From my view, it appears that the best way to get elected is to dig up enough shit on the person you are running against and hope that enough of it sticks in the minds of the voters on Election Day to vote for the person slinging the shit. I call this creating a division. Why? Because you are not voting for the person who will properly represent you in government. You are voting for the person who told you that the other person has done too many bad things to want in office.

What happened to telling the people that you want to vote for you what you will do once you are elected? Why do you have to tear someone else down in attack ads and have them be your campaign platform? Seriously, I want to know what you will do to help reduce needless costs. I want to know what you will do to improve the streets and my safety. There has to be some talk about what you plan to do to ensure all people are treated equally under the law. I don’t give a fuck who you are running against, who they slept with or who they touched feet with in a bathroom stall.

Ok, that last part isn’t all true. I do read those stories and have to question that person’s morals and how they can be so hypocritical in their stances and how that differs what they do in their personal lives. I laugh at some of the gaffes that are publicly spoken that any reasonable person would question at saying during election season. And then there are the rebuttals at having to recant something you actually did years ago that you need to tell people you aren’t doing anymore. All of these do offer some entertainment and I admit that I have a chuckle or two when they are made public.

But in all honesty, I really do want my elected officials focused on doing their job. If they are going to be a mayor, I want them focused on what they plan to do as the mayor during their campaign. I don’t want to hear what the other person they are running against won’t do as mayor. Let’s stay positive and focused on your platform. If the other guy did something so bad, let their records, actions and statements bury them on election day and keep them out of office.

If every election campaign could be run like this, maybe we wouldn’t have the mudslinging contests be the main focus and we can wipe away the division that separates everyone and have those that take office or remain in office do what they promised in the days leading up to people filling the voting booths.

The only problem with this is that there is no chance in hell that these types of campaign tactics will never see a major change for many years. Why? Because it seems the general voting public wants to know more about the other person and what kind of bad and crazy shit they’ve done. They really don’t seem to care what the person they do vote for will do once they are elected. They care more about who campaigned for them, what they believe in personally and what religion they belong to. Oh, and a promise for lower taxes and less spending comes in dead last.

Seriously, is it too much to ask for a candidate that will be doing some type of balanced budget that they have some sort of experience doing that BEFORE they get elected? And what about this promise to lower taxes and reduce spending. Surely that would also apply to the large amount of money that gets funneled to them during their campaign. Why waste millions of dollars running for an office when one of their main focuses after getting elected will be to stop wasting money? To me, that doesn’t make sense. You want to get my vote? Figure out how to reduce the amount of money you spend trying to get elected and you won’t have to worry about returning the favors to the people you got money from. That’s a candidate I can get behind.

Again, this type of change isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Sure, there are candidates out there that are doing what I want, but they aren’t getting elected. Mostly due to that they don’t pander to the general public’s whims about who they pray to every night.

All I want is change in how people campaign. Focus your entire campaign on what you will do. Teach the mindless minions they need to care what you will do once elected. And then just maybe… maybe… we’ll see some real change we can all get behind – without being a divided mess of negative mindsets.

Ok, enough ranting here. What say you, my readers?

I always wondered what some of these people had done to elicit such commentary. Did they cut her off in traffic? Were they rude to her in line at the grocery store? Had they somehow embarrassed her in a public setting? While I understand the above scenarios can generate an immediate opinion, they should never be intended as a permanent response to others like them.

This is not to say that I am placing a discriminatory label on my mom. Not even close. What I am saying is that when you get in a habit of treating select groups of people a certain way, it somehow becomes acceptable.

Core Values

The core values that make up a person are related to how you treat others. But there can be diversions placed in between your true feelings and what you physically broadcast to the rest of society.

There are times when people react to situations and end up saying things that are similar to the opinions of others you associate with. Yet inside, they wonder why they said such a thing verbally to another person. True, some people really do translate exactly what they feel inside and express it outwardly – in sadness, happiness, hatred or disgust. But in general, those immediate peers can be influential when verbally expressing one’s thoughts, ignoring your true feelings.

It’s how we treat and deal with others that are different than us that is something I question.

Court Decision

Yesterday, a key decision was made in California by their Supreme Court on the validity of Proposition 8, last year’s ballot measure that placed a ban on same-sex marriage in that state, after being legal for over four months. By a vote of 6-1, the court decided that the passage of Prop 8 was valid and will be kept in place, barring any future ballot measures brought up for vote to the people.

