Save Stitch

I don't know about you, but when I hear the name Stitch, I think of Lilo And Stitch. But, Stitch is also a sweet, loving dog who finally has a family that loves him and a little boy who adores him...

For the first year of Stitch's life, he was neglected and abused. It got to be so bad that the mom of his teenage owner stepped in and found Stitch a new home. A lovely lady named Hollye and her family LEGALLY adopted Stitch. Since then, other people have gotten involved and have harassed Hollye and her family, have lied to the courts, and are trying to take Stitch away from his family. Tomorrow, Stitch's case goes to court. Click on that cute doggie button up above and you can read the complete story on the blog AlexandraWrote...just take your tissue with you because the story is heartbreaking.

Go like Stitchy the Wonder Dog on Facebook and follow him at  SaveStitch to show your support for animal rights. You can also get updates about the case and find out how his court date goes. Also, stop by Hollye's blog and offer her support or send her a tweet (@hollyedexter). I am sure it will help to hear how many people support them.

UPDATE: I just stopped by Hollye's blog and found out there court date has been delayed until July 12th. Help me spread the word and help Hollye SAVE STITCH!

And two shall be one...NOT

The people promoting Amendment One in North Carolina described it as supporting the sanctity of marriage. Sadly, many people didn't stop to consider the many effects this poorly worded amendment (or, if they did, they didn't give a shit which is even sadder. One of the many things opponents warned about is the fact the Amendment One voids "other types of domestic unions from carrying legal status, which opponents warn could disrupt protection orders for unmarried couples."

Y'all, I'm sorry to say that this exact thing has already started happening. Last night, there was a call for a domestic disturbance in a small town not far from where I live. When the cops arrived on the scene, they found evidence of a domestic disturbance involving physical violence and one of the involved parties was taken into custody and they headed to the magistrate's office for processing.

Now, in North Carolina, when the police are called to a domestic disturbance and someone is taken into custody, that person can be held for 48 hours to ensure the safety of the injured party. I don't know the specifics of the disturbance the police were called to last night, but I'm sure the injured party was relieved to have at least 48 hours in which they would be safe and could decide what to do.

The problem is, they didn't get those 48 hours. When the police got to the magistrate's office, the magistrate told the police that his hands were tied. Under the new amendment, this was NOT considered a domestic disturbance because the altercation was between a homosexual couple. Since it wasn't a domestic disturbance, the 48 hour hold was not enforced. This means that even if the individual was charged with assault (don't know if that happened) they could still get out almost immediately and their partner was potentially in danger.

Y'all, this isn't fucking fair. It pisses me off that people will be endangered because to the fucked up legislation that is Amendment One. This really makes me so angry and sad  that I can't even begin to express it.

Values

by takomabibelot

Family values, family tradition, and espousing faith over fear, these are all things you would think a religious school would be proud to support. These are all things Dominic Sheahan-Stahl believes in. Dominic is engaged to be married and he is respected in his community.

Dominic and his brother are the third generation of their family to attend Sacred Heart Academy, a Catholic school, and Dominic was invited to speak at the graduation this year. Dominic was looking forward to speaking to the students about placing faith over fear, pursuing their dreams, and the bright future ahead of them. He was especially thrilled to get this opportunity because his brother is graduating this year. Sadly, Dominic's invitation to speak has been rescinded.

See, around the same time Dominic was sharing the exciting news about speaking at his brother's graduation, he was sharing some other thrilling news with his Facebook friends, the news of his engagement. Dominic recently got engaged to his partner, Nathan, and was understandably proud and excited about their engagement. The officials at Sacred Heart were less thrilled with that news. In fact, they were so less than thrilled that they couldn't even be bothered to give Mr. Sheahan-Stahl the news in person. They called his mother and told her that her son was no longer welcome to speak at graduation. He was no longer welcome to speak simply because he was too openly gay for them.

