Nexpatriates - the next expatriates

Thank Goodness

2010-11-19T23:44:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Break has begun! I'm looking forward to a nice break, but also to some time to plan some lessons for my classes. Down time is something that has been extremely rare lately! I have a lot to do this week - clean garage, Vegas, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas decorations. Some rest! But it's all good. Started off with a great evening at home tonight.

2010-10-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ran into several more former students at Club Day at lunch today. It felt good to actually get out of my room at lunch and get out among the students. Three girls who were in my Media class at Marshall stopped and talked to me. And another who was in my East Coast group 4 years ago! An ECT student from 4 years ago is in my CORE class and is editing his football videos for his college recruiters. It's great to reconnect, but I was also reminded that yesterday was the first East Coast Trip meeting at Marshall. Bittersweet.

I still hate Thursdays! No prep means it's a long day. Then I had to go down to HR and fill out the remaining paperwork to finally make me official. Found out I have to get a THIRD set of fingerprints done. Isn't this a little extreme, people?? I should get a nice payout from my vacation balance though, and by staying in PERS instead of STRS I can still retire at 50 instead of 55. Hmmmmmm.

A Brazilian Waxing

2010-10-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

One of my football players today comes in during my prep asking what other assignments he needs to catch up on before this week's end-of-grading-period. I showed him the two assignments he was missing - a camera shot activity and an introductory letter the substitute had asked students to write to introduce themselves and state why they were in the class, what they hoped to get out of it, etc. So I'm reading through his letter and it states how he might have trouble in class with the language because he's an exchange student from Brazil. I said, "Jeff, did you happen to copy this from Pedro (the exchange student from Brazil)??" Oy! Try a little harder with the plagiarism, kid!!

The Start of a New Career

2010-10-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more time to sit and reflect on my first week teaching high school. I just finished 30 minutes in the hot tub and am finally soothed from the week.

I love the atmosphere. It was Homecoming Week, so things were probably a little more pumped up than usual, but there was tremendous energy! Reconnecting with former Marshall students was great! It helped ease the transition. I've seen many of my past Media students - and encouraged them to take my class next year. I haven't gotten to know many staff members yet. The front office staff is great, and I've met a few teachers whose names I can't remember, but not much more than that. I chatted a while with the Career Counselor who shares an office down the hall. Other than her, there's only the Copy Room further down the hall. I LOVE having my own wing! My classroom is on one side with the studio, control room and two audio rooms on the other. Unfortunately, the latter 4 are mostly storage rooms for dead or decrepit equipment. The classroom has 24 recent-model iMacs with Final Cut Pro and Adobe CS3. There are also 8-10 old eMacs that aren't even hooked up - a way-in-the future project. There are lots of those. Like going through the 17-year-old studio equipment and seeing what works, if anything. I've assigned some students to test some of it and that will help. I've stayed until 5 or 6 every day this week, but there are still so many projects to do! I got the studio lights going the other day. Still haven't figured out the dimmer panel though.

We shot the sports anchors on Thursday and it looks good. We'll do the studio anchors on Monday. I managed to find an old multimedia desk that will serve as our news desk for now and the students helped get it in shape. That's what's so great about high school students. They can stay after school to do things! No scurrying for the bus or carpool. I also put up a background for the anchors yesterday. As soon as I get the lights set today, I think we'll be ready for taping on Monday!

Yesterday was Homecoming. I knew there was a rally in the stadium during the school day, but nobody told me about the events before school. When I arrived (late, due to CRAZY traffic) the Seniors in their blue class colors were on the second floor above the quad taunting the Juniors in red down below. I had worn my Michigan State sweatshirt to root on my team this weekend, but also found out green was the Freshman class color. Perfect. I fit right in! At the rally, my students joined their respective classes in the stands and I headed up to the top to watch the activities. It's unusual for me to be able to do that. I had two students taping the events, so I only took cellphone video and pictures to send to Frank. And I didn't have to set up the audio system or worry about it when the mics went dead halfway through the rally. Not my problem!

Putting together lesson plans still seems daunting, but overall it was a good first week.

Treat People Like Dogs

2010-03-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

By Karen Oberthaler, V.M.D. | NEWSWEEK

When I say I'm a veterinary oncologist, I am usually met with a bemused, slightly incredulous reaction. I'm often asked, "Do people really treat their pets for cancer?" As a matter of fact, they do. Not only do I administer radiation and chemotherapy to cats and dogs (not to mention the occasional ferret and hedgehog) on a daily basis, but I work in one of the most sophisticated veterinary hospitals in the country, with a neurosurgeon, a dermatologist, an ophthalmologist, and a host of other specialists. Pet owners routinely rack up $10,000 bills to save the life of an animal that they consider a beloved member of the family.

This may seem extreme, but it's not even close to what many Americans do for their (human) relatives. A breathtaking $66.8 billion each year—almost a third of all Medicare dollars—is spent treating patients in the last two years of their lives. Too often, expensive procedures are tried simply so medical providers can cover themselves against potential lawsuits from bereaved family members who want to make sure everything possible was done. The fact that insurance generally covers all of this makes it more likely that doctors and patients pile on excessive and nonessential tests and procedures.

About 90 percent of my animal patients are geriatric—and, as odd as this sounds, the veterinary world may hold lessons for the broader health-care system. While pet insurance exists, only roughly 3 percent of owners carry it; even then, clients pay a substantial portion of costs themselves. That means they usually want to know the rationale behind each test. I explain what I think is going on, what I want to look for, and which tests I need to perform to find it. I rank the diagnostics from most to least essential and lay out approximate costs. My clients then choose what they want done, with an understanding of the relative importance, risk, and cost of each option. This step-by-step approach may seem time-consuming, but it dramatically reduces the number of expensive, unnecessary tests. And the process is more gratifying.

When facing the death of a loved one—human or animal—the real challenge is coming to grips with the reality of the situation. Since my approach draws me closer to families, it's easier to suggest that the best course of treatment may be relieving pain rather than fighting a disease. Owners are less likely to fear that you're giving up on their beloved pet if they trust you. When I'm asked about performing tests, and I know the results won't change the outcome, I say so. If your golden retriever's cancer is too far advanced for surgery, getting a biopsy may be a pricey—and superfluous—exercise.

No family wants to subject its already sick pet to uncomfortable tests or dump thousands of dollars into dead-end diagnostics. So why do we do that to our grandparents? Clearly the stakes are different: we're talking about the people who brought us into the world. Vets, also, are not saddled with the threat of career-ending malpractice lawsuits. While most pets are treated like children, legally animals are property—I can't be sued for more than their face value. We're also not buried under paperwork, which accounts for our ability to spend more time with clients

I'm not advocating that people and their families be allowed to dictate their care entirely. But there is something to be said for inviting them deeper into the process. In some ways, veterinary practice today is not that different from the practice of human medicine before insurance companies dictated policy and the threat of lawsuits guided decisions. Which might explain why the question I'm asked with the second-most frequency is "Do you think I could be treated in this hospital?"

Oberthaler is on staff at NYC Veterinary Specialists.

Michael Moore's Take on Health Care Vote

2010-03-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

Michael Moore, filmmaker:

Thanks to last night's vote, that child of yours who has had asthma since birth will now be covered after suffering for her first nine years as an American child with a pre-existing condition.

Thanks to last night's vote, that 23-year-old of yours who will be hit one day by a drunk driver and spend six months recovering in the hospital will now not go bankrupt because you will be able to keep him on your insurance policy.

Thanks to last night's vote, after your cancer returns for the third time -- racking up another $200,000 in costs to keep you alive -- your insurance company will have to commit a criminal act if they even think of dropping you from their rolls.

Yes, my Republican friends, even though you have opposed this health care bill, we've made sure it is going to cover you, too, in your time of need. I know you're upset right now. I know you probably think that if you did get wiped out by an illness, or thrown out of your home because of a medical bankruptcy, that you would somehow pull yourself up by your bootstraps and survive. I know that's a comforting story to tell yourself, and if John Wayne were still alive I'm sure he could make that into a movie for you.

Health Care Reform

2010-03-21T19:50:00.001-07:00

Defeat for insurance corporations and victory for the little guy. Finally, Congress is doing what the American people elected them to do. They are listening the people who VOTED FOR them and not the special interests who CONTRIBUTED TO them. That's change I can believe in!

Congressman Hunter is an Embarrassment

2010-02-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

Congressman Duncan D. Hunter is following in his father’s footsteps, and he’s really stepped in it this time.

Hunter claims that allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military will open it up to “transgenders and hermaphrodites.” Really? Hermaphrodites will be storming the recruitment centers?

Foolish remarks like that are great for a politician’s media exposure, but they distract from the issue at hand.

During his father’s thankfully short presidential run in 2007, Duncan L. Hunter stated, “I think it’s only because we have been able to resist that particular attempt (at allowing gays in the military) that we have the very best military in the world today.” Do these politicians even believe what they’re saying?

Gays and lesbians have always proudly served in the military, albeit closeted. Allowing them to affirm who they are will not destroy the mightiest military in the world. Those who think it would don’t seem to have much respect for the men and women who put their lives on the line for us. At a time when we are fighting two wars and facing new potential threats every day, we can’t afford to dismiss hard-working, dependable soldiers who wish to serve their country.

Top UK Footballers Refuse to Participate in Anti-homophobia Campaign for Fear of Humiliation.

2010-02-13T23:27:00.000-08:00

And I thought American sports players and fans were homophobic. I can't believe these British footballers are so afraid of being called names. Feeble.

From Towleroad:
Top football players in the UK refused to take part in an anti-homophobia campaign for fear of humiliation by fellow players: "The PFA was hopeful that some of the Premier League's stars would put their names and faces forward to support the campaign. But the Independent claims that the PFA have been unable to persuade anyone to take part. The newspaper reports that players feared being ridiculed by both opposition players and supporters for appearing in the video, and being subjected to taunts and chants. The Football Association eventually produced a generic 'viral' anti-homophobic video at the start of this week but now that has been pulled pending a full review of the entire campaign."
Pretty pathetic.

Towleroad article

The Sorry State of our Union

2010-01-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

What is the state of the union? Well, for one thing, it's more polarized than ever before. That was made obvious when a traditionally politics-neutral Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Alito, muttered his disgust with the President during his speech. It wasn't quite, "You lie!" but it was quite striking all the same. Obama mentioned the court's campaign finance decision that gives corporations nearly free rein in influencing elections - including judicial elections. So much for non-partisanship.

Nepal Next to Legalize Gay Marriage?

2010-01-25T19:01:00.000-08:00

From bigpondnews.com:

Nepal will play host to a royal wedding with a difference when an openly gay Indian prince marries his partner at a Hindu temple in Kathmandu.

The ceremony is the start of what Nepalese lawmaker Sunil Babu Pant hopes will become a lucrative business for his country, whose once thriving tourist industry is still reeling from a decade-long civil war that ended in 2006.

Pant, the only openly gay member of Nepal's parliament, has set up a travel agency catering specifically for homosexual tourists, who he says face severe discrimination in many Asian countries.

He believes Nepal, which has made large strides forward on gay rights issues in recent years thanks largely to his own efforts, is well placed to cash in on an industry worth an estimated US$670 million (AUS$743.12 million) worldwide.

'If we brought even one per cent of that market to Nepal it would be big. But I'm hoping we can attract 10 per cent,' said Pant, who was selected in May 2008 to represent a small communist party in Nepal's parliament.

'The choices (for gay tourists) in this region are very limited, and there is really no competition from China or India. Nepal is one of the few places where adventure tourism is available to people,' he said.

Pant said he has been overwhelmed with enquiries since setting up his travel agency, Pink Mountain. The company will offer gay-themed tours of Nepal's major tourist sites - including Hindu temples that feature carvings of the god Shiva depicted as half man, half woman - as well as organise wedding ceremonies. Pant's plans have won the support of the tourism ministry in Nepal, a deeply conservative, mainly Hindu country that nonetheless has some of the most progressive policies on homosexuality in Asia.

Two years ago, the country's Supreme Court ordered the government to enact laws to guarantee the rights of gays and lesbians after the Blue Diamond Society, a pressure group run by Pant, filed a petition.

The country's new constitution, currently being drafted by MPs, is expected to define marriage as a union between two adult individuals, regardless of gender, and to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. Laxman Bhattarai, joint secretary in Nepal's Tourism Ministry, said the government had no specific policies on gay tourism, but would support Pant's enterprise.

'The government has declared its ambition of attracting a million tourists to Nepal in 2011 which is a big increase,' he said.

Around 500,000 foreign tourists travelled to Nepal in 2009.

'Nepal is a safe place to come now. We want to develop new tourist destinations and get people coming back after the civil war. If he can help us in any way, we are happy.'

The wedding of Indian prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, scion of the family that once ruled Rajpipla in the western state of Gujarat, looks likely to create the kind of publicity Nepal's tourism business so desperately needs.

Pant believes it will be followed by many more such ceremonies, and is already organising a wedding for a lesbian couple from Massachusetts who want to hold their nuptials in Mustang, high in the Himalayas.

The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage

2010-01-17T11:51:00.000-08:00

By Ted Olson:

Together with my good friend and occasional courtroom adversary David Boies, I am attempting to persuade a federal court to invalidate California's Proposition 8—the voter-approved measure that overturned California's constitutional right to marry a person of the same sex.

My involvement in this case has generated a certain degree of consternation among conservatives. How could a politically active, lifelong Republican, a veteran of the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush administrations, challenge the "traditional" definition of marriage and press for an "activist" interpretation of the Constitution to create another "new" constitutional right?

My answer to this seeming conundrum rests on a lifetime of exposure to persons of different backgrounds, histories, viewpoints, and intrinsic characteristics, and on my rejection of what I see as superficially appealing but ultimately false perceptions about our Constitution and its protection of equality and fundamental rights.

Many of my fellow conservatives have an almost knee-jerk hostility toward gay marriage. This does not make sense, because same-sex unions promote the values conservatives prize. Marriage is one of the basic building blocks of our neighborhoods and our nation. At its best, it is a stable bond between two individuals who work to create a loving household and a social and economic partnership. We encourage couples to marry because the commitments they make to one another provide benefits not only to themselves but also to their families and communities. Marriage requires thinking beyond one's own needs. It transforms two individuals into a union based on shared aspirations, and in doing so establishes a formal investment in the well-being of society. The fact that individuals who happen to be gay want to share in this vital social institution is evidence that conservative ideals enjoy widespread acceptance. Conservatives should celebrate this, rather than lament it.

Legalizing same-sex marriage would also be a recognition of basic American principles, and would represent the culmination of our nation's commitment to equal rights. It is, some have said, the last major civil-rights milestone yet to be surpassed in our two-century struggle to attain the goals we set for this nation at its formation.

This bedrock American principle of equality is central to the political and legal convictions of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives alike. The dream that became America began with the revolutionary concept expressed in the Declaration of Independence in words that are among the most noble and elegant ever written: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Sadly, our nation has taken a long time to live up to the promise of equality. In 1857, the Supreme Court held that an African-American could not be a citizen. During the ensuing Civil War, Abraham Lincoln eloquently reminded the nation of its found-ing principle: "our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

At the end of the Civil War, to make the elusive promise of equality a reality, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution added the command that "no State É shall deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person É the equal protection of the laws."

Subsequent laws and court decisions have made clear that equality under the law extends to persons of all races, religions, and places of origin. What better way to make this national aspiration complete than to apply the same protection to men and women who differ from others only on the basis of their sexual orientation? I cannot think of a single reason—and have not heard one since I undertook this venture—for continued discrimination against decent, hardworking members of our society on that basis.

Various federal and state laws have accorded certain rights and privileges to gay and lesbian couples, but these protections vary dramatically at the state level, and nearly universally deny true equality to gays and lesbians who wish to marry. The very idea of marriage is basic to recognition as equals in our society; any status short of that is inferior, unjust, and unconstitutional.

