And so it begins...

A month ago, I wrote about the fact that the California Supreme Court determined that discrimination along the lines of "separate but equal" had been overturned and Same-Sex Couples would be allowed to legally use the term "marriage" and as of 5:01pm today, it has taken affect.


I just finished watching the first same-sex couple in Los Angeles, Diane Olson and Robin Tyler, together for over fifteen years, get married on the steps of the Beverly Hills courthouse where they had been denied a marriage license every Valentines Day for the last eight years they had applied for it.

In San Francisco, the mayor of that city was also performing a marriage of a couple that had been together for fifty-five years; Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84.

Of course some closed-minded pin-head, not very enlightened of me, but when you hear someone yell "you will be burning in Hell" during a ceremony, I loose my perspective a bit. Agree with it or not, have some respect, but if there is anything that the Religious Right (ick - they are not right and if they would actually read their Bibles, they would know it.) has shown, neither respect for differing opinions or common courtesy can be expected from them, sad is it not?

The part of this whole argument that really gets to me from the, self-proclaimed, moralists is that with all their arguments, they obviously have no idea what a marriage is supposed to be. It's not about the genders of the parties involved, but commitment to become two who come together as one.

May all those in the Gay and Lesbian community that decide to enter into marriage do so for the right reasons, love and commitment, and in time, maybe we can show these closed-minded individuals what a marriage is supposed to be.

Would it not be hilarious if we turned out to be better at keeping marriages together than our Christian brothers and sisters who think we will be the death of marriage?

Happy Birthday... a new year begins

It has been a VERY busy couple of weeks. I had decided to move back to the westside of Los Angeles, back to Mar Vista, after the summer was over when a friend made an offer that I could not refuse. (why am I hearing the theme from "The Godfather?")

I spent the last two week packing up and moving myself and have finally finished that job. I keep swearing to myself that every time I do this that it is the last time and next time I will hire movers to do the labor. I am still recovering but the exercise was good and good for me.

2008 has gotten off to an interesting start as the universe and I get onto a first name basis with each other. I have met some interesting clients as I grow my Life Coaching practice and last month I completed my Reiki II program and am adding that to my list of services that I offer my clientelle.

Reiki, pronounced ray-kee and meaning universal life force energy, originated in Japan in the mid-19th century by Dr. Mikao Usui, a physician and monk. Reiki belongs to what is called energy medicine because it works with subtle energies of the body, believing that disturbances, imbalances, or depleted energy (ki) cause illness. It is an art that is passed from master to student. Reiki works so well with my intuitive nature and has been such a wonderful blessing in my life as both a recipient and a practitioner.

Usually, the month before my birthday is a tough one to deal with, but this year has been actually helpful. My mood has been very high, I found and had a simple move, I actually had a friend help me move the large items with his truck (that's a small miracle as anyone who has truck owning friends knows).

Life is good and, as always, getting better if we will just allow it. So happy birthday to me and may this new personal year continue as one of growth and prosperity.

Peace and joy to all those who would read this and wish me a happy day and/or peace and joy...

Same-sex Marriage & the Conservative Right

The California Supreme Court today overturned California Proposition 22, from the 2000 election, which attempted to define that only marriages between a man and a woman would be recognized by the state.

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "California Defense of Marriage Act."

SECTION 2. Section 308.5 is added to the Family Code, to read:

308.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Of course the traditionalists and the religious right are not going to be happy in the slightest about this and I completely expect that the usual claims that this is going to destroy marriage is on the horizon. I also expect that Pat Robertson will be having a mental meltdown on Friday's edition of the 700 Club, more on him and a few of his recent statements later.

I am sure that the religious right was not taken completely by surprise since they have been gathering 1.1 million signatures to qualify a state constitutional amendment to deny same-sex marriage, Initiative 07-0068.

SECTION 1. This measure shall be known and may be cited as the "California Marriage Protection Act."

SECTION 2. Article I, Section 7.5 is added to the California Constitution, to read:

Section 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

The actual text is identical, but by adding it to the state's Constitution, the current ruling would be trumped.

We could go into the lower arguments that the very people that claim same-sex marriage will destroy the institution also have some of the highest divorce rates and little regard for marriage outside their personal interest, but let's look at a few of the "better" arguments that I have heard as of late.

