Goodbye

i've decided to quit my blog. i don't think anyone reads it anyway.
so, goodbye and good luck. and remember...Life Is Not A Rehearsal.

peace.

marie

Sad Day for Hillary Fans

well, it looks like it's all over for Hillary's bid to be our next President. i'm very sad. i think she would have made an excellent leader. she has what it would take to turn this country around. it's my hope that she will agree to be Obama's V.P. running mate. i feel fairly confident that Obama will beat McCain in the general election. i will support him as our Democratic nominee 100%, but will need some time to mourn the lose of Hillary before i can move on.

here's a shout out to Pedro, the 96 year old farmer in Costa Rica who is a huge Hillary supporter! "Hola, Pedro!"

i got a call from a young man who works in D.C. for the Victory Fund Leadership Institute. they want me to run for an elected office here in Delaware. they support openly gay candidates. i'm gonna do it. i'll keep you posted.

be well.

2008 Summer Olympic Games

i'm a huge fan of the Olympic Games! i went to the summer games in Atlanta with my sister Martha in 1996. it was awesome! my favorite event that we attended was the softball game between the U.S. team and the team from China. i have watched every Olympics summer games for as long as i can remember. i usually watch some of the winter games as well, but much prefer the sports of the summer games.
this year's event will take place in Beijing, China. there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the location. China does not have the best track record when it comes to the civil and human rights of its citizens. there has been a lot of social unrest there recently. the most disturbing of which was the way the authorities treated the Buddhist monks who were protesting China's actions in Tibet. here's a link to a good report of what's happening:
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24389895

so i'm torn. should we, as a country, participate in the Olympics and thereby support the Chinese government? if we don't, then are we just making the athletes suffer? they've worked so hard, and all of their young lives, to get to this point. i don't know that an all-out boycott is the answer, but it just feels wrong to me to go over there and pretend like everything is ok.

Happy LGBT Families Day!

it still amazes me that there are people in this country who believe that gay men and women can't, or shouldn't, be good parents. there are states where gay people can't adopt children. and in some of those states, gay people can be foster parents. so in other words, we can take care of someone else's kids while they're in drug rehab and taking parenting classes, but we're not good enough to keep the kids permanently. how silly to think that a child must have a male parent and a female parent in order to grow up happy and healthy. how many kids come from broken "heterosexual" homes? homes where the adults' relationship is unhealthy, where there is domestic violence, or where a single parent struggles to keep afloat. i know a good number of gay/lesbian couples with children who are providing a loving, healthy, happy home. where the kids are well adjusted, intelligent, and compassionate. what could be better than having 2 loving and devoted parents? it doesn't matter if one is a man, one is a woman, or both are men or women.
Gail and i are lucky to live in a state where we are able to be foster parents, and can get a dual-parent adoption if we get the right judge. we're fostering a wonderful little girl right now. she's about to turn 1 year old, and is funny and smart and very cute! we don't know what will happen with her case, but we know that if her bio-mother's parental rights are terminated, she may be adopted by a gay couple.

and that is how it should be.

life is crazy!

my life has been so busy that i'm not finding time to post messages to my blog. sorry to those who are actually logging on to read it. anyway...
Gail and i leave for Costa Rica on Sunday. we're very excited! we are doing some really cool stuff. the first part of the trip centers in the northern part of the country where we're doing a canopy tour, riding in a small cage on wires suspended up in the tree tops through the jungle. we're told that 90% of the wildlife lives in the canopy and never sets foot on the ground. we're staying in a hotel that's within sight of an active volcano. we will be able to sit on our balcony and watch the "fireworks" at night as the volcano erupts and spews lava. we're also taking a river tour in a raft with a guide who will point out and explain local flora and fauna. we expect to see all sorts of monkeys, snakes, bugs, and tons of different birds. the second half of the vacation consists of laying on the beach in the southwestern part of the country, taking walks into town, and generally relaxing and reconnecting with each other.
sounds great, doesn't it?! well, i'll post a blog when we return. in the mean time, have a nice 2 weeks.

<~~~~ How cool is this! I'm going to post a special blog in honor of this special day. If you have your own blog, please consider participating. Here is the link for more information and instructions about how to participate. Thanks.

www.mombian.com/blogging-for-lgbt-families-day-2008

Washington, D.C.

just got back from a 3 day advocacy conference in D.C. it was a work thing, so we were advocating for MS issues. but i have to tell you, i love being on Capitol Hill!
i'm a political junkie for sure. we had appointments with the health care legislative aides for Senators Biden and Carper, and for Congressman Castle. they are all young, energetic, smart and committed people. i really enjoyed talking with them. i'm passionate about the political process, and still a little naive about the idea that every person's voice can/should be heard. we had lunch in the cafeteria in the basement of one of the Congressional office buildings. i was in my glory as i eavesdropped on the conversations that were going on around me. the wheeling, the dealing, the schmoozing and the subtle threats. the backroom deals, the glad handing and the palm greasing. i love it all! every bit of it! i was so pumped up after our last meeting on the Hill that i sent a text message to Gail to ask if she would be willing to move to D.C. if i got some kind of political job down there. she's wonderful, so of course she said "yes." it's a dream of mine to some day be in politics. either as an elected official, or in some other capacity such as lobbyist, advocate, etc.
it's most likely that i'll stay in Delaware and run for office here, but you never know.
i wonder if i can be ruthless enough to survive the wild and dangerous jungle that is American politics? i think i'll give it a try. i'll post my campaign web site information here (once i decide to actually run for office). oh. and don't be surprised if you come out of your house one morning and see a yard sign with my big, goofy face on it.
this will be even more surprising for those of you who don't live in DE. ha, ha.