suemac

09:21 pm: Comments on FL Amendment 2

So one of my friends from work posted this on Facebook:

 
I attempted a response and decided to post it here ...

I find that people on either of this fence seem unable to acknowledge any legitimacy in the viewpoint of the other side. Equating a religious belief that homosexuality is wrong to “they think it’s icky” is not oversimplification. At best it’s ignorance or an unwillingness to respect the beliefs of someone who believes differently than you. At worst it’s the same kind of ‘hate behavior’ that the politically correct crowd claims to deplore: deliberately disparaging a moral belief as arbitrary and capricious just because you don’t agree with it.

We all have our own moral standards based on our individual beliefs and life experiences. Each person thinks that their own beliefs are true –they may agree that other people have a right to believe differently, but base their life and actions on their own beliefs. We’re encouraged to practice tolerance, but in today’s political climate, that most often means being intolerant of those that have different moral standards. We may say that other people have a right to their own beliefs, but in practice we fail to respect those beliefs; instead, we ridicule and deride them. Rather than respecting someone’s right to believe that homosexuality is wrong, we say that they’re “blinded by their disdain for the gay lifestyle”.

With regard to legislation, we all would like our own beliefs and morals to be legal. For example, consider another hot topic: abortion. Those who are pro-life believe that a fetus is a human being with the same rights as any human, born or unborn. They want to impose the burden of carrying the child to term on the mother. Those who are pro-choice believe that a fetus does not have the rights of a human being until he is born. They want to impose death on the fetus and deprive the father of any say in his child’s existence. It is incorrect to say that only the pro-life person is imposing their morals on the rest of us; in fact both sides seek to impose moral standards via legislation.

The case of gay rights seems simple: anyone who deprives someone of rights based on his sexual preference is wrong. No problem. But how do we define ‘rights’? What happens when giving a certain right to gays forces someone else to behave contrary to their beliefs? For example:

A wedding photographer in New Mexico declined to shoot the wedding ceremony of a lesbian couple because it conflicted with their Christian beliefs. They replied to an email request with “We do not photograph same-sex weddings. But thanks for checking out our site! Have a great day!" The lesbian couple filed a complaint against the photographer saying “There was a shock and anger and fear. ... We were planning a very happy day for us, and we're being met with hatred. That's how it felt."

( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91486340 )

So does the lesbian couple have the right to demand that the photographer shoot their wedding even though that causes the photographer to violate their own belief that homosexuality is wrong? Did the photographer respond with hatred when they said they don’t photograph same-sex weddings? What do you call ‘fairness’ here?

I had varying thoughts and emotions regarding the ‘marriage amendment’. Do I think it’s wrong for companies and organizations to offer benefits to domestic partners, regardless of gender or marital status? No. Do I think ‘marriage’ ought to be defined as being between one man and one woman? Yes. If you want to give an appellation to other types of unions, use another word. It’s certainly not possible to predict how the courts are going to interpret this amendment; such amendments passed in other states have been interpreted in radically different ways depending on the state. We’ll see.

So I guess my point is that respecting other people’s beliefs doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try to legislate my own personal beliefs or that I have to disregard my beliefs to support theirs. It does mean I shouldn’t disparage their beliefs even if I think they’re wrong.

 

 

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01:25 pm: I saw this quiz on mrz80's lj and had to try myself. I don't think my score is due to high school, however!

06:40 pm: Had to copy this from himself. Those of you who know us both might be interested to see that some of my answers contradict his ... mine are correct :-).

 

11:35 pm: Doll Quilts
Finally finished two of my doll quilts for the quilt guild collection! Every fall the guild donates a pile of smallish quilts to the Salvation Army; they give out at Christmas with dolls and stuffed animals to needy kids. I wanted to finish three, but had problems with one and only got two done.

Check out the photos on our quilt group blog:
Chocolate Quilters

10:34 pm: Don't have a heart attack...
But I'm doing my once-a-quarter whether I need it or not LJ post.

Had an interesting day: got a phone call around 11am from Dan'l, an old high school and FBC youth group friend of mine who lives in Tallahassee now. He was in town for UF's annual 'puter security awareness day and wanted to get in touch. Haven't seen him for ... 8 years? Anyways we had lunch and it was way cool. Makes me grin to remember all the crazy stuff we did in the long ago ...

