arriving on the shores of this nation to escape persecution and harm from their original countries. Those children are now the generation who helped fight wars for this nation, built our economy, and provided the foundations for a strong nation. Governor Perry if you had paid attention to your church and the writings it holds as truth you would discover that the Godly thing to do is help thy neighbor not scapegoat he or she. And Governor Perry if you would take that abridged version of the US Constitution out of your gun holster and read it, you will certainly find that this nation was founded by immigrants and by people who no longer wanted to be the downtrodden.

Governor Perry I amaze at the slight of hand, snake oil salesman tricks, and hocus pocus you have successfully used to be the longest termed governor of Texas. I thought Texans were smarter then permitting a fool standing behind an emerald curtain to become the decider, but your slime and sleaze apparently worked. You are a sham and shameful in your latest round of PR tricks and tactics to promote yourself as a presidential candidate. But Governor Perry actually stop pretending that you are greater then God and look at the situation around you. I am a parent, you are a parent, try and imagine sending your children away, to fend for themselves for fear that if they remain close to home they may suffer or worse, die. I can’t imagine any of that, but it seems in a heartless gutless cowardly way you can. Shame on you!

target practice

And the big bad Americans with pistols and AK 47’s in hand are all gosh darn tootin’ sure that no immigrant child beast surely filled with that ebola virus and of course all other kinds of alien ailments will set foot in this country. Clutching a Bible filled with selected passages quoted from a Minister who knows Jesus better then anyone else, a chapter from a Constitution that has been annotated by the likes of Sarah Palin or Ted Cruz, these red, white and blue Klansmen and women are gonna make sure this place called Murica remains white, Christian and any place other then welcoming. Jesus founded this nation and when Jesus wrote the Bill of Rights he knew that immigrants were nothing but vermin. (Of course immigrants in the eyes and minds of this biased, bigoted, fearful mob is a recent occurrence and has nothing to do with their own ancestors who were NOT born in the US). When you are one of the dredges of society you certainly need to identify others to be even less of value then yourself.You gotta bully, scapegoat, insult another group so you won’t have to admit just how much of a loser you actually are! And of course somehow you must incite Gods name to make your hate more profound and most holy.

It seems religious poison has found its way into the current recipe of American culture. God has been resurrected in a very ugly, demonizing and destructive manner; used to justify every disgusting human behavior. The poor are not Christian enough, women are way too brazen to be loved by God, the homosexuals are the enemy of God, the unemployed are God’s cockroaches, and of course people of color who happen to be born in another God forsaken country a blemish on Gods plan for Murica. Guns, threats, Bibles a blazed and a Constitution rewritten, reworded and removed from fair and balanced, equal and fair are ammunition to justify the inadequacies and inarticulate pronouncement of anything Democratic or American. Somehow, someone must be less then so the cowards, terrorists, religious jihadists or the USA can feel important and potent.

Watching the God fearing, Jesus believing, holier than thou self proclaimed profits of everything Christian demonstrate just how much more devilish they are then God like is a chilling site. It may be the calling for the tar and feathering of the young refugees seeking refuge in this nation now, but given the misuse of power toward the so called freedom of religion to justify all negative behavior, we are in store for witch burnings, are you nope or ever been a Communist, love it or leave it, this is and always has been a Christian nation founded on the principals of Jesus actions and assaults. When hate is not stopped, when reason has gone awry, when fear and loathing diminish concern and care EVERYONE considered different is in a whole lot of trouble. Stop it now or you and I will certainly be the next people to be targeted.

back again

I had given my self a test. How long could I NOT comment on the current events of the country in which I live. I thought why am I always worried? Why do I see stupid people (In the movie Sixth Sense, the young boy saw dead people). What do my mutterings, musing, meanderings really achieve, especially because the stupid still act stupid, the dumb even more unintelligent, and the hypocrite at the ready to lie even when I attempt to call them out. I thought why get worked up as most circumstances were not created by me so how the hell do I suppose by calling them out I can change a thing. It was hard it was like coming off of an addiction doing so cold turkey. And then today I permitted myself to read an article about Michelle Bachmann who was lamenting just how dangerous the children crossing our boarders really had become and how somewhere in her imagined history of six years a rape had been committed by an immigrant thus causing her to warn the nation that the sky was falling. I read Ms (I am a Christian woman first, American lady second) Bachmann’s account of immigration as a sign of the Devil and wham bam no thank you ma’am all bets were off for me, and I had to express my feelings via my blog. I could not let this irresponsible lady get away with one more inane and insane comment. 

