Dear President Obama,

You know that I support you 100%.  But I must say I was a little surprised to find this in my Inbox.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered.  I imagine you must really like my Sarah Palin rants.  But, please, keep your eye on the prize!   
Love,

Carey

You’re probably dying to know what I did tonight Mr. President.  Well, Claudio, Ryan, Chazz and I went out for a fabulous Chinese dinner on the Sunset Strip.  A good time was had by all as these photos will attest.  I’m off to bed now, as tomorrow we’re going to the TV Land Awards.  It should be a fun show.  It’s being hosted by Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie) and features:

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Lucille Ball – Legacy Of Laughter Award)
• Don Rickles (Legend Award)
• The cast of Home Improvement (Fan Favorite Award)
• The cast of Magnum, P.I. (Hero Award)
• The cast of Knots Landing (30th Anniversary)
• The cast of Married with Children (Innovator Award)
• The cast of M*A*S*H (Impact Award)
• The cast of Two and a Half Men (Future Classic Award)  Complete List 

Have a good night Mr. President.  Oh, and Chazz wants to know when we can set up a play date with Bo??

 

Yeah, you read that right.  Backwoods Barbie is at it again, this time jumping on the bandwagon criticizing Obama’s “Special Olympics” gaffe.  For the record, here’s my take on it, since John and a few other of my Republican friends have asked:

Yes, Obama apologized and has even managed to spin it in his favor.  But Sarah Palin and her retarded baby* (who is the uncle to her bastard grandson) has the gall to reject stimulus money that would have been used to fund, among other things, SPECIAL EDUCATION.  Nice family values Sarah. 

The biggest single chunk of stimulus money that Palin is turning down is $160 million for education. There’s also $17 million in Department of Labor funds (vocational rehabilitation services, unemployment services, etc.), about $9 million for Health and Social Services and about $7 million for Public Safety.

*By the way, there’s no need to educate me about the fact that Trigg has Down’s Syndrome or that “retard” is an offensive term.  I’m not an idiot.  I’m just venting.  It’s my blog goddamnit and Sarah Palin is more offensive to me than any words I can put on this page.  She’s vile, reprehensible and evil incarnate.  For the record, I put myself through college partly by working at group homes for the developmentally disabled and partly by babysitting over 50 kids.  I have attended and worked my fair share of Special Olympics over the years.  All people are “precious and unique” Sarah, not just your white trash baby and illegitimate grandson. 

Now that I have that out of my system, here are some pictures from tonight.  Claudio & Ryan are back with Chazz and we had a nice dinner at home and watched movies.  Tomorrow we’re heading to Santa Barbara.

Joelle’s enjoying all the amenities the H.C. has to offer

Claudio always has to get a sneer in!

Chazztastic!

Ryan was asleep before the movie started!

911 Dispatcher:  911 What is your emergency?
Me:  Yes, I’m at the corner of Fountain & Olive in West Hollywood and a woman crashed her car into my front yard.

911 Dispatcher:  Is anyone hurt?
Me:  I’m not sure.  I think she’s OK, but she doesn’t speak English and she’s very upset. A West Hollywood Parking Attendant called you 15 minutes ago to report the accident and there’s still no one here.  The woman is crying and we don’t know what she’s saying.  Can you please send an officer who speaks Bulgarian or Russian?
911 Dispatcher:  We have no report of an accident at that address.
Me:  Well you do now.  Can you send someone?  She’s very upset.
911 Dispatcher:  Is the other driver there?
Me:  There was no other driver.  As far as I can tell she was pulling out of a parking spot and didn’t realize her car was in reverse.  She floored it to go up the hill, but went backwards and knocked down a metal sign pole and ended up in my front yard.
911 Dispatcher:  What kind of car is she driving?
Me:  A burgundy Mitsubishi and the other car is an Escalade.
911 Dispatcher:  What other car?
Me:  Oh, she did some damage to as Escalade as she was backing up.
911 Dispatcher:  Is that driver there?
Me:  No, the Escalade was parked.  I don’t know who owns it.  Can you please send someone quickly.  This woman is very upset.  Her hands are shaking so bad, she couldn’t even dial 911.  I finally helped her call her husband.  He’s on his way.  We’ve been waiting about 20 minutes now.
911 Dispatcher:  We have units on the way.  Will you stay with her?
Me:  Yes 
911 Dispatcher:  OK, they will be there soon. 

