DAVID COOK ROCKS!

Congratulations David Cook! I'm pleasantly surprised that David Cook is the new American Idol. He's been my favorite for most of this season! GO DAVID COOK! YOU ROCK KANSAS CITY!

Media double standard

You can bet that if Obama was a Republican, the "mainstream" media would be having a field day with some of the doozies that Michelle Malkin lists in her column today on Townhall.com.
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2008/05/21/barack_obama_gaffe_machine

Busy Time

I've been extremely busy over the past couple of weeks so haven't had much chance lately to post. Hopefully things settle down to normal soon!

Work commute time quadruples!

On 5/9/08 I moved out of the AT&T office building in North Dallas of which I had worked for the most of the past six years. As of 5/12/08 I'm now located on the 31st floor of AT&T's largest office building in downtown Dallas. Thus began a whole new experience for me!

For the past 18 years, I've lived within 15 minutes of where I worked. Now however it takes me 15 minutes just to get to the train station. I then board the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) light rail for my ride into downtown. The next leg of my trip involves walking two blocks from where I de-board the train to the AT&T office complex. It then concludes with a long ride up the elevator! My total commute time is now one hour each way, which is definitely going to take some getting used to. :(

It's pool season!

I took advantage of the nice weather in Dallas this weekend by spending a lot time laying out in the sun. Yesterday I got in the pool for the first time this year. The water temp was just 76 degrees but it felt great! Tom and I both got into the pool today - athough it took a bit of a push from me to get Tom into the water!

Chiefs draft DT Glenn Dorsey

The Kansas City Chiefs selected DT Glenn Dorsey (LSU) as the #5 pick in the first round of the NFL draft today. Chief's other picks today included T/G Branden Albert (Virginia) and CB Brandon Flowers (Virginia Tech). Overall, it was a solid first day for KC.

Thanks, but no thanks

Ashley Herzog's column today provides yet another example of the disastrous and often fatal consequences of allowing liberals too much authority. To read it go to: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AshleyHerzog/2008/04/22/an_environmental_failure_restrictions_on_ddt
I was just recalling this very example with friends over the past weekend, so her column was very timely for me.

Liberals never seem to care about the potential harm that may result from their "do-gooder" schemes. Once they've made up their collective minds that something is good (or bad) for us libs shut off all debate and force their "prescription" down our throats. Pity anyone who dares to question them, as most liberals have absolutely no tolerance for opposing views - despite their claims to the contrary.

Nor do liberals take accountability for their failures. If liberals acknowledge their failures at all, which is quite rare, they do so only to shift the blame. You see it's never their fault things didn't work out as they had planned. Their failure is usually the result of mean and uncompassionate Republicans sabotaging their noble efforts.

A classic example is the explosion in the poverty rate after LBJ's "War on Poverty." How often have you heard liberals admit that LBJ's programs did far more harm than good? How often do they admit that government "assistance" programs often trap people in poverty? Rather than acknowledging the obvious and learning from their mistakes, liberals continue to call for more government handouts.

Liberals wonder why more people don't trust them when they offer assistance. Do they not realize that many of us have longer memories than they give us credit for? They must think we've forgotten all about the victims of their DDT ban, the lives destroyed by their "War on Poverty" and the many other times their "help" has ended up hurting people. That is all the reason we need to say "No thanks"!

Political Spin

Bill Clinton said he was going to run the most ethical administration ever. Then President Clinton, after committing perjury and obstructing justice, became only the second president to ever be impeached.

Barack Obama claims he is a uniter. It has now become painfully clear to all but those on the far left that Mr. Obama is in fact a very divisive politician.

It seems anytime a politician has a glaring weakness (e.g. Clinton's lack of ethics, Obama's divisiveness, etc.) the way he deals with it is to continually claim the opposite virtue. By repeating the falsehood often enough he is able to deceive many people into thinking he is who he claims to be...which is the opposite of who he really is.

