Politics.

Though we never talked politics, I grew up in a Republican family. It’s kind of odd that we never talked politics, because my uncle and grandfather were tax assessors, my mother collected the school taxes, my aunt was a town clerk and my father served on the tax assessment grievance board. Voting day always seemed like a big deal; my parents never missed their opportunity to vote. We’d head to the fire department where volunteers went through the voter registration ritual. My mom and dad would take me and my sister in the voting booth with them we were little. My mom made slow, calculated choices when she worked the levers in the voting booth. She told me not to tell my dad who she voted for. My dad found the row marked “Republican” and just clicked every lever on that row. Click click click click, done. As small business owners, my family was fiscally conservative and socially “moderate”. I put the moderate in quotes because it’s a compromise; my dad was right of center and my mom was left of center when it came to the social issues. Politics, religion and the gay were very rarely discussed, so I can’t really speak in depth about how they stood on the issues, but as their only son who happened to also be gay, I never felt anything but loved and accepted.

When I lived in Boston in my early 20s I was told that as a gay man I had to be a Democrat and vote nothing but Democrat. Republicans were evil, evil people that wanted to destroy the world and send the gays to concentration camps. To this day, many of my gay friends think that ALL Republicans are evil, vile creatures that are out to do nothing but destroy the world and throw us all into concentration camps. This troubled me, not only because I came from a Republican family that was quite loving and friendly (I would never, ever trade my childhood in for anything other than what I experienced, I was a very happy child that grew up to become a happy adult man), but labeling people that these declarations addressed seemed just as bad as crazy people labeling all gay men as swishy cross dressers that only worked in hair salons. Rarely is anything that black or white and as I started to make my own decisions and come to terms with my own feelings about society and financial matters and where I stood on the political spectrum, I realized that I was different than most others that I associated with at the time. And as I learned from my family, I kept my mouth shut and talked about things like the weather and other safe subjects. When I voted, I took a cue from my mother and made careful, calculated choices and never told anyone who I voted for. I was concerned that I would be outcast because I didn’t always vote the “gay way”.

In a recent conversation I described myself as “not gay typical”. I’ve also used “I’m more guy than gay” (I really don’t know what that means but I’ve been told on a number of occasions that I dress quite boring and that I don’t match colors well). Quite frankly, to borrow from a relatively recent entry of a fellow blogger, I’ve come to the realization that it’s really not my business what people think of me. I used to worry about this and this is why I kept my mouth shut when certain subjects such as politics came up in conversation. But with the dawning of the New Year, I’ve been thinking about my goals and dreams and my place this world and have been going down through a punch list of where I stand on various subjects.

So here I go… It is my belief that the media is way too involved with the direction of political campaigns. The media has drifted so far away from their role of informing the public that we are basically turning the 2016 Presidential Campaigns into reality shows. The more outrageous the statement, the more outlandish the candidate, the more coverage they get because it brings in more ad revenue. I believe that the media is damaging our political landscape and ultimately is heavily contributing to the destruction of the fabric of our society. Idiotic voices that would never be heard in the past, as they would have been dismissed as sheer lunacy, are now being brought front and center, all in the name of grabbing more advertising revenue. I believe that a person should give more to society than they take. It is our job to build, not to see what we can grab. I think the federally mandated drinking age of 21 is ridiculously high. I think the fallout from the “war on drugs” has been an incredible waste of money. I think law abiding citizens (as determined by a background check) should be able to own whatever guns they want to own. I struggle with the TSA and find much of the what they do as simply an effort to lower unemployment numbers. I hate the name “Department of Homeland Security” and I doubly hate it when a politician refers to the United States as “The Homeland”. I believe that there should be term limits on welfare for those over 21 and I believe that those on public assistance should be drug tested, just like I have been for the last three employers I have worked for. I have a problem with a system that rewards reckless procreation from those that can’t even take care of themselves. I struggle with the fact that adults between the age of 21 and 27 are covered under their parents’ health insurance, as I believe that young adults should be supporting themselves by their mid 20s. I don’t like the fact that buying health insurance is now mandatory else I receive tax penalties from the government. I don’t believe that fast food restaurants should be paying $15 an hour. I still believe in the American dream of owning your own business and I believe corporations should pay their share of the tax burden. I am very concerned about how much debt our country has amassed. I don’t believe that those that are successful in their career should be penalized by paying a higher percentage of income tax simply because they make more.

