Whodathunkit?

All my life I've thought I was politically moderate. None of that left wing/right wing extremist nonsense for me, thankyouverymuch. However, as the political climate has swung farther and farther in the direction of the extremist right, I'm finding myself farther and farther to the left - apparently wayyyyy left these days - without ever changing my mind about what is important to me as a citizen of the Greatest Nation on the Planet.

First, as a nation we should take care of our country's most vulnerable citizens (children, the elderly, the mentally ill, the homeless) before we spend money abroad for so-called foreign aid, which is nothing more than bribe money. When is our government going to learn that those countries just laugh at us, take the money and do with it what they want? As long as we have one person in need, our money should stay home.

I think a strong military is important, but don't think we need to go around picking fights or attacking people who didn't attack us first. Sure, Saddam was a bad, bad dude but he was only wreaking havoc within his own borders. Besides, our government put him in power there in the first place. Never did find those WMDs, didja? That's because they never existed. Saddam was set up to forward Big Corporate America's agenda and when he stopped behaving himself and they thought he'd squeal, they had him executed. Nice work.

I think the Constitution applies to everyone, not just a bunch of rich, white men. I don't think giving up my rights as a 40-year-old American born Caucasian band mom is helping fight "the war on terrorism" and I don't see much difference between the government-sanctioned torture our government inflicts on people around the world and what the other terrorists do. We just get better press.

I think that a woman should be in control of her own reproductive tract, who has access to it, if and when she impregnates and whether she should terminate an unwanted pregnancy. The choice to have an abortion is not a decision that a woman takes lightly. Despite all the hype about third trimester abortions, these are normally done when the baby is already dead. The vast majority of women understand that the longer they wait, the more painful the process will be, so they get them done early. Of course the same people who oppose abortion also oppose birth control, but they would never consider limiting access to Viagra. Taking care of the babies that would otherwise be aborted because their mothers don't want them, are unable to properly care for them, are the product of rape or incest or are genetically defective is also out of the question. Once they're born, the government doesn't give a fat shit about them. Nope, in order for them to retain protection, they have to remain a fetus forever. Good luck with that.

I don't remember ever learning that we have government of, by and for the corporate interest, but that seems to be what we have.

I think it was stupid to give a big ol' tax refund to every man, woman and child in the US, then go start a war with no way to pay for it. Nevermind that tax refund was a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of throwing a war. How much is it costing us per day again? And how far in debt are we again? Riiiight. Say it real fast so it doesn't sound so scary.

I think it's important to protect the environment - just in case the rapture doesn't happen tomorrow and our grandkids actually need a place to live after all.

Speaking of, I don't think religion should be so closely intertwined with politics. People can believe in whatever they want, I'm all for that but don't turn your personal belief system into legislation for the rest of us. That's just too damn Taliban-ish for me.

I don't think marriage is about who you're fucking - it's about who you share your life with. Gays aren't out to convert anyone or their children or take anything away from anyone. They just want to have the right to live and love in the manner of their choosing. Sure, it looks different from what's considered "traditional" on the outside (one man - one woman - for life - no divorce), but on the inside they live, work, pay bills, raise kids, have in-law troubles et cetera just like anybody else. Clearly straights take the sanctity of marriage seriously considering the US divorce rate still hovers around 50% or better, depending on whom you ask. That's right, God doesn't want you to get divorced but when you've had it with each other's bullshit, you can't wait to bail - but because it's you, and you're God's Special Person, it's okay.

These concepts have always been just a natural way of being in the world - live and let live but take care of the weak and don't go around picking fights. What's so goddamned awful about that? I don't lean that way because I'm some lefty pinko commie fag or because I have an overabundance of estrogen, that's just what makes sense to me. I'll get off my soapbox now.