I spent the entire day cleaning the house and am too tired to get the Christmas decorations out from the basement (they're behind the Halloween decorations ... 'nuf said). That'll have to wait 'til tomorrow. And hopefully, we'll get our tree soon. I'll try to get some pictures of our decorations and others in the neighborhood - but for now ...
Enjoy, y'all.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
We're having a baby ...
(Disclaimer: No, Scott and I are not having a baby ... )
So ... Vice President Dick Cheney's out lesbian daughter is pregnant (from an unknown source) and will be having a baby with Heather Poe, her lesbian partner of 15 years.
Let that sink in a little. A little more, now. Are we ready to think a little more?
She and her partner live in Virginia. A state that has passed some of the most vehement anti-gay laws ever, especially (and most recently) against gay marriage.
In the state that they live in, Mary and her partner will have no legal rights as a couple. Even by jumping through the legal hoops and setting up wills, Durable Power of Attorney contracts for financial management (witnessed by at least two people and notarized), Delegation of Authority contracts (also notarized), and Durable Power of Attorney Contracts for Health Care (also witnessed by at least two people and notarized), which is the least that Scott and I have to go through in the State of Washington (at our own expense) to cover our asses as life partners, Mary and her partner will still possibly have no legal access to each other or even joint finances in the event of one's medical emergency or death. Mary's partner will have absolutely no legal access to "their" child. She cannot legally adopt it. If Mary passes on, her partner will most likely have to give the child up to the state for adoption. As the law sees it (and I am certainly no expert, but if I am incorrect please tell me where I should get more information), Mary is basically a single mother with a baby being born out of wedlock and no one else (except perhaps Dick and Lynne?) has claim to anything that Mary has earned, loved, or given birth to. No one. Not even with legal documents that she may have to pay for (with her own hard-earned money, of course) to show that she, in a sound state of mind and body, shared with her partner of fifteen years the desire to love each other, take care of each other, hope upon oh-please-dear-god-let-us-be-blessed-with-a-wanted-child hope that they could raise a family because it's what they want and believe in and have a heartbreakingly acute desire to bring an actual beloved child into the world instead of oops-I'm-pregnant-oh-well-there's-always-welfare-here's-another-potentially-abused-welfare-kid-for-the-country-to-take-care-of-but-not-me ...
Let's let that sink in a little, shall we?
I know that not every unplanned child becomes an abused welfare statistic. I know that many children born out of wedlock are still wanted and loved and very well cared for. I know that many people in the situation of an unplanned pregnancy, where they cannot give the child a fair start in life (and one doesn't have to be raised in a wealthy home), make the extremely brave and unselfish and supremely loving decision to give their child up for adoption.
I also know that in the neighborhood where I live, there are a lot of single unwed teenaged mothers who do not have the means, either emotionally or financially or in any way, to raise a child ... well, I've seen my share of innocent children getting yelled at, slapped or worse because the parents are not ready or even willing to be parents, whether married or even together in any way or not, enough to know in the deepest part of my heart that if someone truly wants a child, to love and raise and guide and nurture and have what is best for them to the best of their abilities with no sacrifice too great, should not be denied the ability and the right to do what is, well, the right thing to do. To love and cherish and help and guide a child into becoming an educated, thoughtful, sympathetic, well-rounded adult member of our society.
So yes, I think that Mary and Heather should have this child. They should love it and help it and should have absolutely no encumberance to its' growth and life that any straight couple would not have to endure.
But will that be the case? Will they have to move to another state to have this available to them? Should they have to? Will the path somehow be paved more evenly for them due to Mary's political "clout"? And if it is ... what of everyone else who struggles against the bigotry that has been voted for by the people in whatever state they reside? Should Mary's choice to have a child be made any easier, or should she and Heather have to deal with what every other gay child-loving couple in the country has to put up with?
What will be the reaction from her parents, from the White House, from the country?
Will this make a difference, or be swept oh-so-conveniently under the rug?
And I am purposefully not commenting at all on my individual feelings about Mary Cheney. That's not the issue here.
I would love to have children. Scott would love to, more than I would. I'm worried that we're too old, that I don't have the patience, that it would be too hard and unfair and we can't afford to do it right and that maybe the rest of the country and the world is right. It's exhausting, mentally and physically and emotionally, and I wish more people in the world would go through similar anguish before bringing another child into this world. But if a couple, or a single person, goes through that anguish and still wants to have a child for the right reasons ... I want them to be able to have full support to do so.
