My First Conversation - 10 Months - 10 Lives Challenge

Some of you may recall my post from Sunday, November 16, 2008,
10 Months - 10 Lives Challenge

Anastasia and I live in a small community. We are out and proud. When I say that, I don’t mean that we flaunt our “gayness”. What I mean is that we don’t mix pronouns, we don’t hide who we are. Other than referring to each other in introductions as “my partner”, we truly live our lives like any other committed couple.

In Our Eyes.
In Our Hearts.
In Our Minds.

Remember when you first met your spouse?

Remember that moment when you decided that your spouse was “THE ONE”?

Remember in “When Harry Met Sally”, on New Year’s Eve when Billy Crystal’s character, Harry Burns decides that he has to get to Tyler’s party to talk to Sally Albright before midnight? He tries to hail a cab, but it’s New Year’s Eve, there are no cabs. So he runs all the way to the hotel, racing through the streets of Manhattan to get to the party. He does this long speech that ends with:

“I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

My Second Conversation will run in December.

Blog Awards

Yesterday I got an email telling me that I have been awarded 2 blog awards from Patricia at Communication Exchange
Thank you for The Lemonade Award (for making something good out of a bad thing)..Not sure if she’s got the right blogger. LOL! (Anastasia is just not going to believe this one.)

Thank you also for The Smile Award.

In turn, I am sending BOTH awards on to the following ten blogs and their creators because I think they fulfill the requirements described in the rules of the awards of making me smile, helping me be grateful, and facing life each day with their own unique attitude. Here they are, in no particular order. Please check them out!

I Do Things So You Don’t Have To
Dustpan Alley
Mom-O-Matic
All Things Deb
Midlife Misfits
Reflections On A Middle-Aged Fat Woman
Random Thoughts
The Junk Drawer
Bloggin’ Mama
The Neurotic Mom

The rules for the Lemonade Award are: 1) Put the logo on your blog or post, 2) Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude, 3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post, 4) Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog., 5) Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.
The qualifications for the Smile Award are: 1) Display a cheerful attitude, 2) Love one another, 3) Make mistakes, 4) Learn from others, 5) Be a positive contributor to the blog world, 6) Love life, 7) Love kids. The rules for the Smile Award are: 1) Please link back, 2) Post the rules, 3) Choose 5 people to give it to (I cheated here and am giving this award to ten people), 4) Recipients must fill the characteristics above, 5) Create a post to share this, 6) Thank the winners.

Thank you!

MILK MATTERS

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a proposal to honor Harvey Milk with an official day of remembrance. His argument? Harvey was really more of a "local" hero. Someone who should be honored here in San Francisco, but whose relevance is limited in the rest of the country.

Please join me in putting your hometown on the map for Milk. What's really cool, is after you click on those words, you will have a chance to add your hometown and write a brief message of support AND view a map and click on other people's messages of support.

I received the following email from The Victory Fund:

Dear Lola,

I know where I'll be on November 26th -- it's a day that I've been looking forward to for a long time. That's when Milk, the new movie about my dear friend and hero, Harvey Milk, opens in theaters.

I'm Tom Ammiano, and I'm a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I am also openly gay. In San Francisco in 2008, being an openly gay elected official isn't particularly rare. But in 1977, when Harvey Milk became the first openly gay member of the Board, it was a different story.

It was Harvey who inspired me to take the leap from teaching to politics, and he would have been so proud of the fact that I was just elected to the California State Assembly. For me, Harvey Milk's legacy is personal. His friendship lifted me up and his murder shook me to the core.

So I was upset -- but not surprised -- when I heard that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a proposal to honor Harvey Milk with an official day of remembrance. His argument? Harvey was really more of a "local" hero. Someone who should be honored here in San Francisco, but whose relevance is limited in the rest of the country.

I believe that Harvey's legacy matters in your hometown, just as much as it does in San Francisco. Let's show Schwarzenegger just how wrong he is by putting every city on the map for Milk.

Being on the set of Milk really took me back. I felt like I was reliving that triumphant, tragic time. Harvey's victory -- and his murder just 11 months later -- profoundly shaped the lives of so many people, not just in San Francisco, but everywhere. Put your hometown on the map for Milk -- you could win this iconic photo autographed by Dan Nicoletta, a friend of mine and Harvey's.

We owe an extraordinary debt of gratitude to Harvey for his trailblazing candidacy and leadership, and for his sacrifice -- it's a debt we'll never be able to repay. But here's one small way we can salute Harvey: Tell the world that Milk matters to you in your hometown.

My hope is that everyone who knew Milk, was moved by him, or is just meeting him for the first time can finally help give Harvey the recognition he deserves as an American hero.

We won't be silent. Harvey wouldn't have it any other way.

Sincerely,

Tom Ammiano
Victory endorsee, CA State Assembly

Reality Show Proposal - Life Swap

My partner, Anastasia is brilliant.

She says why don't they do a reality show where one of these corporate boneheads like Robert Nardelli of Chrysler, Alan Mulally of Ford, or Rick Wagoner of GM trade lives for two weeks or a month with one of their assembly-line workers who is due to get the axe (ala "Wife Swap") .

How about making the bailout conditional on them all doing this Life Swap?*

• Make them live the day that Joe Assembly-Line gets his pink slip.
  
• Make them have to go home to the swapped life and tell the wife and kids that daddy is unemployed.
  
• Make them have to deal with Joe Assembly-Line's budget and develop a new budget for life on unemployment.
• Make them decide how the mortgage gets paid this month and next month and the month after.
• Make them have to decide which vehicle gets sold or repossessed.
• Make them experience the job search "help" that Chrysler/Ford/GM and the unions offer laid-off employees.
• Make them apply for jobs at places like McDonald's and Walmart.
• Teach them the "chasing shut-off" game where you pay only the bills that have disconnect notices.
• Make them decide whether to pay the electric bill or buy groceries next week.
• Make them feel what it's like to turn the thermostat way, way down during the winter to keep the heating bills down.
• Make them figure out how on earth the family is going to manage not having the most dreadful Holiday Season of their lives.

