Happy Bloomsday!

I have always lived a part of my life through movies.

I think it comes from not being good at drawing lines between my life and what I should consider to be outside its scope. In the same way that I can have a hard time staying away from meddling in my friends' lives or trying to help someone I actually do not know at all, movies can suck me in and blur these same lines for me. Someone once told me that this is a sign of immaturity. That it was something children sometimes do, before they grow up. Losing themselves in make-believe images, flickering on a screen. But I can't help it.

Just like tonight. My wife had told me to see Big Fish. We both like Tim Burton, but she had seen the film while travelling, a few months ago, and said she knew I would like it. Of course she was right. I do. Maybe because I identify with some aspects of the protagonist. His propensity for tall tales. His delight in amazing and entertaining his friends. Making other people smile.

Then I listened to the end title track. I have never been a Perl Jam fan, but that ballad really got to me. And it made me see another reason for why I like the film. I probably have a long way to go in coming to terms with losing my own father, almost three years ago. He, like the protagonist's father in the movie, was an enigma to me in so many ways. He was a bigger man than I will ever be. And that is OK. But I am really sorry for the time we did not have. The him that I never knew.

This feeling, in return, has only made me more determined than before, not to shy away from life. Not to let it slip by. To always follow my heart. However wild and dangerous the road is that it leads down. To seize the day. Jump on the train. Make the journey. Ask the question. Take the time to listen. To give oneself. Without hesitation. To live. That is why I can not compromise. Why I believe that life is an adventure. Why tall tales are my truths, and the people who tell them are my heros.

Incidentally, that is also why I could never have not kissed Helena Bonham Carter, when it was the absolutely right thing to do.

To be able to hold your head up high, and claim that you actually participate in this society, you have the moral obligation to make an informed decision in the election this fall. Each one of us needs to take his or her own stand. I am doing my bit. How about you?

Here is the incumbent's position on some of the main issues, as he sees them, with my humble opinion on each of them:

Abortion	The president opposes abortion, but he has said that neither the country nor Congress is ready for a ban on the procedure. More	✘ Fail. A woman should not be forced to carry a child, or to have to seek illegal means of an abortion otherwise. Period.
Affirmative Action:	Mr. Bush says he opposes racial quotas and racial preferences. More	✔ Pass. I do not believe that the disgusting practice of racism can be finally put out of its misery until those that 'make it' (into college, into public office, on company boards, etc.) are free of the presumption that they couldn't have without the government putting them there, instead of other, more qualified people.
Campaign Finance:	Mr. Bush has foregone public financing for his presidential campaigns. More	✓ Pass. But would he have if he hadn't received more than 'enough' money from his backers anyway?
Death Penalty:	Supports the death penalty. More	✘ Fail! Killing another human being IS WRONG. How the bible-thumping rednecks console the government being allowed to slaughter people with their own so-called "faith" is beyond me.
Economy, Taxes & Trade:	President Bush has signed tax cuts each of the past three years, including a $1.35 trillion cut over 10 years signed in 2001. More	✔ Pass. If these tax cuts are slanted towards the rich, there is a simple solution: Cut taxes more, this time on the lower and middle class.
Education:	Supports taxpayer-financed vouchers for tuition at parochial or other private schools. More	✔ Pass. School vouchers are a real way to allow the public to choose where their tax dollars will be put to their best use. As long as there is a public school system in this country, this is the way to go. Besides, competition is the only true way to encourage progress in the service sector, as in any other business.
Environment:	Favors allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. More	✓ Pass. Those that own the land need to take responsibility for the use of it, not have Uncle Sam always sitting by going "Yes, this you may" and "but this you may not". That kind of legislation breeds a culture of "It's OK because Uncle Sam hasn't banned it".
Foreign Policy, Terrorism & Iraq:	Following Sept. 11 attacks on United States, instituted policy of pre-emptive strikes against suspected threats to the nation's security, where U.S. would act alone or with others to protect the nation. More	✘ Fail. It was wrong from the outset and has already been proven disasterously wrong in practice. No more attacks, invasions, or occupations. Emperor, LEAVE OTHER NATIONS ALONE!
Gay Rights:	Opposes gay marriage; Supports a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman. More	✘ Fail. In personal matters, as in most others, people should be free to do what they like, as long as they do not infringe upon the same right of others. Banning people from getting married, just because other people don't want them to, is WRONG.
Gun Control:	Favors granting immunity to gun makers from civil lawsuits. More	✗ Fail. Civil lawsuit immunity is an impotent way of dealing with faults in a justice system, real or merely perceived. Not really the point though, when it comes to the issue of gun control.
Healthcare:	Signed a law giving the elderly prescription drug coverage under Medicare for the first time, at an estimated cost of $400 billion over the next 10 years. More	✘ Fail. Tax cuts = Good. But increasing public spending at the same time is not just Bad. It is irresponsible, and a flat-out verdict of failure over administrations that practice it.
Homeland Security & National Defense:	Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, created new cabinet-level position to coordinate anti-terrorism efforts.More	✘ Fail. A classic fallacy: The emergence of a new problem calls for a new government office.
Social Security:	Favors private investment accounts in Social Security. More	✓ Pass. A virtual non-issue. Neither important nor something that people could possibly disagree with, in good conscience. However, this can be implemented in a way that totally distorts the declared purpose of it.