If you have a copy of the at-con guide, not the conbook, but the at-con guide which has all of the ads, I would sincerely appreciate if you could send it to me. Rainbow Ark took out an ad in it, as well as in the upcoming Mephit FurMeet conbook, two conventions I was not/will not be able to attend this year, and I would like to have an official record of our marketing for '09.

In exchange, I'll send you a little gift.

Our mailing address is:
Rainbow Ark
P.O. Box 545
Purcellville, VA 20134-0545

I'll respond with the same gift to each person who sends me an at-con guide.

Thank you ^.^

My life changed forever, for the better, the day we said "I do" and now we celebrate another year today.

I love my Tigress. ^.^;

Two and half hours of my life I'll not get back.

I was expecting to be amazed, but instead I was deeply disappointed. Too much blurred action, couldn't tell between good bots and bad bots, acting was good, but direction was hideous. Sam especially had some good lines, but the story was too campy and stupid and the handling of top secret information and situations was completely ludicrous.

Just saw The Golden Compass - liked it better than I thought I would. Was expecting it to be dense. Actually it wasn't.

Grilled hotdogs yesterday. Steaks last week. Got a start and another round of weed-whacking today. Gorgeous weather, especially yesterday, but today also.

We have some sound plans to dealing with our combined credit card balance. It's going to take awhile, but I have renewed confidence.

I'm not into horse racing, but MAN that was awesome!!! She beat the boys! :D

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=2803

A prepared statement from two NC Bishops...

We agree that bullying or harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation is reprehensible and should not be tolerated. However, there is also a highly problematic consequence to the inclusion of these two specific differentiating characteristics should it become law. In three states that have a law similar to SB526, the law was used as part of a lawsuit to persuade a judge or court to mandate same-sex marriage. We believe the passage of SB526 into law could be the precursor of actions by our legislature and/or our courts to mandate same-sex marriage in our state because it has occurred already in three other states.

So, let's not do the right thing and specifically protect students from the most dangerous form of harrassment anyone can encounter in public school due to their identity or orientation or PERCEIVED identity or orientation because doing so might lead to couples who are already committed to each other having their unions officially recognized.

Yeah, I can see how that would definitely lead down the path of destruction and despair. Thank the good Bishop for pointing out that oversight.

Ah! The first grilled hot dogs of the season, with sauerkraut and chili, while watching Snakes On A Plane. :)

I'm 50 tomorrow. I don't feel 50, about half that actually. The calendar lies!! Evil calendar. Parents are taking us to a thing up in Pennsylvania, returning Saturday evening.

Renee tells me, "Welcome to FA."

When it comes back up, I've been uploading my music on there if you wanna check it out. I've a request from angelbear_oh that I'll likely upload tonight. :)

Linking, bold are my comments,

Republican Sen. Chris Buttars also told former local television reporter Reed Cowan, a gay documentary producer who now works at a Miami station, that gay activists are "probably the greatest threat to America going down."

The comments drew calls for Buttars' resignation in Utah and elsewhere. The Washington-based Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, said that by Friday more than 15,000 e-mails had been sent to Utah Senate President Michael Waddoups demanding that he condemn Buttars' remarks.

Waddoups, a Republican, did not condemn Buttars' statements and said he dismissed Buttars from the committee primarily as a way to draw attention away from him. In a news conference Friday, Waddoups declined to say what comments - if any - Buttars made that he and other Republicans disagreed with.

"We think he's a senator that represents the point of view of many of his constituents, of many of ours," Waddoups said. "We agree with many of the things he said. We may disagree with some of them, we may disagree with some of the ways he said it." (Oh, you disagree with the WAY he said them, but you put yourself in the same hateful, misinformed category as he. Well, thanks for clarifying that.)

In a statement released on his blog, Buttars wrote that he will continue to defend traditional marriage. (Yes, you've done such a good job so far. Thank God for people like you who without your tireless work we would all wake up one morning lying next to someone we're not married to, and then where would we be? Oh, wait, that already happens. Those darned gays are already busy making us all promiscuous.)

