There's Still The Pain

I happened upon this letter to the editor in The Press of Atlantic City online website the other day from a parent of a gay young adult:

Help gay students
feel safer in school

In the May 19 Education by the Numbers feature, one item mentioned that 33 percent of secondary-school principals say that gay, lesbian and bisexual students would feel safe in their schools. What about the other 67 percent? What are they doing to make their schools safe for all young people?
As a mother of a gay son who just graduated college, I was appalled by that low number. I would be interested in knowing what part of the country this info came from. Were the schools public or private, inner-city schools, small or large-sized schools?
While living in northern New Jersey, my husband and I attended Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays meetings. PFLAG of Bergen County has an excellent safe-schools program and a speakers bureau to educate those who have no idea what this is really all about.
I would hope that more principals would avail their schools of the service so as to better inform their staff and, in turn, their students concerning this extremely important matter.
CHRISTINE MILLARD
Egg Harbor Township

Ms. Millard's point: that although 33% of gay students feel safe, what about the other 67%?

Then I read this comment to Ms. Millard's letter and I could hardly believe what I read:

I am appalled there is any special effort to protect young people who decide to come out of the closet in any size or type of school system. School is not about there sexual orientation , it is to learn and move into the real world . If a kid has an abnormal interest in sex partners, they should keep it to themselves until they get out of school.
Posted by: social chemist on Wed May 28, 2008, 9:15 AM

To think that this is 2008! To believe that attitudes like this still exist is beyond me. It makes my blood boil when kids of any kind, gay, straight, black, white, fat, thin, etc. have to go to school fearing their safety. Then a moron like "social chemist" makes a statement such as above!

When are we going to get over discriminating against anyone for any reason? Then today in my mail I received some information about The Trevor Project, an organization based in California, that helps gay teens get through their difficult times. I urge you to check it out.

A Night At The Movies

I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last night. I was not disappointed. Yes, the movie was unbelievable! Yes, Indiana Jones is old and in no way could do the things he did! Yes, it ended in a sort of stupid manner for me. BUT, Yes, it took me away for 2 hours and I had a good time! That to me is what's important in a movie!

The story goes pretty much the same as any other Indiana Jones movie. Indiana finds himself in some hot water in the beginning of the movie, and he manages to get out of it, then he is in his calm setting in the university, and then he gets the "call" that his help is needed, this time in Peru, then you meet the rest of the characters, and then the plot thickens, more action occurs, and Indiana wins and all is well. Full of action and scenery, full of the "gross" stuff that Indiana and companions meet, and full of the "that couldn't really happen" reaction from the viewers.

I had fun, and isn't that what a movie should be? Nothing I had to think about. Nothing I had to feel bad about. I didn't sit and watch 2 hours of real stuff, only fantasy. Just good old fun. Just an escape from the world for a couple of hours.

My next movie: Sex and the City. Then it's The Dark Knight. Maybe there will be a few in between, but most of them will be on DVD.

Stop the Crying, Hillary

"It's so unfair! They have to count all the votes, including Michigan and Florida! I will not give up until all the votes are counted!" That's how Hillary, and her husband Bill, I might add, are campaigning now that they are behind and it looks like Hillary will not be the democratic nominee for president. More politics on Hillary's part, as usual for her?

I think the rules that the Democratic National Committee adopted by not seating the Michigan and Florida delegates is just plain STUPID! I don't understand how the DNC can just not count people's votes just because the democratic party in a particular state went against the rules for the primary in that state. However, these are the rules that were adopted and that democrats have to live with. I am almost certain that Hillary and Bill probably had a say and a part in instituting these rules. Now that the rules of the DNC are working against Hillary, she's crying about it!

If roles were reversed, and Hillary was leading Obama in the delegate count, I am also certain Hillary and Bill would be shouting that, "These are the rules! Fair or not, we've got to live by them!" More of why I do not support Hillary anymore: she continues to play the politic game. She will do anything she has to to win!

GO OBAMA!

I Can Feel It Already

There isn't even a clear democratic nominee yet and already I can feel the pressure of the November election. I can feel my blood pressure starting to rise, and I know it will be an up-and-down roller coaster ride the entire campaign season.

George Bush got me so aggravated the other day when he spoke in the Israeli Kinnesset about "appeasement" of terrorist groups. Really, George? What is the harm in talking to countries such as Iran and North Korea? What is so bad about diplomacy? Is that "appeasement"? How in the world can we ever get along with other nations when we don't even know what it is that really bothers and upsets them about the US? I know; Bush always says it's that they hate our freedom. Well, Bush, maybe there's more to it than that! Could it be our arrogance? Could it be that the US has portrayed itself during the past 7+ years as the "god of the world"? Could it be that the US has become one big bully that nobody likes?

