SEX AND THE CITY 2: My Review

Went and saw Sex and the City 2 last night. It was light, enjoyable, and funny. Definitely not as good as the first movie, but fun nonetheless. Will it win an academy award? Definitely not! The girls, still soul mates after all these years, start off at the gay wedding of Standford and Anthony. Liza Minnelli definitely steals the show with her rendition of Single Ladies. Then, it's off to Abu Dhabi for a stay in a luxurious, and I mean luxurious $22,000.00/night resort. But The Arab Emirates culture eventually gets the best of the girls and home they return, not too happy. (There has been controversy among the arab and Muslim world, and after seeing the movie, I understand why). But all ends well as is to be expected, and the lives of the ladies continues.

I believe the real meaning of the movie, from beginning to end, is that every relationship is unique! Every relationship, whether it be that of a same-sex couple, a single, sex-crazed female, a childless couple who consider "days off" from the marriage, or working mothers who find it extremely difficult, has its own rules. Each couple, or individual, must make up the rules that best fits their lives and circumstances. Also, families are unique and individual as well.

In our society, fortunately, we see the uniqueness of relationships and families everyday. The blurring of the past traditions is somewhat confusing and hard for some to grasp. Tradition is important, but we cannot stop the hands of time. No matter how much one dislikes it, society is in constant change and evolution. Nothing can remain the same. We have to realize this and move on with society as it changes.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

To the men and women of the US military I say, "Thank you! Thank you for the freedoms that I have!"

Now, repeal DODT!! And then end DOMA!! Marriage equality for All!!

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day celebration everyone!

Find Me Here Too

I can also be found here..................

Yes, I Am A LIBERAL!

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately and I have come to one conclusion: I AM A LIBERAL!

I believe that one of the most important roles of government is to create a fair playing ground for everyone, regardless of background. It shouldn’t matter if you were born to parents living in a mansion by the lake, or a shack in the Hood. All should have the same opportunity to make it in this country! If that makes me a Liberal, then I am a Liberal!

I believe that the US Constitution provides the same rights to all the People of this great land, regardless of whether or not I agree with anyone’s position on an issue! I may not like what someone is doing, or I may not agree with how someone lives his life, or who someone loves, but he is entitled to the same rights to life, liberty, and happiness as I am! If that makes me a Liberal, then I am a Liberal!

I believe that this country needs to take care of the less fortunate! I do not believe in simple “hand outs,” but if someone’s situation has placed them in a less than optimum position to succeed, we need to give whatever assistance we can! If that makes me a Liberal, then I am a Liberal!

I believe health care in this country is a right, not a privilege of the few! I believe every US Citizen is entitled to affordable, or free, healthcare! There is no reason whatsoever that a country as rich as the US does not provide the necessary health care for it’s people! If that makes me a Liberal, then I am a Liberal!

I have read a lot recently that mainstream America is more like the Sarah Palin’s Rush Limbaugh’s, and and Dick Cheney’s of the world, than the Ted Kennedy’s and Bill Clinton’s, but I say that the majority of Americans believe in justice and equality for all! I believe the majority of Americans feel disenfranchised and have given up hope that what they feel means anything. The majority of Americans doesn’t think they can make a difference.

Yes, I have to admit that I AM A LIBERAL! And I am DAMN PROUD of it too!

The Battle For Marriage Equality Continues

The fight for marriage equality continued yesterday, this time in California, as a court case challenging the Prop 8 vote banning same-sex marriage in California, began. Geoff Kors, from California Equality, gives his position on the debate.

Essentially what the challenge is trying to prove is that Prop 8 is Unconstitutional. Yes, Federally Unconstitutional. The opponents of Prop 8 who brought this lawsuit, contend that the US Constitution does not allow any single group, racial, religious, or a particular sexual orientation, to be discriminated against. Prop 8 discriminates! Regardless of what the Court in California rules, this will likely be appealed to the US Supreme Court, which could make all state laws forbidding same-sex marriage invalid.

Keep up the fight!

What A Disappointment!

In November, when Jon Corzine lost the NJ State Governor's race to Chris Christie, the Democrats in the legislature lost their balls! The Democrats have decided to forget about doing what is right and are now more concerned about what they need to do to get re-elected and continue their political careers.

This became evident today when the State Senate voted against marriage equailty in NJ. The Senate, by a vote of 20-14, just one vote short of a victory, defeated the Gay Marriage bill that would have move NJ forward in providing all its citizens equality.