Still working on lots of sewing projects; all my friends can now stop having babies (except a couple of special cases, who can have all they want) so I can catch up! And yes, Christmas denial is in full force in Gainesville, too. Though I am somewhat paradoxically looking forward to the holidays ...

08:40 pm: Had to borrow this from himself...

( Book meme )

08:01 pm: Oh, my aching head!
Day one of 4-H sewing camp: I spent the day in a room of 15 4-H'ers ages 8 - 14 ... oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise! I think my head will never be the same. And why can't I multi-task like I used to? Still, the girls (no intrepid boys this time) all did pretty well, even our beginner sewers, and most have projects well on the way. Laura is making the cutest pair of fleecy 'jama pants - we start the T-shirt to go with them tomorrow - and Amanda is working on a beautiful rayon shirt with long flowing sleeves. Why don't mommies get to go to camp, too???

05:56 pm: Yet another...
Well, I couldn't resist this one (borrowed from webms) and I liked how it came out :-)

( Which SuperHero Are You? )

09:15 am: Stuck on the rollercoaster
So we laid down some 'thou shalts' for A yesterday -

Thou shalt not get recreational computer time until thy homework is done.
Thou shalt not get recreational computer time unless thee bringest home a paper signed by thy instructors proving that thee didst turn in thy homework at school.

She'd been not doing her homework or doing it and not turning it in (how dumb is that?!) and some of her grades were spiraling down in to the pit of failure. So I expected several days of hell until she got it together, especially since her first reaction was 'no way!'. She came home yesterday - had finished her homework, turned it all in and had a paper from her teachers saying she did. I was amazed and so happy with her - made sure she knew it too. Should have known we were at the top of the rollercoaster hill...

This morning she hit the bottom - wouldn't get off the computer when asked, verbally abusive, physically destructive (threw a bin I'd collected paperwork to be dealt with all over the family room). I was so furious - had to just go away until her carpool picked her up. I think it was so much worse since we'd had a ray of hope yesterday.

Bleah!

08:31 pm: Fabric clue
Laura and I went to Borders the other day just to goof off and I found a book on setting up your quilting space - "Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space" by Lois L. Hallock . Most of it wasn't too applicable to my teeny modest space, but there was one idea for storing fabric that I've been using non-stop since I read about it. One of my problems has always been folding my fabric just the right size for whatever space I'm putting it in - I'm fairly anal about getting it all the same size and stacked neatly! So the author suggests using your plastic rotary rulers as a folding template; just wrap the fabric around a ruler and slide the ruler out. Your fabric winds up in the same sized little bundles each time! I love it ... easy and consistent. She uses her method on 45" wide fabric - leaves the 45" fabric folded lengthwise, rolls it around her ruler and then folds it in half once more.

I have a set of drawers open in a dresser in the craft room and wanted to put some of my bigger-than-fat-quarters-but-smaller-than-REAL-yardage fabric in there. Used two widths of rulers - one for the width of the fabric, one for the length - and the pieces fit perfectly. Will take a picture later for show.

05:31 pm: Joining the Craft Room Cleanup at last...
At last ... here are my before pix. It looks worse now, of course. Any cleanup involving fabric always seems to descend into transcendental chaos before I dig out of the entropy pit.

I started at the doorway into the room and took pix clockwise from there around the room.
( Chaos Photos )

11:22 am: Foursomes
Ok, saw this on dh's journal and can't resist...

FOUR JOBS YOU'VE HAD IN YOUR LIFE:
1. Book store clerk
2. Check filer
3. Proof operator (as if anyone knows what THAT is!)
4. Programmer

FOUR MOVIES YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
1. While You Were Sleeping
2. Shakespeare In Love
3. LotR (Does that count as one?)
4. Much Ado About Nothing

FOUR CITIES/TOWNS YOU'VE LIVED IN:
1. Winchester, KY
2. Largo, FL
3. Hopkinton, MA
4. Gainesville, FL

FOUR TV SHOWS YOU LOVE TO WATCH:
1. Firefly
2. 24
3. Ellen :-)
4. Ok, I'll admit it: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

