so where have i been lately with all my rants and quotes and such? well, my mind has been really focused on our local mayoral runoff election so much so that i haven't been paying as much attention to national news like i should and like i try to write about on here. and as we can see, i get in trouble when i talk about local elections on here. san francisco really is in its own world. i'm still amazed after all these years of living here that somehow i am a considered a 'moderate-conservative' here in this town. how can an openly gay, liberal, pro-marijuana, pro-gay marriage, pro-gender-nonconformity, pro-choice, pro-civil rights, pro-diversity, pro-minimum wage, pro-labor, pro- separation of church and state, pro-gressive be considered a 'conservative' anywhere? ah, but welcome to san francisco.

living here has meant that i've really had to take ownership of my own definition of 'liberal' and 'progressive.' and that's been tough sometimes. i now know what it's like to have been protested by the right-wing of the country, and now by my friends in the left-wing. how many liberals can say that? anyway, i'm still really frustrated and bothered by the liberal infighting in my community and amongst those of us who should be friends and working hard to defeat bush and the right wing on the state and national levels, but it's the way it goes here to some extent.

as i started to say, i've really had to take the terms 'liberal' and 'progressive' and allow myself ownership of them under my own terms even when i'm being considered a conservative here in town. it's complicated and frustrating, but i think i'm actually growing as an individual and politically via this local craziness, because i have to realize more about how i feel on everything rather than just knee-jerk liberal reactions to things. plus, i realize now, living in a liberal city, 'liberal' means different things to different people, and being liberal in kansas city or in washington, dc does not necessarily equate with being liberal in san francisco.

i am still a liberal and proudly so and i won't let anyone take my own political definitions away from me or box me into a corner to where they view me as a conservative or a racist or a nazi or whatever. i just have to recognize that intra-liberal politics in the city are just that, that there are no perfect answers, that for every two liberal people out there you get three or four different points of view, and that i can make my own politics and my own sense of mind and my own definition of 'liberal' and still claim ownership of my liberal heritage and beliefs. no one can take that away from me.

so with that, and at the risk of causing more intra-liberal fighting on this website, i mention that this last month has been very trying for the democratic party in a city that is one of the strongest democratic cities in the nation. and that really helps the republicans in more ways than i can express here. the green party and its followers have really demonized the democratic party for being too conservative and just like the republicans, which is simply not true. it's been stressful and trying on my nerves and patience. i enjoyed this article from the democratic state party chairman, who is a liberal democrat, reminding san franciscans just how liberal the democratic party is and the values and causes we are fighting for both locally and nationally. i really feel like the democratic party in san francisco has been taking a steady beating from the greens and others during this runoff election because it's viewed as a 'conservative' party here, when it's really just infighting amongst liberals. this infighting just helps the republicans locally and nationally and that's bad for us. i also find it interesting that the green party and the republican party similarly use the issue of gay marriage as a wedge issue against the democrats (i.e. the republicans are not for it at all, and the greens are upset with national democrats for waffling on the issue and taint local liberal democrats negatively on the subject, even though locally the democrats are completely for it and even conduct gay weddings in city hall, but i digress...).

anyway, to wrap this discussion up, i once again state that i am proud liberal democrat, i am not a green party person and do not believe that party has the answers we need politically or pragmatically, and have voted (already absentee) for the liberal democrat gavin newsom for mayor against the liberal green party guy and for liberal democrat kamala harris for district attorney. and i am still a liberal, dammit. you can't take that away from me. and if you don't believe me, read the rest of my rantings on this website.