I’m friends with gay people, but I still hate them

In light of John Amaechi, a former NBA player who recently came out of the closet, Timmy Hardaway decided to grace us with his intelligent comments de jour stating frankly that “You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known,” Hardaway said. “I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.” Since gay-bashing is sooooooo 2004, you’d expect the denunciations to be fast and furious.

Wrong! Chris Broussard at ESPN was one of the first to post of the situation on his blog, prominently linked to on the front page of ESPN.com. In a post entitled “My take on John Amaechi”, Broussard details that while he dislikes gays because they are sinning, he is still friends with them! Isn’t that sweet! You see, I’m in a similar predicament: I absolutely HATE Mexicans, but I’m friends with the Spangliphone who serves me my extra grande burrito at Chipotle. This makes my judgment of others ok, because if I hate someone for their race, creed, or sexuality but still am BFF with them (best friends forever, of course), guess what that makes me? The sweetest and most understanding bigot on the block.

Israel’s surge of despair

Update: Salon made my letter an Editor’s Pick.

The Article: In today’s edition of Salon, Gregory Levey evaluates in Israel’s Surge of Despair Israeli politics following the war against Hezbollah and Israeli diplomacy as the United States sinks further and further into Iraq. The article can be summed with the authors own anecdote:

To many in or involved with the Israeli government, George W. Bush’s presence in the Oval Office was once reassuring. Now, it is increasingly worrying. Back in early 2004, when I started working in the Israeli Mission to the U.N. — during the first year of the U.S. occupation of Iraq — one of the senior diplomats there had an autographed photograph of Bush hanging behind his desk. But by the summer of 2005, as Iraq spiraled into chaos, I noticed that he had replaced it, without explanation, with a photo of U2’s Bono.

Analysis: Available as a letter on Salon and below.

The war was certainly lost, but not in traditional measures of goals accomplished or battles lost. I think we can compare Israel’s recent efforts in Lebanon to the United States involvement in Iraq. While we may equate both the physical battles as a standstill, both conflicts have been complete diplomatic fiascos. Public opinion and international trust have mitigated any positive effect military action may have created.

Israel, in many ways like its diplomatic big brother America, has suffered a debilitating setback in its international standing. Israel is far from the victim of anti-Semitic persecution or the biblical David of the Middle East, as many geriatric Zionists or muddled neo-Conservatives would want you to believe. It is perceived to be a purveyor of violence, intolerance, occupation, nationalism, and religious and cultural ethnocentricism. This is not a perception limited to the Arab world: Europe and the American left, once firm supporters of the ‘Jewish’ state are coming to the realization that unwavering and uncritical support for a belligerent state is hypocritical and against long term strategic interests. This may have been in the cards though, as what serious, well-thought liberal would openly support a state that’s based on the values one should isolate and condemn (religion, societal divisions, fierce and violent nationalism).

In the short term, we have witnessed a complete diplomatic isolation of both states. America is impotent and enfeebled on this front, failing to stop the bloodshed in Lebanon this summer, to bring about peaceful resolution to ongoing Hamas and Fatah strife, or serious change to the Israeli Palestinian situation. America’s allies are quickly distancing itself as it continues to stumble over itself in the region: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan have all splintered from American methods on Iran, Israel/Palestine, and Iraq. Further, only America could turn an issue that most in the international community agree on — the desire to limit the nuclear capabilities of Iran — into a political conflict that may result in war. This has manifested itself by proxy in Israel’s diplomacy as well. As Israel sinks itself farther into the talons of Bush’s zero-sum game, the farther it is incapable of pursuing normalized relations with other countries.

I personally hope that for many this realization emerged this summer. These are not wars we are bound to be civility, these are not countries people are bound to because of identity. These are political conquests carried out by the agents of the right under the pretense of fear and safety.

Mr. T and Mike Tyson… Sitting in a Tree…

In a stunning revelation this afternoon, it appears that Mike Tyson and Mr. T have been involved in a serial and public monogamous relationship. Word is that Tyson can be considered the “power bottom” in this hook-up.

No, seriously… don’t believe everything wikipedia tells you kids! It’s can be difficult to tell what’s real life and what’s just Mike Tyson’s fantasy.

UPDATE: Apparently Mr. T and Mike Tyson’s love child is NOT homosexual. [Egotastic]

A Knife in the Heart of Valentine’s Day

The Stage: Valentine’s Day, 2001. I am a high school senior, I do not have a valentine, and I have oddly colored hair. I do not like society or its make believe holidays

The Victim: A decorated ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ banner and the 900 or so cohabitants of the cafeteria during the lunch period.

The result:

Solitude is Preferred

Freewill v. Determinism: I am determined to make the wrong choice.

News of note:
Communism, lol. I would like to learn more economics.

Mccain, creationism. Today is Darwin day, btw. Celebrate science.

People suck. Also, people suck.

Computers:
Yahoo! pipes is a pretty interesting idea.

Nerf + Wii is also cool.

I bought 3 WD 250GiB HDs today, but they were out of WD, so I got an upgrade to Hitachi. The amount of porn I will be able to store will be a beautiful site. Speaking of which, I would really like to go to Hawaii some day.

French movies:
I watched Bon Voyage and Les Visiteurs.

I enjoyed Les Visiteurs, it’s not a great movie, but it was fun. It’s sortof like a reverse Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The past comes to the future and all sorts of hilarious hijinks occur. The accent of the main dame was rather difficult to understand. I think they were mocking the modern nobility, but it is hard to tell without more context.

Bon Voyage was a light-hearted adventure film set in WWII era France. The Germans are coming and there are love triangles and quadrangles, and there are nukes and shit. It was a fun movie, I liked it a lot. I reminded me of the Rocketeer in terms of setting and excitement, though it was much better executed than the Rocketeer. I have a fond place in my heart for the Rocketeer though, I still wish I had a jet pack.

French is fun, I have been on a French kick. I have put my Swedish learning on hold for the time being, though I still try to scan the headlines just to keep it somewhat fresh. I am a hell of a lot better at French, so it is much more fulfilling to be able to watch a French movie or read the French news. Did you know you can watch France’s 24 hour news network live over the Internet? They have both French and English versions.

I think I would like to do the Peace Corps when my contract is up in Bloomington. I want to get back to Africa, and that I think is the best way. It’d be a good way to do some service work too, I want to do some of that before I become too much of a yuppie. Of course, by the time I am done with it, I will be 27, on my way to being an old suburban professional (an osprey?)

I have considered Peace Corps before and changed my mind, we’ll see.