The Right To Pursue Happiness Unless You're Gay

Well, we've overcome one hurdle in this country. The ability to consider a person's ability and substance over skin tone. Will the next one be Gay rights? Don't you think it's time?

The Gays in California are coming out in force to protest the banning of gay marriage. It is my feeling they have every reason to do so.

Our Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Unless you are Gay and want to get married. Or at the very least have the same rights as married couples.

The major argument put forth by all who are not Gay seems to be the definition of marriage. Our religions, I'm told, tell us it is an institution to be shared by one man and one woman. I can buy that. I can also buy the opposing point of view.

As with all serious issues, there are no clear cut answers. Just like the argument of when life actually begins, so rages the controversy of whether one is born Gay. Those arguments will continue as long as man resides on earth for there is no defining criteria other than the opinion of one set of "experts" pitted against another.

I should like to think the time has come to accept the fact that we are not all the same. Depending on the division of those pesky little genes we have different proclivities. Some of us are more attracted to our own sex. Even to the point of falling in love. Have you ever tried to not fall in love? Should how people who fall in love and want to spend their lives together be legislated by those who oppose their lifestyle?

It can't be easy being Gay. I read the column in the Spokesman written by a Lesbian. She has a partner, a couple of kids and they've just bought a home. The owner of the house they bought warned the neighbors about "them". What a great start in a new neighborhood!

Gays are becoming more and more forthright about their lifestyle. They are pioneers in a cause not unlike Martin Luther King's quest for equality. Is it not time that be granted?

As with any cause, there are those within the ranks that do more harm then good. Like the "gangsta" image put forth by many Blacks. It's an "in your face" posture meant to intimidate and it does. The same goes for the "I'm here and I'm queer" in your face Gays. They are their own worst enemy. There's a limit to the effectivness of the squeaky wheel!

But for all the others still closeted, or those we live and work beside who have inched out, we owe them more then they're getting. If they'd be willing to compromise language for rights I really believe most people would be satisfied. What's the matter with having a civil union? Many heterosexual couples have civil unions if you will. They wed in the eyes of the law but forego a religious ceremony.

Had Hub had his way, that's what we would have had. I just don't think tinkering with constitutional amendments in the fever of fear and anger is the way to solve the problem. It won't make it go away. It will just stoke the fever of hatred. Haven't we had enough?

At the very least they deserve consistency. How, in good conscience, can a state and the people within okay Gay unions, marriages if you must, then take them away? They're not living in sin, they're living in limbo. It's unconscionable.

What's In A Name?

Much is being made over what the Obamas should name their new puppy. Two suggestions Nora O'Donnell mentioned yesterday had me chuckling. Bark Obama. If the choice were to be a Pit Bull - Lipstick.

Lipstick. A Pit Bull with Lipstick. If Obama were to carry on the Bush tradition of nicknaming everyone, I'd think Lipstick would be a good name to give Rahm Emanuel! He was chosen for just that trait and if he has a sense of humor I'd guess he'd embrace it.

In thinking back on some of the nicknames Bush bestowed, it's no wonder his relations outside his bubble were sometimes strained. Vladimir Putin - Pootie Poo or Ostrich Legs or former Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien - Dino, short for Dinosaur.

One may have had a sense of ones standing in the inner circle by some of those names. Condoleezza rice as Guru versus Colin Powell as Balloon Foot. Dick Cheney probably demanded his - Big Time. In good times Karen Hughes probably enjoyed High Prophet rather than the alternative Lima Green Bean.

Others were just plain fun and appropriate Hogan (as in Heros) for John McCain while California Senators Boxer and Feinstein shared a theme, Ali and Frazier.

Affection had to be mutual for Karl Rove to have enjoyed being referred to as Turd Blossom while former FEMA Director Michael Brown had to wonder if he was even on the radar with nothing more than Brownie.

Then there was the gamut of the media where Candy Crowley could bask as Dolce, Spanish for candy, while the at other extreme Maureen Dowd was dubbed Cobra.

What will we do without the code? We have the Bushs showing their Texan graciousness to the Obamas during the transition, though Barney has not let the media forget his contempt.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan was gracious during an apology from Obama for an attempt at humor that got it all wrong but was in no way meant to be mean spirited.

Maybe it's best we forget both Pit Bulls and lipstick and let Mr. Emanuel be simply Chief of Staff. A return of graciousness practiced by those in government will serve us all well. Now, can we start on talk radio?

To Malia And Sasha From The Dogwalker - "Get A Mutt From A Shelter!"

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I'd like to offer a suggestion. Forget about the designer breeds and the pure breeds and stick with a mutt. It's the American thing to do. Because it's what we all are! Even your Dad admitted to it in his press conference today.

Yes, I know. We've always been pure breed types, Saint Bernards being our preference, but along the way we had two of the greatest mutts in the world.

One hot, summer Sunday afternoon we had taken a drive to the mountains with Oaf, our Saint at the time. We stopped at a store to get something cool to drink and encountered a girl, about your age, with a box of free puppies. She had two left. My husband told me to take a look. They were so cute. Indeed they were. As are all puppies.

Just about that time her older brother came along to see how things were going. Upon learning there were two left he reminded her what had to be done if they couldn't find them homes. Hub immediately said to me, "Tell them we'll take them."

"Both?" I asked.

"Which would you leave behind? Besides, three aren't any more work than one!" Easy for him to say but take them we did.