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that marriage is one of the most fundamental rights that we have as Americans under our Constitution. It is an expression of our desire to create a social partnership, to live and share life's joys and burdens with the person we love, and to form a lasting bond and a social identity. The Supreme Court has said that marriage is a part of the Constitution's protections of liberty, privacy, freedom of association, and spiritual identification. In short, the right to marry helps us to define ourselves and our place in a community. Without it, there can be no true equality under the law.

It is true that marriage in this nation traditionally has been regarded as a relationship exclusively between a man and a woman, and many of our nation's multiple religions define marriage in precisely those terms. But while the Supreme Court has always previously considered marriage in that context, the underlying rights and liberties that marriage embodies are not in any way confined to heterosexuals.

Marriage is a civil bond in this country as well as, in some (but hardly all) cases, a religious sacrament. It is a relationship recognized by governments as providing a privileged and respected status, entitled to the state's support and benefits. The California Supreme Court described marriage as a "union unreservedly approved and favored by the community." Where the state has accorded official sanction to a relationship and provided special benefits to those who enter into that relationship, our courts have insisted that withholding that status requires powerful justifications and may not be arbitrarily denied.

What, then, are the justifications for California's decision in Proposition 8 to withdraw access to the institution of marriage for some of its citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation? The reasons I have heard are not very persuasive.

The explanation mentioned most often is tradition. But simply because something has always been done a certain way does not mean that it must always remain that way. Otherwise we would still have segregated schools and debtors' prisons. Gays and lesbians have always been among us, forming a part of our society, and they have lived as couples in our neighborhoods and communities. For a long time, they have experienced discrimination and even persecution; but we, as a society, are starting to become more tolerant, accepting, and understanding. California and many other states have allowed gays and lesbians to form domestic partnerships (or civil unions) with most of the rights of married heterosexuals. Thus, gay and lesbian individuals are now permitted to live together in state-sanctioned relationships. It therefore seems anomalous to cite "tradition" as a justification for withholding the status of marriage and thus to continue to label those relationships as less worthy, less sanctioned, or less legitimate.

The second argument I often hear is that traditional marriage furthers the state's interest in procreation—and that opening marriage to same-sex couples would dilute, diminish, and devalue this goal. But that is plainly not the case. Preventing lesbians and gays from marrying does not cause more heterosexuals to marry and conceive more children. Likewise, allowing gays and lesbians to marry someone of the same sex will not discourage heterosexuals from marrying a person of the opposite sex. How, then, would allowing same-sex marriages reduce the number of children that heterosexual couples conceive?

This procreation argument cannot be taken seriously. We do not inquire whether heterosexual couples intend to bear children, or have the capacity to have children, before we allow them to marry. We permit marriage by the elderly, by prison inmates, and by persons who have no intention of having children. What's more, it is pernicious to think marriage should be limited to heterosexuals because of the state's desire to promote procreation. We would surely not accept as constitutional a ban on marriage if a state were to decide, as China has done, to discourage procreation.

Another argument, vaguer and even less persuasive, is that gay marriage somehow does harm to heterosexual marriage. I have yet to meet anyone who can explain to me what this means. In what way would allowing same-sex partners to marry diminish the marriages of heterosexual couples? Tellingly, when the judge in our case asked our opponent to identify the ways in which same-sex marriage would harm heterosexual marriage, to his credit he answered honestly: he could not think of any.

The simple fact is that there is no good reason why we should deny marriage to same-sex partners. On the other hand, there are many reasons why we should formally recognize these relationships and embrace the rights of gays and lesbians to marry and become full and equal members of our society.

No matter what you think of homosexuality, it is a fact that gays and lesbians are members of our families, clubs, and workplaces. They are our doctors, our teachers, our soldiers (whether we admit it or not), and our friends. They yearn for acceptance, stable relationships, and success in their lives, just like the rest of us.

Conservatives and liberals alike need to come together on principles that surely unite us. Certainly, we can agree on the value of strong families, lasting domestic relationships, and communities populated by persons with recognized and sanctioned bonds to one another. Confining some of our neighbors and friends who share these same values to an outlaw or second-class status undermines their sense of belonging and weakens their ties with the rest of us and what should be our common aspirations. Even those whose religious convictions preclude endorsement of what they may perceive as an unacceptable "lifestyle" should recognize that disapproval should not warrant stigmatization and unequal treatment.

When we refuse to accord this status to gays and lesbians, we discourage them from forming the same relationships we encourage for others. And we are also telling them, those who love them, and society as a whole that their relationships are less worthy, less legitimate, less permanent, and less valued. We demean their relationships and we demean them as individuals. I cannot imagine how we benefit as a society by doing so.

I understand, but reject, certain religious teachings that denounce homosexuality as morally wrong, illegitimate, or unnatural; and I take strong exception to those who argue that same-sex relationships should be discouraged by society and law. Science has taught us, even if history has not, that gays and lesbians do not choose to be homosexual any more than the rest of us choose to be heterosexual. To a very large extent, these characteristics are immutable, like being left-handed. And, while our Constitution guarantees the freedom to exercise our individual religious convictions, it equally prohibits us from forcing our beliefs on others. I do not believe that our society can ever live up to the promise of equality, and the fundamental rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, until we stop invidious discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

If we are born heterosexual, it is not unusual for us to perceive those who are born homosexual as aberrational and threatening. Many religions and much of our social culture have reinforced those impulses. Too often, that has led to prejudice, hostility, and discrimination. The antidote is understanding, and reason. We once tolerated laws throughout this nation that prohibited marriage between persons of different races. California's Supreme Court was the first to find that discrimination unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed 20 years later, in 1967, in a case called Loving v. Virginia. It seems inconceivable today that only 40 years ago there were places in this country where a black woman could not legally marry a white man. And it was only 50 years ago that 17 states mandated segregated public education—until the Supreme Court unanimously struck down that practice in Brown v. Board of Education. Most Americans are proud of these decisions and the fact that the discriminatory state laws that spawned them have been discredited. I am convinced that Americans will be equally proud when we no longer discriminate against gays and lesbians and welcome them into our society.

Reactions to our lawsuit have reinforced for me these essential truths. I have certainly heard anger, resentment, and hostility, and words like "betrayal" and other pointedly graphic criticism. But mostly I have been overwhelmed by expressions of gratitude and good will from persons in all walks of life, including, I might add, from many conservatives and libertarians whose names might surprise. I have been particularly moved by many personal renditions of how lonely and personally destructive it is to be treated as an outcast and how meaningful it will be to be respected by our laws and civil institutions as an American, entitled to equality and dignity. I have no doubt that we are on the right side of this battle, the right side of the law, and the right side of history.

Some have suggested that we have brought this case too soon, and that neither the country nor the courts are "ready" to tackle this issue and remove this stigma. We disagree. We represent real clients—two wonderful couples in California who have longtime relationships. Our lesbian clients are raising four fine children who could not ask for better parents. Our clients wish to be married. They believe that they have that constitutional right. They wish to be represented in court to seek vindication of that right by mounting a challenge under the United States Constitution to the validity of Proposition 8 under the equal-protection and due-process clauses of the 14th Amendment. In fact, the California attorney general has conceded the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8, and the city of San Francisco has joined our case to defend the rights of gays and lesbians to be married. We do not tell persons who have a legitimate claim to wait until the time is "right" and the populace is "ready" to recognize their equality and equal dignity under the law.

Citizens who have been denied equality are invariably told to "wait their turn" and to "be patient." Yet veterans of past civil-rights battles found that it was the act of insisting on equal rights that ultimately sped acceptance of those rights. As to whether the courts are "ready" for this case, just a few years ago, in Romer v. Evans, the United States Supreme Court struck down a popularly adopted Colorado constitutional amendment that withdrew the rights of gays and lesbians in that state to the protection of anti-discrimination laws. And seven years ago, in Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court struck down, as lacking any rational basis, Texas laws prohibiting private, intimate sexual practices between persons of the same sex, overruling a contrary decision just 20 years earlier.

These decisions have generated controversy, of course, but they are decisions of the nation's highest court on which our clients are entitled to rely. If all citizens have a constitutional right to marry, if state laws that withdraw legal protections of gays and lesbians as a class are unconstitutional, and if private, intimate sexual conduct between persons of the same sex is protected by the Constitution, there is very little left on which opponents of same-sex marriage can rely. As Justice Antonin Scalia, who dissented in the Lawrence case, pointed out, "[W]hat [remaining] justification could there possibly be for denying the benefits of marriage to homosexual couples exercising '[t]he liberty protected by the Constitution'?" He is right, of course. One might agree or not with these decisions, but even Justice Scalia has acknowledged that they lead in only one direction.

California's Proposition 8 is particularly vulnerable to constitutional challenge, because that state has now enacted a crazy-quilt of marriage regulation that makes no sense to anyone. California recognizes marriage between men and women, including persons on death row, child abusers, and wife beaters. At the same time, California prohibits marriage by loving, caring, stable partners of the same sex, but tries to make up for it by giving them the alternative of "domestic partnerships" with virtually all of the rights of married persons except the official, state-approved status of marriage. Finally, California recognizes 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place in the months between the state Supreme Court's ruling that upheld gay-marriage rights and the decision of California's citizens to withdraw those rights by enacting Proposition 8.

So there are now three classes of Californians: heterosexual couples who can get married, divorced, and remarried, if they wish; same-sex couples who cannot get married but can live together in domestic partnerships; and same-sex couples who are now married but who, if they divorce, cannot remarry. This is an irrational system, it is discriminatory, and it cannot stand.

Americans who believe in the words of the Declaration of Independence, in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, in the 14th Amendment, and in the Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and equal dignity before the law cannot sit by while this wrong continues. This is not a conservative or liberal issue; it is an American one, and it is time that we, as Americans, embraced it.

Adios 2009

2010-01-01T01:52:00.000-08:00

Back in the day when I used to write almost daily in a journal, at the end of the year I would read through my entries and contemplate on the year. I don't have the journal as a guide these days, but here goes:

First, I gotta say how much I love living in Southern California, especially in winter. I had 28 years of wintry winter weather and I'm so glad I'm not in it anymore. On Wednesday, we went up to the mountains to play in the snow with Jake for the first time. He loved it! We sledded, threw snowballs. Oh what fun! We talked of going back to the mountains again this winter. It's there just waiting for me whenever I want it. But there's also something to be said about enjoying a 70 degree New Year's Eve. I love relaxing in the hot tub, watching the birds, or the trees, or the stars. It's not a bad place to be. Of course, I still want to have another "foreign living experience," but if it doesn't happen, this is a nice consolation!

At the start of 2009, we were spending a lot of time with Marla and Daniel. Those were great times - either at home or at Betty's or Bourbon Street. We saw a couple of comedy shows too. We've really enjoyed spending time with them.

It was nice having Frank at Marshall often for auditions and rehearsals of Once Upon A Mattress. He loved working with that show and those kids. As for me, my job was the same as ever. Mid-year is always tough. The kids in the Media class get bored. I'm numbed by doing the same crap over and over again. It gets to be like Groundhog Day. But I was very involved in the NS&MST group as it's chair and reached out a little bit beyond my Marshall cocoon.

We made it out to Arizona to see Pam and Roger and the boys. That's always a fun get-away. But on the way back home - speaking of wintry weather - we slid off the road in the blizzard-like conditions in the Laguna Mountains. Again, what a variation in weather we have around here!

We went up to Big Bear with the guys to enjoy another bout of winter. It was fantastic! It had just snowed - a lot - and it was a winter wonderland. We sledded behind the B&B and tubed all day at the tubing park. We really have to do that once a year!

In March and April, we enjoyed birthday celebrations downtown for Bill's, Ari's and Debbie's birthdays. It's fun to go there or Hillcrest once in a while, but it's so darn far away!! Frank and I went up to South Coast Winery in Temecula for a night over Spring Break. Another tradition we need to keep going!

At work, I worried about my job being on the line with the district's cutbacks and reorganization. I also started ramping up for the annual East Coast Trip. This year's trip was fun. Marla and Beulah and I hung out together often. There was the usual drama (mostly with the chaperones!) but overall, an uneventful trip compared to 2008.

Summertime brought more fun amongst the three weeks I worked. Pam and kids were here for a week and Frank performed his second wedding up at Idyllwild. I managed to sneak in two trips to Vegas where I ALWAYS have a good time. Went kayaking with Francesca several times. My sister, Marianne and her son, Collin, visited in August and we had a great time together.

Back to school was different this year since I was asked to once again teach the Video Class by myself. SInce I was able to get a pay increase as a result, I was more than happy to. I have to say that I'm really impressed with this year's class. The trick is keeping them motivated the rest of the school year! I also had our October trip to keep my mind occupied.

The wedding in Sarasota was a lot of fun and the Caribbean cruise was fantastic. Met Michael and Tony and their friends and just had a wonderful time. the weather could have been better, but the people we met were so much fun. I love cruising!

Then it was our fabulous Halloween party, Thanksgiving and all of a sudden Christmas. It was a fun holiday season with lots of gatherings and parties and some down time from work. Now I'm refreshed and ready for what 2010 brings me!

Vietnam Revisited?

2009-11-20T12:34:00.000-08:00

Bill Moyers drew correlations between the factors facing President Johnson in his decision to send more troops to Vietnam, and President Obama's conundrum with respect to the war in Afghanistan.

From his Bill Moyers Journal:

Now in a different world, at a different time, and with a different president, we face the prospect of enlarging a different war. But once again we're fighting in remote provinces against an enemy who can bleed us slowly and wait us out, because he will still be there when we are gone.
Once again, we are caught between warring factions in a country where other foreign powers fail before us. Once again, every setback brings a call for more troops, although no one can say how long they will be there or what it means to win. Once again, the government we are trying to help is hopelessly corrupt and incompetent.

And once again, a President pushing for critical change at home is being pressured to stop dithering, be tough, show he's got the guts, by sending young people seven thousand miles from home to fight and die, while their own country is coming apart.

We be Jammin'

2009-10-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

We LOVED Jamaica! Sad to say, many of our shipmates did not. Several people we know who just hung around the dock were put off by the obnoxiousness of the vendors and pot pushers. We had booked a day at Bamboo Beach Club with transportation, entertainment, and all-you-can-eat-and-drink. We had a great time. Met lots of fun people, got massages on the beach and finally swam in the Caribbean! It was fantastic. The staff was very friendly and catered to all our needs. Plenty of rum punch and Jamaican jerk chicken! Some other friends went to Dunns River Falls and a Jamaican bobsled run. They enjoyed that, too. I think the key is to get out of the port area as soon as possible.

We met a couple who retired to Panama five years ago.They raved about it. They had looked into Belize but said it was still a little too primitive for them. Apparently, Panama has lots of expatriates, great home prices and good doctors. We got their contact info and may have to make a visit to Panama some day. We also hope to soon visit the good friends we met, Tony and Michael from Dallas - or wait for them to move to San Diego.

Grand Cayman on Wednesday was rainy and we didn't get to go to the beach like we had hoped. We wandered around the shopping district with our shopaholic friends for a while and then I broke off on my own to sightsee on foot. I didn't see much of the island and I hope to get back there some day to really experience it.

Frank and I entered to slot tournament today along with Irv and Theresa. Irv and I got on the leader board, but were bumped off before the finals. Oh, did I mention that Frank won $300 the other night? Might ALMOST pay for our bar bill.

Looking forward to spending some time this weekend in Fort Lauderdale with friends (Lovey and Sweets) who we met in Greece 5 years ago. I don't want the vacation to end, but it's been a great experience!