Pat Robertson has never really been one of my favorite people, but as of late he has developed a near Ph.D. in "hoof in mouth" disease. Here is an excellent example...


Other than the usual fear tactics of what "gay and trans-gendered" people are going to do and the other usual verbal diarrhea, my favorites are as follows with the time marks for interesting places to look.

1:04-1:50	:	Pat feels that maximum of 2% of the population is "gay" and 1% are "lesbian" so it is acceptable to discriminate against this nominal number since they do not make up 10-20%.
2:21-2:47	:	Though he hasn't the courage to actually say it, he feels that marriage is only about reproduction since he has repeatedly stated that when two men or two women can procreate, he would be willing to reconsider his objection to same-sex marriage. This argument has always made me wonder why these people claim this argument when they would never refuse a heterosexual couple the privilege of marriage if they had no intent to have children, by choice, biology or age...
2:47-3:10	:	"The reason we protect marriage is children." OK, so let's change the laws so that marriage is only available to couples having children and dissolve said marriages when the children are no longer at home.

These so called objections are not really arguments, but simple excuses that non-thinking individuals will accept. Pat and those like him are more than happy to condemn people in "cults" for drinking the arsenic laced kool-aid, but when it comes to there own poison laden kool-aid, drink and be happy...

oh yes and "saved."

A Surprise of Change...

The other day I had finished a session in Downtown Los Angeles and was heading home. I needed to get online and I knew a Starbucks not far away on Wilshire and while pulling in, realized that I was hungry and stopped in the McDonald's across the parking lot.

The young lady who took my order seemed a bit confused as to why I would give her $11.15 when my total was $5.40 (I like quarters and larger bills) and handed me seventy-five cents. I commented that I had given her a ten and not a five and after pointing to the receipt that shows she typed $6.15. I was not upset, but I told her I gave her a ten. She got REALLY bent out of shape as if I was trying to rip her off.

The manager was nearby and asked her what the problem seemed to be, she explained what she believed and he asked me, I said it was just a mistake, nothing major. He said he would count the drawer and took it in back. During which my order was readied.

A few minutes later, the manager sent her back up with a stack of singles which I put in my breast-pocket without looking and went on to enjoy my lunch.

A bit later I was listening to KTLK, the local Air America station, and the host was going through a list of things that many believe have been lies and misrepresentations made by the current administration. This list was followed with more complaints about the Bush administration.

Now I happen to agree with many of the things they said and the vast majority of people I talk with would agree with a large part of the lists. What I wondered was what it would take to get people to actually attempt to do something about what their "elected" leaders have been doing in their names.

I do not like be cynical about people, but it seems to be more and more obvious that the American population is completely happy to sit at home and vote on American Idol or Dancing With the Stars. I am becoming more and more convinced that until the issues of the world, their nation or maybe their local town affect them directly will they become involved and even then, they seem happy to just complain if it would take a concerted effort. What a sad statement on the state of the union.

I heard that one of the oil companies was quite surprised that the people of this country are taking the latest collection of gas price increases so easily. People seem to have a very short memory and a willingness to believe what they see on television. Maybe Al Gore is right in his assessment of the population in his book, "The Assault on Reason."

After becoming a touch depressed at the apparent state of things, I came full circle and started thinking about how upset the young lady had become as if I had accused her of trying to steal from me. I saw she had been caught off guard and assumed it was a simple mistake.

I am not so sure now, when she handed me the singles, I didn't actually count them and when I later went to put them in my wallet, there was only four, was she trying to skim from her till? That would be even sadder...

A slow learner, but learning...

I find that if we listen to the world around us, we will always find what we need. A case in point has been for me, my ongoing issues with stressing out about where the things that I perceive that I need are going to come from.

The Law of Attraction will always work on our behalf if we will just let it and not sabotage ourselves, one of my particular specialties...

For example, business has been really slow and the last two months, I have been freaking out about paying my rent. This month, I did it so well that I even manifested a stress related cold-sore for my efforts.

The universe has always provided for me, but when it comes to those major issues, I tend to forget that and get lost in the moment and its concerns. Fortunately, I have made it a point to program my days with the required outcomes so that even when I blow it and get lost, I come out the other side only slightly worse for the wear.

This month, the universe decided to let me stress myself out, it IS only MY choice to do it, until the last moment and came up with everything I needed and a little extra in less than a week.

When will I learn???