okay
i gotta say
im just so bummed out about heath ledger
i found out in the middle of my art opening last night
and it was so staggering and sense-less
it reminded me of the way i felt when i got the news about john kennedy junior's death.
a great young man in his prime with a brilliant career and magical life ahead of him
a man who seemed to have it all
suddenly gone
they compared heath last night to james dean
and in some ways i can see it
some not
what i do see
is a talented young actor
who had made his mark
the father of a 2 year old
someone who seemed modest and kind
and who inspired others
suddenly
just gone
its sad
that's all there is to say
he was only 28
a time to start life not to finish it
martin luther king day is upon us
and it's a day that reminds us of two things
how far this country has come when it comes to racism
and how far we still have to go
my 10 year old god-daughter the great and adorable Z read a speech about doctor king
on the steps of city hall yesterday
those steps were her first step
towards a life that i believe will include much fighting against injustice
my god-daughter; half black, half white, part indian, part irish catholic
with a jewish lesbian god-mother and christian and moslem grand-parents.. might just be exactly the person this country needs as president 40 or 50 years from now
she's certainly a great young lady, growing greater every day
yes im proud of her
of course
and i have also learned a lot from her
thru her eyes.. less innocent with each on-coming year...
astonished to learn that there ever was such a thing as a lynching
her eyes
astonished to see that people can actually hurt each other
just because of the color of their skin
i'm used to it
like we all are
jaded
i'm not innocent to victim-hood
i know what it's like to be the only jew in a school
i know what it's like to be the only woman in a man's job
i know what it's like to be the only gay person (at least that admits it)
in a homophobic environment
and while i don't know what it feels like to be the victim of intolerance
based on the color of my skin
i do know what it feels like to be attacked because of who i choose to love (not that it's a choice) or how i choose to pray
it is the year 2008
we have a woman, a catholic and a black man
all running towards the presidency
the times oh
yes
they are a changing
but we still have a long way to go
and in remembering this great man tomorrow
i plan to think too
what act of peace
kindness
and strength
can i do in his honor
we've come a long way baby
but there's still miles of road ahead
ok i dont have anything against obama
except for that fact that he's only been in the senate for 2 years
and i don't think that's enough experience to get him elected
what i'm afraid of is this
if he were to become the democratic nominee
then we'd just be giving the white house back to the republicans
because they would use his lack of experience as a free ride to the white house
in a time whe the country is so sick of the bush agenda
that even republicans would vote democrat
id hate to see short-sighted-ness help the right wingers
sure a ton of americans are voting for obama because of race
and a ton are voting for him because they want a change
and a ton because hes the only candidate they dont hate
and then or course a ton because they like him
and as it turns out more then a few because they think he's cute
and a whole hunk of a ton because of Opra
but i worry
aside from his lack of experience the only other thing that bothers me about him
are his conservative values
i just dont want to see any more church in the white house
after 8 years of bush
i feel like im back in the spanish inquisition
were obama to become the democratic nominee
of course i would champion him
because this country needs to get out of the republican agenda
badly
while we still have a living soldier
and few pennies left
but my vote is still for hillary
i dont like everything she's done
she plays it safe too often
stays in the middle without taking a stand
as much as id like her to
notably on the subject of gay rights
but i think shes smart
shes got the experience both in the senate
and in the white house
and i think having bill in the white house
is an added bonus
i thinks shes strong enough
decent enough
and i think quite honestly
having a woman in office would be a nice change
and about change
it bothers me that when everyone talks about
a change they dont include hillary
because its not a change from the clinton years they are talking about really
but a change from the last 8 years
anyway
like i said i dont have much against obama
i just think he'd be one big ass christmas gift
to the folks who really truly dont want a change at all
what do you think
i had an interesting chat with some foreigners
the other night
after obama took iowa
the question was
is this country more ready to elect a person of color
then a person of well.. estrogen
you see for some time
i've thought that the dirty little secret of the u.s.
is that while civil rights continues to make strides
women's rights has stalled in the water
why
well partially because people don't think there are any more women's rights problems
the glass ceilings throughout corporate america and everywhere else
don't seem to get much interest
so long as they can't be proven
sexual harrassment was the only major women's right issue to hit the media
and its not really a women's issue entirely as men can be harrassed too
women's lib is like some kind of a 70's joke
hey dont get me wrong
its not that hillary is opressed
lord knows
shes super powerful
i mean shes a senator for crying out loud
and a wealthy one at that
and may still
be our next president
but the conversation
is interesting
just how far has the women's right movement really gone
and how much prejudice is still left in this country
about equal pay
equal power
equal respect
for women
its not pc to say racist words that i wont repeat here
but its common place to say bitch
i call myself one all the time
just food for thought here
what do you think?
is the last hurrah of human rights
about the sexes?
