We Ride Bikes

"But he used to beat the crap outta me..."

I am going to be an uncle.

I still can't believe it.

My brother is going to be a (great) father.

Check out his latest post.

My Wedding Toast

Hi, everyone. Really quickly my name is Jake, I went to school with Kenneth at UTD.

First of all, I'd personally like to thank everyone for coming, I'd also like to thank Club Clearview for the wonderful accommodations and, of course, I'd like to thank Kenneth and Gabriel for inviting all of us to be here to share in this wonderful occasion.

All too often outside of here, when we talk about the problems with this country or what we want to change or what is important to us, we forget about the lives that are touched, and the people that, all too often, get lost in the shuffle. So, I think it's important to acknowledge the gravity of what we are doing here. Robert Kennedy once said “the future will not belong to those who are content with the present.” By being here, we're saying we aren't content with the present, and, quite frankly, we reject it.

But it's more important to me that today remain about you two, because that's really why we're here. We aren't here to make a statement, though that may be what we're doing. That's not why we're here. We're here because we love you. We're here because there is nothing more beautiful, nothing more fundamental than this – this celebration of two people who will share their lives together.

The prevailing wisdom on this sort of thing says that I should take this time to offer some sort of advice, and not that I am in any position to do so, I'll do what I can.

You're married now, you belong to each other more so now than ever, so my advice to both of you, is to love first, and live incidentally.

And with that, to Gabriel, who knows everything there is to know about Kenneth, and to Kenneth, because, well, because he loves you anyway. To Gabriel and Kenneth...
___________________________________________________________________
Note: This is what I wrote before the wedding. I think about 80-90% may have actually been spoken.

Sen. Wellstone of Minnesota

Today is the third anniversary of the death of Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN).

He was an American Icon and Hero. The American People had no greater advocate and democracy knew no better ally than the college professor cum politician. He originally coined the phrase made famous by Howard Dean, "I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party."

The first time I remember hearing about Sen. Paul Wellstone was a story I read about his days as a college professor. He took one of his poltical science classes into rural Minnesota to walk the picket line with workers who were striking a factory. It is that level of involvement that we should expect and demand from our leaders.

I remember hearing about the plane crash and realizing that the state party would not be able to recover as well as they had in 2000 for the Carnahan race in Missouri. So we lost that seat in Minnesota, but more importantly we lost that voice. All too often the Democratic Party forgets what they stand for in favor of compromise or in an attempt to have a wider appeal to the electorate. Paul Wellstone served as a powerful conscience to the national party. I can only hope, that someday a politician with as much conviction, and tenacity will arise to the national stage and assert that role again.

When we were in Iowa with the Dean Campaign we saw so many Wellstone '04 signs - it just breaks my heart because I think he would've been a great candidate. He probably would not have won the nomination, but he could have brought issues to the table in a way that Kucinich, Moseley-Braun, and Sharpton were not necessarily able to do.

For more see:
NPR story on Paul Wellstone
The Paul & Sheila Wellstone Foundation bio of Paul Wellstone

So here are some of my favorite Paul Wellstone quotes:

“We can remake the world daily.”

"Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people's lives. It's about advancing the cause of peace and justice in our country and the world. Politics is about doing well for the people."

"Sometimes, the only realists are the dreamers. Robert Kennedy once said, 'The future will not belong to those who are content with the present.' I think the future also will not belong to those who are cynical or those who stand on the sidelines. The future will belong to those who have passion and are willing to work hard to make our country better. The future will belong to those, in Eleanor Roosevelt's words, 'who believe in the beauty of their dreams.'"

"I dare to imagine a country where every child I hold in my hands, are all God's children, regardless of the color of their skin, regardless of whether they're boy or girl, regardless of religion, regardless of rich or poor, that every child I hold in my hands, will have the same chance to reach her full potential or his full potential. That is the goodness of our country. That is the essence of the American dream."

"Our aims in political activism are not, and should not be, to create a perfect utopia. What we seek is more simply to improve the quality of human life while at the same time respecting the natural environment which sustains it: 'Not a heaven on earth but a better earth on earth.' This is not at all a timid agenda, far from it. The work ahead of us is enormous!"

“I think we ought to remember what Emerson wrote – The true test of civilization is not the census or the size of the city or the crops, but the kind of man (and I’d add women) the country turns out. The kind of national goal we ought to be thinking about is way beyond national product – it is how do we as a nation help our children be the best kinds of people they could possibly be?"

__________________________________________________________________________________ Note: The parenthetical "and I'd add women" in the last quote, is his, not mine. That's simply just another reason, why we need more people like Paul Wellstone.

Blurry Pictures.

