The Gay Marriage Debate - The Face of "Gay"

Growing up in a small midwestern town, "gay" was not something you encountered much. To call someone "gay" was the ultimate insult. As I grew up, things didn't change much. The gay population in our area was 1, Tammy, the local vet. When she hired an assistant, who was female, the rumor-mill was flowing like never before! LOL

When I heard about "gay," it was often in the story of Sodom & Gomorrah, towns so lustful that the men wanted to gang-rape an angel! When I didn't hear it in that sense, it was in news from outraged citizens, who had heard of gay parades where men groped each other and participated in other lewd behavior, of child molesters preying on young boys, or of straight men and women who were sexually harassed by a lustful gay colleague at their job.

This, to my young mind, was the face of "gay." And to be honest, this is the face of "gay" that many opponents of gay marriage still see. This is the face they want to protect their children from, and the face that inspires their hatred. And really, who can blame them? If I believed that all gay men would rape my sons, and all gay women would grope each other on my front sidewalk in front of my babies, I would be experiencing some serious hate too! lol

But the face of "gay" is not this grotesque image, any more than the face of Christianity is the bombers of abortion clinics. They are the radicals, the people who make the news... but they are not the norm.

The true face of "gay," I believe, is much more diverse. It includes people just going about their daily lives and enjoying their families, just like everyone else. It includes people throwing birthday parties for their kids, experiencing the nightmarish hell of home renovations (Oh, do I remember those days...) , and taking the required pregnant belly photos! It includes men and women, old and young, rich and poor.

*~*~*Today's Discussion*~*~*

How were gay couples thought of when you were growing up? How are they thought of where you live today?

League of Women Voters?

A lady I work with belongs to the League of Women Voters, and I was just wondering if any of you had any interaction with them? I'm contemplating joining... and no, not just because the co-worker mentioned a party for the LWV members, complete with FOOD. Although, in the spirit of full disclosure, the promise of food DID cause me to be interested enough to look up the stands the LWV takes on different issues. Also, they distributed the "I voted today" stickers at the polls... and you know, I have a weakness for stickers. And food.

Anyway, if you HAVE been involved with or encountered the LWV women, I'd love to know your thoughts. If not, and you're wondering what the heck I'm rambling about, you can check our their national website here:

http://www.lwv.org/

My local website is here:

http://lwvvigocounty.org/

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In other news, Obama is going to be our new president!!!!!

I know a lot of you may be upset about that, saying things like "where is our country going, and why are we in this handbasket?" (hehe, that statement always cracks me up on t-shirts.) but regardless of your belief system, you have to admit that Obama has AMAZING potential to unite our country. I urge you to give him a fair shot, and stand behind him on whatever issues you feel are morally right. He IS the leader of our country now, and I wholeheartedly believe he deserves a chance to prove himself without our constant judgement.

I believe that he can unite this country, and we have been divided for SO LONG. I don't think we have truly been "United we stand", except for a very brief period after Sept 11, since WWII. That is SO sad... and divided we WILL fall. I believe it's time we set aside our own agendas, our old arguements, and try for once to do something together as a country. Like... perhaps... get our economy out of the crapper?

TRUE change requires a united front... and change is the one platform everyone agreed on across the party lines. So now... lets unite and change some things!!!!

Recap of the Debate

*Announcer asks a deep question*

*Obama answers semi-appropriately*

McCain: "But Joe the Plumber.....

*Obama asks McCain a question*

McCain: "blah blah blah Joe the Plumber"

*Announcer asks McCain a question*

McCain: "Joe the Plumber blah blah blah"


And so on, and so forth.... *yawn*

The only break I noticed, in the first 35 minutes or so that I watched before my patience snapped, was for the dirty politics question: (I will sumarize their responses.)

Announcer: Obama, you have said these things about McCain *insert list here*. McCain, you have said these things about Obama *insert list here* Would you be willing to say these things to each other's faces? McCain, you answer first.

