InsaneJournal

personal and political

First, congratulations to ozma914 on becoming a grandfather x2 (twins).

His post reminded me that I’d neglected to mention a rather important tidbit of news—on 06/13/08 my pervious employer Biff and his partner Jorge became the father’s of a little boy.

While part of me had hoped that Biff would completely lose it and name the infant something wildly inappropriate like Tardis however apparently sanity prevailed and the boy’s name is Julian.

Friday the 13^th Baby: Young Julian contemplates existence. 

It’s funny, but on an abstract and grandiose level I can’t help but equating Julian’s birth to two daddies with the recent legalization of gay marriage in California, almost as if the two events show—one on a personal and one on a public level-- the legitimacy of love and family that goes beyond the traditional definition. 

 I have to admit it’s been a long time since I’ve felt optimistic and hopeful about the capacity of the American people to accept and include.  The past decade or so seems to have been a downward slide into intolerance and polarization.  I think the approaching end of the Bush presidency and the possibility that Barack Obama could replace him has done a lot to brighten my outlook. 

I don’t talk about politics a lot (because if you haven’t noticed I’m kind of self obsessed) but I am behind Obama in the current campaign.  He’s from Chicago, which makes it really exciting that he might be president but it’s more than that.  I actually believe in him.  I believe he’s real and decent and has the nation’s best interest at heart as opposed to his own (something I’ve never believed about Hillary Clinton). 

While I’ve always had a great deal of respect for John McCain as a veteran, a former P.O.W. and as someone who has always bucked the system and gone against the party line he’s really disappointed me in this campaign by allying himself with religious extremists such John Hagee (known for the notorious statement that Hurricane Katrina occurred because God was displeased with an upcoming Pride Parade), taking an anti-diplomatic stance in international affairs, and for his support of using continued military action to deal with the situation in Iraq.  It just seems to me that someone like McCain should know how destructive and fruitless war can be.  About a year ago I had hopes that he would be at the forefront of finding a better way but apparently that isn’t going to be happening. 

 A poster of Obama by Shepard Fairey.