Sunday, May 23, 2004
New Feature: Left Coast Notes
Left Coast Notes
By Midgie Cramblin, Professional Skeptic
There’s really not much difference between LA and DC, except you see fewer trucker hats and Ugg boots in DC, and strangely, DC has better Vietnamese food.  Both are cities that have one dominant industry. LA has the entertainment industry, and DC has politics. Denizens of each city operate under the illusion that their industry is the Most Important and that the rest of the country waits with baited breath to see what is going to happen next in their city, seldom realizing that most people in the US consider people in politics and the entertainment industry slightly lower on the food scale than telemarketers or dentists.
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I pay a lot of cold hard American cash to both the entertainment industry and our government, and I want my money’s worth. I want a quality product delivered to me, and I want it without sermonizing, preaching, intrusion and mentions of the baby jesus.
So, that’s easy with the entertainment industry. I can avoid “The Passion of the Christ� and “Rudy� and “Touched by an Angel�, and any “very special� episode of a sitcom.
It’s getting harder and harder with the current administration. I don’t need the government to regulate who is marrying whom, or who is screwing whom. I don’t need the government to tell me I can’t look at porn, or listen to Howard Stern, or smoke marijuana. I don’t need the government to protect me by censoring poetry or artwork. I am perfectly capable of making these decisions for myself.
What I do need from the government is to do their job. Balance the budget. Improve schools. Fix the roads.
Do all these crabby white men currently in office really think Americans need them for guidance on their personal affairs? When faced with a moral quandary, Americans don’t consult “7th Heaven� or their congressman. They do what they have always done- talk to friends, ask family members, pray, discuss, meditate, whatever.
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George W Bush continues to pander to the faction of his party that seems to desire a theocracy in this country, and that just makes me itchy. Another 4 years with him in office is like being doomed to a constant loop of “Highway to Heaven� playing in my living room. But without the soothing voice of Michael Landon.
And that, dear Elephant, is why this Libertarian is voting “Anybody but Bush� in 2004.
(Elephant thinks Midgie is on to something. Remember the disasterous GOP convention of 1992? The current 'buzz' among the chattering class here in Washington is that Bush could be victim of the Carter-Effect. Things were so bad under Carter and at the time most people feared Reagan as too radical, but Carter's impotenence led voters to conclude that, whatever the risk, a change was needed. Message to Bush, get back to real issues like controling spending, social security, improving our intelligence services.)
BIG THANKS TO MIDGIE! We hope she'll contribute more.
All are welcome to approach the Edge.....
By Midgie Cramblin, Professional Skeptic
There’s really not much difference between LA and DC, except you see fewer trucker hats and Ugg boots in DC, and strangely, DC has better Vietnamese food.  Both are cities that have one dominant industry. LA has the entertainment industry, and DC has politics. Denizens of each city operate under the illusion that their industry is the Most Important and that the rest of the country waits with baited breath to see what is going to happen next in their city, seldom realizing that most people in the US consider people in politics and the entertainment industry slightly lower on the food scale than telemarketers or dentists.
Â
I pay a lot of cold hard American cash to both the entertainment industry and our government, and I want my money’s worth. I want a quality product delivered to me, and I want it without sermonizing, preaching, intrusion and mentions of the baby jesus.
So, that’s easy with the entertainment industry. I can avoid “The Passion of the Christ� and “Rudy� and “Touched by an Angel�, and any “very special� episode of a sitcom.
It’s getting harder and harder with the current administration. I don’t need the government to regulate who is marrying whom, or who is screwing whom. I don’t need the government to tell me I can’t look at porn, or listen to Howard Stern, or smoke marijuana. I don’t need the government to protect me by censoring poetry or artwork. I am perfectly capable of making these decisions for myself.
What I do need from the government is to do their job. Balance the budget. Improve schools. Fix the roads.
Do all these crabby white men currently in office really think Americans need them for guidance on their personal affairs? When faced with a moral quandary, Americans don’t consult “7th Heaven� or their congressman. They do what they have always done- talk to friends, ask family members, pray, discuss, meditate, whatever.
Â
George W Bush continues to pander to the faction of his party that seems to desire a theocracy in this country, and that just makes me itchy. Another 4 years with him in office is like being doomed to a constant loop of “Highway to Heaven� playing in my living room. But without the soothing voice of Michael Landon.
And that, dear Elephant, is why this Libertarian is voting “Anybody but Bush� in 2004.
(Elephant thinks Midgie is on to something. Remember the disasterous GOP convention of 1992? The current 'buzz' among the chattering class here in Washington is that Bush could be victim of the Carter-Effect. Things were so bad under Carter and at the time most people feared Reagan as too radical, but Carter's impotenence led voters to conclude that, whatever the risk, a change was needed. Message to Bush, get back to real issues like controling spending, social security, improving our intelligence services.)
BIG THANKS TO MIDGIE! We hope she'll contribute more.
All are welcome to approach the Edge.....
