E-Mails

Turning to the old e-mail inbox, I have two or three e-mails lamenting my naivete when it comes to electoral politics.

One, from Rose, wonders the following: "Do you really think that you can just urge people to kick certain politicians out of office and it's that easy? Hello, the system isn't controlled by the voters (and never was), it's controlled by MONEY. No candidate can gain enough voter recognition to get the vote unless they've got massive amounts of money, which means they're already tied to special interests and not working for those who vote for them. Until that changes, nothing in D.C. will change in the least."

Rose makes an excellent point, of course. To effect real wide scale change, we do need to see some serious, no-loop-hole electoral reform legislation pass, something that does take the money out of politics. There are many ideas out there that have been espoused for years by progressives, such as providing free air time to each candidate and having public funding of elections, that would be a huge step towards leveling the playing field and getting more people into office who actually care about public service.

But while Rose and others who wrote are right in what they say, it does come down to the voters in the end. If enough of us turn out and vote against someone, they're not going to be holding office. If enough progressive minded people got together and organized behind a candidate, be they Democrat, or Green or whatever, who was more progressive than the Incumbent, they'd stand a real chance of electing that candidate. And even if they didn't actually succeed in electing them, they'd still be demonstrating to the Democratic party that they're going to be facing serious challenges from the left if they don't quite moving away from their base.

We won't get serious reform of the corrupted electoral system until we send more serious reformers to Congress. Maybe if more of us got out and did something besides just voting (which is obviously very important in and of itself!), we could help get alternative candidates elected in both primaries and general elections. Volunteer for a Green candidate or a truly progressive Democrat, help them raise their visibility and get their ideas out there in a system that is indeed stacked against them from the beginning.

It's easier on a local level, of course, and it's equally important that we fill state and local offices with progressive candidates. But, naive or not, I do truly believe that we can bring about change if we work hard enough. We can start the ball rolling.

Nose_in_a_Book (love the name!) writes to ask what I've been reading since the last time I mentioned what I was reading. Well, just as I've had so little time to blog lately, I've also had less time than I'd like to read. Bearing that in mind, the books that are currently stacked up on my bedside table in the process of being read are Nicholson Baker's A Box Of Matches; Bernard Malamud's A New Life; David Lodge's Small World; and David Leavitt's The Body of Jonah Boyd. Then, of course, there are various anthologies and collections (short story anthologies such as several volumes of The Best American Short Stories series & the Penguin Book of Gay Short Stories; essay collections like Gore Vidal's United States) that I'm always slowly working my way through and enjoying, one story or essay at a time.

And of course, my stack of magazines. I subscribe to several weekly, monthly, and quarterly magazines and I'm always doing my best (and often failing!) to keep up with them in addition to everything else.

I have an e-mail from a reader wondering which of the TV reviews on Third Estate Sunday Review is my very favorite. That's a tough question, because each weekend those reviews are truly the highlight of my Sunday morning. I'm going to have to be honest and say that my favorite is whichever one I'm reading on any given Sunday morning, and last weekend's review of Freddie was no exception!

I laughed so hard while reading it, and I recognized so much truth amid the humor. This one especially rang true, because Freddie Prinze Jr was totally the sort of blandly sexy, safe crush I used to have a few years back! Of course, for me he was even then always overshadowed by others. I mean, you can't watch I Know What You Did Last Summer and come away with any other male image in mind besides Ryan Phillippe's locker room shower/towel scene!

Speaking of Ryan, my ultimate crush of days gone by, I recently saw the movie Crash. I have to tell you, I was seriously impressed with the film itself, and with most of the performances. It's one of those all too rare films that really makes you think, and not just for a few minutes after the film ends. I think it's one of the best films dealing with the realities of racism in this country that I've ever seen. So if you haven't seen it, you should really think about renting it.

With that said, Ryan Philippe looked oh so pretty as always, and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't still gladly take him to bed for a meaningless fling. But as usual, his performance was all surface. It just stood out more in a film where he was working with some truly talented actors, and which called for some real depth on his part.

Maybe one of these days, Ryan will end up trying to salvage his career with a TV show. Maybe he could even go back to his roots, having once played a gay teen character on the soap One Life to Live. Ryan's performances, based so much on looking hot while he fails to emote, are a staple of daytime TV these days. Someone should do him a favor and slip him the casting director's number at Passions.