4th file, 4th picture

Appropriate that the photo would be a picture of Dory, my deep-thinking, fat, fabulously smart cat.

Who is Barack Obama?

A touching look behind the scenes of the Democratic National Convention.

Prop 8

Proposition 8 is an issue that will be voted on in November in California. I wasn’t going to talk about it, but I am disturbed by the news I have been hearing about it lately.

Proposition 8 would basically turn over a decision made by the voter-elected judges of the California Supreme Court which ruled that according to the Constitution marriage is a basic human right to all people.

Why am I upset? A couple of reasons – both extremely personal for me.

The first is that I’m a lesbian. The decision that is made in November will affect my life. Yes, it’s in California and I’m not, but it could continue a precedent of ignorance and discrimination. As most gay people go, I’m fairly laid back about this issue. I don’t care if anyone calls what Kristin and I had last year a commitment ceremony, a union, or a marriage. I know what it was, and that is what is important to me.

I do care, however, that we don’t share any of the same rights that heterosexual couples share. I am just as committed to Kristin as any straight person is to his or her spouse. We were married (or committed or unionized or whatever) last year. We live together. I do the dishes, she scoops the cat poop. We sleep in on Sundays and write silly love notes to each other. Our paychecks are deposited into a shared account. We plan to buy a house, raise a family (which will include children, if we are so blessed), and grow old together. We have the same hopes and dreams for our lives and future as any straight couple has. We are just people. Just plain, ordinary people. This proposition is basically saying it doesn’t matter. Because I don’t fit into this certain mold, I am not worthy of being treated as an equal – and that disturbs me.

The second reason this is so disturbing to me is the Mormon Church and its active role in getting this proposition passed. I know they are not accepting of me and others like me. I have known that my whole life. What disturbs me is that they can use millions of members’ tithe dollars to support this, still be tax exempt (seriously?!?), and threaten members' memberships if they question the Church's involvement.

What is it about me that scares the Mormon Church? What is it about me that is so bad, wrong, and defiled that they feel they need to step in and defend an entire state from me?

The Church has always preached loving acceptance of your neighbor, but all that their support of this proposition does is show discrimination and hate. It flies in the face of everything I ever learned sitting within the hallowed walls of the building I worshipped in week after week growing up. They are preaching love and acceptance of those, and only those, who are willing to follow their rules and live by their laws.

I have thought, perhaps naively, that somehow the Church would change. That over time they would come to see and understand that homosexuals are not out to ruin families or destroy communities. But today I realized this change won’t be coming. I don’t think they will ever understand that I’m okay just the way I am and that I am a person worthy of all of the rights and privileges they enjoy.

One last thing I would add: How quickly they forget.

How quickly they forget about the persecution their ancestors endured a mere 150 years ago. How quickly they forget how early Mormons were driven out of their homes and denied their own basic rights. How quickly they forget that all those early members wanted was to be left in peace to live their lives in the way they saw fit. How quickly they have gone from being the persecuted to the persecutor.

I have done nothing to them. The marriage to my wife has absolutely no effect on the Church, its leaders, or its members. I am not here to recruit their children, break up their marriages, or ruin their economy. I am simply trying to be left in peace and to live my life in the way I see fit.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10662315

http://tinyurl.com/4zcpvb

Spiders

So we have this issue in our house with a spider which has taken up residence between our screen and glass door leading to our deck.  I hate bugs, especially spiders, but we’re not talking about any kind of spider.  As Kristin would say, this spider was big enough to have facial expressions.  Think of a large bee and that’s the size of this thing’s body.  Gross.  

So basically it had built its web between the two doors and when I tried to slide the screen door the web held and just stretched, the spider was running around like crazy, and I quickly returned the screen door to its open position and ran inside.

Now that it’s cooling off we would like to open up the windows and the screen door and get some fresh air circulating so we can turn the A/C off.  The problem with that is the spider  If we were to just open up the glass door and have the screen door exposed, the spider would have free access to our apartment.  Totally not going to happen.

So the other day I noticed the spider minding its business in the middle of her web.  I decided I had had enough and grabbed a can of ant Raid from under our sink.  I went outside and started spraying the crap out of the screen and the spider’s hiding area.  As I sprayed, more large spiders came crawling out trying to escape my tirade.  Me, being the inhumane person that I am, kept spraying the things until nothing was moving.  In total I found 5 large dead spiders. 

So yay me.  The only problem is that they still freak me out because they’re so big (even if they are dead) so the screen door remains open, the glass door remains closed, and the spiders remain stuck in the spot where my ant Raid reached them and cut off their ability to breathe. 

VP Debate

I have never watched a debate before this year.  Call me stupid, call me ignorant, call me whatever you want to call me, but the whole thing just never seemed all that important to me.  I hadn’t even ever voted before the last presidential election.  I didn’t think my vote really counted for anything (not sure that it does now either, but that’s a discussion for another day), and none of the candidates ever got me really excited. 

This year has obviously been different.  I have been a strong Obama supporter since long before he announced his candidacy.  I find myself watching the polls and the debates not to help make my decision but to cheer on my team and to hear more about the issues that are discussed – I want to see how each side handles issues that are important to me (like the economy, gay rights, and the war in Iraq – uh, at what point did I get so old that issues actually matter to me?!?).  At this point there is nothing that could make me vote for McCain, but I actually want to know about and understand what’s going on.

I was nervous about Sarah Palin and how she might do last night.  There had been so much talk running up to the debate about how awful she was that expectations were very low.  I worried that perhaps she had played down her other interviews in order to appear stellar at the debate.  I worried that she would come across as a normal American that everyone would fall in love with and everything would be downhill from here.  I was worried Biden would come across too strongly or be judged too harshly against her.

As it was, I had little to worry about.  The debate was interesting.  Sarah did do better than most expected her to, but I was pleased to find my worries about her playing herself down were unfounded.  I also felt like she was very demeaning to the office of VP – talking like a down-home girl didn’t get her anywhere with me, sending a shout out to a 3^rd grade class, while cute, isn’t what I’m looking for in someone in that position.  I was annoyed by the fact that she blatantly said she wouldn’t answer some questions – that she would rather just talk straight with the American people.  Well, last time I checked that’s what campaigning is for.  Debates are to discuss the issues brought up by the moderator.  I think it was disrespectful to the moderator as well as to the public to ignore some of the questions and continue to pound on the few things she knows about.

Biden didn’t do perfectly, either.  I thought at times he came across as too political, but for the most part I felt like I was listening to a father figure explain things and redirect things in a calm and reassuring manner.  He did answer the gay marriage question a little too quickly for my tastes, though.  I mean, I get that they can’t come out and say they completely support gay marriage.  I understand their position and have understood Obama’s position from the beginning.  I’m okay with that, but Biden could have at least pretended to think about it for a split second before answering :)

Overall I liked the debate and am glad I watched it.  If you didn’t see it, I would urge you to watch  it via YouTube or other outlet.  And if you aren’t register to vote, get registered.  It’s too important not to (even if you’re planning to vote for McCain :)).