Wednesday, May 30, 2007

11:26 PM - I'm tired of mentioning Brown vs. Board of Education

down with opp

I read an article about Michael Moore yesterday, and reading his Bush criticisms and the "optimism" for the future brought me back to my own feelings about the most prominent candidates for next year's presidential election. I suspect that by the time of the election, most voters will be seeing easily through the flawed Bushie argument that somehow ending the American invasion of Iraq is an explicit statement of support for "terrorists." The successful 2008 candidate will be one of many who advocate a withdrawal from Iraq, and this brings me tremendous peace of mind.

However.

The major candidates in 2008 leave me with a sad realization: The question is not "Will the oppression of queer people continue under the next administration?" but rather "What is the level of oppressiveness in the nearly-inevitable continuation of the oppression?" Our options seem to be "just as oppressive" or "slightly less oppressive as long as you don't question us about it too closely." So far, the only mildly pro-same sex marriage candidate is Rudy Giuliani, although I suspect he's not exactly touting that as one of his strengths to energize his base. Even our "change candidate" Barack Obama is opposed to same-sex marriage rights based on his personal religious beliefs. Not that I haven't said this before, but this lunacy around marriage is our century's equivalent of "colored" drinking fountains. I'm disappointed how many people cannot differentiate between marriage within a religious institution and marriage as a legal structure. I don't care what people do in the privacy of their own religious communities, and I respect people's right to their religious beliefs and to preserve those beliefs. The difference is that Constitutional equality is not a matter of preserving the "sanctity" of a religious tradition, because if it was, only white male landowners would be vote, and everyone else would still be property.

I think I'm just going to declare, here and now, that I'm not voting for anyone who hems and haws and continues to espouse any form of oppression of queer people. I just don't have the patience for it any more, and don't think I don't see you slinking in the corner, Barbara Lee. Of course this means that I am probably voting for Peter Camejo yet again.

On the same note, Karen England can go eat a pie.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

12:58 PM - news and more news

just the facts, ma'am

Just a quick update on my situation. Today I accepted an offer of permanent employment at IronPort, bringing my "I just moved back to the Bay Area" job hunt to a conclusion. They are great people and I am enthusiastic about the position. I've also been contracting a bit in the SF Financial District, which means I am almost-but-not-quite-as impoverished as I was when I left Vermont.

Now that the job is nailed down, the other major thing to sort out is housing. My roommates at the sublet in Berkeley decided to end their lease over a month earlier than they told me originally, ie. today. Luckily, I'm staying with Matt and Kaiann temporarily in San Jose until Fenny and I find a good place in SF. This is actually really exciting, because not only do I get to spend time with Matt and Kaiann, but I also get to spend time with other South Bay people who are usually a long drive away.

In the meantime, though, I've been ball of writhing rubber band stress. Job applications and job applications and housing and housing and money money money. No wonder I haven't felt like myself at all. I'm actually packing stuff into boxes this afternoon to go into temporary storage; luckily I didn't unpack much at the sublet because I knew it was temporary. I do... um... have a table that I still need to get rid of, too. Crikey. Off to Craigslist.

I really need to hang a little sign on my forehead: I'll Be Back Soon. Promise.