The West Hollywood parking attendant calling 911 the first time

In the meantime I went to a Russian couple’s house in the neighborhood to see if they could help.  I figured since Russian and Bulgarian are both Slavic languages, maybe my neighbor could help calm the woman’s nerves (plus the woman did communicate that she spoke some Russian).  Unfortunately, of my two neighbors only the wife speaks English.  Her husband didn’t understand what I was saying and I gathered that his wife wasn’t home.  When I went back outside the police still weren’t there!

This sign she ran over is what kept her from crashing in to my living room!

 
911 Dispatcher:  911 what is your emergency?
Me:  Yeah, I called 8 minutes ago about an accident that happened a half an hour ago and the police still aren’t here.
911 Dispatcher:  Yes, I just talked to you 5 minutes ago, they are on there way.
Me:  It was 8 minutes ago, and they’re not here.  This is ridiculous.
911 Dispatcher:  Sir don’t argue with me.
Me:  I’m not arguing with you.  I’m stating facts. 
911 Dispatcher:  You know this call is being recorded?
Me:  I don’t care if it’s being recorded.  I’m a taxpayer who’s just trying to be a good Samaritan.  This woman doesn’t speak English. I have no idea if she’s hurt or not.  We’ve been standing out here for 1/2 an hour….
911 Dispatcher:  Sir….(She speaks over me and I have no idea what she’s saying.)
Me:  Don’t interrupt me, I’m speaking.
911 Dispatcher: / Sure we have other emergencies…CLICK

Just then the woman’s husband drives up.  He gets out of his car and speaks to her in Bulgarian.  He seemed upset with her, so I started taking some video with my camera.  Sorry about the quality, I was trying to be discreet.  Does anyone understand Bulgarian?  It seems he’s being pretty hard on her, but I don’t know what he’s saying:

Finally the police showed up.  I let the woman’s husband explain what happened, even though he wasn’t there.  Then I told them what I knew:  I was sitting at my desk working and I heard a loud crash.  At first I thought it was an earthquake, and when I saw what had happened I ran outside to see if I could help.  I told them about the 911 calls and that I was upset that the 911 operator hung up on me.  They said I shouldn’t have called from my cell phone because they don’t automatically know where I am. (They don’t???)  Whatever.  So much for trying to help.  I went inside and made dinner.  Since my patio doors were open, I heard everything that happened after I went inside.  Apparently the Bulgarian woman is a nanny for a girl who lives across the street from me and she was leaving work when she crashed her car.  Then the woman who owned the Escalade came out.  She was remarkably nice about the whole thing and tried to comfort the Bulgarian woman.  I’m not sure I would have been so forgiving had it been my car she hit.  I guess that’s a lesson in compassion for me.   Actually there was remarkably little damage to the Escalade:

The whole situation really pissed me off.  I live in a supposedly affluent city with top rate police and fire protection.  I would like to think that had the woman been injured they would have been there immediately, but have you ever heard of a 911 operator hanging up on someone?  Crazy.  I felt bad for the driver.  She was so confused.  It kind of reminded me of another woman driver I blogged about on July 1st, 2007.  This one however, I had NO sympathy for:

The building is FUGLY anyway.  Maybe they’ll repaint it.  It’s filled with vapid commercial actresses who are always letting their dogs shit in my yard and not picking it up.  I wish she have done more structural damage!

So…never a dull moment around here!
My bad mood eased a little however, when I came in and saw this on the news:

So, as long as the Bulgarian mafia doesn’t try to kill me for taking that video, I’m going to bask in my Obama glow.  It’s a new day!

In 12 hours, our long national nightmare will be over and America will begin a healing process that will hopefully restore our tattered reputation around the world. 

