My Bully Pulpit

Other site for commentary

2006-10-27T10:31:00.000-05:00

OK, 2006 is making my political fingers babble again -- but now i'm doing it over at liberalmediaelite.com....

Tiptoeing back...

2006-05-05T14:57:00.000-05:00

So, hi.

I've relocated to NYC, and am employed again. These things are good. The country is still going to hell in a handbasket, which is not so good.

Blog Quietness

2005-03-22T13:27:00.000-06:00

I've been horribly silent recently -- I know that. As some of you know, I'm in the middle of a two month part time gig teaching ACT prep at a far-south side, underperforming CPS high school. It's been rewarding at times, frustrating at times, and always fascinating. However, given the recent rash of people getting canned for blogging on work matters, and given my current underemployed state, I'm not going to be talking about it here. I've got plenty to say in person or on the phone for folks who wanna hear more.

On principle I don't blog about my personal life -- let's just say I'm very happy there.

So that leaves the general pop culture and politics stuff that I opine about -- and the current landscape is just so unbelievably frustrating. This Mary Shiavo stuff is absurd -- I can't even talk about how ridiculous this *federal* circus is. The theocrats are having their day; let's hope they keep pushing an agenda which the majority of Americans find repellent. Course, it'd be nice if the Dems pointed it out...

Culture wise, I'm loving _Fat Actress_, critics be damned. Alley's willingness to completely humilaite herself in quest of a laugh (and she's playing herself!) reminds this viewer of the best British sitcoms (think _Abfab_ and _Keeping Up Appearances_). American TV stars do not exhibit this very often... and the results are a scream. Yes, the show is ripping off _Curb Your Enthusiasm_. It's still funny.

Bwa ha ha

2005-03-22T13:23:00.000-06:00

As MWY said, you don't need to know our posse to find this funny:

http://supas.blogspot.com/2005/03/whos-your-colonial-daddy.html

Gates and Keyes

2005-02-15T15:43:00.000-06:00

I just got back from a great weekend in NYC. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's art installation in Central Park, _The Gates_, is spectacular. Plus, if you disagree, it'll be gone in two weeks.

Alan Keyes, former embarrassing GOP candidate for one of the IL seats in the US Senate (formerly a candidate, not formerly embarrassing), is back in the news. Seems his daughter has finished coming out of the closet, after some drama during the campaign about her blog being found, etc etc. The story was of course squashed.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/15/keyes.daughter.ap/index.html

Poor gal -- queer daughter of this guy, who is not just a lunatic rightwingnutjob, but a malicious one as well. As if my weekend wasn't enough of a reminder of how much better I've had it than others have on this front.

Maya, we love ya and we got yer back.

The Coming GOP Schism and CTW

2005-01-31T15:12:00.000-06:00

I've said since election day that while the biggest problem with GWB's second term will be four more years of his court appointments, the second biggest problem is that it puts off the identity crisis that the GOP needs to go through. There are plenty of libertarian-type Republicans who are not happy about the American Taliban wing of the Party and how they are dominating the discourse.

I may have been premature in my sentiments, though -- because the voices are starting to be heard. Christine Todd Whitman, former gov of NJ and former head of the EPA under GWB for about as long as she could stand it, has written a book called _It's My Party Too_ about this very problem. She's a Republican, but she's pro-choice, believes in evolution, etc etc.

In short, she's one of the sensible ones. One of the ones I can disagree with about defense spending, but not tear my hair out with frustration about their stance on the social issues. I can handle the former differences of opinion; I can't handle the Flat Earth Society.

Anyhow, CTW was on Fresh Air last week, and you can listen here: http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=01-27-2005.

She's great -- clearly toeing the party line about not attacking GWB, but voicing some concerns. She definitely tries to fudge around how GWB and his Admin *represent* the problem she's talking about, so she is being a little ham-handed about that. Terry Gross asks some tough questions to that end, and there are a few uncomfortable pauses there. But I don't expect her to take on the GWB Admin with both barrels.

There's been some speculation that this book is the start of her running for the Presidency in 2008. I wouldn't vote for CTW -- she's too Republican to get my electoral support. However, the idea of people electing her to something doesn't bother me. We need more of her voices out there, and we need them soon, and we need them to get organized NOW.

Stopping the theocrats from taking over the country is going to require the support of both us lefties and the Republicans who have some sense. These guys have to take back the mantle of Republicanism, and religious progressives have to take back the mantle of faith.

There's lots to do.

AWESOME!

2005-01-30T20:59:00.000-06:00

I'm completely addicted to Iron Chef America -- stripping out the goofy interculturality of the original totally works for me. (Laughing at how strange the Japanese are is, well, a different sort of pastime for me).

So the new show rocks, and tonight's episode rocked even harder. The brilliant and gorgeous Ming Tsai took on cocky asshole Bobby Flay, and the ingredient was duck. Tsai stuck his hand down Flay's gullet and pulled out some Foie Gras d'Cocky Asshole Chef of his own, and then made dessert with it.

Yes, he made a Foie Gras Creme Brulee. This may well rival the Foie Gras Granache that I had with Jeff and Mirvy at Aquavit in May 2003!

The whole show rocked. Every dish that Tsai did looked masterful, as did a few of Flay's, it must be said.

I am pleased -- Flay got his arse handed to him. This is a great great day.

