Who would have guessed, the Quakers

Not a lot of people know this about me, but for an entire term (three months) I attended a Quaker college. To answer you first question, yes, the did sell Quaker oats at the school bookstore (in snack bar form). To answer your second question, because I was looking for a small private Christian school and my parents wouldn't let me go to Azusa Pacific in California.

This was in the news yesterday.

...many British Quakers feel it is wrong to exclude a religious commitment from civil partnerships and want the right to marriage extended to same-sex couples too.

The Quakers has welcomed same-sex unions for more than two decades, allowing local groups to celebrate same-sex commitments through special acts of worship.

So to all those people out there shouting about how marriage equality will infringe on their religious freedoms, take a look at the timber in your eye (that's a biblical reference) and see that YOU are the one trampling on someone else's religious freedoms.

Well, I guess I can stop feeling embarrassed (maybe not quite yet) about my formative years. Now I'm wondering if the college I went to will reconsider that ban on being seen at gay bars? Probably not since they still have that ban on smoking, drinking and dancing in public. But it's a start.

Wedding Belle Blues

Today I am feeling very "unprotected" in my own home. If anything happens to either Lyle or me we have no recourse, no connection, no bond, no safety net according to the law of the land. Don't give me any bullshit about legal papers or contracts between individuals. Time and time the system has shown that there are people who will ignore those and you are left to fend for yourself.

Since I can't put all I have in my head down on paper, I will share these photos with you.

Lyle's parents wedding.

Jim's parents wedding.

My sisters wedding.

My brother's wedding.

Our wedding.

I started saying this last November, I define my life. I am married. I have a husband. You can legislate against me and deny me my rights, but I define my life and will continue to do so.

Check it out!

Some of my best friends turned their anger into action and created a beautiful response to some nasty lies.

Pass it around to your peeps.

I love my friends!!!

Religious Freedom

I am totally digging on this video. It's an easy learner on marriage equality and religious freedom.

Draft Stormy

Something large is in the works...

Have you seen all this yet?

I want her to run. I want her to win. I want to know a Senator!

There's a light at the end of the tunnel and for once its not a train

So my previous post was slightly cryptic. That's the world I live in. The circles I ride in. The country I am a citizen of which forces this upon me.

I belong to an underground world you rarely hear about. I am half of a bi-national couple!

Since my other half is Canadian, well educated, we have money and the North American Free Trade Agreement we have an "easy" time making things work. Everything is legal. We are the luckiest of most bi-national couples.

And by lucky I mean that at any time when crossing in or out of the country for purposes of visa renewal or personal travel we ALWAYS separate from each other well before the immigration counter and I breeze through while he is asked extra questions. Extra questions which can turn into a visit to a separate room for additional questions. Questions which always hinge on "will he be allowed into the country?" And because the border agents have very few limits on their powers, they can turn you away for anything. Anything like being gay (You'll need to submit to an HIV test) or being in a relationship (You're putting down roots too strong. This is supposed to be a temporary visa). This is why we part ways. This is why wedding rings are moved from left to right hands. This is how the government forces me to lie. This is why I couldn't say anything while he was still on the other side of the border.

Lucky, lucky us.

So as our 44th president was being sworn in, I was home alone. My loving-half was stuck in Canada because after 16 years of presenting the exact same paperwork for his visa renewal, THIS YEAR it wasn't enough for one agent. That's when I felt the sting of oppression.

After 19 years together my relationship is "less" than others.

This tired argument that conservative nutjobs trot out that "you have the right to marry already, just pick a girl" is so annoying due to the fact that if my partner did "just pick a girl" and get married he would be arrested for fraud. The federal government judges marriages as valid based on a love connection. And since we are gay, we can not get married, we are denied our rights of spousal immigration. The government recognizes that love is what makes a marriage, not just a convenient set of parts that fit together like Lego. And then turns around and says I can't have one.

But again, WE ARE THE LUCKY ONES.

I know of many other silent couples who don't agitate, don't stand up, don't write their representatives because they fear the government. They fear that their partner will be deported.

