The Value of Work

It's a busy night... lots to post!

I could not believe the audacity of some people when I read this...
"Meanwhile, a gay rights activist submitted a formal complaint to the enforcement division of the California Fair Political Practices Commission alleging that the Mormon church failed to report the value of the work, including phone banks, commercials and other services, done to support the Proposition 8 campaign."

Are you kidding me?!?!?! I know the opposition doesn't play by the same rules, so I won't even ask if they reported the "value of the work" done to oppose prop 8.

Then you could look at this and say that the LDS church hasn't reported the "value of the work" because "the work" isn't over and we wouldn't want to be accused of reporting false information. (I'll put my disclaimer in here that I am being sarcastic with this last paragraph.)

It all goes back to the activist's agenda!

Only *two* more days...

Hi everyone! Will you all be as glad as I am when this election is over?! My energy is waning, but I am super excited for the next two days to go wave signs on busy streetcorners, hang more reminders on doorknobs, and help get more votes at the polling places!

Check out The Hedgehog Blog... there is great information here about Proposition 8!

My favorite article is:

Proposition 8 and California's Schoolchildren: A Primer on Falsehoods

"Perhaps the most hotly-debated question about Proposition 8 is the measure's impact on schoolchildren. If Proposition 8 fails, will young children be taught that same-sex marriage is equal to traditional marriage? Opponents of Prop 8 have adamantly -- and falsely -- claimed this will not happen.The fact is, Prop 8's leading opponents have been very public for a long time about their goal of teaching schoolchildren about gender orientation at very young ages. What is worse, they have openly promoted strategies for overcoming or circumventing parental objections to such teaching. It is foolish to believe they will not use the same approach to teaching children about same-sex marriage."

experience of a "Yes on 8" sign-placer

I was extremely heartened by the positive shouts and words of encouragement my husband received as he was placing signs for the "Yes on 8" campaign. I am also proud of the way he was able to handle a difficult situation while still standing up to a sign stealer. In his own words...

Rick and I spent two hours after work today placing signs. All of the "Yes on Prop 8" signs in our community had been taken down. The first hour and a half went great. Then it happened. A mom and son walked past us while we were getting the signs ready. The we placed them at the corner of two busy streets. They walked across the street and as we pulled away he tore them out of the ground and started to rip them up. I jumped out of the truck and told him to put them back. The mom said, "My son is gay and you are offending him." I of course told her she is offending the Constitution and my freedom of speech. She yelled some words and then said, "What are you going to do about it?!" I started to cross the street and they ran down the road. I was just going to put up another sign. I was worried as they continued down the road they would tear out more signs we had just placed. I called the police and they said they would come right over. They said it is very illegal to remove any campaign sign before the election date. I told them not to come yet. Rick and I debated what to do. We decided just to let it go. We were worried about our other signs though. We decided to go back and in a very calm manner explain to them our purpose. I pulled up and discussed with the young man (probably 18-20 years old) that we called the police and they were more then willing to come. I told him we had seen many of the No on 8 signs and we did not touch one of them. I said a couple more things respectfully, and he agreed to not touch any more signs. His mom yelled some more things at me but he said he agreed. He told his mom to shut up and then they moved along. We drove by the signs a couple minutes after they passed and they were still there. Crazy days.

The main reason I tell you this is that there is a law that prohibits the removal of campaign signs before the election as long as they are on public property or private property with the consent of the owner.

Side note: That was the first negative thing. We had at least 6 to 8 people yell encouragement and praise.

Jason

Activism can be entertaining!

So tonight I helped make polling phone calls for the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign with a group of friends... what an experience. I normally hang up on telemarketers and groups trying to solicit money, but I am glad that I have never been rude to callers taking surveys or polling. Because now I know what it feels like!

Making that first call was like jumping into the deep end of the pool without knowing how cold it will be. Fortunately for me, I got an answering machine! Just read off the script, piece of cake. My second call, however, reached a not-so-happy-camper who apparently thinks 7:30 pm is too late at night (granted, he may be a crazy early-riser) and so I can "just stick it, lady!" Hm. I hung up and after telling everyone why I had that look on my face, we all burst out laughing. I know I wouldn't have been laughing if I had been making calls on my own, so here's a shout-out to Suzie, Russ, Denise, Stan and Marjorie :)

The other highlight of the evening was when Suzie was telling about her last recipient who thought the call was from the opposers, and shouted "Yes on 8! YES! YES! YES!" The only problem was that the person I was calling picked up the phone just as Suzie was enthusiastically retelling the YES! YES! YES! part, and I barely made it through my lines without laughing! (I did giggle a little, poor guy probably thought I was a nut!) By the time I hung up, everyone realized I had been on a call, and we really lost it then!

So tomorrow I will be at it again, with more confidence and a greater sense of humor. And we're all bringing dessert, so let the sugar-highs commence!

Vote YES on Prop 8!

Make My Vote Count

Protect Marriage