Marry Them All & Let God Sort It Out!

James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, recently wrote to his followers, "Barring a miracle, the family as it has been known for more than five millennia will crumble, presaging the fall of Western civilization itself."

Gary Bauer, head of the Campaign for Working Families, wrote to his supporters: "If you still think homosexual 'marriage' won't affect you, think again. Your job may be at stake! ... Once the state approves of homosexual 'marriages,' the full weight of the law will be brought down against men and women of faith who believe in Judeo-Christian values."

I don't know how else to say it: "WTF?!!"

These completely absurd and baseless comments serve one purpose and one purpose only: to terrify conservative religious folks into sending money to these organizations AND to mobilize these same folks into voting Republican.

Bush, at the direction of his election guru, Karl Rove, is likewise pushing this same issue trying to manipulate his ultra conservative base into action. Frankly this is, to me, a traditionally democratic ploy: create a crisis where none exists to mobilize the coach potatos.

"...giving gay couples the right to marry is, when you think about it, a conservative measure, demanding of gays that they live up to standards of fidelity, responsibility and commitment never before asked of them. It is pro-family, uniting those gay family members with their siblings and parents in the unifying ritual of civil marriage. Why cannot marriage be defined by the virtues it includes rather than the people it excludes?" Andrew Sullivan in Time

Just how many people does James Dobson think are going to marry someone of the same sex? How exactly will this destroy the fabric of our culture? It's not like otherwise straight happy people are going to turn gay because it's OK. There is no story here.

So maybe you do believe homosexuality is sinful (you can be fully Christ-like and believe it's OK), Still, it is no more a sin than lying or adultry or fornication or overeating or smoking or cussing or bowing to a graven image of the ten commandments or lust---that would include reading Maxim boys. Bush and the fear mongers want us to legislate morality. Since the church has failed, they think, only the government can save us from this evil world... THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT ABOUT THE SIN OF HOMOSEXUALITY IS THAT IT'S THE ONLY SIN THAT MOST CHRISTIANS ARE SURE THEY WOULD NEVER DO! This is not the heart of God, it's prejudice.

Don't we have better things to concern ourselves about?
I say marry them all, and let God sort it out!

Peace, Love, and Holy Unions, Kel

Darkhorse VP

OK, it's not going to happen, but I can dream. Republican Senator from Colorado, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, is one of the coolest dudes in polictics. I may be the only one, but I hereby cast my vote for him as Cheney's replacement. Sadly, Campbell's health is declining, and he has announced that he is not running for senate again---so a run for the white house is a million to one shot.
Campbell was born in Auburn, California on April 13, 1933. His mother, Mary Vierra, was a Portuguese immigrant, and his father, Albert Campbell, was a Northern Cheyenne Indian. Campbell is the only American Indian presently serving in the United States Senate, and is one of 44 Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. He received a B.A. degree in physical education and fine arts from San Jose University in 1957 and later attended Meiji University in Tokyo in 1960 as a special research student. Before entering college Campbell served in the U.S. Air force from 1951-53, stationed in Korea, where he attained the rank of Airman 2nd Class.Campbell is a renowned jewelry designer, athlete, and trainer of champion quarter horses. He has won hundreds of best of show awards with his inovative jewelry designs, and he has been a strong supporter of the arts. He participated in the 1964 Olympic Games as a member of the U.S. Olympic Judo Team, and has been a judo instructor. In 1991 he used to judo to subdue a mugger in D.C.Campbell has been married to the same woman for more than 35 years and he's a father and grandfather. He is a cool, gnarly biker that has promoted motorcycle safety. In 1995 he became the most recent senator to cross over from democrat to republican. Indeed his record is steller---voting the republican line consistantly since his switch.
If he were a little younger and a little healthier, he would have made a very cool VP. There are many, like me, who very much wish to see a president of a different color in the "white" house. With all due respects to Condi and Colin, it makes a lot of sense for a native American to be first.
Peace, Love, and Turquoise,
Funkyvick

THE WALT WHITMAN MEMORIAL SKATEBOARD PARK

This is where Whitman would be
If he were still pumping poetic hormones in 2004 
        Downtown skateboard park
        Mid Alabama July
More teenage glistening pecs and abs here
Than every poetry reading in America combined.
 