I completely understand that the Catholic church is a private entity and they have every legal right to have who they want speak at one of their schools' graduation ceremonies. I understand that many churches believe that homosexuality is against the word of God and is therefore a sin. I also know that the new testament of the Bible clearly says that you should not judge other people unless you want to risk judgment yourself. When Sacred Heart Academy rescinded Dominic Sheahan-Stahl's invitation to speak because he was too publicly gay, they were passing judgment. When they didn't even give him the courtesy of telling him of their decision personally, they were taking the coward's way out.

While it is certainly the church's right to disapprove of homosexuality, if you believe in God and believe that the Bible is the word of God, it is not our place as Christians to judge someone because their sexual preferences. Rescinding Dominic Sheahan-Stahl's invitation was certainly a judgment of the most public kind and I believe it was wrong. The unfairness of this judgment is compounded by the fact that Dominic Sheahan-Stahl has been living as an openly gay man for years and had no reason to believe SHA didn't know about that when they tendered the initial invitation.  It would be understandable is Dominic was hurt by this situation. It would be understandable if Dominic angry about the situation. It would even be understandable if Dominic lashed out. Instead, Dominic is expressing his hurt and disappointment with eloquence and grace. He is using his voice to spread the word and promote discussion. He is exhibiting the very traits that Sacred Heart Academy should be proud to see in their graduates.
Dominic, I would be proud if my sons grew up to be men like you. I'm sorry you are facing this discrimination and pray the officials at SHA can move past.this and rise above the dictates from the bishop.

If you support Dominic, here are a few ways you can add your voice to the discussion...

• Sign the petition on Change.org.
• Share Dominic’s video on Facebook and Twitter.
• Share the Let Dominic Speak Facebook page.
• Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else you can think of.
• You can also write your own post about Dominic's situation and, like the fabulous JW Moxie who brought this to my attention said, please let me know about it and I’ll help spread your words, too.

Have UTERUS, Will Travel

Do you remember when I told you about the move to knit or crochet a uterus for a senator in need?

Well, I finally finished my crocheted uterus. I used the pattern I mentioned in the original post but I did make one rather major change. I added ovaries and the connective ligament between the ovaries and the uterus.

Now, I just have to decide which worthy NC politician will get this uterus to remind them to keep their laws away from mine.

If you want to see more of these lovely handmade lady bits, check out the Government Free VJJ page,  the Government Free VJJ facebook page, and their twitter account

A Government in Need

This campaign season has illustrated an area that many of our congressmen and senators have a gaping deficit in. This deficit is so gigantic, so huge, that they have needed to dabble in it by messing with us. What lack could possibly create such a gaping hole in the lives of these powerful men? Why, it's the lack of a uterus. Yup, I seriously think Santorum and all the congressmen on the Penis Panel need their own uterus to play with because they seem awfully fascinated with ours. Maybe if they each had their own uterus to play with, they would leave ours the hell alone.

While I'm not the only one who thinks this way, I won't pretend I came up with this idea on my own. I saw the blurb on facebook and it led me to the Jezebel article about a movement to knit or crochet a uterus for a senator in need. The Jezebel article led me to the Government Free VJJ page and there I found patterns and a link to the Government Free VJJ facebook page and their twitter account. My crochet skills are much stronger than my knitting skills so I'll be crocheting this

for Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina and I invite all my friends who knit or crochet to join me in this fun.

So, who is going to join in? I don't know if it will change anything but it certainly can't hurt and it might just open a few eyes.

First, Do No Harm

I read something over on Cecily's blog and I am absolutely horrified. The Arizona Senate passed a bill that allows a doctor to violate the Hippocratic oath with impunity. The Arizona Senate has just passed Senate Bill 1359. This bill "stipulates a person is not liable for damages in a civil action for wrongful birth, wrongful life..." We need to hope and pray that this bill remains a bill and never, ever makes it to law.

To really understand how horrific this bill is, you have to read the provisions it puts forth...

