Does a black president signal the second coming?

What do you think about this? I'm not very political either way. I remain Republican because generally I'm for less government involvement (especially in the face of the failure of so many government programs to achieve what they hope to acheive). But I'm open to ideas from both sides.

And I'll admit - I was caught off guard a couple of months ago when I saw a sticker that said, got hope? and discovered it was selling Obama and not Jesus.

Que piensas?

On gay marriage

Below is my response to an email petition I received a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks for passing this petition.

Whatever you may think of marriage (to a same-sex partner or anyone else), the voters in California have already overwhelming voted to limit marriage to one man and one woman in a landslide vote of 61-39 on Proposition 22 a few years ago. As of now, California voters have already collected over 1.1 million signatures, enough to initiate a constitutional amendment to overturn this most recent ruling of the court. When the voters bring that amendment to the State constitution it will be fairly clear what the will of the people is. So there's no need to continue circulating this email.

That said, if you are over 18 it's important to educate yourself on the issues. Go here for a balanced argument for traditional marriage. First, it's not a religious right-wing issue and as a Christian myself, I wish people would look more closely at the implications it has for society at large. It's not just about "God's will" or stopping nice gay people from committing to each other, this ruling changes how our whole society will function and on what basis we will make people responsible for things. If a father marries his daughter (which this law would allow), he can make you as a tax-payer responsible for the children they produce when she gives them up to foster care (because a 10-year-old girl has no means to take care of a baby); and you will pay for that. Not to mention the social services we will need to take care of her emotional turmoil as a victim of incest. This is what could happen when we open the door to these kinds of laws without thinking critically about how it will play out. Just wanting your nice gay friends (and my nice gay friends) to be able to marry is not enough.

Secondly, The State Supreme Court does not have the right (literally) to overturn the will of the voters. The Governor says he will "respect" the will of the court but if you read his actual statements here you will see that he is abdicating his role as part of the executive branch (that's what we get for electing an actor!) by saying the courts and the voters should decide. Well, the voters have already decided with Prop 22 and if the voters bring an amendment to the State constitution, the Governor should listen to them and consider their voice. If you want to make a difference, the best way is to call or write your elected officials and the Governor and ask them to listen to the will of the people. Because realistically, they will be in office a few short years, but we as citizens will have to live with this decision for a long time.

I'm in favor of people thinking critically about the real outcome before making up your mind. This is an emotionally charged issue, but it's not an issue we should decide based on only emotion. It's about how we live in society and who's responsible for what. This is America, it's advanced citizenship and we need voters who think critically, and don't just respond emotionally.

On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 1:09 PM, (Name and Email Removed) wrote:

Thanks for the support. I have nothing against homosexuals, but it seems that they have problems with laws supporting normal marriages. Once these laws supporting the "normal" marriages, you really don't have much basis to prevent polygamy, bestiality, incestuous and all kinds of multiple partnerships. In countries where such marriage supporting laws have collapsed you have people marrying their cats, dogs, and few people adamant about marrying their own daughters these days.

Peace,
(Name Removed)

On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 3:00 PM, (Name and Email Removed) wrote:

Sorry, I am in support of this law so I won't be signing the petition.

(Name Removed)

On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 11:35 AM, (Name and Email Removed) wrote:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: (Name and Email Removed)
Date: Fri, May 23, 2008 at 1:37 AM
Subject: Fwd: Help me stop the California anti-marriage ruling
To:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Grassfire.net Services <alert@grassfire.net>
Date: Fri, May 23, 2008 at 12:29 AM
Subject: Help me stop the California anti-marriage ruling
To:


+ + + +
(Name), thanks for signing the petition! Please
forward this message to your friends and ask them to join you.
Thanks again! -- Liberty Counsel
+ + + +


I just signed a petition supporting an emergency suspension of
California's outrageous court ruling that sanctioned homosexual
marriage. Same-sex marriage licenses will be issued by June 15 at
the latest. We have very little time to stop this ruling. Please go
here to sign:

http://www.grassfire.net/189/petition.asp?PID=16628370&NID=1

Ms. (Name Removed)

--
Sola Gratia.
(Name Removed)

Stuff White People Like

Stuff White People Like

OMG, this is the funniest blog I've read in a long time. I personally am 26 and white, I know because I've been going through some medical stuff and I put White under race on the clipboard.

This list is frighteningly accurate, especially here in Pasadena. My favorites are
#3, #6, #8, #27, #28, #44, #48...wait, you know what?

I love them ALL!!

READ it and LAUGH!

It's good for your indoor-living, processed-food eating, generally inferior soul.

5 things you should know

1. If you're going to be counseling anyone, anywhere it is imperative that you attend at least 10 counseling sessions yourself.

2. Never, and I mean NEVER try to drive and Blackberry at the same time. It is very dangerous.

3. Unicorns are never extinct in your imagination.

4. Coffee is good for the brain and the soul.

5. Que-sa-dilla is NOT Spanish for "What's the deal?!"

Now it's your turn...tell me 5 things I should know...:)

I ain't settlin'

15 minutes left to throw me together
For mister right now, not mister forever
Don't know why I even try when I know how it ends
Lookin' like another maybe we could be friends
I've been leavin' it up to fate
It's my life so it's mine to make

I ain't settlin' just gettin' by
I've had enough so-so for the rest of my life
Tired of shootin' too low so raise the bar high.
So, I'm just not waiting up this time
I ain't settlin' for anything less than everything.

With some good red wine and my brand new shoes
Gonna dance a blue streak around my livin' room
Take a chance on love and try how it feels
With my heart wide open now you know I will
Find what it means to be the girl
Change her mind and change her world

I ain't settlin' just gettin' by
I've had enough so-so for the rest of my life
Tired of shootin' too low so raise the bar high.
So, I'm just not waiting up this time
I ain't settlin' for anything less than everything.

I ain't settlin' just gettin' by
I've had enough so-so for the rest of my life
Tired of shootin' too low so raise the bar high.
I'm just not waiting up this time

I ain't settlin' just gettin' by
I've had enough so-so for the rest of my life
Tired of shootin' too low so raise the bar high.
I ain't settlin' no, no, no, no, no, no….
So raise the bar high.

I'm not that patriotic

I have a lot of memories from school days. I think because they didn't happen at home, I didn't block them out as much. I was reading something earlier that reminded me of all the patriotic songs we sang in school. I remember saying the Pledge of Allegiance almost everyday in elementary school. I personally think should be replaced with a "Pledge to Promise to Vote When I Turn 18" at least that's useful. And as I read that first line, My Country Tis of Thee, I realized it's the one song that makes everyone's voice sound good. I used to go to a lot of auditions in high school and people always sang Happy Birthday because they could remember the words on the spot if they hadn't prepared. But Happy Birthday makes anyone's voice sound horrible unless you're Whitney Houston. My country 'tis of thee is in the right pitch so that anyone can sing it and everyone is familiar with the melody, so as long as you hit that and just keep things smooth, you're golden.

This prompted me to look up the words beyond the famous 1st verse. I really like them, they're almost like a hymn. I'm not that patriotic, but they resonated with me. While I don't need flag decals on my bumper, I do love our country and think it's beautiful and worthy of a song like this.

1. My country,' tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!

2. My native country, thee,
land of the noble free, thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
thy woods and templed hills;
my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

3. Let music swell the breeze,
and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song;
let mortal tongues awake;
let all that breathe partake;
let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

4. Our fathers' God, to thee,
author of liberty, to thee we sing;
long may our land be bright
with freedom's holy light;
protect us by thy might, great God, our King.