“When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?”- George Canning

So, it’s Veteran’s Day… I started to copy and paste an older post tonight. This one to be exact. But, that’s not exactly fair. These men and women fight for us every day. The least that I can do is write a new post thanking them for what they do.

When I was in highschool we often had silly dress up days during homecoming. They varied slightly from year to year. (I know this story seems off kilter, but bear with me) Sophmore year we had a sixties and seventies day. Being the odd, yet predicitable little girl I was, I naturally went full-scale hippie. Pixie and I made way to many beaded necklaces. I wore extremely large boot cut jeans and a vest full of patches that I thought represented the time. I painted a peace sign next to my eye, and made the most super slamming “Make love not war” sign ever.

I went to school, and was actually having a blast. Then I went to my ROTC class… I was immediately taken into Sgt Major’s office. Now I’m sure you all didn’t have a Sgt Major’s office (or maybe you did) but it’s very much like the principals office. Only with much more swearing, yelling, and horrible garlic breath while you stand at attention and try to avoid the specs of spit going toward your eye. Actually looking back it really wasn’t bad at all. But in a 15 year-old’s mind it was the worst possible place to be.

I was told plainly and clearly that my costume was shitting upon everything that they had taught me in the year and a half of class. It was beyond disrespectful. Then there was more yelling, cussing, and spit. Finally we sat down to talk about it like rational adults. Err… well rational adult to teenager. We talked about all the negativity that soldiers faced when coming home. I explained that the sign to me meant that if we loved everyone then there would be no war, and we wouldn’t have to worry about our loved ones going somewhere to be killed. But, I wasn’t stupid. I realized I hurt his feelings or something akin to the fact.

I threw the sign away, washed my face, and took off my vest. No I wasn’t told to do those things. I could have even kept the sign that started the mess, but I didn’t. Even then, the last thing I wanted to do was be misunderstood, to seem negative to those serving, or to hurt anyone. After all, I was all about the love. I learned several important things that day. Words have more power than you imagine, we often take for granted the sacrifices made by others, and blue eyeliner is a bitch to wash off with school supplied soaps.

So while there are times I don’t support the decisions of the military, I always support those who have to follow those decisions. It’s the only loving thing to do, right?

Until next time, I remember.
autumn

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“It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in.”- Earl of Chesterfield

I really don’t have anything to talk about today. I know that is shocking, considering normally I can bullshit my way through at least a paragraph. But not tonight, I mean really I have nothing. I sat and started at the blank screen for at least an hour.

The truth is (Why do people say that? It leads one to believe everything else you spout is lies…) that I’ve had a migraine since the last post. I get them fairly frequently, so that’s not really a big shocker. But, by the time I could handle staring at the computer screen, Shameless came over. I spent some time with him, and then we went to meet Ethan. Considering I don’t see Ethan as much anymore and since he isn’t going to be in town but a day or two, I wasn’t going to blow him off to come up with a blog post.

So yup, this is what you get. Hey, at least I haven’t lost NaBloPoMo yet.

Until next time, that was a whole lot of nothing.
autumn

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“What this world needs is a new kind of army- an army of the kind.”- Cleveland Amory

Wow, just wow. The DF community, the Buzznet community, and only the Gods know who else have donated enough money to pay back those who bailed Mark and his co-worker out of jail. I am pretty sure, they said the amount was raised in less than 10 hours.

That is just fucking amazing to me. I am so proud of everyone who donated. His estimated amount doesn’t even include those who are mailing checks and money orders. That said, you can still donate to go toward future legal fees. But if that isn’t your cup of tea, why not consider donating to the Human Rights Campaign or The American Civil Liberties Union.

The election built my hope of this country. The aftermath of negativity and the passing of anti-gay propositions tore most of the hope down. But, witnessing this… I can’t even explain. This shows me that we can do what needs to be done. All we need is determination and compassion.

Until next time, I’m offering my hand to anyone who needs it.
autumn

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“Laws are only words written on paper, words that change on society’s whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians, lawyers, judges, and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally, despite race, religion, or economic status, is a fool.”- John J. Miller

“You’re not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it.”- Malcolm X

It’s passed time that I should have written about Proposition 8. It deserves more attention than I have given it. The paragraph on November 5th and the paragraph when it was introduced was no where near enough. I assumed because I was reading about it and knowing what was happening meant everyone else did. I’ve got to quit my assumptions.

Prop 8 was a California state ballot proposition that would amend the state constitution. It would make marriage strictly between a man and a woman, and in the process overturn a recent California supreme court decision which said same-sex marriage was a fundemental right.

It was a large campaign on both sides. $35.8 million was raised for and $37.6 million was raised against this proposition. That made it the highest funded campaign with the exception of the presidental race.

As of right now, the vote is currently 52.4% in favor of the amendment. 2,738,695 absentee and provesional votes remain to be counted. Despite promises by many clerks offices of continuing to issue licenses until the vote was formally passed, they have stopped issuing marriage licenses.

