NJ rules against religious freedom

Here we go! Many of us saw this coming - and it doesn't bode well for ANY church! A Methodist church in New Jersey refused to rent out a church-owned beach front pavilion to a same-sex couple for their wedding, based, of course, on the fact that their beliefs do not support same sex marriage. Of course, again, they were sued. And lost, in the first round, but it isn't over. Read the article here.
This is classic right of religious freedom against - what? Civil rights??? For a group of people whose claim of "I was born this way - I have no choice" has NEVER been conclusively scientifically proven? (see this blog) What exactly is it that justifies their claim to special rights? We can't just sit back and watch one of our country's most basic freedoms, freedom of religion, be washed away in the tide of baseless claims of intolerance and violation of gay rights.
My hope is that as this matter works its way up the legal ladder, truth and logic will prevail.

Lawyers (and everyone else): Leave your morals at the door!

The State Bar of Arizona is considering whether to require new attorneys to swear they will not let their views on sexual orientation get in the way of providing legal services.

This is already happening in CA. I have a friend who is a lawyer and a judge. I was speaking to his wife during the Prop. 8 campaign, and she said, "You won't believe this, but if Prop. 8 doesn't pass, Roger (named changed to protect the innocent) will have to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies!" When he got the job as a judge, he had to swear not to allow his own moral beliefs to intrude on his ability to judge the law. This includes all judges' duties, performing marriages being just one. I asked my friend what her husband would do, and she said that he would just have to swallow hard and perform the same-sex marriage. Or risk losing his job. There is no option of trading it off to another judge with more liberal views. Either he does something he doesn't believe in, or he gets fired.
This raises the question: what is more acceptable? Compromising the law on moral grounds, or compromising personal morals on legal grounds?

To me, it is totally ridiculous that this question even needs to be asked! This is the direction that our country is heading in - good men and women must make a choice between keeping their jobs, or standing for what they believe is right. Free country? Freedom of speech? Not in the law profession! The miscarriage of justice lies NOT in requiring judges to place rule of law above everything else...it is in requiring them to perform duties that they don't believe in without the option of referring that case to another lawyer. Which brings to mind the case of the infertility doctor whose personal beliefs made her opt out of helping a same sex couple get pregnant. She referred them to another doctor. Seems like a logical thing to do. But she was sued for it and lost. see this article. If the opposition gets their way, here's what you can expect: Leave your moral beliefs at the door when you walk into work every day! Required by law!

The Arizona State Bar will make their decision in January.

Support Prop. 8 Supporters

We have all heard stories about donors to the Yes on 8 Campaign who have been targeted by the LGBT community. Several people have been forced out of jobs, and businesses are suffering. This is unacceptable! We outnumber the opposition, and amazing things happen when we all stand together for a cause. This website provides a list of all contributors of $5,000+ to the Yes on 8 Campaign (the so-called "dishonor Roll"). As well, they have a blog in which they organize and promote retaliatory boycotts, protests, and general harassment of Yes donors. (as an aside, I've read that blog, and the information they use to get their followers frothing at the mouth and ready to attack is grossly inaccurate. Lots of lying going on at californiansagainsthate.com!) The best (and only) way to respond to this group is to support our supporters. Check out that list, find people in your area who donated, and patronize their businesses (and tell your friends)! This is a free country and every citizen has every right to support whatever political cause they believe is just. NO ONE should have to lose their job or have a business fail because they donated money to a cause they believe in! Prop. 8 would never have passed without these donors. I, for one, feel indebted to them! I look forward to crossing the protest line and supporting Prop. 8 businesses.

CA Attorney General Jerry Brown now fighting against Prop. 8

So Jerry Brown filed a legal brief saying that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional. (see article here) Frankly, I am not surprised in the slightest. He has been openly vocal about his personal feelings about Prop. 8 from the beginning. He voted against it. So where is the shock in this? Well, because the state Attorney General's job description is to legally defend the voice of the people.
"Brown's decision to challenge the voter-approved measure and the argument advanced by the attorney general was totally unprecedented. His legal duty as attorney general of the state is to defend initiatives passed by the voters." Seems to me that Jerry Brown isn't doing his job. And he has been making noises about running for CA state Governor (again)? Good luck with that one!