"I disagree with my removal as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, since my work there is entirely unrelated to my opposition to the homosexual agenda," Buttars wrote. "Still, I'm a grown man and I can take my knocks. When it comes right down to it, I would rather be censured for doing what I think is right, than be honored by my colleagues for bowing to the pressure of a special interest group that has been allowed to act with impunity." (Yeah, I know what you mean, total impunity, like when an entire class of people had their right to marry taken away in the second largest state by popular vote.)

As chairman of the committee, Buttars frequently took pride in killing legislation that would have extended some legal rights to gay couples. He has long complained that gay people lack morals and are trying to indoctrinate others into a gay lifestyle.

"What is the morals of a gay person? You can't answer that, because anything goes. (No, I can't answer that because it's poor grammar.) So now you're moving toward a society that has no morals," (No, thank God, we're slowly moving away from a society which is ruled by old relics like you.) Buttars told Cowan in a January interview, which was about the Proposition 8 campaign to ban gay marriage in California and the involvement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In comparing gay activists to Islamic radicals, Buttars said, "Muslims are good people and their religion is anti-war. But it's been taken over by the radical side. And the gays are totally taken over by the radical side." (You you ain't seen nothin' yet, if you think you've seen 'radical'. You better hope to God you don't get the type of response you and people like you are fostering.)

Last year, the NAACP demanded that Buttars resign after he disparaged a bill by saying, "This baby is black, I'll tell you. It's a dark, ugly thing."

Buttars brushed aside his critics and won re-election in November. (Now that's radical, that enough people can look the other way when it comes to your bigotry and lack of common decency that your ass gets reelected. What a country.)

To anyone trying to contact me by email, we've been without power at home since 3:00 eastern time, yesterday. I'm here at work updating the journal while the boss is away, something she tolerates, but she implicitly does not allow employees to access their web-based email, and would check history to make sure we haven't. So I have no way, short of taking a trip to the library (which I might do) to check my email.

sunshine_fox if you've sent your files, I'm not ignoring you :) I'm very much excited about how they turned out.

kiranlightpaw if you and Paul would like to continue talking amongst yourselves about the site and such, I'll join in again when I can.

The automated voice message at the power company estimates power will be back up by just after midnight the morning of the 15th!!! We're hoping it's sooner.

So far, with the preparations Renee and I have done, our frozen stuff will likely be fine until tomorrow morning when we finish installing the huge generator we bought a couple of years ago, but haven't really needed until now. We have water, we have wood for fire - everything should be fine, it's just frustrating not being able to access internet at home along with other more mundane types of things people usually take for granted.

If anyone has anything pressing, just comment here and I'll check a few more times today before leaving for home in about 5 hours.

Peace.

...in probably no less than 12 years, I'm proud to be an American. And I don't mean 'proud' in an exclusionary, 'I'm better than you' sorta way. Just watching it all with my Love and taking it all in. This really is a new day.

"Copy this sentence into your LiveJournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow."

...from kiranlightpaw's journal, and all of the many postings before, with their very thoughtful entries which accompanied.

It's nice having a ladder, a nice shiny one bought last week. I can now change lightbulbs again. I changed out 4 this morning. Now, if it only warmed up a little, I'd get out there are clean out our gutters somewhat, but the temp is riding around freezing.

All the gay rights advocate groups are up in arms that someone who speaks poorly of gay marriage and verbally supported Yes on 8, is invited to give the opening prayer for the president elect who ran his campaign on "change". It seems like a slap in the face or worse.

An individual often becomes the symbol of all things bad, or all things good in other cases. When it comes down to it, Warren is one man. He's not a poster child, he's not the leader of a movement. He's got a big church, true. And I know, it seems like the same ol' anti-gay sh*t we've been seeing, and how could Obama do such a thing, after trying to convince us all he's an advocate for gay rights?