Comments:
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Broson, (I'm really guessing its you as its the post is unsigned).
What the hell do I know, I mean I don't think evolution is bunk. Your comments, I think underscore some of the criticisms Midgie brings up. You see the world one way and dissmiss the views presented as not "Christian" or somehow in denial. Who are you to tell me what my faith should be and weather or not I am a Republican. That's part of the problem. You can be a Christain and buy into evolution, gay marriage and having the government staying out of your personal and spiritual lives, oh yeah and you can also be a Republican. My faith is not so weak I need constant reinforcement by politicians and it offends me when politicians use religion as a marketing tool. It is this exact take it or leave it atitude that's pushing the Elephant, and many others, to the Edge. I'm sure Midgie will be able to take it from here....
What the hell do I know, I mean I don't think evolution is bunk. Your comments, I think underscore some of the criticisms Midgie brings up. You see the world one way and dissmiss the views presented as not "Christian" or somehow in denial. Who are you to tell me what my faith should be and weather or not I am a Republican. That's part of the problem. You can be a Christain and buy into evolution, gay marriage and having the government staying out of your personal and spiritual lives, oh yeah and you can also be a Republican. My faith is not so weak I need constant reinforcement by politicians and it offends me when politicians use religion as a marketing tool. It is this exact take it or leave it atitude that's pushing the Elephant, and many others, to the Edge. I'm sure Midgie will be able to take it from here....
Hi Bronson-
As I am rather pressed for time, I thought I would get right to the heart of the issue and address your comment (about my post) “So the question becomes WHY is traditional morality offensive to her?�
How do you define “traditional morality�? Is it the morality that supported slavery in this country? Disallowed inter-racial marriage? Made homosexuality a crime? Amended the Constitution for Prohibition? Denied women the right to vote?
Because lawmakers used the Bible and religion to support all these things. And they have (for the most part, and thankfully) gone the way of the dinosaur.
There are some things that I think as a country we must always find immoral and illegal – the most severe things- murder, rape, theft.
But I see a trend in the current administartion and with Republican lawmakers around the coutry to legislate away things they find “distasteful�.
For example, I find Howard Stern distasteful. He blathers on about porn and anal sex and lesbians, and you could not pay me enough money to listen to 15 minutes of his broadcasts. But is he “immoral�? Should he be “illegal�? I say no.
Because if we give the government the power to ban and censor anything they find distasteful, sooner or later something I, and sooner or later you, will watch as something they find perfectly fine being censored and outlawed.
More than I believe in our president or our government, I believe that the America people can make important decisions about how they choose to live their lives.
I don’t let my neighbors or co-workers tell me how to live my life. Why does this current administration feel the need to do that?
It doesn’t effect my life if my gay co-workers get married, or if the guy down the street downloads pornography, or if the lady at the grocery store wants to burn the flag in protest.
There is no “traditional morality.� That’s a hollow phrase.
I work, pay taxes, support my family, and volunteer to make my community a better place. More laws don’t make a country better.
I see the religious right as a very, very scared group. They are scared because they are in the minority. The majority of this country does not want to be legislated to death, and does not want their government ammending the constitution out of fear and distaste. I only hope it does not take 4 more years of The Dub to make most people realize that.
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As I am rather pressed for time, I thought I would get right to the heart of the issue and address your comment (about my post) “So the question becomes WHY is traditional morality offensive to her?�
How do you define “traditional morality�? Is it the morality that supported slavery in this country? Disallowed inter-racial marriage? Made homosexuality a crime? Amended the Constitution for Prohibition? Denied women the right to vote?
Because lawmakers used the Bible and religion to support all these things. And they have (for the most part, and thankfully) gone the way of the dinosaur.
There are some things that I think as a country we must always find immoral and illegal – the most severe things- murder, rape, theft.
But I see a trend in the current administartion and with Republican lawmakers around the coutry to legislate away things they find “distasteful�.
For example, I find Howard Stern distasteful. He blathers on about porn and anal sex and lesbians, and you could not pay me enough money to listen to 15 minutes of his broadcasts. But is he “immoral�? Should he be “illegal�? I say no.
Because if we give the government the power to ban and censor anything they find distasteful, sooner or later something I, and sooner or later you, will watch as something they find perfectly fine being censored and outlawed.
More than I believe in our president or our government, I believe that the America people can make important decisions about how they choose to live their lives.
I don’t let my neighbors or co-workers tell me how to live my life. Why does this current administration feel the need to do that?
It doesn’t effect my life if my gay co-workers get married, or if the guy down the street downloads pornography, or if the lady at the grocery store wants to burn the flag in protest.
There is no “traditional morality.� That’s a hollow phrase.
I work, pay taxes, support my family, and volunteer to make my community a better place. More laws don’t make a country better.
I see the religious right as a very, very scared group. They are scared because they are in the minority. The majority of this country does not want to be legislated to death, and does not want their government ammending the constitution out of fear and distaste. I only hope it does not take 4 more years of The Dub to make most people realize that.
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