I've received a handful of negative emails...

...since opening Wavelength Clothing, but only a few have been truly mean-spirited, and a couple have asked an interesting question: am I close-minded politically, or put another way, am I demonizing a politician who is not malicious and dark-hearted, but merely interprets the world differently than I do?

Sure, President Bush's stances on the contentious issues tend to strike me as dead wrong, and I find it hard to believe that half the nation feels otherwise. But I also cannot believe that anyone would prefer a tough, flavorless Twizzler over a moist, yummy Red Vine, or pre-stirred yogurt over its obvious superior, fruit-on-the-bottom. When it comes to licorice and yogurt, I recognize that my "beliefs" on the "issues" are purely a matter of taste, not of actual right and wrong. I also recognize that part of me actually enjoys engaging Twizzlers fans in endless "how can you be so stupid" debates over which of us is right - and I would probably do the same with pre-stirred yogurt lovers if I ever bumped into one.

So does this have any bearing on my political orientation? I might have thought so a few years ago, but I don't anymore. In debates over licorice flavors, nothing is at stake. But a vote for a politician with priorities like George W. Bush's is a vote a world with fewer environmental protections, with less intranational and international cooperation, with less of the Golden Rule and more of the Almighty Dollar, with more poverty, with more guns and ammo, with more suffering and death.

Bush, in you have done anything for me, you have given me conviction in my core political beliefs. You have also given me the motivation to fight for them. Punk ass.