The sparks of the body electric petered out long ago;
welcome to the body nuclear.
 
Half the night nothing rocked the air
Other than the screech
Of metal on wood
And bodies slithering over concrete
‘til the manager came out to skate
and all the twixt’s and teens demanded tunes;
“Sorry guys, all I have is classical”
which brought cheers from the boys
who knew what was coming:
 
             Never mind the Bullocks,
            here come the Sex Pistols
 
Which apparently is now classical music
If you’re fourteen
 
Maybe they’ll erect a statue of Whitman erect
His modern leaves of grass rolled in EZ wider
His ZZ Top beard hiding a lost scroll of bad boy poems
 
Copyright 2004 funkyvick

American Terrorists

A man having an argument with his girlfriend dumped gas on her and three children under three years old who were sitting in the backseat as they drove---then he flicked his lighter burning the children to death and severely burning the mother. He died. The war on terror is a war against evil everywhere---even here in the states. Lord, bring peace to the world, and save children from monsters---even if they are American, Amen.

fat

so I’m staring at the blank page
wishing I was one of the stars
of oppression
all the poets I read are
angry black 20 somethings
spinning hip hop haiku and joy in the dreads
mourning two-pac or the smoky eyed boy
that took the honey and ran
or Amer-asian chicks
still running like that naked girl
from the napalm spray from the friends of the father
land of the free
or middle aged Mexican-Indians
singing of life in the barrio
the scent of tortillas on the griddle
rising beyond the adobe
and into the poetry circus nightclubs
to blend with the whiskey and fine Cubans

but I am none of these
no one pities
the short fat balding myopic American white male
anymore

funkyvick copyright 2004

The War Between Pretty and Plain

There was a time, not too long ago, when the primary conflict of man was good versus evil. In America we seem to have devolved into a war between pretty and plain. Over the last few days, while my Wife traipsed up the east coast, I saw a sampling of new movies out that seem to demonstrate a seizmic shift in the priorities of young Americans:

Shrek 2: In this brilliant parody Shrek and his lady love are forced to choose between being beautiful and ugly with an emphasis on the integrity of maintaining one's true nature---If you ugly, then be ugly. (Although Beautiful is fun while it lasts.)

Mean Girls: This was a pleasant surprise, and the funniest movie of the lot. It had more depth than I expected (I expected none) and had a few priceless moments that I can't discuss on the chance you might see this one. The war is the skanky chics and a flamer wannabe versus the "plastics:" the perfect pretty tarts in the school. A girl from the skank tank infiltrates the plastics and learns it's what's inside that counts.

13 Going on 30: I totally saw this because of the recommendation in a young friend's blog (totally). Here a plain gangly 13 year old girl yearns to be a hot 30 year old and gets her wish, only to learn there's no place like home, there's no place like home... (click your heels three times).

Stepford Wives: I waited in line for this, but it was sold out, and I went to a play at ASF instead. Anyway, it would have, no doubt, continued my theme.

Garfield: This leap from the four panel should have gone direct to DVD. It does not prove my pretty versus plain point except that Odie is a common mut who finds love nevertheless. The saving grace of this movie was Jennifer Love Hewitt who reminds me how fortunate I am to be married to a woman with gorgeous brown eyes.

Admittedly I did not choose action movies like Riddick (although I think the theme there is career life versus career death for our buddy Vin). But the current films with a young adult target audience seem to indicate we are obsessed with becoming beautiful. A couple hours on the tube would convince anyone that the day's priority must be whitening one's teeth. Has our youth and young adult culture gone to the "plastics?" How hard will they fall when they find there is no true satisfaction there? I yearn for an America where the focus is Christ: Christ in us individually and collectively. Someday, somehow...but for now, everyone flick a bic and sing, "I'd like to buy the world a low carb Coke C2..."