Gay Marriage in Minnesota

Filed under Events, Minnesota, politics by on May 13, 2013 at 10:25 am {no comments}

Minnesota legalizes gay marriage, freedom to marry in Minnesota, marriage equality in Minnesota

Today the Minnesota Senate votes on whether or not gay people can legally marry someone of the same sex. It’s expected to pass and  Governor Dayton has said he will sign the bill if it lands on his desk tomorrow.

It’s about time.

If it passes same – sex marriages can begin August 1st, 2013. Minnesota would be the 12th state to legalize gay marriage.

Currently same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Maine, Maryland, Washington, the District of Columbia.

I’m thrilled that Minnesota is going to become a state that recognizes marriage equality and am hopeful that the domino effect will take hold and all other states will follow suit.

While views have evolved over the years about gay marriage, there are still many who would prefer to ban gay marriage. I’ll never understand the belief that gays shouldn’t be allowed to marry someone whom they love and who happens to be of the same sex. I don’t understand it because gays can get married, they can only marry someone of the opposite sex which makes for a very  difficult and confusing marriage.

I know because I grew up in one them.

Gay people have been getting married since forever so banning gay marriage does nothing but force gay people to marry someone of the opposite sex, someone they may love but ultimately may find difficult to remain committed.

The argument that same-sex marriage erodes traditional marriage is the biggest crock of shit I have ever heard. Straight people have been eroding marriage just fine without the help of gay people. I know I’ve done my part having two marriages – so far.

I can attest to the fact that growing up in a mixed orientation marriage is confusing, shameful, loud and just downright hell. I think most people would agree that growing up with parents who love and respect one another is preferred to one where lying, arguing and sadness are the rule.

I expect this bill to pass, as do many who are opposed to it. The best thing about this issue is that sooner, rather than later, it will simply age out. The people who fear gays will die out. The kids coming up, the ones who will rule this world very soon, don’t care a bit if someone is gay. And that is incredibly refreshing.

Today will be an historic day in Minnesota. Today is the day we vote for the family, for equality and for freedom.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
(If you enjoyed this article, please consider giving it a ‘thumbs up’ on Stumble and sharing it on Facebook)

Christmas Lights In April Are Offensive

Filed under All of the Other Stuff, Dumb Shit I Do, Minnesota, Winter, WTF? by on April 19, 2013 at 12:56 pm {3 comments}

Who’d have thought that posting a picture of lit Christmas lights in April would set off such a heated argument?

snow in April in Minnesota, Christmas lights in April, Minnesnowta

It snowed last night. It snowed quite a bit and frankly I’m pretty sick of the snow. We’ve had snow on the ground since Thanksgiving. I know this because my ex husband took me on a motorcycle ride on Thanksgiving and it started to snow right as we returned home.

We’ve had snow on the ground ever since. It’s come close to melting but there has been visible snow for the past 5 months.

It’s okay, I live in Minnesota and we’re used to snow here. Lots of snow.

Spring snowstorms aren’t unheard of here but usually they happen in March.

It’s April. May is only a week and some odd days away.

I’ve had it with snow but there is nothing I can do about it. There is no one who can do anything about it. I could be like one of my neighbors and yell and scream about it but that doesn’t make it go away and it doesn’t make it easier to handle. Is does scare children and pets, however.

No, as much as I like to complain it doesn’t help so last night I embraced the snow and turned on my Christmas lights that I hadn’t taken down from two years ago.

I was going to last summer when I was thinking about painting the window trim but I never got to it so they remained up. Getting them up was a lot of work and I see no point in taking them down so I can put them back up again. Yeah, my neighbor thinks they look “ghetto” but it’s not like I turn them on after New Years.

I mentioned that I had turned on my Christmas lights on Facebook. One of my friends suggested that I post a picture so I did.

And then all hell broke loose.

You can check out my timeline on Facebook to see the conversation. If you aren’t friends with me you will need to friend me first. While you’re friending and fiddling with Facebook be sure to like my book Minnesota Nice.

I’m always amazed at what offends people. At first I thought she was joking but it soon became clear that she wasn’t. People rush to judgement all the time and bad things happen because of it. I get it, that’s just life. But this was deeper than that. I can’t really wrap my head around what was so offensive about the lights. Religion got brought into it and the conversation quickly devolved to crazy talk. 86 comments later and we were discussing The Onion and Stephen Fry. There might have even been a quote from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Life is too short to do a lot of things. Rushing to judgement is one of them as is being so easily offended by someone’s choice in home decor. It is my home and if I want to leave my lights up all year and even light them I will. I won’t, I think they look stupid, but I have the right to do whatever I want and telling me to do one thing only makes me want to do the other, even if I don’t really care.

So, are you offended by Christmas lights left up long after the holiday season is over?

Enhanced by Zemanta

(If you enjoyed this article, please consider giving it a ‘thumbs up’ on Stumble and sharing it on Facebook)

Indestructible Dog Toys

Filed under Contests, Pets by on April 17, 2013 at 10:55 am {5 comments}

We go through a lot of dog toys around here. Ruby, the lab/boxer/pitbull puppy can destroy any dog toy within minutes. I’ve searched high and low for a dog toy that lasts longer than one day. I’d also like to find one that doesn’t make a mess.

Indestructible dog toys before Ruby

This is the cow toy with another toy inside. It’s got a tennis ball on a rope inside of it. There is also a little pocket above the udders to put treats in but that got ripped off right away. The udders, not the little pocket.

Indestructible dog toys after Ruby

After ten minutes. The udders are gone, the head is gone and the tennis ball looks like it’s gone through a shredder. Every squeaky thingy has been consumed.

Indestructible dog toys before Ruby

I thought this one might last longer because it had more squeaky things in it and she likes those. Turns out she doesn’t like them they annoy her and they must be removed.

Lt. Dan, indestructible dog toys

7 minutes later we’re calling him Lt. Dan.

I’ve bought stuffing – less dog toys and dog toys made of heavy duty nylon and still she gets them apart.

Note – when the dog toy says it has no stuffing there is still some stuffing in it and my dog can take that little bit of stuffing and spread it all over the house.

Here is the challenge: Tell me about your indestructible dog toy and I will buy it and test it out on my destructing dog. If it passes her test, you’ve got a million dollar toy.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
(If you enjoyed this article, please consider giving it a ‘thumbs up’ on Stumble and sharing it on Facebook)
Page 1 of 257123456»102030...Last »

Books Written By My Friends

Vista Print Calendars

Categories

Becoming A Teacher in Pennsylvania
Close
Please support the site
By clicking any of these buttons you help our site to get better

Twitter

Facebook

Google+