I would like to thank those Senators, Democrat and Republican, that voted for marriage equality, and inform those who did not support marriage equality that the time will come, with or without them, that NJ will have marriage equality. The NJ Supreme Court ruled that NJ must allow full marriage equality, and Civil Unions do not afford that! This battle will now be fought in the courts, and the LGBT will prevail! Lambda Legal is already preparing the fight!

NJ.Com reported how they voted. I am particularly saddened by Van Drew's vote! He of all people should understand the wishes and desires of the LBGT community. Thanks Senator James Whelan! And thanks Senator Bill Baroni for crossing party lines and supporting this measure!

Happy 2010. Wishing You The Best!

Welcome 2010! A new decade! The start of a new beginning. Here's wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

While I watched the revelry in Times Square on television, I wondered how and why a date in time is important! What makes January 1st all that? After all, it's just a date. Why not June 1st or some other date? Duh! It's more than just the turning of a new page! It's the "getting a new calendar" time! (By the way, I still haven't bought a 2010 calendar for home and it's driving me crazy. Hopefully I can find one 1/2 off at the mall this weekend). June 1st or any other first day of the month is just turning page, not taking the entire calendar down and putting it away or throwing it in the trash. I guess January 1st represents a new beginning! A time to put away the old and bring in the new! A symbolic gesture, to say the least, because after the celebration of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the clock just continues. Has anything really changed? Come Monday January 4, 2010, I'll go to work and continue in the same routine that I did just the week before. But the new year year brings a new hope that things will be better, or even better if you had a good last year.

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year and a prosperous 2010. I am not only speaking in terms of money, which we all could use a nice boost in, but health, family, personal decisions, etc., etc., etc. I don't know what tomorrow brings. It could be my last day! But we as humans, for the most part I believe, have that tendency to hope that tomorrow will be better. And for everyone, I hope it is too!

Goodbye 2009

Last week CNN had a poll asking if readers thought 2010 would be a better year than 2009. When I looked at the poll, 53% said that they believed 2010 would be better than 2009. Despite what 2009 brought us, most still feel the coming year will be better. I am not surprised by that.

I think Americans, for the most part, are an optimistic people. We always hope for the better. We may have had troubles in the past, but we like to think the future will be better. I personally don't know what 2010 will bring, but I too can't help but think, maybe hope is a better word, that 2010 will be better than 2009.

2009 surely did bring alot of financial challenges, not only personally but nationally. Hard to believe that companies which excelled throughout our history did, or almost did, collapse. I think of Ford and Chevy. I think of the banks. Hard to imagine that some of these bit the dust and are no longer. Hard to believe that I too had to take furlough days and lose money. Hard to believe that I got no raise in 2009. I realize that I still have a job, which many don't have at the end of 2009.

As I prepare for 2010, I am optimistic. I am hopeful that a career change will be on the horizon. I really feel the need to make a change! Not that I hate my job, but I am tired of doing what I am doing. There are not too many days that I look forward to going into work, and that's a sad commentary. I realize all of us at times "hate" our jobs, but there should be something more to look forward to than 5 O'Clock and the weekend! Our jobs should challenge us and make us feel as if we're accomplishing something. My job makes me feel like a hamster on a wheel, going nowhere, but wasting alot of energy getting there.

So that's what I look forward to in 2010. That is my goal. I am optimistic that I will accomplish it. I still don't know quite how or when exactly in 2010, but I am putting my plan into action!

Healthcare Reform: A Huge Victory!

President Obama stated that the Senate vote to move health care reform forward is a "big victory for the American people." The US Senate is poised to approve the bill before the end of the year. According to Obama, the bill will be a major help to those without health insurance as well as be good for those already have health insurance. The bill will prohibit insurance companies from exempting certain pre-existing conditions and advance health care for all US citizens.

I say this is a huge victory for President Obama! The Republicans, none of whom are expected to vote for the bill, have tried their hardest to stop health care reform! You can say what you want, but the bottom line is the Republicans do not want Obama to succeed and this is another victory for Obama. From the day Obama took office, the Republicans have done whatever they can, lie, distort, incite the people, to stop any advancement of Obama's agenda! However, looks like the Republicans are going to fail with health care and Obama will win.......once again!

I do not think this is the best health care reform bill. I would rather see a public option! I would rather not see women's reproductive rights lessened. But I think this is the best bill that we can get right now! Changes will certainly be necessary as the health care reform progresses over the years. This is a start!

I applaud President Obama once again for his strategic moves! Americans will one day thank him for his agenda!

On The Way To the Post Office

Enjoy It! There's Nothing You Can Do Anyway!

Oh the weather outside is frightful....But guess what? There's not a darn thing you can do to change the weather, so just deal with it and enjoy it! Yes! There's lots to do today, but relax! It will just have to get done another time!