It's blurry, but this is Gabriel, Kenneth, and me.

This is Kenneth and and Gabriel feeding each other cake.

The rest of the pictures were either too blurry (b/c my camera sucks) or were taken after the wine was flowing so they might not be appropriate.

What does it all mean?

Here is your horoscope for Monday, October 24:

Your dilemma, at the moment, is to decide between being too forward or too shy. Fortunately, your gift of gab is legendary, so the chances of you being seen in either light are next to nothing.

Stories to tell, pictures to post - all in due time.

The wedding was wonderful. It was one of the most touching things I've ever witnessed, let alone been apart of. It was very nice, the service was performed by a former State Representative, and she did an amazing job. It's early so I will have to tell you about it later, and I will post some pics as soon as I can.

And for what it's worth, I think my best man toast went over well. I tried to follow the advice of FDR - be sincere, be brief, be seated. But luckily for me, I have a "gift of gab" so I've got that goin' for me....which is nice.

If you're not angry, you aren't paying attention.

I know I am sending everyone all over the place, but if you get a chance check out this post at Objective Justice.

Joe.My.God.

I really suggest that you make your way over to Joe.My.God for his recent post called Cat Food. It's a really sweet story, and at the end it just...well I guess he's right, and I never would've thought about it, but it's just one more thing that we've got to fix about this country world.

I've got another post working that won't be up until next week, but I thought this was appropriate...

"When too many Americans don't vote or participate, some see apathy and despair. I see disappointment and even outrage. And I believe that out of this frustration can come hope and action." -Sen. Paul Wellstone

The Shoemakers of Boston

I just wanted to drop a quick line to say that more than 350 years ago today the first labor organization (that we know of) in what would later become the United States was recognized by the Massachusetts Bay Colony - The Shoemakers of Boston.

I recognize that there is a great deal of Euro-centrism in that tidbit of trivia, and there is a lot of socio-economic context that is not taken into account in this sort of fortune cookie-esque history. I post this not to ask everyone to forget that context but to look at the rich history of the labor movement that has conveniently been omitted from our textbooks. This is a fairly common theme here at the Naive Optimist, but think about this for a second - 1648. That's 12 years after the foundation of Harvard College, Less than 30 years after the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock. The Shoemakers of Boston united before the Salem witch trials. They were founded before the continent's first regular newspaper.

Every major religion talks about compensating workers fairly. Organized labor has been on this continent longer than we think, and now we are in danger of losing it. Is it apathy? Is it a disconnect between union leadership and union membership? Is it due to a failure by organized labor to make the jump from a manufacturing based economy to a service based economy? Or is it a near systematic attempt by those in power to discredit, and mar the history and reputation of the labor movement itself?

Kenneth and Gabriel

Article. IV.
Section. 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section. 2.
Clause 1: The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.

Amendment XIV
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Kenneth is getting married. I am so happy for them, and cannot wait to see him and Gabriel. This news is not new though. The news that I will have the privilege of being Kenneth's best man, is new. I am really looking forward to it. It's an honor to get to be apart of something so special. Kenneth is incredible and he and Gabriel are great together. What makes me so happy about getting to be a part of this, is the knowledge that it is absolutely the right thing, and yet there are people who would deny them this very simple, basic, fundamental right.

The courage that it must take to stand up and say, "In spite of insurmountable opposition we are going to do what is right," astounds me. When a fundamental piece of who you are, is scrutinized, ridiculed and criticized on a daily basis and you are still willing to stand up in the name of what is right...that is true character. That is what we should all be willing to do. To do what is right, to do what is just in spite of immeasurable adversity.

So when they subvert the dominant pardigm, when they challenge the status quo, I'll be standing up there, because dammit, if you want to come after them, if you have something to say about what you think it's about, or you want to just give your two cents, if you want to in any way try and take anything away from what they share, well, you're going to have to go through me.

But the best part is, that's not what its about. It's not just about the political-that's simply scenery or context for the bigger story. It's about them, because they love each other. And there's nothing greater than that. They love each other, and I can't wait to be there to celebrate that.

11/4/05 - 7:00 pm - 1804 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX

In April, I participated in an art project where a photographer wanted people to take a piece of glass and paint one word that described themselves and he would take a picture of each person holding their word. It was fun, but I did it and pretty much forgot about it.

Today, I got an email from the photographer letting me know that the show is opening in Dallas on November 4th. It will be in a coffee shop on Lower Greenville, and if you are in Dallas around that time I think it would be great if you went. The show will be there all through the month of November, but I am telling everyone I know that may be in Dallas to go on November 4th. Click here for the flyer.

He is supposed to be sending me a CD with my picture on it, so maybe I'll post it when I get it.