I am ashamed

I haven’t blogged in quite a while now.

Things have been busy here, but mostly I just didn’t have anything important to say.  I’m still here at the academy, currently in “summer school” for gymnastics, which I failed this semester.  It’s going a lot better.  I’ve already got almost as many points as I had at the end of my first attempt at the class.

Some fairly important stuff in the news today.

First, Iran sent 6 warships into international waters.  Lovely.   I’m thinking that we should probably do something about Iran, but that’s just me.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,521730,00.html

Next, North Korea tested more missiles.  I’m loving all these crazy dictators we have running around with substantial amounts of weaponry…and quite possibly nuclear ones.  I don’t see how the US and the UN giving them a slap on the wrist and saying, “bad” is going to solve the issue.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,521730,00.html

And my final note (not that there isn’t a lot of other craziness going on right now) is that the California Supreme Court, which I actually once had the opportunity to witness in session, has ruled that the Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage in the state is constitutional and will remain.  As much as this follows my own personal beliefs, I’m fairly concerned about the backlash that will come out of this.  If you read back in some of my blogs, you’ll see the response, specifically against the LDS (Mormon) church while all this was going down initially.  I doubt we’ve seen the last of this.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/26/california-high-court-rule-gay-marriage/?test=latestnews

On the personal front, once I finish my class here on 5 June, I’ll head home until the 17th.  Then I’ve got Cadet Field Training in the fabulous Camp Bucker (A.K.A. Bucknam, Buckraq, Buckghanistan, Buckmalia, etc.) for 4 weeks.  Then I’ll finish out the summer with Advanced Medical Training here in the <sarcasm> ever beautiful </sarcasm> West Point.

That’s enough out of me for today.  You stay classy…all three of you reading this.

Michael

Only one battle remains

Upon of the fields of Thayer Hall, the outcome of my war will be decided.  Tomorrow is the Psychology Term End Exam.

So far, I’m beating the Dean to a bloody pulp, 5 wins to 0.  All that remains is this final test of my ability to BS my way through plebe year classes.  It’s a tough one.  I am going to tell you all a secret: I’m actually studying for it.  I don’t want this whole thing to ruin my reputation, but the class is a lot of stuff, so it is going to require some work on my part.  However, have no fear, I just spent a couple hours playing F.E.A.R. instead (yes, pun absolutely intended).  If you don’t know what F.E.A.R. is, I’ll tell you.  It is perhaps the scariest game ever conceived by man.  I won’t play it late at night because it will scare the crap out of me.

I read an article about the Miss California press conference, and I’m glad that she gets to keep her crown.  That whole situation was ridiculous.  I’ve blogged about the subject of gay marriage a couple times, in regard to Proposition 8 in California and the aftermath, specifically the attacks on the Mormon church.  I think Donald Trump said it best, there was no way Carrie could give a “right” answer to that question.

Continuing on the gay rights thread here, I was reading an article about a West Point grad who was a founding member of Knights Out, an organization for homosexual West Point alumni.  Well, when this officer who was still serving in the National Guard came out publicly, the Army sent him his separation papers.  He wrote a letter to congress, as I recall, pleading that he not be fired, etc.  The comments online on said article were generally about the fact that President Obama had said he was going to get rid of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and how he was a liar because he hasn’t done it, blah blah blah.  And now for my response.

What the hell is wrong with a good portion of mankind?  I don’t know about the rest of America, but I am a lot more concerned with your flailing economy and Al Qaeda about to take Pakistan’s nuclear weapons than I am about ending a policy that has been working for 15 years so that people feel better about themselves.  Honestly, I don’t care if they end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  However, I think that President Obama is realizing the same thing that President Clinton saw when he made the policy in the first place.  There are homophobes in the Army.  Just like there are people in the rest of the country who strictly will not accept homosexuals, there are people like that in the Army.  In a normal community, it’s not a huge problem.  In a combat environment however, that kind of thing can be lethal.  To just say, “Alright, openly gay people can be in the military now,” could cause a catastrophe.  I think it’s shocking that people are so worried about what directly affects them that they can’t see the bigger picture and realize what is really going on.

Okay, that’s enough rambling for one day.

Michael

Today’s Featured Wikipedia Article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latter_Days

Here we go again.  It’s interesting to me that the LDS religion seems to take the brunt of the attacks against religious belief against homosexual activity.  It’s not as if we are the only ones (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_homosexuality).  I guess it just angers me that they fight so hard and angrily against a church that in reality has done nothing violent or angry against them.

I will not argue that there are surely some members of various religious sects that have persecuted homosexual individuals, but as a church we preach kindness and understanding of all of our fellow men, regardless of lifestyle.  As is often said in Christian religions, hate the sin, not the sinner.

I don’t really have much else to say about this today, but I’m sure it will continue to be an issue and that I will continue to vent about it.  I was a little appalled when I saw that article being featured on Wikipedia which is why I wanted to comment.

Activists Target Mormons for Gay-Marriage Ban’s Success in California

Here is a link to the article: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,459544,00.html

So, here is my take on things.

• Opponents of the now passed Proposition 8 Gay-Marriage Ban in California claim that the hierarchy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is directly responsible for the passing of the the ban.
• The Church made NO donations with church funds to the Yes on 8 campaign.
• Members of the Church made donations and helped with the campaign, but not under requirement from Church officials.
• Proposition 8 aligned with our religious beliefs, so of course, many members would support it.
• Many other groups supported the ban, obviously, since it passed.
• 70% of African-American voters and more than half of Latino voters voted yes.
• As of 1 OCT 2007, there were just over 750,000 LDS members in the state of California, compared to the 36.5+ MILLION residents of California.
• Response by activists has been ridiculous, with defacement of church property and even hate crimes through the burning of our sacred scripture.

So, those are just a few points that make this whole thing drive me nuts.  I find it incredibly difficult to even consider their point of view when they attack us so vehemently and in such obscene ways.  I’m sorry, but I just can’t handle that.

Michael