Woo!

2005-01-19T09:15:00.000-06:00

Toes wiggling -- a little optimism coming out of DC, believe it or not... Sens. Joe Biden and Barbara Boxer have been giving Secy. of State-nominee Condi Rice a good drubbing. Even the Morning Show chickee on CNN said "Wow, it's great to hear Democrats sounding like Democrats again!"

Indeed, indeed.

"There he is, Mr. New Year . . ."

2005-01-03T21:18:00.000-06:00

"There he is, Mr. New Year . . ."
Originally uploaded by missjasmine.

Too dang funny! Dan's goat-horns at the end of his chin were surgically excised by the end of the evening.

Dang!

2004-12-19T01:24:00.000-06:00

Aw, that's better
Originally uploaded by missjasmine.

Aren't I lucky to have such a gorgeous creature on my arm?

Spitzer for Governor

2004-12-07T13:05:00.000-06:00

Apologies for posting so little, but there isn't all that much I feel like commenting on publicly. Rice for Secy of State? We knew that was coming. Et cetera.

Today, Elliot Spitzer, AG for NY, made public what lots of folks have suspected for a while -- he has political aspirations, and he's going to run against Pataki for NY Governor. He's also gotten a lot of flak for aggressively prosecuting white collar crime and getting a lot of publicity from it.

I say, good for him. When Giuliani had that job and was ruthlessly chasing down violent criminals, nobody bitched that he was doing it for his own gains. Given how widespread illegal and unethical business practices are, three cheers for the scrutiny.

Thoughts, anyone?

Whew!

2004-11-29T15:43:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy week around here... PulpitMom was here for a whole week, which means that my apartment now looks like a museum. Woo!

Seriously, we've had fun, and lots of food, and conversations... it's been a good week.

Recovery

2004-11-21T13:07:00.000-06:00

I've been talking a lot over the past few weeks with people about where the Dems should go from here (KRS-One, UpperMidLeft, WDB and others have featured prominently in these convos). I think we have come to a consensus: There is nothing wrong with the Democratic party platform, merely a problem in how it articulates and communicates that platform. The party need move no further to the center/right than it already has in response to the election loss (PS, blogosphere: it was a *loss*, not a *crushing defeat* like the Bushies are saying -- don't let their echo chamber get away with painting this as decisive -- it wasn't).

The new swing states (good ol' FL and OH, VA and AZ increasingly so) are winnable for the Dems, but not if they try to jettison the party and speak the language of the fundamentalists. It's more important for us to understand more about how people vote against their economic self-interests (Thomas Frank's _The Trouble with Kansas_, amongst others, tackle this). WDB put forth a really interesting idea: that Americans lack a fully formed sense of class identity, and as such attempts to speak to them rationally backfire. Similarly, Chris Hayes has an article in the current _New Republic_ where he talks about how lots of undecided voters have strong opinions on things like healthcare but they don't think that these are *political* issues.

Again, though, these two different perspectives don't tell us to change platforms but to change how we get it across. Thoughts?

Hiatus Ending

2004-11-15T23:34:00.000-06:00

Hello dear readers... my apologies for the extended hiatus. First I went to PA to try to save the country from the Forces of Redness with PulpitMom and Michael, which was fantastic, rewarding and ended my months of pessimism for a few days of clear eyed optimism... which then got crushed. My pessimism all along got endorsed, alas -- as we didn't take Ohio. Add some blues over that, then a little business around these parts, and then (aigh!) the iBook got sick. Luckily, it came back from the Apple Store all repaired, cleaned (!) and happy for no charge. Then this weekend Matthew and Natascha came down from Mpls to visit, and here we are.

I'll try to post on the adventures over the past coupla weeks in more detail.

mwaah!

-KJB

I loves these ladies...

2004-11-15T22:14:00.000-06:00

Oh we're so cute.
Originally uploaded by missjasmine.

From Sorry Everybody

2004-11-11T13:32:00.000-06:00

From Sorry Everybody
Originally uploaded by kjbogart.

Everyone should check out http://www.sorryeverybody.com -- this is my favorite so far.

Letter to Senator Durbin

2004-11-04T14:27:00.000-06:00

I just sent the following to Senator Dick Durbin, D-IL.

-----------
Dear Senator Durbin,

As a constituent, an unemployed queer American, and a very scared Democrat after this week's election results, I am writing to urge you to seek the office of Senate Minority Leader in the wake of Senator Daschle's loss in South Dakota.

I had a tremendous amount of respect for Senator Daschle for many years, but he has squandered that respect since 9/11 by not holding the Bush Administration anywhere near accountable for their behavior. I don't begrudge him his decision, as he has been vulnerable politically for many years. Nevertheless, his actions have been hugely disappointing.

As the electoral maps from 200 and 2004 show, the upper midwest in particular and Illinois in particular are the heart of the Democratic Party. We desperately need a Democratic leader in the Senate who can be critical of the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans without having to look over his own back worrying about re-election. We also need someone who cannot be dismissed as an out-of-touch coastal liberal, as our brethren from the Northeast and West Coast so often are.

Senator Durbin, you are that man. I've been to your home town of Quincy, and I know that it represents the America that President Bush scared into voting for him. All over Illinois, politically minded folks know of your humility and decency -- you are the Senator who drives his own car and pumps his own gas. We need your credibility.