Cruisin' on a Tuesday Afternoon

2009-10-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

Got my drink, got my slice of pepperoni and I'm in our cabin's window seat watching the waves slide by. I'm good to go. I'm back in the room after a sudden rain shower scattered us all off the Lido Deck. It's been a cloudy day and Frank and I were in a wind-protected area when I left to get another drink and some fish and chips. Then the storm hit. We retreated to the lunch buffet area and eventually headed to the room. Thank goodness they got the Hairy Chest Contest in before the rain! Frank's at in the casino trying to track down Michael, Tony, Craig and Nancy, who we 've been hanging out with. The six of us, along with their friend, Ellen, spent the day in Key West yesterday trying to find a sandal factory that Ellen had heard of. We wandered down Duvall Street, stopping at various shops along the way, including Coach for some purses (not us). Lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville consisted of a volcano of nachos and Rum Runners for Frank and me. The food was great, the music was loud and the company was delightful. We finally found the sandal factory - back near the dock where we started! It was an enjoyable day of getting to know our new-found friends despite the sore feet and parched throats.

At dinner, we once again saw our table-mates, Jim and Glenn from Paducah, Kentucky and Irv and Theresa from Toronto. The six of us have had such a great time the past two nights at dinner! Some other guys we met at a nearby table were jealous that we were laughing and having so much fun. Irv arranged a special dessert for Theresa to celebrate their 35th anniversary and Theresa and Frank ended up dancing with our waiter, Casa, during the musical interlude. Looking forward to the formal dinner tonight.

Daniel and Bliss's wedding in Sarasota was great. A cold front had just moved through, so the wedding on the beach was cool, but not as humid as the evening before. Frank did an awesome job as officiant. Loved spending time with new and old friends and line-dancing at the reception!

On to Grand Cayman tomorrow...

Happy National Coming Out Day!

2009-10-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

From Towelroad.com:

Appearing before a packed and welcoming room at the Human Rights Campaign's annual dinner in Washington, President Obama delivered a speech strong on rhetoric that did not make any new promises or commitments. In his strongest language to date he promised the crowd, as he has in the past, that he would end the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, but did not offer any timeline for doing so.
Obama spoke about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and promised to defend any of his employees from attacks based on who they are, a likely reference to Safe Schools Chief Kevin Jennings, who has been under attack from anti-gay right-wing and religious groups. He also trumpeted recent House passage of a federal hate crimes bill and promised to sign it once it reaches his desk.
Obama also did not directly reference Question 1 in Maine or Referendum 71 in Washington state, two ballot measures that would remove rights from LGBT citizens on either coast, but offered broader promises to fight against the lies and divisiveness of foes of equality, suggesting that religion-based bigotry has no place in the national debate.
The President discussed his commitment to gay and lesbian families, using as an example his invitation to allow them to roll Easter Eggs at the White House.
The most amusing moment of Obama's speech came at its opening, when the President said, "It is a privilege to be here tonight to open for Lady Gaga." Finally, the President said that "friends should be able to be honest with one another" and he supports those who hold his feet and those of Congressional leaders to the fire over campaign promises.

A Peace-loving War President?

2009-10-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to President Barack Obama for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. It's a great honor bestowed on someone who has brought a positive rhetoric to American foreign policy. His words soothe Europe and most of the Western world. He has great potential to repair our severely damaged realtions with the rest of the world. But he needs to walk the talk. The talk of a new surge in Afghanistan must be repressed. He needs to listen to the American people and scale down the wars we're entrenched in - no matter "who started it"!

This award brings a lot of responsibility with it. Does he deserve it? As long as he proves himself worthy.

Obama's Address

2009-09-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

Right-wingers on the Rampage

2009-09-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

Now the conservative obstructionists want to protect our children from the President of the United States. How dare he tell them to stay in school? He has the nerve to tell them to study hard. He'll probably even tell them to wash their hands to protect against the swine flu. Must be more indoctrination about health care reform. Why do the media encourage this?

(CNN) -- The White House found itself on the defensive Friday over what would ordinarily be considered the most uncontroversial of events: a back-to-school speech to the nation's children.
The White House said the address, set for Tuesday, and accompanying suggested lesson plans are simply meant to encourage students to study hard and stay in school.
Many conservative parents aren't buying it. They're convinced the president is going to use the opportunity to press a partisan political agenda on impressionable young minds.
"Thinking about my kids in school having to listen to that just really upsets me," suburban Colorado mother Shanneen Barron told CNN Denver affiliate KMGH. "I'm an American. They are Americans, and I don't feel that's OK. I feel very scared to be in this country with our leadership right now."
School administrators are caught in the middle of the controversy. Some have decided to show the president's speech, while others will not. Many, such as Wellesley, Massachusetts, superintendent Bella Wong, are deciding on a class-by-class basis, leaving the decision in the hands of individual teachers.
"The president of the United States has asked us to facilitate his outreach to students. And in that vein, we have decided to honor the request," Wong told CNN. "We'll trust in his judgment."
Republican leaders have not shied away from the debate. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a possible contender for the GOP's 2012 presidential nomination, said Friday the classroom is no place to show a video address from Obama.
"At a minimum it's disruptive. Number two, it's uninvited. And number three, if people would like to hear his message they can, on a voluntary basis, go to YouTube or some other source and get it. I don't think he needs to force it upon the nation's school children," he told reporters at the Minnesota State fair.
Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer released a statement this week accusing Obama of using taxpayer money to "indoctrinate" children.
"As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology," Greer said.
"The idea that school children across our nation will be forced to watch the president justify his plans ... is not only infuriating, but goes against beliefs of the majority of Americans, while bypassing American parents through an invasive abuse of power."
Nonsense, the White House replied.
"The goal of the speech and the lesson plans is to challenge students to work hard, stay in school and dramatically reduce the dropout rate," an administration spokesman said. "This isn't a policy speech. It's a speech designed to encourage kids to stay in school."
White House officials noted that Obama's speech, which will be available for anyone to view on the Web on Monday, is not unprecedented. President George H.W. Bush delivered a nationally televised speech to students from a Washington D.C., school in the fall of 1991, encouraging them to say no to drugs and work hard.
In November 1988, President Ronald Reagan delivered more politically charged remarks that were made available to students nationwide. Among other things, Reagan called taxes "such a penalty on people that there's no incentive for them to prosper ... because they have to give so much to the government."
Charles Saylors, president of the national Parent Teacher Association, said the uproar over Obama's speech is "sad."
"The president of the United States, regardless of political affiliation, should be able to have a presentation and have a pep talk, if you will, to America's students," he told CNN.
Some of the controversy surrounding Obama's speech stems from a proposed lesson plan created by the Education Department to accompany the address. An initial version of the plan recommended that students draft letters to themselves discussing "what they can do to help the president."
The letters "would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals," the plan stated.
After pressure from conservatives, the White House said that the plan was not artfully worded, and distributed a revised version encouraging students to write letters about how they can "achieve their short-term and long-term education goals."
A number of the president's critics, however, were not placated.
"As far as I'm concerned this is not civics education -- it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality," said Oklahoma state Sen. Steve Russell, a Republican.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs dismissed the whole dispute Friday as part of "the silly season."
The administration, while acknowledging it made a mistake with the initial lesson plan, has been frustrated by the controversy, said CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry.
It was a much different atmosphere when Bush made similar remarks 18 years ago, Henry noted.
"Let's face it. You didn't really have blogs. You didn't have as many cable networks out there as you do now," Henry said. "I think people just sort of take something and blow it out of proportion in this environment right now."
The controversy is the latest example of how sharply polarized political debate has become.
"Ninety percent of Americans who identify with the president's party approve of him, but 85 percent of those who belong to the opposition party disapprove," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
"In that kind of environment, almost nothing Obama does is immune from politics."

Obama to OK benefits for same-sex partners of federal workers

2009-06-17T06:14:00.000-07:00

It's a start...

From CNN.com:

President Obama will sign a memorandum Wednesday granting health care and other benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees, two senior administration officials said.
The signing will take place in the Oval Office and follows sharp criticism of the president over a Justice Department motion filed last week in support of the Defense of Marriage Act -- which opposes same-sex marriage -- that used the government's interest in opposing incestuous marriages to support its position against same-sex marriage.
Gay and lesbian advocates have also faulted the Obama administration for not moving to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars officials from asking about a service member's sexual orientation but also bars the service member from revealing it.
The president rankled gay advocates before his inauguration when he named megachurch pastor the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his swearing-in. Warren, in an interview with Belief.net, likened homosexuality to bestiality and incest. He also supported California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in that state.
During the Warren controversy, Obama -- who frequently spoke in favor of gay and lesbian rights during the campaign but has said he opposes same-sex marriage -- declared himself "a fierce advocate for gay and lesbian Americans."

Pride Month

2009-06-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

___________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 1, 2009

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

Legislature Evolution

2009-05-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Senate rejects domestic partnership veto

CARSON CITY -- After an emotional debate that brought tears to the eyes of some lawmakers, state senators voted 14-7 Saturday evening to override Gov. Jim Gibbons' veto of the domestic partnership bill.

The bill, which goes to the Assembly for a final vote today, would allow same- and opposite sex couples to secure domestic partner contracts that essentially give them the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual married couples.

The vote on Senate Bill 283 came following a dramatic speech by state Sen. Dennis Nolan, R-Las Vegas, who said he had received many vulgar and even threatening calls from people who demanded that he vote against the bill.

Those kinds of calls do not mesh with "the Christian beliefs I was brought up with," Nolan said.

He added that the bill does not at all undermine the 2002 voter-approved constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

"We have an obligation to ensure equal rights to all our citizens," Nolan said. "I believe in my heart that I am doing the right thing,"

Nolan and state Sen. Dean Rhoads, R-Tuscarora, who both voted against the bill when it was passed April 21 on a 12-9 Senate vote, then joined the 12 original supporters to override Gibbons' veto by the required two-thirds margin.

Rhoads said he got many e-mails from straight couples who would be helped by the bill and also was influenced by resort industry support of the measure.

"I think they made a good point," Rhoads said. "It isn't marriage; it's a domestic relationship. That's what swung my vote that way."

Harrah's Entertainment lobbied for the bill, contending that Las Vegas could lose the business of gays and lesbians if Gibbons' veto was not rejected.

The bill today goes back to the Assembly, which originally approved the bill 26-14. Two members were absent when the first vote was taken.

Two-thirds of the Assembly, 28 members, must vote to override Gibbons' veto or the bill dies.

Activists hope Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, and one other lawmaker who initially voted against the bill will vote to override the veto, giving the bill the votes needed to become law.

During the first tally in the Assembly, Kirkpatrick voted against the bill.

Some supporters had hoped for a Saturday night vote in the Assembly. But Assemblyman James Ohrenschall became ill earlier in the day and was briefly hospitalized.

Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, supported SB283 in the first Assembly vote. He is expected to return to the Legislature today.

In asking senators to override the veto, state Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, noted that legislative lawyers, the attorney general's office and numerous legal scholars opined that his bill does not conflict with the constitutional amendment making a marriage between a man and a woman.

Parks, the only openly gay member of the Legislature, said domestic partnerships are civil contracts that ensure couples can make important financial and medical decisions for each other.

Securing private contracts to take care of these matters can be expensive and "there is no guarantee the contracts will stand up," Parks said.

He said the bill would be of particular help to senior citizens.

"Our state is a haven for opposite-gender senior citizens who have retired here," Parks said. "Many of these folks have lost their previous spouses and often meet a second individual with whom to spend the balance of their lives but who do not wish to remarry."

Gibbons had vetoed the bill on the grounds that it was unconstitutional because it infringed on the 2002 voter-approved constitutional amendment.

State Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, a minister, blasted the bill, saying it thwarts the wishes of voters and is "against my character."

"We are saying to our citizens their votes do not matter," Washington said. "The bill is a slap in the face against the people of this great state."

Gary Peck, executive state director of the American Civil Liberties Union, hailed the vote.

"We are thrilled that the Senate had the vision to do the right thing to help ensure that every Nevadan has a better chance to live their lives responsibly and with the dignity we all deserve," Peck said. "We are optimistic that the Assembly will follow suit, and will thereby give everyone who cares about fairness and equality a chance to celebrate a great day in our state's history."

The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada also praised the vote.

"This was a resounding rejection of the governor's intolerance and it is wonderful to finally have something to celebrate," said Jan Gilbert, a PLAN lobbyist.

Gay and lesbian organizations also saluted the state Senate override.

"Today, we are one step closer to legally recognizing committed couples in Nevada who currently cannot get married or choose not to get married, but want the opportunity to recognize their relationships under state Law and the protections that will provide them," said Tod Story, a Gay and Lesbian Community Center board member in Las Vegas.

Rob's Big Gay Chip

2009-05-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

Rob Thomas article in Huffington Post:

The Big Gay Chip on My Shoulder
I am a straight man, with a big gay chip on my shoulder.

A while back on my Twitter page (yes, I know how ridiculous it sounds), I mentioned that, if I believed in the devil, Pat Robertson might be him.

Being a fairly liberal-leaning guy with either liberal friends or Republican and Christian friends who don't believe that being one has anything to do with the other, I was surprised at how many people took offense to what I had to say.

These people weren't friends of Mr. Robertson but friends, apparently, of God. They had "spoken" with him and he had assured them that he was no friend of the gays. He also told them that he loved America more than any other country and was a huge fan of Dancing With the Stars.

The small controversy or "Twitter-versy" (patent on phrase pending) all started when I had made the mistake of asking why two people of the same sex shouldn't be able to make the same life-long commitment and (more importantly) under the same god, as straight people. Why can't my gay friends be as happily married as my wife and I? It seemed simple to me, but let me start off by telling you a series of things that I believe to be true:

I am a person who believes that people are born gay. I don't think you have any control over what moves you or to whom you're attracted. That's why it's called an attraction and not a choice.

I believe that America is a great nation of even greater people. I also believe that anyone who says that this is a "Christian nation" has RHS, or revisionist history syndrome, and doesn't realize that most of our founding fathers were either atheist or at least could see, even in the 1700s, that all through Europe at the time, religion was the cause of so much persecution that they needed to put into their brand new constitution a SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE so that the ideals of a group of people could never be forced onto the whole. (I also find it funny when people point out to me that it says "one nation under god" in our pledge of allegiance, not realizing that this was an addition made in 1954 during the communism scare of the McCarthy era. It's not surprising, however, knowing that these same people would punch me in the mouth if I called Jesus a Jew.)

I believe the fact that an atheist, who doesn't believe in God at all, is allowed to enter into the holy land of marriage while a gay Christian is not, shows that this law is arbitrary. Are we to believe that anyone who doesn't live their life according to the King James Bible isn't protected by the same laws that protect those who do? Using the same argument that I've seen on the 700 Club, that would mean that Jewish, Hindu, or Muslim weddings are also null and void.

I believe that to deny this right to the gay population is to say to them, "this god is not your god and he doesn't love you." There isn't one person who is against gay marriage that can give me a reason why it shouldn't be legal without bringing God or their religion into it. Still, I'm amazed at the audacity of a small, misdirected group of the ultra-conservative Christian right wing, to spend millions of dollars, in a recession, on advertisements to stop two men or women who love each other from being able to be married, but when you present any opposition to them, they accuse you of attacking their religion. Isn't it funny that the people who are the quickest to take someone's basic rights to happiness are always the loudest to scream when someone attacks their right to do so?

But this isn't a paper about religion. How could it be? Since we clearly have a separation of church and state, how could a conversation about laws have anything to do with religion at all? I'm writing about basic civil rights. We've been here before, fighting for the rights of African Americans or women to vote, or the rights of Jewish Americans to worship as they see fit. And, just as whites fought for African Americans or Christians for Jewish Americans, straight people must stand up and be a voice for gay people.

I've heard it said before, many times, that if two men or two women are allowed to join into a civil union together, why can't they be happy with that and why is it so important that they call it marriage? In essence, what's in a name?

