Proposition 8

A few weeks ago, I met a couple of young adults who were canvassing the neighborhood to determine how people would vote on California’s Proposition 8, the “California Marriage Protection Act”. I freely explained that I was in favor of Proposition 8–not because I would ever discriminate against gays or lesbians–but because I felt it was time to say No to the re-defining of marriage.

I would never support discriminating against gays and lesbians in the workplace.  Nor would I ever condone the denial of visitation rights in the hospital by a partner.  Contract law fully allows acquiring property, etc.  These should all be protected and provided for under the law.

When Proposition 22, a ballot measure defining marriage in California as between one man and one woman came up for a vote, It passed with 61% percent of the vote.  This past May, California’s Supreme Court overturned this voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, saying gay and lesbian couples could not be denied marriage licenses.

The action of the Supreme Court to reverse the will of the people angered many and caused the current Proposition 8 to be placed on the ballot in November.  This in turn has outraged the gay and lesbian community, who are attacking Proposition 8 as the first proposition in California to remove civil rights.  All Proposition 8 attempts to do is place the decision back into the hands of the voters.  Shouldn’t the people be allowed to make decisions like these?

I was asked by some of the supporters of Proposition 8 to allow them to film me for a You Tube video on the proposition.  If you would like to see it, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qb1BWRoP2Q

The last thing I would want to do is be portrayed at being unfair or discriminatory.  I feel that matter is rather simple.  Let’s have the courage to say “No” to certain things, even at the risk of offending certain people.  For too long, we have said “Yes” to everything, so we would avoid hurting anyone’s feelings.  We have built a society defending the rights of the “last American”.

Another good argument for the Pro-8 position involves the importance of legal definitions.  If you want to sell wine called “Champagne”, you have to comply with the rules.  The grapes must come from the Champagne region of France, in accordance with the Appellation d’origine contrôlée certification.  If you decide to not comply with the rules of making champagne, you cannot call it Champagne; you have to call it something else.

Dictionary.com defines marriage as “the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.”  If you want to change the definition of marriage, it is not longer “marriage”.  Call it something else.  It’s that simple.

Recession and Responsibility

Just finished up my birthday.  Turning 50 is supposed to be dreadful, but, for me, it was exciting.  As long as I continue to act much younger, my actual age is not important.  But, enough about me; at least for now.

I want to use this blog to present my view on various topics that interest me.  I enjoy being controversial, so, if you wish, please get back in my face and challenge my thoughts.  I only ask that you do it with respect and good grammar.

Am I the only one that thinks most economists and politicians have no clue what financial mess we are have gotten ourselves into?  UCLA still believes we will not go into a recession.  And what is the phobia we have with the R-word?  Let’s just face the facts.  We lived for many years on resources we never really owned, propped up by unscrupulous lenders loaning money to people who never earned the right to own such nice homes.  While this was happening, we were selling boatloads of treasury securities to the Asian, mostly the Chinese, enabling interest rates to stay artificially low.  Unfortunately, all dreams come to an end.  But, in this case, the dream is replaced by a nightmare, th elikes of which we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.  Let’s just be frank:  We are in trouble.  We are going to experience a period of tough pain.  Artificial means to stimulate the economy, e.g., the brilliantly-conceived tax rebate plan, will do little to correct our financial problems long-term.  Sure, a $150 billion injection will create jobs, but for how long.  Until we deal with the core problems, the situation will remain.

I will revisit this topic later, but enough on this for tonight.

I continue to worry about the deteriorating state of our country’s morals.  I am hardly one in favor of the government legislating how we live, but living in a society that places no rules on behavior is just not working.  How did we get to a point where everyone has a right to pretty much do anything, for fear that we will offend people by saying “No.”  A combination of liberable judges, overly ambitious lawyers, and undeserving litigants has put fear in our society that dire consequences exist for anyone attempting to put boundaries aorund behavior.  The proverbial pendulum has swung too far, creating a society that no longer requires accountability and the need to “earn” rights. 

For too long we have simply handed benefits to people, creating a sense of entitlement that continues to expect more and more from its government.  As we head into this severe recession that will cripple governments’ ability to provide for us, I hope more of us will realize the importance of self-responsibility.  Let us help each other.  Make the road go both ways.