On why I voted FOR gay marriage

Today, me and my man went to vote. We stood in line for an hour.

You see, stakes are high here in Maryland. There are several referendum questions. One of which is to allow or not allow gay marriage.

Both of us voted to allow gay marriage.

You may be shocked at this revelation. You might even be appalled.

But here are our explanations, which may very well change your mind, or not….

*People like to claim that marriage is a religious institution. If this were true, people couldnt get married at the courthouse. If this were true, people would not have to go to the courthouse to even obtain a marriage license. This process, if religious in nature, would only be allowed thru a religious institution.

*Opponents want to make you think that pastors wouldnt be able to refuse to perform a marriage between two members of the same sex. For one, the language in this bill states otherwise. And, lets not forget that a pastor can refuse two members of the opposite sex from getting married as well.

*People like to claim that gay marriage would take the sanctity out of marriage. Have we forgotten all about the short term marriages of  certain celebrities?

Kardasian/Humphreys http://www.idiotbrain.com/the-kardashianhumphries-wedding-72-hours-of-marriage-with-kim-kardashian-and-kris-humphries/2011-11-22 This one lasted an entire 72 days.

Lets not forget the Britney Spears 55 hour marriage http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/britney-spears-jason-alexander-reflects-55-hour-marriage/story?id=15506535

I could list many, many more instances of heterosexual marriages that are treated like a joke.

**

Just a few months ago a local Senator decided to be very vocal about his anti-gay stance.

QUOTE: Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo expressed his support for Maryland’s upcoming ballot initiative to legalize gay marriage, Burns wrote a letter to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti that basically said football players who disagree with Burns should know their place and keep quiet ENDQUOTE

http://deadspin.com/5941865/thanks-to-chris-kluwe-gay+baiting-maryland-legislator-decides-nfl-players-have-a-right-to-say-what-they-think-after-all

I dont care who supports or doesnt support this initiative but I do find it offensive that Sen Burns used his office stationary to do it.

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/skitched-20120907-161652.jpg

Minnestota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe probably said it best in his response to Emmitt Burns. Im not real fond of the language he used, but it certainly got his point across.

http://deadspin.com/5941348/they-wont-magically-turn-you-into-a-lustful-cockmonster-chris-kluwe-explains-gay-marriage-to-the-politician-who-is-offended-by-an-nfl-player-supporting-it

**

I certainly agree that allowing gay people to marriage would have ZERO effect on your lives. (unless you happen to be gay and want to get married.)

And lets not forget the financial arguments Ive heard. Theres no way that our state is gonna make money off of gay marriage. If Im not mistaken, its $35 for a marriage license. No one ‘renews’ them.

If the state REALLY wanted to make money off marriages, gay or not, they would make people renew their licenses every year to remain married. You dont renew, guess what? You arent married anymore.

(Remember you heard that one here first folks)

******

But the most important reason I voted FOR gay marriage is the argument that many of my conservative friends made……

‘People who are gay are living against God’

First, if you co-habitate with someone OR even have sex prior to marriage, you are already ‘living against God’

This argument pretty much offends homosexuals and heterosexuals who live with someone….or gasp! those who have sex outside of marriage.

OR, how about those of us heterosexuals whove been marriage and are divorced or separated?

Yea, were all lumped into the conservative-religious argument against gay marriage.

And that argument scares the bejeezus outta me.

******

We are supposed to have a separation of church and state in our country. This separation is not apparent in many areas. (google evolution and intelligent design to get a clear view on this statement)

You CANNOT make a religious argument about laws passed. Not everyone in our country is religious and not everyone who is in our country has the same religious views as some of these openly religious legislators.

******

So yea, we voted to allow gay marriage.

Because in the end, why do you care what other people do with their lives. These people who are gay and want to marry just want the same rights as straight married folks do.

Are you THAT afraid of them and their rights?

 

 

 

Why are people RUNNING away from conservatism?

For weeks Ive been reading posts about how Republicans are getting further and further away from reality. These days the GOP denies anything scientific and more often than not, straight up goes against science. For someone like me, who USED to be a republican, I am utterly shocked.

This week, I posted 3 articles on my facebook page. While this is a common practice for me, it was the content of these articles that got many to either comment, send me a facebook message, or straight up email me wondering just what I was trying to accomplish.

Ive had several people ask me when I became a liberal based on the articles I posted. (Funny how none of these people would post it as a comment and would only send me a message)

Huh?