Provisions
1. Specifies that a person is not liable for damages in a civil action for wrongful birth based on claim that a child would not or should not have been born, but for the act or omission of the defendant.
2. Stipulates that a person is not liable for damages in a civil action for wrongful life based on a claim that the person bringing the action would not or should not have been born, but for the act or omission of the defendant.
3. Specifies that a person is not liable for damages in a civil action for necessary expenses to raise a child within a wrongful pregnancy or wrongful conception claim that the child would not or should not have been conceived, but for an act or omission of the defendant.
4. States that these provisions apply to any claim regardless of whether the child was born healthy or with a birth defect or other adverse medical condition.
5. Specifies these provisions do not apply to civil action for damages for an intentional or grossly negligent act or omission, including one that violates criminal law.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

This bill means a doctor is under no obligation to tell you if your fetus has a defect incompatible with life. This bill means a doctor is under no obligation to tell you about any problem with your fetus at all. This bill infringes so far into the rights of a woman it isn't even funny. Can you imagine what a doctor who is morally opposed to abortion could do if this bill became law? Holy hell, even if I did decide to carry a fetus that was destined to die, IT SHOULD BE MY CHOICE. Dear God, between this bill and all the personhood amendments, I think Cecily might just be right. There might really be a war against women.

Spread the word. Let people know about the bullshit going on in Arizona so they can fight and rage against the injustice of this.

A Meme By Any Other Name...

I feel like I should be getting on my high horse and expressing my righteous indignation over the bullshit that's been spewed about women's health, prenatal testing, and access to birth control. I feel like I should rage over the sheer assholery exhibited by the man who tried to scam a woman into turning over the child they conceived for adoption by he and his wife. Luckily, I don't have to rage because Cecily of Uppercase Woman and Stirrup Queen's Mel did it so well. When you're done here, go read the three posts if you want to feel righteously indignant.

Instead, I feel like answering some pointless questions and inviting you to answer them too. I found these questions at HumorThatWorks.com...

1. Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best? When I first found out we were going to move here (to Cary) I was pissed at the world. I didn't want to move. However, it turns out to have been the best thing for our family. Truly, I wouldn't change it if I could.
2. What was one of the best parties you’ve ever been to? My answer to that question right now is so different than what my answer would have been 15 years ago. I went to some awesome parties when I was a member of the local Rescue Squad. I could tell you tales of fake chalk body outlines and people chasing cows on tractors and other bizarre occurrences. Now, I can truthfully say that one of the best parties I've been to was my son's military ball last Friday. I had a blast and it was so much fun watching the kids have a great time.
3. What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up? I bawled at the end of The Story of Beautiful Girl. It was a good cry.
4. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? The two hardest things I've ever had to do were telling my kids when their grandpa died and, just last month, telling them their Uncle Jose had died.
5. What was the last experience that made you a stronger person? Surviving infertility.
6. What did you do growing up that got you into trouble? Cursed beneath my breath when I was ticked off at my parents.
7. When was the last time you had an amazing meal? I had an absolutely amazing meal last summer when I was in San Diego for BlogHer. It was memorable for both the food we had at Fisherman's Wharf and for the amazing company I dined with.
8. What do you miss most about being a kid? Being able to sleep in to ridiculous hours on the weekends.
9. What is your first memory of being really excited? I can remember the unbearable excitement of one of my early Christmases...lying awake for what seemed like hours.
10. What was the first thing you bought with your own money? A 1991 light blue Ford Escort. She was a good car and lasted for almost 300,000 miles.
11. When was the last time you were nervous? Honestly, I don't know.
12. What is something you learned in the last week? I learned that crocheting doesn't really use more yarn than knitting.
13. What story does your family always tell about you? Hehehe, there are too many too tell right here. My sister likes the story of when the bird flying overhead shit on my shoulder.
14. At what age did you become an adult? Am I really an adult? Do I have to claim that status?

If you decide to join in the fun, let me know. I'll be sure to stop by and check it out.

The world doesn't look so rosy right now...

For years, I've been drinking the Komen kool-aid and saw the Komen foundation through rose colored glasses. It seemed that Komen could do no wrong. After all, they had brought such attention to bear on breast cancer. They were fighting the good fight for women's health. I was so impressed with the Komen foundation that I even wrote a post about them here.