But paperwork pushers be praised, after an hour and a half of being held at the border for a second time, today they couldn't find any mistakes or glitches in his thick packet of papers and they were forced to follow the law and let him through.

Next week we will meet with an immigration lawyer and start his green card paperwork. It will cost a lot of money. Money I'd like to buy a house with. But at least we have the means and the avenue to pursue a green card.

Lucky, (and this time I am not saying it sarcastically) LUCKY us.

There's rain on my parade

Sometimes its quiet around here because I am not doing anything.

Sometimes it is quiet around here because I am doing to much.

Sometimes it is quiet around here because "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" is in effect.

There is something going on, and I can't write about it. But I'm kinda' pissed off.

I was royally peeved at the election results. As glad as I was about Obama winning, I still felt the sting of Prop 8 passing. I said at the time, "It was like I got everything I wanted for Christmas, and then my house burnt down."

But it's been a few months and I had decided to set that aside and let it go. I was going to sit back and watch the inauguration on TV and enjoy this moment. But something has come up to remind me once again that my life is not equal with everyone else's. It's a government thing. And it's not changing on January 20th. And as pleased as I am with the way the wind is blowing, right now it feels like just that, so much air.

So I am sitting this one out. I wasn't invited to the party. I was told to use a different entrance. And the drinking fountain offered to me looks a lot less shiny than the one they offered everyone else. The door to "change" has been opened. Now instead of standing around talking about how nice it is to finally feel a breeze, could we please line up and start walking through? I'm sick of waiting.

Funny Girl - Don't rain on my parade
Uploaded by guy-paul

Cleaning out the Protest Folder 02

As mayor of the Munchkin horses...

(Photos were taken Saturday night by our friend Robert Galvin.)

I know, it's a lot. I've been sort of overwhelmed by all the stuff going on around me and I am finally coming up for air and have too much to share.

First off, this Saturday there is a National Day of Protest. Anyone who doesn't live in California and has been wishing they could get involved, there is a rally somewhere near you, even in my hometown of Bellingham. If you don't live in California and wonder why you should be bothered with all this, keep reading.

I hear a lot of people who supported Prop 8 saying, "You lost. Get over it." and "The people voted. It's done."

But we didn't loose. They lost. They lost last May when the Supreme Court of California handed down the ruling that being gay and lesbian made you part of a suspect class of people who were discriminated against. People who needed the court system to protect them from majority rule. That was the fascinating part of the ruling that got lost in all this hoopla. That is the reason the California Supreme Court granted Marriage Equality.

Then the other side got all in a snit and went after it with Prop 8. As an end run around the very checks and balances that make our government work. Imagine if after desegregation they had put it to a popular vote, would we still have segregated schools? I mean come on. You guys lost, get over it!

So while this is going to take some time, I believe that the California Supreme Court will have the courage to stand up and strike down this end run around the judgment that they were entrusted with.

Ironically, I've lost my voice and march quietly.
Oh, and now you know that I dress for every occasion.

And that bring us to another part of it. The way that Prop 8 was presented as a "minor revision" to the constitution and not a fundamental alteration. Only Minor adjustments can be made by a simple majority of the voters. Anything on a large scale must be first passed by the legislature and then given to the voters to ratify. So Prop 8 is doubly vexed.

The people who will cry the most when this is once again struck down will shout that their rights have been stripped by activist judges. Just as they cheered when George W. Bush was given the white house by activist judges. Funny, they told all of us to just "get over" that as well.


The people organizing these propositions and amendments aren't stopping at California. They funded and passed hurtful legislation in Arizona, Florida and Arkansas as well this November. There is a great op-ed piece written by Dan Savage in the New York Times, part of which reads:

Beginning on Jan. 1, a grandmother in Arkansas cohabitating with her opposite-sex partner because marrying might reduce their pension benefits is barred from taking in her own grandchild; a gay man living with his male partner cannot adopt his deceased sister’s children.

