Okay. . .there was a huge vote for LGBT rights in the Supreme Court today. Much to the surprise of some, including me, the conservative packed court voted 6-3 to acknowledge gay rights.
I’m doing my happy dance.
There’s a blog about this that has drawn some comments. I would consider most of the people who have commented to be nice people I’ve enjoyed speaking with for years. Yet. . ..
I’ve left little doubt where I stand on most issues. I’m a liberal.
Yet. . .if Erin sees fit to take down that other blog, I’m not going to be upset.
The world is going through chaos on a number of different fronts.
I KNOW who’s causing a lot of the angst.
I also KNOW that many of those who come to this site for escapism wouldn’t agree with my opinions. I also KNOW I’m never going to change their minds.
Does it make me upset to see blogs taken down when they involve real issues that impact real people on this site? You bet it does.
Does it upset me to see to see people becoming angry with one another – even though I know that sometimes it takes aggravation to grow? You bet it does.
Do I think Erin’s policy is wrong? No. Pure and simple. . .No. I remember how toxic it got on FM when nothing was censored.
Not because I love Erin to death . . . but because wars don’t have to kill brothers. Because everything Forrest Gump said was true.
June 12th was Loving Day. A local channel featured my niece and her husband. They met in college about fifteen years ago. He is a Jamaican and she is Scot/Swede. He’s now a college professor and she runs a food co-op/farmer’s market. It seems almost quaint now to think that mixed marriage was ever taboo.
When I was in college in the 60’s, I took a black girl to a basketball game on campus. The next Monday evening, my fraternity actual discussed throwing me out for wearing my jacket on that date.
Change is a process under which things can get better.
In the sixties, we said if you aren’t part of the solution you’re part of the problem.
That’s not all as true as it might appear.
Sometimes it’s nice to go somewhere where you don’t have to think about politics, and asshat police (remember I’m from the twin Cities), and a White House that is so far out of step with reality that its appointees on the Supreme Court don’t align with him (consider his last LGBT move versus this decision).
Sometimes it’s nice not to argue.
If anyone wants to PM a political opinion to me I’ll argue all day long.
Jill
Comments
I very much agree........
Quite often I find myself taking a lot of flak over the fact that I am a Republican - even though my oldest son (a teacher and a devout liberal) constantly tells me that I am the most liberal Republican he has ever met. I fear at times that I have disappointed my middle son, who is in fact an investigator sergeant for the Sherriff’s office, in that I don’t always meet his ideals of what a conservative should be. As an aside, my son and two of my nephews are police officers or sheriff’s deputies - and all good people. Not all cops are bad people - like all occupations, there are good and bad employees.
You see, I joined the Republican Party for two reasons - first because I am a fiscal conservative, and second because I don’t believe in big government. Unfortunately, the party that I joined has lost it’s way and it’s ideals. The party of Lincoln has become a joke, overrun with idiots like Trump and his crew - and full of toadies who refuse to stand up to him for fear of losing their positions, or simply so that they can get a judge appointed.
But Trump, McConnell, and all of their ilk will have their comeuppance soon enough - and we can hopefully save not just the Republican Party, but more importantly the country from the damage they have wrought.
As for today’s vote........ let’s just say that I was extremely pleasantly surprised. And as to Gorsuch, well, as the saying goes, the sun even shines on a dog’s ass eventually.
Yes, I come here for entertainment and perhaps a little escape from the real world; but more than that, I come here to be amazed by the talent of some of my favorite authors, and to have my faith in humanity recharged by reading the comments of many of my friends and acquaintances. I feel priveleged to be able to count you among that number Jill.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Well, I happen to think . . .
You're both awesome people.
Melanie E.
I'm a walking talk oxymoron
My apologies to those who will be offended by my opinions and I know there will be some, if not many. I won't argue about it, I can't change your mind and you can't change mine... so I say let us agree to disagree.
I'm a far right wing conservative Republican, fundamentalist Christian, trans person. (I used to say cross-dresser, but I've come to admit the reality of who I am.)
Like you, I am a fiscal conservative and don't believe in big government. On social issues, I slip a little on conservatism. I'm with the line attributed to Voltaire. "I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it." That goes for political views and lifestyle choices. Basically, everyone has the right to be wrong and to make poor choices.
I'm a Republican -- as an aside, I'm constantly amazed at the number of trans folk I come in contact with who are as well -- and at times I'm so far right wing that moderate seem the nth degree of possible liberalism, that is to say I can envision what it takes to go beyond that. That is mostly true of fiscal issues. I'm so tight that when it comes to government spending, I'd make Lincoln cry from how tight I'd pinch the pennies.
