A Modern Family

I'm not usually real big on awards shows, but I'm happy that one of my favorite shows, "Modern Family" won an Emmy for best comedy.  Not bad for a show in its first season.  It's well written, consistently funny, and best of all, features a gay couple with an adopted infant.  Eric Stonestreet, who plays Cameron, won a best supporting actor award for his portrayal of one of the partners.  The dynamic between him and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (who is gay in real life) is both hysterically funny and loving at the same time.  The show doesn't make anything special or unusual about Those Two Daddies, and they are accepted by the extended family as just two more parents.  It doesn't go out of it's way to say "Hey they're two men", but does add a gay spin to dealing with parenthood. 

I think shows like this that present a normal day to day life of gay parents who you'd probably like to know do a great deal to help gain acceptance for same sex parents.  When you can laugh along with them and see yourself in their shoes it makes it just a little easier to accept them living next door.  Good job everyone involved in the show!

So, What Do You Tell The Kids?

Lately I've had something nagging at the back of my brain.  As far as our family and friends are concerned, the uniqueness of Those Two Daddies has pretty much worn off.  Sabrina's 16 months old now and I think they've all adjusted to the "difference" of it.  Not that anyone really had any issues to begin with, but we've kind of just melded in to the fabric of the family.  Now, I'm sure you realize by this point that I'm not the type to keep my mouth shut when I have something to say.  But a new wrinkle has been added; that is, what do you tell your kids when they're old enough to understand and they hear the anti-gay rhetoric that's always out there?

For example.  In Iowa, there is a local douche bag politician named Jeremy Walters running for state office.  Because he's a douche bag politician of the Christian variety and has learned to use The Facebook, he posted the following message:

“The Holy Bible says if your ‘GAY’ homosexual they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. This tells me a lot so should we kill them NO. They Need to ask God to forgive them of their sins and mean it turn away from it. They also need to know that when it says that their blood shall be upon them that tells me it is AIDS. That how I feel.”

“homosexual “GAY” is not of God!!!!!!”

Now remember, the guy is running for office.  He's trying to get people to vote for him.  Could you vote for him after reading that?  Of course not, his spelling and grammar are atrocious.  Well that and he's announced that AIDS is God's punishment for being a Gay Homosexual.  I'm not sure what a Gay Homosexual is, but I think it's a gay guy that sleeps with women.  Anyway, being a Christian, he probably thought this over and decided, all on his own with no input from anyone sane, to apologize the next day.  To wit;

I am not against people having a gay lifestyle, and the statements made on Facebook have been taken the wrong way. The statement regarding gay homosexuality was not meant to be offensive and I deeply appologize.

As far as the quote from Bible; I was replying to someone elses post. It should have been posted as a comment on their page, not my Facebook wall. I appologize for the mistake and if this statement offened anyone. Both postings have been removed and these comments do not pertain to my campaign or the Republican Party of Iowa. My passion is to listen and learn from the people so I can represent them at the statehouse. Everyone makes mistakes, please forgive me.

See?  When you read it the first time, you obviously took it the wrong way.  When he said AIDS is God's punishment and gays need to turn into normal people he meant it in the kindest way possible, not in the "Die Fag Die" way some of you took it.  He didn't say the statement was, I don't know, bigoted, idiotic, and ignorant, just that it could be construed to be slightly unsettling.  But at least the voters know that Jeremy Walters (R-Des Moines) is on good speaking terms with God (R-Heaven). 

This is just one of the more recent examples of the crap we have to listen to day in and day out.  Personally, it doesn't bother me as much as it used to.  But in a few years I'm going to have to explain imbeciles like this to my daughter.  Eventually she'll be old enough to see it for what it is, but I'm wondering, gay parents, how have you addressed this subject with your little darlings?  I'd like to hear what you have to say on the subject, or what you would say.  And straight people, please chime in as well.  Your kids may not be as inclined to notice this trash as those raised by a same sex couple may be, but they will hear it.  What are your thoughts on it as well?

In other news, Marcia Brady called, and she wants her pajamas back...

Splashing Around

In a friend's pool over the weekend...

Suck It Up

The weekend is here, and that of course means housework.  Yuck.  I guess it wouldn't be so bad without two Labs that shed like hair geysers.  I think they go next door and collect our neighbor's Lab Bronco's hair and bring that over too.  It's not as bad if I Furminate them but I've been lazy and it hasn't been done in a while.  So before any indoor cleaning, I did that first.  Now on to the inside hair.  It gets everywhere.  Floor, stairs, sofa, and especially, the dog beds.  Normally I split the downstairs in two and lock the Three Amigos (Ripley, Chase, and Sabrina) on one side while I sweep and steam mop the other.  Then switch.  As I was cleaning the back part of the room, there was a lot of laughing coming from the front half.  A quick inspection finds it's party time in Chase's bed.

