Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Terry Jeffrey Is Such An Idiot
Terry Jeffrey (known on the Stephanie Miller Show as "The Teeny, Tiny-voiced Republican With A Great Big Dream For America) was just on The Thom Hartmann Show. Thom asked him about Minnesota Representative Michelle Bachman's statements about which members of Congress were "Un-Amercian"...and he said that he didn't hear about it. Where the hell has this guy been? He allegedly works for an alleged news service, and he must have said three times during the interview "No, I didn't hear that." So either he isn't very good at his job, or he's lying. Hmmm...incompetent or a liar....choices, choices, choices......
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Judge not, lest ye be....etc....
Okay, so something's been bugging me for a couple of days. I have a "friend" on Facebook that I knew back in high school - I will not mention her name to protect her anonymity. And Facebook does this "News Feed" thing where you can see if they've become a fan of something or what they've done recently on Facebook. So I get the news feed that this friend had joined a "Yes on Proposition 8" group. Prop. 8, for those not in the know, is on the ballot to change the California Constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, and to basically outlaw gay marriage. The problem that I had with it is not that I simply do not agree with those who would want to change the constitution in order to take away rights. The problem I had was the little quote that accompanied the name of the group that she had joined - and it's unclear if it was her quote, or from the person who started the Facebook group. I'll paraphrase (because I cannot find the original news piece), but it said something to the effect that the person didn't mind gays or lesbians - they just wished that they followed the Ten Commandments.
So let me get this straight: gays and lesbians, no matter how or whether or not they worship, should follow the Ten Commandments. Okay, let's look at the 10, and break it down a bit.
1) No other gods before me
Okay, fine. Let's not get into a discussion as to whether the gods of all faiths are the same god. Things can get messy there. For the sake of argument, let's say that we're talking about Christian gays and lesbians (note to my Facebook "friend" - they exist! I've met them!). So Christian gays and lesbians are okay on the first commandment.
2) No idols or graven images
Some have argued that the symbol of the cross (made of whatever precious metal - diamonds and gemstones optional) constitutes a graven image Again, I'm not going to get into this here. Assuming that gay and lesbian Christians are not more prone to creating golden statues of rams to worship than other Christians, let's clear them on this one.
3) Don't take God's name in vain
This is one that has puzzled me for some time. Is God's name "God"? Is it "Yahweh"? Or "Jehovah"? And if His name is indeed "God" - can't we at least forgive those who take his name in vain when they smash their thumb or have an orgasm? Oh..and I think a dispensation is in order for any actor doing a David Mamet play. I think the rules are too fuzzy on this one - but let's not assume that gays and lesbians take God's name in vain any more frequently than straight people.
4) Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy
I worked at a "Take-N-Bake" pizza place in my home town for a bit of time. One Sunday, we got an "after church" crowd in - customers in their Sunday best to grab something to take home for lunch or an early dinner - or a "watching the game" snack. One lady once said "It's a shame that you feel that you have to be open on the Lord's day." I felt like saying "I'll tell you what - don't feel the need to go to a store on the Lord's day, get everyone to agree to it, and we won't be open." An example of people who truly take this commandment to heart are Orthodox Jews - from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown they can't even flip a light switch. The rest of us, straight and gay, are guilty.
5) Honor your father and mother
I don't think that Father's Day and Mother's Day alone let anyone off the hook with this one. Straight or gay, let anyone who has not, at some point, thought or screamed, "Mom/Dad! What's wrong with you?? You're driving me crazy!!!" cast the first stone.
6) Thou shalt not kill
Show me statistics that gays and lesbians are murdering people at phenomenal rates? Anybody? Bueller?
7) Thou shalt not steal
See #6, but substitute "stealing stuff" for "murdering people."
8) Thou shalt not commit adultery
Since in my "friend's" world, gay and lesbian people should not marry - adultery isn't really possible for them, is it?
9) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife
Easily answered. Ask just about any Republican man (even "pundits" on Fox) why they like Sarah Palin...and by the third thing they like, somehow "she's hot" is mentioned. And they get this....for lack of a better word, "droolly" look on their face. Now ask them if they're gay. I'm guessing that the percentage is going to be pretty low on that one....
10) Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor
I will have to admit that I believe that gays and lesbians as a group have lied more than others - in only one respect: Most have, at one point or another, had to lie about themselves. And it's been for self-preservation. Gays and lesbians were sent to Dachau and Buchenwald and Auschwitz along with Jews, gypsies, and other non-Aryans. They've been, and still are, beaten and tormented by bigoted people - simply for committing the heinous crime of being different. Just ask a 21 year old man named Matthew Shepard - oh wait...sorry....he was murdered. Can't ask him. Well then, ask Harvey Milk. Wow...really? Murdered too? How about Rebecca Wight who was killed while hiking and camping with her partner along the Appalachian trail in 1988? Here's one that this "Yes on 8" group could maybe get behind: On July 1st, 1999, a gay couple were killed by Matthew and Tyler Williams. Matthew Williams claimed he was "obeying the law of god" because he felt that homosexuality violated God's laws. He also said that he hoped that his actions would inspire further violence against homosexuals and ethnic minorities.
It is amazing to me the kinds of idiotic judgement that so-called Christian people can pass upon their fellow man. They can take one or two Old Testament verses out of context to "prove" that God is against homosexuality, but the simple "Judge not, lest ye be judged" seems to fly right past them. The hypocrisy is absolutely stunning to me, as is the ignorance of scientific fact. I don't want to rain on anybody's scientific or ecumenical parade, but homosexuality occurs in species other than humans. And there is also a genetic component - yes, gay people are born that way. And who made them? If you are of the belief that God creates and is the Creator....then the answer is: God created gay people.
All gay men and lesbian women want to do is possess the same rights that all of us do: the right to share benefits, to enter into full and legal domestic partnerships, to be able to visit each other in the hospital when the doctor's say "family only." They want to affirm their commitment to each other in front of their friends, and have it mean something - not only to them, but in the eyes of the law and, depending on their beliefs, in the eyes of God. I don't think they want to force your church to marry them - no more than I wanted to be married in a church myself. Actually, that's not true. I would have married my wife just about anywhere. But I would not have wanted to be married in a place and by people that didn't want me to be married. Talk about rain on your wedding day, as Alanis once said.....
So let me get this straight: gays and lesbians, no matter how or whether or not they worship, should follow the Ten Commandments. Okay, let's look at the 10, and break it down a bit.
1) No other gods before me
Okay, fine. Let's not get into a discussion as to whether the gods of all faiths are the same god. Things can get messy there. For the sake of argument, let's say that we're talking about Christian gays and lesbians (note to my Facebook "friend" - they exist! I've met them!). So Christian gays and lesbians are okay on the first commandment.
2) No idols or graven images
Some have argued that the symbol of the cross (made of whatever precious metal - diamonds and gemstones optional) constitutes a graven image Again, I'm not going to get into this here. Assuming that gay and lesbian Christians are not more prone to creating golden statues of rams to worship than other Christians, let's clear them on this one.
3) Don't take God's name in vain
This is one that has puzzled me for some time. Is God's name "God"? Is it "Yahweh"? Or "Jehovah"? And if His name is indeed "God" - can't we at least forgive those who take his name in vain when they smash their thumb or have an orgasm? Oh..and I think a dispensation is in order for any actor doing a David Mamet play. I think the rules are too fuzzy on this one - but let's not assume that gays and lesbians take God's name in vain any more frequently than straight people.
4) Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy
I worked at a "Take-N-Bake" pizza place in my home town for a bit of time. One Sunday, we got an "after church" crowd in - customers in their Sunday best to grab something to take home for lunch or an early dinner - or a "watching the game" snack. One lady once said "It's a shame that you feel that you have to be open on the Lord's day." I felt like saying "I'll tell you what - don't feel the need to go to a store on the Lord's day, get everyone to agree to it, and we won't be open." An example of people who truly take this commandment to heart are Orthodox Jews - from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown they can't even flip a light switch. The rest of us, straight and gay, are guilty.
5) Honor your father and mother
I don't think that Father's Day and Mother's Day alone let anyone off the hook with this one. Straight or gay, let anyone who has not, at some point, thought or screamed, "Mom/Dad! What's wrong with you?? You're driving me crazy!!!" cast the first stone.
6) Thou shalt not kill
Show me statistics that gays and lesbians are murdering people at phenomenal rates? Anybody? Bueller?
7) Thou shalt not steal
See #6, but substitute "stealing stuff" for "murdering people."
8) Thou shalt not commit adultery
Since in my "friend's" world, gay and lesbian people should not marry - adultery isn't really possible for them, is it?
9) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife
Easily answered. Ask just about any Republican man (even "pundits" on Fox) why they like Sarah Palin...and by the third thing they like, somehow "she's hot" is mentioned. And they get this....for lack of a better word, "droolly" look on their face. Now ask them if they're gay. I'm guessing that the percentage is going to be pretty low on that one....
10) Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor
I will have to admit that I believe that gays and lesbians as a group have lied more than others - in only one respect: Most have, at one point or another, had to lie about themselves. And it's been for self-preservation. Gays and lesbians were sent to Dachau and Buchenwald and Auschwitz along with Jews, gypsies, and other non-Aryans. They've been, and still are, beaten and tormented by bigoted people - simply for committing the heinous crime of being different. Just ask a 21 year old man named Matthew Shepard - oh wait...sorry....he was murdered. Can't ask him. Well then, ask Harvey Milk. Wow...really? Murdered too? How about Rebecca Wight who was killed while hiking and camping with her partner along the Appalachian trail in 1988? Here's one that this "Yes on 8" group could maybe get behind: On July 1st, 1999, a gay couple were killed by Matthew and Tyler Williams. Matthew Williams claimed he was "obeying the law of god" because he felt that homosexuality violated God's laws. He also said that he hoped that his actions would inspire further violence against homosexuals and ethnic minorities.
It is amazing to me the kinds of idiotic judgement that so-called Christian people can pass upon their fellow man. They can take one or two Old Testament verses out of context to "prove" that God is against homosexuality, but the simple "Judge not, lest ye be judged" seems to fly right past them. The hypocrisy is absolutely stunning to me, as is the ignorance of scientific fact. I don't want to rain on anybody's scientific or ecumenical parade, but homosexuality occurs in species other than humans. And there is also a genetic component - yes, gay people are born that way. And who made them? If you are of the belief that God creates and is the Creator....then the answer is: God created gay people.
All gay men and lesbian women want to do is possess the same rights that all of us do: the right to share benefits, to enter into full and legal domestic partnerships, to be able to visit each other in the hospital when the doctor's say "family only." They want to affirm their commitment to each other in front of their friends, and have it mean something - not only to them, but in the eyes of the law and, depending on their beliefs, in the eyes of God. I don't think they want to force your church to marry them - no more than I wanted to be married in a church myself. Actually, that's not true. I would have married my wife just about anywhere. But I would not have wanted to be married in a place and by people that didn't want me to be married. Talk about rain on your wedding day, as Alanis once said.....
To Blog, Or Not To Blog....
Some might ask (I know I did), "Isn't it a bit presumptuous to think that anyone (much less all of the web) would care what you have to say?" Well, it would be - if I thought that anyone besides me would care what I have to say. I just have stuff on my mind, and I need to say it. You can read it or not.....agree with it or not. Doesn't really matter. Sometimes one simply has to speak ones mind - if for nothing else, for their own sanity. So this blog will simply be my observations - things that bug me, things that excite me, things that freak me out. It's a place for me to get it out
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