The Election 2006 Post-Mortem

Well, hasn't this been an interesting evening?

From a national perspective, it certainly seems that the majority of Americans believe that we are headed in the wrong direction, and it's now our duty to correct it. (And by the way, YAY Bernie Sanders, finally a Socialist in government!)

Then, there's Wisconsin.

Doyle won over the noxious Mark Green.

Kohl won over...well, some band of idiots.

Another band of idiots put Sensenbrenner back, for reasons that I cannot fathom, but then again, he still had 3 people running against him, an amount of opposition candidates in that race the likes I have never seen.

Some idiot from DePere thought Wisconsin should reinstate the death penalty (last seen in 1853!) and apparently found another group of sociopaths to agree with him. (Honestly, I have no strong opinion on the death penalty, but if Dahmer didn't cause it to return, then it should be left that way. Fortunately, this was "advisory"--unlike another referendum--and is unlikely to pass with Doyle now re-elected.)

The former weatherman from WTMJ is barely winning his asinine bid for State Assembly.

Even with the weatherman, Sensenbrenner, and the Death Penalty, it was that first amendment result that stung the most.

I want to thank all the bigots who apparently forgot that they have unmarried heterosexual and homosexual friends and children (in a state where same-sex marriage is already illegal) and went and still passed a ban that takes away any protections for them.

That's right, no rights.

In a referendum shepherded by a divorce lawyer.

Just think about that.

Also think about the brain-drain that will leave the state because of it.

Think about the conventions, corporations, and innovators that will not even consider for one second moving to the state because of it.

Think about the fact that you voted for shotgun marriages over actual loving ones.

Think about the vision of the state of Wisconsin that you have in mind.

And realise that when all is said and done, you have consigned us to being insignificant.

You weren't voting against gays getting married. You were voting against simple human respect and decency to one another.

"Forward," indeed.

We don't deal well with dissent in the North Shore

Old autocratic stalwart Sensenbrenner got in a pissy mood during the Patriot Act hearings and shut off all the microphones. I wonder what they'll say about it in the Ozaukee County country clubs.

I slam Sensenbrenner by name in one of my plays. Although I'm not obsessed with productions, I'd love it if this one got done in Milwaukee for just that reason alone.

You're next, Jimmy!

The Journal-Sentinel has a scathing (and rightfully so) article on Representative James Sensenbrenner, who is the Senior member of Wisconsin's delegation to the House. The article states that Sensenbrenner is tops amongst WI representatives in terms of expensive junkets. He claims that all of his trips were related to work, especially as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. (Yes, he was one of the idiots who led the charge to impeach Bill Clinton.) I fail to see how visting Liechtenstein TWICE is critical to American security.

He also happens to be "my representative,"* despite the fact that myself, my mother, and the scant few other Democrats in Ozaukee and Washington Counties have been trying to get this fool out of office for as long as I can remember.


*I vote absentee whenever possible and I know that it matters. The first national election I participated in was 2000, where Wisconsin went to Gore by only 500 or so votes, including absentee ballots. In 2004, I voted in New York, which had more to do with the fact that I had just registered here in order to vote for the mayoral election. Next major state election, I'm going right back to voting absentee for Wisconsin. My rationale is simple, my mother still lives there, so what goes down in WI does affect me. Plus, it really does make a difference.

The 2005 That It Was

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This Is Not The North Shore I Remember...

...Or is it?

I am back in Wisconsin for election week. 

While I would be surprised enough to see one Obama/Biden sign, I am positively shocked that they outnumber McCain/Palin signs by at least 4 to 1. 

And this is over 4 suburbs. The only one bucking the trend is Bayside, where the McCain/Palin signs scream more desperation than support.

I am really and truly shocked...in a pleasant way.

We even have one very nasty State Senate race in my district.

Dare I even dream that Sensenbrenner might get unseated as well? Well, I've only seen one sign supporting Jimmy Boy.

The Year That It Was (On Here): 2007

It wasn't as busy a year as last at this corner of the internet, but there were some moments.

January

• I drink myself sober on New Year's and turn all Pollyanna-like.
• Don't drink with the ex.
• There is a programme better than The Closet, and it is subsequently picked up by here!
• The Polish final which is surprisingly low on actual Poles.
• A forecast for life in the next century.
• 700 posts!
• I dissect Eurolaul and irk prissy Vanilla Ninja fans for merely mentioning the strange resemblance between the band members and Lindsay Lohan.

