I need some chicken up in herrrrr....

When it's my time to go...

this is how I want you to take me out.

Freedom

Cacti and sand slip silently into the mirror, individually unnoticed, universally appreciated. The engine's steady rumble envelopes my ears and burrows into my bones. Electronic ignition and central nervous system fuse. I can feel the rough asphalt beneath the wheels; I wear nothing but these raw rubber soles.

My head and my heart explode into a spontaneous rendition of the Eagles - Take It Easy - for only me to enjoy and no one to judge.

All problems fade away.

All thoughts turn to joy.

No fear. No time. No demands. Escape.

Freedom.

Adam & Steve

"God made Adam and Eve - not Adam and Steve"

No redneck quote on the planet pisses me off more than this one. All in one comment I am informed that (a) you object to homosexuality; (b) you are a "Christian" and (c) you believe in creationism. Furthermore, those who voice this idiotic idiom are communicating to me, in the most trite way possible, that they expect me to believe in and be subject to these very same premises.

Let me state for the record that (a) I have no objection to homosexuality or homosexuals - what makes your heart go pitter patter or your genetalia perk up is your business and does not completely identify and pigeon-hole any one individual; (b) I am not a "Christian" but I do respect your right to be one and I do not make an effort to cram my religious beliefs down your throat (although I am happy to share them if asked); (c) I believe in the science of evolution - I do not believe that God created Adam and Eve or Steve (other than indirectly through a philosophical belief I have heard called "original motion" - but I promised I wouldn't cram that down your throat).

I am a registered Republican and, today, I voted. I did my civic duty. One of the issues on the ballot was a proposition to make a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. A "Yes" vote was a vote to approve the constitutional amendment. A "No" vote was a vote to maintain the statutory ban on same-sex marriage. The result was the same - the only difference was whether it should be added to the constitution and thus made significantly more difficult to overturn later.

I mentioned in passing in my one year anniversary post my position on this issue. This set of a series of debates between and among some of my peers. I am stubborn, but not irrational. Generally a good healthy debate will result in a thought or an issue that I had not considered. I left this debate even more convinced that two adult, consenting individuals should be permitted the legal benefits afforded a married couple.

Why can't we separate the issue of where one man puts his penis from the issue of whether that man can check the married box on his taxes, inherit (by statute) from his significant other and have other rights afforded any married man and woman?

Back in the good ole days, the Republican party stood for something completely different than it does today. It stood for small government. Republicans believed that government should stay out of the individual's private lives and certainly out of their bedrooms. The Republican party has been taken hostage by the Wal-Mart shoppers and the ultra-right wing Christian movement. It is now dead to me.

Where have you gone Barry Goldwater?