A civil union has to do with death. It's essentially a document that gives you lower taxes and the right to let your faux spouse collect your insurance when you pass away. A marriage is about life. It's about a commitment. And this argument is about allowing people to have the right to make that commitment, even if it doesn't make sense to you. Anything else falls under the category of "separate but equal" and we know how that works out.

The support of legalizing gay marriage is in no way meant to change the ideals of the section of Christians who believe that homosexuality is a sin. But we should refuse to let other people's ideals shape the way we live our lives. Each of us has a short ride on this earth and as long as we stay in our lane, and don't affect someone else's ride, we should be allowed to drive as we see fit.

Day of Decision - Tuesday, May 26

2009-05-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, May 26, the California Supreme Court will announce its decision in the case to overturn Proposition 8.

Day of Decision Events

Marriage Equality

Legislative Emancipation

2009-05-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

From CNN.com:

Lawmakers voted in favor of same-sex marriage in New Hampshire and Maine on Wednesday, leaving Rhode Island as the only other New England state without legislation in favor of the issue.

Maine Gov. John Baldacci signed his state's same-sex marriage bill less than an hour after the legislature approved it.

"I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage," Baldacci, a Democrat, said in a statement released as he signed the bill.

But he raised the possibility that the citizens of the state would overturn the law, saying: "Just as the Maine Constitution demands that all people are treated equally under the law, it also guarantees that the ultimate political power in the state belongs to the people."

It was not immediately clear whether New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat who has questioned the need for such legislation, would sign the bill passed Wednesday by the legislature in his state. Lynch said last week he did not think the law is necessary because the state already recognizes civil unions.

If he does sign, his state will join New England neighbors Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts, which all have laws approving same-sex marriages. That would leave Rhode Island, which has same-sex marriage bills pending in its general assembly.

100 Days and Confused

2009-04-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

From the LA Times Op Ed
By Bill Maher

If conservatives don't want to be seen as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion and anti-immigrant sentiments, they should stop being bitter and clinging to their guns, religion and anti-immigrant sentiments.

It's been a week now, and I still don't know what those "tea bag" protests were about. I saw signs protesting abortion, illegal immigrants, the bank bailout and that gay guy who's going to win "American Idol." But it wasn't tax day that made them crazy; it was election day. Because that's when Republicans became what they fear most: a minority.
The conservative base is absolutely apoplectic because, because ... well, nobody knows. They're mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. Even though they're not quite sure what "it" is. But they know they're fed up with "it," and that "it" has got to stop.

Here are the big issues for normal people: the war, the economy, the environment, mending fences with our enemies and allies, and the rule of law.

And here's the list of Republican obsessions since President Obama took office: that his birth certificate is supposedly fake, he uses a teleprompter too much, he bowed to a Saudi guy, Europeans like him, he gives inappropriate gifts, his wife shamelessly flaunts her upper arms, and he shook hands with Hugo Chavez and slipped him the nuclear launch codes.

Do these sound like the concerns of a healthy, vibrant political party?

It's sad what's happened to the Republicans. They used to be the party of the big tent; now they're the party of the sideshow attraction, a socially awkward group of mostly white people who speak a language only they understand. Like Trekkies, but paranoid.

The GOP base is convinced that Obama is going to raise their taxes, which he just lowered. But, you say, "Bill, that's just the fringe of the Republican Party." No, it's not. The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is not afraid to say publicly that thinking out loud about Texas seceding from the Union is appropriate considering that ... Obama wants to raise taxes 3% on 5% of the people? I'm not sure exactly what Perry's independent nation would look like, but I'm pretty sure it would be free of taxes and Planned Parenthood. And I would have to totally rethink my position on a border fence.

I know. It's not about what Obama's done. It's what he's planning. But you can't be sick and tired of something someone might do.

Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota recently said she fears that Obama will build "reeducation" camps to indoctrinate young people. But Obama hasn't made any moves toward taking anyone's guns, and with money as tight as it is, the last thing the president wants to do is run a camp where he has to shelter and feed a bunch of fat, angry white people.

Look, I get it, "real America." After an eight-year run of controlling the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court, this latest election has you feeling like a rejected husband. You've come home to find your things out on the front lawn -- or at least more things than you usually keep out on the front lawn. You're not ready to let go, but the country you love is moving on. And now you want to call it a whore and key its car.

That's what you are, the bitter divorced guy whose country has left him -- obsessing over it, haranguing it, blubbering one minute about how much you love it and vowing the next that if you cannot have it, nobody will.

But it's been almost 100 days, and your country is not coming back to you. She's found somebody new. And it's a black guy.

The healthy thing to do is to just get past it and learn to cherish the memories. You'll always have New Orleans and Abu Ghraib.

And if today's conservatives are insulted by this, because they feel they're better than the people who have the microphone in their party, then I say to them what I would say to moderate Muslims: Denounce your radicals. To paraphrase George W. Bush, either you're with them or you're embarrassed by them.

The thing that you people out of power have to remember is that the people in power are not secretly plotting against you. They don't need to. They already beat you in public.

Swine Stimulus

2009-04-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

The much ballyhooed Swine Flu outbreak has got people wondering what kind of intervention plans do we have in place? Well, apparently not what we should have due to Republican opposition.

From Huffington Post:

GOP Stripped Flu Pandemic Preparedness From Stimulus
Remember way back in the day, President Obama delivered his Not Really The State Of The Union address, and the GOP trotted out Future Of The Republican Party Supra-Genius Bobbly Jindal to provide a rebuttal? Well, we all had some laughs, didn't we? Mainly because Jindal was all: "They want to spend stimulus money on volcano monitoring? Why everyone knows that the Hill Witch keeps tabs on our volcanoes by floating chicken bones in her own intestinal ichor!" And then Alaska's Mount Redoubt erupted, suggesting there might be something to this "let's monitor volcanoes with government-funded science" idea.

Well, as it turns out, volcano monitoring wasn't the only worthwhile public safety program that was deemed extravagant in the stimulus package, funding for pandemic preparation was axed as well. And playing a critical role was Susan Collins -- for whom the necessity of obtaining her vote is in inverse proportion to the intelligence she shows in policy making:

Famously, Maine Senator Collins, the supposedly moderate Republican who demanded cuts in health care spending in exchange for her support of a watered-down version of the stimulus, fumed about the pandemic funding: "Does it belong in this bill? Should we have $870 million in this bill No, we should not."

Even now, Collins continues to use her official website to highlight the fact that she led the fight to strip the pandemic preparedness money out of the Senate's version of the stimulus measure.

Naturally, it's tough to keep an economy stimulated if productivity gets diminished by a pandemic. And, hey, it turns out that the lack of a stable and well-funded public health infrastructure may not be so good for economic recovery as a whole:

On Monday, the question began to be answered, as Associated Press reported -- under the headline: "World Markets Struck By Swine Flu Fears" -- that: "World stock markets fell Monday as investors worried that a deadly outbreak of swine flu in Mexico could go global and derail any global economic recovery."
Before U.S. markets opened, the Wall Street Journal reported: "U.S. stock futures fell sharply Monday as the outbreak of deadly swine flu stoked fears that a possible recovery in the global economy could be derailed."

All of this is playing out at a time when HHS nominee sits on the sidelines, her nomination held up at the behest of pro-life organizations who want to paint her as the "Abortion Queen." The hold up is pointless - merely delaying the inevitable for "another week." Maybe the swine flu would be good enough to wait!

Tortuous Memos

2009-04-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Dick Cheney continues on his quixotic campaign: "Why is the administration hiding things? We need full disclosure of those torture memos."

Come again? The man who lived at a an undisclosed location for the past 8 years? The man who was the most secretive vice-president in history?

Click here to help send him back home to Wyoming.

Miss California's Dreaming

2009-04-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

So what's the fuss over Miss California's answer in the Miss USA Pageant? It was a bad answer. Not just a bad point of view (which is is), but a bad answer. She says in her country, people can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. What exactly does that mean? What country is she from?

Perez Hilton certainly has his own personal agenda, and his foaming at the mouth is rarely articulate either. But the question was no more politically-charged than those asked by Keenan Thompson (Do you think that the US should have universal health care as a right of citizenship?), Kelly Monaco (Do you believe that taxpayers' money should be used to bailout struggling US companies?), and Claudia Jordan (Should we be pledging $40 million to Afghanistan for their elections?)

Those finalists didn't have a problem coming up with articulate, if nuanced, answers to the questions they were asked. She needs to pack up her make up kit and her big girl panties and head back to San Diego. She blew the answer. She lost. That's life in the big leagues.

Cheney Go Home

2009-04-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Has someone forgotten to tell Dick Cheney that he's no longer Vice-President? He's no longer a part of the government? He's no longer relevant? Apparently, he still thinks he's calling the shots:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney slammed President Obama again on Monday night during an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity at Cheney's home in McLean, Virginia.

Cheney pointedly questioned the president's leadership, criticized Obama's overseas trips as "disturbing," said his handshake with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez was "not helpful," and strongly disagreed with the release of the torture memos.

"I've been concerned at the way we've been presented overseas... What I find disturbing is the extent to which he's gone to Europe and seemed to apologize profusely, been to Mexico and seemed to apologize there," said Cheney. "The world out there, both our friends and foes, will be quick to take advantage of that... I don't think we have much to apologize for.

Describing the Bush administration's policy as to "ignore" Chavez, Cheney said that Obama's handshake was "not helpful... You have people all across South America who are watching how we respond." He added, "The president needs to provide leadership... needs to distinguish between good [guys] and bad guys."

Finally, Cheney defended the use of waterboarding and other interrogation techniques, saying, "It worked. It's been enormously valuable in terms of saving lives and preventing another mass casualty attack on the US."

Cheney formally asked that the Obama administration to release what he claimed are memos that demonstrated the success of those techniques.

"One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that showed the success of the effort," Cheney said.

Vermont is First to Allow Same-Sex Marriage by Vote

2009-04-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Vermont Legislature just overrode the governor's veto of a bill allowing same-sex marriage in the state. Vermont's legislature is the first to successfully pass a same-sex marriage law. Way to go, Vermont!

From the Burlington Free Press:

MONTPELIER — The Vermont House has voted, 100-49 to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill that would allow same-sex marriage.

Vermont will become the fourth state to legalize marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
The others are Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa.

The Vermont Senate voted earlier this morning to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of the same-sex marriage legislation.
The vote passed, 23-5.

Same-sex Marriage Legal in Iowa

2009-04-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

From MSNBC:

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Supreme Court says the state's same-sex marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples, making it the third state where gay marriage is legal.
In a unanimous ruling issued Friday, the court upheld a 2007 Polk County District Court judge's ruling that the law was unconstitutional.
In 2005, Lambda Legal, a New York-based gay rights organization, sued on behalf of six gay and lesbian Iowa couples in Polk County who were denied marriage licenses. Some of their children are also listed as plaintiffs.
The case was appealed to the state Supreme Court in 2007, after Polk County District Court Judge Robert Hanson agreed with the plaintiffs and ruled that the ban was unconstitutional.
Hanson's ruling prompted nearly two dozen people to apply for marriage licenses in the county, Iowa's most populous and home to Des Moines. Only one couple, Sean and Tim McQuillan of Ames, managed to get married before Hanson stayed his decision the next day. Their marriage stands, but its validity could depend on whether the state's high court sides with the Polk County judge.
During oral arguments before the Supreme Court in December, Des Moines lawyer Dennis Johnson argued the ban violated his clients' due process and equal protection rights.
"We are suggesting that everybody be able to participate equally in an institution that has existed since the beginning of this state," Johnson said during arguments.
Roger J. Kuhle, an assistant Polk County attorney, argued that the lower court's ruling for the plaintiffs violates the separation of powers and that the issue should be left to the Legislature.
"We are not here opposing the individual plaintiffs' sincerity. We are here because, in our view, the issue is one for the Legislature to decide as a matter of social policy," he told the seven-member Supreme Court.
During oral arguments, Chief Justice Marsha Ternus explained that the high court would determine whether the district court erred by finding that the same-sex marriage ban violated the state constitution, and whether it erred by not allowing the county's expert witness testimony.
The timing could be awkward for state lawmakers who are on track to end the legislative session in coming weeks.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, told reporters that it's "exceedingly unlikely" the Legislature would deal with the gay marriage issue this year, regardless of the court's ruling.
"This is the final step in a lengthy legal proceedings," said Gronstal. "We're going to wait and see that decision and review it before we take any action."
Around the nation, only Massachusetts and Connecticut permit same-sex marriage. California, which briefly allowed gay marriage before a voter initiative in November repealed it, allows domestic partnerships.
New Jersey and New Hampshire also offer civil unions, which provide many of the same rights that come with marriage. New York recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, and legislators there and in New Jersey are weighing whether to offer marriage. A bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Vermont is before the state House.

Be Kind Belize

2009-03-31T18:36:00.000-07:00

From Ambergris (Belize) Today newspaper. We met Colette when we were in San Pedro last year. Congrats, Colette!

Humane education is based on the concept that all life is precious and is practiced by teaching young people the value and importance of treating other living creatures with kindness. In Belize, probably more than most places in the world, the cycle of life is all around us. Belize is a country that treasures and values its natural resources and many Belizeans have worked hard to ensure that much of this beautiful country is kept as natural reserves. This means that some animals are now well protected and respected, but not all. Children in Belize may encounter many animals as they grow up, both domestic and wild, and it is important they learn about them.
It has been well established that children that learn to be kind to animals are also kinder to people, are better at communicating and are more likely to become helpful and caring members of the community as adults. Humane education also helps children develop better interpersonal skills such as speaking and listening while improving their attitudes towards caring for others. Humane Education promotes empathy and respect for all life.
Be Kind Belize has been developed by Colette Kase, a resident of San Pedro, who worked in the field of animal welfare and education for most of her career in the UK. She designed the program to compliment the Belize National Curriculum, enabling schools to take part while fulfilling their educational obligations.
As well as providing a full humane education program for free to any school in San Pedro, Be Kind Belize also organizes educational talks for children, such as the recent tour of schools undertaken by Marisa Tellez from the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES), who gave an exciting presentation to children about crocodiles in San Pedro. Be Kind Belize is also creating an Educator’s Pack and will provide free training to any teacher or educator, who wishes to introduce the program to their school and run it ‘in house’.
Colette is currently teaching the program at Island Academy and will be working with Holy Cross School at the end of the month, where Be Kind Belize has already done a number of educational talks for the children.
Colette Kase says, “The children of San Pedro are so bright and enthusiastic and they just seem to be so excited about learning how to protect the environment and save it for generations to come. But we don’t just teach about the environment - Be Kind Belize teaches children to be kind to themselves, kind to others and kind to animals. The workshops are fun and interactive and the kids have a great time participating, making teaching and learning a wonderful experience.”
The children in the Be Kind Belize class at Island Academy were given a homework assignment to create a presentation about an endangered native species in Belize. They worked in teams and produced fantastic posters, while also giving a talk to their classmates about the animal they had researched. Everyone was delighted and stunned at how much work the children put into their projects and how excited they were about presenting them. It seems clear that kids love the Be Kind Belize program.
Be Kind Belize is available to all schools in San Pedro for free. It is an eight-part program, which can be adapted to any school schedule.

Gay Marriage Coming to Vermont?

2009-03-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

From CNN.com:

The Vermont Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday to legalize same-sex marriage, potentially setting the stage for a high-profile legislative showdown and breaking a new political barrier in the state that made history in 2000 by becoming the first to approve civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.

If the bill becomes law, Vermont will become the first state to legalize same-sex marriage without being forced to do so by the courts.

The bill, which passed the 30-member chamber by a 26-4 margin, moves to the Vermont House, where it is also expected to be approved. Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, however, has said he doesn't support the bill.