How very "pro-family" of them. This doesn't stop at California. This doesn't stop at gay. This doesn't stop at children. The Mormon church has been highly involved in this battle since the late 90's in Hawaii and Alaska (I had the distinct displeasure to be on the receiving end of a group of Mormon school children's leader fueled hate-speak while on vacation in Hawaii one year). The Mormon church has also been behind the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment for the US constitution.

I don't blame Mormons who go to church. I don't blame Catholics who attend mass. I don't blame Blacks or Latinos. No one group passed this by themselves. No one group voted 100% in unison for this. I blame individuals who didn't look into what they were voting for. Individuals who bought what the ads told them. Individuals who don't know the difference between religion and the constitution.

But every great cause needs a villain. For the Mormons it's the gays. Since I can't get behind the vilification of a whole group, I will lay the blame at the leaders. I blame the leaders of the Mormon Church. I blame the leaders of the Catholic church (I've been saying that for years now). And I blame a whole lot of people who have the best intentions but sit idly by and let others speak for them.

A couple of great posts that I have been reading and I can recommend:
Rolfe Schmidt - How Many Souls Did You Save?
Jasmyne Cannick - The Gay-Black Divide

Love that sign.

This glass is half full

So I got this "cheer you up" email that listed the "TOP 12+1 Why We Won" as we lost the No on 8 vote. I decided to repost it here with minimal additions.

1) We're marching for the first time, for something other than a Pride Event.

2) For Godsakes, Barack Obama was elected President! He's pledged to roll back Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Repeal , repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, and push for anti-discrimination laws against gays. And the Speaker of the House is from San Francisco. Who started taking her kids to gay pride parades when they were kids. Can we have more supportive people at the top??

3) 48% voted against hate, up from 38% in 2000 when Prop 22, which did the same thing that Prop 8 does except it was not a constitutional amendment, passed. That's a 20 point swing in 8 years!

3) Young people voted overwhelmingly with us and they don't put up with bigotry and discrimination being written into state laws; their vision of the future will set us free.

4) 69 newspapers wrote editorials on Prop 8. 69 opposed Prop 8 including conservative papers like the San Diego Tribune and the Orange County Register. Unprecedented in our community! Not a single paper endorsed this discriminatory measure!

5) We built a truly national coalition and received donations from all FIFTY states; the opposition received the bulk of their money from Utah and California, with smaller donations from people in other states, except Vermont. Yay Vermont!

(and since there is a handy website where you can see who donated and how much by zip code, I did. From my hometown of Bellingham Washington, there were 12 donations all against prop 8. Thank you hometown! And in my zip code in Los Angeles there were only 7 people supporting Prop 8 and 330 opposing donations. I feel better walking my dogs in the neighborhood.)

6) In 2000, we won just 6 counties, all in the bay area. In 2008 we won 15 counties and were just a point away from winning LA County. All the more reason why we need to keep fighting. Nearly 1/3 Californians lives in LA County, the biggest in the country, and where LA County goes, so goes the state, where the state goes, so goes the nation.

7) We had endorsements and votes from everyone important. Brad Pitt (D-Calif) Britney Spears (R-Calif), House Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif), Governor Schwarzenegger (R-Calif), Senators Feinstein and Boxer (D-Calif), President-elect Obama (D-Ill), and God (D-Heaven).

8) The tide is turning and history is on our side. Every single movement that started in the streets for civil rights, from women to the United Farm Workers, has won and our day is within sight!

9) The most popular companies in America took out full page ads on our behalf and supported us throughout the campaign. Every time someone from Yes on 8 buys an iPod, does an internet search at Google, or pays their electric bill to PG&E, their money is going to a company that will continue to fight for us. (or buys a pair of Levis)

10) Now that the different groups that made up Yes on Prop 8 are done stripping fundamental rights away from gays, they'll probably go back to attacking each other.

11) You can now take that money you were planning on spending on that wedding, buy stocks at record low prices, and when we can get married again, throw a wedding that all your straight friends will be jealous of. AND have enough left over a down payment on that fabulous West Hollywood condo!