My Two Cents on Tiger Woods

For what it's worth, let me give my opinion of the Tiger Woods' situation. I have yet to weigh in on it. I am sick and tired of hearing about it! But it seems to be the topic of news everytime I turn on the television or open the paper or listen to the radio. Someone told me today that in the past two weeks, Tiger Woods has been in the media as much as the tragedy of 9/11 was in 2001! What a shame! Not only "tabloid" media shows, but so-called "news" media has continued to put Tiger Woods in the headlines! I for one, think it's time to GIVE IT UP!

I have never viewed Tiger Woods as a person who sought the status of a celebrity. He plays golf, is damned good at it, and has become famous because of his talents on the golf course. Thus, Tiger Woods has become a celebrity. And yes, he has "cashed in" on his status as a pro golf celebrity, but so what! Tiger Woods is not like Kim Kardashion or Paris Hilton, or even Jon and Kate Plus Eight! These "celebrities," and other like them, have sought out the media to become celebrities. What have any of them done to deserve the fame or status as a celebrity? NOTHING! I truly believe that Tiger Woods did not ask for this status!

Therefore, what has occurred in his life, is his business. If he has been unfaithful to his wife, it's nobody's business but Tiger's and Mrs. Woods'. The media has conducted polls as to how favorable people feel about him, just like the polls taken on presidents. Who cares what anyone's favorable rating is toward Tiger Woods? I know I don't. And the talk of "taking away Tiger's children" is absolutely ridiculous! What has Tiger Woods done to put his children in jeopardy? Again, NOTHING! His children are not at risk of neglect or abuse! There are parents seriously neglecting and abusing their children, but the Woods' situation has not placed the children in any harm! The Woods children are very well cared for!

So I for one am damned tired of it all! I wish I could just once turn on the 6 o'clock news and not hear anything about Tiger Woods!

So Much Discussion

The following post was posted on September 25, 2005, and has received much discussion:

The Evil Catholic Church

Ten Years Later

Can you believe it? It will soon be 2010! That means we are 10 years into the 2000's! Everyone remember the bruh-ha-ha that was made of us going from 1999 (pre-iPod, iPhone, GPS, and FaceBook) to 2000? Some thought the world would end! The world's computers wouldn't be able to handle the change! Wallstreet would collapse! Nuclear weapons all over the world would go haywire! What would happen?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I believe I was at a friend's New Years Eve party that night. We jokingly, but with some seriousness, waited for midnight to arrive. This year though, it wasn't only to ring in the new year, but to see what actually would happen when the world went from 1999 to 2000! Would the devastation occurs in stages as various parts of the world greeted 2000, or would the destruction of the world happen when the first clock struck 12:00AM and the year 2000 was here!

Wallstreet did almost collapse, but that was several years later and it had nothing to do with the calendar. It had to do with greed and mass disregard for any rules. And it wasn't the year 2000 that brought much grief, but it was 9-11-2001 that brought tears to the U.S.

We've seen alot in the past 10 years! 10 years into the 2000's! I wonder what the year 3000 will bring!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

Finished the turkey! Put up the decorations! Started the shopping! Been listening to the music of the season!

Not sure why the Christmas bug has hit me earlier than usual this year, but it has! So I am wishing you, "Seasons Greeting!"

Not Ready Yet

Firstly, let me say from the beginning that I am a gay man, and that I believe any couple in the US, regardless of sexual orientation, should have the right to experience full marriage equality! These same marriage rights that straight couples can have should be afforded to same-sex couples as well. Do I want to get married to my gay partner? I do not know, but if I choose to, I should be able to do so! Full marriage equality should be the goal of any LGTB Organization.

However, I think the majority of people in the US have shown that America is still not ready for Gay Marriage at this time in our history. We have seen too many times recently where, when put to a vote, the people of the US are still too uncomfortable with changing the meaning of “marriage” from a union between one man and one woman. The majority in the US are accepting of “civil unions,” giving what they perceive as full, equal “marriage” rights to the LGBT Community. However to change the perception that marriage is some sacred bond between a man and a woman will take some time.

In November 2008, California voters passed Proposition 8 which stated,
“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” This vote overturned a ruling by the California Supreme Court giving same-sex couples the right to marry. Just a few weeks ago, the voters in Maine overturned the right of gay couples to marry. In that state, the legislature and Governor approved marriage equality for same-sex couples, but the voters rejected that law. In New Jersey, which currently has Civil Unions for gay couples, polls showed both the majority of citizens approve of gay marriage, but that 49% of voters in NJ oppose a law to allow same-sex marriage. In total, 40 US States have laws forbidding gay marriage in some form or another.