I first became a little disillusioned with the Komen foundation when I found out they were suing individuals and smaller charitable foundations that dared to use the phrase "for the cure" or the pink ribbon. But, I swigged back a little more of the Komen kool-aid and reasoned they were just trying to protect their brand, their pristine image. Yesterday, that pink haze, those rosy glasses, were permanently removed. Yesterday, I heard the news of the Komen foundation pulling funding from Planned Parenthood.

The Komen foundation is trying to justify pulling $680,000 in Planned Parenthood funding, funding designated for breast cancer prevention, by saying they are tightening their criteria for funding and organizations under investigation by the government are not eligible for funds. Planned Parenthood maintains the funding was cut because of the unrelenting pressure anti-abortion groups were putting on the Komen foundation to cut ties with Planned Parenthood. The Planned Parenthood point of view seems to be supported by the fact that one of the very anti-abortion groups pressuring the Komen foundation broke the news of the funding cut at least a day BEFORE the official announcement was made.

It saddens me that the Komen foundation vow to remain above politics seems to have crumpled under pressure. It saddens me that the Komen foundation, an organization that purports to be all about women's health seems to have let the neighborhood bully convince them not to support breast exams given by Planned Parenthood. And, it truly saddens me that the anti-abortion foes ignore that only 3% of Planned Parenthood's services are abortion...that most of Planned Parenthood's services focus on maintaining sexual and reproductive health through gyn exams and breast exams and these services are desperately needed by lower income women.

I'm no longer drinking the Komen kool-aid. I will no longer be willing to pay a little extra to just to get the pink version of a product. My money and my support will be going to the organizations like Planned Parenthood from now on.

State Sanctioned Bullying

Tonight, I was hanging out watching some of the back episodes of Extreme Makeover Home Edition that had built up on my dvr. The oldest episode I had was the one about the Walker Family. This episode simply broke my heart and I was fighting tears the whole time. The Walker Family lost their 11 yr old, 6th grade son to suicide when the bullying he had suffered through finally stole the last of his fight, the last of his will to live. Part of the reason this episode hit me so strongly was the memories of when my oldest son dealt with bullying...at that very same age. Marty was bullied so badly that he told me "I'd rather die than go back there" referring to school.

As anyone who has been bullied knows, the things they say to you are designed to hurt you, to make you ashamed of who you are. Bullies call you names that make you feel less...less of a person, less worthy, less deserving. Bullies make you miserable.

Last night, I participated in the #Ashamed twitter party event designed to raise awareness about a horrible ad campaign going on down in Georgia. A group called Strong 4 Life formed with the intention of fighting childhood obesity. While the cause is noble, their method of fighting childhood obesity amounts to no more than state sanctioned bullying.  Strong 4 Life plastered the Atlanta area with billboards featuring young kids. These billboards showed the kids with miserable expressions on their faces, closed off postures, and captions such as "Warning: It's Hard To Be A Little Girl If You're Not". The billboards don't promote healthy eating. The billboards don't promote exercise and outdoor fun. The billboards don't try and change the problem through education. These billboards shame the children for their size. These billboards BULLY. As the always brilliant and very beautiful Cecily said last night "If shame helped us lose weight, well, we'd all be VERY SKINNY."

Please join me and all the other wonderful people who were at the twitter event in letting Strong4Life know what you think of there state sanctioned bullying. If you're on twitter, send out a tweet to @Strong4Life and let them know what they should do instead of bullying these young kids about their weight. Use the hashtag #ashamed. Also, help fight against bullying in general, educate your children. Give them the tools to fight back against it. And, take a moment to support the Walker family and support their fight against bullying. Drop by the Stand Together website, click on the Get Your # button, print your number,take a picture with it, and load it on their site. As of right now, 165,756 standing together to fight bullying. Let's make that number grow.

Blackout at the Lair

To learn more about what people are protesting, check out this article on BlogHer and the texts of SOPA and PIPA.

*the last line was inspired by a brilliant tweet by @erinbowbooks.

