So we have been trying to work on the back yard since we bought our house and it is finally coming together... here's what we have done so far... still a work in progress... but it is coming along.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
backyard
So we have been trying to work on the back yard since we bought our house and it is finally coming together... here's what we have done so far... still a work in progress... but it is coming along.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
An open letter to Hillary Clinton
Dear Ms. Rodham-Clinton,
I watched with interest the parade of candidates on LOGO last night. I am sure that it was not your intent to be disrespectful to Melissa Etheridge, but I felt that is what your response amounted to.
Infact, during the course of your discussion, I became ever increasingly angry. After it was over, my husband became angry with me about my vociferous outrage directed at the television, and the emotion that I raged out of my mouth.
"Why? I don't understand the rage that other's and now you are voicing. Is it because she is a woman?" he asked.
"Please! it is not because she is a woman. I was a member of NOW at the age of 20, long before I came out. I still wear my ERA lapel pin." We are big emotional and financial supporters of NCLR.
So, after a few hours sleep, my outrage has subsided; however, I still feel a pressing need to express my disagreement. Melissa Etheridge eloquently and expressed her heartfelt and profound disappointment that she (and I) have felt over the past 14 years of being pushed under the bus. "I don't see it like that," you said. You finally came to "I can see how you can feel that way."
You just don't get it. 14 years? You don't think that is long enough to wait? How many lives have to be ripped apart? How much is too much?
My husband said to me, "Look, for her entire adult life, she was told to sit back, be a good wife for your husband's political career"
Good point, however, my response is "Even more reason for her to get it" During your husband's legal battles, YOU could not be called and questioned, as Kelli (Rosie O'Donnell's wife) was forced. You SHOULD get it, and THAT is why your actions anger me so much.
Dianne Feinstein still gets my gander up, but she truly is a lost cause. Pat Robertson is a lost cause. The Bush crime family is not just a lost cause, they, like the Soprano's are dangerous.
But I digress, your "justifications" amounted to the strategy used by forest fire fighters. Burn part of the forest to stop the wild fire from burning the whole. This was how you seemed to justify "don't ask, don't tell" and "DOMA"
Here's how that argument falls apart. Your first question from Joe was why as a member of the Armed Services Committee, you did not propose legislation to reverse "don't ask, don't tell." Your response was "It didn't have a chance under the Republic Congress and George Bush as President. I want to do it as President, I want to do it and be successful"
How can I be expected to believe that? You have had power to introduce legislation for 8 years. You have enjoyed a position of influence and power for decades, yet where have you exercised that power and influence in a way other than a scorched earth policy?
If you decline to exercise the power that you have now, how can I reasonably expect that you'll exercise that power when you achieve higher office?
The church that we attend ends each service with the words "God has no hand but your hands, no feet but your feet, no face but your face." This is not only a recognition that God is within us, it is also a call to action. Only with our voices and our actions will God move out of the church walls and in to the world and thus spread across the face of the humanity.
You have the power now to propose legislation. The legislation does not have to pass NOW, but by introducing the legislation, you create the forum for discussion. You can hold hearings. Bring the issue to light. Democrats have the right to hold hearings now. So why are you not "doing" it? Your actions seem to be only those of someone in power seeking more power: you fail to exercise the power that you already have.
The anger that swelled in me came from the knowledge that: Of all people, you should know better. I believe that you DO know better, but choose not to act. John Edwards, I believe, wants to get it, but like my brother, who I love dearly, just can't. My brother is a wonderful loving man, but there are times he simply doesn't get it, and he keeps trying: I love him more for that effort. My anger comes from feeling that you do get it, but realize that it is politically to your advantage to betray me.
I take it personally, because personally affects me.
You have often refused to engage in hypothetical discussions about terrorist threats as the fear monger Bush administration and the right wing always do. I respect that position; however, it is disingenuous to engage in the same hypothetical speculation with regard to the Uniting American Families Act. You say that you support equality but you fail to DO anything to back it up.
So many families are devastated by the discriminatory immigration laws. We are forced to choose between the our spouses and our parents and our children. We are forced to choose between the love of our lives and the love of our country. If you have concerns about the UAFA, act to amend the legislation – but at least act. To fail to act makes you complicit in the very real and very preventable ongoing destruction of American Families.
The advances in women's rights are partly responsible to the discussions that were sparked by the advancement of the ERA. While the Amendment failed to garner the necessary number of states for ratification, the discussion that ensued was important. The right understands this. This is why flag burning and marriage amendments keep popping up. As you said, they know it won't pass, but it allows them a forum to speak.