According to the real Christian/Americans during the past 6 years,(you know the time the Black Kenyan, Socialist Muslim was elected president) this nation of ours has taken on a mantra that religion has gone awry. We are preached to that freedom of religion  has been horribly mangled and the tenants of Jesus Christ have been completely ignored, We have been told by the Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy, the so called Conservative Christians, the Jesus carried an AK assault weapon Crusaders, the God hates Fags, the women are chattel crowd that all morals, values and ethics had been tossed asunder to please no one but the Progressives. We have been told by the conspiracy theorists, the Tea Baggers, the Koch Brother puppet politicians, the bleached blond brain dead hosts and hostesses of FOX Noise, the self described speakers to God that the End Days have begun and soon Armageddon will arrive in NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the individual states permitting same-sex marriages. Our only salvation for order to reappear in this nation we are told is to follow the words as prescribed in the New Testament, the ONLY book of authority. 

And then I read about Michelle Bachmann joining the ranks of other Jesus loves me yes I know fundamentalist born again evangelicals like Louise Gomhert, Steve King, every fool from the Tea Party about how we must carry guns to the boarder to send those immigrant children back to their own land. I hear how we must recite the mantra that Jesus would be first in line to deport those fugitives, and how every president from Christ to Reagan would insist that this land is not your land just MY land. I tried so hard to pretend that the smart would persevere that the fool’s argument would wither and die, that the morbidly ignorant would somehow finally see God and just shut the fuck up. But no! Michelle Bachmann was the teeny tiny pebble that shattered my resolve to try and ignore the fool. Thanks Michelle I am back and ready to call you the fool you are!

Oh, please not again!

Instead of visiting the “porous U.S. border” during his three-day Democratic fundraising trip across the country, President Barack Obama was too busy “hobnobbing” and “getting buzzed on suds,” Sarah Palin claimed in a Fox News op-ed Friday.“Whew. Racking balls, getting buzzed on suds, maybe humming ‘Rocky Mountain High’ while kicking it in those Rockies, hard choices had to be made -- stripes or solids?” Sarah Palin

You were never vetted by any intelligent group of people before they selected you as a running mate for a very angry and senile old man. Your claim to fame was one based on your looks having won a Miss Alaska contest. (In Murica too often we are impressed more about the facade then the real guts.) It was a year when the Dems nominated a person of color ( a minority in this nation), and so the Repubs thought they could counter -act that choice with their own patronizing person a female. You always seemed lost on anything current event. Your husband has often been referred to as one of the Alaskan secessionists. When you actually use your own notes to speak and not the words of costly ghost writers your sentences ramble, are mangled, become long winded and somewhere with the fifteenth word used you become confused and the listener becomes lost. You had to leave the office of Governor due to an increase of allegations of corruption. (A true Maverick would have stayed until the end to clear up any and all misconceptions). Why you even could not explain to your own daughter the pro’s and con’s about pre-marital sex and protected sex. (Nope you were busy pontificating while she was busy schtooping.)

You prefer to jab and run never actually face the foes you so dearly love to disregard. One liners flow from your mouth but substance and source material are absent. You refuse to be interviewed by anyone who might disagree with your point, let alone ask you the facts about the things you say. You are a perfect reality star, staring in actual circumstances but having everything about your actions scripted and unreal. Your inability to understand how the Constitution works, what the Bible actually has to say are mind blowing. You are nothing more than a bad joke but somehow have attracted the attention of dumber people then you who listen to the crackpot bullshit you spew. If history books will still be permitted to be printed (in this age of pathetic Tea Party jihadists), your chapter will be a stark reminder of how the insane were permitted to run the asylum. Sadly FOX News, Limbaugh Radio and anarchists like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, entice you to continue moving Murica away from anything that resembles democracy, justice and equality. How much longer, Sarah, will the smart be outwitted by your sheer hate for this nation and the ALL of its citizens. Not again Sarah, oh please not again.

