Where to start? I guess I'll start with what is on CNN now. This from former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's new book entitled "What Happened", that was just released...

President Bush has always been an instinctive leader more than an intellectual leader. He is not one to delve deeply into the possible policy options-including sitting around engaging in extended debate about them-before making a choice. Rather, he chooses based on his gut and his most deeply held convictions. Such was the case with Iraq. [...]

What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary.

In American slang terms, "the chicken has come home to roost." For my non-American friends, that means that the truth of this morally and intellectually corrupt administration is coming out. We went to war in Iraq for nothing more than OIL and PROFIT. This schmuck sent our young men and women to war based really on nothing, except his own interests. This will be his legacy. But I'm not worried about his legacy. That man has the intellect of a mushroom. I can forgive not being that smart (I'm not that smart myself), but, I have enough smarts to ask the right questions to the people who have the smarts. There are two differences between me and President Schmuck. 1) I THINK. I ask questions. I evaluate. I act. 2) I wouldn't bring down a whole freakin country based on what I wanted to do out of some feeling of revenge, or what I thought the American people wanted after 9/11, or any other factor WITHOUT THE FACTS.

You will probably say, "we acted on what we knew at the time." I'm so sick of hearing that crap. When you send young men and women into war, you assume nothing. You take nothing for granted. You make damn sure that there are no other options. President Schmuck didn't do that. And the worst part of it is, we are all going to pay for this schmuck for a very long time to come. And how many Iraqis were killed? How many of our brave soldiers were killed? And here we are at home complaining about the cost of gasoline. You don't really think this all happened in a vacuum, do you? Fasten your seat belts. The next 40 years is going to be a bumpy ride!

THE GOOD NEWS is that this is all coming out now. That is where healing begins. Perhaps we can start to put all of this together and move forward. This is why, in my opinion, our country will stand or fall based on what we do in the next presidential election. In the entire history of our country, we had good and bad Presidents (same goes for Congress). But I believe this is the breaking point. This is the one pivotal election in the history of our country. If it goes badly, we will loose our ability to be the country we all grew up knowing.

VOTE. AND VOTE INTELLIGENTLY, LIKE YOUR LIVES DEPENDED ON IT.

Well, I went off on a bit of a ramble. I'm still passionate about my country. I have more good news. It appears that I will continue living more. I went for a check up with my doctor today. I love my doctor. He's great. Aside from being incredibly handsome, smart... you get the idea... he's actually very good at taking time to sit down and talk to you about your check up. My God he is such a hunk!! But I digress...

A few months ago, I went in to see him on a routine check up. It didn't go so well. I had put on some weight, had high glucose, high blood pressure, and my cholesterol wasn't what it should be. My doctor warned me of diabetes, heart disease, etc. I decided to do something about it.

I started watching what I eat, and I walk two miles a day as I listen to my iPod. I do this during lunch. The result is the following:

Weight at the time I started: 225
Weight today: 212

Readings on 2/22/2008:
Cholesterol levels: 192 (normal range 158-199)
Triglyceride: 177 (normal range < 150)
HDL: 30 (normal range >= 40)
LDL: 127 (normal range < 160)
Glucose: 113 (normal range 70-100)

Readings on 5/28/2008:
Cholesterol levels: 181 (normal range 158-199)
Triglyceride: 152 (normal range < 150) Yes!
HDL: 32 (normal range >= 40)
LDL: 119 (normal range < 160) Yes!
Glucose: 99 (normal range 70-100) VERY PROUD OF THIS!

My doctor said, "This is awesome!" I feel good about it. Loosing the weight is just an added bonus because it gives me an excuse to buy new clothes. Don't get me wrong, I haven't given up martinis (I'm not stupid). ;-) But I now stop to think about what I'm eating. If I really need those salty fat-fried chips with salsa, I'll allow myself to have 12 chips instead of half a bag. And I take in each one. After that, I'm done.

Life is good!

As for this weekend, it wasn't a total loss. It turns out that something else my friend had planned for Saturday afternoon got canceled. So, we did some things Saturday afternoon. I was on my own Saturday evening. I saw them again Sunday morning at the hotel for brunch. Afterwards, I left for home. It was nice to be home and greeted by this clematis that decided to bloom literally overnight.

We planted this clematis 7-8 years ago I believe. And now, it's just taking over. I love the blooms though. This was taken at dusk tonight.

Well CRAP....