Senator Durbin, you have served the people of Illinois for a very long time. Now I write you to ask for more -- to ask you to serve your Party nationally and to help save this country. The Bush Administration is going to do its best to turn America into a theocracy, and we have to be ready and mobilized to respond.

We need you, Senator Durbin.

Respectfully,

Kevin J. Bogart

Thanks, Howard

2004-10-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

I'm watching Alexandra Pelosi's documentary on the 2004 Democratic Primary, _Diary of a Political Tourist_. Unfortunately, I missed the beginning.

Kerry just won the Iowa Caucus, and Dean just did The Scream Heard Round The World.

Remember all this? Remember the unstoppable Howard Dean Machine? I do. I remember liking all the good ol' lefty fury driving it all -- the sense of engagement, the sense of populist change --and my niggling sense that the Republicans would have made lunchmeat out of him.

Ach... thank you, Howard Dean. You got us motivated way back when -- you reminded us that this is our country to care about. I'll think of you this weekend in Pennsylvania, and we'll all think of you on Tuesday, when we all do our part to take our country back.

Quiet Week

2004-10-27T19:49:00.000-05:00

Sorry kids -- I've been quiet this week. It's been a fun one: RoomieSexyTyger was in town, and not only was it great to see her, she cleared out a lot of her stuff from our place, so I can actually move in. This is great news -- I've been getting a little crabby at living out of a suitcase! Plus, Aunt Benet came up to visit from ATL, so we had a series of fun adventures across the weekend too.

Other exciting news: my Jeep is now registered in Illinois, and I'm the proud owner of an IL drivers license. Woowoo!

In addition, on Thursday I'm going to PHL to meet PulpitMom for a weekend of volunteering for KE04. I expect this to give me lots and lots to blog about.

Holiday 2003

2004-10-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

Holiday 2003
Originally uploaded by missjasmine.

This picture is from last year, but I do love it so.

Wow!

2004-10-13T20:23:00.000-05:00

Kerry sounds absolutely fantastic -- smart, cogent, firm and authoritative without being paternal or pedantic. It's great.

On the right side of my screen, GWB isn't sounding bad enough.

Grrrrrr.

Last Chance

2004-10-13T14:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight, JK has to smack GWB so hard -- I mean, leave GWB staring at the camera in stony silence unable to speak for at least ten seconds -- that Karl Rove is terrified. Not just a little scared, but pissing his pants worried. Rove'll panic, and pull something so transparently desperate that will backfire.

Unless we get a massive Bush campaign screwup in the next two weeks, the Democrats are steaming towards a repeat of 2000.

Fingers crossed...

A Day in the Life of Joe Republican

2004-10-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

From the blogosphere:

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffee pot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. With his first drink of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with good pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a workers compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noon and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the taxpayer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

First Volunteer Shift

2004-10-11T15:54:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I took my first shift volunteering at a reproductive health clinic in the western suburbs of Chicago. In order to keep some of the vocal anti-choice voices at bay, many clinics have volunteers to escort women from their cars to the doors of the clinic.

This is something I have wanted to do for many, many years -- and earlier in the summer I even tried to find out about opportunities in Chicago, unsuccessfully. A few weeks later I was with Jasmine at a BBQ hosted by one of her coworkers, Eric. We got talking and he mentioned that he was involved with clinic defense volunteering out in Dupage County and I told him I was interested. They always can use volunteers, and men are particularly needed. Plus, I feel better about doing this out in the burbs -- the clinic is in Glen Ellen, which is next door to Wheaton (of Wheaton College fame). This is a particularly Republican -- and Christian evangelical -- part of Chicago suburbia. I've got a car, it only takes 20-25 mins or so to get out there at 7:30A on a Saturday, and they need my help more.

I got out there to do my first shift with Eric, who got me hooked up with the group in the first place. The shifts are short -- 8A until around 9:30A, as the clinic schedules all the appointments early in the AM. Eric told me that one woman was inside already, and there were 12 scheduled appointments. Usually around 80% keep the appointments, so he was expecting around eight more women to come in. Eric was wearing an orange vest marked "Clinic Volunteer" and we went inside to get me one.

Anti-choice protestors are forbidden from entering the clinic property, so they stand out on the side street or in front of the clinic on the little strip of grass between the main road and the parking lot (Dupage County; no sidewalks). There were five this morning, several with rosary beads, praying.

When the first car entered the parking lot, Eric gestured them over to the driveway at the door to the clinic and explained to the two people in the car that if they got out there by the door, we'd escort them in (only six feet), park their car for them, and bring the keys in so they wouldn't have to park themselves and be subjected to the verbal assaults of the protestors for a longer time.

Almost all of the women took us up on the offer, and it definitely limited their exposure to the hateful speech being thrown at them.

Everyone was there within an hour, and we left. The protestors gave the usual yang about murder and the like, and one of them even yelled at me "You must really hate women to be here." Clearly, I didn't respond. Eric told me that there are usually a lot more people protesting, and that they are usually a lot more aggressive and disgusting in what they say.

I'm really amazed at how profoundly moving it was to do this, even if only for an hour. It really felt like you are on the front lines, and standing up to both the hatefulness of the anti-choice movement *and* helping women as they negotiate a really emotionally charged moment when they do not need to be verbally assaulted by prostelytizing religious wacko retirees.