"Gov. Douglas agrees with President Obama that marriage is between a man and a woman. He supports Vermont's current civil union law, which provides equal rights, benefits and responsibilities to Vermonters in civil unions," Douglas spokeswoman Dennise Casey said.

He also "believes this bill is a distraction from the important work the Legislature needs to do to pass a responsible budget and get our economy going again," Casey added.

It is unclear whether both chambers of the Vermont Legislature would vote to override a potential gubernatorial veto.

Eve of Justice Candlelight Vigil

2009-03-01T20:10:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, March 4, candlelight vigils will be held across California in support of marriage equality. The California Supreme Court will hear arguments on the validity of Proposition 8 on Thursday, March 5. Send a unified message to our fellow Californians, including the Supreme Court Justices, that individual liberties like the right to marry are guaranteed by the Constitution to everyone and cannot be stripped away at the ballot box by a simple majority. Constitutional rights cannot be voted away. To read the parties' filings and the dozens of amicus 'friend of the court' briefs filed on behalf of Civil Rights Organizations, Bar Associations, Academics, Women's Groups, Faith and Religious Groups, and many others go to:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme/highprofile/prop8.htm

Equality should not be put up for a popular vote.
    • Prop 8 is a radical and unprecedented change to the California Constitution that puts all Californians at risk.
    • Prop 8 defeats the very purpose of our constitution, which is to protect minorities and to make sure the law treats everyone equally.
    • This is the first time the initiative process has successfully been used to change the California Constitution to take away a fundamental freedom from a particular group and to mandate government discrimination against a minority.
    • If prop 8 is upheld, the courts will no longer have a meaningful role in protecting minority groups or women, since any decision prohibiting discrimination could be reversed by a simple majority.

For more information on the San Diego vigil: http://www.eveofjustice.com/sd/Default.aspx

Please Don't Divorce 18,000 Married Couples

2009-02-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Please watch the video and go to Courage Campaign to sign the petition. Thanks!

From the Courage Campaign:

We, the undersigned, share President Barack Obama's view that "for too long, issues of LGBT rights have been exploited by those seeking to divide us. It's time to move beyond polarization and live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect."

Yet, on December 19, 2008, Ken Starr and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund filed legal briefs defending the constitutionality of Prop 8 and seeking to nullify the 18,000 same-sex marriages conducted between May and November of 2008.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case on March 5, 2009, with a decision expected within the next 90 days. We, the undersigned, ask that the Court invalidate Prop 8 and recognize the marriage rights of these 18,000 couples -- and all loving, committed couples in California -- under our state's constitution.

As Americans who believe in the rule of law and fundamental civil rights, we know that Ken Starr and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund's shameful attempt to nullify these unions will not be vindicated in the eyes of history. We know that, ultimately, love will prevail, no matter how hard they try to fight it.

California Supreme Court to Listen to Prop 8 Arguments March 5

2009-02-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

From the San Jose Mercury News:

"In a statement released Tuesday, the high court set three hours of arguments for its calendar in San Francisco, setting the stage for the justices to consider a series of legal challenges to voter-approved Proposition 8. Civil rights groups and a number of cities and counties, led by San Francisco and Santa Clara County, sued after the November election, arguing that the ballot initiative is invalid and should be struck down...Attorney General Jerry Brown, in an unusual move, is not defending the law, arguing that Proposition 8 should be struck down because it erased an existing constitutional right. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case last year, and will decide not only the legality of Proposition 8, but also the fate of thousands of same-sex couples who married before voters approved the measure. The justices have 90 days from the March 5 hearing to decide the case."

World's First Gay Prime Minister?

2009-01-29T20:43:00.001-08:00

On the heels of the USA's first black president, Iceland may soon have the world's first gay Prime Minister. Icelandic Social Affairs Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir would be the world's first openly gay leader if she becomes Prime Minister of Iceland, as is widely expected. Although Per-Kristian Foss served as acting Prime Minister in Norway very briefly in 2002, this represents the first time that a gay leader would assume the reins of a modern state. Sigurdardottir would also become the first female Prime Minister in Iceland's history.

As has been extensively reported, Iceland is in the midst of an economic and political crisis that has brought down the ruling coalition of Geir Haarde. Although elections have been called for in May, Mr. Haarde has announced that he will step down because of the discovery of a malignant tumor on his esophagus earlier this week.

Obama's Team of Expatriates

2009-01-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

Newsweek reports that several of President Obama's top advisers have, like him, lived overseas for a part of their lives. The former expats include retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, the incoming national-security adviser, who lived in France for most of his childhood; Timothy Geithner, the nominee for Treasury secretary, who grew up in Zimbabwe, India and Thailand; retired Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, a child of missionaries in Africa who is a leading contender to become the new NASA administrator; and Valerie Jarrett, a close personal friend of the Obamas' who will serve as a top domestic-policy adviser.

Obama has credited his foreign-living experience for helping to form his foreign-policy decisions. "If you don't understand these cultures, then it's very hard for you to make good foreign-policy decisions. The benefit of having both lived overseas and traveled overseas … is I have a better sense of how they're thinking and what their society is really like."

Gration explains that he was attracted by Obama's interest in issues that are "borderless" - the environment, trade, energy, human rights. "When you grow up as I did, surrounded by Africans, you see them as individuals—the kids I grew up with, the kids I played soccer with, [the people with whom] I went and ate around the fires," says Gration. "These were my African buddies, and so for me, when I see the strife in Darfur and when I see what's happening in eastern Congo, it's not just a problem. It's people."

Click below for the full article:

A Team of Expatriates

Change Has Come

2009-01-20T18:30:00.000-08:00

Change has come to the official website of the President of the United States - WhiteHouse.gov. It includes extensive information on the Obama administration's support for the GLBT community. Topics covered:

Expand Hate Crimes Statutes
Fight Workplace Discrimiation
Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples
Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell
Expand Adoption Rights
Promote AIDS Prevention
Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS

Our Long National Nightmare is Over

2009-01-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, I realize these words are taken from Gerald Ford's Inauguration Address, but I think the line works for today. It's hard to be anything but optimistic as Barack Obama assumes the presidency. I know we're in tough economic times, and we're still fighting two wars, but we need to put our hope in the future.

From President Barack Obama's Inauguration Address:

"We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."

The Fierce Urgency of Now

2009-01-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

I love Martin Luther King's phrase, "the fierce urgency of now." We all know change takes time. But there is definitely an urgency in creating change NOW.

From the "I Have a Dream" speech:

"It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."

Googling Prop 8 Supporters

2009-01-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

There's a Google Map that locates donors to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign. I was pleased to see that none of the neighbors on my street contributed, despite the Yes on 8 signs in some yards. A useful tool to keep people honest or an invasion of privacy?

From Marriage Equality Now:

Find out which neighbor isn't getting a wedding invitation! This mash-up of Google Maps and Prop 8 donors (http://tinyurl.com/9qd85b) is causing huge controversy online (http://tinyurl.com/88y23z), but political donations are public record - that's the law. When bigots are outed and compelled to defend their ignorance, bigotry dies and society is strengthened.

Other voices:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/01/information-w-1.html

Wear a White Knot for Marriage Equality

2009-01-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a simple and elegant way to express support for marriage equality during the Presidential Inauguration. Wear a white knot to show your support!

From the WhiteKnot.org website:

The White Knot is the symbol for marriage equality.
It takes two traditional symbols of marriage—white and tying the knot—and combines them in a simple way to show support for the right of gays and lesbians to marry. All loving couples deserve the same legal rights, benefits, and respect that civil marriage bestows.
Whether you are gay or straight, please show your support by wearing the Knot and telling people why you are wearing it. It may seem like a small thing, but imagine the White Knot gaining the pervasiveness and instant recognition of the AIDS Ribbon.

Wear your White Knot to work, to school, to your place of worship. Celebrities will be wearing White Knots down red carpets this awards season. Together, we will keep the topic at the top of people's minds and keep the conversation going.

Rampant Revisionism

2009-01-14T18:05:00.000-08:00

So DIck and George are on the last leg of their good riddance tour. Dick's been spouting off about what a success that waterboarding was. This coming just before Judge Susan Crawford, a top U.S. official at Guantanamo concluded that this country did indeed torture detainees at the base. Of course, the whole situation leaves incoming President Obama in quite a pickle. He needs to act quickly on closing down the prison, but what to do with the detainees? Will they ever be charged with a crime? Will they be brought to trial? Deported? Released?

The effects of Bush War II will last for many years and decades ahead.

On a more positive note:

The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan met with Obama today along with other media-ites including Rachel Maddow, Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich. The meeting was off the record, but Sullivan couldn't help relieving himself of some details:

Lots of emails from readers asking about the chat with the president-elect this morning. It was totally off the record and I'm a stickler for those rules. I can say, however, the following: it's hard to express the relief I feel that this man will be the president soon. I realize that's what I feel above all else: relief.
I may disagree with him at times, and criticize him at times, but his great gift is showing that he does not expect people to change their convictions in order to find common areas of agreement. That's the challenge he's presenting all of us with, wherever we come from ideologically. The challenge is as real for a Krugman as for a Kristol, for Rick Warren as well as Gene Robinson.

Relief is less than a week away!

Top 25 Bushisms

2009-01-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

With only a week to go in the Bush: Part Deux presidency, Slate has released it's top 25 Bushisms. How did they whittle it down to only 25? My favorite is #19. What's yours?

Top 25 Bushisms:

1. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."—Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

2. "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."—Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

3. "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"—Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

4. "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."—Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

5. "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican."—declining to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001

6. "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''—Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

7. "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."—Washington, D.C., April 18, 2006

8. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."—Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

9. "I've heard he's been called Bush's poodle. He's bigger than that."—discussing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as quoted by the Sun newspaper, June 27, 2007

10. "And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq."—meeting with Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008

11. "We ought to make the pie higher."—South Carolina Republican debate, Feb. 15, 2000

12. "There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."—Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

13. "And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it."—speaking on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

14. "We'll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers."—Houston, Sept. 6, 2000

15. "It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet."—Arlington Heights, Ill., Oct. 24, 2000

16. "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."—U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 3, 2000

17. "People say, 'How can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil?' You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

18. "Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."—CNN online chat, Aug. 30, 2000

19. "I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend."—on the prospect of visiting Denmark, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2005

20. "I think it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to—the beauty of playing baseball."—Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2006

21. "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."—LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

22. "You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war president. No president wants to be a war president, but I am one."—Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2006

23. "There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.' "—Boston, Oct. 3, 2000

24. "They misunderestimated me."—Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

25. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."—Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

Best Job in the World

2009-01-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Looking for a job that combines travel and adventure? Look no further. Get in line and submit your application!

From the Associated Press:

SYDNEY, Australia — Position: Island caretaker. Duties: Lazing around Australia's Great Barrier Reef for six months. Salary: 150,000 Australian dollars ($100,000).

Unemployed, take heart - the aforementioned job ad is for real. Billing it the "Best Job in the World," the tourism department in Australia's Queensland state on Tuesday said it was seeking one lucky person to spend half a year relaxing on Hamilton Island, part of the country's Whitsunday Islands, while promoting the island on a blog.

The move is part of a AU$1.7 million campaign to boost tourism in the state. In exchange for the plush salary, free accommodation in an oceanfront villa and airfare from the winner's home country, the "employee" will be required to stroll the island's white sand beaches, snorkel, maybe take a dip in the pool - and post photos and videos of his or her experiences on a weekly blog.

"It'll be huge," Tourism Whitsundays chief executive Peter O'Reilly said, adding he expected thousands will apply.

Applications are open until Feb. 22 and 11 finalists will be flown to Hamilton Island in May for the final selection process. The job begins on July 1.

Life During Wartime

2009-01-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

Frank and I had a nice visit with a client of his last night. Danny's in the Navy and is back in town for a holiday leave. But he's heading back to the Middle East on Sunday. He came by for a farewell drink.

He and Frank were talking real estate a bit, but then we started talking about his experiences in the Navy. It was cool to hear Danny's stories of life during wartime. I don't know many active military, so it was quite eye-opening for me.

I learned a little about military ranking. (I know an admiral outranks an ensign, but everything in the middle is confusing.) He mentioned some secret missions - no details of course - on an oil rig in the Gulf. Seems like he had a few James Bond moments.

It took him 96 hours to get from Bahrain to San Diego, stopping both overseas and in the heart of the midwest on his way home. In Bahrain, they slept in freezing cold tents during an overnight stopover. They next day had to keep checking a list to see if they were on the next flight out.

He also told us of the people of Rockford, Illinois (where they spent many of the 96 hours) who provided them food and a hero's welcome. He said it meant a lot to him and his colleagues to receive such support. He figures since San Diego is such a military town, military personnel are taken for granted. But in Rockford, Illinois, they embraced them so much it really touched him.

Thanks for doing what you're doing, Danny! We'll see you in May!

Adios 2008!

2008-12-31T15:20:00.000-08:00

I hate to be be Debbie Downer, but it's hard to look away from the shortfalls and pratfalls of 2008. And yet, I will. Instead of focusing on all that was wrong with 2008, here's a bit of what I enjoyed this year.

Frank and I finally went on our Belize adventure after planning it for a year. It was the best trip ever. From the moment we landed in San Pedro, I felt so at home. Great weather, great location, great activities, great people. I do wish we could plan to live there sooner rather than later. But since I'm focusing on the positive, let's just say we're still looking for that to happen some day!

Frank and I became legally married in California on June 17. Four years after our wedding, our Canadian marriage was finally recognized by our home state. Since I'm focusing on the positive, I won't get into the November nastiness.

We enjoyed a great drive up to San Francisco this summer. I hope we can do another road trip soon. At least gas prices have been reasonable lately.

I also enjoyed the drama and foibles of the presidential contest. It was quite a wild ride. And it's always nicer when the person you voted for wins. I really see an incredible change happening already in this country. Despite the nasty economic news and having to worry about how to pay the bills every month, I feel good about the future.

Here's to a happy and prosperous 2009!

Study: Family Behavior Key To Health Of Gay Youth

2008-12-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

This should come as no surprise.

From the Huffington Post:

SAN FRANCISCO — Young gay people whose parents or guardians responded negatively when they revealed their sexual orientation were more likely to attempt suicide, experience severe depression and use drugs than those whose families accepted the news, according to a new study.

The way in which parents or guardians respond to a youth's sexual orientation profoundly influences the child's mental health as an adult, say researchers at San Francisco State University, whose findings appear in Monday's journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"Parents love their children and want the best for them," said lead researcher Caitlin Ryan, a social worker who directs the university's Family Acceptance Project. "Now that we have measured all these behaviors, we can see that some of them put youth at extremely high risk and others are wellness-promoting."

Among other findings, the study showed that teens who experienced negative feedback were more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide, nearly six times as vulnerable to severe depression and more than three times at risk of drug use.

more...

More Rick Warren Blah-blah

2008-12-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

I don't know. I guess the whole issue of Rick Warren giving the invocation at Obama's inauguration just doesn't cause me great consternation. I know he's not exactly Rev. Troy Perry from the Metropolitan Church of Christ. But we lefties aren't going to have the entire country bow to us just because Obama is president. Didn't happen with Clinton and clearly, the left didn't kowtow to Bush II while he was in office. Maybe it's my (dare I say it?) Catholic upbringing that makes me so, so....... tolerent! (Hard to believe that would be it.)

Let the man speak. Let him represent the dwindling forces of the defeated religious rightists. Change will come, but it will come in its time. The gay movement needs to know how to pick its battles. This one should be passed on.

On the other hand (in the interest of beling fair and balanced!) here are some very valid points from Rachel Maddow:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#28372831

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T20:00:00.000-08:00

Forty years ago this week, the Apollo 8 lunar mission took off from Cape Kennedy. The first humans flying to the moon. A Christmas card I sent out several years ago showed a fragile abstract Earth ornament with this quote from astronaut Russell Schweikart. Merry Christmas!

