If you don’t like the outcome, go to court…

Seriously… Californians have voted TWICE to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Yet one liberal judge (who happens to be gay, a coincidence, I think not) said that it’s unconstitutional.

We’ve gone round and round about civil rights, equal rights, blah blah blah… we’ve heard all the arguments. I won’t go into that here. But I will voice my frustration about voting. And I’m not the only one… here’s a copy of a status update from a friend on facebook:

“Lol I've seen SO many fb statuses about this whole Prop 8 thing... the only thing I have to say is that this is the EXACT reason I stay away from politics and the voting scene... it doesn't matter what we vote for, things get overruled/overturned anyway... why bother?”

I have these exact same feelings. So how are we supposed to get people out to vote and change things when it doesn’t matter because if someone with a lot of money doesn’t like the outcome, they’ll sue and it’ll go to court… and keep going to court until they find a judge who will rule in their favor.

So… any ideas????

Technorati Tags: marriage,prop8,voting,civil rights,equal rights,same sex marriage,california legislature,supreme court,judges

You don’t agree with me, therefore, you are a bigot…

The issue of people who are illegally in America has obviously been a hot topic issue lately. There are differing opinions obviously, but what bothers me is the intolerance for the opinions of others. I fall on the side of Arizona, that people need to be in this country legally, or they shouldn't be here. For this, I am apparently a bigot. Because I believe in sustaining and upholding U.S. laws that were created for our freedom and safety, I am now a racist - at least according to the protests around the land and friends on social media sites. The same thing happened with gay marriage - I have gay friends who called people against gay marriage bigots. I think there are better ways to deal with issues. Obviously both sides have feelings on the issue, but is calling names really the best way to deal with that?

I think not. Many of us are adults. Many people who read this are members of the same religious tradition, and can find religious justification for their side of the argument (whichever side they fall on), calling the morality and ethics of others into question when others disagree with their viewpoint. I understand that facebook, twitter, and others are social networking sites, where people are free to express their opinions. However, I do not think it justification for calling people bigots or questioning their morality and ethics for daring to express their opinion. Have a problem with the way someone views something? Call them, talk to them about it, try to make sure you understand their viewpoint before you go off on them. Don't just assume you know everything about "them" and "their group", further polarizing the issues and preventing yourself from understanding your friends' rationale. Especially on facebook, where you usually know and like the people on your friends list. Focus on the positive, and if you disagree with something someone says/feels/believes, talk to them about it.

I feel frustrated when people call me a bigot for feeling like Arizona is right to try to prevent illegal immigration. I DO NOT agree with racial profiling, and I do not think that all Latino/a people are here illegally, are going to screw the system, are lazy, etc. I know a lot of Latino/a people who are here to make a better life for themselves, and I respect that. But, and this is a big but, I think they need to be here legally. They're being hurt by the drug runners and gang members who are bringing drugs and violence into the U.S. through border states, and those people are making it harder for honest, hard-working people to get here. However, that does not change my opinion that people need to come here legally. And that does not make me a racist. That makes me a person who supports our current law. If the law changes, I will support that also. Not because it's the law, but because I don't believe in lawlessness. And I think we need some controls at the border for people who are trying to bring the culture of drugs and violence here.

I personally know very few people who want to live in most parts of Mexico due to the violence and drug problems. An article on CNN tonight discussed members of a bridal party who had been kidnapped and murdered in Ciudad Juarez, and also said that 4,300 people have been murdered in that province since the war on drugs began in 2006. Hopefully they will be able to bring that under control, but I am concerned that will (and is) already spreading to the U.S. And for this, I am a bigot. For being concerned for the safety of officers who protect us, for the children who live there who are in danger, and the safety and future of our country, I am a bigot. That is one label I have no problem rejecting. There are many other labels I will accept, even if they do not describe me, but I will fight against this. Everyone has the right to their opinion, and everyone has the right to be respected.

Written by Sara 05/11/2010

Technorati Tags: racism,mexican,arizona,illegal immigrants,voting,bigots,bigotry,drug cartel,racial profiling,america,constitution,civil rights

The Ant and The Grasshopper – Two Stories

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER
Two Different Versions....Two Different Morals

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OLD VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. 

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.  The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

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MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast.  How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green...'

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.  

President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.  The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous
and once peaceful, neighborhood.

The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

MORAL OF THESTORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010.

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I believe that you are an ant - not a grasshopper! 

Make sure that you pass this on to other ants.  Don't bother sending
it on to any grasshoppers because they wouldn't understand it, anyway

Freedom of Speech being threatened yet again…

Radical pro-abortion groups want to sack a life-affirming ad from Focus on the Family from appearing in the Super Bowl.

The ad focuses on football star Tim Tebow and the courage of his mother who was told by doctors to abort a child that would become a Heisman Trophy winner.

It’s time to take a stand and stop anti-life and anti-Christian radicals from taking control of our airwaves.

Last year, NBC sacked a Super Bowl ad by CatholicVote.org.  Let’s not let this happen again. Urge CBS to stand behind its decision and allow Focus on the Family to tell this inspirational story about a football star.

Sign the petition at www.CatholicVote.org

Technorati Tags: abortion,prop8,marriage,children,freedom of speech,rights

If I’m Not Happy, No One Can Be Happy

A very interesting account from today:
"Several times Judge Walker interrupted the plaintiffs to question whether the state should be “in the marriage business” at all, asking if the plaintiffs would be happy with eliminating marriage altogether—and allowing only domestic partnerships for both man/woman and same-sex couples. Amazingly the plaintiffs testified that would be acceptable to them.  They actually said: if same-sex couples can’t have marriage, then no one should.  Obviously, the elimination of marriage for everybody is certainly not what the people of California, or the nation, have in mind as an appropriate solution to this debate."

I think this sums up the opposition’s feelings very well… “If I’m not happy, then no one can be happy.” So what the opposition is calling “equal rights” (which they already have in California) really means they want everyone to be the same. What happened to celebrating diversity? My high school class motto was “Diverse yet Unified”. We are all different, we are going to have different challenges placed in front of us. But with those differences we can still work together and become the strong nation that we once were.

Here are a couple of websites that have updates and you can follow the Supreme Court proceedings on:

General Counsel Andy Pugno Comments On Opening Day Of Trial
http://www.facebook.com/l/5d935;bit.ly/4NRoUo

The Perry Case: What’s At Stake
http://www.facebook.com/l/5d935;bit.ly/4T2aHK

U.S. Supreme Court Stays Order Allowing Streaming Video of Prop 8 Case
http://www.facebook.com/l/5d935;bit.ly/5okXbw

Technorati Tags: proposition 8,california legislature,federal court hearings,marriage,family