McCain: "Well, I challenged Obama to town hall meetings, and if he hadn't denied me *whine whine whine*, and then I was accused of being a racist and blah blah blah *insert injured tone and poor pitiful me whining*...

Obama: Political races are tough. Suck it up.


McCain... McCain... I really wanted to like you... I tried SO HARD to like you... but you have no personality, you plan to keep giving tax breaks to companies exporting American jobs, and you just really annoy the heck out of me.

Dude. You suck.

AMAZING!!!!

My husband has found the basic template on which all political debate answers are formed:

Something something something his fault....

Something something something economic bailout...

Something something something vote for me.

All I have to say is McCain, Obama, YOU TWO FREAKIN' DISGUST ME!!!! I felt like I was watching a tennis match instead of a debate... "it's HIS fault! No, it's HIS fault!"

C'mon guys... basic kindergarten skills say it doesn't MATTER who hit first... if you're in a fistfight, you're both in trouble!!!! Now our country is the one in trouble, so stop passing the buck and passing the blame, and START SOLVING THE FREAKIN' PROBLEMS!!!!!

GROW. UP.


In happy news, I have a job interview tomorrow, for a permanent job!!!!!!!!

Political Rumor?

I heard a rumor that one reason this presidential race is so critical to our nations future is that several Supreme Court justices are waiting for a Democrat to come into office so they can retire. Does anyone know how exactly I could verify this?

In other news...

*I'm exhausted. Like, the "how am I gonna stay awake til bedtime" kind of exhausted, where you just wanna nap wherever you are at.

*My hair is thinning really badly... like, the front part, that people first see when they look at me. I'm trying some new vitamins for it, we'll see how that works.

*My ear infection from May is still around, and gave me another bad dizzy spell on Friday. HOW ANNOYING! Can't wait to get medical insurance again.

*Tomorrow is my next dance class, and James is supposed to be going with me! We'll be learning the Cha-Cha!!!!!!!

I'll have more updates at a later point in time...

Grrrrrrr!!!

You know what REALLY grinds my gears??????

Voter Guides!

I received one today, forwarded to me from someone I barely know, from the American Family Association.

Four things that really bother me:

1. Only certain issues, ones that some religious leaders have decided are key, are included. Issues that they don't believe are key are ignored... the result? Health care is included, but foreign policy is not. School choice is listed, but economic policy is not. What the heck????!!!!! I mean, since it's a Christian organization, abortion and gay marriage are logical things to appear in the guide... but gun control? School choice?

2. Issues are over-simplified. Not all issues can be simplified into a simple yes or no answer. For example... Obama is listed as being opposed to private ownership of handguns... however, his voting record shows he has actually voted for a bill that lets people KEEP their firearms, as well as another bill that requires a child safety lock to be provided when a gun is purchased.

He actually voted exactly the SAME way on gun-related ownership as McCain, except on one bill... The bill protects gun manufacturers from being sued when the guns are used to hurt people, armor-piercing weapons were prohibited, child-locks/safety storage must be provided when guns are bought...

McCain voted for it... Obama didn't.

So why did Obama not vote for it? One small measure tossed into the bill... "Exempts lawsuits brought against individuals who knowingly transfer a firearm that will be used to commit a violent or drug-trafficking crime" I can definately understand why he didn't vote for that, and it has nothing to do with private ownership of guns.

Obviously this issue was either overly-simplified or else the AFA is deliberately misleading... I chose to give them the benefit of the doubt.

3. DELIBERATE MISLEADING. If you look on their little chart, you will see "Reducing U.S. Dependence on Foreign Oil" in BIG BIG letters, with McCain being in support of it and Obama opposing it. But if you look in the little print below, you see "By lifting ban on off-shore drilling for oil and gas." Obama is NOT against reducing our dependence on foreign oil AT ALL... one of the main points of his Energy plan is "Eliminate Our Current Imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 Years" Obama wants to reduce it by encouraging growth of hybrids, increasing fuel economy standards for cars, and other measures of this type. The guide is deliberately worded to decieve us, but since the tiny print makes it true... they get away with it.