February

• Jump in the time machine, because it's Eurovision 1992.
• Atlanta is not fun...especially when it is colder than New York (in more ways than one).
• A poll to see which Melodifestivalen act was aiming for the gay vote.
• A moment of reflection.
• Praising Ms. Nanne.
• Fun with the Spanish Eurovision selection (part 1).
• Fight for your right...to pick up hustlers.
• Cocaine is a helluva a drug...to watch Spanish National Finals with.

March

• Matt Sanchez and his idiocy.
• Escape from the land of muscle worshippers.
• GLAAD slides toward irrelevance.
• Me vs. Tacky theatre.

April

• We are saved from the possibility of President Tommy Thompson.
• Yet another Russian Eurovision entry with catchy music and lyrics by Babelfish.
• Praising MISIA.
• Eurovision Preview Reviews galore!
• He speaks.

May

• We Love Bitchy Nordics
• I am bewildered by the Eurovision Qualifier, and indifferent to the Final.
• Inane questions run amok on New York local news.
• Like many others, I fall for the daft Endemol joke.

June

• Shut up, Bono & Bob.
• The Tonys slide towards irrelevance just a touch slower than GLAAD.
• Bloomie gets a partial clue
• Take That revival.
• I Love Elliot (Spitzer).

July

• Oh, to be on the wrong side of the housing boom.
• I try to get religion...and realise I am my own church.
• Nobody likes Dick
• Milwaukee: test market for terrorism.

August

• My name is Hikaru Krispy Kreme, how may I serve you?
• I'm getting old, people...old & crotchety.
• Siberian independence NOW.

September

• Just a sampling of the GOP idiots running for President.
• Sensenbrenner needs to get eliminated....again.
• The Loonie reaches parity and then surpasses it. (Perhaps we're the real Loonies.)
• Janet Jackson makes a true lapse in judgement.
• Guess what? The Closet is coming back!

October

• Bye bye Jimmy.
• Obama self-destructs.

November

• Writers' Strike!
• WTMJ thinks moral indignation is the key to ratings success.
• ...And Al Roker is on Court TV.
• NBC slides towards irrelevance, faster than the Tonys & GLAAD.
• How not to do an interview.
• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade review...not for those incapable of comprehending context.
• Crap shows reopen.
• I hate Judd Apatow, but not as much as I despise La Perry.

December

• Perhaps we all really can't get along?
• Mourning a role model.
• Silver lining in Wisconsin's bigoted anti-SSM amendment.
• Edwards = JFK-meets-FDR and I'm all for it.
• Yes, MISIA has lost her mind, but it's catchy.
• Drunk Kiwis...awww.

Perhaps you've noticed something different this year, particularly a big drop in posts. I haven't mentioned it all this year, but there's been an underlying theme in my posts particularly in the second half of 2007: Cancer.

First, my aforementioned ex was diagnosed and treated for Prostate Cancer in July & August. The next month, my mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. (Fortunately, it was caught very early.) Two weeks later, my great aunt died from Lung Cancer. (My extended family--like my immediate family--is very small, so this was quite a huge deal.)

As for myself, I've so far been declared healthy by several doctors, which is good, especially since this year, I seem to hear and see cancer everywhere. Yet, as a result of these medical issues, I've taken on some extra non-writing work in order to lighten the load of those recovering.

Although it's likely I'll post again before January: Good health to all who read this (even Jonathan Capehart) in 2008.

The Circus Comes to Ozaukee County & 1000 Post Special Plans

Am I glad that I'm out of the county until Election Day.

Mr. Nice & Mrs. Mean apparently were in Cedarburg. It does say something that those two went to the reddest of the red counties in Wisconsin. By the way, I've been to Cedarburg many times, I wouldn't in a million years describe it as a small town. (There is actually a Town of Cedarburg, which is small, but N&M were in the City of Cedarburg, which is pretty much a tourist trap for those who like antiques and dairy products.)

Perhaps it's a good sign of the times, but the Journal Sentinel is not endorsing Jimmy Sensenbrenner in the Republican primary, perhaps this might actually turn into (GASP) an endorsement for the Democrat in the district? I'll be optimistic.

By the way, coming up soon: The 1000th Post special! Believe it or not, this corner of the internet and my id has almost churned out 1000 posts. Feel free to drop a question or several in the comments section of this post.

And manna shall rain from the heavens

Joe Bruno won't be running again!

Now if we could just get rid of Sensenbrenner in Wisconsin. (Not that I hold out much hope that the North Shore bigotry and self-entitled brigade would actually do the right thing.)

Colour Me Befuddled

Very interesting editiorial in today's Journal Sentinel. Apparently, bigots (especially ones in their thirties and forties) will vote bigotry in Wisconsin and then make sane choices when it comes to representation.

At least Sensenbrenner isn't as cocky this time around.