12) How much better did we look on the campaign trail vs. the opposition?

+1) We always said that we could not win this without 100% support from our community and allies (even out of state!) and although we had record breaking numbers of people involved and giving, we need those last few holdouts to get involved and push us over the top. Now is the time to talk to those friends, families, and voters that we didn't on November 3rd, and make sure they're on board giving money and giving time as we move forward.

I had a life...

And I still have a life.

This past week I keep telling myself that I will stop with all the politics. After the election... after the protest... after the bigger protest... after Saturday?

My life is so much more than just being gay. My life is so much more than just being married. And yet...

The goal of this last round of hateful (and oh how the opposing side is stung by being called hateful) propaganda has revealed the true core of what "they" want. It all came down to "what if we had to tell the children that two people of the same sex could marry? What if the children found out it was OK to be gay? And the unspoken half is, because obviously it's not. Every time our loving family sees a gay person we demand out children look away in horror and we shout that they are Satan on earth and they will burn in hell.

Excellent parenting skills there.

But 52% of Californians bought that bat shit crazy idea and now I can't help but look around and wonder who wishes I would go away. That is the ultimate goal. To silence me. Shove me in a closet and not force my "lifestyle" into their line of sight. How large a jump is it from this line of reasoning to being forced to wear an armband or declare my status on a form so I can't be found where I might be near those precious children?

It's obscene.

I don't care one bit for all the platitudes that "they" give about how they don't hate, the don't discriminate, love the sinner not the sin or any other bullshit excuse they can come up with to cover their unbelievably disgusting ugly hate. Their actions speak louder than their words.

I don't feel better after I march in the street. I don't feel better after handing out leaflets to voters. I don't feel better after posting photos or even writing this blog post.

BUT I WILL NOT BE SILENT. I WILL NOT BE INVISIBLE.

We're here. We're queer. We're taking over Sunset!

I went out tonight to perform my civic duty as an extra in the No on Prop 8 post election rally. So many things are swirling through my brain and I am certain I can't make much sense of it all, but I will dutifully vomit it all on the page and let you make the journey with me.

I went to West Hollywood tonight with my friend Ellys. Lyle couldn't go, too depressed.

I expected nothing. What can a post election rally do for me? It can't heal me, I am too pissed off. It isn't going to teach me anything new, I sat all day in front of the computer today.

But I can do something. I can show up. I can be the 2001st person in a sea of 3000 people so that the news helicopter will take our pictures and tell everyone who watches that what has happened is wrong.

So I showed up.

True to form, the West Hollywood sheriff's department was very efficient, organized and polite. (Thank you!!!) And I think we all knew going in to this that at some point the protesters would take over the intersection of Santa Monica and San Vicente.

Seen in the crowd, Rikki Lake and Chastity Bono.

Trust me, that is Chastity Bono in the brown, in the center, at the bottom of the picture.

After the speeches the crowd surged towards the boulevard. The street was closed off and a police car was just ahead on Santa Monica to escort the "angry mob" on a little tour and bring them back. Exercising your first amendment and working off some steam. All planned nice and tidy.
But the mob was pissed and took off straight up San Vicente towards Sunset Blvd. (audible gasp) SHOCK!!!

As we marched down Sunset I could hear inside my twisted mind, "We're here! We're Queer! We taking over Sunset!" That's not what was actually said. But c'mon, protesting for equality in West Hollywood?

Yeah! Let's trash our own neighborhood! Let's piss off and inconvenience everyone who already supports us! But the people in the cars and the people on the street were amazingly supportive. Honking, waving, shouting and holding out their "No on 8" signs.

The crowd was chanting STOP THE HATE! angrily. Ironically. Then someone in a car yelled "Fag!" at someone and was suddenly surrounded. I could see how easily that car could have been rolled over. But wasn't. STOP THE HATE, EXCEPT FOR THAT ASSHOLE!

We marched all the way down Sunset Blvd to Crescent Heights. The leading police escort turned down and the group rebelled. Stopping traffic at another major intersection and refusing to budge.

