Add Another Car on the Republican Hypocrisy Train

So this past week, the Washington Times published an Op-Ed piece by that noted political expert and actor Jon Voight. In it, Voight gives his explains why Barak Obama is supposedly not read to be president. You can read exerpts here.

Now I don't give a rat's ass what he thinks. But I have not heard that any Republican politician, pundit, talking head or spokesman has dismissed the ramblings of this Hollywood actor. After all, when George Clooney or Ben Affleck or Janeane Garofalo or Warren Beatty or any other left-leaning actors speaks up, the Right sneers and dismisses them because they're 'just an actor.' Apparently, what they really mean to say is they're just a Liberal actor.

So add another car to the Republican hypocrisy train. I don't know how much longer it has to get before the mainstream media calls them on it.

Reasons to Vote Republican

HIL -LAR -RY!!!

I cried when watching Hillary's speech today. I'd been feeling melancholy about the outcome of the Democratic primary for days, but nonetheless was surprised at how emotional I was. Hillary has been my choice from the beginning of this process, and as I watched her give what had to be the hardest speech of her life, I couldn't help but consider what might have been. She was magnificent today. She showed me again all the qualities that made me want to see her sitting in the Oval Office -- eloquence, heart, toughness, common sense, humor and a stunning intellect. The fact that she was born with ovaries was just a bonus. Yes, I want to see a woman running this country. Men have been doing it since the beginning of our republic, and frankly, have not done such a great job for much of that time. I think it's time for a woman to have a chance.

But as much as I had hoped that woman would be Hillary, there was a voice in the back of my head that was telling me that while she would blaze the trail, she would not be the one to make it to the end. Hillary is a very strong woman who's not afraid to show it. Despite the many years of feminist struggles, too many American men are still can't deal with a strong woman. While they may have superior physical strength, generally their tender male psyches are threatened by strong women. Oh, they won't admit it, but it's evident by their behavior -- the types of women they marry and date, their disparaging remarks about a woman who gets the promotion they sought, the way they teach their sons to treat the women in their lives by word and by example, and on and on.


While listening to her speech, as I wiped away copious tears, I found myself thinking that another woman will benfit by all Hillary has done in this campaign when lo and behold, she begins echoing my sentiment! It was as if she read my mind. Here's part of what she said:

"You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the President of the United States. And that is truly remarkable. "

Remarkable, indeed, that this country has lost the opportunity to have this remarkable woman as our leader. Below is a link to a portion of her speech. If you missed it, I hope you will take the time here or elsewhere to watch.

Hillary Speaks in Washington, DC June 7

It's Worse Than I Ever Imagined

When George Bush was selected president, I was not happy. In fact, I seriously considered moving out of the country. Canada was not an option because it’s always cold there. I considered Mexico, but I don’t speak the language. If I could have come up with a reasonable alternative, I might not still be here. But I also decided I would not allow the collective stupidity of those who voted for the man and the Supreme Court justices who selected him to drive me from the country that I love.

I didn’t agree with him politically, but at least I thought that he shared my reverence for the ideals upon which this nation was founded, especially the rule of law and the idea that no one man or woman was above it or beyond its reach. But actions do speak louder than words, something that this man who billed himself as a ‘compassionate conservative’ has shown us over and over again.

Over the first months of his reign of terror, I began to see just how much damage this man was planning to do to our country. Remember the energy bill that was written in secret by Darth Cheney and the corporations? That was the first significant indication of just how this administration was planning to handle the public’s business – by keeping the public in the dark. But I never imagined that even he would go so far. Since the attacks of 9/11, almost all of the focus of the public and, to a lesser extent, the media was focused on the conduct of the war in Afghanistan and then Iraq. Meanwhile, no one seemed to be keeping an eye on what these people were doing elsewhere. Now, finally, these things are coming to light.

One of my favorite programs on NPR is This American Life. Each week they choose a theme and then do as many as five stories on that theme. Last week’s program was called The Audacity of Government. On their Web site they describe it thus:

“Stories of the Bush Administration, its unique style of asserting presidential authority, and its quest to redefine the limits of presidential power.”