FOUR PLACES YOU'VE BEEN ON VACATION:
1. Vancouver, BC
2. Nova Scotia
3. Sedona, AZ
4. Brevard, NC

FOUR WEBSITES YOU VISIT DAILY:
1. Gmail.com
2. Comic.com (for 9 Chickweed Lane)
3. Geocaching.com
4. webmail.ufl.edu

FOUR OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS:
1. La Grotta, Atlanta (oh, to die while eating their tiramisu!)
2. That chinese place on the second floor in Banff, BC, with the awsome salt & pepper ribs
3. Mark's Downtown (not there anymore and haven't tried his reincarnation, Mark's Prime)
4. Tio Pepe's, Clearwater

FOUR OF YOUR FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Chocolate - of course!
2. Shrimp - especially w/ lots of garlic or fried
3. Creme Brulee
4. Seafood Gumbo

FOUR SCHOOLS YOU'VE ATTENDED:
1. Largo High School
2. St. Pete Community College
3. University of South Florida
4. University of Florida

FOUR PLACES I'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. In the hot tub on the porch of my folx cabin in the TN mountains with my sweetie (and no kids!)
2. In the NY fabric district with unlimited funds!
3. Out 'caching with Dad
4. Home in bed with my baby :-)

08:44 pm: Feeling only 412 tonight...
The smidgen has discovered 'net quizzes ... we did one that gives your mental age; she's rolling on the floor cackling right now 'cause my mental age is 412. Of course hers was 4, which does sound pretty accurate . I preferred this one:





Find out what flavour ice cream you are @ star-girl.org!

Current Mood: dorky

Current Music: Cackling child

1 comment | Leave a comment

08:58 pm: Gotta do this more often...
High points of the day:

Munchkin (eldest daughter in 6th grade, first time at public school) got her first report card today: straight A's. The teacher comments were all so complimentary that I had check to make sure I was looking at HER report! At least we know now that she CAN function away from home ... not that she functions well at home, which is why we were a bit worried.

Made my first loaves of whole grain bread - whole wheat italian - with my Wheat Montana wheat berries and my new grain mill - non-electric, thank God for kids who like to turn cranks :-). Used 4 cups of just ground wheat and 1.5 cups of King Arthur bread flour. They were a little heavy - should have let them proof longer before baking - but had very good flavor. The kids loved it. Just the start of copious experimentation, I'm sure.

And from the weekend - finished Firefly with Bruce - how disappointing that there's no more! Will be eternally miffed with Fox about their ham-handed handling of the series and its quick cancellation - weenies! Ah well, I can't go on about that or I'll get all steamed again...

09:34 pm: So you see the real reason I like livejournal is finding and doing these inanities...

Three Names You Go By (not real name)
suemac
scoop
mom (of course)


Three Parts of Your Heritage
Scottish
Irish
Cherokee

Three Things That Scare You
Falling
Garbage disposals
Guns

Three of Your Everyday Essentials
Chocolate
My squooshy pillow
Books

Three Things You Are Wearing Right Now
Sandals
Glasses
Jeans

Three of Your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists
Michael Card
Out of the Grey
Kim Hill

Three of Your Favorite Songs - at the moment
Kim Hill - Show the Way
Rebecca St. James - Breathe
Rock 'n' Roll Worship Circus - the Undiscovered

Three Things You Want in a Relationship (other than Real Love)
Friendship
Realistic expectations
Loyalty

Two Truths and a Lie
I was named after a fishing boat captain
I love to scuba dive
I can't roll my tongue

Three Things about the Same Sex that Appeal to You
Women understand what I'm talking about - usually!
Easier to have casual friendships

Three of Your Favorite Hobbies
Sewing
Reading
Geocaching

Three Things You Want to do Really Badly Right Now
Sleep
Take about a week off work to unpack the house
Finish a quilt square in process

Three Places You Want to go on Vacation
Vancouver
Italy - Venice, Rome
France - Paris

Three Things You Want to Do Before You Die
Finish a quilt!
See my kids reach adulthood safely
Have a clean house - at least once - completely, top to bottom, closets, under the bed and everything

11:25 pm: Jumpin' on the bandwagon ... confessions

• I hate dirty feet. Now, I'm a good southern girl and spend all the time I can barefoot, but I'm constantly in the bathroom, washin' my feet. Absolutely CAN'T go to bed without shloshing the tootsies around in the tub. Ahhh, that's better :-).
  
