Repost: "Separate and Equal."

It's finals week and I'm cramming like WHOA, but something made me think of this post from a year-and-a-half ago, and I wanted to re-share it with all of you. Enjoy.

(Originally written on November 6th, 2008 after Proposition 8 passed in California)

This is a contract between Gay America and Christian America.

Since I am gay and thus a second-class American citizen, I have a proposal. After watching the "love of Christ" in California with the hateful, anti-family, anti-American, bigoted, fear-mongering, deceptive and downright evil Proposition 8, I'll give in--fine. You win. I am just fine being a second-class citizen. I will never ask to be viewed as "equal" in the eyes of the states. I will never fight for my right to marry, or to adopt children, or to serve in the military. I will make my life completely separate from yours.

But I want you to stop living off of the fruits of my labor.

Since you value-voting Christians tell me that I am dirty heathen undeserving of the right to a happy marriage and children of my own, I'm going to stop paying for your schools. I'll do the math and figure out how much Franklin County gives to our schools here, and I'll be deducting that from my taxes. Since roughly 30 million Americans are gay, I doubt the schools will notice the few billion dollars they lose.

Now I work in a restaurant, so if you happen to be in my station, let's work something out from here--don't tip me, because you won't be getting service from me. I will not answer questions about the menu. I will not greet your table. You can get your own drinks. The computer system is pretty easy to navigate, so once you're ready to order just walk up and start punching the items in. (Don't make a mistake, though! You'll have to pay for that if you do.) And there are a few soda machines throughout the restaurant, so you should be fine topping off your own Diet Coke.

When your son knocks on my door and asks me to donate for new uniforms for the basketball team, I hope you'll be prepared to watch the door slam in his face. And when your little Girl Scout tries to sell me cookies, imagine her running back to you crying saying, "He said he won't buy cookies because you hate him!"

Oh, you best believe I won't be buying from them.

Also, as part of this contract, you'll never be able to see a Broadway Show again. Sorry. The symphony is out the window, too. You cannot go to The Ballet, you cannot see Cats for your anniversary again, and you will never be able to even play the Wicked CD in your car. Never. Because, I hope you know, these joys that you delight in are the fruit of gay Americans, and since you do not want to believe those kind of dirty people exist, we'll work it out for you. I'll round us all up and put us on an Island.

We'll call in Manhattan.

You cannot read David Sedaris, Anne Rice, Gregory McGuire, Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Christopher Rice, Truman Capote, Oscar Wilde or Walt Whitman. You cannot listen to Tchaikovsky, N'Sync, Clay Aiken, The Village People, Luther Vandross, Melissa Etheridge, or Jean Baptiste Lully. And I'm sure Cher and Madonna will make it so you can't listen to their music, either.

Also, do you remember the fundamental Keynes Economic Theory? A major foundation of the American economy? You'll have to give that back, too, since he was a big old fag.

You cannot watch Will and Grace, The Simpsons, Ugly Betty, South Park, Sex and the City, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Sordid Lives, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Brothers & Sisters, Six Feet Under, Ellen, Dawson's Creek or The View. In fact, you might as well turn off your television and never watch it again, since the gays pretty much run the media too.

And your children can never read Harry Potter, since Dumbledore is gay too.

When you buy your new big house in the suburbs and you're looking for the best interior designers, your quest is going to be awfully long. When you're sick and the Doctor tells you, "so sorry, not you,", it's going to be a painful extra few hours sitting in the waiting room. And if war ever comes to this country, I hope you know, and that your children know, that I will do nothing to help you. I won't sign up to serve and protect you. I won't even shed a tear.

You win. We will leave you alone. Gay America will disappear. This is what you wanted.

Or is it?

How Would You Go?

So if you were gonna kill yourself, how would you do it? Shoot yourself in the head? Swallow a bottle of gin and bottle of pills? Jump off a bridge?

It's an absurd question, one that I have never really wanted to ponder. But, it's worth at least considering--if you wanted to take control of reality and really off yourself, what would be the best way?

Well, by its popularity, it seems the best way is quite easy--jump off The Golden Gate Bridge! More than 1200 people have taken that long plunge, and this ridiculous map right here lays out the history of suicides:


(Click to embiggen)

I think if I were to pull the carpet on my life, I'd want something absolutely unheard of. I'd wanna make the news. Unless I was jet-skiing with an infant driving the boat or going out in a bunny costume in front school children, I just wouldn't be satisfied. But I think that's just how I live my life. Pretty ridiculous.

California High-Speed Rail.

This would be the first of its kind in America. Now, not to squash any hopes here, but look at High-Speed Rail in Europe. It's far superior.


Click Image to Enlage.

One day I'd love to see America like this. Is it likely? Probably not. But it still can't hurt to hope.

(Via Trains for America and Changing World)

Protest The H8.