Basically, the Bush Administration has made it a practice to fight policies, laws, treaties they do not agree with by ignoring them. They simply act as if these instruments do not exist. And this is not in areas where one might expect it, such as their attempts to violate our privacy in the name of fighting the ‘war on terror.’ As the pieces in this story will show, their audacity and hubris extends far beyond that, to the point where we all should be concerned about the fate of our democracy. I can't urge that you listen to this strongly enough. I shows more clearly than anything else I have come across that we are on the cusp of something here. And if we don't force, if necessary, our elected officials to make the right choices, we will be witnesses to the destruction of our republic. You can listen to it on Web site via the link above or download the podcast from iTunes for free. But please do listen.

My only hope is that now that the American people have begun to see behind the masks worn by those who would threaten our way of life, that they will finally, at long last rise up and put a stop to it. It’s not too late. But if we don’t act soon, the country left to the next generations will bear little to no resemblance to the one that I loved.

How I'm Spending My Time Off

I was layed off from my job on February 8. Since then I've tried to be somewhat productive. I still get up and spend about 45-50 minutes on my treadmill Monday-Friday. Then I check E-mail, perhaps apply for a job that I see at Monster.com or on the Disney job listing. But then the rest of the day is mine. I've spent some time getting my new apartment in order, stuff like that. Also, for the first time in a long time, I've been seeing a lot of movies. All in all, I have to say that I'm really enjoying this time off.

But I also want to make sure to do some things that working precludes. So this Monday morning I decided to go whale watching! Unfortunately, we didn't see any whales. I guess they were taking the day off too. But is was an unbelievably gorgeous day and I enjoyed every minute of it. Here's a brief video that I took of some dolphins that we encountered. Enjoy!

One Year Ago...

We lost my dad a year ago. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him and miss him. I love you always, Daddy.

What a Difference a Month Makes

Seriously? It's been a whole month since I've posted an entry? As usual, a lot has happened since then. First and foremost, my beloved Buckeyes are not coming to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. Instead, they're going to play in the BCS Championship game in New Orleans on January 7! After beating Michigan, we were ranked seventh. It seemed impossible that all of the six teams ranked above us would lose, but they did! So now we're in first place in the BCS standings, although we're considered the underdog in the game, where we'll be playing LSU. Most 'experts' think we don't belong in the game and fully expect a repeat of last year's championship game in which we stunk up the joint. I think they're wrong. While I'm not ready to predict a victory, I do believe that we're being underestimated. Can't wait!

During the two weeks when it looked like the Buckeyes were Rose Bowl bound, as president of the local OSU Alumni Club, I was beginning to get many calls and E-mails from people asking for tickets and information and tickets. Frankly, there was a part of me that was quite relieved that the bowl game would be elsewhere, no matter how much I wanted them to come here. The good news is that OSU and USC begin a home and away series next fall, and the first game will be here. So we'll get to see the Buckeyes anyway. Whoo-hoo!

Next up was the annual Candlelight performance at Disneyland. This was my sixth year singing this Christmas concert at the park. Here's a picture of the stage taken by my good friend Mark. Can you see me? I'll give you a hint -- I'm part of the group in the center underneath the star. We call it the Living Christmas Tree.


Need more help? I think the picture below will help! If you still don't see me, let me know and I'll help you out. It was also taken by my good buddy Mark.

One thing that hasn't changed is that I'm still looking for a new job at Disney. No one has told me yet what happens if I haven't found one when my boss leaves next month, but I'm still hopeful.

In anticipation of temporarily being out of a job, I've found a new apartment. I'll be moving about a half a mile away into a one-bedroom apartment. The rent will be considerably cheaper, but that's not the only reason for the change. I like the location of my current apartment, but it had no insulation. There have been some mornings when it's been about 55 degrees(!) downstairs in the living room when I come down to use the treadmill. I expect to move around the middle of next month, just before I may find myself out of a job.

That's all for now. See you soon!