POLITICAL HEROES

This has been quite a week for our country.  I have so much to say but for now I would like to point out - especially in the wake of the shenanigans in Texas - that in California our Governor and Lt. Governor are true political heroes.

Mayor Newsom officiated the first same sex marriage in CA

Gavin Newsom was the Mayor of San Francisco in 2004 when he directed the city clerk to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.  His political courage started California down the long road which came to an end with the Supreme Court decision this week.








When Prop 8 was passed and then overturned by the State Court, then State Attorney General Jerry Brown said the proposition should be overturned because it violated the U.S. Constitution.  His refusal to defend the proposition is the reason the decision by the Supreme Court leaves no room for opponents of gay marriage to appeal the case.  The decision by the Ninth Circuit will stand and marriages will resume soon.

 

SOME EVOLVE - SOME PRETEND

So far I have not seen or heard anything too terribly unexpected from the Supreme

court arguments for and against Marriage Equality.  I hope that the ever evolving support for this equal rights issue has some weight - but that is not how things are done in the Supreme Court, which is not supposed to be political - but is by it's make-up of appointed members..

I read this weekend that many young conservatives  are very unhappy that their peers (18-39)  support Marriage Equality in numbers nearing 80%. 

Eric Teetsel is the 29-year-old executive director of the Manhattan Declaration, an organization founded in 2009 by conservative activist Chuck Colson to tackle the issues of "life, marriage and religious freedom."  He told NPR:

"Those of us who understand the meaning of marriage and why it matters simply have to do a better job of educating everyone ... on these issues," Teetsel says.

Oh how I  love being lectured to by a 29 year old man about life, marriage and "freedom".

And worse than that - his organization is founded and run by one of the most amoral men in our county's history!! 

Chuck Colson,  known as President Nixon's "hatchet man,"  gained notoriety during the Watergate scandal and was named as one of the Watergate Seven.  He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for attempting to defame Pentagon Papers defendant Daniel Ellsberg. In 1974, he served seven months in the federal Maxwell Prison in Alabama.  Recently released tapes feature Colson and Nixon discussing the efforts to cover up their crimes - so he got off easy.

He was also quoted as saying he would run over his own grandmother to get Nixon elected.  A really good guy.

In prison, Colson became a Christian.  That didn't stop him from continuing to stick his nose into politics - it just became his new weapon.

On October 3, 2002, Colson was one of the co-signers of the Land letter sent to President George W. Bush. The letter was written by Richard D. Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and co-signed by four prominent American evangelical Christian leaders with Colson among them. The letter outlined their theological support for a just war in the form of a pre-emptive invasion of Iraq.

Colson is a member of the Family (also known as the Fellowship), described by prominent evangelical Christians as one of the most politically well-connected fundamentalist organizations in the US.  It is his position that a society without a basis of "moral absolutes" cannot survive.  And which morals are those?  And why do these people think they get to define them?

I would not deny anyone their second chance or the opportunity to improve themselves.  But it looks like Colson has simply switched hats and has continued down the road, running over grandmothers and families and whole countries full of people who are in his way.

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  So no one is in danger of same sex couples getting married in North Carolina but heterosexuals there, can still marry their cousins.

I felt pretty smug about that until I saw the map of states that allow cousins to marry and found out California is one of them. 

2.)  That study that forecasts 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030?  The data they collected is from telephone interviews.  And since they know that people are likely to underestimate their weight to a stranger on the phone?  They just bounce the findings up by a 10% margin.  Wow - there is some real hard statistical data we should use as an excuse to increase health care premiums...

3.)  I am really mad that all the news outlets are letting Mitt off the hook calling his high school vigilante actitivties against a fellow student "bullying."  Mitt committed assault and battery pure and simple and he should have been expelled and criminally charged.


4.)  Did you hear what the GOP is up to now?  House Republicans proposed major cuts to the Defense budget as part of the debt-ceiling fiasco from last summer. They didn't want the cuts, but they proposed the military reductions as a way to create an incentive for themselves to reach a bipartisan debt-reduction deal. But now they don't want to live with the deal.


Which leads to this new proposal. To offset the Pentagon cuts Republicans proposed but no longer support, the House GOP voted to find all of the savings by taking from programs that benefit struggling workers and families.   Per Rachel Maddow "Today's measure is nothing short of brutal, slashing food stamps, nearly eliminating job-training programs, eliminating health care subsidies, slashing the child tax credit, and taking school meals from 200,000 low-income children."

Can't wait to see how they pin this one on the President, the big bunch of liars.


5.)

Thank you Mr. President for finally saying it, getting it out there and helping to set the stage for the future.  It won't happen soon enough, but it will happen.