Another example of the opposite type, is "Hate Crime Laws" which are described in the little print as "Legislation that criminalizes certain actions orstatements on the basis of sexual orientation" Ummm............. Hate crime laws are not just about sexual orientation... they protect religion, gender, race, nationality, disability,...

4. NO REFERENCES!!! No links are provided where you can find out where their "facts" come from... not even places where you can find more information!

These "guides" are simply a way to deliberately manipulate people into voting for a particular candidate who meets their agenda, and that freakin ticks me off!!!!!

You know what I want to see in a voter guide? I want to see a guide with a list of websites that help you look up your candidates, their views, and their voting histories. Maybe this weekend I'll make one...

What factual and unbiased (as much as is possible) websites do you all know of that could I include?

Wow.

That's all I can say to describe my life at the moment. Let me break it down to you in neat little bullet points:

*I started my period today. Another month of no babies. *sigh*

*The new job is sporadically busy. I spent the morning doing a little bit of work, looking unsuccessfully for more work, and then chatting with Jami and doing some Microsoft Excel tutorials from my library's website. I spent the afternoon with a crapload of suddenly-appearing work, and worked 20 minutes late.

*I have a love/hate relationship with being a temp. I love learning new skills and working with new programs. I hate being refered to as "the temp" and treated like I have terminal stupidity. I love meeting the new people... which reminds me:

*Today I did not eat alone. In happy news, that is because a coworker sat with me to chat. In unhappy news, I had to put down a REALLY good book to participate in the chat. In happy news, another person also looked for me at lunchtime to sit with me. (But didn't see me, because I was in a corner of the cafeteria.) It seems, much to my shock, that people are liking me in spite of my deeply anti-social tendencies.

*I have two extra-specially fun coworkers. One is my twin... she is cynical, and has a dark sense of humor and deep well of inner anger. She wants to be a foster mommy, and will be taking classes soon. The second one is a paranormal investigator, and a psychic. SHE ROCKS!!!

*I have decided that I am officially undecided about who to vote for in the presidential election at the moment. I need to head back to the websites and check out the candidates' current plans and promises (aka, lies.) I looked earlier today and was impressed by McCain's plan to get our country out of debt, and less than impressed by Obama's financial plans... Obama seems to want to spend a lot, and I consider that dangerous considering our government's current economic state (bailout after bailout...). Obama does, however, have plans for stopping tax breaks for companies relocating overseas, and reward companies that do keep their operations here. (Go Obama!!!!!) I notice that McCain seems to have no problem with companies relocating overseas, and I am deeply annoyed by that. Altogether though, McCain's plan to balance the budget by the end of his term is a bit unbeatable... and so, on the subject of the economy (and ONLY on the subject of the economy at this point) McCain is worthy of my thumbs-up. *giving a thumbs up*

What do YOU think about how our presidential candidates plan to treat our economy?

Obama the Community Organizer?

What did Obama DO as a community organizer?

I hear that question so often! I decided to do some research... which sounds much easier than it actually was. After much searching online, I found a lot of articles about his time as a community organizer... articles about his Formative Years, the history of community organizing in Chicago, Obama taking undo credit, and so on and so forth.


So what did he accomplish?

*Led 30 picketers to protest rising high-school dropout rates. (Article here, protest at the bottom)
*"Obama and DCP protected community interests regarding landfills and helped win employment training services, playgrounds, after-school programs, school reforms and other public amenities."
*Led a bus of citizens to challenge authorities, which led to the residents of Atgeld Gardens getting their apartments tested for asbestos.
*"During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Atgeld Gardens"

He really accomplished a lot during those three years. I apologize to Obama and his supporters for thinking he didn't, and laughing at Palin's comment accordingly. I do still see some validity in her claim, however, and will be posting later about this subject. At the moment... it's time to get to the unemployment office and then to local temp agencies.

Palin?

Holy crap...

Curiosity got the best of me, so I actually watched the Republican Convention...

