The Quotable Queer

President George W. Bush decided to have his Presidential Address on June 28th, 2005 at Fort Bragg. A safe place while in front of troops to say anything . . . or rather nothing new. The same tired reliance on the memories of the trauma of September 11th, 2001 is so overused at this point.

The fact is there was no connection to 9/11 in Iraq before the invasion . . . and the only connection to terrorism was after the fall of Saddam because we couldn’t secure the borders. The lesson of this Administration is clear . . . there is none.

And you can Quote me on that. The Quotable Queer

As a month of Pride festivals comes to a close, the issue of ultimate acceptance has began to be the object of numerous conversations of GBLT people. It is a common theme that appears throughout the lives of most people in the gay community. For that matter most minority groups struggle with majority acceptance; it is not just a gay issue.

Acceptance is an idea; it is not something concrete nor constant that you know you absolutely have. Therefore, if you ask for acceptance from the community-at-large you will nearly always be disappointed with the outcomes.

Take, for instance, the civil rights fight of the African-American community. Their fight very much continues today with regards to public opinion, although it has improved greatly over the years. Much has been accomplished for black Americans, with civil rights laws being enacted to protect them, at least legally, from outright discrimination. However, there is still much progress to be made.

The minute a person asks for acceptance, it allows for open non-acceptance. No matter what, that non-acceptance will be present. It is just critical to not give this bigotry an open door for declaring their views and rallying their troops.

Demanding equality, demanding civil rights should be the preferred method. Equality and civil rights are much more concrete and ultimately attainable than the fight for acceptance will ever be. Concentrating efforts in that way will yield much more positive results ultimately.

And you can Quote me on that. The Quotable Queer

To draw the line wherever private activity affects the demand for market goods is to draw no line at all, and to declare everything economic. We have already rejected the result that would follow — a federal police power.
– Justice O’Connor, Chief Justice Rhenquist and Justice Thomas in Dissenting Opinion, Gonzales v. Raich, case no. 03-1454

In a 6-3 vote against the medicinal use of marijuana, The Supreme Court has decided to trample state rights in favor of a federal police state. The majority opinion uses the economic interstate impact of intrastate marijuana use to make its case. According to the U.S. Constitution, this interstate impact falls under the commerce authority of the Congress.

As can be read in the dissenting opinion, this decision negatively impacts the foundation of this country through broadening federal powers and creating an atmosphere that is hostile to innovative, experimental state laws as well as to the very patients in need of medicinal marijuana to live a fuller, more complete life.

This decision, dissented by the only true Republican conservatives on the bench, underscores the fundamental shift that has been made by the national Republican party. The Republican Party has been ousted and replaced with the religious right at its helm. There are always exception to the rule, but far and wide the religious right has gained far too much power. It has warped Republican politics from the old, more understandable view of increased state rights towards the federal government dictating everything down to the local level.

In the longterm this narrow view of the Republican philosophy will ultimately be to the religious right’s demise. They will lose far much more than the ability to use medicinal marijuana to ease their own pain; they will simply lose.

And you can Quote me on that. The Quotable Queer