Most of the group finally followed. One faction peeled off and went to Hollywood & Highland. I went with the group who didn't wear their hiking shoes, towards home.

The news is making all sorts of sensationalistic claims. That the protest turned violent. ONE protester didn't do exactly as the LAPD shouted and was summarily beaten to the pavement by three police officers.

I don't know where all this is headed.

I'm tired.

I cried tonight in the middle of a street.

I want my life back.

I want my rights back.

On the right, iconic hotel Chateau Marmont.
On the left, ironic billboard states, "As History Unfolds, Don't Miss a Minute."

Tomorrow there is to be a press conference to confront the Mormon leadership on all the lies and hate they spread during this ugly campaign. It is a t 2:00 at the Mormon Temple on Santa Monica near Westwood.

I'll be there.

Please hold while I try to connect you with your fundemental rights...

I woke up with a COLOSSAL cake hangover this morning... It was a post celebration/mourning party. Hooray for the regime change! (I'll eat cake to that!) Shit, what is up with Prop 8? (God Dammit, add ice cream!!!)

The only way I can describe it is to say it feels like I got everything I wanted for Christmas. Then my house burnt down.

As devastated as I feel today I will give you the small window I am looking at the world through via the Equality California website:

It's the write thing to do.

I've lost sleep over this. I've taken an internet holiday to clear my head. We've got signs on our cars. Signs in our home windows. We've given money. On Monday and Tuesday (election day) I shall be on a street corner with my "No on 8" sign.

What more can I do?

I will challenge EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO READS THIS POST to open the dialogue with the people they work with, are related to or meet on the street. If they are not California voters, they probably know a California voter.

VOTE NO ON 8.

A personal connection is what it takes to change the hearts and minds of people. Yes, it's that simple.

Get it? Got it? Good.

Somebody out there gets it.

I ranted about my new term "fake Christians" the other day and a lot of people got it. Mostly you, my choir, that I knew already and was preaching to.

I got this note that my mother received from a friend she had forwarded my rant onto,

"Thanks for the link. Nicely written! I agree with Jim's rant and serve a church he'd feel comfortable visiting. Did you know Faith Lutheran is the only Lutheran church in Whatcom County that's 'Reconciling in Christ"? That's Lutheran-speak for "we welcome all people, regardless of age, sex, race, or orientation."

Hooray! Somebody in my hometown gets it! Lots of somebody's! And that church is walking distance from my parents home.

Then I saw this today (via Towleroad.com), Signing For Something. It is a website with a purpose I can get behind:

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been taught, “We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government …” (Doctrine and Covenants 134:9). Recent action taken by the First Presidency in support of a constitutional amendment in the State of California has rallied us to the cause of freedom.

So I went. I signed the petition. I let them know about my rant on my blog. I'm not a Mormon, but I fully support the church staying out of politics.

I think there are some pissed off real Christians who are sick of being embarrassed by the fake Christians, but are too polite to say anything. Or perhaps they don't agitate foolishly to get themselves on TV news. Either way, it seems time to stop this nonsense and get back to raising people up and not trying to hold people down.

As the political campaigns keep telling us this election will be a milestone, a turning point, a change of the path we are on... but which side will you fall on to?

No matter who gets elected, with the current economic outlook I think we're going to need charitable societies more in the next few years than ever before.

I think we may be on to something here. (pssst... tell your friends)

Polygamist Cult against Marriage Equality

I promised myself I would write something upbeat and happy before I ranted again. I promised myself I would take a day off and ignore the news. Apparently I broke my promise already.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Mormons living outside California have been asked to volunteer for a telephone campaign to help pass a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in the state.

Never underestimate the power of fake Christians.

In fairness I must post a link to this video. One family gets it. Thankfully they are telling their neighbors.

I have donated $250 to the No on 8 campaign.

25.4 million links on your chain in hell

It's being reported that 25.4 million dollars has been spent to defeat marriage equality in California.