I don’t consider myself to be well informed but I am always working to improve that. I listen to moderate talk radio. I follow blogs and Twitter feeds from folks all over the political spectrum. Some of my best friends are solid Republicans, others are solid Democrats. I know a LOT of people in the middle. Learning has never hurt anyone and I am reading, thinking and forming my own opinions. I won’t be told what to think. I drink in any information I can find. The trick is to find unbiased news sources. This is why I follow outlets from many different angles.

I recently read “No Hope: Why I Left The GOP (And You Should Too)” by former GOProud co-founder Jimmy LaSalvia. I found the book to be a very good read. As a gay Republican, I have seen Jimmy’s name came up on a good share of gay-oriented blogs over the years and vast majority of what I have read on those blogs has been quite unkind. So many catty remarks because Jimmy didn’t tow the prescribed gay agenda like a good homosexual. It was good to read about his political path in his own words. So many in both the gay and straight communities have been so unkind to him. I have never agreed with attacking him because of his opinion and I was eager to read his book when I read of its announcement. I found his words to be inspiring because he wasn’t afraid to think differently. He makes a lot of valid points. I haven’t always agreed with GOProud, but I get what they were trying to do and I understand that they were trying to bring about change to the GOP. Truth be told, the GOP has some big problems in its party. I really think they’ve lost touch on who the U.S. is today and that they spend way too much time catering to the lunatics on the far right. On the other hand, the Democrats seem to be spending money like a sailor in a whorehouse and not really caring how the debt is going to be paid. Both parties have flung themselves to the extremes. Neither party really seems to focus on the middle.

I’m eager to see how this 2016 Presidential Election shakes out. As a good U.S. citizen, I will do my best to be informed, think for myself and make what I feel is a rational, well-thought out decision come voting day. I urge everyone to shut out the noise, from the media, from the blogs and from people who think that they can tell you what you should think, and for you to be yourself and vote for whom you believe in.

I sometimes wonder if we live in the only population center greater than 50,000 people that doesn’t have a Starbucks. ‘Tis true, the closest Starbucks to our home is nearly 50 miles away, even though we live halfway between the two largest cities in our Metropolitan Statistical Area, which, as of 2010, had a population of over 250,000 people.

That’s a lot people runnin’ on Dunkin’.

There are Dunkin’ Donuts on nearly every corner in this area but honestly, I’m not really a fan of the place. Another option is our Panera, which is old and dingy and disorganized. The closest thing we have to Starbucks is the cafe at Barnes and Noble, and so that’s where I’m located this evening.

I’ve been watching clips of “The West Wing” on YouTube lately. This has served as a distraction from the politics of 2015, where it seems like everyone has lost their mind and you can only get to a prominent position in government if you’re on the verge of starring in your own reality show. Publicists, 24 hour news broadcasts and the media in general has helped fuel this whole circus atmosphere of the 2016 Presidential Race. In many ways, I can’t believe that we already have one debate under our belt and many to look forward to it, what with it being September 2015 and all. Now I know that we’ve known that Hillary was going to run, that’s been her plan all along, but I am always surprised to find out who is trying to become the Republican candidate. George Pataki? Where’s he been? Rick Santorum? Give it up already.

And then of course, there’s Donald Trump, who just blows his way through interviews, appearances and general commentary friendly event with a bombastic attitude, unneccessarily loud voice, low substance content and that god awful accent. There’s a part of me that still believes that in a couple of months we are going to come to the realization that the populace has been “punk’d” by Trump and that he just did all this grandstanding to throw a monkey wrench into the political process with no real intent on ever becoming President. I’m probably old school, but I believe that the President of the United States should act Presidential. Suit and tie (or a smart pant suit), well mannered, groomed hair, speech mannerisms of a three-digit IQ within a reasonable range.

