Another anti-gay Republican .... is gay

I lived in Bakersfield (CA) for almost a decade.  A highly socially and politically conservative place that was. Here is an example: the local college invited to campus a well known poet, Frank Bidart, for, well, poetry reading and Q/A.  There was a great deal of protest because ...he was gay!  And the icing on this crazy cake?  He was a local guy--was born and brought up in town before he moved to the East Coast, and he still had family in town.  Yet the protests ....

One of the local politicians was Roy Ashburn, who systematically contested and won election after election.  At one time there was even speculation that he might head to the Congress.  The guy was typical of the local pols who were highly successful--ultra conservative Republican talk.  (Not "Conservative" but Republican.)  Ashburn was also, as one can then imagine, anti-gay.

So, there I was checking with the newspaper from Bakersfield and I almost fell off the chair when I read a series of reports on Ashburn and his homosexuality:

“I am gay. Those are the words that have been difficult for me for so long,” a sometimes emotional Ashburn told local talk radio show host Inga Barks 

So, why was he vehemently anti-gay, and why did he support anti-gay policies?

Ashburn has taken heat in the last week for having been both closeted and a consistent voter against gay-rights related legislation. In the interview, Ashburn repeatedly argued he voted the will of his constituents in his conservative 18th Senate District, which includes much of Bakersfield.

“I took a position based on what I believed was the will of my constituents, not mine, necessarily,” Ashburn said. “We have a representative form of government ... where citizens select people to cast votes on their behalf.”

Bah!  It was strictly a game he played in order to win re-elections?  How awful! The Fresno Bee editorial has the best line on this:

For Ashburn, being part of the club of elected officials apparently was more important than voting his conscience. That's disturbing. It's also extremely hypocritical, no matter how Ashburn tries to spin it.

But times are changing. Most younger voters don't care about sexual orientation. Ashburn could have shown leadership by trying to change the minds of others. He never gave his constituents the chance.

I wish Ashburn well .... but, I also hope he will understand how much his anti-gay politics caused pain and hardship to gays. I look forward to reading his apology in a future issue of the Bakersfield Californian.

PTSD claims a two-tour Iraq veteran

U.S. Marine Cpl. Contreras, a 2003 graduate of South High, died two weeks ago after surviving two tours in Iraq.
He took his own life after suffering, it appears, from post-traumatic stress disorder. ....
Being in battle wasn’t supposed to be part of his job, but on one occasion he and some fellow Marines left the base and ended up in the middle of a gunfight.
“He had to use his weapon,” Esther said. “Five guys were shooting in a crowd of women and children. He knows he shot a woman. He didn’t know if he shot any children.”
At one point, he had a nervous breakdown during a Disneyland fireworks show, his family said. Light flashing in the air had been a signal for help in Iraq.
The episode was one of the few moments his family and friends noticed something out of the ordinary with Leonardo.

Read the entire report, with photographs, here.

Bakersfield, too, contributed to Lehman Bros' demise

In light of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, am reposting an earlier one:
We lived in Bakersfield, CA, before moving to Oregon. We sold our home just before the real estate mania set in. Bigger and bigger homes were being built, and speculators (flippers) were buying from all over. McAlister Ranch was one such mega project, which is one of the reasons that Lehman Brothers is now in a mess (watch the following YouTube clip)



I tell you, we are the United States of Gordon Gekkos :-(
Update: the Bakersfield Californian lists the investments in Bakersfield and Kern County with the Lehman connection.

I was right on the (gas) money :-)

All of a sudden, I remembered that when we lived in California there was a strange spring/summer when we had electricity shortage (we found out later on how much Enron was a part of it!) There was also a sudden jump in gas prices. A reporter from the local paper, the Bakersfield Californian, talked to me about this, and re-reading that news item, I am mighty impressed about what I had to say. Read it for yourself:

Gas pricemarks pushing $2-a-gallon ; local drivers 'don't mind,' expert says
Filed: 09/14/2000
By CHIP POWER Californian staff writer e-mail: ppower@bakersfield.com

Statewide gasoline prices are kissing the $2-a-gallon level, with Bakersfield motorists near the head of the line.
Local prices now are $1.97 a gallon for self-serve regular, according to a AAA Motor Club survey, nearly 12 percent higher than a month ago. The statewide average in California, which has the highest gas costs among the continental states, was $1.86. San Francisco prices are at $2.05
Fuel industry analysts have dismissed the effects of the increase in crude oil production promised by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as being too little, too late to affect U.S. retail petroleum prices this winter.
Some analysts are speculating about possible energy shortages if the United States encounters a colder than normal winter. The accuracy of these predictions is difficult to verify.
As long as the U.S. economy hums along with little threat of inflation or a recession, most confident motorists are shrugging off the current high prices with little changes in their driving or purchasing behavior, said Sriram Krishnamurthy, a Cal State Bakersfield economist specializing in environmental resources.
"People don't mind spending a few extra bucks here and there if they feel like the economy is humming along," said Krishnamurthy.
However, there does come a point when people may cut back their driving and avoid the popular, gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles, he said.
When that adjustment comes is hard to say, but Krishnamurthy said it would likely be well past $2 a gallon and would also need to be accompanied by a big change in the larger economic picture, such as higher interest rates, shrinking job growth or run-amok inflation.
"If you had those sort of changes, vehicles such as the Jeep Cherokee would sell at a discount instead of a premium," the economist added. But that hasn't happened yet.

I was right: it took a few things to come together for people to run away from SUVs.
And, yes, Krishnamurthy was my last name before I legally changed it.