FRIDAY FAST ONES

1.)  It may not have made a big splash on the national news, but there was a stay placed on the Proposition 8 same sex marriage ruling in CA by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  This means there will be no marriages performed for the time being.  The court will hear the arguments in early December.

If you are interested in supporting same sex marriage throughout the country, the Courage Campaign has a petition which you can sign here.

2.)  I spent and hour on the phone (I am not exaggerating) with Comcast trying to figure out why I could not log in to the e-mails they occasionally send offering credit for free movies.  They never did fix it.  I got switched to a recording about downloading Norton and the guy never called back and I was just exhausted from the whole thing and gave up.

 

Then The DVR started acting up, so I hoped for the best and called again. This guy couldn't seem to make a connection with our DVR and promised to credit us for the month and told me to take it in and switch it out for a new one.  He also upgraded us *free* to add 3 premium channels, HBO, Starz and Showtime.  

 

I can't believe how much TV has been watched in the week since!  You would think we were shut-ins.  I was excited because I could watch the mini-series they have made of Pillars of the Earth (a book I loved!) but Ally and Tom have been glued to the set!

 

Ok, I admit I also watched the new season opener of Weeds instead of having to wait for the DVD and I enjoyed the new series called The Big C with Laura Linney.

 

3.)  Speaking of TV.  There is apparently a new show in the fall lineup featuring the beloved Betty White.  Someone had the brains to hire her but not the brains to know not to airbrush her face for the publicity photos!  This is really getting ridiculous - no one looks real anymore.  Or should I say no women look real any more.

 

4.)  Sad but true fact for many women of this country, not just actresses...

Actress Kristin Bauer from True Blood was asked "Is there a lot of pressure to stay thin?"

"The other day I realized as long as I'm in this business, I'm going to be hungry."

5.)  I am taking Ally shopping today for some back to school clothes.  I never understood why this was necessary in CA since the weather stays summer like until October or so here but I did notice at registration the other day that many of the girls were already walking around in their winter boots and scarves ignoring the fact that shorts and sandals were more weather appropriate.

As a life long California girl happy in cotton and  flip flops pretty much year round, I just don't get it.  But I know not to say so in front of my 16 year old while she is shopping...Peace.

PropHate is Upheld

I am very sorry to say that the California Supreme Court has upheld the hateful Proposition 8 which denies civil rights to Gay and Lesbian couples.

The proposition was allowed to overrule the previous decision by the Court which made same sex marriage legal in the state.

The written ruling has may be seen here.

By the way, the 18,000 same sex marriages created by the state will maintain their legal status.

PLEASE VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 8

Since California is not a "battleground" state and it looks very positive for Senator Obama (my neighbor's yard signs not withstanding.) I am very focused on what I believe to be the biggest issue in the election. That is proposition 8 - which seeks to reverse the decision of the California State Supreme Court that individuals of the same sex have the right to marry under the California Constitution.

The effort to eliminate this right has been funded primarily by members of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and the money has been spent on a barrage of fear mongering ads - suggesting that little children will be taught to be homosexual and that the institution of marriage and the status of the church will somehow be undermined by same sex marriage.

This is the statement delivered by President Hinckley of the LDS Church:

Latter-day Saints are working as part of a coalition to safeguard traditional marriage from forces in our society which are attempting to redefine that sacred institution. God-sanctioned marriage between a man and a woman has been the basis of civilization for thousands of years. There is no justification to redefine what marriage is. Such is not our right, and those who try will find themselves answerable to God.

Some portray legalization of so-called same-sex marriage as a civil right. This is not a matter of civil rights; it is a matter of morality. Others question our constitutional right as a church to raise our voice on an issue that is of critical importance to the future of the family. We believe that defending this sacred institution by working to preserve traditional marriage lies clearly within our religious and constitutional prerogatives.

I have no problem with any religious organization determining that they will not sanctify same sex marriages in their church. However, for a marriage to be legal, there must be a civil license taken out. When it is dissolved, it is, again a civil matter, not a religious one. I was not married in a church or by clergy, yet I am married. I'll take my chances with G-d.

I support the freedom of speech, I understand the rights churches have to insert their position in political discourse. I don't completely agree that it should be allowed along with tax fee status - but that is not the issue here.

The issue is that people in loving relationships, many of whom have children, ought to be allowed the right to marry (civilly) and enjoy the same protections as everyone else. I disagree with Sarah Palin that tolerance is the answer. Tolerance is not equality.

Why people cannot enjoy the rewards of their religious faith without foisting their views on the rest of us, I don't understand.

From the time my children started asking questions about homosexuality and lesbianism I told them that I didn't see anything wrong with people loving and caring for each other. I believe that sexuality is not a lifestyle but the way we are made - and as humans, we are all made to love each other.

It's too bad so many church members can't see that.