The truth of the matter is, there really isn’t a candidate vying for the party nomination that really grabs me. Hillary grabs me more than others, but there’s a feeling of “same old, same old” going on there. Many of the Republican candidates can’t seem to grab the concept of “separation of church and state”, so most of them are off the list right from the get go.

I don’t think that there’s a candidate that really fits what I’m looking for in a President. I’m solidly down the middle. I lean to left socially but I definitely lean to the right fiscally. I’m looking for the financially responsible candidate that will rail in this crazy Government spending and free handouts to people that really don’t want to work but won’t beat me over the head with a Bible and doesn’t really care about what I do in my bedroom. There’s no candidate that walks in that area, they all lean too far to the left or the right.

Sometimes I wonder if I missed my calling and if I should have gotten involved in the political arena in some way.

I still feel like I need to change the world.

Photo courtesy of Aljazeera America news website.

So Earl and I were going to drive to DC today to visit the Smithsonian and perhaps the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Actually, we weren’t going to do that but if we were going to do that we would be wasting our time because as of 12:01 a.m., the government has shut down all non-essential services. This is all because Congress has been wasting our time by pretending that they’re going to do something. The truth of the matter is that we all know they’re not going to do anything because they’re incapable of progress. And they wonder why they have an approval rating close to the single digits.

Look, I’m on a happy vibe today so I’m not going to debate the arguments of who is right and who is wrong and who should do what to make whomever happy. I will admit that I am frustrated that the government basically cherry-picked what services would be shutdown and what would stay open. I think that if you’re going to go through all the grandstanding and politicizing and drama of getting to the point of where you’re going to shut down the government, then those making these decisions shouldn’t be paid. If you’re not doing your job, you don’t get a salary. Plain and simple.

I also feel that if they shut down the government then they should have shut down the FAA, the Post Office and other services they have deemed as “essential”. People may strongly object to this, but I think all FAA directed air traffic should have been brought to a ground stop at 12:01 a.m. with the shutdown of the government. There are other ways to get from point A to point B. It’s inconvenient, I know, oh do I know, but if you’re going to use a shutdown as a grandstanding measure, land the planes and turn the equipment off. Not being able to get into National Parks or delaying the arrival of a new passport? It’s inconvenient and will get some press but it doesn’t really demonstrate the incompetency of our current government to the majority of the American people. If there were thousands of airline passengers stranded in our airports or Suzie Citizen couldn’t get her QVC shipment because UPS can’t fly from there to here, all because of our the idiocy of Congress, more American citizens would take notice and I bet they would think twice before just blindly casting a vote at the next election.

I know, I’m being optimistic to think that a lot of Americans vote these days.

I think it’s horrible that the family that just trucked across South Dakota last night can’t see Mount Rushmore today. A beautiful national monument: off limits. What does that say about the country that is constantly touting itself as the “greatest nation on earth”? While this shutdown of non-essential services will have a somewhat detrimental effect in the short term, I don’t think it will budge the apathetic nature of the average American citizen. Stopping the planes? Stopping the mail? Stalling social security checks, Medicaid and Medicare? *That* would have a horrible, awful, terrible effect on our country, but maybe then the American citizens would wake up and see how dysfunctional our government is becoming and start making better choices at the polls. At the very least, maybe our elected leaders wouldn’t be so quick to bicker like children and start threatening ridiculous tactics like this shutdown.

A quick caveat, I am going to be flying all over the place this month. I would definitely be affected by any sort of ground stop on planes in the name of a government shutdown. But I would still support such a thing.

Casting a vote in an election is one of the most important things a U.S. citizen can do. Not only is it your right to vote, it is your duty to vote. Democracy works best when everyone lends their voice. It is very unfortunate and disappointing if you choose to be silent by not voting.

