Freedom Safe For Now

A snippet from Bloomberg.com

House Rejects U.S. Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage

July 18 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, six weeks after the same Republican-led election-year effort failed in the Senate.

The House voted 236-187, 47 votes short of the 283 required to endorse adding a provision to the Constitution defining marriage as only ``the union of a man and a woman.''

Republicans said the proposal is necessary to stop judges from redefining marriage, contributing to the destruction of traditional societal values. Democrats said Republicans pushed the proposal to rally their supporters before the November congressional elections.

``This bill is about adding discrimination and intolerance to the United States Constitution,'' said James McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat. ``If it's an election year, the Republican leadership will find a place on the agenda for gay bashing.''

House Republican leaders said last month that they would spend time before the August recess addressing matters that appeal to the party's base. Along with the vote on gay marriage, the chamber this month is taking up proposals to defend the pledge of allegiance from court challenges and bar governments from using any federal funds to confiscate firearms from ``law- abiding citizens'' during national emergencies.

Proposed amendments to the Constitution require the support of two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate and then passage by three-fourths, or 38, of the 50 state legislatures.
In the House debate, Republicans said a constitutional amendment is required to block courts from overturning state bans on gay marriage.

``An overwhelming majority of the American people support traditional marriage: marriage between a man and a woman,'' said Marilyn Musgrave, a Colorado Republican who sponsored the amendment. ``The American people want us to settle this issue now. They don't want to wait to see how much havoc the courts will wreak on the definition of marriage.''

Democrats countered that Congress should be spending time on more important issues, such as high gas prices, the war in Iraq or the threat posed by North Korea, instead of debating partisan political issues.

``Today is a shameless attempt to divert and distract,'' Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich said.

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Even though the vote was very close to going the other way, at least for now our government will not be TAKING RIGHTS AWAY FROM ITS CITIZENS.

The whole thing is just absolutely baffling to me. What is next? Will God-fearing gentleman in pretty white robes and pointy hats start setting fires to gay bars? Will lesbians be flayed in the streets?

I personally don't care what others "like" or "believe" to be right, it is not the government's place to dictate morality for its people. The government's JOB is to protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens.

We are a nation in crisis. We have so many other matters that seem to me to be far more pressing. What about improving our public education system? What about providing affordable healthcare to every one who needs it? What about rebuilding devestated cities? What about rising gas prices in the face of a minimum wage that has not seen an increase in almost ten years? What about a war that is draining our resources be they in the form of military forces or monetary? What about all of those things? What about the numerous other issues that need addressing before our country tackles with Chad and Jake should be able to exchange wedding vows?

Sorry, rant over.

Free To Be Super

This just doesn't stop being funny.

New Apartment

So, my lease is quickly coming to an end, and I must decide where to move next. I don't know what to do. Here is the dilemna. I live a little far from all of my friends. Sure, it is only 10 miles or so, but with lights and traffic, it is more like 20 minutes away. The other problem? I live a little far from work. It takes me between 30 and 40 minutes to get to work each morning. I would like to live a little closer to my friends without taking any longer to get to work.

Is this a really immature way to choose a place to live? I mean, on the one hand, I go to work 5 days a week. I don't necessarily see my friends that often (perhaps because I live far?). So, looking at it that way, is it stupid to not move closer to work? But, at the same time, I don't want to be lonely.

Another problem is that I have NO idea where to move. I know I don't want to live in Lewisville or even Carrollton. Addison is being considered. While I do realize it is sort of, I don't know, yuppy-ish, at least the majority of the people would be in my age range and possibly place in life. In Carrollton or Lewisville, most people seem to be married, home owners and/or parents. I am none of these things. I don't want to feel like the weirdo spinster, quite frankly. At least in Addison, I might make some more friends. It might be nice to hang out with my neighbors. We could barbeque and water each others plants when the other is out of town. We could have wacky hijinks.

I don't know. Honestly. I don't. It is a really hard decision. I really dislike driving as many of you know. I hate being trapped in my car alone for extended periods of time. I don't like being alone with my thoughts that much. But it seems that no matter which area I choose, I will be driving further to one of the destinations. Does anyone have any ideas?