The forty-fourth presidential inauguration will herald a new era for intellect in the United States. No longer will conjecture and gut instincts substitute for empiricism and analysis. In front of millions around the world, science will be given new breadth, non-believers will be put on equal footing with the faithful and education will be promised true reform.
Sean McManus
Executive Editor, Bigthink.com

We started celebrating last Thursday when my mostly Republican family was nice enough to indulge me with a “George Bush is Outta Here” party.  We had hats, plates, cups, a tablecloth and a “To Do” list for our ex Asshole in Chief that included completed items like:

• Squander the goodwill, love and sympathy of the world by utilizing a misguided, arrogant foreign policy to ensure that the U.S. goes from being one of the most beloved countries in the world, to the most despised country in the world all by the time September 11, 2002 rolled around.

Thank God for the 22nd Amendment!

We even played “Pin the Tail on the Ass’s Ass” with a “Mission Accomplished” tail on Dick Cheney protruding from W’s ignorant ass!  Luckily the kids didn’t read the poster!

Mission not quite accomplished

Even Betsy was celebrating earlier tonight

Bush’s Depressing Goodbye – One Staffer Gets Job at Abercrombie & Fitch!!

President Bush and his friends celebrated the end of his term with a party of their own at Glen Echo Park. Slate went, for some reason, and their account makes the whole thing sound like the most depressing event in the world. The party, dubbed “Crossing the Finish Line” and held in the park’s giant Spanish Ballroom, was organized by outgoing White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and his predecessor, Andy Card.

The venue had been somewhat controversial, according to attendees. There was no heating, so a lot of bodies were needed. “Due to the historic nature of the venue, there are limitations on what can be done in terms of climate control,” the hosts warned in an email. “DO: Wear layers and coats. DON’T: Dress like you’re going to Gold Cup or Smith Point.”

Apparently some of the more climate-controlled venues had been taken. “There weren’t a lot [of places] available,” said Card. “There weren’t a lot of bands available, either.”

So, basically, everyone was rubbing against each other for warmth and totally unemployed. Just contemplate the multitudes that are contained in this single depressing sentence: “One outgoing Treasury employee had already landed a job as a manager at Abercrombie & Fitch.” The Great Gatsby could have ended with that line.

Anyway, there they all mingled, freezing their asses off, as Karl Rove talked about Twitter, Alberto Gonzalez walked around with a bloodshot eye, and the president mangled some more grammar.

Look, people, if you are out the next two days, and you see these mopes walking all despondent down the street, for God’s sake, take them out a plate of canapes or something and call it national service. Then wish them luck at their new jobs, folding on, sweaters against the sale rack, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

Best of the rest…

I want to thank Tom & Cathy for a most spectacular gift they gave me that I alluded to last week.    It’s an Eye-Fi wireless SD card.  It saved me so much time last week in San Francisco because the pictures I took automatically went to my Xanga wirelessly (through Picasa which I had synced to a web album) without even having to download from the card!  What a time-saver.  All I needed to be was at least 30 feet from my computer.  As long as my camera was on, the pictures got uploaded instantly and automatically.  Pretty cool!  Thank you both so much. 

I saw this picture of Obama yesterday and thought it was really nice.  Did anyone catch the “Puppedential Debate” on The Daily Show the other night?  Anderson Cooper is pretty damn funny.  I met him last year at a book signing and he was really friendly (I didn’t meet his his boyfriend).  If you missed it, check out “The Road to the Doghouse” The last frame is my favorite!  Hilarious.

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Also, you may remember my appearance in Seth’s “Peace on Earth” video and benefit song last Thanksgiving.  I promised you guys I would let you know when it was available on iTunes, and now it is.  If you have iTunes installed, you can click here to purchase the song.  Otherwise, just search for “Seth Freeman” from the iTunes Store.  It goes to a good cause!

Finally, here are some photos I took from my roof of the sunset on Monday night.  Peace!