OK, I'll admit, I voted for Trump, and I'll vote for him again. That doesn't mean I'm not disappointed in his stand on trans issues or that there aren't other things about him and his administration that I'm not in favor of. But politics is all too often a game of the lesser of two (or more) evils. I'm not a one issue voter, so while I would have liked to see the trans policy set by the previous administration left in place, I still have to vote Republican again. To do otherwise would take us even closer to Socialism. Remember, Socialism is a political system you can vote yourself into, but have to shoot your way out of.
Trump et al is shaking up DC; disrupting the good old boy network that has been running the place for generations. That's good. He has done things that other politicians haven't done. That is to say, he made campaign promises and has actually worked to keep them. Whether you agree with what he's done or not, you have to admit that's pretty remarkable in the political realm.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin ein femininer Mann
Perhaps the inherent decency
Perhaps the inherent decency in people is coming back after the apparent lunacy of the past four years. I do hope so.
Angharad
Wait...,What????
Jill just outed herself as a gasp, choke, cough, cough..., ummm, liberal. Oh woe is me. I got close to the girl. Now I'll need to go in for decontamination and a mind meld to realign my mental thinking. Jill, you of all people! How could you do this to me? Oh fudge, I borrowed some of her dresses..., well until she got smarter and realized she wasn't getting them um..., returned. Probably more liberal thinking cooties.
I'll be ostracized in the community. My family will disown me. Being transgender they could accept but having a liberal girlfriend is..., I wish I had died. That they can accept.
Jill how could you? I thought we were friends. You have destroyed my life.
Thanks a lot hon!
You can be forgiven..., kinda, almost. But it's going to cost you. The violet tea party dress you wore to Senator Muford's fund raising party. Loan me and I'll almost forgive you. Then there is the pearlesent-white dress you wore to the BCTS party. Where in the world did you find that color? Never mind, I want to borrow.
Forgiveness comes with a price. There are a couple other dresses I'm thinking may do the trick.
Hugs Jill
always
Barb
Life is a gift, treasure it.
PS: I ain't inviting you to no sunset watching and barn painting. I finally scraped off the last of the red paint on my windows last week. But if you want to go Cat sailing, Kelli and I own one of those beasts and it does fly across the water. Until it hits a large wave and noses in. I think Kelli flew a good sixty to seventy feet out when it flipped. I almost drown as I was laughing too hard to swim.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
I'm the kinda liberal your parents warned you about.
Well, sort of. I'm a liberal in European terms rather than American terms on a lot of things, which puts me even further left than Sanders on a lot of issues, and as for people decrying socialism . . . well, we'll just have to disagree on its evils, especially if the oligarchy we have/are moving toward now is somehow the "better" alternative. That said, I'm also a strong proponent of the idea of no political/economic ideology working as it's intended due to the common failing denominator known as "people," so I'm not the kind of socialist who will try to convince you that a purely socialist system would in any way work.
The world is an effed up place, and regardless of all our viewpoints, we can make a lot more progress -- and a lot more improvements -- by working together than by arguing about which side needs to win. In the long run the welfare of people, and the planet, shouldn't be about which side wins: it should be about everyone working to their mutual benefit. Until we can do that, conservative or liberal, right or left, dem or rep, none of it matters, because it's all just an exercise in turning human welfare into a spectator sport.
Melanie E.
Life is what it is
I just posted this on another forum. This is a personal opinion based entirely on what has been said in my deeply closeted presence by family and friends -
My thought is that many Evangelicals see transgender and gay to be sinful, and so hate what they THINK we are rather than whose self report they have chosen not believe. For me as a christian it saddens me that I will NEVER be accepted should I come out because I will be seen in an entirely different light despite decades of friendship and fellowship. Someone who needs deliverance despite being no different than when they first met me even if I never PRESENT but merely identify as transgender.
We face, ironically, the very same persecution and rejection that they themselves fear; equating having to accept rights of employment and service for our community as somehow infringing on their rights. It breaks my heart.
Love, Andrea Lena
My Dear Andrea
We are so close.
Did you ever think you'd see the day when gay marriage is the law of the land? It happened because we reached a tipping point.
What percentage of people in the United States would dare openly mock a gay couple? There's that hard core 30% against gay marriage who don't represent the agreed values of our country.
It's gotten to the point that more Republicans support transgender rights than oppose them. Dems support trans rights by four to one. We aren't very far from a tipping point.
There still will be people who will hate you for who you are. There are people who hate Jews, Catholics, Blacks, Asians, people with mustaches, dog-owners, altos, etc. But they won't have the nerve to openly mock you because they know their hatred will be despised.
I can see the day coming.
I'm not a big fan of Biden's -- but I remember the day he forced Obama's hand on gay marriage and the dam broke.