Although devastating news to future same-sex couples of California who wish to marry, there was a positive outcome from the court’s other decisions. The 18,000 same-sex couples who were legally married from June 16th to November 3rd, 2008 remain legally married. A sound decision that continues to protect legally married same-sex couples.

Equal Protection

Given this recent court decision, there is a outstanding question that needs to be answered: what protections do unmarried same-sex couples have in California? According to California Family Code 297.5, there are a lot, almost as much as a legally binding marriage. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, it’s pretty close to marriage. [NOTE: Click here for the Wiki page on Calif Domestic Partner benefits and rights.]

Close, But Not Complete

But close means not all of the legal benefits are there. Which is why there is a push to make sure all of the included legal benefits for married couples will be part of the California Domestic Partnership law. While this is commendable, it raises a bigger question: why create a completely separate set of laws and legal benefits just for same-sex couples? All of the separate paperwork, laws, forms, details… it seems redundant compared to allowing same-sex couples to legally marry like any heterosexual couple, not to mention being equal and fair.

Gay marriage is a heated and sensitive topic, very much like abortion and stem cell research. Those that follow me on Facebook and saw my response to yesterday’s Supreme Court decision already know this is a very divisive subject. There are arguments on both sides of the issue that are either very convincing or just outright childish. I’m very opened minded and listen to all sides of the debate, but when it comes down to the very heart of the matter, there should be only one question: Should everyone be treated equally when it comes to marriage rights? In this person’s honest opinion, the answer is yes.

Separate, Not Equal

Original photo link – from Flickr user anti_christa

Many have offered arguments on why they do not want gays to legally share the term ‘marriage’ with them – religious, traditional, financial or a concern over future laws that may go too far… the list is almost endless. Regardless of the reasons, it leaves me asking some serious and valid questions: Why the fear? Why the concern? Why is it ok to have something separate to contain rights? Is it the “ick factor”? If so, why are people that focused on what goes on in other people’s bedrooms?

People in general are resistant to change. There’s an unknown factor that they are not sure of. And I can understand that. But change has been part of society for centuries now. We evolve. People adjust. Things move forward. This isn’t the stone age where the males club the females over the head and drag them off by their hair. We treat people fairly, or at least we should. Everyone wants to know that they live in a country where they are not the outcast. They are included. Not everyone is against people having rights, just what they deem is acceptable. They don’t want gays sharing marriage with them, so they support something different to be created. That’s not about protecting the sanctity of marriage. That’s making sure someone different from them doesn’t have to share the same rights. If all of this is sounding very familiar, it’s because it’s history repeating itself.

Throughout time, people have been discriminated against for a variety of reasons, but mostly it’s been males in obtaining greed and power, while hiding behind their insecurities. The fight for gay equality is just another cog in the wheel of human treatment. Women and blacks have been through it and we’ve seen major strides for them over the last few decades. Gays and lesbians will see the same steps forward. Until then, we can accept nothing less than equal treatment under the laws, including marriage.

Discrimination, on any level, is just plain wrong. Some support it by hiding behind a barrier of belief or religion. Others use it as a source to validate their method of segregating others different from them. Sometimes it’s innocent, other times it’s intentional. Regardless of the reason, it’s unacceptable and needs to be stopped.

To Those Who Oppose Same-Sex Marriage

We only ask for one thing: Stop working to deny people their proper rights. Stop trying to create something separate. Marriage is nothing more than a legal contract. It should not be exclusive to any one group, religion or belief. It’s a civil act that should be available to committed and loving people that want the benefits and protections of being in a recognized relationship. It’s not going to get ruined or destroyed by allowing it to be open to others different than you.

A phrase that I’ve used in my life for many years is something I feel would be good to end this on:

“At the end of the day, we are all human.”

Vimeo version – click here

Vote on Scooter Name

It’s time to vote for your top 3 favorite scooter names. The poll is up all this week and will end on Saturday May 16, 2009 at 11:59pm. Go there now if you’ve not already voted – CLICK HERE.

Happy Mother’s Day

I end this post by wishing all mother’s a happy Mother’s Day. I hope your day was wonderful and eventful.