I've been working on a new term, "fake Christians". Rachel tells me there is already a word that applies and it's "fundamentalist" but I think fake Christian is more direct and appropriate.

Let's start with all that money. 25.4 million dollars that isn't feeding, clothing, housing or helping anyone. Praise Jesus! He would never have helped those poor people anyway! It's God's will because I am one with him and know his every move and desire, I am just that good! In fact he told me that people on skid row deserve to be there and I should keep my car window rolled up and tinted so I don't see them.

I attended George Fox College in Oregon for a whole term. Many lovely people and lovely friends met and made there (even met my first boyfriend through there). But apparently they also let in some fake Christians who recently hung an effigy of Obama on campus. WWJHIE? (Who Would Jesus Hang In Effigy?)

I blame fake Christians. I know quite a few people who identify as Christians and I believe them in their actions and words. They are not the same people and quite frankly are getting pissed off at the people who are hijacking the name of Christian. How can you tell if someone is a fake Christian? The minute they tell you that they know exactly what God wants and how God wants it to happen. Think of the Pope. Possibly an okay person (though not by me), but when he starts telling that God speaks through him, watch out!

I think that the when you become a Christian you open up a direct link with God and your relationship is unlike anyone else's. There may be people who can guide you, stimulate you, and discussion is always a good thing. But when one group decides that their religious viewpoint is the only way, Hello Crusaders and welcome to the Inquisition (but I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition!)

And I am thoroughly sick of of these fake Christians twisting language and suspending rational thought.

Pro-Life - uh, I'm not anti-life. I think that if you really wanted to limit abortion then you would be in favor of comprehensive sex education so no one is forced to choose an abortion. If you know how babies are made and you don't want one, then you would know how to stop that. I think abortion should be the last choice in a long list of choices. Unfortunately fake "Pro-lifers" think there should be no discussion of how sex works and then are shocked when someone doesn't want a baby they didn't know they were getting. And just as an aside, why is life so precious when its a fetus and so expendable once it reaches 18 and joins the military? Or perhaps its still a baby and just happens to live in the wrong part of the world. If life is as special as you believe, take all that money and energy you devote to protests and campaigns and give it to people who already have living children and can't feed them. Precious and scared doesn't end at birth.

Pro-Family - Hmmmmm, who is more family friendly? The person who thinks you should have health care coverage, a house to live in, your children should be educated and live in peace, or the person who thinks its everyone for themselves, good luck, good riddance, stay ignorant and let's drop a bomb? Nothing says pro-family like being able to go to a hospital when you are sick and living to see your family another day.

Protect Marriage - My wedding was so earth shaking that I hear 25 straight people divorced the same day. Funny thing, 25 people divorced the next day, and the next day, and the next day but I didn't get married anymore. What marriage is threatened by two people getting the same rights to visit each other in the hospital? John McCain's 2nd marriage? Newt Gingrich's 2nd marriage or maybe his 3rd? The other argument is that if marriage equality is granted then we will have to teach the children that being gay is normal. What a horror! Next you'll want to teach them that black people are just as smart and capable as white!

The Bible I read, with the teaching of the Jesus I read about implied a personal relationship with real sacrifice. Lifting up the weakest amongst us and stripping away the lies and hypocrisy. Though I don't attend a church and I no longer have a firm belief in one religion over another, I still play by my rules. I do my best to not harm others. I try to be honest and fair (yes, I return the change if I get too much). I give of myself and if you know me, you will never go hungry.

I think it's time for the real Christians to take back their good name. I know a few who are already working on this and I applaud you. Gather your friends, take a stand, pray for wisdom not results, and tell the world that no one speaks for you but you. Remind those fake Christians that I have a direct link to God and I know exactly what he has planned for them... uh oh...

Brother, can you spare a billion?

In the past I have been a little fiscally irresponsible. However I have seen (some) of the errors of my ways and we have been working hard to pay off debt and live on cash, not credit cards. It can be difficult at times being self employed. Often a client owes you money and doesn't pay you the day you complete your work. Technically you have earned enough money, but it won't be here for three weeks. So you bust out the credit card to get by and promise you will pay it when the money arrives. Well that's how it should work in theory.