I really can't wait to go back.

A Brief Note to the Bushies

2004-10-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

TR said "Speak softly *and* carry a big stick", not "or".

Just a reminder.

Kevin and Adrienne get silly

2004-10-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

Kevin and Adrienne get silly
Originally uploaded by missjasmine.

Adrienne is one sexy, sexy woman. I'm lucky to be allowed to sit next to her, especially in public at Wrigley...

Ew. Ew. Ew.

2004-10-05T19:58:00.000-05:00

I'm in DC for a couple of days for work.

I just got back from dinner at the bar where the DC chapter of the Young Republicans are meeting. As you might imagine, we left quickly.

I feel like I need a shower. Blech!

Still Not Sold

2004-10-03T16:55:00.002-05:00

Polls that show a majority of people believe that Kerry beat Bush in the debate do not matter. Had GWB smacked Kerry up, I'd answer that poll bt saying GWB won the debate and I'd still not vote for him. Plenty of people polled acknowledged that Kerry won the debate, and are still supporting GWB. Michael's link to polling data showing that a majority of polled people in swing states acknowledge that Kerry won the debate doesn't mean we're in any kind of a substantively better position than we were a week ago.

I don't think that energizing his base is where Kerry's priorities need to lie. GWB's scathing incompetance has mobilized our base just fine. I'm as motivated as I ever was -- but I have yet to be really enthusiastic about a Democratic candidate. I've voted for the Democratic Party and against the Republican Party in every election I've voted in, except for 2000 when I was voting both against the Republicans and against their candidate. I've never decisively voted *for* a Democratic candidate.

Kerry won the debate. He looked good. Bush lost the debate and looked bad. He needs to look *far, far* worse for all this window dressing to really make a difference. Kerry needs to land a suckerpunch --- say something in the debates that leaves GWB unable to respond at all. We need a 10-15 second awkward silence where it looks like GWB is pissing his pants. *That's* what we need to really take the wind out of the Republican sails.

Remember, all this talk-talk-talking stuff is what Democrats do instead of taking action.

In the meantime, we on the side of truth and justice have some encouraging momentum. That is *all* we have that we can take to the bank.

Debates, Two Days Later

2004-10-02T13:28:00.000-05:00

So, I was really pleased with how cogent Kerry sounded, and how moronic GWB sounded.

As I am *whenever* either of them speaks. (Well, OK no, I've gotten pissed at Kerry for not being aggressive enough).

But you get the idea: how can I be encouraged by my own perceptions of how the debate went? It blows my mind that Kerry isn't leading GWB by 20 percentage points across the country -- it's absurd that the Bushies have saddled Kerry with a credibility problem when their candidate is responsible for misleading the country into war, etc etc etc. I can't trust my own opinions of things, because the country has gone so far through the looking glass. Who cares what I think! Kerry could have walked out, pointed at GWB and said, "Are you kidding me with this guy?" and I'd have been thrilled. It would not have been terribly smart election year politics however.

So my opinions don't exactly gel with the national zeitgeist. The only explanation is, imho, that the Republican message of "we're bringing the fight to the terrorists and the Democrats are content to let them bring the fight here" has tremendous traction because of its simplicity and accessibility. Add that with the tendency of narrow-minded Americans to view the entire Muslim/Arab world as uniformly "terrorist" (allowing that little OBL=Saddam Hussein thing to work), and the damn message sells, even though it's a load of crap. Americans like the simple answers, and distain complexity.

That's all a bit of background to my conclusion: Kerry was great, but I don't think Bush was bad enough. I want to see him stand there, totally gobsmacked. Kerry had my fist pumpin' in the air, and GWB (oh, yet again) made me feel embarrassed to be an American, but does that mean any of this got through to squishy GWB supporters or the undecided? Did enough of them really say, "Hey, this Kerry guy is making some sense?" I'm, again, a big ball of pessimism.

F The Vote

2004-09-29T10:16:00.000-05:00

http://www.fthevote.com/

This is definitely kind of fun, and I certainly endorse all (legal) efforts to remove the GWB adminstration from office, but it goes against my long standing "No Sex with Republicans" rule. It's inspired by a female friend of mine from high school, who wouldn't have sex with Republicans because she couldn't be sure that they'd be OK with her terminating a pregnancy should she accidentally conceive. There's a clear elegance to that point that I like, and I've taken it to heart.

That all said, should I rethink my position? Should we doink Republicans to get their votes? Should we not even consider having sex with someone who isn't already appalled by what this administration is doing?

What do you all think? Feedback please.

Sir Sissypants

2004-09-28T22:15:00.000-05:00

Sir Sissypants
Originally uploaded by missjasmine.

This is what Spencer, Sir Sissypants of Bucktown and Gage Park, looks like. He is very cute. Isn't he cute? That's a cue for all of you to agree with me.

Wow

2004-09-28T14:03:00.000-05:00

It seems strangers are indeed reading this.

Care of Sir Sissypants

2004-09-28T10:50:00.000-05:00

The Care of Sir Sissypants

Feeding

He gets 1.5 goblets of food (finish off the food yola brought then go to the new bag... The old bag that is open and almost empty is probably really stale...) in the AM and in the PM.