Convo with Dad

Ever wonder why my self esteem is low? Check out this conversation I had with my dad last night.

MAV: Sorry I missed your call. I was at the gym.
DAD: Oh, you have started going to the gym again?
MAV: Yeah, trying to get back into shape. But it is hard.
DAD: Well, you did it before. You were looking good. Now you have gotten pudgy.

Thanks, Dad. Thanks for telling me I am fat while I drive home. I am just going to swerve into oncoming traffic now. What with the momentum of the car and my gigantic ass, we will surely cause great destruction.

Lam

Okay, I am not exactly certain about the specifics of my sister's birth. But here is what I have pieced together.

My mom's first husband was apparently not the highest quality guy. We will call him Walter. While she was pregnant with my sister, Walter was arrested for unintentional manslaughter. He got into a fight with a guy, and the guy fell and hit his head on a curb, killing him. Freak accident, but it meant jail time for Walter. This is where things get really fuzzy. Apparently, Walter broke out of jail. I think he snuck out in a laundry truck or something. Anyway, my mom picked him up, and they went on the lam. While on the run, my sister was born. There are all these weird names on her birth certificate. It was a shady "doctor's office" situation.

Years later, he would be killed in a get rich quick scheme gone wrong.

My mom led an interesting life.

First Dates

I wish there were some sort of intensive training course for first dates.

So, yesterday/last night I had my first date with Harry (not his real name). Harry and I have GREAT email banter. We wrote about how much we liked X3 and how it probably wouldn't be a bad thing to be behind Magneto in traffic. We also discussed weird rituals. He thought my sleeping on the couch was cute. He is a big grammar nerd and doesn't like to leave "orphans" or "windows" in his writing. He's funny; he's smart; he's pretty much perfect.

We have been emailing for about a month. On Thursday, we spoke on the phone for the first time. Our banter was quite nice. He asked me out for coffee on Sunday. As Sunday approached, my nervousness rose to dangerous levels. I could barely eat lunch. For some reason, I drank massive amounts of water. This would prove to be a bad idea later in the date as I had to keep visiting the ladies room. Anyway, so 3 o'clock rolled around, and I met up with Harry. Harry was much taller than I expected, was a nice, but not too nice dresser, and had the most gorgeous green eyes (hence the Harry moniker). I couldn't stop staring. I also could not stop talking. I recognized that I was talking way too much but was powerless to stop myself. I just continued to babble and babble.

After about 2 hours, I suggested maybe going somewhere for dessert or a drink. He was receptive to the idea, so we went got some gelato. More babbling took place. Then he suggested we walk around and see if there was a bar nearby. We went to the bar at the Inwood Theatre. I thought the two beers would help my nerves. Nope. They just made me louder and a little burpy. Stupid beer.

I finally forced myself to be quiet. We sat in silence for a little while. Then for some inexplicable reason, he asked if I wanted to get dinner. Why? At this point (4.5 hours in), I am ready to get rid of me. So, we go to a breakfasty 24 hours a day place and have some omelettes. I continue to talk endlessly about nothing. I really just want to die. So, I am drinking massive amounts of water and talking. Nightmare! Finally, dinner is finished. While I like Harry, we both know that we need to be wrapping this up.

He takes me back to my car. This is where it just proceeded to get worse. First, it is still light out and there are people on the patio. Now, when I first met Harry, he gave me a hug. So, I don't really know what to expect now. But because of the timing of our exits from the car, we are standing kind of far apart. I didn't know what to do. Should I move closer? Give a hug? A handshake? A post-date high five? So, I did nothing. I kind of gave a little wave sort of thing and said I guessed I would call later.

I am such a HUGE dork. I am. I get nervous around guys I like and become this IDIOT. I know I am being a dork and can't help it. I figit. I babble. I am the OPPOSITE of cool.

Anyway, so I don't know. At the end of the date, he seemed kind of disinterested. But at the same time, he kept extending the date. SIX HOURS. We had a six hour date. Six, excruitiating, long, nervous hours! But then again, there was no kiss or hug or high five. In fact, there was very little actual physical contact. I don't know. I like him. I would like a chance to prove I am not this big of a moron. Aaauuuggghhhh... I hate first dates.