cyberspace rant to a Ron Paul lover

my response to a cyber-dude who was claiming a conspiracy in the media and polling companies with regards to Ron Paul not being more popular, and ahead in polls. his argument is that on twitter he is BLOWIN' UP! - sj

"I appreciate and can relate to your passion, here, but a couple of quick things worth noting: 1) twitter is media. twitter is an awesome new medium and platform, doing things many other standard tv, print, and other entities cannot do. 2) Ron Paul uses that medium, and dozens of other mediums to get his message out. 3) retweets and mentions on twitter are incomparable to polling results. they have nothing to do with it. Most polls are conducted on the telephone. So the results you're seeing are coming from those calls. THEN, there are results you're seeing on twitter. Apples/Oranges. 4) There are PLENTY of unbiased polling entities in operation now, and there are many others that have some bias, for sure, but a) they are consistent, and b) it doesn't matter, because there are polling analyses that AVERAGE the wide spectrum of all of them! 5) Ron Paul would be more popular if some of his policies didn't suck ballz. His anti-gun control, anti-gay/lesbian marriage, being against a woman's right to choose, anti-civil rights stance, his anti universal healthcare, anti-public education, anti- EPA, are just some of his idiotic and anti-american views, thoughts and policies (not to mention, why he's a REPUBLICAN). Even his "states-rights" argument is utter bullshit, as most of those issues I mentioned shouldn't even be debated with that possibility in mind. 6) I have plenty I can argue is wrong with him, and I'll ALSO argue he is racist. If you've ACTUALLY read the Ron Paul Newsletters, you would be amazed at the litany of racist content and made up lies about african-americans (and other people) in them. And they were HIS newsletters. The fact that he plays the moron when pressed on this ("der... welp.. I never read 'em!") only makes him as much of an idiot as any other lying politician. 7) the many different media entities and mediums are HELPING Ron Paul's popularity; not hurting it. If not for them, he'd be just another crazy old loon from Texas, with a few good ideas, and dozens of terrible ones. Fuck Ron Paul"

Thoughts On Not Being Gay

great thought here, from a person named Paul, I've never met; I completely agree. Perhaps we'll see more of him on cx3 blog... - sj

Thoughts On Not Being Gay
by: Paul Lubaczewski

I spend alot of time and effort on gay rights,and Im straight. Why? Because I dont care.

What do I mean?

I dont want to care. Frankly, I dont like to picture any of my friends knocking boots, regardless of the boots they care to knock.
And its not fair that my gay friends are pushed into a situation where they constantly feel the need to defend themselves for their own sexuality; just the basic them of who they are. They get so drawn in to a corner, that being gay becomes their identity, because they have to mentally protect themselves against the backlash they know is coming.

We can do better then that. We can and should reach a level of tolerance where we really dont give a flying fuck about what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom.

So as long as I have gay friends, and as long as society paints them in to a corner and tries to keep them there, I'll fight for them.
When society lets them serve in the military and the board rooms, and nobody cares one way or the other, then I'll put down my sword.

Until then, its on.

Miss USA and the "B" Word

by Emma Ruby-Sachs - Huffington Post

In the Miss USA contest, Perez Hilton, celebrity blogger extraordinaire, asked Miss California what she thought about gay marriage. Her answer, supporting "opposite marriage," earned her both cheers and boos from the crowd and likely cost her the Miss USA crown.

It also spurred a video response from Hilton calling Miss California a dumb b****.

Hilton apologized for using the b-word, then retracted his apology and now even the BBC is covering the newest tensions surrounding gay marriage in America.

But no one is talking about the b-word that should be used to describe Miss California: bigot.

A bigot is one who is (according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary) "obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices ; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance."

To take a state institution like marriage and quarantine it from same-sex couples despite the complete lack of evidence that such a restriction is rational or in the best interests of the citizens of the state is intolerance.

The basis for the marriage restriction that many put forward (although Miss America didn't even have the wherewithal to go this far) is that gay marriage constitutes a threat to religious freedom. However, no equal rights initiative has contemplated ordering religious institutions to recognize same-sex couples.

Unfortunately, Miss America is not the only bigot in America's public life.

We could list a large number of Republicans, Rudy Giuliani for one, and a number of Democrats.

Even President Obama holds the intolerant and bigoted view that marriage should be reserved for a man and a woman. Sure, he couches it with talk of equal rights under the law, but has, so far stood behind civil unions as an alternative to marriage - a plan that would create the same kind of separate but equal legal scheme rejected by Brown v. Board of Education.

Miss California, like many who share her take on the marriage issue, was careful to talk about her "opinion" and "beliefs" and the way she was raised as if this excused her intolerance. Barack Obama talks about tradition and belief as well in defense of his own position.

But the fight for equality is not just an exercise in name-calling. And it is not a polite exchange between friends about what to eat for dinner. There is no room for preference or belief when it comes to legally enforceable discrimination that is imposed on the entire population

The unequal treatment of LGBT Americans creates real casualties and ongoing disastrous effects for many citizens. We don't want to re-insert Perez Hilton's chosen b-word back into accepted public discourse, but we must begin to call the opposition to equality what it is: bigotry.

Miss California Is Just Like Our Prez Except for the Huge Dangling Things

I've been wondering the same exact thing that Ron Kuby (see his take, below) and many others have, since I first heard Obama's belief that gays should not be able to marry, way back when. Then during the primary season, I figured it was just lip service, to win over the "undecideds" and "moderates" (what a fickle and annoying sub-sect they are, their hugely important votes in national elections notwithstanding), and to not upset the republicans/conservatives out there, who didn't want to vote republican, but live with the concern/fear, that if they voted for a pro-gay marriage candidate, they wouldn't get into heaven. Alas, it appears Obama truly is against gays marrying and feels the same way that Miss California and tens of millions of republicans/conservatives throughout America feel. Needless to say, I hope he changes him mind. And I hope that the states, one-by-one, will continue to move in the direction they are, legally recognizing marriage as a right for gays and lesbians everywhere. There is no reason not to. - sj

By Ron Kuby
In case our audience wasn't paying attention to the Miss USA contest (I only watch because it is my duty to do show preparation), Miss California was a shoo-in to take the crown until she drew Perez Hilton as her questioner in the section of the contest that determines the candidate's thoughtfulness on the issues facing our world.

Usually it is a question about AIDS (bad), world peace (good), or what you can do to make people happy (having sex with many, many people, while true, is not a winning answer. Usually they go with education). Hilton, however, asked her whether other states should follow the lead of the four that permit gay marriage, why or why not?

Miss California (aka Carrie Prejean) stated that she believed marriage to be between a man and a woman, that is how she was raised.

She also managed to say that we live in a country where people of the same sex are free to marry (except in 46 states), and, in a subsequent interview, inadvertently outed her sister, who is in the U.S. Air Force.

Howls of protests greeted her answer. Perez Hilton referred to her as a "bitch." Classy. The head of the Miss California contest expressed his sadness. And Miss North Carolina, who was clearly in second place, jumped ahead with her thoughtful exposition on corporate bailouts (spoiler alert--she opposes them).

I would love to berate this blonde with the big, uh, earrings (huge dangling things). But support for marriage equality is not a qualification for entry into the Miss USA pageant. It seems somewhat unfair to ask a question regarding a person's opinion, when there is only one right answer.

More to the point, President Barack Obama has said precisely the same thing, using almost exactly the same words and exactly the same justification. Why are we so pissed that a beauty queen does not accept same sex marriage, when our president doesn't either?