So bless you and good luck, Mary and Heather. I hope upon neverending hope that this makes a difference - not just in your lives, but in everyone's lives. Whether you wanted it or not, you have thrust your lives and your upcoming parenthood into a spotlight. Don't let any of us down.
So ... Vice President Dick Cheney's out lesbian daughter is pregnant (from an unknown source) and will be having a baby with Heather Poe, her lesbian partner of 15 years.
Let that sink in a little. A little more, now. Are we ready to think a little more?
She and her partner live in Virginia. A state that has passed some of the most vehement anti-gay laws ever, especially (and most recently) against gay marriage.
In the state that they live in, Mary and her partner will have no legal rights as a couple. Even by jumping through the legal hoops and setting up wills, Durable Power of Attorney contracts for financial management (witnessed by at least two people and notarized), Delegation of Authority contracts (also notarized), and Durable Power of Attorney Contracts for Health Care (also witnessed by at least two people and notarized), which is the least that Scott and I have to go through in the State of Washington (at our own expense) to cover our asses as life partners, Mary and her partner will still possibly have no legal access to each other or even joint finances in the event of one's medical emergency or death. Mary's partner will have absolutely no legal access to "their" child. She cannot legally adopt it. If Mary passes on, her partner will most likely have to give the child up to the state for adoption. As the law sees it (and I am certainly no expert, but if I am incorrect please tell me where I should get more information), Mary is basically a single mother with a baby being born out of wedlock and no one else (except perhaps Dick and Lynne?) has claim to anything that Mary has earned, loved, or given birth to. No one. Not even with legal documents that she may have to pay for (with her own hard-earned money, of course) to show that she, in a sound state of mind and body, shared with her partner of fifteen years the desire to love each other, take care of each other, hope upon oh-please-dear-god-let-us-be-blessed-with-a-wanted-child hope that they could raise a family because it's what they want and believe in and have a heartbreakingly acute desire to bring an actual beloved child into the world instead of oops-I'm-pregnant-oh-well-there's-always-welfare-here's-another-potentially-abused-welfare-kid-for-the-country-to-take-care-of-but-not-me ...
Let's let that sink in a little, shall we?
I know that not every unplanned child becomes an abused welfare statistic. I know that many children born out of wedlock are still wanted and loved and very well cared for. I know that many people in the situation of an unplanned pregnancy, where they cannot give the child a fair start in life (and one doesn't have to be raised in a wealthy home), make the extremely brave and unselfish and supremely loving decision to give their child up for adoption.
I also know that in the neighborhood where I live, there are a lot of single unwed teenaged mothers who do not have the means, either emotionally or financially or in any way, to raise a child ... well, I've seen my share of innocent children getting yelled at, slapped or worse because the parents are not ready or even willing to be parents, whether married or even together in any way or not, enough to know in the deepest part of my heart that if someone truly wants a child, to love and raise and guide and nurture and have what is best for them to the best of their abilities with no sacrifice too great, should not be denied the ability and the right to do what is, well, the right thing to do. To love and cherish and help and guide a child into becoming an educated, thoughtful, sympathetic, well-rounded adult member of our society.
So yes, I think that Mary and Heather should have this child. They should love it and help it and should have absolutely no encumberance to its' growth and life that any straight couple would not have to endure.
But will that be the case? Will they have to move to another state to have this available to them? Should they have to? Will the path somehow be paved more evenly for them due to Mary's political "clout"? And if it is ... what of everyone else who struggles against the bigotry that has been voted for by the people in whatever state they reside? Should Mary's choice to have a child be made any easier, or should she and Heather have to deal with what every other gay child-loving couple in the country has to put up with?
What will be the reaction from her parents, from the White House, from the country?
Will this make a difference, or be swept oh-so-conveniently under the rug?
And I am purposefully not commenting at all on my individual feelings about Mary Cheney. That's not the issue here.
I would love to have children. Scott would love to, more than I would. I'm worried that we're too old, that I don't have the patience, that it would be too hard and unfair and we can't afford to do it right and that maybe the rest of the country and the world is right. It's exhausting, mentally and physically and emotionally, and I wish more people in the world would go through similar anguish before bringing another child into this world. But if a couple, or a single person, goes through that anguish and still wants to have a child for the right reasons ... I want them to be able to have full support to do so.