Well she can't get hurt, but it's time for a snack so...oh great...she's covered in dog hair.  From her hair to her clothes to the Velcro pads of her sneakers.  Sigh.  First there's a battle (although a laughing one for a change) to get her off the bed, followed by the cleanup.  Her hair is easy enough to brush out, but her clothes are covered.  Now is when I'm faced with some parental choices:

1. 
   
   Take her upstairs and completely change her outfit, or
2. 
   
   Use the lint roller to clean her off.

Realizing Option 2 gets me back in front of my laptop faster I look for the lint roller.  Of course, I can't find it.  In the meantime, I have to keep stopping to pull her off the bed.  Now I don't want to clean her off to have her just jump back on again, so I decided I should clean the bed first, then the baby.  The hair vacuums off the bed easy enough, so now it's time to go back to searching for the...wait a minute. 

                                                        

Could I?  Gregg's not home he's still at the gym.  It will be years before she can speak enough English to rat me out.  No, who does that?  It wouldn't be right.  Still...

When vacuuming toddlers, the upholstery attachment is the way to go.  It makes them laugh when you slide it across their shirts.  Trying to roll the machine over their stomachs is not recommended and may lead to clogging the machine.  That hair zipped right off, or most of it anyway.  I can't figure out how to get it out of the Velcro on her sneakers, but that's good enough for now.  And for anything left on her, well tonight's bath night anyway.  Or is it...?

An Open Letter to Beth MacDonald of KEZ Radio

I sent this email to Beth MacDonald, morning radio personality at KEZ 99.9 radio here in Phoenix.  Oh yeah also today's my birthday.  Not that it has anything to do with anything, but just in case you want to send me gifts.  Or cake.  Or a martini.  Or a cake with a martini in it.  Mmm, martini...

Beth

As someone who has listened to your show for a long time, I wanted to thank you for the support you showed this morning when speaking about the repeal of Prop. 8 in California. Almost every other voice I heard on the radio over the past couple of days was decrying the decision and the people who fought for it with every nerve they could muster. As a personality on a morning drive show, you don’t have to wade into the political arena but I’m happy to see you are someone that has both the courage and the class to do so when it’s for the right reasons. It doesn’t matter if it’s this, Sheriff Joe’s latest antics, or anything else, sometimes people need to turn on the radio and hear someone speak from the heart once in a while instead of yelling, ranting, and raving.

I am a gay man who has been in a relationship with my partner for over 13 years. Together we have a beautiful 15 month old daughter who is the light of our lives. We pay taxes (more than our fair share because of the extra taxes on domestic partner health insurance), vote, and hang our American flag on the house on patriotic days. We are devoted to our siblings, nieces, nephews, parents, neighbors, and friends. We pay higher car insurance because we’re not married, pay higher interest on our car loans because we’re not married, and can you imagine the nightmare of filing separate tax returns when we have a child and a house to claim? We adopted our daughter from California, a state that (unlike Arizona) allows both of us to be legal parents. Try figuring that out on your taxes!

This isn’t about religion, and it isn’t about special treatment. It’s about our fair share of the American dream. I’d like to know how I’m supposed to explain to my little girl when she’s older why her parents aren’t married. Do I tell her that her family isn’t good enough? That we’re less than a family? That we’re not supposed to even be together? How will that make her feel? Civil unions don’t cut it because even with the rights that come with them just the fact that they’re not called marriage implies that our relationship isn’t good enough and less then equal to straight marriage. Hell, it’s a good thing we don’t have a boy because apparently we’re not even qualified to be Cub Scout Leaders.

I just want people to know that we’re not a faceless group of “others” trying to stir up trouble. We’re your families, your neighbors, co-workers, and classmates. We’re real people with real feelings. We struggle with bills, our busy schedules, our kids, and our jobs just like everyone else does. We’re also Americans. Thank you Beth, for reminding people of that.

I’m going to post this letter on my blog, Those Two Daddies, to let my followers know you stand with us and other Americans in the fight for equal rights and fairness for everyone.

Thank you.

Bobby

And Beth's almost immediate response...

Dear Bobby,

Just received your email as I'm heading off to bed. I will always be on your side on this issue and will continue to speak out about it. Fortunately, the vast majority of the emails I received today were in support. We'll get there!

I applaud you for the tremendous effort you have put into having a happy family. You deserve the rights afforded to all other Americans...

This country must learn from its past mistakes. We cannot let the tyranny of the majority trample on the rights of the minority.

Love,

Beth

Thanks Beth!  You rock.  Or, soft rock, as your station doesn't play much actual rock.  But well, you get the general idea.

A Good Day in America

Quotes from today's court decision overturning California's Prop. 8:

"Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite- sex couples are superior to same-sex couples..."

"Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians. The evidence shows conclusively that Proposition 8 enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples..."

"Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses..."

"That the majority of California voters supported Proposition 8 is irrelevant, as "fundemental rights may not be submitted to a vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections..."