"You see the Earth as a bright blue and white Christmas tree ornament in the black sky. It's so small and so fragile - you realize that on that small spot is everything that means anything to you. All of history and art and death and birth and love. As you pass from sunlight into darkness and back again every hour and a half, you become startlingly aware how artificial are thousands of boundaries we've created to separate and define. And for the first time in your life you feel in your gut the precious unity of the Earth and all the living things it supports."

Invocation Invitation

2008-12-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

President-elect Obama has chosen Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren to say the invocation at his inauguration. His people are saying that this is part of his inclusion plan - a team of rivals and all that. The problem is that Warren's church is anythng but all-inclusive. According to Saddleback's website, "Someone unwilling to repent of their homosexual lifestyle would not be accepted as a member at Saddleback Church."

I understand that Obama wants to reach out to the entire nation - including those with opposing views - and I think he should. But must it be at the expense of his own supporters who have recently suffered a horrendous civil rights defeat due, in part, to religious leaders like Rick Warren? On the other hand, it certainly keeps the gay marriage debate active. Let's hope that's Obama's plan - keep it on the table and play hardball when he gets into office.

Here are some other voices on this issues:

Joe Solmonese, President, Human Rights Campaign: "[Rick Warren] was a general in the campaign to pass California's Proposition 8, which dissolved the legal marriage rights of loving, committed same-sex couples. For that reason, inviting Warren to set the tone at the dawn of this new presidency sends a chilling message to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. It makes us uncertain about this exciting, young president-elect who has said repeatedly that we are part of his America, too."

Andrew Sullivan, Blogger/Writer, The Daily Dish: "[It's] shrewd politics, but if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now. He won't be as bad as the Clintons (who, among leading Democrats, could?), but pandering to Christianists at his inauguration is a depressing omen. More evidence that a civil rights movement needs to realize that no politician can deliver for us what we have to deliver on our own."

Hilary Rosen, Blogger/Writer, Huffington Post: "From what I gather, every gay person that paid attention to this felt like...we were kicked in the stomach. This is just kind of outrageous that you would choose such a divisive figure to speak out in a blessed, prayerful moment...This is not a policy difference...this is about the way that Pastor Warren has used homosexuality as a weapon, used religion as a weapon to suggest that gay relationships are akin to incest and pedophilia. That's the problem."

Michelle Goldberg, Author, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism: "Recently, Democrats have been much concerned with wooing religious voters, and with pushing back against the conservative calumny that they are a party hostile to faith. But the way for a progressive party to do that should be to enlarge the scope of discussion about morality in American life, not to pander to the same prejudices as the religious right. Democrats could foreground religious leaders who articulate the moral imperative of fighting poverty, torture and inequality. They don't need to get religion by becoming more hostile to gay people and to reproductive rights. Rather, they need to empower the many religious voices who support both."

Ezra Klein, Associate Editor, The American Prospect: "The going explanation for Warren's presence on the inauguration podium is that 'this aims to be the most open and inclusive inauguration in history,' as Linda Douglas, a spokeswoman for the inauguration committee, told Politico. It's a peculiar definition of 'open and inclusive.' Warren, after all, is the only preacher giving the invocation. He will not share the stage with a rabbi, an imam, a monk, and an episcopalian. And Warren is not being chosen because he himself is open and inclusive. He thinks abortion a 'holocaust' and urged his flock to vote for Prop 8. He compared gay marriage to incest and polygamy and pederasty, and when asked if he really thought those things 'equivalent to having gays getting married,' he replied, 'Oh, I do.' The tolerance Obama is asking for, in other words, is not from Warren. It's from the LGBT community, and women. He is asking them to be tolerant of Warren's intolerance. It's a cruel play, framed to marginalize the legitimate anger of those who Warren harms and discriminates against."

Ann, Blogger/Writer @ Feministing.com: "Surely Obama could have found a non-bigoted religious leader to give the invocation. Warren, despite being considered a nicer-and-friendlier "new evangelical," equates same-sex marriage with incest, says Christians who work for social justice are basically Marxists, and is staunchly anti-choice. So many pro-choicers, gay activists, and progressive Christians worked their asses off to elect Obama, which makes Obama's decision to give Warren a platform at the inauguration a real fuck-you. I can't even handle the irony that Warren's appearance will be immediately followed by Aretha singing Respect and Someday We'll All Be Free.

Kathryn Kolbert, President of People for the American Way: "Pastor Warren, while enjoying a reputation as a moderate based on his affable personality and his church's engagement on issues like AIDS in Africa, has said that the real difference between James Dobson and himself is one of tone rather than substance. He has recently compared marriage by loving and committed same-sex couples to incest and pedophilia. He has repeated the Religious Right's big lie that supporters of equality for gay Americans are out to silence pastors. He has called Christians who advance a social gospel Marxists. He is adamantly opposed to women having a legal right to choose an abortion...Rick Warren gets plenty of attention through his books and media appearances. He doesn't need or deserve this position of honor. There is no shortage of religious leaders who reflect the values on which President-elect Obama campaigned and who are working to advance the common good."

Prop 8 - The Musical

2008-12-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

Freakin' hilarious. Watch the stars come out.

San Diego comes out

2008-11-17T20:45:00.000-08:00

San Diego joined hundreds of other cities across the nation Saturday in a quickly organized grassroots protest against California's Prop 8 and other anti-gay measures. An estimated 25,000 people marched through downtown San Diego in opposition to the Constitutional amendment that strips gays of their right to marry in the state.

Join the Impact

2008-11-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

San Diego will be taking part in nationwide protests against Proposition 8 this Saturday, November 15. There are 2 coordinated events happening in San Diego. The first one is a march which starts at 10:30am at 6th & Upas in Balboa Park. The march will go through downtown and will end at the rally site at the County Administration Building.

At 1pm there will be a huge rally at the County Administration Building. It's located at 1600 N. Harbor Drive near the Star of India on the bay. This is going to be a huge event and well over 20,000 people are expected. Everyone is encouraged to come out and protest Prop 8 and stand up for equal rights for every one. If you can' t make the march, come straight to the rally site at 1pm.

http://www.sdequalitynow.com/
http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/

Keith Olbermann on Prop 8

2008-11-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

Keith Olbermann's powerful comments on Countdown tonight. An extraordinary observation: The parents of the next President of the United States could not have been married in 1960 in 1/3 of the states.

Gavin Newsom on Prop 8

2008-11-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Protesters have taken to the streets of LA, San Diego and San Francisco to take a stand against this amendment that took away the right of gays and lesbians to marry in California. Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco has taken the lead in fighting back. Gotta love his passion while succinctly (and bluntly) stating his views on this legalized discrimination. I think it's time for President-elect Obama to stand up for civil rights and equality for all.

Ann Nixon Cooper

2008-11-06T22:18:00.000-08:00

From The Times of London:

She had dinner with Bobby Kennedy. Nat King Cole came to her parties. Martin Luther King sent her a telegram when her husband died and she has photographs of herself with his late wife Coretta on her sideboard.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, at the age of 106, she beat her personal best - Barack Obama singled out Ann Nixon Cooper for praise in his acceptance speech to hundreds of thousands of ecstatic supporters in Chicago.

The President-elect spoke of his admiration for Mrs Nixon Cooper, a well-to-do, monied centagenarian living in Atlanta whose own life has plotted the struggle of black Americans during the last century:

"She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin."

Mrs Nixon Cooper was not entirely susprised when she heard her name mentioned at the victory rally. A spokesman from the Obama campaign had called her on Tuesday afternoon at her home on Martin Luther King Drive in Atlanta, and told her that she was about to become America's most famous 106-year-old.

Speaking to The Times in her dining room yesterday afternoon, Mrs Nixon Cooper, said: "I stayed up late to watch his speech. I was elated, of course. It was very exciting. I never, never, never thought we would get a black President. Never."

That phone call, and that speech, piped into Mrs Nixon Cooper's front room, has brought the frail great grandmother, all but one of whose own children have already died, full circle.

It was in the same front room forty years ago that she entertained the people who led the black civil rights movement across America. It was in her adjoining drawing room that Nat King Cole partied next to her baby grand piano.

It was across the street in the former black segregated area of Atlanta, that her son opened a gas station that filled the cars of Dr King and Bobby Kennedy (her garndson - the teenage attendant, remembers the Democrat's thick flash of hair), and it was a ten minute walk, on the same road where the black Baptist pastor plotted the way forward for Black America at the now boarded-up Paschal Hotel.

Mr Obama's choice of Mrs Nixon Cooper as an example of the black movement was a clever one. The centenarian represents the very cream of black society, a far cry from the stereotypical images of Black culture that alienate conservative voters.

more...

Culture Wars

2008-11-05T06:12:00.000-08:00

I'm truly stunned that Prop 8 passed. Although it was ahead throughout the evening I was sure the tide would turn and it would be defeated. Just goes to show what one part religion, one part bigotry and two parts cashola will get you - institutionalized discrimination. It's interesting to note the exit polling regarding this issue. Voters aged 18-29 overwhelmingly voted against the issue while those 40 and over supported eliminating the right to marry. I guess we just have to wait for the bigots to die off. Besides, rights are rarely won by popular vote. The Civil Rights Act in 1964 would probably have failed a popular vote. On these types of issues, it's up to our elected officials to LEAD and pass legislation that outlaws discrimination.

A Night to Remember

2008-11-04T20:05:00.000-08:00

Like our future First Lady Michelle Obama, I am once again proud to be an American. Not just because Barack Obama has been elected president, but because Americans were able to elect an African-American to the highest position in the country. I'll admit that I didn't give Obama much of a chance when he announced his candidacy. I thought he was inexperienced and I didn't think the American people were ready to elect a black man president. Besides, Hillary Clinton looked like she was going to wrap up the nomination handily. And if she ran into roadblocks, there was another very capable candidate in John Edwards. Throughout the early primaries, I was undecided about who I would vote for on Super Tuesday. It wasn't until I actually filled out my ballot for Obama that I decided. Since then, he has proven himself as a very capable politician with a positive plan for America. This is what we need at this time in our history.

Obama's Early Lead

2008-11-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

The good folks of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire have just completed and counted their votes for president. Results: Obama: 15, McCain: 6. We're on our way! For the rest of us.... the calm before the storm.

GO VOTE!

No on Prop 8 Rally

2008-11-02T12:17:00.000-08:00

Last night, we joined several friends at a candlelight vigil to oppose Prop 8. The estimated crowd of 6000 lined University Avenue in Hillcrest to rally against the measure, which would amend the California constitution to add discrimination against a group of people for the first time.

Click here to see my iReport on CNN.

(wait for it to fully load for best results)

Other iReports

Friends at the No on Prop 8 Rally

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders

Just about says it all

College Footbal Update

2008-11-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Time to take a quick break from the election and talk a little bit about college football. My Michigan State Spartans were down the entire game to Wisconsin. Until the final 7 seconds that is. A winning field goal gave them the game 25-24. The Spartans almost NEVER make those kind of comebacks. Great game to keep them in the Big Ten championship hunt at 8-2. It's been fun to be able to watch most of their games this year, as their winning season has put them on TV almost every week. Even out here in Pac-10 land.

Happy Haunting

2008-10-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

It was quite nice to have so many kids (and parents) that came to our door tonight say. "I like your signs," referring to our Obama and No on 8 signs. One 10-year-old girl who was with her mom said she always makes mom roll down the window when they see folks with Yes on 8 signs at the street corner so she can tell them that she doesn't support discrimination. How sweet! I know it's supposed to be a close vote and I tend to be overly optimistic about these things, but I really think it will be defeated handily.

No on Prop 8 Videos

2008-10-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

Please vote No on Prop 8.

http://www.youtube.com/v/oYljisDxj-M&hl=en&fs=1

http://www.youtube.com/v/2w5E9h3vb9M&hl=en&fs=1

10 reasons (and rebuttals) to voting YES on prop 8.

01) Being gay is not natural.
And real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, air conditioning, tattoos, and piercing.

02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay,
In the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior.
People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

04) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all;
Hence why women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

05) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed;
And we can't let the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage be destroyed.

06) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children.
So therefore, gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our population isn’t out of control, our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.

07) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children,
Since of course straight parents only raise straight children.

08) Gay marriage is not supported by religion.
In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire county. That's why we have only one religion in America.

09) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home.
Which is exactly why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms.
Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Write to Marry

2008-10-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today is Write to Marry Day - a day for bloggers to voice their support for marriage and their disgust with California's Proposition 8. Frank and I joined nearly 100 others at a busy street corner in Poway to get out the word about Prop 8 this afternoon. The turnout was fantastic. The reaction was mostly positive. Over the past several weeks, I've been buoyed by the positive reaction to my No on Prop 8 sign in my yard. Unfortunately, there are three Yes signs on the block as well. I can't understand how some people feel they can hide behind their religion when it comes to equal rights. What kind of religion teaches that people are not created equally? What kind of religion teaches intolerance? How does religion come into play when we're talking about a legal issue? This is not an issue of religion. It is an issue of equal rights. Churches do not have to conduct same-sex marriages. Same-sex marriage is not "taught" in schools. Society has not disintegrated since my marriage was legalized 4 months ago. Fear and ignorance are propelling the support of this ugly campaign. Millions of dollars from religious organizations like the Mormon Church and the Knights of Columbus have been contributed toward restricting the rights of Californians rather than feeding the hungry. This is the purpose of their religion?

I encourage everyone to join Frank and me in a candlelight vigil this Saturday night to support our marriage and the marriages of thousands of Californians who may lose those marriages next week. Protect Our Marriage. Please vote no on Proposition 8.

One Week More...

2008-10-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

It's pitiful that we have to be talking about voter fraud and voter suppression a week away from the election. Hackable voting machines, difficult voting procedures. We're supposed to be world leaders in this democracy thing. Why can't we get it right? What's wrong with counting each person's vote?

Sad.

The final week of the campaign. Thank God! We're ALL done with this! I must say Obama's looking good. And I'm convinced that Prop 8 will go down. We joined about 20 people standing on a busy street corner with No on Prop 8 signs. There were an equal number of Yes on 8 supporters across the street. We really didn't know what to expect, but it was nice getting a LOT of support from folks driving by.

Pandora Palin

2008-10-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin's being all mavericky again. This time she's rebelling against her own presidential ticket-mate. Some say she's lost faith in the campaign, she's throwing in the towel and starting her 2012 presidential campaign.

I'm convinced John McCain will look back in regret on the Pandora's Box he opened when he agreed to put her on his ticket. It was a Hail Mary pass that has fallen far short of the goal line. Personally, I don't think Sarah Palin has much of a political future herself. Soon she'll self-destruct like an Austin Powers fembot. She has way too much political baggage and no credible leadership ability. But she's getting the far-right galvanized to become a stronger force in the Republican Party. Who knows what havoc they will attempt to wreak? Truly scary possibilities. McCain's been acting like- not just looking like - a puppet who's being controlled by the party machinery. He's has been pushed and pulled (to the right) by the party leaders - that's how he ended up with Palin in the first place. Could the Republican Party eventually rip apart as a result of the vitriol and religious intolerance that is bubbling to the surface?

Spreading The Wealth

2008-10-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

John McCain is against spreading wealth to those who are hoping to succeed. Why shouldn't they be given the assistance they need to fulfill their American Dream? Cutting taxes to 95% of the workforce puts additional burden on FIVE PERCENT of the working population. The five percent MOST WEALTHY. The five percent that includes oil company and investment bank executives who are sitting pretty on their TENS OF MILLIONS of dollars of sweet deals. Deals that we are all paying for now with a $750 billion bailout to cover their assets. They can call it socialism if they like, but with capitalism's black eye of late, I'll take it as a much needed change.