We're pi**ed off at Warren, and disillusioned by our Savior, Obama. We've been betrayed.

For a bit of perspective, we're not the only bunch who symbolizes events and people. The Evangelicals are pi**ed off at Warren almost as much as we are. Why? Because he agreed to give a prayer for a pro-choice president. Prior to that, when he invited a pro-choice presidential candidate into his church, the house of God!

Warren isn't Phelps, and he isn't Hagee or Falwell. He's simply Warren. He's got some whacked out ideas about gay relationships. He compares gay marriage to all sorts of weird things which have nothing to do with two grown people in love with each other. He's not perfect. Far from it. I thought that's why we Christians sort of needed a Savior, because we can't get there by ourselves. If some imperfect person wants to pray for this nation and the next leader, what's the problem? Why does it have to be because it wasn't the person you or I would have chosen?

Back to our savior, Obama, did we think we were voting for someone who was just going to fix sh*t without asking anything of anyone? Where were we when he said things like "one nation" not just people who are LGBT allies, but everyone. Did gay people think it was their turn now to make "Whitey" sit at the back of the bus? We've been in such a state of division and distrust over the last hellish 8 years, we're cynical over everything, and too quick to judge. More division, more scapegoating, more dehumanizing, more us and them. Where does it end, when you feel vindicated, and not before? When is someone going to take the high road and reach out a hand?

I used to be one of the fundamentalist homophobes. I know what it feels like to believe that there are others out there who hate traditional family, hate anything Christian, trying to recruit the young people, and wants to do away with marriage as we know it. It scared me to death. I wanted to do what I could to stop the decline of morality in the United States. When I was president of the Campus Christian Fellowship at SD City College and my Jack Chick tracks were causing problems, I smiled because I felt I was doing my part to spread the truth, and I believed the Holy Spirit was using my actions to convict those of their sin who were confused about their sexuality, and that's why they reacted the way they did. I felt I was doing my part to keep civilization from crumbling, and I felt pride in that.

Then one day, a gay Christian was sent to talk with me. I had my clobber passages ready and I used all of them. But this guy didn't act like I'd figured. He didn't froth from his demons being exercised. He didn't strike back in angry reply. He was gentle, and showed care for my feelings and concerns. He was what I would now refer to as godlike in his demeanor. That day was the beginning of my transformation. And wherever you are, my brother, I know it didn't seem like you got to me that day, but you did - God did.

It wasn't through people shouting their insults, telling me I'm a homophobe, calling me fundie, none of that changed my mind, but only made me more adamantly opposed to them ...it was through kindness and patience.

Okay, so we don't want Warren, because he's a homophobe. We're not going to let him pray. Way to go. This reminds me of the priests who said that anyone who voted for Obama need to go to confession before receiving communion, because just the act of voting for him was a sin.

In reality, is Warren same ol' same ol' when it comes to preaching homophobia. No, not really. Though he personally supported Yes on 8, from what I understand, no donations were taken up in his church for it. Though he doesn't have much tolerance for gay relationships, I believe he truly loves gay people as people. His ministry is the main catalyst which pointed other Evangelical ministries toward the plight of AIDS in the world and has started much dialog and has given much money for its treatment. I believe him to be a caring individual.

It's not through being perfect, or giving a full apology before we can converse, or before you can participate. If that's what you're waiting on, it doesn't happen that way, EVER! It's acknowledging everyone's humanity. It's saying, we're all Americans, let's put our differences aside and work toward making this a better place. Having someone pray for your inauguration, doesn't mean you agree with everything they believe, just as a couple shouldn't fear allowing gay people in their house like it's an affirmation of their "lifestyle". It's being neighborly. It's walking in humility and love.

LGBT people aren't the only ones with questions and concerns. Evangelicals, conservatives, yes, fundies have 'em too. And their fears are real to them, and they're not being addressed, and people who shout at them and call them names aren't f*cking helping!!!

We can do better.