Personally, I just want to know how Arizona defeated the marriage ban, but Wisconsin didn't.

This Is My Homeland

I received my absentee ballot today and apart from the fact that there is still not a single Democrat or even non-Republican running for any of the county seats, I am presented with several very odd things.

1. The Republican running in my state assembly district is the former weatherman from Channel 4. And he's qualified, how?
2. When did the Greens become such a formidable force that they can run a full slate of candidates for statewide office? Even for the US House of Representatives!
3. Sensenbrenner must really not be that well-liked since there are 3 other candidates for his job (a Democrat, a Green, and an Independent).
4. There's a death penalty referendum. Honestly, I thought this was done and decided and over with in Wisconsin. If we didn't kill Dahmer, we're not killing anyone...at least not on purpose.
5. Ozaukee County for some bizarro reason has decided to put a referendum on the ballot that states: "Do you support the efforts of the United States and its military in waging a war on terror throughout the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan, until such time as organized terrorism is eliminated and citizens of all countries can be assured of their safety to go about their tasks of everyday life?" I dub this referendum the "pixies and unicorns referendum," because you would have to believe in them in order to actually think that any sane person would think that "organized terrorism" would ever be eliminated and that "citizens of all countries can be assured of their safety to go about their tasks of everyday life."

By the way, O wise GOP legislators of Ozaukee County, considering that the Mequon police cannot even use their Homeland Security equipment properly (and subsquently killing someone in the process), you are living in some delusional land divorced from any sort of reality to what has transpired globally in the past two years.

Then again, reality has never had much currency in Ozaukee County anyway.

It Makes You Wonder

Ever wonder why Wisconsin is a swing state?

By the way, my home district is #5, home of the idiot Sensenbrenner.

The Sushi Conflict

The Moonies are involved with sushi, which may mean having to give it up. Granted, this isn't that huge of a sacrifice--since I'm allergic to fish with gills--but it's an annoying one.

The other option is drilling every place that I go to about who their supplier is, and life is too damn short.

I don't know why this is a boycott I'm going to follow. In general, I believe boycotts can be a slippery slope, because oftentimes they don't take into account the shades of gray at work. For example, although ABC/Disney airs The 700 Club on ABC Family (and that whole Focus on the Family episode of Extreme Makeover), it's also a company that employs probably the most visible contingent of out gay reporters, and has been at the forefront of gay programming going all the way back to thirtysomething. Let's not even start with Gay Days--this company is defintiely on our side.

Another prime example, the Caribbean: While I agree with the boycott of Jamaica, The Cayman Islands, and The Bahamas, I have trouble buying the St. Martin/Maarten boycott and the extremists that call for a boycott of the entire region. Now, I definitely sympathise with families and friends of Jefferson and Smith, and I have issues with the nature of Caribbean tourism itself, but from what I've read and heard so far--and I say this, fully aware that testimony/-ies may arise that might cause me to reverse this opinion--it strikes me as boycotting France and The Netherlands. Chris Crain was bashed in Amsterdam last year and there wasn't the same sort of outcry. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that it's in "our backyard" or if there is some type of subconscious racial politicking playing out, but it just doesn't seem to add up in my head.

Yes, the attackers should be brought to justice, as quickly and as strictly as allowed under the law. I needn't mention that. Yet, let us remember that there have been vicious attacks here in New York as recently as last year. Even after Sakia Gunn's tragic murder, we haven't heard of people refusing to visit the Greater New York area. We haven't heard of people refusing to visit Northern California because of what happened to Gwen Araujo, and unless I've been missing something, there was no boycott of Austin.

I watch NBC, even though I know General Electric is one of the biggest supporters of the GOP. I've stayed in Marriott hotels even though the Marriott family is extremely and financially close to the Mormons. I don't give anybody any grief about using Bayer, despite their checkered past, nor do I shun the merchants in my hometown in Wisconsin, even though they have continually put Sensenbrenner back in power for years.

So it comes back to why isn't sushi given this same exception.

Perhaps on some level, it is guilt. I agree that the concept of a boycott is a noble one. I've participated in several, one of which was a wholly personal one against GNC after a hysterical and bigoted shop clerk called the local police on my father under the misguided belief that he was "casing the joint" in order to rob them. (Little did she know that my father was a good friend of many of the officers and the police department in general due to his work as a Rotary member.) Even though I still go out of my way to avoid using GNC anywhere in the world, I do know that not all of the franchises are to blame.

Maybe, sometimes, enough is enough, and maybe it's worth the effort to ask who the supplier is.

The List

(Oh why not let's just go for three list posts in a row?)

