Don't Hate Us

So now that the election is over, I have seen many conservatives berate the voters and announce that the terrorists are coming because they did not vote Republican. Being the hot-head that I am, I’d immediately jump on the defensive side and fire a couple of insults right back.

Deep down however, I know the only way to heal the nation is to do the “Jesus” thing (to put it in a religious context) and take the high road; in other words, to forgive. Now, we all know that I am just a simple male from the Homo sapiens species with way too much testosterone in my system. As a result, forgiveness of the vitriol that spews from their mouths does not come easy.

I think the following Letter to the Editor of the Seattle Times does a good job of trying to put the conservatives vs. liberals fight in perspective.

Our American cousins

Dear Republican letter writers:

Please take a deep breath, calm down, and try to get control of yourselves. I'm beginning to wonder if some of you aren't coming by my home anytime soon to lynch me for being too liberal, not conservative enough, or for voting pro-terrorist.

You know, a lot of people can have similar goals and dreams but have different ideas about how to accomplish them. Having a different plan doesn't automatically make you the enemy.

I'd be willing to bet that many of your co-workers — those who wait on you in restaurants, ring up your groceries, operate on your spleen and who just recently gave candy to your children while warmly admiring their costumes — are liberals: actual real people who live in your neighborhoods and walk your sidewalks and pay their taxes and abide the same laws as you.

They don't hate America any more than you do. They don't love terrorists any more than you do. They love their children and cherish their futures. They want safe schools, clean air and water, secure borders and a strong economy. They want to be happy and they want the same for their neighbors.

Now can all of this please be considered before jumping to the conclusion that anyone who didn't vote for your guy or gal is evil and must be destroyed? Please, before you hurt yourselves.

— David Brown, Seattle

Health & Fitness: The Road to 40 (Week 6)

The official count? TWENTY SIX.

Okay, so this was not a good week.

Monday, I had an early morning meeting with the FAA (yeah, sometimes I actually get to have a little excitement in my job) so there was not a chance to do the morning workout. However, I planned ahead and brought my gym clothes for an afternoon round of extended cardio.

Tuesday morning I woke to neck pain from sleeping wrong but still went to the gym. I probably should have not worked my chest that day but did anyway. The net effect was to screw the neck up even more. Needless to say, that was the last day that I saw the gym this week.

Hopefully, next week will show improvement.

Democrats Take House and Senate

Mission Accomplished!

Maybe Congress can use that $20 million for the end-of-war party now. The war on our constitution is over and the Democrats have won. I guess this calls for a celebration; the “evil doers” have been defeated. We are finally bringing democracy back to that lost nation of America.

Unfortunately, we have not found all of the Weapons of Mass Destruction since Karl Rove is still at large; but we will be distributing a deck of card with their names and pictures.

I think Karl Rove will be the Joker.

Definitely Gay

LOL!

Monkey With A Death Wish

I found this on Google Video. Silly Rabbit, tricks are for kids.

If God had wanted you to have ...

Perfect! This Letter to the Editor of the Seattle Times:

The all-seeing

Your Hubble servant

As a God-fearing fundamentalist Christian, I am outraged by NASA's blasphemous decision to fix the instrument of the Devil known as the Hubble Space Telescope ["NASA says repairs on Hubble are a go," News, Nov. 1].

And to the tune of $900 million, no less. Do they have any idea how many Bibles that money would buy?

If the good Lord had seen fit for us to study outer space, he would have given us the ability to build rocket ships and telescopes and computers and ... um ... er ...

Never mind.

— Dave Richards, Bainbridge Island

Hypocrisy in America Defined

Here is an interesting article that puts into words what I have tired to figure out for a long time. It actually makes me look at the whole antigay sentiment in America in a whole new light.

I have an uncle who, when Oregon was trying pass some antigay legislation 10 years ago, was extremely outspoken against gays. This got so bad that my mother actually outed me to him to shut him up and get him thinking about what he was saying.

I think I now understand my uncle (not that I can forgive him because, after all, I am only human). Of course, this is the same uncle who was all about sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll in the first part of his life. He was a drummer in a rock band and has had two children (two different women) out of wedlock. Later in life, he found "religion." It makes sense that he would project his displeasure with his own past onto others to make himself feel all high-and-mighty.

Anyway, the full article is here.

Haggard, Foley and GOP Preach Against the Vices They Can't Shake

Are all homophobic Republicans secretly gay? The leaders of the party with a penchant for condemning others would do well to look inward. It's time to call them on their hypocrisy.

...

For answers to the puzzles that seem to infest the conservative worldview, we might dust off our old Freud texts. From the father of psychoanalysis, we learn the concept of "reaction formation" which describes how we react to our own unacceptable impulses. Reaction formation is a classic "defense mechanism" -- an unconscious behavior designed to ward off uncomfortable feelings. Sometimes we react to our discomfort with ourselves in harmless ways, such as when a man cheats on his wife and brings her flowers to ease his guilt. Other times, the reactions can be punitive-we judge and condemn others who exhibit the very impulses that we, ourselves, cannot control. This is frequently the case when dealing with lust or greed.

...

What is the solution to this misplaced effort to restrict others' behavior? For Freud, it was therapy. But more broadly, it's a dose of introspection, an ability to look inward, and to shift focus from others' behavior to our own. If hypocrisy in American political life is, in part, a symptom of inadequate introspection, if our fear that we can't control ourselves leads to an unconscious effort to control others, we'll continue to reach for a magnifying glass when what we really need is a mirror.

Republicans have no monopoly on hypocrisy. Most of us are guilty, at one time or another, of vocally denouncing something we ourselves have done, of shifting focus away from our own foibles by hoisting them onto others.

...

-Nathaniel Frank

Notice that I included that last paragraph to make the point that we all are hypocritical about something; I know I am. ... unless, of course, "it depends on what the meaning of 'is' is."

Check Mate.

Ari Gold "Wave of You"

A friend tipped me off to this video... makes me want to go out and dance!


In homage to the work of Herb Ritts (1952-2002)

November “…eye of the beholder”

I know; I’ve been a little remiss in updating the “…eye of the beholder” threads. I’ll do my best to get November up this weekend.

Have patience young grasshopper.

Health & Fitness: The Road to 40 (Week 5)

The official count? TWENTY FOUR.

Yes, that’s right; I missed a day at the gym this week. Before you condemn me to hell, hear me out. I had an early morning meeting on Wednesday so instead of sitting in the gym thrusting weights over my head; I was sitting in a chair trying to keep my head from falling like dead weight.

My heart was in the right place though; I brought clothes so that I might hit the gym after work. Unfortunately, I was also fighting a cold and was quite worn out to the point that I went home sick in the afternoon.

On to week six.