The gay marriage debate

So, the Supreme Court is looking into the issue on gay marriage. While it's looking like they aren't going to do a single thing either way, I am following this topic very closely and here are some of my thoughts.

Gay Americans and African Americans

The gay community is comparing their rights to that of the fight African Americans did for their rights. This morning on NPR I heard a gentleman make a speech about how he was in the same place 50 years ago fighting for his rights, but the fight of the gay American is not the same at all.

Well, sir, how is it not? First, African Americans were treated as second class.

So were gay Americans.

Then African Americans were told they were separate but equal.

Gay Americans aren't even getting that. They are getting separate, and a consolation prize, which to me does not say equal. It says, "There's something about you that makes you different from me so you get something different than I do."

I'm sorry, but we live in American where everyone should be entitled to the same rights and privileges.

Marriage is a protection of the family

I hear this one a lot. The anti-marriage side says that marriage is a protection for children and that children have a right to a mother and father.

Well, I grew up with just a dad, as my parents divorced when I was very young. Should divorce be illegal now? Should I have been taken away the second they got divorced?

When my husband and I got married we had no plans to have children. We didn't even want children. Should it have been illegal for us to get married? Should we have had a "civil union?"

What about widows and widowers with kids? Once their spouse dies should their children get taken away? Or do they get a pass because they tried?

What about single parents who chose to be single parents? Is that going to be illegal next? If someone gets knocked up accidentally do their kids get taken away?

Frankly it just doesn't make much sense. It's like saying, well, kids have a right to mother and a father, but if there is just one parent, as long as that parent is straight, it's okay. There we go with that unequal thing.

I think that a kid has a right to a parent or parents of any sex, gender, or race who will love and take care of that kid.

What's better?
- Two gay men who adopt a child who needs a home. These two men are loving, committed, and great parents. They treat each other and their child with respect and provide that kid with a great home and a great education.
- Two drug addicts who are married but abuse their kid and neglect it. They spend all of their money on drugs and alcohol and forget to feed the child. The child lives in filth and squalor and never goes to school.

Well, I think we all know which life the child should have a "right" to.

What's so magical about a mother and a father? What if the mother is a horrible person? What if the father is? What if one of them beats the kid? Wouldn't two solid, good people in the home that are the same sex be better than two of different sexes with one who is cruel?

And civil unions don't stop gay couples from having kids so the point is pretty much moot anyway. It's so illogical, such a fallacy. They say, we can't call it marriage because marriage protects families - so we'll call them civil unions and they can still have kids but those kids won't be protected federally. WHAT? Come on now, people. How do you not see that this makes no sense?

There's not enough evidence

This is another fun one. There's not enough evidence that gay marriage isn't harmful to children. But there's PLENTY of evidence that straight parents screw up their kids and have since the dawn of time, so let's just move on, shall we? I'm sure all parents are going to screw up their kids. It doesn't really matter what sex they are.

Gay marriage will lead to polygamy

I hear this less often than the others but I do hear it. And my thought is, who cares? Make polygamy okay too. Who are you to say who another person can love?

If a woman wants 67 husbands and they all agree, or a man wants four wives and they all agree, who cares?

Granted, it's not for me. I wouldn't share my husband, children, cats, house (anything really) with another woman but that's my choice. And I'm happy I have that choice. Shouldn't other people have the choice to do what makes them happy?

Frankly, I think eight moms might be better than a latch-key kid, but, hey, there's probably not enough evidence.

Conclusion

The people who are the side of anti-marriage are on the wrong side of history. Their arguments are illogical and inane and I truly don't get it. They need to stop bringing "children" and "family" into it. These ideas are just used to block their bigotry and fear.

And, I'm very frustrated that the Supreme Court seems to think that they don't have a place in this yet. The Court stayed far away from the Civil Rights issue until finally they stood up and did something. Did they learn nothing from that? Did they learn nothing from history?

I'm embarrassed that it's 2013 and we are still having this discussion.

The-Mountain-Three-Short-Sleeve

I'm going to keep this short because you have a lot of reading ahead of you.

This shirt has over 2,000 reviews on Amazon:


Read them. Some of them are very funny.

You're welcome.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Mountain-Three-Short-Sleeve/dp/B000NZW3JS/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1363901157&sr=8-16&keywords=the+mountain+wolf+shirt

50 Shades of....Funny

So, again my favorite blogger, the Cheeky Ginger, has posted an incredibly amusing (and well thought out) blog.

This one is about how disgraceful it is that 50 Shades of Grey author, E.L. James, is coming out with a book on writing.

I, too, agree that this is disgraceful and she explains why so much better than I do.....

http://cheekyginger.com/fifty-shades-of-grey-diy/

With subtitles like "Yay, abuse!" how could you not read it?!?