PALIN ROCKED!!!! I especially enjoyed:

The "up yours" she gave to the media & political bigwigs, when she bluntly told them she wasn't here for their benefit.

The crack on Obama's inexperience, when she pointed out her ACTUAL RESPONSIBILITIES as the mayor of her small town, as opposed to the duties of a community organizer... (what DID Obama do in that capacity? Gotta look that up later. But the crack amused me.)

Her way of dealing with wasteful government spending in Alaska.

"The luxury jet was a little over the top...

*dramatic pause*

I sold it on Ebay."

I rolled in laughter at this!!!

My question now? WHY, WHY, WHY must she be running with McCain???????????? *extremely sad sigh*

More to come later... serious analysis of Palin's speech and claims, contrasts with Democratic Convention speeches, and a rant about baby Trig.

Week in Review 8/29

Jen always does a Week in Review, and it looked kinda fun. Here's my week.

Saturday:
*Bought 1/2 lb jalapanos & 1 bunch of cilantro for salsa - $1.23
*Stayed at Kim's house, randomly crafted, watched The Mist. (Not bad at all! Wierd, but cool.)

Sunday:
*Went to church with Kim & Jakey. Our church is fasting in September, so she decided that she and I were going to fast pop. I was very impressed, and am now drinking Diet Coke like crazy while I still can. lol
*Watched Halloween - Curse of Michael Myers (Really good!!!!) and Halloween - Resurrection (OMW. SO. STUPID. Didn't even finish the movie.)
*Sewed pieces of fabric together for future quilted bibs.
*Went to evening service at church with James, and then grabbed Mexican food... Carne Verde = Heaven. Seriously... so yummy. Also was almost brave enough to speak to the waiter in Spanish. Almost. (No idea why I have a phobia of speaking Spanish to waiters... *shrug*)

Monday:
*Watched Star Wars - Episode 1 with James while crafting.
*Learned a new crochet stitch called the Open Ridge Stitch. This is the front:

This is the back:I really liked that stitch, and will probably make a few more things out of it.

Tuesday:
*Watched Star Wars - Episode 2 with my hubby while randomly crafting. Cut out some pics from magazines, sewed some more quilt pieces together.
*Made Salsa, and it didn't suck!!!!! Woooooooooo!!!!

Wednesday:
*James made a pie, and out of his deep love for me, saved me raw pie dough to eat. I love that man!
*Mother in law and Aunt Clara were both put in the hospital. While in the waiting room, we got a call from Andrea and Sherwood (who we haven't chatted with in over a month) to say that their pastor had been in a car accident and they wanted us to pray. On our way to exit the hospital, we ran into Brittany & Phillip, who I haven't seen since January. Brit was in the ER after falling in the shower, hitting the sink, the sink cracking off the wall, and Brit possibly breaking/fracturing her back. We gave hugs to their kiddos (Gracie is 3 now, and was going to come home with us but got scared at the last minute. Hannah is 9 months old and SO CHUBBY!!! And all kinds of cute brown hair.) and gave them out new phone number. Altogether the weirdest night we've had in ages.
*Learned a new crochet stitch called the Alternate Puff Stitch. Not my favorite stitch, and I've decided I hate this yarn right now.

Thursday:
*Wierdness continues as the neighbor stops by to introduce herself and give us Avon books. (I forgot to tell her that you were my personal Avon rep Leti. Oops. Which reminds me... any Imari on sale?) She stayed a while, and came back later to bring her daughter over. She (the daughter) is in Pre-Algebra and needing help, and I rock as a pre-algebra tutor, so... that's awesome. She is kinda goth, wants to be a coroner, and may be able to get me permission to go with her to see an autopsy!!! HOLY CRAP!!!!!! I love my life.
*Watched Star Wars - Episode 3 for the first time, in between neighbor visits. Anni goes evil, Padme dies, and even Yoda is injured? I have a love/hate relationship with that movie.
*Sewed together the pieces I'd been putting together all week to form the quilt blocks. This is my fave design...
These are an old design that I am still attached to. It was so much easier to do these this time...
I love the design of these but HATE how they turned out. Going to try it with different material this time and going to be careful NOT to accidently hit the needle placement over to the left while sewing these. *sigh*
Love this design!Friday:
*Off work early! Went to the thrift store and bought shirts for me and some baby clothes for K-boy.
*Watched Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention... WOW. I'm speechless.
*Realized how much more fabric I already have cut out to piece together. Go me!

