Just about anyone with a child or in the education industry that I know would take this offer. Where do we start?
Oh. Wait. We can’t do shit about it now. Especially now that its been worn like a feather in every senator’s and the President’s fucking cap. Lovely.
Sam
I’m not depressed because the government fell to the Republicans.
I’m depressed because my fellow Americans voted overwhelmingly for constitutional bans on same-sex marriage in 11 states. I’m depressed because my fellow Americans value a man with “good morals” over a man who isn’t a complete incompetent like the incumbent. I’m depressed because the rest of the world will now rightly be able to place blame for everything we’ve done horribly wrong with our foreign policy on the American people instead of on an Administration that showed no real signs of being a megalomaniacal, powerhungry, faith-based group of people back in 2000.
The actual government itself isn’t what’s depressing me, no.
Every word of your second paragraph is absolutely true. No matter who is President, I can still listen to the Ramones, eat Cheez-Itz, watch Spirited Away with the missus, dance to Material Issue, snuggle with my dogs, dye my hair and wear black rubber bracelets.
Then I go to work and look around, and realize that, more than likely, every single one of my co-workers voted against me out of hatred and fear.
I’m not saying that the world is over – it’s not. But it’s a little colder, somehow, and I’m a little sadder, and tonight I did the one thing that I never do – I cried a little and thought about how, in some ways, I’m sick to fucking death of being gay. That’s what this election made me feel. It made me wish for a moment that I wasn’t who I am.
I think it’s mosly ignorance. Don’t let ignorant people hold your own happiness hostage. Fuck 'em, and choose your own way.
I work with developmentally disabled people who have had their benefits slashed because the current governonr of the state is ravaging social programs to pay for a tax cut for the richest 10 perecent of the state. These are literally the most helpless people in our society whose lives are being directly and tangibly damaged by a state government for completely venal motives. This same state governor has also completely eliminated some inner city day camps and after-school programs that I used to volunteer or. Kids were actually getting homework help and mentoring and a safe place to go after school. Their lives have been dirsectly damaged by their government.
Of course, the elected officials of this state like to play up the “Christian” thing quite a bit too. They seem to be fond of that part where Jesus says to steal from the crippled and the children to give to the wealthy. I’ve never actually seen that part but it must be in there. It’s so integral to Republican politics.
I do, for the most part, but you can see how something like this would get me down, yeah? I mean, I try to be a good person. I always give money to homeless folks and I rescue animals. Never kicked a kid that didn’t kick me first [heh] and I’m cool with almost any personal [read: affecting only that individual] choice that a person makes, even if it’s not what I would do. I’m generous to a fault and am a pretty decent girl on the whole.
Then the majority of a country that I love gives me the collective finger. It’s a sour pill, my friend.’
I do see your point, though, and mostly agree. 
Say Kerry had won. How would this be one tiny bit different?
Again, there is not one shred of evidence that any of this would have been this tiniest bit different under Kerry.
John Mace is right. We chose the pot instead of the kettle. Big deal.
Oh, and for all of you concerned about health care, on that one issue, thank your lucky stars Bush was elected, because Kerry’s plan would have made something that’s already expensive (health insurance) downright unaffordable for everyone. The last time someone (Clinton) tried something like that, the result was HIPAA, a dog’s breakfast of an act that has been the primary reason health insurance costs have skyrocketed over the last 8 years and the reason over ten million people have lost their insurance because they can’t afford it.
I do. I’ve read a lot of posts about this issue from gays on this board, and for it’s worth, yours probably touched me more than any other. I wish you well!
As I do you, John. Thank you.
Lets see if those numbers stay the same... or will Bush stop "deficiting" away ?I want to see some cites for that. I deal with HIPAA on a daily basis and it has nothing (or very little) to do with rising insurance costs.
I’m not depressed because of something the government did.
I’m depressed because 51% of my fellow citizens have revealed themselves to be ignorant, bigoted, frightened, and gullible kids, who obviously haven’t been paying attention to the events of the past four years.
What was that P.T. Barnum said about underestimating the intelligence of the public again?
This is going on here in Minnesota?
Damn. I was hoping our governor was better than other republicans at least.
In what context? I’m talking about the mandates that it put upon insurance companies, not the part of it that deals with confidentiality.
I can tell you it has significantly increased capital expenditures for the majority of hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, pharmacies, insurance companies, and anyone else who deals with medical records.
See, the law now requires all these places to have patient files locked away. Not just in a locked room, but in lockable file cabinets. Such cabinets are more expensive than regular file cabinets, and most of those places didn’t have them due to that.
Now, though, they’ve had to purchase new filing systems if their old ones didn’t meet the criteria. And that’s created several million dollars’ worth of business in the filing industry. I know, because I work for a company that sells office furniture across the country. Our industry has been in a horrendous downturn the past three years. In some cases, the only thing keeping some office furniture dealerships afloat is the business being generated by hospitals buying new filing cabinets.
And I got news for you: the hospitals and insurance companies aren’t eating that cost. They’re passing it on to you, in the form of higher premiums, higher prescription fees, higher service costs.
HIPAA has helped my industry, and so I can’t complain too strongly. But don’t doubt that it has had an impact on healthcare costs in this country. It has.
The Law of Unintended Consequences is the one law government — ANY government — always passes unanimously.
Bush has proven himself an incompetent war leader. Incompetent war leaders get people killed. But don’t take my word for it, just read the newspapers in the coming year.
But hey, that’s OK for the 51% who voted for him! At least those icky gays will be kept down!
Competant war leaders get people killed too. That’s kind of the point of war.
But not in unncessary wars, which is also the point. How you people forgot that Bush let Osama go free in order to target Saddam is beyond me.
Incompetent leaders start wars for no reason.
I’ll think about this the next time I see people jumping to their deaths from a flaming building.
/had front row seats