If he's hungry, he'll eat. I've not found him to be a huge eater unless he's just back from the beach. Then he's starving and you've never given him food ever ever ever. He gets "drama queen" from his ma.

Walking

First thing in the AM

Before you leave for any significant amount of time

Right when you get back from any significant amount of time

At night before you go to bed

He should get at least one good solid romp a day, and a smaller one on the opposite side of the day.

Walking Locations

Off leash- Bring a handful of the beef liver treats with you and call out "pup-pup" a couple times, have him come to you and give him a treat. This will teach him to come to you when called... It's nice...

In the park across the street really early or really late (as fall closes in they care less and less, but technically you shouldn't do it ever.)

If you walk to jasmines house, then take that street left and go to the end... There is around there (maybe up a block or two) a fenced in area where the gate is open. This is a big area with trees and is totally fenced in. It is an unofficial doggie park. There will be no one to play with, but it is not as far of a walk as the puppy park.

Puppy parks- are all good.

The rest of the time he should be on leash. Fines for getting busted off leash can get steep.

Other-

He will drink out of the toilet if he gets thirsty. The combo of lid down and full bowl of water will get rid of that.

He destroys stuff so rarely, that if he does, he's really really angry

He can take 6-8 hours on his own with no problem. Getting in to 10+ is pretty mean

You can let him out back for a quick pee

There is a doggie brush (blue) in the pantry if you feel the urge

He is a bed hog, feel free to push him off

He is a dog shaped rug a lot of the time

If he comes to you hyper or points to the door a lot, he probably wants to go out. He will take advantage of this sometimes, but he's pretty honest if you've been consistent.

There is a woman who walks a large collie on leash around the perimeter of the park out front. Either keep Spencer away from them or keep him on leash. She's cranky.

Overdue, I know...

2004-09-27T17:19:00.000-05:00

So, I've been delinquent -- I get it, I get it. Things have been a little bit busier than they have been in a while.

Maria was here in Chicago for the weekend, which was just spectacular. Not only was it great to see her, she officially invited me to move in here properly. Yay! So we'll be working out a more equitable financial arrangement, and moving around some furniture, and bringing my stuff out of storage. So I'll get to be an actual resident, which is really exciting. I've been missing my belongings anyway!

Furthermore, I've got Spencer the Sissy Dog for the week, which is making me really happy. More trips to the dog beach!

Tracking election polling continues to be a daily activity for me, over my morning coffee. Biggest sign of optimism is how the Dems are registering voters much more aggressively than the Republicans are, which is good. But without a candidate articulating anything, will those folks vote? I'm excited for the debate this thursday, but definitely worried -- all GWB has to do is not drool all over himself, and with the low expectations we all have for our current President, he'll win. Kerry will be articulate and come off as eggheaded.

GWB gets better and better in front of a microphone -- he was clearly starting from a low point, but he's tons better than four years ago. Of course, the Republicans stay on message all the damn time...

*sigh*. Still not optimistic.

More later. I've got a post on Pat Buchanan that is percolating.

God bless Eric Idle

2004-09-09T15:09:00.000-05:00

http://www.bushflash.com/wmf/fcc.mp3

Don't Save Our Show

2004-09-03T11:03:00.000-05:00

http://www.dontsaveourshow.org/

Jeremy Irons Should Not Be Allowed to Get Laid

2004-08-29T16:14:00.000-05:00

OK, whenever Old Boy gets some tail in the movies, it turns into a hot mess.

1. Brideshead Revisited
2. Damage
3. Reversal of Fortune
4. Dead Ringers
5. Lolita

Cmon now, this is not OK. This man has made a career out of sexual dysfunction...

Quiet

2004-08-25T17:35:00.000-05:00

I know, I haven't been posting much. I'll get better, I promise. The DNC and the trip home really had me on a roll. *sigh*.

Johnny Apple on Julia Child

2004-08-21T14:39:00.000-05:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/18/dining/18JULI.html

Republicanism as Pathology

2004-08-13T10:12:00.000-05:00

OK, so these folk have to be some dirty hippies, but I love this:

http://www.panix.com/~arkay/outline.html

Must revisit topic...

-K

Nuptials

2004-08-08T08:23:00.000-05:00

Well, the big day is here -- my Dad and Dina are getting married in a couple of hours. Furthermore, two really really excellent couples I know got engaged over the weekend: Jeff H and Onika W., and Jeff C. and Mary I.! Much celebration for both (and yes, of the four Jeffs I know, two got engaged this weekend).

I'll holla more later.

-KJB

Yes!

2004-08-06T20:19:00.000-05:00

http://www.n3t.net/humor/Seriously.mpg

Spotty Internet Access

2004-08-06T15:37:00.000-05:00

I'm kinda busy with fam stuff and there's no wifi, so I'll check back in later...

-KJB

PS Onika and Jeff are engaged!

Go Get a Soda and Be Patient, They'll Show Their Ass Sooner Or Later

2004-07-31T08:19:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things is when crazy-ass Republicans fall out of lockstep and misspeak, revealing the true evil inside. (Cmon kids, you all know that there's narsty stuff under those plastic facades...). One of the best examples of recent years was Trent Lott's slip up about George Wallace and the resulting implosion...

However, we have another!