I am bummed out. I planned to go to Boston this weekend to meet with a friend. He called me tonight and asked if I could reschedule because he is busy. It was an oversight I guess. I told him, "Well, I really can't. I'm staying at a five star hotel and they don't take kindly to last minute changes." Granted, they wouldn't really care if I changed to next weekend, as long as they bill me for each weekend. Doesn't matter to them. Anyway, I guess I'm on my own this weekend.

I'm going to go ahead with the trip. I'm going to check on what is being offered in Boston this weekend. There has to be something. Maybe some museum exhibits. I don't know.

I got this call while in Hartford at a nice restaurant. They know me there. I guess they could see my disappointment. I had a nice dinner. They offered me an aperitif on the house. I turned it down and asked for a cup of stong coffee. I came home.

Current mood = Sir Edgar Elgar Cello Concerto, First Movement. Listen to it. You will know where I'm at.

I took the day off from work. So, I'm taking time to rest, work on yet another photo book, and to take the time to wonder around my yard and garden to see the results of all the rain we've been having. I love flowers. To me, they make everything brighter. I even buy cut flowers that I have around my home.

Tonight I'm going to Hot Tomatoes to see my friend Donovan. Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Boston. I'll stay the day, see a friend or two, and come home Sunday afternoon. Monday is all mine. Kent is in South Africa still, so it will be quiet. I may go for a hike on Monday if the weather is good.

I heard about this on the news on my drive into work this morning...

The case was brought by Maj. Margaret Witt (pictured), a flight nurse at McChord Air Force Base, near Tacoma, Wash., who served in the Air Force for nearly two decades, and received several medals for, among other things, saving soldiers in the Middle East. In 2004, the Air Force suspended her without pay after receiving a tip that she’d been in a longterm relationship with a civilian woman. Witt was honorably discharged last year, after having put in 18 years - two short of what she needed to receive retirement benefits.

In 2006, Judge Ronald B. Leighton, of Federal District Court in Tacoma, dismissed the case. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, disagreed, reinstating Witt’s substantive and procedural due process claims (but affirming the dismissal of the equal protection claims) and returning the case to Judge Leighton for further proceedings. Here are reports from The Recorder, the NYT, the AP and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Click here for the Ninth Circuit’s opinion.

The Ninth Circuit didn’t strike down “don’t ask, don’t tell” (known as DADT) but it said the Air Force must prove that Witt’s dismissal furthered the military’s stated goals of troop readiness and unit cohesion — the goals that DADT was meant to further when Congress passed the law in 1993. “When the government attempts to intrude upon the personal and private lives of homosexuals,” Judge Ronald M. Gould wrote, “the government must advance an important governmental interest, the intrusion must significantly further that interest, and the intrusion must be necessary to further that interest.” (source)

Don't Ask Don't Tell should go! This policy has done more harm to our military than the events at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. We've lost too many good people to this stupid, homophobic policy. I love what one of the commenter's stated:

I agree, DADT does not work. I was in a combat unit in early 2003, and it was quite interesting. As we were ramping up for deployment and subsequent conquest/occupation of Iraq (sold to Americans as “liberation”), we needed every soldier we had available, and DADT suddenly didn’t matter. In my unit at least, it was deliberately ignored (as in, the unit did not seek to separate known homosexuals) Sure, non-tactical, high level units still separated good soldiers because they were gay (linguists, e.g., who are often in the news), but most of the units that had boots on the ground in the fight consciously ignored DADT so that we could keep those great Americans with us. Funny that the policy is meant to maintain unit cohesiveness, morale, etc, during our war-fighting missions, but most units wait until after their deployments to start enforcing it again, when they no longer need every available soldier for a real mission. Comment by former Army Captain, current lawyer. - May 22, 2008 at 10:08 am

I can't tell you how many gay soldiers I've talked to online. They are currently serving in Iraq. We talk in code. I know what they are saying, but they can't say it. They know that even if it comes out about their sexuality, they are there to stay. The military will not discharge them, NOW. There are times, when they start trusting me as a friend, they start talking more openly. I give them a stern warning, "Be Careful!". They shut up about it. If they are found out, discharge proceedings will be held against them WHEN THIS WAR ENDS AND THEY ARE NO LONGER NEEDED (you didn't really think the military would forget about it, did you?). What the hell kind of a backwards county would do that?

My question is this. The year is 2008. We live in a "free" country where everyone is supposed to have so-called "equal rights". It's all bull. There can be no equality unless we are ALL equal. This country can not and will not be free until the freedom that the Constitution dictates is actually carried out throughout this land FOR EVERY SINGLE CITIZEN. It's not that hard to do. When are we going to get off our butts and just DO IT?