So bless you and good luck, Mary and Heather. I hope upon neverending hope that this makes a difference - not just in your lives, but in everyone's lives. Whether you wanted it or not, you have thrust your lives and your upcoming parenthood into a spotlight. Don't let any of us down.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
"Air it out ... "
I've only watched MadTV via YouTube ... but it has some of the most hysterical skits I have ever seen in my life; anything with Ms. Swan has me almost literally rolling on the floor, and Debra Wilson (who plays Oprah Winfrey in this skit) is absolutely brilliant. I have a feeling I'll be posting some more MadTV videos soon ...
I had seen this one a while ago, but found it again and cannot stop laughing. This is a take-off on "The Vagina Monologues", being read by former First Ladies. My female readers may laugh even harder than I did (and I certainly hope y'all see the humor in it and nobody is offended - you know that is never my intention).
I can't decide what my favorite line is in this skit - they're all too perfect. Maybe I should start a poll.
Enjoy, y'all.
I had seen this one a while ago, but found it again and cannot stop laughing. This is a take-off on "The Vagina Monologues", being read by former First Ladies. My female readers may laugh even harder than I did (and I certainly hope y'all see the humor in it and nobody is offended - you know that is never my intention).
I can't decide what my favorite line is in this skit - they're all too perfect. Maybe I should start a poll.
Enjoy, y'all.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Bob the Crab
Okay kids, time for a silly post ...
Scott and I have gone out to Kalaloch on the Washington coast a couple times this year. We've rented cabins and taken the dogs and gone for walks on the beach and watched the pups run and gallop and get tuckered out. The last time we went in September, we stayed in the same cabin that Laura Bush had occupied sometime last year (that would explain the Xanax pez dispenser we found under the bed). Ooooohhh ... I've used the same shower as the First Lady.
*shudder*
Anyway ... one afternoon Scott went for a walk/exploration down on the beach, and I stayed behind with the dogs and a fire in the fireplace. Scott took about 700 pictures, and a couple videos. This is one of him and his new friend, Bob.
Scott's a little on the silly side. I love this video - you don't see Scott, but you hear some of his silly voices and his silliness in general. How can anyone not love this guy? (Oh, and Bob was cute, too).
Scott and I have gone out to Kalaloch on the Washington coast a couple times this year. We've rented cabins and taken the dogs and gone for walks on the beach and watched the pups run and gallop and get tuckered out. The last time we went in September, we stayed in the same cabin that Laura Bush had occupied sometime last year (that would explain the Xanax pez dispenser we found under the bed). Ooooohhh ... I've used the same shower as the First Lady.
*shudder*
Anyway ... one afternoon Scott went for a walk/exploration down on the beach, and I stayed behind with the dogs and a fire in the fireplace. Scott took about 700 pictures, and a couple videos. This is one of him and his new friend, Bob.
Scott's a little on the silly side. I love this video - you don't see Scott, but you hear some of his silly voices and his silliness in general. How can anyone not love this guy? (Oh, and Bob was cute, too).
Friday, December 01, 2006
World AIDS Day 2006
As you hopefully know, today is World AIDS Day. Whether you are straight or LGBT, whether you are male or female, whether AIDS has personally affected you or not, you must recognize the horrible tragedy of this disease that has affected the entire world. We need to recognize - everyday - the importance of working toward ending it. Start today, if you haven't already, by supporting the ongoing effort to prevent the spread of AIDS and taking care of those who are afflicted.
I had the privelege of working for a short time with an AIDS prevention/education/care agency here in Seattle. Although I worked behind the scenes in Finance, I occasionally went to the client services area, where counsellors, insurance advocates, housing advocates, food workers, and education/prevention advocates worked. I have never been so amazed at people working to help those in need. These people are tireless. I was humbled to even be in the same room as them.
Agencies such as this one are constantly fighting for their clients' rights, for funding, for research, for education and prevention and against the stigmas surrounding this disease. It's heartbreaking to see such hard work, devotion and caring shoved so far down on the list of priorities in this and other countries.
AIDS affects everyone from all walks of life. Gay, straight, rich, poor, male, female, children. Please - do something to help. Start with this website. And also visit here.
Thanks.
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