Good ol' Pat Buchanan has done it again, describing Teresa Heinz Kerry (PS, anyone notice that her multiple names arent a problem like HRC's were in 1992... thank god) as "uppity" because she told a reporter to "shove it."

Uppity! He actually said "UPPITY"!

Toadying Bastards

2004-07-29T22:23:00.000-05:00

A response from HRC:

------

Thank you for taking the time to contact the Human Rights Campaign regarding your concerns about the attendance of Margaret Cho at the Unity ’04 event at the Democratic National Convention. I want to assure you that the Human Rights Campaign loves Margaret Cho, and respects her as an artist.

We would like to apologize for any distress or embarrassment this may have caused her or the community. We too are disappointed and saddened about an environment where GLBT Americans are the focus of President Bush’s effort to distract American voters.

The best way to bring about a positive and inclusive America is to defeat President Bush in November. With enormous national press attention at our event, we want to ensure that the only messages coming out of Boston are positive.

We did not want to allow the GLBT community, and our celebration, to be used as political fodder for the extreme right at this particular time, in this particular setting. That’s why we made this decision. We look forward to re-uniting with Margaret Cho in the future and continuing our vibrant relationship with her.

To win in November we must all be united. You may also be interested in reading a statement posted on Margaret Cho’s website. This is viewable at the following link, http://margaretcho.net/blog/, but the text is provided below for your convenience.

I appreciate you taking the time to forward your concerns to HRC, and please know that feedback like yours is very valuable to HRC as an organization, as it provides us with the best way to evaluate how our members and supporters are responding to the work that we're engaged in. Should you have any future concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me again!

Respectfully,
Laura Dalrymple
Member Services Coordinator

Apocalypse!

2004-07-28T21:16:00.000-05:00

Mom is in the other room falling in love with Graham Norton. The end is nigh, people...

Mom and Reverend Al

2004-07-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

I'm back at home for a coupla weeks.

Some of you, gentle readers, are well aware of my mom's political radicalization this year. A lifelong Democrat, Mom was never tremendously politically engaged. She voted every election, but never concerned herself too much with it all. Until this Administration -- she's a fire-breathing radical! There will be more on this later, I'm sure.

We were just watching Rev. Al Sharpton address the DNC (which was quite excellent, actually) and Mom goes "I'm really glad he's there -- there's definitely a place for him in the Party."

*boggle*

Mom's the generation of white NYC liberal who is down with Sharpton's agenda but looks at him and sees "TAWANA BRAWLEY" written all over his face. (Full disclosure: I'm pretty guilty of this as well). But here we are in 2004, and he's up there banging the drum, putting the 2000 Florida election thievery in proper historical context as relates to the disenfranchisement of Afr-Americans in the US. He rocked the joint -- him and Obama are the ranking ass-kickers so far.

Also, big ups to Dennis Kucinich for a fantastic speech. Why are us Dems painted as radicals for preaching such basic common sense?

*sigh* Because the opposition is evil. I know, I know...

Wexler 2034!

2004-07-28T15:01:00.000-05:00

I LOVE Ilana Wexler.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5538151/?GT1=4244

Um, Howzabout Obama/Clinton Instead...

2004-07-27T21:40:00.000-05:00

Damn, did you see the future Senator from Illinois kick some serious ass! The good Sen. Clinton from NY better step back and reassess...

Tell yo' Daddy!
Tell yo' Mama!
We need a senator named Obama!

PPM at the DNC

2004-07-27T18:40:00.000-05:00

Peter, Paul and Mary just performed at the Democratic National Convention. I'm plotzing over here -- all those old liberals swaying back and forth, off beat; flashing peace signs; singing along. Oh, the waves of nostalgaia -- this is my Democratic childhood in a nutshell. My dad once kicked a passenger out of his cab to pick up Mary Travers; my family owned the _PPM: Ten Years Together_ album on *8-Track*, for god's sake.

I couldn't help myself -- I rocked back and forth, singing "If I Had a Hammer" with 'em.

My Dad and Senator Pothole

2004-07-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, my dad is getting married on August 8th in beautiful Freeport, NY. He called me yesterday to tell me this story:

He was at the tuxedo place in Oceanside trying to determine what he wants to have us wear at the wedding. Former US Senator Alfonse D'Amato (R) walks into the store. They get talking (my dad will talk to a telephone pole...) and my dad winds up saying "I have no idea what I should wear... I'm just going to wait until my son is here to make this decison."

D'Amato responds, "Is this a Queer Eye for the Straight Guy kinda thing?"

Dad, somewhat taken aback, says, "Well, yeah, actually..."

Dad calls me immediately to tell me this story.

Liberation in dribs and drabs, my friends... dribs and drabs...

Stupid-Ass HRC, and why Same-Sex Marriage does and doesn't get me motivated

2004-07-27T14:37:00.000-05:00

This is last week's non-blog material, but I'm going to crib a post out of it.

The Human Rights Campaign, toadying organization for GLBT rights that it is, disinvited the brilliant Margaret Cho from headlining their event at the DNC this week for fear of giving the right wing fodder to attack the John Kerry campaign and the Dems in general.

To me this is some serious bullshit, and I wrote a super-snarky letter to them and sent it to my friends as well. My cousin Mike (married, two beautiful daughters, queer-positive with fab politics) asked me for some more explanation, and I wrote back explaining myself. Below find all of this.