First, I posted this article – Tennessee Rep Says Its Virtually Impossible To Contract AIDS Through Heterosexual Sex (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/26/tennessee-rep-says-its-virtually-impossible-to-contract-aids-through-heterosexual-sex/)

I seriously cannot even begin to wonder how GOP lawmaker, Sen. Stacey Campfield, can even THINK that this is true. It is true that gay people were the first to contract HIV and AIDS, they are not the only victims. AIDS is an epidemic that knows no bounds. It doesnt discriminate against anyone, including children.

And then a friend of mine posted this article that I shared – Anti-gay Pastor Claims Same Sex Marriage Will Lead to Pedophilia and Bestiality (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/27/anti-gay-pastor-claims-same-sex-marriage-will-lead-to-pedophilia-and-bestiality-video/)

And while this isnt an article about the Republicans per se, it certainly is an argument Ive heard echoed within the arguments from several conservatives. And while I dont have the statistics in front of me, almost all pedophiles are straight….not gay. And since I know how search engines work, theres no way I am going to search anything regarding bestiality. Im not even sure how one goes from arguing gay rights into making assumptions regarding bestiality, but it sure does make one wonder about the person making that argument.

And the last article I posted was this one – Oklahoma Lawmaker Wants to Ban Fetuses in Food (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2012/01/oklahoma-lawmaker-ban-fetuses-food.html)

I actually posted a ‘Guess His Affiliation’ on this one. I have to say that this might actually be my favorite of the wack-a-doo articles. You see, I love conspiracy theory. Ive been known to peruse a prisonplant forum every now and again. And its absolutely hysterical that this topic has a thread dedicated to the dead baby parts in your sweetener stories. (http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=209653.0)

If you happen to actually go to the Children For God for Life website (http://cogforlife.org/) it looks just like every anti-science, anti-vaccine, anti-medicine, anti-government conspiracy theory website. (For crying out loud, it even uses Dr Mercola as a reference in its articles)

There are no fetal cells in your soda, your sweetener, etc. You wont consume a fetus. Look it up. And yes, there is a ‘slippery slope’ when it comes to bio-tech, but lets not confuse your fears with facts.

Yes, I said that.

The Republican Party has become a laughing stock.

And while we get a good laugh at what some of these people think and say, we also need to realize that in many parts of our country, these leaders are attempting to pass legislation based on their beliefs. Should some of these wack-a-doos pass such legislation, our children will be subject to hearing, as well as possibly believing some of these things as well.

And while I still consider myself a conservative, its really hard to see the party that once aligned with what I believed in, resort to such vasts amounts of crazy. I feel like a far left liberal compared to most of these conservatives.

What ever happened to common sense?

What ever happened to being elected by the people FOR the people?

The GOP has continued to go against what their constituents want. When you are elected to office, you are SUPPOSED to represent those that you represent, NOT what YOU personally want.

The only thing that the Republicans ARE doing, is to ensure that those who are in office, WONT get reelected, and the ones currently running for office, WONT get elected. More and more of my currently unaffiliated friends are telling me that the GOP doesnt represent what they value. As a registered Independent myself, I have to agree. And considering that there are almost double the amount of democrats to republicans, their party is in deep trouble if they believe that Independents and Unaffiliated voters will be voting for Republicans, unless this type of crazy is dealt with.

 

Build up – not tear down

Lets be honest…you all know Im conservative. You all have your own opinions on what you think conservative means.
BUT, Ill give you a clue on how THIS conservative feels.

I am disgusted and repulsed about those “fellow” conservatives who feel that just because Obama won the Presidency, they need to “impeach” him.

First of all, how do you impeach someone who hasnt even took their oath of office?

None the less, the election process is done…finished….complete.
No matter who we voted for-we must get behind the one who DID get elected.

This means:

1-Stop calling for him to be impeached
2-Stop saying he is a muslim (most muslims that I know, are proud and wont deny)
3-Stop blaming specific people for the loss
4-Start praying for ALL who got elected
5-Pray harder for those you disagree with
6-Make sure you make your voice heard in a respectful and polite way
7-For my gop friends, instead of tearing each other down, build each other up

Oh, heres another one: STOP SAYING HE IS THE ANTICHRIST!
I wont even start here.