Until that happens, the United States is no better than any other third-world country that gives no regard to the rights of it's citizens.

I read this on the Internet. So true, it seems.

Religions always need an enemy to keep themselves relevant.

Kent emailed me a few photos he took while exploring around the Cape Town area. This is what he sent.

And a few more...

This maps out the hike drive they took today, along with the photos along the way...

I love three day weekends!

Since Kent is in Cape Town, I'm going to go up to Boston this Saturday, stay the night, and come home on Sunday. I enjoy Boston more than New York. It's not such a zoo, or effort to get around. Maybe that's just me, but that's how I feel about NYC.

I won't make it to Boston Pride this year because as the parade is happening, I will be at 30,000 feet in route to Idaho for the week. It will be nice to see Boston again. That's just the way the schedules worked out. Anyway, it will be nice to see Boston again. Haven't been there for awhile.

I have friends always asking me if I'm available for one thing or another, especially for my trip to Idaho. So, I decided to just publish my calendar and put it on the website.

There's a link under "Feeds" at the right, or you can just view it by clicking here.

Off for bagels at Charlies.

I took Kent to the airport this afternoon. He is away to South Africa for three weeks. He travels a lot. I'm usually not so bothered by his leaving. This time, it was different for me. This really has affected me. I worry. I'm sad he's gone for so long. I went over everything maybe six times... did you remember this? did you remember to do that? do you have this packed?

It was nervous energy really. You live with someone as long as we have, and you tend to get comfortable with having each other around. It's like having and old friend around. Or feeling the warmth of the sun on your back. So when that leaves you, you are sad. But in a way, it shows me how lucky we are. After all this time together, I must love him so deeply to be so protective and concerned. He is quite simply... my life. I love him.

I'm going to spend my energies working towards my vacation to Idaho in mid June. I leave June 14th (will miss Boston Pride this year), but something had to give. The schedules just weren't working out. So, I'll leave Hartford June 14th and come home on June 21st. Hopefully, it will be a time of meeting old friends, catching up with family, and talking about what's happened since I saw them all last.

A HUGE victory today in California for marriage equality. The state Supreme Court overturned California's Proposition 22, which stated that the people of California only view marriage as "one man, one woman", and that gay couples can have a "domestic partnership" instead. For years, gay couples have been trying to over turn Prop. 22. Indeed, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed attempts to strike down Prop. 22, saying that it was the will of the people to restrict marriage from gay couples, and he didn't want to usurp that decision.

Today the Supreme court struck down Proposition 22, and the idea that domestic partnerships were good enough. This has huge implications. Unlike Massachusetts, California has no law stating that you can't be married there if your home state will not recognize that marriage. Massachusetts has a law from 1913 stating such. It was created to prevent interracial couples from getting married in Massachusetts. It was never enforced until the Judicial Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled that gay couples could get married in Massachusetts. Then, the 1913 law was enforced by the state (thank you very much Governor Mitt Romney). Which is why gay couples from outside of Massachusetts cannot go to the state to get married.

California however, does not have such a law. This means that couples from Colorado, Idaho, Washington, Montana, Connecticut, and all the other states can go to California, get married, and return to their home states and insist that their marriage be honored according to the full faith and credit clause in the United States Constitution.

Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.

In simple terms, y'all play nicely with each other and respect each other's laws. It will be interesting to see where this goes. And, it will be interesting to see if this ruling has any impact on the ruling that the Connecticut Supreme Court will soon deliver in exactly the same issue.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A same-sex marriage ban prevents governments and universities in Michigan from providing health insurance to the partners of gay workers, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The 5-2 decision affects up to 20 universities, community colleges, school districts and governments in Michigan with policies covering at least 375 gay couples.

Gay rights advocates said the ruling was devastating but were confident that public-sector employers have successfully rewritten or will revise their benefit plans so same-sex partners can keep getting health care.

The ban, a constitutional amendment approved in November 2004, says the union between a man and woman is the only agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose."

The court ruled that while marriages and domestic partnerships aren't identical, they are similar because they're the only relationships in Michigan defined in terms of gender and lack of a close blood connection.

Voters "hardly could have made their intentions clearer," Justice Stephen Markman wrote, citing the law's "for any purpose" language.

Dissenting Justices Marilyn Kelly and Michael Cavanagh countered that statements made by backers of the measure before the election suggest they only intended to prohibit gay marriage, not take away employment benefits.