I'm back in Mequon for the next fortnight. It promises to be an interesting two weeks full of chiropractor's appointments, testosterone level checks, and...not as much drinking, because I have to drive. (Fun supposed fact: Milwaukee is a popular lesbian town, who knew?)

As I was searching for an electric blanket to put on my bed in my old childhood room, I noticed the old mid-nineties pinup I had of a bloated Robbie Williams I had on my wall. (My old room is stuck in 1997. I'm not here that frequently and there's really no need for anything else to be done to it.) Remembering his nice little gesture to the gay community recently triggered an idea for a post. All the people--in no particular order--who will need to make a serious mea culpa to get kind treatment on here (like they care, but what the hey?):

1. Michael Bloomberg
2. Robbie Williams
3. Brian Ellner/Jonathan Capehart
4. George W. Bush
5. James Sensenbrenner
6. The major contributors to the GOP from my New York zipcode
7. Elizabeth Vargas (Is it that hard to just say you messed up?)
8. GLAAD under Giuliano
9. Chris Crain and Windows Media
10. Stephen Harper

The Challenge to Say Something Nice

Once every sowhile, I realise I'm a mean son-of-a-gun and try to balance that out by saying something nice. Nomrally, I do this in person, but I reckon, why not put it out there for public view? I'm also writing this right after I have woken up and am still a bit groggy--which makes it easier for me to not hem and haw. Let's get this started shall we?

• Westin Hotels' Smoking Ban: It's very daring, perhaps it's good for those who are allergic to smoke. Granted, I'd say just invest in some filters for your overpriced rooms, but I understand the sentiment.
• Mayor Bloomberg: He's not Giuliani. He's more like Giuliani-medium. (That's the best I could do.)
• Penile piercings: (I'm not referring to prince alberts, but the other kind that goes through the head.) They certainly are a test of strength and pain endurance.
• FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) Students: Clearly you guys have talent. You can't stop capering about in public with ear-piercing shrieks, but you have talent. Fortunately, not all of you are prone ear-piercing shrieks about inane topics.
• Dancers/Chorus Boys: Physically, I wish I had your agility, despite the fact that what I said about FIT students and their ear-piercing shrieks also applies here.
• Steroid Users: For all the attending medical problems, they do make you look imposing and it's always good to be admired.
• Neil Giuliano, GLAAD President: You may be asleep at the wheel 90% of the time, but at least your highlights are always well-maintained. I'd sleep with you too. (I wouldn't necessarily talk to you afterwards, but I'd sleep with you.)
• Yuppies: You dress well and have probably saved a few stores from closing.
• Free Language at the Eurovision: The fun of hearing mangled pronounciation like "Ladies and Gentlemens."
• The Eric Braate Referral Brigade: Eric Braate should know that he's apparently quite missed in Milwaukee.
• The Current Crop of Broadway Shows: Chita Rivera's show and the revamped Sweeney Todd as set in an insane asylum.
• James Sensenbrenner: I'm not even going to try, even in my groggy I-love-all-humans state this morning.

That's about all I could squeeze out at this moment in time, and yes, it was a challenge.

Mequon Strikes Back: Now It's Personal

"Tea? You brought me fucking tea? How long have you've known me? Tea. Gin. Tea. Gin."

This line from The Closet has been in my head for lo 3 days now and it still cracks me up. I do not know if it was meant to be serious or just flat out campy, but I cannot get it out of my head.

I find myself in the strange position of actually missing QTV while I'm in Wisconsin for just that reason alone. I finally figured out what niche it's trying to fill: it's gay tv for those who like their swearing. No porn, but we do get swearing.

Oh well.

My idiot US Representative, James Sensenbrenner was on the local news last night defending our district's spending of Homeland Security money on security items that frankly this area does not need. This got under my skin for several reasons:

1. Nobody knows how to use it. Just ask the family of Matthew Sheridan.
2. We are not a major target. Yes, there should be some protection, but more than Milwaukee? (And Milwaukee isn't even a major target!)
3. There's a tiny portion of the city of Milwaukee that is in Washington County, which is even more rural than Ozaukee County (where Mequon is). This portion has no voters and has nothing more than a recycling plant. However, this does allow Washington County access to the money set aside for urban areas. And you know what? They took it.

God save me, but the closet-case megalomaniac GOP fool that is the mayor of New York City is right about New York getting the short end of the stick in respect to more money for security. (Still don't like him, will never like him, but he's right on this point.) It is absolutely asinine that Officer Bob out in Germantown is getting equipment that he doesn't even have clue how to operate while the NYPD & FDNY are still underfunded and ill-equipped for a city that has been on "Orange" since September 11, 2001.