Obviously, this vote has received national attention. Vigils and protests are being held not only in California but across the country as well. Protests have taken place since Wednesday, and will continue through the weekend.

Before I get into the remaining protest schedule I would like to stop and tell you a story. Many of you know that I spend a lot of my free time on a forum for my favorite band. They are a close knit group, and amazing people. Several of them live in California and living this mess. One poster in particular has seen more of this than we can imagine. His name is Mark. Mark went to a rally in West Los Angeles outside of a Mormon Temple in order to protest the Church’s involvement in helping the proposition pass. He was arrested.

Now because he doesn’t yet have a lawyer, he is not describing the details leading up to arrest. He has a video up which speaks plainly enough. You can see that video here. You can also read his account of what happened after on his Buzznet journal.

I mention this because, I obviously feel based on the video that he has not been fairly charged. And as I said, the forum which we belong to is a group of close knit people. Two of his friends (also on the forum) posted part of his bail. I am asking you to donate to help pay the friends back and to help with further legal fees. He has a donate button on the buzznet journal. If you would prefer to send a money order I’m sure that could be arranged because it was for me.

As a last note on that, I would like to thank Mark and Richard. Thanks for going out there and standing up for rights. Thanks for letting me share your story. Oh and thanks for just being generally bad ass.

The protests are continuing at least through the weekend are as follow:

*San Diego had a march today at noon. The march started behind 301 University Avenue.

*Laguna Beach- 5:30 pm Saturday at City Hall. Marching to Main Beach for a candlelight vigil.

*Los Angeles- 6:00 pm Saturday at the corner of Sunset Blvd and Santa Monica Blvd. Organizers are estimating at least 20,000 people.

*Sacremento- 1:00 pm Sunday at the Capitol West steps.

Also a petition is underway to strip the mormon church of its tax exempt status. You can read the hows and whys HERE.

So that is all the information I have for you at this point. I’m sure you all know my feelings on Prop 8, and I really don’t have to start spouting curse words to make my point. So instead I’ll ask you to become involved in any way that you can. Sure it may be California and not your state. But in reality they are fighting for all of us.

Until next time, I’m lighting a candle for you all.
autumn

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“The tears of the red, yellow, black, brown and white man are all the same.”- Martin H. Fischer

I just wanted to let you all know that I am holding off on my Prop 8 post till tomorrow. There is a story that I want to talk about but I’m waiting for permission first. So look for that tomorrow.

Until next time, I’m really still in disbelief.
autumn

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“Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; a boss says “Go!” - a leader says “Let’s go!” - E.M. Kelly

President-Elect (I just love saying that title) Obama has started to put together his team. He announced today that Rahm Emanuel will be his White House Chief of Staff. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting announcements this quickly. I thought Obama would take a few days to get his feet and grieve for his familial loss. However, I’m so not complaining. Until I read his statement, I was wondering how to bullshit my way through another post.

So, what to do know about this Emanuel guy? Well Rahm Emanuel was a senior advisor for the Clinton administration and was a House Representative for the fifth congressional district of Illinois since 2002. Other than that, all I really know about him is that he has a 100 percent pro-choice voting record and is generally considered liberal on social issues.

I honestly, don’t know enough about him to have an opinion one way or another. I’ll do some research and let you know what I think. But for now, I will leave you with Obama’s statement regarding Emanuel’s acceptance of the postion.

“I am pleased to announce that my good friend, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, has agreed to serve as my White House chief of staff. I announce this appointment first because the Chief of Staff is central to the ability of a President and Administration to accomplish an agenda.  And no one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel.

“During his seven years in the Clinton White House, Rahm was the point man on some of the most difficult issues, from the passage of landmark anti-crime legislation to the expansion of health care coverage for children. In just six years in Congress, he has risen to leadership, helping to craft myriad important pieces of legislation and guide them to passage. In between, Rahm spent several years in the private sector, where he worked on large and complicated financial transactions.  That experience, combined with his service on the committees on Ways and Means and Banking, have given Rahm deep insights into the challenging economic issues that will be front and center for our Administration. Though Rahm understands how to get things done in Washington, he still looks at the world from the perspective of his neighbors and constituents on the Northwest Side of Chicago, who work long and hard, and ask only that their government stand on their side and honor their values. The son of an Israeli immigrant, Rahm shares a passionate love for this country, and has devoted much of his life to its cause.

“His decision to accept this position is a wonderful reflection of that commitment, for it is not easy to give up the significant position he holds today as chair of the House Democratic conference.  The post he has accepted also will require more time away from Amy, and their children, Zach, Ilana and Leah, which I know is painful and difficult.

“I appreciate his friendship.  And I, and all Americans, should be grateful that Rahm is once again answering his country’s call,” said President-elect Barack Obama.

Until next time, I wonder who is next?
autumn

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