Posts Tagged ‘Barack Obama’

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Positively 4th Street

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

What a day, again.

Thanks to Rand for upgrading Word Press and enabling me to finally post some pics. But first, last night.

Last night was the first enjoyable night I’ve had in a while, thanks to Juan. It was great having him stop by last night. Just good to have someone here to talk to and laugh with.

He insisted on watching Summer Heights High on HBO which I had written off after watching the first episode. With Juan’s prodding we watched episodes 2 and 3 and it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

A begrudging laugh emanated from my lips which is more than what happened the first time around. I needed the company and I needed a laugh and Juan delivered on both counts.

Bill phoned midway through a story I was telling about Zed which definitely ruined the flow of the story. Still it was good to know that Bill was eating soup. He’s been feeling rather lethargic lately and I told him to eat more fruit, some salads, maybe even have some meat.

It could be the change in temperature, one day it’s in the 60’s, the next day it’s in the 20’s. Or it could just be the change of seasons. Whatever, he was eating soup.

Juan didn’t seem to notice the break in the flow, so entranced he is with his magic phone. Juan left and I was in bed a little after midnight which made waking up this morning a bit of a chore.

Still I was in the office by 8:30. The day was somewhat busy. There was the usual aggravation, of course from Tom Chin. I called him at lunch and asked about some papers that a messenger was picking up, I had them but wasn’t sure if they were all there.

They were there and he asked if anyone had ever called me a Space Cadet before. That’s what I get for making sure things are running correctly and checking in.

As aggravating as that was, what really aggravated me was the fact that the author of the Purpose Driven Life, the resident ‘pastor’ of one of those box store, or mega-churches, someone who equates same sex marriage to pedophilia and incest will be saying those magic words, the invocation, at Barack Obama’s inauguration.

I can’t help but feel disgust and betrayal at this. I had volunteered my time and donated money (that I probably shouldn’t have) to the Obama campaign and his people pick someone like that to say his hocus pocus.

I can tell you that the LGBT community is up in arms on this issue. Whatever idea or plan I may have had for attending the inauguration is over.

Like Clinton, Obama actively courted the gay vote and gay money which he received in kind. And like Clinton, he soon threw the LGBT community under the bus.

Is Rick Warren, truly the only clergy in the United States to deliver the magic words? Could there be no one else? Or are they just going for the marquee name of Rick Warren who has written best sellers?

Clinton waited until he was in office to throw LGBT people under the bus, Obama didn’t even wait for that. The bloom, it is now off the rose.

I think it really is a shame and I did not expect to be feeling such disgust at this charlatan pick of Rick Warren, a real scumbag. I guess betrayal is the ‘proper’ word.

Just spent the past half hour trying to log into Word Press. This almost went out as individual emails.

Thanks to Jeremy at GoodAsYou.com and Jim Burroway at BoxTurtleBulletin.com (both listed in the blogroll on the right side of this blog) for the info on the heinous choice of Rick Warren.

Both of these blogs are worth looking at for more info on this matter.

This is one of those rare occasions where I use a song title that I’ve used previously. It seemed most apt.

http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/12/mcclurkin-20.html?cid=142975806#comments

http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2008/12/17/7428

written an hour or so later:
I can get so fired up. I know, it’s politics. Still the Rev. Peter Gomes from Harvard would have been a MUCH better choice. I saw him on television a while ago and found him to be so intelligent and well spoken and open minded. It would have been a perfect fit! He has done the invocations for Reagan and Bush I, and he’s a celibate gay man.

Everyone wins! But Nooooooooo…..

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Posted in Cool Cold Reality, Interesting Things as of Late | 3 Comments »

Happenstance

Friday, November 7th, 2008

I suppose it’s true, no good deed goes unpunished. Sometimes when I walk down 41st Street, I give a homeless guy some change. He calls me soldier, usually compliments me on what I’m wearing and comments on my smoking a cigar. He seems like a nice guy and I always try to give him some change when I can. This happens after work most nights.

Today work wasn’t busy at all and I tried to leave at 3:00 with Vivek’s permission. He was busy since he’s going to India tomorrow and coming back on Tuesday. But things being what they are, I didn’t leave at 3:00. I tried to but as I was headed out the door I heard my phone ring.

So I run to my desk and my jacket gets caught on the edge of the cubicle, tearing off a button off my suit jacket. No problem, even though I can’t sew to save my life I scooped up the button and put it in my pocket.

The phone call was from this crazy psycho Vietnamese chick who has been calling me most every day since May 2007. I’ll come into work and find my voice mailbox would be filled with messages in Vietnamese of this chick screaming, crying and mumbling.

Today when I answered the phone she was crying in English, which she does speak on occasion, ‘what did you do to my computer?’ I told her that I didn’t know anything about her computer and that she was a stupid bitch.