The Secret Sperminator

How would you feel if a newspaper came to you and told you your husband or partner had donated sperm to at least 9 couples and at least 3 of them were pregnant? Additionally, he had done this completely without your knowledge and didn't plan on telling you until after the children were born.

That is the situation facing Kathy Johnson, *"former Mrs. Alabama, a former director of the Alabama Broadband Initiative, a former director of Children First Foundation and director of the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy." Mrs. Johnson's husband, Bill, a former top state official and Republican gubernatorial candidate in Alabama, has been working in New Zealand with the recovery effort from the deadly earthquake. While in New Zealand, Bill decided to pursue a desire to be a biological father, a desire he should have given up when he married a woman who had had a hysterectomy. Not only did Bill pursue this without his wife's knowledge but he pursued it without going through the rigorous screening processes in place in New Zealand's fertility clinics. He chose to go through online donor registries to meet women who wanted to get pregnant. Additionally, Bill compromise the very values he claimed to believe in during his campaign (values I don't share). Instead of holding tight to his anti-gay marriage stance, he donated to at least one lesbian couple.

Furthermore, Bill Johnson is now upset about the newspaper story dealing with his activities. He *"said publication of the story would make it difficult for him to stay in New Zealand. 'I've been trying to get my wife over here, my family over here ... so I can be around for these children,' Johnson said, according to the Herald." As if what he did wasn't bad enough, he had been trying to uproot his wife and family and move them to the other side of the world when he didn't even plan on telling them about the babies until after they were born. This secret sperminator is truly a scum sucking bottom feeder.

How would you react to something like this? Kathy Johnson has (so far) reacted with class and dignity. I think I might have gone for the cut his balls off response. Weigh in with your opinion.


Quote marked with a * are taken from a story on al.com
More information can be found in a Montgomery Advertiser article

For Shame: a major corporate fail

Every once in a while, I read or hear a story that really disappoints me, that is really disheartening. Today was one of those days.

TLC has a new reality show called All-American Muslim. It follows the daily life of 5 Muslim American families and lets us get a peak inside their world. The families being followed offer a cross section of society...everyone from a couple of newly weds to a local football coach are featured on this show...and each family involved has said they are part of this show because they want the rest of America to know they are just like them. Basically, the show seeks to show the human face behind the religion and to remind the rest of America that Muslim and terrorist are not synonymous.

Sadly, a corporate powerhouse, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, has chosen to listen to an extreme conservative group called Florida Family Association who says that All-American Muslim is *"propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values." Instead of standing by their professed all American values, Lowe's has pulled all their advertising from this show. They are trying to appease people by saying *"Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views," the statement said. "As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance." If this was a program about being Jewish in America, no company would dare pull their advertising for fear of being labeled anti-semetic. How dare a corporation like Lowe's treat Muslims differently and hope to get away with it?

Grassroots movements are already starting against Lowe's. California state senator Ted Lieu has publicly stated he might call for a boycott or even pursue legislative action if Lowe's doesn't change there position. While I think legislative action isn't necessary, I do support a grassroots boycott. I for one will be driving across town to Home Depot until something changes.

Meanwhile, if you want to get a true picture of what it means to be a Muslim in America, check out the TLC show, watch this video

or check out any of these following websites...
Muslims in America: A Statistical Portrait
5 Myths about Muslims in America
The National Muslim-Christian Initiative
A Common Word Between Us and You

Weigh in with your opinion and tell me how you think people should handle this?

All quotes marked with a * were taken from an AP news article about this situation

Tales of a Tweet War

We all know how quickly things can blow up into a flame war or a tweet war but there was a tweet war this week that was note worthy. Fox News representative (from the show Red Eye) Andrew Levy took a shot at Chris Brown of R&B/Rihanna fame. Evidently, Andrew Levy has taken shots at Chris Brown before but this one set Chris Brown off and Brown and his stellar crew of supporters fired back.

This time around, Chris Brown tweeted "No more planking for me unless it's on a sexy lady! LOL" (sorry couldn't find a screen shot) and Andrew Levy responded by retweeting and adding a "correction"...