*Also, conditions of the bailout should include conditions similar to the previous Chrysler bailout. Add to that, all the corporate jets get sold, no bonuses and the top 3 forgo salaries until the 3 companies turn a profit and payback the loan. And the corporate mucky mucks must utilize video conferencing for meetings or go through their company travel program for contracted reduced rates with airlines, hotels, car rentals.

Auto Execs Fly Private Jets to Cry Poor to Congress

ABC News has reported:
"First Class Not Good Enough for Auto Execs"

REALLY?

I don't know about you, but when I have only a few pennies to scrape together I take the cheapest means of transportation.

These execs crying poor and asking Congress for a $25 Billion bailout arriving in private jets...

That would be like my unemployed neighbor taking a limosine to apply for Food Stamps.

Come on now!

Where is the COMMON SENSE?

EHarmony Settles Lawsuit - Why should we "settle"?

"Suit forces eHarmony to offer gay dating service - Reuters"

UPDATE 1-Suit forces eHarmony to offer gay dating service
Wed Nov 19, 2008 3:30pm EST (Reuters)

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Online dating service eHarmony has agreed to create a new website for gays and lesbians as part of a settlement with a gay man in New Jersey, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General said on Wednesday.

The website will provide a dating service with "male seeking a male" or "female seeking a female" options, the Attorney General's office said in a statement.

eHarmony said it will launch the new same-sex dating site, named "Compatible Partners," by March 31.

The settlement was the result of a discrimination complaint filed by Eric McKinley against eHarmony in 2005, which will be dismissed under the settlement agreement.

eHarmony was founded in 2000 by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren and had ties with the influential religious conservative group Focus on the Family.

The New Jersey complaint is not the only legal action to be brought against eHarmony for failing to provide a same-sex option.

In March, lawyers in California brought a lawsuit against the company on behalf of San Francisco resident Linda Carlson, who was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay.

"We believe that this case is now essentially moot, and we're confident that we will prove that in court," eHarmony vice president Antone Johnson said in a statement about the California case.

(Reporting by Rebekah Kebede, Editing by Sandra Maler)

So let me get this straight...

We get "Compatible Partners"?
Again...Separate but not equal.

You know what I say?

I say boycott EHarmony and "Compatible Partners".

There are plenty of other websites for dating that will take our gay dollar$ and not segregate gays from heterosexuals.
May I recommend PlanetOut.com.

That is were I met my lovely partner, Anastasia.

Imminent Collapse?

REALLY?

Have you seen the utube video on www.gmfactsandfiction.com?


This video does all the math.

If GM/Ford/Chrysler collapse 3 million jobs will be lost. Auto Industry workers & retirees, parts suppliers, auto dealers and their employees will all be affected.
$156.4 Billion government tax loss over the next 3 years.

$25 Billion loan now or lose $156.4 Billion later?

Let's all take a trip in the WABAC Machine to the Chrysler Crisis Bailout - Time Magazine August 20, 1979

The Chrysler bailout of 1.5 billion is equivalent to $4 billion in today's dollars.

One of the major differences between then and now is that Chrysler is no longer a "public company". Cerberus Capital Management took control of Chrysler in August 2007, making it a "privately held company". Also, let's not forget that bailout from the Carter Administration had rules and conditions. It required that Chrysler "must draw up "an acceptable financial and operating plan" for dealing with the company's short-and long-term problems as well as spelling out its cash needs. This strategy will have to include sacrifices by everybody with an interest in saving the company: management, stockholders, employees, bankers and suppliers."

I have a question...

Why can't the Oil Industry, with their record windfall profits, float GM/Ford/Chrysler a loan?

I mean, when you think about it, the Auto Industry, with their failure to produce alternative fuel vehicles, is the Oil Industry's bread and butter. In fact, I'll go one further...the Auto Industry is virtually guaranteeing the Oil Industry's future record windfall profits.

December 10, 2008 A Day Without Gay - Call in Gay Day

http://jointheimpact.com/2008/11/who-we-were-then-who-we-are-now-part-2/

Join the Impact's first national demonstration will be December 10, 2008 and is called:
Please visit this website for details: http://daywithoutagay.org/

“On December 10, you are encouraged not to call in sick to work.

You are encouraged to call in "gay"--and donate your time to service!

December 10, 2008 is International Human Rights Day.

On December 10, 2008 the gay community will take a historic stance against hatred by donating love to a variety of different causes.”

To search or post Volunteer Opportunities in your area, click here for details: http://daywithoutagay.wetpaint.com/page/Volunteer+Opportunities?t=anon.

What a spectacularly awesome idea.

10 Months - 10 Lives Challenge

A post at http://jointheimpact.com/ refers to the November 15, 2008 protests against Prop 8 as “MUCH MORE THAN 1 MILLION STRONG!”

http://jointheimpact.com/2008/11/who-we-were-then-who-we-are-now-part-2/

Awesome! If you were among the protesters, let me say THANK YOU!

The post goes on to say “Join us in a challenge over the next 10 months that will make an IMPACT. 10 months - 10 lives changed. Everyone in this movement must help keep the conversation going.

We are asking each and every one of you to engage in 10 conversations with someone who does not understand our struggle and help them to see our point of view. We are not asking that you try to infringe on or disrespect their beliefs. Change can not occur with insult, it will only occur with respect. If all of us work hard to positively affect 10 lives, we can change this entire nation!

To help keep the conversation going, we will work with you to launch (at least) 10 national demonstrations of equality outreach.”