Then I headed out the door, enjoying a Padron and walking across town. Bought a refrigerator magnet of Barack Obama outside of Grand Central Station and headed to the bus terminal. As I approached the homeless guy I reached into my pocket and gave him almost a dollar in change. Make that almost a dollar, plus a button.

I didn’t realize that I gave him the button until I got into the bus terminal. I figured I’ll take the suit to the dry cleaners and have them sew a new button on. I go to the ‘new’ dry cleaner around the block, they do the cleaning on premises and they do it green, meaning environmentally safe.

I tell the gent behind the counter about the button and he looks at me and asks if I have an extra one. I told him if I had an extra one I would have brought it. I also told him it doesn’t have to be the same button, just the same size. He tells me he couldn’t do it.

I wind up walking to another dry cleaner around the block and give the same spiel. This gent tells me that he could probably match the size but it wouldn’t be the same. I tell him to just take off the other two buttons and sew three new ones which is what I could have told the first guy.

I also could have turned around and went back to the homeless guy and asked him to check his cup for a button but since it was a Friday and I was just about 100 yards from my bus I obviously decided not to. Not the end of the world after all.

Just heard from a mutual friend of mine and Pedro’s, Excer. Excer called Pedro to find out what would be going on for tomorrow, but it turns out Pedro is still sick so no Otisville this weekend. Excer mentioned next weekend but I won’t be able to go then since I’m taking Juan to see Girl Talk next Saturday for his birthday.

I am having dinner with Excer tomorrow night instead and I’ll tell him then, unless he reads this first but I find that doubtful.

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Posted in Interesting Things as of Late, Wonderful World Beautiful People | 3 Comments »

Viva La Vida

Thursday, November 6th, 2008


Well it’s 75 days until Barack Obama’s inauguration. I don’t think I’ll be in Washington DC. I think I’ll stay here, but who knows? Come January I might have free time on my hands the way this economy keeps going south. Not something that I want believe me.

Last night was a quiet night at home, Bill cleaning his mother’s apartment and throwing out his father’s things. He came home after I went to bed. He’s doing the same tonight and may stay there which means I have to make my own damn coffee. Things are back to normal I guess, but the bloom is still on the Obama rose.

Last night was O & RM. I’m slowly weaning myself off the political news, but I’ll still watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Interesting to see Colin Powell getting teary talking about Obama’s election and even more interesting to see Condoleezza Rice express pride as an African American in regards to Obama’s success.

Definitely off the republican message. Still not too fond of her and have a low, grudging respect for Powell.

Now that Casey works downtown there is no one to talk to on the bus ride into the city which means I can tear through the New Yorker. I’m only a week behind.

Work has been busy. New Sub-tenants moving in and so far they aren’t the big pain in the ass that I anticipated. Tom Chin has been moved to another office which he is sharing with Vivek and my cubicle is going to be dismantled for the new inhabitants which means I will be in a different cube. That should be fun. Whether or not I wrote that facetiously remains to be seen.

So today is Thursday and tomorrow is Friday. It was a fast week. I think the excitement of the election helped speed things along. I might go up to Otisville on Saturday and hang out with Pedro but that depends on how he is feeling since he too has the bug.

I can’t be blamed for his condition. I blame the crooks at Rikers that he comes into contact with. It would be nice to get out of town, if only for 12 hours. His girlfriend Connie is looking forward to it. She likes to cook for Pedro’s friends and she’s pretty good at it.

Tonight promises to be a quiet night and tomorrow just might be another short Friday, me leaving the office at 3:00 is quite nice. I have to say that I really enjoy wearing a suit and tie to work. It’s so much easier and makes me feel better about myself.

A boost to my self-esteem which is always welcome. Even though Friday’s are generally casual day I wear a suit and tie. Yesterday I was busy and Vivek warned me to dress casual for the work at hand, so that meant I wore some nice trousers and a collared shirt which was casual for me yet dressed up for Vivek.

Whatever works I guess.

Sorry about the late posting but my computer/wireless connection has been quite unruly!

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The Promised Land

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Oh my. It happened. History was made last night and I personally am quite glad, and proud to have been able to help with the campaign by volunteering my time and donating some money. This battle was won, the California battle, the No on Prop h8 was lost. But that’s not over yet.

Nice to see that poverty, homelessness and war has been taken care of so that the mormons and the knights of columbus were able to contribute millions of dollars (25 Million and up they say) to ensure that discrimination will be written into the California constitution and enabling thousands of citizens to be deprived of their rights.

So close those catholic schools, forget about feeding the homeless and while they’re at it, forget the basic principles, the very tenets of your faith because you just know that their lord and savior wouldn’t side with the christianists on this vile, hateful issue.