Obama infuriates the gay community

In a surprise move that infuriated the gay community, President-elect Barack Obama chose Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration (read article here). Rick Warren is the Pastor of Saddleback Christian Church in Southern CA, and was openly supportive of Prop. 8. Interesting, that Obama chose a pro-Prop. 8 evangelical to participate in his inauguration...I support the choice, yet I am watching to see how this plays into the whole political game. I hope that Obama and Warren don't cave!

Yes, Colin, there really is a strong Conservative base!

My eyebrows went up when I read about Colin Powell endorsing Barack Obama just weeks before the election. Way up. But I figured that he was voting along race lines and that was probably to be expected. But this interview made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and join my eyebrows. Powell claims that the Republican party lost the election because it didn't listen or appeal to special groups within the American population. That, in order to win any election, Republicans must make more liberal changes to appeal to these smaller groups...wait, that sounds like a Democrat to me! And to quote Rush Limbaugh (who was rudely marginalized by Powell in this interview), "Ronald Reagan would be spinning in his grave!"

I think this is a classic case of mistaken, misunderstood data. Powell is under the impression that America is on the move toward a more liberal society, and that the Republican party has to make corresponding changes or risk being voted into oblivion. But he has not even begun to hear enough from us. He isn't taking into consideration that there is a HUGE group of Americans who support traditional family values - oppose abortion, gay marriage, illegal immigration, and Big Government, who support the right to own and bear arms, support Capitalism, in short, promote conservativism - who have not been very outspoken in past. Most of us have been too busy raising upstanding children and working to support them without turning to government welfare. The time has come to speak up, friends, a lot louder than ever before. We need to remind Washington that we are out here, stimulating the economy, talking to our friends and co-workers, and voting! Traditionally, the Republican party has represented conservative values...and I would hate to see it continue liberalizing itself just to appeal to what the politicians mistakenly think is popular. What party would represent us then?

If you support traditional families, this new website is for you!

What started out as a small group of people in S. CA, fighting to get Prop. 8 passed, has turned into a huge grass-roots effort to further family values all over the US. I am proud to say that I was one of the early members of DNA (Digital Network Army), and as such, I spent hours on Facebook, U-tube and various blogs and websites all over the web leaving comments and writing articles and letters to the editor, during the months leading up to Election Day. I went from being a mild-mannered (well, some might protest that...) stay-at-home soccer mom to a political activist, determined to make my voice heard. Well, Prop. 8 passed, but we all know what happened next. The fight isn't over yet. The need for our DNA is greater now than ever before!

Now DNA has started a website and gone global! This is a great step in this effort and I applaud the individuals behind the scenes. This is an effort to get the word out to the religious right, and like-valued lefties too! Very exciting. Please check it out here.

Newsweek trashes Bible in support of Gay Marriage

UPDATE:
This now out from Newsweek. Maybe Ms. Miller is on her way out?


I got this email and as I did my research, I was appalled. For a group of people who don't believe in God, the Bible, or organized religion, the GLBT community sure is determined to excuse their lifestyle any way they can. They did a pretty pathetic job of it here. Miller is supposed to be a religion writer, but the only time I have ever heard the scriptures being twisted worse was here. She doesn't seem to have much theological knowledge going for her.

"Newsweek magazine has published a lengthy article stating that the Bible supports homosexual marriage. The article was written Lisa Miller, Newsweek religion editor.
Miller's article is one of the most biased and distorted pieces concerning homosexual marriage ever published by any major news organization. The article is much too long for this e-mail.
Dr. Albert Mohler has offered a response to the Newsweek article. I suggest you read Mohler’s article and then Miller's Newsweek article.
Mohler made a significant point in his response: "The national news media are collectively embarrassed by the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Gay rights activists are publicly calling on the mainstream media to offer support for gay marriage, arguing that the media let them down in November. It appears that Newsweek intends to do its part to press for same-sex marriage. Many observers believe that the main obstacle to this agenda is a resolute opposition grounded in Christian conviction. Newsweek clearly intends to reduce that opposition."