The sign on the box indicated they were part American Eskimo and part German Shepard. They looked like neither. Our vet laughed heartily as he checked them over and suggested I return in a few weeks when they began taking on some characteristics. The best we could determine was a hearty mix of Border Collie and Newfoundland.

Louie and Marie, for that fateful Sunday was Bastille Day. We had them for twelve years. The biggest Border Collie (Marie) and the smallest pointy nosed Newf (Louie) you could ever imagine. They were wonderful.

I have loved all our dogs equally because each had their own particular personality that made not doing so impossible. Our Saints were all pure breeds yet that has not kept them from having their problems. Sometimes too much of a good thing can lead to bad. I truly believe a mutt gets the best of both parents. Ours were elderly before they began having, by then, anticipated problems.

I understand, Malia, you have problems with allergies. I'm sure, with all the dog shelters around this country, there is, at the very least, one that has puppies with the qualities you find necessary.

I wish you and Sasha great fun and success in your search. You will be entering a stage of great responsibility and stand to serve as role models for every young pet owner in the country. A responsibility not to be taken lightly. In return you will gain a friend and companion like you have never known or even imagined.

Love your puppy and you will reap rewards that you will treasure a lifetime.

Sincere hugs, tail wags and slurpy kisses,

Mari Meehan and Bacchus
Dogwalk Musings

Citizen Bloggers

Now that our collective anxieties have been put to rest until the next political upheaval, I've been thinking about how much the candidates owe the blogosphere. Not the political blogs, nor the professional bloggers, but the citizen bloggers. Like most of those who read mine and I theirs. We have become a vital link in a world quickly losing it's print media.

We have suffered from it locally when the Spokesman Review first cut the North Idaho edition and the gutting that has taken place since. Now I read that delivery is being stopped in at least a portion of the Silver Valley. Who knows; we may be next.

The bottom line rules. The sad thing is that not everyone has a computer on which to fall back. More and more segments of the population are going to be even less informed than they are now.

Those who do have computers are the lucky ones. Next they have to have time and lots of it to wend their way through the headline sites. Another learning curve will be which sites are liberal, which conservative and which just plain nuts. Then they need to find Snopes and other fact checking sites to determine if what they are reading is factual. The same holds true for the big league Blogs. Research, research, research.

Maybe we little one-off sites are of most value. I think again of my little cadre of ladies that carried on a long and passionate support network for the Obama candidacy. I'm sure there were hundreds of such groups for all manner of candidates. Just regular folks letting the world know what they think and why.

From my own experience, I know we have an impact. Be it positive or negative depends on the perspective of the reader. Every once in awhile, however, when it comes to your attention that your posts may actually have an impact it's gratifying. Both The Chicago Sun Times and Reuters picked up a post I had written back in early October on why I supported Obama. The Sun Times ran it a few days before the election and again yesterday along with Reuters. The combined activity from the headline generated nearly 16,000 hits on the combined sites.

I, of course, get nowhere near that level of activity on a normal day, but every once in awhile something I write, and not always political, will hit the eye of the big guys.

It's nothing super intellectual, just what I think and why. It's out there for anyone and everyone to see. It's out there to let the world know how one senior lady living in northern Idaho feels about what is going on in the world. No more. No less.

If what I wrote about Obama, however, generated one single vote other than mine it was well worthwhile. Even if it didn't, it presented a rationale. That too was worthwhile.

So you see? We little, one-off bloggers, part of some 60,000,000 out there, have more of an impact than we may imagine.

Sixteen thousand hits on a headline. Not bad!

Some Thoughts On Why McCain/Palin Lost

As gracious as McCain was in his concession speech, I was stunned to hear him say he didn't know what else the campaign could have done to win. He could have remained the John McCain of 2000 for starters.

I couldn't help wonder if it was an ill prepared statement, certainly not the speech he had hoped to give, or if he really is clueless. What really made this catch my attention was earlier in the evening, before any results were in and polls were still open, the McCain campaign released a series of robo calls, in Spanish, in southern Florida stating that Castro had endorsed Obama and all the insinuations that go with such a statement. A last minute burst of negativity.

Health issues and age aside, I was turned off when McCain, who had promised a clean and honorable campaign, delivered anything but. Obama too promised the same and kept his word for the most part. Negative campaigning works. That's why the more a campaign finds itself struggling, the more negative it gets. Perhaps it has now run its course. But I wonder if McCain and his campaign couldn't see that it wasn't working.

This morning I heard Sarah Palin stating that she didn't think she was of enough significance to have taken votes away from McCain. What the heck is that supposed to mean? She was his running mate! So of course she did unless you were one of the extreme right who found her enchanting. Her personal political emphasis paired with her own rock 'em, sock 'em style of negative campaigning most certainly did take votes away from McCain, just as her inexperience in matters beyond Alaska did.

It is all moot at this point and my thoughts are nothing more than conjecture. However, Obama won convincingly. It wasn't all for his stance on policy as much as it was his demeanor, his intellect and sincerity and his inordinate ability to inspire.

For those who may still be thinking he is too young and inexperienced to be able to govern effectively, just think about the staff he put together and the campaign they ran. Had Hillary done the same she might have prevailed. The same holds true for McCain. Neither maintained control of the campaigns that bore their names.

The emphasis shifts now. Obama told us last night the future will be a rough road for awhile and that we may not all agree with decisions he makes. That would be true of any newly elected President. The most important thing he said, to me, is that he will be honest with us.

That one thing can make the difference between change and business as usual.