How was YOUR week?

Diversity?

Lately, I've been questioning what diversity has come to mean to us in the modern world.To me, the picture of diversity is all of the varied forms of humanity, playing together and learning from one another. Cute, huh? Yeah, it'd make a great postcard.


The reality of diversity is a bit harder to accomplish. To make a workplace SEEM diverse, so many conditions must be met! Pictures of the employees must show a variety of skin tones. A person with a disability must be included, a person from a poor family, as well as at least one person from a non-Christian religion. At least one gay or bi-sexual person must be hired, which is made more difficult by the fact that you can't ask about sexuality. An elderly person must be hired as well. (You can't ask about that either, so I guess you just look for wrinkles?)


And when we bring the diversity topic into our own lives? HOLY. FREAKING. CRAP. So complicated!!!!! I want my kids to be raised with diversity, but how the heck do you accomplish that? Everyone at my job is white. 80% of my church is white. All of my neighborhood is white. Do I just randomly make friends with people simply because of their race or religion? Do I actively seek out black friends, simply to say I have a diverse set of friends? What kind of message would that send to any kiddos I have? And what about all of the awesome white folk that I pass up on my quest for black friends?

This can't be how diversity is supposed to work!!

For me, for now, I will be and example of diversity simply by keeping my life and my blog open to everyone. I will seek to be open to friendships with whoever I meet... regardless of race, religion, economic status, and so on and so forth... But I do reserve the right to discriminate against annoying people. Even I have limits!!!!!! LOL

What does "diversity" mean to you?

Kidz and Racism

So I went on a quest for info online about how to teach children about race. I probably should have searched differently, but I did find three really good sites. (along with more not-so-good sites)

Talking to Your Kids About Racism - Advice for all ages but mainly middle school and high school ages.

A Lesson In Color - What to do when your child announces "I don't like black people."

Raising Kids without Bias - I really like this one... it has good practical advice.

So what did I learn from all of these? Each approach was different... some parents made "diversity" a very high priority, making sure they had plenty of friends of other races around, putting their kids in "diverse" preschools, and teaching them at insanely young ages about slavery and such. Others lived their normal lives, and crossed the "race" bridge when they got to it, with love and respect for all cultures.

I learned that all kids, at some point, notice race and comment on it. That does not make you a racist, it just means your kids are observant.

I also learned that each family's approach to the issue of race will be different. As long as you are open to talking to your kids about it, and non-judgemental about the things they say, (not flipping out because they say "I don't like brown people", but instead discussing it to find out why and address it, etc.), and such... life will be good. Your kids won't require gnormous amount of therapy, (from that, at least lol) and will grow up to be happy healthy tolerant kiddos.

What do YOU think? If you have kids, how did you teach them about race? If you don't, how would you teach them?

Targeting Obama

Today at work, a coworker mentioned that she did not think Obama would live through all four years of his presidency. As we talked more about this, I learned that men had been arrested for possessing drugs and weapons, after making racist remarks and threats against Obama. (You can read about it here.)

This got me to thinking about a situation that happened this weekend. Kim and I were at Walmart (anytime we are together, a trip to Walmart must take place. It's like... fate.) with her son Jakey (age 6) when a black family walked by. Jakey was all like "*dramatic gasp of shock and delight* Mommy, they're black!" Kim was blushing and embarassed, which I must admit amused me deeply. She tried several times to silence him, resulting in an insulted "But Mommy, they ARE black!" from Jakey, and a "Yes, but you don't have to point it out!" from Kim.