This Saturday, all over the nation, in every major city in America, there will be a protest held against the passing of Proposition 8. This is your chance to stand publicly amongst your community (even if you're not gay! You support us, you're family!). This is your time to tell Ohio that you are not ok with an entire class of Americans standing as separate and still not equal. This is an incredible time to be gay in America.

I encouraged everyone in the Columbus region to come to City Hall on Saturday at 1:30 to protest. The address is 90 West Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215. The permit has been approved and the rally is set to go.

Similar protests will be going on in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton and Youngstown. If you're not in Ohio, click the very first link in this post and find where your city is protesting.

Remember all those ads saying, "Psst! Do Something."? Here's your chance.

A Great Day For Transportation!

Alright duckies, it's getting late and I don't have time to separate these into different posts...so here you go, all at once!

High-Speed Rail Coming to California!

Steel-Rail Transit Coming to Hawaii!

Passenger Rail Gains Favor in Congress!

A great day for transportation, indeed.

Pride and Prejudice.

Years. I've literally been waiting for this day for years. This is the moment I have dreamed of. I've counted down to it. Waited with alacrity for it. I knew that the culmination of the past 19 months would come down to one day, and it's here at last. I've been confident that once this day hits, real change would finally come to America. Real change has finally made me free.

Oh, I'm not talking about Barack Obama winning the election--I'm talking about the day when I finally stop receiving text messages from him! Gosh, on election day alone I received four phone calls and five text messages! You Obamaphiles are crazy! Don't you have jobs? Families? Lives?

As happy as I am that our country has turned in a new and promising direction, I'm so much more elated to know this campaign is over. Now I won't have to read FiveThirtyEight three times a day. I'll no longer have to dig through the babbling at TalkLeft. No more chewing on the pieces at The Daily Kos. I'll be able to forgo the speculation of Prop 8, the Minnesota Senate Race and all of the swing states in the Presidential Election. And, lordy, I thankfully won't have to ever hear about Sarah Palin again! (Or Elizabeth Dole either!)

Luckily I don't live like some other bloggers. I can imagine Pam Spaulding and Joe.My.God with piles of laundry, heaps of trash and a stack of unopened and unpaid bills. I wonder how many unreturned phone calls they'll have to start dialing. "Yes, Mom, it's me. I know it's been 19 months, but I've been busy. Yes, real busy."

I'm sure they'll enjoy this far more than I will.

But, as just an everyday regular citizen and part-time blogger, I'm happy to know it's official. I can kick back my feet and say, "I love the USA!" We won't have weeks of fighting for a recount nor will we have a news media pointing fingers and screaming "Voter Fraud!". Our nation has elected Barack Obama to lead us, and what a fantastic declaration that is, what a monumental proclamation! From everyday henceforth, no person can ever say they have a limit. When a son of a goat herder can become the President of the greatest country in the world, Democracy can pause to take a deep breathe and say, "We are truly free at last".

But are we? For you, probably. For me, not really. On the same great day when Americans sent a message and said 'no' to racial inequality, they also sent another message--Americans are just fine with gays and lesbians not being equal.

The saddest part of Proposition 8 passing is that the voters made the decision to take away an existing right. The wording was specific--it asked voters if they want to take away gays right to marry, and they said yes. Voters also said yes in Florida. They also said yes in Arkansas, and they also said yes in Arizona. Just as they have said it in Ohio, Minnesota, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Idaho, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, Alaska, Tennessee, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, South Carolina, Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Missouri...and this list isn't complete.

My step-father served in the military, and yet I will never have this opportunity because I am gay. My mother has been happily married for nearly 20 years now and yet I will never have the same chance because I am gay. In times of crisis I can't even sign up to give blood to help my fellow Americans. This is the great country, the one I want to say I love? This is the land of the free, the country of opportunity?

Sure, Barack Obama's election shows how far country has come, but it also says how far it has yet to go. And after being told yet again, "You're not wanted", I'm just not sure if I can continue to say, "But I want you". I hope the best for America and her battle for change. But, after taking the final blow and yet again hearing that I am not wanted in the country, I'm not positive that I want to stay.

To clarify, of course I will still go to University of Minnesota. But once I graduate, if the country's message has not changed...I will say goodbye to The United States of America. Mark my words. I refuse to live in a country that does not believe in its own citizens. I refuse to be in a country where its population will grossly abuse a right and yet proudly remove it from an entire class of people. And I refuse to pledge my allegiance to a flag that won't even acknowledge my existence.

Barack Obama, congratulations. I am so proud of you. I just wish I was proud of my country.

Capitalism Wins Again!

Remember that thing called "The Space Race"? Although not everyone believes we won it, in the minds of the sane we did. And what a feat that was! Our country made it to the moon first. Americans were the triumphant innovators of the day! We sure showed those nasty Communists that Capitalism always wins! Only problem is Russia might beat us at something else, something far more important--transportation here on Earth.