 

Best of the rest…

“The task of our generation, whether we are religious people or secular people, is to build a global community where people of all persuasions can live together in peace and harmony.”  The Golden Rule is fundamental to compassion.  Visit http://charterforcompassion.com/ to learn how.  I’m thinking of contributing the story of what “GLY” stands for.  It’s a story I’ve never fully documented, but those who know me have heard it many times.  Also, I participated in a video shoot yesterday for an exciting project that will foster peace on earth.  That’s all I can say for now, but stay tuned for details in the next week or so.

A special thanks to Jech for reminding me of this classic West Wing clip that still gives me goose bumps when I watch it.  President Bartlett, meet President Obama:

I wrote about this over a year ago, but with the recent events surrounding Proposition 8, I thought it would be a good time to revisit this topic.

Back in March of 2007, before Proposition 8 and a black President Elect, I wrote a post called “Perceptions” about a woman I know whose father didn’t let her listen to Diana Ross & the Supremes when she was little, because he said it was “nigger music“.  As a child she did not perceive this as a racist remark.  (Just as I grew up hearing my own mother routinely use the expression, “Who was your nigger last year?”, when I asked her to get something for me.  It was a phrase her mother used to say to her and so on…)  Similarly, my older relatives who lived through World War II have very different perceptions of Germans and Japanese people than I do.  No one is born with perceptions.  They come from our upbringing and our life’s experiences; and the older we get, the harder they are to change.  (Though apparently it is possible, as several of my elderly family members voted for Obama!!) 

This is why a large majority of younger voters have traditionally voted the political party of their parents (see graph).  Since just roughly 60% of Americans live in the same state they were born, it stands to reason that voting patterns remain consistent in states throughout the years.  (Indeed the 40% who move away, typically move to more traditionally liberal and urban areas.)  So perceptions may not be as easily changed as one might think.

The book “Talking Right – How Conservatives Turned Liberalism Into A Tax Raising, Latte Drinking, Sushi Eating, Volvo Driving, New York Times Reading, Body Piercing, Hollywood Loving, Left Wing Freakshow”, tells the story of a “a subtle linguistic campaign whose architects – from Spiro Agnew to Karl Rove, have altered the meaning of our everyday political vocabulary. ‘Values’ has strayed far from its dictionary meaning to become the exclusive property of the right; liberal has become a designation for people whose taste in cars, cheese, and coffee puts them “out of touch” with real Americans; the “ownership society” has become a pretext for apportioning wealth to the haves and have-mores.”  After reading the book I had a better understanding of the divide, and how it happened.  I understood the whole “red state/blue state” thing much better.  What I still couldn’t put my finger on however, was how the perception of love could be so different between groups of Americans.  The divide in America between right and left is growing, and it’s evangelical Christians that are leading the way. (People like Peter Singer, the so called ”Blue State Philosopher are rarely in the media, perhaps for good reason.)  From gay marriage to racism, I could write pages about how the Christian Right’s positions (perceptions) on so many of these issues is patently “un-Christian” and hardly reflects the “Love Thy Neighbor” dictum.

Some of you may have already seen this Keith Olberman video that’s been circulating widely regarding Prop. 8. 

I’ll take him on!  Liberals just don’t get it.   They think it is about denying happiness and rights.  It is not “Hate” (which is interesting given that a group who hates others for taking away something where they tried to do a total end-around by having four judges invalidate a proposition on a technicality then didn’t have the guts to bring the issue to be people and explain their position before opening the floodgates… and then complain about something being “ripped away”)    Please, it’s a little disingenuous to see people who abuse the democratic process accuse anyone who does not hold their position of hate.    I guess people who don’t like smoke being blown in their face “hate” smokers (oh but that is a liberal thing… that can’t be hate), and anyone who would like to see a child born rather than aborted “hate” women (though I guess if it is the other way, do I “hate” unborn children?).  It’s solely about procreation and protecting the child’s stability and environment.  Going back to my Biblical soapbox, Genesis 2:14 says:

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Nothing about this is about all of the self centered adults (either divorced or gay). 

Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion.  If you think like this and believe the Bible is infallible, I suspect no amount of protesting or arguing will change your mind.  If you remove the religion from this argument (to level the playing field), at least it’s articulate.  The Mormons take it to a whole other level.  Case in point:  Listen to this incredibly ignorant Mormon woman who called Michelangelo Signorile today.  It’s about 15 minutes long, but she starts getting really goofy at about 8 minutes.