If you agree with me, email HRC at hrc@hrc.org and yell at 'em too.

-K

----

Initial letter:

To whom it may concern:

HRC's decision to uninvite Margaret Cho from headlining at your event at the DNC in Boston
disappointed me greatly, but unfortunately did not suprise me in the least.

HRC by virtue of its size and prominence wields a very large amount of influence. While I understand tha there is a need in all political movements for a diversity of perspectives ranging from the militant to the moderate, HRC continues time and time again to skew to the cautious end of the spectrum.

As we all know too well, this election is hugely important and represents a watershed. Given that, the
decision of your organization to continually "play it safe" is in fact playing into the hands of the militant right-wing agenda -- to silence all dissent.

The ironies are huge here -- Margaret has been a tireless advocate for GLBT rights for many years, and
has done so with humor, righteous indignation and intellectual creativity. She's made a career out of
speaking truth to power, and her fans (myself obviously among them) love her not only because she
makes us laugh like substance addicts but also because she is unafraid to continually point out injustice, bigotry and hate. Despite her more radical street cred being, ahem, well established, Margaret has made same-sex marriage one the issues for which she advocates most strongly.

I really could keep writing, but you get my point. HRC's dismissal of Margaret Cho serves to underline why HRC doesn't speak for my issues or concerns, and while I do not expect to ever become an HRC member. In fact, I'd love it if Margaret would start up her own GLBT rights organization -- I've got a nasty little suspicion that her group of queer folk would look a
little more like Queer America and a little less like DuPont Circle.

In short, Margaret speaks for me and HRC doesn't.

Thanks,

Kevin J. Bogart

-----

Mike wrote:

couple of questions. why do you rule out becoming a member of HRC? just curious. not saying that's good or bad. are you just saying that because of the Cho decision? and I meant to ask you this awhile back, but you said something interesting. said you have become more passionate about the gay marriage issue in the last six or so months. refresh my memory. what was your position six months ago? totally indifferent? just curious about all this.

My answer:

----------

http://www.draglink.com/text/essays/pg-human-rights-campaign-1.html#top

Just one of the things that googling "HRC sucks" gets you. You also get some clown bitching about the service at a Hard Rock Cafe, but that's just funny.

Seriously -- they are toadying and lame and getting worse. It's not just this Cho thing -- it's that this Cho thing is SO TYPICAL of how they suck. They are really an organization of wealthy white gay men -- and they advocate really mainstream issues -- like leading the charge for marriage.

I'll go off topic a bit to explain my thinking on the marriage issue -- i've never opposed it or anything as stupid as that, but it is not issue #1 for me and never has been. I'm much more concerned about employment nondiscrimination, hate crimes and health care than i am about marriage. All of those issues are more pressing, and have the ability to more dramatically impact the lives of a broader spectrum of queer people than the significance of state-sanctification for a couple of homos who are
already partnered. If you are partnered -- you are partnered. Like Joni Mitchell sings... "we dont need no piece of paper from the city hall/keepin us tried and true."

I also take issue with painting the struggle for queer liberation in terms of a single trajectory towards heteronormativity -- implying that queer folk only deserve respect/freedom/dignity etc when they act like straight people. This is the line of reasoning that that jerk who wrote _A Place At The Table_ puts forth, and it really sucks in my opinion. Liberation is only real when we're all free -- the trannies, the drag queens, the bulldykes, the sluts... everybody. Liberation is NOT when we define ourselves as "normal" when we couple up and settle down.

That is, however, a fairly nuanced argument -- and one that is mainly a response to to the tone and packaging
that organizations like HRC put forth in their messages on this subject.

Here's how my opinions have changed somewhat: I agree with everything I typed above, and I will not organize, advocate or give money to advance the marriage cause. That said, I have come to agree with the marriage-insistent folks on two points:

1. Fair is fair, equal is equal, and all of this "civil-union" stuff is all just some bullshit. Attempts to block legit forms of governmental samesex unions are by definition an attempt to write in some form of seperate but equal thinking into the law of the land, and that just sucks. (By the way -- my favorite footnote on all this is one of the proposed solutions to the Massachusetts constitutional crisis: simply have MA get out of the business of issuing any kind of marriage licences whatsoever, and only issue civil unions -- be they same or opposite sex. This is fucking fabulous and brilliant -- it solves the legal problem, establishes equal protection under the law, and FINALLY cleaves the issue of church/social marriage away from the question of civil/state recognition of social partnership. Big Fabulous).

2. It makes administrative sense. The horror stories of administering to all of the legal technicalities of legal inheritance, medical decision making, joint property ownership and oh boy children are SO complex and a lot of incredibly confusing stuff could just be wiped away by just letting people do this one thing and take care of it all IN ONE FELL SWOOP. This isexcellent.

I never had a different opinion on #1, I've just started to really hear the "fair is fair and equal is equal" argument in a way i didn't before. As for #2, over the past eight months or so I've had some interactions with people in my social circle negotiating this stuff and it is a FUCKING BITCH to keep track of all this stuff. (I've some good anecdotes, but they're long and I dont wanna do all the typing now -- i'll tell ya on the phone.)