(They're underpaid as well, but the yuppies apparently don't care about that, as evidenced on Election Day.)

One last local note for today: Three local radio stations are already all-Christmas music all the time. Three! I mean, I like Christmas music as much as the next person, but three?

In 2038: A lot of old doors have new knobs

(2038 seems increasingly more bizarre the more I read these entries.)

The CBC is going through a nostalgia kick, and it seems to benefit me. Well, partially. I don't want to seem like some sort of male Greta Garbo, but I don't want to be one of those people who are constantly cashing in on their glory days. Hell, no. I live forward.

Nonetheless, a big enough check can get me off of my high horse. So next week, I'm off to Toronto to go record the first episode of Remembering the Teens. For my bit, they're focusing in on Peter and Reflection (aka the cash cows which gave the CBC bucketloads of money in syndication). They're also dragging up Ryan Reynolds and Ken to give their thoughts as well.

Ken & I had a long talk about what we would say and what we wouldn't say vis-a-vis Reflection. The end result? We're taping our segments separately. He doesn't want to be present while I basically say that those sex scenes weren't exactly as fake as people thought.

Personally, for all the career highlights I had during the Teens, I actually think the Twenties were more interesting, especially for Americans. You had:

• The implosion of the Democrats and the Republicans in 2020, who subsequently morphed into the Liberals and Conservatives. Not to mention, SP-USA actually forming the House majority in 2024.
• The amalgamation of ABC, NBC, CBS, and old PBS into the new PBS System in 2026. That was fun. Especially when the old NBC and ABC news anchors in New York and Los Angeles actually rioted during their protest. I thought that was funny. A whole bunch of people in Brooks Brothers suits trashing Central Park. I still crack up laughing whenever they show it. I don't know what their problem was, since The CW and Fox are still around. (Well, it's still "Fox" even though Newscorp got broken up and divided in 2019.)
• The election of Liberal President Butch Hall in 2028. For starters, I still can't believe that his parents actually named him "Butch." We get our first openly gay president and his name is Butch! Not to mention the Butch-mania that ran rampant across the US for the next 8 years. Apart from the children (both male and female) named after him, there was the whole "new name" craze that saw "Chaz," "Mags," "Al," and "Shaz" up on the list of most popular names.
• The Scientology trials from 2020 to 2024. Who can forget the image of Tom Cruise spitting wildly at John Travolta for being "a turncoat?" The man truly did live in an ivory tower. And poor Katie Holmes, looking as vacant as a Manson Family member.
• Conservative President Suzanne Trainer going on television in 2021, apologising to the LGBT community for all the Republican gay-baiting. Even better, she even proceeded to air out all the Republicans' dirty laundry! I mean, I knew Santorum was hypocritical, but even an old slut like me was shocked at what he did. And Sensenbrenner was a true shock. He had no business criticising Clinton over Lewinsky while he was busy being an old leather queen.
• The signing of the Comprehensive [don't-even-try-to-overturn-it] Equal Rights Amendment in 2021. I don't like the Conservatives, but they're ten times better than their predecessors.
• The Francophile craze that swept both Canada and the US in 2023. Johnny Hallyday videos played on MTV? People in Iowa able to cite the lyrics from Celine Dion's back catalogue by heart? Night of a 1000 Mylene Farmers in Calgary? Bizarre.
• Senator Affleck. I like the man, but that still boggles my mind.

Then again, I will be able to talk about the Bush cabinet trials of 2010, so there was at least some interesting things that happened in the Teens.

It's Summertime

And you know it because people are going crazy:

• There is yet another panic over a white woman going missing. Yet no furor over the bashing of a gay man in Brooklyn; practically no national coverage of the Gwen Araujo murder case; and not a peep about the gay man found dismembered in a Chelsea subway station.
• It's in the 90s with oppressive humidity and it's not even July!
• The Journal Sentinel has nary a peep about Sensenbrenner's shenanigans, but features an article about the financial disparity between Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl. Now, I'm sorry, but this is stupid. Herb Kohl comes from a rich family, it's never been any secret whatsoever, so why is this worthy of an article?
• The oligarchs are still obsessed with the ill-fated New York 2012 Olympic bid sans West Side Stadium (thank god!). I suspect they've all been reading too much Don Quixote.
• There is a New York Society for the Preservation of Mississippi Heritage! And they have the audacity to bring that idiot Governor Haley Barbour to their picnic in Central Park. Most bizarre of it all is that this picnic has been going on for 26 years! Now, I'm sorry, but if you're so obsessed with Mississippi's heritage, why don't you stay down there? If there is a New York Society for the Preservation of Wisconsin Heritage, then I truly will accept that the world has gone cuckoo.