Now we are managing it better at the moment and things are looking good. As long as I still have work and clients. But these times are indeed troubling.

Because I am newly responsible, I am looking ahead to a day when my financial empire could crumble. I am not expecting it to, but everyone (and every company) should be wise enough to have a "what if" plan and know your options.

I've decided to put my hand out now before the trouble comes. If the government is giving out money because a business is too big to fail (and how did that happen again? Mega mergers approved by...? Oh yeah, the government.) then I would like to point out my vast financial empire and its far reaching impact.

If I go under we will have to let go of the housekeeper. She will stop sending money to El Salvador and a nation will topple. Save me in the interest of global stability.

If I go under I will have to let go of the gardener. I believe he employs former gang members and with no legitimate income they will return to the streets. Save me in the interest of domestic stability.

If I go under I will no longer be able to go out to eat. Save me for the sake of the farmers in rural America.

If I go under I will be forced to stop shopping. Multiple sweat shops in Asia will go out of business. Save me for the sake of the Children.

If I go under I will no longer be able to keep up my beauty regime of facials, waxing, nail salons or highlighting. Save me for the sake of the most vulnerable in our society, save me for the sake of the gays. (Or your eyes, think of your own precious eyes!)

I am sick of hearing about "Wall Street" versus "Main Street". Is there any barrier any more? As far as I can see the only difference is influence. Apparently "main street" doesn't have any say in how things are run but Main street is the one getting dumped on and has to fix all the ills of Wall street. I feel like an abused spouse. Beat me up, tell me I don't know anything, blame me for being greedy and then make me clean up the mess you made. Hey thanks Wall street.

If anyone knows of a nice shelter in Europe, let me know. You'd be surprised how fast I could pack my things and get the hell out of here.

Jim+Bo

Bo Derek is an idiot and I have proof.

I met Bo in 2000 when I worked on a photoshoot with her. I told me dad I got to see Bo Derek naked and he told me she was in Playboy and anyone could see her naked. I told him I had seen her naked in person in a hotel room while she changed clothes.
My dad asked me, "And?"
And she looked good. Her boobs are real. Slight dip, but nothing dramatic. Still perky.
"And?"
And she has some fine scars on her legs. Says she needs to wear hosiery to cover them up for photos. Claims they came from skateboarding as a child and horseback riding as an adult.
"And?"
And what?
"And... nothing? It didn't do anything at all for you?"
No dad. Seeing Bo Derek naked did absolutely nothing for me. If it had done something for me, they probably wouldn't have let me hang out in the room while she changed.
"Sheesh. What a waste!" and my dad walked away shaking his head.

Ms Derek also would not wear any pointed shoes. Since that was the fashion of the day we were hard pressed to find any round toed shoes. We found about three pairs in the entire city. "These are all ugly" said Bo. Yes, we thought that as well. WE also got 10 pairs of stunning pointed toe shoes. "I won't wear pointed shoes. I don't like the way they look." We pointed out that the shoes probably won't even be in the shot so that wouldn't really be an issue. "I won't wear pointed shoes. And I won't were those round toed shoes because they're ugly." And with that Bo sat down and turned away from us. So we took the Dolce & Gabanna round toe shoes (which for round toe, were quite stunning) back to the store and we scoured the city for other round toe shoes finally finding some non-descript non-designer shoes on sale and those she was just delighted with.

Gratuitous Tarzan photo.

So far, she's just an overindulged pampered star. Standard stuff. Then a few months later I read the article the photoshoot was to accompany.

From the September 2000 issue of George Magazine:

"Meet Bo Derek these days and you don't think about her firm torso; you think about her firm convictions. After the death of her beloved husband, director John Derek, two years ago, Bo, now 43, went into hiding. But this past spring, she . . . emerged a little blonder, a little thinner, and unabashedly Republican. Yet her family — and Hollywood — have given Derek less than a perfect '10' for her politics. 'My grandmother hung up on me when I told her I was a Republican,' she says.