Palin STUPID

There sadly are a whole bunch of stupids. Stupid itself is a sad situation but sometimes a simple stupid can earn some sympathy just because the person being stupid is legitimately unaware of his or her own behavior. Often times this kind of stupid is considered dumb. Dumb stupid can be tolerated if and when the dumb stupid person acknowledges that perhaps they should have read a little more, questioned some or even ventured into the land of other ideas. Stupid has been around for eons and many people celebrity, politician and average Joe or Joanne have demonstrated the dredges of dumb. We have grown up with stupid, gone to school with stupid, some of our neighbors were stupid but somehow there has never been a great opportunity or showcase for this group of stupid to languish and linger. Few of the dumb stupid have garnered recognition or acclaim with the successes of FOX Noise and Limbaugh radio. But then with the passing of time the reliance of fiction as a shining example of trust, the bogus of bias to bring in the brand new day, the idolization of hate, fear and difference as a bad thing dumb stupid has moved into a new category.

And now we have bat shit bonafides crazy, deliberately evil stupid…we have Sarah Palin STUPID. “President Obama’s rewarding of lawlessness, including his own, is the foundational problem here. It’s not going to get better, and in fact irreparable harm can be done in this lame-duck term as he continues to make up his own laws as he goes along, and, mark my words, will next meddle in the U.S. Court System with appointments that will forever change the basic interpretation of our Constitution’s role in protecting our rights. It’s time to impeach, and on behalf of American workers and legal immigrants of all backgrounds, we should vehemently oppose any politician on the left or right who would hesitate in voting for articles of impeachment.” (Mother Jones). Mama Grizzly reality star and oh yeah half term governor is quite stupid, but her kind of stupid is laced with arsenic, atomic particles glowing with radiation and simmering at a temperature to explode but of course without a trace of Ms Palin in the room when it happens.  Palin STUPID is terminal and loves to eat at the flesh destroying any trace of normal. Palin STUPID is a result of the 2000’s when instant is more important then honest, when flash is sought over substance, when heresy and in effectual argument used to win the debate. Palin STUPID is a virus that destroys the foundation of democracy and Sister Sarah is patient zero.

Now of course Palin STUPID is not confined to the borders of Alaska, nope this virulent disease has found its way to the four corners of this place called Murica by those infected. Congressman Louis Gohmert from Texas, assured of being Congressman for life due to gerrymandering said this, “…immigrant children are flooding across the border To secretly vote for Demmycrats. (Huff Post). A guy with a medical degree, yep Palin STUPID knows no boundaries, Dr Keith Ablow, a regular on everything Fox stupid has said in the past, “ Obama likes the World Cup because it distracts the American public”, and the Florida theater shooting victim might be to blame for his own death because of date rage. Governor Chris Christie afraid that he is not stupid enough for the right wing stupid  so he reverted to a Palin STUPID when he vetoed a NJ gun regulation and refused to meet with the families of the murdered Sandy Hook children.“I already signed it,” Christie said at a press conference Monday. “It would have been really hypocritical for me to sit down and act like I was listening to their arguments, again, when in fact I already signed the conditional veto.” “Are we saying then that the 10 children on the clip that they advocate for, that their lives are less valuable?” Christie said Monday. “If you take the logical conclusion of their argument, you go to zero, because every life is valuable.”

It used to be that stupid was self destructive. It used to be that stupid would eat its own. Since dumb stupid has morphed into Palin STUPID it has become a carnivorous monster and is somehow managing to eat at the foundations of a once significant and caring nation. Palin STUPID is dangerous, very, very dangerous!

wake up already

And so you remained quiet. The stuff gone awry in this nation really hasn’t yet interrupted your life. The noise discussing the pro’s and con’s is just that, loud ugly an annoyance, but with most aggravation ignoring it usually permits it to die or at least haunt someone else. Of course you know some Gay people, but no one in your family has come out or maybe they are still enjoying life in the closet. And those Gays you know seem quite content as is! Your wife is a female and maybe you are, but she or you never got pregnant out of wedlock, and certainly won’t find them needing any assistance from a doctor who provides assistance with an abortion. Planned Parenthood is one step beneath your social strata and reproductive needs so if a few of those clinics close it does not really apply to you; its really for the poor folk. No one as you recall has hassled you and you to church on Sunday, pray at the Temple on Saturday and smothered with your own parishioners why the fuss about whose religion is the right one.