And as far as the mormons go, well 19th century religions lend themselves to an air of ridiculousness and the church of latter day neck bones are at the top of the list. And the same goes for Arizona, Florida and good old Arkansas denying gay people to adopt children that no one else bloody wants.

Let those children suffer rather than have some one help them and love them. Let them fester in loneliness and feelings of not being wanted, all in the name of religion and fear, amen.

Despite that bitter taste in my mouth throughout the day I was overcome, getting choked up and tears welling in my eyes when I think of what was accomplished by Barack Obama. I don’t know if a lot of people that aren’t of color recognize the shit black people have gone through for hundreds of years.

Slavery, the erasing of identities, the separation of families, fighting for the freedom of Europe and the Pacific and coming home to find that they were still second class citizens, being attacked by police dogs and fire hoses for sitting at a lunch counter or refusing to sit at the back of the bus or trying to enroll in schools or trying to vote, the separate but ‘equal’ Jim Crow laws and being told by institutions that they just weren’t as good as white people.

Systematically told this every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, year, decade and century. I was told that I was worthless and no good and an idiot for the first 20 years of my life and that was from my father. I still wear those scars and carry that baggage and my father was just one man.

Imagine a government, a society telling you this over and over for years and years. It will fuck you up. If it’s not easy for me to ‘shake off’ it certainly wouldn’t be easy for a large segment of society.

Barack Obama being elected to the highest office in the land is a remarkable achievement and an historical event and I was glad to witness it with my partner Bill and my dear friend Juan who voted in his first election and hit a home run. My nephew Earl and my niece Corinne also hit home runs voting in their first election and I am proud of all of them

Last night was a bit like New Years Eve, calling up my sister when it was announced that Barack Obama won the election. A few other phone calls, all with celebratory greetings of happiness and tears of joy and calls from friends and family telling me that they were speechless. It actually felt as momentous as New Years Eve 1999.

Last night as it was all unfolding I was fearful, before Bill came home and Juan came over. I turned on MSNBC and they were talking about McCain winning Indiana. I couldn’t believe it and started to feel that same despair I felt in 2004.

I turned it off and waited until Bill came home. Then it was watching the results with Bill and Juan bolstering my spirits. Even as Barack Obama won, I couldn’t believe it though I did. Slept like a rock going to bed at 1:00AM. It only made sense to me today, buying up the big three newspapers for this historical event. I think I’ll keep them under the stairs in the basement.

Letter from Nelson Mandela to the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama.

5 November 2008
Senator Barack Obama,
Chicago
Dear Senator Obama,
We join people in your country and around the world in congratulating you on becoming the President-Elect of the United States. Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place.

We note and applaud your commitment to supporting the cause of peace and security around the world. We trust that you will also make it the mission of your Presidency to combat the scourge of poverty and disease everywhere.

We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead. We are sure you will ultimately achieve your dream making the United States of America a full partner in a community of nations committed to peace and prosperity for all.
Sincerely,
N R Mandela
courtesy of the New York Times

“Mister I ain’t a boy, no- I’m a man and I believe in the Promised Land!”


Now give those girls a puppy!

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Posted in Interesting Things as of Late | 3 Comments »

Lapdance

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Today is the big day. No it’s not my birthday. But perhaps it’s the birth of a better nation than it has been for the past 8 years. Yes it’s election day. What I have been waiting for since last year. If you recall, I think it was August 2007 when I mentioned if it was intense then in 2007, how would it be in October 2008? Well we have our answer don’t we?

Surprisingly I’m not as angst ridden as I was in 2004. This one seems more like a sure thing. Of course having written that, superstitious me thinks, ‘oh no, I’ve jinxed Obama’. But then again I am an atheist and have no need for superstition but it’s there. Oh yes… it’s there.

Last night Bill was in Stuyvesant Town so he would be able to vote early. That’s where he’s registered you see. I slept well. Watched O & RM, and was looking forward to the escapism of Heroes, but to my surprise Heroes wasn’t on. Instead it was two hours of Saturday Night Live’s political sketches from as far back as Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford. Different times indeed.

I went to bed after the news and talking with Bill on the phone. Woke up and did my thing. I picked out my clothes the night before. Emphasis on blue, blue tie, blue braces, blue tnt otc socks, navy blue pinstriped suit and of course my blue Obama 08 button.

I didn’t wear the button at the polling place 50 yards from my door though. Didn’t know what to expect but found a line. Usually it takes about 5 minutes, today it took a little more than 20 minutes. At first they couldn’t find my name in the book, and I thought I’d have to get all Tim Robbins on their asses.

I pulled out my voter registration cards, I have 2 of them but eventually they found it. Actually they found it after I found it by reading upside down. Then I was in the queue for Ward 6 in Hoboken. Easy vote, column A except for freeholder Anthony ‘Stick’ Romano a creepy ex-cop from Hoboken. Also a Yes and a No on the public questions in that order.