The sad reality is that the spin often works. As difficult as it is to believe, there are actually Americans who - despite the HUGE mountain of evidence to the contrary - to this day still think Bill Clinton is an ethical person. Go figure.

So what will Obama do now and how will people react? No doubt he will continue to claim he is a uniter and a fair percentage of Americans will believe him. After all, if he says he is a uniter he must be, right?

Obama the Extremist

Cartoon is by Glenn McCoy.

Does anyone doubt that if a Republican's voting record was as conservative as Obama's is liberal, the media would be calling the Republican an "extremist" and a "right-wing zealot"? Obama is one of the most EXTREME (liberal or conservative) candidates EVER to run for president yet the media is fawning all over him and calling him a "uniter" who "transcends politics". Go figure.

Abortion is just one of the many issues in which Obama has an EXTREMIST voting record.

KC Royals Lose 4-3

The Royals just lost 4-3 to the Twins. Fall to 3-1.

Favorite Columns

Check out my Favorite Columns and let me know what you think. All of my posted favorites and many other great columns are archived at Townhall.com.

The 2-0 Royals. UPDATE - ROYALS NOW 3-0!

UPDATE - KC Royals are now 3-0. Royals are only remaining undefeated team in baseball - ya gotta love it!

As of right now, the Kansas City Royals have the best record in the American League at 2-0!

As of right now, the Kansas City Royals have the best record in the American League at 2-0!

So what if the 2008 season is still in its infancy. Long suffering Royals fans like myself have waited what seems like an eternity for this. One of the great things about baseball is that no matter how bad your team team did the year(s) before, once the new season arrives your past failures no longer matter. You are filled with hope that maybe, just maybe, this could be THE season we turn things around.

BTW, yes I do realize that I typed "As of right now, the Kansas City Royals have the best record in the American League at 2-0!" twice. It felt so good typing it the first time, I couldn't help myself.

GO ROYALS! http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=kc

The Start of Baseball Season

My dad always loved this time of year. Beginning with the first nice weather day of the year, Dad would count down the days until the start of baseball season. I'm a lot like my dad in that way. Dad would have enjoyed George Will's article today and he probably would've gotten the quiz right. He always impressed me with his knowledge of baseball trivia!
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2008/03/30/springtime_means_baseball

Our "Gay Lifestyle"

Tom and I spent last evening at the home of our friends, Brian & Andrew. We always have a nice time at their parties and last night was no exception. Towards the end of the evening Tom and I were were gathered in the kitchen with two other gay couple friends who have been together a long time. Let it be noted that all six of us are solid Republicans!

Anyway, somehow we got to chattting about which partner does various household chores and things like that. One of our friends then said something that got me thinking. I know, I know that is dangerous! Anyway, he said something like this: "it's funny listening to each other talk about our partners, our different personalities, and the roles each partner plays in the relationship. There really aren't any set rules for gay couples so we all just kind of go with what works best."

There is some truth to that but what got me thinking was actually how similar our lives seemed to be. More importantly, our lives all seem to bear little resemblance to this "gay lifestyle" that we hear so much about. Not that I needed any reassurance, but it confirmed for me once again that Tom and I aren't the only gay couple in America whose "gay lifestyle" looks an awful lot like our parents' lifestyles and that of our straight relatives and friends.

SD16 GOP Convention II

Today I attended, as a delegate, the Texas Senate District 16 GOP convention. I'm glad I participated because it helped me to better understand Dallas GOP politics and the way things are done. It also gave me the chance to meet a lot of fellow Republicans and to get a sense of what they were thinking.

Overall, I came away from the experience with mixed feelings. I was encouraged that many people I spoke with shared my concerns about the direction our party has taken over the past several years. They would like to see the GOP return to core conservative principles, especially around the proper role of government. Most people that I talked to want the government to just leave them alone. I couldn't agree more! There seems to be a real libertarian streak in my district, which was evident by all of the the Ron Paul supporters in attendance.