There are even some people who are “hoping” that something bad happens to the President-Elect. Apparently these people are not only racist but anti-American as well. It is never good for a country to have its leader hurt. In this case, there is a possibility of a civil war…and our country cannot afford to be divided at this historic time.

I want to congratulate Barack Obama-the MAN.
He fought the odds.
To my My african american friends, I congratulate you as well. Many of you who were apathetic got involved and are now seeing the fruits of your hard work.

I wish President-Elect Barack Obama well. I will continue to pray for him and his family along with our country. I would hope that those I know would join me.

 

Md Election Results (county-by county)

First, if you live in MD, county-by county results are available at the above link. I am actually amazed at how red MD is.  http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/md.htm

Any surprises?

 

Pray for our Election (Novena)

I will be praying a rosary every day between now and Election Day for the end of a culture of death.

I pray that God will do HIS will to protect innocent babies in the womb.

I pray that God will give Americans the wisdom to form a conscience while casting their votes.

And most of all, I pray for the safety of our candidates and our country.

 

Planet of the Apes response

Gary, dont take this the wrong way, but I absolutely LOVE you!  http://garyarthuryoung.wordpress.com/2008/10/19/planet-of-the-apes/

First, I would like to publicly say, I do not condone attack ads – PERIOD. I am sick of them, sick of what they imply and seriously want to know HOW to make them STOP! I dont want to hear them ANYMORE! Both parties have attack ads, and yes, they imply horrid things about their competitor. Sickening, I tell you….Both parties have labeled each other according to the “word of the day” theory….one day, racist – the next, socialist-communist……

There isnt a day that goes by that I dont receive some type of “activist hate” email.
Example: Those emails spreading Obama’s muslim heritage (they always ask to send this on!) I for one, do not send them along, unless its to ask someone else their opinion concerning the email. I do not want to subscribe to the “fear mongering” and irrationality that does ensue.

I find myself insanely balanced in the middle with some of the labels thrown around.

• Does the “economist” in me beleive that the democratic platform is leaning socialist? yes
• Does the “conservative” in me beleive that McCain is a rino? yes
• Does the “Constitutionalist” in me believe that our country is in trouble? yes

I could go on….

Our country is in trouble in many ways. Other nations do not respect our way of life….our answer? Change them? Change us?

I heard Obama say he was going to change the world– to me, that is a scary thought. Of course, I want the world to change – but I dont know if ANY of the politicians are able to do it. NONE of them have the “working man” view.

Obama has used the word “Change” in his campaign….however-Obama is one of the most liberal Senators-and votes to support his party. This is not change-we need someone who is WILLING to work across the aisle to really make necessary change.

My fear about this election has nothing to do with color. It has to do with issues. The sad fact is, that it really doesnt matter who “wins” – nothing REAL will occur as long as we hold onto “isms” and fear. Our country is wasting money on programs that do no good, and keep raising our taxes for programs that only sound good on the surface.

 

Follow up – socialism

I am just going to list some replies-and recent views….

With socialism and communism terms being thrown around so liberally lately, I felt the need to post their definitions (see earlier post)

Found this blog last week:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Blog/Default.aspx?id=290462
This is a rather interesting blog, please note the aspect of the PERCEPTION of socialism on human nature.

Gary’s response to David Limbaugh’s blog:
http://garyarthuryoung.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/socialism-no-he-diint/
Gary has written a well-thought out response to his belief concerning socialist principles in the democratic party.

MY thoughts: Only Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and the democratic leaders know their motives. Whether they are truly for benefitting ALL American citizens, or for socialist principles – we will not know until after the results of the election.

What we do know is that the party platform spits out “social justice” in the form of socialist principles. Whatever you beleive, it is NOT in our Constitution to provide these services to our people.

 

Random debate thoughts and “substance”

You will notice that todays blog has no link. I have done that on purpose since I am just going to provide my thoughts on the debate and some other random stuff.

I thought last nights debate provided an interesting view of the candidates for President. I enjoyed the back and forth between them and the allowance of responses.

I will not pick a winner, as both candidates had strong moments (debate wise). There were times when I wished it would stop….I feel as though Obama baited McCain into asking about some of the more recent “controversies”. Obama was well prepared in his response. (Ill be researching later, to see if all the dots connect there)

Even though I disagree with Obamas health care plan (as well as McCains, I might add) as well as some other platform issues, he provided a well thought out description of what his would entail. I am sure that it won him support.

This morning I read Garys blog, and he is unsure about how 9/11 led to our financial mess. Here is how I beleive that it absolutely did.