So, back to HRC -- they are really, really milquetoast. Even the name -- "Human Rights Campaign" -- belies what the organization is really about (as opposed, to, say, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which puts the homos right there in the name. Thanks for that). They are timid, and limited, and lily-white and male dominated... it's basically your standard lefty screed against a mainstream organization. They aren't as bad as, say, Andrew Sullivan, who needs a spanking... but they're pretty ridiculous and getting more so. The very idea of ANY liberation movement organization uninviting a speaker for fear of him or her being too outspoken indicates where their collective head is at.

In short, a trite but very appropos quote from HCHS' most well known and magnificent alumna, Audre Lorde: "The master's tools will not dismantle the master's house." HRC needs some new tools, and right quick.

At the end of this Big Queer Email on this Big Queer Subject -- a couple of questions for ya: do you and Samantha have any queer folk in your social circle? Have you guys ever gone to Pride? (You should; it's a hell of a lot of fun, and honestly pretty family-friendly fun at that).

As ever, kisses to the three mcnulty women...

xoxo

KJB

Can't Help Lovin' That Man Of Ours

2004-07-27T13:48:00.000-05:00

In the fall of 1996, as Bill C. was steaming towards re-election, I was beginning my fourth and final year as a student in the College of the University of Chicago. It was also the quarter I was taking Intro to Gender Studies with the highly divalicious Lauren Berlant, who is walking and talking proof that subversive intellectualism/humor/politics are in fact part of the same brain muscle. In class on Election Day, Lauren tells us that she walked into the voting booth that morning whistling "Can't Help Lovin' That Man of Mine."

This is of course pre-Monica, and Bill's transgressions to this room full of Judith Butler-wavin', queer theory lovin', patriarchy subvertin' college kids were more about unfulfilled promises and unfulfilled promise than transgressive sexual behavior. Yet, the snappy line of Lauren's comes to mind whenever I see or hear Bill out there. It's even more pronounced when he's giving a public speech, and when you get him in front of the Democratic faithful like last night, you just gotta get pumped.

In short, We Love This Man. We love him more truly than the Republicans love Reagan, because we generally embrace his faults as well. His imperfections make us smile knowingly and almost wistfully -- we've all been there, right? If not in action, but in thought (see the evening's other excellent speaker, fellow ex-Pres Jimmy Carter). On top of all that, we get to pat ourselves on the back, which everyone loves to do... we're better than those guys across the aisle, whose electorates demand hypocrisy from them. We get it, good ol' ugly human nature. We don't condemn the achievements of public figures to the dustheap just because of their flaws and failures. How very Continental of us. More Sauvignon Blanc, anyone?

Detour aside, Clinton is settling nicely into a paterfamilias role. Watching him speak last night was just so perfect -- the speech was good although not great, but it allowed him to elucidate Dems v Repubs in a nice manner. He kept talking about John Kerry - as he should. Four years ago his speech at the DNC was a swan song to his own presidency instead of a strong endorsement of Gore/Lieberman. I think most of us agree that Gore's biggest mistake was not letting the Clinton charisma machine work for him. The DNC isn't doing that this year, because (finally) there is some recognition that in these elections about "swing states and swing voters" the argument can be made just as strongly that elections can be made about mobilizing you base. No one gets out the Dems like our Bill does. We just love him so damn much. Anyone else notice what happened when the camera turned on the black folk in the convention hall? Bill's popularity amongst African-Americans has been oft-commented upon, so I don't need to rehash all of that.

Now that our Bill has been released from having to actually run himself, he can be even more rhetorically brave than before. In praising John Kerry's voluntary Vietnam service, he contrasted it not only with GWB's decision to avoid Vietnam but his own to do the same thing. (Obvious partisan aside: Clinton's jaunt on a Rhodes was draft-dodging, but GWB's tenuous National Guard service wasn't. Um, OK) We're getting a new and more playful Bill -- he looks rested, thinner, energetic. He is getting to work on lots of good issues that motivate him, and he seems to be having a grand old time of it. Four years ago we had tons of speculation on how he'd handle leaving the White House, and he's done pretty well methinks.

That all said, I wish he was running again and I bet he does too. We're going with Kerry because we think he can beat Bush. He's generally fine but somewhat uninspiring, and while we have plenty of "GWB has got to go" rage running around, I wish I had more enthusiasm about Kerry/Edwards than I do. Remember how energizing Bill made us feel? Of course, I want the pre-9/11 world back too and the times they have changed away from us...

I want the lovin' feelin' back. It was such good stuff -- we could change the world. Bill would help us change the world. For that we loved him, and it's why we can't help lovin' that man of ours.

Here we go

2004-07-27T13:18:00.000-05:00

Years overdue, but I'm jumping into Blogland...

I guess I'll start with a quick note on the title... ever since high school, there's been a part of me that has wanted to be a columnist and commentator, and I always wanted to name my column "The Bully Pulpit." Of course, "bullypulpit.blogspot.com" is taken already, but I'm OK with the switch to "My Bully Pulpit", since as we all know blogs, while wonderful, are the definition of vanity exercise.

Combine all this with the recently persistent revelation that writing is going to have to be a part of my new career direction, and you have me jumping into this portion of cyberland. Being an opinionated f**ker, why the hell not go all the way and proclaim this blog as a place for me to shamelessly pontificate about how I see the world.

And so, My Bully Pulpit it is.

-K