From the Bumper Sticker Hall of Fame

I have just ordered this as a magnetic bumper sticker. I don't know if it will wind up on my car or on my fridge, but I couldn't resist.

I know that this opens me up to ridiculous criticism ("she's making a joke out of the war"), so let me just say it: I'm not.

But if you're going to put something on your car (or your fridge), might as well be clever, right?

To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about Iraq going forward (which I know makes me a bad liberal in some circles)... My feeling is that we didn't belong going in there in the first place, but we broke it. So how do we just pick up and leave?

Anybody got a bumper sticker solution for that?

Here's the Thing

The outcome of yesterday's election is good... But it's not great. And before I go any further, let me say that I'm not usually a glass half-empty kind of girl.

Here's my issue:

Considering the state of affairs in our nation over the last six years, it's almost impossible for me to believe that nearly half of the people who voted still cast their ballots for Republicans. A perfect example comes to us from where else? Florida! In the old Sunshine State, 49% of the people of the Mark Foley district actually chose Foley over the Democrat on the ballot (albeit not actually Foley, but a replacement candidate)! Say no to gay marriage but yes to pedophiles?! Okay, I'm oversimplifying... but you get the point. The Senate is still up in the air. How is that possible?

"Morality" issues aside (if you can call them that), the saddest part for me, when it comes to the near equal electorate split, is that a lot of those red ballots were cast by poor, rural folks who need a liberal on their side more than anyone (including people who fall into my category on the socio-economic spectrum). I have relatives like this in South Carolina and I've yet to figure them out. Don't they get confused when they hear the economy is in great shape but they make six bucks an hour? Last I checked the Wall Street boom has yet to "trickle down" to the masses. I know I'm still waiting... and I'm a single woman who makes a good deal more than the average American family of four.

All of that said, of course I'm happy that the House is back in Democratic control and I'm hopeful that even if the Senate stays in the hands of the GOP, they're not going to be able to run rampant any longer. I just want to point out that no matter what anyone says, this was no real referendum. Voter turn out was average at best, validating yet another unfortunate aspect of our so called democracy -- half of Americans (you know, the half that doesn't actually vote) believes that their voices don't even really count. Where is the real revolution?

Two happy thoughts though before I go.

First, Nancy Pelosi.

Enough Said.

Second: A friend called me this morning and said that on her way to work today a banner was hung off the 101 in Burbank. It read simply: Mission Accomplished.

I loved that, but I have to add... ALMOST.

Self Hatred and Scandal in Colorado

What a sad, sad world we live in...

From CNN, a quick overview of the Haggard scandal:

• Top evangelical leader has admitted "some guilt," a church leader says
• The Rev. Ted Haggard earlier denied Colorado man's claim pastor paid for sex
• Haggard quits national leadership post, steps aside from pulpit
• Accuser cites Haggard's support for same-sex marriage ban as motivation

All joking aside (and this one is just begging for a one liner or ten), what I can't escape is the amount of self-hatred all of these closeted Republicans must be carrying. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Of course I wasn't alive for the civil rights and womens' movements, but somehow, I can't imagine that it was quite like this. (Someone tell me if it was otherwise... that ethnic minorities and women were fighting against their own rights in so many places).

As you might suspect, I take no issue with Haggard's sexuality. However, the semi-satanic role he has played in hate mongering across his state and indeed, across the country as an "evangelical leader" is another story... one that makes this revelation all the more complex and disheartening.

On Election Day 2004, I had a party. For amusement, at some point, as the grim truth of what was happening took over the forward thinking crowd, someone changed the channel to Cable Access. There, we found a local program called Gay Republicans. At the time, it seemed like comic relief (particularly considering that 11 states shot down gay marriage that very night). But now, it's become clear that gay republicans are no laughing matter, least of all to themselves.

If I were of the same breed as the right wing hate machine, I'd pounce right now (after all, how does Haggard define “some guilt?”). But more than anything, I find this unfortunate. A culture of hate never leads anywhere positive; this much is true.

But pity the messenger when they, themselves, are the objects of their own malaise.

Oh, Ted Haggard… isn’t karma a bitch?