This is for all you right-wingers out there trying to come up with a definition of liberal. I'm going you help you, which you desperately need:
1. A liberal is interested in individual freedoms.
2. A liberal is not hesitant to raise questions about the government. I call this having positive doubt.
3. A liberal is tolerant and respectful of differences. This is why I am so nice to right-wing Republicans.
4. A liberal believes that the government is US. It's not a flag, or a motto, or a patriotic song. It is how we live our lives, how we get along, how we work together to make everyone's life better, not just the chosen few.
5. We believe the government exists, at least in part, to help those less fortunate. We don't believe CEO's or Board of Directors are on that list.
6. The government should never involve itself in sectarian faith.
7. The courts are responsible for protecting individual liberties and upholding the constitution. It does not set social policy or promote political ideologies.
8. The government has a duty and obligation to protect us and provide safely and security for the people, without sacrificing our constitutional values and personal liberties.
9. Liberals, until recently, have for too long put up with a lot of right-wing crap. I suppose it was out of our sense of compassion and mercy. Perhaps wimpiness. But not any longer.
This is by no means an inclusive list. You may want to add some additional traits of your own. Be my guest.

1. That Bush could have ever won a fair election. I still wonder.
2. You got to wonder: Who in their right mind would hinder or make a religious issue out of stem-cell research?
3. I've often wondered if anyone has had sex in outer space?
4. I wonder if the Democrats will be able to do any better than the Republicans?
5. I still wonder how the TV works. Where do all those people come from?
6. I wonder if we'll ever learn that you can't kill your way to peace?
7. I get to wondering about all the stories being played out in all the houses that I pass by while driving down the highway. All the triumphs, the sorrows, the celebrations, the kindness, the hatred, the hopes, the dreams, the despair, the graduations, the divorces, the births, the deaths, the sleepless nights. I wonder about that a lot. That, and whether or not they bought my first book.

* A good vintage merlot.
* Watching Toni Braxton sing the other night on "American Idol."
* Waking up in the morning with nothing else to do with the day but play golf.
* Getting together with a group of friends and acting silly.
* Walking into some of the great cathedrals and holy places and just taking it in.
* Going into a Whole Food Grocery store.
* Reading about someone or some community saying not to Wal-Mart.
* Watching white collar criminals go to prison.
* Sitting on my front porch with a good cup of coffee counting traffic is hard to beat.
(Feel free to add some. Send in, I'll post.)

Our President is a danger to the world. He needs to be removed from office. He has, 1. Started a war based on a lie. And, 2. Illegally spied on American citizens. These are surely constitutional violations. He needs to be removed-NOW.
And on the music front, Neil Young releases a great protest album, "Living With War." I hope his income taxes are in order, cause I'm sure he made Bush's top ten hit list.
And the Dixie Chicks let it be known that they aren't about to be intimidated by Bush and his douche-bag entourage of criminals. Look out for "Not Ready to Make Nice."
I noticed the danger barometer for potential terrorist attacks recently went up. I almost forgot about this highly scientific breakthrough in national security. My guess is there's an election right around the corner. Karl Rove is back at work.
And finally, mission not quite accomplished. How do you win a war started with a lie? What do you say to a parent, a husband, a wife, grandparents, children, who have lost a loved one in a war that should have never been? "Sorry, our President lied." They say it's for freedom and democracy, but it's easy to see through that charade. Ends up arrogance, revenge, oil, and world domination are sorry motives for a war. They only cause grief and sorrow and misery. Our hearts get broken, yet we put up with it. We don't want to believe in our hearts what we know to be true: This is wrong, and our President should be removed from office because of it.

I'm tired of hoping. Hope is another illusion created by those in power. Do you think hope is going to:
* End the war in Iraq?
* Make the profiteers stop destroying the environment?
* Help the poor improve their condition?
* Get us adequate and affordable health-care?
* Protect our children from gangs, drugs, a poor education, overzealous prosecutors?
* I hope I find a job?
* I hope landlords will rent to me, even though I'm gay.
* I hope my employer treats me fair?
* I hope heaven will be better?
* Did Martin Luther King sit back and hope that his people would get a better deal?
Hope leaves the doing for someone or something else. It will one day miraculously happen. Well, I killed hope. Sorry. It's time for us to get off our collective asses and do something. If we each start to actively do what needs to be done, there will be no need for hope.