• I love grits. Good grits only - slow cooked, preferrably half milk, half water - no instant sand-in-a-pouch crap. Butter or cheese-n-garlic, keep the sugar for that gummy oatmeal stuff, please!
  
• My pie-in-the-sky-dream is to write a book. Won't say anything further on that topic, nope.
  
• I'm a fabricaholic. No news to those who know me well. I know I'll never sew it all, but I can't resist it once I've touched it and fallen in love. At least it does make good insulation, right?
  
• I sleep with three pillows. Gotta have 'em, my feather pillow most of all. Took that one with me to Vancouver, to hubby's amusement.
  
• I like po' white trash food. Creamed Chipped Beef on biscuit. Kraft Mac-n-Cheese. Glarp on rice. Sausage gravy. Fried balogna (yes, disgusting, isn't it?). Vienna sausages out of those little poptop cans on saltines. I draw the line at Spam, however; a girl has to have some standards.
  
• Childhood crush? The Monkeys. In second grade I dumped all the money in my piggy bank in an envelope addressed to The Monkeys and mailed it ... or at least put it in the mailbox. 'Bout blew my mind when they used "I'm a Believer" for the end of Shrek.
  

12:56 pm: Thank goodness for George.
Just called the vet and left a msg about putting our eldest kitty to sleep. Almost couldn't make myself dial the number, but George kept me company the while. He's a comforting kitten when he's not being a total nuisance.

Laura and I made 2 loaves of banana bread this morning and then struggled with long division. It doesn't seem to be 'clicking' with her and I can't decide if enough repetition will make it stick or if I should back off, do something else for awhile, and go back to it in a few months. At least we had the reward of warm banana bread with butter when we finished the page of problems!

10:25 pm: The rubber bands are heading in the right direction.
(The subject is from a fortune cookie I got at the Red Dragon Fri. night out with Bruce. No, I don't get it either.)

So relieved that New Orleans is still there. Is there any place on the planet with more great food experiences per square mile? Beignets dripping with powdered sugar from Cafe Du Monde, brain-puckering muffs from Central Grocery, and Liuzza's gumbo and fried green tomatoes with remoulade sauce. I'm drooling...

Disappointed in news from Delmarva. :-(... Haven't been there and done that, so I can't say "I know how you feel", but I know how I feel - upset and depressed. Hope it WORKS next time.

Mom & Dad are coming up for the weekend, so the push is on to get as much of the house unpacked and 'done' as possible before they get here. I work and work, but progress remains glacial.

11:10 pm: Anyone home?
Why does George, intrepid kitten, like to sit between me and the monitor? Or on the keyboard? Now he's pulling paper off the top of the desk to rip up and NOW he's fallen behind the tv and speaker. He can get in trouble faster than I can type! Never get your cat at Publix...

I remain ambivalent about blogging, as evidenced by my frequent entries. I do like reading everyone else's journal, but who would want to read my meanderings? Bruce suggests that it's a good way to keep up with friends; I guess maybe I'll try to journal more consistently and see if he's right :-).

We are (once again) waiting somewhat anxiously to see where the current hurricane, Katrina, is going to hit. I dread the thought of it destroying New Orleans - Bruce and I had such a great time when we visited last summer. I've got that feeling in my stomach you get just before going over the first drop on a really big, evil rollercoaster now that we seem to be back into hurricane season full swing. Can't we just skip it this year?

04:28 pm: Cache on
So excited: going to take the OSG gang (more or less) on our first Open Systems Geocaching Expedition Saturday. Keebz got a rockin' GPSr for Christmas and Todd's currently shopping for one, so they're both intested in geocaching. Eli and Jessie are coming along for fun as well. We're going out to the San Felasco hiking trails - 6 caches out there that should be pretty easy to find.

Nothing else planned for the MKL weekend. Hopefully it'll get cold again - Amanda's been asking for air conditioning, but I absolutely REFUSE (yes, in capital letters!) to turn the ac on in January.