Whenever I hear this kind of rhetoric, I think of the musical “Rent” and how its message resonates in my life.  When I first saw the play in 1996 in New York City its philosophy was so profound that I went on to see it more than 15 times in 7 countries.  The story is an old one, 156 years old to be exact.  1851 was the year that Henri Murger published the book Scènes de la Vie de Bohème a story about his friends; so called “Bohemians” or “starving artists” living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the mid 1800′s.  His friends had the same names as the central characters in “Rent” (with American updates; Rodolpho became Roger, Marcel became Mark, etc.).  50 years after the book was published, Puccini turned it into the famous opera La Boheme, which in turn, 100 years later became the musical “Rent“.  The central themes of all three were the same.  Wikipedia presents this chart:

No matter how hard the characters try to fight it, they all come to the realization that love is the strongest force we know.  Stronger than heroin, AIDS or even death.  Be it the “starving artists” in the Latin Quarter of 19th Century Paris, the American Bohemians like Jack Kerouac in the 50′s or the drug addled, AIDS victims in Jonathan Larson’s masterpiece “Rent”; they all knew this “fact”, and they lived their lives accordingly.  Even in this age of social networking and a truly wired global technosphere; it’s good to be reminded that we are all connected by the powerful force of love, and that a broken heart universally hurts.  “We don’t own emotion, we rent.”  How ironic, that Jonathan Larson, the composer and playwright of “Rent”, dropped dead of an aortic aneurysm the night before the show opened on Broadway in 1996.  After all, “Rent” is about living for today, because you never know what tomorrow might bring.

Last year I had a conversation with the same woman I spoke of in the first paragraph (she’s also an evangelical Christian).  She told me that I would be proud of her, because she finally watched the movie, based on the musical “Rent”.  I asked her how she liked it, and she basically thought it was “disgusting”.  At first I was taken aback by her response.  I know the movie wasn’t nearly as good as the play, but it was unfathomable to me how anyone could find these ageless, central themes anything but life affirming and beautiful.  She admittedly shed tears at the sad parts, but implied that all of the tragedy and sadness of the movie was a result of the characters (“Lesbos” was one of the words she used), not seeking the love of God.  They were seeking love in the wrong place.  Their addictions, (heroin) and diseases, (AIDS) were their own doing.  I fail to see the Christ-like thinking in this sentiment and told her so.  It’s like the Pope’s recent proclamation that only Catholics can go to heaven.  Excuse me?  

She quoted Matthew 6:33 

6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

After reading my original blog on this subject, the same woman wrote to me and said the following:

So that’s the paradox.  The older I get, the more this kind of thinking is what roils me about organized religion.  Be it movies like “Jesus Camp” or websites like www.lovegodsway.org or www.godhatesfags.com; I think I’ll stick to “The Golden Rule“.

I rest my case:

“I” woke up this morning with Garbo on one side of my pillow and Ruby on the top against my head.  LOL.  I wish I could have taken a picture, it was so cute.  Anyway, Seth and Jessica came home today, so I’m sleeping alone again.    I had a good time with the dogs as usual.  Here are a few photos:

They always need a vacation after leaving the Hotel Careyfornia

I taught Garbo & Ruby a new trick this week.  It’s called “Pretend you’ve been shot by Sarah Palin“:

Please Sarah, don’t shoot!!

What do I look like, a moose??

Best of the rest…

Lisa thinks I’ve been wasting too much negative energy on Sarah Palin of late, but I respectfully think that we must remain vigilant, so that Governor Avon Lady never gets so close to the presidency again.  Bill Maher really sums up my feelings perfectly here.  “I’m trying not to be mean, but I’m sorry, I can’t…”  It’s worth watching to the end:

If only she went away this easily:

This bit about Prop 8 appeared on the same Bill Maher show, and brings up some good points about the “elephant in the room (Religion…you can’t poke in the naughty place…)” at about 2:35.

So yes, it is a new day…but we still have a ways to go!