"Derek switched political parties 12 years ago, after deciding the Democrats' 'social programs had gone too far and eliminated any incentive for poor people to be independent.' She jumped aboard the Dole/Kemp bus for the last 96 hours of their 1996 campaign, and there's been no turning back. . . .

"Friends have warned Derek to 'keep her politics to herself,' because her opinions could cost her work in very liberal Hollywood, but she says it's not a problem. 'I don't want to be seen as the poster child for the Hollywood blacklist. I'm working, and I'm not the only conservative out here.' "

Christina Valhouli, writing on "Bo Knows Politics.

Remember Bo? Born Mary Catherine Collins, she met director John Derek who was 46 years old and still married to Linda Evans. Bo and John fled the from the US and stayed in Germany to avoid John being charged with statutory rape under U.S. law due to Bo only being 16. When they returned after she was 18 they were legally married (it was her first, duh) and his fourth. They remained married until he passed away.

Bo talks on and on in the article about how she doesn't completely agree with the Republican party about gays, abortion, or other so called "values" issues. But what really got her on board the Republican party was that whole "incentive for poor people to be independent" plank they offered. Yes, because Bo has been on and off welfare her whole life and she really knows what a struggle it can be. Why she's been struggling since she started modeling in her teens living with her parents and then continued that struggle while living with her rich husband. Struggle, struggle, struggle. And this is why she is a Republican.

And that is why she is an idiot.

Wow, is my hair ever HIGH!

Don't just sit there

So let's say you get married in California and then take a honeymoon cruise that leaves out of Florida...

MIAMI, Fla. -- A woman who was prevented from seeing her lesbian partner who later died at a South Florida hospital is suing because administrators refused to recognize her and her children as family.

Janice Langbehn, Lisa Marie Pond and three of their four children planned a cruise in February 2007 to celebrate the couple's 18 years together. But Pond suffered a massive stroke before the ship left port and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Hospital workers refused to let Langbehn into Pond's hospital room - even after a power of attorney was faxed to the hospital -- because they were not legally related.

Langbehn filed a federal lawsuit in Miami on Wednesday charging hospital employees with negligence and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." The suit seeks damages in excess of $75,000.

Pond was pronounced dead of a brain aneurysm about 18 hours after being admitted to the trauma center. Langbehn said she was only allowed in to see her partner for a few minutes when a priest gave Pond the last rites.

"I never thought almost 20 years of love and family could be disregarded in an instant," Langbehn said.

Hospital officials wouldn't comment about the lawsuit but said the hospital follows state and federal laws on patient privacy that can forbid releasing health information to those outside the patient's immediate family.

The hospital also may limit visitors if a patient is being treated for a trauma, emergency or serious infection, said Valda Clark Christian, an assistant county attorney representing Jackson.

Federal health privacy laws say hospitals should not disclose details about a patient except to the nearest family member or someone with power of attorney. Hospitals legally do not have to allow visitors.

From the New Statesman:

In a letter to be read out in Mormon churches all across California, LDS leaders urged members to “do all you can ... by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage is legally defined as being between a man and a woman”.

From the Arizona Republic:

Sen. John McCain said Thursday that he supports an initiative that would change Arizona's Constitution to ban gay marriages and deny government benefits to unmarried couples.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The initiative campaign proposes to amend the state Constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. It received $250,000 this week from an evangelical group, Focus on the Family.

Here's the deal. I hold these people responsible for all the harm they are doing. I think the God they claim to serve will also hold them responsible. I would also add that anyone who donates money and assistance to these groups and people should have to meet with Janice Langbehn face to face and justify their actions.

Why don't YOU take a poll?

The office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is polling reaction to the California Supreme Court decision overturning the ban on gay marriage.

To vote in support of the Supreme Court's decision on LGBT marriage:
call 1-916-445-2841
press 1, 5, 1, 1
After you've done this, please send it on to all supporters you know.

If a democrat and a republican can get married, why shouldn't I?