Together, these two incidents are really making me think about race in our world. It almost seems like our country's attitude of "if you don't talk about race, it doesn't exist" happened in miniature with Jakey. Anyway, I think I'll do a blog series about race, in between more posts about our Mammoth Cave trip!

Today, lets discuss children and racism. If it were YOUR child pointing to a family and saying "Look Mommy, they're black!" with all kinds of awe and wonder, what would YOU have answered?

NOTE: Jakey has seen all kinds of people of other races before. He's lived next door to them, gone to school and church with them, shopped with them... He didn't suddenly see his first black person cuz his mom is some psycho racist... he just realized that there is a name for people who have skin darker than his, and he was excited at that knowledge. Any comments insulting Kim will be deleted.

Obama in Action - Part 3

Part 3 - The Lowest Common Denominator

"Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of what's possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. It's the art of the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God's edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one's life on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime, but to base our policy making on such commitments would be a dangerous thing. "

He then gives the story of Abraham as an example. Background info on this: God told a dude named Abraham to sacrifice his son. Abraham got his son tied up (no idea how he managed THAT lol), raised the knife up.... And God was like "whoa! Just kidding! Here's a ram, sacrifice it instead."

"But it's fair to say that if any of us leaving this church saw Abraham on a roof of a building raising his knife, we would, at the very least, call the police and expect the Department of Children and Family Services to take Isaac away from Abraham. We would do so because we do not hear what Abraham hears, do not see what Abraham sees, true as those experiences may be. So the best we can do is act in accordance with those things that we all see, and that we all hear, be it common laws or basic reason."

In other words... Obama is suggesting that we as a country work together on the things we CAN agree on.

Let's use abortion as an example. If we are all working together, as Obama suggests, can pro-life people no longer fight abortion? No... but while you are fighting to eliminate abortion completely (a fight that has been waged for... 30 years? With no results?) the nation as a whole can take steps to lower the amount of abortions that ARE performed. We can educate sexually active young people about options they have to avoid pregnancy and STDs. Church's can teach young people to avoid casual sex in the first place, and nurture young women at risk so they see that they are someone of worth, and don't engage in reckless sex just to feel loved. We would become a more responsible society with a much higher percent of our children being loved and wanted. The amount of abortions would decrease. EVERYONE would be happier!

My question to you today:

If this country were to stop our infighting and actually begin working together for the good of our nation, what other positive changes would occur?

Obama in Action - Part 2

Part 2 - Whose Christianity?

Obama has been getting a LOT of flack for the statement below. Today I'd like to chat about it.

And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles. Folks haven't been reading their bibles.

To me, Obama is raising a valid point here. Christians all across this country have a variety of beliefs. The Bible has of course stayed the same, but our practice, the way we apply it to our lives, has not. There is a VAST spectrum of beliefs held by Christians across the USA. Baptists, Amish, Pentecostal, Methodist... Often these groups are found arguing about if the others are even "saved"! We practice a variety of types of Christianity in every area... some drink alcohol, others consider even a sip to be sin. Some rarely even attend a church service, others consider missing even one service to be a sin!

My question for today is:

If we DID base the laws of our society completely on the Bible, what do you think would happen? Would you stay here?

Obama in Action - Part 1

Today I stumbled upon a transcript of Obama's speech at the Call to Renewal conference. I decided to make a little mini-series here on my blog focusing on his speech, because it was SO amazing.

Part 1 ~ Bridging the Great Divide

"In other words, if we don't reach out to evangelical Christians and other religious Americans and tell them what we stand for, then the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons and Alan Keyeses will continue to hold sway."

I'm so glad that the Democratic party is reaching out, and discussing faith. I'm glad that they are offering an alternative to the rut of divisiveness our country has fallen into.

So how is Obama proposing that we bridge the divide? By talking about issues in a way that everyone can agree on. Take, for instance, his opinion on abortion:

"I think that we should put more of our tax dollars into educating poor girls and boys. I think that the work that Marian Wright Edelman has done all her life is absolutely how we should prioritize our resources in the wealthiest nation on earth. I also think that we should give them the information about contraception that can prevent unwanted pregnancies, lower abortion rates, and help assure that that every child is loved and cherished.

