Ding Dong, Bush is REALLY Gone!

Forget about Rick Warren. Forget about Gene Robinson's late addition and subtraction from Sunday's event. Forget about the lack of LGBT appointments to the cabinet. Let it go.

Just for today.

Today is a day of pure celebration. Unlike election day, when we got a kick in the stomach with Prop. 8, AZ, FL and AK, all horrific setbacks for the LGBT community, today is a day to celebrate.

We have a new President. He is taking office today.

LGBT issues have been mishandled, fucked up and poorly advised. No question.

But Bush is gone, people. Pinch yourself, it's not a dream. It's a reality. Whether or not you believe Obama is just a big screen for projection, or the next messiah, or something very human in between, he is NOT Bush.

We have a President who is going to bring troops home from Iraq. Now. A President who is ready to address Gaza, now, the economy, now. We have a majority of Democrats in the legislature.

I personally can't stop smiling.

I told my kids this morning that today was a day that the first African-American man would be sworn in as President of this country. A country that in it's very recent past turned hoses and dogs on people because of their color. A country that legally recognized slavery.

Remember, I said, where you were. People will ask you in 10 years, 20, 30... where were you that day?

Tomorrow? We go right back to holding the administrations feet to the fire. We do not wait 10 hours, 10 days or 10 months. It is a mistake we've made in the past- one not to be repeated.

But today is a day to celebrate.

Ding dong, Bush is really really gone.

Back To Reality

I have to be honest- I did not read the paper or watch the news while I was away. In the airport, CNN was reporting on the mess in Israel.

At the same time, as we waited in Atlanta for our flight to Savannah, there were many soldiers walking about, obviously going back to work after a break. One in particular caught our eyes.

He was young, only 18, and looked scared. I'm sure he wouldn't like that description of himself but he did. Walter couldn't stand it and went and struck up a conversation with him. He had just finished basic training and was going back to base after a short break.

He was from a small town in Florida and the army was the only way out. The army recruiters did a number on him and he took it, hook line and sinker. He did not think he would see any combat and if he didn't like his deployment, he could transfer.

Well, we thought, you could ASK. Doesn't mean you could change.

In the meantime, Israel's ground forces were moving forward. Rocket attacks were being reported on the television just over our shoulders. It broke my heart, this young man's belief he could pick and choose.

Would he be alive in a year, I wondered.

I have three sons. People have always said to me that boys are easier than girls. Sure, they're rough when they are young but then they tend to mellow and you never worry about them getting pregnant.

No, you worry about them being drafted.

I don't believe this country can enter one more conflict without having a draft. Our military is stretched to it's limits. Young, poor kids will continue to sign up as a means to get out of hopeless situations but not in the droves needed.

Not even Obama will be able to fix that. Bodies are needed. Period.

Six years, he said. The last two are cake, just on the reserves. I wondered if he had any idea how many reservists are on their third and fourth tour in Iraq.

Catching up on the news has been hard. The Rick Warren debacle is nothing compared to this nightmare brewing, again, in the Middle East. My hope for the end of war is gone.

And my fear for my boys renewed again.

Personal Responsibility

If you take every penny you have and put it on the craps table in Las Vegas, one roll of the dice could leave you broke.

Or rich.

Either way, it's your responsibility. There have been grumblings that perhaps the Federal government will step in to solve the Madoff debacle. It would be a huge mistake, in my opinion. People who bet everything on one person had to know there was a real possibility that they would lose.

Just like at the craps table.

Which brings me to our esteemed president-elect Obama. Rick Warren, a serious homophobic bigot, will be delivering the invocation at the inauguration.

Nice.

Some have claimed it is the responsibility of the Inaugural committee. I disagree. It is the personal responsibility of the man at the top. As Pam Spaulding said, "the buck stops with the man at the top of the food chain."

She's right.

This is a moment of setting a tone for the administration. While I understand Obama's message has been to bring everyone in under the Big Tent, to hear all voices and to have them work together, there are other evangelical, fundamentalists who are far less rabid about LGBT issues- and women's choice issues- than Warren.

While it is not the end of the world, or my hope for the Obama presidency, I do feel the tire tracks of the bus I've just been thrown under.

And it doesn't feel good.