And then Clarence Thomas a Supreme Court Justice cocooned in a tight black robe, hidden from the realities of the every day citizen, emboldened that his sexual affair with a single woman was quieted and muted comes forward and says he supports making Christianity the state religion.  ‘It appears that Clarence Thomas, a conservative appointee, has thrown away all his common sense along with his knowledge of the history of the nation and case law. You would expect more from a Supreme Court Justice but in today’s polarized political climate many of the conservative justices are projecting their own personal viewpoints into law, completely absconding the judicial jurisprudence that was necessary for all judicial nominees prior to their entrance into this hallowed court.

Stating that the Federal Government can “probably” not establish a state religion is only the tip of the iceberg for Thomas, as he refutes the common sense that state and local governments should not establish a religion also. He thinks it entirely acceptable to establish a religion at the state and local level, so long as it is Christianity.’ (Huff Post)

238 years after a nation is created on the principle of “freedom from religion The First Amendment (Amendment I) to theUnited States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion… a Justice sitting on a court able to wield the most power and authority in the nation ponders against one of the main tenants for this nation. Justice Thomas kind of sort of thinks that maybe its not cool for the Federal Government to insist on an official religion, but those 50 states, well heck they have all kinds of permission to do so. Before the Civil War individual states decided on who was a citizen and who was a slave. Before the 19th amendment individual states could let the women remain as chattel. Before Loving vs Virginia individual states could deny the right to marriage toward integrated couples (Justice Thomas a Black man’s marriage would not be recognized in a a few dozen states, as his wife Virginia is white). Currently individual states can play doctor regarding female reproductive rights and marriage counselor with same-sex marriage. Imagine a state where there is only one officially tolerated religion, whose constitution is governed by the laws of that Bible…Its really not too hard to imagine, some of those states are called Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia. 

For all of us out there who think that it is a bunch of fools running the government, none of which are to be taken too seriously. For all of us out there who laugh at the stupid remarks made by Palin, Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Hannity and Beck surely certain that those entertainers are harmless. For all of us who would rather look the other way because whatever shit seems to be falling from the sky has NOT yet splattered on our finely pressed clothes. For all of us who think they are immune from this STUPID, we had better wake up NOW. When a a Justice of the Supreme Court pontificates on the merits of a state run religion, there is a while lot to fear for a whole lot of people.

My land, your land

It was the era of having your youngest kids act as remote controls, always adjusting the sound, the contrast and of course the channel selection. It was the era of rabbit ears and just a hint of tin foil on each end of that monstrous contraption. But when the 4th of July found its way into our home and Yankee Doodle Dandy was screened just for that special holiday on local television we knew that at least in the 1950’s America and Pittsburgh we were just doing fine. I was sure James Cagney had been a signer to the Declaration of Independence. 

It was a trip to Silver Lake Drive-In with special entrance passes given to us by my mother’s first cousin Charlie Katz. He managed the drive-in and made sure that on the 4th of July Howard Buncher and his family would feel like royally. Packing her home made corned beef sandwiches, home made dill and sour pickles, a huge slice of Rena Buncher chocolate cake with white coconut icing and at least four bags of salty, greedy potato chips my mother filled two picnic coolers with yummy fill your stomach food. Two features on the 4th, but between each movie were the fireworks. Nothing said America to the Buncher family in the early 60’s like homemade food, fireworks and a free trip to the drive-in!

It was the 70’s and during my career at the Pittsburgh JCC, for the year of the biennial I directed and choreographed the play George M, (but back in the day we kind of sort of never had enough money for the rights, so I kind of sort of changed the title and rewrote a bit of the play, calling it Dandy.) I had my kids (all teens from 9th to 12th grades) draped in red, white and blue, humming, hamming and enjoying all kinds of Americana. I was able to relive my youth from the 1950’s and hopefully present a very all American nostalgic look at our nation. I was keen on a part of America where I thought honest, effort and truth counted and made a difference.

When my own kids were young in the 80’s we decorated our home with more flags then one could imagine. Pittsburgh still had neighborhood parades and we all attended with hand on our hearts and a  salute at the ready from our foreheads. Thanks to my Linden School music teacher Miss Marie Cyphers I knew all verses to every song about the flag and each and every song written to celebrate America. Adam and Dani, my kids also learned most of the lyrics so when it came time to sing along, the Buncher clan did so loudly and proudly.