After 9/11 occurred, resources went to our country’s security. There were losses all the way around. Many financial companies lost everything on 9/11 (Remember hearing about companies having employees missing?)

The airline industry lost alot of money because we shut down air traffic completely. Many airlines either went under or merged with another company….jobs were lost along the way.

Do you remember the stock markets being closed? Unexpected closures affect the market, as well as the futures market (which I think is a load of crap-similar to the balloon effect in the housing industry)

I can remember like its yesterday hearing that AlQuada (sp) won a victory by destroying our financial center….and 2001 wasnt that long ago. If you look at the overall picture of the market pre-9/11 to present, you can see how the trend started.

Taxes, taxes, taxes…..
Do we really need to continue to raise taxes for the citizens? Can we seriously get an audit of everything by issue (education, transportation, outreach-services…etc) and cut the fat?

Lets stop paying for programs that do not benefit anyone. Little pet projects disguised as earmarks?

Some people look at how much money their Congressman-Senator, St Representative bring back to their district to help assist how they vote. I for one am embarrassed by this…oh yea, that new ball field at your kids school….thank you Delegate ______. You realize that this is NOT a gift for those he represents? Your paying for it thru higher taxes.

Now, I understand areas needs fields and parks, but our schools are FALLING APART. Have you been in some of the schools? Everytime it rains-trash cans in the halls where the leak is….no room for your kids? Lets bring in a portable classroom.

How about our teachers? They wont be getting a cost of living raise, and pay for items our children use out of their own pockets. Ever complain that you gotta spend a few bucks for Kleenex? Every school supply list in Baltimore County lists this item.

Our roads are a mess. And Baltimore City roads are unreal!

Money SHOULD be spent on the above mentioned items….not for some earmark/pork project for the district. This is a waste.

I wont EVEN start on the recent bailouts…its just so unconstitutional.

 

Technology as a campaign issue-Obama endorsed

I usually spend my Tuesdays and Thursdays updating my personal sites and blogs, today just seems like Ive been hit with an opinion arrow.

Anyway, I subscribe to T.H.E. Journal. “Transforming education through technology.”
Matter of fact, Ive been a long-time subscriber-I was introduced to it about 10 years ago while working for CCBC.

The reputation of T.H.E. Journal cannot be dismissed. There are many informative articles if you like to read about how technology can be used as an education tool.

Personally, I dont care who makes campaign endorsements. Normally I do not pay attention, since I have pretty made up my mind already. However, I will address T.H.E. Journal’s endorsement.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2008/10/01/president-ed-tech.aspx

It is no secret that our federal government did not plan wisely with NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and states and jurisdictions were misinformed about the programs. Our current administration should be appalled at the goals THEY set, but never accomplished (on average). Granted, there is NEVER enough money supporting our school systems, paying for qualified teachers, and for technology.

Our country needs a President who understands technology. We need something done so that our children are utilizing EVERY possible way to learn. Studies have shown that children with developmental disabilities as well as learning disabilities learn faster and retain more information when they utilize a technological tool. I have also seen the interest level rise when students learn that they can use the computer for projects.

And, since most people know who my “dog in this race” is – let me share with everyone something that may surprise you:

Democratic candidate Barack Obama has a technology plan that will provide support and direction that is crucial to our schools and students. After a quick review, his plan DOES seem as if he has subscribed to magazines of this type for years. (I disagree with posting student information online, no matter what type of security)

Republican candidate John McCain also has a plan for schools that includes use of technology. And while McCain has some decent ideas (concerning virtual learning), he falls short on the extense of the overall “project”.

If Barack Obama stops the bashing (I wish McCain would stop also) and brings THESE ideas out to the public, he will win the election by a landslide.

 

After the last debate, do we NEED Budweiser as a debate sponsor?

Generalizations from this article:  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/us/politics/14debates.html?_r=2&oref=slogin

-Even though sponsors do not receive any “recognition”, many feel it is their civic responsibility to sponsor a debate.

-Corporations are “barred” from giving campaign contributions, but can donate to the Commission on Presidential Debates

Well, well, well….I watched the last debate and was pretty much bored out of my mind, with the exception of being repeatedly told that the candidates made the rules that they were breaking.

Im guessing that Budweiser hoped to make the next debate a little more interesting….guess they didnt figure that the International Bottled Water Association would get there first….(haha)