If that is the case, then this is just the beginning. Get on those websites and get commenting, friends!

Day Without a Gay

The following is quoted from the Day Without a Gay website...

"The worldwide media attention surrounding our massive grassweb efforts for gay rights has been tremendous. Join the Impact was a HUGE success and will continue to thrive because of our efforts.
We've reacted to anti-gay ballot initiatives in California, Arizona Florida, and Arkansas with anger, with resolve, and with courage. NOW, it's time to show America and the world how we love.
Gay people and our allies are compassionate, sensitive, caring, mobilized, and programmed for success. A day without gays would be tragic because it would be a day without love. (Really?)
On December 10, 2008 the gay community will take a historic stance against hatred by donating love to a variety of different causes. On December 10, you are encouraged not to call in sick to work. You are encouraged to call in "gay"--and donate your time to service!"

Well, I guess we can be glad that they aren't "reacting with anger, resolve and courage" anymore. All of this, because they want to redefine one little word. Why they insist on calling it "h8" - I STILL don't get it. No one is taking away any of their actual rights! They can still love whomever they choose. They can still (in the state of CA) adopt children, file joint taxes, get insurance coverage for a domestic partner, work, shop, and live in any community they choose. How does defining "marriage" as between a man and a woman change their lives? How does that take any rights away? How does it show hate?

It is like my 4 year old daughter, who didn't get the cookie that she wanted yesterday. She yelled, "that's not fair!" and "you don't love me!" and she sat on the stairs and pouted. But she could have had a different cookie - it just wasn't the exact one she wanted. That is the problem with people who play the "fairness" card - they would only be satisfied if they got exactly what they wanted, and whether it is fair to anyone else matters little or not at all. This is how I see these militant gays. They are like little children who aren't getting what they want (total acceptance and celebration of their lifestyle), so they cry "Unfair!"

Reality: Life isn't fair. You don't always get your way. Deal with it.

Gay Bible set for publication and film

This is taking it too far. Now they are rewriting the Bible and committing blasphemy in the worst way. Check out this link. And then they call it the "Princess Diana Bible"- because Princess Diana did so much good in the world when she was alive...

"There are many different versions of the Bible; I don't see why we can't have one," said Max Mitchell, who directed the science fiction comedy Horror in the Wind, in which an airborne formula invented by two biogeneticists reverses the world's sexual orientation. "I got the idea for the Princess Diana Bible from Horror In The Wind," he added. "After the world becomes gay, religious people create The Princess Diana Bible, which says that gay is right and straight is a sin. Then they burn all the King James Bibles."

There are so many things wrong with this that I am not sure where to start. And I feel for Princess Diana! Wonder how this is legal, for them to use her name in such a horrible way, after her death...

Well, why not...they change the definition of words (gay, queer) and are fighting with all they are worth to change the definition of marriage, we shouldn't be surprised that they are now taking a sacred book of scripture and turning it into an abomination.

Sarah Palin, still on fire.

Senator Saxby (love that name) Chambliss, Republican of Georgia, just won his bid for US Senate. During his campaign, he had all the Republican bigwigs campaigning for him in hopes of getting another Republican in the Senate...here's what he had to say about this:
“You want to peak on the last day, and we had John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Governor [Mitt] Romney and Rudy Giuliani. But Sarah Palin came in on the last day and man, she was dynamite. We packed the houses everywhere we went.”

Kilmeade asked, “You saw all the heavyweights in the Republican Party show up . . . tell me about Sarah Palin. Will her popularity last?”

“I cannot see it diminishing," the senator answered. “I can’t overstate the impact she had down here. All these folks did a great job, they all allowed us to add momentum, but when she walks in a room, folks just explode. She’s a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she’s got a great future in the Republican Party.”
Link to this interview

This blogger hopes so! And congrats, Saxby, on your win!