But, you know, my Bible tells me that if we train a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. So I think faith and guidance can help fortify a young woman's sense of self, a young man's sense of responsibility, and a sense of reverence that all young people should have for the act of sexual intimacy."

I love how Obama is planning to do EXACTLY what the Christian leaders want to accomplish (save babies from being aborted), in a way that EVERYONE can agree on!!! I love how he has found a new approach to an age-old issue. I love how he is bringing the government (preventing under age pregnancies through education) and faith (preventing underage pregnancies by lowering risk factors that lead to underage sex) together to work towards a similar goal.

What do YOU think about all this?

United or Exclusive?

Revisiting my previous rant about labels... let me explain why it is that labels annoy me so much:


I feel that labeling far too often leads to exclusion instead of true unity.

Yes, labeling can bring us great unity... with people just like us. If you are in the "Christian community", you bond with other Christians and learn about Christian culture and doctrines. If you are in the "black community" you bond with other members, find resources specific to your race, learn about your culture, etc. If you are in the "GLBT community", you bond with other people in the community, fight together against discrimination, help one another out, etc.


But there is a downside... exclusion. It seems like somehow once we've labeled ourselves, we begin to see those who are NOT labeled like us as a seperate entity. "If you are not __(Insert race, religion, political thingy, etc.)_, you're not like me. There is nothing I can learn from you, and no value in connecting with you."

It also makes it SO much easier to hate others when they're not individuals with faces... just a vague group of people who are obviously different from (and most likely inferior to) the group I'm labeled as.

That's probably the most important thing to me about my blog. I want it to be a place where EVERYONE can chat and feel welcome. I want it to be a place where we can hang out and meet each other, discuss things, learn about one another... no matter who you are, who you love, what you believe, or where you're from, I want you to feel welcomed and loved here.

More Than A Label

You know, as human beings some of us love to organize things. As a person who suffers from OCD, I completely understand the need to put things neatly in little compartments.

But WHY is it that we find the need to do this to people?

The gays. The Jews. The whites. The blacks. The Christians. The liberals. The conservatives. The rich. The poor. The Mexicans. The Muslims.

And then, those aren't enough. OH NO. We have to add insults to the descriptions. The Chinks, the bleeding-heart liberals, the queers, the towel-heads,...

Do we not remember that the people we are talking about are INDIVIDUAL BEINGS?! People who have lives, and stories, and names, and FACES?!

And you know what REALLY grinds my gears? (If you know where that quote comes from, please leave a note in the comments so I can love you extra-specially much.) It really grinds my gears when people use these labels on THEMSELVES!!!! "Well, I hate everything __*insert politician here*___ says because I'm a ________." "I don't believe in _*insert wierd belief here*__ because I'm a _______." "I hate the ________ because I *insert superior tone here* am a ______."

STOP HIDING BEHIND LABELS!!!!!

Be ORIGINAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Define the REASONS for your beliefs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People could put all kinds of labels on me... labels that might be obvious, or might surprise you. Labels that might fit like a glove, or be about 10 sizes too big or too small.

But ya know what? Above and beyond ALL of those labels, I am an individual person.

I am Jana. And THAT label is quite enough, thank-you-very-much.

Politics Today - Mortgage Reform?

Everyone has heard of the mortgage crisis... houses everywhere are being foreclosed at an alarming rate... in fact, I even searched for solutions to the problem on my walk to work Friday AM. I decided today to see what the Presidential candidates plan to do about this situation:

What IS the problem? McCain had an AWESOME analysis here of what led us into this situation. I have not been able to find any type of plan in his speeches or his website, as to what he plans to do to FIX this situation. He sounds like a real douche-bag in that article, BTW, so here is a link to a video where he sounds nicer. The gist of what I heard him say was that at this point, he just wants the government to "stay out of it"...

