Happy Election Day!

Don't forget to vote!!!

Happy Halloween

I think we could all use a holiday from politics. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Actually, our Halloween hasn't been very conventional. Joy still doesn't get the concept of trick-or-treating, and since we live in an apartment complex we rarely have trick-or-treaters come to our door. This year we got a grand total of two: a couple of guys who looked like they could be in college. They weren't even wearing costumes--they just had grocery bags for collecting candy. Sheesh.

We did dress up for the ward's trunk-or-treat activity, though. Here's Angel Joy with Doctor Daddy. I donned cat ears and a tail, but we somehow managed not to get a picture of me, which is not necessarily a huge loss to posterity.

Trick-or-treating at the activity ended up being a family affair. Joy wasn't keen on approaching costumed strangers with spookily decorated car trunks, so Daddy carried our angel and we invited people to hand their candy to her, then she deposited it in the pumpkin bucket I was carrying for her. In the days after the activity, Joy figured out that all those colorful things we collected are actually good to eat. Maybe she'll be more enthusiastic about gathering them herself next year.

A few days later, Joy's playgroup decided to meet at a local indoor playground that was having a Halloween party. Here's Joy striking an angelic pose in the bouncer.

And here are her pals, Red Riding Hood and the Soccer Champ. We tried to get a picture of all the play group kids together, but trying to get kids to pose together is like herding cats. Ah well - memories are worth more than photos, right? :)

Compilation of really good Prop 8 docs

Last night, I received a PDF with a compilation of documents about the dangers of legalizing same-gender marriage, and while I've seen some of the stuff in that document, some of it was a real eye-opener. I was especially astounded at the documentation of all the junk that has happened in Massachusetts after they legalized same-sex marriage - I didn't know the half of what's happened there as a result of that decision, and the lack of action by politicians about it.

Download the PDF, read it, and then share it with those that you know. For all of you with blogs, if you want to link to it as well, feel free to do so.

The more I see, the more grateful I am for a prophet who had the vision to get us on board with this before we even knew how serious the matter is.

Prop 8 debate on Fox 11 news

A debate about Prop 8 was aired by Fox 11 news this morning - the responses to the questions were very good. In particular, I liked how the judge who was speaking for Prop 8 responded to the claim that children will not be taught homosexual ideals in school. He said that schools are not required by CA law to teach a comprehensive sex education course, but that if they choose to do so, they are required to teach about marriage. Since 96% of CA schools choose to teach sex education, it follows that 96% of schools are thus required to teach about marriage including, if Prop 8 doesn't pass, homosexual marriage.

In response to the assertion that even if schools choose to teach about gay marriage, schools will be required to notify parents beforehand and give them the option of removing their children from that education, the judge only had time to say that the assertion isn't true before he was interrupted. He's right, though: according to CA education code 51932(b), "instruction or materials that discuss gender, sexual orientation, or family life and do not discuss human reproductive organs and their functions" is not subject to the parental notice and opt-out laws. In other words, if schools are going to teach about marriage and family life, including homosexual marriage, they're not required to notify parents or give them an opt-out option if they're not also going to be teaching about the human reproductive system.

I've long believed that even though those who oppose Prop 8 say that it has nothing to do with children, some of them* are, in fact, targeting our children, just as they have in Massachusetts. This just lends a great amount of validity to that belief.

Edit: see the post directly above this one for more background, but pages 2-5 of this document give the legal background substantiating these claims.

*(This originally said "they". That's probably not true, and is probably more inflammatory than anything else. While I think that some of the biggest & most vocal opponents of Prop 8 have our children in their sights, I also agree that many, many other people just want to look out for their homosexual partners and/or friends. I apologize if the original text was offensive to anyone - that was not my intent.)

more large companies oppose Prop 8...

I recently read the following article documenting Apple's $100,000 contribution to the No on Prop 8 campaign, and simultaneously mentioning that Google has also come out in opposition to Prop 8. Lots of other big companies have made contributions to the opposing campaign...these are just the latest to do so.

They don't look at Prop 8 as a political issue. Neither do I (it's a moral issue) - but it makes me sorry that I'm enabling these companies to make contributions to a campaign I'm morally opposed to by doing business with them. While it's true that their contributions are probably a small percentage of their income stream, it's also true that my vote on Prop 8 will be a tiny percentage of the total number of votes cast on November 4th. The point is that I'm making my voice heard, just as these companies also are (regardless of whether their employees agree or not).

I'm tempted to stop doing business with them. I was thinking about asking for an iPhone for Christmas...don't think that's going to happen. Maybe I should also cancel my gmail account and stop using Google's search engine. It would be my way of telling these companies that I will not continue helping them come out in opposition to such important moral issues (I'm sure there will be others in the lifetime of these companies).

I don't know - am I being extreme in this thought? What do you think I should do?

CA elementary school teaching homosexuality

I got an email pointing me to the following article, which is reporting on the fact that a CA elementary school has been actively promoting homosexual ideals to its students from Kindergarten and up.

To opponents of Proposition 8 who strongly believe and argue that Prop 8 has nothing to do with schools and that children won't be taught this in school without the right of parents to opt out, consider that it's already happening - the school specifically chose not to inform parents that this was going to happen. Makes it kind of difficult to opt their children out of teaching if they don't know it's occurring.

To those who support Prop 8 or still don't know how to vote, I hope that you'll join me in protecting our kids from being taught those things that should be taught in the home. Please spread the word about this!

Farmers' Market Update

After the Ericksons' rough experience manning the Farmers' Market "Yes on Prop 8" booth last week, Phillip and I expected to be tarred and feathered as soon as we set up the table today. Apparently everyone with an axe to grind got it out of their system last week, though, because our experience was almost entirely positive. The Clarks, who spelled us off around 6:00pm, reported a similar experience when we talked to them later.

One woman did call us liars and another yelled some things at us from a few yards away, but we didn't pay attention so she ran out of steam pretty quickly. The only other "No on 8" person who spoke to us was very courteous in his disagreement. All our other interactions were pretty positive.

Lots of people asked for bumper stickers, fact sheets, and even a few yard signs and posters. A few people had sincere questions we were able to answer. I found it helpful to explain that homosexual domestic partnerships have exactly the same rights as heterosexual marriages, and then to list some of the court cases that show the challenges we can expect over free speech, what gets taught in schools, etc., if Prop 8 doesn't pass.

Incidentally, the balloons we handed out to kids were a really big hit. We actually ran out of helium toward the end, and the folks at the Methodist Church table kindly allowed us to fill up our last balloons from their tank. The main Methodist balloon guy explained that he had already sent in his ballot and he voted yes on Prop 8, so we're on the same team. Amen, brother.