Then it was a bus ride into the city. Got some looks at my Obama 08 button, nothing hostile and as far as I know, no comments, at least none that I heard as I was playing Funplex by the B-52′s on the iPod. It’s nerve wracking to listen to the news right now, basically they’re saying not to count out McRage yet, while just before they had reports from around the world mostly saying that they hope Obama wins.

All except for Israel. And who do they ask for an Israeli opinion, but an American ex-pat living in Israel. Don’t forget that 60 years ago Israel was created at the expense of the Palestinians who were living there for maybe a thousand years before. Nothing like outlawing and degrading the people that were there first. Hello Native Americans!

Work was quiet. Tom Chin still sick, so it was me and Vivek basically. Doing handiwork actually. Me all dressed up on the floor under a desk unscrewing pieces so desks can be taken apart and moved. That was ridiculous and tomorrow promises more of the same.

Vivek told me to dress casual since it’s bound to be dirty work. Bill is coming home tonight, and Juan is coming over to watch the results. So all is good, hopefully.

Hope you all went out and voted. It’s almost 7:00PM here in Hoboken so you have an hour left to hit the polls. GO OBAMA and best wishes to California against Prop h8 as well as Florida and Arizona. I guess there is enough love in the world so why not discriminate against people in love that are mostly the same yet slightly different?

Prove those bastards wrong!

Get out and VOTE!

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Bop Gun (Endangered Species)

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Back to the beat, back to the grind. That means it’s Monday. Yes yes I know, big deal. Last night was pretty quiet, I watched the Simpsons and True Blood and Entourage. The Treehouse of Horror was ok. The opening scene with Homer trying to vote for Obama several times and each time it was a vote for McCain before the machine ate Homer and left his carcass with an ‘I Voted’ sticker on his forehead.

After that I watched True Blood which was once again very good. Steven Root is playing a gay vampire that Suki’s brother and his girlfriend kidnapped so they could always get a fresh supply of V. Very sad scenes.

Also Vampire Bill is on trial for killing a vampire that was about to kill Suki and you know, vampires aren’t supposed to kill other vampires, so Vampire Bill is going on to vampire trial. Before he left he asked the bar owner Sam to keep an eye on Suki. Vampire Bill obviously knew something that some of us only had an idea about.

It turns out Sam can turn himself into a dog. The same dog that has been appearing from time to time. Entourage was pretty good, Jason Patrick was excellent playing an asshole, which is basically a send up of how he’s been portrayed in the press.

Bill came home after dealing with his family and he’s heart broken. He feels like he is at wit’s end, trying to take care of his mother while still maintaining his own life. She definitely cannot be left alone and needs supervision at all times.

Once again she almost burned a kitchen down, this time his cousin’s kitchen. And once again all I could do was listen and give him a hug and let him cry on my shoulder. We both slept quite soundly, Bill kissing me goodbye as he was out the door before the sun came up.

The sun wasn’t up when I left. I made a point to dress extra sharp since I was going to volunteer again at the Obama office after work. Work was quiet. Most everyone attended a luncheon put together by Greg Steven’s wife Lorraine on behalf of her foundation.

Then Greg and Lorraine are flying to Arizona for a few weeks so they both can get some rest and relaxation and also a few rounds of golf. Tom Chin was home, sick with the bug that I had. If it’s the same bug, Tom will be out for the rest of the week. I know he’s going to blame me for catching the bug, not the thousands of people he comes into contact with, riding Metro North to and from Connecticut every day.

I left the office around 4:15, enjoying a Padron and walking to the Path train so I could volunteer again. More phone calls to Kearny again. More messages left on voice mail and only one or two people who told me they were voting for McRage.

After about 90 minutes of calling, I headed home where I just cooked some pasta. Also picked up some coffee for the office, talked to nice guy Jeff. He’s playing bass and has a gig in a week or two in Jersey City. I’d go see him but he never told me where he was playing and lets get real. I’m going to Jersey City to see a band that I might not care for?

Obama’s grandmother passed away, it’s sad she didn’t get a chance to see her grandson on Election Day, perhaps winning the nation’s highest office. But I’m sure she was proud of all that he has accomplished so far. I know I am.

Barack Obama and his grandmother Madelyn Dunham are seen together in this photo from 1979.

Don’t forget to vote tomorrow. In New Jersey the polls are open from 6:00AM to 8:00PM. And do the smart thing, VOTE OBAMA! PLEASE! And NO on Prop h8 as well as similar measures across the country!

♫ and Happy Birthday to Juan!!! ♪

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Posted in Cool Cold Reality | 1 Comment »

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