The dissent also noted that gay partners who qualify for health care aren't given other benefits of marriage — equal rights to property, for instance. [...]

At least 27 states have passed constitutional bans, mostly since 2004 in response to gay marriages being performed in Massachusetts. At least 18 of those states, including Michigan, have broader amendments that also prohibit the recognition of civil unions or same-sex partnerships.

"It's a sad day in Michigan when we decide which children and which families are valuable enough to cover," said Tom Patrick, 50, who gets health insurance through his partner, Dennis Patrick, a professor at Eastern Michigan University. (source)

Well.............................

It's been awhile since I felt the urge to write about "marriage equality". But I felt that this was at least worth a mention because of how nasty it is. I've distanced myself from this fight considerably. Not because of all the energy it takes out of me, but because I'm so extremely disappointed in the majority of people in this nation. I mean, what kind of nation separates out one specific group of people for this kind of scrutiny. Yes, I know... we have done it before with other groups. But don't we ever learn?

To the gay couples in Michigan who are losing their health benefits because of the sanctimonious self righteous bastards who passed the so-called marriage protection amendment, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you live in a state populated by people who can let this happen to supposedly "protect marriage", while many of them are out getting divorces and what not.

I honestly think that if this happened in Connecticut and one of us lost our health benefits because of this, I think we would start looking for another place to live. Losing your health benefit coverage is no small deal. You can talk to me all day long about how you want to protect marriage from the likes of me, but when you start taking that to the level of cutting people off from health coverage... well, it becomes quite personal.

I say leave the state. They've made their point. For the people who want to stay and put up the fight for change, my hat is off to you. I just hope that you are young and in good health, because with the cost of medical care these days, you are playing a dangerous game.

In a larger sense, this is a black eye on the state of Michigan. I'm sure that the state will lose people because of this, and those who are considering jobs at one of the universities or state agencies there will think twice before agreeing to have no access to medical benefits for their partners.

I suppose everything equals out in the end.

I usually take a two mile walk around Founders Plaza, in East Hartford where I work. I do this around noon. But today, when I got to work around 7 a.m., the air was so fresh and clean, that I decided to put on my head phones, grab my camera, and take my walk then (I also took one at noon). These are just a few of the things I came across.

The first is simply the path I took this morning, followed by a flowering dogwood tree, and some leaves.

I love Spring!

Now I know I've changed a great deal. I received what I would call a rather hate-filled comment last night from, you guessed it, a religious conservative. It was from an older entry. It's not new. Every once in awhile I will get them. What is new is that I no longer engage them. I read the comment, and let her go on and on about what a pervert I am, etc.... and I then hit the delete button. That's what has changed.

A couple of years ago, I would have posted the comment, then responded to the comment. But I've learned a few things. One, she's not open to hearing about what I have to say. She's made up her mind. Two, it's no longer worth the effort for me to acknowledge or react to her comment. What was really interesting is that I read it without emotional reaction. Sometimes, you have to compare yourself to a couple of years back to realize the change in yourself. At any rate, I'm happy with the change. If anything, I feel sorry for people who are so filled with anger (I used to be one of them) that they miss life. You can spend your whole life fighting and fighting and fighting, and be left looking back on your life and all the energy you spent fighting. I'm not saying there aren't things worth fighting for, but you have to balance it.

For ever bit of energy you put into something, something else in your life will not receive that energy. So I pick my battles. I've spent my fair share marching for one cause or another and doing my due diligence in making the world a better place. It's time for others to take up the cause. As Cher would say, "I'm BUZY!".

And right now, on this rather dreary day on Saturday (misting outside), I'm sitting in my lazy chair upstairs listening to my iPod on my new Bose speakers that I bought this morning. They sound like a concert hall. And downstairs, I have some whole wheat sourdough bread rising in the oven. With a little luck, the whole house will soon smell of freshly baked bread. I love that smell.

I started playing violin again. God, it's awful. My cats always go downstairs when I practice my scales. I can't blame them. I sound almost like a beginner. I wonder if I should just stop. It feels so foreign to me. I'm trying to be patient.

I was going to go back to Idaho for a visit the first week in July. I would be there over the 4th, but that's not working out so well. Everyone has plans of course. It's just that, on July 4, 1968, my nephews passed away. So, this Fourth of July marks the 40th anniversary of their death. I wanted to be there. But it won't work out. I'll probably go in late June, or mid July.

Guess that's it for now. I'm off to work on scales.