But the one thing she neglects to discuss is even more disgraceful:

The confusion between James' 50 Shades of Grey and the magnificent Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde.

I propose that if you still haven't read 50 Shades and are thinking about doing so, just get Shades of Grey instead. Tell people you read the horrible 50 Shades, if you simply must be in the cool crowd. Believe me, you'll be much cooler for reading Fforde in lieu of James anyway.

The twisted media

So we all know that the media is twisted and is only interested in one thing - ratings. They'd rather have more readers than they would have news reported correctly.

Here is a perfect, if simple, example:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/woman-gets-ticket-driving-2-miles-per-hour-211957738.html

The title of this article is:

Woman gets ticket for driving 2 mph under speed limit

But that's very misleading. The woman was ticketed for not getting out of the fast lane. The fast lane is for passing slower traffic. But when you are driving under the speed limit in the fast lane you are causing a traffic hazard.

While the video talks about her failure to move right, the article does not. It repeatedly talks about how she was ticketed for going too slowly, not for actually breaking the law. It even goes on to discuss how AAA is on her side because they are rewarding bad behavior this way.

Come on, news. This isn't a story. The story is that the cop got tired of people not following the rules and did something about it. Bravo, cop!

Squirrel Day!!!

Squirrel Day is my favorite time of year besides Christmas.

What is Squirrel Day, you ask? Well, I will tell you.

I hate Easter. I think it's the dumbest holiday in the entire world.

Well, about a million years ago an old friend of mine took my anger at Easter and turned it into (you guessed it!) Squirrel Day.

Squirrel Day rules are as follows:

1. Find a squirrel present. It can be anything. A key chain, a child's toy, a set of sheets. The only requirement is that it has a squirrel somewhere on it.

2. Find a card with a squirrel on it. It can be anything. A Father's Day card, a birthday card, an invitation. The only requirement is that it has a squirrel somewhere on it.

3. You get bonus points for finding wrapping paper with a squirrel on it. It can't be made. It has to be wrapping paper. Or a bag will work. Some kind of traditional wrapping. So far no one has succeeded at this.

It has been a very long time since I have found people who want to participate in Squirrel Day with me. But this year my husband has agreed. I can't wait!

Last year I had some participants who ended up sucking pretty badly and forgetting all about it. I had gotten everything ready and they blew it. But this year, this year is going to be rad.

So, if you'd like to join in on my Squirrel Day or get advice on how to do your own, just let me know!

I think after this year I might give it its own date. It's big time now.

Happy Squirrel Day!

My weekend thoughts

So, this weekend I met my mom and step-dad in Orange County to dine with my fabulous grandparents. I super duper love my grandparents.

Well, while on this weekend excursion I had a bunch of interesting/fun things happen that I thought I would put here.

#1 - My grandma, the circus animal tamer

My grandma doesn't much love animals. She always threatening to kill my cats. We all know, though, that is is a front and that she's actually a super-secret animal lover.

So, she's been complaining about this squirrel who hides nuts in her yard. She calls him Fatso. (He's fat.) For awhile he had a wife she calls Skinny Bitch. (She's skinny.) Let me tell you, it's hilarious to hear my grandmother say this name every single time. And apparently Skinny Bitch is now out of the picture.


(This is not Fatso. I wish it was.)

Let's keep in mind that I have never, ever seen this squirrel. But now Fatso seems to do somersaults on the lawn. This is a new thing for him and he seems to do it quite frequently. I really, really want to see this.

The other animal story from my grandmother is directly out of a Stephen King novel. She says that a bunch of crows landed in her yard and practiced marching. She swears that they even marched into a circular formation and that a leader would tell the other crows what to do. She said throughout the 20 minutes or so that this happened the leader would periodically change.

Please keep in mind that she did not take a picture of this and my grandpa is blind so he cannot back her up.

She does acknowledge that this sounds crazy.

#2 - Andes mints are a lot better when they are free

We went to Olive Garden for lunch. They give you Andes mints. I love Andes from Olive Garden. I have only purchased them once on my own and they just weren't the same. They're better when they are free.

#3 - Everyone's tired of the sequester

My step-dad works for the Marines. He's a retired Marine and now works as a civilian on base. He is going to have to be furloughed because of the sequester cuts. I asked him if he was upset about having an extra day off. He said no, he was pretty happy about it. I asked him if anyone was upset. He said no. No one he had talked to was upset. He said that people were concerned about where they were going to get the money they needed to cover their bills but that no one was upset about and extra day off. He said that mostly people were just tired of the whole thing.

I think that pretty much sums up the government right now - people are just tired of the whole thing.


So there you have it. There are my stories about this weekend.