Obama has a plan:
1. Crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders - make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options.
2. Give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.
3. Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide homeowners who do not itemize tax relief. This credit will provide an average of $500 to 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year.
4. Ensure More Accountability in the Subprime Mortgage Industry (I SOOOOO completely agree with that.... )
5. Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure: Obama will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score. The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various mortgage products and understand the full cost of the loan.
6. Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures: Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will be partially paid for by Obama's increased penalties on lenders who act irresponsibly and commit fraud. (Comments from Jana: comprehensive support sounds VERY vague. Who will be eligible for help? What will they be helped with? To me that is one of the most important facets of the plan, and it is the least defined.)
7. Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies: eliminate the provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments.

You can hear Obama talk about the mortgage crisis here.

Hillary has a plan too:
"Now it’s time for lenders, homeowners and investors to come together to solve this crisis and stem the tide of foreclosures... Hillary is proposing a comprehensive work out - not a bail out - that would end the foreclosure crisis."

1. Allocating up to $5 billion in immediate assistance to help communities and distressed homeowners weather the foreclosure crisis, and called for $1 billion in emergency energy assistance for families facing skyrocketing heating bills this winter. (Ahhhh... warmth.)
2. FORECLOSURE MORATORIUM: Hillary will call for a moratorium on home foreclosures of at least 90 days so that a rate freeze can take effect and at-risk homeowners can get financial counseling to help them transition to affordable loans.
3. FREEZE ADJUSTABLE RATE LOANS: The rate freeze must last at least 5 years, or until subprime mortgages have been converted into affordable loans. A typical subprime adjustable rate loan is raising monthly payments by 30% to 40% for many families, causing a wave of housing defaults across the country.
4. REQUIRE ACCOUNTABILITY: Hillary will ask for regular status reports on the progress Wall Street is making in converting unworkable mortgages into loans families can afford.

Want to hear Clinton talk about this issue? A video is here.

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Wow, I'm amazed at how different the three candidates feel about this issue!!! McCain almost makes it sound like the mortgage crisis was caused by irresponsible morons buying houses... and I find that offensive. Obama wants to punish predatory lenders (GO OBAMA!) but isn't clear on the help he wants to give to their "prey". Hillary had an awesome plan for how to help the people and communities affected by this issue... but doesn't seem to have a plan for how to keep it from happening again.

I already voiced my opinion on the mortgage crisis here... now I want to hear YOUR view! Feel free to rant endlessly in my comments, and make sure to cast your vote on my new poll!

A Walk to Remember

Today, I walked to work.

Yeah, seriously!!! James's car is in need of repair, so since he works an hour's drive from home, and I work a half-hours WALK from home, I decided to let him take my car today, and walk if the weather was nice. The weather this morning was PERFECT! It rained all night, so everything was crisp and clean... it wasn't too hot or too cold on my walk... PERFECT.

So I set off on my walk, with my camera and a novel... Some fun things I saw on my walk:

3 squirrels
1 purple hyacinth
1 pink hyacinth
2 pink magnolia trees in bloom
1 mystery white blooming tree
1 Killer Corgi, who I will refer to as "Kujo the Cute"

As I went about my way, I was pondering on houses for sale... and had an ephiphany. I know how the government can solve the housing market problem!!!!

You know all the nice things that FDR had unemployed people do on the WPA to make this country better? Well, if the mortgage crisis continues, houses will be coming available at rapid rates... as more people sell or foreclose, and less people buy. Why couldn't the government start a program that buys houses in areas needing "urban renewal", and hire unemployed people to fix the houses, pick up the trash outside, plant flowers... and make those neighborhoods SO much better! They could train people for that instead of handing out welfare checks... the property values in those neighborthoods would increase... the mortgage crisis will eventually have to end, and the government can sell those houses back to ordinary citizens!

Yes, in the 30 minute walk to work, I single-handedly solved the mortgage crisis, welfare reform, unemployment, and urban renewal. Worship of me may begin at any time. :o)