Where Were You?

"In the hallway at KPBS, talking to our editor Nicole Lozare." 

Twenty, 30, 40 years from now -- that's how I'll answer the question about how I heard yesterday's news about the California Supreme Court's decision in In Re Marriage Cases.  Alma, Trina and I had just finished an appearance on These Days with Tom Fudge at 10 a.m. I knew the decision from the court was due at 10:00, and turned on my Blackberry as soon as we left the studio to check the news.

As we were talking I looked down and saw the alert from the New York Times: The ban had been overturned.

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Snobs-R-Us

Have you heard the story about the Prius-driving, latté-sipping Democrat?

It goes something like this: an elitist, upper-middle class, pseudo-intellectual snob goes into a group of his or her peers and begins spouting advice on how to fix their inbred, uninformed, and sad little lives. Not funny? No, it really isn't too funny. But for many non-Democrats (such as, Libertarians, Republicans, neo-cons, the apathetic masses, the creators of South Park, etc...) this is the vision of a liberal.

So, is there any truth to the stereotype? Does John Edwards' $400 haircut amidst New Orleans' ravaged Lower Ninth Ward signal what's wrong with liberalism? Or does the unseemly image of a bleeding heart Democrat preaching to the poor masses fog up the lens of perception?

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God Bless America?

Did you know today is the 57th Annual National Day of Prayer? Oh, stop rolling your eyes. Our country desperately needs all of the prayers it can get right now. The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. What? Are those crazy Christian fanatics at it again? No, this annual look to the heavens was actually created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress (PDF), and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.

"What about separation of church and state?" you worry (or in the case of Florida, the separation of church and plate). Where in the Constitution does it say as a nation we can't pray for divine guidance? Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history. Benjamin Franklin observed "the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men... and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"

I would submit that a nation can certainly fall without it. Some would say that America is on a precipice right now, very much in need of inspired aid.

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Sucking On Chinese Toys and a Humble Suggestion

I recently returned from three days at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio. Three days in the desert; music, musing and dancing in a herd of thousands. Body and mind are worn – as I write this, I feel like I’ve been sucking on Chinese toys all weekend. Still, live music for three days and nights straight invites the mind to wander down many a path. Some thoughts...

Thousands from around the state, the country and the world attended the festival. Most youthful, most liberal – but surprisingly few showing their political colors. A few Obama jerseys were spotted, never caught sight of any Hillary shwag - but as always, festival icons Leonard Peltier and Che Guevara were in full effect.  Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters sent a blood spattered dirigible pig floating over the crowd emblazoned with a sword wielding Uncle Sam Death Head, “Don’t Be Led To Slaughter” scrawled alongside. The pig’s underbelly was stamped with a disconcertingly hopeful message: a  ballot check marked next to Obama’s name. Not exactly the sort of endorsement that warms a politician’s heart – but still, a shout out from Roger Waters is a shout out from Roger Waters. Prince said he was so sick of debates – he couldn’t stand it anymore.  Hillary and Obama as the bickering parents in “This is What It Sounds Like When the Doves Cry”…

Gave a jump start to some Mexican kids in their twenties from Calexico – all studying to be lawyers. They shared their beer and we did the Spanglish thing for a while. We drank to Mexico and the U.S., neighbors and friends – they raised their beers, but were hesitant to really believe the friend part.  They wished it was so, but I had to agree that most of our national gestures appear to be those of a perturbed neighbor rather than a friend…

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Defining Winning

As I write this I don't yet know who won the Democratic Party's primary in Pennsylvania.  Part of that is because the voting is still going on, part of that is because 'winning' seems to be very loosely defined, and part of it is because these primaries have dragged on too long.

Now that basic mathematics has ruled out conventional definitions of winning, winning is being redefined.  According to some, winning is no longer simply receiving the most votes cast.

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Loyalty

There are few modern political heroes, but one of mine has definitely been James Carville.

The “Ragin’ Cajun” is the star of the documentary “The War Room” and, although not quite single handedly, he still masterminded former President Bill Clinton’s first campaign for the position of “most powerful man in the world.”  If you haven’t checked out this movie, and don’t mind seeing a Democrat win the presidency, please check it out.

James Carville is whip smart, articulate, and tough as nails. Over the years he’s appeared as the lone liberal on countless Sunday morning political talk shows (not counting any station bias, for those believing in a liberal media) and he filleted right wing punditry better than a master sushi chef on display.

I have held Carville in such high regards for so many years that I even pleaded with him in a letter before the 2004 election to run for president. This is a man who is so cool he appeared in JFK Jr.’s politically inspired magazine, George, where I remember Carville saying if he were elected president, every Tuesday would be red-beans-and-rice day.

Although the menu pleased me, it wouldn’t have been the sole reason he would’ve received my vote. I even love that he married Republican consultant Mary Matalin because it just shows how secure he is in his beliefs.

Alas, after so many years on a pedestal, Mr. Carville has at last finally let me down.

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Blogku

Superdelegates
Michigan and Florida
Trouble in Denver

 
- Citizen Voices blogger Chris McConnell is a bookseller, freelance writer, former high school English teacher and odd jobber who lives in La Jolla.

A Cat Named (N-Word)

One of my earliest memories of my grandfather is of him chasing my cousins and me around the kitchen with his false teeth, making them chatter at us like a cartoon monster’s.

Pop, as we called him, was the undisputed head of our family. We never questioned that my lovely grandmother waited on him hand and foot… that’s just how it was back then. His priorities took precedent and we conformed to his. He was a jokester of utmost proportions. While we kids often found him hilarious, some of his “tricks” took on an edge of cruelty. But that too, was just how it was. Texas of the 1950’s was still a pretty raw place and you needed to be tough to get along. 

After Mac, my grandfather’s Chihuahua died, Pop started feeding stray cats, which then took up residence under the house. There was a constantly changing population that fought and bred and ate and slept and died there. 

Out of all those original cats, there was only one who was given “House and Lap” status. There was one big, black female who won my grandfather’s attention, so we kids let ourselves love her as well. Because she was Pop’s chosen favorite, we were pretty sure she would not be run off with a pellet gun or drowned in a flour sack, so we felt safe in letting her into our hearts.

This cat’s name was Nigger.     

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Personal-Responsibility, Redux

Last week, I wrote about Democrats championing accepting personal-responsibility.

Oddly enough, it was the same week Eliot Spitzer spoke publicly about “letting his family down” by getting caught/spending fundraising dollars inappropriately/breaking his moral code/embarrassing the Spitzer family name...the list goes on. 

The news also ran stories about Florida and Michigan’s Democratic leadership lobbying Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee to rerun the rules-be-damned primary elections and to legitimize voters’ dreams of picking an historic candidate.

There was one particularly interesting CNN Op-Ed piece about the topic written by Mr. Glenn Beck, the title of which, “Too bad, Michigan and Florida” dealt specifically with the importance of personal-responsibility.

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Silly Little Laws

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