SamSaid!

HOMOSEXUALITY

     In days of super-sensitivity, increasing thought control, and speech censorship even on college campuses, it is not easy to speak or write about homosexuality without setting off a firestorm, particularly since the US Supreme Court has prominently put it on the front page of the public agenda. History has not been kind to homosexuals. Over the centuries, different societies, religions, cultures and civilizations have treated homosexuals very harshly. They have been cast out, castigated, ostracized, demeaned, attacked, imprisoned, and killed  –  as though they were sub-human.

     Through all of this there have been creative and talented people who happened to be homosexuals. These folks may have been accepted for their skills and accomplishments, but very grudgingly. Here, the law of generalties holds true  –  i.e., it is far easier to castigate homosexuals as a group rather than individuals. The most pejorative terms have been applied to the genre. During my military service, “queer”, “fairy”, “lezzie”, “pervert”, and “deviant” were terms commonly used. Nowadays, these terms have been replaced by “gay”  –  a more positive label.

     Currently, homosexuals like to say that they are no different than other folks  –  they just pursue a different lifestyle. But that just doesn't wash with most people who visualize man on man sodomy, the Nambla people who advocate and defend older men/young boy sexual behavior, and the “in-your-face” images in the SFO Gay parades. The bulk of our populatiion simply does not accept homosexuality as a normal coupling relationship. There are 6 billion people on our planet, and none of them got here through homosexuals relationships. I think that simple statistic establishes the societal norm. Thus homosexuality can properly be described as abnormal. But…. understandably … homosexuals prefer not to be described as “abnormal”. Hence, the play on words such as “gay”, “different lifestyle”, “personal relationships”. etc., etc.

    Homosexuals are human beings and deserve to live unthreatened lives even though their sexual behavior may be highly offensive to others. But same-sex marriage is a horse of a different color. I just don't buy that. It seems to me that this is still another instance where a small minority is saying to the overwhelming majority of citizens, “Hey, we are here, so change your rules.” Marriage is special and different. It is for men and women. If homosexuals want to formalize their coupling, let them pick another word.

     Leave marriage alone.

THE GOV

     So what should an aroused citizenry do when it has a bellyfull of a miscreant Governor? It isn't just that Gray Davis has messed up the State royally  –  he still has three years to go in his present term. Consider  –  his favorable rating is about 20%, which means that a lot of Democrats in a heavily Democratic State have sent their thumbs down message. The only remedy under the California Constitution is recall  –  at least short of just allowing him to finish his term. But recall is a messy procedure indeed. The up or down vote on Davis is easy  –  replacing him is something else. Imagine  — Davis could get 40% of the votes and be recalled, and then be replaced by someone who would get, let's say, just 25% of the votes. Democracy works in strange ways.

     Virtually anyone with $3500 can get his/her name on the ballot to be the replacement Governor, and there are a lot of fruits and nuts in California, including the more notorious Kings and Queens of porn. How better to get a lot of publicity at a bargain basement price? I really hate top see all the chaos, but the prospect of Gray Davis serving 3 more years as the Governor of the State is truly frightening. But fear not, the 9 Democratic Presidential candidate midgets plus Hillary will appear prominently to support Davis.

     Schwarzenegger seems to be the front runner, but opponents point out that he has very little political experieice. True enough. On the other hand, Davis and his Sacramento pol pals have had decades of political experience and look at the messes they have created. So is political experience the critical prerequisite? It will all come out in the wash in 60 days, and any State that re-elects Barbara Boxer deserves what it gets.  In the meantime the rest of the country will be treated to a nightly comedy hour on the networks.

     Gray Davis probably wanted to push George Bush and Saddam Hussein off the front page  –  but not this way.

BARNUM AND BAILEY

     In California, the circus comes to town on 10/7, the election day for the Gray Davis recall. Davis has decided to campaign against the recall even though the polls suggest that the only thing about him that looks good to the public is his coiffure. The party line Dems are lining up in support unless there are last minute defections. Of course, they will vote party line even if Saddam runs for Lieutenant Governor. The big Repubs are delaying till the last minute for filing, however, an assortment of weirdos is emerging daily. It is not without reason that California is known as the land of fruits and nuts.

     A little known imponderable that could dramatically affect the outcome of the recall is Proposition 54 (the RPI initiative) that will also appear on the ballot. The Racial Privacy Initiative is sponsored in large part by Ward Connerly, a member of the Board of Trustees at UC Cal in Berkeley. Prop 54 is a follow up to Prop 209, also supported by Connerly, which prohibits race preferences in public education, hiring and contracting. Connerly is an outspoken opponent of affirmative action and other kinds of racial preferences.  Prop 54 would outlaw counting or categorizing individuals by race, ethnicity, color or national origin  –  officially it is titled The Classificationn  By Race, Ethnicity, Color or National Origin initiative Constitutional Amendment. Connerly believes that accumulating statistics on the different groups perpetuates divisiness and moves further and further away from  togetherness in a colorblind society. He is a very effective speaker.

     Naturally, Davis quickly opposed the Proposition in order to attract support from minorities and liberal left wing groups looking for handouts.  Not surprising, but it is a calculated gamble. There are so many anti-Davis voices that his urging of a No vote on Prop 54  automatically gives credence and value to the Proposition and its supporters. A lot of independent voters could easily rationalize that if Davis opposes Prop 54, it must be OK. Maybe it is a case of who is pulling whom down the drain.

     The mass media will oppose Prop 54 as they did a few years back for Prop 209. But there is a groundswell of those who have had enough of preferences. Maybe the anit-Davis vote will make the difference. Stay tuned1

JUSTICE II

     A couple of attentive readers reminded me that I had misspelled the first name of France's Mr. Chirac. Sure enough, I omitted the (s) at the end of Jacque. Three explanations

     .  Aha! – gotcha. It was a quick test to see if you were reading the website material. You passed!

     .  During the French/German/ Iraqi fiasco, there were some writers who used the name of Jacque (no (s)). Evidently lazy writers who can't spell, or else found permissible dual usage. Or maybe they figured Mr. Chirac just didn't deserve the entire name.

     .  No spell check on the website page

     I'll give him the (s) whether he deserves it or not. Or maybe I'll just anglicize it into “Jack”. Same deadbeat either way.

JUSTICE II

     A couiple of attentive readers reminded me that I misspelled the first name of France's Mr. Chirac. Sure enough, I omitted the (s) at the end of Jacque. Three explanations:

     .  Aha!  –  gotcha. It was a quick test to see if you were reading the website material. You passed!