My Favorite Republican

by Pa Rock
Political Commentator

Meghan McCain, the brash, blond daughter of Senator John McCain, is still making news. Last month the young blogger took a swipe at conservative mouthpiece, Laura Ingraham, saying that she could "kiss my fat ass." (That was in response to a catty remark that Ingraham had made referring to Ms. McCain being a "plus size" model.)

This week Meghan and her mother, Cindy, appeared before the Log Cabin Republicans (the gay twig of the party) where they stated their commitment to support gay marriage. Young Meghan believes (rightly so) that the Republican party is heading toward long-term impotence unless they begin to expand their base and take in some of the groups that party blowhards have worked so hard to marginalize or eliminate.

One irony of the Republican intolerance of homosexuality is that many Republicans are themselves gay - but deeply closeted. Take for instance former Representative Mark Foley, former Senator Larry Craig, and former holy man Ted Haggard.

Nationally, public support for gay rights has increased to 45% over the past couple of years, but among America's young there is strong majority support for gay rights and gay marriage. Today's youth have friends who are gay, and they realize that these individuals are not going to bring down civilization, regardless of what they are told by fundamentalist ministers or doctrinaire Republicans. Four states now recognize gay unions. The tide has turned, and if the GOP and the other know-nothing groups want to waste their resources trying to stem it - let 'em! The future is rushing forward and all of the hate-mongers are about to be submerged in the swiftly rising waters of human equality.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't "get" the Log Cabin Republicans. I understand they are fiscally conservative and may feel more at home with Republican economic policies - but how can they align themselves with a political organization that regards them as immoral and equates their romantic relationships with incest and bestiality? Were there ever Jewish Nazis? Just thinking about either of those pairings makes my head hurt!

Civil Rights Are Busting Out All Over!

by Pa Rock
Serious Civil Libertarian

The rights of gay couples to marry are spreading faster than the Mormon Church or Focus on the Family can organize to quash them. Four days ago the Iowa Supreme Court voted unanimously that it was unconstitutional, at least in Iowa, not to allow gay couples to be united in marriage. Today the Vermont legislature overrode a veto by their Republican governor and set up the first same-sex marriage law in the nation that was actually passed by a legislature. There are now four states where gays have the same rights to marry as straights: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont - with more to follow!

Vermont has no residency requirement for marriage. Any adult couple who can find their way into the state can legally marry.

Gay marriages were legal in California a few months back, but the above mentioned organizations poured millions of dollars and thousands of lies into the state in a barely successful attempt to repeal that right through a constitutional amendment. California, which is often the national leader on progressive issues, will defeat the carpetbaggers in an upcoming election - have no doubt of that!

Also this week, the city council of Washington, DC, voted unanimously to recognize gay marriages that have been legally performed in other places. Watch the conservative boneheads in Congress go apoplectic over that and take action to overrule the will of the city's duly elected governing body. Statehood for DC!

I saw a poll on the internets today that showed older voters are the group most opposed to gay marriage in this country, and those most supportive of the issue are the younger voters. In fact the percentages between the oldest and youngest groups nearly mirrored each other perfectly. It would appear that the anger and vitriol on this issue is gradually slipping through the cemetery gates and into history.

A generation or two ago the big fight was about not allowing interracial marriage. If the races mixed in the marriage bed, the bigots bellowed, society would degenerate into chaos and civilization would end. The world didn't spin out of control as states began to recognize the rights of interracial couples to marry, and today our country is starting to reemerge as a respected world power thanks to the leadership of a man who is the product of an interracial union. Most people, especially the young among us, have come to realize that color should not be permitted to limit whom we may love.

The know-nothings were wrong about the evils of interracial marriage, and they are wrong about the "dangers" of gay marriage. Our young people are open-minded and comfortable in the modern world. They will fashion a society that makes sense to them.

America is a better place when it recognizes and celebrates its diversity!

Ellen's Got Milk

by Pa Rock
Cultural Observer

I don't watch daytime television, due in large part to the fact that it is so bad - and also because I work days. But yesterday I happened to walk past a television set just as Ellen DeGeneres was discussing the movie Milk on her show. I liked that movie, a lot, and wondered what the lesbian take on it might be. Ellen, being Ellen, delivered a sock-o one-liner that slammed the nail right on the head. She said, "This is a great movie and I know that you're going to like it - unless you happen to be lactose intolerant!" And then she told her audience that they each would be receiving a free copy of the DVD.

Before I could pull myself away from that clingy television, Ellen flashed up a picture of her wife, Portia de Rossi, and said that she would air an interview that she conducted with Portia on her show next Tuesday. I don't claim to be totally in tune with modern life, but I certainly have no problem with gay marriage. The DeGeneres - de Rossi union, in particular, is very understandable. Ellen latched on to an absolutely beautiful wife, and Portia now has a rich spouse who can dance.

What's not to love?

Obama Leads in Arizona!

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Barack Obama has a solid lead in Arizona. I know this because I cast my early ballot for him today - hence, by my count of the votes that I can personally account for, he leads John McBush one to nothing. At least that's how I see it!

I love early voting! My ballot came in the mail on Saturday, along with a stamped, self-addressed return envelope, and I voted this afternoon, dropped it in the mailbox, and slapped the "I voted" sticker on my forehead!

We talked about the positives and negatives of early voting at work today. A co-worker told me that she was opposed to it because things might change between today and election day. Okay, I understand that. Another possibility is that I might die in a car wreck in the next couple of weeks and lose the opportunity of casting a vote, but now my vote is cast and Obama has it - whether I am breathing on election day or not! Another friend said that she receives a ballot in the mail, but will deliver it to the polling place on election day because she is afraid it will be lost if she mails it in. Yes, that's a possibility, but what guarantees do we ever have that our vote is counted - regardless of how or when we cast it?

By voting early, I save gas and time by not having to drive around Goodyear trying to find the right polling place, I don't have to stand in lines or shuffle through my wallet looking for good identification, and I can be home popping popcorn and watching the election results while others are still trying to do their patriotic duty.

Oh, and BTW, gay marriage is also leading one to nothing!