My Father's Vote

2008-10-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

My father was a World War II veteran. My father was a community activist. He was a VFW Commander who marched in countless Memorial Day and Veterans Day parades. He was director of the local organization that distributed food to the poor. My father was a staunch Catholic with borderline racist views. He was a hard-working small-business owner in an immigrant Polish community.

I wonder how he’d vote this year.

My father possessed attributes of both John McCain and Barack Obama. He was known as "Mr. Veteran" in his hometown of Hamtramck, Michigan. He was instrumental in raising funds for the state's first Vietnam Veterans monument inscribed with the names of the locals who died serving their country in that divisive war. He sold Buddy Poppies to raise money for veterans and their dependants. At Christmas, he was "Mr. Goodfellow,” organizing the annual telethon that raised money for food baskets for the poor. He lived by the VFW motto: "Honor the dead by helping the living." He was a veteran. He was a community activist.

My father died in January 1991, one week after the initial air strikes of the first Iraq war. I remember watching the live CNN coverage of the attack at his bedside. We didn't say much - that was the norm with us. I doubt he would have survived his cancer much longer, but that night might have sapped his last bit of strength. He went into the hospital later that week and never returned home. His sister, my Auntie Anne, said it was the war that killed him. He couldn't bear to see it. He knew war. He earned six battle stars while serving in Europe in World War II. Later in life, after a long bout with colon cancer that almost killed him, he threw his energy into veteran affairs and giving to others. Although he worked for a Democratic mayor for 10 years, he was never overtly political. How would he vote this year?

California has a ballot initiative this November that proposes to take away my marriage. Frank and I were married in Windsor, Canada four years ago, but it's only been 4 months that we've been legally married in our home state. Proposition 8 would amend the state constitution to, for the first time, take away an existing right from a group of people. Would my father vote to eliminate our marriage?

He found out I was gay when he innocently came across my journal of travels in Europe. I was living at home after graduating from college and I had carelessly left it out on a table. It's not as though I had written about wild experiences in Europe - I didn't. But I certainly wrote about who I was and whom I liked. We sat down and talked about what he discovered. He thought I should seek professional help. I told him I didn't need to. I told him I had been out to my brother and sister-in-law for a year and that seemed to placate him. He said all the wrong things, some which really hurt, but never really got angry. It seemed those were the words he felt he HAD to say in such a situation. It was over in a matter of minutes.

After that day, we never spoke of it again. He met several of my boyfriends throughout the years, but was always emotionless concerning my relationships. He never embraced my orientation, but also never denounced it.

As with homosexuality, race was an issue with my father. I remember having an argument with him over some comments he made about blacks. “You don’t work with them every day,” he said, as if that was all the justification he needed for his opinions. It was a sore spot between us and we generally avoided that issue as well. Could he vote for a black man for president?

How would my father vote this year? In the 1980’s, he would have been categorized as a “Reagan Democrat.” I’m not sure where he would stand today. I hope he'd be able to see past the politics of division and vote based on honor and integrity. I like to think he'd vote to save my marriage. I like to think he’d vote for Barack Obama. I like to think he’d vote for the future of America.

Neighborly Politics Deux

2008-10-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

I love that politics is getting my neighborhood abuzz! Tonight, Steffani from next door came over asking where I got my Vote No on Prop 8: Equality for All sign. She was pissed that the neighbor on the other side of her had put up a Yes on Prop 8 sign (to go along with his McCain/Palin) as soon as I put up my sign. She wanted to get one too and aim it in his direction! Good for her!

Matthew Shepard Anniversary

2008-10-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

From Towelroad:

It was ten years ago tonight, on the night of October 6, 1998, that Matthew Shepard was beaten by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson and left to die tied to a fence near Laramie, Wyoming. He died five days later, on October 12.

This morning, Judy Shepard appeared on The Early Show to discuss the progress that has (and hasn't) been made since Matthew's murder. Wyoming still does not have a hate crime law that covers sexual orientation.

Said Shepard: "I'd like to say yes it surprises me, but no it doesn't."

http://www.towleroad.com/2008/10/10-years-ago-to.html

Neighborly Politics

2008-10-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

A guy rang my doorbell this morning and I viewed him a bit suspiciously as I came to the door. Was he a McCain canvasser? Maybe he was espousing the virtues of the anti-gay marriage Prop 8 ballot initiative? He had a package in his hand. "If this had been a McCain sign, I wouldn't have brought it over," he said with a wink. I realized it was my Obama yard sign I had been waiting impatiently for. It was to have arrived yesterday, but didn't show up. "Go Obama," he said as he walked back to his car. "You'll see it soon in the front yard," I assured him.

I had ordered the Obama sign weeks ago, but it was backordered. A month ago two of my neighbors had put up Obama signs which motivated me to order it. In the meantime, three neighbors had put up McCain signs, so it was now more imperative to put it up! I already received my No on Prop 8: Equality for All sign, but wanted to put them up together. That's my happy task today. It's nice to know there are sympathetic souls on this street.

Political commentary

2008-10-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

Maureen Dowd is quickly becoming my favorite political writer. She had a great article in the New York Times today.

Best line:

With her pompom patois and sing-songy jingoism, Palin can bridge contradictory ideas that lead nowhere: One minute she promises to get “greater oversight” by government; the next, she lectures: “Government, you know, you’re not always a solution. In fact, too often you’re the problem.” At another point, she channeled Alicia Silverstone debating in “Clueless,” asserting, “Nuclear weaponry, of course, would be the be-all, end-all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet.” (Mostly the end-all.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/opinion/05dowd.html?em

David Letterman's Rebuttal

2008-10-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

David Letterman was pissed off when John McCain stiffed him last week for an interview with Katie Couric. Last night, Brain Williams from NBC News was his guest and Letterman lashed out at Sarah Palin after her debate performance. Poor Brian Williams, who is a really funny interview - he's been on The Daily Show several times, had to sit there and bite his lip.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/04/brian-williams-on-the-lat_n_131858.html

John McCain loved Palin's debate performance. Matter of fact, he applauded so much, all the lights in his home kept on going on and off. --David Letterman

Mistress Debater

2008-10-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Yes, Sarah Palin has shown that she's trainable. She did a great job as John McCain's spokesperson during the Vice-Presidential debate. She has poise, she has folksiness, she can speak to a crowd. She knows her catch-phrases. She can wink to the camera about how she's such a maverick. She can push the war agenda and say, "We have got to win the wars," and "Drill, Baby, Drill!" The problem is that the Vice-President could use some knowledge and experience, too. She may yet save her reputation. She might be a future political player. But she's just too scary to be that close to the presidency right now. At this time in history. Next-in-line to the ultimate power. Just too scary. Who really wants a Joe Six-Pack running the country? I want my president to be at least a little smarter than me on a lot of things!

She doesn't want to talk about the causes of global warming!? She doesn't think that treating the cause of global warming is kinda important? She looked so naive. "There have been huge blunders in this war. There have been huge blunders in this administration," she says with a shrug. Does she not know "this administration" means HER party? That McCain's foreign policies are the same as GWB's? Biden's comment about Dick Cheney being the worst VP in history was brilliant! Who could argue that?

Joe Biden's finest points were scored about the war in Iraq. He absolutely hit hard at the Bush/McCain/NeoCons' warmongering. He put the cost of Iraq back on the front burner, both in financial and human terms. He called McCain her "principal" when they were discussing the duties of the VP. Funny.

They were both very uncomfortable talking about the issue of gay rights. Total talking points. No explanations. They tiptoed around saying anything but those few key words. It's offensive. They need to explain exactly what they mean. Would you support a constitutional amendment to eliminate gay marriage, for example. After suggesting she would indeed outlaw gay marriage, she goes on to claim she supports equal rights. Which is it?

And finally Biden brought up the issue of a woman's right to choose. Isn't that a relevant issue? Shouldn't that have more airtime? Shouldn't she talk about her opposition to Roe v. Wade? Shouldn't we hear about the real issues?

All-in-all a good debate!

Palin's Antics

2008-09-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

File this under "it would be funny if it weren't so scary." Honestly. This person is vying to be Vice-President? Really? How embarrassing. How frightening. When Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of America, he goes to Alaska? What does that even mean?

Katie Couric and Sarah Palin:

Couric: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

Sarah Palin: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and, on our other side, the land-boundary that we have with Canada. It's funny that a comment like that was kinda made to … I don't know, you know … reporters.

Couric: Mocked?

Palin: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

Couric: Well, explain to me why that enhances your foreign-policy credentials.

Palin: Well, it certainly does, because our, our next-door neighbors are foreign countries, there in the state that I am the executive of. And there…

Couric: Have you ever been involved in any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state.

Corporate Welfare

2008-09-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

The deregulatory money-grubbing corporate society GWB has propped up has given way to a nouveau Wall Street socialism. I'm supposed to be happy about my tax dollars supporting some fat cat who's helped create this fiasco in the first place with his self-absorbed lifestyle? But it's nobody's fault, right?

Now we're supposed to follow along blindly once again and assume the government of GWB knows best. Worked out well with that Patriot Act, huh? With the Bush Iraq War?

An Election Bailout
by John Cassidy of The New Yorker:

If Barack Obama is victorious on November 4th, someone on his transition team should send inauguration tickets to Richard Fuld, the chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers. For months, Obama had struggled to promote the sense—which was not altogether confirmed by the official statistics—that the economy was in real trouble. Back in March, in New York, he gave a thoughtful speech, tracing the sub-prime crisis to lax oversight, and calling for a major overhaul of regulatory policy. The serious newspapers reported the event, and that was that. By Labor Day, the McCain campaign had managed to reframe the economic debate—in as much as there was one—around gas prices, offshore drilling, and Obama’s purported plan to raise taxes on ordinary Americans. (Actually, his tax plan would leave more than ninety per cent of households paying less money to the government.) Some polls even showed John McCain outscoring Obama on economic issues.
Enter Fuld. The trouble began during the summer lull on Wall Street, when he neglected to find an outright buyer for his faltering firm. That mistake was followed by the news, on September 9th, that a Korean bank that had considered investing in Lehman was withdrawing. Three days later, the government informed Wall Street that it would not bail out Fuld’s firm. Coming less than a week after the U.S. Treasury’s takeover of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the sight of the venerable investment bank filing for Chapter 11 protection spooked the markets, which experienced their biggest drop since 2001. Then, on September 16th, the Federal Reserve extended an eighty-five-billion-dollar loan to American International Group, the largest insurance company in the country, sparking panic on Wall Street. The economy was suddenly at the center of the campaign, which is where it should have been all along.
Click for more...

People's Republic of Wall Street

2008-09-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

The downturn in the economy has forced pigs with lipstick off the front page and put the real issues back where they belong. And once important issues are being discussed, what happens? Obama's poll numbers shoot up. The weapons of mass distraction hopefully will be put away for good after the first debate next week. It's the economy. It's the war. It's social security. It's civil rights. These are the issues that need to be discussed.

According to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the federal bailout of the previously "free market" financial system will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Too bad we already spent $500 billion on Bush's Iraq War.

So let's get this straight. CEOs, Boards of Directors and investors are allowed - encouraged - to make as much money as possible for themselves - with little government interference - when things are going well. And when things turn sour, the money comes out of the taxpayers wallets instead of theirs?

This is exactly what this government has set us up for. This is exactly what we will continue to get if we keep the same party in office. Unfortunately, this utter devastation of the American economy will leave the new president with few choices when he takes office in January.

I Knew There Was a Reason I Liked Brad Pitt

2008-09-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

And here's another one...

Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to fight Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage in California by declaring marriage between a man and a woman.

Said Pitt in a statement: "Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8."

It's not the first time Pitt has made a statement in favor of marriage equality. In December 2006, he stated, "Angie [Jolie] and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able."

By the way, actress Charlize Theron (I knew there was a reason I liked her, too) also made the same vow.

Fortunately, the latest poll of California voters finds that 54% are against the proposition which for the first time would amend the state constitution to take away existing rights from a group of citizens.

Politics Unusual

2008-09-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

It's one thing to massage the truth in a political campaign. That's done all the time. Candidates beef up their resumes and promise the undoable. But this year's campaign is setting yet another new low in politics. Outright lies are being passed off as the truth. The lies are revealed to be such and yet the candidates don't retract them. They just hope the American people are too stupid to care about the truth. Sad.

Paul Krugman of the New York Times:

Blizzard of Lies
Did you hear about how Barack Obama wants to have sex education in kindergarten, and called Sarah Palin a pig? Did you hear about how Ms. Palin told Congress, “Thanks, but no thanks” when it wanted to buy Alaska a Bridge to Nowhere?
These stories have two things in common: they’re all claims recently made by the McCain campaign — and they’re all out-and-out lies.
Dishonesty is nothing new in politics. I spent much of 2000 — my first year at The Times — trying to alert readers to the blatant dishonesty of the Bush campaign’s claims about taxes, spending and Social Security.
But I can’t think of any precedent, at least in America, for the blizzard of lies since the Republican convention. The Bush campaign’s lies in 2000 were artful — you needed some grasp of arithmetic to realize that you were being conned. This year, however, the McCain campaign keeps making assertions that anyone with an Internet connection can disprove in a minute, and repeating these assertions over and over again.
Take the case of the Bridge to Nowhere, which supposedly gives Ms. Palin credentials as a reformer. Well, when campaigning for governor, Ms. Palin didn’t say “no thanks” — she was all for the bridge, even though it had already become a national scandal, insisting that she would “not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative.”
Oh, and when she finally did decide to cancel the project, she didn’t righteously reject a handout from Washington: she accepted the handout, but spent it on something else. You see, long before she decided to cancel the bridge, Congress had told Alaska that it could keep the federal money originally earmarked for that project and use it elsewhere.
So the whole story of Ms. Palin’s alleged heroic stand against wasteful spending is fiction.
Or take the story of Mr. Obama’s alleged advocacy of kindergarten sex-ed. In reality, he supported legislation calling for “age and developmentally appropriate education”; in the case of young children, that would have meant guidance to help them avoid sexual predators.
And then there’s the claim that Mr. Obama’s use of the ordinary metaphor “putting lipstick on a pig” was a sexist smear, and on and on.
Why do the McCain people think they can get away with this stuff? Well, they’re probably counting on the common practice in the news media of being “balanced” at all costs. You know how it goes: If a politician says that black is white, the news report doesn’t say that he’s wrong, it reports that “some Democrats say” that he’s wrong. Or a grotesque lie from one side is paired with a trivial misstatement from the other, conveying the impression that both sides are equally dirty.
They’re probably also counting on the prevalence of horse-race reporting, so that instead of the story being “McCain campaign lies,” it becomes “Obama on defensive in face of attacks.”
Still, how upset should we be about the McCain campaign’s lies? I mean, politics ain’t beanbag, and all that.
One answer is that the muck being hurled by the McCain campaign is preventing a debate on real issues — on whether the country really wants, for example, to continue the economic policies of the last eight years.
But there’s another answer, which may be even more important: how a politician campaigns tells you a lot about how he or she would govern.
I’m not talking about the theory, often advanced as a defense of horse-race political reporting, that the skills needed to run a winning campaign are the same as those needed to run the country. The contrast between the Bush political team’s ruthless effectiveness and the heckuva job done by the Bush administration is living, breathing, bumbling, and, in the case of the emerging Interior Department scandal, coke-snorting and bed-hopping proof to the contrary.
I’m talking, instead, about the relationship between the character of a campaign and that of the administration that follows. Thus, the deceptive and dishonest 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign provided an all-too-revealing preview of things to come. In fact, my early suspicion that we were being misled about the threat from Iraq came from the way the political tactics being used to sell the war resembled the tactics that had earlier been used to sell the Bush tax cuts.
And now the team that hopes to form the next administration is running a campaign that makes Bush-Cheney 2000 look like something out of a civics class. What does that say about how that team would run the country?
What it says, I’d argue, is that the Obama campaign is wrong to suggest that a McCain-Palin administration would just be a continuation of Bush-Cheney. If the way John McCain and Sarah Palin are campaigning is any indication, it would be much, much worse.