Then I read my friend Pax Romano's blog today and find this moron, Kevin James, also ranting about how bad Obama is going to be for the US and Israel. To make matters worse, this guy doesn't even know what the hell he's talking about!

It's going to be a long and intense campaign ahead. I am confident Obama can handle it. I'm sure he knows what he's in for. GO OBAMA!

Life: A Never Ending Battle

OK............Let me get philosophical on you.

The other day while driving to work after the torrential rain and damaging winds we experienced, I noticed a guy cleaning up along the road. I thought to myself that this man is cleaning up, only to have to do it again after the next storm comes along. Then I thought about some of my plants I just planted in pots on my patio that were damaged. I may have to replace them. And the bird's nest that blew off the beam, and the poor birds that would have to find a new home. Then I remembered the typhoon that hit Myanmar; all that loss. Then came the earthquake in China and the thousands killed and even more left homeless. I also thought about the many wars that have been fought throughout history, and the many more that will no doubtedly come in the future. Life really is one battle after another.

Is it nature's way? Survival of the fittest? There is this constant fight for existence. Nature fights to exist, and humankind fights to exist. There always seems to be something or someone that tries to stop everything. Some fight disease. Some fight literal wars. Some battle survival in other ways, but we all face the struggle of just keeping it together and life going on. And in the end, what's it all for?

The struggle to survive is done for what purpose? To leave it to our children? For what? To better our world? For what? To see our names in lights? Only to be forgotten?

And The Winner Is.....

When I watched Barack Obama's acceptance speech after the North Carolina democratic primary, it felt as if the "acceptance" was for much more than the primary in NC. Obama's speech was more of an "acceptance" of the Democratic nomination to battle John McCain in November. Obama appeared to be calling on all democrats to leave differences behind and join together to defeat the Republicans in Novemeber. I felt excited at Obama's words, as I have during many of his speeches, but this one seemed even more energetic to me. As one writer put it, Obama seemed to be "re-tooling" for the general November election, and I felt it too. Ever since that May 6th NC primary, Obama has seemed to totally ignore Hillary Clinton and move forward with his November presidential campaign. And I gotta say, "I LIKE IT!"

Nine more super delegates have come to Obama's side, including some who had already declared their support for Clinton. The tide is turning to Obama. I, like many others, now feel it. I have stated before that in the February NJ Primary I did vote for Clinton, but if the NJ primary were held in June, as in previous years, I too would be supporting Obama. Obama is planning his strategy against McCain as the democratic primary process moves on. Will Clinton continue to stand in the way?

Many argue that Obama will not be able to defeat McCain. Honestly, I wonder also if America is really ready for an African-American president. Let's face reality: there are some in America that simply will not vote for a black man. But then there are some, keeping it real, that would simply not vote for a woman. I believe that when Obama focuses on McCain, when Obama can really show the differences between himself and McCain's continued Bush agenda, the voters will rally behind Obama. I also believe, and still have faith in Hillary Clinton, that she, her husband, and the rest of the democratic bigwigs will encourage all democrats to support Obama in November. GO BARACK OBAMA!

New Jersey: On The Brink of Gay Marriage

I attended a Garden State Equality Neighborhood Action Summit tonight in Margate. These meetings are happening all over the State the next few weeks, as action is taken to push NJ over the brink and into gay marriage. NJ is on the verge of legalizing gay marriage, with just a few assemblymen and senators left to come on board. Governor Jon Corzine has stated previously that he will sign a marriage equality bill if it crosses his desk, but the governor does not want this issue to sidetrack the presidential election so the governor wants the bill to wait until after the November presidential election.


Tonight's action summit was designed to call legislative leadership to thank them for supporting the gay rights, but encouraging a marriage bill by the end of this year. Letters were also written to local legislators encouraging their support as well. NJ will become the 2nd state in the country to legalize gay marriage in the very near future.

Just across the river in Pennsylvania, a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar same-sex marriage and civil unions passed a key committee on Monday and is now headed for a full vote on the Senate floor. Hopefully this will be defeated when it gets to a full Pennsylvania Senate vote.

A Gas Holiday?

What difference does it really make what McCain, Clinton, or Obama think about a gas tax holiday from Memorial Day to Labor Day? After all, none of them will be President during the summer!

Personally, I have to agree with Obama; it is a political ploy that really will not help anything. It will only save the public a few dollars. It will only encourage more use of gasoline when alternatives to gas should be encouraged. It will not help one iota with our dependence on foreign oil, but it will only make that dependence even stronger.