The problem with immigration regulations is that while our highly trained Department of Homeland Security employees detect marriage fraud all the time; LGBT Americans are not allowed a seat at the table. We cannot even present our case. Perhaps I have an unreasonable expectation: I expect our leaders to lead.
Respectfully,
Mickey Lim
I watched with interest the parade of candidates on LOGO last night. I am sure that it was not your intent to be disrespectful to Melissa Etheridge, but I felt that is what your response amounted to.
Infact, during the course of your discussion, I became ever increasingly angry. After it was over, my husband became angry with me about my vociferous outrage directed at the television, and the emotion that I raged out of my mouth.
"Why? I don't understand the rage that other's and now you are voicing. Is it because she is a woman?" he asked.
"Please! it is not because she is a woman. I was a member of NOW at the age of 20, long before I came out. I still wear my ERA lapel pin." We are big emotional and financial supporters of NCLR.
So, after a few hours sleep, my outrage has subsided; however, I still feel a pressing need to express my disagreement. Melissa Etheridge eloquently and expressed her heartfelt and profound disappointment that she (and I) have felt over the past 14 years of being pushed under the bus. "I don't see it like that," you said. You finally came to "I can see how you can feel that way."
You just don't get it. 14 years? You don't think that is long enough to wait? How many lives have to be ripped apart? How much is too much?
My husband said to me, "Look, for her entire adult life, she was told to sit back, be a good wife for your husband's political career"
Good point, however, my response is "Even more reason for her to get it" During your husband's legal battles, YOU could not be called and questioned, as Kelli (Rosie O'Donnell's wife) was forced. You SHOULD get it, and THAT is why your actions anger me so much.
Dianne Feinstein still gets my gander up, but she truly is a lost cause. Pat Robertson is a lost cause. The Bush crime family is not just a lost cause, they, like the Soprano's are dangerous.
But I digress, your "justifications" amounted to the strategy used by forest fire fighters. Burn part of the forest to stop the wild fire from burning the whole. This was how you seemed to justify "don't ask, don't tell" and "DOMA"
Here's how that argument falls apart. Your first question from Joe was why as a member of the Armed Services Committee, you did not propose legislation to reverse "don't ask, don't tell." Your response was "It didn't have a chance under the Republic Congress and George Bush as President. I want to do it as President, I want to do it and be successful"
How can I be expected to believe that? You have had power to introduce legislation for 8 years. You have enjoyed a position of influence and power for decades, yet where have you exercised that power and influence in a way other than a scorched earth policy?
If you decline to exercise the power that you have now, how can I reasonably expect that you'll exercise that power when you achieve higher office?
The church that we attend ends each service with the words "God has no hand but your hands, no feet but your feet, no face but your face." This is not only a recognition that God is within us, it is also a call to action. Only with our voices and our actions will God move out of the church walls and in to the world and thus spread across the face of the humanity.
You have the power now to propose legislation. The legislation does not have to pass NOW, but by introducing the legislation, you create the forum for discussion. You can hold hearings. Bring the issue to light. Democrats have the right to hold hearings now. So why are you not "doing" it? Your actions seem to be only those of someone in power seeking more power: you fail to exercise the power that you already have.
The anger that swelled in me came from the knowledge that: Of all people, you should know better. I believe that you DO know better, but choose not to act. John Edwards, I believe, wants to get it, but like my brother, who I love dearly, just can't. My brother is a wonderful loving man, but there are times he simply doesn't get it, and he keeps trying: I love him more for that effort. My anger comes from feeling that you do get it, but realize that it is politically to your advantage to betray me.
I take it personally, because personally affects me.
You have often refused to engage in hypothetical discussions about terrorist threats as the fear monger Bush administration and the right wing always do. I respect that position; however, it is disingenuous to engage in the same hypothetical speculation with regard to the Uniting American Families Act. You say that you support equality but you fail to DO anything to back it up.
So many families are devastated by the discriminatory immigration laws. We are forced to choose between the our spouses and our parents and our children. We are forced to choose between the love of our lives and the love of our country. If you have concerns about the UAFA, act to amend the legislation – but at least act. To fail to act makes you complicit in the very real and very preventable ongoing destruction of American Families.
The advances in women's rights are partly responsible to the discussions that were sparked by the advancement of the ERA. While the Amendment failed to garner the necessary number of states for ratification, the discussion that ensued was important. The right understands this. This is why flag burning and marriage amendments keep popping up. As you said, they know it won't pass, but it allows them a forum to speak.
The problem with immigration regulations is that while our highly trained Department of Homeland Security employees detect marriage fraud all the time; LGBT Americans are not allowed a seat at the table. We cannot even present our case. Perhaps I have an unreasonable expectation: I expect our leaders to lead.
Respectfully,
Mickey Lim
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