Life for me changed in the late 90’s. Divorce, career moves and sadly the discovery that it was only gauze used to hide a lot of the truth’s about this nation. Wars were created, laws banning freedoms were formed and politicians only draped themselves in the Flag to hide all and any facts. The 4th became a long week-end to plan a vacation away. Yankee Doodle Dandy could be viewed on Turner Classic Channel,even colorized on demand. American songs were used to disparage the people considered not as American as we would like, and the Flag became a weapon against decent rather then its original use as a motivation for freedoms. 

It is now the first few decades into the 21st Century. Today is the newest 4th of July this nation has to experience. It comes after a Supreme Court valued religious Liberties over women’s Civil rights. It comes after months of politicians ignoring a dying planet, the value of immigrants and their lives. It comes with a wanting to start another war and insisting that the Founding Fathers hated differences rather then embrace the beauty of we the people. I miss a nation of folklore, when waving a flag, singing a national anthem, sharing your food, watching all of the colors of the spectrum glow brightly together made you feel like an American. I miss an America of innocence replaced by ignorance. For those Americans who believe equality, freedom and justice is for ALL maybe this is the 4th to reclaim our nation from very scary devious enemies of the state. On this 4th lets begin believing “this land is your land and my land.”

what is the difference

I was 47 years old when I finally permitted myself to look in the mirror and say, albeit in a quiet voice, “I guess I am really Gay”. It took two whole years to follow for me to admit that piece of my life to family and friends, but when I was able to release the pressure valve of fear, worry, intimidation I actually witnessed my body float about three feet off the Earth and felt as if I had just traveled into the stratosphere. Perhaps I am embellishing some facts, maybe I AM speaking the truth, but the recognition of self and self worth was a moment in my life which propelled me forward and I have tried my hardest to never stop that trajectory. 

I think I was 49 years old when I finally matured enough to NOT fear words like HOMO or FAGGOT, and could actually look the ignorant angry caller of those words in the eye and tell them just how pathetic they were in using descriptions like that to fend off their own inhibitions and self hatred. It was tough, but the acknowledgment that I am NOT less then anyone else because I happen to love the way I do, was riveting and full of rebound. If I did not permit anyone else to own my identity, then in reality I HAD full control of my own destiny. I then began to involve myself in the political landscape of this nation trying to understand what civil rights, equal rights, equality and freedom really meant. I suppose I had never given all of that too much pause since I had never felt their importance until I realized just how often my freedoms had been denied. I had also discovered just how dangerous the dogma of religious fervor rurally was, and just how much priority it represented in our American political system.

Many of us have read the Supreme Court’s ruling on the rights of a corporation (Hobby Lobby) to usurp their religious personhood beliefs over actual persons who happen to be female. In a nation whose Supreme Court Justices ARE selected to the bench because of their partisan beliefs this ruling should come as no surprise. (Many of us should use this exact ruling to understand that an election of a President has far reaching consequences). I am angry as Hell, and feel betrayed because once again a population is being discounted, scapegoated and their rights are being ignored in the name of religion in a country whose history is based on freedom from religious persecution NOT on freedom for religion. I feel betrayed because I have a daughter, sisters, an aunt and good friends who seem to be considered second class citizens. I feel betrayed because it seems the name of Jesus Christ resonates louder then names like Washington, Madison, Adams, and Jefferson. I feel betrayed because as a Gay man I understand that divide and conquer is dangerous and usually leaves a winner and too many losers. I feel betrayed because once again I am witnessing a demographic of Americans who are considered anything but equal.

In the world of the T-Publican/Evangelical Christian/ FOX News/ Rush Limbaugh conservative radio listener true history is a burden and facts can only flow freely if they are somehow intertwined with the New Testament. Our Constitution is just a photo copy of a document meant to be abridged, obliterated and ignored. Jesus it seems was the first president, and the only person permitted to rule this nation. I was told as a Gay man that I would go to Hell, that I was not a true American and that I was less then. And now I am watching as the women of this nation are being treated with same disrespect, disregard, and disparaging remarks as I was, until I finally fought back. If you love your mother, sister, aunt, niece, best friends isn’t it time to look yourself in the mirror and FINALLY say this has to stoop with me. At 47 I rallied it was my CHOICE to make a difference in my life; now it is OUR choice to make a difference in the lives of the females we love, admire and respect.