I don't support Ron Paul for three reasons: 1) his views on monetary policy 2) his isolationist foreign policy, including his position on withdrawing troops from Iraq and 3) his call for limited government goes a bit too far for my comfort level. That said, I think his supporters (and there are many) bring needed energy and debate to our party. I also sense that most of his supporters are tolerant of gays and lesbians, and that they'd like to see some of the divisive language removed from our state party platform.

I mentioned that I exited the SD16 GOP convention with mixed feelings. My biggest concern is that the folks who run the local party are completely out of touch with the citizens of Dallas County. In '06 the GOP got SWEPT out of office in Dallas County - we lost all 47 contested races to the Democrats! In response, every GOP candidate in Dallas county now goes around TALKING about how we need to grow the base and become more of a "big tent" party. I'm all in favor of that - but talk is cheap.

The sad reality is that the SD16 committees, esp. the SD16 Resolutions Committee, are still controlled by right wingers who have their collective heads buried in the sand. They seem oblivious to the sentiment within the party and throughout the city. These party "leaders" are making it very difficult for many moderates to vote Republican. They are also alienating many fiscal and national defense conservatives. This is based on a widespread feeling throughout Dallas that the Republican party has become too harsh and mean-spirited. As a result, I fear that we will face the same fate this year as in '06. Which brings me back to the SD16 Resolutions committee. First some background:


In '06 the state party adopted a platform that went out of its way to offend gays and lesbians. The platform contains multiple negative references to homosexuality. For example:

• "Homosexuality: ...sodomy tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit..."


• "Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country's founders, and shared by a majority of Texans."


• "We are opposed to any granting of special legal entitlements, recognition, or privileges including but not limited to marriage between persons of the same sex, custody of children by homosexuals, homosexual partner insurance or retirement benefits."


• "...no homosexual or any individual convicted of child abuse or molestation should have the right to custody or adoption of a minor child" (notice how gays & lesbians are lumped together with child abusers).


• "...the disqualification of homosexuals from military service."

This platform language is deeply offensive to gays and lesbians and our families. Murderers and rapists fare better in the Texas GOP platform than we do. It seems like special effort was made to single us out for condemnation and discrimination. It sends a very loud message that we are not welcome in the party.

As easy as it would be be, many of us refuse to leave the party. We are conservatives and we know that deep down the Republican party is where we belong. We will not back down to the "religious" zealots who are trying their best to drive us away. Further, we choose to stay in the GOP despite the ridicule and abuse we take from the gay community at large, which votes heavily Democrat.

Gay Republicans and our straight allies have tried in recent years to reclaim our party. This year, an effort was made to have the divisive language on homosexuality removed from the state party platform. The first step in this process is to pass resolutions at precinct conventions on the evening of the primary. This was accomplished in many precincts across Dallas.

The next step in the process is for the Resolutions Committees in each Senate District to review and vote on all of the resolutions that came out of the precincts. The SD16 Resolutions committee did this last week.

Today I attended the SD16 Resolutions committee meeting held simultaneously (in another room) as the convention. The committee met to issue their final report to be presented to convention delegates. It was in that meeting that I was informed that the committee voted to reject our resolution. When I pressed the committee for details I was told that the vote was unanimous. This meant that our resolution would not be presented to convention delegates for a vote.

This was a bitter disappointment. I don't know whether convention delegates would have passed our resolution or not. Unfortunately we will never know. I sense that the committee knows we would have either won, or gotten more support than they would have been comfortable with.

The fact that the committee vote was unanimous is revealing. It shows that we still have a long way to go before we are truly a big tent party. Anytime there is a unanimous committee vote against a resolution that has broad support among party members, it demonstrates that the committees are monopolized by one group of people.

So what next? That will be the topic for another discussion. What I will say for now is that I, and my fellow gay Republicans, WILL NOT back down nor will we run away. We will redouble our efforts and this temporary setback will only strengthen our resolve. Polls shows that younger voters are OVERWHELMINGLY on our side. Therefore we know that the question is not whether we will ultimately prevail but rather only a matter of when. Many of us are heading to the state convention in Houston as delegates or alternates and will continue to make our case for fairness.