Chris Brown's twitter stream blew up and Andrew Levy offered this "apology"...

Andrew Levy has previously mentioned he's taken these tweetshots at Chris Brown because he feels people act like they've forgotten what he did. Do you see the humor in this whole situation? Or do you think Andrew Levy took it too far? Please chime in with your opinion and let's keep it civil folks.



*I am NOT a Fox News fan. There have been too many incidents with them claiming no bias and then showing bias as bad if not worse than the other news stations. I have NO respect for that.
******************************
Remember that I've opened the floor for any and all questions. Ask away.

My Fellow Americans

We live in the land of the free and home of the brave, the great Melting Pot, a country that espouses religious freedom and tolerance for your fellow man...or that's what we're suppose to do. Since 9/11, I've watched and I've seen. I've seen things that make me incredibly proud of who we are as a country and what we stand for. I've also seen things that have made me want to weep because of the hypocrisy and narrow minded assholery they display. I knew it was time to say something (past time really) when I saw this piece over on Cecily's blog and recalled a conversation I had with a relative who should know better. This relative informed my that Obama was really a closet Muslim and he lied to us abotu it because the Koran says it's okay for Muslim's to lie to non-Muslims in order to advance their cause. This relative further said that ALL Muslims who truly believe in the Koran believe in the violence perpetrated against our country because the Koran espouses those actions. If such a well-educated and supposedly open minded person can hold on to such warped, wrong headed ideas, then anyone can and that scares me. Please, please watch this and remember that you can't judge a book by it's cover or, in this case, you can't judge a patriot by their name or their religion.

Learn more and please pass it on.

Where do you stand on this issue and has anypne you know an d love surprised you with something they've said?

Better Late Than Never

I've been debating a lot about writing this post because, after all, the subject of Casey Anthony's guilt or innocence has been done to death. But, the more I thought about it, the more I decided I had to weigh in on this.

Although I followed the trial a little bit, I didn't follow or watch it obsessively. I'm sure there are things I missed. However, I am comfortable saying that I believe what Casey Anthony did was unforgivable and that karma will bite her in the ass someday. Either Casey killed her little girl and covered it up or her little girl died a tragic, accidental death and she lied about it and went on partying and living life. In my book, both acts are equally incomprehensible. I simply can not wrap my mind around an outlook that would make either of those acts ok.

Having said that, I MUST also say that I believe the jury did the right thing given the evidence they were presented with. My gut tells me that Casey Anthony is guilty as hell but, if I had sat on that jury, I believe I would have had to vote not guilty also. Our standard of law demands that, in the face of reasonable doubt, you must vote not guilty. The prosecution in the Casey Anthony trial could NOT present a cause of death. They could NOT present a murder weapon. All they could present was a lot of circumstantial evidence and one lying bitch. The smell of death and a few hairs in the trunk of Casey's car do not prove she killed Caylee. It does prove the body was in the car but it does NOT prove murder. The jurors who have spoken have all said it made them sick to their stomach to vote not guilty but they were following the letter of the law.

While I believe Casey Anthony deserves to rot in hell, I Must give kudos to those jurors for having the moral fortitude to follow the letter of the law.

What do you think about it all?

Things I Believe In

I believe that last night at 11:55 pm, a truly historic moment occurred. Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that legalized gay marriage. Sure, other states have approved gay marriage but the sheer influence of New York makes this an incredibly important day in the fight for equality.

Thanks to It's ok to be Takei for the photo from their Facebook wall

I believe this was a truly wonderful site...not just for the sheer beauty but for what it represented...

Thanks to Think Progress for the photo on their Facebook wall

I believe my dear thugette Kym had it right when she said "Yay, New York! Now work on lifting the surrogacy ban to make it a little easier for the future new husbands to build their families!"

I believe that no matter what our infertility experience is, we need to band together and fight to decriminalize surrogacy in Arizona, Michigan, New York, Utah, Washington State, and Washington, DC. How dare the government try and tell us this is not a legitimate way to build a family.