Spain to help build Russian railways.
Russian Railways is seeking Spanish expertise in a multi-billion dollar investment project. Spain is ready to help build high-speed railways in mountainous areas and supply trains with an automatic gauge changing system.

Welcomed by the King of Spain and the country’s top officials, the head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, went to Madrid as an old friend and a trusted partner.

Russian Railways has a multi-billion dollar investment plan for rail infrastructure - a vital project in times of economic turmoil, according to Yakunin.

“The problem is not only the liquidity of banks, but also the support of the demand – the market, the real economy. So, because of that, we consider it is absolutely essential to keep the infrastructural investment programmes in tact,” he says. Russian authorities are considering co-operation with Spain’s INECO to build a high speed railway that will carry passengers from Moscow to Sochi in less than 24 hours.

As for international cargo, even high-speed trains have to cope with a variation of track gauge among different countries. Spain has a solution - Talgo carriages that can alter the gauge on the go.Mario Oria, Talgo’s export and marketing manager says: “We are hoping that the Russian market becomes the biggest in that share. Ideally, we’d be talking about 20-30 % of overall sales.”

Talgo’s trains can boost cargo volumes from Russia to the EU countries and significantly cut delivery times. Russia has already finished testing the Talgo system and is likely to buy the first ten trains, worth 15 million euros each, as soon as 2011.

Wow, if Moscow gets High-Speed Rail before Los Angeles or San Francisco, I think Ronald Reagan will dig himself out of his grave and begin writing an apology to the American people. (As if he shouldn't already do that, but that's another story...)

(Via Trains for America)

"Stop Traffic, Stop Development?"

Nate Berg over at Planetizen gives us a look into how residents of Santa Monica, California are responding to traffic congestion. Here's just a snip of the fantastic article.

Rising frustration over Santa Monica's congestion has led a group of citizens to qualify a ballot initiative for the November general election that would fight what they argue is the root of the problem: commercial development. The bill would cap the amount of commercial development allowed per year in the city at 75,000 square feet for the next 15 years. This is the equivalent of about two acres, or like building a new supermarket and a handful of fast food restaurants. This is a significant cut for a city that sees an average of 160,000 square feet of commercial development each year.

The proposal is on the Santa Monica ballot as Measure T (as in "Traffic"), but around town and throughout metropolitan L.A., the development cap is known as RIFT. The acronym is especially apt, as the proposal has caused a major divide amongst residents, officials and developers. It stands for Residents Initiative to Fight Traffic, and its authors assert that the city needs to more actively prevent traffic from getting even worse. Opponents argue that the name itself highlights the proposal's two main problems: one, it's a residents initiative, and two, it won't fight traffic.

Traffic clogs 4th Street in Santa Monica on a typical day.

The prospect of counteracting the city's gnarling traffic was enough to entice more than 10,000 residents' signatures, nearly double what was needed to qualify RIFT for the election. Authors of the bill say this overwhelming support underscores the need for action – action they're not seeing from local government.

"We don't believe that this commercial development serves the residents," says Ted Winterer, a co-author of RIFT and a candidate for Santa Monica City Council. "It begins to just become an engine for revenue growth." And more jobs. And more traffic.

It just makes my day when I hear Columbusites complain about traffic. "Why, I had to sit on that highway for fifteen minutes. It was insane!" While I understand city traffic always sucks, compared to the congestion in Chicago, Miami, Washington and LA, Columbus traffic is essentially non-existent. In fact, the highways here should be praised that when big events such as "Red, White and Boom" (which usually attracts 500,000 people) come, the events go off so smoothly. In my opinion, it's one of Columbus' finer attributes, its ability to orchestrate huge downtown events with stellar efficiency.

Why Google Owns Teh World.

Google is amazing. If I could, I'd start a Google church. Every Sunday we would sing songs to Google's glory, hand over 10% of our earnings so others can hear the good news and then learn we'd new wonders about what Google can do for us.

Ok, maybe that's a bad idea. But Google does have plenty of good ideas, including the "define" option! Did you know about this? If you're ever confused about the correct use of a word (affect/effect) or its actual definition (anfracturous/perennial), just load up Google and type "define:affect". Suddenly, the definition of the word will come up, and in many cases a sentence using the word will accompany it. It's amazing!

To make it just over the top, it even does it for Spanish. Just type "define:cumpleanos" and you'll see! (Quotation marks not necessary in either language).

Let's just go ahead and crown Google King of Teh World.

Cats Say "No" To Prop 8!

God Punishes Heathens in California for Homo Marriages.

Come on, God! Just a 5.4 Earthquake? I expected better retribution coming from you! Those heathens in California need to know what you think about their gay marriages. Send them a Katrina for Christ's sake! Seriously God, the only way the lie-berals will know of your goodness is if you go and kill off every one of them! Only then will they see just how loving you are.



God is love!