9/11 - A Day of Reflection

2008-09-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why the anniversary of 9/11 is so moving to me this year. Francesca and I were talking about that today - how it still takes your breath away when watching the footage of the planes hitting and the towers collapsing. And how it doesn't have the same effect on students who were just 5-6 years old at the time. How much do you show them in a US History class? Books? Magazines? Videos? There's a lot of disturbing video in HBO's In Memorium, which she and Andree were previewing during lunch. Some scenes I've seen over and over again, but much of the few minutes I saw was new to me. It was pieced together from many reporters and personal camcorders around the scene. Very moving. But how much realism should you show to middle school children?

I'm usually able to watch TV at work since I'm surrounded by them. But on that September 11, I had my media class first thing at 7:30, so I had to go on with class. I was thinking it wasn't appropriate for 11-13 year olds to watch live as it happened, so instead we had a discussion about it to start the class. One kid yelled out, "Let's kill those Palestinians!" Emotions were already running high. Of course, it was much too early to speculate who was responsible. Less than 2 hours after the initial attack. Just minutes after the second tower fell. I talked about how it was important to get all facts before making judgements. I don't remember much more of our short discussion. We went on with class. I kept hearing reports from one of my student's aide who would relay information he would hear from the librarians or office staff. It was surreal. I'm such a news hound, so it was quite frustrating not watching it live! I really wanted to know what was going on. Maybe that's why I still watch the "as it happened" footage from that day.

The magnitude of it has hit me harder this year. Maybe because again I'm concerned about America's future. I love a good political campaign, but this year's battle is making me weary. Candidates being scrutinized for every comment ever made. Spin doctors creating super-sized personalities to divert discussion from the issues. Despite inconsistent polls and the media circus, I do have faith in our country heading in a new direction after these 8 dark years. We won't stand for more sabre-rattling and fear-mongering.

Small Town Sayings

2008-09-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

From Andrew Romano's Stumper Blog:

Obama went on stage in Lebanon, Va., and said of McCain's newfound "change" message that "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." Again, Crystal City was ready to pounce. Reminding voters that Palin had used the word "lipstick" in her convention speech while joking about the "difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom," former Massachusetts governor and current McCain surrogate Jane Swift quickly declared, in full faux-outrage mode, that Obama had "uttered what I can only deem to be disgraceful comments comparing our vice presidential nominee, Governor Palin, to a pig" and demanded an apology. Soon, other Republican flacks--all of them women, incidentally--were weighing in as well. Meanwhile, Team McCain slapped together another ad, "Lipstick," told reporters that it would "air" on the "Web" and watched with delight as Chris Matthews and Co. broadcast it for free (predictably enough) on their evening gabfests.

The point, of course, was get everyone speculating about whether or not Obama had committed a heinous act of "sexism." Mission accomplished. Never mind that "you can put lipstick on a pig" is an old idiomatic expression. Never mind that Obama was talking about McCain--not Palin--when he used it. Never mind that Obama also said that "you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called 'change,' [but] it's still gonna stink after eight years." Never mind that in a sensible reading of the metaphorMcCain's policies were the pig and Palin was, you know, the lipstick. Never mind that McCain's former press secretary, Torie Clarke, wrote a book called " Lipstick on a Pig: Winning in the No-Spin Era." Never mind that Elizabeth Edwards once compared McCain's health-care plan to “painting lipstick on a pig.” Never mind that Obama has used the phrase before, claiming last September that Gen. David Petraeus "has done his best to try to figure out how to put lipstick on a pig" in Iraq. And never mind that McCain said the same thing of Hillary Clinton's health-care plan the following month, characterizing it as "eerily" similar to her failed 1993 proposal. "I think they put some lipstick on a pig,” McCain said, “but it’s still a pig."

Vetting Sarah Palin

2008-09-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

A lot of folks are suggesting that Sarah Palin, John McCain's pick to be Vice-President, wasn't properly vetted before her selection. He was leaning toward choosing pro-choice contenders Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge until right-wing Republicans convinced him either choice would rip apart the party. Did the previously self-described moderate McCain really know what he was getting? She's a "maverick" with the same evangelical Christian credentials that the Republican Party has embraced the past 12 years. The only thing dissimilar is her gender. Let's do some of the vetting that McCain might not have had time for.

A Note to All by Anne Kilkenny (a Wasilla, Alaska resident)

The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan

Pailin's Church Promotes Converting Gays

Another Heavy Hitter

2008-09-03T21:20:00.001-07:00

I loved Sarah Palin's speech. She's so spunky! You just wanna give her a hug. She's the one who'll spray Bactine on that scrape you got sledding down the hill. "Everyone come in for some Ovaltine!"

She really emphasized those small town values, but also called herself a pitbull. She's Sarah Barracuda, dontcha know. She's pickin' fights with the Washington elite and the liberal media. Rallyin' the troops 'round the old man.

Her best line: "In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."

But I couldn't help keeping my eye on the poor boyfriend hockey dude. And not just because he's your gorgeous all-Alaskan hunk. He kept looking uncomfortably toward the cameras with a face that said, "What the hell am I doing here? It was just a grad night fling. She's not even sure who the father is. Heyyy, is that Laura Ingraham?" He describes himself on his MySpace page as a "f---ing redneck." Well, I guess he shouldn't feel so uncomfortable there after all.

We've had some great speeches this convention season. Now it's time to look at the positions behind the personalities. What does each candidate stand for? Can we withstand another 4 years of the last 8 years? Can we afford moving backwards toward the dark ages in terms of personal freedoms? Or will we choose to look toward the future and restore hope, honesty and peace in America?

McCain's Temper Flaring Up Again?

2008-09-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

John McCain cancelled a scheduled interview with Larry King tonight because his spokesman, Tucker Bounds, felt belittled by CNN's Campbell Brown. Bounds was asked to name one thing Governor Palin has done as Commander of the Alaskan National Guard. He couldn't. Not one thing. So McCain pulled of of the interview. Talk about blaming the messenger.

LA Times article

Del Martin - lesbian extraordinaire

2008-09-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

Del Martin died the other day. Not many people knew of her pioneering achievements, so I thought I'd highlight some of them.

From the New York Times:

Del Martin, who married her partner of 55 years, Phyllis Lyon, on June 16 in the first legal gay union in California and who helped found the pioneering lesbian-rights group the Daughters of Bilitis, died Wednesday in San Francisco. She was 87.

The June wedding was not the couple’s first effort at legalizing their union. In February 2004, Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco challenged California’s marriage laws by announcing that the city would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples who requested them. Of the more than 4,000 couples who married before the California Supreme Court intervened a month later, Ms. Martin and Ms. Lyon may have been the oldest, and were certainly first and the most celebrated.
That summer, though, the California Supreme Court invalidated all licenses for same-sex marriages, arguing that the mayor had exceeded his legal authority. Ms. Martin and Ms. Lyon were among the original plaintiffs in a series of lawsuits that led to the court’s declaring same-sex marriages legal this year.
Mr. Newsom invited the couple to be the first couple to marry under the new ruling. This they did, in San Francisco’s City Hall, after living together as a couple for more than half a century.
While working for a construction trade journal in Seattle, Ms. Martin met Ms. Lyon, an employee at the same firm, and the two became romantically involved and entered into a permanent relationship in 1953. In 1955, having moved to San Francisco, they joined with six other women to found the Daughters of Bilitis, the first social and political organization for lesbians in the United States, which soon established branches around the country. The name was taken from “Songs of Bilitis,” a collection of lesbian love poems by Pierre Louys.
Ms. Martin was the organization’s first president, and from 1960 to 1962 she edited its newsletter, The Ladder, which Ms. Lyon had edited from its inception in 1956. The organization disbanded in 1970 as more radical lesbian groups came to the fore.
In 1964 Ms. Martin helped found the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, which lobbied city government to end police harassment of gay men and lesbians and change discriminatory laws.
Ms. Martin is believed to have been the first openly gay woman to be elected to the board of directors of the National Organization for Women, where she agitated to put lesbian issues on the table. She was also an active member of the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, which was founded in 1972 to support gay candidates in San Francisco.
In her later years, she was a member of Old Lesbians Organizing for Change. In 1987 she earned a degree from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.
She wrote a book, “Battered Wives” (1976), and two others with Ms. Lyon, “Lesbian/Woman” (1972) and “Lesbian Love and Liberation” (1973).

McCain's Bridge to Nowhere

2008-08-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

So Sarah Palin of Alaska is the most qualified Republican to be Vice-President. Well, there is the proximity to Siberia. There's some foreign policy experience. Truly, this is what the spin doctors are saying on Fox News. And SHE was the one who stopped the bridge to nowhere. Well, except that she really did support it, before public outrage erupted against it.

This is a good article about McCain's veep from an Alaskan constituent

Why I LOVE Jon Stewart

2008-08-29T23:03:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show's Barack Obama biography video is one of the funniest things I've ever seen! Why can't all politics be this funny. Oh yeah, it is.

The Daily Show's Barack Obama biography video

Rocky Mountain High

2008-08-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

I've been chatting with some folks on a discussion board about - what else - politics. Asked to define why I support Obama, I outlined several of his positions that I supported. Someone responded they were only campaign promises. Of course they are campaign promises! They won't all be implemented. Many presidents' plans fail because of DC politics. John McCain has his promises, too. Trying to take away a woman's right to make decisions about her own body is one. One I hope never gets a chance to be implemented. It's not about their promises. It's about their road map for the future. In which direction do they want to country to go?

The Democratic Convention gives me hope. I remember how emotional I was at Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration. (Coincidentally, I was in Denver at the time). It gave me hope for the future. I had recently returned to the US from a year in Spain and I was ready to put Bush War I behind me a look toward a new beginning in America. I hope I can feel the same by putting Bush War II behind us and creating a new future.

McCain's PUMAs

2008-08-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

I've been seeing the term PUMA on a lot of blogs lately. I had never heard of this term and didn't think they were referring to athletic shoes. I looked it up and apparently it stands for Party Unity My Ass. As in, the whiners who won't accept that their candidate lost. Pretty funny, really. Now McCain's army has taken the term and is trying to convince Democrats that they can't be united. In fact, right now I'm watching Pat Buchanan, not a traditional Clinton lover, whining about how Hillary should have been selected as Obama's running mate. Yeah, there's sincerity for you.

No Way, No How, No McCain

2008-08-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hillary's speech was an incredible cohesive message that WILL bring together the Democratic party behind Barack Obama. Much has been made of the percentage of Clinton supporters who have said they would vote for John McCain. Perhaps they will, but they aren't true Democrats. There will be some who will not be moved. They have their own interests in mind and not the interests of America's future. Hillary was able to convince those who really support her ideals to support her party and support her candidate for president of the United States, Barack Obama.

The American Dream Endures

2008-08-25T18:37:00.001-07:00

Excellent speech by Michelle Obama tonight. And her hair was flawless! I hope people actually watched and heard what she had to say. (If not, you can watch highlights here.) Hers is a compelling story of achieving the American dream, as is her husband's. What's not to like about this all-American family?

Obama's Margin

2008-08-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

Those Fretting Over the Size of Obama's Lead Should Relax is an article by George Condon of the San Diego Union-Tribune. It helps keep in mind that polls before Labor Day rarely reflect the outcome of a Presidential Election. Dukakis and Kerry were up in the polls in 1988 and 2004, but both lost. Clinton was behind in 1992 and won. Democrats are worried because Obama isn't far enough ahead. And, you may recall, a national popular vote is not what elects the president. The state by state electoral votes are lining up for Obama - for now. Call me naive (and some will), but I can't see McCain winning - or even coming close. Let's give the American people some slack. Sure we've put GW in the White House twice, but we've learned our lesson, right? Right??

So relax. Have fun at the convention! Let's see where things are in two weeks after both conventions are finished. That will be the trend to look out for.

Dems Coming

2008-08-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

The Olympics are over. I was happy to see some things go according to plan (Michael Phelps, China's gold medal haul, US basketball dominance) and also to see a few upsets (Australia's Matthew Mitcham - the only out gay male Olympian - upsetting China's bid for all 8 diving gold medals).

Now it's time to move on to our very American political competition, starting tomorrow with the Democratic Convention in Denver. I know it doesn't get the same coverage as the other "every four years" event, but it could get exciting. I think Joe Biden was a safe choice for Barack Obama, even if the Hillary fans don't like it. Did they really think he could choose her after all the antagonism of the past several months? It'll be interesting to see if McCain goes the safe route (Pawlenty) or goes out on a limb. Romney or Ridge will piss off the evangelicals.

In the meantime, what will Bill and Hillary say at the convention? I think Hillary will fall into place and give full support to Obama. She's too good of a politician and has too much future potential to piss off the party. Bill on the other hand..... Should be fun!

McCain's Cribs

2008-08-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of attention about John McCain's inability to remember how many houses he owns. I guess you can understand it when you realize it's his wife's who's the real house collector. She owns at least 8 properties. Loved this quote from a Washington Post article about why she bought a second condo in Coronado:

"When I bought the first one, my husband, who is not a beach person, said, 'Oh, this is such a waste of money; the kids will never go,' " Cindy McCain told Vogue. "Then it got to the point where they used it so much I couldn't get in the place. So I bought another one."

And this one from McCain spokesperson, Brian Rogers:

"The reality is they have some investment properties and stuff. It's not as if he lives in ten houses. That's just not the case. The reality is they have four that actually could be considered houses they could use."

He also added: "This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison," referring to the prisoner of war camp that McCain was in during the Vietnam War.

California Weddings

2008-08-16T22:20:00.000-07:00

The reason we originally planned to come up to San Francisco was to see our friends, Patrick and Jim from Michigan. They were going to be in the City for three days and then go to the wine country. When Patrick said they were thinking about getting married while they were here, I knew we HAD to meet them here. But they ended up having to back out and they didn't come. We had already started planning the trip in our heads. We wanted to drive up the coast in the convertible. Such a California experience. We thought what the heck! I hope they still come out and get married. How about next summer, guys? We'll be up for another trip here, I'm sure! Just got to make sure Proposition 8 gets voted down in November!

Tales of the City

2008-08-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

How DID they build this city? I'm amazed at how roads and buildings can be built on such hills. We took a cable car ride up and over Nob and Russian Hills to Fisherman's Wharf. Spent nearly an hour watching the sea lions off Pier 39. After lunch at Boudin's, we took a duck tour - the one that goes on land and water. It was certainly something different and the day was perfect for it. It's still nippy here in August and the fog did obscure the Golden Gate Bridge all day. But it was sunny along the Embarcadero. I had been telling Francesca that San Francisco wasn't a city that I LOVED. I've been here several times with different groups of people. Even alone once when I came to visit a friend who ended up working all weekend. But it never gave me the WOW factor. I'm starting to feel wowed this time!

We've noticed a LOT of foreign tourists here. Mostly Italians, it seems. I swear I even heard a Chinese-looking woman speaking Italian! We had breakfast across the street at the Sunflower Cafe. It was a hectic place. We didn't really know what to do when we walked in. Kind of a cafeteria-stlye setting with fruits and pastries to choose from, but you had to order breakfast plates at the cashier. Anyway, we figured it out, but many people we watched over the next 30 minutes took a lot longer. Language issues factored in. Again, it was fun just observing the action.

I just got done with a soak in the tub while Frank went to the sauna. We don't usually stay in really nice hotels, so we're getting our money's worth. We like this place - great location, great services at reasonable (for San Francisco) prices. (Here's a Hint from Heloise: Bring a scented candle in a tin - the ones you can get at Michael's for a buck at the holidays. It's nice to have tubside. We always bring one when we travel. It packs easily, leaves no mess, and gets rid of those unidentifiable smells in the hotel room.)