I believe my home state of North Carolina's nullification of state Sen. Julie Boseman's adoption of her partner Melissa Jarrell's son is shameful and cowardly. It sets a dangerous precedent.

I believe that if insurance companies are going to cover birth control and erectile dysfunction drugs it is morally wrong to not offer infertility coverage.

I believe in the freedom to choose...to choose your partner, to choose your religion, to chose your political affiliation, and, if necessary, to chose abortion. Yes, I am an infertility survivor. Yes, I have lost many, many pregnancies. But, I have experienced pre-eclampsia and I have friends who would have died if pregnancy termination was not legal.

I believe in freedom of speech. For example, I find the Westboro Baptist Church morally reprehensible and I think they give Christians and organized religion a bad name. However, I believe that, under our Constitution, they have a right to say what they say and protest the way they do.

I believe in State's rights and following our Constitution (which I do not believe is a living document...that's what the amendments are for).

What do you believe it?


Please keep this discussion civilized. Feel free to disagree but don't call names.

Deterred by the darkness

A few hours ago, well before midnight, I sat down with every intention of writing out a thoughtful post about misogynistic legislation that is being pushed by so many legislators around this country of ours. I sat down because I believe it's our duty to speak out against the bile these people are spewing. As I started to type, I got interrupted buy a horrible sound, both a cry and a scream. Poor Gabeycakes, my little 5 yr old had a nightmare. I got him out of bed and he just kept crying and crying. The poor little guy was shaking. He never was able to clearly articulate what was wrong, just that he was scared. He finally settled down and I was able to get him back in bed...but that little emotional rollercoaster just sucked up all my brain power and shut me down for a bit.

Since I'm too brain dead to write terribly coherently about such an important topic, I'm going to ask you to go over to Keiko Zoll's blog, Hannah Wept, Sarah Laughed, and read about the ill conceived legislation that our politicians are trying to force feed us. Please, please read her post Um, Why does the government hate women so much? This post is guaranteed to make you angry. It is guaranteed to wreak havoc with your emotions. It's going to take you on a rollercoaster ride. But, this is one rollercoaster ride that can NOT be allowed to silence us. We must be vocal. We must speak out. We must not allow this legislation to be passed.

Now go on...go read it! And, then take the time to spread the word. Tweet it, facebook it, blog it. We have power. We have a voice. And, we must not be deterred by the darkness.

Takei speaks out

I am a serious sci-fi geek and I have a HUGE soft spot for Star Trek and all it's cast members. This video by Mr. George Takei takes a serious subject and presents it with a bit of humor. Mr. Takei kicks some serious ass and has risen to new heights in my regard.

Rock the Vote...

I don't care who you vote for. I don't care if you are liberal, conservative, libertarian, or something else entirely. I just care that you exercise your rights as a citizen of these United States.  Get your ass in gear and

VOTE!

Yesterday was National Coming Out Day

and all day long my facebook status said Kristin Cruz is a straight ally and today is National Coming Out Day. I'm coming out for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality because it's 2010 and only five states plus DC recognize that love, not gender, is what matters in a marriage. Donate your status and join me by clicking here: http://bit.ly/cwB4QT.

To me, this seemed like such a small  way to express my support, to show that I care. But, I've recently been reminded that small gestures can make big differences and this reminder pushed me into action.  See, I am trying very hard to raise three loving, accepting young men and, to do that, I have to live the life I am teaching them to embrace and my actions must follow my words.  Evidently, my words have been getting through because Joey wholeheartedly supports and believes that two loving adults of any gender deserve the right to be married.  I want this belief to continue.  I want my children to know and understand that the qualities that make someone a good friend remain unchanged  no matter who that friend chooses to love.  If I expect my teachings to take root and flourish, I think I need to become a little more vocal in my support for gay rights and gay marriage.  

I have a Save the Ta-Tas t-shirt to show my support for breast cancer research.  I think I  see one of these in my future...

With all the horrific stories we've heard lately about young people who've taken their life due to being tormented about their sexuality, it is the very least I can do.