Only 5 states in the US allow marriage rights for the LGBT Community. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont currently permit marriage between same-sex couples, and New Hampshire will begin performing gay marriages in January 2010. It was NOT by the vote of its citizens did these states begin marriage equality, but mostly by the Court issuing a ruling that the State Constitution did not prohibit gay marriage.

I don’t like it! I don’t think it’s fair! But it is what it is! I think that instead of continuing the fight for “marriage” equality at this time, that the LGBT Community needs to focus on furthering Civil Union rights, not only in individual states, but through the Federal Government as well. Firstly, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), along with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” needs to be repealed. President Obama has supported this, but so far done little to promote the repeals. Secondly, Federal regulations should provide same-sex couples joining through Civil Union the SAME rights, totally and fully, as straight married couples.

Marriage Equality for same-sex couples will come one day in the US! It is only a matter of time! Unfortunately we have to take one step at a time, starting with each state and then the Federal government.

Just Answer The Question

This weekend was a tremendous show of support for Gay Rights. The National Equality March and rally in Washington, DC was very inspiring.

However, on Sunday morning I watched CNN's State of the Union with John King. I watched in awe as two US Senators, both Democrats, Senator Debbie Stubenow, Michigan, and Senator Bob Casey, Pennsylvania, could not answer a simple question put to them by John King, "Would you vote to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which state marriage is between one man and one woman. Neither Senator could answer the question! Watch:

I guess neither Senator can take a stand because they don't want to ruin their chance of re-election! Such politics!

Reason # 11 (Why I Cannot Vote For Chris Christie)

Reason number 11 why I cannot vote for Chris Christie in the race for Governor of NJ: He opposes Marriage Equality for the LGBT Community and will do everything in his power to stop it! Christie said he will do all he can to block the state from allowing gay marriage, possibly even pushing to amend the state constitution. Christie believes marriage equality for Gays and Lesbians should be put to the voters for approval or disapproval. (Wonder if Christie believes the US should have put to a vote a woman's right to vote, or a black person's right to vote, or whether or not we allowed slavery to continue?).

Jon Corzine on the other hand, has acknowledged that Civil Unions in NJ have not gone far enough and that couples, regardless of their sex, should be treated equally as determined by our courts. Corzine has vowed to push for marriage equality in the next year if reelected.

Chris Christie has drawn the line in the sand for the LGBT Community! Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgendered in NJ need to support Jon Corzine! And if by some chance Christie is elected, I am confident the People of NJ will not support a ban on gay marriage. I'm not afraid of that fight, but I hope it doesn't come down to it!

Ten Reasons I Cannot Vote For Christie

After reading Chris Christie's proposals if elected Governor, here are the reasons why I cannot vote for Christie:

1. I will run our state government like a business. Heard that one before, time and time again. Heard it throughout much of the past 8 years!

2. I will save taxpayer dollars and end political cronyism by eliminating political patronage jobs. Right! Christie's patrons will replace the political cronies now in state government.

3. I will lower overtime costs by reducing the number of state holidays and eliminating those not recognized as federal holidays. State employees have a contract and any change needs to be negotiated.

4. I will increase efficiency and lower costs by changing to a single, unitary approach to state public employee compensation, benefits, and work rules – ending the separate statutes governing health benefits, antiquated civil service rules, and the collective bargaining agreements. Ok. Again, let's mess with State employees!

5. I will increase fairness and reduce costs by bringing the compensation and benefits for the New Jersey Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) back in line with employees who have defined contribution plans (such as federal government employees) by closing defined benefit plans for new employees, and replacing them with defined contribution plans.

6. I will eliminate pension and health benefits for all part-time employees and political appointees. Only full-time employees should qualify for a public pension. Part time employees are important to the function of state government and they should get some pension for their work.

7. I will require all new state hires and state employee retirees to contribute to their health insurance costs. WE already do to the surprise and misunderstanding of many!

8. I will devote more resources to assist parents and educators attempting to start new charter schools by utilizing my revamped Department of Education (DOE) to encourage and nurture those seeking to start a charter school. Good use of taxpayers money! Use it for Private schools instead of bettering Public Schools.

9. Christie will take away state mandates on health insurance companies to allow "bare-bones" policies that could limit coverage. This despite what he says.

10. Christie is about 150 pounds overweight! Can't take care of yourself, how can you take care of the State!

I don't know about all State employees, but I take pride in doing a good job providing care for the Developmentally Disabled of our state. Don't fix the state's financial woes on my back!

You Go, Barney!

It's about time Democrats start defending their position on Healh Care Reform and tell it like it is about these opponen