Ravings of a Random Mind...

"It was September and there was a town... there was a circus... there was a railroad... and there was an elephant... Mary." This is the opening line of "Elephant's Graveyard", the current selection on display at the aptly named Balagan Theatre ["balagan" is Hebrew for "problem" "trouble" or even "Chaos"]. This Theatre, while entertaining, strives to make you think about humanity, humanity's place in the universe, and your place in humanity. Sol, Koko, Ruslan and I went to see the show this past Saturday, expecting to be entertained. It was, after all, a show about a town, a railroad, a circus and an elephant, right? Yes. And no. It starts off introducing you to the characters in the show, and they come across as all being very likable. These could be your neighbors, your friends, your family - even yourselves. The show is a solid piece, 75 minutes, no intermission. There is no clear break between the likable characters...

In a news article today on gather.com Bluprnt z. writes that there could be an incredibly unforseen result of Proposition 8: the California Supreme Court could rule that Marriage in it's entirety is unconstitutional and scrap the State's Marriage Laws in their entirety. Wouldn't that be a hoot! I make no secret that I do not entirely support Gay Marriage. I believe that Marriage is a religious ceremony, and as such, various religious institutions have the right to regulate it as their scripture and beliefs demand. I do not believe that Marriage is something that States (or the Federal Government) should be involved in at all. There is no State Religion in our country, and as Marriage is a religious institution, it has no place in Governance; to include or exclude anybody in it is not for Courts or Governments or Legislatures to decide. It's not even up to the People. It properly belongs in the perveyance of Religious Leaders. If you don't like what your religous bo...

In the Miss America Pageant ( forgive me for going here, but you'll see my reasoning shortly - whether you agree with it or not, you'll understand my POV ) Miss California is quoted as saying, “We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.” While many will attack her for her views, I'm going to refrain from doing so. Not because I agree with her - I don't - but because she has a right to her POV. What she does NOT have the right to do is misrepresent the reality that we, as Gay and Lesbian citizens of the United States of America, face every day. “We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite." I don't know what land she lives in, but here in Washington State, I do NOT have that option. Recently, our Legislature passed the ...

...sure didn't take very long to raise it's ugly head. Here is the article about the most recent attack; on a synagogue in Caracas in Venezuela. Venezuela? Anti-Semitic? It's far from Europe, which is historically the most anti-semitic place in the world. It's far from the Middle East where most anti-Israeli bias fuels anti-Semitic behaviours. So what's the cause? Venezuela is an ally of Iran. Iran is the most vocal opponent of Israel, denying her right to exist. Iran also supports the Syrian regime in Damascus. Hizbollah in Lebanon (supported by both Iran and Syria). Hamas in Gaza. The goal? Eradicate the Jewish State. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made no secret of his hatred of the "Zionist state." The one grace that he has is that he has made a differentiation between Zionists (Israelis) and the Jews of his own country - so long as they don't speak to each other, he can keep them clearly separated in his mind. Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, has do...

...Muammar Qaddafi? That's right, I said Muammar Qaddafi. This is his op-ed piece on NYTimes.com today. I couldn't believe it either. I started out with the idea that this would be another Times op-ed piece of vitriolic ranting, chock-full with anti-Israel bias. After all, this is the leader of a county that used to sponsor terrorism around the world and actually began his leadership career in Libya with the eliminaton of Israel as one of the pillars of his philosophy. Now it would seem, Qaddafi has become quite the moderate in his old age. Here is the text of his op-ed piece in full. Amazing... THE shocking level of the last wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, which ended with this weekend’s cease-fire, reminds us why a final resolution to the so-called Middle East crisis is so important. It is vital not just to break this cycle of destruction and injustice, but also to deny the religious extremists in the region who feed on the conflict an excuse to advance their own ca...