EDIT :: There are some things I've read just a short time ago about Warren and what is stated on his website about "homosexuals" which frankly surprises me. I may have overestimated his care for gay people just a tad based on what I see with my own eyes. It's not going to do any good for me to condemn him, and I would have to forget the mercy shown to me those many years ago.

I saw it on kelsied's lj, and it looked interesting.

To my peeps (not including this journal): either I'm an expert in launching lead balloons, or you're simply getting ready for the holiday week.

This was in my lunch...





The thing is, I didn't notice it right off. I ate a few grapes, then put it in the fridge. It was only when I took it out later and this side was facing me, and I had a giggle fit ^.^;

I really would have liked to had more conversation on that subject from others. I don't bite, and I don't mind disagreements on my journal. I'm not friends-only and I don't plan on ever making it so. Talk to me.

The point I was making is that I believe it is incorrect to say that protecting traditional marriage is purposefully-veiled discrimination. My two friends reminded me that it IS discrimination, which after thinking about it, I must agree.

I'm one to kind of reach across the barriers, since someone reached across to me almost 28 years ago and introduced himself as a gay Christian. He tried to show me how my anti-gay tracts were hurting other people on campus, and in the process he never used the "D" word, but he was talking with me calmly and respectfully.

I'm willing to concede that it may not be any more helpful to suggest someone is fearful than they are discriminating, but fear, as I tried to explain in my last post, will make people do all kinds of things they wouldn't normally do. Losing traditional marriage is a fearful thing, and if people are told that gay marriage is enemy number one, the fear itself short-circuits any rational thought process which would otherwise ultimately conclude there is no threat.

Can anyone who is married as man and woman give me an example of how their marriage will be adversely affected if gay people are also allowed to marry?

Most people know I currently live in West Virginia, but in many ways, I still consider California my home state, being born there and living my first 41 years in San Diego. Regardless of whether I had ever lived there or not, one has to admit that California is let's face it, a big state, and has an economy and population which rivals that of other countries.

I wrote a comment to a friend's journal who had quoted from a letter where they had described their disappointment of the passage of Proposition 8. In the letter they had made the statement that protecting traditional marriage is just a cover for discrimination, and to that point, I disagreed. I wanted to quote my comment here on my own journal in case there is any question of how I stand on this subject and to hopefully give some insight and food for thought to others of differing views...


The desire to protect traditional marriage, for most, isn't about discrimination. It's about their own fear. Irrational fear, yes, but fear that's palpable and which is strong enough to disengage minds which would normally be able to reason and rationalize.

People like Chuck Colson, and other respected Christian leaders were saying stuff like churches would lose their tax-exemption, or be closed down if they refused to marry gay couples, or hire gay people. He specifically said it would mark the end of religious freedom as we know it. Some were taking it to the extreme that California was the last bastian of order, and to lose that state to gay marriage would be losing the world and would hasten Armageddon.

Others were involving 'the children' as is always the resort when the apocalyptic stuff doesn't work. The innocent children who will learn in schools that it's okay to have two daddies or two mommies. Tolerance in school has already been taught regardless of the existence of prop. 8, which itself has nothing to do with anything except validating marriages for everyone, not just 90% of couples.

All of the negative lies were playing to the various fears people already had. So as irrational as these things are, fear has that way of unhinging the brain, and rational thought takes a back seat. The '04 and '00 U.S. presidential elections resulted from too many people voting out of their fear. Roosevelt said it best when he suggested that fear is the ONLY thing to fear.

Marching in the streets doesn't combat that fear - it only makes the fear more desperate.

Education is the key. No On 8 made fatal errors in not having more everyday gay people share their stories. When it's not shared in person, it's only an issue, and issues have no flesh and blood. There were not enough parallels made between the injustice of not allowing inter-racial marriage and the current injustice to millions of gay people. So people don't see the discrimination connection. All they see is a bunch of activists who are trying to crumble society - that's the message from the Yes On 8, and No On 8 was not effectively saying otherwise.

Fear unfortunately won this time around.