When Earl and I go to the Town Hall later today to cast our votes in today’s elections, it won’t feel the same as it has in year’s past. Ever since New York State mandated the use of Electronic Voting Machines, voting has become a mediocre experience at best. In the past, the voter would enter a voting booth, which was basically a large machine with a wall of levers and cards next to the levers to indicate which each lever was for. One stepped in front of the machine, swung the handle to the right, which shut a curtain around you and gave you privacy, which in turn, gave you a sense of the importance of casting a well thought out, responsible vote. You pushed the levers next to the names of the people you wanted to vote for, or you answered yes or no for the various laws and such that were being voted on that particular day. When you were done, you swung the big lever back to the left, whereas the levers went up and your votes were tallied and the curtain swung back so that you could step away from the voting machine.

It was a pretty simple system and it worked.

With today’s electronic machines there’s no lever. There’s no privacy. You sign in and are handed a sheet of paper and a pen and told to color in the dots over there on the card table. There’s no curtain, there’s no light, there’s no clunk of your votes being counted. You simply sit at a table that might have a makeshift barrier so that you don’t cheat on the test and you color in the dots. When you’re done, you make your way over to a big fax machine like device and feed in your card and you see either a green or red light indicating that your card was scanned properly.

What happens after that is anybody’s guess, because it is a trade secret.

Here’s where I get really angry. With the voting machine with the curtain, anyone qualified person could take it apart and see exactly how it worked. You could look at the mechanics and make sure that flipping level A1 didn’t end up casting two votes when it should have been only one.

Most electronic voting machines are written using closed-source or proprietary software. It’s like purchasing a car where you couldn’t see the engine, only where you put the gas and the oil. You feed it stuff and stuff happens. But you don’t know why it’s happening, how it’s happening or even if it’s happening properly. Open-source software, which of course I am a huge proponent of, is when the actual code is available for anyone and everyone to see. They can see under the hood and see if there’s something in there that might be a bug or something shady that might make votes not tabulate correctly. With closed-source software we don’t know what the hell is going on, we just have to trust that the company did their due diligence and that no one influenced the code in either direction in any way.

I’m a pretty naive and trusting guy, but I do not trust closed-source electronic voting machines AT ALL. If there’s nothing to hide, then just make the code available for any and all to see. We don’t need proprietary secrets involved with our election process. Plain and simple.

That all being said, please do your patriotic duty and if you haven’t already please cast your vote today. Make your voice be heard.

Author’s note: I’ve rewritten this post several times today simply because I didn’t want to sound like a raving lunatic.

So tomorrow is Election Day here in the United States and hopefully every U.S. citizen that is eligible vote will take the opportunity to exercise this right, a right which many in the world do not have. I am looking forward to standing in line, trying to wow the elderly ladies behind the table at the Town Hall and then bitching about the fact that we have to now use Electronic Voting Machines that don’t use Open Source software so we don’t really know what the voting machine is doing, we just have to trust Diebold. Just like we trust that Rapi-scan is not blasting us with radiation just so we can fly to Orlando to see Mickey Mouse.

Ok, I think I might have gotten off to a little bit of a negative tangent with this post and it’s really not where I wanted it to go, but sometimes these things happen. I just call it like it is. It’s my new motto of old. Sugar coating has too many calories.

As I sit down at a table and get ready to color in my dots tomorrow, I will be casting educated votes for the various elections going on. In many instances I don’t believe there is a correct answer or a “right choice”. I believe the best we can do is go for the “better choice”. And sometimes “better” is all you have and say “better” instead of “the lesser of two evils” is putting a positive spin on the whole thing.

Everyone has their own personal reasons as to why they vote for whom they vote for. I know that my vote will not be for the guy that wants to nullify my marriage. When it all boils down to one point in the pros and cons column, I just can’t get beyond that one and that’s what makes our current administration the better choice for me. Hardly the ideal choice, not even the best choice, but he’s the better choice as far as I’m concerned because when all is said and done, it’s all about love. It’s not about money. It’s not about telling others what they can or can’t do. It’s about the Greater Good, and the way we are going to get to the Greater Good is through compassion and love, and my vote is going to the one the shows the most compassion and love and seems to be moving forward towards the Greater Good.

Oh my gosh how I wish “The West Wing” was still on the air. Oh, how I miss thee.