We're one moment away from general acceptance.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Daddy Warned Me
While I was still just a wee tadpole Daddy gave me a few words of wisdom about life. One of those was, "Never discuss politics and religion." Sorry daddy, I failed on both counts. Since I stepped in it eyeball deep into politics I might as well go for the brass ring by mentioning religion. Which was never a purpose or a design by God or Jesus. Religion was crafted by King Constantine to control and bilk the masses. To make it even worse the tenets of God and Jesus were subverted and parsed into something not even close to what God or Jesus taught or decreed. The words and messages coming from the majority of preachers, priests, rabbis, etc are their interpretation of God's Laws.
In my unworthy opinion, if God didn't love us as those angels on God's assembly line put us together. It wouldn't have ever happened. Until a relative short time in human history, two spirit, or transgender was another person. Seems if there are those who have a need to hate and share that with all those around them. In this society where there is almost instant sharing of knowledge (stupidity, hatred) the masses take to it like a duck to water.
Good ol Deuteronomy 22:5
“A woman must not put on men's clothing, and a man must not wear women's clothing ... “A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's
Give that one thought. Science has found trans M have a female brain, trans F have a male brain. There are other factors but for simplicity sake let's leave it at that. If she puts on a dress and under things is she truly breaking that "rule"? If she puts on pants and other things again is she-he breaking that rule?
If a person is Chimera which DNA should the law decide belongs to the individual?
If the person is intersexed why should anyone besides that person decide which gender she or he is? Maybe gender fluid?
Deuteronomy 22.5 comes only from hate not intelligence when it is used in church or anyplace else. Sadly I have friends who are deacons in a church and holier than thou. I saw first hand how close to God they aren't when a trans person left their business. I didn't chastise them. It's a lot easier to softly enlighten than calling them out where they feel they must defend themselves.
Hugs Andrea, it's the heart and soul under the facade God know and loves not the outside cover.
Barb
Life is a gift, treasure it.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
It Is Hard For Me To Set Aside Your "Ugly" Side
Barbie - you're an amazing person. When I read what you write I filter it through the warmth of years of seeing your compassion. We obviously don't agree on politics. That doesn't mean I hate you.
Hate is an ugly word. Someone today branded me a "Trump-hater." At first I thought, "That can't be right. I don't hate him." Than I looked up the definition of hate. Guess what. I DO HATE TRUMP. Hate simply means that I passionately dislike him. I'm a passionate person. I don't do things by half. I passionately dislike TRUMP for dozens of reasons.
Let's just look at one --
Donald Trump thinks that golf should be an aspirational sport. I grew up dirt-pour. Do you know what dirt-pour is? On Saturday night we got out the stainless steel bathtub and brought water in by the bucket from the pump to heat on the wood stove. We didn't have money to be clean the other six days of the week. I played my first round of golf in college. In Donald Trump's world, he would have me struggle for years to achieve the status of someone worthy of playing golf.
About a year after I started my business we were doing okay. I had grown to have about thirty employees. One day I announced I would take anyone who wanted to -- golfing the next day. It would be a paid holiday. I rented clubs for those who didn't have them and split everyone up into foursomes with one person who played in each foursome. We waved other people through us and quit after about six holes and four hours. I covered all costs.
One woman, who was in her early forties, told me years later that it was one of the best days of her life. She had watched her husband going to the "club" for years and always wondered what it would be like to golf.
That's how dissimilar Donald Trump and I are.
Yet . . . I would never try to force my beliefs unwillingly on other people. Whereas, he does it daily. He makes NO attempt to be my president.
Many times, his actions have personally hurt me. I very passionately dislike him.
So it's a matter of passion. Trump himself has said many times that it's okay if you don't like him but you have to vote for him because he's created the best economy.
1.) He hasn't created the best economy. That's a myth. The economy was all fired up under Obama. The economy is an international creature. It's a fact that he has rape our environment to allow our US companies to prosper. It is not a fact that that rape has resulted in the common man having a better economic position.
2.) If he DID fill my wallet and at the same time encourages people to hate me because I'm trans, is that a trade-off? I don't think so.
I don't hate you for being a Trump advocate. I understand how important issues like pro-life and 2nd amendment are. I know how much politicking there has been that muddies these issues. I know that religion and politics made an unholy alliance in the 90's. This isn't the first time in history that's happened. It's never ended well when it did.
I'm an economics major. I'm very much into fiscal conservative governing. I would make a rather healthy bet that Uncle Sam has wasted much more of my money than he has yours. Do you think I dance all the way to the post office on April 15th? Especially knowing how inefficient government programs are. I'm totally against single-payer. My mantra has been, "Let the Gov prove they can handle the vet's admin before they broaden their incursion into healthcare. I bitterly opposed the Clinton's desire to adopt Worldview.
I've been screwed by government enough times to have an active hate for governmental over-reach. Have you ever been a front page story due to a political take-down. I have. Several times. I know governmental over-reach when I see it. Sending troops into the streets is over-reach.
Some where along the line "hate" has been given a bum rap. I'm going to embrace it.
But - I don't hate you. Not even close.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)