Thursday, November 4, 2004

Sick and Depressed

I've been fighting a cold since Sunday. I suspect that my disappointment from the election night returns contributed to my cold getting worse. I dragged myself downstairs to work Wednesday, but I wasn't really there. Today, I tried to work, but ended up coming back home and zoning in front of the computer and TV. I don't mean to be dramatic, but I'm only just beginning to accept that we have: FOUR MORE YEARS WITH PRESIDENT BUSH, JR. Eight years is longer than most relationships. But EIGHT years with someone you don't respect or trust is a long time. What's worse is that he now has legitimacy -- (assuming the Diebold voting machines were not rigged). What can you do? He appealed to mindless born again Christians. How could the Democrats or liberals appeal to fundamentalists? CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT, MEASURE 36, PASSED As pointed-out on OPB, the reality in Oregon is that there were Kerry voters who also voted for Measure 36. BRO mentioned earlier that some voters actually misinterpreted the ballot title and thought a vote YES was for gay marriage. Although, certainly there were some mistakes like this made, but there must also have been some who didn't like the war, the economy, and gay marriage. It appears BRO and the ACLU are going to attempt to fight this in court -- which I doubt will pass. I suppose there is a possibility that one of the eleven anti-gay amendments will make it to SCOTUS, but it seems doubtful that gay marriage rights will be won that way. And the backlash of a pro-gay marriage ruling will definitely motivate fundamentalists toward an anti-gay US constitutional amendment. SECOND THOUGHTS Did liberal Democrats reach too far in choosing John F Kerry? Probably not. We did not lose by that much. There is not much Democrats could do to appeal to religious fundamentalists. Did BRO and Multnomah County Commissioners push gay marriage too far too fast? Probably. Pushing gay marriage was a gamble. And the odds of the religious fundamentalists of organizing and passing a constitutional amendment seemed to be in favor of gay rights advocates. But the backroom planning tactic backfired badly. Even the gay community was unprepared to fight for gay marriage. On second thought, are civil unions that bad? Just find a place to vent

My First Blog

So is a blog a commentary or a self-indulgent diary (or both)? ...I'll treat this as a diary.