Mary Cheney

There was a good opinion piece in the paper this morning, about the significance of Mary Cheney's pregnancy. I was going to paste the link here but apparently it isn't online yet - perhaps tomorrow? Anyway, the main gist of the article is the author wondering what, if anything , will change in the way:

A. Mary Cheney defines her political party affinity
B. Dick Cheney publicly talks about gay marriage and gay parenthood
C. Republicans in general view gay parenthood and marriage.

The official Republican stance seems to be that the sole pertinent variable which determines an individual's ability to parent well is how they obtain sexual gratification. Not their abilty to be a responsible, hard-working, cheerful, patient, creative, loving, committed, nurturing, church-going, reliable, tolerant, accepting, doing-the-best-they-can human being. Not their divorce record, tendencies to violence, abusive habits, addictions, mean-spiritedness, irresponsibilty, lack of concern for others, or any other traits that are proven harmful to children.

Nope, the official stance of the Republican Party is that people can have none of what I listed first, and all of what I listed second, and still be acceptable as a parent as long as they engage in heterosexual relations.

Can you tell how crazy this makes me?!?

Clearly I know Republicans who do not toe the party line on this issue. I also know Republicans who are uncomfortable with talking about it because while they admit the standard of what is acceptable parenting should not be solely determined by sexuality, they still think gays should not be permitted to marry - or have children. And yes, I know Republicans who stand up tall and state in clear, loud voices, filled with pride, that people who are gay should never be allowed to marry, and should never be allowed to have children.

I try to avoid people in that last group.

African Americans couldn't sit in the front of the bus.
Women couldn't vote or own property.
Japanese Americans had to go to camps during the war.

All were regulations founded on fear. All have been shown over time to be without base.

Gays can't get married.

Discrimination is discrimination.

Little Democrats

I just found this link ... now my problem is, do I order a copy to see if it's for real?!?

Elections '06

Well, elections are over for the year. I know the boys will join me in saying one of the things we are most appreciative of is now we don't have to listen/watch political ads on TV anymore! I think this year they were worse than ever before - even counting presidential election years. My friend Calandria and I are scheming to start "Citizens for Civility" to challenge people to remember their manners when talking politics. Hopefully the time for this idea has come, and a groundswell of citizens tired of attack ads and hatred will make an impact on campaign leaders in upcoming elections.

I have mixed reactions to the results of the voting. On the one hand I am so pleased that both the House and the Senate now have Democrat majorities. On the other hand I cannot believe my beloved blue state of Minnesota elected Michelle Bachman. I guess I can understand now how conservative Minnesotans felt when Paul Wellstone was elected. Could there exist a person who is LESS like me and all I believe in than Michelle Bachman?!?

Then there is Amy Klobuchar. I believe she is going to make a difference for this country. I feel so good about sending her to Washington.

I am sorely disappointed that eight states chose to add constitutional amendments about gay marriage. My belief is that a legal option needs to exist for two adults to commit to a permanent relationship, and that churches can each individually make their own choices about whether to perform religious marriage ceremonies or not for any group of people. But legally, two adults who understand and accept the implications of committing to one another and building their lives together should have the right to do so.

So. Things to be happy about and things to be unhappy about. Last night was quite emotional for me, as I sat here at the computer hitting "refresh" every few minutes to see what the latest news was. Surprisingly the Hatch-Pawlenty race is not that important to me. Hatch wasn't a great Democratic candidate, in my opinion, and Pawlenty wasn't a terrible Republican. So I can live with another term of Pawlenty in office, no problem.

Oh - one more race, I really don't know a whole lot about it, but I am excited that Tim Walz beat Gil Gutknecht. Not so much because it's a Democrat replacing a Republican, but because Walz is a veteran of the Iraq war, and I really want people who KNOW what that's all about to be in positions of leadership. We'll see if my hopes are met.